“Everyone out!” Zio shouted to the rest of the patrons as they fled the building. Fire revolved around Zio’s boots, discharging into the floor as a wave that spread around the room. It burned tables and chairs to ashes as an encircling blaze wrapped him and Tsuna within. Zio raised his hand, waving Tsuna in his direction. “No running. I want you to shut my mouth. Try.”

Tsuna kept his focus on Zio and ignored the ring that trapped him. If I lose track of him for a second… I’ll… The intense heat made him sweat, the beads falling into his eyes and burning them to the point of tears. He knew if he took his attention off of Zio the fight may well end. The idea of blinking quickly came to him and he blinked to dispel the tears in his eyes. After the second blink, Zio vanished. What? A brush of wind struck his face, instantly making him cross his arms. Tremendous force smashed into his forearms as Zio reappeared. The impact sent a wave of pain from his arms to his shoulders. Shit! Did that punch break my arm?! Zio's arms coiled around his own to deliver a knee to his stomach, making Tsuna to jerk forward. Another knee came, but Tsuna sidestepped the attack, retaliating with a headbutt that had no effect. Zio’s palm pressed into his chest, lifting him off of his feet and slamming him on the ground. Tsuna rolled to get away from Zio, but felt the man grab his leg.

Natsumi stood in horror, paralyzed. Her neck swiveled towards Rylen as her teeth chattered. “Rylen, we can’t let Zio just murder him! Stop him, both of them! What happened while you were with those pirates? Why are they fighting?”

Rylen shook his head, exhaling a deep breath. “A phenomenon happened. It’s something that I can’t simply explain, Natsumi. Tsuna isn’t from our world. We found him falling from the sky between the Twin Sea. At The Crossing, Infernus himself found his way into his body. Concealing himself in a gem.”

A mention of the name Infernus brought a shock to Natsumi’s already devastated face. “That shiny red thing in his hand!”

Rylen nodded. “Now you’re caught up. There’s more to it, but the next part is something I can’t simply explain.” Rylen dug into his shirt, exposing a necklace with a circular charm. The trinket expanded in his palm before Rylen pulled it to his eye. “You’ll have to see it for yourself to believe it. If it happens- When it happens… You’ll understand how much our future depends on this moment.”

Tsuna’s body felt weightless, Zio slinging him to the other side of their ring and toward the fire. His hand scraped the ground, slowing him before he entered the flame. Warmth left every part of Tsuna’s body and gathered in his gut, exhaling a hot sigh. He lifted his head, Zio still in front of him, prompting Tsuna to charge at him. Tsuna took the bait. His fist tightened, though his arms ached. Before he knew it, his vision was upside down, Zio’s leg descending into his abdomen and ricocheting him off of the ground. Blood filled his throat before he coughed it out to his side. His hands wandered around his body, seeing if he was still whole. The pain spanned his entire body, begging to stop, but his heart still wavered. Each limb became colder with each passing second as it struggled to keep him warm. Stubbornly, Tsuna strained himself to get off of the floor, but Zio’s fist smashed into his face, pressing him back to the ground. Zio grabbed him by his shirt, scanning over him, then dropped him. Another punch came without warning, and another. A gust of wind blew by them, passing by and feeding the flames. Zio’s head turned towards the source, seeing Natsumi trembling from above.

“Zio, stop! I won’t let you do this!” Natsumi climbed onto the ledge, a swirling green aura wrapping around her fist. Her jacket tugged, Rylen grabbing her before she could jump. “Rylen!? Let me go, damn it! You two have lost your minds!”

Rylen’s twisted the trinket near his eye, gasping as he jerked it away. A bead of sweat streamed down his head as a tear formed in his eye, the two droplets combining at his chin. “It’s undoubtedly her!”

Zio’s attention snapped back to Tsuna, pulling another punch as if he was sure it would be the final blow. Tsuna closed his eyes as another punch flew to his bloodied face. This feeling. It reminds me of all the times the people had forced me to my limit. Bullies, the parents that judged me, classmates. Where things seemed hopeless and I wanted to give up. His eyes drifted to Zio as another punch came.The guy is way stronger than me. There’s nothing I can do to fight back… But… His consciousness slipped away into the plane of his mind. The surrounding light took hold as the white walls of the dragon’s domain pieced together. I-I came too far to die now! The domain shattered, propelling him back into his own sight. Where he saw Zio pulling back another punch. As the fist dropped, Tsuna captured it with his left hand. The crimson gem within glimmered back at him. A white hot sensation exploded in his chest and coursed through his body. The shock on Zio’s face fueled Tsuna’s adrenaline as he found the fortitude to seize him by the neck and rolling over him until he stood over him. The pain’s gone. Is this what Infernus was talking about? My instincts he called them? Tsuna pulled back a punch meant for Zio’s head. Fire sprayed from his mouth, blinding Tsuna but not stopping his attack. The fist came down through the flames, missing Zio and breaking a hole in the floor. Leora stuck her head out from the back room. Her chairs and tables burned to a crisp. A raging fire spread throughout the building.

