RE: VARIA'S GIRL ADOPTED VERSION

Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi was a girl who lost trust in her blood family at an early age with the exception of her mother. She suffered through a living nightmare before she received salvation in the form of her new family. She'll do everything in her power to keep them safe. Although, falling in love was not in her list. This is about Tsuna's love, hate, revenge, trust, and broken bonds.

RATED T FOR LANGUAGE

BETA BY: AMBIGIOUS PERSON (MY VERY GREAT ANEE-SAMA)

"Speaking…"

"Foreign language…"

Thoughts/internal dialogue/flashbacks/other, etc...

Chapter 1: Prologue I

On one fine winter day in the small town of Namimori, a small family was feeling the momentary sign of peace. A true moment of blissful ignorance. In a modest, two-story home, a young girl could be seen gazing outside the window as white, frozen droplets of water fell from the sky. She watched in amazement as lots of white fluff covered the outside world in the pure and untainted color.

The small modest home, housed a four person family, a mother and father with two adorable children. A woman in her mid-thirties could be seen cooking in the kitchen while humming softly. Her name is Sawada Nana, a kind-hearted woman and the mother of a pair of twins. In the living room, a pair of four-year-old twins could be seen minding their own business.

One of the twins was a boy with his father's coloring, blond hair and blue eyes. He is the younger set of twin and he's called Sawada Natsuki. The other pair of twin was a girl with her mother's coloring, dark auburn hair and bright amber eyes that burned a sunset orange. She is the older twin, born twenty-seven minutes before her brother, Natsuki. Ironically enough, the twins have names that don't match with their gender, but in their childish mind, gender-appropriate names did not really matter much to them. The last member of the family was currently out of the house doing god-knows what.

The younger twin, Natsuki was playing with his toys when his eyes landed on a sharp needle-like object. It was one of Nana's knitting needles. Natsuki grabbed the needle with a small, chubby hand and a cruel grin threatened to split his face as his eyes glinted with malicious intent.

Looking towards his older twin sister over by the windows, who watching the snowfall, Natsuki felt a burning hatred and jealousy envelop his little body. He gripped the long needle in his hand just a little tighter as he continued to stare at his twin sister. The moment his little mind learned that being the center of attention felt good, Natsuki did all that he could to always be at the center of attention.

Natsuki always felt like he was on top of the world whenever his mom and dad praised him for his accomplishment, showering him with attention, but when he noticed his mom's attention stray towards his twin sister, he hated it. Every time his twin sister smiled that stupid smile, his mom never failed to shower her with attention.

He could only let his hatred for his twin sister grow until it consumed him. His jealousy blinded him to the fact that their mother equally gave them the love and attention they need. His hatred blinded him of the fact that his twin sister loved him and would do anything to make him happy.

Natsuki looked at the long needle in his hand, then at his twin sister by the window, and he grinned at his sudden 'brilliant' idea. He called out to his twin in a soft voice, so that their mother did not hear him.

"Nee, onee-chan. Can you come over here, please?" Natsuki asked as he hid the needle behind his back.

Alarm bells were ringing inside the young girl's mind when she heard her younger twin brother call for her. She knew that nothing good happens to her whenever her twin brother calls for her attention. Something bad always happens. The last time Natsuki called her, she 'fell' down the stairs. She had screamed when she felt a force push her down the stairs and the noise attracted the attention of their parents.

While she was crying from the pain she felt from 'falling' down the stairs, Natsuki was crying over nothing because he claimed that he heard a noise coming from the stairs and saw her trip on air before 'falling' down the stairs. Tsuna had watched with pained eyes as their parents believed Natsuki's obvious lie when there was nothing hiding the cruel glint in the boy's tearstained eyes.

After that incident, she never trusted her twin ever again, but she could never refuse him because of her lingering affection she held for him. They were twins after all, and as the older of the two, it was her job to look after her younger twin brother. It was easier in her mind to ignore the growing enmity in her twin brother's eyes because she still loves her twin.

Tsuna cautiously approached her twin brother and before she could ask what he wanted, she was taken by surprise as Natsuki pushed her down on her back, straddled her waist, and then covered her mouth with his hand. The warning bells in her mind grew louder in intensity and Tsuna winced at the painful sensation tingling all over her body, mostly focused at the back of her head. She felt tears pricking her eyes at the aching feeling and what she saw before her had her eyes widening in fear.

The hand covering her mouth muffled her scream when a long needle was abruptly and painfully, stabbed into her right eye. When she felt Natsuki violently dig the needle further into her bleeding eye, Tsuna couldn't help the piercing scream that left her lips as her twin uncovered her mouth.

As his twin sister screamed in pain, Natsuki calmly removed himself from his twin with a disturbing grin on his cherubic face. Hearing a clattering noise coming from the kitchen, he schooled his face into a fearful look and forced tears to form in his eyes, thinking his plan was a success. He was unaware of the sight that he actually made with his face, hands, and clothes were spattered with his twin sister's blood, and he unknowingly smeared more blood on his face when he tried to force himself to cry.

