Protecting, vice versa
Chapter 15: Finally, the fight begins. (Part 6)
A/N: So. This is the finale of this battle. Finally. The last of the fights, and the identity revealtion of the shady figure. I guess I would add a mini omake at the end...
DO NOT BLAME ME FOR THE ONE DAY LATE UPDATE. I'M REALLY SORRY BUT I HAD EXAMS QAQ AND I'm rushing this right now... so do not mind spelling or grammar errors along the way!
So, enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: Everything except the storyline does not belongs to me. Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to Amano Akira.
WARNING: OOC-ness. Literature.
It was the last of the last.
The last of the last fight with the Gole Fenice famiglia, that is.
Somehow, he was certain that that was his final battle with them.
However, only his inner self could think clearly; his mind was bridled with too much rage to even make sure his outer self thinks clearly.
It was just like when he had fought Byakuran and Bermuda.
"Leoriko..."
The red gloves of Tsuna's became filled with fiery, scorching flames, his anger and hints of other emotions all spilled inside. The wind blew in dramatism and intensity, the hoodie of the Vongola Boss still covering his identity. As the shadows which were blocking his eyes cleared, Leoriko's lips slowly curled up into a smile which looked as if it belonged to a pedophile. The orange-haired boss' eyes curled up at its edges, obviously pleased with the rage the brunette held in his eyes.
It was not something you'd see in the usual calm and collected amber eyes somehow developed in Hyper Dying Will Mode of the to-be Vongola Decimo's.
No wonder it was something to be amused about, since the fascination of the Gole Fenice boss came from the anger of others. Furthermore, he had done his research on Tsuna's personality and all, the though the only thing he did not know, apparently, was his name and therefore he had assumed him as Kiyoshi Ryu.
He does not get angry every now and then.
It was so, very, rare.
Kyoko could only remain daze at the sight, her eyes blank, with the shine in it not as defined anymore. Her slightly curled auburn hair brushed against the breeze, as if seeing a sad scene right in front of your eyes.
It might not particularly seem like a sad scene to you, and more like a display of wrath.
Except, for her, that was a scene that wanted to break her heart.
"Tsuna-kun..."
Of course, everyone was busy in the action and the heat of the fight, not to mention their own classmates or schoolmates had gotten beaten so badly, and all of their states of mind was in a panic mode.
Except, of course, Kyoko, Hana and Hiyako.
Meanwhile, Hana was also silent, carefully analyzing the scene.
It's obvious that Sawada had gotten stronger... Her eyes turned to the exapanse of the lightly pink tinted sky.
It does not fit the atmosphere, but...
Follow the mood which the sky has broadcasted to be.
Still, with the same, emotionless look with the eyes, her irises turned to look at the hooded brunette.
Win.
Hirako had strolled out of the class, somehow concealing her pressence, to distinguish the hints of actions that would not have been seen by the simple act of gazing through the top floor. Ruby eyes set on the middle of the field, her mind had percieved a couple of thoughts, before images started to play in her now static mind.
The brown, fluffy hair standing up at all edges, yet still soft and sweet, with his large, doe, slightly dark brown eyes you would have normally found in a girl; these scenes played in her head, as she remembered the looks of forlorn shown by the brunette due to answering a question wrongly. That was one of the situations where she had laughed at him. Of course, there were many more pathetic memories of him but...
...this was new.
A short, but firm boy, his head and most of the features on his face covered with a simple hood. His vertical size could result in him being made fun of, but the commanding aura around him would have made most back off once they had just sensed a whim of it it. Instead of warm and cheery brown, she was greeted with a hard, and slightly stone cold amber. Tuffs of brown hair were, of course, easily seen from his covered ears, but now they seemed coarse with the overwhelming power he had.
The difference was too great.
One thought was conveyed stronger than all the others.
Are... you really him?
It was silent in the perimeter surrounding them. Pictures convey a thousand words; so does the sight in their eyes.
Each miniscule aspect of their opponent's expression.
Each detail on it.
Each word portrayed.
"Amazing."
This word escaped, and that was the nitch to let the brunette's patience explode.
