Here's the next chapter that I know some of you guys have been waiting for. You get a nice look at Natsu's box weapons and her relationship with some people. Oh, and at the bottom will be information about future updates for this and my other fanfics (in case you don't read Amber Leaves). But please review and let me know what you think!

Training was getting more and more intense as the days passed. Occasionally, I was left to train on my own as Hibari went to go test Tsuna's abilities, but for the most part I was quickly getting used to my flames. Fighting Hibari was getting easier too, though he still beat me more times than I could count. I felt more confident though. For one thing, I was actually landing hits on him now and I wasn't sure if this was true or not-since he never answered when I asked-but it felt like he was actually fighting me seriously and not holding back. I was, however, having another issue.

Ever since Tsuna and them mentioned Irie Shoichi, I'd had a sick feeling in my stomach. My gut instincts were telling me that he wasn't a bad guy, that he was the same scared little bullied kid I had made friends with ages ago. More often than not, I found myself staying up late into the night trying to look up things on him. My future self actually had a folder about him, but it was password encoded and blocked by an intense amount of firewalls, enough so, that I couldn't get into the folder at all without the risk of possibly deleting everything that was in it. I was lucky I managed to avoid that the first time I tried hacking into it.

What I found though, didn't amount to much and after a few days of this extensive searching, Hibari caught me and 'bit me to death', saying something along the lines of…

"If you have time to waste doing this, then you should be training."

In other words, he was telling me to get my rest or else he'd keep me up at night fighting. I knew which option was the better one, and started only trying to find things when I had my breaks during the day. Unfortunately, those were becoming less and less, but I was glad for the change of pace when Hibari started making me use my box weapons.

I thought it was odd, how the black box with gold lining gave me a red and white kitsune mask, as well as changing my tekagi-shuko, but it was definitely something I was grateful for when it came to fighting Hibari. The kitsune mask had no eye holes, though it was painted like it did. That confused me at first, but I realized that with two of my senses blocked-hearing and sight-I was forced to rely on instincts to fight more and it was very…exciting. Not only that, but my tekagi-shuko covered not only my knuckles, but wrapped halfway up my lower arm now and had thicker, longer claws that had an ability to hold poison, should I want them too. It was definitely different than what I was used to, but it didn't take long to get used to it, especially with Hibari as my teacher.

The gold box though, contained something I didn't expect. Hibari explained that it was an animal box as opposed to a weapon box, and that whatever animal I got was supposed to help me fight in some way. Needless to say, I was surprised when I opened it and two orange and black foxes came out, staring up at me. The one seemed more laid back than the other, who reminded me a lot of Yamamoto, and Hibari had immediately left me to 'get to know them' and figure them out. They were definitely box weapons, as the flames on the tips of their ears and along their shoulder blades told me, but I felt like they weren't just your average animals. There was just something about them that made it feel like they were smarter than they looked and I immediately decided that they weren't going to be my box weapons. They were going to be my partners. Of course, that meant they were going to need names.

The one that I found to be easily excitable and almost puppy-ish, I called Aki. She was all for jumping around and fighting Hibari alongside me. The other, laid back one, I called Yuu. He seemed to be the level headed one who kept Aki under control, and he took a sneakier approach when it came to fighting. The two worked excellent together and it seemed that with me coming up with strategies and them helping me fight, it was getting easier and easier for me to land hits on Hibari. Reborn was right though, Hibari really did know how I fought and what I was capable of, so fighting him turned out to always be a challenge and every day was different. It was still unexpected when Tsuna walked in one day, curious about what I had been up to. Though his timing could have been better. Needless to say, I had one heck of a headache that day due to his distraction. Things were about to get a lot worse though, because one day we received information saying that Chrome's condition suddenly changed.

"Natsu, come."

I hastily got up and followed Hibari out of his section of the base, following behind him in confusion.

"Can you do something about her condition?"

He stayed silent and I frowned, but Kusakabe chuckled beside us.

"Don't worry, Natsu. Hibari knows what he's doing."

