Cover Image created by Wyrvel

A/N: Because as good as the ending was, especially upon re-reading it more recently, I still wish there was more. And it's not like there isn't more to be explored.

As will soon become evident, the first chapter takes place a few hours after the end of the series-that is, the end of the manga. Thereafter, there will be a three month time skip, to allow for setup of events yet to come. For right now, this is going to be a series all taking place within the same universe, chronologically given, in short arcs that will most likely be written entirely in advance of being posted. How far it goes...well, that depends on a lot of things, but I have a lot of ideas. Hope you enjoy The Flame of Day.

Target 1: Sky Flames

"Neo Vongola Primo? What a laugh…"

Tsuna walked beneath night sky and streetlamps, getting a breath of fresh air. The chain on the Vongola Gear jangled as he walked.

"I think he's just being Reborn."

"Yuni? I thought you had already returned to Italy by now…"

She sat on the curb, her headpiece on her lap, her black hair down her back in a braid. Her head was slightly turned to look at Tsuna out of the corner of her eye. "Byakuran was heavily injured during the last fight. We want to make sure he's healthy enough to travel."

"Oh. Um…can I sit down?"

She scooted over so that Tsuna could sit on her right, between her and the lamppost. From this vantage, Tsuna could see that she had a wooden white-painted box on her lap, inlaid with intricate silver designs. There was an emblem that Tsuna couldn't quite make out under her hands.

"And then there was one," she muttered, one hand going to the empty ribbon still looped around her neck.

Tsuna unconsciously rubbed the ring around his little finger with his thumb. "I hadn't thought about that, but yeah, I guess so. The Pacifiers are being maintained by Bermuda, and the Mare Rings were sealed when the future Arcobaleno came to this time. And even the Vongola Rings aren't the same anymore."

"Checkerface—I mean, Mr. Kawahira—he said that the life of the world turned on the Tri-ni-sette. But now it's gone off-balance. I can almost feel it, the balance of power shifting in the world, right beneath my feet, tearing off to the side until I feel like I'll slip away."

"Yuni, are you alright?" He put a hand on her shoulder.

She closed her eyes and pushed his hand away. "Tsuna, you should know, before it's too late. What you see before you…I'm not real. Don't try and argue it, because it's true. I'm a ghost, or a wish, made real by the will of the Sky attribute of the Tri-ni-sette. And now that the Arcobaleno curse has been broken, there's nothing to bind me to this world. If the others…no, I can't pretend that some of them ever cared for me, but if Uncle Reborn had known, he mightn't have allowed you and Talbot to carry out breaking the curse, even if it was the best way to ensure no more lives were lost to it."

His heart was beating fast, and he was nearly sweating trying to keep himself from panicking. "But yours will. And I don't care what you say, you're alive and you're here beside me!"

"But my life won't end!" For all she had said, when Yuni turned to Tsuna, her eyes were full of joy. "Out there, there's another version of me, who won't have to be me. I'm a possibility that is no longer needed. I…she doesn't have to sacrifice her life for the sake of a future she will never see. She won't have to bring the people she cares about into a deadly competition for an empty prize. She doesn't have to be…"

"The Arcobaleno of the Orange Pacifier?"

"Yes. Yes. Whether she does something great, or is just happy…she has the potential to be someone else. Anyone else. She can be anybody, the girl coming into the world tonight. Her mother won't die from a curse. Her father might be able to be a father, instead of a defender." She took a deep breath, and adjusted her grip on the wooden box. The emblem was that of the tri-ni-sette—a rainbow, a clam, and the ocean set triangularly. "I can't let go of this world without being sure of things. This is one of those things." She lifted the lid, and inside sat seven rings with brilliant clear gems and intricately cut silver wings.

"The Mare Rings? I thought they were sealed…"

"They were, but that only sealed their 'miracle', to connect across time's horizontal axis. But they are still potent rings, capable of manifesting brilliant Dying Will Flames. They can't fall into the wrong hands, but I know yours are strong and capable. Will you care for them, Vongola Decimo?"

"I…of course I will, but, don't they belong to Giglio Nero? Gamma might be better to carry them…"

Yuni shook her head. "Yes, the Giglio Nero has always cared for the rings, but I won't be returning to Italy, and Gamma…it would hurt him, I think, to carry that reminder."

