Okay. I'm sorry about the late update as well as the fact that this won't have the crazy guy from the last chapter. sorry! i just want to save him for later on in the ring battle and this one's mostly about the sun battle, although it is a bit longer. but enough of my blabbing. Onwards! oh, and please review ;)

Darkness came a bit sooner than I would've liked, but I still took my time heading to the school while mentally doing my checklist. Weapons, ring, headphones, miscellaneous, and food. Hm, I think I have everything. I even brought music to listen to this time…although, it's not really listening. It's more like feeling. I frowned, but shook off the depressed feeling. I'd long gotten over being deaf, but it occasionally gets to me. One of the many reasons I dislike the dark. I can't read people very well.

Jumping down from the roof I had been running on, I glanced around and spotted two figures standing on the school grounds fighting someone in dark clothing. Turning up the volume on my headphones so I could feel the deep beats of the drums and bass, I hopped down and took out a figure that had been sneaking up behind the two. It was a bit harder with my arm in a sling, but I got it done. A hand was placed on my shoulder and I tensed up, grabbing it and swinging the man over my shoulder and to the ground. I merely blinked when I saw who I had thrown.

There before me on the ground was Iemitsu. He didn't seem angry at me for throwing him, but Basil did and started yelling at me. I couldn't understand a word, even more so because it was dark, so I just guessed that he was upset about me throwing his master.

"I can't understand you, but I apologize for throwing Iemitsu. With my arm like this and my senses already limited, I reacted before recognizing that he wasn't a threat."

Basil still frowned as he helped Iemitsu sit up, but Iemitsu was laughing from what I could see.

"No problem! I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that…So you're deaf, huh?"

I nodded, taking no offense to his words because the look in his eyes was enough to let me know he felt bad about what he'd done without his knowing. I looked over to my left, where a bright light was illuminating the night sky and turned back to them with a slight bow.

"I should go. It looks like I'm already late."

Iemitsu gave a bright smile and he ruffled my hair, before letting me go. Running towards the light, I gave a small smile. I like him. He reminds me of my brother…when he's not trying to get me eaten by bears. I sweat dropped and slowed my pace as I neared the giant boxing ring that everyone was standing around.

It was odd though. The ring had metal bars going across it, like a cage and I grew concerned. The lights could easily heat them up after a period of time and they could become painful weapons for either side, should they take advantage of them. Glancing in the ring, I notice it was Ryohei and Gay Peacock that would be going against each other.

"Hm, he's strong. Ryohei's gonna have some problems later since Gay Peacock's got the advantage."

Tsuna jumped next to me and began pointing his finger at me and yelling something. Turning to him with an eyebrow raised, I focused on what he was saying now that I could see him clearly thanks to the lights from the ring.

"W-What?! Natsu! When did you get here?! And what do you mean he has the advantage?!"

"I just arrived after running into your father a few moments ago, and Gay Peacock does have the advantage." I turned back to the ring. "The muscles in his arms are proof that he takes a form of martial arts and the Varia have a vast amount of experience that we don't. They are used to life and death situations and know what to expect and what to look for."

Tsuna looked out towards the ring and closed his eyes tightly with his fists clenched at his sides. I had made him upset and mentally smacked myself.

"Sorry. Those are just the facts, but there is something they do not have that we do." That got his attention. "We have people around us that we need to protect and people to support us."

I gave a small smile and Tsuna nodded, looking determined until he paled. I cocked my head in confusion as Gokudera also paled and tried to figure out what just happened that I had missed. Looking back into the ring, hoping for some answers, I spotted throwing his cloak to the side and taking a familiar pose.

"Muay Thai. It's been a while since I've seen that."

I nodded in recognition, when I spotted something shine under the long piece of fabric that covered his left leg. That fabric. It's used to hide something. A weapon maybe? I shook myself out of my thoughts and turned to Reborn since he seemed to be explaining something.

"Looking at the previous family members, the guardian of the sun all had a strong fist or foot. Destroying the misfortune that attacks the family with their own body, they become the sun that brightly shines upon an area. That's the purpose of the guardian of the sun."

I frowned and looked back at the ring and those surrounding it. The group of Varia were there, but there were two others that I didn't recognize. Two twin women, who seemed to be the proctors of the fight.

