Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Katekyoshi Hitman Reborn! I just wish I did.

Beta: the lovely Midnight-Kitsune11. Thank you for all your hard work. :-)

Pairing: At this time there is NO pairing for this fic! People keep asking me who I'm going to pair Tsuna with, but I don't plan to pair him up with anyone at this point in time. There might be some hints, but at present that's just the attraction of Tsuna's Sky flames at work. Some people tell me some of the Zabuza moments make them feel like this will be a Gay/Yaoi fic, but I'll leave that up to your own interpretation.

AN: Thank you all for all your wonderful comments and reviews! I really appreciate it!

Not much happening this chapter, but I still hope you'll enjoy it xD

Chapter 14: Harmonization

He woke up with a start. He was panting harshly and even laying down, he could still feel himself shaking.

He closed his eyes again and focused on his breathing. He could hear his team-mates, so he knew he was safe for now. He could give himself a little while to settle down again.

He tried to focus on their voices.

"... to get to that tower as fast as possible. Those burns need to be properly treated, Sakura."

"You've been burned as well. And we still need a second scroll."

They were softly speaking to each other.

He took a deep breath, opened his eyes and carefully tried to sit up. He groaned as he felt his muscles protest.

Conversation halted and his team-mates immediately scrambled towards him.

"What happened?" He groaned.

"We were attacked by that grass nin, remember Sasuke-kun?" Sakura stared anxiously at him.

For some strange reason she kept more distance with him than usual.

Naruto gently presented him with a flask and helped him drink some water.

He shivered as he remembered the creepy shinobi who had managed to paralyze him in fear more than once.

"I remember. Where is he? She?"

"I don't think they introduced themselves." Naruto replied calmly with a small smile.

Sasuke immediately felt himself relax at that. He frowned lightly at the blond, not having expected such a reaction.

"They left after... How much do you remember?" Naruto eyed him cautiously.

"They were talking to me." Sasuke grit his teeth. "You had been thrown away, and somehow, they... I couldn't move. They said things to me, about me being a disappointment of an Uchiha for not having my Sharingan yet. That they could give me the power I wanted, that I would seek them out for that power and leave the village."

Why was he saying all this? Admitting to such a weakness? He had been useless against their enemy... Useless... He turned away from the blond sitting next to him.

Naruto briefly whispered something to Sakura and the girl left them.

Sasuke eyed her as she walked away from them. She almost seemed relieved? He used Naruto's distraction to quickly observe his surroundings. Briefly he was confused, not recognizing anything around them, but he quickly realized they were hidden half-underground, between the roots of what had to be a giant tree.

"She's going to stand guard." Naruto explained.

Sasuke eyed the blond. Naruto seemed to become nervous. He kept eyeing him as if Sasuke would bolt from him. "What's wrong?" he questioned the blond.

Naruto bit his lip.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow.

"It seems we've harmonized." blurted the blond.

"We've what?" Sasuke repeated with a frown.

"Harmonized. You're my Storm Guardian. Well, the bond isn't complete yet, it's just a start, but with time and practice we'd-"

"Harmonize?" Sasuke interrupted, feeling a rant coming. "Like how you bonded with Zabuza?"

"Not quite." Naruto grimaced and started fidgeting.

"Harmonization isn't... I couldn't have... not with them... I mean..." the blond started waving his hand around, frantically trying to explain but he kept interrupting himself.

Strangely enough enough, Sasuke didn't feel himself becoming irritated. He smirked fondly at the blond as he reached out and grabbed his hands.

"Take a deep breath, Naruto, and try explaining that again. I didn't understand any of that."

The blond blushed. "Well... I bonded with both Zabuza and Iruka. They have the possibility of Harmonizing with me, but as things are now, it's impossible for them. I didn't think I could possibly harmonize with anyone... I -"

"What's the difference?" He felt strangely patient with the blond, but he wasn't going to wait much longer than necessary.

"You know the basic about flames right?" asked the blond.

Sasuke nodded. "You probably know that Zabuza has a Cloud flame and Iruka a Rain flame and that I bonded with them. Flame bonds are precious and in the end I will bond with at least one person of each flame type. You are a Storm."

"And you bonded with me?"

"Yes and no, bonding is the first step, the most basic step. Harmonization takes such a bond and makes it more... Just more."

Sasuke frowned at the other. "You're really not making any sense here. What's the difference?"

"Activating flames is considered an Uzumaki bloodline. I didn't think I could ever Harmonize with anyone here, because Harmonization requires both parties to be flame active."

Sasuke blinked. "Wait, you mean to tell me that I... I think I would remember setting myself on fire." he replied sceptically.

Naruto chuckled shakily. "You did."

"No, I didn't."

"You clearly didn't realize you did, but you did. You couldn't control it, that's why Sakura and I got burned." he motioned to his arms.

Sasuke only now registered the bandages covering Naruto's hands and underarms. It shook him, realizing he had unknowingly hurt both his team-mates.

"It wasn't that bad." Naruto tried to reassure him. "I can help you learn to control it later, if you want."

Sasuke nodded and felt himself relax again as Naruto laid one of his hands on Sasuke's shoulder.

