Recap

Tsuna and Atsuka separately return to Italy during school break. Once there, Tsuna gets into a training accident with Lal that ends with them meeting The Hitman Reborn, who gives Tsuna the scary vibes, for sure. But sometimes, Tsuna wonders why he is able to fall asleep while the man's driving like a lunatic. Oh, and Tsuna finds out his best friend, Donato, is part of the Mafia. Not thinking anything of it, the Storm Guardian assigned Tsuna the role of body guard to one Azzurra Menta, otherwise known as Atsuka, Tsuna's friend and classmate.


Chapter 14

Day 4 of Break

The sound of gun shots echoed through the demolition site.

Tsuna pulled the weapon's trigger and cartwheeled away to hide behind a building, just as the enemies fired shots covered with Storm flames. When the shooters stopped their attack, Tsuna stuck his head out to assess the problem before pulling back.

From above, a man jumped down to land behind him. Tsuna leaned away from a punch and kneed the man hard, then pushed him aside as another assaulted him with a knife.

The knife got caught in the first man's shoulder and Tsuna shot the second man. He threw the first man out onto the street.

Tsuna reloaded and shot at the forklift truck next to a demolished building. As the propane tank exploded, Tsuna stood from his hiding spot. Body half shielded, he fired four times, each bullet finding its mark. He breathed hard as he waited for one of the enemies to react. When they didn't, he lowered his hands and wiped his face. "Okay," he said to himself.

The scene before him shimmered out of existence, leaving behind a large, empty training room. Tsuna took a minute to catch his breath before leaving the room to put away the VR goggles and weapons. Then he reset the system.

He climbed the steps up to the main level of the Rain Guardian's house. The only sound he heard came from the ticking of an analogue clock the Rain Guardian had in the kitchen. The man had left earlier to meet with the Sun Guardian and hadn't returned, which meant Tsuna wasn't going to see him at all; today was his first day on the job and Atsuki was not one to stay put. Already, he received a call about her wanting to leave her house. Tsuna had to accompany her.

He pulled on his black coat, which covered the weapon Lal insisted he wore at all times, since he still couldn't light any flames. With everything that was happening in the Mafia, Lal was really strict on that rule.

Tsuna's mind flashed to the moment when Lal's bullet sped toward him. He had stiffened when something infiltrated his mind. A thought...there was an image of a similar bullet aimed right between his eyes. And the word he apparently uttered: Reborn.

Tsuna shook his pounding head. "No, don't think about it. It'll just give you a headache," he muttered. He pocketed the variety of rings the Storm Guardian still insisted that he carry and left the house.

Still, his mind wandered to the hitman and the Mafia. He replayed in his mind every word the hitman said and tried to match it to someone he might know. Like he told Lal, he was sure he would have remembered meeting someone like Reborn, so he wasn't surprised when his mind didn't give him an answer. But it still feels like I've met him somewhere. The dangerous aura Reborn shrouded himself with suited the hitman and was definitely something that Tsuna knew he should be afraid of. He was quite sure he actually was afraid of the hitman. And yet he thought he could relax in Reborn's presence? How can he fear someone yet think he was safe?

Tsuna groaned and tugged his brown hair. "It's making me crazy!" Then he pressed the Menta Family's doorbell. HIIE! When did I arrive!? Wait a second...I don't think I told Atsuki I was...

Running footsteps grew louder as someone ran to the door.

"Miss! Please let me answer the door! You don't know who is on the other side!"

"Oh, I've had it with your pampering! You're driving me insane!"

"It is to protect you, Miss! It might be kidnappers!"

"In front of my own house? I don't think so."

Tsuna gave the door a wary look and took a cautious step back.

"Finally!" Atsuki said when the door was yanked opened. "I thought you were never going to—Tsuna?" She backpedalled and stared at her friend, who looked equally surprised to see her at the door. "What are you doing in front of my house?"

"Um..." Tsuna tried to smile. "I'm...your bodyguard?"

Another figure was running full-tilt toward them but stopped right behind a speechless Atsuka. She tried to pull Atsuka back into the house while the other hand reached for the door. "Miss, this is not how you open a door to strangers!"

