Namimori was an independent neutral territory governed by the Hibari clan, a lesser branch of the Taizai clan.

Usopp didn't feel out of place for a reason that needed to be said. But he would not, he still wanted to come back to his world in order to meet his crew again. He missed them. It had been three weeks since he had arrived in the town to protect the Yamadas, a family in need. The first thing Usopp had done, was to move the family across the town in a large house near the forest of white dreams, a place that children were forbidden to go.

Three weeks of absolute peace. Tsunayoshi had been pulled from his school, no teacher or student had asked about him. It only showed the level of hatred in the school. However, three weeks were enough to have the Hibari clan on the move. Usopp knew it since he had made it clear to the former neighbors of the family that had been badmouthing the Yamadas that he would not tolerate any form of bullying. He was a stranger in this town, he knew that the people would want revenge.

"He's got a fever. It's worse than the last time." The mother of his student sighed sadly as she entered the room with her eyes filled with tears.

The daughter of a powerful yakuza clan was free of her seal. The seal was easier to deal with than Tsunayoshi's seal. Usopp had used a forbidden technique of his heritage; it consisted of drawing a large circle around the sealed person then proceeded to pull energy from the environment, with the help of nature, the seal would naturally break under the pressure to reveal the soul energy. Nana had been free for two weeks now, her soul was slowly recovering from the deal. Usopp - or Anton as he was nowadays - knew that his student had a seal worse than his mother. It would take more energy and time to get rid of it.

And most likely, it would attract attention from the Hibari clan. Nevertheless, it could not be avoided. He would use a more powerful unsealing technique, it required the essence of the caster - or in this case himself - and the world.

"Tomorrow, at night, I will free him from his chains." He assured the worried mother as he sat down in front of her.

"Once it's done, I will send a last letter to my family." Nana announced with a determined face that reflected the sadness of her soul. "They hate me. I'm a disappointment to their eyes. To have eloped with the first newcomer, to have become less than a human, a mindless doll that is unable to take care of a child…"

If her seal had been easy, it had caused multiple consequences that would take years to deal with. Usopp wanted one thing: kill Sawada Iemitsu. It was his fault after all. Imprisoned in a bubble of hatred, Nana had hadn't the possibility to contact her family in hope to be on speaking terms. To her parents, she didn't exist anymore. To her siblings, it was the same.

"I'll explain everything, let them know of what happened to me, and… and I will say goodbye." The woman continued as Usopp stood up, letting her words wash over him. They were utterly sad. He could not describe what he was feeling. "I always hide myself, never letting them know what I'm doing. But I don't have a choice, I need to or… I'm horrible."

"Then, we're both horrible." Anton concluded, turning his gaze towards the woman. "I don't have the choice to reveal what I'm keeping hidden to my friends. I don't have a choice. Is it my fault? No. Everybody has secrets."

"But this is not fair-"

"Is life fair?" He asked his student's mother. "Your son needs you at the moment. Perhaps, when everything will be okay, you could try to mend the relationship."

The brown-haired woman fell silent. She didn't speak for a few minutes, lost in her thoughts. Her memory was still blurry, some memories for some reason seemed to be fake. That wasn't fair. Nana was the shadow of what she had been before meeting Iemitsu. That man… He had ruined her life.

"You still need to recover. Write this letter if you want. If it appeases your heart." Usopp told her, wondering if he needed to send this letter off. Maybe, it would be better for her to have the letter written and sent to her family in order to attempt an appeasement of her pain.

It would take a long time to find the yakuza family. It would be another matter for another time.

"Tsunayoshi needs you." He repeated as he paced back and forth in the kitchen, feeling uneasy.

"Yes, thank you for listening. I'll check on Tsuna." Nana said with a small - and yet true - smile as she made her way to the second floor of the house, in which her son's bedroom was located.

Anton fell in step behind her. He had nothing to do. Perhaps, checking on his student was a better way to avoid boredom. The teenager was sweating under the blanket. The wet tissue on his head wasn't helping. The pirate tensed up, feeling the dying sky flames flaring under the boy's skin, probably trying to crack the seal. The fever had worsened in such a short time.

"Shit." He swore loudly, kneeling in front of the bed. He pushed his flames through the teenager's body, slowly changing them into sun flames. "Well, we need to get to the ritual zone."

"What?" Nana asked bewildered. "But you said…"

"I know what I said. But his state is degrading at such a high level of speed, his flames are dying… I don't want to wait longer…" Usopp said, cursing the fact he had no healing training.

"Okay." Nana breathed, taking her son out of his bed with his help. They went downstairs as quickly as they could and moved outside of the house.

In a clearing in the forest of white dreams, there was a large runes circle in which multiple thicknesses were present. They put down the teenager in the middle. As the sun was drawn to the earth, the world seemed to cease to breathe. Nana stepped back, behind the barriers of protection, watching the young man brace himself.

Magic was an essence that most beings didn't know about. His family for centuries had been learning how to use it, celebrate it, and honor it in several ways. Usopp took a deep breath as he kneeled in front of the young boy, staring at the sunset, as he pulled out his essence. He slowly began to resonate with his environment, feeling the burning sun, the heavy ground, and the firm grip of the forest surrounding him. Usopp opened his mouth, chanting in an odd and yet melodic voice words that Nana could not comprehend - and yet she found peace in them. The runes' circles lightened, shining over the forest of white dreams, calling upon forces that were stronger than any human.

I call upon thee, Magia. I call upon thee to erase from existence the seal of a broken soul. I call upon thee, Hestia, to burn the dying fire. I call upon thee, Ares, to fight the enemy. Answer my call, take my essence as reward, and may glory always follow your steps.

The area glowed in the night as the power filled the forest of white dreams. The pirate was still kneeling, his body was soaking, and the exhaustion was slowly appearing as time passed. But he could feel the soul of Tsunayoshi screaming as the seal began to be ripped by the amount of power. He felt several unknown flame users stumbling upon the area, however he stood firm. Nana moved to protect him, grabbing her gun from her pocket as she stared coldly in a dark-haired man's eyes.

Then, at the sight of the moon, sky flames imploded.

The seal was broken, Usopp thought to himself, letting the joy fill his heart. The reward was taken by the deities. He coughed a few times while the sky flames surrounded the area.

"Is my son okay?" Nana asked timidly the pirate as he stood up, utterly exhausted.

"He is. Do you feel them? His soul is free!" Usopp exclaimed, hearing gasps of surprise, making him turn towards the guest. "I think we have to talk."

The head of the Hibari clan narrowed his eyes then he nodded. "Lead the way."

His mind was blurry.

Tsunayoshi sometimes felt out of place. He felt like life wasn't worth living. Something would tear his mind at night, sending nightmares, making him scream at night. He would wake up crying, he would wake up calling his mother, he would be alone until morning came. Then, the fakeness would come. The mask would appear on his face. He didn't have a choice, he mused.

Memories were far. Knowledge never stayed. Bullying happens every day. He grimaced as he floated in a plane of non-existence.

Anton happened. His mother became the person he never knew, but he preferred her the way she was nowadays, free of her cage. He was pulled out of school, away from his tormentors, from the teachers, from everybody that wanted to kill him.

Am I going to die? Pain was worse than death itself.

Everything was burning. Someone was screaming. And Tsunayoshi… never felt this much alive.

Am I going to die? Pain paralyzed his body, pain tore his being, pain made him feel alive.

Then, the plane of non-existence suddenly imploded. Raw power wrapped him in a warm hug, throwing away the cold feeling that had always followed him. He closed his eyes. Freedom was finally within his reach. The cage was broken. He could see the colors behind the whiteness and blackness, he could truly feel, and…

Oh. The memories were all coming at once. Knowledge was… He blacked out.

Hibari Kensuke was a dangerous man.

He was the leader of the Hibari clan, born in Namimori forty five years ago. From his mother's lineage, he was a member of the Taizai clan. A powerful clan that easily surpassed the Hibari clan. Kensuke was married to a Chinese woman, a former hit woman from the Triads, and had three children. Two of them were out of age while the third one was still in school. He had been trained by the most powerful members of his clan and his parents when he was younger to be the perfect heir, the protector of Namimori. He was an information broker, an assassin, a cloud that only wanted to protect what was his.

The arrival of a newcomer in the town had caused little impact on him. It wasn't common for newcomers to move in Namimori. But the fact that the stranger was an active cloud user made him feel uneasy. The lack of information about his motives and what he was doing worried him. Then, Kensuke heard that the young man had been hired by Yamada Nana as a home tutor for her son. The situation changed completely. The teenager was pulled out from school. No one knew why, but his youngest son had mentioned that he wasn't surprised. With further research, the clan had discovered how the public schools of Namimori had treated the child. He had been bullied by his peers, none of the teachers had stopped them and they had even encouraged them to continue.

Considering the suicide rate in Japan, it was a miracle that Yamada Tsunayoshi hadn't commited suicide. Kensuke felt like he had failed a member of his territory. One thing was sure; all the schools of Namimori would be permanently reformed. Bullying was forbidden.

The stranger was an unknown factor he didn't like. But he supposed that the change he had permitted within the Yamadas was a good thing. Yamada Nana hadn't been seen until two days ago. The locals questioned had said that she looked better than she ever did. That was a bad sign, he knew it. Kensuke had informed one hour ago about the flashing light that shone over the bordering forest of white dreams, the forbidden place that everyone was afraid to go. He had led the Hibari clan to the area.

What he had seen, had shocked him to the core. Then, he understood. Yamada Nana wasn't the woman she had been for years, she was a free soul that shone and attracted active flame users like a magnet. Her son was laying on the ground in the middle of a large circle, something he didn't know anything about. He was pale, barely breathing as the power poured into the area, causing pain to him. The stranger was also there, chanting in a language he had never heard before, soaking and exhausting himself. His flames were dominating the forest of white dreams.

And then, the sky flames imploded.

Kensuke understood. Tsunayoshi had been sealed, his mother had been sealed. He was sickened. He felt horrible to not have noticed these seals before. And he felt grateful that the stranger had freed them from their cages.

"Is my son okay?" Kensuke heard the brown-haired woman ask as he advanced a bit further towards the scene.

"He is. Do you feel them? His soul is free!" The newcomer answered. The head of the clan heard some of his members gasping in surprise.

The young man turned towards him and spoke. "I think we have to talk."

The head of the Hibari clan narrowed his eyes then he nodded. "Lead the way."

Kensuke was led to the new house in which the Yamadas were living. Nana put down her son in his bed while the man prepared tea for the both of them and Nana. The Hibari head exchanged a look with his wife, a storm user with mist secondary flames, as they sat down across the young man. Nana came back and sat beside the stranger, shooting them a wary look. He didn't blame her.

"I'm Anton." The young man introduced himself with a smile. "And I'm here to protect the Yamadas from harm."

"Who ordered it?" Kensuke's wife asked coldly.

"The Vongola, of course." Anton answered, unbothered by the tone Akiko was taking with him. "I'm an assassin from Varia, the independant assassination branch of Vongola and on the top of that, the best of the best assassins in the world."

Kensuke chose to ignore this comment. This man had obviously prepared his arrival in Namimori.

"As you have watched it, I freed Tsunayoshi from the cage Vongola had put him in years ago." Anton paused, noticing the surprise in their eyes. "Oh yes, they fucked up badly. At least, they are trying to mend their mistakes."

"Why are you telling us this?" Akiko asked, confused.

"You know why."

Indeed, they knew why. Nana beside Anton was silent, still not trusting them. It was understandable. Kensuke still mourned the fact he hadn't protected two members of his hoard. Anton straightened his back, smirking.

"You'll mend your mistakes too. In fact, you have already begun." He said as he stood up.

Anton was a cloud, he mused to himself. And yet, he didn't act as a common cloud. He seemed lost. He didn't act like any assassins from Varia he had met. Perhaps, he needed to have a chat with the mist officer.

End of the chapter. May the world crumble under your feet. Thanks for reading.