'Thoughts'

"Talking"

Spells/Other's thoughts/Skills

[Captions]

{Korin's Voice}

Inner Voice

Chapter 9 Varia and the Vongola Rings

Korin sighed as he got out of his bed, "I got to stop listen to Reborn about this…" He muttered as he walks towards the bathroom for a quick shower. As he sheds his pyjamas, which represents by a white shirt and sweatpants, he enters the cupicle and turns on the shower head, the water pouring down on his head, stinging a little of the bruises and bullet wounds on his back.

It was a good thing that Shamal was there to take out the bullets implanted into his flesh on his back or it would be much more painful to him now. He can feel his wounds closing up and the stinging sensation is gone with the wound disappearing. He didn't like how his wounds are healing in such a rapid speed, it only makes him feel less human and more like a…

Monster…

That was one word that he was been insulted with all his life, for existing, for living, for just being there. "Enough man…" Korin muttered as he turns off the shower, "I'm not going to look back at the past, not anymore." He took a towel and rubs it on his wet hair, just as his phone rang. He picked it up and found a certain brunette on the other end.

"Motoyama-san…?"

"Tsunahime?" Korin answered, "Where did you get this number?"

"R-Reborn told me…"

'That baby again, huh…' Korin mentally growled in annoyance.

"S-So… I-I wanted to ask you if you want to hang out for a while… since today is just preps… so Yamamoto suggested we…"

"Sure, I can." He said as he got a can of juice from inside the refrigerator, "Just give me a few minutes to get ready. So where you are going?"

"A-Ah, t-the shopping district…"

"I got it. See you there." He hangs up and place down his phone, "Why am I getting a really bad feeling about this…?" He mutters as he put on the clothes he got from the wardrobe that he bought a couple weeks before, a white t-shirt with a blue collar that have a words: DEATH on it in black ink under a beige denim jacket altered with longer white ends with grey pants. He ties the holster on his hip and hid it under his jacket, and left to meet with them.

At the district, Korin met up with the brunette and her friends, Gokudera somehow grumbling on how Yamamoto invited too much people and why the Knight is with them and that Haru girl retorting on him angrily.

"Korin, over here!" Yamamoto called out to him waving his hand.

"Next time, make plans beforehand." Korin groaned as he ran up to them, "I just woke up and it is annoying to do this so suddenly."

"Then don't sleep until the afternoon, sleepyhead!" Gokudera said angrily.

"Hey, it's only prep day, so give me a break." Korin yawned, 'Plus, I was patrolling last night after that man appeared…' He thought back to that one person that he encountered the couple days back. He can still feel the tingling of his skin with he found him, the dark magic is so overwhelming that it's surreal.

'If there is someone like that targeting me… he would definitely go for anyone who seems close to me, and that means Tsunahime is in danger…'

"Motoyama-kun…?"

Korin was blinked out of his thoughts by the girl in his class, the school idol Sasagawa Kyoko, "Are you alright? You seem pale."

"I-I'll be fine, Sasagawa-san." Korin assures her, just as he notices Tsunahime apologizing to a store owner with Lambo in her hands, "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really." Kyoko tells him, "Lambo-chan just got a little lost."

"Lambo-san is hungry!" The cow kid shouted, "I want food!"

"Okay, okay, just wait. I'll go get some takoyaki."

'That brat is going to be such a handful in the future if you keep spoiling him like that…' Korin sighed at how Tsunahime is treating the kid as she went to by some street food from the stall nearby.

The day carries on; they all went to many stores to just play around the rest of the day away. The girls spend almost two hours in a clothes store much to the two guys' dismay and they were even made to judge their outfits, although they made Tsunahime wear the most daring outfits of the season which somehow suits her body well, even if it didn't suit her personality.

But in every store, Korin remained outside, as if he looking out for something or someone. The brunette have seen him edging to the back of his jacket where she knows he hid his gun at, and it got her getting worried of whether he is taking this bodyguard thing too seriously.

They split up eventually to have their own window shopping while Tsunahime, Kyoko and Korin are left to take care of the two kids. The brunette sat down from a little exhaustion, never done things like this much due to her being friendless since she enrolled into Namimori Middle, or rather since she was young.

