CHAPTER 15: THE WHITE RABBIT

For a moment, Tsuna stayed in that fetal position, absolutely afraid. He was scared of moving, even just a little. Just like when he was young, he used to stay motionless under his blanket and the only indication that he was alive was his tiny, sharp breathing. He used to be afraid that the boogie man would come and get him, find him hiding under those covers. But this time, there were no blankets to hide under, no shields to hide his shivers. The darkness made him feel naked and absolutely alone. He couldn't bring himself to call out for help. Anyone would do, but he was afraid that underneath this murky darkness, there was something else here with him that had less than modest intention.

After what felt like hours stretched from moments, Tsuna moved, taking one hesitant step forward. Then another. Three more steps and the lone boy walked through the darkness, completely blind. He had his hands outstretched, looking for a solid surface to help guide him to somewhere, anywhere than this place.

Then he saw it. Street lights. For a moment, Tsuna stared at it, then ran wildly like a demented man towards it. Light. There must be people there! There has to be! He followed that light, remembering the time he had with Hibari in the church garden. He remembered his gentle guiding through those leafy hedges, and god, he never wanted to see anyone more than he did at that moment. His lungs screamed for fresh air, for Tsuna to stop and let it breathe. But his brain and heart said otherwise, egging him towards the light. His legs nearly ached at the leg-snapping dash.

Then he was out. Just like his lungs had wished, a fresh gust of air blew the sweat forming off his brow. Tsuna gasped as a strange cold sensation filled his tummy and with a loud thud he landed flat on his stomach on hard pavement. He almost kissed it, relieved that there was something he knew of. Human-made that is. Shaking his head, Tsuna turned to looked behind him to where he once came. But what perplexed him the most was the brick wall. Tsuna got up, stumbling a bit and insanely disorientated, before dumbly touching the brick wall. Nothing was there. Where was that dark place? But now he was alive and Tsuna committed his freedom in taking in the sights. He was in an alleyway, by the looks of it, staring at the trashcans around the corner. And people. He could see people scurrying past.

Where was he? He looked up. And gasped.

There was just a blank gray. Just gray. Gray as the color-gray. No clouds, no blue, not even stars. There was no stars. Startled, Tsuna backed up against the wall, realizing where exactly where he was. This place….there was no stars, although he was outside. Then…he must be…But there wasn't even a sky! Wh—how—how is this possible? Tsuna's mind reeled. He must be inside. His eyes were playing tricks on him. But his nose said otherwise. He sniffed deeply in that unfamiliar smell of suburban city, the polluted air stung his nose and he wrinkled them in discomfort. He could hear too, a relief to have all senses. Never once had he been happy to hear the occupied apartments next to him. A unfocused television, a wailing child, an angry beating of a wall. Things that once annoyed him only furthered delighted him even more.

Tsuna straightened and ran out of the alley, breathing in deeply. Tsuna took this opportunity to gawk. It was incredible, the city, the kind he only seen on movies towered high over him, probably over a hundred stories tall! The city took this sort of somber mood, gray as its sky. It felt unfriendly, Tsuna silently admitted. He admired the people passing him, gasping loudly and ah-ing in interest at the clothes people were wearing. Apparently, the fashion here was different. Their outfits were more revealing, almost to the point where Tsuna would shyly look away. Skirts were shorter, sleeves were shorter, and the cleavage area was a bulging aspect in their styles. He noticed, that they had a strange taste of buckles and leather. The men, embraced the passion of suits. Black suits, everywhere. That was enough to confirm that this was where Hibari was from. The sea of black made Tsuna's head spin.

And the hair. Apparently, many people just loved to have their hair in an unusual color. There was a seafoam blue, a blatant purple, and even orange. The hairstyles too, were absolutely ridiculous. In comparison to these people, Hibari seemed like a perfectly normal person. After a few moments after admiring, Tsuna's went blank as a sheet with helplessness. What can he do now? Now that he was here, what does he do now? Hibari. He could find Hibari, but how? Tsuna stared at his feet, still barefooted. He couldn't go anywhere far. It would hurt his feet.

The Passerbys stared at him as they walked, staring at Tsuna's pajama attire. He felt like he stood out a lot. Even though he was wearing a simple blue shirt with some gray sweats, he felt like a sore thumb. He could feel eyes on him and his face grew warm, and coughed to brush away the awkwardness. Taking hesitant steps in a random direction, he felt nervous under the scrutiny of the locals. Stumbling past a couple a buildings, Tsuna was relieved to see a bench in view. He nearly collapsed onto it, rubbing at his already-sore feet.

"What do I do now?" Tsuna mumbled. He felt emotionally exhausted, he just wanted to sleep. Lifitng his tired eyes, the barefooted boy watched the sea of black with bobbing colorful head move sluggishly pass. Getting up, he grabbed a sleeve of a girl around his age. "Excuse me,"

The girl only gave him a disparaging look, "What?"

"Where am I?"

The girl laughed, looking at him from head to toe and she scrunched her nose distastefully, "You're in Cielo. Now bye. I'm busy." She walked off, leaving Tsuna there dumbfounded by the rude behavior. Nevermind that, Tsuna thought shaking his head, Cielo? This place is called Cielo? Was that the name of the city or street? He didn't know. He sat back down on the bench, putting his chin in his hands, depressed and confused. He could try looking for Hibari. Surely, he had followed him right after their argument so he should be around somewhere. Tsuna looked up, then he saw it.

