A Piano's Requiem

Ch 06 – Not By Oneself

For a Noah who's been left by himself all this time, Tyki was impatient. Lavi had already spent a month there in this vast library of ancient books, and without a single word uttered, the Bookman Junior was nothing more than a machine, waking up each morning and losing himself in this sea of information. Did the apprentice absorb anything in those books? That was something Tyki wanted to know.

Then came the day when Lavi finally spoke again. It was hoarse from not using it for a month, but he made his point clear.

"I can open the gate now."

But Lavi didn't say anything else that day, much to the Noah's dismay, and they both went to rest for the next day. Tyki woke up to the silence of no one else sleeping nearby in this cold library, save for a faint glow and rumble. He had sprung to his feet, and arrived just in time to see the last of Lavi's red scarf flutter past the golden gates, and the locks redid themselves back together, concealing the Bookman Junior away.

Tyki was left to his own devices as he stayed in the sea of books and parchment, his head dulled by the strange information he could never read. He understood that the Bookman clan had their own separate language, but he would never be able to read it. He didn't need to eat very much. A Noah doesn't need much nourishment, and he wouldn't die from starvation.

The Noah had taken to trying to read the books, and try to find things that he could actually read. He found one, actually, and it entertained him for at least two days and he chuckled at the theories and little contraptions that were blueprinted in the leaves. He shelved the book once it was finished, but he never found another single book that could ease his interim.

After a while, Tyki returned to his place where he had sat watching Lavi, and he stared at anything that moved, that is, the sun that came in during the day, and the moon that came back. In this region of the Earth, the plague of demons had no reached this mountain so high up, and the cloud of red was actually beneath Tyki. That was one of the few things that he liked about this place. He could count the days, hours, minutes, and seconds just by looking at the ray of light in this library.

"How quiet."

The voice echoes in the vast cave, even though he said it rather quietly. He listened for the voice to disappear within an hour and the cave fell into a state of no more sound once again.

Tyki rather liked this silence. As a matter of fact, nothing seemed to bother him. No one was here to come running to him with high heels and ask him loudly to help with homework. There was no buzz in the back of his head vabout how the Noah of Desire liked to nap when he wasn't busy. There was no purr and small remarks that the man looked rather cute when he was napping. There was nothing. Just silence.

But then he thought further. What if Lavi didn't come back, and found solace in some other place, and didn't care to bring Tyki along himself? He must be having a fun time of himself, discovering paradise while the last of the Noah was left here to rot to nonexistence. And even more, no one would be watching this Noah perish, and Tyki would be alone.

The sheer thought of that possibility made Tyki bring his knees closer to his chin, and he hugged his legs together like a scared child. He understood it now, whenever his pals at the train station talked about it. This was why they didn't want to leave anyone behind. Being alone is worse than being dead, they had said. Now Tyki knew. He didn't want to be alone. If this was how it felt, he most definitely didn't want to be alone.

Tyki stood up, and faced the doors that Lavi had gone through. That Bookman Junior had better come out, because this was driving him mad. He ran to it, and began to punch at the metal, which was surprisingly hard to touch. He even tried to go through it, but all he could see was an endless layer of metal that he could never finish walking through. All this, and he resorted to punching it again.

"Damnit," He bit his lip at how nothing happened for the past couple minutes. He didn't want to be by himself, especially not in this one place where no one was going to find him. Or maybe the demons would find this place and destroy it, too, him and the books, and perhaps the door. But he shouldn't say it out loud.

Tyki continued to attempt his way through the doors, without much progress for the next few hours. He continued to shout and hit the doors and almost beg for Lavi to come back and not leave him. At this rate, he was really looking like a fool who has become desperate. The realization was most embarrassing, but who was there to see him acting stupid for the sake of a lowly man who loved books and recorded time? Ridiculous, he thought, how ridiculous.

Then a small click.

Tyki had frozen long enough just to hear that foreign sound. And he heard a small distant groaning of metal from the other side of the door. It was very far away, but progress has begun. The Noah backed away from the door, waiting for the next loud commotion to stir. Surely enough, the door began to unlock itself, and Tyki couldn't bear to watch the many locks, chains, and gears turn and mesh to reveal an opening to a dark passage. Funny, Tyki had sworn that Lavi had walked into bright lights and disappeared. Of course, he only got a glimpse of what lay beyond the door, so that didn't count.

