A/N
Welcome back! Happy to see this got some attention. Thank you for everyone who read this! Well, we ended up with a snow day due to a Winter Weather Advisory, so I found quite a bit of free time on my hands (couldn't fall back asleep and I get up around 5:30) and thought, "Why not make another chapter?" So thank the paranoid B.O.E. for this one!
DISCLAIMER: Haven't gotten anything published and am a terrible artist... Definitely do not own it.
2.
The boy had to blink twice to make sure he wasn't dreaming. The interior seemed to be many times larger than the exterior suggested, the ceiling almost unable to be seen at the very top of the structure. There were countless flights of stairs crossing either wall, presenting two very distinct sides with countless doors on every level. The walls themselves seemed to stretch forever before ending and forming an archway at the end, leading to an unknown area. There was also a spiral staircase in the center, leading to just below the ceiling before branching out into two walkways leading to either side of the room. None of the staircases on either side seemed to lead all the way up, making the spiral staircase the only way to reach the uppermost floors.
In between the staircases were eight hallways, not counting the one at the end. The one on the boy's right had an archway colored red with a simple symbol of a storm while the one on his left was colored blue with what appeared to be a symbol for rain. It was the same all down the grand hall with the right side going red, yellow, green and then white and the left side going blue, purple, indigo and black. The archway at the very end was orange. The boy stumbled forward in his awe, nearly falling from the jerky movement. Lowering his gaze, he noticed the floor was covered with various crests. He recognized one as the crest that had been on the rings he had held at his house.
While he had been staring, he hadn't noticed Reborn coming up behind him until the door closed with an echoing boom. The boy jumped with a small hieeee escaping him. As he held his chest and the racing heart within, he felt a shoe plant itself in his back and send him sprawling forward. Picking himself up off the ground and rubbing his scraped elbows, the boy looked at the offending male with reproach. "Hurry up, Tsuna," the man commanded as he set off for the end of the hallway. Hurrying after the man, Tsuna couldn't help but allow a smile to grace his rather soft, feminine features anew as he continued to ogle the building in amazement.
Reborn continued to speak as he walked, the bored tour guide, "Don't go in there, you'll die because you're so weak. Same for that one. And that one. And… You know what? Just stay out of all those hallways unless you want to lose your life. Your room will be one of those on the right side; boys on the right, girls on the left. The other students are currently relaxing since it's their day off, but you'll meet them tomorrow. Rule one: Don't act weak. You will get killed. Rule two: Follow Rule one. That's about it. The hallways at the end are safe. The black one leads to the offices for paperwork and the nurse. That's where we'll sign you in. The white hall leads to the cafeteria. It's a non-aggression zone with punishment for violators. Don't go anywhere you aren't allowed. Especially the basement. Note you don't see any stairs leading down. There's a reason."
Tsuna just gulped as it went on. He wasn't sure how to react to such a foreboding introduction, the faint scent blood lust in the air beginning to nip at his heels now that he was aware of it. They drew to the end of the hallway, turning into the black archway. Despite the coloring of the arch, the hallway was still well lit. It branched off into two, a sign with a red cross pointing to the right and another to the left with a stack of papers on it. Tsuna noted the simplistic symbols with relief, knowing even he couldn't mess them up. Reborn stopped at the crossroad while Tsuna continued walking to the left. Reborn sighed behind him and yanked him back by his collar as something right below where he had been standing blew up. Tsuna let out another hieeeeeee at that, earning himself a shake from Reborn to shut him up.
Dropping Tsuna, Reborn reached out to the sign and pulled at the edge of the symbols. They came off easily, proving to only be stickers and showing the symbols had been switched. Tsuna's jaw just about dropped. What is wrong with this school? "Many things," Reborn said, as if he had heard Tsuna's silent question. Reborn set off to the right, leaving Tsuna to once more pick himself up and follow.
