Author's Note: It's been a while since I've posted anything that could potentially be considered a story and this one isn't really planned out so expect anything. This is a high-action, high-speed story. Semi-AU but still relates to the Canon timeline. This takes place four years after Reborn's arrival at the Sawada household so Tsuna is seventeen and a bit of a wild-child.
Tsuna is a bit OOC but also remember, a lot of stuff has happened.
Summary: Time changes people and Sawada Tsunayoshi is no exception. Seventeen years of age, Tsuna goes out for a walk after a heated argument with Reborn... only he never reaches his destination. Bagged and gagged, Tsuna finds himself in enemy territory. Now he has to find his way back to Japan without letting his hunters knew that he's Vongola Decimo. Semi-AU.
Warning: There will be graphic depictions of violence, dark themes and yaoi later on.
Main Pairings:X27R/R27X [Destructive Love Triangle, hm?] and many others. Expect anything.
CHAPTER UPDATED 11/20/13
Picking a lock was easy for a hitman who had lived for at least half a century so it was pointless to think that, for whatever the reason, the lock would keep him out. Maybe if his no-good student knew that, he wouldn't have bothered locking his door after his late night shower the night before. Stepping silently into the room, he signaled for Leon to transform as he slinked closer to the bed.
Reborn felt his lips curl into a feral smirk as he raised a hammer above Tsuna's sleeping form, about ready to wake his slumbering student for an early morning jog when cold realization dawned down on him. Hard.
His sleeping student, who was clad in only a towel that seemed to have opened somewhat during his slumber, was left mostly bare to Reborn's range of sight. The thin but shapely cream-colored legs of his student were visible to all due to the length of the towel and since it was only wrapped around his hips, having moved sometime during the night, he got a clear view of Tsuna's lithe body.
Tsuna looked nothing like the Japanese teenager that Reborn had come four years previously to train—save for maybe his physique. His eyes were wide and expressive but not almond shaped like most Japanese had and his thick lashes framed his warm brown eyes and casted shadows along his high cheek bones, still hidden away from years of baby fat that had yet to melt away, and soft curve of a jaw. His throat wasn't terribly pronounced but Reborn felt his mouth watering at the opportunity to mark all of that scarred-but-flawless skin nonetheless.
In the years that had passed, Tsuna had grown out his hair so that the back of it had a tail but the rest of it remained as fluffy as ever, layered and cropped so that he didn't have to manage it much. The longer silken locks fanned out as his face scrunched together, almost pouting with childish discontent. His upper body was sprinkled with moisture and still dripping from his shower earlier that morning. His hair was stringy and the caramel brown locks contrasted against his cream skin as they clung to him.
His chest was lean, lithe but toned well with catlike muscles that allowed him to maneuver in mid air, and peppered with little scars that told of bloody battles and betrayal. His stomach was flat with a slight outline of muscle but not enough to be called ripped. His perky buds were slightly darker than the rest of his skin tone and hard from the air molesting his skin.
A common trait for anyone that wields Dying Will Flames was a lack of body hair in some places—arms, legs, thighs and chest being those selective places. The high density heat also saved the teenagers that wielded them from trivial things like acne because the bacteria that created the horrid mars couldn't grow. It was also the reason why most people in the underground didn't catch the normal grade diseases and illnesses that existed.
Reborn could see now the Vongola blood that coursed through Tsuna's veins.
Through Reborn's eyes, Tsuna's naïve, nude form all but screamed 'fuck me hard, fuck me now' and oh Vongola, how he wanted to. Tsuna was seducing him without even realizing it. The towel, if Tsuna just moved his legs just a little bit, Reborn would get a clear chance to see just how developed Tsuna really was.
That thought made his mouth water.
Ignoring the tightness growing in his slacks, Reborn regained his composure and let the hammer collide with his student's head. Tsuna let out a shriek—his voice cracking about half-way through as it had been doing for the past two and a half months—before hastily wrapping his sheet around him and shoving Reborn out and desperately slamming the door. Reborn's laughter vibrated through him as he strolled down the stairs. 'Well… my work is done.' He thought.