It happened in mere seconds.
Tsuna's X Gloves Version Vongola Gear clicked as his fists clenched, a cloud of flames seen a moment later. Without even needing to change his position, Leoriko had easily defended the attempt to ram his chin, before his leg extended out to hit the to-be Vongola Decimo's shin. In a flury of action, Tsuna had dodged all of the attempted attacks, partly due to his Hyper Intuition, and partly due to his experience from previous fights. He held out his right arm;
"Natsu!"
And again a display of vivid Sky Flames.
With his hood shielding his hair and part of his face, Mitena di Vongola Primo on his right arm, the brunette whispered; "Mitena di Vongola Primo!" The suddenness of the ball of Sky Flames had Leoriko stunned for a bit, but there was enough time to shield himself from the whole impact of the flame. This time, his upper and lower hand were slightly burnt, leaving the boss to spit out a little blood. In slight worry he wouldn't be able to defend more of these attacks, the orange-haired boss quickly took out a orange rimmed weapon that looked like McDonald's 'M' sign, a grip in the middle line. Clutching on to it, he held out his weapon-holding arm, his other hand clasped onto his elbow, muttering a few words. "Fiamma Gemella Merge" (1) The two bars on both the left and right of the weapon glowed tremendously, flames suddenly sparking the next second and released in the next.
"Whaa-" Tsuna's eyes widened but in the following instance, he changed hands, only for the defensive black cape to come out. He shut his eyes, feeling the overwhelming pressure of the heat, and only opened them a while later, the top of his face which had not been properly covered slightly burnt. Rubbing that place for a bit, the brunette glared at the orange-haired boss again, and the fight resumed without rest.
It was until Leoriko had held out his weapon, now mouthing out words.
"Capriccio della trappola" (2)
Again, on the two ends, it glowed once more, and Leoriko shifted around a certain circular perimeter around Tsuna. As a tower of Sky Flames surrounded him, moments later did the brunette realise;
Isn't this the exact same skill as my X-Stream?
The fight between Hirashi was overpowering; three versus one had prevailed as usual.
Continuing from where we had left off in the previous chapter, the fight had gone on. After his face had slammed into the dirt, Koyo had raised his Forest Shimon Ring with his glasses being tinted with light, and seedlings plopped out of the soil.
Eventually curling and trapping Hirashi in an abyss of vines.
Turning around, slightly faltered, he spat out some blood as Shitt. P's balloon like... floats bumped into his face. With a twirl of the Swamp Guardian's hand, claws emerged from the Swamp Guardian's back, reaching out to Hirashi at the speed of a racing car. Before the claws hit his body, he managed to squeeze out by slipping through tiny holes, but he didn't get away unscathed. Instead, his left leg had been hit by a few claws, and was rendered useless. The Storm Guardian of the Gole Fenice grunted, but that did not hinder his actions. Instead, he took his hurlbat, and pushed it into the ground. He hopped on his left leg, and his body was positioned parallel to the ground. In the next instance, the hurlbat burst with Storm Flames.
"What?" In slight shock from the sudden blast of Storm Flames, Kaoru mouthed the word.
The Storm Flames travveled, and eventually covered the whole of Hirashi's body. He started spinning, and a few moments was all it took to make himself look like a whole tornado.
"HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS?" The Storm Guardian laughed maniacally, voice shaky, as he continued his sentence; "MY ULTIMATE MOVE; TEMPESTA TORRENTE! (3)"
Koyo growled. The main point of Storm Flames are «Degeneration», and if we enter that torrent, our flesh, meat bone... everything will disintergrate! The Shimon's boxer but his hand to his chin, trying to think of a solution. If it's this way, entering blindly will result in certain death. A strategy is needed. Now, the body of that bastard is covered entirely in Storm Flames- he paused, as his brain clicked with a fact.
If his body is covered entirely of Storm Flames, how does he take the pressure?
Shitt. P had no intention of thinking. All she wanted to do was attack, and without hestitaion, shot her claw in.
