A/N: At the moment I'm testing the waters with this fic to see if anyone will actually read it.

Enjoy the first chapter guys!

Chapter 1

A flash of whitened hair, the glint of crimson eyes and the near-silent rustle of fabric was all an outsider would experience if they'd been looking at the right place, at the right time, but only if they'd focused all their will and energy. And only if they'd known to focus so completely for that near 100th of a second in which the form had been perceptible to normal human eyes. Otherwise, they'd see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing.

So it was that the invisible figure skirted along the edges of the crowds, making his way through the throng of people as easily and as confidently as a fish would through unmoving water. He wondered briefly if these human's ears could hear the tell-tale clack of his wooden geta every time he materialised but soon decided that they probably couldn't, and that even if they could, it'd be washed away by the sounds of the crowd.

"In other news, the investigation into the gruesome murder of the 13 year old boy, Minami Kaoru, yesterday night has yielded very few results thus far."

He paused in front of the televisions on display, attentive eyes focusing in on the image of the middle-school aged boy which flashed across the screen.

"At approximately 9:30pm last night, a neighbour who was heading out to a local deli discovered the dismembered arm of the young boy in an eastern suburb of Namimori. Police have found no further leads into this devastating case thus far and it has left locals fearing for their lives. This is the third case in what is now becoming a string of serial killings following the similar murders of business man Takayama Shohei and high school student Sanada Akahito last week."

He turned away and continued on his silent journey, travelling farther away from the town's centre as he did so. After a while, he belatedly noticed that the crowd of people had begun to thin, until eventually there was no one left at all but him.

I must be moving into the suburbs.

He allowed himself a moment to gather his bearings, hopping onto a nearby roof to examine his surroundings. The night air was cool against his cheeks and the pale, muted light of the full moon bathed him in an eerie silver glow. If someone passed by now and just so happened to glance upon this rooftop, they'd see him clear as day. A figure so ethereal it'd invoke an awed fear in the heart of whoever saw it.

Left at the next corner, straight until I reach that fork in the road, and then past the middle school. It hardly took me any time at all, wow this town sure is quaint.

The man paused, his gaze shifting from the roads below to the pointed tops of the roofs which stretched before him.

The rooftops would probably be faster right?

The man stretched luxuriously for a second longer and then, with an indulgent grin, launched himself across the rooftops, as lithe and flexible as any feline.

-V-

"We really shouldn't be out so late, there's been news of creepy stuff happening around town lately." Tsunayoshi Sawada, the often self-refuted heir of Vongola, whined to his tiny partner. "And also, are you trying to kill me Reborn? What's with this intense training all of a sudden?"

Said tiny partner, quick as lightning, landed a kick upward the 10th heir's head. Tsuna, feeling this was a totally unfair situation but having experienced it more times than perhaps anyone else would've tolerated, turned to his mentor in only slight disbelief.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"You think you're going to get stronger by cutting corners in training?" Reborn asked in his usual eternally-better-than-you voice, "I told you not to use your gloves to fly to the goal but you did so anyway. You deserved to run 30 more laps around the mountain base as punishment, I was being uncharacteristically kind by assigning you only 20."

Tsuna gaped at his mentor in what would probably be an entirely accurate representation of a mentally unstable goldfish.

"You asked me to climb a cliff!" Tsuna replied, suitably indignant. When Reborn only blinked at him, he flailed slightly. "Carrying all of your camping equipment! You even brought your own coffee machine!"

"I prefer my espresso fresh." Was Reborn's dignified response.

Tsuna had just finished contemplating the effects of caffeine on infants, its ability to stunt mental growth, and had moved on to whether the usual biological rules for growth and development applied to eternally cursed babies, when Reborn stopped suddenly. Tsuna, being Tsuna, failed to notice this in time and hence proceeded to promptly trip and fall flat on his face.

It definitely hurt too.

He opened his mouth to complain but Reborn stopped him short.

"Be quiet for a moment, Tsuna."

Tsuna snapped his mouth shut, having experienced Reborn's careful tone of voice one too many times for his liking. For that tone of voice often meant that something was wrong. And if that something was wrong enough to put even Reborn on guard, then that something probably warranted the anxiousness Tsuna was now beginning to feel.

For a long moment, it was perfectly still and silent. The only sounds were the gentle rustle of the trees in the wind and the only sight was of the empty suburban streets bathed in silver moonlight. But then he saw it, and whatever it was, Tsuna was fairly sure he'd never seen anything quite like it before.

