'Thoughts'

"Talking"

Spells/Other's thoughts/Skills

[Captions]

{Korin's Voice}

Inner Voice

Chapter 28 Controlling the Dragon

Korin slowly opened his eyes, daylight now shining into the tower through its windows. As he looked around, he saw he was alone, the campsite empty, void of the tents and the fire snuffed out. "Korin-kun! This way!" He heard the voice of Takamichi, the older male waving at him from the corridor with one of the researchers, "We are moving up to the next level!"

"Got it!" Korin called out as he followed them through the corridor.

Following them up the corridor, he come across to the staircase that are missing an entire section to lead to the top with only four steps, "I guess this is as far as we go…" Mark sighed.

"Anyone here knows flying magic?" Everyone shook their head at the alchemist's question.

"Maybe I can help." Korin spoke up, as he walked passed them with a charm at hand, "Spirits of Earth and Steel, lend me your aid to create." With that spell chanted, the staircase starts to build itself back, reconnecting with the level above, "Done."

"You definitely count on the Yan charm magic!" Fred laughed as he patted Korin's back hard nearly causing him to fall over.

"Shall we proceed?" Mark asked, the rest of the team heading up the stairs.

Ascending up the stairs, they reached the next floor. Here they split into two groups, one to investigate this floor while another look for the stairs to the next floor. "Still, why are the stairs in a different area than the floor below?" Serizawa wonders, he in the search group with his partner Mana, Korin, Takamichi, Drake and Linda, "It doesn't make any sense…"

"True…" Drake muttered, "It is as if it is planned so that we have to look for the stairs every time we have to move up a floor."

"Any luck, Linda-san?" Korin asked, the older woman sighed as she pulls back the dousing gem into her palm. "No good…" She stated, "The previous few floors, we were lucky to found the stairs close to each other. No matter what kind of dousing is performed, I can't get a good grasp of the floors at all…"

"All the floors are filled with empty rooms." Takamichi wonders, "None which seems to have any signs of anyone living there before."

Mana then stopped suddenly, Serizawa too stopped as well looking down at his partner, "What's wrong, Mana?"

"Coming…"

"Huh?" Everyone all looked at her with confused looks.

"The monsters, they are coming!" She cried out.

"Monsters?" Linda wonders, before a black ogre appears from behind her ready to swing its large fist at her. Just that, a bullet went straight through its forehead courtesy of Serizawa with evidence of his smoking pistol. Several monsters start to appear, black goo that solidify into large beasts and predators.

"What the hell!?" Drake cried out as he pulls out two vials of liquid from within his blazer's inner pockets. Crushing both of them, the liquids merge and solidify into a long red falchion-shaped weapon of pure red crystal, "Where do they come from!?"

"Creatures of darkness…" Korin muttered as he and the rest of the group draw out their respective weapons, "The world's darkness given form…"

"You've encountered such things before?" Linda asked.

"The Yan Exorcizing Magic Council's main purpose is to deal with these creatures." He explained, "They are the remnants of the dead, spirits that hold so much dark emotions that they lost their form and become these things." He then realized, "Of course… that's why the tower…"

"What is it?" Takamichi asked.

"This tower… it's a massive prison…!"

"What?-!" Drake cried.

"Ever since I've entered this place, I've always felt that something was off." He explained, "The floor plans, the weird placement of the stairs, the extremely massive rooms with next to no furniture, it is basically a labyrinth of a prison in a form of a tower!"

"So what does that even mean?-!" Serizawa cried.

"That means the other group is in serious danger!" Linda cried as she throws a jewel into the air, a bright light shone and blinded them slightly. The dark creatures hissed in pain as they dissolve into shadows. Once they are gone, they all run back, hoping to reach the other group in time. Linda has issued several jewels for everyone in the group so in case they get separated, she can use those gems as a homing signal and gather everyone together.

Using that said gem, they were barely able to reach them. Dave, Fred and Norio were all busy fighting off the monsters, Olivia is busy standing by the researchers with her katana drawn out. "We need to deal with them right now!" Linda said as she pulls out the same type of gem she used on the previous horde, only for another ogre wielding what appeared to be part of the pillar to knock her away with a swing of that weapon.