"WAIT! SHITTOPI-CHAN!" Koyo shouted a warning, but it was of no use; the claw was already inside. He watched in terror as the top of the claw melted into nothing within seconds. Clearly stunned by this, the Swamp Guardian drew her now headless claw back to her side. She carressed the body of the claw in sadness, and retreated to the corner, clearly not caring about the fight anymore. The Forest Guardian observed this whole scene, not looking at Hirashi.
When Shitt.P finally sat down in the corner, the green-haired boxer facepalmed, and turned to check on Kaoru.
Huh?
The eyes of the pompodaur-hairstyle Shimon Guardian's eyes were fixed onto the position of Hirashi, and the boxer turned to the scene too.
The torrent of Storm Flames had stopped.
Smoke was engulfing the body of the Gole Fenice's Storm Guardian.
In the smog... was a charred... and heavily burnt body.
Squinting from the sight, instantly, Koyo observed every nook and cranny of the body.
Second-degree burns... His eyes narrowed as the next thought crossed his mind;
What the heck was he thinking; using this skill which endangers his own life?
The eyes of the two Vongola Guardians that remained standing twitched, as they glared continuously at the Gole Fenice's Sun Guardian.
Flariek had attempted to run away, and eventually, after dodging many interferences and attacks, he was cornered.
And by the time he was cornered, Hirashi had already activated his skill and Shitt. P had already burnt her claw.
Flariek tried to look away from the piercing glares of the two, trying to find a way out.
If I use my cat o' nine tails here, my beautiful and pure skin will get bruises and unsightly marks! Errghh... but I don't have any other weapons.
Timidlly, he turned to face the two Vongola Guardians.
I will rather save my skin and life than injure my pride; my white, pure, fair skin...
Pardon my intrusion, but his skin is tanned. And slightly rough. And clearly not pure at all. His mental image of himself is plain... disturbing.
He raised both hands, countless drops of perspiration already dripping onto the grass.
"I..."
"I what?" Chrome placed the tip of the trident against the apple of the Sun Guardian, eyes narrowing more, the purple in it glinting dangerously, and that only resulted in him shivering more.
"I SURRENDER! FORGIVE ME!"
Hibari raised an eyebrow at that. He stayed silent for awhile, but then opened his mouth to mutter;
"...Herbivores who disturb the peace of the world and are but timid, weak creatures... WILL BE BITTEN TO DEATH!"
"YARRGHHHH!"
Despite his own injuries, Hibari overpowered the Sun Guardian of the Gole Fenice. In safety, Chrome quickly jumped back at a distance which the wild tonfa attacks wouldn't reach her.
Pardon my intrusion again, but apparently the 'cool and calm' side of Flariek is nothing but an outer image to make himself look fabulous.
Nothing more.
Julie and Adelheid kept smiling at each other, somehow romantic yet creepy, as they kept backing the Rain Guardian of the Gole Fenice around the field. As for Reina, all she could do was stare at them, thoughts of her mind changing from question, to a realisation, then to cheekiness; throughout the whole 'I walk to you and you shall reverse' situation.
"You two are dating, aren't you?"
The two paused abruptly, and Reina tilted her head towards those two, curious as to why they had stopped so suddenly. She had expected them to respond in a similiar fashion:
"We're not dating!"
But... no. The male turned away, holding his cheeks and pulling them repeatedly. As for the female, she turned towards the girl, with an evident blush on her face, stuttering, "W-what do you think? Just s-shut up!" With that, the female teen which had appeared strong at first suddenly seemed very, very weak.
When she turned away, Reina used that chance to attack using her AK-47...
Click.
CLINK.
She looked up, expecting to see a defeated Adelheid, only to see the big-chested female's head still turned away, but metal fan held up, which resulted in the bullet being reflected away once it hit its exterior. Reina grunted, annoyance piling up in her veins, and attempted to shoot more bullets. However, it was as useless as a snake trying to eat an elephant.
"Che!" she made a click of insastifaction, craving for some blood spill all around her.
After all, she did contribute a lot in the 'Trophy Room', along with Leoriko, both parading around the screams of horror and shouts of mercy, which, of course, the duo had ignored. The rest of the famiglia usually left the killing to the two, and Hicagen, though an assassin, would just throw the unconcious bodies of the people he had been sent to kill to Leoriko and Reina too.
