Okay, I know what you're thinking, 'I've seen this chapter before!' and you would be absolutely correct! Sorry to disappoint those who were hoping for a legitimate update…

This is the only chapter I was even remotely happy with, so…Prologue for my rewritten story! Some of you might be really freaking confused, but this has been coming for a long time now. Total face-lift! Not to worry, it is still the same concept, just more polished and written a bit differently. If you want more of an explanation, just check out my profile. Enjoy~

Pairing: N/A

Rating: T

Genre: Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, and maybe some other stuff…

Warnings: mentions of torture, swearing, attempted humor, etc.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. It is called fanfiction for a reason…

Chapter 1: Prologue

(To live is to suffer; to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering – Friedrich Nietzsche)

Tsuna breathed shortly and without pattern as his body shuddered and trembled against the stone wall he had grown accustomed to in his time here. All he could see was darkness enlightened sparingly by a pair of torches hanging on the wall. The fire burning on them seemed much too bright to be in this dreary place marked by nothing but death. The pale orange flickered with every cold draft of air, mimicking his own shivers, and he feared every day that his only sourced of light would one day be snuffed out. Then he would be left with only the dark stone walls and floor, the cold and menacing metal objects and devices strewn about the room, and the daily appearances of his torturer.

The sounds in here truly sickened him, rodents scuttling around, scraping their little claws on the stone. Metal chain links clinking together with every shift of his body. Short ragged puffs of air leaving him and resonating loudly in his ears. The pounding of his heart, sometimes rapid with fear, other times slow and uneven from blood loss. The shrill screams that come from other rooms and even his own. And the crazed maniacal laughter of the one who brings him to the brink of death every day just to see how long he can take it.

Feelings of pain. Excruciating, agonizing, burning pain are an unwelcome constant in his current life. Sharp and never ending when first dealt, before becoming achy and inconsistently coming forth again and again with a vengeance. Pounding headaches and horrifying nightmares paint his every living moment with blood and death. His body alternating from being extremely over heated to being so cold that the dank stone and occasional drafts of freezing air become his only sources of minimal warmth. His body always weak from the infection of a wound left untreated or some kind of sickness from his less that abysmal living conditions.

Smells exist here that make him nauseous and crinkle his nose up in disgust, he eventually gets so used to the rankness that he barely notices it, but only until a new horrible smell assaults his nose and makes him dizzy. The heavy smell of blood almost constantly permeates the air, along with the occasional but putrid scent of ammonia and other cleaning products. The stench of rotten food and mildly drugged water, that he somehow manages to force down his throat every day despite the pain he feels, is like a psychological form of torture. He hungers terribly and yet every time he goes to eat, he gags from the smell of it alone.

Even worse than the smells are the flavors he is presented with on a daily basis. The metallic taste of his own blood, a flavor that is in his mouth more often than not, makes his stomach churn along with the rotten slop he somehow manages to swallow. The times he manages to drink the odd smelling water a faint flavor of something foul and unimaginably putrid dances across his taste buds. And occasionally his torturer will bring a small round tablet with him, and force it into his mouth, delivering an extremely spicy burning sensation to his tongue that will leave him unable to move it for a couple days.

Throughout all of these horrible experiences, above everything else, Tsuna wanted it to stop. He wished for darkness, silence, numbness, anosmia, blandness. He would rather have no senses at all than be subject to this every day.

The only reasons he never gave up, never stopped fighting to survive everything thrown at him, never allowed his sanity to crumble and shatter. The only things keeping him alive were the hope- no, the knowledge, that he would one day escape from this place and return to his mother, and the near constant hallucinations that he now witnessed in great detail and clarity, as if he were right there with them to see everything.

They come almost all the time, shifting to a new scene once one ends and then going back to the first at the end of the cycle.

Tsuna doesn't see the suit-and-fedora man anymore, the one with curly sideburns that likes to point his gun at people. The last Tsuna saw of him was when a bright flash of light engulfed him and the rest of his group near the edge of a cliff. But he does see the others, the other children.

