A/N: This chapter turned out longer than I expected. Ooops. Again, I own none of these characters

"So where exactly are we?" Yamamoto asked, a small frown tugging at the edge of his lips, "Wasn't this supposed to be a short walk?"

"Maybe he gave us the wrong directions?" Haru said, also frowning and examining the paper in her hands, "I don't know, this neighborhood doesn't look too safe…"

It was evening, and the setting sun's rays were casting long shadows around them. The group had spent a relaxing day at the Met before grabbing a quick dinner at a rather mediocre corner deli. Using the directions Ryohei had sent, Haru had volunteered to lead the group to their destination, a stadium that could not have been more than a twenty minute walk away. However, they had been walking for what must have been well over half an hour and there was nothing that even resembled a boxing stadium or any sporting center in sight.

They had long left the bustling streets and through a series of confusing turns, made their way into a rather deserted area. The buildings on the side of the streets appeared to be deserted warehouses, some rusted from years of decay. A few passersby loitered around the street, every now and then staring at the group with suspicious eyes. It might have been the setting sun, the stark contrast between the crowded streets and the empty warehouses, or the rather scary-looking strangers, but their surroundings were looking less and less friendly by the minute.

"Nobody has GPS or a smartphone or something?" Haru asked, after staring particularly hard at the papers in her hand for a few minutes, "I thought I was following Ryohei's instructions and map, but it's making less and less sense…"

They all shook their heads, "We can't really use the data outside Japan; it's too expensive." Tsuna explained, "So I didn't even bother bringing my phone with me when we left the hotel. I just brought the pre-paid phone that I was going to use while we were here, but it's really basic." He explained, pulling the flip phone out of his pocket.

"Same here" Yamamoto said and the others nodded in agreement, "Though I guess in hindsight it would probably have been a better idea to bring something along when wandering around a new city? Oh well" he laughed, "This is an adventure! I bet we would have never seen this side of New York if we had brought a GPS or something!"

"That's not necessarily a good thing, you idiot" Gokudera said, scowling, "Look around us. This look like a neighborhood you really want to visit?"

"It's always important to see all sides of the world, Gokudera!" Yamamoto was practically beaming now, "We're broadening our horizons this way! We're seeing a side of America that you don't see in pop culture!"

"How can a person even be this stupid!?" Gokudera cried, "There's a reason you don't see "this side" in pop culture you know."

"Calm down you two." Tsuna said, "Freaking out won't do us any good."

"Tsuna's right" Haru nodded, "But…This map really makes absolutely no sense. Kyoko maybe you can interpret it?" she asked, holding the papers she had been examining out to Kyoko.

"I'll see what I can do." Kyoko said, smiling. She looked over the papers for a few seconds in silence, "Haru…this is the map my brother sent you?" she finally asked.

"Yep."

"And you…didn't think there was anything wrong with it?"

"No, why?"

"Um." Kyoko held the map up so the group could see, "Haru, this is a map of the entire United States. Brother just circled New York and wrote "around here" on it. It…well it isn't really helpful now, is it?"

"Now that you mention it…" Haru frowned, cocking her head.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS YOU STUPID WOMAN!?" Gokudera screamed, snatching the map from Kyoko's hands and staring at it, "HOW COULD YOU NOT NOTICE THIS!?"

"I'm not a stupid woman! It's a map of New York isn't it!?" Haru cried defensively, "I don't know I just trusted Ryohei! Don't blame me in all of this!"

"There, there Gokudera it was an honest mistake" Yamamoto laughed, "But I guess Ryohei got us good! Maybe it's a challenge? Like he wants us to find him ourselves…think of it as a game!"

"DO YOU REALLY HAVE A BASEBALL FOR A BRAIN!?" Gokudera rounded on Yamamoto, "NOT EVERYTHING'S A GAME GODDAMNIT!"

"Gokudera calm down!" Tsuna cried, taking the map from Gokudera and looking at it himself, "Though you are right...this map is completely useless."

"But Tenth-!"

"How about you stop yelling at us and start thinking of how you can help instead" Haru interrupted Gokudera, her arms crossed across her chest, "It's not like you volunteered to help lead the group anyways."

