Tsuna opened his eyes, only to find the room he was in hadn't changed since he had fallen asleep. The stone walls around him looked as if they were built centuries ago, their dingy appearance and the corners crumbling over time. The small window let just enough light in so that he could see, but was placed too high for him to try and escape. The small single bed was placed only a few feet away from the window, not close enough so that he could use it, but far enough to taunt him.
The manacles attached to his wrists, chained and mounted to the wall above his head, were a constant reminder that he was a prisoner here and he would be treated as such. Tsuna couldn't understand why someone would kidnap him of all people. He was labelled as the Dame Prince by every noble that he had ever heard of. Kidnapping his brother he could understand. Giotto was the one everyone in court always wanted the attention of. Hell, many practically worshiped the ground he walked on, but not Tsuna. He was the one they would walk on to get to his brother.
The light from the window gave the room a golden glow, something that he had noticed the first time the sun had risen during his first morning here. When he had been at home, it was normal for him to still be asleep during this hour, but being here made it a necessity to awaken before the sun.
The first couple of days here, he forced himself to stay awake during the night, but on the third night, when the sun had set, he passed out from exhaustion. Waking up on the fourth day unscathed, he decided it was clear that it was safe enough to sleep during the night.
It was during that time that he had been allowed to use the small, lumpy, old, smelly bed. It had been moved out of his reach during the first week, when he had tried using it to climb up to the window, in a bad and failed attempt to escape. After looking outside, it only confirmed that he didn't know where he was and that he was kept in some tower on what he guessed was the hundredth floor.
Tsuna stared across the room, looking at nothing and yet appeared as if he was staring at the far wall. He had gotten into this routine a few days ago, he would wake up, relieve himself, return to his spot against the wall and stare at nothing. Without looking up or turning his head, he knew that the door had opened. It wouldn't have surprised him if the nobles in court had hired someone to kidnap and get rid of him.
The sound of light tapping against the stone floor got closer, and Tsuna tried his hardest to raise his gaze to see who was delivering his food this morning. The one who always looked angry or the one who gave him soft smiles. The only real similarities between them was, that they were dressed in black and their hair seemed to be in the same style. The light sound of something clattering against the stones told him that something had been placed down within his reach. 'Probably breakfast.' he thought.
The room went silent as neither of them said anything, but the one who brought him his food stood only a couple feet away. The brunet somehow managed to keep himself relaxed, and yet on the inside, he was scared that the other man was going to do something. After another minute, he felt something, maybe someone's hand, tap his head. It was light and in no way abusive, which surprised him since no one had dared touch him the entire time he had been here. The light tapping of the person's shoes could be heard a second later, signalling that they were leaving the room.
Tsuna didn't know what had possessed him to lift his head, but he did and the man didn't seem to notice or care. He didn't bother to turn around as he closed the door behind him. The brunet reached out and pulled the tray closer to himself, seeing the meal that they brought him today; toast, milk, eggs and a cut up orange juice. Every meal that he received here had been one fit for someone of his position, which always seemed to make him wonder as to why he wasn't being treated the like prisoners he read of in his books.
He started eating, making sure to enjoy each bite as if it would be his last. The only noise in the room was of him chewing and the soft clattering of his cutlery against the plate. He mulled over everything that had happened the night he was taken and how he ended up in this tower.
******R27******
The room was filled with dozens of nobles. The party had been going on for the past two hours and didn't seem like it was any closer to ending. The only light in the room came from the torches hanging along the walls, each burning with different coloured flames; red, blue, green, yellow, indigo, purple and the brightest burning flame of them all, orange. It was obvious to Tsuna that his brother and his knights had cast their flames to bring light to the party. No one else in their home could light flames that strong.
Everyone in attendance was excited, jealous and all over curious about the announcement that was to about take place at the end of the party. Tonight, Giotto was going to announce to the court who he was going to be married on his next birthday. Tsuna was proud and happy for his brother. Instead of telling their father and mother first, his brother had spoken to him about it, and as far as Tsuna was concerned, the couple was a perfect match.
"It'll be the Dame Prince's turn next." Tsuna looked out the corner of his eye to see a man, who he believed to be Lord Kozato.
