Since there were only a few Byakuran x Shoichi stories out there I tried writing one myself. Base from the inspirations I got from reading doujinshi's and fanfictions. Very huge thanks for kimium, her stories gave me ideas and inspired me to try writing ByakuSho stories.

And a very big huge thanks for ZareEraz for editing the chapters. A very big fan of her Shanks x Buggy stories of One Piece.


11:50 am. Namimori Shrine

Irie Shoichi was nervous. On the outside he may look composed but on the inside he was doing everything in his power to calm down. As one of the adults present and the main reason why everyone was here in the first place, he should be setting an example by looking and acting level-headed in front of the kids - especially since most of them were starting to look jittery when they're still missing two players. The Rain guardian, Yamamoto Takeshi and Cloud guardian, Hibari Kyoya who still hadn't shown up, making everyone jumpy and anxious.

"What are those two playing at?! This is the final battle!" Ryohei shouted at the top of his lungs as he looked around for their missing comrades.

"They couldn't have decided not to come, could they?" Gianini asked as he looked at the sky in worry. Hearing this, the two people behind him, Kyoko and Haru, became distressed; they didn't know everything about the whole Mafia and future thing until just a few days ago and the absence of Kyoya and Takeshi made their worries worse.

"There's also the possibility that their training wasn't successful" Reborn added seriously, making everyone tense at their current situation.

'Would he force us to forfeit if he finds out that we're still missing two guardians? Will he demand the rings be taken forcefully if they don't show up?' Shoichi thought worriedly, his pounding heart can be felt and heard ringing in his ear as they await their missing teammates.

"It'll be fine! They'll be here any minute! At any rate, not a single member of the Millifiore had shown up yet, so there's no problem" Basil said, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Hmmm…I don't know about that. There are dying will flames approaching and they're incredibly huge" Spanner pointed out as he noticed an alert coming from the laptop in his hands. This revelation shocked nearly everyone present.

"What?" Basil asked.

"And they're closing in fast" Spanner added as he focused his gaze on his laptop, not noticing the darkness looming up above him and everyone else.

"Wha- what the—? Storm clouds?!" Shoichi gasped, as he and everyone else looked incredulously at the sky. The young man felt his heart pumping fast as his stomach started to act up. He felt a gnawing hole open in his chest, one that accompanied a betrayal he wished weren't true. For the years that Shoichi and Byakuran have become acquainted, this is the first time that he has truly felt betrayed by the man he trusted. .

'So you never truly trusted me from the very beginning, huh, Byakuran-san?' Shoichi felt nothing but disappointment as he stared at the huge apparatus floating at the sky just above them. His eyes narrowed hatefully at Byakuran's face as it lit up in the sky hologram, his glare sharpening as the man's voice greeted them.

"I thought I told you to make sure everyone was here. I could disqualify you just for having missing team members, you know?" Byakuran casually reminded them with a cheerful voice and a happy smile.

"They'll be here, just you wait" Tsuna answered confidently with no hesitation in his voice. Hearing this lightened the tension in the air, and everyone turned to look at Tsuna's calm expression. showing no worry or concern about his missing guardians.

'Tsuna…' Shoichi's heart fluttered, as usually did, when he stared at Tsuna's unyielding posture. The young man displayed full trust in his family, believing that they'd be here no matter what. Shoichi wondered at that moment if that kind of trust was ever in his relationship with Byakuran. The white-haired man has lost his loyalty ever since Shoichi has regained his memories of the future during their college years.

"Hhhmmm…You sure?" Byakuran said cheerfully as if the fate of the world didn't rest on the upcoming battle. He was clearly confident, assured that he was going to win and rule this world.

"Well mah, neh~ While we wait for your missing comrades, let me explain some things before we start, alright?" Shoichi winced as he remembered something unpleasant in relation to it, narrowing his eyes at Byakuran.

"In other words the battleground isn't here in Namimori Town" Reborn confirmed seriously.

"Yup, that's right. However, as you already know, this apparatus doesn't activate all that easily. So why don't we serve this as a test to see if you're qualified to take part in today's game, neh~?" Byakuran said playfully, obviously having a fun time toying with all of them.

