PREVIOUS IMPORTANT NOTE: Talks about how I put off uploading this chapter originally because it was the last written.
NEW AND MUCH MORE IMPORTANT NOTE: While I'm tip-toeing my way through the Ring Battles and working out what happens after (because I'm a moron who has to stop flyin' by the seat of her flippin' pants), I'm combing over the chapters and changing a few things, rewriting a bit. To make now planned things work out a bit. Hopefully. Fingers and toes crossed.
NOW: Onto fluff, drama, and my super-incarnation of Tsuna being a vicious moe Stu. Also, that follow-up omake still remains.
"I feel quite fearless protecting the people I love." ~ Paloma Faith
Sasegawa Ryohei knew he wasn't very smart, not like his sister and the rest of the group.
He forgot most things so easily unless they were really important, like birthdays or his boxing club schedule. He did school work well enough to stay in his club (but only just), and now and again he would catch when someone treated him like a moron. It hurt a lot more than he showed, but then he would shrug it off and go on extremely training so he could be as strong as possible for his sister, Tsuna, and everyone else he cared about. To remedy his forgetfulness Kyoko had gotten him a notebook to write reminders in and it was helping.
Wait, was this the time to even think about insecurities and feeling sad? No! They were just distractions from being his usual extreme self and being awesome for others.
Ryohei stood away from the group, arms crossed and breath steady as he stared at the boxing ring he would be fighting to the death in. At least Reborn had been really blunt with everyone. Against the Varia it was win or die. In Ryohei's opinion it was better that he fights instead of Kyoko, since she was smarter and epic and she would do a better job of keeping Tsuna safe than him. Maybe. He had some cool moments though, right? Besides, he was too awesome to die, he'd be back on his feet soon enough even if he lost and had to be rescued.
A familiar slender hand landed lightly on his shoulder and he looked down to see Tsuna looking upset.
"I told this to Kyoko, and I don't give a crap about the rings! If I think you're about to die..."
Ryohei grinned and pulled Tsuna into a tight hug. "No problem! But you extremely won't need to!"
"Cheering ring! Everyone, we have to do the cheering ring!" said Takeshi, voice cheerful and confident.
He, the Rain, sported a cheeky little grin as he looked between everyone, from Hana and Gokudera's oh-Kami-hell-no expressions to Kyoko and Ryohei's excited smiles and chatter. Tsuna and Chrome both looked a bit uncertain, and Reborn ended up starting it by kicking Gokudera toward Ryohei. Once everyone had linked their arms over each others shoulders Takeshi started it up.
"Ryohei, fight!" Tsuna and Chrome's voices were the quietest out of the bunch. "Ryohei, win!"
The boxer backed up and punched toward the heavens. "EXTREME! There's no way I'll lose now!"
A Cervello cleared her throat. "Second Sun potential, will you fight or forfeit?"
"Gah! No, I'm fighting!"
As he ran forward Ryohei tore off his shirt and sports jacket, tossing it back at Tsuna with a confident grin. The Decimo held his clothes and sighed nervously as he watched his friend rush headlong into imminent pain.
When both Sun potential's met in the ring Ryohei was given the half Sun ring by a butterfly-Leon since he forgot it in his pocket. Lussuria looked him over as the Cervello started talking ("... rule... ring around your neck... upon defeat take... declared victor.") and fanboy'd over Ryohei's buff appearance via dancing and cooing until the Cervello stopped talking.
"Oh my stars, you are sexy enough to eat!" Lussuria clasped his hands under his chin and blushed as he stared at Ryohei hungrily.
(Outside in the spectator area both Tsuna and Kyoko tensed at this. She didn't completely understand what he said but she strongly disliked it for the man's tone of voice. Tsuna understood and grit his teeth.)
"You are soo~ coming home with me, future lover!"
Ryohei's face scrunched in confusion and settled into a boxing stance. "I don't get a thing you just said, but you're getting an extreme fight either way!"
Lussuria snorted. "A boxing pose, sweetheart? Pathetic. I shall go ahead and play with you using the ultimate standing martial art, Muay Thai!"
