Ball 10:
Brain Games

She was strong. Hell, she was beyond strong. The toughest person Tsena had ever fought. With a cry, she was knocked backwards, sent flying next to Yamamoto. Already covered in aches and bruises, it was annoying. Tsena hated it, hated when she was so weak in comparison. She growled, glaring at Azuki. Not even a scratch… How could that be? Tsena was sure she'd smacked her a few times, but apparently, it was false hope. She was outwitted and outmatched, in every possible way.

"Had enough?" Her voice was even, no signs of exhaustion at all. Tsena was panting, much to her irritation.

"You wish," Tsena growled, staggering to her feet and whipping the blood from the corner of her lips. Azuki sighed softly, looking towards the main building of Kokuyo Land.

"Your friends need your help." The turquoise-head twitched. "They're almost at him… It's almost the climax of this adventure for them." Azuki looked back at Tsena, "Will you continue to waste your time here, knowing you have no chance, or would you rather go to them?"

A choice. Tsena was given a choice of either running away or fighting a pointless battle. She hated both options, the thought of running away making her feel like a coward though Azuki had a point: this battle was senseless. Better to go help her friends than die for some stupid reason. She casted Yamamoto a glance, glaring at Azuki soon after. She retracted her staff, fixing it back in her shirt.

"I won't touch them. You have my word." She stood there, defenseless, giving Tsena the chance to attack her. Their eyes met and Azuki knew Tsena wouldn't attack her. With a grunt and a heavy glare, Tsena ran off towards the building.

Gokudera was feeling confident. He'd managed to one-up Chikusa, leaving him victorious. Unfortunately for him, he didn't count on the attack from behind. A claw hand crashed through the window behind him, reaching forward and piercing his chest.

"You were wide open." He knew that voice. It was the one Yamamoto battled.

"You're alright," Chikusa stated, and if you squinted, you could've seen him look a bit more relief, though his face was blank.

"I thought I was about to die, though." Ken jumped in through the window, sticking his tongue out as he laughed. "Take that, you moron!" Gokudera backed away, falling backwards through a curtain and down a flight of stairs. "How uncool!"

Gokudera tried to make his body move, but it wouldn't. It felt heavier than before, probably due to that damned side effect of Shamal's Trident Mosquito. He watched as a fluffy yellow bird flew overhead, landing nearby. "Beaten! Beaten!" It chirped, seeming to also be laughing at him. Damn thing.

"Ken! Chisuke!" Gokudera couldn't believe his ears. He managed to open his eyes, seeing the wide-eyed girl standing behind Chikusa and Ken, at the head of the stairs. "Dera-kun!"

"Onee-sama…?" What was she doing out of the hospital? Even Chikusa looked a tad bit surprised.

"That can't be… I poisoned her. She shouldn't be moving."

"Keh! Kakipi, did you go easy on her, knowing it was Nesta?" Ken scolded, glaring at the four-eyes.

"I'll fix my mistake then…" Chikusa turned to Tsena, who held Yamamoto's sword at him. He noticed and paused. Ken grunted, glaring at Tsena.

"No fair, you had your fun with her. I wanna turn now!" Without even waiting for a reply, he charged right by Chikusa and knocked right into Tsena. She fell backwards, holding Ken back at the teeth with the sword. Somewhere in his charge he'd managed to activate his Wolf Channel.

"Midori tanabiku Namimori no. Dai naku shou naku, name ga ii~" It caught Gokudera's attention. He looked up at the yellow bird, noticing from the corner of his eye something metal that looked very familiar. With a lot of effort, he managed to throw a dynamite behind him, catching Chikusa and Ken's attention. Noticing the werewolf on top of her was distracted, Tsena grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close, rolling back a bit to lift her legs under his stomach and fly him off.

"You're the only one who lives our school song that much," Gokudera managed a short chuckle, watching as the smoke cleared.

"Namimori Middle School Disciplinary Committee Chairman, Hibari Kyoya." Hearing Hibari's name, Tsena turned and looked. Sure enough, their missing demon was there, resting against the wall. His body was frayed, cuts and injuries decorating his skin, but his eyes still held that unwavering calmness as they always did. While distracted, though, Ken took the opportunity to slash at Tsena's arm, cutting through fabric and skin and knocking the sword far away. Tsena grunted, dropping to one knee and holding her arm.

