Ciao, minna-san! It's been a while since I update and I'm sorry!
Anyway, I thank everyone who has taken the time to read and comment my two fanfics, you are my joy! And a big thank you to my amazing beta, Tora-chan83 for helping me! Without her I would not be posting my stories.
Ah, Happy New Year guys!
Enjoy!

Disclaimer: KHR belongs to Akira Amano-sensei, only the plot is mine!

End of Prelude

One month and three weeks before...

It was just a meeting, only one more annoying meeting among Famiglias, Tsuna thought like a mantra. Ironically, for the tenth time, Tsuna had to resist the urge to rub his temples. His hazel-brown orbs once again snuck a look at the clock on the wall at the back of the meeting room, which was currently in the hotel at downtown Palermo where they frequently occupied for such events. Little had passed of the 17 hours, and yet Tsuna felt as if the day was terribly long. His Hyper Intuition kicking his head and cutting holes in his stomach - figuratively of course - from the time he woke, was not helping to alleviate his mood. Added on to that, was the meeting that has been going on for over an hour and half, steadily grinding his patience.

Standing on the right side, a little further behind Tsuna, Gokudera passed a merciful look to his precious Jyuudaime. The naturally powerful aura emanating from the young Don's body in increasing amounts was a clear sign that all the Guardians already knew about - their boss was getting impatient and irritated. Which was to be expected, after all, the three Famiglias - Carbo, Disaro, and the latest to enter into an alliance with the Vongola, Nocera - represented by their respective heads, Muzio Carbo the Terzo Boss, Orazio Disaro the Fifth Boss of the Famiglia, and the only woman in the room - since Chrome was outside in the corridor, presently with Hibari, who for some unknown reason had decided to come with them - Adalina Nocera, the Secondo to lead the Famiglia, were currently arguing about trifles. Their squabbled over the increase in recent importation of goods, which were already produced in the region, and how investing in the expansion of the port will affect them in short and long term. It was not in vain that Hibari walked out twenty minutes after the start of the meeting, muttering something about 'excess of herbivores.' Though Gokudera had to admit the fact that the solitary Cloud, who loves to bite people to death, survived so long in 'agglomeration' and left the room without sending someone in a state between life and death to the hospital, deserved recognition. And, of course, the brightness of the warning that Jyuudaime launched toward the former mayor had nothing to do with it.

"If these are all of the claims, I will look into the matter and seek a possible solution. But keep in mind that the Vongola do not govern the country. Issues like these, which include the economy, require a little more than simple management demands." - Tsuna said in his 'boss mode'; his firm voice not opening up space for further discussion - "Now, if there's nothing left to be addressed, I will end this meeting. Good day, gentlemen and lady. Gokudera." - he called, standing up and walking toward the door.

"Hai, Jyuudaime." - Gokudera answered, he went forward and opened the door to make way for the stately figure of his precious boss.

Both walked into the hallway, where Chrome, who threw away a cup of espresso coffee upon their arrival, waited for them.

"Oi, where is Hibari?" - Gokudera asked, not finding the presence of the other Guardian.

"Hibari-san said he would get the car." - she informed, the illusionist was wearing a black suit that had a skirt instead of trousers and an indigo shirt under the blazer - "Boss, you're okay?" - Chrome asked, to the see the serious expression and, especially, feel the much denser than normal aura around her boss, told her all was not well.

"I would say yes, but my intuition is saying the exact opposite. So, the sooner we return to the Mansion, the better." - Tsuna responded in a relatively low tone, feeling the other bosses approaching.

Gokudera immediately raised his attention level to the maximum, while Chrome increased the grip on the trident that materialized in her hands. The two silently follow Tsuna without question as he chose to go down the seven flights of stairs instead of using the elevator. They were already familiar with the apparently-without-reason actions of their boss, who always proved to have truly effective security measures. Within minutes, the three reach their designated floor. Once Tsuna's figure comes in range of everyone's attentions in the glamorous lobby of the hotel, sighs, cries, greedy looks, luxuriant smiles and some cheeky people taking pictures with cell phones or cameras, exploded around the small group. Ignoring all the commotion that his presence was causing - something that he simply gave up trying to avoid, and, especially, understand - the Tenth led the way forward.

The long black mantle that was stately resting on the black suit that Tsuna was wearing, was made in the same style that belonged to the Vongola Primo, with details in red cloth and gold. Reborn had personally sent for this mantle to be prepared for the brunet to use in the party that made him officially the Tenth Vongola - that and for when the Arcobaleno forces him to use it on occasions like this. As they reached the street, the black cloth began to flutter when a sudden gust hit them, another sign that a storm was coming. They could tell because the sky, which before was blue, now was darker, and thick clouds threatened to break into a heavy rain. The trio could easily spot the BMW stopped next to the sidewalk with Hibari along the driver's door, clearly saying that he was the one who was going to drive. This sometimes meant going two times faster than even Ryohei dares to accelerate, and he was usually the more extreme one at the wheel of a car in the Tenth's family. It was obvious that it was here, the retaliation of the Cloud would take place because he could not bite anyone to death after being trapped in a room full of 'herbivores'. With that vision in mind, Gokudera assumed an expression very similar to that acquired when he heard about his half-sister's food, Chrome trembled a little, she had heard from Yamamoto and Kusakabe, and even from Mukuro-sama, about the direction skills of the Cloud Guardian, while a sigh escaped from Tsuna's lips. He was already anticipating the stack of traffic tickets that were going to pile on his desk the next day - as if he didn't have four piles of damn paperwork waiting for him at the Mansion already.

