Title: Glory
Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Summary: It seemed like a hopeless battle... but in the Vongola family, no man is left behind.
Warnings: Some cursing, courtesy of Gokudera.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
A/N: Please, just enjoy and leave a comment! Thank you!
o-o-o
They were falling like flies.
Lambo was the first to go. His pained cries of "Tolerate!" could still be heard from where Ryohei had dragged him off the battlefield. The boxer was convinced that the middle of a fight was no place for a five year-old, even if he was a Guardian. Sadly, since that act of heroism left his back open to attack, Ryohei was the next to fall.
Tsuna – struck dumb by the quick loss of two of his Guardians – stumbled back in horror, gun loose in his hand. Luckily, Gokudera grabbed him out of the way before the onslaught came again.
"Boss, we need an attack plan," he hissed, sharp eyes locked on their opponents. "We're losing men way too fast!"
"Um… okay," Tsuna said, gathering his courage. "Where's Yamamoto?"
"He's up a level. Ryohei set him on sniping duty."
"Good, good," Tsuna said distractedly; he could already hear their opponents sneaking up on them. This was quickly becoming hopeless; they were badly outnumbered, and couldn't hold off the enemy for long.
Tsuna's eyes became serious and he got to his feet, gripping his gun with new determination. "Gokudera-kun, I want you to join up with Yamamoto."
"What? Why? I can't just –"
"Gokudera-kun." Tsuna's voice was hard, and Gokudera knew there would be no changing his mind. "I will create a diversion. I'm sure I can take out at least five before I get gunned down, and while I keep them distracted, I need you to join Yamamoto. The two of you can take out the rest from the level above. You'll have the advantage up there."
"But Boss…"
"Go," Tsuna said with a smile. "I'm counting on you."
And then he slipped out of the hiding spot into the open part of the battlefield, gun flashing. The enemy fighters, not expecting such a forward assault, fell back in confusion and fear, and a few were mowed down in seconds. Gokudera watched proudly for a moment, then hurried to the stairs that would lead him to Yamamoto.
However, there was a slight problem: it was almost pitch black upstairs and Gokudera had absolutely no clue where the baseball freak was.
He reached the upper level and paused, gun ready, checking all shadows and corners for any enemies that might be waiting. Below he could still hear the Tenth's battle raging, but the enemy fighters had recovered and would soon begin their own counterattack. As much as Gokudera hated to admit it, Tsuna might not last long.
And when the familiar voice finally cried out in surprise and he heard a cheer from the enemies below, it took everything he had not to sprint back down the stairs and defend his boss. But he had been given specific orders. He and Yamamoto had to finish this, for Lambo, for Ryohei.
For the Tenth.
Gokudera seemed to remember Ryohei saying something about how the east wall was the best for sniping, so he headed in that direction. Once he reached the turn in the narrow passage that would lead him into the east corridor, he paused; what if Yamamoto had already been taken out? What if he, Gokudera, was the only one left?
No way, Gokudera thought. Yamamoto may be an idiot, but he's an idiot with good reflexes and good aim. He wouldn't be taken out too easily.
With a deep breath, he pressed his back up to the wall and peered around the corner cautiously, just to make sure.
A gun pressed itself into his stomach.
"Leave now, or I'll shoot," a surprisingly fierce voice ordered. Gokudera held his hands up and pulled his dark hood off.
"Yamamoto, it's me," he said quickly. "Tsuna told me to join you."
"Oh!" The gun removed itself from his belly and Gokudera caught a glimpse of a familiar grin beneath the shadow cast by Yamamoto's own hood. "That's fine. How's everybody else doing, by the way?"
Gokudera looked away and Yamamoto's expression darkened.
"I see," he said solemnly. "So. It's just the two of us, then?"
"Seems like it."
"… We can take 'em."
The two of them walked back to the small opening Yamamoto had been shooting through and watched the floor below, waiting for a careless enemy to present an easy target.
Two black-clad figures tried to run from one piece of shelter to the next.
Neither reached their destination.
"So this is all you've been doing?" Gokudera grunted after the two were taken care of. "Doesn't seem so hard."
"I guess," Yamamoto said with a little chuckle.
They sat in silence for a minute or two, but then Gokudera jerked to attention, his head snapping toward the stairs to their right.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
"Yep," Yamamoto said, readying his gun. "Sounds like they're finally coming up to finish the job."
"There are too many of them. We'll never make it!"
"Calm down, Gokudera," Yamamoto said, his face uncharacteristically serious. "I'm going to head them off at the top of the stairs. You make a break for the other staircase. If we're lucky, at least you can get away."
"No," Gokudera said viciously. "No! I refuse to run away and let you take all the glory. If we're going down, we're going down together. End of story."
Yamamoto grinned. "No man left behind, eh?"
"Yeah," Gokudera grinned back. "That sounds about right."
They stood and faced the oncoming fighters, shoulder to shoulder, ready for anything.
"It's been nice fighting with you," Yamamoto said.
"You too, baseball freak."
"See you on the other side?"
"You bet."
o-o-o
They stumbled through the door and blinked at the abrupt change in lighting, having been accustomed to the darkness inside.
"Gokudera! Yamamoto!" Tsuna called from where he was sitting with Ryohei and Lambo, the latter of whom was enjoying a basket of curly fries. "Did we win?"
"Nah," Yamamoto said with a grin. "They cornered us on the upper level. We had no way to escape, so we just went out in a blaze of glory."
"Little bastards are smarter than we thought," Gokudera muttered, eyeing the tall screens positioned just outside the door. "When will the scores be posted?"
"Should be soon, now that the game's over," Tsuna said, walking over.
"There they are!" Yamamoto said.
All eyes turned to the screen. At the top were the team names, VONGOLA and THE RAVE. Next to THE RAVE was a small green flag indicating victory, and underneath each team was a list of the individual players and their scores.
"No fucking way!" Gokudera yelled.
"Haha! Looks like I won!" Yamamoto said with a grin.
"How the hell did you win?"
"It's common for the sniper to get the most points," Ryohei said, having just joined them by the screen.
"Well, I think it's bullshit."
"That's just because you came in third," Yamamoto pointed out, leveling a finger at the third place score on the VONGOLA side, which belonged to the player named STORM.
"I got second?" Tsuna asked, staring with wide eyes at his name (SKY).
"Nice job, Tsuna!" Yamamoto said, slinging an arm over the Tenth's shoulders. "Not bad for your first game."
"We should play again," Gokudera stated abruptly, his eyes never wavering from Yamamoto's high score (under the codename RAIN). Tsuna frowned.
"I'm not so sure," he said. "Reborn wanted us back by –"
"Tenth," Gokudera said, "I'm going to stop you right there and tell you something very important. Are you listening?"
"Er… yeah," Tsuna said, looking skeptical.
Gokudera turned slowly to face him, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "There is always time for more laser tag."
o-o-o
A/N: That's pretty much my motto for life. XP
This story was heavily influenced by my own tendency to over-dramatize my laser tagging. I hope you liked it! Comments are love, people! I'd really appreciate the feedback. Thanks!