Another Path Part 8, That burnt with flames of deceit

Hello! Here is this week's chapter. I apologize for last week's bad cliffhanger. I usually don't do those, but had to split the chapter in two to keep the length of 4000-5000 words. That seemed like the best place. I'll try not to do that too much, promise.

Also, Tsuna will meet and befriend all his Guardians (in this case, Yamamoto and Sasagawa), but only later.

Disclaimer : I still don't own KHR. I'm sure we're all shocked...

To say that the walk to the Sawada house was awkward would be the understatement of the decade. Ienobu was striding ahead, grumbling incomprehensibly to himself, while Tsunayoshi was trailing behind, wondering in silence what his mother had to say. She hadn't manifested any interest in his existence since he went to live with Kyoya (not that she actually noticed him before, but she still provided him with most basic necessities).

After exactly 7 minutes of uneasy silence (Tsuna counted), the brunet couldn't bear anymore and asked. "So... Nobu, do you know why Mama wanted to see me?"

The blond boy didn't turn his head and replied "She just said it was for our 10th birthday. I don't know any more than that." Tsuna's intuition ringed : that was a lie. He figured that his twin didn't want to share information, or just wasn't keen on talking to him.

The rest of the way was spent in heavy silence.

()()()()()()

There they were. His old house. Tsuna was surprised by how quick he took to Kyoya's home, and how fast he dropped the concept of the house in front of him being his home. Maybe it was because it never really was. He was always an unwanted stranger in the eyes of Nana and Ienobu. He knew that Iemitsu still saw him as family the few times he came back, but the blond man had always been unable to make his eldest feel like he belonged here.

Tsunayoshi followed Ienobu to the door, the blond unlocked it (Tsuna never had the keys) and let his older brother in first, saying their mother should be waiting for him in his -old- room with a surprise, and that she had prepared juice on the table for them both.

Tsuna's intuition was flaring, but he ignored it. He was after all, still a 10-year-old child, he craved the attention of his mother and couldn't let go of a chance to have it. Even if said chance was highly suspicious. He drank the juice, after absently checking from the corner of his eye that Ienobu drank first. The blond then prompted him to go see their mother in the bedroom.

The door to his bedroom was closed, Tsuna opened it and stepped inside.

The door closed behind him and he heard the sound of a key turning in the lock.

Nana was not in the room.

()()()()()()

Ienobu was overjoyed. His plan had worked perfectly. He had managed to convince his disgusting twin to come with him to his house, and to keep his face dissatisfied to avoid suspicions. The excuse of Mama wanting to see him for their birthday worked like a charm. He noticed how Tsuna always cast wishful glances their way when October the 14th was around the corner, and concluded that he wanted Nana to wish him his birthday. It was the best pretext to drag him along, and Mama was actually in the nearby amusement park waiting for the blond to celebrate Ienobu's birthday, with no idea of what was happening here.

And that idiot had stepped in the house without questioning, he had drunk the juice laced with his mother's sleeping pills. Ienobu just pretended to drink and the liquid merely touched his lips, he never swallowed. And now, Dame-Tsuna was locked in his room, with the window sealed and the door locked. Truly a fool. Ienobu only had to put the finishing touch to his plan.

He pulled a box of matches from his pocket. He had stolen them earlier that day. He lit one (he had practiced for a few weeks before, to make sure everything worked perfectly), and threw it on the trail of alcohol going from the front of the stairs to Dame-Tsuna's room. The previous day, he had made sure to soak as many things as he could in there with the stolen cleaning alcohol, and even let the window open all night to lessen the smell. This morning, he had closed the windows and taped it. The alcohol hadn't completely evaporated, it was too cold.

And now, Tsuna was stuck in the burning room. He was even drugged, so there was no way he could escape. And when the police would come with questions, Ienobu could just say that his twin had probably wanted to burn the house himself in a petty vengeance against his smarter and better younger brother. It's not like anyone would suspect the blond, he was a child and had a perfect reputation with teachers and students alike. And his parents adored him, why would he feel the need to play arsonist in his own home?

He was the perfect child, Mama always said so every day. Even Papa spent all his little time home with Ienobu. Tsuna was useless and stupid. Over the years, the blond boy had started believing his own lies, and his hatred of his twin grew like a monster. How dare that waste of space be happy, when he was beneath Ienobu? He was not allowed to have anything that his blond brother lacked. And yet the brunet's beaming smile had stayed on his face. That was wrong! Ienobu had never been so happy that he could smile like that : he always wanted, craved, yearned, needed more than he had. So Tsuna couldn't be allowed to keep smiling like that. Ienobu would make sure to correct this mistake today.