Ryohei narrowed his eyes and rolled his shoulders. This was what Colonello and his sister prepared him for, and he would not go down without taking a few bones with him.
"Oi, enough talk! Let's fight!"
A metallic clicking preceded the unused lights above turning on with a fierce and blinding radiance that quickly ratcheted up the heat into a hell several times worse any summer heat wave he's felt. Ryohei clenched his eyes and swore quietly as he felt himself start to sweat immediately. It was impossible to fight like this, he didn't have Kyoko's precise control over her Augmentation, all he could do was increase the power of his hits and the durability of his body, not his senses! If he could he'd be able to hear the weirdo coming at him.
WHAM. Like a mini car collision that punch hit him in the stomach and sent him stumbling backwards a few steps.
(Over with Tsuna and the rest, he and Kyoko were holding each other's hand and being the other's support as they watched Ryohei strike at an enemy who wore sunshades and could move about freely. A hit to the stomach, the jaw, chest... Tsuna's Flames were rising and crackling over his free fist, sparking wildly in a desire to fry that flamboyant man. When Ryohei was sent into the metal rope surrounding the boxing area, Tsuna had to step away from Kyoko because he could feel the ice beginning to spread out from his feet. Ryohei's scream of pain was working the last of his self-restraint.
"Electricity heats the rope to several hundred degrees," said one of the monotonous Cervello off to their left.
Tsuna hugged himself and started taking calming breaths as Leon decided to nuzzle his cheek comfortingly. Kyoko stayed near, here own Sun providing a buffer from the chill of his Flames.)
Lussuria smirked and continued to balance on one foot and raised his knee.
"Aaah~ You're turning into my ideal body, sexy..." Lussuria licked his lips and chuckled. "Nothing's prettier than a cold, decaying corpse, after all."
(Tsuna growled and dug fingers into his forearm, while Kyoko, two feet to his right, had a face of eerily blank calm as she pulled on her battle gloves and cracked her knuckles. Both were prepared to leap in at a moments notice, and the Decimo refrained from snarling, "You touch him wrong and I'll rip off your arm, cauterize the wound, and beat you with it!")
Ryohei turned from the wire and, without being consciously aware of it, sent Sun Flames to the wounds to begin healing even as he lashed out with a wordless punch fueled by his anger. That bastard had just threatened to kill him in front of Kyoko and Tsuna, and he could only imagine their fear. Sun Flames rose up in response to his anger and saturated his body enough for his clenched eyes to gain a hidden golden glow.
Lussuria had read into his "future lover's" skill and considered him nothing, so he decided a little play wouldn't hurt. He allowed himself to be hit, thinking he wouldn't go far, but he flew like a kicked tennis ball. Super heated wires swifly burned through his clothes and covered his back in bleeding welts even as he launched himself off the wires and into a flying strike that would shatter the handsome boy's jaw.
Ryohei was quietly seething as he pumped every ounce of power he had into his next hit. It would land, his instincts as a fighter screamed that it was now or never since the weird-talker was in the air and headed for him, so for the love of Kyoko, Tsuna, and all kinds of boxing, since Kyoko was Sakura he'd have to do the next best thing and punch like a pissed off Tsunade-sama!
Through shades helpfully provided by Reborn, Tsuna and his group watched as a smirking Lussuria made to hit the boxer with his other knee, but was greeted what may have been several tonnes of power enhanced by Sun Flames (and accompanied by the deafening yell of "MAXIMUM CANNON!"). Lussuria crumpled and went flying upward as fast as one of Reborn's bullets, crashed into the sun-mimicking lights above, and went right through it in a shower of superheated shards of glass and falling bits of twisted metal. Ryohei had to punch at the falling debris, and remained mostly untouched. Lussuria was still in the air at this point.
Right then Colonello flew down on his eagle and perched himself on Tsuna's free shoulder.
"I see I missed the show, kora. Your mother found me outside and insisted on babying me," said the Rain Arcobaleno pinching Tsuna's cheek.
"S-sorry..." Tsuna's eyes were locked on the high flying speck of enemy backed by the full moon like something out of a shounen anime. "I smelled cookies earlier so at least you got something tasty out of it?"
