86Uh…hi? Marisay-chan here! I'm so sorry to the wait I will be back to correct the grammars if there are any at a later time. I'm afraid that I would forget to post…*Sweatdrops* Let's get straight to it!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, only the story!
In Italics are thoughts
In Bold are flashbacks
Within stars are cats talking*
Story Starts
~The next day, Arcobaleno and Vongola cats' house~
It was another noisy day at the house as the cats ate their breakfast.
Tsuna licked his lips after finishing his milk. He brought his right paw up, gave it a few licks, before rubbing it a few times over his head and face. He then shook his head, followed by his body, ridding himself from the itchiness caused by the wet fur which caused some of his fur to stick out awkwardly. He glanced to the side when his eyes caught an orange movement.
His brother was standing beside him, head bending down to finish his milk. He then did the exact actions that Tsuna did, licking his lips, grooming his head and face, before shaking out his long flaming fur.
Tsuna tilted his head to the side, catching Natsu's attention. Natsu blinked, positioning himself beside Tsuna. Tsuna made a questioning mewl before purring as Natsu groomed him, forcing the fur to lay down. The brown cat looked at his brother, feeling the careful attention, the protectiveness of his presence, the kindness his brother evoked. He did not understand Shoichi's wariness towards Natsu. What exactly was bad about him being his brother?
*…That is so weird.*
Both brothers looked towards the voice. Hayato stared back; his red tail poised high behind him. The two brothers tilted their head together, Tsuna in confusion and Natsu in scrutiny, which made Hayato freaked out even more at the synchronization.
Hayato jerked backwards and sighed in exasperation. He turned towards the Vongola purple cats, both just finishing their breakfast. *Was that how you two knew he is not Primo?*
Alaude and Kyoya glanced at him before licking their paws to groom themselves.
*At least answer me!* Hayato hissed at them. He then turned back to look at the brothers again. For some reason, he kept staring at Tsuna, only turning away when Natsu caught his eyes.
Luce came towards them and collected their bowls. "I hope it was to your liking." She spoke to Natsu. "I don't know if you have any food that you can't eat."
Natsu blinked at the concern look aimed at him. He tilted his head again. *…Similar.*
"Eh?" It was Luce's turn to tilt her head in confusion.
*You are very similar to Aria.*
Luce startled, biting her lip at the mention of her daughter. But before she could say anything, Natsu continued speaking.
*…We can't afford to be picky at that place.*
The silence that came was rather suffocating. Some of the cats paused in their eating, while other narrowed their eyes. Shoichi winced while Spanner breathed out from his nose. Tsuna made a small whimper before leaning on his brother, head pressing against Natsu's neck. Natsu purred in comfort before continuing to groom Tsuna.
Hands clapped together to dispel the tension. Everyone turned to look at the person. Luce gave a strained smile.
"It's almost time to transform. Please finish your breakfast."
It is time to change
~At the transforming room~
Slowly, the cats transformed as they entered the room. Hayato stretched his arms above his head, eyes watching each cat. He narrowed his eyes when Tsuna and Natsu entered the room, with Natsu carrying Tsuna by the scruff. Glancing around, he noticed that almost everyone was observing the two cats in some way as well. Verde and his laptop camera, Knuckle grabbing his cross, Takeshi smiling awkwardly, Colonnello cocking his rifle, Mukuro focused his gaze, Skull fidgeting, Lampo gulping, Fon taking a deep breath, G clenching his hands, Kyoya glaring, Asari giving a worried sigh, Daemon crossing his legs, Ryohei bumping his fists together, Yuni clasping her hands on her chest, Chrome glancing around, Alaude leaning against a wall. He found himself grabbing his weapon as he watched the two brothers.
Giotto came into the room, blinking at the hostile gazes he saw within the Arcobaleno cats and Vongola cats. He turned to the subject of the looks, watching Natsu carrying Tsuna near the fireplace. Giotto then walked until he was at G's side, looking up at him. *Why are all of you looking at Tsunayoshi and his…* He tilted his head awkwardly, glancing at Natsu. *Uh…*
Natsu looked over while still walking, hearing the words clearly due to the silence.
"They are curious." Mammon came floating across the room, stopping at a table filled with money.