"Bastard." Tsena glared at Ken. He just smirked wolfishly and laughed. Tsena looked at the sword from the corner of her eye. Ken moved, so did Tsena. She pushed her already aching body faster, shoulder knocking into Ken and sending him astray. She grabbed the sword and jabbed at Ken, but he was quick. He managed to dodge the attack, sliding under it and towards Tsena. He reached a claw hand out, ready to attack her belly.

A painful twack! sounded before Tsena cried out, falling to her butt and holding her head. Tears were threatening to fall as she glared childishly at Hibari, biting her pouting bottom lip.

"W-What was that for, Hibar-san?" She snapped. Hibari had knocked her out of the way, kicking Ken to the side.

"You were in the way." Was his simple reply, not even looking at her.

'You asshole!' Tsena wanted to shout, but Hibari was out for blood. She knew it. He had been defeated (Why else would he be locked up?) and Tsena knew better than anyone what happened when that happened. It meant revenge, death to whoever stood in his way, friend or foe.

"Onee-sama!" Gokudera was at her side, checking her injury. Tsena held her arm up, showing him. He sighed in relief, "Well, he didn't hit a main artery… In fact, looks like he just grazed your skin…" He reached in his pocket, pulling out a roll of bandages.

"… Was probably holding back," Tsena mumbled, watching as Gokudera wrapped her arm.

"That should hold it." Gokudera looked to where Hibari was. Tsena turned, too, not at all paying attention. "You know them, don't you." Not even a question. "Nesta." Tsena averted her eyes, finding the wall beside her interesting. "You're actually more involved with the mafia than you let on, aren't you." Another question meant more as a statement.

"… It's not nice to ask questions you already know the answer to," Tsena grunted, reaching for Yamamoto's bat. To her surprise, Gokudera pushed it away, standing between her and the bat. She glared at him. He glared back. He saw her as an enemy. "What do you think you're doing?"

"How do I know you're not really on their side?" He growled accusingly, holding a few dynamites at the ready. "How do I know everything I know about you isn't a lie?"

Tsena stood up, meeting his eyes, "I'm not your enemy, Gokudera." No nickname, no suffix, nothing to show they were familiar. Right at this moment, Gokudera saw her as a traitor, someone who would probably try and kill him, to side back with her old friends. "But you're right; everything you know about me is a lie." Tsena held his gaze, even when his eyes narrowed even more and burned with mistrust and uncertainty. "I'm not Sawada Tsena, I'm not Tsuna's sister, I'm not a normal high school girl, I know about the mafia life."

"You're not getting your hands on this bat."

"Even if everything you know about me is a lie, Gokudera, everything you know about me is real." Tsena wasn't sure if that even made sense, "My feelings, my connections, my thoughts, memories, troubles, everything we've been through so far were all sincere. I mean no harm; I am on your side. I care about Tsuna as if he were my brother, I look to you as a friend, I think of Yamamoto as a really dear friend. That's all real, that's all present. Everything from before… it's all in the past."

He was still tense, poised for the offensive, ready to kill if he thought she was threatening. The turquoise-head, very slowly, walked forward, never breaking eye contact with Gokudera. She broke it only to bend down and pick up Yamamoto's bat, swinging it over to rest on her shoulder. Their eyes met again, and even though Gokudera still looked doubtful, he relaxed his stance. As soon as he did, though, his legs felt like jelly.

He started to fall to the ground, but Tsena caught him. The gray-head didn't look at her, instead opting to glare at the ground. She didn't mind. After all, she understood how he felt at the moment. He wanted nothing to do with her but needed her – for Tsuna's sake. After this whole ordeal was over, he would demand answers and he would be damned if Tsena didn't give them.

Mukuro gave Reborn a smirk, despite being puzzled. His instincts made him jump, turning and deflecting the opposing tonfas that were thrown at him.

"Juudaime! Please get down!" At the call of his name, Tsuna opened his eyes, just in time to see dynamites falling right for him.

"Tsuna!" He felt arms around him as he was pushed and rolled out of the way, the dynamites exploding just as they made their escape. Tsuna turned back to the entrance, seeing Gokudera and Hibari, both looking like they were replying on the other to stand.

"Sorry we're late," Gokudera apologized weakly, managing an apathetic look in his direction.

"Hibari-san! Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna was abatement. At least they were okay. Still, that left the question of who it was that saved him… The brunet turned his head, eyes going wide at who it was.

"Hey, Tsuna." Tsena gave an awkward grin, tilting her head to the side.

