Tsuna watched the students with worry.

A few days have passed since the confession, and most of them lost their will to assassinate Koro-Sensei after that long back story.

Kaede was sent to the hospital, but she was recovering rather well; she was checked out of the hospital a few days later.

The brunet felt his Hyper Intuition prikle; he sighed.

"Yet another bad day, huh?"

He got up from his seat, and headed towards the forest, where his Hyper Intuition directed him to go.

Once outside, Reborn was there; his fedora shadowed his eyes as usual.

"Chaos, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna gave a weary smile.

"Hi....Reborn."

The ravenet glanced at the brunet before walking beside him.

"Worried for them?"

Tsuna kneaded his forehead with his palm.

"....I can feel it, Reborn.  A storm brewing.....a separation in class.  You know how I don't like it when my Guardians fight--especially if it's something serious, like that time in the past, where I was put in a coma for half a month."

The brunet shook his head.

"I never want to see those looks of hatred they directed at each other.....and, um, thanks for keeping them in line before I woke up then."

Reborn shrugged, stepping over a tree root as they went past a few trees.

"Just doing my job as your advisor, Tsuna."

The brunet smiled.

And then the two heard voices.

"...DON'T YOU GET WHAT HIS EFFORTS WERE FOR!?  IS YOUR HEAD AS MUCH AS A CHILD'S AS YOUR BODY?!"

Tsuna felt his heart stop.

'Oh, God....they're fighting.  That's Karma's voice.'

The brunet quickly ran; Reborn trailed behind, an unreadable look on his face.

Tsuna came upon a clearing; he could obviously see a split in the classroom.

It was also apparent that Nagisa and Karma were duking it out.

Nagisa sent a defiant glare to Karma.

The redhead blinked in surprise before morphing his lips into a cruel smirk.

"What?  What's with that expression?  Is the little chihuahua trying turn on the humans?"

Nagisa's gaze wavered and he looked at the leaves on the ground.

"I...just..."

Shove!

Karma pushed Nagisa roughly; the bluenet fell down before scrambling back to his feet.

The redhead sneered, bloodlust rolling off his body.

"If you've got a complaint, tell me after you beat me in a fight."

Karma continued to shove at Nagisa.

"Let's go, let's go.  Come on.  Come at me."

Karma then roughly grabbed Nagisa's tie.

A glint flashed through the bluenet's eyes.

In a flash, he grabbed the arm that held him and lifted his legs up, wrapping them behind Karma's head.

The redhead made a brief choking noise at the sudden hold.

Nagisa narrowed his gaze.

"Same here!  My feelings aren't half-a**ed either!  If brute force is what's going to take you to liste--!"

Karma slowly stood up despite the added weight; he grinned darkly as he cocked his fist back.

"You littl--!"

"Stop."

Karma and Nagisa were yanked apart from each other; they were held in the air by the scruff of their school uniforms.

Tsuna was there, holding the shocked students in the air.

His bangs shadowed his eyes.

He then lifted his eyes to reveal pitch-black irises.

Black mist rolled off of his body.

"Both of you.  Cool your heads, or I will knock them off of your shoulders."

It was an empty threat, but the students couldn't tell from the large mass of killing intent he was producing.

Tsuna set them on the ground; his eyes slowly faded back to a sunset-orange.

But the eyes were no longer welcoming and warm; they were hardened and cold.

"What....were you two thinking?  What did you think you would accomplish by fighting?  Do you think there would be sh** s and giggles after you beat the cr** out of each other?"

Tsuna wasn't shouting, but his voice rang through the silent clearing.

The students stared at the brunet with wide eyes.

The brunet shadowed his eyes with his bangs.

"......"

Tsuna balled his hand into a fist before letting go; he simply turned around and walked away.

Just then, Koro-Sensei decided to walk into the scene, offering a solution.

<<(With Tsuna)>>

Reborn followed behind the brunet.

Tsuna suddenly stopped.

