Chapter 1 – Run

Harshly panting, his sneakers squeaked and skidded as he turned a sharp corner, multiple footsteps resounding just meters behind him. The brunette's eyes were wide and panicking, heart racing and adrenaline rushing through his body.

The neighbourhood was completely deserted, not a single resident out and it unnerved Tsuna, at how ghost-like the town seemed, despite it being the time of day where students made their way home.

Breathe. Think. Hide. Shh. Don't speak.

'Are they finally gone?' Tsuna thought, a hand pressed to his lips in an attempt to stifle his ragged breathing as he leant against the alley walls behind a garbage can, drenched school bag hugged to his chest.

"He's got to be around here somewhere, go look for him!" a voice close by barked out, followed by the sound of heels coming closer.

Tsuna slowly sank to the ground, sighing in relief as the men (really suspicious looking men) wearing suits ran past, without once checking every alley way. Actually, he was quite lucky they hadn't bothered searching in the small places, otherwise he'd be trapped.

He shuddered, not only from the rain seeping through his thin uniform, but from the idea of being caught.

He had been running for what seemed like 2 hours now, away from the men who ran past the alley. The chase of cat and mouse began straight after school, in the freezing rain. On his way home, he had managed to avoid his after school buddies (as they liked to refer to themselves); but in exchange got stuck up with a group of strangers chasing him for whatever reason, he didn't know.

'I've never met them before… But maybe they've mistaken me for someone else.' He thought shivering as the rain crept through his uniform; his head resting on his knees close to his chest.

"…ao…" Tsuna's head shot up, alert eyeing around his surroundings for any signs for the people running after him. Seeing nothing his shoulder relaxed, but his grip on his bag remained firm.

"I'm pretty sure I heard something…" he muttered to himself, slowly getting onto his feet, but remained crouching in his spot.

"Gao…" the voice was small and quiet, but Tsuna caught it easily. Turning his head to the sound, his eyes landed on the only thing there.

A tattered cardboard box, seemingly on the brink of melting into smaller pieces from the way it sank lower into the ground.

Out of curiosity, Tsuna peeled the lid of the small box open, soggy from the rain water. Within the box was a tiny patch of dirty yellow.

'Is that a…cat?' reaching out for the 'cat' with its back towards Tsuna, cautiously he gave a gentle stroke to the back of the little animal.

"G-gao!" the cat jumped, turning 180 degrees, growling in a defensive stance, baring its tiny teeth. Tsuna nearly cried out loud, but noticed its slight stumble of its hind leg, when it landed. The little creature would've been threatening, if it were at least triple its size.

Oh.

He vaguely remembered his mother guiding him to touch a little rabbit, during their visit to a zoo one day.

"Hold your palm out to the rabbit," she had said, "let it approach you when it's comfortable."

As a child, he had been squatting close to the rabbit, trembling, Nana, close by his side. Once the little animal had taken a few hops closer, he squeaked in surprise, both scaring the rabbit and drawing a sweet giggle from his mom.

And make sure to stay calm. Show you are not a threat. You can do it!

"S-sorry…" he apologised, retracting his hand, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Watching the kitten's eyes and body, he kneeled, slowly extending his hand out once more, palm up. He paused once he was a hand of so away from the little creature, hoping it did not feel its personal space was invaded, "I-I'm Tsuna, and um…"

The cat was injured, with an obvious limp in its left hind leg. He should get it to the vet, right? And being out in the cold rain, surely it was bound to get sick. How was he supposed to appear non-threatening again?

Tsuna almost yelped when all of a sudden he had felt a furry weight rub against his hand, but somehow managed to refrain from pulling his hand away. Blinking away the rain that had dripped down to his eyes from his hair, he was astonished by the sight of the little cat purring and snuggling into his hand.

After all, since birth, he never really had a nice experience with animals. They all seemed to hate him, but he would welcome the chance to finally get to know one a little bit better.