Tyki had a the great urge to run into the passage and look for Lavi, but he feared that there were traps or barriers that could stop him. He could easily walk through them, unless there was something that he couldn't penetrate. His suspicions were relieved when he heard footsteps, very heavy footsteps. The Noah was amazed at how long and dragging could a pair of feet make, and he waited.

Finally, a leather boot came into light, along with the rest of the owner's body. The person coming out of that passage was shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun that illuminated the library, and he limped out into the open. Tyki made the first move to catch the apprentice Bookman before he fell splat on the ground. He turned Lavi over and stared at the boy's face for a few moments, just to check that it really was Lavi.

Thankfully, Tyki could never miss the mop of red hair, and those green eyes were indeed that of the Bookman Junior, but for some reason they looked more distant and old. Whatever Lavi did in that chamber beyond the gate, he must have learned something that might have made him more experienced at something.

It would be unfitting of Tyki to cry and hug the younger man with shouts of "Oh, God, you're still alive! You left me alone!" mostly because he was a Noah, and Lavi looked more eager to speak than the Noah himself.

"I've found it…" the redhead muttered feebly, "The power of Life, and I took the pledge."

Tyki stared at the Bookman Junior, bewildered by whatever foreign terms he was referring to.

"Pledge?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Lavi smiled, before fading to sleep. "I'll tell you everything I saw."

The Bookman Junior rested easily in Tyki's lap, much to the Noah's dismay. He was no woman, he'd have Lavi know, but just this once, because of the emotional turmoil they had both went through. Tyki looked up at the brass pair of doors that had seemed to close while he was tending to Lavi speaking gibberish and falling asleep. And the Noah didn't once hear those loud creaking noises of chains and locks again.

Tyki was tempted to just lay the Bookman down on the floor and carry him to a more suitable place, but he feared waking the Bookman, and he'd never know what had happened behind those gates. So, he could stay here for the time being. Lavi didn't seem to mind the sun shining directly on his face at all. He must be that tired, huh.

As much as the Noah was not in a good position, he learned something. He wasn't alone, nor did he want to be alone.

"Uni…"

"Ch-Chief Uni!" Mochida was just as flustered. He quickly drew back his sword into its rightful sheath and backed away from the Vongola. Ryohei, Yamamoto, and the rest of Vongola were completely frozen in place, bewildered by the familiar appearance of an old ally.

The young girl proceeded to canter down the stairs to the same floor as everyone else, her black cape whistling behind her. Her footsteps were hollow against the marble, and she walked towards them, face still sullen, and eyes so dull.

"Byakuran is merely my assistant," Uni stated loudly. "I am the Chief Officer of the Neo Black Order."

"Oh, so cruel, Uni…" The said white haired man teased from behind the Vongola. "We share the same title, you know."

"For someone who merely sits at his desk and does nothing directly to his subordinates," The little girl shot back bitterly. "I'd advise you not to correct me."

"Oh, Uni…" Byakuran whined. "Don't you remember my own predicament…?"

The girl remained unresponsive to Byakuran's minor complaints and walked past the crowd of newcomers to reach the desk that the members of the Black Order were gathered. She noted the stunned pale faces of these people, as if they had seen her before and she was a ghost to them. Most particularly, the baby with sideburns was the most pale.

"Uni…" Reborn muttered under his breath, and the girl's darkened eyes flashed at him, in the same cold way that she had looked everyone else. There was no recognition in those eyes, nor was there any rejoicing at the appearance of her uncle. She then looked at the three other members of the newcomers who weren't fighting.

"You must be the Vongola," She addressed Chrome, who kept a hand over Lambo, afraid that Uni would just walk over and do something to the boy, judging from the glare she was giving the sleeping toddler.

"Y-yes…"

A sword swept in between Uni and Chrome. Yamamoto stood, his face frowning in threat. He wasn't ready to just lay down his weapon and have a nice conversation that would involve backstabbing.

"How did you know about us?" He demanded. The Black Order members exchanged glances and merely shrugged.

"It was simple," Uni answered in a clipped manner. "We merely predicted your arrival when things became strange."

"All courtesy of me," Byakuran waved for their attention from behind the desk. "I still have the same ability of your counterpart. Uni had foresaw that something big was coming, and I, with my knowledge of the alternate universes, assumed it would you, the displaced traveling party. Please, don't start fighting. I'm not going to hurt you. No one in the Order will hurt you."

