OKAY, so needless to say I've grown up and out of this fic and it's fandom, and I'm really really sorry T-T but as a consolation prize I give you…my NOTES, in order of how I meant for it to go, but as you may be able to tell from them, this fic is just too Epic for me to write and even when I tried, my style has changed drastically since I started this back in the day…

So I'm sorry, here's what I intended to happen, all disjointed but there.

Thank you for your support and patience, I really hate myself for doing this to some of you – but at least you get some closure with this

TO MAKE IT EASIER TO READ:

Italics are notes I've added

[bits written between these thingies] are parts I wrote years ago when I first started the story – hence they are badly written and in a different tense.

Enjoy ~ x

No Fear to the EXTREME (Part 2)

As it turned out, Ryohei couldn't teach Tsuna how to fly.

Mostly because of Tsuna's no-good abilty, but also because he just didn't have the time to learn properly. All he could manage was a fair impression of a frantic chicken skimming the ground, before he panicked and splunged beak first into the lake, or the reeds, or the dirt, a tree, a rock...

"It's probably just pressure weighing you down," Yamamoto reasured the miserable Tsuna, nursing the sore spots all over his feathery body.

"But now Ryohei will be doing this blind." Tsuna said, "Ryohei said that flying was 'extremely instinctive', but I'm not a real swan, it's not my instinct to fly at all! It's completely unnatrual to me!"

"Calm down, Tsuna, he understands, don't you Ryohei?"

"Not really. I flew extremely fast without thinking-"

"He'll take a little longer to find the map, that's all." Yamamoto continued, ignoring Ryohei the way Tsuna hopelessly couldn't.

"Yes..." Tsuna said, "but the castle is huge. I'll have to...bide my time. With him."

Yamamoto looked at him with sympathy. He didn't miss the way the swan bent his head sadly as he said this. "Are you sure this is what you want to do, Tsuna?" He asked gently.

Gokudera perked up from his sulk at that, "we could always wait till he leaves by himself, and with the four of us it'd be much quicker! Heck, I could do it by myself just fine!"

But Tsuna shook his head. "Who knows when Mukuro will leave by himself? And even if we went in together, Gokudera, compared to Ryohei who is small and dark enough to blend in with the shadows, we are easily seen!

I've never seen anyone ever leave the castle, or go in." Tsuna said, the same as he had mentioned earlier, "only Mukuro and the person who is always with him."

"So the evil bastard lives virtually alone. No surprises there." Gokudera scoffed.

"If I distract them, you should be in the clear, Ryohei." Tsuna gulped. "So I'll hold his attension for as long as I can. Ryohei...be as quick as possible, okay? There will be no time to lose, so as soon as you see him with me, go."

"I will be EXTREMELY fast at getting the map!" Ryohei said, eyes bulging with his assertion.

"Thank-you..." Tsuna said, "and you better go hide. He'll be here any minute, I wouldn't want him to know of you."

"It's time." Yamamoto warned, noticing as the sun finally became a glowing ember behind the trees, and feeling the chill settle on his skin. "I guess I'll see you guys in the morning," he said, climbing onto his rock beside Gokudera. "Good luck!"

"Don't let anything happen to Tsuna, you shitty puffin!" Gokudera growled after the retreating figure of Ryohei, "I'll never forgive you, even as I roast you over a spit for breakfast!"

"Gokudera!" Tsuna wailed, "That's just-"

"Tsunayoshi ~" sang a familiar voice, sending Tsuna's heart into his throat, a chill down his feathered back. He peeked from behind the platform to the spot we'd have to swim to, and there he was, with the silent, hooded little figure who was always with him standing there like his shadow. "I see you there! Do you love me, today?" He called playfully.

Tsuna heard the angry hiss of Gokudera and the tensing of Yamamoto, and blushed with embarrassment. Well, at least he was in a good mood. That made his job of distracting him easier. But then, Mukuro was always in a good mood...

He took a deep breathe, and slowly swam over, graceful on the water as he never was on land, soft ripples arching V-shaped over the lake.

Mukuro was looking serenely smug, as always, cocking his head to him. He lay on his side in his white shirt at the edge of the lake, but never got dirty at all. He rested his head lazily on his hand, watching Tsuna with laughing eyes for a few moments. There were both still, watching each other.

"Do you think I'm pretty, Tsunayoshi?" He inquired suddenly, offering him a piece of bread like he did every night, while every night, Tsuna had stubbornly refused.

Tonight would have to be different, though, if he were to distract the wizard completely.

At first Tsuna was startled by the suddeness of the question, and if he were human he would have blushed. Shamefully, he didn't even need to consider the answer. "Yes," Tsuna said quietly, and he glided closer than he'd ever dared come before, and gently took the bread from the long, pale fingers. Mukuro's eyes widened a little in surprise, but then he swung his legs around so that he was lying on his belly, facing Tsuna fully, cupping his smugly satisfied face between his hands. "Am I handsome to you? Aren't I absolutely breath-takingly beautiful?" He was kicking his legs as a puppy would wag it's tail, and Tsuna wasn't sure how he felt about praising the man who had abducted him and turned him into a swan. He cast his eyes shyly over the youthful face. (Paler than even Hibari, whose dark hair made his cool skin look like the winter snow...) "I...like your s-skin." Tsuna said clumsily. Oh god, was this his method of flirting? What the hell was he doing?

"Kufufu, my skin?" Mukuro rolled elegantly onto his back, smiling like a cheshire cat, and apparently trying not to laugh too much. "Anything else you admire, my prince?"

Encouraged, Tsuna looked up again. Mukuros long pony tail at the base of his hair trailed into the lake like ink, the colour of the night, and glossy enough to reflect the stars. Which were starting to appear, Tsuna realised, seeing them in the lake. And soon, the moons light will hit him too...and the real work will begin.

For every night, once Tsuna was himself, Mukuro left him. Tonight, that would have to be different too. Tsuna did not know whether he was capable...what if he wasn't interesting enough to keep him for long? What was he saying, of corse he wasn't interesting enough! When had he ever done anything like this before? How could Tsuna possibly hold this frivoulous wizards attension?

Mukuro was frowning at his silence.