"Hey, Reborn? Who are the two women over there?"

Turning to him as he sat on Yamamoto's shoulder, I took note of the distrustful look on his face.

"They are the Cervello. They work under the 9th orders and keep the rules in place."

"I don't like them."

He tilted his fedora in agreement and I tuned back into the battle just as the lights were turned up full blast. I closed my eyes and pulled out a pair of sunglasses from my sleeve, using them to block out a majority of the sun. The first thing I saw was Ryohei get hit hard in the stomach by Gay Peacock. I sighed while Tsuna got upset about the fairness of the match. I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back with a shake of my head.

"But Natsu!"

"No, Tsuna. It's fair. Ryohei wasn't prepared while Gay Peacock was. It's his own fault and if he focuses on his other senses, he will win."

Tsuna took in Natsu's words and, although he desperately wanted to do something, he knew she was right. Ryohei then got punched into the bars surrounding the ring and screamed at the extreme heat.

"With an electrical metal wire, the rope is heated to several hundred degrees."

"No way! That's crazy!"

Tsuna struggled in Natsu's grip once more, turning to yell at her to let him go when he noticed something. Her eyes were hard and her jaw was working back and forth. Even her grip on Tsuna was tight and her hand was shaking. She wanted to go over there and help him as much as he did, but she was holding herself back. He felt the need to comfort her. To do something, anything to let her know that Ryohei would be okay but he was afraid. He looked down at his hand as it reached towards her, but he quickly dropped it. What am I doing?! I shouldn't want to comfort her. I-I mean, she's not like Kyoko. She probably doesn't want me to comfort her anyway. B-Besides, I like Kyoko! He shook his head and looked back to the ring as Ryohei got up.

"Quit joking around!"

Lussuria flew from the punch and Tsuna and Yamamoto cheered.

"He hit him!"

"What an impressive punch!"

Reborn stayed silent and Natsu frowned. "He let himself get hit."

"What?"

Tsuna turned to Natsu with confusion, but she just pointed at the ring as Lussuria flipped and came back down after Ryohei. Ryohei looked prepared and swung another punch, but Natsu shook her head. Lussuria was too confident.

"I got you!"

Underneath Lussuria's loose fabric, his knee was covered in metal; the exact place Ryohei punched. Everyone on the Vongola's side was shocked except Reborn and Natsu as Ryohei fell to the ground cradling his broken arm. Tsuna and Gokudera freaked out and Reborn explained what else was happening that they had yet to notice.

"Ryohei is also growing weak from all the heat emitted by the light radiation and he's dehydrating."

"No way! At this rate-"

"Stand up-kora!"

Natsu turned to spot the baby above them flying with a seagull and merely gave him a look. Nothing really surprised her anymore with hitman babies and mafia families.

"It's about time. Go and show him your true strength, Ryohei!"

Lussuria laughed at that. "No matter who talks, it's useless. This boy is finished. I'll have him!~"

"That's not true." Natsu said with conviction. "Depending on who the encouragement comes from, one word is all that is needed to win a war."

Ryohei smiled and looked up.

"Master Colonello…I've been waiting for those words!"

As Ryohei stood, Lussuria continued to try and discourage him. It wasn't working very well though, and when Ryohei mentioned how his left punch didn't work, everyone seemed to understand.

"That's right, ever since he saved Futa and the others he's only been punching with his left hand."

"That's right. He never punched with his right-kora!"

"B-But why?"

"To let his muscles rest." The group turned to Natsu, surprised. "After an extreme workout, it's better to let the cells in the muscles relax to make sure they are ready for the next work out. Right?"

Colonello nodded. "Right-kora! Another is because he's the guardian of the sun."

"This right fist exists only to turn around the extreme disadvantage I have!"

Natsu turned back to the ring along with the others as Lussuria began doing some amazing footwork.

"What amazing footwork!"

"And he can barely see right now too!"

Ryohei was punched again, but he got up and was more confident than ever. Natsu smirked and even Tsuna seemed hopeful. Lussuria went around Ryohei in circles, but Ryohei figured it out pretty easily and did an upper cut to Lussuria.

"Maximum Canon!"

"H-He did it!"