"Here." Korin placed a canned drink in front of her, "You worked hard today, taking care of these idiots." He eyed at the two kids, especially Lambo who is drinking the can of juice he demanded from him a couple of minutes ago.

"S-Sure…" Tsuna muttered as she sips on her drink, Korin taking the seat next to her and gulp down his can, "U-Um… are you injuries alright?"

"They healed up." He tells her as he threw his can into the nearest trash bin with pinpoint accuracy, "Don't worry about me too much. I won't die from such injuries. Besides, compared to mine, you have suffered much worse, right?"

"T-That's not the point…" She muttered looking down blushing, "I don't want you to get injured, that's all…"

Korin sighed, "That's kind of impossible." He tells her, "What's the point of you getting injured and I'm unharmed? Besides, as the Knight, it is my duty to protect you from harm at all costs, even if at the cost of my life."

"B-But…"

Kyoko notices the little atmosphere between the two and got up from her seat, "Come on, Lambo-chan, I-pin-chan." She leads the two kids away from the table to somewhere else, 'Good luck, Tsuna-chan.'

Tsuna looked back up and notices her own female friend is leaving, 'Eh?-! Kyoko-chan?' She then realized, 'Is she giving me and Motoyama-san some alone time…? How does she know that I like him anyway?-!' (Oblivious idiot, as expected of Dame-Tsuna)

"You're definitely a weird one." Korin mentioned suddenly, "When we return from Kokuyo Land, I thought you might have matured a little but you remained roughly the same as before."

"S-Sorry…" She muttered.

"But I guess that's a good thing…" Korin added, "That kindness of yours is one of your best qualities, after all."

'Did he just… compliment me…?' She thought blushing.

Korin then heard a small explosion at one of the buildings nearby, "What was that?-!" He shouted in shock, before noticing a small shadow coming out of the smoke, flying past them and crashing onto the ground, "A boy?"

Tsuna ran towards the dirty blonde haired boy grunting in pain on the ground, "A-Are you alright?" She asked worriedly kneeling down in front of him.

"I-I'm fine…" He said, before noticing the brunette kneeling before him, "T-Thou art…"

"Thou…?" She blinked, never hearing someone who uses such an ancient way of speaking before.

"Hime-sama!" Gokudera cried as he ran towards them along with Yamamoto.

"Are you alright, Tsuna-chan?-!"

Korin then notices the flame on the boy's head, a soft blue flames flickering on his forehead, 'A dying will flame?-!'

"VVVVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIII!-!"

They heard a shout from above, a long white haired man standing on the ruined building in a black coat with a sword wrapped around his left hand, "What's this? Outsiders are parading around. I'll slice up any trash who gets in the way!"

With that, he starts to swing his sword around wildly; sending air pressure of sword strikes all around, sending rubbles all around, "H-HIIEEE! Who is this guy?-! He is seriously dangerous!"

"My apologises, Sawada-dono…" The teen said, "I was followed…" He got back up on his feet, "I have just met thee… yet I've already brought thee trouble…"

"Um… who are you…?" She asked him.

"Please come with me!" He grabs onto her hand and drags her away from the danger zone.

"H-Hey, w-what are you…?-!"

"Let's find a safe place first! There is something I wish to tell thee."

"VOII!-!" The man from above drops down in front of him, his sword posed to attack, "Let's end this game of tag."

"EEKK!-! He's here!-!" Tsuna cried in fright.

"Hm? And who is this girl?"

The teen flinched, just as the man dashes forward towards them, "Let's get you to spill everything out!" He flashed in front of the dirty blonde boy who took out the boomerang sword on the side of his waist to block, only to have the long haired man ducked down and slashes him up by the chest, sending him crashing into the glass panels.

"H-Hey!" Tsuna cried.

"Oi, you." The man demanded, "What is your relationship with that kid? If you don't spit it out, I'll slice you up."

"HIIEE!-! I-I…"

Dynamites then rained down on him, the man leaped out of the way as they detonates on his previous location, bouncing off the building next to him and landing on the floor softly, "What the…?"

"Lay a finger on her, and you'll get it." Gokudera said angrily, his sticks of explosives ready in his hand.

"Yeah, something like that." Yamamoto said with surprising the Yamamoto Bat in his hands.

"What he said." Korin added with his gun out and clocked.

"Gokudera-kun! Yamamoto! Motoyama-san!"

