Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.

Word Count: 7703

Part 29: Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

"Oi, Tsuna," Ryohei called to the younger teen, not only getting his attention but his sister's as well. "Natsume," the boxer greeted, the girl nodding at him.

"I'll see you at lunch," she told her brother continuing on her own towards the school, leaving the brunet behind with him.

"Senpai?" Tsuna was not used to this side of Ryohei and so he stepped closer so that the teen wouldn't have to speak much louder than he should (he already had an idea of where this was going...okay maybe he had no idea.)

"This thing that's going on," Ryohei began, arms crossed against his chest, thumbing the ring that sat hung around his neck, "Will it hurt Kyoko in anyway?"

Tsuna swallowed, he really couldn't lie to the boxer, "What's happening right now is between us and them," Tsuna began, minding his word choice. "There is a chance, if you wish to keep that ring, that Kyoko will be dragged in whatever comes our way."

Ryohei grunted, "Colonello says it's a battle of wills…."

"That's true."

"I feel like I'm still missing something," the boxer blurted out, because he was confused, he wanted to help Tsuna, but there was something that he wasn't understanding. If he didn't know the exact consequences of whatever actions he took, well, he was unwilling to repeat what had happened to him once already.

By the look on Tsuna' face the boy wasn't exactly happy, a hint of sadness in the half smile he gave. Tsuna sighed, seeming for the world as if there was a heavy burden on his shoulders and Ryohei wanted to throw an arm around him and tell him nothing should be carried alone.

Friends helped each other like that right?

"It starts with Vongola," Tsuna began, looking around to see if there was anyone passing by, "And it ends with me being selected as an heir for them, the next in line to take care of the family business." The bitterness that seeped through Tsuna's voice was tangible and Ryohei was about to say that he should have every right to back out if he didn't want it.

"If I step down, not only is my life forfeit but my family and friends."

The silence was ringing, nearly deafening after those words, "I only fight to protect those I love and care for, senpai," the brunet didn't let his gaze fall from his and Ryohei respected that.

But surely Tsuna was taking this a bit too seriously right?

"If you decide to step down Ryohei-nii, I will respect that and I will make sure that the others do as well."

Ryohei swallowed, feeling a little blown away by the brunet's words and just how much he meant them. The white haired teen uncrossed his arms, settling his hands on his hips as he quietly judged and quickly made up his mind, "A man that goes that far for his family and friends and respects their wishes is a man I can see myself following."

Ryohei lightly punched Tsuna on the arm, said teen hiding a wince because ow that hurt, "Tonight is the first battle right, where I go up against that one guy?"

Tsuna nodded, not really knowing what the boxer was getting too, and not really knowing how to take the almost blinding smile Ryohei gave him, "Colonello says I have a strong resolve, you will see if it holds up, right Tsuna?"

The brunet blinked at the fist that was held out to him and he slowly raised his own hand, forming a fist and bumping it against Ryohei's, "I wouldn't miss it."

/ | \

"Hey Sawada-kun," Longchamp began, getting Natsume's attention before she left the classroom to go join the other's for lunch.

"Longchamp?"

The previously blond teen who now sported dark red hair had his arms crossed against his chest, fingers fiddling with his sweater and yet his smile and his voice didn't belay any of his nerves, "Mangusta said tensions are high, wants to take a little break from Namimori," he uncrossed one arm and reached into his bag, pulling out a decent little flip phone and handing it to Natsume, "It wouldn't be too much to ask if you could let me know when it's over?"

"Where do you plan on going?"

The boy took a second to think about it, his pointer finger tapping his chin in though, before he snapped his fingers as whatevery fancy came to him. He gave her a brilliant smile, "Well I haven't visited Tokyo Disney; it'd be nice to compare that one and the one in Florida."

Natsume raised a brow, "Nice," she drawled out, pocketing the phone into her jacket, "Tell Pantera I said hi." That was said a bit more sincerely.

Longchamp stood up after that, stretching his arms over his head before he picked up his bag and threw it over his shoulder, "Always nice talking to you, Sawada-kun."

"I thought you preferred talking to my brother," she lightly teased, following him out though she was going to Tsuna's class instead of leaving the school like Longchamp was doing.

Longhcamp laughed, "You have your own charm Sawada-kun, anyways see ya~" And with that the teen was off, leaving a slightly confused Natsume, who just ended up taking Longchamp's words in stride and headed to classroom 2A.

She would kind of miss the redhead and his antics for the time being, which probably would have helped take her mind (and maybe Tsuna's if she had managed to wrangle the red head in her brothers direction) off of the troubles at hand.