"......I...don't like it...fighting, ya know.  It's so full of sh**.  It....scared me....when Kyoya and Mukuro nearly killed each other......that time....they were just lashing out because they weren't able to keep me safe.  Lambo and Chrome were nearly caught in the crossfire.  Hayato almost started a fight with Takeshi and Ryohei....."

The brunet bowed his head; Reborn softened his gaze and he approached the Decimo.

"Tsuna...."

Tsuna clenched his fists.

A small droplet of water fell to the forest floor.

"Reborn......"

He laughed bitterly and brokenly.

"....Am I too weak to protect my family?"

Tsuna lifted his head and turned to look at Reborn.

The brunet had wet trails coming from his eyes as he strained a smile.

Reborn studied the brunet's expression before sighing, tugging his fedora off and stuffing it onto Tsuna's head.

The hitman tugged the brunet into a hug.

"Hey.  You're not weak."

The ravenet looked past the brunet.

"Come on.....you've been taught by the World's Greatest Hitman--give me some credit, d*** it."

Tsuna laughed.

"H-Heh....right..."

Reborn released the brunet, ducking down slightly to look at Tsuna.

"...Tsuna....after all these years I've been watching over you, not for a second did I believe that you were weak and useless despite what others said about you.  Don't doubt yourself or I will give you he**."

Tsuna sweatdropped slightly when Reborn said that last sentence with a slight happier tone.

"Hai..."

Reborn smirked before swiping his fedora off of Tsuna's head.

"Now give me back my fedora, d*** it."

The ravenet adjusted it onto his head and lightly knocked his knuckles onto Tsuna's head.

"Suck it up, and let's head back, stupido figlio." (Stupid son.)

The Decimo scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve.

"Right, right...Papà." (Dad.)

He quickly trotted after the hitman.

~~

The decision of killing or saving Koro-Sensei was then decided by a flag game.

Blue team vs. the Red team.

The Red team, the ones who wished to kill Koro-Sensei, had Karma, Rio, Ryoma, Rinka, Ryuunosuke, Sousuke, Taiga, Kouki, Masayoshi, Kirara, Itona, Hinata, Takuya and Taisei.

The Blue Team, the ones who wanted to save Koro-Sensei, had Nagisa, Sugino, Yuuma, Manami, Hinano, Hiroto, Kotaro, Touka, Kaede, Megu, Yukiko, Sumire and Yuzuki.

And Ritsu went on team White--neutral.

The objective of the challenge was for each team to get each other's flag.

Their weapons, Anti-Sensei knives and guns with their team paint color, would be used to 'kill' their opponents.

Once you were hit by an enemy color, you were 'dead'.

Karasuma stood on a small hill, glancing at both teams before calling out to them.

"The flags of the two teams are about 100m far from each other.  I will judge the duel from a central position.....I will watch over those who try to cheat and continue fighting even if they are eliminated."

When the students looked up at Karasuma, they saw Koro-Sensei, Reborn and Tsuna standing behind the Government Agent.

The Decimo looked at them with an unreadable gaze.

The students thought back to what had happened earlier.

They felt slight guilt because beyond the sharp and cutting tone of the brunet, they saw pain in his sunset-orange orbs.

Tsuna averted his gaze elsewhere as he stuffed his hands into his pockets; his expression was blank.

Karasuma then started the game.

But once he did, Kotaro and Megu were shot out by the top marksmen: Ryuunosuke and Rinka.

Rinka was more nearby, but Ryuunosuke was all the way up in one of the mountains with Taiga.

But it was a short victory for the Red team when Yukiko suddenly appeared and shot Ryuunosuke and Taiga when their guard was dropped.

Two losses for the Blue team and two losses for the Red team.

Yukiko then moved on and killed Sousuke, but she was then caught by Karma, who slit her throat.

Karma then took control of the Red team, using the newly installed communication device in the special 'gym' clothes.

"Hey, can you guys hear me?  I'm taking command now, so listen closely..."

Bzzt...

"Karma, I'm in position."

It was Kouki's voice; Karma smiled.