The Vongola didn't seem fazed by the welcome gesture. Since Byakuran was always nice, even when he was spouting havoc and death of millions, they were far cry from even trying to lay down weapons and joining in on this tea party.

"I don't trust you," Ryohei gave way, his feet bouncing in a spar. "You're still Byakuran."

"Sasagawa Ryohei, I assure you," Byakuran smiled at the boxer. "I am not the Byakuran you know. I don't desire for things like the Trinisette or whatever power you hold."

The white haired man didn't make any motion to get up and walk out of his desk, but rather, he shifted to the side and went round the desk. He had been sitting in a wheelchair, his hands resting on controls to move the vehicle. The cloth at his pants from knee down was hanging quite more loosely than anywhere else on his legs, despite the presence of his shoes at the footrests on the wheelchair. Needless to say, the entire Vongola was most surprised that they Byakuran they were looking at was condemned to a handicap.

"I am merely a Byakuran who exists in another universe," The Officer said. "I was born in this universe, and nowhere else. And yet, of course, I retain the same abilities as the Byakuran you encountered in your own world, Vongola Guardians. That is only relation I have to him."

"Well, then," Reborn retorted. "I'd like to know why we're here. Explain."

"Now, now," The officer chuckled. "Always in a rush, now? Please don't be too hasty. You're going to stay here a little while anyways."

"No more games!" Ryohei shot back hotly. "Tell us now!"

At this, Uni quickly shot daggers at the boxer, and Ryohei stopped bouncing in place, and his arms fell to his sides. Yamamoto and Reborn were entirely shocked at the action. Just one small death glare directed at the boxer, and he stopped being violent?

"Let me tell this to you straight," Uni scathed. "You have landed here under quite the unexpected circumstances, because something shouldn't have happened."

"What shouldn't have happened?"

Hibari was the one to speak for once. This disturbed him greatly, something that was beyond his control. The prefect certainly didn't like things being out of his reach.

Uni was frozen in place, her lips pursed. A tell, the Vongola thought to themselves. Seemed like she didn't know the true cause. Were they still finding more about it, or do they truly have no idea why this had happened?

"I believe we've gone over this issue not too long ago," Byakuran swept through, saving the conversation. "I'll take over, shall I, Uni?"

The girl gave a small nod, and allowed her co-worker to wheel ahead.

"This, my dear Vongola," The man added. "Is an alternate universe, very much like the ones that the Byakuran of your world has been said to see. This universe has existed as it should have been for the past while."

"A few centuries ago, a war had occurred, but it remained unwritten in conventional history, because it was a history no other common man should know of. Demons that you see today that roam the upper realms of the earth, the Akuma, were far more secretive back then, and they hid within the human population as the people continued to live on the surface. The Akuma were created the same purpose and only one: to eradicate all of humanity.

"In order to counter these demons, a long-running organization was formed, and thus we introduce the Black Order. It was mostly a branch of the church and the superiors were in direct connection to the pope, and indeed, their rules were entirely for religious means. The Black Order had many occupations, mainly Exorcists. These Exorcists would be soldiers of the Black Order, and they would set out into the world and eliminate Akuma before they rampaged."

Byakuran turned to the Vongola with a knowing smile on his face.

"Now, I'm sure Captain Bookman gave you the drop of Innocence and explained to you what it was for?"

Reborn was the first to give a nod. After all, the innkeeper was kind enough to tell him first. The others gave steady nods as well. Byakuran seemed pleased that he didn't have to go through those explanations.

"Good," The white haired man was understanding. "I hope the substance has been of great use to you. I shall continue."

"These Exorcists were required to wield Innocence, since that was the only thing that could kill Akuma at all. Remember, a simple bullet will not make Akuma perish. Because of the great potential Exorcists had with Innocence, they served under the Black Order for centuries and participated most actively in the war against the demons.

"The Black Order had existed for a long time, ever since the formation of Akuma and their systematic killing. This war raged on for many centuries earlier, and it was a nonstop battle, because there weren't enough Exorcists to fully kill all the Akuma and the Akuma multiplied like flies.

