Minor edits on all chapters. Nothing major. One thing I totally forgot was the Arcobaleno's animals. They're not mentioned nor do they appear. I just can't hurt those little creatures.
Signore Vongola Decimo Sawada Tsunayoshi,
it would be my greatest pleasure to have you and your Famiglia attend a week's worth at my manor. I have heard so much about you and your Famiglia's adventures; including that of the Millefiore. My Famiglia has too, heard the stories and would all love to have the privilege to get to know you all. Please accept my humble invitation. There is so much to do here, and many rooms for every member. You and your Famiglia shall not be disappointed.
Sinceramente, Oness Anima
"A mafia family is inviting us?" Tsuna asked for the umpteenth time. He had never expected a letter from another family besides Dino or Lambo's. That, and the letter had come so suddenly; just a short week after coming back from the future. So when this letter had appeared in the Sawada's mail, he was very surprised. Especially because it was all in Italian. He had asked Reborn to read it to him. Reborn was surprised as well; although there was some other thing that had bothered him-Tsuna was sure of it.
"Yep," Reborn had answered, also for the umpteenth time. He seemed to be in deep thought after reading the letter. So deep he didn't even scold Tsuna for being fidgety.
This lasted for another five minutes before the door burst open. The small, bushy headed Lambo came rushing in, tears and boogers trailing down his face as he cried.
"T-Tsunaaa! Take it off! Take it oooff!" he blubbered.
Tsuna snapped out of his worry and focused on the tiny kid. "What's wrong Lambo?"
Lambo repeated what he'd just said while bringing up his hands. Tsuna sweat dropped when he saw that Lambo's hands were...trapped by a Chinese finger trap.
"Umm, stay still Lambo," he told him before kneeling down to help the tear and booger streaked boy.
"What a wuss," Reborn scoffed, also snapping out of his thoughts.
After Tsuna had removed the trap off of Lambo's hands, he laid down on his bed and sighed, "I'm tired." His eyes fluttered to a close; he fell asleep in seconds.
...He wasn't deeply asleep; he could still hear the sounds going on downstairs. So he was startled awake when out of the blue Reborn said, "I say we should go."
His gut told him not to question the obvious, but just to be sure. "Eh? Go where?" He'd twisted his head towards the tiny hitman.
Said tiny hitman's eyes met with Tsuna's, and in a simple tone said, "The manor."
"Eeh?" Tsuna sat up, he was definitely not expecting that.
"You thought I'd be against this invite, didn't you?"
The brunette stammered, but Reborn continued speaking, "Oness Anima is a well known figure in the mafia. They help every Family financially, medically, and militarily. They're basically the millionaire aides of the mafia. They're no threat to anyone, including the Vongola. The only weird thing about them, is that they never show themselves to others; except for a select few. We all trust them either way. Being guests at their manor is a major honor. That's why I say we should go," he finished with a small grin.
Tsuna was processing what was being said into his slow brain. A couple seconds of processing later, Tsuna scrunched his brow and rubbed his head, "Wait, if they don't show themselves to anyone, then how would we know where to go?"
Reborn's grin widened. He coughed-possibly to stop a laugh-and said, "I said that they've shown themselves to a select few." He paused.
Tsuna seemed to get where he was going. "No way," he murmured.
Reborn's grin was replaced by a smirk, "I'm one of those select few."
How did it get to this? Tsuna wondered as he stared at the small group around him. Everyone he knew had joined Tsuna for his 'vacation'-he'd told his mama that they were going on a vacation to Reborn's homeland; which she agreed to without question. At first it was only his three guardians-Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei-but when Lambo heard they were going to Italy, he'd whined to join in too; I-Pin followed him and Fuuta-not wanting to be alone again-had tagged along too. Bianchi was going anywhere Reborn went, and Kyoko was sticking with her brother; so she brought along Haru and Hana-to not leave her again. The day the group met at the airport, Tsuna was surprised to find that the Kokuyo kids were there too; Chrome had been given a message from Reborn. He nearly fainted when he spotted Hibari-who also got a message from Reborn; he'd brought along his vice chairman, Kusakabe. The size of the group had made Tsuna realize just how big his 'Family' is-not that he's ever going to refer to his friends with such a term.
