Chapter 15: Ring Conflict Begins
"W-Who are you...?" Fuuta asks in fear as a man stands in front of him, Lambo, and I-pin. "What do you want?"
"Oh, you want to play with Lambo-san!" Lambo says as he walks up to him. "I'm so popular!"
However, the man swings his electric weapon at them and an explosion knocks him back on his back.
"Cannot forgive!" I-pin shouts as she runs over and jumps onto him. "Defeat villain!"
"Oi!" Tsuna calls out as he and Reborn run down a street. "Lambo! I-pin! Fuuta! Where are you?!"
"AH!" A scream cries. "Tatskete!"
"Over there!" Reborn shouts.
"Not good," Tsuna thought, "not good at all!"
"Stay away!"
Fuuta!" Tsuna exclaims as the three children are running towards him.
"Tsuna-nii!" Fuuta calls out.
"Fuuta, look out!" The brunette cries as the man behind them get ready to strike. "I won't make it!"
Then suddenly, a left hook hits the man and sends him flying against a wall and successfully knocking him out. Tsuna stops in shock as Reborn smirks while Ryohei stands by the kids with his left-hand smoking.
"Vongola Family's Guardian of Sun, Colonnello's number one student, Sasagawa Ryhei, Cometh!"
Tsuna pales as he mutters, "Onii-san."
"It's not over yet." Reborn warns him as another man jumps out of the bushes to strike down on the brunette but a flash of sword-like movement hit him back and knock him unconscious follow by an explosion which causes another man to be knocked out.
Two more people show up, Yamamoto and Gokudera, surrounds him.
"Jeez, why does the stupid cow's have the ring?!" Gokudera questions with annoyance.
"It's all right now." Yamamoto assures them.
"M-Minna!" Tsuna cries in joy.
"Iemitsu made it, somehow." Reborn comments.
"It's not over yet!" Another man comes up from behind making them get ready, however-
"Move it!" A leg kicks him in the face and sends him flying across the street. The group turns their heads to find Kouga with his leg in the air. "That was close."
"Kouga-san!" Tsuna exclaims.
"Hahaha, just on time, Kouga." Yamamoto laughs.
"Minna-san!" Ruki calls out with Dan running beside.
"Ruki-chan! Minna!" Tsuna calls out as he runs towards them.
"Juudaime!" The bomber calls out in shock.
"Yo, Sawada!" Ryohei calls out.
"Sorry for being late." Yamamoto says with his usual happy-go-lucky smile.
"Tsuna-nii! It's so scary!" Fuuta cries as he runs over and hugs him.
"Thank goodness, are you hurt?" Tsuna asks.
"I'm not hurt, but..." The boy glances at the bruised I-pin.
"I-pin, daijoubu?" The brunette asks. "Did you fight?"
"A little..." She says shyly. "But I'm okay."
"Wait a second." The baseball ace says as he takes out a small plaster and pastes it on her wound. "You did well for being so little."
"Thank you." I-pin says in Chinese.
"Lambo-san's hungry..." The cow kid whines. "Tsuna, carry me... I can't move..."
"Lying in the middle of the road..." Tsuna sighs. "That's just dirty."
"Carry me!"
"Geez, you're the only they were after. Don't you feel like you're in any danger?" He scolds before noticing the Half Lightning-Ring in his hair along with most of the kid's junk. "Is that where you kept the ring?" He dead-panes. "It's right next to the garbage."
"I can't understand it at all." Gokudera growls. "Why did this idiot get Ring?!"
"Maa maa, It's alright." Yamamoto calls him down, "since we're all safe."
"Yeah. You were a big help." Tsuna thanks them. "I wasn't sure what was going to happen."
"But, they are a lot weaker than I imagined." Ryohei says. "Dealing with them will be a breeze!"
"That's just naïve." Reborn tells them. "They're are the low ranks within Varia. the really frightening one is..." He then stops and looks around cautiously. "He's coming."
"Who is?" Kouga asks.
A figure then jumps out of the forest from the cliff, before landing to reveal itself to be a man in the same black overalls, but has crests on his trench coat and has multiple sword-like weapons on his back. He also has ring studs on his lips and three rings on his eyebrow. He looks around and finds his henchmen all on the ground, defeated.