Nana was met with a horrific sight when she came running at the sound of her children's distress. She froze in shock when she saw her daughter, Tsuna lying on her back on the living room floor, crying tears of blood from the sharp object embedded in her right eye. The painful whimper her daughter made pulled Nana into action, and hurriedly approached her children.

Her worry and fear was clear in her eyes at the sight of her injured daughter. She nearly sighed in relief to see her son, Natsuki was not hurt. Her mind skipping over the fact that her son had blood spatters on his tearstained face, hands, and clothes.

The mother in her just couldn't believe her son was capable of doing such horrible and despicable acts despite the cold, hard evidence before her eyes. She knew in her mind that there was something really wrong with her son when she noticed how much hate he harbored in his eyes for his twin sister. Her heart only grew heavy with guilt as she ignored the festering hatred in her son's heart and she did nothing to stop it.

The sound of a car's engine stopping in front of the house remained unnoticed and unheard as a man walked up to the front door. The man was in his late-thirties and he looked very foreign with his short, blond hair, and light blue eyes despite being Japanese. He was also tall with a muscular build. He is Sawada Iemitsu, the loving husband of Sawada Nana, and the father of an adorable pair of twins.

Standing outside the door to his home, Iemitsu shifted the bags he held into one hand before unlocking the door and entering his home.

"Honey, I'm home~! Nana-darling?" he called out sweetly before hearing the sound of crying coming from the living room. His eyes widened in alarm at the horrific sight that welcomed him home. He looked at his children and was glad to see that his favorite son was unharmed, while his wife looked over their daughter, who had a needle-like object embedded in her right eye.

"W-What happened?!" Iemitsu dropped the bags in his hand and rushed over to his wife who was holding their eldest child in her arms.

Their daughter was still crying tears of blood and was occasionally whimpering in pain. Iemitsu carefully pulled out the needle embedded in her eye and brought out a clean handkerchief to hopefully staunch the bleeding.

Wasting no time, Nana gently lifted Tsuna in her arms, softly telling her daughter to hold the cloth over her eye. Once she saw Tsuna follow her instructions, albeit weakly, Nana swiftly made her way out the living room while holding Tsuna close to her chest.

"Watch over Natsuki, dear." she said to her husband as she grabbed her keys and hurried out the door to her car. She was determined to make it to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible.

Once she was on the road, Nana was frantically trying not to overstep the speed limit as she urged the car to move a little faster by stepping on the gas pedal with a little more pressure. Stopping before a stoplight, Nana became antsy in her seat before glancing at her daughter. She worried her lip when she saw that Tsuna's eye was still profusely bleeding. The handkerchief was already soaked and dripping with blood, and she worried her daughter might be losing too much blood. She watched in morbid fascination as the blood spilled over her daughter's fingers before sliding down her arm to drip onto the skirt of the dress her daughter was wearing.

Seeing the pain in her daughter's uninjured eye, Nana gave Tsuna a reassuring smile while reaching over with her right hand to comb through her daughter's soft hair. She smiled when she felt Tsuna lean into her touch and whispered soothing words of comfort to her injured daughter.

The light turned green and Nana turned her attention back on the road as she continued to drive towards the hospital. Hopefully, everything will turn out alright once this living nightmare was over.

Back in the Sawada household, Iemitsu was pacing back and forth in the living room. Half an hour have passed since Nana took Tsuna to the hospital, and Iemitsu couldn't help the feeling of dread that washed over him. Grabbing his wallet and picking up his son, he rushed out the house and quickly hailed a taxi. He didn't think he could drive properly with worry in the forefront of his mind.

Natsuki could only looked at his father in confusion, while the older man just gave his son a strained smile and a squeeze to his shoulders.

The drive to the hospital was very nerve wracking for Iemitsu and the traffic up ahead wasn't helping to settle his nerves. The sounds of sirens over the roar of traffic had Iemitsu looking out the window, and the sight that met him had dread filling the pit of his stomach.

An accident, a car accident. He thought, fear in his heart as he saw a familiar small car, smoking and wrecked from a collision blocked off by police cars and police tapes to isolate it from the surrounding traffic. There were a handful of police officers trying to do damage control with one talking to a phone, most likely contacting an ambulance. Getting out of the taxi cab, he paled in fear when he recognized the wrecked car. There was no mistaking it, as it was the same small car that Nana drove.

Iemitsu shouted in horror as he made his way to his wife and daughter, pushing past the police officers in the scene, with his son clinging to the cloth of his pants. In the car was Nana and their beloved daughter, both were unconscious and heavily injured with blood spilling from their wounds. He fell to his knees feeling helpless at the sight of the prone figures of his wife and daughter. Hearing the sirens of an ambulance snapped Iemitsu right out of his stupor and stepped up with weakened knees to help carry his wife and daughter to the ambulance.