Atsuka was still staring at Tsuna with her mouth moving silently as she tried to find the words to express her confusion. "What—but, I—what's going on?"

The woman sighed. "You're not listening to me at..." she turned to glare at Tsuna. "You're from the Vongola?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Hm..." the woman narrowed her eyes and looked at Tsuna from the top of his head down to his shoes. His hair was as uncontrollable as ever. He was wearing a black coat with a blue t-shirt beneath, and a pair of ordinary jeans. No matter how one looked, Tsuna gave off the appearance of an average teenager. It didn't look like he could hurt a fly. "Miss, maybe I should go with you."

Atsuka snapped to attention and shook her head emphatically. "Oh, no you don't. If you go with me, I'll get nothing done. You stay here and do whatever padre told you to do. I'm leaving now!" Atsuka grabbed Tsuna's arm and practically dragged him away from the house.

He stumbled as he tried to keep up with Atsuka who was practically running.

"Atsuka, wait!"

"You're part of the Vongola?" Atsuka didn't slow down, but Tsuna's steps faltered.

"Y-Yeah. Sorry, I couldn't find a good time to tell you."

Atsuka stopped at the red light and whirled to face her friend. "Maybe you could have said something when I told you about the Menta Family?"

Tsuna winced. "Yeah, I guess I could have. Are you angry?"

"Am I what? No, I'm not angry! I'm just..." Atsuka gestured in the air. "How did you get involved with the Mafia in the first place?"

"That's a long story," Tsuna said.

"One of these days, we're going to have to sit down somewhere, and you'll have to tell us..." Her blue eyes narrowed. "Wait. Does Donato know?"

"Er—no. But I did find out that he's part of the Mafia. Why ask?"

"Just seeing if I'm the only one who was left in the dark."

The light turned green and they crossed the street.

"I feel like I'm the one who was left in the dark," Tsuna said.

Atsuka gave Tsuna a sad smile. "I'm sorry. I guess we should have told you earlier. Donato even more so. You are childhood friends with him, aren't you?"

"He probably didn't want me to get involved. Now that I know he's Dino Cavallone's son...I realize that he lost his sister to the Puniamo. His reaction to the Puniamo members in Namimori makes sense now."

Atsuka nodded. "After they killed her, things started to escalate. I heard that the Vongola are trying to stop a full-scale battle from happening, but my father thinks it's inevitable. The Puniamo just don't know when to stop. Why are they doing this anyway? It doesn't make sense."

"Oh? We don't make sense, do we?"

Tsuna and Atsuka froze at the voice coming from the shadows of a building. A woman emerged from a cloud of Mist flames with two others, all with evil grins.

In a flash, Atsuka brought out a box weapon that she had hidden in a pocket. Then she raised her left hand in a fist. Only then did Tsuna notice that the ring she wore on her middle finger was a Class A Storm ring. She lit it and opened her box weapon. It was some sort of cross between arm guards, knives, and guns...but he didn't get a proper look because his eyes were focused on the woman.

He could never forget her face. It was the same woman he shot in the market two years ago. At the time, she was tailing the Rain Guardian. Then things became hectic and the woman had taken a young girl hostage. That was when Tsuna first shot someone.

"Y-You're." Her long hair was dyed red now, and she had added more tattoos to the ones she already inked on her face, which helped to disguise the scars she most likely gained from her years in the Mafia.

Her grin widened. "Yes, you remember me, don't you, boy? I still have to return the favour."

"Tsuna, you know her?"

Tsuna hesitated before nodding. "Not really, but..."

The woman purred. "The boy shot me," she said, imitating a whine that didn't suit her face. "He didn't even think about what that would do to my skin when I finally healed. It left such a beautiful scar on my arm. And now I think I should pay him back. I think a hole through his chest would look just fine, don't you?"

Atsuka's hands gripped the knives attached to her arm guards and readied for an attack.

"And you, dear girl, don't you have manners?" The woman scoffed. "Pulling out a box weapon on an unarmed woman. How rude."

Atsuka's eyes hardened. "As if you're harmless!"