The flight was a long one. Everyone was suffering from mild jetlag. They relaxed in a cafe; all the while, Reborn was setting up rides for their destination. The rides had taken them to the edge of a forest. Reborn had told them that Oness Anima's manor was deep in the forest. The walk through the forest was uninterrupted and safe. As the sun raised up high, the group had come across an enormous mansion sitting at the center of an open meadow. It was plain, but very ornamented; gold window borders, trimmed bushes with flower beds surrounding them; the main doors were twice the size of an adult, and the door's knocker was in the shape of a lion.
As they headed towards the doors, a voice called out to Tsuna. It was Dino! Tsuna was surprised to see him and asked if Dino had received a letter; the latter replied with a 'yes'. He brought Romario along as well; Tsuna was inwardly pleased by this, actually, everyone who knew of Dino's clumsiness was glad.
Ryohei had to use the knock in place of Tsuna-who was just too weak to even lift it. The door had swung open by itself, causing some members to freak out saying it was a ghost. Entering, the group was immediately greeted by Basil, Irie Shoichi, and Spanner!
"What are you guys doing here?" Tsuna had asked them, totally confused; young Irie and Spanner of all people! They've never met before; only in the future.
Basil had explained that they had received a letter to come to this mansion. He also added that they all arrived at the same time; an hour ago.
They all settled into the next room that was labeled, 'For Our Guests'. It was a lounge room; an unlit fireplace dominated the far right side of the room. Inside, they were stunned to see the baby Arcobaleno. All of them-minus the Sky-were there. They too replied that they received a letter. They all waited patiently for their host. To pass the time, most of them introduced themselves again and chatted.
The main doors were kicked open. Tsuna and his guardians rushed to the main hall and were appalled to find the Varia standing before them. Tsuna was petrified when their leader, Xanxus, spotted him. It took a lot of convincing for Xanxus not to shoot the poor boy's head off. The small dispute was interrupted by an infamous laugh.
"Kufufu, my my. I thought the Varia were supposed to be loyal towards the young Vongola."
Everyone in the room immediately went into full defense mode. Gokudera had asked if he were the real thing, to which Mammon and Tsuna confirmed it. The Kokuyo kids and Chrome came rushing in. The touchy reunion was stalled when one more person appeared. It was the young mist replacement of Mammon, Fran. He said that he was kidnapped and brought here. The instant he said that, the doors behind him slammed shut.
Everybody felt lightheaded after that...
Gokudera sat up, rubbing his eyes. Did I fall asleep? He looked around him and saw every person from before, asleep. He saw his Judaime asleep next to Lambo and I-Pin. He couldn't help but feel that something was off. He shrugged it off and waited for everyone to awaken. Once they did, Bel immediately asked, "Where's Mammon?" The confused members looked around and realized that the babies had disappeared. The search for them began. Haru went searching for them in the main hall. She passed by a door, which opened with a hand reaching out for her. Haru almost screamed, but calmed down when she saw that it was Lal..."Hahi? Aren't you supposed to be a baby?" Sure enough, Lal was in her adult form. "Hush, I know. I've no idea what happened. We're all in here, but uh..."-she looked behind her, then back to Haru, blushing,-"we need clothes that actually fit us. Help?" Haru giggled, but went and asked some people for clothes, explaining that the babies 'have grown up'.
The next scene of events were confusing and very irritating for everyone. Where is this host? Why are they all here? Most importantly, why and how are the Arcobaleno back to their adult forms? As they all wondered this, they were unaware of the time. The sun had already been setting. The fireplace lit itself up, startling everyone. Then, a voice spoke. The voice of a child.
"Welcome, Vongola. I am so glad that you all have made it here."
"Who are you, and what have you done to Oness Anima?" Reborn questions the unknown voice with a threatening tone.