"Your hair...is...shaped like a nice...pineapple!" He spluttered, and regretted it. "I like it," he added quickly, "it's...shiney...in the moonlight. Like...the lake." The moon had finally reached him, he could feel the tingling of magic, feel the light beneath him. "Like silver," he added, before the curtain of water enveloped him completely.

Mukuro climbed slowly to his feet, so that when the transformation was done, he stood towering over Tsuna who was thigh-deep in lake water, while he himself remained impeccably dry and spotless. He held out an inviting hand to him.

Tsuna only hesitated a moment before taking it, and let himself be pulled so that he was standing before Mukuro, the closest that he'd ever come to his capturer. Even up close...his face was lovely and flawless.

"And what about my eyes," and this time, it sounded to Tsuna like a challenge. Tsuna had always been afraid to look directly into his eyes, aware that one was blue like the heavens, the over red like a devil. "Your eyes...look dangerous." Tsuna said truthfully, (and his memory flashed to icey eyes that cut through him, striking Tsuna's heart like steel to a bell, singing with a thrill right through him every time...).

Mukuro seemed pleased with the response, though. He smiled. "You're happy with me tonight, aren't you? I kept my promise to you, didn't I?"

"...Yes," Tsuna breathed after some hesitation, remembering how dangerous last night had been. In the events of the day, he had forgotten how close Yamamoto had come to truly losing his life. It made him feel sick with relief that Mukuro was at least true to his word. His heart glowed with happiness that he was able to convince him otherwise, and he was cripplingly grateful that the man had kept his word.

"You did keep your promise..." And Tsuna's smile was very genuine. So genuine, infact, and pure, that Mukuro felt something warm and delicate deep inside his cold self flutter. "Thank-you, Mukuro. I think..." and he said this so sincerly, with real feeling, "you can be a good person."

A heavy silence rang with his words, their meaning a weight on Mukuro's concience. "No, I'm a very bad person." Mukuro said thoughtfully, though without much emotion. But then his eyes flicked back to Tsuna's face. "But not so bad as you, Tsunayoshi..." And he said it in such a dangerous voice that Tsuna's blood ran cold. He knows, he thought breathlessly. He knows about Ryohei!

"You called me a pineapple head!" Mukuro pouted, crossing his arms childishly.

Tsuna gapped at him, stunned.

"That is rich, coming from you, with a bird's nest on his head." he continued, and ruffled it with his hands. It was the first time he'd ever touched him, too, and Tsuna shivered under the strangeness of it. "Your hair is as soft as feathers!" He laughed, "Kufufufu~ oh Tsuna, a swan suits you so well! You are so pure...wouldn't you like to stay that way forever? By my side, with this wonderful castle to yourself?"

Tsuna despaired at the words. He could not bring himself to lie, not even to this man. He looked behind him at the castle, looming over the lake, a threatening stone giant asleep. "Come night or day, it seems dark and cold." Tsuna hedged, not really answering his question, and could almost feel Mukuro's surprise. "Do... you live there alone?" He probed bravely, feeling like he already knew the answer. Afterall, a part from the hooded figure, he'd never seen another soul outside the castle, nor in.

Which was why Mukuro's reply both surprised him and terrified him, and he tried hard not to let the confusion show, wishing he was a swan for once so that the wizard could not read the expression on his face.

"Oh, I have many puppets..." Mukuro said, "to guard my castle when I am away." He held up his hands, and Tsuna thought he was demonstrating the strings of a puppet master. "Do these look like hands that would cook and clean to you?" he chuckled, while Tsuna tried hard to swallow his cry at the thought of what dangers he had hastily sent Ryohei into. They should have waited afterall!

Please be safe! he thought desperately, hoping so hard that he barely noticed when Mukuro slipped his cold hand into his, like a lover. When he did, Tsuna jolted with surprise, and resisted the instinctive urge to whip his hands out of the grip. I must have faith in my friend, Tsuna thought. Mukuro could be lying. Tonight, I am a distraction. And he fortified himself, and gripped the cool, smooth hand. Mukuro smiled.

Ryohei waited until the voices of Tsuna and the wizard faded into the trees before he padded as fast as he could to the front door of the castle. The giant engraved wooden door was closed, and Ryohei had the crippling disabilty of no hands to grab it, nor strength to open it, nor fists to break through it. He was extremely stunted by the first obstacle! Fortunately, being Ryohei, he thought nothing of it – he simply half flew, half climbed up to the nearest window, then the one above that, and then above that until he reached the roof of the castle where a gutter ran along one side of it.

This giant basin slate, Tsuna had explained (incase the door was closed, which indeed it was), gathered rain water which ran straight into the castles kitchens as an extra water source. This castle was the same, Ryohei found, and sure enough if he followed the gutter there was a hole, much too big for anyone to slip into unless they were the size of a pigeon – or a puffin, of corse. So Ryohei tottered into the impenetrabe darkness of the drain leading to inside the castle kitchens, shuffling through the cramped space, until suddenley he fell straight down, for a horrorfying moment Ryohei was just free falling down a dark stone tunnel, and then he was plunged into a barrel of freezing water. Lucky for him, puffins are excellent swimmers as well as flyers, and despite the shock of the water he soon managed to clamber to the surface. Dripping wet, he shivered and jumped out of the barrel.

Ryohei only breifly paused to observe his dim surroundings. It was a fairly normal kitchen, with a huge stone unlit fire place with pots and pans and spoons hanging over the mantle. The room was large even for a castle, but Ryohei didn't have time to explore. He left the room in search for a room most likely to hold a map in it; the study, the library, perhaps Mukuro kept it in his bed chambers, maybe?

The kitchen was extremely normal compared to the rest of the castle, Ryohei discovered. The place felt freezing cold, even with the windows and doors shut. Ryohei was glad he had his feathered coat as he began to explore. He found that everything was clean, and that every room was very randomly decorated.

Some objects you would expect to see in any modern castle: some suits of armour, tapestires, portraits, huge fireplaces, instruments, display cabinets, lavish carpets and such; but mostly the objects appeared in different styles and repeatedly all around the caslte, like some crazy collection. Lots of grandfather clocks, a giant wardrobe downstairs, clothes hung up on lines and pegs in a living room, where no fire lit the fireplace, despite it being autumn. A huge, extravagant water fountain decorated with mermaids dominated one room, and a huge pile of teddy bears dominated another.

