A/N: I know the defeat of Mukuro is supposed to be dramatic but I couldn't help myself. And let's pretend that fighting Lanchia was enough for Leon to give Tsuna his gloves. Kyoya wanted his vengeance. The next chapters might take longer than usual, my ideas are stubbornly refusing to be put into words at the moment. Hope you all enjoy and feel free to review.

Kyoya's Revenge

Tsuna was exhausted after defeating Lanchia but he still pressed on. They eventually reached the same building that Shizuka and her guardians had entered. There were already signs of a fight, needles embedded in the wall as well as quarter sized dents. Tsuna had never seen the older Hibari brother fight before but he could guess that Masahiro had some fighting experience.

"It's about time you all got here." Masahiro states, looking bored. Daichi sat against the wall, taking a moment to catch his breath. Not only did they have to fight off Chizuka, Ken also made a reappearance. "Guys? Where's Shizuka?" Tsuna asks, suddenly hit with a wave of unease. Masahiro ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "That's our problem. We've looked everywhere, it's like she suddenly just disappeared."

XoXoXoXoXo

Mukuro's trident and Shizuka's shinai were both locked together, trying to overpower each other The aura emanating from Mukuro's red eye was similar to Shizuka's own Mist flames, her concentration was broken by the sudden sensation of falling. The floor was crumbling beneath her but something was... off. There was no indication that the floor was that weak, in fact it was made of cement like the rest of the building. Neither of them were physically strong enough to destroy an entire floor of a building. A look of understanding crossed her face. "You're an illusionist!"

Mukuro scowled as Shizuka dodged his trident once again. All he needed was a small cut to control her, only it seemed she was giving his weapon a wide berth. He hadn't imagined using any of his ashura paths on this girl, now he was being forced to use his animal path on her. Unlike his other paths, this one could cause physical damage.

Dammit, they should have found me by now. Shizuka thought with a scowl. There didn't seem to be anymore visual illusions around but there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head that she was still missing something.

A large canine, not unlike the ones that tried to kill them earlier, snarled and backed her into the wall. "This is not how I thought I'd die again." Shizuka says shakily. If she could get Kyoya out, they'd stand a better chance at defeating Mukuro. But how? "You're a Mist. You are only limited by your own mind." Her subconscious, which sounded eerily like Reborn, says bluntly. Shizuka laughed. "I've been approaching this fight all wrong." The canine gave a pained howl as it's fur caught fire. "I've been thinking like a normal human when I'm not." She slammed the hilt of her shinai into the wall, creating a hole just big enough for Kyoya to walk through.

Kyoya walked through the rubble and glared at Mukuro. "I won't be taken off guard again." The prefect growled, then lunged at the illusionist. Shizuka contributed as well, recreating her cat army and setting them on Mukuro. Now he was constantly having to dodge Kyoya's blows and had dozens of felines clinging to him. One of the cats, affectionately named Mr. Mittens, yowled and attacked Mukuro's face. "Gah! Get off of me you fur ball!"

Shizuka had gone all out in her illusions, thankful for the variety of books she read. From summoning creatures that looked like they could have come from the pits of hell to cheesy heroes that were from the latest anime she watched, Mukuro was unable to concentrate. Kyoya slammed his tonfa into Mukuro's face.

Shizuka winced as Mukuro was knocked out, his nose broken by the impact. "For the amount of build up we had for this guy, it only took one hit to take him down." Shizuka comments.

XoXoXoXoXo

After Mukuro's defeat, the illusion hiding the corridor they were in disappeared. Shizuka yawned. "Man, I could really go for a nap." She says. Kyoya took out one of his tonfa, thankfully the one not covered in Mukuro's blood, and tapped her in the forehead. "Same." Shizuka sweat dropped when Kyoya slumped to the ground and instantly fell asleep. Now that he was unconscious and not in any shape to bite her to death, she checked over the prefect for any injuries.

He was littered in bruises and didn't even stir when she poked at them, only giving a pained groan in response. "Of course he would power through his own injuries to bite someone to death. What else would did I expect?" She grumbled. "Shizuka!" She turned and grinned at her brother, wincing as he hugged her. "Well, we found Kyoya and kicked Mukuro's butt. What's with the mittens?" She asks, Tsuna laughed awkwardly. "They transform into gauntlets." Masahiro walked over to his younger brother and slung Hibari over his shoulder. "He's going to be unbearable when he's bed ridden." Masahiro states.

Mukuro and his accomplices were picked up by Vendice, sending a collective shiver down everyone's spines. "Think Shamal will patch Kyoya up if I ask nicely?" Shizuka asks, Reborn sighed. "I am not acting as a go between." He states, Shizuka shrugged. "I've messed with him long enough. I'm curious to see if he's as bad as everyone says he is." She admits.

XoXoXoXoXo

"Hey, you're Shamal right? You were harder to track down than I thought you'd be." Shizuka panted, desperately wishing she could return to her flame form. Shamal looked startled, maybe she should of made a noise to announce her presence. "You're adorable!" The man gushed, pulling her into a hug. Shizuka blinked, not quite sure what she was supposed to do in this situation. None of her friends were really huggers. Was there some sort of etiquette to this type of thing? "I knew the Vongola brat would look cute as a girl!"

Shizuka kicked the man away with a scowl. "I was going to thank you for helping my brother but I think I'll show my gratitude by not knocking you out." She says with disdain. Shamal gave a nervous laugh. "Oh come on kid, I wasn't being serious. Though with how flat you are you could probably pass as a boy."

There was an angry glint in her eyes before she kicked the doctor right between the legs. "And stay down pervert!" She fumed, stomping away. Reborn then decided to descend from a nearby tree. "I told you she was nothing like her brother." The hitman says bluntly. Shamal groaned, he didn't think she would respond to the joke that violently!

Nana's Suspicions

Nana might be dense, but even she noticed that after her son was hospitalized that the attacks on Namimori had stopped. His friends also seemed to be recovering from injuries as well. Reborn was sitting at the table, drinking coffee as usual. "How are Tsuna's studies going Reborn?" She asks curiously, Reborn paused for a moment. "Better than I expected." He admits, ignoring the way his cup was shaking.

That wasn't the only strange occurrence that Nana noticed. Whenever she was cooking, her utensils and ingredients were always within reach. Which was baffling since no one else was in the kitchen and she could remember leaving her groceries on another counter. She could remember Tsuna having an imaginary friend when he was younger, maybe they weren't as imaginary as she thought.