He sometimes wonders if he is perhaps intruding into their lives by witnessing every moment they go through, by being privy to every tear they shed or terror they experience. This thought would always send tremors of self-loathing down his spine; he can't control the visions no matter how hard he tries, so he has no choice but to watch each and every scene up to the end. Nothing Tsuna does can seem to stop the visions showing him these people's lives. Closing his eyes or sleeping does nothing to deter the images; in fact they seem to come even more often in the form of vivid dreams when he sleeps. So he frequently holds off on the healing refuge that sleep gives him in an attempt to give these people some form of privacy in their darkest moments.

Despite the disgust with himself that comes with each hallucination, these images also bring him great comfort and peace in his new life of pain and horror. They are the only things keeping him sane, and not only that but the people he sees in these visions often are going through terrible troubles too.

The silverette, who he has discovered to be named Gokudera Hayato, is struggling with the discrimination of his household and others for being born from a mistress, as well as having to suffer through eating the poisoned concoctions of his older half-sister almost every day. He acts out a bit in an attempt to get his father's attention but in the end he is only ever punished for his transgressions and locked in a closet. These actions seem to have given the boy a large inferiority complex and have given him a rather bleak view on life, thinking his own existence to be worthless. His only solstice seems to be the piano teacher who is a kind and loving woman that accepts him. Tsuna also can't help but notice the resemblance they share with each other and the similarities her actions bear to the maternal actions that his own mother once showed him.

From what Tsuna can tell, Hayato is very untrusting and hostile to the majority of people, but if one were to ever see underneath all of that maliciousness they would find an ever-loyal, protective, intelligent, friend that would stay by your side up to the very end.

The young baseball player he has seen many a time is called Yamamoto Takeshi, and while he always has a bright smile on his face, Tsuna can tell that it's fake from the visible pain in his eyes that no one else seemed to notice. He had lost his mother to a car accident not even a week ago, and has been holding himself together with nothing but that fake smile and forced laugh ever since. Tsuna has not even seen the boy shed a single tear since he received news of her death and it is very concerning for Tsuna. Tsuna knows that he is bottling up his feelings and that one day they will explode and he will do something drastic and desperate, he needs help, someone he can trust to gently coax those feeling out and into the open so that they don't crush him. Takeshi's father tries to be that person, but in the end it isn't enough.

Takeshi gives him so much worry sometimes, despite his own situation, because Tsuna knows that dealing with internal demons is leagues harder than going through any form of physical pain.

The boxing boy happens to be named Sasagawa Ryohei and he is always fighting kids, both his age and older, for the protection of his younger sister. Tsuna has never liked fighting himself but he can definitely admire Ryohei's resolution and reason. To protect. Tsuna also understands that Ryohei fights as a way to blow off all of the extra energy he has, and the pain he feels for his parent's up and coming divorce.

At the same time that Tsuna admires the boxer, he cannot help but feel upset and a bit disgusted by the actions of his sister, Kyoko. She is always telling him not to fight, that she won't forgive him if he keeps fighting, but she has no idea about the reasons why Ryohei fights, she obliviously forces Ryohei to swear off fighting when it is the only thing keeping him sane. Kyoko doesn't understand anything about their parent's problems, but Ryohei does and tries to protect her from it like a good older brother, if things keep going as they are Kyoko is going to become the means for Ryohei's destruction, something that Tsuna cannot stand to happen.

Ryohei may be a bit simpleminded and loud but Tsuna knows that he is far from an idiot. Tsuna can tell that, under all of the obnoxious yelling, Ryohei is hurting inside, he is torn up over his parents' separation and being responsible for his sister's protection, he is being overwhelmed and he needs a vent.

The tonfa wielding raven known as Hibari Kyoya comes from a prestigious family involved heavily in the police force and detective work, his parents being police chief and head of the investigation department respectively. As could be expected, Kyoya's parents have high expectations for him and can only accept him being a strong fighter for justice, if he is weak, he is worthless. Unfortunately Kyoya was born with severe asthma that would not allow him to exercise or train; he couldn't even go outside for extended periods, lest he risk an attack.

This results in his parents shunning him and thinking him to be nothing but weak, pathetic trash, his mother largely ignoring him or hitting him whenever he gets too close, and his father renouncing any relations they may have and kicking Kyoya out of the house in the hopes that he will die so his existence will no longer stain their lineage of strength and power. It is through these events that Kyoya has learned that only the strong survive, so he began to train and fight, forcing his body past its limits and suffering from his breathing problems every day, throughout this time he is begrudgedly living with his Uncle Fon.