"So Harmonization... It's different from bonding? How?" He didn't want to think about the burns that probably still hurt Naruto, even now when the blond was too busy reassuring Sasuke.

"At their most basic Harmonization and bonding are the same. I am bonded to Zabuza now, should he one day actually be able to make those flames useful, we could Harmonize and he could become a real guardian. Now, if I make him my guardian and give him the right ring, it would be a symbolic relationship. He wouldn't be able to use flames or that ring."

"Ring? Like the one we found in Uzu?"

Naruto nodded. He took his own ring from his finger. "Try it."

Sasuke could almost feel the blond's tension in the air and carefully took the ring. He didn't put it on though. It just didn't feel right. This ring could never be his. Strangely, he seemed to instinctively know this.

"At this point in time, neither Zabuza or Iruka can use their flames, they couldn't... I don't feel like I'm explaining this right..."

"I think I get it. Those rings from Uzu are like status symbols. The people who get one, are called guardians, but only once guardians can use their flames, like you, can they use a ring as well. But how can you use a ring? What do they do?"

"That's right." Naruto sighed, looking relieved. "On the way back from Uzu to Konoha, you saw what I did with that ring, my flames and that orange box, yes?"

"Yeah?" Sasuke thought back. Right that had been when Naruto had somehow summoned that weird little lion.

"Since my box exists, I'm assuming their will be others as well... Somewhere... But flames are handy in a fight!" the blond scrambled to reassure him. "Storm flames are known as Highly Offensive Flames. Their special trait is Disintegration, meaning decaying and breaking apart anything they touch, even other Flames."

Sasuke's mind seemed to work in overdrive as he heard that. He felt himself smirking as he thought of the possibilities of using such a power in combat.

"How do I access them?" he asked eagerly.

Naruto hesitated. "You should rest some more, you-"

"No! Please just..."

Naruto frowned. "There isn't much I can do. It's all tied to your resolve. Your determination to do something. You need to focus, in here." He laid his hand on the centre of his chest.

Sasuke closed his eyes and concentrated. He needed this power. With this he could easily beat Itachi! He let his feelings of hate for that man consume him and when he opened his eyes, all he was doing was glaring at the blond, who flinched back from him.

"It didn't work." He grit his teeth, trying to reign in those hateful feelings.

"I-it isn't that e-easy." stammered the blond. "O-otherwise everyone could use their f-flames."

Sasuke took a deep breath. He didn't like seeing Naruto afraid of him. "What's your resolve then?"

"I- I just..." the blond looked embarrassed and red as a tomato, but this time he didn't shrink away from Sasuke. He looked the Uchiha right in the eyes.

"I just want to be happy, with the people I consider family. I would do everything to see them safe."

"So... Protecting people. That's your resolve." Sasuke asked with a frown.

Naruto smiled gently at him. Sasuke blushed. He could actually see the flowers appearing around the blond.

"It is my resolve, but it doesn't have to be yours. Still I think it's the same for most people. Like Haku said once during training: When you're fighting to protect someone precious to you, only then can you be truly strong."

Sasuke looked away, a cold feeling washing over him. "I don't have anyone like that." he muttered angrily. "Not anymore."

"You have your team now. And me. If you want, I can be your Sky. No one will ever be able to break that bond. Let me show you, just a bit of what we could have." He smiled brightly as he offered Sasuke a hand coated in soft orange flames.

Sasuke hesitated briefly, but his curiosity got the better of him.

He placed his hand in the blond's. Naruto's smile managed to become even brighter.

There were no words for this feeling. He could feel Naruto's flames gently cradling his own, almost as if petting them. He could feel his flames. He felt them reach out towards the blond. Almost as if he could see them, red flames seemed to spring forwards, intertwining with the orange ones from Naruto.

Sasuke's eyes closed as he basked in the feeling.

It should feel strange, but all he could feel was peace, calm and the feeling of coming home for the first time in years. He basked in the feeling. He craved it. He hadn't realized how tense and irritated he had always been the last few years. How lonely he had been. No, that he would never be again.

He felt his body sag, almost melting in the blissful feeling.

He would never give this up. It might be selfish but he would never again go back to that lonely hell his brother had created for him.

"Gently. Take deep breaths now, it can be a little overwhelming." Naruto whispered with a smile as he gently hugged the raven.

Sasuke obeyed almost without thinking. This feeling... Through Naruto's flames he could feel the blond. He could feel the blond on an almost emotional level.

"This is what it means to Harmonize." He heard Naruto say.

He never wanted this to stop. "I want that ring."

Naruto chuckled. "Of course. As soon as we get out of this place."

TBC.

Sasuke has flames! Hopefully this chapter isn't too confusing, but I really tried to explain the difference between bonding and Harmonizing. Just to be clear, it's not because Tsuna is bonded to Zabuza and Iruka, that they can't harmonize later on! At this point in time, Tsuna doesn't have any official Guardians, except now for Sasuke.

Some people, like TheVirtuvianComplex on AO3 have asked for a POV change, so I hope I didn't disappoint ;-)

Let me know what you think.