"Not quite, Tsuna."

Tsuna turned to Natsu, but she had already turned back to the match; sitting down on the floor as Lussuria flipped and landed elegantly.

"If it was a clean hit, it probably would've been risky."

"No. I hit it for sure."

"Smart. Looks like he's not all muscle after all."

"What?"

Tsuna was confused, until he followed Natsu's line of sight and saw that Ryohei had knocked out all the lights.

"It looks like I can finally fight you in a fair situation. I can open my eyes now!"

The Vongola team smiled, removing their sunglasses, and began cheering as Lussuria learned that Ryohei had not used his fist to knock out the lights. Apparently, he used the salt crystals left behind from his sweat evaporating and shot it at the lights. With that knowledge, Lussuria was confident once again.

"Idiot Peacock. He's underestimating Ryohei."

It was only a mumble, but Reborn smiled at Natsu for noticing. Lussuria then swung a fist at Ryohei, blowing the salt crystals from his body into the lights.

"That's what you would call Varia quality."

"Varia quality?"

"The Varia, Tsuna, takes on missions that are said to be impossible for normal people to do. They are a group of genius assassins that complete their missions perfectly no matter the situation. Their high-leveled skills in killing is considered Varia quality by most people."

"Woah. How did you know all that, Natsu?"

She smirked as she watched Lussuria and pulled out a sandwich. "You'd be surprised what places I can hack into."

Tsuna sweat dropped and took a step back, surprised that Natsu would do something like that. But now that I think about it, she always did seem to know a lot about us. Scary. And where'd she pull out that sandwich from?!

"Oh?~ You said it well, Natsu-chan~"

"Thank you, Gay peacock."

Lussuria's eye twitched in annoyance while his teammates snickered in the background. Deciding to ignore Natsu's comment, he turned back to Ryohei.

"Don't you understand that there's such a gap between our skills? That this will be a game and not a battle?"

"Say whether or not it's a game after you accept my right fist first."

I was beginning to grow bored with the battle at this point. Ryohei's sister had come and with her help he was able to release the full power of his right fist; shattering Gay Peacock's knee. Even Colonello knew that it was pretty much finished and left, dragging Kyoko along with him. I suddenly felt this sickening feeling in my stomach and turned back towards the boxing arena where Ryohei was asking for the ring.

"No! I don't want to! I'm part of the Varia. I can win with only this one leg! It's easy!"

"What amazing persistence."

"That's not it."

I scowled fiercely and dashed towards the Varia, the tekagi-shuko appearing on my good hand. Reborn told Yamamoto to grab me, but I was already across the way by the time he reacted, trying to figure out who would try to kill off Gay Peacock. Who could do it? Has to be a long distance fighter, so not Kinks, Bell Baby, or Girly-Man. Possibly Prison Prince, but I'm betting money on Smokey the Bear. Quick stepping in between the Varia members, I swung my tekagi-shuko as Smokey lifted his hand and shot out the missiles. One swipe wasn't enough and, although it did take out half of the missiles, the other half hit Lussuria in the back.

I glared at Smokey and it didn't waver as I easily blocked Girly-Man's sword swing. He struggled against me as I held my ground until I felt the barrel of a gun on the side of my head. Reborn now sat on my shoulder and tapped out a message to me in Morse code, since I couldn't turn to face him.

"Back down."

"Che."

I swung my tekagi-shuko to the side, allowing it to dissipate and stalked away from Girly-Man and his companions. The battle was over and we had won, but it still felt like a loss to me. Needless to say, I was not happy in the least. With Reborn as my anchor to keep me from acting out, I popped a sucker in my mouth and crunched down on it, hard.

Crack!

Tsuna gave me a sad look, but I ignored it and continued crunching on my candy as the Cervello began speaking.

"This is the end of tonight's match, but from now on we shall announce the next battle's participants."

Not noticing the mindless chatter around us, I scowled and continued to watch in order to see who would be battling next.

"Tomorrow evening's battle will be…the match between the thunder guardians."