"Five million fiamma volts! That's the amount of energy required to transport all of you onto the next stage," Byakuran said in a positively gleeful voice, as if hearing it would lighten the load that the Vongola family and their allies were feeling. Instead, they were filled with apprehension at the large sums of fiamma volt that he was demanding.

"F-five m-million fiamma volts?!" Shoichi stuttered in utter shock at the huge amount.

"That's twenty times the output max power of the X-Burner!" Spanner exclaimed as the sudden pressure added to their already uneasy feeling at the impending battle. On top of that, their enemy was now asking them to forfeit a huge amount of fiamma volt from them as if it was easily given when the opposite was true.

'You've got to be kidding me?! Five million fiamma volts?! Doesn't matter if we're missing two Vongola guardians! Even if they were here would it even be enough?!' Shoichi thought in desperation. The game hasn't even started yet and he's already losing hope.

'No! No you can't think like that!' Shoichi chided himself.

'We can do this! Tsuna and the others have trained themselves to death to master their box weapons all for this day! You mustn't lose hope Shoichi! We'll stop Byakuran right here!' Shoichi calmed himself down and rejuvenated his dying spirit, unconsciously looking in Tsuna's direction to see the young Vongola's expression. It hadn't changed, still exhibiting confidence. In fact, his chocolate brown eyes that were always full of warmth and kindness were burning with resiliency and hope for the arrival of his guardians. Seeing him so sure of himself and his friends sparked hope inside him as well.

"Just produce the fiamma volts whenever you're ready and the apparatus will collect them. Not to put any pressure on you or anything, but failure to produce is a failure to comply, and failure to comply means you lose, and therefore, I automatically win the game through forfeit!" The man was gleeful as he explained, liking the situation he had everyone in. Winning without even having to do anything would make anyone happy, especially for someone like Byakuran who craved winning at any cost. The white-haired man's purple eyes glided over the group below him, catching onto one person in particular. A sly smile graced his face and his voice became even more sickly sweet.

"In other words, the winner takes everything, neh Sho-chan?" The sing-song tone of his voice made the hairs on the back of Shoichi's neck prickle as he suddenly felt awful for his part in all of this. He tried to keep himself calm, making sure to not lose composure in front of everyone, not noticing Reborn staring at him with a frown on his face as he tipped his hat down.

"But everyone is still not here. We're still missing Yamamoto-kun and Hibari-san" Tsuna insisted, unmoved by the pressure around him and his decision to wait for his two missing guardians.

"Hmmmm…In that case let me help you then" Byakuran said benevolently, shocking Shoichi, Tsuna, and the others. One of his closed eyes suddenly opened and a strong white beam shot out from it, hitting a hill on the other side of Namimori Town, a huge explosion that could be heard and seen and felt from where they were. When the flash of light faded, the once huge hill was nothing more than a smoking crater. Everyone looked horrified at the show of power that their enemy had just exhibited, seemingly for nothing more than to spur them into action.

"What do you think you're doing Byakuran?!" Tsuna shouted in rage as he glared daggers at the man's face in the sky. The ferocity of his anger was in his voice and aura, making Hayato flinch and take a step back. He was bewildered at Tsuna's reaction, this being the first time he'd ever seen his boss seething with such rage.

"I can see how this guy might be able to rule the world through fear" Reborn stated gravely after seeing first-hand the casual show of minimal power that Byakuran commanded as the leader of the Millifiore famiglia and Sky bearer of the Mare Ring.

And for the first time ever, everyone fully understood the consequences if they lost the battle – losing meant not only the end of their future, but their world. This wasn't just about them trying to get back home, to their original timeline, anymore, this was the battle that would truly decide the world's fate. And for Shoichi, it would also mean losing everything that he'd done up to this point to correct his past mistakes.

"Well then, now that's that" Byakuran continued, as if he didn't just threaten an entire town.

"Get those flames burning! There's not much time left before 12 '00 clock. Once the light shining down from me disappears, that's time's up. Also, remember we're betting our family rings here, so all of the guardians must be present. You know what will happen if you fail" His voice lowered in pitch, becoming something dark and threatening,

'This is bad, the light is already starting to shrink!' Shoichi, thought.

