BATTLE OF THE SUCCESSORS – THE BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT
The Restaurant for the Competition
The restaurant was very minimalist in its design, traditional wooden tables with white coverings and polished cutlery. The walls had all been replaced by windows to give an all-around view of the magically diverse island, everyone was enjoying themselves with their food and discussing the events of the competition to this point.
Three people however, were not sharing everyone's enjoyment, the trio of Tsuna, Yamamoto and Lambo were sat together, eating their food at a noticeably slower pace than those around them.
"Only you two left to talk to, they have gone too far" Tsuna complains as he subconsciously squeezes the fork in his hand. So far this competition has resulted in injuries to Ryohei, his sworn brother and Gokudera, his most loyal follower. Naturally Hibari didn't want to eat together with the rest so that left only Yamamoto and his younger brother Lambo.
"Yeah, meals like this with all the family gathered should be fun" agrees Yamamoto. Yamamoto has always been as a rain guardian should be, he has been the glue that sticks the family together, his calm and easy going attitude helps generate conversation at times like this, even he though is feeling down after witnessing two people he cares about injured by their loved ones.
Lambo adds his piece of less profound conversation, "Lambo is depressed" he dumbly whinges. He has also been affected by this situation, Kyoko and Haru used to play with him when he was a kid, viewing them as enemies were a big emotional challenge for one so young. Furthermore, the subject of Lambo's talk at these meetings was usually his dislike for Gokudera, something that was rendered impossible by the lack of attendance by the storm guardian.
"Yamamoto, I never found anyone to train you". Tsuna looks apologetically towards his friend, "if you lose I will take full…" he begins only to be interrupted by a giggle from Yamamoto.
"Do I look like I'm in the mood for losing" Yamamoto smiles. Tsuna may not have found anyone to train him but he had his secret trainer for that, Byakuran. Byakuran fought Tsuna when the guardians travelled into the future, the Millefiore family leader could claim to be one of the toughest opponents that the young Vongola had ever faced.
"You won't lose Yamamoto" Byakuran encourages his host, "go ahead and tell them, just how far you've come" he instructs.
"I can honestly say, the person has increased their strength the most for their match, is me" he boldly claims. Usually before a fight a professional fighter would make this sort of bold claim as a psychological attack on the enemy, or perhaps to reassure themselves of their own power. The Vongola family know that Yamamoto is not this sort of person, if he makes such a claim, it must mean that Yamamoto has improved his strength massively.
"I believe you, I really believe you Yamamoto" Tsuna excitedly smiles as his fears about Yamamoto being unprepared are allayed.
"Lambo wants to see Yamamoto be really strong" says the thunder guardian, "Better beat your opponent good Yamamoto" demands the cow print wearing youngster.
Lambo's childish speech habits are as always greatly amusing to the rain guardian. "Don't you worry Lambo; I've got this" he confirms with a small laugh.
The Rain Battlefield
The battlefield this time was again a mountain, however Colonello had put thought into this venue. The other side of the mountain was not snowy and craggy, it was flat, it was steep and it was completely covered in forest. These trees had been planted several years ago as part of the project to make this island quite so strangely diverse.
Appropriately rain was falling, everyone resorting to the use of a coat or an umbrella, except Yamamoto and the man who stood opposite him. The man had short blue hair and a face that seemed to default to a smile much like Yamamoto's. The clothing of each man stuck to the wearers body, in Yamamoto's case a casual combination of a hoodie and some jeans, in the other man's case it was a long traditional black robe.
Yamamoto postulates about the man before him. 'He seems quite friendly, I wonder where those funny clothes come from though, perhaps his old school'. That assumption was correct, this man had come from an unusual background, high in the Himalayan mountains.
In the Himalayas, Two Years Ago
It was another cold day in the school. Everyone wore the same long black robe, this black robe was very thin and offered no protection against the freezing cold weather. Nobody complained however, not a single person was shivering, except one. A young man with blue hair called Sorata.
Today was a silent day, if you made a sound today you were to be punished. This meant you had to be careful even when breathing, it required absolute concentration. Nobody wore shoes, their robes were specially chosen for this purpose and they all had short hair so even that motion wouldn't generate sound.
Walking through the corridors of the school, carrying his books from the library to his study chamber Sorata was less accomplished than the average student, far less accomplished. As he chattered his teeth at various moments, elders and students alike would slap Sorata around the head until he stopped. This may seem like a disgusting act, unforgiveable even but Sorata had nothing but gratitude in his heart, everyone here had lost something and never wanted to go through that again.