Tsuna smiled at the affection and seemingly comfort it displayed as it approached closer, and rested its paws on his knees, tail twitching an odd flame-like tip from side to side. He took it as a sign to pick up the little kit, "I'll… I'll try picking you up now, okay?"

"Gau!" It yipped, as if agreeing, and allowed the brunette to manoeuvre around to hold its front paws with one arm, and then rest his other beneath its hind legs for support; keeping in mind the condition of its left leg.

As he stood, embracing the creature as best as he could from the downpour, it seemed to squirm in his grasp, uncomfortable, "Shh," he hushed the whining cat as it adjusted its position along his arm, resting its back like a baby, "It's okay, I won't hurt you. I promise," he held his finger out, the kit immediately pawing and reaching for it. As his fingertip moved closer, the feline seemed to inch its head forward, and purr, a small rumble in its chest, in contentment.

Did cats normally do that?

Normally the poor boy would be freaking out, holding a wriggling cat with its sharp paws extended towards him. But somehow, Tsuna felt that the cat he has holding to be different from the other animals around the neighbourhood. Soon after holding the trembling cat, it calmed down leaning towards Tsuna's warm hand; purring louder with its eyes closed when the brunette scratched behind its ears poking out of its flame like mane. Its tail, bounced with a beat, seemingly cheery, from side to side.

"Actually… you don't seem to be a cat now that I look at you carefully…" he paused looking down at the kitten, closely inspecting not only its physical features, tiny paws matched with a taunt, feline body, but also the strange silver accessory – a helmet adorned with a blue gem in the middle, "A lion… cub?"

"Gao!" the catlike creature nodded happily in his hold.

Tsuna laughed lightly, feeling a strange, but pleasant warmth spread through his chest with the affirmative nod, "Sorry for mistaking you for a little cat…"

The cub didn't seem to mind, cuddling into his arm.

But his cheeriness soon dripped off of him, as he realised he was still ways from home.

He sighed.

'Now to get back home without being noticed…' Tsuna thought, inching closer to the street, cradling the lion cub as securely as he could.

Sneaking about was one of the brunette's strengths, to get away from the bullies residing in Namimori. Tsuna was suddenly thankful this wasn't his first time running around the town, and he had quite a reliable mental map ready at his disposal.

'These guys should be no different, right?' he thought reassuring himself before poking his head out of the alley, scanning the area. He breathed a huff of relief, 'Right…'

After minutes of walking slowly to avoid any sounds of splashing from the giant puddles, Tsuna slowing down at every corner he turned, he checked the area for any soul in sight. Seriously, where was everyone? Surely it wasn't that late now.

But then again, he didn't have a watch on him, and he was no longer around the shopping district.

"Gao?" A quiet whimper called to him.

He looked down in his arms, whispering, doing his best to keep calm, not only for himself, but for the lion in his arms, "We're almost there so hold on a bit longer, okay?"

Was it just him or did the cub seem to understand everything he said?

'Please let us get home. Please let us get home,' the teen chanted in his head, looking around warily.

You could never be too careful.

Tsuna glanced at the cub, enchanted by its beautiful fur, hidden underneath patches of dirt and grime, 'Its mane and tail… look like they're glowing, like fire?' It was warm, but it didn't burn his hand, he decided as he petted it, watching as it comforted the cub, 'it's a very special little lion.'

'Just a few more houses till we reach home,' He thought leaning on the surrounding walls of his neighbour's house.

"Have you found him yet?" a sudden voice from the other side demanded.

Tsuna tensed, sticking himself to the wall, listening to their conversation.

It's the same man that was shouting orders earlier.

"Not yet s-sir!" Another reported, weaker, filled with nervousness.

"Well get to it! What are you doing here when you should be with the other useless scumbags searching for that cursed boy!" the first voice roared, following with the sound of choking coming from the quieter voice.

"Y-yes sir! But I have a report!" the second struggled for air and Tsuna watched in shock as he was lifted by the neck. "5 out of the 8 men were taken out!"

"So the little teen can put up a fight huh. Call for reinforcements," He muttered.

"Yes sir!"

