KitsuneFreak: Right! Here's another chapter for you all to enjoy! I had some questions in the reviews concerning Tsuna, but I made sure that I clarified any fuzzy spots with this chapter. If you see any odd plot fuzzes around, feel free to ask, it helps me patch up the holes anyway. I dislike plot holes as much as the next person.

I gave the Guardian's appearances some thought as a few readers had brought up. Don't they realize that they look uncannily similar? Well, so being the research fanatic, I pulled up pictures of the TYL generation and the 1st generation and compared them. Similarities yes, but the TYL generation is definitely different compared to the 1st gen. If they dressed identically and you put both of them in front of me, I would be able to tell Alaude and Hibari apart, and it wouldn't have been because of their hair color. So, while I will allude to similarities, it won't be like they're doppelgangers…except maybe Lampo & Lambo… I don't know, I'll see what I can do.

To be honest, writing the Tsuna-Giotto starting scene (among others…) was really hard for some reason. I blame it on my inability to write anything serious. Odds are when you read, you will be able to map out exactly where I cracked. Still, I guess it will be enjoyable for you. But anyway, for this plot, let's say that after Tsuna took the title as Decimo, the ring's dying will spirits do come out every once in a while to socialize, which would explain the familiar tone that Tsuna would use.

Last important question, does anyone mind it too much if I incorporate some serious personality points that I had created in 'Clam's Much' here? I find it easier to do that – going on 10th Gen assumptions is tiring.

Disclaimer: Owning it is still a distant dream…

{Badger, Badger, Badger, Mushroom, Mushroom…}

Giotto felt his brow furrow in confusion despite the tense situation. It seemed as though his opponent, who had gotten into a fighting stance, was currently using his one of his hands to pat down his dress shirt and pants, his attention completely drawn away from Giotto. The other hand that was still tense in midair held a pair of…mittens?

'Well, now that's a new level of vanity. If I were him, I'd give up. Bloodstains are better washed, not wiped off.'

Tsuna on the other hand, thought of no such thing. In fact, while his face didn't show it, he was panicking.

'Pills… where ARE they?'

He had been so jolted by the sudden confrontation that he hadn't actually taken a proper look at his foe. All he knew was that this guy was holding onto Chrome's weapon. Chrome was missing. Possibly in a load of trouble. If a strange man happens to hold a one-of-a-kind weapon, the possibilities of that occurring were limited, or so Tsuna thought.

'You know what, screw the pills, I can live without them. Reborn's Spartan training should work for the moment. I'll escape through the window if I have to.'

Finally returning to the battle he stuffed his mittens back into his pocket, took a good look back at his opponent, and his eyes widened again. The man standing before him looked just like the Vongola Primo. Tsuna shook his head. His blood loss couldn't have been that serious to cause him to hallucinate, right? Hallucinating shouldn't even be caused by blood loss. Delirium, maybe. Blood loss? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. At least, that's what he assumed – then again, Tsuna was short on blood and his thinking, thus, was a little impaired.

'Then that means…'

"Wait. Are you, the… Vongola Primo?"

"What does it mean to you?" Giotto replied calmly, waiting for the perfect chance to spring into Hyper mode.

"I was just wondering."

"And I had responded."

'Strange' Tsuna thought, 'he wasn't this bad the last time we met…Maybe he's angry that I tried to hit him, even if he is of less-than-corporeal form. Speaking of which—'

"Why do you have Chrome's weapon?"

Giotto's eyebrow rose in recognition, "You know her?"

"Giotto, stop playing games, it's freaking me out. Of course I know Chrome."

The Primo boss stiffened as he heard his name, "I don't recall telling you my name." While it wasn't uncommon to go on a first name basis within his circle of Guardians and closest friends, anyone outside of the tight circle tended to refer to Giotto just as the Vongola Primo, or some other rendition of it. In a way, one could think of it as a protective mechanism in case Giotto ever wanted to step outside of the confines of his estate. He could then, quite literally, just be himself and not his position.

Tsuna remained silent at this point. His hyper intuition was telling him something that he honestly hoped wasn't true – but considering his luck, there was almost a hundred percent chance of it.

'Since I don't know, I'm just going to have to test my theory.'

"Can I—?" Tsuna scratched the back of his head for a moment as he wondered how he ought to phrase his question so that it may become less awkward. Sadly, creativity refused to grant words to those suffering from low quantities of blood.

Giotto raised his eyebrow in confusion at the other man. His battle aura disappeared and it was replaced with a more-or-less innocent countenance. Still, while the Primo boss' hyper intuition relaxed a little bit at the change, Giotto refused to let himself relax. It was better to play on the safe side.

