A/N: I'm so sorry! Yes, I'm very aware of how long it had been since I last update and I'm very sorry! Please blame my lazy attitude... but at least there's a new chappie now.. neh?

ENJOY~!

Beta'ed by Icy-chan!

Chapter 35

Easier said than done.

That phrase was very fitting for their current situation. They couldn't - or didn't want to - believe the challenge would be this hard.

Yamamoto, Gokudera and Ryohei sighed. It was lunch break and the three were currently by the rooftop. It was as if realization just smacked them on the face; they felt yet another surge of lost as they stared at the empty spot across from Ryohei. They couldn't stop thinking about the person who used to sit there; listening to them ramble about their day and laughing at their lame jokes.

"Never knew Tsuna was this stubborn." Yamamoto smiled uneasily.

"Tch." Gokudera looked away, as if trying to hide tears that were really streaming inside.

"The little guy's challenge sure is extreme!" Ryohei exclaimed.

Yamamoto lied down on the ground, "Maybe we need to come up with a plan?"

Gokudera clenched his fists before slamming them on the ground, "This is stupid!" Ridiculous, lame, useless, helpless, hopeless, insane… word after word streamed inside his head, screaming at him to burst out.

The sun guardian turned towards him, "Octopus head?" His voice was full of understanding and worry.

"In this kind of situation… we usually don't need to make a 'plan'!" Gokudera pointed out, slight anger lacing his words, "This kind of thing should be natural! I mean! Why do we need to make a plan for Juudaime to eat the food we should offer to him?"

Yamamoto frowned, "You got a point there… it shouldn't really be this hard."

"But it is EXTREMELY weird that this is the challenge the little guy gave us." Ryohei said, "I mean, why do we have to let Sawada eat the food we offer to him to succeed this challenge? Why not fight him instead..."

"Are you out of your mind?" Gokudera growled, "We all know Reborn-san is stronger than us! Our levels against each other consists of a huge gap!"

"But I think sempai's right." Yamamoto continued staring at the clouds passing by, "Why was this the challenge given to us?'"

Gokudera looked at them before sighing, "Who knows…"

There was a moment of silence when the ring of the bell suddenly disrupted it. They all stood up.

"Time to get to class. Let's just talk about this later."

The teacher walked in and took his place by his desk, "Okay everyone… I know this is a short notice… but it seems like we have a new transfer student."

Murmurs immediately erupted.

Tsuna looked up slightly with a frown. His dull eyes landed on the silhouette behind the door.

"Please come in… err… Dokuro-san."

Gokudera stood up, "W-what!"

Yamamoto whistled in surprise as the girl entered, now wearing the Namimori uniform. Tsuna looked away with his eyes shadowed.

"My name is Chrome Dokuro. It's nice to meet you all." The illusionist spoke quietly.

All guys blushed at the cute girl while the girls murmured how unique Chrome's hairstyle was.

"C-Chrome-chan! What are you doing here?"Kyoko stood up from her seat.

Chrome blushed lightly before turning to Tsuna shyly. The auburn haired girl immediately understood and gave her a look which was obviously saying 'Good luck'.

Tsuna clenched his fists. He didn't understand…no… he couldn't understand. What's the meaning of this? What are they doing now? What are they trying to plan? Isn't this what they wanted? Didn't they want to distance themselves from him? Why are they doing this?

"Tsuna! This is turning out to be interesting neh?" Yamamoto whispered from behind him, however Tsuna merely ignored him as he stood up, catching the attention of all the people in the room.

"Sawada?" the teacher raised an eyebrow.

"I feel sick. Excuse me." And with that the young boss walked out the classroom… that is until…

"Boss!" a hand grabbed him, "P-please don't go."

All the students were shocked. The transfer student knew Dame-Tsuna?

"I came here… to be able to protect you more… t-to be able to get closer-"

Tsuna pulled his hand from her and glared, "Really now?" He frowned bitterly, making her flinch, "Or is it because of the challenge?" Chrome's eye widened "H-how…-"

"Tsuna?" Both Yamamoto and Gokudera stood up.

"Ju-Juudaime… you k-knew?"

All the students were clueless at what the four were talking about and they could only look at each other with confusion.

"Tsuna-kun…" Kyoko clenched her fists.

"I'm not stupid. I'm not the Tsuna you once knew." Tsuna added the last sentence quietly but Chrome heard it quite perfectly and she could only purse her lips. "Aren't you tired of this? Aren't you tired of chasing me around?"

"J-Juudaime…"

"Well I am." Dull brown eyes flashed underneath his bangs, "And I really wish this would end."