Intermission 12

"You know you're very serious Sawada-kun," Longchamp commented to her once, long after he had first talked to Tsuna.

She had looked at the then-blond and given him an inquiring look, "Oh really?"

"See your brother he's more," he made a motion with his hands as if he was trying to grasp the air, "He's very free and open, and you, well you're kind of hard to get a read on."

"Is this you saying that or your tutor," she asked having once met Mangusta and had a rather pleasant chat with the man, even though he didn't seem to trust her at all. The English man was very uptight, but he did take things much more seriously than his student, who was very open and had admitted to the class once that he was Mafia.

"Pantera actually."

"You and her still talk well?"

"Of course we do! We're friends aren't we?"

Natsume made a noncommittal sound, not really sure if she should take Longchamp at his word. The last time she had seen the pair together, the dark haired girl was actively trying to maim Longchamp.

"Right."

"See even now you're not really letting yourself go, holding to that image you have going on."

Well, it was habit to keep up a front, especially when she was at school; it kept the older students and reminded the ones she had gone to elementary school with that she shouldn't be messed with.

"All I'm saying is you should loosen up –" out of the corner of her eye she saw Longchamp about to put his arm around her in a friendly easy going manner and ducked under it.

"I'll tell Mimi-chan you're being friendly with other girls if you touch me."

"See! Loosen up Sawada-kun; you can't be serious all the time!"

The girl gave the boy a deadpanned stare, before she flashed him a very fake smile, which had the teen rolling his eyes at her, "It's a work in progress."

/ | \

"So before you go off and get run into the ground by Mirai and Kato," Hana started up once she was sure Kyoko wasn't within earshot, the tall, dark haired girl pinned Natsume with a hard look, "What is happening."

"Huh?"

Hana crossed her arms, eyes narrowing slightly (and maybe she huffed a little, because really something was up and it was making her feel weird.)

"It has something to do with your brother and Kyoko's, I just know it."

"The guys have something going on?"

Judging by the light flare of her nostrils, Hana wasn't exactly happy with that answer, "They have a game they started up," and it was almost the truth, minus the fact that this game could end a lot more bloody than Ryohei's boxing matches when they decided to go without gloves. "The guys are pretty gung ho about it."

"Right," Hana drawled out, lips lightly pursing as she tried to see if she could get a hint out of the girl before her. Kyoko always told her she had this 'look' and it usually led to the girl spilling whatever was bothering her (which had led her to this because her brother and that kid had been up to things and Ryohei was usually pretty up front but at the current moment he was being pretty tightlipped.)

"Will this upset Kyoko?"

"They are fighting, Hana," Natsume sighed out slowly, her mouth twisting as if just saying those words (or whatever thought that those words brought) were foul.

"Don't be like your brother," she lightly snapped, because she had tried this with Tsuna earlier, Takeshi having excused himself once the lunch bell rang and Hayato not there, Hana had taken the chance and the brunet had been unhelpful to say the least. "Seriously, what is going on Natsume?"

"They are fighting," the fair haired girl ground out once more, "Look Hana, I'm sorry, but this isn't my thing anymore. Whatever games they're playing its them only."

Well…someone sounded bitter.

Hana brought her hand up to her face, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, eyes closed as she exhaled, a slight whistle-like sound emitting from her, "Fine, fine, but before you leave," her friend blinked up at her and Hana, let her hand fall away from her face, "Is it something you can't really talk about?"

She barely caught the brief smile that ghosted about Natsume's mouth, the girl turning away and heading towards the gym, "Something like that," the words were quiet, but she heard and Hana thought that was as much as she was going to get.

Watching her friend, the dark haired girl pursed her lips, lightly scuffing her shoe against the ground as she wondered what exactly her friends were doing that had them constantly ditching school. The small bead around her neck gave a light green glow before it faded, Hana herself turning away so she could head toward the arts room.

She had a feeling she would find out eventually.

/ | \

As Natsume made her way out of the school grounds, a purple butterfly floated over to her, landing on her shoulder, the words that it whispered bringing her attention to it before it disappeared. She took the phone that Longchamp had given her earlier that day, checking the time as she changed directions.

4:55

While making her way there, Natsume looked over the slim phone she had been given, fiddling with it to learn how it worked. In the time she spent messing with it, she had already made it to Kawahira's shop and by then she had realized she had a couple of pictures from Longchamp, who seemed to be sporting a couple bruises.

'Pantera is being heavy handed again!' one of the messages read and she responded with a simple 'I wonder why.'

She faintly heard the bell chime above her as she entered the shop, 5:15 being the time she recalled as she made her way to the back.