The child giggled. "Don't be mad, tiny-oh, I mean, big hitman. Why don't you all just save your breath and listen, yes?"
"Why don't you just show your cowardly ass to us, you cocky brat," Xanxus had reached for his gun, but halted when he couldn't find it.
"Oh I'm sorry. I took the liberty of removing any lethal weapons from you all. It'd pose a big problem if you all started shooting this house down," the child said.
With that said, anyone that was used to hiding weapons began to take them out, only to realize that the child was not lying. Before they could start shouting at their 'host', the child began explaining. "It's sudden, I know; but seeing that you all know each other pretty well, I think this'll go along nicely. You see Vongola, I was bored. It's been some time since I took over this Family's mansion, and there's nothing to do here anymore. So I devised a small game for you all."
"You're shitting me. A game?" Gokudera fisted his hands, this kid was starting to annoy him very, very much. All the others agreed, they couldn't believe that they were fooled into coming here by this kid! Especially Reborn; his-now adult-face was seething with anger.
"Yes Italiano-kun, a game," the kid sneered, causing the silver headed boy to curse him.
"What's the whole concept of this game?" Lal asked, serious faced. She knew that this child was not playing around, and neither was she.
"The 'concept' is to get out of this building," the child answered honestly.
"And the rules?" Colonello stood by Lal, hand on her shoulder.
"The rules? Ah yes, the rules are to find a key for the next floor. There are seven keys for seven floors. This floor-the Mist-is one of those seven, but this will be your safe zone. The key for this floor is right next to the young lady with curly hair."
Nami-chuu's students turned their attention to Hana; in response, she looked around and found a hand sized box. She nodded her head, "Kid's not lying. Here's the key." She took it out and showed it to everyone. Small murmurs of disbelief and annoyance were spoken out.
"To help out, I've left the next two floors-Rain and Lightning-open. Their keys are near the fireplace. You'll have to find two other keys-for floors Storm and Cloud-since I left the next two open. Once you find a key, another will open," the child explained.
"Are these floors going by the Flames or something?" Dino asked.
"Yep. In order they're: Mist, Rain, Lightning, Storm, Cloud, Sun, and Sky. The floors' names aren't important; they're just names. Though the higher you go, the tougher they'll get."
"But wait, that would mean that there are four other keys, right?" Fuuta had his fingers out, subtracting and adding with them.
"One point for the little kid! Yes, four more keys to go," the child answered.
"What happens after we find the Sky ring?" Bel asked.
"You've to find the Home key. That key will be on the Sky floor, and will be the key to open the front door. Anymore questions?"
"This doesn't make any sense!" Haru exclaimed, shaking her head. A few others agreed.
The child laughed and said, "You'll understand once you start playing. I only know so little Japanese anyways."
The room was filled with numerous sighs and curses.
"Oh, and you all have to split up into seven teams. No more and no less. Failure to obey the rules will lead to consequences. Ah yes, and one more thing; you all better take this game seriously, or else die," the child's voice disappeared after that warning.
"Die? What's that supposed to mean?" Skull didn't want to take this kid seriously; he thought this was all a joke.
"Got me there. This all feels like some low prank," Colonello gave the purple man a big pat on the back, causing the other to stagger forward.
"Prank or not, we should just play along," Fon suggested.
"You're joking right?" Squalo gaped at the Chinese man across him.
Fon shook his head lightly, "I don't joke. Especially at a time like this."
"Fon's right. Besides, the front door is closed shut; and the windows don't break," Lal pointed a finger at the group trying to break open the window using the chairs.
"What the hell is this thing made of?" Ken panted, tired after failing to send the chair through the window.
"I don't want to play this game," Kyoko hugged at her knees.
"Kyoko-chan, you do-" Tsuna was cut off by a sharp kick to the face.
"Dame Tsuna, don't you dare think of going soft on them. I know they're scared, but it'd be much safer to keep them with us," Reborn scolded at his student.