"Tsuna you don't know what you're talking about-"

"I perfectly know what I'm talking about Yamamoto." Tsuna interrupted the other, "I perfectly know what situation I'm in as well. I'm not the type who thinks this is all a game after all." Yamamoto looked at Tsuna with shock and hurt; it was something he always thought Tsuna saw, but he took comfort in the fact knowing that Tsuna wouldn't hold it against him. And here he was, standing and doing nothing, taking the blow.

"It's painful isn't it? Reality that is…" Tsuna's eyes flickered, changing into the dark scarlet color and changing back as fast as it came, "Or is it because I was the one who said it?" he then turned to Gokudera, the bomber flinched under the cold stare directed at him, "And anyway, how about you Gokudera-kun?" the way he said his name brought a shiver down his spine, "How long must you be stuck in your little idealism?" brown eyes stared right into his emerald ones, "Is it really okay on following a man like me? Pushing your purposes to live on me? Swearing your life just to protect no-good Tsuna?"

"O-of course!" Darn it! Why did he stutter? He smacked himself mentally.

"Then what if I die?" the way the brunet said those words made everyone freeze. He sounded so deadly serious… almost as if the young boss was really planning to kill himself. A few girls looked like they were ready to cry while some guys just looked terrified.

"Dying… isn't it amazing?" Chrome flinched as Tsuna turned to her, "Neh Chrome?"

"B-Boss…" her eye widened as she saw something… letting out a horrified gasp she covered her mouth, but she was soon distracted at what Tsuna said next, "With death… we can escape reality… we can escape all problems the humanity had bestowed upon us… with death… we don't need false hope… nor love. We don't need protection… we don't need those unnecessary duties or feelings… with death… we're in peace. Isn't that right?"

The illusionist merely gulped; feeling the awkwardness down her throat.

"I know you felt that once Chrome." Tsuna eyes were shadowed, so no one knew what the brunet's expression was, "You were once in the brink of death… and you felt relieved… relieved that you'll finally leave this cruel world."

"No."

"You also knew no one was going to miss you…"

"No…" Chrome trembled.

"You didn't have friends after all…"

"No…" the illusionist covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly; but it was no use, she could mysteriously hear and perfectly see the brunet in her mind.

"And as for your parents…-"

"NO!"

"Stop! Tsuna-kun!"

"!" The brunet seemed to have snapped out and looked at Kyoko who had approached Chrome and with arms stretched at the sides, she stood in front of her with a tough front.

"You're hurting her Tsuna-kun. Stop it!" Kyoko exclaimed; though her voice didn't wobble, her eyes were full of pain.

Wide caramel eyes slowly narrowed into a glare.

"Kyoko-chan…" Chrome held the other's arm, "I'm fine. Please step aside."

"But Chrome-chan…"

Chrome shook her head, "I'm not the one you should be worrying about…" she then looked at Tsuna, making Kyoko do the same. Yamamoto and Gokudera approached the two hesitantly.

"You guys okay-?"

"You've been wasting your lives." Then they turned towards Tsuna "You've wasted it by meeting me…"

"Juudaime, what are you saying-?"

"Don't listen to him… it's not him who's speaking." Chrome spoke.

"I-is Dame-Tsuna possessed or something?" a random student suddenly asked, but no one paid him any heed.

"What do you mean-"

"You could've lived a normal life." This seemed to have caught Chrome off guard as she looked at her boss in confusion "And yet here you are suffering…

"…all because of me…" Scarlet eyes suddenly appeared, surprising the four.

'H-His voice changed…' Kyoko thought, unable to process and catch on with everything that's happening.

"H-his eyes!"

"Tsuna!"

The scarlet color in his eyes suddenly vanished, and before they knew it, the brunet immediately left.

There was a stunned silence, and all the students could only look at the four, ready to ask them questions.

Gokudera, Yamamoto, Chrome, Ryohei and Kyoko were now on their way home with a heavy silence. Then the bomber suddenly spoke.

"I can't believe this silly challenge would cause such a mess!" Gokudera grumbled.

"Maa, maa… calm down Gokudera." Yamamoto said, though he himself didn't sound calm at all. "I really don't see the link of our challenge to Tsuna's sudden… outburst."

"Did that really happen to the EXTREME?" Ryohei frowned, shaking his fist and head as if that would take away the memory of everything that happened earlier that day.

Kyoko nodded before turning to Chrome. The illusionist seemed to be in a deep thought, "Chrome-chan?"

Chrome stopped walking and looked up with determination, "We… we need to succeed the challenge! For Boss!"

"Eh?"

"Why? I don't see the point to the EXTREME." Ryohei exclaimed as they all turned towards her.

"That's right. And… no matter what food we give Tsuna…" Amber eyes gazed sadly at the ground "He…"

—

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto catched up to the brunet who was walking ahead of him in the hallways.

Tsuna turns to him. "…"

"Yoh! Dad made me some extra sushi today… do you mind if we share?" the baseball star grinned.