"Did you people do this?" He questions. "Who holds the Lightning Ring?" He then takes notice of Lambo hiding behind Tsuna. "It is that curly-headed brat?"
"It's not! Tsuna cries. "T-This is a misunderstanding!"
"If you get in the way." He warns as he draws two of the weapons on his back. "I'll kill you."
"Tch." Kouga and the rest get into their stance. "This is just like Reborn said." The black-haired teen thought. "He seems like he's on a different level from the others."
"Matte, Levi." A voice stops him as six more individuals land next to him. The man from before, Superbi Squalo, a man with green hair and wears sunglasses and his trench coat opens and has furry collar, a huge an with a mask, a blond young man with red t-shirt with black stripes and a tiara on his head, a baby in a hood and a salamander on his head, a teenaged-girl with black hair wearing a black skirt.
"You can't hunt them by yourself~" The one with green hair tells him.
"Share the prey, shishishi..." The blond adds.
Steams comes out of the large man's mask.
"The situation has changed." The baby tells them. "The other guardians of the Rings are here."
"S-So many?!" Tsuna cries.
"VOI!" Squalo yells at them. "How dare you trick me, you trash."
"H-He's here!" The brunette shouts.
Kouga, Ruki, and Yamamoto look at Squalo with their eyes sharpen.
"Ano yaro..." Gokudera growls.
"VOI! Which one of you has the Rain Ring?!" He demands.
"Ore da!" The baseball ace tells him.
"So it's you?" Squalo laughs. "Three seconds. Three seconds is all I need to slice you into many pieces."
"Not good! Not good at all!" Tsuna panics.
"Out of the way." A low pitch voice says as a man moves in front of the group. He has scars on his left half of his face, a raccoon tail around his neck and his red tie hang loosely around his neck with his coat draped on his shoulders.
"He's here." Reborn says. "I never thought I'll see him again, Xanxus."
All of them immediately go into their stances and Tsuna stares in him with shock in his eyes.
"W-Who is this person?" The brunette thought.
The man glares at the brunette and Tsuna shrieks before falling on his behind in fright. Everyone is scared stiff, except Kouga who is shaking uncontrollably.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi." Xanxus says as he raises his left hand and it glows in orange light.
"Boss!" The green-haired man says in shock. "Are you going to use that so soo?! Here?!"
"Are you going to get us too?!" Squalo shouts at him.
"This is dangerous. Run!" Reborn warns his student.
"Die."
Everyone gets ready for the attack, but then a pickaxe flies over and hands in front of the black-haired man. "Matte, Xanxus." A voice booms as everyone turns to find Iemitsu standing there with Basil and another man behind him. "That's enough. The blond miner calls out. "I'll take charge from here."
"T-Tou-san?!" Tsuna cries in shock.
"Juudaime no otou-sama?!" Gokudera shouts in shock.
"Iemitsu." Xanxus says.
"Teme! What are you doing here?!" Squalo yells at him.
"Xanxus," Iemitsu says, "are your subordinates going to point their swords at the external advisor?"
"T-Tou-san, what are you talking about?" Tsuna asks in confusion.
"Their bloodthirst is astounding!" Ryohei says aloud.
"Don't stick your nose in so late, Iemitsu!" Squalo shouts. "All you know how to do is to run around, you coward!"
"What was that?!" Basil shouts back in anger.
"Matte, Basil." The blond man stops his student. "I wasn't running. I was waiting for a response from the Ninth. I have issues with your conduct and the Ninth's approval of it. I sent a letter to the Nith with my doubt and questions, and this is his answer." He tells the Varia as he shows a rolled up paper. "This is a direct order from the Ninth!"
"I don't understand what you're talking about!" Tsuna cries. "Why do you know all this?"
"External Advisor." Reborn tells his student. "That is Iemutsu post in the Vongola."
"Wha?!"
"One who is Vongola, but also not. Normally he is an outsider, but during times of emergencies, he has the right to succeed the boss." He explains. "In actuality, he is number three."
"Tou-san's number three?! But wait. Then who is number two?"
"That will be Volgola Knight, but the Ninth Vongola Knight is retired, so he is left in charge." Reborn adds. "Also, the external advisor has a part equal to the boss in deciding the successor. He has the right to give the Half Vongola Rings to whomever he chooses."
