Chapter Text
Prolouge
Location : Unknown Location, Italy
Time : Approx. Four Hundred years before Present Day (1613's)
...
A scream echoed through the mansion. People in gowns and suits were running frantically, looking for an exit, but unfortunately they never made it as they all got slashed down without hesitation. There were begging, praying to a higher power, or outright hysterically crying.
Black hooded-cloaked figures moved effortlessly through the halls and corridors, dodging all the bodies littered on the grounds like ragged dolls. The once elegant walls are now splattered with crimson. The maroon velvet carpet floors were quickly drenched with blood, and every step one took, one could smell the decaying and hear the 'squish' of the wet carpet. Heads, limbs, and bodies were everywhere, some were still alive after the brutal slaying yet quieted as Death took them in toll.
There were no words exchanged, every figure seemingly know what the others are thinking and quickly act upon it. They all have silver sabers in hand and ready to cut down more bodies. Their cloaks have the insignia of an 'Aconite' embroidered on the back with swirls making the shape. Fresh purple Aconite are pinned onto their collars like a symbol.
They all have one order and one order only-
'Let nobody in this city survive. Slay all men. Women and children.'
They will follow it without hesitation.
A crying woman in a red gown, cradling a baby near her chest to muffled its cries. But it didn't do much good, as a few seconds later, her head was separated from the body. The baby was silenced with a quick slit. There was no remorse behind the killing.
Even if they knew it was wrong. Even if they knew that this won't end well. They will still do it. They swore allegiances to him.
A little girl and boy ran through the mansion, looking for their parents, after playing in the garden. They were giggling and scared, because they weren't supposed too. They walked through the door, ready for a scolding; instead found the foyer covered in fallen bodies. The girl screamed and the boy whimpered as he saw his mother laying there with her head lay a few feet away from her body. The jewelries on the bodies shined in the artificial lights.
The boy motioned to the girl to get out of there, but before they could move from the spot, they were also cut down, in similar manner like the adults.
Because after all, they are merely puppets to the King.
...
...
On the outer part of the mansion, nearing the gate was a little boy about the age of four, covered in blood, and dressed in a black vest and slacks. He has a tattoo on the right side of his face- a red diamond, intricate swirls making the shape. He has puffy brown hair, quite adorable for someone his age. He also has red eyes with slit pupils, but even if it was strange, it still radiates innocence. The little boy sat on his knees, watching the mansion –his home- going up in orange-red blazing flames. The boy muffled some sobs, afraid of getting found by the cloaked figures.
As he got up and started walking out the gate, a synchronized 'thump' surrounds him. The boy looked up and see five figures surrounding him in a circle, with a slight gap between each one, though not big enough to escape through. The man faced him stated with his hand on the boy's head-
"The price of your regret… is your very being…!"
The world turned dark for the boy. All he could hear was a grandfather clock chiming and time spinning out of control. He was quickly absorbed into the darkness. He could smell the fire, burning flesh, and iron. He landed with a thump on a marble floor, in a very dark space. There was no light. The smell of burning disappeared, there was no scent. Not even the smell of disinfectant.
A single question revolved around his thoughts-
"Where am I?"
A chuckled broke the silence. It wasn't a kind or 'finding something funny' chuckled. It was more of the sadistic chuckled, like it knows something more than you do.
"W-who's there?!" The boy asked the darkness. The chuckled disappeared with a slight swift movement. He could feel his hair moving with the artificial breeze. The boy shivered, and winced. The tattoo on his cheek was burning, like it was branded on.
"So you are him, eh?" The gruff disembodied voice stated through the darkness.
The darkness suddenly engulfed in indigo flames, and the scenery changes into a garden with a glass table and two chairs facing each other. A porcelain white tea set was placed and the cups were filled with orange-tinted tea. Two silver spoon was resting on the plate, tauntingly. There was a giant bush maze behind the table set. I grimaced at the sunlight as it was too bright for an actual sun. The boy looked around, and noted that nothing was out of the ordinary.
"So who are you?" A sudden voice broke my observation. I look back quickly and see-
A mirror image of himself…?
If one look closely enough there were differences: the mirror image have no red diamond tattoo, and his eyes were brown, instead of red.
"I am…" He tried to reply to the other. It was on the tip of his tongue, yet it feels so far away… like it didn't belong to him. The boy tried to answer again. And again. But with no avail, the boy could not find the thing he was looking for.
"So, your answer?" The image asked sipping the still steaming tea, his eyes held amusement at the other's predicament.
"I- I don't actually know." The boy finally answered, giving up. He then turned to the person sitting on the chair, "Who are you then?"
The mirror image put the cup of tea on the plate with a 'clack'. He took out a handkerchief and placed it on the table, next to the cup. He looked up at the boy, smiling.
"My answer is the same as yours." He replied.