"Tch. I'd say they were almost worth missing this."
When the Varia Sun officer finally started coming down it was several yards away from the ring and toward the young Decimo's group. Kyoko stepped forward first, surprising all but Tsuna and Reborn, and leaving them several feet behind her. She observed the ragdoll-like man hurtling toward earth and simply watched as he crashed, and her flinch was hidden as she hopped a step back in response. Bones audibly broke and the man released a startled squeak of pain, which grew into a whine when Kyoko, to the surprise and moderate horror of several others, stepped forward to turn him over with a light kick and put her foot on his chest with an impressive version of her own Cyanide Smile. Just with more teeth.
"Ryohei is my brother, and I will separate your legs and arms before castrating you if I ever find out you touched him inappropriately." She knelt, foot still on him. Her eyes were bright, golden, and so fierce the assassin thought of a fierce wolf. "Do not mess with my boys or girls, got that?*"
Lussuria's last thought before passing out was, I change my mind, can I keep this little angel?*
(Meanwhile, all three thinking Varia Officers were staring blankly at the non-Varia carnage, though the Arcobaleno's face was, as always, hidden.
Belphegor broke the silence first with one of his practiced and patented creepy giggles. "Well, Shark, you did say to expect surprises."
"I said tricks, not another one who punches like an exploding fucking bomb."
"None the less," said Mammon, now composed and privately intrigued. "These wannabe-Vongola brats are not to be underestimated."
Levi scoffed. "Yeah, as if the cow-brat will be anything more than a bug to crush beneath my foot."
Squalo sent a deadpan look at the overzealous Xanxus-fanatic. "Who says it'll be the kid?"
"Hmph. Who else do they have to fight?"
Squalo ran a hand through his hair with a neutral face to hide the slight excitement for his own fight humming in his blood. He could probably beat his own opponent until Tsuna lost his shit and rushed in for the rescue, and then Squalo could enjoy another fight with the pipsqueak.)
Ryohei punched out the electrified rope and jumped down while brushing out glass from his hair. He quickly approached his sister and the others with a wide, proud grin, and broke the chain around Lussuria's neck without fanfare. Now that the ring was in her brother's possession Kyoko smiled and removed her foot to start healing the unconscious Lussuria, only to be startled when Tsuna rushed in to block a flurry of bullets with his tonfa and a snarl on his face.
No bullet would have hit his friends, but that wasn't the issue. That weird Cloud officer-thing had been about to try and kill a the fallen man just for losing. No matter how twisted or weird the person was, they did not deserve to be killed by who, or what, should be a comrade. The mere idea had Tsuna's blood boiling and his Sky Presence heavy with the urge to maul.
Both Cervello then approached. "Congratulations, Decimo Candidate. Sasegawa Ryohei is the official victor of the scramble for the Ring of the Sun. Please give up the loser, he is no longer necessary. His people will take care of him."
Tsuna's rage and his presence was like a weight on the two identical women as his glare turned to them. Sweat dripped down the face of both.
"They'll kill him, or are you willfully blind?" Tsuna's face twisted in disgust. "No. No, I understand. You're just no better than them."
Tsuna stood over Kyoko and Ryohei as they healed Lussuria. His attention was held riveted by that freakish robot because there was just something about it that repulsed his very Flame and it wouldn't come to him exactly why it was familiar. Unfortunately the Cloud-monster soon lifted its hands and shot at the group. Instead of bullets it sent several dozen smoke bombs littering the area. Given the obvious choices of who to save Tsuna grabbed his two Sun's and headed toward where he could feel the others most strongly.
Colonello ordered his bird to clear the area with what amounted to Defog* and it was found that everyone was gone, including Lussuria. The only thing left of him was the puddle of blood made by a number of his bones protruding from his body before the healing session.
Tsuna sighed heavily. "Crap."
Reborn pinched his cheek. "They're Varia quality. If they want to deal with who they view as a lame member they will find a way."
"Ahem. Vongola Boss Candidate," said one Cervello. "I have sent a text to the necessary opponent. Your Lightning potential will be fighting next."