A flash of gray.

Tsuna shot up from his seat. Watching the familiar gray head hobble past. He almost forgot to breathe right. He could hear himself, making incoherent noises of passionate disbelief. His legs had a mind of its own, barely listening to his brain, following that gray head on instinct. And he was right. It was Gokudera. His friend was in his own black suit with a red under-collar shirt and black tie, a style much like the other men around him. A style he had gotten used to due to Hibari. The silver-haired had the impression of boredom in his posture and expression. He walked slowly along with the crowd, he had one hand in his pocket and held a plastic bag over his shoulder, with what Tsuna believed was food.

"How…" Tsuna shuddered through his teeth. Dashing after the silver hair, the confused boy hardly noticed the damage his feet were taking or the annoyed stares he was getting from shoving people out of the way. He was only focusing on that familiar hair.

'Because you're Tenth, Tenth!'

'My house is a bit far away.' Gokudera said dejectedly, but then gave Tsuna a determined look, 'But if I don't make it to your household in time, Tenth, then please allow me to rip off one of my fingernails!'

'It's alright,' Gokudera said with utmost care, 'New suits feel like that all the time. But probably by the end of today, you'll wear it out enough for it to be comfortable.'

'Oh yes!' Gokudera said huffing proudly at himself for capturing Tsuna's attention. 'I wear suits almost all the time!'

Tsuna's footsteps quickened, a feeling of betrayal quickly enveloping him with each step closer. Did…Gokudera know Hibari? Why was Gokudera here? And why….why did…?…Was this all planned? Had Gokudera-kun known about this all from the start? Did he approach Tsuna with an ulterior motive too? Then why? Why was he here? Then his dad! His dad must've told him and he was looking for him! Barely breathing, Tsuna called out to him tightly, "Gokudera-kun!"

Gokudera paused, looking around for any sign that anyone called his name. Tsuna nearly let out a frustrated scream when he saw Gokudera shrug his shoulders and continue walking. He tried again, raising his volume, "Gokud—"

"I got it, pyon!"

Tsuna jerked his head to the right at the familiar phrase and at the loud pair of approaching footsteps. Wait…wasn't that the same voice that—Tsuna stared as two boys ran down an alley, similar to the one had had came from only with an opening on both sides, running right towards him with unbelievable speed. One was an obnoxiously blond color, his face gritted in panic, "Run for it, pyon!" The bag he was holding shook in his arms with each step.

The crowd parted quickly, making way for the two boys. They shot them annoyed looks too, some mumbled threats, some cursing as they knocked them aside. The other boy, had a strange tattoo on his face and a white beanie. His glasses glinted as he gave the blond boy a cold annoyed look, "Ken, do shut up, we're fine."

Ken growled at his companion, "No you shut up Kakipii! You piss me off! Are you blind? You have fucking glasses! They're right behind us!"

Tsuna gasped as he heard the same familiar woman's voice shriek off in the distance, "Thieves! Help! I've been robbed!"

At Ken's confirmation, the young man sighed. He couldn't deny it. Ken lifted his head and stared directly into Tsuna's eyes. Tsuna watched the male's eyes dimly brighten with recognition on identifying an easy prey. He turned towards Ken, inclining his head in the stunned boy's direction, "Just give it to that kid. We'll come back to retrieve it."

No! If this happened then—then for sure, he was going to get involved! Tsuna backed away, holding up his hands defensively. He nearly choked in a desperate attempt to suck in air as Ken turned to look at him. Biting back his pride, Ken changed his direction to run right up to Tsuna, his companion at his heels. Tsuna continued backing away from them, knowing fully well what was going to happen next.

"Here! You!" Ken shoved a bag into Tsuna's held up hands. The thirteen year old boy nearly dropped it in disbelief, "Hold this for us, pyon!"

"Whuh—?" Tsuna shook his head wildly and tried pushing the stolen item back into Ken's arms, "Wait! No! I can't! I gotta go home!"

"Sorry kid," Ken smirked, shrugging away the persistent hands, "It's your problem now."

"Wait, you can't do this! I knew you were going to do this! I have to get home!" Tsuna pleaded, trying to convey his honesty through his eyes.

Ken ran off, guffawing cruelly. Kakipii, whom Ken had called, only stared at Tsuna quite briefly. Tsuna begged him with his eyes, hoping to god he would pity him and take the bag. But Kakiipii only looked away in silent empathy before running off close to catch up with his friend.

"No…" Tsuna moaned in disbelief, staring at the bag in his arms. He should drop it. This isn't right. He shouldn't hold this. He should just gently set it down and ignore it. Then find Gokudera-kun and ask him some questions. They were going to have a long, long talk and maybe they would go home today—

"There! That's my bag! That boy's the thief!"

Tsuna gasped as suddenly, he was taken by both arms roughly. Tsuna struggled against the hold, "Wait! No! I'm not the ones you want! The real thieves went that way!" Tsuna jerked his face to where the two boys ran off, "I swear it!"

The guards only stared back at him with stony expressions. Tsuna only had a few seconds to stare at their attire. What seemed to be the police, wore white uniforms that strikingly matched each other. They had fancy silver shoulder guards, and they glinted brightly in the street lights.

