Chapter 5: Maze of the Night

2100 hrs, Sunday; January 3, Year 2100

The blinking of the lights seemed to mock Tsuna. She stood to the side; the roads crossed at many intersections, forming a complicated maze that she could not get out of. People buzzed by, huddling up to their warm scarves and thick coats, quickening their pace at the thought of hot chocolate and the warmth and comfort of their houses. Tsuna did the same – her arms crossed over her chest, shielding her from the harsh chill of the night wind.

"C-c-cold," she muttered, looking around.

Tsuna was lost.

She could not tell where she was, for she definitely was not near Namimori Central and certainly far from her home. Tsuna, being Tsuna, had taken the wrong bus that took her the wrong way – but she had only noticed when it was too late, and when she got off, the rows and rows of high-class boutiques and restaurants frightened the living soul out of her. Out of her panic, she quickly scurried up the crowded walkway, her common sense getting lost in this tangle of fear mixed with confusion.

Tsuna stood at the side, watching as people went by, having places to reach, destinations to go. She shook her head, trying to disperse the cloud of dust that had seemingly formed in her there, clenching her fists tightly. Her timidity barred her from going up to a random stranger to ask for directions; she was at loss of what to do. The wind blew again; its howl low and jeering. Tsuna sneezed, arms instinctively tightening around herself.

Got to be brave, got to be brave, got to be – she thought to herself, before pinching her eyes shut and making up her mind. She kept her eyes on the ground, taking slow and cautious steps back to the middle of the pathway.

One step, two step, three – she counted them slowly.

Gwarh! In her concentration, her head had met a wall, or rather, the back of a man who had been so unfortunately standing in her way. She whipped her head up, closed her eyes and bowed several times, not daring a look at the stranger whose personal space she had unwittingly violated.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so – " she shouted profusely, before spinning on her heels and attempting to make a run for it. Before she could, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, gently tugging her back.

Hiek! I've screwed up so bad this time! He's going to kill me! He's going to kill me!

"Sawada?" an enquiring and familiar voice questioned.

"Eh?" she slowly cranked her head back, looking up readily; it was a habit, for she had expected people to always be taller than her, to stand over her – it was her inferiority complex that had caused this reflex. Sure enough, the person who had spoken was definitely very tall. Tsuna found herself staring into dark sunglasses. She knew that the voice was of someone's she could recognize, but his name was hanging on the tip of her tongue. What was it? Was it Yamada? Or Yamato? Tsuna just stared for a few brief seconds more, but those seconds seemed to tick by slowly.

"Ah! Sawada! What are you doing here?" "Yamada" asked, a tone of confusion cleverly disguised in surprise.

"Ya-Ya-Yamamada-san?" Tsuna found herself spewing the wrong words. Her state of mind just became more tangled – beyond the point of being able to be unknotted and sorted out.

"Ahaha! It's Yamamoto, Yamamoto!" he chuckled casually, scratching the back of his head as he smiled her merrily. "What are you doing out so late at night walking like this?" Yamamoto proceeded to do a reenactment of Tsuna's funny walking stint, bending his head down and placing two hands near both sides of his head. It looked more like the reenactment of the bull in the "Pet Shelter", however.

Embarrassing! Too embarrassing, Yamamoto-san!

Luckily, Yamamoto only did this for a while more before standing back straight.

"So, what'cha doing out here? Got lost?"

Tsuna stood there, dumbfounded for a moment. She shook her head, opening her mouth to answer when she was abruptly, and rather rudely, disrupted.

"Oi! Yamamoto, what the hell are you doing?" a gruff sounding voice came from behind his back; it was a voice that Tsuna recognized to belong to the man shouting at "Hibari" that morning. He stepped out into her view. The first few things that Tsuna noticed about him was his slouched posture, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans and unique sense of dressing. Accessories hung about every part of his black and red clothes; it something that not everyone could wear and look good in, but he managed to pull the image off flawlessly. His hair was a dull shade of grey, and his eyes were hidden behind a similar pair of shades that Yamamoto too was wearing. Tsuna could sniff out the angry feelings that he had seemed to hold within his very being; it followed him like a shadow, and would never leave his side – it could probably masquerade itself in the guise of a smile. The man however, was not smiling. He looked impatient, folding his arms and glaring at Tsuna. She suddenly felt ten times smaller.

"Who…who the hell is this?" his first word was hesitantly drawn out, before it switched drastically; he concluded in a scathing manner.

"Oh! Gokudera – she's the new personal day maid at the mansion. Just started today! See? Look at her clothes!"

"All I see is an expensive coat over a gaudy uniform. Cheh! Let's go!"

Expensive? Eek! Miss Miura lent me an expensive coat? Oh- oh dear, what should I d-do, I didn't… Tsuna launched into a debate with her own mind at hearing "Gokudera's" words.

"C'mon! We just finished dinner and we don't have anything to do anyway. I think she's lost though, right?" Yamamoto said, turning to the man and then back to Tsuna.

"Lost she is, alright. But read my lips. Do – I – look – like – I – care?"

Tsuna just stayed silent, too frozen to say anymore; she dared not to interrupt the argument that took place before her.

"Anyway! Gokudera here and I have enough time – we can afford to send you home! Isn't that great? Ahaha! Though you'll have to find out how to get back home, because the next time you might not be so lucky."

Tsuna looked down, fingering her skirt for a bit.

"Th-Thank you very – very much!" she said meekly. Yamamoto raised his hand, as though he wanted to pat Tsuna's head and tell her that it was alright, but he stopped himself in time.

