Breaking Through to You

by AdaraLove

An 8059 fan-novelization. People who have been hurt by others hate to open themselves up to other people, and Gokudera Hayato is no exception. But can he resist letting his guard down around a stupid baseball-idiot, who only wants to be his friend?

37. Teachers and Students! Training Begins!

A/N: Hello again everyone! I want to first thank anyone who took the time to review or favorite the last chapter. You're the only reason why subsequent chapters are continuing to be posted. Remember guys, I will only post the next chapter if I at least receive one review for the last chapter I posted. That's just to see if people are still reading my story and they still like what they see. I would of course love to have more than one review per chapter, so by all means if you see that quota already filled, don't be shy XD I love to hear from the readers because all of your words encourage me to continue.

Anyway, with that said, now we're on to the training chapter! Yaaaaay! Like I said in the previous chapter, from now on, the chapters will be divided into multiple POV's just to cover the entire story since the action arcs are very important. I will mainly stick with one POV should Yama and Dera be in the same place at the same time, though XD So, when that happens in this chapter I'll mainly stick with Dera's POV since it's his 'turn' technically if I go by the every other chapter rule I had been doing so far.

With that said, this chapter will cover manga chapters 87-93, and corresponding anime episodes 36 (last half), 37, 40, and 41. The reason why episodes 38 and 39 weren't used was because they were used in an earlier chapter due to the fact that they were Daily Life Arc episodes, but they were placed within the Varia Arc for filler I guess XD Anyway, the manga chapters and anime episodes minus 38 and 39 are exactly the same, so I followed the manga, but used the episodes as reference for better wording, background and clothes descriptions and so forth.

Also, as a warning beforehand, there won't be much 8059 interaction per say in this chapter due to the fact that Yama and Dera are separated for almost the entirety of it, but I made it up to you guys in a way, so I hope you like what I did ;D

With that said, I hope you guys enjoy!

Teachers and Students! Training Begins!

Yamamoto's POV

I stared at the back of my dad's head silently as we walked through the park a few blocks from our house. The atmosphere between us had drastically changed ever since I had asked my old man to teach me kendo, and he had closed up shop for the day. As soon as an apologetic sign was placed upon our restaurant door, he had silently led me towards the park. I don't know why, but something told me to remain silent as I followed after my father. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end as well, and I didn't know why. To me, my father just gave off this...pensive aura...like he was really thinking things through as he led me who knows where to teach me kendo. Maybe he was just going through a possible training program in his head...or maybe he was trying to remember the proper teaching steps since it had probably been a long time since he had practiced.

Whatever the case was, I couldn't keep silent for long, especially since my father had decided to deter from the proper pathway through the park and was heading into an overgrown forest pathway. There was a familiar sign off to the side of said pathway, stating that beyond that point was privately owned property and that trespassers weren't welcome. I had always seen that sign growing up, and my dad had been the one to tell me to heed it's warning, but there he was, going against his own words and walking down the path. What was my dad doing?

"Wait, Dad—"

"—Follow, Takeshi," my father interrupted my concerned proclamation with a stern order. Having only heard my father use such a voice a few times in my life, I knew better than to say anything more and just obediently followed him through the overgrown brush. Thankfully the unkempt pathway wasn't too difficult to travel, and it didn't look like anyone was going to yell at us for trespassing...for the time being anyway.

I was just starting to wonder where the forest path and my father were leading me until I received my answer a few minutes later. As we bypassed that last few trees overshadowing the path, we entered a clearing were a large dojo stood erect. It's architecture, the wood, the dark tiling on the roof, and even the bamboo paper covering the sliding doors and windows were reminiscent of times long past. Even though the building looked to be in rather good condition, and some of the wooden planks even looked brand new, something told me that this dojo had been here for centuries...maybe even as far back when the art of the sword came into being. Sure enough, my thoughts seemed to be proven correct as we drew closer to the building, and I saw a small picket sign beside the short stairs up to the main entrance, dictating the spot as a historical site protected by law as well as private property. Just what on earth were we doing here? Was my dad going to teach me kendo in this dojo? Was he even allowed to?!

I still held my questions at bay as my father slid open the front doors and entered a narrow hallway. Before I entered as well, I took one last look over my shoulder, wondering if there was anyone watching us, or if an old friend of my dad's was going to pop out of the bushes and greet us, saying that they were glad someone was going to put their dojo to good use. As I did this, and quickly noted that there truly didn't seem to be anyone else there besides my dad and me, I noticed a red, paper lantern hanging over the front steps. 'Asarigumi' was written in bold, black kanji upon the lantern. How strange...did this dojo actually belong to one of my dad's friends? I couldn't recall anyone with the last name, Asari...

"The dressing rooms are over here, Takeshi."

My dad's voice suddenly broke me out of my train of thought, causing me to jump slightly and rush through the doorway, sliding the doors closed behind me. As I slipped off my shoes and made my way up to my dad, he gestured me into a mainly empty room, save for what looked like two circular indents located upon the opposite wall, indicating that a double door closet was resting within the walls. As my father and I approached the wall, my old man reached his hands forward and slid the doors to the side, revealing the large closet within. The closet was mainly barren, save for a lone kendo uniform and equipment.

"My old uniform should fit you," my dad stated before he turned away without looking at me and started heading towards the door. "Get dressed, Takeshi, and meet me in the main training hall across the way when you're done."

With that said, my father closed the door behind him, leaving me with some privacy to change. Even though I had never worn a kendo uniform before, I had seen it worn by others quite often enough to know how to dress myself. The first articles of clothing I took out were a white uwagi, which was a short, kimono-like jacket, a white colored obi, and dark navy blue hakama. Stripping down to my boxers and discarding my socks (it was a common practice in kendo to fight barefoot to reduce slipping), I slipped on the uwagi first and tied it closed with the obi. I then slipped on the hakama pants, secured the back part into my obi to help keep the hakama in place, and fastened the himo (straps) in the front and back. When that was done, I grabbed a white, cotton towel (called a tenugui) from the closet and folded it around the top of my head in such a way that I made a makeshift cap, which flattened my usually spiky hair to my head. It wasn't uncomfortable by any means, since I was used to wearing baseball caps which did the same thing, but the towel held a different purpose. It was to help keep the armor I'd use for my head in place and make it more comfortable to wear besides.

After making sure that the knot I tied at the back of my head was tight enough to keep the tenugui in place, I grabbed the first piece of armor from the closet. I fastened the black colored tare, which was a belt of sorts with three long, thick vertical flaps and two shorter ones in between the longer three, to my hips then and made sure it was secure. This piece of armor would protect my hips and groin area. I didn't expect my dad to actually aim for that last area in particular, since that would be a literal and figurative low blow, but accidents happened all the time and I'd rather be safe then severely sorry later, haha!

Pushing those thoughts aside, I then grabbed the black colored 'do', or breastplate, from the closet and tied the straps over my shoulders and around my midsection to secure it into place. Feeling a little anxious to see the training hall by that point, even though I wasn't technically done dressing, I just grabbed the last two pieces of armor, which consisted of two thick, black colored kote (or gloves), which protected my hands, wrists, and were also long enough to protect my forearms, and the stylized head piece. That said head piece was black colored all throughout all except for a circular strip of red that outlined the area where the metal grill (or men-gane) met the main head piece (the men) that covered the entirety of the head. Also connected to the head piece were two long strips of fabric along the sides that protected the neck and shoulders, which were called tsuki-dare. With the head piece slung under one arm, and the kote resting within the crook of the other, I grabbed the lone shinai within the closet with a some difficulty. Afterwards, I awkwardly slid the closet door shut with my only free hand (which was the one holding the head piece under my arm), and just as awkwardly slid the door to the room open and made my way out into the hall. Crossing the hall then, I walked through the open door to the training hall, the doorway covered by long pieces of dark blue fabric that I had to push aside in order to do so.

Once I entered the training hall, I stared around the room in awe. Even though my dad had opened the windows now so that the morning light filtering in through the forest trees outside trickled through the evenly partitioned cross section of the open window, it was still dimly lit inside the room. There was just enough light to see where I was going, though, and to notice the large scope of the room. It could easily hold hundreds of students if it wanted to. Heck, maybe back in the day, it had! That was actually cool to think about.

As I continued on into the room, I finally noticed that my dad was sitting at the far end upon his knees in a dark blue-to-the-point-it-was-almost-black uwagi and hakama, his face staring straight at the wall ahead of him and his back facing me. He was also wearing a white cotton tenugui around his head, but instead of wearing it as a cap like I was, he was wearing his like a headband.

"I didn't know about this dojo," I brought up then conversationally as I continued to approach my father, "though I knew you used to do kendo. Do you still come here?" I questioned then as I kneeled onto the ground a meter or so away from my father and slipped on my head gear and started to fasten it behind my head. "It's pretty cool to be wearing all of this gear," I added as if to make up for the strange silent treatment my dad was giving me. "The bamboo sword is pretty nice, too." It was then that I finally realized something as I stared at my father's broad, silent back. "Hey, where's your protective gear, Dad?"

"I don't need any," he replied sternly without bothering to turn around and look at me. Upon hearing this, I quickly jumped to my feet.

"Don't be crazy!" I insisted with worry as I slipped on my kote over my hands. "You'll hurt yourself!" My dad was insane if he thought I was going to fight him without gear on! He wasn't getting any younger by any means, and who knew how rusty he actually was at this?! I had no idea how up to date with kendo he actually was and he didn't seem keen on telling me any time soon either.

"Takeshi," my father murmured on stern breath, his back still facing me as he addressed me like he was admonishing a child instead of his teenage son. I just stared at my old man, feeling utterly perplexed by his tone. "Now that this day has come," he stated then as he finally stood up, shinai in hand and his back still facing towards me. "I intend to beat my knowledge of the sword into you."

….He never talked to me like this...not even after my attempted suicide. He never talked to me like I was a child or like...his words were heavy with some hidden meaning I couldn't understand.

"But don't forget," my father continued as he turned partially towards me so that I could see part of his face, although he still wasn't bothering to look at me. "The sword to me is like what baseball is to you..."

I felt sweat begin to break out on my brow as I stared at my father, who was still not turning fully to face me, shinai clutched in his two bare hands. The air between us was suddenly rife with tension as the older man lifted his bamboo sword above his head.

What happened next happened so fast that I was taken completely by surprise. With a scream of, "I'm not playing around!" my father shot forward so fast I had no time to properly dodge or protect myself as I felt his the bamboo slats of his shinai come down on my armor-clad head. I let out a surprised and slightly pained squawk as I fell and my back hit the floor with an undignified thud. Even with my protective gear, the force behind the blow had been excessive enough to cause slight pain, and I didn't know if I should be startled by the fact that my gear wasn't as protective as I thought or the fact that my own father had used such excessive force right off the bat. All I could do was stare up at my father in shock and trepidation as he loomed over me, his usually friendly eyes narrowed into calculating slits like a predator sizing up his prey. The air he was exuding was almost as suffocating as that crazy long-haired guy's had been. My father exuded pure confidence and power like what you'd see in a master swordsman, while the long-haired guy had exuded that along with a crazy amount of blood lust. Regardless of the lack of blood lust in the air, though, that didn't mean I wasn't any less afraid or intimidated as I had been facing the long-haired guy. In fact, I could say that I was even more frightened, only due to the fact that this was my actual father staring sternly down at me, and I had never seen him act this way before. It was like I was seeing him truly for the first time as he showed me this other side to him; a side of himself that he had been hiding from me until the time was right.

As I shakily pushed myself to my feet, I didn't say a word. With my shinai in my glove-covered hands, I held it before me, copying my father's stance as I narrowed my eyes at the other through the slits of the men-gane. I could feel more sweat break out on my brow and my hands tighten around the hilt of my shinai as I watched the older man intently, wondering where I could land a blow on a man that exuded so much confidence and mastery. My father just stared intently back at me, looking like he wasn't going to make another move any time soon. His dark-brown eyes were calculating as he read my stance before he looked at me pointedly. He was testing me, silently asking me to make my move. More than likely, I wasn't going to be landing a hit on my old man any time soon, but the longer I waited this out, the longer it would take me to learn, and that was something I couldn't afford.

With a loud battle cry falling from my lips, I rushed forward, my shinai raised to strike. I was ready to learn whatever it was my dad intended to teach me.

---

Gokudera's POV

I breathed heavily as I tried to steady myself on wavering feet before finally succeeding in staying upright, despite my body's protests. Fatigue was washing over me, but I wouldn't let it drag me down, not when I didn't have a lot of time and so much to accomplish.

Feeling like my nerves were getting the best of me again, I took a long drag from the cigarette still in my mouth. It was any wonder that it hadn't fallen out yet with how many times I'd been blown over from my own dynamite. At this irritating thought, I brought one of my hands up and temporarily took the cigarette out of my mouth, before blowing out a long, steady stream of smoke. My whole arm ached in protest, bloodied and blistered skin stretching painfully, but I did my best to ignore it just like with my fatigue. I didn't have time to waste on resting and patching myself up because of my own fucking blunders. Ten days were all that I had to perfect this technique that had been alluding me for seven years of my life, and damn it, I was going to fucking figure it out even without Shamal's fucking help.

With an irritated growl at the thought of the man who had betrayed me, I set my cigarette firmly between my lips again and started rifling through the many hidden pockets on my person for my dynamite sticks. When I finally had a few in my hands, I glanced around my surroundings then to make sure I was in a decent spot to start throwing. I was currently within a clearing slightly off the beaten path of the mountain forest on the outskirts of Namimori. It was the same forest the Tenth and I had gotten lost in back when Reborn-san and Dino had wanted to do training here. I hadn't been to this forest since then, but when I had started brainstorming earlier on where the best place to train would be, the seclusion of the mountainside called out to me. That's how I had found myself here, just a ways off from the rope bridge that I remember falling off of so many months back. The clearing I was in was located near a rocky cliff side, and surrounded for the most part by towering trees and blooming underbrush, but the area I stood within was completely clear of foliage. Not even grass was growing were I stood, which made it perfect for tossing dynamite around. I had the seclusion of the trees, and the bare area I stood in was free of flammable objects. Technically, though, I hadn't gotten complete seclusion since I had arrived in the clearing a few hours ago. I had heard the Stupid Woman calling out to me in passing a few minutes ago, actually, but I had ignored her. Thankfully, she had gotten the hint and walked off to do whatever the hell she was doing originally (why the hell was Haru wondering the mountainside on a school day anyway? She wasn't the type to play hooky, I would think...), and I went back to my training. That said training was going horribly at the moment, quite frankly. All I had managed to do was hurt myself and throw all the living wildlife in the area into a panic from the explosions. Thankfully, nothing had accidentally caught fire...yet.

