"Reborn, How can you make me train at a time like this, What if they go after Lambo while he's still out?" Tsuna growled in annoyance, the infant tossed the pair of woolen gloves at him.
"I-Pin is right next to him, Bianchi and Dino are also making sure to keep an eye on him. He's well protected." Reborn replied
Tsuna continued to grumble silently as he placed the gloves on.
"I'd focus more on the training here if I were you," Reborn warned "You lose focus you'll die."
"Long time no see, Sawada-dono." Tsuna glanced to the source of the voice, his eyes widened slightly and he smirked.
"Yeah, Long time, Basil-kun, how are you feeling?" Tsuna asked simply
"Fine," Basil replied "I hope thou art prepared."
Basil popped a pair of small circle pills in his mouth, a blue flame lit on his head and his eyes glowed a bright blue "Hyper Dying Will mode certainly is a new kind of strength isn't it?"
"Yeah." Tsuna replied flatly, his own eyes glowed brightly the flame on his head flickered as he lowered his body.
There was a momentary pause as the pair watched each other carefully, Tsuna moved his hands low and shot forward, Basil widened his stance slightly and Tsuna shifted before disappearing completely. Basil's eyes widened momentarily before he whirled around, Tsuna fist met with the metal edged weapon Basil carried and Basil smirked.
"I see you, Sawada-dono." Basil chuckled
Tsuna forced in on the blade a little heavier, Basil locked and slashed across forcing Tsuna away, Tsuna hopped once before rifling forward, Basil went over Tsuna fist and locked down, forcing Tsuna's arm in on itself, Tsuna gritted his teeth and expelled flames from his free hand, pulling the boy into the air, Basil rotated and launched a powerful kick towards Tsuna chin, Tsuna rolled back and landed on his hand, placing his other hand over his chest he expelled flames to his left, spinning on his opposite hand like a top, Basil jumped back to avoid getting kicked and lifted his gaze in time to see Tsuna barreling into him, a fist cocked back, Basil crossed his arms in front of his face and Tsuna went low, Basil coughed as the blow connected, but he didn't remained stunned for long, grabbing Tsuna's wrist he flipped over the boy and slammed his foot down, connecting with Tsuna's shoulder and forcing him into the ground.
The two locked eyes and glared at each other for a moment before the flame on Tsuna's head flickered and died, Tsuna blinked a few times in surprise "That felt faster than usual," He frowned and got to his feet "
Re-" He cut off when he found the infant nowhere in sight.
"Sawada-dono, if I may," Basil began, Tsuna turned his attention to the blonde calmly "The dying will flame is something the user controls," Basil pointed to the flame on his head for emphasis and flared it outwards "At any point you can force the strength or…" He trailed off as the flamed dimmed "Allow it to calm. Thy not need to force the flame, for you will only leave yourself vulnerable at critical moments."
"Reborn! Get out here and put me back in that mode, You wanted me to train!" Tsuna shouted, a sound finally came to his ears and his walked over to a nearby tree, peering around it he found the infant, a small bubble inflating and deflating from his nose "He's asleep!" Tsuna shouted in disbelief.
"Sawada-dono," Basil held the same two pills he had taken earlier, Tsuna gather they put him into Hyper Dying Will mode, Tsuna inclined his head gratefully and swallowed them, the orange flame lit atop his head "Shall we continue?"
Tsuna nodded his head calmly.
The high pitched tone of Gokudera's doorbell woke him, he looked around himself in surprise, he didn't remember coming home, he sat up and rubbed at his eyes tiredly, his doorbell screeched at him again and he stumbled to his feet and down the hallway, opening the door quickly.
"What?!" He demanded
"Ah," Haru squeaked, he stared at her a moment in surprise, before following her gaze down, realizing he had forgotten to put on a shirt or pants and had just answered the door in his briefs "You're very bold, Hayato-kun."
Gokudera gritted his teeth, grabbed the girl by the arm pulled her inside and closed the door before stalking down the hallways and retrieving his clothing, fighting the blush on his face the whole time.
Haru snickered at her boyfriends back and walked into the kitchen, setting down a small plastic bag on the table, Gokudera came back in a loose shirt and jeans, he pulled his hair to make it sit in its usual style and sat down opposite her.
"How'd you find out where I live anyway?" Gokudera asked in surprise.
