A/N: Wow, chapter 10 already! I feel like I should celebrate or something...ten chapters, in little over...a month? Three per day? ...why do I feel like I just mathed so, so wrong. I definitely did not write ten chapters in little over a month. Maybe it was a month and a half? Is this a good pace? Good length for chapters?

Anyways, I updated my songfic fic (although I feel like nobody reads it...cough shameless self promotion going on here), and so now I'm updating this. Also also also...I have several ideas for new fics (sorry, my mind tends to wander a lot), so what do you guys think? Post some experimental fics up now, like their first chapters or so, and then update them as I get inspiration, or just single mindedly trek through one until it's completely done, and then start another? Gimme your opinions. One's an male!OC fic (slash pairing), another's a Byakuran-centric (I almost typed Byakuya) fic, and I'm toying with the idea of an R27 fic based off of the manga Kurohime (magic bullets, gun wielders, go look it up, it's pretty good), which I would write first if I wanted to start another one.

Also, holy shit, I just finished Decaying Bluebells by Darkpetal16. I had to cradle a kleenex box in my hand while I read the ending. So sad. For you Naruto fans, I highly recommend it. It's a self-insert, but for those of you who hate those, give it a chance.

Anyways, on with the story!

(Does anybody read A/N's, anyways?)

XxX

"Stop being a wimp, Dame-Tsuna. You'll win yours," Reborn said carelessly, examining her fingernails. She flicked a bit of dirt out of one, astounded that it managed to even cake itself between her nail and flesh. "If you don't act like a man in the next five seconds, I will kick you."

Such a threat was not to be taken lightly.

Tsuna breathed in slowly, trying to ground himself. He tried to remind himself that if he really couldn't handle his own battle, then he could just forfeit. But if he lost, that would force the rest to win their matches, since the one who would succeed as head of the tengu clan would have to win four out of the seven matches. That would put them in a precarious position. Tsuna had to get that one win to lessen the pressure on his teammates.

He felt something whack his head, and he cried out.

"What was that for, Reborn?!"

Reborn shrugged. "You were thinking."

Tsuna gaped at her. Reborn only smirked and hummed.

"We'll be going in ten minutes. Get ready, runt," Xanxus walked up to Tsuna and grunted. "The trash will be fine, we need to focus on the rest of the matches."

Tsuna glanced at Levi, who was still comatose, and Lussuria, who'd been brought along with the fallen lightning user. Lussuria, at least, was conscious, though he looked to be in pain.

Noticing Tsuna's gaze, Lussuria only waved slightly. "Go ahead and win your match, dear. I'll be fine!"

Tsuna huffed a laugh and turned to Xanxus. "I'd rather go now. We need to know who on their team is going next, right?"

Xanxus nodded wordlessly. "Let's go."

Tsuna felt several small things barrel into his back, and he turned his head to catch glimpses of blue, brown, black, and silver hair.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, shall I put a spell on you so that you will win your next match?" Mukuro landed on Tsuna's shoulder and asked in a velvet voice. "Of course, I'll have to ask something in return. Preferably some…hm…skin to skin contact, yes?"

To Mukuro's great distress and aggravation, he was quickly shoved off by Lambo. "Don't you dare touch Tsuna-nii-san, you slimy pervert!" he howled angrily, arcs of electricity zapping from his body to Tsuna's hair and making it wilder. Tsuna grimaced and tried to flatten it.

"Why, I'm only looking after Tsunayoshi. It's what people who care for each other do."

"He doesn't need your special brand of looking after!'

"Hey, Tsuna-chan, good luck, alright?" Kyoko said sweetly, talking over the two arguing gods. "You don't have to win, Xanxus already said, and I'm sure nobody will hold it against you if you lose, okay?"

It was exactly that that made Tsuna uneasy. The fact that nobody was expecting much from him, the fact that he was the only one who was really allowed to lose, that grated on his nerves.

"I'm still going to do my best," he said determinedly.

Kyoko only smiled. "I know you will."

