Chapter 1

"Ugh, make it stop!" Tsuna moaned, pressing the heel of his gloved hand against his throbbing head. He eyed Haru enviously as she practically skipped along the pavement beside him, an absent-minded smile on her face whilst she hummed gently under her breath. She was far too energetic for someone who had been drunk enough to start picking fights with inanimate objects the night before.

"Don't you get hung over?" Tsuna breathed, swallowing back a wave of nausea as they passed a small crowded café. The smell of coffee and pastries made his stomach roil unpleasantly.

"Nope, Haru has a high metabolism so the alcohol turns to sugar too fast." Haru chirped happily, referring to herself in the third person, as was her habit.

"That's just not fair." Tsuna whined, rubbing his aching temples with his fingertips in an attempt to ease the pain. He'd only had a few drinks himself, but he'd always been a lightweight when it came to alcohol. Usually he'd keep himself in check, but it wasn't every day you got to be 21, so he'd indulged himself a little, much to the encouragement of his university friends.

"Ugh, I feel like I'm dying..."

"Hahi?" Haru exclaimed, twirling to a stop in the path in front of him. "That's not good. We must get Tsuna to the hospital as soon as possible!" She seized his arm with a grin and pointed in a random direction down the road. "Quick, to the Haru mobile!"

"Ha ha." Tsuna replied dryly, pulling his arm free as Haru laughed softly.

"Oh! That's right." Haru said suddenly, stuffing a hand into her coat pocket. "A friend of yours told me to give this to you at the party last night, but I got sidetracked." She explained as she pulled out a small, neatly wrapped square parcel from her pocket.

"More like you were too drunk to remember." Tsuna mumbled back, ignoring Haru's annoyed pout as he took the small present from her. He gently shook it next to his ear, hearing something rattling about inside. He rose an eyebrow at the tag that simply read: 'For Sawada Tsunayoshi'. There was no signature and he didn't recognise the elegantly curled handwriting.

"Do you remember who it's from?" He asked Haru.

She frowned, folding her arms over her chest as she contemplated. "Haru does, but didn't recognise him. He was well dressed, wearing a buisness suit and a fedora hat. He had black hair I think... Oh! He carried a weird green chameleon pet thing on his hat too! Haru thought it was a strange accessory until it started moving. Other than that, Haru can't really recall anything else."

"A pet chameleon thing?" Tsuna repeated, curious. "That doesn't sound like anyone I know."

Haru glanced at him. "He did give off this mysterious vibe, now that I think of it. Very suspicious."

As one they eyed the small present dubiously.

"M-maybe you shouldn't open it." Haru suggested, nervously.

"Why?"

"It could be booby trapped!" Haru said, leaning towards him with a serious expression.

"Booby trapped." Tsuna echoed in a monotone voice of disbelief.

"You know! Like there's a bomb inside that gets triggered once opened, or the inside could be coated with anthrax, or there might be a boxing glove ready to spring out and punch you in the face!" Haru rambled, all the while acting out each scenario with exaggerated gestures.

Tsuna stared at her. "I think you've been watching too much television, Haru."

"Hahi! Haru has not!" She snapped back. "Fine, open it. See if I care. I'll watch over here where I'll be safe."

Haru stalked off with a huff to stand in the shadowed alcove of a nearby building. Tsuna made a face at her back before returning his attention to the parcel. He shifted it from hand to hand, feeling slightly uneasy after Haru had made such a fuss. He glanced at her, only to see Haru cowering with her hands over her head, as though preparing for an explosion. Telling himself she was just being silly, Tsuna pulled off the lid with a determined expression.

Nothing happened.

Tsuna peered into the box to find the present was in fact a small silver ring, with a half-circle glass dome decoration. He tipped it out into his hand, grunting in surprise at the thick metal chain slithering out behind it.

"Wow, it's so pretty!" Haru breathed, having rejoined Tsuna upon realising the parcel had indeed been a harmless present. She cocked her head as she studied the ring with a slight frown. "That's wierd."

"What is?"

"It's only half a ring." Haru explained, indicating the glass dome decoration. "See, there's a slot here for the other half, and the band is too thin to hold the dome. Why would someone give you only half a ring?"

Tsuna shook his head, as puzzled as Haru. Eyeing the dome, he could make out small gold writing circling the bottom half. "-gola." He read.

"Huh?"

"It's what it says." Tsuna replied with a shrug.

