A/N: Well, here you go, the long-anticipated conclusion to the climax. Things are starting to get busy for me again, so don't expect any new chapters soon, sorry. Enjoy!

Sakamoto stood at the door, tapping his foot impatiently.

Their dinner break is too damn long, he thought in annoyance. They should just return to their posts already.

He had been waiting at the door for nearly an hour. Chihera told him that his father wanted to reassign him to the outer wall because it would be beneficial to have stronger people to deal with threats before a breach occurred. She told him someone would meet him outside the access room after the dinner break. Sakamoto, not feeling particularly hungry, decided to just go to the room first, but with adrenaline still pumping through his veins and his mind still spinning from what happened earlier, he was particularly eager to have something to do.

"The sweetness of victory," he muttered to himself as he began pacing back and forth. "It leaves you desiring more."

His lips still burned from the kiss, though he couldn't recall the memory clearly. All he could feel were the flames of longing raging inside of him, conveniently blocking out everything else. He didn't want anything to distract him from his win. It took everything he had in him not to go back to Tsunade just yet. Of course, she would still be under the influence, but Sakamoto didn't want it to be too easy for her.

He wanted her to submit willingly.

Lost in his thoughts, it took him a while to hear the sound of footsteps approaching his position.

Took them long enough, he thought, slightly irritated.

"Finally!" he growled, spinning around to face whoever was approaching. "It's about time! I've been wai—"

He abruptly stopped talking when he saw that the person standing in front of him wasn't a henchman. Instead, it was a relatively lean figure whose clothes were torn and her body was covered with wounds, but her emerald green eyes still burned as brightly as ever.

Tsunade.

"Ciaossu," said Tsunade, dipping her fedora at him like it was just another normal day.

"How are you still awake?" asked Sakamoto, still reeling in disbelief.

"For a hitman, you have pretty bad aim," she said with a slight smile, pulling up her sleeve to point at a red bruised mark just slightly to the left of the vein in her arm. The smile faded quickly. "I'm going to have to take you down now," said Tsunade seriously. "I ask you one more time: can you fight it on your own?"

Sakamoto snorted. "Fight what?" he said snidely. "You're horribly weak from your treatment and the only thing in my mind is how much I want you. There's nothing that needs to be fought off. It's not like I can just let you escape anyways."

"I tried to warn you," said Tsunade with a sigh, reaching in her blazer. "You should know better than to get between me and my goal."

She quickly whipped out a card and flung it directly at him. Sakamoto barely had time to dodge it before Tsunade came at him, executing a complex fighting style of kicks and card throwing. Sakamoto had to take a few steps back before he came to his senses and managed to deflect one of her kicks with his arm. He then launched himself at her ferociously, trying to get on the offensive side. Tsunade rolled him off easily but didn't manage to hit him before he jumped out of reach. They continued to exchange blows for a while, neither gaining an advantage over the other.

She's still really fast, thought Sakamoto in grudging admiration as he narrowly avoided another one of her cards while jumping back to dodge a kick that just barely missed his jaw. Even though she is terribly malnourished and cut up. However…

Sakamoto braced himself and ducked under her leg as Tsunade tried to hit him with a round house kick, taking advantage of her ongoing motion to drive his fist into her abdomen. Tsunade stumbled back, coughing. Sakamoto stood up and looked at her smugly.

"I won't deny the fact that I'm impressed that you can still fight in your condition," he said arrogantly. "But you're far from being the hitman that defeated me. Look at yourself! You're so pathetic that I can only pity you. If only you just gave in, you wouldn't have to suffer so pitifully." He took a step closer to where Tsunade was struggling to catch her breath, gesturing to the walls where the cards Tsunade had thrown were embedded. "I mean just look at all these cards! You think I'm a fool for missing the vein in your arm, but just look at how many times you failed to hit your target!"

"That's where you're wrong," said Tsunade, straightening up slightly with a grimace.

"Oh?" said Sakamoto, taking yet another step closer. "How so?"

She grinned. "I never miss."

Tsunade then flicked her wrist, throwing a slim knife at him. He easily dodged it with a smirk, thinking that it was her last desperate attempt at an attack, but the grin never left Tsunade's face. The knife bounced off a card jutting out from the wall, changing trajectory until it hit another card, changing a few more times in a blink of an eye before it hit the water sprinkler directly above where Sakamoto was standing. Water gushed out, temporarily blinding him for a split second, allowing just enough time for Tsunade to dash forward and grab his wrist before skillfully pulling out the needle hidden in her sleeve and inserting it into his arm. Sakamoto pulled it out quickly, but the needle was already empty. He felt a sharp pain in his head, and then everything went black.