Nearly five hours have passed since the car accident and Iemitsu could not help but pace once again, right outside his daughter's private hospital room. Natsuki was sitting on a chair just beside the door watching his father pace back and forth, while sipping on a juice box that was given to him by a nurse.

It's been an hour or two since his daughter woke up, but she was only conscious for a few moments before falling unconscious again, this time into a restful sleep. It gave Iemitsu enough time to explain to his daughter in words she could understand that 'her mama protected her from a terrible accident and that she would be sleeping for a long time.' He left out all the grisly details of the car accident, believing his daughter wouldn't understand the whole truth. He ignored the fact that Tsuna was equally involved in the accident as Nana was and was witness to the entirety of the accident.

The short amount of time that Tusna was conscious was enough for her to understand what happened and it changed her irreparably. In fact, the moment her own twin brother stabbed her in her eye was only the beginning of the change, the accident only sped up the process. The sacrifice was her mother's life and the veil of innocence lifted from her eyes. She knew that from the moment she wakes up again, she may never see her beloved mother ever again. As Tsuna slowly lost her hold on consciousness, hardly hearing her father talk, she promised to protect the life her mother risked her own for with her dying will.

Iemitsu stopped in his pacing when he saw the doctor in charge, approaching. He was the one who treated his daughter's injuries in the ambulance considering she had wounds easy enough to be treated with first-aid, not including her stab wound in her eye. Once they arrived at the hospital, both his daughter and wife were immediately rushed into the intensive care unit. He was told that Nana sustained heavy injuries during the accident that she needed to have surgery operated on her, Tsuna as well because of her eye injury.

Tsuna was the first to be released from the ICU and put into a private room, but Nana, his wife, has yet to be released from her surgery. They managed to fix the damage to her eye, but she will remain forever blind in her right eye. They were a little too late to salvage even a little of her sight.

Looking expectantly at the doctor, Iemitsu wanted to know the condition of his wife.

"H-How is she? How's my wife?" he asked, his eyes pleading with the doctor to tell him that his lovely wife was okay. He could feel his hope dwindling as he listened to the doctor speak.

"Unfortunately, your wife is currently in a coma with no signs of waking up," the doctor began before shaking his head in pity as he continued to talk about the condition of Iemetsu's wife. "The blunt force trauma to her head and body was too powerful, causing severe damage to her brain, and she also fractured and broken most of her ribs, and has major internal bleeding. Thankfully, none of her internal organs received too much damage. Her arms and legs only received minor bruises and strains, but she shows signs of nerve and muscle damage. We have done our best to heal your wife, but there's little chance of her waking up. However, should your wife do wake up, chances are, she'll never live the same way again. She's nearly paralyzed from the waist down."

While the adults were conversing, Natsuki walked inside Tsuna's hospital room and made his way beside her hospital bed. He looked at his sleeping twin in disgust. He couldn't help but wish that she was in his mother's place instead. He heard that his mother had little chance of waking up and even if she did wake up, she'll be different. He didn't want his mother to be different.

In Natsuki's mind, it only made sense for his twin to be the one to never wake up because it was her fault to begin with that his mother was in the hospital. He also blamed his mother a little because if she just ignored his twin sister, then this wouldn't have happened. She would still be awake and giving him all the attention in the world, along with his father.

"I really do hope you never wake up instead of my mama," he said as if Tsuna was awake. "You know it's your fault that my mama might never wake up." Natsuki sneered at his unconscious twin, his expression turning dark and ugly, unbefitting his childish face. His eyes became an ugly shade of blue as they glinted with malice towards his sister.

Just outside of the room, Iemitsu was left to his thoughts as the doctor finished relaying the condition of his wife. Turning to look inside the room, he eyed his daughter with newfound hatred, as his son seemingly conversed with his sleeping twin. Not only did she clumsily stuck a sharp object in her eye, but she was also the reason that his beloved Nana was in such a horrible state. In his opinion, Nana shouldn't have faced the brunt of the accident, receiving life threatening injuries. It wasn't her fault that Tsuna clumsily injured her eye.

Feeling that Tsuna was becoming a danger to his family, Iemitsu came up with a plan to get rid of the danger. The car accident that hospitalized his beloved Nana was more than enough. Seeing that the one who caused Nana's accident won't be discharged until a few more days, Iemitsu decided to go home with his son for the night. He can return later in the night to get rid of the danger to his family.

As the males of the Sawada family left the hospital, they never noticed the single tear that ran down the small female Sawada's cheek and the medical patch covering her right eye bleed red, causing the nurse checking on her young patient to panic and call for some assistance.

The drive home was silent and as the taxi approached the Sawada Residence, Iemitsu paid the cab and exited the car with his son nodding off in his arms. He made his way inside his home and into his son's bedroom. Seeing to it that Natsuki was sound asleep in his bed, Iemitsu immediately left for the hospital with a duffle bag in his hand. Locking up the house, he got into his car and drove to the hospital to fetch the one who caused all this mess, when in actuality, the one who caused it was sleeping peacefully in his room.

