Nana was looking out of the window just as she always did while washing dishes. It seemed to be getting cloudy up there, even though the weather was just fine a few minutes ago.
Putting a cleaned cup onto a tray to dry, she turned around at the sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs coming from the upper floor. Energetic young voices filled the kitchen within the blink of an eye and a calm smile spread on the brown-haired woman's face.
»If you go out, take an umbrella with you.« She made eye contact with a young boy whose hair was of equally brown color, they even shared the same hazel eyes. »Seems like it's going to rain soon.«
»Yes, I will, thank you Mom«, he said, busy struggling to slip into his shoes while shooting her a subtle wink.
Said mother couldn't really put her tongue on it, but something seemed amiss. As if she had something at the back of her mind, something obvious, something she should be remembering. But as it wouldn't come to mind, she shrugged off the odd feeling and continued with what she was doing, while I-Pin and Lambo were just as busy trying to fight over a leftover Gyoza, as if it was a fight for dear life.
Her chuckle was barely noticed by anyone, while Tsuna was on his way out, trying to get to school with only being a little late this time. »Be careful on your way«, she tried to call after him, but he's already long gone.
The children's bickering became background noise as her hands suddenly started to tremble mid action. Trying not to crash any of the plates she tried to handle, soft tremors traveled through her body and made her gasp. She was well-aware of how dangerous what she did was, yet it was inevitable.
A light tapping sound diverted her attention back to what's straight ahead. Looking out the window, she could watch the first drops of rain falling from the sky, hitting the pane in front of her. All she was able to do, was hoping for him to come back home soon. Her son was usually not one to be this late, he was rather diligent in not doing any overtime, really.
No matter the odds, Tsuna was surely going to return soon.

It was a windy night, filled with heavy rain and shattering thunder. Yet, all of that was barely noticeable the next morning. As soon as the sun rose above the horizon, the clouds cleared up and a warm breeze blew through the quiet streets of Namimori City.
Another day is dawning, but no change has occurred since yesterday or the day before that. The shaking in the housewife's body got only worse overnight. She couldn't sleep a wink and the exhaustion was starting to take a toll on her.
With the sensation of a stroke of lightning, she almost collapsed at the recoil of a black bolt forcing its way back into her body. That was it – the limit. For a second, her vision turned dark, before coming back to her, making her feel lightheaded and disoriented. That's as far as she could go, she had never exerted herself to that extent.
Sweating, she put one shaking hand up to her forehead. What was she supposed to do now? How would she explain herself? She had felt troubled and uneasy already and that trouble had now multiplied by a huge margin.
At that moment, one of the children who's been staying at her home was tugging at the hem of her skirt while watching her turning more and more pale with worry and lack of energy.
The mother turned toward a boy with light-brown hair and forced a smile. »What's wrong, Futa?«
»I can't find Tsuna-nii anywhere«, he whined with his eyes full of sadness, »and when I try to put up a ranking with his favorite hiding-spots, the result doesn't make sense at all.«
With all the strength Nana could muster, her eyes started to light up comfortingly, as she haphazardly patted the crown of his hair. »He was there a while ago, right? He won't be far. Go play with the others, and he will be back before you know it.«
The smile she worked hard to maintain started ripping into her dried up lips and blood flowed slowly from the chaps. Meanwhile, Futa was simply staring at her as he was watching that nightmare-fuel unfold in front of him.
He couldn't understand what happened. One moment Tsuna was in his room, getting ready – and next time he checked, he was gone without a trace. His ranking showed him some weird, undecipherable script instead of Tsuna's favorite hiding spots and now their Mama looked as if she was terribly sick.
And as if that wasn't enough yet, the doorbell rang and more of a ruckus started, following the arrival of a girl with dark-brown hair and a child with a fedora on his head. They simply let themselves in, letting the bell be the only sign of courtesy shown on their way.
»I wanted to pick up Tsuna-kun, so we could go to school together.«
»But you're not even going to the same school«, raised a new voice the most important question.
Said voice belonged to the self-proclaimed right-hand-man of the tenth Vongola Boss, standing in the hallway, trying to have his cigarette smoke vent out through the still open door.
Haru, being enraged over Gokudera's comment on her academic affiliation, stomped her feet and called: »Tsuna-kun, are you ready to go?«
»Tsuna-nii isn't home right now«, answered the small boy standing in front of them. Only then did they spare an actual glance at the woman behind him, seemingly ready to collapse.
Hayato, instantly alarmed, ran over to steady her in her gait, as she moved toward the dining –table to sit down.
»Mama, what happened?« Reborn seems unusually serious, looking at her dire condition.
In a matter of seconds, her complexion worsened, showing deep shadows under her eye, and her usual dainty skin turned almost ashen. Her bleeding lips seemed to be the most healthy looking thing about her at that moment.
The woman in question wanted to tell them she would be fine, but before she could do so, a surge of pain flickered behind her eyes. It was as if her skull tried to expand itself into its own super-condo. Information flashed through her mind, words she barely understood and momentary pictures that burned themselves into her retina.
Suddenly, it was as if her mind had cleared up. She was still confused and unable to put everything together, but she simply knew. She knew what had happened and what made Tsuna be this late for the first time in his life.
Panicked and desperate, she grabbed the tiny Mafioso by his shoulders, ready to shake him if need be. »I need to see my husband. Right now.«
The house was in a state of pandemonium, but she couldn't care less. Not as long as her child might be in dire straits.
