Sorry for being late (as usual)! Here's the next chapter of the story. Remember, vote for who Val should end up with and ask questions~! I do not own KHR. Enjoy the story! :)

"So," Tatsuya waved a hand, making a couple of small fry disappeared into his illusions, "how is it that when we tell you to take her away, you made her go into that state?"

His annoyed steel grey eyes narrowed as he set his sleek black trident onto the floor, making the flood fall into hell. His opponents panicked, screaming and rolling as the illusion continued to take over their minds.

"And this is one of her most annoying states. Actually, it is the most annoying!" Shiori growled low under her breath, punching another opponent in the face. The person fell to the floor, unconscious.

Her murderous intent created a small circle around where she stood, and it made them step back a little. She kicked another who crept up behind her, disgusted by their weakness.

"My little cousin sure has personality problems." Sayuri muttered.

She twirled her silver spear decorated with small, golden stones. Like her mature mother, Sayuri was graceful and calm in any situation. Such as when she stabbed a person's arm and letting the rear end of her spear hit another in the face.

"We're sorry…" The twins and Aoi looked guilty, but it wasn't like they could help it. She would have definitely run away from them at some point to go back to the academy.

The three younger members of the Vongola XI's family looked upwards to the sky, where they saw their boss blindly cutting anybody who came near her.

Since there were enemies in the sky, the group decided to let her run rampage there while they took care of the ones on the ground.

Still, it was strange to see this kind of attack. This was merely just a couple of Mafia (or who seemed like Mafia) attacking. There weren't anything special about them other than the long, dark black cloaks they all wear to hide their faces. Their weapons were normal, and their fighting power was normal for a Mafia.

So why were they attacking? They were aiming for something, but what?

"YOU BASTARDS ARE FUCKING WEAK! DON'T LAY A HAND ON ME 'CAUSE YOU'RE MAKING ME SICK WITH YOUR STUPID WEAKNESS ILLNESS!" Val shouted loudly, eyes glowing an orange-reddish color that was seen clearly when her bangs covered her eyes.

She swung her ax around in a circle, creating a torrent in the air. It grabbed hold of the cloaked people fiercely, spinning them around and around before it tossed them into the nearby walls and trees. They made a large impact on the harden material, creating craters on the ground as well.

"That's a thing?" Yukine said in disbelief. "Really? Weakness illness?"

"She's going insane again," Aoi sweat-dropped, trying to laugh but ended up letting out a nervous one.

"I am not holding her down this time," Yukino shook her head furiously, shuddering at the memory of what occurred last time.

Oh yes. This wasn't the first time this form and side of Val had come out. Rather, they always wanted to avoid it so they didn't talk about it much. Though, maybe the other form was scarier…

"I held her down last time! One of you peoples do it!" Shiori yelled, flipping in midair as she placed a hand on a foe's head to land on her feet perfectly.

"Wait, what's her limit this time?" Tatsuya wondered out loud.

"Calculating her attacks and anger management levels, I say this one will last for quite a bit. Though I think she's going to fall the second the battle is over." Yukine's emerald green eyes seemed to scan his boss, the technological contacts making it easy to do so.

"Good to know," Aoi nodded.

"But still…" Yukino murmured.

Yukine nodded gravely. "Yeah. This attack – it's signaling something..."

"Who are you?" Val growled low under her breath, narrowing her bright orange reddish eyes at the newly arrived person who made every one of the grunts move away.

It was just the two of them now, and while he stood care free on top of a telephone pole, she hovered in the air.

The boy was lean and tall, but he was strong. Val could sense that already just by looking at him. He was dressed in black, and the one thing that stood out was his red scarf. He had dark hair and deep blue eyes. A smirk slowly came upon his handsome face.

"The more important question is, who are you?" The boy said, looking at her with an amused expression.

"I asked first, bastard." Val snapped. Her hands gripped her ax.

Before she knew it, he was suddenly in front of her. She couldn't move as he gripped her wrist, and she struggled against his hold. He held up her chin, a cat-like smile on his face. "So it's true. The exact same face."

"What-!" She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before he jumped away, landing perfectly on the pole.

He let out a care free laugh when she glared at him, holding up his hands. "Don't worry. I'm not interested in you or anything. I just wanted to have a look."

