Summary: The order was to kill anything that moved, the city was too far gone to hope for survivors. But if there was one thing Colonnello didn't sign up for, it was killing kids. (28 Weeks Later AU, eventually merges into a semi-au) eventual all27?

Genre: Horror, Drama, Family, Romance? Rating: M for gore

WARNINGS: Gore, murder, zombies,

AN: Okay, so I've been chipping away at this story for literal months, writing, editing, writing some more, so I'm pretty happy to finally get it out. Also, you get two chapters right off the bat cos it was originally one super long chapter, but I decided it was too long, so yah. Enjoy.

For those who don't know, 28 Weeks Later is basically a zombie movie. 28 Weeks is technically the sequel (the first is called 28 Days Later), but I'll be following a similar storyline to the sequel until it merges into something more like canon-verse (though obviously it will have several major differences). Infected will be known as Enraged (I don't remember if this is the proper term, or if they even had a name in the movie, but meh). Hope you enjoy!

"Talking." - Italian

Target 1: The Call

The Rage Virus. A highly infectious virus that can be spread by a single drop of any bodily fluid getting into any orifice or open wound. This makes it spread quickly and easily. The Rage Virus, as the name suggests, makes the infected incredibly violent, attacking any uninfected on sight without control. They seemingly have no desire to do anything other than infect or kill others. The Virus has been detected in a large city in Italy's South-Eastern border's, Rabbia. Before it could be contained, the virus spread throughout the populace until a city-wide lockdown was issued. The army was called in, and it was decided the city was to be Purged. All traces of the Virus were to be destroyed. No survivors would be found. Or that's what was supposed to happen anyway…

Kill anything that moved. That was the order. So far Colonnello was doing pretty well. As long as he thought about this as a contamination zone, stopping the spread of the virus was the only priority. It didn't matter who he killed. Another shot rang out, another body fell. He'd always been a good liar… His eyes roamed the burning streets, crumbling buildings, abandoned cars, blood and bodies everywhere. His eyes caught on the handbag by the burning car, the shoe in the road, the baby bottle on the sidewalk. If there was a hell on earth, this was it. His eye remained on his scope, watching the city fall apart and shooting whatever monster came into his path. Soft. Colonnello blinked rapidly, the thought decidedly confusing. He quickly searched for what had distracted him from the carnage around him. There. His stomach dropped. A kid, couldn't be older than fourteen, with the fluffiest hair the blond had ever seen. His big brown eyes were wide with fear as he ran, trying desperately to get away from the madness. Colonnello bit his lip. This wasn't right. All of this. The outbreak. The death. The kids. None of this should have happened. But he had orders…

He lined up his scope, and took the shot. The tiny brunet yelped as the Enraged behind him crumpled, a bullet between his eyes. Then his head snapped around. He ran through the streets, back towards the steps of the Museum behind him, and barrelled into a taller boy with tan skin and sharp eyes. He was wielding a baseball bat with a white-knuckled grip, fresh blood dripping down the sides. There was a small group there already, all kids around the same age. Two girls, and another three boys running towards them, plus the fluffy brunet made six all together. Six more than Colonnello was willing to kill. In that moment, the blond made a snap decision that would shape the rest of his life, even if he had no way of knowing it. To hell with his orders, and to hell with this nightmare. He was getting those kids out of there. He was going to save them. He started shooting. Enraged fell one after the other, then he shot the ground near the kids feet. All of them jumped in surprise, and fear. He shot the ground near an alley to his right, highlighting a clear path to him. He couldn't save them from the roof.

Their hesitance was clear. After all, the Enraged weren't the only ones getting shot, uninfected humans were getting gunned down as well. He kept shooting, enraged after enraged falling. The kids made a decision quickly, and followed his guidance. The blond made sure their path was clear before packing up, slinging his rifle over his shoulder, and climbing down the side of the building. He landed on the ground a few feet away from them. At first, only the fluffy brunet noticed him. His eyes were more concerned than fearful, but he was definitely wary. He tugged on the tallest one's sleeves, the only one with a weapon (if one could call it that), and the raven whipped his head around. His eyes landed on the blond and immediately narrowed, eyeing him appraisingly. Colonnello put his hands up in the universal symbol for peace. He looked the kids over once more. They didn't look Italian. Definitively Asian. Japanese, maybe? He knew there were a couple of schools with student exchange programs. He almost cursed. They weren't even supposed to be here. He bit his lip to hold back a sneer. He needed these kids to trust him. He took a careful step forward.

