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?

38. The Sun Ring Battle! Ryohei vs Lussuria!

A/N: Hello again, guys! I want to thank everyone who took the time to read, review or favorite the story! Like I've said before, it really helps to push me to keep writing for this series, so please don't hesitate to leave me something.

Anyway, this chapter will solely focus on the Sun Ring Battle! I will state right now that there isn't gong to be much 8059 in this chapter, but plenty will be on the way once the Storm and Rain battles ensue ;D With that said, I used manga chapters 94-96 for this chapter, along with the corresponding episodes 41 (the last half) and 42. So if you want to read or watch these before the chapter, you can. If not, then I shouldn't think that it will effect your understanding of the chapter. I don't think there's any important information missing since all of the characters are gathered in one place.

Also, this chapter will be entirely in Yama's POV! I know I said in the last chapter that I was starting split POV chapters, but since Yama and Dera are both in the same spot, and nothing ground breaking happens character development-wise between them, for them, or any information is missed from their POVs, I'll just stick with Yama's POV since it will be easier, and I want to do Dera's POV mainly for Lambo's fight in the next chapter anyway XD

With that said, I hope you guy's enjoy the chapter!

The Sun Ring Battle! Ryohei vs. Lussuria!

"The match is between the Sun Guardians...!" Tsuna cried out in surprise as the Cervello lady's words rang in all of our ears. "That means..."

Senpai was going to be the first of us to fight.

I felt a strange mixture of apprehension and relief turn in my gut then as I watched the Varia Guy with the neon-green, partial buzz-cut step forward until he was at the edge of the archway over the school's entrance. On the one hand, I still had to watch one of my friends take on a very strong opponent, but, on the other, at least Gokudera wasn't the first one to do so. Something told me, with how laser focused he was on his training as of late, and the fact that he had even told Tsuna and me that he hadn't been able to figure out a certain technique yet, that he wasn't ready to fight the Varia at all. This at least bought him another day to train...

"So I'm fighting this boy," the sunglasses-wearing Varia member hummed out factually as he stared down at Senpai from above, his eyes indiscernible behind his darkened shades. Why was he wearing those anyway? He had been wearing them the night before as well. Didn't wearing sunglasses at night make it almost impossible to even see?

As Senpai growled out in response to the weird older man's words, the Varia members and the Cervello jumped down from the archway to land a few meters away from us. It was here that I noticed that the Varia were one member short; their leader, that Xanxus guy, wasn't with them. I was confused as to why he hadn't shown up, but then again, I truly didn't mind. Also, it wasn't like it was mandatory for everyone to show up unless it was supposed to be their fight. After all, our Mist and Cloud Guardians hadn't shown up, either.

"Thank you for gathering," the Cervello lady wearing the mini-dress stated monotonously then.

"We shall now begin the tournament for the Vongola succession," the Cervello lady in the tank top added afterwards in the same monotonous tone.

"Please look over there," the Cervello lady in the mini-dress brought up as she and her counterpart both pointed to the left of us. As my gaze followed the direction of their fingers, my eyes widened in shock as a certain structure was suddenly illuminated.

"Ahh?! What is that?!" Tsuna gasped out in shock beside me as we took in the image before us. A short distance away from the main entrance in the center of the front lawn was a boxing ring surrounded by a huge, rectangular black cage. Higher up within the cage were four small lamps (one in each corner of the cage), which were illuminating the structure at the moment, and a little ways above them at the very top of the cage, were four, large, black screens of some sort. Since the lamps were pointing downwards, the four black screens above them were cast into shadow, so I couldn't quite see what the black screens actually were. Did they contain something within them, or were they just TVs? Whatever the case was, this structure literally looked like a mixture between boxing and wrestling, haha! The cage looked very much like the cages wrestlers would use for their cage matches.

"It's a special arena that we've prepared for the match between the Guardians of the Sun Ring," the Cervello lady in the mini-dress stated with emphasis to Tsuna's question.

"We have set up this ring in accordance with the abilities of the Guardians of the Sun Ring," the Cervello lady in the tank top added. "Each pair of combatants will be given their own special combat areas."

"Wha?!" Tsuna cried out in dismay. "They seriously prepared something that big?!"

"I think it's a perfect place for Senpai," I commented with confidence as I heard the murmurings of the Varia members in the distance. I wonder what they were talking about?

"Yeah!" Senpai agreed enthusiastically with me as he energetically punched his right fist into his opened left hand. "The ring is my territory!"

"The...the match is...really going to start," Tsuna murmured mainly to himself in disbelief before he quickly squatted down and gripped at his hair in terror. "Ahh! I'm so nervous!" Tsuna then directed his voice towards Lambo, who was calmly sleeping on the ground beside him. "I envy your ignorance," he sighed out in exhaustion.

"Well then," one of the Cervello women addressed suddenly from the middle of the caged-in ring. When had they gotten in there? "Will the Sun Guardians please come to the center of the ring?"

"Alright, I'm going," Senpai acknowledged the call as he walked away from us a short distance. He suddenly stopped, though, and looked back at us while flexing one of his arms. "Leave it to me!" He stated confidently.

"B...Big Brother..." Tsuna mumbled out in worry to himself as Senpai began to walk away again. Seeing as this was a competition, and I didn't want Tsuna to worry anymore, a sudden idea came to my mind.

"Hey, Tsuna...Aren't we going to form a group circle?"

"Eh?" My smaller brunet friend squeaked out in confusion.

"You know, a team huddle!" I explained just in case he didn't know what I was getting at.

"Huh?!" This time it was Gokudera who was gawking at me like I had said something outrageous. I thought it was a fun idea! There was nothing better to help with the unity and encouragement of a team like a group circle!

At my suggestion, Senpai suddenly stopped in his tracks. A second later, he abruptly turned around, his fists pumping into the air in wild excitement.

"That sounds extremely awesome! I've always wanted to do that at least once!"

Haha, oh yeah! Senpai was in a non-team orientated sport, so he had probably never done a group circle before! Well, this would be a really great inspirational boost for him then!

"Ehh?!" Tsuna screamed out in embarrassed dismay at Senpai's excitement about the idea.

"You moron!" Gokudera shouted out in flustered disgust then towards our boxing friend. "Why would we ever do something so lame?!"

Having a hunch that Gokudera and Tsuna were going to continue refusing, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Sharing a quick look with Senpai, the older teen smiling at me mischievously with an understanding twinkle in his eyes, we both rushed towards our whining friends. With a wide, joyfully amused smile on my face, I managed to wrangle Gokudera by wrapping an arm around the back of his neck and pulling him away from where he was standing, catching him completely by surprise. Naturally, Gokudera was startled by his suddenly invaded personal space and abrupt kidnapping and started to protest and struggle in my grip, but I remained firm in my hold, being conscious of how tightly I was holding the other's neck so I didn't accidentally strangle him. Either way, whether Gokudera liked the idea or not, he was going to be part of this team activity.

While I had been grabbing Gokudera, Senpai had managed to catch Tsuna by the scruff of his school uniform and was currently dragging the surprised, wailing teen behind him. We only walked a few steps away before forcing the others into a group circle, Senpai and me smiling excitedly all the while. Keeping my arm wrapped around Gokudera, I placed my other over Tsuna's shoulder, and Senpai did the same across from me. With all of us bending down low then, and Gokudera and Tsuna completely dazed that this was actually going on, Senpai started us off.

"Ryohei! Fight!" He cried out boisterously.

"Oh!" I shouted out vigorously, hoping to pump Senpai up for the big fight ahead. I ended up completely overshadowing Tsuna's own cry, which had been more of an uncertain, practically silent call, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to join my answering cry and had just responded automatically anyway.

Gokudera, unsurprisingly, didn't say anything at all.

Well, it didn't matter in the end, because I had involved our entire team, minus Lambo (who was still sleeping), and the Little Guy, who was too short to join in anyway.

As we all untangled ourselves from the circle, Senpai pumped his fists before him in determination and turned away from us.

"Alright, my extreme power is emerging now!" He declared confidently as he started walking away towards the ring. I smiled happily at his back, feeling quite proud at the fact we were able to engage in a group circle to begin with, and that we had involved Tsuna and Gokudera in it as well. The two in question were standing on either side of me, Tsuna gawking at Senpai's retreating back like he couldn't believe what had just happened, and Gokudera was silently fuming, his teeth grinding together, his shoulders hunched, and his fists balled at his sides, shaking with pent up fury at the injustice he probably thought I had just put him through. Did I also mention both of them were blushing with embarrassment? Actually, Gokudera was blushing harder than Tsuna, haha! It was actually pretty adorable, haha! Was being in a team huddle really that embarrassing? Man, these two were acting like it gave them cooties or something, hahaha!

Their strange embarrassment aside, we all watched Senpai slide on some red, fingerless, padded leather gloves on his hands before he slipped between the cage bars and then through the ropes of the ring and made his way over to the Cervello lady wearing the tank top and capris. I noticed that the Varia guy with sunglasses was no longer wearing his white, buttoned up shirt and black tie; instead, he was wearing a tight, black tank top with his boa embroidered trench coat hanging off of his shoulders. He made his way into the ring as well and over to the Cervello lady with the mini-dress. The two pink-haired women then asked for their Half-Vongola Sun Rings and inspected them for authenticity.

"There's no mistake," the Cervello lady in the mini-dress stated then as she handed the ring back to the effeminate-sounding Varia guy.

"We approve of these being the true Half-Vongola Rings of the Sun," the other Cervello lady continued her friend's statement as she handed the ring in her hand back to Senpai.

"As a rule," the Cervello lady in the mini-dress added as she handed the Varia guy a silver chain, "we will have you hang the ring from your neck."

When the other Cervello lady handed a chain to Senpai and both him and the Varia guy slipped their half-rings onto the chain and then clasped them behind their necks, the Cervello lady with the tank top quickly continued. "And upon defeating the opponent and taking the ring, that person will be declared the victor."

As this was being said, Senpai threw off his red sports jacket and then lifted up his white t-shirt and threw it off over his head , leaving him bare-chested and only in his red jogging pants, red fingerless gloves and his sneakers, the silver half-Sun Ring resting against his chest and gleaming under the lights of the boxing ring. Man, now that I looked closer, Senpai was ripped, haha! He definitely had a well-toned body, which was proof of his constant physical training. Even though I was an athlete as well, my muscles weren't as honed as Senpai's, especially in the ab department. I was almost kind of jealous, but when I figured how training-crazy the other was, I figured my current body condition was just fine.

I wasn't the only one that took interest in Senpai's physical condition, though, because as soon as Senpai tossed his shirt and jacket aside, I noticed the Varia guy with the green hair smirk while his eyebrows lifted over his sunglasses with intrigue.

"Oh?" He hummed out soon afterwards before he clapped his hands together and placed them alongside one of his cheeks in a swooning fashion. "Oh dear! From up close, your body looks mighty fine! You're like, totally my type~!"

"What?!" Senpai exclaimed in complete confusion as Gokudera, Tsuna and I gawked up towards the boxing ring in disbelief.

"What...did he just say?!" Gokudera mumbled out in dismayed disgust, his eyes staring up at the Varia guy in horror.

"I...don't know...?" Tsuna mumbled out a meek response, looking very much like the Varia Guy's comments had turned him into stone. I, on the other hand, wasn't really sure on what to think of the situation. It definitely wasn't common to run into a guy who was so blatantly vocal about his sexual preferences...In fact, it was kind of making me a bit uncomfortable, although I wasn't sure exactly why.

"I'm so taking you home~" The sunglasses-wearing Varia guy crooned out as he made a kissing face at Senpai.

"What are you saying?" Senpai questioned in honest confusion, sounding very much like he couldn't understand what the other guy was getting at. That was quite surprising since the Varia guy was spelling out his desires as plain as day. Maybe Senpai was so subconsciously horrified at what was happening that his mind was refusing to comprehend it for the sake of his sanity? "I don't get what you're talking about," Senpai brought up then as he raised his fists into a boxing fighting pose, "but I'll just fight you fairly."

"Oh my~ Is that a pose for boxing~?" The Varia guy questioned in a slightly mocking effeminate tone as he threw off his trench coat. "Now, isn't that pathetic?" He then brought his hands up and hunched his head and shoulders forward until the top of his head was level with his hands. Said hands were semi-balled into loose fists with his pinky fingers raised in the air. He also raised his left leg up, bending it at the knee where it was level with his midsection. "I, Lussuria," the Varia guy declared, "shall go ahead and play with you with the ultimate standing martial art, Muay Thai."