"You've had your chance so go die already." Val narrowed her eyes, furious at herself for not being able to detect his movement.

He let out another laugh. "It's a game! Everything in this life is a game! The chances and choices you are given, I wonder which path you would choose?"

"Shut up." Val accelerated her speed, swinging her ax at the boy. He leaped away easily, his red scarf fluttering in the wind as he did so. He landed on the telephone line, balancing with ease.

"Whoa, that power is something." He whistled as he gave a slight nod towards the damaged telephone pole that had its top cut off perfectly in a slight angle. "But, you didn't hit me, did you?"

Furious, Val spun her ax over her head, creating a torrent of Dying Will flames. She brought it down, the flames clawing their way towards the boy. He stood there, and a smirk slowly came to his face as the flames engulfed him.

Without waiting to see the result, Val dove for the flaming sphere, bringing her ax down. There was a sudden force that stopped her, and her orange eyes widen. She gritted her teeth, and continued to push down on him. But he didn't budge. His bangs covered his eyes, and the catlike smirk was still on his face.

He held her ax back with two fingers.

Before she could pull away, he gripped the ax and threw it. Since she had been holding the ax tightly, she was thrown into a nearby building wall. The impact she made was huge against the stone walls, and the girl struggled to get herself out of the layers that held her down.

When she finally did free herself, he was right in front of her. He flicked her forehead, and while it sent an enormous amount of pain to her head, it also threw her straight to the ground. She was able to recover quickly this time, and went back into the air.

She swung her ax at him, and his flames became a sword. Time and time they clashed again, neither one backing down. In a death lock, Val summoned all of her strength to push back against him, but he was an opponent she shouldn't take so easily.

Using her arms to stable the hold on her ax, she moved her leg and kicked him at his side. He grunted in pain, pulling back. But she was quicker this time. The flames from her ax became arrows awaiting their fallen prey. They sped towards him, circling around and around the boy.

But the sphere around him acted as a defense mechanism, blocking out all of the flame arrows. She flew at him, and he met her at full force. The sudden attack recoil caused a scratch on Val's cheek, blood dripping down her neck. She winced, and kept making her flames grow bigger. His sphere grew bigger, and the two dominated the sky.

They pulled away, sending a shockwave of energy into the sky. Everything else that was in the area of the above came down as if they had been shot. Birds, people, even the wind.

Val's cheek was bleeding, but the boy had a scratch on his shoulder, blooding tinkling down from it.

"Oh, I've injured you." The boy mused, the catlike smirk forming once more.

Val gripped her ax. "You've injured me since you threw me into the wall, dumbass."

The boy let out a laugh. "Such a language for the daughter of the tenth Vongola boss! I'm sure your parents didn't raise you to be like that."

"Shut up! My family is of no concern of yours!"

"Isn't that a miscalculation in your part?" The boy's tone changed, and he looked as if he enjoyed her bewildered face. "After all, you don't even know your own past. You don't remember anything-"

"SHUT UP!" Val sliced the air, sending a shockwave. The boy easily deflected it. "You don't know anything, so don't act like you do!"

"But I do know. At least, more than you do." The boy looked up to the sky, before he turned to look at Val. He grinned. "Don't give me such a furious look. It doesn't suit you, you know?"

Before Val could attack him again, he made a giant fist with his flames. The fist immediately wrapped around Val's body, tightening its grip. She screamed in pain as it squeezed more and more. The boy was laughing as she glared at him furiously, struggling to get out of the flame's grip.

Suddenly, a rain of bullets were shot at the fist. The bullets must have contained special flames because it weakened the grip on the flames, making it possible for Val to escape and pull back. After she had been freed, the bullets stopped.

Val looked around. The others were still fighting, so there was no way they could have shot those bullets. Though, the only people she knew with that kind of accuracy with a gun were Reborn, Xanxus, Haru and Yukino. But the first three weren't here at the moment, and Yukino was too busy handling things on the ground.

So who shot those bullets?

The boy frowned, wondering who had interrupted his playing time. He looked over at a certain tower, an amused smile coming to his face. No matter.

His flames disappeared, and he closed his eyes briefly. "Well, I suppose it's time for me to leave. I've imposed on you too much already." His grin slowly became bigger, his bangs covering his eyes as the wind waved his red scarf.

