Summary : This chapter was been written for a very long time. Now that we've reached this point I can share it with you. I think my favorite part about this chapter is the growth we've seen in Hibari admitting his feelings in his own way. The way Sakura waits for him. To me... this slow burn romance has been so much. Nothing but fluff from here on out right?
Miki finally released the Yakuza princess who ran to help the fallen Vongola. "Hey, hang in there!" "Bring in the tanker!" "They're severely injured!" Several people yelled as Sakura ran past them all. She got close to Dino who yelled "Kyoya! Are you okay?" He asked going over to help him. "Don't touch me. I'm fine... excluding my pride." he said, gritting his teeth. He didn't expect the Cherry Blossom to run up and hug him. He held her pulling her close to him as he felt his shirt get wet slightly. "I'm okay." he assured her, his voice slightly softer just for her.
Dino frowned. "Princess, your kimono." he said, trying to help him but Hibari shook his head at him. He let the princess hold him as he kept his hand on her back. "Are you alright?" Another man was helping the sun guardian. "This is... nothing" Ryohei said as he sat up with help. "Please don't move!" someone warned Gokudera. "Don't worry about me. Worry about tenth! Are you okay, Tenth?" Gokudera protested. Sakura let Hibari go as she looked at the others. "Tsuna." Reborn looked at the boy. "Yeah... I'm okay... Enma... I couldn't even fight back..." The young Vongola leader frowned as realized the situation.
"Simon... who could've known they were planning something like this..." Ryohei commented. "Shit! They've been fooling us all along." Gokudera said, annoyed. "And Chrome's been kidnapped!" Tsuna pointed out. "No way!" Gokudera commented. "Where'd they go?" Ryohei demanded. "Calm down. My guardian's are currently tracking Simon. You must focus on healing yourselves." The Ninth said. "Ninth!" Tsuna cheered.
"Ninth! Bad news!" One of the Ninth's guardians came in. "What is it?" he asked worried. "Coyote Nougat was following Simon, but they discovered and attacked him," he shared. "What!" Nono was shocked. Sakura quickly turned around. "Where is Kai?" She asked, looking around and not seeing him. She began to panic but Hibari quickly pointed him out to her. He was standing with the Varia. The poor girl let out a breath. "Coyote...." The Ninth mourned. "Ninth!" Tsuna yelled, worried.
"VOOOIII! The Varia can take care of the Simon family from here. Just give us your consent, Ninth." Squalo stated. "No." The Ninth instantly turned down his request. "What you old man!" Squalo was insulted. "Understand me, Squalo. We can't produce any more victims." Nono protested. "Victims? Are you saying we'd lose? We're on a different level than your wimpy guardians!" Squalo continued to protest. "Squalo! Simon's power lies within a ring that we know nothing about! Without a powerful ring or box weapon, you will never win!" Nono scolded all of them. Sakura frowned as she thought about what she could have done differently... but she left all her rings in the future and although she could have used Hibi... the Simon power was still something she wasn't sure her dinosaur could defeat.
"That's not the only bad news. By Enma's hands, Vongola's most powerful asset that reigns over the seven elements of the sky... The Vongola rings have been broken." Reborn pointed out to all of them. "Within Vongola, the ones who should have been closest to Simon's power are Tsunayoshi-kun and his guardians, who have been to the future and possess the Vongola rings. But now, that all the Vongola rings have been broken... our only ray of hope has been taken away... everything is my responsibility... If I had only researched Simon more thoroughly... If I had uncovered the truth about the 'sin', then we would have never lost the treasures that our ancestors have left us... What have I done? Even my life would not be enough to compensate for this...." Nono's spirit began to break. Everyone looked at him worried.
"There's still some hope left. I can see there is light, even with these blind eyes." A strangely dressed man showed up. "You are..." The Ninth was surprised to see him while everyone else looked at him confused. "Ninth. You have certainly grown old." "Grandfather Talbot! You came to the ceremony?" Nono was surprised and greeted him. "Yes, though I was a bit late as I was taking care of my sheep." he apologized.
"Who the heck is that geezer?" Gokudera questioned. "An acquaintance of Ninths?" Tsuna suggested. "He's Talbot ; the oldest metal craftsman that has worked alongside Vongola." Reborn explained. "Metal craftsman?" Ryohei questioned. "A man who works with metal to make tools and accessories. It's rare for him to show himself and a mystery as to when he started working for Vongola. Rumors say that he's been working for Vongola since Primo's time." Reborn shared.
"Show me the Vongola rings, will you?" he asked the tenth's guardian. "Hand them to him." The Ninth ordered. "Ouch... They've taken quite the beating..." he examined the rings. "What's that geezer doing?" Gokudera asked. "He's talking to himself..."Tsuna commented. "Is he sane to the extreme?" Ryohei questioned. Hibari glanced at Sakura who was watching Talbot. He took a step closer to her and pulled her back to him. She glanced up at him and he frowned seeing her eyes still red from tears he caused.
