Uwah~ I can't believe I finished this one so quickly! Big thanks to the people who review my story! And here it is...
Chapter 26
It was just the three of them, walking to the same place. They stood there together for a while, not speaking, not looking until one of them spoke,
"Let's go then…"
"Yeah…" Another one grunted.
And off they went, in the same direction… down the same road, to the same destination where a battle will determine their fates.
"Everyone!" a high alto voice broke through the silent night.
"You're not with Tsuna…?" Yamamoto questioned.
"No… I was getting in touch with my teammates in Italy…" Basil replied.
"How'd it go?"
"Not good…" Basil sighed, "Like Dino-dono said, my Master and the rest of the team are still trapped inside the Vongola Headquarters."
"The Prancing Horse can't interfere either, whatever happens, we can't depend on anyone for help now…" Gokudera frowned.
"What? Tsuna's going to win, you know," Yamamoto replied, grinning in that way too easygoing attitude of his.
"Of course he is!" Gokudera shouted, annoyed that the baseball nut thought that he was doubting his boss, his jyudaime! "In the first place, no one else is fit to be the Vongola boss!"
"Well… I heard this from Dino –dono…" Basil trailed off, looking dejected and hopeless, "Before the Cradle affair… there were five candidates, including Sawada-dono for the next Vongola boss. Among them, there were three older men who were favored because they had the abilities to ba a boss more than anyone else. But, apart from the Ninth and the Consigliere, the family's upper Echelon were all in support of Xanxus… the extent of Xanxus's disposition to be a boss was that overwhelming…"
"What about the other three who were favored to be the tenth boss…?"
"They weren't even in the league…" Basil replied.
"So…" Ryohei nodded.
"I see…" Yamamoto hummed
"Well, that's all empty talk now," Gokudera addressed to Basil, "Listen newcomer. Jyudaime is a person so great that he has surpasses greatness. Only those who understand him will get it."
"Eh?" A sweat drop escaped as Basil was completely baffled by the idiot trio's reaction.
"Hahaha… Tsuna's not that difficult to understand, is he?" Yamamoto laughed with that characteristic personality of his.
"What?!" Gokudera growled.
"I'm not sure what it is about his greatness… well, it's like, it's so obvious that it's easy to miss?" Yamamoto grinned.
"You're not making any sense you baseball nut!" Gokudera deadpanned. "As expected… my explanation of jyudaime's greatness was the best…" Gokudera muttered to no one in particular.
"Well, in the beginning, there were times when I couldn't tell if Sawada was great or not… but, that's also necause his ordinariness is simply not ordinary!" Ryohei added, with a confident smile that he understood Tsuna the best.
"Y-you people! Stop babbling rubbish!" Gokudera stuttered.
"Then, how would you put it?" Yamamoto asked.
"Yeah! I don't get it anymore!" Ryoehi shouted in confusion.
'Me neither…' Basil thought, 'I see… these people have noticed it from the start… Sawada-dono's extraordinary ordinariness…"
Needless to say… none of them understood just how their conversation sounded to others. Five feet away, hiding herself in a tree, no one noticed just how much the tree shook when they discussed Sawada Tsunayoshi's extraordinary ordinariness…
A flash of light flared from the northeast and ran to the school as quickly as they could.
"What was that?!" Gokudera shouted.
"It's coming from Nami High!" Ryohei shouted back.
"The courtyard!" Yamamoto added.
As the idiot trio, with the addition of Basil, turned the corner, each of them reeled back as they were hit with waves of heat and steam.
"It's hot!"
"What is that?!"
At the center of the cloud of heat, stood a lone figure, grinning from ear to ear.
"What happened!?"
"It's him…!"
"Our opponent looks ready, too." Reborn said, his sunhat covering his eyes.
"Xanxus!" Tsuna said.
"So you came, scumbag" Xanxus smirked, "Where's Sky?" Xanxus sneered, "Ran off since she got tired of you already?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sky scoffed turning the corner and walking into view.