After discreetly getting the girl from the hospital without waking her up, Iemitsu began driving out of Namimori altogether and towards a city far away from Namimori. He has decided from now on, Sawada Tsunayoshi was no longer his daughter, and no longer part of the Sawada family. All he has to do now was come up with a believable explanation for his beloved Nana, once she wakes up, on why her daughter was gone.

Tsuna woke up in an unfamiliar bed and an unfamiliar room. Sluggishly getting up from the bed, she took a moment to observe her surroundings, feeling utterly confused. She knew for sure that she wasn't in her hospital room or her own room for that matter. The room she was currently in was too big, bigger than her hospital room and her own room put together. It didn't have the stark white walls of the hospital or the warm oranges of her room.

She eyed the room's plain brown walls and plain white ceiling, down to the wood floors, another indication that she was neither in the hospital or her own room. The hospital had white floor tiles and while her room also had wood floors, it was covered in a light teal carpet. She also noticed the multiple beds lining both sides of the room, with childish arts and crafts decorating some of the headboards.

Tsuna got off the bed, ignoring the aches in her body and rushed out of the room. As soon as she got out of the room, she bumped into a lady wearing a green dress with a with a white apron wrapped over her skirt. She gripped the fabric of the woman's skirt and she looked up at the woman's unfamiliar face.

"W-Where am I, and why am I h-here?" Tsuna asked with tears in her eye.

The woman could only look at the girl in pity and couldn't help but resent the man, presumably the girl's father, for leaving his young daughter in this place. From the looks of things, the girl appeared to have been involved in a terrible accident and was probably traumatized. She shouldn't even be outside her parent's care, and the father had the nerve to up and leave his child at an orphanage in the middle of the night!

How utterly despicable of him! The woman thought.

She got down on her knees and brought the distraught young girl with one tearful eye since her right eye was covered in a medical eyepatch, into a warm embrace. She gently explained to the child that she was currently in the care of the orphanage with her father's permission.

She nearly cried as the young girl was clearly devastated at her father's abandonment. The woman gasped in surprise when she saw the child's medical eyepatch slowly bleed red. She let her own tears fall and embraced the child once again, who was crying tears of blood in one eye silently, uncaring of the blood most likely staining her shoulder. The child obviously needed the comfort and she could only hope the best for the child.

Tsuna remained frozen in the woman's warm embrace as she realized that she was basically abandoned at an orphanage by her own father. She didn't even realize she was crying tears of blood in her right eye and normal tears in her left eye. She ignored the stinging sensation in her right and and the pain in her heart. She was feeling too numb and cold as she came to terms to the circumstances she was in.

She was betrayed and abandoned by her own father.

Tsuna couldn't think or feel anything. She just felt empty and hollow. She couldn't believe her own father willingly abandoned her at an orphanage. She didn't think she did anything wrong that would put her in an orphanage. She had always been a good girl! She always helped her mother even without being asked. She was always nice to her twin brother, who caused her nothing but grief, and she always listened to what her father says even though most of the time, he showered her twin with attention and barely spared her a word or a glance.

Tsuna felt numb to the world, but she couldn't help the building resentment in her heart.

Her father, no— He was no longer her father anymore. Iemitsu will regret the day he forsaken his own flesh and blood. Abandoning his only daughter to a life worse than death. Her twin, who was suppose to be her other half, will also pay for all the grief and pain he caused in their short life.

Tsuna vowed that one day, she will get her vengeance. She swore on her mother's life and her dying will. It was a heavy promise she made in her young heart.

Three years later with the Sawadas...

It's been nearly three years since Iemitsu decided to leave his only daughter at an orphanage and never looked back. He didn't regret anything.

His wife had yet to open his eyes then, but he paid for the best medical treatment, so when she opens her eyes, his wife will have no trouble going back to her lovely self. Iemitsu had waited for the day his wife will wake, and so, he stayed in Japan far longer than he normally would. He was sure an endless amount of paperwork will be awaiting his return.

After his impromptu trip to the orphanage, Iemitsu never found it strange as to why his son never bothered to ask where his sister was or why she wasn't home. He never found it strange that his son was in fact, so much happier that his twin sister was gone. He was too blind to see that his son shouldn't even be happy that his sister was gone. He didn't even realize how broken and fractured his family really was.

Iemitsu eyed the letter he received in his hand with trepidation. It was a letter from the orphanage, and it's been nearly three years since he last got one. The orphanage always sent him letters concerning his daughter, but after three months since he left his daughter in their care, the letters stopped coming. The last letter he received was about his daughter's apparent adoption to a couple from France. They said that she was immediately taken to France after her adoption was finalized and was living happily and healthily with her new family.

Iemitsu hid the unopened letter behind his back as he smiled at the sight of his son and his lovely wife, who finally woke after a year since the accident, playing together on the living room floor with his son's multiple toys scattered around them. It was with a heavy heart that upon the awakening of his wife, he told her that their daughter never survived the accident. He had held his sobbing wife as she believed his little white lie that continued to feel heavier and heavier in the pit of his stomach.

