Chapter 3: Highly Subtextual

0830 hrs, January 3, Year 2100

"Ah – ah! Ouch! Miss Miura, can you be gentler?" Tsuna cried, her fists clenching so tight her knuckles turned white.

"Bear with it a while more!" Haru replied.

"Bu-but! It's too tight! I can't breathe!"

"How can anything be tight on you? You're so small! There, I'm done!"

Tsuna sucked in her stomach. Haru had taken the liberty to call her over early, give her a nice hot bath, breakfast and dress her up nicely before she went for work. Tsuna thought that she was very kind – but what she did not know was that Mukuro had requested it; they did not need a maid who smelt like a garbage dump around the house.

The maid costume Tsuna wore was very simple – just a black dress that touched her ankles and a white frilly apron. On her head was a nice, floral hairpiece. However, Haru had also tightened the ribbon that held the apron in place far too much – she was having some difficulties in breathing.

"Hah! You look very cute, Tsuna-kun!" Tsuna blushed a bit, looking down at her uniform. She placed her hands behind her back, secretly loosening the ribbon a bit.

"R-really?"

"Yes! But there's one problem. Do you have a coat you can wear over it?"

"Ah, no…" Tsuna suddenly realized. Why had she not noticed before? Of course – it was really cold outside; the streets were covered in a blanket of snow, and the weather report said that temperatures would hit sub-zero in the evening! To add to the insult, she had to go home herself – Mukuro would only pick her up once so she could figure out how to travel, and since her workplace was on the far end of the city, where the rich people lived; her home was very far away indeed.

"Ha-hi! Then, Haru will lend you one, but please bring your own tomorrow!"

"B-but I – " Tsuna was interrupted by a loud honk outside.

"Mukuro-san is outside now! Oh," Haru scuttled about the room, opening a secret compartment in the wall. It was actually a wardrobe stuffed with an incredible number of costumes. She bent down, pulled out a thick, pink winter jacket and tossed it to Tsuna. "Here!"

"Oof!" Tsuna grunted as the lump of cloth landed in her arms.

"Now, now – put it on and go! Mukuro-san is an impatient one!"

"O-okay!" Tsuna did as she was told, rushing out of the store. The first thing she saw was a very expensive, extremely over-the-top car. Tsuna squealed in fear – the thought of being able to sit in such an exorbitant vehicle; the very thought of her scrawny body seated on plush velvet – it scared her a bit.

It seemed the driver could not wait any longer, the car door opening. Tsuna stood, frozen by both the weather and her thoughts, staring as each foot settled itself on the pavement. She watched as Mukuro slowly got up, and then –

"Ahaha! Are you the new maid?" A foolish chuckle came from behind the door.

That's incredibly out of character! Out of context! No- no! This is wrong! Very wrong! Tsuna could feel an imaginary drop of sweat crawling down the side of her face. Apparently, Mukuro had turned into an amazingly tall, spiky black haired Japanese man. His heterochromic eyes changed into a light shade of brown; the lower right side of his chin had a small, faded scar. Had he gotten a plastic surgery and a personality reformat overnight?

"Mu-mu-mu – " Tsuna stuttered.

"Mu? You like Mutsu apples too? I find them very delicious! Ahaha!" he chuckled. "Come, come! There's much to show you, much to learn! We have to get back early before Gokudera sets his room on fire again."

"N-no! Where's Mukuro?"

"Oh, him? He's kind of busy today, so he couldn't afford to pick you up. I volunteered since I was free. The name's Yamamoto, by the way! Yamamoto Takeshi." He bent down and with squinted eyes, observed her face, as if scrutinizing every nook and cranny.

"You…"

"M-me? What about me? Is there something on my face?" Tsuna asked, conscious of the way she appeared.

"No, it's nothing," his tone was low and severe, but he switched back to his happy-go-lucky voice almost immediately. "Come on then, let us get going!" He offered a hand, which Tsuna declined. Although he was being gentlemanly, she was only but a lowly maid. Climbing into the seat beside his, she waited for him to ignite the engine while she put on her seatbelt, then looked out of the window and played with her fingers.

The car journey consisted of Yamamoto talking a lot, Tsuna giving back one-worded answers and tapping her boots lightly on the matting of the car. It was very awkward indeed, despite the kind man's attempts at loosening her up – although it had a largely opposite effect – it made her more nervous than she had ever been before.

