Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to Akira Amano (funnily enough, my first name in Japanese is Akira) and the Legend of Zelda series belongs to Capcom. I own absolutely nothing in relation to either works, except for the idea to mesh them together.

A/N Good news, I'm not dead. ^^ Sorry for the late update though, this was supposed to be out three weeks ago…which was already what, four months since I last updated?

I blame life. And the chapter length. And the new story I'm working on.

Special thanks to Ella Kinkari for her review, and for selecting this chapter's special weapon. Additional thanks for inadvertently showing me that I could change my pen name. I really didn't know that before. ^^

Chapter length made it a bit hard to get everything straight, so I may not have edited as well as I should have. Nevertheless, I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Chapter Three – Hold That Fist

Surprisingly, the same guy from before – the one who pointed Link and I to the three triangles mark – was in the school gym again. And speaking of the gym, I could see that it was already reconstructed – that was surprise number two. Surprise number three was who was with him.

"Sasagawa?" The captain of Namimori's boxing club, the Sun Guardian of my "family", and the older brother of my friend and longtime cr – uh, friend, pretty Kyouko Sasagawa. What was he doing here?

"Sawada! Hey! This guy was just telling me how you needed some help. Is it true? Is he really that strong? Heck yeah, I need some good action! I'm pumped to the extreme! When are we going? Where are we going? Hey, this must be your new friend!"

I blinked, answers forgotten. Oh yeah – the boxer and Link hadn't met each other yet.

The space of time it took for me to blink was enough for him to bounce over to Link's side, and clasp his hand. "The name is Ryouhei Sasagawa! My passion is boxing! And my motto is 'Live to the extreme'! Nice to meet you!"

Poor Link was looking at the earnest boxer's face, blinking at his exuberant attitude and at a complete loss for words. Not that he could speak, but there really was no better way to put it.

"Now that we've got the formalities out of the way, let's get to the really important point –"

His earlier words sunk in.

"Is it true? Is he really that strong? Heck yeah, I need some good action!"

Oh. Now I get it.

Our "informant" withheld information.

His knowing about the sign in the sky was proof enough to show he was definitely in the know, somehow. From what he seems to have told Kyouko's brother, it was more than likely he also knew about the enemy, and exactly how dangerous that enemy was. He probably knew that inviting just one of my Guardians wasn't enough.

Strike that – the man definitely knew this. He knew that even Hibari had a chance of losing. Why else would he get another one of my Guardians, before he even found out whether we beat the stranger or not?

My eyes shifted to the man – still in his expensive-looking suit, a slight smirk on his face. I wasn't willing to say his expression was malevolent, but it couldn't be kind. His motives were too unclear. He didn't help as much as he should have if he really wanted me to win. Did he call in my Guardians to truly help me, or did he call them in hoping they would get themselves ki – captured? Until I knew the answer to this question…no, even then. Even if I knew the answer to this question, I can't let my friends, let alone Kyouko's brother, put their lives in danger.

"Um," I started sharply –

"Join the boxing club!"

…Ah.

"I've heard all about you from the school rumours! They say you beat six Kokuyou punks real good! We need people like you – you're just as much of a shining gem as Sawada is!"

…Did Kyouko's brother already forget the more serious problem here?

He answered that one in the next moment. "Oh yeah! But first, we need to take care of Grudge and rescue Master Paopao and Hibari, right?"

I think that was a 'yes, he forgot'. At least he remembered now…but I still don't think him coming along is a good thing.

Then: Hm. Grudge.

Again, I turned to the rich man. I glared at him, as ineffective as that might be –my heart was racing, and unbeknownst to Link the encounter with the coated man – Grudge – left my knees shaking and my hands trembling. Nonetheless, I tried to put some weight behind my words. "Did you know?"

"Know what?" There were hundreds of possible responses, and the stranger picked that one. Now I'm starting to get really mad.

"Did you know about Grudge? No – how much did you know about Grudge? Last time, you didn't even tell us his name. Why didn't you?"

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Did you know what he could've done? Did you know, if you had told us all about him, if you had told us everything we needed to know, then maybe Hibari wouldn't have been killed?"

"Wait, back up," the boxer interrupted. "Hibari was killed?"

"I don't know! I have no idea what it could do!" I rounded on the man angrily. "And his name! You knew his name, and you didn't even tell us that. Why didn't you?"

"Because you never got around to asking that."

I grit my teeth. "And why would that be?"

"You started to run off as soon as I told you the location?"

Hm. Good point.

"You left, too," I replied. "You pretty much disappeared as soon as Hibari distracted me."

"Well, I had one reconstruction contract to order, did I not?"

"That's beside the point."

"It's very much the point. Because I had to hurry off to find a suitable –"

"Fine, that's a valid point, but I don't care. Just tell me, right now – are you going to help us?"

"Of course," he returned smoothly.

"Will you answer my questions?"

"Why not?"

Now we're getting somewhere. I opened my mouth – but then reconsidered the question.