Never losing something again, that was a hard task, the first step was to give up all worldly possessions, never becoming attached means you can't lose a connection. The second step was to come up the mountain to the school where you would begin your martial arts training. Everyone had a talent for some form of combat, Sorata's talent was in the use of a staff, a weapon he had heavily modified and had come to master. This martial arts training was necessary to protect those you cared about while you tried to accomplish the third step.
The third step was the most difficult step but it would guarantee that you wouldn't feel the pain of loss anymore. The third step was severing the connection to those around you, something incredibly difficult. Sorata himself struggled most with this step, not because of his physical limitations but his emotional limitations. He first climbed the mountain when he lost his last family member, his father to a terrorist attack. Never had Sorata experienced such pain, that's why he climbed, he never wanted to experience it again.
Sorata had become strong with the help of everyone in this school, he felt very grateful to them all and he knew they were trying to help him with the third step. Knowing that they are helping him was wat damaged him though, his gratitude was incompatible with the separation he desired.
Sorata eventually got back into his study chamber, he quietly put his books down and sharply turned on his heel to see somebody leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room. A person he would later come to know as Vongola Bana.
"I'm surprised you were able to hear me, impressive" compliments Bana of his newly met acquaintance. Bana smiles at Sorata for a short while, waiting for a question or for him to be removed from the room forcibly.
Bana suddenly recalls where he is, "Oh sorry, you can't talk right, then I will do all the talking". "I have spoken with your elders, what you are trying to achieve right now is impossible for you" he explains.
Sorata gasps upon discovering that his elders doubted him, only to immediately cover his mouth to prevent any more noises coming out. He looks at Bana as if pleading him not to say any more, Bana doesn't notice though.
"Avoiding the loss of your loved ones is very difficult using strength alone, unless you find true power, that's the way forward for you, your elders agree" exposes Bana as he extends his hand towards Sorata. "Sorata, let people back into your heart, become my friend and we can find the meaning of true strength together" he suggests.
The Rain Battlefield, The Present Day
Yamamoto continued to smile at his counterpart, "You seem quite calm" he notes.
"I am calm, very calm" confirms Sorata, "I don't suppose you could forfeit the match, it would save everyone a lot of trouble" suggests the challenger to the rain guardian. One thing he learned from his time at the school was that avoiding combat means avoiding loss.
"I could say the same thing to you" retorts Yamamoto, not willing to let Tsuna down by forfeiting. To give up now would truly be spitting in the face of Ryohei and Gokudera.
"Hmm, I thought so" comments Sorata as he quickly pulls a staff from its holder on his back. Immediately upon drawing his weapon, Sorata calls on the modifications he has made to his staff, he extends it with great speed, straight towards Yamamoto.
With a reaction so quick that few present could see it, Yamamoto draws his sword and dodges to the side of the extending staff. The extension speed was quick but the retraction speed is well within Yamamoto's capabilities to attack the weapon. Yamamoto swings his sword at the staff with enough power to shatter most rocks, the staff however merely moves away post-impact.
Sorata retracts the staff until it is a size easy for him to control. "You have good reactions" he compliments his opponent.
"And I'm surprised your staff didn't break" returns the baseball hopeful. His mood to talk didn't last long though, a few moments later he brought out all three of his swords and made a suggestion, "let's do this properly shall we". Yamamoto threw two of his swords in a curving motion, they bended like a boomerang and their destination was Sorata.
Before the swords could reach Sorata, Yamamoto began his run towards his opponent, he watched as Sorata blocked the first of the two swords. The second made contact though, knocking Sorata off balance as he tripped backwards.
Yamamoto leaped into the air as Sorata stumbled and looked at his falling opponent before throwing his third and final sword straight at him.
Sorata's reaction was swift and was an indication that the fight had reached another level, injecting dying will flame into his staff he knocked the final sword away from him, protecting himself from the potential killing blow.
Yamamoto maintained a cool appearance as he landed and caught all three swords as they curved through the air. Byakuran was unimpressed with what he had seen from Yamamoto so far, "Don't probe pointlessly, you know you won't be able to beat him unless you power up" instructs the Millefiore leader.
"I know it's just that Gokudera gets quite defensive about being on my level" defends Yamamoto, "And what I am about to do, it's going to put me on a whole new level" he reminds his teacher.
Byakuran though stresses that this hesitation will be Yamamoto's downfall, "It's time Yamamoto" he insists with the sternest expression he can put on. Byakuran then floats around to behind Yamamoto and places his hands on his shoulders.