Bluebell floated daintily behing Reina, enjoying the small show, in which the Gole Fenice's Rain Guardian was unable to hit Adelheid, no matter how many times she had tried to shoot different parts of the only female Shimon Guardian, even with the determination to kill in her eyes.
Grunting in the hunger of bloodshed, Reina moved her hand which made it seem like there were many blurry images of hands, and shot all the bullets from her gun's cartidge aiming for different positions in the female Shimon Guardian's body, hoping to immobilize her in SOME way. However, it was only because of that infuriatingly stupid fan that her bullets keeps getting reflected off!
How irritating; and her craving for blood only rose higher.
Then the little girl remembered; her seemingly useless lover was there too!
Quickly, she refilled her gun's cartidge, and distracted Adelheid first. She smirked and licked her lips; and her gun suddenly shifted to Julie's chest. As Reina released the bullet, Adelheid's other hand, which was behind, came out...
And barely managed to block Julie from the bullet.
What?! She has another fan?! Reina clicked her tongue in disastifaction, and as her grip tightened around her gun, it was slowly engulfed in Rain Flames. Aiming it at Adelhied, she started firing another round of bullets, and of course, Adelheid's fan blocked all of them. But...
"My fan!"
The bullets had melted dents in her fan, rendering them slightly useless.
Julie grunted, clear annoyance spreading across his face. The «Tranquility» factor of Rain Flames again... His desert Shimon Ring sparked alive with Desert Flames, as his hand became covered with a weapon that resembled claws. With that, he dashed forward, avoiding all bullets aimed at him, and before the Gole Fenice's Rain Guardian could escape, she was slashed up on the chin. Quickly hopping back, she shot her gun again, and had a lucky shot at his claws. Part of his weapon disintegrated, and he growled deeply.
It was at this moment.
BOOM!
Reina's back exploded in suddeness, as she fell forward, her hair spilling all over her face, as she landed flat and still onto the ground.
"Heehee~"
Julie and Adelheid glanced up, looking for the source of the explosion and giggle.
Bluebell.
Julie was the first one to react, his finger swinging up at the Rain of the Six Funeral Wreaths. "WAI-WHAA- WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?!" he shouted in shock and wariness, as, well, she looked like a mermaid.
Bluebell hummed her next sentence; "Since near the start of the fight~"
Adelheid kept silent, only a blank look in her eyes, as she watched Bluebell throw Reina's body into a corner. After all, she doesn't show her shock that easily.
Bluebell deactivated her Box of Carnage, earning many groans from fanbos (Bluebell is naked till her waist when she uses her Box of Carnage, so...) who had adored the appearance and the body of the little girl.
Pedophiles nowadays.
His own comrade had gotten hurt to protect him...
The redhead's hands only curled into a fist, further reminiscing in his fury.
While Hicagen... was silently remembering the Vongola Swordsman's words when he asked why he followed the to-be Vongola Decimo:
"Because he will change the mafia."
Cue sneeze from said swordsman.
Anyway, Hicagen, too, was reminiscing in his own thoughts and emotions.
The two stayed silent, until Hicagen was the first to snap out of his daze and grab his weapon. Holding one dagger and letting the other end spin, the free dagger flew to attempt to slit Enma's neck. Of course, the redhead had noticed the sudden movement, and had used his Gravity Spheres to shift the dagger away in time. With that, it propelled back to the assassin, and he grabbed the flying dagger, before releasing the other one, which also proceeded to try to cut the neck of Enma's. And again, Enma used his Gravity Spheres to push it back to him. This continued for the next few minutes, as if their stamina would never run out, until...
"Why are your attack patterns so mainstream~?"
The fury of attacks stopped, as Byakuran bounced down, using his wings to make it seem like a cute action, and floated between the two. He aimed his open hand at Hicagen, and a blast of air came out from his palm.
Hicagen was prepared for an attack, like the one he had used to eliminate 20+ A-classed Gole Fenice assassins, but as sudden as that blast of air came, he was unable to move.