"Now, even a lady as proper as me has her secrets," She tapped the side of her nose and laughed "Shamal told me, I don't know why you dislike him so much, he was a true gentlemen."
"That bastard is good at acting, don't let your guard down." Gokudera sighed
"Well, him being involved explains a lot," He sighed dismissing his state of undress that morning "What are you doing here then?"
"I'm making you breakfast," Haru replied as she lit the stove "Then we are going out, You don't have training today and I've barely seen you since these ring conflicts started."
"I've had to focus on training," Gokudera replied "It can't be helped if I want to avoid getting hurt…or getting killed."
Gokudera watched the girl opposite him carefully, as expected the mention of him being injured or dying affected her, she stiffened visibly for a moment he thought that was all that was going to happen, then a quiet sound caught his ear, it was quiet enough that if a single other noise had of sounded he likely would have missed it, it was a single sob. He wasn't aware he could move as fast as he did in the next moment, he rounded the counter and pulled her against him.
"Huh? I don't understand, I was going to be happy today and spend it with you…but I…" She trailed off
Gokudera rubbed at the back of her hair soothingly "It's okay," He lifted her chin slowly and stared into her eyes he smiled warmly "Because I definitely won't lose, that guy won't even scratch me."
"Really?" Haru voice quivered and she leaned into his palm on reflex.
"Of course." Gokudera replied
"Really? Really?" She asked quietly
Gokudera lifted her head again and planted a firm kiss on her lips "Really."
Groooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowl
The party both started at the guttural sound, Gokudera chuckled lightly and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment "I, uh, haven't eaten in awhile."
Haru snickered and nodded her head, she slid up her sleeve slightly and clenched her fist "Right! I'll definitely make something delicious!"
"Looking forward to it!" Gokudera replied enthusiastically.
Yamamoto buckled and fell to his knee, he struggled to keep air in his lungs, he grabbed the helmet on his head and dragged it off harshly, sweat poured from his hair as he breathed heavily.
"Takeshi," Tsuyoshi's eyes narrowed on his son dangerously "If you expect me to keep teaching you when you bring this half assed resolve you are sorely mistaken."
Yamamoto gritted his teeth and pushed himself back to his feet, gripped the Shinai in his hand tighter as he held it in front of him.
Tsuyoshi let a small grin fall on his face, nothing sort of open challenge presented itself in his sons eyes, Tsuyoshi adjusted his grip slightly and darted forward.
Yamamoto back-stepped quickly and spun in bring the sword across, his father dodged out of the way nimbly, Yamamoto rotated the sword and the sound of bamboo slapping against bamboo echoed around the empty dojo, the pair remained locked against each other as they circled.
Yamamoto's eyes narrowed as he moved, he dropped his weight low and forced his arms up, the lock shattered as his father stumbled back, Yamamoto rotated in and battered his father's Shinai into the air, his caught the blade in a reverse grip and brought it across, bring the second into an over head strike, his father regained his footing quickly and dodged out of the way of the cross slash, he caught the overhead strike in both hands and smirked at his son, Yamamoto let a small smile settle on his face as he dropped the second Shinai and struck the handle with his foot, the weapon speared into his father's chest and the man grunted as the blow struck.
The two disengaged and bowed to each other "What's next?" Yamamoto asked excitedly.
Tsuyoshi raised his hand, halting his son quickly "There isn't anything more, the rest is solely up to you."
"Huh?" Yamamoto froze as he let out the questioning breath.
"The teacher only shows the movement once," Tsuyoshi answered calmly "Whether you become truly worthy to wield a sword is up to your resolve now."
Yamamoto took a deep breath, his father tossed his Shinai to him, Yamamoto caught it calmly and met his father's gaze levelly "Thank you very much."
Tsuyoshi inclined his head calmly and walked away.
Yamamoto gripped the Shinai tightly, the small swallow on the side stared at him he rolled his shoulders calmly, he changed his grip on the hilt and swung it in a wide arc in front of him, when the weapon's form shifted into that of a Katana he stared at it calmly , after a few moments the weapon reverted to a Shinai. Yamamoto took a deep breath and wrapped the weapon beside his bat, he took a quick glance outside and shouldered the weapons as he left for the high school.
Tsuna winced slightly as Kyoko placed a bandage over his cheek, she gave him a small apologetic look and he just reassuringly smiled at her "Jeez, maybe I should become a nurse, your certainly training me well enough." She complained.