"Yeah, right. Who would ever want to marry him?" The wide grin on Sir Sabouro's face made the brunet feel uneasy.
"No one. The Dame Prince will be alone forever." It was easy for Tsuna to recognize the man as Lord Ichiro, his harsh laughter sending a shiver down the brunet's spine.
When he had heard the sound of the nobles talking, Tsuna reached out to take a glass of wine. His hands, he noticed, felt strangely warmer than they had been moments ago. He figured that the extra heat was from all the bodies in the room. He wasn't all that surprised to hear what the nobles were saying about him. Over the years, he had gotten used to them talking about him behind his back. He decided to do what he had always done, ignore them.
"Tuna-fish. Don't hide." The brunet turned at the sound of his father's voice, to find the King standing beside him. "This is a celebration." His father had been nothing but an endless smile since his brother announced that he was getting married. "You are happy for Gio, aren't you?"
"I am, Father." Tsuna turned to see his brother talking with the nobles, his fiance standing by his side, unbeknownst to everyone. He smiled as he watched the two talk. His brother seemed to be doing most of the talking with the crowd around them. "They are happy together." The young prince couldn't help but feel a little jealous of his brother. The crown prince discovered his flames at the mere age of ten, and yet, the brunet still hadn't made a single spark.
The young prince couldn't help but feel a little jealous of his brother. Giotto just excelled at everything for as long as Tsuna could remember. He could remember hearing how the crown prince had come into his flames at the mere age of ten, and yet the brunet still hadn't made a single spark at the age of seventeen. It was also easy for his brother to make friends and get along with others, while he had been on his own all his life. "I can only hope that I'll find someone who will love me." Tsuna muttered to himself.
King Iemitsu smiled down at his son, trying to hide the sadness in his eyes at the thought of his youngest getting married. He didn't want to talk or think about his Tuna-fish falling in love or leaving them. "I'm sure you will." Iemitsu held back the tears that were threatening to spill down his cheeks. "You still have time before you have to worry about any of that."
The smile on Tsuna's lips disappeared at his father's words, sadness taking over. 'Why? Why do I have to wait to be loved? Why do I have to remain alone?' The young prince watched as his brother continued to mingle with the guests, his smile never leaving his face. 'Why can't I have what Gio-nii has?' His father, not hearing his mental plea of endless questions, had wandered away to rejoin his mother, who was talking to a man dressed in a black suit. It was obvious to everyone in the court that his father trusted his wife completely, but it didn't mean that he wasn't prone to jealousy at the sight of any man he saw near her.
The young prince remained tucked away in the corner, watching the nobles as they gossiped. His brother and his fiance were still moving about the room. Every once in a while, they would be joined by one of his friends. The young prince didn't envy his brother in the slightest. Tsuna had a hard enough time holding one conversation, let alone the barrage headed toward Giotto. The blond, on the other hand, had been raised to hold many conversations amongst large groups and was taught tricks to avoid slip-ups.
'I doubt anyone would notice if I left.' Tsuna's gaze moved over the room, finding that no one really seemed to be paying any attention to him. 'No, I promised Gio-nii, that I would be here for the announcement.' Tsuna reminded himself. He spotted his brother talking with his knights once again, each one seemingly either worried or angry about something. 'I could step out for a few minutes.' Tsuna convinced himself.
The brunet stepped towards one of the glass doors that would take him outside and onto the veranda, which would then lead him to his mother's flower garden. As he reached the door, one of the guards that were watching over the room stopped him.
"I'm sorry, Prince Tsunayoshi, but the veranda is off limits." the guard warned him.
The young prince tried not to cringe at the mention of his full name. "Come now, Turmeric. I've told you before to call me Tsuna." He stared up at the man in question and smiled as innocently as he could.
Turmeric looked down at the young prince, doing his best to fight off the urge to smile in return. "Forgive me, my prince, but I'm unable to do as you request."
Tsuna nodded his head. "I understand."
"Now where are you off to?" Turmeric's gaze moved back to the rest of the room.
"I just wanted some fresh air." Tsuna stared up at him, using an almost pleading tone.
Turmeric let out a sigh, before nodding his head. "I can only give you a couple of minutes, my prince."