"Ts-Tsena!" Tsuna was over the top overjoyed that she was alright. He even crushed her in a hug, not even hearing her soft "ow, ow, ow"s as Tsuna squished her injured arm, showing her just how much she had worried him.

"Do you understand, Mukuro?" Reborn spoke up, looking at the boy, "I didn't raise only Tsuna." The one he called Mukuro narrowed his eyes and grunted, annoyed.

"I've paid you back now." Hibari gave Gokudera a vexed look, literally tossing the boy aside.

"Ow!" Gokudera cried, falling to a painful heap on the ground. Tsena managed to laugh at him, Tsuna surprised that Hibari just did that.

"Oya, oya, there's a lot of spectators today," Mukuro hummed, looking at Tsena, "And look who one of them is: dear, sweet Nesta, all grown up." Tsena's mirth left her immediately as she tensely met Mukuro's heterochromic eyes.

"Mukuro-sama…" She mumbled, feeling mixed emotions stirring in her. She was alleviated, she would admit, that he was doing… well. After all, he was the one who saved her so back in the past, saved them all. She owed her life to him.

"Oya, what's this? Are those tears in your eyes?" Tsena winced, raising a hand to her eyes. She couldn't believe it. He was right; she was crying! Tsena quickly looked away, rubbing at her eyes. He smiled tenderly at her, "It's okay, Nesta… The feeling is mutual." What did he mean by that? Tsena looked at him from the corner of her eyes, turning her head fully away from him. She caught Gokudera's gaze and grimaced. That distrust was back, burning to an almost hateful look. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hibari charge at Mukuro.

"Tsena…" Tsuna mumbled, catching the girl's attention, "… Do you know Mukuro?" Tsena almost flinched. Almost. She didn't though, for whatever reason. In fact, she was unmoved as she looked Tsuna right in the eye and nodded her head.

"Yes, I do know Mukuro-sama." Tsuna was surprised. She looked so confident, so sure of herself, stating that she knew a murderer as if they were old classmates. "Mukuro-sama is…" Tsena hesitated, looking away. "He's my savior…" Tsuna was speechless. He had nothing to say, his mind just went numb on him. How could a guy like Mukuro be anything but a killer? He opened his mouth, wanting to say something – anything – but nothing came out. Instead, Tsena turned back to the fight. She watched as Hibari managed to defeat Mukuro, and she fought the urge to rush to his side.

It was confusing. Honestly, Tsena thought she would be… scared, terrified at the feeling of seeing her old friends, but she wasn't. In fact, despite herself, Tsena was ecstatic to see them, to see they were doing "alright". She found herself wanting to be near them, with them, she wanted to be around people who understood her like they did. She knew her, they knew Nesta, they knew the real Tsena. And no matter how hard she fought to cast such feelings aside, it was still there. She missed her old friends, she missed being with them. She wanted to be with them.

Which is exactly why Tsena tensed when Mukuro revealed that same shining white gun. That gun, those experiments, her painful past… How hard she tried to forget, how little the others understood.

"Arrivederci." Mukuro's smile was haunting as he shot himself, falling to the ground.

"He shot himself…!" Gokudera couldn't believe it.

"Why did he do it?" Tsuna was just as clueless.

"Maybe he would rather die than be caught," Reborn reasoned, looking at Tsena. His eyes narrowed a bit, suspiciously. The girl was shaking, on her hands and knees, staring at Mukuro's body with wide-eyes. She looked like she wanted to run, but he had to question it: did she want to run to Mukuro, or away?

"Yare, yare," a voice mumbled, walking into the room. The group turned, seeing Azuki leaning against the doorframe, "Now you've done it."

"Who're you?" Gokudera demanded, glaring wickedly. Azuki raised a hand.

"Relax. I'm on no one's side –"

"But your own, as usual." Everyone was surprised when Reborn said this, turning to the white-head, "It's been a while. I hear you call yourself 'Azuki' now."

Azuki smirked, meeting Reborn's gaze, "Indeed it has. You're looking good."

"Don't test me." Reborn's eyes narrowed.

"You should be more concerned about –" Azuki stepped aside, a plate full of poisonous food meeting the wall where she was, "Alright, alright, gosh, I'll be quiet."

"Aneki!" The gray-head turned to his sister, surprised to see her up. Tsena stared at Bianchi, slowly backing away. She knew what was coming. Gokudera went to help his sister, falling victim as well. Tsena fought herself, resisting the urge to step forward.

I want to help him…

'No, I-I don't!'

She didn't have the chance to argue. Unfortunately, she was the next target.

