Haze

Chapter 3

~ Mafia School: Welcoming ~

"Mom…How many times have I said? I don't want to go Mafia School!" the brunette boy insisted.

"Tsuna…it's mandatory. Mom doesn't have the right to object. Besides, you can make lots of friends there!" She smiled as she tried to placate her son.

"Haa…" He sighed as he drooped his head. It was no use. He sulked. He should have known it was futile. The Mafia School had an infamous reputation of ensuring students went to their school.

He shivered from the thought of joining those Mafia. Just because his dad was one does not mean he needed to go! He wanted to be just a normal kid, studying at a local high school.

Then again, he thought. What was considered normal?

Ahhh…He internally cursed and pulled at his hair for the umpteenth time. What was he going to do? Going to the Mafia School! His thoughts were not sorted out yet! And the bus was coming!

His mom placed his stuff right beside him. "Here are all your belongings. I've packed it for you." She smiled and patted his shoulders. "Don't worry Tsuna, I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Mom…" Tsuna groaned.

"There-There" Nana consoled and hugged her son. "Mom's gonna miss you."

Tsuna calmed down and hugged his mother back. "Me too." He said honestly. He had never lived without his mom before. How was he going to get through dormitory life?

As he was panicking, the bus arrived right on the dot outside his house, as stated in the letter it had sent on his 16th birthday. He reluctantly waved goodbye to his mom and boarded the limousine bus.

Inside, he was shocked to see the luxurious bus interior. The floor was laid with dark fancy carpeting, leather seats arranged in such a way that everyone faced each other, and lightings dim, creating a dramatic atmosphere. Several people were already in the bus, playing with cards while some were drinking wine, laughing heartily. He was taken in by the mature, but slightly rebellious atmosphere that seemed to suck him in.

"Hey newcomer, don't just stand there!" The bus driver shouted, breaking his train of thoughts. "Sit down! It's dangerous!"

"Ah yes!" Tsuna instantly replied back, and quickly sat down onto a nearby empty seat that he saw.

"Eh? You look like you are unaccustomed to such things. New to mafia?" A black short-haired boy kid next to him asked with a cheeky grin. "I'm Yamamoto Takeshi by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Ah yes, nice to meet you." Tsuna responded bashfully. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoushi but you can call me Tsuna." He rubbed his head and blushed slightly. "Like you said, I'm new to Mafia."

"Really?" Yamamoto became intrigued. "That's rare. Did your family member not train you?"

"Nope, I only know that my dad was a mafia. But beyond that…haha…I was just raised in a normal household by my mom. My dad rarely came home."

"I'm so envious!" Yamamoto exclaimed. "I wish I was ignorant of the mafia ways, but my old man made me learn sword no matter what." He grinned. "At least he let me concentrate on baseball while I learnt the way of the sword."

"Oh…So you like baseball, Yamamoto?" Tsuna probed.

"Yeah. I like it! If I didn't have to go to Mafia School, I'll probably concentrate on it." He answered and gave a small smile. Tsuna smiled back, thinking that he was envious and good for Yamamoto that he had found a passion, unlike him, who had no goal in life. Finding that they clicked well, the two of them continued conversing throughout the way as the bus fetched more students before heading to Mafia School.

Before long, the bus journey was about to reach an end.

"Whoa…" Tsuna gasped as the Mafia School entered his view while travelling on a road linking the mainland to the island. The whole island was surrounded in a semi-transparent dome that could allow the public to see the large and grand infrastructure inside.

"Haha…" Yamamoto laughed at Tsuna's awed expression. "This island is a place which is created using the highest technology right now in the world. Research experiments are conducted there, most of them with the help of the students at Mafia school. There are safety precautions in place, of course."

Tsuna gaped. "Research experiments?! That sounds horrifying!"

"Not at all." Yamamoto shook his head. "The Mafia School earn its world-known fame as students there develop technologies related to the flames that humans can generate."

"Flames?" Tsuna questioned, while tilting his to head to one side.

"You didn't even know this?" Yamamoto furrowed his eyebrows. "Hmm…how to say. Humans are capable of producing flames which can pack energy to power a whole city. And the school studies and researches on these flames, trying to create devices to successfully use these flames to their advantage. So far, flame-powered devices are the latest invention they have released to the public."

Tsuna pondered over silently at the astounding information he had learnt.

"So how does someone light flames?" He asked curiously.

"About that…" Yamomoto scratched the back of his head. "I've heard from my dad, that you need a certain special ring to channel your resolution. I've never done and witnessed it, so I don't really know the specifics."