"Thank you, Turmeric." The young prince stepped around him, opened the door just enough so that he could sneak through without being seen, and left the party.
Once outside, he took a deep breath and basked in the calm, cool breeze. It was a perfect evening to be outside, staring up at the stars, or in this case, a perfect night to hold an engagement party. He moved away from the door and the noise of the party, truly enjoying the silence of the night. 'A short walk couldn't hurt.'
The young prince didn't hesitate to walk into the large flower garden that took up most of what one would call their backyard. As Tsuna moved amongst the flowers, he guessed that his brother would be making the announcement in a couple of hours. He wasn't sure if he would be able to last that long amongst the nobles as they continued to talk about him as if he wasn't there. An hour was hard enough. He was already tired of standing alone with no one to talk too. Usually, the young prince would stand with either G or Asari when he was forced to attend parties, but they were both rather busy and never stood in the same place too long.
Tsuna hadn't been walking long before he heard the sound of rustling coming from one of the bushes that he passed. Hearing the noise caused him to freeze in place. The only ones allowed in the garden were those of the royal family. He clenched and unclenched his fists in a vain attempt to fight off the fear that was starting to take over him. All of his instincts were screaming for him to run, while his crazy intuition was telling him to stay where he was.
The young prince would love to start running, the only problem was that his heart was beating so fast that he couldn't take a single step. He turned slightly and the sight of an empty area, except for the flowers, calmed him. 'Thank goodness. I was scared there for a moment.' As he started turning around to continue his walk, he felt something cold hit him at the back of his neck.
He felt himself being lifted up off the ground, which was odd. He didn't even remember collapsing. His vision had turned black, a sure sign that he was more than likely passing out. "Don't make a sound or I'll bite you to death." There was a short pause as he felt his body being shifted, due to his carrier starting to walk. "Let's see how long it takes them to figure it out." the voice of his carrier chuckled.
******R27******
Tsuna pushed the now empty tray away, no longer seeing a point in keeping it nearby. Ever since his arrival here, he never heard the man's voice or felt the dark presence that he seemed to possess. 'Is it possible that I imagined it?' The question plagued his mind many times and each time he ended up with the same answer: he hadn't imagined it. Since he didn't have anything else to do, Tsuna figured he might as well take a nap to help pass the time.
The young prince did his best to lay down on his side with the chain wrapped around him. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he heard the door handle start to turn. Tsuna laid there stiff against the stone floor, scared of knowing what was going on. The only time anyone ever entered the room was to bring him food and when they only took the empty dishes, during which they brought him his next meal. The door slammed open and the sound of multiple pairs of footsteps echoed throughout the room. It was hard for him to keep himself from opening his eyes, especially since the footsteps held a strange sense of urgency compared to the usual calm steps he had grown accustomed too.
"Shit."
"Is he still alive?"
"How the hell should I know idiot?"
"Maa, maa, we have to get him out of here."
As Tsuna laid there on the stone floor, he was certain that he recognized each voice. Ever so slowly, he opened his eyes and stared up at the three men standing over him. "G-san? Asari-san? Lampo-san?" His mouth was dry despite the milk he had drank moments ago. His voice was scratchy from not being used for who knew how long.
G bent down beside him and ruffled his hair. "Hey, kid."
"We've come to take you home, Prince Tsuna." Asari's voice sounded cheerful, even though it was clear that he was anything but.
The young prince moved to sit up with G's help and stared up at Asari, who gave him a kind smile. He tried to say something in return, only to be cut off by a noise out in the hall.
"I extremely can't find Prince Tsuna!"
"That idiot priest." G muttered before placing his hand around the young prince's shoulders, helping him stand.
"Hold on, G. We've gotta get those chains off." Asari stepped forward and started picking the lock with a small knife that he removed from his belt.
"Hurry up. Lampo-sama doesn't like it here."
"Then why did you come, idiot." G said in annoyance, his gaze never leaving the young prince.
Tsuna was surprised that the green-haired knight was here. For as long as he could remember, the young knight preferred to stand back and let the other knights deal with any fighting. Tsuna didn't bother saying anything as he was used to their bickering, which always seemed to occur whenever they were both in the same room. The young prince stared down at his wrists just as Asari removed them. It was obvious that he was going to have two large bruises from the manacles. He looked up at Asari and smiled, though it had gone unnoticed as the knight in question was staring down at the chains still in his hands.