"Ho ho ho, so the opponent was the Simon rings aided by the 'sin', eh? No wonder you were defeated!" Talbot concluded. "What?" Nono yelled. "How did you know?" Tsuna questioned. Sakura turned her attention back to the metal craftsman. "Good boy, I'll fix you right up. Ninth." He looked at the Vongola leader. "Yes?" "What say you? The Vongola rings are writhing to be reborn." Talbot shared. "Reborn?" Tsuna questioned. "Grandfather Talbot, that means... that the Vongola rings are still..." Nono questined. "They're still alive. Their shell has merely been destroyed." Talbot explained.
"OH..." Talbot went over to Tsuna. "So you're Vongola the tenth. Ho ho ho, you're exactly the man the ring says you are." He commented as he poked Tsuna with his cane. "That hurts sir." Tsuna protested. "Hey Geezer, what do you think you're doing?" Gokudera defended his boss. "Um.. excuse me but, what do you mean when you say the rings tell you things?" Tsuna asked him. "You wore these rings, and yet you don't even know? Within powerful rings dwell spirits. With spirits they are able to feel. And to hear those voices is my job. The Vongola rings are telling me of new possibilities." Talbot explained to them all. "New possibilities? You don't mean to say that the Vongola rings can be fixed?" Nono questioned. "More or less, yes." Talbot agreed.
"Fixed?" Gokudera asked, surprised. "Even in this state of destruction?" Ryohei questioned. "They can be fixed?" Tsuna asked, excited. "However... even if they are fixed to their original state, they will only meet the same fate if they face Simon again. It can't be helped, as the levels of the rings are much too different. The Simon rings are bathed in the first generation of Simon's blood, and its powers have multiplied." Talbot warned them. "So there is no way to win?" Gokudera asked. "N-no way..." Tsuna looked dejected.
"There's no way to win unless... they're upgraded as well." Talbot teased. "Upgraded?" Tsuna asked. "You seem to bear rings of the beasts as well. Will you show them to me?" Talbot asked. "Beasts?" Do you mean the animal rings?" Tsuna asked him. "Yes, show them to me." Talbot ordered.
The man went over to Yakuza Princess and Hibari. Even blindfolded, the two of them could feel his eyes looking directly into hers. "So the two of you finally became one. How very interesting." he commented. Sakura looked confused. "Who do you mean Talbot-san?" she asked him. He smirked at her. "I'm talking about Ryu and Tsuba of course. Twins. Interesting too that two became one." he chuckled. Sakura and Hibari exchanged glances, not sure what he was talking about. "If you'd allow it, Yakuza Princess, let me see your dinosaur and sky stone as well." he asked her. She took off her earring and showed him along with Tsuna and his friends animal rings.
"I see... I will need their spirits as well." Talbot said. "Eh? Nuts spirit too?" Tsuna asked, shocked. "Of course, that's not all. I will also need that man's help. And them as well." Talbot opened his cloak showing vials of weird mixture and bags of rare substances.
"Hmmm...These are stones from the moon. This is Levatein's hilt...hmm found it." Talbot muttered to himself before he showed them all a vile. "The blood of Vongola Primo, Penality!" He said. "Wha?" Gokudera looked shocked. "Primo's blood?" Tsuna questioned. "Pe... 'Penalty? Wh- why do you have Primo's blood?" Nono asked him. "Well he's not the only one I also have this one." he pulled out another vile. "Blood of the Yakuza founders, 'Justice'" he showed them. Sakura's eyes widened. That was the blood of her ancestors. "How did you acquire that?" she asked him. "I've forgotten details of the past" he brushed it off.
"Now then, we have all the materials. If all goes well, the Vongola rings will obtain a power like never before. But if we fail, the Vongola rings will lose their spirits. They will never shine again. The probability is half and half. What will you do Decimo?" Talbot warned them all. "What will I do? I don't..." Tsuna wasn't sure how to answer. "You must do what you think is best, Tsunayoshi-kun." Nono assured him. "Nono..."Tsuna muttered. "We all agree, Tenth!" Gokudera encouraged. Hibari went over and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder forcing her to look up at him. "Yeah, of course."Ryohei agreed. "I..." Tsuna thought about it for a second but he knew what the right choice was. "Please upgrade the rings!" he begged Talbot. "Aye, understood. Then let us get started on the upgrade of the Vongola rings, shall we?" Talbot asked them.
"Nono, lend me a room downstairs." He looked over at the Yakuza Princess. "I'll make you something worthy as well." he assured her. She nodded her head trusting him completely with Hibi and her father's earring. "Of course Talbot, right this way." Nono led him.
