Chapter Text
"Boss Tsuna, wake up. Boss Tsuna, you have to get ready for school."
Tsuna grumbled as he was shaken awake, his eyes opened blearily to see Nei sitting beside him on the bed and shaking him with a pout. He let out a loud yawn and sat up while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Morning, Nei." It really said something when Tsuna was so used to Nei staying in his room that he didn't even question it anymore.
Nei backed up a bit and smiled. "Good morning, Boss Tsuna. How did you sleep?"
"Pretty well." Tsuna stopped rubbing his eyes. "Kinda feel like I'm forgetting something…"
"The Varia?" Nei offered.
Tsuna's eyes widened. "Right! The Varia!" He touched his head with his left hand before flinching. "Wait, didn't I break my left arm last night? What happened again? I'm sort of drawing a blank." His right hand went to his chest, but froze when he noticed something was missing. "Where's my Ring?" The Vongola Ring that hung from Tsuna's neck by a chain was now gone.
Nei grabbed Tsuna's left hand and pulled it to his face so he'd look at it, the Ring was on his middle finger.
"Ah," Tsuna nodded. "This is seriously uncomfortable, how does Reborn expect me to wear it on my finger?"
"When it's complete." Reborn's voice answered.
Tsuna and Nei looked to the side of the room to see Reborn hanging a frame on the wall, the frame was the scroll where Nono's orders were written.
"You framed it?!" Tsuna shouted.
"It brings the room together." Reborn defended while adjusting the frame, he looked at Tsuna. "How's your arm feeling?"
Tsuna frowned and looked at his left arm. "Right, I broke it, didn't I? My mind's still kinda hazy."
"You should be proud," Reborn let go of the frame and fully turned to look at Tsuna and Nei. "You might have broken your arm, but you made Xanxus pay for it with his shoulder. And, unlike you, he doesn't have the world's best healer on speed-dial."
"Mama healed me? Makes sense…" Tsuna nodded in understanding.
"Ms. Crossette left along with Shinra and Sho to gather information." Nei informed Tsuna.
"Can one of you give me a reminder of what happened?" Tsuna rubbed the side of his head. "Still kinda fuzzy."
Reborn came closer and climbed onto the bed. "Well, to start…"
***********************
"A one-on-one fight between holders of the same type of Ring?" Tsuna echoed Crossette's words.
Xanxus glanced aside with a slight curl of his lip.
"Yep." Crossette nodded at the scroll. "It also says to await further instructions, but I don't get who's supposed-"
"Thank you for waiting!" Two feminine voices called out in unison.
Two new shadows fell onto the scene, all eyes went to the newcomers, a pair of women who seemed identical to each other. Both had tanned skin, straight pink hair, and a domino mask over their faces that hid their eyes. They both were dressed similarly, in black and white clothes, but whereas one wore a short dress and thigh-high boots, the other had black shorts, and both had a leather jacket and referee's whistle.
"In this scramble battle for the Vongola Rings," The women with the dress spoke.
"We will be acting as the judges." The second woman finished the sentence.
Everyone looked at the women with both confusion and curiosity.
"We are the Cervello Organization, and we serve directly under the Nono." The woman in the dress held up a written page with a Flame burning on top of it.
"Please consider out decisions regarding the Ring Battles as the decisions of the Nono himself." The second woman added.
"Lord Nono said that this measure is the one that will satisfy the entire family." The lady in the dress continued before she and her companion turned to look at Xanxus. "Do you have any objections to voice, Lord Xanxus?"
Xanxus was too busy glaring at his limp right arm to respond.
"Thank you very much." Both ladies bowed to him.
"He didn't say sh*t." Gokudera pointed out.
"And besides that." Shinra stepped up with a frown. "We have objections. We've never heard of any 'Cervello Organizations'. Do you expect us to trust you?"
"We cannot accept your objection." The lady in the dress answered.
"We serve the Nono directly, and thus, the CEDEF has no authority over us." The second lady added.
"This reeks." Ren crossed her arms and eyed the two ladies warily. "You come here, spout some nonsense, and then address Al Capone's bastard child before you address your proper heir?" She shook her head disdainfully. "You ladies are not as slick as you seem to think." Ren took a step forward and glared at the two ladies, a burst of pressure rolled off of her and forced them both to step back. "Show some proper respect and kneel, then we'll consider accepting your oh-so important 'judgement'."
"You overstep, Cloud candidate." Both women spoke, but their voice was noticeably shaky. "We have the proof right here." The lady in the dress held up her paper. "This is Nono's Seal of Flames, it is undeniable proof that we carry his will. We will forgive your disrespect this once, but do not bare your fangs at us again."
A vein popped on Ren's forehead. "You want to repeat that, you glorified secretaries!?"
"Yamashiro!" Tsuna called out to her.
Ren calmed down and turned her head to look back at Tsuna.
"Leave them be." Tsuna requested. "We should at least finish hearing them out."
Ren sighed and nodded before taking a step back.
The two ladies bowed to Tsuna.
"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Tsunayoshi." The lady in the dress said respectfully.
"We will continue with the explanation of the coming battles, with your permission." The second lady said as she and the other both straightened up.
"Originally, there are two sets of Half Vongola Rings." The lady in the dress started explaining. "One set that is in the hands of the boss, and the other that is in the hands of the external advisor."
The second woman picked up the explanation. "In the succession ceremony for the heir, both sets are brought together and connected to form the complete Vongola Rings, and are then given to the successor and his six chosen Guardians."
The lady in the dress spoke again. "However, this case has become complicated, because the boss and external advisor have disagreed on who the successor should be, and the two sets of Rings have been distributed to different people."
"Them disagreeing should be irrelevant." Reborn interjected. "Both Nono and Crossette placed the responsibility of choosing a successor in my hands, and I chose Tsuna."
"And your choice represents Lady Crossette's choice." The Cervello in the dress remarked monotonously. "The two choices of successors are Lord Xanxus and his Guardians, chosen by Lord Nono. And Lord Tsunayoshi and his Guardians, chosen by Reborn and Lady Crossette. In this battle, the ones who are truly worthy to wield the Rings, will prove it with their lives."
The other Cervello spoke again. "The location is Namimori middle school at midnight, further details will be shared later."
"Hahii! We're fighting at Mr. Tsuna's school?!" Haru asked in surprise.
"We shall wait for you at eleven PM tomorrow night at Namimori middle school." The Cervello in the dress said and leaped into the air
"Goodbye." The second Cervello followed her.
"Hahii! Wait!" haru called out, but the two women were gone already.
"Huh, they jump good." Konomi remarked.
Tsuna looked at the spot where the Cervello had been standing with a frown. "Something was seriously… off about them." While he mused, he noticed Xanxus glaring at him, he felt a bit intimidated from the look in Xanxus's eyes, but he refused to back down.
Tsuna's lack of fear seemed to infuriate Xanxus even more, but he huffed and turned around. Without a word, he walked off, followed by his Guardians.
"I could kill them all right now." Ren offered while winding back her leg.
"You'll kill six out of the seven, and get us disqualified." Reborn told Ren. "As much as I hate it, we have to play by the rules, or Tsuna won't have any right to the Rings."
Ren scoffed and lowered her leg. "Fine the-"
"Ahhhh!" Tsuna suddenly screamed.
"Boss, what's wrong!?" Gokudera asked worriedly.
"His adrenaline wore off." Reborn said bluntly. "Give him a moment and…"
Tsuna passed out.
"There it is." Reborn deadpanned.
****************
"I really need to work on my pain tolerance…" Tsuna muttered once Reborn's story concluded.
"We'll work on that." Reborn assured him.
"Chief Yamashiro carried Boss Tsuna home for Chief Nia to heal." Nei explained to Tsuna what happened after he passed out.
"I'll have to thank them both." Tsuna decided and got off the bed, prompting Nei and Reborn to do the same. "Still, this is kinda weird, Reborn. You told me Nono's three sons all died, so where the hell did Xanxus come from?"
"His mother's spasm chasm, one would imagine." Reborn crossed his arms.
"Reborn, be serious." Tsuna requested.
Reborn sighed and uncrossed his arms. "Xanxus is… to put bluntly, the problem child of the family. He's Nono's youngest son, and was always a massive prick, he has the power to be the boss, but definitely not the mentality."
"Guy's Heat felt foul…" Tsuna muttered before frowning in confusion. "Wait, I can differentiate Heat now?"
"It comes with learning Inquisitor's." Nei informed Tsuna.
"Huh…" Tsuna hummed contemplatively before looking at Reborn. "I'm still kind of lost on this, you said that you were given full authority by Nono and mama Crossette – and boy, am I still reeling from that – to choose the heir, can Nono just go back on that?"
"Technically yes, but something's really wrong here." Reborn clicked his tongue. "The Nono I know wouldn't just back out on his word, and he wouldn't force this kind of fight between prospective heirs. The only way that this would make sense to me is if he went flipping senile."
Tsuna sighed and sat back down on his bed while looking at his Ring. "So, now we have to fight Xanxus and the Varia over these Rings, right? If Nono had just chosen Xanxus to begin with, he'd have saved a lot of people the headache. If he had another son this entire time, why bother choosing a distant relative like me? Why drag my friends into this?"
"You would have been involved eventually." Reborn pointed out. "Xanxus, for all his faults, is a pretty meticulous guy. He doesn't like loose ends. Now… what do you call over twenty people with rights to succeed the Famiglia?"
Tsuna's eyes widened slowly at Reborn's words.
"Had Xanxus been given both sets and been made boss right away, he would lead a manhunt on you and your entire family to wipe Primo's bloodline from the world." Reborn explained.
"Nei feels like Xanxus would have died trying." Nei had to say. "He'd have to fight Chief Tenka, Satoru, and not to mention Commander Rex."
"Ohohoho! Yeah!" Reborn laughed. "He would have died spectacularly!" His laughter subsided as he fixed a serious look on Tsuna. "But he would have made sure to take as many of you with him, that's the kinda guy Xanxus is."
"I can't believe we're related." Tsuna said in disgust and looked at his Ring. "So, let me see if I get what you're saying… if I lose, and Xanxus gets my half of the Rings… he's going after my family?"
"And with the full power of the Vongola behind him, he'll be able to do some serious damage before your dad inevitably kills him." Reborn confirmed.
"Good thing we're not losing to him, then." Tsuna decided and clenched his fist. "XX-Anus is about to learn not to mess with the Midoriya family!"
Reborn broke down laughing and fell to the floor. "XX-Anus! Hahaha!"
Nei was also giggling at Tsuna's crude mockery of Xanxus's name.
Someone suddenly knocked on Tsuna's door. "Oi, Tuna-guy! Breakfast is ready!" The voice was that of one of Mio's friends, the winged girl.