"We really need to get going." G moved forward. Tsuna had to walk quickly so he wasn't dragged towards the door. "Idiot. Go get the idiot priest and lead him back to the front of the building."
"Lampo-sama doesn't take orders from you." The green haired male pouted and walked out of the room to do as instructed despite his protests.
Tsuna took another step, his left arm wrapped around G while his right hand holding the wall. His wrists were killing him, but he managed to stop thinking about the weight of the manacles as long as his hands rested against the ground. He took another step and turned when noticed that G wasn't walking any longer.
"Oy, we gotta go." G stared at the happy go lucky idiot in confusion.
Tsuna stared at Asari, who was gazing down at the manacles in confusion, only to jerk his head towards them when G had yelled at him. 'I wonder what's wrong.' He watched as the taller man released the chains, letting them fall and bang against the floor.
"Yes, let's get out of here."
"You go first." G gestured Asari to go first, a single look shared between them, which went unnoticed by Tsuna.
Once Asari had walked passed them, G had started walking and if the young prince hadn't started walking at the same time, he would have ended up being dragged. By the time they got to the door, Tsuna stumbled forward, and if it wasn't for the fact that he was being held up by both the wall and G, he would have collapsed. Every time that he spared a glance towards the redhead, he could see that he wanted to ask him millions of questions. 'Please don't, G, I'm having a hard enough time walking.' As if sensing his unease, G focused on walking them down the hall. Tsuna noticed that they seemed to have started walking a bit faster as if they were on some sort of schedule.
Tsuna stared ahead, trying to take notice of everything around them. He was finally able to get a look at the place. He had been placed in that room when he first arrived and never got to see outside except for the high window that let light into his cell, so the place was fascinating. The more he looked around, the more he seemed to notice that there was just one problem. The brunet was seeing everything in double. No matter where the young prince looked, he saw two of everything and that was including both G and Asari. 'I'm okay. I just have to keep moving.' Just as he moved to take another step, he was pulled back and bumped into someone. He glanced up to see the look of worry on G's face. "Yes?" Tsuna asked.
"Kid." G's eyes seemed to move all over as if looking for something and the more he saw the worse the look in his eyes got. "You're exhausted." Tsuna was surprised by that, and before he could say anything, G had cut him off. "How about I carry you for a bit?"
Tsuna was surprised and knew that it was probably the best option, but he still shook his head. "No. I can do this." he refuted.
"No, you can't, kid. You've almost walked into the wall twice and fallen on your face I don't know how many times." Tsuna stared at him. He didn't even notice any of that. He was too busy trying to look around and maybe figure out who had taken him. "Come on, kid, you need to rest and we need to get you out of here." Tsuna knew that G wasn't trying to scold him, but rather get his point across. Tsuna didn't really have the fight in him to argue like he normally would.
"G's right, Prince Tsuna." Tsuna turned towards Asari, who was standing only a few feet away. "You need rest and you might as well sleep when you can."
The young prince stared up at the smile on the man's face, though it was merely a mask to cover the worry over his well being. Tsuna slumped his shoulders in defeat and simply nodded his head, not seeing the point in a fighting a losing argument with him. "Alright."
G smiled at him. "Help me get him on my back. Then you go back to acting as guard."
Tsuna let them move him as required in order for him to get onto G's back. He noticed that they were being careful as if expecting him to have injuries that they couldn't see. It took them no more than a couple of minutes to get his arms around the redhead's neck, and his legs around the taller's waist. As soon as the brunet placed his head against G's shoulder, and closed his eyes, he was certain that he heard G say something, but he didn't know what as he had already passed out.
******R27******
Tsuna woke up the first time in a carriage, his brother sitting across from him. He watched as the crown prince rolled his shoulders, though the blond's gaze never left the window beside him. He closed his eyes as the swaying of the carriage made him dizzy. He thought he had heard his brother say something and possibly touch his arm, but before he could ask what was wrong, he had fallen back to sleep.