"What...?!" Senpai exclaimed as his brows scrunched up in determination and an uncertain scowl played across his lips.

"So," the Little Guy piped up, "the Varia's Sun Guardian is a physical fighter too, just as I thought."

"Just as you thought...?" Tsuna questioned in slight confusion as he glanced up towards the Little Guy, who was sitting upon my shoulder. I peered at the toddler as well out of the corner of my eyes.

"Looking at the previous family members," the Little Guy began to explain, "the Guardians of the Sun all had a strong hand or foot." A light frowned splayed across the toddler's features then. "Destroying the misfortune that attacks the family with their own body, like the burning rays of the sun. That's the purpose of the Guardian of the Sun."

Huh...that was interesting. Is that why the Little Guy and Tsuna's dad chose Senpai to be the Sun Guardian of our role-play group in the first place? I wonder if they did something similar with the rest of us?

As I began to wonder on this, one of the Cervello ladies abruptly declared, "The wielders of the Sun Ring, Lussuria vs. Sasagawa Ryohei! Let the battle begin!"

"You!" Senpai proudly proclaimed after the lady's go-ahead as he nodded towards the Lussuria guy in acknowledgment. "I won't accept any insults towards boxing!"

The Lussuria guy just chuckled at Senpai's childish proclamation before a sudden onslaught of light enshrouded the boxing ring, sending it blindingly aglow. What the?! Where was all of this light suddenly coming from?!

"Whoa!" I heard Senpai cry out in surprise as I closed my eyes and shielded them with an arm from the painfully piercing glow.

"Bright!" I heard Gokudera proclaim with a startled yelp a few seconds later.

"Wha...What is this?!" Tsuna complained then in a taken aback fashion, his tone turning into that of worry. "The ring is glowing!"

Upon hearing our declarations, one of the Cervello ladies decided to explain the situation to us. I had no idea which one it was, though, since it was too painful to even try and open my eyes.

"This special ring was re-modeled for the battle of the Sun Guardians. It's a sun coliseum lit by a fake sun."

As she was explaining this, I suddenly felt a small hand pat my cheek. With one of my arms still covering my eyes, I was able to partially open my eyelids and glance towards the Little Guy, who was still sitting on my left shoulder. From what I could see through my watering eyes, the toddler was now wearing a pair of black, round shaped sunglasses over his eyes and he was handing a different designed pair to me. Without hesitation, I reached out for the black, not-quite-oval-shaped sunglasses and placed them over my eyes. There was an immediate difference in my surroundings then. As the black lenses took in the burning light, I was finally able to see with only a marginal bit of difficulty. It was here that I was finally able to notice the source of the intense light show. Apparently, the black screens I had seen earlier that were placed upon the upper corners of the ring were dozens of high-powered lights! Not only that, but there were more placed upon the ceiling of the cage and were pointing down towards Senpai! It really was like staring directly into the sun!

"What's that?!" Tsuna complained beside me then as soon as the Cervello lady was done speaking. "I can't see anything!"

"I'll lend you my shades," the Little Guy offered as he held out a pair of black, rounded-square sunglasses. Tsuna took them without hesitation as well, and as soon as they were on, the Little Guy was handing him another pair of black, rounded-rectangular sunglasses to pass down to Gokudera.

Although all four of us were now able to see, Senpai was out of luck. He still had his hands up in his typical boxing pose, but his whole body had stiffened. I was currently staring at his body from an angle and I could only see his back and a bit of his side profile, but I still couldn't see his face. Even though I couldn't do that, I don't see how it was possible for him to have his eyes open. How was he going to fight in these conditions? No amount of training had probably prepared him for this!

As soon as I thought this, Lussuria took advantage of the situation and rushed forward so quick, Senpai wouldn't have been able to dodge even if he could see him coming. In mere seconds, the older man's right knee planted itself in Senpai's gut. The force from the hit was enough to cause Senpai to cough up blood and cry out in pain as the hit sent him backwards on fumbling feet.

"Ahh!" Tsuna screamed out in terrified realization at the sight. "The person from the Varia is wearing shades, so he can move freely! This isn't a fair match then!" As soon as the words were out of Tsuna's mouth, he started moving towards the ring, an air of desperation in his rushed movements. "Let's give Big Brother some shades, too!"

The Cervello lady in the tank top, who was the one closest to us from within the ring turned to face Tsuna's approaching form with a look of disapproval.

"We will not accept any contact with the Guardian during the battle," she stated with finality. "If you do, then we will consider it a disqualification and take the ring away."

"No way...!" Tsuna cried out in dismay at this news, which effectively stopped him in his tracks.

"That's not fair!" Gokudera rushed up beside our smaller friend and protested indignantly, as if doing so would change the woman's mind. All it did was cause the Cervello lady to turn her head away and refocus on the match currently going on in the ring. I could see that Lussuria was only gauging Senpai at the moment, as he readjusted himself after being kneed in the gut. Unsurprisingly, Senpai's eyes were still closed, and he seemed to be listening intently for any indication of the other man's presence.

"Oh? This feeling," Lussuria hummed out appreciatively as he retook his original fighting pose and licked at his lips hungrily. "Your body is better than what I had thought earlier. You're totally my type~"

As these disturbingly affectionate words rang through the air, all Senpai seemed to care about were the older man's whereabouts and not the disturbing intention behind them, because he just growled in frustration and started punching frantically to his left with his left fist as if Lussuria was right next to him instead of a meter or so before him.

"Where are you?!"

Lussuria rushed forward with no hesitation and answered with a quick sucker punch to Senpai's exposed right cheek.

"This way," the sunglasses-wearing man stated jokingly as the momentum of his punch sent Senpai around until his body fell forward to land on the ropes of the ring.

As soon as Senpai's body made contact with the ropes, the sound of something sizzling rose into the air, and tendrils of steamy, white smoke started to protrude from Senpai's body. This all happened in a matter of seconds, the reaction instantaneous from the moment Senpai's body touched the ropes. It was only a second later as Senpai's brain seemed to catch up with the feeling of his body and he let out a scream of agony before he pushed himself off of the ropes. This seemed to evaporate whatever energy he had left from the onslaught, since he fell onto his back soon afterwards, his upper torso still sizzling and smoking from where it had touched the ropes.

"The ropes of the ring are heated to several hundred degrees with an electrical metal wire," the Cervello lady in the mini-dress explained way too late to Senpai's prone, smoking body. I had to wonder if they had done such a horrendous thing in order to stick with the 'Sun' theme they seemed to be going for...

Tsuna, who was beside me again with Gokudera, cried out in horror to this statement.

"No way...! That's crazy!"

Tsuna took the words right out of my mouth. Just what kind of crazy game had these women come up with? This was extremely lethal! What was with these other role-playing people and their insistent needs for carnage and mayhem? We always seemed to run into the craziest of the role-players, that was for sure. Which meant they were just overly violent criminals using the role-playing game to mask their actual intentions.

Regardless of what I thought, though, I knew there was no way out of this situation, so my friends and I just had to deal with the cards dealt to us, no matter how bad they were. Senpai seemed to be of this mind as well, because even though any normal person would have just continued to stay down after almost being roasted alive, he pushed himself up to his feet with some difficulty. Lussuria looked like he was enjoying the view a little too much.

"Mmm," the green and brown-haired man hummed out in appreciation. "You're slowly reaching my perfect ideal body~" He then licked his lips playfully, like he was going to enjoy an especially delicious snack in the near future. "My ultimate sense of beauty for the body is a cold, deteriorated, unmoving body~"

"Wouldn't that be a dead body?!" Gokudera shuddered out in disgust.

"Eh..." Tsuna gasped out at Gokudera's words before the true meaning behind them finally sunk in. "Ehhh?!"

Oh man, this was definitely a...'unique' guy. It wasn't every day that you encountered a gay guy who was sexually attracted to dead bodies...hehe...he...

Even though the rest of our group was taking this Lussuria guy's words seriously, Senpai didn't seem to be on the same page. Maybe he was truly trying to block out the horrible imagery the older man's words were enforcing, or maybe he was truly as dense as he seemed, but either way, as soon as Senpai heard the other man's words, he started rushing at the green-haired Varia, his fists raised to fight or block at a moment's notice.

"Quit joking around!" Senpai cried out in frustration as he brought his left arm slightly down and then quickly and forcefully brought it upwards as he stopped before Lussuria and sent his left fist into the older man's chin. A resounded smack filled the area as the shades-wearing Varia was sent flying into the air.

"He hit him!" Tsuna exclaimed ecstatically beside me.

"What an impressive punch!" I commented soon afterwards in awe. It looked like the force of Senpai's punch could really do some damage...

At least, that's what I thought...

"Aww, don't hurt me~" Lussuria drawled out teasingly as he used the momentum he had mid-flight to flip himself over backwards with little effort. He didn't even look hurt from Senpai's earlier punch! Had it not fully connected?

"What?!" Senpai growled out in shock upon hearing the strange, older man's jeering voice. Obviously, his punch wasn't as effective as he had originally planned. "But, this feeling..." Senpai mumbled out to himself a second later. "He's in midair...!"

How Senpai was able to deduce that was beyond me. Maybe he had actually been able to feel the slight draft Lussuria might have created when he back flipped. After all, it was said that your other senses heightened drastically when you lost one in order to compensate. Either way, Lussuria's feet hit one of the highest points of the cage bars surrounding the ring, and he used this new stance to push himself forward, his body now rocketing towards Senpai's prone figure in the middle of the ring.

"I won't let you escape this time!" Senpai cried out in determination as he brought back his left arm to gather energy before he thrust it forward and slightly upwards with a great force. "I got you!"

A devilish smirk crossed Lussuria's lips as he brought his left knee forward just in time for impact.

There was a sickening, cracking-like sound, and soon, Senpai was reeling back from punching Lussuria's left knee, blood spurting out from the openings of his glove-covered hand, and a blood-curdling cry of pain flying from his lips.

"Gaaaah! My arm!"

I stiffened in alarm as Tsuna cried out in fear beside me. Had...punching that crazy guy's knee actually rendered Senpai's left arm completely useless now? Either way, this didn't seem to be boding well...

As if to prove my own thoughts right, Senpai collapsed face-first onto the floor of the ring, clutching his left arm to his chest with a groan of pain. Lussuria towered over him in a mocking fashion.

"Like the Guardian of the Sun, I reflect the misfortune back towards you~" Lussuria then lifted his left leg up and bent it at the knee as if showcasing what had done Senpai in. "My left leg has a metal plate within the knee; your fist is useless now."

"What?!" Gokudera shouted out in anger as he bristled on the other side of Tsuna.

"Big Brother's hand...!" Tsuna wailed in despair a few seconds later.

"That's not all," the Little Guy mentioned morosely as he remained seated upon my shoulder. Even though I couldn't see him out of the corner of my eye too well with my shades on, I could tell by his voice that he must be frowning. "Ryohei is growing weak from all the heat emitted by the lights, and he's dehydrating."

Damn, the Little Guy was right! Looking at Senpai now, he was still laying down on the floor of the ring, obviously still in pain, and he was sweating buckets on top of it! Would he even be able to last much longer?!

"No way..." Tsuna wailed in dismay as his eyes turned to focus back on Senpai as well. "At this rate...!"

"Stand up, Maggot!" A strangely familiar, child-like voice rang through the air behind us. As I turned to focus on who was making the noise, my shaded eyes were met with the sight of a tiny blond toddler in military camo-garb with a blue pacifier around his neck, an assault rifle strapped to his back, black, round shades covering his eyes, and a white falcon with black-tipped wing feathers latched onto his head and flapping its wings to keep the two of them aloft above our heads. Now that I looked closer, the falcon was wearing small black shades, too, haha!

"Colonello!" Tsuna cried out in surprised recognition to the hovering toddler. Oh yeah! That's what his name was! He was the one that had been training Senpai, right? Not only that but he had helped to train Tsuna a bit during our stay at the Mafia Land Resort. It had been a long time since I'd seen the Little Guy's friend.

"I was caught by Kyoko, so I was late..." Colonello dished out as an excuse then before he went silent and stared off into the ring where Senpai still laid. "It's about time," the blond toddler stated cryptically then, his tone leaving no room for arguments. "Go and show him your true strength, Ryohei!"