A statue of an owl over here, a life-sized stuffed deer beside it, a potted pink tree over there, some impressionist paintings on that wall, a blood red tapestry on the other, some more ornaments both on the floor and lined on shelves on the walls. Tables laden with scrolls and bottles, neat but random. Some of the bottles were sauces, others empty, and some filled with unidentified brightly coloured substances. In some places there with dolls, toys, both broken and new looking, and Ryohei found a table with dolls seated around it on extravagant but wildly mismatched chairs of different colour, size and design. It was funny to look it, but also somewhat disturbing. Ryohei even came across one empty room without so much as a lamp in it, only to happen to look up and find that the furniture was attached to the ceiling!

All these strange collections were randomly cluttered, though clean-looking, still messily, around the house, like the habitat of a madman. Or a lot of small children and two eccentric parents...

Poor Ryohei had to search the whole place carefully, straining to see in the darkened rooms and constantly listening out for movement or any signs of life. Perhaps the servants were only in bed. On the other hand, it would be easy for the guards to hide away in the shadows unseen by Ryohei until it was too late.

So he hopped from room to moonlit room as fast as he could, stopping only to ruffle through scrolls in search for the map. The stairs he half climbed, half flew up, and found that the higher level was even stranger than the lower part of the castle, and even more cluttered.

Like the room which was filled to the brim with creepy puppets, shelves upon shelves of them, with broken, cracked and tangled ones simply cast off onto the floor. Ryohei noticed an empty spot where obviously some puppets had once sat, no doubt having joined their friends in pieces and strings on the floor. He left that room quickly, and eventually came to a room which had books upon books and scrolls upon scrolls scattered everywhere. Ryohei's stomach dropped with dread at the sheer number of them on the floor and tables and shelves – there was no way he could go through every single one of them in search for a map!

But there was no helping it, Ryohei would later regret not giving it ago while he was here. He had to do it fast, too, since Prince Sawada was out doing his best, and possibly risking his life with that evil pineapple head!

Ryohei rolled his winged shoulders in preparation of a map-hunt and marched in with extreme determination.

Tsuna was unsure what to do. It was uncomfortable, his hand being held like this. His palms were slickening with nervous sweat, and unbearably hot. Had he ever held Hibari's hand like this? Had he ever held anyone's hand like this, apart from his sisters?

"If it is warmth and light you like in a home..." Mukuro said, and with a mere tilt of his head, Tsuna felt powerful magic bloom in the air around him and cover the vast sky.

Suddenly it wasn't even night time anymore, but broad daylight, pale blue sky with soft clouds and even a faint breeze. But it couldn't have been true daylight, for Tsuna was still a boy. It had been so long since he was himself at that time of the day that it felt strange to him now to see the light of the yellow sun on his skin.

The magic didn't only turn the night into day, but completely transformed where they had been standing. The lake became something of a gleaming ball room, the platform of the frog and the turtle became the biggest, more grand crystal chandelier he had ever seen, the trees into tall mangnificant arches and sparkling windows reaching up to a painted ceiling of clouds and angels. And through the windows there was the sunlight, lighting up the room.

Tsuna was stunned by the power of this man and the beauty of what he had created. He had no voice for a while, could only slowly turn on the spot and admire the design of the room. The pale floor echoed his footsteps – he felt somewhat underdressed for some reason.

"Take a look through the windows, Tsuna." Mukuro urged, and Tsuna approached one of the tall, clear windows and peered out to a garden in full bloom of a range of flowers, and there, still a lake, but with a tall, cascading waterfall and a rainbow crashing into it. It was breathtaking, and Tsuna saw birds flying overhead, giving life to the picturesque scene before him.

One of birds Tsuna spotted looked like Hibird...

...and despite the sun flooding through the windows, and being indoors, Tsuna felt himself shiver. He could still feel the cold...

"This isn't real." He affirmed to himself softly, pressing a hand to the cold window pane. "It's just an illusion."

"I can make it real." Mukuro replied from close behind him, making Tsuna jump and spin to face him. Mukuro smirked, placed a hand onto his cheek and tilted his head up a little. Tsuna was quite breathless at this. "Do you like it, Tsuna?"

"I don't understand..." Tsuna mumbled, and Mukuro smiled wider.

"What is there not to understand? Let me possess you, little prince, and I shall definitely make you very happy. I can please you like no one else..."

"No, not that – it's just...I don't believe that a bad person could create such beautiful things...you're an artist, Mukuro," Tsuna paused. "Perhaps...a bit of a crazy one, but..."

"More like a bored genius." Mukuro grinned, and immediately the spell was broken, and Tsuna sank straight through the lake that he was standing on. We realized that when he'd gone to peer out the windows he'd actually stepped off the bank, and now he was half-drowning in the lake...again. Mukuro was yet to stop chuckling to himself.

"You tricked me!" Tsuna spluttered, scrambling as best he could to the bank again.

"For a swan by day, you're not a very good swimmer, are you?" Mukuro observed with amusement. And added coyly, "not a flyer, either", to which Tsuna only glared at him, dripping wet from the side of the lake. Why did Mukuro love to torture him so much?

"I can teach you how to fly, if you like. Advice for when you have your wings again. I saw you practicing with your friends earlier." Mukuro grinned, and Tsuna didn't know whether his heart was pounding from fear that he knew what he'd been practicing for, or the sheer embarrassment of him having seen him like that. "It was entertaining, to say the least."

"You were spying on me?!" Bad enough his friends had been watching, rooting for him to succeed, observing his failure.

Ignoring him, Mukuro continued: "I, who gave you the gift of flight in the first place, could help you to reach your full potential." And at this Tsunas head snapped up. Why would Mukuro, you'd captured him and trapped him here, give him another way to escape? Surely he was smart enough to consider the possibility that Tsuna would fly away eventually with his newfound ability. What in the world could he possibly gain from helping him like that? "I'll teach you to fly," Mukuro grinned, "if you give me a kiss."

Ryohei left the library feeling extremely frustrated. There was nothing even resembling a map in that room! Mostly it was just adult stories, diagrams, spells, and scraps of pictures. He had used up a lot of time in there, too! And still no map to speak of.