"Oh… Thank you for teaching me all these stuff, Yamamoto! I'm really grateful!" Tsuna gave a cheery smile.

"Haha…no problem." Yamomoto grinned back.

Once the bus entered the dome, Tsuna felt as if he had entered another world. The usual sky scenery was replaced by one that was like seeing into space. Stars and cosmic dust littered the background. Even the students in the car who were playing and talking suddenly became silent as they took in the scenery.

"This is incredible." Tsuna murmured.

Yamamoto internally agreed.

Several minutes later, the bus screeched to a halt in front of the dormitories to allow students place their luggage in their rooms. They were to gather back thirty minutes later at the bus.

The receptionist at the dorm assigned their dorm rooms respectively, and Tsuna was both surprised and glad to know that Yamamoto would be his dorm mate, for he had got along with him well.

"Yo, nice to meet you, dorm mate." Yamamoto said jokingly.

"Nice to meet you too." Tsuna responded, tongue in cheek as he regarded Yamamoto and they both laughed.

Once they put down their luggage, they boarded the bus again to be driven to the main compound hall, where all new students were congregated. Around two hundred over students were seated on the long benches, seeming to be waiting for the reception to start.

Several minutes later, a white haired middle-aged man with suave looks entered the room. His strong presence made almost every student in the room straighten their posture and concentrate their attention onto him.

"Welcome to Mafia Academy!" His loud voice boomed across the room from the speakers. "I'm the headmaster, Edwin. It's a day to be celebrated as Mafia students all over the world congregate here to learn the ways of being a Mafia!" He smiled with excitement as his hands made exaggerated motions.

"Here, you can either choose to become a researcher or a fighter. Or maybe both. A researcher creates devices to use the flames to one's advantage, and a fighter uses those devices with their body to engage in a physical fight. Another term given would be the support and attack class respectively."

"But before all that" he waved and pointed to several translucent orbs. "This is what everybody's been waiting for." His grin grew bigger. "This orb is able to tell which flame user you are. To do so, place your hand on the orb and imagine channelling your energy onto it. The colour of the orb that it turns to will show which flame user you are. However—Keep in mind that what the orb shows is just your strongest flame you transmit into it. You may have transmitted other flames which may be weaker that the orb doesn't show."

He paused and let the information sink in.

"The reason why we do this, is to distinguish each flame user from one another. This is done so in order to be able to hone each and every one of you accordingly by providing different type of lessons for the different flame users. At the same time, everyone will be sorted in your respective houses according to the flame you possess. With that, let the sorting begin!"

At that signal, students up front immediately sprang up and rushed towards the orb.

To ensure coordination, teachers at the side came forward to enforce a single line queue for each orb.

Nonchalantly, Tsuna joined the queue, and Yamamoto queued right behind him with his usual smiling face on.

"They say the type of flame defines who you are!" Tsuna heard a girl in front of them exclaimed excitedly. "I've waited for this moment to come for ages!"

"Ehh?" Tsuna was lost. What did she mean?

Seeing Tsuna's confusion, Yamamoto immediately leaned forward and whispered, "I forgot to explain before, but different flames have different flame properties. Due to that, many theorized that the flame they own resembled their own character."

Tsuna nodded and gave a whisper of thanks.

During his turn, Tsuna placed his hand onto the orb and imagined channelling his energy as what the headmaster said. The centre of the orb flickered orange, before dying out. The teacher beside him raised an eyebrow.

"Try doing it again." The teacher said.

"Okay…" Tsuna murmured and concentrated his eyes onto the orb. Once again, the centre of orb flickered orange, but longer this time, before dying out.

"Sawada…Tsunayoshi right?" the teacher asked while looking at the clipboard.

"Yes."

"Your flame is sky. Here is your bracelet. This is used for as a key and pass for everything in this school. Once you equip it on, you cannot remove it unless you have graduated. To use it, just remember the same sensation you tried to light up the orb." The teacher explained, "When the stone turns orange in your case, hold it against the security lock and your identification will be confirmed by the school system and lock will be activated."

Tsuna furrowed his brows and concentrated, trying to absorb the details and committing it to memory.

"What if I cannot light up the bracelet?" he asked worriedly.

"Don't worry Tsuna!" Yamamoto suddenly patted his back. "Since we're roommates, I can help to unlock our dorm door."

"Yamamoto! That's right—Thanks." Tsuna smiled in relief. "By the way—What's your flame?" he asked curiously.