'What? No, no, no, no… Wrong person again! But then I should be thanking whoever took them out…' he mentally thanked whoever took down the men. 'This way, it should be easier to get home.'

Unknown to the brunette, a figure in the shadows stood panting for breath from continuous combat. The rain didn't help ease his mission, shortening his range of sight, and dragging him down with his sopping clothes.

'I'll need to train more… It took me longer than I thought to get rid of some of the men following Sawada-dono,' He thought grimly, catching his breath. With a determined clench of his fist he stood upright once more, brought back to his task as he kept an eye out for said person, watching from his position above.

Tsuna peeked around the corner, "It looks like they won't be moving for some time…" he mumbled, planning his next steps, 'I'll have to find my way around…'

Turning back, he tiptoed behind multiple houses before freezing in his tracks, foot in mid-step, as one of the men walked pass a house away. He squeaked as he lost his balance, moving as quickly as he could to land around the rim of the puddle.

'Geez… That was way too close…' a small splash had the boy looking around in panic. No one in sight. Tsuna let out a breath he didn't know he was keeping. 'Thank Go-'

"There's the boy!"

'-d.' Just when he thought he was safe.

"Hiiee!" Confirming the voice to have come from behind, Tsuna took off at full speed in the other direction. The man he saw walking by the house earlier was joined by two more of his friends.

'Why is this happening to me?!' he cried out, breathe suddenly short as found its way back into his pumping system.

Oh my gosh, I can't breathe! I can't breathe! His chest suddenly felt constricted, as if he were inhaling the frozen winds of winter.

Bad luck was suddenly on his side as he slipped over the waterlogged street, losing his hold on the injured lion.

"Ah!" he scrambled to grab his bag as soon as he had gotten a hold of his bearings, running over to where the cub laid just in front of him, struggling to get up, "I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Tsuna asked the little cub as he picked up his pace and continued down the road towards the park.

"G-gao!" It strained to get out, clenching its teeth, body tensed in his arms.

He…

He couldn't just run home at this rate, with the three men wildly chasing after him.

But then he had nowhere to hide in the residential areas.

He could never fight back. His only hope was to lose them on the run.

Tsuna whimpered, retreating back to the intricate pathways of Namimori's streets, near all the shops and convenience stores.

A place with many openings and hiding spots.

He panted, his legs going sore from all the running. Spotting more places to take cover, he took advantage of his smaller-than-average stature and dashed towards the spot he usually took, away from the bullies. He crouched, leaning against the wall behind empty opaque containers. Time ticked on and Tsuna heard shoes pass by.

"He's over here!" the student's eyes snapped open as he felt his body tense on the spot, hoping they 'found' him somewhere else. He brought a finger to his lips as he checked on the cub. It stayed silent; its determination firm in its fierce gaze. Mentally grateful for getting the clear message, Tsuna took the silence as a good sign; and peered through the gaps between the stacked boxes.

I can get home!

His eyes widened, heart stopping.

Oh God.

The three men were outside, trapping him.

'Game over…' he thought glumly as the men closed the space between them. Trapped like a mouse, by three cats.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" One sang out mockingly, voice gruff as he laughed.

Tsuna stayed glued to the ground, pressed against the wall, frozen in fear as he heard the safety of a gun click. It was as if he was trying to become part of the wall, pushing himself to the corner as far as he could, away from the 3 people.

"We won't hurt you," Another chuckled darkly.

'Maybe I can buy some time… and think of something.' He hid the little cub on his spot and slowly walked out, carrying his bag tightly.

"Oh, good... Good boy." The man made a motion with his finger, closer it demanded, grinning.

The brunette hesitantly stepped out behind the boxes gripping the knife he somehow found a moment ago behind his back.

'How am I supposed to use this thing?' He mentally smacked himself. 'No, that's not even the right question! I can't use this! How did it get here in the first place?!'

"We don't have all day to be waiting," One of the men huffed out, impatiently tapping his foot. They too, were drenched by the continuous rain.

"Then why don't you walk and get to me instead?"