I sighed, but upon entering the base, Hibari sent me off and him and Kusakabe entered Chrome's room. I gathered with the others in one of the conference rooms, a bit glad that everyone appeared to be okay since I hadn't seen most of them since a few days ago. Gokudera though, was as cranky as ever with me hanging around and I went out of my way to mess with him a bit. All things aside, we were all relieved when Kusakabe came back stating that Hibari had helped Chrome, though it had everyone questioning what happened with Mukuro.

"If he's cut off all the power he was channeling to Chrome, we must face the fact that the worst has befallen Mukuro." Bianchi said, upsetting Tsuna.

"How could that be?!"

Gokudera reassured him a bit. "Boss, that Mukuro is one persistent guy. We don't know anything for sure yet."

"This means Chrome won't be fighting, right, Reborn?" I asked and he nodded.

Lal suddenly stood up then and I shifted my gaze to her as she spoke. "Don't worry. I will stand in for Chrome."

I raised a brow, having already seen her pale features and the way her body seemed to be struggling, her breathing a bit faster than normal. Reborn must have said something then, because Tsuna and Lal began shouting around the table about the Tri-ni-set, though something Lal said caught my attention.

"For Colonello and Viper and Skull- Those people killed all of them!"

She's lost everyone…She then collapsed and people went to help her, but I stayed where I was and watched future Ryohei talk to Tsuna.

"With all of our fighting power under such terrible conditions, I can guess what you're going to say. I will convey the message to the top to cease battle preparations."

Turning to Tsuna, I frowned slightly. What are you going to do, Tsuna? Almost as if he heard my thoughts, he turned to look at me. I dropped my frown and nodded, mouthing words to him. It's your decision. He turned away and after a moment finally made his choice.

"No. Let's do it. If we go to the enemy's hideout, we may be able to return to the past. But it's not just that. I think we'd be able to get a lead on Mukuro as well and we might also be able to understand what this Tri-ni-set is all about, but I feel that if we take our time for either, we may already be too late. Besides, I feel that I don't want to prolong the current state of affairs any longer. For all our friends here in Namimori, of course, and for Chrome and Lal Mirch, things are not supposed to be like that at all!"

Seeing that all of Tsuna's confidence was fading, I stood up and headed over as he held his hands up and began panicking.

"Um, that is…That's just what I feel…I mean-"

I came up behind him and ruffled his hair, surprising him as I gave him a small smile.

"Good job, Tsuna."
He smiled back. "T-Thanks, Natsu."

Future Ryohei came over as well. "Spoken like a true man, Sawada!"

I shook my head at his antics and went over to lean against the wall by the door, next to Hibari as Tsuna popped something in his mouth and that warm sun energy returned.

"We only have 5 days left. Don't waste even a moment of it."

I smirked and followed after Hibari and him, and ended up watching the two of them fighting, ignoring the conversation Lal and Kusakabe were having behind me. I was too busy analyzing Tsuna's weapon. The flames…There's two of them, but why is he using them together like that? They're different, right? I would think that they have a different purpose, not the same. As I contemplated that, things between Hibari and Tsuna seemed to have come to a close as Hibari turned towards me and Tsuna tried getting him to wait, I went to ask Tsuna about why he was using his gloves the way he was, but Hibari hit me upside the head with his tonfa.

"Keep your mouth shut. He needs to figure it out on his own."

I snapped my mouth shut and sighed, waving at Tsuna in apology. "Sorry, Tsuna. I can't help."

"I-It's okay. Um, I'll figure it out…I think. G-Good luck with your training!"

I nodded and headed back with Hibari, hoping that Tsuna would figure it out. He's pretty smart…kind of…He should be okay. Though, I have other things to worry about. The battle's getting closer, and if I want to figure out what's going on with Irie, I'm going to need to become even stronger. I took a deep breath and steadied myself, smirking slightly as we took the elevator back up. Let's do this.

"In that case, we'll settle this with fists and boxes!" Future Ryohei shouted.

"That's fine with me."

"Nothing can stop me, to the extreme!"

I groaned, having peeked open an eye to see who was bothering my meditation. "Are they still arguing about why the kids aren't allowed in the base?"

Kusakabe nodded with a sigh. "The guardians should not be fighting over such a senseless reason. Please stop." He said to them.

"What do you mean by senseless reason?! Why am I allowed into the residence but the kids are not? What's that all about?!"