'If those two don't show up-!' Shoichi's apprehension grew as the light got smaller and smaller, his hope getting smaller and weaker, his fear threatening to swallow him completely.

"No" Tsuna announced with authority, breaking the strained atmosphere in the air as everyone whipped their heads around to look at him. It was as if his voice had emitted a kind of light that broke through everyone's dark thoughts – clearly Shoichi hadn't been the only one succumbing to despair. For a moment, Shoichi's eyes widened as he caught a silhouette of Vongola Decimo on Tsuna, rekindling hope, making it swell in his chest. He did not notice the slanted purple eyes staring at him, dark emotions swirling in their depths.

"They're coming" Tsuna said with conviction. His hope, all of their hope, was not lost even as Byakuran's light dwindled and his words became a beacon to everyone.

And, as if his words had summoned a miracle, two people suddenly burst out of the forest – Takeshi and Kyoya had come!

"Vongola Box! Open!" Tsuna signaled. The guardians flamed their rings and opened their Vongola boxes. Orange, red, blue, yellow, green, indigo, and violet, the myriad rainbow of seven colors shone brightly as they all burst their Dying Will Flames at the Flame Transportation System. The number on the lit board above Bykauran's head kept increasing and everyone was amazed at the showcase of power when it neared the target number and then exceeded the five million fiamma volts required. Even Byakuran was astounded by it!

"Ten million fiamma volts?! That's over the target?!" Gianini shouted as they stared in amazement at Tsuna's and the guardians' showcase of power. Reborn smirked in satisfaction as he watched in full display the full strength of the Vongola guardians in front of him.

'I really was right all along! Bringing these people here from the past was absolutely the right thing to do!'Shoichi thought in astonishment. All of the uneasiness that he'd felt before ebbed away, disappearing as everyone was engulfed by the Vongola's light.

'They are the single ray of hope capable of standing against Byakuran-san' Shoichi thought vibrantly as the light swallowed them up.

After the Vongola guardians powered up the machine, they were all transported in some kind of dark dimension, away from everything familiar. Then, Byakuran continued to instruct Tsuna on the game of Choice. A hundred cards swiftly showed up and surrounded the Vongola Family as Tsuna was asked to pick the battlefield.

"But the cards are created by the enemy!" Gianini said doubtfully, not trusting their enemy to play fairly. He was certain Byakuran was going to cheat.

"It's alright," Shoichi reassured.

"Choice is the only game where Byakuran won't cheat." He wasn't sure whether he was reassuring Gianini, the others, or himself. He knows that it was foolish to believe that Byakuran wouldn't cheat, especially since he and his famiglia had the advantage from the very start. He simply hoped that even after everything that they've been through as enemies, Byakuran still has some dignity left to not deceive them, even if it meant blindly trusting Byakuran on this one.

"Hmmm~ Sho-chan sure has lots of faith in me, neh?" the white-haired man mused.

"Even though we are enemies and the world is at stake here~?" His voice was back to being light-heartedly, and if someone were to listen closely enough, a hint of affection could be heard.

Tsuna chose a card before anyone could comment on the strange interaction between the two men. Immediately after, smoke filled their vision, causing everyone to panic at first before composing themselves. The Vongola Family remained alert and cautious but they were struck with awe once the smoke was clear and their battlefield was revealed. Towering super high-rise buildings rose all around them, the area full of the monolithic structures, mesmerizing everyone at the location. As the smoke was still clearing, a familiar, soft, and cheeky voice greeted the group.

"Kind of feels like we've met a couple of times already, although it's our first time meeting, Tsunayoshi-kun." The Vongolas became instantly wary and alert again with the appearance of Byakuran in the flesh, right in front of them along with his five Funeral Wreaths behind him.

"Byakuran-san! And the real Funeral Wreaths!" Tsuna exclaimed as he came face-to-face with his enemies. Byakuran practically ignored the young Vongola for something more interesting.

"Long time no see, Sho-chan~" he called out, his voice softening at the sight of his old companion. His purple eyes were full of affection. Surprise flickered across the faces of his loyal guardians' and Reborn's face. Something strange was going on.

"Byakuran-san," Shoichi replied quietly with a tint of tenderness that went largely unnoticed due to the rising tension of the two teams coming face to face finally.

