Author's Notes: Please forgive me for the late update! I was really busy working on school stuff and on trying to write a satisfactory chapter for you all. So sorry for the wait, but here's the new chapter! All I can say is: things are about to get epic. Fast. Hold on to your reading hats because the School Siege arc is finally here! And as a quick clarification: the School Siege arc is not the final arc. There's lots more to come your way, so look forward to it!
Disclaimer: All the lovely characters in Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belong to the amazing Akira Amano. I do not own or claim to own anything.
Chapter 25: The School Siege
Tsuna glared at Vittorio—no, the Disdetta Family Boss—who continued to smirk at him in a self-assured manner. "What do you plan on doing here at Vongola Institute? Why would you want to lead a siege here of all places?"
Vittorio hummed contentedly. "That's for me to know and you to find out, Tsunayoshi-kun~"
Tsuna's eyes flashed orange as he lashed out. "Stop treating this whole thing like it's a game! Don't get innocent people involved in our war! If it's a battle you want, then I'll fight you myself!"
"Ahh," Vittorio raised a finger up to his lips. "But that will take all the fun out of it, wouldn't you agree?"
"Vittorio, you-!"
"Do you really have time to be idly chatting with me, Tsunayoshi-kun?" Vittorio chided lightly. He gave a nonchalant shrug. "Not that I mind particularly, but I just thought that you might want to check up on those friends of yours..."
Ice cold fear flooded through Tsuna's body for a brief second. "You wouldn't..." Vittorio's enigmatic smile only served to heighten his own anxiety. Tsuna threw a quick glance toward his classroom, foolishly leaving his back to Vittorio for split second; when he turned back, Vittorio had already vanished from his spot.
"Vittorio! Get back here!" Tsuna whipped his head around, searching his surroundings.
His only response was an eerie chuckle that echoed through the trees. "I will be seeing you later, young Decimo. Look forward to my announcement. Ciao for now~"
"Vittorio!" Tsuna lashed out at a random spot, only to come in contact with nothing. Cursing softly under his breath, Tsuna threw one last look at his surroundings before quickly making his way back to his classroom.
Tension was the first word that came into mind when Tsuna opened the door and stepped foot into the classroom. The feeling of anxiety that blanketed the entire room was so thick that it felt nearly tangible. At the sight of the door opening, all the students tensed for a moment before visibly relaxing when they saw who it was.
"Oh, it's just Dame-Tsuna," someone muttered, disgust mixed with obvious relief.
"Where the hell have you been?" Another student growled. "Didn't you see the emergency signal get fired off? We're in a lockdown right now!"
"Juudaime!" Gokudera roughly shoved past the other students to reach the brunet. "I'm so glad to see you unharmed."
"Thank goodness you're okay." Yamamoto was immediately at Tsuna's side as well. "We were so worried."
"I'm glad that the both of you are fine as well," Tsuna replied. He felt his worry subside slightly now that he can see both of his friends safe and unharmed in the flesh.
Gokudera, aware of the tension of the current situation, lowered his voice when he asked, "Do you know what's going on, Juudaime?"
"I have some idea of it," Tsuna started slowly. "But I can only confirm my theory when I hear what the both of you have discovered about the barrier."
"Right. The unknown barrier completely encompasses the entire east side of the school ground." Gokudera reported. "The barrier also appears to be nearly unbreakable as any attempt I made to try to break it resulted in my attacks being absorbed by it."
"Same here," Yamamoto said. "The west side is also completely surrounded. And like Gokudera said, I couldn't even get a single scratch on it. In fact, it seemed like the barrier became stronger every time my attacks were absorbed by it."
Tsuna sighed. "It is as I had feared then. The Disdetta has the entire school trapped. The Disdetta Boss himself came up to me and revealed that he was planning a school siege. I'm guessing that this barrier is to prevent anyone from escaping as they unleash their attack," he explained quietly to an incredulous Gokudera and Yamamoto. "And on top of all of this, the Boss of the Disdetta turned out to be no one other than Vittorio."
"No!" Gokudera was shocked.
"That nice man that you told us you met at the Vongola allies' meeting?" Yamamoto looked equally stunned. "It can't be!"