"Half a ring, half a word... like a puzzle..." Haru mumbled to herself, chin in her hand as she gazed absently at the ground in thought. "Ah! That's it!" She exclaimed suddenly, tapping her fist genlty into her palm as an idea came to her.

"What?" Tsuna asked.

Haru turned to him with a broad smile. "It's a declaration of love!" She told him, confidentally.

"Huh?" Tsuna exclaimed. "Where the heck did you get that idea from?"

"It's obvious when you think about it." Haru said, giving Tsuna a look that said she thought he was being a bit dense. She clapsed her hands together, her brown eyes wide and twinkling as she continued. "A hidden message of love that can only be discovered when the two of you are united! Oh, I can see it now!"

With this Haru suddenly knelt on one knee on the hard ground, one hand in the air as offering, the other splayed against her chest. "My darling Tsuna," She said in an exaggerated deep voice that Tsuna could only assume was meant to be male. "Will you accept the other half of this ring, and in turn accept me?"

She quickly switched positions, standing upright opposite from where she had just been kneeling, her posture suddenly nervous and shifting. "I- I don't know." She stuttered in a softened version of her normal voice, her fingers touching her lips in a show of insecurity. "This is all just so sudden, and we barely know each other..."

Switching positions again, Haru continued in her man-voice, ignorant of the stares she was attracting from people eating outside the nearby café. "I know we are but strangers, but my love for you is as strong and as true as can be. My heart is wholly yours, to do with as you will, Tsuna."

She was up on her feet again. "My..." Haru said, sporting a blush. Tsuna was unsure whether the colour on her cheeks was acting over the romantic crap she had just been spewing, or from the exertion of continuously switching positions. "I... yes. Of course I'll accept you." She plucked the supposed ring from thin air and pretended to slide it onto her ring finger, admiring it for a moment before opening her arms wide as though for an embrace.

"Tsuna..."

"My love..."

"See?" Haru said to him suddenly, her role play now finished. "Obvious."

Tsuna stared at her. "I think they have a name for people like you..." He said, eventually.

Haru pouted. "Just put the ring on, Tsuna."

"I don't think I want to, now." He said, with an awkward smile.

Tsuna rolled his eyes as Haru snatched the ring from his hand, slid the thin band onto the long chain and clipped it round his neck with a huff of frustration. Tsuna pulled a face; the unfamiliar weight of the chain was uncomfortable, and the ring felt strangely warm against his chest, even through his winter coat and jumper.

"Just out of curiousity, why was it a guy confessing to me?" Tsuna asked, as they continued walking.

Haru blinked at him, with decievingly innocent eyes, before answering with a grin. "Because you are such an Uke, Tsuna."

"What the heck is an Uke?" Tsuna asked, then shook his head. "Nevermind, I don't want to know." Sometimes with Haru it was better to just accept and not question what she said.

Turning the corner by the charity bookshop, they took the usual route through the confusing network of alleways that locals had nicknamed the 'Labyrinth'. They criss-crossed each other at random intersections in a maze-like fashion, and were littered with dead ends. If you didn't know the way through, it was very easy to get lost.

Tsuna slowed as his skin prickled in an eerie sensation. At first he shook it off, contributing the feeling to his hangover. But the further they walked down the shadowed pathways, the more persistant the sensation was.

A feeling of foreboding rose in his stomach as he watched Haru about to turn the next corner, and Tsuna quickly latched onto his friend's shoulder, pulling her to a stop.

Haru rose her eyebrows at the action. "What's wrong?"

Tsuna licked his lips, his mouth feeling dry. "I don't know, but..." He glanced down the narrow path Haru had been about to take, seeing nothing unusual about the cement pavement and the graffitied brick walls. Nothing that explained the strange sensations he was experiancing. But the feeling of foreboding wouldn't leave.

"I don't think we should go this way." Tsuna said, eventually.

"Why not?" Haru asked, her face puzzled as she followed Tsuna's gaze down the alley. "It's the quickest way though."

Tsuna shook his head, the brown spikes of his fringe tickling his forehead from the movement. "I don't know. Something... something just doesn't feel right."

Haru gave him an odd look, and Tsuna shrugged in return, unable to explain. His heart gave an exceptionally painful thump and he froze as a wave of cold rushed through him. Goosebumps spread over his skin and his neck prickled unpleasantly as his hair stood on end. He glanced at Haru to see if she had felt it too, or if it had just been his imagination. Haru's gaze was fixed intently on something further down the alley, her brown eyes wide in surprise and fear.