On the other side of the wooden barrier, Tsuna blushed heavily, mouth agape, as he thought about what just happened.
Reborn had just seen him as bare as the day he was born. Oh God, Reborn had just seen him naked. Didn't he lock the door?! How the hell did the hitman even get in?
Tsuna groaned. Today was going to be a wonderful day.
Tsuna was fuming as he took angry, confident strides through the darkened alley-ways. How could he? How could he?! That Reborn… Tsuna ticked angrily, raking a hand violently through his locks and forcing them to stand up even more than they already were. 'That man… what's up with him lately?!' Tsuna thought as he stopped long enough to kick the brick wall.
That was when it happened.
A small silenced bullet that cracked past him, seemingly materializing out of nowhere, and struck the scum-coated brick. He felt his cheek sting as tiny bits of the shattered clay burst from the impact. Every muscle in his body ceased as his instincts kicked in. He could quite literally hear his tutor snarling lessons into his ear as he ducked into a crouch, dodging the next onslaught of bullets.
'You know, Reborn,' Tsuna thought wryly as he bolted to his left by propelling himself to the side and twisting just in time to see a flash of silver. 'I blame you for this.' Taking one long step, he dropped to the right shoulder and rolled just as a hunter's knife embedded itself into the cement beside him. Steadying his breathing, he shoved violently away from the ground and spun so that his back was against the brick wall. A bullet flew past him and clanged on the trash bin at the end of the alley-way.
Deciding not to stay in closed quarters Tsuna propelled himself forward into a rapid sprint, the pads of his feet tapping against the ground. This alley broke off into three others, two of which leading to dead ends and the third leading to the Kokuyo district. Across from the branching alley-way was the back-door entrance to the apartment complex that Ken, Chikusa and Chrome were staying at.
Tsuna had never been so thankful that Kokuyo Land had been set up for demolition before.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi…" A deep throaty voice rasped from behind him and he froze, jerking to a stop out of reflex alone. Tsuna lashed out with his foot, aiming to kick the assassin in the face but ended up only meeting empty air instead.
'Fucking illusionists…' Tsuna thought as the humidity that was often associated with illusionists faded and it was revealed that he had turned down a dead end. Tsuna's eyes scanned the alley-way, looking for signs of escape as his Vongola Blood kicked in. He could feel his extra-sensory ability prickling at the back of his mind and it took all of his self restraint to keep from tapping into it. As helpful as it was in most situations, it would do no good to use it here.
Tsuna remained quiet as his mind raced to form a plan. The man stepped closer, his gloved hand grabbing his face and turning it to the side, probably looking for love-marks on his throat. One of Reborn's more embarrassing lessons came to mind—"Assassins that easily fall to seduction will look over your neck and shoulders for bite marks. If they intend on letting you live and keeping them for yourself, they'll mark you right on the spot. Keep in mind, though, if that assassin marks you, you might as well be signing a contract with Mukuro because they have every intention of breaking you and selling you on the market as a sex slave."—and Tsuna tensed.
Just as the man leaned in, most likely to inhale his scent, Tsuna ignited his flame on his bare hand, well aware of the risk it presented, and pressed his palm against the guy's stomach, the flesh melting away. He screamed out in pain and whatever remaining illusion this guy had cast vanished. Retracting his hand, Tsuna lunged passed him and bolted for the alley-way across from there.
'Shit, shit, shit, shit. My rings and gloves are in the bag and this guy won't give me a chance to grab them.' Tsuna thought as he pushed himself to move faster. 'What do I do?'
Short on ideas but long on desperation, Tsuna dived for a crack between two buildings that weren't even big enough to house a trash-bin. Rough concrete scrapped against his skin but he ignored it. The man's blood dripped from his fingers and he wrinkled his black hoodie to get the thick, warm liquid off of his hands. He'd have to scrub it later.
'If there is a later.' A snide voice seethed condescendingly and Tsuna resisted the urge to wince. Like hell he was going to die here. He still had a bone to pick with that cocky bastard of a tutor and he wasn't going to die until he made his point.