Tsuna sighed. "I wish it wasn't true, but it is."
"So what do we do now, Tsuna?" Yamamoto looked to his Boss for orders.
Tsuna sighed again. "In any other instance, I would have us try to track down Vittorio and his Guardians, but as of right now, I don't know enough about the current situation to plan a decisive course of action. Trying to find them right now would just lead to a wild goose chase and that would be a waste of our time and resources." Tsuna's shoulders slumped down. "I hate to admit it, but we are currently sitting ducks to whatever sick game Vittorio is planning."
A grim silence followed Tsuna's words as everyone was left to brood in their own thoughts.
The tension must have finally gotten to one student because he suddenly cursed out loud. "Damn it! What the hell is going on? Why are we even having this lockdown?"
"Katsuo-kun," a girl tried to console her friend. "I know we're all worried, but getting angry isn't going to help anyone right now."
"What do you know, Minami?" Katsuo, any sense of reason gone out the window, snapped back. "None of know what the hell is going on and you're telling me to calm down?"
"Hey, there's no need to take your anger out on her like that," Tsuna cut in, unable to remain silent any longer. "She's just trying to help."
Katsuo sneered. "Acting like a goody-two-shoes now, Dame-Tsuna? That won't help you in emergency situations like this. Let me tell you something: in these kind of situations, the first one to die will probably be you!"
Gokudera was instantly on his feet. "Bastard, who do you think you're insulting?"
"You know it's true!" Katsuo exclaimed. "Dame-Tsuna's such a weakling I'm surprised he hasn't just gone and died off somewhere already."
Gokudera was about to angrily retort when a sudden voice cut everyone off. "Greetings, Vongola Institute," a cheery voice called out, "What a wonderful day it is for a lockdown, wouldn't you all agree?"
Tsuna's eyes widened. He would recognize that voice from anywhere. He quickly hurried to the windows to see what was going on. Gokudera and Yamamoto, picking up on their Boss' mood, headed for the windows as well.
From his second-floor window, Tsuna could see Vittorio standing suspended several feet off the ground, his voice magically amplified to resonate throughout the entire school. His sudden appearance immediately unleashed a dam of questions and comments from the shocked students.
"What's going on?"
"Who is he?"
"He's floating in the air!"
Vittorio, as if aware of all of the confusion he was causing, continued in the same amused smile, "For those of you who are wondering who I am, my name is Vittorio and I am the Disdetta Family Boss."
The effect of his words were instantaneous. Disorder, panic, and confusion swept through all the students like a wave and cries of fear and alarm spilled out their throats—anyone and everyone has heard of the Disdetta Family and their recent fearsome reputation.
"Yes, you all heard correctly," Vittorio said. "I am the Boss of the Disdetta Family and as of right now, Vongola Institute is under siege by my Family."
At this announcement, the thin coil of tightly held control snapped like a thread. Students began to rush madly toward the doors, pushing and shoving each other out of the way as they all ran with the desperate intent of escaping.
"Do not step foot outside of your classrooms," Vittorio's voice cut through the haze of disorder like a sharp knife. "If you do, I have no guarantees that you will remain unharmed." Everyone froze at these words and remain rooted to the ground. Tsuna's fists tightened by his sides as he glared at Vittorio from his place by the window. 'Just what is he planning on doing?'
"That's much better," Vittorio said airily. "All of you just sit tight and watch the show, okay? It'll be much more enjoyable that way. Now where was I?" The silver-haired man tilted his head. "Ah, yes. As I was saying before, Vongola Institute is now under siege by the Disdetta. There is no use trying to escape because my Sun Guardian has already erected a barrier that has the entire school surrounded."
"And now, I propose a game," Vittorio summoned forth a small orb-like machine the size of his hand and bounced it on his palm. "Do all of you see this machine? This one here has the particular ability of absorbing the flames of all the people in a certain area—quite the clever little invention of my Sun Guardian, if I do say so myself. Also, it can neither be destroyed with flames or any type of physical attack, so I don't suggest you try."
