Summary: Tsuna wished for a simple life. Not one involving magic, towers, hunters and certainly not a powerful group of demons. Arcobaleno27

Unbeta'ed

The Final Tower

Chapter 5

1

Breathing underwater is a strange experience.

One he cannot describe so simply. If he had to try and put it into words, it is as if the air he had been previously breathing was wrong. That water was the most natural environment to breathe in. Even now, he can feel water expanding within his lungs as it casually enters through his nose. This causes Tsuna to wonder if he can speak. Wanting to test it out, Tsuna opens his mouth to formulate some words, but all that is released is the last bubbles of air being pushed out of his body.

So I can't speak, huh?

Tsuna turns towards Colonnello who is watching him with a curious tint to his expression. With no verbal means of communication, Tsuna points to Colonnello then makes an 'O.K' hand gesture. Thankfully, Colonnello understands and nods back at him.

Good, he thinks. At least he's not freaking out.

But why is Tsuna not freaking out himself? Breathing underwater should not be possible. Everything he has seen today should have been beyond the realms of possibility. Magic, he realises. This must be the power of this tower. It is common knowledge that magic exists but only hunters can use it. Civilians are forbidden from casting spells because of how dangerous they can be without experience or proper supervision. So, it's not every day that magic is used or seen.

But it does not answer the question of how he knew to trust the water.

Tsuna can boil it down to good intuition. Something he has always had. There have been a few times where it has even saved his life. One instance comes to mind. It was during his early teens when a strange woman had asked him for help while on his way back home. She had told him how she lost her way and needed some directions. But Tsuna's intuition screamed that she was lying. That he should turn and run. He did. Before she could ask anything else, Tsuna spun around and sped off back to school. He could hear footsteps chasing after him and the woman calling him back. Soon the footsteps died off as he caught sight of his middle school. The gates were still open, and he rushed inside.

After explaining his situation to a teacher, his parents were instantly called to collect him. When his mother arrived, the teacher suggested that she should call the police, but she brushed it off.

"My son just has an overactive imagination," his mother had said despite the teacher's protests.

It was later that week he saw the strange woman again, but this time on the news. She was being charged with the murder of a child. This child from a school less than fifteen minutes away. Tsuna kept quiet as the reporter explained the death in minimal detail. But just as his mother said, his overactive imagination filled in the gaps causing nightmares which lasted a month.

Shaking his head, Tsuna turns his attention back towards the door. There he observes that the sigil has changed. The symbol for trust is no longer carved. Something else has taken over. A new sigil. Tsuna begins to move towards it. As he swims, he expects some resistance from the water but receives none. He glides through the water like a fish in its element. From the corner of his eye, he can see Colonnello following closely beside him. The water must have relieved some pressure from his leg as they are essentially floating.

He once again reaches the door to examine the new sigil. One he instantly recognises the second he catches sight of it. Fire. It is the sigil for fire. The same sigil that is combined with the sky symbol to create the Vongola Hunting crest. Only members of this corporation are given permission to wear it. His father has the crest especially embroidered on all his suits, while his mother has a brooch made out of diamonds. His mother was given the brooch as a wedding gift and would only wear it to the Vongola family meetings. The only time she could wear it.

But what does the sigil mean? This time there are no other words paired with the sigil. No riddles or clues. Just the symbol.

Tsuna glances around the room. It's there he notices the torches on the walls. Seven in total. Although, it is not the torches that fill him with a sudden sense of surprise. It is the way the blue flames burn as brightly as they did earlier. Maybe even brighter. Without even thinking of how this is possible, Tsuna quickly swims over to the nearest one. As he makes a move to grab the torch, something stops him. A hand on his shoulder. Colonnello. He stops Tsuna. For what reason, he does not know.

Tsuna stares at Colonnello with a raised eyebrow as if beckoning him to explain, but the man smiles and points at the torch. This just fills Tsuna with more confusion, but he takes a look anyway. On closer inspection, Tsuna notices another sigil carved on the wooden handle. Rain, it says.

That's wrong, a small voice within his head tells him. His own voice.

Tsuna tentatively raises his hand and places it close to the flame. Unlike before, this flame burns and a tiny inkling of rage begins to spread through his fingers and into the rest of his body. He pulls away. Is this the rain element? That cannot be right. Earlier he felt peace and tranquillity. This… This feels more like when his blood rages beneath his skin, or anger pounding behind his eyes. This is more like a storm?

He decides to move towards the next torch. There he feels a different kind of wrongness from the flame. The sensation he would feel when touching stiff snow that had melted and refrozen. A cold that rattled the joints of his bones. Again, this is the wrong flame. So, he moves onto the next one. And the next. Until he finds it. The flame which soothes his anxious mind and keeps him calm. It is this torch he allows himself to grab.

As he picks up the torch, an audible click travels through the water and into his ears. It is then the door rumbles open and acts as a drain, dragging Tsuna and Colonnello along for the ride.

2

It takes a while for the currents to slow down as it rushes them through another hallway. Soon the waves come to a screeching halt as they reach a smaller room. Tsuna crashes into the floor while gasping for air. His body desperately begins to expel the water from his lungs. After he is finished puking, Tsuna notices Colonnello beside him and the gentle strokes of his hand against his back.

"You feeling better?" Colonnello asks as he tries to regain his own breath.