Tsunade took a moment to catch her breath before standing up, groaning,

"Goddammit," she cursed under her breath. "Even though I planned that, it still fucking hurt."

She walked over to where Sakamoto had collapsed and grabbed one of his arms, pulling him into the room. Once she got him in, she swiftly closed the door and braced a chair against the doorknob. Tsunade winced as she felt pain course through her body and pressed her hand to her abdomen, cursing when she pulled it away and it was coated in blood. She sat down in another chair, glaring at Sakamoto's unconscious figure.

Thanks for reopening my wounds, she thought angrily, though she knew she wasn't mad at him. The reopening of the scars wasn't what hurt her, but the reopening of how she got them was.

Leoko paced in a circle around her, laughing at how she writhed in pain. He placed the knife against his lips, licking the blood off like it was a lollipop.

"I just cannot get enough of your blood!" he said with an exaggerated moan. "Have I ever told you that?"

'Yes, many times, you sick bastard,' thought Tsunade coldly, though she refused to say anything out loud.

"Giving me the silent treatment, sweetheart?" said Leoko mockingly. "It's fine, your screams are enough to give me pleasure."

He brushed his thumb against her mouth, causing Tsunade to stiffen.

"Tsk, tsk, bad girl," he said in amusement, watching blood drip off his thumb. "Biting your lip is a bad habit, you know? You wouldn't want to hold back those beautiful groans of pain."

Tsunade only glared at him.

Leoko sighed theatrically. "Fine, don't talk to me," he said. "I'm bored of your arms, so let's move on, shall we?" He closed his eyes and waved the knife around. "Eenie-meenie-minie—" The knife pressed lightly against her stomach. "Moe. Oh yes, I've been waiting for this."

He drew blood with a quick flick of his wrist, causing Tsunade to hiss in pain.

"You know what I noticed?" said Leoko, pulling the knife across her skin slower this time. "Your skin has no blemishes whatsoever. No rashes, no marks, no acne, it's one of your physical redeeming features. I guess something other than your skill drew my son and Reborn to you."

"Don't talk about Reborn," said Tsunade sharply. "You don't deserve to even say his name."

"Oh really?" said Leoko, creating yet another shallow wound indifferently. "How about you? Do you deserve to speak his name when you refuse to get him the treatment he needs? What would he think of you when he finds out on his deathbed that you could've saved him? I would kill to see the expression on his face, and maybe I will. Maybe I'll be the one to whisper those words into his ear and watch the pain and anger flash in his eyes before they go blank."

"He wouldn't—" started Tsunade, but Leoko cut her off, pushing in the knife just a bit deeper so she wouldn't talk.

"Better yet, he barely lives," said Leoko dreamily. "Then, once you're under my control, I can parade you over to him and show him my handiwork. I've ruined you. I would be surprised that my son was still attracted to you if he wasn't under a hallucinogenic drug. You had lovely hair. You had flawless skin. Look at you now. I've taken that away. All that's left is that infuriating fire in your eyes, but don't worry, I'll stamp that out soon enough. Would Reborn still think that you're worthy of his attention? Would he think that you even deserve to be in his presence? He's a very handsome man. He could get anyone he wants. After all this, no man would feel drawn to your scars.

Do you really think Reborn would still be attracted to you?"

Tsunade didn't say anything at the time, but the words stung. Badly. She knew better than to let Leoko get to her, but he was right. The wounds he inflicted would never fully heal, he made sure of that. They would permanently scar her skin, an ever-constant reminder of her nightmare. Worse yet, what would Reborn think? Tsunade had faith in him and his love, but did she deserve it? She had been carved up by the man that Reborn despised more than anyone else. Leoko took away his former lover, so Tsunade wouldn't blame Reborn if he couldn't even look at her. She had been marked by Leoko, and as long as she lived, she would remind Reborn of the man he hated.

How could he still love her?

Tsunade heard Sakamoto stir and stood up abruptly, pushing her thoughts away. She walked up to him and took a bottle of water from the storage cabinet.

"Sakamoto?" she said cautiously, trying to confirm that his aura was clear.

Sakamoto groaned and sat up, clutching his head. "I have one hell of a headache," he muttered before opening his eyes. His eyes widened at the sight of Tsunade.

"Tsunade?!" he said in shock. "What the hell happened to you? Are you ok? Where are we? What happened?"

Tsunade sighed in relief and handed him the water. "Drink this," she ordered. After a look of confusion, Sakamoto downed the bottle of water quickly.