He floated down and placed the machine on the ground. As soon as the machine made contact with the ground, it emitted a bright yellow light and began to pulse softly. "This machine has been activated. It now has the ability to completely drain each and every one of you of all your flames in the span of half an hour."
Everyone gasped, horror-struck at this new statement. Tsuna's fists tightened by his side.
Vittorio straightened up and threw his arms open in a grand gesture. "The game I propose now is a race against time. You see, the only way to put a stop to this machine is to defeat my Guardians and I and to forcibly take from us the key that can stop the machine. Mind you, there are six keys scattered, but there is only one true key that can shut off the machine."
"But of course, every game has its set of players, and I have already decided on who they will be. Representing the Disdetta side will be my Guardians and I." Five hooded figures suddenly appeared behind him and as Vittorio introduced them individually, each person threw off their hoods and stepped forward respectively.
"The Disdetta Storm Guardian: Ricci." A young blonde girl with curly hair revealed herself and smiled mischievously.
"The Disdetta Lightning Guardian: Rizzo." A nearly identical looking blond boy gave cheeky grin and stepped forward to stand by his twin.
"The Disdetta Rain Guardian: Alfonso." A dark blue-haired man gave a lazy smirk and a two-fingered salute at his name.
"The Disdetta Sun Guardian: Ciro." This announcement was met with surprise as the students were stunned to hear the familiar name. When Ciro removed his hood to reveal his face, murmurs turned into exclamations as the students expressed their shock and outrage to see a familiar face in the ranks of the enemy.
"The Disdetta Cloud Guardian and my right-hand man: Lansa." A man with slicked back black hair pushed his glasses up with a finger and stepped forward to stand by Vittorio's side.
"My Mist Guardian, Val, is busy guarding the barrier and is unable to make an appearance now, but rest assured, she is also a very active player of this game." Vittorio said. A smirk curved up his lips. "And as for the opposing side..."
Vittorio's smirk widened as he announced clearly, "I now call upon the Vongola Decimo and his Guardians to step forth."
Even Tsuna could not have predicted the uproar that followed this statement.
"Did he say the Vongola Decimo?"
"The Vongola Decimo goes to our school?"
"If it's the Decimo then we're all saved!"
Comments of shock, awe, and even admiration spilled forth from every student of Vongola Institute.
Gokudera and Yamamoto threw a concerned glance at the brunet, knowing how important it was for Tsuna to have his true identity remain a tightly guarded secret.
'Damn you, Vittorio.' Tsuna gripped the windowsill so tightly that his knuckles shone white. 'Is this part of your plan as well? To have me reveal myself to everyone?'
"Cease your hiding, Vongola Decimo, and reveal yourself." Vittorio continued to call out cajolingly. "Or is it more important for you to keep your identity a secret than to save all these people?"
"Don't listen to that bastard, Juudaime," Gokudera hissed angrily under his breath. "We'll find another way to stop him."
"You don't have to reveal yourself if you don't want to, Tsuna," Yamamoto added in a low, worried whisper.
Tsuna closed his eyes. All his life, he had been trained to hide his true nature under a weak mask—to conceal who he truly was under a facade. Some days, Tsuna almost felt as if he were living two separate lives. Reborn and everyone else had claimed that it was for his own safety, and Tsuna understood that. But at the same time, Tsuna never told them how constricted he felt whenever he had to don the mask, how suffocating it felt to have to hide who he was.
But no more. Tsuna's eyes snapped open, pupils burning with the determination of the choice he made. "I'll go," he said softly. Gokudera and Yamamoto looked shocked at his sudden decision.
"But Juudaime-" Gokudera began to protest.
"Please understand, Gokudera-san, I'm not doing this because I have to," Tsuna took a deep breath. "I'm doing this because I want to. I can't keep lying to everyone else, to myself, about who I really am. I don't want to have to hide the person I truly am anymore."
His words silenced his Guardians for a moment. "Well, if that's your decision, Tsuna, then I'm all for it." Yamamoto declared.
"Same here, Juudaime," Gokudera said gruffly. "It's high time that these ungrateful brats knew who they were dealing with anyways."
"Is the Vongola Decimo truly not going to show himself?" Vittorio called out from the courtyard. He heaved a fake sigh. "A pity, but I suppose that means that I'll have to speed up the flame absorption process since there's no game to play." As he raised a hand to the orb, panic escalated amongst the students.
"Where's the Vongola Decimo?" a student cried out hysterically.
"No! Did he abandon us?" another exclaimed.
"He left us all to die!"
Tsuna took a deep breath and squared his shoulders as he turned to face his hysterical classmates. "Everyone, please calm down." But his voice was lost amidst the din of panic and commotion and his classmates continued to freak out with no restraint.
"I said, everyone calm down." Tsuna said in a loud, authoritative voice that left no room for arguments. Everyone in the room immediately froze, staring wide-eyed at the brunet. Even Gokudera and Yamamoto could not help freezing up at Tsuna's tone of voice—they knew that no one could go against Tsuna when he used what Reborn dubbed as his 'Boss voice'.
"All of you are to remain inside the classroom until further instructions," Tsuna continued. "You are not to leave the classroom premises until an all clear signal is given."
With thirty pairs of wide eyes still trained on him, Tsuna marched to the door of the classroom. There he lit a bright orange flame up on his ring and pressed it to the door's keyhole. "Defense mode: on." Tsuna announced clearly. An orange magic circle immediately sprang up on the surface of the door and remained there, glowing brightly, as a robotic voice declared, "Flame authentication: Sawada Tsunayoshi, Vongola Decimo. Holder recognized as an authorized user. School-wide defensive system now activated."
"You'll all be safe here," Tsuna said calmly to his classmates who were stunned into silence. He made his way purposely to a window and threw it open. "Gokudera, Yamamoto, let's go."
Just as Tsuna was about to step foot out the window, Katsuo came to his senses long enough to stutter out the single question that was burning on everyone's mind. "Wait!" Tsuna turned back around and trained his now orange eyes on him. Katsuo gulped at the sight of the calm, orange eyes, but managed to blurt out the rest of his question. "Da-I mean, Tsuna! You can't really be the Vongola Decimo, right?"
Tsuna just threw him a wry smile. "What do you think?" Without another word, he jumped out the window, Gokudera and Yamamoto following closely behind. Ignoring the screams of the students from the other classrooms, Tsuna effortlessly flipped in midair before using his flames to slow himself into a smooth, clean landing.
Tsuna straightened up and met the eyes of the other Boss. "Vittorio," he greeted calmly.
The silver-haired man's smile was so bright that it could have blinded. "How very kind of you to join us, Tsunayoshi-kun!" His eyes glittered calculatingly. "Or should I say, Vongola Decimo?"
Gasps broke out from the rest of the onlookers who have not yet been alerted of Tsuna's true identity.
"Did he just call Dame-Tsuna Vongola Decimo?"
"No way! That can't be right!"
"Shut up, bastards!" Gokudera turned around to snap at the students who were still watching from their classrooms. "Of course Juudaime is the Decimo!"
Tsuna calmly raised a hand to stop Gokudera's outburst, his eyes never once straying from Vittorio's. The comments soon slowly subsided as all eyes became rooted to the exchange between the two Bosses.
"Well, Decimo," Vittorio said, his face never once losing its playful smile. "I trust that you understand the terms of this game?"
"In order to shut down the machine, my Guardians and I merely need to take the keys from you and your Guardians, right? Only one key is the true key that can completely shut off the machine and I have a time limit of half an hour before everyone's flames are absorbed." Tsuna replied coolly. "Simple enough."
"Oh, I assure you," Vittorio's smile turned mocking. "This game will be far from simple."
Tsuna's calm eyes never wavered. "We'll see about that." Bright orange flames suddenly burst forth from his hands and his forehead. He reached into his pocket, pulling out all his contract cards before spreading them out in the air. The eight cards lay suspended in the air, hovering in the expanse of space in front of Tsuna. He ran a flame-covered hand through all the cards in one quick swipe before saying, "All the Guardians shall answer the summons of their Sky!"
