Chapter 8

Rampo snorted as he watched the nobles exchange euphuistic prose. He had never understood the need for such a frivolous display of "elegance", as his personal home tutor had put it. Even though the food was bountiful and the wine was delicious, this aristocratic community was a massive contrast to the lives of an average citizen the street.

He very much preferred the rough, crude, but direct and distinct street lingo found commonly in the docks. Where words were simply words-not even the cursing and rude gestures had any impact. No hidden agenda, no political hints of power, and no double meanings between each sentence.

Once again, the teenager found himself amidst this senseless political charade. Well, at least he had a purpose today, he thought to himself, unconsciously running a hand through his wavy mop of hair.

Despite his misgiving against this particular society, the teen had to admit (grudgingly, though)- the ballroom in the House of Sallust was indeed a magnificent architecture of skill and art and a sight to behold. The ceiling was designed to hold pieces of elaborated paintings, replicas of the works done by the renowned artists in the century. Corinthian pillars that were placed uniformly at the side of the hall were carved with exquisite golden leaves and sliver flowers accompanied with the lithe figures of fairies dancing dainty on the petals, right down to the minute detail. Even the tables, chairs, curtains, carpets were made of the most expensive materials available in the market and embroidered with complex designs.

Then, as if to match up with the surroundings, each of the nobles was dressed in extravagant fineries and lavished themselves in a scenery fitting for the king's court. Brightly colored fabrics swirled along with the orchestra's tune, coaxing their partners to match with equal grace. The women boasted their worth through countless jewelry that decorated their necks and wrists as they flirted openly with noblemen, whom accepted the attention with glee as they, too, swaggered around, bragging about their own deeds and conquests of the past.

Making his way around the profligacy display of wealth to greet his peers, Rampo's "newly acquired menservants", a blond and a maroon-haired male, who shadowed him closely behind, kept a watchful eye on the crowd. When he was done with the customary greetings, he slinked back in to shadows at the side with a small plate of food in his hands.

Pretending that he was eating, the young nobleman muttered irritably under his breath, "I saw that. Will you guys stop nicking stuff?"

G posed an air of innocence and blinked at him. "What do you mean, young master?"

The pubescent sighed while his entourages exchanged mischievous grins.

"Well, young master, it's just that they're dangling there, begging for me to pick 'em up. It seemed that they didn't like their masters very much. Didn't like 'em at all. And 'ey didn't know I took them too! In fact, their masters' reactions were so slow that I don't think they will even know did it if I pinched their butts," the red-haired man continued with a straight face, causing the teen to sputter his half-eaten potatoes back into his plate.

Giotto felt his lips twitch as he played his part as "servant number two". The twinkles in his eyes danced as he acted along side his best mate. "Now, now, young master, that's not very nice to spit out your food. That isn't polite."

Rampo gaped at the two, torn between exasperation, amusement and bewilderment that his companions were still joking when they were very much at risk of being caught any moment. He had not been brimming with confidence now that they infiltrated into Sallust territory. Ramp inwardly jumped in fear every time they passed by a guardsman, or if one happened to cast a look in their direction. And yet, these two were openly stealing items, and to make matters worse, they were joking about it. What were their nerves made of?

He shook his head resigned to his situation. "I swear… you people are crazy."

Giotto inclined his head towards the majestic structure. "If they could afford such finery, I highly doubt they would sorely miss anything we've… What the…"

He paused abruptly, catching sight of a familiar brunet slipping out of the servants' doorway with a musician. "G!" He hissed in a low voice, "I just saw Tsuna!"

With a jerk, the redhead spun around in alarm. "Where?"

"He just left from there," his friend shortly replied, swearing under his breath as he indicated to the wooden door behind the heavy curtains. With a quick scan around the room to ensure no one was paying any attention to the trio, the man made his way towards the exit.

G followed his line of sight, He hesitated for a second before going after Giotto, casting a glance at the nobleman to check if he was indeed behind him. "You sure 'bout that?"

"Affirmative," the head ahead of him bobbed.

Rampo sighed at this sudden change of plans. "What do you think he was doing here? Is he a spy?" He inquired softly, keeping up the quick pace his friends had set. Both his companions paused abruptly, causing him to walk right into G's back.

