Chapter 21 : the house of the rising sun
There's the awful sensation of being torn in two, piece by piece, muscle, nail, tooth-hair-bone, skin layers peeled and then muscles, strand by torturous strand. Shaving fragments of bone, and marrow. Perspective halving, separating, shattering. And the process of being pulled. It's nothing gentle, or slow. The molecules, the atoms that make him up aren't drawn anywhere. It's an awful wrenching. Like someone grabbing his wrist and twisting and heaving him to the floor and into submission if he doesn't want to dislocate his arm.
The process of being put back together isn't any more pleasant. It's worse. It's worse because everything is happening in reverse then and something is happen as it reverses, and- blackness.
Tsuna wakes up.
It happens sluggishly. There's no definitive point at which he goes from unconscious to conscious: at some point the world around him resolves and he realizes that he's flat on his back and he should be choking. His throat feels broken and sore. His body feels broken and sore. Training makes him calm the panic starting to rise in his chest, as his lolling head catches sight of what's unmistakably a vitals monitor. It doesn't beep. They rarely do outside of movies.
Tsuna lays still, staring at it until the numbers begin to fall again. While he's doing that, the world continues to resolve itself around the bed. He's been kidnapped, is the first thing he realizes, which means it's even more important for him to stay calm and assess the situation. He's never been kidnapped before, but he's heard about it. Tsuna isn't important enough to kidnap in this way, although he's been approached and harassed thanks to the connections he has - if only they knew.
But sedating him, and putting a feeding tube down his throat and oxygen down his nose and an IV in his arm? That's new. That's not the kind of kidnapping he has any experiences with. This is - this is Estraneo Famiglia type kidnapping. Except that he thinks the Estraneo Famiglia don't keep their subjects in such clean rooms.
He blinks heavily as the sedative continues to burn off, unable to keep a foothold now that he's awake. Who is so stupid as to sedate someone like him? And then leave him alone with only velcro straps to hold him to the bed?
It's a struggle to sit up. He's still weak and shaky from whatever - whatever awful thing it was that they did to him after they kidnapped him. The first thing he does is switch the monitor off, and only after he's accomplished that does he get to work removing the IV. Then he turns to the more disgusting and difficult chore of trying to dislodge the tubes in his nose and throat.
Both times, he gags and his stomach heaves to throw up, but there's nothing in his stomach. He sits, weak and shaky for a moment, before forcing himself to slid off the bed and onto his feet. The hospital gown he's wearing is the worst, but he has bigger problems than drafts to-
Upright and wobbling, Tsuna stares. Although he'd already sensed that 'hospital room' was the wrong impression to have of this room, now that he can see what was behind his bed, it really strikes home. There's some kind of machinery behind it, with a dozen cables coming out of the top like something hastily assembled and left wide open in case of emergency.
Yeah, the more he looks at it, the more it definitely looks like something the Estraneo famiglia would get up to. The room itself seems made out of some strange kind of material, but in the center where his bed is, and it's head rests against the back of that strange machine, and thick cables sprawl over the floor like it takes some kind of massive amount of energy to run.
What is it? Some kind of - of CAT scan machine?
Tsuna's hands are sweating a little bit, his fingers cold. He feels vaguely dehydrated, and he looks to the monitor on the other side of the hospital cot that he'd been restrained on. It's turned at a weird angle, as if someone meant to stand next to his bed and observe both it and the vital monitor across the bed from it. He can't really convince himself to look at that machine that is set opposite the head of his bed, so he wobbles around the bed to look and see what the monitor says. Maybe he can figure out who has kidnapped him, and what they want with him.
After all, despite the horribly nightmare that happened while he was sedated… Tsuna feels fine other than that. There aren't any marks on his body at all. And the sedation… it just seems unlikely that they've managed to confuse him with illusions. What then?
There's his name in full, all written out in plain sight, as well as his age and date of birth. Blood type. And - what's this? Tsuna frowns and squints at the screen. What does this mean, 'World'? That blank is just filled in by a short, seemingly random series of numbers and letters. He'd understand it if it said 'Family' or something like that, or if this didn't been to be something the Estraneo famiglia would cook up, because if it's them, then they'd have no reason to go after people who weren't part of the Underworld.
None of this is making any sense.
Tsuna looks around the room uneasily, taking a second look at the air vents and the door. No, come to think of it: the Estraneo famiglia would never be this lax about their security. Someone should have been monitoring his sedation levels and immediately come the moment he began to metabolize them. Or have strapped him down better, so he couldn't pull lose. They'd have known that someone like him wouldn't be kept down with drugs alone. If it's not the Estraneo famiglia, then who?
He looks at the back of the pod behind his bed, and what looks like a monitor there, too. Well, there's nothing for it. If he wants to escape, then understanding the enemy is the first step.
The legs that should be feeling stronger by now, if Tsuna weren't so scared, wobble a bit as he makes his way around the monitor with his information on it, slowly approaching the side of the pod. Twitching, Tsuna can't stop the uneasy noise that escapes his throat when the clear dome clearly shows a person's feet from this angle. Right. Well. That's already the worst of it, isn't it? And thinking so, Tsuna steps firmly forward to look down into the pod.