Tsuna can see that Kyoya hates being around people because of their weakness, but at the same time he yearns desperately for someone to be his equal, his partner, he wishes to have someone to trust in wholeheartedly and confide in. Tsuna can only pray that he finds that person soon before he closes himself off from society completely and submits to the animalistic instinct he is trying to emerge himself in.

The bluenette with the medical eyepatch and hairstyle reminiscent to a pineapple, the one who goes by the name Rokudo Mukuro, has been locked up in some kind of laboratory since the first time Tsuna saw him. There he and his two companions undergo terrible experimentation in that building of terror and pain. Tsuna can only watch helplessly as Mukuro is strapped to a table and ruthlessly experimented on. The scientists test new drugs and equipment on him every once in a while, but they mainly conduct surgery after painful surgery on his right eye. The blunette's situation is not all that different from his own, and Tsuna's heart yearns to somehow help him escape from his horrible situation. If he had the chance, Tsuna would gladly take his place in order to spare Rokudo of his suffering. Mukuro tries to act mean and uncaring, like nothing but a strong, manipulative human being, but Tsuna knows that under all of that deception in nothing but a scared, hurt, misunderstood person, who cares more about the safety of his two friends than his own survival.

However Tsuna can also sense a growing darkness in Mukuro similar to what he can feel growing in Kyoya. Mukuro is starting to immerse himself in hatred so that he may take revenge for what the world has done to him and his companions; he is nursing that hatred into something even darker and uglier, something evil. Tsuna fears greatly for Mukuro's safety and his future with the way his outlook is now, the way things are happening, Mukuro will go down a path of destruction, both to others and to himself.

Mukuro needs someone that he can trust in, someone who understands his pain and doesn't discriminate his actions. Above everything, Mukuro needs a true friend, someone who will care for him and look out for him without an ulterior motive, someone to love and cherish, but not treat him like he is weak. Just someone to treat him like what he is: a young hurt human child.

The girl with violet hair who lives in an enormous mansion is named Nagi Akiyama, and she is a year younger than Tsuna. Regardless of her age she is a very bright child, however people don't often see that because she is so quiet and withdrawn. She worries about troubling her parents, whose relationship is already on ice thin enough to shatter from the softest of breezes. Nagi lives a rather comfortable life in comparison to some of the other children Tsuna sees, she never has to worry about hunger, lack of shelter, or physical pain. She has nothing to fear in that big house, with pristine furniture, servants at her beck and call, and the best clothes and toys money can buy. The purplette lives the life that so many would sell their souls for, but she suffers just as much as any of the other hallucinations.

Tsuna can feel nothing but great sadness and compassion for the young girl as she sits alone in that big house day in and day out with nothing but crushing silence, until the scathing yells and screams of her parents arguing echoes through the halls. She cries herself to sleep every night and merely goes through the motions of living. Nagi may not have to suffer through the physical pains of life and torture, but she goes through emotional pain and loneliness on a level beyond Tsuna's comprehension. Every time Tsuna sees her sitting by herself in a room, just staring blankly at a wall, he wants to go to her, hug her, talk to her, play with her and be her friend. Because he knows how horrible it is to have no friends, and could never even begin to imagine such loneliness and despair.

Tsuna can tell, without a doubt, that the only thing Nagi needs, will ever need, is a friend. Someone to trust and rely on, to hold her when she cries, share secrets with her, and laugh with her about anything and everything. Akiyama has already withdrawn herself so far away from the natural plane of existence that Tsuna worries if anybody will be able to pull her out of her shell and give her the chance to be that bright young girl again.

He wishes desperately to be that person, but can only pray that she will one day meet that person who will be her friend through thick and thin, as he likely won't be able to escape from this place in time to save her from her life of loneliness.

The pain he sees each and every one of these people go through, the kids who he has come to care for deeply in his time of watching them go through their lives, the people he can relate so much to but at the same time have nothing in common with, the pain they go through makes Tsuna want nothing more than to scream and curse the god that has condemned them to such lives.

Tsuna may not be the violent type of person but he would do anything to relive their suffering if he could, and it is the fact that he can't do anything to help them that causes tears of frustration and sadness to streak down his face.