When he woke up this time, he found himself lying in a bed, staring up at the ceiling. The young prince didn't know how long he had been asleep, but he at least knew where he was. He was home. If it wasn't for the bruises on his wrists, he would have thought everything had been a dream.
Tsuna moved to sit up. His joints felt sore and painful as he continued to move. He cried out when the pain had gotten worse than he could stand. The young prince collapsed back down when he started feeling dizzy. It took him a few minutes for his eyes to start focusing on the ceiling after his head hit the pillow. When he was ready to try again, he moved slowly, and once he was balanced on his arms, the door to his room was busted open.
The first person to his bedside was his mother, who wrapped her arms around him and cried on his shoulder. Tsuna was almost certain that she had been apologizing about something. It was impossible to hear from her sobs, her voice was muffled by his shirt. His father was the next one at his bedside, tears streaming down his cheeks as he wrapped his arms around the two of them in a tight hug. His mother was full on wailing at this point, her body shaking as she let herself cry. His father started shushing her as he began rocking them back and forth, though he continued to cry.
The next ones to enter where his brother and his fiance. Giotto gave him a partial smile before sharing a look with Alaude and burying his face into his shoulder. Tsuna gave a weak smile in reassurance, but he figured it had gone unnoticed as the two were no longer looking at him. G and the rest of his brother's knights were the next to enter, followed by a couple of guards to the young princes surprise. The brunet noticed that Turmeric was not only among them but had remained near the door, while the others stood a foot away from his bed. The older guard also seemed to be avoiding his gaze, which was a little odd.
Tsuna wasn't sure what to think as he gazed moved over everyone in the room. The young prince sat there, letting his parents coddle him like a small child, knowing full well anything he said would go unheard by them. In the past, Tsuna had always believed that he was a hindrance to his brother since he enjoyed being in other's company. He could remember asking Giotto once if the crown prince found him annoying or if he was in the way, and he had been answered with a single no.
He looked to his brother in a silent plea for help, which was answered with a kind and yet sad smile. The brunet looked at the others in the room, hoping that one of them would rescue him from his parents who couldn't seem to stop crying. Everyone in the room averted their gazes and avoided eye contact with him. 'What's going on with everyone? Do they regret coming for me?'
"Tsu-kun." The queen's whimpering voice sounded near his ear. He turned so that he was looking at her. "Are you alright, Tsu-kun?"
Tsuna smiled and hugged his mother, but let out a squeak from the pain. 'What in the world happened?' The entire time he had been captured, they had left him alone in solitude, never laying a hand on him once. 'Why am I in so much pain?' He wanted to know the answers to those questions, but the one that came out when he opened his mouth was a different one. "How long was I out?"
Everyone in the room shared a look as if figuring out how to answer him. "Well…You were out for a while." His brother was the one to answer his questions, but he almost seemed hesitant to answer him.
The young prince gave a slight nod of his head, finding that it felt stiff. "I was tired."
"More like you were out for a few months."
Tsuna turned the best he could when he heard the familiar voice of Doctor Shamal. The man in question was someone that the young prince considered strange. Shamal believed that treating men was pointless and that females were his highest priority. Which made the young prince even more surprised by his appearance here. "What happened?"
"Well…" The crown prince started scratching the back of his head, his cheeks turning red as he turned his gaze away.
The brunet turned his gaze towards G when he heard him sigh. The redhead was leaning up against one of the many bookshelves that covered the entire length of his room. "I carried you out of the room." Tsuna nodded his head, remembering that G had carried him. "We made it all the way to the exit, where these blockheads were waiting for us."
"Who are you calling a blockhead, Pinky?" Knuckle's voice rose as he spoke.
"Yeah, Lampo-sama is the smartest one here."
"More like the dumbest." G muttered, but not quite enough as it only started another argument amongst them.
"Maa, maa," Asari raised his hands in a vain attempt to calm them.
Tsuna watched as his brother ignited his flame before taking a step towards the others. The young prince turned his gaze away before he could get memorized by the flickering flame, something that always happened whenever he saw it. The brunet stared down at his own hands, where he could feel a slight warm feeling, like a soft hum which he didn't really understand. 'I wish I could do something like that.'
