Hello all! Writing this chapter took some time as I quite frankly had no motivation for it. I've gotten at a part which I find a bit boring actually. There are a lot of fights and I find that I'm not very good at writing action scenes. And all I want is too get at those emotional heart-breaking parts where I can make you all cry your eyes out!

No, not really. But I do want to get the fights over with. I've had enough of them! Which is why some are cut (or will be cut) and/or badly written. It's just a bit boring…

So sorry about that. It should get more interesting after the Kokuyo Arc.

Having said that, thank you all for your support and reviews! I enjoy reading them a lot, so keep writing them!

Kokuyo Land, Rescue Group 1

All eyes were riveted on the blonde teen wearing the Kokuyo uniform who had just stepped into the light. His appearance was somewhat unusual. Apart from his spiky light blonde hair, he had sharp pointy teeth and a scar running across his face, just under his eyes. His tongue stuck out a little and would sometimes hung out like a dog's.

"Are those guys above your friends?" asked the boy. "Just wait here because you'll be next to die."

Two thirds of the aforementioned 'victims' looked absolutely unimpressed at this statement, though the other third was at that point ready to faint out of sheer fear.

Yamamato's resounding laughter distracted Nari from his fear, as the blonde surprised by his dark haired friend's lack of tension started paying attention to him instead of his opponent.

"Hey, you're quite strong aren't you?" said Yamamoto. "The zombie dogs puppets earlier looked real."

Everybody else sweat-dropped at that comment, and one particular ran through the minds of the three spectators: 'oh yeah, he still thinks we're playing a mafia game'.

"Let's just leave this idiot here and go save Caelum." suggested Hayato bluntly.

"But if we did that, Caelum would be angry." said Bianchi, just as serious as her brother.

Nari gazed at them disbelievingly. Did these people not worry about their friend's welfare at all? Not to mention it irritated him that they were always talking about that Caelum guy when he had no idea who he was. Even Reborn was gaga over him! And Shamal treated him despite his being a guy! Nari had difficulties imagining what kind of person Caelum was. At the very least, he must be a pretty amazing person.

A loud crunching noise woke him up from his daydreaming and he turned back to look at the fight with a bit of guilt. His eyes widened when he realized what had caused the noise. Yamamoto's bat had been broken. And seeing as bits of metal were coming out of the blonde teen's mouth, he had bitten it off.

"I'll gouge out your throat next." threatened the best-like boy who was standing on all fours.

"Th-that guy's not human!" whimpered Nari.

Even Gokudera looked like he didn't get it.

"Is he cursed?" he wondered before he got 'oh I got it' expression. "He's an alien!"

"Like hell he is." countered Bianchi mercilessly, now paying attention to the fight below.

"I see this mafia role-playing game is one where you have to beat your opponent to death." said Yamamoto. "So that's the rule then."

"Yamamoto…Doesn't he get scared or anything?" muttered Nari as he gazed at the determination in his friend's eyes.

"It seems to me that he's the type who hates to lose." replied Bianchi. "He probably isn't as calm as he looks."

The blonde looked at her appreciatively.

"You're very insightful, aren't you, Bianchi?"

The woman's expression darkened.

"No, it's just that I knew someone like that. No matter what he would be smiling, even when he was so pissed off that he was preparing to torture you."

"Ah…I see." said Nari wide-eyed and unsure of what to reply.

"By the way, can I ask you something?" said Yamamoto suddenly catching everybody's attention once more. "You didn't suddenly get replaced, so how do you do it?"

His three companions looked as interested as he was in the answer as none of them could figure out how the boy changed from a (somewhat) normal appearance to this beast-like form he took on to fight.

"It's just like changing cartridge to play different games." explained the Kokuyo student. "This is the same thing." he said pointing to his teeth. "By changing the cartridge, I can take on the abilities of different animals. For example…Kong Channel!"

As he said this, the blond teen replaced his teeth by a new set. Immediately, he became bulkier and black hairs appeared on his arms and legs.

"That's a GG Gorilla subspecies of the orang-utan, which belongs to the primate order." commented Bianchi.

Kokuyo Land, Caelum

The dark haired man had not been joking when he had said his forte was hand-to-hand combat. Ever since the start of the fight, Caelum had taken some pretty heavy blows. Whoever he was, his opponent had obviously dabbled into martial arts, though his style spoke of experience in street fights. On top of being strong, he was fast. Caelum was barely keeping up with him and it wasn't just because he in a weakened state.