He shook off the feelings of a guilty conscience. His family was perfectly happy. His son was even happier, and he was sure that his daughter was better off with her new family, and best of all, his lovely wife, Nana was awake and fully recovered from the accident. He was certain that he made the right decision.

Clutching the white envelope in his hand, Iemitsu made sure that his wife and son didn't see it. He decided to open and read the letter in the privacy of his and his wife's room.

To Sawada Iemitsu,

This will be the last and final letter you will receive from the orphanage concerning your daughter, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

As you know, Sawada Tsunayoshi had been adopted by a couple from France after her stay here with us at the orphanage. Prior to her adoption, she was a quiet, but endearing child and the couple who was visiting us at the time fell in love with the her. They had immediately taken her to their cottage home in France once the adoption was finalized. I'm afraid that in their palpable excitement of adopting the girl, they forgot to disclose their information address, but they did leave a contact should we ever need to reach them.

From what I know, the child had lived a happy life with her adopted family, but I am getting off track.

I am writing this letter to inform you, Sawada Iemitsu, that your daughter, Sawada Tsunayoshi has passed away due to contracting an epidemic illness that spread throughout a remote island, she and her adopted family had once visited. It was a treatable disease, but once afflicted, it causes unbearable pain to the body, especially to a young child's still developing body.

Her adopted mother also suffered the same affliction, but she was able to fight off the disease with the help of the treatment, unlike her adopted daughter. Unfortunately, due to the young girl's still developing body, her immune system was too weak and even with the help of the treatment, it wasn't long before the disease took her young life.

Once again, I regret to inform you that Sawada Tsunayoshi has passed away on xx/xx/xxxx.

Our deepest condolences,

Hokoshita Orphanage of Tokyo

P.S.

Attached to this letter are photos of Sawada Tsunayoshi three months prior to her death.

Iemitsu read the letter with disbelief clear in his eyes. He couldn't believe his only daughter was dead, but the evidence was there as he picked up a photo of his daughter with a trembling hand. Staring at the smiling face of his daughter, he was beginning to regret his decision. His one and only daughter was gone because of an epidemic disease that he could have prevented. He had the money and the power, but he was so entrenched in his opinion of her being a danger to his family, that he didn't bother to check up on his daughter.

He condemned an innocent child, his innocent daughter to a life cut short by an epidemic illness.

Iemitsu was a little upset his daughter was dead, but he felt no remorse on how she died. In fact, he was glad that a painful, but treatable disease stole her life instead of the sharp edge of a blade or a single bullet of a gun.

He ignored the small voice in his mind that whispered how it would have been a mercy if his daughter died a quick and painless death by a single bullet. He ignored the whispers that said blood loss from a wound caused by a bladed weapon would have numbed her enough from feeling a painful death. And he ignored the traitorous whisper that accused him of letting his forsaken, innocent daughter to suffer through a painful, but treatable disease until she breathed her last breath.

Iemitsu ignored all of it and just worried how he will hide this information from his wife. He couldn't let her know or find out that the daughter she adored so much died in a foreign country. He just couldn't bare the reaction of his wife should she find out what really happened to her daughter.

Little did Iemitsu know, he condemned his daughter to live a life worse than death when he followed through with his decision of leaving her in an orphanage. All because of his misguided, misconception of his daughter being a perceived danger to his family, while ignoring the fact that he was forsaking his own flesh and blood.

Three months after Tsuna's adoption…

It's been three months since a strange couple took her far away from the orphanage. They were nice at first, but Tsuna later finds out they were the exact opposite.

After a month of living with the couple, she noticed their growing hostility towards her until she couldn't take it anymore and tried to escape. They made her own twin's abuse much more bearable. Planning her escape was useless because they always caught her in the end, and she was always punished harshly for disobeying their orders. Tsuna suffered through their abuse in silence and made sure to keep to herself for as long as she possibly could. They always seem to find multiple ways to put more bruises on her skin, and by the end of the day, she was colored black and blue, but for some reason, they always left her face alone.

On one day, when men in white robes came to visit the couple who adopted her, Tsuna felt hope that she will finally leave the horrible couple. They claimed they were 'doctors,' and she blinked in confusion when she was told she was 'diagnosed' with a 'terminal disease.' She didn't understand what the words meant, but even in her ears, they sounded foreboding. The words seemed to have caught the attention of her adopted parents and they all but eagerly signed some papers before handing her over to the 'doctors.'

Despite the alarm bells ringing inside her head, warning her of the danger, Tsuna was helpless to stop the 'doctors' from taking her to an unknown place once again. She was only a child and she was very weak from the constant abuse that it just wasn't possible for her to fight off adults, let alone escape from their grasps.

The 'doctors' took her to a hospital, but it looked and felt different from a normal hospital. When Tsuna was carried inside the building, she felt a chill run down her spine, while dread pooled in the pit of her stomach. She knew then, that only bad and painful things will happen to her inside the building that was a mockery of a hospital. She flinched, then paled when a piercing scream echoed hollowly from somewhere inside the building.