Taking a deep breath then, I concentrated, my eyes focusing on a single point in the sky. Even though I was intending to aim at this spot, I somehow had to throw the dynamite a certain way so that the sticks would end up flying in different directions from their initial target. The Rocket Bomb Technique was all about being able to hit multiple moving targets with a single throw of a handful of dynamite, which I had not managed to do quite yet. So far, my bombs had all ended up hitting the area I initially aimed for without deterring anywhere else or my throw would be so off that the dynamite flew in a completely different direction than what I had initially thrown. That's how I had ended up injuring myself on several occasions now. I had assumed the trick to the Rocket Bomb Technique was all in the finesse of the wrist as I threw, but maybe the last couple of throws had had a little too much of said finesse?

Willing to find out, I focused my gaze on the single point in the sky I had picked out a few seconds earlier, and swiped the fuses of the dynamite across my lit cigarette. With the sound of sizzling wicks echoing in my ears, I threw my two handfuls of dynamite, using a little more thrust and less flicking of my wrist.

It seemed like my throw had been a little too enthusiastic, though, and I had held onto the sticks a little too long as I threw them, which caused them to fly down towards the ground a few meters away instead of up at the point in the sky I had been aiming at. A squawk of surprise flew from my mouth as dirt exploded into my face in a fiery crescendo, the force of the close proximity explosion sending me flying backwards until my back smacked hard into a tree. As I fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud, my clothes and skin singed even more than what they had been previously, I let out a low hiss of pain.

"Ow!" I groaned out as I started to push myself up immediately, my body protesting more than it had the last time I had fallen. "This is no good..." I ground out through gritted teeth, my hands balling into angered fists then, collecting dirt in their wake as I pushed myself up to a kneeling position. "Damn it!" I cursed loudly with vehemence. Continuously failing wasn't an option, yet here I was, failing over and over again and wasting precious time! If I had some guidance, some hint into how the technique actually worked, maybe I'd get somewhere, but I didn't. I had no choice but to rely on my own intuition, even though all the formulas I had run through my head disputed that there was no possible way for dynamite to fly in different directions after they were given an initial course. There had to be a way! There just had to be! I had seen the technique with my own eyes. It wasn't a fucking magic trick, and, damn it, I was going to figure it out on my own. I didn't need help! I was perfectly capable by myself. That's how it always has been! "I'll definitely get stronger without asking for anyone's help!" I repeated out loud to myself in a mantra as I wiped away some blood forming at the corner of my mouth. Apparently, I had bitten down on my inner cheek when I was hit with the latest explosion and now the inside of my mouth was bleeding. Fan-fucking-tastic! Not only that, but my cigarette had been knocked out of my mouth as well! Hopefully it hadn't landed in any underbrush, because the last thing I needed to deal with was a forest fire.

Thankfully, I found my still lit cigarette on barren ground a meter or so away from me. After placing it back in my mouth, I started searching my person for some more dynamite. I just picked out two this time instead of my typical eight, figuring that maybe I was trying to use too much to start out with. Maybe if I perfected the technique with a smaller amount, it would be easier to move on to more at a time?

With that thought in mind, I hurriedly lit the two dynamite sticks before preparing to throw them, but, in my haste, the lit dynamite slipped out of my sweaty palms and landed near my feet. My eyes widened in horror as I stared down at the sizzling, explosive sticks before my body automatically went into action. With a few choice expletives leaving my mouth, I started to run away from the dynamite as fast as I could. Sadly, I only took a few steps away before the fuses reached their end. I had been too shocked about fumbling with my dynamite that I had wasted precious time in response, now I was paying the price. Intense heat and the deafening sounds of explosions completely engulfed me then and I cried out in pain. The shock wave from the explosions sent me flying as the intense flames licked at my already burned and battered body. I landed a few meters away from my initial starting position on my side, my skin and clothes singed worse than ever and smoking like I had just been taken out of an oven. Everything hurt, but, surprisingly, not as badly as I thought it would. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't been hit directly by the dynamite when they went off and the fact that I used two instead of eight that I was getting off easy in that moment.

"...That..." I croaked out on a pained breath as I lightly pushed off the ground with one of my hands until I was able to flip over onto my back. "That was close!" I still couldn't believe that I had gotten off so easily. Well, I actually couldn't open one of my eyes right now, and I could feel blood on my cheeks. I didn't know if both of those were correlated or not... "Damn it," I cursed under my breath as I stared up into the sky with my one usable eye in contempt. "I just can't do it. That technique..."

I felt my mind begin to wander then, back to the time when I had first seen Shamal use that technique. I had been seven at the time, and I remember being bored out of my mind. Being far more intelligent than the other kids in the family, not to mention being the most hated because of my weird looks and my prodigy status, definitely had its pros and cons. One of those many cons (and hardly any pros, in my opinion) was that I didn't find many, if any, games the other kids played to be fun. That's why I usually hung out with Shamal. He was the only person in that forsaken mansion that actually cared for me without wanting to fucking kill me (like my sister and father. Don't get me started on my demon of a step-mother). I mean, sure, he was always an asshole to me, but he still kept me company when he wasn't with a woman and taught me how to take care of myself. On the particular day that I saw him do the Rocket Bomb Technique, I had been bored again with the other kids' games, and had decided to make some paper airplanes to throw off the balcony. With any luck, Shamal would be out there, because it was his favorite place to smoke...

---

"Dr. Shamal?" I asked hesitantly with my three paper airplanes held within my arms as I stared at the tall back of the doctor, who was standing out on the balcony of the mansion and having a smoke. He was wearing a black suit jacket with a dark blue, buttoned-up-shirt underneath and white tie, along with some black slacks and shoes. I, on the other hand, was wearing my usual, tiny black suit jacket with white button-up shirt and blue tie underneath, along with black shorts, knee high white socks, and black shoes. "The games that the other kids play aren't fun," I whined then as I approached the older man until I was standing beside him. "Teach me how to use the Trident Mosquito."

"What?" Shamal chided in annoyance as he gave me an irritated sideways glance. "After copying my hairstyle, you want to copy my assassination skills, too?" The older man smirked then as an idea seemed to come to him. Watching as he rifled through one of the pockets on his suit jacket, I saw him bring out three long, and tiny looking bombs. "For you," he stated with a knowing smirk, "maybe something like this would be more suitable?"

"Bombs?!" I cried out incredulously, my face scrunching up with distaste.

"They're dynamite," Shamal explained, almost patiently. "Though, these are the small ones."

"Laaaaaame!" I whined out in protest. "While I prepare them, the enemies will run away! That suuuuuucks!"

Shamal just sighed in slight annoyance before a bemused smirk played across his lips.

"Kids like you won't understand the delicacy of mid-range weapons if I just tell you. Let me show you first, then you can judge," he offered before he pointed off over the balcony railing before he lightly ordered, "...Toss all of your paper airplanes off here at the same time."

I remember feeling complete confusion at his suggestion before I realized what it was he aimed to do.

"You're going to strike them all down?" I scoffed in disbelief but readied myself anyway by climbing on top of the thick, brick railing and placing the first of the airplanes between my thumb and pointer finger. "Impossible. They'll fly all over the place."

Even though I felt like he just wanted to show off by trying to do an impossible task, I threw the three airplanes off the balcony in rapid succession, just like he asked.

"You just need to do this," Shamal commented coolly as he swiped the fuses of the tiny dynamite across his lit cigarette and threw them into the air at the zigzagging airplanes.

Right before my astonished eyes I saw all three dynamite sticks fly truly towards their erratically moving targets and obliterate them in fiery splendor, like it had been the easiest thing to do.

"They all blew up!" I gawked in complete astonishment as my mind's eye played back what I had seen within my head. "What was that?!"

Just how on earth had Shamal been able to make those dynamite sticks move directly towards constantly moving targets...?

---

I groaned irritably to myself as I shakily pushed myself up into a sitting position, a scowl on my face as the memory of my first viewing of the Rocket Bomb Technique ebbed away. I don't know how, but I'll definitely learn that skill...

"I'll do it...and find out what Shamal was able to see.." I ground out encouragingly to myself as I placed a hand on a propped knee and pushed off of it until I was shakily standing on my feet again. "...even if my body perishes in the process...!"

With my body protesting all the while, I continued to try and throw my bombs in a way that matched the image in my head, but, with every attempt, I was met with explosive resistance. With each misguided throw, the explosions would wrack my body, sending it flying to and fro with no remorse. After each painful failure, I noticed that my throwing was becoming worse, and my body was becoming less willing to move, but I kept pressing on stubbornly, not willing to give up even until the last possible moment. If I couldn't get this technique right then I had no right to call myself the Tenth's right-hand man, and, therefore, I had no right to live if I failed. Dying was just something I deserved for wasting the Tenth's precious time.

As I lit four sticks of dynamite then, completely refusing the rule I had previously set for myself with two, I lit all four fuses and started stumbling forward in order to throw. My exhausted feet fumbled under me, though, sending me tumbling to the ground in a pathetic heap, the lit dynamite sticks falling around my body. I knew then that I had only a few precious seconds left to live, because there was no way I could survive four dynamite sticks going off right next to me. I felt momentary panic, followed by crushing disappointment as I realized I had failed the one person who mattered to me in this world. In fact, I think I could hear his voice, but that was probably just hopeful thinking on my part.

Just before the explosions went off, though, I felt the ground beneath me give underway. I fell through the ground with barely a second left as the explosions went off around me, and now, conveniently above me as I landed on my butt at the bottom of a hole. The hole I fell into was shallow, though, so it didn't save me from the intense heat of the explosion, but at least the pressurized wind didn't tear my body apart like I had expected it to.

As the fiery smoke began to clear and my hearing slowly began to return, my tired eyes noticed that there were two others with me in the shallow hole. One of them was a tall, muscular man with a slight tan, and vibrant, short blond hair that was covered by a yellow construction worker's helmet that had a mining flashlight strapped to it. He also had a scruffy, blond goatee with some straggly hairs going up the sides of his cheeks and near his mouth. A white, wife-beater tank top donned his chest, and a pick-axe rested against his left shoulder. He also wore orange, baggy miner pants, white, fingered gloves on his hands, and brown work boots clad his feet. The other person was Reborn-san, I think, because he looked just like him except he was wearing the same mining outfit and helmet as the other guy.

"Oww..." I groaned out in pain as I ogled the strange man before me, who was now smiling at me with a knowing smirk that reminded me too much of Yamamoto for some reason, even though this guy was obviously not related to him. In fact, it almost seemed like he had some European blood in him because of the blond hair...

"Yo," the older man greeted me cheerily. "Good thing you fell into this hole, young man."

"Wha...?" I gasped out on slightly pained breath. "Who are you?!"

"That's no way to talk to the guy who saved your life," the older man stated more than admonished. I wanted to get a better look at his face, but he had his head bowed at the moment, with the rim of his hard hat obscuring his eyes from view. "I'm just a guy from the neighborhood with a cute wife and son."

"H-hah?" I questioned in a slightly taken aback tone. Why the hell had he evaded my question?! This guy was probably a weirdo if he didn't want to tell me who he actually was...

"Well, you're still young," the older man sighed out then understandingly as he placed one of his gloved hands on top of his hard hat. "I can understand when you say that you're not afraid to die." I saw him push the hand on top of his head back then, which moved his hard hat back in the process, revealing stern, brown eyes. "Keep in mind, though, that there are those who get hurt and those who try to heal the hurt ones. For those guys, it's not funny to have something that they value so much be treated so cheaply and brushed aside..." The older man stated sternly, like a wise father bestowing knowledge onto a rambunctious kid. "Now, tell me, how can a man protect others when he can't even protect himself?"

A sudden shock went through my system as I stared at the older man with wide-eyed disbelief. It was if his words had wormed their way past the defenses of my brain and lodged themselves into place, finally connecting two dots that I hadn't realized weren't connected until just now.

"Oh well, time for work," the older man chimed airily as he turned from me and hoisted himself out of the shallow hole. Standing above me now, he turned halfway to glance over his shoulder and spared me a kind wave. "See you later, young man!"

If I had been in any state of mind to respond, I probably would have, but I was completely speechless, almost struck dumb in fact, by the shock and newfound revelation I felt from the strange man's words. I brought my head back and stared up at the sky for a bit as I heard the older man walk away. An old memory was pushing its way to the forefront of my mind then. It had been shortly after Shamal had taught me the basics of using dynamite. There had been many instances before my training where I had run away from the mansion to escape Bianchi when she was in a cooking mood, my bitchy step-mother, or the ugly sneers of my father's men and their children and wander the town nearby. Because of that, I met many rival family members wandering the streets. They'd throw insults at me, but would never do anything physical in fear of my father's wrath (I'd tell my father about the jibes but he'd just say it was the least I deserved for running away in the first place). Shortly after my training, though, I decided to regain my honor by searching out those men that would say such horrible things to me and scare them with my newfound weapons. When I had eventually found them and charged them with bombs ready, they were so freaked out that they misfired most of their bullets, except for a few stray ones that ricocheted off the alley walls and hit my left arm, breaking bone. One cast and a sling later after a visit to the hospital, courtesy of my father, I rushed to the wing Shamal usually stayed in when he visited the mansion to tell him of my exploits, hoping to get praise for putting the things he had taught me to use. When I had excitedly told him, though, Shamal had turned and walked away from me, stating that he wouldn't teach me how to fight anymore. Despite my protests, Shamal left the mansion, saying that there was no point in teaching someone who couldn't see the issue.

Thinking back on it now, I had always been confused by his words, wondering what point I had been missing. I had felt the same way when Shamal had refused to mentor me again earlier that morning, but I had completely forgotten about his will to no longer teach me until just now. Could you blame me for forgetting, though? It had been about five or six years since that time and my mind had been so focused on being accepted by a mafia family that such 'meaningless' thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind. I knew as soon as I had run away from home and Shamal had begrudgingly allowed me to live in his house that I wouldn't be getting much if any more help from the man, so I had never bothered to ask for more direction on my dynamite skills. I knew that I was alone. Hell...I had always been alone...even when Shamal was there to keep me company from time to time. He never seemed too happy to be around me in general. With constant denial from every living person in my life, was it really my fault that I had been missing a major point up until now, though?

As I turned my head downwards then, I brought a bloodied, calloused, and slightly burned hand up to my face and just stared. All of these wounds...I had been the cause of them...My ambition and desperate need had caused me to bypass basic human instinct for so, so many years...

"What I couldn't see was..." I whispered out then as I continued to stare at my damaged hand, now completely understanding what Shamal had been referring to all those years ago when he had stopped training me. "...my own life..."

