Did you guys read chapter 16? If not, read that one first so that everyone can see the additional parts of the story.

I know so many things to explain, and so many things to do. My fight with my dad is already done and gone. No need to worry about that anymore. Sorry for making my readers wait, I have so many to apologize about but I'm here to make up for that! :D I love this fanfic and this fandom! (I also love the other fandoms too!)

I didn't mean for everyone to wait this long… but I did say I'd be gone for a long time. And now, I am back! I'm done with my thesis, projects, series of tests, interviews, and clearances XD I'm so damn happy~!

Enough blabber. I present to you people chapter 17~

Warning: OOCness, grammar and spelling (I just hope not), and practically everything that you see that is off.

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR nor this very fanfic. KHR belongs to Amano Akira-sama, and this fanfic belongs to Ms. Invisible-san (I miss her TT_TT)

Enjoy~!

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Chapter 17: Internal Battle

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Inside Tsuna~

"Hiiiieeee!" Tsuna shrieked as he evaded another icicle. He was in between a fight between him, and him. Zero, the one who is capable of performing zero point break through, leapt in the air and tried to flatten the enemy in front. Hyper, the one who is in hyper mode, evaded the kick made by Zero. Tsuna though… He was doing all his best to get himself out of harm's way since he can't use either of the two of his abilities.

"What's wrong, Dame-Tsuna? Feel wimpy again?" Zero shouted as he jumped in the air and kicked Tsuna—who dodged by a breadth's width. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and kicked the ground, effectively forming icicles and grew at a terrifying speed towards Tsuna.

The brunet dodged yet again. He was panicking and confused at the same time. Hyper Tsuna flew across and grabbed the original Tsuna before Zero would've attacked. "I apologize for Zero's sake…" Hyper muttered. He flew farther to distance them from the other Tsuna.

Tsuna saw from the corner of his eyes the pissed-off face coming from Zero. "Say! What is this place?! Why are there two more versions of me?!" The brunet shouted. By the time he was going to repeat the question, Hyper suddenly swerved to the side—causing the brunet to shout his favorite shriek, "HIIIEEEE!"

"Could you please stay quiet for the time being? I'll explain everything when I find a safe spot." Hyper said.

Tsuna just nodded in response.

Their flight was nothing special. It was just silence—plain, comforting silence. Tsuna would look around if there was a change of scenery. The place was always just sky and land. There was no such thing as sea, trees and plants, and animals. Hyper would look at Tsuna's change of expression whenever the brunet would think that they were going to stop. Hyper secretly smirked.

"I saw that!" The brunet shouted.

Hyper suddenly jerked, making Tsuna slip from his grasp. Good thing Hyper caught him before touching the ground.

"HIIEE! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!" Tsuna shouted once more.

When Hyper didn't reply, the brunet just clicked his tongue and looked at the scene again.

After a few minutes, the finally saw mountains—specifically Death Mountain. Tsuna turned white.

"We're here to find refuge right?" He carefully asked.

"Yeah. For the time being, this is the safest place I can take you. Further than here and we'll be swallowed by your memories." Hyper stated as they slowly landed.

It wasn't the kind of Death Mountain Tsuna expected it to be. It looked peaceful and quiet—unlike his personal experience in the actual mountain. The place looked like the safest place in the world. Tsuna walked on to the layers of grass, and comfortably sat there. He directed his gaze to the direction of where they last were. There were flashes of exploding blue icicles. It was like throwing a rampage for leaving him alone…

Leaving him alone…?

Alone…

Was Zero angry because he was left alone?

That wouldn't make any sense. Why would he—

"Say, Hyper…" Tsuna started. "Why do you keep your distance from Zero?"

"I use fire, and he uses ice. I doubt that we'll get along. I mean, how can I get along with a character that woke up just a few months ago?" Hyper answered. He also had the same eyes as Tsuna when his world was still small.

"What do you mean "a few months ago"..?"

"When you used Zero point breakthrough for the first time… that was the time Zero also woke up." Hyper joined Tsuna on the grass. "Did you know that when Zero woke up, he looked like a child who saw the world for the first time? It was adorable, but when time passed by, I was often called out. I'm your hyper mode, so I am called most of the time. Zero grew rebellious and before we could've become friends, he distanced himself from me. I think he was jealous because he wasn't called out most of the time. After all, he was only essential when he was needed. He is required when you are going to perform Zero Point breakthrough…"

Hyper sighed and tucked himself between his folded arms. "This place you see…"

Tsuna leaned closer.

"This place is created by your mind. This is the place where you want to be the most… I'm guessing you like being in the sky because of the freedom. You are free to do whatever you want in this vast area. You wished for peace and serenity, and so this place is born."

Tsuna just smiled at the explanation as he looked at the big blue sky. "Looks like you're right, Hyper." A smooth breeze passed by. "I wanted freedom. But from what I've experienced… I can confidently say that I'm already free." He closed his eyes as images of his friends and classmates flashed before his eyes. "Even though there are hardships, and even though everyone doesn't get along every time, we all have our differences that make each and every one unique. Those very differences are more than enough to gain mutualism. That itself is freedom for me."

"Tsuna…" Hyper whispered in awe. He hid a smile as he tucked himself in his folded arms once more. "You really are befitting for the title "Sky" alright…"

The calming area never lasted as an earthquake occurred. The mountain collapsed. Good thing Hyper was able to carry Tsuna on time before a boulder might've fell on him.

