BATTLE OF THE SUCCESSORS – NO MORE CHANCES
The Sky Battlefield
"You bastard… damn you… damn y…" Tsuna begins but doesn't finish. The fight has not been going well since Bana transformed. The sky was formerly ablaze with the collisions of two warm and brilliant flames, now dominated by the black flame it seems a lot darker.
Bana laughs, "What's the matter, are you not going to get angry, does your flame of rage not depend on your anger" he asks as if to taunt his opponent. Bana was caught by surprise though, because in Tsuna's left hand appeared a dark orange flame, contrasting significantly with the orange flame of rage in his right hand.
"There it is…" comments Mammon as if he had been expecting this development all along.
"Boss, it's the flame of serenity" yells Squalo. When he heard no reply from his boss, Squalo turned his head to see Xanxus kneeling on the floor. The fight was so intense it had taken his focus away from the condition of the current Vongola boss.
"What are you doing on the floor shitty old man?" Xanxus rhetorically questions.
"Sorry, I couldn't do anything else to save everyone" apologises Xanxus father. "Xanxus, I think I might be going to die" he says with a hint of fear in his voice.
"Stop with that bullshit" demands the son of the 9th, "I won't let you die".
"Xanxus… I've been a terrible father to you haven't I" begins the 9th, "I lied to you for so many years, I gave you so many false aspirations, I never helped you like I should have done".
"None of that matters no…" says Xanxus before he is interrupted.
The 9th smiled through his pain as he spoke to his only child, "But, I was really proud of you when you decided to help Tsuna. Keep on advising him, I'm going to leave Vongola to you and him now".
"Who cares about any of that" questions Xanxus, "I said I wasn't going to let you die". With that statement of his intentions Xanxus gently hit the 9th on the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. Everyone watched with initial stupor, it took a few seconds before they realised Xanxus last act was to alieve the pain their boss was experiencing.
"What are you staring for, Shamal, come here now" demands Xanxus.
"Yeah" replies the doctor as he runs over to tend to the elderly mafioso.
"Enma, hurry up, go and get some medical equipment" orders the Varia Leader, "We're definitely going to save this old man".
Spotting an old wound that had opened on the 9th's body, the hitman tutor Reborn approached his boss and applied pressure to the bleeding injury. "Xanxus is right, the 9th won't die while we can do anything about it".
"Yeah" everyone shouts in agreement before they do their best to help the medicinal effort. It was one conversation that truly re-united the father and son duo, their bond so significant and important that in that moment, everyone had forgotten about the fight in the sky.
As Tsuna floats in the air he now has a flame in each hand. In his right hand the flame fuelled by the anger he feels towards Bana, a man who turned his old friends, his mist guardian and his lover against him. In his left hand the flame fuelled by the calm and mercy that are etched into Tsuna's soul, his desire to fight for the good man he believes Bana has the potential to become. The dangerous competition represents the most powerful weapon in Tsuna's arsenal.
"I'm not going to forgive, not for hurting the 9th" he says to his dark haired opponent.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't it you who did that" taunts Bana, recalling that it was Tsuna's X-Burner that he parried towards the 9th generation boss.
Tsuna looks into his open palms, the rage in his right, the serenity in his left. He clenches his fists and launches himself at his opponent, closing the distance as quickly as possible. His hair fluttering as a result of his speed, Tsuna arrives before Bana and throws a punch with his right, rage flame clad hand.
Tsuna's movement is fast, perhaps even faster now that he is comfortably using two types of flames at once, Bana still has the overall power advantage. As Tsuna's fist converges on the head of the raven haired upstart, the challenger to the 10th's throne ducks beneath the incoming punch. Tsuna responds quickly, shifting the flames of serenity down to his elbow momentarily as he raises his left arm to hit his rival in the head.
As the son of the 1st grabs his aching head, Tsuna drops his altitude slight, using gravity as his ally as he gets in the perfect position to deliver an uppercut with his right hand. As Bana lifts into the air slightly it presents Tsuna with a perfect chance to attack his leg. With the flames of serenity prepared for an attack, Tsuna's incoming fist is stopped.
It was a casual raising of Bana's foot that did it, he stopped the attack with his toes. "Is that it… is that all you have Sawada?" asks the black flame user.
To add to Tsuna's shock, Bana's counterattack is seemingly effortless. He directs his black flames to his feet, using the power they contain to blast the young Sawada backwards while not moving an inch himself.
'I'm completely outclassed right now' Tsuna decides in his head, 'This form of his, it's clearly even higher than ultimate… but it's existence must be removed'.