Tsuna's heart jumped into his throat and he found he couldn't speak for a long moment. "C-Cervello, do robots count as a weapon?"
"Yes, they do."
Thank the Kami. Thank the fickle freaking Kami.
o o o
Tsuna slept on the floor with the children in a what Reborn called a "cub-pile" with the Decimo, once again, as the main pillow. Half the night was spent thinking about texting Spanner and before he fell asleep he sent a message: Please be careful and do your best.
That morning Tsuna found his hands shaking again and he went running to Spanner's house with a bento and a box full of dumplings made by his mother. He knocked for an entire minute before deciding to text and only then did the mechanical genius leave his basement den. He was disheveled, reeked of sweat and grease and candy, and his hair was a wild, adorably ruffled mess. Seeing Tsuna standing there with boxes of food and Piero meowing as if in greeting, the taller boy pulled his favorite person inside and asked him to wait.
Tsuna did so and put the dumplings away while keeping the bento on Spanner's kitchen counter. Meanwhile upstairs the sound of running water went on for five minutes before that stopped, hurried steps went to where Tsuna remembered Spanner's room being (as he occasionally had to wake the other up to try and get him to go to school with Shoichi). A minute later Spanner rushed down the stairs dressed in damp grey clothes splashed in blue and green dyes, and caught the shorter boy up in a hug.
Spanner gathered Tsuna close, backed into a kitchen chair, and sat down to snuggle Tsuna in his lap. A bit startled and blushing, Tsuna returned the hug and rested his head on the other's chest.
"What's with the cuddles?"
"Just recharging." Spanner nuzzled into Tsuna's neck and sighed softly, and had he lifted his head there would be a visible little grin.
"Oh... Um, glad to be of help? Oh, may I see what you're working on?"
"Nope."
Tsuna snorted and told himself he wasn't pouting as he tightened his arms around the mechanic.
. . .
That day during training Tsuna had Lambo, Fuuta and I-Pin cheering him on.
Reborn said that his sloppy flying was satisfactory. There was one other thing he wanted to get done with Tsuna before the end of the Ring Battles and his fight with Xanxus, and it had something to do with his Petrification trait as a Sky. By the end of their training Tsuna would either be capable of using his hybrid Flame to surpass the Nono's Zero Point Breakthrough, or he would settle for the next best thing.
One-upping the old man was more than enough motivation and a good distraction from the battle later on.
. . .
The first thing Tsuna did after meeting up with just about every Guardian potential (minus Hibari, who said he preferred fighting his mother to watching theirs) was direct a question to one of the Cervello.
"What happens if one of us interferes in a fight?"
"Any who interrupt and the one who is saved will forfeit their rings and be disqualified."
Tsuna grimly nodded. Honestly, he'd expected as much. Given his civilian raising it didn't sound fair at all. However, since this IS a mafia related fight he really shouldn't expect more. He had to start expecting the foul play and bullshit before it comes, and be prepared whenever possible.
"Now, please look over there." She pointed to her upper right. "That will be tonight's battle field."
The roof, backed by a cloudy sky, was suddenly hit by lightning, startling Lambo and showing four massive metal spires that obviously acted as lightning rods. Tsuna wasn't the only one worrying about the fight as everyone with him hurried to the roof. The set-up this time consisted of the spires and the floor covered in a mesh of thick wires forming cocentric hexagons that started small in the middle and grew larger, like ripples in a pool, as they covered most of the roof. Just looking at it sent Tsuna's stomach flipping from non-Intuition unease as he held a chattering Lambo closer.
"Tonight's combat area is fitted with lightning rods for the match between Thunder Guardians. This design is called the Elettrico Circuito."
As if on some cosmic cue more lightning descended from the sky and lit up the rods and the wires violently. The roof was shining with energy that could prove deadly to people without a strong Lightning Flame.
"The Elettrico Circuito's floor has been coated with a special conductor. Lightning that strikes the rods will be discharged into the floor at several times it's normal potency."
Spanner swallowed hard and swished around his strawberry sucker. It had to that dangerous, didn't it? At least he'd prepared for fighting some ultra powerful would-be thunder god and made a few appropriate accessories. The quirky mechanic stepped to the side and pulled a thick cloak off his weapon: Sarubūto.
Standing at exactly 6'4", matching Lancia and Levi's height, it possessed a thick body structured to mimic the former, and was made of both new precious-steel and more scrapped from reclaimed older weapons he'd made for Tsuna and Hibari. The bot was painted a dark green, had a long tail lined with colorless diamond-cut cubic zirconia. The human-like hands, tipped with a very hard and dense metal forged with tungsten, had nails that are designed to grow five inches with a programmed application of Cloud Flames and become needle sharp weapons. The gorilla-like face possessed a mouthful of dark metal teeth that are also ludicrously sharp and the jaws bite with a force several times that of a Nile crocodile, which happens to be 5000 psi. Saruken was built for power and speed, with reflexes to match (as best Spanner could) that of Lancia and Tsuna, and the AI. Sarubūto was made to be a little ruthless against "average" opponents (ie, has not made a move toward Family), but when provoked the warrior-bot would come down without mercy.
Spanner, dressed in a rain coat and wearing special rubber shoes as a precaution against unwanted electrocutions, stepped close to Tsuna and tilted his chin up. Surprised, he merely blinked up at his chosen Lightning Guardian with growing blush at the resemblance to certain shojo manga scenes he's read courtesy of Haru lending him many volumes, but... that couldn't be what Spanner wanted, right? Right?
"I need a little good luck, Sora-chan."
And he kissed the corner of Tsuna's lips before turning and approaching the edge of the dangerous conductors.
Behind him, while Tsuna stood stunned and cherry-faced, and still with his face tilted up, Takeshi held Gokudera back with a little pout. Hana, while a little jealous too, saw this and gave him a look as if to tell him to cool it. Jealousy is fine, it's natural, but there can't be too much pushing or they'd only hurt Tsuna. He nodded and stood beside his favorite Storm.
"Thunder Guardian, please take your weapon and go to the center of the battleground."
"You're opponent has been waiting for two hours."
Spanner decided he didn't much care for these Cervello ladies. That they didn't have much physical differences wasn't the entire problem, it was that they struck him as nefarious in his mildly genre-savvy mind. They could easily be body-snatchers, like in that old movie, and they modify the corpses they steal, and... this wasn't the time to entertain idle fantasies. Point is they put him on edge and he could hardly wait for the battles to be done and for the Varia to skip off to their dark lairs because then the pink weirdoes would leave too.
"Ah, that's a shame. I shouldn't keep him waiting then."
Spanner glanced around and spotted the burly, angry looking dark man he recalled from that first night the Varia came to say 'Hello, now time to die violently for us.'
"YOSH! Cheering ring time!"
Ryohei rushed forward, grabbed Spanner, and brought everyone into the circle.
"My partner is named Sarubūto," said the mechanic, ever helpful and willing to humor.
"Okay! Now extremely together! One, two, three..." The group took a deep breath and yelled, "Sarubūto FIGHT!"
Spanner quickly dodged out of the arms of Ryohei and Takeshi and headed back to his robotic partner with a nod to Tsuna, who was avoiding his eyes and blushing in the cold rain.
"OI! What's this, twig, you're too afraid to fight me?" Levi pointed at Spanner with a sneer.
Spanner sighed and tapped the waterproof and insulated mechanical inch-width ring he wore around the crown of his head. "I know my strengths and they don't lay in physical fighting. That's why Sarubūto will fight for me under my instruction. My mental instruction, so don't mind me."
He then pulled his hood over his head and tugged up the collar of his rain jacket. What they didn't know won't hurt them. He wouldn't really be giving Sarubūto any orders, though he could communicate through the circlet and offer suggestions. Or mentally call for help.
"You, woman, isn't that against the rules?"
"Robots count as a personal weapon."
Spanner patted Sarubūto and stepped back a few feet. "You want a challenge, don't you? You won't prove anything if you beat up someone no stronger than your average unathletic teenage male."
