Chapter 10: Confronting the Mist

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

World 20- Far Sparire

(Vanish)

Tendrils hung from trees, roots jutted out at sharp angles. Heavy, purple mist hung thickly, shrouding the forest in a thick murky white glow.

"Hiiiee! Let me go Hibari-san!" A blond shrieked in fear. He was madly waving his arms around, trying to grab ahold something. But, a teen with black hair pulled him onward, never letting up.

No matter how hard he tried, everything felt like it slipped out of his grasp. Once, he grabbed a vine but then it disappeared in to thin air. Tsuna was stumped; he swore he had touched it, yet it wasn't there the next time he blinked.

The walked/dragged on for several more minutes. But it never seemed like they got anywhere. The mist only allowed you to see a few feet ahead and there no eye-catching features to the forest that you could spot and remember.

Finally Hibari stopped. Tsuna was left slumped against him but Hibari made no move to get him off.

"Herbivore."

"Y-yes?"

For some reason, Hibari looked slightly uncomfortable. "Do you sense anything?"

Tsuna was dumbstruck. Hibari asking him something? What happened to his pride? He gulped "Umm no?"

"Hn." This time, he looked slightly disappointed.

"Is anything wrong Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked slowly, dreading what might happen if he said even the slightest wrong word.

But of course, Hibari didn't answer and plowed ahead once more.

Then it hit him. 'Why aren't there any monsters?' Tsuna thought, finally realizing what Hibari was uncomfortable about. 'When Yamamoto was talking about this forest, he was saying there was a lot of monsters here. Right? But I don't see any except for those Fantasmi back at the entrance. We definitely heard them though so they should be in here. But where are they?'

Abruptly, Tsuna's thoughts were put to a halt when Hibari stopped again. This time though was because they were surrounded.

'Ahh, there they are.' Tsuna thought dryly.

Several Diavolo Formiche crawled forward. Their giant mandibles snapped crazily, making sharp clanging noises. Large, spindly legs covered the little distance there was between the over-sized ants and them with ease. Antennae drooped down lazily but the swayed with excitement.

Fantasmi swirled nearby, staying a fair distance from the Diavolo Formiche but close enough to attack if given an opportunity.

A handful of Maiale Scimmie scaled the trees, yelping in delight. Their long tails were curled up, and their eyes had a mad glint, anticipating the battle to come.

"E-eto, Hibari-san. I think we're in trouble." Tsuna started nervously eyeing the groups of monsters.

Hibari snorted in reply. He roughly let go of Tsuna's collar then proceeded to take out his trusty tonfas.

Knowing what Hibari was doing, Tsuna did the same and drew one of his swords. 'Oh please.' Tsuna said inwardly, 'Just an hour ago, I was emptying my wallet at a candy shop.'

"Hahaha!"

"Urusai, Sword-freak."

"Maa maa Gokudera, your face looks like you drank spoiled milk!"

"Teme!" Gokudera pulled out his dynamite, ready to launch them at the air-headed swordsman.

"Don't use your fireworks here Gokudera, you don't want to wake up Lambo."

"Teme! They're not fireworks, they're real dynamite!"

"Haha, they're not?"

"Don't make me repeat myself Sword-freak."

Yamamoto held up his hands in defeat. "Look, we should search for Tsuna soon, he's probably getting worried.

"I'm the only one worried here! Juudaime is stuck in the middle of a creepy forest with that blood-thirsty prefect while I'm here stuck a happy-go-lucky sword-freak and a useless cow-thing." Gokudera yelled his head off, angrily pointing a finger at the cheery blue-haired teen.

"Maa maa Gokudera, I'm sure Tsuna is alright. But we should still hurry."

"Tch." Gokudera crossed his arms and turned his back to the two others. "Well I'm off." He set off into the deeper parts of the forest with no intention of looking back.

"Well, looks like we have to follow him huh Lambo?" Yamamoto said, mostly to himself.

A fainted Lambo, who was draped over Yamamoto's back, gave a groan in response.

"Yosh! Let's go." Yamamoto ran after Gokudera, unintentionally causing Lambo's head to get bashed by low-hanging branches. Several large red bumps grew on his head.

Gokudera was now only a few feet away from Yamamoto and Lambo and Yamamoto began to run a little faster to catch up with the bomber. "Wait for us Gokudera!" He called out.

But the bomber gave no sign of hearing and continued running. Slowly, he grew farther and farther away until he had completely disappeared.

"Huh? Gokudera?" A clueless Yamamoto stopped running and looked around. "Where'd ya go?"

There was no answer. "Haha! I know we must be playing hide-and-seek! Yosh, I won't lose!" Yamamoto began to run again, searching heavily for a white-haired teen and his friend Tsuna.

The sound of heavy footsteps slowly dissipated. Slightly confused, Gokudera looked over his shoulder, wondering where they had gone. There was no one there. But he swore that they had been tailing him, the stupid Sword-freak had been pretty close to catching up, he would've if given a few more seconds. But they were nowhere in sight. But knowing Yamamoto, he wouldn't just no missing, not without a reason. So where could they have gone?

"Tch. Stupid Sword-freak." Shaking the thoughts from his head, he moved forward, calling his Juudaime's name.

The closed in, hungrily eyeing their prey.

Tsuna gulped. Could two players hold up against this many monsters, there had to be at least a couple dozen of each. Tsuna glanced at Hibari. But then again, Hibari was not to be underestimated.

Just as the first Maiale Scimmie leaped, his claws outstretched, his furry face distorted by the mist, suddenly it disappeared.

Tsuna faltered in his stance. 'Where'd it go?' He swung around wildly. Slowly but surely, all the monsters were vanishing one by one.

"W-what's going on?" He asked no one in particular as he knew that Hibari would never answer.

"Hmph. Useless herbivores." Hibari snorted then pocketed his weapons. He jerked his head as an order for Tsuna to follow him.

Tsuna obeyed and fell in to step behind the prefect, thousands of questions swirling inside his mind.

"Oooiii! Gokudera, is it just me or are you good at hiding?" Yamamoto called out. He was getting worried, minutes must have passed but he hadn't seen a sign of life. Then, he felt some movement on his shoulder. "Oh! Lambo, you're awake, have a good nap?"

Lambo groaned, trying to get a hold on his situation. "Tsuna-nii?"

"Nope! It's Yamamoto, right now we're playing hide-and-seek, want to help?"

Lambo opened his eyes blurrily. It took him time, but slowly they came in to focus. When he finally noticed where they were, he blanched.

"Gaaaaaaaaahhh!" Promptly, he fainted again.

"Haha, are you really that tired Lambo? I wish I could fall asleep that fast." Yamamoto laughed, obvious to the fact that Lambo fainted.

"Oh well, looks like it's just me for now." Yamamoto shrugged, resuming his search. All of a sudden, he felt a tingling sensation throughout his body. "Huh, what's this?" He looked down. His body was half gone! Quickly, he tried to move his legs. He could still feel them, but he didn't see them move. What was going on? He grew ghostly pale until his shoulders and head were left. In a small "blip," he felt his vision grow dark.

"D*mn that Baseball-freak. Why does he always have to make things so hard?" Gokudera wondered out-loud. "I should have found Juudaime by now!"

He stopped walking. He was going nowhere. The forest was endless, a normal forest would have ended by now—he knew from experience. He should find Juudaime and fast. This place—Foresta Scomparendo—gave him the creeps.

He cautiously made his way through the bracken, ducking under cobwebs and batting away flies. His clothes were wet from running through the mist and he was tired. But he couldn't rest. At least, not yet, he had to find Juudaime. He forced himself onward. Abruptly, he felt the world turn upside-down. Then everything went black.

When Yamamoto opened his eyes, he was lying in a clearing next to a still-sleeping Lambo. But what caught his attention was something he swore wasn't there a second before. No—not an 'it'—but a person. But his person didn't seem normal. In the gloom, it looked like his hair was silver, shining in the half-light. He had a large scar running horizontally across his face, stretching over his nose and stopping in the middle of both of his cheeks. His wide, dark eyes stared hungrily at Yamamoto like he was prey. Sharp canines protruded from his mouth, glinting ominously.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Looks like I've caught myself something good tonight. Byon." His voice was high and gravelly; he stuck his tongue out and his mouth stretched in to a wide grin. "Gorilla Canale!" He stuck fangs in to his mouth and then his form began to morph. His shape became considerably bigger and hairier. He roared then swiped at Yamamoto.

"Oops! Looks like we're in a little trouble here huh, Lambo?" Yamamoto laughed but his face was set hard in stone, his eyes cold and calculating. He drew his sword. "Now's a good time to test out a few techniques."

Gokudera bolted up in to a sitting position. Something wasn't right. He cursed himself. What had happened? All of a sudden he was walking around the forest and the next thing he knows, he's waking up in a large field, still in the forest. He stood up, alert. Someone was creeping up on him. He searched the trees.

Emerging from the shadows was a teenager. He had a cap covering his black hair. Pupil-less brown eyes stared blankly at him, hidden behind round glases. Strangely, a barcode tattoo marked one of his cheeks.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Gokudera demanded, immediately falling in to an attacking position.

"Nothing much." The teen answered in a dead tone, his hands stuffed nonchalantly in his pockets.

"Tch." Gokudera could tell that that was a lie. It was obvious that he was here for something. Quietly, he slipped his hands in to his jacket and fingered dynamite. If things got out of hand, there was always his bow and arrow.

A yo-yo bounced up and down from the boy's hand. But after a few seconds, it came to a rest in his hand. The black-haired teen looked up. "Mukuro-sama has given me orders and I must obey them. I hope you don't mind." He whipped the yo-yo to the side and sharp-looking needles came flying out, heading straight for Gokudera.

"Sh*t."

The must have been walking for hours now. At least Hibari hadn't bitten him to death yet, what a releif. But, this forest was endless, how big could it possibly be?

Hibari stopped walking, causing Tsuna to bump in to him.

"Ite." Tsuna rubbed his nose.

"Herbivore, get ready." Hibari slipped his tonfas out of his jacket.

Now on alert, Tsuna tightened his gloves and unsheathed his sword. He unconciously stood back-to-back with Hibari. He hoped Hibari didn't mind too much, he didn't like crowding afterall.

"Kufufufufu. I do hope you are having fun. I enjoy toying with players who happen to... wander... in to my territory." An eerie voice sounded from behind a swath of vines. Two bright eyes shined disorientingly.

Tsuna tried to stifle a gasp. This person's eyes... one was a navy blue and the other was blood-red with the kanji symbol for six centered in the middle. His hair was styled like...like a pineapple? Now that was different. And what was with the laugh? It certaintly wasn't normal. Three points shined. As the man stepped closer, Tsuna realized that it was a trident in the man's gloved hand.

Behind him, he felt Hibari tense. Tsuna's stomach twisted uncomfortably.

"Welcome to Foresta Scomparendo. Enjoy your stay while it lasts, oh infamous school prefect Hibari Kyoya and the mysterious player Oozora. Or should I call you Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Far Spirire: Vanish- the 20th world

Fantasmi: Ghosts

Diavolo Formiche: Devil's Ants

Maiale Scimmie: Hog Monkeys

Foresta Scomparendo: Disappearing Forest

Gorilla Canale: Gorilla Channel- an attack used by Joshima Ken

Character Profiles:

Rokudo Mukuro: A teen with pineapple-styled navy hair with one eye of a lighter color. His other is colored red with the kanji for six in it. He wears a long black cloak and underneath wears a dirty-green collared jacket with matching pants. He wears black gloves and long, black boots. For a weapon, he uses a trident. He is of the Nebbia class and goes by the username Kiri. In the real world, his appearance doesn't differ much. The only thing different is that he doesn't wear a cloak and has a camoflauge T-shirt under his jacket.

Joshima Ken: A silver-haired teen with dark-grey eyes and unusually sharp teeth. He has a big scar stretching across his face. He wears a fur coat and long pants with boots. He tends to say "Byon" at the end of his sentences. As a weapon, he uses Channels or Canales in Italian. He has different sets of teeth that change him in to an animal. For example, his Gorilla Canale or Gorilla Channel gives him an ape-like appearance. In the real world, his hair is a light-blond and he has brown eyes. He wears the uniform of Kokuyo just like Mukuro. His class is Sole.

Kakimoto Chikusa: A teen with black hair and brown eyes. He wears glasses and a ski cap. He also wears a long-sleeved white jacket and brown pants. He follows someone called 'Mukuro-sama' obediently. His weapon of choice is a yo-yo that launches endless supplies of needles. He is of the Piogga class. In real life, he still has a bar code tatoo under one eye and has dark-blue hair with matching eyes. He wears the Kokuyo uniform just like Ken and Mukuro.

Hello everyone, I know it's kind of late, but I hope you had enough time to read this. Frankly, this chapter was really unexpected for me. I never though things would turn out this way, but they kind of did. Haha, Mukuro was supposed to appear last but I guess not. OTL

I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you, I know it might be a little confusing with all the jumping from character to charater.

Poor Lambo, he hardly had any appearances, I promise to those Lambo fans out there that he will get more time in the next chapter or so.

A thousand arigatous to those who took the time to review, favorite and/or follow/alert!

Ciao Ciao