As he was about to carry on down the corridor, though, he noticed a door with an orange flicking glow behind it – a candle lit room. The only lit room he'd come across so far!

He listened intently at the door frame, and at hearing nothing, not so much as breathe, he attentively opened the door a crack. The room was surprising normal looking. A study room. A lit fireplace this time, book shelves, a table and chair. The only thing out of place was a pair of string less puppets on the desk (keeping in character of the house, Ryohei supposed), and pinned to the wall in front of the that desk was...

"The map!" Ryohei realized.

Ryohei opened the door a little further and glanced around the room – there was no one there. It seemed almost too good to be true! Without any more hesitation, Ryohei hopped into the warm room and scrambled up to the chair and onto the table. He double checked the map, but there was no doubt about it. There was the familiar river running through it, and on either corner were two kingdoms, separated by forest.

Ryohei quickly scanned the map for any indication of where they currently were, but found only forest. Curiously there was something drawn over a section of the forest in the center of the map – four tiny stick figures, in fact. Ryohei lent down to examine it, and recognized the pineapple headed stick man holding a long fork as the wizard, with the name 'Mukuro' labeling its head in swirly writing. Beside that was a hooded figure labeled 'Chrome', who Ryohei supposed was the hooded figure who was always with him, even now.

Beside her, though, were two more figures, labeled 'Chikusa' and 'Ken'. Underneath the image was scrawled the words 'My Kingdom'.

"Chikusa...and Ken?" Ryohei murmured. He glanced to his side at the puppets matching the stick figure versions of them. One was blonde, the other dark haired and wearing mini glasses. Perhaps Mukuro was even lonelier than he thought, to count these puppets as people.

He took one last glance at the direction of the kingdom in relation to the doodle, then he reached up for the corner of the map with his beak.

The table wobbled violently as he stretched, knocking him off from it's suddenness. "An EXTREME EARTHQUAKE!" Ryohei roared, falling off it and taking the map down with him.

It landed over his head, and just as Ryohei recovered from his daze he suddenly heard two thumps, footsteps hitting the floor near him, and then a pair of voices erupted above him.

"UGH~AAaahh – I'm all stiff," said one, as Ryohei heard him stretch and yawn, "I wonder what poor sap just woke us up?"

"There seems to be no one here to destroy," affirmed another, this one's voice cold and refined against his companion's feral growl.

"That's a lie, someone's obviously been and left. Come on! Before we lose 'em!"

Ryohei heard the creak of the door opening and the sound of people leaving, just as suddenly as they'd appeared.

Just as Ryohei made a move to follow them out of the door to his escape, the map was suddenly lifted from his head, baring him to the enemy. He felt as naked as a newborn without the map for cover.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" A wild blonde haired man grinned, his sharp teeth bared threateningly as he held Ryohei in a firm clasp by the neck. "Looks like we got ourselves some new pillow stuffing! Right, Chikusa? And a snack, too."

Chikusa scrutinized the bird silently. "How did that bird get in here?" He muttered finally. "All the windows and doors are sealed with magic..."

"Who cares?" The man holding him took him by the legs as he stood, "oi, boil some water, will ya? We're gonna have some pigeon cake fo-AGH! THE FUCK!" Ken yelped, holding his bleeding wrist as Ryohei dropped and rolled across the floor with the map, and hop-skip-jumped right out of the room. Chikusa glared at Ken as though he was at fault. "That fucker bit me!" he protested, "did you SEE the size of that beak?"

"You made the mistake of assuming that was an ordinary bird." Chikusa explained as he left the room, Ken closely at his heels.

"Well what the fuck am I supposed to think? It's got feathers and a pissy beak, I know that for sure!"

"Perhaps if you weren't so focused on your stomach, you'd have noticed that he was carrying off with Masters map." Chikusa said, and noted with satisfaction the colour drain from Kens face. "The very map he specifically ordered us to guard."

"That little fucker, he stole the map on purpose?!"

"More than that, he spoke. He thought our transformation was an earthquake...that puffin is most likely another of Masters experiments."

"Puffin? What puffin?" Ken asked, licking his wound and searching for his retainers.

"That puffin." Chikusa pointed, and just as Ryohei tried to fly with the map in his beak, a coil of yo-yo string caught between his feathers and dragged him to the ground. Ryohei winced at the pinch and struggled against the relentless bind. "That's only going to make things worse for you." Chikusa said as he reeled him in like a fish on a hook. Ryohei thought fast, let go of the map and snapped at the string with his beak. Free, he grabbed the map with his feet this time and flew as high as he could, aiming for a window he could open from the inside.

Out of nowhere an animal roared past him, catching his tail feathers. Ryohei gritted his beak and the extreme closeness of the attack, and tried to open the window he'd reached.

"Like that's gonna work, you dumb bird!" Growled a low voice, and Ken bared sharp teeth and paced up the wall like a mighty cat. Ryohei barely had enough time to soar off before Ken reached his place by the window and hung there with one arm, clawing after him with the other. "Come back here, chicken!"

"This is EXTREMELY dangerous!" Ryohei yelled, and had to try and avoid being caught by a yo-yo string while in flight as well as an animalistic man preying on him from the sides.

He was trapped.

"I'm tired." Tsuna huffed, dismissing at Mukuro's offer. "I'm too tired to learn how to fly." He knew it was a translucent excuse, but he couldn't think of another way of getting out of kissing Mukuro without offending him. Besides, he wasn't lying. He yawned as he realized that he really was tired ~ he'd had a busy day, meeting Yamamoto, meeting Ryohei, practicing flying.

"It's easier than you think." Mukuro started at Tsuna's dismissal, but then he seemed to change his mind. "Ah, but if you need to get your beauty sleep, Tsuna, who am I to stop you?"

And as swiftly as a ninja, Tsuna found himself resting his head on the lap of his enemy, as Mukuro had moved beside him and pushed him down seemingly in one movement.

"You're going to lie on the dirty floor like that? As my pillow?" Cried Tsuna, springing back up into a sitting position. No sooner was he upright though when a magical force pulled his head back into Mukuro's waiting lap, almost giving him whiplash. "Mukuro!"

"Get some rest on me, Tsuna ~" Mukuro smiled to himself. "It's okay, I'll keep you warm and safe tonight. If the mountain won't come to Mohammid..."