Tsuna nods slowly. Truthfully, he feels as if he was tossed into a washing machine and thrown around. However, what is unexpected is that he did not let go of the torch. He still holds it tight within his hand, and the flame has not been extinguished. It burns and sways as if being pushed around by a soft breeze.

"Where are we now?" Tsuna manages to choke out.

"A throne room."

Tsuna blinks at the words and forces himself to look up from the floor. There he sees, just as Colonnello describes, a large throne in the middle of the room surrounded by water. Although, a stage elevates it with stairs ascending to it. The throne itself is a lavish blue with intricate designs carved into the stone. Also, from this distance, Tsuna can see pearls of different sizes embedded into it as they shine under flames. Overall, it looked highly uncomfortable, and Tsuna pities the person who is forced to sit on it.

"Does this mean your trials are over?" Tsuna asks as he gazes towards Colonnello. "Or is this the final one?"

The hand on Tsuna's back stops moving as Colonnello's comforting smile drops a bit. They both stay in silence for the next few moments as they stare each other down. It's after a while Colonnello starts to laugh. It begins as a small chuckle before growing boisterous but soon dies down as he tries to catch his breath.

Colonnello grin turns almost blinding as he says, "How did you figure it out, kora?"

"Your story," Tsuna explains, thankful that the man is no longer lying to him, "is a weird one. You said you were attacked and your partner left, but there has been no sign of anyone else being in this tower. From my knowledge, if a person completes a tower, it implodes and everything inside is destroyed. But the tower has not been completed. This should have meant running into your partner. That is if they are still alive. Most of all…"

Towers don't reset until all participants fail, he had overheard his father say to Giotto as he began his hunter training. This means that Tsuna joined the tower while it was in the process of a trial – Colonnello's and his partner's. This should have made Tsuna the third participant.

Tsuna repeated the words to Colonnello. "But everything has been untouched. Including the torches in the previous room. This can only mean one thing. That your partner never existed in the first place. And the story of your attack is a lie. You purposefully hurt yourself. For what reason, I don't know."

"You figured out that much, huh?"

Colonnello does not sound angry. Instead, he sounds almost impressed. Then a thoughtful look flashes across his face as a small hmmm exits his lips.

"Let's figure out the rest," he suddenly says.

"What?" instantly shot out of Tsuna's mouth.

He did not expect those words.

"Come on, you've almost figured out my secret," he says with his usual sly grin. "Now figure out the rest."

At that moment, Colonnello looked like a child who had been given a new toy. He even moves closer to Tsuna and sits down beside him. All Tsuna can do is stare at the man as if he has lost the plot.

The man laughs again. "Don't stare at me like that. I'll tell you what, if you can figure out the truth behind this tower you will be free."

"And if I don't?"

"You will be stuck here with me," he explains in a cheery tone.

Tsuna almost wants to scream in frustration.

But this is the only way out, he thinks. I'll play along.

There are a few questions that run through Tsuna's mind. The first is why would the man hurt himself? There is only one possibility. To join the trials with the participants. Make himself be seen as an innocent participant who had just got hurt. But why would the man do that? This is when Tsuna comes to a realisation. Up until now, Tsuna has not caught sight of the demon that controls this tower. But that would mean… Could Colonnello be the demon of the tower? It did not seem too far-fetched to believe that. Although, the man does not look like a demon. Then again, Tsuna has never been in a tower before so he does not know what a demon should look like. Tsuna settles on this answer.

"You are the demon of this tower," he finally says. "You hurt yourself so you can join in on the trials and watch from the sidelines."

The man beams. "Correct!"

Well, that was easy.

Not that Tsuna is complaining, but this final trial seems a little too easy, and he does not understand why. Also, should he be afraid right now? There is a demon right next to him. Maybe it's the exhaustion. Today has taken everything out of him, and all he wants to do is go home, sleep and forget this ever happened.

"So I can go now?"

Colonnello nods. "But not without the tower's treasure."

"Treasure?"

"Yes," Colonnello says as he moves uncomfortably close to Tsuna. "Me."

Confusion settles over Tsuna. "What do you mean by you?"

"You really don't know anything, do you?"

Tsuna flushes at the words and the abrupt closeness. Being this close to the man allows Tsuna to see the light freckles spread across his cheeks.

"Well, I'll explain to you what the hunters did not. We, demons, hold a lot of value. Especially within the world of hunting. After someone completes a tower, they become the keeper of the demon which can later be kept, sold or traded. Depending on the rank of the demon, they can go for quite a lot. Millions even. But there's something else. Something to do with the flame you hold in your hand."

Tsuna looks down at the torch he is still holding. It burns with the blue flame.

"There are seven flames in total. Each holding special properties. Hunters not only enter a tower to collect the demon but also their flame."

"What's so special about the flame?" Tsuna interjects, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Ha, I was just getting there. When a hunter collects all seven flames, they are bestowed with a tower key. But not just any key."

Colonnello pauses for a few seconds and takes a deep breath. It is then Tsuna notices how his demeanour suddenly changes. It becomes much more serious with the playfulness gone.

"It is the key to the final tower."

Author's note:

I'm back!

And I know you guys probably have a lot of questions regarding this chapter. Like why was the final trial so easy and so on. But I promise to answer them soon!

Also, thank you sooo much for your comments! I love reading them. It fills me with so much happiness to know you guys love the story.

Please comment and feel free to give your thoughts!