It was only the briefest of glances, and if Tsuna hadn't been so on-guard, he probably wouldn't have even noticed anything amiss. A long, snowy mane of hair streamed out behind him (was it a him?), the dark folds of his kimono producing barely more than a whisper and his wooden shoes clacking lightly on the tiled rooftop. It was only a moment, but in that moment everything around him became a flurry of movement. The trees rustled louder, the wind gusted stronger, the moon shone brighter and Tsuna was left unable to move or think.

And then, he was gone and all was still once more.

Tsuna physically had to shake himself out of whatever strange trance had come over him before turning to the sun arcabeleno, expecting answers. Reborn always knew the answers after all.

"Who…?"

Reborn remained silent for a moment, thoughtful eyes following the phantom man's invisible path.

"He's headed toward Namimori Middle School." Reborn replied, pointing a tiny finger in the school's general direction.

Tsuna didn't fail to realise he had, as always, had his question completely ignored.

"Namimori Middle School?" Tsuna asked in confusion, "Why would he be headed there?"

Reborn shrugged before leaping up to ride on Tsuna's shoulder.

"Let's go, Tsuna."

"What? But it's already so late! Mum's probably had dinner ready for ages now!" Tsuna complained as Reborn gave him a sharp nudge in the shoulder with his heel.

"Hibari is always at Namimori Middle at this time. As the boss, are you really going to abandon a guardian?" Reborn asked as Tsuna huffed a sigh and began to jog.

"I keep telling you, I'm not the boss." Tsuna muttered, silently parting with the thoughts of the warm steak waiting for him at home. "We'll probably only get in his way."

-V-

The first thing Tsuna noticed upon arriving at the front gates of Namimori Middle School was the shattering of a window as a figure was flung out. Squinting slightly, Tsuna soon felt his jaw drop when the figure staggered up and brushed himself off, seemingly unhurt, to reveal one pissed off looking Hibari Kyouya. Tsuna flinched as he saw Hibari examine the broken window with what seemed to be a deathly calm.

Then, before Tsuna could even so much as blink, Hibari had leapt back through the shattered window and another loud crash was heard.

"This looks bad." Tsuna said to Reborn as he bolted toward the broken window.

Reborn leapt off his shoulder as they reached it and Tsuna peered inside, seeing nothing but an empty classroom. The desks and chairs were strewn hazardously across the floor and the far wall had a large, gaping dent in it. Tsuna noted with slight terror that the dent seemed far too large for Hibari to have been the one who caused it. If it was fear for the thing itself that caused the dent or Hibari for being able to overpower whatever the thing was, Tsuna wasn't sure.

Whatever was going on here, it obviously wasn't good.

"Tsuna-" Reborn began, but Tsuna had already swallowed his pills.

"Yeah." Tsuna replied, flame burning to life on his forehead, "I know."

And then he was off, propelling himself through the corridors so fast he hardly saw the classrooms flash by. The 1st floor halls were silent, and Tsuna hovered for a second at the end of the corridor, attentive. Then, a thump from the floor above alerted him. With a burst of speed, Tsuna rocketed up the stairwell, careful to turn without denting the walls for fear of being bitten to death in the near future.

Following the sound, he soon found himself at the entrance to the art classroom, greeted with a sight he wasn't sure he really wanted to understand.

Hibari was guarding himself, his tonfas held up to protect his face as some duck-billed creature with razor sharp claws attacked relentlessly. The creature was approximately double what Hibari was wide, and had strange hoof-looking hind legs. Its body was draped in midnight black fur, and its singular eye, glowed a translucent yellow.

"What….is that?" Tsuna said, shocked.

"Now's not the time for stupid questions dame-Tsuna."

Reborn's voice pulled him from his shock-induced paralysis as the tiny hitman appeared next to him, seemingly out of thin air. Tsuna vaguely wondered if he'd used his array of secret doors to get here. After a moment to gather himself, Tsuna launched his body straight at the creature, kicking it into the opposing wall with a resounding crash.

He hovered next to Hibari for a moment, watching the creature closely. It staggered a bit, looking dazed. Tsuna was about to ask if Hibari was okay when his instincts caused him to flip backward, dodging an unexpectedly aimed tonfa at the very last minute.

"H-Hibari-san?" Tsuna stammered confusedly as he righted himself. He'd had to flip to avoid Hibari's swing.

"I don't recall asking for your help, herbivore." Hibari stated coldly, "I'll have you pay for the damage you just caused to the school's wall."

Then, without another glance at Tsuna, he charged the opponent, flame flowing over his weapons as he proceeded. The duck-creature jeered at him, dodging his attack at the very last moment and causing the cloud guardian to skid to a stop moments before he collided with the wall.

Tsuna used this moment of lowered defence to launch an accelerated punch, sending the creature crashing to the floor. Hibari wasted no time, leaping toward the creature, his tonfas burning with his purple flame. When the creature kicked a hoof upward, Hibari dodged and landed an attack. It was weaker though, with his rhythm disturbed by the creature's counter, and so the creature rolled only a few metres.

Tsuna was about to launch his own attack when a rough kick in his stomach sent him flying back a bit. Surprised, Tsuna looked at Hibari.

"Stay out of my way." Hibari growled, turning back to the creature and raising his weapons. "I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna wasn't sure who exactly the threat had been meant for, but he hadn't any time to ponder because Hibari was suddenly moving at break-neck speed toward the creature. He was faster than he had been before, if possible, and Tsuna could only watch as the creature turned its head, eye wide in horror at its own impending doom.

And then the attack hit and the creature was sent hurtling backward, flying helplessly toward a nearby window.

It happened in a moment. Tsuna was watching closely as the creature flew, expecting to see the creature's body hit the window, or perhaps go through it with the power of Hibari's strike, but it never happened.

Instead, the creature's body stopped short, just shy of the window, before lowering slowly to the ground. It was almost gentle the way the creature was lain down, as if careful not to hurt it further and Tsuna, Hibari and Reborn all watched the action in utter bewilderment.

Then, before their very eyes, black tendrils of smoke floated into view, gathering more and more concentrated until a mane of snow-white hair appeared within it. Tsuna flinched backward subconsciously as the vaguely familiar man continued to materialise before him. His black and blue kimono seemed out of place in this modern classroom, and the sheathed sword by his side made him look like some ancient samurai. He crouched low to the ground, the creature cradled in his arms.

But what caught Tsuna's undivided attention were his eyes, which glowed a hauntingly beautiful shade of crimson red. He felt Hibari tense beside him, and could practically feel Hibari's bloodlust multiply at this mysterious figure's appearance.

The man watched them for a moment, his eyes gleaming with what seemed like curiosity, before lowering his gaze to the creature in his arms.

So that's why the body didn't hit the wall.

The man gave a long winded sigh and addressed the creature softly.

"You are such a pain, I could've been on my way home by now if you hadn't run away from me. I hope you'll consider joining my ranks now that I've saved you."

The man's voice was deep and smooth, but less intimidating than Tsuna expected. In response to this, the creature gave a small whine of pain before spluttering a cough.

"D-don't get so full of yourself…"

Tsuna was shocked at the knowledge that this creature could speak, and soon found himself completely confused once again. Just who were these people?

The man's red eyes met Tsuna's and Tsuna clenched a fist in response, becoming instantly alert. There was something about those eyes which put him on edge, it was a strange mixture of fear, awe and allure. The man grinned devilishly in response, probably sensing Tsuna's confliction.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't attack my future comrade any further. It'd really be a shame if you killed him before I have him join me."

It took a moment for Tsuna to realise the man was addressing them now, not the creature.

"Who-" Tsuna began to speak but stopped short as Hibari made a small, disapproving noise and launched himself at the two.

Tsuna saw the man's eyes narrow in the split second before Hibari's attack hit, and when it did Tsuna did not hear the dull thump of metal connecting with flesh but rather, the clang of metal against metal. Shocked, Tsuna realised the man's sword was now out, his body in front of the fallen creature shielding Hibari's attack.

"Now, now. No need to get violent. I'm not here to bother you." The man said in a placating voice.

Hibari, however, remained unmoved.

"Annoying," he said. He instantly swung his other tonfa, connecting it directly with the white-haired man's side.

"Ooof." The man gasped, eyes going wide in shock. But then he grinned and Hibari's eyes narrowed as he realised his tonfa had passed through nothing but smoke. "Just kidding."

And then the man appeared again, crouching on a desk nearby, his sword back in its sheath. He had an almost playful gleam in his eyes as Hibari attacked him again, leaping around as he dodged Hibari's strikes. Whenever he wasn't fast enough and looked about to be hit, he'd disappear in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear on the other side of the room.

As slippery as an eel.

"Come on now, I said I didn't want to fight."

"Tsuna. What are you doing just staring you idiot?" Reborn asked, kicking him in the back and forcing him forward.

Taking the hint, Tsuna put on a burst of speed, fist outstretched in assault. The man, seemingly surprised that Tsuna had suddenly decided to attack him, didn't manage to dodge in time and instead raised his sheathed sword in defense. Tsuna grunted at the contact, causing the man to skid backward slightly, surprised the sword hadn't shattered. He thought wondrously how strong this man must be to not have been completely overwhelmed by his flame propelled punch. He did, however, notice that the man's eyes had lost its playfulness, his teeth gritting in exertion and his eyes sharpening.

They remained locked in an unmoving battle of power for what felt like an eternity. At this distance, the emotions those eyes had invoked in him felt all the more intense and, unnerved, Tsuna strengthened his resolve. Gathering forth an extra push of power, he propelled himself forward, causing the man's eyes to widen in shock as he was forced backward.

Then, those blood-coloured eyes snapped to the side and Tsuna too, noticed Hibari's fast approach. Tsuna could see the moment the man began to panic, his eyes beginning to dart around the room, searching for an escape and his brow furrowing in what Tsuna believed to be rapid thought.

Hibari was a hair's breadth away from connecting the finishing blow when he stopped short, seemingly frozen in mid-air.

"What…?" Hibari muttered, struggling against invisible confinements, yanking at his arms and legs in an attempt to free himself.

Tsuna, distracted by this strange turn of events, didn't notice the release of pressure on his arms until it was too late. He tumbled forward through a black cloud of smoke, propelled forward by his flame and crashed to the ground harshly. He groaned in pain after skidding to a stop, and rolled over onto his stomach to ease the stinging on his back.

The elusive man had reappeared over the fallen duck-creature, and now proceeded to take it into his arms once again. Turning to face Tsuna, his gaze lingered on him in what seemed almost like scholastic curiosity.

"Oi Rikuo."

Tsuna would've jumped at the unfamiliar voice if he hadn't been in so much pain. His eyes flew to the nearby window, now open and letting in a cold draft. Two new figures stood there, and upon noticing them too, Hibari went as rigid as a cat about to pounce.

When did they…

The one who had spoken, an older-looking man with scruffy hair, red eyes and a kimono which hung half open at his chest revealing what Tsuna assumed were tattoos, stalked over to the white haired man and knocked him upside the head.

"Not trying to ditch us are you?" he growled.

The white haired man, Rikuo, glared back at him.

"I wasn't trying to ditch you. You were just too slow, Zen."

Tsuna could almost see a vein pop in the older man's neck.

"What did you say, brat?"

"This is no time for that!" The other, a young looking man with blonde hair who would've looked completely human if it weren't for the distinct lack of neck, exclaimed.

The blonde had his arms raised, scarlet strings flung from his fingertips to wrap around Hibari's body. Tsuna gritted his teeth in realisation. So he had been the one who had stopped Hibari.

"What were you doing Rikuo-sama? You said this would be quick." Neckless accused, tightening his grip on his ropes as Hibari pulled sharply against them.

"My bad Kubinashi, I got a little…held up." Rikuo replied, his eyes darting toward Tsuna and Hibari.

The boy named Kubinashi sighed as he eyed the cloud guardian hanging in the confines of his ropes. "We should go before you cause any more trouble."

Rikuo nodded in acknowledgement, before turning to Zen.

"He needs healing. I don't know what these kids did to him but he's badly hurt."

Zen eyed the unconscious duck-creature for a moment and nodded his understanding. "I got it."

Taking this opportunity of brief distraction, Tsuna made a move to get up. He groaned softly at the pain and was nearly sitting upright when he felt himself being restrained. Snapping his head to the right, he noticed a rope wound around his wrist, so tight it felt as though his hand may fall off. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he turned to look at Kubinashi, who was watching him sharply.

"Stop it Kubinashi, that's enough." Rikuo commanded and, to Tsuna's surprise, Kubinashi's rope loosened instantaneously. "We're done here."

It seemed this wasn't the right thing to say however, for at that moment Kubinashi's ropes jerked away from Hibari's form as if they'd been burnt and the cloud guardian dropped to the ground enshrouded in his flame, looking furious.

"How dare you restrain me in my own school?" Hibari hissed coldly, dangerously. "I won't let you leave."

"Go!" Rikuo exclaimed and at once, Tsuna felt the ropes around him vanish.

Once satisfied that his two comrades had disappeared into the darkness with the duck-creature in tow, Rikuo turned to face the fast approaching Hibari.

"Pleasure meeting you."

And then he was gone in a cloud of black smoke as Hibari's tonfa once again passed through empty air. The last thing Tsuna recalled before he disappeared completely, was two pinpoints of glowing red, fading into the blackness of the night.