"And, Regina wants you alive…"

When Val blinked, he was gone. Just like that. She couldn't sense him anymore. He was just gone.

"ARGH!" Irritated, Val threw her ax back into its void, smashing the rest of the building before she did out of frustration. Her blood was boiling, and it sicken her.

She had never lost her cool this much in a fight before. How can he provoke her that much? To the point where she was just aimlessly attacking him with no plan?

And what's with knowing about her past? How would he know? This was the first time they've met. Who was Regina? By the way the boy was talking about her, Val could understand that he respected her very much. After all, he could have killed her. When they had crossed, she could practically feel his power flowing at her, trying to claw its way out. But he held it back. Because 'Regina' wanted her alive.

"Hey, Val! You okay?" The twins shot up into the air, balancing on their feet as their flames shot them up high.

"Shut up. I don't want to listen to anybody right now." Val snapped, voice forceful.

"It's fine that you lost. I mean-!" Sayuri tried to calm her cousin down. By this point, the whole family was up in the sky. Flying wasn't a problem for them.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP." Val shouted, eyes turning dangerously crimson. Her flames surrounded her like a massive torrent. "I don't want to be pitied by you!"

Tatsuya let out a sigh. "We're not pitying you. Just as you will never pity us, we will never pity you either." He nodded to the others. "Alright, let's hold her down."

"Who brought the pills?" Shiori asked. Sayuri raised her hand, pulling out a small vial filled with crimson red pills shaped like small, round balls. Shiori nodded, before turning to her brother. "Hold her."

Tatsuya and Aoi both grabbed Val's arms, holding her in place. "HEY, WHAT ARE YOU BASTARDS DOING TO ME?!" Val kicked and screamed, trying to pull out of their grasp. Her flames hissed and whipped the boys, leaving red marks in their wake. But still they held on.

Sayuri took out a small red pill, and as carefully as she could, popped the pill into Val's open mouth. As soon as the girl swallowed the pill, her eyes closed and her body went limp. Within moments, she was back to her old self, the flames dying away.

"Alright, let's go home. The police are coming soon and this will be too troublesome to explain." Tatsuya said, and the others agreed.

Yukino looked at her brother, who was staying silent as he looked in a certain direction. "Onii-chan? We're going."

"Sorry, I'll catch up with you guys. I just need to check some things." He said finally, causing his twin to have a puzzled expression.

Aoi grinned. "Okay, be back soon before Val wakes up."

Yukine simply nodded. "Alright."

With a slight nod back, the group left him with Tatsuya carrying Val's unconscious body in his arms. Once they were out of sight, Yukine made his way to the tower that held the ancient bell of the academy.

He had seen it. He had seen the bullets as they rained down, freeing Val. The accuracy of the shots befuddled him, since there were only a few people in the mafia world that had that much control over their guns. Since they were shooting from far away, they had to be a sniper.

Once he reached the top of the tower, he looked around. The bell was the large center of metal of the room, and it remained unscratched. There was a whiff of gunpowder in the place, the strong scent coming in to his nose. The place looked clean, and there weren't any guns or anybody in the place.

His emerald green eyes caught a glint of something reflecting off the sunlight. It was hidden, rucked into the corner of the tower. His footsteps echoed as he made his way towards the small, shining light. His hand reached for the corner, feeling in the darkness.

They finally dripped something, and he pulled out the object. It was a golden necklace that was round and looked like a locket. He couldn't open the locket, so he had no way of knowing who the piece of jewelry belonged to.

Yukine let out a small sigh, tucking the locket into his pocket. He can analyze it later, but now…

"Val, what's going to happen to you?"

"She was attacked?!" Tsuna looked like he wanted to explode. He was walking back and forth in front of his desk, his hand running through his hair.

Val was currently hospitalized in her room, out cold and un-moving. While the women of the family cared for her, as well as the younger children, the rest of the 11th generation and the 10th generation were in Tsuna's office. Reborn stood off to the side, leaning against the wall. As ever, he was perfectly calm.

The twins nodded, continuing on with their report. "They were definitely the Black Roses. The grunts don't show their face, but their leader did."

"Val was battling with the leader, wasn't she?" Reborn spoke up, and the twins nodded. Reborn closed his eyes briefly. "Can you describe him to me?"