"Don't lie! I know a criminal when I see one!" The lady screeched in his face with a pointed finger jabbed at his chest, and Tsuna curled away in discomfort. "Same spiky, rebellious hair and everything! Arrest this young man, White Spell!"

"No! You can't! This isn't supposed to happen!" Tsuna screamed, hoping to god Gokudera was still near, "Gokudera-kun!"

In reply, one guard struck Tsuna hard on the head with his baton. Tsuna blinked, disoriented by the unexpected hit. "Laws are laws. You are to be charged with theft and you have the right to remain silent, otherwise anything you say can be used against you in the court."

"Please!" Tsuna begged. When the woman and the guards only stared back at him indifferently, Tsuna twisted in the guard's hold to shout at the watching crowd, "I'm not even from here! You saw the real thieves didn't you? They ran that way!" Tsuna cried, jerking his head to the same direction, "Please tell them!"

At the sound of Tsuna's shouting, shutters began to open, faces peered out from behind curtains. Some looked on excited, happy to see some good action. Some looked apathetic and passive, only staring at Tsuna as if it was something to see everyday. The distraught boy noticed that nobody moved, nobody said anything. They simply watched. A mother and daughter stared, the woman looked stricken; there were tears in her eyes filled with shame that he could not understand. The little girl holding her mothers hand, moved towards the captured boy, her little hand held outstretched towards Tsuna, but the mother fished her back with a tug. She looked away, breaking the eye contact from him. They moved on, the mother urging her daughter forward as the little girl turned to look at Tsuna once more with sad eyes. Finality was hung in the air in that gray street. No one was going to help.

It wasn't until the guards shook the skeptic boy out of his reverie, the crowd starting moving again. Some were disappointed that a fight didn't ensue and blamed it on Tsuna for being spineless. Some carried on as if nothing was wrong. Tsuna watched the life continue in the street, his heart twisting. He wasn't even from here. Why would they do that? Why didn't they say anything?

The guards twisted his arms behind his back, and Tsuna hissed in protest. The woman turned to look at him, "Don't think you'll get sympathy because you're so young." She hissed.

Tsuna turned his honest eyes towards her. For a moment, she was stunned by the sincerity on his face, "Please," He pleaded softly, one last time, "Please believe me."

"Sorry." The woman simply said, her voice tight, not even the slightest apologetic.

She turned away. Tsuna was unable hold back the choked crie as the guards pushed the bag of bread back into the woman's hands and roughly shoved him along.

Tsuna stared at the giant construction in view. It was very white, standing in great contrast against the gray sky. It reminded him very much of a castle, but it was too mechanical and too cold-looking and intimidating to be compared to one of his fairytale images. It was far more extravagant then the plain-looking buildings next to it. By then, his feet were blistering with hate, and almost as red as a cherry. He had wondered why they looked so red, but remembered all the nicks and bumps he had encountered when he had chased after Gokudera. He hadn't noticed until he looked to his feet to avoid the guard's strict gaze. He blocked the pain out, but it still didn't change that it was still there. The moment that they'll stop is probably when it'll start hurting.

He stopped crying along the way too because really, crying in front of the guards was probably more awkward than he had ever felt, even more so than those crazy moments with Hibari. Hibari. Where was he now? Did he find out he was gone yet? In fact, how long was he gone? Determined to figure it out later when he wasn't being held in captivity. He would find out about Hibari and Gokudera. He'll get to the bottom of this. That he was certain. Otherwise, why would he had follow him? Well actually, that reason was to apologize to Hibari but…since he was here, at Hibari's own home then he might as well wander. The boogie man wasn't going to tell him anything anytime soon.

Instead of going through the front double doors, the guards took Tsuna to the side of the building and they entered through a tiny white door, almost hidden to the naked eye. At least his feet felt better here. There wasn't anymore rocks or humps that could hurt him in this flat, clean, marble floor. The guards looked irritated that they were stuck with Tsuna, and the boy felt irked by their behavior. They acted as if it was normal to arrest underaged boys

"You."

Tsuna struggled to move his eyes from the castle to the man in front of him. Tsuna blinked. His uniform was a lot different from the men that was holding him now. His uniform was black with white boots. The reverse opposite of the White Spell. The man addressing him was blond, with his hair slicked back and a careless expression on his face. But on closer inspection you could see the dead seriousness in his eyes.

"Black Spell." The guard to his left spat, "What do you want?"

"Give me the kid. I'll put him with the rest." The man, a Black Spell, said, gesturing to the scrutinizing boy.

Tsuna eyes lit up. The rest? There…were more like him? The brown-haired boy trembled in fear at the thought. He'd rather die than be in a cramped room full of convicts. The White Spell guard to his right grunted. Taking Tsuna shoulder, he shoved him at the Black Spell man. Tsuna hobbled, towards him, not before parting the two White Spells with a nasty glare. The Black Spell officer grabbed him by the shoulder and twisted his arms in a lock just as the two other officers had done before. Tsuna hissed again, a bit happy to have able to stretch his arms, even for a few seconds.

The Black Spell soldier guided him through the big double doors, pushing at his back roughly. And to Tsuna's surprise, he stared conversation, "Hey, is your foot alright?" The man questioned craning his head to look at the boy's blistering feet.

