OKAY! It's the next CHAPTER! ENJOY! Thanks for all your support!

NatIsAnOtaku/Halcalilove12: You guys got it right! It was Byakuran! LOL

Tsuna woke up after he felt something cold all over himself. He opened his eyes, but closed them quickly, because the harsh, white light hurt them. Letting his eyes adjust, he slowly squinted his eyes open.

He found himself in a room with white-tiled walls and metal trays. He was tied to a chair. Tied to a chair! Tsuna tried to remember why the Hell he was tied to a chair in some hospital room. "Ugh," he sighed, and closed his eyes.

Focus, focus, he told himself, but the weird antiseptic-y smell coming from the walls unnerved him. Still, with tremendous effort, he focused intensely and was getting wisps. Dark, punch, marshmellow, blood... Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open. "Byakuran!"

As if on cue, the always-happy former Millefiore leader entered the room, accompanied by Kikyo and Torikabuto.

"So it is you, Byakuran." Tsuna suppressed his timid nature and snarled at him.

"A-ho. Well, isn't it the almighty Decimo?" Kikyo answered in a mocking tone instead.

"Aww, Tsunayoshi-kun. Aren't you hurting my feelings?" Byakuran said, pretending to be hurt by Tsuna's tone.

"Forget all that. Whay are you even alive? How?" Tsuna inquired.

Byakuran grinned, then put up a thoughtful expression.

"Let's just say for now, a new, excellent boss helped me get out of Hell itself from 10 years later and switched the young, worthless me with the 10 years older me." His eyes glinted dangerously.

"Hell... itself? What the..."

"Aww. You look so confused. Well, I don't wanna talk anymore," he yawned, then continued, "It's boring, you know."

"(1)Dewa, let's cut over to that part, Byakuran-sama." Kikyo smiled darkly with anticipation.

"Wha-" Tsuna started, but Kikyo slapped him across the face, and Tsuna went silent with shock.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, we, the (2)Vendetta Scura Famiglia, suggest that you abandon the seat of Vongola Decimo. If you refuse, we will destroy the Vongola along with the related people no matter how much people there are."

Byakuran announced, his mouth grinning but his eyes full of seriousness and threat.

Tsuna's brown irises unfocused with utter shock.

After a few minutes in silence, Tsuna was finally able to process what he said.

"So? What say you?" Byakuran raised an eyebrow.

Tsuna gritted his teeth and spat at Byakuran, causing another wack from Kikyo.

"NEVER. NEVER am I going to give Vongola up."

Byakuran look disappointed, as if he had thought Tsuna would've given a different reply.

"(2)So deska? Sikata nai wane. Kikyo bring me the tools."

Kikyo smiled, and pushed a cart full of cruel tools that you only see on military movies next to Tsuna and Byakuran. The white-haired one picked up a knife and grinned. "(3)Kikyo, Torikabuto, Hazimemashou."

(A/N: It's gonna get gross and sad, so I'll try to leave out the gory details. Please don't hate me for this. I myself almost cried when I wrote this part. But this part is necessary for the next few scenes and possibly, chapters.)

It was quiet in the Sawada House. People fell asleep while sitting on cushions and leaning on walls. Reborn was asleep in his usual "I-sleep-with-both-eyes-open" posture. Shoichi, Iemitsu, and Sasagawa Kyoko was the only ones awake. Shoichi's laptop was still scanning the whole island for the sign of Tsuna's Sky Vongola Ring, and Irie himself was busily typing in commands. Kyoko fixed her eyes on the radar monitor, anxious for Tsuna. Iemitsu was sitting on a dark corner, his hollow eyes staring into oblivion.

I-pin and Lambo was leaning against each other, snoring gently. The midnight sky softly enveloped the dark, quiet house.

Shoichi looked up from the laptop screen and peered through the window, looking at the roof of the house across the street.

There sat Hibari Kyoya, who was staring at the moon with an unreadable expression.

Shoichi sighed, then went back to the radar screen.

It was midnight, but Gokudera Hayato refused to stop looking for his Juudaime. Yamamoto stayed next to him, worried that he might tire himself out and just collapse on the asphalt road.

Gokudera searched every corner of Namimori more than twelve times each. He kept walking until he shouted with frustration as he realized that he arrived in front of the Sawada Residence for the 13th time. "Damn, damn, damn, damnit! (4)Chikusho!" Gokudera howled.

Suddenly, a low voice came from above.

"Shut up, herbivore. You're disturbing everyone." It was Hibari. True enough, people stirred in their sleep in the Sawada House, bothered by Gokudera's noise.

Gokudera fell to his knees, feeling totally worthless and miserable. Yamamoto glanced sympathetically, and put a hand on his trembling shoulder.