"Truth be told, you're not welcomed either." Future Hibari said. "Just looking at you dampens my will to fight."

"What?! I'm pissed off to the extreme!"

I sighed, getting up and patting Kusakabe on the shoulder to get his attention. "I'll take Lambo and I-Pin back. There's no way I can meditate here anyway. I'll try to find someplace quiet up there."

He nodded and let out a long sigh himself. "Thank you. I'll try to get these two to stop."

I headed out, turning to I-Pin and Lambo. "Hey, you two. Let's head back and maybe Kyoko or Haru can make you guys some snacks."

Lambo cheered and I-Pin got excited, when I noticed the doll she was holding.

"Hm?" I knelt down and pointed at it. "Where'd you get this, I-Pin?"

She spouted off some Chinese and, though my skills were a bit rusty, I nodded in understanding and picked her and Lambo up. Future Ryohei gave it to her, huh? It looks a lot like Fon…I wonder if Fon teaches her too. I'll have to ask next time I see him…if I see him again. I frowned, my thoughts taking a turn for the worst, but quickly tossed the thoughts aside before the two kids could realize it and soon handed them off to the two girls. Haru looked a bit upset about something, but I figured that I shouldn't get involved and headed out to look for someplace quiet to meditate. After a good bit of walking, I stumbled upon Yamamoto and Reborn peeking through a door. Yamamoto spotted me and waved me over with a grin, mouthing words to me.

"We're looking at Gokudera's training. Come look."

I shrugged, figuring 'why not' and went to peek through the door as well. I couldn't see much, just Gokudera's back, until Yamamoto suddenly turned and I spotted Tsuna at the other end of the hall. I turned back to the door, watching as Gokudera seemed to open up a group of boxes and the air seemed to wave with heat, making my eyes widened.

"Not good." I muttered, and the three of us scrambled up and ran towards Tsuna.

Yamamoto tackled Tsuna and Reborn jumped on his head just as I slid across the floor and the room behind us exploded.

Once the smoke cleared and Gokudera realized that he'd nearly set Tsuna on fire, he panicked, but the cat on his head was what I was interested in. Needless to say, we all moved elsewhere to discuss his newest friend, getting it something to eat in the kitchen as well.

"It's so cute!" Haru said, Kyoya beside her, and I turned to Gokudera, who was bowing in apology to Tsuna.

I couldn't see what he was saying and when Tsuna said something back, I noticed that he covered his mouth to probably hide what he said from Kyoko and Haru, but it kind of frustrated me. Thankfully, Gokudera wasn't as cautious and I understood him.

"I prefer to start my training from pencil and paper…but I accidentally let this guy out. I wanted to put him back inside the box, but he resisted and came scratching at me."

I snickered quietly to myself and nearly started laughing as Gokudera explained how he couldn't cut off the flames because the cat gave him a pitiful look. Tsuna turned to me though, as Gokudera talked with Fuuta, and scratched his cheek nervously.

"U-Um, how's your training going, Natsu?"

I shrugged. "Good, I suppose. Though mine aren't as…cute as Gokudera's."

Tsuna's eyes widened. "Y-Y-You have a cat too?!"

I shook my head, but Gokudera and the others already heard.

"Natsu has one too?"

"I want to see!"

"Che, mine's probably better."

I looked over at Tsuna, not really comfortable with the sudden attention, but his excited face made it impossible to say no. Now I know how Gokudera feels…Letting out a long sigh, I pulled out my box and opened it. Aki and Yuu came out, and I pet Yuu as Aki looked around curiously.

"Aw! They're so cute!"

Aki willingly allowed Haru and Kyoko to pet her, fluffy tail thumping behind her much like a dog's would, but Yuu just let out a scoff and adjusted his head to a position where he wanted to be scratched. Tsuna reached out towards him, but apparently Yuu glared at him, because Tsuna chuckled nervously and pulled his hand back.

"T-They're, um, pretty different, Natsu."

I nodded. "That one's Aki. She's like Yamamoto. And this one's Yuu. He's…like Hibari."

Tsuna paled, but nodded, just as the door opened and in came Bianchi.

"Well, done, Hayato. On skipping your training and looking after your new pet."