"Half of the rings?"
"Didn't I tell you? The nine different Vongola rings you have right now are just shards themselves. They become proof of the successor only when the two halves are combined to form the Vongola Rings."
"So that's why the rings are so oddly shaped." Kouga says looking at his ring.
"In other words, you must have both halves to be the successor." Reborn tells them.
"Though it's rare for the boss and external advisor to choose different candidates." Dray adds.
Basil walks up to them and hands the roll paper. "This is the direct order from the Ninth." He tells the brunette.
"Direct order?" Tsuna takes the paper and opens it, revealing an orange flame on top of the paper. "A Dying Will Flame?!"
"That's the Ninth Dying Will Flame Seal." The hooded baby says. "There's no mistake, that's a true, direct order."
"I can't read Italian!" Tsuna cries. "What does it say?!"
Iemutsu chuckles. "To translate and summarize, this is what it says: Until know, I thought that Iemitsu's son, Sawada Tsunayoshi, was a worthy successor, and acted as such. However, perhaps because I'm close to death, by intuition I change course and chose a new successor. My son, Xanxus. He is truly worthy to become the Tenth."
"What?!" Kouga yells out. "That man is his son!?"
"However, there will be those who are unhappy about this change." Iemitsu continues. "That's why Iemutsu fought against handling the Rings to Xanxus. However, I do not wish to see my Family to fight among itself for no reason. Thus, we will begin the decisive battle to decide who will be the official successor, through a method we can all agree on. This is what it means. Vongola successor candidate, Sawada Tsunayoshi!" He looks over to his side, "Also a successor candidate, Xanxus! The Rings that you both require to become the true successor... To decide who has the right to these, will begin the decisive battle between Tsuna's Family, and the Varia! A one-on-one battle between those who hold the same type of Rings!"
"A fight?!" Tsuna cries.
"Yeah. After that, it just says to wait for directions."
"Directions?"Gokudera repeats.
"From who?" Ruki asks.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting." A voice says as two figures jump out of the trees and land opposite of Xanxus' group, to reveal two pink-haired women with black eye masks. "During this Ring Conflict, we will be the judges."
"W-Who are they?" Tsuna asks.
"We are the Cervello Organization, who serves directly under the Ninth." One of the girls explains.
"During the Ring Conflict, our decisions are that of the Ninth's." The other girl adds as she takes out the same paper that contains the Ninth's orders.
"There's a Dying will Flame on that too..." The brunette thought.
"The Ninth believes that this measure will please all the members of the Family." She adds as she faces Xanxus." Any objection, Xanxus-sama?" The said man glares at them, which they take as a no. "Thank you very much."
"Wait, I have an objection." Iemitsu voices out. "Even I, the external advisor, has never heard of the Cervello Organization. How can I allow you to judge when the future of the Vongola is at stake?"
"We cannot recognize your objection." The Cervello tells him. "We serve the Ninth and cannot be commanded by the likes of you."
"What?!"
"What a shame~" The green-haired man says.
"Normally, one set of the Half Vongola Rings are held by the boss, and the other is held by the external advisor." She adds. "And during the announcements of the successor, a completed ring is given to the chosen nine. However, this time has become exception."
"The set of nine chosen by the two of them do not match, and each handed out the Half Rings to whomever they chose." The other Cervello continues. "Meaning the nine led by Xanxus-sama, chosen by the Ninth, and the nine led by Sawada Tsunayoshi, chosen by the external advisor, Iemitsu. Now we'll prove which are more worthy of the rings-"
"by having you bet your lives on them."
"Lives?!" Tsuna repeats.
"The location with be Namimori Middle School, late at night." She tells them. "We will explain the details there."
"We will be waiting for you at 11 o'clock tomorrow evening." The other adds.
"Sayonara." The end as they jump back into the trees.
"Ch-Choto matte, that's-!" Tsuna shouts but then Xanxus glares down at him, causing him to stop talking as the man and his subordinates walk away. "S-Sonna..."
"We need to get ready tomorrow." Dan tells them. "Go back to your homes and rest up." He turns to his grandkids. "You two too."
Everyone nods as they walk off to their homes. Just as Kouga goes into his room, Ruki pulls his shirt to make him stop and turns to the girl.
"What's wrong, Ruki?" He asks.