Would "What is Grudge?" be specific enough? The man in front of me was just as slippery – I couldn't shake off the feeling he was about to use a loophole in my wording.

Yeah, maybe it's better to be more specific.

"What are Grudge's abilities?"

"He has three powers, formally named 'Pocket of Energy', 'Door of Passage', and 'Arch to Nothing'. I believe you've seen all of them – the Door, of course, is where he creates a portal through space which he walks through; the Pocket like a white hole, and when opened, releases a blast of pure energy; and the Arch is the one that sucked up your friend Kyouya Hibari and your mentor Reborn. I will tell you this, however – they are not dead. They're stuck in an empty, restricted volume somewhere within the boundless halls of space-time, and likely bored out of their minds – but far from dead. If you rescue them soon enough, they will be alive and well."

Relief poured through me. I let out a shaky breath that I didn't know I was holding, and drew in another one. "So they're alive…" I whispered.

Good news. The first piece of truly good news I had since this whole thing started.

"But I don't think I've seen this 'Pocket of Energy' power before. When did he…?"

"When he scorched the floor?" the man suggested.

"I thought that was his machine."

"Hardly. That was a disguise. Even if you damage that piece of junk in some way that you think renders it unusable, he can and will still use that ability."

Dang. So he could still use that power, then…

But wait. "That's not right. He must have another power."

"Oh? Why do you suggest that?"

"Because usually when he uses, um, the Doors – usually I can see the black aura as he uses his power. Last time, he didn't do that."

"Didn't he?"

"I'm sure."

"Are you really?"

"Well, yes."

"Do you think you can trust your eyes?"

I frowned. What just flipped back on his "annoying" switch again?

"Yes, I can!"

"Are you sure you're sure?"

"Yes!"

"Perhaps you were mistaken?"

Before I knew it, I was clenching my fist. "Yes, I'm sure! He must have another power!"

The man sighed, and said disdainfully: "I do not think so. Let me check." Immediately followed by – "Nope."

I was really considering going Deathperation mode again and trying to beat the information out of him – my friends' lives could be at stake here, who was he to be so coy with me?

"Then how does he –!"

"You're running out of time," the man interrupted. "If you want to keep your next appointment with Grudge you have to go soon."

"Wait – he's alive?" No, that was a stupid question. If he wasn't alive, he couldn't've used his powers and if couldn't use his powers, Hibari would still be here.

But thinking about that gave me another round of shivers. True, Hibari had been careless, but he was still the best of us. None of my other Guardians would ever admit it, but if he was so readily subdued by anyone other than Reborn, their morale would really plummet. And, despite what they might tell me and how Reborn would lecture me about why the family needed to stand together in sticky situations, I still felt that, at least in this situation, this was only between me and Grudge. And Link.

So I still didn't think too lightly of my Sun Guardian coming along.

I voiced it. "Sasagawa…I think you should stay behind."

"Of course! You're the leader!"

Did this just happen this easily?

"Um, you do understand what I just said, right?"

"Yup!" the boxer responded cheerfully in a tone that suggested to me I was about to be slapped with stupidity. "You want me to stay behind you when you beat Grudge beyond the extreme!"

…Sometimes, I wonder how this guy could possibly be Kyouko's sister.

"No!" I insisted. "I meant you should stay behind, as in stay on this spot after Link and I go!"

My Sun Guardian scratched his head. "What? But then how am I supposed to help you?"

"You're not supposed to! That's what I'm trying to say!"

"But that's what this guy said…"

"Well, screw 'this guy'! His opinion doesn't matter!" I turned, daring him to argue.

I was staring at a telephone pole.

I jogged down the stairway. Link quickly followed, and a moment later, Sasagawa entered. The various shops, for reasons unknown, were closed early. Not a lot of people were around; that in itself was also unusual. Something was up. I paused for a second at the bottom of the stairs, but then pushed on, forcing a foot ahead of another foot, not bothering to check if my friends were following, wiping a sweaty palm against the side of my trousers, and finally I stepped just over the yellow line before the actual subway track.

I peered into the dark depth of the subway route. Nothing. Not that I expected anything.

I withdrew. Just when I stepped back, the boxer called me over. "Tsuna! You seeing this?"

When I turned, the boxer was pointing at a scrolling ceiling display. Where it should be telling the time, and when the next train would come in, it only said 6 minutes.

To what? I wondered.

"You sure this is the right place?"

"Well, there was the yellow triangles floating in the sky above this place," I responded. "The same triangle was in the last place we had to go to."

Though, this time the colour was yellow. Last time it was purple. Why the change? I'd better ask the…rich guy, the next time I see him. Dang, I still didn't have his name. I should really ask for that.

The boxer moved off and I realized he must've given a response. What was it? I didn't want to inquire him. I still wasn't sure he should've come. As much as I tried to shake him off – well, I'll just say he was good enough to try out for the sprinting team. I sighed, and I just moved off to sit in an unoccupied bench.

Ah, an unoccupied bench. One of the many rarities of a near-empty subway station.

That reminds me…I glanced around. Link, Sasagawa and I were now the only ones left. The few people I saw earlier, when I first came down, had gone.