"Can I – for lack of better terms – touch you? You know, like, poke your shoulder?"

Giotto, had he not had better self control, would have gaped with his mouth wide open at the randomness of the question. Instead, he just blinked repeatedly in rapid succession.

"Come again?"

Tsuna grimaced, "Please don't make me say it again. You heard me the first time."

"And what if I do what every sane person would do and refuse?"

"Well, that would be a problem."

"I can certainly tell. The question is what will you do about it?"

Tsuna bit his lower lip as he tried to assess the situation again – properly this time. From the way this Primo talked, it was clear that he was probably not the spirit that lurked within his ring. Thankfully, that took care of the touching-for-corporeality problem. The next one would be getting out of this particularly odd situation.

"Now, tell me stranger," flames ignited on the Primo's forehead and he pulled on his gloves, "Exactly who are you?"

Tsuna gulped slightly and moved backwards somewhat, 'On second thought, maybe I'm going to need those pills after all…'

..8.9.

"So you got any bright ideas on how to get out of this?" Gokudera hollered at his three companions.

"Nope, I'm clean out," Yamamoto replied with a grin on his face. One would have thought he rather enjoyed being chased down by a sword wielding man.

"So long as we're making an EXTREME escape, everything will be perfectly fine!"

Chrome sighed exasperatedly as she glanced at the various expressions plastered across her fellow Guardians' faces. She was starting to think that letting them lead the way was a really bad idea. They had already been running for a while now and had taken numerous twists and turns. Needless to say, she was getting well near dizzy from all the turning and it didn't look like they were about to take a break anytime soon. Their pursuer was also hot on their heels.

'Sometimes, men really aren't dependable.'

Looking ahead she saw the corridor split yet again, offering two possible paths to take. Chrome finally decided to give her own two-cents about their escape route.

"You know how each of the hallways have doors that lead to a room at some point right?"

"Yeah," Gokudera winced a bit, due to his quick paced running despite his injuries, "what of it?"

"Let's take the rightmost path and keep our eyes open."

"You plan on running in the first door you see, huh?" Yamamoto interjected suddenly.

"More or less."

"More or less?"

"You got any better ideas, baseball-idiot?"

"Maa, maa, I never was against it in the first place."

"Sounds like an EXTREME plan, let's do it!"

Once they turned, all three individuals kept their eyes out for any door that would hopefully lead them to a temporary haven to catch their breath. It wouldn't take long for the sword wielder to round the corner and speed up in his chase as well. Looks of relief spread immediately on all four of their faces once they saw a particularly large set of oak doors. Yamamoto immediately grabbed the handle to open the right door and Ryohei reached out for the left door. Opening it, they ushered Chrome and Gokudera in hastily before simultaneously closing it behind them.

"Phew!" Yamamoto laughed. "We've slid over home base!"

"Che," Gokudera spat, "You and your stupid baseball references."

"EXTREME escape: Accomplished!"

However, the only one not participating in the festivities of escape was none other than Chrome, who kept her widening eyes fixed on the figures before her.

"Um…. Bossu?"

..8.9.

"But Lambo-san doesn't want to go!" The Thunder Guardian mentally reprimanded himself before reiterating his previous statement. "I mean I don't want to go."

Bianchi gave half a smile as she heard the young teenager correct himself. Tsuna had been rather adamant recently in telling Lambo to drop the childish habit of referring to oneself in third person. It had been for something along the lines of Lambo being a big boy now, and big boys don't do babyish things.

"I'm sorry Lambo, but you can't stay here with me in the medical ward when everyone needs you out there as well."

Lambo looked away from the Poison Scorpion and pouted as he crossed his arms. Still not making eye contact Lambo asked quietly, "Did something happen to Tsuna-nii and the others?"

Now it was Bianchi's turn to be uncomfortable. "Well—we… we don't know anything for sure yet."

A tense silence grew between them before Lambo looked up and gave a sigh. "Fine. I'll go to my room first to put away some things and then I'll meet up with Fuuta and the others in the communication room."

"That's a good boy, Lambo," Bianchi said softly while patting the boy's head, giving a warm gentle smile the entire time. All the older members of the Vongola shared the same sentiments when it came to Fuuta, Lambo and I-pin. It was best that they be kept out of the conflicts – still life just seemed to throw misfortune at them consistently and it was almost impossible to keep them out of the loop for too long.

"I'm going," Lambo set down his small first aid kit.

"Be careful," Bianchi called out before turning back to place her hand on Mukuro's forehead. She was still unable to identify his condition.