Even though much was at stake, Shoichi couldn't help but think how long has it been since the last time they saw each other like this. This was completely different from seeing Byakuran through a hologram. He stared at his former companion, mixed feelings clawing at his chest now that they were on the stage of the battlefield.

"What's this? They're all just kids" The voice of a young, blue-haired girl spoke, dragging Shoichi out of his thoughts as she taunted them.

"I can instantly kill them without using my box" She raised her hand and coated it with her rain flames, turning it into a dangerously sharp liquid point, alarming Shoichi and the others.

"Now, now, no need to get excited, Bluebell" the green-haired man beside her chided.

"Byakuran-sama's been looking forward to this game, so let's just enjoy ourselves, shall we?" as vines wrapped around the girl's hand returning it to normal.

'I really did make the right decision' Shoichi thought brazenly, even as his heart tightened at the show of his enemies power. Doing his best to calm his nerves yet again before the upcoming battle, he sensed the peace between the two teams was running thin – especially when Kyoya couldn't wait any longer and wanted to bite all the Millefiore to death.

As the next step of the game started, Byakuran showed a gyro-roulette to everyone and instructed Tsuna on what to do next. And as it stopped spinning, everyone looked at the hologram in the sky to see symbols and numbers on it, indicating the final fighters for the battle.

"With this, it's decided. The battle participants" Byakuran stated as he and the other players looked at the hologram in the sky to see the final result.

And as Shoichi understood the symbols on it, his heart started pumping as adrenaline spread through his whole body. His mind was leaping frantically as lots and different kinds of strategies formulated in his genius head – the pros and cons, the players, the battlefield, the perfect strategy for this kind of situation. Although they had the number advantage in this game, it was a disappointment that one of their strongest contenders for this fight, Kyoya, wasn't chosen to fight. Additionally, two non-elementals, meaning non-fighters, were chosen to fight in the battlefield, which was more of a detriment than an advantage – they would need to choose carefully who those non-elementals would be. Of course, it was the same for the enemy, not only Byakuran, but out of the six real Funeral Wreaths, only three of them were allowed to battle and one of them had to stay out of the battle as the "General."

'We can still turn things around!' Shoichi thought unwaveringly, his mind coming to the realization of who the perfect players for this battle were. Taking a deep breath, and hoping that Byakuran wouldn't disagree with him, he spoke up just loud enough for Byakuran and the others to hear his proposition.

"Byakuran-san, since I don't have any Rings, I can count as non-elemental, right?" For the first time in a long while, he gained Byakuran's full attention. His smiling face did nothing to ease the boiling anxiety rising up to his throat. His light purple eyes were like a black hole that was trying to suck him in. It was as if time stopped for the both of them, the moment stretching on and on, but only for them. Only a few seconds passed by, but Shoichi started to sweat when Byakuran didn't answer.

"Hmmmmm…Well, I suppose I will allow it." His agreement was both a relief and a cause for worry – it always was with Byakuran.

"Just don't forget about the deal, Sho-chan~" The man's purple eyes gazed at him, seemingly seeing through him, like a vortex of darkness ready to pull him in, suffocate him, and trap him in an invincible cage.

After a few seconds, Shoichi forced himself to break eye contact with Byakuran, determined not to get sucked in, and told Tsuna his final decision for the players of the battle: Tsuna for the Sky attribute, Hayato for the Storm attribute, Takeshi for the Rain attribute, Spanner and himself for the non-elementals. Hayato began to disagree with him, but his argument was halted when Reborn told them he agreed with the proposed plan. Shoichi sighed in relief, but Kyoya and Ryohei also made a fuss for not being able to participate in the battle. Fortunately this time, Bucking Horse Dino showed up and reasoned with Kyoya, calming him down along with Ryohei.

"Tsuna, make your decision. Are you going to go with those members?" Dino asked for the final confirmation so everyone could hear his final decision.

"Yes! I'm fine with that" Tsuna answered, having no problem with Shoichi's choices. Reborn smiled at him and hearing the young Vongola's confidence in him eased Shoichi's heart.

Noticing that there was some kind of commotion on Byakuran's side, everyone watched expectantly for who their participants for their side would be. After they chose who would enter the battle, Byakuran continued on with his explanation of the rules.