"We have been expecting you," the cervello jumped down from the building, "Then, the guardians for Sawada's side… storm, sun, rain… and the mist guardians are all here."
"Eh? Dokuro…!" Tsuna exclaimed in surprise as Chrome Dokuro walked into the courtyard, clutching her bag to her.
"The only ones left are cloud and lightning."
"Eh… the ones left…" Tsuna muttered.
"What do you want?"
"Hibari-san!" Tsuna shouted. "Er, what do I want?"
"The cervello said that the guardians had to come…" Chrome added meekly.
"That's right. All the guardians who are still alive were sent a compulsory summons." One of the pink haired ladies said.
"Compulsory summons…?"
"Those guys are here too." Reborn said, pointing in Xanxus' direction.
Behind Xanxus stood three figures and one of them was locked in a small cage.
"Be more gentle, please~~~!" a disgustingly feminine voice squealed from the side. "You're handling a critical patient, you know!"
"Lussuria!"
"Wow, you're still alive!" Ryohei shouted in shock.
"…with his bed…?" Gokudera sweat dropped.
"Of course I'm still alive, a little snow fairy visited me last night," Lussuria cooed.
"A little fairy?" Tsuna sweat dropped.
"Ha! Look like someone just had a nice dream!" Gokudera smirked.
"It wasn't a dream! She's right ther-" Lussuria's words were caught off as a stone, the size of a golf ball, navigated its way to the back of Lussuria's head. Immediately, Tsuna and the idiot trio looked around, trying to find just who threw that stone. Reborn gave a knowing smirk and refused to glance in her direction. Bel wasn't as discreet. He began to 'shishishishishi' uncontrollably as he repeatedly glanced in Sky's general direction, where she stood there, hands behind her back and whistling nonchalantly.
"Looks like the Lightning guardian for Sawada's side have also arrived," another cervello appeared, carrying Lambo's small figure, still wearing an oxygen mask. Lambo was asleep, oblivious to the tension in the air around him.
"Wh-why Lambo, too!?" Tsuna stuttered, "He's just started to come out of his coma!"
"The compulsory summons do not take anything else into account," a cervello informed, "Because in the Sky battle… the six rings as well as the lives of the guardians are all at stake."
"The rings and the lives of the guardians are at stake…?" Tsuna repeated in disbelief.
"That's right."
"Wait- what do you mean by that!? Lambo is already injured!" Tsuna shouted, "Give him back!"
"Stand down please. The Varia are in the same boat."
"Yeah, quit complaining," Lussuria huffed, " Once the summons were received, no matter what condition we're in, we have to assemble. That's the duty of a guardian."
"Exactly. I'm also hoping that Boss's anger has appeased and I'd have a chance to help him." Marmon added.
"Shishishi, how nicely put." Bel chuckled. "We only caught you, instead of killing you, so don't be smooth-talking here."
"What about Squalo…?" Yamamoto shouted, suddenly, "Isn't he here?"
"You know very well what the outcome of the rain battle was. We are unable to verify Squalo's current status."
"Well then, let's begin the Sky Battle."
"W-wait a minute!" Tsuna stammered, "We haven't clarified-!"
"If you don't want to start, you'll be disqualified… and Xanxus-sama will officially be given possession of the rings."
"All right, first things first, we will collect all the guardians' rings."
"What?!" The idiot trio shouted, well… just one of the idiot trio shouted.
"After we fought like that to get this ring, we have to give it back?" Ryohei shouted, louder.
"If you are the true guardian, there's nothing to worry about."
"In the end, the Vongola rings will return to their true owner anyway. The ring chooses its guardian, its boss… Xanxus, you're doing all of this for naught." Sky spoke gravely, trying one last time to stop the sky battle.
"Hah," Xanxus scoffed and turned his gaze away and glared at Tsuna instead.
"Place them in here…" the two cervello went and collected the rings and placed them nicely in a box.
"I lost it," Hibari said, uninterested.