"Yes that's a great idea!" Tsuna exclaimed quickly before Gokudera could respond, "Let's all think of ways out of this instead of fighting." Tsuna looked around at their surroundings, "Since we don't have a GPS or a map, maybe we should ask for help. You know, get directions or something?"

"Good idea boss!" Gokudera agreed, looking around. The street was empty however, with the few people who had been walking by long gone, "Let's walk down a block and see if anyone's there?"

"Sounds like a plan" Yamamoto nodded, "I'm sure we'll be able to find our way around eventually."

With Gokudera now leading the way, the group hurried down the street in a rather tense silence. Yamamoto seemed to be the only one at ease, smiling pleasantly as he took in their surroundings.

"Tenth look!" Gokudera cried out, as they rounded the corner. A middle-aged man was leaning against one of the empty warehouses, but looked up upon hearing Gokudera.

The group quickly walked over to the man, a rather skinny fellow with a shock of brown hair, "Y'all need something?" he asked, speaking in a rather scruffy smoker's voice.

"Well yes." Tsuna said, smiling hesitantly, "Um. We're looking for directions actually."

"For what?"

"A boxing tournament." Tsuna responded, "Our friend's going to be in it. I think it was called the East Coast Regional Tournament?"

The man's eyes lit up, and he suddenly smiled, "Well why didn't you say so? Tell me are you lot from around here?"

"No we're from Japan" Tsuna smiled back, relieved at the suddenly friendly attitude of the stranger.

"And you've been in the states for…?"

"Three days"

"Have you tried the Central Corner Deli?"

"Yea, we just went there for dinner?" Tsuna responded confused as to why the man was interested in that particular deli. It hadn't seemed extraordinary; the food hadn't been terrible for the price but it certainly hadn't been anything to talk about.

"Sounds good to me" the man nodded, "Alright you need to follow me."

"You're going to take us there?"

"What else would I do?" the man laughed, "I know we New Yorkers got a bit of a bad reputation for being rude but we wouldn't just let you just wander around by yourselves."

"That's very kind." Tsuna smiled, "Really, thank you for your help."

"It's all in the name of business" the man responded, waving his hand and starting down the street, "Just follow me."

"Wait, Tenth" Gokudera suddenly grabbed Tsuna's arm, leaning forward and speaking lowly into his ear, "New York is not a kind city. Do we want to follow a stranger we just met?"

"We have no other leads, Gokudera" Tsuna responded, also whispering, "And he seems…friendly enough."

"Do you trust him?"

Tsuna frowned, watching the man walk slowly away, "I…" he started, slowly. He could feel a slight nagging feeling in the back of his mind, as if he were forgetting something, "Well I mean…"

"Gokudera it's fine." Yamamoto quietly interrupted, walking ahead, "He said he'd take us to the tournament so let's just trust him for a bit. Anyways between the three of us I think we'll be fine if he tries to pull anything funny."

"Yamamoto's right" Tsuna nodded, now pointedly ignoring the feeling in the back of his mind, "Plus it's getting late, he's the only person around, and I really don't think we want to be around here once the sun sets. Let's just follow him for now."

The group hurried after the man, who had paused, looking back at them and frowning, "You sure take your time" he said, once they had caught up to them, "We don't want to keep them waiting now do we?"

"I'm sorry" Tsuna apologized quickly, "Could you lead the way?"

"Sure thing" the man shrugged, not pressing any further. "You're close, you know. It's only about a block or so down."

The group walked in silence, the man leading them making absolutely no effort at any small talk. They had only been walking for about five minutes before the man suddenly stopped in front of one of the warehouses, "It's in here" he said, opening the door and slipping inside.

"What a weird place to hold a tournament…" Kyoko frowned, "Maybe it's because they need a wide open space for the ring?" she asked.

"Who knows?" Tsuna responded, shrugging and following the man into the warehouse.

It was dark inside, with sparse lighting provided by a few flickering fluorescent lights in the ceiling. They followed the man through a rather long and narrow hallway and down a flight of rather rickety-looking stairs.

"Is big brother really boxing in a place like this…?" Kyoko whispered to Tsuna, looking rather concerned.