"Okay.  From there, you can get a pretty good grasp of the enemy's positions, right?  Relay that info to me, and I'll give orders to the team accordingly."

".....Hmmm....I..think I see some movements to the left, in the area between the two pine trees and boulders....there's Sugino and....Fuuwa?  Two people, I think."

Karma smirked.

"Nice, Mimura.  Next up, Hazama, advance."

<<(With Sugino & Yuzuki)>>

The two carefully looked around the area--

Bang, bang!

Sugino and Yuzuki were dead.

The two widened their eyes with shock as they quickly turned around.

Yuuma and Touka jumped into the scene to help, shooting at a bush where Kirara chuckled creepily within the shadows of the leaves.

"Woah!  When did Hazama get there!?"

In the end, she was killed; the ravenette tsked, smiling wryly.

"Heh, you used me as a sacrificial pawn...I'll curse you later, Karma."

<<(With Karma)>>

The redhead settled himself onto a rock beside the Red team's flag; he smiled as he used the communication device.

"The power balance has shifted to our favor.  Now that the Blue team's formation is into disarray....your turn, Okano."

"Roger!"

<<(With Hinata)>>

Hinata darted through the trees and quickly took Hinano out.

Kaede quickly came into the scene and gave chase to Hinata.

In the end, Kaede was hit by a bullet from Masayoshi, who popped out of nowhere.

There was no ill will towards each other; Hinata and Masayoshi moved on to another target.

They found Sumire simply sitting in a clearing.

The two students shared a glance and grinned mischievously.

'Let's get her!'

However....just when they were about to attack....a trap was set off, and two of the fastest assassins were caught in a net.

Hiroto stepped out of the bushes and smirked at the two, laughing brightly as Sumire also stood up, hand on her hips as she puffed herself up proudly.

"This is a handmade trap I made myself.  Mothers are strong."

Hiroto chuckled as he poked at them with his knife.

"Heh, when you saw Hara unarmed and defenseless, you must've thought she was some sort of tasty 'meal'."

Hinata and Masayoshi were dead.

<<(With Karma)>>

The redhead sighed exasperatedly.

"They got ahead of themselves. I guess humans don't move the way you want them to."

Rio chuckled as she stood beside Karma.

"Ah, well, I guess the great vice-commander has to settle things herself."

Karma raised an eyebrow.

"You're going by yourself unarmed?"

Rio made a confused expression, pointing in the distance.

"No....I'm using those three idiots over there.  Isn't that why you assigned them there?"

Karma smirked.

"Heh, you get the picture.  Be careful now."

Rio trotted away.

"Will do~"

~~

Rinka moved from place to place, shooting bullets at the Blue team as they frantically tried to take her down.

Rio, Ryoma, Taisei and Takuya quickly moved towards the flag.

Rio gave her orders to the trio to be her human shields as she capture the Blue team's flag.

Manami and Yuuma were shot down by Rinka.

Touka's bullet reached Rinka, but Itona quickly took the brunette down.

Then Hiroto quickly dashed into the scene and used two Anti-Sensei knives to take Itona down.

<<(With Rio & Company)>>

It was....chilling.

As Rio and the other three made it towards Blue team's flag....he appeared.

It was like......another God of Death.....cloaked in camouflage.

N a g i s a   s e n t   a l l   f o u r   o f   t h e m   t o   t h e i r   g r a v e s   i n   a  
b l i n k   o f   a n   e y e   a t   p o i n t - b l a n k   r a n g e .

Rio, Ryoma, Taisei and Takuya were dead.

As Karma watched with shocked eyes, Hiroto snuck up behind the redhead, swinging his Anti-Sensei knife down.

But Karma beat the blonde to it, stabbing his own knife at Hiroto's forehead, successfully killing him.

Karma smirked and regained his composure, standing up as he twirled his knife.

'Nagisa-kun....he blended with Karasuma-Sensei's uniform, getting the drop on all four of them....it's because you keep doing this...that I feel uneasy...' "Well, it's one on one.  Let's settle this, Nagisa-kun."

