A/N: A million thanks to khrhibariluv for beta-reading this story and giving really helpful suggestions. Oh yeah, how did you the red thingy notes in word? There was something like that in word?
Standard disclaimer process: I believe we all know who owns the epic anime called Katekyo Hitman Reborn!.
…
Chapter 1
A headache wakes him up. Pain shoots up throughout his body as he tries to sit up. He remains motionless in the ground since no matter how hard he tries to move his limbs and joints, he can't move. He is numb to the point where he can't even open his eyes.
He knows exactly why his body hurts like the end of the world.
*.*.*
It happened so fast. The Vongola were having a peaceful meeting with the other Mafia Dons. He was just about to sign the treaty when a bomb suddenly exploded and the Mafiosi of each family turned against each other. As for the person responsible, he still doesn't know. Before he could stop the chaos in his mansion, he was ushered out by his storm guardian, who ordered him to find safety.
He mentally scoffed as Gokudera pulled him out of the room and handed him over to Yamamoto, who was given orders to keep Decimo safe. Tsuna tried to reason that he had to settle the conflict but to no avail. Takeshi pulled him away and they started running while the rain guardian fended off the enemies that came their way. Decimo searched in his pockets for his mittens but failed miserably. He wanted to do a face-palm then and there for his carelessness; bloody hell, he had left his mittens in his study.
They got out of the mansion unhurt. Well, he was unharmed but his rain guardian was all beat up. Yamamoto pushed Decimo away from him and told him to run to the woods. Decimo, known as a stubborn man when it comes to his family, shook his head and activated his HDWM. He could fight without his mittens with some martial arts he learned through Fon and with the help of Natsu. He fought side-by-side his rain guardian until suddenly a tonfa was rammed into his skull and he was kicked away from the battle.
His vision clouded and he staggered a bit. He was about to join the battle again when a hand grabbed him and pulled him away. It was Giannini. He asked the shorter man where he was taking him. But he got no answer. Decimo looked back. The Vongola mansion ablaze and he heard anguished screams.
Then Giannini stopped, making Decimo fall flat on his face. He was about to ask Giannini as to why he stopped but before he could, he saw a dark-hooded figure looming over them. He stood up, quickly shoving the quivering mechanic behind him. Tsuna inquired asked the figure for his name with gritted teeth. The man's identity was unknown to him but the aura the man was giving off was no laughing matter. He waited for the man's response but the man inclined his head to the side and the moon lit his grin, a grin that rivaled that of Reborn's.
The next thing he knew, the man appeared behind him and knocked him out cold.
*.*.*
Now that he recalls the events, he doesn't get something. He was only knocked unconscious.
So why is he hurting all over?
Sawada Tsunayoshi tries to open his eyes but the sunlight keeps on getting in his way. Stifling a groan, he clutches his aching head and blocks the sunlight out of his eyes. Once his eyes get used to the light, he scans his surroundings. He still seemed to be in the middle of the forest. He abruptly sits upright, which causes his head to spin. But he pays no mind to this. His eyes dart from one place to another, searching for the mechanic he was with last night.
But he finds no one.
Tsuna starts to panic.
'Who knows what could have happened to the mechanic? He's the only one who seems to know what is going on.'
He forces himself to stand up, ignoring the pain in his head. He staggers towards the tree trunk for support but fails. His trembling knees send him down to the ground. He pants for air as he leans at the tree.
"Gao!"
His eyes whip towards his Vongola Box Ring, Natsu. Tsuna brings his fist, where his rings are, near to his face. He gives the piece of metal a puzzled look. Tsuna knows that Natsu wouldn't say anything to him except when he is danger or when he is in a battle.
"Natsu?"
"Gao!"
Natsu is trying to comfort him, which Tsuna understands clearly. Tsuna smiles at his partner and says, "Thanks." Even the ring can sense his distress about everything. There are lots of questions in his mind but the answers are nowhere to be found. Tsuna's eyes wander from his pet ring to the Vongola Gear, the Ring of the Sky Version X.
'Does this mean Primo can also sense my distress? '
He looks up to the clear, blue sky and asks no one in particular, "What is going on?" He then allows himself to close his eyes and sleep in the meantime.
'I'm going to hunt for answers after I regained my strength.'
.
.
Unlike the first time he woke up in the forest, this time, his head doesn't hurt like hell. Tsuna flexes the aching joints in his body and notices that they aren't numb anymore. He tries to stand up and stretches and stifles a yawn. Like they always say, sleep is the miracle medicine for the aching body.