Tsuna raised an eyebrow and went to the door to open it and see Eunie standing there. "Tuna-guy?"
"Ain't your name Tuna or something?" Eunie asked with a tilt of her head.
"Tsuna." Tsuna corrected.
"Eh, whatever, same thing." Eunie shrugged. "Anyway, your mum sent me to… get…" She trailed off once she noticed Nei coming up to the door as well. "Oi, what the spark?!"
"What?" Tsuna wondered.
"Was she sleeping in your room?" Eunie pointed at Nei.
"Nei usually sleeps in Boss Tsuna's room." Nei said with a smile.
"How's that bloody fair?! Your mum said that we aren't allowed to share rooms with the boys!" Eunie crossed her arms with a huff.
"Nei is a responsible and productive member of society, not an outlaw who tries to steal Boss Tsuna's birthright." Nei said sweetly.
Tsuna nearly choked from Nei's words.
Eunie let out a whistle. "This girl's got a mouth on her, I respect that." She cleared her throat. "I am still going to complain to your mum about this."
"Try to take Nei from me, see what f*cking happens." Tsuna warned her.
Eunie laughed. "Man, you are completely different to how Mio to described you."
"And how did she describe me?" Tsuna's eyes hardened. "A spineless, weak, no-good loser who can't do anything on his own?"
Eunie stepped back. "Well, more like… gentle, kind, and a bit of a crybaby."
"It's hereditary." Tsuna said defensively.
"Tsuna, stop wasting time, you'll be late for school." Reborn hopped on Tsuna's shoulder.
"Wait, I've been meaning to ask, what's with the weird baby?" Eunie asked with a curious spark in her eyes.
"Ciaossu, the name's Reborn." Reborn tipped his hat to Eunie. "I'm a professional hitman, and I do home-tutoring on the side."
"Are there any more like you around?" Eunie leaned closer.
"Any more what?" Reborn inquired.
"Babies! You got any more babies?" Eunie bounced in place.
"You like babies?" Nei asked.
"I love babies!" Eunie confirmed.
Tsuna laughed. "Spend a day with Reborn or Colonnello, that should change your mind."
"Can I hold ya?" Eunie held her hands out to Reborn.
"Normally, I'd say no, but I have to contradict Tsuna." Reborn said and leaped into Eunie's arms.
Eunie hugged Reborn with a happy smile.
Tsuna smirked and looked at Nei. "And that, Nei, is how you make Reborn play nice with someone."
Reborn flinched and looked at Tsuna who winked at him. "You clever little bastard." He said with begrudging respect.
Tsuna and Nei followed Eunie, who was still holding Reborn in her arms, downstairs to the dining room, where the family was gathering. Currently, Izuku, Pyra, Mythra, Nia, Ochako, Momo, and Brighid were present. As for the kids, Tenka, Kyouka, Himari, Yachiho, Mio, Sena, Alexandria, Milton, Fuuta, and I-Pin were present. As for 'guests', there were Bianchi, Shushu, Yuuki, Noah, Lanz, and Taion.
"Morning, young boss." Bianchi stood up from the table and bowed to Tsuna when he entered the room. She noticed Reborn being carried in Eunie's arms and frowned. "Want to explain to me what you're doing with my man in your arms, homewrecker?"
"Ah, what?" Eunie looked confused. "I'm holding a baby. Speaking of," She ran up to Taion. "Look, Taion! A baby!"
Taion smiled at Eunie's enthusiasm.
"You two in love?" Reborn asked bluntly.
Both Eunie and Taion's faces went red and they both started stammering.
Bianchi, seeing how Eunie was very clearly infatuated with Taion, and thus, not a threat to her and Reborn's love, instantly dropped her hostility. Said hostility was instantly replaced by a warm smile. "Ah, young love, it's so beautiful."
"We aren't in love!" Eunie and Taion shouted simultaneously.
Pyra and Mythra glanced at Nia before giggling. "Sound familiar, Nia?" They both asked.
"f*ck off." Nia scoffed.
"Hey, mama." Tsuna walked up to Nia.
"What's up, Tuna-fish?" Nia asked.
Tsuna smiled. "Thanks for fixing up my arm last night."
Nia smiled warmly in return and ruffled Tsuna's hair. "I'm your mother, ya little dork. It's my job to patch ya up when ya get hurt."
"Are you ready, Tsuna?" Izuku spoke to Tsuna.
Tsuna looked at him with a neutral expression.
"Tonight, the Ring Battles begin, if you want, you can take the day off to rest and prepare." Izuku offered.
Tsuna couldn't help his smile. "Thanks, dad. But I think I'll go to school, I want to check on Gokudera and Takeshi, see how they're feeling."
"I can just bring them to you." Tenka offered with a smile. "I'll be using my quirk to bring Konomi and Ren here for the Ring Battles."
Tsuna turned to his older sister. "Thanks for that, Tenka."
"Hey, Tsuna." Milton spoke up.
"Yeah?" Tsuna looked at him.
"This 'Ring Battle' thing, are you allowed to go in with a Blade?" Milton asked.
Tsuna frowned. "I don't know… why?"
Milton held up his left hand and summoned his Monado. "I can go with you, as your Blade. You know, support you."
"Or, alternatively, I can be your Blade." Alexandria offered. "My sword's enhanced reach could make a good combo with your Flames."
"Or, hey, we could try our Slave form, right?" Yuuki spoke up and looked at Kyouka, who rather than look pleased by the idea, glared at Yuuki for offering it, causing him to flinch.
Tsuna felt touched by the offers, he really did, but he shook his head. "Thanks, but no."
"The rules likely won't allow it either." Reborn chimed in. "I have a feeling those Cervello ladies won't allow Tsuna or one of the Guardians to take up Blades."
"If you're sure…" Milton dissipated his weapon.
"I guess it's something you want to do on your own." Alexandria followed his example and dismissed her weapon.
"Something like that." Tsuna nodded and sat down at the table with Nei right next to him. "So…" He smacked his lips. "What's for breakfast?"
"I'm taking Nei back." Kyouka said bluntly.
"Violence, apparently." Tsuna smiled and tried to lunge at Kyouka, but Nei quickly wrapped her arms around his midsection to stop him. "Lemme at her!"
Amusingly enough, Kyouka was ready to meet Tsuna's lunge head on, but was stopped by Yuuki hugging her from behind much like how Nei was holding Tsuna.
"Let go of me, Yuuki! I need to teach him a lesson!" Kyouka thrashed against her Blade's hold.
"Architect in Elysium, Kyouka, we told you not to do this right away…" Izuku sighed in frustration. He knew of Kyouka's dissatisfaction with Nei's continued inclusion in Tsuna's Famiglia, and had asked her to at least wait until Tsuna's life wasn't under threat to voice her grievances… seemed like she wasn't getting it.
"Is this a bad time to apologize for not taking you seriously enough when you and Sho were attacked?" Alexandria asked with a glance to the thrashing Tsuna.
Satoru popped his head into the room with a grin. "Imagine needing to apologize for that. Imagine pushing aside our precious brother's anguish after he was attacked. Imagine being such a failure of a sibling." He looked at Mio who was lowering her head with quivering lips, she radiated shame. "Couldn't be me."
The parents present all groaned in severe irritation, but none of them could tell Satoru off, since he wasn't wrong. Now they just had to find a way to prevent Tsuna and Kyouka from spilling each other's blood over the breakfast table.
******************
As Tsuna walked to school after the fiasco at breakfast, his hands were shaking, but not due to fear. Tsuna's hands were shaking in pure, unfiltered rage. Kyouka wanted to take Nei from him, and Tsuna was not about to let that happened. The only thing that stopped Tsuna from throwing hands with his sister, aside from Nei's begging that they don't fight, was that he had to get to school on time (Reborn insisted Tsuna still go to school that day).
'Why… why? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!?' Tsuna screamed in his mind. 'First Mio, now Kyouka! Why do they feel the need to try and take what's mine!? Do they just want me to stay the same useless loser I always was!? Is it so difficult for them to see me happy!?'
It was infuriating, with everything that was going on, he was too focused on his sisters being, charitably speaking, overbearing bitches!
Mio kept insisting he was weak, Kyouka tried to take away his subordinate because she didn't believe he could protect her… in other words, she was calling him weak too.
Tsuna's mind went back to that day in the Wasteland.
'My name is Jouryuu, remember it, because I'll remember your name.'
'How!? How is the omnicidal, self-proclaimed God more respectful of me than my own damned family!?' Tsuna glared at the ground as his hands shook. He took a deep breath to calm down and looked at his still shaking hands. 'I wonder what she's doing right now.'
*****************
"So, this pose is some sort of human mating ritual?" Jouryuu asked while maintain the pose in question. Her chest was pressed flat on the floor and her rear was stuck up in the air, her back was arched.
"That's what my research showed me." Shikoku confirmed, she was in the same pose, and looked like she was enjoying herself. "Apparently humans go crazy over it."
"This is fun." Kuusetsu, also in the same pose, giggled in amusem*nt. "Humans are so fun."
"Why do I have to do this as well?" Rairen asked in annoyance, he was also doing the pose, somehow, despite his very bulky body.
"Shikoku said so." Jouryuu answered bluntly before thinking. 'I wonder what Tsuna is doing right now.'
*****************
"Yoooo, Tsuna!"
Tsuna startled when a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders, he looked aside to see Takeshi grinning at him. Instantly, Tsuna's anger cooled, a sense of comforting calmness spread through him. Before he could stop it, a smile came to Tsuna's face.
"Takeshi, good morning." Tsuna greeted.
"Good morning, Tsukkun!" Sahara also greeted Tsuna.
"What the-! Sahara?" Tsuna was surprised to see a member of Tenka's Unit a step behind Takeshi, she was dressed in her Alliance Uniform, which was more of a leotard than a uniform, but that wasn't that important.
"Heeeeyyyy." Sahara yawned. "I can't believe you get forced to wake up so early for school, the education system is evil."
"Yeah…" Tsuna and Takeshi both agreed.
"Wait, Sahara, what are you doing here?" Tsuna asked.
Sahara tilted her head with a sleepy smile. "What do you mean? I'm escorting Takecchi to school. He and Mr. Aegaeon are letting me stay at their place, so it's the least I can do."
Tsuna blinked and looked at Takeshi, who, for once, looked somewhat bashful. Tsuna couldn't help but chuckle at Takeshi.
Sahara pouted. "You wouldn't believe it, Tsukkun. Takecchi kept me up aaaaalllll night long."
Tsuna's face went red.
"He was relentless… no matter how tired I was, he wouldn't stop thrusting…" Sahara yawned loudly. "My poor body couldn't take anymore…"
Tsuna looked at Takeshi to confirm.
"She makes a good sparring partner." Takeshi said with a cool smile.
Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief.