"Haha, you'll do EXTREMELY fine! You might not even fight today, so just relax!" Ryohei cheered, whacking Tsuna on the back enthusiastically.

Tsuna nodded. It was true, he probably wouldn't even fight. There was only one more match left, and if either Tyr or Rasiel was going, then Squalo or Bel were guaranteed to fight.

He received a grudging "good luck" from Hayato and delivered a beaming smile in return. The fire god turned pink and scowled, and Takeshi patted him on the back and laughed.

"Good luck, Tsuna!" Takeshi grinned, and Tsuna smiled again.

"We're going, runt," Xanxus said, long ago sick of all the pleasantries and cheers coming from the group of gods.

Tsuna nodded before scanning for Reborn and Kyoya. Reborn was still examining her nails, and Kyoya was resting under a tree. However, they both made brief eye contact, and Tsuna felt his nerves settle even more.

"Yeah, let's go."

As they were about to leave, Mammon puffed into existence before Xanxus, and the boss made a move to swat away the god.

"Tell that replacement illusionist to win his match, or he'll owe me money," Mammon commanded, and Xanxus bristled.

"Who are you to order me around, trash?"

Mammon only lifted the corner of his permanently downturned mouth. "Good luck, Boss."

Xanxus snorted and turned away.

"I don't need your luck. We'll win this."

It escaped nobody's notice that Xanxus had said 'we' and not 'I'. Mammon covered his mouth to hide his smirk.

I have no doubt you will.

XxX

"Shishishi, you took care of the invalids?" Bel asked upon their return.

"They're so weak. Now I have to pick up the slack," Fran would have whined, but he did not do whining. He only droned and drawled.

Xanxus growled. "Shut up, trash. Your shitty older twin's going up next, fucking prince, get ready."

Bel perked up visibly, and his grin widened into a disturbing ear to ear smile. Tsuna would have sworn he saw a flash of eyes beneath the hair, and the sun glinted off of the prince's crown.

"Perfect," he purred, straightening out his black jacket and black and purple striped shirt. His fingers toyed with a knife. "This prince will show commoners where their places are."

Fran eyed the knife with a small amount of trepidation. "Maybe you should show yourself first, fake prince-senpai."

His worry was well founded, as a knife lodged itself in his hat with familiarity.

"Voi, just shut up and get ready!" Squalo interrupted, kicking at Bel, who snickered and dodged.

"The prince is always ready," the blond responded before slinking into the arena.

This time, the arena was in a canyon of sorts, with large rock cliffs on two opposing sides of the lines drawn into the dirt, and a pathway that cut through the rock. Bel strutted across the line, smile still wide, as his twin walked across the other line. The large, blue transparent walls once again slammed upwards, enclosing the two competitors in two blue walls and two rock cliffs. The top of the boxed cage ended before the cliffs levelled off.

"Shesheshe, ready, brother of mine?" Rasiel taunted.

Bel replied, sharp as a dagger. "Always."

They both stood as if balancing on a wire, tense and ready to move at a second's notice.

"The third battle will now begin."

At the signal, Bel pulled out several knives. They soared towards Rasiel, who agilely dodged them. His back burst into black feathers, and the man soared into the air. His flapping wings kept him steady as he grinned.

"You really think such petty attacks will hurt me, brother?" Rasiel asked, amused. He tilted his head, and destructive red flames surrounded his whole body. Bel's smile slightly dropped, and he eyed the older twin warily.

"Have a taste of this then!"

Red balls of fire burst towards Bel, who unfurled his own wings and flew into the air, sweeping between each projectile and countering with his own knives. They embedded themselves into the canyon walls as Rasiel swooped between them, hands flaming. He hurtled towards the younger twin, arm outstretched, and a lick of fire raced on Bel's shoulder as he maneuvered in the air in an attempt to dodge. Rasiel landed behind Bel, who was frozen in the air, eyes wide behind his hair and shoulder bleeding from disintegration.