"We didn't get a clear view because he was fighting Val and he disappeared into thin air later on, but we saw enough to recognize his face should we ever see him again." Tatsuya stepped up, grey eyes looking cold.

"He was tall, and looked about Onii-sama's age. He had black hair, wore black clothing and the only thing that stood out was his bright red scarf." Shiori informed them.

Sayuri shook her head. "That wasn't the only thing. He used flames we were unfamiliar with. He turned them into physical objects and created some sort of barrier of hollow flames. I'm supposing he wasn't using his full power when he was battling Val."

"I heard him. He held back because he couldn't kill her or something." Yukine said gravely.

Tsuna took in a sharp intake of breath. "You mean to tell me that if that person was serious, he could have killed Val?"

The 11th generation stayed silent, turning their eyes away. It wasn't like they wanted to admit it, but with the way the battle had been going, Val would have lost. And the one who knew that the most was Val herself.

"Oh, this is bad. Really really bad." Tsuna muttered under his breath. He ran a hand through his hair, a habit he had whenever he was stressed out about something.

"What are we going to do about it, Tenth?" Gokudera spoke up, eyes steady. He had already talked with the twins before the meeting, and he could understand why his boss was upset.

"I don't know yet, Gokudera." Tsuna looked tired, dark circles under his eyes. It wasn't enough that the Black Roses were causing problems in the Mafia, in the alliance families, but now they were targeting his own Family? Worse, his daughter. "I thought the academy would at least protect and let her have a normal life. Even if it was just for a short while, but they found her out."

"There must have been an information leak. Nobody knows about you having a daughter who's training to be in the Mafia. They don't know about Mana and Ai, either." Yamamoto said, eyes serious.

Ryohei nodded. "That's because we've kept them safe to the EXTREME."

"And here I thought we were doing a good job too," Lambo muttered, running a hand through his curly black hair. Since he was the youngest Guardian, he had been the one who played with Val the most. It upset him that she got attacked.

"Mufufu. Since Val doesn't look like Sawada Tsunayoshi, nobody suspected her when she attended school." Mukuro mused. Somehow, they were able to contact him to make him attend the meeting.

Chrome looked worried. "But they've found out now. They even attacked the school and the leader knew exactly who she was, according to the children's reports. I wonder, will they be attacking the academy again?"

Hibari closed his eyes. "The place is currently under investigation and I've made sure the news doesn't get out to the media." He looked at Tsuna. "In any case, she won't be able to go back."

Tsuna nodded, clenching his hands. "I know. I know that. But…"

Reborn spoke up. "Dame-Tsuna, you have to do something about Val. As she is now, her emotions will eventually destroy her life. That's her biggest flaw. Letting her emotions drive her to the point where she abandon logic." He looked at Tsuna with cold eyes, which made the Vongola boss flinch.

"You've made her that way."

The words cuts through Tsuna like a sharp edge of ice. He knew that. Of course he knew that. Ever since that day fifteen years ago, he had always knew. But it wasn't like he could do anything about it.

Tsuna continued to remain silent, his face in distress. He then closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Keep the investigations going, we have to find the ring master of all of this." He turned to the 11th generation. "You guys can relax and think about your training. As for Val," he glanced at Reborn, who watched him, "…I'll take care of it."

And with that, he dismissed them. Everybody walked out except for Reborn, who stayed behind. He didn't speak until he didn't hear any more footsteps near the door.

The infamous hitman looked at Tsuna from under his black fedora. "So? What are you going to do about it?"

Tsuna sat down on his desk, his hands on his head. It reminded Reborn of how Tsuna looked when he was young. Memories…

"I don't know, Reborn. I told you that." Tsuna let out a sigh. "She's not safe anymore. They know who she is, and they're going to start targeting her."

"You don't know that for sure. According to the report, only the leader knew who Val was. The grunts didn't." Reborn pointed out.

"They'll know eventually. This is the Mafia, after all." Tsuna let out a dry laugh. "Never thought I'll imagine myself saying that."

Reborn was silent for a moment. "Are you going to repeat the same tragedy?"

Tsuna paused, taking in the words that were said to him. Finally, "What choice do I have?"

"The choices you make will impact how things will run." Reborn closed his eyes briefly, walking towards the door. Just before he left, "If she breaks once more, she will permanently stay that way."

