Chapter 39: Where things become harder than they first seemed

I'm really sorry guys, but the kidnapper is not the Organisation. I really need to read Conan first. You must be getting bored of all the Reborn based stuff. However, that would be a very good idea if they did.

Tsuna wasn't back for dinner that night. Nor was he there for breakfast the next morning. No note, no message, no phone call. Nothing. So it seems that Gokudera's theory was correct after all. Gokudera himself was still passed out in the Vongola Infirmary wing.

Shoichi had joined Gokudera, having passed out from the pain in his stomach. The reason went something like this:

"Wahh! Spanner it's all my fault. If I hadn't asked for his headphones then we'd have a trace on him."

"Shoichi, you know those two events are mutually exclusive. The probability is rather low of them being consequential."

"But Spanner! What if Tsuna really has been kidnapped?"

"Shoichi, Tsuna can take care of himself."

"But they could be doing anything to him! He might be starved, or kept in the dark! He might be beaten and tortured"

"Shoichi, this isn't a TV drama"

"I know it's not. But this is the MAFIA, which is 10 times worse. Grrrah! I'm so stupid"

"Shoichi, find the mute button" (his version of Shoichi, shut up)

"Spanner how could you say that? We've got to get Tsuna back. They could be… They could be! And It's all my fault"

Shoichi promptly fainted after that, unwilling to listen to Spanner. It's not like he was Byakuran or Yuni who had a chance of guessing what was going to happen. Sure he was Tsuna's tactician, but there was only so much even he could plan for.

Spanner sighed before saying slightly louder than usual "Moska". Out of the corner of the room, said robot rolled up on its wheels and picked the unconscious mechanic up. "Infirmary please", orders Spanner. The Moska does so, and gently places Shoichi on a bed once at his destination. Spanner follows along behind the Moska, assuring the people around that a robot carrying an unconscious man was nothing strange. He does get a few weird looks from the Mafioso around the place, but being Spanner, he doesn't really care. He was more worried about getting his friend to the infirmary. Sadly this was the 10th Generation Vongola we are talking about, so indeed the sight was not strange.

When the Maids and Butlers had been in contact with their Japanese counter parts, they had laughed at all of the strange stories the Japanese staff had come up with. They had thought that the Japanese staff had been trying to make the 10th generation seen nicer and funnier than they were to make them less intimidating. However they were quickly finding out that every story was true, and highly under exaggerated. Sure the 9th generation weren't exactly normal, nor could they be considered so when Flames were part of their daily life. However they were nothing compared to the daily chaos that was the 10th generation. They had never seen so many illusions or sparking electric flames before. Plus the Vongola mansion was the only place where seeing a Kangaroo, a baby Lion and Leopard, a Snow owl, a hedgehog, a dog, a swallow and a bull all in the same place, at the same time, was considered normal. So to be honest, a robot carrying an unconscious mechanic was the least weird thing these staff had witnessed.

One learnt to accept Vongola as it was and work around it, or else one would be driven insane.

Talking of being driven insane, Kaito had had more than enough of snow for one lifetime. And quite possibly, very scarily, enough of the colour white. And who wouldn't when all he had been seeing recently was the pure untouched white snow, the occasional grey of rocks and green trees. While he did some very interesting things as a Phantom Thief, this certainly was a heist he never thought he'd be doing. International Phantom Thief 1412 was known for doing the strange, downright weird and unbelievable, and Kaito supposed breaking into a prison to save a detective might also be included as unbelievable. Phantom thieves usually tried to stay far away from both prisons and detectives, but as usual, KID was breaking boundaries.