"Shesheshe, have you frozen in fear, brother?" Rasiel asked, readying more destructive flames and preparing to hurl them at the immobile man. "Then taste death!"

Rasiel readied himself before pausing himself. His smile dropped, and a frown replaced it. There was a low chuckle, almost inaudible, before it grew louder and louder. Soon, Bel was outright laughing, hysterical and maniacal. His hand lifted to swipe at the blood from his shoulder, and he brought the hand to his lips, tasting the coppery fluid on his fingers. Bel's grin grew wider, and he turned his head to look at Rasiel.

"Injured! You've injured the prince," Bel said gleefully. Knives appeared around Bel, floating in the air and covered in their own red flames. "It's been so long since I've been injured. I'm excited!"

The daggers all aimed towards Rasiel and shot towards him. Rasiel hurled his fireballs at the knives in an attempt to deflect, but the metal only cut through them, still heading towards the older twin. Bel and Rasiel had to dodge the projectiles that flew through the air, knives and fire hurtling towards each other at an amazing speed, and the arena grew more and more ragged, pockmarks appearing on the canyon walls and knives imbedded into every surface.

"Looks like I'll have to kill you now, brother. This fight is dragging out too long," Rasiel said, disappointed in himself. To have to fight on an equal level with his younger twin, it was demeaning. He'd have to finish this quickly. "Be prepared to die!"

Rasiel opened his mouth, and an unearthly shriek tore through the air. Although not deafening, the sound was eerie and unnatural. Bel tilted his head in confusion before snorting.

"That's the best you can do?" Bel asked, throwing more knives at his brother. Suddenly, it became much harder to aim, and Bel's vision began doubling. A dull pain, slowly increasing, began in his ears and head, and he staggered in the air and crashed into a canyon wall. "W-what?"

"Whoever hears this scream will be disoriented, and if exposed long enough, will die," Rasiel said, grin widening. "Prepare yourself, brother, for I shall now get rid of the stain in our family."

Bel's eyes widened before he collapsed in pain, ears bleeding and brain threatening to burst out of his skull. He peered at his brother through teary eyes. Rasiel was floating in the middle of the arena, hand outstretched, on final fireball on the tip of his finger and ready to fire.

"Goodbye, brother."

"I should be saying that."

Rasiel's eyebrows shot up before he felt wires cutting into his skin, jerking his hand up and making him shoot the fireball towards the ceiling, where it fizzed against the blue wall harmlessly.

"What?!"

Bel grinned and tightened the wires in his hand. Now that Rasiel studied the arena carefully, he saw sunlight glinting off of thin, nearly invisible wires that were connected to the various knives embedded in the ground and walls. He screamed wordlessly and struggled forwards, wires cutting even more deeply into his skin. One wire threatened to slice his neck, and he stopped struggling.

"Do you even have the strength to tighten your trap even more?" Rasiel asked. Bel had long ago started to lose consciousness. Black was creeping around the edges of his vision, but the younger twin refused to let the deathly scream kill him. He tightened the wires in his hands in response, and the wire near Rasiel's neck began slowly cutting into his throat.

With one last bout of energy, Bel yanked his wires, and blood spurted into the air. The wires loosened around Rasiel's body, and the blond hurtled towards the ground. His dead weight hit the ground, grin gone from his face and limbs motionless.

"Rasiel has been terminated by Belphegor. Belphegor wins," a Cervello intoned, and the blue walls fell.

Bel looked up at the sky, blue and so pure. His grin turned genuine, and as he turned his gaze onto Squalo, who was stomping towards the blond with a murderous (and worried) expression, his grin widened.

"Hah…"

He closed his eyes as warm arms wrapped around him, and he let himself drop away.

XxX

"He's still alive, shitty boss, stop hovering!" Squalo snapped, to which Xanxus hit his second in command in response.

Tsuna was also hovering, but Squalo didn't have the heart to reprimand the shitty brat. The doe eyes scanned Bel's bleeding ears and waxen skin before he said, "We should head back to Ryohei. She can heal him, and we can rest for tomorrow."