"Will you idiots shut up." The entire room went silent, and everyone looked at Doctor Shamal. "The patient needs quiet. I have a date later and want to get him checked out before then." Tsuna turned when he felt Shamal's gaze on him. "And you, leave your questions till after I get your check up done."
The young prince nodded his head. "Sorry." While he did consider the man strange, he truly was the best, and if he was the one treating him he didn't want to anger him.
"Now all of you out." Everyone seemed reluctant to leave the room as if expecting him to up and disappear from their sight. "You can come back in when I'm done." His father had to carry his mother out of the room, as she was more than against leaving him on his own. His mother had even gone as far as to bring up his birth and how she had already seen him naked. Tsuna's cheeks became a dark red at his mother's antics.
******R27******
His time with Doctor Shamal had gone by rather quickly. The entire time Shamal had asked if he felt light-headed or like he was going to throw up. The young prince found it rather strange that he was being treated like he had a concussion, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. He had been asleep for a few months, after all. Shamal had even gone and explained to him about all his injuries, but he refused to say how he got them. According to what he had been told, Tsuna had returned home with a couple of broken ribs, a gash on his arm which had left a scar and a few minor cuts on his leg.
Once Shamal had left, the door was opened and only Giotto, his fiance and his knights walked in. His brother sat down in the chair that was positioned beside his bed, something he noticed during his checkup. Alaude stood behind the chair, his arms crossed. G sat down on the side of his bed, keeping a distance from him as if afraid that he would hurt him. Asari took the chair on the other side of the bed, which made Tsuna raise an eyebrow. He didn't know when the chair had been placed there. Lampo stretched out on the automan, looking quite content and as if considering taking a nap. Knuckle stood near one of the many bookshelves in his room, specifically the one that was close to the door. Daemon stood near one of the large bay windows, looking completely relaxed, and from the smile on his face, he was clearly enjoying whatever was going on his head.
Tsuna looked at them, finding that a lot of the tension they had the first time they had come in with his parents had disappeared. His gaze flicked between his brother and G, knowing that one of them would cave sooner or later. Once he heard the redhead sigh, he knew who was most likely going to answer his questions. "So what happened?"
Tsuna watched as G scratched his head, causing his bright red hair to become a big mess and stand up at weird angles. "After we left the room, we were ambushed by a group of thugs. The idiot," The brunet turned his gaze towards Asari as soon as G pointed to him. "Took care of them, but one managed to knock me over, so I ended up dropping you." The young prince's gaze returned to the redhead, even as he scratched the back of his neck and looked away in embarrassment. "Sorry. After we finished them off, I grabbed you and we continued on. This idiot…" Tsuna flicked his gaze towards Asari once again for only a moment. "Almost ran into a wall."
"Really?" Asari was smiling happily, though he did have a slight blush on his cheeks.
Tsuna flicked his gaze back to the redhead beside him. "Oh yeah, he did."
"You don't have to tell him those things, G." Although he could hear the happiness in the man's voice, Tsuna was well aware that Asari was trying to laugh off his embarrassment.
"A short time after that, those two idiots," The brunet flicked his gaze over to Knuckle, who turned his gaze away, and Lampo, who was clearly a sleeping without a care in the world. "Came running out of a closed room. That's how you ended up getting the head injury. The stupid priest banged the door open, which is how you ended up with the concussion."
"I'm EXTREMELY sorry."
"Shut up, idiot. You're hurting the kid's head." The young prince hadn't realized that he was rubbing his head, feeling the slight bump. He quickly turned his gaze down to his lap and decided that the first thing he was going to do after talking to them was to take a shower.
"Sorry, Prince Tsuna."
"It's okay."
"After that," Tsuna turned towards Asari when he heard him speak. "The three of them got into an argument and then it started to sound like the building was being destroyed." The brunet stared at him, clearly waiting for him to say that he was joking. "So we ran out of there." The smile on the man's face made it clear that he was serious. The young prince was starting to doubt their abilities to make good decisions. "We met up with Prince Giotto and the others around that time, only to find a single guy standing near the carriage."
The brunet started playing with the sheets as the warmth in his hands started once again. He didn't know what was causing it, nor was he sure that he actually wanted it to stop. It was like it gave him some piece of mind and it had given him something to focus on when he had been held captive. Tsuna looked towards G when he felt the redhead's gaze on him. Neither of them said anything. They simply watched each other. The urge to know what the man was thinking was there, but at the same time, Tsuna didn't want to break the silence. The look he was getting from G also told him that he was actually just staring into space, busy trying to figure something out.
"The cuts are from broken glass." Knuckle spoke up, and from his tone, Tsuna could tell that he was agitated with the silence. "The cut on your arm wouldn't have been so bad if Pinky hadn't dropped you."
G's eyebrow started twitching. "Don't blame me, it was Giotto who caused me to drop him." Tsuna turned from the redhead to his brother, who was busy staring at the floor like it was the most interesting thing he has ever seen.
"Who took me?" The brunet asked the question that was driving him crazy since the first time he had woken up in the small stone room.
The entire room fell silent at his question, each one of them took a moment to stare at one another. "Ah, well…" The young prince stared at his brother, waiting for him to continue. "Father doesn't really want you to know."
"Why?"
"He's afraid that you'll have flashbacks about the trauma from while your there." Giotto answered truthfully and staring back at him.
"I have a right to know, brother." He stared harder at the crown prince, who was starting to fidget in his seat.
"It was my cousin." Alaude spoke up for the first time. Tsuna stared at him in surprise, confusion and curiosity as to what he had to say. There was a long pause in the room until he heard the tall blond let out an annoyed sigh. If there was one thing that the brunet liked about Alaude, it was that he always knew how to avoid endless questions by telling him everything. "He wanted a rematch from our last fight. He's been asking me for a while now." The blond looked away from his gaze, before continuing. "I've been...busy here, so it's been easy to avoid him. He got annoyed. It seems he was simply planning on taking someone from the royal family. He didn't care who it was, he said that he would have returned them after the rematch."
Tsuna stared at his hands as he felt the warmth strengthen, as if in hope of relaxing him. "He would have taken Kaa-san?"
"Yes, if given the opportunity." It was Daemon's voice that answered him, and he didn't lift his gaze from his lap.
"Don't worry, kid. He would have never been given the chance."
"She's guarded more than anyone." Asari's voice was calm and sounded like he was trying to reassure him.
Tsuna knew that everyone was trying to calm him down, to reassure him that his mother was safe. But even after hearing them say it, he couldn't stop hearing the voice in the back of his mind. 'He would have taken Kaa-san.' It echoed over and over again, like a never-ending recording. 'I won't let anyone hurt my family.' The young prince was so wrapped up in his own mind that he hadn't noticed that his hands had become really warm. It wasn't until he felt someone hug him that he focused on what was going on around him and saw that his hands were covered in bright orange flames. He looked over to see that it was his brother who was hugging him tightly and praising him.
"This is my flame?" The brunet knew that his statement came out more like a question, but at the moment, he really didn't care all that much.
"Yeah." His brother broke out in tears.
"Those stupid nobles won't be able to call you dame after this." From the sound of his voice, Tsuna knew that G was happy for him.
"Way to go, Prince Tsuna." Asari was smiling and looked truly happy.
"You're a burning orange." Knuckle wasn't yelling thankfully, but his voice was still sounded slightly loud in the quiet room as each person was taking a turn praising him.
He heard a yawn, from the far side of the room and he saw Lampo sitting up with only one eye open. "Your burning brighter than Giotto-sama."
"Nfufufu…You possess a strong flame."
"Hn. The melon-head speaks the truth."
Tsuna looked back down to his lap, where his hands were currently resting. 'A flame stronger then Gio-nii?' He could remember seeing his brother's flame and how it enchanted him. He never imagined that there would be a flame that was stronger than his brother's. 'Could it be possible?'
He could remember reading numerous books that, after the traumatic events, it could lead to strengthening a person's flame. There had been only a couple of times noted in each book the one same person, that something like that had occurred but nothing really noteworthy popped up in his head when he tried thinking about it. He silently watched as the flames flickered and then went out, leaving his hands feeling warm, but quickly cooling down. He knew one thing for sure, and that was this is going to bring about change in many ways to his life.