An orange magic circle appeared by Tsuna's feet as a bright light burst forth. The very air seemed to be alive and humming with power as the great expanse of Tsuna's magic swelled through the surrounding area. Several more magic circles, each in a color of the rainbow, appeared by Tsuna as each Summoned Guardian made their appearance.
"Kufufu~ well look what we have here..." Mukuro drawled lazily even as he summoned his trident in his hands.
"I will protect Boss from any harm." Chrome stated quietly as she gripped her own trident tightly.
"Defeat the enemies to the EXTREME!" Ryohei roared.
"Bwahaha! Bow in fear of Lambo-sama's power!" Lambo declared loudly.
"Herbivores, I hope that you will make this battle worth my time." Hibari stated coolly to the Disdetta. "But even so, I intend to bite each and every single one of you to death."
Instead of looking overwhelmed by the Guardians in front of him, Vittorio merely gave a predatory smile. "Well then. It looks like it's game start."
Immediately, all of Vittorio's Guardians launched simultaneous attacks at Tsuna and his Guardians. Everyone jumped from their spots to dodge the incoming projectiles, but they were caught by surprise when a second unrelenting burst of attacks followed the first without delay.
"The Storm Guardian, G, and the Rain Guardian, Ugetsu Asari, shall answer the summons of their Sky!"
"Frozen Rain!"
"G's Archery!"
The Disdetta's second torrent of spells were suddenly dispelled by a wave of Rain and Storm Flames that unexpectedly appeared out of nowhere.
Tsuna whirled around, eyes widening when he caught sight of a familiar figure. "Giotto-san!"
The blond CEDEF head gave a small smile. "Hey, Tsuna, need a little help? Sorry we're late, but we wanted to be more clear of the current situation before jumping in to help."
"I understand. Thanks for the help, Asari-san, G-san." Tsuna said to the two other Guardians, who lowered their respective weapons.
"No problem, Tsuna-san." Asari said with a serene smile.
"We got your back, Decimo," G said.
"Nufufu~ I would greatly appreciate it if you allowed me join in the battle, Giotto." Daemon drawled, even as he appeared out of nowhere.
"How long are you going to make me wait?" Alaude asked impatiently.
Lampo held his hands up. "Hey now, no need to Summon me, Giotto."
Giotto sighed before dutifully reciting. "The Mist Guardian, Daemon Spade, and the Cloud Guardian, Alaude, shall answer the summons of their Sky!"
Boosted by Giotto's magic, Daemon and Alaude wasted no time in rushing toward Vittorio, but they were immediately met by Alfonso and Lansa and the four began to exchange fast, vicious blows.
"Ushishi~ you weren't thinking of keeping the fun to yourselves, were you?"
Tsuna turned around to see yet another familiar face appear. "Bel-san?"
"VOOII! No one messes with the Vongola!" Squalo yelled, brandishing his sword.
"Shut up, you stupid shark," Xanxus growled. "I have had enough of your yelling."
"Mou, Tsuna-chan! Your Lussuria-nee has come to save you!" the eccentric Varia Sun Guardian declared.
"The only one he needs saving from is you," Mammon deadpanned.
"Oi, shitty Boss, hurry up and Summon me already." Squalo said.
"Yes~ let me join in the fighting, ne?" Bel said in a singsong voice.
Xanxus glowered at Squalo for a moment, before he too, recited the summons. "The shitty Rain Guardian, Squalo, and the Storm Guardian, Belphegor, shall answer the summons of their Sky."
"VOI! Who's a shitty Rain Guardian?" Squalo exclaimed, but his protests were drowned out by the rest of the confusion.
The newly assembled Vongola allies all turned to face the Disdetta.
"Hey! Vittorio-sama, they aren't following the rules!" Ricci pouted.
"Yeah, they aren't even registered players!" Rizzo added.
"Mmm...leave them be," Vittorio decided after a moment's deliberation. "After all, a game wouldn't be fun without the occasional twist now, would it? The other Vongola branch Families are free to join in...not that they'll make much of a difference."
"I'll make you eat your words, trash." Xanxus took a step forward and was about to aim a gun at Vittorio when the appearance of a large green top forced him to jump away in order to avoid it.