Fran frowned. "Too bad the fake prince-senpai didn't die."

"Don't say that!" Tsuna scolded the younger teen, who only lazily blinked at Tsuna before shrugging.

"Let's go, trash," Xanxus growled and began heading off of the compound grounds. Behind him, the other three and one unconscious man followed.

Timoteo followed his grandson with his eyes, expression thoughtful. The child had grown when he hadn't realized it, and what a man he'd grown into. Gruff on the outside, Xanxus hid a grudgingly caring heart, although still ruthless when need be. Timoteo was under no illusions that Xanxus would let the world burn if it didn't affect him, but he'd burn the world himself if those under his strong wings were hurt.

And the change was most likely thanks to that small human beside him.

Timoteo's lips twitched upwards in satisfaction. Yes, should Xanxus win the tournament, Timoteo would have no regrets leaving the tengu clan in his capable hands.

"I can't believe that half-breed's team beat us."

But if Enrico were to win, Timoteo would be very, very cautious.

"Enrico," Timoteo admonished, turning his gaze onto his eldest son. "Although he is only half tengu, he still deserves respect, and I will not tolerate any malicious condescension towards him."

Enrico snorted. "You can't truly believe that Xanxus will be a good leader?"

"I do believe that he could become one, yes," Timoteo returned, eyes narrowing. "Do not grow lax, Enrico. Xanxus has the chance of beating your team."

Enrico raised an eyebrow doubtfully before turning back to his team. Rasiel's remains were being carried out by the Cervello. The tengu sneered in disgust and shook his head.

"He was useless," Enrico muttered before stalking back towards his team.

Yes, Timoteo would be very cautious indeed.

XxX

Tsuna sat at the table, chin propped on his arms and staring blearily at nothing. He replayed the day's events in his mind: the look of pain on Lussuria's face, the terror on Levi's, and Bel's deranged look morphing into a waxen, peaceful one. It was terrifying, the fact that this could be him tomorrow. He had every possibility of losing, and very little of winning. Against such speed and strength, such powers and magic, Tsuna, with his limited hand to hand combat skills, had no chance.

Why in the world had Reborn and Kyoya volunteered him for this? They should know that Tsuna was human, that he had nothing to offer to the table other than perhaps cannon fodder. He would be torn to pieces in front of his opponent, stabbed and…

A powerful kick sent his head slamming onto the table, and he howled in pain.

"Reborn!" he shrieked when he saw black slacks and pitiless black eyes.

"You're thinking again. For Dame-Tsuna, such activities are useless. You don't have that much brain power for it," Reborn commented, tilting her head. "You should be doing something more productive."

"Like what? I can't train and be too tired, and mostly everybody's asleep!"

"Then why don't you sleep?"

Tsuna fell silent, and he felt something flutter in his stomach. "I-I can't."

"And why not?"

Tsuna whined a little in protest that Reborn would keep questioning him but answered nonetheless.

"I'm nervous. About tomorrow. I…Reborn, I don't think I can win this."

Reborn only hummed, gazing at her student with a gentleness that Tsuna did not notice, too immersed in his own issues to pay attention to the goddess who'd appointed herself as his mentor.

If Reborn had to find the epitome of fluidity, she would never pick Tsuna. Tsuna, rough around the edges, too clumsy and prone to stuttering, would never become someone like Reborn: refined, eloquent, fluid in movements. However, this was precisely why Reborn looked after Tsuna, taught him in the movements in fighting and the standards of speech. She tutored this man, who drew everyone into his heart despite his obvious flaws, compassion filling all the little cracks of imperfection in his body and flooding out to fill the cracks of other people's as well. Being around someone who could do so was so much better than the most graceful human on earth.

She patted his head, erasing her smile when he lifted his head to gaze at her with worried eyes and replacing it with cold amusement.