Tsena had to wonder how long she'd been out. She could feel and hear it all, but she just had little control over her body. Well, actually, she had none. Mukuro used her, but she didn't mind. Anything for Mukuro, whatever he wanted. Her savior, her God.

Maybe it was because she was so damn exhausted that she thought of him like that. She was spiraled on her back, staring at the ceiling. The more she thought about it, the more true it seemed. Mukuro was unlike any other human she knew.

"He's not dead, is he?" Tsena wanted to laugh. Something like this… No, this wouldn't be the death of Mukuro, she knew it. "Is he alright?"

'Only you would be so concerned about your enemy, Tsuna…' Mukuro was right: Tsuna was an amusing person. Her eyes slid over to Azuki, who was watching everyone's moments from the couch in the room. She was interesting, too. She even knew Reborn.

"Stay away from him!" Tsena was barely able to make out Ken's voice; it was so raspy, laced with pain and determination. He was determined to keep Tsuna away from Mukuro. Tsena wanted to, too. "Don't you mafia touch him!"

"Leave him alone…" Tsena rolled onto her feet, staggering over to Mukuro's side. She had the strength to stand, compared to Chikusa and Ken, who were both literally clawing their way to Mukuro. Tsuna stared at all three, confused, and even a little hurt that Tsena was siding with Mukuro.

"Why?" He asked, "Why do you go so far for Mukuro?" He asked Chikusa and Ken, before looking at Tsena dead in the eye, "And why do you side with him?" Tsena's strength failed her as soon as Mukuro was in arm's distance. She collapsed to the ground, the fabric of his shirt just out of reach. "You were possessed and used by Mukuro!"

"Anything... for Mukuro-sama…" It came out so easily. Tsena was done fighting herself, trying to fight who she was.

"Don't talk to us like you understand," Chisuka mumbled out.

"This is nothing," Ken swayed to his feet, his legs shaking, "compared to the suffering we endured back then."

"Back then?" Tsuna repeated, looking from Ken to Chikusa and finally Tsena.

"What happened?" Reborn wanted to know, "Why do you hate the mafia so much?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Tsena almost spat out weakly, curling herself into a ball beside Mukuro, her head to his side. "If you knew that they did to us, how they treated us…" She shivered.

"We were used as guinea pigs for human experimentation by our own Family," Ken answered Reborn's question point blank, his eyes shining with sadistic humor, the grin on his face dark. Reborn looked at Tsena.

"That day when you and Yamamoto fell off the roof, your arm broke and Yamamoto's magically healed. Same arm, same injury." Tsena curled herself more into a ball, "You're originally from Italy, too." Tsena bit her lip. Reborn noticed. "Just as I suspected. You're members of the Estraneo Family that created the forbidden Possession Bullet."

"You guys made it forbidden out of your own convenience," Ken grunted, that dark look still on his face. "Becaused of that, our family was being completely destroyed." Tsena closed her eyes, remembering the fear she had. Her father shot in the street, her brother gutted on a mission, her mother and sisters burning to their deaths in the fire that engulfed her house, leaving her the only one alive. She should've died with them, but she didn't. She was 'saved'. "The cornered heads of the Family began developing special weapons to survive. Children in the Family were gathered together for those experiments."

"You can't imagine what it feels like," Tsena whispered, "Every day, you heard your family's screams, their agony never ending, their pain… We were alone, all alone. No one to rely on but each other, and let's face it… We were all just a bunch of kids, no one listened or cared about us. Every time you close your eyes, it's still there."

Nesta sat with her back to the wall, tears falling from her eyes. She listened as Ken screamed, crying out for them to stop, that it hurt, that he didn't want to die. None of them wanted any part of this, no one wanted to die. She sniffed, rubbing her tears and running away. She couldn't stand it; she hated when her usually funny, strong Ken was hysterical like this. She ran by many rooms, each one having a single or more of her family screaming and crying, begging for it to stop. She gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and choked on her own tears.

She found Chikusa in a corner, bandages around his head as he stared blankly at the wall. He was without hope, too. Nesta frowned, sitting down beside him and leaning against him. Chikusa didn't blink, but he rested his head on her shoulder. Every one of them needed support; Chikusa, Ken, Nesta, the others… They relied on each other to be strong. Sometime later a barely breathing Ken was thrown into the room with them, eyes puffy, face red. The door closed, leaving them alone.