The first name that pops into his head is 'Iesada' despite the fact that the boy inside the pod is too old, and a brunet, and actually has the wrong jawline and brows and - well, okay, he doesn't really look like Iesada at all, the more Tsuna studies him. The second name that Tsuna had thought is equally wrong or worse, given that Dino lacks even a scrap of Japanese blood, and is twenty-five years old, instead of Tsuna's age or younger.
And yet, despite not being able to put a name to this person, Tsuna really feels like he should recognize him, regardless of the pale and strangely diminished state he's in. He looks at the monitor. His own name greets him there, as well as his own age, and his birthdate. The 'World' blank, though. That says, plainly: Alpha.
Then, where there had been just more blank space on Tsuna's monitor, here's more information. There's a 'Rating' blank that's set at eight hundred and fifty six 'ig' and ninety-seven percent 'cl,' whatever either of those units mean. Below that there's a comment section, mostly written in shorthand that Tsuna mumbles over for a few seconds before giving up on, focusing on 'unexpected difficulties' and 'threshold crossed' and 'upsurge.'
Tsuna takes a second look at the boy laying inside the pod, with all those cables that came out of the strange array around his head and chest. Now that he's read the name, that weird sensation of recognizing him make sense. He's…. He's a Tsuna from another world?
"That doesn't make any sense!" Tsuna complains, grasping his head for a moment in frustration before jumping and cutting an anxious look toward the door, then making another sweep for any kind of security cameras. He comes up empty on that one, too. Oh, now that it's been brought to his attention, he can see where they have the same hair color and general style, but this seventeen year old in the pod is insanely pale, as if he never leaves the house, and as much as Tsuna has been teased for being a lean person, he's even more slight than Tsuna! Although, looking at the limbs sticking out of the hospital gown… Tsuna really wouldn't want to get into a fist fight with this guy.
"There's only one Sawada Tsuna, and only one world," Tsuna says, even if it sounds more like he's trying to reassure himself. Accepting that the Bovino family can violate time by swapping out present selves with future selves is one thing! Having two Tsunas is something different altogether! Shouldn't the world be collapsing at this rate?!
What happened to the world that Tsuna left behind if this Tsuna's world is 'alpha'?! Tsuna knows at least enough to realize that this means that he himself is the traveler in this case! That probably explains that awful nightmare about being pulled to pieces…
"What should I do?" he mutters to himself, and then finds himself looking to the unconscious Tsuna for answers. He's an idiot! He should be finding out more about the situation and the people that have taken him, and to do that-
In the middle of heading to the door, Tsuna freezes. Is it really okay to leave the other Tsuna where he is? He glances over his shoulder at the pod, from this angle only able to see the bare feet sticking up. The bones look strangely delicate.
If whoever took him came back to find him missing… they'll definitely realize something is wrong regardless. This may be his only chance to save anyone, seeing as how he doubts that the Tsuna in the pod wanted to be there. Something as scary as what happened to him… there's no way any Tsuna of any world would agree to that.
"Ahh. Alright, fine," he mutters, circling back. "Don't worry, me. I'll get you out of there."
It's a bit weird, though. Although this is supposed to be him, he doesn't really recognize the other guy as himself? Although maybe that'll change when the sedation wears off - speaking of, how are these guys keeping him sedated? Or if they have a sedative that works reliably, why didn't they use it on Tsuna instead of the crappy usual stuff that of course can't keep someone like him down?
At least the pod seems comfortable, he thinks as he gets it open. A lot more comfortable than the cot that Tsuna woke up on. The set up other than that is much the same, though: he removes the IV, and then the tubes in the guy's nose and throat. His fingers are a little cold. His hands are calloused, like a fighter's, with scarred fingers and knuckles. There are needle marks in his arm, though they're all fairly recent… so probably, these people have had this guy for a while.
Tsuna gathers the limp body up, and bends over, preparing to throw the unconscious guy over his shoulders. His legs are already more than steady enough to carry them both safely, after all, and- but when he does that, the guy's head flops forward as Tsuna scoops his arm behind his back, and it falls on his shoulder, forehead against the bare skin of his neck. He freezes and his heart thumps hard.
Unexpectedly, he feels like he's just been entrusted with something precious. Which is weird. He's hauled his friends, drunk and unconscious, before. That part of this isn't unfamiliar in the least. "Um," escapes him, his arms wobbling strangely despite not even carrying any weight yet. Cold fingers aside, the skin of his face is warm. It feels weirdly like someone has tipped an entire saucepan of hot chocolate directly into Tsuna's chest, almost uncomfortably hot but not scalding - weirdly soothing. Energizing. His heart pounds harder, eyes widening, because that's certainly not the first time he's felt something like this.
Releasing his grip on the other Tsuna's knee, he catches his face and pulls back slightly to stare at the slack features. That's why he'd thought Dino there for a moment, he realizes in shock. The other Tsuna doesn't resemble Dino at all, but-
The other Tsuna's face twitches, and his lashes flutter. Just barely, between them, Tsuna is witness to the brief flicker of orange that shows through before the other subsides. His heart hammers double time, and some kind of awful certainty comes over him then:
He's going to kill every last one of them.
-0-
A bit expectedly, Tsuna's instincts go a little haywire. No one could possibly blame him. Even Lazzero would cut him some slack for that. He can't be blamed if he unexpectedly stumbles across a vulnerable, unconscious Sky in a scary situation. Anyone would have reacted the same.
If he tells himself that enough, maybe he'll even believe it.
"I'm an idiot," Tsuna mumbles miserably, thumping his head against the wall.