*Curious?* Giotto glanced at G, who gave a sharp nod.
Reborn came strutting in, jumping onto the window bay. He settled down, observing everyone's reaction.
Everyone watched when Natsu paused at the carpet near the hearth, placing Tsuna gently before laying down beside him. A second passed. Lambo ran in happily, candy in his hands. 20 seconds passed. Shoichi walked in and settled beside Tsuna, stroking his fur. 40 seconds passed. Spanner brought some mechanism and started tinkling with them after he sat near Shoichi. 50 seconds passed. Luce brought some refreshment and placed them on the table. A minute passed.
Natsu yawned.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" Hayato pointed at him, veins popping over his face.
The humans jerked at the sudden yell, looking up to stare at him. Tsuna gave a high pitched shrieked. Natsu looked at him, question in his eyes.
"Wh-what's wrong Gokudera-kun?" Luce held a hand on her chest.
"Why is he not doing it?!" Hayato continued to point at him, the finger trembling in agitation.
"Huh?" Luce looked towards Natsu, blinking in confusion.
"They are waiting for him to transform." Mammon provided, watching the others nodded in agreement.
"Oh…" Understanding dawn on Luce. "They are right. Na-uh…" Luce hesitated in addressing Natsu. "Um...Don't you need to transform."
Natsu stared at her and back to Hayato and back to her again. *Transform?*
*Transforming is needed for us to release the pressure of the flames inside us.* Giotto responded. *Not transforming can result in health deterioration and other complications… Do you not need to transform?*
Shoichi bit his lip.
Natsu moved his head a little. *I don't see you or Reborn transforming.*
*…Things are a little different with Reborn and I.* Giotto glanced at Reborn, who simply stared. *The flames have not pressured us before…or at least, it did not with me.*
"Oh…so that's why you never transformed." Luce pressed her fingers on her lips. "What about you Reborn-kun?"
*I don't see the need.*
"But isn't it dangerous for you?" Spanner questioned. "The Arcobaleno Sun flames are not that special, it can cause burns if it becomes too much."
Reborn blinked.
"Reborn-kun?" Luce asked worriedly.
*No need to worry, Luce.* Reborn flicked his tail. *There are no consequences for me. It's being suppressed.*
"Eh?!" Shoichi was shocked at the reply. He stood up and took a few steps towards Reborn, hands hand out. "What do you mean suppressed?! There's no way you could have done that!"
"How did you do it?" Spanner took out a notebook and started writing. "What are the conditions? Are there side effects? What about you, Vongola Sky cat?"
"Spanner!"
"Hm? Aren't you interested? After so many experiments-" Growls were heard. "-None have been able to go withstand the pressure. Those who had, perished."
Tsuna startled and quickly turned towards his brother in horror.
*Experiments.* Reborn responded. He dropped down from the bay and walked towards Natsu and circled him and Tsuna. *I'm sure that there are some explanation about Giotto due to his incompletion.* Giotto winced at the fact. *But, I am curious about you two. From the sound of it, it seems you have not transformed before and Tsuna did not shown any symptom during his time here.*
Natsu's orange eyes followed Reborn.
Reborn stopped in front of Natsu, who gaze back in challenge.
*Why is that?*
Natsu bared his fangs, raising on his paws. Orange flames pouring slightly around him.
Reborn responded by having a hint of yellow glow surround his body.
All the other cats raised their weapons, not letting their guard down. Yuni quickly went to stand by Luce, who held their hands together in trepidation. Shoichi clenched his hands, slowly backing away due to the intensity of the flames, but not going far from Tsuna. Spanner placed his hands around a controller, getting ready to press the buttons. Giotto narrowed his eyes, his back arching slightly, getting ready to stop the conflict.
Both Natsu and Reborn took no notice of all that and slowly increased the amount of their flames. The flames intensify. Natsu snarled, paws filled with flames. Reborn had his claws out, covered yellow flames. Paws raised high up. With a hiss, the paws came striking down-
*Big brother, you should transform!*
Natsu and Reborn looked at Tsuna, who was staring at them with worried eyes. Their flames had already disappeared; their paws held in the air. They bought their paws down, causing a huge relief among the other cats and humans.
