Heya there, guess inspiration struck this time. I thought this work would be more tough to write for, but well, what'd ya know?
Lemme know what you think of the chapter, were you able to guess where it would end up in? (The biggest hint would be in the title ;) )
Chapter 2
Water Water everywhere, but not a drop to drink
Sawada woke up this time with bleary eyes, as green surrounding him in all 360 degrees of angles. He was standing right next to the sound of muffled sobs. There was a child clutching on bread holding right onto his pants. The duo wore ratty clothes and the bread itself looked neater than they presented themselves. It would be safe to assume that they stole it from somewhere.
"Tsuna-nii... the trees look scary. I can't see anything through them.
We've just stolen this loaf from the pigeons. We can't go back to be chased by that selfish old hag who thought feeding those vermin was a better idea than letting us have some grub...
Hey, Tsuna-nii... Is there a hidden hierarchy of pests or something? Did the pigeons win the annual pest battle royal and that's why they get to keep the bread?"
The fluffy black haired kid sobbed out hysterically as he choked the loaf. Tsuna absentmindedly wondered which one would need CPR in a bit.
Seeing the brunette staring back at him in a daze, the afro-haired kid seemed to muster something in him to be the one wearing the big boy pants in this situation.
"Don't you worry one bit, Tsuna-nii! Lambo-san will ensure you that things will go fine!
After all, Lambo-san is a genius!"
The child seemed a bit reluctant to do what he planned on doing, but with shaky hands, he pinched the loaf and dropped a piece where they stood. He then started dragging the brunette deeper into the woods, glancing back at the streets, frightened.
The child left a trail of bread with every step they made further into the looming woods.
'Are we being chased by something?'
The treetops shrouded and hid away the sun, while their surroundings looked the same with every turn they made.
'It's like a maze here. At least, we've got the breadcrumbs to keep track of the surroundings but... I wonder for how much longer we can use this method?'
Tsuna looked at the rapidly decaying bread and the now longing look of the child, who stared at their sole guide with hunger.
Even if they realized that they've been walking in circles, they'd have to retrace their steps to reuse the crumbs.
Even if there were animals in the woods...
1. They didn't have any weapons
2. They were lacking the strength, being kids and being hungry and thirsty.
3. They were hurt and aching all over, with all the cuts and bruises that littered around them.
4. They didn't know which were eatable, and which would end up killing them instead.
'Honestly... what's going on with this Tsuna... I don't know which way is back anymore.' he said, looking at the ground that was covered in crumbs after a 4 hour walk.
'Oh man... We've been walking in circles, haven't we? It was such a bad idea to wander into the forest without any plans...' Tsuna moved his thin hands over that of the kid, trying to calm the panicking kid.
"Let's go over to the places without any of the crumbs. And..." He took the hand the child was using to pick the crumbs out. "Leave that. Recover your strength for now. We can handle whatever comes for us." he said, awkwardly looking away from Lambo.
'There's not much left now... but, I can probably handle it for a while longer.' he surveyed the surrounding, desperately trying to avoid looking back at the sniveling child who was feeling extremely uneasy with the current state of things.
There was a quiet munching sound from under him, but things were getting dark and it would probably only get more dangerous in the woods from now on. So Tsuna carefully picked the kid up on for a piggy back ride and grimaced at the slight pain in his back from the weight.
'Let's just ignore that. We have to hurry and find shelter. I'll risk it a bit in the morning with the plants here.
I can probably handle more than the little guy right now.'
The duo's lucky break appeared in the form of a brightly colored house right in the smack middle of the woods. It was made out of candy, gumdrops, gingerbread, cookies, chocolate and other kinds of delicious little treats.
Tsuna rubbed his bleary eyes, wondering if he was getting delusional, while Lambo was getting jittery with excitement. The little guy started babbling with joy on such a wondrous sight and the giggles with that made enough noise to lure the house's lord out to check things out.
An emancipated old lady with a crutch spotted them, and just as she did, her face bloomed into that of bright joy. She definitely welcomed visitors with open arms.
"You looked famished, deary! Come on in for a bite. There's plenty of snacks to fill your little bellies with!
Oh, it's been ages since my last visitors!"- yes, there was plenty to go with. They were surrounded by their means of survival.
'But, why...? Is it because munching away on them would leave her open to attacks from wild animals?
But, then... why make a house from candy?' he looked at the women's crazed eyes, and judged that their host may not be the most stable one.
"Tsuna-nii! Stop daydreaming there! I'm hungry~!" the boy whined at him with sparkling eyes. They looked so full of relief, that Tsuna didn't have the heart to warn the child.
'We could resume our walk after a day. Just long enough to not see the consequences of what it means to stay with this lady.'
They were lead to a warm furnace that had a huge cauldron on top of it. Lambo made a break for it to get warmed up immediately. The night would be long and cold.