Suddenly from out of nowhere, Bana's hair changes from being black to being blonde. His eyes have a naïve and innocent look that Tsuna hasn't witnessed before, the look that he himself used to wear on his face.
At that moment, or perhaps because of that moment, the 9th regained his consciousness. "Ah" he says as if the weight of the world had just been removed from his shoulders, "Look at that".
"DO IT" Bana screams at the top of his voice.
Realising that Bana's good half had only gained temporary control, Tsuna raises both hands in the air and slams them down on Bana's head, slamming his opponent into the ground using the combined power of the flames of rage and serenity.
"He did it" Colonello says excitedly, as he draws the spectators attention away from the recent awakened 9th.
"Way to go Tsuna" Reborn congratulates his pupil.
Tsuna is not so convinced though, he breathes heavily as he looks down at his fallen opponent, "Bana…".
"That was a nice attempt" Bana declares as the black pigment in his hair returns to the dismay of the spectators.
"He survived" the 9th notes with horror.
"I have fortified my mind properly now" declares the raven haired Bana, "The weaker side won't be coming back again… for you Sawada Tsunayoshi, that was the lost chance".
The Sun Battlefield
As Kyoko is released from her cage she wastes no time in moving to free her brother. "Come, I want you both here, I want to make sure that this time he dies" she decides. Her hatred towards her brother proportional to the love they used to share for one another.
Stretching lightly as she frees her brother Kyoko is prepared for a fight. Perhaps this time he would actually try to fight back, he might even win against her. Winning against all three of them is an entirely different prospect, the trio should be comfortable defeating any of the guardians who work under Tsuna. Ryohei had always been the weakest of Tsuna's guardians, they were comfortably ready for a battle.
"Sis…" says the boxer with a small smile on his face.
Kyoko interrupts her brother by kicking him in his head, a small amount of blood staining the cage bars as it ejects itself from Ryohei's mouth. The kickboxing of Kyoko did more damage to Ryohei's heart than his body, something reflected as the sun guardian drags himself to his feet.
"I understand I think… your anger that is" he begins.
"But we made an honest mistake in trusting those who came to check on you.".
"I think Sawada wanted to believe that Vongola really could be changed for the better."
"It's the same way that I wanted to believe you were still the same person" he finishes, regaining the smile he was flaunting before.
Annoyed that Ryohei had decided now was a good time for a speech, Tokata throws a knife and uses it to teleport to Ryohei's front. As he swings the knife into Ryohei's arm, a critical target he is shocked when the knife instantly shatters.
Ryohei, his eyes still not having strayed from Kyoko continues his speech, "But the gloves are off now" he declares as he punches Tokata sending him into the nearby bushes.
"WHAT" yells Kyoko, dumbfounded by Ryohei's sudden show of strength.
"That was for all the friends you left behind" he declares.
Sorata decides to not let Ryohei gather momentum, opting to attack with his staff while the champion is talking. Ryohei saw through the move and caught the staff mid-swing.
"This one is for my little brother" he announces as he punches Sorata into the distance in the same way he did Tokata.
'No way… he was this strong, he could have easily beaten me back then' Kyoko comes to this realisation as her brother stares her down.
"You've come back sis; I don't know what you were hoping to achieve but I'm going to make you pay for hurting my friends" he declares as he bares down on his sister.
"HA, there's the problem, you would have never hit your sister before… WHEN DID YOU STOP VIEWING US AS FAMILY" Kyoko screams.
"My family is the Vongola" claims Ryohei defiantly.
Ryohei gets within range of his sister and catches a punch she throws out of desperation. "You made an enemy of Vongola, so you've made an enemy of me" he declares as he sets his fist on fire and swings it at his terrified rival.
Just as the punch is about to connect, Sorata teleports to Kyoko and then away again with the kickboxer in tow. A last minute escape orchestrated by a fully cohesive team.
"Gone huh" Ryohei says as if amused by their disappearance. Sensing a presence, he turns around to face a few newcomers.
Before Ryohei stands the group of Yamamoto Takeshi, Gokudera Hayato, Hibari Kyoya and Sawada Lambo. The guardians who follow Tsuna have finally united together.
"They are gathering their forces for an all-out battle" Hibari explains.
"That's our specialty though" Gokudera declares with a smile.
"Lambo will end this with a flash of electricity" announces the child amongst the adults.
Yamamoto simply nods to the man he used to refer to as senpai.
"Yosh, let's go then… to the final battle" agrees Ryohei.
With that the final act of the sky battle was about to begin. Team Tsuna vs Team Bana, the greatest clash in the history of the Vongola family.