That was even more curious.

The tapping on my shoulder told me Link wanted to talk to me. Sure enough, Link was already starting a question when I turned.

"Why do you call your rings 'box weapons'?"

That was not what I was expecting. "H-huh? That's kind of a long story…"

Link just sat there patiently, as if he was saying I've got all the time in the world, or at least until the time comes for me to rescue my girlfriend and hopefully beat the tar out of Grudge along the way.

I cracked a smile. Even I had no idea whether the latter part came from. But it was a reminder – of the grave danger that Zelda was in. As were Reborn and Hibari, probably. We can't screw this up.

But back to the question…"We only have six – five," I corrected after another look, "five minutes until something happens. So long story short, we went to the future, got box weapons, fought a guy named Byakuran, I beat him, and before we went back to the present a couple of scientists fixed the boxes around until they became rings so that it won't cause a…" Here I stopped to think. "A 'time parameter', I think. Something like that, I'm not too good with science stuff," I explained, slightly sheepish.

Link held up his own box.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, and I've no idea myself where Reborn got that – or even if that messes up the timeline in some irreversible way. Hopefully not…"

I glanced back at the ceiling display. Now it said four minutes remaining.

Link tapped my shoulder again, and when I turned back, instead of asking me a question this time he just pointed at my ring. One ring in particular.

I grinned. I let run the Sky Flame from my Vongola Ring, pressed it against the ring Link was pointing at, and with a pop! Natsu burst out.

"Rawr," he purred.

"This is Natsu," I explained fondly, ruffling his soft mane. "He's a Sky Lion. The attribute of the Sky is harmonization, which is why when Natsu roars he can petrify anything he wants to. Same way how the attribute of the Cloud is propagation, and Hibari could make his Cloud Hedgehog multiply or grow bigger." I frowned. "I think."

After a moment, Link reached his own fingers forward, and petted the side of Natsu's face, making him purr even more. Natsu then followed up by leaping forward and licking Link's face, causing Link to go something like "Haaah!" and jerking back out of his seat.

I laughed as Natsu kept licking Link's face after that, something he was uncomfortable with, seeing his squirming – and then Natsu abruptly stopped, pointing his nose straight up and sniffing.

I didn't realize something was up myself until I thought to check the display again.

One minute remaining, it said.

"One minute," I muttered, letting Natsu bounce onto my shoulder. "Sasagawa! Where –"

Which was quickly answered by the "TO THE EXTREME!" echoing from the tunnels.

The subway's tunnels.

Uh-oh.

I gulped. "W-when did…h-how am I supposed to…" I started, until I suddenly found in my hands the container for my Deathperation pills. "Thanks, Link." I quickly opened it up, swallowing one, and then I set it down and pulled on my mittens quickly, letting it transform into the X-gloves again when the Deathperation flame blazed to life on my forehead.

"One moment," I told Link a bit weakly, but not without confidence.

"Rawr," Natsu added.

I jumped into the tunnels – accelerating in midair, I set off at a quick pace towards Sasagawa's voice. And twenty seconds later, passed him running in the opposite direction.

And nearly smashed into the train!

Amidst Natsu's surprised caterwaul I gritted my teeth, pulling for a hard reverse, taking extra care not to incinerate Sasagawa, who I had just now passed again.

"Hold on!"

Those two simple words were apparently enough time to halve the distance between us and the incoming hammer of doom. Er, the head of the train. Aw, heck.

I managed to grab the boxer by his hand, lifting his feet off the ground and making him look like he was trying to jig. I took one instant to glance back, and saw that there were no glass windows – someone hated us enough to send the only full metal train in service personally after our hides.

I accelerated even more – pushing, pushing – dang it! We weren't going to make it!

…Then I realized we didn't have to make it.

Carefully, I slowed myself down, despite the lion's nervous whimpering and the Sun Guardian's many protesting squawks. He touched down near the headlights first, his foot clumsily starting to support his weight, then his knees buckled and they collided with the train, then his elbows, and finally I deemed it safe enough to let go of him, and when I did he was shaky but managed to stop himself from collapsing onto the face of the train. He had the energy to shout out "Whoa! Extreme!"

My turn – I followed the same process, toes, knees, shoulder, head, all touching the face of the train in order and suddenly it wasn't so much of a run-away-for-your-life event than simply enjoying the ride.

So this must be what it feels like to ride a roller coaster. It's not so bad after all, I might try it once all this is over.

Then: Did you see that, Reborn? I remembered your lessons from yesterday. Relative motion means that the speed of collision is no more than the difference of their respective velocities. The normal force applied a wall can increase friction to a point where it seems like objects are sticking to it even when the force is perpendicular to the force of gravity. If only I could remember for the physics test next week.

Unfortunately, the seven seconds of exhilarating motion abruptly stopped when the trains braked.

…And now with no force of friction, gravity will drag us down kicking and screaming.