"Maybe it's a shortcut?" Tsuna suggested, quickly looking around at their surroundings as they walked, "Plus didn't he say he was still trying to work his way to the big leagues? Maybe you have to start in venues like this."

"We've got a pretty good cover here you know." The man suddenly called over his shoulder, "These warehouses are actually owned by one of the higher ups with the police, so they never even check here. They know what's going down and sometimes an officer will try to harass us, but then that officer gets fired in about a week so who cares. I'll admit though, it's not the cleanest looking area but hey, beggars can't be choosers."

"Y…Yea" Tsuna responded, completely lost. Why would a boxing tournament care about police ownership? The nagging in the back of his head was getting worse and he quickly shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Gokudera must have noticed because he shot Yamamoto a warning look, jerking his head over at Tsuna, who was walking in front of them. His taller friend said nothing but nodded wordlessly, re-adjusting the long cloth case he carried over his shoulder at all times that held the Shigeru Kintoki .

The group made their way down the stairway and stopped in front of a large and rather heavy-looking metal door. The man leading them reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a lanyard with a few keys attached to it. After fumbling through the keys for a few minutes, he found the right one, unlocked the door, and pulled it open.

"After you." The man said, smiling and holding an arm out. The group filed through the door into a rather large and sparsely decorated room. There were a few rather cushy looking couches on one side of the room where a group of about ten individuals sat and a table with an assortment of strange tubes and what looked like chemicals on the other side.

"Who are these kids?" one man, a rather burly looking individual with a buzz cut stood, glaring at the group. He wore loose-fitting jeans that had been ripped in several places and an oversized t-shirt with some illegible scribbles on it.

"They're here to pick up the goods, Tom." The man who had led the group came into the room, letting the door swing shut with a loud bang behind them, "Calm down, you know we're plenty safe here."

"From the East Side family then? They just get younger and younger don't they" the man, Tom, shook his head, "I can't believe the East Side's resorting to kids now. How old are you lot? 16? 17?"

"Well rumor has it that Vongola Ten started fighting for his position when he was 14." The other man responded, shrugging, "Maybe they started a new trend in the families. Send kids into the battlefield younger. Have them make the arms pick up instead of the adults."

Tom laughed, "The Vongola play on a different level from the rest of us, Squid. When you're born into that caliber family you start in the business as soon as you can walk."

Tsuna said nothing but paled substantially. Vongola? How did these men know about that? He quickly shot Gokudera a glance and felt relieved to see that his friend had quietly slipped his hands over his Vongola Gear belt buckle. Thanks to a combination of Spanner's technology and Chrome's illusions, they had been able to disguise all of their Vongola Gear as everyday objects, hiding the telltale "Vongola" that was emblazoned on each of their items. Gokudera's now looked like a plain silver belt buckle, though at his insistence Chrome had agreed to add a silver skull to the front of it.

Tsuna looked away from his friend, touching the plain silver ring he wore on his right ring finger with his right thumb. Though he had been able to master the final stage of the Dying Will, using it was exhausting and whenever possible Tsuna preferred fighting with his Vongola Gear. The double rings and chain had been disguised as a simple silver band that he wore at all times, attracting far less attention than it had in its original form. Taking a deep breath, Tsuna readied his flame before turning his attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Anyways", the man called Squid shrugged, "I'm sure our ambassadors from the East Side aren't interested in talking about the Vongola. Last I heard you lot had managed to fall out of favor with their alliance? What was it again, you did something with human trafficking on their turf and they freaked? They're going soft, I tell you. Originally I thought it was just because the Ninth was getting old but nobody seems to know anything about the Tenth so who knows what he's going to do. Hell, they haven't even introduced the Tenth to Society yet what's up with that? Isn't he already in his late teens? Or was it early twenties? Either way, families usually introduce their heirs before they can even walk, I've no idea what the Vongola's trying to pull with this honestly."

"Ah…who knows." Tsuna laughed, trying to force the nervousness that was churning in his stomach down. Thankfully, his friends, especially Gokudera, had opted to remain silent, though the sudden tension from the group at the mention of Vongola was nearly tangible.