Okay, he's not a total idiot. So what if he'd responded to that flicker of Flame by clutching the other Tsuna to his chest and carrying him off right then, immediately, all plans thrown to the wayside? Or no, he'd put the Sky on the hospital cot, and then utilizing the skills that Lazzero had taught him, had wheeled him directly out of that room as if he belonged there. Even if all the acting in the world wouldn't convince anyone who could clearly see that he was dressed in a hospital gown and carting off someone who looked exactly like him!
Luckily, for whatever reason that he was left in that room with a Sky - which idiot was dumb enough to snatch Tsuna from another world and then leave him with a Sky! - must have been the same reason the facility seemed a bit vacant. Tsuna had encountered no one and no resistance in his short flight, and had even managed to locate a supply room which at least had scrubs and jackets inside, along with various other medical gear.
Unless this is all part of their plan, he thinks, grinding his skull miserably against the brick wall. He doesn't know why any of this is happening in the first place - maybe they'd intended to see what would happen when someone met themselves from another world who was a Sky, or something like that. In which case he hasn't escaped anything and definitely hasn't protected the Sky, who is still unconscious on the cot although now dressed in scrubs as well.
That's not really all that surprising. Skies tend to be susceptible to sedatives and downers in general. Tsuna tilts his head to eye the guy, now with both of their hospital gowns as a pillow and a laboratory coat as a blanket. Obviously they can't hide in this supply closet forever, but it's not as thought Tsuna can just keep wheeling the other around everywhere. They'll be discovered if they stay here, and if Tsuna is planning to do any reconnaissance, then he needs to be able to move around quietly and quickly.
Also food and water. He's starting to feel a little shaky, like his blood sugar is crashing, and he's not sure when the last time the other Tsuna had something to eat. The IV kept him hydrated, and judging from his muscle tone, he's been active up until he was taken hostage or at least confined to a bed, but his cheeks look a little hollow.
Then he flinches. Is that normal behavior? Would he even care if this wasn't a Sky? Tsuna would like to think that he's the kind of guy that would care about someone else who was being held hostage with him, but the fact of the matter is that he's already had a taste of this Sky's Flames. Since Tsuna lacks an allegiance to any particular Sky, he's vulnerable to his natural instincts.
"Stupid Dino," he grumbles, pulling away from the wall. It doesn't really matter, does it? Obviously whatever sense the Sky got from him, he'd decided it was safe enough, and besides: there's no way any Tsuna could ever be a more compelling Sky than Enrico, Xanxas, or Dino. It doesn't particularly matter. It's fine. Of course it's fine.
He slaps himself with both hands to his cheeks just to make sure, though.
Then he pulls out the medical face mask and the hair net and pull them on himself and the unconscious Sky, and checks the coast before pushing forward. He definitely needs to scout the situation, but better not to hide him there, so close to the room that Tsuna got him out of.
The facility is nice - not new, but we'll maintained. Despite that, Tsuna is able to quickly locate a room that isn't often used, thanks to the training Lazzero gave him long ago. It's some kind of small office, or maybe an examination room. There's a desk and a computer, but Tsuna knows better than to attempt logging onto it when no paper with username or password immediately presents itself. There's a padded counter covered with a paper sheet. It disconcertingly reminds him of butcher paper at the market.
In a corner between the desk and the wall that isn't immediately visible from the doorway, Tsuna pads down a rough nest before lugging the unconscious Sky over and tucking him in. It still makes him endlessly anxious to leave him there, but- he hasn't seen security cameras anywhere yet, and he still doesn't know how to escape this building with the Sky in tow.
This isn't even his world.
That thought alone threatens to send him into a spiraling panic, but Tsuna harshly slaps both of his cheeks again and forces himself to breathe through it. He doesn't have time to sit around panicking. He has a Sky depending on him.
"Remember what Lazzero told you," he says, muffled and strange into the face mask, and then he gets to work.
-0-
Reconnaissance takes longer than he would like, but it also takes longer than he'd thought for them to notice that their most recent experiment has gone missing. In the meantime, Tsuna has confirmed that whatever kind of operation this is, it's definitely not Estraneo. No, that aside: he's not even sure if it counts as mafia. Human experimentation like this seems like it would be something the Underworld would definitely be involved in, but they're hardly the only ones.
Tsuna successfully located the in-facility cafeteria. He addresses his own concerns first: juice for sugars, bread rolls for substance and to keep the sourness of his stomach down. He confiscates some kind of cream soup and cookies for his fellow hostage, and carries and the knowledge if the building's layout with him.
It doesn't feel like he's been gone long at all, but when he gets back to the room, it's to find the Sky awake and sitting at the computer. Tsuna's heart thumps harshly with sudden anxiety, unprepared to meet this stranger face to face so suddenly.
The Sky blinks at him, heavy eyed and still woozy from sedation - the fact that he's even awake and moving is impressive actually, let alone able to move onto the chair without hurting himself. He's pulled off the hairnet and the mask hangs beneath his chin, and one of the hospital gowns is clutched in his lap like he'd been studying the subtle pattern of the fabric.
"S… sorry," Tsuna says awkwardly, and the Sky blinks slowly at him, brown eyes lensing orange for a second time. His brow wrinkles. "Ah - here!" He thrusts the soup and cookies forward only for his fellow hostage to shift ever so slightly back, tensing. The hairs on the back of Tsuna's neck stands on end.