"Why was there an earthquake?!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"I don't know! Shouldn't you know that?! This is your mind after all!" Hyper retorted back.

"Everyone keeps avoiding me…" Another voice said.

They looked at the ground and saw Zero with eyes near to those who are dead. He looked betrayed. It looked like mixed emotions. It was mixed feelings of betrayal, sadness, loneliness, darkness, and many more negative emotions.

"Is it because I'm a deadly weapon?" He darkly muttered. He gritted his teeth as he clenched his fist. "ISN'T THAT IT?!" He shouted. At the same time, more icicles emerged from the ground. "THE TWO OF YOU ARE AVOIDING ME BECAUSE I AM DANGEROUS!" Zero shouted as he threw huge packs of ice towards Tsuna and Hyper.

Hyper let go of Tsuna and evaded the ice attack. "That's not it!" He exclaimed at Zero.

Tsuna safely landed and watched the two. What the heck is happening? Tsuna wondered. He was seeing two of him fight for their sake. Hyper cannot feel what Zero has gone through, and the same applied to him.

Hyper has undergone intense training via Tsuna. He would feel the hardships that he has gone through and continue to fight. Unlike Hyper, Zero was always alone. He was trapped in the darkness for a very long time. Like a child, he yearns for attention. He has yet to understand what it is like to be in Hyper's world. The same applies to Hyper.

"Why can't you grow up?!" Hyper shouted as he fired his flames. "Why are you always like this?! Why can't you get a hold of yourself and act like your age!?"

"How can I?! You will never understand me! Just look at our difference! I'm way down here and you are up there! You can't even fight me on even grounds!" Zero retorted back, blocking the attack with an ice shield. His eyes were filled with confusion. He still can't understand that much.

"SHUT UP!" Hyper went into an X-burner stance. "You have no right to say that! WE LIVE IN ONE BODY! You cannot change the fact that we are like this! WE ARE BORN LIKE THIS! WE RESIDE IN THE BODY PROCLAIMED AS THE SKY!"

Zero prepared himself for impact. "I WAS BORN LATE! UNLIKE YOU, I WAS BORN JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO! UNLIKE YOU, I HAVEN'T SEEN THE WHOLE WORLD! AND UNLIKE YOU, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF LIFE! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME?!" By then, Zero was already crying. "Vongola Nono awakened you when Tsunayoshi was still young. Of course you'd understand everything. I was awakened by accident. I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place!" Zero created a huge ice dome. "GIVE ME YOUR BEST!"

"MY PLEASURE!"

Tsuna looked at the battle in awe.

'What am I doing? Why am I just standing here like I'm an audience? I need to do something!" Was his thought.

Even though he was thinking like that, Tsun was unconsciously walking to the battle area. He wasn't aware of the fact that he was already breaking down to tears. He didn't realize that he was walking towards Zero.

"T-TSUNAYOSHI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Hyper shouted. "GET OUT! I CAN'T PULL OUT A MAXIMUM X-BURNER! GET OUT OF THERE WHILE YOU STILL CAN!"

The brunet fell deaf on ears. He continued to walk towards Zero.

"What are you trying to do?" Zero hissed but his anger completely faded as he felt the warmth of Tsuna against him.

"You are me and I am you." Tsuna commented. "I remember when I last acted like that. I was fighting against my father that time. You see, I never saw him as a father. I just saw him as an old man who wants to do nothing but drink. He likes to make fun of me, but I never liked it. In the end, he wasn't much of a father figure for me. I rebel against him. I completely hated him and forgot an important part of my life."

"I CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER TSUNAYOSHI! GET OUT OF THERE!"

"I am his flesh and blood. I am basically him but I shunned that because I didn't like him. I was so confused at that time. So much that I didn't want to see him for the time being." Tsuna tightened his embrace on Zero. "Here's a word of advice for you, Zero… don't lose sight of what's important."

"GGGGRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!"

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~In the Plane~

"GGGGRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!" Tsuna shouted in an agonizing manner. Ice particles would pierce out of his body from time to time and his soft flames kept shift to hard and vice-versa.

"JUUDAIME!" Gokudera exclaimed. He was supposed to hold the brunet's hand, but his hand suddenly froze. "What the hell?"

"That's zero point breakthrough ice. You need to burn it off if you want it removed." Reborn commented from the sidelines.

"Even so, what's happening to Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked. His eyes were filled with concern and panic for his boss. "It's like he's losing control."

"I wouldn't think of it like that…" Reborn said. "You can either say that he is winning or losing."

Tsuna looked like he was fighting against his own flames. The ice would grow but the flames would exterminate it. The process continues until further… A few minutes have passed and everything finally calmed down. The ice was slowly melting and the flames slowly and gradually faded. Tsuna's body lighted blue and dispersed, leaving a cold air hanging.

His eyes finally opened. Everyone in the room expressed their relief in their own way.

Tsuna slowly sat up and rubbed his head. He looked around to see the faces of his friends, guardians, and classmates. With a bright smile he said:

"Who are you people?"

"HHAAAAAAIII?!"

~TO BE CONTINUED~

I feel so down for not updating this long and all (I feel like I won't be getting any reviews… Hahaha… =_=") Anyways two chapters in one day! This is how I shall compensate. I am willing to finish this so rest assured XD

-Review?

-Ciao~!