Lussuria sneered bemusedly at Colonello's little pep-talk.

"No matter who talks, it's useless. This boy is finished~," the green-haired man practically purred out. "I'll have him soon~."

Despite Lussuria's foreboding words, Senpai still managed to push himself up shakily into a kneeling position, his right hand clutching his blood and burn covered left arm, and the oppressing rays of the spotlights beating down on his worn and, by now, profusely sweating body.

"Master...Colonello...!" Senpai croaked out with more strength and vigor in his voice than a person in his current physical condition should probably have. "I've been waiting for those words!"

The note of triumph in Senpai's voice had me floored. It was like he had just heard the one hint he needed to defeat his opponent and now he was certain of his victory. I could even see a small hint of a smirk on his lips before he grimaced in pain and slowly attempted to stand up. He had gotten his feet underneath him from his current kneeling position but had to stop momentarily for a quick moment of respite as he gathered himself for what he had to do next. By this point, I could see steam was starting to waft off of his body from the droplets of sweat on his bare, upper half. He was bloody, bruised, burned, dehydrating, temporarily blind, and now it looked like the spot lights were starting to cook him! How could Senpai have so much confidence in this situation...? It just...floored me...

Just what did Senpai and that Colonello kid have planned?

"Big Brother's getting up!" Tsuna shouted out beside me in a mixture of surprise and relief, Gokudera letting out a pumped-up cry of agreement beside him soon after. "B...but is he alright?" Tsuna stuttered out with a worried tremor.

"His sweat is steaming and making sizzling sounds..." I brought up morbidly, as if in answer to his question. Either way, whatever I or anyone said, there was no denying that Senpai did not look like he was alright.

"Your body is made up differently than mine," Lussuria suddenly tsked as he raised his left fist before him, lifted his pinky up and waved it at Senpai like he had done something disgraceful. "I bet you can't last in this scorching light. Hurry up and die so you can become a part of my corpse collection."

…Okay, first of all...why was he wagging a pinky finger instead of his pointer? Was he trying to come off as classy or something? Not only that but why bother with the mannerism when Senpai had his eyes closed and couldn't see it? And last of all...ewww...

A disdainful, disgusted frown marred my features as I watched Senpai bring his arms out to his sides and finally pushed himself slowly to his feet.

"No...! Not yet!" Senpai shouted out with intense determination.

Uh...Senpai...I think the correct phrase you were looking for was 'never'...You're making it sound like you'll follow through with his demand later...

"Nothing good will happen even if you stand up," Lussuria admonished in reminder in his usual sing-song voice. "Your punches don't affect me at all."

"Yeah..." Senpai panted out in exhaustion as he stood shakily on his feet. "It didn't affect you at all..." He then raised his bloodied, left arm. "My left one didn't..."

I blinked in surprise and slight perplexity behind my shades, wondering what Senpai was getting at. Tsuna and Gokudera seemed to feel the same way as well, because they were gasping in confusion beside me. Lussuria also looked confused as to what Senpai was referring to, and the other Varia members standing on the opposite side of the ring from us were watching intently with stony faces. Who knew if they had actually caught on to what was going or if they didn't care one way or the other.

"That's right," the Little Guy brought up in realization. "Ever since he saved Fuuta and the kids, he's only been punching with his left hand."

Oh? Had he been? I hadn't been there last night when Senpai had taken out one of the Varia lackeys, so I hadn't seen him in action at all until now. But, now that I reflected on what had happened so far during his fight, I realized as well that the Little Guy was telling the truth. He had only been using his left hand to punch. I wonder why that was?

"That's right," Colonello affirmed above us with a knowing smirk. "He never punched with his right, Maggot!"

"B...but why...?" Tsuna questioned in astonishment.

"One reason is to give the cells in his right hand and arm a rest to make sure they are in perfect condition," Colonello explained coolly. "Another reason is because he's the Sun Guardian."

What...did he mean by that last part?

"This right fist..." Senpai suddenly declared as he raised his right arm and clenched his hand into a tight fist. "...exists only to turn around the extreme disadvantage I have!"

Oh, yeah, that's right! The purpose of the Sun Guardian was to reflect misfortune back onto whoever harmed the Family! So, just like with the Lussuria guy's metal knee, Senpai would use his right fist in the same manner!

"Oh my~" Lussuria laughed out in delight as he brought his hands up near his mouth in a very feminine gesture. "That's, like, the best! You're so funny!"

"What's so funny?!" Senpai demanded angrily in response.

Lussuria just smirked and clenched his hands into fists before him and took on his fighting pose again.

"I don't know how great that punch that you've been saving up all this time is but, if you can't hit me, there's no point in it."

And with those words, Lussuria started to circle Senpai at an amazing speed, chortling like a madman all the while. He was practically a blur of motion, deftly moving around Senpai like doing so at his current speed was the most natural thing he could do. Senpai, all the while, just glanced around him in confusion, his closed eyes unable to pick up the sight before him, but his ears apparently catching on instead.

"What amazing footwork!" Gokudera gasped out in astonishment as he gawked up towards the ring. I couldn't help but silently agree. This man's footwork was so swift and nimble, I was surprised that Senpai could even seem to pick up on the fact the other man was moving around him. I couldn't even hear the other man's feet touching the mat of the ring!

"And Big Brother...! He can't see right now, too...!" Tsuna gasped out in horror soon after.

Just as he said this, there was a loud 'smack' sound, and Senpai was flung backwards onto the floor of the ring with a surprised cry of pain. Lussuria must have hit him, even though I had blinked at the wrong time and completely missed the movement.

"Big Brother!" Tsuna cried out in worry as Senpai rolled over onto his chest and slowly pushed himself up off of the mat.

"I'm...fine..." Senpai growled out in difficulty as he shakily pushed himself to his feet again.

As soon as he was on his feet, though, he showed a perfect air of confidence. Now sporting a bloody bruise on his left cheek from where Lussuria must have hit him, Senpai got back into his familiar boxing pose, but with his left arm raised a little higher than his right as if in defense, and his feet were spread further apart with his right foot stretched out almost fully behind him, like he was going to spring forward at any second. He looked ready to use his right fist!

I saw momentary intrigue flash across the Varia members' faces as they beheld Senpai and his confident aura.

"That's his right..." Gokudera murmured mainly to himself on awed breath as Tsuna gulped audibly beside him in trepidation.

Seeing as Senpai looked ready to attack at any moment, Lussuria started to circle him at a crazy speed again, laughing his crazy, noble-like laugh.

It was a split second later that Senpai seemed to detect where the laughing man was.

"There!" He declared with a might roar as he pivoted on his feet and brought his right arm up swiftly in an uppercut. "Maximum Canon!"

The uppercut hit Lussuria directly below his chin, which caused him to spit out blood as his head snapped back and his body was sent flying high into the air from the force of the blow. Because of the intense rays of the spotlights from above, I was also able to see that the lenses of Lussuria's sunglasses were cracked in several places. That was strange. Had Senpai hit the man so hard that it created a shockwave that cracked the shades?

"He...he did it!" Tsuna called out in awe as he watched Lussuria's ascending form.

Much to everyone's shock, Lussuria righted himself midair a few seconds later, using the momentum from his sudden flight to flip himself over and land on his feet, now looking like the punch hadn't affected him at all.

"Phew," he let out a sigh of relief as he straightened up from his landing and brought his hands up in a shrugging motion. "That would have been bad if it had been a solid hit."

What?!

"N...no way..." Tsuna gasped out in dismay. "He had been so close!"

Dang it! You've got to be kidding me! How could that guy have predicted Senpai's punch and gotten away just enough to only sustain minimal damage?!

"No," Senpai, who still had his right fist raised in an uppercut and his eyes closed, reaffirmed with complete confidence, a knowing smirk soon dawning his face. "I did it for sure."

Lussuria looked just as confused as we did, and even more so when we heard ominous cracking coming from the ceiling of the caged-in ring. As we all glanced upwards, we were met with the sight of pieces of shattered glass falling into the ring from some overhead spotlights. I gawked up at the now broken lights in disbelief as Tsuna exclaimed his astonishment beside me. How...How had Senpai shattered the lights by just punching upwards?!

As if to drive in the fact that what I was seeing was truly real, Senpai let out a mighty roar and started sending multiple rapid punches upwards, causing more glass from the ceiling spotlights to cascade down into the ring until there was none left. With the lighting in the ring back down to a moderate, less-blinding level now, I slipped off my sunglasses and blinked rapidly, adjusting to the new lighting.

"It looks like I can finally fight you in a fair situation," Senpai brought up triumphantly as he brought his hands down to rest at his sides and finally opened his eyes to glare at his opponent. "I can open my eyes now!"

"Lawn Head did it!" Gokudera cried out happily in victory as he, Tsuna, and the Little Guy slipped off their sunglasses as well.

"He can see now!" Tsuna gasped out gleefully between us.

"Looks like he was aiming for the lights from the start," the Little Guy mused in amusement. Even though I didn't glance out of the corner of my eye to look at him, I could see that familiar knowing smirk of his in my mind's eye just from the tone of his voice. An exhilarating smile spread across my lips in turn as I took in the situation Senpai now found himself in. Not only had he withstood an intense beating on many levels, but he had even managed to turn the tables somehow. Good job, Senpai!

Lussuria obviously didn't share our jubilation, though. He just sighed and brought up his hands in a shrug, looking slightly perturbed as he did so.

"I don't care whether you have your eyes open or not. What's unbelievable is the fact that your fist somehow has the power to break the lights."

"Lussuria," a sly, slithering voice spoke up from the opposite end of the caged ring. As I glanced that way, I noticed through the cage bars that the person who spoke was the shorter Varia member with blond, bobbed hair that covered his eyes...Oh yeah, and he had the silly tiara on his head, haha! "Look at his body carefully," he added with a sly, knowing smirk. It was like he had figured something out that the rest of us hadn't.

His sunglasses-wearing teammate seemed startled by his sudden help, but Lussuria narrowed his brows in scrutiny as he eyed Senpai up and down.

"What?" He mumbled out in confusion. "Sand...?"

Sand? What did he mean by that...? As I inspected Senpai a little closer myself, I suddenly realized that he was practically sparkling under the remaining lights in the ring! How did that happen...? It was kind of funny to witness actually, haha! It was almost like he covered himself in glitter or something.

"Oh, wait, no..." Lussuria mumbled out then as he seemed to realize that whatever was making Senpai glitter like a crystal in the sun wasn't sand like he had first thought. "That's...! Salt?! Salt crystals?!"

"S...salt?!" Tsuna squawked out in surprise as he gawked at Senpai's shimmering form. I blinked in slight stupefaction at this sudden explanation and frowned slightly in confusion. How did Senpai get salt on him? It made more sense that some of the smaller pieces of glass from the lights fell on him or something.

"I see," Lussuria proclaimed proudly in sudden understanding. "It's because of the sweat he had been producing. The water in his sweat evaporated due to the high heat and left behind salt crystals. He then put the salt on his fists and shot them towards the lights like gun pellets."

Ohhhh! Okay, now everything made sense now! That was actually pretty cool, and pretty intuitive of Senpai to do...I never thought I'd ever say that last part, haha! As I glanced quickly at Gokudera, noting his completely baffled expression, I guessed that he was thinking the same thing.

"Even if you notice it now..." Senpai growled out in challenge as he brought his fists up into his familiar fighting pose again. "...it's too late."

"Oh?" Lussuria hummed out in amusement before he started laughing uproariously. "Ohohoho! Don't make me laugh too much! My muscles will split even more!"

"What...?" Senpai murmured in confusion as he stared at Lussuria, seemingly not understanding why he was laughing at him. I was curious to know myself.

Lussuria's smirk of amusement lingered as he brought his hands up in another shrug.

"The reason why I was a little scared was because I thought you cracked the lights with the sheer power of your fists. The only person who has ever been able to release a powerful, glowing punch was the first Sun Guardian."

Senpai, along with the rest of us, blinked at Lussuria's statement in surprise as the man himself leaned forward and brought his hands up in his Muay Thai fighting position again.

"...But even I can do a cheap trick like this," he hummed out slyly as his body became a simple blur again as he hurriedly circled senpai with that amazing footwork of his. Senpai tried his best to follow his movements, but even with his eyes open now, he was still no match for the older, effeminate man's speed. Before Senpai could even dodge or block, Lussuria was suddenly up in his face and sending a punch straight towards it. Instead of getting a clean hit on Senpai, though, his fast-moving punch looked like it grazed just past his cheek instead. There was a short glimmer in the light before one of the corner hanging lights in the ring broke down in a shattering of glass.