Yamamoto took a deep breath when his mentor did that, "You're right" he admits. With that Yamamoto released two of his swords only for them to float in the air either side of him. Suddenly the two swords seemed to change into rain attribute flames. The swords gradually fell apart, the energy travelling from the tip to Yamamoto's back. The energy flowed towards Yamamoto, until the very end of the swords hilt had disappeared and flowed to its master.
Bana lost his cool manner and yelled in surprise, "What's this, his dying will flame is fundamentally changing".
Yamamoto concentrates his gaze on Sorata causing the challenger to feel a moment of intimidation. This very same moment he takes a step backwards; the single step was taken out of hesitation before Sorata concentrated himself. "This won't compare to my staff techniques" he boldly claims as a psychological assault on Yamamoto.
The flames that travelled to Yamamoto earlier begin to take shape, two long blue coloured wings form on his back and his remaining sword grows in size and in power. "This is my full power" explains Yamamoto as his transformation into his final form is completed.
"Yamamoto looks really familiar" says Lambo as he scratches his head, searching his brain for where he had seen this form before.
"Yeah" agrees his older brother, "this form belonged to Byakuran, he used it against me". The form doesn't hold many happy memories for the Vongola guardians but now that Byakuran is dead it serves as a reminder, a reminder of why they absolutely must win this contest.
Sorata panics and extends his flame clad staff towards Yamamoto at full speed.
Yamamoto turns his sword sideways so that the flat of the blade is pointing at Sorata. With this strange grip on the sword, Yamamoto effortlessly blocks the incoming staff, "maybe you're just not strong enough to fight me".
"Not strong enough… is this power not enough" questions Sorata before he tightens his fists. This power was the power he obtained since that promise was made by his boss, "Don't be ridiculous, this is the strength I gained, I GAINED THIS STRENGTH WITH THE HELP OF MY FRIENDS" he yells.
"I see, you had help from your friends" Yamamoto understands, smiling for a moment before refocusing his gaze on Sorata, "So did I, now I'm going to use that power, to pay you back for trampling all over their emotions".
Yamamoto uses his forearm to bat the staff aside, dropping his sword as he does it. As Yamamoto's sword falls towards the ground he kicks it straight at Sorata.
Sorata jumps above the sword to avoid it, a simple evasion for someone of his capabilities but he lost sight of Yamamoto.
Yamamoto had flown above Sorata and flew down from the sky to meet him as he jumped up from the ground. Yamamoto punched Sorata as hard as he could, driving the former student into the ground with significant force.
Sorata tried to retaliate, once more extending his staff towards Yamamoto as the sushi chef floated in the sky. Not good enough Yamamoto says in his mind as he uses a new power he has learned, 'telekinesis'. Using his mental powers, Yamamoto pulls his sword towards himself causing it to collide with the extending staff on its journey. The result of this exchange, Sorata had missed, Yamamoto had regained a grip on his sword.
Yamamoto then dropped to the ground before Sorata and lunged his sword towards him. In this time though Sorata had already begun swinging his staff again, it was heading straight for Yamamoto with a strength that perhaps not even the rain guardian could withstand.
"Watch out Yamamoto" shouts Tsuna.
"It's over" declares Sorata, certain of his own victory.
Yamamoto had different ideas, mid-lunge her released his sword and turned towards the incoming staff. "White applause" he announces as he claps his hands around the incoming staff. As Yamamoto uses the same technique as Byakuran it generates the same effect, the flames on Sorata's staff disappeared.
"Impossible" stutters the challenger.
Yamamoto didn't wait to discuss this ability however, he simply caught his sword and placed it against his opponent's neck. "Cervello, this means I win right" he smiles to the pink-haired referee.
"Of course, the winner of the rain match is Yamamoto Takeshi" declares the Cervello to cheers from the supporters of Tsuna's team. That result was essential for them and this match has reminded them of why they are fighting. The score is now 3-2 including the pre-determined mist match.
"I lost…" mumbles Sorata, the disappointment clear on his face. He had left the school so that he could become powerful enough to protect his friends but today he had found someone he couldn't protect them from.
"Don't feel bad about it, you did a great job" Yamamoto comforts Sorata as he helps him to his feet.
"He's right Sorata" reinforces Bana, "I have high expectations from all of you but I will never complain if you do your best and lose, good work my friend".
Byakuran laughs loudly next to Yamamoto causing the rain guardian to turn to his ethereal master, "Perhaps this guy isn't so bad after all" he speculates, "But I can't help but wonder why he does all of these evil things".
"I'm sure all will be revealed", replies Yamamoto so that only Byakuran can hear him, "It always is".