Chapter 1 ~ Mist

The ringing of the bell tore through the sleepy spring afternoon, jerking awake more than a few hundred students.

"Time's up, students!" the teacher said. "Hand in your exam papers!"

The teacher glanced at a certain student who was still frantically trying to answer his question paper.

"I said, time's up, Sawada!"

The students snickered among themselves as Tsuna went into panic mode, but instantly went silent when a silver-haired guy gave them a deadly glare which said 'Shut-up-or-you-are-dead'

Tsuna scrambled up front to pass up his paper, but as usual, tripped up on a stray bag and fell down. The teacher sighed and took Sawada's stray exam paper on the floor while Sawada was still moaning in pain on the floor.

"Dismissed!" the teacher snapped and the sound of more than thirty chairs being dragged across the room echoed loudly.

Once outside the classroom, Tsuna gave a groan. He knew he had flunked the exam big time, and if he didn't do well, which he knew he hadn't, his Spartan home tutor, Reborn will make him run at the very least 60 laps around Namimori.

"Jyuudaime!" the silver-haired guy yelled as he ran to catch up.

"Yo, Tsuna!" the baseball star of Namimori Middle School smiled brightly.

"Gokudera-kun! And Yamamoto too!" Tsuna said in delight.

"Are you alright, Jyuudaime?" Gokudera yelled. "I'll get those people who laughed at you!"

"Now, now, Gokudera." Yamamoto said. "Calm down, man"

Gokudera turned on him viciously. "Shut up! Don't tell me what to do!"

The two started bickering while Tsuna lagged behind, dreading how to tell Reborn about his test results when a nearby tree suddenly said "Ciaossu"

Tsuna screeched and fell down for the second time that day. Reborn had camouflaged himself into the tree so perfectly that not even Tsuna, who was the one to usually spot him, had not even noticed him.

"What was that about test results, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn asked as he leapt onto Tsuna's shoulder which instantly ceased the bickering between the two guardians.

"No-Nothing, Reborn" Tsuna stammered.

"Reeeeally?" Reborn said, eyeing Tsuna skeptically.

They were now walking through Namimori. It was a cold spring afternoon, as winter had only just recently ended. Mist was slowly gathering, blurring the group's vision.

"Strange" Gokudera muttered. "There shouldn't be mist this thick at this time of the year." He turned to face his boss. "Jyuudaime, is there…."

The words trailed off as all he could see was the pure white of the mist, obscuring his vision. He couldn't see anything at all.

"Crap!" Gokudera growled. "Jyuudaime! Reborn-san!" he yelled into the mist. "Can you hear me?" he paused. "Baseball nut! Are you there? Someone answer me!"

Meanwhile, Tsuna too had lost his friends in the mist, except for Reborn on his shoulder, who was looking a bit grim. Tsuna's senses were screaming the word 'DANGER' in his head, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't backtrack. His only option was to move forward, which was probably what this peculiar mist wanted him to do.

"Reborn," Tsuna whispered. "What's going on?"

"Even I don't know" Reborn replied. "We just have to keep moving forward."

"But it might be dangerous" Tsuna protested.

"Or you rather be stuck in the mist for eternity?" Reborn retorted. "Make your choice"

Tsuna decided on the latter. He stepped tentively forward, stretching out his hands, in case he ran into a wall or something, considering his luck.

'Strange' Tsuna thought. 'Is it my imagination or am I walking on grass?'

He bent down to touch the ground, but instead of feeling the hard concrete of the road, he felt grass, wet with dew, brushing against his palm.

'Eh?' Tsuna thought. 'Grass?' Reborn remained silent, apparently deep in thought.

"Can't…..see…..through this…..damn mist!" Tsuna said in despair when suddenly his foot struck a rock on the ground, and down he went for the third time. When he recovered from his fall, the mist had thinned out, allowing him to (finally) see his surroundings. The concrete wall beside the roads had disappeared, replaced by shady trees. The houses were gone too. All Tsuna could see for miles were trees and more trees. In the far distance, he could make out a large mansion, shrouded by the irritating mist that had mysteriously transported him here.

'Reborn, should we head for that mansion?" Tsuna asked the baby hitman, who had leapt down from his shoulder, and was currently surveying the area with trained eyes.

"That would be the best course of action" Reborn admitted. "But even though the mist has thinned out, we have a limited scope of vision." He glanced at his student. "Be on your guard."

"And we still have to look for Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto," Tsuna groaned. "We got separated, even though we were walking together."

Reborn and Tsuna made their way silently to the mansion. It was further than they thought, and after 15 minutes they were still walking. Tsuna was getting exhausted, but Reborn urged him on (with the usual threats) and they were slowly making progress, as the mansion looked closer than before. Unfortunately, they couldn't find either Gokudera or Yamamoto.

And unknown to them, a pair of bright eyes were watching them from the trees…

'Thoughts'

'Sarcasm'

Normal

RATING: T

CHARACTER: GIOTTO & TSUNA