Most people would panic if they woke up in an unfamiliar, dark, seemingly endless place. Finding themselves in a situation like this would be enough to make someone imagine the most absurd things in an attempt to explain what is going on. Perhaps they have been kidnapped, and someone could be trying to steal their organs. Others might think they are just in a bizarre dream.

Sawada "Tsuna" Tsunayoshi is not like most people.

Compared to the events in his life, waking up in a strange place would be just another Monday. Murder attempts, successful kidnappings, being shot, stabbed, drowned, thrown off cliffs, planes, moving cars, lines of people claiming to be distant relatives, another line of women declaring they have his children. Moreover, these are just the most specific things; it is hard for something to be more absurd than time travel. Nevertheless, it happened.

Those are just a few downsides of being the head of the world's largest mafia-turned-company. Despite it all, Tsuna enjoyed his life. He had a big family, loyal friends, and a great job where he could help many people.

Then, he died.

It would be easy to imagine that a person who has survived multiple assassination attempts would eventually run out of luck and end up in such a situation. However, Fate seemed to relish in making Tsuna her plaything.

To be murdered by what remains of the mafia in revenge for the decisions he made?

Too simple.

To be murdered by the orphan he once saved from an illegal lab, who years later revealed himself as a sociopath hell-bent on world domination?

That is a more fitting end.

Returning to the main point, waking up in a strange place was not something that would make Tsuna panic. Perhaps he would simply sit on the floor and wait for someone to show up, to determine if this was yet another kidnapping attempt. Moreover, if someone did show up, he would have a conversation with them about why it would be a foolish idea. After all, he had escaped every other attempt, and the perpetrators would sometimes end up at a hospital a few days later, nursing broken bones. Well, there was that one time with the cracked skull, but it was an exception.

The crucial point was that Tsuna was convinced he was dead. In addition, possibly his entire family and friends as well. Tsuna and those closest to him were already in advanced age, so the notion of their mortality did not affect him as much; everyone had already come to terms with the fact that their time was running out. No, what bothered him was the probability that they had all been wiped out simultaneously, considering the intentions of whoever orchestrated the massacre. This raised a question in Tsuna's mind:

How did he end up here?

He had a clear understanding or at least a good idea of what was happening, given the fact that he looked exactly the same as he did when he was 20. However, the possibility of such a phenomenon occurring was utterly ridiculous. Countless years were spent devising plans to prevent precisely the situation he was now contemplating. Despite the loss of everyone he knew, several other precautionary measures had been put in place, anticipating the occurrence of something like this.

Unfortunately, Tsuna was abruptly interrupted in his contemplation. A small light emerged a few meters ahead, piercing through the darkness and accompanied by faint sounds. Sounds that Tsuna recognized all too well.

A young boy, looking no older than seven, sat with his knees hugged tightly, eyes shut tightly, tears streaming down his face. He made an effort to keep his crying as quiet as possible, concealing his actions.

Instantly forgetting his previous train of thought, Tsuna's attention was now fully focused on the boy. Fortunately, Tsuna had prior experience in dealing with such situations, having cared for numerous children throughout his lifetime. The first step was to approach the problem with caution, maintaining a reasonable distance. Running toward a child in a distressed emotional state, especially as a stranger, could exacerbate the situation and cause the child to panic.

Taking a few silent steps forward, Tsuna was able to observe the scene in its entirety. The boy had dark green hair, an uncommon sight but not entirely unfamiliar to Tsuna. His arms were wrapped tightly around his legs, his head concealed between them. The positioning of his arms lower than what would be natural indicated possible injuries in that area. Despite the messy hair, it appeared to have been attended to in a way that suggested someone had taken care of it. The boy wore clean pajamas, devoid of visible marks or stains.

Drawing nearer, Tsuna confirmed the presence of bruises on the boy's knees and a few more on his elbows, indicating a recent fall. The wounds did not appear fresh but were also not very old, likely no more than a day or two, which suggested they were not the direct cause of his tears.