Tsuna may not be the strongest, but he was determined, stubborn, and had a will of fire. He had a very small possibility of winning, Reborn knew, but the fact that he was fighting, that he'd agreed, that he'd let Reborn and Kyoya push him to this circumstance told her that he was not yet strong enough to stand for himself, only for others. She wanted him to get even stronger, to see this small flame turn into a raging inferno, unopposable and relentless. And to do this, she had to pit him against something that he'd have to struggle with his life to fight. She was risking his life, she knew, but should things turn out bad, she had faith that Xanxus would pull out Tsuna safely, and Tsuna would only grow stronger with such an experience. Losing would make him determined to become stronger, and winning would gain him the confidence he needed.

"Reborn?"

Reborn looked down, surprised that she'd managed to lose herself in her thoughts so much.

"You're falling behind on your college work, Dame-Tsuna."

"E-eh?!"

Reborn whacked him, smirking when he whined.

"You're behind in your work for all of your classes. Fortunately, I took the liberty of collecting everything you need to finish it. Tonight. So, let's start, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna wailed at the fact that he was letting misery and misery pile upon him, but resigned himself to the stacks of paper that needed to be completed in front of him.

And if Reborn was a little more gentle, a little less of a raging madwoman, and if Tsuna realized that Reborn was only trying to take his mind off of the next day, he didn't mention it.

XxX

The next morning, Tsuna woke, went through his morning routine, and went down to breakfast, he somehow managed to forget his nerves when a certain illusionist crashed into his midriff.

"You don't have to go, Tsunayoshi. Come, stay with me, I'll protect and…ah…embrace you forever," Mukuro said, eyes smiling deviously. Behind him, Chrome blushed at his suggestive voice, although she seemed fully supportive of his words.

"Keep your grabby hands to yourself, shitty illusionist," Hayato growled, looking offended on Tsuna's behalf, since Tsuna was only succeeding in looking mildly disturbed but too used to the situation.

Takeshi only laughed and nudged Hayato in the ribs. "Aw, look, you're starting to care for him!"

"You don't even care for him, idiot baseball freak," Hayato hissed back, reddening, and as Tsuna turned to try to fend off an overenthusiastic Ryohei and encouraging Kyoko, Takeshi's wide grin faded into a smaller, gentler one.

"I didn't want to, but it's hard not to, neh?"

Hayato looked grudgingly at the human and grunted.

Takeshi took that as an agreement.

"Remember, Xanxus says that you can forfeit, alright?" Kyoko fussed, tugging at Tsuna's hair and inspecting his clothes as if she were his mother. Tsuna allowed it, eyes warm.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"But I know you'll do EXTREMELY well!" Ryohei encouraged, and Tsuna laughed.

"Tsuna-nii-chan, I know you can do it!" Lambo cheered, grinning up at his pseudo older brother.

Tsuna looked away and reddened. "I'm not sure if I will win this, but I'll definitely try my best."

"Hn," Kyoya grunted, settling back in his tree and closing his eyes.

"It's okay, I will comfort you if you lose. I'll always be here for you, you don't need that skylark or anyone's approval," Mukuro purred, causing Kyoya to open his eyes dangerously and growl.

"What did you just say, herbivore?"

"Well, I can comfort and physically train Tsunayoshi in a totally different and more productive way," Mukuro grinned, trident appearing in his hand as Kyoya whipped out his tonfas.

Tsuna paled, unwilling to see the ensuing fight, and when he saw Xanxus, Fran, and Squalo, he immediately dashed over and tugged Xanxus's sleeve.

"Let's go," he muttered, and Xanxus only shot him a warning glance and tugged his sleeve out of Tsuna's hands.

"I can walk, runt. Let's go, trash."

Reborn smiled from her branch, fedora shadowing her eyes. She lifted it and crossed her arms.

"Good luck, Tsuna."

XxX

"The second day of competitions will begin. Please choose your combatants," Timoteo said, looking at Enrico, who smirked confidently, and Xanxus, who only looked over the rest of his group apathetically.