What she did not expect as she passed through the beaded curtain was for Wonomichi to be there and having the young man bound up to her and pick her up in a tight hug.

"Happy belated birthday!" the man greeted her, once he pulled away and seemed to dance away from her fingers that had been aiming to poke his sides. Wonomichi held up a gloved hand to his mouth, watching the dumbfounded look on Natsume's face, before the girl pretty much face palmed.

"How do I forget my own birthday?"

Wonomichi shrugged, hands going behind his back as his upper body leaned forward, eyes crinkling at the corners as he gave her a bright smile, "Who knows! But do you know in some cultures you're considered a young woman?"

"Don't make me grow up so soon."

The dark haired man chuckled, holding out a hand so that Natsume could move further in and settle down.

"I haven't seen you in months where have you been?" Natsume asked once she set her things down and made herself comfortable on one of the couches, legs coming up and tucked beneath her as she leaned against the arm rest.

Wonomichi took to the lone armchair in the room, though he kept his legs crossed out in front of him, "Here and here~"

"Children," Kawahira spoke up, voice cutting off Natsume from saying anything. The white haired man gave his student a blasé look, one that seemed to suggest that he knew what the girl was about to say. "So happy to have you two here."

"You're jumping off the walls," Natsume muttered, Wonomichi overheard and snickered, only stopping when Kawahira clear his throat.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Please? It is starting to get a wee bit chilly here~"

"Where you somewhere in Europe?"

"I was somewhere." The girl merely pressed her lips together and let loose a sound that sounded as if she was almost screaming.

Almost.

"Tea Natsume?"

"…yes please."

"Good, because it's ready."

"I thought I heard something whining," Wonomich commented, a sly smile curling his mouth as he flicked his gaze momentarily to Natsume, who pouted at him.

"I think you're getting too comfortable."

"Hoho~"

"Sensei make him stop."

Kawahira shook his head as he set the tray he had brought over, setting it down on the coffee table as he took a seat beside Natsume. Ignoring the two children he poured, adding a touch of sugar to his and Wonomichi's and a bit more to Natsume's.

"I don't want to hear anything from you two until after you drink."

The white haired man took a sip of his drink, the other two following along and he waited a couple minutes as they both drank, not at all surprised by the inquiring look from Wonomichi. It was when Natsume was starting to react a little more sluggishly that he cleared his throat again, the girl turning slowly and giving him a wide eyed look.

"Hemlock, is lovingly called the witch's herb," he began, setting his cup down, leaning back and holding his hands in his lap. "You ground this up last week, remember?" receiving a slow nod he continued on, "I made sure not to mix too much, but if you feel anything beyond being a little sluggish and dizzy, tell me."

"Ingestion of the plant is not recommended," Kawahira ignored the withering look the girl sent him, "There are various ways to use it, whether you use the plant itself or use the so-called 'juice' that comes from it. I find it better to use it as incense, to keep myself grounded and it offers a very minor protection, one which is of course enhanced through my mist flames."

Natsume breathed slowly resting back against the couch and felt when Kawahira plucked the cup out of her hands, "It's also used for funerals or to symbolize immortality," Wonomichi cut in, giving Kawahira a rather cutting look, which the man barley batted an eye at.

"Wonomichi is not wrong."

"How long will I be like this?" Natsume spoke up slowly, her tongue feeling heavy and all she really wanted to do was sleep.

"You can relax, we'll be watching over you."

"Does not answer my question."

"About an hour or two."

"Nice," she gave them a thumbs up, "You know next time you offer me something I won't take it."

Kawahira chuckled, shaking his head, "It's for your own good."

"Hoho~ how?" she asked, mimicking Wonomichi's laughter, the young man rolled his eyes, his foot tapping a constantly changing rhythm.

"You won't be poisoned off your own stock."

Natsume held up her other hand and gave Kawahira another thumbs up, "I guess."

Part 30: Let Children Fight Adults (Don't?)

Natsume got home a little later than usual, Kawahira shadowing her steps.

She was walking in at the same time Tsuna was leaving, she stumbled and Tsuna steadied her, giving his sister a concerned look, "You okay?"

Natsume breathed in deeply, nodding as she blew out a steady stream of air, not at all caring that she let her bags fall and stepped out of her shoes without much of a care and padded her way over to the kitchen.

Tsuna frowned, but he just assumed that she was tired – there were days where she was completely ran through after practice and by the way she was dragging her feet, it seemed to have been one of those days.