From as young as I could remember, I had been told that I should have never been born, that I was useless, and that, even though I was a prodigy, no one would ever love a disgusting child like me. And I had believed them. How couldn't I, when such words were the norm in my life? I...I still believed that...but...what good would I be in protecting the Tenth if I ended up killing myself due to my own carelessness? The Tenth, who was the one true person I could trust completely, was depending on me, and I was desecrating his trust by training so recklessly. What had that man said again? That people who care about you don't want to see you recklessly throw your life away? Yeah...that sounded about right. The Tenth cared for me, so it was a given then that he'd be angry with me for treating myself so poorly.

I felt a sudden nagging in my chest then, and my mind reeled in sudden confusion, like I abruptly realized that I wasn't fully comprehending something. But...what was it? What wasn't I getting? I...had a feeling it had something to do with...people that cared for me...but...that couldn't be right...There was only one person who truly cared for me, right? Anyone else who said otherwise was obviously just trying to get close to use me or take advantage of me, like my sister for instance and...and...

...Yamamoto...right?

Even though I thought it...for some reason...there was no conviction behind my belief. Why...why was I doubting my thoughts in regards to Yamamoto again? Why was it that, no matter how hard I tried now, and no matter how hard I had tried in the past...I just couldn't truly believe the other was just trying to get close to me to sabotage me? Damn, my head hurt now. Maybe I was just confused at the moment because I had such a huge revelation after practically blowing my brains out. I obviously wasn't thinking one-hundred percent coherently anymore.

"Gokudera-kun! Are you okay?!"

The frenzied shouting of my boss suddenly broke me out of my confusing thoughts.

"T-Tenth!" I stuttered out, completely startled as I turned my attention towards my boss' voice to see him running towards me from a grove of trees to my right. He was wearing casual clothes, unlike myself, and I suddenly felt even more embarrassment for it. Not only had my boss seen me train in such a deplorable state, but he would notice that I had been careless to not change out of my school uniform first in order to train! "H...How embarrassing!" I finally choked out on flustered breath as I felt my entire face grow warm. "You showed up at such a pathetic moment...!"

"Yeah," another familiar, yet callous voice agreed with me as the Tenth finally reached my side. "You really are pathetic and reckless."

"Wha?!" I gawked as Shamal walked out from the same area the Tenth had come from and made his way towards me, his eyes narrowed into stern slits.

"Listen," Shamal brought up with an irritated growl as he stopped before me, his figure towering over me as I tried to sit up straighter within the shallow hole. "The next time you act recklessly like this, I'll take out that life that you don't want."

My eyes widened in shock and hurt at the older man's words.

"Shamal..." I could only seem to get the perverted doctor's name past my lips before words were lost to me again. I felt an intense pang in my chest as another wave of betrayal washed over me, but...at the same time...Shamal's words had rang true in my head, and even though I had told myself many times that I didn't care if I died...to hear someone else say that they'd do the honors of ending me, it just...it made whatever previous thoughts I had on the matter suddenly seem horribly wrong. It was such a weird thing to feel and understand...almost like an unwelcome moment of clarity.

"Heal your own wounds since I don't take care of men," Shamal ground out, his voice turning from anger to slight irritation. "Geez, do you know how many girls I could've hit on in ten days instead?"

Wait...what?

I stared up at Shamal now in utter disbelief. Had...had I heard the other correctly...?

"...Then..." I heard my boss mumble out in realization, but, before he could finish whatever it was he wanted to say, Reborn-san finally broke his moment of silence to interject.

"It looks like the teams have finally assembled," the tiny man stated with finality in his tone as he crawled up out of the hole to stand by the Tenth. I just stared up at him in slight confusion before my eyes fell upon the Tenth, who was looking around frantically, as if he was searching for someone or something. It looked like he couldn't find whatever it was he was looking for, because he schooled his features into a deadpanned expression.

Before I could ask him what was wrong, though, I felt a light container land unceremoniously into my lap. Letting out a yelp of surprise from the sudden impact, I glanced down to see a small first aid kit. Glancing back up at Shamal, who looked even more annoyed with me as he insisted to hurry up because we had a limited time frame, I hurriedly opened the med-kit with fumbling, bruised and blistered fingers. I almost couldn't believe that my luck had turned around, just like that. It had only taken me a single moment to realize what Shamal had meant all those years ago when he said he'd stop training me. Now that I knew what I hadn't known back then, it seemed like the perverted doctor was ready to pick up where we had left off, if but a little reluctantly, still. Either way, I wasn't going to let this moment go to waste! The only man who could teach me the Rocket Bomb Technique was finally at my disposal. Just you wait, Tenth! I'll show you how capable I really am! That long-haired guy won't stand a chance!

---

Yamamoto's POV

Night had finally fallen, but I was still training harder than ever with my father. I hadn't made much leeway in terms of improvement either. Now that I thought about it, I was pretty sure I hadn't landed a single blow to him yet. I had been able to block some strikes at least, but I was actually starting to wonder if my dad had let me do that in order to secretly give me encouragement.

As I charged towards my old man with a cry of frustration, my shinai raised to strike his left shoulder, my father's shinai came down faster than the blink of an eye and smacked down on my head. Even with my protective headgear on, I could still feel the sting as I landed flat on my back from the force of the hit. Gritting my teeth in agitation, I struggled to lift myself back up, my muscles protesting from the hours of nonstop training.

"Are you serious?" I ground out in frustration to myself from both my protesting muscles and my lack of improvement as I finally managed to push myself up into a sitting position. "I had no idea my old man was so strong. It's like he's a totally different person."

"Takeshi," my father uttered out as he towered over me, his eyes stern and a little cross. "If you don't have the resolve, go home."

I gawked at the older man in surprise. Was he serious?

"If playing a game is your only reason for learning kendo," my father continued. "Then ask someone else to teach you."

"Reason..." I whispered out the word thoughtfully. My reason for learning kendo...

As my mind thought on that, I couldn't get the laughing, mocking image of that long-haired man out of the corner of my mind. He had told me that he could tell that I hadn't learned any particular sword style and that he could easily defeat me.

And he had been right.

That thought irked me to no end. I wanted to prove to that man that I had what it took to defeat him, that I wouldn't let him hurt me or my friends ever again! My reason for learning kendo was so that I could protect the ones closest to me!

"I'm not playing!" I shouted out then in determination, my renewed resolve giving me the burst of energy I needed to jump to my feet and rush toward my father faster than I had before. I jumped once more with my sword raised, crying out where I was going to strike next, as was a typical rule in kendo.

Because of the warning, though, my father dodged out of the way and out of my sight a split second before my shinai could reach him. I gasped in shock, my eyes widening as I tried to fathom where he had gone. I quickly learned the next second, though, as a rough smack from a bamboo sword came down on my head from behind. I let out an undignified squawk of pain as I was flung forward from the blow and face-planted into the wooden floorboards below me.

"Owww!" I whined out as I pushed myself up off the floor and glanced over my shoulder towards my father in righteous indignation. "Seriously, from behind?! That was unfair, Dad!"

"Unfair?" My father growled out derisively as he towered over me again, his shinai held in both hands at his side, the tip currently pointing towards the ground. "Don't make me laugh. This is what I meant when I said this wasn't a game," he reemphasized darkly. "I am teaching you a murderous sword style that killed many men during times of war."

"Murderous?" I repeated my father's heavy wording in a disbelieving whisper. "What's with that?" I had wanted to learn kendo, not a murderous sword style. Just what was my father getting at?

"It's called the Shigure Souen Style," my father explained then without missing a beat.

"Shigure...Souen Style?" I repeated my father's words again, testing how they sounded on my tongue. For some reason I couldn't explain, the words...sounded right, like I had been meant to say them all along, and a strange feeling of familiarity washed over me. This left me more than confused because I was certain I had never heard about this sword style in my life...and yet...it resonated with me at an unfathomable level. The meaning of those words...Shigure meant a rain shower during late fall or early winter, which tied into the Rain Ring that had been given to me, and the fall/winter referred to in the name made the sword style sound cold and foreboding. A rain shower during the coldest months of the year usually spelled disaster in some way. The word Souen on the other hand, could mean many different things depending on the kanji, but the one translation that stood out to me the most was 'azure swallow'. Azure tied in with the color of rain, while swallow would insinuate that the sword style was light and fast. Not only that but...those words resonated within me as well. For some reason, I just knew that this was what my dad had meant when he had told me the name.

"Knowing this now, are you still willing to learn?" My father suddenly asked then as he gave me a calculating look. Even though I didn't like the idea of learning a dangerous, murderous sword style...and I had to wonder how my dad knew about it in the first place as well...I couldn't say no. Something was...pulling me towards learning this style. I had to learn it. There was no other option, nor did I have the time to find an alternative route. If this was my destiny, then so be it. Just because it was a dangerous sword style didn't mean I actually had to kill with it.

With these thoughts in mind, I pushed myself to my feet and brought my shinai forward, holding the hilt tightly in my gloved grip as I pointed it at my father.

"Of course!" I proclaimed with resolution, my eyes staring intently back at my father's.

My father let a small smirk lift one end of his mouth and a light chuckle escape past his lips.

"Good, now we can finally get started."

---

…

Five days had passed since my dad agreed to train me in kendo. Those five days were the most grueling I had ever experienced. My dad was merciless with a sword, but, because of his tough-love approach, I had become stronger. With each day that passed by, I could feel my movements quicken, my eyes become sharper, my stance steadier, and my abilities with the sword improve. My father never wasted a single breath on explaining what it was that I needed to do, because he knew that I learned quicker visually and physically than verbally. Every time I attacked, he showed me how to effectively block, and every time I attempted to defend, he showed me how to bust through the barrier. By the fourth day I was proud in believing that I could at least hold my own against my old man, although, defeating him didn't seem like something that would happen anytime soon.

Besides my improvement with the sword, the other thing worth noting that had transpired in the last five days was the fact that I hadn't seen or heard from any of my friends. I had no idea how Tsuna's and Gokudera's training were going, although I could fathom a guess. If the Little Guy was training Tsuna, then, undoubtedly, my friend was probably having a rough time since the toddler could be so...intense...when it came to physical training. As for Gokudera...well...

I let out an exhausted, frustrated sigh as my thoughts returned to my silver-haired friend. Knowing him, he was probably going overboard and pushing himself beyond his limits. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about his well-being...more so than with Tsuna...because Gokudera could be stupidly reckless for someone who was academically a genius. In fact, I blamed my current state on this worry I felt because I didn't know what else to blame this situation on...

Rushing water filled my ears as I turned on the tap in the bathroom sink. I cupped my hands under the faucet and collected what water I could before I washed my face with it, trying to wake myself up in the early hours of the morning while simultaneously trying to calm myself as I recollected on the strangest dream I had ever had to date.

Another pitiful groan left my lips as the images of my dream flashed through my mind. I ran a hand exhaustively through my hair as I turned off the faucet then, and glanced up at the mirror hanging before me. It was rather sad that I couldn't even stand to meet the eyes of my reflection for more than a brief second. My embarrassment was getting the better of me. I just couldn't get over what I had dreamed because it had been so strange...and the consequences even stranger...

What I could recollect from my still sleep-addled brain was that I had been in some large void in my dream, but I was standing within it like I was on solid ground. There was nothing around me but white, and I was wearing some sort of black shirt/black slacks combo that gave the impression of a jump suit. My shirt was only buttoned up to my navel, leaving my chest exposed for the most part, except for the fact that my entire chest and stomach were wrapped up in white medical bandages. The long sleeves of my shirt were also rolled up to my elbows, and I had a long, silver-chain resting around my neck. I also had a red ribbon-like sash tied around one of the belt loops on my pants, and my left pant leg was rolled up to slightly above my calf. Red and white sneakers also donned my feet, and I remember wondering why I was wearing such a strange set of clothes as I rested a katana along the back of my shoulders, one hand gripping the handle while the other gently held the dull side of the blade in an open palm, the sharp side of the blade facing upwards. I just stood there leisurely holding my sword in the most laid-back fashion imaginable until a figure appeared before me within the white void.

The figure was several meters away from me, but I would recognize that familiar mop of short, silvery hair anywhere. I remember my eyes widening in my dream as I beheld Gokudera, whose figure was walking slowly towards me. He was wearing a getup very similar to mine, except his shirt was left completely open, revealing his white, wife-beater tank top underneath. I remember noting how the tank top clung to his skin, showcasing the lean muscle underneath like the fabric wasn't even there at all. One of the long sleeves of his shirt was rolled up to his elbow, just like mine, but the other was kept down with a red, ribbon-like sash wrapped around his forearm, covering his sleeve. It was such a strange fashion choice, but it just screamed 'Gokudera', and even though I would think such a look to be ridiculous, Gokudera pulled it off amazingly well, like he always did. Taking my attention away from the sash on his arm, I noted a thin, red ribbon-like necklace around his neck that was studded with silver circles along the side. He also wore a red belt around his waist, the belt being so long that most of it trailed along his side, just like the red wallet strap he had hooked to his side pocket. His feet were also clad in the same red and white sneakers as mine, which had made me finally wonder on why Gokudera was dressed so similarly to me.

That was when my eyes rested upon Gokudera's face. For a brief moment, all I could do was stare at the other in shock. His bangs were swept back to the top of his head and held in place by several black bobby pins, which gave him a slightly more disheveled appearance, but in a good way. I could see his face more clearly than ever, since he no longer had any bangs to hide behind. His jade-green orbs were narrowed at me as he drew slowly closer, his movements slow, almost sensual and filled with a hidden purpose as he stared straight into my eyes with such a burning intensity, I momentarily forgot how to breathe.

As if to add more to the scene, one side of Gokudera's open shirt started to slide down until it pooled right below his shoulder, exposing more of his fair skin and a distinctive black skull and crossbones tattoo. I couldn't remember a time Gokudera looked as good as he did then. In fact, I felt completely speechless in that moment, and what little breathing I was doing was coming in quick spurts like I couldn't calm myself down.

I almost felt like I was going insane as Gokudera drew tantalizingly closer to me, the fire in his eyes never diminishing and keeping me on bated breath, wondering what he was going to do next. The last time I had been so laser-focused had been with my last training session with my father, but now, all my eyes could do was take in every small detail Gokudera offered me. Every languid movement, the way his clothes pushed and pulled with his body as he walked, the way the white around us perfectly accentuated his exposed skin, the way his silvery locks shined like a lustrous prism. I was left spellbound by him, unable to look away and having no desire to do so in the first place. My head was reeling with awe and so many other mixed emotions that all I could do was stare at the other just as intensely as he finally stood before me, our bodies so close but yet so far apart. I had the strongest urge to draw closer, to reach out and touch the other, but I was paralyzed by his analyzing gaze. His icy-green orbs were practically drinking me in with a breathtakingly feral hunger, leaving me at the other's mercy because I no longer cared what happened, as long as Gokudera stayed here with me and continued to look at me like I was the only thing he could see in this world, wherever it was.

