HOLY SHIT I ACTUALLY UPDATED. BUT IN ALL HONESTY I'M NOT SURE WHEN I'M GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN. In all seriousness, KHR had kind of lost its appeal to me due to the exceptionally shitty ending and quite frankly, I'm not sure what to do. If this story gets good enough reception, then I can continue. But if not, then that's it, really.

And, uh, there were too many reviews to reply to and I kind of lost track so I'll resume replying next chapter if there is one.

Godspeed and bless my poor shattered KHR-creative soul.

Tsuna was thrown back into the prison underground – no, undercloud - while Gokudera had been manhandled away by some of Belphegor's grunts. He had gotten up and flung himself against the bars in a fruitless attempt to escape but a rough kick spent him sprawling. Yamamoto, concerned, got up from where he was still seated on the ground in the opposite cell and put his hands on the bars. "Hey, Tsuna, are you alright?"

"Yeah," the young Prince muttered balefully. He lifted himself up slowly, only to be seized by Gokudera's father.

"Where is my son?" he asked with pale, trembling lips. Tsuna felt a pang of sympathy.

"I don't really understand what happened, but…" Tsuna tried to choose his next words carefully. "I think he challenged Belphegor to be the Guardian of the Storm," he glanced around, noting with alarm that Bianchi was missing.

"They put her in a separate cell with her mother," Gokudera's father released his death grip on Tsuna's collar and ran a hand through his matted hair, clearly still occupied with his son. "That isn't good," he mumbled fearfully. "That isn't good. That isn't good at all."

Yamamoto held an uncharacteristic silence that made his next words seem insincere. "Haha! That's just like Gokudera. Don't worry about it, Tsuna. I'm sure that he'll be fine," he unconsciously scratched at his face with his right hand.

Tsuna blinked and for a brief moment, his mind was taken away from his silver-haired friend. "Yamamoto? Your hand is healed?"

"Hm? Oh. Yeah," Yamamoto flexed it a couple times. "One of the Cervello women came down here and healed it for me. She was pretty polite about it too, but then again all Cervello are really polite."

"I heard Belphegor mention them too," Tsuna remembered. "Who are the Cervello?"

Gokudera's father spoke up. "The Cervello are an all-women organization which deals with fair judgment. It doesn't matter who hires them, you will not find a more trustworthy moderator anywhere. Not to mention that they always fulfill their contract despite all unreasonable terms or deaths caused by the client."

"Ahaha! That's what makes them even more terrifying though," Yamamoto's smile turned wry. "In a way, it's like they're saying that they're fine with doing anything for the money."

Tsuna, who had thought the same thing, swallowed. "Will Gokudera-kun be okay?"

"It's Gokudera, Tsuna. That guy always manages to bounce back from any situation."

The brunette wished that he could share his friend's sentiments, but he clenched his hands into fists and silently prayed.

Gokudera-kun… please, be safe!

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~~~~~~XXChild-Of-The-Earth-Angel-Of-The-SkyXX~~~~~~

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"Ahhhh, you're noisy Mammon. Just shut up for a while and let me have my fun."

On the wide screen before him, the image of a baby dressed in a long dark cloak sputtered at him. "Fun? Fun? Do you even have any idea what you're doing? What if the Boss hears about this, Bel?"

"But he won't, will he?" Belphegor shot the baby a snide, winning smirk. "You wouldn't tattle on a prince, would you?"

Mammon groaned angrily. "Fine, do whatever you want. But I'm coming up there to witness the battle."

"Sure, sure," Belphegor gave a lazy wave. "I'm looking forward to seeing you~"

"Don't screw up or Boss will have both of our heads on a platter."

"A prince doesn't screw up, Mammon. Besides, there's a certain protocol for the Vongola Scramble that the Smokin' Bomb will definitely not be able to complete…"

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~~~~~~XXChild-Of-The-Earth-Angel-Of-The-SkyXX~~~~~~

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Somewhere in the bowels of the Kamikaze Castle, Bianchi awoke with a start.

Groaning, she slowly sat up, noting the dull ache in her head as if she had a hangover – if only – and turned to the side to see another unconscious woman beside her.

"Mother!" she cried out in alarm, terrified of how still her parent lay. "Mother, are you alright?"

Her mother didn't respond. Even more alarmed, Bianchi gently rolled the woman over to face her. Her mother's face was dreadfully pale and her skin was tight on her face. She was horribly thin… emancipated.