That settled he headed out, fingers hooking around the straps of both his school bag and the extra one that he had packed his school clothes and another set of clothes in. He had made sure with the others if it was fine with them if they all stayed together during this, he had already explained to his mother, who had given him a tight lipped smile.

Every step that took him farther from his home and towards Takeshi's place was loud, his mind replaying the sadness in his mother's eyes, the way she had cupped his face and kissed his forehead, before resting her forehead against his.

"I give you my strength as much as that will help you."

Tsuna closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around his mom, moving his head so that it rested against her shoulder (when had he grown? His mother had always seemed so big to him and now, as he pulled away it was he who was looking down at her).

"I will use it when I need it most."

Because even though his mother did not believe she was strong enough, she had given him life, she had nurtured and cared for him even when he was at his most difficult (tiny woman she may be, but she was strong, on her better days able to corral both him and his sister, or the three children that stayed in their home as if they were errant puppies.)

His mother's smile was soft, her eyes crinkled at the corners, "Be careful."

By the time he realized it he was coming upon Takesushi, he could see Hayato approaching from a distance, the smell of the cigarettes he tended to favor wafting through the air. The pair met up at the entrance (Tsuna eyed the bandages around his hands and how his fingers tended to shake, how his thumb rubbed against the back of the band of the ring they had gifted him. Hayato saw the fire in his friend's eyes, the slightly haggard look after a day of training cut short, how the teen's brown skin had its own bruises and scuff marks, how he gripped the straps of his bags before he loosened them.)

"Takeshi might still be training with his old man, Ryohei's probably out with Colonello," Tsuna said, pulling out a key from his back pocket, "Said we should wait for him upstairs if we got here early."

Hayato inhaled, pulling the cancer stick away from his mouth as he angled his head so he could blow the smoke out where it wouldn't be blown into Tsuna's face, "So the baseball idiot can prepare."

Tsuna made a sound through his nose, one that most people would have taken as disapproval, but Hayato noticed the quirk of his friend's mouth, "Takeshi's not an idiot."

Hayato huffed, stepping through the restaurant, greeting one of the waiters before they made their way upstairs to Takeshi's room, but didn't say anything to counter Tsuna.

It was nearing nine when Takeshi finally showed up to find that Tsuna and Hayato had made themselves comfortable, splayed out on either his beanbag chair or the bed.

"You guys didn't do anything today?"

Hayato snorted from where he laid on the bed, not bothering to move as the dark haired teen walked in and set his bags at the end, "Shamal said to take a break that if I kept going he wasn't going to bandage me up."

"...isn't that the school doctor?"

"The useless one, who barely shows up," Hayato supplied, moving his arm from his face so he could see Takeshi's slow nod, "Yeah."

"Huh, we all have such interesting teachers don't we?" Takeshi said, the cheer in his voice as obvious as his exhaustion. "I'm going to shower real quick, so do whatever it was you were doing."

"Don't drown," Tsuna commented, eyes closing once he got a good look at his friend (he looked as if he had just gotten out of baseball practice, tired, but still smiling and energetic, though there was something that niggled Tsuna at the back of his mind, there was a certain hardness in Takeshi's eyes and Tsuna wondered what exactly his father was putting him through.)

The dark haired teen laughed, a change of clothes and a towel over his shoulder as he made his way out, "I'll try not too~"

/ | \

Colonello was sure that Ryohei was as ready as he'll ever be.

He would have gone along with the white haired teen, but someone had to watch over Kyoko, who had Hana over and was staying later than usual. The blond could tell that Kyoko was curious and trying to find out what her brother was up to and was not at all surprised that she wasn't as easily put off as Ryohei thought she might be.

Really suggesting that Kyoko bring Hana over for a sleep over would have been brilliant if the other girl wasn't as nosy and persistent as her friend (perhaps even more so because there was a focus and a need to have an answer in that one.)

Well there was still a chance that he could go, it was barely ten and Kyoko would probably go to sleep within the next ten to twenty minutes, maybe eleven at the latest. The soldier blinked suddenly when Kyoko called to him, asking him if he wanted anything before bed and Colonello nearly answered in the negative, only for him to change his answer.

"How about a warm glass of milk before bed, hey?"

The girl wouldn't say no to joining him and she'd probably insist for Hana to have one as well, having the two in the room would make it a lot easier for the thought that had popped into his head. Really who could blame him, it was rare for him to use his flames without his gun, but he was still a damned rain, wasn't he?

He wouldn't push his flames onto them to the point that they're completely out, but enough that they could sleep through the night with little to no interruption at all.

It would be almost like putting a baby to sleep.

His nose crinkled at that thought, but he cast it aside real quick.