"However, two centuries from our time, a little ray of hope came to the Order, and that was the fabled Destroyer of Time. Naturally, a part demon himself, he fought alongside the Black Order as an Exorcist, and brought great attention to the superiors when he and his fellow Exorcists began to literally grind down on the demons, so much that the people of the Order thought they were going to win."

"And it did seem like we were going to win," Bookman added. "We were almost confident that with this progress that we'd succeed to end the war once and for all."

"Yes," Byakuran nodded and continued. "And according to most tales, that was how the story should have gone. The hero arrives in shining armor and wins the battle in one fell swoop, and world is at peace again. Might I explain this in more of my own terms, you would be confused. Because of the success of the Black Order and their efforts, a parallel universe was created where peace was achieved, and the world trudged on in their own happenings. That universe, the peaceful one with the sound end of the war between demons and the church, is yours, Vongola."

"Our world?" Yamamoto muttered.

"Indeed," Uni stepped up. "Perhaps in your universe, there are no such things as humans, and the world is rather in itself at peace, save for your own personal mafia wars. The Vongola Family, without the interference of Akuma, was able to prosper through ten generations so far and become the grand family it is in your own universe. Quite the feat, don't you agree?"

"Yes, quite the amazing thing people can do," Byakuran continued. "However, here is the most startling. In this alternate universe, you Vongola would have never existed."

"What?" Ryohei became enraged once again. "What do you mean?"

"It means you died," Reborn said flatly. "Or you were never born."

"Correct, Arcobaleno," Byakuran grinned, and he proceeded to glance out the window to the city below. "In this universe, is far opposite from your own. Here, the Black Order had lost the war, and three quarters of the human population was annihilated. That is only a very kind estimate, not counting the other factors. The Surface fell to the Akuma, and the survivors went underground, thus, the formation of the Neo Black Order and the underground cities you have seen on your way here. Because of the destruction, the Vongola and other mafia families would have never risen to their greatness, and they died out the immediate rise of Akuma began."

Yamamoto's was sheet white at the thought of his own death in this world, and he looked back to the others. Chrome was shaking, and held on tightly to Lambo, with Fuuta hiding behind her legs. Ryohei had stopped being aggressive and was staring blankly at the Neo Exorcists, Reborn didn't seem too well with the news, and Hibari, the man didn't look any better than Ryohei.

"Your presence in this alternate timeline, is astounding," Uni replied. "In this universe, all of you would not exist. However, here you are, flesh and blood."

"But why are we in a universe like this?" Reborn demanded. It hurt to think he was acting too harshly to Uni, of all people, but if the girl wasn't the one he knew, then it should be fine to act more menacing for answers.

"Thus, the error," Byakuran answered. "If no one made any changes to the different universes, then you Vongola would not be present here."

"Changes?" Yamamoto never understood science fiction concepts, and this was rather mind-boggling to him. [1]

"Yes, changes," Mr. Bookman came into the conversation. "Usually, these parallel worlds should remain unattached, meaning we do our own thing, and you keep your business to yourselves. However, if there were changes to the times before us, and deliberate ones at that, things will get messed up. Your internal powers, or what you called Flames, seem to be disruptive to these changes. Normally, deliberate changes to the past should destroy you and your parallel world, but the Flames you possess seem to preserve most of you into this altered present. Kinda confusing, but you'll understand if you stick with us long enough."

"It was confusing," Reborn was never more honest. "We'll stay, because Tsuna is still in need of medical attention. He is the boss, after all. He'll judge you for himself when he awakes, and our stay will be determined there."

"I see," Byakuran smiled. "Well, then I'll just allow you to make yourselves at home. Mochida, Tyki, and Uni will be happy to help you around. Please, you may leave."

"Thank you," Yamamoto bowed politely.

"Ah, but please, the baby, and the swordsman," Byakuran stopped them. "I urge you to stay awhile. I hope to hear more of your story here. Hopefully, we can figure out how things should go."

Hibari and Ryohei left willingly, but Chrome and the two children lingered behind. Chrome was trying to leave, with Lambo still asleep, but Fuuta was pressed not to leave his big brother behind. Now, the purple haired girl was no babysitter, nor was she very assertive. The best she could do was tug gently at the boy's sweater and then kneel down to talk to him.

"Fuuta," She said softly. At first, Chrome never learned who Fuuta was until now when she had to take care of him. Usually, he was very obedient to the young woman, and clung to Chrome like a child to his mother.