"Tsunade, you're bleeding," he said, his mind still clearing up.

"Yeah, and your fist is bloody," she said, her heart sinking as she could feel his memories returning to him. She grabbed a bucket and handed it to him.

"What is this for" asked Sakamoto.

"You're gonna need it," said Tsunade, patting his back, trying to prepare him.

The events of the last three days hit him with the force of a train.

Tsunade winced in pain as she felt part of the impact through his aura, but that was nothing compared to Sakamoto, who was wracked with horror and shock, heaving into the bucket.

"Oh my—" Sakamoto tried talking, but he choked on his tears. "What have I—"

"It's ok," murmured Tsunade soothingly. "It's not your fault." She felt sorry for him. Sakamoto wasn't a bad person, and the guilt of what he had to do was killing him.

"I—I did this," he sputtered. "I did this to you."

"No, you didn't," said Tsunade, trying to get him to settle down. "Leoko did this to me. He hurt me. He hurt the both of us. Calm down, just get it out of your system."

After a few more minutes, Sakamoto calmed down enough to keep whatever food he had left in his stomach down.

"I'm so sorry, Tsunade," he said quietly. "I was too weak to fight against the drug, and I let my father hurt you."

Tsunade sighed in exasperation. "Stop blaming yourself!" she said firmly. "There's nothing about your actions that you can truly claim responsibility for, so stop trying! All that we need to focus on now is getting out of here. You can try to keep pointing fingers at yourself later."

Sakamoto stared off into space for a while before snapping back to attention. "Yeah, you're right," he said, standing up. Tsunade tried to stand up as well, but the pain brought her down cursing.

"Are you sure you're ok?" asked Sakamoto, worried.

"Yeah," said Tsunade, though her shaking hands and her sweaty forehead were clear signs that she was lying through her gritted teeth. "Just give me a moment." She pulled out two more pills and swallowed them. Sakamoto stared at her.

"Are those—"

"Yes," snapped Tsunade, glaring at him to show that she wasn't going to listen to a lecture about her health. "I don't have a choice."

Sakamoto raised his hands in defeat. "How did you escape anyway?" he said, changing the subject.

"Chicken bone," replied Tsunade shortly as the pain began to fade. "Picked the lock."

"Of course," said Sakamoto in admiration.

"I wouldn't have gotten this far without Chihera though," said Tsunade quickly, trying to give most of the credit to Chihera.

"Chihera?" said Sakamoto skeptically. "My dad's right hand woman?"

"You can tell Leoko is completely lost in his tunnel vision when he's blind enough to not to see that the leader of a rebel group within his own organization is his personal assistant," said Tsunade. "In any case, she's done more thinking about my escape than I have."

"Why?" asked Sakamoto. "I mean, I get the whole, put Leoko off balance by letting you escape angle but she could lose everything she's worked for!"

Tsunade thought back to her conversation with Chihera and decided this was neither the time nor place to be telling Sakamoto everything she learned. Instead, she stood up and threw him a gun from her blazer.

"I'll tell you later," she said. "But right now, we have to go. It's been—"

Tsunade stopped abruptly, her heart pounding.

Ten minutes for the first cuff, five minutes for the others, five minutes to patch myself up, twenty five minutes running in circles, ten minutes talking to Chihera…

Ten minutes here.

Tsunade swore loudly, startling Sakamoto. "It's been over an hour!" she growled. "I wasn't paying attention and time slipped by!"

Sakamoto turned pale once he realized what Tsunade was raging about. "The guards," he said numbly. "They're back."

Tsunade was trying hard not to throw anything. Even with Sakamoto, they couldn't get through all the guards. Sakamoto still had a major headache, and Leoko gave very specific instructions to everyone in the facility that he was not to leave the premises. Add that with Tsunade and her physical condition,

There was no way they were escaping.

Tsunade's mind was racing, trying to find a solution. It would only be a matter of time before the guards returned to her jail room and found that she was gone. The whole facility would be on high alert in a matter of seconds, and she would be recaptured. Unless…

She felt the knife heavy in her hand. There was no way she was going to go back into playing Leoko's sick twisted game. If she was going to be recaptured,

She'd take her own life first.

While Tsunade was weighing her choices, there was a loud explosion that shook the building.

"What the hell?" shouted Sakamoto, trying to keep his balance. "What was that?"

Tsunade spread her senses, trying to find the source of the disturbance. When she found it, her heart skipped a beat, and she grinned widely.

Could it be?

Grabbing onto the rungs of the ladder, she gestured to Sakamoto to follow.

