Ryohei's victory instilled something of a confidence boost in Haru's mind. A highschool boxing star, with a week of some kind of secret training, had managed to defeat one of the Vongola's top assassins. Romario was right, on both counts. Yes, they each had enough potential that perhaps one day they would actually be able to call the Varia their equals. But really, it came down to being underestimated.
Finally, things clicked into place and Haru understood why Lambo was chosen as the lightning guardian. Tsuna's dad was no fool, he didn't actually want to send an infant out against a trained assassin. No, he was playing mind games with the Varia. If they thought that Tsuna's family was poorly selected, they would be far less serious about these battles. Haru could step in and take Lambo's place and fight an underprepared opponent, and perhaps have a chance at victory. From this, Haru had a newfound respect for Tsuna's dad. He knew the stakes, and his decision were well though through.
Haru was snapped out of her thoughts when one of the Cervello made a loud announcement. "The next match will be the battle for the Lightning Ring, taking place on the school rooftop tomorrow night at midnight."
Lightning arced through the sky without a shred of mercy. Rain hammered down onto the tarmac, and Haru shielded their head as they ran through the streets of Namimori. The match would start soon, and Haru was running late because of some last minute training with Fon. If she didn't make it in time… no, Haru wouldn't think about that. She wanted to up her pace, run even faster, but Haru knew that would only wear her out and threaten her own life. After ten minutes of jogging as quickly as she could, she finally made it to the rooftop door just in time to see Lambo about to step into the designated battle ring.
Without even sparing a moment to take in their surroundings, Haru leapt forward and called out. "Lambo, wait!" She grabbed forward, barely just clasping onto the infant's small form before he had made it inside the ring and officially become the Lightning Ring candidate representing Tsuna.
"As this match has not yet begun," Haru declared, panting slightly, "I am stepping in as the Lightning Guardian candidate for Tsuna's Family."
One of the Cervello nodded. "That is acceptable. Now then… The Lightning Ring match between Leviathan and Miura Haru… will now begin!"
A part of Haru knew that she should have been worried by how easily the Cervello agreed, but there was no time for that kind of uncertainty. Haru's foe didn't make any sudden movements, so she cautiously looked around without dropping her guard. The ground was covered in a web of green strips that joined up several strange metallic spike-like structures. After what had happened with Ryohei's match, Haru could only assume that this one was also rigged in the Varia's favour.
It was the Lightning match, so Haru guessed that all these structures were somehow conductive, perhaps some kind of lightning rods. Fortunately, after her week of training, that didn't concern Haru. If anything, electricity was now her friend. That library book Reborn had given her a month ago was clearly no coincidence - the conniving home tutor had seen this all coming and wanted Haru to have a good understanding of the physical properties of electricity and lightning. Well, she was certainly prepared.
Without warning, lightning struck one of the large rods, and visible surges of electricity rushed through the web of wiring on the ground. Haru leapt up, landing deftly in a gap between the wires, and Leviathan did the same.
"Hm," Leviathan grunted, as though sizing Haru up and deeming her a suitable opponent.
Shit, Haru thought. From just that movement I've probably increased his level of caution a fair bit. Should have fumbled my landing. Well, I guess I can't play around - I'll have to go all out from the start.
Haru unsheathed the butterfly blades from each side of her hip, and grasped them fluently in her hands. She held them both forward and to one side, ready to engage in combat. Before Leviathan had a chance to engage in combat, Haru considered all that motivated them - their curiosity, loyalty to their friends, ambition to uncover the many secrets of the world, and desire to make Fon proud. Their green ring flared to life, surges of Dying Will Flames dancing outwards and flowing into their blades.
Leviathan's eyes widened in shock, but the effect was only momentary, and the experienced assassin regained his composure. He drew what appeared to be a rapier from his eight-weapon back holster, and stepped into a combat-ready stance with the blade held forward and one foot back. The blade quickly sheathed itself in a visible current of electricity, and he dashed forward.
Haru barely had time to bring her blades up into a defensive X-shape before twisting her blades to push the assassin away. As she turned, Leviathan spun, bringing his rapier back around. Haru ducked under the blade and pushed their hands against the ground as a stabilizing mechanism to throw their whole body into a sweeping kick that Leviathan expertly hopped over. This dance continued for several minutes, neither fighter landing a single hit on the other... until Leviathan drew a second blade.
At this point, Haru was struggling more to keep up. They could tell that Leviathan didn't carry around multiple weapons just for show; with two in hand he became twice as much a threat. Going all out was already no longer a sensible option - Haru only had one option remaining if she wanted to claim victory, or even survive.
Leviathan carried 8 of these weapons on his back, and they weren't fragile weapons needing the replacements. They clearly had purpose, and given their ability to conduct electricity, Haru was prepared to bet it had something to do with the electrical fields in this arena. Getting Leviathan to unleash whatever powerful technique he had up this sleeve might create an opening that Haru could use, and she had to take that gamble.
She pushed on, taking any opportunity to put Leviathan on the defensive, no matter how small. Haru's convictions grew stronger and more desperate, their Dying Will Flames growing brighter and more potent. Eventually, they carried enough power to begin turning the tide. Haru scored a shallow cut on Leviathan's outer thigh, and the man leapt back and did exactly what Haru had hoped for.
Leviathan spun and danced, hurling blade after blade from his back into the air. The blades flew, changing, revealing themselves not to be blades, but some kind of umbrellas. The umbrellas began absorbing static electricity from the densely charged air, glowing brightly as the voltage ramped up more and more.
All eight umbrellas. An opening. And then it hit her - the book. Elementary Electrodynamics. Damn that bastard Reborn, I knew it wasn't a coincidence! Putting her grievances with the tiny hitman aside, Haru knew what to do. This realisation was more than just a reflective one; it illuminated the path to victory.
All this time, Haru had been studying the behaviour of electromagnetic currents, having even built a functional miniature Faraday Cage. All in preparation for this moment, for this showdown with the Varia's Leviathan. Taking a steadying breath, Haru watched the voltage build up across the eight umbrellas, and tightened her resolve.
It felt like it happened in slow motion. Each umbrella fired a bolt of lightning, all of them converging on Haru. They held one of their butterfly blades overhead, momentarily freeing it from Dying Will Flames. The lightning bolts simultaneously impacted on the blade, and transferred directly into Haru's body. They let out a blood-curdling scream of pain, but didn't let up their concentration. Exerting every last ounce of willpower they had, Haru drew all the energy of that lightning into her other blade, which was already pointed directly at Leviathan. The man looked afraid. He'd already realised what was happening, but even a trained veteran assassin couldn't surpass the speed of lightning. It lanced out from the butterfly blade, shooting into Leviathan's abdomen and blasting him off into the distance. It took everything Haru had to stay standing until she was declared the victor. And then, she blacked out.