AN: MORE ACTION. MORE ACTION. Please, R&R! Interesting fact: did you know Nigella Beabankul is actually a canon character? Just wanted to throw that out there. You all know how much I hate OCs. Every single attack move in this chapter is actually in canon-to help visualize the action scenes. So Uni's life-flames do exist. So do Kikyo's Bellflowers.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Dead bodies, blood and probably wrongly used Italian phrases.

This is the pre-climax, everyone!

CHAPTER 30: A MAN NAMED DAEMON SPADE

"Hibari, don't be an idiot!" Reborn roared equally loud after the sprinting man. Cursing, the left Dino to lean against the half-melted wall in favor of catching up to the younger man. "You don't know half the clue of where Tsuna could be! You might as well just be offering yourself to the Millefiore on a plate! They would just love to have you in their hands after all the trouble you've caused them!"

"It's not me who matters, Byakuran doesn't need me. Not even close to the level he desires the herbivore-royals." Hibari easily argued, roughly shoving off the hand at his pant's leg, "Tsunayoshi could be in danger this very moment."

"But you don't know that," Reborn insisted, forcing Hibari to stay by pulling at his leg again, cursing his small stature absentmindedly. It didn't really give him much leverage in stopping a man from going on a rampage, "Just stay calm and let's figure out what exactly happened: if Nigella is dead, and it really is Leo—"

"And is," Hibari hissed stubbornly, trying to wrest his leg away.

Reborn continued as if he hadn't heard the quip, ignoring Hibari's struggles, "Then we need to figure out exactly what his motive is. Gokudera was there with them, and he didn't sense any hostility from Leo-turned-Nigella. So why did he wait to harm them? What could he possibly have in mind?"

"He's biding his time," Hibari said, his desire to leave stalled temporarily, "For the right time. But for what?"

There was a strained silence as the men's thoughts raced through possibilities.

"What's going on here?" A rough voice asked. Gokudera's suit jacket was long stripped off, his tie gone. His pants, which were once black, were now a powdered grey from the ash that floated about. He was helping on finding survivors when he stumbled across the yelling. It was a rare thing to hear Hibari raise his voice, so in panicky curiosity he immediately abandoned his futile process and went to check it out.

They turned to look at the new arrival, but Hibari was just too enraged to bother in replying, Reborn was too concentrated, so Gamma spoke in turn, "Beabankul is dead, the man you saw that went with the Princess and the Prince was not Nigella, but apparently an assassin named Leonardo Lippi."

Gokudera's eyes widened at this new tidbit of information, mind reeling in shock. "And the Tenth? Where is he?"

"We're not sure." Chrome spoke this time, shrinking back slightly when all of the men's eyes turned to her.

The silver-haired teen looked angrily thoughtful when he supplied, "They went into a cloud hole. But to where it lead to I wasn't sure and I didn't care to ask. At the time, I thought anywhere was better than here." He made a helpless gesture to the destruction around them.

"Could it be..." Reborn began, a hand cradling is chin in thought.

"What?" Gokudera asked, staring beseechingly at the infant, "What is it?" Hibari looked as if he already caught on by this new knowledge given by the teen. A cloud hole, and a particularly strong one if it meant having to move four people and a dying-willed animal at the same time. A strong hole was only needed when they went to somewhere that was not in Cielo.

"That they went to Namimori...?" Reborn said in bewilderment. "But why?"

Indeed, they all thought simultaneously, why?

—

In the empty blackness, they moved slowly, gravity defying in the dark space of Nigella's flame. It was a long moment before the darkness ebbed away like a shroud and bright lights flickered distantly in the inky horizon. He was instantly sent back to his first arrival on Cielo, only this time, he was going willingly. To his death, a darker part of his mind reminded him.

When he hit the ground, and Alato gruffed through his nose, he realized they weren't in Cielo. The familiar wreckage of the park, the sign that laid half-broken on the ground, the rubble that kept the area constant company. How long its been since he's been here, at the Kokuyo hideout. Only it really was a ghost town this time, since the actual members were at Giglio Nero at the moment. "We're at the Bureau!" He claimed, first turning to Uni, who blinked back, and then to the half-shrouded Mukuro whose face was carefully blank.

Carefully blank, and strangely: slightly doubtful. Mukuro didn't meet his gaze.

Tsuna found this slightly strange, but just as he was about to voice this, Mukuro suddenly filled into a solid physical form again speaking quickly, "Let's go inside. It's too dangerous to be standing out here. Bring Alato inside. There's enough room."

Tsuna got down first, holding out his arms to support at Uni's waist and brought her gently down after. He patted Alato's neck, motioning the stallion to follow, which it obediently did. Nigella had to struggle with the reins, tugging the reluctant horse along.

