SkyGem: Hey guys! First of all, thank you all so much for your continued support and for all the reviews I get every chapter! It always makes me so happy in the morning to wake up and find them in my inbox ^_^. Anyways, for the vote, Option two won by a landslide, so tomorrow, instead of Raising a Family, I'll be posting the first chapter of my new fic (which doesn't have a name yet). Anyways, guys, I'll try my best to see if I can keep updating both fics everyday, but I can't promise that I'll succeed...anyways, enough with my babbling! Let us move on to the story!
"Try repeating that again, trash!" shouted one man (a teenager really) from the throne on which he sat.
The man to whom he was talking flinched a little, and glared at his boss. "We don't have the sky box because that idiot snake lost it!"
"Well I'm so sorry that my companions ditched me and that I was ambushed, therefore causing me to drop the box," said the aforementioned 'snake.'
"Enough!" shouted the boss menacingly. "I don't give a fuck whose fault it is! Just find the fucking box and bring it to me!"
At the obvious dismissal, the two teens quickly fled the room and started heading back to their quarters.
"VOOOI! I can't stand that damn arrogant boss! Why the hell doesn't he try and do something once in a while?"
Feeling something cold and damp pressed against his cheek, Tsuna slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying on a cement floor.
As he slowly attempted to sit up, he discovered that the box weapon was still clutched tightly in his hands. Somehow, the little boy knew that it was very important that he keep it with him, so he hugged it close to his chest.
There was a cold chuckle from behind him, then a voice saying, "Hey guys; looks like the brat's awake!"
Whipping his head around, Tsuna saw a big burly man with straggly orange hair and multiple piercings on his right ear.
Scared, he backed away from the man a little.
Noticing this, the man barked out a laugh. "Is the little prince scared?" he asked mockingly.
Tsuna pulled away even more and felt his back press against the wall.
"Shut up, Stephano," said another voice. Turning to look at the source, Tsuna saw that it was a tall, willowy man with sharp, pale grey eyes; behind him was yet one more man, relatively short when compared to the other two, but stocky and well built. His long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail and his eyes were a shocking purple.
The man named Stephano just glared at his companion but didn't protest, merely stepping away and saying, "Whatever you say, Vittore."
Tsuna looked with wide eyes at Vittore as the man slowly approached him. When he was only about a foot away, the man stopped, and raised a hand, as if to strike the little brunette in front of him.
Tsuna cringed a little, waiting for the blow to come. When it did come, it hurt a lot more than he had expected, because the man was wearing a ring on his finger, which left a long, thin scratch across Tsuna's otherwise flawless skin.
Cupping his cheek with one hand, Tsuna looked up at his attacker with fear.
Grabbing the collar of his shirt, Vittore pulled Tsuna so close, that he could feel the man's breath on his face. "I absolutely despise you," he snarled at the boy. "You're a pampered little prince of a brat who's had everything offered to him on a silver platter since the moment he was born, and, without having to do anything, you're the heir to one of the most influential Families in all of Italy." Letting go of the boy, he pushed him back, bashing his head painfully against the wall. "You'll learn soon enough that you have to earn your way in this world, and the moment your daddy is no longer there to support you, you'll see just how little you're actually worth."
Tsuna's head was pounding so hard he could barely hear what the man was saying to him, and he wished that he could reach up his hands to cradle his head, but he knew that if he did that, he would drop the box weapon.
Turning away from him, Vittore said to the short man, "Raul! Have you called the boss yet? We need to get the young Vongola here back to the base!"
As the man turned away, Tsuna saw the cuff of his sleeve, where there was a button in the shape of a very familiar crest.
"Dragone . . ." he whispered, and the three men whipped around to face him. Tsuna smirked a little, saying in a cold voice, "I'm not stupid, you know. At the age of four, I memorized the crests of every single Family in Italy."
All three men looked taken aback at the sudden 180 in the young boy's personality. Tsuna smiled sweetly back at them, "I grew up in a household with Daemon Spade and his carbon copy son, Mukuro, what else would you expect?"
The three men couldn't respond to that; they'd heard the rumours about the mist guardian, and they shivered at the thought of there existing another like him in this world.