He scanned each one. Squalo would go against Tyr, that was no argument, but who would Xanxus face Massimo and Birds against? He glanced over at the other team, who seemed to be ushering Birds forwards. Perhaps…Massimo was rumored to be incredibly weak, perhaps the weakest out of Enrico's whole team.

"Illusion trash, you're up next," Xanxus said, gesturing towards Fran lazily before lounging back against a tree. Fran looked at his boss before sighing.

"This is going to be such a bore…" Fran said in a monotone, glancing over at Birds. His nose scrunched a bit, and he whined, "I don't want to go against the creepy pervert, Boss."

"Voi, too bad, you're doing it. Now get out there!" Squalo roared, kicking Fran straight into the middle of the grassy clearing that would be the next arena. Fran pouted, turning his head, which was flat on the ground, and looking behind his raised butt.

"Stupid shark-senpai nearly killed me, Boss. I should file for child abuse," Fran said, and Squalo brandished his sword threateningly.

"If you think this is child abuse, I'll show you filicide!"

"Maa, I didn't know you knew such a word, senpai."

Tsuna brought his hand to his face and dragged it downwards. They didn't seem concerned at all. He glanced at Xanxus's hardened face, which was slowly becoming more and more livid. It was like they weren't even worried their lives were on the line.

Timoteo coughed, and Tsuna sighed. Even a comedy act could go so far in such a serious situation.

"The fourth battle will now begin."

Blue walls slammed upwards around Birds and Fran. Fran was still on the ground, looking upwards at the older man blandly.

"…creepy."

Birds twitched before grinning. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart."

Fran frowned before climbing onto his feet and dusting stray bits of grass off of his clothes. He patted his frog hat, making sure it was clean, before blinking at Birds.

"Your nose is bleeding, creepy man," Fran deadpanned.

Birds absentmindedly wiped away the blood trickling from his reddening face, and his squinty eyes lit up gleefully.

"And you'll be bleeding soon as well!"

Suddenly, there were small yellow birds, thousands, filling the blue cage. They swooped around, and Fran eyed them.

"Are you planning on smothering me to death using feathers?" Fran asked, although his question didn't seem much like a question at all. His voice didn't change a bit in pitch.

"Oh, much better. I'm going to bomb you alive! I'm going to watch you scream as I take off your hands, and then your legs, and finally, your head as you scream and plead for mercy!" Birds said, getting redder and redder in the face. "So much excitement!"

Fran broke his blank façade for a particularly disgusted face. "Gross."

The small yellow birds chirped and swooped, feathers rustling and filling the clearing with sounds and movement. Fran turned his head and jumped deftly aside as a bird dive bombed him. It promptly blew up. Fran blinked as bloody yellow feathers drifted onto his hat before raising his hand. Dogs burst from the ground and tore into the cloud of yellow. More dogs clawed out of the ground, but as quickly as they were dispatching the feathered menaces, the birds blew up as quickly, dispelling the many illusions. The clearing was not only being covered by yellow birds, but also with purple smoke soon enough.

"I can't see the shitty kid," Squalo strained, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to peer through the chaos. Tsuna nibbled at his nail anxiously before tugging his hand down. Reborn would never forgive him if he started drawing blood.

Inside the cage, Birds took out a wicked knife and looked around. He closed his eyes, using his birds to sense the surroundings. And…right…there!

He thrust the knife backwards, hitting soft flesh and feeling blood drip between his fingers. He grinned and pulled the knife backwards, whirling around and stabbing the knife at Fran again.

"You're too obvious," Birds exclaimed, reveling in the smell of blood and the look of fright and pain on Fran's face. "Oh, that's a nice expression, let's see if we can make it better!"

Fran staggered backwards, blood trailing from his chest and stomach. He grimaced as his illusions disappeared due to his injuries, leaving bloody chaos and dead birds behind. Only one bird remained, chirping.

Tsuna gasped when he caught sight of Fran. He jerked forwards, but Squalo held him back.

"Don't do anything rash. If you break in there, Fran will be disqualified," the silver headed man said, eyes narrowed.

"He's going to die anyways! We have to do something!" Tsuna said desperately, and Squalo growled.