~~
<<(With Nagisa)>>

"Nagisa~come on out and drop your gun!  I want us to settle this the old fashion way."

The bluenet continued to hide in the bushed as he watched Karma from a distance.

He gripped his gun in his hand, but he soon relaxed.

'The Red team would never accept a defeat so cowardly if I were to just shoot Karma from here.....'

Nagisa let go of his gun and stepped out into the opening.

Karma and Nagisa approached each other, knives at the ready.

They smiled with bloodlust rolling off of their bodies.....before clashing.

As they pushed against each other, they glared at each other with defiance.

Nagisa's eyes flashed angrily.

"I...will save him!"

Karma sneered.

"I...will kill him!"

The redhead kicked Nagisa in the gut.

Nagisa quickly regained his footing and leaned backwards before ducking his head as Karma sent a flurry of swipes at him.

The bluenet narrowed his gaze slightly as he jumped into the air and brought his knife down.

Karma blocked it with his own knife but jerked his head to the side, avoiding the blue ink.

The redhead then kicked a pile of leaves into Nagisa's face; the bluenet lost his balance and squinted his eyes before widening them as Karma stabbed downwards.

Nagisa rolled to the side, dodging the knife by a few centimeters.

The bluenet then noticed that Karma's knife was in a vulnerable situation.

'Now!'

Nagisa quickly kicked Karma's knife away.

The redhead blinked in surprise; the bluenet quickly swung at Karma with his knife.

'Now's my chance t--!'

Thwack!

Karma headbutted Nagisa, hard.

The bluenet flinched violently and let go of his knife.

Blood dribbling down his forehead, Nagisa reached for his second knife strapped to his leg.

Slam!

Karma elbowed Nagisa in the cheek, smirking maliciously.

"You will not be able to draw the knife...because I'll hit you every time you lower your guard just to grab it."

Nagisa staggered, but Karma suddenly grabbed his hair and shoulder, ramming his knee into the bluenet's gut.

"I'll make you lose consciousness, and then calmly give you the coup de grace!"

Nagisa's vision blackened briefly, but he regained his resolve and slammed his fist into Karma's face before kicking the redhead in the head.

Karma blinked in surprise, blood dribbling down his chin.

He then smirked.

"Heh..."

Nagisa punched Karma in the face again.

The redhead spat some blood off to the side before socking the bluenet in the face.

They traded blows, but Karma ended the stalemate after sending a solid uppercut to Nagisa's jaw and then bringing his foot down in an axe kick.

The bluenet's head hit the ground harshly....and he stopped moving.

Karma panted slightly looking at the unmoving body before turning around, reaching for his knife that he lost in the scuffle.

The redhead was about to stab Nagisa, but the bluenet's hands shot up.

Clap!

Karma quickly bit his tongue to use pain to unfreeze his nerves as Nagisa struggled to his feet; the bluenet grabbed his second knife which was strapped to his leg, drawing it out.

Nagisa gave a battle cry as he lunged at Karma with his knife.

The redhead narrowed his gaze at the knife that was coated with all of the bluenet's bloodlust.

'I'll just knock the blade out of the way.  Without his knife, he would be defensele--!'

Nagisa let go of the knife as it continued to sail through the air.

Karma blinked in surprise and easily batted the knife away.

'He...discarded the kni-!?'

Nagisa gave a battle cry as he quickly tackled Karma to the ground; the redhead frowned in confusion and slight panic.

'There's....no bloodlust!?'

The bluenet wrapped one of his arms over Karma's left shoulder before wrapping his other arm under the redhead's right arm.

An arm triangle choke hold.

Karasuma gaped.

'How could he pull a move like that off!?'

::(Flashback)::

"Ts...Tsuna-Sensei!"

The brunet looked up from his book, tipping his fedora up as he sat on the side of the outdoor Class E pool.

The Decimo smiled warmly.

"Hai, Nagisa-kun?"

The bluenet fidgeted with his fingers.

"I...was wondering if you could teach me some fighting moves."

Tsuna inclined his head, blinking confusedly.