'What am I saying?!' Tsuna mentally face palmed at his own words. 'What do I do?' he panicked as one of the men advanced on him.

"Have it your way," The tallest said with malice, "You won't be living for much longer anyway."

Out of nowhere a metal edge landed square on the back of the man walking to the trembling boy, making him lose balance before disappearing back into the rain.

"Where did that come from!?" Immediately, the two standing men had their weapons out, aimed away from him. Their target lost in the rain.

'W-what just happened?!' Tsuna shrieked, jumping in surprise as the enemy fell at his feet. His mind screamed at the opportunity created, 'Now's my chance to run!'

Turning back to where the cub was, Tsuna took the distraction as a chance to escape. He turned away, making a dash for it behind the boxes, making a little motion for the cub to jump into his arm as he swooped down as low as he could without losing balance.

Opening the door that blended in with its surrounding walls, he slipped in, locking the door behind him as he heard the men shouting.

'Ah… thank goodness I remembered the door.' He panted his heart racing.

The teen had stumbled upon the door when he was hiding, searching frantically for an escape route from the bullies chasing him after school one day. Today was no different.

The shadowed figure sat on top of the building watching events unfold. Honestly, he had not expected for his fellow ally to try to confront the men. He chuckled amused, scouting the area for anymore foe.

"What will your next moves be, Sawada-dono?"

Before he made moved away from the door, Tsuna pushed a stack of boxes over to block the entrance with effort, the cub whinging in worry by his side. He wheezed as he exerted his body, before pouring a few of his round mints on the very top of the pile.

That way, he would know if they managed to open the door before he got out of the room, giving him time to hide if that were the case.

Picking up the cub with care, rubbing behind its ear to ease its discomfort, he weaved through the towers of boxes, still taped at the top and unopened.

A loud bang echoed in the room, and Tsuna bit his lip, ears ringing. He groaned in pain, his head seeming to echo the vibrations of the gunshot.

The lock would be of little use now that it is busted.

Hurry, you don't have much time.

He gasped as the door pounded with growing intensity, and he rushed to get out of the storage area, past the toilets, down the long corridor, and back into the main area of the mall.

Bursting through the doors, it seemed ages had passed since he had last seen people walking around.

Running through the mall, drenched in rain water, with blasting air conditioner was just perfect. He hid the cub as best as he could, acting as a shield from both curious eyes and the icy breath of the mall. People stared at him, but there were people. Surely one of them would help him if the men ever caught him, right?

Tsuna didn't place his faiths on that possibility, and instead, focused on losing his pursuers from his tracks.

Wait… tracks?

Rain. The brunette's eyes were drawn to a wide window. It was raining.

His clothes were wet.

In horror, Tsuna's gaze snapped behind him, and sure enough, he had left an obvious trail of water.

With renewed terror, he ran as fast as he could to the nearest exit, without drawing too much noise or slipping, praying that the men did not spot his mistake.

It was far too late for that, as Tsuna instantly spotted them amongst the crowd, scanning for him.

Don't see me! Please!

'Now they really won't be nice.' He thought running out the crowded mall.

Tsuna sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, fatigue creeping up on him like an old enemy. He panted harshly, but refused to stop, despite his muscles screaming at him to just stop and rest. His feet carried him back to a neighbouring park, in the residential area when a bullet whizzed past him from behind, narrowly missing his right ear; impaling itself onto the tree next to him.

He paled. Mouth agape, but unable to form words, he only felt dread.

I'm in big trouble.

"Finally found you kid, you know how much unnecessary trouble you've caused us?" the man shouted waving his gun, still steaming. A lone cartridge lay on the floor by his polished shoes.

"Gao!" the yellow puff of fur from Tsuna's arms jumped in front of the trembling teen. Its flame mane flared brighter and fiercer as it roared, baring its teeth in a threatening display.

"Oh? A little kitten trying to defend its owner? How sweet," He aimed at the cub, shooting. It dodged swiftly without any trouble, despite its wound.

"Natsu!" Tsuna cried, and saw as the lion's pointed ears perked up, attentive.

