Hey guys, I hope you didn't think I was dead because I wasn't replying to stuff! In all honestly, I almost was. I got in an accident on July 6th, and was shifting between hospitals and home and check-ups for three weeks. Anywho, I rushed to get this chapter done so I could tell you guys about it. My right humorous (upper arm) is broken, and I cracked a vertebrae in my neck. I'll heal completely though, and am very, very lucky. If you want more details, I urge you to look to my profile, or PM me. The point is, with all the stuff going on, my time for writing is few and far between. With such a hectic schedule, I just don't have much motivation or time. I hope you guys understand, and will work with me here. I am by no means dropping any of my stories, but am simply asking for you to be patient with me. Thank you. ~Rose

Chapter Four

From Bad to Hell

While he had been figuring this out, his legs had already started moving, sprinting after Nagista and deeper into the woods.

Gokudera stared at the chalkboard mounted on the wall, wondering why, for the love of all things lovable, the hell he was here. Nerdy children bustled around him, checking flasks and test tubes that were scattered across several lab tables. A few were shuffling through the papers shoved inside folder pockets, like office ladies. They ran to and fro, handing people papers and relaying messages. They occasionally came close to him, shyly inching closer and asking if he needed anything. He drove them off quickly – though they were squealing and making annoying sounds as they fled, red faced.

His eyes flicked to the tabletop as a cream paper folder was slapped upon it, then up to the person in front of him. A raven-haired male stood courageously before him, said messy hair pushed back by a pair of lab goggles. A heavy black apron covered his uniform, and his blue eyes sparkled with amusement. They scanned over him, taking note of Gokudera's bored expression as well as the hands pushing into the cheeks, supported by the elbows on the table. He put a gloved finger on the file, pushing it forward as he leaned closer, tucking his other arm behind his back.

"You look bored," He commented, glancing at the folder and back up. "I bet you want to be doing something . . . don't you~?" He nudged the file into Gokudera's arm 'discretely'. He stared right into those emerald eyes as he continued to tap the papers against his classmate's arm.

After a while of Gokudera staring and telepathically sending the message, 'You're not subtle, go the fuck away,' and the boy, sadly, not receiving it, he sighed and pressed his hand to his eyes. "No, Josh, I'm not going to do on your work, and what I want is to go home," he growled.

The teen, newly dubbed Josh, pouted and wisely stepped out of Gokudera's personal space. "It's not my work," he explained "It's just work that needs to get done by someone." He let his gaze roam the room, slowly making his way back to the silver-haired teen. "By someone smart," he added, tugging out the nearest stool and dragging it closer. Gokudera's eye twitched at the sound of metal on concrete. Josh's face was set in a frown. "And we both know it's no secret how smart you are, Gokudera. We need to get this done, and no one can figure it out. You're the top of the class; I kind of doubt you even need to be here," a smile broke out again and Josh shrugged – being serious was hard! "If anyone can solve it, it's you!" As is tired after that massive attempt at being somber, he allowed himself to slide against the lab table, hiding his nose behind his arms as he looked up.

Gokudera was back to his original position, frowning down at his classmate. His green eyes were cool, showing neither emotion nor harshness. "No," he said simply. Josh made a whinny noise in the back of his throat, disappointment showing in his features. The other's eye twitched again, a bit of annoyance blooming in those orbs before cutting off again.

Josh continued to stare at the teen, puzzled. He couldn't understand why the silver-haired teen refused to do anything, even though he was stuck there for another hour. It was logical that, even though unwilling, if you should go somewhere, it was to do something. Josh would admit that it had taken a lot of effort and underhanded tricks to drag Gokudera here, effort he usually would not expend on such a thing. He wasn't lazy, he simply didn't put extra effort into things he didn't like to do. Still, Gokudera's behavior over the years had always been curious to him. He had studied him and his group of friends before, and he found again and again that he would not normally fit into said group. The two others had opposing personalities to his, both Sawada Tsunayoshi and Yamamoto Takeshi being very pleasant people.

Yamamoto was a constantly grinning person, bubbly and had an infectious laugh. Josh liked this one himself, they got along well. But he noticed that Gokudera didn't. The two constantly quarreled, albeit one-sidedly. He was constantly at Yamamoto's throat, though Josh had noticed a few times that worked well together, when pressed far enough. Why they were always near each other, however, was a mystery to Josh.