"But...doesn't Karasuma-san teach you guys?"

Nagisa nodded, scratching his cheek as he laughed nervously.

"Well...firstly, he isn't always here, since he's busy with work.  Secondly, on the island....Karma's fighting skills were amazing--improved actually....so....I wanted to ask if you could teach me something."

Tsuna set his book on the side, sighing softly.

"Nagisa-kun.....first, I must tell you....."

The brunet reached up and gently grasped Nagisa's hand, turning it palm up.

"Fighting, martial arts, brawling--whatever you may call it--never use these skills I'm about to teach you for evil."

Tsuna smiled, thinking back to Fon.

"A lesson from my own Sensei, 'I come to you with empty hands.  I shall make no move to harm you, but if you are to fight me, I will do what I must and defend myself'."

The brunet tapped the center of Nagisa's palm with his index finger.

"Martial arts, or any type of fighting skill is not meant for attacking....but for defending.  Remember that, Nagisa-kun

(O.D.D.- I'm quoting my own martial arts teacher.  George-Sensei rocks!  \(>ω<)/)

Nagisa blinked before nodding.

"Hai!"

Tsuna grinned evilly.

"Alrighty~I attack and you defend."

Nagisa sweatdropped.

"EEEEEEEEEH!?"

::(Flashback End)::

Karma gritted his teeth and wriggled around; he was getting a bit light-headed.

Nagisa tightened his grip, clasping his hands together behind Karma's back.

"I....will make you listen to me!"

The rest of Class E watched with shock at the two.

"Nagisa-kun...casted away his assassination techniques--his own field of expertise--and went for a barehanded fight with Karma-kun!"

Koro-Sensei sweated.

"Moreover...Nagisa-kun chose martial arts as the finishing move....all so he can end it on Karma's field, not his."

Karma continued to wriggle around, punching at Nagisa's side, but the bluenet continued to hold on; the redhead growled in frustration.

'Sh**, at this rate...I'll faint!'

Karma flailed his hands around.......and then they touched something.

The redhead wrapped his fingers around it and lifted it up to view.

His knife.

Nagisa, squeezing his eyes shut, continued to tighten his grip on Karma.

The redhead stared at the knife.

::(Flashback)::

"Ehehe, me?  Fight?"

Nagisa, his hair in a low ponytail, smiled nervously at Karma as he poked at the unconscious delinquents that the redhead recently beat up.

"It's so scary  that I could probably never do it for the life of me...."

The bluenet scratched his cheek as he positioned the delinquents in a more comfortable position.

"I mean.....well..if my life depended on it...then that would be a different story."

Karma blinked in slight surprise at the honest answer he was given.

::(Flashback End)::

Thunk.

The knife fell....on the forest floor.

Karma stopped struggling and sighed,gently patting Nagisa's back.

"...That's it....."

The redhead looked up at the sky above, watching the clouds drift.

"I surrender.  I lose...Nagisa-kun..."

Although Nagisa apparently didn't hear and tightened his grip further; Karma sweatdropped and tugged at the bluenet's arm.

"Oi, oi.  I surrender.  Don't choke me anymore. Cough, please listen..."

Karasuma shook off his shock and called out in a clear voice.

"That's enough!  The Red team has surrendered, so the Blue team....the Save team wins!"

The Blue team jumped for joy, and the Red team accepted their defeat.

Nagisa loosened his grip and blinked his eyes blearily; his entire body hurt.

".....I....won?  Against...Karma-kun?"

The bluenet rested his cheek onto the forest floor, rolling onto his side; Karma propped himself up with his elbow, rubbing his neck while smiling.

"Heh...my opponent was a bareheaded animal who showed he had guts.  If I'd used the knife to win, then no one would've accepted my actions."

Karma looked up at the sky.

"I couldn't stab you, and I couldn't roll out from under you.  You pushed me into a situation where surrender was my only option.  Winning through hand-to-and combat without using a knife.....was the optimal solution to 'kill' me."

Karma flopped back onto the ground, causing a few leaves to fly up into the air.