They've been starving her! Bianchi thought furiously. She wanted to help cook something but she at least knew that her abilities would probably kill her mother rather than help her. In her panic, she clutched at the front of her shirt without thinking. A hard lump startled her out of her troubled reverie and she blinked before remembering.

Reaching into her shirt, she slipped her fingers between her bra, right between her breasts, and fingered the thin ring of metal cunningly sewn into the lace. She had been entrusted, after all. Fortunately none of the Varia had thought to search her for what they had been seeking.

Scanning her surroundings, she took in the situation quickly. She recognized the dark hallway as the prison below the castle. Judging from the silence and the faint sound of dripping water, she was in a deeper half meant for true convicts… and Hayato, she couldn't help but smile a little. There was nobody else down here, she realized, because when Belphegor had taken over he had released all the prisoners to become his servants. Though considering how many of them were foolish, she had no doubt that few were still alive…

She crawled towards the bars, ignoring the stinging pain on her hands and knees, and pressed her face against them to try and see down the right side of the corridor, where she knew the stairway was. Tsuna and the others were probably there too, since they were a source of interest and more conveniently located.

The sound of a door slamming snapped her out of her thoughts. The echoes reverberated through the corridor and made it difficult to listen to. She heard gruff words being spoken, but they too echoed and distorted as they rebounded off the stone walls. She could only make out a couple words.

"Come… witness… Scramble…"

At the word 'Scramble', Bianchi froze. They couldn't have… they didn't mean… Horrified, she grabbed at the bars and shook them fiercely, the clanging noises resonating and creating a huge din.

No, Hayato, no! You don't have the requirements for a Vongola Scramble! she desperately tried to use the Red and Purple Variety on the bars. I did it before. Work, dammit, work! she gritted her teeth and tears stung her eyes. Her brother, her precious baby brother…

HAYATO!

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~~~~~~XXChild-Of-The-Earth-Angel-Of-The-SkyXX~~~~~~

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Gokudera snapped his head around, startled.

For a second he had thought that he had heard his sister's voice, but she wasn't there. There were only the two who had 'escorted' him to this room so that he could prepare for the upcoming battle.

"Fuck off, bastards!" Gokudera snarled at Belphegor's underlings who were guarding the door. "At least let a guy have a little privacy!"

The Varia grunts merely stared levelly back at him. Scowling, Gokudera turned around and stripped off his shirt. There were several cuts, abrasions, and bruises on his torso from the earlier explosion – That was the fucking baseball idiot's fault, not mine! – and he grabbed some nearby clean bandages to wrap around them. He had to admit he was at least grateful that Belphegor had called the Cervello to oversee their battle. He hated those pink-haired bitches, but at least they had insisted that he should at least dress his prior wounds. However, his pride and ego did not allow for him to agree to get his wounds treated by them.

Making sure that the bandages were nice and tight, he then pulled on a new blue shirt – he left it mostly unbuttoned though – and examined the tools on the nearby table that he had been given to work with. His trademark dynamite was there, which was good. He would have liked to get his Boxes back, but the Vongola Scramble did not allow rings or Boxes to the fights. It was going to be a show of pure skill with the chosen weaponry.

They had given him a belt to put the dynamite in, much to his pleasure. He stuffed as many as he could inside the pockets until they bulged. The grunts watched passively, making sure he didn't make any unnecessary movements…

"Ah, there's a lot left over," the bomber said out loud, scratching his head over the pile left on the table. "Guess I'll just put them in the usual place then."

The underlings blinked…

… and suddenly the entire pile was gone and Gokudera was dusting his hands off.

"There we go."

One grunt rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing straight. The other one stared, bewildered, until Gokudera turned around and both of them hastily resumed their unreceptive gazes.

"What the hell are you staring at? Never saw a magic trick before?"

MAGIC TRICK!? both minions wanted to shout but chose to keep their silence.

A knock resounded on the door and one hastened to open it to keep a poker face. A woman with light pink hair down to her shoulders and a black mask much like the famous Terra play Phantasm of the Theater. Her skin was a dark shade of brown.

"Gokudera-sama, the preparations are finished. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Gokudera quickly snatched his cigarettes from the table and paused as he realized that his lighter was gone. Sticking one between his lips, he turned to one of the grunts – the one that had manhandled him with particular roughness. "Oi, got a light?"