The woman smirked and pulled out an ordinary gun. On her ring finger, she wore a Storm ring. "It would be wonderful to fight Storm-to-Storm, but I don't need a box weapon to deal with you. Get them!" She raised her gun and fired it at Tsuna, who had moved before she even spoke.

We're outnumbered! There's a Mist user somewhere. That's how she appeared like that. Who knows when that person will join the fight? Tsuna ducked a blow from one of the men and pushed him. The woman fired another shot at Tsuna, this one missing him by an inch as he jumped away.

Atsuka was holding her own against the other man, using her weapons to keep him away as he tried to grab her. Tsuna's eyes widened when he saw the man reach into his coat pocket for something. Before he could pull out his weapon, Atsuka lifted her right arm guard and pressed something. Storm flames shot out from a hidden barrel to sear the man's right arm. He screamed and backed into the woman who was just about to shoot Tsuna.

The woman scowled at the screaming man and called over her shoulder, "Marco, what are you doing? Come out and play!"

A man with brown and blond hair appeared out of Mist flames and gave the woman a bored look. He turned to look at Tsuna and Atsuka, who were fighting back to back against the two Puniamo thugs.

"No thanks," Marco said. "It looks like you have things under control."

Tsuna didn't think he could be any more worried. He glanced at the newcomer. Now that the Mist user appeared, they were fighting against four people, even if the man said he wasn't going to participate. Their best bet was to run—

That man...Tsuna dodged a blow to the head and kicked the thug again in the same spot. He stole a quick glance at the Mist user. His hair is different and he has an ear piercing now, but...Tsuna's eyes flickered to the man's neck. The man had a red tattoo peeking out from under his shirt's collar.

From what Tsuna could see, it looked like the same tattoo he saw on the man when he was thirteen. And before then, when he was just eleven.

When he was eleven, he had run into a group of teenagers who were just about to fight. He knew now that the teenagers were split between the Cavallone and the Puniamo Family. The Puniamo, including Marco, had used Tsuna as a hostage against Diana and the other Cavallone teens... But Marco didn't do anything to help or to harm Tsuna. He just stood there, like he did now: standing in the background, he watched Tsuna and Atsuka fight for their lives.

The second time Tsuna saw Marco, Tsuna was thirteen and Diana was walking Tsuna home, protecting him from thieves. There wasn't a fight that time. Marco merely taunted and threatened Diana before walking away. Well, considering how Diana really did die by his family's hands, maybe the threat was actually a warning, since no one would be stupid enough to tell the enemy what they're going to do, even if it were a taunt. Which was...weird, considering the circumstances. Why would he...?

The thug punched Tsuna in the face and he stumbled back. That's what I get for being distracted! Better yet, what is he going to do this time? Tsuna thought. With a chill, he remembered Marco's words to Diana.

"Just so you know, even if a few of your family came, I could still win—my control over my flames increased quite a bit from the last time we fought."

That was two years ago. Marco probably has total control over his Mist flames now.

The thug Tsuna fought against pulled out a gun. Tsuna dodged another of the woman's bullets and drew his own gun. He shot the thug in the leg before the thug could shoot, then he turned to face the woman, but she was ready for him and had shot his gun out of his hands before he could aim it at her.

She smirked, thinking that she had the upper hand. "I didn't think you'd have a gun, but you should have used it earlier when you had a chance."

"Listen up, brat." Lal's voice echoed in Tsuna's mind, from a long-ago training exercise. "One day, you're going to face someone who's armed when you're not. What do you do?"

"Dodge? Run?" Tsuna had said.

"You can't dodge forever and a bullet can still hit you if you run. You attack." [A/N: DISCLAIMER: DON'T BELIEVE ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T RESEARCH THIS. In fact, wouldn't recommend being near a gun at all.]

I can't believe I'm going to do this.

Before the woman could take aim, Tsuna ran toward her. She was so surprised that she stiffened and realized too late that she shouldn't have hesitated. Tsuna grabbed her arm, forcing her to aim the gun at the sky. Still, she didn't loosen her grip on her gun until Tsuna twisted her arm and Atsuka fired a Storm bullet into the woman's side just as the man she was fighting grabbed both her arms.