"Linda!" Drake cried, "Damn you!" He shouted as he swings his crystal sword at the ogre, only for it just barely scraped the tough skin of that said monster, 'Tough skin!' He was then grabbed by the monster's free hand by the head before slammed into the wall hard.

Serizawa and Mana let loose a rain of steel at them, the bullets just bounce off its skin like plastic pellets. "His skin is way too tough!" He cried out as his partner carries on firing at it. The ogre ran forward, swinging his weapon at the man, sending him flying into the wall, and grabbing Mana by the body.

The young girl struggled to move as the palm starts to squeeze down on her small body, she crying out in pain. "Mana!"

A bullet hits straight at the ogre's left eye socket, it screams out in pain letting go of the young girl, Mana dropped onto the ground on her behind. Korin pulls the trigger and fire another shot on the head, not piercing the skin but the impact is strong enough for its head to recoil from it. It changes its target to him, its eyes staring straight at him. "Okay… what now…?"

"Move, Korin-kun!" Takamichi shouted, the teen moving to the side just in time as Takamichi release another Kanka-powered iaiken at it, knocking it back slightly before growling and slamming its weapon down on the older male. He barely held his ground as the ground under him cracked and caved in slightly, his arms raised in defence of the powerful strike. "Boy, oh boy… what to do now…?"

"Take this!" Korin called out with his gun aimed at the ogre, the magic circle appeared at the end of the muzzle, "Animo Fragrante!" He fired the skull shaped blast at the ogre, it blasts its spare arm that it raises up in defence. As the smoke clears around it, the arm is shown to not even a bruise on it. "Damn it…!" He muttered, 'I've still haven't figure out how to increase its attack power… At this rate…'

"Hey, boy." Hiryuu's voice startled Korin, "You having trouble there?"

'You think?-!'

"If that's the case, call forth my strength." The Lord of Fire tells him, "My flames are more than enough to take them down, and you've no more weapon charms with you, right?"

'Isn't that's a terrible idea?' Korin asked, 'The flames' raw nature overwhelmed me every time it was forced out.'

"Not if you willingly brought it out." He tells him, "Just try to remain a calm mind."

"A calm mind…" He muttered before closing his eyes to concentrate, 'Recall… recall that feeling… the burning flames… the rage…' His eyes flipped wide-opened as red-yellow flames erupted from him, coating him in the same flaming coat as all the previous times, this time only his right eye is flaming.

"Korin-kun…?" Takamichi has heard of the dangerous flames inside the teen, feeling the immense power from it radiating from him, a very familiar power, "This is just like… Karin-san's…!"

Korin felt the impact of the sudden increase of power from within, his mind is nearly overwhelmed by the raw power as he stumbled back a bit. But he took Hiryuu's advice to heart and he kept his heart calm, like he is mediating and the raw emotions simmered down to the back of his mind.

Now that he is in control of this power, it felt different, 'The flames don't hurt… and… my body feels so light…' He stares forward at the ogre; he holsters his revolver and ball up his fist. He launches forward and punches ogre in the chest, sending the monster flying and crashing into wall. All the monsters all stopped their attacks, turning their attention to the flaming teen. All the mage all stopped to look at their team member, all shocked at the large increase of his power.

"Flame magic…?" Dave muttered, "No, there isn't any fire magic that I've known like that…"

"…He manages to call forth it on his own…" Norio muttered.

"About time." Olivia smirked.

Mana stared at the flaming teen; her eyes couldn't keep away from the dancing fire surrounding him. "Mana?" Serizawa looked at his partner worriedly.

"Beautiful…" She muttered.

The ogre roared out as it came out of the hole in the wall it was punched through. It looked at Korin, the teen stared indifferently at it as he took into a ready position. It then lunged at him, he moved forward while dodging the punch it sends out for him and landed another punch at its gut. The ogre was skidded back across the floor and slammed on the wall hard. He took in a breath, the flames concentrated around his arm. With a swing, he releases a large fireball ten times his size at the ogre, impact the engulfing the monster in flames.