Levi spat and glared. "Fine, you little shit, I'll fight your damn robot."
(Tsuna noted absently that the Cloud Officer was not among them. It would stand out in later examination, but he still wouldn't catch why the presence of that robot put him so on edge.)
Spanner formed a polite smile and calmly waited along with his newest creation. As the seconds ticked by lightning truck the spires and flashed across the wire-covered roof, and Spanner didn't even flinch. Why? His boots automatically cycled the energy and released it back into the conductors harmlessly.
(The Varia members wondered over the mechanic's footwear and Kyoko was the one to answer with a bright smile.
"Probably something he made. He's very clever!"
Which lead to speculation (said by a grinning Belphegor) that in one way this kid was worthy of the Varia at least. In Levi's mind this translated to Better than him and more suited as Right Hand of his boss.)
Patience was not necessary, however, as right after the comments from the peanut gallery Levi went on the offensive and slashed at Sarubūto's side. The bot blocked with crossed forearms and slashed at him with the tail, the tail that was glowing a bright, bright pale green as it clipped Levi's swiftly dodging form. He released a startled yell as several hundred volts of electrcity coursed through him and Sarubūto settled in front of Spanner protectively, as the intelligent AI deduced that its enemy's next target would be its human partner.
Levi was breathing out steam as he recovered and sent a look of deadly promise at Spanner. He sent all eight sword-like umbrellas into the air with a snarled threat of imminent death. Each umbrella lit up fiercely with electricity and in response Spanner pulled out what looked like a metal version of the Japanese oil-paper umbrella with a needle sharp green gemstone at the top.
"Now DIE!"
All at once a massive amount of electricity launched at Spanner his battle partner, lighting the dark roof in stark, pale light that sent more than one heart speeding up in concern, but then something happened: the energy current dulled and disappeared until there was just Sarubūto still standing protectively before its creator, only now the clear quartz eyes were bright green with the body's absorbed and converted electricity.
Levi stared, rage momentarily forgotten. "Wh-what?"
Spanner decided to yawn quite audibly, figuring it would further enrage the man he decided fit would right in with the neanderthals that attempted to take his Sarumane. Flustered people tended to make mistakes. Through the metal-band he asked Sarubūto to hold back on going batshit on the opponent's hide for now.
"Ah, that's just his absorption ability. Less genius and more common sense."
("Who is that kid, Squalo?" Mammon would really like to know. That boy had a prosperous future he might be able to poke his nose into.
"Cheh. He hung in the back last time, with two monkey robots. Kid must have a freaky fetish..."
"With his robotics he could improve certain projects, shishi~! The boss would like him better, I'm sure."
Squalo and Mammon stared at him but it was the latter that spoke. "Must you goad him? We'll have to pay more for the damages you know. I'm taking it out of your paycheck."
"Shishishi! It's worth the laugh."
Squalo, meanwhile, rolled his eyes and thanked gods he didn't believe in that he no longer had to keep the nutjobs nuttier than himself in line alone. There was Xanxus to occasionally sicc on them.)
Levi was breathing steam for a different reason than getting partially fried on the inside. Those bastard "team mates" of his had said he uppity brat was more worthy of being Boss's Right Hand more than him in their subtle bastard ways. He had to show them that he was better than a brat barely out of his training diapers. It was time to rip off a limb or two.
Confident in his ability to destroy a stupid robot that probably had nothing on the Gola Mosca, Levi lunged with two of his extra umbrella's in his hands and attempted to take off the head of that troublesome robot. That did not work. His strikes were blocked by tail and forearm, and the bot head-butted him, sending him flying back and skidding along the wet roof. Levi quickly got to his feet and dodged the lightning strike that flashed over the roof.
Spanner twirled his closed umbrella and as Levi traded more blows with Sarubūto Spanner put the crystal tip of the rain shield against a wire right as lightning struck. The gemstone lit up brightly and sparked as it absorbed the electricity. A just-in-case back-up move.