"Don't just stop like that! What the hell is…" before Rampo could complete his sentence, the blond turned. They could see his face-a mask of hesitation and betrayal.

Giott's hands hovered over the golden doorknob before uttering softly, "Well, either he's the trouble… or he's going be in trouble…"

G could only grimace in reply.


A couple of hallways from the door, the said teenager sneezed.

Asari gave him a concerned look. "Are you alright? That was one hell of a sneeze."

Tsuna sniffed and rubbed his twitching nose. "yea… I am fine. I think someone's talking about me."

"You believe in those superstitions?" His savior laughed.

Tsuna shrugged nonchalantly, but a slight tinge of red splotched on his cheeks. "Perhaps? You don't?"

Engaging themselves in a lengthy conversation about the topic, they pretended to be lost, strolling down the passageway leading to the study. When they were able to slip in without any problems, the Vongola Decimo gave an internal cheer at their success.

His companion glanced towards the towering shelves of books. "So… What are we looking for again?"

"Any hints of unusual or out-of-place… stuff," Tsuna answered hesitantly, making a beeline for the nearest table. But before he could even reach it, his ears picked up soft echoes of ominous footsteps of an unwanted guest in room.

"What do we do now?" the teen panicked as he looked about desperately.

Asari nudged him and pointed to a creaky old cabinet at the corner. "Hide." His voice was harsh with fear.

The sound of the footfalls were getting louder and the two males made a dash for the small cupboard and threw the doors open. They piled into the crammed quarters, and the cabinet creaked tentatively at the unexpected weight.

Closing the entrance, they left just a crack to peek out from. The brunet decided not to voice his morbid prediction of their situation if this enclosed space was going to topple over in the middle of hiding.

"Tsuna," the musician hissed when they were securely out of sight. "Move over to the other end! You're crushing me!"

"Gimme a moment. I'll try!" the teenager muttered under his breath and attempted to ease back a few inches. He could barely suppress a groan when his companion suddenly shifted and accidently kneed his stomach in the process.

"Sorry!" Asari said apologetically. He winced in sympathy.

"Ouch! Don't sit there! That's my foot!"

"Just stop moving!" Crushed between the wooden corners of the cupboard, a ton of coats and a wriggling body determined to get more space, the raven-haired man was confident that he was going to get claustrophobia.

Tsuna grunted with discomfort. "You make it sound so easy!"

"Hush! They're coming in!"

After what seemed like an eternity to the pair, the door swung open and a number of individuals streamed in. The duo had finally settled down, determining that this was going to as comfortable as it got while being holed up in a cupboard. Both of them pressed forward-they intended to sneak a look at the occupants of the room.

Tsuna squirted when the lights hit his eyes. When his eyes refocused, he spotted a middle-aged brunette dressed in a similar fashion to a zebra. The boy frowned. It oddly reminded him of someone, but he could not place a finger onto it. Moving on, he saw two men. One had striking red hair tamed and tied back to form a ponytail, and wore a dark suit; the other had a ridiculous Afro and was in a lab coat.

"Tell me," the redhead drawled in an eerily cold voice. "How has the progress been?"

"We found it. The source of the flusso di vita, or more well-known as the 'flow of life'." The woman exchanged a smirk with the Afro.

The dark-suited man nodded, seemingly pleased.

Afro tucked his hands into his coat. "Lord Sallust," he started. Tsuna felt his breath hitched at the name. This man?

The speaker continued, not realizing the surprised reaction of his hidden audience, "About our deal. You'll keep it, won't you?"

The other waved his question off dismissively. "You keep your end of the bargain and use your magic from the future to get that for me. Then I'll help you to kill that Giotto brat and his friends. They are becoming a nuisance anyway."

This time, Tsuna nearly squeaked in surprise and stumbled back. But Asari, realizing this, clamped his hands over his friend's mouth and held him steady. The brunet nodded his gratitude when he regained his balance.

They were the one he was looking for.

"It isn't magic," the woman replied disdainfully. "Science, it is not…?"

"Whatever," the latter interrupted in annoyance. "As long as the job is completed, it doesn't matter what it is."