"I thought for a second that we need to fight him again." G gave a huge sigh.
"Scared?" Hayato smirked.
"…Yeah." G admitted, shocking the others with his sincerity. "You guys weren't the ones to go head-to-head with him earlier. I'm sure Hibari agrees with me."
"I will never be scared of that Omnivore."
"He used the word 'Omnivore'!" Lampo gasped. "He calls everyone, except Giotto, herbivores!"
"…We won't be able to fight him alone." Alaude placed his hands in his pockets.
"Kufufu. That was some impressive power he had shown. My illusions might not work on him." Mukuro subtlety pointing his trident at Natsu.
Everyone was shocked to hear that both Alaude, one of the strongest Vongola cat, and Mukuro, who would never admit to being inferior, indicated that they would lose if they fought against Natsu.
*Isn't it harmful? You should quickly transform.* Tsuna looked between the both of them. *And why are you picking a fight with Reborn, big brother?*
Natsu huffed, poking his paw at Tsuna's forehead. Tsuna gave a surprised meow, rubbing the spot with his paw. Natsu then made a stuttering meow.
*Not funny! Don't poke me!* Tsuna arched his back, making a hiss.
Natsu made a sneezing sound, his tail swishing around. *Tsuna. What would I do without you?*
Tsuna stuck a tongue out.
*As for why,* Natsu turned to Reborn, all amusement disappearing. *He knows why.*
Reborn's tail gave a twitch.
Natsu merely shook his head at the silence Reborn gave. *And about transforming,* He paused for a while before looking at Tsuna straight in the eye. *…Are you able to?*
"What?" Asari blinked. "Tsunayoshi has no flames…right?"
Takeshi shrugged his shoulders. His eyes travelled to Tsuna, a slight frown on his face.
Shoichi sighed.
Spanner looked at Shoichi's dejected form. "He has flames?"
"…Like I said, not in the way that you think."
Natsu glanced at Shoichi before focusing on Tsuna. *Are you able to?*
*What are you talking about, Natsu?* Tsuna jerked his head. *There's no way I can do it! I am a-* He paused, blinking multiple times. *-a* Tsuna froze. *A-a normal…cat…* He looked up at Natsu, suddenly freezing at the look he received.
Natsu was staring very hard at him, orange eyes flickering. *Do you truly believe that, Tsuna?*
Tsuna could not say anything, feeling extremely heavy all of the sudden.
*…They are right, this is very dangerous.* If cats could frown, Natsu would be doing it now.
*Eh?*
"You-you agree?"
Natsu looked towards Shoichi, who was in disbelief that Natsu would agree with them. *He is missing memories.*
"You already said that-"
*He is missing memories of the time before we became like this. Way before we separated.*
Shoichi gave a sharp intake of breath.
"He did not remember his family." Mammon called out. "Saying that he thinks you are his only family."
*What?*
Everyone was surprised when Natsu quickly turned towards Tsuna as if in a panic. Natsu paid them no mind and quickly used his paw to lift Tsuna's head.
*Tsuna, what do you mean I'm your only family? I know you don't remember father and mother but-Don't you remember her?*
*Wha-*
*Haru. You don't remember, Haru?* Natsu's voice sounded desperate. *Haru, the girl who came to your house. You saved her, remember? Do you remember who is she to you? Do you know her full name? What do you remember about her?-*
*Haru-?* Tsuna feeling panicked as well. Anxiety surfaced as he listened to his brother pressed questions after questions at him. *Wha-Who is that?*
The last three words hung in the air. A few seconds later, Natsu sat on his hind legs. The silence stretched as everyone watched Natsu, who seemed to have deep thoughts.
"What-what's going on?" Knuckle looked between the brothers. "We already know that he is missing memories."
*This is bad.*
*Why is it bad that he does not remember the girl?* Giotto moved towards Tsunayoshi, who was frazzled by the questioning.
*That's why we couldn't transform.* Natsu spoke in lieu of answering the question, confusing the others.
Reborn and Mammon cursed all of the sudden, surprising the rest again.
"The only reason one could not transform-" Yuni gripped on her robe.
*Damn it all.* Natsu gritted his teeth. *I thought it was just me since I'm not supposed to exist. But Tsuna, you-!*
*He had forgotten his human form.* Reborn growled.