"Rain, you?"

"Sky"

"Great job, Tsuna." Yamamoto grinned. "I heard sky is one of the rarest flames, after Haze."

"Ha…Is that so?" Tsuna pondered at the fact. He didn't feel he was anything special.

Suddenly, gasps and mutters could be heard from the end of the hall they were in.

"Hey, isn't she Dead-accurate Naomi?"

"She actually received a title before entering!"

"Rumoured to possess Haze flames?"

"Isn't that one of the rarest? Such a user has not existed last since 30 years ago. That can't be true." Someone scoffed.

It was like she was a celebrity. Moreover, the girl had a presence that one could not ignore. Her looks were also not bad, Tsuna thought. She had brown hair, like him, but Mandarin orange eyes. A brown scarf was wrapped around her neck. Her attire compromised of just a long sleeved black shirt and black jeans, in contrast to her presence. She was also the type to look good whatever she wore, Tsuna felt.

She was frowning and he could tell she was bothered by all the popularity with all the commotion. When it was her turn to undergo the test, he could tell everybody, including the teachers; waited with bated breath.

When she touched the orb, the whole orb was filled with silver that made his look small in contrast. Everyone was stunned by the sight. Teachers alike could not believe it either. This had proved the confirmation of the rumour of being a haze user.

Meanwhile the girl gave an exasperated sigh as if she knew it all along, and then stood in front of the teacher, asking for the bracelet.

"I already know what to do with the bracelet; so skip the explanation and just hand it to me." She said with a hint of annoyance.

"Ahh…Yes, here." The teacher stopped staring at her and immediately handed over the bracelet. Once obtaining it, she immediately buckled it onto her wrist and glanced around her surroundings, seemingly to search for an exit. It was then. He thought the girl's gaze stopped onto him and locked gazes with him for a fraction of a second before making her way out of the room.

Was it just his imagination?

Having spotted all her targets besides Gokudera, Naomi took big strides, wanting to leave the hall. She felt uncomfortable, having so many eyes on her. As she was about to leave, she thought she heard a familiar voice calling her. Halting in her tracks, Naomi turned around. Dino was running towards her, panting and gasping for breath.

"I've brought the information." He held out a manila envelope. Her mouth curled up in a smirk.

"Thanks, brother. That was fast." Naomi took the envelope from his hands. After scanning through the information for a few minutes, she gave a nod of satisfaction.

"That's great." Dino heaved a sigh of relief. "You know how long I spent to compile that thing? You had better make me up from it."

Giving a cheeky smile, Naomi thanked him and hugged her brother appreciatively. Seizing the chance that he was off guard, she started tickling his sides. Overwhelmed with the tickling sensation, Dino threw his head back, and started to laugh—uncontrollably, which caused quite the scene. Only after a while when he managed to pry himself away from her grip was he able to curb his laughter. Frowning with displeasure, he flicked her in the forehead.

"Ouch!" Naomi rubbed in sore forehead.

"Many people are staring because of you!" Dino whispered angrily, as he pointed out to the crowd that had formed.

"Ahhhh…" He groaned as he slapped his forehead with his hand. "My cold image is spoilt now…and it's all because of you!" he snapped. Despite his flaring emotions, he hardly had effect on his sister, not with his teary countenance and cracked voice from what had just happened.

"I don't think anyone believed your cold image, brother." Naomi smirked while pointing out. "Especially with the clumsy way you behave sometimes."

"How rude!" Dino exclaimed and glared at his sister. "Who do you think I am? My buckling Dino image was carefully maintained!"

Naomi sniggered. She doubted so. He must have had some slips ups here and there which he did not notice, being the clumsy brother he was. And that is one of the things that make him so lovable. Smiling fondly, she took her brother's hand and walked through the school corridors, while childishly swinging their hands as they headed towards the dorm.

"Speaking of which…" Dino eyed his sister with unmasked curiosity. "Why do you need these students' information? I'm concerned that you're investigating into Hibari Kyoya. He's dangerous. I know that first-hand because he is in my grade. You must've known that like you, he had earned the reputation of being Displinary Hibari before coming to this school." He voiced in worry.

"I know what I'm doing, brother. I only can say this—allies." Naomi spoke persuasively as she could, to assuage his fears.

Dino stopped in his tracks, hazel eyes burning with displeasure. "Are you certain? This man…can't be controlled."

"I'll find the collar that will leash him." Naomi answered seriously. Dino searched within his sister's gaze, looking for any slight trace of hesitation within those orange eyes.