"Wait, no," he says, abruptly realizing that he's still in disguise. He searches fruitlessly for a place to set the food for a moment before he ends up having to choose the floor; better not to come further into the room and trigger some kind of response. Straightening, Tsuna pulls off both the mask and the hair net, and gives his fellow hostage a hopeful look. "I woke up here suddenly," he explains. "I think we must have been taken hostage for - for experimentation, or something like that."
Some of the wooziness has faded, apparently from nothing more than pure determination. The other Tsuna examines him carefully for a long moment while Tsuna's own smile falters and he begins to anxiously fidget.
When at last his fellow hostage speaks, Tsuna is shocked to hear something other than Italian. It's still a familiar language, though.
"Ah, Japanese," Tsuna says fretfully. This will definitely make things difficult - he hopefully switches and says, "but what about English?"
Some recognition flickers across the other's face, but it turns apologetic. "Sorry," he says in sheepish Japanese, "but I don't speak English."
But he's relaxed, which is the important thing. He's still clutching the hospital gown and still seems uncertain of Tsuna, but he doesn't look frightened or anything like that. Fine. Great! Tsuna can work with that.
"Um," he says, the first Japanese words that comes to him easily enough. "I - no, 'I'... I haven't spoken Japanese in a long time. Please bare with me."
It's not surprising that it takes his fellow hostage a moment to puzzle through the words, given that it's been more than ten years since Tsuna spoke the language, but the warm smile that blossoms across his face makes it worth it.
"It's fine," he says, waving his free hand. "Please take care of me."
What a dangerous thing to say!
"'Take care of him,' he says!" Tsuna can't quite help but to sputter in the tongue he's more comfortable with. Does he even realize what it is he's saying! It's a turn of phrase, of course, but still. Running his hand through his hair, he notices the food again and stoops. "Here," he says, picking the cookies and soup up. "It's food. I don't know how long it's been since the last time you ate, but… it's probably been a while."
It's probably been longer than that, given the off look his fellow hostage gives the food, as if he doesn't understand the need for it for a moment. It hurts Tsuna's heart a bit. How badly has his stomach withered that he isn't even hungry now?
The other allows him to come to his side so that he can set the cookies down beside the keyboard and pry the soup open. "Sorry that it's cold," he says, wincing at the shop inside the can. Being heated up would make it marginally more palatable, but he hadn't honestly expected the food to be eaten immediately when he got back and lingering in the food storage had seemed like a bad idea in general.
His fellow hostage hums a negative, accepting the plastic cup and raising it to his mouth. Tsuna kind of expects a more intense response to it than the mild grimace that he gives. Turning, Tsuna hops up to sit on the table and pries the cookies open. He's already hungry again, and judging by the reluctantly way his fellow hostage is eating and the disinterest he shows in the cookies, he can have at least a few.
"So, what's your story?' Tsuna asks curiously. He's never met someone from a different world, after all. "Do you know who these guys are at all? It seems like they've had you a while."
"Mm." The other Tsuna cuts his gaze away and downward, considering. "No," he says at last. "I don't remember them at all. I don't remember even being kidnapped, though obviously I have been." He pauses and frowns. "I hope everyone is alright and not too worried about me."
It's only natural that a Sky have Guardians, but Tsuna grimaces anyway. Of course he'd have Guardians already - it always happens quick. A Sky manifests, and the first of their Guardians would be at their side within the month. It's only natural. And yet.
Ah, no, what's he thinking?
"Well, they obviously can't help but worry," Tsuna says, rather than lie about it. "But I'm sure they're looking for you." The other Tsuna hums again, but rather than being reassured by that, the idea seems to trouble him. Tsuna tries again: "anyway, I'll definitely get you out of here and back to them."
His fellow hostage smiles, but wanly. "Thanks," he says, glancing up at Tsuna. "You, too. I mean, I'll see to it that you also get back home."
Tsuna chuckles nervously. "Ah - that might be easier said than done," he admits. "I'm not from this world, I think."
Normally someone would shout or complain about whether or not something like that even makes any sense, but the other Tsuna just looks at him with a gaze that seems to already know everything about the subject, like he's been aware of it for some time. There's no surprise or disbelief, and while Tsuna naturally has to think for a moment that this other Tsuna is in on it with the people who took them hostage in the first place… that's also not the sense he has of things.
"I didn't think so," his fellow hostage says with another smile, this one smaller and more secretive, pressed into the corner of his mouth like it's a bitter chocolate dessert he's savoring. "Even that useless father of mine couldn't have yet another bastard child that resembles me so much. Our faces favor Nana too much. No, I already noticed that." His grip on the hospital gown shifts slightly, along with the pressure of his attention. "Anyway… I have a precious comrade who is trapped here as well that I need to see free before I can rest easy with being rescued."
Tsuna stares. Well, he's a Sky, after all, and hasn't Tsuna himself seen Iemitsu seem to pull intel out of thin air before? For a long time, Tsuna had assumed that was due to being the head of the CEDEF, but it happened often enough that he's even seen the surprise of Iemitsu's treasured underlings. For a first-born who turned out to be a Sky as well… it's only natural that the other Tsuna would get training like that.
His stomach hurts, somewhat.
