Chapter 11: From the Past to the Present

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Tsuna set down the mini handbook to Sette Fiamme Mondiale and then moved to clip the game device onto his arm. He lay down in his bed, above the covers. The lights were off and the house quiet. No one would disturb him.

His parents were off somewhere enjoying themselves without him so he was alone. He had waited forever to buy this game and he couldn't help the excitement that bubbled up within him. It was time.

He closed his eyes and the second he did, the split-second show of black turned into a binding array of rainbow colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The colors flew past in a blur. Finally, it seemed as if the source had run out of streaks and the brunet found himself standing in a blank expanse of space. A single screen was held up in front of him.

Welcome to Sette Fiamme Mondiale. Please choose a username and password.

Tsuna thought for a bit then decided on 'Oozora', he liked the sound of it. Then, he used his username with a few numbers at the end for his password. Nice and simple, easy to remember. (He usually forgets a lot of important things).

Thank you Oozora, please stand still for your class test.

Tsuna froze, not sure if this was important or not. He held his breath in anticipation.

A light shone on him. He felt it warm his insides as if it were working its way through his entire being. When it flickered off, the warm feeling didn't disappear—it stayed somewhere close to his heart.

Congratulations, your class is Cielo. As a Cielo, you may choose a weapon.

Several choices of weapons popped up and knowing that he would change his choice later, he picked a small set of daggers. Something light and portable as well as something you could use for sneak attacks.

Now, choose the appearance of your avatar.

Several choices of bodies showed in human-sized forms. Tsuna spent a long time choosing as he didn't know which one would look cool.

Finally, he settled with blond hair and golden eyes. The rest of his avatar took on his own appearance including height, weight and so on.

Please prepare to be transported to Città di Inizi in World 1- Avviamento.

In a blink of an eye, Tsuna found himself dressed in a typical starter outfit colored orange. His set of daggers were draped around his waist hanging off of a belt. The brunet stared at his surroundings for a few seconds before heading off to get some equipment that would serve him for the first few battles.

The town was peaceful. Hundreds of both new and old players were wandering the streets, becoming acquainted with the stores and roads. The air blew sweetly, ruffling shirts and getting under coats, refreshing to those who noticed it.

But, before he could move, a gruff voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey Hotaka, looks like there's a new one. Looks pretty oblivious to me, wanna' take him?"

"Go ahead, Boss said to grab any new players. This one is included."

"Alright." Came the response.

Before he knew it, a rough hand was clapped around his mouth and an arm wrapped around his body.

"Sorry kid, I hate to ruin your first experience playing this game but Boss's orders, no one wants to disobey."

His instincts told him to flee on the spot, to run for his life. Or he could fight but the man's arm restricted his movements, not allowing his to even finger his daggers. He kicked and struggled in the man's grip, trying to kick somewhere where it hurt.

"Stop moving, I won't hurt you." The man laughed hoarsely. "That'll come later."

Tsuna soon found himself in a dark room, behind bars. No, this was not a police station or anything of that sort. This was something far more dangerous. Or so it seemed.

Around him, a couple of other kids were gagged or tied up. Many even sported bruises and cuts. Ropes tied their arms back so they couldn't log out and they had been taken to a place far away from the city. And to top it off, they were just beginners! There was no chance of escape if not low. But, he would make sure to formulate a plan of escape later on, now, the should find players that would side with him.

The brunet looked at the other captives, searching for ones who at least weren't scared out of their minds. One had long purple hair and large amethyst eyes. Next to her sat a boy with short blueish hair and matching eyes. Hold on. Was that a pineapple? Wait. No, that was just the boy's haircut. Then, grouped a little farther off were a pair of boys. One had dirty silver hair with grey, almost black eyes. The other had black hair and brown eyes with glasses. The other kids never really caught his eye. They all looked simple and scared.