"Anyway, Tsuna, you were shaking a moment ago, you good?" Takeshi asked worriedly.
Tsuna held up his hands. "I'm good, just nervous about tonight."
"Well, like I told you, Takecchi couldn't sleep either." Sahara chimed back into the conversation as they all started walking.
"Are you nervous as well?" Tsuna looked at his friend.
"I'm so excited!!" Takeshi cheered while throwing his hands up in the air.
Tsuna's face turned flat. "Your mental fortitude is the stuff of legends, Takeshi."
"Thanks!" Takeshi grinned happily.
"That was not a compliment." Tsuna deadpanned.
Takeshi smiled innocently at Tsuna.
'How does he function?' Tsuna asked himself.
"It'll be alright, Tsuna." Takeshi's smile turned calm, his tone caused Tsuna to look at him curiously. "You know, at first, all I cared about in this whole thing was a rematch with that long haired guy, but now… even if I don't entirely get the situation, with all of us around for this, this is what I thought:" He looked at Tsuna and poked his Core Crystal with his index finger. "This isn't my battle, it's OUR battle. You're not alone, Tsuna. So let's win this together."
"Takeshi…" Tsuna muttered in amazement, he was so awed by Takeshi's sincerity that he was even ignoring how improper Takeshi was being by just up and touching his Core Crystal… that was considered a serious faux pas.
Sahara was watching the two of them with a blissful smile. 'Takecchi has such a way with words.
"Obviously!"
Tsuna looked ahead to see Gokudera coming towards him, Takeshi, and Sahara while carrying a box in his hands.
"Hey, it's Gokudera!" Takeshi called out cheerfully.
"Heya, Hayacchi." Sahara was just as cheerful.
"Ah, you're from Boss's sister's Unit." Gokudera recognized her.
"Hey, Gokudera, good morning." Tsuna greeted Gokudera.
Gokudera bowed to Tsuna, which was a bit difficult with the box he was carrying. "Boss, good morning." He straightened up. "And, don't worry, we'll all win. There's no way we can leave the Vongola to the likes of those Varia scumbags!"
Tsuna took in Gokudera's words and let out a small laugh, to Gokudera's confusion.
"What's so funny, Boss?" Gokudera asked.
Tsuna wiped a tear from his eye. "It's just…" He looked at Gokudera and Takeshi. "This is just like you idiots… I can't stay worried if you two are around."
Both Gokudera and Takeshi grinned with pride at Tsuna's words.
Sahara noticed the box in Gokudera's hands and went to check on it. "Hayacchi, what’s this in the box? Paper airplanes?"
"It's something I've been working on for a while, and teacher's been helping me figure it out." Gokudera answered.
Tsuna started chucking again. "It's honestly not surprising you ended up studying under mama Crossette, I should have offered it to you to begin with."
Gokudera's face went red and he quickly bowed to Tsuna. "Forgive me, Boss! I treated her with disrespect at first! I-"
"Pretty sure she already forgave you, so I will too." Tsuna assured Gokudera.
"You're as kind as you are wise and powerful, Boss." Gokudera said with pure reverence.
"So, you're calling me a jerk?" Tsuna tilted his head.
"N-no!" Gokudera denied loudly.
Takeshi and Sahara both laughed at Gokudera getting flustered so easily, and Tsuna felt himself be drained of his anger. He was so furious before, but all it took was just a minute or two with his Guardians, and he felt better again, he was way too lucky, to have made such amazing friends.
"By the way," Gokudera cleared his throat. "All of us gathered up yesterday besides the Mist Guardian, what's up with that?"
"Oh, yeah, we had everyone other than the Mist Guardian." Takeshi nodded in understanding.
"It's so cool that Chief Yamashiro is one of you guys," Sahara hummed.
"Who even is the Mist Guardian?" Gokudera asked.
Tsuna started walking again, prompting his Guardians and Sahara to follow. "No clue, but Reborn said that I chose all of my Guardians, which means the Mist is someone I know, but I can't think of who it could be…"
*****************
Tsuna had to suppress a laugh when Takeshi was besieged by his fangirls as soon as they arrived at the school. Said fangirls were apparently incensed by the fact that Namimori's most coveted bachelor walked to school with a babe like Sahara hanging off of him… literally, she actually fell asleep on the way, and Takeshi, gentleman that he was, carried her. Tsuna would have pointed out that he'd just need to wake her up later, but the speed in which Takeshi placed Sahara on his back, and the eagerness he displayed, told Tsuna that Takeshi wouldn't appreciate excuses to not carry Sahara.
By the way, Gokudera had parted ways with them on the way to school to go to the mountains and keep training.
When they arrived, Takeshi had to wake up Sahara, and she, sleepily, gave him a kiss on the cheek and went back to his house to sleep until noon. However, the sight of Takeshi coming in to school with sleeping beauty on his back, and her subsequently kissing him, drove his fangirls, of which there were many, absolutely off the goddamned wall.
"Yamamoto! Who was that girl!?" One of Takeshi's many fangirls screeched.
"You mean Sahara?" Takeshi asked cluelessly, the fact that he DARED say the girl's name enraged his fangirls further.
Tsuna was trying his hardest not to laugh.
"WHO IS SHEEEEEEEEE!!??!?!!?" The fangirls shrieked.
"She works for Tsuna's sister, he introduced us." Takeshi said good-naturedly.
Tsuna's amusem*nt ended in a second when all of the fangirls' ravenous eyes snapped to him. 'This motherf*cker sold me out!' Tsuna thought in horror.
However, before the seagulls could descend on poor, innocent Tsuna. The school idol, one Kyoko Sasagawa, stepped in. She stood ahead of Tsuna with her arms crossed, the boy couldn’t see her expression, but judging from how Takeshi's fangirls all suddenly found the ceiling or floor very interesting, he could only guess it was disapproving. He knew how painful disapproval from Kyoko was.
Tsuna wanted to thank Kyoko for helping get the seagulls off his hide, but he was unsure of what to say, especially since he was pretty curt with her the night before.
Kyoko turned around to look at Tsuna with a forced smile. "Morning."
"Uh, good morning, Kyoko." Tsuna greeted awkwardly. "Hey, about last-"
"Oh, sorry, Hana and I need to discuss a project for class, so… I can't talk right now." Kyoko said quickly and speedwalked towards Kurokawa, who was looking at her in confusion.
Tsuna stood in place, forced to swallow his previous words. He just sighed. 'This is for the best…' He decided and went to sit down at his desk, but a certain loud and EXTREME guy burst through the door.
"Midoriya!" Ryohei called out. "Come with me! I'm here to convince you to join the boxing club!"
Kyoko, despite trying to do her best to ignore Tsuna, cringed when Ryohei called out for him.
Tsuna sighed again and walked up to Ryohei. "Do we have to-" He was cut off by Ryohei grabbing his hand.
"Yes." Ryohei said curtly and dragged Tsuna off.
The two of them went out to one of the outdoor staircases, and both leaned on the rails as they watched the street outside of the school.
"Look, Sasagawa, man, if you want to get on my case for Kyoko, can it happen any other-"
"Midoriya, what's going on? Be real with me, no bullsh*t." Ryohei said seriously, for once, he didn't seem like the overly intense maniac that he usually was.
Tsuna sighed and pressed his forehead into the cold metal railing. "I'm involved in some messed up sh*t, and I want Kyoko as far away from it as humanly possible."
Ryohei nodded. "I respect that."
Tsuna flinched and straightened up to look at Ryohei in surprise.
Ryohei stared out into the street for a moment before he pointed at the scar on the edge of his left eyebrow. "You wanna know how I got this scar?"
"I assumed it had something to do with your dad asking 'why so serious?'." Tsuna joked halfheartedly.
Ryohei barked out a laugh. "Nah, nothing like that!" He shook his head. "I can't believe you don't remember, you were there."
Tsuna blinked. "I was?"
Ryohei had a subdued smile on his face. "I used to be even more of a scrappy sh*t when I was younger, you know? It was before I took up boxing, and back then, I seriously had no discipline."
"Implying you have any now?" Tsuna muttered dryly.
"I picked fights with everyone." Ryohei continued.
"Not too different from who you are now." Tsuna deadpanned.
"And that caused a lot of problems for Kyoko." Ryohei looked down with a sigh.
"Bro, you're describing the present." Tsuna was getting the urge to punch Ryohei in the face.
"It was back during elementary school, a bunch of middle-schoolers who hated me-"
"Did they hate you because you came out of nowhere to beat them up one time?" Tsuna guessed.
"How did you know?" Ryohei tilted his head.
Tsuna inhaled deeply through his nose and contemplated if bashing his head into a wall repeatedly would help him be more on Ryohei's mental level.
"Anyway, those asswipes called me out using Kyoko, and when I got there to save her, there were a whole buncha punks waiting… it was a trap." Ryohei recounted.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders." Tsuna muttered.
"I did!" Ryohei nodded quickly. "I got the sh*t beat out of me, ended up with a massive crack on my head… I thought I was gonna die, and the worst part of it all was…" He sighed and traced the scar on his eyebrow. "That the last thing I would have heard would have been Kyoko crying over me."
Tsuna stayed quiet.
"And that was when you showed up." Ryohei said with a grin.
Tsuna flinched. "What?"
"Yeah." Ryohei nodded enthusiastically. "You were passing by with some lady dressed like a miko-"
"Mama Haze…" Tsuna muttered.
"And you noticed us." Ryohei kept going. "You ran up to me and carried me to that lady and cried that she'd help me, and she healed me." He tapped his scar again. "This was left over, but I took it as a badge of honor."
"I…" Tsuna frowned. "I don't remember that."
"Neither does Kyoko, actually." Ryohei assured Tsuna. "Whenever this incident comes up, Kyoko only remembers things up until the point I got beat up, but nothing beyond that. She doesn't remember how I was saved, she only remembers that I got beat up to protect her, she blames herself for it."
"Is that why you sold her that BS story back during the Kokuyo debacle?" Tsuna mused.
"It's exactly that." Ryohei confirmed. "I don't want to worry Kyoko, not again. And… that's also why you keep lying to her, isn't it?"
Tsuna lowered his head and put a hand over his eyes.
"Look, I'm not judging, not at all." Ryohei put a hand on Tsuna's shoulder. "Midoriya, I respect you, genuinely. And because I respect you, I won't pry into whatever mess you have going on, but I'll ask you for one thing."
"Which is?" Tsuna took his hand off of his face and turned to face Ryohei.
"Keep Kyoko out of it." Ryohei said seriously, there was no trace of his usual bombastic self.
Tsuna sighed and took Ryohei's hand off his shoulder before he turned to leave, as he walked away, Tsuna gave his response to Ryohei.
"That's the plan."