Although, with the speed he was currently traveling at, boundaries might not be the only thing broken. It had taken a few days work, but it was worth it. Inspired by Tantei-kun himself, he was currently riding a rocket-powered snowboard. He was taking advantage of the lull in the blizzards to get as far up the mountain as possible. He was making quite good time so far in his opinion. Swerving around some rocks he can see in his path, he swings around the corner and up the incline. Higher and higher he climbs, until at one point, he can't help but take a peek behind him. He must admit the sight was breath-taking; everything was so small, even smaller than when he was atop skyscrapers or flying at night. It really gave a false sense of peace up here. A dangerous sense of peace. The silence was deafening, and this was possibly the longest he had ever been without someone by his side. And he didn't like it one bit. He had always hated silence, always hated being alone. That's why he had surrounded himself with people and laughter.

Getting back to the task at hand, Kaito pushed off once more and continued to scale the mountain. Around more corners he zoomed, knowing that every twist and turn got him closer to his destination. It was a good thing he wasn't scared by heights. Eventually, he came to some sort of mountain Pass. The walls loomed high above him on either side creating an eerily straight path going forwards and up the mountain. Whilst this made him suspicious, Kaito just passed it off as some sort of long forgotten trading route, or maybe something the Vindice had created themselves. He didn't have time to ponder over it as snow slowly started to fall once more. Knowing that a blizzard would soon be hot on the heels of this fluffy snow falling almost lazily out of the sky, Kaito picks up the pace. But like he knew was going to happen, the snow got heavier and heavier and soon it was hard to seem more than a metre infront of him. The grey snow clouds had turned the world around a perpetual grey twilight and Kaito knew that shining a torch wasn't going to help him. Plus he needed to conserve the batteries for when night truly fell. Deciding he needed to find a place for the night now, before the blizzard hit, Kaito pays special attention to the walls. Eventually he finds a small cave like opening and he quickly dives inside.

After eating and getting ready to go to sleep, Kaito lays there, hand raised to the ceiling, looking at his gleaming ring. Concentrating, he lights his flame- it got easier every time he tried. Slowly, one by one, he rolls through the different flames types, watching the changing colours. The Vongola, the Flames of the Sky, what a change this all was. Everything had happened so quickly, and it was strange to think that nearly half a year had flown by since the night he had finally found Pandora. He still wondered every now and again whether he was in a dream, whether the Magician was messing with him once again. However he didn't think that even his imagination could come up with something like this. It was so hard to imagine this whole world that was under everyone's noses. It was weird to think that everyone had a flame burning inside of them. He wondered whether Lady Luck had been watching over him since the start, giving him this rare Flame.

One by one the colours change, from red to blue to green. Finally, he changes to the purple mists flames. This flame is larger than the rest and flickering madly. Kaito wonders what that means. However, as sleep pulls his eyes shut, he decides he'll deal with it tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow is much of the same. Exactly the same as yesterday. Kaito's misgivings over this pathway grow deeper. This path seems endless, just going on and on and on. The snow doesn't help much either. No matter what direction he looks all he can see is the steadily falling snow. Things grow even more suspicious as Kaito passes another cave in the side of the rock face, on the same side as the last one was. He looks inside but of course he had cleaned up after himself too well. So this time he leaves a small cross of permanent dye on the floor. Setting off again, he wonders what his chances of finding that mark once again are.

100% it seems. For over an hour later, he's back in the cave glaring at this patch of dye. He sits on the floor to conserve energy and thinks about what this could mean. Coming back here meant he was going in circles, which was not his plan. Although he wondered how he was going in circles, when the path was straighter than a ruler. But then again, he wasn't going in a natural circle, or else he would have gone pass the entrance a few times by now. However the only thing he had seen is this one rock cave. Something must be going on here.

Mukuro now remembers why he had decided to leave Flan in the care of the Varia every now and again. Sure it was originally to make Flan an even stronger soldier- The Varia training would make Flan nearly as dangerous as he was. But the real reason was so that he didn't have to deal with Flan's personality. He didn't think Flan had stopped talking since they had left. However, it had all been in that annoyingly sarcastic monotone voice of his. Flan already had quite a few trident marks on his body and Mukuro feels another punishment might be in order soon. He didn't have a clue how the Varia dealt with this.