After a few moments of waiting for something to happen, a man stepped up. His entire appearance screamed black. His eyes, his hair, his clothes, his glasses…

"Greetings my dear players. My name is Achille, the boss of the Estraneo guild. As you are probably wondering, why are you here? Well, you have been chosen to lead this virtual world to a new future. My guild and I are developing special powers to give each and every one of you extra support when fighting monsters and other players. Our goal is to build this virtual world in to a powerful place for players to enjoy all they want with power at their disposal." The man let his words sink in before continuing.

"From now on, you will be known as the number we give you." He pointed to each player, reading off numbers from a list. When he got to Tsuna, his eyebrow rose the slightest bit. "27." When he was done, he looked up, staring at each player in turn, his gaze finally resting on Tsuna, making him feel squeamish.

"Now, I have one last thing to say. Think of it as an honor to die by being part of the development." With that said, he walked off down a dark hallway, his glasses glinting dangerously.

A few guild members came and lugged the players off two by two and tossing them in to large prisons with steel bars.

Tsuna fought the person who came to him viciously, trying to get him to back off. But it was no use. The rope stopped him from doing real damage and he was carried off just like the rest. The person tossed him in to a cage with 4 other people in it. With a start, he realized that they were the same players he was looking at a few minutes ago. The blond sat up, trying to ignore the stinging pain in his arm that he had landed on. He looked wearily at the four then scooted himself in to a corner.

How had it ended up like this? Just a few minuets ago, he was in his room enjoying the thought of finally playing Sette Fiamme Mondiale. And now, here he was, stuck with no possible way of logging out. Not to mention that man had said something along the lines of them being guinea pigs.

Tsuna miserably curled up the best he could, trying not to attract too much attention to his prison mates. He breathed in deeply and let it out in a tortured sigh.

Suddenly, his head shot up. The room, it smelled like… blood. He could recognize the metallic smell anywhere after getting bullied for the thirteen years of his life. His gaze left scorching marks over the cage. He notified the large bloodstains on the floor and walls, the dents lining the steel bars and the scratches along the corners where people had attempted escape.

He felt horror build up inside him. Bile rose up in his throat. Obviously they weren't the first to experience this, the blood looked days old if not months. There had been players before them. But what happened to them? You can't completely die in this game. When and if you do, you always respawn in Città di Inizi. Where'd they go? The question remained stuck in his head until he drifted off in to a troubled sleep. Subconsciously, he felt the stare of his prison mates on him.

It wasn't pleasant to wake up.

A hand roughly jerked Tsuna awake then dragged him off by some of the hanging ropes. Tsuna's eyes were wide in fear. What were they going to do to him? He stared pleadingly at the others but they only stared back, equally afraid.

"Hm, looks like you may be compatible with the Deathparation Experiment, 27. Let's go."

Tsuna was dragged off. He was draped over the man's shoulder, staring at the four other kids who were left behind.

He was shoved onto a hard, metal table covered with a single white sheet. Needles and scary-looking equipment stood innocently on counters. One man with a lab coat stood, holding a glass vial of red liquid.

"Experiment 27?" The man in the lab coat asked, eyeing the new player.

"Yessir." The man who had brought Tsuna responded, bowing.

"Great, set him on the table here." The man motioned for him to be set down. The red liquid splashed around in its container threatening to spill.

As soon as Tsuna was placed on the table, the ropes were cut and removed. Only to be replaced with the cuffs that had been infused into the metal table.

Tsuna's heart beat painfully against his chest. He tugged and pulled at the steel cuffs but to no avail. Sweat slowly trickled down the side of his face and down his neck, sending small shivers up and down his spine. The man with the lab coat dismissed the lowly grunt then moved to inspect Tsuna. His critical eye surveyed his body for what felt like months. Finally, the man moved. He forcibly opened Tsuna's jaw and poured the red liquid down his throat.

Immediately, the blond gagged. It tasted horrible! It was metallic like blood but it had a sharper, hot taste to it that made his throat tingle uncomfortably. He coughed until his stomach hurt, trying to get the bitter taste out of his mouth but it stayed.