"It's surprising though." Yamamoto laughed, "My bat was by my side when I didn't bring it with me."

"It's because I bought it along." Korin stated.

"So you guys are related to this somehow, eh?" The man chuckled, "I don't get it, but I'll tell you something I know for sure. If you go against me, you'll die."

"Right back at you." Gokudera scuffed.

"He has a sword, right? I'll go first." Yamamoto said readying his sword.

"Don't!" The boy cried out as he got out of the broken glass panel, "He isn't someone thou can win against!"

Korin knew that from the start, he can sense the aura of a well-trained warrior from that swordsman the very moment he appeared. But that is not going to stop him from trying.

"It's too late to regret!" The man shouted as he launched towards them, Yamamoto dashing towards to counter with his katana. The two blades clashed as they swing at each other, "You don't have any sword skills, don't you?"

"So what?"

"Your strikes are far too light!" The man slashes down as the baseball ace blocked the attack, the side of the sword fires out small beads at him, with an explosion following afterwards, "Gunpowder?-!" Gokudera cried.

"Yamamoto!" Tsunahime cried out.

"Damn!" Korin dashes forward to get Yamamoto, only to have the man flashes towards him and slashes him right in the chest, the blood soaking into his shirt, "F-Fast!"

"You bastard!" Gokudera ready to throw out his dynamites, only to have the man appears and slashes the fuses off and knocks him unconscious with a kick to the head.

"Gokudera-kun! Motoyama-san!"

"VOOOIII!-! These guys aren't even worth my time." The man raised his sword up ready to strike, "Just die." Korin flashes in front of him in time blocked it with his gun, the man startled on how he can still move with that deadly slash on his chest, "Oh? Looks like you might be worth it."

"We'll see, if you remain this confident." Korin said sternly, pushing him back before kicking up Yamamoto's Bat into his free hand. Swinging it a few times and dashing forward the katana swinging towards him, Korin slashes upwards toward the swordsman, he dodging that attack to find the gun muzzle at his face, which he evaded the bullet shot by an inch, before a upwards heel kick up to his chin and a second kick to his chest.

Korin leaped back from the kick and fire off two more shots at him, the man dodging them with ease and slashing towards him, disarming him of the katana and his gun in one swift movement.

"Shit!" Korin was then kicked in the gut, knocking him out and collapsing onto the ground.

"You are definitely better than the others, but like them, you are no match to me." He raise his sword up, "I'll ask the girl from answers. Just die!" He stabs forward towards Korin, but then a black metallic glove grabs his wrist, stopping the edge of the sword one inch from Korin's back.

"RE-BORN!-!-!" Tsuna shouted as her clothes ripped off, leaving her sports bra and spandex on, "Long hair! I'll defeat you with my dying will!-!"

"Vooii… what's going on…?" He then notices, "The dying will flame… And the emblem on her gloves… Don't tell me you're the one in Japan that I heard of… I see… so it is to get in contact with you… Now I need to ask you what you're planning even more! I'll have you spit it out before you die!"

Tsuna roared out as she punches towards him, the man grabbed the punch easily before swatting her back with ease. She got back out with a cry as she dashes towards him again to hope to fight him, only to be swatted back by him again. This carries on for five minutes straight, the flames finally sizzles away as Tsuna returns to her normal self, "VOI!-! How much are you planning on run?-!" The man shouted as he swings his sword, firing the beads of gunpowder at her.

"HIYAAAA!-!"

A boomerang sword came out spinning around and detonating the bomb beads before reaching her, creating a smoke screen that blocks the man's line of sight.

The next thing the brunette knows, she was dragged behind a small barrage of tables by the dirty blonde kid from before. "T-Thanks…" She thanked him, but then notices his wounds, "H-Hey, are you alright?-!"

"My name is Basil…" The kid introduces himself to her, "I've came here under the orders of my master (Oyakata-sama) to deliver this to thee…"

"M-Me?-!" She cried, "Wha- Wait, who is this master of yours?-!"

"Please, accept this…" He panted as he took out a small black box with gold edges from his pocket, opening it to reveal a set of seven unique rings within.

"What's this…?" She wondered.

"Reborn-san knows what this is."

"Eh?-! You know Reborn?-!" She cried.

