Title: Cielo Vuoto
Pairing(s): None
Summary: The title of Vongola X was already decided, and Tsuna watched as his brother grow stronger under Reborn's teaching; he honestly couldn't be any prouder at his brother's progress. However the mafia wasn't a place meant to protect a person, it was a place of power and greed.
Warning(s): AU, Minor OCs, and more warnings in the future.


Short gasps came from the mouth of a young, five-year old boy, as he ran towards his parents in hysteria. Wide, dark brown eyes let loose large tears as he desperately grabbed onto his father's pants leg, and forcibly tugged at the material in the direction he had just came from.

All three of the adults gathered around the terrified child; trying desperately to comfort and understand the incoherent babbles coming from his mouth. Screeches and yells suddenly took a sharper turn, as the five-year old pulled at his father's pants with more urgency. Amidst all the horror-tainted words that made the child's speech drastically change, only one word was repeated enough time for the adults around the boy to finally understand; Tsuna.

The world seemed to still just for a second, before Iemitsu dashed off in the direction his youngest son had came from; following the small tracks made by the small child. With soft eyes the only elderly man in the small group of adults turned to the only female, who was greatly shaken when she realized that her eldest son was nowhere in sight; placing a gentle hand on her shoulder he gave it a small squeeze. Gaining her attention, Nono spoke in the softest voice he could muster to the terrified mother.

"Nana, stay here with Tsubasa and talk to him until he calms down. I'll go and follow Iemitsu."

A shaky nod was all he got from the grateful Nana, before he took off in the same direction as his subordinate. Soft whispers of comfort left behind in the brightness that was their picnic area. The leaves that clung to the branches from the tall trees darkened the air around him, but the elderly man continued on. Scared shouts came from up front; Iemitsu, trying to call out to his missing son.

Dread slowly set in as seconds passed by with not a single response from the timid child that would usually cry out for his parents and appointed grandfather. Adrenaline ran high as Nono and Iemitsu suspected foul play, and possibly a kidnapping; they should never had allowed themselves to relax, even for a day. Just as they were about to fear for the worse, a tired cry was heard from the small river next to them.

The river wasn't deep nor wide, and it wasn't too fast; however for a mere five-year old it was enough to drown the poor child. Tsuna clung onto a large rock that stuck out in the river as he, weakly, called out for his father. Upon seeing the sight of his precious son in such a dangerous position, Iemitsu immediately stepped into the river.

Water levels reached up to Iemitsu's chest as he slowly, and messily, made his way to his son; the rapids also felt a lot faster than they were originally, which caused the father to silently curse all the gods for putting his son in such a position.

"Tsuna! Hang on just a little bit more. Otou-san is coming!" Iemitsu called out in worry upon seeing his son slowly closing his eyes.

Upon the scene presented in front of him, Nono pulled out his phone and dialed a number. The phone rang only once before a voice answered his call; with sharp, quick instructions Nono closed the small device and hoped for the best. Tsuna looked too tired, and his grip was slowly slacking; alarm shot through both adults.

With quicker steps Iemitsu tried to reach his son at a faster rate, but the damnably river fought against his increase in speed to a slower rate than it was before. With the combination of fear and adrenaline, Iemitsu didn't realize his predicament. Nono was no better; shooting erratic glances to the sky above and down the river in search of something.

Fatigue clouded the mind of the young boy, and he sleepily blinked his light brown eyes at his Father. The river had slowly become calming against his drenched skin, and idly Tsuna wondered if he could go to sleep. His small, skinny arms began to weaken under the force of the current, and he began to lean back. The water continued to beckon him into its soft embrace, and he turned unresponsive eyes to his Father; who was screaming in terror. Even his Grandpa had a look of extreme distress on his face as he shouted something at Tsuna.

Scrunching his face in confusion, Tsuna silently willed for the water to become quieter; he couldn't hear his Father and Grandpa. Too deep in his thoughts, Tsuna wasn't aware of the presence of his Father closing in on him. When an arm reached out to the distracted boy, Tsuna was immediately shocked back into reality and he accidently let go of the only thing that kept him anchored in that one spot; forcing him into the dark waters.

Fear shot through him like lightening, and he struggled to get to the surface for air. Cool water choked him, and clogged his nose as Tsuna was further entangled in the river. He ignored the sounds of two large splashing, and instead focused on staying away from the shadow that had begun to crept its way on the edges of his vision.

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around his waist from behind, and he slowly felt the movement of water pushing pass him. As the light from above quickly reached him, Tsuna finally gave up on the losing battle between him and his subconscious that demanded for rest.