Once inside the comfortable car, with the Guardian of the Mist timidly sitting on his left side while the other two occupied the front of the vehicle, Tsuna finally allowed himself to massage his temples. A movement that did not escape the sharp eyes of Hibari, who quickly observed from the rear-view mirror. As soon as the car started moving at an abnormally fast speed, heavy raindrops began to fall from the sky over the city. Tsuna, with his eyes closed, rested his head on the leather seat, determined to ignore Kyoya's high speed driving. Silence instantly installed itself inside the vehicle, broken only by the sound of rain hitting the car and the windshield wipers draining the water for easier visibility that was seriously needed. In a few minutes they had already moved away from the main road and had taken the path that led through the forest to the mansion. It was around three kilometers away, so there were no other movements on the road, which belonged to the private property of the Vongola headquarters. It was here the car made a sudden stop, shaking everyone - who made the wise decision to use seat belts.

"Oi, What do you think is-" Gokudera's phrase was lost in the air when he saw the big truck skidding down the wet highway towards them.

"Hold." - Hibari growled, moving into reverse gear and making a sharp turn while sinking his foot on the accelerator, just to stop again by Tsuna's scream, moments later, a large crater formed in the asphalt in the exact spot where they would have been if the car had not stopped.

"Ambush!" - Gokudera screamed and immediately the four jump out of the car, falling on the wet pavement.

A shot fired again, but the noise covered by the sound of heavy rain as the BMW exploded in flames. Instinctively Tsuna used his mantle to protect Chrome by pulling her to his chest, having grabbed her when they jumped from the car. However, it was unnecessary as Gokudera had activated his system C.A.I. and spread it around the three, while Hibari used Roll, his box animal's sphere-shape full of thorns, like a shield. If one were looking at him closely, they would see the kanjis for Floating, Cloud, Biting/Crash and Killing, fluttering along the left side of his modified chouran¹, which was part of the Vongola Gear of the Cloud.

"Is everyone okay?" - Tsuna asked, moving his eyes from Chrome and Gokudera to beyond the pile of twisted steaming metal, which moments before was one of his cars, to see his Cloud standing with tonfas in his hands.

"Hai, Boss." - Chrome said, feeling her cheeks blush a bright red due to the closeness between her and the brunet.

"Yes, Jyuudaime."

A small beckon with the right tonfa was the only answer that the Tenth received from the Cloud. The group had no time for distractions as they found themselves surrounded by armed men with guns wrapped in flames of different attributes or common firearms. Some of the men were mounted on motorcycles, others standing on the floor, however, everyone was coming out of the forest and from two vans parked a few meters away. Hibari was the first to jump into battle, delivering blows with his tonfas that resulted in piles of men stretched on the floor, all who would be going on a free ride to the hospital with multiple fractures throughout the body.

Receiving a nod from Tsuna, Gokudera also began attacking with dynamites from his Storm Gear, while countless of fire pillars arose, unchained by the strong illusions from Chrome, who joined the fight the same time as the bomber. Tsuna pulled out his gloves from inside his jacket pocket and immediately slipped them onto his hands. A flame comes to life on his forehead, while his fists, now covered by a pair of red gloves, become surrounded by the purest Shinu Ki no Honoo of the Sky. Melting the gun barrel of one of his attackers, while avoiding a hail of bullets, Tsuna accompanied his Guardians in the fight.

With the four fighting, in just over five minutes piles of unconscious bodies was all what was left of the brief battle.

"Tch! This was a tremendous waste of time!" - Gokudera snarled with an angry look while the seemingly endless rain fell and drenched their bodies - "These idiots haven't learned that ambushing us is useless?!" - He completed, taking out his communicator to call someone in the mansion to come fetch them since his soaking phone was useless.

Tsuna was standing beside Chrome when she started to shake. The young boss removed his mantle, which, due to the impermeable material was still dry, and deposited it onto the shoulders of the Mist Guardian's small figure .

"Boss?" - She asked as she felt the mantle swallow her body in a comforting warmth.

"You're shivering, and I'm not wet. Also, I'm more resistant to the cold than everyone else." - He said with a smile, realizing the unspoken question of the young woman.

"Thank you, Boss."

While Chrome huddled, enjoying the heat from the mantle, Tsuna focused his attention back on his Hyper Intuition, which even after the end of attack, continued to disturb him. Moving his eyes around, he sees Gokudera yelling at the little communicator in his right ear. The silver haired man was screaming things like 'yes, Shibafu, we were ambushed and the car was blown up' and 'no, I wasn't the one who blew up the car,' ending with 'shut up and send Yamamoto to get us soon before we all catch a damn cold' followed by a series of curses in Italian. Slightly farther away, Hibari was busy handcuffing the several unconscious attackers -who he will surely interrogate later with methods that were nothing gentle. Suddenly, his intuition tells him of a new hostile presence coming toward them. Tsuna's sudden movement immediately attracts the attention of Hibari, who, averting his eyes to his boss has a glimpse of the tip of a silencer emerging from under a pile of three bodies that the Cloud had not yet checked.

