My very first fic in the Katekyo fandom^^, of course, I don't own anything. It belongs to the great Amano Akira.

Timeline: set around chapter 344-345, the fight against Daemon Spade.

Sorry in advance for any mistake in grammar or spelling, english isn't my first language.

But anyway, on with the story.

Chapter 1: Beginning of the end

An eerie silence had fallen on the battleground.

Around the vast crater formed by one of Decimo's most powerful attacks, were standing two of his guardians as well as his favorite tutor. Reborn, Chrome and owl-Mukuro had not participated in the fight that had ceased only a few moments ago, but their attention had never wavered away from their boss and they were now listening closely to his conversation with their enemy.

And so did the young leader of the Shimon family. Drawing on his last reserves of energy, Enma was on the verge of collapsing. The only thing that kept him standing -or sitting as a matter of fact- was the sight of a defeated but still conscious Daemon Spade. The man had let escape his most precious treasure, a locket hiding the picture of his fellow guardians and the woman he loved.

"Just like Elena wanted." He finished his story. "The Vongola brought peace to the weak."

"I wonder... if she would like this kind of family." Tsuna said softly.

The young boss of Vongola was kneeling besides Spade. The right part of his ring was dangling from its chain, from when he had removed his glove to take the man's golden locket, but at this moment, he couldn't care less. He was covered with burns and bruises and looked worse off than Enma if the thing was even possible. Despite that, he had listen reverently to Daemon's confession, and then tried to make him see reason. But the former mist guardian wouldn't hear any of it.

"What... did you say? You think someone like you can understand Elena's feelings?!"

"Yes. I do." Tsuna replied without hesitation. He honestly spoke out his mind, willing to convey his feelings about Elena to the fallen man.

Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Daemon looked more furious than ever. Dark volutes appeared around the angered guardian as he lifted his hand toward Tsuna. The brunet fell backwards, startled by the sheer hate he could see in the man's eyes.

"How dare you... speak of her!"

"Move back Tsuna!" Reborn shouted from afar, making Tsuna cringe. Whenever the baby hitman wasn't using his depreciating nickname, it usually meant serious trouble. But the previous fight had drained him and he even had trouble getting back on his feet. Switching to Hyper mode was of course out of the question.

"Daemon, wait-" He tried again, but in vain.

"You think you know her so well! Then why don't you try to see it by yourself!"

As those words left his mouth, the body of the mist guardian suddenly burst into dust. The dark clothes that had once been worn by Mukuro fell flatly on the ground. A strong wind rose from the edges of the crater and spiralled down to its centre, forcing everyone to lower their heads. The little Arcobaleno grabbed the nearest rock and Chrome stuck her trident into the ground, protecting the tiny owl in her arms.

"Boss!" She shouted in alert, unable to help the Decimo.

Tsuna was the closest to the vortex and he would have been immediately pulled in if Enma hadn't caught him. The red head had anchored his feet in the earth and grabbed his friend's right hand just in time.

"Hold on Tsuna-kun!"

"I'm... trying."

The Vongola ring was biting into his skin under Enma's grip and he felt it was dangerously slipping off his finger. Fighting against the tremendous force that was pulling him back, he took a step forward and tried to grab Enma's arm, when his foot slipped.

"Hiiieee!"

Enma felt his hand close on thin air. He reached forward but it was too late, Tsuna had been instantly pulled in the vortex. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it faded away. The wind calmed down, leaving four shocked mafiosos to stare at the place where their boss and friend had been standing not even a minute ago.

Slumped on the ground, Enma was thinking that nothing worse could have happened when his eyes fell on a small and shiny object. Horror stricken, he picked it up with trembling hands.

It was the Vongola ring. Decimo's only weapon.

"Tsuna-kun..."

Very very short prologue, my bad..

Next chapter will be longer, I promise.
But I hope you liked it!