The sunlight is suddenly unbearable. He started fidgeting with the helm of his white dress shirt and bit his lower lip. The mirror image, sipping his drink, noticed the discomfort but said no words as he start dropping sugar cubes in the other tea. Motioning to the other to sit down and drink, which he did. After a few minutes in silence, the mirror image finally said:
"I guess we need to remember then."
The illusion broke after that.
...
...
Location : Unknown Location, Japan
Time : Approx. Eight Years before Present Day (2005)
A boy about seven years of age sat alone in a forest. His tattered clothes- consisted of a light blue jacket, pair of baggy denims, and orange sneakers- were covered in red. His hair is matted down with the red liquid. Once bright brown eyes looking at the world with innocence- now tormented glazed with madness and knowing. In his hands was a bloodied dagger.
The dagger was beautiful and would have been worth admiring- the platinum silver flat blade is carefully carved into a slight curve. The handle has beautiful intricate swirls, hand-carved, and a gold Chinese dragon with ruby pupils is protectively swirling around the grip. The gold hilt is in the shape of a diamond (rhombus), instead of a solid hilt, it has intricate swirls that makes look and feel solid. There is also a hand guard, like a saber and it, too, is gold and connected to the hilt. On the guard's flat surface was a sentence, engraved in ruby-
VERITAS VOS LIBERABIT
'The truth shall make you free'
It was very beautiful and people would have admired it, but it was stained with red and death. A blade worthy of death, a blade made to kill.
The child looked around, tear tracks stained his chubby cheeks. He quickly tried to wipe his face clean, but it didn't do much good. The blood on his shirt transferred onto his face.
"I'm scared…" the little boy said out loud. New tears started to form on the corners, and he made no effort to stop them. His small hands were shaking violently, and the knuckles turned white as his grip got tighter around the only protection he have.
The small forest breeze started to blow more harshly, temperature seem to drop a few degrees in just mere minutes. The boy sneezed and sniffed. He looked around.
Bodies. Dead bodies were littered everywhere. It wasn't like they were homeless or bums. They're pretty well dressed- expensive suits, silky dress shirts, leather shoes, and watches that middle class could not afford. Of course, high class but something else differentiate them- weapons. They have weapons- ranging from normal daggers to machine guns- they have it all. They were skilled too.
But they were lying dead on the smooth grass, some were leaning against the tree trunks, and some… were hanging from the tree branches or with tree branches sticking out of their chests.
The sound of bushes rustling put the child in full defense mode. The elegant dagger was now up to his chest height, readying himself. His tormented dull brown eyes turn has a vibrant orange tint in it.
"Who's there?!" The child shouted at the bushes. The rustling stopped immediately and out came six other children, four boys and two girls, in similar conditions as the child. He quickly dropped his dagger as he saw them.
"I-it can't be…! Y-you guys… aren't s-supposed to-," The boy stuttered out before falling over and onto his bottom.
"27!" A girl with waist-long brown hair, dulled with blood and grime, and violet eyes ran over and hugged the boy. She was wearing blue hospital scrubs and bare feet.
"14…!" 27 exclaimed happily, dropping the dagger with a dull 'thud' on the grass, "I t-thought… y-you…-" He didn't even managed to finish the sentence before sobbing on the shoulder of 14.
"Still the crybaby as always, 27." A boy, navy blue hair and gray eyes, teased. He's wearing a worn-out black wool sweater and green cargo pants with flat-bottom sneakers. 27puffed his cheeks in annoyance, but did not retort the boy. His hair is spikey with bangs covering his right eye. He was oldest out of the seven of them, the number '3' was what they known him as. One of the earliest experiments by those… monsters.
"Brother! Stop teasing 27 or I'll hurt you!" The girl, also with navy blue hair but silver-gray eyes, said. She's wearing a worn and dirtied blue plaid sundress with black cotton leggings and tattered brown leather sandals. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail with a torn piece of cloth. She is known as number '4'. 3 and 4 are both twins and inseparable, and both were taken at the same time. Maybe that's why 4 got captured too. The monsters only wants boys for the experiment, thinking girls were too… fragile for this.
"H-hey… how come you guys aren't in s-scrubs?" Another boy asked. He was actually the youngest out of them all, dubbed as number '36', one of the very last experiment. He has silver-almost white- hair and purple eyes. He was about the age of four when he got… taken and now he's about seven. He's also in scrubs and bare-footed with a worn down teddy bear as a companion. His eyes still radiated innocence and ignorance.
"Ah~ sweetie~! I missed you! We borrowed from a store just a mile away." 4 said in a cooing baby voice, practically glomping and smothering the poor child, "Wait here, okay?" 4 is the mother hen of our group. It could be because she's the oldest or because she have this…unhealthy obsession with younger boys.