"oooiiii~ How much further byon?" whines Ken behind him.

Chikusa sighs. "How troublesome. Ken you asked that question half an hour ago."

"Shut up Kakipi. We won't be able to save Shini-chan if we're too frozen to do anything. And in case you haven't noticed, the temperature is dropping."

"Says Mr Leopard" mutters Flan.

"What was that?" shouts Ken, whirling around and bearing his fangs at Flan.

"Only idiots complain when they are better off than the rest of us" retorts Flan. He takes a few steps to walk next to Ken and pats Ken's furry cheek. "Oh, I know. We can skin you and make really warm clothes from your fur" Ken growls once more. It was true that he was currently using his cheetah channel to keep warm.

"I'm a cheetah, byon. And that's not fair." Flan just shrugs his shoulders.

"It's alright to be selfish like everyone else is. The majority of the world is selfish, never helping others. So just continue on like that and I'm sure you'll be fine. We'll just freeze to death out here, knowing you don't care about us at all."

"I'm not being selfish, byon!" shouts Ken, pushing Flan and causing the boy to fall into a snow drift on the side of the path.

They were coming up the opposite side of the mountain from Kaito, and were actually having an easier time of it. The past couple of days had been filled with blizzards, however now, the majority of them had gone. This was because this path in particular was shielded by the rest of the mountain itself. Sure it was a longer path than the one Kaito was taking, but that time was made up since they weren't slowed down by the blizzards. They hadn't seen any sign of Kaito since they had left the Vongola Mansion is Sicily. They were now in Austria.

"Flan, do something about the cold" Orders Mukuro. Like Ken said, the temperature was dropping, and Mukuro wasn't going to be cold if there was a solution standing next to him at his disposal.

"But I did it last time. I'm going to run out of Flames and really freeze to death. Or is Master too lazy to even keep himself warm?" questions Flan, standing infront of Mukuro and walking backwards. He hadn't even bothered to wipe the snow off from his fall earlier.

Flan's answer is yet another trident puncture into his brand new hat. Ken had gotten him a new one for this special occasion. Whilst he always had to wear the Frog hat for the Varia (and he had wondered oh so many times why he still had to wear the hat when Mammon was still undoubtedly alive?), the Kokuyo Gang were much more relaxed about what Flan wore. The majority of the time, it was the bright red apple hat to feed the running puns about being turned into a pastry. However for this trip, the hat was a snowman, to commemorate all of the snow they would be seeing on their trip. Ken couldn't find a top hat big enough to replicate the size of the apple and the frog hat, and therefore couldn't use a Vindice theme. Not that he or any of the Kokuyo Gang wanted to be reminded about the Vindice.

Strange how fixated with their hair the Kokuyo Gang are, isn't it? Mukuro and Chrome spend hours creating that Pineapple style each morning, Chikusa and Flan wear hats and Ken pins it all back with hair clips.

Knowing it was actually useless to fight with his Master- Mukuro was too proud and stubborn to lose a fight with anyone- Flan sets about creating the illusion he needs. However both illusionists pause, causing Ken and Chikusa to nearly walk into them.

"Oi, what are we stopping for, byon? We're gonna get even colder!" argues Ken, after taking a look infront of then. There was nothing strange infront of them. Just lots of pine trees and the straight path between them. They had been walking down this path for a little while now. His cheetah ears couldn't pick out the sounds of an enemy. In fact… they couldn't pick out any sounds. He couldn't hear any animals walking around nor any birds singing.

Chikusa too looks around, on the alert for whatever has stopped Mukuro-sama. He does notice one strange thing though. "Flan come here" he says. Flan looks at the look of concentration on Mukuro's face and decides he can handle it. So he walks over to where Chikusa is standing.

"Yeah, what do you want? Your glasses frozen over?"

Chikusa doesn't even bother to retort to that, and gets his revenge by pushing Flan into the snow infront of him.