"It's not that you lost it but you threw it away, didn't you?" Sky muttered, deadpanning at Hibari's attitude.
"We already have yours in custody."
"We will now explain the rules of the Sky Battle. The Sky Battle will be similar to the other guardians. One of the conditions for victory is to join the two halves of the ring. However, the battle field will be the entire school." The cervello informed.
"That's huge…" Yamamoto gasped.
"In order to watch such a wide battle field, we have installed large screen displays at the observation box as well as various other locations. Also, the guardians will be using these wristbands installed with a camera-equipped monitor."
"Eh… it's like a little TV…" Ryohei mused.
"Haha. Hey, Tsuna, it's your close-up," Yamamoto laughed goodheartedly.
"Eh?!" Tsuna squeaked.
"So then, would all the guardians please put on your wristbands, then make your way to the respective fields of your own battles."
"Huh? Our battlefield? what's the point of that?" Levi scoffed.
"We are not answering any questions. If you do not follow the rules, you will be disqualified."
"Damn annoying bitches," Gokudera glared.
"So, we're not just watching the fight, eh? Sounds like fun~" Bel chimed in.
"Okay, this is the only time we can do it then…" Ryohei smiled.
"Eh?"
"Our circle rally, right?" Yamamoto laughed.
"Let's all get fired up!" Gokudera shouted.
"Yes… Let's do it!" Tsuna said, getting into Ryohei's hype.
"Ah… you guys can just stay where you are, okay?" Ryohei pointed to Hibari, Chrome and Sky. "We've revised it with the 10 meter rule, so you guys are in too!"
"10 meter rule?" Tsuna questioned.
"That's a limit that anyone within a 10 meter radius in included in the circle rally." Ryohei replied.
"What the hell is that!?" Gokudera raged.
"All right. Let's do it!"
"SAWADA! FIGHT! OH!" The four of them shouted.
"Okay, see you later." Gokudera said.
"Be careful, boss." Chrome added meekly.
"Good luck," Ryohei said.
"Don't be rash, okay?" Yamamoto grinned.
Hibari gave a huff and started in the direction of the cloud battlegrounds, only to smack right into Sky. Unbeknownst to everyone in the area, Sky slipped her hand to Hibari's and gave it a slight squeeze before falling backwards and yelling, "Watch where you're going, you slant eyed freak."
Hibari turned a murderous glare on her and was surprised when she was moving her mouth,
Ingest that right before the battle starts.
Still glaring, Hibari nodded slightly and pocketed the pill she pressed into his hand, then completely ignoring her outburst and walked to the field.
"Sugoi… Sky won against that ferocious Hibari…" Tsuna sweat dropped, staring at the back of a girl who was wondering if that stubborn guy would listen to her at all.
"This is it, kora?"
Tsuna turned around, not expecting anyone else to show up for his battle.
"I'm here to collect your ashes," Shamal said, destroying any inkling that Tsuna might have had about Shamal's good nature.
"I just came to jeer, kora" Colonello said.
'So mean…' was all Tsuna could think.
"Looks like everyone's ready…" Sky muttered, nudging the distressed brunette with her elbow. When Tsuna turned to glance at her, she pointed up to the big screens showing the various battlefields that the guardians had fought in. In each field, there was a pole with a bowl-ish thing on top… the Vongola rings were inside…
"Wha…?! The ring… Don't tell me we're scrambling for them again…?" Gokudera scowled.
"In other words," Bel smirked, already holding several knives with his fingertips, "…we'll be fighting too?"
"You are all free to do so…"
"Eh?!" Tsuna squeaked.
"That is… if you are able to."
With a click and a whirl of sounds, every single guardian gasped in pain and crumbled to the ground.
"Wha-what was that…!?" Tsuna shouted.
"Just then, all the guardians were injected with a poison administered from their wristbands."
"What did you say!?" Tsuna, Basil and Shamal's eyes widened in shock.
