Summary: Tsuna wished for a simple life. Not one involving magic, towers, hunters and certainly not a powerful group of demons. Arcobaleno27

Unbeta'ed

The Final Tower

Chapter 3

1

Tsuna's walk back home from his first day at university is meant to be a gleeful one. A soothing walk in which he reflects back and picks his favourite parts, but it did not work that way. Instead, Tsuna is tense – shoulders tight and hands clenched up into fists – from his talk with Giotto. This morning Tsuna had hoped to not bump into him after his mother gave him the surprising news that Giotto would be the course leader for the hunters. Tsuna had asked his mother why she kept this information a secret from him and decided to tell him on the day of his induction. Tsuna's mother looked at him with a smile, a tired smile filled with all her years of endurance, and said that his father had told her not to say anything. That they thought it would be a nice reunion between family. After all, they had not 'spoken to each other since the last family meeting' – his mother's own words.

Saying that Tsuna and Giotto speak to each other is a bit of a stretch. They acknowledge each other but never speak unless the situation forces it. The annual Vongola family meeting becomes unbearable when Tsuna has no choice but to interact with the other members. Usually, Tsuna would sit at his assigned place at the long dining table. He would eat his food as family members would chat about the past year and any news which comes to mind. Tsuna is grateful that the meeting only happens once a year. It is the only time he has to deal with bullshit family measures and traditions. Coming from a long line of hunters means numerous amounts of traditions in which family members follow. One of them is excluding civilians from talks about hunting and the treasures they find. As Tsuna and his mother are not hunters, they are considered civilians and have to leave the dining room after they finish eating so the hunters can begin their 'important' discussions. Tsuna has to always physically stop himself from rolling his eyes when it's time to leave the dining room but he's glad he is not involved.

The civilian family members are mostly made up of hunters' wives and young children. So when they leave the room along with Tsuna, they begin their own chatter and badger Tsuna on when he's going to become a hunter and join his father at the table. These distant aunts would then turn to his mother and say things such as 'I thought your son would become a great hunter like his father' or 'what a shame. My son is twelve and is already aspiring to become a hunter'. The backhanded comments towards his mother make Tsuna want to snap at the women but he would just be making the situation worse. Then his mother would reply with an, 'I know. I thought my son would become a hunter, too. He's always been a bit useless'. It's in that moment the anger Tsuna felt towards the women would redirect itself towards his own mother and the fact that she will never support his life choices. She had also been disappointed when Tsuna had told her he wished to study photography. So much so that she tried to persuade him to change his mind but Tsuna stood his ground.

Ever since then, he has had a rocky relationship with his mother and chooses to ignore her every time she brings up something hunter related. At times, Tsuna wonders how his mother sees him compared to his father. Tsuna knows his mother wanted to mould him to become a copy of his father to the point she would say she was ashamed that Tsuna looked more like her than his father. That he did not have his light blonde hair and muscular build. Hearing those words practically every day did fuck with his self-esteem growing up. There would be times Tsuna refused to look in a mirror because the only thing he would see is a petite boy with spiky brown hair and caramel eyes. Not the man his parents wanted him to be.

Shaking his head from these thoughts, Tsuna continues to stroll down the street and turns a corner when he reaches the end. He notes from his position that the sun is beginning to set behind the myriad of buildings, making the sky's shade turn into an unusual purple hue. Normally the sky is filled with shades of pinks and oranges but never purple. He wonders what makes today different. Tsuna decides to open up his backpack and take out his trusted camera in response. Pointing his camera to the sky, Tsuna begins to take pictures with several clicks. He takes a picture of the sun directly behind a tall building making it glow as if a halo surrounds it. Tsuna takes at least fifteen pictures at different angles before he is happy with one single shot. He then places the camera away, but his mood does not lighten.

Normally Tsuna will feel better after taking pictures as he is doing the thing he loves the most. Instead, a strange feeling begins to settle at the bottom of Tsuna's gut and twists in his organs. It tells him to go home. To leave quickly and not turn back. Tsuna does not understand where the strange feeling is coming from, but it grows stronger as he spots an alleyway to the right of him. Tsuna slowly approaches it. He gazes down the alley and sees nothing out of the ordinary. So he begins his descent into it as the sensation in his stomach begins to spread into his lungs, making each breath Tsuna releases heavy and unbearably cold. Every nerve in Tsuna's body is telling him to turn around and run, but the feeling is also addicting and beckons him forward, deeper into the alley. So onwards Tsuna goes.