When they stepped over the threshold, Mukuro held the door open for Uni and Tsuna patiently but sort of slammed it in Nigella's face, showing just how unwelcomed the other man was in their bureau, his home. Despite this, Nigella seemed oblivious to the animosity and opened the door himself, nearly dragging his horse in after with some difficulty.

Tsuna blinked away his flame, stroking Alato's neck as the stallion made itself at home in the messy entrance. Nigella's own mare already laid on its belly against the wall, its legs folded gracefully under her. Mukuro moved to the kitchen, and Tsuna was reveling how familiar everything was as he gestured for Uni and Nigella to follow his lead. Stepping over the excess garbage (courtesy of Ken most likely), they all gathered around the table and sat in mismatched chairs.

"It's gotten dirtier," Tsuna commented, looking around the kitchen and seeing emptied rations that littered the floor and counters.

"After you left, no one bothered cleaning." Mukuro said with a shrug. Mukuro seated himself at the head of the table, still able to look effortlessly regal despite the shambles of their surroundings. "We should focus on our next move. Princess, what is it that you wish to do now?"

Uni looked at the hands in her laps sadly, "I..." She corrected herself when she met Tsuna's supportive gaze, "We wish to speak with Byakuran and Xanxus. We need to convince them that combining our forces would ultimately save Cielo. It would be for the better."

Mukuro looked doubtful, but approved of her answer, "How are you so sure they'll even listen to you? Those two are exactly known for not giving a damn about anyone other than themselves."

Tsuna was the one to answer this, "We don't know until we try. Anyways, I think we should approach Xanxus first. As unreasonable he can be, at least I know him well enough that he acknowledges me." It was against his better judgement, to waltz back to the Varia, but he had to start somewhere.

Uni nodded in agreement, almost looking too relieved by this decision. She wasn't keen on meeting that man ever again, "Byakuran will be last then."

"Princess, if I may interrupt," Nigella spoke, a hand held a finger weakly to intersect, "How will we meet with Xanxus? The last time we both saw him was at the Al Forno theater. And I've heard that the turf war practically decimated the only path to the Varia castle."

"I suggest we take another route then," Mukuro said, crossing his arms as he stared absently at the spotted stained ceiling. "We don't know how definite the destruction is there, or if it'll affect our travel. Or if there are any stragglers out."

"No," Uni said shaking her head, "We can't do that. I think that there would be more risk in going the long way then heading straight into the Al Forno district and to the castle. Usually after riots, places like that are avoided. And for a good reason."

Just as Nigella and Mukuro were about to protest, after some thought, Tsuna backed her up, "She's right you know. I think we'd be much safer into passing through Al Forno. We're more likely to run into Byakuran if we go into an area that we haven't been through, that's exactly what he wants. It's better safe than sorry."

They were quiet as they flipped this idea in the expanse of their minds. "Right." Mukuro said, standing up, dusting his clothing. "If anything, we should head out now. I'm not entirely sure if the Bureau is safe even now."

—

True to Uni's prediction, the Al Forno district was completely void of people, and she looked as if she was greatly regretting her decision.

If Tsuna thought Kokuyo Bureau was chilling without its members running raucously around, the theater was downright horrifying. Uni had long decided in just doing nothing but burying her head into Tsuna's back and concentrated on the movements of Alato's hard muscles under them, unable to look at the discarded bodies that littered the sides of the road.

The air stank of damp and filth, cloying his nose and throat. The narrow walls meant they had to walk in single file, and the bricks ran wet with stale water from the roofs high above their heads, despite the lack of rain. It was as if the world was being pinched down to this narrow path, twisting and turning with only a stripe of gray not-sky above to remind them that there was more to the city than this foulness.

More than once he stumbled over things best not looked at. Stray cats yowled, splashing through puddles as they hurried to escape these intruders in their territory, and Tsuna distinctly heard someone curse and spit in their direction from one of the side-alleys, but he didn't turn to look. It was a tense, uncomfortable feeling, to know that he didn't belong here.

It was the kind of place Hibari was likely to say didn't exist, in defense of Tsuna's virtue or something ridiculous as the like. In his mind, Tsuna only needed to know the haven of peace and prosperity. It was as if they could only see the distant vision of perfection, and nearby reality was lost in the haze.

A dead dog, bloated and decaying, filled the close space with the smell of rot. It had died long before the bodies of the resulting turf war did, and smelled the worse as they passed it. Rats scampered along the walls, climbing broken gutters up towards the clean air. Looking over his shoulder, Tsuna realised that they were already too far into the warren of alleyways to see the main street.

If he lost Mukuro or Nigella now he and Uni would never find their way back.