"Wha?!" Senpai cried out in astonishment as he turned his head to stare wide-eyed at the now broken light behind him.

"He grazed the salt off of Lawn Head—!" Gokudera shouted out in disbelief.

"—And used the same trick!" Tsuna finished Gokudera's sentence with a cry of terror-filled realization.

I just stared at the ring before me in apprehension. This couldn't be good...Apparently, Senpai didn't have the upper hand here at all like we had first started to believe...

"No," the Little Guy quickly admonished and explained his reasoning. "It requires more technique than that. He blew the salt crystals off of Ryohei's body with the power of his fist. That's what you call 'Varia quality'."

"Varia...quality...?" Tsuna asked in confusion as he glanced towards the Little Guy at the same time I did.

"The Varia take on missions that are said to be impossible for mere humans to do," the Little Guy started his explanation with a worried frown. "They are a group of genius assassins that complete their missions perfectly, regardless of the situation they're placed in. Their high-leveled skills in killing, the so-called Devil's work, is referred to by fearful and awed people alike as, 'Varia quality'."

"As expected from Reborn," Lussuria cooed as he placed the palms of his hands together and rested his left cheek against them much like a girl would do when she saw something adorable. "Well said!" His tone grew heavier with irritation, though, when his gaze turned back towards Senpai. "Do you understand now? Between you and us, the difference in skill is so great that this is only a game, not a fight."

The older man's words only caused Senpai to glower at the Varia member with the same amount of irritation.

"Say whether it's a game or not after you accept my right fist first," Senpai growled out as he presented his right fist for extra emphasis.

These words only frustrated Lussuria all the more, which caused the man to hop up and down on his feet like he was throwing a tantrum.

"You just don't get it! I copied that punch you just threw, didn't I? I know all about it."

"What?!" Senpai hissed out in a slightly startled fashion, like he was just figuring out what Lussuria was getting at. There was a momentary pause as he seemed to think over things quickly in his head before fierce determination returned to his features and he got back into his fighting stance. "You never know until you try!"

"Geez," Lussuria sighed out in mixture of exhaustion and annoyance, although his usual amused smirk never left his lips. "You just don't give up..."

"Well said, Ryohei," that Colonello guy praised in his gruff, kid-like voice. "That's my disciple, alright, Maggot!"

"No way..." Tsuna wailed out in dismay as he glanced up at the hovering toddler in trepidation. "Colonello! Is this really okay?!"

The blond toddler ignored Tsuna's question in favor of addressing Senpai, though, bestowing upon the other his best advice.

"Maximum Cannon is a skill that requires you to release all of the energy in every cell of your body, but your energy wasn't fully transmitted to your fist with your last punch."

"Master..." Senpai whispered out in understanding as he keenly listened to the toddler without taking his eyes off of his opponent.

"If there's a chance for victory, it's that," Colonello continued seriously. "Concentrate more power into your fist, Maggot!"

"Alright!" Senpai roared out as he pumped himself up and rushed towards Lussuria. "Let's go to the extreme!"

Lussuria's smirk grew even wider as Senpai rushed towards him.

"I'll show you what an unbreakable wall looks like," the older man added snidely as he used his quick footwork to jump away from Senpai's rushing form and started to circle him again. I noticed Senpai's eyes widen for a split second at this before he skidded to a halt on the mat and quickly pivoted on his feet with a roar of defiance, his right arm reeling back and storing energy for a punch.

"Maximum Cannon!" He cried out with vigor as he launched his right arm forward in a powerful strike...

...Only for the full force of his punch to be absorbed by Lussuria's left knee. Everything seemed to go in slow motion then as my whole mind reeled with shock. Senpai's eyes widened in equal amounts of pain and realization and the corners of Lussuria's smirking mouth lifted up in the most crooked of smiles as he let out a victorious chuckle.

As time reverted back to its normal pace, blood shot forth from Senpai's right hand and traveled down his arm to match the now dried bloody rivulets marking his left. A scream of intense pain followed this as the shockwave caused by the impact with Lussuria's metal knee coursed down his now heavily damaged right hand and arm.

When Senpai fell onto the ring mat a second later, his knees and his still badly damaged left arm were able to catch him and keep him somewhat upright as he kept his newly injured right arm close to his body, like it would make whatever he was feeling hurt less. As I watched Senpai's practically broken form now fall flat against the mat, I felt my hope for victory start to fade. How was Senpai going to fight with both of his arms heavily damaged?!

"Ah! No way...!" Tsuna cried out in terrified dismay, outwardly sharing my inner thoughts. "Even his right hand...!"

While our group was stricken with terror at what would befall our friend and comrade, Lussuria was busy admiring his handy work. He stared down at Senpai's pain-ridden form with his two hands clapped together and resting on the side of his face, looking very much like he was swooning at the sight before him.

"Mmm~," he hummed out in pleasure. "That was such a nice cry~."

"Heeeey!" The familiar sound of the Long-haired Guy's irate growl emanated from the opposite end of the ring. "How long are you planning to make us wait?!"

Lussuria's smirked in amusement at this before he glanced over his shoulder at the Long-haired Guy.

"Oh, so impatient..." He let out teasingly before his gaze returned to Senpai's prone body. "You don't have to tell me because I'm about to!"

Tsuna gasped out in terror at the older man's words, his gaze immediately turning towards me until they rested on the Little Guy. "W-what should we do?!" He cried out in apprehension as he implored our tiny friend for direction. "What can we do?! Reborn!"

The toddler didn't say anything, he didn't even glance Tsuna's way as a perpetual frown seemed to cement itself onto his features. A low hum and a creased brow was all Tsuna got in reply. I couldn't help but frown in worry as well. I knew from experience with that Mukuro guy's team that there were people who took this role-play too seriously, and the Varia definitely weren't the type to fool around. I truly believed that they'd actually kill Senpai without any remorse, and the longer we didn't interfere, the stronger that possibility became. We had to do something now!

"Are you going to leave him like this?!" Tsuna's voice came out as an angered hiss as he glared at the Little Guy in disbelief. Gokudera glanced the Little Guy's way as well over Tsuna's shoulder, his facial features schooled to look calm and aloof but his jade-green irises were honed onto the Little Guy's face, looking and waiting for any sign for him to take action. I felt an uncomfortable twist in my gut as I realized how cold and distant Gokudera appeared then. There was almost an air of resignation with him, like if the Little Guy decided that they shouldn't interfere, he was willing to let Senpai die honorably. This...this didn't feel right at all...Would Gokudera actually let Senpai get killed just because he was ordered to? And would the Little Guy actually order for us to stay back?! Either way, I was going to interfere if need be, orders be damned! I knew Tsuna was probably on the same page as me, so the both of us would defend Senpai from this psychotic effeminate-guy if we had to!

When the Little Guy still didn't answer, Tsuna growled in frustration before he shouted up to the other toddler still hovering above our heads. But just like the Little Guy, Colonello remained quiet and stared at Senpai's prone form in the center of the ring with a frustrated, yet calculating gaze.

"This is it!" Lussuria triumphantly proclaimed as he rolled his arm nonchalantly, loosening it up for the final blow he was about to dish out.

"N-no—!" Tsuna shouted out in terror, but his cry was suddenly interrupted by a feminine voice.

"Big Brother...?"

Blinking in surprise, I turned around to see the source of the voice standing just a little ways off from us and inside the school gate. It was Senpai's sister, who was wearing a casual cream-colored, long-sleeved blouse, straight burgundy skirt that rested just above her knees, and red and white sneakers. Sasagawa was staring at the ring in confusion with Kurokawa behind her. Kurokawa, who was wearing a dark blue, long-sleeved jacket over a lighter blue blouse and wavy skirt that went to her mid-thighs, along with black leggings and blue sneakers, looked taken aback at the sight of the ring and started glancing around suspiciously at everyone present.

"Ky...Kyoko-chan?!" Tsuna shouted out in surprise as he turned around to gawk at the girl's sudden appearance. "Wha?! Why is she here?!"

His answer came in the form of another person who just walked through the gate and into the light.

"The girls were looking for Colonello, so I escorted them here," Tsuna's dad, who was still wearing his construction uniform complete with orange jumpsuit, answered simply like what he was doing wasn't wrong in the slightest. I was pretty sure that Tsuna didn't want Sasagawa to know about our mafia role-playing game, especially with concerns to her brother being killed!

"Dad?!" Thankfully, at the moment, Tsuna sounded more surprised than angry. He probably was too shocked to realize he probably should be, all things considered.

As I thought this, I noticed Kurokawa giving everyone a suspicious once over again before her gaze rested on Sasagawa.

"This...looks troublesome, Kyoko..." she mentioned apprehensively, but Sasagawa ignored her and called out to her brother again, her golden eyes staring at the ring in disbelief. It wasn't a second later that Sasagawa was running towards the ring, Kurokawa calling out her name in surprised aggravation in hopes of getting the other girl to come back but, yet again, Sasagawa ignored her in favor of her brother's situation.

"Big Brother, why?!" Sasagawa called out in worry as she stopped at the side of the ring perpendicular from us and the Varia, which was closest to the gate. "You're covered in wounds!"

Senpai didn't respond. The only way I knew he was still conscious was because I noticed his muscles stiffen at his sister's reprimanding voice.

"Oh my," Lussuria hummed out in interest as he brought his arms up into their trademark Muay Thai fighting pose. "Are you this little boy's sister? You came at a good time. Your brother is about to lose to me, and I'm about to deliver the finishing blow."

Sasagawa appeared startled at first at Lussuria's proclamation, before her brows furrowed in slight irritation and she stared imploringly at Senpai's form.

"Big Brother, stop...! You promised me you wouldn't fight outside of Boxing anymore!"

I stared at Sasagawa in complete stupefaction. How was it possible for Sasagawa to just brush off Lussuria's comment like it hadn't meant anything? Did she actually think that this was just a normal fist fight after school or something? Was she not taking her brother's death threat seriously? Quickly glancing to my left to see what Tsuna and Gokudera thought, they both looked just as dumbfounded as I felt with their mouths hanging open in shock.

"Stop it, Kyoko," Kurokawa admonished worriedly as she stepped a little closer to the ring but still hung back enough where she thought it would be safe. "This looks dangerous!"

Unsurprisingly, Sasagawa ignored her in favor of calling out to her brother again, who still hadn't answered her worried claims.

Her final cry seemed to give Senpai the strength he needed, though, because his back muscles twitched before he slowly, but only slightly, pushed himself up from the ring with his bleeding arms until his knees were resting underneath him to keep himself steady.

"Yeah..." he finally grunted out in answer, his voice sounding strained as he tried to keep himself up. "When those delinquents split my forehead in elementary school, I did promise to stop fighting..."

Split his forehead...? Oh, is that where Senpai's scar came from?! So he had gotten it in a fight like I had thought...

"But I also said this," Senpai continued. "...I"m still a man...So there might come a time when I have to fight...but if this will make you cry then I..." and with a growl of determination, Senpai suddenly pushed himself up. With his right foot resting underneath him now, his left leg still resting on the mat and his left arm resting on his upright knee, he glared at Lussuria's form with a newly lit fire smoldering behind his eyes and smirked confidently, "...I won't lose!"

"He...he stood!" Tsuna gasped in surprise, voicing everyone's thoughts as we all gawked at Senpai, who had now risen to stand on his feet again with his bloody, damaged arms held upright as he roared defiantly to the heavens.

After pumping himself up, Senpai brought his arms back down into their familiar boxing pose. A split second later, he was charging at Lussuria like a wild bull, but unlike an enraged bull, his eyes shone with a powerful, calculating fire. He wasn't going to let anger get the better of him in this fight.

"I will show you!" Senpai roared powerfully as he drew ever closer to his opponent. "This is the true..."

"You're such a persistent child," Lussuria huffed out in slight irritation, but that didn't stop him from smirking confidently as he flipped back into the air and rebounded off of the cage, his body now flying at Senpai's approaching form.

"...Maximum...!" Senpai shouted out with vigor as he slid to a halt and brought his right arm back just as Lussuria brought his left knee forward, his whole body practically glowing with a bright, burning fire. Without hesitation, Senpai thrust his right arm forward with all the strength he had left to spare, his fist enshrouded in a blinding light as it made perfect contact with Lussuria's metal knee. "...Cannon!"