"Reborn-san cannot fight due to a reason. Please take this and flee." He tells her.

"W-Wait! Even if you say that all of a sudden…"

"VOOOIII…" A sword swipes away the make-shift barricade, the long haired man standing there with the feral grin on his face, "So that's what it is… If it is something this big, I can't just let you go." He readies his sword up, "After slicing you guys up, I'll have to take those back."

"Damn…!"

"HIIIIEEEEEE!-! What's going on?-!" Tsuna cried.

"So, how many pieces you want me to slice you before I take those rings from you?" The man smirked.

"Sawada-dono, you mustn't hand those to him!" Basil tells her.

"Wait! W-What's going on?-!" She cried.

"You're just as rough as always, Superbi Squalo." A dashing male voice said, the long haired turned to face the blonde man in a green fur lined jacket with a black whip in hand who stood behind him with a middle aged man in a black suit nearby, "Isn't it embarrassing to go all out against kids?"

"D-Dino-nii!" The brunette cried.

"The Bucking Bronco?-!" The man now known as Squalo said in shock.

"If you wish to continue your tasteless game, I will be your opponent." The blonde man known as Dino said.

'That Japanese brat has connections with the Cavallone?-!' Squalo thought in shock, 'The Bucking Bronco… if I go up against him, it will be bad…'

"VOIII… Bucking Bronco; I would have no problem killing you know, but if I fought someone from one of the allied families, the higher-ups are going to pissed with me." Squalo said.

'Allied families…?' Tsunahime thought.

"So for today, I'll leave quietly- as if!" He grabbed onto the head of the brunette, pulling her up and off her feet.

"Tsuna!" Dino cried.

At that moment, a red-yellow flame erupted from behind Squalo, and the next thing he knows he got a burning fist engulfed in the same flames denting into his fist, sending him crashing into the building next to him. Tsuna was dropped onto the ground on her behind hard, moaning in pain before she felt the familiar flame next to her. Turning to her left, she saw Korin engulfed in the yellow-red flames flickering uncontrollably, his eyes burning with the same flames with the animalistic look.

"Long hair!-!-!-!-!" He shouted angrily.

"W-What is this…?" Squalo muttered in shock, "Well, no matter. I managed to take those back." In his hand is the same black box that Basil has.

"Ah! The Vongola Rings!" Basil cried.

"Vongola… Rings…?" Tsuna wonders.

"Who cares…" Korin growled, "I'm going to burn you to hell anyway!"

"Heh, you care to try." Squalo laughed.

Korin flashed in front of him in a split second to punch him, only to have the man leaped out of the way and leaped off, "Sorry, but I've other things to do besides dealing with you, so farewell!-!"

"Come back here!-!" Korin shouted as he ran after him, his hand reaching out and the flame reached out and extended a long claw that reached out towards the man, only to miss him. He was ready to continue to chase after him, "Stop, Motoyama-san!-!" Tsuna cried as she grabbed him back the back, "It's over! You can stop now!"

That caused him to stop in his tracks, the flame slowly dissipating into nothingness. Korin falls down on his knees, panting and exhausted.

'What was that flame just now…?' Dino thought in shock.

That same time, Basil dropped to his knees from his wounds, "A-Ah! Are you alright?-!" Tsuna cried.

"I… must get them back…" Basil grunted as he tries to get back up.

"It is too dangerous to chase after him." Reborn finally appeared next to Tsuna.

"R-Reborn!" Tsuna cried, "W-Why didn't you appear just now?-! Why didn't help me?-!"

"I'm not allowed to fight him." Reborn explained.

"Eh? W-Why?"

"He is a member of the Vongola as well."

"EH?-! Say what?-!" Tsuna cried, "I was nearly killed by someone from the Vongola?-! W-What's going on?-!"

"Who knows?"

They then heard the police siren coming closer, "Boss, it's the cops." The middle aged man named Romario said.

"I got it." Dino said as he carries Basil in his hands, "Tsuna, we'll talk about this later. I've prepared an unused hospital. Let's go."

"P-Please wait!" Tsuna cried, "Yamamoto and Gokudera-kun are…!"

"No need to worry about them." Reborn tells her, as the two came running towards them.

"Are you alright, Tsuna-chan?-!" Yamamoto called out.