*******************
Konomi Tatara, the fierce Vice-Chief of Tishrei, Chief Nia Midoriya's righthand woman, an accomplished martial artist and a pro hero despite her young age, the most admired girl at her middle school, who had been missing for five days and only came back to school that day. People were curious as to what could have happened to make Konomi miss school, it likely had to do with her job at the Alliance, but it wasn't like she answered any questions when asked… if she was asked at all.
Konomi may have been the most admired girl at the school, but that didn't make her 'popular' exactly. Because of her reputation in the Alliance, because she was made a Vice-Chief at her age, she was placed on a pedestal by her schoolmates, and no-one dared approach her, because they thought she was too above them, or they found her too intimidating.
Another point of interest in the daily gossip was that Konomi had a ring on her left hand, a ring that she kept looking at throughout the day with a lovestruck expression, one comprised of shining eyes, a slightly drunk smile, and a deeply blushing face.
Once again, the students of Konomi's class were all curious. After all, she suddenly disappeared for a few days, and came back with a ring and such an expression, that was extremely suspicious. And no one found it more suspicious than the one person who would approach Konomi freely, the girl formerly known as Konomi's best friend, Ema Makura. The two of them had a falling out a few months back over something, and since then, Konomi refused to even give Ema the time of day.
Today was no different, when Ema tried to approach Konomi, Konomi would dutifully ignore her while gazing at her ring.
And as has been the usual, their feud drew the attention of everyone around them, even students from the years below them had come and gone throughout the day to view the sad sight of Ema trying in vain to get Konomi to speak to her.
The day had come and gone, the final bell rang to signify the end of the day.
"f*cking finally!" Konomi shot up in her seat, an eager grin on her face.
She had been antsy all day, ready for the night when the Ring Battles would begin.
Konomi snatched her school bag off her desk and dashed out of the classroom. As she ran Konomi looked at her left hand, or more specifically, her ring finger, and the Half Ring that adorned it: the Half Vongola Ring of the Sun, the proof that she was Tsuna's (she wished she could stop the title right there) Sun Guardian. And starting tonight, Konomi would have to fight alongside her friends for the other half of their Rings, to make Tsuna's ascension to the Boss of the Vongola Famiglia official.
It was so strange… less than a year prior, Konomi would never have even considered that she'd be part of a mafia's power conflict… at least not as a participant. If anything, she figured that she'd be putting a stop to something such as that, as a hero. But now? Konomi was a mafioso, albeit unofficially. Once she, Tsuna, and the others got their Rings completed, they'll officially take over the Vongola Famiglia and become an actual mafia family.
'And maybe… become an actual family?' Konomi smiled at her Ring, despite her face burning red with embarrassment at the thought.
Circ*mstances aside, she was a girl, a girl who got a ring from a boy who was incredibly important to her.
Konomi reached the school gate and took a moment to catch her breath, not that she needed to, not really. She could run an entire marathon around Tokyo and not be winded, but Konomi was a bit overwhelmed with her emotions, the excitement and other feelings regarding the upcoming battles.
In the time that Konomi took to compose herself, someone reached her, the nuisance who would not leave her alone all day.
"Konomi!"
Konomi sighed, placed her hands on her hips, and turned around to see Ema sprinting towards her from the school.
"Wait! Wait a minute!" Ema shouted as she approached Konomi. She reached Konomi and doubled over with her hands on her knees as she panted to regain her breath. "Hoo… huff… hah…" Ema coughed a few times.
Konomi tilted her head with a flat expression, she was waiting for Ema to start breathing again.
"Haaaa…!" Ema finally took in a deep breath before looking at Konomi. "Geez, what lit a fire under your butt so bad today?"
Konomi looked at Ema unamused.
Ema winced. "Are you still not talking to me? Come on, it's been months, and I said I was sorry over a thousand times by now!"
Konomi huffed and shook her head. "Saying 'sorry' doesn't fix the fact that you nearly cost me my goddamned job, does it?"
Ema's face fell and she looked away. "Look, I didn't think you'd get in so much trouble-"
"Oh, that fixes everything then." Konomi said with a smile.
Ema gasped and smiled. "Really!?"
"f*ck no!" Konomi barked, causing Ema to flinch back. "Seriously! I knew you were bitch-made, Ema! Because I noticed how pissy you got when I hung out with my friends! But I never thought I'd see the day you become a freaking rat!"
"Rat!?" Ema choked.
"You had ONE JOB!" Konomi stepped closer to Ema and pushed her chest with her index finger. "Shut the hell up, and wait for me to come back! But instead of doing that, your butt got me in hot water with the Chief, and if it wasn't for the Commander vouching for me, not only would I have been expelled from the Alliance, I would have lost my license!"
"What was I supposed to do!? Just let you go off to play with that Tsuna guy?!" Ema scoffed and crossed her arms.
"I wasn't playing! I went to help him because his little brother got kidnapped!" Konomi snapped, earning a look of surprise from Ema.
"Y-you could have told me…" Ema muttered.
"With what time?" Konomi asked bluntly. "A kid was at the hands of villains, I had to act fast. Was it so much to ask that my so-called best friend trust me for five seconds and not snitch on me to the Chief?"
"Well… I…" Ema stammered unsurely, her eyes darted around from nerves.
Konomi took a deep breath to try and calm herself down, her right hand went to her left to touch her Ring.
The action was noticed by Ema, whose face soured. "Did he give you that ring?"
Konomi snorted. "None of your business."
Ema lowered her head.
"Oh, wow, did I come at a bad time, Konomi?"
Both Konomi and Ema startled, Konomi spun around to see Tenka standing behind her.
"Yo." Tenka raised her hand with a friendly smile.
Ema gasped at the sight of her, one of the Twelve Chiefs of the Alliance, and the daughter of Rex and Meleph, Tenka.
"Chief Tenka, hello." Konomi bowed to Tenka respectfully.
"Are you ready for tonight?" Tenka asked with a smirk.
Konomi straightened up and smiled excitedly. "I've been ready! The Sun Guardian is reporting for duty!" She saluted eagerly.
Tenka snickered. "Tsuna sure is lucky to have a girl like you, I approve."
Ema choked, Tenka knew that Tsuna guy too? And… from the way she was speaking, Konomi and that Tsuna guy were closer than Ema had thought… she hated it.
"Who's your friend?" Tenka finally noticed Ema.
"Uh-" Ema prepared to say something, but Konomi cut in.
"She's not my friend." Konomi said seriously and stepped up to Tenka. "Can we go now?"
Tenka looked somewhat suspicious, but still nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
"Wait-!" Ema tried to reach for Konomi, but both Konomi and Tenka disappeared into a portal that soon vanished as well.
With Konomi gone, Ema stood frozen in place for a moment before she let out an ear-piercing shriek of frustration, tears fell from her eyes as she screamed.
"Oh, wow, that's just not okay…" A sweet voice with a distinct accent reached Ema's ears.
Ema turned around to see a girl standing behind her, the girl was short, she seemed to be either a first or second year at the school. She had violet hair tied in a bun above her head with a long, teal ribbon. She had two small, red horns poking out of her forehead, and kind brown eyes. She had what seemed to be an earring on her left ear, but on closer inspection, it appeared to be a Core Crystal. She was dressed in the same uniform as Ema, but had a small white purse with three teal Tomoe on it, like a daiko drum. Overall, this girl was seriously adorable, like an innocent doll that one couldn't help but fawn over.
"Uhm…" Ema was unsure of what to say to the girl who had just seen her acting in such an embarrassing manner.
"I don't know why she's angry, but I don't think there's any excuse to how she's treating you." The girl said sadly. "Friends should never treat friends this way."
"Who…" Ema asked hoarsely.
"Oh, I didn't introduce myself, did I?" The girl said sheepishly. "I'm Fiona."
/Fiona/
/Scottish Oni Girl… not as good as Welsh Cat Girl/
"You can call me Fifi, if you'd like." Fiona offered with a sweet smile.
Ema sniffled and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve.
"Do you want to hang out with me and my friends?" Fiona offered and held her hand out to Ema. "We're not Tatara, but we can be fun."
Ema considered it for a moment.
"We don't have to hang out right this second." Fiona said quickly. "If you're just not in the mood, we can do this some other day."
Ema nodded. "Sure… some other day…"
Fiona smiled and took out her phone. "Let's exchange numbers. That way, we can decide when to hang out later."
Ema smiled slightly as well and took out her phone for her and Fiona to exchange numbers.
After Fiona left, Ema went home with that slight smile still on her face, however, on the inside, she was still hurt from how Konomi treated her. Her mind drifted to that ring on Konomi's left hand, a ring Ema was sure that Tsuna guy gave her.
'Maybe…' Ema frowned in thought. 'Maybe if I gave Konomi a better ring she'll forgive me?' She recalled something. 'Mom had this ring she said her grandmother gave her… maybe I can give it to Konomi? Yeah, I can try that.' She started running. 'She's probably going to Namimori again, so I can go get the ring, and meet her there to give it to her!'
With her plan set, Ema rushed home to put it into action.
*******************
It was after school, and Tsuna was in his room with Konomi, Haru, and Ren. Tsuna was sitting on his bed with Haru's head in his lap while Konomi was doing pushups on the floor and Ren was sitting at the short table with a cup of tea in her hands.
Tsuna ran into Haru on the way back from school. He was ready to confront Kyouka over her idiocy in thinking she could even THINK to take Nei from him, however, the minute Tsuna ran into Haru, his anger drained and he just let Haru latch onto his arm and come home with him. When Tsuna and Haru arrived at Tsuna's home, they were greeted by Konomi and Ren, who were already there, courtesy of Tenka Express Delivery™.
Upon noticing Tsuna's surprise, and happiness, at seeing Ren and Konomi, Tenka patted his shoulder and said "You're welcome", along with an apology over not standing up for him after he and Sho were attacked by Squalo.
Now, Tsuna was spending time with his Guardians before they had to head for the school for the beginning of the battle.
"So, Chief Uzen decided that she wouldn't allow you to spend time with Nei anymore?" Ren asked in distaste. "I always knew she was a control freak, but I didn't think her overbearing bitchiness extended to her own family."
"Bitchiness is taking it a bit far, Chief Yamashiro." Konomi said between pushups. "I agree that Chief Uzen is going overboard by trying to forcefully cut contact between Nei and Tsuna, but I don't think it's a control issue."
"I don't care what the issue is… Kyouka is seriously annoying me." Tsuna muttered while stroking Haru's hair, earning content sighs from her.
"Clearly…" Ren nodded and looked at Tsuna with a smirk. "She keeps getting in your way, have you noticed that?"
Tsuna frowned in confusion.
"She's trying to end your relationship with Nei, just as she attempted to prevent us from becoming friends." Ren pointed out. "She knows the kind of potential that you have, and how, if joined by more talented individuals, like Nei and myself, you'd surpass her with a fraction of the effort it took her to reach her current position."