"The Target Rule" Byakuran started, as his eyes focused on them, more so on Shoichi than anyone else. His swirling gaze made the man queasy with both fear and a lingering desire that he didn't want to acknowledge.

"Target Rule?" Tsuna repeated, confused. Shoichi took it upon himself to explain, since Byakuran didn't seem inclined to.

"I see" Reborn said after the explanation was given.

" Like the 'King' in Shogi, each side has a 'General' that is the target that has to be protected at all cost" Reborn's succinct way of putting helped Tsuna and the others easily understand the rules of the game as Byakuran took up the conversation again.

"Correct. And incidentally, the Targets have already been chosen by the roulette just now. You see the flames against the element symbols on the roulette board? That's the target marker." Everyone looked at the board again.

"For the Millifiore, Sun combatant! And for the Vongola, non-elemental combatant! And when we have two or more participants of the element, the roulette will select from them at random. The Millifiore target is the Sun Mare ring holder, Daisy!" The white-haired man's voice went from mildly interested to gleeful as he saw the Vongola's appointed Target.

"And the Vongola target is the non-elemental, Sho-chan~" As he finished his announcement, both individuals were hit by a light and flames winked into existence on their chest.

"Irie-kun!" Tsuna called out in worry.

"Don't worry, this is fine by me" Shoichi reassured him.

"In other words, we have to defeat Irie Shoichi, and you have to defeat Daisy. Whoever does so first wins" the green-haired man, Kikyo, said what was on everyone's minds.

"Aagh!" Tsuna and the others were suddenly shocked when Shoichi wailed in pain. The flame on his chest became brighter and bigger, pulling more cries from him. Pain. Such excruciating pain. As the marker sucked the life out of him, he felt like he was being squeezed to death. His sight started to dim, he felt dizzy, and his body went numb, his legs weakening as he fell to his knees. All of his energy was being absorbed and everyone panicked around him.

"The marker displays the Target's Dying Will Flames on their chest, to provide a differentiation from the other players. It also serves as a means of indicating that the target hasn't been defeated yet" Byakuran further explained, as if purposefully leaving that part last to agitate every one of his enemies looking at Shoichi's wilting form. His voice took on darkness again and his smile grew.

"No matter where you run, I will catch you. No matter where you hide I'll find you. There's no escape, so you better do your best to protect your King Vongola. If you don't, once you're defeated, the winner takes everything." A shiver of horror went through Shoichi's body even as he tried to stay calm. The beating of his heart accelerated and the sound of his blood pounded in his ears, almost drowning out everything but Byakuran's voice.

'Byakuran! You-! First the girls with Daisy and now this!' Shoichi thought in fury. Clearly this person right in front of them knew no bounds when it came to mind games and manipulation – it wasn't enough that he and his famiglia had scared the two most innocent civilians in their group, but he also purposefully didn't fully explain everything the Choice would entail, including the time limit, until it became the most advantageous to incite disturbance in their team.

"Irie-kun! Don't push yourself!" Tsuna prompted out of concern, kneeling down beside him.

"If you're not careful, you could die" Yamamoto added with care.

"The same thing goes for our enemy," Shoichi huffed out.

"Besides, I'm not doing this out of self-sacrifice; I'm the one who made Byakuran-san this way! I can't run away from this!" With his admission, regret filled his heart and alarmed Tsuna and Reborn at the same time.

"Oohh~? I didn't know you thought of it that way, Shou-chan" Byakuran hummed as he stared at Shoichi's kneeling form. Shoichi's emerald eyes glared at him with burning defiance, but he liked them all the same.

"Your eyes…No matter where and when, those rebellious emerald eyes of yours never change," he complimented, a glint of something hidden beneath his beautiful lavender eyes shining through for a moment. And then the intimate moment was over. Byakuran put on his grandiose persona again, reveling in the game that was about to begin.