Not if I can help it. With a grunt, I managed to grab Sasagawa again, and with the right hand pointed straight down, I let loose all the power I could muster, scorching the floor. In less than a second I was no longer falling and I did something like a forward summersault in the air – dizzying the poor boxer – and with one final burst of power I let myself fly sideways, on to the platform, and as the train smoothly slid into its place I lost my grip on the boxer, collided onto the ground, Natsu sprang away, rolled over twice, and found myself staring up at Link's face.

"We're back," I managed.

Apparently Sasagawa had explored around a bit, found a door, went through it, found himself in the tunnels and then found the door locked behind him. I guess I couldn't blame him for that, but I did grumble for a bit.

Link seemed to know a bit of medical procedures because he had the boxer and me lying down for a moment to recover while he checked for any visible injuries. As soon as that was done he told us to sit up and gently test our extremities and finally when we were allowed to stand up he had us jumping slightly on the spot.

Or, maybe he was just using common sense and making sure it didn't hurt too much if we discovered a broken bone.

Either way Link was reasonably confident that neither of us had suffered any significant injuries, so at that point I turned and faced the train that had nearly run us over.

From the moment I saw it, I should've realized it wasn't an ordinary subway train. Ordinary ones had to be light, smooth, and aerodynamic to be able to move so fast through the underground tunnels. This one, on the other hand, looked like an actual train, with its flat metal front that dragged on wind unlike a real subway train's diagonal nose-like head. The rest of it was made out of stone. It had no windows, and it looked like it didn't even have joints; in other words, it was a single rectangular prism about ten metres long that shouldn't even be able to turn. But what was the most striking about the train was that it had a yellow door, similar to the one that was on the house that Hibari, Link and I had gone through only an hour ago, with the only difference being the colour.

Absolutely no doubt, then. This was the place we needed to go into.

I was never good at learning from my mistakes, but luckily I did remember that the last time we tried to go in, there was a booby-trap that was triggered as soon as I opened the door. I motioned for Link and Sasagawa to join me at the side of the door, and then slid the door open.

Nothing this time. I peeked in.

To my left and to my front, all there was a cold stone wall, similar in look to the hard walls of our previous location. To my right, a seemingly long corridor led into the darkness with no end in sight.

This was not good. If there was a long-range attack coming at us, there would be nowhere to hide.

Then again, what choice did we have? And it wasn't like I couldn't blast whatever was coming into soot with my X-burner. So I stepped in, and both Link and Sasagawa followed.

The moment they both stepped in, the door closed with a snap.

My fleeting moment of wariness was snuffed as soon as the corridors alighted – torches, again similar to the previous dungeon-like place. The ones nearest to us flickered to life first – and then, as if triggered by circuitry, the adjacent ones flared, then the next one, then the next…in no time at all, I could see quite clearly that I was right when I said there was no end in sight.

But at least there didn't seem to be any enemies for now.

Skitkitkitkitkitkitkitkit…

I just had to jinx that.

Even with the warm yet cold light cast by the torches, the bits of yellow glow in the distance was still distinct. Again – last time the box animal army glowed with purple light. This time it was yellow. Why?

Plenty enough time to worry about that later. For now – I probably should worry about the incoming force.

Link and Sasagawa had the same idea. The bright flash from behind startled Natsu for a moment until he realized it was Sasagawa's Sun Kangaroo, nicknamed Kangaryuu, being summoned, at which point Natsu pouted cutely.

Link was a little bit more hesitant in opening his box; I couldn't blame him, after the last surprise. But still… "No time for pause," I reminded.

Link nodded, and placed his flaming ring squarely into the niche of the box. It burst open with a flash, and in his hands Link held a bom –

No, a shiel –

Nope, it was a stone rod.

A stone rod that looked like a garbage picker.

"Link, I don't think now's the time to be overly green."

I wasn't too surprised when Sasagawa didn't get it, instead cheerfully exclaiming "Don't worry Tsuna! Save your strength, we can take care of these guys."

"Are you sure?" Maybe I was being too doubtful of my friends…but I can't possibly be too careful today.

"Hey, I'm a boxer! Don't underestimate boxers! And besides, this guy's a Doraemon! He can take care of himself long enough for me to help out!"

"Sasagawa, Doraemon can take care of anything but that."

And with the "that" I pointed rather importantly at our incoming enemies, rats.

There were seriously dozens of those yellow furballs scuttling towards us. Unlike Mickey Mouse, those thing's ears were tiny and their eyes were vicious. And even from a distance I could make out the wickedly sharp teeth and long nails that would no doubt leave a deep gash into the skin.

Ignoring (or maybe not hearing) my comment, Sasagawa instead just hooting out a "To the extreme!" both he and Link stepped forward. His box weapon quickly handed over a pair of boxing gloves which the Sun Guardian pulled onto his hands, and he lowered his centre of gravity and raised his relaxed fists to his face. Link followed suit, widening his stance, balanced his mass, and held the rod with both hands into what looked suspiciously like a batting position.

"Ready Link?" the boxer called out.

Link nodded in response.

They both took a deep breath.

The boxer made the first move. With a respectable yell he leapt forward quicker than sound!