'Huh? Wha- Why am I unable to move?!' This thought flashed passed his mind in the instant he was trapped, and the assassin gritted his teeth for there seemed to be no way to escape the invisible grip.
For his body was completely trapped, as if a giant hand had held him.
Actually, that was quite true.
Byakuran had created a giant, invisible hand linked to his own, just like what TYL! Byakuran had done to trap Tsuna. However, this time, it was used to trap Hicagen.
"Go."
Enma took that word as a cue to defeat the Gole Fenice Cloud Guardian before he lost control of himself, and two Gravity Spheres appeared; one in front and one behind the assassin. Byakuran gritted his teeth at the strength of the redhead's Gravity Spheres, but hung on to Hicagen's body anyway.
"Byakuran, you can let go of him now." Enma commanded with a slightly dark tone in his voice. Nodding, the albino released his grip, to leave the job to the redhead.
In which he only made the power of the Gravity Spheres stronger.
Finally, after noticing Hicagen's body going limp from the pain of getting his bones pulled out from their sockets, he retracted his Gravity Spheres. As Byakuran proceeded to move the numb body into a corner, the redhead staggered into a corner, before ducking his head under his arms.
I could barely control my rage...
It was at this moment when the spiral of Sky Flames rose up
In the pillar of Sky Flames, Tsuna tried to control his anger again, but the sight of the Gole Fenice's boss only made it harder.
"You know..." Leoriko remarked, earning a slight twitch from the brunette. "That the inspiration to create this tower of flames actually came from a certain skill of yours, Ryu?" A chuckle followed, which made the to-be Vongola Boss rage even further.
"But there's a twist to it..."
After hearing the sentence, the anger of the brunette rose up higher, and his vision begun to blur. But he clutched his head; No! Keep your calm...
Leoriko smiled.
"Useless."
Tsuna's other hand came up slowly, and he fell onto his knees with the dizziness taking over him, as images steadily flooded his mind.
His Guardians and his comrades, lying side by side on the ground, badly beaten up and bruised. He could do nothing but see the sight of the grass and soil, and the silence and tenseness of the atmosphere only let him look further down into the ground. From the top of his eye, he saw something besides plain grass, soil and insects; a mini pair of black shoes.
"Dame-Tsuna." A squeaky voice came into his ears, and a pair of slightly large, onyx looked upon him, as if it was God giving a judgement to be placed upon his shoulders.
His now-brown irises didn't dare to look up at his tutor, who had 'tutored' him for the past year.
"You have failed me."
Tsuna's eyes only widened, and he didn't dare to move at all, especially since it seemed that the world was against him now.
Leoriko calmly observed the crouching brunette, and smiled with the pleasure of seeing the agony of others.
Especially the agony of those important.
In fact, the Gole Fenice boss had invented this skill, 'Sky's Trap', to let the unwanted endings of a certain event start playing out in his opponents mind. After that, he would use the chance to attack them, and in one way or another he would win. But, he just got too entertained by the screams, moans and the pleads of pity.
Still. Useless attempts they are. For he and his right-hand girl, Reina, would slaughter them should they utter a sound. Though, of course, every single one of them had made a scream of terror.
Though most of the time he would be the one enjoying the screaming while Reina will be the one dancing in the blood.
Now, he had no intention to make a move, and only wanted to hear the agonized shouts from the hooded boss.
But, why hadn't he made a sound?
"You have failed me badly, Dame-Tsuna."
Tsuna could only grit his teeth harder and harder while facing the hard truth of every sentence Reborn said.
"No..."
Reborn could only glare hard at the brunette as he whimpered.
"Wait, Reborn..."
"Yes?"
"I..."
"'I' what?"
Tsuna paused. He didn't want it to end this way; he and his Guardians losing to the Gole Fenice, Reborn giving up on him, and him lying on the ground with no hope...
No hope?
"I...I won't give up!"
Reborn raised and eyebrow.