He must have been walking for about five minutes before something in his body tells him to stop at a specific corner. Tsuna freezes before pressing his back against the wall. He then leans his head forward and around the bend. There he sees something Tsuna knows he should not have, and his instincts are now screaming at him to leave. Tsuna ignores it and focuses on the sight before him. There is a person dressed in an all grey cloak with a hood covering their head. They seem to be frozen at a specific spot they are standing on, making Tsuna wonder if he is staring at a mannequin which was thrown away. They stay still for God knows how long but Tsuna does not move from his spot. He knows something is going to happen. He can feel it.

Then the person shifts.

They lift an arm and Tsuna can clearly see a gloved hand holding something which gives off a faint glow. He squints his eyes as to get them to focus in the same way he would twist a camera's lens. The faint glow of the object becomes brighter until Tsuna can make out what it was under the darkening sky. It is a key. A tower key. But never had Tsuna come across a tower key which gives off a light blue glow. Tower keys are usually as grey as the person's cloak and look like cruciform keys, but the head has a magical sigil carved upon it. This specific key, the one with the blue glow, looks different but Tsuna is too far to make out the difference. At this point, Tsuna knows he should leave. Maybe he is interrupting a hunter doing their job. But something tells him that's wrong. That this is not an ordinary hunting job. It's something more.

Pain suddenly explodes at the side of Tsuna's head and he crumples to the ground. If the person in the grey cloak takes notice of Tsuna's appearance he cannot tell because all Tsuna can focus on is the agony that consumes his mind. He can feel liquid seeping into his half-closed eyes even though he knows it's not raining as the rest of his body does not feel drenched. Someone grabs Tsuna's legs and begins to drag him across the floor. Tsuna moans in protest and tries to open his eyes but all he can see are bright blurry lights that forces him to try and turn away. There is murmuring in the background. Two voices that he cannot make out. They seem to be furiously hissing words at each other.

Tsuna begins to drift off into darkness but the final words he hears is clear.

"…into the door."

2

The pain has dulled down when Tsuna wakes up, but it takes a while before he could fully open his eyes without creating sharp aches in his head. Despite his eyes taking their time to work again, Tsuna's other senses go into overdrive. For some strange reason, he can hear the loud sounds of water rushing like a tap that had been left open on full blast. But what makes the noise different is that it seems to be coming from all around him and echoes off the walls. Is he at an indoor pool of some sort? He remembers the voices. The harsh whispers which were blown away into the wind. Are those people planning to drown him? Although, he cannot hear the chatter or footsteps of anyone around him. Does that mean he is alone?

With care, Tsuna finally opens his eyes. The first thing he sees is a rocky ceiling with jagged edges protruding downwards. Tsuna blinks believing there something wrong with his sight, but the ceiling remains the same. There is no sky. No purple hue. Just a rocky ceiling. Where am I? Tsuna thinks. He sluggishly turns the non-injured side of his head so his right cheek touches the floor.

There he sees a view like none other.

There is a pool. No, he realises in a split second, not a pool. It's a large pond with a waterfall attached to it. The water cascades down from the ceiling even though there is no clear opening for water to be released and crashes into the pond. That is not the only thing. This water is different. It glows in the same way the key did and illuminates the room with its blue colour. Tsuna pauses and recalls the last words he had heard. Into the door, a low voice had said but Tsuna could not figure out if it belonged to a man or woman. It's then he realises what has happened to him. Those people had opened the tower door and thrown him in. Maybe in hopes that whatever is inside would kill him. Fear should have gripped Tsuna at that moment, but he feels unnervingly calm.

Tsuna rolls over onto his stomach and slowly pushes himself up onto his feet. He uses the wall he is next to for support. When he stands, Tsuna decides to wobble over to the pond. It takes him many careful steps before he reaches the edge and he tumbles down to his knees. He can feel the wet floor soaking deep into his trousers, but he does not care. He takes a look at his reflection in the clear mirror-like water and sees blood. So much that it caked over half his face and into the corners of his eyes. Tsuna makes sure not to touch the wound on his head as he does not want it to get infected. Placing his hands together in a bowl-like shape, he dunks it under water and raises his hands before splashing the cool liquid over his face. He begins to rub the blood off. A large amount disappears and he can open his eyes more easily but some red stains his face.

Turning away from the pond, Tsuna glances around once more. This is when he takes notice of the tunnel to the far left of him in what seems to be an underwater cave. Tsuna has never been in a tower before so he cannot safely say if they are all like this. His father had refused to tell him stories when he had asked as a child. Instead, his father had opted to tell him that he must become a hunter to know them. Being his only means of escape, Tsuna settles on the idea of entering the tunnel. Maybe he will find a way home.