"My name's Colonnello." He said gently in Italian. One of them might understand. If he was lucky. There was a general shuffle as the kids looked at each other and whispered, most shrugging. The taller, angrier looking girl stepped forward.

"My name is Hana." She said slowly in Italian, thinking out the words carefully. "Do you… speak… Japanese?" She asked after a moments pause. He let out a sigh of relief.

"I do." He said. He thought carefully about what to say next. These kids were all scared and in danger, he didn't want any of them to lash out. "Look, I know everything's gone to shit right now, kora, but I want to help you guys get the hell out of here." Preferably not in body bags. The kids shuffled nervously, but another one of the them stepped forward, tall, dark-haired with a slightly wild look in his eyes.

"Why should we trust you?" He snapped, voice hoarse with fear and body trembling obviously.

"Mochida." Hana growled.

"No! I've seen normal people get shot down too, not just those monsters! What's to say he doesn't shoot us when our guard's down? I've heard a lot of stories about creeps in the military, Dad talks about it all the time…"

"Right now, I'm the only option you've got." Colonnello said. "I know what I'm doing, and I can get you out of here. But I can't do that if you don't let me." The kid wavered, but didn't back down. He glared at Colonnello angrily. Probably blaming him for everything that was happening. Colonnello couldn't say he blamed him. Hana shoved Mochida back and the kids had a mini-conference. They argued for a moment, Hana smacked Mochida on the head and called him a 'monkey', whatever the hell that meant, and they spoke some more. Hana stepped forward again, her chin raised in faux confidence.

"Okay." She said. "We'll go with you." Colonnello smiled in relief, and nodded.

"Follow me. I have to make a call."

It burned to turn to him. But he wanted these kids alive, and wanted to keep Lal out of trouble. There was only one person he could go to. One person with the skills he needed. He made the call.

"Chaos." His rival greeted. Colonnello grimaced.

"Reborn, kora. Remember that favour you don't owe me?" The raven chuckled darkly.

"What do you want?" Straight to business, good, Colonnello could deal with that.

"I need a ride, kora."

"Not enjoying your holiday?" Reborn teased. "Just you?"

"No…" Colonnello glanced at the small group behind him, their expressions a painful combination of hopeful and grim. Kids shouldn't look like that. His voice was unnervingly weak when he spoke next.

"I've got some survivors with me. Kids." Reborn was silent for longer than the blond was comfortable. They both knew Colonnello's orders, and Reborn was technically an outsider. They could both get in a lot of shit for this.

"How many?" Colonnello chewed his lip as he looked over the kids.

"Almost a dozen, for now. Might find a few more stragglers on the way." He said hopefully. He'd already found another five.

"Sounds like you've got some work to do, I'll bring Lal in for the ride. You're going to need the… encouragement." They quickly organised a frequency for walkie talkies, no sense in telling everyone what dumbass scheme he was pulling, and ended the call. Colonnello breathed a sigh of relief. He had Reborn on his side, and as much as he didn't want Lal in trouble because of him… Reborn was right, nobody could get Colonnello moving better than Lal. Besides, once she understood the situation, there wouldn't be any getting her out of it (however much she grumbled about it). His walkie talkie buzzed to life moments later.

"Colonnello, you idiot!" Lal's voice pierced through the quiet like a gunshot. "What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time? Over."

"Come on, Lal," The blond whined, pouting at the walkie talkie in his hand. "You know how much I want kids, kora! You seriously thought I could just leave them? Over."

"Doesn't change the fact that you're an idiot!" She said, then, much quieter. "You know you're going to lose some of them, right? Over." Colonnello was quiet for a long moment. He didn't want to admit it, wanted to say that he would save them all… but the fact was, there were already so many kids and only one of him. He couldn't protect them all. Some of them were going to die.

"Yeah…" He breathed. It was Lal's turn to be silent, but after another long moment she spoke.

"The only clear landing site is a football field, 15 clicks south of the Heritage Centre. Over." Lal told him, and Colonnello wanted to punch something.

"We're halfway across the city, kora!" Colonnello cursed under his breath. "Over." That was a long way to go with a lot of kids and a lot of enemies.

"You'll have to make it there, we can't land anywhere else. Not without getting mobbed or shot out of the sky. Over." Lal snapped, though there was an edge of concern to her voice that told the blond she wasn't happy either.