"But," Fuuta whimpered. "What about Yamamoto-"

A tall figure stepped across to them. Hibari had left with Uni, Ryohei with Mochida, so it was Tyki, the quiet, dark skinned man dressed in a suit. He seemed pleasant enough to be welcome to children, and the gentleman he was, he offered a hand for Chrome to get up to her feet without any embarrassment.

He gave Fuuta a small tap on the shoulder and a reassuring grin, just like any uncle would to a cute little nephew he could dote on.

"Don't worry, kid," He grinned. "We're going to get you back as soon as possible. Your 'big brother' is going to be back with you very soon."

Fuuta stood still, staring at Tyki. He had never seen the man this close up, and the first thing he felt was fear. Golden eyes that were old and ready to kill if needed to, that was the most frightening. And the fact that this man's skin was eerily gray. Throughout Fuuta's life, he could never imagine someone with such a skin color.

"Let's go, little one," the man, hoisting Fuuta up like a toddler, and carrying him away. The little boy wanted to struggle and pound his fists against this foreign man's chest. He wanted to help Chrome, too, since she was also being ushered away.

Then all that fear dissipated. He looked up at Tyki, who's face was just as sincere as those few seconds that passed a while ago, and his rather large hand patted Fuuta's back in comfort.

"Your friends will be fine under our care," He said soothingly. "Now, let's take you to a suitable place to stay while you're here."

Fuuta let his arms slack and allowed the strange man to carry him away, with Chrome and Lambo in tow, while Yamamoto and Reborn remained in the office with Byakuran and Mr. Bookman.

"Now," Byakuran wheeled himself back to his desk. "I'd like to know how you and your party arrived into this universe. My assistants in the Science Division would most like to know about this."

Mochida turned around just a little bit to look back at Ryohei's face again. It only took half a second for him to quickly whip his head back to the front. Man, that guy's face was scary! Does he know anything about being a little bit more courteous? [2]

He had always been given weird looks whenever he went anywhere. Considering that he was a native of a different underground city, his attitude and mannerisms could shock the high and mighty citizens of the North underground Japan. Those looks would be "oh look a foreigner loser" type of look. As a Neo Exorcist, anyone could be surprised that a boy of fifteen could be in almost the position of a king. This look would be "it's an Exorcist come get his autograph." But this boxer dude? This was more of the death glare "why the hell are you here" type of look. The only death glare he ever got was from that other temperamental captain of a swordsman, so this was a very rare occurrence. Now in response to the fact that daggers were being stabbed into the back of his head…

"Okay," Mochida stopped and turned around to the frowning white haired boy. "Why are you glaring at me like that? I just saved you life, and maybe there was a misunderstanding back there with the Chief, but seriously? What did I ever do to you?"

"I don't trust you."

The first thing Mochida could do was slouch in exasperation. So this Ryohei dude was one of those blunt people who don't like to give long monologues about why he hates people. Great. Just really. Great.

"Well, we only met for twenty-four hours," The Neo Exorcist shrugged. "But I don't think that a day would be enough to make someone hate people that much. Unless I had done something to you when I was little kid, then that'd be a different story."

"You hurt my sister."

The answer was straight and blunt again.

"What sister?" Mochida raised an eyebrow. "I really don't know anything about your sister. I'm sorry, but if I did anything in that other universe and hurt your sister, then I'm not that person right here. Can't you get it through you head?"

"You still did hurt my sister. And Sawada."

"Oh, did I?" The black haired boy frowned. "I must have been a weird person over in your 'parallel world.'"

Mochida was sure Ryohei had begun muttering under his breath, and he sure wasn't going to miss out on anything that would involve insulting him. Mochida himself was a proud young man, too. But at least he could consider what others felt too.

"Dude," He tried to confront the white haired man. "You could always sit down and tell me what the me in that other world did. I'm all ears, you know?"

The boxer didn't seem to stop muttering under his breath, and all Mochida could really hear was "Tsuna" and "Kyoko" and some garble of hateful words, probably directed at him. As a man who never went to other worlds, like these people, he could never really understand how bad the experience was. As an Exorcist, he himself had his own storybook of horrors to tell. Perhaps Ryohei was the same. After all, everyone should have some secret around here, right?