Nobody had ever told him that he was wrong or that he had to stop envying his twin. In the blond's mind, he was always in his right, and nobody had ever put an end to his misguided thoughts. It spiraled into hatred and madness since neither of his parents or teachers (authority figures that should have stepped up) bothered to act. For Ienobu, he was completely allowed to kill something as useless and annoying as his twin.

The fire was rapidly growing, and Ienobu judged that it was time to regroup with his mother in the amusement park, and to enjoy this beautiful day.

()()()()()()

Tsuna was stuck in the burning room. Normally, he would have broken through the door or the window by now and left (a second floor is nothing to someone who follows Hibari Kyoya on his patrols), but his mind was blurry and he couldn't focus enough to call his flames and get out.

Thankfully, he had grown somewhat used to stressful situations and didn't panic. Well, didn't panic too much. It was now obvious that everything had been schemed by Ienobu to kill him, he was just amazed that the blond was willing to burn his own house to bring him down.

He needed to get out of the house. As soon as possible before he either burned to death, was asphyxiated by the smoke, or was overpowered by whatever was in that stupid juice. Now that he thought back on it, why did he drink it? Maybe because his intuition, while saying that it would not be a good idea, didn't detect any poison. He never expected Ienobu to pull such an elaborated assassination attempt...

'No, Tsuna, stop trailing off, you need to focus on escaping from here' he mentally scolded himself. The drug (sleeping pills) was really starting to affect him. He forced himself to analyze his the rapidly burning room : the door was locked and too resistant for him to break without his flames. Same for any walls. His best bet was the windows.

But the path between him and the windows was already engulfed in flames (normal ones) and he couldn't shatter them so easily either. Sure, Tsuna could fight, but he relied mostly on his speed, his small frame to avoid attacks, and his knowledge of exactly where to hit to down his opponent. He had little raw strength.

He glance around the blazing room. The heat and smoke was obstructing his sight, but he still spotted a wooden chair that was spared by the flames so far. It was too small for him now, but should be enough to destroy the glass windows.

He only had a little time left, he could feel himself slowly falling asleep. He grabbed the chair and threw it violently on the window. It bounced back, leaving the glass intact. He would need to step closer the fire and hit it directly with the chair.

That's what he did. He could feel the fire scorching his arms and legs, but willed himself to ignore it. At least, the pain helped in fighting the effect of the sleeping pills.

The first hit on the window only cracked it. Mustering the last of his strength, the brunet hit the window again. It shattered, and a few pieces grazed his arms.

Tsuna jumped and crashed on the grass outside. He was too tired to cushion his fall properly, and it hurt. He had multiple burns, blisters and cuts, and he was about to succumb to sleep. But he still had one more thing to do before falling unconscious. He couldn't be found here, both because he didn't want trouble with the police, and because he wouldn't risk Nobu finding him (he didn't know that hos twin was long gone to celebrate his birthday).

Tsunayoshi pulled out his cellphone, it was one of the things they had prepared in secret to go to Italy. It only had two numbers recorded, and the brunet called one at random, he didn't have the strength to check.

"Tsuna? What's wrong, why did you call?" asked the frantic voice of Shoichi. They weren't supposed to use their phones in Japan unless it was an emergency.

"Sawada house" mumbled the boy, his mind was too hazy to speak full sentences. "Nobu... fire... sleep... need help..." and he collapsed.

A few minutes later, as the fire-fighters' alarm was coming closer, the brunet's unconscious body was picked up by a worried raven-head. They both left as the firemen started extinguishing the inferno that was the second floor of the Sawada household.

()()()()()()

Tsuna woke up late at night the same day. His arms and legs were bandaged and he was lying on a bed which he recognized as Kyoya's. How strange : Tsuna had his own bed and room in the Hibari mansion, and the raven had never lent his bed. Yes, Tsuna had already slept in this room, but it was when he had been too tired and distressed to move elsewhere. And he had slept on the ground/table at that time.

So something really bad must have happened for Kyoya to allow him to sleep here. If only he could remember wh...

Oh, right, Ienobu had tried to burn him to death. He only just remembered that.

"Tsuna" "Tsunayoshi" called relieved voices from the door.

His two friends rushed to his side (Kyoya walked slower, but only because he was too proud to run) and asked him how he was feeling.

"I'm fine, really. My limbs hurt a bit, but I'll be OK after a few days. I think..."

"Yes" hurriedly replied Shoichi. "You have some nasty burns and blisters from the fire that should heal after a couple days, and your cuts from glass shards are shallow. But what we really wanted to know was if you were alright emotionally."

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I'm alright. I mean, it's not like I didn't know that he wanted to kill me" answered the brunet flippantly. "To be honest, I'm not as shocked as you'd expect. I guess I grew used to the idea that my twin is after my head. It means that I really need to get out of here. I'm more surprised by how much Nobu's willing to destroy to get me. It was his house after all. Did it burn down completely?" he inquired serenely. Shoichi thought it to be eerie, but Kyoya saw it as a proof that the Omnivore had grown up.