Feet and ragged breathing where the only sounds Tsuna heard. He didn't even breathe himself and his heart-beat thudded unevenly in his chest. He watched from the shadow of his hiding place as the man walked passed him. His presence was smothered so he wasn't seen. He closed his eyes to hide the glow of his amber orbs and watched through the veil of his charcoal lashes. The man passed but Tsuna waited until he couldn't sense him before he exited his hiding place.
He was far from being in the clear, however.
Immediately upon leaving the enshrouded place, Tsuna heard the shrill scream of a woman quickly followed by desperate pleading and begging. 'Damn me and my compassion…' Tsuna thought sarcastically before he followed the sound. He knew rape happened in big cities like this and since there were no cops in place, Tsuna decided to take matters into his own hands. He could always deal with the recoil later.
Too bad impulsive actions were generally what led to his downfall.
He should have known that that assassin would have a backup plan. Spinning around, Tsuna's leg lashed out and collided with the illusionist's head and sent him flying back, his blood smearing on the filthy, garbage-coated ground of the alley-way maze. Tsuna looked down at the assassin and sighed, "You know, I was hoping for a better fight…"
"And I was hoping for a quick payday." The man sneered. "Too bad there's nothing quick about this job. Sarada!"
"What?" Tsuna hissed, spinning around just in time to feel the butt of a gun collide with his temple.
"Hello, Vongola Decimo…" A green eyed, dark haired beauty smiled down at him with cruelty lining every curve on her beautiful creatures. A leg collided with his knees but Tsuna refused to submit to them. Their Wills were taint with malicious intent and he would never submit to that. The woman, Sarada, grabbed a fist full of Tsuna's hair and forced his throat to bare. "Demetrius… do you have the collar?" She asked. The man, Demetrius, grunted and handed her a leather strap. "Now be a good boy and hold still."
The collar was leather and looked like any other dog collar—with the loop for the leash and everything—but on the inside of it, there was wiring and two vials of blue and violent liquid. It also had a lock that secured it. Tsunayoshi knew he wanted nothing to do with that collar.
"Like fuck I'll do that!" Tsuna hissed, trying to twist from her grip but she was strong for a woman. Or maybe the toxin was making him weak? It didn't matter what was going on. All that mattered was trying to escape. His eyes slid past Demetrius and to the bag that had fallen in their squabble but before he could even think of trying to lunge for it, the man had kicked it away.
"We'll leave that for your guardians to find, love." Sarada said in a sickly sweet tone. "Now, like I said. Be a good boy and hold. Still." The needle slid into his flesh making him cry out at the pinching sensation. He could feel a drop of the toxin slipping into his body and taking immediate effect—whatever it was. His instincts kicked in though, and his flame flared to life…
…only never to meet the surface.
'Wh-What?' Tsuna thought hazily as he slumped to the ground, completely and utterly drained of energy.
The collar must have had some sort of Dying Will Flame suppressant that prevented the energy from materializing… meaning he could heat up his flesh to burning levels but he couldn't use his flame at all. But that also meant that they wouldn't be able to use his Element either.
'D-Damn it…' Tsuna thought before all faded to black.
Reborn sighed as he looked at the door that Tsuna had just stormed out of. That… could have gone a lot better than it did. Tsuna had taken the time to prepare a small meal for the two of them and had even opened a bottle of Reborn's favorite wine before he approached a subject that had been off limits since Mukuro's attack on them almost three and a half years ago.
"—
Tsuna had breathed deeply through his nose, the air hissing as it left his body. He didn't have the time to doddle around. He had to be straight with Reborn. He had even waited until the hitman was pleasantly buzzed with his favorite wine. "Reborn…" Tsuna began, pouring him another glass and then proceeding to get up and put the dishes away.