"Huh?"

"Or maybe you'll realize what a good bed mate I am, and will join me soon in my own castle. It's only fair, come to think of it. I sleep out here with you, you in turn sleep in there with me..."

Perhaps the wizard was using magic, or perhaps Tsuna genuinely was more tired that he'd thought, but Tsuna felt his eyes dropping to the sound of Mukuro's rambling.

And soon, he'd drifted off to sleep.

The room Ryohei noticed was getting lighter, and he could see the wild blond hair of one of his attackers, the sleek inky colour of the other wearing glasses. He realized that the dawn would be coming soon, and that they were trying to tire him about! Ryohei was by then panting with the effort of keeping aloft with an injured wing, while clutching the map in his webbed feet, and searching for a way out. He had to get out. His friends, his princess, were waiting for him! The yo-yo once again came an inch from trapping him, as it was it went whizzing past him before returning at deadly speeds back to it's master...and every time he hid and rested on a high place even for a moment, the animal Ken sniffed him out and paced after him, and he barely escaped with all his feathers each time.

Noticing this pattern, and knowing that this had to end soon if he wanted to live, Ryohei flew frantically over to the tallest wooden statue in the room, leaning against a wall. No sooner had he landed than Ken rapidly started to ascend it, running up it with ease. "Stupid bird never learns!" Ken hissed with his claws ready to slash it's breast this time, and Ryohei braced himself against the wall, his webbed feet placed firmly on the head of the Totem pole (which was what the 'statue' actually was). He pushed when he felt the vibration of Ken climbing up it as hard as he could. Despite being a bird at the moment, Ryohei the Puffin was the strongest puffin in the kingdom, with the strength of a man still lingering in his puffin legs, so that as Ken reached the top of the pole, Ryohei had tipped it over enough that Ken also went crashing down with the pole, making the ground shake with it's impact, with Ken landing trapped beneath it.

One down, one to go.

Tsuna woke with a start to the echo of crashes, and his thoughts immediately flew to Ryohei. And he frantically looked up and saw Mukuro narrow his eyes at the castle. He silently made to get up and Tsuna blindly grabbed him and kissed him full on the lips.

Then he pulled away, Mukuro looked as surprised as Tsuna felt at himself, but then Mukuros face broke out into a grin.

"Oya?"

"I-I-I... slept on it." Tsuna spluttered, trying to explain himself legitimately, trying to keep up the distraction, "and...I guess I...would like to learn how to fly...after all."

Mukuro whispered breathily to his ear, "such things can be arranged for you, my prince." Tsuna was so occupied with trying to breathe normally through the chills that went down his spine, that he shrieked with terror to find that he was no longer standing on the bank of the lake. He unconsciously clutched onto Mukuro, eyeing the steadily retreating ground as he floated into the air.

The odd weightlessness of being a bird on the lake was nothing compared to this – like being submerged in water almost – steadily sinking up towards the stars. Body-less and free, made of nothing but dust and air.

Mukuro ignored him. "Being able to fly for you should be like a duck being able to swim, like a wizard casting a spell, like..." and Mukuro grinned, "two lovers making love."

And this time Tsuna really did blush from embarrassment.

Mukuro leaned in close enough to feel the heat rolling of his body, to smell the perfumes and hint of mint on his clothes, as though revealing a secret to a lover. "The secret to being able to fly is simply this: just do it. Before you realize that you're defying the laws of gravity."

"I-I don't-"

"Try flying in the morning. My gift to you for being so good to me this evening."

And with that, he disappeared.

Tsuna could only hope that Ryohei had made it out in time.

Ryohei didn't have time to celebrate his triumph over Ken. Chikusa took that chance while Ryohei was distracted to try and capture him. Ryohei didn't have a moment to breathe as he was abruptly hailed with a succession of deadly spinning Yo-yos at his tail as he flew, but Ryohei had a destination this time. He flew as fast as he could, feeling rather than seeing the yo-yo's skim his trail, and saw the glass window he was aiming for. Chikusa seemed to notice too. "It's sealed." Chikusa said as he attacked, "you can't open it from the inside." Even though he said that, the puffin paused as if to check, and Chikusa took his chance. He sent a volley of all ten of his yo-yos at that one spot at lightning speed, with perfect aim...

...right through the window, which shattered into oblivion as the Yo-yo attack went through it. Ryohei took his chance, and while yelling "DODGED TO THE EXTREME!" he vanished through the shattered window and into the chilly morning air.

CHAPTER? MUKURO IS A PRISONER? HUH?

Ryouhei meets with Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto but their little celebration is interrupted by Ken and Chikasu, who try to stop them from escaping.

Just when Ken and Chikasu are about to strike a fateful blow to the unguarded swan-form Tsuna, they stop suddenley with magic. Everyone turns to stare at the cloaked figure holding K and C locked in their attack – it's Chrome.

Chrome wishes to help them escape. She has seen how happy Mukuro is around Tsuna, how more like his old self he becomes, and so promises to help them, only with the condition that Tsuna would come back and free Mukuro from his own prison.

Everyone is confused but Tsuna, who understands what she means and promises to return, as soon as he becomes a prince again. He can do more as a boy than as a swan, after all.

Chrome reveals that it's easy to get back to the kingdom, but only when you already know the way. Just a glance at the map would have been enough.

Bent over the map, she shows them the route. "Now that you've seen it, try looking over the treetops, Tsuna."

He manages to fly for the first time, after Mukuro's guidance.

[And with the feeling of flight, Tsuna remembered the way Hibari had appeared before him on the dance floor, had kissed him without warning. He hadn't hesitated, not even for a moment. "Just do it", Mukuro had said. "before you realise that you're defying the laws of gravity." Is that what it had been for Hibari?]

…and sure enough, Tsuna can finally see the castle, a half days walk away.

"We have no time to lose." Chrome says, "we'll talk on the way. If we're not back by moonlight, your friends will turn to stone."

So they set off.

[After the initial hushed debates over whether they should really trust Chrome, the journey through the forest was mostly done in weary silence. Something told Tsuna that she was being honest, and genuinely wanted to help them, if only as a way of helping her master. Ryohei was cautious, Gokudera was downright suspicious, and Yamamoto seemed oblivious.