"No, only a part of the second floor was destroyed" informed the Cloud. He pondered on his next words for a second before adding. "You shouldn't have followed the bastard Herbivore."

Tsuna lowered his head. He knew he had messed up, and he was aware that he had greatly worried his two friends. "I know, Kyoya. I was just hoping that Mama, I mean, Nana, would actually want to see me. I guess Nobu knew that and used it against me. I won't happen again." He stayed silent for a while. "I'm sorry for worrying you two."

His two friends exchanged looks. They hadn't wanted to guilt trip the brunet, so Kyoya quickly changed the subject. "You won't have to worry about lowering your guard around him anymore. He has managed to accuse you of the fire and the police is after you. Iemitsu is likely to be informed, so we need to leave Japan tomorrow. I have instructed Tetsuya to protect the peace of Namimori and he has memorized my number in case of emergency. Shoichi has already informed his parents that he is going to 'study' abroad and has prepared everything with the school. Mother is on the way to deliver the passports."

Tsuna's eyes widened for a second there. He had not expected things to move so fast. But he recovered promptly and nodded in understanding. There was no other way.

()()()()()()

The three boys managed to get some sleep before morning came, all in Kyoya's room, either on the bed or futons on the floor (Tsuna argued that the bed was Kyoya's, but the others forced him to keep it : he was the one injured). The sun was just rising when Hibari Yukiko came home.

She went directly to her son's room. She worked for an Intelligence agency, she heard about the fire and the police looking for her son's first friends. Kyoya had told her enough about Sawada Tsunayoshi for her to guess that he was innocent. But she still had to meet him face to face to be sure.

As she expected, the three boys were waking up after hearing her coming. Yukiko could identify them all with a glance. Of course, the raven that was up the fastest and looked like he was scowling was her son (she knew him enough to see that he was actually happy to see her, but hid his joy behind his usual glare).

The red-head with crooked glasses that was having trouble getting out of his daze was most likely Irie Shoichi. Kyoya had told her that the boy was a genius inventor and handled all the computer-related problems. He was weak physically, but was stubborn enough to keep his promises and resolves.

So that meant the last bandaged one rising from the bed was...

Yukiko paused, eyes slightly wilder. The color of his hair and eyes was different and he was younger, but...

So her boy had managed to befriend Vongola Primo's descendant. Go figure...

Actually, it kind of made sense. Vongola Primo had left Vongola for Japan and took the name Sawada Ieyasu. Her research showed that Sawada Iemitsu was related to Giotto and Tsunayoshi was likely related to the Young Lion. Also, given his bloodline, the child probably had Sky flames, which would explain how he managed to bond so easily with her solitary Kyoya. Yukiko only wondered whether Tsunayoshi knew about his ties to the Mafia and if his flames were active.

She wanted to interrogate the kid, but was also reluctant to alienate herself with her son's first and most important friend (Kyoya did also like Shoichi, but it was obvious his friendship was first and foremost to the brunet). She would have to be subtle about this, so as not to reveal anything about the Mafia, in case they don't know about it.

"Good morning Kyoya" the child nodded slightly as a reply. "You two must me Sawada Tsunayoshi and Irie Shoichi. It is nice to meet you, my name is Hibari Yukiko, and as you may know, I am Kyoya's Mother. You can call me Yukiko-san." The two boys bowed and answered her greetings. They were very polite, she thought.

"I have heard you three are planning to disappear from Namimori and that you only need the passports I bring. While I have nothing against that, I would like to know more about you two before you leave with my son." The two nodded. It was a reasonable request. "So, Sawada-kun, are you by any chance related to Sawada Iemitsu?" she went straight to the heart of the problem.

The brunet flinched a the name of his father, but replied nonetheless. "Yes, Yukiko-san, and please call me Tsunayoshi or Tsuna. I don't like my family name all that much. And Iemitsu is my father, though we are not very close." And for some reason, the Sky kept staring at her unblinkingly, but she assumed it was a normal behavior for him.

The raven woman nodded. It was as she expected. She was pondering on how to ask about the man's job when Tsuna interrupted her thoughts. "You must we wondering of I know of his activities. Yes, I know Iemitsu is a higher-up in Vongola, the largest Mafia Famiglia, but he doesn't know that I'm aware of this. I overheard him once talking about it and Kyoya filled the blanks."

Hyper Intuition guessed the bewildered woman. And a strong one, for him to guess that much. It seems her Kyoya had met with quite the phenomenon. "I see. I do remember Kyoya asking for access to our family records recently. I imagine it was for that." the raven boy nodded. "So do you know how much power the Vongola holds?" she asked, stressing the word to see if the kids knew and caught the reference to the secretly famous ability of the Mafia.

