Warning: Language, OOCs, violence, implied yaoi (don't mind it though, non-yaoi-lovers. It's only to make me feel better because I can barely write a fic without yaoi :P) and character deaths.

Disclaimer: Titles rights to Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Final Fantasy VII, and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children do NOT belong to me… *sniff*

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Somewhere in Italy, in a tall and nearly destroyed building that was once a grand headquarters to a fearsome mafia family, three figures trudged through the wreckage and rubble that was left behind after years of harsh weather and time. Through the ruins, one thing was for certain; the building wasn't going to be used as a headquarters again any time soon.

The group of three had split up to cover more ground once they had infiltrated the building. Ken, a tall and animalistic-looking blond male wearing a dark-green suit, reminiscent of his middle school uniform, had been given the uppermost floors to poke through while his companions took the lower floors. But in all honesty, Ken would've liked to trudge through the basement instead of high up in the boring-looking offices of the upper floors (even after years of aging, they still looked boring). He hated heights, but he would never admit such a "weakness."

"Pleh," said the spiky-haired blond as he idly kicked a desk, watching it crumble into a pile of wood and dust. "There's nothing here…" Ken paused for a bit before he pressed a button on the comlink that hung from his right ear and spoke into it. "Oi, what are we looking for again?"

There was an exasperated sigh from one of the lines, and then a drawling voice deadpanned, "Anything that looks important. But knowing you, you wouldn't know important if it bit you in the ass."

A vein snapped in Ken's temple. "What if I bite you in the ass with my wolf fangs?!" he practically screamed through the comlink.

"Ew. You make it sound so perverted Ken-senpai."

Ken growled through his teeth, the lines of ivory grinding together in annoyance, but before he could retort with any intelligent sentence, another voice rang through the comlink, female this time.

"You two shouldn't be bickering," Chrome's soft voice drifted through the static. "If he learns that you two were distracted on a mission, he'll be very displeased."

"Don't tell me what to do woman!" Ken snarled, but he let the silence press against his ears once again as he left the current office he was standing in and entered another one.

God, how many offices does this building hold? Do mafia families really need this many? What do they do in here anyway?

As Ken threw yellowing papers from the file cabinets over his shoulder, Fran's drawling voice crackled through the comlink once again.

"Oi Ken-senpai, Chrome-san, I think I found something," he said.

"Where are you?" Chrome answered before Ken could say anything… again.

"I'm at the fifth basement. You?"

"I'm at the third, I'll be right there."

Ken's eye twitched. They were both in the basements?! Then why the hell did they tell him to check the upper – oh. Of course, they wanted to get rid of him. How nice.

Not.

"I'll show them to drop me in boring offices that has no information worth shit," Ken growled as he briskly walked down the aged hallways towards the hole he had made in the floor. It served as his entrance into each floor, since the elevators didn't work (duh) and the stairs were blocked with debris.

Moments later, Ken landed on the ground floor of the building and he was about to descend to the basements when something wrong sounded through the comlink.

"Are? Who're you?" Fran said.

If there was an answer, Ken didn't hear it for the sounds of gunshots suddenly rang through the communications line. There was then an explosion that caused the ground to shake and resulted in Ken painfully falling on his ass. The sounds of pained grunts, shouts, and the crumbling of aged structures mixed in with the static of the comlink, explosions, gunshots, and what seemed like the clanking of metal against metal, were the definite signs of a harsh battle going on.

"Oi! Fran! Chrome! What the hell is going on down there?!" Ken yelled through his comlink, frantically pressing it further into his ear in a desperate attempt to discern any reply through the mixed noises.

"Shit!" was what he heard from Fran followed by Chrome's deafening scream.

"Fran! Chrome!"

Ken scrambled to his feet and dashed towards the hole that was made to get to the lower floors. But before he could descend, an explosion of dust burst through the opening and enveloped Ken, preventing him from seeing anything through the thickness of it all.

But he could still hear through his comlink.

"K-Ken," said Chrome's weak voice. There was a wet cough and Ken felt a clenching in his chest when he imagined the purple-haired girl coughing up blood. "G-Go… Get out. Get out now…"

Feeling the clenching in his chest grow, Ken spun around without another word and sped out of the building, leaving his friends behind and swearing to God that he will avenge them…

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

It has been five years since then. Five long years since the greatest tragedy on Earth happened. It was unexpected; a surprise attack on the world and in this time period, this universe. It couldn't have been timed more perfectly then that.

Every force in the world fought against him and his army. Every nation on Earth united and tried to bring him down. Even the mafia families who have for so long lived in the shadows of the underground world fought for their freedom, especially since the man was aiming particularly for them. But for a while, it was a futile fight. After all, they were too advanced. They had technology that would not be discovered for another ten years or so. His strategy was a work of carefully planned genius.

And yet, they didn't lose hope. Even with the loss of loved ones and allies, they still fought. They knew that they still had good men on their side, smart men as well, and they found a way to take the technology of the future and make it the technology of the present. They used their opponent's strength against them, made stronger by their spirit and righteousness.

In time, they were able to defeat him… He was able to defeat the enemy.

But still, victory came with a price. The world was never the same since then. Cities had been destroyed, governments run down, spirits, hopes, and dreams were crushed. Mankind had been backed into a corner, into a place where survival of the fittest fully surfaced and where desperate times called for desperate measures. Morals were replaced, laws were made invalid, and humanity may never revert back to its old state.

At least there was peace. But somehow, this kind of peace only seemed like an illusion.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Namimori used to be a quaint town in Japan and practically the center of mafia actions regarding the most powerful mafia family there ever lived. But due to the evil intentions of the enemy, Namimori had been close to the brink of destruction; but due to another's interference, the city had been saved and Namimori's citizens were able to make the city flourish even more then before.

Most of the other cities in Japan had been turned to rubble (Tokyo had been completely destroyed), but Namimori was and is one of the few that still stands strong. People from all over migrated to the city to start life anew and before one could even see it coming, the city grew to a size rivaling the other big cities of the world. Though it wasn't easy on the eyes since most of the livable buildings were made from recycled steel girders, tarps, and wood, it was still home to the thousands living there.

In downtown Namimori, nestled in a neighborhood of three to four story buildings, sat a simple little bar and restaurant named Seven Guardians which also provided delivery services and the building itself doubled as a house. A young girl, who looked about eighteen, stood behind the counter of the bar, washing some of the glasses that had been previously used. She was a pretty girl with dark hair that ran to her midback and was tied up into a ponytail. Her eyes were a deep brown and had a slightly apathetic expression to it, but she was a kind-looking teen, though her black leather attire said otherwise.

As she was drying the glasses, the ringing of the phone disturbed the silence of the house. Niji glanced upwards, then sighed through her nose and just continued with the dishes.

"I don't know why you keep on calling when you know he's never here," she mumbled as she set aside dishes onto the drying rack.

But still, the phone kept on ringing, even after a good two minutes of being ignored. Glancing upwards again, Niji admitted defeat (and thought that the caller must have something extremely important to say to be this persistent) and she dried her hands on a hand towel before she strode to the stairs that led to the upper floors of the house slash restaurant.

Niji stopped at the second floor landing and looked beyond. On the third floor were the bedrooms and one of the doors were open, revealing a ten-year-old girl with her black hair in braided pigtails and wearing red Chinese robes, sitting next to a bed that held another ten-year-old, a little boy this time with curly black hair, who had just woken up from one of his attacks.

The little boy, Lambo, lolled his head to the side, causing the white cloth on his head to fall onto the covers of the bed.

"I-Pin… how does it look?" Lambo asked in a tired and slightly raspy voice, reaching up to gingerly touch the black orchid-shaped blemishes that covered most of his forehead.

The little girl, I-Pin, allowed worry to shine in her eyes before she smiled at her friend and took the cloth to wet it again in the bowl of water sitting on the side table.

Niji's lips tightened when she heard Lambo wearily ask, "Tsuna, where are you?" as I-Pin placed the damp cloth on his forehead again. But before she can go up to check on the kids, the ringing phone caught her attention once more and she turned to her left, striding into the room that she had converted into a home office. Sighing a bit, the dark-haired girl removed the sleek phone from its perch before placing it onto her ear.

"Sawada Delivery Service," she began in her business voice. "You name it, we deli-," She was cut off by the voice on the other end of the line. "May I ask who is calling?" There was a minute pause in which Niji listened and a second later, a smile graced her lips. "Yeah, I remember you."

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Emotive Gothika presents…

He leaned against his large black motorbike, listening to the voice mail on his cellphone. His towering crown of naturally spiky brown hair, that had been left to grow past his shoulders, moved with the wind that blew across the top of the cliff. Dust and dirt swirled and danced around his feet as did his hair, his long bangs brushing over his downcast eyes that seemed to have long ago lost its luster.

"You got a call from Ken. He says that they have some important information for you. They're over in Kokuyo, you know the place. Tsuna-san… how have you been?"

Katekyo Hitman Reborn: Advent Children

The programmed mechanical female voice of his cellphone indicated that he had no more messages. With that, Tsuna pocketed his mobile and pushed himself away from his bike. He then walked over to a rusted sword that been planted into the ground as a makeshift grave marker. All the names of those he had lost in the battle five years ago, all his friends, allies, and loved ones he had lost to that man, were inscribed onto the rusted blade, marking their valiant efforts to fight for their freedom.

The sword itself belonged to the self-proclaimed Sword Emperor, who was one of the last to stand up to that man.

Plot Design:

Emotive Gothika

Tetsuya Nomura

Amano Akira

Bowing his head in respect, Tsuna murmured, "Itte kimasu," before turning back to his bike and mounting it, the hem of his black, faux fur-lined coat fluttering in the wind. He put on the pair of goggles that he previously wore around his neck and was just about to rev the engine of the bike when pain shot up through his left arm.

Tsuna winced, but as fast as the pain came it left, leaving only a slight numbness in his limb. Flexing his hand a bit to make sure nothing else was wrong with it, Tsuna sighed and leaned forward to grasp the handles of the bike, revving up the engine and accelerating into the barren wasteland that was miles from where he was heading.

Background Story: Amano Akira

Not long after Tsuna had left the top of the cliff, three more bikes crawled up to the edge, wishing to make use of the view it provided. The center bike smacked into the sword that was embedded into the ground and a heeled boot kicked it out of view, the owner having no respect for the dead at all.

Character Designs:

Amano Akira

Emotive Gothika

The one who sat on the bike to the right was a male with spiky teal-colored hair and arrogant-looking sapphire eyes. He wore a short blue vest with black lining the hem, showing off a muscular torso that was wrapped in bandages. Navy blue pants with long rips placed across the legs adorned his lower body and to top off his look was a pair of black combat boots to protect his feet and black arm guards held in place across his forearms. The man sat back on his bike, crossing his arms upon his chest and smirking cockily at the view before him.

Sitting on the bike to the left was a much more stoic-looking man with long crimson hair and ruby red eyes. He wore a long red coat that was slightly ragged at the hem and had many buckles decorating the sleeves and torso, matching his red pants which were in a much better condition then his male companion's. Beneath his coat he wore a tight black shirt with a v-shaped collar that dipped low to reveal a well muscled chest and his arms, with hands that were covered with black leather gloves, hung limply at his sides as he stared out over the barren land.

Sitting in between the two males was the only female. She wore a sleeveless white blouse lined with orange and that revealed a generous amount of her stomach. On her arms she wore separate sleeves contrasting her blouse in color and hugging her hips were orange short shorts, showing off a lot of leg, though the show stopped right below her knees where a pair of white heeled-boots adorned her shins and feet. From her cranium grew long tresses of silky orange hair, decorated with a couple of small braided tails, and stopping just below her shoulders. Narrow golden eyes scanned the miles of land before her and they sparkled with mirth as a pink tongue darted out to wet two thin lips.

"Hey Oozora, do you really think Father's with him?" asked the crimson-haired man as he glanced sideways at the orange-haired woman named Oozora.

"Maybe, maybe not," said Oozora, her voice calm and even, though a look of pent up excitement danced in her golden orbs. "I can't be so sure."

On Oozora's left, the teal-haired man gave his male companion a lopsided grin. "Heh, you're starting to sound desperate Arashi," he said, blue eyes gleaming in the light.

The red-clothed man, Arashi, looked over at his companion. "Considering how long we have waited for this opportune moment to strike, I am starting to feel a little bit impatient, Ame." His tone of voice said that he was hinting something.

The man named Ame allowed his grin to grow wider. "Well, why don't you and I go find a nice place to-"

"Enough," Oozora interrupted with an annoyed growl. "Now is not the time for you two to flirt and I already have enough nightmares as it is without hearing the two of you moaning and banging the bed against the wall late at night."

Hints of red appeared on both man's cheeks at Oozora's revelation on knowing the kind of relationship that the two really had. And they thought she was as innocent as she looked… more or less.

After a minute or so of surveying their surroundings, Oozora smirked and gestured with her head towards a direction.

"Look, there he is," she said with a hint of amusement.

The two males looked down and spotted a mass of black shooting across the rocky terrain below. All three companions smirked at each other in delight and both Arashi and Ame leaned forward to rev up the engines of their bikes before shooting down the side of the sloping cliff, leaving Oozora behind to observe the battle from above.

Down below, Tsuna's hyper intuition told him that something was going to happen. And true to his ever-trusty intuition, he looked around and saw two bikes jump out of nowhere to trail behind him.

The two bikes drove side-by-side, their riders smirking in anticipation at the thought of a battle. Almost simultaneously, the unknown men raised their right fists, both hands adorned with a silver ring on their middle fingers, and the jewels that decorated it burst into flames, one red and the other blue. They then brought their rings down to their waists, where they both had black boxes hooked onto their belts, and jewels met box, causing the cubes to open and spew out a horde of grotesque black monsters; fanged, clawed, running on all fours and emitting red or blue flames from their bodies.

Tsuna's eyes widened at the sight of the unique-looking box animals (if they could be called animals). He had seen those types of boxes before and even had a few of them himself. They could be opened with any flame type, but only released one kind of animal, though these black monsters were something new to the Vongola heir.

Acting quickly, Tsuna raised his own fist and ignited his Vongola Sky ring with his orange flame. He connected the flame to the opening of a pale orange box that was clipped onto his belt and in a burst of orange his hands now adorned his X-Gloves, Version Vongola Ring. Tsuna repeated the process with another pale orange box on his belt and another blast of orange brought out a broadsword with an orange hilt and guard, a weapon that the brunet had received not more then five years ago and appropriately named Cielo Spada, the name vertically inscribed on one side of the blade while Vongola was etched on the opposite side.

Tightly gripping Cielo in one hand, he swung it around just in time to slice through a monster that pounced at him. It disappeared in a burst of red flames, but more came his way. He spun his bike around, slicing through monster after monster, and as another one disappeared into the air, the teal-haired man caught up alongside him.

"Where's Father?!" Ame cried with a smirk as he opened a blue box, which also hung from his belt, with his ring.

The box spewed out a pair of bladed steel knuckles for the man, slipping onto his hands in the blink of an eye, and before Tsuna could give him a reply, the blunet aimed a punch at him, very nearly slicing him with the Rain flame emitting blade. Fortunately, Tsuna was able to swerve out of the way, his bike spinning around once or twice, but unfortunately, the redhead had also released his own box weapon, a crimson pistol with a longer-and-thicker-then-average barrel, from a red box that sat next to his black one.

Gunshots of Storm flames shot past Tsuna's head and the brunet cringed a bit for the shots were so close that he could actually feel the heat it gave off

Drawing alongside Tsuna as well, Arashi ceased his fire for a moment to say, "We know you hid him," before he once more began shooting at the Mafioso.

Tsuna was able to block most of the gunshots with Cielo until he found a chance to swing at the redhead, forcing him away. But after, he narrowly avoided being run over by a monster that charged at him from the front, causing him to bring his bike around in circles to avoid the horde of black box monsters that followed him. He frantically looked around to find a way to escape the clutches of his multiple enemies, but seeing that he had to face monsters that were crawling all over him as well as two unknown assailants who popped out of nowhere and were successfully keeping him on his toes, such luck wouldn't occur anytime soon.

Meanwhile, up above on the cliff that overlooked the on-going motorbike battle, Oozora leaned against her own bike as she spoke into her cellular phone.

"I don't think this boy has Father," she chuckled into the phone. "You know what I think? I think you guys actually have him and are just toying around with me." Oozora paused, listening to the voice on the other end of the line. Her eyes closed and she smiled a fox-like smile as she laughed, "I see no reason to shout." She then opened her eyes, expression getting serious and her tone of voice became considerably dangerous. "Give the phone to the Guardian. I don't want to talk to the likes of you."

Back down below, Tsuna swung his sword around to cut through another one of the black monsters that launched itself towards the brunet out of nowhere. More monsters pounced at the Mafioso, who easily fended them off as he swung his bike around to avoid another wave of monsters that advanced at him from all sides. Arashi was catching up behind him, shooting at his exposed back and thankfully missing. Up ahead, Ame grasped the opportunity to catch the brunet off guard. He slid his bike sideways, intending to crash into Tsuna's bike, but the brunet's hyper intuition was useful and he quickly pulled the front of the bike upwards. Instead of colliding with the teal-haired man, his bike merely bounced over the other man's and once it landed, he pulled it around to face his assailant.

Smirking with glee, the blunet raised a blade-adorned fist before spinning his own vehicle around to face Tsuna. Their bikes went head-to-head and the older man spun his bike around at the last minute, lining up the two-wheeled vehicles beside each other. Tsuna raised Cielo and struck the blunet's raised blade with a clang, but not a second later, a sharp pain shot up his left arm once again.

Tsuna hissed and gritted his teeth as his whole arm twitched. But even through the tiny haze of pain that crept into his mind, the Vongola heir had enough energy to swing at his opponent, albeit a bit weaker.

Seeing that his opponent had grown sluggish, Ame easily blocked the blade that was aimed for his head and with a flick of his wrist he flung the sword out of Tsuna's grasp, sending it flying over a couple of tall rock formations into the distance and out of sight. Surprised at being disarmed, Tsuna looked ahead and spotted the other bike with Arashi seated upon it, coming straight at him. Right before they were to collide, the redhead hit the brakes on the front wheel of his bike, causing it to flip over the brunet's own transportation. Tsuna gaped at the man who was currently upside down above him, but the red man only gave him a smirk before he raised his pistol, aiming it point blank at the brunet's head, and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot rang in Tsuna's ears, a distinctly familiar sound that brought fleeting memories to his mind, but through some miraculous twist of fate, the shot only snapped his head backwards as it made contact with his goggles, scraping his left eyebrow and causing the broken piece of eyewear to twist away.

Arashi landed right behind the two and Ame pulled his bike away, smirking at the dazed brunet. Tsuna slightly shook his head and looked up in time to see more black monsters pop up out of nowhere, all with the same orders to pursue the sluggish and weaponless brunet, who desperately tried to outrun them. The summoners of the monsters watched sadistically from behind them, the red man nodding his head and indicating that they should finish it.

With that, the monsters swarmed around Tsuna, leaping towards him and bearing their fangs and claws. Tsuna only gritted his teeth before raising his hands, intending on using his most powerful attack which was always his last resort.

A single hand rose into the air, signaling a stop to the battle.

Even in mid-leap and about to tear the brunet man into shreds, the monsters dissipated into Storm and Rain flames and gathered together to return to the black boxes from whence they came. Tsuna felt shock, confusion, and even relief flood his being as his two assailants spun their bikes around, after giving the brunet a sneer, and drove in the opposite direction in retreat. Brown eyes that were previously hidden by tinted goggles looked around before they spotted a third biker atop the cliff he was on moments earlier.

Tsuna slowed his bike to a stop before he straightened himself up and slightly squinted to try and get a better look at the third biker. The orange woman only gave the young brunet a seemingly kind and friendly smile before she too started her bike and drove off, out of sight.

That only left Tsuna alone in the desert, seated upon his motorbike, surrounded by rock and dust, and wondering what the hell had just happened.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

After recovering Cielo and making sure that his scratch wasn't anything to worry about, Tsuna made his way towards Kokuyo which was not far from Namimori. Like the aforementioned city, Kokuyo was near destruction in the battles five years ago but in the span of that time, it had flourished into a crowded town where it served as a checkpoint for travelers who were on their way to Namimori or beyond. Tsuna had been shooting towards the town at full throttle, but he was forced to slow to a crawl upon arriving, since the place was teeming with travelers and locals who regarded him with vague interest.