"Sorry," Tsuna tilted his head to the side and stared up at the sky calmly "The days seem to be getting shorter."
"It's Gokudera-kun's match today isn't it?" Kyoko asked curiously.
Tsuna nodded "Have you spoken to Haru?"
"A little, she seems to avoid the subject as much as she can, seeing Lambo and I-pin like that I sort of understand." Kyoko grimaced.
Tsuna ruffled his girlfriends hair calmly "Yeah," He smiled at her reassuringly "But Gokudera is strong, he'll definitely be fine."
Kyoko chuckled "You have faith in your family, don't you?"
"Of course," Tsuna replied as he got to his feet and brushed himself off "I'm the boss, it's my job."
"What about you? Your getting beaten up in training," Kyoko started worriedly "Will you be fine?"
Tsuna smiled down at her, offering his hand, she grabbed it and he pulled her up "My opponent is strong and he's ruthless he's willing to kill member's of his own family to gain power," Tsuna explained, although he knew it didn't help at all, judging from how Kyoko paled "But that's exactly why I'll win, I won't allow someone like him to win."
Kyoko turned her head to the side, Tsuna's heartbeat thudded against her ear rhythmically and she sighed contentedly into the sound "Oh, that's right," Kyoko stepped back and dug around in her bag for a moment, removing two small pieces of fabric she handed them to Tsuna, she pointed to the first one "That one's Gokudera's, Haru made it with me yesterday. Although she didn't want to kill the mood on their date today so she asked me to make sure he got it," She explained, Tsuna looked at the other one, the dark blue charm with an orange fish sewn into it "I made that one for you." Kyoko finished calmly.
"Why a fish?" Tsuna asked in confusion.
"Because Tsuna, kinda sounds like Tuna doesn't it?" Kyoko giggled.
Tsuna gave his girlfriend a look and smiled, placing his charm in the pocket on his chest, he put Gokudera's in his pants pocket "Well, I had better get going if I'm going to make it in time."
Kyoko nodded her head calmly as Tsuna took off.
"Yamamoto, Reborn," Tsuna called out as he arrived, the pair turned and greeted him with a silent nod "Gokudera here yet?"
They shook their heads in response "He's gonna be late if he doesn't hurry it up." Ryohei grunted as he arrived.
Tsuna felt their presence before he heard them speak.
"Maybe he got scared and ran away?" Tsuna shot the Varia blond a flat look.
"Who'd be scared of you jackass?" Gokudera growled angrily as he arrived "I'm here, just in time to give you a nice long beating." He smiled darkly as he cracked his knuckles loudly.
Tsuna let out a quick breath as he approached the boy calmly, Tsuna handed Gokudera Haru's charm with a smirk "I was told yo get this to you."
Gokudera nodded his head in response "Thanks, Don't worry about a thing tenth, I'll definitely win."
Tsuna inclined his head calmly as the Cervello arrived at the school.
"Now that both parties are present we may begin," They announced in their uninterested tone "Would the spectators please move to the designated areas, the combatants will make their way to the top floor of the school."
Tsuna and the rest entered the small square, set's of lasers walled them off from either side of the corridor "In order to subdue interruptions from the spectators." The Cervello announced flatly.
Tsuna crossed his arms over his chest calmly and leaned back slightly.
"The rules for the battle remain the same as the previous battles, the first person to connect both halves of their ring will be the winner," The Cervello explained "However, unlike the previous battle this fight will be on a timer."
Gokudera noticed the doors to the classroom a little behind him rattle before they were blown off of their hinges completely, slamming into the glass before that was blown out as well. The wood clattered to the ground of the school yard loudly.
The wind ripped at Gokudera's clothing and hair and he sighed quietly in annoyance 'That should make things interesting.'
"Each of the Hurricane devices are fitted with a powerful explosive, after fifteen minutes these explosives will detonate regardless of the matches progression." The Cervello finished flatly.
"So, a death match huh?" Gokudera smirked "Interesting."
Belphegor walked towards Gokudera calmly "You're too tense." He said simply, tapping Gokudera's shoulder naturally.
Gokudera glared at the blonde angrily "Aw, So scary." Belphegor mocked sarcastically as he walked away.