As Tsuna and the woman fought for the gun, one of them pulled the trigger. They stilled, not sure who was shot. A moment passed and then the woman fell, blood pouring from her right foot. Tsuna shoved her away, thinking only of Atsuka, who was in danger.

Or...not.

Atsuka twisted her arm and a hidden blade flared slid out of its compartment. It sliced the man's flesh.

When the thug released her, she and Tsuna bolted from the scene. Tsuna looked behind him, but the Mist user—Marco—wasn't in pursuit. Instead, he had his hands on his hips and was shaking his head at the three Puniamo members writhing on the ground in pain.


~EO!~

Yamamoto whistled. "That punch is going to bruise tomorrow."

"Kufufufu...I'd like to fight that Mist user."

"Oh?" Yamamoto chuckled. "Is he that good?"

Mukuro smirked. "If I were in their world and I had Mist flames, I could defeat him. Kufufufufu. I just want to see what he'll do when he's forced to fight against the Vongola."

Yamamoto frowned and studied Mukuro, who was sporting a rather smug smile on his face. "What do you mean?"

"Kufufufu."

"Come on, Mukuro. Now isn't the time to be cryptic! Are you trying to say Tsuna's going to magically make him side with the Vongola?"

Mukuro just laughed and shook his head. "If you want to know, you should've focused on people other than Tsunayoshi when he wasn't doing anything interesting."

"Oi! Are you two coming or what?!"

Yamamoto and Mukuro tilted their heads back and saw Gokudera flying toward them.

"What?" Yamamoto shouted back.

Gokudera glided in circles around their heads. "Tch! I was trying to tell you about Lambo and Kyoya. Chrome found out that they're fighting two against four."

Mukuro cocked an eyebrow. "So?"

"Against four whole Mafia families."

"Oya? You should have said so sooner." Mukuro's wings materialized in a flash.

"Is Chrome watching them now?" Yamamoto asked when he lifted off from the ground.

Gokudera sped up and performed an upside-down flip to talk to Yamamoto. "Yeah, she's keeping track of what's happening, since neither of you heard me calling the first time."

"Ah...I've been...haha..." Yamamoto scratched the back of his head. "I blocked everyone from my mind, since I couldn't risk the spy trying to contact me telepathically and seeing or hearing something they shouldn't."

Gokudera flew down two levels of the Elgan Order before replying. "The Council is getting really nervous about having two empty seats. First the Advisor dies, and then the Investigator. If any more of them are killed, the system will be dangerously unbalanced."

"And you mention this because...?" Yamamoto prompted.

"They're going to have to fill in those seats some day. Who do you think they'll choose?"

"I wonder if our dear old Sawada Tsunayoshi is on the list," Mukuro mused.

Yamamoto laughed. "He can't be. He's our leader. What's the Akane Team without Tsuna?"

"He's on it," Gokudera said.

Yamamoto's eyes narrowed and he turned to face the highest level of the Elgan Order, Byakuran's domain. "No way."

Gokudera grabbed Yamamoto's shirt collar to tug him away from that direction. "If they're satisfied with Boss's actions on this mission, they're thinking of giving him one of the seats."

"Tsuna...is Tsuna ready for it?"

"Boss is ready for anything! And those aren't empty words; I've watched him mature and grow ever since he joined us. He's smart and dependable. He does what is right."

"Kufufufu. And that is why he's not going to be chosen," Mukuro interrupted. "You don't need to worry about things that won't happen, Takeshi. Tsunayoshi is too strong-willed to obey commands that go against his ethics. If the Elgan Order happens to command him to do something that goes against his self-proclaimed mission to help the world...chances are, Tsunayoshi would rather die than obey."

"Ha-ha... Yeah, that doesn't make me feel better."

"It's a truth. Kufufufu. Truths hurt."

"Of course, I'll be with the boss no matter what, so they'll have to kill me first," Gokudera said. "When you think about it, there's no way they'll take him away from us."

Gokudera dipped down and dove through a layer of clouds. When he emerged, he spotted Chrome sitting on the edge, near the entrance to the Elgan Order. She spared him a glance when he landed, but her attention went back to the fight she was watching.

"They just walked into an ambush," she said.

Yamamoto botched his landing. "I clearly wasn't listening. Did you just say that Kyoya walked into an ambush?"

"According to his information, it was only supposed to be a few members from the enemy families. But the enemies' allies found out about Kyoya-kun's plans and pulled out everything they had. The four enemy families are attacking him at full force. Lambo came to help as soon as he realized what was happening."

"Where are the other Vongola members?"

"Too far." Chrome considered her statement. "People seem to be too far all the time."

"Where are they?" Mukuro asked. He watched as Hibari and Lambo fought back-to-back, each of them armed and fighting for their lives. He commended the enemy Mafia families for attacking at full strength instead of only sending out one team. Sure, the four families might get wiped out, but on the up side, they might successfully take out the Vongola Cloud Guardian.

"You mean where are the Vongola? All their forces are going to other places, to deal with different problems. It looks like the entire situation was a set-up, just to eliminate a few of the Tenth's Guardians. Kyoya-kun took this mission upon himself to finish; this is the third time fake pharmaceutical drugs are heading to Namimori."

Yamamoto winced. "That would do the trick."

Ten of the enemy went down and fifteen more took their place. Hibari rolled his shoulders and charged in, with Lambo cleaning up the ones left in the Cloud's wake.

Attacks bounced off Lambo as though they were flies and he shot an electric shock through the ground just as Hibari delivered a flying kick. Underground lightning took out the twenty enemies surrounding them just as Hibari finished kicking down his opponent. By the time he landed, the ground emitted only the slightest sparks.

"Your timing is better," Hibari said.

"Yare, yare, of course I've improved. What kind of role model would I be for my subordinates if I electrocuted Hibari Kyoya?"

"Hn."

"This is going to be a tricky fight," Lambo said just as their enemies recovered from witnessing their comrades falling like flies.

Hibari bared his teeth in a smile that widened into a fierce, bloodthirsty smirk. "Leave anytime, herbivore. I'm just getting started."

Yamamoto could feel something akin to arctic frost crawl up his spine. He didn't blame the enemy for freezing at the sight.

"Hell, no. I'm not leaving you behind!"

Hibari gave Lambo a hollow smile. "Don't get in my way."

What followed couldn't be described as anything but a bloody battle. The building that stored the drugs exploded in the next fifteen minutes. To their enemies' extreme disappointment and fear, the two Vongola members managed to avoid being killed.

The relentless attack and defence continued for what seemed like hours.

Just as Lambo released an attack, he saw an enemy shoot a blast of Lightning flames. He moved quick enough to only be grazed, but he swore under his breath for even that injury.

Though the enemy didn't notice yet, Hibari knew Lambo was beginning to slow. Just slightly. He moved in so he was fighting a little closer to the younger man, but not close enough that anyone could accuse him of hovering. Besides, the Lightning Guardian didn't necessarily need speed. He needed space and things to destroy.

"What are their chances of winning?" Yamamoto asked.

Hibari's opponents let out blood-curdling screams before they fell. Some continued to sob even after Hibari moved on. Those, and more, succumbed to Lambo's electric shocks. Again, Lambo tried to attract the enemies' weapons to him, but they were smart enough to not use iron. Clearly, they did their homework concerning all of the potential Vongola members they'd have to face.

Chrome furrowed her brows at Yamamoto's question. "Their chances of winning? Not good. Kyoya-kun is no pushover, but after what he had to deal with for months before now? Tortured, starved, sleep deprived, wife and subordinates being kidnapped and killed, murderer on the loose, finding the murder, fighting against a team of insane Mist users, of all people, and finding out about this drug shipment...he's dead on his feet. He and Lambo-kun are barely holding it together. Everyone else has their hands full and they're in similar straits. Lambo-kun's doing his best to attack the enemies in bulk, but there is just so many of the enemy to face..."

"Kufufufufu. Such a bleak assessment. You took the words right from my mouth."

"Mukuro-kun, you would've gleefully stated he will die."

"That's still a possibility."