"But, that's not what we're here for," His target changed, moving from the growling lion to the brunette behind it, unmoving in fear.

Multiple shots of guns brought the student back earth as his instincts made him lunge for the exposed lion, crouching, bracing himself for the bullets to come. His eyes shut as he protectively held the rumbling cub close to him.

Tsuna waited.

But the agonizing pain never reached him.

Huh? At such a close range, he shouldn't- couldn't have missed….

Slowly opening his eyes, Tsuna found the reason to why the pain never hit.

It was as if the trajectory of the bullets were recorded and played in slow motion, paused in front of him before making contact. Not knowing what was happening or why the bullets stopped, he squawked, stumbling back away from the floating bullets. The men also watched in shock.

'W-what's happening? Am I hallucinating? Bullets floating?!' Tsuna's head raced with thoughts, and suddenly, his head was racked with pain.

Heat surged through him as he leant on the base of the tree, a hand to his face as his eyes throbbed with pain.

And, just as quickly as it had invaded his mind, it had left.

Just what is going on?

One by one, the men collapsed on the ground with a grunt, surprising the poor boy even more. Looking at their unconscious bodies, he could see why there were fast asleep.

'Are those needles sticking out of their necks? From where?' he looked around, but was unable to spot anything out of the ordinary.

Out of pity, Tsuna dragged the unconscious men in the shade, away from the light rain and the path that went through the park.

As soon as the brunette left the park, the bullets suspended in air suddenly resumed its path, slamming into the bark of the tree the confused teen once was.

'Finally I can go home,' he coughed, throat dry, as he picked up his bag, and dragged his tired, wet, feet home.

"Gao gao!" The cub sat on Tsuna's sagging shoulder, licking the brunette's cheek in worry for its new friend.

Tsuna in return smiled, looking at the concerned cub's face patting its head, before opening his arms for the lion to rest, "When we get back home, a shower is the first thing on my list," He muttered leaning on the walls around the house.

'I suddenly feel so tired. A headache just has to come now.' He look up to the grey sky. 'What's the worst that could happen?'

"Thank you, by the way-"

Collapsing onto all fours, he grunted, his eyes drooped as sudden tiredness took over his body, his heavy clothes weighing him down.

"Gao!" it faced him, mewing as it nuzzled Tsuna's cheek, concerned.

Huh?

He groaned, struggling to get up.

Why can't I focus on anything?

His bleary eyes began to close slowly, and he tried to fight sleep off, unable to keep his eyes open.

"Almost…home…" He breathed as soon as he got up, walking in the rain using the walls as support.

Reaching the front gate of his house, the soaked student walked through the open gate closing it behind him, his hair sticking to his skin. The lion cub pushed lightly behind Tsuna's leg encouragingly, roaring it's loudest for attention.

A loud cry for help.

From within the house Nana, making dinner wondered where her son was. Usually he'd be home 20 minutes after school ended, but it was already turning six. Iemitsu, her husband left the house in search for their boy an hour before, telling her to stay home in case Tsuna returned while he was out. Nana looked out the window at the gloomy, darkening sky in worry.

'Where could he be?' she wondered cutting some carrots. 'Please come home safely, Tsu-kun.' She prayed looking at her silent phone on the counter.

Before leaving, Iemitsu promised Nana that he would call if anything happened or if he found Tsuna; leaving her to hope for him to call soon after he left in the rain. The sound of faint, consistent cry and the door shutting brought her back from her thoughts as she quickly made her way from the kitchen counter to the hallway leading to the front door.

"Ah! Tsu-kun! What happened? You're not hurt are you?"

Questions rushed out as she saw the state Tsuna was in. Soaked to the bone from the rain, his clothes stuck to him like transparent glue; his head hanging low.

"My head…hurts…tired." Were the few words Nana could hear from her son's mumbling.

"Gao!" Nana's attention was brought downward as she spotted a little dirty cub pacing around Tsuna's feet.