The ogre roared out in pain as the flames slowly eat away at the beast, the other dark creatures ran towards him in attempt to kill him. Korin looked to his side before the flames erupted from his cloak of fire and formed around his hand which he proceeds to swings around, the flames formed into a sword-like figure that burns and burns through the creatures into ash.

"Strong…!" Dave muttered.

Fred smirked, "As expected of their son…"

Korin looked down at the flaming sword figure formed in his hand, as the flame cloak dissipated from him. 'This is… the power of the Fire Vessel…' His legs suddenly buckled under his own weight, him falling unconscious just as his body falls flat onto the ground, shocking everyone.

"Korin!"

Xxx Future Era xxx

Tsuna sped through the cones with as much velocity and speed she could muster at that point, her exhaustion is showing as she landed on the floor panting and the flame on her forehead sizzles off, "Ha…ha… my body… feels so heavy…"

Tsuna is currently training with Lal Mirch on her new weapon, her new gloves she received from the previous Vongola Bosses. Despite the days of training, it is still not possible to properly utilize it to their fullest potential and she knows it. Lal even give her two cents on her progress which isn't much.

"You've managed to shorten your time considerably." She stated, "But your normal gloves are still faster. That means you're still making a lot of useless movements! At this rate, this afternoon's training will end up with Hibari playing you again!"

"EHHHHH?!" She shrieked, 'No more! I don't want to get beat up again!'

Lal flinched a little, something Tsuna picked up over the couple of days into their training sessions, but remained quiet, "Go check on the other guys. See if they're ready for battle in five days' time." She commanded before leaving the room.

"O-Okay…" The brunette nodded as she got back up brushing her shorts of dust and dirt, 'Is she is pain again…?'

As she made her way through the hallway to where Yamamoto is currently training with Reborn, she recalled the news they all received earlier today.

That morning, when discussing the possible location of Rokuro Mukuro, they all received an indication of a Vongola Ring beeping from the scanner at Kokuyo Land. Before they could properly head out to investigate, they receive a message from the future Varia, Squalo demanding them not to die and wait to receive orders from their messenger. That messenger was the future Sasagawa Ryohei carrying in an unconscious Chrome, the said girl in terrible condition and is currently in a coma.

Once they got Chrome settled in the nursing room, Ryohei told them the plan the upper command of the current Vongola has come up with. They are to attack the Japanese branch of the Millefiore family in five days' time incondite with the main forces. It was the final push the Vongola has to do in order to survive the war. And the final call of attack has to be made by the tenth and current boss, Tsunahime herself.

Tsuna is given till the end of the day to make the decision to either attack or don't, that she is currently in major conundrum over. She doesn't know which is better. If she decides to help attack, they could potentially find a way home due to the fact that Irie Shouichi is the commanding officer of that base, but five days are far too short. If she doesn't, it could mean the end of the Vongola family and they could all be murdered.

'Which one should I choose?!' She mentally cried out in agony, 'This is why I don't want to be a mafia boss! I'm just a middle school girl, this decision is too much for me!'

She sighed dejectedly as she walked up to the bamboo sliding door, wondering why her future self like to add Japanese style to this floor. When she opened it, she got hit by a series of paintballs to the face, luckily none got into her eyes, 'What was that?!'

When she rubbed the liquid off of her face, all she could saw where fast movement of Yamamoto with a blue flame sword at hand, slashing through the paintballs that were fired at him by Reborn, before he realised he is moving towards her and can't stop, crashing her and himself through the bamboo doors and knocking them off of the floor.

"Sorry, Tsuna! Are you okay?" Yamamoto asked worriedly.

"I-I'm okay…" She assures him.

"Serves you right for barging in while we're in the middle of training." Reborn stated.

"Ah, no… you see…" Tsuna stated, "I'm just wondering how Yamamoto's training was going, that's all!"