"Hahii? You think it's that petty?" Haru asked.
"It has to be." Ren insisted. "For all her bluster, Kyouka Uzen is, at her core, a sad, awkward, insecure little girl."
"Chief Uzen is insecure?" Konomi asked skeptically as she stopped doing pushups and sat on the floor with a confused frown.
"Unbelievably so." Ren smirked. "I know she seems like a pillar of confidence and strength, but it's all an act to mask how truly weak she is on the inside."
Tsuna hated to think it, but he did see truth in Ren's words, but even then. "Can that really be it? Kyouka is so insecure she'd try to take Nei from me? I get being concerned for Nei's safety, but if it's for such a petty reason… I don't know if I can forgive that."
"Worry about it on your own time, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn hopped into the room from the window.
"Reborn!" Tsuna, Haru, and Konomi exclaimed.
"Ciaossu." Reborn tipped his hat. "How are you all feeling? Ready for the function?"
"I mostly feel like an idiot for not recognizing you before." Ren grumbled.
"I am a master of disguise, people only recognize me when I want them to." Reborn said smugly.
"Bullsh*t…" Tsuna muttered.
"Hey! No lip!" Reborn chastised Tsuna with a pout.
"Hahii… Mr. Tsuna can give Haru lip, Haru wouldn’t mind." Haru smiled up at Tsuna from his lap.
Tsuna's face went red.
"H-hey! Don't start with that!" Konomi complained.
Ren, while maintaining her calm expression, had to stop her hands from reaching for the dog collar she was keeping in her uniform for Tsuna. Oh, how she longed to tie it around his neck in front of Haru and Konomi to show them who Tsuna actually belonged to.
Tsuna laughed lightly at his bickering Guardians.
"Feeling better now? That you've spent some time with your Guardians?" Reborn asked Tsuna with a smile.
Tsuna smiled back at Reborn. "For a jackass, you do some nice things sometimes."
"Don't get used to it." Reborn crossed his arms. "I have a reputation."
Tsuna grinned and picked up Reborn. "Yeah! A softy tutor who loves his students!"
Reborn responded to Tsuna's newfound arrogance with a brutal kick to the face that sent the boy crashing back into the wall.
"Hahii!" Haru was thrown off of Tsuna as a result of Reborn's kick.
Reborn landed on the bed. "Did that knock your head on straight, Tsuna?"
Tsuna grumbled and rubbed the back of his head. "All I get is that you're a tsundere."
"Who do I look like to you? Glimmer?" Reborn scoffed.
In her room, Glimmer suddenly stopped playing her weapon and looked around with an irked expression, she felt like someone insulted her with something completely factually accurate.
Back in Tsuna's room, Reborn spoke again. "We should get going soon, it's almost eleven."
Tsuna, Haru, Konomi, and Ren nodded.
"Just remember one thing, Tsuna." Reborn said seriously. "The reason you're the one holding the Ring, the reason YOU and your Guardians are the ones fighting, it's not just because Xanxus needs to be stopped. Like I told you back at Kokuyo Land, YOU are the Vongola Decimo, not any of your siblings, YOU. You were chosen for the position because you're the most fitting for it, don't forget that."
"I wouldn't allow myself to be the Guardian to anyone else." Ren stated with her arms crossed.
"You're my Boss, Tsuna. No way I'd join the mafia for anyone else's sake." Konomi punched her chest with a resolute grin.
Haru took Tsuna's hand with both of hers and smiled at him. "Haru doesn't think she needs to say much, but… Mr. Tsuna already knows, Haru wants to be Mr. Tsuna's wife, and Haru wouldn't be the Lightning Guardian for anyone else, ever."
"You guys…" Tsuna lowered his eyes.
"Come on." Reborn hopped off the bed. "Let's get going."
"Right!" Tsuna, Haru, and Konomi called out while Ren nodded silently.
A portal opened in the middle of the room and Tenka stepped out.
"Ready to go, everyone?" Tenka asked and gestured to the portal before giving Tsuna a playful smile. "Your carriage awaits, Lord Decimo."
Tsuna groaned in embarrassment.
*******************
Gokudera and Takeshi stood at the gate of Namimori middle school, they were waiting for Tsuna and the other Guardians to arrive. A portal opened in front of them, and out of that portal stepped out Tenka, Tsuna, Haru, Konomi, Ren, Reborn, and Nia.
"Boss!" Gokudera bowed to Tsuna.
"Heya, guys." Takeshi smiled and waved at the new arrivals, he noticed Nia. "Why'd you bring your mom, Tsuna?"
Nia gave Takeshi a flat look. "I'm here to make sure none of ya dumbarses die tonight."
Gokudera bowed to Nia as well. "Thank you for taking the time, ma'am!"
Nia huffed and suppressed a smirk. "Well, at least one of ya knows to show respect."
"Hahii… kiss-ass…" Haru whispered about Gokudera.
"Wanna repeat that, dork!?" Gokudera snapped upright and glared at Haru.
"Haru called you a kiss-ass, want Haru to do it again?" Haru asked bluntly.
"Why you-!" Gokudera's hands itched for his dynamite, but a single annoyed look from Tsuna made him settle down. "Sorry, Boss."
"Hey, Tsuna, you didn't bring Nei with you?" Takeshi asked once he noticed the youngest member of the Famiglia wasn't present.
Tsuna's face soured. "Let's not get into that…"
Kyouka took Nei out of town so that Nei wouldn't be able to observe the Ring Battles with her quirk, and that irked Tsuna to no end.
"Well, I'm sure she's cheering for us, right?" Takeshi offered.
"Yeah…" Tsuna said quietly.
"Well, we're all here… other than the Mist Guardian." Konomi observed. "Where even is that guy?"
"The Mist Guardian will show up when needed." Nia cut in. "Ya should be asking when those Varia arseholes will stop pretending we can't notice them and show their sorry faces."
"VVOOOOIIII!!!! Who are you calling sorry!"
Eyes went up to a nearby roof of one of the school structure where the Varia stood, accompanied by the two Cervello women.
"Wait, were you tryhards actually waiting to make a big entrance?" Tsuna asked before snorting. "That's so sorry!"
His Guardians all laughed as well, earning annoyed looks from the professional assassins
The Cervello woman in the dress cleared her throat. "Regardless of how sorry the Varia are-"
"VOI!" Squalo shouted indignantly.
"-the matchup for tonight's Ring Battle has been decided." The Cervello woman continued as if she wasn't interrupted. "Tonight's match will be… the Battle between the Sun Guardians."
Tsuna's eyes went to Konomi, who stepped up with a determined expression and pounded her fists together.
The dandy man with the green mohawk stepped forward on the roof and sneered down at Konomi. "So my opponent, is this little girl?"
The Varia and Cervello all jumped down from the roof and landed in front of Tsuna's group.
"Thank you all for arriving tonight." The Cervello in the dress said.
"If you all would please follow us, we will lead you to the location of the first battle." The second Cervello gestured for everyone to follow her.
Both groups followed after the Cervello, and Tsuna glanced at the Varia, he noticed who was missing.
"So, where's my jackass cousin at?" Tsuna asked aloud, earning a glare from Levi at the disrespect he showed towards Xanxus.
Squalo laughed. "You think that guy would bother to look at someone else's match?!"
"Sure it's that, and not Tsuna knocking his shoulder of its socket?" Reborn asked cheekily.
"Punk…!" Levi glared at Reborn.
"I cannot believe we're related to that guy…" Tenka shook her head in disappointment.
Squalo looked like he was screaming on the inside, but no one paid him any attention.
"We are here, everyone." The Cervello both said and gestured forward. "Behold!"
"We're beholding." Everyone deadpanned.
What they were beholding was a fighting cage, the kind you'd see in pro-wrestling programs. Something was off about it, though… was the floor made of glass?
"This is the special battlefield prepared for the Sun Guardian match." Cervello one explained.
"We have constructed the battlefield with the traits of the Sun Guardians in mind, and each subsequent battlefield will match their respective Guardians… and will likely be held at different locations." Cervello two continued.
"Ya both are creeping me the bloody hell out, can ya stop finishing each other's sentences?" Nia asked.
"No." Both Cervello denied.
"Who is paying for this?" Ren had to ask.
"This is coming directly from the 'mind your goddamn business' fund." Cervello one answered in the same dull tone as always.
"Seems like a waste of money, since we already know who'll win in the end." Mammon scoffed.
"Yes, we are going to win quite handily, feel free to give up any time." Ren said politely.
"Y-you don't scare me." Mammon stuttered.
Ren grinned. "You sure about that."
"Mosca, protect me." Mammon said quickly to the giant holding him.
Misca covered Mammon with another hand to block Ren's view of him.
"Still… a field like that seems perfect for Tatara." Takeshi observed. "She's a martial arts master, after all."
"Hahii! Konomi's gonna clutch the win for sure!" Haru cheered.
"Heck yeah!" Konomi grinned. "The ring is the place of a martial artist!"
Tsuna, despite his best efforts, was starting to get nervous for Konomi's match. He knew Konomi was strong, she was his second strongest Guardian (he didn't know why Reborn said she was third).
Nia, noticing her son's nervousness, smirked and leaned close to whisper something in his ear.
"For real!?" Tsuna asked in a panic.
Nia smiled and nodded. "Trust me, Tuna-fish, have ya ever regretted doing what I say?"
Tsuna took a deep breath and nodded.
On the other side, with the Varia, Squalo was arguing with Levi, likely about Xanxus, while the boy with the bangs spoke to Mammon. "Seems like someone's eyeing you pretty intensely, Mammon.
"I know…" Mammon said and glared at the one staring at him, Reborn, from under his hood. "He's not even one of the Guardians… kinda feel like charging an observation fee… actually-"
"You try to charge us, you're not going to like what happens next." Tenka warned the baby.
"She has good ears." Mammon muttered and averted his gaze.
Reborn, meanwhile kept staring at Mammon. 'Okay, so if I was an idiot, it'd take me a WHILE to figure out who this snake is, but even if the Pacifier is hidden, I'm not stupid. Did he really think that masking his Pacifier was enough for anyone to NOT realize who he is? There're eight of us, and only one who specializes in illusions.'
"Now then!" Cervello one called out.
"Sun Guardians, please step into the ring!" Cervello two continued.
"I'll go an play now~" Dandy-man cooed a stepped up.
"I'll enjoy this, Lussuria." Mammon said to the dandy-man.
"VOOOIII!! Kill the brat quickly, we don't have all night!" Squalo barked out. 'Little do they know, I DO have all night!'
Konomi punched her open palm with an eager grin "Leave it to me, Tsuna! I'll win for sure!"
Tsuna nodded and prepared to say something, but he was cut off by Takeshi.
