The Lightning Battle

Next morning...Sirius is nervous for a good reason.

The mood is matched by a cloudy sky today.

'Mai...' Sirius gasped out. 'Will you REALLY be OK?! Those guys are worse than Death Eaters!' he cried as Lussuria's death is still fresh on his mind.

'I'll be alright.' Mai reassured him. 'I just need to worry about what to wear for tonight!' she said cheerfully.

'Seriously?!'

'Seriously~!' Mai smiled. 'I'm going to Tokyo for nice threads. I'll also accompany you to the Alley since I'm wary about the Varia...My radar is always activated so I'll never be caught off guard!'

'Dammit, I hate leaving you alone at a time like this...' Sirius moped. 'Stupid Andy!' But he is still Lord Black. Andromeda can only pull things off but she wasn't official family head. There are some things that only he, the family head can do.

'I'll be alright, really!' Mai reassured him again. 'For now, show them what a fully-recovered Black man is made of! That you're not the dried-up man they expect you to be! Moreover the Tri-Wizard Tournament...maybe you can do something more other than what they have in mind, other than idiotic ideas...stuff that fully utilizes a seventh year student's capabilities with great creativity! From what Andromeda-san mailed last week, the ideas are utterly stupid! Ugh, even an elementary school kid can do better!' she cried indignantly. 'Are our British kin THAT dumb?!'

'Unfortunately so.' Sirius drawled. 'Living in Japan made me smarter and watching your anime for fun gave me ideas...I just wish you'd throw your questionable material away!' he shivered as he saw BL anime in her stash.

'Noooo! They're adorable to watch!' Mai cried defensively. 'You just don't appreciate art!' Sirius choked in his tea.

'You call that art?! I call it stuff of nightmares!'

xxx

Tokyo...

After taking Sirius to Fushigimori Alley...Mai began her shopping for stylish clothes and cosplaying seems to be right up her alley.

To Ikebukuro she went. Besides, new steamy material may have been released!

And so...that night...

'Good thing I bought a new outfit.' Mai huffed as she put on a rain hooded cloak. 'No wonder they schedule my match to today! They're aiming on simulating the conditions!' she snorted before smirking. 'No matter, it works for me too. Fufufu...' she chuckled as she made sparks in her fingers.

Her eyes glinted darkly in amusement. She walked to school at 10:30 and waited for her family to arrive.

'Fiore Potter, your opponent is already here, two hours early.' the Cervello spoke. 'The venue is the school rooftop.'

'Really? Well now. The idiot can have a rain bath into pneumonia for all I care. I will not move until my family arrives.' Mai informed them. 'Besides, the match is at 11 anyway, plenty of time.'

'Very well.' Soon, the boys arrived with umbrellas. Mai is the only one wearing a hooded rain cloak, another cosplay material.

'Mai!' Tsuna called out. 'Are you...?'

'I'm always ready if its for Tsuna-sama.' said Mai. 'Let's go. The Cervello told me my opponent is two hours early, enjoying a long nighttime shower.' she smirked, chuckling through her breathing through her nose.

'Two hours early in this weather?! Is he crazy?!' Ryohei sputtered out.

'Idiots can't catch a cold they say. Don't bother.' said Mai in a dismissive I-don't-care tone as they went upstairs. Upstairs, the Varia are already there.

'The roof...' Tsuna gasped out as the middle schoolers saw a strange floor and towering structures.

'What the heck are those?!' Gokudera hollered.

'Tonight's battlefield for the lightning guardians are outfitted with lightning rods.' said twin 2.

'The battleground is called Elettrico Circuito.' said twin 1. On cue, lightning struck the rods and the whole floor lit up!

'You'll be OK, right?!' Tsuna sputtered to his Guardian who just smiled.

'I'll be alright. This is just right up my alley although I have other things to worry about...' Mai promised him.

'The Elettrico Circuito's floor has been coated with a special conductor. The lightning that strikes the rods will be discharged onto the floor with several times its normal potency.'

'No way! You'll be burnt to a crisp with that!' Tsuna choked out in horror.

'They knew a thunderstorm is coming and set this up, huh?!' Gokudera swore furiously as it exactly how it looks like.

'Thunder Guardian Fiore, please go to the center of the battleground.' said twin 2.

Mai removed her cloak to reveal her outfit that got the boys blushing and the Varia wondering who the hell taught the kid fashion. She wore a metallic dark blue set of a bikini top, hotpants, and matching long gloves and thigh-high boots. She wore a golden beaded tiara, beaded belts on her waist and golden star earrings. She also wore a light blue belt-like choker and belt-like straps on her upper arm.(Sailor Starfighter from SS Stars) Her hair is tied up into a high ponytail with a matching ribbon and braided, bound at the tip with a matching hairtie.

'What the hell are you wearing?!' all of them yelled while from the other side, Bel whistled appreciatively.

'Wow, she's not just cute but she's hot too.' he said. 'Ushishishishi...'