Tsuna was left in the room, his head in his hands.

"She hasn't awoken yet?" Chrome looked worried, placing the dishes on the dinner table.

The Hibari family were in their suite, eating dinner together for once in a while. Since both parents often were called to work out of the country, it was hard for the whole family to be together.

Shiori nodded. "She's still asleep. That's why we call her Sleeping Beauty, Mother."

Chrome paused her lips. "It isn't good for her health if she were to sleep too long. Her body will start to shut down."

"The twins are performing chemical tests in their lab to figure out ways to keep her alive for long periods of time during her slumber." Tatsuya spoke up, voice smooth and calm as ever.

It was true. The Storm twins had a research lab of their own, build away from the mansion, but close enough for them to see whenever explosions happen during a miscalculation. The twins often go into their lab whenever they were bored with school, or life in general, and conducted the wildest experiments. There were many, ah, victims to their experiments.

"Is that why I keep seeing large, mushroom like dust clouds?" Chrome questioned, her eyebrows furrowed together.

Tatsuya nodded. "Yeah. They've come up with a few that will last for a bit, but none that will last for a long time. Since we don't know when she will wake up, it's better safe than sorry."

"That herbivore," Hibari spoke up for the first time, eyes closed, "is going to wake up soon."

Shiori blinked in surprise. "How do you know that, Father?"

"I've fought with her since she was little. I know when her flames will burn once more." Hibari gave them a general answer, not bothering to go into detail with it. It was to be expected, after all.

"But," Tatsuya's gaze darken, "what's going to happen to her when she does?"

"Bossu will decide that." Chrome said. "Don't worry too much into it."

The purple haired boy could only nod, but the tension remains in his body.

"She's not going to be locked up again, is she?" Shiori asked the question that was in everybody's mind, but they didn't dare speak it. The whole table fell into a deathly silence.

Hibari stared at his chopsticks, seeming to focus on them while he was absent-minded. "Perhaps. An incident like this occurred fifteen years ago and that was exactly what the Herbivore did to her." He looked up, seeing his children with complex looks on their faces. "Don't concern yourself in this matter anymore. Things will happen as they see fit."

"As you wish, Father." The siblings answered, voice normal.

Chrome, deciding to change the subject, smiled warmly. "Dino's family is coming to visit us."

Tatsuya flinched, but kept quiet. Shiori watched her brother out of the corner of her eye. She turned to her mother. "When?"

Chrome looked at the calendar that was hung up. "Um, tomorrow?" She clapped her hands together, smiling brightly. "I know. Why don't Satoshi and Ayami train with you two while we're doing missions? I'm sure they will be helpful."

Tatsuya stood up suddenly, shaking the table a little bit. His bangs covered his eyes as his expression darken. "I'm fine by myself. I don't need to train with them. Can I be excused?"

Hibari nodded, eyes closed.

"H-Hey, wait a minute-!" Chrome tried to protest, but Hibari placed a hand on her arm. She looked at him, concerned, but he shook his head.

Tatsuya left the table, heading straight for his room. Chrome and Shiori watched as he went, until he was out of sight. They heard the door slammed shut.

"Onii-sama…" Shiori muttered, worried.

The past… It never quite heals, does it?

"You know, when you called us to the meeting room, I thought Val had woken up. But this is just disappointing." Yukine stated bluntly, annoyed by the fact that he couldn't be in the lab.

Yukino smacked her brother's arm. "Well, you sure are a nice ray of sunshine."

"I try my best."

Satoshi, Dino's eldest child, chuckled. "You haven't changed at all." He grinned at everybody. "Been doing well, you guys?"

"You haven't changed either." Sayuri pointed out, smiling back.

The blonde boy could only laugh. "Well, it's not like it's been that long since we've been away. Our father visits the mansion often."

"That's because Decimo and Uncle Dino get along well. And Uncle Dino likes to see how Uncle Hibari is doing." Yukino piped up.

Ayami, Dino's second child, looked around. Not seeing what she was hoping, her heart fell. Her hand clenched tightly in a fist. She looked down, blonde bangs covering her eyes.

"Ayami-nee?" Shiori looked worried as she touched the older girl's arm.

Ayami looked up, and gave her a bright smile. "I'm fine, Shiori. Just a bit tired." She looked down slightly, her smile became forceful. "Tatsuya…isn't here, is he?"