Tsuna nodded. "I get it. Then, I'll protect them, as well as I can, and the first chance I get, I'll return them to the boss of Giglio Nero." He took the box, and closed the lid. For all their brilliance, they certainly lacked that certain spark that they had once carried.

"Thank you. Thank you. Then there's just…I might be only a ghost, a living will, but can I ask you a favor?" Her complexion was pale in the moonlight, or maybe she was fading already. "By the morning, memory of me—this version of me, I mean—will have faded from this world. For most, it'll be like a far-off dream you had when you were a child. But even for all that, I know that with your will and strength, you'll remember me. So…if you ever meet that girl, who is going to be born into this world tonight…please…" She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Just…can you tell her…she doesn't always have to be strong? That she can be human. There's plenty of people who will keep her safe, but so few that'll tell her that."

Tsuna wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him. "As long as I'm around, she'll know it. I promise, Yuni."

They stayed like that for a long time. By the time the sun rose, Yuni was gone like the morning mist.

Tsuna still had a heavy grip on the ring case as he rubbed his eyes. It had been at least 28 hours since he had last slept, and in that time he had been struck twice with the Dying Will Bullet, but he only stood up and checked the time on his phone. "Still an hour until school starts…doesn't seem real to be going back to class after the past few weeks…and last night…"

He started to stand, bracing himself against the lamp post, when a black car with tinted windows squealed to a stop in the street in front of him. Why's somebody out so early…oh. Great.

The door slammed open, and out stepped the prince himself. "I don't like seeing garbage left out on the street, I should take the head off the neighbors," Belphegor said, and cackled. The storm weasel sitting on his shoulder chittered in unison.

Tsuna only rolled his eyes, keeping the box stiff at his side.

"Now, now, don't go walking away just yet, I'm sure the boss wouldn't want to leave Japan without saying goodbye, isn't that right, Levi?"

The Lightning Assassin seemed to be of a similar mind to Tsuna—that is, that this was a waste of time—although he did have one of his lightning rods in the seat beside him.

"Ooh, whatcha got there?"

"None of your business." Tsuna slid the box into his pocket, while also grabbing his mittens from the other pocket and slipping them on.

Another car squealed to a stop behind the first one, and Squalo stuck his head out from the passenger seat. "Vraaaiii! Move your ass before I cut it off! Bel I swear—" Whatever he was going to swear was lost when he saw whose neck Belphegor was playing the edge of his knife across.

Tsuna could only sigh and close his eyes. If I stay I might get shot. If I run I will get shot.

From the back seat of the luxurious black car came first a shocking white lion with platinum armor on his head and neck. The lion came up to Tsuna in a few quick strides, baring his teeth and growling. Then came Bester's master, one hand on the pistol holstered to his hip. Xanxus' scars were heavy on his face, and the grin on his face sent shivers down Tsuna's spine as much as he tried to keep his cool.

"Xaaanxus, he has a toy and he won't shaaare~" Belphegor said in a sing-song tone.

Tsuna forced himself to meet Xanxus' gaze. That immense anger hadn't faded at all since the last day of the Ring Conflict.

"Well? Hand it over, scum." With a flick of his thumb, he released the safety on one X-Gun.

Tsuna unconsciously brushed his hand against his pocket. "No."

"I said, hand it over."

He's just looking for an excuse, I wish he'd just go away. Tsuna felt like there was a fire chasing down his throat. "And I said, forget about it." He turned away from Xanxus and took a step back down the road. There came a click from behind him as a bullet loaded into place, but the shot that rang out wasn't from the X-Gun.

Of course he'd be watching closely, he always is… Tsuna thought as the bullet caught him in the center of his forehead.

The momentum threw him backwards, and a jet of flame from his gloves spun him upside-down over Xanxus, grabbing the offending arm and twisting it around as he righted himself in midair and landed heavily. His Dying Will Flame sparked, and the backs of his gloves morphed into a roman numeral I. Xanxus yelled out in pain as Tsuna sealed his hand in a cluster of ice, gun and all.

Squalo yelled out and kicked the car door off its hinges. He leaped out, hooking his sword-hand into place as he went, and went for Tsuna's exposed back. Tsuna released Xanxus, dropped to the ground, and blasted himself away to the side. He skidded on the sidewalk and rolled over so he could catch himself on both feet and one hand, crouched low to the ground. Squalo nearly sliced his boss's arm off, and instead rammed him in the back with his shoulder as he pulled to a stop.