I remember all too soon how that moment had faded away. Something in the air shifted, and a sense of intense foreboding overcame both of us. Gokudera let out a hiss of anger as he quickly grabbed two firework sticks from his pants pocket and glanced warily over his tattooed shoulder. I glared past the other too, feeling rather ticked off that something had interrupted us just when we were getting closer. That was when the white void washed away to be replaced by ominous black. It was reminiscent of storm clouds moving in, but much more sinister. I remember hearing a loud, echoing, feral scream that sent chills down my spine. Thinking back on it now, it had sounded like a more omniscient version of the long-haired guy's scream.

Coming back to the present now, I still couldn't meet my own gaze in the mirror, my eyes finding more interest in the porcelain sink as I remembered what had happened after my dream. As soon as I had heard that bone-chilling voice, I woke up with a start. My mind was still addled with sleep as fragments of the dream replayed in my head, but while most of my body was still waking up, a certain part of me was completely awake and practically screaming at me for attention. I remembered balking at the realization, and freaking out quite thoroughly as I tried to make sense of why my body was reacting the way it was to such a strange dream. It had taken me a while to calm myself down and sneak into the bathroom, hoping that my father wouldn't catch me en route and make my morning all the more awkward to bear. Thankfully, it didn't take me as long to take care of my little problem since I had been, well...close to the edge already. When I was done, I was left in a completely confused daze, my jumbled thoughts my only form of company. This...was not something I wanted someone else to find out about because...well...besides it being embarrassing and highly personal, I still had no idea what the hell had caused this reaction in the first place. All I could fathom was that it was either a coincidence because I was a healthy teenage boy, and stuff like this happened all the time... or it was a strange mixture of trepidation for the fight with the long-haired guy that was steadily drawing nearer and the fact that I was worried sick about Gokudera's training...and also that I missed seeing the other around. I mean, I missed Tsuna as well, don't get me wrong...but because my worry for Gokudera overshadowed that...maybe that's why my dream had only had Gokudera, and the strange feelings I felt during that dream were overblown because I missed seeing him...

...Yeah, I was going to go with that...

Trying to force my previous thoughts to the back of my mind, I finished my morning bathroom routine before heading downstairs where my father had a hardy breakfast waiting for me. I thanked him for the food, but only got a grunt of assent from him as we both dug in. We ate in complete silence then, my father seeming to be in a more pensive mood than usual, as of late anyway, while I was unable to stop myself from thinking about my strange dream and the consequences I experienced because of it.

When breakfast was finally finished and we headed out towards the dojo, not a single word was spoken between us again. I couldn't help but feel that something was up.

Walking past the overgrown bushes lining the unkempt path and into the clearing where the dojo rested, my dad stopped right at the front steps. I almost ran into him, but I stopped myself in time as my father turned around to face me.

"Whatever is on your mind at the moment, Takeshi, push it to the far recesses of your mind," my dad informed curtly. "I need your complete focus today because I think you're ready to learn the skills that I know."

My eyes widened in surprise at this. So, my father was saying that I was worthy enough to finally learn Shigure Souen Style?

"Shigure Souen Style consists of eight main forms," my father informed me then, his tone dire. "And it is with utmost importance that you watch me as carefully as possible, because I'm going to ask you to perform all of the forms I show you as soon as I'm done with my demonstration. Do you understand what I'm asking of you?"

My father's words felt heavy as they reached me, weighed down by centuries of expectation. I felt a huge amount of pressure being forced down upon me, but my soul didn't waver. I had been training for this exact moment, so all I could do was push forward now.

"Are you saying that you want me to perform the techniques you show me immediately after your done demonstrating them all?" I asked, just to make certain that I had heard my old man correctly. "I only have one chance to memorize the skill before I have to show you?"

My father gave me a resolute nod and stated, "That's exactly what I meant." He then gave me an inquisitive look. "Are you up for the challenge?"

Even though I felt like the pressure I had felt before had almost doubled in size, another part of me couldn't suppress the shivers of anticipation as one of the most difficult tasks in my life had been just set before me.

I sent my father an excited smirk, my eyes dancing with an almost wild anticipation.

"You know that I never turn down one," I chuckled out in bemusement. My father let out a little laugh at that before bestowing me with a proud smile.

"That's my boy."

---

"Next! Seventh Form!" My father's voice rang throughout the empty dojo as he called for me to show off the seventh Shigure Souen Style technique he had shown me only once before.

Closing my eyes and recalling the defensive form, I positioned the real katana my father had given me to practice with behind me, holding the sword backwards in my grip with the blade facing outwards. Knowing what I had to do then, my eyes snapped open, shining fierce with determination as I spun quickly in a circle, holding the sword steady in its position behind me to create a whirlwind to protect me and also harm anything within the vicinity.

"Spraying Rain," I called out calmly as I came to a stop, hearing the rolled up bamboo mats that I had been using as testing dummies for my sword separate from where my attack had severed them and fall to the ground with multiple dull thuds.

"Next! Eighth Form!" My father called out next without saying anything in regards to how I had performed the last technique. He hadn't commented on any of the forms, so far, so I could only wonder if I was remembering them correctly. What I was doing felt right, though, despite my second thoughts.

As I recalled the eighth form in my mind, my eyes narrowed in determination as I walked between four bamboo mat dummies and stood in the middle with the four dummies now surrounding me. Holding the sword before me then, I slashed quickly and fiercely in every direction near me, the movements coming easier for me than any of the other forms combined.

"Pouring Rain," I sighed out with strong conviction as I closed my eyes and stayed in my ending stance as I heard the four bamboo mats splinter and fall to the ground in several vertically sliced pieces around me.

A short silence reigned within the darkened dojo. I had shown my father all eight forms of the Shigure Souen Style, and now, I was waiting for his verdict.

"That's the end of it," my father's gruff voice stated within the quiet training hall. "There's nothing else for me to teach you."

My eyes shot open in startled confusion then as I turned to face my old man, who now had his back turned towards me and was walking away.

"Wait up, Dad!" I called out in bafflement. "The end...? All I did was see the forms once and copied them!" He was pulling my leg, right? There had to be more to the style than this. Usually it took weeks to perfect the techniques, and surely my father was going to critique my stance or execution of the forms...

My father stopped in his tracks then but he did not turn to face me as he explained his reasoning for leaving.

"From the master to the disciple; we only show the forms once...That is the rule for the Shigure Souen Style," My father mentioned, his voice heavy with the weight of the words he was delivering. "Since the Shigure Souen Style is such a dangerous form of the sword, when there isn't someone with sufficient skill and will-power around to learn it correctly, the form is fated to disappear from the world."

"S...seriously?" I gawked at my old man incredulously. "Then if I learned it wrong..."

"Takeshi," my father's stern voice interrupted my worried monologue, his back still facing me. "If you are serious and have the motivation to gain the skill of this sword then you won't forget what I've shown you today."

As my father's words sank in, all I could do was blink several times at my father's back, a feeling of awe soon filling me, along with understanding.

With a confident smile now stretching across my face, I proclaimed, "That's true. Then I'll just go ahead and do this on my own."

I must have said exactly what my father wanted to hear, because, even though he still refused to turn and face me, his voice became lighter, like a burden had suddenly been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Yeah," he hummed out thoughtfully. "All of the secrets of the Shigure Souen Style lie in the eighth form. If you train without giving up," he added pointedly, "then you will find the answer you seek by yourself."

I nodded my head in assent, then quickly realized my father couldn't see this action.

"Yeah," I verbally agreed then before a sudden thought surfaced at the forefront of my mind. Curiosity getting the better of me, I couldn't refrain myself from asking, "Oh yeah, Dad...Did you know why I wanted to learn kendo in the first place?"

"Hah!" My father let out a short, amused laugh, like I had unknowingly stumbled upon an inside joke of his. "When I was around your age, I also took on the forms, just like you. I have some sort of an idea." He then glanced over his shoulder at me, bestowing me with an encouraging smile. "I won't ask you a boring question like that. Work hard, Takeshi."

"Dad..." I mumbled out in complete awe as a strange warmth flourished in my chest. In that moment, I felt immensely proud to be this man's son. Unable to contain the gratitude and newly rekindled respect I had for my father, I humbly bowed at the waist before him, my sword still firmly gripped in one of my hands at my side. "Thank you very much!" I proclaimed then, not only as a disciple to his master, but as a son to his father.

My father let out a jovial laugh at my sign of gratitude.

"All right! I'm going home first then," he chuckled out as he sent me a dazzling smile. It was the only one I'd seen from him in almost a week. It truly was a welcomed sight. "We'll have chirashi tonight for dinner," he soon added in afterthought.

"Oh!" I exclaimed in excitement, my eyes shining happily. It had been a while since we'd had chirashi. "I"m looking forward to it!"

With another encouraging smile sent my way, my father left me to my training then. As I was left alone in the dojo, my mind refocused on the task at hand. I now knew the eight forms of Shigure Souen Style...at least, I think I did. Now I had to cement the movements into my mind and body until they came to me naturally without any hesitation. I'd have to be completely relaxed and used to the style if I ever wanted to even fight on equal grounds with the long-haired guy, and I only had five more days to do it.

---

Gokudera's POV

I watched attentively as Shamal let loose another paper airplane into the sky. It drifted lazily through the still air overhead, meaning that there was no way I could miss the shot this time. There was no wind to take into account, so I didn't have to calculate the trajectory of my throws. All I had to do was aim and let my dynamite fly.

That being said, I only had one stick of dynamite in hand, since I realized it was probably best to keep to one until I finally figured out how to perform the Rocket Bomb Technique. If I had kept shooting my dynamite off at the rate I was going earlier, I would have run out by now, which meant I'd have to waste my time restocking my dynamite supply. I was already wasting enough time folding paper airplanes, and there was only five days left until the long-haired guy showed up again...

Pushing these thoughts to the back of my mind then, I watched the paper airplane above my head drift further ahead of me through the air. I quickly aimed before I flung my dynamite stick at the moving target. Instead of the zigzag pattern I had been trying to accomplish, my dynamite stick just vertically spun through the air until it blew up by the paper airplane, covering the sky with a small explosion of fire and smoke, and blocking my view of the paper airplane. Had I hit it?

Any small amount of hope I had was quickly disposed of when I saw the paper airplane emerge from the small cloud of smoke and fly towards the ground. It was smoking a bit at the edges, and looked a bit burnt, but other than that, it was perfectly fine. I had failed yet again.

"Missed again~" Shamal chortled out in an amused, drunken state from atop the small cliff a few meters above me.

"Damn it!" I growled out menacingly, my teeth clenching together hard enough that it almost snapped my cigarette in half. My hands also now held several sticks of dynamite tightly within their grasps out of angry habit. "Why won't it hit?!" I was only seconds away from snapping and just tossing lit dynamite everywhere I could throw and revel in the ensuing carnage just to let off some steam. Just why the fuck couldn't I get this?! And why the fuck was Shamal not helping me at all?!

"That's because you're not elegant enough," the perverted doctor spoke up then, unnecessarily answering my question with a smart-ass remark. Where the hell was this guy coming off calling me inelegant when he was laying lazily on his side above me on that stupidly small cliff, sipping at numerous cans of beer and reading porno magazines?!

"I don't want to hear that from a guy like you!" I hissed out over my shoulder at the lazy-ass man, my whole body bristling with anger and frustration. Turning my back on the other again, I clenched my fists even tighter around the dynamite in my hands in anger and stalked forward to try and retrieve the paper airplane I had failed to blow up again. Damn it! Shamal wasn't teaching me anything! This was no different than training by myself!

"Hey, Hayato~" Shamal drunkenly sang out in amusement then, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end just by its creepy factor alone.

"Keh!" I huffed out in irritation as I chanced a glance behind me at the drunkard still laying atop the small cliff, but I quickly glanced away again, just to show the man how much I was pissed off with him at the moment. "Shut up!"

"Want me to give you a hint?" The older man added playfully, despite my demand.

Upon hearing those words, though, I stopped in my tracks, my whole body stiffening in surprise. Had I heard that correctly? Did I even dare to hope?!

Eyes widening in shocked disbelief, I glanced over my shoulder at Shamal again, noticing that the perverted doctor was lazily picking at his nose. What a fucking winner this guy was...

"Eh? You'll give me a hint?" I gasped out as I gawked at the older man, my eyes shining with hope despite my better judgment.

"Flirting."

Upon hearing Shamal's lone answer, my mind starting reeling in confusion. The fuck was he talking about...?

"It's just like flirting," he reiterated, as if he noticed that I didn't get what he was talking about. But really, who could? This guy was making about as much sense as Yamamoto whenever he tried to describe doing a task.

"...Wha?" I questioned vocally this time. Seriously, how the fuck was flirting a hint for the Rocket Bomb Technique?!

"You don't get it?" Shamal hummed out in amusement as he thankfully took his finger out of his nose in order to grab a paper airplane beside him. "This paper airplane is a cute girl," he explained then. "And that dynamite is you."

As I glanced down at the dynamite in one of my hands, I really started to wonder if this was supposed to be sagely wisdom or if the beer had truly gotten to Shamal's head and caused permanent brain damage.

"Well," Shamal brought his point home, "think about how you would plan on winning her."

"Wha...?!" I gasped out incredulously as I glanced over my shoulder at the perverted doctor behind me. Was he fucking serious?! How would I fucking seduce a woman? "How the hell should I know?!" I cried out, beyond pissed at this point and not understanding a single thing this stupid man was saying. "Besides, flirting has nothing to do with bombs! What the fuck are you even saying, you pervert!"

What the fuck did he expect me to do, stuff the dynamite through the open slit in the fucking paper airplane? Did he honestly think that blowing a paper airplane with dynamite was the same as seducing a woman? Or was he referring to the Rocket Bomb's tendency to chase after the target until it hit it? That would make more sense Shamal-wise, since he pursued women like a fucking homing missile at times. But seriously, though, did he honestly think I had an idea on how to win over a woman? When the fucking hell would I ever want to do that in the first place?! I had no time or patience for unimportant shit like that. Besides, women were fucking annoying and not worth my time in the first place!

"Geez, this is why I hate kids..." Shamal sighed out in exasperation. "This is going to take longer than expected."

I really wanted to scream at the older man to give me actual fucking instructions on how to do the technique so that I could actually accomplish my goal, but, before I could, he was ordering me to go and make more paper airplanes since we were almost out. He was the one throwing the fucking things, and the dozens of stupid magazines with him to make them out of, so why the fuck wasn't he doing it?!

"Damn it!" I cursed out loud in agitation, knowing that complaining would only make the older man stop training me entirely; if you could even call the little he was doing 'training' to begin with. How the hell was I ever going to figure out this technique when I was getting little to no help, and I was constantly wasting my time folding paper airplanes and making dynamite?!

I just hoped that the Tenth was doing better in his training by this point... Only five days left...