The result of his experiment is just as he expected. He sighs, "How troublesome".

The sight in the Vongola Official Meeting room was one they never thought they would see. It was really weird not to see Tsuna sat at the other end of the table, his bright smile warming the room. In fact, it was weird not having Tsuna in the house in general. Gokudera no longer had anyone to follow, Yamamoto had no one to relax with, Ryohei had no one to invite (drag) to training sessions, Lambo had no big brother to play with, Hibari… well, Hibari was just being Hibari, but had been seen even less than usual around the house (ie, not once) and Chrome had no one to talk to and be encouraged by.

Nono and his Guardians sit at one end of the table, Basil and Oregano were sat on one side, filling in for Iemitsu whilst he was on holiday, Reborn was sat next to the 10th Generation Guardians. Spanner and Shoichi, being important additions and practically guardians in their own right, were allowed into the meeting as well.

"So we're officially going to say that Sawada-dono is missing?" asks Basil, looking at both ends of the table to see the reactions of both Generations.

Nono inclines his head. "I'm afraid that we are going to have to. We cannot waste any more time hoping the he will return to us on his own. We must assume the worst and start to look for him"

"I am afraid to say that this is the first we have heard about this problem." Says Oregano, flicking the pages on her clipboard. Her eyes quickly scan the words written there before she looks back up at everyone. "According to CEDEF, Decimo was last seen purchasing items at a café in the town closest to the Vongola Mansion. We have had no sightings of him since that time."

"Tsuna's phone has also been disabled" comments Shoichi. "The trackers we had installed in it were turned off less than a minute after the phone call ended. And with us having his headphones in for maintenance, we have no other way to know where he is."

"This is really bad timing" sighs Coyote. The rest of the 9th generation nod their heads.

"Huh? Why's that?" asks Yamamoto. Surely Tsuna getting kidnapped was bad at any time.

"It's just that we've got to leave Vongola in your hands for a little while." Says Schnitten, the Rain Guardian. "We were hoping that Decimo would be able to handle things whilst we were gone"

"Y-you're leaving us now? Why?" demands Lambo, looking scared. First Tsuna-nii disappears and then the responsible adults, who's going to look after them now?

"There is a Mafia Conference happening in Venice and, as the Godfather, I and my Guardians have to attend. There would be uproar if we didn't." explains the Ninth, looking sorry.

"But… Tsuna-nii…" Lambo tries to speak but just can't get over the bad luck they seem to be having. He wonders whether Kaito's claims to being Lady Luck's Favourite are true or not. Things had gone downhill since he had left. Chrome pats his knee in support.

"I know Lambo. However, I believe the best thing to do is to act normally. We cannot let anyone outside of the Family learn about Decimo's disappearance. If people found out about it, then Vongola might get attacked, or deemed weak for losing him so easily. Alternatively, Enemy Families might try to find Decimo themselves to harm him. We have to act as if nothing has happened."

Gokudera and Shoichi nod their heads to this. It was the best tactic to use.

"You should see this as an opportunity. It'll be a chance to see if you guys are ready to take over yet or not. You need to step up and show your worth" Reborn says, lowering his fedora and smirking.

2 people in the room know that that statement is directly directed at them. This was going to be a true test of their capabilities. Both knew that Reborn was a harsh judge, but they hope that they can pass the Hitman's exacting standards, otherwise he'll never let them near the Family again. At this stage, with Tsuna still as heir, it was all too possible for replacements to be found for them, no matter how much they have been through this theory applied to one of them more than the other. These two people look at each other, a wary analysing look, sizing the other up, deciding whether they are worthy for the task or not. It's the set of one's shoulders, the determination in the other's eyes that prove they are ready for the task. Whilst their trust in each other is not perfect, both are willing to give it a go and help the other.

Reborn smirks one more. Tsuna wasn't the only one he was teaching and he hadn't spent time teaching the others in a long while.