Once outside, Lambo shoved his hands inside of his pockets and leaned backwards a bit as he made his way to his room. He never actually planned on putting anything away. He just needed to go to his room to take a small break and calm his nervousness before going in – it's now become more of a habit than anything else. However, in his anxiety, Lambo wasn't too careful about where he put his foot and tripped over himself. As he felt his head connect with the floor he saw an instantaneous flash of white light. Groaning slightly, Lambo pushed himself back up and rubbed his eyes.

"Yare-yare, what was that?"

Looking around, he didn't see anything too different and got up, brushing off invisible specks of dust from his pants. Heaving another sigh, he mentally reminded himself to watch where he was going before making his way to his room again.

Unbeknownst to the little Thunder Guardian, a pair of cerulean eyes was now watching his every move and made efforts to follow him inconspicuously.

"Oh? Now what do we have here?"

..8.9.

"Sir!"

The Vongola Storm Guardian turned in the direction that he was called from. One of his subordinates ran up slightly panting.

"Yeah, what?"

"I beg your pardon, sir, but if we don't begin heading back now it'll become too dark to navigate home in this forest, let alone conduct a search."

"So you're saying that we ought to go back empty-handed."

The subordinate was clearly flustered under G's piercing gaze, "That's not what I meant to imply at all! We can still conduct the search tomo—"

"We'll go back," G cut in, irritation laced in his voice. True, he did not like going back empty-handed, but he wasn't dumb enough to blindly continue searching. Lighting a cigarette, he gave a puff of the smoke and turned abruptly.

"Guys, we're going home!" G called out to his men, stuffed his hands back into his pockets and stalked in the direction of the estate.

..8.9.

Asari cursed lightly under his breath as he rounded the corner. It appeared as though the intruders had gotten away from him. It didn't matter; it won't stay that way for long, not if he could help it. Taking a deep breath and calming his breathing rate, Asari slid his two short swords back into his flowing robes and instead withdrew his regular long-sword. Stalking slowly along the halls, the idea dawned on him that the intruders might have finally decided to hide within one of the rooms. Having realized this, the Japanese man looked around to assess his location.

'This is where Giotto-san's office should be.'

Seeing the familiar oak doors ahead, Asari moved in cautiously and carefully gave the doors a light push. The push was enough so that only a crack gave a view of the inside room. However, Asari was well-versed in the little know-how's of the Vongola mansion. Only a crack was necessary to see and hear everything that went on in the room.

"Bossu?"

'A woman's voice.'

"Chrome! You're okay, what a relief!"

'Another speaker… It looks like a young man.' Asari tried to get a better view through the small opening but from where the speaker was standing, he could only see a silhouette.

"Haha, Tsuna don't forget about us, too!"

"I'll forgive you if you forget because I always forget to the EXTREME!"

"Shut up, turf-head, Jyuudaime would never forget about us!"

'Jyuudaime? Isn't that Tenth in my native language?'

"I'm sorry to cut in to your merrymaking—"

'Giotto-san?'

"—but do you mind answering the question that I had asked earlier?"

Moving slightly, Asari noted that indeed, his beloved boss was in the room. What worried him, however, was that the man was in Hyper Mode and that didn't happen unless Giotto felt threatened, or had the need to express a very official aura, but usually threatened. He immediately saw the four people that he was chasing move in front of the unknown speaker in a defensive circle.

'I must aid my boss as well'

Deciding that it was time to get on the move, Asari shoved the door open and rushed in.

Giotto's eyes widened in surprise. He wasn't expecting his Rain Guardian to be the next one to appear before him, "Asari?"

"Don't worry, Giotto-san, I won't let them harm you like they did with G."

Giotto's attention completely focused on Asari in alarm, "G?"

Despite his fatigue, Tsuna forced himself to pay attention to the dialogue between the two men. He leaned and supported himself slightly on the desk to prevent his knees from giving way.

'Even with the pills, I'm in no condition to fight or protect anyone right now,' Tsuna thought grimly.

"Look at his right hand," Asari said quietly, motioning slightly to Gokudera. The Primo's sight followed in suit and rested on the ring. Tsuna's gaze also landed on Gokudera's ring and he was able to guess most, if not all, of what the first generation Guardians were thinking.

Tsuna hoped that with all of his right-hand man's intellect, he would understand and just play along with what he was about to do. For the added hint of understanding, the brunette placed a hand on the silverette's shoulder very seriously.

"Gokudera-kun, answer me this. Did you or did you not engage in combat with G and in any way injure him… possibly fatally?"