"So Basil really is," he mutters instead, scowling and stuffing an entire cookie into his mouth. He and Iesada had their suspicions all along since the first time they'd met Basil, already familiar with Iemitsu's stupid style of parenting, but they'd never been able to confirm it. Or, no, they'd been reluctant to confirm it, actually, since Tsuna has had ample opportunity to get hairs or whatever from that Rain kid and get them tested against his own DNA. Basil is too stupidly trusting for a kid so deeply involved in the Underworld, really.
"Eh? Who is 'Basil'?"
The other Tsuna blinks up at him somewhat blankly, and - he's right, after all. That expression is almost entirely Nana, although it startles Tsuna badly to see it on anyone's face other than his mother. It's her coloring that they favor, and that's her expression, and something strange happens inside Tsuna's chest. Some kind of strange notion forms.
I don't have to be alone anymore.
Wo-w, Skies really are crazy, Tsuna thinks, rubbing at the back of his neck. He should already know this - he's been to Nono's house and met all of Nono's sons. There's no way a kid like him could get along with those older boys, but Enrico had been nice enough, and even though Xanxas was scary - and Dino, of course. Dino has always been the most welcoming Sky that Tsuna's ever known. That's why he's been living at his house for so long, even though it's impossible for Tsuna to stay there permanently.
And of course there's Iesada, but that's different.
"You know," he says, "Basil. The kid about our age that works with Dad."
The other Tsuna watches him with a faint frown. "So you've met with that person recently," he says, almost completely neutral except for the faint hint of distaste. "I wonder. Iemitsu's construction business has been keeping him busy in my world. He did visit the once, a few years back, but - well, it was the usual, of course. He drank everything in the house and left a mess to be cleaned up." He presses a finger to the same corner of his mouth that had savored those bitter words earlier, like he's checking to make sure it's stayed flat and neutral this time. "I didn't know how to face him, or rather: what might happen, so - instead, I continued work at TakeSushi and made excuses to avoid him."
Tsuna stares. He supposes he should have figured that much out himself. After all, he himself had been born in Japan and raised there. Technically, his first language is Japanese, even though it doesn't exactly come naturally to him anymore and some of the other Tsuna's vocabulary goes over his head. But what in the world would have changed that Iemitsu had never called his family in and brought them into the Family? Especially with Tsuna himself being a Sky with Guardians?
It's hard sometimes for Skies to sense other Skies, Tsuna remembers suddenly. Although naturally, it's dangerous for them because of territory issues, if neither of them are on their own territory, then as a natural defense they don't really make a point of showing themselves. It's not as if they really can help each other - if a person is offering shelter, then they have nothing to gain from getting close to someone else who also has shelter to offer.
"You live in Namimori?" Tsuna says in slow, horrified surprise.
The other Tsuna blinks at him. "I do," he says, and then he cocks his head. "I suppose you've gone into work with Iemitsu, then."
There's something sharp and uncanny about the gaze that peers at him from under those lashes, but it's hard to tell. Tsuna doesn't know what to make of that given that not only is his fellow hostage a fully Active Sky, but a civilian to boot. This is a complete and utter disaster! Regardless of his civilian status, the Mafia Underworld won't hesitate to drag him in if he has flames! And being a Sky? It's just about the worst outcome possible. There are hundreds of other flames for every Sky born into the world. Getting their hands on someone like this - no, even though Iemitsu is only the CEDEF, if someone had managed to get their hands on Iesada, that's more or less the same as gaining control of Vongola.
"S-something like that," Tsuna stutters, staring. What kind of guardians has this guy managed to have! As if Tsuna can just easily leave things like this after finding all of this out! He'll have to see for himself that none of those guys are Vongola's enemy, or otherwise this will immediately become a disaster for this world!
Well, he says that, but… honestly, it's for the sake of this world's Tsuna, too. Of course he's been trained to think of Vongola's sake first and foremost. He's even more or less aware of having been taught to be that way. That's fine for them and anyone else who lives in the dark Underworld of the Mafia, but… for a civilian like this? That's not fair at all.
"Mn. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that man has another bastard child where he works," the other Tsuna says. His tone is mild, almost absent minded, but the hair at the back of Tsuna's neck prickles. "After all, that precious sister of mine, she was born for similar reasons."
A sister! No, wait, there's no time to worry about these kinds of things, Tsuna reminds himself. "We'll worry about that later," he says. "Our first concern should be getting out of here. How are you feeling? Do you think you can walk?"
His fellow hostage exhales, closing his eyes like he's exhausted. "Well, it's not as if there's another option that's acceptable," he says, and smiles at Tsuna. "But as I said, there's someone I have to find and rescue first."
A Guardian then, probably, Tsuna thinks with a sigh himself. It's the only explanation for a vulnerable civilian Sky being so careless with their own safety. Shouldn't his self preservation instincts be kicking in? Tsuna's grateful that he's been accepted, of course, but the rest of this situation is troubling. "In what kind of way would that person be trapped?" he asks instead. "I was able to find a map, more or less, so I can probably guess if I know how they're being held."
In a closet, he suspects, honestly. It would be the best place to stick an agitated Guardian.
"Hm. I wonder." His fellow hostage sets the empty soup container down, gazing into the middle distance with a frown. "That guy is most likely the one looking through worlds, so some kind of navigation hall? In whatever set up would have been the most like where I was, I'd think. He always ran away when I asked too many uncomfortable questions."