"What's with that guy…?" Gokudera muttered, "Next time I see him, I'll blow him to kingdom come!"

"At the level you two are at right now, you will be nothing but a burden." Reborn said, "You two can go home."

The two stiffened at the way he said it, "R-Reborn! W-What are you saying?-!" Tsuna cried.

"Let's go." Reborn said as he pulls her away by the hand despite her protests, "They probably noticed it already."

"Eh?"

"After being defeated in such a one-sided fight, there is no way their blood are not boiling now. Leave them alone for now." Reborn said, before looking over to Korin who is being carried by Romario, 'It's the same flame as before…' He thought, remembering the time that Korin took the Vongola acceptance test, 'But it is more berserk than that time… not only that…' He looked down to his hands, which is literally shaking uncontrollably, 'Am I… actually afraid of him…?'

They brought them to the hospital where both Basil and Korin were treated. Though to the doctor's surprise, most of Korin's wounds are almost all healed up, so he didn't really do much but to patch the remaining wounds and apply cream on the bruising.

But Basil on the other hand, has much more serious wounds, from broken bones to many slashes along his arms and chests. But luckily they were not too severe and they are patched up soon enough.

They all stood by the bed as the injured teen lay unconscious. "W-Who is he?" Tsuna asked worriedly, "Is he part of the Vongola as well…?"

"No. He's not part of the Vongola." Dino explained, "But what I can tell you for sure is, he is your ally."

"W-What?-! What's going on?-! The Vongola is my enemy and my ally is someone who is not?-!" She cried out in shock, before realizing what she said, "N-Not that I need any enemies or allies…"

"That's not really up to you now, Tsuna." Dino chuckled.

"'Cause the Rings have started to move." Reborn explained.

"Rings? Oh yeah, this boy said something about that as well." Tsuna stated, "It's the thing the long hair man took, right?"

"Yeah." Reborn explained, "The proper name is the Half-Vongola Rings. It is a treasure of the Vongola that is supposed to be kept in a secret location until three years later."

"Treasure? Are those rings really valuable?" She asked.

"Yes, it was so valuable that is immeasurable." Reborn explained, "Throughout the long history of the Vongola, immersive amount of blood were shed trying to obtain these rings. It is somewhat a historical artefact."

"EKK!-! Seriously?-!" The brunette cried in shock, "G-Good thing that scary man took them…"

"Sorry to disappoint you but…"

"Eh?"

"I have them right here!" Dino laughed, taking out the same black case as before from his pocket.

"EEEHHHHH?-! Why?-! Aren't they stolen?-!" Tsuna cried in shock.

"These are the real ones. The one he took was a decoy." Dino explained, "And I was entrusted by a certain someone to give them to you."

"EH?-! To me again?-!" Tsuna cried, "Why?-! I don't want anything to do with those scary rings!"

"Well, because you are the Vongola Te-"

"W-Wait!" She cried, "I-I have to go study for my reviews! S-See you later, Dino-nii!"

"H-Hey!" Dino looked on as the brunette left the room in a hurry, "Man, did she really think that she can run away from her destiny…?"

"So Basil, was a decoy, wasn't he?" Reborn asked.

"Yeah, Basil probably wasn't told about that." Dino added, "That person probably figured this would happen. It must have been a real tough decision. Though, he should have just given these things to Tsuna himself. He came to Japan with me, you know."

"I see… So he came…" Reborn muttered.

"Since we're talking about Tsuna, is that boy the newest addition to her family?" The blonde asked, "The new Knight?"

"Yeah." The infant nodded, "Although, he seems to be a danger to her rather than a protector."

"I saw it, those flames." Dino said, "It was weird though. I have heard the Knight's dying will flames are known to be beautiful yet deadly. The flames he unleashed don't seem like that."

"Maybe those aren't the actual flames."

They heard a female voice, they turned around to find a woman around Dino's age, her black hair reaching just till her shoulders, and he sapphire blue eyes filled with knowledge and wisdom, stood there in a black jacket over a purple polo shirt and white pants with red high-heel boots.

"It's been a while, Dino, Reborn." The woman greeted.

"Ciaossu, you came just in time, Cosma." Reborn greeted, "Did you get the data I requested?"

"Yeah, information about Motoyama Yan Korin, right?" The woman, Cosma, said as she took out a black laptop from her handbag.