As the fight stretched on, with Sarubūto and the burly grump trading blow after blow and making the area flash with natural and Flame Lightning, Spanner felt a chill zip down his spine. Levi managed to catch and hold Sarubūto at an odd angle, pausing the fight. The mechanic turned in time to have one of Levi's parabolas merely pierce his arm and tear right through his rain coat as it was lodged into the roof beside him. Maybe he was in shock (or he was shockingly resilient to pain), but the mechanic made not a sound as he reached through the tear in his coat and withdrew his hand to see blood staining his fingers for a second before rain washed it away completely.
In a cool, somewhat bored voice, Spanner said, "Sarubūto, Code Apple."
(Tsuna and the others were tense as they watched, but they could not see whether Spanner was bleeding or not. He didn't react to the attack beyond a flinch of shock.)
Sarubūto did not change in appearance, but there were now arcs of green electricity sparking over the robot as it took advantage of the lock-hold Levi had on it. Sarubūto turned its head and bit Levi's shoulder, ripping a scream from the man, and then there was a massive swell of Lightning Flames from the robot as the Varia officer was damn near fried. Several seconds later the bot pulled back, showing a bloody maw, and dropped the twitching form of the officer. Spanner cleared his throat pointedly and stared at his robot when it turned toward him, and Sarubūto shook its head as it knelt and put rubber covered finger pads to the man's throat.
"Enemy is alive. Permission to kick over the roof requested."
Spanner pretended to think about it. "No, I think we've done enough damage."
(Squalo, Belphegor, and Mammon stared. Honestly, there had been entirely too much staring going on, but they really couldn't help it.
"You know, I fully expected stupid children when I came here," said Mammon from the Bloody Prince's shoulder. "This is more interesting than I thought it would be."
"You mean how two of us are fucked already," said Squalo in a deadpan voice which matched his face.
"Shishishi! I like the robot."
"Of course you do. It's bloody," said Mammon, voice perfectly deadpan. Belphegor laughed at the truth of it.)
Sarubūto took the half-ring from Levi and dropped it into Spanner's hand. The boy joined it together and walked to Tsuna with a small, softly cheerful smile on his face.
"Look, Sora-chan, here's the ring." Spanner held up the ring and Tsuna took it before pulling the taller boy into a hug. "Ow. I'm a little wounded Sora-chan, literally."
Kyoko hurried forward and ran her Sun-glowing hand to the wound Spanner pointed out.
"I... I'm going to kill you all!" Behind the group Levi stood up and pointed a shaky parabola at them. "I c-can't lose for the boss!"
BAM. A thunderous gunshot sent him flying over the roof with an arc of blood following.
"Sarubūto, please fetch."
The robot made an irritated sound and disappeared in a blur, only to return with the bleeding, unconscious Varia officer hanging off its shoulder. At Spanner's nod Sarubūto dumped the man down in front of Kyoko, who quickly started healing the large wound in his back.
"Trash taking care of trash, how fitting," said the familiar, rumbling tone of Xanxus.
Tsuna stood straight and stepped in front of Kyoko as she continued healing Levi. Sarubūto was kneeling by her too, poised to knock the man out if he tried to hurt her, and so Tsuna felt he could concentrate on Xanxus without worrying for her.
"From what I understand, a good boss makes sure his subordinates are at least alive enough to improve and grow," said Tsuna. He had a deceptively mild glare on his face as he all but outright challenged the man.
Xanxus focused his wine red eyes on him for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing.
"Babies know nothing, you stupid trash."
Tsuna bit his cheek but could not keep his mouth shut. "Good thing I'm not a baby then."
Xanxus sneered at him. "No, but you're still small enough to crush beneath my foot."
Tsuna flung a hand out, palm toward his friends, and silently signalled for them (specifically Gokudera) to keep quiet. Behind him the Storm grit his teeth and twitched his hands as he itched to strangle the Varia boss.
"We'll just have to see in our fight then, won't we?" Tsuna offered his best Cyanide Honey Smile and gave a shallow bow while keeping his eyes on the Varia leader.
Xanxus raised an eyebrow. He didn't have enough fingers or toes to count how many Varia members have that sweet, innocently deadly expression to hide most of their insanity. He wondered where the brat learned it.