Tsuna had met many cruel people in his first experience in this world and that was probably the nicest thing anyone ever said to him all day. Tsuna stuttered to reply, partly because he thought that the officer wasn't talking to him, "I-I think…"

"Looks pretty bad. We'll probably have to treat that before you see Byakuran."

Going through a long corridor, the two finally reached a single room. It looked sort of like a small office. Tsuna let himself be seated onto a roller chair as the blond man shuffled through the drawers.

"Well, my name is Gamma. What's yours?"

Tsuna blinked, "Tsuna."

"So what did they catch you for?" Gamma looked at Tsuna from head to toe, "And why are you dressed like that?"

For a moment Tsuna was silent, staring at his lap. He knew this question would come sooner or later. Someone would want to know who he was. Hibari had reacted badly whenever he talked about his world. So, how would they act if he told them that there was another…place? He didn't want to find out. He chose his words carefully, "I-I was framed…Two guys stole some bread and as they passed they shoved it into my hands. The guards saw me holding them and they arrested me." Tsuna said slowly.

"Huh." Gamma grunted. Strangely enough, he didn't look surprised. But at least had forgotten his earlier question about his clothes. He took some ointment and smeared it over Tsuna's feet. It stung, but the injured boy bravely took it, biting his lip to hold back a pained noise. He bandaged them slowly, wrapping it around delicately around his foot. "Well," Gamma straightened, finishing up by giving him socks, "Be careful, Tsuna."

"Why?" Tsuna was almost afraid to ask.

"For some reason," Gamma said, his voice dropping into a whisper, "Byakuran has been looking for young boys your age. Normally, back then, officers would try to find the real perpetrators, but because you're…so young and male," Tsuna raised his eyebrows questioningly. "They took you in just for that."

"Just because…I'm thirteen?" Tsuna was about to open his mouth to ask who was Byakuran but decided against it. Now wasn't the time to be asking questions either.

"And male." Gamma added. He pulled Tsuna to his feet and helped him to the door. "I'll have to pretend I'm roughing you up a bit, so act like you're in pain."

He was perplexed by this strange officer's kindness by Tsuna nodded and put on the best anguished expression he could muster. Gamma grabbed his wrists and put them behind his back, giving the impression he was shackling him. They walked a lot after that, down elevators, through hallways. Tsuna's head was still spinning by the time they reached their destination.

"We're here." Gamma said lowly, as if he hated the place. They must be a thousand feet below ground! It was soundless in this floor. The door was locked and Gamma took out a key card and flashed it over a scanner. The door opened and Tsuna gasped.

All boys. There were only boys his age in here. Some boys were in the corner crying, their heads between their knees. Some were lying down on the cold floor, eagle spread, staring at nothing in particular. Others played cards in the center of the room. Tsuna silently gagged. You could feel the impenetrable misery in the room. A Black Spell guard turned to smile lividly at Gamma, but nodded in respect, "I've been assigned here, Gamma. They've…already been evaluated." He said the word evaluated strange used in that context, Tsuna realized with a shudder.

"I see…" Gamma said, gritting his teeth. He stared at the boys in deep grieving, as if he was the one in pain. He pointed to Tsuna, "Then…that must mean he's next, right?"

The Black Spell guard nodded, "Yeah." He gave Tsuna a long look over, "Byakuran just got done looking over the last one. He's three doors down. You can probably still catch him."

Gamma nodded curtly and guided Tsuna gently down the corridor. Tsuna's heart thundered in his chest, and perspiration began to collect at his forehead. The way they talked about Byakuran sounded…frightening. When they entered the room and Tsuna first laid eyes on him, he definitely wasn't expecting his appearance.

He was expecting to see a very intimidating man; someone that was huge and had a wardrobe equivalent to a gangster. Someone that wore a big raincoat and maybe wore sunglasses indoor. But the man he was staring at was far from that. He looked pleasant, had dimples and was smiling at the air. He was chewing something thought, and when he heard them approach, he smiled brightly. He sort of…looked like an angel. His fashion was quite similar to what he had seen on the street, the White Spell clothes stood in contrast against his skin, and his hair had been dyed the same color.

In the room was just four pieces of furniture. There were two couches, each facing each other and in between them sat a coffee table. And in the corner was a potted plant. Tsuna realized, with silent realization that the leaves glowed subtly just as the leaf Hibari had given him a long, long time ago on his tenth birthday. Next to where Byakuran was sitting was a small intercom device sitting on a sidestand. After taking a quick observation, Tsuna took a peek at Gamma, and was surprised to see an sour expression on his face. Byakuran didn't seem like someone you'd hate, but it seemed like everyone did. "Ah Gamma-kun! You're personally delivering me one?" Byakuran said, clapping his hands together, "That's awfully rare, I bet this one is good!"

Gamma only bit back his tongue from making a comment, "I'll be right outside." Gamma squeezed Tsuna's wrists meaningfully as he said this. He nudged Tsuna forward, gently, but subtly.

Byakuran sat back as Gamma closed the door silently and put his feet propped onto the coffee table. "What's your name?" Byakuran asked, showing his front pearly teeth.

"T-Tsuna." He answered.

"Come, come," The pleasant man waved to the couch with an enthusiastic hand, "Sit down! Don't just stand there, Tsuna-kun!"