"I see." Reborn sighed before pulling out a switch, "In any case, just looking at the number of times you were hit by the paint bullets will tell us if you're going to die in a real battle. The fluorescent paint in the bullets will glow in the dark." He proceeds to press the switch, the lights turned off to reveal a completely glowing but laughing Yamamoto.

'H-He… completely dead…!' Tsuna mentally thought in shock.

"Yeah, I guess I missed a few balls here and there." He laughed.

'That's definitely more than a few balls!' She thought.

"Don't worry, Tsuna." Yamamoto tells her, "I'll get better in time."

"O-Okay, Yamamoto…" Tsuna stated worriedly, "W-Well, I better go look for Gokudera-kun. Good luck, with your training." She then proceeds to leave the hallway. As soon as she is gone, Yamamoto's carefree smile disappeared and is replaced with a small frown.

"I need to get stronger…" Yamamoto muttered.

Tsuna went to the storm room that Gokudera would be training in. The moment she entered the room, she notices Bianchi sitting in front of the viewing mirror of the training room below, "Ah, Bianchi… How's Gokudera-kun's training-?"

"He skipped it."

"Eh?"

"He ran away from training, is what I'm saying!" Bianchi shouted angrily hitting the panels in front of her hard with a loud clang.

"W-What?-!" Tsuna cried out, "W-Why!?"

"Like I would know!" She stated before dropping down onto the chair with a huff, "That idiotic brother of mine…"

'W-What should I do…? At this rate… just five days isn't…' Tsuna shook the thoughts away for now, 'Now is not the time! I have to find Gokudera-kun!'

"Bianchi, I'll go find him!" She called out as she ran out of the storm room. As she dashes down the hallway, she checked almost anyway she could at the current floor. Every rooms, the kitchen, the toilets, even the living quarters. But she could not find him anywhere, 'Where are you, Gokudera-kun…?'

She took to the lift as she descends to another floor, in her mind is the facts that neither Yamamoto nor Gokudera are going to finish their respective trainings in five days, even she could not finish her training at her current speed. She has no idea what she should do, and wonders what Korin would do.

She shook her head, 'Stop it! Motoyama-san isn't here right now! You have to do it on your own!' Her mood just dropped at the reality that her Knight of this Future might not come back, '…I better ask Lal Mirch… she might have some insight on this…'

As soon as she left the lift, she notices Lal leaning on the wall on the floor, panting real heavily. "Lal Mirch!" Tsuna cried out as she ran up towards her, "What's wrong?! Are you okay?!"

"W-Who is it…?"

"Huh?"

Lal then took a closer look before recognising the brunette, "Oh, it's just you, Sawada…" She sighed out, "I'm fine… I just… staggered a little…"

"Lal, your eye…?"

"My right eye wasn't very good from the start." She explained, "That's why I have these goggles… Thought now I guess I don't need them any more…"

"I… I'll go get help–"

"No need."

"B-But, you're shaking!" Tsuna cried out, "You are in pain, I can't just–"

"DON'T DO ANYTHING UNNECESSARY!" Lal shouted, startling the brunette, "I refuse to obstruct the progress of the operation taking place in five days. Don't tell anyone!"

"Y-You can't! Don't force yourself!" She stated, "I mean, Onii-san stated that we didn't have to do the operation. And besides, to be honest, I don't really feel right… joining this war-like operation…"

"DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" The older female shouted angrily, pulling the collar of Tsuna's jacket down towards her, "Sasagawa is too nice to you, but let me make this clear right now. The difference between Millefiore's and Vongola's war forces is obvious. Whether we join this operation or postpone it, many of us here will die. This is not a life or death decision, Sawada. But rather, it's which hell to choose."

"H-Hell…?"

"Don't get too hopeful." She added on, "It's your very duty to choose the better of the two, even if it's just a 0.001 percent chance of survival. Think about it." She proceeds to get back up, staggering to walk ignoring the worried cries of the brunette behind her, leaving Tsuna alone at the hallway to ponder on her words.