Tsuna knelt on the floor, clasping his nose for dear life. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"Tsuna-kun!"
"Tsuna-san!"
Kyoko and Haru ran to him, checking if he was alright.
The brunette boy looked at the grown hitman. "Reborn! You didn't have to kick me so hard! Gah! It won't stop gushing!"
The hitman shrugged. "Sorry. I forgot I was"-he looked at his hands-"back to normal."
Shortly after the boy stopped bleeding, everyone in the room settled down and started splitting off into seven teams.
"Since there're thirty-five of us, we'll be in groups of five," Reborn noted.
"We Varia will stay together," Squalo started but was then hit by a chair that his boss had thrown to him. "Damn Boss! Go screw yourself!"
"Just ignore them everyone," Dino reassured the rest.
I-Pin raised her hand, "I want to stay near Master."
Lambo raised his hand, "Lambo-san will stay with I-Pin!"
Fuuta raised his hand as well, "I'll stay with them two, too."
Fon accepted to taking care of the children, "Leave it to me. I'll keep them safe."
Basil stood up, "I shall aide you as well."
Fon nodded, "That's five of us."
"Kufufu, I think our group is decided as well," Mukuro waved his hand to Ken, Chikusa, and Chrome.
"Us girls will stick together," Bianchi sat near Hana, Kyoko, and Haru.
"Big Brother will take care of us. Is that okay?" Kyoko looked at her brother.
Ryohei pumped out a fist. "I'll protect you four to the extreme!"
"I think we Arcobaleno should stick together," Colonello advised, mostly to Verde though.
The green haired scientist shrugged. "I don't mind."
"We'll stay with Kyoya and Kusakabe, is that fine?" Dino directed to the aloof cloud.
"Whatever," aloof cloud could care less.
"Then I guess we'll stay with Tsuna," Yamamoto smiled at Gokudera.
"Che, 'course we will Baseball Nut," Gokudera scowled.
"Reborn will be with us, right?" Tsuna asked before he was smacked on the head.
"Obviously," Reborn retracted his hand back to his crossed arms.
"What about you three?" Lal nodded at the three boys standing at the far back of the room.
Spanner and Irie looked at each other and then back to Lal. Spanner walked to the Arcobaleno group. "I'll stick with you guys," he said.
Irie walked to Tsuna's group. "It's fine if I stick with you, Tsunayoshi-kun, right?"
Tsuna smiled kindly to the shy boy, "Of course!"
Now only the mint-green headed Fran stood alone. "Uhh..."
"Shishishi. Aren't you the future frog?" Bel asked him, a wide Cheshire grin finding its way to his face.
Fran blankly stared at him. "Aren't you the annoying, fallen prince who always says he's still a prince but it's plainly obvious that he's not?"
"Tsk, and you're still an annoying kid who doesn't know his place," Bel was about to launch himself to the other but was stopped by Mammon.
"Enough, quit acting like kids."
"Ne, how'd you get that robe?" Fran asked them, his monotonous voice unchanged.
A tiny smirk formed on Mammon's lips. "I'm a first-class psychic and illusionist. What do you expect?"
A short silence took over the room, until Mukuro laughed.
"Kufu, why don't you join our group, green bean?"
The other three didn't seem to mind having Fran in their group. So, Fran shrugged and went towards them.
"Well, that settles it," Dino said, stretching his arms.
"We should all get some rest," Lal yawned, and blushed when Colonello patted her head. "Don't treat me like some kid, you dope," she slapped his hand away. He only laughed and continued teasing her.
Mukuro and his group left to the neighboring room; the Varia went off as well.
"Tomorrow's going to be one hell of a day," Reborn said, before heading towards a corner.
The night was eerily quiet and calm. No one appeared to be sad or worried; almost completely used to these kinds of things. They fell asleep and awoke the next morning, ready for the game.
I'm sorry for any OOC-ness.
Thirty-five charys, seven teams, seven floors, and seven keys. Who'll survivie this brutal, sick game?