He proceeded to nearly deliver a heart attack to the boxer with hard slam on the back. Startled, Ryohei whipped around and threw glares right back him. Scary much?

"You know what?" Mochida smiled. "You still seem to be down today, so why don't we pay Tsuna a visit?"

"Sawada?" Ryohei seemed to brighten suddenly. "Um… right. But why?"

Mochida really wanted to fall over in shock. At first, this guy was distressed about his lost sister and friend, and now he's completely forgot about it. What great friends this Tsuna has, doesn't he?

"What?" The Exorcist folded his arms. "I was in your rescue party. Naturally, I want to see if that kid is doing fine. I don't like it when someone dies on me just when I rescue them. Kinda defeats the purpose, don't you think?"

"Um, yeah."

"Well, you should come, too," He said hesitantly. "I mean, this boy must be a good friend of yours, and I guess coming to see him would make you less nervous."

All he received was a small grunt of approval from the boxer. Now he seemed to have quieted down a bit, Mochida thought. The glares were not as intense, only wary. They took the elevator down, and soon, they arrived at the same doors they had just left. A tall woman clad entirely in white was standing watch from the doors, eyes scrutinizing anyone who passed by the doors. She adjusted her large afro of brown hair and tapped rhythmically on her clipboard. Her hoop earrings jangled when she turned to see the two boys returning to the infirmary.

"Oh, you two," her voice was stern, but sweet enough to be charming to most men. "Did Ms. Uni do something to you again, Mochida?"

"Um, no!" the Exorcist denied quickly. Generally, the boy always got on the said supervisor's nerves and would end up with a gracious bruise to the face whenever he did get on her nerves. It didn't help when Captain Bookman told her that they were going to meet the supervisors earlier.

"Actually, Matron," Mochida tried to answer despite sputtering. "I just wanted to see the boy we left here."

"Oh, the boy?" the Matron glanced into the infirmary's glass doors. "He's still asleep, so talking to him will not do anything."

"We're just worried about him," Mochida tried to argue. Generally, the Matron was very adamant on not allowing too many visitors for any of her dear patients, and a lot of prodding was involved just to get a measly fifteen minutes with any invalid. He looked at Ryohei, who was almost silent. And he was screaming and shouting and kicking just an hour ago…

"Well," the woman swayed, her earrings jingling with her. "I hope you understand that the patients need their recovery time as much as possible."

"We're not going to hurt anyone," Ryohei finally spoke. "We're just going to take quick look and then we'll leave."

"Um, yeah," Mochida grinned. "What he said."

The Matron frowned at him for a while and then stared back at her clipboard, and then at the new guy who was standing closely behind him. With the usual charming smile on her face, she opened the doors to them.

"Fine," She agreed rather quickly. "But because this cute young man behind you is new. You only get fifteen minutes for today. Both of you."

"Thank you," Mochida gave a small respectful bow of the head before hurrying into the wards. Ryohei did the same and went running after the Exorcist ahead.

Tsuna's room wasn't too far in the back, so the run wasn't as tiring. The boy had the luck of not too many injuries, perhaps a handful of bruises, burns, and cuts. He didn't lose too much blood, either, much to both boys' relief. He was merely asleep, and was bound to stay that way for quite some time.

Mochida took a seat on the far side of the room, and merely observed. Tsuna wasn't his best friend, and all he could do was offer Ryohei, Tsuna's best friend, a chance to see Tsuna for himself. Observe, Mochida thought to himself.

The first thing he could see was the brotherly relationship. Tsuna was small, and perhaps naturally weaker than Ryohei, the large brawny boxer of the this group, and it should be natural that the strong should protect the weak ones, like an older brother to his siblings. But something was off. Ryohei must be a strong person, so why was he carrying a demeanor that didn't seem to be entirely a relationship of siblings? From Mochida's eyes, it seemed slightly like respect for the younger boy, as if Tsuna was the stronger one.

"Tsuna seems to be doing well for the first day in the infirmary," he spoke up, and Ryohei's attention was directed at him. The Exorcist got out of his chair, and stepped up to Tsuna's bed.

"I didn't get to hear the full story of how you got here," Mochida continued. "but I can see you respect him as someone higher than you."

"Of course I have respect for him," the boxer shrugged. "He's extreme. That's why."

"Really," the Exorcist glanced back at Tsuna. "Is he stronger than you?"