It is time to change
"Forgotten…his human form?" Luce repeated, hand on her mouth. "Wait, what do you mean forgotten?"
"When we went through the…ordeal." Yuni explained, hugging herself from the memories. "We were given a form, a human form like this," She gestured towards herself. "And another form of a cat that shows the flames that we have through the colouring of our fur. But the cat forms are too small to contain the flames, so it is important that we use our human forms to negate the effects."
"Y-You were given the forms?"
Yuni nodded, looking at Luce with a sad smile. "We are not real."
"Eh?"
"We were created. The forms you see right now are all generated by the people who made us. That's why I look like you, Luce-san. Someone used your features to generate me."
"I-" Luce looked stricken. "I always thought it was just some coincidence."
Yuni shook her head. "All of our bodies, human or cat, are artificial. Well, except for…" Yuni looked towards a specific group of Vongola cats.
Luce followed her glance, looking at Kyoya, Mukuro, Chrome, Hayato, Takeshi, Ryohei and Lambo. "Are they different?"
"We used to be real cats." Takeshi smiled, rubbing a hand on the back of his head. "We gain our human forms from them." He gestured his thumb to the other Vongola cats.
"Oh…So that's why you all look so similar." Luce compared each cat, noting the similar features yet differences in demeanors.
Hayato clicked his tongue. Mukuro smirked tensely. Chrome looked down on the floor. Ryohei huffed, hands on his hips. Kyoya looked away. Lambo simply continued eating his candy.
"But in order to negate the effects, we must first remember our human form's features." Yuni continued. "Each form is critical to each cat as the features help balance the pressure of the flames. Like my small body to balance out my Arcobaleno Sky flame. If I have a large body, my flames will stretch itself thin trying to fill the body up, which will cause the body to disintegrate from the strain."
Luce flinched at the implications.
"Vongola Rain cats needs a certain body structure to wield their flames fluidly, Vongola Storm cats have delicate hands to manipulate their flames with ease, Vongola Cloud cats bodies' are like steel to withstand their flames which explodes rapidly, Vongola Lightning cats' hair are made of certain elements to contain the wild control of their flames, Vongola Mist cats' flames are almost non-existence so they need light weights to control their flames appropriately. Arcobaleno cats have their own unique features as well. All of the forms are specifically designed so there are no complications."
"Huh. I didn't know that they are light." Spanner looked towards the Vongola mist cats. "They don't look like it."
Daemon and Mukuro gave their signature laughs while Chrome smile shyly.
"So it is important that we have our human forms to dispel the pressures." Yuni concluded. "But…Even with exceptions," She nodded towards Giotto and Reborn. "We must still remember our forms in case of emergency." She gave a few steps towards Tsuna. "Are you sure you don't remember your human form, Tsunayoshi-san? I know you have one."
*I…I-*
*Tsuna is different from all of you.*
Everyone turned to Natsu, who stood in front of Tsuna protectively, staring head-to-head with Reborn. He poked his fang out.
*He is real.*
"Listen," Hayato bit out. "We understand that you are very protective of him. But we are all artificially made. So don't get all-"
*He. Is. Real.* Orange eyes flared with dangerously.
"You-" Hayato steps forward threateningly.
G gripped Hayato's arm to stop him while the Vongola Rain and Sun cats tried to sooth the enraged Storm cat. Luce also went forward to try to calm Hayato down.
*I'm saying it is bad not because Tsuna cannot transform into a human.* Natsu's words paused the struggles. *But because he is missing more of his memories.*
*What do you mean by that?* Giotto steps in.
*He is not-*
"Tsuna, Tsuna, what's wrong?!"
Everyone stopped talking and turned around to see Shoichi kneeling next to Tsuna, hands hovering over Tsuna's body in panic. Tsuna was on lying the floor, panting as though he could not get enough air, body twitching as though in pain.
*I…I…!*
Natsu quickly turned his body to face Tsuna, head nudging Tsuna's head. *Tsuna, are you all right?* He then suddenly jerked his head away from Tsuna. *Tsu-*
*I…I don't-!* A sudden wave of flames engulfs Tsuna. He let out a shrieking scream, causing the flames to spread out. Natsu, Giotto and Reborn were forced to jump out of the way when the flames shot their way.