"Squid enough with mafia politics, can't you see you're making these kids uncomfortable?" Tom called out, apparently also noticing the sudden tension, "Just give them the goods. You know messengers don't care about your opinions, ain't that right, kid?"

Tsuna said, nothing, shooting the man a tight-lipped smile and he grinned in return and nodded. Squid grumbled a bit but stopped talking, instead crossing over to the tables and picking up a medium-sized box before bringing it back over, "Here you are" he said, setting the box down at Tsuna's feet, "One of the first batches of box weapons. These aren't prototypes, mind you these are the real deal. We've finally got them stable and good to go. These babies are gonna revolutionize mafia warfare, let me tell you, and boy are you lucky that you've got someone as tech-savvy as us on your side." He opened the box and sure enough, inside were what looked to be a few dozen box weapons.

"O…oh" Tsuna said, giving the man another strained smile as he fully realized his situation, "Well then. Okay."

Though Tsuna had absolutely no idea what exactly had convinced this Squid fellow that they were from this East Side family, it was clear to him that somehow his group had managed to accidentally stumbled across some sort of illegal arms trade. Mentally cursing his terrible luck, Tsuna began weighing his options, trying to find a way out that had nothing to do with him blasting a whole through the wall, Yamamoto knocking people out, or Gokudera blowing everything and everyone up. For a second, he considered coming clean, explaining to these men that they were just random tourists with absolutely no connection to the East Side family whatsoever. However, based on what he had heard so far and his past experiences with the underworld, Tsuna sincerely doubted they would be allowed to just walk away after what they had seen. Maybe if he just played along they could get out of this whole mess without a fight. After all, Tsuna had been absolutely determined at the start of his vacation to, at all costs, make it completely free of the mafia or anything else that could be considered illegal and/or dangerous.

"We're not here to actually pick up the weapons." He finally said, forcing the shaking out of his voice, "Um. We're here just to do a check-up. Someone will be coming by later to get the weapons."

"Now hold on a sec." Tom growled, "That wasn't the agreement. You said to have the pick-up ready today and you'd bring the payment. Today."

"Well that's the thing" Tsuna responded, forcing a smile, "We don't have payment. On us, that is. It's coming but we just don't have it. So we can't do the pick up today see?"

"Are you lot going back on your word?" Tom asked, glaring at Tsuna.

"N-no see we're not taking the weapons till we have your money. So we're not taking your money and not taking the weapons we're totally not going back on our word just we're not ready yet. It-It's okay right?" Tsuna blabbered, praying to every religious entity that he could think of that this would work and they could just walk away.

"No." Tom shook his head, his voice dropping, "It really isn't."

"Whoa Tom, calm down." Squid spoke up, "Look they're just kids, you know they weren't in charge of the money or anything. Let's just call up East Side and ask them what's up. No point in hurting the messenger, eh?"

A general murmur of agreement rose from those sitting on the couches and Tsuna felt a small bubble of relief pool in his chest.

"Tch" Tom shook his head, "You lot are the ones going soft. Fine. Call u-"

He was suddenly interrupted by the shrill ring of a cell phone, "Hold on a sec." he growled, reaching into his pocket, fishing out his phone and looking at the screen. "Well speak of the devil" he muttered, swiping his thumb across the screen to answer the phone.

"Hello." He said, "Dave? Yea we were just about to call you actually. There's some problems with the payments?"

He was quiet for a few seconds as he listened to the other person on the phone, "What'da mean your men can't find ours, they're right here…"

Tsuna could feel a sinking in his chest as Tom listened a few more seconds, his eyes going wide as he turned to glare at Tsuna and his friends, "You don't say. I see. No that makes things much, much simpler. I'll be speaking to you after I deal with this little problem."

Tom hung up, letting the silence in the room thicken for a few seconds before speaking, "That was our East Side contact, kids. Know what he said?"

"That the payment would be here soon?" Tsuna squeaked out, trying to smile.

"No he said that he had sent his single agent over here and that he was currently looking for Squid at the meet up place. Meaning that you lot clearly aren't from the East Side." His expression darkened, "So the question remains. Where are you lot from and why are you trying to steal these box weapons? Speak up. You with the police? Or are you with a rival family? It's probably the latter isn't it? There's no way the police know about these box weapons yet. So what family are you lot from?"