'Not in Reborn's dictionary,' Tsuna thinks.
Speaking of Reborn, he didn't see him the whole week in the mansion. Reborn said something about meeting with the other Arcobalenos, and Bermuda (he is technically part of them) for some reasons, as quoted from Reborn, 'not worth it of sticking your nose into'. Before his torturer departed, Reborn left a menacing reminder: to keep the Vongola in line while he is away. Tsuna can't help but shudder at what Reborn's reaction might be when he sees the wreckage.
Tsuna starts to walk but something is definitely wrong.
'This isn't the same forest where I was knocked unconscious.'
Tsuna knows how to maneuver the forest that lies within the Vongola property like the back to his hand. When you are forced by a Spartan tutor to memorize every bit about the Vongola, you are obliged to unless you want to die young and painfully.
But he really doesn't know where he is going.
'Could it be because the man hit me hard in the head?'
That can't be it.
'Could it be because it's dark?'
Yeah right, that should be it, the reason why he can't find his way back to the mansion.
VROOOM!
SWIISH!
HOONK!
BEEEP!
BUUZZ!
Tsuna's ears pick up sounds, sounds that belong to a busy street. He gives a quizzical look to the dark
'Is there a city near the mansion?'
There was none last time he checked. He continues to walk mindlessly until he sees light streaming up ahead.
What he sees makes his jaw drop: city lights fill the place, cars are zooming past, people are buzzing around, and vendors keep on shouting. Even though he had been living in Italy for the past seven years, there is no way he'll forget this place. The place where he had spent seventeen years of his life: Namimori, Japan, and to be exact, Third Street.
He must have been gaping like a total idiot out in the open because people are looking at him then snickering to themselves.
"Mister?" A little girl in her pigtails approaches him. "Are you a drunkard?"
"Wha-?" He answers incredulously. The people around him laugh. Then his eyes land on the glass window. He really does look like a drunkard, alright: he is still in his tuxedo but dirt and leaves adorn it, his hair is messy, his face is dirty, and his eyes are bloodshot.
Tsuna scratches the back of his head and gives a nervous chuckle while he leaves the place. He expertly waltzes his way through the sea of people. Tsuna's eyes narrow dangerously as he shoves and pushes himself into the crowd.
Whoever and wherever his attacker is, Tsuna decides he doesn't like the man one bit.
Twelve hours. It takes twelve hours to travel from Italy to Japan. If he really was transported, he really is a blockhead since he didn't wake up once through the flight. He sighs.
What's done is done. All he can do now is go back to Italy as fast as possible and check on his family's safety. He's all panicky right now. The more he thinks about it, the more anxious he gets. His family is in another land, fending off the enemies without him. Who knows what the status is right now.
Shoving one last person away, Tsuna pants for air as he is able to find his way out of the crowd. He seriously needs to go back to Italy. Now. Pronto.
He suddenly remembers that Kusakabe Tetsuya is in Japan right now. Hibari had left Kusakabe to look after the Foundation in Namimori while Hibari was in Italy. Nodding to himself, Tsuna straightens his tux and heads to Namimori Shrine, where the Foundation's base is located.
.
.
"If only I had brought my mittens with me I wouldn't have to suffer like this." Tsuna pants on his knees as he reaches the top of the steps. Exhaling, he straightens himself and heads towards the shrine. As usual, the shrine is inhabited. He whips his head from left to right but finds no one.
Normally, several members of the Foundation would be patrolling in the woods that surround the shrine, and no matter how good they are when it comes to concealing their aura, Tsuna can always sense them from afar. But this time, he can't sense a single living being in the area.
He wrinkles his nose as he smells something awful coming from the shrine. Tsuna sees rotten fruit in front of the shrine. He kneels down to get a closer look and notices that the fruits are untouched, like they were just left there to rot. Tsuna looks up and sees that the shrine is close to falling apart. Wooden splinters are hanging on the wall and the decorations are tattered, unkempt. Dust coats the entire place. Knowing his cloud guardian, even though the shrine is just a camouflage for his real hideout that is hidden by mist flames, Hibari would never leave his base this messy.
Shaking his head, Tsuna stands up and activates his Dying Will flame in his ring. He watches the waves the flame is giving off: firm and steady, with no signs of the area being engulfed in mist flames.