"Those bastards have a few strong members," Gokudera said as Hibari's attacks were stalled again, this time by a woman who held her ground with a fan and Mist flames.

They battled for six minutes, five minutes longer than the previous enemy, but it went no further. Hibari let out a snarl and blocked another attack. The woman smirked, thinking she had won. But she didn't see Roll in his Needle Ball Form come crashing into her from behind.

"The enemy still has..." Yamamoto counted under his breath and weighed each enemy's strength. "They're still around five hundred-strong. And I mean strong. Nothing the guardians can't defeat, but..." Yamamoto let out a low whistle. "That's a lot."

"Kyoya and Lambo are definitely going to go down in history as two men who fought against four whole Mafia families," Chrome said with a smile and a shake of her head. "And Lambo didn't think he would do anything interesting in this life."

Lambo came face-to-face with two Storm users and a Sun user. He hunched over, preparing himself for any strike they might have in store for him. When the Sun user attacked, he attacked with his fists and legs coated with Sun flames. Lambo dodged and blocked, just keeping up with the man. At one point, the man had Lambo's hands locked with his while one of the Storm users shot three bullets at him.

Lambo gave the man a head-butt that had both of them stumbling away from each other just as two bullets slammed into the ground. Lambo discharged Lightning flames at the combo-attack directed at him. When the second Storm user shielded them with a barrier of Storm flames, Lambo let out a manic laugh that broke near the end into a choked sob of either pain or grief.

"Hey, look at this! Someone other than Bakadera actually uses it as a barrier! It looks almost like his, too!" Lambo cackled. He stopped and glared at the man. "The point is...I've fought against someone way stronger than you, who used a barrier that's deadlier than yours."

"Glad to know," Gokudera muttered. "And why's he calling me Bakadera? The damned brat."

Chrome laughed. "You look more like a brat than he does, Hayato."

Gokudera's chubby baby cheeks flared red and he crossed his arms. "Tch!"

Lambo sucked in a sharp breath and let out a roar as he recharged his horns with Lightning flames.

"It looks like Lambo is reaching his limit," Yamamoto said.

"He won't go down yet," Gokudera said. "Not when Kyoya's still fighting."

"The same goes both ways." Chrome nodded at Hibari's figure. "Kyoya-kun's not going to stop until they're both dead or out of this alive."

Hibari and Lambo sported injuries all over their bodies. Their clothes tore as they dodged weapons, and their knuckles bruised when they resorted to punching with their fists. And still, they fought.

After beating a suspiciously familiar attack, Hibari's eyes narrowed against his defeated opponent. "You."

The man he had faced brightened. "Yes! Me! Do you remember now?"

"I defeated you."

"Of course, of course! That was a fantastic fight. This one, too. It's a shame I lost both of them. And you're not even at full strength."

Hibari examined the fallen man, ignoring the enemies who tried to sneak up on him. Before they got even close enough to attack, Lambo dealt with them.

"I tore you apart."

"Now, that was a very, very bad thing to do, Cloud Guardian," the enemy said with a wave of a metal finger, which caused another volley of Storm flames at Hibari. It was the last move the man made with that hand. "Ow. Do you know how long it took them to find me?"

Hibari forced out the last of his Cloud flames to coat his tonfa.

"And even after that, I almost died from blood loss and infection. I had to stay in bed for five years because you tore out all my tendons and ligaments. A good portion of my muscle, too. They didn't think I'd make it. I lost three of my limbs, thanks to you. High fever, year-long concussion..."

Mukuro chuckled. "I'm surprised he made it," he said, while the enemy continued to list all the injuries he was treated for after his encounter with Hibari.

"Do people usually survive all that?" Yamamoto asked, looking a little green. "And why does he look so happy to see Kyoya? It's...unnerving."

"I'm sure you meant to kill me back then—oh, wait. Rumour has it, you rarely kill anyone!"

Hibari raised one eyebrow while his Cloud flames pulsed. "Have you looked around?"

"Kufufufu. I have to hand it to him. That's the perfect line."

"None of your comrades will be getting up from this."

"Y-You don't mean that...?"

Hibari smiled. Long chains extended from his pair of tonfa.

"B-Bring the Rainbows out!" the man screamed.

"Rainbows?" Yamamoto repeated. "Does this have something do to with the Seven Arcobaleno?"

Hibari took a step closer to the man.

"How could you? I heard that the Vongola doesn't kill their enemies!"

"Don't know where you heard that from."

When Lambo laughed, it came out hysterical. "Come on, Kyoya! Don't scare the poor guy!"

Gokudera narrowed his eyes and he watched the interaction closely. "There's something...not wrong, really, but...are we missing something? Did this turn into a suicide mission?"

"Kufufufu. Who knows? Maybe it was one from the start," Mukuro suggested.

"How's your flame level?" Hibari asked Lambo.

Lambo wiped sweat from his brow and kicked an enemy away. He knocked out a row of them with his horns and straightened. "How's yours?"

"Lambo-kun's not using his flames anymore," Chrome whispered.

Hibari looked around them.

The angels took a look as well. There were a hundred or so left. From the start, they were smart and tried to stay far away from Hibari and his slashing tonfa chains. Now, near the end, they were getting cocky and came closer.

"I'll manage. These irritating Herbivores have to go."

"The Vongola doesn't do this anymore!"

"Hn."

Lambo said, "We know what you and your allies planned to do if we let any of you leave. We weren't missing this chance, even if this chance was an ambush."

"Tch." Gokudera crossed his arms. "So they knew it was a trap."

"Shh," Yamamoto said.

"But Decimo..."

"Oh, what's this?" Lambo interrupted as he fought off three attackers with a sword he pulled out from a storage box. "I thought this guy was only in bed for five years."

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Hibari said, "Is twenty years dead." His chains glowed purple with Cloud flames and he raised them.

"The Rainbow Gun is ready!" someone shouted. Every member of the enemy families tried to take cover, though they were all still in Hibari's line of sight.

Chrome, Yamamoto, Mukuro, and Gokudera snapped their heads to the woman who gave order to fire. Chrome gasped. "It's that weapon, Hayato."

With a dozen machine guns surrounding the guardians on all sides, they had nowhere to go when bullets coated in the colours of the rainbow shot out toward them from every angle.

Lambo dropped the sword and bent his head, his Lightning Helm at the ready.

Hibari swung his tonfa, and the deadly chains attached to them soared through the air.

Both struck out at the same time.

And that portion of the city lit up with Flames of the Sky.


A/N: And that's a wrap. Hibari was very hard to kill, but I wanted to include him and Lambo in the story in some way, so I tried. Oh, not hard as in I was bawling out tears of heartbreak or anything. Hard as in, I couldn't figure out under what circumstances would he actually die by the hands of another person.

At first it was just against two families. But adding Lambo, it didn't seem like a fair fight, so I made it 200 people. Still didn't seem fair, so I went for three families and increased the number and made the enemies stronger in quality and not just quantity. I thought about how Hibari could wipe out 400 of Adeleid's clones with his Vongola Gear and...it escalated to 4 families: 500 strong members plus the not-so-strong members (Whoops. That's a lot). So around...600 enemies, plus (thanks, Sora!) a few months of emotional, mental, and physical stress?

This is what happens when I try to kill off a character whom I find to be impossible to kill and is the strongest of the Vongola Guardians.

...I'm suddenly extremely glad I never had to plan how Tsuna and Mukuro died.

Anonymous Reviews:

KK: I look forward to constructive criticism! Any type, actually. It'll only serve to improve my own writing. Oh Tsuna's definitely going to find out about Diana. I'm glad you're looking forward to that part! It will happen somewhere around...well, when he meets Dino.

Guest: Haha! Reborn's a total badass, for sure.

Uploaded 2016-11-04th

Edited 2016-11-06th

2017-03-27 Update: [FACEPALM] I was rereading this tonight. I skipped over Tsuna finding out about Diana! I can't believe I did that! I'm going to edit ch 13 and 14 so I can do it in ch15.


-LLM

P.S: This is the last chapter I stockpiled, soooo...yeah. Forget a chapter once a month. Updates shall be SPORADIC! Happy Nanowrimo.