The minion glanced at the Cervello woman who nodded, and he pulled out a silver lighter from one of the many pockets on his uniform. Gokudera approached him and the grunt flicked on the small device. Gokudera lit his cigarette, took a long puff, and slowly blew the smoke out.

"Thanks," he said before delivering a well-deserved roundhouse punch to the face. The Varia underling didn't even know what had hit him before he was on the ground, groaning dazedly.

Enraged, his partner flew at Gokudera's turned back, hands reaching out and prepared to strangle…

Gokudera aimed an elbow to the gut followed by a backwards punch to the face without even turning around.

"Oi, Cervello woman, let's go," he said, tucking his new lighter into his chest pocket. The Cervello had watched all of this impassively.

"Very good then, Gokudera-sama. Please follow me."

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~~~~~~XXChild-Of-The-Earth-Angel-Of-The-SkyXX~~~~~~

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Escorted by two Cervello women, Tsuna and Yamamoto walked through the decorated hallways of the castle. They had been taken out of their prison cell to watch the Vongola Scramble.

As expected, Tsuna was still infinitely nervous about the whole thing. Gripping tightly into Yamamoto's sleeve, Tsuna took a peek at the Cervello women behind him. Both of their faces, half-hidden, told him nothing about them. It was unusual – since he was young, he had always possessed an uncanny ability to decide who was a friend and who was a threat. It was the first time he had encountered a neutral party, and it scared him.

"They won't hurt you," whispered Yamamoto comfortingly. "Not unless you make a breach of contract."

"But I don't even know what the contract is."

"Me neither. Guess we'll have to stay on our toes, huh?"

Tsuna had a sneaking suspicion that Yamamoto was, somehow, enjoying all this.

It wasn't until they came to a staircase that Tsuna realized they were going up. "Where are you taking us… um, Cervello-san?"

Yamamoto, for whatever reason, started laughing. The Cervello women looked mildly amused. "We are heading for the roof of this building," one of them supplied. "I understand that the Arcobaleno's Reborn-sama and Fon-sama shall join us there."

"And we appreciate the sentiment, Tsunayoshi-sama," added the other. "But we have no names to give you."

"Oh, uh…" Tsuna flushed. So that was why Yamamoto had been laughing.

After many flights of steps which left Tsuna panting in the end, they came to a double door of sorts embossed with the symbol of Storm. Each Cervello woman moved forward so that they were grasping one handle each. Then they turned to Tsuna and Yamamoto and spoke perfectly in turn.

"What you are about to witness now – "

" – is the Vongola Scramble for the rights of the Storm. Do you both swear – "

" – upon the name of our Emperor Giotto to not interfere with the match – "

" – regardless of what the outcome may be?"

Tsuna, who had been slightly disoriented from their way of talking, blinked a few times before glancing at Yamamoto. The taller teen instantly strode forward and said in a surprisingly serious voice, "I swear on the pride of my home Ame that I, Yamamoto Takeshi will not interfere with the match."

"Well spoken," one of the Cervello commented before turning her gaze on Tsuna. "And you? Tsunayoshi-sama."

Lost, Tsuna glanced at Yamamoto who regained his usual smile and bent down to whisper in Tsuna's ear. Tsuna haltingly repeated the words that Yamamoto told him to say.

"I-I swear on my duty… and pri-pride as Emissary of Terra that I, K-Kozato Tsunayoshi… will not interfere with the match."

"Your vows have been received and recorded," the Cervello both said at once, before speaking once more in turn.

"Remember that if you violate these vows in any way – "

" – the Cervello will exercise their right to forcefully – "

" – and possibly violently purge the violators – "

" – and put them on trial before the judges of Vindice."

"Is this understood?"

Yamamoto clapped a steady hand on Tsuna's shoulder. "Understood."

Tsuna did not trust himself to say anymore and gave jerky nod of the head. The Cervello women glanced at each other before nodding and simultaneously pulling open the door.

Immediately a gust of wind blew through the doors, nearly knocking the two teens backwards. Tsuna instinctively threw up his arms to shield his face and felt Yamamoto do the same. The wind was wet with rain and smelled of drenched earth. Such a scent suddenly reminded Tsuna of Terra and he was overcome with a bout of homesickness.