"I didn't have time to ask you, but how was it with Mukuro?" Yamamoto asked after a while.

"It was..." thrilling. Enchanting, really...he was..."nice." Tsuna finished lamely. "But still scary" he added truthfully, to negate the compliment he'd just offered the guy everyone around him but their guide hated. ]

CHAPTER? THE CASTLE

They arrive at the castle past midday, so they have to hurry in order to get back to the lake in time for sunset. Only Yamamoto and Gokudera dare leave the trees – Tsuna is just a swan after all and Chrome is a known criminal…(Ryouhei flies ahead to see Haru again, who he's fallen in love with).

Upon getting close, Hibari sees Yamamoto and Gokudera coming not from the main road, but emerging from the enchanted forest and onto the castle grounds.

He immediately bites them to death for trespassing, but then remembers a time on the river seeing a similar pair emerging from the trees – Tsuna saw them too…so he ends up not killing them but only knocking them both unconscious.

Haru and Kyoko (she's visiting) take care of them, and are the first people they see when they wake up.

Ryohei is in Haru's arms, she was delighted to see her puffin again.

["Hibari is one scary dude – much scarier than Mukuro, huh." Yamamoto chuckled, to which Hibari's eyes widened. Hibari whirled around and grabbed Yamamoto by the collar.

"What do you know about Mukuro?" He growled, a threatening inch from Yamamoto's face.

"Hey, back off you crazy bastard!" Gokudera shouts, angry at seeing Yamamoto manhandled as such.

"Please!" said a voice suddenly, and they turned to see princess Kyoko with her hands clasped as if in prayer, her eyes wide. "Please…tell us about Mukuro. He has taken someone very dear to us…"

Yamamoto was really taken aback for a minute, she was so pretty. He wondered if Tsuna looked much like this sister (since he'd only ever met Tsuna in his swan form).

He smiled in sympathy, and slowly removed Hibaris grip on his shirt. He stood up slowly, facing the royalties.

"Come with us, we'll take you to Tsuna."

At the mention of the name they most longed for the princesses and the prince gaped in shock. Hibari made a small movement to grab him again…

"You know where Tsuna is?" Haru gasped shrilly, to which Yamamoto couldn't suppress a laugh.

"Sure," he said, "he's watching over us right now, like a little angel."]

Their faces fall, thinking that Yamamoto was telling them that Tsuna was dead after all. Getting their hopes up like that and then saying something so carelessly… Hibari gets angry.

"Unforgivable" he says quietly, and this time he throws his tonfa with enough force and precision to kill Yamamoto instantly, but Yamamoto's instincts allow him to dodge it.

Yamamoto and Gokudera run from the castle and straight into the shadows of the trees where Tsuna the swan and Chrome are waiting for them.

They arrive at the meeting place panting out of breathe. "It didn't work, he's not coming." Gokudera is about to say, but is interrupted by Tsuna who exclaims "you did it! He's here!"

Gokudera turns to see Hibari had run out after them, and was standing there in stunned silence, staring at them all.

Then he pulls out his bow and arrow and shoots straight at Tsuna.

CHAPTER? THE MOONLIT LAKE

Hibari sees the swan and remembers the King's dying words – that his attacker and Tsuna's abducter was 'not what they seem'.

Not just that, but the group he is looking at is just as the king had said: two men (goku and yama), one animal (tsuna the swan) and a women (chrome).

Yamamoto and Gokudera see where he's aiming and try to stop him, but he's like one possessed.

Gokudera throws bombs to try and stop him and almost kills poor tsuna the swan!

Hibari gives chase through the forest.

Ryouhei gives tsuna advice to fly up towards the sun and use its light to blind hibari, but then the sun sets. ah, hibari is gone! No wait, there! SHIT! They carry on flying.

Hibari finds Tsuna's cloak when he nears the clearing (he is closer to Mukuros castle than he has ever been before), and gets enraged, certain now that he is going the right way. His knuckles turn white with the force he grips the material before he sets off double the speed, determined more than ever. They definitely have Tsuna. There is no questions about it now...

It is growing dark, it is nightfall already.

Upon reaching the lake, Hibari sees the swan alone on the water. He aims his arrow at the heart of the bird, ready for a quick kill.

He is blinded by a sudden light and the arrow flies off harmlessly into the night.

When he next opens his eyes, with a new arrow already cocked, he is shocked to see Tsuna standing there, his Tsuna, alive and well.

Listen to Yiruma's 'Moonlight' (on youtube) for the transformation scene music soundtrack I had in mind.

Tsuna is the same as he has always been, and terrified that Hibari tried to shoot at him. He vaguely sees gokudera and yamamoto dive into the lake a moment before the moon shies on them – tsuna is relieved! it would have been impossible to carry them in as statues.

While thinking this, Hibari embraces and kisses him roughly, and Tsuna grips onto his front tightly. They both forget where they are for a moment and even trip into the lake, still holding each other.

When Hibari pulls away Tsuna still has his eyes closed and lips puckered for more.

Hibari hopes it was better than the first – to which Tsuna reminds Hibari that the time of the dance was not technically their first kiss. Hibari looks confused and then remembers the drowning incident distastefully – he'd thought Kyoko has drowned, any kiss was better than that one…

...Tsuna shakes his head blushing, not counting that as a kiss, but recalling instead the time when Hibari was feverish, and had grabbed Tsuna in his sleep and kissed him quite deeply. The kiss they had just shared felt a lot like that one. Hibari wished he had been a wake for that, or that he could at least remember such a good dream. Though, he has had many others since then.

So, after chatting, Tsuna explains his predicament.

He tells him that if he were to leave the lake then he would only continue to be a swan always. At first hibari contemplates this – he really doesn't care – they can still make love after all. But only in this lake? Ah. Okay then. How to break the spell?

At first tsuna really doesn't want to tell him. it's incredibly embarrassing!

[ "You have to...to...make a v-vow..."

"i can do that. What sort of vow?"

"I think it will have to be Haru. you've got to make it to the whole world, Hibari! thats a big thing!"

"tell me!"

"hee! A vow of true love to me!" Tsuna cringes and almost dies with embarrassment.

Hibari looks at him blankly. That bastard mukuro screwing with them.

"Its the only way to break the spell..." Tsuna adds.

"Would she have to mean it?"