"That's our chance," she said, hoisting herself up.

Once they got to the upper railing, Tsunade took care of the few guards there and looked down at the whirlwind of chaos below. Her heart soared, and in pure joy, she couldn't stop herself from calling to him.

"Reborn!"

Reborn looked up after taking care of the current wave of henchmen. He knew she had escaped since he felt her presence earlier, which is why he entered so flashily after feeling her desperation. However, knowing she was near was nothing compared to actually seeing her. He was overwhelmed by a waterfall of emotions.

Relief, joy, concern, satisfaction, admiration,

Love.

He could feel it from her as strongly as he felt it himself. Reborn was a bit surprised that she let herself get backed into a corner, but after feeling how grateful she was, he didn't mind being her knight in shining armor.

She better make it up to me by getting out of here alive, he thought.

After barely managing to tear his eyes off Tsunade, he was shocked and a bit angry to see Sakamoto standing next to her. He was positive that Sakamoto had something to do with her kidnapping, but since Tsunade wasn't trying to kill him and he wasn't trying to attack her, Reborn had to trust Tsunade's judgment. He wouldn't be surprised if Leoko manipulated his oblivious son into the plot anyways.

Reborn stared for just a split second longer before more henchmen approached, both above and below. Locking eyes with Tsunade, he chuckled a little, knowing what she planned to do. Right before the wave of attackers was on top of him, he dipped his fedora ever so slightly, signaling that he was ready.

Tsunade saw the signal almost immediately.

"That's our cue," she said, turning to Sakamoto, who was eyeing the oncoming horde warily.

"Cue to do what?" he asked, confused.

"This," she replied, grabbing his arm. Before he had time to react, Tsunade jumped onto the railing and pulled him over, letting his weight pull her down with him. She could feel the shock from the henchmen who witnessed their suicidal plummet, and she laughed, enjoying the feel of the air as the floor rushed to meet them.

Or to be more accurate, the Jacine air cushion.

Tsunade winced a bit at the impact, bouncing up slightly. Once she reoriented herself, she dragged Sakamoto off and whistled at Jacine to change back temporarily. While Sakamoto tried to catch his breath, Jacine kept chattering apologies to Tsunade, which she dismissed immediately.

"It wasn't your fault," she said back. "But I would appreciate it if you put the energy you have to talk into transforming."

Jacine immediately changed into a gun, and Tsunade smiled at the feel of her preferred weapon in her hand again.

.22 caliber, custom grip, auto-reload, just the way I like it, she thought fondly. She turned her attention back to Sakamoto, who was composed enough to glare at her now.

"Next time you plan to throw me off a platform 75 feet off the ground," he said sharply. "Tell me first."

Tsunade nodded, smirking slightly. "Noted," she replied. "Now get off your lazy ass and fight."

Sakamoto replied to her with a rather rude gesture, but Tsunade was already occupied with several henchmen to see it. She disabled them easily, leaving a trail of destruction as she steadily made her way to where Reborn was. Along the way, she picked up three other guns unknowingly, staring at them in confusion when she had a brief moment of respite.

Four guns? she thought, puzzled. What am I going to do with four guns?

A shooting rage, a firing drone, a unique skill,

The same warehouse.

Tsunade grimaced at the pain in her head, but instead of pushing the images away, she embraced them, allowing the memory of the experience spread.

"If Leoko is right about these feelings and images," she muttered as she readied herself for another incoming wave. "Then this skill would be very useful right about now."

She closed her eyes and just…remembered. Her hands readjusted her grip on her weapons, her eyes reassessed her targets as she changed her technique, and her body relaxed into a stance she didn't know she knew. Tsunade opened her eyes, revealing just a sliver of golden brown, and she grinned, feeling like she was beginning to wake up from a deep sleep. She dashed forward, her body moving almost instinctively, her hands a blur as she fired off the guns in pairs, pushing the henchmen back effectively. The damage she caused was devastating, and with her best friend and her tutor with her, she felt invincible.

The fight went on for nearly half an hour before they finally took care of the many henchmen in the immediate vicinity. Tsunade scanned the warehouse and confirmed that the closest hostile auras were still several minutes from their location. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and dropped the extra three guns, her hands burned and smelling of gunpowder. Sakamoto yelled something about a radio and ran off to call for help, but Tsunade didn't notice.

She was completely focused on Reborn.

They just stood there for a while, staring. For a second, neither of them could move, the realization that they were only meters away from each other after being forcibly separated just dawning on them. Then, the remaining distance became unbearable and they ran towards each other. Tsunade almost crashed into Reborn, but he caught her just in time and lifted her up, wrapping his arms around her. He set her down and looked at her with an expression of pure relief and love.