"Oh, we'll make it, kora." Colonnello promised, gritting his teeth with a scowl. He let his face soften, just a touch. "Wait for me… Out." He could practically see Lal's red cheeks at the statement. He took a second to compose himself, then ushered the kids forward. They were so small… This was the last thing he wanted, but if the kids were going to survive then they needed to be able to defend themselves. He pulled a combat knife out of his boot and held it up by the tip. There were several nervous swallows and fidgeting as the kids eyed the weapon in his hand.

"I know this has been a bad day, but it's only gonna get worse from here, kora." He started, looking them each in the eye in turn. "We've got to make it halfway across the city to the big football stadium near the Heritage Centre. You all know where that is?" Several nods accompanied by whimpers and grimaces. It was a long way to go, and the city was packed full of monsters. It was gonna be a hell of a ride.

"I know you're all scared, believe me I know, kora, but I need you to be brave. That doesn't mean not being scared, it doesn't mean being a hero, and it doesn't mean charging into enemies. It means doing what it takes to get yourselves and your friends out of this mess alive, no matter how scared you are. And for that, I need you to be able to defend yourselves." He held the knife up pointedly, pausing to look them all in the eye. "This isn't a game, this is survival. And I want you all to survive." His words were met with the silent grimaces. He gave them a quick demonstration of where to hit, under the ribs, throat, temple if you can manage, tendons are good for impairing movement, but won't stop them.

"Keep your face covered as much as you can, especially if you go for the throat, kora." He warned. The kids shivered, some squirming uncomfortably. "Now, do any of you have experience with guns or knives?" A couple of kids stepped forward. He noted the kid with the bat, the girl who spoke Italian, and one of the newer lot.

"My old man runs a sushi shop, I'm pretty good with knives." The bat wielding kid said. He was tense, but there was a sharp edge to his amber eyes that told Colonnello what he needed to know. He handed the kid a combat knife and looked to the other two.

"My dad taught me how to use a handgun, said he wanted me to be able to defend myself." The girl, Hana, shrugged.

"My parents own a gun range." The other boy said sheepishly. Colonnello smirked, perfect. He gave them both handguns, his only spares, and looked over the rest of them. The bat kid handed his makeshift weapon over to the other kid from before, muttering something about Kendo. The other kid nodded, pale but determined, and took the bat. The blond had a couple more spare knives, but it wouldn't save all of them. He handed them out anyway. A couple to the braver looking kids, and one to the ball of fluff. The reason he'd made his decision. Colonnello briefly wandered if he would have even noticed the others, but shook the thought off. He didn't have time for shit like that.

"Okay, I want you to split into groups and scout around for survivors, kora." He said evenly, watching them all with a calm, firm expression. "Don't go too far, stay low and be careful. Do not fight unless you absolutely have to. I want you all back in thirty minutes." They nodded, some more reluctant than others, and split into four groups.

Tsuna wasn't surprised when nobody wanted to be in his group. Why would anyone want to be with Dame-Tsuna? Especially in this nightmare… Yamamoto wouldn't leave him alone though, so now they were a group. Just the two of them. Tsuna wanted to tell the other teen to leave him, but he wouldn't last on his own and Colonnello probably wouldn't let him stay behind. Yamamoto wouldn't leave even if he told him to anyway, hadn't since that day… So Tsuna smiled as gratefully as he could and apologised. Yamamoto brushed the apology off, and they went to work. They kept low, as the blond had told them, skirting around cars and ducking between buildings. They hid when they heard angry noises, moved when they passed, and picked up anything they thought might be useful on the way. A backpack left on the sidewalk (Tsuna tried not to feel guilty about stealing stuff), a few water bottles left inside cars, spare jackets to use as protection from blood spatter, a bandana, and a first aid kit in the back of a truck. Was their thirty minutes up yet? Maybe they should start heading back…

A scream pierced the air. Tsuna's head snapped around so fast, he should've gotten whiplash. But in that moment, he didn't feel it. It didn't matter. Tsuna was moving before he could think. His body shot forward, he didn't have time. No time to think, no time to plan, no time to breathe. Tsuna skidded over the hood of a car, shielded the petite girl's body with his own, and thrust his knife forwards. He didn't even remember grabbing it. The blade found its target swiftly, sinking into the enraged man's temple with a sickening squelch. Everything stopped. For a single nerve wracking moment, Tsuna thought it didn't work. All he could hear was his own rapid fire breathing, the blood pounding in his ears. His vision had narrowed in on the man's face. The enraged man stood there before him, lips still pulled back in a nightmare inducing snarl. Finally, he collapsed sideways and landed on the floor, unmoving. Tsuna's entire body shuddered uncontrollably. He was frozen there, for a long moment, staring at the body at his feet. Slowly, he turned towards the girl behind him. Wide, purple eyes stared back.

