Ten Flames

Chapter 7: A Coma, A Hug And A Deck of Cards

Ok that's it. That's all I'm bothered to post as a teaser kinda deal for my fic. Wanna see the rest? (well it's not finished but there are more chapters)- go onto fanfiction and find me. also my profile has the link.

"O-oi Small Gia maybe we should stop for a freaking while?"

*gasp* *wheeze* *gasp*

"I agree it could be counterproductive if we continue this further."

*cough* *gasp*

"Are you kidding?! The whole point of this was to beat him half to death! How on earth are we going to allow him to fully access his dying will flames?!"

"He's bleeding! Couldn't you- you know NOT slashed so deep?! What if he gets scarred?!"

"Wha- ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! HOW CA-"

"*cough* ... Gia-san.." All coal black eyes moved to the bleeding injured child slumped on the wall. His legs trembling barely able to stand upright, his breathing laboured and uneven. However his eyes flashed a bright orange as it narrowed with determination. "One... *wheeze* One more tiwme."

The spiky haired short Vindice guard couldn't help but grin proudly at the strong willpower. It seemed the shrimp definitely carried the Vindice pride in him. Smug he sent an arrogant look at his audience of other guards that seemed to be flitting around like mother hens or glaring at him like he was committing a hate crime. "Told ya that he's strong enough to handle this!" Quickly he returned his attention to his tiny opponent with a sadistic grin as he licked the blood off his blade with his lizard like tongue. "Kekeke Now chibi ya better not disappoint ya big brother Gia~."

Not even a split second after the tongue left the sharp edge the knife immediately swiped at the brunette who managed to barely dodge the blade with only a fine cute to show from it. Apparently the child was very good at sensing as well as reading his opponents movements, unfortunately his reaction time wasn't bad but it certainly wasn't good enough against people of such skill. Another swipe, a stab, a barrage of slashes each dodged by a hairsbreadth though Tsuna seemed to get a little faster each time. Suddenly the pattern was broken as his opponent sent a swift kick to the small figure, the child's large brown eyes widened as he failed to react. A sickening *crack* was heard as again the young boy slumped to the ground. Small Gia tched in annoyance as he walked toward the unmoving body, ignoring the small pinprick of guilt in his mind.

"One... More..." Guilt melted into irritation toward the persistent child. "Don't be stupid kid- If you can't do it now I don't expect ya to be able to anytime soon." He could feel the harsh glares of the more protective Vindice- actually all the Vindice- god haven't they ever heard of tough love?!- but he chose to ignore it. As he was about to turn and leave the training ground a sudden sharp surge of power could be felt and for a second everyone seemed to collectively hold their breath. "One... More..." Tsuna's eyes were no longer caramel brown but a vibrant bright orange set in determination despite being covered in his own blood. A small orange flame flickered on top of his forehead and the trembling small body began to stand once more and resume a defensive position he had recently learnt.

The shocked scowl Gia unknowingly held on his face morphed into one of his usual grins however some of its sadistic edge softened as his eyes flickered with acknowledgement and even a little admiration for the tenacious being. Once more he flicked his knife and charged toward the child finding to his delight the boy parrying the movements with short bursts of his Sky flame and dodging the slashes with the flexibility of a snake. As once more Small Gia faked a stab and instead pulled a last minute kick however to the Vindice's surprise he felt a sudden hot burn in his chest, it was strong enough for the older male to hesitate in carrying out his move and step back carefully to asses the situation.