Tsuna nearly jumped at the exuberant voice and quickly sat deftly down on the couch. His placed his hands on his lap and stared at them. For a moment they sat there in silence. Byakuran, smiling into air again and Tsuna because of speechlessness. Maybe…he could tell him about the bread thing? "Um, Byakuran-san?"

"Hm?" The white haired man instantly perked up upon hearing his name, "Yes?"

"Actually, I was arrested just awhile ago and I really didn't do anything."

Byakuran kept smiling, "Really? Do tell."

"Well, I was…walking around and all of a sudden I have this bag of bread in my hands…and well, the officers found me holding it and arrested me…I'm not even from around town…I'm kinda new here so…"

Byakuran held up a hand, "So what you're saying is, is that you're innocent?"

Tsuna nodded, hesitantly.

"Well, everyone says that, don't they? In their eyes, they believe that they're the center of the world, wouldn't you agree? They would push the blame onto someone else. 'It isn't their problem', they would say. But strangely enough, you're not blaming anyone. I think, you are really interesting. In fact, I think you're covering for someone although they did wrong. Am I right?" Byakuran looked pleased at Tsuna's soundless expression.

He didn't know how to reply. Tsuna stared. The way this strange man talked...it seemed wise and cheerful, but even though there was no official sign of it, Tsuna felt like there was an underlining bitterness underneath that smile.

"Strange. I don't effect you."

The boy across from him raised an eyebrow. What? Effect? Well, sure he was, he was making him confused, that's what he was doing. It was just him and Byakuran in this tiny, barely furnished room.

"You know," Byakuran smiled so widely, it made Tsuna's cheeks hurt. He got off from the couch and kneeled on the floor, put his elbows on the coffee table, placing his chin in his hands, "You should be screaming and begging Gamma-kun to come rescue you. But you're not. Which means only one thing."

Byakuran got up and grabbed Tsuna chin, forcing him to look straight at him, "That means you're not from here are you?" Tsuna mouth went dry and suddenly the cool roomy room was suddenly hot and cramped. He was too close, and this is probably the part where people get killed in movies. Byakuran continued, "I could tell. From your mannerism, to your clothes, to your hair. Heck, even you're eyes tell the story."

Byakuran smiled wickedly, "Too bad you got the wrong eyes. You're close though. I'm looking for someone else. If you had a different color then I would've killed you the moment I saw you. But the risks are too high. You're immune to me, so take special precautions…" Byakuran let go of Tsuna's chin and the boy recoiled back into the sofa with wide eyes. The white haired man walked over to the intercom on the tiny sidetable and pressed a button.

"Excuse me!" Byakuran greeted cheerfully, "Send some in!"

The boy on the couch nearly stared at this odd man. Why was he getting guards? What did he do? But Gamma is outside so—

With a click and beep, the door slid open and White Spell soldiers filed in. Gamma stalked into the room behind them. "What in the hell is the meaning of this, Byakuran?"

Byakuran ignored him. He smiled at the White Spells, "Please take him," The lanky man said in sing-song. Tsuna gasped as the men in white descended on him and grabbed at his arms in a familiar gesture.

"Where to, Byakuran-sama?"

The white haired man touched a finger to his chin in thought, "Hmmm….where to?" Byakuran gave Tsuna a long cordial look, "…How about the oubliette?"

"No!" Gamma hollered, and he tried to grab at Byakuran but was stopped by the White Spells. He flung his arms wildly at the smiling man's direction, who only watched with a pleasant expression. "You bastard! He's just a kid! He's done nothing wrong!"

"Don't take this the wrong way, Gamma-kun. After all, I would've assigned him to you but if seems like you're too soft-hearted. You would've tried to pull something behind my back and release him, wouldn't you? You've done so before. I know all about it."

Tsuna watched as Gamma's face grow pale then back to red with anger, "Not everyone is like you."

"That's right." Byakuran laughed aloud, "Remember your place Gamma-kun. Remember why you are here. Not to help little useless boys escape me. Take him away and put him somewhere. I'll see to his punishment later."

Tsuna mind spun, watching Gamma being carried out of the room. The blond man shot Tsuna a look of helplessness, the same look the mother and the child on the street had given him only a few hours before. Gamma only said one simple command, "Run!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Tsuna twisted in the White Spell's arms and kicked him hard in the right shin. The man grunted, instantly letting go of Tsuna out of pure reflex to cradle his kneecap. Tsuna watched Byakuran in the corner of his eye. He was…clapping. Applauding. Seeing the boy fight back, another White Spell that was retraining Gamma reached out to Tsuna, but the boy ducked, and ran right out the door. He could still hear Gamma yelling behind him, "Run! I'll stay here and hold them off!"

He paused. Gamma was all alone! He stood no chance against all those men! Tsuna gave a rouch, frustrated cry, torn between going back to help the kind man and escaping. What can he do? What should he do? But if he went back, what good can he do? He was so useless! What would Hibari do in this situation? This was crazy! He wanted to go home! He just wanted this to be some, horrible, horrible nightmare which purpose is to teach Tsuna a lesson! Well it was working! Everything he wanted to know about Hibari was biting him in the ass at the moment!

"Hey! White Spells! What the hell are you doing to Gamma?" Tsuna turned to look behind him and choked in relief. The Black Spell guard from earlier. He was going to help. Making a quick decision, Tsuna ran down the long hallway, ignoring the brawl between the officers behind him. He choked down a sense of nausea what he realized he could still hear Byakuran laughing and clapping joyfully in that room.