Xanxus pulled out his other gun and struck Squalo in the face with the butt of the pistol as he turned back to Tsuna. "Bester!"

The Liger's stripes came into thick relief as he pounced for Tsuna. Tsuna flew upwards on a jet of flame, just out of the Sky Lion's reach. This is ridiculous, I need to get into a better position to fight in the air unless I want to fight all of Varia at once. If I can get moving quickly, I might be able to avoid getting shot. Just as the thought came, Belphegor's wicked laugh cut through it.

"No running, peasant!" A pair of knives came off his fingers and through the air, and with a twist of his wrist they wound around his arms by the wires. A Storm flame ignited on his Varia ring and started creeping up the lengths of the wires. As Tsuna pulled on the wires, they cut through the cloth of his sleeves and started digging into the flesh of his arms without any hint of give.

At the same time a loudmouth down the road yelled out and a flash of blue cut across the wires, severing them cleanly. Levi had just gotten out of the other side of the car when a string of firecrackers tied together by the fuses landed at his feet and ignited.

Tsuna ignited a hard sky flame on his gloves and launched himself down the road, landing right beside his Storm Guardian preparing one of his bombs with the electronic cigarette between his teeth. "Thanks, Gokudera."

"Nothing to thank, Tenth! I am only doing my duty!" He tapped a button on the side of his glasses, and his storm flame shields came into position directly in front of them to block a massive bolt of sky flames from Xanxus.

Tsuna nodded as Yamamoto came into formation to his left, Kojirou sitting on his shoulder and Jirou at his heel, and smiling as always. "Never changes! What happened?"

"Yuni gave me the Sealed Mare Rings to protect, and Belphegor saw the box. Xanxus used it as an excuse to come after me." He yanked at the wire again. Gokudera looked over, pulled out a pocket knife, and sawed the pieces apart with a few quick strokes. "Thanks." He looked up then, and motioned for Gokudera to move the shields aside. "Xanxus, I'm not interested in a fight. Can't we just go our separate ways?"

Flames ignited in the hand that had been frozen, and the Zero Point Breakthrough ice exploded apart into fragments. "It's way too late for playing the peacemaker, trash. Bester—Cambio Forma!"

"Scatter!" Tsuna shouted, and his friends dove off to the sides while he shot into the air. Xanxus launched himself at Tsuna with twin shots from the Emperor Pistols and they collided in a burst of sky flames. Tsuna grabbed Xanxus' collar with one hand and landed a heavy punch in the other, and Xanxus fired both guns into Tsuna's chest. Even as Tsuna fell back, another pair of shots struck him in the stomach, pushing him back another twenty feet. Xanxus took careful aim and fired again with one pistol, keeping himself in the air with the other.

Squalo watched his boss's fight with a snarl. "Tch. The brat's lost his touch." He smacked Belphegor's hand when the prince started taking aim at Gokudera's head with a knife. "Stay out of it. No point getting caught up in petty squabbles."

"Don't talk about the Tenth that way!" Gokudera snapped. He shaded his eyes from an intense explosion now over three hundred feet overhead and getting further away. "He's been through the kinds of battles you could only dream of, long-hair!"

"Vraaii! If he's so important to you, your miserable little tenth boss, then why don't you go break up the fight?"

"Maybe I—" At that moment a stray fireball exploded at Gokudera's feet, knocking him on his butt. "…okay but I can't fly! Yamamoto, get up there and do your rain thing!"

"I don't think all the rain flames in the world could tranquilize Xanxus. Besides, Tsuna wouldn't be going at it if he didn't want to," he said, and laughed.

Gokudera raised an eyebrow. "Eh? Did you get hit in the head? The Tenth hates fighting, he only takes up arms when he needs to, not to play games with assassins!"

"Right, so, why would he be fighting Xanxus then?" Yamamoto shrugged. "And if Xanxus really wanted to kill him, why would he start with weaker attacks that he knows Tsuna can counter?"

As they spoke, Tsuna shot down the way two hundred feet and landed on the top of a pylon. His Dying Will Flame started to flicker, and as Xanxus fired again Tsuna caught the flames and felt a surge of energy as he absorbed them.