---

By the time the sun went down, I hadn't made any progress whatsoever with my training. Shamal even had the fucking nerve to berate me for not catching on to the technique. Seriously, fuck this guy! It was because of him I was at a fucking dead end to begin with!

As I traveled back down the mountain and took a bus part way to my apartment, I was more irate and frustrated than ever. Why was this technique so fucking hard to pull off? Just why wasn't I getting it?

Darkness had fully consumed the streets once I had disembarked from the bus and started making the rest of the way to my apartment on foot. My path was illuminated by the many street lights lining the streets, but even with their helpful glow, I didn't see the tall figure that appeared in the shadows next to my apartment complex until I was almost on top of them.

"Gokudera Hayato."

"Fucking hell!" I screamed in fright as I jumped away from the area the voice had come from, thankfully recovering my balance well enough that I didn't embarrassingly fall onto my ass. "Who's there?!"

Two handfuls of dynamite were in my hands and a lit cigarette was in my mouth by the time the mysterious person, who was a man (going by the deep voice), emerged from the shadows and into a beam of light given off by the nearest street light I was under. The man that appeared before me was none other than that mysterious blond construction worker. The same one that had pointed out that I wasn't able to see the importance of my own life. Just what was he doing here, and why did he look so grave?

"I will explain everything later," the older man, who was in his complete construction worker uniform this time with an orange jump suit, quickly proclaimed as he crossed his arms before him, his facial features grim. "The Varia have arrived in town earlier than expected."

"What?!" I exclaimed as this news hit me. They were five days too early! I hadn't been able to accomplish anything in that time, much less even improve! But how did this guy know about the Varia? Did he work for the Vongola as well, or maybe even an affiliated Family?

"Currently, Leviathan's Lightning Strike Squad is hunting down the Lightning Guardian, Lambo of the Bovino Family."

"The Stupid Cow?!" I shouted out in shock. Why the fucking hell would Reborn-san and Cavallone give one of the Half-Vongola Rings to the Stupid Cow?! Something that important shouldn't have been given to a toddler in the first place, least of all him! Why the fuck didn't they choose I-Pin instead if they had to pick a little kid?!

"He was last seen with Sasagawa Kyoko, Miura Haru, Fuuta de la Stella, and I-Pin around town. They should be heading back to the Decimo's house at this late hour, but they haven't been spotted yet," the older man continued on as if I hadn't exclaimed at all. "With the Varia now in town, it's my duty to check on the well-being of the chosen Guardians, inform them of the situation, and send them out in search of the Lightning Guardian, who is too inexperienced at this time to protect himself. I've already informed the Sun Guardian, Sasagawa Ryohei, and Basil should be informing the Rain Guardian, Yamamoto Takeshi, as we speak."

"Lawn Head, too..." I mumbled out, reeling at the information this strange man was spewing at me. It was almost too much to take in at once. I should have expected Lawn Head to be made a Guardian, but the Stupid Cow still boggled my mind. Not only that, but our showdown with the Varia was already upon us, and I wasn't ready by any means.

"If you'll excuse me, I have two other Guardians to check up on: the Mist Guardian, and the Cloud Guardian, Hibari Kyouya. Find the Lightning Guardian before Leviathan's Squad does," the older man bid in farewell just before he turned around and ran off into the shadows.

"Fuck!" I cursed at the top of my lungs as I started running as fast as I could towards the Tenth's house. Curse my luck that this was happening now of all times! Curse the fact that the Stupid Cow was given an important heirloom of the Vongola Family in the first place! And curse the fuck out of Reborn-san and Cavallone for giving the Stupid Cow the ring to begin with! Seriously, what the fuck were they thinking?!

And seriously?! Hibari was a Guardian, too?! I mean, it made sense but at the same time I wasn't too happy with this knowledge! That guy was a fucking sadist!

Those thoughts aside, I didn't run straight for the Tenth's house, since the mysterious man had stated that they hadn't been spotted there yet, but they should be making their way towards that destination. If I were to guess, that meant that they'd at least be somewhere within an eight kilometer radius by this point in time, if not closer.

As I started to frantically scan the streets for any people wearing the same attire as that long-haired guy had been, while listening for the Stupid Cow's inane whining, I wondered if I'd be of any use in the upcoming battles at all. If I was the first to find the Stupid Cow, could I actually protect him from a Varia fighting squad? Especially ones that sounded like they specialized in lightning?!

With doubt starting to cloud my mind, I almost didn't hear the distant screaming of children a few blocks away. Stopping in my tracks, I listened closely at the familiar sounding cries for help, trying to pinpoint their location through auditory cues alone. Shit! It sounded like no one from our Family had found the kids yet, but the Lightning Squad had! I had to get there quickly!

Figuring out where the screams were originating and where they were heading, I started running at full sprint towards my next destination. I thought I could also hear the Tenth's voice calling out to the kids in fear, which made me run all the faster.

I was so laser-focused into my task that I almost ran into someone who had just turned the same corner as me but from the other side of the street. Catching myself in time just before I would have rammed right into the person, I came to a stumbling halt before them instead. The person who had been running towards the same area as me did the same thing, our eyes catching a split second later, recognition following shortly after.

"Yamamoto?!"

"Gokudera?!"

I just stared in shock at the Baseball Freak, who I hadn't seen in five days. He was wearing sweats; a simple white t-shirt, black track pants, and his green sports jacket with high rounded collar. The Idiot was also holding a bamboo sword/shinai in one of his hands. Had he taken up kendo to better his sword skills?

As I thought this, I noticed that a light blush was dusting his cheeks. I was guessing that was from his exertion because he was panting from his run, as was I. On the whole, though, there was just...something different about Yamamoto, and it was bothering me that I couldn't quite place what it was.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted as I heard Lawn Head proclaim his arrival in that overly loud voice of his. Shit! Why was I fucking gawking at Yamamoto at a time like this?!

Embarrassed beyond belief and noticing that Yamamoto looked the same as I felt, we both nodded to each other in silence and ran off down the street towards Lawn Head's voice. Since Yamamoto was the faster of the two of us, though, he pulled out ahead of me, his eyes focusing on a sudden shadow that jumped off a nearby retaining wall by the river right next to the kids and Lawn Head (the Tenth and Reborn-san were down the street about half a block away). The shadowy figure practically blended into the night since he was wearing a black leather uniform that was very similar to the long-haired guy's. The only reason we both spotted him was the fact that he jumped within clear sight of the moon behind him, and he had announced something before he had jumped but we were still too far away to hear it.

As Yamamoto pushed forward in a burst of speed to intercept the shadowy figure with his bamboo sword, I noticed another shadow moving to the left from one of the many residential rooftops. As soon as I heard a cry of pain from Yamamoto's shadowy figure, signifying that the jock had taken care of him, the man I spotted announced his attack before jumping off of the rooftop towards our group. Seeing as I still had a lit cigarette in my mouth, and dynamite in my hands, it was only too easy to light one of them and send it flying towards my descending target. With a loud 'boom!' the dynamite exploded as soon as it hit my target, sending the shadowy figure in leather down to the ground in a cry of pain, his body smoking as he hit the ground right next to Yamamoto's target. There was another body further down by Lawn Head. I guess he had been the one to take that guy out.

Not seeing any more figures ready to pop out of the shadows, I still kept alert as I slowed down to a walk and made my way over to the group, who were standing in the middle of the street. Yamamoto made his way over too, and together, with Lawn Head, the three of us made a protective circle around Fuuta, I-Pin and the Stupid Cow, while the Tenth and Reborn-san were still standing a ways down the street.

"Geez, why does the Stupid Cow have a ring," I grumbled out in annoyance as I scanned the surrounding area for more Varia members. It was then that I noticed that the girls weren't anywhere to be seen. Could it be that the kids had gotten separated from them? Not only that, but it looked like I-Pin had a few bloody scrapes on her head. Had she tried to fend the Varia off while they were being chased? If that was the case, she was lucky to be alive, but I had to commend her for her bravery and skill. Even though she was a toddler, she was still one of the most successful assassins out there.

"You guys are safe now," Yamamoto's reassuring voice cut through my thoughts. Quickly chancing a glance to the side, I noticed that he was looking down at I-Pin and Fuuta in particular, who looked only too happy to hear those words in the first place, while the Stupid Cow laughed gleefully and latched onto one of his legs.

"Guys!" The Tenth called out happily in relief then as he ran towards us from down the street, waving a hand high in the air in greeting. I felt pretty proud of myself then. The Tenth was so glad that I had shown up! It felt great to be depended on for once.

"Tenth!" I greeted back with a joyful smile as I turned to face him fully, forgetting about the Varia for the moment.

"It's been a while!" Yamamoto responded just as happily beside me, a shit-eating-grin now covering his face.

"Hey!" Lawn Head greeted coolly, yet in his typically loud voice. Che! What was with this guy? Trying to act cool just because he got here faster...

The kids suddenly cried out cheerfully, cutting my bitter thoughts short as they all bypassed us and ran towards the Tenth.

"Tsuna-nii~" Fuuta whined out almost tearfully. "I was so scared!"

"Are you guys alright?" The Tenth cried out in worry before a gasp of shock escaped from his lips. "I-Pin, you're hurt! Did you fight them?!"

I-Pin gave a little nod as the kids came to stop before the Tenth. The Tenth looked a little disproving at that, but that quickly changed to annoyance as soon as the Stupid Cow decided to fall down onto his back in the middle of the road and started to roll lazily back and forth from side to side.

"I'm hungry~!" He whined out loudly, obnoxiously, and with a lazy-like drawl like he was going to fall asleep. "Tsuna~Piggyback~!"

"Don't sleep there! It's dirty!" The Tenth yelled down at the toddler in aggravation. A second later, though, all anger was forgotten as his eyes lit up with slight intrigue upon seeing something on the Stupid Cow. I was too far away to see what it was that the Tenth was looking at, but my boss' curious face quickly transformed into incredulous disbelief. He was literally glaring down at the Stupid Cow with an 'are you kidding me?' expression on his face. "You stuck the ring in a place like this...?!" My boss deadpanned then.

Upon finally realizing the meaning behind my boss' expression, I externally began to seethe. You've got to be fucking kidding me! The Stupid Cow placed his Lightning Ring in his fucking hair with the rest of the garbage he keeps in there?!

"I totally don't understand him!" I yelled out in aggravation as I glared heatedly at the stupid toddler, who was still whining and rolling around on the ground like a retard. "Why would such an idiot get a ring...?"

"Come on, it's fine," Yamamoto stated soothingly right next to me with an easy-going smile that I would have loved to punch at that moment. "He's safe now anyway."

Like fucking hell it was fine, Baseball Freak! Even if the Stupid Cow was safe now, he could easily lose the ring either by his own retardation or because someone could easily take it off of him! This kid should not have such an important heirloom in his possession!

"R...Really, that was dangerous" I overheard the Tenth whisper out in disbelief as he glanced between the knocked out Varia members at our feet. He was seemingly ignoring my previous comment. "I really wonder what would've happened..."

"But, they're much weaker than I thought," Lawn Head brought up excitedly as he referred to the knocked out Varia members. "That was an easy victory!"

"You're thinking too easily," Reborn-san brought up then with a frown. "These men are just the underlings of the Varia. The really scary ones are..." Reborn-san snapped his head up attentively then, his eyes appearing distant as he focused on something none of us could see or hear. "He's coming...!" The little man warned before a dark shadow leapt out of the trees that were located above our heads upon a retaining wall. The shadowy figure landed on the precipice of the retaining wall and stared down at us, his face illuminated in the moonlight. He had tanned skin, which was a slightly darker shade than Yamamoto's, with such unruly and spiky black hair that it looked like it had been struck by lightning. Speaking of which, the crazy sideburns he had along his face were shaped into lightning bolts. He also had a small goatee that traveled down his chin in a straight line, with ring piercings covering his face. There was one silver ring pierced into the middle of his lower lip, one alongside the left corner of his mouth, which had a chain connecting from it to behind his left ear, and another chain connecting from the ring down into the inside of his black leather trench coat. Speaking of which, he was wearing the same uniform as the long-haired guy had been, but this guy's jacket was modified to have more belt straps: two white straps covering his upper arms, four white straps horizontally across the chest of his trench coat, which seemed to be in place of a coat zipper, and then two long white belt straps crossed across his chest, which seemed to be helping to hold up six long, metal rods with handles that he had sticking out of his back. Whatever the fuck this guy was, he looked menacing. He was glaring down at us silently, taking in the downed Varia agents at our feet.

"So you guys did this," he growled out in displeasure. I could feel myself, along with everyone else around me, tense at the tone in this guy's voice. There was a strange intensity to it. Compared to the long-haired guy's voice, this man was far more calm...calculating even, and his eyes were so bleak, like he didn't even understand words like love and mercy. "My opponent, who wields the Lightning Ring, is that kid with the perm," the strange, foreboding man brought up as his glare laser-focused in onto the Stupid Cow, who gulped in wide-eyed fear before jumping onto the Tenth's leg as a form of comfort. "If you get in my way..." the spiky-haired man continued forebodingly as both of his hands reached behind him to grab hold of the handles of the metal rods placed behind his shoulders. "...I'll eliminate you all."

As soon as the threat was out of his mouth, I had my dynamite at the ready. I saw Yamamoto bring his bamboo sword before him out of my periphery, holding the sword downward from the handle with one of his hands and positioning it diagonally across his body. Lawn Head also got into a fighting stance as well further down from me. If this man wanted to fight, then we'd have no choice but to defend ourselves. It was obvious that reasoning wasn't going to be an option.

"Hold it, Levi!" A soft, yet masculine voice called out from the woods behind the mysterious man. Before I could even fathom who the voice belonged to, four figures appeared behind the man, now known as Levi. Oh right...hadn't that construction guy said that Leviathan's Lightning Strike Squad was after the Stupid Cow? Levi must be this Leviathan... "Don't hunt them all on your own," the same effeminate voice spoke up then, which I noticed now came from a...very strangely dressed man. He was wearing the same Varia, black leather uniform, but his trench coat was left open, showcasing his white dress shirt and black tie underneath. Not only that but his trench coat was also modified to have huge, gaudy, red, feathery-boa material lining the collar of his trench and the trench coats wrists. Another different design choice came with his black belt, which was resting across his waist. There was a long piece of fabric hanging from the belt, covering all of the strange man's left, leather-clad leg and making it look like he was wearing a half-dress over his pants. That wasn't the strangest design choice of his, though. No, this man had shaved most of his head, leaving brown stubble across most of his head, save for a single, thick part to the side, which had been died a neon green. That, and he was also wearing dark-tinted sunglasses with thick red frames over his eyes, even though it was dark out by now. This man looked like a fashion disaster...and what was seriously up with his voice? He was trying too hard to sound feminine...

