Title: Contract

By: Metamorcy

Rating: T

Pairing: Arcobaleno27, main R27

Disclaimer: Seriously? Don't own, just the idea

Beta'ed by WhiteAngel128 and Ankou13

Chapter 35

Tsuna glanced around the long hallways, finding everything to be completely silent; a vast difference to the initial madness that had first broken out. The gunfire was gone, only the remnants remained, and at their position, they couldn't hear any footsteps in the hallways or the stairwell. The brunet didn't know exactly what he was supposed to do considering he had never been in a situation like this, so whatever Giotto said he followed without a second thought. He didn't want to act like some mindless puppet, but in this situation he would act as instructed. Tsuna knew his brother would keep him safe from their enemies and so he remained close by, never leaving his spot at Giotto's side.

The older sibling carefully opened the doors in their pathway, pressing his ears against the frames in hopes of hearing nothing on the other side. He took great care watching where he went and as they made their way to the stairs, they were gratefully met with no resistance. Meanwhile, the silence was engulfing, like it was taunting them with its constant state. Tsuna continued to find it odd that it was so quiet, but he never brought it up, not wanting to jinx themselves when everything was currently alright. Despite everything that was happening; the attack, the separation from his Assurers, he was actually getting some quality time with his older brother, even though it wasn't under the best of conditions. Regardless, it was time he rarely got (if ever) and he was seeing a side to Giotto that he hadn't witnessed in a long time, mostly due to their distance from each other. It was like they were kids again. Well, kinda. They weren't talking because of the area they were in and Tsuna didn't even know what they should talk about after all these years. In the end, the two siblings were awkward with each other, not even bothering to acknowledge each other's presence.

Every now and then while they were heading down the large magnitude of stairs towards the first floor, they could hear the echo of gunshots and yelling in the distance. Lucky for them, the closer they got to the bottom floor, the weaker it got. Giotto could already tell that the fight was just beginning to finish up, either the men were being taken care of or they themselves had won the fight. Either way, the brothers continued to remain quiet as they made their escape just in case, not wanting to draw attention. As they continued to descend, Tsuna would glance outside the windows at one side of the stairway momentarily, peering into the distance to see how the outside was reacting to the situation. However, much to his annoyance and confusion, there was nothing. He couldn't see the familiar sightings of red and blue sirens of the police cars flashing and knew instantly that they were all on their own.

As they reached the first floor, Giotto immediately went straight to the closed door and leaned against the side as he listened cautiously to the other side. Tsuna followed behind, keeping some distance just in case while watching where he stepped. The blonde closed his blue eyes, concentrating, before finally opening them to nod at the brunet. "It's clear." He stepped away from the wall, reaching out towards the handle to give it a sharp twist. "I don't hear or sense anyone on the other side, but be careful regardless. There's no telling what could happen. We may very well be walking into a trap."

"Right," Tsuna nodded his head, keeping close. He bit down on his bottom lip as he observed his brother closely. "Do you… think we'll come out alright?"

Giotto snorted as if it was the most foolish thing to ask. "Of course. We're the Sawadas, we always come out victorious." His tone of voice was slightly on the dull side, but it did its job of improving Tsuna's outlook. The blonde stretched his arm upwards, combing his fingers through his spiky hair. It shook out some of the dust and dirt that had collected within the locks, scattering it around him. "Now, come on. Let's go."

"Right."

The blonde twisted the knob and pushed it open, his sharp blue eyes peering over every object carefully. He looked towards the shadows and the light, watching for any movements that stood out immediately. Nothing, it was completely empty. Holding his breath, he carefully stood out into the open, his ears listening for any sound, for any indication that there was life on this floor besides them. However, all he saw was death.

In all essence, the first floor was completely totaled and that was still an underestimate of all the damage that had been done. The pillars in the middle of the room were either broken or bullet-filled, the expensive rugs on the floor were covered in massive splatters of blood, and the furniture was torn apart. Nothing had survived the attack and the bodies that littered the ground made Tsuna almost want to gag by the way they were laid out. It was clear they had been trying to escape the chaos, only to be shot from behind. The scent of blood, gunpowder, and smoke was suffocating and it only made Tsuna nauseated, his vision spinning for a moment before clearing up. Giotto huffed at the sight before him, not really affected by the battlefield, and merely shrugged it off. This was something he was used to. As he glanced towards his sibling, he took notice of the paling features and sighed. Making sure to secure his brother, he kept a firm arm around Tsuna, not wanting the brunet to wander off on his own and get into some sort of trouble.