Xxx Present Era xxx

Korin slowly opened his eyes, the aged stone brick ceiling entered his vision. "Good, he's awake." The voice of Mark said as the boy got up.

"What… happened…?"

"You kind of knocked out after you defeated that ogre thing." Linda stated.

"Knocked out…?" Korin uttered absentmindedly as he got up on the sleeping bag he was lying on, 'I did felt completely exhausted after I dismissed the flames…' "What's going on now…?"

"After you knocked out, we made it to the stairs." Mark stated, "Takahata decided that it would be better if we rest up here for the night."

He glanced at the nearby window, seeing the starry sky confirmed the time for him, 'How long was I out…?'

"He also volunteered to take the first shift of patrol." Drake pointed out, "Both him and the two gunslingers left just a couple minutes ago. Norio and Olivia should be returning soon."

"But man; that was one heck of a fire magic you just used." Dave pointed out, "I have studied a lot of the fire arts from all of Europe and Asia and I don't even know what type of magic you used!"

"I agree, it's a pretty unusual magic." Linda added.

"Well… it's…"

"Fire Dragon Magic." Fred said as he walked up to them, "The same magic that your mother used."

"You know about it?" Korin asked.

"It's the magic exclusively used by the Moeruryu Priestess." He explains, "Flames of reddish yellow that burns away any that it touches, a powerful ancient type of magic that is said to be extinct. Besides her, no one else is supposed to be able to use it. Except, you, of course."

"F-For real…?"

"I think I have heard of that." Dave noted, "There were records of a large clan in the Far East that specialized in that form of magic, but none of them has go into detail into what it is."

"Seriously!?" Linda stated in shock, "Damn, what are the odds!? Wait, did you say that this boy is Motoyama Karin's son!?"

"The one and the same." Fred nodded, "Isn't his name kind of a dead giveaway?"

"I-I just assumed they have the same family name. I mean, there are people who has the same family name but not related in any way, right?"

"I see you're finally awake." Olivia's voice calls out as they all turns to the white ghost-like woman that is Nurari, "I thought you're going to sleep for at least another hour."

"Hey, Olivia." The young teen greeted, "Where's Norio?"

"Please, call me Nurari in this state. As for Norio, he decided to circle the camp one more time just in case." She tells him, "Sorry, but mind leaving us be? I wish to speak to him in private."

The other mages nodded at that request and left them alone, leaving to do their own things. The quarter youkai sat down next to him; skirt tucked under her while bringing her knees close to her chest.

"So, you finally got those flames under control." She points out, "And a good thing too. We wouldn't have made it out of there alive if you didn't."

"Couldn't you have done something?" He asked her.

"Not likely." She tells him, "Metal isn't exactly the holiest of magic attributes, sadly. I could kill them, sure, but not as effective as your flames."

"I… see…"

"You doing okay?" She asked.

"Oh, no. I'm fine. It's just…" He looks at his hand, "These flames have always haunted me for years, so much that it hurt so many of my close friends… and even…"

"…The Arson of White Dove Orphanage."

His eyes widen in shock at that name. Nurari simply continues, "Five years ago, an entire orphanage is burned to the ground within a single night, leaving behind countless dead children. The case was deemed cold and unsolvable, for there were no way for any fire to start anywhere, not to mention the impossible movement of the fire. That is, if only seen by normal physics."

"…so you knew?" He asked. He got a nod in response, "Then… you knew what happened?"

"Just the bare minimum. Whatever happened in back then, whatever happened to you, it mustn't be pretty." She stated, "But what I don't get is why you are in the orphanage to begin with. I know that Karin is dead for a while, but Yong-Kia is still alive. So, shouldn't you still be with him and your sisters?"

"Abduction." He explains rather flatly, "Lost consciousness and was found by parts of the Yan Exorcist Mage Council that doesn't really like the power I possessed and tortured me for months, before something went horribly wrong for them and imploded on themselves. And then my memories got erased somehow and was found by…" He bit his bottom lip for a moment, a painful memory surfaced for a moment, before continuing, "…by aniki."