"Tsuna!" Shoichi cried out, avoiding the flames by dropping to the ground. "Everyone! Don't touch the flames!" He used his hands to slide himself backwards to avoid more of the flames.
Everyone quickly ducked as the flames flew above them. Flames quickly formed around Tsuna. Tsuna shut his eyes, head jerking left and right. He screamed, the sound echoing. Balls of flames shot out of Tsuna rapidly.
"It's orange-!" Fon gasped, jumping from place to place to avoid the flames.
"He has Sky flames?!" Skull cried, hiding behind one of the furniture.
"What happens if we touch it?" Collonello used the tip of his rifle to smack the flames away.
The tip froze.
The ones who witnessed the freezing were stunned by the power of the flames. Collonello quickly released his rifle as ice spread all over the weapon. The weapon dropped to the ground with loud thud, spreading ice on the ground as well.
Kyoya was about to spin his tonfa to block the flames, but upon seeing what happened, quickly paused his action and leaped backwards instead.
"It froze?!" Ryohei quickly turned to the side to dodge the flames that came flying his way. Each missed flame hit the wall, ice forming on the spot where the flames hit.
"Watch out, Luce-san! Ah!" Yuni shouted, getting on the ground. A ball of flame went pass over her head.
"Ah…!" Luce stood still, watching the flames approaching her. Her feet could not move from the shock. She braced herself, eye shutting tight. Someone knocked her to ground, protecting her head with their hands. "Th-thank you-" She coughed at the impact, turning to look at her savior. "Spanner-san."
Spanner grunted in pain, letting go of Luce and quickly sitting up. His eyes locked on Tsuna who was still pumping out flames. "…Flame Freezing." He stood up, lending a hand to Luce. "They actually did it."
"What?"
"Pretty…" Lambo was staring at the ice, his hands reaching forward to touch the ice. He yelped when Lampo snatched him away from the ice.
"Now's not the time to admire it! Eeek!" Lampo squealed, barely missing the flames that shot near his face.
Giotto did a backflip to avoid the flames. Orange flames burst out on his forehead as he landed on the ground. He then charged forward, dodging each flame, getting closer to Tsuna. Just as he was about to jump at Tsuna, he was knocked to the side. Orange eyes met with orange eyes.
"Giotto! You- What are you doing?!" G shouted, trying to get closed but was stopped by the flames.
Natsu growled, *Don't think about it.* He stepped away from Giotto.
*I don't think now is the time to be protective.* Reborn landed next to them. *Chaos Shot.* Several beam of yellow flames shot from Reborn's body like bullets to block the flames coming their way.
The moment the attacks collided, an explosion occurred. The three of them lifted their paws the shield themselves from the smoke. The smoke cleared off as Tsuna's flames continued raining down.
Giotto and Reborn were startled by what they saw in front of them. Reborn's Chaos Shot was still in front of them but frozen from the trail to the tip, the flames trapped within the ice as though time had frozen. It dropped to the floor with a loud thud exactly like Collonello's rifle.
*Don't think about it.* Natsu repeated his warning. *You will be frozen if you touch him.* He turned towards Tsuna. *Tsuna! Calm down!*
*I-I don't remember!* Tsuna wailed out, tears peeking at the corner of his shut eyes. The flames grew intensely, scattering through the room.
*Damn it. We have to calm him down.* Natsu flared his flames out before shooting them towards Tsuna in waves. It was all for naught as each of Natsu's flame became frozen at each collision, shattering like glass the moment it hit the floor.
Natsu grit his teeth.
*Viper* Reborn called out. *Can you do anything?*
Mammon held his hands in front, indigo mist coming out. The mist surround Tsuna. Daemon, Mukuro and Chrome helped him, slamming their tridents on the floor. The mists grew thicker, almost concealing Tsuna in it.
"They did it!" Ryohei pumped his fist.
*…It's useless.* Natsu narrowed his feline eyes.
CREAK
CREAK
CREAK
Each particle of the mist was frozen into tiny shards. It all fell around Tsuna like rain, making lots of tinkling sound as the shards hit the floor. Shock showed in everyone's faces as they watched the shards fell.