On Route from the Mist Cage to the Sky Battlefield
As Mukuro and Lancia walk towards their allies, preparing for what was to be the greatest clash they had ever fought in they said few words at this point. Both have no need to share words, they enjoy exchanging attacks not opinions. As Lancia accompanies the still fresh Mukuro though, he cannot help but wonder about something.
"You left her behind?" Lancia asks, Dokuro clearly the subject of his question.
"Of course, she is still incapable of killing Sawada Tsunayoshi" explains the purple haired criminal. Mukuro spent several months relying on Dokuro for all information of the outside world, choosing her to exist in harmony with him as a duo of mist guardians, he knows her mind better than anyone.
"Therefore she would be best off not participating in this battle" he continues.
"I was never on his side but let me ask you, why betray Sawada" Lancia further presses Mukuro, unable to see through this mysterious individual.
"I was offered power when the ring was given to Chrome" says Mukuro, "That's the only reason I joined him in the first place".
"How despicable" Lancia smiles as if he doesn't believe what Mukuro is saying. Lancia's ability to see through Mukuro's lies comes from a time he was possessed by Mukuro. If your thoughts are those of an evil mastermind for a period of several weeks, you will gain a much better understanding of how their thought process works.
"Your opinions offer me little" Mukuro dismisses the line of questioning.
A few awkward moments pass before Lancia and Mukuro reach the rest of their team.
"I hope you are all prepared" says Mukuro, "This will be the final battle".
The Sky Battlefield
Tsuna is knocked to the ground by Bana, an event that has happened too many times in this fight. The chestnut haired boss continued struggles speak poorly for the Varia and those who have showed him any loyalty in the past, he cannot let this evil version of Bana defeat him.
It was then at the worst possible moment that Bana's guardians appeared on the sky battlefield. Tsuna gazed at the newcomers, while he was aggravated by the presence of his former friend Mukuro, it was a great relief that Dokuro wasn't in the line-up. 'Mukuro must have left her behind' postulates the senior Sawada brother.
"It's over for you Tsunayoshi" Bana declares arrogantly. "The position of Vongola 10th will belong to me" he says as he points at himself.
"No" Tsuna defiantly stands up to Bana, "My guardians will definitely appear, they have never let me down, they never will, you can count on that".
As if an act from god, it was at that very moment that his guardians arrived on the field, joining Tsuna in a single file line facing off against their rivals, friends, opponents and enemies.
"They made it" Basil yells excitedly.
"That's the way Tsuna" the 9th gently comments.
"It's time old man, the boss is going to show that guy… show him just what it means to be a Vongola".
Tension in the air is thick as the two teams stare each other down. To the spectators it almost feels as if the ground is shaking, to those spectators strong enough they can tell that the ground really is shaking, such is the power of the dying will flame gathered in one spot.
Bana begins to laugh sadistically, "What a joke, hang back my guardians, I don't need you for this fight" he boasts.
Bana talks the talk and proceeds it by walking the walk. The raven haired leader turns into a streak of light as he flies into Ryohei, knocking the sun guardian down onto his face in one blow. He succeeds his first attack with a second, hitting Gokudera to his back in the same manner.
"Ju…dai…me" Gokudera mouths as he falls backwards.
Yamamoto attempts to buck the trend of the guardian's domination by growing wings and flying backwards so as to retreat. This retreat is nowhere near enough to escape Bana, the latter imitating an attack from Tsuna's battle against Byakuran. He grabs Yamamoto's wings and kicks the rain guardian in the back, severing the mobility aids.
"Lambo will…" begins Lambo, ignoring the fact that declaring an attack is foolhardy in this situation.
Ignoring Lambo completely Bana uses a well-placed kick to fire Tsuna's younger brother into Gokudera, adding to the injuries of each. Then he comes to Hibari, the last of the guardians. Hibari's superior reaction speed grants him one attack, a strong swing of his reinforced tonfas aiming directly for Bana.
The result of this collision, Hibari was blown away despite being the aggressor, such is Bana's power. As for the main course, Mukuro's new boss appears before his former boss and hits him square in the face, knocking him to the ground with the remainder of his family.
Bana walks backwards towards the line his guardians have formed. "HAHAHA, THIS IS HOW WEAK YOU ARE, DID YOU EVER THINK YOU COULD WIN" he shouts at Tsuna, taunting the man he has considered an enemy for many years now.
"Just give me the sky ring, forfeit the match" offers Bana.
In return to that demand Tsuna lead his guardians who one after another stood up, still defiant in the face of overwhelming odds. The spectators are joyful as they hear Tsuna's answer to this offer.
"We are not giving up… not in a million years".