RETURN TO THE HOMELAND – A HANDSHAKE TO END IT
Tintagel, England
It is raining in the south west of England, the downpour heavy enough to reduce tourism significantly. Yamamoto Takeshi however isn't deterred by this weather, on the contrary after becoming the rain guardian the baseball player has learnt to enjoy the rain.
The tour guide of the sight is not impressed, a young woman who seems eager to get home, was being forced to provide a tour for only the single customer. Earlier she believed that today would be a quiet day, only for this Japanese gentlemen to arrive and demand a tour despite the appalling conditions.
"And this is the famous sword Excalibur" says the tour guide with a total lack of enthusiasm.
The sword is mounted firmly in the stone, by Yamamoto's estimations no ordinary man could pull it out.
"Can you feel that, there is something mystical about this sword" Byakuran explains as he fixes his eyes on the legendary weapon before him.
"Yeah" replies Yamamoto as he listens to the tour guide continue.
"Of course this isn't actually the original sword in the stone" she explains, "historians postulate that Excalibur may be even harder to remove".
"I wander what sort of power King Arthur himself had" Yamamoto says to Byakuran.
"Who knows, I guess it will be similar to the power the sword grants you" speculates the ghost. Of course King Arthur pre-dates the mafia and therefore nobody knows just how strong he was.
"We offer all guests the opportunity to remove the sword, please go ahead, I know you want to" recites the tour guide in a manner so scripted it made the rain guardian chuckle to himself.
"Right then" starts Yamamoto as he walks towards the sword, "Don't mind if I do".
The baseball player decides to use the simple method first, he grabs hold of the hilt and gives Excalibur a sharp pull, nothing happened. This alone speaks volumes about how tightly the sword is pushed into the stone, Yamamoto's physical strength far exceeds what is accepted by most people as human limits.
Deciding to try more sensible methods, Yamamoto injects his rain dying flames into the hold of the sword as if he was planning to use it in combat. As the blue flames seep along the length of the sword Excalibur begins to vibrate, creating a small but noticeable sound.
'What is this' the tour guide asks herself, 'Could it really be'.
Yamamoto isn't straining himself by injecting these dying will flames, his recent training with Byakuran has increased his overall levels of power meaning he has a lot more flames to inject. This type of advantage has always belonged to the sky flame, to be able to control this volume of rain flame shows that Yamamoto is a genius.
As the sword begins to slip from the stone Yamamoto closes his eyes and smiles. Finally giving the sword one sharp pull, Excalibur frees itself from the stone, showing itself to the world for the first time in centuries.
"So this is Excalibur" marvels the rain guardian, forgetting to speak to Byakuran in his head, "It's so sharp, so aerodynamic".
"It suits you" replies Byakuran, "Evidently you were born the successor of King Arthur". At this moment Byakuran finally acknowledges in his head that Yamamoto has surpassed him, in terms of destiny, his students is definitely greater than his own.
The raven haired guardian looks at his new weapon for a few moments with a smile on his face. Suddenly he breaks out of his stupor and turns to the tour guide he had forgotten about.
"Can I keep this?" Yamamoto asks rhetorically.
Now her turn to break out of stupor the tour guide tries to stop Yamamoto, "Wait a moment I…".
"See you". Yamamoto grows his wings and flies off into the distance before the lady has a chance to rebuke him.
"She didn't say yes you know" tuts Byakuran, "That's almost like stealing". Despite his damming accusation the former Millefiore boss seems to be wearing a permanent smile on his face.
"Well she said she offered me the chance to put it out of the stone" retorts the ghost's student.
"Yeah but she didn't say you could keep it when you did" reaffirms the white haired tutor.
"Well she should have" laughs the rain guardian, "It was her fault for being too slow" he decides as the wind flows through his hair.
Byakuran chuckles at his friend's declaration, "I guess so" he agrees as he watches the world go by.
It is time for the duo to return to Italy and show off their new prized possession.
The Vatican
After stretching his legs for half an hour Tsuna is walks around in a circle several times, as if to prove to himself that he is capable of doing it. Smiles adorn the faces of all who watch him as they realise that their prayers have worked.
"Your recovery rate is remarkable Tsuna, one could even say it is miraculous" comments Shamal as he watches his boss stretch his legs.
"Yeah" replies Tsuna, "Perhaps this really can be put down to a god after all".
To hear the leader of the mafia, say this is a great boost to all the faithful members of the church who have spent all their lives in the Vatican. Their job is only half done however, now they need to pray that this recovering hero is able to defeat the greatest threat that the world has ever seen.