"It looks like there are other wielders of the rings here as well," a childish voice spoke up that was far more gender ambiguous than the first guy's. I mean, I at least knew the first speaker was a guy...but this voice belonged to a person about the same size as Reborn-san. The kid-like person looked very much like a toddler, but just like its voice, its face left me no clues as to the little person's true gender identity. It looked like it was wearing the same Varia uniform, but most of its body was covered by a long, black cape and its face was almost entirely covered from a black hood. Only the little person's mouth could be seen, along with two small, purple upside down triangles that were tattooed onto its cheeks. Also...it was kind of hard to see since it was blending in so well with the night and the little person's dark clothes...but I think there was a dark-colored frog hanging out on the little person's head, much like Leon did on Reborn-san's hat. Was it possible that this person was an Arcobaleno, too?

"Share the prey, shishishi..." another of the Varia group laughed out eagerly in the creepiest way imaginable. This guy had short, blond hair that completely framed his face and covered his eyes. His Varia-issued trench coat was left open to show his purple shirt with horizontal black stripes underneath. The left sleeve of his trench coat also had two, thick horizontal stripes covering most of his upper arm above his elbow. Also, instead of the traditional black, the belt around his waist was white, and his boots were a gray color and a little shorter in length than everyone else's. One of the strangest things about this freak, though was the fact he was wearing a fucking tiara on his head. Or was it a crown? I couldn't tell exactly since he was far away from me and his head was facing forward. It didn't matter anyway, because, regardless of what the fuck it was, it was still freaking ridiculous.

As soon as I thought this, I heard a loud exhale before a plume of smoke emerged from one of the respirators on a Varia member's gas mask. The gas mask in question had three, long, black cylindrical mouth pieces it looked like (the mouth piece the smoke was coming out of was shorter than the rest, though). Red lenses covered the eyes of the mask, which was grey in body, the glassy material gleaming ethereally because of the street lamps' glow. Now, the person behind the gas mask was, for lack of a better term, built like the illegitimate offspring of a grizzly bear and a tank. He (I was guessing at gender mainly on build alone) was freaking massive. The gas-mask wearing Varia member was twice the size in girth and length compared to the others. That and he also had a huge metal shoulder pad covering his right shoulder. The strap holding the massive plate in place was a long, thick, red elastic band that stretched diagonally across his chest and connected to another metal plate along his left side. Not only that, but his hands...they weren't covered by the issued black, leather gloves. Instead, they gleamed silver...like metal...Just what the fuck was that thing?

"Wahhh..." I overheard the Tenth whine out in terror under his breath. "T...this many...?!"

Even though five Varia members stood before us, I knew that there was more to come.

"Voiiiii!"

Speaking of which, I would recognize that ferocious howl anywhere...

"How dare you trick me, you trash!" The long-haired guy yelled venomously as he appeared next to the other five members, his eyes flashing wildly like a hungry shark ready to bite into juicy prey.

"He's...here!" The Tenth cried out in absolute fear at the familiar man's appearance.

"That bastard!" I growled out heatedly, more than ready to settle the score with the cocky, wild-man. Peering quickly to my side, I could see Yamamoto glaring up at the long-haired guy warily.

Another feral howl left the silver-haired man's lips as he clenched a determined fist before him, the light of a nearby street lamp catching the silvery metal of a half-ring displayed upon the back of his middle finger on the gloved fist. "Which one of you wields the Rain Ring?" He hissed out eagerly, looking nothing short of crazed for blood.

My eyes narrowed in a strange mixture of dissatisfaction and...trepidation. This man was looking for the wielder of the Rain Ring in order to get it back, that meant that he was going to fight—

"Me," Yamamoto growled out deeply beside me, almost sounding imposing if it wasn't for the fact that he was facing off against one of the craziest men we'd ever encountered, and that was saying something after meeting Rokudo Mukuro and his posse.

"Oh, it's you," the long-haired man sneered in amused contempt, his eyes flashing dangerously as he brandished the broadsword he had strapped to the back of his other hand. "Three seconds," he added then with cocky abandon. "I'll slice you up in three seconds."

I watched as Yamamoto's eyes narrowed dangerously, looking more serious than I had ever seen him before. It was like he was silently egging the crazed man on, his body language stating quite clearly that he'd like to see the long-haired man try.

"Eeek, no! That's bad!" The Tenth cried out in fright as he gripped his hair in his hands and glanced between our two groups frantically, looking like he was seconds away from going into a full blown panic.

"Move," a new dark and sinister voice spoke up from behind the sneering long-haired guy. I felt myself flinch at the coldness of this new person's voice as he pushed past the long-haired guy to step before the group. The man must have been very important, since the Leviathan guy jumped in and pushed the long-haired guy out of the way of the taller man's path even further, ordering him to move again. The long-haired guy snapped at the spiky-haired man rather vocally, but the new, taller person didn't seem to care what the two were doing as he made his way into the illuminated part of the hill.

"There he is..." Reborn-san suddenly spoke up with grave trepidation. "I never thought the day would come when I'd see him again. Xanxus."

Xanxus...For some reason, I felt like I should recognize that name. The name had a certain weight to it. It sounded dark, and intimidating like hell itself. To my utter shock, the name fit the guy's visage, which I could now see thanks to the street lights. He was wearing the typical Varia uniform, with plain black slacks and boots, along with a regular black belt with a silver buckle around his waist. He wore a simple white, buttoned-up-shirt (the first few buttons left open) and a black tie (which hung loosely from his neck) , and he was wearing his black leather Varia trench coat loosely off of his shoulders, much like Hibari did with his Disciplinary uniform jacket. I could see, though, that his trench coat had a higher collar than the rest, though, and the inside of the collar was the same color as dried blood. Also, there were two thick silver chains looped from the side of his collar to around his right shoulder. The man himself stood tall and imposing at the edge of the hill in front of the rest of the Varia members, his skin illuminated by the low glow of the streetlights, and making it look like the same tan tone as Yamamoto's. That was where the similarity ended, though. Not only was this guy's mouth set in what looked like a permanent scowl, but his face was also mottled by large, thick, jagged scars: one above his left eyebrow, and the rest almost encompassing his entire left cheek and past his left eye. His hair was as dark as shadow and styled to look messy, spiky, and swept back, although a few stray hairs hung down around the top of his forehead. He also had an interesting accessory hanging along the left side of his face and neck. It was hard to tell if it was a connecting hairpiece or an enormously elaborate earring since I couldn't quite see where the ornament was connected to because of the lackluster lighting, but there was a large tanuki tail hanging down along the left side of his head, along with an assortment of red feathers, small tufts of what looked to be maroon colored fur, and long, thick strands of silver hair, which were decorated with an assortment of tan and red colored beads.

The tall imposing man narrowed his eyes at us then, and, suddenly, the air was rife with tension and a great sense of foreboding. This caused the Tenth to shriek in fear and...it sounded like he fell down after that. I would have turned around to see if my suspicions were correct, but my whole body was frozen in fear, unwilling to move because it felt like any sudden movements would trigger the man's bloodlust. The man's killing intent was so strong, I was almost too afraid to breathe, lest it would set him off.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi..." the imposing man hissed out our boss' name in a raspy baritone that sent intense terror coursing through my veins. As he brought his left hand up before us, the back of his hand facing us with the fingers apart but clenched downwards, a startling orange glow began to emanate from his hand, and a strange whirring noise started to pick up in volume. It sounded like a laser-beam gathering energy so that it could shoot out a devastating attack. My eyes widened at this thought and the sight before me. Xanxus's hand was starting to glow brighter with each second that passed, the orange light illuminating the madness in his amber irises. It felt like the man was hellbent on eradicating everything before his eyes.

As a small wind started to pick up off of Xanxus's attack, and small particles of dirt started to get blown away from the energy emanating from the man's hand (Seriously, how the fuck was his hand glowing in the first place?!), the Varia members started to panic.

"No way, Boss," the effeminate man with sunglasses cried out in dismay. "You're suddenly using that...?!"

"Are you planning to kill us, too?!" The long-haired guy yelled out with a feral snarl as he covered his eyes with one of his arms to block out the debris and the ever growing light emanating from the taller man's hand.

"This is bad!" Reborn-san suddenly called out in concern before he demanded for all of us to run. Believe me, there was nothing I would rather do in this situation but my feet were frozen in place. I was so paralyzed by fear that I still couldn't move, and it seemed like no one else could either.

The orange light emanating from Xanxus' hand was practically blinding now, and, if it was even possible, his eyes looked even more crazed for blood than they did before.

"Die!" He let out with a sulfurous hiss as he began to turn his hand around towards us. Time seemed to slow down then. It was like every centimeter that hand turned to face us was a distinct snapshot that I was committing to memory. I forgot how to breathe as I felt the air grow heavy around me, every second ticking down to my inevitable mortality. I was going to die, wasn't I?

The saying always went like this: 'My life flashed before my eyes'. In that short, agonizing moment, though, I could say with certainty that that wasn't happening to me. My whole mind went blank in complete disbelief. I didn't have time to dwell on what I couldn't accomplish or what I'd be missing, all I could think of was that this was really happening. I was going to die. We were going to die. And there was nothing I or my Family could do about it.

All of a sudden, I heard a large crash, which broke me out of my thoughts. I had only just blinked and now there was a large pickaxe sticking out of the ground at Xanxus's feet, one of the tips embedded in the dirt like it had just been thrown. Xanxus was still holding his left hand up in the same position as before, but the orange glow had disappeared to be replaced by small specks of blood from an almost invisible cut now on the back of his hand.

Before I could wonder what had happened, a familiar voice made its presence known.

"Hold it, Xanxus. That's enough."

The voice itself was coming from another retaining wall right next to the one the Varia were standing on. The large hill with the retaining wall built in to it was split down the middle, creating two separate hills and an alleyway of sorts that led to a drainage area for rain water. There were three people now standing on the hill next to the Varia's.

"We're...saved...?" I questioned in disbelief before I realized I had actually been holding my breath the entire time and I started gasping for air. While I started breathing in life-giving oxygen again, I was finally able to attach the familiar sounding voice to a face. With my eyes squinting up towards the hill with the mysterious figures on it, panting for breath all the while, my thoughts were confirmed as recognition dawned in my eyes. "Ah...he's..."

"From here on, I'll take charge of things," the blond-haired construction worker declared with no room for arguments. Basil was by his side, along with some guy with a mop of short shaggy black hair and a three piece suit fit for a mafia man. That was right, this construction guy was somehow connected to the Vongola like Basil was...

"D...Dad?!" The Tenth suddenly cried out in shock as he stared at the older man in the orange jumpsuit. I couldn't help but blink at the construction worker stupidly as this bit of news sank in. When my brain finally realized who it was that I was actually staring at, my body practically jumped in surprise as I turned to gawk at the Tenth.

"Wha?! That's your father, Tenth?!"

So this was the strange, loser dad he had been concerned about before?! The same random guy that worked a mysterious job that kept him away from his family almost indefinitely?!

Well...suddenly, a lot of things were starting to make sense...Since the Tenth was a long time descendant of Vongola Primo, it would make sense if one of his family members worked within the mafia as well. Since the Tenth's father had blond colored hair, despite being of Japanese descent, that meant the Primo's Italian blood still ran strong in his side of the family.

"Iemitsu...!" Xanxus suddenly growled out in annoyance as he glared at the Tenth's father. Iemitsu? Ah, that settled it even more then. One of the few things that I knew about the Primo was that he had settled down in Japan and had given himself the name of a Tokugawa shogun. With every generation after, any boy born to the Primo bloodline was named after other Tokugawa shoguns, and that's how the Tenth received the name of Tsunayoshi. Since Iemitsu was another name of a shogun, that only solidified my guess as to the Tenth's father belonging to the Primo bloodline. That's all that I honestly knew about the Primo, though. He wasn't the one I was interested in to begin with. I had only researched the Tenth's bloodline before I had arrived in Namimori to get a better grasp of the kid I was supposed to fight.

"Y...You," the long-haired guy growled out then, appearing pissed beyond belief at the sight of the Tenth's father as he raised the sword strapped to his arm, looking ready to use it at a moment's notice. "What are you doing here?"

So the Varia knew of the Tenth's father, obviously, but why?

"Xanxus," the Tenth's father pointed out with a warning tone. "Is one of your minions planning to raise their sword against me, the Outside Advisor?"

Outside advisor?! No way!

As I gawked at the blond-haired man in absolute astonishment, the Tenth's father and Xanxus had an intense stare-down, the atmosphere between them practically crackling with barely restrained aggression.

"Wha...!" Lawn Head gasped out in a mixture of awe and apprehension as he stared up at the two glaring men. "Those two...Such a violent atmosphere!"

This comment went completely ignored, though. Thanks for stating the obvious, dumbass!

"D-Dad?" The Tenth questioned out in disbelief as he gawked at his father, looking utterly shocked and confused by what he had heard. "What are you talking about...?"

All of a sudden, the long-haired guy gave out a roar of defiance as he brandished his sword yet again.

"It's too late to stick your comments in now, Iemitsu! All you know how to do is run around like a coward!"

"What?!" Basil let out a cry of indignation as he jumped in front of the Tenth's father, brandishing his boomerang-shaped blade in a defensive stance.

"Hold it, Basil," the Tenth's father stated evenly, causing Basil to lower his weapon as he glanced questioningly back at him. "I wasn't running," the older man stated loudly and firmly for everyone to hear then before he fully explained himself. "I was just waiting for an answer from the Ninth." This comment seemed to pique the Varia's interest because all of their eyes were now intensely focused on the older man. "I've been questioning your recent conduct and the Ninth's approval of it, so I sent a letter to the Ninth, stating my concerns and questions. And an order, that I assume is his reply, has just arrived," the Tenth's father finished as he stuck a hand into one of the large pockets of his orange jumpsuit and brought out a large roll of paper with his gloved hand.

"I don't get what's going on!" The Tenth called out in dismay as he stared up questioningly at his father. "Not only that, but why do you know all of this, Dad?!"

"As he stated earlier, he's the Outside Advisor," Reborn-san explained without taking his eyes off of the Varia. "That's Iemitsu's job in the Vongola. He is a member of the Vongola, but, at the same time, isn't one. Normally, he isn't involved with the goings on in the Family, but when the Family is in a state of emergency, he has the authority of the number two figure, right below the boss."

"Wha?!" The Tenth gawked in complete stupefaction. "Dad's the number two?!"

"Yes," Reborn-san reaffirmed as he still continued to stare the Varia down. "And the Outside Advisor has the same voting power as the boss to choose the next heir. In other words, he has the authority to give half of the Vongola Rings to the heir."

"Half of the Vongola Rings...?" The Tenth questioned in slight confusion.