"Kusakabe Tetsuya!" Tsuna's booming voice calls out, echoing in the place. He gets no answer except from the crickets in the place. Feeling agitated, he shakes his head and forcefully shoves his hand in his pockets.
"Ouch!" He immediately withdraws his left hand from his pocket due to pain. Pain? A light bulb formed in his head as he shoves his hand once again into his pocket, taking out his mobile phone. He didn't think of that one before.
'How stupid of me,'Tsuna thinks as he dials his right-hand man's number.
"The number you have dialed is incorrect. Please check—"
'Incorrect? How did that happen?' Tsuna wonders.
He tries to contact everyone in the family but he gets the same response: "The number you have dialed is incorrect"and whatnot. He has this urge to throw away his phone, but decides against it since the phone was Takeshi's gift to him and it might be useful in the future.
'What in the world is going on?'
He sighs. The Foundation is the only extension of the Vongola in Japan. Without it, he has no way of contacting his family in Italy, since his phone is a complete wreck. Tsuna yawns and looks at the time on his phone.
"12:45 p.m."
"I guess I'll go home." Tsuna smiles. "I wonder how kaa-san and tou-san are doing."
.
.
When he stepped in as Decimo, Tsuna made his father quit the organization so he could spend time with and catch up with his mother. Since Tsuna would no longer there to be with his mother, he didn't want to leave his mother alone in Japan. Tsuna had to use all that Reborn taught him when it came to being sadistic. His father tried all the possible reasons for him to stay as the external advisor but to no avail. With the spot vacant, he appointed Basil as the new external advisor and CEDEF head.
Nana always sent pictures of their outings to the mafia don. Tsuna couldn't help but smile at the picture. He had always thought that he had already seen his mother's sweetest smile but the pictures had proved him wrong.
He looks at his surroundings. Although it's dark, he can tell nothing has changed in Namimori in seven years. He can still see the dog house of the Chihuahua that he was so afraid of ever when he was a kid. After some time, he sees the house where he lived for seventeen years. Before walking into the open space, he hides behind a nearby lamppost and observes the house from afar. The lights are still turned on in his room.
'Strange, does someone sleep in my room? '
His heartbeat quickens and his breath hitches as he has this uncomfortable feeling. His Hyper Intuition tells him something bad is about to happen, something real bad. And his Intuition had never failed him, not even once. Through the years, he has learned to trust his Hyper Intuition when it alerts him.
Tsuna does a quick scan on his surroundings before swinging into a nearby tree branch. He tries to lessen his presence in the area so as to not to alert possible Mafiosi in the area while at the same time trying to pinpoint how many people there are in the house.
'Seven.No hostile intentions.'
His Hyper Intuition hitches as a killing intent floods his senses.
'Except for one. '
Although it's far, he can sense it clearly. He jumps down from the branch, deciding to just lying low in the meantime. Tsuna doesn't want to fight anytime soon. He doesn't stand a chance against five people (not counting Nana and Iemitsu) that might use flame rings and box weapons. He stands up and slowly retreats, careful not to alert the people in the house.
If his parents are in danger, he doesn't want to put their lives at even greater risk. The enemy might use them as hostages to lure him out into the open and they might get killed in the process. He also doesn't want to notify the enemy that Vongola Decimo in is Japan. If they find out, Japan will become a battleground.
He then pales.
He realizes that maybe the enemy is expecting him to come home.
'What for?'
What could be the enemy's intention of sending him to Japan than killing him there in Italy? The killing intent he sensed a while ago intensifies. He bites his lip. As much he wants to save his parents, he has to get away before getting them into bigger trouble. If the enemy is after him, he has to get their attention before they notice his parents. He lets out a surge of Sky Flames and puts it out immediately.
'That has to get their attention at least.'
"Natsu," Tsuna calls out and the Sky Lion cub lands on his shoulders. "We'll run to different locations to deceive the enemy."
Natsu nods and jumps to the ground.
"Don't let them catch you," Tsuna says as he pats the cub's sky-flame mane. "Come back to me in the morning. You know where to find me."
Giving his master a nod, Natsu gives out a 'Gao!' before taking off.
With that, Tsuna sprints off in a different direction than that of Natsu's.
.
.
Tsuna gasps for air as he reaches the Namimori Shrine. He had to run around the town all morning to confuse the enemy. He wipes off the sweat on his forehead as he looks at the rising sun. He needs to formulate a plan. Sitting down on the top step, he clasps his hands together and bows his head.