3

The tunnel is long and well-lit by strange blue flames that blaze on torches hanging from the walls. Tsuna had tried to put his palm next to one in order to feel some warmth as he is still wet from washing his face in the pond but there is none. Only a sense of tranquillity sweeps over Tsuna as his hand brushes over a flame. Was this the power of the tower? A question that dominates his mind but Tsuna continues to push forward in hopes of finding an exit.

It takes a while but Tsuna reaches an opening. When he steps through, Tsuna doubts if he is really in a different room or the same room as before as they look almost identical. The only visible differences are the tunnel he exits from and another tunnel opposite him. But it's not just that. Tsuna's brain almost shuts down at the shock of what he sees in front. Before him, there is a man out cold on the floor and in the exact same spot he had been when he woke up. The second thing Tsuna notices after the shock wears off is the amount of blood that surrounds the man. The cause of the bleeding seems to be from a leg wound as the man's military-themed trousers are drenched in the red liquid.

Is he dead?

Tsuna has no way of knowing unless he goes over to him and he does with cautious steps. Tsuna feels none of the dangerous sensations in his gut that had consumed him earlier as he treads closer to the injured man. Maybe this person is a hunter who got hurt by the same people? Or by whatever stalks the tower. Tsuna has no way of knowing unless the man is awake. When Tsuna reaches the man, he slowly lowers to his knees and places a hand over the man's chest in order to feel for a heartbeat. He feels the sensation of one drumming in a rhythmic but steady pattern. Tsuna sighs. The man is alive. That's one problem solved. The next is to deal with his wound. Tsuna shifts closer to the man's legs and examines the gash. It did not look too deep, but it will definitely need stitches. Tsuna just needs something to pressure the wound so it bleeds more slowly or else the man will most likely die.

Tsuna takes another look at the man and observes a bandanna wrapped around his head. He reaches up to grab it and wrap it around the wound tightly. As he does this, he hears a groan of pain escaped the man's mouth and his eyelids begin to flicker open.

"It's okay," Tsuna reassures the man. "It's okay. You seem to be hurt."

Before long, the man gazes at Tsuna with a hazy look upon his face. At the same time, Tsuna takes notice of the most unbelievable shade of blue eyes that this man possesses. It almost matches the shade of the flames. The man moans again breaking Tsuna from his thoughts.

"Can you speak?" Tsuna tentatively asks. He isn't going to ask the man if he is okay because clearly he is not. Plus, Tsuna always thought that is a stupid question to ask when someone is obviously in pain.

The man nods slowly. "…yeah."

"That's good," Tsuna tells the man while thinking of what his next steps will be. There is no food, bandages or items that could help him in that moment. There is only water.

"Who are you?" The man says with difficulty as if there is something stuck in his throat.

"Sawada Tsuna is my name," he replies in a soft tone. "I'm here to help."

But Tsuna has no idea what help he can do for the man. He's no doctor. They need to get out of here and quickly.

"I'm really sorry to ask this," Tsuna begins, "but are you able to stand?"

The man looks at Tsuna with a pained incredulous expression and Tsuna flushes in embarrassment.

"I know it's a really stupid question to ask, but we need to get you to a doctor or someone that can help. I don't know where exits are or if there are any monsters here. All I know is I don't think I can leave you behind."

And it's true. Tsuna does not think his conscience can handle leaving someone behind to die. So he continues to ramble on.

"You can try and lean your weight onto me as we walk. I think that's the only option we have. I can't think of anything else right now. I've never been in a tower before, so I don't know how they work. The flames are weird as well. Like there's no heat so I don't think we can use that to stay warm. All I know is that we have to move up the tower and hope for a key of some sort. Is that all right with you?"

The man remains staring at Tsuna but this time with an unreadable expression.

"Okay," the man finally says.

"Okay," Tsuna repeats.

He then proceeds to help the man up. It takes a few tries before the man is able to lean his weight on Tsuna without causing them both to fall back down. Tsuna places his right arm around the man's waist to help support him and the blonde-haired man places his own arm upon Tsuna's shoulders. It's then they are able to move forward while the man hops on his non-injured leg.

"Never asked my name," the man tells Tsuna, and he is right. In the middle of his rambling, Tsuna had forgotten to ask the man's name in return.

"Oh," Tsuna says while they struggle towards the tunnel. "Sorry."

The man chuckles a bit. "No need to apologise. It's Colonnello."

Tsuna smiles at the man. "It's nice to meet you, Colonnello."

Author's note:

Hello!

Can't seem to stay away from the story for too long hahaha. Once again, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. It motivates me to keep writing.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And please share your opinions!