Despite the mess, the blonde didn't hear anything, the entrance area completely silent. He couldn't pick up the sounds of footsteps, breathing, or movement. He could see various forms of their enemies splattered on the ground, dead by the lack of movement on the chest or the amount of blood that was pooling around their corpses. It obviously couldn't have been the police. He doubted the organization would allow outsiders to get close; they'd either block off roads or create distractions in order to keep the attack isolated. Giotto knew people like them far too well, having dealt with it for years.

"Stay here and hide." The blonde glanced back towards his younger brother, nudging him to lean against the fallen furniture for cover. Tsuna complied with the order and ducked behind a tilted table. A couch was on his other side, keeping him blocked from view while still allowing him to watch Giotto carefully as his older brother shuffled out into a more open area.

Tsuna didn't like seeing such a battlefield and neither did he like seeing it so close. He had only seen them through movies or heard about them by the word of mouth, but in person? Rarely. The most he had seen was those between Assurers, but it was never this bloody except when such carnage was aimed towards him. Tsuna shuddered at the thought. He always avoided such things, knowing that he wasn't exactly handy on the field. It was true after all. He left the fighting to everyone else and for obvious reasons. His honey-colored eyes watched as Giotto made his way around the first floor, keeping a watch for him (though he only did it to make himself feel a little better). His brother was only one person and was out of his element considering G or his other Assurers were always with him as backup. He trusted his brother to be able to handle himself in any situation, but Tsuna just couldn't help but worry.

"It appears to be clear." Giotto stepped back towards his brother. He didn't relax though, keeping an eye on the area just in case. The glass doors were broken and he could see a crowd already gathering outside, but they refused to step in. He couldn't blame them. From their position, the two brothers were hidden from sight behind the large table, and the darkness certainly wasn't helping with their visibility. They could easily leave, but Giotto refused to take that chance. There could always be enemies in the crowd, blending in and waiting for any stragglers who came out to be taken care of when they had just began to relax.

"What now, Giotto?" Tsuna kept himself ducked behind the furniture, hiding from everything.

"We wait," the blonde slipped around the table and settled beside him. "The enemy must be trying to escape before they get caught by the authorities. Once the police arrive, it'll be safer to head out into the public."

"Ah… I see."

"And we need to meet up with our Assurers, too. They're somewhere in the building and should have already been here due to the time difference while we were unconscious. Most likely, they met up with some trouble along the way and got held up." Giotto leaned back against the broken table, running a hand through his hair. "But it shouldn't matter much. They have the ability to take care of themselves. Of course, compared to them, we're more vulnerable."

"That's true…" Tsuna agreed, trusting in his Assurers' abilities to allow them to come out alright. "They are all pretty powerful."

"Well, considering yours are the Arcobaleno, they can definitely handle themselves just fine," Giotto commented, ignoring the surprised look from the brunet. "Don't think I wouldn't find out. It wasn't hard." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he willed the stress to leave his body from the constant mess they were in. "You picked some companions who are truly loyal to you."

"They're my friends."

"I know," the Vongola boss sighed, running a hand though his hair once more, almost like it was out of habit or nervousness. He leaned his head back against the furniture behind. "So are mine."

Tsuna snapped his head up, peering straight at his older brother. He blinked, completely surprised. He remembered Giotto saying a time before that they were tools, nothing more than that, and were meant to be used. The brunet hadn't expected such a difference in words and shuffled closer out of curiosity.

Giotto snorted, showing a small side of him he had never truly revealed to his brother or, at least, not since they were young. "What?" The brother smirked. "Can't really run a company if I don't trust my Assurers. Tools can betray you, friends don't. Well, not normally at the very least," He shuffled in his awkward seat, leaning his head back to peer up at the hanging chandeliers. The crystal-made lights were swinging side to side, still holding up even after all that had happened in the room. "Even with all of their quirky personalities, they've always been there for me in the end."

"That's good to hear. I'm glad that you at least have someone to trust."

A small silence settled between the two brothers, neither knowing what to speak about next. Giotto glanced towards his younger sibling and sighed once more. "Hey, look, I need to admit something." He paused for a moment to let his words settle, knowing he had the full attention of Tsuna. "I actually did something for you not too long ago."

Tsuna perked up. "Hm? What do you mean?"