Tsuna touched the wall as he walked sluggishly next to it. He wasn't keeping track to where they were going when they arrived at that interrogation room. Now, he hated to admit it, but really. He was lost. Tsuna stopped running along the lines when he realized that no one was following him. Now, he was just wandering. He felt panicky but he didn't know where to go. One wrong turn could very much lead him to more trouble, or worse, back to Byakuran. He couldn't just sit down for help either…that would increase the chances of the White Spell finding him too.

When an irritated gruff a man sounded off the quiet hall, Tsuna stopped moving, even stopped breathing. He instinctively heightened his ears to listen.

"Why are we stuck doing this?" A voice said. "Besides, the kid is going to get so lost he's going to just die anyway."

"Byakuran-sama's orders, after all." A solid, stern voice said, "Can't exactly go against it, you know? Usually that's what he'd do, let them wander, but I think this kid is the one he's looking for. Why else would he ask us to look for him?"

"Are you serious?" The first voice gasped, "Say, do you know what he's looking for?"

"Can't say. But, ever since that girl told Byakuran-sama about that mojo prophecy, he's been like a madman, err, even more so, looking for some kid."

"Say, I think Byakuran-sama's looking for a good bed buddy. Seriously, all those boys in that one room alone…" The first voice laughed, his tone taking on a seductive tenor. "Maybe he has a fetish for young boys."

"Shut up. You never know when anyone's listening. You could get reported for that."

"Fine." There was a choke of dry laughter, "Ass-wipe."

Tsuna slowly sunk his back into the wall, as if he could camouflage himself against the strikingly white wall. Their footsteps were coming closer… What can he do? He skimmed against the wall silently, inching away as the footsteps got nearer. Then he felt it. A door. He opened it, hand clammy and wet as he fumbled with the device, praying to god that it wasn't one of the doors that beeped when you opened it. It opened silently, just as he wished, but the door was unbelievably heavy. He struggled to keep it open long enough for him to slip through. He took one step into the dark room and turned around slowly and quietly as he could to close it once again. He slid with his back against the door, until his bottom hit the floor. The footsteps passed, voices laughing and teasing.

Tsuna allowed himself to breathe. He got up, holding a palm to his chest. Thank god. They're gone. They didn't even hear him.

Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep.

Tsuna jumped at the sound, spinning around. All he could make out in the darkness was a computer screen. He approached it, tip-toeing across the ice-cold room. It was a vital sign meter. He had seen one while he was staying at the hospital during his recovery at that car accident he was in. Its supposed to keep track of your heartbeats, Hibari had explained to him. The quiet beeps continued, and Tsuna looked around the dark room…whose heartbeat was it measuring now? He nearly collapsed to the floor in realization. There was someone else in this room. Someone who needed a heart rate meter. Tsuna backed away slowly to the door. He should walk out. Walk out and pretend he never was in here.

Tsuna reached for the doorknob and flicked at it, but gasped. Wait, this didn't feel like the doorknob—

With a squeak, Tsuna fell, and covered his eyes as lights turned on with a loud click. Uh oh. This wasn't good. But instead of shouting or annoyed grunts upon being awakened, Tsuna heard nothing. Just silence. Tsuna uncovered his eyes, peeking through his fingers around the room. It took awhile but he adjusted his eyes to the light. The room was just as stark white as any part of the building, but this room was a lot different then that interrogation room Tsuna had been in. This room had machinery everywhere. There was a lot of beeping and clicking sound of working machines, each doing their own operation. Tsuna got up cautiously.

What a curious room. He walked to the center, looking around for any signs of a living thing or person. There was none. But…there was that suspicious thing in the far back of the room. He approached it. It was tall, almost reaching the ceiling. It looked like…a fridge? But no it was round and was covered by a white cloth.

Curiosity got the better of him. Tsuna lifted his hand and grabbed the drape, and jerked. The satin blanket flowed gracefully to the floor and Tsuna gasped, backing far away from the obstruction. What is that? Oh my god…the stricken boy thought, dropping to his knees. It was a person in there! The 'fridge' was a tube, a tube filled with water. And in it, was a man, a boy? He couldn't tell. But he had shackles to his wrists, and even worse, his right eye had a strange tube contraption around it. He was breathing from an oxygen mask, and was sleeping away peacefully, without a care in the world.

"Oh my god," Tsuna whispered aghast, staring up at the motionless man with horrified eyes, "They're torturing him!"

He had to help this person! He has to let him out! Tsuna struggled to stand up and ran to the computer, thinking about how totally cracked up this world was. His vital signs were alright, but he didn't have any knowledge in these medical things! Tsuna looked around the room for anything, anything that could help this man. He ran back to the tube, and looked at the corner. There was a silver plate that read, 'Vendicare – MUKURO ROKUDO' Was that his name? Mukuro Rokudo? He stared at the white wall in thought. Byakuran…did he do this to him? This Mukuro-guy? Instantly, his heart flared up in hatred. Not only did he do those things to those kids, but to torture people…it was unspeakable!