"Mr Pope, thank you for bringing me here" begins Tsuna as he bows to Pedro Silva, "Thank you for being with my wife and mother-in-law in their prayers".
"Think nothing of it" replies Pope Silva, "We are all children of god here".
The Vongola boss then turns his attention to his other family members, "Mum, little brother, are you both alright, in the attack by the Yakuza were you hurt?". The others shake their head, it's typical of Tsuna to be concerned with the welfare of others in a time where his is of the greatest concern.
"We are fine Tsuna, we're just really glad you're up and walking again" replies Nana with a smile on her face.
"Lambo would be sad if you died" yells the thunder guardian with surprisingly touching sentiment.
"It would upset me if you died too Lambo, I promise I won't let that happen" swears the elder Sawada brother.
Deciding not to waste any more time, Vongola 10th turns to his right hand man, "Gokudera, let's talk".
"Yes boss" replies the storm guardian with a smile.
"Dokuro, Lambo, Shamal, you guys better start preparing for the fight" orders the newest boss. Tsuna is not one for giving orders but he knows it is very important at the moment. The trio disappear, delighted to be following the orders of their boss once more.
"Mum, I know it sounds unimportant but can you look after them, make sure they are fed healthy meals and kept clean" asks Tsuna.
"Leave it to me" replies Nana, "I know that every role is of great importance from now on".
Tsuna finally turns back to the engineering supervisor, "It's time to talk with you as my right hand man".
"Of course 10th" Gokudera enthusiastically replies.
"Mr Pope, do you have a private room where we can talk without being overheard" requests the mafia boss.
"Of course, follow me" the Pope politely agrees to the request and begins to lead the mafia's leading duo through his beautiful corridors.
The Private Room
The room is rather plain considering the extravagance of the remainder of the building. This bothers Tsuna and Gokudera little, the two of them have far more important things on their minds right now.
"How bad was it… after I went out" asks Tsuna, hanging his head as he fears the worst.
"Thanks to the intervention of the previous Vongola bosses, we all got out of there alive" Gokudera explains, trying to sound positive, "Unfortunately all of them died, including the 9th".
Tsuna sighs, "I understand". While the death of the previous Vongola bosses was regrettable it was something that Tsuna feels little despair over. The 9th however is a tough pill to swallow for the entire mafia, he was the most important mafioso in the world for many years, a great loss to the underworld and the world as a whole.
"Then it is time for my training to begin" the 10th declares resolutely.
"10th, given the condition you are in, well you could…" begins Gokudera.
"I die if I do and I die if I don't" Tsuna interrupts his friend, "At least give me the chance to save everyone".
Gokudera's expression transforms from a frown to a small smile, "Alright, I know better than to try and stop you". It is thanks to the likes of Gokudera that Tsuna has changed so drastically in recent years. Formerly he would have been tempted to curl up into a ball and hide but now nothing would stop him from trying to protect his friends, his family.
"I have a favour to ask" Tsuna says as he turns to look at his cloud guardian.
"There are no favours between friends" remarks Gokudera, "Just tell me what you want and I will do my best to provide it".
"Train me" requests Tsuna.
"Me?" Gokudera replies with confusion.
"Yeah" says Tsuna.
"But the trainers you have had in the past" begins the storm guardian as he lists them off, "Colonello, Reborn, Lal Mirch, the Future Hibari, Xanxus, I can't really compare to any of them".
"No, I guess there really is no comparison, all of them have helped me along my journey immensely" Tsuna sighs.
This puts Gokudera into a slight depression, he believed this to be the case but he never thought his boss would put him down verbally in such a way.
"But" Tsuna begins, pulling Gokudera's eyes back to the boss, "I've never comes close to choosing any of them as my second in command, it's always been you Gokudera".
"I have faith in you and I chose you, you are a genius who understands more about the dying will flame than anyone" Tsuna reminds him. There is a lot of truth in this, while Tsuna, Bana and Enma have all taken the dying flame the furthest amongst the current generation, being able to manipulate it and understanding it are two different things. Gokudera proved himself a genius in the comprehension of the flame when he created system CAI.
"Please, I need your help" Tsuna pleads with the storm guardian.
"10th" smiles Gokudera, "I could never turn down your cry for help, we'll figure out a way, you and I. We'll figure out a way to defeat the Yakuza".
Finishing his sentence Gokudera extends his hand to Tsuna. Tsuna firmly grasps Gokudera's hand and shakes it, a handshake to end the Yakuza.
"They will fall the Yakuza" Tsuna says as if promising it to himself, "They will fall before the alliance that is you and I".
"Yeah" replies Gokudera.