"Sawada!"

Even before Hibari's voice reached Tsuna's ears, the young Don had already pulled Chrome backward to his body. Immediately a sharp pain hit the left side of his abdomen.

Darkness. Absolute darkness drowned his senses in a terrifying way. Stuck in the black abyss, the Vongola leader felt something starting to spread inside his body, as if yearning to corrode him from the inside out.

"-udaime! Jyuudaime!"

Gokudera's voice was the first thing that entered his dazed senses, but it seemed to come from far away. Resisting the wave of dizziness engulfing his body that wanted to play with him again in complete darkness, Tsuna slowly opened his eyes. Hovering above his head - which was currently resting on Chrome's legs - were the timid illusionist and Gokudera. Both had an expression that even his clouded eyes were able to discern as pure concern and a hint of fear. Moving his eyes slightly to the side, Tsuna could see Hibari with a bloody tonfa in hand. The black haired man, as if feeling gaze of the Tenth, turned to his direction. The predatory look still shining on the face of his Cloud Guardian, was the last thing he saw before the dizziness was finally able to drag him back into the darkness.

A pair of black orbs and curly sideburns under a fedora hat, where a chameleon was resting quietly, was the first thing that pierced his eyes while a small smile stretched across his lips.

"Don't you know the term, 'personal bubble', Reborn?"

"If you can talk nonsense, then that means you are well." - the Arcobaleno said, calmly leaning back in the chair he was sitting on beside Tsuna's bed, returning to drink his espresso, he continued - "Being hit by such a clumsily a shot after all the hellish training you had in the last ten years is a shame, dame-Tsuna."

"I'm fine, Reborn." - the brunet replied, sitting up, he received a look that many would consider reproachful or even dangerous, but truthfully, it told him that the Hitman was happy to see him well and awake - "How long was I out?" - Tsuna asked, recognizing the white walls as the infirmary.

"A little over three hours. Before you ask, Gokudera and others are now watching the interrogation of the man who shot you. I think I need not say that he was the most severely beaten by Hibari. He even allowed Ryohei to heal the man enough so that he could maintain consciousness during the interrogation. Of course, now the unfortunate has been beaten to a pulp again." - Reborn commented without hiding the satisfaction he was feeling, the sadistic side of his tutor draws out a sigh from Tsuna.

"Reborn about the bullet used..." - the young Boss closed his eyes, upon opening them, he assumed a more serious expression while fixing his gaze on the Arcobaleno.

"Ah. Shamal could not find any signs of it in your body. Chrome and Gokudera said they saw something like smoke rise from inside your wound." - he responded, pulling a little at the fedora - "I also could not find anything in the other weapons like that, and all of the other bullets were common. Also, the gun used to shoot you was empty. All we can do now is wait for the results of the interrogations."

Slightly raising the clean and dry white shirt that he was wearing, the brunet rested his eyes on the place where hours before was shot. Even after years of being treated with Shinu Ki no Honoo of the Sun, he still found the healing ability of the flames incredible. The wound had completely disappeared and there was not even scar in place. Resting the fingers lightly on his abdomen, the young Don felt his Hyper Intuition kick his head - something was wrong.

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Hibari sighed. Yes, the Hibari Kyoya sighed. It had not even been 24 hours since he had returned to the Vongola mansion and it was the second time that his private area - one of his requirements to living at the headquarters in Italy - was invaded. This time by the other silver-haired herbivore. His usually expressionless face, since his looking sharp and murderous aura speak for him, now clearly reflected his thought: 'irritant'. The noisy herbivore boxer would not stop gushing nonsense and comments about the last few days, which mostly boiled down to the training that he forced the 'little extreme 'recruits of the Varia to do.

Not that Hibari was paying attention. It was just that the other spoke so loudly that was impossible not to hear him. To think that until moments before, Kyoya was quietly enjoying a cup of green tea when the door leading to his personal quarters in mansion slammed open and the noisy herbivore boxer unceremoniously made his way into the room, followed closely by the Cloud's right arm, who was visibly panicking. Now the former prefect was in movement to bite both to death, the boxer for being noisy and Kusakabe Tetsuya for not doing his job properly. With the idea becoming more and more tempting, a 'bright' predatory smile spread across his handsome face - because yes, Hibari Kyoya is a handsome man, and if not for the murderous aura that circled him, he too would live surrounded by women. Of course, not as much as the boss since nobody could compete with Tsuna, although, the Tenth seemed to ignore this fact.

"Hibari, in getting to know you, I know you noticed something off about Sawada." - As fast as the prospect of death came to the skylark's face, it disappeared.

"Hn." - the antisocial man mumbled in vague agreement.

"You might not know this, but... Sawada was very sick a week after you left for your last mission." - the Sun said with undisguised bitterness.