Tsunayoshi was a different story. Gokudera seemed to be so very fond of him, dotting on him at times and protective. But Tsunayoshi was a weakling; people who were usually ignored or thrashed by the upstart. Why they would ever be friends was an enigma in itself; it made Josh wonder how they had met. He hadn't been in the same middle school as them, but even the students who had didn't know. The only explanation he had received was that the two suddenly came to school one day as the best of friends. He had also heard stories of Tsunayoshi's nickname, Dame-Tsuna, and had been regaled with many a tale. However, from what he had observed, Sawada really wasn't that bad. He had noted on several occasions the brunet was very polite and shy around kids bigger than him, but he didn't mess up nearly as much as in the past. Josh couldn't make heads or tails of them.

Gokudera watched his classmate get lost in thought, glad for the silence. He waved his hand in front of the boy's face, just for the hell of it. When Josh didn't respond, he sighed softly, returning his fist to his cheek to rest on. He found the teen annoying, but per Reborn's orders didn't mess with him. The baby had said Josh showed 'potential' and warned the bomber about scaring him off. The order had naturally irked him, but he knew better than quarrel with the Acrobaleno and he himself had seen Josh's skills firsthand. The kid wasn't as smart as him, obviously, but he still stood above the rest of the class and had a very excepting nature. Someone so flexible would be useful to have in their science or tech departments at Vongola.

Since he didn't want to bother Tsuna with his own problems – and since neither Reborn nor Gokudera wanted to tell him they were planning to drag a classmate into the mafia – he dealt with the annoyance the best way he knew how, ignoring him. Sadly this hadn't worked well, for when the raven-haired boy learned he could get close without Gokudera going off, he lingered like a shadow. To say it bothered the Smoking Bomb was an understatement. He had long since given up on this approach, but had recently found out that being negative eventually wore down on Josh's chipper attitude. It wasn't a permanent fix, but it helped him to cope. Gokudera almost wished they could go back to freshman year, when Josh had yet to discover them.

A sigh escaped his lips before Gokudera could stop it. Freshman year . . . they were juniors now, but they're first year of high school seemed closer to eight years past, not three. Middle school had trained them for the Mafia, and Tsuna had officially become Decimo that first year. It was a constant battle to remain undercover and to keep the mafia away from Namimori. As right-hand man, Gokudera helped were he could, but he knew that Tsuna carried the biggest burden among them. Their leader shielded those around him best he could, and they knew it. He refused to let them help with paper work – though Gokudera would often keep certain papers from his boss with this in mind – and oversaw that the Guardians always rotated shifts while on sentry duty, that everyone slept and ate. His personal care was second to theirs, which was a constant source of anxiety for Gokudera.

A tap on his shoulder brought the silver-haired teen out of his thoughts. He glared through the fingers that had habitually covered his eyes at the one bold enough to disturb him. The culprit was none other than, surprise, Josh.

"What," Gokudera ground out. He wasn't in the mood to be bugged; he was surrounded by innocents and they wouldn't withstand the blow he was itching to give out.

Josh frowned deeply, humor the last thing on his mind. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern ringing true in his voice. He had seen his classmate with a variety of expressions, but this one seemed particularly troubling. Whatever was on the teen's mind was something that Josh knew shouldn't be left to the imagination.

The worried tone was not wasted on Gokudera. His sharp ears picked it out immediately, and the sincerity was enough to make him pause with scathing retort still on his lips. He scanned over Josh's grim expression and was slightly surprised to see - or rather not see - that the sparkle of laughter was absent from those aqua eyes. He blinked as the information processed in his mind.

"Yeah, just fine." The storm cursed himself for the soft tone that came out instead of the anger it was meant to convey. Josh just barely caught his words, though alarm sprang to his features at how weak they sounded. The bomber could already feel the oncoming headache from the flood of harassment that was sure to come.

"Gokudera -" Josh started. He wasn't in the mood to listen though, pushing his seat back and standing. "Gokudera-!" He ignored his classmate again in favor of stomping to the door. He didn't get far; the same time his fingers touched the cool metal of the door handle, static rang throughout the room.

All activity ceased in the lab; people freezing where they stood and listening to the message with curious expressions. Gokudera didn't notice them at all though, his rapt attention purely on the words cackling over the intercom. His mind shut down momentarily as the last sentences came through before moving at a million miles per hour.

27 was down. Tsuna - Tsuna was hurt. He need to be there, his boss was wounded on the field in a high security lock down. He needed to get to where Tsuna was - the meeting point. But he had a job to do first. Gokudera quickly repeated the message in his mind: "Number 59; please guide your group to the meeting point." The secret meanings translated automatically in his head. 59 was his assigned number. 'Guide' was used in his instructions rather than 'clear' or 'send' which meant he was to accompany his group of students to the meeting point and stay with them there. The meeting point was predetermined – the gym.