"Didn't I already tell you?" Reborn-san stated more than asked as he continued with his explanation. "The Half-Vongola Rings are only parts of the seven types of rings I mentioned before. When the two half-parts gather, they become a Vongola Ring, which is then used as proof for the heir to the throne."

With this bit of knowledge in our possession now, I, along with the other Family members of our group (minus the Stupid Cow since he was too retarded to listen in the first place) glanced down at our half-rings we took off of our persons.

"So that's why the shape is really awkward," the Tenth lightly gasped in understanding as he studied his ring.

"Vice versa," Reborn-san continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "If you can't get both sets of half rings, you can't be the heir." It was then that I noticed a dour expression cross the tiny hitman's face. "It doesn't happen too often where the boss and the outside advisor choose different heirs."

As this dire note filled the air surrounding our group, Basil jumped down to our level and made his way over to the Tenth with a small scroll in hand.

"Lord Sawada," he addressed in his usual overly formal manner as he presented the scroll to my boss. "These are the direct orders from the Ninth."

"Direct orders...?" The Tenth questioned in slight curiosity as he accepted the scroll and opened it up. Almost immediately upon being opened, an orange colored flame erupted from the top center portion of the paper. "The Dying Will Flame?!" The Tenth called out in surprise as he stared down at the piece of parchment in his hands.

It was here that the toddler looking Varia member spoke up.

"That's the Ninth's stamp of the Dying Will Flame," the toddler reassured, which made me notice that Xanxus was holding his own copy of the scroll as well. "There's no mistake. It's a real order."

"Wah!" The Tenth gasped out in dismay then as he looked over the writing on the parchment he had in hand. "It's written in Italian. I can't read it..."

"Heh," the Tenth's father chuckled out lightly for only a second before his tone grew serious again. "Translated, this is what it basically says: Until now, I thought that the one worthy of becoming the heir was Iemitsu's son, Sawada Tsunayoshi, and so I compelled to that. However, lately, because I am nearing the end of my life, my intuition has become sharper, and I've decided to select an heir who's more worthy. My son, Xanxus, is the one worthy to be the true Tenth."

Wait...what?!

"Wha?!" The Tenth cried out in dismay as he seemed to voice my very thoughts. "He's the Ninth's son?!"

He...Xanxus...didn't look a thing like the Ninth at all...and I never heard about the Ninth having a wife...

"But," the Tenth's father continued like his son's exclamation hadn't happened, "there will be people who aren't satisfied with this change. Currently, Iemitsu refused the offer to give Xanxus the rings."

As he fucking should! The Tenth would be a far better boss than this extremely violent creep!

"However," the Tenth's father stated after a short pause as he continued to recite what the Ninth's message had said. "I don't intend to have a pointless battle between my own family members due to this difference in ideals. So, instead, let us conduct a traditional Vongola Battle to satisfy everyone." The Tenth's father let out a sigh then as he closed his eyes and seemed to collect himself before he continued in his own words. "...So, what the Ninth means in this situation is..." With his eyes snapping open, he stared heatedly between our two groups and declared, "Those who wield the same type of ring will fight in a one-on-one battle!"

A one-on-one battle...it's just like I thought. I had a feeling we were going to end up doing that in the first place when the Varia showed up, but that had just been because they had sounded confrontational and territorial about what rings they were looking for. What the Tenth's father, and the Ninth for that matter, were stating was slightly different. It sounded like they would be official matches, so that the Varia members wouldn't gang up on one of us when we weren't expecting it. That was only a slight relief, though.

"One-on-one battles?!" The Tenth screamed out in absolute terror then as he gawked at his father, undoubtedly realizing that out of all the Varia members he'd have to face that it would undoubtedly be Xanxus. I did not blame my boss for looking about ready to faint, because his situation was totally understandable.

"Yeah," the Tenth's father reaffirmed with a resolute nod of his head. "It's also written that we should wait for further instructions."

"Further instructions...?" I questioned out loud in slight confusion. What more direction did we need? The Ninth said that the candidates with the same half-rings should fight one-on-one to determine the true heir of the Vongola rings. It was pretty straightforward, so was further instruction really needed?

Just as I thought this, two swift shadows flew out from behind the trees looming behind the Varia and the Tenth's father.

"Thank you for waiting," monotonous, feminine voices sounded out as two female figures landed on the grass a few meters away from the Varia, effectively placing themselves between the Varia and the Tenth's father's group, as well as centering themselves before us on top of the retaining wall.

As the two women became visible to us from the streetlight's glow, I could tell that the women were physically identical in every way; undoubtedly twins. They had mocha colored skin and long, light pink hair. Both of their eyes were covered by thick, black masks with white fabric lenses, so it was hard to get a better idea of what they looked like, facially at least. Thankfully, though, both were physically identical, they weren't dressed similarly so that they could be told apart. The woman to my left wore a...I think it was light pink or white (it was hard to tell in the dark) tank top, which was layered and ruffled. She also had an open black, miniature jacket covering her shoulders with the sleeves reaching down to her mid-forearms, and the jacket itself reaching down to a little past her breasts. A belt strap and buckle hung from the ends of the jacket, meaning that the jacket itself could be closed, but it looked like it would be uncomfortable to do so since it was skin tight. The woman on my right also wore skin-tight black capris and had short-cut black leather, high-heeled boots that reached just past her ankles. The last touches to her ensemble were a silver whistle and chain hanging from her neck and an intricately tied black ribbon that was wrapped around the entirety of her right leg that wasn't covered by her capris. The woman on my right had the same color motif as the one on the left for the most part but her clothes were styled differently. Instead of a tank top, she wore a light pink or white mini dress that had a small black bow drooping down from the center of her neckline, which, for the dress, was straight across and right underneath her collar bone. She wore the same black mini jacket as the other woman, but the woman on the right's jacket was slightly longer in body length, reaching to her midriff. Since she was wearing a mini dress, she wasn't wearing any pants with her ensemble, but she compensated for this with knee-high, black leather boots, and just as long, hot pink stockings that reached slightly past the top of the boots. Just like the woman to my left, the one on the right had a silver whistle and chain hanging from her neck. She also had an intricately tied black ribbon wrapped around her left arm right below here jacket sleeve.

"During this conflict for the rings," the woman in the dress spoke up, just as monotonous as before. "We'll serve as the judges."

Seriously, though, who the hell were these women and what gave them the right to be the judges in the first place? Was this decided by the Ninth as well? From the looks on everyone's faces involved, these two women showing up were a total surprise.

"Who are they?" I heard the Tenth whisper out in wary confusion.

The two women seemed to pick up on his question, because the one in the dress quickly responded, "We are the Cervello Organization, serving directly under the Ninth." As she said this, she brought out a sheet of paper that had the Ninth's orange Dying Will Flame burning at the top.

"During the Ring Conflict," the woman in the tank top stated then in the same voice of her counterpart's, "consider our decisions as that of the Ninth's."

"The Ninth believes that this measure will please all the members of the Family," the woman in the dress explained before she and her counterpart turned to look directly at Xanxus. "Do you have any objections, Lord Xanxus?"

The man in question just glared at the women in silence.

"Thank you very much," the Cervello woman in the dress stated cordially with a nod of her head.

"Wait, I have an objection," the Tenth's father proclaimed a little irately as his eyes narrowed at the Cervello women suspiciously. "I've never heard of the Cervello Organization. How can I leave the judging to someone like that?"

"We cannot accept your objection," the woman in the dress stated, unimpressed.

The woman in the tank top moved forward then to explain.

"We serve directly under the Ninth, and thus you have no authority over us."

"What..." The Tenth's father growled out, his brows furrowing in irritation and his mouth forming a scowl as he glared at the Cervello women.

This caused the Varia member with the overly flamboyant attire to giggle.

"Oh my, too bad~"

"Originally," the Cervello woman in the dress started again, steering the conversation back to before the Tenth's father had interrupted with his objection, "the seven types of Vongola half rings had two sets. One set that the Boss kept, and another that the Outside Advisor kept. In the ceremony for the heir, the pairs of rings are connected to form the complete Vongola Rings, and are given to the seven people who both the Ninth and the Outside Advisor have decided as successors. However, this has become an exceptional case. Because the Boss and the Outside Advisor decided upon different people for each half ring, they distributed them to different people."

Thanks for stating the fucking obvious! We already knew all of this shit! There was no need to reiterate!

...Well, I actually wouldn't be surprised if Yamamoto and Lawn Head probably needed a refresher...

"They are the seven people led by Lord Xanxus that the Ninth chose as the successors," the Cervello woman in the dress continued to drone on in her monotonous voice, "and the seven people led by Tsunayoshi that Sir Iemitsu chose as the successors. In this battle, the one who is truly worthy to wield the ring will prove it with their lives. The location is Namimori Middle School at midnight. Further details will be given there later."

"Eh?!" The Tenth called out incredulously as he along with everyone else in our group gawked up at the Cervello woman like she had just asked us to blow up the Tenth's house. "We're going to do it at Nami-Middle?!"

How were we going to fight at the school without serious damage being done to the structure? Hibari was going to fucking kill everyone if that happened...

"Well," the Cervello woman in the dress announced like she hadn't heard the Tenth's exclamation, "we shall await you at 11pm tomorrow night at Namimori Middle School."

"Goodbye," the other Cervello woman stated before they both jumped up high and disappeared into the forest canopy behind them.

"Hey! Wait, hold up!" The Tenth called after them desperately, more than likely wanting to protest at the location for the fight, but his words only fell flat. It was doubtful that the Cervello women would have listened to him anyway.

So...we were all supposed to actually be at Namimori Middle tomorrow night at eleven and then the fight would happen at midnight? Had I understood that correctly?

Before I could think too much on this, though, Xanxus sent the Tenth a very aggressive glare, which caused the Tenth to seize up immediately and wail in terror. I stared on in horror as well, easily picking up on the older man's killing intent from the glare alone. The glare, thankfully, only lasted for a few seconds. Xanxus seemed to lose interest and turned away from us before walking away back into the forest with the other Varia members following.

Everyone let out sighs of relief as soon as the group was gone, that is, except for the Tenth. My boss just fell to his knees, trembling uncontrollably as he stared on in paralyzed horror at the spot Xanxus used to be standing. I tried calling out to the Tenth, to snap him out of his terror, but it was like he couldn't hear me at all.

That was when the Tenth promptly fainted. As soon as his unconscious body fell back against the pavement, our whole group was around him and calling out to him, trying to wake him back up. He seemed to be out cold, though. The terror of facing Xanxus in the future had been too much for him to take it seemed, and I didn't exactly blame him. That man...Something was definitely not right with that man...and that was saying something since I had faced and barely survived Rokudo Mukuro and his crazy posse. Xanxus and the Varia felt like they were leagues higher than those psychopaths.

"It's alright, I'll take care of Tsuna," the Tenth's father announced as he made his way over to our huddled group, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I'll take him and the kids home. You three should head home as well and get some sleep. You're going to need it tomorrow."

On that dire note, Yamamoto, Lawn Head and I watched as the Tenth's father cradled the Tenth in his arms and started carrying him home, Basil, the mysterious man in the suit and the kids following after him.

Heavy silence filled the air between us as we watched until the Tenth's father and his group were out of sight. The silence itself never lifted, even as we all turned to face each other. I could tell the others felt the same as me; confused, worried, and wondering what the next day was going to bring us. We never voiced any of our concerns though. It just didn't feel like it needed to be stated since it was rather obvious what was on everyone's mind. So, with that, I just nodded my head towards the two jocks to acknowledge them before I turned around and started walking away back towards my apartment. No one called after me, and I didn't hear the other two start to converse with each other as I walked away either. I wouldn't be surprised if they departed in the same fashion as I had. Tonight had been a crazy night after all, and now, we were going to have to face the Varia five days earlier than expected. Were all of us ready to do it? Had our training paid off? With concerns towards my training, it was an obvious no. Shit! How was I going to do this?!

I guess I had no choice but to double my efforts tomorrow before our meeting at the middle school around midnight.

---

Yamamoto's POV

My alarm clock rang obnoxiously as I stared up at the ceiling. In all truth, I hadn't been able to sleep at all. My mind just couldn't calm down; I was way too excited about what was going to happen tonight. It was really strange. I would have thought I would have been apprehensive about having to go against the long-haired guy, even if I did want to fight him in the first place. But in all honesty, I truly couldn't wait to try out my new fighting style on him. I wanted to know what it felt like to actually fight an opponent with the moves I learned.

Last night, though, I had been worried; not for myself, but for my friends. I had no idea how far along everyone else was with their training. So, therefore, I had no idea how they'd fare in their fights against the Varia. That thought was nerve-wracking. The Varia were obviously dangerous people that were taking this mafia role-playing game waaaay to seriously. At least, that's what I'd like to think...

Trying to divert my thoughts then, I got out of bed. Even though I should have been tired with hardly any sleep from the night before, I was going on the pure adrenaline from my excitement, so I didn't feel exhaustion at the moment. Since my thoughts were so filled with what was supposed to happen tonight, I felt like it would probably be impossible for me to train at this point in time, so, strangely enough, I decided to get dressed for school. I hadn't been to class in almost a week, and I knew that I had a lot of homework awaiting me (my father had kept calling in for me saying that I had caught a bad cold). Maybe the change of pace would help to calm me down enough to catch a good nap later on and allow me to focus on some training after school?

Donning my fall uniform (minus the yellow blazer because it wasn't going to be that cold today), and grabbing my school bag, I made my way downstairs. As soon as I reached the kitchen, my dad sent me a surprised glance before an understanding smile made its way across his face.

"Deciding on a change of pace?" My old man asked as he continued to prepare the fish he'd need for the sushi bar.

"Yep, I'm thinking about training after school and then I'll focus on my homework sometime later," I mentioned as I placed two pieces of bread in the toaster.

"Well, as long as you get everything done that you need to," my father stated in such a way that it felt like it had a deeper meaning than it should.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to," I assured with a smile as my toast popped up and distracted me from there.

After I quickly ate my breakfast I hurried out the door and called goodbye to my father. As I made my way down the street, I tried to keep myself calm, but it was so hard when I was looking forward to tonight. When I happened upon Tsuna, who was, strangely enough, also making his way to school that morning, I truly couldn't keep my excitement at bay. Since my smaller friend's back was to me and he seemed to be deep in thought as he walked, I rushed up behind him and leaned an arm casually onto his shoulder as I met his stride.

"Yo!" I greeted happily.

"Ya...Yamamoto!" Tsuna called out in a startled fashion as he glanced over his shoulder at me. I retracted my arm from his shoulder and tried to reign in my excitement then, knowing that Tsuna was probably overly worrying about the whole situation like he always tended to do.