The brunette shot him a resentful glare before turning on her heels and stomping out of the room with the Afro following closely behind.

"I should have your head for your disrespectfulness, woman," Lord Sallust muttered before standing up from his seat. Shaking his head at the obscurity of woman of the future, he too made his way out, shutting the door with a soft click.

The hidden eavesdroppers sighed in relief at the abrupt departure of the owner and attempted to leave the stuffy cabinet at the same time. However, they nearly toppled onto the floor during the process. Getting back to their feet, Tsuna and Asari exchanged toothy grins.

To their horror, the study door was flung opened again and in an instant, Asari jumped back to his previous hideout, whilst the Vongola Decimo dived behind the sofa that Sallust had occupied only moments before.

"What are you guys doing?" Tsuna froze when he heard an amused and familiar voice.

"Well, if they are hiding, I don't think they are spies." A not-so-familiar voice replied lightly.

Tsuna found courage to peek from behind the chair, and immediately was welcomed by the sight he saw. He slumped onto the ground and clenched a fist over his pounding heart.

"Tsuna…?" A hesitant voice asked from the cupboard.

"Friends."

The raven hair teen slowly pushed open the door and looked at the trio curiously. His eyes landed on the blond. "You must be Giotto?" he asked, climbing out again for the second time.

Giotto nodded as he watched G moving forward to help Tsuna from the ground. "Either way, young man," he told the brunet sternly. "You're in deep trouble."

Vongola Decimo gulped and took a step back. "But… I was…. I wanted…"

His guardian crossed his arms. "Enlighten me."

The boy blinked furiously, uncertain about how much he could say. He eyes darted to the only exit behind his ancestor. He threw a pleading look towards Asari, who would only scratch his head and laugh awkwardly at the situation.

"So?" the blond expectantly asked again.

"I… I…" He was going to be in BIG trouble.


Although he would like to say that it was an accident, a coincidence, one improbable event leading to another, implausible sequences of events were ubiquitous in his life.

After promises to explain later, the group decided it was time to hightail out of the place. But how had a simple "Plan A: Escape from Enemy Territory" ended up a full fledge war in the castle? The prospective Vongola Decimo swore he had absolutely no idea.

He was pretty certain that it happened somewhere along the lines of them running in different directions, crashing into a few people, someone yelling about being attacked, pride of honor of their house, followed by some screams that their house was the supreme and then the drawing of the weapons.

Or was it the drawing of weapons and then the screams of "who was the best"? It didn't really matter, Tsuna thought. He needed to find his companions, and get the hell out… or get the hell out, and then find his companions.

Tsuna rolled his eyes at his own thought process. Now was definitely not the time for this.


Weapons, fists and blood were flying everywhere. The ex-merchant sighed, though what flashed in his sky-blue eyes was not of fear and annoyance, but a strange sense of thrill, a gentle nudge of lust for a well-placed challenge. Years of experience in dirty fights and his natural instincts proved their every cent's worth as yet another sloppy punch flew towards him, causing him to dodge it without even looking at the brawler.

The brawl was one of the most extreme he had ever been involved in, Giotto mused. He hoped the rest were doing well. He was worried how they were faring, especially his young charge…

Ignoring the yell behind him, the blond's sharp eyes scanned his surroundings whilst progressing forward; he spotted his best friend's fiery hair tackling an unsuspecting guard; a telltale flash of a long sword, likely to be from the brunet's companion. Giotto suddenly paused when he finally found his young charge, nearly getting stabbed as a result when a flash of sliver pass him.

Giotto swore and barely ducked sideways in time, with the knife missing him by inches, burying itself into some unfortunate person behind. When he stood up, he had already lost sight of the kid in the chaos. Nevertheless, he was smirking. Tsuna was right. He could fight! Even though he had barely caught a glimpse, he saw it. There was seriously nothing to worry about at all. He would make it back safely.

That boy… Although unassuming by appearance, the teen they had picked up could pummel his way easily though hordes of the soldiers and actually had power in the small, lithe body. It was an interesting dichotomy. He may not have the required strength to pass off as a decent fighter, but speed, precision and agility were his weapons; with a jab at the liver; a kick on the nose; a heel on soft muscle tissues, he even brought down a man twice his size.