No rat had time to react as he twisted his entire body into a devastating left hook!

Which missed!

"What are you doing?"

"I can't reach it!"

"Use your feet!"

"I'm a boxer!"

"Attack with your animal!"

"No! He's a supporting character, and he's staying that way!"

"You're supposed to be fighting for your life!"

"My honour is more important!" Sasagawa announced brilliantly. And with that valiant last cry he tried to punch with a left straight, entirely failing the reach his adversary on the floor, which promptly bit into his bare foot (where was his shoes?) making the boxer howl, kick out, lose balance and crash down on his back, before he raised a fist and moaned, "Tsuna, I leave the rest to you…"

"Stop quoting cheesy lines!"

Link was having far better success. The first thing he did was an underhand swing that caught a rat and sent it flying into the ceiling, destroying it. Next he kicked out and caught another two rats, one going poof, and then brought his rod down on top of another two, killing both instantly.

Unfortunately, one of the claws broke.

Link was hit in the face with the chipped stone and he jerked back, nearly losing his balance.

And then one of the rats bit his shoes.

Link was far more composed than the boxer was, but he still let out a gasp of pain before shaking his foot violently. The rat clung on.

And at this point I was out of patience. I jumped straight in, gripping the rat tightly, causing the rat to release its hold. Then I prepared to squeeze it.

Somewhere in the back of my head: That's kinda…unnecessarily…cruel, isn't it?

Until the rat bit my finger, losing all my sympathy.

I crushed the rat with my fingers, letting it squeal and poof, and Natsu who had been on my shoulder leapt down and faced the remaining rats.

GRAAAAAAAH!

With an impressive roar, the six rats left all froze. Natsu bounded up to my shoulder again, and I returned Natsu to his passive state, clenching my fist as the ring reformed.

…It was eerily quiet.

"Isn't…isn't long hallways like this supposed to echo?"

Whether or not it should was forgotten when I realized the more important thing.

"Where did the rest of the hallway go?"

To my eternal shame, I had never thought to look to the left.

In my defence, straight hallways were not supposed to change direction. What had moments before been a long corridor with torches running along for who knows how long, had suddenly turned into a corner with torches running along for who know how long in the perpendicular direction, leaving me staring at a seeming wall, which would leave anyone stumped.

But what Reborn would no doubt near-murder me for is the fact that I didn't take the time to make a simple assessment of my surroundings.

So when Link pointed out that suddenly a passage to the left had appeared, I had nothing to say but "Ah." That, and to cough self-consciously.

But what I could do was to confirm that this wasn't place wasn't an ordinary dungeon. In fact, it seemed to me that this place was actually alive.

I already had my suspicions from the last dungeon we were in. It was way out of proportion from what it looked like outside to what it was inside. That bit, I could sort of get a grip on, because it was possible that it was some kind of advanced Mafia science or – or like magic, like whatever had turned Reborn into a baby, from an age old enough he could be a grandpa. But there was more to it – I felt that the very walls and floors seemed to be testing us. It was one possibility for why we could only move forward by bashing in a side wall. And, whatever had prevented Grudge from escaping – I had noticed that though he sent Zelda out of the dungeon-like building, even when he went through the same portal he could not get out of the room and instead ended up near the walls. He ended up near the borders of whatever contained him inside. It was almost like something was physically holding him back. There were also those bars that clanged down as soon as Link stepped into a room. It wasn't like there was a tripwire or anything – that could have been seen after the fact. Both pressure pads and motion sensors would have worked more than once, but nothing did. Somehow the house, without known methods of detection, reacted to both of Link's feet inside and brought unnaturally resilient steel bars down with a loud –

CLANG!

And it was unlikely that whoever had built that place had the foresight to believe that virtually tankproof metals were needed to protect whatever had been inside. So that left the sole conclusion – well, not the only one, but I had a feeling that the right answer is this – the very place was at least aware, if not actually alive. Not only that – the obstacles it pitted were tailored specifically against the powers that we had brought, and…

…Wait a minute.

Turning around gave me the impression that Sasagawa and Link had somehow earned their way into prison.

Or, more likely, I was isolated and possibly about to be attacked.

Then the glimpse of what was behind the boxer and our overly environmentally friendly pal changed my mind yet again.

"Is that…a Roggenrola?"

That was the only likeness I could think of. It was a moving rock, one that was roughly oval-shaped and obviously rugged. It was crawling slowly but steadily, and that's when I looked at its feet, and realized it – the feet – were little more than goo.

So what the heck was that thing?

"Careful!" I cried out. But of course, Link already knew to be careful. The rod was held at a distance ready to be swung at a moment's notice.

"Sasagawa! Get ready!"

The boxer eyed his adversary for a moment, and then straightened coolly, frowning, and crossed his arms. "I'm going to let Link take this one by himself."

"Huh? Why?"

"Call it a test. I need to know what he's capable of."

"But if Link gets into trouble…?"

"His enemy doesn't look that tough. But if he needs it, I'll give help."