"Kusakabe Tetsuya has informed me of the details." - Hibari declared bluntly.

Yes, hours before, the right arm of the former prefect had told him what he discovered with Yamamoto and Gokudera. He had reported his findings just before the man was going to the meeting Tsuna was having in his office. Hibari had asked him after receiving an unwelcome visit from an angry and overprotective Gokudera Hayato - another who had not changed that much after all - just before lunchtime.

"So all this talk about what happened in the past few days was an excuse to talk about Sawada Tsunayoshi and his health." - Hibari said, raising an eyebrow in annoyance; though, if one were intently watching his face, the anger level of the Cloud Guardian had retreated a bit and currently hovered in safer orbits, a fact which pulled out a sigh of relief from Kusakabe.

"Hibari, don't talk as if it doesn't affect you! Sawada is extremely your boss too!"

"Boss? I do not have such a thing as a boss." – Hibari said in a mocking tone.

"Even though you don't admit that he is our boss, Sawada is still our friend and his health affects everyone!" - the boxer replied, his eyes burning while he clenched his bandaged fists.

"Hn. So what do you want from me? I do not remember when I became a doctor."

At the answer from his boss, Kusakabe blinked once, twice, three times in disbelief. After all, Hibari Kyoya, who did not connect to anyone, the alone Cloud, had not refuted the comment that he and the Tenth Vongola are friends. Kusakabe resisted the urge to pinch himself to make sure he was not dreaming - certainly if he made any movement that catches the attention of the Cloud, he will be bitten to death by his own boss.

"It's just that Sawada does not seem to be in good condition, and with everything that is happening, we need to make sure something like that does not happen again." - Talking about his precious friend and boss, the extreme Guardian of Sun finally seemed to calm down a little, after all, only the Sky can control the Sun.

The strongest Vongola Guardian expressionlessly faced the man sitting in Oriental fashion - on the legs - at his front. This was his second time hearing something along the same lines from the two noisy herbivores - of course, the other was clearly threatening him, while this sounded like a request. In both cases, they fall into his ears the same way, 'protect Sawada Tsunayoshi', something that was really starting to affect his patience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ҳ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the silence of his office, which was now empty, Tsuna mentally reviewed all the information they acquired and the recent events in an attempt to organize his crowded mind. The informational report from Hibari had not even been fully assimilated and Ryohei came bringing even more problems. Still lost in thought, the brunet did not realize the new call message flashing on the screen of his computer. Only after a few seconds, and three messages later, did Tsuna's mind drag him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"Hello Shoichi! Sorry on lingering to answer you." - Tsuna said, opening a warm smile for the image of one of his most precious friends, and also the head of the Vongola strategy unit.

"No problem Tsunayoshi, and it is good to see you again." - the redhead greeted, a smile spreading across his face as he sees Tsuna - "I have analyzed the data you sent me before and I honestly had no idea that the situationwas so complicated."

"It seems that it went from bad to worse." – Tsuna said, uttering a weary sigh - "Seven of Xanxus's subordinates were ambushed like Hibari, and four did not survive. Onii-san said he had a hard time healing them."

"So the black flames appeared again." - Shoichi sighed too, feeling the stomach pains approaching - "What you will do now? You know, the next step of the plan is not yet complete."

"Ah. Mukuro still has not returned from his mission. We must wait and be alert."

"Speaking of him, Mukuro-kun has contacted me, he wanted get the design plans of a building in Milan. He said the site looked suspicious and did not want to be caught by surprise in an unknown place." – Shoichi reported, cleaning his glasses with a serious look.

So he decided to listen to my warning - Tsuna thought while a small smile appeared on his lips.

"I must admit that a place with so much security really does look suspicious. Giannini and I took some time to pass through security and download a copy of the design plans of the building. Furthermore, the outer part of the building is clearly not all there is to see. And after I carefully analyzed the entire project, in a way, it reminded me of the memories I received about the time I was in command of the Merone base, but in a scale and complexity significantly smaller. Still, it is something to consider."

"I just hope Mukuro does not do anything rash and foremost, does not underestimate our enemy." - the brunet commented with the same worried look that Reborn dubbed "Hyper Protective Version Tenth Vongola."

Mukuro, it is better to continue taking my advice seriously, otherwise, the consequencesmaybebe quite disastrous.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ҳ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At first glance, the long two-story building in a little busy area to the east of the center of Milan seemed quiet. Just another clinic that provided services to a small handful of Famiglias, their number of patrons did not even complete all the fingers of one hand. Yes, it was a private clinic for members of the Mafia. Considering the absurd quantity of Famiglias who lived scattered throughout Italy, finding a clinic such as this was no surprise. In fact, even some hospitals are controlled by the larger Famiglias. Vongola's own, at the behest of the Tenth, had a fully equipped medical center, serving not only members of the Alliance, but mostly ordinary citizens as well.

However, while it should be just one more of the clinical places found in the underworld, it had aroused the curiosity of a certain illusionist's bi-colored eyes. At the request of Sawada Tsunayoshi, he was keeping an eye on a Famiglia whose recent movement crashed on the Vongola's radar. After observing a meeting between the representatives of such Famiglia, he had taken note of this place, becoming his newest target.

The reception was empty, just a woman wearing a turquoise blouse with a big neckline, hanging onto the phone while sanding her long red nails, indicated that the place was still in operation.

"Then I said to him 'darling, if you cannot afford to keep me, I have no reason to continue living with you." - the receptionist loudly drawled on the phone, when the automatic door opened - "Wait Mirella, someone came." - She informed, turning to the entry she encountered a void - "Tch! I told that pig I want to change my shift for the day! No, I'm not talking to you. It's just that the door opened and I thought someone was..." - the woman returned to talking on the phone casually.

"Kufufufu. If all this security was for nothing, I'll make sure to hold the redhead rabbit and the ball in some really bloody illusions for the same fifty minutes they made me wait for the design of the building." - Mukuro murmured, his signature laugh sinisterly leaking while the kanji in his eye changed again.

He took out a small device from his pocket - the latest generation of laptops developed by the experts in the Vongola, which the Tenth had given to all the Guardians - and with a few taps on the screen, a complete design of the building appeared. With his illusions interfering with the surveillance cameras, Mukuro walked down the hallway while keeping a watchful eye on the design. Suddenly, he was met with a smooth wall.

"Oya?! It seems I found the first surprise." - the blue haired man mumbled, a smile of satisfaction starting to make its way to his lips.

The image on the little screen indicated that in his exact location there should have been a door leading to the basement, but instead there was only one wall. Which meant that he was not the only illusionist in the building. Materializing his trident, he struck the ground and immediately a mist began to retreat from the wall, revealing a metal door. Using one of his Hell Rings to extend his illusions, he opened the door, exposing a staircase. Mukuro was faced with a dimly lit corridor in the end of the descent when a strong odor that, although seemed familiar, his sense of smell couldn't identify what it was, appeared. Ignoring the smell that was burning his nostrils, he silently followed the halls. His nerves spike when the sound of voices abruptly turns his attention. Calmly, using an illusion to conceal his presence, the illusionist followed the voices to find their origin. After taking some steps forward, the Mist was faced with a glass wall revealing a large lab one floor below with scientists wearing white coats working on some strange kind of research. Looking around, he spots a door that would lead him inside. Opening it, he receives a welcome of the same odor that he smelled before, but now in a higher concentration.

Shrieks. Shrieks pierced his eardrums. Shrieks of pain and agony resounded throughout the room, while his eyes widened considerably at the scene that was unfolded in front of his bi-colored orbs. He realized the strong odor that he had been feeling since he came down to the basement had an explanation - it was the smell of human flesh being burned. With the howls of agony echoing in his mind, his blood began to boil, while unpleasant memories - that the years of living with Sawada Tsunayoshi and the covey of misfits who the Tenth called of family, had almost completely erased - rushed up. Memories of when the damn Estraneo Famiglia used him along with Ken, Chikusa, and the many other children, as guinea pigs for their experiments. Mukuro clenched his fist tighter around the trident. The desire to repeat the massacre he caused when he was still a boy trying to escape the clutches of the dam scientist in a white lab coat and flee to freedom, began to corrode him from within. It was because of things like this that he ardently hated the mafia for. It was because of actions like this that he wanted to destroy the Mafia. It was for things like...

"Be careful and under any circumstances, do not lower your guard." -Tsuna's warning echoed in his mind, dragging him back to reality. Another voice pierced his ears right after the thought.

"Another weak guinea pig that can be discarded." - a figure, dressed completely in white with the hair style 'Black Power,' smiled while watching some men withdraw a body from one of the tables being used in the tests; no more than ten feet away from where Mukuro was.

A sinister smile made its way to Mukuro's lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ҳ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chrome was in the kitchen together with Pizio helping him prepare a cake for breakfast. She had woken up early and after the little chat with Kyoko and Haru yesterday, the young woman felt the sudden urge to recall the time when the three were still in school and gathered together to eat some cakes. Though it was a somewhat rare occurrence, taking into account that she lived in Kokuyo together with Mukuro-sama and the others and not close to her true friends, since MM hated her with very fiber of her being. So she asked if she could help the head chef the mansion make a cake for everyone, especially the Boss.

Truth be told, it was a surprise for everybody to find that the Tenth had a great weakness for sweet things. Gokudera was the one who discovered this peculiarity of the young boss about two months after they moved to the Vongola headquarters in Italy, when three times in a row Hayato found Tsuna eating cake instead of doing the damn paperwork. Needless to say that a certain Arcobaleno was not happy with that, and the Hitman forced Tsuna to do extra training for two whole weeks. For some reason, this discovery left the loyal right-hand man of the Tenth somewhat inconvenienced and very preoccupied since the Boss seemed to surrender to the sweet with greater frequency when he was very stressed or when his intuition began to disturb him. Reborn was the one who came up with a possible explanation. It seems that the passion for sweet things was some kind of hereditary trait in those with the Vongola blood, and that it was probably linked to the Hyper Intuition the Bosses of the Famiglia had. So, since Tsuna had a more accurate intuition among all the previous heads, and because he was a direct descendant of the Primo, he seemed to have developed a greater love for sweet things. Needless to say, after countless of hours doing extra Spartan training, the young Don was finally able to overcome his weakness for sweets. Although, it was not rare for Tsuna and Lambo to be still seen together eating cakes and other desserts.