"You've been in that school, unable to succeed in getting a single contract, for so long that I had to take action. Dino keeps worrying about you, he can't help it. It's somewhat in his personality to do so." Giotto rubbed in between his nose, remembering the multiple conversations with the eldest. "So with him, I devised a plan to give you Assurers. I picked out a couple of them that hadn't gotten a contract yet to join you and I left it up to them whether or not to do so. Most said no immediately upon seeing you. They viewed you as too weak to be bothered with even though you're considered a Vongola by blood."

Tsuna blinked, immediately looking back into his memories to see if anyone stood out. He could already pinpoint a couple that appeared to most likely be those people Giotto was taking about and then there was the incident with the new students where they had mentioned his brother. Things were piercing together quickly. "By any chance, would it be Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Hibari?"

"Too easy, huh?" Giotto chuckled in amusement, shaking his head at the mention of the trio. "Those three really lack in the subtle department and their personalities contradict each other. I'm a little amazed that it wasn't Mukuro and Hibari who got into a fight and create a huge incident at the school," the older brother raised a hand up to squeezed in-between his eyes once more, almost like he had a headache coming on. "Still, I heard that Hibari's uncle, Fong, beat him back when Hibari tried to attack you."

"Y-Yeah…"

"Well, you've chosen the right group that will wholeheartedly protect you," Giotto muttered, his eyes glancing around the area and peered over the table again to look at the other side. Still nothing. At least it was quiet regardless of the echoing of voices on the outside. "You should go live with them."

Tsuna paused. "What? How…"

Giotto shrugged his shoulders. "It's uncommon, but possible. You'll be safer there than in this world. And don't think I don't see or hear it happening. I know how attached you are to them, and specifically to Reborn."

"He'd saved me, and helped me," the brunet bundled his hands together in his lap, curling his body up into a ball. "I-I owe him a lot."

"Yes," Giotto agreed to the statement, seeing the changes on the online profile and grades from the beginning of their contract. "He has my blessing."

"Huh?" Tsuna blinked questionably.

"Nothing," he peered up again and this time huffed in amusement, rising up from behind the table with a shake of his head. Folding his arms across his chest, he continued to stare before him into the distance until Tsuna began to grow curious and looked up as well. Giotto continued to remain still and closed his eyes for a moment, finally beginning to relax, but not all the way. "Finally they arrive." On the opposite side of the first floor were a group of individuals, ones that the two brothers knew all too well. Tsuna broke out into a wide grin, happiness spreading across his entire expression, and jumped up to get a better look. It was impossible to not identify who they are, their clothing and aura giving them away immediately among the destruction.

The brunet was the first one to move, walking from around the table so that he was more out into the open and began to jog forward towards the group. The noise he made drew the attention of the group, watching as they froze in suspicion, believing it to be another enemy before finally focusing on Tsuna to sigh in relief. Giotto followed behind, keeping himself at a slower pace, with his eyes drawn to his right-hand man.

"Everyone, you're okay!" Tsuna called out happily, rushing forward to meet his friends. He watched as their expressions moved from shock to surprise and happiness, a few breaking out into a smile. Reborn simply tilted his fedora downward to cover his eyes and gave the other a smirk, staring at his companion from underneath it. Colonello and Fong walked a little faster, wanting to meet up with their Capturer halfway. G, on the other hand, shrugged his shoulders towards his own boss, sending a silent message towards Giotto that couldn't be understood by anyone else. Tsuna smiled, "I'm so glad!"

"Shouldn't we be saying that?" Colonello grinned, patting Tsuna on the back gently. His bright blue eyes were looking over the brunet's form carefully, eyeing the tears in the clothes, but couldn't identify any cuts on the skin. He sighed in relief. "Looks like everything went alright after you fell, kora."

"Yes, I'm glad to see that you're alright," Fong was next, circling around the brunet suspiciously to see if there were any injuries the other Arcobaleno couldn't identify. There were none. "However, next time, please don't do something like that. You gave us quite the start."

"Sorry, didn't mean to and I have no plans on having something like that happen again." Grinning, Tsuna glanced at each of his Capturers before turning his attention towards the last one, Reborn. "You alright, Reborn? You're a little quiet."

The raven huffed, placing both hands into his pockets, and took a few steps forward. "Yeah, no more stunts. Apparently, getting involved with your family has been causing nothing more than trouble for us."