Unfortunately, the available information was limited, leaving Tsuna with a range of possible scenarios, ranging from straightforward situations to completely insane ones.

Moving on to the second step, Tsuna positioned himself at a reasonable distance and crouched down, ensuring he used a gentle, soft-spoken voice as he attempted to engage the boy in conversation.

"Are you all right? What happened?"

The boy jumped a bit before looking up at the young man who had spoken to him. The young man was dressed in a black suit that looked a bit rumpled, with a white shirt that seemed like it had seen better days, and a loosely tied tie. His brown hair was spiky, a bit messy, and his orange eyes held a faint, reassuring smile.

Turning his gaze back to the boy, the young man patiently waited for a response. As he observed the boy's face, he noticed his big green eyes, a bit red from crying, with four freckles on each cheek that formed a kind of diamond pattern. The boy seemed a bit confused and maybe scared, but also curious.

Looking somewhat uncertain, the boy nodded his head slowly. It was a lie, obviously, but kids often do that when they are not sure what to say. He probably had not fully grasped that he was in an unfamiliar place yet, so the young man decided to ease the situation a bit.

"I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna. What's your name?"

The boy tightened his grip on his legs, covering his face a bit more.

"I'm Midoriya, Midoriya Izuku," he replied softly.

Tsuna's smile grew a little wider, encouraged by the boy's response.

"Nice to meet you, Midoriya. I saw you were upset. Everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Midoriya responded, his voice wavering a bit.

Stuttering was not unusual for kids in situations like this, but Tsuna made a mental note to take it easy and not overwhelm him.

"Sure about that? I saw some marks on your knee. Did you take a tumble?"

The question made Midoriya tighten his hold on his legs even more.

"Yeah, I tripped while playing," he said, though it was pretty clear he was fibbing.

"Does it hurt? Did you show it to anyone?" Tsuna asked, picking up on the hesitation in Midoriya's response.

Midoriya's voice wavered again. "Yeah, my mom said it'll be fine soon."

Tsuna could sense that was not the truth. It seemed Midoriya had not told anyone about it.

"And does she know where you fell?" Tsuna prodded gently.

Midoriya nodded a bit too quickly, which made Tsuna want to chuckle. The boy was probably just trying to reassure him. Despite the lies, he appeared like a good-natured kid, though it was concerning that he was hiding injuries from a fall from his mother. Not a great sign.

"Tell me the real story, Midoriya. Did someone push you and hurt you?" Tsuna asked, keeping his tone soft.

Midoriya's eyes widened in surprise.

"No, I just fell, it was an accident. Kacch-" He cut himself off abruptly, as if realizing he almost said something he should not have, and clamped a hand over his mouth. "It's nothing, don't worry."

So, that was the crux of the matter.

"Midoriya, take a breath. I just want to understand, so I can help," Tsuna said, leaning forward slightly to approach Midoriya. "Someone pushed you, didn't they? It's all right, you can talk about it."

Another sob escaped Midoriya as he struggled to get the words out.

"Kacchan always uses his Quirk on me," Midoriya finally admitted. Quirk? What is he talking about? Focus on the conversation and gather more information.

"And what's his Quirk?" Tsuna asked, his curiosity piqued.

Midoriya lifted his head, meeting Tsuna's eyes with a determined look.

"He can make explosions with his hands."

Explosions with his hands? So, Quirks are like superpowers then. Then, those scientific plans actually worked. Interesting, but right now, helping this distressed kid is more important.

"Has he used it on you before?" Tsuna asked, his suspicions confirmed by Midoriya's somber nod. Children with superpowers, using them against their friends – what a world. Nevertheless, Tsuna needed to know why.

"Why does he do that?" Tsuna asked, locking eyes with Midoriya. The boy's gaze held an unexpected depth, like looking into a mirror that reflected Tsuna's own assessing nature.

"He says it's because I don't have a Quirk," Midoriya responded, his voice tinged with sadness and resignation.

Tsuna felt a surge of empathy. Midoriya's willingness to open up made the situation easier. He had managed to coax the boy into talking, and also confirmed one of his theories. The fact that Midoriya was willing to share this with him ruled out some possibilities and made things clearer.