While Chrome and Pizio were distracted in the kitchen, a strong tremor shook the mansion, knocking down some pots. On the third floor, Gokudera, who was relaxing by reading the latest magazine that he bought about unexplained phenomena, almost fell off the chair when Uri jumped out of bed and into his lap while the mansion rattled. Immediately leaving aside his reading, Hayato winded up in the aisle and came across a sleepy Lambo, still wearing pajamas with cow prints on them, and Yamamoto, who had a toothbrush in his hand and a serious look on his face.

"Neh, what is all this noise? Are we being attacked or what?" - Lambo grumbled, rubbing his eyes and letting out a yawn.

"Gokudera."

"No question, its coming from the training room." - answered the Storm, replying to the unspoken question by the swordsman as the trio reached the stairs.

Entering the hallway leading to the training room, they soon spot Hibari and Ryohei, who were stopped before the double reinforced steel door - a precaution that Tsuna took to maintain the level of damage to the outside of the room as low as possible. Despite this, during the only time the Guardians witnessed their boss really angry, he overthrew these doors with just one kick without even being in Hyper Mode.

"So is Sawada even the one who is doing a workout extreme as this?" – Ryohei questioned when the three joined the duo.

"Tch! As if anyone, besides Jyuudaime, could make the whole mansion shake without overthrowing it." - the silver haired man retorted, glancing at the corner towards the Cloud Guardian, who clearly ignored.

"Neh, is it okay to leave the Vongola to train that way alone?"

"Of course, Jyuudaime prefers to train alone when Reborn-san is not in the mansion. He does not want anyone to end up getting hurt."

"Well, it's not this that I'm talking about, it's just that this is the first time he has been training alone since that day."- everyone immediately turned their attention to the young Guardian.

"Lambo is right. Maybe we should see how Tsuna is doing."

"If you interfere carelessly you will only get an injury, and then that will leave him with a herbivorous aura for the rest of the day." - Hibari grunted, propped up on the wall with his eyes fixed on the door.

"Tch! You say that, but you also came to check what is happening." - Gokudera replied.

"I just came to see who interrupted my sleep and bite him to death for waking me up." - the Cloud answered with a blank expression, which seemed to betray his words about a bloody fight.

"Maa, maa, discussing this now will not help resolve-" Yamamoto paused, narrowing his eyes - "It's been a while since the noise and tremors stopped." - he observed with a serious expression.

Everybody shot a glance at the door while Gokudera rushed to open it. But before the Storm could touch the door, it opened up, revealing a mess of brown hair framing a face with a few drops of sweat and a pair of hazel-brown orbs, that, once sees them, light up with a smile appearing on his lips.

"Good morning, minna! Sorry to wake you up."

"Jyuudaime!"

"Sawada, that was an extreme workout!"

"Tsuna, are you okay?"

"Ah. I'm a little sweaty, and certainly in need of a bath, but I'm fine." - said the brunet, increasing his smile - "Minna, I know you are worried, but I'm feeling fine, moreover, Reborn is coming back soon and if he finds out I did not exercise even little in the days he was absent, he certainly will further intensify my training." - With that comment, a small frown formed on his handsome face while at the same time he received some godly looks from Lambo, Yamamoto and Gokudera, plus a fist into the air from Ryohei followed by a cry of 'extreme'; Hibari just narrowed his blue-gray eyes in the brunet's direction.

"If Vongola is fine, I'll go back to sleep." - Lambo muttered with another yawn, when suddenly a hand grabbed the back of his shirt collar.

"Oi, Ahoushi, where are you going? You and I have training today. "

"Geh?! Goku-Gokudera-shi! "

"No more, go change for breakfast!" - Growled the Vongola Storm.

"Lambo, I'll go up with you, I need a shower and clean clothes." - Tsuna informed, joining the youngest of the group who seemed to animate a little with the company of his 'nii-chan'.

"And he calls this exercise." - Hibari muttered, returning to his quarters.

When they hear the commentary from the Cloud, the three advance to the still opened room. Of the five Strauss-Moska that Spanner had built to assist in Tsuna's training, only one was still recognizable. The others were turned heaps of metal and scraps with pieces scattered throughout the room, which also won many craters on the walls and burn marks.

"Tch! Normally Jyuudaime would not go as far as destroying the Moska when he is training."

"Ah, but this time Sawada extremely annihilated them."

"Tsuna must be more uncomfortable with the situation than we imagined."

"That's why when I grab the bastards responsible for this, I'll make sure to wipe them out completely." - Gokudera growled, clenching his fists.

"Ah! You are extremely right, Takohead!" - Ryohei yelled, throwing a bandaged fist into the air.

"I also agree. Nobody disturbs our Boss, and gets away with it."