"I won't give up even if I failed the first time. This is just like the Choice Battle with Byakuran! However, Yuni gave me the chance to make amends and now the future is clear of war! This is just a replay of the battle... and I can make amends if-if I was given more time!" The brunette panted, almost all of his energy being sapped from the sentence itself. He hoped that Reborn would just answer positively...
"And if there's no time?"
"...T-then I will do my very best before the next battle!"
"..."
The brunette's fist, which had slowly clenched up from the negative comments Reborn was saying, opened up from the lack of energy again.
I'm sorry, everyone... I couldn't defeat the Gole Fenice... and I let all of you get injured so badly... Tears started dripping out from the bottom eyelids of the to-be Vongola Decimo. He shut his eyes tight; he couldn't face his guardians now-
"Juudaime's right!"
The brunette opened his eyes in shock.
"Yeah, that's right, kozo! (3)"
Yamamoto and Gokudera's eyes blinked open, and as they struggled to stand up, the rest of the Vongola Guardians regained conciousness.
'Every...one?'
"Sawada... will do h-his best to the EXTREME!" Ryohei stumbled out a few words, shouting with energy at the last word. He used his left fist to help himself up as his right fist was still gone, but Chrome took his right arm and supported him.
"Bossu will not g-give up easily!" Chrome was already scratched and bruised so badly, but she still spoke in defiance to Reborn.
The baby hitman smiled a little.
"Tsu-Tsuna-nii is the best in many ways!" Lambo managed to find the words he wanted to say, and he screamed the sentence into Reborn's face with all his strength, rendering him unconcious again.
Mukuro picked the Lightning Guardian up. "Kufufu... Sawada Tsunayoshi is also full of suprises..." Mukuro chuckled, wincing a little at the pain he recieved while trying to propel himself up back onto two feet.
Hibari limped away from the others, his dislike to crowd standing out. "Sawada Tsunayoshi is a omnivore." he deadpanned, despite the severity of his wounds.
Reborn's smile got a little wider. "Then... if you lose your confidence, Dame-Tsuna?"
Gokudera stepped in next. "Then we will encourage Juudaime!"
"And if all of you lose your confidence?"
Ryohei now stepped up to answer. "THEN WE WILL EXTREMELY REMIND OURSELVES ABOUT THIS SITUATION!"
"And if you forget?"
Hibari frowned. "They crushed our pride. I'll bite those herbivores to death no matter what."
"And if your pride gets restored halfway?"
Mukuro chuckled creepily again. "Oya? Will that really happen? Kufufu.. you've got a weird imagination, Arcobaleno."
"...I'm not an Arcobaleno anymore." *kicks Mukuro unconcious*
"Any other questions?" Chrome whispered timidlly, ready to face any other questions from the baby hitman.
Reborn smirked.
"Go and train with your Dying Will."
Brightening, Tsuna nodded, and by sapping all of his remainding energy, he stood up and hugged Reborn.
"Thank you, Reborn."
Lowering his fedora down, Reborn muttered out a few words;
"It was a fine debate session with you and your Guardians."
The world turned black for Tsuna, as the scene warped away, and as his eyes closed in the darkness, light was bestowed upon him.
"Leoriko..."
The word pulled the Gole Fenice's boss out of his train of thoughts as to why the brunette wasn't screaming or even making a sign, and turned to the now standing hooded boy.
What?! Leoriko's eyes stretched bigger at the sight. This shouldn't be possible! Why is he standing?! Why is he not disturbed in the slightest?! And the situation that is even more unbelievable than a miracle is- how did he not make a single sound at all?! Why- This time it was him that crouched down, the millions of questions blocking out other thoughts, for it was the first time he had seen this happen.
Tsuna held up his X Gloves, Version Vongola Gear, and in a flurry of flames struck Leoriko right in the middle of his back while he was still distracted. The Gole Fenice boss slipped out of his mind, and held out his weapon too. The fight was unbelievable; especially since it was held in a tower of fury Sky Flames. Tsuna held out his hand, muttered 'Natsu', and in another swirl of Flames, he appeared between the legs of the Gole Fenice Boss.