"They're probably pretty upset by now," said Tsuna mischievously. "I bet even uncle Alaude and big brother Kyoya are on their way back from France this instant. I shudder at the thought of what will happen to your Famiglia when they get their hands on you."
"Shut up!" shouted Vittore, closing his hand lightly around Tsuna's neck. There was a hint of genuine fear in his voice as he said, "They can't lay a finger on our Family as long as we hold you hostage." As he spoke, the man's hand tightened, and he seemed to regain his confidence. "We know how your father's mind works, and we know that he would give up the world, if only it meant that his son would be safe."
As the man's hand kept tightening around his neck, Tsuna started seeing spots in his vision; and still, the man continued.
"But what a stupid man that Giotto must be!" laughed Vittore. "If he was anywhere near as smart as our leader, he would have gotten rid of such a weak link like you long ago!"
Tsuna was almost unconscious by now due to the lack of air, but when he heard what Vittore said, he became absolutely furious; not that the man had called him a weak link, but that Vittore had called his father stupid. Meeting his captors gaze, he glared at him with what little strength he had left, and for a second, his eyes flashed orange.
Seeing this, a startled Vittore released his grip on the boy, who then collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
"What happened?" asked Stephano. "Why did you let him go?"
"H-his eyes!" stuttered Vittore. He had heard the tales of how Giotto's eyes changed colour to match his sky flames when he fought; those tales had instilled a great fear in the hearts of many Mafioso, and the thought that his son might have inherited the ability were not pleasant. "They turned orange!"
"Orange?" asked Raul, his eyes narrowing. "Surely you're mistaken, Vittore. The child is much too young; there's no way he has harnessed his flames yet."
While the men were conversing amongst themselves, Tsuna had gotten his breath back, and was staring at them with eyes flickering between chocolate brown and sky flame orange.
Stephano was the first to notice this, and backed away in fear. "G-guys," he said, trying to get their attention."
"What?" they both shouted, turning on the man, who merely pointed at Tsuna.
When they saw Tsuna, the eyes of the two men widened in disbelief.
Standing up, Tsuna closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again, they were solid orange, and a small sky flame could be seen growing on his forehead.
Walking up to the three with an indifferent expression, Tsuna turned to Raul, and in a movement almost too fast to see, he kneed the man in the groin, then stabbed his eyes with two fingers.
Howling in pain, the man dropped to the floor, his eyes screwed shut, clutching his crotch.
Stephano had, meanwhile, overcome his shock and snuck up behind the boy, smashing on meaty fist down onto his head.
Stars exploded in Tsuna's head when the hit connected, and he almost fell down. Gritting his teeth, Tsuna wheeled around and aimed and aimed a kick at the man's gut. In that one kick was the force of an elephant, and Stephano was bent almost double with pain. When the man was almost at eye level, Tsuna aimed an uppercut at his jaw, felling the man.
Turning back to the only standing opponent left, Tsuna slowly approached Vittore, who was staring at him with wide, scared eyes, slowly backing off from the child.
Before he man could even start begging for his life, Tsuna moved forward with blinding speed and smashed him once on the head, immediately rendering the man unconscious.
Turning away from the three unconscious men, Tsuna started searching for an exit, but before he could take two steps, his knees buckled and he felt himself collapsing.
Before he could hit the floor, though, a pair of arms caught him, and just before he fell unconscious, Tsuna saw the face of the man holding him.
"Bel…" he sighed in relief.
SkyGem: I'm sorry, guys, that was a pretty short chapter, but that's where it had to end X(. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? And once again, thank you all so very much for your continued support, and all the wonderful reviews! You guys just make my day ^_^.
P.S. Yesterday I started re-reading KHR, and like, I was amazed. Seriously, Amano-sensei's drawing style has changed a lot. The drawings had a lot less detail, and I was surprised, 'cause Tsuna's personality was so...different from how it is in the current arc, he's not as...caring, I guess you could say, and I found it weird that he thought Gokudera was scary...not to mention that it was weird when Gokudera was first introduced, 'cause he actually glared at Tsuna, instead of worshipping the ground he walked on XD. Ahaha, I don't know why I'm telling you guys all this. Just ignore what I have said XD And I'll be publishing the first chap of the new fic tomorrow!