"Nu-uh, Mr. Scar Face! You get to play with me and Ricci!" Rizzo said.
Ricci giggled. "That's right! You want this key, don't you?" She reached around her neck to pull out a chain where a small crystal key was strung. "Then you'll have to catch us first!" She leapt on top of one of her red tops and quickly disappeared in a direction.
"Let's play tag! You're 'It', Mr. Scar Face!" Rizzo declared before he also jumped onto one of his tops and sped away.
Xanxus growled, torn between the desire of chasing after the two and of staying behind to provide Tsuna with support.
Tsuna understood the warring emotions on Xanxus' face. He nodded at him. "Go. We got things covered here."
Xanxus hesitated for only a moment and muttered a, "Don't you dare die on me, brat," before he and his Guardians gave chase to the Disdetta Storm and Lightning twins.
"Hey, CEDEF head," Alfonso called out suddenly. Giotto turned around when he heard himself being addressed by the Disdetta Rain Guardian. "Ciro and I will take you on."
"Yes. You don't know whether one of us might have the true key, right?" Ciro also pulled a thin chain out from under his shirt to show the small crystal key that was attached to it.
Alfonso smirked. "Well then, catch us if you can." He and Ciro took off in another direction.
"Go after them, Giotto-san," Tsuna said. "We can take care of things here."
"Understood, Tsuna." Giotto nodded. "Let's go!" He and his Guardians took off in pursuit of the Disdetta Rain and Sun Guardians.
"And then there was two." Tsuna turned to look back at the still smiling Vittorio and an emotionless Lansa. "Give it up, Vittorio. You're hopelessly outnumbered." Tsuna's Guardians all raised their weapons in response.
Lansa stepped protectively before Vittorio with his spear, but Vittorio waved him back. "Ah, that's what you might think, Tsunayoshi-kun," Vittorio said cheerfully. His eyes suddenly narrowed calculatingly. "But I myself am enough to take on all of you at once."
"What do you mean by-" Tsuna's eyes widened when he felt a sudden surge of strong magic from Vittorio. "Everyone move!" he ordered.
"Too late~" A wicked grin crossed his lips as Vittorio cast his spell. "Rage of the Heavens."
Thousands of concentrated balls of Sky flames immediately rushed in on Tsuna and his Guardians. Everyone immediately tried their best to dodge or defend against the attack, but the high-level spell was so powerful that they could do nothing but succumb to its fearsome power. Tsuna could hear the cries of his Guardians as each of them was struck down.
Tsuna himself took off for the skies and weaved and bobbed around the projectiles that aimed for him. When he landed back on the ground, he was shocked to see that the balls of flames continued to lock onto him. He quickly tried to defend himself with a blast of his own Sky flames, but he soon found himself being pushed back by their power. His flimsy shield of flames shattered under the pressure of the projectiles and Tsuna could do nothing but brace himself for the inevitable impact of the attack.
A moment later, Tsuna was surprised to find himself completely unscathed. Instead, he found himself airborne as his feet were swept off the ground and his body pressed protectively against a firmly muscled chest. A spicy, musky scent that was both familiar and foreign at the same time filled Tsuna's nose as his savior's deep voice reverberated throughout his own body. "What did I say about letting your guard down, Dame-Tsuna?"
Tsuna looked up at the face of his savior and was shocked to see familiar onyx black eyes and a smirk he would recognize from anywhere.
"R-Reborn?"
Author's Notes: An evil cliffhanger, I know! I hope you enjoyed the first unveiling of the School Siege arc. Finally, Tsuna's classmates get to see just how badass he truly is. The days of Dame-Tsuna are now long gone!
Did the appearance of the other allies (Xanxus, Giotto, etc) surprise you? Many of you wanted them to make another appearance, so I figured, why not? This was a good time as any to stick them in. And now all of the Vongola can kick butt together! I do hope that the appearance of so many characters did not confuse you in any way though. It's quite difficult to work with so many characters at the same time...
Again, I hope that you are liking this School Siege arc. Please leave me with your thoughts and opinions! Thank you very much!
-Bird of Dreams