"Will the spectators make their way to the observation area," The two groups followed their instructions carefully, a wall of red lasers turned on behind Tsuna as he entered and he merely glanced at them "Interference will not be tolerated." The Cervello explained flatly.
A chuckle met the groups ears, Shamal walked up to the lasers calmly "Well, you wouldn't be against letting me in now would you?" He asked, the lasers winked off and he stepped inside, they turned back on immediately.
Gokudera and Bel stared at each other blankly, each waiting for the match to begin, The Cervello finally spoke "Let the battle of the Storm ring begin!"
Gokudera flicked a bomb towards the blonde quickly, the blonde's eyes narrowed slightly 'short fuse huh?' He didn't move.
Gokudera glanced at the doorway to the left of the bomb as the thing was blown off its hinges by a powerful gust of wind, the explosive detonated outside the school uselessly, Gokudera took a quick back step as the door to his left rattled
'Now let's see what the blonde Varia genius has to offer.' Gokudera thought as the blonde flourished a small knife in his hand and tossed it, Gokudera ducked out of the way, he heard a turbine turn on somewhere behind him and then felt a sting on his right cheek, his eyes widened when he felt blood trickle down the edge of his face 'I know I dodged.'
Gokudera darted into a classroom and crouched as a knife flew over his head, Gokudera gritted his teeth 'How's he doing that in this wind?'
"You seem a little confused," Bel laughed as he entered the room "I'm very sensitive to the wind, fitting since I'm the guardian of the storm."
"Aren't you over stepping a bit jackass, I'm still alive." Gokudera glared at his opponent.
The blonde laughed "Such a poor storm guardian really reflects on the boss, no matter you'll be dead soon."
Gokudera chuckled, tossing a quick bomb at the blonde tha was blown towards the wall, he clicked his tongue as the blonde threw a knife at him, the explosion of Gokudera's bomb blew the knife off course, Gokudera noticed something slack behind the knife through a reflection of light, Gokudera let a knowing smirk fall on his face as he placed a trap against the doorway and ran into the hall way.
"Using a bomb to camouflage yourself and run away huh?" Bel stated plainly "I do love hide and seek."
Gokudera ran into the science room and looked around, finding the human model in the corner he removed a small wire from his shoulder 'Nice move jackass.' He mentally applauded as he tied the wire around the doll.
Belphegor drew a large number of knives in the hallway and tossed them "For my last trick as the Guardian of the Storm Ring, I'll fill you full of so many of these you'll turn into a cactus."
Resounding thuds met Bel's ears and he moved towards the sound, he was surprised when a model was dropped through the door, punctured by his knives, Gokudera lifted the thing by the wire and smirked at the blonde "Reading the wind was it?"
Belphegor tilted his head slightly as Gokudera moved, the blonde drew a knife as Gokudera rushed him.
Gokudera yanked the wire towards him and Belphegor stumbled and his eyes widened in surprise as Gokudera planted a boot into his chest, sending him rolling away from him. Gokudera glanced around himself and drew a set of bombs, tossing them up he slid low and threw another handful.
"That still won't work." Bel laughed as he got to his feet.
Gokudera met the blondes look levelly, the bomb's in the air sparked as turned, they turned in towards Bel and rocketed towards him, the bombs that slid along the ground impacted the man's boots as the explosives slammed into his chest and blew him backwards.
"Hm, even after that Bel won't be unharmed," Mammon noted as he watched monitor, he glanced over at Tsuna who met the small persons gaze with a smirk "You look awfully pleased over there."
"Well, You say Belphegor is your genius," Tsuna glanced at the monitor "I guess this means our Gokudera's one as well."
Squalo smirked "You've got guts kid I'll give you that."
"But the battle starts now." Levi finished plainly.
"How dare you spill my royal blood," Belphegor got to his feet and staggered, a grin appeared on his face as he ran his hand through his hair and his breathing turned shallow "How dare you."
Gokudera's eyes narrowed as he fired another volley of bombs as the blonde, Bel drew a knife in each hand and darted forward, slicing the bombs in a rapid movement that was almost impossible to follow before launching one at Gokudera, who dodged to the side and drew another set of bombs, the knife flew passed him and the bombs in his hand fell in half, Gokudera gritted his teeth 'The damned wires.' His eyes darted back to his opponent as the blonde fell towards him, knife drawn, Gokudera flipped a smaller bomb into his palm and flicked it into the air, crossing his arms in front of himself and jumping back, Gokudera remained mostly unharmed from the small explosion 'I need a better spot.'
