Look who is still alive. As you can see, it's been a year since I last updated. Welllllll, I was updating kinda regularly on a collaboration account with me and BrokenantlerinWinter. Anyways, so. Back to my own account, hope you guys are still reading this and enjoying it. Sorry if I made you forget what happened in the story, but we still have a long ways to go. :)

Also, if by any chance you have time, please go check out some art by n3r... ;) I'm part of the group. - n3r - art. tumblr. com

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of their franchise/merchandise. This is purely for fan purposes, and enjoyment for others.

Tsuna nearly choked, "My father…?!" He thought back to the times when Iemitsu Sawada was around… yes he was a bad father, but… He would never kill anyone in cold blood!

"Yes. Vongola Primo, Giotto Vongola." The woman replied stonily.

"How do you know that?!" Tsuna asked with a panicked edge.

"Because we were there. We saw your father kill him. We saw you going in to that portal."

Chapter 26 – I. Shimon Arc – Part 1

A thunderstruck silence reigned over the area. Dust continued to spread with the strong wind from the debris pile of the warehouse.

The heavy atmosphere created a thick tension in the air.

The Vongola siblings stood on one side, facing the group of four people in front of them. Suzume stiffly stared at their opponent, tension shown crystal clear, but not a single emotion expressed vividly on his face. Tsuna also had an expressionless mask, although moments earlier, he could have been identified as panicked and shocked.

With the thickening smog that enveloped the six people at the site of destruction, it was clear to everyone there that the next few minutes were going to be crucial in determining who wins.

A few more seconds passed, before Death Rope spoke firmly.

"Your father was Cozarto Simon," he stated as a fact.

A flinch was clear in Minshamone's stature before it became completely rigid.

Taking the silence and flinch as an answer, Death Rope continued, "I do not wish to fight you."

"Why? Because you're a coward?" Minshamone spat out as he glared at Death Rope.

Takeshi continued to stay silent, as he analyzed the enraging man in front of him. His eyes locked on to the woman's eyes and he felt a cold feeling rush through his body. Forcefully looking away, he looked at the other two men standing behind Minshamone.

"No. Because you are clearly not yourself right now. And despite what my father had done to your father, which was a misunderstanding, it does not apply to us."

"Yes, it does! That is MY FATHER. HE WAS MURDERED BY YOURS. I have every right to destroy you right here and now. So fight me and stop being a coward!"

"Right now, we're not here as Giotto Vongola's son and Cozarto Simon's son. We're here right now as Death Rope and Minshamone. I will not fight you in your state of being right now. You are being irrational and I do not care what your reasons are right now. But if we are destined to fight, then we will meet again."

Tsuna gave one last stare at the group of four before swiftly turning around and walking away with Takeshi close to his heels.

It was clear that the other group did not appreciate the sudden retreat of the Vongola siblings. Before Minshamone could shout at the retreating duo, the man who was whispering in Minshamone's ear stepped forward and yelled.

"A fair warning, Vongola. Some of your guardians may be a bit of… trouble."

It was plain to see that the other members of the group did not appreciate the leak of information. Minshamone also had a frustrated emotion spread on his face. With their sharp hearing, they heard the woman (Adelheid, apparently) hit "Julie" on the head and sternly reprimanded Minshamone (Enma) and (Koyo) the green haired man for sulking.

Tsuna and Takeshi acknowledged the leak of information but did not show any other sign of emotions. As soon as they were out of the site, Tsuna wordlessly calls Kyoya whereas Takeshi took out his disposable cell as well to call someone. 'Chrome,' he mouthed to Tsuna after dialing in a number. They continued to walk in a specific direction as they called.

There were no answers to their phone calls.

Hayato ran and ran, his brain for the first time not even caring about where to go. His feet carried him farther and farther away from the site. The only thing that repeated in the rational part of his brain was 'You have to calm down. You have to calm down. You have to calm down.' But he couldn't acknowledge it.

Did you guys notice how Enma didn't say a single thing to Tsuna's statement about how he isn't himself right now? Hehehe, weeeeellll I would think people who read the manga or watched the anime would have some sort of clue about why Enma is being a… litttleeeeee angry.

So, I'm running a little low on words for each chapter. I think there is a possibility that I might update quicker? We'll see, but you should know: I will continue to update this story. Do you people prefer more words over less time or less time over more words?

Thank you for all the encouragement and reassurance you guys gave me.
lovleydragonfly – XD Haha. Yeah. I'm alive. I'm just… not active. Sooooo… this has been even longer. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for reading and reviewing!
HibaTsu-Lover – AGH. I'm so sorrrryyyyyyyy. *bawls* This is an even bigger time break I think. Almost a year… D: I'll try…. No promises but I'll TRYYYYYY! Thanks for reading this far and reviewing!
SeeSea19 – Thank you very much for your patience; I hope I didn't take too long! (Ugh, almost a yearrrrrrrr… I'm horrible at updates) Thank you for reading up to this point! :D
10th Squad 3rd Seat – YESSS! I ACTUALLY UPDATED! *relieved laughter* Thanks for reading and sticking with me so far in to the story! :DD Reallllly appreciate it!
Wandering Clam – Whoa. You're right on the spot. Shhhh, don't tell anyone else. I'm sure no one will read my reply to you anyways. XP It's just not a part of the chapter that people will read. Thank you for the encouragement, reading my fanfiction and reviewing. I appreciate it!
Natsu Yuuki – Thank you for sticking around for so long! :DD Glad you didn't give up on me. XP
Bernie6394 – Thank you for the encouragement, for reading my fanfiction, for reviewing, and for being a member of this fandom. :)
Brendatorres993 – Sorry for ending it on a sort of cliffhanger… there's another one in this chapter as well too… :| I'm happy to hear that you enjoy the story so far! Thank you for reading!
Hippopotamous – Haha :) Okay! I won't. KHR to the end! Thanks for the reassurance!