"Really?" I was now doubtful.

"Hey, trust me! I know what I'm doing."

"…Are you sure you're not sitting this one out because the hem of your pants got caught under the bars?"

And the boxer blushed. "Wh-what are you talking about? There's no way I could get that lame!"

…I had to agree, Link had to take this one by himself. And we didn't have much of a choice about it.

So it was with reluctance that I watched as Link drew in a breath, let it out.

Then he leaped!

Landed perfectly!

Swung his rod!

And the last two claws broke!

Link gasped in pain. He nearly dropped the rod – but managed to grab on with one hand.

But that moment was long enough for the creature, moving surprisingly fast, to smash its head into Link's stomach.

He grunted and stepped back one, twice, three steps.

"Link!" I yelled out. "Are you okay?"

He didn't respond – maybe he didn't hear, maybe he was just concentrating. Either way he kept his face straight on the box animal, holding out his rod. But I noticed – he was still only grabbing on to the rod with one hand. The other was hanging limp.

One of my many former enemies was a swordsman named Superbi Squalo, and he used a similar attack on my friend Takeshi Yamamoto once before. Using his strength, he hammered onto Yamamoto's sword, causing a vibration, an impact shock, that numbed the senses in Yamamoto's hands. At the same time, his training prevented the shockwave from damaging his own hands, thus being unhindered and gaining an advantage.

It was a similar case here – but though Link had plenty of strength, he did not have skill, his opponent was too solid and too heavy, and the weapon he was using was a stick. All that added up to the fine conclusion of a rebound force, rattling and damaging not only his weapon but his own hands.

Not good.

What next? I wondered.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Link jumped back and, with one hand, swung the rod again, this time like a golf club.

And he aimed at the stone rat!

The end result was that it went flying straight into the softer, more tender part of the monster's body – its feet, or maybe it was just its base. Either way, the monster toppled, seemingly crippled.

As quickly as possible, Link kept hitting all the rats I had petrified with Natsu, scoring not only another hit onto the base, but also dinged the rock exterior and even got one into what seems to be a peeking hole.

It was with no small satisfaction that I thought, That should hurt.

The boxer was thinking the same thing. "That's awesome to the extreme!"

The monster cowered, trying to make itself as small as possible. Its feet – base – were drawn into its stone shell, but it couldn't do anything for its other open eye.

I could predict Link's next move. And sure enough, Link held his rod like a spear, preparing to plunge it into the small hole.

And then the monster leaped!

Too late, I saw that it was only drawing its legs in to wind up.

By that time, the creature already sprung –

Closed the gap –

Nailed Link right in the stomach!

He gasped in pain, dropped his rod, and stumbled back.

"Link!"

Gritted teeth were not something I could see from this point of view, but I could easily imagine Link trying to suppress the pain. Heck, that thing must be rock hard, and more importantly, heavy. So much so that it's a wonder it can even move.

"Sasagawa! Help him!"

Maybe the boxer was about to react. But unfortunately, that was the moment the creature decided to spring once more, hurling towards Link –!

In my peripheral vision, a small mass suddenly zoomed in –

Leapt –

And collided!

Knocked the creature off course!

And then got mobbed!

I stared. I could not believe my eyes.

Five small statues of rats were attacking their bigger cousin.

Link didn't hesitate. With one final yell, he grabbed his rod off the floor and stabbed it into the peephole.

And the creature dissolved into fragments.

The bars were raised.

The next moment I was right beside Link.

"So…how did that happen?"

Like a family all the rats faced my direction and cocked their head sideways.

"…Creepy."

The tapping on my shoulder wasn't enough to trust the rats with my back, so Link just sighed and moved forward, disregarding my "Psst! Link! Get back here!" and "Are you sure they're safe?" and tapped one rat – lightly – on the head with his rod.

At once, its yellow glow faded and the rat was a statue once more. The rest of the statues ignored what happened to their kin, preferring to sniff – or at least try to sniff – the tip of Link's rod.

The answer hit me.

"Animation," I breathed out wonderingly. "Your rod is a Sun-Attribute weapon. Sun attributes have the property of animation. Most Sun animals – Sasagawa's included – manifest that property by accelerating healing. Yours, instead, gives statues the ability to move!"

"Extreme! By the way, I don't get it."

I decided to ignore the boxer. "But to what extent can you control it?"

Link cocked his head sideways – similarly to the rats, that was surprising yet unsurprising at the same time – and in the next moment, I was watching a miniature version of a circus performance, complete with attempted contortions, acrobatics, and a balancing act.

"That's amazing! What else?"

Link frowned once, and then suddenly I was watching a re-enactment of the Three Musketeers. Or maybe they were just miming getting killed by AK-47s.

"…Anything useful?"

One rat stood straight up on its hind legs, sniffed the air, then scuttled to a wall…and then disappeared.

"Um…huh?"

In sign language, Link explained, "He felt a breeze. Which means there's a hole somewhere. I don't know why we can't see it though."