Now, the challenge was to keep the conversation going and address the issue delicately.

"That's not a reason for him to hurt you. You need to tell someone about this," Tsuna said firmly, noting Midoriya's widened eyes, realizing his previous lies did not work. "Does it really matter if you have a Quirk or not? I don't have one, and that's just fine."

Tsuna's words seemed to strike a chord with Midoriya, who started to cry again, but Tsuna managed to remain calm. He knew how important it was not to misinterpret the situation. Fortunately, Midoriya's tear-streaked face soon turned into a small smile, easing Tsuna's worries. He really did not want to see the kid in despair.

"You don't have a Quirk?" Midoriya asked, his voice filled with a mix of curiosity and complexity for his young age.

"Nope, I don't," Tsuna replied. Maybe he had some kind of superpower, but that is a discussion for later. Right now, he needed to help this kid.

"And it's okay?"

"Absolutely okay," Tsuna assured him, a bit more informally.

"Okay!" Midoriya replied, his voice wavering a bit.

The conversation was definitely improving. Now, Tsuna needed to address the most difficult part.

"All right then, Izuku – can I call you that?" Tsuna asked, getting a nod in response. "Cool. Now, Izuku, I hope you're feeling a bit better, but unfortunately, we need to talk about our current situation."

Izuku looked a bit confused, glancing around at their surroundings – a dark, seemingly endless room with a faint light below. The idea of solid ground felt weird, and he seemed a bit disoriented.

Reacting quickly, Tsuna caught Izuku just in time to stop him from banging his head against the strange nothingness.

"Take a deep breath and stay calm. Don't think about what's below, focus on me," Tsuna reassured, giving Izuku's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Inhale... hold... exhale... inhale... hold... exhale..."

After a few moments, Izuku's breathing got back to normal. With the panic receding, Tsuna guided him to sit down, taking a seat opposite him and keeping a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I get what's happening. No need to be scared," Tsuna reassured.

"Okay," Izuku replied, his voice still shaking a bit.

Tsuna offered him a serene smile and began to explain the situation, stressing the importance of Izuku paying close attention.

"Listen up, Izuku. If nothing I say makes sense, tell me, so I can explain. It's super important that you get it."

"Sure."

"Like I said earlier, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna. And I think I'm your ancestor." Seeing Izuku's puzzled expression, Tsuna tweaked his explanation. "I'm kind of a distant relative from our family who lived a long time ago. This weird place we're in? It's because our family has this extraordinary power, different from a Quirk, that shows up when things get special."

"A power?"

Naturally, the boy's focus shifted to that aspect.

"Yeah, a special power. Let me show you."

Tsuna extended his hand, palm up, and summoned a familiar feeling. Within seconds, a small orange flame danced to life on his palm. Izuku's eyes widened, and he carefully moved closer to the tiny flame, looking utterly fascinated.

"Fire?"

"Not exactly. This is like an energy made from my life force. It's called Dying Will Flame."

"So, not fire?"

"Nope, despite the name and how it looks, it's not really fire. But it's close." To demonstrate, Tsuna brought the flame nearer to Izuku's hand. "Can you feel the warmth?"

"Yeah, it's warm. Doesn't seem like it'll burn me."

"Yeah, it's not really that dangerous, but I can make it hotter."

"Whoa, cool."

Tsuna chuckled a bit at Izuku's amazed expression. Kids always found shiny things fascinating.

"Yep, it's pretty cool. And it's also why we're here."

"Huh? What's this flame got to do with being stuck in this weird place?"

Tsuna tried not to let a small, sad smile show. As much as the situation he was in was a good thing, he was not exactly thrilled about the events that led up to it. However, this was not the time for reminiscing. He had a job to do.

"That, Izuku, is a long story."

"Yay, I like stories."

Tsuna ruffled Izuku's hair a bit, making the boy pout.

"All right then, let me tell you about our family, Izuku – the Vongola."