"Calm down 27, I just gave you the Dying Will Solution. The affects should kick in in a few seconds so please, wait patiently." The man set down the vial and watched Tsuna expectantly, waiting for something to happen.

At first, Tsuna didn't know if feeling nothing was good or bad. He didn't feel anything in particular. He felt normal.

But he thought too soon. Instantaneously, searing hot pain burned through his whole body. A scream was ripped from his mouth. He couldn't stop it from coming. The pain was so horrendous—he had never experienced pain like this before. His vision blacked out for a second before sparking back on. The world was blurry but he could clearly see the smiling face of the scientist, as if taunting him.

But there was nothing he could do. The excruciating pain didn't let up a bit if not, it only got worse. Tsuna could tell he was slipping in and out of consciousness, there was something preventing him from blacking out. He wished dearly for the agony to stop but it never did.

He didn't know how much time went by but when the torture did stop, he was left panting and sweating heavily. Soft whimpers were escaping his lips. This was worse than getting bullied. And anyway, shouldn't he have died by now and respawned in Città di Inizi? Why was he still lying helplessly on the experiment table?

The scientist's face loomed down upon him. "Looks like you're compatible if you're still alive, that's good news. No one has ever survived the Deathparation Experiment before. Congratulations, you're the first." The man clapped with mock enthusiasm.

All Tsuna could do was stare at him helplessly. Please let this torture end.

"Alright, we'll continue the next stage in a few hours, right now I have to move on to my next experiment."

A grunt moved in and unclipped Tsuna from the table. He slung him over his shoulder, not caring about the well being of the player. But Tsuna was too tired and worn out to complain. His body hurt so much that he couldn't feel anything else. He had gone completely numb.

The cages went by in a blur, all filled with the same expressions and emotions: terror.

When they arrived at Tsuna's assigned cage, the grunt flung him in, leaving him in a crumpled heap by the wall.

The pain wasn't as bad. But it still hurt terribly. His body ached all over and his eyes stung with salty tears from pain or misery—which, he did not know.

Slowly, his prison mates closed in around him, looking at him with possibly worried gazes.

"A-are you okay?" A soft voice asked accompanied by a hand that softly stroked his fluffy head of hair.

Tsuna managed a nod.

"Hmph, doesn't look like it, byon." A new voice entered, sounding slightly rough and wild.

"Ken, I don't think you should be talking like that right now." Another teen's voice rebuked the other. His eyes were staring at the little boy who was curled up in obvious discomfort.

"You two can be quiet." This time, an almost eerie murmur came from behind the rest.

The two obliged, backing off and letting the newcomer see the boy.

"Hello, I'm Kiri, what's yours?"

Slightly surprised by the demeanor this person held (he didn't seem the type to politely greet himself), Tsuna moved his lips and attempted to make a sound.

"Oozora."

The boy held out a hand. His face wasn't very clear but a warm smile clearly lit it up. "Nice to meet you Oozora, I hope we can get along."

Città di Inizi: City of Beginnings

Avvaimento: Start- the 1st world.

The Estraneo guild's boss, Achille means "He who embodies the grief of the people" don't you think it kind of fits his role?

Yeah, you'll probably have a lot of questions for me right? I'll do my best to answer them. Also, if this chapter doesn't run smoothly and confuses you, tell me and I'll either fix it or clarify it with you. Is Mukuro a little OOC? Yeah, probably but don't forget that this is before he turns bitter and kills the Estraneo so he can't be the sadistic pineapple head he is now.

Sorry for not updating on Saturday, I had too much going on and I couldn't even touch the computer. But, I hope this chapter makes up for the delay.

Thanks to those who reviewed, faved, and alerted/followed.

Fun fact: In Mr. Rebokku no Ciao Ciao Interview Mukuro said that the amount of fu's in his signature "kufufu" laugh depends on his mood. If he's in a good mood, the amount of fu's in his laugh will increase.

Another fun fact: Mukuro has the same seiyuu as Mochida.

On your way out, why don't you review?

Ciao Ciao!