Bel landed on his back with a heavy thud "Hide and Seek again? Interesting."
Gokudera jumped over a low table and slid behind a bookcase in the library 'Alright, come on then you blonde jackass, he glanced down as a box fell beside him, scattering what appeared to be old curtain hooks on the ground and smirked when an idea came to him.
"Ten minutes have passed." The Cervello informed flatly
Belphegor jumped into the room and tossed three knives, before landing and turning on his heel, Gokudera threw a volley of rocket bombs at the blonde, they were quickly sliced in half, Gokudera ducked underneath the next set of knives thrown at him, diving to the side of the follow up attack and darting behind another shelf.
His head shot up when the blonde chuckled and he back stepped a knife that landed at his feet, two more struck the wood near his neck and another cut off his retreat path, he froze quickly, his eyes darted around the spiders web of wires currently restricting his movement.
Bel stopped a small distance ahead of him, Gokudera glared at his opponent, his mouth pursed in a flat line, Gokudera dropped his lighter and a small smirk settled on his face.
Belphegor paused, eyes snapping to the lighter as it hit the ground, gunpowder sizzled as it burned.
Explosions rocked the library, the wires around Gokudera slacked "It's about time I got even, I've already broken a promise today."
Belphegor raised an eyebrow as Gokudera Lifted a set of bombs along his wires and threw them towards Belphegor, a second Volley of rocket bombs followed, each explosive hit it's mark and the blonde toppled back and hit the ground with a heavy thud.
"It's over." Gokudera winced when he attempted to straight and his body groaned.
"Not quite," The Cervello announced "Until one of you possesses both halves of the storm ring this battle will continue."
Gokudera clicked his tongue as he moved towards the downed blonde, he stared down at the boy calmly, he leaned forward when the Blonde sat up suddenly Gokudera leaned back as Belphegor latched onto him.
"My ring, I can't lose." The boy droned coldly.
Gokudera punched him in the face and attempted to push him off, Belphegor latched onto his half of the ring as Gokudera grabbed his and the pair locked.
"Three minutes remaining." The Cervello informed.
"Damnit, let go." Gokudera demanded as he slammed his knee into the boys stomach, Belphegor relentlessly tugged on the ring as Gokudera continued to hit him.
"Two minutes remain." The Cervello announced
"Gokudera, give the ring to the enemy and get out of there." Shamal ordered flatly.
"Hah?! Don't screw around." Gokudera snapped back as he slammed the blonde into a wall.
"Your enemy is completely broken, your life is more important than the stupid ring." Shamal argued plainly
"I'm definitely won't lose, so shut up and wait for me." Gokudera pushed at Belphegor angrily.
"Time's up." The Cervello announced as an explosion rocked the third floor.
"I can't lose." Belphegor droned drawing a knife and cutting at Gokudera, who turned out of the way to dodge, the knife sliced through his front pocket and the small green charm Haru had made for him fell to the floor.
"Gokudera get out of there, we have four battle's to go." Tsuna ordered finally "Neither Haru or Kyoko would ever forgive me if I just let you die."
Gokudera gritted his teeth and grabbed the blonde around the neck, pivoting inwards he threw the boy across the room, the blonde hit the wall with satisfying thud, Gokudera grabbed the charm off the ground and dived through the door as the room exploded, he looked down to find the half ring gone and he clicked his tongue.
Tsuna ran over to boy and helped him to his feet "Sorry, Tenth I lost."
"Don't worry," Tsuna smiled reassuringly "I'm proud to call you my right hand man."
Gokudera chuckled, the action caused his ribs to hurt and he cut off "Baseball nut," Yamamoto glanced at the Gokudera's open hand and he grabbed it "If you lose, I swear you will have way more to fear than the Varia coming after you.'
Yamamoto smirked "Now now, let's just have some fun."
"This isn't game!" Gokudera shouted at him, before wincing and holding onto his side painfully.
A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter than the other battles, primarily because I didn't change much, I don't really know what it is but Gokudera's battle I just liked how it was and didn't feel a need to change anything drastically, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter, my update schedule is now in my profile so if you're curious about the next update just look there, that's all, see you guys next time!