"That's none of your business. I've already understood the sistema C.A.I." Gokudera snarled. "How would you like to test it out?"

Things grew tense but, as always, Ryohei was there to fix it, even in the future.

"Oh! There you all are! We need to discuss the next…uh…sumo wrestling tournament! Come to the briefing room!"

I raised a brow, but walked out with everyone else, cutting off my flames and sending Aki and Yuu away as we all headed to the briefing room. Nudging Tsuna along the way, I addressed something that I thought he should know about.

"Hey, don't you think you should tell Kyoko and Haru soon? They can't keep being left in the dark about things."

"E-Eh? But…" He lowered his head and I scratched the back of my neck.

"Not now, or anything. I just think they should know what we're getting into. We're getting into danger, but so are they. Keeping them out makes it so that we have to step around the subject when we're in the same area as them. And what if someone gets severely hurt? You can't just make everything be because of a sumo competition. They may be a bit thick, but they're not entirely stupid. It won't be long before they get suspicious."

Tsuna was silent and I let out a sigh, knowing that now probably wasn't the best time to be saying this.

"Just…think about it, okay?"

He nodded and we soon were in the briefing room, where Ryohei explained about the plans we'd suddenly received.

"A blueprint of the Millefiore hideout?!"

"Yeah. Several files containing information about the enemy were uploaded to the server in Hibari's hideout. They appear to be a blueprint of the enemy's hideout and data on the installations inside. Take a look."

I got the files uploaded to my computer and frowned at the map shown on the screen. It almost looks like one of those sliding picture puzzles. They talked a bit about who could've sent the thing, but my brain was still wired around the black rooms, so I asked about them.

"Any idea about the black rooms?"

"We don't have details on that. There were other files which we couldn't use as well, but they seem to contain important data about the enemy's installations too."

He then showed us a picture of some kind of round machine, something that had Tsuna gasping in surprise. Turns out, he'd seen it in some dream he had and Reborn supported the idea of making that machine a target as well in our raid. He left soon after that, and Giannini and I were the only two left, him tapping me on the shoulder to get my attention.

"Hm?"

He smiled politely. "I was wondering if you could try your skills at getting into some of these files. You were an excellent hacker in this time and, I'm sure your skills could be helpful."

I nodded, accepting the small flash drive he gave me, but paused in realization.

"Are we going to have some way to keep into contact with this base when we start the raid?"

He nodded, getting excited. "Yes! I just finished completing a set of earpieces for your team to wear and-Ah! You can't use an ear piece!"

I frowned a bit, but gave him a nod. "Which is why I was asking. Might I suggest eyewear of some kind?"

He snapped his fingers. "That will be perfect! I will do my best to have yours ready by the day after tomorrow!"

I raised a brow as he went off talking to himself about the specifics and, quietly left the meeting room with my computer. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair and made my way back to Hibari's section of the base. I better get back to training. We're going to need all the strength we can get.

The next day, I was kicked out of Hibari's section so he could have a meeting with the other 'adults' about our raid, and was taking my time walking around the base after a long day of trying to hack into files unsuccessfully. I did, however, discover some blueprints of the strau mosca and studied those for a while in a search for weak points, since they seemed to be a weapon that the Millefiore used often. As I was walking though, I came upon a laughing Tsuna who appeared to have tripped or something. When I went over to help him up though, I spotted Kyoko smiling beside him and felt my chest clench tightly.

This is an unpleasant feeling…I thought, placing a hand on my chest and fisting it tightly around my jacket as I looked upon the scene. But…they look happy together…And Tsuna he…cares for her a lot. I looked away and began walking down the hall. She'd be good for him…unlike me…As I walked, I rounded a corner and accidentally bumped into someone who steadied me as I looked up to see that it was Gokudera.

"Watch where you're going! Idiot!"