The old lady moved towards the brunette and asked him a request, remorse lacing her tone. "Dearie, I'm sorry to ask of you of this, but could you pick all the vegetation that surrounds this house- and also grind them to paste with the rock over the kitchen counter? My old bones wouldn't let me do that, and I plan on making some hot stew for you to last the night. I want you children to have a hearty meal."
Tsuna acquiesced and he tried to get things done quickly. His own hunger just wanted something, anything inside of him right then.
'Why does she look so hungry? Why did she want us to eat our fills so strongly?
Is it because she can't make her own meals because of her body? Was she trying to leave something behind if things go south for her?
Or was it purely out of the goodness of her heart?'
After the last world, Tsuna couldn't help but second guess and re-guess a person's motives.
The granny urged the two of them to eat more and more as if she was trying to make them into stuffed trophies- a proof of a successful hunt. Tsuna shook his head, willing away those dark thoughts.
'I should learn to trust people, like Lambo.' the child was gulping down the contents of the plate. If he could, he would probably eat the plate itself. Meanwhile, the grandma's own plate was empty.
She then walked towards the kitchen counter to fetch water for them to rinse their meal down. There was a small wooden jug lying ominously on the counter.
'If that jug was silver, it might have turned black from poison.' and yet again, his thoughts reached that direction. Tsuna frowned at himself for his supposed character.
"Granny... you should help yourself to a drink first. You must be thirsty from hosting us for the evening. Besides, you've not even had a morsel until now.
Please, I insist."
For a second, he saw the happy visage on the old lady crumble, but then it was back like it was naught but an illusion.
"You silly child, it's my duty as an elder to take care of children."
Tsuna went over to the counter and used some of his remaining strength to grab the jug from her, saying "No, you don't have to worry about a thing granny! We're young and bursting with energy. In fact, we're supposed to be helping you out."
Lambo looked at their tug of war with slight confusion. Tsuna himself didn't know why he was being this stubborn.
The lady's twig-like fingers coiled themselves around his own bony wrist. Tsuna's eyes showed wines around a corpse's bones. With a knee jerk reaction, he took back his hand to himself. His little jump made him loosen his grip on the jug, only for it to clamor all over the floor.
She looked at his fright with shock, while Lambo spectated at his uncalled for reaction with dumbfounded silence.
There was no use crying over spilled milk, or in this case, spilled 'water'.
Then, the old woman's demeanor got taken over by the flames of rage, but her body could not stand the burden of her would-be outburst. Her heart could not take it.
Her pointed fingers froze for a moment, as her eyes bulged from anger to that of shock. Her posture changed from that of accusation to that of suffering.
At last, with a slow amble, she walked towards the retreating brunette like moth to flame. When Tsuna ducked out her line of charge, she tumbled into the wide furnace to be kindle for the darkness of this night.
It was like the house with its bright and colorful decorations deemed her unsuitable as an owner. It was far too sweet, far to dreamlike and hopeful for an existence like hers.
But it would soon reject them with the same reason.
When Lambo snapped out of his reverie with dawning horror, he couldn't hold his stomach's contents.
He raised his trembling arms towards the instigator, seeking comfort from the one stranger he knew and trusted- the only other living soul. Tsuna very much obliged.
They huddled up in the cottage for the day, unable to move from the transpired events. It was a sleepless night.
The next morning, Tsuna was the one feeling nauseous. It was a case of food poisoning. The old lady had lied to them.
'What was she planning to do to us when we became sick?' the paling brunette thought.
It was safe to assume that the surrounding plantation was nothing but traps for her naive visitors.
Lambo tried to forage for food on his behalf but then saw that the trails of breadcrumbs vanished- possibly sustaining other life forms.
The child couldn't venture further with the dizzying sensation of never getting back to safety in the maze-like forest. Tsuna didn't blame him. The last night's circling haunted him in his own way too.
The stress got to the kid, as he headed straight for the treat, their safety be damned- only to learn why the witch look starved when she practically ruled the desert kingdom.
The trophy house, despite how delicious it looked, was never hampered by flies and other insects. No other animal or visitor apparently decided to sink their teeth, despite how appealing it presented itself.
Tsuna belatedly realized that it was his voice shrieking like the hum of a mosquito as he saw the child lose his life over the sweet goodies.
There was no deal as sweet as this, and the devil would be hard pressed to drive a greater bargain.
He stayed in that hell hole for three days before his hungry stomach was trying to take his mind over to do its bidding.
There was food in front of him, even though nature took dibs. But then, he faintly remembered his biology teacher's class.
In the food pyramid, the spread and level of poison increased with high up you were in that pyramid.
If he was going to die of poison in either case...
He snapped a piece of chocolate from the unassuming house. After all, this chocolate was just to die for.