OpalescentGold: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Battles
This is what they fight.
Lussuria
At least the Cervello are decent enough to give Ryohei a pair of sunglasses before the fight.
Ryohei wins in the end, albeit with major injuries.
Then, the Varia shoot Lussuria ruthlessly.
Noriko would call foul, except this is technically their win. Besides, Kyoya would be most displeased with her if she disqualifies his opponent.
Child
"Neh, Sorellona?" Lambo clings to her tightly, fiddling with her long hair. "Does Sorellona want Lambo-san to fight?"
Noriko is silent for a moment. "Sorellona doesn't want Lambo-kun to get hurt," she says at last.
"Okay." He beams confidently. "Lambo-san won't get hurt then! But he'll win the fight for Tsuna-nii anyway."
She cuddles him close and says nothing more as the sun vanishes down the horizon.
Leviathan
The future Lambo from twenty years is ten seconds away from winning when he is called away by the time limit on the ten year bazooka.
Noriko is...coldly furious. She agreed to letting the lightning child fight with the aid of the ten year bazooka, but that doesn't mean she is alright with this brutality.
She would have interfered, but Tsuna beats her to it.
Hyper
"I don't care about being the successor for Vongola," Hyper Dying Will Mode Tsuna says firmly after he disrupts the match. "I don't care about the rings or any of that. I just don't want my friends to get hurt."
Xanxus is wrong, Noriko thinks when the Leader of the Varia shows up. Tsuna may hold a resemblance to Timoteo, but it is not the will of the Ninth that he inherited.
It is Primo's.
Boundaries
"The damage to the battlefield directly affected the battle. Naturally, he will be disqualified," the remaining Cervello says, moving to take the Sky Ring.
"N-No way..." Tsuna is at a loss of what to do, the previous certainty humming in his bones long gone to be replaced by a chill that has nothing at all to do with the cool night air.
"Here, our word is law," the Cervello says dispassionately.
"Don't be arrogant," a familiar voice cuts in.
Everyone turns to see Noriko step forward, serene gaze resting on the Cervello.
"You are not the law," she says, and there is something fey, old, otherworldly in her voice, echoes of a Judgment. "You are the judges who see to it that the laws are followed. Do not think to overstep your boundaries."
Tsuna thinks he sees the Cervello pale slightly at the ominous warning, but she stands her ground. "That may be so, but Mr. Sawada is still disqualified according to the rules established."
Nori doesn't even blink, the distant look to her eyes sending a shiver down Tsuna's spine, for it's a mark of an upcoming Eclipse. Not here, he thinks fearfully, not now, not where the Varia can see how special his best friend is.
"Tsuna may have interfered in the Lightning Battle, but Xanxus struck down your colleague," she says softly, that ring of absolute sentence lining her tone. "The Judges are not to be touched. That is another one of your rules...is it not?"
Tsuna has no idea how Nori knows this, and from the looks on his dad's, tutor's, and friends' faces, they don't either. But the shoulders of the Cervello tense, and she takes a step back after a moment of contemplation.
"You are correct," she says stiffly. "The offenses on both sides cancel out. Thus, only the Ring of Thunder will be awarded to the Varia."
Tsuna doesn't have the space or time to feel relief or triumph, because the murderous look on Xanxus' face is definitely directed towards Noriko, who doesn't even seem to notice in her blank state.
He really, really hopes that she doesn't have an all-out Eclipse during the Ring Battles, but with the way things are going, he probably shouldn't hold his breath.
Belphegor
Hayato is strong, but the boy who thinks himself a prince seizes the victory in the end.
Noriko is glad, despite all of the consequences that might result in such a defeat.
She would rather have the silverette with them than hold the Vongola Rings anyway.
Cynthia is certain that Giotto and G. would agree if they were here to comment. Tsuna obviously does, considering he all but orders his future Right-Hand Man out of the battlefield, using his authority for perhaps the first time ever.
On a side note, Noriko is seriously going to have to something about Hayato's lack of self-esteem.
Soon. Very soon.
Squalo
Noriko watches Takeshi create a ninth form for Shigure Soen Style and use Squalo's own technique against him with nostalgia and melancholy.
She remembers the day Ugetsu created the first form for that sword style. It was a rainy, bloody day, G. and Aluade were wounded, Daemon and Lampo were nowhere in sight, and Giotto was two seconds away from being impaled.
It figures that Takeshi would do the same in a similar situation.
Mammon
Noriko does not attend the Battle for the Mist Ring.
She thinks she can be forgiven, just this once.
Gola Mosca
"Woah!" Takeshi tackles her out of the way of the bullets the rampaging robot is spitting out, taking the brunt of the fall while a rock shields them. "You okay, Noriko?"
"...I'm fine," Noriko assures him, maneuvering herself into a kneeling position behind the rock to peer out at the damage being wrought. "More importantly...this doesn't look good."
Scheme
Noriko narrows her eyes at a laughing Xanxus when the body of Vongola Nono is dragged out of the wreckage of Gola Mosca. Such hatred for one he claims is his father, she thinks.
So...it's finally time for the Battle of the Sky Ring.
