And, behold! Another update! -_- I can only focus on this at the moment, so expect quick updates... Sorry if I'm updating too fast for some, but I'm just so excited! Anyway, thanks for the reviews, even though it's not much compared to the other chapters!

P.S. I think this story should be ending within 10-15 chapters... Maybe 20? We'll see how much I end up dragging, lol!

Enjoy and review!

Katekyo Dame-Tsuna!

Chapter 25

Labored breaths slip past the pale blue lips, shivers racking through his lithe frame. Rains drops drip from the tips of his hair, his clothes drenched with his dress shirt to the point of being see through. He slips a pocket-sized walky-talky and brings it close to his lip, pressing onto a button.

"Target found."

xx

"Reborn! Where are you?!"

Tsuna shuts an eye as water droplets from the pouring rain drip onto his face. He pushes a leafy branch out of his way causing more droplets of water to splash onto his face and into his eyes. He rubs his eyes to rid them of the rain water.

"Reborn?!"

He reaches upon a clearing of destruction, the cause of it clear to Tsuna. To a normal onlooker, it would seem like a bear had gone through the area, raging, and wreaking havoc. Then again, Tsuna isn't a normal onlooker. Trees have been rendered into splinters, leaving the roots rooted into the earth and the top part of the trees toppled on the grassy plains.

Some of the bigger and sturdier trees are upright but a massive hole is blasted through their trunks, giving Tsuna the view of the other side. Rocks have been smashed to pebbles, while some others have similar holes in them. He trudges into the mass of destruction, his feet squelching in the mud.

He was in a rush to get to Reborn and had forgotten to put on his shoes. Speaking of shoes, what is a pair of boots sticking out from behind that tree trunk? Tsuna frowns and jogs towards the boots, only to gasp when he recognizes the wearer. Just barely.

"Lal!"

Burn marks mar her entire right side and some marring parts of her bare left arm, nearly rendering her unrecognizable. Her gun lies clattered beside her, shells of the bullet she had fired littered all over the battlefield. Tsuna picks one up, frowning when he notices the burnt marks that are not caused from firing it. They were against each other using Flame coated bullets!

At his realization, he leaves the unconscious military trainer's side. Whatever they did was enough to knock the Lal Mirch out, so what about Reborn? He walks around the debris, picking at the fallen rocks and looking through the holes, looking for Reborn. His efforts are in vain when Reborn is nowhere to be found.

"Reborn!"

Only the thundering rain meets his hearing and sight, his hitman student nowhere to be found. A pain-filled gasp reaches his ears and he runs back to Lal. She seems to be in deep pain, her face twisted up painfully. He bites his bottom lip. What if Reborn is around the area but he hasn't heard him yet?

Another pain-filled gasp, and Tsuna gives in. He hangs the gun over his shoulders, knowing that Lal would want it. He then props her onto his back, minding her burns, and lifts her up with a huff. It's been a long time since he had to carry someone bigger than him, the only other time was Reborn after his Flame jumpstart.

"Looks like I'll have to up my strength..."

Tsuna trudges back to the path he had come through, looking back for moment, expecting Reborn to pop out like the stealthy hitman he is. However, it is only destruction that meets his gaze. Reborn...

xx

"Tsunayoshi-san, where have you- Oh, dear! What happened to Lal Mirch?"

"What? What happened to my Lal?!"

Tsuna stumbles into the inn, dripping wet, with Lal on his back. They are a sight indeed with Tsuna drenched and bedraggled, his feet soiled with mud, while Lal is covered in nasty burns and also drenched to the bone. Fon and a bandaged Colonnello gently pries Lal off of Tsuna, Uni and Skull coming over to help steady the brunet.

"What happened, Tsuna?"

"By the looks... of the damage..." Tsuna's breaths are hot and shallow as he rasps. "I think... they went full blast on Flame coated bullets..."

Tsuna staggers and passes out, leaning heavily on the stuntman who yelps in shock, earning a whack to the head by a steel tonfa. Verde watches from the doorway of the kitchen, one of his many gadgets in his hands.

"Tsuna!" Uni calls for him worriedly. "Fon, how long was Tsuna missing?"

"He disappeared after Colonnello arrived at three o'clock. About four hours."

Fon grunts as he and Colonnello heave Lal to a couch, minding her burns before telling the blond to get the Sun Arcobaleno. Uni gasps and frowns, placing the back of her hand onto Tsuna's forehead before immediately retracting it.

"Ah, he's got a high fever! Skull, take Tsuna to his bedroom. I'll get the innkeepers to prepare some food for him!"

"Y-yes, Uni!"

The stuntman grunts as he heaves the brunet into his arms before running up the steps, skipping some, and reaching the room in no time. There are yells of shock and bewilderment from the other tutors, who seem to be close friends with the brunet. Uni bustles off into the kitchen, informing the innkeepers of their sick friend.

xx

"Hn, my successor sure is troublesome, but whew! These are some impressive burns for a Sun Flame!" The Sun Arcobaleno turns to the rest, a massive grin on his face, as he heals the burns. When he turns back, he frowns, and flickers his Flames off.

"It seems that my Flames are being rejected." Alejandro mutters incoherently under his breath, but Verde manages to pick out his words.

"What do you mean that the burns Reborn inflicted are permanent? Can't you heal it?" Verde glances at the infant with cold eyes filled with disdain.

"Hmph, respect your elders you-"

"I'm pretty sure I'm older than you while you're in that form, Arcobaleno."

"Whatever..." Alejandro grumbles under his breath and Verde smirks as he catches every curse the infant mutters, thanks to his new and super effective hearing device. "What I mean is, her body has received to much Sun Flames and is somewhat healing on her own, and my Flames will only interrupt the process if I interfere."

"I can't do much about her situation, since my Flames are being rejected. Just leave her be and she'll be fine within a couple of days. A week, at most."

A collective sigh of relief is released at Alejandro's diagnosis. Uni, who has just bustled pass the doorway to the living room where they are, turns back to peer curiously at them.

"Could anyone help me and wash Tsuna? He's still wet and cold from the rain!"

With that said, everything returns into motion. The tutors bustle up to the room, Gokudera yelling that it is his duty as a righthand man to wash Tsuna with Yamamoto close behind. Hibari snorts, muttering about weak herbivores getting sick from getting caught in the rain with just one word, before storming up as well.

Mukuro laughs his usual laugh before disappearing into a puff of mist and Chrome walks up the stairs normally. Lambo yawns lazily before trudging up the steps with Ryohei tagging behind, hollering about Tsuna's extremeness in finding his student.

Tadaa~ Now, I'm of to bed! ^^