No need to dwell on that.

/ | \

It was her mother shaking her awake that made Natsume realize that something was a little off. Sitting up on the couch and rubbing at her eyes, she asked, "Tsuna's upstairs right?" she had a question, well not really a question; she was just going to ask if he wouldn't mind stepping on her back.

"Tsuna left a couple hours ago, sweetheart."

Natsume's brows furrowed, "Where'd he go?" Usually once Tsuna got home, whether it was from school or training, he really didn't go back out, unless he was meeting with Hayato and Takeshi at the arcade or whatever else Reborn made him do.

"Something about a big game tonight," Nana answered, and Natsume could only nod a bit dumbly, still feeling a bit of the effects of the tea from earlier.

Nah, she realized sitting up and stretching her arms above her head, she was just groggy (how long had she been asleep for?)

Her mother poked her forehead and Natsume looked at her mom, "It's eleven thirty, Tsu-chan, I think you'll sleep more comfortably in your own bed."

"Probably," she yawned out, finally standing up, "I guess I'll go, goodnight Mama," she kissed her mother on the cheek, the woman in turn lightly ruffling her head before she headed to her room. As Natsume made her way up to hers, she found the sight of Reborn petting her cat in the middle of the hallway odd.

"Reborn?"

The tiny hitman didn't acknowledge her, only when Emi walked away from him and towards her did he actually look at her, "You will be staying put."

She crouched down, picking up her cat, while giving Reborn a dubious look, "Is that an order from my tutor or a suggestion?"

"Take it however you please," he responded, tucking his hands into his jackets pocket, "But someone does need to make sure the house is safe."

Was he insinuating that there could be a possible threat; wouldn't Bianchi be better suited for this?

"Bianchi should be coming back tomorrow, so if you want to tag along for tomorrow's game, you're more than welcome too."

Ah, so that was it.

"Okay," she yawned out, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, "I'll stay back I guess."

"Good I-"

"It definitely beats being out on such a cold night anyways, plus – wait who's fighting?" Or would it be considered dueling?

Same thing right?

Reborn seemed to be picking up on her thoughts and didn't bat an eye at the derailment, "The Sun's."

She stood up, looking a little thoughtful, "Oh, Hana asked about what's been going," she told the tiny hitman, "I don't know if it's my place to tell them anything and knowing those two, especially Hana, they can be a bit stubborn."

"I'm sure Colonello will figure something out for that."

Natsume hummed, "Well you should get going if you want to get there in time."

"Goodnight Natsume."

"See you."

She headed to her room, while he went downstairs. She locked her bedroom door as she shut it behind her and Natsume held her cat out in front of her, "How would you like to have a big kitty tonight?" Emi's ears twitched, head tilted to the side as if taking into consideration her owner's question, which really wouldn't be far off with all that Natsume had been doing with her cat.

Natsume pictured a much larger cat, similar in coloring to Emi and focused on bringing that image to life. Emi hissed at the creature that appeared beside them, a blob of indigo swirling and slowly pulling back to reveal a large black cat. The indigo eyed big cat eyed the smaller one, huffing lightly through its nose until it was fully formed.

When it's tail finished forming, it whacked Natsume against her back, making the girl give the big cat the stink eye, "You better not be giving me attitude."

Another whack was her response.

A deep chirp went with it, as if the cat was laughing and Natsume wondered if it was normal for constructs to take a personality of their own – or maybe that's just what she wanted, a big sassy cat.

The fifteen year old clucked her tongue, setting down Emi, who went up and sniffed at the construct, "What to name you for now," she puffed her cheeks in thought, pointer finger tapping against her jaw, "Hoho~ how about Ka?"

Rather fitting and from what she remembered of her random readings of both mythology and history (1), it had something to do with the human soul, something about life? …She'd look it up later, for now she would make sure it would do as it was constructed to do, which was to protect her home.

A figure similar to that of Kawahira appeared in her room and all Natsume had to do for the cat to pounce on it was say, "Attack."

Watching the feline take down the fake figure of her teacher made Natsume smile and she scratched Ka's head once it returned back (meanwhile Kawahira couldn't help but feel a chill as if someone had wished him ill will.)

"Good boy," she cooed, feeling much more awake than earlier, "Anyone that doesn't feel like our own, you take down understood?"

The big cat chirped, watching as it's mistress began to change out of her clothes and into warmer ones before making her way out of the window. Natsume popped back in, heading to her desk where she had left out her box filled with crystals last night.

She pulled a clear one out and quickly infused it with a bit of her flame and left it settled on her bed. Another her appeared and Natsume smiled at that one, wiggling her fingers at herself before leaving again.