Tsuna turned slowly, his own hazel eyes widening at the sight. A strange, smoky blue mist was swirling in mid-air half way down the alley, only a few feet away from them. It emitted an odd bubbling sound as it curled around on itself.

"What the hell is that?" Tsuna asked, his voice low in caution.

Haru gave him a wary look. "I have no idea."

The mist began to narrow and lengthen, the centre rippling like water. Tsuna hissed in a breath as a pale human hand slowly poked through the mist, shortly followed by the arm, and then a shoulder. A complete human figure eventually emerged, the strange mist behind it dispersing to nothing. Left in it's wake was a pale young man, around the same early twenties as Tsuna and Haru. Dark trousers, a thick black jumper and a long dark jacket that brushed just above his ankles donned his tall frame.

The strange man took a quick account of his surroundings, before focusing on the two people gaping at him a few feet away. A slight and cruel smirk formed on his face when his red and blue mismatched eyes fell on Tsuna, a soft chuckle spilling from his lips.

"Well now, this is a surprise." The man said, his voice like grey silk. "You're the last person I expected to bring me back."

"What... who are you?" Tsuna asked nervously, changing his question after a moments thought.

The man rose an eyebrow, clearly thinking it was a stupid question to ask. His gaze flicked from Tsuna to Haru, looking them both up and down as though he had only just actually seen them. His eyes narrowed as he looked back at Tsuna. "It is you...?" The man said as slowly stepped forward. His voice was firm, but with a questioning lilt at the end, as though he was trying to convince himself of the fact but doubt had crept into his mind.

After a moment of staring at Tsuna in silence the man asked, "What is your name?"

Haru clutched at his arm, squeezing it in a warning manner, but Tsuna ignored her. He felt oddly compelled to answer. "Sawada Tsunayoshi." He replied, hesitantly.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." The man repeated with a widening smirk, rolling the name off his tongue to give it a foreign flavour.

He rose his left hand in the air, the mist that had announced his arrival curling around his splayed fingers as he did so. He wrapped his fingers around the mist, almost seeming to squeeze it as it lengthened and solidified. Tsuna watched, fascinated, as it formed a trident-like weapon only a few inches shorter than the man that had created it, with intricate designs carved into the wood of the long pole.

"It was nice to meet you, Sawada Tsunayoshi." The strange being said, the cruel smirk still in place. He moved slowly at first, twirling the trident in front of him. Suddenly, he leapt at them.

"Look out!" Haru yelled, shoving Tsuna out of the way. He hit the ground hard as Haru's scream rang through the air.

Tsuna scrambled to his feet, eyes wide as he saw Haru laying crumpled on the ground, blood smearing the concrete around her. The monster in human form stood over her, an impassive look on his face as he nudged the brunette's limp form with the toe of his boot.

"Get away from her!" Tsuna yelled, a gasp leaving him unbidden as the man turned his piercing eyes on him. He couldn't help but back up a couple of steps as the man turned to face him directly.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." He said slowly, almost savouring the way the name formed from his mouth. "I am going to kill you."

"Just try it." Tsuna said, more boldly than he felt. His heart was pounding and his body was trembling in his fear. His eyes flicked to Haru's unmoving form, and he swallowed when he could see no sign of his friend breathing.

'Oh god, please let her be alive.' He pleaded silently.

The stranger attacked, moving faster than Tsuna could follow. His jaw exploded in pain from an unseen hit. Tsuna staggered back, a second blow to the stomach from the trident's pole sending him crashing backwards into the brick wall. The breath whooshed out of him on impact and he slumped fowards, falling flat on the ground. Shakily, he rose to all fours, coughing and wheezing as the air returned to his lungs. He yelped loudly as the pole of the trident struck his back, the force crashing him to the ground again.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." The man said again in a mocking tone. "Is this all you can do?" He ground the heel of his boot into the base of Tsuna's spine, making him scream in agony. A heavy hand landed on Tsuna's scalp, and he was lifted painfully by his mousy locks until their faces were at the same level.

"You're pathetic." The man sneered, his mismatched eyes narrowed. He almost sounded disappointed.

A wave of heat flashed through Tsuna, and for a tiny second, it felt like his entire body was on fire. Whatever it was, the man had felt it too, yelping in pain as he stumbled backwards, clutching his hand in front of him as though he had been burnt. The trident fell from the man's grip, clattering loudly as it hit the floor.