"Juudaime! It's me, Gokudera! I just wanted to check up on you and see how you're doing! I hope you're eating well and get enough sleep at night. Oh, I might be coming around to Namimori soon, so tell the stupid cow and I-Pin that I brought sweets for them, 'kay?"

The brunet reached the former Kokuyo Center and burst through the gate, driving up the slope that was formerly stairs. The former recreation center had been converted to a place in which humans could actually call home and was also the headquarters of sorts by one of Tsuna's aloof Guardians. It had been previously set apart from the main town, but now that that had expanded, the large manor (as a certain Guardian had insisted on calling it) now had several neighbors, though none of them ever tried to be friendly with the supposed owner of the place.

"Ken called again. He says that you should hurry, but he sounded kind of strange. Tsuna-san, be careful, okay?"

With the roaring of its engine abruptly shutting off and allowing the silence of the outskirts of the town press against his ears, Tsuna parked his bike right outside the main building and dismounted it. Childhood memories immediately began flooding into the brunet's mind, but he pushed them away as he briskly walked inside. Following his hyper intuition, Tsuna was drawn towards a room in which he could sense a familiar aura sitting inside. He then released Cielo from its box and grasped it tightly in his hand before he pushed the door open with notable force.

The brunet raised his weapon not a second later and that was met with the side of a sharp, glistening dagger that elicited sparks as it made contact with Tsuna's blade.

Ken staggered backwards, a grimace on his features, before he shot forward with a yell, raising his dagger and intending to stab the brunet full of holes. But Tsuna wasn't the clumsy teen he was before and he easily side-stepped the blond, tripping him and causing him to stagger out of the open door. Ken quickly tried to make it back inside, but he was met with a door slamming in his face.

"Tch, okay, so you're good," Ken's muffled voice called through and it only served as a reminder for Tsuna to lock the door.

The Vongola heir surveyed the foyer before him. Tinted windows lined the opposite wall and there was a couch on one side right next to a small TV that sat upon a small stand. On that same side was a door as well and this opened to allow a slouching, bespectacled young man wearing a signature white beanie to walk through. He looked at Tsuna with bored-looking purple eyes, his gaze calculating behind his glasses, and Tsuna met that gaze with apathy, grip tightening on the hilt of his sword.

"Go get him Kaki-pii!" Ken cried from outside.

Chikusa removed both his hands from his pockets, a pair of red yo-yos in his grasp, and he moved to attack. But Tsuna was much quicker and he shot forward, raising Cielo's sharp point to Chikusa's throat before the latter could even execute his move.

The older man raised his chin and made a noise in his throat, straightening his back a bit as if admitting defeat, and then a third voice drifted into the room.

"Oya, just as I expected from you, Vongola Decimo."

The owner of the voice wheeled himself into the room, the gears of the mechanical wheelchair whirring in the silence. An indigo robe was wrapped around the figure, the hood only allowing the lower half of a grinning face to show. The upper half was concealed by the hood and shadow.

"Mukuro," said Tsuna, his voice less high-pitched then it used to be. "I see you have given up on your usual dramatic entrances."

"Kufufu, when you're in my condition Vongola, you can barely do anything at all."

The two stared each other down and a feeling of pity pierced Tsuna's heart, but he was able to keep it from showing on his face. Though Mukuro had harassed him many times in the past, Tsuna had always seen him as part of the family no matter how terrified he was of the Mist Guardian… emphasis on was.

"That day, five years ago, that bastard really made a mess of me."

"What are you really going to tell me?"

"And just when he's out of the picture, I get cursed with a disease. Ironic, is it not?"

"Don't beat around the bush, Mukuro."

Said man chuckled. "Oya, someone's become stingy over the years. Don't you want to have a little chat with an old friend first?"

"In all honesty, your monologues never interested me. So if you don't get to the point, I'll just take my leave."

Mukuro's lips tightened as Tsuna made to turn around. "Tsunayoshi," he said and the brunet stopped, turning to face his Mist Guardian once more. It was rare for the purple-haired man to call the younger brunet by his actual name. And by his whole first name no less. "After most of the damage that man induced was cleaned up, I took it upon myself to do a little investigating about him and his group."

"Why?"

"I wanted to know more about the bastard who nearly destroyed this world of course."

"And that's what you've been doing for the past five years?"

"Kufufu, in between some jobs as well. Haven't you heard of my new business?"

Tsuna frowned slightly. He had heard that Mukuro offered many types of services, from deliveries to escorts to bodyguards and even assassination. They were now mercenaries who would do anything for money and survive in a backwater world.

"Anyway," Mukuro pressed on, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the armrest of his wheelchair. "For a while my subordinates and I haven't found anything of use. But just a few weeks ago, I sent them to look into the ruins of the enemy's former base in the home country. What do you think we found there?"

Mukuro paused, as if waiting for Tsuna's "What?" but the brunet kept silent until the illusionist spoke again.

"Nothing. Nothing at all, so you can relax." Mukuro sat back in his wheelchair as he continued. "But not everything went according to plan. Someone attacked my subordinates in the midst of their investigation, probably the same people who attacked you earlier; Oozora and her two lackeys."

"Oozora?" Tsuna inquired.

"Yes," Mukuro said with an idle nod. "It seems that they were members of that bastard's group before, but they haven't surfaced until his defeat. They weren't of much threat in the past five years, but now they're making their move. But for what reason, we don't know."

"So what does that have to do with me?"

"You're our buddy aren't you?" Ken's sarcastic voice carried through the door once more and Tsuna kicked the door to shut him up.

"Oozora's group is as violent as they come, not to mention that we haven't experienced any tough battles lately and considering how easily they have kidnapped my two subordinates, it's safe to presume that they are more experienced and battle-ready then us." Mukuro then smirked. "I just thought that you ought to know what's going on in the mafia world. You're the tenth heir to the Vongola line aren't you? You should know what's happening and be prepared for what's to come."

Tsuna suppressed the urge to snort. "The mafia does not exist anymore nor am I a part of it. I'm just a delivery boy now."

The brunet then turned and unlocked the door behind him, ready to take his leave, but he paused as one last question flitted through his mind.

"… What were talking about… when they accused me of having 'Father'?" he asked.

Mukuro did his signature chuckle. "Kufufu, oya, did they say something to you? You shouldn't mind them. Despite their age they think rather much like children, desperate to find a parental to grasp and cling onto. But I guess that's what the world becomes after a great tragedy. Survival is our dominating instinct after all." Mukuro paused and lifted his chin expectedly. "No matter what happens, Tsuna, the mafia will always exist and you will always be a part of it. You can't run away from that fact and sooner or later, you're going to have to face what's coming, like back then."

Tsuna turned away from the door, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. "I…"

Ken then spoke up through the open door. "C'mon Vongola, you can rebuild your empire and be the head of the most powerful family again," he gruffly offered.

Tsuna's eyes narrowed and he glanced up at Mukuro to say, "You're no different from me," before he promptly turned on his heel and pushed his way past the blond.

"Ken…!"

The blond's comrades did not sound appreciative of his attempt to convince the Mafioso.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

In the much older parts of Namimori, the side that was heavily damaged by the battles of five years ago and fittingly called Old Namimori, there stood a once proud school. But even through the battles and years of being left unattended, the school's foundation was still strong and its buildings still stood.

Two girls, one in her late teens and the other no older then ten years, pushed open some double doors into the building that was once the school's gymnasium. They took in their surroundings, a little miffed at seeing the aging structures of a place they were once so familiar with, but awed at how fantastical the overall scenery was. Gathered on either sides of the gym on their end were old school desks and chairs with a thick layer of dust collected on the surfaces. On the far end, a large section of the floor had been broken off to make way for a small clearing of flowers and shrubbery that poked through the ground. On that same end a section of the wall and roof had caved in, leaving a big gaping hole that allowed light to pass through and shine onto the clearing of flowers and cement rubble.

Giggling in delight, I-Pin jogged through the aisle of desks over to the flowers, kneeling down and stroking the petals. Behind her, Niji walked slowly, eyes drinking in the familiar surroundings. She had studied in the school for a short time five years ago, having met Tsuna and his friends, creating bonds and memories with them as well. But shortly after her arrival was when the tragedy happened.

Ignoring the tightening in her chest, Niji stood behind I-Pin and the both of them looked around, noticing living quarters a little way away, tucked in between pieces of the ceiling and wall; blankets bundled up for a makeshift bed, a wooden box that might hold some personal belongings, a lantern, a metal jug and matching cup…

"Does Tsuna-san live here?" I-Pin asked her older sister figure.

"Looks like it," answered Niji and she walked over to the living area with I-Pin following her.

They both stopped at another box that was near the impromptu bedroom. But this box looked a little different from the other one. It was made out of metal, had four clasps, and the opening was lined with rubber that kept the lid sealed tight.

Leaning down to inspect the box, I-Pin asked, "What's in here?" She looked up expectedly at the elder girl, who only smiled softly and shook her head, indicating that she didn't know what was inside, though the flash of worry in her eyes said so otherwise.

Niji then walked over to the wooden box and looked down. A single length of bandaging lay on top of the container. At first glance, it looked it was only used to clean up dirt since it was covered in a black substance. But at a closer inspection, the black substance actually soaked through the bandaging material like some sort of liquid. It was already dry too, but there were indications that it was recently used.

I-Pin picked up the length of bandaging and inspected it closely, eyes growing worried and scared. "It's just like Lambo's," she said, looking up at the elder girl. "Is Tsuna-san sick?"

Niji's eyes unfocused as her mind whirled. Why? Why didn't he say anything to us?

"Did Tsuna-san leave because he was sick?" I-Pin pressed.

Is he planning on dealing with this alone? Does he really think that by avoiding us, we wouldn't worry about him or his illness?

The teen's face scrunched up a little at the way males acted and jumped to conclusions, but then she snapped out of her reverie by a small "Niji-san?" coming from her younger companion.

Looking down, Niji saw that I-Pin's innocent eyes were full of worry. A pang of guilt pierced her heart and she vaguely thought that children shouldn't have such a look on their faces. Leaning down, the teen put on a smile for the younger girl.

"Let's go home I-Pin," she said in a light voice.

I-Pin's eyebrows furrowed and she turned to run a little way away from her sister figure, only to turn back and face her after a couple of feet.

"No! I want to see Tsuna-san and Lambo does too!" She stomped her foot stubbornly.

Niji's smile widened. It was a real miracle on how much the former assassin has changed over a course of five years. After the battles, Tsuna convinced I-Pin to stop being an assassin and just be a normal girl. She, along with Lambo, now attended school, but with Lambo's sickness and the world's economy not being what it used to be, going to school was practically a waste of time, though that never stopped Tsuna – and Niji of course - from urging the two to do well in their education.

"I know," Niji said softly, taking the bandage that I-Pin had left on top of the wooden box and holding it loosely in her hand. "I want to see him too, and everyone else as well."

"Yeah!" I-Pin brightened up.

Still smiling, Niji walked up to I-Pin before kneeling down until they were eye level with each other. "So, say he comes back?"

"We can bring him home!"

The smile on the teen's face turned into a small smirk. "But not until he gets some sense knocked into that no good head of his."

I-Pin smiled brightly. "Okay!"

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Chikusa fell to the ground, battered and bruised but fortunately not mortally wounded. Nearby was Ken, sprawled on the floor, in the same state as his friend, and the both of them groaned in pain, barely even able to push themselves up on all fours.

Stepping around the fallen men was the orange-clad Oozora, slowly approaching the incapacitated Mist Guardian who sat in his wheelchair next to the large windows.

"You know, I really hate liars," Oozora stated with a light tone in her voice.

"Oya, we have so much in common, Oozora-chan," Mukuro said with a chuckle, his tone slightly mocking. "I apologize for my rudeness though. This time, you'll get only the truth from me. The object of which you seek fell from my subordinate's grasp when he was running from you. Apparently, we were too clumsy."

"Is that so?" Oozora said idly, her back onto the Mist Guardian's.

"I swear it."

With a scoff Oozora took two items out from somewhere in her tight and revealing outfit and tossed them over her shoulder. "Fine, swear on these then."

The items fell to the ground, softly thudding on the wooden planks that made up the floor. Mukuro stared at the two objects and recognized them as Fran's Hell Ring and Chrome's eyepatch, both of which were covered in dry crimson blood.

The illusionist was silent for a moment, before he raised his hooded head up to Oozora. "What are you planning?"

"We need Father's power… for the Reunion that is quickly approaching," Oozora answered.

The Mist Guardian's mismatched eyes narrowed suspiciously beneath his hood. "Reunion?"

"Aa," said Oozora, turning around to face the younger man, who looked more like a withered boy in her point of view. "Our brothers and sisters who share Father's cells will gather and we will bring him back! Bring back the person who truly has the power and the right to rule this wretched world!"

Oozora had raised her arms in a dramatic flurry, face clear with anticipation. But she then let them drop to her sides and she began to pace, annoyance replacing anticipation.

"Preparations were going so smoothly, you even being a part of it might I add." Oozora's golden eyes flickered down to Mukuro's hand that poked out from beneath the robe. Covering the top of the illusionist's appendage were black orchid-shaped blemishes that most likely continued up his arm. She continued, her voice slightly breaking as if she was trying not to cry. "But then you just had to interfere and hide the guest of honor! Father is the key to everything, the last piece to the grand puzzle, and we don't even know where he is!"

Mukuro's fingers unconsciously twitched, but it went unnoticed by the woman.

"But what can we do? We are only meager tools, pawns in this elaborate chess game," Oozora said, her voice calm once again. "Our strength and the little party we're going to hold is not enough, at least for a true reunion."

"What are you saying?" Mukuro pressed.

The orange woman closed her eyes and smiled at Mukuro. "There you go again, saying things that you don't really mean at all," she said. "Surely you would've noticed by now, Mukuro-kun…"

Oozora then took a knee, bowing her head as she kneeled in front of the illusionist. For some reason, Mukuro's heart had begun banging against his chest as Oozora slowly looked up at him, eyes opening to reveal her golden orbs that were nearly identical to another pair that the Mist Guardian had not seen in five years.

No… it can't be… is she really planning to-?

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

A rusted sword with names inscribed on the blade was thrusted into the ground once again, scattering dust into the wind. Tsuna stepped back, gaze lingering on the remnant of a once revered swordsman and his heart once more filled with that familiar emotion of grief.

"I said that I'd move on with my life," he said solemnly, brown eyes dulling and his hair blowing over his face. "Easier said then done."

Tsu-kun, it's time to get up!

He could remember a motherly touch.

Ano, is it okay if I call you Tsuna-kun?

And a blushing young face.

Tsuna-san! You're so brave and strong!

An energetic presence.

Use your Dying Will, Tsuna. (Bang!)

Wise and experienced beetle black eyes.

You can do anything Tsuna. I know you can.

A warm flame.

Tsuna, you did well.

A strong pair of hands.

Tsuna!

And then he could feel pain suddenly shooting up his arm, blurring his vision, and causing him to fall to his knees.

I'll take them all away from you.

He gripped his arm and gnashed his teeth as mockingly light laughter rang in his ears.

One by one, I'll erase them from this world.

His gripped a handful of dirt as he waited for the physical pain to pass, but it didn't seem to want to leave him, just like the pain he bared in his heart.

And then, when you're all alone and crying over their lifeless bodies, I'll put you out of your misery.

The pain was becoming stronger now… stronger then ever before…

Tsuna! Run!

But he couldn't… try as he might, he just couldn't…

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Sunlight shone down on the small clearing, brightening up the beauty of the flower petals. I-Pin was crouching in the middle of the patch of flowers, stroking their petals and humming an impromptu tune. A few feet behind her stood Niji, mind drifting as she and the little Chinese girl waited for their friend.

Suddenly, the double doors in the back slammed open. Niji turned around to take a look at the man who was entering, his booted feet thudding on the aged wooden floors. Thinking that it was only Tsuna-san, I-Pin stood up and ran towards the entering figure in obvious delight. But no, this man wasn't Tsuna and Niji could clearly see that.

The teen grabbed I-Pin as the girl rushed past her and the two backed away as the blue-haired man walked towards them, footsteps heavy and shoulders broad to give him an intimidating look.

"Wanna play?" Ame asked with a smirk as he stopped and raised a hand, palm side up, towards Niji, as if asking for a dance.

Niji didn't answer. She only glared at the suspicious man, while I-Pin looked both confused and fearful. There was just something about him that screamed bad to the bone.

"I'll take that as a no," said Ame as he walked forward again, stepping into the clearing of flowers. "Where's Father?"

He stopped once again when a scent reached his nose. The teal-haired man looked down and saw the flowers, their petals shining brightly in the sun and hurting his blue eyes. Ame pinched his nose, attempting to block out the sweet scent that caused his head to ache.

"Ugh, damn flowers," he muttered to himself before turning his attention back to Niji and I-Pin. "Tell me, where is Father-?"

"There's no one here!" Niji interrupted suddenly, her glare never wavering.

Ame smirked widely. "Heh, fine," he said, opening his arms in a dramatic gesture. "Then play with me."

Without words, Niji straightened up and gently pushed I-Pin away, indicating that she should go hide behind one of the boulders near Tsuna's living area, where it was relatively safe. With blue eyes watching her movements, the teen reached into her pockets and pulled out a pair of black gloves and slipped it on, feeling her heart race as the leather tightened around her hands. She then took a horse stance, sliding one foot forward and raising her fists to chest level, ready for the battle ahead.

"This should be fun," Ame laughed to himself, taking a stance as well and holding his arms up at his sides.

There was a moment of tense silence with Ame smirking cockily and Niji hardening her glare.

It was Niji who rushed forward first, bringing her right fist up, intending to punch Ame in the chest. But the teal-haired man blocked it with his own fist, an arrogant grin on his features which disappeared a second later by a quick palm-jab right at his chin from Niji. The dark-haired girl continued with her palm-jabs at Ame's face and chest; right, then left, then right again. After a few more jabs, an elbow to the stomach caused Ame to slide backwards a few feet and before he could retaliate, a swift kick to the side of his head enticed a pained grunt from his lips.

But Ame quickly recovered, turning back around to punch Niji in the gut, momentarily lifting her off her feet, and then tossing her right into the clearing full of flowers.

Grunting a bit, Niji back-flipped in the air and landed on her feet, straightening herself up to glare at the smirking man. Her gloves sparked with her Lightning flame, hardening its surface with its Indurimento ability and coating it with electricity, and she gripped her fist before charging forwards and falling into a slide towards Ame's feet. The blunet simply leapt over the attack, but he underestimated Niji's speed for as he turned around, a hard fist met him in the face. Feeling the sharp sting of electricity on his cheek, he was launched across the room where he hit the wall. Able to at least keep his balance, Ame backed up quickly as Niji appeared in front of him, defying gravity as she ran along the wall, catching him with a kick to the face and throwing him backwards. Ame used his hands to do a back-flip and he landed smoothly, but was met again with the sole of a shoe that collided with his jaw, snapping his head upwards. The upraised foot was then brought downwards, slamming onto his shoulder, but it only finished when it was brought upwards again to slam into his chin, the force throwing both opponents spinning backwards in the air. The two landed simultaneously and Niji rushed forwards while Ame reeled his arm back to strike. His attack was stopped by Niji though and both their forearms met in a battle of physical strength, the opponents pushing against each other and their eyes glaring at each other's faces.

It was obvious that Ame was the one with superior strength when he backhanded Niji, causing the teen to stagger backwards a bit. A booted foot then planted itself onto Niji's stomach and she slid backwards, almost falling to her knees as she grunted in pain. Not a moment later, the dark-haired teen regained her senses and she looked up in time to see Ame in front of her, a fist raised threateningly. She narrowly ducked under the swing, which miraculously crashed into the wall behind her and created a gaping hole into the concrete. Using the pause to her advantage, she backhanded the fist away before tackling Ame in the stomach, causing them to sail through the air, parallel to the wooden floor. Gripping the front of her enemy's vest, Niji slid her feet beneath her and kicked Ame to the ground, using his body to jump away and reveling in the sound of his pained yell.

But that was short-lived when Niji felt a strong hand grab her ankle.

Niji only had time to gasp in surprise before she felt herself be dragged down. Ame, who had planted both his feet on the ground in less then a second, swung his captive around in circles, smashing her among the hard desks around them before spinning around a couple more times to pick up speed. Then, with a loud yell, Ame flung the dark-haired teen towards the stage at the far end of the gym. Using her Lightning flame, Niji landed vertically on the empty wall behind the raised platform, sticking on it for a few seconds while the wind of her short flight caused flower petals to explode into the air. Looking up, she glared at the cocky teal-haired man who smirked back at her through the curtain of falling petals.

Tucking her feet beneath her, Niji kicked off the wall, shooting towards Ame like a bullet. The blunet made to swing at the dark-haired girl, but he didn't get the chance for Niji's speed allowed her to get inside of his swing and grab his face, pushing him backwards as she continued to shoot forwards. With a cry mingled in with Ame's own yelps, Niji slammed the blunet across the ground, roughly dragging him along until she bounced him up high into the air. Flipping onto her feet, Niji stared up at her airborne enemy for half a second before she leapt up, slamming into Ame's back in midair and grabbing his collar to throw him to the ground with all the strength she could muster. There was an explosion of dust and wood as Ame crashed into the cluttered old desks in the corner and Niji landed in a crouch, confident that she had laid her enemy down for good.

There was another tense silence as the dark-haired girl straightened herself up, coolly looking over her shoulder at where Ame had crashed. Then I-Pin called out "Niji-nee!" and rushed to the triumphant teen, a smile gracing her features.

Facing forwards and returning the smile, Niji kneeled down expectedly as I-Pin ran towards her…

One – uh! – Two – uh! – Three – uh!

The two stopped when they heard a voice and snapping fingers counting down.

Get it on! Mada agaru tenshon kizuna in da sendou! Tsuki susumu no ha we'll rock it mada don't stop it!

As the two looked around, searching for the source of the music, the crater in the ground surrounded by desks, dust, and debris exploded once again, revealing an unscratched (but slightly dusty) Ame as he stood up, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

Wake up! Nari hibiku 10 count tobi tatsu yo tenka. Himeta chikara-!

Ame took out his mobile phone and flipped it open, cutting off his catchy ringtone of a song that was quite popular a few years ago and bringing it to his ear. I-Pin fearfully hid behind her older friend who had a look of shock on her face before it morphed into a glare.

"He's not here…" Ame whined into his phone, acting like the two girls warily watching him didn't exist at all. His face then flushed as he hissed into the phone. "Who're you calling dickless?!" He then paused before he looked back up to the two girls, sporting a more serious look in his eyes. "Right, I got it, bring the girl."

Ame then shut his phone and returned it to his pocket as he calmly walked towards the girls. "So, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?" he mockingly asked as he raised a fist adorned with a jewel-encrusted ring.

Niji's eyes darkened when the teal-haired man brought his ring down to his belt, but she could spot him making a suspicious movement with one of his legs.

A second later, Ame kicked a large desk towards the two. I-Pin shrieked and bent down behind Niji, covering her head with her hands, but Niji kept calm and easily backhanded the oncoming block of wood, practically slicing it in two. Unfortunately she hadn't even finished her swing when she immediately sensed a presence beside her, hearing the smirk that appeared on his face.

Niji didn't even have time to gasp when she was flung into the wall by a sharp blade that appeared in Ame's fists. I-Pin could only watched in utter horror as Ame blurred and held her older sister figure up against the aged wall, his blade digging into the teen's abdomen, cutting through the thick leather fabric of her shirt and allowing a thin line of red to appear on her exposed stomach. Groaning, the dark-haired girl gripped Ame's wrist, attempting to pry him off of her as green spikes of electricity crackled in her hands. But Ame only smirked and ignited his bladed steel knuckles with his Rain flame, effectively weakening Niji's Lightning flame with its Calma ability.

Shit!

Ame's smirk turned into a grin as he raised his other blade-adorned fist and slammed it into Niji hard enough to crush the wall behind her, leaving a deep gash across her midsection. He then flung the girl into the flowery clearing, watching her roll across the petals and shrubbery, dripping blood onto the plants.

Groaning at the pain of her laceration, Niji moved feebly as she helplessly watched Ame approach her. The teal-haired man crouched down and grabbed her shirt, pulling her up as he raised his bladed steel knuckles, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Something suddenly hit the back of his head with an audible thud, therefore distracting him from his kill. Dropping the dark-haired girl to the ground, Ame looked around to see who had thrown the object and he spotted the little Chinese girl, eyes sporting a determined looked but obviously holding back tears. Next to her stood the previously sealed metal box which was full to the brim with special animal boxes, all having different colors and sizes and looking very rare indeed. There was even a few that could barely be held in one hand.

Grinning, Ame decided to leave the teenage girl to die of blood loss as he stood up and approached the smaller girl.

It was like I-Pin's mind became a complete blank. She didn't know what to do as the large man's shadow loomed over her, promising an early death. Her body wouldn't move and all she could do was grip the blackened length of bandage in her hand and weakly call out, "Tsuna-san…"

Behind the man, Niji managed to push herself up onto her hands and with the last of her strength, call out "I-Pin, run!"

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Lambo gasped and snapped his head up.

He had just experienced another sharp stab of pain in his forehead, due to the disease he had just so unluckily managed to catch. But the pain subsided quickly, giving him some relief. His pale green eyes dulled as he stared at the ground, wondering where his friends were.

I-Pin… Niji-nee… Tsuna…

The ten-year-old was currently sitting outside of Seven Guardians, waiting for his friends. But where have Niji-nee and I-Pin gone? They just left him at the house saying that they were going out to search for something. Where they going to look for Tsuna? Why didn't they bring him along then?

"Do you have it too?"

Lambo was cut off from his reverie by a girl who looked around his age, if not a year or two older, who was standing in front of him and giving him a curious look. The girl had her brown hair in pigtails and wore ragged clothing. A street child perhaps, which wasn't uncommon to see these days since many people have been killed and left children orphaned and homeless.

The former child hitman also noticed that the brown-haired girl had black orchid-shaped blemishes running down the length of her right arm.

It also wasn't uncommon to see a majority of street children with the stigma

"Come on, they said they're going to fix us," said the girl as she reached down and grasped Lambo's hand, pulling him into a standing position and dragging him along.

Lambo couldn't even protest as the girl pulled him through a series of alleyways towards some unknown place. Half of him wanted to wrench his hand away and run back home, but the other half, the one that was dominating him, was curious about who could "fix" him. Was there really a cure for this disease now?

The girl brought him to an open but relatively empty street. Near the two was a large truck where several children were crowding around and climbing into. Walking forwards, the girl inspected the truck before looking back expectedly at Lambo, who curiously followed her.

All these children, they were just like him. He could see the blemishes on their skin and some even covered up their shame with bandages.

Can they really fix us?

Meanwhile, standing near the front of the truck was a crimson-clothed man who allowed one side of his lips to curve upwards in a smirk. Arashi then walked away, knowing that there were still more children to collect for the upcoming event.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Tsuna slowly walked into the wrecked gymnasium, eyes trained to the ground as his mind was elsewhere. The conversation he had with Mukuro in Kokuyo and his little episode at the grave sight was still playing freshly in his mind. With all that happened and with the appearance of Oozora and her crew, he was beginning to feel exhausted.

He needed to rest. Sleeping on it (whatever it might actually be) always helped him in the past.

Tsuna stopped at the edge of the flowery clearing and he finally looked up, emerging from his mind wandering. It was then he noticed something very out of place. There was a heap of black nestled amongst the flowers; a very recognizable heap of black to be exact.

"Niji!" Tsuna rushed to Niji's side, gently picking her up. There was a deep cut across her abdomen and she looked like she lost a lot of blood. "Niji!" he called again.

Said teen stirred in his arms, groaning a bit as she fought to open her eyes. "You're… late…" she mumbled.

"Who did this?"

The teen wearily shook her head. "I don't know… some blue guy… looking for his father…"

Tsuna had a pretty good idea who that was.

"I-Pin!" Niji suddenly cried out, making Tsuna jump as she reached forward for the little girl who wasn't there. But fatigue quickly took over her once again and she felt back into Tsuna's arms, tumbling into blissful unconsciousness.

Tsuna lifted his head and inspected his surroundings, which he was stupid enough not to do when he came in. Desks, wood, and concrete debris were scattered everywhere, another hole was punched into the wall, and he also noticed that the metal box holding many smaller boxes was missing.

"Shit!" Tsuna hissed, blaming himself for not arriving in time to save Niji and I-Pin.

Just then, another piercing blast of pain shot up through his left arm. Gritting his teeth, Tsuna looked down and witnessed his whole arm shaking furiously with the intense pain. He could even swear that he saw the sleeve of his coat dissolve as if acid was being poured onto it.

The pain was close to unbearable and before he knew it, Tsuna's vision swam, blurred, and darkened as he fell by Niji's side. The last thing he saw was flowers and two shadowy figures running towards him before he completely blacked out.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

The sun was setting when Tsuna awoke hours later, the light from the receding ball of fire in the sky shining onto his face and rousing him from his dreamless sleep. Wincing from a tiny twinge of pain that travelled up his arm, Tsuna rose and looked to his side, spotting Niji settled on the bed near the window. The Vongola heir stood up from his own bed and looked over Niji, relieved that her wounds had been tended to and that she was sleeping peacefully, one hand resting on her stomach and her face calm.

Judging by the familiar pictures that hung on the wall and the drawings of him and Niji, he must be back at Seven Guardians. But Tsuna's intuition never failed to tell him that something was still wrong.

"You know, for a short guy-," Tsuna spun around to face the owner of the gruff voice. "- you're pretty heavy."

There was Ken and Chikusa, standing on either side of the doorway, looking calm which was quite an achievement for the usually restless and energetic blond shape shifter. Chikusa, ever the observer, pushed his glasses further up his nose as he spoke.

"Weren't there kids living with you?" he asked in his usual drawling voice.

"Because there's no one else here," Ken finished up.

Tsuna lowered his eyes, feeling useless once again, just like when he was a kid. But now he was in a much more serious situation then just trying to pass his first year of junior high.

"You don't care about them?" Chikusa asked, purple-eyes giving him another calculating gaze though it went unseen by the brunet.

"I…" Tsuna started, but didn't even know what he was going to say. He only turned back to Niji's sleeping form, wondering what he should actually do.

Ken was silent for a moment as he watched Tsuna wage his internal battle, but then he sighed loudly and said, "I don't know why Mukuro-sama wants us to help a no-good guy like you," as he headed out the door. Chikusa silently followed his friend, giving Tsuna's back a hard gaze before closing the door shut behind him with a click.

And so, Tsuna waited.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Deep in the forest near Namimori, in the cover of the night, three figures stood by a large pond. Behind them was a large and gnarled tree, its aged trunk twisted around and leaving hollows in its exposed roots, looking like it could've been a home to some unknown creature or creatures.

Oozora glanced at Ame, who held I-Pin close to him in order for her not to escape. But it wasn't like I-Pin could escape for the frightening aura the orange-haired woman emitted had her petrified.

"So, that boy was hiding these?" Oozora asked rhetorically, her golden eyes trained on the contents of the metal box in front of her. "The most dangerous animal boxes ever made."

The orange woman bent down and picked up a sizable box. It was nearly as big as her hand and was a dark metallic color with veins of red decorating the sides.

"I wonder…" Oozora smiled, her narrow eyes glinting sadistically in the moonlight. "How much chaos we can cause with these babies?"

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Night settled fast over Namimori, darkening the sky and revealing a pale full moon that had wisps of clouds floating around it. On the third floor of the Seven Guardians, Niji stirred in her position from the bed and opened her hazel eyes. She immediately spotted Tsuna standing by the window, staring out of it with apathy. The dark-haired teen sat up, ignoring the dull throbbing of her bandaged wounds and she watched as Tsuna turned away from the window and walked around her bed to the identical one on the other side.

"Ken and Chikusa are out looking for the kids," he said. "They'll be back soon with some information."

Niji was silent as Tsuna settled on the edge of his own bed. Dark brown eyes scanned his body, looking for any blemishes, but found none that were exposed. Niji's lips then tightened a bit as she asked the question that was burning inside of her.

"You have the stigma, don't you?" Tsuna stayed silent, eyes glued to the floor, being unable to look directly at the girl who had been with him through thick and thin while everyone else went their separate ways. "So, you think that it's okay to just give up and die?" Again, Tsuna stayed silent. "I knew it. I just knew it!" Niji brought her knees up to her chest in frustration, eyes slightly narrowing at the idiot who was her friend.

"There's no cure," Tsuna weakly argued.

"But that's not stopping Lambo from fighting!" Niji stated, tucking her legs beneath her. "You shouldn't run Tsuna-san, we can fight it together! We can help each other, I know we can!"

When no answer came from Tsuna's mouth yet again, Niji sighed and looked away from her moping friend.

"Or do we have to be a real family to do that?"

Tsuna quietly sighed before he said, "Niji… I can't save anyone. Not my family, not my friends. No one…"

Silence fell upon the two once again. Tsuna had a wild thought that Niji understood what he was trying to say, but that was tossed out of his mind when the teen spoke up again.

"I used to think that way as well," she said, eyes staring out of the window. "But then I met this no-good boy and he showed me otherwise."

Tsuna looked at Niji, his mind in a whirlwind of thoughts. But before he could say anything, a different voice spoke out.

"I think she's referring to you," Ken's voice stated and the two friends turned around to see him and Chikusa standing by the door.

"Did you find the kids?" Niji asked first.

"Nah, but there was a witness who saw the boy get into a truck with some other infected children and a pair of suspicious guys," said Ken. "The same guys who attacked the two of you."

"Where are they?" Tsuna asked almost desperately.

"They hide in the forest," Chikusa answered this time. "It's more then likely that they're there as of now."

Tsuna listened to the wind whistling past his ears and the roaring of the engine of his bike as he sped through the trees, pedal to the metal and headlights lighting his way.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Oozora, Arashi, and Ame, with I-Pin at his side, stood in front of the gnarled and aged tree, facing a small crowd of children of different ages who stood at the opposite side of the large pond. The orange-haired woman stood a little ahead of her companions, eyes sparkling with barely contained excitement and mouth curved into a cheerful smile.

"My brothers and sisters," Oozora called out to the children, all of whom looked quite nervous to be there. "We have all been given a gift. A gift that can help bring upon peace to this world that only brought about pain and suffering into our lives!"

The children stayed silent, but they hung onto Oozora's every word like a lifeline.

"I know that the gift you have received racks your bodies with pain and fills your hearts with doubt," Realization dawned in the children's eyes, but still they listened, anticipating what the orange woman was going to say next. "But fret not my brethren. I will heal you and together, we can revive Father and he can finally end all wars and all suffering and give us the happiness that we truly deserve!"

Oozora let her flame shine through her body to emphasize her every word, causing awe to fill the eyes of all the children. But it quickly subsided and the woman gently smiled at the children, as if reassuring them that everything will be all right.

"Come, do as I do," she said in a deceivingly gentle voice.

The orange woman slowly stepped forward, dipping her body into the chilling water of the pond. Almost immediately, the water began to turn dark, as if her body spewed out some unknown chemical or poison. But she didn't look worried as she stopped in the middle of the pond, waist deep in dark water, and brought her hands up, cupping some of the liquid into her palms and drinking it. She let out a refreshed sigh, letting her hands drop to her sides, splashing some water about, and she looked expectedly at the children, smirking when she watched them, one-by-one, wade into the pool, doing exactly what she had previously done.

Lambo was one of those children who followed her example. I-Pin spotted her friend in the pond and her eyes went wide, fear and worry shining in them.

"Lambo!" she called out, wanting to run to her friend but couldn't since Ame was keeping a tight grip on her.

The young Thunder Guardian seemed not to have heard her, already bringing a handful of water to his mouth.

"Lambo!"

It was too late. Lambo drank the water and his pale green eyes immediately turned dull and lifeless.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Tsuna drove onwards, weaving through the path that led deep into the forest, trees lining either side of his vision. Faster he drove, trying to deafen his thoughts with the whistling wind, but somehow, he still found his mind drifting again to some unknown place.

He was standing in a vast field of flowers that stretched out as far as the eye can see. The sky overhead was a bright blue with a few clouds lazily floating by. There was no sun, but everything was bright and could be clearly seen as if there was a sun in the sky.

"Hello again, Vongola Decimo," said a familiar voice.

Tsuna turned his head to the side and he could see the shoulder of a suit-clad man standing behind him. He was familiar, but somehow, Tsuna felt like he was standing before a stranger.

"Even when your mind's confused and your body's breaking, your heart still led you here," said that deep and comforting voice. Tsuna then felt a strong hand gently grasp his diseased left arm. "That's a good sign."

The brunet was silent, feeling ashamed to be in the presence of such a man.

"So, why are you here?"

Feeling nervous, Tsuna slowly replied, "I think… I want to be forgiven." He then nodded his head, feeling surer of himself. "Yes, I want to be forgiven, more then anything."

"By who?" the man laughed. It was then Tsuna turned around to face the man…

Only to find trees rushing past his vision once more. He was back in reality, back on his bike, driving into the forest to save the kidnapped children. A flicker of disappointment flashed in his eyes, but he faced forward just in time to witness a red bullet fly by his face. Cringing, Tsuna slid his bike a little bit to the side, dodging more Storm flame bullets as well as real ones.

Up ahead, there stood the colorful trio, not even bothering to conceal their presence. To one side was Arashi, firing with his box weapon, while on the other side was Ame, who was holding a real firearm and shooting real bullets with Tsuna as his target. Standing in the middle was the orange-adorned Oozora, smiling that deceptive smile of hers. She was holding up a fist with a silver, jewel-encrusted ring on her middle finger.

Tsuna's eyes went wide when the jewel that adorned the ring ignited with an orange flame, much like his.

Gritting his teeth, Tsuna sped up, charging towards the source of the bullets flying past his ear. He ignited his Vongola Sky ring and released both his X-Gloves and Cielo Spada, gripping his sword tightly in one hand while he held his other behind him, using his flame to propel him even faster.

Far ahead of him, Oozora released her weapons from a box that was now attached to her waistband. Gripping a pair of orange-hilted sai, Oozora waved her hands above her, beckoning a crowd of dull-eyed children from the treetops. Said children landed right on the path in between Tsuna and Oozora, separating the two from each other.

Completely moving on instinct, Tsuna jerked his bike to the side, but with the speed he was going at, that only caused him to get thrown off, barrel rolling across the ground and his bike spinning lazily towards his adversaries. The children easily avoided the spinning metal beast and Oozora just as easily stepped over it. It only came to a stop when Ame raised a foot and halted it in its antics. The children then began to gather around the fallen Vongola, whose sword had slipped out of his grasp and was sitting just a few feet from him. But he couldn't reach it just yet for there was Oozora, standing right in front of him, a gleeful smile on her face.

"I'm so glad you came," she said in a cheerful voice but her eyes said something otherwise.

"I'm just here for the children," Tsuna gasped, struggling to get to his feet.

"Hear that?" Oozora said to the crowd of kids as she circled the fallen Vongola. "This man wants to bring you back to your old lives where you had suffered and deteriorated! He is the reason why you have no more family, no more friends, no one to love you. All because he stopped our glorious Father from making this world peaceful! But…" Oozora then stopped in front of Tsuna and lifted one of her sai to his face, which on a closer inspection, was actually longer then the average length. "We can fix that right here, right now."

The woman raised her sai, ready to strike. But then, a little girl's voice rang through the air.

"Tsuna-san!"

Oozora, distracted by the voice, ripped her eyes away from the brunet figure on the ground to search for whoever cried out. Tsuna took the chance to make a grab for his fallen weapon and he spun around to slash at the orange woman, who sensed him coming and flipped away to land on a large boulder close by. As the children around him escaped, Tsuna lifted Cielo in time to block a red gunshot going straight for his face, shot by none other then Arashi.

Beside the crimson-haired man, Ame released his blade-knuckles from its box and he charged at the Mafioso, blurring blue with each dash. Tsuna only stood to block Arashi's projectiles as Ame rushed towards him. As the blunet came within striking distance, he gave out a cry and leapt towards the brunet, swinging his blade downwards. Tsuna ducked beneath Ame's arm, dashing away towards the side where he continued to block Storm flame gunshots until a booted foot came into contact with his sword.

Tsuna and Ame exchanged blows, blade against blade and body against body. But Ame was quicker for he was able to land a kick to the brunet's stomach, sending him backwards a couple meters. Tsuna landed on his knees and glared at his enemy, who only smirked cockily at him. Tsuna then leapt at him, raising Cielo, but Ame back flipped and easily caught the brunet in between his legs, kicking him away. Tsuna flew through the air in the same direction he leapt at and he landed hard on his knees, but he looked up in time to block the barrel of a crimson gun that was thrown into his face, held by none other then the redheaded Arashi.

And yet, even though the redhead looked like he was a long-ranged fighter, Tsuna learned first-hand that the crimson man was just as good in close-ranged combat for one of his booted feet made contact with the brunet's jaw, flipping him backwards. As soon as the kick was executed, Arashi lifted his gun and began shooting at Tsuna, who just as quickly got to his feet and blocked the oncoming bullets. Gritting his teeth and getting impatient at his lack of success in the fight, Tsuna flipped away and attacked Arashi from the side. But the man was better, easily blocking Tsuna's attacks with his gun and flipping over the brunet to kick him in the back.

Down the path, Ame lifted a fist, igniting his bladed-knuckles with his Rain flame and punching the ground with a loud cry. The ground in front of him rumbled and burst up in a large wall of dirt and water, moving fast down the path towards where the two men were exchanging blows. Pausing for a moment to smirk at his opponent, Arashi sensed the tidal wave of dirt coming from behind him and he flipped backwards, easily avoiding the attack while sending his own towards the stationary brunet whose eyes went wide at the scene.

But Tsuna was far from helpless. He lifted Cielo behind him, emitting his Sky flame into the blade, and causing it to glow orange. A second later, he brought the blade downwards towards the approaching wave, his Sky flame shooting outwards in a slash. The two blasts met head on and exploded in a flurry of flame, dirt, and rock, casting smoke and dust into the air and obscuring Tsuna's vision of his enemies.

Suddenly, through the smoke, Ame appeared in front of Tsuna and swung his bladed fist forward, intending to slice through the brunet's body. Fortunately, Tsuna was quick enough to dodge the attack, leaping backwards and away from his adversary. But Arashi quickly followed, coming down from the air and bracing his feet on Ame's forearm, using him to leap off towards the retreating brunet. The two met and exchange blows, blade against gun. Shortly after, Ame jumped into the fight, blurring in between the two as he looked for an opportunity to strike. It came when Tsuna and Arashi twisted around, their weapons locked with each other and forcing the crimson man away. Just when Tsuna thought he could retaliate, a pair of feet slammed into his chest, forcing both the Mafioso and Ame to fly backwards. As Ame flew through the air from the force of his own kick, Arashi slid under him, hand reaching up to grasp the gun that was held at the blunet's side. He then rushed forward, attacking Tsuna with both of his guns and Ame appeared behind the brunet, ready to slice through his back.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Tsuna managed to dodge Ame's attack before he shot his Sky flame through his free hand to propel himself upwards. His two adversaries wasted no time however for Arashi jumped and landed on Ame's outstretched arm which propelled him through the air as well, with Ame's strength behind the throw.

As he flew towards the Mafioso, Arashi shot his Storm flames at him combined with the regular bullets of the gun from Ame. Tsuna easily blocked the shots, but he was forced to cease his propulsion in order to do so. The two met in midair and Arashi raised a gun to strike at Tsuna, which the latter easily blocked. But the redhead used his momentum to spin in the attack and he brought his leg up to kick Tsuna across the chest, causing both of them to fly away from each other. Arashi immediately aimed his gun at Tsuna and began shooting as he fell through the air. One of his shots miraculously made contact with Cielo's hilt, the force of the shot causing it to slip away from Tsuna's grasp, flipping through the air and lodging its blade into the trunk of notably one of the largest trees in the forest.

Tsuna lightly landed on the branches of a nearby tree, currently defenseless. But he was fast and jumped towards Cielo, grabbing its hilt and flipping himself around to stand on its protruding blade.

"Heh."

Looking down, Tsuna spotted Ame at the base of the tree, smirking up at him before he lifted a bladed fist and sliced across the wood, causing the large tree to slowly fall to the ground. Tsuna moved to stand on the now horizontal column of wood, one hand grasping Cielo's hilt. And then, Arashi appeared, walking along the trunk towards the brunet, shooting his Storm flames at him. Tsuna managed to dodge the blasts before he flipped over to the opposite side of his embedded sword, wrenching it out of the wood and using the blade to block more of the attacks from the redhead.

Below the two, when the trunk was low enough, Ame bent his knees and shot upwards, slicing through the wood and causing the two other men to jump away. In midair, the three fought, Tsuna in the middle while he valiantly defended himself against his two adversaries, spinning in the air and blocking gunshots and punches. But Arashi caught him with a kick, causing the both of them to fly away in opposite directions once again with the redhead shooting at the brunet as he descended from the air.

Tsuna blocked the Storm flames and bullets with his blade as he flew backwards. His intuition told him to tuck his feet beneath him and he did so, immediately making contact with the trunk of another tree. As he tried to catch his breath, Tsuna looked around for the orange woman, knowing that this would all be over if he took her out.

There, calmly standing not too far away, was Oozora, smiling deceptively at the horizontal Tsuna who immediately shot towards her. But as he was within striking distance of the orange woman, Tsuna's disease decided to rear its ugly head again and sent pain through Tsuna's arm, causing his attack to become a bit more sluggish.

With his face twisting in shock and pain, Tsuna still managed to throw his blade at Oozora, who easily blocked it with her sai. There was a spilt second in which the two stared at each other, Tsuna suspended in the air, then Oozora began her attacks. She was swift, lashing out at the brunet while he was still in the air, bouncing him around like a ball. But Tsuna was swift as well, at least able to block her attacks as she dominated the battle.

Oozora sliced at Tsuna, their weapons clanging against each other and the strength behind her attack caused Tsuna to shoot away with a cry. Smirking in delight, Oozora jumped after him, raising her sai above her head with the intent to bring it down and stab the overwhelmed Vongola. But suddenly, a spike shot out from nowhere and smacked into Oozora's sai, throwing off her aim from Tsuna's head. The woman looked around, searching for whoever threw the projectile, and she flipped away as a large purple and spiked mass came at her.

The orange woman landed in a crouch, almost at the same time Tsuna's body thudded to the ground (with his cellphone slipping out of his pocket and falling into a nearby puddle). Lifting her head up, Oozora glared at the purple mass that flew down to Tsuna's unmoving figure, encasing the brunet inside its purple spike-adorned orb. Eyes going wide with realization, Oozora rose with the intent to attack the purple mass, but suddenly the spikes began to shoot off of it and flew towards the orange woman, who had no choice but to block the attacks with her sai. Ame rushed forwards and Arashi shot his Storm flames at the purple mass, but the gunshots were merely absorbed and caused the mass to grow bigger. The teal-haired man was unable to catch the purple entity as it suddenly flew away over the treetops and Oozora glared up at the sky, inwardly cursing while her companions bared no shame in voicing out their frustrations.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

The forest was silent save for the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. The only source of light came from the moon glowing in the dark night sky and from a colony of fireflies that floated around the dark clearing where Tsuna sat upon the ground, nursing his infected arm with a look of apathy on his face.

"I can't save anyone," Tsuna said, his voice low and solemn. "I can barely even save myself."

Tsuna's companion stayed silent, watching the Vongola heir with emotionless blue-gray eyes that reflected the light of a passing firefly. The brunet finally looked up at his Cloud Guardian, setting aside his brooding in favor of wanting to know what the hell the former was doing there.

"Hibari, do you know anything about what's happening?" he asked the former prefect, dropping the –san in the latter's name due to newfound respect between the two.

Kyouya closed his eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again as he approached the brunet. "Plenty," he said, standing next to Tsuna. "The Mist requested an audience with me recently and informed me of the recent events and what he had been doing."

Tsuna slightly smiled at that fact. "I hope you didn't bite him too hard," he said with mild amusement.

The former prefect almost scoffed. "He had it coming, asking for such a thing from me."

Tsuna chuckled lightly, but it quickly faded away into silence. He idly massaged his left arm, feeling it tingle like hundreds of needle points were pricking him simultaneously.

"After getting information from Mukuro, I decided to conduct my own investigation and pieced together the puzzle that he refused to reveal," the Cloud Guardian explained after the brief silence. Then, as if knowing what was going on in his body, Kyouya kneeled down at Tsuna's side and firmly grasped the brunet's arm, eliciting a gasp from the Mafioso. "This stigma for example," Blue-gray eyes locked onto brown ones that were scrunched up in pain from the combination of a strong grip and his disease. "It's made out of his cells and is invading your body, trying to take control of it." Kyouya then released his grip on Tsuna's arm and stood up, straightening his black jacket. "But it's a premature disease, no doubt made last minute, and the antibodies inside those infected are fighting it off effectively, though as a side-effect the victim gets 'attacks' and feels an immense amount of pain."

Letting out the breath he didn't realize he was holding in, Tsuna asked, "What would happen if the disease fully took control?"

Shrugging a bit, Kyouya answered, "That's one of the many things that I don't know. As well as why the disease was manufactured in the first place."

Silence floated in between the two once again. Then Tsuna spoke.

"What more did Mukuro tell you?"

Kyouya didn't answer for moment, musing on what he should tell the Vongola heir. "Not more then he told you," he admitted. "But when I investigated on my own, I… stumbled upon his two subordinates, Fran and Chrome I believe their names are, both of whom were on the brink of death due to brutal torture." Tsuna's eyes went wide at the mention of Chrome, but he let his Guardian continue. "According to what they told me, they found something interesting in that man's former base; a special kind of box that is probably the rarest of them all."

"So, this Father they're looking for is…"

"It's probably the box that Mukuro's subordinates have found."

"What does Oozora's gang plan on doing with it?"

Kyouya's lips tightened at that. "The box doesn't contain an animal or a weapon." He paused, not for a dramatic effect, but to wonder briefly if Tsuna would take this information well. "It actually contains a soul… the one they call Father's soul and probably all of his abilities, memories, and twisted genius. If they plan to, Oozora and her gang can bring him back with the right materials."

Tsuna's eyes widened once again at the revelation of what his new adversaries were planning. He can hear it in his mind, all the chaos and sadness that the man caused years ago, when he was just a teenager. All the pain and misery he inflicted to everyone in the world. If he was brought back, it will all happen again and Tsuna wasn't so sure that he could face the trauma once more. Just saying that "going through it the first time was tough" would be a huge understatement.

"Oozora… what are they?" Tsuna managed to breathe out.

"Hn… I'd rather not think about it," Kyouya admitted.

Suddenly, the rustling of bushes alerted the two and Tsuna was on his feet in a flash, raising Cielo which he left outside of his box just in case. The two stared at the rustling bushes, their bodies tense in wondering what would come out of it. But then, a small figure in red burst out of the leaves and ran straight to Tsuna, burying her face into the brunet's stomach and panting from running such a long way.

"I-Pin!" Tsuna exclaimed, his eyes going wide for the third time.

"Tsuna-san!" I-Pin cried as she looked up at her older brother figure. "Lambo and Niji-nee…!"

Tsuna cut I-Pin off. "Niji's all right."

"I wanna talk to her!"

Tsuna stepped away from I-Pin for a moment and searched his pockets for his cellphone. Unfortunately, he was unable to find it and when I-Pin realized this, she looked over at Kyouya, who was silently watching the scene with vague interest.

"May we use yours?" she asked her former crush. She had long since outgrown that, since she hasn't seen the former prefect in five years.

Kyouya lifted his hands in an almost shrug, signaling that he didn't have a cellphone (due to the fact that he didn't really have anyone to be in contact with any more) and the Chinese girl looked shocked.

"You don't have a phone?!" she cried in disbelief.

Tsuna contemplated on what he should do next. I-Pin was safe, but Lambo was still in Oozora's clutches. And he was practically furious as to why Mukuro didn't tell him earlier about Oozora's plans. He had to talk to him and do something about her.

"Hibari, will you take I-Pin back to the bar?" he suddenly asked his Cloud Guardian. "I'm gonna get some answers from Mukuro."

Blue-gray eyes slightly narrowed at him. "You know don't take orders from you," Kyouya said. Despite the mutual respect, he'd still rather not associate with the former herbivore in any way.

"But-!" Tsuna started though I-Pin cut him off this time by angrily pushing herself away from the Mafioso.

"Forget it!" she cried, looking distraught as she practically glared up at her older brother figure. "Tsuna-san, why don't you ever pay any attention to us?!" I-Pin then ran from Tsuna and hid behind Kyouya's leg (the owner of which was slightly surprised), hiding her face from view.

"I-Pin, please give me some time," Tsuna tried to reason to the girl, almost sounding desperate. "There's a battle to be fought… but fighting it won't be so simple. Do you understand?"

"No I don't!"

"Sawada," Kyouya intervened despite himself. "Are you sure this is all just about fighting?"

Tsuna's eyes unfocused as he remembered the conversation he had with Niji just earlier that evening.

"Where are they?" Tsuna asked almost desperately

"They hide in the forest," Chikusa answered. "It's more then likely that they're there as of now."

Tsuna turned away from Ken and Chikusa, mind reeling on what he should do next. Then, after a second of silent thought, he said, "What are you two waiting for? Go." He then stood up from his bed and faced them "I'm going to talk to Mukuro."

Suddenly, Niji intervened.

"Why are you running?!" she cried and Tsuna turned his head to the side, looking at the younger girl out of the corner of his eyes. "I know that even if you find the children, you might not be able to help them and something terrible might happen to them, and I know it scares you, but you're going to have to face that fear because they need you right now!" Niji paused for a moment, allowing the brunet to take it all in, then she softly said, "You're supposed to be our Sky, the one who embraces and accepts everything. You're not the kind of person who would want to be alone."

Tsuna stayed silent throughout his deserved lecture, Niji's words ringing in his ears. A moment later, Ken, who had been silently arguing with Chikusa on if they should leave the room or not due the awkwardness of it all, spoke up.

"You go," he said as he turned towards the door. "Saving those kids is not our fucking business."

Chikusa followed Ken out the door, leaving the two alone in the room once again. Silence hung in between Tsuna and Niji, a look of sadness and probably disappointment showing in the teen's face. She then looked up at Tsuna before she spoke again.

"Why do you let your memories get in the way? Your parents… Kyoko-san… Haru-san… Reborn-san… everyone… I know they'd forgive you for whatever it is you're blaming yourself for. So then why can't you stop blaming and start forgiving yourself?"

Tsuna looked up at Kyouya, whose piercing blue-gray were staring at him like they were looking through his soul. "Can sins be forgiven?" he asked.

The corner of Kyouya's lips twitched slightly at the irony. "I don't know. I've never tried," he answered truthfully.

"Never tried…" Tsuna repeated, new choices flitting through his mind. He then finally came to a decision and he looked at I-Pin, who was still hiding behind Kyouya's leg. "I-Pin, we're going home."

I-Pin peeked out from behind Kyouya and smiled brightly before she ran up to Tsuna, who said, "Well I'm gonna try," as he turned around, a hand reaching out to grasp I-Pin's outstretched one. "I'll let you know how it goes," the brunet called out over his shoulder as he and the little girl walked away, leaving the Cloud Guardian behind to muse on Tsuna's sudden change in perspective.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Night swiftly passed into day in Namimori and halfway through it, Ame and Arashi could be seen in the center of the rebuilt city, near a large monument that was constructed years ago and surrounded by a small percentage of the population who were angrily waving their fists and hands in the air. The two stood inside the ring of the brainwashed children that kept the riling crowds out of the way of what they were planning to do.

"Hey! Are you fucking listening?!" yelled one random man.

"Why the hell are you doing this?!" cried another young man who was being restrained by a young woman.

There were even some people who were trying to snap the children out of their trance, most of them probably the parent or guardian of whoever they were trying to snap some sense into. But unfortunately it was to no avail.

Arashi looked through the crowd, face showing displeasure and annoyance at their outrage. He looked at Ame expectantly and the teal-haired man nodded at him. Smirking now, Arashi unclipped one of the black boxes from his belt and held it up to the crowd. Those facing him grew silent and their eyes went wide as Arashi lit his ring with his Storm flame and connected it to the opening of the box.

There was a flash of bright red that erupted from the box, and then all of a sudden, the flames solidified into multiple grotesque box monsters that immediately began rampaging through the streets, snapping and growling and chasing the citizens, causing all of them to panic. The citizens ran from them, screaming in fear and some in agony due to having been attacked by one of the monsters and yet Arashi and Ame seemed entertained by all this chaos.

Somewhere in the panicking crowd, Niji stood, looking confused and shocked at the scene around her. Everything was practically a blur with people rushing by her in frenzy. But as the crowd thinned, she spotted a familiar tuft of dark hair and a small stature standing among some other children, head bowed and staring at the ground in a daze.

"Lambo!" Niji ran up to the boy and grasped his shoulders, shaking him in vain. "Lambo! Lambo!"

The little boy slowly brought his head up to look at the older girl, but his pale green eyes were dull and unseeing, like he was unconscious while awake. But that was enough to tell Niji that he was all right (to an extent) and she sighed in relief, not knowing what she would do if something irreversible happened to the boy.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the monument, Arashi and Ame stood on the steps of the large metal sculpture with a smug look on their faces, delighting in the screams of terror that echoed from the crowd. They turned to walk away and tell their leader of their success when a voice caught their attention.

"And what are we doing now?" Ken called out in his gruff voice as he approached the duo followed by Chikusa.

Arashi smirked at the two friends. "Something that we should've done a long time ago," he said. "You guys sure are tough to bring out."

"What do you want with us?" Chikusa drawled.

"We're here for a trade," Ame answered with a grin. "Give Father to us and we'll give you your leader back."

Two pairs of eyes glared at the colorful duo.

"As if we'd give in to your demands," Ken growled out.

"Besides," said Chikusa. "We don't even know where your Father is, so why ask us?"

Arashi chuckled in a knowing way. "I should've known the peons wouldn't be trusted with such a thing," he said, earning a glare from the pair of friends again. But Ken let his glare go for a grin as he felt his body loosen in the anticipation of a battle.

"I could say the same for the two of you," he said, almost laughing at the shocked faces of the two older men.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Far from the chaos that Ame and Arashi had caused, there was a building in construction, one of the many new apartment complexes that were being built as a charity to the homeless. On the thirteenth floor of the skeletal building, the Mist Guardian sat in his wheelchair, the hood of his robe fluttering a bit from the wind but otherwise keeping his face hidden in shadow. Oozora stood behind him, arms wrapped around her midsection as she stared out of the open wall.

"Ne, Oozora-chan," said Mukuro, his tone of voice light as he always made it. "I've got a question for you."

"Well then, I've got an answer," said the orange woman as she walked forwards and stood on the very edge of the floor, the toe of her boot just poking the open air.

"This Reunion you keep on going on about… what exactly is it?"

Oozora scoffed, disliking the way the illusionist played dumb with her. But if he wanted to play that way, then fine, she'll go along with his game.

"It means... Father's returning," she answered, feeling immense pride well up inside her at the very thought.

"Would you mind specifying on who this 'Father' actually is?"

Oozora chuckled. Though she didn't like the way he was playing his game, she had to admit that it was kind of fun. It was like being a foolish child again.

"The White Orchid… need I say more?"

Mukuro nodded at that. "Ah, I should've known," he said, sounding thoughtful. "You know, I think it's a pity that you're being sacrificed for such an obscure cause."

Oozora turned her head to the side and glared at the illusionist from the corner of her eyes. "Say what you want Vongola Mist Guardian, it wouldn't matter," she hissed. "You're all going to meet the same end. Father will rise again and create his ideal world and whoever of you that survives will either bow down to him or be killed anyway."

"Those were scary words," Mukuro chuckled. "I was just speaking my mind here."

"Hmph," Oozora gave the illusionist a suspicious look before she turned and looked out over the city again. "Nothing much has changed since mankind was created. There are still wars despite the preachers of peace, discrimination despite the longing for equality, hatred despite the power of love. Only Father can truly cleanse this world of its insanity and bring true peace to it under his rule. We are all only tools on this planet after all, so who are we to disobey the word of God?"

Mukuro snorted. "God you now call him? I beg to differ."

Oozora turned and faced the seated Mist Guardian, eyes closed and lips turned upwards in that deceiving and painfully familiar smile.

"No matter, we are the ultimate tools in his regime because we never fail and we will never betray our master," she said almost cheerfully. "We do everything we are told and we live to please him to the very end. He needs only us and you lower life forms will be swept away, dust under the carpet."

"You are only resurrecting a nightmare for us all," said Mukuro in a surprisingly solemn voice.

"Whatever you do, it is futile for our ideals will live on through others. Even if you delay Father's coming today, there will be others like him. It is as inevitable as the coming and passing of night and day."

"You're a very poetic person Oozora-chan, but if history does tend to repeat itself, then we will be there to stop you all. Even the others like him will be stopped by others like us and like the Vongola heir." Mukuro's mismatched eyes gleamed behind his hood at the mention of his not-so-quite ally. "I have learned that, after trying to do what your master had almost done. Though it took me some time to realize it, I know that much is true."

"Hm… is that your excuse for stealing Father?" Oozora wondered. "That's not very creative. But that aside, it seems like you regret not having succeeded in your own plans back then."

"Kufufu," Mukuro chuckled, discarding his serious demeanor. "Me? Regret? I have never regretted anything in my life. And after all, if I regretted such a thing, then I wouldn't be having as much fun as I am having right now."

It was Oozora's turn to chuckle as she revealed the dark metallic animal box she had acquired just the other day. "I see," she said, allowing her orange flame to engulf her body in a bright display of color, her orange hair whipping about her face with the energy. "Then let's put an end to all this, shall we?"

Mukuro watched from beneath his hood as Oozora ignited her Mare ring with her Sky flame, the amount of which was practically equivalent to that of a certain Cloud Guardian's. The orange woman connected the flame-lit jewel to the opening of the large, red-veined box in her hands and she immediately pointed it towards the sky where a large amount of orange flame burst out of it with a contradicting sound akin to the firing of a cannon.

The burst of flame travelled through the sky and encased itself in the gray clouds that covered it, where it twisted down and thundered in the prelude of something horrible to come. The clouds spiraled downwards until a portion of it broke away where it continued to float down, orange flames and dark cloud twisting around and giving the whatever-it-was-going-to-be shape, forming its flesh and body. There were two pairs of clawed feet, a pair of ominous wings, a long spiked tail flicking behind it, and a long snout where it housed a cavern of wickedly sharp fangs, just below beastly yellow eyes with vertical pupils, dilating and contracting and narrowing as it spread its immense wings and flew down towards the city's center.

The beast, the dragon, split apart its lips and roared, wisps of fire and smoke escaping its mouth and announcing its arrival to the people down below who only screamed and ran from the mighty monster that drifted down to bring about even more chaos.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

As more and more people emptied the square, Niji stayed behind, trying to get Lambo to snap out of his mysterious reverie. She looked around, as if hoping some form of savior would appear, but she knew the chances of that were next to impossible. Looking back down at the younger boy, she leaned in and shook him lightly, hoping that he could hear her in the faraway world of his.

"Lambo, we have to run!" she exclaimed in desperation, the chaos around her beginning to be too much to bear.

Suddenly, the teen sensed something behind her and she spun around in time to see one of the Storm flame box monsters that Arashi had summoned lunge towards her, roaring and bearing its fangs and claws. Niji gritted her teeth and balled her fist, reeling it back on the intent to smash the thing's face in.

But she didn't get the chance for a second later a gigantic foot stomped down onto the box monster, crushing the beast from existence. Niji looked up in shock, her eyes wide at the sight of the gargantuan dragon that stood before her, growling and flexing its equally gargantuan wings. She returned to Lambo's side, hugging the child against her as the giant beast gave out an almighty roar, spreading its wings once again to jump onto the metal monument only a few feet behind her.

The dragon roared as it began to crush and chew on the metal and stone that made up the monument.

At the same moment, Ken and Chikusa charged at Ame and Arashi, who looked utterly amused at their attempts. But they both froze at the sight of the gigantic dragon positively tearing apart the monument, casting metal, stone, and dirt across the ground.

"Holy…" Ken muttered.

"Shit…" Chikusa finished and the two took the chance to retreat, knowing full well that fighting such a monster was way out of their ability.

But their opponents weren't so easily let off. They momentarily glanced at the roaring monster behind them, knowing that their leader was finally getting serious, and then they leered at the retreating backs of Ken and Chikusa, Ame summoning his bladed-knuckles and igniting it with his flame before the both of them chased after the two ex-convicts.

Ken slid to a halt next to one of the brainwashed children and without really thinking about what he was doing (which didn't really come as a surprise when it came to him) he grabbed the child, intending to bring her out of harm's way. And apparently, the child's way of thanking him was to push him away, but that was probably due to the fact that she was still controlled by Oozora's lackeys.

"I thought rescuing children was not our business?" Chikusa inquired as he too began to gather the other children.

"I doubt you can ignore them as well!" Ken yelled above the noise of the crowd before he looked up and dodged Ame, who had jumped into the air and nearly struck the shape shifter with his blade.

As the two ex-convicts ran from their attackers, the dragon decided that playtime with the monument was over. It began to gather orange flames and energy into its mouth as it spread its wings and took to the air, hovering just above the metal and stone structure. The energy and flames in its grinning jaws compressed into a tight glowing ball, emitting smoke and wisps of energy. The dragon aimed carefully at the monument and when its aim was just right, there was a shrill whistling noise as the giant beast released the glowing orange ball, sending it flying to the ground where it smashed into the weary structure in an immense explosion that sent people flying. Niji shielded Lambo with her own body before they were thrown away and even Ken and Chikusa as well, with their armload of diseased and brainwashed street kids, were shot forward with a cry, feeling the heat of the blast on their backs. Only Ame and Arashi used the explosion to their advantage, jumping forwards where they were propelled by the force of the explosion like life-size bullets from a gigantic, smoking beast of a gun.

The dragon only roared in victory.

Soon after, as the shock of the explosion died down, Ken and Chikusa tiredly got to their knees, shaking their aching heads and eyes scanning their surroundings where burning metal and stone were scattered about carelessly. Along with them, the children they had rescued had gotten to their feet and hurriedly escaped the carnage. Whether they were back to their normal selves or not went unknown for the two young mercenaries.

Behind them stood their two adversaries, the long-haired redhead chuckling derisively at the fallen two. "Are we having fun, gentleman?" he asked with a grin.

Ken growled low in his throat as he cried, "The time of my life!" straining his last word as he spun a kick towards Arashi, who easily dodged it. At the same time, Ame quickly backed away from Chikusa's attacks, evading bright red yo-yos that were as hard as steel and made even more dangerous with the added spinning.

Meanwhile, Ken paused in his attacks to bring out a teeth cartridge from somewhere, placing it in his mouth where he instantaneously morphed into a wolf-like humanoid, growing claws, fangs, and markings on his face as he growled out "Wolf Channel!" before charging forwards to attack Arashi with kicks and strikes of his claws. Arashi smirked as he easily ducked beneath each attack, eventually blocking a kick from the animalistic blond male before throwing a kick of his own, hitting the blond in the jaw and sending him to the ground on his back.

But Ken was on his feet in half a second, his claws almost flashing as he jumped towards redhead, crying out, "When will you guys call it a day?!"

Arashi merely jumped away from the shape shifter, reaching an amazing height and landing on top of a small building nearby. He looked down at Ken and smirked as he said, "When you give Father to us, then everything will be all over."

Ken just growled and glared up at Arashi before he ran up the side of the building, jumping up and flipping in the air to land on top of the redhead who stepped to the side to avoid the attack. All the while, down below, Chikusa and Ame were having their own fight; bright red yo-yos striking against the sharp edge of bladed steel knuckles.

"Just what are you people planning to do with it?" Chikusa called out as he struck out with a yo-yo a couple more times, each strike blocked by Ame's bladed-knuckles.

Ame ignored the probing question as he ran forward, dodging and blocking spinning yo-yos and hearing it whiz as it flew past his head. Chikusa hopped backwards, trying to regain some distance in between them because he was at a disadvantage when it came to close-combat since he was a long-ranged fighter. But Ame didn't let that slide. When he blocked one of the bespectacled man's yo-yos, he quickly grabbed the tough string and pulled the man in with a smug grin. Eyes going wide behind his glasses, Chikusa could barely do anything Ame pulled him in the air, spinning him around his head like a lasso before he let go and caused the purple-haired ex-convict to hurl through the air.

As Chikusa flew down the street with a cry, Arashi and Ken fought on the rooftop of the building not too far away, exchanging kicks and punches, the crimson-haired man easily pushing aside every attack despite the blond's speed.

"Forget your damn Reunion and get a life!" Ken taunted as Arashi put some distance in between them. The blond then rushed forwards to attack the redhead again, who spoke as he evaded each strike.

"My life is devoted only to Father!" the redhead cried, ducking beneath another swipe before he spun around, bringing his foot up and kicking Ken right in the face, the force strong enough to send the blond hurtling through the air and off the building.

Down on the ground, Chikusa crashed into some crates that effectively halted his momentum but resulted in pain erupting throughout his body. Before him, Ame appeared from above, landing smoothly on his feet and walking calmly towards his fallen opponent.

"When Father is brought back, he's going to bring about the peace that none of you fools could ever hope to achieve," he said with a smug and prideful look on his face. "So, just tell us where he is and I'll end your life as cleanly and painlessly as I can."

Chikusa staggered to his feet, eyes narrowed behind his glasses. He was about ready to attack again when a large sign suddenly fell from out of nowhere, thudding onto his head before clattering to the ground. The yo-yo user staggered about like a drunkard as his head spun from the impact, muttering something along the lines of "Son of a bitch" before the same person he was thinking about fell from the sky and landed right on top of him, both of them falling into a pile on the ground.

Arashi landed next to Ame and the two of them looked down on their opponents, who tried to pry each other off but only ended up in quite a provocative position. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Ken to push himself up onto his feet, though he stepped on and broke Chikusa's glasses which had fallen off of the yo-yo user's face when they both fell. Said mercenary was not at all pleased.

"Che, with the dribble you two are spitting, I doubt that your Father is as glorious as you say he is," the blond said as he dusted himself off, not noticing the glare his companion was throwing at him.

That seemed to tick the colorful duo off.

"Hey!" Ame started.

"Don't you dare talk about Father like that!" Arashi snarled.

"I'll fucking kill you!"

Chikusa retrieved a spare pair of glasses from inside his jacket and he slipped them on as he hummed a bit. "We apologize for our rudeness," he said.

"Yeah, your Father's cool," said Ken, looking back at his companion only to snap his head back around to their opponents. "What the hell am I saying?!"

Ken punctuated his sentence by charging towards Arashi and jumping up, meeting the redhead, who jumped up after him, in midair. Ame was distracted by the sudden attack and he looked up to watch, only to have a bright red yo-yo strike him not once, but twice in the face by a slightly smirking Chikusa. The force behind the blows sent the teal-haired man flying for a bit and he was soon followed by Arashi who caught a punch in the face as well and was sent to the ground with a cry, falling hard on his back. Ken landed from his jump in a crouch and he smirked at Chikusa, who only coolly raised an eyebrow at his partner. The two were brought to attention once again when they heard an enraged cry from the previously fallen Ame, who was rushing towards them with his fist glowing blue, encased in his Rain flame. Before the two mercenaries could react, Ame's fist collided with the side of Ken's face and the blond flew backwards with a pained grunt, smacking into Chikusa, who sent out a similar noise. The punch sent the both of them flying a few meters across the ground before they landed hard near the motorbikes that belonged to the colorful gang and were parked next to an incomplete building.

As Ken and Chikusa rose to their feet, Arashi landed behind them with Ame taking up the front, both of them smirking and chuckling none too kindly at the panting mercenaries who found themselves thrust into a corner by their opponents.

This might be getting bad.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Lambo woke up to the screeching of the massive dragon, which was digging through the smoldering remains of the monument. When the young Lightning Guardian finally realized where he was, it surprised him when he saw that he was on the cement ground with a weight pressing on top of him. Blinking in confusion, Lambo pushed the unconscious body off of him and was shocked to find that it was his older sister figure, the eighteen-year-old Niji.

"Niji-nee?"

Niji still lay unmoving, even when Lambo tried to shake her awake. Narrowing his eyes in a glare, Lambo knew who to blame for the chaos around him and he turned around in blind anger, scrambling to his feet and running towards the massive roaring dragon.

"You bastard!"

He wasn't one to think ahead before acting. But Lambo just couldn't let this slide easily. That monster had attacked his home and hurt his friend and that was inexcusable. He ran towards the beast, that had noticed him and opened its grinning jaws wide, intending to swallow the child whole. At that moment, Niji jumped awake when the screeches of the dragon echoed through the air and she watched in horror as Lambo ran towards the gaping jaws of the dragon beast…

Until a hand grabbed his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks and reeling forward to point some sort of skull-shaped shooter, strapped around the wrist, towards the dragon.

"Gatling Arrow!"

From the skull's mouth, a series of red blasts erupted from it and exploded in the dragon's face, causing the dragon to reel back as it roared in pain. The silver-haired man wearing the weapon looked back down at Lambo and smirked at the young boy.

"I should've known you would've done something reckless, you stupid cow," he said.

"Stupidera!" Lambo exclaimed, his mouth falling open.

"Hayato-san!" Niji exclaimed as well as she stood up, shock obvious on her face.

"Take care of the cow. We'll handle this," the Storm Guardian said to Niji with a nod before he lit his Vongola ring and connected it with one of the crimson boxes strapped to his belt.

In a flash of red flames, a roaring full-grown Uri appeared, and he ran alongside his master as they both charged towards the screeching dragon. With a deep roar, Uri jumped up and latched onto the beast's face with his fangs while his paws where busy clawing and scratching at the monster. The dragon took flight as it roared in pain, shaking its head this way and that, trying to shake the oversized cat off of it. Uri clung on for a great amount of time before he was flung off, crashing into the ground with a growl. But he immediately jumped to his feet a second later, ready to pounce at the monster once again.

As the dragon was about to attack Uri, a sudden red blast exploded on the side of its face, causing it to fall harshly to the ground and turning its attention away from the cat to the smirking Storm Guardian who stood with his Flame Arrow pointed at the beast. With a roar, the dragon veered towards Hayato, who stood unmoving with a smug look on his face.

Moments before the dragon could even get close to attacking the silver-haired man, a sharp blast of water erupted from above it and struck its face, resulting in a loud shriek from the winged beast as it fell to the ground with the force of the attack. Hayato looked up with a grin and saw a dark-haired man float down from the skies, katana glinting in his hands and his animal box open to accommodate his sparrow which returned to him. The Rain Guardian landed softly in front of Niji and Lambo, distinguishing the Rain flames that blasted through his shoes.

"Hey Niji! Hey Lambo!" Takeshi said to the two with a big smile on his face as if he was having such a great day. "Long time no see huh?"

Niji laughed a bit at Takeshi's usual airheaded ways. "You know, there is a giant monster attacking the city Takeshi-san," she said.

"Well then I better go help Gokudera! Let's catch up later!" said the older man before giving the two a two-fingered salute and running off, swinging his katana about.

"That's… the baseball freak," said Lambo with slight awe.

"Yeah, it is," said Niji, feeling a bit nostalgic at the faces of her friends.

Suddenly, a horde of the black box monsters that still lurked about jumped at Niji and Lambo, shrieking and bearing their fangs and claws. Niji held Lambo close, intending to protect him with her life, but then there was a shout of "Maximum Cannon!" and a blast of yellow flew through the air, slamming into the black monsters and causing them to fade away into nothingness.

A muscular white-haired man appeared before the pair and he smiled at them while holding up a slightly smoking fist.

"You guys all right?" Ryohei asked.

"Ryohei-san!" Niji exclaimed. "Yeah, we're fine…"

There was a slightly awkward silence between the three, but Ryohei cancelled that by smiling reassuringly at his younger friends. "Kyoko would've wanted me to be here, to help our friends," he said. "And so would I."

Niji smiled and nodded at the older man. "Glad to have you back Ryohei-san," she said and the white-haired man nodded before running off with a loud "Kyokugen!"

"Disrupting the peace?" a deep voice suddenly rung out and Niji and Lambo turned around to see a calm Kyouya walking towards the ongoing battle. "I'll bite them all to death as punishment."

Lambo stared after the black-clad man with a confused look on his face. "Who's he?" he asked Niji.

"Kyouya-san's a friend too," Niji answered, knowing full well that Lambo had barely seen the aloof Cloud Guardian, let alone know who he is.

Not a second later, the two heard a familiar screech of tires and they turned around to see Tsuna drive his large motorbike up to the two, slowing to a stop in front of them. Lambo smiled widely at the sight of his older brother figure and Niji did the same.

"I-Pin's all right, I took her home," Tsuna said as he released his X-Gloves and Cielo Spada.

Niji smiled and nodded, feeling relief flood her being.

"I feel lighter," said Tsuna as he watched the dragon flap about over a mass of partly destroyed buildings in the distance.

"Hm?" Niji hummed in question.

"Maybe… that no-good boy came back to show me that I still can save those I love."

Surprise flitted across the Niji's face for a moment at the realization that something had changed inside of her friend, and then she smiled softly, feeling more then happy about it.

"I'll go back home and wait with I-Pin," Lambo chirped up and both Niji and Tsuna watched as he jogged away. But then, he remembered something, so he turned back towards Tsuna, his green eyes shining with happiness. "You're coming back home, right Tsuna?"

Tsuna stared back at Lambo for a moment, and then he nodded with a ghost of a smile gracing his lips.

Lambo smiled widely at that and turned back around to run off once more. Tsuna and Niji watched him for a while before Niji hopped onto the bike behind the Vongola heir, who revved up the bike and shot off towards the battlefield between the Vongola Guardians and the box dragon.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

"Gatling Arrow!"

Hayato stood upon a steel beam high above the ground as he shot an array of Storm and Sun flame-propelled bullets towards the soaring dragon overhead. The dragon flew towards him, opening its mouth and releasing a ball of orange flames towards the silver-haired man, who quickly reloaded his Flame Arrow with a stick of dynamite. A bright blast of red shot through the air and towards the oncoming ball of fire, but it was rendered useless because of the Sky flame's Harmonia ability. Gasping in surprise, Hayato jumped away just in time to avoid the blast that caused a huge explosion. Landing on another horizontal steel bar and just barely able to maintain his balance, Hayato glared at the dragon that continued to fly overhead.

From out of the flames appeared Kyouya, blue-gray eyes narrowed in a fierce glare at the dragon that roared before him. Brandishing his steel tonfas that glowed with his Cloud flame, Kyouya met the beast head-on and he was able to strike it thrice in the snout before he fell away, landing on a steel bar and just barely dodging a gigantic clawed foot.

The dragon flew off, roaring loudly as its massive wings flapped in the air. Running along a steel bar that was level with the beast, Ryohei gritted his teeth and jumped off the structure, propelling himself with his Sun flame that blasted through his boots. Landing on the back of the massive entity, Ryohei gripped whatever he can of beast with one hand and began to rapidly punch the back with his other hand while shouting "Kyokugen!" The creature roared at the pressure on its back and it flew towards a tower, twisting its body around so that it could rid itself of the annoying presence on its back. Ryohei's eyes went wide when he saw that he was about to be crushed against steel. But before the impact came, Uri came to Ryohei's rescue, grabbing the back of the white-haired man's collar with its jaws before flying off to safety. As a result, only the dragon crashed into the steel pillar, scattering metal into the air.

The massive summoned animal flapped it wings and landed with a cry on the side of a building, its claws creating sharp dents into the steel as it searched for its undersized attackers. It then took off again, flying in between steel beams as a dark-haired Cloud Guardian jumped after it, a purple hedgehog at his side that shot out sharp spikes towards its adversary. The dragon turned around, its attention on getting rid of Kyouya, who retreated and called back his hedgehog as it flew towards him. A little way behind the Cloud Guardian, Takeshi back flipped off a diagonal steel beam from the massive entity that flew past him, swinging his katana around a couple times where his attacks sliced across the tough hide of the creature before he decided to retreat as well.

Soon, the beast caught sight of Kyouya once again, who was standing at the ready on a nearby beam, a smirk present on his facial features. The summoned animal roared as it brought its clawed foot up and swung it down towards the dark-haired man, intending to crush him. But Kyouya was too fast and he jumped up, dodging the swipe that destroyed the beam he was previously standing upon. The Cloud Guardian then landed on the shoulder of the beast and began to mercilessly strike every surface that was presented to him while dodging more swipes and jumping between shoulders.

Running up the side of a tall pillar, Takeshi waited for an opportunity to attack. Spotting the chance, he back flipped away from the tower, brandishing his katana as he fell towards the beast's head.

"Shigure Souen Ryu Offensive Eighth Form: Shinotsuku Ame!" the Rain Guardian cried as he swung his katana in different directions, the blade sparking across the dragon's hide that was as tough as metal.

The dragon roared loudly, waving its clawed hands around and trying to swat away the nuisances that were desperately trying to defeat it. Takeshi landed on its left arm, before he jumped away after Kyouya who had retreated once again. When the two men were gone, Uri plowed ahead, roaring as he bit down on the giant creature's lower jaw, distracting it for a moment.

When Takeshi had found some level ground on a steel beam, he looked around to find himself practically face-to-face with the dragon, whose jaws was glowing a bright orange, ready to release another explosive attack. The Rain Guardian gawked at the sight for a second, his mind going blank, but suddenly from the side, Ryohei appeared, yelling out his catchphrase as he raised a fist and slammed it onto the side of the dragon's face, forcing its head away and screwing up its aim. The fireball was released and it exploded on a junction of metal, right above a certain Storm Guardian's head.

Hayato was too busy shooting at a couple black box monsters that oh-so suddenly decided to attack him. But he did notice the explosion above him and he looked up to find a mass of burning metal and flame coming down on him. With his mouth falling open, Hayato quickly reloaded his Flame Arrow and pointed it upwards, intending to blast the mass apart. But it was already so close…!

Before Hayato could pull the trigger, a dark figure jumped by him and grabbed him by the collar, effectively pulling him away from the trajectory of the falling mesh of metal and fire. Tsuna deposited Hayato on a safer steel beam before he settled himself on another one nearby, eyes narrowing at the giant beast who was roaring not too far away.

"Juudaime, you're here!" Hayato cried, eyes shining with awe at his precious boss all grown up.

Tsuna just watched the dragon thrash its head about, roaring out its frustrations in fighting such small opponents. Off to one side of the giant monster, Niji had joined Kyouya and Ryohei upon a horizontal steel beam, face determined and set to fight. But before any of them could make their next move, Tsuna raised Cielo and launched himself off of the beam he was standing on, straight towards the dragon's head. The others watched as Tsuna swung his sword about, only to have the blade get caught in between the beast's jaws

The Vongola heir was surprised for a few seconds, before the beast reared its ugly head back and tossed Tsuna into the air. Using the force of the toss, Tsuna flipped himself backwards and fell towards the dragon's head as it flapped after him, butting its head forward and meeting the blade that was swung at it, bouncing the Vongola in the air. Seeing that he couldn't possibly defeat the mighty beast in his current level, Tsuna flipped away and landed on a metal beam ahead of the dragon. Twirling Cielo in his hands, Tsuna surged his Dying Will flame through the blade, causing it to softly glow orange with his energy. Seeing the beast close in on him, Tsuna readied himself and jumped off of the metal beam, meeting the dragon head on, striking its skull with his blade and causing sparks to appear. The dragon lunged after him, waving its clawed hands about and flapping its wings, bringing the both of them upwards. Tsuna jumped from the beast's shoulder to its head, striking its skull where his blade sparked brightly. The monster roared and swiped after him, bouncing the young man in the air and snapping its jaws angrily, very nearly catching the Vongola with its fangs. But Tsuna was able to avoid every would-be attack on him, much to its annoyance. Jumping upwards off of the beast, Tsuna concentrated his flame into his blade, making it glow even brighter, and he spun downwards, slicing across the dragon's head. The attack was now powerful enough to bring the dragon down, causing it to fall towards the ground, colliding with metal beams and pillars along the way, roaring loudly in pain.

Tsuna flipped through the air before he landed in a smooth crouch on a stable steel beam, joining everyone who watched the beast roar and writhe on the ground, trying to get to its feet. Moments later, the dragon rolled to its side with a growl and it opened its mouth, gathering orange energy into another explosive ball. But this ball looked more powerful then its previous attacks. Everyone watched in growing premonition as the mighty beast flapped its wings and took to the sky.

It was all too obvious that the dragon was getting impatient and this last attack was going to end it all. It was going to burn everything to the ground.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Back on the thirteenth floor of the uncompleted skyscraper, Oozora grinned at the havoc her summoned beast was wreaking upon the city. Turning away from the Mist Guardian, she allowed herself to laugh.

"This is getting to be a really enjoyable trip," she laughed, her grin devious. "What do you think we should summon next-?" Oozora turned back around and her sentence was cut short at the sight behind her.

Mukuro had just stood up and tossed his indigo robe away as if his incapacitated state in the wheelchair was all but an act. He smirked at the gaping orange woman, his mismatched eyes gleaming gleefully at her expression. He sported several bandages around his head and neck and in his hand he held a white box that was about twice as large as the one that the dragon had come from, the sides decorated with several distinct purple markings.

Oozora's eyes visibly widened once she laid her eyes on the box. "Father!"

"A good daughter would have known," the illusionist said in a mocking tone of voice before he tossed the box off of the side of the building with a "humph," not caring that it was falling to its doom thirteen floors below.

Oozora's golden eyes followed the box's trajectory in horror before she looked back up at Mukuro, a never before seen expression of pure anger twisting her facial features.

"I'll kill you!" the woman yelled as she quickly gathered orange flames into her hand and thrusted her palm forwards, intending to blow the Mist Guardian to smithereens.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

The dragon soared into the sky; level with the tallest towers as it flapped its wings harder, pushing itself up higher. Down below, Tsuna launched himself into the air and spotted a grinning Hayato kneeling upon a rafter, hand outstretched towards his boss. Reaching out, Tsuna gripped Hayato's hand and he heard his right-hand man say, "Go Juudaime!" as he was thrown upwards.

The Vongola heir met the dragon once again and he was able to slice once at its head, but he was pushed downwards, blocking a foot that almost hit him. Tsuna dropped, but below him was Ryohei, who curled up both his fists and punched upwards, catching Tsuna's feet and propelling him up once again with a loud "Kyokugen!"

The dragon soared even higher, surpassing the towers and gathering even more energy into its mouth. As Tsuna flew upwards, Uri appeared behind him, grabbing his collar with its mouth and tossing him up as well. Next was Takeshi, who flipped into view, flashing his signature grin as he gave Tsuna a foothold to jump up from; Kyouya then came into view, jumping off of one of the towers to grab Tsuna's outstretched hand. Smirking, the Cloud Guardian said, "Bite him to death," as he tossed Tsuna further into the sky.

Lastly came Niji, who was waiting for Tsuna, hand outstretched to grab his. In the split second they were in contact, Niji looked Tsuna straight in the eye and said, "No more running," and she used all of her strength to throw Tsuna upwards one last time.

Tsuna was enveloping his body with his Sky flame, shooting towards the hovering mass of teeth and claws that was done gathering the necessary energy for its final attack. With a loud booming sound, the entity fired its gigantic energy ball, watching it spiral down towards the city. It was large enough to destroy a fair portion of the rebuilt city.

Tsuna dove headfirst into the energy ball, feeling the hot flames lick his body but he was protected by his own. He travelled through the ball, watching for the exit, gritting his teeth as he saw images of his loved ones flash before his eyes. He wasn't going to let this monster destroy the place he loves. He refused to let Oozora get away with her plans and bring back a nightmare that should be long forgotten. He wasn't going to let that happen…

A bright light appeared before him and the silhouette of a familiar person was suddenly in front of him, hand outstretched and lips curved upwards in a proud smile. Acting on instinct, Tsuna reached out for the hand, feeling a strong grip as their hands connected and he heard a familiar voice.

"Use your Dying Will, Dame-Tsuna."

After what seemed like forever, Tsuna found the end and he burst out of the dissipating ball of orange energy. Roaring in anger, the dragon flapped its wings and lurched downwards, intending to ram into Tsuna. But the Mafioso wouldn't have that. Narrowing his eyes and channeling his flame into Cielo's blade, Tsuna flipped around in the air, avoiding the swiping of the dragon's claws, and he landed on the beast's head, digging his blade into its flesh. With a cry, Tsuna ran along the creature's back, dragging his blade along and practically cutting the creature in half. The mighty beast roared and began to dissipate into orange flames as it fell towards the ground, partly solid mass and partly hot flame energy.

The others watched from among the steel girders as the dissipating creature crashed into the ground with one last roar, completely disappearing and leaving only remnants of flames and burning metal. Staring at the burning ground for a second, Niji then looked up and smiled at her friend, who cleanly flipped down onto a horizontal beam, easily landing on one knee. But Tsuna only had a few seconds to regain his breath when he noticed that a nearby building was glowing with an orange light…

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Mukuro launched himself to the side, avoiding the blast of flames that was aimed at his head. As he fell through the air, he reached into his jacket and brought out a firearm, aiming its barrel at Oozora and pulling the trigger to fire lead bullets at her. Oozora wasn't worried about the bullets that shot by only inches from her head. With a concerned "Father!" she jumped out after Mukuro, chasing the falling white box farther down below and narrowly avoiding the explosion that came after her blast of energy.

Down on the ground, Chikusa and Ken looked up to watch in horror as their leader ("Mukuro-sama!") fell from the building, chasing after the orange woman who had zoomed past him. Already on his bike, Tsuna sped towards the scene, seeing a man and woman fall from the burning building and pushing his accelerator even harder.

Mukuro continued to shoot bullets at Oozora, each one missing the woman by a couple inches. Oozora herself was reaching out for the white box that was still very much out of her reach. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Mukuro re-aimed and pulled the trigger, the bullet whizzing past Oozora's ear and striking the box. Her eyes widening, Oozora was finally able to reach the box and she grabbed it tightly before flipping in the air.

From bordering rooftops, a healed Chrome and Fran made an illusion of a net that effectively caught Mukuro before he could hit the ground. Oozora needn't such a thing for she easily landed in a crouch, unharmed in any way. Ken and Chikusa backed away from the dangerous woman while her comrades gathered slightly around her. Looking down in her hands, Oozora inspected the white box she had tried so hard to obtain. She found that the bullet had nicked off a corner of the box but was otherwise unharmed to her relief.

They had the last piece, but there was still a hindrance in their plans and that hindrance was speeding towards them, eyes set on stopping them once and for all.

Cradling the rather large box in the nook of her arm, Oozora ran to her bike, taking off first while her other two companions revved up slower, allowing Tsuna to speed after the orange woman before they could take off as well. All four of them, with Oozora in the lead, sped through the streets of Namimori, weaving between steel beams, other vehicles, and pedestrians who literally had to jump out of their way as to not become road kill. Tsuna quickly caught up to Oozora, but the orange woman made a sharp turn to the right, the other three tailing her like lapdogs. There was a highway being built up ahead, so Oozora turned left and drove up the ramp that led to the bridge, crashing through the "Do Not Enter" sign that cut it off from civilians. She had to get rid of that nuisance one way or another.

Ducking beneath the sign that flew towards him, Tsuna drove on, tailing the orange woman that seemed intent on losing him. But then he noticed Arashi catching up to him on his right. The redhead lifted his box weapon and began firing Storm bullets at him, forcing the Mafioso to fall back and out of his range. Ame immediately fell back with him, slamming his bike against Tsuna's and pinning the Vongola heir between his own bike and the guard rail. With a sneer, the teal-haired man raised a fist decorated with his bladed steel knuckles, but before he could slice at the younger man, there was a flash of orange and he was thrown away by the flames Tsuna emitted from his free hand. Ame spun away, slamming into the opposite guard rail, and Tsuna sped forwards, releasing Cielo Spada.

Meters away from him, Arashi spun around on his bike to face the Vongola heir. Blocking the bullets that shot his way, Tsuna rammed his bike into Arashi's, causing both of the bikes to spin around while the gun and broadsword were interlocked with the other, sparks appearing where they made contact. Amidst the delighted chuckling the redhead blurted, Tsuna glared and pushed the other man away, sending the both of them into tailspins, only Tsuna quickly regained control of his own bike while Arashi was left to spin.

Shooting onwards, Tsuna tailed Oozora's bike once more. Ahead of him, Oozora could see the Mafioso catching up to her. Facing forward, the orange woman spotted a lane leading to a separate bridge and she drove her bike up, gaining height with the bridge. Tsuna veered his bike to the right, intending to follow his adversary, but before he was able to drive up the ramp, Ame appeared at his side, crouching on the seat of his bike. With a cry, the blunet jumped up, raised a blade-adorned fist that glowed blue, then shot downwards, smashing into the ground where Tsuna had previously been.

Narrowly avoiding Ame's attack, Tsuna spun his bike out of the way but at the cost of missing the ramp. Glancing up at the bridge that ran alongside the road he was taking, Tsuna pulled his bike forward and shot on ahead. Ame himself glared ahead, seething at his missed attempt to fatally injure the brunet, but he knew there were more chances he could take. Hearing Arashi's bike coming up behind him, he jumped into the air and flipped onto his own bike, which miraculously stayed upright with the absence of its driver, and the colorful duo sped after their enemy.

Oozora didn't slow down once, even though she knew that her enemy was tailing her from down below. She could see the young heir down below, glaring up at her with determined brown eyes that seemed to mock her like the mismatched eyes of that Mist Guardian. Cursing under her breath, Oozora hit her accelerator as far as it could go.

Below her, the road that Tsuna was taking veered beneath the bridge that held Oozora, hiding her from view now. Then, he entered a tunnel just beneath the bridge, encasing the Mafioso in partial darkness since the tunnel was dimly lit with white lights. Gritting his teeth, Tsuna could only hope that he could intercept Oozora at the end of the tunnel while fending himself from his pursuers.

Tsuna sped on into the dimness with Arashi and Ame hot on his trail. Mostly acting on impromptu ideas, Ame brought his bike to the side and towards the tunnel wall. With enough speed, the bike tilted and defied gravity by driving up the wall. Tsuna watched in caution as the blunet left the wall and was now driving upside down on the ceiling. Jumping off of his bike, Ame fell down towards the brunet, his bike veering across the ceiling and down the opposite wall instead of falling straight down, and he swiped with his blade as he landed on the Mafioso's bike, only to be blocked by Cielo. Growling in earnest, Ame pressed against Cielo's blade as Tsuna's bike spun around, said driver glaring down his adversary as he pushed back against the blunet.

While Arashi shot passed the interlocked pair, Tsuna finally managed to shove Ame off of his bike. The teal-haired man jumped backwards, landing on Arashi's bike, whose driver had spun it around to face Tsuna, before leaping for his bike up ahead. Arashi in the meantime focused on shooting Tsuna's head off as he aimed his pistol at the aforementioned Mafioso. Tsuna easily blocked the bullets with Cielo and a second later, he rammed his bike against Arashi's once more, their weapons slamming into each other and sparking at the contact. The bike spun around near each other, Arashi shooting at any of Tsuna's body part that was deemed as an appropriate target and Tsuna slicing at the redhead only for his attack to be blocked or dodged. It was close to looking like an endless game of "Attack, Dodge, and Block" with neither side losing nor even looking close to winning.

Up ahead, Ame had an idea strike his mind. With a grunt, he punched his blade into the ground, feeling himself get dragged for a couple of feet before fully stopping. Then, gripping the bike with both his legs, he used the momentum it had to swing it around and circle it about before releasing it, throwing it towards the interlocked enemies just down the road. Tsuna watched in astonishment as the flying chunk of metal and circuits flew towards him and Arashi. But the redhead didn't seem so worried. In fact, he probably sensed the thing heading behind him for he pushed himself away from the Mafioso, easily ducking under the bike with a snobbish snort before shooting a bullet towards Tsuna. The Vongola heir himself disregarded the bullet, which shot right past him anyway, and he stood upon his bike before leaping forward to meet the airborne bike in the air. Flipping upside down, Tsuna raised Cielo over his head and brought it down (or up, depending on the perspective) with a grunt, slicing through the metal contraption like a hot knife through butter and allowing himself to fly between the two halves.

"Heheh."

Ame was in front of him, chuckling with a smug grin on his face. He raised a bladed fist and swung at Tsuna, but the young Mafioso easily dodged the attack, flipping over the blunet and kicking him in the back, away from him and towards the cleaved bike that was still in the air. Ame compulsively grabbed onto the bike that sprayed gasoline and whose circuits sparked with electricity and he gasped when he realized his mistake. But it was a little too late.

The bike exploded in his face.

Arashi made a small noise in his throat when he saw the bike explode with Ame on top of it. But he knew that something like that wouldn't kill the teal-haired man so easily. And sure enough, a blue blur burst out of the cloud of smoke and fire not a second later.

Tsuna landed on his bike that passed underneath, almost at the same time Ame landed in front of him as well, and before he knew it, the brunet felt a sharp pain in his jaw as Ame delivered an uppercut to him, therefore launching him into the air. He was then kicked about in the air by Ame before the blunet grabbed his collar and threw him towards his still running bike. Tsuna prepared to land on his vehicle, but to his annoyance Arashi swerved in the way, knocking the Vongola heir's bike to the side while he shot his Storm flame bullets at the airborne brunet. Tsuna blocked the projectiles, though it only pushed him further away in the air, and Arashi jumped after him, raising his crimson gun.

Dodging and blocking an attack from Ame, Tsuna pushed the blunet away and looked over his shoulder, sensing Arashi closing in on him from the other side. He immediately knew that the two were going to attack from both sides, possibly cornering him. And just as he thought, the three met in the air, with Cielo blocking Ame's own blade while Tsuna's other hand kept Arashi's gun at bay. The trio spun in the air and Tsuna could hear both his adversaries laughing at his cornered state, but they were underestimating the heir to the most powerful mafia line.

Catching the two off guard, Tsuna threw out his arms and tossed his opponents helplessly into the air on either side of him. He then spun around with a grunt, feeling his blade slice through metal, and the colorful duo fell through the air, allowing Tsuna to finally land on his own bike.

As Ame fell, he was surprised that his bladed steel knuckles could be cut in half so easily. He let the useless weapons slip from his grasp as Arashi landed on his bike and the redhead swerved to catch his partner, screeching the bike to a stop as Tsuna sped past them, having bigger fish to fry. The colorful duo panted, out of breath. Then, with a grunt, Arashi tossed his cut and smoking weapon to the ground. The now useless box weapon had a considerate amount of its barrel cut off and right there on the remaining length of the barrel, was a burnt-on imprint of a hand, caused by none other then the Vongola heir.

Gritting his teeth, Arashi revved the engine of his bike and turned it around to Ame's momentary surprise before speeding off after the brunet. They were determined to bring the brunet down, whether they had weapons or not.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

The sun was setting, not too far from the horizon, and it cast an orange glow across the sky like it had burst into soft flames. Oozora took no notice of the beauty as she urged her bike onwards, slicing through the air and hearing it roar past her ears. Eventually, the road she was on swerved to the left and slanted downwards, bringing her below the road that was previously underneath the one she had took. But because of her speed and her sheer focus on the task at hand, she had failed to notice two figures standing in the middle of the opposite road.

"Yo, Kaki-pii," Ken called over to his partner. "Do ya think this thing can do the job?" Ken indicated the little bundle that he held in his hand. It consisted of a round container filled with God-knows-what and had three sticks of dynamite taped around it as well as a timer.

With a shrug, Chikusa said, "I dunno, it probably will." He looked at his own little bomb. "We're getting paid by that Storm Guardian to blow those bastards up and he made these himself, so why are you questioning his work?"

"Pheh, well for all I know this thing can go off while I'm still holding it!" Ken argued with a scowl.

Sighing, Chikusa shot back, "I'm sure he doesn't want to get in trouble with that Vongola boss by blowing us up as well. There'll be hell to pay if that happens, am I right?"

Now grinning, Ken said," Yeah… I've always wondered what would happen if that tiny boss got mad at his Guardians."

Shortly after their little conversation, Tsuna reached the end of the tunnel and shot out of it like a bullet, passing in between a grinning Ken and an apathetic Chikusa. Almost right behind him was Arashi and Ame, sharing a bike, but Arashi immediately sensed that something was wrong.

The timer counted down two seconds.

Somewhere in a safe place, Ken grinned at the thought of finally paying back those two bastards who caused them so much trouble.

Far up ahead, Tsuna nearly lost control of his bike when an enormous explosion shook the ground in a ten kilometer radius. On the road down below, Oozora also felt the explosion and she looked over her shoulder to see not only smoke and flame, but bright multicolored bursts of light as well as different colors of smoke shooting up miles into the sky. But as she watched the fireworks display in astonishment, a black bike jumped out from the road above her and she saw that Tsuna was atop that bike, Cielo raised to attack.

Quickly releasing one of her sai, Oozora slid her bike to the side and raised her weapon, effectively stopping Tsuna's attack while their bikes collided into each other. They continued to slide across the road until they both noticed that they were approaching the end. There was a reason why the road was closed off to civilians and now they knew why.

Doing nothing to stop their bikes in its tracks, Oozora and Naruto fell off of the uncompleted road and dropped through the air before landing on a steep slope that lead to a part of Old Namimori that was mostly filled with run down buildings, cast aside steel girders, and old vehicles. Looking down at where she would eventually come to a stop, Oozora heard the engine of another bike and looked up to see Tsuna speeding towards her, sword poised to stab her. To retaliate, Oozora raised her sai as well, waiting for their bikes to come into contact.

As luck would have it, Tsuna missed his target while Oozora's sai ripped through the fabric that covered his shoulder. They glared each other down for a couple seconds before pushing each other away; Tsuna's bike spinning wildly while Oozora smirked back up at him. Upon arriving at the bottom of the valley and finally finding some level ground, Oozora sped away as Tsuna spun to a halt near a pile of metal, very nearly falling off of his own bike.

Sputtering and gasping, Tsuna took the moment to regain his breath as he momentarily stored Cielo in his box. He then looked down at his shoulder where the orange woman supposedly stabbed him and had ripped the fabric of his coat. Almost glaring at his superficial wound, Tsuna removed his coat and stuffed it into a compartment in his bike, fully revealing the black wifebeater he had on underneath and the black orchid-shaped blemishes that decorated the whole length of his left arm. After staring down at his stigma for a moment, Tsuna then leaned forward and revved up the engine of his bike, speeding off after Oozora.

It was time to finish this.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Far from where Tsuna was, Oozora entered her bike into an old school gymnasium and she skidded to a stop in a clearing of flowers, scattering about petals and dirt. Taking the opportunity to rest, she killed the engine of her motorbike and looked down at the large box in her hands, a look of sheer happiness on her features.

"Father!" she cried, as she practically hugged the box.

The plan was finally going to be executed. Sure there were a few minor bumps along the way, but she finally got what she wanted and her goals were so close that her fingertips just brushed the surface. But something was still wrong. The large box in her hands had a deep gash on it and golden eyes widened with shock and fear when a distinct crimson liquid began to ooze out of the wound.

"Father?" Oozora gasped, running her fingers down the jagged edges of the cut and wiping some red liquid on her fingers. It was cold, like ice water.

So Tsuna wasn't aiming for her at all. He was aiming for the box in her arms.

"Father? Father!" Oozora yelled to the skies. She yelled even more, wanting the gods to hear her anguish and fury, but then she stopped when she heard the roar of a familiar engine just outside of the building.

Through the gap in the doors that had slid to a close, Oozora glared at the brunet figure that glared right back at her. Outside, Tsuna revved up his engine before shooting forwards, bringing the front of the bike up in a wheelie so he could easily crash through the doors. Annoyed at Tsuna's persistence, Oozora slid her bike sideways before gathering her flames in her hands and shooting at the balcony that lined the walls of the gym. One end of the balcony slid down towards her so that she could drive up of it and as a bonus, she caused a portion of the roof to collapse as Tsuna drove underneath.

Seeing the blocks of steel and concrete coming down on him, Tsuna slid his bike along the ground, narrowly avoiding a large block that would've easily flattened him. He then spun into a stop in the clearing of flowers and he searched for Oozora. But he needn't search for long for there was the orange woman, sitting on her bike that was balanced precariously along a steel beam, and in her hand was a condensed ball of flame energy.

Just as Oozora shot him the ball, Tsuna jumped off of his bike and managed to avoid the blast, though it flipped his bike over with a crash. Oozora just laughed in delight as she watched Tsuna stagger to his feet, clutching his diseased arm, and she knew she could finish him right there, at that moment. Having that thought in mind, Oozora gathered energy into her hand once more, laughing deviously and delighting in being the cause of Tsuna's demise.

But then, from where the orange woman's previous attack had landed, there was the sound of rushing water. Soon after, and to Tsuna and Oozora's surprise, clear, glistening liquid seeped to the surface before it became an open faucet with water rushing up and pooling around the clearing. Not only that, but it curiously began to shoot upwards and actually spread across the air like a suspended pool, the water being manipulated by some unknown and unseen force. The pool of water then began to rain down on Tsuna, who stood and looked around in shock, lifting his hand and feeling the patter of water droplets on his skin, getting thoroughly soaked. Up above, Oozora gritted her teeth and waved her hand about, as if the water was acid to her and she was trying in vain to push it away.

She had been distracted in putting the Vongola heir down for good, but she still had a chance. With that, she gripped the handle of her bike and revved up the engine, driving across the steel beam and bouncing off of the rubble to the outside where she sped away from the godforsaken gym.

In the gym, Tsuna inspected the water, wondering where it came from and how it was able to be suspended in the air like that. He then realized that the water was familiar… almost like Rain flames. Not only that, but it sparkled yellow like Sun flames and there were even traces of Cloud flames, Mist flames, Storm flames, Lightning flames, and Sky flames. In short, the water was a mixture of all seven types of flames only in liquid form. How strange. How curious.

Tsuna suddenly felt some sort of cool relief on his arm and he looked down at it, shocked to find that the blemishes on his arm were disappearing! It was just fading away into nothingness, making his arm look like it was never diseased in the first place. So, not only was the water a mixture of flames, but it could actually heal the stigma! There is a cure now!

And then, there was a voice.

"Let's go, Tsuna-kun."

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

It wasn't long before Tsuna slowed his bike to a stop among piles of concrete rubble and metal. All around him, tall buildings that used to be full of people going about their daily routines lay in ruins, long abandoned and forgotten. Chunks of street were missing from the ground and vehicles were strewn about, upturned, burned, and damaged beyond repair. War was waged here, a war that Tsuna himself had fought in, and now he was going to fight here again, just like old times.

Tsuna swung himself off of his bike and walked forward, releasing Cielo and his X-Gloves from their box. Looking up, Tsuna spotted Oozora standing on top of the remains of a large building that lay on its side, looking right back down on him, the sun at her back. She blended easily against the sky and sun, her hair and clothes almost the same orange color, but her eyes weren't sporting that gentle and playful look that Tsuna first saw in them. No, those golden orbs had that same sadistic and scheming look that that man had in his own eyes. They seemed to be mocking him, taunting him, just like before.

"It's too late Vongola," Oozora said, eyes narrowing at the brunet. "I have Father with me now and you can not stop our Reunion."

Ignoring the orange woman's words, Tsuna said, "So what is gonna happen, now that you have him?"

Mocking laughter, just like that man. "Father will tell me…" she said as she looked fondly at the white box in her arm.

Eyes softening with pity and sadness, Tsuna said, "That's what a puppet would say…"

Oozora stopped laughing and she looked down at Tsuna with an unidentifiable emotion, her golden eyes glinting. "I'm a puppet am I? Then allow me to tell you…" She then lifted her hand, gathering flame energy and condensing it into a ball of destructive proportions. Tsuna tensed up, readying himself for the attack. "That you have received the role… as the sacrifice!"

She thrusted her hand forward, the ball of flames shooting out towards where Tsuna stood. Before the blow could reach him, Tsuna jumped high up, Oozora's attack exploding where he had previously been standing. Calmly taking out her lone sai, the orange woman jumped up after the Vongola heir. The two met and so did their weapons, the blades dancing off one another as they bounced in the air. They then landed on level and rubble covered ground, Oozora twirling her single sai as they slashed at each other. Their weapons clanged with each hit and Tsuna threw one almighty swing at the orange woman who dodged by leaping up to a higher level.

Tsuna leapt after her, swinging Cielo downwards as he fell towards the stationary woman. Oozora sidestepped the swing and used the blade embedded in the ground to jump up and over the Vongola heir's head. They continued their attacks at each other, neither landing a direct hit. It was when Oozora had blocked another one of Tsuna's swings that a large airship, bearing the Vongola family crest, flew towards where they were standing, the wind it created stirring up a light cloud of dust and dirt around their bodies. Disregarding the appearance of the airship, Tsuna swung at Oozora and forced her to jump away before he followed suit.

In the airship, a slightly frazzled Takeshi looked out of the window and waved an orange box above his head. "Tsuna, I brought you your animal box!" he exclaimed, as if his friend could hear him. The airship then lurched to the right, almost knocking the baseball fanatic down. "Hey! Careful how you fly this thing senpai!"

"Oi, Lawn head, hurry up and land this junk heap already!" Hayato shouted from near Takeshi, looking worriedly at his precious boss fighting down below.

"Shut up Octopus head!" Ryohei exclaimed from his post as the pilot of the airship. "There's nowhere to land in this part of town, so if you want off, you're going to have to jump!"

Everyone was anxious to go down and help Tsuna along with his fight; at least, everyone but a certain Cloud Guardian.

"Don't land," said the aloof guardian from his own little corner of the cockpit. "Let Sawada fight this battle himself."

"Huh? Why?" Takeshi voiced out, giving Kyouya a confused look.

"Oozora… is a vessel for that man's soul," Kyouya explained. "Think of her as a larva. Her cocoon would be that box and once it is opened, she'll come out as our old enemy."

There was a short and tense silence before Ryohei said with disdain, "So, she's going to become him?" It was more of a statement then a question.

"Kyouya-san," Niji spoke up for the first time as she turned towards the Cloud Guardian. "Does Tsuna-san know about this?"

A single nod from the stoic guardian was all the confirmation she needed.

"Then… you're right," said the teen as she turned back around to watch the fight. "This is his fight. And I know he can handle it."

Rubbing the back of his head, Takeshi said, "Uh, someone better explain this to me because I still don't get why we can't help."

"Quit your yapping and let's go help Juudaime already!" Hayato argued, not liking standing around and feeling useless, especially when his boss is out there fighting for everyone's lives once again.

"Hayato-san, Takeshi-san, those battles five years ago… they changed Tsuna-san," Niji started slowly, trying to form her words into sentences that the stubborn Storm Guardian and oblivious Rain Guardian could understand. "I'm sure you remember how he was before then, how all of us were. But then in the war, even though we all lost something, Tsuna-san lost the most. I guess… he lost his purpose, his Dying Will perhaps. And since then, he's been trying to find a purpose, trying to regain his Dying Will, and most of all, trying to prove that he is still worth something, that he can still save the ones he loves. So it would be hard for him if we just suddenly came in and helped him out, now that he's found his lost strength."

Everyone was silent as they drank in Niji's words. In one way or another, those words somehow applied to all of them as well. They were all lost after those battles and it was only now that they found their strength once again.

Hayato clicked his tongue. "We'll wait ten minutes." And everyone silently agreed.

With a fond sigh, Takeshi said, "That's Tsuna, always surprising us to the very end, huh?"

Smiling and chuckling a bit, Niji agreed with a, "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Back down in the battlefield, Tsuna jumped for his sword that had been embedded into a wall when it was knocked away by Oozora. Flipping onto the side of the building, he heard the sound of the airship retreating and his lips curled into a small smile as he mentally thanked his friends for backing off before turning his attention back to his opponent.

Jumping towards the orange woman that had leapt into the air as well, their weapons clashed while they flew towards the rooftop of another tall building. Landing, the two danced around each other, weapons sparking with each attack they threw at their opponent. Oozora's orange-hilted sai blocked a swing from Tsuna's Cielo once more and Tsuna gripped his sword with one hand as he reeled the other back, curling it into a fist and attempting to throw a punch at the woman's face. Oozora merely stopped the attack by holding up the arm that held the white box, blocking the punch with her forearm and feeling it burn with Tsuna's flame.

Breaking off their holds of each other, the two leapt away onto opposite sides of the roof, staring each other down as the wind whipped their hair about their faces. Oozora glared at Tsuna, gritting her teeth in frustration. Finally impatient with all the nonsense she had to put up with, she ran towards Tsuna and jumped high into the air. The Vongola heir merely spun his sword around him, channeling his flame into the blade as he waited for the orange woman. Oozora screamed bloody murder as she fell towards her opponent, sai raised to stab, but just as she was in range, she saw the Mafioso snap into a focus that she had never seen before and before she knew it, the glint of a blade shone in her face as Tsuna swung his sword down, striking the woman right in the midsection and causing her to fly away.

Oozora twirled in the air as she fell downwards, feeling the pain of Tsuna's attack, but she managed to grab a handhold on a building before she could fall into a crevice of sorts that was filled with destroyed buildings. Her only solace now was the white box she held in one hand while her other was occupied with preventing her from falling.

Looking down, Oozora watched her weapon fall into the crevice, and she gritted out something incoherent, something that barely expressed her anger, frustration, and even fear. Hearing something land above her, Oozora looked up and saw Tsuna crouching on the side of the building, staring down at her while being supported by the flame he emitted from his glove, Cielo glinting in his other hand and long hair moving with the hard wind. They only stared at each other, with Oozora glancing at Cielo's blade and Tsuna sporting a look in his eyes that said, "It's over, you are defeated."

But Oozora refused to be defeated, to just give up so easily. In her eyes, she still had a chance.

With a grunt she tossed the white box from her hands, away from the Vongola heir who had raised his sword in defense, thinking that she was about to attack. But as he was distracted by the box's trajectory, Oozora pushed herself off of the building, towards the falling white box that oozed a curious red liquid. As Tsuna watched, the orange woman grabbed the box and fell with it, cradling it against her chest as they locked eyes with each other, gold against brown.

Oozora smiled a grim smile as she fell through the air and mouthed, "Welcome, to my Reunion," to Tsuna.

Tsuna's eyes widened when he witnessed Oozora light up her ring with her Sky flame. Realizing what she was plotting to do, he then jumped down after her, desperately trying to finish her off once and for all before anything else can happen.

But he was too late. Halfway through her fall, Oozora connected her sky ring with the white box. In milliseconds, the box disintegrated into flames and was absorbed into the orange woman's body, said woman grunting, whether in pain or something else, Tsuna couldn't tell. And once the deed was done and the ground was drawing close, Oozora's body righted itself and lightly landed upon a large water tower that had fallen on its side and that was long devoid of any liquid. Tsuna was right behind her, sword poised to strike, and strike he did.

There was a clang. Cielo's blade was blocked by a pair of sai, white this time, and the water tower beneath Oozora's feet dented with the force of Tsuna's blow. The orange woman herself had been entirely transformed from a female to male who adorned an all white Millefiore uniform and whose pair of purple eyes bored into Tsuna's own shocked brown ones.

"Nice to see you again, Vongola Decimo," said the resurrected man as he smiled a deceitfully pleasant smile.

Before Tsuna could even think, he was bounced up in the air then was struck so hard that he was launched up and out of the crevice of buildings, landing roughly on his feet upon another rooftop. A second later an unpleasantly familiar person jumped up after him and lightly landed on a higher level in front of Tsuna, a smile still etched on his pale face.

"You…" Tsuna growled, eyes glaring at the one person he could never forgive. It was him, the same white uniform, the same white hair, the same purple marking beneath his left eye, and the same pair of lying purple eyes that was the epitome of greed and lust for power.

"Oh, your stigma's gone!" Byakuran exclaimed, making a face that would deceive anyone who didn't know of his true intentions. "Well that's too bad."

"What do you want?!"

"I truly thought that you were going to be a part of my new regime. It would've fun if you were," Byakuran sighed as he looked down at the twin sai in his hand. "Hm, I'm not used to these kinds of weapons, but this is Oozora-chan's body after all. The least I could do in thanking her for resurrecting me is to use her preferred weapon as my own, am I right?"

Byakuran laughed, twirling the bone-white sai about in his hands. Tsuna gritted his teeth, gripping his sword tighter in his hand.

"What do you want, Byakuran?!" he almost yelled at the albino man.

"Hm? Oh, you should already know that Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun," Byakuran said matter-of-factly. "I want to create a new world of course, a world under my rule. And if anyone stands in my way… well… you already know of the consequences, right?"

With a chuckle that sent shivers up Tsuna's spine, Byakuran lifted a hand and immediately dark clouds began to form in the sky with some unknown power, swirling above the revived man's head like a whirlpool of despair and darkness.

"I guess it's time for me to repay my debt from five years ago, Tsunayoshi-kun," Byakuran said, his smile becoming more morbid.

"Consider your debt repaid!" Tsuna exclaimed as he raised Cielo and that only enticed a chuckle from his adversary.

"No thanks, I insist on paying it myself!"

Byakuran then lowered his hand, gripping both his sai, and he launched himself towards Tsuna, who jumped right after him, sword poised in his hands.

Their weapons met with a clang. It was the beginning of the end.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

The sky was darkening and thundering over Namimori like a storm of darkness. In the distance, the citizens of the rebuilt city could see tendrils of dark energy shoot down from the sky, wrapping around tall buildings like the tentacles of some demonic creature. The people were terrified.

In the momentary safety of the Seven Guardians bar, I-Pin and Lambo stood in the bedroom near the window, watching the dark sky and waiting for their loved ones to come back home. But there was a problem. Lambo's stigma was acting up again, sending sharp pains through his head like migraines only greater. I-Pin clutched onto Lambo, the worry and fear shining on her face. She was scared, scared of so many things at the moment, but she still had hope. She knew that Tsuna will come back and when he did, everything will be normal again. Everything will be peaceful again.

I-Pin snapped her head up. "Shishou?"

She could've sworn she heard a familiar voice and in her mind's eye, she could see a gym filled with water and smiling faces that assured her that everything was going to work out fine.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

The sky still thundered and clapped as blade met against blade, clanging off of each other and emitting sparks from the force of the contact. The two flew through the air, Byakuran easily blocking each of Tsuna's attacks, and with one swipe he pushed the Vongola heir away from him. Flipping through the air, Tsuna righted himself up and looked around, finding that his adversary had left his sight. But looking at either side of him, he found Byakuran heading straight for him from his right, sai poised to strike. Tsuna raised Cielo to block, but Byakuran's attack was strong and it sent Tsuna soaring through the wall of a multi-story building (that could've been an office building of some sort) and sent dust flying around Tsuna's body. Staggering to his feet in the added darkness of the building, Tsuna watched Byakuran sweep into the opening he had made, charging towards the brunet with a smile on his face that implied that the albino was enjoying himself in this battle.

Tsuna lashed out with Cielo, blocking Byakuran's strike at him, and the brunet flipped backwards, landing on the far wall before jumping away. Byakuran chased him through the empty building, the two of them landing and jumping off of the floor, walls, pillars, and even the ceiling while their weapons met with sparks flying in between them, lighting up the dark room. Jumping off of a pillar, Tsuna searched for his opponent that had left his sight yet again, but then there was the albino, right in front of him, sai raised threateningly. Tsuna managed to jump off of another pillar and away from Byakuran before the albino struck, cutting away that same pillar and leaving it burning where it was. Tsuna used his hand to flip himself back upright and he raised Cielo to block against Byakuran's next attack, the sparks lighting up the albino's laughing face and Tsuna's determined one. They charged at each other again, sparks exploding from their weapons, and they pushed against each other.

"Oh, where did you find this strength?" Byakuran said, looking mildly impressed.

"There's no way I'd tell you!" Tsuna shot back and he shoved Byakuran with enough force to send him crashing through the upper floors of the building.

Tsuna pursued that albino, leaping through the holes the latter made as he crashed through the building, and he found himself on the roof without any Byakuran in sight. As he searched for his adversary, Tsuna heard an explosion and he turned to see a burning water tower crash its way down to him. Jumping away, the tower crashed into the building that Tsuna was previously on and the brunet himself landed on the rubble-ridden streets where Byakuran appeared shortly after, swinging his sai and meeting Tsuna's blade. The two exchanged blows yet again, with Tsuna successfully blocking and dodging each attack Byakuran threw at him before jumping up, flipping in the air, and slashing downwards at the albino. Byakuran avoided the slash by jumping on top of a nearby building and Tsuna's blade only left a gash in the cement where the albino previously stood. Looking up at the structure that Byakuran had taken refuge on, Tsuna then witnessed the whole thing collapsing downward on him with chunks of cement and metal burning with orange flames. Tsuna leapt away to avoid the construction, shooting flames through his gloves to propel him into the air, and he saw Byakuran follow him, Sky flames burning through the soles of his white boots.

The two slashed at each other in midair, sparks flying between their weapons, before they landed on the rooftop of another building to continue with their attacks. With their blades interlocked once more, Tsuna glared at the smirking Byakuran, whose eyes infuriated him to no end. Byakuran saw it fit to jump away, propelling himself through the air, and Tsuna hastily followed the albino towards the arguably tallest building in the vicinity.

"Do you remember what I said the last time we met, Tsunayoshi-kun?" the albino mocked as he sliced a portion of a large steel beam that jutted out from the skeleton of the tall building. The piece of metal fell towards Tsuna, who just as easily sliced it in half as he pursued the laughing albino. They met in the air once again, their weapons interlocked as they spun about, the sky becoming the ground and vice versa more then once. "Because I do, very clearly," Byakuran said before throwing the Vongola heir off of him, sending the brunet spiraling downwards.

Almost halfway through his fall, Tsuna got a hold of his bearings and shot flames out of his gloves, stilling his spinning movement before righting himself up. Looking down, he saw the burning ground and looking back up, he saw Byakuran, standing on the vertical wall of the tall building and smirking down on him.

"Didn't I say I was going to erase everyone you love from this pitiful world?" the albino asked rhetorically, grinning when Tsuna bared his teeth at him. "I intend to keep my little promise and watch you weep over their lifeless bodies before I take you out for good."

As if it was a cue, the entire building began to collapse on them, giant chunks of concrete and metal falling towards them, coated in a cloud of dust and debris. Smirking over his shoulder, Byakuran turned around to face the avalanche and disappeared inside the cloud of dust. Narrowing his eyes, Tsuna ceased to channel his flame through his X-Gloves and just fell along with the avalanche, easily slicing through any block that fell his way. One block in particular was cut apart not by him, but by Byakuran who fell towards the Vongola heir, sai raised to attack. The adversaries' weapons met once before they found ground on a particularly large block of the ruined building, which seemed to have previously been a floor. They danced around each other before the block they were standing on slammed into another one below, causing it to break in half and the two to lose their balance for a second. Tsuna regained his just before Byakuran did and the brunet jumped away, closely followed by the albino.

Jumping amidst concrete and metal, Tsuna and Byakuran threw attacks at each other as they swiftly moved through the avalanche, eventually landing on two blocks just opposite of each other. They stood on the vertical make-shift walls, striking their opponent just above their heads again and again, spinning and turning about, their determined faces lighting up from the sparks that were being emitted from their weapons' contact. And yet, more rubble fell from on top of them, rumbling above them and spreading dust and bits of debris.

Soon, Byakuran was forced back and that gave Tsuna a chance to escape, jumping over the albino and cleanly slicing through another block so that he could pass. Byakuran only glared at the brunet, watching his escape with a knowing look in his eyes.

Cutting in half another gigantic concrete block so that he was finally free from the avalanche, Tsuna shot out of the carnage, landing on the building where it came from in the first place and finding clear ground near the top. When the thundering and rumbling of the avalanche had ceased, Tsuna let himself fall to his knees, panting and gasping and feeling exhausted. Mukuro was right in what he was implying; not fighting any harsh battle for five years left him… dare he think it?... out of shape.

But this battle wasn't over yet. Tsuna sensed Byakuran behind him and he was barely able to roll away from a descending foot. Forcing his exhausted body to stand, Tsuna faced the resurrected man and just barely managed to avoid a couple of swipes. Unfortunately he was unable to keep up with his fatigue and Byakuran quickly overpowered him with punches to the jaw and kicks to the gut, forcing Tsuna back, grunts of pain escaping from the latter's lips. The Vongola heir managed to block some attacks from Byakuran's sai, but a kick disabled him, sending him flying through the air and slamming into a portion of a wall. A second later, one lone sai zing-ed through the air and pierced his right shoulder, pinning him into place. Tsuna hissed in pain, feeling blood ooze out of his wound, and he lifted his head to glare at Byakuran who stood close by, still sporting that deceiving smile of his.

"Tell me Tsunayoshi-kun, which one of your precious, living friends do you treasure the most right now?" he said, his smile morbid and taunting as Tsuna weakly gripped the handle of the sai that pinned him to the wall. "I want to see your reaction when I take down that precious person first."

Tsuna's glare intensified when he heard that last sentence and the faces of those he cherished flashed before his eyes.

Our hours were carved into this ring. To let it flourish or perish is up to you, Vongola Decimo.

You have made me proud, Dame-Tsuna.

I used to think that way as well... But then I met this no-good boy and he showed me otherwise.

You're coming back home, right Tsuna?

Tsuna-san, okaeri nasai!

Juudaime!

Tsuna!

With a grunt, Tsuna pulled the sai from his shoulder and swung Cielo at Byakuran as if his exhaustion never existed. Byakuran jumped back a couple feet, avoiding Tsuna's swipe, but when his purple eyes met brown ones, he could see regained strength in them. Those brown eyes were just like the ones back then…

"I pity you… you just don't understand at all," Tsuna murmured.

Byakuran was silent for a second, his smile more like a smirk now, and then he charged at Tsuna, raising his single sai to strike. Tsuna swung at the albino, but Byakuran flipped over the attack and landed high above the brunet on a tall metal pillar, launching himself in the air once he saw the Vongola heir closely following him.

"There's not a thing I don't treasure!" Tsuna cried as he shot through the air after Byakuran. "And I will protect everyone from the likes of you!"

Tsuna spun Cielo around his head, his flame igniting the blade and the legendary ring on his finger. Readying his sword, he pointed the flaming blade at the airborne Byakuran and there was an unexpected flash of bright orange light that obscured Byakuran's vision. When his vision cleared, he gasped when he found himself surrounded by the previous Vongola bosses who were all supposed to be deceased.

The ghosts of the nine previous bosses raised their flame-adorned hands and pointed at Byakuran, paralyzing the albino in midair, rendering him immobile. Purple-eyes went wide when they saw Tsuna appear behind the Vongola Nono, who only smiled as he was absorbed inside the Decimo's body, before said brunet shot forward and struck the unmoving albino in the air. Tsuna repeated this move with the Vongola Ottavo, and then the Vongola Settimo, Sesto, Quinto, Quarto, Terzo, Secondo, and the legendary Primo, each strike stronger then the last. With his eyes wide in shock, Byakuran watched Tsuna hover above him, Cielo held tightly in his hands and burning intensely with the purest form of the Sky flame.

"X-Burner: Cielo Spada!"

Byakuran couldn't do a thing as Tsuna fiercely struck him down. He could feel the flames burn his reanimated body and pain that he had never experienced before. This wasn't just Tsuna's pain or sorrow or anger that struck him, but his resolve as well, the resolve to protect this world and those he loved.

How foolish…

Tsuna landed in a crouch on the top of the tallest building, Cielo his hand and his flames disappearing. He stood and looked up at Byakuran, who was suspended in the air, looking back down at him. Even through all of that, Byakuran still found a reason to smile.

"Stay in my memories and never come back," Tsuna said, his face apathetic. The clouds in the sky lost its dark color, allowing sunlight to shine through and casting an orange glow upon all the ruined buildings and Byakuran's pale face.

"Oh, but I will Tsunayoshi-kun," Byakuran said, smiling even more brightly. "I will always come back."

And at that, Byakuran's image seemed to fluctuate before it burst into white orchid petals which flew through the air and disintegrated as if it never existed. Through the curtain of flower petals, Oozora's original body appeared and she dropped down onto the roof, falling to her knees, gasping and coughing in pain. All of the damage Byakuran had received, she received as well; multiple slash wounds adorned her torso and blood soaked her clothes, mixing crimson with orange and white. But even with all of the lethal wounds, Oozora struggled to her feet, gasping and weak, still clutching one sai in her hand. Tsuna readied Cielo, knowing what the woman wanted, and just as he thought, the woman charged forward with a cry, sai raised to strike.

But she was too weak, too exhausted, too heavily damaged. She barely took three steps before she collapsed, her weapon cluttering to the ground. Fortunately Tsuna caught her as she fell, holding her in his arm as he crouched down and let Oozora lean against him.

"V-Vongola…" Oozora rasped, coughing up blood.

Tsuna just stared down at the broken woman in his arms. If only Byakuran didn't exist, then maybe this woman would've led a better life, one where she was surrounded by warmth and the people she loved. But now it was all over. She could rest and die peacefully.

Oozora…

"Huh?"

Golden eyes flickered from Tsuna's face to the sky, looking afraid at having heard an unfamiliar voice that didn't belong to the Mafioso in front of her. Then she twitched when she felt a raindrop patter onto her cheek. That single drop was followed by millions more, pattering onto both Oozora's and Tsuna's bodies as well as the building around them. Oozora stared up at the orange sky, feeling cold raindrops on her face and hearing that voice once again.

You don't need to follow orders anymore. You can let it go now.

"Father… is that you?" the orange woman asked the sky, her eyes wide in awe.

Come now, everyone's waiting for you. I'm sure your loved ones will be happy to see you again.

Tears appeared in Oozora's golden eyes and they leaked out as she smiled and said, "Yeah…" Even through the cold wind and rain, her body felt strangely warm and light. Smiling happily, Oozora lifted a hand, reaching towards the sky, and Tsuna watched in curiosity. A moment later, Oozora's hand burst into orange flames, unaffected by the rain, and her body soon followed. She wasn't burning, just disappearing, being lifted up into the sky as flames brought her to another world out of Tsuna's reach. The Vongola stood up once Oozora's body was gone from his arms and he watched the flames swirl and scatter in the air like millions of little fireflies.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

Across the whole city of Namimori, the rain pelted down, soaking the citizens who were previously scared for their life and looked confused at the sudden shift in weather. But there was a special surprise that came with the rain; those with the stigma found that when the water soaked in their disease, it disappeared and left their skin as clear as before. It delighted them, especially the children who began to play in the rain, elated that they were finally cured.

Even Mukuro wasn't left out. He sat in a new wheelchair, in the alleyway of the building he had fallen out of, and his subordinates surrounded him like bodyguards. They were all getting drenched in the rain, but they were all surprised when it visibly cleared Mukuro's body of his stigma. Ken wasn't shy in voicing out his delight and Chrome cried for her master. Mukuro only smiled.

So, you did it again, Vongola…

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

In the airship that hovered just above where Tsuna was standing, the remaining Guardians and Niji were cheering.

"Alright, Tsuna did it!" Takeshi cried out, thrusting his fist into the air.

"I knew he could do it!" Hayato cried in happiness, almost tearing up. "No one can defeat him!"

"Sawada is truly extreme!" Ryohei shouted as he laughed and punched the air as well.

Even Kyouya expressed his feelings in a satisfied smile (though no matter how hard one examined his face, he still looked like he was smirking).

"You see? Tsuna-san can do anything with just a little push!" Niji exclaimed with enthusiasm then she stopped when a drop of water flew past her face.

"All right everyone, calm down and hang on!" Ryohei warned his passengers as he steered the airship but Niji didn't hear. She looked up to see another drop of water hanging onto a steel bar and realization dawned upon the teen.

"You were all there with him - with us - weren't you?" she said to no one around her, her eyes only on the single drop of water. "Thank you everyone."

Smiling brightly, Niji turned and looked out of the window, looking back down at Tsuna who in turn was looking up at the airship.

Tsuna could feel so many emotions swell in his heart. The most prominent of them all though was a feeling that he couldn't describe at all. It was like a great burden was lifted off of his shoulders and it left him feeling lighter then ever before. Maybe it was because he defeated Byakuran once again or maybe because he knew that the world would be safe again, he didn't know. For whatever reason, as he closed his eyes and felt the rain patter against his face, Tsuna decided that now, he wasn't going to wallow in his own self pity. There were still people who needed him and as long as he still breathed, he was going to be there for them, no matter what…

There was a loud gunshot and a bullet pierced through Tsuna's chest, causing him to fall to his knees. Behind him, stood Arashi and Ame, bloody, cut up, and having their respective flames burn from their bodies, as if they were set on fire. They looked like they were clinging onto their last shred of life, just to get rid of the Vongola heir before them.

"We'll all go… together…" Arashi rasped, struggling to keep himself upright.

Ame, who held the gun, let it clatter to the ground before he choked out, "And together… we'll play…"

Tsuna gasped, taking his time in standing up and gathering the remaining strength he had. He nearly stumbled as he stood, but his eyes sharpened into a glare and he gritted his teeth as he turned and ran towards the last two of his enemies, dragging Cielo's blade across the metal hull of the building with one last desperate yell.

Storm and Rain flames surged through Arashi's and Ame's bodies respectively and they raised their hands towards Tsuna, who had jumped and fell towards them. Two types of flames mixed together and made contact with a blade that pulsed with the Sky flame.

A gigantic explosion consumed them and the entire building rooftop.

In the airship, everyone was shocked to see the explosion. Both Niji and Takeshi ran to the window in shock, with Niji crying out, "Tsuna-san!" as the explosion lit up her face.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

At the Seven Guardians and far from the carnage, Lambo and I-Pin loyally stood next to the bedroom window, their hands interlaced with each other's as they watched the rain patter against the glass and listened to the thunder in the distance.

"Tsuna said that he'd come home," Lambo stated, his eyes shining with hope. "He said that he would."

I-Pin only gripped Lambo's hand tighter and continued on hoping and praying with him that everyone will be all right.

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

He couldn't open his eyes. Or more like, he wouldn't open his eyes despite the fact that they were so heavy. He felt at peace though, floating there and just… existing, just being. He didn't know where he was though and he didn't even know how he was being suspended in the air like that (whether he was being suspended in the air). And he thought he was alone until he felt a hand on his forehead, a warm and familiar hand.

"Father?" he said.

There was an amused chuckle and a familiar voice rang out. No child, I'm not your father. But he should be around here somewhere.

Another voice joined in, also familiar. I'm right here son. You did well, better then I expected actually.

And even more voices came along.

Hmph, no matter how much he's grown, he's still Dame-Tsuna through and through.

Ano, Tsu-kun, you're not supposed to be here you know.

Hahi! Tsuna-san! They're probably all worried about you!

Go back to them Tsuna-kun. They're all waiting.

And then, he was falling…

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

He wasn't falling any more. He had returned to floating, but now, he had more feeling in his body. It felt like he was floating in water, his face just above the surface so that he could breath. He let his other senses take over for a moment and he could hear hushed voices around him as well as the soft splashes of water. He also felt many pairs of tiny hands on his body, not necessarily holding him, but perhaps just checking to see if he was okay and preventing him from sinking into the water. It was then, he opened his eyes.

He was back in the gymnasium, bright sunlight shining through the gap in the ceiling. The water that had seeped out from the ground now turned the clearing that was previously filled with flowers into a pool with flower petals floating about in it. Looking around him as he stood up in waist-deep water (at least to his height), Tsuna saw that there were many people there, watching him. And standing in the pool with him was a couple of children who looked no older then Lambo or I-Pin, all looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"We were told," said a little girl with brown pigtails, "to wait here and that Tsuna would come back."

Tsuna had no idea how to react to that. But then, another voice said, "Okaeri nasai!"

He looked to the side and Tsuna saw all of his friends there, standing at the edge of the pool, smiling at him. Even Kyouya was there and though he normally avoided crowding, he looked liked he had set aside that minor irritation for the moment.

Looking considerably happier, Tsuna nodded his head and said, "Tadaima."

Stepping forward, Hayato said, "There are still children with the stigma."

Nodding his head again, Tsuna replied with a "Yeah," and he waded forward towards where Lambo was standing. Niji kneeled down next to the young Lightning Guardian and she placed gentle hands on his shoulders in reassurance.

"Okay, let's get you fixed up," she said.

Lambo looked uncertain. Of course, the last time he followed someone into a pool of water resulted him in being brainwashed and nearly dying, so it was understandable that he was feeling uneasy.

"Mou, daijobu," Tsuna said, reaching a hand out to Lambo.

"Gambatte," Niji said with a smile.

Well, since it was Niji and Tsuna and not some strange orange woman, Lambo decided that it certainly was going to be alright. With a nod, he stepped forward and allowed Tsuna to lift him up. Stepping backwards a couple feet, Tsuna set the boy down in front of him, Lambo giving out a small grunt, and the Mafioso cupped some water into his hands. Everyone watched as Tsuna brought his hands above Lambo's head and let the water splash down onto where the stigma resided.

Lambo jumped at the feel of the cold water splashing onto his head, but soon after he felt a cool relief on the spot where his disease was and then warmth. Confused, the boy looked at his reflection in the water and was shocked to see that his forehead was clear of any orchid-shaped blemishes. He looked up at Tsuna, who nodded in confirmation, and then Lambo turned and smiled.

Everyone cheered.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Ryohei shouted along with his catchphrase and all the children that weren't in the pool jumped right in.

"Yeah! There's cure! There's a cure!" Takeshi exclaimed excitingly, jumping up and down like and punching the air.

"That's some crazy shit water," Hayato said with wide eyes.

Niji only laughed and watched as the children gathered around Tsuna, saying how cool he was and wanting to play with him and splashing about water. Tsuna smiled softly and affectionately patting the kid's heads, even shaking hands with them. He was feeling happier by the second, surrounded by all this love and warmth, but he froze when he noticed a figure nearby, talking to a pair of children who were standing a way away from the pool.

The figure then stood up and walked towards the entrance to the gym and Tsuna's eyes went wide when he realized who it was. But the figure wasn't the only one. There were more known figures standing beyond the doors, either smiling happily, even proudly, and waving at him or just smirking with hidden pride and content. Turning around, the figure that Tsuna first noticed smiled at him, blond bangs brushing across his orange eyes that held pride for him.

"You see? Everything's all right."

The others decided to put in their two cents.

"Remember Dame-Tsuna, even though we're not physically here…"

"We'll always be beside you…"

"Every step of the way…"

"To be your strength in your trials…"

"And if you should ever fall…"

"Just pick yourself up…"

"And continue walking…"

"Because you're not alone, my heir…"

As he watched the smiling and waving images of those he loved disappear, Tsuna smiled warmly, a smile that had long ago left him but had now returned.

I know now… I'm not alone

~ & ~ & ~ & ~

A/N: And lo, it is done! I hope you don't any plot holes that you spotted or what not, but hey, FFVIIAV is an awesome movie with a couple of little missing details as well (unless maybe it's Advent Children Complete, of course). I tried to keep at faithful to both KHR and FFVIIAV, so yeah... Please drop a detailed review stating why you loved this story of mine! You know I love to hear from you! And is it me, or is this the first KHR longshot? I made history! Woohoo! XD LOL So yeah, I made this longshot to start off the New Year with a bang! Hope you guys loved to read it as much as I loved to type it! Oh, and try and guess who showed up as Tsuna's spirit consultants in his visions! The first one in the forest, the second one against the dragon, the third one in the gymnasium when he chased after Oozora, the ones when Tsuna fell unconscious after Arashi and Ame blew him up, and then the ones at the very end (though the ones at the end aren't really specified are they?). You get a bottomless cookie-filled cookie jar if you get it all right!

Have a gay new year everyone! LOL! XD (additional notes and credits can be found in the next chapter).