His mother was at the store and had taken the children with her, Bianchi was at her apartment and the rest of the rowdy bunch—sans for a few exceptions—were probably at Hayato's blowing off some of this week's steam. This was the perfect opportunity. "I wanted to talk to you about… Mukuro." His silvery-black eyes narrowed as they opened and zoomed in on Tsuna with some sort of hyper-awareness—however glazed they were before, it instantly vanished. Since he hadn't been hit, Tsuna took that as his cue to continue. "I want to release Mukuro from Vendicare."
"Next subject," Reborn's baritone lull was sharp as it slashed through the air. Tsuna scrubbed the plate with a little more force than necessary but held his ground.
"He's changed you know," Tsuna said softly, his long fingers scrubbing away the sauce from their late dinner. The air was still but Tsuna knew he was facing a viper that was all too willing to turn his fangs against him. Maybe that was the problem. "He's not the same anymore, Reborn. Being locked away from any and all human interaction… it's too cruel, too barbaric. Vendice is everything I despise and for one of my own to be locked—" Tsuna cut off when Reborn's hand collided with the cupboard beside his head, almost breaking it.
"He is not one of yours." Reborn growled menacingly. "He is a criminal and deserves to be where he is."
"Reborn!" Tsuna spun around, eyes flaring. "You of all people should know what it's like to be trapped in your own body! The pain, the isolation of it all… he's been captured enough. Let me set my Mist free!"
"You'll be doing it even if I say no." Reborn cut in, eyes narrowing into slits and making Tsuna flinch at how easily the hitman read him. "Then it seems I've given you too much freedom."
"Are—are you grounding me?!" Tsuna demanded in what was supposed to be a menacing tone if it weren't for the fact that his voice broke half-way through. "I'm not a child, Reborn and Mukuro is not a criminal."
"He slaughtered Estraneo single handedly and mercilessly." Reborn said with narrowed eyes.
"They experimented on him from birth!" Tsuna countered. "They were the merciless ones!"
"He possessed your friends."
"And they've forgiven him for it."
"I haven't." Reborn declared. "Tsuna, anyone involved with Mukuro is dangerous. That includes that girl, understand? I don't want you around them." Tsuna looked away and Reborn's eyes flashed. "You haven't been around them, have you?" His voice was low, threatening, laced with malicious intent.
"They've changed, Reborn." Tsuna repeated, not meeting his gaze.
"Tsuna, I don't trust him."
"I do… and you trust me, don't you?" Tsuna asked, turning around to face the hitman who was pointedly looking anywhere but where he was. "Don't you?" He pressed. "It doesn't matter. Mukuro is my Manipulating Mist and you can do nothing to change that." Tsuna turned back to doing those dishes.
"I can strip him of his status as a Vongola Guardian." Reborn said sharply and Tsuna lost his hold on the plate he was cleaning.
"You will do no such thing." Tsuna said levelly, eyes flashing sunset and narrowing dangerously.
"I was chosen to tutor you. That means if I find someone more suitable for the position than who Iemitsu supplied, I can change that." Reborn said, standing his ground. Tsuna suddenly felt very small in comparison to this adult Arcobaleno but refused to let the height difference intimidate him.
"Just try it. You can be the reason the Ninth has to name someone else his heir. I'd like to see what happens to the almighty Number One Hitman when he has the wrath of the entire Vongola on his head." Tsuna countered, picking up the shards.
"I've had hundreds of curses spit at me by the lives I've taken. That hardly bothers me." Reborn replied haughtily. Tsuna sighed softly. "I don't want Rokudo Mukuro outside of his cage. Rokudo Mukuro will not be released and that's final." Reborn cut, sounding very much like a scolding father.
"Don't treat me like a child!" Tsuna snapped, spinning around and glaring at Reborn, dropping the shards of porcelain. "And he will be released. You have no say on the matter. Is that not clear enough for you?"
Before Tsuna could blink, he was being forced onto the floor, a leather shoe on the side of his head. The shards of the plate he had dropped in his anger were digging into his chest, almost cutting him. "You will not use that tone with me again." Reborn said calmly, ordering, demanding.