He peeked into a cardboard box next to the desk. There was a fire extinguisher…but does he have the strength to even use it to break the glass? Tsuna approached it, picking up the tool. "Forgive me if I hurt you," Tsuna whispered to the unconscious man. He mimicked Yamamoto's baseball bat stance, then, with all his might, he smashed the butt of the extinguisher right into the glass. For a moment, it was quiet, Tsuna stared in disappointment at the tiny crack he made. Then with wide eyes, he watched the tiny crack lengthen in size. After that was complete chaos. Water as cold as ice exploded from the crack and glass was swept up onto the floor. Tsuna screamed, the force of the water pump blew him away. He put his arms over his head, the liquid spraying like a high speed hose against him, flowing non-stop. There was a loud alarm and beeping from the machines. Security lights, Tsuna hadn't even noticed they were there, flashed red, illuminating the room into red, then white, then red again in a repeated pattern. The vitals signs were going off the charts, having lost connection to Mukuro when the water swept the wires away.

Sopping wet, Tsuna shakily got up from his fetal position and approached the tube. He shivered, he better hurry. They might find him and Mukuro soon. Taking the discarded extinguisher once again, he used it to break the remaining harmful glass out of the way. He nearly slipped when he crawled inside the tube along with the man.

"Hey," Tsuna touched Mukuro's shoulder and whispered gently, over the blaring alarms, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Mukuro didn't respond, his head lopping lazily to the side. Tsuna put his ear against the man's chest. A heartbeat, good. That meant he was still alive. He should take those strange things off. First, Tsuna peeled off the breathing mask then quickly discarded it over his shoulder. Tsuna put his hand against his mouth. Mukuro's smooth breathing brushed against his fingers. His breathing is okay too. The real tricky part came. Tsuna studied the eye piece. How should he take that off? Stepping out of the tube, the panicked boy opened all the drawers in the desk. Finally discovering some scissors, Tsuna hurriedly jumped back into the tube and held the cord in his left hand as he positioned his right with the stationary tool. "Sorry," he whispered again and tugged at the eye cord, "I'm not sure how to take this off but the only thing I can think of is scissors, so keep your eyes closed, okay?"

Deftly, Tsuna cut the thick rubber cord, and to his surprise, the eye piece around Mukuro's eye just flopped off. "Wow." Tsuna said to himself with a triumphant smile, "That was easier than I thought." With a huff, "Okay," Tsuna put an arm around Mukuro's waist and took Mukuro's left arm and hung it around his shoulders. He was surprisingly lighter than he thought, "Let's get out of here." Carefully, the boy stepped out of the tube and helped the deadweight Mukuro out next. Dodging the glass and slippery water on the floor, Tsuna half-carried, half-dragged Mukuro to the exit. There was a loud bang, and the steel door flew open.

"You! Stop!"

Tsuna gasped as he lifted his head. White Spells! Tsuna recognized immediately, choking at the familiar suits as they filed in the room. They had rifles up, and cocked right at him and Mukuro. "He's helped Mukuro escape!"

"Shoot him! Shoot him!"

"We can't!" One guard yelled over the others, "Byakuran gave us instructions to bring the kid back to him! And we can't risk shooting Mukuro!"

"Damn it, Rokudo needed to die anyway! Shoot him!"

"We can't!" The guard repeated, hollering over the panicked whispers.

"Grab him then!"

Tsuna put Mukuro gently down, walking towards them. Maybe they didn't know what Byakuran has been doing behind their backs! "I can explain—"

"Nothing to explain." The hostile guard barked, taking the safety lock off his gun, "Do you even know what you've done?"

Tsuna's eyes flared in hate, and he never had been so livid at anyone in his life, "What I've done? You were torturing him! You kept him in that tube! Experimenting on him! You're all evil people!"

"Listen kid, please, don't talk any louder, we don't want to wake up Mukuro, do we?" Another White Spell said, putting hands around Tsuna's shoulders craftily. Within seconds, the White Spell surrounded him, pounding the defenseless boy to the ground.

"No!" Tsuna kicked at them, "Stay away! Help!"

There were white uniforms everywhere he looked, and he cried in frustration. His help was a loss cause. There was nothing he could do after all. He was so useless, stupid, inconsiderate. Now Gamma's effort were for nothing. All because he was so selfless in an insane situation. "Hibar—Hiba—" He cried out to the ceiling, as if his boogie man would come. He tried calling out the one person he wanted to see more than anything. Where was he? Why wasn't he coming for him? "Hibari-san." He whispered fearfully through the forest of white uniforms. Was there no one out there?

"Kufufufu. Oya, what's this?"

Then stillness. Just utter stillness in the room. The white uniforms stopped moving and slowly the occupants, except Tsuna (because his face was to the floor), turned to look at Mukuro.

"You Millefiore, picking on the weak again. Pitiful." Mukuro crossed his legs and sat deftly on the roller chair, staring at them with half-lidded eyes.

The White Spells exchanged low whispers, one man gasped, "Holy shit."

"He's awake. Fuck, he's awake." A man grunted lowly to the others.

"What do we do?" Another asked, looking at his companions in panic.

"We have to get the Vendicare executives. They can handle him." Tsuna heard the guard in front of him whisper. The man dug in his pocket, fishing out what looked like a walkie talkie. No! They were going to call for help! Lurching like a fish out of water, Tsuna bit down hard on the man's wrist, making him drop the communicator.