Eventually the wind died down and Tsuna and Yamamoto both felt that it was safe to put their arms down. The sky outside was dark and cloudy, even more than usual. Across the rooftop stood two tiny figures and one person who both teens recognized with a start.

"Shamal!"

The perverted doctor gave them a lazy wave. "Yo, brats. How are you doing?" he glanced down at Reborn and Fon who stood at his feet. "Looks like you've been through hell and back."

"Reborn!" Tsuna exploded. "Where were you?! Do you have any idea what we've been through?!"

"Shut up, Dame-Tsuna. At least you're alive," Reborn stated bluntly. Fon sighed at his comrade's cold way of speaking.

"Forgive us," Fon apologized. "In a way, I suppose you could say that this was Reborn's method of examining you. He says that you, ah, need to prepare for the trials that will come."

"You mean there's more?!"

"Dame-Tsuna, weren't you listening to the Emperor? There are seven rings in total after all," Reborn glanced at Yamamoto. "Which reminds me… I need to speak to you afterwards, Yamamoto. I have some questions for you."

Puzzled, Tsuna glanced at Yamamoto who merely smiled as if he knew what Reborn was talking about. "Sure, kiddo. Whatever you say!"

"Don't leave me out of the loop!" Tsuna whined. Yamamoto laughed and slung an arm around him, assuring him that they would let him in. Tsuna didn't quite believe him.

"So what happens now?" Yamamoto asked in a more serious tone after his initial joking. Reborn merely gave a noncommittal shrug.

"We wait," Fon said gently for Tsuna's sake. "We wait, and we hope for Gokudera Hayato's safety," to further reassure Tsuna, the small baby of Storm hopped on to Tsuna's shoulder and patted the side of his face. "Cheer up. I'm sure that the Smokin' Bomb will be fine."

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~~~~~~XXChild-Of-The-Earth-Angel-Of-The-SkyXX~~~~~~

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Meanwhile, Belphegor had hit an unexpected problem.

"What do you mean it's gone?!" he seethed angrily at his flinching subordinate, who was bowing and apologizing profusely.

"I-I'm sorry, Belphegor-sama!" the Varia grunt stammered in fear. "B-But when I looked into the storage crates, the entire ring case belonging to Gokudera Hayato was gone! Including our half of the Ring of Storm inside - erk!" he made a gagging noise as one of the blond prince's uniquely shaped knives found their way through his common carotid artery.

Belphegor, feeling better after have killed something, took several deep breaths and ran his hand through his hair. Of all the goddamn rotten luck... it must have been one of those foolish peasants that had dared to steal the ring. Come to think of it, that small and mousy looking peasant had been found in G.'s study, which was where the ring case had been stored. Most likely that foolish peasant had taken the rings. He smiled a small grim smile.

This, he thought silkily, could have been taken for treason against the Prince of Arashi. This, he could possibly use to his advantage.

"Shishishishishishi," he giggled to himself. He was dearly going to enjoy this, every last minute of it.

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~~~~~~XXChild-Of-The-Earth-Angel-Of-The-SkyXX~~~~~~

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Tsuna stared over the rooftop railing in disbelief. What he saw on the ground was something that just seemed to have materialized out of nowhere.

"Ohh," Yamamoto remarked, giving a whistle of approval. "They did it really well. As expected of the Cervello illusionists."

"Um," Tsuna pointed towards the lower right of the thing he was staring at. "Isn't that Gokudera-kun's old bedroom?"

"Yep. Looks like they completely remodeled it to the point where they even copied the layer of dust over it," the Ame samurai laughed. "I'm impressed, as usual. They completely recreated a floor from the Arashi Castle out of Mist flames."

"Whaaaaaat?!"

"Dame-Tsuna, you're noisy."

"But it's amazing!" Tsuna swept his gaze over what appeared to be a perfect life-size model of Arashi Castle's second floor. Bedrooms, studies, bathrooms, and what looked like an expansive library sprawled over the castle grounds. Even the carpeted hallways down to each vase-topped table and paintings on the walls were exact copies. Tsuna was vaguely reminded of Adelheid's open-roof dollhouse from when they were children.

But what was the weird feeling that he was having? His gaze shifted left and right as he tried to keep an eye out for a certain criminal illusionist. Logically speaking it was impossible for him to be here but Tsuna felt that when it came to Mukuro, anything was possible...