After a few more minutes of silently walking, the hallway opened into a great room full of people working at various desks around the room, what Tsuna assumed to be interns rushing from desk to desk, transferring piles of paperwork taller than Tsuna. The room, despite its chaos, was organized into different sectors, labeled by yet another symbol representing their departments. There was a finance section as well as an administration section with yet another section for personnel management and damages each. This time the symbols for each section were accompanied by a label in the same language Tsuna had found inscribed on the rings. He followed Reborn through the chaos until they came across a desk where a woman was busy writing down something someone was saying from the other end of the phone. Tsuna blinked once, then twice. He realized something he hadn't the moment he walked in and felt stupider for it.
They were all dressed in black and white outfits. Every person in the room. They all had dark skin, pink hair, and black masks. They were all of the same basic appearance. Tsuna grew dizzy as he tried to track just one person across the room only to find himself following a similar, but not quite the same, woman going in the opposite direction. He soon gave up when he realized Reborn was setting him up for his accommodations.
The woman quickly typed something into the computer before looking up at Tsuna. "Name?" she asked.
Tsuna quickly focused and answered, "Sawada Tsunayoshi." The woman nodded and typed the name into the computer. Scrolling down the screen, she clicked a couple of times before grabbing a piece of paper and writing a number on it.
"You'll be staying in this room," she said. "The first number is the floor and the second number is the door."
Giving him the number, she turned back to her work, dismissing him. Tsuna turned to see how to get back only to find that Reborn had already left. When, he had no idea. Taking a deep breath, he braved the crowds to find his way back to the grand hall.
By the time he'd arrived, Tsuna had been pushed and bumped countless times, staying off the floor by sheer force of will. It really was rather busy in those offices. How they never collided was a mystery to Tsuna. Sighing, he realized the first floor stairs were all the way at the beginning, near the door. Tsuna glanced at the numbers the woman had written before cracking a small smile. It wasn't exact, but he was on floor 2, door 7 – his lucky numbers.
Climbing the stairs to the first floor, he paused for a second on the landing looking at the doors to the other rooms that seemed to be so innocent. But if Reborn's introduction was anything to go by, and something in him told him it was true, no one here was truly safe. All dangerous. All no doubt as intimidating as Reborn on some level. Sighing, Tsuna continued to the second level.
Walking to the seventh door, he noticed it was locked, and he didn't have a key. In fact, there wasn't even a space for a key, just a small panel that could fit a hand. Not having anything to lose, Tsuna put his hand on the panel. It lit up and scanned his hand. An automated voice asked him to say a password. Thinking for a moment, Tsuna blushed before saying something that seemed to just pop rather cheesily into his head, words that seemed to fit into his mouth so naturally that he barely knew he was saying them: Protect the Family.
"Welcome back, Sawada Tsunayoshi," the voice welcomed, opening the door with a click. Tsuna walked in, finally putting down his bag. The bedroom many times larger than it had originally seemed like the school. There was one bed that took up much of the center of the left wall with a desk taking up the corner to the back right. There was a window on the far wall, partially covered by gray curtains, which gave a beautiful view of the grounds. It shimmered slightly, as though it was made of liquid suspended in air. Other than that, the room was pretty barren. The furniture and the floor were some kind of dark, polished hardwood with a gray rug covering the floor just around the end of the bed.
Exploring a little more, Tsuna found a bathroom and a large closet. Satisfied and slightly shocked at the sudden upgrade to first class from what now seemed like his third class room at home, Tsuna kicked his sneakers off and sank onto the bed. There didn't seem to be any kind of color scheme overall. There were only shades of gray, creating a very boring room.
Tsuna stood back up, noting that the clock next to his bed reported it was now 7:30 p.m., and went to check his closet for clothes. There seemed to only be two kinds of clothing: day clothes which consisted of gray colored shirts, ties, and handkerchief to stick in the black suit itself – basically what Reborn wore without the fedora and occasional bits of yellow that colored his suit; and night clothes were simply gray, yet fit perfectly on Tsuna. He had a feeling everything in the closet would fit him perfectly. Slightly disappointed with the lack of orange present in the room, Tsuna got dressed into the night clothes and settled into bed.
Noting the lights that had turned on the moment he'd entered had already begun to dim, Tsuna closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Word Count: 1,722
That's a wrap. Sorry for it being shorter and for making him go to bed so early, but I didn't know what else he could do on his first day. Pretend he was worn out from the overwhelming presence of the school. See you next time!