Giotto and G on the side snorted at the comment, knowing there was some truth in those words. Their family did have the tendency to get into trouble due to their relationships with other companies as well as their high standing in the world. The two spoke to each other softly, keeping their voices and conversation a secret, while the larger group continued to chatter happily, retelling their separate adventures. Apparently, the Assurers had met up with some resistance from the enemy, getting squared in on all four corners. The enemy had been hoping that they could cut them off, trap them, and finish them off before they got the chance to escape. Of course, that had been completely pointless considering who they were facing. Luckily, they were able to find the device that was preventing Capturers from summoning their Assurers along the way and had destroyed it immediately.

"Alright, everyone," G called out, getting everyone's attention to snap towards him. "Let's get out of here. I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to." The redhead smirked, waving a hand upward with the other in his pocket. "Not only that, the police are almost here so we should be safe now. I don't know about you, but I don't like getting questioned by the authorities after something like this has happened." The sirens in the distance were beginning to get louder, complementing G's statement.

"Agreed," Giotto tilted his head, his arms still folded across his chest. His bright blue eyes peered at Tsuna and then at the Arcobaleno. "Come, we'll head out together and afterwards, I'll call a car to pick you up to send you straight back to the school grounds. The further you are from here, the less suspicion there will be about your involvement."

The Arcobaleno and Tsuna nodded at that, agreeing with the logic. At least for now, they could finally begin to relax from this battlefield.

"Giotto," G called out with a concerned look, the two already in a limo to head back to the company. They needed to report the situation as well as get checked out by the medical team that was located there. Tsuna and his group had left an hour earlier. "I saw the blood and the tears in your clothing."

"Ah…" Giotto didn't know how to respond to that, he too didn't have a clue on what to say about the situation. He went with honesty, knowing that he trusted G deeply. "I don't know what happened… but I'm certain with a wound like that, I should have died."

The red head closed his eyes, taking in the words and then nodded. "Definitely. So then, why are you still alive? And how?"

"Don't know but," Giotto huffed, folding his arms across his chest. "I have a strong feeling that Tsuna is involved."

"Sir!"

Iemitsu peered up at the male guard before him, raising a hand up to alert the other that he had heard his call. He was in his office, settled at his desk as he was looking over some documents from the incident that had occurred one week ago. There were some questions still left in his memories about the attack and he wouldn't rest until it was all complete, that every little bit had been found to settle his mind. He knew that part of his family was keeping something from him and then there was his adopted brother, Xanxus… The Varia had been going against his orders recently and only truly followed Giotto's, which only annoyed him further. He didn't like being disobeyed, and he didn't like being ignored. He had brought the company further up to new heights, starting it on a path that would bring it to number one before Giotto took over, who raised it even further than his expectations. No one was allowed to disobey him without there being some sort of punishment for the crime. So far, Varia had avoided it due to their power and differences.

Iemitsu tossed a few documents aside and waved the guard to continue. "Did you find something?"

"Yes, sir," The guard nodded his head, keeping carefully still. "The investigators have confirmed that some of the attacks on the enemy guards were not done by firearms or any of Sawada Giotto's Assurers. They have confirmed that they were by another group of Assurers, ones that are in the command of your youngest son, Sawada Tsunayoshi. This was proven by the tattered recordings as these two groups interacted with each other and then followed Sawada Tsunayoshi home. They are the same men who have stated being Tsunayoshi's friends."

Iemitsu paused, his hands resting over the desk with his expression blank. He stared at it vacantly before peering up at the guard, his eyes dark as he tried to filter through the information that had been given to him. No emotion drifted through his face, he kept up the gaze before finally waving the guard away. The man left immediately with a short, respectful bow, leaving the room in silence, and Iemitsu rotated his chair towards a picture on his desk. It held the entire family… except for Tsuna. The family was laughing and smiling happily, like there was nothing wrong about the world. It was perfect since it was missing the black sheep of the group, the one that had caused all the trouble since his very birth. Reaching down towards his drawer, he pulled out another photo, this one torn. It held everyone, even Tsuna, but there weren't any smiles, just frowns resting on their faces.

"I think it's about time I finally take care of you, Tsunayoshi, before you decide to cause me anymore trouble."

Been a while since my last update on fanfiction. I've been mainly working on the two stories 'Revolution' and the series: 'The Past and Future' with the first installment of 'At the Start' on Ao3. I have completely fallen in love with the pairing frostpudding (Loki/Tom) much like I had done with R27 and can't seem to pull myself away from this couple. I just find them together so adorable ^_^