Burning Axle! His hand pushed forward, releasing a ball of Sky Flames towards the middle of Leoriko's Legs. Noticing the sudden appearance of the brunette in between his legs, the Gole Fenice Boss uttered one word;
"SHIT!"
It was lucky his mind cleared of all thoughts but one, which was to dodge the incoming attack to his-ahem, crotch. He positioned the Macdonald-sign-shaped-weapon behind him, and barely dodged the attack to his crotch.
But it scorched and burnt the thin layer of skin, fats and flesh of his entire back.
Double blow.
But after the play with his thoughts, Tsuna was more enraged than before; for he once again experienced the pain of his friends getting hurt and the very high possibility of more people getting hurt. The brunette didn't think about killing or not; he just wanted to defeat Leoriko and that was all he asked for.
The to-be Vongola Decimo deactivated his Mitena di Vongola Primo, Modo Attaco, and positioned himself in the way he would do when he did the skill...
"Operation... XX."
...XX Burner.
Leoriko staggered time and again as Tsuna prepared his skill.
"No... I shouldn't be losing here..." Leoriko mumbled, though it sounded incoherent to everyone except for himself.
"I SHOULDN'T BE LOSING HERE!"
He pointed his Macdonald-sign-shaped-weapon in front of him, not caring about the amount of blood flowing behind his back, and only giving a damn to winning. As his Sky Flames gathered, hints of black flames started swirling up into the weapon as well, speeding up the process of the power charge needed before the use of the skill.
Night Flames? Reborn frowned a little, now hopping to the location, binoculars still in hand.
Night Flames. Yes. Leoriko was at the brink of dying; the incredible amount of blood flowing out of his back was enough to make him die of blood loss. The motivation that keeps him going all comes from one purpose; WINNING. As such, since his purpose was as strong as Bermuda's will, Night Flames started to form in his body, and it kept his power up and Leoriko was transferring it all to... one final attack.
It could also be the final attack of his life.
If he was lucky, he would survive... and end up in the same state of Bermuda.
It was ironic; very ironic to Bermuda's situation.
And a coincidence it was to have both their skills charged up at the same time.
"PHONEIX FLAME ERRUPTION!"
"XX BURNER!"
It seemed like the exact same scene as when he fought with Byakuran, but the intensity was comaparable to when he fought with Bermuda.
The XX Burner of Tsuna's pushed...
...followed by Leoriko's push...
...and then...
It was that moment where the brunette remembered; he didn't want to cause more deaths.
But more peace.
More happiness.
And not more disruption.
More deaths.
Even if the Gole Fenice boss died, will there be a difference?
No.
Only one more death.
And China was still raging on as well.
If he killed the main puppeteer controlling the strings of the famiglias from the China side...
Two deaths.
Which would lead to an erruption of uncertainty and chaos.
More people killed.
And this would all start from his actions; indirectly.
And taking the lives of people were meaningless.
...No.
Tsuna retracted his XX Burner.
As Tsuna's flames died down, so did Leoriko's, and the flame tower was blasted away due to the force of the fire. Leoriko had drained all of his energy at the very point of when Tsuna retracted his XX Burner.
"Tsu-Ryu-kun!"
"RYU-SAN!"
The whole group glomped onto him as soon as every single bit of flames disappeared.
Leoriko fell flat onto the ground, blood still oozing out from his back, but it had lessened due to the effect of the Night Flames.
"E-everyone!" Tsuna fell back onto the ground, his Dying Will Flame disappearing, due to his sapped energy in releasing the XX Burner and drawing it back.
"ARE YOU OKAY?"
"VONGOLA MEDICAL PEOPLE OR WHATEVER, COME AND HELP YOUR BOSS-TO-BE!"
"HIIEE?!"
It was pretty lucky that his hood never fell.
In the middle of the hustle and bustle... Basil was suddenly hit by an attack from behind the group.
Everything turned black and white again.
Hicagen was standing, though his knees were shaking and his hands were dripping with cold sweat, with Basil's blood stained onto the dagger which had attacked the CEDEF assassin.
"I..." he started, faltering a little from a near loss of balance. "...I won't allow you to leave all happy!"