The clone of Natsume turned to the big cat and gave the feline an adoring smile, "It should be a calm night….hopefully."

All Ka did was lay down, it's nose butting against Emi's curious one.

/ | \

"Sensei…"

"hmm?"

"Are you following me?"

The older man only shook his head, keeping his hands in the pockets of his coat, "I am making sure you are fine."

"….okay…"

"Also I am quite curious to see how tonight goes, it will be a first for the both of us." And three of the six arcobaleno would be there; it wouldn't hurt to see how they were doing.

"How do you even know?"

Kawahira shrugged, not at all fazed by his student's pout, "It's not hard to pick up on the rumors of a violent swordsman in the market, nor is it hard to ignore the change of flow of Namimori's people"

Natsume frowned, "Namimori is still the same."

The white haired man tutted, "There are two unclaimed skies, your brother is one and you are the other, while your brother is slowly gathering his own you have yet to do so." This earned him a sniff of disdain, the girl pointedly looking ahead.

"I am a Mist more than a Sky….plus I don't think I'll make a very good one."

He was about to inquire why she thought that, but they had already made it to the school grounds. It was child's play to get past the illusions set up by the Cervello and it was a true testament to Kawahira's skill that he managed to keep the two of them from being noticed by those around what seemed to be a boxing ring.

Not even the Varia or the arcobaleno noticed the two extra spectators' and it made Kawahira want to shake his head.

Humans; the example of how strong they could be was before them in the form of adults turned to toddlers, but even they could only be so powerful. They didn't live long enough to pick up on the nuances and the shifts of the Earth when it accommodated a stronger flame. Selfish creatures they were, they all tended to focus within themselves, the power they had usually going to waste, they –

Poke~

"Calm down there Professor, it's not for you to get angry."

"Professor?"

"Dumbledore is very composed, even when he's feeling upset," his student explained and he barely refrained from rolling his eyes at that, why did she have to refer to him as Dumbledore? (Okay so maybe he had ulterior motives that he didn't tell to anybody – no he wasn't getting caught up in that thought again.)

"Stop that."

Judging by the way she smiled, tongue poking out she had been waiting for him to realize that she had been messing with him.

He wouldn't congratulate her on it, seeing as he had let himself fall onto his thoughts once again, her taking advantage of his distraction to tack on those after thoughts. He sighed, a hand coming up and covering his mouth as he coughed (more so he could hide the smile that threatened to show.)

"Let's see what the Sun will show us tonight."

"…..I highly doubt it will overshadow the moon."

"They're called eclipses student of mine."

"Whatever."

The area went completely dark in that moment, the only light being the faint one from the moon, that kept getting blocked off by the clouds. The lights came back on, blindingly bright, and Natsume had to cover her eyes, less she see white for the rest of her life.

Someone poked her forehead and she could feel something settle along the bridge of her nose, when she opened them, there was a pair of shades that let her see what was going on.

Oh no.

Poor Ryohei.

"This is all rigged."

Kawahira hummed besides her, watching as the sixteen year old was being toyed about by a man ten years older than him.

"Do you think your friend has a chance?"

"….I…really don't know."

/ | \

Hana was tired, but Kyoko was dragging her along and the dark haired girl couldn't really say no to finding out exactly what was going on (still she would rather be curled up beneath her blankets, than heading towards Nami-chuu of all places at midnight.)

"Kyoko –"

"Colonello was gone too Hana," Kyoko said, not letting her friend speak. "Something has to be going on, something big that Onii-san is probably too embarrassed to say."

"Not that, Kyoko," Hana wrapped her arms tighter around her, shivering slightly even as she peered and tried to remember if Namimori Middle ever had such lights set up. "What is that?"

"It looks like they're set up in the courtyard."

Kyoko frowned, an ill feeling twisting in her stomach, "Come on," this time it was Hana leading and moving them forward. They entered the school gates without a problem and from where they stood they could see a stage-like ring set up, the lights though made it difficult to see.

"I don't think we can get closer without having to close our eyes, Kyoko."

"..Maybe we should just.." 'go' but she was already here, she wanted to know.

The lights went out in that moment and the pair sighed out in relief, there was no need to avert their gaze and they headed towards the ring, getting there just in time to see Ryohei get knocked down by an older man.

"Onii-san!"

The group before them stilled and so did the two fighter's at the sudden voice, but the man with the weird hair kept moving onto her brother, not letting himself stay distracted.

"Tsuna," Hana greeted, giving the boy a pointed look, which was returned with a bland one (it looked a lot similar to Natsume's resting bitch face.)