…Was it too early for me to explain to Link that for some reason there were real magicians in the Mafia? Well, illusionists actually. But still, the basis of magical abilities was the same. Not that the Deathperation flames and the high-ranking Arcobaleno babies weren't fantastical enough already. Yet there was still a major difference in my mind if something was explained in the context of science opposed to in the context of magic.

And then I was spared the trouble of deciding when something went Click!

The roof somehow opened up.

"Hey, is that a statue…?" Sasagawa started.

"MOVE!"

BOOM!

"Gah!" Dust clouds! "Sasagawa! Link! Are you okay?"

Visibility was restored quickly enough, and it became apparent they were, in fact, okay. Link seemingly managed to be quicker than me, managing to grab the boxer's arm and jerk him back. It helped that he was closer.

And now Sasagawa said "Whoa, you're good! Join the boxing club!" So at least that mean the boxer was physically unhurt and mentally right in the mind…at least, no more weirder than he was before.

Okay, maybe that was a bit mean.

"Sasagawa…you've already asked him."

"No I haven't! I would've remembered!"

I decided not to point out that Gokudera had scientifically established that Sasagawa has the memory capacity reaching into the negatives. And unlike me, Gokudera was a straight-A student.

But the main concern is: why was there a falling statue?

On closer inspection, it turned out to be a fairly large Buddha statue, and it now sat majestically and tranquilly, one palm raised and the other resting on his lap, on the spot my Sun Guardian was standing on only a couple of seconds earlier. It was twice my height, and its head just barely brushed against the somehow replaced ceiling. That now had some kinda metal grille embedded in it.

Looking back at the statue, I decided it wasn't so majestic anymore when I noticed the cracked butt.

Where did it come from? I jumped and flew up for a closer look of the iron grille. It seemed to be made of the same iron as the bars that had separated me from Link twice already – which means I can't melt it. But there was a keyhole, though, which meant that it could be opened.

But where was the key? Was it somewhere further down the hallway? I glanced at said hallway – now totally straight again – and wondered if this was a trick, too, like the way Hibari had to smash the wall to get us out of the probably-looping hallway.

"Hey! I found a key!"

I was almost surprised that Sasagawa just proved himself useful in a situation outside of combat. (Ugh…Reborn's attitude was rubbing off on me.) But it was with some definite and heightened respect I landed back on the ground, and asked "Where?"

Pointing, Sasagawa replied, "Stuck on the statue's finger."

"…Ah." A quick look made it clear it was, and pretty solidly, too. I tugged on it. Didn't even budge. I jumped off of the statue's lap, and considered my options.

Sasagawa punching and shattering the statue was definitely one way. But there was another method that was much less of a hassle.

"Link…can you control this statue like you did the rats?"

He nodded, and tapped each of the rats in turn – the one that had gone into the invisible hole had evidently returned when I wasn't looking – and all of them re-froze into statues. He then tapped the Buddha statue's knee lightly.

At once, the statue literally jumped to life, banging his head against the ceiling, wincing, and deciding to sit down again. The statue reached its hand up, delicately and carefully placing the key inside its keyhole, and after a moment, unlocked it.

At once, the whole thing untangled itself, each descending row and column being withdrawn in an orderly, smooth and authoritative manoeuvre into the hidden thickness of the ceiling.

"Let's go. Who wants to be brought up first?"

"I will be brought by no one!" The boxer declared.

"Then how are…" I trailed off as I caught sight of Link. "Oh."

A quick jump had landed him right on the lap of the Buddha statue, at which point he scrambled onto the left hand. Balanced precariously, he took another step onto the shoulders, and then reached up, catching the rim of the opening on the ceiling, and finally swung himself over expertly, landing lightly on his feet.

And before I had the chance to comment…

"Ha! I will not be outperformed!" And with that, the boxer rushed to the statue, taking a flying leap, landing right on the left hand…and then tripping over the shoulder, flying way past it and crashing onto the floor.

"Sasagawa!"

"Graah! Clever trick! But nothing can hold me back! I will beat your time!"

…And now, Sasagawa was concerned with being quicker than Link…in statue climbing, apparently.

Crack.

I glanced sharply up. That didn't sound good. I re-released Natsu as I shouted, "Sasagawa, get up there, fast!"

And with that I left the boxer behind as I jumped and zoomed upwards past the opening.

Unlike last time, Grudge was waiting for me.

The first thing I saw was a hand pointing straight at me.

Quicker than I could move, it flashed once.

And everything went dark.

I allowed myself one grin. "Sorry, Grudge, but now I know your tricks."

And I swept out majestically the cloak that Natsu had quickly turned into. "Mantello di Vongola Primo, the cloak of the first Vongola, negates all attacks. You're going to need something much better than that."

With that said I zoomed in, landed, darted, and punched the stuffing out of Grudge.

Literally. I saw the tooth that fell out and flew threw the air. Ew.

The punch to the face wasn't enough, so I decided to try a knee straight into the groin, making Grudge double up and near-retch on me, making me decide it wasn't such a good idea.

