Feel the Fear

"Considering how dangerous everything is, I don't need to fear anything special." ~Gertrude Stein

A strong wind blew through his brown hair and ruffled it. Again and again, the hair fell in Tsuna's eyes, and his hand pushed it annoyed aside. His black coat was blown up by the sometimes very cold wind. Only his thick clothes, including a bulletproof vest, protected him from the worst of the freezing cold; nevertheless, goose bumps formed on his arms. Helicopters circled above him from time to time, which were not only incredibly loud and annoying, but would also exacerbated the wind.

Tsuna put one foot on the low elevation at the edge of the roof, which should probably act as a sort of mini fence, and looked at the street below him - far below him. This action was, certainly for the faint of heart or someone with a fear of heights, anything but harmless .

From his position Tsuna could just as well look at several roofs of the surrounding buildings, but it was too dark to see anything with the naked eye. Only vague outlines provided information on what was to be found there. Not that he was able to overcome the distance between them from here. Not if he wanted to get off to a fairly rapid departure in depth.

The brightly lit streets made a very clear contrast with the darkness up here. Without his glasses Tsuna would have been blinded as he stared down. Just about every color known beamed up at him.

Thousands of people crowded the streets, but Tsuna barely noticed them. In his view, message after message surfaced with the data of the persons to whom he looked straight down. It zoomed over again to get closer.

Tsuna looked at his watch and sighed in frustration. Tsuna put his hand impatiently on his nose. It was a little red and felt cold. Well, or as much as he could feel. Tsuna had been sitting up here for a while - around for two hours - and had lost the feeling in just about any body part. Just funny that he very well could feel the pain that was created by the cold.

The person he was waiting for was supposed to come by here long ago .

He took off his glasses and put them beside him on the floor. Tsuna slowly stood up and stretched his arms once in the air. Then he stretched his legs and then he moved only the toes and fingers. Tsuna noticed that he was getting warmer, though not as much as he preferred. Then he closed his hands around his mouth and breathed on them. A soothing heat flashed across his fingers. If he was honest with himself, Tsuna would love to just ditch the mission, even if it was just to escape this iceberg. What he would not do for a warm cup of cocoa with cream.

After his warm-up exercises, Tsuna sat back down and took his glasses in his hand, but instead to put it back on, he looked at it thoughtfully.

The glasses had been a gift from a good friend and a really useful little invention. They hacked automatically into any available database, allowing Tsuna to know pretty much everything about a certain person by just looking at them. In addition, it also represented a night vision device - and also Tsuna felt kinda cool with them.

Every time he moved, Tsuna felt something hard against his chest. It had gotten a very familiar weight through the last year and gave Tsuna a sense of security in so many hopeless situations. He opened his jacket and pulled out a gun before he closed the gap in his wall against the cold quickly.

Tsuna looked nostalgically at the weapon. It was Reborn's gun. The one he had lost in his last fight. The one he had so often fired at Tsuna - both for training purposes and for fun.

After the last meeting with his friends just before he went on his way, Tsuna walked back to the destroyed underground base. His friends had done a real piece of work there. Everything had been dyed black by the fire and everything that was flammable had burned.

But in all the rubble Tsuna had found Reborn's weapon after hours and hours of searching. Although slightly singed, but nothing you could not cover up with a little color. It was risky to stay that long in a place when he didn't know when his disappearance would be noticed, but it was ultimately worth it. He always had something of his brother and family with him now.

After some work, it looked like new again, only one difference was seen compared to the past: four notches. Each case a score for a secret visit to Reborn's bedside distributed throughout the year. He could not risk to visit too many times and so to arouse suspicion, but he tried to be there at least once every three months. He owed Reborn that much at least.

"Pull yourself together, Sawada," Tsuna swore, his breath ascending in small clouds into the night sky. He squatted back to his former position and put the glasses on again. In an instant, many small ads veiled Tsuna's view again. "Now is not the time to blow tribulation."

Nevertheless, his thoughts kept wandering back to Reborn. Reborn, who was in a coma because of him. And Namimori, the place where he had waited for years for Reborn and Adriana's return ... and his friends. Now everything were just memories. Should he go visit sometime? Let them know how he was doing? But all this was too dangerous and let him be busted even faster, and he really had enough problems and pursuers. Maybe ...

The many small tables disappeared and the background turned into a cautionary tale red. A display of a middle-aged man pushed his way to the front.

Well, finally, Tsuna thought with relief and stood up. Has lasted long enough. His heart beat faster with anticipation for some answers - but maybe he was just excited about the idea of leaving this freezer at last.

Once again, Tsuna made sure, that his gun was really where it should be. It would be embarrassing to threaten someone, only to find that he had left his only weapon lying on a roof.

Okay, step one: find the target, check. Step two: get down. Tsuna walked to the edge of the roof. It was a long way down and the wind whistled in his ears. Granted, Tsuna did not feel entirely comfortable with the action. Here we go. He pushed off and fell.

Tsuna had always wanted to fly, something, which he had always envied the birds for, but at this moment, he would rather not be in his shoes – hopefully he would not arrive with a green jacket at the bottom.