"EXTREME TEST!" shouts Ryohei, seemingly having gotten the message. Chrome and Lambo both kind of freeze, half way wanting to sink into their chairs and disappear in fright and half willing and determined to step up to the task and show themselves off. Yamamoto's eyes turned serious for a second, understanding the reality and severity in the task ahead of them. However that is quickly replaced by the relaxed posture and easy smile he usually wears.

"Haha, that'll be great. Time to move up a level" He and Ryohei hi-5, ready for the challenge.

Hibari and Kusakabe watch on, not really interested. Hibari had other things to do than worry about the Omnivore who should really be able to handle himself. However he would still keep an eye on them to make sure that they don't misbehave in the Omnivore's absence. He couldn't allow that. Kusakabe was slightly hesitant, and wondered whether he should offer the others some advice. Both he and Hibari had experience in leading large groups as heads of the Disciplinary Committee back in Japan. Each person was used to leading a few followers since Nono had given them their own teams of men a few years back in preparation for the future, but Tsunayoshi was the only one with real leading experience among the others.

And what was worse, half the Family was missing. With Mukuro, Shinichi, Kaito, Ken and Chikusa gone, there wasn't the amount of people there to help out that there should be. It was going to be a real task to keep Vongola running without them. Okay, maybe slightly easier without Mukuro causing trouble every five minutes. However Gokudera and some of the others suspected Shinichi and maybe even Kaito would be good brains to use in this situation.

What none of them realised, was that they were panicking about doing this together, or at least with 2 people at the helm. However, they never thought that this was what Tsuna would soon have to face himself. Alone. He wasn't going to be Co-Boss of Vongola, he was going to have to run the place by himself. Sure the others would help out, but ultimately everything was Tsunayoshi's responsibility. He had one hell of a task before him.

"Hnn.. hum.. err"

*blink, blink*

There is a growl in the background, low and rumbly.

"Oh, So Vongola is awake. That took longer that I had estimated. I might have to lower the concentration of that anaesthetic. "

"y-yeah… B-but, what am I doing here? No… in fact, where am I?"

"Vongola, your location is of no importance. And the reason I require your assistance… you'll find out soon enough"

"You don't plan to hurt me do you?"

The following laugh is deep and sounded as if he knew that question was coming. "What does the famous Vongola intuition tell you?"

"T-that you're not planning to directly"

"Well, I suppose that's correct. But all in due course."

"I trust you"

"Really? I find that hard to believe. I haven't exactly been the best ally in the world"

"True. But it's not in your personality to be especially mean. That would waste time and energy and may even produce biased results. And you wouldn't want that."

"heh, you know me all too well it seems."

"I don't now, but I plan to"

"This is not a social party you know. And I don't socialise. As soon as I'm done I'll be dropping you back where you belong and out of my hair. You won't see me again until I find a use for you"

By the way guys, you all know that Chikusa's catchphrase is 'How troublesome' right? I'm not just fond of that statement. I would use the Japanese, which I think is Mendoi, or at least it sounds like that, however I don't know any Japanese to know if that is correct or not. The same is true of Flan's 'Master'.

Sorry that this chapter is so short guys, but this is chapter is setting up everything for the chapters to come.

Basically we have a few short stories all going on at once, and all shall become interconnected eventually.

1)Tsuna and his kidnapper- any guesses yet guys?

2) The Vongola Guardians

3) Mukuro and the Kokuyo Gang

4)Kaito

5)Shinichi and Vindice.

So basically, my question to you guys is who do you want the next chapter to focus on? From this chapter, I'll start the actual plot of this arc. I couldn't write much more for the Guardian nor Tsuna without going into the plot in this chapter, hence why it's so short. Although technically, what happens next for our Detective fanatics (aka Mukuro and Kaito) draws these two together, so choosing one automatically chooses the other.

So please leave a review saying who you would like to see next chapter.

Thank you

Phantom Hitman 1412

First Published 27 June 2012 (hey look it's Tsuna day!)