"Tsuna, what's wrong? You're looking all twitchy."

"It's nothing..." Tsuna frowned. "Yamamoto, you said that this was made of Mist flames...?"

"Oh, right, you wouldn't know, would you?" Yamamoto scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, basically, each flame as a particular characteristic that each region of Oozora is famous for. For example, Arashi's Storm flame's characteristic would be 'disintegration' or 'destruction'. Ame would be 'tranquility' or 'numbing'. In Kiri's case, Mist flames are known for 'construction'. Mist flames have the ability to create something out of nothing, change reality into fantasy or vice versa," Yamamoto pointed down towards the life-sized model. "But it takes a lot of skill and power to create something so finely detailed and solid to touch. That's why the Cervello has many skillful members," he smiled a slightly wry smile. "But unfortunately, Kiri does not have a very good reputation despite their ability... or maybe it's because of their ability."

"Wasn't..." Tsuna hesitated at his next question. "Wasn't Rokudo Mukuro also an Angelo of Kiri...?"

"Oh, you know of Mukuro? Yeah, he was. That's why they don't have a good reputation," the dark-haired boy gave a rueful laugh. "Because of this, Mukuro's cute little sister had a lot of trouble keeping order..."

"He had a little sister - "

"JUUDAIME!"

Tsuna gave a huge jump of fright and whirled around to lean against the railing. On the ground, Gokudera, his hair back to its usual shining silver, waved at him from the ground. "Gokudera-kun!" he shouted back. "Are you alright?"

"I'm great, Juudaime!" Gokudera hollered. "I'll win a magnificent victory! You just watch me!"

"D-Don't push yourself!"

"Gokudera," Yamamoto leaned over the railing and waved. "Hey, Gokudera! I'll watch you win too!"

"I'M NOT DOING IT FOR YOU!"

Tsuna sweat-dropped slightly as he watched the two have a shouted bickering match. S-Somehow, the air between them feels just as weird as the air around Mukuro...

"Ready to lose?" came a new but recognizable voice. From a different exit than the one Gokudera took, Belphegor emerged, carrying something - or someone - in his arms. "You inferior little peasant."

"I'm here to win," Gokudera shot back, eyeing whatever was in Belphegor's arms. "You brought a kid to a match? Is it yours?"

"Perish the thought. As if such a sickening prince could be my father" came a very soft and not unpleasant voice. And yet something about it shot a shiver up Tsuna's spine. Gokudera blinked in bewilderment as he realized that it was the baby who had spoken. Belphegor let go and instead of dropping towards the ground, the baby floated. It was dressed in a black robe which came up to cover half of its face. It was impossible to tell whether it was a boy or girl, but Tsuna supposed that it was male, if its first person honorific was anything to go by.

"You talked!" Gokudera stated the obvious in his surprise.

"Indeed. So did you. I'm surprised, I thought I would hear monkey noises coming out of your mouth."

"What did you say?!" Gokudera demanded, yanking out some dynamite from his belt. The baby snorted and turned towards Belphegor. "I'm going up. If you lose, I'll report you to Boss right away," he said in his soft spoken voice.

"There's no way I'll lose," Belphegor said easily, "because there might not even be a battle."

"What?"

"What?"

"WHAT?!"

"Belphegor-sama?" one of the Cervello ladies, who was also on then ground questioned. Belphegor turned to her, a smirk on his face.

"You, Cervello-woman," Belphegor pointed at her. "Were you one of the Cervello who had come here to oversee my crowning as the Arashi prince a few weeks ago?"

The woman hesitated and then nodded slowly. "Yes, I was one of the ones who witnessed your coronation."

"Then you know that I had my half of the Storm Ring stored away for safekeeping, right?" Belphegor advanced on the poor girl, that grin of his growing bigger and bigger.

"Yes, Belphegor-sama."

"This morning," Belphegor turned his head towards Gokudera, who took a step back, "I went to check on my lovely ring as it is necessary for a Ring Battle," Gokudera's face changed from confused to horrified. "But when I looked for it, it wasn't there!" Belphegor threw up his hands in mock despair. "But I know that this peasant, along with the two peasants up there were running around my castle beforehand," he pointed an accusing knife at the Smokin' Bomb's face. "Which means that one of them probably stole it!"

The Cervello behind Tsuna and Yamamoto looked at each other before one of them tapped Tsuna on the shoulder. "Kozato Tsunayoshi-sama, please allow us to check your pockets."