"Are – you – ah…" It wouldn't do either of them any good if he passed out. "Are you okay?" He let himself sink to his knees. The girl blinked a couple of times, seemingly trying to remember something, and nodded. Then Tsuna wanted to slap himself, because this girl was obviously Italian, and he had just spoken to her in Japanese. Of course she'd be confused.

"I – I'm fine." She managed to stutter. In Japanese. Oh. Tsuna staved off a shrug, not that she'd notice given how badly he was still shaking. He nodded, though again, he wasn't sure if she could tell, and looked around him. He almost had a heart attack when he found Yamamoto standing guard a couple of feet away. The other teen was glancing around every few seconds, but mostly his eyes were locked on Tsuna. At first the brunet thought he was afraid of him, worried that Tsuna might do the same to him. His chest tightened and he almost broke down, but then he saw the teen's eyes. Amber orbs filled with concern. Yamamoto was worried about him, not because of him. Tsuna gave the raven a weak smile, and received a tight smile in return, amber eyes flashing in relief. Tsuna let out a long breath. He was going to be okay. He wasn't sure how, or how long it would take, but he would be okay. As long as they got out of this alive… And they would. Tsuna pushed himself back onto shaking feet and helped up the girl he saved. Yamamoto quickly explained about their group and offered for her to join. She immediately agreed.

"We should get back." He said, glancing around again. Tsuna nodded. He didn't want to stick around any longer than he had to. The girl tentatively reached out and gripped the corner of Tsuna's sleeve, smiling shyly. He gave her a weak smile back and they started moving.

Colonnello grinned as soon as he saw them, obviously pleased. The smile dropped just as quick.

"What happened?" He asked, concern overtaking his voice. He was giving them a good look-over now, and Tsuna only just realised how tense he was. He still had his bloody knife in a white-knuckled grip, his shoulders were hunched, and now that he thought about it his eyes were pretty wide too. He probably looked manic. Yamamoto was watching him with a fond smile. Tsuna opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Uh…" He said intelligently. Yamamoto squeezed his hand gently and gave him a reassuring smile. Tsuna tried again, but couldn't manage to get more than a strangled sound out of his mouth. The enraged man's face flashed into his mind, a knife sticking out of his skull. Tsuna wanted to puke.

"He saved me." The girl finally supplied, fingers tightening around the sleeve she hadn't let go of. She shifted slightly forwards, like she wanted to defend him, but didn't really know how. Colonnello's face softened into a smile, ruffling Tsuna's hair and rubbing his face. It was surprisingly comforting in the chaos around them. Something so simple, yet it made the world of difference. Tsuna relaxed minutely. He let his shoulders sag, but couldn't get his eyes to still. They darted this way and that, taking in his surroundings. Every little detail. The coffee shop with the broken window, the clothes store with it's tipped over mannequins, the blood splattered all over the sidewalk. Tsuna wanted to go home. Go home and curl up in his mother's arms and cry. Funny, he didn't think he'd hugged her in years…

They waited quietly while the others slowly filtered back. Hana and Kyoko's group had found a severely angry looking Italian teen. A couple of the other groups had found some Italian adults, who looked just as scared as the kids. This only served to make Tsuna more nervous. Colonnello eyed the angry teen. Was that apprehension? Well, that was worrying. The blond man briefly spoke to all the newcomers, then gathered everyone around him.

"Okay, I want everyone to spread out behind me, a couple of feet away from each other. People with weapons on the outside, people without on the inside. One gun either side, a knife bringing up the rear. Keep your eyes and ears open, and follow me and Miss Carver, she knows her way around the city and has agreed to help me navigate." The kids all nodded and spread out, all the adults filing into the centre. Colonnello had found it aggravating that none of them had known how to use weapons, and were generally unwilling to take them. He wasn't really happy forcing them on the kids. Though it had worked out in their favour so far… and strangely enough, he found himself reluctant to take the weapons away from them. He shook his head. It wasn't strange at all; the kids were more important. He grabbed his walkie talkie.

"Plus eight. Over." He said. It crackled for a moment.