The shady figure stood up, ignoring muffled screams near him.
"It's time for my show."
As Hicagen charged forward, a shuriken star hit his back.
Every single one of the people on the field could do nothing... but stare at the scene blankly.
The attacker coming out... the Gole Fenice's Cloud Guardian's head turning around to see the attacker... the shocked expression pilling up again and again...
"Wha..." ...was the first word that spilled out from the blonde's mouth.
"Aren't you supposed to be our ally?!"
Omake: The sleek and smooth skin of Flariek.
The moment he was chosen as one of the Guardians for the Gole Fenice famiglia, Leoriko could already see the good points and flaws in him. One week after he had gathered all of his guardians, in the night, he took out a notepad, and begun scribbling down the good and bad points of all his guardians.
Before getting to the main point, what's up with the Gole Fenice famiglia and NOTEPADS?
Okay, scratch that, back to the point.
He wrote down the pros and cons of each Guardian, and stopped at Flariek. Spinning his pencil, he entered a minute of deep thought and another minute of meditation.
Finally, he knew what to write.
Pros:
-Proven to be loyal to famiglia.
-Potential hidden. Must be trained.
Cons:
...MUST PROVIDE SK2 EVERY SINGLE WEEK FOR HIM. BEFORE HE WILL START COMPLAINING ABOUT THE FUCKING DRYNESS OF HIS SKIN AND WHATSOEVER MILKY WHITE SHIT.
See, everyone's aware! Be ashamed of yourself, Flariek.
Omitted:
1. Hibari limped away from the others, his dislike to crowd standing out. "Sawada Tsunayoshi is a omnivore. 'Nuff said." he deadpanned, despite the severity of his wounds.
Tsuna blinked. "'Nuff said?"
Realising what he said, the Cloud Guardian turned away in embarressment. "Nothing."
2. The two paused abruptly, and Reina tilted her head towards those two, curious as to why they had stopped so suddenly. She had expected them to respond in a similiar fashion:
"We're not dating!"
But... no. The male turned away, holding his cheeks and pulling them repeatedly. As for the female, she turned towards the girl, with an evident blush on her face, stuttering, "W-what do you think? Just s-shut up!"
Reina smiled. Since they were so cute...
"Turn around and face each other."
And for no apparent reason, Julie and Adelheid did as they were told.
"Be only 10 centimetres away from each other..."
And again, did as they were told.
Now one hand on the female's head, and another on the male's head...
"NOW KISS!"
Push.
(1) The two bars on both the left and right of the Macdonald-sign-shaped-weapon would glow tremendously, and then Sky Flames would suddenly spark the next second, and will be released in the next.
(2) The tower of Sky Flames which can open up the unwanted thoughts; something like Mitsu's but stronger.
(3) Kozo= Romanji version of 'kid'.
REPLY TO REVIEWS:
Faliara: Cause I'm evil~ And here's another evil one :D
khrforever D (Guest): No more spoilers! And the number of chapter left depends on how my schedule goes in the future. Reborn will come. Well, he did in this chapter for a little while. Hicagen's flashback? Nope, just doing that another time. I did mention that, though owo. The reason why Leoriko can transfer flames is because of the technology in his rings. HIS RINGS. The Vongola Rings were made from the Tri-Ni-Set, and the rings the Gole Fenice famiglia are wearing are made by they themselves. That's why. And glad that you like my story :)
Guest: I'M INCREDIBLY SORRY! I BLAME THE EXAMS FOR LASTING FOUR DAYS! And I will never abandon this story! I hope you chill with the length of this chapter! QAQ
A/N: I'm incredibly sorry for delaying Protecting, Vice Versa for a day. I had exams for 4 days straight and then I had to skip 4 days of typing fanfiction and all... BUT ITS STILL MY BAD SO I'M REALLY SORRY!
But I'm still evil enough to leave you with a cliffhanger. owo
After the next chapter, I will be on hiatus for a while until I finish rewriting the first couple of chapters. I'll be back as soon as possible. Next chapter will be slightly light-hearted, so do await it!
RawwrMage (24/02/14)