Title: Catalyst

Rating: PG-13 to eventual M

Pairing: X27, aka, XanxusTsuna

Warnings: Swearing, Violence, Character Death BL/Yaoi/etc.

Summary: Everyone believes death is the end. But when death is cheated, and you're dragged from the land of the dead, what will you have to do to remain among the living?

--

The end was signaled with the roar of flames and cheers of victory. The battle was over. They had once again overcome the odds, survived, and flourished. The Vongola still held their seat on top of the mafia hierarchy. All thanks to the Vongola Decimo.

This newest battle had been short and swift. Yet another rival mafia family had become jealous of the Vongola's ever increasing fame and fortune. They, like so many other rival mafia families before them, had underestimated the young Vongola Decimo and his equally young Guardians. However, like all the ones before them, Tsuna and his family beat the odds and overcame the challengers.

The results of their hard work could be seen below him. Tsuna hovered high in the air, supported by rich orange flames that poured from the palms of his hands. His crystal-orange eyes surveyed the battlefield. People were scattered about the grounds, some dead or unconscious, others standing and cheering in victory. Subordinates and Guardians alike stood and looked up at him from below, waving happily. Despite his dislike for violence, Tsuna was glad he was able to protect his family once again. From what Tsuna could see, there were no casualties on their side, and very few serious injuries.

Down on the ground, Gokudera rolled up his torn and dirtied sleeves, brushing off the bomb smoke and filth that clung to him. Smiling in satisfaction from a successful victory, he casually lit a fresh cigarette. Taking a slow deep breath, he nearly jumped when a hand suddenly clapped on his shoulder.

"Hahaha, that sure was quick." The overly cheerful voice of Yamamoto laughed a little too close for Gokudera's liking. Slapping Yamamoto's hand away, Gokudera took another slow drag of his cigarette to calm himself.

"Of course it was you moron. These guys were just third-rate thugs. Hardly worth our time." Gokudera cast a glare at Yamamoto, angry at how the swordsman somehow managed to come out of the battle dirt-free. If Gokudera hadn't seen the baseball maniac actually fight, he would've thought he never took place in the battle. Spitting out his half burned down cigarette, Gokudera turned his head upwards to watch Tsuna, who's brilliant orange flames were flowing over the sky.

"Jyuudaime!!" Gokudera called happily, waving enthusiastically up at his beloved boss. Tsuna, hearing his name, looked down, and smiled in return. He opened his mouth to return a greeting, but his voice stilled in his throat.

There was no sound, nor even the slightest hint or flicker that could've forewarned him. Red specks suddenly filled his vision. Blood, like a flower blooming, spread outwards from his chest. For a full second, the world froze and all went silent. Then, another second ticked by, and came a thunderous roar.

BANG

A third second ticked by, much slower then the other two. Like a candle being snuffed out, Tsuna's flames were gone. His body hovered for a millisecond, then he fell. Among the startled and frozen family below, Gokudera was the first to react. With a cry of agony, he sprinted forward, catching Tsuna's body before he hit the ground. Cradling his Boss's head with one hand, and pressing on the wound with his other, attempting to stem the blood flow, Gokudera called Tsuna's name like a chant.

But it was too late. Tsuna was already gone.

Yamamoto knelt next to Gokudera, and then calmly, yet shakily pried Gokudera's hands away from Tsuna's body from where they had been trying to revive the fallen teen. The rest of the family soon was crowded around, crying and looking on with horror. In less then a minute, they had lost their beloved boss, their sky.

Gokudera cried openly, but he couldn't seem to get his voice to work. It was bottled up deep within his throat. Yamamoto, also crying silently, placed a hand over Tsuna's face, and closed the dead glassed-over eyes.

Time stood still once again, as no one was ready to face the future. A future without Tsuna. They all stood around their fallen boss, silently clinging to each other and cried.

Well, almost everyone.

"VOII! Get the fuck outta my way you trash!!" A very loud and very familiar voice angrily called from the back of the crowd. Violently shoving people aside, Squalo pushed his way through the thick crowd of people, followed by the other members of the Varia.

"I said, get out of the way, brat!" Squalo snarled, literally picking up Gokudera by the back of his shirt and tossing him to the side.

"Squalo!" Yamamoto stood up, glaring at the disrespectful swordsman.

"What the fuck do you want!?" Gokudera snarled, also leaping up, ready to fight off the Varia who now stood around their fallen boss's body.

"Che, so this trash finally bit the bullet, huh?" Squalo snarled in distaste, standing over Tsuna's body and looking it over with a critical eye. He turned his back to Gokudera, clearing ignoring him.