"Shouldn't you two be at home?" Takeshi asked, turning his head enough so that he could look at them and glance between the ongoing fight, which seemed to have turned to Ryohei's favor.

"What about you?" Kyoko threw back, upset because what on earth was going on? She looked at Tsuna, who only looked away at the pitiful look that was given to him. "Why is this happening?"

"Ladies, ladies!" Iemitsu's voice called out, the man made eye contact with his son and gestured with his chin to the fight, while distracting the two girl's from the scene. And if they just so happened to miss the bloody mess that had become of Lussuria, well Iemitsu would be giving the illusionist who had managed that a good raise.

(No one would know that it had been Natsume, who was watching over everything, her hands nearly white at how tightly she was clenching her hands, because what the hell where Hana and Kyoko doing there, did no one make sure that this wouldn't happen?)

The blond man smiled at the young ladies, knowing them to be his daughter and son's friends and beckoned them to follow him, "Please, please this way, everything will be explained, let's let the boy's have their fun time!"

Hana didn't know what to think of the blond man, but something about him was familiar (it was probably his eyes, she could swear she had seen them somewhere.)

Iemitsu had brought them over to one of the nearest classrooms, "Now," he began after they were all seated, "I assume you have some questions," he pulled out a couple of small brochures (that had been mocked up just in case something like this happened. Thank God he had gone through with that farce.) "Tonight and as well as the next couple nights, our organization is holding a special competition to get a scholarship that would apply to any school that the selected student decides to go too."

"There is a selection process, so only those handpicked are told about this," he added, lacing his hands on top of the table as he eyed the two young girls. Colonello had said that he had given them a bit of a dose of his rain flames to make sure they stayed in bed, but it seemed either Colonello had miscalculated, or these two were a lot more than they seemed to be.

Not at all surprising considering they hung around his kids.

"Students are usually put through a course where they are allowed to show off their strengths, Sasagawa-kun being a boxer and one of the best for his age group in the Gifu Prefecture was given the task of going up against another, though they fall under a different category."

"Sawada Iemitsu...is that you?" Hana asked, looking over the names where it listed overseers, specialists, and the leading figure of the group. The dark haired girl looked up and gave Iemitsu another look, "Are you related to Natsume and Tsunayoshi?"

The blond nodded, giving them a sincere smile, "Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you two, my children have mentioned you in their phone calls with me." Even though that conversation had happened over a year ago, before Tsuna had gotten snippy with him.

"Wow," Kyoko sighed out, "I never would have guessed, though."

Hana nodded, eyes narrowing slightly at the man, because even though he had explained himself and given them information on what was happened, it still felt like he was holding something back, "If this is a chance to a scholarship, why didn't they just come out and say so?"

Iemitsu shrugged, "Since most of the candidates are male, I assume it had to something with their pride or honor; our competitions do have a history of being a bit messy, but it gets the best results."

Hana wrinkled her nose, handing Iemitsu her brochure and crossed her arms beneath her chest, "Boy's are idiots, but they should have known we would support them."

Kyoko held on to her brochure, nodding along with what Hana said, "They have been stressing over this, remember how odd they have been acting the last couple days?"

A phone rang and Iemitsu pulled out a cell, humming only in confirmation before he hung up. The chair he sat in screeched slightly as he pushed it back to stand up, "I am needed to confirm the results, let me escort you two out."

Feeling a little satisfied, though still just as confused (why didn't onii-san just say so? Why did he have to be so quiet about it?) Kyoko, with Hana trailing behind her made their way out. They weren't led up to the group, Colonello instead cut in, saying how he was tired and wanted to go home.

The girls didn't catch the look that was exchanged between the two blond's as they were led away.

"What did you tell them?" was the first thing that Tsuna asked as he came up on the group, Ryohei standing beside the brunet though looking expectantly at him.

"I suggest you look over that," he pulled out the brochure that Hana had handed back and gave it to Tsuna, "Congratulations are in order for you Sasagawa-kun –"

The white haired teen nodded dumbly as he was reminded of his victory and reminded of what had happened to his opponent.

"Tonight is an example of how everything will be playing out," Reborn butted in, taking over whatever Iemitsu was about to say and the blond let him. The kids were used to the hitman, not him, so it was best this come from someone they could actually trust. "Continue working hard and pushing yourselves, because your opponents will not hesitate when they come at you, understood?"

They all nodded, completely serious and perhaps a little apprehensive, "Turn in for the day then." And they all walked, Ryohei accompanying them, though he did have a tendency to limp. Reborn waited until they cleared out of the school before speaking to Iemitsu, "Any word from Nono?"