I placed a hand on his back and, spinning, hurled him – strength from the gloves making up for lack of technique – and in a whirlwind of cloak and coat the man was sent flying into a wall, banging his head.

Still didn't take him out.

As he leapt to his feet I returned Natsu to his animal state.

Seeing this he pointed his hand at me again.

Sucker.

"Now, Natsu!"

"GRAAAH!"

Grudge was smart enough to move out of the way – but he was too slow and the attack caught one of his arms. He gasped, and fell to his knees, cradling his arm.

It was at this point that I noticed Link feebly stirring some ways down the hall, but he shouldn't be in any danger now. I turned back to the stone-armed man. "Tell me why you are here," I commanded coldly. "Tell me why you attacked my friends. Release them. And then leave."

Grudge was still clutching his petrified arm. Panting slightly, he glanced up at me for a moment long enough to let me know just how much he hated me.

And then he rasped out, "You will not get in my way."

He fell back into a black hole, disappearing. I listened for a moment, and when I heard a breath struck out upwards, catching him straight in the chin. With my other hand I grabbed onto his arm, and slammed him straight into the ground, making him choke.

"I'm not taking no for an answer," I growled. "Give me back my friends!"

The dark-clad man was wheezing and struggling, and he managed to spit out at me. It fell short.

I punched him on the chest, making him gag again.

"Give me back my friends!"

"Only," he gasped, "only in your dreams."

And that was when I saw – he had no tongue!

My eyes widened. With me distracted a push managed to send me stumbling back.

His right hand raised, he prepared to attack.

Smack!

And received a punch across the face.

Not from me this time. Sasagawa had managed to finally get to this floor, and had jumped into the fight.

Grudge was sent tripping over his feet. He tried to stagger up, and then the boxer managed another jab straight across the face.

In a flurry of punches, Grudge was struck in the stomach, the side, the face, the face again, the back, and with a low blow to the back of the knee Sasagawa felled him, and as he landed –

BAM!

Landed a punch just as he hit the ground!

Grudge choked out – and then melted back into the shadow of the portal he created.

He reappeared right behind Sasagawa, raising his stone arm – only to be caught by me. I spun him again, slammed him onto the wall, and pinned him. "Tell me why you are here and release my friends!"

When another Doorway was created I saw instantly, and against my better instincts as he melted through I pushed in after him.

And then we got picked up by a giant hand.

"LINK! LET ME DOWN!"

Glancing over at him, I saw a hurried "Sorry" – then I was abruptly dropped, and then I hovered in midair as I took another stock of the situation.

Somewhere Link had managed to find a giant monkey statue. It was glowing with a yellowish tinge as it grasped a struggling Grudge in its grips. He had not yet escaped with a Doorway. Perhaps the statue had the same properties as the dungeon?

I was only a little way down the hall – Sasagawa was already reaching us. With a respectable leap, he delivered a right straight into Grudge's arms, sending the recipient, statue and all, flying fifteen feet down the corridor and into a wall.

A wall!

We're at the end of the hallway!

Then: The end is cracked! We can get out that way!

And then: Oh crud.

"Sasagawa –!" I started to cry out –

Too late.

The Sun Guardian always uses his left hand in a recreational fight. The reason for this was plain and simple – his right hand was too powerful. One leaping punch had enough power inside to send a man and a stone statue flying five yards. Imagine the power contained when he was grounded, when he could plant himself push off from the ground to add in additional strength.

It was ridiculous.

Probably enough to shatter stone walls, even when they weren't cracked.

Hence the problem.

"Maximum Cannon!" he roared, and with a punch meant as a finisher, he collided his fist with the enemy, impacting him onto the statue, which was pressed against the cracked wall, which ended up utterly destroying it, and allowed Grudge to escape.

And I watched helplessly as our enemy escaped for a second time, flying into the wind and darkness of the subway tunnels, just managing to catch a glimpse of the monkey statue sucked up into an Arch to Nothing.

Anyone see the FMA reference?

And for those wondering: Tsuna plays Pokémon Black and White because I said so. ^^

If no one minds me doing a bit of complaining…I decided early on that I wasn't going to use Japanese honorifics in here. Bad mistake. Tsuna usually calls Ryouhei "Nii-san", which is basically "big brother", and the Viz Media translation uses "Kyouko's brother" when he's referencing the boxer. Obviously that was a bit too clunky to use in prose…but I'm afraid I made Tsuna a little bit more OOC than I would've liked by having him refer to Ryouhei by last name.

And as always, there was more I wanted to say but forgot. T-T Ah well, at least you guys are spared the pain of reading more of my complaints.

I'll be having a new story up in a week or two. It's a Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Mabinogi crossover called Gods Not My Own. Yup, this is a shameless plug.

I'm pretty sure I said this before…but for now I'm putting updates to this story on a hold until I'm finished with my new story. But please, don't discourage you from reviewing! I still need weapons for four more chapters. If I finish the story but still don't have another suggestion, well, sorry, that'll be more waiting on your part. Besides which, constructive criticisms are always appreciated.

Thanks for reading this far. Remember, please comment!