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In most recent days, Tsuna felt his Hyper Intuition punching his head, it was like having a tiny Reborn constantly slam his Leon hammer within his skull, which was not far from what he did in the past. Eventually it got to the point where the brunet resorted to entering the training room to distract his mind and, as a bonus, relieve some of the stress formed inside his body. Since he collapsed the first time about three weeks before, Reborn had relieved some of his training using Shinu Ki no Honoo and focused more with working on his physique, which earned him a bit more muscle mass, plus some distensions and concussions - once the training methods of the sadistic Arcobaleno were not the same as those a physical trainer would use at a gym. Training that included batting cannonballs - fired by one cannon - with a steel rod weighing over fifty pounds. Needless to say that such training yielded a whole stack of paperwork with expenditure on repairs to the garden full of craters, some bumpy walls of the mansion, the replacement of the fountain and the statue that sits on it - which were completely destroyed when Tsuna accidentally countered one of the cannonballs in the direction of both, not to mention the ridiculous amount of trees that the Tenth ended up toppling and had to replant. But today, after days without using his gloves and flames, Tsuna decided to train using them, and as a result, ended up completely destroying the Strauss-Moskas that Spanner had built specifically to help him workout when there was not a companion available or when Tsuna just did not want company.

It seems that my flames got a little out of control after so long without using them. That, or... - Tsuna thought with a sigh, as he walked into the dining room for breakfast where everyone - except the lone Cloud - were the waiting.

The morning began like any other day, laughs, nonsense talks, Lambo almost asleep while sitting, 'discussions' between Gokudera and Ryohei, who was in the Mansion at Tsuna's request, leading to Yamamoto trying to stop them until Tsuna's expression darkened, instantly making the room temperature tumble down a few degrees. However, before any questions were made, Lorenzi appeared in the room followed by two men who Gokudera and Yamamoto immediately identified as Uffo Andreani and Vonny Carli, respectively the leader of one of the Rain squads and leader of a Storm squad. Andreani, the shortest with a long green hair stuck in a braid, was wearing the traditional uniform of the Rain, black pants and a blue jacket. Carli had lead-colored hair cut in military style, with the uniform of the Storm, black pants and a red coat. Both seemed uncomfortable and pale, the powerful aura that surrounded the room only worsening the situation.

"Sorry to interrupt you, masters, Decimo-sama." - introduced Lorenzi.

"Tch! What are you doing here?" - Gokudera snarled, not in the best of moods, a sense of anticipation was also part of it as he felt that something was wrong based on the attitude of Jyuudaime.

"Maa, maa, Gokudera. They must have something important to say to have come here at this hour." - Yamamoto said, though his expression was not as calm as it usually was.

A sigh coming from the edge of the table made everyone turn their attention to the young Tenth. The two newcomers were not able to prevent a shudder when a pair of orbs shining a soft orange tone on a hazel-brown, fell on them. Although there was no one in the underworld who had never heard about the power of that look, being in the presence of the legendary Vongola Tenth was something truly creepy. Even though the two men were, five centimeters in Andreani's case and nine in Carli's, higher than the boss, the enormously powerful aura emanating from his imposing figure demanded respect above all else.

Although he realized that his aura was causing the discomfort in both unfortunate men - who were certainly the bearers of bad news since the only exception to interrupt the sacred mealtimes of the Tenth's family was when something truly urgent was happening - Tsuna could not help feel irritated. After all, once more his Hyper Intuition was warning him of more problems.

"Minna, sorry about this, but I'm afraid we'll have to pass on breakfast. Gokudera and Yamamoto, bring the leaders of your squads, we will go to my office. Ryohei, warn Hibari that I want to see him later. Chrome, please contact Mukuro and check in on his situation, then come to my office. Fuuta, contact Basil, leave him on notice for a meeting this afternoon, and Lambo, I'm making an exception today, you will also be part of this meeting, the same goes for you, Fuuta."

A chorus of comprehension echoed through the room and soon everyone dissipated for their respective functions. Following the Guardians, the two squad leaders cast curious glances, feeling apprehensive for the young Don leading the small group through the long hallways of the mansion. They stop in a large, well lit room with a big glass window, next to it was a table where a few stacks of paperwork rested mercilessly. The Tenth took his place behind the desk in a comfortable leather chair and crossing his fingers on the table, turned his attention to the two newcomers, who, once again tremble.

"So?"

A heavy and somewhat embarrassing silence formed in the room. While the two leaders feel their throats go dry.

"Oi, Jyuudaime asked you guys a question! If you only came here to stand still and say nothing..." - The unspoken threat made both of them shudder, after all, everyone knew that the strange moods the frightening Vongola Guardians possessed, even the youngest among them, who was sitting quietly beside Yamamoto, could be very dangerous.

"Maa, maa, Gokudera. Intimidation is not the best way to persuade them." - Even saying something like that, the aura emanating from the swordsman did not seem as friendly as his words. "Neh?" - He completed, slightly narrowing his caramel orbs, while Gokudera rolled his eyes.