OMAKE
Observations from an Outside Party
Verde is not known as the modern Leonardo da Vinci for nothing.
Ever since his men failed in assassinating the Vongola Tenth he has attempted on numerous occasions to get the suits back and to kill the one holding onto them. Not one try has worked and only ended in more of his tech getting stolen away, and if he wasn't determined to ignore the similarities, he might compare the situation to stupid children shows where the bad guys always lose to the goody two-shoe's heroes.
After his last attack with the child-sized robots Verde sent in a small hoard of micro-bots to observe Namimori and find out just who has been eating up his time.
Verde, through his housefly sized microbots, observed the child-Decimo training himself half to death. Watched the rest of his child-Mafia train themselves to the bone. That Fon had taken an interest in Tsuna, all but joining his fledgling Vongola, spoke well of the boy, and seeing how Fon took the time to train the Decimo's silver-haired Storm, that meant the Arcobaleno was very invested in things. Colonello training two students and passing on destructive skills is a surprise since he has so rarely taken on one student, forget about multiple. The Decimo's Cloud, son of the infamous Shinigami Mitsuko, was also impressive, though Verde could not infiltrate her home with his bugs. Verde, in private, would admit that Sawada Tsunayoshi had gathered an impressive young Family already.
What took the cake was a trio of teenagers.
Aurelio Spanner, Shoichi Irie, and Miura Haru. Two were remarkable in engineering at their young age, the former more so in terms of genius robotics, and the last was an impressive hacker who was a budding engineer. Verde had observed them from the window as they tinkered in the basement, bustling around, and putting together what seemed to be a micro EMP weapon. The girl was designing weapons too, and with a flare the boys patiently curbed to make more reasonable and realistic.
The more Verde observed of the three young techies and the rest of the Decimo's group, the more Verde found himself reluctantly intrigued.
There was an odd power dynamic which he watched when everyone gathered after the fifth day of spread out training with other tutors, and it was puzzling. Tsunayoshi did not have the distinct air of a ruler, he was a relatively soft presence who did not man-handle his subordinates into certain directions. He allowed them to move as they pleased, investigating the area to ensure it was secure, and only then did he ask them to gather in the thicket and trees before requesting his Mist to make a cover to hide everyone else. He kept beside him a Mist disguised Reborn, pretending to be pointing out stars, when the Varia minions arrived.
Watching Tsunayoshi fight was, in the simplest words, a vicious dance with the nimble way he moved, and it would have ended in death had he been a killer. Instead the boy took care to utterly shatter the bones in the three attackers thighs and arms after one attack nearly hit his disguised teacher, and not one taser-powered hit affected him in the least. Once he was done the boy easily kicked the men more than ten yards away, like he was punting a few balls.
That the kid did not flinch from Xanxus and his oppressive, powerful Presence was intriguing, that the boy challenged it, forced it back and smothered it with his own, swallowing the park with the lukewarm sensation, was fascinating. Even with Xanxus not even trying it was an accomplishment to remember. And then to see boy's Presence invert, going from warm to frigid and observe the change affect the environment, freezing the grass and causing everyone to breathe out thick puffs of vapor, that snapped the last of Verde's tenuous control over his curiosity.
He decided he might stick around and introduce himself to Tsunayoshi and his group. Hell, he might even take on the three kids as his own apprentices.
And then he'd unleash them upon the world and watch the insanity with a good cup of coffee.
** THE OMAKE: Is thanks to Littlest1 for reminding me of Verde and whatnot. I would completely flake on him were it not for her! :3
** Yes, Nana has yet to inform anyone of the divorce. Not even to Chrome. She's waiting until the current trouble is done with.
** As for Kyoko's viciousness in this chapter: Yes, it's definitely out of character. For canon!Kyoko. Canon!Kyoko can't protect herself, has been shielded from basically everything in the mafia for the most part, and she was extremely naive and somewhat childish in the original series. This Kyoko is still kind and warm and very loving, but like Tsuna she can be very, very protective. She's a mama-dragon in disguise.
** AS FOR LUSSURIA: He doesn't want her in that way, I can assure you. It's that he wants to adopt her. :D