"Hey, how about we do a huddle?" Takeshi offered. "You know, like how we did back with Maia at the arcade." The suggestion earned uncomfortable looks from Tsuna, Gokudera, and even Ren.
Konomi's eyes widened and she spun around with a wide smile. "Can we?! Can we!? Can we!? Can we!?"
"I can't say no to that face…" Tsuna muttered.
"You can, and you should." Ren said quickly before crossing her arms and stepping back. "I'm not doing this."
"Oh?" Tenka snickered. "Is the mighty Ren Yamashiro too proud for a group huddle? That's hilarious."
"I will end you, Tenka." Ren glared at her fellow Chief.
"Hahii! Haru is in!" Haru jumped and came closer to the group to start the huddle.
"Sure there's no way to convince you to join, Chief Yamashiro?" Konomi asked hopefully.
Ren shook her head. "I wish you the best of luck, Tatara, but I am not doing this."
"Well! We'll do it with just us five!" Takeshi declared and grabbed Gokudera before he could escape.
"No! Leggo 'a me! You can't make me!" Gokudera complained.
Tsuna, Haru, Konomi, Gokudera, and Takeshi got in a circle and held each other's shoulders. Tsuna was between Konomi and Haru, Konomi was on his right, and Haru on his left. On Konomi's right was Gokudera, and on Haru's left was Takeshi.
"KONOMI!!! FIGHT!!!!" Tsuna, Takeshi, Haru, and Gokudera called out loudly.
"OSSU!!!" Konomi shouted back, just as loudly as the other four combined.
The huddle broke apart, and Konomi stepped back from her friends, she felt a slap on her back. She turned around to see Nia smirking at her.
"Kick his arse, Konomi." Nia told her.
Konomi gasped happily at hearing her Chief finally refer to her by name again. "Yes, Chief!"
Nia gave Konomi's head a pat before giving Tsuna an expectant look.
"K-Konomi!" Tsuna called out nervously. "Before you fight, I have something to give you."
Konomi stepped away from Nia and looked at Tsuna curiously.
Tsuna gathered up his nerve. 'Don't be a bitch, Tsuna. Don't be a bitch, don't be a bitch, don't be a bitch… do it with your Dying Will!' A flame burst on Tsuna's forehead for a fraction of a second and a burning Ouroboros appeared in his left eye. He took a step towards Konomi and kissed her on the cheek.
"Hahii!?" Haru cried out indignantly.
"Hrrm…!" Ren groused at the sight of Tsuna kissing Konomi.
As soon as Tsuna's lips touched her cheek, Konomi felt as if her soul was pushed out of her body before being forced back in.
"Did you just see that girl's soul being pushed out of her body before being pulled back in?" Levi asked dully.
"Oh, good, I thought it was just me." Mammon sighed in relief.
"VOOOII!!! Is that even allowed!?" Squalo shouted.
"Match hasn't started, we'll allow it." The Cervello both shrugged. "Now, both Sun Guardians step into the ring."
Tsuna pulled away from Konomi, both of their faces were beet red.
"It was for luck," Tsuna told her.
Konomi nodded breathlessly and ran to the ring.
On a nearby rooftop, sat Izuku, Crossette, Sho, and Shinra. All four of them were watching the match, but elected to stay further away to not cause disruptions. However, there was another observer about, one so weak that most didn't even notice said observer was even there.
Konomi and her opponent stepped into the ring – was kinda weird to step on a glass surface like that – and both were told to removed their Rings from their fingers.
The Cervello both examined the two halves of the Rings.
"We have confirmed that these are the authentic Half Vongola Rings of the Sun. Now, for this battle, the rule is that you both wear your Rings around your necks. Upon defeating the opponent and taking the Ring, that person will be declared victor."
Konomi tied the chain she was given around her neck, the Ring hung from it. She also took off her blazer, shirt, and skirt, leaving her clad in a sports bra and black shorts. "Good thing I chose to wear shorts today."
'Come a little bit closer~♪ You're my kinda girl~♪ So cute yet so buff~♪' Tsuna sang in his mind, his throat went dry at the sight of Konomi's exposed muscles.
"Ahh~" Konomi's opponent moaned, weirding everyone out. "I'm so dissapointed~ I was hoping one of those fine hunks down there would be my opponents. I just adore handsome boys, you see."
"Uhm… I see." Konomi nodded in understanding. "I prefer guys who are cute, but also handsome."
"Oh, like your Boss?" The dandy man said with a glance past Konomi at Tsuna.
"Yes." Konomi nodded.
"Ahah~ A maiden in love! How absolutely precious!" The man shook his head with a fond smile. "Oh, now I feel bad over having to kill you before you get to confess your feelings for him."
Outside of the ring, on the Varia side, Mammon shook his head in disapproval. "Lussuria is always such a chatterbox."
"That girl should thank her lucky stars she wasn't born a boy, Lussuria does things even I find unpalatable." Levi said with his face slightly green.
Back inside of the ring, Konomi got in her fighting stance, one hand was extended forward with her fingers curled like claws while the other was held up close to her head in the same claw like pose, her legs were bent at the knees to bring her center of gravity lower. "Don't worry about that, I don't plan on losing!" Konomi declared.
"That pose… Xing Yi Quan, if I'm not mistaken? More specifically, the tiger stance." The dandy man analyzed while throwing off his jacket, leaving him dressed in his leather pants and a tight tank top. "Such an archaic form of martial arts, a veritable fossil, one might say." He raised his fists in a way that left his forearms parallel to his face while he raise his right leg, his left leg was partially covered by a small side-cape attached to his belt. "I shall go ahead and play with you with the ultimate martial art: Muay Thai!"
"There is no such thing as an ultimate martial art!" Konomi denied. "Every discipline has its own strengths and weaknesses, and each of them holds their own beauty! As a martial artist, it is your duty to understand the beauty of all disciplines!"
"My, my~♡" The dandy man gushed with his lips puckered. "You're such an earnest sweetie, when it comes to personality, you're totally my type! Oh, what a shame you aren't a boy!" He shook his head before smirking at her. "My name is Lussuria, dearest Xanxus's Sun Guardian!"
/Lussuria/
/Actually a necrophiliac/
"I am Konomi Tatara, Tsunayoshi Midoriya's Sun Guardian!" Konomi introduced herself as well.
Outside of the ring, Reborn, who was sitting on Takeshi's shoulders, hummed in contemplation. "It's as I suspected, Varia's Sun Guardian is a martial artist as well."
"You suspected this?" Tsuna looked curious.
Nia put a hand on Tsuna's head. "Konomi was chosen to be your Sun Guardian for a reason, ya know."
"Look back on Sun Guardians of generations past." Reborn lectured. "They all had one thing in common… they were fighters with strong fists or legs, in other words, martial artists. Destroying the misfortune that attacks the Famiglia with their powerful body, they become the sweltering sun that shines down brightly from above. That is the purpose of the Sun Guardian."
The Cervello made the announcement to begin the battle. "The Battle over the Vongola Sun Ring, Lussuria vs Konomi Tatara…"
Konomi narrowed her eyes at Lussuria. "I won't accept your disrespect towards the martial arts. I will make you acknowledge your own foolishness."
Lussuria giggled. "You're welcome to try… little girl."
"BEGIN!!"
(Play music: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST – Red Sun)
Suddenly, bright lights filled the arena. The lamps above the ring lit up and shined down an oppressive and hot light, but that wasn't all. The glass floor of the ring wasn't just for show… it was a giant lamp as well, one that not only added to the already blinding lights, but made the floor of the ring unbearably hot to stand on.
"Gah!" Konomi closed her eyes at the bright lights and started hopping from one foot to another, even with her shoes, the floor of the ring was scorching hot.
"Konomi!" Tsuna shouted in concern while covering his eyes from the bright light.
"This special ring was created for the battle of the Sun Guardians, it's a Sun Coliseum lit up by a fake sun.
"What kinda bullsh*t is this!?" Tsuna screamed before a pair of sunglasses were placed over his eyes, courtesy of Tenka, who was wearing a pair of her own. Nia, Takeshi, Gokudera, Ren, Haru, and Reborn all also had their own pairs of shades.
"My quirk sure is useful for situations like this." Tenka said while adjusting her sunglasses.
"The light isn't the only issue." Ren said critically. "The heat those lamps give off would be bad enough on its own, but with the floor being one giant lamp as well, you take damage by just standing still or moving. This battle isn't just a match between martial artists… it's a battle of attrition."
In the ring, Konomi's eyes were squeezed shut and her teeth were gritted. 'I can't see…! And my feet are burning-ah!' She suddenly flipped forward and leaped over an attempt by Lussuria to knee her in the gut.
"Huh!?" Lussuria gaped at Konomi's quick dodge. 'I see, this girl has Intuition!'
"Way to go, Konomi!" Haru cheered at Konomi's dodge.
"With her Inquisitor's, even if she's blinded, she's able to see that bastard's attacks coming." Nia crossed her arms with a proud smirk.
Konomi landed on the burning floor and bit back a scream at the scorching heat on the soles of her feet. It reminded her of one time she went to the beach when she was younger, it was a particularly hot day, and Konomi, like a numpty, decided that she'd walk barefoot across the sand. The pain she experienced that day was so horrendous that she felt like she'd die, and for several days afterwards, she was confined to her bed while her feet healed. What Konomi was going through at the moment was several times worse.
"You won't dodge me forever, girlie!" Lussuria charged at Konomi from behind and tried to punch at her head.
"Daft bastard has shades, so he can see!" Nia growled.
'That's only what it looks like!' Lussuria gloated in his mind as he sent his fist forward to the back of Konomi's head.
Lussuria! Quirk: Ocular Adjustment! His eyes adjusted to any type of environment to allow him perfect sight no matter where he is. You know how you have to adjust your screen's brightness depending on the lighting around you? His eyes do that automatically, so that in brightest day, and blackest night, no underaged boys will escape his sight!
Konomi ducked under Lussuria's fist and retaliated with a rising kick back. Lussuria leaned back, the kick narrowly missed him, but the gust from it tore his shirt at the center, leaving his muscular stomach and chest exposed.
[Vongola independent hitman squad: Varia]
[Lussuria]
Lussuria let out an impressed whistle at Konomi's kick. "Not bad~♡"
"You've seen nothing yet!" Konomi brought her foot down on Lussuria down in an axe kick, but Lussuria caught her shin with both of his hands.
"No chance~♡" Lussuria mocked and lifted Konomi up by her leg with intent to slam her down on the burning floor. "Enjoy roasting, sweetie!"
"Enjoy this!" Konomi twisted her body in midair and slammed a brutal kick to Lussuria's face, forcing him to let go of her. She recovered in midair and landed on her feet, but while she was distracted with landing, Lussuria recovered from her attack and slammed his left knee into Konomi's face.
*GOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG*
A loud ringing echoed out, and Konomi's head vibrated like a bell that's been struck. She stood unsteadily on her feet, had her eyes been open, it would have been possible to see them shaking like a broken washing machine.
"Ooh, too bad, sweetie~♡" Lussuria cooed and raised his left leg to show off his knee that had a metal plate on it. "My left knee has a metal plate on it, and not just any metal. It's a special metal infused with Ether in a special process that's only known to a select few people, even I don't know how it's made. Isn't MeiMel industries absolutely amazing?"
"Ya bastard?! That's Mei's invention! Why does your arse have it?!" Nia shouted.
Mammon was the one who answered. "You can get just about anything with enough money, not all of us need to sleep with the inventor."
"Oi! Ya keep my sister-wife's name out ya bloody mouth!" Nia snarled at the baby.
"Or what?" Mammon scoffed.
"I'll call my husband." Nia threatened.
"I'll be quiet." Mammon put a hand over his mouth.
"Weak." Squalo, Levi, and the boy with the bangs mocked.
"Shut up." Mammon grumbled.
Inside of the ring, Lussuria punched Konomi in the nose and sent her stumbling back into the ropes of the ring, as soon as her back touched them, her skin sizzled and she let out an agonized shriek.
"The ropes are superheated as well, through electrical metal wires." Cervello two lectured. "…we probably should have mentioned that at the start."
"You f*cking think!?" Tsuna's group, sans Ren and Tenka, shouted at the Cervello.
The burns from the ropes were painful for Konomi, but the pain ended up knocking her back to her senses after the brutal knee Lussuria landed on her. Now she needed to be ready again, but it was getting difficult to focus with all of the light and heat, she was getting thirsty.
"Nighty-night!" Lussuria flew at Konomi with his knee extended.
Konomi crossed her arms in front of her. "Beast Power: Armadillo!"
Lussuria's knee struck Konomi's crossed arms and failed to do more than push her back, but when he pushed her back… it was into the wires again.
"Graaaaaahhhhhhh!!!" Konomi screeched as her skin sizzled once again.
"I got you on the ropes~♡" Lussuria cackled and attempted to knee Konomi in the gut again, but this time, the girl took into the air.
"Beast Power: Peregrine Falcon!" Konomi flew above Lussuria, she was finally able to crack her eyes open. 'A peregrine falcon is a bird of prey, and it has a membrane in its eyes that protect them and keep them from drying out. It's not sunglasses, but it will do. If I stay in the air, I can avoid being burned, but flying takes stamina I can't maintain in this environment.'
"VVVOOOOOOIII!!! She can fly!? What kinda bulllsh*t!?" Squalo shouted indignantly.
"It is part of her quirk, and is, thus, allowed." Cervello one stated.
"Oh, bullsh*t!" Squalo crossed his arms.
"Sucks to suck, bastard!" Nia taunted. "Kids, flip him off!"
The kids did, in fact, flip Squalo off.
"VVOOOOIIII?! Yeah!? How you like this!?" Squalo gave two middle fingers back. "Bel, Levi, Mammon, Mosca, flip 'em off with me!"
The rest of the Varia joined Squalo in flipping off Tsuna's group.
'The Vongola Guardian candidates, everybody…' Reborn thought dryly while also flipping off the Varia, because he had to have Tsuna's back on this. He glanced at the ring where Konomi was flying around while trying to avoid flying kicks from Lussuria. 'Tatara is definitely getting tired, this is a horrible battlefield, especially for someone with as bad of an energy efficiency as Tatara. The dehydration is gonna be a bitch on her if she doesn't win soon.'
"Konomi! Why are you wasting time, dammit!"
Everyone present froze at the interjection.
Konomi looked out of the ring to see Colonnello, with sunglasses, floating above with Falco carrying him. "Master Colonnello!?"
"You left me at home, dammit! I had to get here on my own!" Colonnello complained, causing Konomi to flinch.
Squalo and Levi looked up at Colonnello suspiciously.
"Voi… ain't that Colonnello of the Arcobaleno?" Squalo asked.
"Why is he here?" Levi wondered.
"This isn't like you, dammit!" Colonnello criticized. "You're a smart fighter, but playing it too safe ain't your style, dammit! So use what I taught you, quit flying around, and claw his f*cking throat out like a tiger, dammit!!"
"He's right, Konomi!" Nia called out. "Ya faced too many Fog Beasts to fall here! Show him what my handpicked protégé is capable of! Show him the power of the Future Chief of the First Unit!"
Konomi gasped at Nia's words. "Chief?"
"It doesn't matter what peptalk you give her now." Lussuria shook his head. "She's only tiring herself out, and when she's completely tapped out, I'll kill her and keep her as a trophy! I'm willing to make an exception for a cutie like her!"
"Ayo!?" Tsuna shouted in disgust. "You keep your hands off my girl, R. Kelly!"
'His girl?!' Konomi nearly screamed.
"I resent that!" Lussuria called out in annoyance. "Besides! There's absolutely nothing wrong with a little Bump N' Grind!"
With the encouragement from Nia and Colonnello, and Tsuna's declaration, Konomi felt invigorated. 'This… is exactly what I needed!' Konomi screamed in her mind and got into position in the air. "Beast Power: Tiger!" Konomi fell down towards the scorching glass ground and wound back her right hand with her fingers curled like claws, a golden aura of Heat took form around her entire body. 'Keep it contained, don't let the energy leak out… build it up… and release one point!' The golden aura around her body dimmed while the aura around her right hand intensified. "Tiger Claw Burst!" Konomi thrust her hand downwards, sending a small, but extremely powerful, flying slash towards the floor.
The blade of concentrated energy slashed through the center of the floor, and caused cracks to spread out through the glass surface, the light beneath burned out instantly.
Konomi landed on the still hot, but currently cooling, floor and aimed her sights up. The aura intensified on both hands as she swung them upwards repeatedly. "Tiger Claw Rapid Fire!!"
One by one, all of the lamps around the ring were shattered, sending glass raining down.
With the light finally dimmed, everyone outside of the ring could take off their sunglasses.
When the glass stopped raining, Konomi opened her eyes and grinned at the stunned Lussuria. "Now…"
(End music)
(Play music: The God of Highschool – Contradiction)
"We're on an even playing field!" Konomi shouted and charged at Lussuria. "Tiger Claw Slash!"
Lussuria side stepped the attack and tried to kick Konomi in the head, but she blocked it on her forearm. "You truly are strong for such a little girl… what you just did, it wasn't some gimmick, you actually sent your attacks flying…!" He tried to push Konomi down with his leg, but she held strong. "This was actually a technique that the Primo's Sun Guardian was known for, so, congratulations…! You've shown me that I should get serious!" He pulled his leg back quickly and threw a punch at Konomi's stomach.
Despite Konomi knowing the attack was coming, she was too slow to react. Lussuria's fist plowed into her gut and knocked the wind out of her. Konomi was sent flying back from the attack.
"Hahii!? He sent Konomi flying so easily!?" Haru gasped in shock.
"The force of his punch is even greater than Konomi's…" Reborn said with an undertone of worry. "That guy… he's definitely what you'd call Varia Quality."
"Varia Quality?" Tsuna looked at Reborn questioningly.
"I heard the term before…" Ren hummed. "Some of the Pilipenko mooks I took down three years back boasted about being 'Varia Quality'."
"If you took them down so easily, they weren't Varia Quality." Reborn denied. "The Varia are inhuman monsters who take on missions that are said to be impossible for regular people, even if those people had incredibly strong quirks. They are a group of genius assassins that see missions through to perfection, regardless of circ*mstances. Their incredible skills and killing prowess are praised by all who know of them as 'Varia Quality'."
"Well said, Reborn~♡" Lussuria put his hands together and held them to his cheek in a cooing motion. "That's the gap between me and the girl." He looked over to where Konomi went flying to see she already recovered in midair and landed on the broken glass floor. "You have skills and strength, I'll admit. But I'm on a level far above you, child."
"You may be stronger than me, you may have more experience than me…" Konomi conceded as she got back into her fighting stance and rushed right back at Lussuria. "But I have an advantage over you!"
Konomi and Lussuria started exchanging blows. Lussuria threw punches and kicks that Konomi kept parrying and deflecting, while Konomi tried to hit Lussuria with explosive lunges and swipes that he was skillfully dodging.
"And what, pray tell, is your advantage, sweetie?" Lussuria asked while trying to hit Konomi with a backhand.
Konomi bent backwards and backflipped, she tried to hit Lussuria with a bicycle kick, but he pulled his head back just enough to avoid the strike, but not enough to avoid the blade of wind that left a small cut on his chin.
"Ah! My face!" Lussuria called out.
Konomi landed and rushed back at Lussuria with a lunge, but he caught her hand and slammed his plated knee into her chest. She choked as spit and air flew out of her mouth, but Konomi stayed strong, planted her feet, and swiped her claws up, scoring five gashes on Lussuria's stomach.
"Gah!" Lussuria stumbled back.
"My advantage is that I don't disrespect you!" Konomi shouted as she began to barrage Lussuria with slashes and lunges, forcing him to defend frantically, less he be torn to shreds. "You look down on all martial arts besides your own, but I don't do that! I see the beauty in every single martial art. I understand that the path of martial arts is paved one step at a time, with diligence and reverence! And that's the difference between us! That is the reason I will win, even if you are physically superior to me!" She lunged forward with her right hand.
"Sounds like nonsense to me!" Lussuria countered with his metal knee.
Konomi's fingers clashed into the metal plate with a loud crack, her eyes shrunk as she let out a shrill scream of pain.
"This metal knee of mine is a weapon that reflects misfortune back onto my opponent, you know~♡ I am the Sun Guardian after all!" Lussuria bragged. "If you keep hitting me, you'll shatter your poor hands!"
"This is nothing!" Konomi kept swinging at Lussuria. "I've hurt my fingers worse when I punched sandbags! Being a martial artist means enduring the pain to better myself! And beyond that! I'm fighting for Tsuna! There's no way your shallow reasons for fighting will ever surpass the strength he gives me!"
Tsuna's face went red at Konomi's declaration.
Nia smirked. 'I hate to admit it, but Pyra was right… they're a good match.'
"All the power in the world won't do you any good if you can't even hit me!" Lussuria taunted and started zipping around the ring, leaving afterimages in his wake.
"Cheap tricks like that won't work on me!" Konomi declared and widened her stance.
(End music)
(Play music: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 OST – The Weight of Life)
Konomi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and when she opened her eyes, a burning Ouroboros appeared on her left one. Golden Ether exploded off of Konomi's body before solidifying behind her into a humanoid creature with angular armor and the robotic head of a snarling tiger.
"What the-!?" Tsuna and the rest of the Guardians gaped.