Tsuna couldn't keep count of the time ever since she was forced to live in this living nightmare by those 'doctors' or 'scientists,' as she learned they were really called, brought her to this living hellhole. She didn't know how many days, weeks, months, or even years have passed by. She only knew each and every pain inflicted upon her. It had become her only constant companion.

The first thing those so-called scientists did to her was examine her body. They paid close attention to her right eye, especially. They muttered about her right eye being completely 'blind,' before writing something down on a piece of paper attached to a clipboard. Tsuna knew she couldn't see out of her right eye whenever she closed her left eye, so she could guess from the mutters she could hear from the scientists that she's 'blind' in her right eye.

The examination continued for a couple of days and Tsuna was forced to endure every prick and prod to her body that made her feel very uncomfortable. It wasn't long until the harsh, medical treatment she was forced to take became unbearably painful, that she screamed herself hoarse every day and night. Then, the harsh medical treatment changed into agonizing experiments.

Three years later in an unknown location…

Tsuna opened her eyes only to see nothing but darkness in the enclosed room she has been occupying for the past three years. She wondered what it was that disturbed her from her fitful rest and she could faintly hear a commotion that was apparently loud enough that it reached her isolated room. A small spark of hope began to build in her chest. Maybe, she will finally be able to leave this place.

She shifted in place, trying to find a comfortable sitting position and she heard the chains from her manacles making rattling noises. Her subtle movements caused her long hair to fall over her shoulders and into her lap.

She stared at her long hair pooling around her. She was sure it had grown way past her waist by now. She never had it cut, and the scientists never bothered with the length of her hair, so she let it grow.

She eyed her hair almost curiously as if she's never seen it in her life. She stared at the pool of white in her lap, the only color she could barely see in the dark room. It was a pure, untainted white. In her morbid opinion, the color white was the most tainted color in the world, as it could easily be stained black or dripping a bloody red.

Tsuna remembered all too well the day her hair faded into a shocking white. She didn't exactly recall the exact date, but rather the excruciating pain she endured during one of many the experiments done against her will. A female scientist even had the gall to praise her for handling the pain so well after three years.

She scoffed in her mind at what that foolish woman had said. Three years, if that woman was ever in her place for three years like she'd said, she would love to hear what she has to say then. Her pain tolerance had increased so much over the years that she could hardly feel the initial prick of a needle anymore. Only if an experiment bypassed her pain threshold did she ever scream herself hoarse. It wasn't something she wanted acknowledge because that would mean she was getting used to all the painful experiments.

It was only after countless, 'successful' experiments were done on her when it happened. Tsuna was just branded with the name 'Experiment No. 27' or 'EN27.' The consecutive experiments had numbed her to the pain that when the scientists suddenly tattooed the roman numeral number for twenty-seven, XXVII, on her left cheek under her left eye, her left collarbone, and lastly on her left outer thigh, her pain threshold was triggered, and she was too shocked to even let out a scream of pain.

She lost consciousness soon after and when she woke up from her pain induced sleep, her hair had already faded into a shocking white color. A very tainted color that ironically enough, seemed fit to describe her life.

As pure as her life had been born, the short life she's lived was easily tainted by her feelings. Her love for her mother, her bitterness for her father, her resentment for her twin brother, and her desire for vengeance against all those who've done her wrong. Starting with all the scientists who experimented on her on this godforsaken laboratory.

Tsuna sighed in exhaustion as her thoughts continued in a dark, downward spiral about inflicting the most painful experience she can come up with against all those depraved scientists, even though she was too weak to even follow through with her rather, vivid mental vision. They came in earlier— or was it later in the day?— mumbling about trying to harness her power.

She didn't care to listen to their scientific and apparently psychotic ramblings about her 'power.' If she had power like they think she has, then why hasn't she known about it?

Tsuna closed her eyes and ignored the various aches in her body. She couldn't see anything in front of her, and she couldn't find a comfortable sitting position with her wrists shackled above her head, and her ankles shackled to the cold, hard floor she was sitting on. Her arms and legs were beginning to feel numb from staying in the same position for a long time and her shackles were chafing against the skin of her wrist and ankles to the point she could feel them bleeding. She long suspected that the shackles on both her wrists and ankles were slowly cutting off her blood circulation.

She sighed at the uncomfortable feeling, it wasn't painful, but she just didn't like the numbing sensation as she tried to get a little more circulation in her arms by shifting her center of gravity so her arms didn't carry the brunt of her weight. Listening to the scientific jargon coming from the mouths of those scientists finally paid off, despite how much she loathed them, they were actually very smart and she learned all that she could just by observing them and listening to them.

Most of it were theory, but maybe when she's older and no longer in this laboratory, she might be able to learn more and apply it in real life because she wasn't living in this place, she was trying to stay alive and just survive.

Tsuna perked up when the commotion she heard distantly was sounding much, much closer to her isolated chamber.