"Sawada's an extreme boss," Ryohei puffed. "He can do almost anything! He's more extreme than I am!"

"Extreme," Mochida smiled. "So he's strong after all."

"He's gotten better ever since he joined my extreme boxing club," The boxer grinned. "He trains extremely hard so he can be like me! We become strong so we can protect our loved ones!"

Just like us, Mochida thought.

"So was he always like this?"

"No, not at all," Ryohei answered. "He used to be 'No-Good Tsuna,' and he was an extreme wimp. He could never hurt a fly."

"That's… shocking," The black haired boy laughed nervously. "But if he was such a weak person, then why did he become stronger."

The boxer folded his arms, his face in a small frown. "You sure ask a lot of extreme questions!"

"Of course," Mochida smiled reassuringly. "You were glaring at me the entire time we came to this infirmary. So was everyone else when we were going to the supervisors. It would be natural that I would ask you what happened to you to make you hate me and Supervisor Byakuran."

"Well, your reasons make extreme sense," Ryohei smiled sheepishly. "I guess… I'm not extreme at storytelling like the extreme baseball dude. Plus, I can't remember extreme details, because I don't pay attention to things like that. If you extremely want a good story, ask Yamamoto. He's extremely good with kids and he likes to tell stories!"

"Oh," Mochida looked away back at Tsuna. "I see. I guess I'll ask him about it sometime soon. Thank you for telling me though, Ryohei."

"No, extremely thank you," the boxer gave a small smile.

"I just hope Tsuna will get better, " Mochida smiled back at the sleeping brunette, and he looked at the clock. "Oh, we better leave before Matron Iris comes in yelling for us."

"Really? I thought she was a nice lady."

"No, please. Let's go. She's only nice to us because you're new here."

Hibari continued on his aimless course of reaching his designated quarters. Uni was no slouch, but she merely gave him graciously detailed directions to get to the quarters, and then she turned back to leave elsewhere. Not that the prefect minded. He most preferred to be alone wherever he went, unless it was Kusakabe or Hibird.

Just outside, he could see the "sun" setting, and nighttime approaching upon this underground city. He must commend whoever developed such a technology to artificially create day and night. The technology must be more advanced here, if someone could do something as amazing as a fake sky.

The prefect was too busy staring out the window to hear a person sprinting in the halls, barreling straight at him. The impact nearly knocked some wind out of him, unexpectedly, and he took a step back, arms raised to begin fighting if he had to.

"Hahi!"

The first thing Hibari could notice was a big metal box, and a mop of disheveled brown hair and widely rimmed glasses atop a bundle of clothes. A little creature, he assumed, until the creature flinched and got up, gingerly picking up the metal box. Now that the creature was standing, Hibari realized that this messy creature was a girl.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" the voice of a young girl squeaked, and she fled past the prefect, muttering about something else entirely while the metal box rattled with many sounds as she trotted away rapidly. Hibari merely kept his own position, standing in the middle of the hallway. He was thoroughly confused, and had sworn something was not right here. No matter, he thought, and he turned on his heel to lurk in the hallways, observing the people and animals between.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Now, in comparison to my previous version of this story, I put a little more thought as to why the cast of Reborn ended up here in the -Man world. Of course, that ended up making the story much more darker (i.e. killing some beloved characters).

[2] Personally, I like using Mochida as a high-tier supporting character because not only does he not have much stuff on himself to begin with, but also because I like working with characters like Mochida. I'm that type of person who has to put some character that needs redemption, and generally, a lot of fanfics do not feature Mochida with any chance of changing for the better. There was a reason why Mochida ends up being affiliated with Tsuna's Vongola in the future arc, but that was never explained (I doubt it will ever be), so I like to think to myself how that happened.

A/N: I'm slowly bringing back the "dead" characters, so you may keep your hopes up and guess who'll be back next, but not everyone will be back, due to circumstances. Also picking up a few other stories I've sorta abandoned, and rewriting portions of it.

For the meantime, been prepping for things in school for spring break, and then tumbling on Tumblr for the rest of the hours (I learned a lot from that place). Then landed on weaboostories (the new site), and I have to really feel sorry for those people who experience these things. Admittedly, I used to be over the top with Japanese culture to an extent, but then that deflated considerably (look at how I write now to my fanfics back then).