"Quickly get in! I'll go get a towel!" she left running to a cabinet container towels usually for drying plates in the kitchen, on the way grabbing the phone and speed dialling her husband.

Back with a dry towel, Nana saw Tsuna sitting down, still in the middle of removing his socks. Holding the house phone on her shoulder she went to help the teen, when Iemitsu picked up her call.

"Nana?"

"Dear, Tsu-kun's back! Come home quick!"

"I'm on my way."

Nana put down the phone, hearing the beeping sound signalling he hung up, turning back to help her son out of his wet clothes.

Iemitsu ran turned into a sprint, hearing the urgency in his beloved wife's voice. The umbrella he held did little to protect him from the rain, but it seemed to matter little to him at the moment.

'I've got a really bad feeling about what's happening…'

The reason he was back in Namimori was that his boss gave him a month's break (and maybe more, if there were no problems) which allowed him to catch up with his family after all the years he had spent away from them. However now, he had a feeling that those his vacation would be shortened due to unwelcome guests approaching.

In the past few weeks of his holiday, he and Tsuna got closer like a normal father and son. Everything was just as he wanted; to be able to have a father-son relationship, and enjoy the presence of his beautiful wife, despite his dangerous occupation.

It was somewhat awkward as first, especially as he suddenly appeared out of the blue, but he felt happy that his son opened up to him a bit, but at least there was progress.

Things had been peaceful, and he enjoyed the quiet, calm world instead of the world he had to live in, away from his family for their safety. Not that his family knew, though his intuition warned him that the secret wouldn't last for much longer and that soon things would be hectic for his family.

If anything, his vacation was nothing more than a distraction. Maybe he could even call it an illusion.

It was quite a selfish decision of him, to ask the Ninth if he could visit his family at least once, to which his boss had so kindly given him an entire month.

The longer he stayed in Namimori, the more his family would be vulnerable to attacks.

Information got around quick in the Mafia, after all.

However the longer he stayed, the more he didn't want to leave.

He had almost tricked himself into believing he could live a normal life, like he had until now, since his arrival in the peaceful town.

But alas, good things always came to an end.

The Sawada household came into view and Iemitsu continued his quick pace home.

Home.

Slamming the unlocked door open, his eyes widened in surprise.

"What happened? Tsuna!"

Helping her son out of his navy blue sweater, she noticed the cub continuing to move nervously around Tsuna's, occasionally looking up at them with a concerned mew.

"Little cub, do you mind waiting a bit longer before we get you cleaned up?" Nana softly asked.

"Gao!"

She gave an understanding nod, guessing it said 'I can wait', turning back to Tsuna shivering, and struggling to unbutton his shirt. Helping him further, she quickly removed his uniform shirt and dumped it on the pile of wet clothes next to her.

"Tsu-kun! What were you doing out in the rain without an umbrella? I thought you said you left one in your locker at school!" she lightly scolded, patting Tsuna's face lightly, before moving onto the rest of his arms and back.

She huffed out hands on her hips, leaving the towel wrapped around the teen's shoulders. Her small frown dissipated into a worried look, as Tsuna remained unresponsive looking sickly; swaying slightly even as he sat, "Just hold on for a bit longer okay, Tsu-kun? I'll go get some medicine and dry clothes for you."

Nana ran into the living room, grabbing the medicine box, searching for Tylenol through organized sections. Slipping a single pill out, she then walked to the kitchen filling a cup with water. Placing the cup and pills on a cabinet close to Tsuna, she swiftly stepped up the stairs to his room. Taking the shirt at the top of the pile of clothes in the closet, she heard Iemitsu's voice shouting downstairs.

Taking a look, she gasped rushing down the stairs.

On his side, screaming in agony, Tsuna laid, clutching his head in pain.

"Tsu-kun!"

Just a question, I'm still a little troubled with how Basil calls Tsuna... Should I leave it with 'Sawada-dono?' or English 'Master Sawada'?

Edit: I know I keep re-writing and adding bits and bobs, but I will get to writing the second chapter soon!

Thank you very much for reading!