"Aniki… you mean Galan Lee, right?" She asked. He nodded at that. "I see… So, this Galan found you without any memories of who you are, and brought you to the orphanage." She concluded with a small chuckle, "Sounds like someone with a big heart of gold, that one."

"Yeah…" Korin tells her, a painful memory surfaced for a moment before disappearing back into his subconscious, "He is an amazing person."

"I'm sure he is." The quarter-yokai chuckles, before standing back up, "Well, I'm going to get some rest. You should, too. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow morning."

"I will." He tells her as she walks away. The Vongola Knight lies back down on the ground as he contemplates on his current situation. 'Just using those flames once is enough to knock me out for the whole day… it will be deterrent to the mission if this continues…'

'Hiryuu. You there?'

"Yeah, what is it?"

'I was just wondering. If there are any ways to get better in controlling those flames so that I won't pass out from using it once?'

"Oh, that. Don't worry. Once you manage to keep it under control, that should stop happening."

'Really? Why?'

"Those few times the flames came up? It came out beyond your limit, which in turn overtaxes your body and spirit, as such exhausts you intensively. But if you are using it within your realm of control, your body adapts to it, and in turn makes it like you're using your magic energy. Using it too much would exhaust you faster than when you are using magic, but it would become easier to use over time."

'That's… rather convenient. So, no drawbacks anymore?'

"Well, some of my Vessels went insane if they use my powers for too long or is unable to keep it under control and became a monster. Other than that, none."

'Insane!?'

"You'll be fine! Unlike my previous Vessels, and that includes your mother, my flames are literally part of you. It's your mind that is rejecting it that's causing your berserk state."

'I… see…'

Korin wasn't sure what to make of the dragon's explanation. The insanity inducing parts of the flames isn't something he wishes to know, but turn into a monster? He recalls the images that Hiryuu showed him of the final parts of the Knight Battle, with a few showing his slow transformation into what he guessed is a dragon-like monster.

'A monster… huh?' He thought as he closes his eyes, 'Not like I wasn't one to begin with…'

Xxx Future Era xxx

Tsuna let out a loud dejected sigh as she sat on the couch in the lounge.

After getting yelled at Lal Mirch, she went there to try and collect her thoughts on the situation. Add the fact that Gokudera isn't showing up to training, Yamamoto still isn't up to par and could end up getting himself killed, and she herself isn't up to the standards she was put against with, she is stressed beyond anything she has ever faced before.

If that wasn't bad enough, Lambo stopped by to ask/force her to play with him, and in a fit of irritation from the stress of the situation causes her to yelled at the little boy. When Haru happened to past by and reprimands her on yelling at little kids, she equally snapped back at her with words she didn't have any intentions on saying.

That hurt her, prompting she is walked away from the brunette with a quiet apology, leaving the mafia boss-to-be alone, and overcome with guilt.

'I'm… I'm a horrible person…' She thought sadly, 'We are hiding all of it from them in the first place, and yet…'

"You're the one that doesn't know anything!"

'I can't believe I said that…' Tears starts to well up from her eyes, 'This… I…' "I can't… this is just too much…" She sobbed into her hands, "I'm not cut out to be a boss at all… Motoyama-san…"

"There you are, Tsuna."

Her tutor voice brought her out of her depressive thoughts for a moment, the Arcobaleno standing by the entrance to the lounge.

"Reborn…?"

"There's no time to be moping around." He tells her with a firm look. She is confused of his tone before he added, "It's Chrome. Her condition is turning for the worst. Some of her internal organs has been damaged."

"W-What!?" 'Her internal organs!? But… that would mean…!'

Tsuna and Reborn both rushed into the medical room, just to witness the Mist Guardian coughing up a dangerously high amount of blood. Her skin is looking paler and she is desperately gasping for air.

"C-Chrome-san!" Tsuna cried as she runs up to the infirmary bed, "Bianchi-san, what's happening!?"

"I don't know!" The older woman tells her, "For some reason, she starting to lose her internal organs!"