Tsuna immediately dove for the weapon, gripping the trident tightly, before lunging at the man. He drove the prongs of the trident deep into the mans side, between the ribs. The man yowled in surprise and pain. Tsuna hissed as the man back-handed him across the cheek, hard enough to snap his head sideways and knock him back to the ground.

The man was still growling in agony as Tsuna scrambled away, quickly getting to his feet despite his mild dizziness. He jolted in surprise at the heavy hand on his shoulder, crying out as the man picked him up with ease and flung him roughly down the alley, away from Haru. Tsuna grunted as he thunked against the hard pavement, instinctively rolling up from his fall into a crouch.

Slowly, not taking his eyes off Tsuna, the man pulled the trident out from his side, not even flinching from the action. No blood whatsoever stained the prongs; it was as clean and as sharp as though the trident had never been used.

Tsuna stared, his mouth dry as the man eyed Tsuna in curiosity, running a pale finger over the carved wood of the pole. "Now, this is interesting." He said slowly, mismatched eyes flicking between the trident in his hand and Tsuna. "How is it that you were able to hold this, I wonder?"

Then, as though the question had brought it to his attention, the man's gaze fell to the half-ring that hung on the chain still circling Tsuna's neck. "Oh... so that's it. But that means..."

The man's gaze went distant, absently running a finger over the sharp blade of one of the tridents prongs, slicing through the pale skin. Tsuna swallowed as, again, no blood welled from the wound. "How long has it been..." The man muttured quietly, to himself as though he had forgotten Tsuna was there.

"What the hell are you?" Tsuna rasped.

The man's eyes were cold as they focused back on Tsuna, the sharp turn of his head suggesting his surprise. "Something that does not belong in this time." He was silent for a moment as he eyed the trident in his hands, before adding quietly. "Something that should have died a long time ago." Tsuna backed up as the man began to twirl the trident in his hands again, the cruel smirk back on his face as he gathered himself up to begin his attack once more.

Tsuna jerked in surprise as the sound of a gunshot rang loudly through the quiet of the alley. Something small whizzed past Tsuna's head, just below his ear, hitting the strange man in the chest to send him flying backwards. Tsuna spun round.

Two figures stood at the mouth of the alley. The first man was tall, wearing a black suit and a fedora hat. He held a gun in his right hand and his left hand was stuffed in his pocket, making his stance look relaxed. But his dark eyes were focused and serious.

The second man was younger, his attire more casual with a jacket covering a white patterened t-shirt and a pair of stylishly ripped jeans. He had dark blonde hair that hung just below his chin and bright blue eyes. A long fingered hand was curled around the handle of a strange blade that curved in an arc above his knuckles.

"Who-?" Tsuna panted, staggering slightly as he slowly became aware of the throbbing pains in his body. He would never complain about a hangover again. The mild pain compared to what he was feeling now was bliss.

The man with the fedora hat walked past him with a dismissive glance, eyes narrowed on the strange man that he had shot, lying prone on the ground.

"How long are you planning on playing dead, Mukuro?" The man in the hat asked, gun still trained on him.

Slowly, the strange man named Mukuro sat up, silently getting back to his feet. The air shimmered around Mukuro as he moved, like heat was rippling through the air. Though he was smirking, a dark anger flickered just behind his eyes, the intensity enough to make Tsuna shudder. "Do not interfere with me, arcobaleno." He growled in a low rumble of warning.

The arcobaleno, as Mukuro had called him, replied by raising his gun, so the barrel was pointed directly at Mukuro's head. "Give me the ring." He ordered.

Mukuro stared blankly at the arcoboleno for a moment before he let out a bark of laughter. "The ring? That's long gone!"

The arcobaleno's eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head back slightly, looking down the length of his nose at Mukuro. "I don't believe you."

"Believe it or not, I don't care. It's the truth." Mukuro told him, looking highly amused.

"If thou doest not give us the ring willingly," the blonde boy said, moving to stand in front of Tsuna protectively as Mukuro's gaze flicked to him. "Then we shall takest it from thee by force."

Mukuro rose his eyebrows at the blonde. "And you are?"

"Basil." The boy replied, even inclining his head slightly to Mukuro.

"Basil." Mukuro repeated.

In a sudden moment, Mukuro had seized Basil by the throat. Tsuna cried out in surprise. He hadn't even seen Mukuro move.