The floors rushed past him, and he gained speed. The ground came closer rapidly. If he don't find a way to slow down his fall, he will very soon end up as a blob on the floor.

Come on. Come on ... There!

His fall ended abruptly as his feet bounced on a solid object. Due to the impact, Tsuna lost his balance and stumbled, but he used his hands to stabilize himself just in time. Tsuna grinned. He had stretched a wire between the two buildings before the beginning of his mission.

The rope got pulled further and further down. Tsuna suddenly had a bad feeling. Then he heard it. Tsuna looked forward and swallowed. Shit, it seems it can't endure my weight.

The rope snapped.

Tsuna clung with all his strength at the piece of rope and watched as he swang to the ground like Tarzan. He knew, he would not survive an impact with the wall. Tsuna really hoped to have some luck and let go.

And Lady Luck was kind to him - he ended up in the garbage can.

His heart still beat him up to his neck, but he could not afford to rest now. Tsuna crawled out of the container, trying not to breath to much. The result would not be very nice - but way better than ending up as a pancake on the wall. He looked up. Had fallen a good deal. Tsuna sighed in relief. Was quite simple.

His target was moving further into the northern part of the city. A rather unpleasant area. Here reigned drug dealers, arms dealers, murderers - in short, the Mafia, and thus exactly the kind of people who Tsuna absolutely not wanted to meet, much less interact with.

So he preferred to stay in the shadows and on the roofs. Silently, as an assassin should do and how he learned it. Yes, at that time as ...

Memories began to flow before him. Tsuna blinked and stepped up the pace . He saw images from a time when the world was still in order. He felt happiness and joy as well as sorrow, grief ... and betrayal.

Tsuna was so preoccupied with himself that he only realized that he slipped as it was too late and he slide down from the roof. Seconds later he was in free fall.

"HIIEE!"

Granted, this house was not nearly as high as the last, but he would still break some bones from that height, if didn't slow down his fall.

Tsuna saw something on the other side. With all his strength he pushed himself off the wall and flew towards the house on the other side of the small street. He managed to grip the gutter, but his hand was wet from all the excitement and he threatened to slip off.

At the last second, he was able to grip it with both hands and now hang as a wonderful target on the rain gutter.

And even worse, as Tsuna realized, he had lost sight of his target. Wonderful.
Slowly, he got himself down the gutter, visibly depressed. By his own stupidity, he had lost his target. Reborn would kill him if he could.

Tsuna sighed. Not only snapped his rope, but he even almost fell off a roof. Today is really not my day.

He tried as quietly as possible to get past the windows on the way down. Most residents were asleep, only in one window was light on. There, he had to be extra careful.

He was in the height of the window, as he drew hope. His vision was red. Tsuna looked incredulously through the window. A man was sitting in an armchair and phoned. But not just any man. No, his target.

Tsuna fervently thanked God for this second chance and would have prayed, but then he would really fall.

And the window was not locked. Idiot. Tsuna chuckled inwardly. He opened the window so far that he could fit in and let himself fall silently into the room. In a crouched posture, he made his way to the chair.

"... heard of it. But we're not invited, again. Typically, but all the bigwigs will be there ... Yes ... Let's see, I hear from you."

Interesting conversation . Let's see what I can find out. Tsuna walked slowly, with his hand moving towards Reborn's gun.

A fist hit him square in the face and his glasses flew off his face to the ground. "Don't think I didn't notice you, assassin." The man stood over him and swung his leg back. But Tsuna, although not very good at sneaking, was a good fighter.

With both hands he caught the leg and moved so that he wasn't the only one on the ground. But his target still tried to hit Tsuna with the other leg before he hit the ground.

Tsuna had to roll away to avoid being hit, and pulled the gun out. Before he could properly aim at him, his gun was torn from his hand and flew to the other end of the room. At the same time, a fist came up to him. Tsuna could just duck to avoid being hit. Once is more than enough, thank you very much. Somewhere in his mind, he registered a noise under his shoes .

With an outstretched leg, he turned around himself, and brought his attacker to his height once again. Then he did something he hasn't done for months. He took a knife out ... Adriana's knife and stabbed him. The man screamed in pain as the knife pierced into his shoulder. A pool of blood began to form under him and spread over the floor. "What do you want?," he spat hatefully.

Tsuna let go of the knife and tried to catch his breath. Then he squatted by his target without stepping on the blood. "I want answers. When and where will this meeting take place?"

"What are you talking about?," he whispered before he screamed again. Tsuna pushed the knife deeper into his shoulder.

"Don't dare challenge me." Then he ripped a sleeve of the shirt of the man. Branded on his skin, Tsuna saw a sword, surrounded by a green flame. A lower member. "Ne, Flamma?" He was still exerting more pressure on the knife.

"I- I .. don't know where or when ... ," he brought out, breathing heavily. "Only .. once a year ... is a meeting .. between the higher members ... Please ... You have to believe me!"

Tsuna, though not really satisfied with the answer, believed him. This man was not important for the organization. Dispensable. Tsuna stood up. "I believe you," he replied, before Tsuna kicked him in the head. The man was immediately unconscious.