"Hello, is anyone in here?" a muffled voice called out from the other side of the reinforced iron door.

Tsuna tried to answer with her voice, but it came out as a hoarse and raspy whisper from her constant abuse, so instead, she rattled her chains as loud as she can in reply.

"Good. We'll get you out, once all the scientists are dealt with." the voice said before leaving.

Tsuna let the spark of hope in her heart burn brighter and thought, I might finally be able to escape this room.

She waited, and waited, and waited for the voice to come back and get her out of this room. Her patience and hope were slowly dwindling that she was beginning to doubt the truth she heard in the voice that promised to return for her.

She was feeling weaker than normal and she was beginning to see spots in her already compromised vision. She didn't think it was possible to see dark spots in a dark room. She was slowly losing her consciousness when the locked door to her room suddenly burst open and startled her back into awareness, albeit weakly.

She struggled to lift her head and she could faintly see figures dressed in black as opposed to the white she's normally seen, those scientists wore nothing but white. The sudden harsh light filtering in the room blinded her eyes for a moment, forcing her to squint from the sudden influx of light.

She stayed still when she noticed one of the figures approach her and she whimpered in pain when she felt her shackles being broken, and the rush of blood down her arms and leg didn't help at all. Feeling herself slumping forward, Tsuna braced herself for the impact, she was too weak to catch herself. Instead of feeling the cold, hard floor, she was surprised to feel someone gently, catch her. She opened her eyes weakly to see red and black.

Slowly raising her hand, Tsuna reached out to the man, or rather boy, that caught her. He looked like her age, maybe older. Yes, she decided. He was definitely older than her. She could feel that he was bigger and taller than her. Although, she did wonder what he was doing in a place like this.

Tsuna nearly gasped as the boy's hand grasped her small one. His hand felt really warm and slightly calloused. It was nearly twice the size of her hand and it's been so long since she's had any good or kindhuman contact. The last time she felt this kind of warmth was during the times her mother would hold her and that one time that nice lady at the orphanage embraced her.

She weakly gripped the boy's warm hand a little tighter as if afraid of letting go and she was. She didn't want to let go. She's afraid to let go in fear of it being all a dream and once she wakes up, she'll be back in the clutches of those scientists to be experimented on against her will. She didn't want that to happen.

"O-Onii-san, h-help… m-me…" Tsuna said weakly before letting the darkness consume her.

Somewhere in Sicily, Italy…

It's been quite awhile since they've planned such a large scale assault on an enemy famiglia. Earlier this week, they received notice that a child, from an allied famiglia, had been abducted by a famiglia of scientists. The Vongola Famiglia could not rest well knowing that someone from Le Alleanza* needed their help.

The Vongola used everything at their disposal to ensure that they complete the mission with utmost proficiency. Searching for the location of the Estraneo Famiglia was no easy feat, but they were able to locate the whereabouts of one of the many labs hidden in Italy. It was their hope that it was the right one, but it was within their knowledge that in each Estraneo lab, there's a document mapping all the locations of the other labs.

It was only a matter of time before the Vongola can completely eliminate the Estraneo Famiglia, or better yet, just hand them over to the Vindice. It was less work that way, very fast and efficient.

Timoteo, otherwise as Vongola Nono, the ninth generation don of the Vongola Famiglia, was the head of this retrieval mission, done as a personal favor for an old friend. Accompanying him were two of his most trusted Guardians, Coyote Nougat, his Storm Guardian, Brow Nie, Jr., his Sun Guardian, and lastly, his young ambitious son, Xanxus. They were more than enough to complete this mission.

They were currently driving in a nondescript car to one of the Estraneo's hidden labs, with Coyote on the wheel. As they continued to drive down a dirt road, they were alarmed to see billows of black smoke rising up the sky. The sun was beginning it's slow descent beyond the horizon, coloring the sky a blood orange, painting a foreboding image. It's a sign that blood has been spilled.

Timoteo nodded at his Storm to speed up and just as they arrived at their destination, they were shocked to see that one of Estraneo's laboratory headquarters, completely destroyed.

"Coyote, Brow Nie." he called and his trusted men nodded and followed his lead, understanding what needn't be said. Looking to his left, he sighed as he watched his son, Xanxus, slowly exit the car. His face was fixed into a bored expression as always. He was the last one to exit the car following after his son.

They scouted around the destruction, finding nothing of importance before they headed inside the laboratory. The sight that met them wasn't enough to make them flinch as they were already used to the sight of bloodshed.

The inside of the laboratory could only be described as a massacre. Multiple bodies of scientists lay scattered in bloodied heaps all across the tiled floors. Blood spatters stained the floors, the walls, and the ceilings, painting quite a macabre picture.

They headed deeper inside the building and looked for survivors, but they couldn't find one amidst the bloody destruction. Not even a single scientist was alive to be taken for questioning. The children, the Estraneo were known to experiment on, were nowhere to be found, and all the scientists are dead.