"Voi, he's stronger than he looks. Trust him," the swordsman said, although he looked distinctly pained for saying so.

Tsuna turned to see that Fran had deployed his wings, dragging his body through the air to avoid the a third knife strike. Birds summoned more birds, and Fran was obscured by a large cloud of birds. There was a pause before the birds all exploded in a blast of heat and light. As the smoke faded, all that was left was scraps of cloth that floated to the ground and charred feathers.

Birds tsked, disappointed. "I didn't get to see enough of his pained expression."

"And you won't get a chance to," a voice said behind his back, and Birds's eyes widened. He whirled around to see an uninjured Fran, looking entirely too bored with the whole affair. With a flick of his hand, three swords appeared and struck through Birds, instantly killing him. "You never even saw my real expression, pervert."

And it all clicked in Tsuna's head. The whole fight, everything that Fran had shown had been an illusion. His eyes widened, and he looked at the illusionist. So this was Mukuro's prodigy, with the skill and power to fool an entire audience as well as Birds.

Fran looked down at the torn remains of Birds with a cold and disgusted expression before it quickly morphed back into his apathetic mask.

"Birds has been terminated by Fran. Fran wins," a Cervello announced, and the blue walls fell, allowing Fran to leave the clearing. As he walked towards the group, he let a small satisfied smile grace his lips.

"Hah, at least you didn't nearly die," Squalo said, clapping Fran on the back forcefully, and Fran's content expression fell.

"Stupid shark-senpai, it would take a lot more than that to kill me."

Squalo didn't comment on the name and only snorted. Squalo turned to Tsuna and grimaced. "Guess you're up next, brat."

"M-me?" Tsuna stuttered, intimidated and wary. He felt butterflies rear up in his stomach, and his heart began beating faster.

"You're going against Massimo. The trash will want to save his strongest fighter for last, so I'll be against Tyr for the sixth match. Yours is next, in ten minutes. Get ready," Squalo said, glancing at Xanxus, who had his eyes closed. He rolled his eyes, and turned back to Tsuna. "We would prefer if you didn't lose, but I'll beat that trashy excuse for a swordsman, so…erm, no pressure."

Tsuna laughed breathlessly at Squalo's failed attempt at encouragement before biting his lips. He reached into his pocket and pulled out fingerless gloves that Reborn had given him before. They were red, with strong, steel pads on the back of each glove. There were silver strips that crossed each steel pad, making an X. He closed his eyes and calmed his heart, pulling on his gloves. He thought over the days he'd spent with Kyoya, of their unwavering faith in him, and the risk Xanxus was taking for allowing a human to fight on his team. He thought of Xanxus's burning passion, of his ambition to be acknowledged, and he thought of his own dream, to become strong enough to protect his friends.

When he opened his eyes, he was confident. There was an inner fire flickering within him, and when he looked at Squalo, the swordsman looked taken aback. Fran whistled, impressed.

"I'm ready," Tsuna said, and his voice was calmer, deeper, and much more assured.

"I don't doubt that," Squalo muttered.

Timoteo led them to the next area, a spot on the sandy beach that was near where Levi and Olgert fought, and Tsuna took in the surroundings, intuition pointing out advantages and disadvantages of the sand and the sun shining directly overhead. He walked into the center of the box that had been drawn into the sand, a rather portly tengu across from him.

Massimo laughed arrogantly. "So I'm against the human. This'll be way too easy."

Tsuna only looked at him, determination shining in his eyes.

The box's walls began rising, impenetrable, and closed off all access between the audience and the two fighters within.

Massimo unfurled his wings slowly. They were short, not nearly as elegant as the ones Tsuna had seen before, but they were built with enough power to lift Massimo into the air.

"The fifth battle will now begin."

XxX

A/N: My first cliffhanger. I'm so proud of myself. *sniffs*

Please review and tell me what you think! The next chapter will have Tsuna's awaited battle with Massimo. I hope you look forward to the next installment!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut