KHR!xMSN!: Magical Crossover!

Chapter 5: Determination

"One, Two. One, Two."

Tsuna rhythmically controlled his breathing while jogging inside the Mahora Academy Campus. His stamina increased a lot since he met Reborn for the first time. And for the past 2 years, Reborn didn't hold back at all and trained him... literally, through hell. Especially after he accepted his position as the Decimo. At first, it was hard (and often crazy), however, it quickly became part of his life and he even looked forward to it now. Maybe... because he had finally acknowledged that he is part of the mafia world and chose to confront it. He became stronger, both mentally and physically, but this strength isn't something for his own gain... He NEEDED to become stronger! He needed to become someone who can protect the PEOPLE he cares about. His Family, his Friends... his Famiglia. THIS is the main reason why he chooses to become the next head of the Vongola.

While reminiscent a bit of his past, Tsuna didn't fail to notice his surrounding during his run. He was once again, really amazed at how big this place is. He will definitely change his jogging route daily, so he can explore this Campus more. As for now, he was really interested in this 'World Tree', which is located pretty much in the center of Mahora on a small hill.

The 'World Tree' could be seen everywhere in Mahora as the tree is unbelievably huge. On his first day in Mahora, Takahata explained to him that this tree even existed before the Academy was built and there was a Legend about it. There are also 12 other 'Holy Grounds' similar to this throughout the world. Which really made him wonder, why he never heard anything about this. Is magic really this secluded from the world? He never really realize that, until he was simply told that Magic does exist.

A few minutes later, Tsuna was almost there as he just needed to go up the stairway of the hill to reach the plaza of the 'World Tree'. As he goes the stairs up he sighted a familiar girl in front of him. She seems to be out of breath as she probably also was jogging in the morning like him.

"*Sniff* Am I really childish...? Am I missing something important?" The girl had a sad expression on her face, Tsuna could tell that she is struggling a lot right now. When he was able to see her face, he could recognize her. She was one of his students, Sasaki Makie.

"Sasaki-san?" Tsuna decided to call her name to get her attention.

"Eh! Eh...? EHHHHHH?! S-SAWADA-SENSEI?!" Makie was very shocked to suddenly see her new teacher in front of her, "W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Tsuna sweatdropped a bit of Makie's reaction, it actually reminds him of his middle school days, especially when Reborn came into his life. "C-Calm down, Sasaki-san. Like you, I was also jogging in the morning."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry. I was really surprised to see you here, Sawada-sensei." Makie quickly lowers her voice volume and apologies to him, she was really embarrassed by this situation and she really wanted to die at this moment.

"You don't need to apologize." Tsuna gave her a gentle smile to make sure that she had done nothing wrong.

Makie's face reddened, his smile felt so warm and gentle. Honestly, when she saw Tsuna for the first time, something about him immediately attracted her. She also really likes Negi when she first saw him, she thinks that Negi is a very cute boy. And lately, she also had begun to recognize his maturity despite him being younger than her. However, the attraction she felt for her History Teacher right now, felt very different and she doesn't know why.

"I can see that something is bothering you. Do.. you want to talk about it, Sasaki-san?" Tsuna asked and you could clearly hear his worriedness in his voice.

"Eh?" Makie snapped out of her thoughts because of this sudden question, she was surprised how easily he has seen through on her, was she that obvious? She wasn't sure how she should answer him, "I-I, uhm.. is just.."

Tsuna noticed her uneasiness and he really felt bad for it, he shouldn't have forced it on her, "my apologies, Sasaki-san, I shouldn't have pry on it."

"N-NO! Is just... It's nothing, it's my fault anyway... I-," Makie panicked, she didn't mean to decline him.

"I understand," Tsuna cut her off with a smile and gesture to her that everything was alright, "I just want you to know, that whenever you feel like it, you can talk to me."

"T-thank you, Sawada-sensei," She didn't know why, but she actually wanted to tell him everything, yet she also didn't want to bother him with her unimportant problems.

Tsuna understood that it was still too early that the students of Class 3-A would trust him with their problems as they just had met recently. He should be patient and build up their relationship for now. Suddenly he heard some noises above him and he turned to Makie, "Shh, Sasaki-san, can you hear that too?"

Makie didn't know what her teacher meant, but as she quiets down and putting her hands behind her ears, she could faintly hear something was near them.

"It above the stairs, near the 'World Tree'... Hm, should we look for it, Sasaki-san? Maybe there is something interesting." Tsuna winked at her and maybe this distraction will make her ease herself a bit.

Makie nodded immediately, her curious side awoke inside her and with Tsuna on her side, she also felt a little excitement.

Tsuna and Makie were about to reach the end of the stairs, leading to the famous 'World Tree' in Mahora. In the last two days, he saw the tree multiple times as it was pretty much THE tourist spot of Mahora, now seeing it from this closely, it looks even bigger, he did feel like a midget, just standing under it.

Right in the front of the tree was someone, it was the source of the noise they had heard.

"It's Negi-kun!" Makie spoke out the same name, Tsuna had thought at that moment when they recognize him. "I will go to him," she smiled while running up to him.

Tsuna smiled, her sad expression from earlier completely disappeared when she saw Negi. She is now more energetic, it was clearly her true nature and it suits her. Turning his attention towards Negi, he observed what Negi was doing. He seems to do some choreography, he recognizes some of these moves, it was Chinese Martial Arts.

"NEGI-KUN!" Makie shouts out loud, shocking Negi as he lost his balance and almost fell to the ground.

"M-Makie-san... and Tsuna-sensei?!" Negi first recognizes his student but also saw Tsuna a bit farther behind her. Tsuna waved at him while slowly approaching the two."

"Negi-kun, what was that? Was that the training you mentioned before?" Makie was very curious about what Negi was doing.

"Y-yes, Ku Fei-san taught me Chinese Martial Arts since the day before yesterday." Negi was a bit embarrassed, that they just saw him training.

"Two days ago?" Tsuna was surprised by this information, "do you had any experience of Chinese Martial Arts before?"

"N-no. I didn't even know how to use my fist correctly, Ku Fei-san taught me a lot. I think I got a little stronger." Negi answered with a smile, Ku Fei is really strong. He was glad that she accepted his request to train him.

"I see, that's amazing, Negi-sensei." It seems like Negi has the habit to amaze him every time. Yes, Negi made some mistakes in the choreography, however, within two days, it was already really impressive. He is clearly devoted to learning.

"Negi-kun... I think you have become a lot cooler since we came back from our school trip to Kyoto," Makie couldn't help but admire Negi even more.

"Ehh..? R-Really?" It also seems like Negi has the habit to be embarrassed every time he gets a compliment.

"Chinese Martial Arts, with other words, Kung Fu, huh?"

A new voice approached the trio. But the voice was not alone, the voice belonged to Evangeline A.K. McDowell and Karakuri Chachamaru was right beside her. On Chachamaru's head was also a strange-looking doll and Tsuna wondered if this doll is also a machine.

"You seem to have fun, boy," Evangeline said to Negi. Tsuna could hear a light dissatisfaction in her voice.

"Good morning, what are you two doing in the morning?" Negi greeted the two, however, he was a bit surprised to see them that early in the morning.

"... I heard that you are learning Kung Fu now. Maybe you should forget about becoming my apprentice." Evangeline heard about the rumor of Negi learning Chinese Martial Arts, so she wanted to see it for herself. But something about him having another teacher didn't suit her well.

"Ehh? Why?" Negi was shocked. You could tell that he was panicking. "No...! This is... I-I was just researching for more ways to fight this 'White-hair' boy..."

"Don't worry about this. I wasn't planning on taking any apprentices in the first place. This actually works out fine." Evangeline didn't really want to hear his justification.

"Negi-kun, what's going on?" Makie was really confused by this conversation. Tsuna, on the other hand, was very interested in Negi wanting to be her apprentice. He could feel that Evangeline is someone very powerful and it's clearly related to magic.

"Uhm... I wanted Evangeline-san to take me on as her apprentice, but..." Negi began to explain it to Makie.

"Well, it's fitting for a 'child' to play with Kung Fu. I would be wasting my time to train you, boy." Evangeline indifferently said and really wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

However, the word 'Child' triggered something inside Makie, "Eva-chan, wait a minute! Why are you picking on Negi-kun? Can you at least tell the reason, why you are not letting him become your apprentice?"

"She seems to be jealous." Evangeline's companion, Chachamaru, answered the question without hesitation.

"W-What the hell are you talking about?! I'm NOT!" Evangeline was flustered shouting at Chachamaru. But she quickly composes herself again as she realizes her mistake and turned to Makie as if nothing had happened, "...I'm just not interested in playing with 'children' as I'm also not interested to talk with a CHILDISH person like you, Sasaki Makie."

THAT IT, something inside Makie was breaking out as she got angry at Evangeline, "Hey! Eva-chan you're pretty a 'CHILD' yourself! You know what! Negi-kun is already strong! He doesn't need to play with a CHILD like you!"

"M-Makie-san?" Negi was surprised by her outburst, however, he was also very worried, where this will lead on.

For some reason, Evangeline was really annoyed with her wording, and that she was implying that Negi doesn't need her, didn't help either too simple ignore her. "Fine! Then I'll make a test right here and now. Boy, if you can hit Chachamaru even once with your Kung Fu. Then you pass and I'll take you as my apprentice, however, you'll have to fight one on one, so don't call up your 'partners'.

"Alright!" Felling that she had won, Makie quickly accepted this without consoling Negi, "You'll see, Negi will easily win!"

"M-M-Makie-san!" Negi was clearly not happy with this solution as he was waving his whole body to stop Makie.

"Go, Chachamaru," Evangeline ordered. However, Chachamaru wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. "Don't worry, just don't injure him too much," she was a bit surprised by her partner's hesitation.

"I understand. Please forgive me, Negi-sensei." Chachamaru moved so fast, that she was already right in front of Negi, surprising both him and Makie.

Chachamaru was about to send Negi flying, however, Tsuna immediately goes between them and easily blocked Chachamaru's attack.`She is extremely fast. And she aimed for a one-hit KO... However, I can tell that she didn't want to hurt him.'

"W-What?" All of them were surprised, especially Evangeline and Chachamaru. He was moving the same speed, no maybe even faster, as Chachamaru.

"Evangeline-san, I don't really know why you deeming Kung Fu as a 'child play', however, Negi-sensei just began his training two days ago, of course, he wouldn't be ready yet. And he wasn't prepared for this attack either. I believe as an apprentice test, you should give him a bit more time to prepare.

Evangeline was already aware that Tsuna was also present. But she never expected him to interfere as she thought that he wouldn't want to expose himself as he was clearly hiding something. Then again, it's not like she expected this outcome with Negi by coming here when she left her cottage in the morning either. At least, she saw something interesting. Even though Chachamaru wasn't using her full strength, Tsuna could easily stop her attack.

"You do have a point, Sawada-SENSEI..." Evangeline took Tsuna's proposal to her heart and turned to Negi, "Boy, if you can't even hit Chachamaru once, then I see no further for you... I'll give you more time. Sunday midnight. Right here. Let's go, Chachamaru." And with that, she and her partner left the scenario.

Makie legs suddenly give in as she fell on her knees, "D-Did I do just something bad?" She realized that if Tsuna hadn't stopped Chachamaru there, Negi would have got hurt.

"No, you were trying to defend Negi and in the end, you did success to reconsider Evangeline-san decision, however, maybe you should be a bit more careful with your wording, Sasaki-san," Tsuna assured her, that she didn't do anything wrong and then he turned to Negi, "I'm sorry, Negi-sensei. I may be meddling in something I shouldn't have."

"N-No! Tsuna-sensei! That was amazing! You could match up with Chachamaru-san!" Negi wasn't sure what happened, but he knew in the instant as Chachamaru was suddenly in front of him that he had lost. He would have been knockout cold by Chachamaru if it wasn't for Tsuna."And thanks to both of you, I have another chance for being Evangeline's apprentice, so thank you, Makie-san, Tsuna-sensei."

"Thank you, Negi-kun, Sawada-sensei." Makie felt a bit better, however, it was clearly her fault. She didn't have to outburst like that. She DID act like a child.

Negi seems to be more determined than ever until he saw the big clock from the plaza, "Ah! It's already this late! I should go back and prepare for class! Tsuna-sensei, Makie-san, see you later!"

"Can you stand up?" Tsuna offered Makie his hand after Negi left in a hurry. "We should also go."

"Ah... Yes, thank you..." Makie began to blush while taking his hand and really hoped that her hand isn't sweating right now. Never would she had thought that this morning would be this eventful.

-Mahora Academy, Afternoon-

"Negi-bouzu, again-aru!" Ku Fei blocked an upcoming attack from Negi and countered him, making him fell to the ground, "your left side is still wide open."

"Y-Yes!" Negi eagerly said as he is getting up again while positioning himself with a fighting stance which Ku Fei taught him.

Since Ku Fei began to teach Negi Chinese Martial Arts, they would go to a wide park near the school in the afternoon and train until the late evening. Asuna, Konoka, and Setsuna are also usually there watching them from the sideline.

Konoka sighed, sitting on a blanket. Ever since she had 'this' dream, she felt this uneasiness in her heart. At first, she didn't think much about it, however, after meeting Tsuna, she couldn't help but felt that something was missing. Something felt very wrong. And for some reason, she is really struggling to approach her new teacher. She can't even look at him, however, a part of her wanted to speak with him. She really doesn't know what to do.

While Konoka was deep in her thoughts, Asuna, on the other hand, was very worried for her. Lately, Konoka was really not her usual self. At first, she thought that Konoka was still progressing her true heritage and it was normal that she would act like that. But when she thinks about it more, Konoka isn't someone who would act this depressed, she would easily brush this off and cheerfully joke about it. It's more like after the new teachers appeared, that Konoka began to act strange.

As her friend, Asuna really wanted to cheer her up, but Konoka was putting this invisible wall around her, it was really hard to talk to her. Not knowing what to do, she observed Negi's training for now. Negi seems to be more eager to learn Chinese Martial Arts since he came back from his early training this morning. It was obviously because of this apprentice test from Evangeline.

"So... he won't be able to become Eva-chan's apprentice if he doesn't manage to hit Chachamaru-san once?" Asuna asked Setsuna, who was standing right beside her.

Setsuna... another person who wasn't her usual self. Well, her personality is already a mystery itself, normally coolheaded and very calm, she can also be very deadly if the situation asks for it. However, once Konoka is mentioned or is 10 meters within her sight, her composure completely breaks and she acts like a cute flustered person that you just can't help but tease her. Asuna never spoke to her before the Kyoto trip, but once they got to know each other better, she knew they can count on each other. She also admires her sword skill and even asked her to teach her.

"Huh? Oh y-yes! However, Negi-sensei is still an amateur, it won't be easy to hit Karakuri-san, even if it's once." Setsuna was a bit absentminded but she managed to answer Asuna's question.

Now a bit irritated by the behavior of these two, Asuna couldn't hold it in anymore. "Alright, Konoka, Setsuna! What is wrong with both of you? Since the new teachers appeared, the two of you are acting very strange! What did they do to y-?"

"Hm? What about us?" Tsuna just entered their space as he overheard that they just mentioned him and Chrome.

"EHHHH?! Sawada-sensei?!" Asuna jumped, she didn't expect that one of them would suddenly appear right in front of her. Interestingly, Setsuna instinctively hides behind Asuna, and Konoka was really surprised to see him and her heart was uncontrollably beating faster.

"Tsuna-sensei!" Negi also noticed that Tsuna was there and stopped his training to greet him.

"Negi-sensei, seems like, you go full throttle for the test, do you mind if I can watch too?"

Negi smiled, "no, not at all, but I am not really good, I don't think this will be interesting."

"Not true, Negi-bouzu. You learn very fast-aru," Ku Fei praised Negi's development, "and you have definitely a talent for this, but... Two days are too short to go against Chachamaru-aru."

"I know... but I still want to try! Let's go one more time, Ku Fei-san!" Negi knew that he was still lacking, but he still wanted to try even if it was impossible.

Tsuna smiled. Then he approached Konoka, with a faint unsureness on his face, "do... you mind If I sit here?"

Konoka was a bit speechless she didn't expect Tsuna to be here right in front of her, especially after thinking about him, but somehow... it didn't really surprise her, as if it was always like that, it's actually made her smile. "O-Of course not," she managed to answer and place her hand to the spot next to her, inviting him.

There was an awkward silence between them. At first, when Tsuna saw the group from afar, he thought this would be a chance to talk to Konoka and Setsuna, especially when he saw their troubled face. But now being right beside them, made him more nervous than it should.

Asuna who was just standing there also felt this awkwardness between the trio and that Setsuna was using her to hide from Tsuna's view didn't help either. "Setsuna, what's wrong? Normally you would only act like that when it's about Konoka," she whispered to Setsuna.

"What? Uhm, I... it's j-just..." Setsuna couldn't form even a normal sentence. Really, she just didn't know why she acts like that. Especially now that a "stranger" just approached her Ojou-sama, she should have confronted him! ...But, something back in her mind is telling her that everything is alright... if it's him, everything is alright. But why would she hide? She didn't know, only that she felt that she wasn't ready to talk to him... yet.

Asuna could only stare at her in confusion, but something suddenly clicks and she finally began to realize, "Oh! Wait a second, could it be...?"

"Eh? A-Asuna-san I-I think you are misunderstanding something..!" Setsuna felt an ominous Aura around Asuna.

"No, no, I DO understand. Though I thought you love Kono-" Asuna began to grin, teasing her even more. "Eh..? Wait a minute, why are you bringing out your kendo sword? Setsuna? SETSUNA?!" Maybe she went a bit too far as she runs away and a blushing angry Setsuna was chasing her.

Back to Tsuna, he wanted to break the ice between him and Konoka, "Konoe-san, you are the dean's granddaughter, right?"

"Y-yes, that right," Konoka, for some reason, was a bit startled to talk to him, but maybe talking to him, will help her understand, why she felt so uneasy in the last few days. "Did you met him already?"

"I met your grandfather on the first day and also a few more times, he seems to be a very nice person. But sometimes I had the feeling that he was a bit... overexcited? I'm sorry to say that, but it was actually a bit scary." He remembered his first encounter with the dean. Don't get him wrong, he could tell that the dean was a very friendly person similar to his 'grandpa' Nono, but somehow he had the feeling that the dean had something back in his mind for him. "I hope I didn't offend you, Konoe-san."

Konoka finally began to chuckle, he was actually very cute, thinking that he may have offended her. "Don't worry, I really understand what you mean, Tsuna-kun." At that very moment her eyes widened as she realized that she just informally called him by his given name, no, even as a nickname, it just came out naturally for her. She quickly corrected herself, "I-I'm sorry, Sawada-sensei, I-I-," you could hear the panic in her voice.

"C-calm down, Konoe-san. It's alright. As I said, I prefer to be called Tsuna." Tsuna assured her that she did nothing wrong, and hearing his name from her, made him feel warm, he gave Konoka a smile. "After all, it would be really unfair. You all already call Negi-sensei, by his given name."

Konoka couldn't help but lost herself in his warm smile. The uneasiness she felt the last days vanished just by talking with him. But something still felt unfair to her, "Then, it's the same for me, you don't need to be formal to me, Konoka is alright... Tsuna-kun."

"Sure, Konoka-san." It was rather easy for Tsuna to call people by their given name if they gave him their permission. After all, he often gave other people the permission to just call him Tsuna, but to his dismay, they often ignored that(Like Chrome or Gokudera). But he didn't really mind it anymore, he learned to accept that.

Hearing her name by him, made Konoka feel at ease. Sure, the dream of hers is still a mystery, but it was more important for her to get to know him better. And she definitely doesn't want him to think of her as someone weird who has a dream about him, well if it was really him.

It didn't take long before they were comfortable with each other... as if they were already friends from a long time ago and only catching up with each other now. They would probably talk all day if it wasn't for a certain voice who snapped them out of their conversation.

"NEGI-KUN!"

Makie calls out from afar as she approached the group with a stack of big lunch packets in her hands. Ako was also beside her, bringing even more food. "I brought a whole bunch of food! You need a lot of stamina if you want to win, right?"

"Makie-san, Ako-san!" Negi stands up again after Ku Fei made him fall by countering his attack once again. Asuna and Setsuna also stopped after they were out of breath. "Wow, you brought a lot! T-Thank you!" Negi was shocked by the endless boxes they brought along.

"Hehe, I'm actually a really good cook, please help yourse-" Makie happily hand over each of them a box one by one (she gave Negi a lot), and then it was Tsuna's turn, it took her a few seconds until she realized that he was there too. "EHH? Sawada-sensei?!"

"Hello, Sasaki-san. You.. didn't hold back, didn't you? You really want to help Negi-sensei." Tsuna admires her hard work.

"Y-yes, I mean it was my fault in the first place..." Makie blushed, then she turned to Negi with determination eyes, "Negi-kun! Here try this! Oh, this is also good! And this-!"

Makie only means well, however, by shoving so much food into Negi and him, being a gentleman and not denying any of this, he quickly became a lot fatter, making him unable to move and continue his training.

"H-he became weaker-aru." Ku Fei was amazed by this development.

"OH NO! Negi-kun! D-don't worry! T-There is a secret diet technique from my club. I'll fix that!" Feeling responsible, Makie dragged Negi to her club to help him slim down.

However, like before, her plan backfired again as Negi became too thin and fragile after spending 3 hours in the sauna while wrapped in three blankets.

"H-he became EVEN weaker-aru." Ku Fei sweatdropped of this amusing outcome.

"Uwaaaah! Negi-kun, I'm so sorry!" Makie began to cry, everything she does, goes wrong.

Negi, slowly recovering, assured Makie that he was okay, "it's alright, Makie-san."

"I-I just wanted to help... but all I've done is stay in your way," Makie sniffed, "you only have two days left until Sunday... Wait, Sunday?"

"Something wrong, Sasaki-san?" Tsuna noticed that she had realized something.

"I have a rhythmic gymnastics selection test for the championship on this day!" Makie almost forgot about this as she was so busy wanting to help Negi.

"Eh? Really? Are you going to be okay?" Asuna asked in a worried tone.

"I-I'm not sure... I don't have confidence at all..." Makie began to cry again.

"You have no confidence? But why?" Now Asuna was really worried. Makie was usually very confident in her ability.

Makie hesitated a bit, but she knew they were all worried about her. "I... overheard a conversation between our PE teacher, Ninomiya-sensei, and Shizuna-sensei, she said that I was childish and undisciplined... And she was right, look, I even cause all sorts of trouble for Negi-kun."

Negi and the girls saw the sadness in her eyes, they wanted to help her, but they weren't sure how to cheer her up.

Suddenly Tsuna walks up to her and offering her a handkerchief, "I see, that's why you were down in the morning. And also why you were reacting like that after Evangeline-san called you 'childish'."

Tsuna felt bad for her, he understands her feelings. Back then, before he met Reborn, the teachers pretty much gave up on him. However, he doesn't think that her PE teacher meant bad for her, she is still young and she can still grow. She just seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe not if things go right now.

"Y-yes. I'm sorry, I didn't want to bother you with something like that, Sawada-sensei." Makie was a bit startled by Tsuna's move but accepted his handkerchief and wipes away her tears.

"...How about you show us some of your gymnastics, Sasaki-san? We will be the judge. Like a rehearsal." Tsuna suddenly suggested.

"EHH? I can't do that!" Makie was unsure of this sudden idea. Somehow she was afraid of how they will think about her... especially Tsuna.

"Come on! Show us! We already saw some glimpse of your ability, Makie-san!" Asuna liked the idea.

"I want to see it too! I've never seen Makie-san's gymnastics so closely before! Just a little on the Library Island, when we were trapped there, and it was amazing!" Negi agreed, he became really excited.

"Uuh..." Makie was still hesitating, however, Tsuna gave her an encouraging smile, she just couldn't turn down their request. "J-Just a bit then."

Makie took a deep breath and began to dance with her pink ribbon. Her movements were breathtaking, her body was really flexible and her control over her ribbon was amazing, how could she not get entangled by it? At first, Makie had a worried expression, however, after it goes on and she slowly getting into it, her face lit up, you could tell she was enjoying it very much. She ended her performance gracefully with a smile, everyone on the scene was speechless.

"H-how was it?" Makie asked shyly, not really sure about this.

They all could only awe and gave her a loud standing ovation.

"That was great after all! Just as I expected from Makie-san!" Negi was the first to tell.

Makie was still not convinced, "but Ninomiya-sensei said that I was too childish... and the test is the day after tomorrow! I can't change just in a few da-!"

"Sasaki-san... Do you like rhythmic gymnastics? From what I saw, I would say, you really love it," Tsuna wanted to tell her his feeling, "I don't know how you usually perform, but this performing right now hit right in our heart. Childish, you say? There is nothing wrong with being childish, it just means, that you can still grow endlessly. However, you need a passion for it. If you give up now then it's really over. It isn't just time that changes people, it's also the person's determination!"

Makie widened her eyes, the words from Tsuna affected her hard. She could feel the sincerity in his eyes, it filled her with encouragement. It was strange, she only met him a few days ago, but it feels like he knows what she wanted to hear. The warm feeling in her belly was spreading inside her body.

"That's right! Don't give up, Makie-san!" Negi suddenly felt a fire inside him ignited, the speech Tsuna gave her, mirrored his own situation, "...I don't understand gymnastics, but I think your performance was great! It was a beautiful, honest, and direct performance! You can do it!"

"Negi-sensei... Thank you." Makie smiled at her homeroom teacher, he is really supportive of her. Maybe because he is still a young boy, but you couldn't deny his honestly.

"For the next two days... Let's both do our best, Makie-san!" Negi reassured her with a smile.

Makie was really surprised by Negi's coolness right now, she could only respond with a warm smile.

"Negi-bouzu, let's continue our training-aru." Ku Fei also felt more excited after she heard Tsuna's speech, to be honest, she wasn't sure if Negi would be ready for the fight on Sunday, however, like Tsuna said, they shouldn't give up, the fight isn't decided yet.

Tsuna smiled and excused himself from the group as it was time to meet up with Chrome, who was exploring the Library Island. When he was a bit farther away, he turned to the group one last time and whispered, "that's right, your hard work will pay off, I'm sure of it."

It was already Saturday, on his morning jogging, Tsuna saw that Negi and Makie decided to train together. This time, Ku Fei was also with them, they probably wanted to use every free minute to prepare them for their own battle. To be honest, Ku Fei's training methods reminded him of a milder version of Reborns training methods. She didn't make it too easy, however, she also made sure not to hurt them.

In the afternoon, Tsuna joined the group once again. Negi was still training with Ku Fei, he noticed that he was even better than yesterday, his growth is really amazing. Makie was also training and polishing her skills. Her friends, Ako, Yuna, and Akira came to support her. After their talk yesterday, Konoka and Tsuna became much closer, they could easily chit-chat with each other now, Asuna noticed that Konoka was back to her usual self as if nothing had happened, or more like, she is happier than before. Setsuna, on the other hand, was still avoiding him.

"Are you learning Kendo, Kagurazaka-san?" Tsuna brought this up when he saw Asuna training with Setsuna this time in the background.

"Huh? Oh yes." Asuna answered while Setsuna froze a bit due to his attention to them.

"Is there a reason why you and Negi-sensei, began to train? I can tell, that you both just began recently." Tsuna was a bit curious.

"Ah, well, all sort of stuff happened during our trip... It's actually hard to explain... It just happened, its not something I have to do, but it's also fun to train with Setsuna." Asuna tried to avoid the main reason for becoming stronger, but it's not like she was fully lying.

"I see... Sakurasaki-san. I can tell that you are very skillful with your sword. You've done a great job, teaching Kagurazaka-san." Tsuna turned towards her with a smile.

"Eh? No, I... Thank you. Hehehe." Setsuna's face became red in a second, however, she couldn't help herself but feel really happy, that he had praised her. It felt so familiar and rewarding.

Asuna snickered in the background, which made Setsuna turn to her with a dark aura emitting. Asuna sweatdropped and quickly noted that she shouldn't tease her during a training session.

The sky became darker and they all decided to take a break and eat dinner.

"Do you think Negi-sensei have a chance?" Yuna asked this question to Ku Fei.

"Well, Negi-bouzu is a fast learner, he learned techniques, that would take a month to master, but he can do it within a day. Sheesh, what's with this kid-aru?" Ku Fei never saw someone like that. Honestly, she is also a fast learner, but it would still take her a week, she really felt a bit jealous there.

"Wow, I guess he is really a genius boy," Ako was really impressed, hearing Ku Fei's explanation.

"But he couldn't be a 10-year-old teacher if he wasn't like that." Akira thought about it.

As they were all really impressed by Negi's growth, Yuna suddenly changed the subject and pointed at Konoka, "Hey, Konoka-san, since when did you get close to Sawada-sensei? You even call each other by your given name!"

"Uhm.. it just happened?" Konoka simply said when she thought about that.

"That's not fair! I also want to call him like that!" Makie cut in, you could feel that she was envious of them.

"I don't mind, you can all call me Tsuna," Tsuna simply said as he was digging in his food.

"Yay! But that also means that you shouldn't call us with our family name either!" Yuna grinned.

"Of course, well if you all don't mind." Tsuna easily agreed to this term, the girls were all happy, especially Setsuna and Makie.

"Hehe, that will be a surprise to our class, can't wait for school." Yuna made a mischievous grin.

"Hey, Negi... Aren't you kind of smelly..?" Asuna noticed this strange scent around Negi and frowned. "Don't tell me you haven't take a bath since you began your training?

"EEEEEEEEEEEEHHH?" All the girl looks shocked and slowly backed away from him.

"No, um... This is... I just forgot to-" Negi tried to defend himself.

"No excuses! Come on! I'm going to wash you!" Asuna said and dragged him with her.

"Wait, Asuna! We are going, too." Yuna and the rest quickly followed Asuna, especially because they didn't want to miss that. Only Akira was the one left behind, they completely forgot the junk they left behind.

"Don't worry, Akira-san. I will take care of this, Just go with them and you can pick up the lunch boxes later." Tsuna said to her

"But I can't-" Akira felt bad for leaving him with all this junk alone, but he was insisting on this, she had no choice but to give in, "Thank you, Tsuna-sensei. I will make sure we will repay you." She bowed to her teacher and left.

Tsuna chuckled, it is okay to relax for a while, Negi only has a few hours till the appointed test.

-Mahora Academy, World Tree Plaza-

It was almost midnight, Negi was really nervous, but he took a big breath to calm himself down. He wasn't alone, Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna, Ku Fei, Makie, Ako, Yuna, Akira, and Tsuna was right behind him. Most of them were very worried about him, however, they will all support him no matter what.

Then, It was finally Midnight.

"Evangeline-saaaaaaaan!" Negi shouted out. "Negi Springfield is ready for the apprenticeship test!"

"So... You came, boy." Evangeline was already waiting for him. Her partner, Chachamaru, was right beside her. Evangeline's expression was a bit mixed, she didn't look very enthusiastic, however, she had also a glimpse of expectation in her eyes.

"Well then, let's hurry up and get this started," Evangeline wanted to start quickly. "There is just a simple rule, you only need to hit Chachamaru once with your Kung Fu, then you'll pass. You can try as much as you want until you're done and can't fight anymore."

Negi noticed something in her wording and smiled, "are those all the conditions?"

"Hm? Yes, that all." Evangeline wondered why he made this triumph smile. However, what really annoyed her the most was the crowd behind him, "Can't you do something about your damn audience?"

"Uhm, They just followed me..." It's not like Negi could stop them. The girls were obviously there to cheer for him.

"Negi-kun! You are going to be alright... right?" Makie was very worried.

"Just leave it to me, Makie-san," Negi assured her, "I'll try my best no matter what! I'll use the results of my training with Ku Fei to the full."

Makie was amazed by her teacher, he is full of determination and his cool expression is telling her that everything will be alright, "Negi-kun! I-I wish you good luck!"

"Negi-bouzu, I taught you everything I could in these short days and I believe you are ready, you can do it-aru." Ku Fei gave him an approved look.

"Negi... !-" Asuna gave Negi a very worried look on her face, she is probably the most worried out of the group. Negi reassures her once again that he will make it.

"It won't be easy, but I believe that you will be fine, Negi-kun," Tsuna gave him encouragement which Negi responded with a determined smile.

Negi finally approached Chachamaru and bowed to her, "Chachamaru-san, I'm ready."

Chachmaru didn't really want to fight her homeroom teacher, somehow it was confusing to her, why she is that invested in her teacher. Evangeline made her calculate his winning chance and truthfully... he only had a 3% chance to hit her, however, as her master wishes, she will not hold back. "I'll be your opponent, Negi-sensei."

The girls on the sideline became very nervous. "H-He will be okay, right, Ku Fei-san?" Makie asked.

"Chachamaru is really strong. Negi-bouzu needs to finish this fast. If he can't hit her in the first minutes, it will only get harder-aru." Ku Fei said what she thinks about this situation.

"Negi...! Do your best!" Makie put her hands together and prayed.

Evangeline didn't want to waste any more time and signals to start. "You May Begin!"

Negi quickly cast a spell to himself, to strengthen his physical abilities for the next 90 seconds. Chachamaru was the first one to charge, like before, she moved very fast, however, Negi could manage to follow her trace this time and was able to block her continued attacks, with the Chinese Martial Arts he was taught by Ku Fei.

Negi was able to do some counterattacks, but Chachamaru could easily block them as well. Slowly, Negi was being pushed by Chachamaru, he decided to distance himself from her a bit to get his posture back. Konoka, Yuna, Ako, Akira, and Makie, who didn't have any fighting experience, were amazed by this fight, it felt like straight from a movie scene. Asuna, Setsuna, and Ku Fei, on the other hand, were very worried, the fight was dragging on and while it looks like they were equal, it was clear that Chachamaru had the upper hand.

Chachamaru charged at Negi one more time and prepared to strike him. But Negi was waiting for this moment, he barely dodges her attack and managed to grab her hand and immediately counterattack with his elbow while pulling her towards him. Due to Negi holding her, Chachamaru was unable to move left or right, however, as an experienced fighter, Chachamaru used her mobile android body to flipped above Negi and easily dodged his attack in the air and freeing herself from his grip. Negi and the girls gasped from shock, they thought he got her, especially Ku Fei as they often practice this moment, but she didn't expect Chachamaru to be one step ahead of them.

Chachamaru used the full swing to kick Negi from above, she got a direct hit and send him flying.

"NEGI-KUN!" The girls were shouting, it doesn't look good. Negi got a critical hit. Chachamaru really got him hard, it seems like he couldn't get up anymore.

Evangeline was truly disappointed, by his weak presentation, "Is that all you got? Too bad, boy, but that's just how you are. Go wash your face and fix yourself up." For some reason, Evangeline felt angry, did she expected too much from him?

"Not yet!" Negi barely managed to stand up again, but you could see the damage of this one hit. "I'm not done yet... Evangeline-san," he smiled confidently.

"Huh..? What are you talking about? Look at yourself! The match is over, time for little brats to be home and in their bed," Evangeline already saw enough and wanted to dismiss him.

"The condition was 'You can try as much as you want until you're done and can't fight anymore.' So, that means there's no time limit, right? I can still fight!" Negi never lost his smile.

"What? Don't tell me that you're.." Evangeline finally realized why he was smiling so triumphally back then.

"That right. I'm going to stick at it until I land one hit, no matter how long it will take! Chachamaru-san! Let's continue!" Negi charged again, however, his magic contract had already expired. He wasn't as fast as before. Chachamaru was worried for her teacher, but she didn't have a choice but to counter him, however, she tried not to use full power again.

Negi immediately knew that she was holding back, the attack from early was much stronger than this. "Chachamaru-san! P-Please fight me seriously, there is no point in winning if you go easy on me."

"B-But...!" Chachamaru was still unsure, but seeing his determination in his eyes gave her no choice but to accept his request, she couldn't refuse him. "...I understand, Negi-sensei."

The fight continued, but it was brutally one-sided. Negi's face became swollen and every part of his body seems to be in pain. Just like that, an hour was already gone. It was painful to watch for the girls. But Negi was still standing, he was totally beaten up, however, it doesn't seem like he wanted to stop.

Even Evangeline felt bad. The angriness she had before disappeared and she didn't know what to do. "C-come on, boy, isn't that enough already? I get that you are motivated, but there is no point anymore."

Makie didn't want to watch anymore and closed her eyes, she wanted that someone stopped them, but she suddenly felt Tsuna's hand on her shoulder, looking upon him, she saw his serious face towards Negi. Makie turned to Negi one more time and then she saw this determination in his eyes, at that moment she suddenly realized something.

"N-No..! Not yet!" Negi could hardly control his breath, but he still attacked Chachamaru again, to which she responded with a kick and send him to fly once again.

Having enough, Asuna couldn't handle this anymore, "I-I can't watch this anymore! I'm going to stop him!"

"NO! Asuna! Stop!" Makie suddenly got on Asuna's way, stopping her to go further. "Don't stop him!"

"B-but.. !" Asuna didn't expect Makie to stop her.

"Even if he's badly injured... he's still tried really hard to get to this point! I know what you're thinking..! I know..! But, didn't Negi-kun said he'd try his best no matter what!" Makie cried, even though it also hurt her so much seeing him suffer. "If you stop him now, everything was for nothing!"

"Makie-chan... But he is still a kid! He is just being stubborn. I've got to stop him!" Asuna still wanted to stop Negi, he is only suffering right now.

"No, Negi-kun is already an adult! A child could never be stubborn to this point!" Makie once again defended Negi.

"But no matter how you look, Negi can't win this fight..!" Asuna wants to believe in him, but it hurts to watch him right now.

"I-I think he is already prepared for this pain. I realized j-just by looking at him! I can tell that he has an objective.. and he decided to do everything to achieve it! For the first time in my life, I never saw someone this ambitious, and I'm sure you are the same, Asuna-san... Negi IS an adult. You can't stop him now! Not while he is doing his best!" Makie put all her emotion in her speech which impressed them all, even Evangeline, who had only thought of Makie as the most childish person in the class.

"Well said, Makie-san," Tsuna stepped in and gave Makie a pat on her head.

Makie was really surprised and touched her head as she was still feeling the warm hand from Tsuna. She felt that he was telling her that she had done a very good job, it made her incredibly happy. Asuna, and also the rest of the girls, were really shocked by Tsuna's bold move on Makie, especially Konoka and Setsuna had a strange feeling about that. However, the girl's eyes were strangely drawn to him when he enters the scene.

"Negi-kun!" Tsuna shouted to him and getting his attention, "it hurts, right? Every hit you take hurts. It hurt so much that parts of you actually want to give up and run away... However, you won't, because you know if you give up right now, something far worse than 'hurt' will appear... 'Regret'! So, once again show us your resolve! Show us your 'Undying Will' to win! Negi!"

-Flashback: Undying Will-

There are only a few hours until his apprentice test against Chachamaru. It made Negi really nervous, he was sitting on a bench to calm himself down. The girls wanted to be with him to lessen his burden, however, he really needed this time alone.

"You look worried, Negi-sensei." Tsuna suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"T-Tsuna-sensei?!" Negi jumped from his sudden appearance.

"Let's drop the 'sensei' when we are outside of school. For now, we are just two people who just wanted to relax." Tsuna chuckled. "Sorry, I know you want some alone time, but I hope you don't mind me joining you."

"Of course not, Tsuna-sense... Tsuna-san!" Being with Tsuna was really enjoyable, maybe because he emits such a warm feeling. Negi doesn't know why, but from the very first day, he already admires Tsuna. And during the past days, when Tsuna hang out with them, made this admiration for him even stronger.

"You are thinking about the test, right Negi-kun?" Tsuna didn't play around and ask Negi directly.

Negi sighed, "to be honest, Chachamaru-san is very strong. I already fought her once, but I had someone who had helped me. Now fighting one-on-one, even if it's just a hit it will be nearly impossible."

Tsuna smiled, "nearly, huh? So you actually saying that you DO have a chance?"

"Ehhh? No, I.." Negi waved his hand in surprise due to Tsuna twisting his words, however, the eyes that Tsuna gave him, made him eventually tell his true feelings to Tsuna, "...yes, I really want to pass the test."

"Why do you want to be Evangeline-san apprentice? From what I saw, Ku Fei-san is also very strong, wouldn't be alright to just learn from her?"

"Ah! Uhm, Ku Fei-san is indeed very strong and I'm really grateful for her and I also think that I can still learn a lot from her, but Evangeline-san is... Uhm..I-" Negi didn't know how to answer this question, as he wanted to be Evangeline's apprentice because of her strong ties with his father and she is also a very powerful mage.

Tsuna noticed Negi struggle and chuckled, "I understand, there is something you can't tell me yet, then it's fine, don't worry about this."

"I-I'm sorry, Tsuna-san," Negi felt bad to keep this a secret, however, he can't just continue to expose himself as a mage. He already blew his cover on the first day he arrived in Mahora, it was Asuna who caught him using magic and things lead to another. He already dragged too many people into this.

"Is there any reason, why you want to become stronger? Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it"

"I... I lost a fight," Negi began, he actually wanted at least to tell him that and will try to avoid 'magic' related stuff in his next few sentences. "When I lost to this 'white hair' boy in Kyoto, I realized how weak I am. I couldn't protect anyone... And If Evangeline-san didn't come at the last minute, we could have lost everything. And that is when I realized that Evangeline-san is the only person I should learn (magical combat)... That I want to be her apprentice."