Caramel eyes merely narrowed at him before walking away, "Yes. I do mind. Please stop bothering me."

Yamamoto looked at his friend in shock; and then he looked down at his trembling hands, clutching the sushi box tightly in his hand. His eyes shadowed; he blinked away the tears that had formed rapidly; but he was unable to take away the look of hurt masked on his face.

—

"Please accept this delicious cake I bought, Juudaime!" Gokudera bowed with the food placed in front of the young boss

"…"

"J-Juudai-"

"I hate sweets."

Emerald eyes widened and watched as the brunet look away, "Now leave…"

—

"Sawada! I got you some EXTREME burgers!" Ryohei slung his arm around the brunet's shoulders, but Tsuna merely shrug the offending arm and grabbed the burgers before throwing them to the ground.

"Leave me alone."

Ryohei looked down the ruined burgers with wide and angry eyes, his glare was soon directed to the tenth, "What's wrong with you? Why are you being an EXTREME brat? The Sawada I know isn't like this!"

—

"It's not his fault." Chrome softly said.

"What makes you say that to the EXTREME?" Ryohei grumbled, but there was no anger in his voice, just excessive frustration that was brimming to the top.

The illusionist then stared at the boxer, "Can you continue?"

"Continue what to the EXTREME?"

"What happened when Boss threw the food you gave him?"

Ryohei looked confused but continued, "Well… I… I asked what was EXTREMELY wrong with him and why he was being a brat. And after that I told him he wasn't the Sawada I once knew." The sun guardian furrowed his eyebrows as if remembering something troubling, "And then… after that… he… he started saying weird things… and the way looked at me… it was like he was in pain."

"Juudaime…? Was in pain?"

Ryohei nodded.

"What did he say onii-chan?" Kyoko asked.

The boxer crossed his arms "He said something like…"

"That's right! I'm not the Sawada you once knew! I'm someone else now! The way I think… the way I believe… the way I see life has all changed!" Brown eyes flashed, "They all change… all thanks to you and everyone else!"

"H-He said that?" Gokudera said in disbelief.

Yamamoto clenched his fists, "Why? Why is he blaming us? We didn't even do anything. Tsuna really has-"

"Stop." Chrome suddenly spoke up, "Boss… boss never changed. You're all just misunderstanding."

"You can only say that cause you don't have to see him throw away the food you offer him! It might just be food… but they were gifts! And he practically refused it! It was almost like refusing us in a way!" Gokudera burst.

"That's right to the EXTREME!"

"Listen to yourselves." Chrome clutched her bag, "Don't you see what you're doing? Can't you hear what you're saying? If boss was here… no doubt you'll be hurting him more."

"…" they then exchanged looks.

"We might not notice it… but we're actually repeating the mistake we swore to not repeat." The illusionist pointed out, "And the reason why Boss is acting like this… isn't really his fault."

"Why?" Kyoko asked.

"There's a dark aura surrounding the herbivore." They all turned to Hibari in shock.

The said prefect was leaning against a telephone wire with crossed arms.

"Hibari!"

"What do you mean dark aura?" Yamamoto asked.

"It's not an aura." Chrome muttered and shivered "It's a flame."

"What?" Gokudera's eyes widened.

"Boss is being manipulated by a black flame."

"This black flame sounds like bad news to the EXTREME." Ryohei nodded.

"It is." The illusionist turned to him, "Mukuro-sama told me about it. They can pollute hearts and damage one's mind. They're very dangerous."

"What made you say that Tsuna was being manipulated by this black flame?" the swordsman questioned.

"It's because I saw it… earlier…"

"Dying… isn't it amazing?" Chrome flinched as Tsuna turned to her, "Neh Chrome?"

"With death… we can escape reality… we can escape all problems the humanity had bestowed upon us… with death… we don't need false hope… nor love. We don't need protection… we don't need those unnecessary duties or feelings… with death… we're in peace. Isn't that right?"

Chrome clenched her fist, "We need… we need to destroy that flame! Before it's too late."

"What do you mean before it's too late? Is something gonna happened to Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko asked worriedly.

Chrome nodded with a dreadful look. Everyone was now looking at her in disbelief. For some reason… they knew what the illusionist meant… there's no consequence that's greater than…

"Once you possess the black flame, it will start manipulating you by giving you negative thoughts and memories. There's the voice that keeps talking to you. Giving you wrong conclusions and advices, thus misleading you into false idea… with this… anyone… I mean anyone… even with the strongest resolves will fall apart once they fall in the hands of the flame."

They all looked at the illusionist seriously.

"The black flame is a complete opposite of our own. It doesn't gain from resolve, it tears them apart…" Chrome then stared up at the dark sky.

"The person slowly breaks apart… almost like a withering flower… and we all know… once a flower starts withering..."

…it will die.

End of Chapter

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