Iemitsu sighed, running a hand through his hair, the only tick he would let himself get away with showing how frustrated he really felt, "None, Oregano and the others are looking into it."

Reborn nodded, tipping his hat forward as he did so and began to walk away, "See you tomorrow Iemitsu." The man didn't respond, already flipping his phone and asking for an update for the agents he had stationed nearby.

With that done, Reborn thought over the fight that had happened, and wondered if Colonello had picked up on that feeling. There was only one person that would make him wary (they were the last person he wanted to see.)

For now he'd put back the niggling thought and focus on what was happening, no need to concern himself over them just yet.

He would wait until they made an appearance to actually worry about that.

/ | \

"Seems like there's a bit of a mess," Kawahira commented, taking in the mangled body that had been dragged into the bushes of the Sawada's front yard. He stood in front of Natsume, blocking off the full extent of the damage as dark indigo flames engulfed the body.

"Sensei…"

Kawahira turned around, a kind smile on his face, "There's no need for you to deal with this on your own," he said, a hand coming up to rub the head of the big cat that strolled up, it's maw slick with blood. "As long as you are my student, I will help clean these messes, though there will come a time where you will have to do so yourself."

Natsume eyed the white haired man; looking both a little upset, yet very pensive, "…thank you?"

The much older man shook his head, "There is no need for that," he answered, though he did reach out to ruffle her hair, earning a rather pouty frown. "Do not linger on why's and what if's, just do, understand? In this life that you have, it is best to rely on instinct and react, rather than ponder."

She smoothed her hair down, righting it to the previous way it had been, bangs framing her face instead of swept over to one side as they had been and she was at least sure that the rest of it wasn't sticking up. (Tsuna's hair was an answer of what hers might become if she didn't bother managing it, no way did she want it to look like that.)

"I'll try to remember that."

"Write it down, it's good to have a constant reminder," he said, head tilting slightly to the side as he made sure she wasn't about to have a similar reaction as she had over the bloody twins. "Well, have a goodnight."

"Goodnight Sensei."

He made his way out, knowing that sooner or later she would pick up on the flames he had left her with, but at least until then she wouldn't be feeling too much over another death – whether she had personally caused it or one of her constructs, it didn't matter.

Sadly it would just be something she would have to get used to.

Ka nudged her side and she relented, following after the cat and moving through the gate to make her way to the back of the house. The feline sat back on its haunches, head tilted to the side as if considering how it was going to make its way upstairs, Natsume starting to feel only a bit exhausted waved a hand so that a small flight of stairs appeared.

The first step she was careful with, but once sure that it was solid she hurried her way up to the roof and towards her open window (and was as careful as possible, though she wasn't in the habit anymore, she could easily trip over her own feet.)

She made a beeline for her bed, the clone of her that was already there, fading away without much thought as she sat down on her bed, sighing with relief.. She barely managed to take her shoes off before she was laying down, pulling the spare blanket over her head and knocking out.

Even if she hadn't participated in the event, she felt as if she had (her nerves were a little frayed and that wasn't taking into account maintaining the pretty solid big cat here at home and interfering with both Hana's and Kyoko's perception.)

She felt the bed dip in front of her and she peeked through her lashes to see not only Emi, but Ka settled there as well.

"I think I probably used a lot more than I should have on you," she grumbled to the big cat, who was already fast asleep.

This probably wouldn't slide next time, but it was a learning experience.

At least she knew that her intentions with the cat transferred over, even if the ending of the person that dared trespass was a bit gruesome.

Oh well….she shut her eyes tightly, "s'pose this is my life now, huh?"

Author Note:

(1) Ka is the spiritual part of the human soul. And well, the big cat is pretty much a part of Natsume's, no?

Ah, things happened, things got twisted, once I get I do not remember what I was going to talk about because I fail at writing things down and I wrote this chapter forever ago and just got around to editing it because ugh. Note, updates may be a lot slower, I started working again and will be for at least a month (also school, but that's always a thing.)

I pretty much explained what Hemlock was in writing, so there's no need for that. The twin's are fifteen (big 15) and have not realized it until it was pointed out. This whole ring battle, the training for it, Iemitsu coming back, has thrown off the balance of a lot of stuff, so yeah (don't get mad at Nana, she's...very stressed guys...her babies and her husband are up to things, she knows, and it's def thrown her off.)

Okay.

Thanks for all the reviews guys, and the favorites and follows.

Lemme know what you all think of this~

Enjoy~

Sorugao