"You totally defeated me."

The redhead's casual voice was back.

"You want to save Koro-Sensei, right?  I'll listen to what you have to say."

Nagisa blinked in surprise.

"R...Really?  You sure?"

The bluenet looked dazed; Karma snickered.

"Hey, hey, don't give me that dumba** look with that messed up face of yours.  You look like a mouse caught in an epidemic."

Nagisa huffed scowling to the side.

"Geez, how can you insult people so easily?  Good grief, Karma-kun!"

Karma flipped onto his feet, standing up.

"So, uh, think we can stop with the honorifics now?  It feels weird to keep the '-kun' after we fight."

Nagisa blinked in surprise, sweatdropping.

"Changing the way we speak now of all times?  That's pretty weird too."

Karma merely smiled, extending a hand out for the bluenet to take.

"Then I'll do it alone.  You cool with that, Nagisa?"

The bluenet blinked, before sighing, smiling with slight fondness.

"...Oh, fine.  Sure...Karma."

The redhead pulled the shorter teen to his feet.

Rustle.

The two turned their heads.

Tsuna was walking toward them.

Nagisa fidgeted under the unreadable gaze and Karma sweated slightly.

The brunet stopped before the two.

The teens shared a glance before looking back at Tsuna, bowing at the brunet.

"We're sorry for worrying you, Tsun-Sens--"

The brunet hugged them; his head resting between their own heads.

Yellow flames circled them, glowing gently.

Tsuna closed his eyes with content as his Sun flames healed their injuries, smiling softly.

"Apology accepted, you knuckleheads...."

~~

The group made up with each other and settled down.

That was when Hinano decided to ask Tsuna a question.

"Tsuna-Sensei.....I know you would usually say that you're neutral, but which side would you choose?"

The others overheard the question and looked at the brunet.

Tsuna blinked in surprise before smiling.

"The Blue team."

He gave an apologetic smile to the Red team as they 'boo'ed him.

Hinano tilted her head.

"If you don't mind my prying.......but why?"

Tsuna glanced over at Reborn before looking back at Hinano.

"Well......I have a tutor of mine, a devil spawn.  As a teen I spent about a year with him; he nearly killed me a few times, but it's all good.  He became family to me."

The brunet chuckled before his expression turned serious.

"...He was....cursed.......and well....a few events occurred...and I was left the choice.....to let him die....or find a way to save him."

Tsuna quirked a smile.

"It was a situation...a bit like this one--save Koro-Sensei, or kill him."

The brunet looked at the other students.

"Even with all odds against me.....I refused to think....that my tutor's life should end there."

Tsuna's eyes connected with Reborn's; the hitman smiled slightly.

The brunet grinned brightly.

"I can't tell you everything....but I lifted my tutor's curse!  And now he lives his usual evil life torturing me~!  Yay~!"

Tsuna said those last few lines with such a cheerful smile, that the class thought he was becoming hysterical; they sweatdropped.

The brunet sent a stink eye to Reborn, and the ravenet couldn't quite hold his laughter.

The ravenet let it ring out loud and clear, shocking some of the students; and scaring a few of them since they've never heard the hitman laugh like that before.

Reborn smirked, wiping a few tears out of his eyes as he clutched his stomach.

"Ah~that was a good laugh."

Tsuna scowled.

The class looked between the two, and realization filled them; the students pointed at Reborn.

"You're the tutor person!"

The ravenet snorted.

"Well duh--"

"Tell us what happened!"

"Yeah, yeah!  Tsuna-Sensei won't tell us, so pleeeeease!?"

The students looked at him expectantly.

Reborn twitched and sighed.

"Maybe next time."

"Awwwwwwww--!"

Bang!

Reborn glared at them as he held a smoking Leon-gun.

"All of you shut the f*** up."

The students trembled.

'S-SCARY!"

Tsuna sighed exasperatedly before smiling fondly at the group.

'Well....at least everyone's made up with each other.....'

He looked up at the sky above.

'...What a beautiful day...'