To hear a civilian who doesn't even know about Flames talk so comfortably about other worlds is a bit disorienting. "Wait, what do you mean, the one looking through worlds?"
The other Tsuna gazes up at him, eerily calm despite everything. "I don't exactly have the full story myself," he admits, "and for much of our association, I don't think he realized I could hear him. At least not until the end, when she finally got what she wanted from me." Reminded of it, he frowns, looking away and rubbing his chest uneasily. It's obvious that he's remembering something unpleasant, eyes going unfocused and his mouth opening slightly. "-well, anyway," he says, abruptly breaking away from those thoughts and looking back up at Tsuna. "I think we're part of his escape plan. And it might be an escape plan for two."
For two! This is just getting more and more complicated. It's bad enough just trying to plan to escape himself, and bring this civilian Sky with him! But a Guardian, and whoever else? Tsuna rakes a hand back through his hair, grumbling with displeasure, but- "Ah, well, I can't expect to leave anyone behind," he admits.
Wait, what is he thinking in the first place? He's never had a problem before now with thinking only of himself!
"What a relief," the other Tsuna says, beaming a smile at him - but those eyes are a bit too sharp, like they've seen right through him regardless of any warmth his mouth shows.
Is this guy really a civilian!?
A look like that is to be expected, even from a civilian if their precious Guardians are under threat - or at least, that's what Tsuna thinks. He can't really get along with Xanxas' way of doing things, and Enrico's relationship with his is really too formal for his tastes. It's why he likes Dino so much: Dino always is at his best when working for the sake of his family. That's the kind of ideology that Tsuna can admire.
Hopping down off the desk, Tsuna brushes crumbs off the scrubs and hands his fellow hostage the last three cookies in the pack. "Think you can handle eating these, Tsuna?"
They both cringe at the same time - Tsuna, because it feels weird to call someone else by his came, and the other - wait, why is he cringing?
Looking slightly put upon, his fellow hostage accepts the cookies, and sighs. "I'll do my best," he says, "but could you see your way to using 'Tsunayoshi' - ah." He pauses himself, a bit consternated. "No, wait, that's your name, too, isn't it?" he asks. "Then-" Then his expression takes a strange turn, a bit like savoring bitter chocolate, a bit thoughtful. "Then," he says again, tilting his head and looking peculiarly at Tsuna, "How about using 'Nayo?'"
"Nayo?" Tsuna echoes, taken aback. It fits strangely in his mouth. He doesn't think there's a such thing as a name like that. "Is it an inside joke?" he wonders a bit incredulously.
Belatedly, Tsuna wonders if that's a little harsh toward a civilian in a scary situation like this - he can be a bit abrasive and off-putting, practically everyone tells him so - but the pleased smile that crosses the other's face makes Tsuna's heart thump unexpectedly. "It is," he agrees.
W-... well, it's a small thing to make him happy, so Tsuna can probably use it regardless. And though he hasn't tolerated it from anyone since that day - "Um, in that case, you can use a nickname for me, too: it's 'Zunetto.' I got it because 'tsu' is difficult and there's honestly a limit to how much I can stand being called 'Tuna.'"
It ends up being easier than he thought to allow that. No, actually, it also makes him a bit happy to think that someone will know to use that nickname with him again. It sounds a bit weird coming from the other Tsuna - or no: Nayo - because he has less practice with foreign tongues than Tsuna himself, but - it's not bad. And the careful dedication to getting it right by sounding it out carefully a few times makes Tsuna feel more confident with his choice.
"Okay," he says, feeling uncharacteristically optimistic, "It's great meeting you, Nayo! Please ta- … ta… take…! …!"
There's no way that Tsuna can say something so embarrassing regardless of being a meaningless turn of phrase!
Nayo looks a bit indulgent as he says, easily, "Ah. I guess I'll be responsible for you from here on out. Please feel free to call me 'senpai.'"
"There's no way I can do that either!" he screeches.
-0-
There's several false starts. However well Nayo had shrugged off the effects of the sedative, his body is still weak and faltering, which - is about right from what Tsuna had guessed about how long he's been held by these people. He's been laying strapped down in that pod for weeks, maybe as long as a month, and in that time his well trained body has withered a bit. It's obvious in both his unsteady stance and his quiet frustration over it. He tries his best to hide it, and Tsuna tries to respect his pride by not concerning himself, but-
Rather than retrieving the bed again, or finding a wheelchair for Nayo to use, they settle on using Tsuna as a beast of burden instead: Nayo reluctantly puts his arm over Tsuna's shoulder and trusts his weight to him. It's a bit awkward, but the act of being relied upon is- Tsuna can't quite bring himself to argue about it and come up with another solution.
It's distracting in various ways. Weirdly enough, Nayo is actually noticeably shorter than Tsuna, to the point that if Tsuna hadn't seen the data himself, he'd think that Nayo was probably a lot younger than seventeen - or would, but Nayo's face would fit in just fine at Dino's stables late at night when the drinks and cards come out. It happens occasionally, that a kid with eyes older than their face would be there, playing for keeps because they haven't come to trust that Dino is reliable yet. But even then, the sort of self-awareness that Nayo shows is something Tsuna has only seen a few times before, in the others Skies he's met and Lazzero.