As she explains, Chrome's stomach is starting to cave in on itself, in a frightfully familiar way as back during the Mist Ring Battle. The brunette knows exactly the reason for this, but for it to happen…

'Did something happen to Mukuro…!?'

"Muku…ro…-sa…ma…"

The dying girl's voice broke her out of her thoughts as she quickly rushed close to her and grasp her hand, "Hang in there, Chrome! You can't die!"

"Bo…Bo…ss…?"

"Yes, it's me! You must hold on!"

"So… warm…" Chrome whispers out with a small but exhausted smile, "Boss… please… sa…ve… Mukuro…-sama…"

"Mukuro? Did something happen to him!?" She couldn't answer her as she coughs out even more blood, "C-Chrome-san!"

"This is bad." Reborn stated grimly, "At this rate, she wouldn't make it."

"W-What should we do!?" She asked him worriedly.

"Move."

The authoritarian tone of Kyouya spoke as he pushes the brunette aside. He surveys the situation, before lifting her up from the bed, "If you die, we'll all be in trouble." He tells the dying girl.

"H-Hibari-san…?"

"Sawada-san." Kusakabe walks up to her and tells her, "Please, wait outside. Leave this to Hibari-san."

"O-Okay…"

Everyone all gathered at the meeting room, all waiting anxiously for any news on their dying companion's situation. Tsuna herself is grasping her hands together in a form of prayer, praying to whatever higher being to help the poor girl.

A few tense minutes after the new of Chrome's dire situation is circulated, Kusakabe entered the room with some relatively good news, "Chrome Dokuro is out of danger for the time being."

"Really!?" The brunette stated happily, "That's wonderful!"

"What did you do to pull her through that condition?" Reborn asked.

"With the Vongola Ring." He explains, "Hibari pressed her to draw out the power of the Vongola Ring, and to live under her own power. Right now, Chrome is using her own illusions to make up for her missing organs."

"Is such a thing even possible?" Gokudera asked.

"You have no idea…" The pompadour wearing man sighs before adding on grimly, "Unfortunately, her current strength is insufficient in completing the illusions. She's just hanging on a thread…"

"Um… then, what happened to Mukuro?" The boss-to-be asked.

"With regards to Mukuro's movements…" He turns to Sasagawa, "I think Sasagawa-san here would know more than us."

"The instructions Mukuro gave to the Varia is pretty one-sided, was what I heard." The ex-boxer tells them, "I trusted the instructions and followed it, but to where and what he is up to, I have no idea myself."

"But, putting Chrome's situation to consideration…" Bianchi grimaced at the possibility, "We must face the fact that the worst has befallen Mukuro."

"T-This can't be…" Tsuna muttered worriedly.

"Hime-sama, that Mukuro bastard is one persistent guy." Her right-hand man assures her, "We don't know if that's for sure yet."

"In any case." Reborn points out, "Chrome wouldn't be able to join the battle in five days time."

"This would hurt…" Sasagawa noted.

"Don't worry." Lal Mirch tells them, "I'll stand in for Chrome."

"There's no way we can count on you for that." The Arcobaleno tells the female soldier, "Right now, you're exhausted just from sitting down."

"What did you say!?" She growled at him.

"Don't force yourself." He added on, "I can tell just from looking at your face. Your body has absorbed too much of the Non-Tri-ni-sette's raditation. It's breaking down, isn't it?"

'Non-Tri-ni-sette…?' Tsuna thought curiously, 'What's that…?'

"Shut up!" Lal shouted angrily, "What do you know!? You came from the past!"

"I do know." He stated firmly, "I have experience enough of the radiation myself. I also know of your recklessness in everything you do."

"But the ones emitting the damn radiation in the first place are the Millefiore!" She stated, her anger spiking with every word, "If we don't take them down, this world would never return to normal!"

"Actually, regarding that…" The plump mechanic, Giannini voices up nervously, "We haven't been able to identify what is causing the Non-Tri-ni-sette contamination above ground. While we think the source is most likely Millefiore, there's no concrete evidence to support that claim."