"definately! If she doesn't mean it...then i will die!"

"...then, she will make no vow."

"Eh?! But! I cant stay a swan forever! that's evil, Hibari! You really hate me?"

"She will make no vow, tsunayoshi." He kisses him. "I will make a vow of true love before the whole kingdom, to you and only you, Tsuna. You will not die."]

Mukuro can be heard calling for them.

Hibari's instinct is to go for the kill, but Tsuna quickly reasons with him – if he attacks him, then they won't be able to break the spell. Hibari makes a new plan: Break the spell, then kill him.

So they plan to meet tomorrow night at what was going to be the decision for Kyoko and Hibari's marriage. (The kingdom had decided).

Hibari returns to the castle late at night – everyone is sick with worry, the whole castle is in a frenzy, Dino grabs him and hugs him and almost punches him for making him worry. He'd disappeared into the forest after all, it was already nightfall…

Hibari breaks through their fussing with the shocking announcement:

He has found himself a new bride, to be announced tomorrow!

Queen Nana is very happy, and prepares a huge party – everyone in the kingdom is invited. They are extremely excited to be meeting the girl who captured hibaris cold heart!

haru and kyoko want to find out who it is – but hibari wont tell. how strange

CHAPTER ? THE VOW

That night on the lake Tsuna is beside himself with excitement, which is frozen when he sees Mukuro emerging from the trees. At first he acts normal, but then Mukuro reveals that he heard everything. Of course he did, he comes to the lake every night to visit Tsuna and see him transform – he was there the whole time.

Tsuna feels sick and panics, but there is nothing he can do. Mukuro immediately magic's Tsuna into his castle outside dungeon, the one with lake water filling it.

Mukuro that night then plots with Chrome in his room.

Mukuro's fucked-up thought process:

He wants Tsunas heart,
but it's impossible to steal Tsuna's heart, because it's already been stolen by Prince Hibari a long time ago...
mukuro realized this upon seeing them on the lake.
this is a very delicate situation. how to steal tsunas heart back from Hibari? hmmm...

as long as hibari is alive mukuro doesn't stand a chance.

he'll have to break the trust between them.
if tsuna cannot trust hibari anymore, then he'll demand his heart back – right? that's how these things work...suddenley mukuros face breaks into a huge smile.

"chrome, my love...I have an idea."

Mukuro plans to put his servant Chrome as an illusion and send her in tsuna's place. he will make a vow to the wrong person!

Even if by chance Tsuna dies – better he be dead than belong to anyone else but Mukuro.

(What Mukuro fails to understand is that instead of returning Tsuna's heart back to him, Hibari would in fact be breaking it with his actions. Thus, neither of them can have Tsuna if Hibari can't have him...but he will learn that soon enough. )

That night, Ken and Chikusa follow Chrome, and sneak into the dungeon and admit to Tsuna that they too want Tsuna to go and come back. They explain they're side of the story:

["Mukuro used to be such an interesting guy. Obsessed with the ultimate annihilation of the Vongola kingdom and it's king, sure, but hey, who's perfect?"

" Such intense feelings of hatred, Tsuna...you must understand that they can only come from once having intense feelings of love for something else."

"Yeah yeah, whatever shrimp. Anyway, one day this creepy girl shows up, and it's like he's gone mad or something. He doesn't make any sense..."

Chikusa lifted the map on the table. "It's ironic, but to get the power he needed for destruction, he did something that cost him his desire to destroy in the first place. With no Heart, one loses those deep feelings that make one human in the first place."

"Mukuro never gets angry, because he's not afraid of anything." Chikusa says.

"He is never excited for something, or passionate about anything..." Ken adds.

"And if you cannot bring yourself to love something, you can't hate anything..."

"He is never very sad or upset for long, because he doesn't expect anything, or really want something. Only superfiscially" Chikusa added, "except for you, Tsuna."

"But even if he had you, he wouldn't be happy." Chrome said sadly, gently placing a hand on Tsuna's feathery head. "Mukuro is hollow."

Tsuna couldn't imagine living like that. He was scared all the time, and was easily upset...how can someone feel absolutely nothing? What sort of life was that?

"But why me? If he's never really wanted anything for real, why does he want me so much?"

"He want's you, Tsuna, because he is a powerful wizard, and he knows in his unconcious mind, even if he isn't aware of it, that somehow, you will be the one who makes him happy."

"But you just said he could never be happy, even if I were to-"

"No, that wouldn't please him, not truly. I mean, you are the one who has the power to let him be happy again. You have the power to make him feel. The power to take his power away."

"But...that's! I don't have that sort of power! I'm not a magic user at all!"

"But you do have your own type of magic, don't you, Tsuna? You see things. Things that nobody else can see in a person. Most remarkably and uniquely, you actually look for it...and of coarse, you find it."

"Do you know what I have to do, Chrome?"

Chrome bent her head into the shadow of her hood. "I do."

"Will you tell me?"

"I can't." She stood up and walked away slowly, "the spell we're under forbids us from telling anybody the secret to Mukuro's power. All I can do is tell you all that I can, and pray that you can figure it out on your own."]

Tsuna discovers that chrome and Mukuro used to be one person, that SHE was his heart and soul. In order to become more powerful he seperated her from his body and put her in the body of a dying girl, so that that girl has all of Mukuro's goodness in her. She is his heart. She is his soul. And she needs to be close by for Mukuro to live...

But as a price Mukuro can never feel fulfilled or truelly happy, and is always despretely searching for something, so much so that he no longer thinks about ruling over anything or trying to help people. He does not know that what it is he is looking for is right beside him in chrome, and instead searches for it in the beauty and goodness in others.

He remebers that he wanted the super powers in the first place for revenge, but upon loosing his soul he no longer had any passions like that, only whims.

So when Mukuro comes across pretty things he tries to keep them. Tsuna is just a reminder of the promise for revenge he once made, and keeps him alive for his beauty, and for this innate feeling of wanting to be loved.

Though he has lost some of his sanity and humanity, Mukuro is still now guilt-free and playful as a child, honest and uncaring.

The night turns to day, the day of the party.

Gokudera and Yamamoto are confused – where is Tsuna?