"We're not from a family or the police!" Haru suddenly cried out, when Tsuna failed to answer, opting instead to stare at the larger man and gape, "We got lost! We were simply asking for directions to the East Coast Regional Boxing Tournament and suddenly you dragged us down here!"

"You expect me to buy that?" snarled Tom, "How'd you know about the password then?"

"What passwords?" Haru exclaimed, throwing her hands up, "We didn't have any passwords! We just asked your friend to take us to the boxing tournament!"

There was a few seconds of silence as the people in the room stared at Tsuna's group, "So wait, you're actually looking for the East Coast Regional Boxing Tournament" the man who had led them finally said, weakly.

"Yes!" Haru responded, "I thought we made that very clear!"

"And you're actually from Japan?"

"Yes."

"And you've actually been here three days."

"Yes!"

"And you actually ate dinner at the Central Corner Deli!?"

"Yes I don't even know why you asked us that!"

"Wow you royally fucked up, Squid." Tom said, "I don't know if they're really looking for a boxing tournament or lying but that doesn't change anything."

"What do you mean?" Haru asked, staring at Tom, her face pale, "It was a mix up. It was a mistake and we're sorry for wasting your time. S-so if you don't mind, we'll be leaving now."

"Oh no I don't think that's possible, kid" Tom smirked, "Honestly I don't buy your story so I say we beat the crap out of you till you tell the truth. And even if you are telling the truth, well, we really can't let you go after what you've seen."

"T-Then what are you going to do…?" Tsuna asked, his entire body taunt. He could feel his flame just beneath the surface, ready to burst forth. In the years of training he had undergone with Reborn he had finally managed to switch into all levels of Dying Will mode without the aid of any bullets or pills, which made things far easier when he was in a pinch, such as this one. There were only ten or so people in the room, he noted, and none of them seemed to be in-tune with their flame or any sort of box weapon. It would be easy to take them all out and with Gokudera's System CAI, protecting the girls wouldn't be difficult either. Killing these men to protect his friends wasn't even a concern here, Tsuna noted with a small jolt of relief. Despite Reborn's insistence that killing people was something that "just happened" in the mafia world, Tsuna still wasn't exactly on board with the idea of taking another life.

Tom laughed mirthlessly, "Sorry kids but this is the end of the line for you."

"Hey, hey calm down" Yamamoto said, holding his hands up and smiling, "There's no need for violence. We're just trying to find our friend's boxing tournament and you're just trying to run your…operation. Let's just put the past in the past and part ways here, hm?"

"As I said, I'm afraid I can't let you go" Tom shook his head, a small smile tugging up at the edge of his lips, "I do feel bad about killing a bunch of kids who had nothing to do with this, so I promise to make it quick. Of course, we'll find out if that's the truth or not, won't we?"

Tsuna glanced at Yamamoto, who had taken a few steps forward and was now standing in front of the group, a small smile still on his face. There was a sudden movement and a second later, he had his bamboo sword fully out, the blade end pointed directly towards the men on the couch and their leader.

A startled expression crossed Tom's face before he registered what Yamamoto was holding, "Damn, you can move" he said, letting out a low whistle, "I didn't even see that at all. But that's a bamboo sword...Christ you have guts too. With that kind of speed and recklessness, you'd do well in the underworld, kid. If we had met under different circumstances I probably would have considered asking you to work for me." He reached under his jacket and pulled out two large handguns, "It's a pity, really to see your level of potential wasted. You really think you can beat us with that?"

"You never know till you try" Yamamoto was still wearing that carefree grin but Tsuna noted the sudden hardness in his eyes. Reborn had called Yamamoto the closest to being a professional hitman in Tsuna's family and it was times like this that Tsuna could fully appreciate Reborn's judgment.

"Well you go ahead and try" Tom said, pulling the handguns up and aiming them directly at Yamamoto's head, "But don't be surprised at the outcome okay?"

"That won't be necessary."

Another voice, clear and strong, suddenly rang out before either side could movie. There was the distinctive click of a gun and everyone took their eyes off the two men squaring off as another person suddenly rose from the group of people on the couches. She was a young woman, Tsuna noted with dark hair that was thrown back into a messy bun and dark shades that obscured nearly her entire face. In her hand she held a small handgun and had it leveled directly at Tom.