Tsuna was panting badly by now, eyes dazed as if he is not there. The flames around Tsuna started to flow out of his body erratically, becoming more aggressive.
Natsu gasped. *Tsuna, stop!* Natsu tried to go to him but was stopped when flames shot towards him. He jumped back to avoid it. *You are going to destroy your body if you continue!*
Upon hearing that, Reborn and Giotto tried to help Natsu reach Tsuna.
*Chaos Shot!* Reborn's body glowed and shot beams of Sun flames.
*Burning Axle!* Giotto filled his right paw with Sky flames and threw a fireball from his paw.
Both attacks fell short, froze into big chunks of ice and dropping to the floor.
*Tsuna!* Natsu shouted, just as Sky flames that surrounded Tsuna grew even larger and darker in colour.
Footsteps raced through the room. Shoichi rushed towards Tsuna, grabbing Tsuna's body with his hands. Both of them screamed. Tsuna felt pain at the contact, his body feeling oversensitive. Shoichi cried at the pain as ice covered his hands, reaching to his arms.
"Irie-san!"
"Shoichi!"
Shoichi tried blinking back tears but the pain was overwhelmingly him. His vision was filled with frozen spikes forming on his arms, he could see his pained face reflected on the ice in different colours. His hands felt numb, slowly losing energy. His eyes slowly moving to Tsuna's screaming form. No, he need to calm Tsuna down! His grip tightened but made him choked at the painful sting.
He suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder, glancing over to see Natsu had took the distracted Tsuna to come closer. Natsu placed his flame-filled paws on the ice forming on Shoichi's arm. It started melting.
It…melted?
Shoichi clenched his jaws harder. Now was not the time to think about it. He brought Tsuna closed to his chest the moment Natsu melted the ice on his arms, leaving behind ice burns. He winced at the movement but ignore it in favor of comforting Tsuna.
"Hey…Tsuna," His voice was trembling from the pain. "Do you remember the first time we met? You were really small that time, and I was really clumsy. I accidentally dropped your food on the floor."
The flames gradually became smaller.
"We-we would talk about non-sensical stuff. You would tell me about the people you met too-" Shoichi panted, feeling his body weakening from the pain. He dropped on his knees, still holding Tsuna tight. "T-That was some fun times…where nothing else matters…so…it's all right…"
The flames stopped shooting out, gathering around Tsuna's body instead. Most of the cats landing on their feet, panting in exhaustion from dodging while others came out of their hiding spot.
Shoichi tried giving a smile. "That's right…can you feel my heartbeat?….Slow down, just like listening to your favorite song…follow the beat..." He shakily positioned Tsuna so his ear is leaning on his chest, body lying along Shoichi's arm, carrying him like baby.
Ba-dump
Ba-dump
Ba-dump
The flames around Tsuna slowly faded away. Tsuna's eyes slowly opening halfway. He gave a cough, blood trickling out from his mouth.
*Tsuna!* Natsu made his way down Shoichi's shoulder, stopping at the elbow, staring worriedly at the brown cat.
*…Ti…red…* Tsuna muttered, the blood flowing to the side, dripping on Shoichi's arm. The flames covering Tsuna vanished without a trace.
Shoichi collapsed backwards, sitting on the ground with his leg spread in a w-shape. He made a sharp inhale, his arm still burning. "Thank god…You can go and sleep, Tsuna."
*…Sho…*
"W-what is it?" Shoichi brought his arm up to take a better look at Tsuna.
*…Ho…*
"Ho?"
*…me…* Brown eyes fluttered shut. *…Want…go…home…ple…*
Shoichi's breath hitched. He used his other hand to caress the body, before quickly moving his hand on Tsuna's chest, which was slowly moving up and down.
Shoichi choked, tears spilling out. "I'm-I'm sorry, Tsuna." He hugged the limp body closed to his body. "I'm sorry…! I'm sorry…!"
The man continued crying, choking out apologies after apologies. His tears falling disappearing into Tsuna's fur.
It is time to change
Shoichi hissed as the ointment rubbed against his burns.
"Ah…sorry, Irie-san." Luce paused in the application of the medicine. "Are you sure you don't want Knuckle-kun or Ryohei-kun to heal you?"