Tsunayoshi eyed her thoughtfully for a few long seconds. The other two had remained silent during the whole conversation. 'So Tsunayoshi really is their leading Sky' mentally noted Yukiko.

The brunet finally decided to reply. "I assume you know about that flame ability." he observed her eyes. He apparently found something there since he continued. "Yes, we three know of that. I unlocked mine at a young age. Kyoya saw me use it once and asked that I teach him. Shoichi was brought in on our secret later on."

That was surprising. "So all three of you can summon your flames?" She asked and the three children proceeded in calling colored fire inside their palms. Kyoya's was a deep purple (so he was a Cloud, how not surprising, she thought), Shoichi's was bright yellow, and Tsunayoshi's was a mesmerizing orange. So he really was a Sky, and a gifted one if the ease with which he summoned his power was any indication. No wonder he harmonized with Kyoya.

Still, it was highly unusual for a kid to spontaneously manifest his flame, even if he was Mafia related. And the brunet had apparently managed to teach two other boys how to call theirs, despite not having any qualifications. A mix of raw talent and powerful Hyper Intuition, probably.

"I see. Well, now that the biggest issues have been dealt with, Why don't you two boys tell me more about yourselves?" continued Hibari Yukiko.

()()()()()()

The three children and the mother continued talking about themselves around breakfast until it was 11. Yukiko learned the details of the fife of her son's two friends, and listened as they explained their plans away from Namimori. She couldn't help but nod approvingly : it was well though of and seemed the best course of action for children ranging from 9 (Shoichi) to 12 (Kyoya).

She was about to hand over the modified passports (where they were aged from 13 to 16, the kids were very mature, it should work despite their juvenile looks), except she emitted one last restriction.

"I know I won't be able to see you or communicate with you directly for a while to avoid Vongola tracking you through me, but it should be alright for another family member to visit and act as a messenger."

The kids exchanged looks before Tsuna (who was definitely the leader given the amount of times he replied for them all) answered. "I guess it could work, at least if said relative is discreet enough. And he could act as intermediary for Shoichi to send letters to his parents."

Yukiko smiled slightly. The boys were cautious, they would be fine (and she knew her Kyoya could trash most threats before they became a problem). "Don't worry, I know just who to ask. My brother will be more than happy to transmit any letter you send him to your family, Shoichi. And I can assure you he can be inconspicuous." Her son had visibly tensed when she mentioned her brother. The other two sent him inquiring glances.

"My uncle" began the raven boy, though his tone screamed reluctance. "works as an assassin for the Chinese Triads. But he will be perfect for the job. Vongola shouldn't be able to track him, and they can't interfere so easily with the Triads."

The other two nodded, well past the point where they were scared or even shocked by the Hibari members' occupations. After all, they even heard that one of Kyoya's ancestors worked for the Vongola and even founded the CEDEF...

"I'll inform him of your respective situations, if you don't mind." Added his mother. "He isn't the kind to leave children without help if they need it, and it would limit the risks of him unintentionally revealing anything to the Mafia." The children agreed, if both the ravens were willing to trust that person, so will they. "Well, I guess all that's left is to hand you your passports."

They thanked her profusely (well, Tsuna and Shoichi did, Kyoya just grunted) and went to get the bags they had prepared beforehand. After that, Shoichi fooled the school's system into believing they had transferred at different times and to various destinations (Tsuna in Sapporo, Kyoya in Osaka and Shoichi in Kyoto) and bought tickets to multiple destinations to cover their tracks farther.

They ended up taking three different trains to reach Tokyo and Shoichi made sure to erase any trace of it from the train company's records. Then they took the plane to Russia, then from there to France and finally to Rome in Italy. A few members of the airport staff sent them funny looks, but the kids' mature attitude, and their proficiency in the local language (Tsuna's talents were impressive) got them off the hook.

Once in Rome, they took a train for Naples by following the same pattern.

It took them two days and a half, and they were exhausted.

Tsuna, who had a map and had memorized the places most likely for them to find a cheap apartment to rent, led them to a rather run-down district. It took them a couple more hours, but they managed to find a dilapidated flat from a pretty shady man. Between Kyoya's threatening glare and Tsuna's surprisingly good negotiating abilities, the flat was theirs.

It only consisted in a living room, a single bed room where they would all sleep, a decrepit bathroom who miraculously still had running warm water, and a tiny kitchen.

It would be uncomfortable, but they could endure. And either way, this should only be a temporary arrangement. They would lay low and hide for a month, all the while making flyers for their new shop (Caeruleus, a jack-of-all-trades business) and increase their reputation through word of mouth.

Once they get a large enough customer base and earn enough to ensure they wouldn't run out of money, they would find a new, better, place to settle and build up shop. That way, they could receive customers.