"Roger that. Keep your sorry ass moving. Out." Colonnello chuckled. It was good to hear Lal's voice, even if only for a second. He nodded to Miss Carver, and they started moving. He kept an eye on his surroundings, but also kept his eye on the kids, softly correcting their positions every now and then when they strayed too far, or bunched up too much. They slowly and carefully picked their way through the city, killing any enraged they came across. Colonnello did most of the work, which he was happy for. The less stress the kids were under the better. They had gotten pretty lucky so far, not coming across any other snipers. He knew most of them would be on the outskirts of the city, keeping it locked down and picking off anyone or anything that tried to escape.

They came upon a dead end, made their way around. Steered clear of a shaded alleyway. Avoided a collapsed building. After walking a few miles, they entered what appeared to be a shopping district. Colonnello put a hand up and they all paused nervously. The man looked around and chewed his lip for a moment, before turning and gathering them around.

"Okay, I know we all want to get out of here as quick as possible, kora, but I think it's a good idea that we stock up on supplies while we can." He said. The kids all nodded, immediately breaking up into smaller groups again and splitting in different directions. Colonnello smiled. After rehashing the plan in Italian, one of the adults choked and sputtered.

"Are you crazy?!" He spat. "We need to leave!" Colonnello sighed through his nose. He had to be patient. Even if none of the kids had complained, and this asshole adult who should be more responsible and mature was now making a fuss. Patience… Fear was a hell of an emotion.

"Look…" Colonnello tried not to snap. "We have a long way to go, and not a lot to go on kora. If we get stuck, or injured, we might need to bunker down and wait shit out. If that happens, we're going to need supplies."

"Forget that! If someone gets injured we leave them behind or kill them!" The man spat and boy, Colonnello was glad most of the kids hadn't understood that. His eyes narrowed dangerously, the man stumbled back.

"Hey!" Hana called out, effectively gaining their attention. "Shut up, you damn… uh… moron! Shouldn't you respect your military personnel?" The angry man choked and flushed red, face twisting in anger.

"It's okay Hana, get going." Colonnello said, then threw her a rogueish grin. "Oh, and the word you were looking for is monkey." She grinned, nodded and left with her group. Good kid. The Italian man spluttered.

"What – what did you just say to her? What about monkeys?" He said nervously.

"Never you mind." Colonnello said impatiently. "Listen, you either follow my orders, or you leave. I don't have time for arguments. My priority is getting these kids home alive. What's yours?" The man glowered at him angrily before stalking off. Colonnello briefly wondered if he'd be back. The other adults formed their own group and headed off without further protest. Colonnello sighed. This was equal parts better and worse than he thought…

Of course Tsuna had picked the worst direction to go… All they had passed so far was clothing and apparel stores. Nothing really useful, unless they wanted more clothes for cover. He supposed it wouldn't be a terrible idea, actually…

"Tsuna-kun." Chrome called lightly, holding up a duffle bag when he turned to her.

"Chrome, that's perfect!" He said, trying to keep his voice down but also show his delight. She smiled shyly and slung the bag over her shoulders. Yamamoto grinned and gave a thumbs up, then went back to poking around.

It wasn't long before Tsuna noticed something was wrong. The first thing he noticed was the smell. Not smoke or the gunpowder he'd begun to recognise on Colonnello. No, it smelt like metal and sewerage. The brunet immediately hesitated in his advance. The smell was foul, and he couldn't immediately identify where or what it was coming from. But Colonnello had asked them to gather supplies, and this was the only direction they could go without running into the others.

That was when Tsuna noticed the body.

The soldier's neck was so badly torn his head was barely attached, leaving it at a gut-wrenching angle. Tsuna almost threw up. He fell to his knees and gagged into his hand. His stomach heaved. He swallowed, trying to force down the bile rising in his throat. He swallowed again for good measure. He paused for another moment or two, then pushed himself back to his feet. Tsuna hesitated, shuffling his feet, glancing around. Shuddering, he took careful steps forward until he reached the body's side, keeping low. There were several large chunks of flesh missing from his arms and legs. His vest was torn open, and Tsuna didn't even want to think about what was spilling out from his side. The brunet felt bile rising in his throat again and quickly turned away, trying not to be sick. He needed to be quick, they were still in danger after all. With a shaking hand he gripped the large gun. His fingers fumbled for several moments, but he managed to unclip it from the soldier's shoulder, carefully putting it into the duffle bag Chrome had placed beside him. Tsuna paused.