"R…Rachel?" Tom said, shock evident on his face, "Wha-what are you doing!?"

"My name isn't Rachel, it's Rebecca Faucett", the woman responded, never taking her eyes off Tom, "FBI."

There was a second of silence as everyone gaped at the woman, the weight of her words sinking into them.

"You're…FBI" Tsuna finally said, staring at the woman.

"Sure am, kid" she responded, not even looking at Tsuna, "I don't know if you kids are telling the truth about accidentally stumbling into this operation, but damn do you have bad luck."

Before Tsuna could respond, Tom suddenly lunged at her, bellowing. A gunshot rang out and he fell back, howling and clutching his arm.

"Before anyone else tries anything funny" the FBI agent said, her voice completely calm despite having just shot a man, "I'll have all of you know that everyone here is completely surrounded. Our team's moving in as I speak so let's just make this painless for all of us and cooperate."

The people of in the room all fell silent, with the exception of Tom who was on the ground, still holding his arm and grunting in pain.

"We're not going to just sit quietly!" Squid suddenly cried out, springing forward and grabbing Gokudera, who was the closest to him, "We've got a hostage here and unless you want to see this boy's throat slashed open you'll do as I say!" A second later, he had Gokudera around the shoulder and the blade of a long, rather wicked-looking knife pressed up to his throat.

"You don't have a hostage, you ass." Gokudera growled, reacting instantly. He drove his elbow, hard, into Squid's stomach and the man doubled over, letting go of Gokudera and dropping the knife. Gokudera quickly ducked away, hit the man on the back of the head before he had a chance to straighten out, and let his unconscious body crumple to the floor.

"Well that takes care of that then. The rest of you lot going to cooperate?" the FBI agent asked, glaring at the group of people who were now cowering on the couches, "Okay good. I want everyone on their knees with their hands in the air. That includes you kids." She said, jerking her head in the direction of Tsuna and his friends.

"We've got nothing to do with this!" Gokudera protested.

"Gokudera, no" Tsuna spoke, his voice hard. He put his hands in the air, slowly, "Please, don't fight this. We'll just go with them for now. We're innocent so we'll get this sorted out in no time. I just do not want to start a fight with the freaking FBI."

"Tch." Gokudera, reluctantly followed suit, dropping to his knees, "If the tenth says so."

Seconds later, the doors behind them burst open, with a heavy metallic clang. Casting a glance back, Tsuna saw several men hurrying through the doorway, dressed in all black and holding rather vicious-looking guns. They were yelling, though Tsuna could not quite make out what they were saying to each other. A group of the men approached Tsuna and before he could say anything, he felt a pair of hands roughly jerk his behind his back, clasping them into metal cuffs. He was yanked roughly to his feet and pulled along by one of the men.

"Watch it you-" judging by Gokudera's cry and the exclamation from the girls, they had received the same harsh treatment.

"Come on, you." The man holding Tsuna said his voice low and gravelly, "I'm going to begin reading you your rights now…"

Tsuna quickly tuned out the man's voice, instead trying to keep track of his friends, who were quickly disappearing in the sea of black. He saw a flash of Gokudera's silver hair for a second before it vanished and he was pulled through the door, up the stairs, and through the entrance.

It was chaotic outside, with flashing lights, sirens, and people barking out instructions. Bewildered by the sudden assault on his senses, Tsuna stopped moving for a second but the man holding him jerked him forward again and he stumbled forward. He was all but dragged a few yards over to a waiting black van and shoved harshly into the back. Staggering to his feet, he noted there were benches along the side of the van and bars between himself and the driver. He sunk down on one of the benches, leaning his head against the back of the metal of the van and trying to block out the harsh sounds and lights.

This is possibly the worst vacations I have ever taken, including that trip to Mafia Island. Tsuna thought as the man who had been holding him slammed the doors shut, leaving him in darkness. There were a few seconds of muffled noises from outside before the van finally lurched forward, taking Tsuna to his unknown destination.

So that's chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed.