This was quick-ish I think? Lol nevermind. Anyway. School is starting soon so I'm going to be sorta busy I guess. I think most of you are starting summer right now? sorry to disappoint XD I did promise myself to be more organized this year though so I will try my best to update~

I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN

OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU MAY RECOGNIZE

Was it wrong that Alaude currently wanted to punch his boss into the middle of next week?

"Will you please go check Alaude?" Giotto, on the other line of the phone, half-pleaded and half-ordered.

"Fine," Alaude snapped. "But only because it's your cousin."

Alaude was tired. He had just completed a three-month long mission after all, and he'd received the call just as he was about to deal the finishing blow to the annoying Englishman. He was more than a little irritated at his boss since the news he brought was enough distraction to Alaude that the Englishman had managed to crawl away as he argued with his boss. Of course, it didn't take him long to catch up with the man even while speaking on his phone and dealing the finishing blow.

He hailed a cab easily－everyone was looking to make money after all.

"Florence," he said, accidentally in English as soon as he slid in the passenger seat of the vehicle. The cab driver's eyebrows shot up.

"Firenze?" he laughed. "You do not ride car to Firenze, signor."

"I will pay you." Alaude stated impatiently. "So get going."

"Firenze very far." Said the driver, clearly amused. "not cheap,"

Alaude held up a wad of euros and looked pointedly at the cab driver whose eyes had become as large as golf balls. "I'm not paying until I reach my destination." The driver nodded dumbly and closed his mouth, opting to follow Alaude's instructions on where to go.

After two hours, Alaude got off the cab two blocks away from his real destination. One could never be too careful. He continued to the Sawada residence on foot. Just like before, the neighborhood was nice and quiet. The sun was already starting to set as the cloud guardian came to a halt in front of a pile of rubble which used to be the Sawada residence.

He gripped the phone inside his trench coat as he walked around the perimeter of the house. There were no footprints or fallen strands of hair whatsoever. The doorknob was free of any fingerprints.

Was this why Giotto had been so worried?

Speaking of which, where was the family? Were they safe or had they not managed to escape?

He had just completed a three-month long job and did not appreciate getting called to have another case even if it was Primo's cousin. But he did have sense of justice and he was pissed at how someone would destroy the home of an innocent family just like that.

Alaude scowled darkly. 'How annoying.' He thought. The person who did this would pay dearly. And if Alaude had his way, never get to see the next day.

Violet eyes greeted Tsuna as he opened his own brown ones.

"…Hello." He said as a way of greeting to the cheerful-looking owner of the lilac orbs. He had white hair spiked up in all directions, reminding Tsuna of his own brown hair, and pale skin. He looked to be about the same age as himself. The boy didn't reply, instead he let his violet eyes scan over the brown-haired boy before him.

After a round of studying each other, the white-haired boy offered his hand. "I'm Byakuran," Tsuna took the cold hand in his tiny ones and shook it politely. He was wary of course, but that didn't mean he had no manners whatsoever.

"I'm Tsunayoshi. Where am I?" Byakuran tilted his head. "What, you don't know? Then again you probably weren't conscious." The brunet stared at him in a bewildered manner.

"What?" The white-haired boy was not making any sense. His words were cryptic and clear as mud to him.

"You're in the Estraneo base. They're a family of scientists."

"Ok… why am I here?" Byakuran shrugged.

"Because you were probably a target for one of their experiments?" Byakuran answered unsurely.

"A target for one of their experiments…?" Tsuna echoed. If the family was consisted of scientists, then…

Byakuran sighed. "They have been using their Famiglia's 'children' to experiment on. But I've heard that lately they've been buying them from human trafficking auctions or simply kidnapping them." He looked at his hands. "The last part would be true, I suppose."

"They took you here against your will?" Tsuna didn't know how or why he was where he shouldn't be, but he was sure it wasn't a good thing that he is. But he didn't know why he cared that the other didn't want to be here either. Maybe he just felt a sense of familiarity with the other around.

"Not really against my will, I guess. I didn't even know I was a victim until I got here."

"Then…what kinds of experiments do they do?" the boy asked curiously. The albino froze slightly.

"I… don't know. All I've ever heard are stories. I haven't been subjected to any of their projects yet. But they do sound terrible so I don't want to know either."

An awkward silence stretches and hangs in the air soon after Byakuran's words. What was Tsuna supposed to say anyway? He's never heard the stories and he can't make a comment about it. There wasn't anything to say on Byakuran's part. He's already given the new kid an introduction and there's nothing more he needed to say to make him understand the situation. Besides, he looked like a smart kid so Byakuran was sure he could figure him out by himself. It is the new boy who breaks the silence between them.

"Do you think they hurt?" he finally looked at him, eyes wide and questioning. They looked so innocent that Byakuran almost wished he'd never said anything instead.

"Maybe," he found himself saying out loud. "I've seen some get permanent injuries before but no one's ever tried escaping. Or at least not yet, I think."

"I don't think no one's ever tried escaping before if it's as bad as they say it is." Because it was foolish to stay where the would simply be used as guinea pigs. "I think something's stopping them."

They look at the metal door that separates them from the reality of the outside world.

-End of chapter