"I couldn't sleep at all last night," I explained my presence to him, feeling like we were going to school for the same reasons. "I couldn't calm down, so I figured I should go to school." In the end, though, I truly couldn't keep my true feelings at bay. With a gleeful smile, I pumped both of my fists into the air. "Man~ It's so exciting!"

Noticing that Tsuna was gawking at me like I had just gone mentally insane, I decided that it was probably best to try and comfort him. No matter how excited I was, I would never be able to instill that same excitement in my undoubtedly terrified friend. Tsuna was too much of a worrywart. That, and I now noticed that he seemed to be trembling in fright.

"It'll be alright..." I reassured him with a toothy smile.

"Eh?" Tsuna gasped lightly in surprise beside me, his eyes shining with wonder as if he hadn't expected me to say the words that he had wanted to hear.

"Initially," I started out pensively as I turned my gaze away from Tsuna and towards the sky while we walked, "the only thing I had on my mind was how I was going to beat that long-haired guy. But after what happened last night, and although I still don't quite get the situation we're in now, with everyone around like this, I couldn't help but think: this isn't my battle, but it's our battle..." I stated resolutely as I nodded my head as if to reaffirm my thoughts before I glanced the other's way and smiled. "You're not alone, Tsuna. Let's win this together."

"Ya...Yamamoto..." Tsuna whispered out in awe as he walked beside me, his brown eyes staring at me like they were seeing me for the first time. Haha, I guess I didn't really show Tsuna the deep side of myself too often.

"Obviously!" A loud, familiar shout from in front of us stopped us in our tracks. As Tsuna and I turned our heads to face the owner of the voice, we were met with the sight of a slightly grumpy looking Gokudera. He was wearing his school uniform as well, but he was also carrying a large cardboard box that had the insignia of a mandarin orange on it, and there was a cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth. "Who would allow those guys to run the Vongola?!" Gokudera growled out then a second later, referring to the Varia.

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna shouted out in surprise beside me as I blinked at Gokudera in astonishment. I hadn't expected the other to be heading to school, too. With the battle with the Varia tonight, I thought he'd be training all day.

"No matter who it is, I'll get rid of them!" Gokudera proclaimed proudly, a determined spark lighting up his jade-green irises and a confident smile spreading across his lips. "We'll be the ones to win. Leave it to us, Tenth!"

Us?

I just gawked at Gokudera, completely awestruck. He...He was actually treating this like a team effort...I...I never thought I'd see him willingly say something like that...ever...For once, instead of just Gokudera and Tsuna, Gokudera was including everyone in our mafia role-playing game.

...He was including me.

Smiling happily at the other, I made my way forward. Gokudera was too busy smiling encouragingly at Tsuna to notice me, though, but I didn't care. The fact alone that Gokudera even considered someone else besides him or Tsuna had me on cloud nine.

As I came to stand beside my silver-haired friend, I turned around and gave Tsuna an encouraging smile, too. Our smaller friend seemed dismayed by our bravado before a sigh escaped him then and he brought one of his hands up to examine it in astonishment. It looked like he had stopped trembling. Gokudera and I had alleviated his fears, if just for the moment...

By this point, as I smiled at Tsuna, my curiosity towards the box that Gokudera was carrying was becoming almost too hard to contain. Just why was he carrying a mandarin orange box? Were there oranges actually in there or was the box holding something else? Unable to hold back anymore, my smile turned into a teasing smirk as I averted my gaze towards the silver-haired teen beside me.

"Hm? What's this, Gokudera?" I chuckled mischievously as I reached a hand forward and opened one of the flaps of the box, revealing the plethora of paper airplanes contained within. "Paper airplanes?" I questioned in slight surprise.

"Wha!" Gokudera cried out indignantly, glaring at me in embarrassment as he suddenly noticed what I had done. "Hey, you, don't open it!"

Haha! It was a little too late for that!

As I chuckled out in amusement, Tsuna made his way towards us and glanced at the box of paper airplanes questioningly.

"What do you plan to do with all these paper airplanes?" He questioned in curiosity.

Gokudera just sent our smaller friend a sheepish smile, almost to the point he looked ashamed.

"I'm going to use them to train," he explained with slight abashment. "I still haven't mastered something yet, so...I'm going to train in the mountains now."

As Tsuna gawked at Gokudera incredulously, more than likely thinking on how ridiculous it was for our friend to be using paper airplanes to train, I couldn't help but blink at our feisty companion in surprise. So...Gokudera wasn't coming to school even though he was dressed to? The only explanation I had for that was that either Gokudera was going to stop by later at his convenience or he was just super behind on laundry and his school uniform was the only thing he had at the moment. Either seemed very plausible.

"By the way," Gokudera brought up then, effectively changing the subject. "I wonder what the Guardian of the Mist Ring is doing? He didn't even show up last night, even though it was such an important time."

"I wonder who it is?" I brought up amicably as I started to wonder on who we knew of that could fit the role. So far, all of the Guardians designated to Tsuna were associated to him in some way.

Just as my question left my mouth, I noticed that an exhausted, deadpanned expression crossed Gokudera's features.

"I just wish for that person to be someone better than that Stupid Cow..."

"T...True..." Tsuna stuttered out worriedly in agreement.

"Hibari wasn't around either," I mentioned as my thoughts averted to the strong prefect. I wonder if I was able to hold my own against him now that I had a few new moves under my belt? "I want to try fighting him..." I let out eagerly. After all, I still owed Hibari some payback from the various scuffles we had gotten in. He had brutally attacked Gokudera one too many times for my liking.

Speaking of Gokudera, my silver-haired friend looked quite peeved at my mention of the prefect, because one of his eyes was starting to twitch as he let out an aggravated sigh.

"He's probably sleeping in the reception room..." He growled out in annoyance.

Haha, he probably was!

"No," Tsuna intervened with a twinge of uncertainty. "He should be training with Dino-san right now..."

"Cavallone is his mentor?" Gokudera grimaced. "Hopefully Romario-san or some of his Family is there or he's probably dead."

Tsuna let out a bout of nervous laughter then as I rubbed the back of my head, a nervous smile flitting across my lips. Hopefully Romario-san was around...

"Well, you guys are going to be late if you don't leave now," Gokudera brought up then as he readjusted the box in his arms and started to walk past us.

"Ah! You're right!" Tsuna squawked nervously before he started running off. "See you later, Gokudera-kun!" He called back over his shoulder as I started running after him.

"Yeah!" I called over my shoulder as well as I departed. "Good luck!"

Gokudera didn't look back but he adjusted the box in his hands to bring one of his hands up and send us a thumbs up sign to signify that he heard us. I chuckled at that in amusement, wondering if Gokudera had done that to appear aloof and cool to us, or if he had been serious.

Regardless of Gokudera's intentions, I didn't see him for the rest of the school day. I wondered if he was truly having problems with his training, and that's why he hadn't bothered to stop by. Worry filled my mind, but, thankfully, I was able to keep most of those thoughts at bay as school distracted me. I ended up sleeping through most of class, and I got lectured by my teacher for that and for all the homework I had to make up. Tsuna and I were able to get some of it done over lunch, but something told me it was going to take all of the upcoming Sunday to finish all of it.

As the day went on, I was able to meet up with my baseball team for a little bit to catch up on what had been going on during club activities. Sadly, we didn't have practice that day, but the guys brought me up to the present day so that I would be fully caught up in our changed practice regime when the next club day arrived.

When I was finished with that, I headed home for a quick bite to eat before I headed off to the dojo to get some last minute training in. I told my dad that I'd be home late, and he just took that tidbit in stride, saying not to make too much noise when I got back.

I just agreed to whatever he said and made my way over to the dojo. It was important that I was warmed up for whatever was going to happen tonight. I had to be at the school grounds by eleven, so I had a few hours to do just that...

---

Gokudera's POV

Much to my chagrin, I wasn't able to make any leeway with my training that day. It pissed me off beyond anything else, because I was trying so hard, Shamal wasn't helping me a damn bit, and now one of us had to face off against one of the Varia tonight. If it was me, I was woefully unprepared. More than likely, I was going to bring shame to the Vongola name at this rate.

Sighing to myself in dejection, I started to make my way down from the mountain and towards Namimori middle. I was thankfully able to catch the last bus running that night as soon as I reached the mountain base, and took it to the bus stop near the school. From there, it was only a few minute walk towards the school, the whole area pitch black save for the few street lamps dotting the sides of the streets.

As I entered the grounds of Namimori Middle School, I was quick to see that Yamamoto, who was still wearing his school uniform, and Lawn Head, who was wearing a white t-shirt and red track suit, beat me here.

"You finally showed up, Octopus Head!" Lawn Head hollered out as I made my way over to the two jocks.

"Shut up!" I yelled back in annoyance. "I had a longer way to travel than you did and I'm still early! Is the Tenth here yet?"

"No, not yet. I think we're the only ones here so far," Yamamoto answered with a simple smile, but his eyes were staring at me with barely concealed worry. "Did you train all day, Gokudera?"

"What's it matter to you?" I hissed our irately at the other's quick change of subject.

"Well, you have a tendency to get so stubbornly focused on a single task that you forget about other needs, like resting and eating," Yamamoto stated pointedly, his concern now evident.

"Yeah! Rest is super important!" Lawn Head shouted out for the whole neighborhood to hear. "I learned that during my training!"

"Your training sounds retarded," I growled out in a deadpanned fashion, effectively dodging Yamamoto's comment. This earned me a scathing glare from Lawn Head and a slightly annoyed frown from Yamamoto.

"Take that back, Ocotpus Head!" Lawn Head hissed out loudly in warning. "Master Colonello's training was anything but stupid! It was extremely effective and motivational! We bonded like true men!"

At that statement, I just gawked at the white-haired jock incredulously. Everything about the other's statement didn't sound right by any stretch of the imagination!

"Gokudera..." Yamamoto called out for my attention again, his voice serious and filled with that stupid concern he always seemed to have as of late. As I begrudgingly glanced his way again because continuing to look at Lawn Head would probably give me a headache, or worse, an ulcer, I took note that the other was staring at me pointedly, obviously still waiting for the answer I had yet to give him.

"Oh for fuck's sake," I growled out in irritation as I closed my eyes and rubbed at my temples in agitation. "Yes, Mom, I spent the entire day training so that I wouldn't get us all fucking killed tonight. You happy?!" I spat at the Baseball Freak as I sent him my most insulted glare. "But for you information, I wasn't a complete fucking idiot like you think I was. I took breaks and I brought store bought bento with me to eat and some granola bars, so settle the fuck down."

Even though I expected Yamamoto to get upset over how I had responded to him, I was utterly shocked when the other smiled at me with relief.

"So you did eat and everything?" He breathed out happily before a chuckle escaped his lips. "That's really a relief! I was worried that if you had to fight tonight on an empty stomach and no rest, that wouldn't be good at all!"

"Fuck you! I'm not an incompetent kid! I'm taking this situation seriously, you bastard!" I spat back angrily, although, for some reason, I could feel my face start to heat up. Why the hell was Yamamoto worrying needlessly over me? Did he honestly think that I couldn't take care of myself?!

"It's not about you being competent, Gokudera," Yamamoto defended himself, his voice soft and filled with the patience of a saint. "You're one of the smartest people I know. You...You just have a tendency to...take yourself for granted is all..."

My eyes widened at this as my brain remembered the similar words that the Tenth's father had told me before Shamal took over my training. I hadn't been able to see the importance of my own life, and that's why Shamal hadn't wanted to bother training me. Yamamoto...he had seen that side of me as well.

"Che!" I huffed out as I averted my gaze from the stupid Baseball Freak, my cheeks feeling unnaturally warm for reasons beyond my knowledge. "You worry too much..."

Yamamoto just chuckled lightly at this.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Sentiments are nice and all," Lawn Head abruptly brought up then just as he pumped his fists in the air and screamed out, "but we should be focused on getting extremely pumped for the Ring Battles!"

Yamamoto laughed good-naturedly at Lawn Head's overly dramatic screaming and I just rolled my eyes. This was supposed to be our Sun Guardian? I guess he definitely was flashy and blinding like the sun...blindingly stupid, that is.

"Everyone!" The familiar call of the Tenth echoed through the air then. As I turned my gaze towards the entry gate to the middle school, I saw that the Tenth was now running towards us, still clad in his school uniform, and carrying the Stupid Cow in one of his arms while Reborn-san was running at his heels.

"Yo!" Lawn Head was the first to loudly great the other.

"Hey!" Yamamoto called out amicably afterwards.

"Tenth!" I cried out enthusiastically, my greeting obviously better than the other two's as I waved happily at my approaching boss.

"Sorry for being late," the Tenth quickly apologized as he stopped before us and held the Stupid Cow out in front of him by his horns. "Lambo started to play Hide and Seek."

The Stupid Cow, in question, just stared up at all of us with googly eyes as he picked his nose.

"Stupid Cow! How dare you cause trouble for the Tenth!" I shouted out angrily at the retarded waste of space currently in the Tenth's hold.

"Don't worry, Tsuna," Yamamoto reassured our boss then with a smile. "There are others that aren't here yet."

"Yeah, the holder of the Mist Ring hasn't shown up yet," Lawn Head added seriously, backing Yamamoto's claim.

Tsuna just nodded his head in understanding before he glanced around at the dark, abandoned school yard we were currently standing in.

"It's...so quiet..." Our smaller friend murmured on slightly awed breath. "Is Nami-Middle really the right place...?"

"Yeah," Yamamoto agreed with some confusion evident in his voice. "Are the Varia even here yet?"

"They've been standing by for quite some time."

Upon hearing the familiar, monotonous, feminine voice, we all glanced up from where the voice originated to see that all of the Varia members, including the two Cervello women, were standing on top of the arch over the school entrance.

"Up there?" The Tenth squawked in disbelief as the rest of us stared at the large group above us in surprise.

"After an official conference," the Cervello woman in the mini dress stated, continuing like the Tenth hadn't said anything. "The battle order for Ring Battle has been decided for tonight."

"The first match will be..." the Cervello woman in the tank top announced then. "...a battle between the Guardians of the Sun!"

---

A/N: And there you have it! This monster of a chapter is finally done! Ugh, it really bothers me it takes so dang long to write these now. Anyway, I hope that you liked the chapter! There weren't a lot of 8059 moments in the manga chapters, but I've added quite a few to make up for it ;D The major ones I can think of are during chapter 93 where Gokudera is agreeing with Yamamoto when he tries to cheer up Tsuna, and the cover art for manga chapter 90 which I used as inspiration for Yamamoto's 'not-exactly-wet' dream XD Any other moments you notice are because of my own creation.

Anyway, hopefully the next chapter won't take me as long! I plan on only covering the Sun Ring Battle, unless I change my mind later on for some crazy reason XD For my sanity, though, I want to try to stick to a battle a chapter if it's possible. Until then, thanks for reading everyone!