Tsuna bit his lip (to prevent the scream coming out of his mouth) so hard that the teeth broke through the thin skin and blood dripped. His body was covered with blood, all inflicted by the damn Byakuran and his band of merry subordinates.

Burn marks covered his shoulders and his upper arms, blistering the skin and making it red and brown. Byakuran had slashed Tsuna's leg so deep that the bone was almost showing now. His right ankle was already broken, due to the reckless torture.

"It's amazing he didn't even make a sound. Even for the toughest mafia, the pain would be enough to make one pass out, Byakuran-sama."

Even though he was barely holding on to consciousness, Tsuna stayed firm and never even grunted a word, out of sheer willpower.

But because of his lack of reactions, Torikabuto proceeded to braking Tsuna's left arm. Tsuna let out an inaudible hiss of pain. I'm becoming faint from the loss of blood. This is bad, Tsuna thought, but I cannot, no, I will not give up, for the sake of my friends, 9th, Lanchia-san, the ones I have to protect and for the ones who sacrificed themselves for me!

As Byakuran saw a glint of golden orange go through Tsuna's irises, the Great Sky Vongola Ring started to burn with a pure flame.

Hmm? Reborn blinked open his eyes, as he felt something. He smirked.

"Shoichi. Shoichi!" Reborn shook the dozing red-head awake.

"Eh? Ugh.." He opened his eyes, dazed by sleep.

Irritated, Reborn took hold of a clump of red hair, turned it towards the monitor, and pointed to a specific spot. A brilliant red dot appeared. It was located in a huge warehouse near the Kawahira Realtors.

Shoichi was up and awake in a flash. "Everyone, look! It's Tsunayoshi-kun's Sky Vongola Ring!"

People got up as quickly as Shoichi. Excited and relieved murmurs passed through the crowd.

Dino stood up, went to the doorway, and started contacting the Guardians, informing them the Vongola Juudaime has been located in Shoichi's radar.

Hibari watched as his own Katekyo made calls, then pounced down the roof and headed towards the house.

"A-ho, look what we have here." Kikyo sounded surprised that Tsuna could light a Dying Will Flame in this state. (A/N: I hate it when they call it Deathperation, so I'm gonna call it this way.)

Tsuna glared at the former Millefiore bastards. "I won't step down as the Vongola X!" He said with a voice full of authority and firm conviction.

"Physical torture seems like it doesn't work on our Tsunayoshi-kun, does it?" Byakuran commented casually.

Tsuna's Hyper Intuition told him that even though his tone was like that, he was genuinely annoyed.

Tsuna smirked. He had a firm resolve. He would not succumb to these vile bastards. He would both defeat them and survive to laugh with his friends and his family. The very though let new strength flow through Tsuna. His eye line hardened and his eyes started to glow with the color of his Sky Flame. He gathered all of his remaining strength and confidently announced,

"I, Sawada Tsunayoshi, the current Vongola Decimo, will NOT step down, and I WILL protect the Vongola Famiglia even at the cost of my life." then Tsuna added, "Byakuran, I will not get defeated by the likes of you. And after this, I'm going to do anything to destroy you and your malicious Famiglia."

For the shortest of time, Byakuran's eyes showed fear. But it disappeared so quickly that Tsuna almost thought he imagined it.

"Is that so?" Byakuran said, his mouth still smiling, but Tsuna could hear venom dripping from his words. Byakuran whipped out his cell phone and started to talk fast in Italian. After saying a few words in a harsh voice, he dropped the call. His grinned hugely, and started to approach the Vongola. His face came so close to Tsuna's that their nose almost touched.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, I have a surprise for you." He chuckled, "One of my men has captured a lady strolling down the streets with an queer little infant. I told him to bring them up here."

As soon as Byakuran finished speaking, the door behind them slid open.

Tsuna turned his head to look at the people who just arrived. "What are-" he started to say, but then, his whole body went rigid. His words got stuck in his throat and his voice froze.

Because the ones standing at the doorway were...

GLOSSARY:

(1)Dewa: Then.

(2)So deska? Sikata nai wane: Is that so? Then I guess I have no choice.

(3)Hazimemashou: Let us start.

(4)Chikusho: Basically means the same as DAMN

A/N: The torture scene was too specific, wasn't it? I apologize. Please don't hate me(I almost stabbed my own hand with my pencil cause I hated what I wrote. I seriously almost cried), and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE KEEP READING! There won't be any more of these cruel things, so don't worry. And for the ones who left comments, thanks so much! You have boosted the update date! LOL. The next chapter will be much more pleasant to read, and all my fellow Tsuna fans, a huge Tsuna-action is coming up soon(it might be not in the next chapter, though)!

JA NE!