Then Tsuna saw the broken glasses. "Shit," he swore, "he will kill me."

The door to Tsuna's small apartment opened with a pesky squeak and also closed the same way. Tsuna carelessly threw his coat on a chair and his equipment on the puny table right next to it. Only that the table not collapsed on impact under protest, was a miracle. And the rest of the apartment was no better off.

Tsuna went straight into the bathroom and splashed water on his face. The cold wet felt so good against his skin.

Then he saw his reflection and it scared him a little. Blood underflow eyes that looked as if they had made no break in recent months. A deathly pale complexion supported this allusion. No wonder that the guy who sold me the rope, almost peed his pants.

Again, Tsuna thoroughly scrubbed his face before he plopped down on a sofa. He quickly realized how tired he really was as his eyes were getting heavier.

He was already half asleep when his cell phone woke him up. Tsuna made no movement to get up, hoping instead that the caller would just give up. But even after one and a half minutes, the mobile phone was still ringing. Tsuna stood up reluctantly, and reached for the phone.

He just came back from an exhausting mission, fall from two buildings - even if the second time was not in the plan -, why could he not just be left alone? Tsuna wanted to tell the caller a piece of his mind until he saw the caller ID.

"Such a crap!," Tsuna muttered, suddenly wide awake. It probably doesn't help to delay the inevitable any longer than necessary. Just get it over with, Tsuna.

"Yes?"

"You took quite long a long time, Tsuna. Had started to worry."

"Yeah, sorry, Spanner. Was sleeping, but thank you, that you've worried about me." He had met Spanner in England when he was chasing an informant. Spanner had saved his life there.

"Why should I care about you? I'm talking about the mission. How did it go?" Tsuna sat back on the sofa. Typical Spanner.

"Well, but he didn't know very much. Was a small fish. But I know that soon a meeting will be held between higher members."

"Do you think you'll meet her there?"

Tsuna froze and his grip on the phone hardened. "I hope so." He did not like talking about it ... but maybe he could end the call so without speaking about the glasses.

"By the way, the main reason I'm calling is because I have lost contact with one of your gadgets. Specifically, the glasses." Spanner's voice was sweet as sugar. "You do not, by any Chance, know the cause of it? I mean, you're wearing it all the time."

Tsuna giggled nervously and was very glad that Spanner was on the other side of the world.

"Um, well ... hehehe ... that's actually a funny story. And I'm sure that we laugh about it in a few years – or decades -, but the short version is ... I stepped on it." The last was a only whisper.

"YOU DID WHAT!?"

"Was nice talking to you. See you." Tsuna hung up as quickly as he could and took out the SIM card from his phone. "Or not."

The darkness created an absolutely bleak, hopeless and overwhelming atmosphere. It was everywhere, and swallowed you with skin and hair. Crazy giggles came from many different directions to her ear.

She looked at the darkness as her ally, but this was not her ally here, not the same darkness that protected her.

She hated to be called there. Here, she was the stranger in his kingdom. But she went on, continue to go to the circle of light that lay before her.

Each of her steps sounded terribly loud, and seemed to not bring her closer to her goal by a centimeter. But that was all a delusion. The time in this place was different and uncontrollable. At least for us uncontrollably.

She had her gun in her hands and turned around nervously. Who knows what dangers might jump at you at any time here.

Although he told her that she would suffer no danger here, no one knew how far you could believe his words. A man little is known about.

She wasn't stupid, she knew exactly what she was going to involve herself with. Back when ...

No! Now she could not be distracted. This was a dangerous game. Any distraction, any hesitation would be equated with death. She had been working too hard for it to fail now, so close to the finish.

She stepped into the circle of light, but instead to relax, because she was out of the darkness, she tensed up even more. Sometimes the light was more frightening than the dark, because the dark protect us from the cruel truth. Some things are better left lost forever.

A man stood with his back turned to her, watching screens in front of him, which seemed to hang on to nothing. She swallowed. At least his annoying assistant wasn't here.

The man turned his head slightly to her. "Have you found what I was looking for?" He turned back to the screens. "You know, I do not like to be disappointed."

She tried not show fear in front of the man and stood relaxed like everything was fine. One hand rested on her hip, the other still the weapon. She allowed herself a small smile. "Of course. Have you ever doubted me?"

Then she reached into her jacket and took out something wrapped in cloths. She carefully unfolded it, so that in her palm lay now a yellow object.

The man turned to her and approached her. He picked up the object on a string and looked at it fascinated. Even she was staring at it - the yellow pacifier.

"Why do you need it at all?"

Her questions met amused laughter. "All in good time, my dear. Only one thing should be told. It will decide all of our destinies. And about the life as we know it."

Her hands clenched into fists.

"I hope you know what I had to do to get it. So do not break your agreement, Checkerface," she hissed. She knew how dangerous it was to challenge him - even if it was only verbally - but she simply could not resist.

The man with the mask smiled dangerously. "Of course not, Adriana."

Preview: A look to Namimori, Tsuna meets with an irritated Spanner and brings a wine rack to collapse.