A civilian like Nayo has no reason to carefully think out and measure himself and others in every breath and heartbeat after all, regardless of whether or not he's had Guardians. There's that, and the casual way he talks about things like other worlds, and takes his kidnapping in stride, and sets the hair at the back of Tsuna's neck on end, and his Sway, which is an oddly quiet thing that Tsuna doesn't notice up until Nayo is leaned up against him, and then it feels although he's being flooded with light and warmth.
Nayo is unsettling in countless ways that would normally send Tsuna running for the hills. He can't quite explain, even to himself, why he's enjoying being relied upon a bit more than he probably should. He's the son of Vongola's CEDEF. He's been trained against this kind of thing, And yet-
"Zunetto," Nayo says quietly, flicking a glance up at him. "We're almost there."
Tsuna blinks around for a moment to find that he's faithfully lead them both down toward the central hub of the facility. Why Nayo and himself had been held upstairs - or no: why being upstairs had been necessary to rip Tsuna out of his world of origin… from what he'd been able to tell from the building maps, most of the serious work occurs downstairs. It seems like whoever these people are, who aren't Mafia: they'd expected to be able to show off their findings. The whole building has been made way too accessible to unfamiliar people. Figuring out that there was some kind of power generator down toward the center of the facility, in order to keep it off power grids and call attention from authorities had been easy, as well as figuring out that with all the cables that had been attached to Nayo's pod that a reasonable person would place them near to that powersource.
Between Tsuna's own gut and however Nayo himself was able to tell, they'd managed to avoid the few cameras and guards and people in lab coats that were still roaming the facility. Tsuna had said that he was sure that him being brought to this world was definitely something they showed off to someone. Nayo had agreed.
It's not just the bloodied Underworld of the Mafia that's filled with despicable beings.
"You're right," Tsuna says, and then takes a deep breath. "Alright, so… then how should we do this? I'm strong, but I can't carry everyone out of here with just my arms, you know?"
"If I lean on a cot, I should be able to move under my own power," Nayo says, a vague expression crossing his face, like he's looking into the distance. He bites his lip. There's a faint scar on the bottom on, just to the left, that one particular tooth digs into perfectly.
The plan of wheeling one or more people out of here leaves something to be desired. But, it's what they have. "Well, let's see what we're dealing with," Tsuna sighs, moving forward again.
These people must be doubly secure in their containment methods, which begs the question of how Tsuna managed to beat it so easily. He's still not sure what they wanted with him, ripping him out of his home world - just because they could? There are no locks on the door, though, so the vetting process to begin work here… it must be something amazing. It's like it never even crosses their minds that someone might find experimenting on human beings distasteful.
That kind of thing is more or less a given in the Mafia world, of course, but Tsuna… Tsuna had always thought better of the world outside that darkness. They won't all be like this, he tries to reassure himself - tries to look to Nayo and think of the world outside the Mafia as being more like that. You can't judge the people of Italia as the rest of the world, when they all grew up under the lash of so many Families. A kid from Namimori-
It's more or less exactly what Tsuna assumed. They're close to the power source - he can feel it humming in the back of his teeth - and so if they are to be more pods like the one that Nayo was in, they'd connect here. And there are. There are… far too many of them. Dark, most of them. Nayo's hand clenches in the front of Tsuna's scrubs, scarred knuckles pressing briefly against his ribs.
"I thought so," Nayo says faintly, not surprised but still deeply disappointed. "The things that kid said… he was desperate to escape. Enough to make a plan like this, and beg me to live."
Tsuna glances down, and Nayo looks up, and civilian or not: this is a Sky at Tsuna's side. "Zunetto," he says, soft but with such a tone of expectation that Tsuna's spine straightens, "these people… we have to help them. Whatever it was about me that she could use to bring you here… it happened to these people, too."
A cold chill goes through Tsuna. He'd wondered, but - even if Nayo doesn't know about Flames, he's sharp, and the idea - the idea that all these people were Skies- if they had thought that Tsuna himself were a Sky, and that's why they hadn't prepared for him to burn through the sedatives so fast, and why they seemed to have been willing to risk Nayo's health to do it… too bad they never realized that a Tsuna being a Sky is the weird thing, not the other way around.
He nods. "Of course we'll save them," he says, although he doesn't feel optimistic about it at all. If he were the type that could allow it, he'd say something about saving them even if it kills them, but - haha… it's ironic to think there are Skies trapped here, depending on a civilian and a worthless kid like him.
"Thanks," Nayo says, takes a deep breath, and then pulls away from Tsuna.
He can't help but to grasp Nayo's waist in both hands, and Nayo's own hand briefly closes over one of his, like he means to throw it off - but after a moment, his legs firm up. "I can do it," he says, glancing over his shoulder with sharp eyes.
Well, he's a Sky. Even a civilian will get an attitude about it.
"My body moved on it's own," Tsuna says, half in apology and feeling disappointed in himself. Putting his hands so familiarly on someone like that! It's one thing when he's helpless and unconscious and no one else is there to save him, but obviously Nayo can do it on his own now.
They split up - Nayo seems attracted to one lit pod in particular, but Tsuna turns to investigate the nearest dark one. That they're even bothering to have those pods plugged in… Tsuna doesn't trust it one bit. Although, speaking honestly… he isn't sure he really wants to find out why that is. But it's not as if Nayo will leave his comrades behind easily, and it's not as though Tsuna can actually hold that against him, so he edges closer. The inside of the pod is dark, but he can definitely make out some kind of vague human shape in there, but - ah. It makes him uneasy. A cold chill goes up his back.