"Onii-sama, um... can I sleep with you...?" She asks.
"That's fine with me, but why?" Ruki hands her head a bit as she doesn't answer and Kouga scratches the back of his head. "All right. I won't ask anymore."
With that, the two fall into Kouga's bed and Ruki immediately falls asleep as she cuddles on Kouga's chest. Looking at his sister, Kouga watches her hand clutching his shirt. "It's been a while since Ruki slept with me. She must be really afraid after seeing them." He then pats her head and falls asleep.
~The Next Day~
Kouga and Ruki leave their house and go to school as usual, but they can't but get nervous.
"K-Kouga-kun!" They turn around to see Yuuri behind them.
"Shimizu? You live around here?" Kouga asks.
"Y-Yeah..." She replies.
"Good morning, Yuuri-san." Ruki greets.
"Good morning, Ruki-chan. But you can drop the formalities."
"But you're older than me so it's proper to call you that."
Kouga then looks at his watch and realizes what time it is now. "You two, we better hurry before we're late for school."
"That's right!" Yuuri exclaims and the three quickly go to the school, pass the corner, and through the gate.
They walk into the class before the bell rings and sit down when Tsuna walks into the room and to his desk.
"Morning, Tsuna." Kouga greets.
"Ah, Kouga-san, Ohaiyo." Tsuna greets back and places his bag on his desk.
"You're here pretty early for someone who always comes late." A voice states causing both the said teen and Kouga to look up to see Kyoko and Kurokawa in front of Tsuna.
"Good morning, Tsuna-kun." Kyoko greets.
"Kyoko-chan! Kurokawa. O-Ohaiyo." Tsuna replies.
Kyoko then turns to Kouga. "Ohaiyo, Kouga-kun."
"Yeah." Kouga replies.
The school idol turns back to Tsuna. "I'm sorry for getting split from Fuuta-kun yesterday."
"Don't worry about it! It was their fault for leaving you." Tsuna tells her.
Kyoko expression turns to concern and looks down. "Um, Tsuna-kun..."
"I wonder what's the matter. She seems disheartened." The brunette thoughts.
"Lately, Onii-chan has been into something other than boxing, and he's acting oddly." She confesses and looks back up at the teen. "Do you have any ideas?"
Tsuna deadpans at this and pales a bit. "Onii-san hasn't told Kyoko-chan about this at all! What do I do? It's my fault. Because I involved her brother, I'm making her worry this much."
"And he seems to have taken Colonello-kun with him." Kyoko adds.
"Eh? You knew Colonello?!" Tsuna asks.
"He's been staying at our house."
"EH?! Staying at your house?!"
"Yeah. He eats with us, plays with us, and takes baths with us, too!"
Tsuna's eyes pop out from the last statement. "A bath with Kyoko-chan?!"
Oi." Kouga bumps Tsuna's head with his fist. "Keep your head out of the gutter."
"Gomen."
"Sorry for asking such a weird question." Kyoko apologizes getting the two their attention. "I thought you and Kouga-kun might have known." She then looks down.
"Kyoko-chan. Maybe I shouldn't let him fight. Maybe I'm making a big mistake. Anyway, I need to explain it properly."
Kouga looks at him. "Tsuna, are you going to tell her?"
"I'm sorry, Kyoko-chan, Onii-san is actually–"
"It's a sumo contest!" Ryokei cuts the teen off causing a surprised look on Tsuna's and Kouga's face.
"Onii-chan!" Kyoko calls.
"I'm training because I'm going to have a sumo contest with Gokudera and Yamamoto." Ryohei tells his sister.
"Huh?!" Tsuna exclaims.
Ryohei then slings his arm over Tsuna's shoulders. "Sawada and Kouga are going to compete too! And Colonello likes watching sumo."
"An impossible explanation yet again!" Tsuna thought.
"Oh, I see!" Kyoko smiles.
"And Kyoko-chan's buying it."
"Sawada, Let's go get ready." The white-haired senior says, dragging Tsuna out of the room.
"Don't they seem suspicious?" Kurokawa says getting Kyoko's attention.
"Isn't that just your imagination." Kouga tells her as he sits back down on his seat. "And also, there are things that are better off not knowing."
"Kouga-kun?" Kyoko calls.