I nodded silently and pushed past him and Yamamoto, heading towards the kitchen and still feeling unpleasant after what I had seen. Perhaps food will help. Once I was there, Haru and Kyoko were adamant about keeping me from touching any of the food they were making until everyone had arrived and once they did, dinner became more of a party than an actual meal. The only issue was, I wasn't really feeling up to a party and not even food could get rid of the unpleasant feeling in my chest. I did notice that the so called juice was actually alcohol-as Yamamoto and Gokudera's faces could tell anyone-and I had a decent amount to take my mind off of things. It was slow to take effect though and I was still pretty sober by the time I decided to go ahead and leave the celebration. Instead of heading to my room though, I wandered down to Hibari's side of the base and sat on the porch that gave me a nice view of the garden he had. I wonder how he keeps the plants alive since this is all underground. I looked up and blinked slowly at the darkened ceiling, stars twinkling on it. Artificial sunlight, perhaps? The ceiling accurately shows the time of day so…it wouldn't be impossible. Beside me, a dark shadow sat down and I turned to Hibari, looking him over and pointing at his outfit.

"Where can I get one of those?"

He raised a brow at me, but looked back out over the garden. "I believe there's one your size in the closet. Third door on the right. You can change in the room across the way as well."

I nodded, getting up and going to find a dark blue yukata similar to the black one Hibari had been wearing. Once I'd put it on, feeling better and not so stuffy in my jacket, I returned to Hibari's side out on the porch and sat down with a sigh.

"Thank you."

He made no recognition of my appreciation, and instead tapped my knee to catch my attention.

"You did not attend the party?"

I blinked and turned back to the garden. "I did, but…I didn't feel like celebrating very much." I was suddenly knocked off balance when Hibari roughly poked the side of my head. "Hey!"

He looked over at me with a frown. "Do not let your emotions distract you. Or you will turn into a herbivore."

I scrunched up my brows in confusion, righting myself. "I thought I was a herbivore."

He just stared at me for a moment before looking back out over the garden as the shishi-odoshi clonked against the rocks, not saying a word. I frowned at him, but decided to give up on asking for an answer to his odd words, sitting there beside him for a while until Kusakabe brought out some sake that Hibari let me drink with him. It was nice, relaxing and watching as an artificial wind blew through the garden, making leaves flutter slowly to the ground. It reminded me of the cherry blossom trees back home, but it also brought up some unpleasant memories about the day I spent trying to get Irie out of a tree after being chased by a dog. And how could that turn into this Irie? I just…can't see it…

My thoughts were suddenly destroyed when a barreling ball of fur suddenly ran in and very nearly knocked over our sake. Recognizing it as Gokudera's box weapon, I stared at it in confusion before Hibari snatched it up and stood, giving me a pointed look.

"You best return to your room. We can drop this off as well."

I nodded, scrambling up and gathering my other clothes before following him back into the main base. The cat threw a fit the whole way, trying desperately to scratch Hibari, and before long we bumped into Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera who were woken up by the noise.

"It was drunk and wandered over to my place." Hibari informed them as they shouted in disbelief and Hibari released the cat and it attacked Gokudera.

Uri? Why would he call it a melon? I yawned, watching as the trio panicked over something Hibari said, before he yawned as well and ruffled my hair as he passed.

"You can keep the yukata."

I nodded my thanks and headed off, ignoring the trio as they said goodnight to me and began speaking to Hibari. I wasn't in the mood to be cheered up or asked questions and, as much as I wanted to sleep, I knew it would probably be impossible tonight. I best just keep an eye on things. No doubt Giannini's passed out drunk, what with the way he was chugging down the alcohol earlier. With another yawn, I began skimming through files and such before getting a random urge to check the cameras around the base. What I saw, did not look good. A large group of Millefiore were gathered above ground right over a part of our base that was for a warehouse. Not good. I thought as one of them knocked out the camera, typing away and picking up an earpiece despite the fact that I knew I wouldn't be able to hear what Hibari said once I got into contact with him.

"Hibari, I just spotted a large group of enemy right above warehouse 8! I'm using an earpiece so I can't hear you, but could you get over there to cut them off? I'll wake up the others, because this could be our chance to make getting into their base easier since a good number of Millefiore are here. Okay?" I smacked myself in the face with a groan. "Agh, never mind! I can't hear you! Thank you, Hibari!"

I tossed the earpiece aside and stuffed my computer and other gear into my backpack quickly, before rushing out and waking up Giannini, who was passed out at his desk.

"Giannini! We're being attacked!"

"W-What?!"

I flipped open his computer and got him the video feeds as I turned around to head back out the door.