'You sure about that Bel? She's a nutcase like Luss!' Squalo snorted.

'And she just gave him source materials for his fetish and you know how loud he plays those things in his soundproofed room.' said Mammon. 'Just woe betide who opens his bedroom door.' besides the boss, all Varia Guardians all had that misfortune when they needed Lussuria when he's not in his office or training areas.

'Cosplay~you seriously think I'll let my closet get damaged from this fight? No way, they're all expensive!' Mai huffed as she walked into the ring. 'This one's disposable at least!' she said, while ignoring the cold since she could warm herself up with the heat from her flames. What, lightning is just 'sharp fire' along with electricity into the mix!

'Then, now for the Battle of Lightning...Leviathan VS Fiore Potter. You may now begin!' twin 2 declared when lightning struck again.

'MAI!' Tsuna cried as Mai and Levi got struck. Levi endured as per his Varia training but Mai was unaffected one bit. 'Huh?!'

'Like I said...don't worry about me.' Mai giggled in a cutesy girl pose at her family. Her using her flames to warm herself saved her butt. With her flames flowing within her body, it also protected her head to toe by hardening defensively.

'I wonder what she did to get unscathed...even that guy took some damage.' Ryohei commented thoughtfully.

'Mai mastered her powers so she definitely has a safe way to protect herself.' said Reborn. 'She told Iemitsu all her abilities and she got plenty from what he told me.'

'What did she do?' Tsuna asked him.

'Mai circulates her power through her body, accepted the strike, and let it flow throughout her body guided by her own flames and then pass it out through her feet, discharging it into the ground safely. This trick requires great focus and concentration. Its something only a Lightning Master can do or those born with Elettrico Cuoio, those born with skin good for conducting electricity, something Mai doesn't have but Lambo has.' Reborn told them. 'Mai's technique takes years to master but she's a genius with great mental strength. Her ability is perfect personified for this task.'

'Maybe that'll make Levi get serious.' said Bel when they heard that explanation.

'Yeah.' Mammon agreed. 'Levi is completely dedicated to the boss. 'He accomplishes his jobs and is punctual, and became a guardian...all to get the boss' approval. If he hears there's someone better suited...he'll definitely get jealous.' Levi and Mai started their fight with Levi taking out one of his electric parabolas while Mai created a lightning construct sword and parried with him in combat.

'OK...now how is she parrying with him?' Yamamoto croaked out. 'For all her abilities, she's physically frailer than us yet she can match him toe to toe in physical prowess?'

'In the Dying Will Flames of the Sky Family, each flame has a specific trait.' Reborn spoke. 'Its main ability is hardening. Good for defense or penetrating attacks. Indeed, Mai is physically very frail and light in weight, but she compensates by hardening her bones and muscles to stand her ground, and using electricity to magnetize herself to the floor each time she steps and parries with Levi as to not get blown away so easily while at the same time being able to maintain her movement and dexterity. You need sheer mental focus to juggle everything. A feat very few can do whether you're a genius or not.' he explained. "Although when Iemitsu met with her, she just recently learned what hardening is as last time, she didn't know about it which is why Hibari was easily able to defeat her. But it seems its not just her body but also her construct. What talent." he smirked. "We really lucked out with this girl as a form of fortuitous event by several years!"

'Well...shit...' Squalo whistled upon hearing that. 'Looks like the girl is ironically, their most skilled it seems.'

'Looks like it...' said Mammon. The girl has many abilities to consider and even then not thought of. They focused too much on the aspects and the ranges it could do, they did not think bigger and go outside the box.

Levi was getting more furious and madder. "She seems to have just about everything!"

'Ohya, you look constipated.' Mai remarked thoughtfully as her ponytail rose up like a Scorpion's tail and fired a beam at his face since they were too buys pushing each other into a pointless game of pushing due to indeed, magnetizing and hardening herself. So she wanted him out of the way!

'Wha?!'

'You can do even that?!' Levi swore as he dodged the point-blank beam.

'...she's unreal...who's scarier, her or Mukuro?' Tsuna sweatdropped.

But that was not all.

When another lightning strike occurred...this time, it was different. She absorbed the lightning, everything going to her, further increasing her own power.

'Normally I'd like to play longer but seeing as we're all kids, we can't exactly afford getting a fever so I'd like to end this quickly.' she said as Levi got himself ready.

'Then I'd like to end this quick, too!' Levi growled as in a blink, he stabbed her in places with the pointy parts of his Parabolas, causing Mai to gasp as she did not expect that. But all he managed, were inch-deep piercings! 'So you're hard enough not to become shish-kebab, so what?!'

'You did great in piercing me at least.' Mai praised while wincing from her wounds. 'Although going near me while I absorbed so much gigajoules of electricity will be a fatal mistake on your part.' she grinned as she released a powerful lightning twister discharge. 'SPARKLING TWISTER BLADE!'

Levi did his darndest to dodge everything but not only that...