She looked out of the window, because looking at Yamamoto would have unnerved her beyond anything. The view outside the window was not very interesting, just tall and strict buildings on either side, passing by again and again. Instead, as Tsuna half-heartedly listened to Yamamoto blabber on, she paid attention to the taste of his voice. Light and sweet it seemed, like milk coffee; but it held a tint of bitterness.

That certainly doesn't match his personality at all. She thought, putting a finger to her chin. Then she remembered the faint scar on his chin – perhaps he had gone through something bad in his life? Tsuna could not speculate beyond that.

Tsuna was exceptional at reading the personalities of human beings, inferring about their past experiences – hyper intuition, Reborn had put it – but he said that it was partially due to her extra-sensory abilities. Tsuna, however, being the butt-monkey and social outcast, had few opportunities to use such a skill.

"Oh, yeah! I haven't asked you this yet, silly me! What's your name?"

Tsuna was once again jolted out of her deep thoughts at being directly addressed.

"Me? Uh, S-Sawada Tsuna," she replied. She could have sworn she saw Yamamoto's jaw move a bit, as though he was muttering something under his breath, but she could not hear him. She turned back to look out of the car when Yamamoto began to babble again, and that was how the whole journey went.

The first thing Tsuna noticed as they entered through a small gate into the compound was the foliage, or the lack thereof since it was winter. She stared in wonder as the car slowly made its way down the slightly twisted path. She could not, however, see any signs of the mansion.

"We're here!" Yamamoto exclaimed cheerfully as he pulled into a garage. There were six equally expensive cars – Tsuna got the impression that rich people were all so indulgent. She clambered out of the car, closing the door carefully and slowly, in case she were to damage the precious door with her careless fingers.

There was a maid scurrying about a red one, scrubbing it clean of all the dirt accumulated in the city. As soon as she heard Yamamoto's presence, she spun around with a polite bow and greeted him. Yamamoto just waved his hand back.

"There's no need to bow! Ahaha!" he turned around to face Tsuna. "Anyway, we actually entered from the back gate of the mansion, so we can walk through the garden's stone path back to the front. I can show you the basic layout of the backyard while I'm at it, so that'll be great! I'll have to show you around the mansion too – you'll be assigned to certain rooms I suppose. Come on, let's get going!"

He started off in big strides, so much so that Tsuna had trouble catching up since her legs where thin, powerless and short. As soon as they left the garage, a beautiful view greeted her eyes. She could not help but to gasp in amazement. There were bushes on either side of the path, intricately styled lampposts in between each bush. The patch of land that stretched wide and vast was covered in snow, trees on both sides of the stone path bare as ever. It made lifelessness look almost majestic.

Yamamoto kept silent as he looked up into the murky sky, allowing Tsuna to take in the scenery. It was highly uncharacteristic; she would have thought that he would continue to talk more, given his bubbly personality – but his eyes seemed to hold a glint of longing, as though he was reminiscing something bittersweet. It was as if the landscape was a painted memory to Yamamoto.

After about five minutes of walking, they found themselves in a wooden shelter – they had decided to seek a quick respite from the harsh and unbearable coldness. It also incidentally seemed to be one of the locations that Tsuna would be taking care of.

The shelter was cosy and warm, looking a lot like a barn. There was hay scattered about, and the wooden walls made it look nice and homely. Perhaps there was a cow in here? Tsuna snorted.

The moment Yamamoto stepped in and hung up his coat, a young Akita pup ran up to him, alongside a tiny swallow, which flew up and settled on his head. He broke a wide, child-like grin, bending down and patting the head of the dog lovingly.

"This is called the 'Pet Shelter'! It's a bit far off the main building though. This is one of the rooms you'll be in-charge of!" he exclaimed excitedly, now feeding the swallow. "It's a nice and warm place – all of us here kind of keep pets. I think that this is one of the best places to unwind after a harsh day of work. There, there, Jirou…" his voice trailed off as he got distracted by the Akita again.

Bad naming sense! It's too bad a naming sense to be legal, Yamamoto-san! Her mind seemed to be screaming at her.

"Do you like animals?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes! I really, really love them a lot!"