"Well, let's go!" he said instead.

Gokudera, at that moment, grabbed Yamamoto's sleeve roughly.

"I never agreed! I say we just… leave her here!"

"Aw, c'mon, Gokudera! Wouldn't hurt, wouldn't hurt! Just think of it as a small car trip, how about that?" Yamamoto smiled sheepishly in his poor attempt to placate the grumpy young man.

"Hmph! F-fine! But it's not as if I want to go because of you, alright? You hear?"

He actually managed to convince him!

"Yes, yes! Loud and clear, loud and clear! Now, let's go!"

Gokudera released Yamamoto's arm and stormed off ahead of the two of them. Tsuna and Yamamoto stood side by side, looking at Gokudera's back as he walked off, further and further. Suddenly, he turned back.

"Oi! Are you two coming? I'll go off myself if you don't hurry!"

Yamamoto turned to Tsuna and gave her a gentle smile, before looking forward and waving an arm to Gokudera.

"Coming! Coming!"

The car trip was silent; an oppressive tension hung about the atmosphere of the car. Gokudera leaned back in his seat, staring out of the window as the lights flashed past them. Not even Yamamoto attempted to speak, keeping his eyes on the road and driving without a word. Tsuna squeezed her hands together, sitting up and trying to avoid as much contact – apart from her rear and legs – with the car as possible, as though her touch was poisonous, bacterial and dangerous.

She looked to and fro between Yamamoto and Gokudera. Gokudera's arm was now resting at the side, his head propped up on it. Both the men had taken off their sunglasses as soon as they reached the vehicle, but in the darkness, Tsuna couldn't see what Gokudera looked like, only the shadow of his back. From the side mirror, she could see a bit of his face; his angry demeanor had sunken beneath – only the view of the world reflected in his eyes.

She then looked to Yamamoto. He carried his usual boyish grin, but something in his eyes struck her as odd. It was not as though he were truly happy all the time; it was a fake personality that deftly hid what he was truly feeling. Tsuna frowned a bit, but decided that she just should not care. She convinced herself that she had nothing to do with whatever was on his mind, because truly, she did not. Although slightly disturbed at the oddity of Yamamoto's behavior, she forced herself to look out of the window as with what Gokudera was doing, distracting herself with the view that flew past as the car moved along at a high speed.

The car trip was long – or at least, it felt long, but Tsuna could not help to feel her heart flip a little when the vehicle went to an abrupt halt and Yamamoto turned back, smiling at her.

"Okay! We're here!"

"Ah! Thank you! Thank you for sending me back!" Tsuna said, bowing her head. She reached out to open the car door, stepping back out into the coldness. Yamamoto stared out of the side of the car for awhile, before opening the door too and getting out with her.

"Hey, Gokudera, stay here. I'll escort her back – her apartment is one street down," he told the silent man cheerfully, before slamming the door shut.

"E-eh! There's no need to do that, no need at all!"

"Nonsense! It's so dark out here, I think it's better that I escort a young lady like you. The streets are deserted and it's dangerous, after all. Look!"

Tsuna looked. Indeed, the street was empty and the lampposts on either side were off, if not broken and flickering on and off at random intervals.

"I can look after my-myself. Really…" Tsuna's mind thought otherwise, for seeing the empty street made her feel rather afraid. The darkness was menacing and full of uncertainty. It was too late however – Yamamoto had insisted. He began walking down the uneven footpath. She had no choice but to sigh and follow. She jogged quickly up to him, afraid that he would leave her behind, although she knew somewhere in her heart that he definitely would not.

Yamamoto was the first to break the silence between them.

"So, how was your first day at work? I-pin showed you around, right?"

Tsuna gave a small nod.

"Ahaha, I'm really sorry for not being able to show you around! I had something crop up suddenly, so I had to head out. And, sorry about the incident at the Pet Shelter too – well, all our new personal maids normally faint when they see the type of animals we keep though!"

"A-ah! Ha…aha," she laughed nervously in response to what he said. Tsuna was not looking forward to looking after animals – she had not even seen it in her job description! She could make tea, she could wash a dozen loads of laundry, she could clean ten rooms but one thing she would have never done would be to look after animals.

Soon enough, they reached the entrance of her rundown apartment. Yamamoto waited until she whipped out her keys and opened the door before saying his final words and a last "goodbye".

"So! You'll be starting work for real tomorrow! Excited?"

Tsuna stood at the door arch, with a bewildered expression gracing her face. He noticed this and started laughing, waving his hand down.

"Don't be too afraid – it's not that bad!" he turned around finally, walking back to where they came from.

"See ya!"

"B-bye!"

Gokudera was still wordlessly sitting in the car when Yamamoto returned. It seemed as though he had not budged a bit at all, like a statue. Yamamoto climbed back into the driver's seat, and the both of them sat without saying anything, just listening to the incessant chirping of the crickets. And then, Yamamoto, with a loud thump, slammed his forehead against the steering wheel, clutching its sides tightly.

Gokudera rose from his position and turned to Yamamoto slowly.

"Don't be deceived," he said simply, emotionlessly.

"I know," Yamamoto still held a grin, but rather than the usually genial vibes that he gave off, it was sardonic in nature.

"Don't be deceived," Gokudera stated once more. "She's – "

"I know."

"She 's – "

" – dead."

A/N: Yay. Two weeks for schmuck, I managed to study a lot. So early upload!

Anyway, I feel as though I have some clarifications to make: Although I said I have a pairing in mind for the story, it will be mainly All/27 because that was what I thought off when I started. Yeah.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!