Mukuro looked at them, seeing the wariness of their face, he tried his best to elevate the tremendous pressure in the air, "We're almost there," He said, "Just hang on a little longer." It was a white lie, they weren't even halfway, but at least it helped just a bit knowing he tried.

They walked in silence for a little further after that.

Uni spoke to him, her face still buried in his back, "Sawada-san," She began quietly, but softly in gaps, as if she was breathing through her mouth, "Do you think...even if we do give ourselves up...do you think things like this would stop happening? Do you think people will stop this needless violence?"

Tsuna looked to the bodies then away, staring stubbornly ahead at Nigella's and Mukuro's back. He couldn't berate her for hoping, she was just naive to believe that though. "I think...that with Byakuran and Xanxus gone, maybe."

"And us?" Uni asked, gripping tightly at his shoulder, "Do you think Cielo would be okay without us?" It wasn't a secret that the true actual rulers of Cielo were the benevolent Prince and Princess. Unlike the Kings, they judged fairly, ruled fairly. He seriously wondered if he could rule a country, and highly doubted it. He hadn't even finished middle school—he just simply didn't have enough experience. Uni however, he could see her do fine given that position.

But that wouldn't happen, because they were both on limited time. Tsuna shook his head, "You know Uni, I don't think we'll be really gone. We'll still be here, up there." Up there, in the sky. They would be the sky. But they would still exist. In Cielo in a way.

This seem to comfort Uni just slightly, "Then Gamma won't really be alone," She said, breathing deep through her mouth, "And neither will Hibari-san."

"Yes," Tsuna agreed, fighting the tightness in his throat as he answered, "I hope not."

"Your highnesses! Look out!"

But it was too late, and before Tsuna knew it, both he and Uni were knocked to the ground, Alato sprawled to its side, struggling to upright itself. They hit the cobble hard, throwing up powder from the destruction into the air. Tsuna coughed as he breathed it in, hearing Uni gasp hoarsely to his right. He immediately threw himself onto Uni, rolling them away sharply to the right.

He looked up, frightened to see cloud-flamed flowers springing and writhing at the spot they once occupied. Tsuna looked at Alato as the horse whined lowly, the same cloud-flamed flowers springing up to wrap around his friend, twisting around his great wide torso and around his neck. He was just sprinting to the stallion, hands readying to rip the blossoms away when Uni wrapped her arms around his waist and together they fell backwards into a heap. "No Sawada-san! You musn't touch those flowers!"

"That's right," A voice to their left said, and both he and Uni almost snapped their necks in their haste to look in its direction. Byakuran was flanked by two men, one with minty long hair and the other with dark green. The former looked like he had different patches of skin had been sewed together, making his appearance misshaped resembling a child-like monster. His pale stare and his permanent nervous complexion made him look grotesque, as if he wasn't human at all. He certainly didn't seem like one.

The other man, who was just as tall as Byakuran looked the most human compared to his peer, even with the most unusual hair color. It was a neon sea foam aqua, very thick and long, styled up with a tie in the back of his head. The color reminded him of Fran, he absentmindedly remembered. His eyes were of the same color and strangely: wore eyeshadow of the same shade. He was absentmindedly twirling a single bellflower in his hand, cloud-flamed, just like the ones on Alato.

"Kikyo's Carnage Bellflowers are deadly when touched you know. They suck and suck your dying will until..." Byakuran opened his held up fists into jazz hands theatrically, "Pop! And you're gone!"

Tsuna turned to Alato, feeling helpless as he stared at the great beast writhe in pain, weakening by the second. "But! Alato!" He was just reaching to touch the horse again, in an attempt to comfort the animal, when Uni threw all her weight on his outstretched arm, effectively stopping him.

"Sawada-san!" She pleaded, "Don't!"

What could he do? How could he free Alato? His friend was going to die! Byakuran shook his jazz hands playfully, "It's bad to be stood up, you two. Imagine my immense surprise when you both just left without even saying hello." Byakuran's smile turned enigmatically crueler, "It's not nice. I didn't like it."

A dark blue shrouded the air in front of Byakuran, making the man step back in slight surprise. The mist materialized into Mukuro, who smiled, "Hello Byakuran. I have a score to settle with you."

"Rokudo Mukuro!" Byakuran exclaimed in recognition, his eyes arcing upwards as he smiled wider, "Yes, it has been awhile! Shame that you left so early, I even made that tube as comfortable as I could for your stay!"

Clearly unamused, Mukuro thrust the trident into Byakuran chest. But the man kept smiling, even as blood gushed and bloomed out of the trident's tips, falling with sickening splashes onto the broken pavement. Tsuna and Uni watched as the red immediately spread quite quickly on his White Spell attire.

Just as Mukuro was about to thrust in harder, about to twist the man's insides with his weapon, the blue-haired man was suddenly swept away by a tan backhand, so fast it rocked him into the opposite building.