"I know, right? It's so nice to just sit and pat their heads – simple, simple! Life is too complicated for my brain to process!"

No! Don't say that! That is extremely saddening to know!

"I agree! Your mind probably moves at one kilometer per hour! I mean, I really like being in the company of pets!"

"You know, you'll enjoy their company more if you didn't just shy away in the corner over there!" Yamamoto said, turning around. True to his words, Tsuna had curled herself into a ball at the corner of the shelter, away from the animals. Her body was shaking and her eyes wide open – she was trying to avoid the very fatal prickles of –

"Ah, it's Hibari's hedgehog!"

He went over and picked it up, just in time to save Tsuna's life from the dangerous, teensy animal. When he did, she got back up on her feet again, although her knees quivered so much, they had almost given way.

"Haha! It's alright, it won't hurt you!"

"Yeah! Uh, right! I-I'm sure it won't! Very," her voice was jittery and squeaky, far softer than she would have used in a normal conversation. The truth was that she was highly afraid of them animals. There was a time when she was fifteen; she had been scared silly by a small Chihuahua who had just wanted to play with her.

Ah, I can feel my soul leaking out of me now… Do I really have to work here? Hang in there, Tsuna…

"Anyway, a short introduction to the animals! This is Jirou – " he again squatted down to pat the head of the puppy. "Kojirou – " he raised his finger to allow the swallow to settle on it. He then raised his other palm, on which the hedgehog was curled around, comfortable and protected.

"I think Hibari calls this Roll. But we all like to call it 'Bari-rat' since he has a bird called Hibird. That one hangs around him almost all the time though."

Someone with equally bad naming sense appears!

Yamamoto walked further in, whistling a lilting tune. Suddenly, an owl swooped down from the dark corner of the shed – it had been perched there, hiding from human eyes. Hooting, it flew in a circle before landing on a wooden railing next to Tsuna.

"Hiek!" she squealed, taking a step back only to fall over and land with a hard thump on the floor.

"O-ow…"

"Ah, Sawada! Are you okay?" Yamamoto said quickly, as he turned around. Tsuna saw a young leopard cub in his arms, purring softly and rubbing it's head against his shirt. Wait –

"A leopard!?" Tsuna shrieked loudly. At that moment, a kangaroo jumped out too. Tsuna immediately scooted back, scared by the sudden appearance of such strange animals.

What is this? What sort of pets do they keep!?

It seemed as though her question was answered, when she could hear the heaving tapping of hooves against the dirt-covered floor. She swore that she could hear a distinct, low grunt that sounded as though it came from a bull.

"A BULL!?" she yelled, when the fierce looking creature came out from behind a wall. Why, just why could they not have kept a cow instead?! In fact, why not just normal pets? Tsuna was shocked beyond words, her mouth opening and closing, trying to say something, anything, but failed. So Tsuna did what she did best in situations like this.

She fainted.

A/N: Okay, so, just a reply to Yumi-chan, or anyone else wondering;

I didn't come up with the term "synesthesia", so I wouldn't really explain what it is in the story. I'm not sure how I would explain this, so I'll say the best bet would be to Google it. Sorry. And once you've looked up what it means, I'm guessing you won't need the answer to whether normal people see in shades of grey, to which the answer is no. It's just an effect.

On another note; I'm sure you guys will be wondering if there are any pairings or stuff in here. Yes, there will be a pairing with Tsuna. I've already decided on it, but I'm going to be a meanie and not disclose it.

Thanks for reading!

Edit: Sorry! Microsoft Word somehow deleted one of the sentences in here - my tablet's touchpad kind of really sucks, so I get these sort of stupid errors often. Greatest apologies if you were wondering how someone sitting down could fall on her butt again. While I'm here, I'm afraid that I won't be able to update for about 2 weeks - I have tests and presentations, and Chinese New Year is coming up too. However, chapter 4 is halfway written, so I *might* be able to get it up by Sunday or Monday, depending on how much time I'm able to squeeze in. Heck, maybe even Saturday. If not, I think I might do multiple uploads after writing the chapters bit by bit.

Edit 2: Sorry. Again. I just realised I got the date on top wrong - it is 3rd January, 2100. Greatest, greatest apologies if you got confused!