"No…It's fine." He looked around at the others as Luce bandaged his arms.
The room was filled with ice. Furniture was frozen, walls covered in sheets of ice, corners decorated by ice spikes. It was luck that nobody was gravely injured, only having slight bruises from falling on the ground and bumping into objects from dodging. The only ones seriously injured were Shoichi and Tsuna. Most of the cats are walking around to deal with the ice. Tsuna was in his basket, sleeping away with Natsu hovering him and Yuni staring worriedly beside the basket.
"So, how do we clear this off?" Fon hummed in thought, looking at the ice spike in front of him.
"From his burns," Knuckle gestured towards Shoichi. "I believe it would be wise if we do not touch it."
"I want to touch pretty ice!" Lambo struggled against lampo's grasp.
"Don't be unreasonable." Lampo drawled, tightening his grip. "You want to become an ice cube?"
Lambo blanched, shaking his head tearfully.
Lampo sighed.
Giotto leaned closer to the frozen Burning Axle. It was totally encased within the ice. He could just briefly see the glow of his Sky flames, flickering slightly.
*…It's like it's being preserved.* Giotto backed away, sating on his hind legs.
"How can such a small body produced so much power? What even is this?" G stood next to Giotto, looking at the encased Chaos Shot beside it. "It's reflecting colours… "
Daemon walked around the room, stopping near an ice spike that was the size of a basketball. He lifted his trident and struck the top of the ice spike with the middle prong. There was a loud CLING. Ice then started covering the prongs and spreading upwards, trapping the trident. Daemon narrowed his eyes. He filled his weapon with Mist flames, before yanking his trident away. Ice broke off at the tip while the connecting ice melted slightly from his trident.
"Hmm." Daemon increased the power of his flames on his trident, causing chips of the ice to fall to the ground. He narrowed his eyes at the lingering ice, powering his flames even more to melt it.
"Oya," Mukuro, who was watching, raised his eyebrow. "Looks like it can be melted. With our flames."
"Che," Hayato growled. "Let's hurry and melt it then." He filled his right hand with Storm flames and touched the sheet of ice on one of the walls.
"Wait!" Shoichi shouted, accidently jostling Luce. "Don't touch it!"
"Hu-Urgh!" Hayato was about to turn away but was stopped by the pain flaring on his hand. Ice started covering his hand along with the flame. "Aaah!"
"Gokudera!"
"Gokudera-kun!"
"Hayato!"
Paws leap towards Hayato, landing on the shoulder. Hayato squinted his eyes through the pain, seeing Natsu had landed on him. "What are you…!"
Natsu once again filled his paws with Sky flames and pressed on Hayato's right arm. The ice melted at once around the area where he touched, but ice remained at Hayato's palm. Natsu looked up at the ice wall. His tail shot up, glowing with Sky flame. He leaped and smacked his tail at the ice wall. The wall of ice crumbled into pieces and melted away.
Hayato collapsed to the ground after his palm was released from the ice wall. He gripped his right hand and winced. Burns formed where the ice had touched. Natsu landed beside him, before starting going around to melt the ice.
"Oi, you all right, Octopus head?" Ryohei quickly rushed towards him, trying to heal him. He held his Sun-filled hands over the injury, but the scars never retreated. "It's not healing?!"
"You won't be able to heal properly after touching the ice." Shoichi nodded to Luce in thanks for bandaging him and walking towards them. "That's why I didn't bother asking for your help."
"Shoichi." Spanner stepped forward, a blank look on his face. "Was that-"
Shoichi gave a tired sigh. "Ah…that was-"
*The experiment is a success…huh.*
Everyone turned to Reborn, who was watching Natsu melting the ice on the walls and floor.
*I remembered one of them saying something about freezing flames.* Reborn looked at Shoichi. *Is that what happened?*
"Yes…That's the reason why they wanted Tsuna despite the Hyper mode being separated," Shoichi answered. "He has the power to create ice that was specifically meant to freeze flames. We called it, 'Zero Point Breakthrough' or 'ZPB'." He looked at his bandaged arms. "Anything that touches the ice will be left with scars. The scars will fade slightly but never gone. The ice can never be melted through normal means except for flames that are strong."