She placed it on the nearby hospital table and turned it on, "There hasn't been any classified data that I am not able get from within the Vongola." She states as she taps on the laptop's keyboard with several windows coming up on the screen. "Although, his background is almost nonexistence; just like most of the Knights. The only person that we have really good background information on is the Ninth, Yan Yong-Kia."

The picture of said person appears on a new window, "We can be sure they are related, but on what ground, we are not sure."

"And those flames?" Reborn asked.

"I have compared it to most of the other seven dying will flames." Cosma said as a window showing the video of Korin going berserk in the shopping district appears with a second window showing seven different flames with each a colour from the rainbow, "They have nothing in common, but based on what you said before, they come out when he is in rage, so I check it with the Flames of Rage, but they don't match at all."

"So it is a completely new flame…" Dino said.

"We are still not sure whether those are a dying will flames at all." Cosma added, "No matter how you look at it, those flames manifest themselves when Korin's in rage, right?"

"There is this one time that was an exception." Reborn added, getting the two attention, "During one of our… training sessions, Tsuna was in real danger and he used his body to protect her. It was then the flames came out and incinerate most of the bullets before they reach him."

"…" Cosma completely got into thinking mode, "If that's the case, it would mean those flames are trying to protect him, right?"

"But Tsuna said that when she first saw those flames, it was burning his skin real badly." Reborn added.

"…Now that you mention it, there were burn marks on him when we arrived." Romario stated.

"If that's the case, those flames are dangerous. Not just to others, but to himself." Cosma said as she closed her laptop, "I'll check up as much as I can on the Knight's flames in the meantime. Also, I suggest you prevent that boy from using them as much as possible."

"Leaving already?" Dino asked.

"I'll be staying here for a week at most, if I can get the data that Reborn needs." Cosma states packing up, "If I can't get it by then, I would go back to Italy to look for more data."

"I'm counting on you." Reborn said, "Cosma Materro, the Vongola Database."

"No problem." The woman said with a smile, "Besides, I have promised you-know-who that I would help Dino with you-know-what."

"A-Ah… so he did that as well…?" Dino dry laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "T-Then, I'm grateful, I guess…"

"Oh yeah, speaking of the boy, do anyone know where he is?" Cosma asked.

"Hm? Shouldn't he be in his ward?" Romario asked, "The doctor has asked him to stay behind for more examinations."

"I've checked, but the nurse said that he asked to be released a few minutes ago."

"So he left." Reborn said.

"That boy…" Dino sighed, "He might be a real pain…"

Elsewhere, with the sun slowly descending down the horizon, Korin stood by the sink in his bathroom; the tap flowing with water and his face and hair wet looking at the water draining down the small metal hole.

He recalled the berserk flames that once again released and engulfing him back in the shopping district, and his fists clenched hardly, until his fingernails is digging into the palm of his hand.

'Again… I lost control again…' He thought angrily as he punched the bathroom wall hard, the soap, toothbrush and toothpaste fell off from the vibration.

"Darn it!-! Why am I always like this?-!" He shouted angrily to no one, "I try so hard to protect something, and in the end, I may end up hurting her as well!"

He looked up his own reflection, his eyes dark blue as usual, almost look soulless to most people but he know why. He turns off the tap and went to his room, plopping on his bed tired, "Maybe I'm not worthy for this bodyguard role…" He muttered.

This is the first time he felt this frustrated. He was always alone, sure he has his family but that's it. He didn't have any friends, no allies. He made a hell lot of enemies though, people just hating his guts because he was…different.

Even in the Yan Exorcizing Magic Council, he was treated like trash, like scum with one time when some of them trapped him in one corner when his father's back is turned and slashing at all sorts of areas as they watch how fast his wounds heal and muttering insults and calling him a monster over and over.

His parents were always there for him, until his mother was murdered and all blame was pinned on him.

And when he found comrades again, they died on him as well.

"This isn't like me at all…" Korin muttered, "That Sawada Tsunahime sure can make a change in me." He looked over to the silver pacifier at the table near him, 'What should I do… Mikuri…?'

To be continued…

Done! Finally, after so many interferences!
I bet some of you guys are shocked on hearing
Mikuri's name! Well, you have to keep reading to
find out the real reason why.

With that, I thank you for reading this!