She went over to the bushes, and pulled out a sack of… clothing? She fished out a maroon t-shirt, dark colored cotton vest, and jeans. 4 helped him get changed and put on a pair of boots on him. She proudly smiled as she examined her work.
"There you go! Is that better, sweetie?" 4 asked, her eyes twinkling with…something. 3 silently coughed in the background and mutters, "Your obsession with young boys will get you in trouble." The air got a few degrees colder, and she slowly turned to her brother. Her eyes were glowing.
"What did you say, my dear brother?" She asked sweetly. 3 mumbles a 'nothing' and walks a few feet away.
"Come here 14, 17, and 20. I have your clothes too." 17 and 20 are both boys. 17 has green eyes and black hair cut in a bobbed. He lost his vocal cords in an experiment, so he no longer can talk. He would always lulled us to sleep with a song. He's also wearing the scrubs, and bare-footed. He quickly took the clothing and changed into a white long-sleeved undershirt with a black t-shirt over it, dark jeans, and sneakers. He smiled and signed a 'thank you'. 4 replied with a 'you're welcome.'
20, on the other hand, is a silent type. He is blind- also because of an experiment- and doesn't like human contact in general. He has black cropped hair and black eyes with a scar on his right cheeks. He quickly changed out of the scrubs into a brown wool sweater, green cargo pants, and similar sneakers.
14 quickly changed into a dark hoodie, denim jeans, and knee-high leather boots. She smiled at the clothing with approval.
"So what are we going to do now?" 14 asked. We formed a circle after everyone did their business in an empty space without decaying bodies or blood. 27 quickly snatched the dagger and pocketed it. The circle is silent, each thinking of the same thing but afraid to voice it. Because it's the dangerous and the safest-
"We go our separate ways." 3 said, voicing the group's thought. 4 nodded at her brother's suggestion, but there is hesitation in her eyes. 36 trembled, holding the bear tightly. 14looked away, covering her face. 20 and 17 looked down, staring the grass with interest. Crickets chirped in union, and owls hooted l
"W-Why?! Wouldn't that be more dangerous?!" 36 blurted out. Tears were falling freely and the bear's fur was catching every drop of it.
"It would be more dangerous if we stayed together. They would know that they're looking for a group, but not individuals." 3 explained. The rest stayed quiet, afraid of what might be coming after them.
"So do you remember where you live?" 4 asked, the 'before getting taken' was in there. Everyone except 36 nodded.
"You can come with us, 36." 4 said, smiling softly at the scared boy. 36 complied, and took her hand. She looked at everyone.
"We will split up, and will never –ever- come in contact with each other. We will not speak of this nor will we tell anybody. Got it? We will also never used the powers they gave us." 4commanded. All of us gave a nod, and a promise.
"I guess this is goodbye." 14 said. We gave our goodbyes and left the forest, thinking it will be the final time we will be together.
...
...
27 headed down the mountain and into the Namimori Town. The night was quiet, too quiet for a town this size. He quietly headed toward a very familiar house. Passing through a streetlight that buzzed, houses that light illuminated from, and few night creatures, he finally made it to his destination. A normal two-story house with a fence, on the name plate was the characters 'Sawada' carved. He rang the bell, and waited for what feels like hours.
"Hello?" a sweet feminine voice greeted from the intercom. The boy paused, afraid he got the wrong house.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" The voice asked, voice no longer hold that sweet greeting. One could hear something frying in a pan and the slight buzz of the exhaust fan for the smoke. It's all too familiar.
27 gulped and spoke into the intercom-
"Kaa-san…? It's me… Tsuna. Sawada Tsunayoshi."
The voice abruptly stopped and there were no movement. I couldn't hear anything. The front door opened slowly- cautiously, and out came a woman with short brown hair and warm innocent eyes. She was holding a ladle in her hands.
She walked over and opened the gate and greeted warmly,
"Welcome home, Tsu-chan." No questions were asked.
...
...
Location : Namimori, Japan
Time : Approx. Five Years before Present Day (2009)
Sawada Tsunayoshi, age ten, currently trying to dodge human beings.
"Tsu-chan! Come on, they're almost arriving!" Nana, kaa-san, exclaimed happily. They were currently at the airport in Tokyo, waiting for the new international arrival from Italy. New arrivals and tourists from different countries came out from the different gates, and practically swarm to find their greeters. Different languages and accents mixed with Japanese. Tsuna sighed after getting bumped into by another tourist.
"Kaa-san, I'm pretty sure they know where to meet us." Tsuna gritted out, as he got bumped and scowled by this lady with a pink poodle. Really? A pink poodle? He shook his head and jogged to catch up with Nana, which was quite hard from the waves of people. As he pushed through walls and walls of people, and as he got through the last wall, he bumped into someone. To be exact, someone's chest.
"Sorry-," Tsuna looked up to apologize, but was greeted with a-
"Tsuna!" The teen exclaimed in surprised. Tsuna, on the other hand, was quite dizzy from the shout. Who…?