I gripped my fist tightly, blood dripping down it from my nails cutting through the skin. Lambo…

Reborn had stood next to Tsuna now that the Varia had left and once they had convince Kyoko that it was only a sumo contest, everyone had headed home except Tsuna, Lambo, and Natsu. Speaking of Natsu… Reborn gave her a glance as she stood off to the side seething in anger. Hm. She's strong but cares for the enemy. She'd be worthy of the boss position if she had the connections. Reborn smirked and tuned in on Iemitsu's conversation with the young Vongola boss.

"Kyoko seems like a nice girl. Just like mom when she was young."

"Wha?!"

"But that Haru girl was cute, too. Tsuna, you're quite popular."

"What are you saying, Dad?!"

"Although, Natsu seems pretty good too. Strong with a heart big enough for the enemies."

"Dad! I-I don't like Natsu like that!"

He smirked. "Oh really? That blush on your face says otherwise."

Tsuna's face grew redder as Iemitsu laughed and handed Lambo over to him.

"Sorry, take care of this too while you're at it. He's a child that holds a lot of potential power."

"Wha?! Me?!"Iemitsu nodded and bent down to whispered to Tsuna. "Keep an eye on Natsu too. She doesn't have the big family we do and she gets lonely, whether she shows it or not. Okay?"

He gave Tsuna a smile as he looked over to see Natsu sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Oh yeah! Congratulations on one victory! Daddy won't be able to come home for a while, but be a good boy!"

Tsuna turned away from Natsu and yelled back.

"Hey! That's troublesome! Don't run away!"

It was too late for that, since Iemitsu and Basil left and Reborn spoke up.

"It's a good time to show your baby sitting abilities."

"Not you too! It's more like we should withdraw! There's no way we can possibly make Lambo fight."

Reborn then told him how ruthless Levi is and mentioned finishing Tsuna's training, but only got around to talking about some bullet before he fell asleep.

"Don't fall asleep!"

"Tsuna."

"Huh?"

Tsuna looked to his right and stared at Natsu as she blankly stared back.

"I won't be at the next match tomorrow."

"What?! But-I thought-"

He paused mid sentence at the look on her face. She looked torn apart, as though she wanted to be there, but she was fighting with herself over something else. Her fist kept clenching and unclenching at her side and Tsuna really felt bad for getting upset with her.

"O-Okay. I understand. I-I'll tell the others you had something to do, okay?"

He gave her a small smile and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He was never very good at comforting girls, or even talking to them, really. So when she smiled back, his heart took a flying leap.

"Thanks, Tsuna. I'll make it up to you. Promise."

She waved at him, then donned her usual blank expression as she started running towards the school entrance. Debating with himself, he shouted out after her. When she didn't stop though, he felt stupid for forgetting that she couldn't hear. Idiot. Now I have to hurry. He scooped up Reborn and ran after her, gasping for air when he finally grabbed a hold of her sleeve.

"You need something, Tsuna?"

"D-Do you want to…uh, stay over at my house tonight? I-I mean-My mom shouldn't mind a-and I know there's no one to welcome you at your house s-so…You could, that is, I-if you wanted to."

His face was a bright red hue by the time he finished, not expecting her to say yes.

"Um, okay. Thank you, Tsuna."

She rubbed the back of her neck in a similar fashion to Tsuna before offering to carry Lambo as they went to his house. They had a comfortable silence aside from the loud music in Natsu's headphones that Tsuna didn't notice before. He didn't want to disturb her, but at the same time, he was curious as to why she was listening to music when she couldn't hear. So, he tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

"Hm?"

"W-Why are you listening to music when you can't…um-"

"Hear? It's okay. Actually, it's really nice because, when I turn it up loudly like this, I can feel the vibrations from certain instruments. It's almost like I can actually hear them and the feelings the people put behind them so it's almost as though I am listening to the song itself, even though I'm not. Um, did that make sense?"

Tsuna nodded, a bit surprised. He had always thought that Natsu didn't care about her disability when in actuality, she really did and has probably felt horrible in some of the situations they have been in. Not knowing what was happening around her certainly had its disadvantages and not being able to do anything about it was probably worse. And yet she acts so strong like it's not even there. He snapped out of his trance-like state when they arrived at his door and felt glad about learning something about his newest friend, while knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that she too was going to be involved in the ring battles sooner or later. And when that happens, none of the Vongola will be able to do anything about it.