Timoteo scanned the carnage, he was getting discouraged from finding at least a single survivor when he noticed his son staring at a metal door they had passed by earlier in their search. Looking to his Guardians, he nodded at them to force open the door.

He didn't realize he was holding his breath as he watched Coyote and Brow Nie force open the door, evidently destroying it. His breath left him as his eyes widened at the sight of a little girl chained to the walls by her wrists and shackled to the floor by her ankles. He could see that the chains barely gave the girl a little leeway with how short they were.

Timoteo stared at the little girl in shock, she couldn't have been older than Xanxus! In fact, she looked younger than his son by a few years or even younger, and Xanxus was thirteen years old, almost fourteen! The girl couldn't have been older than seven or eight years old, but he wasn't certain. He wondered for how long she had been with the Estraneo Famiglia. They were notoriously known for abducting young children as young as an infant.

He observed the girl more closely. She had long white hair pooling around her small body. He eyed her hair a little longer and couldn't help but feel that the girl has a strong will to live despite the obvious sign of trauma. It was the only way she could have gotten that hair color.

He almost let out an audible gasp when he caught a glimpse of her eyes. She had heterochromia iridis. Her right iris was a pale silver rimmed with a soft violet, her pupil was hardly visible and was barely reacting with the filtering light. She was most likely, completely blind in her right eye. Her left eye was a beautiful amber and his own eyes widened in surprise when they flashed a sunset orange, but he shook it off as a trick of the light.

Seeing that the chains were practically straining the poor girl, Timoteo motioned for Coyote to get rid of the chains, shackling the girl. He watched the girl in concern when he heard a faint whimper of pain coming from her when her shackles were finally removed. He moved closer, ready to catch her, and much to his surprise, Xanxus was the first to move when the girl was finally let loose from her chains.

Timoteo watched as his young and normally volatile son, handle the girl with gentle hands. It wasn't often that Xanxus even let out his soft side, and as he grew older, Timoteo saw it less and less. He could only savour the moment as his son gently grasped the small hand reaching for him, while calling for his help.

"O-Onii-san… tasu-kete…" Timoteo blinked at the whispered words in Japanese. He never thought that the girl was of Asian descent, he thought for sure that she was Italian, but now that he looked closer she probably has mixed heritage. He watched with sad eyes as the girl's arm fell limp in his son's hand. He pitied the girl, she was so young and already, her life was cut too short.

"What the hell are you doing, you shitty old man?!" Timoteo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, staving off an oncoming headache at the sound of his son's voice. Xanxus was only thirteen years old, and yet, he already has a wide vocabulary of various profanity in his arsenal.

"You're a fucking doctor, are you not?" Xanxus glared at Brow Nie, Jr. "What the fuck do you think you're doing just fucking standing there?!"

"Xanxus, she's dead." Timoteo said bluntly to his son, only to receive a red-eyed glare.

"Fuck that, you shitty old man! You're just getting more and more senile in your old age!" Timoteo twitched at the crude insults and the barb at his age.

"She's very much fcking alive, you shitty old man! She's just lost her consciousness." Xanus grumbled as Brow Nie, Jr. hurriedly came over to check her pulse.

It was about damn fucking time! Xanxus thought impatiently.

With wide eyes, Brow Nie, Jr. confirmed that the girl was indeed, still alive. She still had a pulse, albeit a weak one, but nonetheless, she still had a beating pulse.

Wasting no more time, they hurriedly left the remains of the former Estraneo facility to return home to the Vongola Manor. They already had what they needed, the document mapping the locations of the other labs, and an extra, but welcome addition.

Timoteo could only watch Xanxus in amusement as he stubbornly refused to let go of the girl and proceeded to carry his precious burden in his arms. It was really a surprise to see Xanxus get attached to someone so quickly, and it was a little girl at that. Even his band of his little friends took a long time for Xanxus to warm up to them.

Xanxus must have been really affected when she called him 'big brother' in Japanese, no less.

Timoteo sighed, he couldn't wait to get home. He really wanted to capture the moment of his most anal retentive son act all big brotherly to the doll-like girl they rescued from the Estraneo labs. He finally has use for his old Polaroid SX-70* camera again!

It's been collecting dust in his office after all three of his sons grew to their teens and early twenties. He could already imagine all the potential blackma— er— adorable pictures he could take of his youngest son and his newest, very adorable little sister! He should stock up on his films for the camera when they get home. Last he remembered, he was running low on his films. Maybe he should just get a digital camera, but there's the chance that his pictures could be erased from the camera or the memory chip stolen and destroyed before he could upload it into his computer and he didn't want that.

Timoteo ignored the burning glare, stabbing into the back of his head, no doubt his son was trying to make his head spontaneously combust with his red eyes. He willed the car to move just a little faster. He couldn't wait to get home!

TBC…

*Le Alleanza is Italian for 'The Alliance'

* The Polaroid SX-70 is a real camera produced by the Polaroid Corporation from 1972 to 1981.

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