"Who…?" Tsuna asked, his vision stabilizing, slowly but surely. Nana's voice exclaimed from behind-
"Ieyasu! Look at how you have grown! Aw~ I still remember the day when you were just heading off to Italy with 'Tou-san." Nana gushed as she ruffled his hair.
"Hello Kaa-san. It's been a while. I …uh… got used to my Italian name, Giotto, so if you don't mind…" The mature teen greeted. Nana flushed, and started gushing again. As she did, Tsuna just stood there observing Ieyasu- Giotto. His hair is still as puffy and golden as he remembered. His eyes were now sparkling blue, like a clear ocean. He's wearing a white dress shirt and jeans with sneakers. He looks regal and-
A couple of squeals from the back. Yep. He has fan girls now.
A few minutes later, a red hair teen joins the group. He introduce himself as G, and was wearing similar clothing as Giotto, except the dress shirt was red, not white. He has a red flame tattoo on his right side of his face. He's actually quite grouchy, and protective of Giotto.
Then came three more people, introducing themselves as Bovino Lampo, Sasagawa Knuckles, and Yamamoto Asari. Not that much can be said about them, but Lampo has the brightest (and the most unusual) green hair one has ever seen. Knuckles is a religious person, judging by the rosary around his neck and keep telling everybody that God is blessing them. Asari was a traditional Japanese teenager. He was wearing a dark blue yukata and holding a bamboo flute. Lampo and Knuckles were also wearing a similar outfit to Giotto and G but with their respective color of dress shirt.
Then finally out came the last two friends of Giotto, introducing as Daemon Spade and Hibari Alaude. The only thing that stood out was Daemon's weird hair style, the color reminded me of my… friends, and the strange laugh. Hibari Alaude is Hibari Kyouya's older brother, which was really obvious. He likes to call people 'Insects', while his brother likes to call them 'Herbivores'.
From another private plane, came the twin brother, Sawada Natsume, or known as Natsu. He has the same hair and face, except his eyes are sharper than mine's and has the orange tint and a much admired person. After the appearance, they are basically polar opposite. Natsu is great at sports, one of the smartest students, and popular. Well, one already know about Tsuna's reputation.
"Hello Kaa-san." He greeted her, and stared at me. "Tsuna." That is probably the best greeting one's going to get out of him.
"Hello." He greeted back. There was the awkward silence.
Then we meet Gokudera Hayato, G's brother. He has the same personality as G, except more… outrageous? He have silver hair instead of red, and has green eyes. Mukuro Rokudo and Chrome Dokuro, cousins of Daemon Spade, with the same hair colors, but Chrome's were lighter by a few shades. Mukuro's eyes were mismatched- red and blue. It seems he also inherited the creepy laugh. Lastly, we meet Bovino Lambo, brother of Lampo, even though he's the same age, he acts a lot like a child.
Of course lastly, we have the Arcobaleno, a group of seven adults. The man with the fedora and a scary aura introduced himself as Reborn, my brothers' tutor. Then Fong, who's Hibari's uncle. He was actually nice. Skull, Colonnello, Lal Mirch, Viper/ Mammon, and lastly, Verde, a scientist. Tsuna slightly froze as he saw the white coat, but it went unnoticed.
Then Iemitsu, otou-san, and his boss came out. There was a touching reunion between those three.
We greeted and introduced each other. Then from the gate, came someone that's not supposed to be here. Tsuna hitched his breath, 'not possible' is all he could think of. A teen with wavy navy blue hair and grey eyes walked out with a girl similar in facial structure and height, and a boy in tow. The boy saw him and waved silently, the girl looked toward his direction and eyes widen in surprise. Then the older boy looked at the same direction, and smirked- then he mouthed,
'Hello 27'
Tsuna froze up, his eyes widen. His breathing was now erratic, almost like having a silent panic attack.
Giotto looked in concern, and so did Natsu, and turned to the gate. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Giotto turned back, "Is something wrong, Tsuna?" he asked out of concern. The group quieted down abnormally fast, it was actually weird to see the normal loud group so quiet. But they knew when Giotto or Natsu was concerned, something was terribly wrong.
"Oh nothing. I thought I saw something." Tsuna replied back, eyes still wandering and examining the crowd, looking for those three individuals, but they weren't there anymore.
'It could be the trick of the light.' He thought, convincing himself.
"Are you sure, Tsuna?" Natsu asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Tsuna nodded.
They were at Italy for seven entire years. He was kidnapped just the day after they left, and Nana thought he was at a camp the entire time, for three whole years. Then getting out just shy of four years. Then after another five years, today, they finally came home.
No one ever knew
...
...
"Who are YOU?"
"This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. I - I hardly know, sir, just at present - at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."
- Caterpillar and Alice [Alice in Wonderland]