And the tan hand, belonged to Xanxus.

Tsuna's mouth dropped, but he knew the moment he saw the dull stare in the Varia's bosses' eyes, devoid of that usual irritation and or furiousness. There was no passion in his eyes, no fiery will behind them, as Tsuna was used to. Xanxus was taken. He was being controlled by Byakuran, just as Uni had been. And he knew that it was Tsuna's and Uni's turn next. The ex-Varia boss stalked mechanically in after the newly-made hole Mukuro's impact had made, disappearing inside to most likely finish off the job.

He prayed Mukuro would be alright through wide eyes. He was unsure if the skilled illusionist could take on Xanxus by himself.

"Kikyo, Daisy." He addressed the two behind him, who stood at attention at his call. Byakuran absently placed a hand over the hole in his stomach, not to cover the wound up, but to bring his hand back and examine the red of the blood with squinting eyes, "I need you to collect Uni-chan and Tsunayoshi-kun for me, 'kay? I'm a bit busy right now. I'll get right to you once I'm finished here."

Before he even finished the sentence, Uni and Tsuna were off sprinting wildly, jumping over ruined cobble and upturned sidewalks. He made the mistake of not breathing in deeply before taking off, his chest already rising and falling with ragged pain, screaming for air. Uni looked as if she had done the same, but neither slowed down, adrenaline pushing them forward in a delirious amble.

He thanked their lucky stars that they changed into pants and sneakers. He doubted Uni's long dress and his Varia formal attire would've been helpful in their current crazed flight.

"Your highnesses!" Nigella's voice called out just a little ahead of them, "This way!"

With great desperation, they sped up faster, turning in the direction they heard the balded man's voice. They went far enough to see the man waving wildly in the distance, eyes pleading them to hurry faster.

But then, just as he was going to turn his speed up another notch he noticed something in the rubble and stopped abruptly, skidding up dust and panting raggedly. Instinct told him to stop what he was doing and go to examine what it was, and yet his mind was screaming at him to keep running because he was still being chased. He decided to trust his instinct this time.

There, buried beneath a fallen wall, was a man's head sticking out. And it wasn't just any man. It was Nigella. The same balded, tattooed, pierced, man they were running to catch up to. He looked long-dead, his body decaying in a rotten husky scent that he breathed in through his tired lungs. Dead long enough since...the turf war. There was a bullet hole, directly between the man's half-opened eyes.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing, but he was smelling it—hard to escape that fact, so it just had to be true.

Tsuna looked to Nigella, who was still waving, and Uni, who was still running to catch up to him, and thought fast. Turning his back to the imposter who wanted them to come closer, he grabbed Uni, spinning her so she would run to the left instead. "Sawada san? But Nigella—"

"That's not Nigella!" He shouted to the wind, and ignored Uni's inquiring question that followed right after.

Tsuna turned when Uni let out a terrified squeal, falling to her knees and slamming her hands onto the ground to soften the impact instinctively. She looked up weakly at him, helpless and shocked, but Tsuna already was burning in his dying-will, he sprinted back, nearly flying—flying? Impossible, it couldn't be—in his haste. He grabbed Uni by her upper arms, saw the incoming attack, and pushed.

Uni gasped loudly as she was flung to the right roughly, and screamed in realization when bellflowers hit Tsuna instead of her.

Damn, he thought at that moment, and he was suddenly pinned into the floor by the blossoms. He tried getting up, sitting up straight to at least see where Kikyo was coming from now, but couldn't. And then the sucking pain happened. Tsuna sharply drew in breath, trying to see through the dizzying haze of sucking, and trying to understand what was happening. The blossoms curled around his body, drawing him into a tight hold against the ground. He was in such a tight grasp that he couldn't even shift his arms or legs.

But he could still thrash his head, and he did.

"Sawada-san!" Uni was screaming over and over again, not knowing where to put her hands and wisely unwilling to touch the flowers. She settled with crying with sharp intakes of sobs over his head, the only place untouched by the deadly flowers. Her hot tears fell on his face, but he was starting to lose feeling everywhere in his body that he couldn't even tell where they came from.

He didn't think the flowers' effect would happen so quickly, he at least thought he was going to have more of a struggle, but he was already fading.

Everything was going horribly wrong and he took quickly to list all of them with a sense of tired pessimism:

Alato was caught and most likely fading away like him. He was caught, he wanted Uni to leave him, but he doubted she would actually be listening to his weak pleas through her hysterical crying, running her hands over his face. Nigella was an imposter—but who was it?—, Mukuro was nowhere to be seen, Xanxus was gone and now a unthinking soldier and abandoned the Varia. And oh god Byakuran was going to have them. He was going to have them, and then, and then Cielo would just fade into nothing.