“My floor!”

As the fire caressed his skin, a torrent of different feelings sank into Tsuna. Guilt, sorrow, outrage, and pain. Is this what he goes through? I don’t feel the heat, but his burdens!? How does he bear so much? Tsuna backed off, the retreat allowing Zio to spin to his feet. “You lost something to this dragon, didn’t you? In your fire just now, I learned all you’re going through. Some of them make sense, but the others are a question. The problem has never been with me. It’s been with him. Infernus.”

Almost as if relieved, Zio’s face eased. He closed his eyes, then recomposed himself. “Then you’ve talked to him?” An acknowledgment of his question made him place a hand on his chest. “To call that demon a deity is unjust. The amount of blood that’s on his hands, from war, from brothers and sisters killing one another. It’s all too high to count. But damn that. What he has stolen from me… That’s all I care about. If he would come back, to take the people I love again… I’ll be his end.”

It was then that Tsuna understood him clearer than he had before. He and Zio were identical. More than he’d like to admit. They feared loss, to the point it terrified them. However, instead of awaiting the day he may lose his loved ones, he fought on through hell and back, so that day may never come. Zio lifted his shirt over his head, exposing a body full of cuts and a patched up injury on his side. Tsuna took a sharp breath. “Even while wounded.” And exhaled. “I’m scared, Zio. I don’t want to lose more either. My home, gone, my life, gone. My mother, my girl, the only two I have left and they’re lost someplace in this world. But, it’s up to me to find them. No matter what happens. I will overcome anything in my way, even if it’s the strongest man I’ve ever met standing in front of me.” Tsuna removed his shirt and tossed it into the fire.

“This finally took a change for the better!” Said Rylen, wiping away his remaining tears. “Tsuna is exactly who I thought he was! Things have never looked more up until today!”

“For the better!?” Leora barged onto the balcony and rolled her hands around Rylen’s neck. “There’s a hole in my floor! My floor made from Yggdrasil that took me weeks to move back and forth! One of you’s going to pay for this!”

Natsumi slumped, ignored the two of them, her attention wholly on the two below. “Tsuna looks alright now. Thank the gods. Zio too… These two shouldn’t be fighting. Zio, Tsuna isn’t the kind of person you think he is. I mean… I still don’t really know him, but if his actions are as sincere as his words…”

Tsuna glanced towards the balcony. None of them are going to put out the fire, huh? He closed his fist and twisted his neck until it cracked. “Let’s go!” Zio moved hastily, showing up on his side, swinging a jab toward his face. Blocked. Tsuna swung back, a punch toward his chest. Caught. A sudden kick caught him off guard, knocking Tsuna back several feet. Zio twirled in the air before him, dropping a kick aimed for his head. He missed. That’s a free shot! Though before Tsuna could counter, he felt a blunt hit to his side. Zio’s other leg jammed into it. A delighted grin came on Zio’s face, dissolving as he saw Tsuna immediately wrap his arm around his leg and tug. He spun Zio around and tossed him to the other side of the ring, where he recovered and vanished again. A punch came across Tsuna’s face before Zio fiercely beat him down with a flurry of attacks. Tsuna hid behind his arms, getting punched from side to side, up to down. The glow of his eyes blazed on his forearms, accepting another punch and deflecting it. Like a bullet, his fist flew going into Zio’s jaw before he saw it coming. Got him! His arm quivered, feeling a surge of energy forcing its way into his hand. A blast shooting out of Tsuna’s hand, pressing Zio across the air and into the fire. Tsuna’s heart sank. Oh no.

The room settled, the cackling flames extending along the walls. Abruptly, the fires stripped away. Zio emerged from the fire, his body scaled and his palm flat, the flames of the room gathering to his hand and turning into a bright light as he closed it. “You’re dead.” Rushing forward and drawing back his fist, Zio jumped toward Tsuna.

The melody of whistling reverberated through the room, accompanied by three loud snaps. Zio’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and his scales dissolved before he toppled to the ground. Tsuna stared at the slumped body, his own body too paralyzed to move. Above him, he saw a narrow tunnel of roaring wind whirling around the room. The tunnels led back to the barrel of Rylen’s gun.

“The chances that we’d run into you the way we did was a miracle. One that I’m not willing to wave by on the sidelines as a bystander.” A single hop from the balcony and Rylen landed by Tsuna. “Zio might not know it yet, but I see you for what you are, Tsuna. I am certain that you are her son. You are the son of Ginchiyo.”