A/N:Hello again! I decided to continue on with the story after seeing the reviews. Honestly, I was thinking I would have to discontinue and delete it. But I changed my mind after seeing the encouragements. :D Thank you so much for the reviews! I appreciated them so much! I kept on reading and rereading them while I was working on my other Fon27 fic, Waiting For You, and I couldn't stop myself from grinning. :3 I'm sorry for taking a while to reply to the reviews. I seriously didn't know how to go about it. -.-; I was hoping for a 'click to reply' button. Ahh, that would've made things a whole lot easier. It was a good thing that I opened my email. I haven't touched it for a long time!

Also, thank you for the alerts! It makes me happy that you like this story. ^^

Um…March Rosenqueen pointed out about the story being AU and the possibility of it leaning into the world of Mafia. Hm…as of now, I don't know yet. :D We'll just see what happens. :3

Here's Chapter 2 of the story. Please enjoy~

Disclaimer: Heh. I only wish.

Canvas

-Chapter 2-

Tsuna shrunk back in his seat, his arms wrapped protectively around his backpack bringing it closer to his chest. He dunked his head and closed his eyes, staying silent, hoping that he would continue to stay ignored. Not that anybody would notice him anyway. He was surrounded by unfamiliar people. He sighed. If luck was on his side today, he hoped that he would remain unseen.

His seat jumped slightly, causing him to squeak loudly in surprise. He quickly clamped his mouth with both hands. Slowly, he raised his head and came face to face with dozens of eyes staring at him. Some were showing amusement at his reaction. So much for remaining unseen…

His face paled, and his fingers trembled. He could feel himself getting sicker by the second. He shut his eyes tightly. Don't look. He could still feel their gazes at him and he willed himself not to freak out. Seconds felt like hours until finally, the stares disappeared. Everybody went back to minding their own business.

The brunet sighed in relief. If they stared at him a second longer, he was sure he would've fainted. He allowed himself to relax, but still chose to bury his head on his bag. He closed his eyes in thought.

This is why he hated taking the bus.

That thought lingered in his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

The bus jerked forward roughly, causing the brunet to almost fall from his seat. His eyes shot open, widened in surprise. He turned to look at his surroundings. There were only a few passengers left, and most, if not all, were sitting a short distance away from him. Good. He couldn't be more relieved. He glanced down and noticed the small pool of wetness on his orange backpack. Blinking, he reached up to touch the corner of his mouth and felt something wet and slimy. Huh. He must've been drooling in his sleep.

He stretched his arms and stifled a yawn, completely wiping off the sleep in his eyes. He glanced outside the window, watching as scenery passed by. Seeing nothing much of interest, he turned his eyes to look at his watch. It read 9:45 am. It'll be while before the bus arrives at his stop.

He settled in his seat, relaxing into the tattered cushions. His mind drifted back to why he was aboard a bus in the first place.

His eye twitched at the memory.

That morning, he was unceremoniously woken up at the ungodly hour of 6:00 am by his ex-tutor, Reborn. The Italian shoved him out off the bed, him falling face flat on the cold hard floor. He cringed, as he remembered the bruise that formed on his cheek.

Reborn. He thought back on his tutor. The brunet has been living with the fedora-loving Italian for a week, after his parents left him behind to go on vacation. He sighed. He understood why his parents left him in Reborn's care. The Italian was one of the few people that Tsuna trusted and considered as family. He didn't mind being in close proximity with him. And as much as he hated to admit it, the brunet enjoyed the man's company…no matter how sadistic he could be.

It was also a fact that his parents are closely acquainted with the Italian.

Everything went fine during the first few days of his stay. He was so used to Reborn's taunting and sadistic ways that he considered it a normal everyday occurrence. He knew that it was the Italian's way to indirectly show him his care. His big caramel eyes softened at the thought.

Along the way, his parents stopped contacting them. He was fine with that in the most part. The brunet knew that they badly needed the vacation, and if holding off all contact with him will help make them enjoy their vacation more, who was he to argue?

But he knew something was wrong. Way wrong. His grades may not be good, but he wasn't stupid. Reborn's body language was off, no matter how hard the Italian tried to hide it from Tsuna. He was worried about something, the brunet knew. And from somewhere deep within his mind, he was somehow getting this feeling that whatever's bothering Reborn has something to do with his happy-go-lucky parents.

The brunet shook his head, shrugging away the thought. It won't do him any good to jump to conclusions.

His assumptions about the Italian, however, were further strengthened when he was awakened that morning and was greeted by the sight of a bare bedroom, with Reborn dangling in front of him his beloved orange backpack filled with necessities.

He was hastily shoved into the bathroom and was ordered to 'get ready'. He reluctantly complied with the command.

He remembered gaping at the man when he was told that he would be staying with a person named Fon. The reason? Apparently the Italian was going skinny-dipping at the Atlantic with some buddies. The brunet huffed. Really, who did Reborn think he was kidding? As if he would believe something as ridiculous as that.

He merely nodded. He knew that Reborn had something important he must do. Whatever it was, he didn't know. He never liked being held in the dark, but if Reborn didn't want to tell him, then he wouldn't ask. He respected the other's privacy.

But…telling him to stay with someone he didn't know? Well, that was new. Reborn knew about the brunet's problems with people in general. He has a case of anthropophobia. This Fon person must be trustworthy if the Italian's letting him take care of Tsuna.

The brunet's eyes narrowed in annoyance. Reborn told him to take the bus. The bus! That sadistic demon knew that he couldn't take being in a place filled with people. He sighed. The Italian could have at least driven him to his new living arrangements.

But, no. Reborn actually dragged him all the way to the bus stop, shoved a piece of paper and a small package in his arms, before turning away, leaving the brunet dumbfounded.

Even after that, the brunet still knew that the Italian cared for his safety. If the small package containing pepper spray that was shoved into him didn't prove that, nothing will. He chuckled lightly at the thought.

Well now.

He glanced back at his watch. 10:15 am. Still a few minutes more before his stop. He opened his bag and rummaged through the contents, bringing out a book of famous paintings. He flipped through the pages before stopping on an impressionist painting of water lilies.

He wasn't one for art, but he always found himself attracted to Monet's works.

Tsuna stepped off the bus, his backpack hanging on his shoulder. He stared, taking in the sight before him. Namimori was a town and not a city, which was good. Towns are less crowded than cities. He turned to look at his surroundings. The place seemed pleasant enough. There were greeneries here and there, and the air felt cool. He smiled. He might actually come to like it here.

He fumbled through his pockets and retrieved a small slip of paper. Written on it in pretty cursive handwriting was an address. Fon-san's address…

The brunet held the paper tightly in his grasp. He stared at it for a while, huffed, and then made his way to look for his new temporary 'home'.

He just couldn't believe his luck.

The brunet growled and inwardly cursed his unlucky stars.

He got off the bus at around 10:30 and has been walking around since then, in an attempt to find the apartment where he'll be staying at. The time now read 11:45.

Within that hour, he managed to lose the slip of paper with the address, get chased around by a bunch of dogs, get scared by a large group of children, and get himself lost.

He sighed. It was a good thing he wasn't robbed or something. But considering his luck, he'd rather not take any chances. All this time, the brunet had tried to avoid people by taking the back streets. Now that he has lost the written address, he wasn't so sure it would be the right course of action to take. Add to that that he's lost in an unfamiliar place. The only thing he could do now is to ask for directions. There can't be many people with the name Fon. Hopefully, he'll come across someone who knows the guy.

He pulled at his brunet locks in frustration. Breathing in a huge gulp of air, he turned towards the more crowded area of the town. He gulped. The shopping center. Hopefully, he'll come out of this unscathed. Asking for directions…

How hard could it be?

Okay, so it wasn't as easy as he originally thought hit would be.

Tsuna has been walking amongst the crowd for five minutes. Five stinking minutes and he was already at his limit. The brunet was hyperventilating. He couldn't keep the fear and anxiety rising to his chest. His body was trembling and he was having trouble breathing. He was having a massive panic attack.

"Oh my, are you okay?"

He was vaguely aware of the person standing in front of him. His mind was growing dizzy by the second. Was it a woman? The voice sounded like that of a girl…

"You look a bit pale. Are you sick? Should I help you to the hospital?" The voice was laced with concern, but the brunet took no notice of it.

Tsuna furrowed his brows, trying to hear himself think over the buzzing sound in his ears. What was he supposed to do again? Oh yeah. Directions…

"Can…ask…directions…" He mumbled the words. It was so hard to breath. His grip on his bag tightened.

"Eh?" The unknown person tried to steady him. He flinched at the touch.

"Fon…san's…house…"

Then everything went black.

A/N: This is more or less an introductory chapter for Tsuna. :3 The story will probably officially start at the next chapter. Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it! :D Please tell me your thoughts regarding this. I'll be more than happy if you readers criticize my work. :3 It'll help me improve in areas which I'm no good at. :D

Oh yeah, to those who don't know:

Anthropophobia is the exaggerated or irrational fear of people and large groups of people. :3