"Rahh!" Konomi lunged at one of Lussuria's afterimages and swung her claws at it, the half-transparent figure behind her mimicked her movement, its body enveloped Konomi like an armor.
Konomi's attack struck true, and Lussuria was sent flying back into the ropes, he screamed in pain when his back was seared by the burning wires.
"Come on!" Konomi called out while holding her fists up, the figure behind her copied her.
"Arrogant girl!" Lussuria screamed and leaped up in to the air. "No matter how much power you have, I'll reflect it all back at you!" He dove down at Konomi with his left knee extended.
"And I'll break through your reflection!" Konomi wound her right arm back and flexed her fingers like claws. "No matter what! I'll remain the Sun that shines in Tsuna's Sky! I'll illuminate his life and keep him warm! Because I am his Sun Guardian!"
"I've heard enough nonsense! Die~♡" Lussuria shouted.
Konomi roared and threw up her right hand, it overlapped with the hand of the armored figure behind her.
"OUROBOROS TIGER STRIKE!!!"
Konomi's claws met Lussuria's knees in a great impact that sent tremors through the air, neither fighter was willing to back down for even a single moment.
"Gyah!" Konomi screamed when her arm burst apart with blood, but she held strong.
Lussuria felt smugness fill him at the injury he inflicted on Konomi, but his smugness soon turned to terror when he heard a loud cracking sound fill the air. He looked down at his metal knee to see the plate cracking apart. "No way!" He screamed in horror as his metal knee shattered, leaving his exposed joint to take the remaining brunt of Konomi's impact.
Lussuria was sent flying back, he crashed on the glass floor of the ring and screamed in pain while clutching his knee.
Tsuna, Nia, and everyone else cheered loudly for Konomi.
"This is…" Konomi grinned as the figure faded behind her. "My win!"
(End music)
"It can't be! It can't beeeee!!!" Lussuria cried while clutching his shattered and bleeding knee. "My metal knee couldn't have been crushed so easily! It was forged with Ether reinforcement! Not to mention my own Will reinforcing it! How did she break through it!?"
Over with the rest of the Varia, the boy with the bangs laughed quietly. "Looks like this match is done."
"Indeed, there's no way for Lussuria to defend himself now, and he can't even fight anymore with just one leg." Mammon said coldly.
"That pervert really cracks me up, you know?" The boy with the bangs kept cackling under his breath.
"Way to go, Konomi! Dammit!" Colonnello complimented. "No idea what that golden thing behind you was, but I won't complain, dammit!"
'That was my power… the power I got from Ophis.' Tsuna recognized what Konomi had done. 'It's like what happened during the Banquet with Himari… I… can I gift people this power?'
Inside of the ring, Konomi was panting for breath, but still had a grin on her face. "Thank you, it was a wonderful match. Now," She held her hand out. "Give me the Ring."
"No! I don't wanna!" Lussuria cried.
"Huh?" Konomi looked confused.
Lussuria forced himself to stand on his uninjured leg. "I'm part of the Varia! I can fight with just one working leg! It's easy! Haha!"
Tsuna frowned. "This isn't just persistence, is it?"
"No." Tenka confirmed. "This guy… he's terrified for his life."
"Come on!" Lussuria screamed at Konomi while holding his injured leg in the air. "Let's keep fighting! Come on!"
"W-wait, seriously, what's the rush all about?" Konomi asked worriedly.
Suddenly a hail of bullets struck Lussuria from behind, causing him to scream out blood as he fell forward and stained the glass floor red.
Tsuna, Konomi, and the rest of the Guardians, sans Ren, all gasped in shock of what had just happened. Ren and Tenka both looked away in distaste while Nia grinded her teeth together.
"Bastards…!" Nia seethed at what she just saw.
"When you do it, you really do it." Mammon said absentmindedly to the hulking beast holding him up, his other hand emitted smoke from the fingertips. "Right, Boss's personal assistant, Gola Mosca?"
"H-his own ally…" Tsuna uttered in terror.
"What is going on…?" Takeshi whispered.
"Hahii… what is wrong with these people?" Haru cried quietly.
"Erase the weak… that's Varia's credo, the reason they are the strongest hitman team in the world." Reborn said seriously. "If you thought the Azuma's methods were barbaric, Tsuna… now you get to see their progenitor. The Azuma's philosophy on strength is nothing more than a watered-down, bastardized copy of the Varia's credo. And Lussuria knew that credo very well, it was why he was so eager to keep fighting."
"Erase… the weak? B-but why?" Tsuna was struggling to breathe. "Not even Tobera is this horrible…"
"Hold on! The Chief can heal you!" Konomi tried to rush to the injured man's side, but the Cervello stopped her.
"Don't come any closer!" Cervello two stood in Konomi's path.
"Please, he needs medical attention!" Konomi begged, but neither woman was going to listen.
"Lussuria is unable to continue the battle," Cervello one declared. "Therefore, the winner of the Sun Ring Battle… is Konomi Tatara!"
Konomi should have been glad to win, but she just wanted the Cervello to get out of her way so she could bring Lussuria to Nia so she could heal him. None of the Guardians seemed particularly happy at the moment.
Tenka contemplated teleporting the injured Lussuria over to Nia, but she had an inkling that if she did that, Tsuna's team would likely be disqualified. And as heartless as it sounded, she cared more about her brother than some perverted necrophiliac.
"This concludes tonight's match, from now on, we'll announce the next match at the end of each battle." Cervello one stated.
"Hahii! We get to know ahead of time?" Haru asked.
"VVOOOIII!!! Let me fight!" Squalo shouted. "I wanna go next!"
"Please, allow me to continue." Cervello one said blandly. "Tomorrow night's battle will be…"
Everyone waited with bated breath for the Cervello to speak.
"The Lightning Guardian Battle."
Haru breathed in sharply and noticed Levi glaring at her, she wanted to hide behind Tsuna, but she quickly swallowed her fear and met Levi's glare head on.
'Haru's next? Already!?' Tsuna thought worriedly as he looked at Haru.
"Let us meet tomorrow evending." Cervello one took a detonator out of nowhere and set it off, blowing up the cage around the ring.
In the collapse, Gola Mosca entered the ring and picked up Lussuria, and Konomi was thrown the other half of the ring.
Once the destruction was over, Konomi was left alone in the ring, and the Varia and Cervello were nowhere to be seen.
"Those guys… what's wrong with them?" Gokudera asked quietly.
"So that's how they operate?" Ren crossed her arms and shook her head. 'Shooting an ally in the back this way? Even I find it disgusting.'
Konomi looked at the bloody spot on the ring where Lussuria was before she sighed and jumped out of the ring. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she cried and fell.
"Konomi!" Tsuna ran in to catch her, and managed to get to her just in time.
"Hey…" Konomi greeted tiredly, her face was red, and her voice was hoarse. "I guess the adrenaline finally wore off, and now I have to deal with all the pain…"
"Not on my watch, ya don't." Nia stepped up and held a hand above Konomi, water Ether flowed out of Nia's hand and washed over Konomi's body.
In a minute, all of Konomi's injuries were gone and she was good as new.
"Ya should drink plenty of water and get lots of rest for the next few days, but you'll be fine." Nia advised.
Konomi smiled brightly. "Thank you, Chief."
Tsuna helped Konomi stand up, and once she was up, Konomi held up something in her hand. "So, this is it?" It was a complete Ring with a design of a Sun and three clams above it.
"That's it." Reborn said approvingly. "The Vongola Sun Ring… now, we could put it in the Ring box, but… I get the feeling you don't want to part with is, right, Tatara?"
Konomi blushed even more and stepped closer to Tsuna. "Tsuna, would you do me a favor?"
"Uh, sure?" Tsuna nodded hesitantly.
Konomi held the Ring out for Tsuna to take. "Would you… put this Ring on my left ring finger?"
Tsuna nearly choked and passed out, but Nia slapped him upside the head to sober him up. "I'd love to!"
Haru and Ren both pouted and resolved to win their matches so Tsuna would do the same to them.
Tsuna took the Ring from Konomi, and she held her left hand out to him so he'd put the Ring on it. Tsuna carefully slid the Ring onto Konomi's ring finger, and surprisingly, the Ring fit perfectly. It was strange… Lussuria was wearing half of the Ring before, and his ring size had to be different to Konomi's… yet both halves fit perfectly together on Konomi's finger, as if it always belonged there.
Once Tsuna was done placing the Ring on Konomi's finger, she pulled her hand back and admired her Ring with a wide smile.
Nia smiled at the sight. 'Take good care of my Tuna-fish, Konomi.'
Not so far away, someone was running away from Namimori middle school. A girl dressed in a school uniform with short black hair and a fish hairpin was running with tears in her eyes from what she had witnessed.
Ema Makura had scoured Namimori for Konomi, and finally came across the spectacle at the school. She had been watching unnoticed from the shadows. Unknown to herself, the reason she wasn't noticed was that she was so weak that her voice didn't even register to the people there. However, what she bore witness to shook her to her core. She saw her best friend, Konomi, fighting for her life against some crazed assassin, while her boss, Regulus, watched on. She also caught her first glimpse of him, that bastard Tsuna who was stealing Konomi from her.
He gave Konomi a kiss before she went to fight, Konomi yelled about how she was 'Tsuna's Sun', which sounded seriously romantic! And in the end, after Konomi fought and bled against that dangerous psycho… that Tsuna guy put the Ring on Konomi's finger as if he was proposing to her.
Ema didn't understand what was going on, she had no idea what 'Varia' was, or what was the point of the Rings, but what she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was that Konomi was in love with Tsuna. The look on her face as that jerk slid the Ring on her finger was unmistakable, and it made Ema want to sob.
Ema ended up tripping and falling on her face, something slipped out of her pocket and rolled along the ground. "Ah! My ring!" Ema quickly scrambled ahead to catch the wayward ring before it became lost.
The ring belonged to Ema's great grandmother, it was a family heirloom passed down for generations, at least that's what Ema's mother said. And Ema figured the ring would be a perfect 'I'm sorry, let's make up' gift to Konomi. But Konomi was clearly too infatuated with the ring that Tsuna gave her to pay attention to Ema's ring.
Ema caught the ring and sat on the ground, she held the ring in her right hand and looked at it. It was beautiful, a thick, black ring with silver patterns on it. On the face of the ring, there was an ornate silver whale, and at its blowhole was a round, light blue gem.
The ring was so beautiful, but Ema knew that it would never match up to the Ring Konomi had, because that Ring was given to her by Tsuna.
Ema sobbed, her tears fell down on her family's ring. It just wasn't fair, none of it was fair. Ema kept crying and crying, it felt as if she was Drowning in her own sadness. And in that sadness, as her tears kept dropping down on the ring, Ema didn't notice the Ring's gem lighting up… with a Tranquil blue Flame.
