Chapter 5 - Minus State

'No turning back now.' Tsuna looked at the recovering Hob Kobold. 'You know, that thing looks kinda scary up close.'

He chipped off some of its health, but not by much. Spanner had told him back in the future about his combat data. Tsuna's strikes averages around 8,200FV without fully coating them with his flames.

That meant this boss was, on paper, stronger than the Strau Mosca he faced in the future. Of course, Tsuna doesn't know exactly how much stronger he's gotten since then.

But he made sure not to break his ring.

He heard the hooded player yell at him. "You're under equipped, stand back!"

The player sounded like a girl.

Tsuna, however, ignored her advice and stood in between her and the boss. The brunette knew this was going to be a tough battle, but seeing the player fight with her everything earlier ignited something within the young Vongola.

He was reminded what true Dying Will was.

And, as Reborn put it, when it comes to a battle of wills he wouldn't forgive his student losing. He wasn't stupid enough to face an unbeatable fight, but even more so, he wasn't as cold as to leave someone in danger.

But Tsuna, for the first time, was going to fight without any of his Dying Will Modes.

'Yeah, that thing looks terrifying.' His legs were shaking like hell.

The Hob Kobold charged at him, shoulder first. The player was still behind him, there's no way he was going to dodge at this rate.

Slam!

Tsuna was took the full brunt of the hit. He was thrown aside, just like when he faced the area boss. The young vongola was again reminded of another simple fact.

He was inside a videogame.

In more ways than one it was a disadvantage to him. His health bar was already halfway. In the real world, he would've taken such weak attacks head on without so much as a scratch. But now his body was as weak as when Tsuna first fought Mokuro.

This realization would've terrified Tsuna. But this time, he wasn't backing down.

The kobold charged again!

Right before the boss made another pass him, Tsuna shot a short burst of soft sky flames. Careful of not hitting the D-class Ring's threshold, he made a wall of soft sky flames. The flame's harmony characteristic should soften the lighting flame's effect when it impacts him.

Tsuna could do at least this much without his hyper mode. He slightly turned his body aside as the monster hit him, it grazed his shoulder. The monster reeled aside.

The brunette knelt on one knee. He still took some damage from the attack, however, and his body felt every inch of that. He looked at his health, it was already in the red. Tsuna looked around for the player, she was already a few meters away from the boss.

She was looking at him, as well, probably thinking what to do.

If Tsuna doesn't think of his next move, he will surely die.

He was now in a panic.

'Damn it, what am I supposed to do here!?' He racked his head. He had a lot of techniques in his arsenal, none of them he can do without using his Hyper Mode. 'I'm just delaying the inevitable! Not unless I have something up my sleeve…'

What was Reborn thinking!? Tsuna couldn't just turn from his neutral state into Hyper Mode in a flick of his finger. Not even once he-

Then an idea popped over his head.

'What Reborn was thinking...'

No-Good Tsuna doesn't use his head to think. No-Good Tsuna just charges in with nothing to lose, doesn't he?

He remembered Reborn's words during his fight with the King Mosca. Tsuna raised his arms. His D-class ring was on his right index finger; his usual orange flame was lit.

"How could've I forgotten about that?"

Tsuna narrowed his eyes.

Asuna was puzzled by the newcomer. He was rammed directly twice by the Hob Kobold; he should've died just now. But he was standing up, and what's more, after a few seconds of idly looking at his enemy he suddenly muttered.

"How could've I forgotten about that?" What was he thinking at a time like this!? Did he hit his head too hard?

Asuna was sure they're goners now.

The boss charged at them, axe in-hand. The Hob swiped its axe, trying to cut their legs. But Asuna was able to jump to dodge the hit easily.

The other player, however, wasn't as lucky. He was hit, the flames discharged in his body. Before he could move, the boss grabbed his head.

"No—!" Asuna couldn't do anything. She was swiping her rapier at the Hob's back, but it bounced every single time.

'Without my storm flames, my weapon is useless!' She tried all she could, stabbing the Hob, slashing it, hoping to get some damage in.

The boss discharged another of his lightning flames, the player in its grasp. His body was taking a lot of hits. Asuna couldn't see his HP unless they are partied, but she could bet it was already in its last legs. But he was still somehow alive.

Another flame discharge, the boss slammed his face on the ground.

Again. And again.

'I can't take this anymore, he's dying!' The boss lifted the boy up, Asuna saw that he had his eyes closed.

'Oh no—'

The merciless Hob burned his lifeless body with a fierce torrent of lightning flames then slammed it on the ground. Asuna didn't see him move, not even a bit.

She wanted to scream, but before she could the boss turned her way.