They overhear him calling them and they find out he's in the dungeon. Chikusa and Ken are enchanted puppets, so can't break Tsuna out of jail, and Chrome has already left to do Mukuros bidding.

Gokudera blows up the wall of the dungeon to free Tsuna,

Tsuna immediately flies of as a swan to the palace...

CHAPTER? THE VOW PART 2

At the palace the Chrome-turned-Tsuna arrives to a silent hall, everyone shocked when they see who it is. When he goes to Hibaris side, everyone is even more stunned. He makes the vow to Chrome, and kisses her...

and outside Tsuna can see it all through the windows, and is suddenley hit, as though his heart is breaking...the spell is killing him...

A voice rings out in the hall of gathered kingdom:"kufufufu, poor prince Hibari...fallen for the wrong twin! And worse, made the vow to the wrong person altogether!

"Come to me, my dearest Chrome. You have done well." Hibari glances at 'Tsuna', staring at Mukuro who has just strolled into the hall. This 'tsuna' stares back at Mukuro with a cute wide eyed expression, but then Hibari can tell something is wrong - it curls into a cute little smile. "Yes, Mukuro-sama." Then Tsuna turns into Chrome, who runs into Mukuros arms.

["If i can't have him, then no one will, and least of all you." Mukuro starts to laugh, "and now, by your words, the little prince shall die!"

dino points up , "What's that?"
Nana: "a swan?! what is it doing?"

and hibari without pause runs after it.

Tsuna taps feebily a few times, then sees Hibari running toward him. "Run fast, Prince Hibari – time is ticking, he's fading fast!"

Tsuna wants to say good bye and thank you to his friends at least..they have done so much for him...he flies all the way to the lake, then suddenley drops into the lake. Yamamoto and Gokudera go to dive in after him but Hibari is already diving over them towards him. Gokudera is cursing wtf did they do to him, and Yamamoto is just worried – something doesn't feel right.

When Tsuna is pulled out of the lake he is a human boy, and he is obviously dying, much to their horror. Before he can finish what he wants to say he loses consciousness.

and Mukuro is clapping behind him. "Alas, dear sweet Tsunayoshi. I knew him well."

Hibari brings up his tonfas. he is beyond threats and harmless word games...he will kill him.]

CHAPTER ? THE DEATH MATCH

Yamamoto and Gokudera go ahead with Tsunas plan that he told them before, that the only way to weaken and get at Mukuro was to separate him from Chrome, who has Mukuro's heart for herself.

Hibari just fights Mukuro while Yamamoto and Gokudera run away with Chrome, and when she's far enough the Mukuro gets weak and then finally falls unconscious and dying.

Battle is over, and Chrome goes over to Hibari who is holding the dying Tsuna. 'If he's the one to do it, it will work', she says, and uses her limited powers of illusion to get Tsuna's heart beating like normal. It won't last long, though, and it's very weak.

Chrome confesses that she truely doesn't know what to do...

Tsuna fights for breathe as he tells her.

["Give him back his heart so that he might love and grow up and understand..."

Chrome: "I don't know how!"

"It will be okay. Just…" She nods in understanding, and lets the beating heart, Mukuros warm and living soul, out of her body. Tsuna holds the flame very carefully, warm and pulsing in his hand. Hibari carries Tsuna over to Mukuro and he carefully pushes it into his chest. ]

Mukuro instantly revives, crying but full of life, feeling heavy and very strange. Upon seeing Chrome he demands that she wake up, and wake up she does, and she becomes the same as before, but now she's not trapped at Mukuros side, and he has most his powers.

Tsuna has stopped breathing, and Hibari is going crazy, grabbing Mukuro, demanding he does something - Mukuro claims that he, as a wizard, has to give him to kiss of life.

Hibari begrudgingly lets him, but it doesn't work. Hibari tonfas him for being tricked, (Mukuro: it was worth it!) and then Hibari kisses him himself, and there's a bright light and Tsuna wakes up fully, the colour returning, as spritely as ever.

And that's the end of that.

Gokudera and Yamamoto become part of the Vongola kingdom – the kings guardians

Mukuro tells them how to lift the spell – a kiss from your true love!

Gokudera wonders who that could be:
[

Gokudera hadn't really thought about it yet...but did he even have anyone in his life who he could call his true love? He'd spent literally most of his life with Yamamoto. Did he even know any girls apart from his sister and mother?]
Then Yamamoto grabs him by either side of his cheeks, calls him an idiot and kisses him deeply. They immediately are shrouded in light and voila!

Ryohei and Haru too…

Everyone lives happily ever after :)

Epilogue: It's your day – Yiruma - a happy contented ending song, for sure.

AS always, Hibari is very selfish, and both kyoko and haru begin to hate him for it. "We have just got our brother back, and you won't let him alone!" But tsuna is very busy, always working and being a king, and loves hibaris selfishness most of all.

tsuna is easily embarrassed over public displays of affection, and can barely say 'iloveyou' to hibari, though he absolutely does. oddly enough, it is hibari who can honestly say i love you without reacting at all. and when the mood was right and they were alone, tsuna could look into hibaris eyes as he said it, and he would say those words so meaningfully...

in the end Tsuna is king of Vongola. Before he never wanted to be king, but Hibari convinces him that he is even better suited than Hibari himself. Haru becomes queen of her own country – for everyone in the kingdom loves her, and they will live happily and loyaly to the kingdom. Hibari chooses to go to the Vonolga kingdom as a general. Should upset start, hibari brings order. Tsuna was suited for a king after all.

and to this very day, Tsuna remains as foolishly compassionate as ever, and the result of this is devotion. Everywhere he goes people flock to him. The women in the street call to him, smile. The children run up to him, throw balls to him, beg him to come play. The men nod, tip hats, wave greetings, and Tsuna calls, throws, waves back while Hibari's eyes search the crowd for insurgents and murderers.

In the end, Hibari and Tsuna are feeling awkward and are in separate bedrooms in order to let Tsuna recover. They do not want to disrupt the kingdom just yet – one step at a time.

Then in the night Tsuna wakes up to see Hibari sleeping next to him. He snuggles into his arms and Hibari is very content. –flashback to their childhood!-

Dino spots them in the morning as he quietly opens the door, wondering why Tsuna isn't awake yet...

"Ah, what a treat!" ^^ -beam-.

The End.