I stared on in complete awe as an intense crunching noise filled the air and Lussuria screamed in surprise and pain. Metal pieces from Lussuria's knee flew in all directions from Senpai's blinding impact, and blood spurted forth from his knee as some of the shrapnel automatically embedded itself into his skin instead. The force from the blow sent Lussuria flying backwards as well, the older man careening down towards the ring's mat, the right side of his face making contact with the floor first before the rest of his body followed.

There was a short moment of silence as everyone stared at the ring in surprise and awe. It was then that I saw the surprise on the Varia member's faces turn into a mixture of disappointment, disapproval, or, in the case of the blond teen with the tiara, sadistic glee. Kurokawa was currently covering her mouth with her right hand, the surprise in her eyes dimming to dumbfounded awe. Ahead of her, Sasagawa was still gaping at her brother in surprise. From what I could see, Colonello was smirking triumphantly, and the Little Guy's eyes were also twinkling with the same triumph, but his mouth was twisted into this strange half-smile, like he wasn't sure how happy he should be at Senpai turning the tables. The toddler's uncertainty suddenly made me feel uncertain as I glanced Tsuna and Gokudera's way, seeing that both of them were still gawking up at the ring in disbelief.

"Big Brother's punch..." Tsuna gasped out in awe before he finally seemed to realize what he had just seen and what this meant for us. "It worked!"

It was exactly at this moment that the crumpled heap that was Lussuria moved until he was lying fully on his side. I don't know if he had momentarily been knocked unconscious from the fall since he had been so quiet, or if he had just been knocked senseless, because now he was more active. He grabbed just below his bloody knee with both hands and let out a strangled cry that held a twinge of pain, surprise, and fear.

"It...it can't be!" The older man wailed in horrified dismay. "My metal knee can't be crushed!"

I witnessed the princely-looking and hooded toddler Varia members exchange words then, but I couldn't hear what they were saying over Lussuria's wails of dissent.

"Your right fist appeared to have been glowing, Maggot," I suddenly heard Colonello praise. When I glanced upwards towards him, I saw his blue eyes were set on Senpai, and he was wearing a proud smile. "You did well, Ryohei." The flying toddler let out a light sigh then before he gazed down towards Sasagawa. "Well, let's go home, Kyoko!"

"Colonello-kun!" Sasagawa cried out in surprise like she had just realized that he was there. Haha, she must have been so focused on her brother that she hadn't taken notice of anything else.

"Wha...?" Kurokawa hissed beside her in disturbance, looking like she was uncomfortable as she gawked up at Colonello's flying form. "What's with this baby?!"

Colonello ignored her apparent disgust in favor of signaling his white falcon to fly down towards Sasagawa. From there, he grabbed hold of the sleeve of her blouse and gently pulled at it as his falcon flew him away towards the gate, Sasagawa being forced to follow in his wake.

"Wait!" Sasagawa protested in worry. "Big Brother is still...!"

"It's already finished," Colonello reassured her as he drew closer to the gate and Kurokawa hesitantly started to jog after his and Sasagawa's retreating forms. "I'm sleepy, Maggot."

Colonello's words resonated in my mind, causing me to blink rapidly in stupefaction. Was it really all over? Had Senpai actually won with his comeback punch?! Lussuria was still down on his side on the mat, whimpering and groaning pitifully as Senpai stood above him, bloody hands held in loose fists before him and breathing heavy as he recovered from his previous exertion. A moment later, Senpai lowered his hands to his sides and took a step closer to Lussuria.

"It was a good, tense battle," he panted out as he brought his bloodied right hand up and extended it towards the downed man, his palm facing upwards in an asking gesture. "Now give me the ring."

"No!" Lussuria screeched in a panic as he rolled onto his back, his right hand coming up to protectively clasp around the half-ring hanging from his neck. "I don't want to!"

Senpai and the rest of us blinked quizzically at the suddenly terrified man as he shakily hunched forward and started pushing himself to his feet.

"I'm part of the Varia," Lussuria stated hysterically, as if he was talking more to himself then the rest of us. "I can win with only this one leg! It's easy! Ohoho!"

"What amazing persistence," Tsuna gaped in concerned disbelief as Lussuria gave his hysterical, noble-like laugh. I didn't share Tsuna's disbelief, though. Something...something just didn't feel right. Why was this Lussuria guy suddenly panicking? Why was he insisting out loud that he could still fight as if his very life depended on it? He didn't actually believe that Senpai was gonna kill him, right? It should have been obvious to him by now if he was, because he wouldn't have just asked for the ring. I could feel my brows crinkle together in wary concern then. Whatever was going on, it wasn't going to be good. I could just tell.

"That's not it," the Little Guy answered Tsuna with morbidity, placing even more clout to the horrible feeling that was starting to twist in my gut.

"Come on! Let's continue!" Lussuria demanded in desperation as he got into his fighting pose, his right leg shaking terribly in order to keep the rest of his body and his elevated and horribly injured left leg up. "Hurry!"

Senpai automatically got back into his boxing fighting pose upon seeing his opponent take a fighting stance, but that still didn't erase the pure look of confusion on his face.

"What are you in a rush about...?"

Senpai was answered a split second later as a loud discharging sound (like that of a laser gun from a Sci-Fi movie) rang through the air, and then there was a blinding light and a scream of agony as a yellow ball of energy hit Lussuria squarely in the back. The smell of burning cloth and flesh filled our noses as Lussuria was sent forward by the blast, blood shooting out in all directions from his grievous back wound and from his mouth as his face hit the mat. He laid uncomfortably still afterwards.

I stared on, completely horrified as to what my senses had just paid witness to. Was he...? Was Lussuria...?

Was a man just murdered before my eyes?!

"When you do it, you really do it," a child-like voice piped up from across the ring, which drew my attention towards the Varia members. The voice had come from the tiny, hooded toddler, who was currently standing within the metal palm of the giant man with the gas mask, the metal, gun-like fingers in the giant man's other, upraised hand, smoking from recent use. "Isn't that right, the boss's assistant, Gola Mosca?"

So, this Gola Mosca character had been the one to shoot Lussuria in the back?!

"He..." Tsuna's voice trembled in disbelief as he came to the same realization as me. "His own ally!"

But...this didn't make any sense! Why would Lussuria's own ally kill him if their goal was to win the rings from us?! Wouldn't this be counterproductive?!

My brow wrinkled in trepidation as anger and confusion overwhelmed me. "What's going on...?"

I didn't even realize I had voiced my confusion out loud until I heard the Little Guy's voice ring in my ear in response.

"...'Erasing the weak'. This saying is one of the reasons why the Varia are the strongest band of assassins out there. Lussuria was afraid of that; that was why he was so anxious to continue the fight."

"Erasing...the weak..." Tsuna mumbled out in disbelief, his tone rife with horror at the realization of what the Little Guy had meant. "N...no way..."

I suddenly felt very sick to my stomach...

"Hey! Wake up!" Senpai's voice rang through the air, which drew my attention back to the ring. My white-haired friend was rushing to Lussuria's side, his tone filled with worry, but his worry didn't stop the large pool of blood that began to collect on the ring mat. The many clear shards of glass that still lay upon the mat were soon stained a brilliant crimson for being in the general vicinity of Lussuria's bleeding corpse.

Just as Senpai was about to reach Lussuria's body, though, the Cervello ladies suddenly swooped in to intercept him. I have no idea where they went during the battle, but they obviously hadn't left the area, because they moved in as swiftly as it took time to blink. Senpai abruptly stopped in his tracks as the Cervello lady in the tank top and capris stood before him and stretched out her arms to hinder his passage.

"Don't get any closer," the Cervello lady in capris demanded in her monotonous voice while her dress-wearing counterpart kneeled down next to Lussuria's body to look him over.

"What?!" Senpai shouted back indignantly as he glared at the woman before him. That was when the Cervello lady in the mini-dress stood up from her examination to address Senpai.

"At this moment, Lussuria is unable to continue fighting. Therefore, Sasagawa Ryohei is the victor for the battle of the Sun Ring."

Senpai frowned solemnly at this announcement, his will to rush to Lussuria's side deflating with the sulking of his shoulders. I frowned as well, discontent with the turn of events that got us our first win. This should be a moment of celebration, but there was no way we could feel too triumphant over such betrayal. Glancing to my right quickly, I noticed that Tsuna's eyes were swimming with discomfort and disbelief, and his mouth was twisted into a saddened line. When I glanced further Gokudera's way, I felt an involuntary shudder travel down my spine. My silver-haired friend's eyes were just as narrow and cold as they had been when Senpai had been close to dying at our enemy's hands. He was also frowning, but there was just...nothing behind it...no emotion whatsoever...It was like he had turned all of his feelings off and just left his body behind to pay witness.

"This is the end of tonight's match," the Cervello lady in the mini-dress spoke up again, which made me avert my gaze back towards her where she stood with her lookalike in the middle of the blood-soaked ring. "But, from now on, we shall announce the next battle's participants."

"Eh...?!" Tsuna cried out in surprise. "We...we find out already?!"

"Heeeeeeeey!" The Long-Haired Guy roared out in a demanding tone soon after. "Let me go next!"

Despite the morbid situation we were dealing with at our win, this bit of news was actually great. This way we could better prepare for the battles to come!

"Please allow me to continue," the Cervello lady in the capris butted in, completely ignoring the Long-Haired Guy's demands. "Tomorrow evening's battle will be..."

There was a short, dreaded pause, then, the air instantly becoming thick with suspense as we stared at the pink-haired woman on bated breath. Who of us would have to face the Varia next?

"...The match between the Lightning Guardians," the older woman ended with finality, leaving my friends and I to just stare up at her in shock.

"Wait! Lambo is the Lightning Guardian!" Tsuna cried out in horrified realization as he glanced down towards the toddler in question, who was still lying asleep at our feet, completely oblivious to all the noise as he sucked absently at his clothed thumb. "Can he fight?!"

The Cervello didn't bother answering him. Instead, the woman wearing the mini-dress stated that she'd see us tomorrow before bringing out a remote control from her small jacket and pressed a button. In an instant, the women disappeared to be replaced by loud explosions. Startled, I quickly glanced upwards to see that the beams making up the cage around the ring had been blasted apart and were now filling the area with smoke as they started to tumble down towards us. I heard Tsuna cry out in fear as I gathered Lambo into my arms and we all jumped back to evade the falling pipes. During this, I saw that large Gola Mosca guy propel himself into the ring, pick up Lussuria's body through all the smoke, and tossed his half of the Sun Ring towards a stunned Senpai, who deftly caught it.

As the cage bars stopped falling, Gola Mosca and the rest of the Varia disappeared much like the Cervello, the smoke from the mini explosions clearing out soon afterwards. As I placed Lambo back down on the ground because he was squirming uncomfortably in his sleep, I heard Gokudera speak up.

"What is up with these guys..?" He spoke with a semblance of emotion now, sounding very much like he was both disturbed and thoroughly confused.

"Yeah," I agreed quietly as I stared at the destroyed ring, which was still smeared with blood. "I can't believe it, either."

It was here that another female voice made itself known as it rang throughout the air.

"Wait up, Kyoko!"

That was Kurokawa's voice!

Quickly glancing behind myself towards the school gate, I was just in time to see Sasagawa rush through it once again, her golden eyes shining with worry as Kurokawa ran after her.

"This seems troublesome!" Kurokawa insisted, but Sasagawa paid no heed as her eyes locked on Tsuna.

"Tsuna-kun!"

"Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna's voice was filled with surprise as his crush came to a stop before him and tried to catch her breath.

"Tsuna-kun, will you please tell me the truth?" She insisted once her breathing had calmed, her golden eyes staring pleadingly into Tsuna's brown. "What is my big brother doing?"

"Eh?" Tsuna gawked in surprise before nervousness quickly overtook him. "Well...um...uh..."

"Tsuna-kun!" She insisted fervently, her eyes begging for an answer.

"That is..." Senpai tried to pipe in, but fell short quickly on an excuse to cover himself. After all, it probably wouldn't be good if his sister found out he was part of a mafia role-playing game.

Just as I thought this, I felt someone bump lightly into my side. As I glanced sideways, I noticed it was a startled-looking Gokudera, who had been pulled towards me by the Little Guy, who was still perched on my shoulder.