He was going to lose everything that he built himself to be—he would become a puppet to Byakuran, just like Uni had been when he found her. Hibari was going to die.

That was his last thought as sudden black swept cleanly over him, slating his world in an inky gloss.

Now, now, you can't give up now. A berating voice told him.

—

When Tsuna opened his eyes, he was no longer in wasn't in Namimori, no longer in Cielo. There was no more sucking pain. He wasn't even pinned under fatal cloud-flamed bellflowers, and Uni wasn't crying over his head. He wasn't anywhere he recognized, but he recognized it right away. If that made any sense. He felt like he was just there, a being that didn't belong, yet belonged all the same.

"Piacere di conoscerti. I've been waiting for a very long time for you, Sawada Tsunayoshi. "

Tsuna sat up, bewildered by the cheery never-ending expanse of sky that stretched far from left to right, littered with white puffed clouds. Tsuna shrieked, in a way he hadn't done so in months before Cielo happened, when he noticed he wasn't even on the ground, that there was no ground, but it felt like he was. Even the ground was made out of the sky.

His legs were shaking with fear of falling as he managed to pull himself on his hands and knees, staring below him at the infinite blue. "It'll make you feel better if you don't concentrate on the ground so much," A chuckling voice laughed at his antics. He finally paid attention this time, for the first two sentences he heard from the same voice he thought he had only imagined them.

The voice had a thick accent, heavy with a language Tsuna didn't know.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw himself stand only a few feet away, waving cheerfully in his direction. He was wearing a black pinstriped suit, atop his shoulders was a long cloak that trailed down to the ends of his ankles, brushing his black oxford shoes.

"What—" What are you, was his originally intended exclaim, but then he realized how rude that was. Even if this guy was him, "Who are you?"

The guy that was him looked thoughtful, "It's been awhile since anyone's asked me that." This place was bizarre. This guy was bizarre. He just wanted to go home. "But the answer to your question is," The man walked closer, crouching on the back of his ankles, his hands folded over his elbows above his knees, it was just enough for Tsuna to truly study him, "I'm Giotto."

The guy that was him was in actually not him. This man really looked like him though, only older. He was blonde, his eyes a strong amber color that spoke volumes: knowledge and kindness behind vast amounts of warmth. He stared at this older doppelganger and wondered deliriously if he had gone finally insane.

—

For the first few minutes, she was only shaking him hysterically when his struggles ceased into faint twitches and his comprehension of the situation slipped into nothing.

Uni couldn't understand why the bellflowers were working at such a fast rate. They never worked this fast, not from what she remembered anyways during the duration of her long years as the Millefiore's doll. Her dry hiccups echoed and ricocheted off the ruined walls of the empty plaza they were in now. She didn't know where Mukuro was, didn't know where Nigella was (though, she was slightly suspicious of him now after Tsuna's comment before he went out cold). She didn't know anyone who could help.

She just missed Gamma. Just wanted to see him. Was that too much to ask?

But she could do what she did best in the meantime. She put her hands around Tsuna's face, cradling his head at the edge of her lap. Thinking fast, Uni pushed life-flames into Tsuna's prone, unresponsive body, fueling him up. Uni was still crying, her eyes puffed red from the exertion and stress, but her pumps of life into his nearly-drained will was unwavering. She could not let Tsuna die, especially not this far in the game.

Kikyo had probably wanted her to do this, keep Tsuna alive until Byakuran came to deliver the swift judgement to the both of them. It was pathetic how predictable she was, but she held no regrets as Tsuna's original skin pallor returned slightly. Helpless and not knowing what to do, Uni leaned down, more tears running as she pushed her forehead to Tsuna's.

Praying, just praying.

—

"Who?" Tsuna asked again despite having heard the first time, wondering why the name sounded so familiar to him.

"Giotto," The blonde man said again, tilting his head, "You know me, I know you do."

"Sorry," Tsuna apologized, shaking his head. He would've definitely remembered meeting a man that looked exactly like him, "I don't think we have met." He tried not to feel so guilty as he saw the crestfallen look the other gave him at his answer. He vaguely wondered if this guy was trying to pick him up. He's heard that line more than once from Mukuro. Not that he had just been thinking of playing along of course.

"Well, this is our first meeting...Non ne ho idea..." Giotto said slowly, awkwardly, but shook his head after a thought, "But no, you do know me. You've heard about me so many times, I'm sure you're sick of it." The blonde man looked disappointed as no recognition flashed through Tsuna's blank expression after that comment.