Nesta race to his side, grabbing his hand and petting his head, soothing the aching boy. Her frown deepened, dry tears in her eyes as Ken mumbled nonsense, tears still falling from his eyes. How much more of this could they take…?

Tsena opened her eyes, staring at Mukuro's camouflage shirt, "You can never escape."

"Day after day of cruel experiments… We had no way to escape." No escape until that day…

"What are you doing?"

"Stop!"

Chikusa, Ken, and Nesta stared anxiously at the door, hearing the shouting and screaming of the adults. They shared looks, Chikusa and Nesta visibly shaking. Ken gulped unconsciously, being the first to move. He stood up, Chikusa, who had been gripping the back of his shirt, following next. The blonde boy held his hand for Nesta, who took it. Together, Nesta still holding Ken's hand and Chikusa holding his shirt, both close to the blonde's sides, they walked out their room.

It was quiet, which was new. Usually, someone was being experimented on, someone was begging for their death. They shared looks, Ken summoning up his courage and leading the way out. They walked down familiar hallways, all quiet, until stopping at one door. They gasped, eyes going wide.

"But he… He destroyed our current existence all by himself! He was the quiet one that never drew your attention. I think that was the first time I heard his voice."

"Kufufu…" He chuckled, shoulders moving with the action. Every little thing he did caught their attention, when usually he was just so quiet, such a wallflower. Around him, everything was dyed crimson red – blood red. Nesta couldn't help but to stare. She felt sick, the metallic scent of blood intoxicating her. "A world not even worth taking." Her eyes snapped back to the boy, "It'd be best to destroy it all."

"That moment, for the first time in our lives…"

Mukuro turned to the trio, an angelic smile on his face. "Would you like to come with me?"

"We had a place to be." When Ken next spoke, there was a growl laced in his voice, "I won't let you destroy that!" Tsuna's eyes, which had been wide as Ken shared their story, slowly softened. He looked at Tsena, noticing the small tears escaping from her eyes. So that's what her life was like before… He had to wonder why she didn't go with Mukuro and her family.

"But…" Tsuna closed his eyes, looking away from his sister, "I can't… sit and watch as my friends get hurt. Because… that's my place to be." He opened his eyes, looking at Ken. The blonde and blunet gritted their teeth, hating how Tsuna used Ken's words against him. Still, they understand – even if they didn't like it.

"Fuck." The teenagers were surprised to hear Azuki growl this out, jumping to her feet. They looked towards the door, Tsuna's serious nature turning to relief.

"The medical team!" How wrong he was. Metal collars attached to chains flew from the men in black at the door, snapping around Chikusa, Ken, and Mukuro's necks. One headed for Azuki but she knocked it aside, diving for the window and busting through it. She'd be damned if they took her back.

"That was fast," Reborn mumbled intensely.

"Ken! Chisuke! Mukuro-sama!" Tsena held a hand out to them, gasping when she felt a chain around her neck, too.

"You wish to go with them?" Tsena wasn't sure if it was a voice in her head or if they were actually speaking.

"Tsena!" Tsuna exclaimed, watching as the men pulled a kicking and screaming Tsena to them. "Who are they?"

"Vendicare," Reborn's eyes narrowed, "protectors of mafia law. They punish those who cannot be punished by law."

"You can't take me in!" Tsena was hyperventilating. She's heard the stories, she knows how deep and dark Vendicare was. She didn't want to go there, no. She had a place to be, she still had someone to see. "K-Kyuudaime said I didn't have to go to Vendicare, that I was protected! Don't take me there – please! I didn't do anything, this isn't justice!" They didn't listen to her, only jerking the chains around her neck and dragging her away.

"Tsena!" Tsuna shouted again, racing for her.

"Tsuna!" Tsena held a hand out for him, tears falling from her eyes.

'Please, no, anything but Vendicare! I don't want to go! I can't!'

She still wanted to see Takeshi…

*feels proud* *exhales dramatically* Feels nice being able to write -w- I missed it XD lol I'm surprised you guys think Tsena should have Sky flames X'D lol wouldnt it seem Mary-Sue? *not that I particularly care TROLLOLOL* XD lol and Tsena being Fran's sister... The idea has started to sprout... *let's add to the Mary-Sue-ness LOL*

lol thanks everyone for review :'D How you put up with all this waiting is beyond me... IM SORRY ;A; I AM NOT WORTHY! *seppuku* Anywho, since I havent uplaoded in like... months? Two updates ftw XD Since I didnt have the time to finish them in one day LOL *heart*