"Quickly," the toddler ordered in a hushed whisper. "Say this is a sumo wrestling match."

Without missing a beat and not bothering to question the silly sounding name, both Gokudera and I proclaimed, "It's a sumo wrestling match!" The only difference was that I had said mine with a tiny laugh and smile, while Gokudera closed his eyes, scrunched his brows together and grumbled his out like he had just uttered something distasteful.

"It's called a hybrid sumo match that's done in a ring," Gokudera quickly explained on the fly as he shoved his hands uncaringly into his pants pockets.

"That's right," I quickly agreed as I marveled at my friend's quick thinking. "It's secretly becoming popular. It was a pretty good match today too, wasn't it, Little Guy?"

"Yeah," the toddler agreed from my shoulder with a tiny smile.

"Oh..." Sasagawa mumbled out discerningly. "Then it's really..."

"I told you it was a sumo wrestling match," Senpai chuckled out as he leaned on the ropes of the ring next to us...which thankfully weren't running electricity anymore. "Let's go home, Kyoko!"

Sasagawa smiled adoringly up towards her brother. "Okay!"

Haha, so the sumo wrestling name had come from Senpai? Is that why the Little Guy had wanted us to say it? It was to back up Senpai's crazy excuse from some other time?

"Oh, Sawada..." Senpai suddenly addressed our smaller friend as he extended his left hand outward, his palm facing up where two half-rings rested within the fabric of his fingerless gloves. "I'll hand this over to you."

"Ah," Tsuna gasped in understanding as his gaze rested upon Senpai's hand. "The ring..."

"I just make the two parts into one, right?" Senpai stated more than asked with a smile on his face as he took the two ring parts and placed them easily back together with a satisfying click. He then climbed out of the ring and handed it to Tsuna, who took the ring with awe.

"This is the real...Vongola Ring of the Sun!" Tsuna gasped out in reverence as he studied the details of the ring. His inspection of the ring didn't last long, because it was interrupted by a light cough, courtesy of the Little Guy.

"Tsuna, get the ring box," the Little Guy ordered as he offered a small black box with gold lining around the opening crease and what looked like the Vongola Family Crest engraved into the top. This was actually the first time I had seen the crest...or at least the first time I had ever paid attention to it, haha. It was quite strange now that I studied it. The middle portion of the crest consisted of a shield, which was the same shape that Senpai's ring was in. In the middle of the shield was an engraved rifle shell casing. Flourishing vines swooped down from the middle of the shield and connected to a banner. The banner had the name, 'Vongola' inscribed within it, with two golden tassels billowing down and outwards from the middle of the banner. Above the shield were two rifles placed together in the shape of an 'X' with more flourishing vines swooping out and upwards from them. The strangest thing of all, though, was a single clam shell that rested upon the junction that the rifles crossed at. The clam shell also had very detailed wings spreading out from behind it. Just why on earth was there a clam on the crest, haha...? And why did it have wings...?

"Eh?" Tsuna questioned in slight confusion while I studied the strangely crested box. He seemed to quickly recognize what the Little Guy was offering him, though. "Ah...right."

As Tsuna took the box from the Little Guy's hands, he flipped the lid open, revealing the dark blue velvet lining within the ornate box, the bottom portion of the casing consisting of the same color of cushion that had seven slots cut out of it; one in the middle with six others spread around it. Tsuna held Senpai's ring in one hand and the box in the other, and this was where I was able to see Senpai's full ring for the first time. There were a lot of swooping designs on the thicker portion of the band near the shield emblem, and I wasn't quite sure if they were supposed to symbolize something or look like a certain item. Regardless, they made the ring look regal. Contained within the shield emblem was the carving of a sun with thin rectangular rays jutting out from it. Above the sun were two pointed bars, which made it look like there was a roof covering the top of it, and then, above that, three clams dotted along the top portion of the shield.

...Seriously, what was with the clam motif, haha...?!

Silently wondering this, I watched as Tsuna gently slipped Senpai's ring into the bottom corner slot.

"One...is in," Tsuna uttered heavily as he seemed to dwell on how momentous this occasion was for us. We had one of the seven rings in our possession. We were currently in the lead!

"Yeah, our first victory!" Gokudera shouted out in triumph. "Looks like we're doing well so far!"

"Let's keep this up!" I chuckled out happily beside my silver-haired companion.

"That's right!" Senpai called out in agreement as he slipped his white t-shirt and red track jacket back on. "Let's go, Sawada!" He cried out as soon as he was done and gave an encouraging pump of his fist...which seriously needed to be checked by this point...haha...

"Eh, ah..." Tsuna gasped out, sounding quite startled before he nodded in understanding. "Yeah..."

With us all in agreement, Senpai guided his sister towards the gate, Kurokawa following beside them. Seeing the cue to leave, I started walking after them as well before I glanced back over my shoulder towards Tsuna, wondering if he was going to follow us.

"Well, excuse us!" Gokudera announced as he bowed politely before our smaller friend at a 90 degree angle. Taking that as a sign that Tsuna was gonna head back home with his Dad, who had just made his way up behind Tsuna, I waved goodbye over my shoulder.

"See ya!"

Tsuna just smiled and nodded at our departure before he turned to his dad, who was holding Lambo now, to talk with him. By this point, I turned to face the other way, my eyes focused in on the backs of Senpai's and his sister's heads. A small, secretive smile made its way onto my lips a second later as I noted Gokudera's presence beside me as we started our trek home.

I didn't say anything to him, though. I just chuckled in slight amusement as I listened to Senpai and his sister's conversation ahead of me. Senpai was trying his best to convince his sister that the ring he just received was a prize for winning the sumo wrestling match.

Eventually, Kurokawa and the Sasagawa's parted ways from us, leaving just me and Gokudera as we made our way to the familiar crossroads. In that moment, I felt very grateful that tomorrow was Sunday because it was late and I was pretty tired now that I was coming down from all the excitement. Still...there was one thing that was nagging at the back of my mind, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to bring it up or not to my current company. We were walking in companionable silence, and it was something I didn't want to break, but, at the same time, I really wanted to talk to Gokudera about the thoughts that were bothering me...

...but would I come to regret bringing it up...?

Without truly mulling things over, I started my question out hesitantly.

"Um...Gokudera...?"

My silver-haired companion glanced my way with a quirked brow, his eyes narrowing in slight irritation as he hummed in response.

As those piercing jade-green orbs stared straight into mine, I suddenly felt like I probably shouldn't bother with what I wanted to say. More than likely, it would just cause a fight, and that's the last thing I wanted to deal with at the moment after such a long day.

"Um...never mind..." I chuckled out sheepishly as I rubbed the back of my head. Gokudera scowled at this, his inquisitive and slightly irked stare now transforming into a full on glare of annoyance.

"Why the fuck did you even bother getting my attention if you're going to be a pussy and not say what's on your mind?!" Gokudera growled out irately to my face. "It's obvious something's bothering you, so just spit it out and make it worth my fucking time!"

My eyes widened in surprise at Gokudera's heated words. In the most roundabout way imaginable, it actually kind of sounded like the other wanted to know what was bothering me. Usually, in the past, if I had pulled something like that, he'd just yell at me for being annoying and stomp off somewhere, but now he wanted to hear me out...

Still feeling split despite this uplifting turn of events, I averted my gaze from the other as I tried to gather my thoughts. Just how did I want to go about phrasing this...? Well...might as well start at the beginning.

"It's just that...I mean...I'm glad that we won in the end..." I started out slowly, my voice coming out softer than I expected it to as I contemplated on everything that had transpired that evening. "...It's just bothering me how we ended up winning, you know? It...doesn't feel right..."

Gokudera's footsteps no longer echoed beside mine. They had stopped entirely, which caused me to stop in my tracks as well and glance over my shoulder in confusion. My eyes met scrutinizing green orbs and a thoughtful frown soon after as Gokudera stared straight into my eyes, like he was trying to discern something held within. I stared back in equal amounts of confusion.

"...You know..." Gokudera broke the building silence between us with a pointed glare. "...It's not going to change anything...not now, nor in the future. This is just how things are in the mafia world. You either learn to accept that fact, or you get out...if you can, that is."

"It's...perfectly normal to kill your own teammates...?" I asked dryly, not wanting to believe what I was hearing. It made absolutely no sense...

"Well...usually if they betray the Family, yeah..." Gokudera huffed out in slight irritation, like it was a huge hassle for him to have to explain. "Some bosses are more ruthless than others and will just kill their subordinates if they think they have no more use of them."

"That..." I gasped out in disbelief as I gawked at Gokudera in horror. "Why...?"

Gokudera just rolled his eyes at this and let out a loud sigh of aggravation.

"That's just how things fucking are, okay? Like I said, if you can't handle it, then maybe you shouldn't be part of this. Hell, I know that you shouldn't be part of this."

"Why? Because I don't like the idea of teammates and friends getting killed because their boss says so?!" I hissed out uncomfortably, my eyes narrowing in disgust.

"Exactly," Gokudera hissed back with a pointed glare of his own, before he seemed to think that he had won the conversation, averted his gaze, and started to walk past me.

I felt my gut begin to twist into sickening knots, my hands balling into fists at my sides as a mixture of emotions battled for dominance within me. Anger, disbelief, and disgust were the main ones, but horror and hurt soon replaced them as I remembered how Gokudera had appeared during Senpai's fight with Lussuria; how cold and distant he looked as he watched Lussuria aim a killing blow towards Senpai's head.

Gokudera had just brushed by my shoulder when I found my voice again.

"Are you saying you'd kill or let a friend be killed just because your boss says so?" I didn't bother to turn around when I addressed this question towards my smaller friend, nor did I try and hide the accusatory tremor in my voice.

My question caused Gokudera to stop in his tracks again.

"If those are my orders, then yes." His voice was quiet and subdued when he answered with all the ease in the world. It was like he hadn't even thought over my question at all.

Horror turned my gut to the point that I thought I was going to be sick. Just...what had Gokudera gone through in his past to think it was normal to think this way...? Especially since this was just supposed to be a role-playing game.

"Tsuna would never ask you to do something like that," I reminded my friend gently as I finally turned to face him. All anger had left my voice to be replaced with sadness. It truly hurt me to know that Gokudera believed these actions were the right way to go. He shouldn't have to think this way...

Hostility flashed behind jade-green orbs but Gokudera surprisingly kept himself in check as he gave an incredulous huff.

"You don't think I know that? I'm not fucking stupid! But it's the principle of the matter that I'm answering to. No matter who my boss is, I'll follow through with their orders, no questions asked. My personal fucking morals don't mean shit! What matters is that, at the end of the day, the Family is safer and stronger because I followed through with those orders." He paused then in seeming contemplation before his jade-green irises flashed accusingly at me. "Are you saying that you'd directly disobey orders for the sake of your own morals?"

I didn't flinch under Gokudera's burning gaze. Just like my silver-haired friend hadn't had to think before he answered my question, there was no need for me to do so as well.

"If it's to protect someone I care about, then yes," I answered simply, yet strongly, my voice thick with conviction. There was no way anyone was going to change my mind on this matter. It just went without saying. "Orders be damned. I'd rather my boss get pissed at me than live with the regret of letting a friend die when I could have prevented it...even if it costs me my life in turn."

Faster than I could process, Gokudera was suddenly before me. A strong fist gripped the top of my shirt and pulled me close, my hazel eyes now centimeters apart from blazing icy-green depths that wanted nothing more than to set me on fire.

"Going against a boss's direct orders is fucking treason, you idiot!" Gokudera spat at me in rage.

I didn't even bat an eye at the other's outburst. My feelings were as resolute as before and nothing Gokudera said was going to change that.

"I'd save you too, you know," I brought up softly, completely contrasting Gokudera's yelling, which had hopefully not woken up the whole neighborhood. "Without a second thought, if I had to choose between leaving you to die or save you, I'd always choose the latter."

Gokudera stiffened before me, his eyes widening in utter shock like I had just slapped him across the face. In that moment, he looked more vulnerable than I had ever seen him as he tried desperately to understand what I had just said to him. The moment was just that, though. It was only a few seconds later that indignant rage reared its head once again and I felt the other push me roughly away.

"Fuck you, you piece of shit! I don't need anyone to save me, especially you!" Gokudera spat out in utter loathing before he turned on his heels and stormed off. I watched him go with a saddened gaze, but I didn't bother to chase after him. There was no point. He'd only become angrier than he already was since I had 'wounded' his pride with my statement. In fact, it was that very pride that he needed to be saved from more so than any physical enemy.