The only thing Tsuna can ever do as he is forced to witness the pains of the hallucinated children, is send his feeling to them. His sympathy and comfort, his hope of things one day getting better, his compassion and measured amount of happiness when he sees that they are all relatively okay for their situation, that they are all alive.

Tsuna can tell that his feelings are reaching them by the slightest changes of their expressions.

Hayato's near permanent expression of sad discontentment always softens a bit, his eyes regaining a childish light that he seems to lose more and more of every time Tsuna sees him. Then of course the silverette would look around wildly as if searching for where such feelings originated from, as if he could really sense the eyes trailing his form as he reacts to the sentiments of the brunette. Tsuna cannot help but crack a smile whenever Hayato starts mumbling to himself about UMA's influencing his mood.

Takeshi's constant fake, plastered on smile, will sometimes lessen or turn a little more real. Tsuna can even recall times when he would send feelings of slight disappointment at Yamamoto's lies to his father and the mask of happiness would fall altogether. Then his eyes would sweep the premises in shock before brushing it off and re-donning the grin that Tsuna hates so much. Tsuna has to admit that Takeshi's mask is tough to see through let alone crack or break, but he has confidence that it's possible.

Ryohei's hidden weariness and sadness, the weight on his shoulders, would seem to lift whenever Tsuna sent his concerns to the boxer. It would always seem like someone had injected a ton of energy into Ryohei from the way he would suddenly want to run around and train. His back would straighten and his shoulders would square before he realizes what happened and drops into a fighting stance in paranoid worry. Tsuna would always chuckle a bit at his reaction.

Kyoya's developing expression of blankness and take-everything-in-stride-and-don't-care-about-anything-but-power mask would shift to something softer and more suiting of a child, more innocent and less menacing. His entire body would relax against his will and his eyes would almost droop shut as a feeling of comfort that he has never felt envelops him, before his eyes would snap wide and his body would tense and fall into a shaky fighting stance, panic flaring to life in his chest at the unfamiliar feelings. His reactions never failed to sadden Tsuna.

Mukuro's ever present smirk of defiance, or scowl of hatred and pain, would seem to morph into an expression of shock for a long moment, uncaring of the people his is with or situation he is in. The blunette's eyes would become glassy with unshed tears and his body would start to shake and tremble at Tsuna's emotions, like he didn't know how to handle such feelings.

Then one of his companions would get his attention or he would snap out of it himself and his gaze would automatically zero in on the place where Tsuna's eyes would be if he were actually present. A single blue orb would clash with caramel for a second, and surprise the brunette every time, before Mukuro would look back to his companions and seemingly forget anything ever happened. But Tsuna can see the slight change in Mukuro's temperament after each time their eyes meet, despite Mukuro not being able to actually see him. He can see the slight clenching of the boy's fists and curiously grateful gleam in his eye.

Nagi's reaction will always be Tsuna's favorite. Her constant expression of hopelessness, sadness, loneliness and uneasiness would collapse into a tender smile of happiness at the feeling of being loved as a friend. Her body would relax and her shyness would all but evaporate into cheerful enthusiasm. She would stay as such for up to ten minutes before reality would seemingly crash back into her and she would withdraw back into her shell, wary and nervous but still happy for the unknown sentiments she received.

Tsuna hates the fact that he is always forced to witness the lives of these people without their consent, but nothing makes him feel more alive than when he can make their lives even a little better by sharing his emotions with them. Tsuna wouldn't mind being stuck in his life of hell forever as long as he could continue to help his hallucinations go through their lives.

So he would put up with the fear of darkness but constant wish for it at the same time. He would ignore the sounds that made him want to claw at his ears until they bled. He would make it through the never ending cycles of hurting and healing, he would take the pain. He would close himself off from the bitter flavors and rancid stenches, he would consume food in order to survive and endure the horrible smells that made him lightheaded.

Because as he is right now, he is not living for himself, or for his mother or father, not for his grandfather, and certainly not for his torturer…no, right now he is living for the sole purpose of making the lives of the people he cares about better, even if it's only in a small, nearly insignificant way. He would survive, and one day he would escape and find these people.

One day he will find his friends, his family, and he will help them, love them, cherish them, and above all else...

He will never let them go.

You know the drill: review if you want to let me know what you think. I read them all, but won't be answering questions unless they are sent through PM. I like to preserve the mystery.