He seemed to find what he was searching for as he consented. "Alright. "I'll trust you. However, be on guard with that man."

Naomi returned back a grateful smile.

"This whole thing is confusing." Tsuna commented as he unpacked his belongings, referring the flame and house system.

"Well…There is a first for everything. Everyone's going through the same thing." Yamamoto pointed out.

"That's true." Tsuna nodded. Everyone was new here. He was not the only one. However, he was also the odd one out, being unable to fight. He wondered how to catch up with the others with his mediocre level.

Suddenly, his brows wrinkled as he thought about the flash of orange eyes he saw.

"It's been bothering me—the haze user. What's her name again-?"

"Naomi Cavallone." Yamamoto supplied.

"Yeah. Naomi Cavallone. Did you notice her staring at us? Well—I wouldn't consider it to be staring when it was just a fraction of a second…" Tsuna pondered.

Yamamoto raised his eyebrows. "Really? I didn't notice it. You must be really conscious, Tsuna!"

"Ahaha…I'm perceptive to such things, ever since I was young." Tsuna replied sheepishly.

"Still. It must be your imagination." Yamamoto considered. "She shouldn't know us, right?"

"Right. Yeah." Tsuna answered uncertainly.

Back in her dorm, Naomi flipped through the notes her brother gave her. "Sawada Tsunayoushi, son of Iemitsu, would be the up and coming 10th Vongola boss." She eyed the profile picture as she murmured the information that Yuni had told her.

"A boss unlike his looks." She smirked and thought. She was sure he noticed her, for he caught and held her gaze. Perhaps, there will be something special about this boy that will possibly surprise her. She felt a sense of anticipation for what was to come.

The night before, Naomi was surprised to hear a "ding!" resounding in the room, before she noticed the word "ATTENTION" on the electronic screen located on the door. The school issued the timetable for the individuals living in the dorms electronically. To receive the message, one just had to tap the screen and read it, or else the person would not be able to leave the room. Basically, an orientation camp was scheduled right after their enrolment. Students were grouped according to their houses, and she, being the only one in with a haze flame found herself grouped with the sky house, when ironically; she could not produce sky flames out of the eight elements.

Now, it was in the early afternoon and she was at an open area near the training rooms together with many of her house mates.

"Well…"A black haired shady mafia-teacher with a white doctor's coat approached her and spoke, "I've never would've thought a haze user would be enrolled into this school. You look stunning, as the rumours say. It's a privilege meeting you, young lady. I'm Shamal." he winked and held out his hand.

Naomi sweatdropped as she stared at the hand in front of her. He was Shamal, Gokudera's teacher? She took his hand and shook hurriedly, as she forced herself to smile.

"Nice to meet you, teacher."

"Haha. Don't be so rigid around me. Call me Shamal if you want." He grinned coyly.

Right…not. Naomi fought the urge to roll her eyes at his distasteful speech and conduct, and immediately took the chance to leave his presence when he went on to chat with other female students around him.

Maybe there was a good aspect to all this, being in the sky house. Naomi pondered. At least Tsuna was within this house, and she would have the chance to make contact with him. There was also a good potential that her housemates would become boss of their own Mafia groups in the future, and she could make some connections.

As she was observing the situation, she spotted Tsuna, her target, at the corner of her eye, huddling at the corner. Maybe…

Just then, Shamal suddenly announced. "Alright, interaction time over. Everyone; split into groups of five. Each group will be assigned a senior from the sky house."

Several seniors emerged from the shadows and walked into the open area. Naomi recognised one of them as her brother, who was wearing a nerdy pair of glasses. Was he trying to achieve a teacher's look?

Screams erupted from her house when her brother emerged. The entire open area was drowned in screams and Naomi could not help wanting to cover her ears.

"Kyaa! Buckling Dino! He looks so handsome in person!"

"That dreamy hair, hazel eyes!"

"His lean and toned body that can be seen from his uniform!"

Naomi gaped in disbelief. Here she thought she was already popular. But her brother's popularity was even beyond hers, reaching a ground-breaking level as she noticed her classmates who were fawning over her turned their attention towards Dino instead. The main cause of this was due to being one of the school's top fighters, and adding to it, his well-defined looks.

She caught her brother's gaze that directed a look of discomfort towards her that she could sympathize.