»I'm not sure what's going on, but the tenth really isn't in the house. Did he already go to school?«
»He's not here«, Nana weakly answered. »I need to see Iemitsu.«
»You need to go see a Doctor.« Reborn corrected her without missing a beat. She didn't look good, but what could be the reason? Maybe Shamal would know. »Gokudera, get Shamal to come here.«
»What?«
»Do it and be quick about it.« For a second, the Arcobaleno of the sun was weighing his options. »I will call for Iemitsu, he has to know about your situation anyway. So don't worry, Mama.«
And It took excruciatingly long for those two to arrive. It was almost as if they had been slow on purpose, but you would never say anything like that, seeing how Sawada Iemitsu stormed into his own house, looking for his wife.
At this point, Shamal just got here, taking a look at the gentle-faced woman lying there almost unresponsive. »As far as I can see, she's fine.«
»Are you serious? I can see she's anything but fine!« Her husband would know best, right? Though, in reality, he hadn't seen her often in recent years. Seeing her like that, not knowing what's befallen her was already making him anxious, but that's just topped by what he heard right after getting here. »And why won't anyone answer about Tsuna's whereabouts?«
With his son gone and wife in that state, what could he do but getting mad?
»I tell you, your wife is fine. She's a strong woman, all she lacks is energy, though I'm not sure how she could end up in this state without anyone noticing.«
»She was definitely fine yesterday evening«, Reborn said, though he could remember her hands shaking slightly. That was nothing compared to what's happening right now.
Visible confusion decorated Shamal's expression. »That can't be. There's no way she could look like this in the span of one night.«
»Actually«, a tiny voice pitched in, »she looked normal until just a while ago. You came when she started to look weird.« Futa explained that while looking at the infamous Tutor in the room.
Reborn nodded and shooed the child out of the room, as seeing her like that could be deemed unfit for a kid like Futa. After that, the attention of the three men in the room went back to the one woman, who was stirring slightly, starting to get up in her damaged state. »Please, keep lying down, Honey«, the blonde man pleaded with his wife.
But she wouldn't budge and sat up straight to grab the hands of the man in front of her, looking worried and out of his depth. »Dear, I need you to do something.«
»Anything!«
She shook her head in response to his overeager reaction. »Listen first«, she demanded, »I need you to go to that group in Italy. That Varia group that's part of your assembly.«
›Assembly‹? What assembly? Iemitsu couldn't believe what he heard his wife saying. She may have not been exactly right about the nature of it, but it's clear she knew the name and hiding place of one of the groups belonging to Vongola. How did she know about the Varia, of all families?
His shock didn't prevent him from listening further, though. »You need to talk to the one you call Mammon. It's of paramount importance, you hear? I need to talk to that person. It's our last chance to get our child back-« That moment, her breath hitched, as if she had a hiccup, but it's more like she stumbled upon the air in her lungs. She seemed barely able to breath, actually.
Having to let go of Nana's hands, Iemitsu lunged for Shamal next to him, grabbing him by the collar. »How is she fine, you quack?!«
»She really is fine! I can't tell what's causing all of those symptoms, she would need to go to a hospital or a lab for further testing, otherwise, I won't know.«
»It's important, Dear. Call for Mammon of the Varia. We need help.«
»What for, Nana? I can't understand.« Tsuna's father crouched down next to his wife, clasping his hands together as if he was praying. »Please, make me understand what's going on.«
For a moment, she considered. She considered all those things she could never tell anyone; she considered the danger that came with years of secrecy, from both sides of their marriage.
But knowing what the short vision from earlier referred to, she shook her head. I didn't matter anymore. The contract was broken. It wasn't forbidden anymore.
A truth that she could never speak. Words that weren't meant for anyone to hear. The fear in her heart wasn't gone, but it lost its grip on her to a certain degree.
That's why she swallowed hard, while focusing her tired eyes at her husband, despite the sweat forming on her forehead at that simple action. »Tsuna is in another world. I'm a witch. But I can't go to the other world right now, because I spend too much energy before. I need to find someone who knows of a portal to the other world, otherwise, we won't be able to save him. I have reasons to believe he's in grave danger as we speak. There's no time, Dear.«
Her incomprehensible words wouldn't even reach her husband. His eyebrows furrowed into a tight knot and nobody said anything at all, as to not worsen the situation, until he finally drew a breath. »I know, Honey. I will go and get Mammon. You just need to sleep and recuperate.«
With those words spoken, he nodded at Shamal and carried her on his arms up to their shared bedroom, which he hadn't used in quite some time again.
Upon coming back down, he shrugged his shoulders. »I hope she will be clear again when she wakes up. We need to find out what happened here.«
»Nothing seems to have happened, though«, Shamal threw in, »I don't know what could have caused her to be this confused. She seemed to serious while spouting such nonsense.«
»Don't you dare saying something like that about my wife!«, the husband instantly retaliated.
»But he's not wrong«, the tiny man among them threw in. »We need to call Dino and take her to one of their private hospital rooms – just in case she's still besides herself when she wakes up again. And we need to know if she was drugged or if there was the power of a Mist-flame involved.«
Gokudera and Haru already went to school earlier, also to look for Tsuna, while Reborn waited for Shamal and Iemitsu to arrive. The little ones were brought upstairs. The situation was more than odd. How did a teenager vanish into nothingness? And Nana seemed to develop serious symptoms of fatigue in the span of a few hours at most – a few minutes, if you believed Futa's words.
He couldn't make heads or tails of it. Like a puzzle that manifested itself out of nowhere. At this point, he looked out of the window, seeing thick grey clouds start to cover the sky, thinking to himself:

›Well, what could that be, if not a seriously bad omen?‹