Shiori flinched, before she slowly nodded. The black haired girl looked down at her hands resting on her lap. "Yeah. Onii-sama said he was going off to train somewhere. He left early this morning, and probably won't be back until late."

"I see." Ayami quietly nodded.

"How's Val-!" Satoshi was about to question them when Mana and Ai barged into the meeting room.

They were huffing and puffing from their run. Their honey colored eyes looked alert.

"What's wrong, you two?" Sayuri quickly came over to her two youngest cousins, placing her hands on their shoulders. She looked concern.

The two Sawada twins had tears in their eyes, though Mana was trying her best to keep it in. "Onee-chan woke up…" They said through sniffles. "But Papa is having a meeting with her…"

The Vongola teens looked at one another, holding a silent conversation. They finally came to an agreement. After telling the crying twins to go to the other children, Val's Family with Satoshi and Ayami ran to Tsuna's office. All of them knew something was going to happen to their boss, and it wasn't a good feeling.

They burst into the office, panting. Tsuna's Guardians, Reborn, and Dino looked at them, and motion them to come inside and closed the door. The teens quickly shuffled over to the side, standing behind their parents.

Val was standing at the center of the office, with Tsuna in front of her. She didn't even look at them when they came in. She was just wearing a simple white dress, but to her Guardians, it was like she was a handcuffed criminal standing before a judge at a court case. And she was going to be proven guilty.

"You didn't run away when your Guardians told you to. You used your powers without permission. Worse, you used one of your most unstable forms when in Hyper Dying Will mode. You attacked the enemy and ended up in a coma. You could have died if he didn't let you off easy!" Tsuna said forcefully, trying to keep himself leveled.

"I'm sorry, Papa." Was all Val said, her voice soft and head down. She didn't dare look up at him.

Tsuna raked a hand through his hair, walking back and forth. "That mode is dangerous, Val. I've told you over and over again not to use it in battle yet. You can't control it. You can't control its parallel self either. The only thing you can control is your normal Dying Will mode. But you didn't use it. Instead, you used Red."

Val said nothing as she continued to look down. She had nothing to say. He was right. She couldn't control it. Red completely took over her body, and she even caused trouble for her Family with subduing her.

"You damaged the property and now the Mafia will be out to look for you. It isn't hard to see that your flames are similar to mine's, and they will soon connect the dots." Tsuna continued.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Val said quietly, trying to hold back tears.

Tsuna looked at her, pausing his lips. He looked stress, and tension rose to his shoulders sharply. "You're not allowed to attend school. And," he paused, looking away slightly before looking back at her, "I'm locking you in the chamber."

Val's heart stopped for a split second. Her mouth went dry, and her face paled. She jerked her head up, meeting her father's eyes. "No… Please don't. I DON'T WANT TO!"

Tsuna looked at her with hard eyes. "It's final." He nodded to Yamamoto and Gokudera. With grave looks, they look Val by the arms and started to take her away.

"No, please Papa. Don't lock me. I'll do whatever you say. Please, Papa. I don't want to go back. I don't want to go back to that place. I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK!" Tears fell from Val's eyes as she tried to resist, but it was hopeless. Her shoulders shook in fear, and her face was deathly pale.

Memories kept flashing before her eyes. She remembered it. She remembered the dark chamber only to be lit by a small window high up. The bed that was too large for her. The bookcases with endless amounts of books. The stuffed animals looking at her with their beady eyes. The mirror…

"AAUGHHHH!" Val began screaming in terror as the memories entered her head. It was the same nightmare she had always been cursed with. "PLEASE PAPA! DON'T LOCK ME UP! I'LL BE GOOD! I'LL BE GOOD THIS TIME! PLEASE DON'T LOCK ME UP!"

Tsuna turned away from his daughter, gritting his teeth. Reborn watched, his face neutral.

Her Guardians tried to help, but Hibari held them back with a wall of needles. The look on his face caused them to be paralyze.

"AH- AH- AUGHHH!" The painful screams was the last thing they heard before the two men pulled Val out the door, her face in agony written in their minds.

The last thing Val saw as the door closed was her father turning away after giving her a bitter smile.

"PAPA!"

And there you have it! Review! ;)