A lump of dread settled in Tsuna's throat and the Terra Prince had no choice but to allow the Cervello to check the pockets of his pants. When he felt one of them slip their hand into his sweatshirt pocket and close around the Ring case, he knew that it was all over.

The Cervello delicately opened the case and examined the half of the Storm Ring inside. "Belphegor-sama," she said without taking her eyes away from it, "which half of the Storm Ring did you possess?"

"The top half," Belphegor said without hesitation. "The one with half the Arashi stone set on the right."

The Cervello woman nodded and turned to Tsuna. "This incident will be forgiven and nullified," she said calmly, "so long as you provide your half of the Vongola Ring of Storm."

"Wha - " Tsuna said, bemused, "I don't don't have anything like that!"

"Then, Yamamoto Takeshi-sama?"

Yamamoto shook his head regretfully, his smile completely gone.

"Reborn-sama? Fon-sama?"

Both of the babies looked at each other and shook their heads.

The Cervello women looked at each other before - to Tsuna's utter shock - jumped over the railing to join their associate on the ground below. The three of them held a quiet but hasty conference before turning towards Belphegor and Gokudera, speaking in their eerie unison.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances - "

" - as well as the theft of contender Belphegor-sama's Half Vongola Ring - "

" - and the unpreparedness of the other party - "

"We declare this Ring Battle in Belphegor-sama's favor," they chorused. Gokudera's mouth fell open.

"Shishishishi," Belphegor laughed. "See, Mammon? There was never anything to worry about."

"Muu, you," the baby called Mammon sighed. "If you knew this was going to happen, you should have said so from the start. Making people worry..."

"Oh, were you worried~? About little ol' me~?"

"Shut up, moron," Mammon stated coolly. "If it was this easy, then hurry up and kill these guys already. That silver-hair over there is a total eyesore. He reeks of poverty."

"Fuck you, squirt," was Gokudera's eloquently scathing reply, pulling out a dynamite from his left pocket and lighting it with his cigarette. "If I go down, I'm taking you with me."

"Shishishi... You sure? If you do, Peasant #1 and Peasant #3 up there are going to get killed too."

Juudaime? Gokudera's head shot up, alarmed. True to Belphegor's words, his beloved boss and his - he had to admit reluctantly - childhood friend being surrounded on all sides by Varia grunts. Some of them looked eager to hack the brunette to bits.

"HIIIII!" Tsuna's scream was the finishing blow. Gokudera put out the dynamite fuse and dropped his hands to his sides. "Not Juudaime..." he muttered, face towards the ground in resignation. No matter how badly he wanted to put the hurt on his grinning blond bastard, he couldn't let his savior and boss be killed over his own petty matters.

"Shishishishi - BLARGH!"

Gokudera caught a familiar whiff of poison and resisted the urge to vomit. Pinching his nose shut with his fingers, Gokudera glanced up to see something purple and slimy oozing off of Belphegor's hair.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY BROTHER, YOU BRATTY PRINCE!" yelled a very familiar voice.

"Aneki?!"

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~~~~~~XXChild-Of-The-Earth-Angel-Of-The-SkyXX~~~~~~

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Tsuna didn't think he could get anymore surprised even if he tried.

When the Varia grunts had surrounded him, all he could think was that he was going to die somewhere far away from home and without being able to say goodbye to his family.

The next thing he knew, all the men were down for the count as Bianchi suddenly barged up to the roof, purple cakes flying everywhere. "Eat this! Poison Cooking Variety: Devil's Cake!"

Men were downed as they all received a specially baked cake to the face - some of them opened their mouths to scream and hit the ground faster - and before Tsuna knew it the only ones left standing were himself, Yamamoto, the Cervello, and their unexpected savior. Bianchi flung one cake over the edge of the roof and the yell from below was more than audible.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY BROTHER, YOU BRATTY PRINCE!" Bianchi screamed at the top of her lungs. She was sweating and panting and her hair was mussed up and hanging in front of her goggles, making her look, quite frankly, very sexy.

"Aneki?!" Tsuna heard Gokudera yelp in surprise. Bianchi stood there like an Amazon of legend, hands imperiously on her hips.

"The Battle of the Storm is valid! I have proof!" she yelled.