But the man suddenly smiled wide, eyes bright as if he thought of a good idea, "How about this," Giotto closed his eyes for a full three seconds (Tsuna had not just been thinking the guy wanted a kiss from him—because he most certainly wasn't getting one), but as he slowly opened them, Tsuna gasped, throwing himself on his back in instant identification, his elbows shakily holding him up just enough to stare.

His eyes were a burning, an even darker shade of amber, and a familiar flame settled itself comfortable on the older man's forehead. It was his ability, his power. It was strange on seeing it from another direction that wasn't a reflection.

He only knew of one other person who could do the same: The Prince of Spades.

"Y-You're him!" Tsuna exclaimed, standing up and back away in disbelief, "But, but how? Why are you here? Where am I?"

"Grande! Now those," Giotto pointed up at him bemusedly, his free hand propped up his cheek, "Should've been your first questions. Not quick on your feet, are you?"

Tsuna's face heated as he indignantly replied, defending himself, "I was confused! I should be with Uni, should be in Cielo!" He gestured helpless with both arms, flailing at the sky around them, which was not suppose to exist—not yet anyways, "This isn't Cielo!"

"Uni." Giotto tested her name on his tongue, "I assume that's Luce's granddaughter? Shame, I can't see her." He commented regretfully to himself.

"Luce." Tsuna tested her name on his own tongue, realizing who Giotto was referring to seconds after. "That's the princess!"

Giotto looked amused by how proud he sounded, "Yes. I see you've been doing your homework. Good." Tsuna stared as the man stood up, the flame danced by the movement as he did so. He looked up in the sky, closing his eyes and Tsuna watched as the flame flickered away and disappeared like someone blew out a candle. "The reason I'm here is because I have a story to tell you, Tsuna."

Tsuna watched as Giotto stood up, with a serene expression that seemed to hint the many years and experience under his belt. "I was eighteen when I came to Cielo. At the time, it was a prosperous place, and I was unable to return home, so I remained here. I met Luce, who you know is the princess, and I was later crowned prince of Cielo under certain circumstances and reasons. I certainly hadn't expected it, but neither had the others."

At that moment, there was a shimmer of orange on the floor, taking an outline of a club, and someone slowly materialized from the orange to form a woman, a large whitened headdress, an equally shaded dress and drapes that trailed down to her ankles. She had short forest green hair, but a section remained a tail, trailing long across her back. Her most noticeable feature was her blatant pregnancy, looking nine months due.

Her frozen kind expression was staring emptily at them. He recognized her right away. It was Uni's grandmother, Luce.

However, she only stood there, harmless as a mannequin. They stared at the vision, at her frozen smile, though Giotto's was slightly regretful. "The Princess of Clubs: leader of the Acrobaleno and boss of the Giglio Nero famiglia." He looked miserable as he closed his eyes, "That was what she looked like, the last time I saw her." With a shake of his head, Giotto resumed his story, ignoring Luce as she still stood there smiling widely.

"From what I understood, outsiders were unwelcome to Cielo, and to crown me was something of a sacrilegious act. With the help of my organization: the Vongola, I realized I had a talent," Giotto held up a hand, tapping a finger absentmindedly at his forehead, and rubbed his hands together with a distant expression. "I worked hard to run this country, to prove my worth and my reliability, and in result I influenced quite a lot of people."

"The Italian names." Tsuna seemed to remember. "They were used everywhere. Al Forno, Giglio Nero."

"And yes," Giotto nodded, "The country was still nameless, and I gave it the title Cielo. Despite the people's immense trust in the princess and I," Giotto looked at the clouds as they passed, "There were still some that were persistent in overthrowing us, impatient of our strategies in handling a government."

"The kings." Tsuna said.

"Yes. Ricardo was Diamonds..." As he spoke, an orange shimmering outline, similar to how Luce appeared, took form a few feet away, as a large diamond. A tall man eventually materialized from the bright amber. He was tan, a permanent glare in his expression. His hair was jet black. Tsuna realized who he resembled right away: Xanxus. "Second in command of my organization: Vongola. He was absolutely intolerable, difficult to work with. So infuriating," Giotto shook his head, a fond lift in his shoulders, "But he meant good, somewhat."

Giotto dropped into a moment of silence and Tsuna knew who was next. "The King of Hearts..." The blonde man trailed off, then cleared his throat as orange began shimmering once more, this time in a form of a large heart. "His name was Ghost." Another tall man appeared, a smile on his own face, only it looked much more cruel, but cool-headed. His hair was of an electric green, but pale, not as neon as Kikyo's or Fran's. A tattoo, curved black, was a mirror image to Byakuran, only nestling on the opposite cheek. "Boss of the Millefiore familglia. And probably my least favorite person," He admitted with a shrug.

"Where are they now?" Tsuna asked, realizing that they had to be somewhere, if Giotto was with him at the moment.