"Well..." - Carli was the first to take courage; after four years as leader of a Storm squad, he was more adapted to the tempestuous temperament of the Guardian, also, the Boss was getting impatient, as indicated by the temperature falling in the room every minute - "Last night we received a call for help from two Famiglias of the Alliance, the Famiglias Cavasin and Fregnani. Both are relatively small, and, as stated in our orders we always have to provide help when a call for assistance is received through the secret code given for each individual Famiglia."

"We warned our respective squads and with some squad members of the Sun, we went to help. Squadron of the Rain was in charge of the Fregnani Famiglia, while Storm assumed the Cavasin." - Continued Andreani, still hesitant - "When we arrived at the headquarters of Fregnani, the enemies had mostly already fled, which facilitated the need of removal and treatment of the many wounded."

"But for the Cavasin their situation was different, when we arrived they were in full attack. Hooded men carrying blades covered in strange black flames were advancing without hesitation. There were several casualties on our side, but the Cavasin Famiglia was almost completely decimated." - Carli finished, clenching his fists; anger was boiling inside him as he avoided facing the figures inside the room.

There was silence. A heavy and thick silence. Even the sounds of breathing seemed to have stopped. A deafening hush that clung to all, while the words spoken were being digested and assimilated.

"Gokudera." - Breaking the self-imposed silence was the velvety voice in a serious tone overflowing with a feeling, there was so much that the Guardians could sense the anger - "Tell everyone that the Tenth is convening an emergency meeting with the summit of the Vongola Alliance today at the first hour of the afternoon. Just leave out Enma and Shoichi, I'll personally warn them." - Moving his eyes to the back of the room, Tsuna focused his attention on the three other Guardians and Fuuta, who had arrived as soon as the situation began to be explained and remained silently listening - "Ryohei inform Xanxus of the meeting, ask him to come or send a representative for him, but I want someone from the Varia here, then assemble squads of the Sun and leave them on standby. The same goes for all the other squad leaders, after today's meeting they will receive further orders that must be followed rigidly. And for everyone, the advice I gave on the day that Hibari returned will be in full force until this situation is resolved."

Again a chorus of understanding echoed through the room while one by one, they were all retreated. The last to leave was Yamamoto who led the two squad leaders - still stunned by the whole situation. Soon all that Tsuna was left with was silence. Rising from his chair, the Tenth launched his gaze out the window at the other sky. Clear and a vibrant blue, it did not seem to share any of his afflictions.

"Sawada. You know you cannot keep this up for much longer."

Hearing him, a small smile appeared on the lips of Tsuna. His Cloud only called him that way during two rare moments, when he was angry and the two were alone, or very worried and the two were alone. It seemed that today applied both moments. Of course Hibari would never admit his concern, but such actions betrayed him.

"Ah. I know."

"I will stay at the mansion. And you better to try harder to disguise it, the noisy herbivores are starting to annoy me about your health." - Kyoya said, moving toward the door.

"I'm dying."

Hibari froze. The Hibari Kyoya was frozen with his hand holding the handle of the door, his eyes were magnified in a way that would have been comical if the expression on his face was not absolute shock. The color drained from his face to a white that almost competed with the complexion of the man standing at the window with his hands in the pants pockets and his face concealed by brown hair. Hibari was not sure when he dropped what he was doing, all he knew was that he was facing his boss as if he had said the most absurd thing he ever heard. Until that sentence really sinks into his mind.

I may have beentoo direct. - Tsuna thought turning to find the blank look of his Guardian.

"I'm sorry. But I thought you would have soon discovered anyway."

"How long?" - Hibari's voice sounded lower than it usually was and there was a requirement for an answer as his face assumed the usual expression, though his eyes betrayed his apparent indifference.

A small sigh escaped from Tsuna's lips.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." - The softness of his voice was gone, and in its place irritation began to bubble.

It seems that hehas already recovered. As expected of Hibari Kyoya.

"Shamal does not know. The diagnosis is still not definitive, but if we do not find out what is affecting me and a cure, then it shall happen."

"So?"

"I followed the advice of Enma and sent a sample of my blood to Verde. I requested Mammon to hand it to him in secret one day before you returned."

"The Shimon also knows."

"Ah. I told Enma so Shamal gave me the diagnosis." - Tsuna agreed.

With Hibari dipping into his own thoughts, a brief silence formed in the office. Then, as if something linked in the Cloud's mind, Hibari fixed his blue gray eyes on his boss, a dangerous aura beginning to emanate from his body.

"If they're behind this, then that was not an ambush."

"I figured that you would come to that conclusion too." - Tsuna said, his hazel-brown orbs being swallowed by an orange cast.

"Hn. I'll use the training room for a while, be sure to keep the other noisy herbivores away. "

"Ah." - Tsuna sighed again, watching his Cloud leave the office with a predatory look on his face.

It seems thatsoonI'll have to do extra paperwork. - Tsuna thought, returning his gaze to the blue sky.

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¹Type of uniform. For those who are curious about how it looks go to the last page of chapter 320+ or google Hibari's vongola gear.

Minna-san, I'll hope to your comments! Tell me what you thought of this chapter! Tell me your theories on the plot of the story!

And I'm still doing the soundtrack Cielo, then send me the songs that you think is the 'face' of this story!
Ciao, ciao ^^