"You bastard!" Gokudera screamed, rushing forward, but was blocked by Levi A Than, who held Gokudera back from approaching any closer.

"Squalo, why are you doing this?" Yamamoto spoke up this time, watching as the other members of the Varia proceeded to push back the crowd of subordinates away from Tsuna's body.

"Just making a little room." Squalo answered, as he kneeled next to Tsuna's body, examining the ugly bullet wound with detached interest. Gokudera rushed forward now, breaking away from Levi, but was held back by Yamamoto this time.

"For what?" Yamamoto asked, gripping onto Gokudera's arm, keeping him from attacking the Varia member before he could get his answer.

"For me." A deep voice answered from behind them. Xanxus now entered into the cleared circle, and swiftly walked forward to stand next in front of Tsuna's body. Squalo stood up, and the two exchanged a brief look before the swordsman stepped away to stand off to the side.

"Why the FUCK are you here!?" Gokudera snarled angrily, just barely being restrained by Yamamoto.

"Because this piece of trash here just had to go and get himself killed. And you see, that causes quite a few problems." Xanxus snapped back as he knelt next to Tsuna's body, and began to roll up he sleeves.

"But why are you here!?" Gokudera asked again, getting increasing frustrated with cryptic answers.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to fix it." Xanxus snarled in annoyance, hating to explain himself. Before Gokudera could scream at him again, Xanxus held up his right hand. An intricate ring could be seen on his middle finger, with a deep red ruby imbedded in the center. Suddenly flames surrounded the ring, then quickly his whole hand. The flames pulsed and flashed angrily, but Xanxus held his hand still, and slowly the flames intensified in power. He built up the flames for several moments, to the point where the center was bright white with intense heat. Then, he pushed his hand forward and slammed the flames down onto Tsuna's chest. The flames hissed angrily and the blast of power exploded, knocking everyone several steps back. Then, the dust settled and the flames dimmed. Xanxus was silent, staring intently down at Tsuna, where he still had his hand pressed against his chest. Then, after a quiet pause, Tsuna's body suddenly convulsed and lurched upwards. Tsuna opens his mouth and takes a deep and ragged breath, gasping for air. His eyes snapped open, revealing rich crystal-orange eyes.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, brat." Xanxus smirked, still holding the boy down. Tsuna's eyes just blinked slowly, focusing just briefly on Xanxus's face, before slumping back down on the ground. His eyes slowly rolled closed once more, but this time from exhaustion, then from death.

Standing up, Xanxus brushed his hands together, signaling his job was done. Giving a nod to Squalo, Xanxus swiftly turned around and started to walk away. Gokudera, breaking free from Yamamoto's grip, rushed to Tsuna's side. He hastily pressed his hands against Tsuna's neck, feeling the faint but steady pulse beneath the warm skin. He then looked at the wound on his chest. Tsuna's bloodied shirt had been burned off from the intense flames, but all that remained of the bullet hole was a star-shaped burn surrounded by red scar tissue. The wound had completely closed up.

Unable to even absorb what he was seeing, Gokudera scrambled to his feet once more and dashed after Xanxus who was walking across the grounds.

"How…wha….What did you--?" Gokudera stumbled over his words, unable to even form a proper question.

Xanxus paused for a moment, the turned to smirk at Gokudera with his famous 'I-hold-all-the-cards.' type of smile.

"Just paying a little debt." Was all he said, before walking away.

--

So, I'm probably going to get shot for not working on Ashes to Flames, but this new little piece has been rolling around in my head forever, and just screamed to be written.

And NO, this is not the end.

This little fic is something I thought of one day, while contemplating Xanxus's personality. I decided to experiment a little, and try to develop Tsuna's and Xanxus's relationship a little differently. Unlike my other fics, this one will be a lot darker. Xanxus himself will be more like his younger self in the manga (angry, scheming, always looking for ways to manipulate things to work for him etc.), while Tsuna will be more mature (along with other things, but I don't want to spoil it…)

Good news is, that this fic will be fairly short. Not entirely sure how many chapters exactly, but significantly shorter then Ashes to Flames. I'm still working on the plot, but I've got the general idea of what's going to happen ;)

So…yeah. -scurries away before she's beaten with a blunt object-

Reviews are food for my writing spirit! Feed it!!

-Kou Tora

P.S. If you didn't know, I have a DeviantArt account now! You can see some of my fics posted there, and some of my (crappy) sketches. Feel free to visit me! :3 kou-tora.deviantart .com (remove the spaces) The link can also be found in my profile.