"Finally," he said breathlessly.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, gently at first, but it became more and more passionate as the events of the past few days melted away. It was just them, together at last again, and in that moment, everything that the universe unfairly threw at them and forced them to face was worth it, because they won. They won the battle they were forced to fight and came out with the bond that they wanted, a bond that brought them past student and tutor at last, a bond that made them lovers. They were under a spell,

A spell that didn't last long enough.

Reborn brushed over her lip where Tsunade split it open with her teeth, causing Tsunade to flinch and pull away. He looked at her in confusion, and it was then that he really saw her. As he took in her multiple wounds that disfigured her body, Tsunade could only feel one thing from him.

Horror.

Something inside her broke a little.

Before she could speak, Reborn began coughing. Hard. After a few dry coughs, he began hacking blood, blood as dark as his eyes. He fell to his knees, gasping for air between coughs.

The disease! realized Tsunade.

Panicking, she fumbled with her pocket, reaching for a syringe. It was ironic that her hands were so still just a few minutes ago, and now, they were shaking uncontrollably. It took several tries for her to hastily pull a needle out and check to see that it was the right one, precious seconds ticking by. She wasn't sure when Sakamoto ran out of the communication room and managed to restrain Reborn long enough for her to inject him with the cure. All she could see was the large pool of blood steadily growing on the floor. She was covered in it, feeling a slight sting as it seeped into her own wounds, but it was all in the back of her mind. Tsunade pressed her ear to his chest and placed two fingers to his wrist, desperately hoping.

His skin was so cold…

Tears filled her eyes as one second passed. She began to tremble when two seconds passed. Three seconds. Four.

A beat.

A breath.

Tsunade sobbed in relief, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

He was alive.

Her reason for living was still alive.

Tsunade's brief moment of happiness faded quickly. Reborn's life was still in danger and she needed to get him out. However, moving him could worsen his condition, and neither she nor Sakamoto could carry him very far until the Yakuza forces caught up. Her mind spun as she tried to think of a solution, but nothing came to mind. She was trapped.

At least until she felt a tingling sensation in the back of her throat.

Iemitsu and his CEDEF team barged in mere seconds later, most of them with their flames blazing. They rushed over to Reborn immediately, taking in the situation with a glance before Iemitsu snapped out of his shock and sent his team to take whoever was still in the building into custody. Helicopters arrived at the scene and Yuni and Shamal jumped off with a medical team who loaded Reborn onto a stretcher. They tried to get Tsunade onto one too, but she stubbornly refused, insisting to go along with him. Yuni finally relented and let her long as long as she let someone treat her. Tsunade didn't care if she bled to death as long as she could stay by Reborn's side. She clambered onto the helicopter and sat next to Reborn in the cramped compartment as the helicopter took flight. Yuni and Shamal got to work immediately, and Tsunade was soon forgotten in the whirlwind of urgency. She felt numb as she held his hand, noticing how pale he looked.

You can't die, she thought, tears continuing to fall. You can't die yet, you bastard. Not after all the pain you put me through and the things you said. Not before I can finally tell you…

"I love you too."

Her head was immediately overwhelmed by a searing pain. The bracelet on her wrist began to hiss before it shorted out completely. Tsunade cried out in pain and clutched her head, slowly losing her grip on the seat and leaning towards the open window. Yuni saw her and frantically tried to grab her, but she didn't catch her.

Tsunade fell.

The wind flowed through her hair and the ground came towards her at an alarming rate, but Tsunade felt strangely calm. Her heartbeat sounded awfully loud.

Thump.

Is this it?

Thump.

Is this how I die?

Thump.

Tsunade hit something, but it wasn't the ground. Instead, the roaring of Flames filled her ears and she felt the soft fabric of gloves against her skin. She looked up and saw spiky, gravity defying hair and honey golden eyes.

Eyes that were now dotted with shards of bright emerald green.

She knew.

She remembered.

Everything.

"Tsuna-nii?" whispered Tsunade, slowly fading out of consciousness.

The last thing she saw was a slight smile on his face, and just before she blacked out, he whispered back to her,

"It's been a while, Tsunade-chan."

A/N: I toyed with the idea of breaking this chapter apart, but I thought I owed to you guys to have a full chapter before I disappeared for a few months. Thanks to Lite Crystal27, Kiera Vincent, Drika-Veras, kari, and HeartsOfStone for reviewing!

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