Mukuro jerked back as the sound of a gunshot echoed down the alleyway, his hold on Basil's throat still firm even as he dodged the bullet the arcobaleno had fired at him. With a snarl, Mukuro flung Basil at the nearest wall. Basil flipped over in mid-air, landing on the wall feet first, pushing off to land nimbly on the ground.

Meanwhile, Mukuro was leaping around the narrow space of the alley to dodge the onslaught of the arcobaleno's bullets. He lurched back quickly as a bullet grazed past his cheek, leaving a visible wound. But, as before with the trident, no blood welled from the wound.

Whilst he was being kept busy, Tsuna snapped out of his confused reverie, moving to rush to Haru's side. He was stopped by Basil's outstretched arm, his eyes focused on Mukuro as he spoke. "Not yet, Master Sawada. Thou must stay behind me, where it is most safe."

Tsuna was about to protest, but cut himself off as he watched Basil in fascination. The boy had raised his knife in front of him, his brow pinched in concentration as a sky blue flame flickered into existance around the blade, another pulsating as it formed upon his forehead.

"I'm ready, Master Reborn!" Basil yelled at the arcobaleno. Reborn lowered his gun just as Basil leapt at Mukuro, slicing him across the chest with the flaming blade. Spinning around, Basil followed the blow with a kick to the chest, powerful enough to send Mukuro flying. He crashed into the alley wall, bricks crumbling behind him from the force of the impact.

Staggering, Mukuro got back to his feet. He lightly put a hand to touch his chest, drawing it back to see his fingertips coloured crimson. He stared at the blood as though it meant something, before he regained his composure, rubbing the blood away between his fingertips as he stood straight.

Mukuro eyed the three of them, his gaze lingering on Tsuna. Slowly he bowed, almost mocking. "Until next time, my Lord." He whispered. The air rippled behind him, slowly thickening into the smokey blue mist that Mukuro appeared to control, enveloping his form.

"Mukuro!" Reborn yelled, firing three rapid shots into the mist. They passed straight through as the mist rose in the air, dispersing to nothing.

"Master Reborn?" Basil asked, sounding unsure as Reborn lowered his gun with a muttered curse.

"He'll be back. We have something he needs, after all." Reborn replied, his gaze falling to Haru at the other end of the alley. "We should have Shamal see to her."

Tsuna, who'd watched Mukuro disappear in a shocked silent stupor, snapped himself out if it, rushing to Haru's side. He dropped to his knees beside her, hands trembling as he reached out to search for a pulse. A wash of relief swept over him as he found one, slow but steady. As the last remnants of his fear slipped away, the need to be angry flowed through him.

He grit his teeth as he whirled around angrily to face the two suspicious strangers. "Wha-who the hell are you people?" Tsuna yelled. "What the hell was that about? What the fuck is going on?"

Reborn turned to him slowly, obsidian eyes cold with something Tsuna didn't understand. "Calm down, no good Tsuna."

"H-how the hell do you know that nickname?" Tsuna sputtered indignantly. No one had called him that since school.

"Excuse me, Master Sawada." Basil interrupted as he walked up to Tsuna. He gestured to Haru. "However, I believe thou's friend should beist the most important thing on thou's mind righteth now."

Basil knelt down on the ground beside him, blue eyes sharp and focused as he examined Haru. They narrowed as he took in the sight of her blood on the pavement. Eventually his eyes softened and he turned to Tsuna with a smile.

"It is nothing too serious. She will be fine once she sees a doctor." Basil assured him. Tsuna searched his eyes for any sign of deception. Seeing none, he let out a small breath of relief.

"Who are you people?" Tsuna asked again as Basil got back to his feet, this time more calmly.

"We are members of the Vongola." Reborn explained vaguely, twirling his gun around his finger. It glowed a bright green colour, before melding into the shape of a bug-eyed green chameleon. It scampered up Reborn's arm, taking a perch upon the brim of his fedora hat.

"You - you're that guy!" Tsuna exclaimed, remembering Haru's description of the mysterious man. He held up the ring that still hung about his neck. "You're the one that gave me this!"

Reborn nodded. "The Vongola ring. It belongs to the head of the Vongola."

"Then why the heck did you give it to me?" Tsuna snapped, feeling confused, annoyed and rather pissed off.

Reborn gave a weary sigh. "Come with me, Tsuna. We have a lot to discuss."

A/n: Dun dun duh... I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it! Though at one point I got carried away and accidentally turned Mukuro into Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji for a second... *whistles innocently*. Cookies to whoever points it out! :P