Diclaimer: I don't own the characters or the series. Amano Akira does. I'm just playing with them for a bit.

A/N: This one is "first mission."

Delirium of Flame and Fire

"Hibari!"

Gokudera Hayato's voice echoed over the battle field, just audible enough over the sounds of fighting to catch his attention. Instead of shouting back, though, he instead chose to use his now crumbling opponent as a foothold to jump up, using the opportunity of holding higher ground to send a slew of mines into the rabble. If the bomber didn't see him as he rose above the heads of everyone else, he was just being inobservant.

Of course, such behaviour always carried a risk, as evident by the sound of gunfire. However, while not even his reflexes were quite enough to dodge a bullet, his box weapon acted even faster than that, the ever ready shield up just in time to deflect the deadly projectiles. Dropping down to the ground, he then sidestepped yet another close range attack before countering with an attack of his own.

These idiots were never going to end, he concluded. They could stand fighting here until they collapsed out of dehydration, and this trash would just keep coming. He could have just as well just turned around and left. This wasn't even about honour or giving up. Rather, he was just getting bored, knocking out one inferior enemy after another.

He could have, if not for the fact he was not only fighting for himself right now, he thought as he glanced behind his back. Another fragment of Roll was stretched across the nearby alleyway, blocking any entrance. The impregnable shield blocked any attempts at such, surprising the occasional idiot with its quills.

He wouldn't let them get past it, no matter what.

The sound of explosions was drawing nearer, not that he made much note. It wasn't until a man flew right past him - well, what was left of a man, in any case - that he registered Gokudera's approach.

"We need to move out from here," Gokudera announced even as he took another one of their opponents with a well-aimed explosion. "Word got through from mission control. Our target is getting out of range." He didn't seem to mind that their opponents might hear. As though any within earshot would be in any condition to relay the information further within a moment, anyway.

"Well, tough luck," Kyouya growled. "I'm not quite done here just yet."

"The Hell are you talking about?" spat the Storm Guardian. "This isn't just about you! We can't sit here and accomplish nothing worthwhile just because you feel like fighting some more!"

"I do not recall saying I wish to fight with these degenerates much further," Kyouya replied through gritted teeth. As if. Suzuki Adelheid's ice clones had been much more of a workout than these idiots, and that was saying something. "I'm just not leaving yet."

"So what the fuck is your reason?" spat Gokudera. "Oh, forget it. As though I'd get an answer out of you anyway." He glanced around. "Where's the Bucking Horse, anyway? I'll just get him if you're going to be an idiot."

"Good luck with that." Kyouya gave him a wry smile. "If I can't run while carrying him, I rather doubt you'll do better."

"What?" Gokudera's tone was shocked, now. "He – he's injured?"

"Bad enough he can't walk right now," Kyouya replied, jerking his head towards the shielded alleyway behind them, "never mind fight. The idiot took a pretty bad hit to his leg. He managed to heal it enough that he won't bleed to death right here and now, but he needs to get to someone with a proper Sun box."

"Oh, damn." Gokudera's eyes narrowed. "We got Don Cavallone hurt. As though this isn't enough of a mess already."

"Hey, it's his own fault for being such an idiot," Kyouya snorted, making a sweep at their enemies just as he released the chain whip from his tonfa. It missed Gokudera by an inch or two before biting into the rabble. This gained him some rapid cursing for his supposed carelessness. Hmph. As though he'd be stupid enough to take out a semi-competent ally in the middle of a battle. "Nobody asked him to come along."

It was true enough. Sure, the mission was a joint effort between Cavallone and Vongola. Sure, it asked for some serious firepower. Sure, aside from the sheer destructive force of Gokudera Hayato, their best bet at successful completion for the mission was the combined effort of Kyouya and Dino, their fighting styles honed to perfection over the years, both knowing each other's movements as well as their own. Still, Dino could have stayed out and nobody would have blamed him for it. Instead, he had chosen to take part instead of just staying back like Tsuna did.

Now he had managed to get hurt. Way to make their first important mission together all the more memorable.

"I can't believe you're the one saying that," Gokudera sighed after the obligatory swears. "I'd imagine you'd be the most concerned for him."

"He's not bleeding anymore, and nobody will get at him through Roll," Kyouya replied. "He'd be already out of here, but apparently the pain's bad enough that he can't get together enough flames to summon his horse. He's not going to die, so I see no reason whatsoever to worry." Never mind the way the blonde's pale face filled his mind's eye no matter what he did. It was just idiotic to concern himself with such things. Dino wasn't going to die. Not from something like this.

He wouldn't let Dino die from something like this.

Gokudera backed off from the worst battle for a moment, doing some rapid speaking through his com link. Then he approached Kyouya again. "The lawnhead is on his way," he told him. "I'll get Uri and take Dino out of here; we'll meet him halfway. You hold these idiots here so they don't stab us in the back."

"As though I was planning to let any of them escape alive anyway."

"Didn't really think you were." Well, what do you know. Perhaps Gokudera Hayato wasn't an absolute idiot after all. "I'll send Uri once we've got him off the battle so you'll know to join me. Can you let me at him now?"

"Just go. Roll will let you through." Kyouya didn't turn to look. He knew even without doing so what he would see: the shocked look as Gokudera rushed into the alley, the bloodied clothes on the idiot, the pale grin that tried to be brave. The whispered assurances of how Dino would be all right, really, it's not as bad as it looks like and whoops I feel a bit faint.

He didn't turn even as he knew the two rushed off, Dino carried by the big cat that was much stronger than it looked. Instead, he kept his eyes on the idiots who had chosen to die today.

"You hurt Cavallone Dino," he said, not that most of them could hear him anyway. "You hurt him enough he can't summon his flames." Such a weak, stupid herbivore. How dare he get hurt. Kyouya's eyes narrowed. "Too bad for you all that I'm not quite as easily deterred as that."

For Dino, pain and exhaustion were enough to stop him from summoning his flame. He couldn't concentrate if that was the case, he'd told Kyouya once. He couldn't focus. Couldn't gather his determination.

Good thing Kyouya wasn't governed by such weak things. His flames only required him to be angry.

He couldn't quite recall ever being this angry before.

Not having to worry about damage to any allies anymore, he got a foothold on one of Roll's shells, bouncing himself up in the air. His bracelet was burning with a wild, purple flame too big to be contained, a testimony to his rage.

By the time the storm leopard returned, their enemies had long since all been slain.