"What could you possibly prove, Peasant Woman #1?" Belphegor demanded, still trying to pull away the cake from his hair without actually touching it. "The Smokin' Bomb doesn't have his half of the Storm Ring. End of discussion."

"Of course he doesn't have it," Bianchi scoffed. "As you know, the six Shugotenshi entrusted their halves of the Vongola Rings to people they trusted. The Rings are well hidden. Nobody knows where they are," she gripped on to the hem of her shirt, "Well," she acknowledged, "except for me."

She promptly stripped off her shirt and tossed it aside with total immodesty, revealing her black lacy bra and hot body for all to see.

"Ooo?" Yamamoto blinked once. Twice. Stared.

"Ooooo?!" Tsuna yelped, flushing red. Yamamoto slapped a hand over his eyes.

"OOOOOOOOO!" groaned all of the half-dead Varia grunts on the ground, sounding much more excited than they should have towards their murderer.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, WOMAN!?" Gokudera screeched, horrified at his sister's shamelessness. "FUCKING PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON!"

"No, no, she doesn't have to. The Prince is okay with this."

"THAT'S MY SISTER YOU FUCKING PERVERT PRINCE!"

"Muu muu, so you're a healthy young man after all."

Back up on the rooftop, Tsuna squirmed as Yamamoto kept an iron grip on his face. "Y-Yamamoto? That hurts!"

"Ahahaha, sorry kiddo, but you're a bit too young to see this."

"Eh?" Tsuna paused. "... Yamamoto, I'm technically the same age as you."

"Eh? You are?"

"YOU DIDN'T KNOW?!"

Bianchi ignored everybody and put her fingers to the front of her bra and started fiddling with it, freaking Gokudera out even more.

"DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THAT OFF, WOMAN!"

"I'm not going to. What woman would take her bra off in front of a bunch of men?," Bianchi snorted disdainfully.

BUT IT'S OKAY IF IT'S JUST THE SHIRT?!

"I just needed to get this," she pulled out a tiny silver circlet from within her bra. One of the Cervello women, completely stone-faced at the entire situation, came closer to inspect it.

"... This is indeed the other half of the Storm Ring," she announced calmly. She took it from Bianchi and tossed it to her counterpart on the ground below. The other Cervello woman caught it and examined it as well.

"Confirmed," she said, and held it out for Gokudera to take. "With this, the Battle for the Storm Ring may officially continue."

"Fuck yeah!" Gokudera snatched it out of her hand. "... Thanks, Aneki."

Bianchi, who had put her shirt back on (much to several people's disappointment and Gokudera's relief), smiled down at him. "Win for our Famiglia's sake, Hayato."

"Ciaossu, Bianchi. Long time no see."

Bianchi froze. Slowly, she turned her head towards that voice, that voice that she had dreamed of for so long, that beautiful, sonorous voice that made her tremble with love and adoration and pure-hearted desire...

"REBORN!" she cried, tears pouring from her cheeks. "MY LOVE!"

She flung herself on to the baby, narrowly missing kneeing Fon in the face had he not jumped out of the way and on to Yamamoto's shoulder. "My my," the Arashi Sage remarked. "I had forgotten that Gokudera Hayato's sister was infatuated with Reborn. Love indeed has no boundaries."

"She was really Reborn's lover?!" Tsuna yelped, completely shocked by the scene.

"Indeed. It seems that she is his fourth."

"EHHH?!"

"Well then," the Cervello woman on the ground announced, her voice suddenly booming around the entire area as if an invisible microphone had just turned on. "We shall now start the battle of the Storm. The winner shall earn the rights to become the raging tempest of the Vongola Shugotenshi. Any complaints or protests shall be ignored from hereafter," she seemed to direct this more towards Belphegor, who was grinning a strained grin. "We shall announce the conditions for battle."

"Shishishi, whatever the conditions, the Prince shall always win," Belphegor said silkily, taking out one of his oddly shaped knives and playing with it.

"Bring it on, bastard," Gokudera dropped his cigarette to the ground and crushed it with his shoe before relighting a fresh one. "After I win, I'm gonna shave those damn bangs of yours."

And we come to the battle scene... Christ, now what?

Mammon: A member of the Varia and a (reluctantly) close friend of Belphegor. For whatever reason, Belphegor is very attached to Mammon and often wheedles him into spending time together. It seems that he has a connection to the Arcobaleno...