A punch to the stomach caught him unaware and he gasped in pain. Not losing any time the man knee-kicked him in the jaw sending him flying to the floor. Before he had time to react the brunet was being held by a powerful hand on the floor.

"Now, for the finishing blow." said the dark haired man calmly eyelids dropping down.

"Ah! You're doing it again."

His eyes flew open as the teenager uttered this 'innocent' remark.

"Every time you're about to give a finishing blow, you close your eyes." elaborated Caelum. "You're not that evil of a person."

The boy gave a soft chuckle.

"What did you say?" growled the man, though his wide eyes indicated he was flustered from the boy's observation.

"I'm saying that that weak will of yours will never defeat mine." answered Caelum in a confident and unwavering voice.

With a sudden burst of flames, Caelum sent the man flying backwards, successfully freeing himself from the hold. He got to his feet smiling. A few feet away, the dark haired man was also getting back up on his feet.

"Don't talk as if you know about me!" he growled. "I have the will to kill you!"

Caelum smirked.

"That's a lie." he said calmly.

"SHUT UP!" yelled the man as he shot forward.

Caelum rushed to meet him, never losing his confident (and slightly irritating) smile. The brunet waited until the last moment to throw a heavy punch in the man's stomach. The man fell to his knees, spitting out blood. Caelum could pack a pretty good punch, if he said so himself, and boosting it with flames always helped.

"How could I lose?" mumbled the man who sounded as if he was about to collapse.

"I told you, your will is weak." answered Caelum, whose smile had finally left his face. "There's guilt in your heart conflicting with your actions."

Caelum dropped to one knee and looked at the man with a slightly amused expression.

"You remind of the kids at home, for some reason." he told him.

A faint smile appeared on the man's face.

"I guess your name isn't just for show, Il Misericordioso." he said.

The smile dropped of his face as his expression darkened.

"Three years ago I was part of a Famiglia in Northern Italy. I had been an orphan and in order to repay the boss who had taken me in, I served as a family bodyguard. Then one day, the boss brought another orphan. I took care of the boy and loved him as if he was my brother. But then the incident happened." he paused. "I came back one day, to find that everyone in the family had been killed. "

"Rokudo Mukuro?" enquired Caelum softly.

"Me." spat the man. "It was all me. After that, I woke up many times to find myself in front of a pile of corpses. And before I knew it I had become his killing machine. I've been controlled by him all this time!"

Silence followed this declaration. Caelum had hidden his eyes behind his bangs and the flame had disappeared from his forehead.

"What's your name?" he asked after a moment.

"Lancia." answered the man sounding drained of all energy.

"Lancia…" said Caelum after letting silence fall on them again. "About your family…"

The brunet seemed to hesitate as he trailed off.

"What is it?" asked the dark haired man, visibly curious.

"Ah no, never mind." said Caelum averting his eyes from Lancia's gaze. "Anyway I'll be on my way now. It'd be best if you got some rest. See ya."

He walked briskly to the doorway.

"Il Misericordioso!" called back Lancia before he left.

"Call me Caelum, or Tsuna, whichever you prefer." cut off the brunet with a tired smile.

The man nodded.

"About Rokudo Mukuro, is true aim is…"

The teen lifted a hand, effectively stopping the man.

"I know. Mukuro is one awkward kid, isn't he?"

Kokuyo Land, Rescue Team 2

Reborn and Hibari had advanced in silence for about ten minutes before they met their first opponent. They had just gotten to the staircase that would lead them to the upper floors where they suspected Mukuro and Caelum would be when a boy with sort black hair stepped in front of them. The yo-yo clutched in his hand told Reborn all he needed to know.

"Kakimoto Chikusa, right?" said the hitman. "You're the one who was defeated by Gokudera."

If the boy felt insulted by the comment, he did not show it. Without a word, he threw his yo-yo at them, releasing needles which both Reborn and Hibari easily avoided.

"I'll bite that herbivore to death." said the Namimori Middle School Prefect, taking out his tonfas.

Reborn smirked. Despite his blank face, he knew Hibari was thoroughly pissed off. That guy really hated losing after all. No doubt the teen would make sure to beat the hell out of all those still standing to make up for his earlier loss.

"I'll leave it to you then."

"Hn."

Kakimoto Chikusa attacked again, and the both of them dodged once more. Reborn jumped to the side and slipped behind their attacker with ease.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to play with you." he told the Kokuyo student from behind.

The boy briefly looked stunned and somewhat glad to see the dangerous fedora-wearing guy leave, but soon went back to his usual expressionless mask.

Tipping his fedora at Hibari, Reborn took his leave, silently slipping into the shadows.