"You can do it here in this castle?" Tsuna asked surprised. "I'm not one to choose a location. Meanwhile, you lot, should rest up. In the end, it will benefit the rings." he told them all. "Eh? O-okay." Tsuna agreed.
Everyone started to head to different rooms to receive first aid and treatment. Sakura helped Hibari as he leaned on her slightly. They stopped in front of Kai. "Can you bring me a change of clothes?" she asked him. He bowed his head, "right away your highness." he assured her. "Sakura-hime, Kyoya, I found an empty room for you two." he said. The couple nodded and followed Dino.
The room looked like a simple guest room and Sakura led Hibari over to the bed. "Rest here. I'm going to change and will come back." she assured him. He didn't want to let her go as he lingered holding her hand. "I'll take a nap. Wake me up when you return." he said finally letting her go. She nodded and left.
Hibari couldn't sleep. In fact he was annoyed with the fact that the girl he cared about was almost crushed by that weird shy boy's unique ring. "Thank you Nono. I'll check on him right now" he heard her voice. He glanced over at the door and saw her now in a short sleeve polo shirt and low cut jeans. He saw her bow before she shut the door. A sighed escaped her before she turned around and saw him watching her. "They wanted me to check on you since you don't like crowds" she told him going over to the dresser to place the tray of first aid items down.
Hibari got up while she was unloading the items before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He let out a deep sigh. It was a sigh of reassurance. He could feel that she wasn't injured and she was safe right there in his arms. "Kyoya?" He heard her call his name. "You're okay?" he asked, tightening his grip a little. The girl placed her hands on his arms. She then pressed her lips against his skin. "I'm okay. I'm not hurt at all" she assured him. The boy pulled her as close as possible to him and rested his head on her shoulder but he didn't say anything. They stayed like that for a moment before he let her go.
Sakura recalled how she accidentally confessed her feelings to Hibari not too long ago on Namichu's roof. The girl also recalled what he said to her before they entered the castle. His answer. What was it... She felt a little flustered recalling those moments but seeing Hibari was actually shaken about her safety she couldn't help but go over to him and tilted her head in front of him. He blinked at her action before he raised a single eyebrow and frowned. "What are you doing?" She giggled. "Making sure you're okay," she told him, smiling. He shook his head. "I'm okay." he assured her. "Then you'll let me treat you?" He nodded his head and went to sit on the chair while the Yakuza princess worked on him.
The two of them were silent as she worked bandaging up his wounds. Hibari on the other hand watched her silently. She was real and she wasn't hurt. He couldn't help but feel a little happy about that information. "Alright all done" she said, smiling proud of her work. "Thanks" he grumbled, not wanting to admit that she did help him out.
He stood up and she took a step back. Of course he noticed that. He took another step closer to her but she took another step back from him causing him to raise an eyebrow at her. "You're avoiding me," he commented. "I'm not" she gave a small puff. He stepped closer again and this time she held her ground as if trying to prove something to him. "Is this because of what happened on the roof a couple of weeks ago? Or because I have my answer for you?" He could see the blush on her cheeks as she refused to answer him. He smirked. "Saku." he used her future nickname, causing her to look up at him.
She could see how honest his eyes looked. He wasn't teasing her or messing with her. He wasn't trying to trick her or cause her confession to be invalid. He showed concern and she could tell he really cared about her. "I'm glad you're not hurt. I was worried something happened to you. I let you distract me. You annoy me. You anger me. You're my sparring partner and help me be a better fighter. You are closer to me than Tetsuya. I hate not knowing where you are. I hate when you don't show up to school. And what happened in the future pissed me off more than anything. I struggle to sleep at night now because I'm so used to you by my side. But despite all that I know one thing." His face felt warm and his ears were burning. His body was boiling with this feeling he was trying to convey to her. And seeing the blush and flustered look on her face made it worth saying, "I want you to belong only to me. To be mine and only mine" he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders and pressing his forehead against hers.
Sakura felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest. Her ears flushed and rang from his words. This moment is what she had been waiting for, for years. This is Hibari trying to tell her that he had feelings for her. They were romantic feelings nonetheless. The short brown hair girl reached forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She could cry tears of happiness. Hibari on the other hand held her tightly as he came to realize she still smelled like the flower she was named after. She let him go but he didn't let her get too far from him as he pulled her close, tilted her chin up, and kissed her. The girl's eyes widened but of course she kissed him back, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around his neck. When they were both breathless they pulled back, staring in one another's eyes. His hands rested on her waist. Hers on his shoulders. "I'm yours," she told him, smiling. He scoffed and pressed his forehead against hers, glad they came to the same conclusion on their feelings for one another.