Chapter 12: Week 2 : Day 3 (Dawn) : Tsuna : Up!!! Floating sky, true element (2)
Saya opened her eyes to darkness, feeling a warm embrace surrounding her. Yamamoto's face was closer than ever before, and, as her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she realized he was holding her loosely with one arm while his other hand clasped hers, even though the Rain Flame had already extinguished.
Something felt off. Yamamoto was lying on the floor while she was on the bed—there was no way she wouldn't have noticed if he had climbed up or if she had fallen onto him. Even in the deepest sleep, she would have sensed something. Yet here they were, and stranger still, when she reached out to feel her surroundings, there was nothing solid beneath them—it was as if they were suspended in air.
The first thing she did was glance at the bracelet on her wrist, a soft orange flame flickering gently. The Sky Flame.
Seeing this, Saya lightly shook Yamamoto's shoulder.
"Yamamoto-kun, wake up. I think we have a problem."
"Mmm," he murmured, nestling his face closer to her neck, just below her collarbone, and tightening his hold on her as though in blissful sleep.
Saya called his name again, but he remained unresponsive no matter how much she shook or spoke to him. Sighing in frustration, she leaned in and whispered softly, "I'm sorry, Yamamoto-kun."
Then, she raised her hand and smacked his arm with a loud thwack.
"Ow!" Yamamoto yelped, startled awake.
"A mosquito," Saya said sweetly, giving him a gentle smile. "Good morning."
"Ah… good morning. Sorry about that," Yamamoto said sheepishly, realizing where his face had been. He gave a nervous grin and scooted away. Then, noticing something odd, he frowned. "Wait, are we… floating?"
Saya nodded. "It's the Sky Flame's effect. But last time, I was the only one floating. This time…"
Yamamoto's expression turned serious. "Everything is floating, isn't it?"
Around them, furniture drifted through the air. Even Tsuna's unconscious body was suspended, gently bobbing in the void-like space. It was as though they were all in zero gravity.
"Tsuna!" Yamamoto called out, noticing his friend still asleep. He tried to move toward him but found himself unable to stop in midair, colliding into Tsuna with enough force to send them both careening into the wall.
"Ow! What the heck?!" Tsuna cried, jolted awake by the impact. He quickly took in the situation and began to panic.
Saya nodded toward them. "We need to get this under control quickly, or—ah!"
"Whoa!" Yamamoto exclaimed.
"What now?!" Tsuna shouted, his voice high-pitched with anxiety.
The entire house began to spin, sending furniture crashing into walls. Glass shattered, and shards laced with Sky Flames floated into the room. Saya grabbed a nearby pillow to bat the fragments away and glanced out the window, now devoid of curtains, to glimpse the truth.
"Oh, my…" Her voice faltered as she saw the scene outside. Though the sky was still dark, massive objects floated aloft, bathed in the Sky Flame's glow. It was the neighbors' houses—dozens of them—rising to the same height as Tsuna's home.
Down on the street, Reborn stood watching the phenomenon, surrounded by Gokudera, Fuuta, and Fon. Lambo, I-Pin, and Nana slept peacefully nearby, seemingly unaffected.
"Who would've thought a single piece of candy and an activation capsule to awaken Saya-chan's true flame would lead to this?" Reborn muttered, eyes scanning the surreal scene.
"I had my suspicions, but this… is beyond expectations," he continued. "It seems Saya's body might still hold secrets we don't yet understand."
Gokudera, looking tense, turned to Reborn. "I'm going to help Judaime!"
"Even if you go, only Tsuna can stop this phenomenon," Reborn said, his tone grave. "If it's not someone with a natural Sky Flame, it's impossible to bring this under control."
"Then I'll support him!" Gokudera declared. He opened his Sistema C.A.I., donned a pair of goggles, and stepped onto a circular platform made of black bones. Flying toward the house, he shouted, "๋Judaime! Baseball freak! Saya-chan! Are you all okay?!"
Hearing no response, he navigated to an open window—now spinning wildly with the house. As he tried to climb in, Tsuna yelled, "Don't come in!"
But it was too late. The house spun again, sending Gokudera somersaulting in midair. He barely managed to grab hold of the window frame but couldn't withstand the centrifugal force.
"Gokudera-kun!" Saya cried as Gokudera's platform swooped to catch him just in time. However, he noticed a shard of glass embedded in his hand, blood dripping freely.
"Damn it!" Gokudera cursed, clutching his injured hand. "I can't get in like this. If I do, I'll just get crushed by the furniture. ๋Judaime, don't move too much! It'll make the spinning worse!"
Saya, dazed from the chaotic motion, felt the sharp pain of a drawer slamming into her side. She collided with the wall, her slim figure crumpling upon impact. Blood trickled from her temple, and as her vision blurred, she thought she saw five Sky Flames flickering around the room.
"Saya-chan!" Tsuna and Yamamoto were in no better shape, bruises and cuts littering their bodies. Yamamoto's eye was swollen shut, and Tsuna's cheek was sliced from shattered glass. Despite his injuries, Tsuna's concern for Saya shone through his pained expression.
"I'm fine," Saya insisted weakly, though her body screamed otherwise. The ringing in her ears made it hard to focus, but she forced herself to speak. "Light the flame. Quickly… I…"
Her vision doubled, and the two boys seemed far away. She fought to steady herself as her surroundings twisted and shifted again.
"We can't move recklessly," Yamamoto warned as Tsuna attempted to float toward Saya.
"Right," Tsuna agreed. "We need to figure out how to reach her first."
"Can you light the flame?" Yamamoto asked, but Tsuna's face paled as he glanced at his hands.
"My ring… it's gone."