"So what, it's like a game?" Gokudera said, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorta, yeah, I think so. That, or Tsuna's just letting Xanxus vent his anger. It's better than him attacking somebody who'll die, right?"

Gokudera examined Yamamoto's facial features carefully. I can't tell whether he's joking or not… "I'm still glad Reborn called us. Wouldn't want the rest of the Varia trash trying to interfere."

Yamamoto looked over his shoulder. "Um, they're still right there, Gokudera."

"Why should I care?" One of the storm flame shields moved into place behind Gokudera's back to block one of Levi's Parabolas.

Tsuna projected a sphere of sky flames, and a spark lit on the Ring of the Sky ver. X. "Nuts—Cambio Forma." He clenched his fists and broke through his own shield as his gloves transformed into elbow-length gauntlets fitted with rear-facing vents. He braced his right arm with his left and started to free-fall with his back to the ground. "X Cannon!" A pair of fireballs erupted from his glove and swerved toward Xanxus. Tsuna immediately threw his arms out to the sides to stop his fall. The fireballs swept past Xanxus and Tsuna used the moment to aim a swift chop at his opponent's throat, and in the next moment he felt a sharp pain and saw stars. A breath later and he collided hard against the pavement, his lungs burning for air.

The ground shook as Xanxus landed. He cracked his neck as he stepped forward, looking down at Tsuna. He raised his right-hand pistol, still covered in shards of ice. Gotta move, but my body won't…

Xanxus pulled the trigger, and blew a hole the size of Tsuna's head about a foot to his right. "Keh. The score is one-to-one." He turned, his coat flaring in the wind, and walked away.

Small hands lifted Tsuna up by his shoulders. "Boss, are you alright?"

Chrome Dokuro looked down at him with a violet eye full of concern. With her aid, Tsuna pushed himself into a sitting position, and she knelt down so that he could put an arm around her shoulders. He stood slowly, leaving a lot of his weight on her, but she seemed to barely register it.

"I'm fine, really. Thanks." She walked him to the side of the road, and he was able to sit down on a bench. Within a few minutes, cars from the morning commute starting coming down the road. The Varia's convoy came by, and they could hear them screaming at each other.

Chrome retrieved a length of bandages from one of her pockets, and with Tsuna's permission started taping up his injuries. "Boss, what did he mean by, 'the score is one-to-one'?"

"I, well, I'd assume that, he meant like, I won back in the Ring Conflict, but he won just now." With a cheap pistol whip, too.

"He never seemed like the type to keep score."

"I know." Tsuna checked his pocket. The Ring box was still where he had placed it. "Thanks again, Chrome."

Somewhere in the Sicilian Countryside

The placard on the door read 'Jane Doe', to indicate the woman inside who had been comatose for three months. Everyone who worked in the clinic dedicated to Saint Catherine knew of her; a woman who had been brought in, noticeably pregnant and very weak, whose only act was to speak an old child's prayer, before passing into a coma.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, His flame to warm me in the night, and wake me 'neath the morning Sky."

It had taken a week for everyone to learn of the events of the night, but it took only an hour for the news to spread that the Jane Doe had woken up and was in labor.

"Contractions are every two minutes," the obstetrician said, as a nurse guided the patient through her breathing.

"Come now, you're doing great," she said. "What can I call you?"

The sage with eyes as blue as the sky had sweat along her brow and her face was red from stress and she strained with every contraction. "Aria. Please, if I don't make it through, my child—"

"Miss Aria, was it?" said the obstetrician through his face mask. "On my life, I promise, you're going to be able to hold your baby in your arms."

"Please, just...if I don't, or if I can't, her name is," she said, and spoke a name she had heard in a dream. My dear little girl, could we both live? Was that dream the truth? Did that boy find a way to free us of the curse?

"Alright now, push."

Now I lay me down to sleep…

"It's a girl, a beautiful baby girl."

It felt like a dream as Aria took her daughter into her arms. At her mother's touch, her crying softened. Aria held her close against her chest, kissed her on the forehead, brushed her cheek with her thumb, and met her gaze as she opened her eyes for the first time. Aria wept tears of joy, and said "My dear little girl, my daughter, my life and love. My dear, little Yuni…"