Tsuna could understand how important this was for Negi. He really wants to become stronger... to protect his students. Becoming stronger for others...like him. "Negi-kun... Can I be honest with you? I saw your training the past days and it's undeniable that you have improved a lot, however, from the blow I received from Chachamaru, I could tell... that she was holding back, she is still above your level. The two days you got, wasn't enough."

"So, it's really impossible for me..." Negi's head drooped with a big disappointment.

"I didn't mean that you don't have a chance," Tsuna patted the young boy and wanted to encourage him again, "it's true that your physical abilities are inferior to her as for now, however, a fight can be won not only by strength."

"Use your head," Tsuna pointed at Negi's head, and then his finger goes down to his heart, "and show your 'Undying Will' to win! Sometimes miracles can always happen."

-Flashback End-

Negi smiled at this memory, Tsuna's advice really cheered him up. He had used his head to bypass a time limit using Evangeline's words against her. Now, with Makie's and Tsuna's support, he will not give up, not now, not ever! The resolve in his heart is already set, he will make this one hit!

Evangeline and Chachamaru noticed the change in Negi's eyes, it was burning with passion, he had even more resolve than before. For some reason, it actually filled them both with goosebumps.

Chachamaru began to analyze the new situation, but her systems didn't find any results, only errors were displayed.

Tsuna noticed a yellow flame ignited inside Negi's body, `Could it be.. ?'

Negi suddenly felt so much lighter, something was boosting his strength, even the pain vanished. With this newfound strength, he sprinted towards Chachamaru with full speed, surprising both Chachamaru and Evangeline, how is able to move this fast with his condition? Chachamaru could able to raise her arm in time to block his incoming attack, but to everyone's surprise, his attack blew her away, making Chachamaru lose her sense of balance.

"What?" Evangeline shouted aloud, completely shocked, "Where is this strength is suddenly coming from?! Did he cast another spell?"

"Eh..?" Chachamaru was in the air. She tried to find her ground again, but Negi was already in front of her, not missing this chance.

"I finally got you, Chachamaru-san," Negi made a small smile and hit her chin with a light punch.

*CLANG*

This sound of a hit finally ends the fight against Chachamaru. He did it! It took a few seconds before the girls realized that Negi hit Chachamaru! When it finally hits them, they began to cheer for his achievement, they couldn't believe that he actually did it.

Evangeline was still shocked by this outcome and she didn't understand what just happened. Chachamaru didn't even hold back, but he still managed to blow her away and got this one hit.

Negi fell to the ground, however, in the instant as he began to relax, the pain in his body suddenly began to arch inside his body, making him faint in an instant.

"NEGI/NEGI-KUN/ NEGI-SENSEI!"

A small sunray glow made the sleeping Negi slowly regain his consciousness. "Huh..? I-I... D-did I? T-the test?"

Negi was trying to progress was just happened and he didn't notice that his head was lying on Makie's lap. The girls were also right around him, Asuna took his hand with a relieved smile.

"Negi-kun! You are finally awake!" Makie was really glad that he finally woke up. "You did it! You pass the test!"

"Well done, boy." Evangeline was also relief that he finally woke up, they did wait quite a while, Tsuna insisted them to let him rest and that he will eventually wake up, "by completing my test, you can come to my cottage any time and I'll train you, just like we promised. And... you should keep learning that Kung Fu of yours. It actually suits you."

It was still a mystery to Evangeline what just had happened in the end, he was clearly at his limit. This sudden boost came out of nowhere... Did the History Teacher do something? No, she didn't feel any magic source from him. For now, she just had to accept this outcome. She couldn't help but smile... Huh? Was she actually happy that Negi passes her test?

Thank you, Evangeline-san," Negi smiled, "I did it..."

"Well done, Negi." Tsuna smiled towards Negi, but he also tried to trace any of the Flames he just saw early in this boy's body, but it completely disappeared. He wondered if by pushing his 'Will', he unconsciously ignited his 'Dying Will Flame'. It was clearly the Characteristic of the Sun Flame: Activation, that helped him in the end. It temporarily stimulates his muscle and increased his body function drastically. But, after Negi didn't need it anymore, the pain it ignored for the fight, came simultaneously back and made him faint.

Tsuna then turned to Makie, who was a bit surprised by his sudden attention to her, "you said it yourself, Negi-kun is an adult because he decided to give everything he got for the objective he wanted to achieve... Is your resolve the same? It's your turn now. Do your best, Makie-san."

"Y-Yes! Tsuna-kun!" after seeing Negi determination and Tsuna's support for her, she really wants to give her best... for both of them. She may still be immature, but she has the resolve to grow. She really, really likes rhythmic gymnastics, however, she thinks she may like Negi and especially Tsuna even more than that.

Tsuna smiled towards both of them, he was really proud of Negi and Makie. To be honest, watching from the sideline and seeing Negi getting beat up, was really hard to bear. But he knew he shouldn't step in, it was a big step for Negi and it also positively affected Makie. People needed to have determination like that to be able to move forward and they should find that out by themselves, though that doesn't mean it was forbidden to give them some advice in the right direction.

At this very moment, Tsuna wondered if Reborn was always feeling like that when he became his tutor. Suddenly all the battles, trials, and harsh training flashed inside Tsuna's mind, Reborn was always with him. He was pretty sure that Reborn was often frustrated at him, however, he had always believed in him, no matter what. "I see.. that is the duty of a teacher, huh? Thank you, Reborn. Even though you are not here, you always show me the right way."

Looking at the group once again, Tsuna can see how earnest they all are and he really wonders if it is really alright, to keep everything a secret. He really felt bad to lie to them. And it would be also more effective if they can freely talk to each other... Tsuna thought about it for a while until he eventually decided to at least tell them that he is aware of magic. The next opportunity he gets, he will talk about it. He only needs to make sure to keep them out from the mafia business.

-To Be Continued-

Next Chapter: Secret Unveiled

Author Note:
I'm really grateful to all the readers. I also didn't expect that people still remembered this Fiction from 2016.

I understand that people are worry because of this Fiction. It was mostly dead because of its long hiatus. But as for now I really want to progress the Story and I hope that I can continue on.

I hope you enjoyed this Chapter. See you next time.~