The girl was even paler than before, her shoulders hunched, and there were tears in her eyes. Tsuna immediately wanted to slap himself. He had been so wrapped up in the body, he had practically forgotten she was there. He placed a comforting hand on top of hers, and gently squeezed. She flashed him a tight smile that looked more like a grimace, but motioned him to keep working. Remembering what Colonnello said, Tsuna quickly turned the safety on the gun. He didn't want to shoot himself, or anybody else, by accident. After it was settled in place, shaking hands took the handgun from the man's thigh holster, and checked his boots for a combat knife. After carefully putting both away, Tsuna started checking the various pockets on the soldier's combat vest and pants. Several clips of spare ammo, a box of matchsticks, a tin of breath mints, a pocket knife… and a picture. Tsuna felt nauseous all over again, a knot twisting in his stomach. The woman was pretty, and smiling so wide she could only be in love. She looked so happy. Tsuna wanted to cry. She wasn't going to be happy after this. None of them were.

He finished putting everything away, and noticed Yamamoto heading their way. Tsuna hadn't realised the other teen had gone so far. He swallowed heavily, and quickly glanced around. Safe. Good. He released a shaky breath and stood up. Chrome followed, grabbing his sleeve again. He leaned a little closer and the girl practically shoved herself into his side. He let out a startled chuckle. They poked around some more, more carefully this time. Soldiers didn't go down for no reason. There wasn't much else around though, so they started heading back. They grabbed some more bandanas and shirts on the second run. They could use the bandanas to cover their mouths and noses, and the shirts they could tear up for bandages if necessary. Well, Tsuna had seen them do it in TV shows anyway… Then they grabbed another couple of bags, who knows what the others found, they might come in handy. They could always dump them if they didn't need them.

They were one of the last groups back, and Tsuna immediately noticed the difference. A few kids were missing, and so was one of the adults. The brunet tried to control his trembling. Yamamoto threw him a tight smile, and lead the way towards Colonnello. The blond was going through the supplies the others had brought back. Tsuna tried to hang back for a bit. He didn't want the others to panic over what they found. Actually, he was beginning to wonder why he wasn't panicking. It only took a few more moments for the blond to look over and give them a puzzled look. Yamamoto shrugged sheepishly.

"All we got were clothing stores." He laughed, scrubbing the back of his head. It managed to illicit some weak chuckles from the bunch. Colonnello came forward to peruse what they brought back. He pulled out the shirts first, uncovering what was beneath.

"Where did you…?" Colonnello started, looking surprised. Tsuna swallowed around the lump in his throat.

"We found a dead soldier." He said weakly. Colonnello pursed his lips, but nodded. He dug through the bag, pocketed the spare clips and the pocket knife. He handed the two combat knives to the adults, and gave them the same instructions he had given the kids. They looked hesitant, but after a harsh look from the blond, they took the knives. Finally, Colonnello grabbed the large gun.

"Dangan." He called their classmate over. "You know how to use one of these, kora?"

"Basically. I've never handled a military grade one before though." He said, swapping his gun for the one Colonnello was holding.

"Prepare for a stronger kick just in case." Colonnello told him. Tsuna didn't know what that meant, but the other boy nodded thoughtfully. He held it up, aimed it around, nodded again, and went back to his group. The others had found a lot of food (energy bars, crackers, and candy, mostly) and water, and there were several first aid kits strewn in. They spread the supplies out between them, a small pack for each group. Lucky they knew were a bag store was…

Colonnello spread them out in the same pattern as before, and they started moving again. It was terrifying really. Moving through a dead city, waiting for a monster to jump out from every corner. It was surreal. They looked at all the bodies already littering the ground, and added to the number when they had to. They kept moving.

Tsuna's heart beat hard against his chest as they walked. It picked up speed the further they went. He licked his lips, tried to breathe slow. It was okay. They were fine. Tsuna was moving before he knew what was happening. Colonnello had just started to lean around the corner when the teen wrenched him back. The brickwork opposite them exploded. A couple of kids screamed. All colour drained from Tsuna's face as Colonnello drew a sharp breath. That could have been his head. Then Colonnello cursed. At least Tsuna assumed it was a curse. He couldn't tell since he didn't speak Italian. It sure sounded like a curse.

"Sniper, kora." He dug through one of his many pockets and managed to pull out a palm sized mirror. He stuck it around the corner, only for it to shatter a moment later. Colonnello hissed out a breath through his teeth and cursed again. He tapped the toe of his boot against the ground. Knocked his knuckles against the bricks behind him. Clicked his tongue. He exhaled sharply.