Hayato growled, pushing Ryohei away. "Both him and Daemon are able to melt it," He stood up in agitation before wincing in pain. "So you are saying that I am weak?!"
"N-No. It's not that you are weak…and I would say that he did not manage to melt all the way." Shoichi glanced at Daemon.
Daemon made a small noise. He then swung his trident towards them.
"It's still frozen?!" Hayato gaped at the block of ice that was still on the middle prong.
"As for Tsuna's Hyper mode…" Shoichi looked over just in time to see Natsu melting a large boulder of ice. "…Honestly, it's the first time I have seen someone melting the ice so easily."
Natsu looked at them, his flaming tail striking to the side to melt the ice that was on a chair.
Hayato clicked his tongue.
"Why are you able to melt it so easily?" Shoichi asked Natsu. "I tried so many ways to melt it. The most successful time took almost a full year to melt."
*And more importantly* Giotto add on. *Why did you not stop Tsunayoshi if you are able to melt it? You could have helped him since the ice won't affect you.*
Natsu paused in his ice melting activity. *I am resistant, not immune.*
"What?" Shoichi was baffled.
Instead of answering, Natsu went towards one of the ice spikes. He placed his paw on the ice. Ice instantly formed on his claws. Startled gasps were heard around the room. Sky flames filled the paw, melting away the ice before it could even spread.
*I can only melt ice that has been formed. Tsuna's flames will freeze me.* Natsu shook his paw slightly. *And I believe it's because it recognises me as Tsuna as well.* He then continued walking around the room to melt the rest of the ice.
A meowing laughter rang through the room. Dark yellow tail swayed mischievously.
*He is not able to control it?* Reborn was almost beaming, as much as a cat could.
"No…" Shoichi gulped. "What-what are you planning?"
Natsu glared at him slightly at the sudden interest.
*Yuni, how long do we have? Before they come after Tsuna.*
"Eh? Um…" Yuni blinked, looking away from Tsuna at the sudden question. She held her hands together for a while, eyes glazing slightly. "…A few weeks? Maybe less."
*More than enough.*
*What are you planning, Reborn?* Giotto stared at Reborn.
*We definitely need to prepare for when they come. Why not add on our strength?* A fang peeked out of Reborn's mouth.
"Oi, Reborn, you want to-" Mammon jerked in realization.
Glee was almost vibrating off Reborn.
*It's chaos time.*
~To Be Continued~
Once again, I am very sorry for the wait. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Do you know how many 'Don't go there!' I have said while working on it? It was dragging longer and longer. It was suppose to be just Tsuna bursting out and Shoichi explaining what his flames were…like the whole features thing? It was not suppose to be in the story…and it was hard to include everyone in *Cries*
Anyways, can you guess what Reborn had in mind? A few weeks to go before the Millefiore cats arrive!
Things to note:
Tsuna's flames – It was mentioned in chapter 7 that he has flames but different from the others. He can only form ice with his flames
Natsu's fierce reaction – There is a large secret about Tsuna that caused Natsu to react that way. It will be revealed in the following chapters
Natsu able to melt ice - All I can say is that, Natsu is wrong about what he said
Omake:
...All of the forms are specifically designed so there are no complications."
Everyone was looking at Yuni as she tried to catch her breath after saying such a long dialogue.
"Wh-what is it?" Yuni blushed at the intensity of the stares.
"I think this is the longest you have spoken since the start of the story." Fon smiled at her. "It was rather refreshing. You did a great work."
Yuni blushed at the compliment. "Tha-Thank you, Fon-san."
*That's true,* Giotto nodded. "You have a longer screen time this time."
"Unlike some people." G gestured to a corner, shaking his head in pity.
"Eh? Who-" Yuni paused in her sentence. She sweatdropped at the gloomy aura at the corner.
"What is that I only have one line?!" Skull cried, tears streaming down profusely. "I was only mentioned twice too!"
"*We don't care.*" Reborn and Collonello kicked him away from the scene.
While all this was happening, a lone girl stood at one side.
"U-Um..." Chrome whispered, hands gripping her trident.
She was only briefly mentioned throughout the whole story.
Errr...sorry Chrome *Sweadropped*
That's all folks! Do review!