'Before contacting Italy, I have to make sure that my parents are safe. But how?'
Groaning to himself, he removes his blazer, revealing a white button-down shirt with a black necktie, which he loosens. What really agitates him is that he can't do a single thing to ensure both of his families' safeties without being reckless. With the Foundation missing, there is no one that can help him. He just can't charge into the house and attack the oppressors. It might alert the Mafiosi near the house and those in Italy.
'It would become really chaotic.'
But if it was the enemy that had transported him in Namimori, both of his families aren't safe. He clenches his fist. Crazy as it sounds, he has no other option but to believe that his guardians can work together with the Varia. The safety of his parents is his first priority right now.
"Gao!"
Tsuna beams as he stands up. He can see Natsu running up the steps towards him. The lion cub seems to be whimpering. The smile on his face fades away and worry replaces it. Natsu rarely whimpers like that nowadays except when he's really scared of something.
'What could that something be?'
His Hyper Intuition is telling him to be on guard. He immediately activates his HDWM. Without his mittens, his physical ability is lower than usual, but he's not that crappy in hand-to-hand combat.
'It's coming'.
The killing intent he senses right now is the same as the one he had sensed at his house. Natsu catapults himself towards his master and Tsuna catches him just in time. The cub continues to whimper.
Tsuna pats Natsu and says, "Natsu, thank you. You can rest now."
But Natsu shakes his head hard and jumps to Tsuna's shoulder, shaking and whimpering.
Tsuna pats Natsu again and the gesture seems to calm the cub. Tsuna looks down the steps and sees that no one had followed Natsu up the steps yet. Anytime now, the enemy might attack him out of the blue, so he can't let his guard down.
The place is too quiet for his liking.
'No one is attacking me.'
His Hyper Intuition isn't bothering him anymore; it's telling him that everything is safe and there's nothing to worry about. Tsuna looks at Natsu. The cub seems to have cooled down.
'Maybe Natsu doesn't like it when he's away from me for a long time.'
His Hyper Intuition suddenly catches something that makes him spin around, but as he looks around, he sees no one, nothing.
'What was that?'
There is something in the place and he senses it clearly. He tries to sense it once again but the presence has completely disappeared and his Hyper Intuition isn't telling him anything.
"Stay where you are," a quiet voice says as a gun clicks.
Tsuna's eyes widens as he recognizes the voice. Casting his eyes down, he sees an infant in a suit and fedora aiming his green gun at Tsuna's face.
'It's Reborn in the Arcobaleno state.'
"Reborn!" Tsuna exclaims. When he attempts to go near the visibly enraged infant, Reborn leaps backwards. The gun is still aimed at his face.
"Ah, I get it." Tsuna sighs in defeat as Natsu goes back to his ring state and he deactivates his HDWM. He squats down on the floor, Reborn still aiming the gun at him. Raising his hands in the surrender position, Tsuna continues. "You're angry at me, aren't you?"
Reborn gives him a skeptical look but he continues anyway, "Go on. Shoot. I know it'll make you feel better."
When he gets no response, he adds as he lowers his hands, "I left the mansion in shambles when you specifically reminded me to keep everything intact and now, it's falling apart. The mansion got attacked and I am stuck here in Japan."
He looks at the infant, completely bewildered as to why Reborn isn't torturing and lecturing him.
Reborn lowers down his gun and says as if he is unsure. "Dame-Tsuna."
Tsuna sweatdrops at the nickname. "I told you a hundred times not to call me that." He eyes the infant from head to toe. "Why're you in your baby-state?"
"Baby-state?"
"You really like being an adult, so why?"
"Adult?"
Tsuna cocks his head, "Why are you talking in circles, Reborn?"
Aiming his gun at Tsuna's face once again, Reborn glares at him, "Who are you?"
On impulse, Tsuna raises his hands once again in surrender. Now that he noticed it, the Reborn in front of him is seriously pissed for some reason. He thinks he knows the reason but it doesn't seem to add up at all. He knows that no matter how well Reborn can hide his anger, Reborn wouldn't emit the feeling of indifference.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi. Twenty-four." Tsuna blurts out the basic information about himself. If he answers out of context, he'd only enrage Reborn even more. Tsuna really has no idea why Reborn is so angry at him. Tsuna may have been irresponsible but he didn't like any of this!
Reborn once again lowers his gun and says, "The Sawada Tsunayoshi I know is in the Sawada household, snoring."
.
.
A/N: R&R please!