"G, the Primo's Storm Guardian? How can I possibly kill a man who's six feet under?" Gokudera protested exasperatedly throwing his hands out.

Tsuna immediately groaned and hit his forehead rather hard at his Storm Guardian's tactless choice in words. That wasn't the response he was hoping for. Despite all of the man's book smarts, some things didn't change – common sense and cleverly timed tact being on the very top of the list. Looking back at the two older Guardians, Tsuna inwardly cringed. His hyper intuition told him that they were not happy at all. Shocked and infuriated? Probably.

Immediately, Giotto and Asari propelled themselves in the general direction of the circle of trespassers. Ryohei stepped out from the crowd of Guardians in an attempt to block Giotto's punch. From that point on was a series of punches and blocks. For the most part, Giotto was doing the offensive punching and Ryohei was doing most of the defensive blocking. The only reason Ryohei was able to hold up for so long on his own was because of his sporadic sparring sessions with his own boss. Yamamoto ushered Tsuna and Gokudera farther into the room, despite their protests, to make sure that they avoid the fight until their injuries were first attended to.

Chrome made a mad dash to retrieve her wrapped trident from the floor and held the bundle up to shield herself and those behind her from Asari's blade. Being so much stronger, Asari pushed the makeshift shield lower and lower till the wrapped trident was a little more than a few inches from her face. Another quick slash at the trident sent it flying away. Chrome closed her eyes and waited for the impact that she knew was sure to come. Without her trident, she was defenseless. She had not the time to leap out and retrieve it again. Her illusions, too, were useless if not backed by the power imbued within the weapon. Quickly, however, she felt her mind being pushed into the back of her consciousness as she felt the familiar loss of control of her body.

'Mukuro-sama?'

Asari felt a cold mist surround him and all the other occupants of the room and at that moment he lost sight of his target. Still, that did not stop his charge. Daemon Spade was the only person he knew who could create such a thick mist. Even if the man did have a questionable personality, his loyalty lay within the Vongola without a doubt. The first Rain Guardian already made plans within his mind to counter his current blindness by a spherical swipe around his body for both protection and offensive attack range. However, he was never able to get around to the swing because his long-sword was brought to an abrupt halt by a pair of gloved hands clapped on both sides of the blade of his sword.

"Oya, oya. What do we have here?"

Asari was startled at the abrupt stop, "Daemon-san?"

"Kufufu… Not quite."

'This much physical strength…to stop my sword mid-swing…It can't be Daemon!'

Almost as if on cue, the gloved hands that reached out of the mist twisted the sword with such brute force that it sent Asari toppling to the side.

"Asari!" Giotto called out, alarmed, rushing to stand by his Rain Guardian's side. It wasn't so much that they were weaker against these people. The problem lay in the fact that they were still unsure of how to deal with these people and the news of G's untimely demise was so sudden that they were unable to properly fight.

Mukuro bent down leisurely to pick up the bundle of trident, quickly unwrapped the bandages, and deftly snapped the pieces back together. Leaning on it slightly, he allowed the mist to dissipate slightly so that the occupants were more visible. His heterochromatic eyes glinted as he gave a playful grin at the Sky and Rain Guardian.

"Kufufu…This is an unexpected surprise."

"Mukuro!" Tsuna warned, "Take it easy on them."

It wasn't so much that Tsuna was worried about Mukuro at the moment. No. It was more along the lines of not knowing what else he ought to do if the situation should escalate to any bigger problems – not that it wasn't one already. His older Mist Guardian, in particular, was not known for being tame when it came to fighting. He had to fix this, and fast.

"Seeing as you're outnumbered and we're somewhat injured," Tsuna tried reasoning, "How about we call a truce till we get everything sorted out? I think there's been a slight misunderstanding."

'That's got to be the biggest understatement of the century,' Tsuna inwardly frowned.

A long and uncomfortable moment stretched between them. Asari looked to his boss. After sharing a moment of eye contact, Giotto nodded slowly. He wanted answers.

'Although I will have no idea how to explain everything once we've all settled down…'

..8.9.

"You're kidding." Upon hearing the news, Lampo sat straight up from his slouched position on the armchair.

"I wish I were."

"Wait, wait, wait," Lampo put up his hands before him and wiped away the figurative cobwebs from his mind. "You're saying that we have intruders and little to no information… which probably leaves us at numerous disadvantages that I don't even want to start listing."

"Yes," Knuckle replied grimly.

Lampo heaved a great sigh, "As much as I don't want to admit this but, where is Alaude when you need him?"

"You want him to research the backgrounds of these people." Knuckle said it more as a statement than an actual question.