"The poison is called the Death Hitter. Once administered, it will paralyze the victim's nerves instantly. Even standing up will prove difficult. then, a burning pain will spread throughout the body, increasing gradually, until 30 minutes later…the victim will die."
"No… no way!" Basil gasped.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this! It's supposed to be the Sky Battle, so why is everyone involved in this!?" Tsuna shouted at the Cervello.
"Because this is the Sky's mission… the sun, lightning, storm, rain, mist and cloud… he influences all of them… he understands and accepts all of them." Sky said.
"In this battle, the lives of all the guardians are entrusted in the hands of the boss, that is the Sky Battle," one cervello said.
"Entrusted you say… But, this is too much!" Tsuna said.
"There is only one way to stop the progress of the poison… that is to insert the matching ring into each guardian's wristband. Once the ring is inserted into the indentation, it will activate the mechanism to administer the Death Hitter's antidote stored in the wristband."
"So, this battle is not only for the Sky Ring… the guardians' rings have also become a crucial element." Reborn spoke, not a bit of his tell-tale smirk was in sight.
"Therefore, the condition for victory in the Sky Battle is simply this… you must acquire all of the Vongola Rings. Use this chain to collect the full set of the Vongola Rings," one of the cervello approached Tsuna, the other cautiously approached Xanxus.
Tsuna grimaced, "All right, I get it! Let's hurry! Otherwise everyone will…!"
"Very well, one last thing, once the battle has started, any outside influence from non-participating personnel is forbidden. This includes any special bullets."
"Understood," Reborn nodded. Tsuna hastily shoved his gloves on and was immediately thrown to the side as Xanxus laid a nasty punch to Tsuna's head. Tsuna flew into the school building, shattering glass and wall bits everywhere.
"Sawada-dono!" Basil shouted, his eyes widening in shock.
"Xanxus-sama! Not yet...!"
"Let's hurry and get started… wasn't that what he said?" Xanxus smirked.
"Yes… in that case…!" A cervello stammered.
"But, that attack on Sawada is…" Another started.
"That was foul, Xanxus!" Basil shouted.
"My bad…" Xanxus smirked and shrugged, "Did I get him before he was shot with his special bullet?"
"How foolish," Reborn smirked.
"Just who do you think you were dealing with?" Sky smiled.
In the mini hill of rubble, light was shining through the cracks and in one outburst of power, Tsuna stood from the rubble around him.
"Tsuna, Xanxus is not an opponent you can fight half-heartedly. If you're thinking about saving your six guardians first, you're going to lose your own life," Reborn said.
"I know," Tsuna breathed, "I'm going to put this guy away first." Tsuna's warm, brown eyes were replaced with cool, orange orbs that watched Xanxus calculatedly. The dying will flame emerged on Tsuna's forehead and continued to coat and wrap itself around his gloves.
"You're going to put me away?" Xanxus glared, "With that level of power from last night?"
"Do I look the same as I did last night?" Tsuna replied coolly.
"If you wish to observe the battle, come this way." The cervello gestured to Shamal and Basil, "Hurry, please!"
"The observation box is at the back of the school building. Like the guardian battles, please do not step out of the boundary of the Infra-red sensors. The two of you, too." A cervello pointed to Ken and Chikusa's peeking figure from behind a small storage building.
"Geh, busted…" Ken muttered.
Now, the Sky Ring Battle – Xanxus vs. Sawada Tsunayoshi… Battle Start!
~Tsutsimiya Sky~
Oh…man, I hope Hibari took the pill… god damn it! This is definitely one of those times when I wish Hibari was less stubborn…
Man… I hate it when my belly gets that feeling that something bad will happen… why am I always proven right?!
I hate being right… you'd think that Xanxus would remember that I'm always right but no~… that bastard just has whatever he wants to…
Now, the Sky Ring Battle – Xanxus vs. Sawada Tsunayoshi… Battle Start!
Ah… shit, it's starting…
Please R&R
Until next time!
- xxtoushirou