"NO!" She shouted, "Those people are the ones responsible! I know they are!" The rest are stunned silent by her outburst as she carries on, "For Colonello, Viper, Skull, those people killed them all!"

She suddenly grunts and fell off her chair, collapsing on the floor while her body shivers profusely.

"Lal Mirch!" Bianchi got off her chair and rushes to the injured woman's convulsing body with Kusakabe in tow. When they try to help her out, she lashes out at them angrily.

Tsuna at some point has gotten up from her chair to help her, but is stood frozen at how much the female soldier is pushing herself. She knew the situation with her is bad, but she never thought it would be this bad.

"Sawada, there's only five more days." Sasagawa walks up to her and tells her, "With all our fighting power in such terrible condition, I can guess what you're going to say. I will get convey the message to the top to cease battle operations."

"I'm fine!" Lal tells them, "It's only anaemia!"

"Don't strain yourself." He tells her.

"I…" The brunette is once against lost on what to do. She wasn't sure if they would be able to make it in time for the operation. And with both Chrome and Lal at such dire states, they wouldn't be able to participate in it at all. But… if they don't do this… 'What should I do…? What should I…?'

"[Listen to your own soul, and you'll know the answer.]"

Everyone stopped what they are doing, as Kusakabe spoke those words out loud.

"Kusakabe…-san…?"

"Those are the words that Motoyama told me to tell you if you are ever panicking over a tough decision." He tells her, "In his words, 'Tsuna has a habit of always doubting herself and overthink the situation on a huge negative light. If she ever come to a point that she has to make such a decision and can't, tell her this for me.' From what I've heard; he always tells you that whenever such a thing happens."

"Motoyama-san did…?" She ponders over the words, before taking a deep breath and placing her hands over her heart, 'My soul… my heart…? I should listen to my heart? Then… I…' Her mind already knew what it has said, she knew all along but was too stressed to hear it.

"Let's do it." She stated firmly, getting everyone's attention, "If we go to the enemy's hideout, we may be able to return to the past. But, it's not just that. I think we'd be able to get a lead on Mukuro as well. And, we might be able to understand what this Non-Tri-ni-sette thing is all about. But, I feel that if we take our time with either, we may already be too late."

"Besides, I feel like…" She clenched her fists, "I… don't want to prolong the current state of affairs any longer. For all our friends in Namimori, of course. And for Chrome… and Lal Mirch… Things are not supposed to be like that at all!" She then looked around at everyone faces, and felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment, "U-Um, t-that's just what I feel, I mean…"

"Spoken like a true boss, Sawada!" Sasagawa stated with a grin.

"…Or a brat." Lal huffed before a small smile creeps on her face.

"I-In any case…" She puts on her mittens and swallowed a Dying Will pill, entering her Hyper Dying Will mode and head towards the door, "We have only five days left. Don't waste even a moment on it."

"Yes, ma'am!/Of course." Her two Guardians and closest friends responded with passion, as they follow her out to carry on their training with absolute earnest.

Reborn turns to Kasukabe, "Did Motoyama really told you to say that?"

"He did." The pompadour man nodded, "After all, he is the closest to the Tenth than anyone else."

To be continued…

Hey, hey, hey! This story is not DEAD!

Yeah, sorry for the long hiatus. Read a few fanfics, busy with the whole RWBY fic before dropping it as I went a little too far in it with plans on rewriting in the far future, then start up some new fics with various results.

To be honest, I was ready to just let this drop into discontinuity, wasn't sure if I want to continue writing this.

But then, after seeing that this story still gets a follow despite its lack of updates, and after a bit of thinking over the matter a bit, I decided, why not? I'll start this up again.

Just expect very little updates from time to time.

I'll be mostly focusing on my newer fics, like my One Piece and BNHA ones. (Which you should all check out, if you are interested. They are Dragon Swordswoman(MAN, Damnit!) and Fastest Hero Academia), so this will just update whenever I can.

With that, I thank you all, especially to those who is still reading this after my long hiatus, for reading this!