"Well, that would be a good start."

"We can't do anything about it if he hasn't even returned yet."

"When is his expected arrival based on his last letter?"

Knuckle paused to think for a moment, "Either really late tonight or tomorrow morning was the best estimate – although, he does like to push things so that he's ahead of schedule."

"Hmm yes, efficiency as he liked to call it."

"Amen."

Stretching his arms backwards onto the armchair again, Lampo readjusted his expression to that of lazy indifference.

"Guess we'll just have to lay low and be patient until then."

..8.9.

Alaude looked back at the rocky path that he had walked off from. It was better for him that he stayed off the main path – it saved him the trouble of meeting irritable people.

'Besides,' Alaude reasoned with himself, 'Cutting through the forested outskirts of the estate saves much more time compared to if I had taken the actual path.'

As usual, the Vongola Primo's Cloud Guardian had completed his mission in France in half the expected time. Alaude smirked at his own efficiency. He would be able to get back to worrying about his own troubles instead of handling other people's problems. Honestly, he didn't even know why he bothered to help that man. Shaking his head of the thoughts, Alaude continued to plow through the grassy undergrowth. It would only be a few more hours before he reached the inviting doors of his own room.

And yet, Alaude couldn't help but feel as though something was uniquely off that day. He shrugged the feeling away.

"Must be getting cold. I should hurry."

..8.9.

"Why would they be retreating if they had the upper hand?" Kusakabe asked the technician, confusion written clearly on his face.

"I don't know!" Giannini tousled what little hair he had on the sides of his head in frustration. "But the cameras don't lie!"

"I'd have to agree with him there," Spanner pulled a lollipop from his pocket and began to tear away at the wrapping. "The cameras do indicate that they're heading off the estate."

Hibari pulled his eyes away from the pixilated screen to look first at Giannini and then to Spanner. He had made a point in calling the curly-haired technician to the communications room after realizing that his early situations practically called for trouble to coming running to his feet.

"There is the possibility that it's a trap?" Kusakabe offered.

"Can we just assume that the Tenth was successful?" Giannini asked hopefully.

"Assumptions are for herbivores. To say that is like guaranteeing your own death," Hibari snapped back.

"I'm sorry Hibari!" Gianni cowered under his desk again.

Shoichi raised his eyebrow at the scene unfolding before him. He, too, was dragged from the depths of his technician's room along with Spanner in order to help Giannini. Well, that was what they were officially called in for anyway. After living with the Vongola Family for a while now, Shoichi realized that some particular individuals within the family had quite a questionable array of abilities. Bianchi's poison cooking – even when she's not fighting – and Giannini's inbuilt defectiveness were listed in his casual observations. The redhead could swear every ounce of his being that he and Spanner were only there in order to make sure that Giannini didn't screw anything up, not that it would have been preventable. Even the combined efforts of Hibari, Spanner and Shoichi couldn't prevent the danger that was Giannini, the technician.

"So," Shoichi cleared his throat, bringing the attention of the room back to him, "where is Lambo? Didn't we call him earlier?"

"I did," Fuuta answered, "he should be here by now."

"Oh?"

Dropping the receiver back into its slot, Spanner spoke up suddenly. "The Poison Scorpion says that she sent him out at least ten minutes ago."

"Shouldn't he be here then?"

Hibari bit on the back end of his pen cap lightly as he digested all the information he had just heard. Kusakabe's idea of the retreat being a trap seemed more and more probable by the minute.

'The brat's missing too?'

{Badger, Badger, Badger, Mushroom, Mushroom…}

KitsuneFreak: Kyaa! Finished watching episode 201. It was so inspirational that I shed tears (ok, so maybe that was a lie) and Primo finally showed up! I'm ecstatic! Now, I just have to wait another week to see them fight…. Great. Well, at least I still got part of what I wanted.

For some reason, I could have sworn I heard cheering in the back of my mind when I wrote in Mukuro's appearance. Then again, most of you were probably wondering where the pineapple went. Man! I keep thinking that all the characters are FINALLY going to be written into the past and then another idea pops up and I take the plot in a different direction again. Well, I find it fun to keep people guessing anyway – can't be too predictable.

I still don't get why people hate on Tsuna. Don't you just want to pinch his cheeks too? Well, I could be biased at this moment because I'm listening to Hitotsu Dake and Mamorubeki Mono on loop. Also, I love Gamma and all but if he ever decides to sing in English again, I'm sure he will kill kittens if he hasn't done so already.

See you until the next chapter!

Don't forget to R&R!

Toodles~!