Unlike Nayo's pod, these have tiny readouts that are a part of the pod itself, and - it seems although these aren't meant to open, either. He touches the screen, which brightens, and sees that there's similar information there. He recognizes the name of some small-time family, even less impressive than Dino, who is more Vongola's vassal than some allies, such as the Giglio Nero. He recognizes the name of their Sky.
Pressing his hand against the darkened glass lid, Tsuna doesn't feel anything at all. He hasn't felt the Sway of a single Sky here, not even Nayo who is so politely held to himself the way only a civilian would be interested in. That shape under the dark glass is-
Nayo makes some kind of noise from the other end of the room, and Tsuna's head snaps up to look. He's standing over one of the lit pods. His feet and shoulders look odd and set, chest still, back straight. "Nayo?" Tsuna says, but the other doesn't so much as twitch. The hairs on the back of Tsuna's neck stand on end, but - it doesn't seem dangerous to approach.
Still, he does so cautiously, worried about what it might be inside the pod that Nayo is resting his hands on.
"Nayo," he says again, not wanting to startle him as he comes up, but then - then Tsuna sees what is inside the pod - who. It's not anyone that he recognizes personally, but at the same time: well, it's terribly unmistakable, the look of that bloodline. An awful, cold feeling sweeps through him as he looks down into the glass pod to see the tiny, ten year old figure of what is obviously a Giglio Nero heir. She's so small and fragile, and she's ten years old. A child. What have they done to her?
"Ahh," Nayo breathes, a tense noise that trembles, anxiety and something deep and fathomless, like staring into what should be empty shadows to find unexpectedly: something that is staring back. Tsuna stills, and looks up with wide eyes, and worse than simple lensing, which is something anyone with Flames can do: the hot amber burn of an advanced Flame technique like the Hyper Dying Will Mode lights his face with eerie shadows. His head cocks and he looks to the side where Tsuna stands, eyes no longer brown but the shattering clarity of a Sky pushed beyond their limits. "I knew it," he says, the placid tone at complete odds to the kindling, towering Flame that is burning inside him. "They're all scum, too contemptible to even be worthy of stepping on."
"Nayo," Tsuna says in alarm, because regardless: it's obvious that his Flames are untamed and untrained, and something like this will kill someone who doesn't know what they're doing, and he doesn't want that. He doesn't want that, but he's not fast enough, he can't break through in time, because then-
It's awful. The contempt of this light-and-warmth-and-thick-hot-chocolate Sky? It's frigid. It's unrelenting, a sucking bitter void that stretches as it crushes: an emptiness with no warmth nor compassion nor kindness. It feels endless, fit to lock the entire world in a whole new ice age, and it pierces Tsuna's chest and his heart and suddenly he thinks: if someone like this thinks this world is not worth saving, then-
It's bad, isn't it?
-0-
NOTES:
* RIP Tsuna.
* It might not be clear, but the people experimenting on Tsunayoshi forcibly shattered his Seal without known what or why Tsunayoshi was having a response like that. So, when Tsunayoshi has the usual reaction, it ends up going a lot further than he means for it to go.
* Basil isn't Iemitsu's bastard in either reality. I'm sure there's at least a few realities where it's so, but in Chroma!verse and Tsuna's verse, Basil's kind of like Imeitsu's cousin? They're related on Iemitsu's Mom's side, anyway. Remember that Tsunayoshi's paternal grandmother came from Italy and couldn't even speak Japanese! Similarly, only in Chroma!verse and adjacent Verses is Kyoko Iemitsu's bastard. She's also usually not a Sky, but in Canon, she is a latent new Sky bloodline!
* This POV's Tsuna starts out using 'boku' the way Tsunayoshi did, as that's what he would have used back when he was speaking it as a child, but corrects himself to 'ore' - Tsunayoshi mostly only uses 'boku' with his Guardians, and 'watashi' with everyone else (even Nakamoto only rarely gets 'boku' such as when Tsunayoshi discussed his household with him). The more pissed off Tsunayoshi is, the more formal and polite his speech is regardless of what he's actually saying. He'll even use 'watakushi' as he did when telling the Hibari clan to go fuck themselves when he was a itsy bitsy Sky of 13-14.
This is mostly in response to his heightened awareness of his precarious position. Regardless, he comes off as a very stilted, awkward person due to these speech quirks.
* Tsuna sees this guy with scars all over his hands and lip and is like: wow, a completely helpless civilian. Tsuna you're fucking wild. Listen, even a Tsuna who has gotten to be older and was taught to be more aware of things and people… is still a fucking idiot sometimes. Tsunayoshi is the same way.
* Not that it matters, but it really took some time to figure out how to successfully shanghai someone from another world. Byakuran himself in Canon couldn't figure out how to do it without collapsing reality and destroying the person he brought. That's those dark pods.
* although more or less, this is where Chroma Diamonds was headed since the rough draft I more or less discarded completely (it involved Gokudera, it was that long ago!) I realize this comes as a shock to a lot of you… please bare with it. We're definitely heading into exposition territory where I'll be connecting a lot of dots.
Next chapter will return to Tsunayoshi's POV and we'll meet Reborn and another Acrobaleno! I thought introducing the AU Tsuna in this manner would have been the most fun?
If you're enjoying Chroma Diamonds, please consider cheering me on!