"There! I sent Hibari after them, but find us a clear route above ground! Now's our chance if there's no one to stop us! I'll grab the others!"

I didn't bother waiting for a response and just hurriedly ran to Reborn's room and woke him, very nearly being shot in the process before I was able to explain what was going on and he just rushed us both back to where Giannini was at, saying that the others would figure it out and be here soon enough anyway. When they did, Tsuna was adamant about going to help Hibari, but I had already explained to Reborn that now was the time to strike the enemy's base and as he explained this to Tsuna and the others, Giannini and I found a clear route to the surface.

"Found it! The coast is clear!"

Giannini nodded. "Right now, you can take hatch F and follow route B to cut straight to the enemy's base!"

Tsuna seemed to be hesitating, but I knew he trusts Hibari and I began getting my gear ready and accepting the sunglasses Giannini had finished for me, just as he decided that we were going to do this. Not soon enough, we were out of the base and running through Namimori to try and reach the underground shopping mall where we had been informed was the location of the Millefiore hideout. As I slipped my sunglasses on and the others put in their earpieces, we ducked into the underground parking garage and ran into Biachi, who was there to see us off. Once we were in the ducts though, I grew serious, despite Yamamoto making a joke about this being like a movie. This is serious. We could get seriously hurt, or injured, or even captured by the enemy but…is Irie really our enemy?

Okay, now for the update information...

You're Not The Only One: I'm sorry to say, I'm discontinuing this one. If I ever get the itch do continue it, I will, but for now, I'm stuck and have forgotten where I was heading with it. Sorry.

Scarred Skalve: I'm also discontinuing this one. I know the manga series has ended and I should just finish it, but I can't figure out what my character would be doing during everything that's going on. I've tried time and time again to write it, but I feel as though I've completely lost the character. Sorry again.

Nonbeliever: Now, there's a good story for this one...I suck at writing my own plots. I wanted to try it with this one and have been having a difficult time with it. Well, it's not so much that I suck at my own plots, but it's more like...because I know I'm doing my own plot, I can't get myself to keep writing it. Dunno what's up with that, but! I will continue it. I have an idea of what I want to do next and just need to get my butt in gear to sit down an write it. So...expect a new chapter within the next month or two.

Puppet Duras: As for this one, I don't want to do my own plot for it, and want to keep using the manga, but I've just about caught up with the manga and so I'm going to wait until I get a bit more manga chapters before I keep going. So this one is on a hiatus.

Untamed: This one has also caught up with the manga and I know that the Werewolf arc has started and is about halfway done, but I don't want to start a new chapter and have something happen only to find out later that it would change everything that happens later on. So, until the Werewolf arc is complete there will be no new chapter. I'm really sorry, especially since I made it so Damon's alive (killing her off was actually a very spur of the moment thing) at the very end there without an explanation...it will be explained though...you just have to wait. I'm curious about what you guys think though and would love to hear any ideas you have as to how you think she survived.

Street Smarts: This one is an easy explanation...I have major writers block. Sorry! I've tried writing the next chapter a good number of times, but it never feels right. I will get to it again soon though, so expect a chapter in the next couple of weeks. ^^

The Black Panther: For this one, I have the "Reichenbach Fall" episode completely written out as well as the "Empty Hearse" and will be posting chapters either weekly or bi-weekly until I run out of stuff. I'm a little stuck on the wedding and what part Dani will play in it though.

Silent Guardian: I am stuck on the chapter after this because I don't know what Natsu should be doing while Tsuna's fighting the Mosca...I should figure it out soon though and the next chapter will probably take another week or so.

Amber Leaves: This fanfic is special. because it is always such a long chapter, it takes time to write it. But I will be in school this upcoming week and I usually spend a good amount of time writing between classes, so this next chapter shouldn't take more than a month to write (I'd say sooner, but it takes a while to write over 40pgs/40,000 words a chapter). And I'll warn you now, the beginning will be a bit...sad. Many of you will probably be upset with me for what I'm about to do, but I promise I will explain when the time comes. :)

Now, if you want, please leave me a review for this chapter and/or if you have any questions or ideas or anything about this update thing. Okay? Thank you amazing people! It's nice to know that there's such a number of people reading my stories. :D