"Oi, it's Colonnello, kora." He called, voice calm, reassuring. "I've got some kids with me. Want to get them out of here. What do you say, kora?" He extended his hand passed the corner. Another bullet scattered the remnants of the bricks. Colonnello whipped his hand back and let out a long string of curses in Italian. The blond seethed silently for a long moment, leaning up against the brickwork. He banged the back of his head against the wall, gritting his teeth.

"Colonnello…" Tsuna urged. He knew the man didn't want to say it, didn't want any of them to do it. But he needed a distraction. The small teen tried to kept his voice steady when he spoke the next words. "What do you need?" Colonnello didn't answer for a moment, long enough that Tsuna was beginning to think he hadn't heard him. When he finally spoke, his voice was neutral. He was better at hiding his emotions than Tsuna…

"Somebody to get his attention long enough for me to get a shot off." He said. "Somebody needs to run from this alley to the next. In a zig zag pattern to lessen the chance of getting hit." He wasn't looking at them. Staring at the open space as if he was willing the sniper to let them pass. Tsuna nodded his head and turned to look at his classmates. Out of all of them, he was the most expendable. He was the useless one, the one who couldn't do anything right. Mochida looked at him. Tsuna opened his mouth.

"Not you." The kendo captain said. Tsuna's jaw dropped. "It needs to be someone fast and versatile at running." He turned back, where another girl from their class was shrinking in on herself.

"Minami." He said. His voice barely shook, but the slight tremble was all they needed to know. He didn't want this… The girl was shaking badly, but she stepped forward and nodded. Of course, Tsuna thought sullenly, Minami was on the track team. She was small, fast, and good on her feet. She was perfect for the job. Colonnello gave her a long, hard look. The girl stiffened, but straightened herself up a bit. He glanced behind her then, to the angry Italian teen. But he only looked away with a click of his tongue. Tsuna frowned in confusion. What was that about?

"I'm the fastest one here." Minami said, her voice shook uncontrollably. Colonnello slowly nodded. He practically yanked his rifle off his back, and settled against the wall again.

"On my mark." He said impassively. He held all five fingers up. Tsuna wondered who he was giving time to. Four. Three. Two. One. "Go."

Minami shot out of the alley, skittering back and forth like a mouse. Shots fell quickly and desperately. All of them missed. Colonnello leaned out, aimed. Bang. The shots stopped coming. Tsuna let out the breath he'd been holding.

Suddenly, Minami screamed. She stumbled back into the open as an enraged came into view, snarling. Tsuna remembered. Very clearly. Minami didn't have a weapon. She was in the way. Colonnello called out but Tsuna was already moving. It felt like he crossed the gap in a second, tearing off his jacket and throwing it in the enraged teen's face to give them that extra moment they needed. The enraged snarled, scrabbling at the jacket. Tsuna grabbed Minami and pulled her away, just enough. A shot rang out, and the enraged collapsed in a heap.

All Tsuna could hear for another moment was a high-pitched ringing. He stared at the enraged, a mangled heap of limbs. Minami was crying. It was the first sound he registered. His arms were still around her. Then Colonnello, gently calling his name. He managed to focus on the blond's face. There was concern there, but the look was also calculating. Tsuna shook his head. Then he shrugged. He didn't know how he was supposed to respond. Colonnello squeezed his shoulder. He spoke quietly to Minami, calmed her down, glanced back at Tsuna. Tsuna let his arms drop. Yamamoto was beside him, Chrome too. He tried to breath. He nodded, and took a wobbly step forward. They kept moving.

It felt like eternity before they took another break. They settled in a large alley, two scouts flanking each entrance. Tsuna just so happened to be one of the scouts. He honestly wasn't sure why. He glanced around nervously. He turned towards the other scout, and was met with a scowl. Tsuna squeaked and whirled back around. Mochida seemed annoyed. As usual. Tsuna shook his head, then paused. What was that sound? He chanced a glance back at the other teen. He was staring out at their surroundings. Ignoring him, more like. Tsuna almost sighed. He must be hearing things…

It was quiet for another moment before he heard it again. Tsuna wanted to groan. He took a good long look at his surroundings. Clear. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Shouting? It was too far away to tell. He glanced around the corner. Nothing. What was it? He glanced back towards the group. Colonnello was talking to the Italian boy. Gokudera? That didn't sound Italian… They looked like they were arguing, though they were speaking too low to hear. Why was he always so angry? And smoking, he always had a cigarette in his mouth. Tsuna turned back. Should he tell Colonnello? It might be nothing. It might something though… Another glance at Mochida. The teen was still ignoring him.