"As you already know, the prize for winning this ultimate game of Choice is every one of the Mare Rings, every one of the Vongola Rings, and every one of the Arcobaleno Pacifiers! In other words, the ultimate power that created the world – the Tri-ni-sette!" Byakuran declared loudly for everyone to hear. And if the horror of the situation wasn't bad enough if the Vongola lost, Byakuran suddenly looked back in Shoichi's direction and smiled coldly at him, sending yet another cold shiver down his entire body. Shoichi had a bad feeling about what was to come next.

'Byakuran-san! You wouldn't?!' Shoichi thought in alarm, his eyes widening at the other man's betrayal.

"Along with our deal, Sho-chan~! I hope you didn't think that I had forgotten about it" Byakuran reminded, his purple eyes shining dangerously. Shoichi suddenly felt ashamed at the reminder of what would happen to him if he lost this battle, his body unconsciously shaking at the humiliation, his feeling at being stripped of his human dignity just like that.

"Oi! Irie! What did he mean by that, huh?! Speak up!" Hayato roared, all the withholding of information irritating him. Not only had Shoicihi kept some from him, but he'd also kept whatever this deal was from Tsuna and the others as well!

"Shoichi tell them. I only agreed not to because you told me that you would tell them the truth on the day of the battle so as not to 'cause any distraction to their training.' Now that it has come to this, everyone has the right to know." Shoichi's gaze was drawn to Reborn, the baby encouraged him to trust in his friends. Everyone looked expectantly at the two of them, surprise on their faces.

"Reborn, you knew?!" Tsuna asked in confusion.

"I…. the truth is…." Shoichi stuttered, doing his best to tell everyone what Byakuran and Reborn meant. But before he could say anything further, Byakuran spoke up in his stead, despite insisting that Shoichi should confess.

"Oya~ Oya~ You mean Sho-chan didn't tell you the truth about the Choice game?" Shoichi bit his lip and glared daggers at Byakuran, hating the amusement in his eyes.

"Wha-?! What?! What do you mean?!" Tsuna stuttered.

"Remember when I first used this transportation device? Didn't Sho-chan disappear for a few minutes along with the Melone Base?" Byakuran reminded, as everyone remembered. Tsuna was the most confused and worried out of everyone and Spanner and Reborn both had to calm him down.

"During that time, Sho-chan was transported to my side and the two of us had a little chat" Byakuran disclosed as everyone's heads whipped around to Shoichi. This is the first time they heard about this, all the while Shoichi couldn't look any of his teammates in the eye, shame and guilt building up inside him.

"Realizing that Choice Game was the most peaceful way to attain the Rings from both parties, and that no casualties would be added to either side, we both agreed that this is the safest way…But waiting for so long a time for the game is really boring, I mean, look at Zakuro who looks pathetically bored to his mind! Don't you feel pity for him?" Byakuran's voice took on a pitying tone, as if he really felt sorry for his subordinate. Shoichi knew, however, that the man saw almost everyone, if not everyone, as a pawn he could just replace if he became bored or displeased with them.

"And when you already know the outcome, well, the waiting becomes much harder to resist. We would rather just attack and kill you, honestly. Forcefully taking the Vongola Rings from your dead corpses is much more fun and easier that way!" Byakuran admitted childishly. Everyone looked at him in disgust and horror at the revelation.

"Then why didn't you?" Tsuna questioned his Vongola instinct, acting up as he readied himself for what he was about to hear. He unconsciously looked at Shoichi's quiet form, his mind grabbing onto a horrific idea of what had happened.

"Because, Sho-chan begged you see~! He begged me and accused me that I'm being unfair to you all for not even giving you a fair chance of winning. So, after begging me" the man seemed to take great pleasure in mentioning that fact as many times as possible,

"He made a wager with me" The cruel smile was back and Shoichi's heart clenched as the secret he'd held in for so long was finally exposed.

"In exchange for going through the game of Choice and graciously waiting for the battle to start, and if we win – which I am fully confident we will – I also get to keep Sho-chan as one of my special prizes!" Byakuran mocked, his cold smile widening as he reveled in Shoichi's shaking form. He loved the humiliation he was causing the young man – there's nothing Byakuran loved more than a weak and quivering Shoichi right in front of him, especially if he was the one to make it that way.

"What?!" Tsuna's voice was the first to break the silence, horror seeping into it.


So how is it for a beginner of ByakuSho? I hope I didn't made them too OOC too much.