Shit...maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut...

---

I slept in a little later than usual since I had gone to bed late the previous night. My mind was clouded with worries that I couldn't seem to quell no matter how I tried to distract myself. Tonight, Lambo was going to be forced to fight. Although I knew that if something were to happen (which undoubtedly would), our group would be able to intervene and protect him. We'd have to forfeit his ring in doing so, but it was better than having him get seriously hurt or killed. That still didn't change the fact that Lambo was going to fight a grown adult who had no qualms in mercilessly attacking defenseless children. Maybe Lambo could do that magic trick where he switches with that older teen that looks like him? I wonder if that would count...

Besides my concerns with Lambo, I couldn't stop thinking about the fight I had with Gokudera last night...or technically this morning if I was to go by the actual time. More than likely, he was going to go with his usual behavior after a fight; he'd try to completely ignore me, and if he ever does decide to forgo his silent treatment to talk to me, he was going to be more hostile than usual. Why does it always feel like I can never gain any ground with him? I wanted to be able to talk to him about anything, because I felt that...Well...now that I think more on it, I'm not quite sure. For some reason, I felt uncomfortable to let down my guard around Tsuna and my other friends. I always wanted to be the happy, fun, optimistic friend that was ready to comfort, encourage and support...not to mention be the voice of reason if arguments erupted...I felt that, if I were to talk about deeper stuff, like my fears and such...I think it would just put extra stress on Tsuna and the others, and I didn't want to do that to them. I wanted to be the one to relieve that stress because...well...just going by the personalities of our regular group, if I wasn't the one to act all happy, we'd all be stressed out and paranoid about every little thing, and what was good about that? But, for some reason...I felt like I could actually talk to Gokudera about these kinds of things, despite the stress it might cause. Maybe it was because he was strong enough to handle what I had to say? Another reason, and probably the most likely one at that, was the fact that the only way I could get Gokudera to actually trust me was to lay myself bare before him...kind of like a dog who lays down and exposes his belly to another. Leaving yourself vulnerable before someone instills that feeling of trust...at least, it should. Funny enough, it hasn't worked so far. Gokudera treats me more like a dog exposing his belly before him with an active bomb strapped around its midsection.

My worries aside, though, I tried my best to distract myself by focusing on the tons of homework I had waiting for me because of my five day absence. That didn't distract me for long, nor did I finish it by any stretch of the imagination, so, instead, I walked to the dojo to train. I found myself distracted much easier with a shinai in hands.

Repeating the eight forms of Shigure Souen for most of the day helped to calm me down, much like a mantra, and I was able to head home feeling far better than I had left it, not to mention I was able to get some very valuable practice in. After dinner, I went up to my room and passed the time trying to do my homework again and tossing my baseball around absentmindedly. I had decided to not tell my father I would be out late again, because not only would he not like the idea that I was going out late with school awaiting me in the morning, he would start to get suspicious of me going out late two nights in a row.

As the time for the battle drew nearer, I started getting ready for bed in order to not cause suspicion with my dad. By the time I was faking sleep within the comfort of my bed, I had heard the door to my dad's bedroom shut and the whole house go quiet...save for the rumble of thunder I heard from outside. The pitter-patter of raindrops against my bedroom window followed soon afterwards. What a night for a fight, haha...

Wondering now if Lambo would be the type to be terrified of thunderstorms and, therefore, forfeit fighting entirely because he was doing something ridiculous like hiding under Tsuna's bed, I quietly snuck out from my covers and over to my closet to change out of my nightwear. Deciding that it would be absolutely ridiculous to have a Lightning Guardian that was afraid of thunderstorms, I slipped on a brown pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a sandy-yellow jacket to go over it. I then zipped my jacket up to keep out the cold I was going to face outside.

After also slipping on some socks, I tiptoed my way downstairs, being diligent enough in my escape that I avoided all the creaking parts of the old staircase with only slight difficulty. I quickly put on my tennis shoes near the door and remembered to grab my black umbrella from the holder nearby as well.

Sliding open the door and silently thanking my father for keeping up on repairs for the older building so that the door wouldn't noisily jam, I stepped outside and just as quietly slid the door shut behind me, remembering to lock it with the spare key I had brought with me. With the small awning above the doorway barely keeping the rain from hitting me, I swiftly opened my umbrella and started making my way towards the school. Thankfully, the rain wasn't coming down too hard. It was more like a gentle shower with an occasional rumble of thunder. Hopefully the storm wouldn't get much worse than this.

Just as I thought this, I noticed a figure making their way towards the school from the crossroads up ahead. Was that Tsuna or Gokudera? It was hard to see with how dark it was, and the rain wasn't helping. All I could see was that they were wearing dark blue jeans, and a purple jacket. Hurrying forward I was able to catch up to the figure at the same time I saw a nearby streetlight shine off a bit of wet, shimmering, silver hair.

"Hey, Gokudera!" I called out happily, but not too loudly that I'd wake the neighborhood. That didn't stop me from laughing, though, when my shorter friend practically jumped out of his skin at my call. I guess he hadn't noticed me at all until just now.

"Ugh, of course I'd run into you," the silver-haired teen grumbled out once he had calmed down and I fell in step beside him. I wonder if he was going to ignore me from here on out? After all, he was probably still mad at me for last night. Still, that didn't stop me from trying to make pleasant conversation as we walked.

"So how was your day?' I asked kindly with a curious lift of my brows as I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. "Did you train?"

"Of course I fucking trained, you idiot!" Gokudera hissed out in annoyance, refusing to look at me while he hunched his shoulders as he walked, either out of tension or because the rain was making him feel chilly. "Why wouldn't I?!"

"I don't know, I was just wondering if you did anything else besides," I explained amicably as I sent him a friendly smile. "I trained today as well. It was a lot easier to focus on that than it was with my makeup homework, haha!"

"That's not surprising," Gokudera grumbled back in a deadpanned fashion, causing me to laugh some more. I kept my laughing in check, though. Didn't want to be too loud or someone might hear me, after all.

"Well, I still tried," I chuckled out lightly as a particularly loud bought of thunder rumbled overhead. I glanced up at the grey, stormy clouds above us and whistled lowly as I noticed a flash of lightning in the distance.

"What a night to have a battle, huh?" I mentioned lowly, a hinge of worry making it's way into my voice despite my best efforts. If Gokudera noticed it, though, it was beyond me, because he was completely silent in response. Chancing a glance his way, I took note of how his whole body had stiffened, his shoulders hunched even more as he battled to keep a troubled look off of his face. Despite his efforts, his eyes gave away just how uncomfortable he was about what tonight offered us. I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised. It's not like Gokudera to actually care for Lambo's well-being...or maybe he's just concerned we'd lose one of the seven rings?

Taking a chance at my hunch, I asked, "You're worried about Lambo, aren't you?"

I don't know how it was possible, but Gokudera stiffened even more at my suggestion, the hairs on the back of his neck practically bristling like an irked feline's as he quickly glanced my way with defiance burning in his eyes.

"Like fucking hell I am!" Gokudera quickly denied with ire. "Why the hell would I be worried about that Stupid Cow?! It would actually be a blessing if someone offed him!" Gokudera let out an irritated huff then as he averted his gaze away from me and mumbled, "It's not like he even deserves to be the Lightening Guardian anyway."

I watched Gokudera's facial features as my smaller friend continued to avoid eye contact with me, leaving a short, empty silence between us as we walked through the rain puddles accumulating on the sidewalk. Even if a part of Gokudera seemed to believe that he didn't care about Lambo, I could tell just by the conflicting emotions on his face that the idea of allowing the toddler to fight an experienced Varia member disturbed him as much as it did me.

"Don't worry," I reassured the other gently with a knowing smile. "Everything will turn out okay. If the fight starts to look bad, I know that Tsuna and I won't allow Lambo to get fatally wounded. We'll intervene."

Gokudera scoffed at this and rolled his eyes before those same jade-green irises met my eyes a moment later.

"Like I said, I'm not worried," he insisted once more, the worry in his eyes giving away his direct lie. "I don't care what happens to that Stupid Cow, I just don't want to forfeit a ring because of his incompetence." My silver-haired companion let out an exhausted sigh then and momentarily closed his eyes as he did so, as if he was gathering his thoughts together before he continued. When he finally did, Gokudera's eyes were focused straight ahead again. "You know, that ridiculous positive attitude of yours won't get you anywhere in this world. It's impossible for everything to work out the way you want it to."

To say I was surprised by Gokudera's words was an understatement. Was he...was he actually bringing up a conversation between us? I would have thought he would have let our previous conversation go after his second denial, and then continue to try and ignore me for the rest of our walk. But he was doing the exact opposite of that, even though he should have still been cross with me from last night. His tone just now was...it was almost like he was warning me out of some deep, hidden concern.

Or maybe I was hoping that's what it sounded like.

Whatever the case was, I decided not to dwell on it. I needed to focus back on the conversation and keep it going...and hopefully keep it civil so as not to repeat our argument from last night.

"I know that," I stated in understanding before I pointed another factor out to the other. "But it doesn't do you any good either to keep a negative attitude about everything. Thinking about a situation in a negative way will only make you feel worse, and if something bad does happen, it won't hurt any less than it would have if you had just thought of it positively in the first place. Thinking about something positively," I kindly reminded my Italian comrade, "means you have the ability to make a situation turn out the way you want it to, even if, in the end, you can't. You still have that drive pushing you to make it real. But if you hang on to a situation with a negative attitude, you're just dooming yourself to sit back, give up, and let your fears win over until what you feared would happen actually does. And, hey, sometimes you get a pleasant surprise when your worst fears don't happen and the situation turns out well in the end, but you wasted your whole time worrying and fretting over it. Just...thinking that way..." I whispered out sadly then. "...It's depressing. You'd just end up feeling hopeless all the time. I'd...I'd rather have hope, have a reason to keep going, you know? It's important to have something to keep fighting for, and thinking positively is the only way that happens."

I left my words hanging in the air, a pregnant pause soon taking their place. I glanced Gokudera's way to gauge his reaction, only to note how the other teen's eyes had narrowed now in confusion, and there was a conflicted frown spread across his lips.

"You make it sound so easy," Gokudera eventually griped in irritation, his tone quiet and contemplative instead of holding its usual, angry spitfire. "Thinking positively is easier said than done."

"I know," I agreed easily as I continued to watch his features. "You're definitely right about that. All the same, though, I know what it feels like to fall hard into despair," I recounted wryly as I averted my gaze from the other, the memories of my attempted suicide flashing before my mind's eyes as if to mock me. "I never want to go down that road again, so, in order to avoid that, I try my best to think positively so that I can keep myself sane. It's working pretty well so far," I chuckled out in order to lighten the somber mood up again. When I sent a small smile Gokudera's way a few seconds later, I was met with the smaller teen's piercing gaze. Gokudera's facial features looked even more conflicted than before as his eyes studied mine. It was like he was trying to read me, to see if I truly believed in what I was saying.

Not knowing if he saw what he was looking for or not, Gokudera just sighed and tossed his head to the side in irritation, his gaze now focusing on the road before us as the hand holding onto his umbrella visibly tightened around the handle.

"Well, if it works for you, then whatever," Gokudera griped in annoyance. "I really don't give two shits. No matter what you say or believe in, the world isn't all sunshine and fucking rainbows no matter what light you try to see it in."

My eyes narrowed in scrutiny as a light frown etched its way onto my face at Gokudera's words. To me, it sounded like Gokudera was trying his best to sound resistant, even though I was in no way shape or form trying to force my ideals onto him. I was just talking and sharing my opinion with him on attitudes that are common in life...and how mine differed from his own. I knew that no matter what I said, it wasn't like I was going to convert Gokudera into being a full-fledged optimist. All that I was trying to say—no, explain was why I thought the way I did in hopes that maybe he'd come to understand me more...and maybe he'd come to see this horrible world he deemed he was living in, in a slightly better light as well. Even if I could shine a little ray of hope into his bleak-viewing world, it was worth all his griping and resistance.