Before Tsuna's Vongola Gear, before his Cambio Forma, before he created the X-Burner, before any of his fancy techniques. He relied in his Dying Will. He relied on it so much it was the pivotal point against his battle against another Vongola heir, Xanxus.

Reborn's disappointment was well justified. How could he let his student get carried away with his fancy techniques and his fancy weapons?

Tsuna finally realized that, and a bit late too. If it had been any later, the boss would've killed the player he was protecting.

What Tsuna neglected to remember was the state of Dying Will itself had many variations. He failed to remember because he was too focused about his tasteless moves. The boss did a number on him, he was assaulted with strong lightning flame attacks over and over and as a bonus he was left to die.

It was exactly what Tsuna had wanted.

After all, he was in his Minus State the entire time.

The minus state was the opposite of the Hyper Dying Will. Tsuna was now in the state where he produces not a single spark of flame. The nifty feature of the minus state is upon struck with any flame-based attack his body, being in the negative state, Tsuna would instead absorb the flame in as his own. Tsuna used a similar technique when he battled Xanxus before. He was barraged by strong flames and was able to absorb them.

Tsuna became a sponge for the Hob's relentless attacks. Of course, when he's in Minus State Tsuna passes out. Not from the severity of the attacks he received, but by design. Minus State is the opposite of Hyper Dying Will, after all.

The young vongola hasn't gone into minus state from his neutral state before, it took a considerable amount of concentration. But Tsuna was sure it would let him do as he expected it to.

Was it his hyper intuition at work? He wasn't sure.

But what makes Minus State one of his most valued techniques back then was after taking the flames, he can shoot out from Minus State into Hyper Dying Will Mode without the aid of the Bullet nor the pills. The moment Tsuna was able to reach minus state, it was only a matter of receiving his enemy's flame.

With that, Tsuna opened his eyes.

He felt his head clear up, he wasn't panicking anymore. But what was more important was he felt a very familiar flame ignited by his forehead.

"Sorry for the wait." Tsuna was now in Hyper Mode.

He stood up and faced the Hob Kobold who was about to reach the other player.

"Y-you're alright..." He heard her mutter, her face was flush and her eyes were close to tears.

"I must've looked even more pathetic than I expected." He frowned. "Sorry you had to see that."

One of the reasons Tsuna didn't use the Minus State as much lately was because he had been facing more powerful foes. His body might absorb the flames, but he also takes in the brunt of the attacks. With the level of byakuran and the vindice, there was no room for Tsuna to use such a risky technique. Any more powerful flames hit before he could go back to Hyper Mode, he would die.

It's because of such a reason he developed the Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised instead.

In turn, Tsuna had all but forgotten about it.

He dusted himself off then took a good look at his ring. It didn't look like it had taken a toll from his reckless plan. He looked at his health bar, it was still in the red. It didn't heal him, unlike in the real world? Interesting.

But there were more pressing things that needed Tsuna's attention.

"Alright, blockhead." He looked at the Hob Kobold. "I'm your opponent."

The newcomer looked like he the beating he was given earlier never happened!

Asuna was looking at the teen in disbelief. He looked in top shape, no, he looked like he was in better condition than when he entered the battle a couple of minutes ago. His body was still bruised up and everything, but the way he stood, the way his eyes locked to the boss with utter focus.

She couldn't believe her eyes.

He taunted the boss. "Alright, Blockhead. I'm your opponent."

The boss, upon hearing this, turned back towards the teen. The boss initiated its charge attack, the same one he did earlier. Before she could speak, the newcomer stepped aside just when the Hob was a few feet in front of him.

He then crouched down and swiped the boss' legs from underneath it with his kick. It was a textbook attack, but one she didn't expect from the newcomer. Up until earlier he was completely unreliable and paranoid.

Now, he was a completely different entity.

"Was that it?"

He waved at the boss to come towards him. The Hob was completely angry at the teen, it charged towards him. Its axe completely raised up, as if to strike the boy when it got closer.

Asuna couldn't keep track of his movements, he was moving in a pattern she couldn't figure out.

"You let your ring get destroyed, am I right?" The boy suddenly appeared beside her. Asuna resisted her urge to jump out in surprise, and instead nodded calmly.

"Figured as much. Take this." He dropped an item from his inventory, he held it in between his fingers.

"This one's a D-class ring." He looked at her.

Asuna couldn't concentrate on what he was saying, she was completely enamored by his amber eyes. It was gleaming, it had the same color as his flames on his forehead.

She nodded at his words, he sounded so familiar. But instead of idly figuring it out she wore the ring he gave and lit her storm flame rapier.

"That's one strong flame you've got." He was looking at her, straight at her eyes.