"Don't do it…" He muttered to himself. "Don't do it…" He turned the corner and scuttled forwards. Kept low behind cars, checked every opening. There were a lot of cars. Was he on a highway or something? The sound got closer every second, but Tsuna still couldn't see anything. He should turn back. Get Colonnello, or even Yamamoto. Anything was better than going by himself. But what if it was nothing? What if it was a waste of time? What if he put them in danger? He kept going.

He could hear it much more clearly now. It was definitely screaming. There. A child was standing on top of a car and oh god that was a lot of enraged. They were far away, for now, but they were heading in their direction. The child was screaming in Italian, flailing his arms about in an obvious tantrum. Tsuna had no idea what he was screaming about, but he was fairly sure the child hadn't seen the enraged. He tried to focus.

"Hey!" Tsuna called, running forwards and trying not to focus on the two horns nestled in the child's afro. The child immediately focused on him, sniffing loudly. "You can't stay here! Come with me, I'll take you somewhere safe!" Tsuna called, and then wanted to smack himself again, because Italian.

"You know somewhere safe?" The child replied in Japanese, obviously intrigued. Tsuna wasn't even gonna bother anymore.

"Yes, err, yeah! Come on, quickly!" Tsuna said desperately, nodding his head frantically, waving his arms in a 'come here' gesture. The enraged were coming, drawn to the child's screams. The child puffed up happily, jumping straight into Tsuna's arms. The brunet only waited until he had a decent grip on the child and then he was running. He skidded over a car, but there were too many coming too fast. He threw himself onto another car, ran up the roof, and dragged himself on top of a nearby bus.

That was when the shooting started. Tsuna shrieked as a bullet ricocheted off the bus, barely a centimetre away from his head. The brunet scrambled forwards at the same time the child started screeching in Italian again, clearly furious. Shots continued coming, and Tsuna could only be thankful that most of them were aimed at the enraged now surrounding the bus. Even so, he couldn't stay there. Not when bullets were falling like rain. He scurried forwards, ignoring the heavy fire in favour of figuring out how to continue moving. He'd have to use the cars as stepping stones. With that thought in mind, Tsuna grit his teeth and ran. He flew off the end of the bus, just barely missing one of the enraged as he landed on the roof of a nearby limousine. Tsuna rolled as he landed, barrelling down the length of the roof before forcing himself up and moving again. He bounded from car to car, moving as fast as his legs could carry him. The child had stopped yelling, and Tsuna was vaguely aware of having quieted him at some point. The angry snarls were growing lesser. The bullets weren't. He was almost back to their group when he heard his name called out.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto's voice was tinged with surprise and panic, followed closely by Colonnello's, sharper and more warning.

"Concentrate." But it was too late. The brunet made the mistake of looking up. With his eyes off the car, he misstepped, foot too far forwards. He tripped. Tsuna went tumbling forwards, flipped, and hit the ground hard. His back hit the asphalt and the air burst out of his lungs. A furious snarl made Tsuna's head snap back. An enraged was barrelling towards him. He couldn't even scream. It didn't even make it within five feet of him before it went down, a bullet between its eyes. Tsuna wondered when he'd started thinking of them as 'it'.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto called again, running towards the teen. He shoved his hand out and Tsuna grabbed it gratefully, allowing the teen to haul him up and drag him towards the rest of the group.

"You okay?" Tsuna croaked in question, belatedly remembering the child in his arms. The boy poked his head out from where it had been buried in Tsuna's chest. His eyes were watery, but he nodded his head.

"Lambo-sama's fine." He sniffed. Tsuna didn't bother holding back his relieved sigh. Colonnello was crouched low on the roof of a car, rifle out and covering their retreat. He didn't look happy.

"Thank goodness Tsuna-kun found him before anything happened." Kyoko said, looking relieved. Hana looked mildly displeased, but there was an edge of relief in her eyes too. Tsuna gave them a tight smile. His legs felt like jelly.

"Let's move." Colonnello said sharply. None of them hesitated.

AN: So, I don't really like horror because I'm a wimp and stuff, apologies if this isn't as scary as it could be. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed regardless!

EDIT: Fanfic deleted 90% of my underlining from word to FF, now fixed.