However, while his excited guardian was exhilarated with the fight he was in, the said adolescent was not. Another man had spotted the "easy pick" in the chaos and twisted his attention to him. The burly chap moved in for the kill and swung an oversized club in his direction. With a small "eep", Tsuna jumped back and turned towards his assailant staring nervously at him with intense regard.

Now, contrary to what most think, Tsuna was capable of fighting without his dying will, thank you very much. After all, the dying will was a manifestation of his potential capabilities. Sure, he couldn't fly without being in hyper dying will mode; he wasn't as fast or as strong. But, did any sensible person really believe that Reborn would allow him not know how to fight without his dying will?

Needless to say, Tsuna had no actual need to tell anyone. He hated to fight. He was a coward who would rather run than face challenges without any provocations. That was, indeed, the truth. But as tempting as it sounded, using his dying will here would be a very bad idea.

Nevertheless, the brunet was at a major disadvantage here. His strength was ebbing away with each kick and his stamina was hitting dangerously close to the end. Furthermore, it was starting to rain. Aggravated that he was caught in between such a compromising situation, Tsuna decided to end this fast and make a dash for it. He darted forward and stomped hard on his attacker's foot before delivering an elbow to the throat, flinching at the impact. But it was done. The incapacitated man dropped like a stone in the wet ground.

Tsuna panted in exhaustion. His built wasn't meant to consecutively fight ten hulks in a row. Yet, when another attacker slashed at his torso, he could barely dodge, swooshing into a puddle that formed behind him moments ago. Feeling extremely irritated, the boy made his split-second decision and reached for the hidden case tucked securely in back pocket.

Screw secrecy. Screw the rain. Screw the neon-orange sign on his forehead that was screaming, "attack me". Screw the Zebra-print woman who was out to kill them. All Tsuna wanted to do now was to go home and sleep off his oncoming migraine. The frustrated boy tossed the bluish sphere into his mouth. Orange flames, its intensity corresponding with his misplaced anger, flickered into life on his forehead.

With renewed vigor, Tsuna tightened his leather gloves into a fist and punched the living daylights out of his previous attacker, whose eyes were almost bulging out of their socket.

Tsuna's "doppelganger" smirked a little when felt a twinge of satisfaction coursed though him. But when he threw a quick look to his surrounding; he could feel his other self flinching. The whole scene in front of them had frozen – it was as if someone had hit the pause button on the DVD player of life. But instead of being forced into stopping at mid-swings and epic moments between life and death, every single eye was focused onto him with a look mixed between horror and awe.

The future Godfather deadpanned. It seemed that they had just brought a new meaning to the phrase "neon target on forehead".


Q&A

Q: I thought reborn said that Asari never owned a sword himself?

A: Really? … LOL! But if he never owned one…. He would be a genius to be able to used one so well…. :/ Well… I hope you can bare with the erm… slightly alteration to main story? I didn't notice that….

Q: Did Tsuna get swept away to some far away place and met Asari or did he end up in the same place and met Asari?

A: Nope, he got swept away, but not too far… A few kilometers off coast… And just happen that a passing ship came along and picked him up.

Q: I thought Rampo was a coward…

A: I think that was the perspective based on the Anime… But I felt that if he was really a coward… He would not join the mafia would he? Oh wait… Tsuna is one… Hmm… I wanted to make each guardian a "leader" of some sorts… to have a more influential in society I guess….

Q: Is Cozart coming in?

A: Perhaps? But I don't think so…. He comes after Vongola was found….

Q: Time Period?

A: My beta and I had a discussion on this on the earlier chapters…. Black Death did appear in history after the first appearance and stuff… I apologize for any inconsistency with the timeline though… I screwed it up quite a bit… :P


A/N:

Thank you amazing reviewers (I did read everything even though I did not reply! I swear! :D)! I can't believe I hit the 100-review point! Do continue to review cause it is really what keep me writing. I honestly wanted to give this up at one point but the thought of having so many readers inspired me to type more. Once again, thank you and sorry for the long wait. I hope you will continue to drop me reviews on what you think or any errors and improvements that could be done.

P.S: Thank the Beta: GracefulSunshine too! Ciao~tsu!