"What?!" Saya's voice broke, panic rising as she spotted the Sky Flames flickering faintly before vanishing. "Then… it's…"
"Not sure," he replied.
"Let me help you find it," Yamamoto offered, squinting in the dim light of dawn. He moved cautiously, careful not to disturb his balance unnecessarily.
Saya narrowed her eyes as she spotted another flicker of light. Turning to Tsuna, she said, "Can you check over there? Near the wardrobe."
Yamamoto nodded, carefully steadying himself against the wall as he made his way to the indicated spot. When the dizziness subsided and the house stopped spinning, he breathed a sigh of relief and moved toward the wardrobe. "It's a knockout antidote," he explained.
"Eh?" Tsuna still looked puzzled until Saya pointed out another spot—the gloves Tsuna had dropped.
"Wait, Saya, can you actually see...?" Tsuna began to ask but was quickly cut off by Saya.
"We can talk about that later," she said firmly. She glanced at the final light source, the largest one emanating from Tsuna himself, and the other faint glow near the shattered door. "Over there, by the door," she directed.
Yamamoto moved toward the door cautiously but misjudged his strength, slamming into the frame. Though he managed to grab the ring, the impact made the situation worse.
"Aaah!"
"Whoa!"
The entire house spun wildly again, throwing everyone inside. Yamamoto grabbed onto the doorframe while Saya and Tsuna collided with each other. Tsuna's momentum sent him flying toward a broken window, though he managed to grab the edge just in time.
The house tipped precariously, its window now the lowest point.
"๋Judaime!" Gokudera used his Sistema C.A.I's black bones to stabilize the house, creating a foothold for Tsuna.
"Thanks... really," Tsuna panted, relieved as he climbed out of the house. The moment he exited, gravity resumed its normal pull outside, though inside, the near-zero gravity effect persisted. "Saya! Yamamoto! Are you okay?"
"Tsuna, catch!" Yamamoto threw the ring to Tsuna, who swiftly put it on and donned his gloves. Flames erupted atop his head.
Tsuna soared back inside toward Saya, who was injured. He hugged her tightly.
"You're safe now, Saya," he reassured her, channeling Sky Flames to heal her wounds. For reasons she didn't understand, his words alone brought tears to her eyes. She hugged him back and buried her face in his shoulder, inhaling the comforting scent of his flames—like an endless sky, vast and gentle.
His presence felt like a sanctuary, dissolving her worries. Her body relaxed, and her mind drifted to childhood memories of lying on grass, staring at the sky, longing to soar into its embrace. Whether from near-death relief or his warmth, she wished she could rest in this moment forever.
The Sky Flames expanded from Tsuna gradually, enveloping Saya. It took over ten minutes for the flames to stabilize fully, after which the house gently settled back onto solid ground.
"Well done, Tsuna," Reborn praised with a small smile.
"The results are remarkable," Giannini commented. "Besides helping that girl, this could unravel countless mysteries about Flames."
Tsuna emerged from the house, cradling Saya, who had fainted. Yamamoto followed behind, clutching his shoulder as if it might dislocate. "We need to get her to a hospital."
"No need to worry about that. I already called someone for this situation," Reborn said. "A doctor who can cure anything."
"Dr. Shamal?" Tsuna guessed.
"And more. I've also summoned others, though they seem to have been delayed," Reborn added.
"Ugh, don't get me started! First, our flight got canceled for no reason. Then, dealing with visa nonsense... all because I had my sword!" an irate voice shouted as a silver-haired man stormed in, a blond man trailing behind, trying to calm him down.
"It couldn't be helped! No one expected such terrible weather, and who told you to attach a sword to your arm in the first place?" The second man, flamboyantly gesturing, teased, his voice dripping with mockery. "But it's been a while, everyone!"
"Shut it, Lussuria!"
"Squalo! Lussuria!" Tsuna exclaimed. Just then, his flames dissipated, and he nearly collapsed. Before Saya's body could hit the ground, a blond man in a green jacket appeared, catching her mid-fall.
"I'll take it from here," the man said with a smile. Tsuna instantly recognized him.
"Dino," Tsuna said, offering a weary but grateful smile. "Thank you."
"Now, explain everything that happened!" Squalo demanded, drawing his sword. "What was so urgent that you dragged us all the way from Italy?"
"Of course. But first," Reborn interjected, tilting his fedora, "let's find a quiet, pleasant place to discuss it."
Why They Were Late: A Side Note
At Namimori Airport, during the house-spinning incident...
Knowing Squalo and his team were late, Chrome, Ryohei, and the Kokuyo gang had been sent to intercept them at the airport. By 3 a.m., they were already waiting, but when the 5 a.m. flight from Italy arrived, there was still no sign of them.
Ryohei called Dino, who answered with an exasperated tone. "We ran into some issues with customs. A little help would be nice." In the background, Squalo could be heard yelling.
"Why the hell is it such a big deal that I've got a sword on my arm?!"
"Squalo, calm down!" Lussuria tried to restrain him, though the attempt was half-hearted.
"This way, please," a customs officer said politely but firmly. "We'll need you to step aside for additional screening."
Dino sighed, wiping his brow. Romario stood by, equally exasperated. As Chrome and her group arrived, she used an illusion to temporarily conceal the sword, fooling the customs officers.
"Long time no see," Ryohei greeted them energetically.
"Boss sent us to fetch you," Chrome explained.
"Tch, that long-haired punk's still annoying," Squalo muttered under his breath, earning nods of agreement from Ken.
"What did you say?!" Squalo barked, about to lunge at them, but Ryohei intervened.
"Cool it! Tsuna and the others need help," Ryohei urged. "Let's go."
And so, the reason for their delay was resolved—barely.