"A-ah, yeah. T-thanks." Asuna barely stuttered in her entire life, but somehow this newcomer completely caught her off-guard.

He didn't sound like he was trying to flatter her. His eyes were half-lidded. His voice was almost monotone. Despite that, she felt the sincerity when he told her.

"Don't worry though," He patted her head, then looked at the boss. "I'll take care of that guy."

He walked towards the Hob, who just noticed the teen wasn't in front of it anymore. The boss turned and saw the amber eyed teen walking slowly towards it. The Kobold, in response, raised its axe.

"That axe of yours, is that all you're good for?" He asked rhetorically.

The teen charged at the boss. The hob swung its axe and slammed it into the ground, in hopes to destroy him. But the teen had already dodged the attack. Asuna couldn't see him dodge.

Where was he? Behind the boss?

"Over here." He was directly overhead, leaning on one leg by the boss shoulder. "Let me pay you back in full."

He released a torrent of light orange flames from his body. The bright flash forced Asuna to close her eyes, she could feel the heat from where she was. When the flames subsided she had taken a look, the boss had its arm turned into stone!

The Hob dropped its axe, with one hand it couldn't hold the huge weapon. The teen stood up and jumped in front of the Hob but the monster tried to punch him with its free hand. The player kicked its arm before it could land the hit, propelling the player up.

He was able to land on his feet. He reached for the axe, picked it up and put it over his shoulder. The young man gripped the humongous axe, a dark-orange flame enveloped the weapon. He unceremoniously slammed it over the monster's petrified shoulder, cutting its stone arm completely.

Asuna was flabbergasted.

She was still thinking about the flame the teen had shot up earlier. It finally dawned on her, the teen was the one she was looking for. This was the individual that challenged Kayaba!

"Still not done?" She heard him say.

The boss was now furious. It crouched down and charged itself, a large amount of lightning flames shot up from the Hob.

"This is getting old." The teen stepped back, pacing closer to Asuna.

The Hob roared and rammed itself towards them. The teen, in response, stood in front of her. He was ready to take another hit!

"No... dodge..." Asuna was breathing heavily, she couldn't let him get killed for her sake.

"I won't—" He said without turning to her. "I won't forgive myself if I do that."

He took the hit!

But this time it was different. The Hob stopped in its tracks. She couldn't believe her eyes. How did he stop it?

But she was left to wonder another thing, because when the teen stepped aside she saw the entire Hob frozen solid. She then saw its health; it was still about a quarter left but it was rapidly going down till it reached zero.

The field boss disappeared in a pile of polygons.

The teen dusted himself off without ceremony. Asuna could hear the young man talk to himself.

"I guess that's that, it's a wonder how it took me a while to figure that one out." He closed his eyes and scratched his cheek. "I really am no good at thinking things through."

'He seemed more casual than he let on back at the town.' Asuna was looking at him.

The teen spotted her, he casually walked in front of her. She in response, didn't know what to do. Here was the person she was looking for the past few hours, in the flesh. She didn't have to reach the labyrinth to catch up to him.

Suddenly, all of the fatigue accumulated from her day's worth of fighting finally caught up to her.

Asuna went unconscious.

It looked like the other player's guard let up, noticing the battle was over. Not a second later she fainted in front of Tsuna. The young vongola caught her in time and instinctively put two of his fingers over her neck.

'There's no pulse?' But then the thought came through the young man's head. 'If she was dead, she would've disappeared.'

Tsuna was still new at this. All those real life battles experiences were slowly becoming a liability to him. During the battle earlier he couldn't figure out the boss' condition, if it was dying or not. Not until he was reminded of the HP bar floating over its head.

'This isn't the real world.' He needed to keep reminding himself.

"That was quite the show."

Tsuna was snapped out of his own thoughts. He carried the unconscious player and moved into one of the large trees, he leaned his back against it. Whoever that was, they were able to conceal their presence perfectly.

"Please do not be alarmed." A figure materialized in front of the young vongola.

It was a man in his late twenties. He was wearing a white shirt, a simple tie hung around his neck and a lab coat was covering on top of the ensemble. His hair was grey, but his face was young as they came.

Tsuna felt uneasy, the same feeling he felt on the town of beginnings.

"Kayaba." He snarled.

Author's Note:

That makes two of us, Yuuki. I also get nit picky about the lore, especially when it just gets thrown out the window. That being said, I might go and bend the lore about the flames a bit somewhere down the line. Using minus state in this chapter in one of those times. Tsuna never went to minus state from neutral in the series, but I could see a technique like that being possible.

It still beats just using 'I'm angry!' to pop him into hyper mode like in the end of the future arc though. (Thinking about it now, I used it as well in the first chapter, didn't I? Yikes.)