"I won't disagree with you there," I assured the other calmly as another crack of thunder rolled overhead. "But my opinion on the matter still stands, despite that. Don't you think it's better to be able to make yourself happy whenever you want to be instead of waiting to see if happiness will eventually happen to you?" That seemed to get Gokudera's attention again, because the silver-haired teen turned to peer at me out of the corner of his eyes, his brows quirked in curiosity and his jade-green irises flashing with astonishment. "If you want to symbolize rainbows as 'happiness' in this instance..." I continued thoughtfully, happy to note how the other was actually focusing intently on what I was saying instead of brushing me off like he usually did."...Pessimistic people seem to think that they'll only be able to see these rainbows after weathering a rough storm, and even then it's not actually guaranteed that they'll see one. They don't seem to realize that they can actually make a rainbow of their own whenever they want."

"...The fuck are you talking about?" Gokudera drawled out in annoyance as he gawked at me like I had said something stupid...again.

Letting out a light chuckle of amusement, I continued. "Do you remember a few days ago in our science class when the teacher let us handle those...uh..." I scrambled to remember the word then. After wracking my brain for a few seconds, I snapped the pointer and thumb fingers of my free hand upon recollection. "...Prisms! That's the word! Haha! What I'm saying is that a prism is symbolic of an optimistic attitude. If you want to feel happiness, all you need to do is bend the light to your liking. That way, you can have rainbows whenever you want, right? The rainbow from a prism isn't any different than a rainbow produced after a storm. It's just as real...and so is happiness in turn. Isn't it better to make your own happiness by seeing the good in things instead of waiting for it to maybe happen?"

By this point, Gokudera was staring at me full on as we walked. He didn't say a word in regards to my question, just blinked in a completely dumbstruck fashion like his mind was finally realizing what I had been getting at all along—like he was hearing all of this for the first time. A small smirk of amusement crossed his features soon afterwards. He let out a light chuckle then as he closed his eyes and tossed his head pompously to the side.

"That analogy of yours almost worked," Gokudera practically goaded me with a know-it-all smirk, like this whole conversation of ours had actually been a debate, and now he had found the best evidence to trump me. "The one problem is that you can't use a prism all the time. There has to be light in order for it to work, so that means that if it's cloudy or night, you won't be seeing those rainbows any time soon."

I blinked at Gokudera in astonishment as I took his words in. It didn't take long for me to realize that, despite Gokudera's best efforts to 'thwart' me in selling my optimism idea to him, I still had him beat. Because of that, I couldn't suppress another light chuckle of amusement from escaping me.

"Yeah, that's true," I conceded before I added knowingly, "but it's impossible to be happy all the time. Even the most optimistic person has to deal with times of sadness and darkness. But there's that one saying, you know? 'It's always darkest before the dawn'. With every darkness, there is a sunrise soon to follow it. Just like darkness, clouds are never permanent, either. The light is destined to show up again, that much is certain. Because of that, it can give you the strength to hold on until you can make those rainbows again."

Gokudera was staring at me now like he had never seen me before. His pupils were blown wide for only a moment, before his eyes closed and he shook his head, chuckling in disbelief.

"What's so funny?" I questioned lightly in curiosity, my tone holding a hint of amusement as well. Even though Gokudera was just chuckling, the sound of it was quite contagious. I wanted to hear more of it.

"This whole conversation is ridiculous," Gokudera answered with another disbelieving chuckle and shake of his head. "We're walking in the rain and making analogies about fucking rainbows. This has to be the gayest conversation I've ever experienced."

By this point, Gokudera was pinching the bridge of his nose, his eyes were closed, and he looked very much like he couldn't believe the conversation we had just had. As I looked back on the conversation, I couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"Now that you mention it, it was kind of ridiculous," I chuckled out in amusement before I sent the other a teasing smirk. "It could be gayer; you could be asking me out or something."

Gokudera's expression was priceless. His eyes blew wide, his mouth dropped open in astonishment, and his entire face started to burn crimson.

"W-what the f-fuck?!" Gokudera screamed out in flustered anger loud enough to wake up the entire neighborhood if another clap of thunder hadn't smothered it. "Why the fucking hell would I do that?!"

Deciding that messing with Gokudera's mind was highly entertaining by this point, I opted to keep going.

"I don't know," I quipped, my voice dripping with mock suaveness as I placed my thumb and pointer finger across my chin and sent the other a sleazy smile. "Considering all the fan-girls I have at school, I'd say I'm pretty hot."

"Like fucking hell!" Gokudera was quick to rebuke, his face now entirely bathed in embarrassed, flustered red. "Fan-girls are fucking crazy and obviously have no taste!"

At this, I couldn't stop myself from laughing. I almost doubled over, my free arm holding my side as we finally stopped in front of the gate of the school.

"You do realize...that you just insulted yourself as well, right?" I managed to say past my laughing fit.

Gokudera stared at me, completely struck dumb for a moment before he seemed to realize what he had actually said. Mere seconds later, he was bristling like a cat that had been trodden on.

"Stop fucking laughing, you piece of shit! I'll fucking kill you!" Gokudera raged as he desperately tried to keep hold of his pride. By this point I was a lost cause, though, and I let out another bout of laughter. Gokudera's facial expressions were priceless!

"Now, now, Gokudera," I tried to calm the other down through my laughter again. "Think of rainbows, remember?"

"Fuck your rainbows!"

"Congrats, you made the conversation gayer," I stated through barely suppressed chuckles. Oh man, my sides hurt by this point. All this laughing was going to kill me. Gokudera's current expression (struck dumb with his mouth flapping up and down uselessly and his face now turning a fire engine red from anger and embarrassment) wasn't helping me either.

"You guys are going to extremely wake up the neighborhood," a familiar raspy voice sounded from beside us then. When I glanced over my shoulder, I was met with the sight of Senpai, who was dressed in a red, long-sleeved sweater that had a black bar surrounding his midsection and the same area around his sleeves, along with black jeans. Like usual, he was also wearing medical tape around his hands, but what was different from normal was that his right arm was hanging from a white-clothed sling tied around his neck. "What are you laughing about anyway?" He asked curiously then as he adjusted his burgundy umbrella to better keep back the rain.

Just as I controlled my laughter to answer, Gokudera quickly interjected with a threatening hiss in my direction. "If you say anything, I'll kill you!"

I just laughed at the other's threat, finding great amusement in seeing how flustered Gokudera was getting over everything.

"Now, now, save your bloodlust for your Ring Battle," I reminded the other in a slight teasing fashion. Just as Gokudera angrily opened his mouth to retort, another familiar face made their presence known.

"Ah, everyone's here already," Tsuna's voice mentioned nearby in slight astonishment. He was wearing a rusty orange-colored jacket that had an upright black collar, a white t-shirt poking up underneath the done up zipper, and blue jeans. He was also carrying a yellow umbrella over his head that had one triangular section that was colored turquoise instead. "Sorry if we're a little late," Tsuna apologized then as I wondered if his umbrella was supposed to have the random turquoise in it or if it had been a patch job. "Lambo had to jump in every puddle along the way..."

As Tsuna deadpanned this, I glanced down in time to see that Lambo was wearing his usual cow-printed pajamas, but he now sported big, yellow rubber boots on his feet. The toddler didn't care that he wasn't standing under Tsuna's umbrella, he was too busy jumping happily into randomly scattered puddles and giggling uncontrollably. In contrast, the Little Guy was standing beside Tsuna, calm and silent, wearing his familiar, overly-large fedora on his head, but the rest of this body was covered in a beige trench coat. He looked like a detective, haha!

Leading the by-now-soaked toddler into the school yard, our group took in our surroundings, noting that it 'appeared' that we were the first group here again. More than likely, though, the Varia and Cervello Ladies were hidden somewhere, impatiently waiting although we were right on time.

"It's finally the second match," Senpai brought up with an excited smile as we all stood by the fence-line off to the side of the building. He glanced over his shoulder then where Tsuna was standing behind him. "We better prepare ourselves."

"Y-yeah..." Tsuna mumbled out with uncertainty and a hesitant nod of his head towards his brother-figure.

I was standing just off to the side of Senpai, watching as Lambo took great pleasure in jumping into the muddy puddles that had accumulated in the area. The toddler was laughing and kept singing about his boots as he stomped through the puddles gleefully. Tsuna had finally handed Lambo his umbrella, which the toddler was twirling about his head, the miniature umbrella sporting a cow-print motif. While Lambo danced about, I finally noticed that the toddler was actually wearing his half-ring upon a silver chain around his neck, the metal glistening from the rain. I wonder how long it had taken Tsuna to convince the kid to wear it, haha!

As I contemplated this, I heard the familiar click of Gokudera's lighter. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the silver-haired teen was standing beside Tsuna and lighting a cigarette with a note of irritation.

"Geez, that Stupid Cow..." he growled out around his now lit cigarette as his brows knitted together in annoyance. "...He has no clue."

At this proclamation, Tsuna started nervously rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. The Little Guy, who was standing on the other side of him, frowned slightly at Gokudera's words as well.

"I wonder if there's some way we can withdraw," my brunet friend stated more than asked in a worried tone.

"Don't worry, Tsuna," I reassured the other with a confident smile directed over my shoulder. "If anything happens, we'll jump in."

"Don't worry, Tenth!" Gokudera reiterated with a huge smile, his confidence rivaling mine and taking me by surprise. Had Gokudera actually taken our earlier conversation to heart?

I smiled happily to myself as Senpai told Tsuna that he could leave everything to us, and my smaller friend weakly protested in return. Unlike yesterday where he had seemed ready to allow Senpai to be killed if he was ordered to not intervene, it seemed like our talk had made him reconsider his previous ideology. Or maybe he was just agreeing to protect Lambo now because Tsuna seemed so worried for the toddler's safety. Whatever the case was, though, the fact that Gokudera agreed with me so easily and backed me up so quickly had to mean something more, right? Maybe if my words concerning protecting our friends had gotten through to him, it was possible our other conversation a few moments ago had as well...

Before I could think any further on this line of thought, two shadowy figures suddenly appeared on top of the school entrance awning.

"Actions such as that will result in disqualification," the familiar, monotonously feminine voice of one of the Cervello ladies brought up. Her and her identical counterpart were both wearing black rain coats to keep back the pelting rain, black hoods obscuring most of their vibrant pink hair. The coats were long enough to reach their knees, where long, black rain boots covered the rest of their skin from just below the knees and down. Because of this, I couldn't see the clothes they wore underneath to differentiate between the two women.

"Along with that," the other Cervello lady brought up. "All who interrupt and the one who was saved will forfeit their rings to the opponent."

"Those guys...!" Gokudera cried out in anger before he clicked his tongue in annoyance and growled out, "Damn them. They've got to be kidding."

"I knew it..." I barely heard Tsuna mumble to himself just as another clap of thunder rolled over our heads. I felt my spirits sink as I realized the new situation we now found ourselves in. If we decided to interrupt Lambo's fight to save him, not only would Lambo lose his ring in forfeit, but whoever jumped in to save him would lose their ring as well. Saving our friend could come at a steep price...but was it still worth it?

"Please look over there," one of the Cervello ladies brought up, abruptly cutting off my thoughts as she pointed up towards the school roof, her counterpart mimicking the action. "That will be tonight's battlefield."

"The roof?!" Tsuna exclaimed in confusion and apprehension as we stared up at the building's tallest point. Was it just me or did I see some strange, long shadowy objects poking up from the roof itself?

That thought had no sooner crossed my mind when thunder suddenly roared over our heads, and a vibrant flash of lightening lit up the sky seconds afterwards. The intimidating bolt of electricity lit up the rooftop and barely missed the now visible, huge, towering lighting rods positioned along the roof. It looked like there were six in total, the middle parts of their bases bowed inward and giving them a javelin-like appearance.

"Gupya!" Lambo cried out in a mixture of awe and fear as he took time from his puddle hopping to stare up at the intimidating image raging above our heads.

"Wha...what is that?!" Tsuna screamed out in dismay as the lightening finally dispersed, leaving the roof shrouded in imposing darkness once more.

I continued to gawk up at the altered rooftop, worry quickly entering my veins like a poison. Was Lambo really supposed to fight up there? On a rooftop covered in lightening rods? There was no way, right?

…Right?

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A/N: Alright, and the next chapter is finally done! I hope you guys enjoyed the first ring battle! Sadly, there wasn't a single thing in terms of 8059 hints within those chapters. The hints you see in this written version were all created by me to tide you guys over ;D

Anyway, the next chapter will cover the Lightening Ring Battle at least, and it will be in Gokudera's POV.