"Release me," Tsuna ordered, his eyes flaring to life and his Will unbending. "I said LET ME GO!" Tsuna forced Reborn away, pushing up off the floor. Without thinking, Tsuna launched forward and his hand lashed against Reborn's cheek. "Mukuro is mine. You have no say in who I claim as mine until the day I submit to you and I will never submit to an insensitive, thick-skulled KILLER as long as he is incapable of compassion!"
Tsuna strode past Reborn, stepping up the hallway and throwing some clothes into a duffle back. "Where do you think you're going?" Reborn demanded, eyes flaring and killer intent practically radiating off of him. It was clear that he was not finished saying what he had to say.
"To Hayato's!" He called back before slamming the door shut.
But Tsuna was.
—"
Reborn had given his student all of five minutes before he stalked out after him. Unfortunately he underestimated Tsuna's speed when he was angry because when he got to the alley-way they took as a shortcut to Kokuyo's housing district—since Reborn was far from stupid and he knew that Tsuna wouldn't head to Hayato's no matter what he said—Tsuna had already entered.
Reborn sighed through his nose and strode down the alley-way and was immediately assaulted by the coppery tang of blood. Instincts kicking, he reached up for Leon who transformed immediately and pressed his back against the wall. He took aim and scanned the shadows with sharpened senses and immediately he took sight of a hunched over body.
'Not Tsuna. Probably freelance. Kill shot could be any of three… one to the diaphragm, one to the right lung and one to the heart.' Reborn's thought recorded. 'Too messy for Tsuna… the signature matches Mochizuki Sarada.' He thought, with a frown. About eight feet from where the body was, there was a black shoulder bag that Tsuna often used to carry his weapons. With a sinking sense of foreboding, Reborn walked over to the bag and lifted the flap.
It was a cold, hard revelation that knocked all of the wind out of him to know that, wherever Tsuna was, he was weaponless.
'Tsuna… where are you?' Reborn thought, looking up at the full moon with worry.
"Alright… for this part of the auction, we move on to the more… attractive… prizes." The auctioneer said, wagging his eyebrows provocatively. "For the first quarter, we have a half-Japanese, half-Italian male… he appears to be thirteen but don't be surprised if he's actually older. It's also worth to note his slender frame and feminine appearance."
The audience laughs but within the cage, the hardly-lucid teen sighs. Sawada Tsunayoshi really hated his life.
"He's believed to be a virgin for both the front and back. You may confirm that once he has been put into your grasp. He has a few scars but that adds to his character. So…" Had Tsuna not been as weak as he was, he would have blushed. "We'll start the bidding at sixty million," The auctioneer continued.
"Seventy!" A woman shouted.
"Seventy-five!" A man with a grouchy voice.
"Ninety!" An okama—a cross-dresser.
"One hundred!" The man with the grouchy voice again.
"Oh?" The auctioneer called out in fake surprise. "Do I hear any more bids?" Silence. "No? Well then," He moved to ring the finalizing bell but a sharp, baritone voice that sent gasps through the crowd.
"One hundred and fifty million yen."
Tsuna closed his eyes from behind the blindfold. The voice was somewhat grouchy and raspy, like someone who had been through hell, but he couldn't be sure without seeing the man's eyes. Oh, how he wished he could but he was left blind, mute and weak by the damn drug and blindfolds but still one hundred percent lucid. Wanting nothing more than to just sleep, he let the darkness drag him under, unable to fight his captors because of the combined collar, drug and the fact that his legs were reduced to nothing but jelly.
And his captors didn't even keep him awake.
'Reborn… please…find me.'
Tsuzukeru.
Honest to God, I think my fingers are broken now... well... obviously not, considering I'm still typing but you know... semantics. I want to hear your opinion on this one. Action has never been my strong point so I apologize if it seems a bit rushed.
Also, let me explain the synesthesia bit. Combined with Tsuna's Vongola Intuition, he can use it to see Dying Will Flames and get a general grasp on their flame's wavelength. I'll go into more detail about that later on. Let's see how many people get the foreshadowing I've hinted around at.
Thanks for reading~!