"You little shit!" The man smacked Tsuna's head with his free elbow and reached for it once again. Tsuna blinked, disorientated at the sudden impact, but shook his head to collect his thoughts.

Tsuna bumped him again, grunting, and it was a success. The communicator skidded, and hit the wall close to the broken tube.

Enraged, the White Spell took Tsuna's neck, he wrapped his beefy hands around his scrawny neck and squeezed. Tsuna cried out, kicking harder against the white men. Then in the flash of indigo mist, the man that was strangling him was lifted to his feet and was shaken hard. The man grew unconscious, and was dropped deadweightly onto the floor.

"Get off that boy. Now." The silky voice said. Mukuro stared, waiting for them to comply. Not even lifting a finger or breaking a sweat.

Tsuna breathed heavily in relief as all the White Spells slowly and cautiously got off of him. He laid on the floor for a bit, struggling just to prop himself up on his elbows. The men held onto all his limbs so hard he thought they would all break.

Then the screaming started. Tsuna jerked to look at the White Spells, each holding their heads and just screaming. The boy shakily looked up, still wet and shivering. He stared at them, absolutely horrified by the begging and crying for mercy. "W-What's going on?" He asked partly to himself, but also partly to Mukuro across the room. Then slowly, the screaming came to a stop one by one until all the White Spells laid unconscious on the floor. Tsuna stared at them, barely breathing himself.

"Severe case of hallucinations, no needn't to worry." Mukuro said, chuckling darkly, answering Tsuna's question. Tsuna turned to look at Mukuro, as he stood up in haughty grandeur from his seat. "They deserved it after all the hell they've put me through. Useless little Millefiore. In the end, Byakuran will replace them too." The silent boy studied him. His hair, was unbelievably long, apart from his front bangs. His clothes, which were still wet to the bone, were a dirty yellow that were probably, once white. But he looked sickly, even if he wasn't trying. His hands and feet were so pruny, like raisins and his expressions were stiff, as if it was a bit of trouble to move them. How long had he been in that tube? Mukuro followed Tsuna's studious stare before he chuckled, "Kufufufu. I look like a mess, don't I? Close your eyes."

Tsuna looked perplexed, but complied all the same. "Now open them." He opened them and gasped. Mukuro was no longer in the shabby prison clothes, looking much more refined in the black coat and white shirt. He wore a loose tie and a belt. His hair, Tsuna almost laughed, looked like a pineapple and his long hair was pulled into a low ponytail. His outfit seriously brought his character out. It strangely suit him although to Tsuna's taste it was pretty extravagant but he guessed in this world it leather and boots were a fashion statement, after all.

"H-How did you do that?" Tsuna asked excitedly, in amazement and awe. "That was like magic!"

Mukuro was bemused by this comment,, "What is your name?"

"…Tsuna." He answered.

"Full name?"

"S-Sawada Tsunayoshi. But I like to be called Tsuna."

"Well, Sawada Tsunayoshi," Mukuro said, ignoring the boy's nickname. He crouched down to Tsuna's level and stared right into his eyes. Tsuna almost gasped, but held it back just in time. H-his right eye…was red, and had the kanji for six as a pupil. Tsuna tried to politely focus on the left side of Mukuro's face as they talked. "Were you the one who rescued me?"

Tsuna nodded, shakily.

"Are you afraid of me?" Mukuro asked another question, seriousness etched on his face.

It was at the wrong moment in the wrong conversation, but he instantly thought of Hibari's face. His scary, intimidating face came into mind. He used to be afraid of him too. But when he showed gentleness and saved him so many times. This question wasn't hard. If Hibari had asked the same thing, he knew his only answer. This time, Tsuna looked into both of Mukuro's eyes, not shying away from the strange red pupil. "No, I'm not."

"And why is that?" Mukuro asked, seriously surprised.

"Because," Tsuna began, lifting himself so he was sitting on his butt, "You saved me. And because of that, I'm sure, that you're actually really kind."

Mukuro laughed dully, "I've been called many things but that's probably the first time someone's called me that."

"We better go." Tsuna said softly, looking up at the blaring red lights on the ceiling.

Mukuro nodded. "Hurry and stay behind me. Don't slow me down, Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna smiled shakily at Mukuro's back as they cautiously left the alarm-blaring lab and into the desolate hallway. At least he wasn't alone anymore.

AN: An oubliette is a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling. Usually, it was used for the royalty to throw the people they wanted to forever forget in there. They wouldn't even feed them. They would keep them in there until they died and wouldn't even bury the body. It was a cruel way of torture, to feel totally alone in the dark and forgotten was its emotionally pain inflicting trait that was from the Renaissance period. Pretty much, this is actually the first chapter Hibari never made an appearance, if you noticed. The white rabbit could be anyone in this chapter because they all lead Tsuna to a different place. But the white rabbit role I wanted to give was to Gokudera, and I'm pretty sure you're all still freaking out on me about that. That was planned out too. Also, there has been an issue again on Hibari's appearance. Okay, for one more time, Hibari is in his TYL form. Always has.

This was another issue: Last chapter, many people had taken Tsuna's side in the argument. Not that I mind, I was happy about that, but you see when Hibari had said, 'I never wanted to be your friend' he was actually saying, 'I've always wanted to be something more.' Okay? So Hibari wasn't trying to be a jerk. He just isn't the best of concise speakers. Good? Everyone alright? Yay!