Screams finally died down when Shamal managed to calm down the crowd. As he did so, Shamal kept sneaking looks of displeasure towards Dino that amused Naomi. It must be because her brother stole all the limelight. Taking the chance as her brother caught everyone's attention; Naomi successfully sneaked across the room towards Tsuna, her target. She noticed that his head was still casted down, evidently not paying attention to his surroundings. Asking about his condition may be a good starter.

"Hello." She greeted Tsuna who was all alone. "Are you alright? You seem out of sorts."

Tsuna raised his head, meeting Naomi's gaze "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just feeling out of place and overwhelmed with all these things happening. I'm not used to this, being raised in a normal household." He explained sheepishly, while ruffling his head.

Naomi nodded in acknowledgement and sat beside him.

"I feel like I'm different from all these Mafias…I'm not sure how to interact with them." Tsuna explained, hands waving around all over the place. "To be saying these to a stranger…I'm really no good." He sighed.

In some ways, looking at him made her feel she was looking at her brother when he was young. Naomi smiled and patted Tsuna's shoulder. "Don't be so down-lifting!" she encouraged, "I'll be your friend, so you will be able to interact with me without worries!"

Her brazen demeanour made Tsuna feel nothing less than incredulousness.

"Ah by the way, I'm Naomi Cavallone, nice to meet you, Tsuna."

"I'm Sawada Tsunayoushi. Thanks for the concern, but-" he tried waving her off.

"No rejecting!" Naomi interrupted cutting him off with a tone that made him unable to reject. A niggling at the back of his mind made Tsuna wondered whether he had gotten himself into something troublesome when he looked at her. Her face then morphed into a smirk, and he felt—another bad feeling.

"Let's group together, Tsuna." Naomi abruptly said. Without any warning, she pulled up Tsuna by his arm, making him stand. Tsuna could hardly resist the force that pulled him up, but at that moment, he noticed that they were attracting lots of attention. A blush crept up to his face from the embarrassment and attention. Naomi, on the other hand remained unperturbed, ignoring the stares as she tried to drag him to the centre of the room where most groups were.

"Wait—stop, stop!" Tsuna cried in embarrassment as he squirmed, trying to break free from her grip. "I'll group with you, so let me walk by myself!"

Seeing that he had conceded, she released his hands.

Tsuna heaved a sigh of relief. He rubbed his wrists as he followed her soundlessly as she strode forward. Together, they waited silently for the groups to be settled that seemed like an eternity. Once the groups were finalized, the seniors entered the room, having been given the privilege to choose the group they wanted to teach. Dino, who chose his sister's group beforehand simply walked towards them.

It was then that he saw his sister dressed in her school uniform clearly for the first time. She was wearing a silver jumper with black decorations and instead of the normal pleated skirt, a skinny jean that had black and orange stripe, resembling a tiger's stripe. He was surprised to see that she had three colour codes instead of two. He had almost forgotten she could use three colours, for she was the oddity that had the haze element yet belonged to the sky house. The norm was that everyone had to use black and the colour code of their own flame colour. The other exception was the student body with white to distinguish them apart from normal students.

Dino shook his head dismissively. Naomi was already attracting so much attention, and she had to pick such conspicuous clothing. On the other hand, the boy with the brunette hair and eyes whom she was talking to was dressed sloppily in his standard uniform, a complete contrast in image.

Dino coughed to attract the attention of the students, and started introducing himself. "My name is Dino Cavallone and I will be your instructor for today. My role here is to guide you through the basics of using your sky flame, excluding the haze flame user here. But not to worry, she already knows all of these, so all of you can also consult her." He paused and added. "Feel free to ask me things that you're curious about."

There were a few excited whispers amongst the group. Then several of them eyed each other and nodded, wordlessly agreeing with something.

"You two are siblings, right?" Someone asked.

"That's right." Dino smiled slightly. "Naomi as you see here; is my younger sister."

"Not to be rude," Someone remarked, "But, the two of you don't look alike. Without the name, I've wouldn't have thought you two were siblings."

"Haha…that's what everyone says." Dino replied with amusement. "Naomi takes on my dad, while I take on my mom. Maybe that's why."

"I've also heard that the two of you received your title almost at the same time!" someone excitedly said.

"Yeah. Naomi actually got hers first, before I got mine one month later." Dino clarified embarrassedly.

What? Does that mean Naomi is stronger? Tsuna and everyone thought as they looked questioningly at the person in question beside them, who stared back at them blankly.

…Maybe not. It could be just luck.

"Who knows." Dino smiled mysteriously and clapped his hands together, capturing the audience's attention. "Let's stop with the questioning for now and start with the lesson."