Gokudera released his fingers from their clenched position by his side. He vaguely processed that Josh was trying to talk to him, but shoved past and ran to the door in back. One hand flipped the simple turn lock, while the other threw the bolt. The bomber spun on his heel only to find Josh blocking his path, all eyes on them.

"Gokudera, you know what's going on?" Josh questioned, voice level.

"Yes," he answered, eye twitching at being stopped. He needed to move - Tsuna needed him . . . !

"Why," Josh all but demanded, "what's going on, and why are you locking the door?"

Gokudera didn't even try to hide the groan that pushed its way up his throat. He did not have time for this! "59; M.O.E.; and because you might try to go out it otherwise," he answered cryptically. Josh was smart, he could figure it out. Gokudera slipped around him again, throwing open the closest window. Sticking his head out, he checked all directions before slamming it closed again. He spared the confused students not a glance as he stormed over to the hallway door for a second time. "Hurry up, follow me!"

Josh was the first to dart after his classmate; however, he stopped in the doorway. "Come on guys!" He rallied, "There's something going on, and isn't it our job to figure out how and why stuff works?" Most of the kids grinned at that, a few laughing, and they all streamed out the door after the two leading teens. A clump in back grumbled at first, but gave in rather than being left alone.

Josh sprinted to catch up to the Strom, keeping up a swift pace next to him. "59," he panted, "One of the numbers listed for the 'student supervisors' - yours?" He took Gokudera's silence as an okay to go on. "M.O.E., the project thing from the announcement, that doesn't actually say much about the situation! You were locking the door so we can't leave out it; which says that you need us to follow - presumably for this 'M.O.E.' thing, which you are student supervisor 59 for. Did I miss something?"

Gokudera skidded to a halt in front of another door, pausing to glare at Josh. "Good," he muttered, more to himself then to his classmate. Without missing a beat, he kicked open the door, multiple startled shrieks coming from inside. Math-letes were jumping and falling from their desks at a fascinating rate, much faster than they ever moved in gym class. Gokudera ignored all of that, repeating his commands from the doorway. With multiple shouts of "Shut up and move" at their backs, the math club was herded into the hallway with the science club. Gokudera made one last scan of the classroom before charging through the crowd and moving on.

Josh hung back and watched the way the silverette led the confused student body forward. He drove them on by manipulating their muddled state, allowing them to follow blindly. When a student would drift out of line he noticed quickly and looped around to fix the problem. Josh was questionable about his use of force, but had to admit that he got the job done, and well at that. Deciding to help, Josh urged another classmate into line, flashing Gokudera a grin when he detected the aid. The two had a silent stare down before Gokudera simply nodded and turned back to guiding the children. It was true that Josh had no idea where he was leading them, or for what purpose, but he trusted him to get them there.

Up front, Gokudera didn't have time to puzzle over his classmate's sudden assistance. It took a hardy amount of self-restraint to not force the other students to sprint to reach the gym faster. He was sick with worry; his precious boss could be completely unguarded right now. He found himself hoping that one of the other Guardians had reached the meeting point before him. Even if it wasn't him, he could rest a little easier if he knew someone strong stood next to the Sky. Of course, he would be beside them in the blink of an eye anyway, but that wasn't the point.

The Guardian's heart rate picked up as he rounded the last corner, metal double doors waiting at the end of the corridor. Unable to resist, Gokudera ignored the startled cries of the students behind him and ran the last of the distance. Bursting through with a crash, emerald eyes filtered through the milling bodies for a familiar cropping of chocolate hair. He grimaced and started shoving through the crowd, still ignoring his own group. Where was he? Pushing down the lump in his throat, he pressed on, nudging other teens out of the way or skating around them.

After another good five minutes of searching, Gokudera picked out a voice that rose slightly above the noise of the gym. Stopping to listen, he tracked the steadily growing voice until he confronted the one it belonged to. They noticed each other at the same time, freezing in their conversation. Gokudera felt hopeful that, out of the all the Guardians to beat him, at least it was the Sun.

"Oi!" he jogged up to the boxer, eyes still flicking from face to face. "Where's Juudaime?"

Ryohei's normally energetic attitude was already strained; those who knew him well enough could pick out the tension in his muscles that betrayed his façade. His grin faltered at the Storm's exclamation. "You extremely don't know?"

"What? Where is he?!" Gokudera felt panic seize his heart. "What did I miss?"

Ryohei stared back at the Strom, dread cracking the mask he wore for the students. "He wasn't here when I got here. I extremely hoped he was with you or one of the others!"

Gokudera felt the world around him still, the words sinking in. His jaw went slack and the floor tilted. Flipping around, he dashed to the exit leading to outside. As an afterthought, he yelled to the boxer over his shoulder, "Stay here and getready for trouble!"