The rooftop exploded as a barrier of electricity quickly surrounded Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei and Reborn as the rooftop collapsed from that powerful attack, and destroyed the Elettrico Circuito when the blades sliced up the lightning rods too.

xxx

When the dust smoke subsided with everyone getting back their footing...and Levi is still alive.

"That technique is damn lethal..." Squalo watched on apprehensively. "When she said Gigajoules, Levi did well in evading the blades from that lightning twister or he's more than just chopped up crispy-charred pieces..."

"That bitch...she surely spent up plenty of power...how come she isn't even winded one bit?!" Levi swore while he is still on an adrenaline rush, having barely just survived THAT.

'Levi's damn lucky to survive that.' Mammon commented. 'Our Varia training saved his hide otherwise he's a statue of charcoal by now.'

'Yeah.' Bel agreed.

'The girl isn't even the least bit winded.' Squalo pitched in. 'It wasn't her own energy she used after all...she spent the lightning she's absorbed.'

'The school rooftop is all gone!' Gokudera shuddered.

'Hiiie! Hibari-san will be pissed for sure!' Tsuna freaked out as two floors worth comprising the whole part of the rooftop in the building they were on is now no more than rubble and they're now in a classroom!

'Ah~! He's still alive and Hibari's gonna have a bitch fit...' Mai sighed at the damage she caused as they were now in a classroom. 'Oy, funky twins, can we continue in the quadrangle?' she called out to the Cervello.

The Cervello exchanged looks.

'Very well. To avoid casualties among spectators, we will permit this.' said twin 1 as the Varia, Cervello and Mai jumped off the building.

'Hey!' Ryohei yelled.

'That was close...' Iemitsu shuddered as he and Basil barely avoided the rain of rubble. 'We came to watch by going up and now we have to go down again!'

'Down stairs we go! Come on!' Yamamoto cried as they all ran downstairs while at the quadrangle...the fight continued on. This time, its back to weapons again and in a high-level fight and that's the sight they saw. This time, Levi obtained damage and is also injured, not just Mai herself...Levi was the first to fall with Mai showing more injuries than the piercings she took, and her gloves and boots torn up, showing bleeding slashes.

'...Levi is unable to continue on fighting.' twin 1 announced by the time they got down to the Quadrangle. 'Therefore the winner for the Battle of Lightning is Fiore Potter!' she declared as Mai took Levi's half of the ring and fused it with hers with a cat-like smile.

'Tomorrow night's match will be between the Guardians of Storm.' said twin 2.

'You know you're a pretty good fighter.' Mai told Levi while poking his head with a finger. 'Just that, your hotheadedness worked against you. Too bad~' she quickly dodged Gola Mosca shooting Levi just like Lussuria with quick back flips. 'Whoops!'

'Its done already?!' Tsuna gasped out as the Cervello and Varia disappeared in blurs.

'Yep...' Mai chirped as she got her ring. 'I won, Tsuna-sama!' she chimed happily, showing off her prize.

'That's two wins!' Gokudera cried in delight.

'I'm glad you're OK Mai.' Tsuna gasped in relief but...

'I think she's not OK.' said Reborn, still sitting on Yamamoto's shoulder...indeed, Mai didn't look too good.

'I feel really woozy...' she said feebly, looking ill from blood loss. 'Tomorrow will be Storm...' and she collapsed.

'Mai!' Tsuna freaked out as they caught her and noticed her additional injuries. 'This is bad...she got pierced in places before and now additional injuries...'

'She's losing blood...we better go to the hospital quick.' said Iemitsu. 'We have a car!' they boarded the car with Mai lying on the laps of the boys while Iemitsu and Basil were on front. 'What caused the explosion anyway?!'

'Mai created a devastating twister of lightning blades using the lightning she absorbed when lightning struck the field the Cervello cooked up.' Reborn explained to him. 'Levi barely survived that, being a Varia Quality. Had it been anyone else, they'll be in charcoal pieces then become dust. Its that powerful. And the only thing to worry about is her blood loss and her injuries.'

'I hope the hospital is still open...this isn't funny anymore.' Tsuna choked out. 'Everyone is getting hurt because of these rings...oniisan and now Mai too...I don't want anyone else to get hurt anymore...' he said in utter distress.

'Its inevitable Tsuna.' said Yamamoto. 'All we have to do is not get injured too much and we'll be OK.' he reassured him.

'I'll be alright tomorrow Juudaime! No need to worry about us!' Gokudera added. 'We won twice now! It'll be a doozy and I got in a better mood!'

xxx

Hospital...

'Reborn, we should go to the Alley for some of 'those stuff'.' said Tsuna as he talked with Reborn alone. 'What do you think?'

'Let's see if we can purchase some then.' said Reborn. 'We might need a Healer's Prescription since Blood-Replenishing Potions might be distribution-restricted.'

'How about through the goblins?'

'...we try. We better go see Iemitsu for the money. It might cost a pretty penny. She'll pay him back anyway.'