"They're...I don't know, perhaps, similar to my own situation, they're laying dormant within their predecessors." Giotto shook his head, head hung, "When I tried to look for them...the same fate met me. "

Tsuna bit his lip, remembering how vague each of the descriptions of the royal's disappearances were. "How...how did it happen? Do you remember?"

Giotto was thoughtful for a moment before answering, "I was suddenly enveloped in orange light...that looked like a spade. But it was flames, I presumed at the time. And it didn't hurt, if that's what you were implying."

He stared as Tsuna looked to his feet, expression conflicted. "Are you frightened?" He asked Tsuna, who shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

Was he afraid? Tsuna tried to look inside himself, trying to untangle the mess that was his feelings and emotions. He wanted to do this, of course he did, but the thought of never seeing Hibari again, letting the man go free and live his life without worrying and fussing over Tsuna's safety no longer...It hurt more than any pain imaginable. It felt like he was being forgotten, even if he put himself up to it, even if he prepared himself for it.

"When I'm thinking about change and making decisions, I start to shake…" Tsuna held up his hands, watching their slight tremor, "I've thought many times that it would be nice if I could be like Uni." He wanted to be as resolute as Uni, to be so sure of himself as Uni. Uni knew her destiny, and Tsuna thought he knew his. But why was he doubting it now? Was he frightened? Was he as brave as he thought he was? "But so many people are counting on me, and that should be reason enough, even if I don't know what lies ahead."

Could he really do this?

"Isn't it hard being the only one who doesn't understand?" Giotto asked.

It was hard, Tsuna agreed silently, crossing his arms and turning away briefly. He experienced it all his life, the feeling of being left out. But the feeling of knowing, the weight of the knowledge was much harder to carry over his shoulders than the feather-light ignorance Hibari spoon-fed him since he was a child.

Worse even, he felt so out of place almost nearly all the time. Even in Namimori, he never really fit in. He felt different. At least his best friends and his family had softened the impact of that thought. But when he came to Cielo, he never felt like an alien until then. He thought of his friends' unique personalities, their enigmatic flair of clothes. He thought of their own determination. He felt like everyone knew what they were doing except him.

He thought he knew his goal, and now he wasn't so sure what it was anymore.

"That may be true." He admitted, "Honestly, everyone here is so amazing and talented, I don't think I could possibly compare to them. But that's why, one by one, I want to do the best at the things I can do. That's why, once I've accept this, I want to make sure I do it right."

—

He stared his rear mirror on his right shoulder of his motorcycle, getting a little more than just irritated at the people following him. He considered leaving them, speeding up and just leaving them, but he knew that if Reborn was the one in that car, he would most certainly be left with some flat tires by bullets. And be forced to ride in the car with those slow herbivores. He wasn't keen on spending close quarters in such a small blackened car with them, and decided to be compliant in Reborn's order.

He turned his attention back to study with a solemn expression at the bare path of their travel.

Hibari wondered if he was too late, wondered if Tsunayoshi was dead, somewhere in that god-awful city he didn't find a piece in himself to care about. He would give up that whole city if that meant getting that kid home.

Except, he wasn't a kid, a boy, a child anymore, Hibari thought briefly closing his eyes to breathe in the memory of their embrace. How worried Tsuna looked, his wide eyes turning wider when Hibari told him of his plan, and his...he hated to admit such a thing: his feelings. It had taken so long for him to realize what it was, but the small nudges from Gamma and Uni had helped him identify it to levels that made perfect sense.

But he really wondered if the herbivore really understood what he said, what he grudgingly confessed.

He seemed to have, if his nodding, his quiet tears and soft whispers that brushed the side of his neck heatedly, his sincere hug afterwards were any indication. But Hibari couldn't believe that was all he was getting after such a difficult struggle, years of struggle to sort out these new revelations. He tried not to feel ridiculously cheated by it and felt foolish as he did so anyway.

He had just gone against everything he believed in, that feelings like what he felt for the herbivore only made you weak, told Tsuna this, and all he got back was an embrace. A long one, but still, just an embrace. Just an encircle of his arms around Hibari.

There had been no answer, no rejection, not even acceptance was what the worst of what had transpired.

Hibari sighed, a long-suffering exhale of breath. The more he thought about it: probably not. He knew he should've been more direct, should have not decided to beat the bush with a long stick. Hibari wanted a proper reply, a proper answer.

He felt the car behind him speed up and Hibari forced himself not to slam on his brakes just out of spite. He stared stubbornly ahead as the car kept steady pace with him and the driver, Gamma, rolled down his window to shout irritatingly at him, unknowingly interrupting his disclosed epiphany.

"Hibari!"

Hibari was contemplating on ignoring him, but the man got his attention with the next words, "Hibari, Gokudera just found out where Tsuna is!" He sharply jerked his head to the back seat, where Gokudera sat typing furiously into his laptop's Sistema C.A.I. He was sandwiched between the door and Chrome, as she worriedly looked over his shoulder but trying hard not to impose or distract the taller teen in his process. "It seems that there's a big flare of concentrated flames in the Al Forno district! That could either be Tsuna or Byakuran, but either one, it's still a good lead to go on!"

—

"Non capisco. Why?" Giotto asked, smile suddenly disappearing as he heard Tsuna's confession. "Why would you decide to help a country, a world, that had brought nothing to you but pain?" He saw Tsuna's closed-off look and rephrased his question, "Why would you give up your life to help these strangers?"

This world, it gave him Hibari. He had to pay it back somehow.

But not also that, he couldn't find it in his nature to leave unscathed, knowing that because of him, all these people would die. He couldn't stand that idea, that thought. He couldn't stand living the rest of his life knowing that he got to live while the others didn't, couldn't.

Tsuna snorted, indignant. "Why did you suddenly decide to rule Cielo? To go far as even change it for the better? Why didn't you just go back home? I'm sure you would've found a way." At this, the blonde man's smile returned, if not even fuller than it had ever been.

"Touché." Giotto complimented. In so many ways, they were alike. For they had no real explanation for their reasoning. It was just simply in their nature, a bloodline that they both shared uniformly. "Sei sicuro?"

"Yeah," Tsuna nodded, smiling, not a hint of regret in his expression. Never had he ever been so sure until now. He felt cleared, his mind and heart determined.

"Well, Sawada Tsunayoshi, it's time for you to wake up now." Giotto said, smiling up at the sky, head thrown back happily, "I just have to tell you of two things before I let you go: one, don't tell anyone you have that pocketwatch and chain on you." He pointed with a stern gesture to Tsuna's pockets, "Absolutely no one, you hear?"

Confused by the sudden request, he nodded in agreement, if not a bit warily, "Of course."

"Don't worry, you'll understand why pretty soon. And two," He held up two fingers, waggled them, "Beware of a man named Daemon Spade."

"Who—" But before he could find out, Tsuna was falling. The invisible ground that kept him there, suddenly gave away with not even the slightest warning. His stomach lurched, gravity pulled him down abruptly. He was tumbling like a rock, and Tsuna could only stare up at Giotto as he fell, who was waving cheerfully down at him.

Buona fortuna, Sawada Tsunayoshi. I wish you well. Perhaps you'll have better luck than I did.

—

"Sa—san! Sa—da-san!" He woke up to some shaking and a voice over his head. Someone was shaking him roughly, but only by his head, which was a strange way to describe being awakened by another. Small warm hands ran over his face. He slowly opened his eyes, cringing in pain, and was met with the sight of Uni. Her face was dirtied by the dirt they had thrown up in their attempt to run away and there were tear tracks that rolled down her cheeks but didn't seem to affect her relieved smile. "Sawada-san!"

"Uni?" He questioned softly, trying to reach up to the hand that laid below his chin, but found himself stuck. Oh that was right. He was still being sapped by the bellflowers. But he was confused. "How am I alive?" He looked down to see the cloud-flamed flowers, which hadn't lost its muster in his time in welcomed unconsciousness.

"I pushed life-flames into you," Uni said, looking tired, "Just enough to bring you back."

"Thank you," Tsuna said, brow furrowed, "You should have left me." He didn't know where Kikyo and Byakuran was, but he was sure that they were close. How long had he been out?

The evergreen-haired girl shook her head fervently, "I wasn't planning on it." She looked as if she were going to say more but the words died on her tongue as she looked up, watching someone approach them closely. Tsuna followed her gaze.

The blue-haired man stopped just a foot away, trident held loosely in one hand. His hair was not in its usual coiffed up-do, having been pulled slightly loose from its crissed-crossed crop in his struggle with Xanxus. He was bleeding profusely from his one eye, which was closed shut. His eye, the eye that held that mysterious crimson color, that had numbers for pupils.

"Mukuro?" Tsuna questioned, eyes wide, and the man smiled down at them.

AN: If you saw any spelling mistakes, let me know? /smile/ If you didn't know, go check out my tumblr page. I posted up four different prompts, which you can vote in for my next 'major' 1827 project. That means, after Boogie Man ends, I will start the winning prompt. I forgot this possibility and I'm ashamed of myself on warning you all, do not abuse anon-ing to get more votes on your wanted prompts. I'm going to trust you guys. Be fair and play nice now!

Voting ends whenever chapter 31 of this story is updated!

THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT! I cannot describe you much you all mean to me, so thank you for cheering me up at my worst and encouraging me to never give up! We're pretty close to the ending now!