As soon as Tsuna was brought back to the surface Nono and Iemitsu hurried out of the river, and headed towards the subordinate that rescued the youth. Iemitsu rested his head over his son's heart, and tried to search for any signs of life. Dread gripped his heart as he hurriedly knelt back, placed his hands over Tsuna's small chest, and pressed it with enough force to remove the excess water in the child's lungs.

With quiet motions Nono signaled for the subordinate's leave, and turned back to his grandson with worry. Tsuna was still unconscious and showed little improvement even after most of the water had been removed from his small body. It wasn't until a minute later did the two adults realized that Tsuna was shivering, and with hurried movements they rushed back to the picnic area they had set up before.

As soon as the whispering leaves flew passed them, and the kiss of the bright sun graced their faces did a tiny, little speck of their fear go away. Nana gave a sharp gasp at the sight of her oldest son before hurrying over to her husband, who held the child. Tsubasa immediately started to tear up as well in distress upon the sight of his older brother.

"Nana grab a coat and a blanket!" Iemitsu commanded, but stopped as soon as he saw his crying wife.

Heading his son over to her, he immediately went to go fetch the necessary materials that would hopefully lessen the chill for his son. Nana hugged her first baby to her chest, and tried to cover him from the wind as best as she could. She barely felt the little arms of her second baby, as Tsubasa also tried to warm his brother's skin. All the while Nono had gone back to the car to grab as many jackets as he could.

Not even a minute passed before the two males returned; Iemitsu carrying a thin blanket that was supposed to be used for their picnic, and a slightly thicker one should the twins decide to fall asleep earlier that day. In Nono's hands were three jackets, all of them belonging to the adults present.

Gently the two males wrapped Tsuna in the thin blankets, and then the three jackets. For a time the shivering stopped, and all the adults released a relieved sigh. Tsubasa was still clinging on to his brother, hanging slightly from Nana's arms.

The light buzzing from Nono's phone attracted the attention of all three adults. Nana, however, turned back to her babies, wanting nothing more than to comfort them as best as she could.

The call was short and to the point, but still gave the Vongola Ninth all the information he needed; there was no trace of an enemy famiglia being there that day, but a group of wild teenagers whom thought it was funny to cut the back of a tree trunk that was used for a bridge so that they could prank the next traveler going through. Although they meant no serious harm, it had almost led to the near death of a Mafioso's son; they could not go unpunished.

So deep in thought Nono almost didn't see the flickers of sky flames emitting from Tsubasa's forehead as the child helplessly, but determinedly tried to awaken his brother. His flames shown bright, and the child was gently nudging at Tsuna to wake up so that they could eat a sandwich together like they had promised; of course the child obviously wasn't hungry, but he still wanted his brother to wake up soon.

Quiet steps, and soon Nono was beside the youngest Sawada. "Tsu-kun, do you want to protect your Onii-san?"

Tsubasa stopped his gentle movements, and turned to his grandpa; a hand still clutching on to his brother's. Wide, dark brown eyes stared into the older man's before nodding energetically. "Tsu-kun wants to protect Onii-san no matter what!" He answered; the flames burning even brighter than before.

Iemitsu merely watched the conversation shared between Nono and his youngest son. He felt numbed, and although Tsuna wasn't in direct danger right now he was still shocked. What would have happened had they stayed a little longer with Tsubasa? Not understanding the cries and pulling of the child as he desperately tried to get them moving towards the river that his brother had fallen in. What if they hadn't made it in time? What if Nono, his boss, had not called for backup minutes before Tsuna finally let go of the rocks because he was so tired? More questions began to file through his head, and he clenched his hands tightly; not liking the feeling of being helpless.

Nana was beside herself; she still clutched on to her baby as tightly as she could without hurting him, and as soon as his eyes fluttered she felt another wave of tears settling in. Her vision blurred as she saw Tsuna finally opening his eyes, and weakly calling out to her. She bowed her head to her baby's, and sobbed with relief; feeling her Tsu-kun closing in on her, and also checking up on his brother. Iemitsu and Nono had also gotten closer to the weeping mother, relieved that the second youngest Sawada was conscious.

No one noticed the way Tsuna's eyes widened before returning back to their natural size. The feeling of wrongness was strong in the child, as he saw the flickering flames on his brother's forehead; flames that he shouldn't have been able to see, and flames that his younger brother shouldn't of had.


KM: So... It's been awhile? I'm really sorry for the delay, but as soon as I got back to school I was swamped with all this homework! First week of school, second day back and I had three projects that were all due on that Friday, plus my other homework from the same classes and more. Anyways story is up, and I'm looking for a Beta Reader. Anyone interested? Any questions will be answered in the next chapter, reviews and constructive criticism is appreciated. Also it will take me a lot longer than I thought to write a chapter because of school now, but if I have any free time I'll work on the chapter. In the meantime, peace out everyone!