SUMMARY:

In an elitist world where people of noble birth collect their fellow humans like they were nothing more than living dolls, and human trafficking is simply an accepted reality of life, The Vongola House Collection stands above all. The heir to the family inherits this unparalleled collection of models, fighters and skilled individuals when they take over. Sawada Tsunayoshi is the next in line, and was taught since birth to accept and maintain this outstanding collection. The only problem is… this is not what he wants… this is not what he wants at all. AU, shounen-ai/yoai, shoujo-ai/yuri and het pairings, All27

Tsuna swallowed nervously as he was guided towards his new position, a place the other guards affectionately called 'the danger rooms'.

It was an area that housed the most notoriously volatile and powerful additions of The Collection.

They were also, due to the difficulty with which they were obtained, the most expensive and prized 'pieces'. And although dehumanizing, this was a strangely fitting title for them. They were all, in their own rights, masterpieces. The most dangerous and attractive slaves here, and the irony of that was not lost on Tsuna. Weren't most of the deadliest creatures in existence strangely alluring after all?

It was for these reasons that the danger rooms were appropriately given the most heavy duty security system out of the entire complex.

They didn't have cameras, for reasons of privacy, but they compensated for that with around the clock guards and specially reinforced steel rooms, the truth of which was hidden behind a façade of plaster and pretty wallpapers.

The most effective form of security however was in the restraints each and every slave put in there were made to wear.

As a last precaution, they were all fitted with special metal bands around their ankles, specifically designed to enforce total obedience. If one of them was to so much as resist a guard or a guest, then they would receive one of three stages of electric shocks, via the band.

The first stage was mild, and more of a gentle reminder than anything else. The second stage was stronger and enough to cause temporary shock to the nervous system, usually dis-enabling any free mobility long enough for them to be properly restrained. The third however, was on a totally different level. This stage of punishment was only ever activated in emergency situations, when a slave was trying to escape or had actually managed to harm one of the guards, guests or another slave. The shock itself was strong enough to knock a normal, fully grown man out. But as the people in these rooms were not (supposedly) normal, they would have to suffer through excruciating full body pain instead.

And if even after all that they still persisted, then a strong paralytic drug would be administer, via a secondary mechanism in the band.

All in all, escape or resistance was virtually impossible.

Even knowing all of this though, Tsuna's senses were still on high alert as the other guard led him into the main room, where a large group of the danger room slaves were all gathered at the moment.

As soon as they came into line of sight, Tsuna experienced the rather unpleasant feeling of having dozens of hostile gazes pierce through him at the same time.

He swept his gaze around the room with the least amount of movement possible, unseen behind his mask. A small shiver of appreciation racked up his spine. It was exactly as he'd been told; they were masterpieces. He'd never seen a room full of more attractive people in his life, and the atmosphere itself was incredible. It was just a huge collective aura of power, which filled the room and was almost palpable in the air. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

As he looked closer at the individuals though, he noticed that there were some that looked… well, harmless. They had said there were a few slaves in the danger rooms who were there for reasons other than obvious destructive power. Some were deadly due to certain skills. What those skills were, he wasn't sure. Not much was known about the danger room inhabitants, except that they were – obviously – dangerous.

It was only as he looked around the room one last time that Tsuna finally caught sight of one more slave that he'd somehow managed to miss before. The shock of bright red hair drawing his eye.

The redhead was sitting on the floor and had curled himself into a ball, with his back braced against a couch at the far end of the room. He looked absolutely miserable, with his knees drawn up to his chest and his head cradled in the protective fold of his arms. And there was a lifelessness to his eyes that Tsuna didn't like one bit. He'd seen that kind of expression before and the implications behind it made him feel sick.

He must have been staring at that one for a particularly long amount of time because the guard who'd led him there leaned over and gave him an unnecessarily hard nudge with his elbow.

"Caught your eye did 'e?", he asked, with a sleazy drawl that made Tsuna feel like returning that nudge, but much harder.

He didn't acknowledge the question besides a small incline of his head, to show that he was listening.

"That's Enma", he was informed, and Tsuna rolled the name around in his head, "the newest addition", the other guard added.

There was a short pause before Tsuna asked, in a hushed tone, "what happened to him?"

His guide shrugged carelessly. "What always happens to the newbies? He struggled. An' then he learned the hard way, why ya don't do that."

Tsuna felt sick again. There was another pause, longer this time, and Tsuna could feel the other guard scrutinizing him, although both of their faces were hidden by the masks.

Finally, he must have taken Tsuna's prolonged silence as a dismissal, for he drew himself up and turned to leave with an airy, "well, now ya know where ta go, s'pose I'll leave ya to it."

Just before he left though, he turned back to Tsuna and leaned in, far closer that he'd ever wanted this man to be to him, and murmured, "We don't discourage the guards in this area from samplin'. After all, ya need some sorta compensation for workin' with these monsters. But if ya do, just make sure ya don't leave any marks."

And with an unwanted friendly clasp to his shoulder, he turned and left, leaving Tsuna standing tense and nauseous in a room full of people who'd probably like nothing better than to kill him.

As his gaze wandered back to Enma though he was overcome with a new feeling of purpose, and he composed himself with a deep, long intake of breath before stepping further into the room.

Gokudera had been having a pretty alright day… well, as alright as days in this kind of hell-hole could get. He'd woken up in the usual fashion - feeling dirty and used - and rolled out of bed to be greeted by his early rising roommate.

Yamamoto had given him the ritualistic soft, sympathetic smile, just like he did after every 'job'. It was the smile that made him feel tired and happy and pissed off all at once and he could never decide whether he wanted to cry on the bid idiot, hug him till he hurt or punch the smile off of his frustratingly beautiful face. Maybe all three.

They'd been relieved from 'work' due to some bullshit renovations - like they needed any more space - and also to let the new guards get used to their positions. The news had put everyone into good moods. Or rather, better than normal. So, there'd been less fighting and a somewhat temporary peace. He should have known better. These things never lasted. Not in this place anyway. Of course new guards meant new tormentors. New people who they had to figure out so that they could know whether to be afraid, mildly relieved or pissed off when they saw their babysitter for the day.

This one didn't look too bad, but they all knew that appearances could be deceiving. Just because he wasn't physically intimidating didn't mean he couldn't mess with them in other, more twisted, ways.

There were two types of people who were drawn to the danger rooms, those who wanted to dominate and those who wanted to be dominated. The submissive weren't so bad, it was the dominant ones that you had to look out for. They tended to come in two types, usually discernible from their physical build. The larger guys tended to hurt you in manageable ways. Pain of that kind faded relatively quickly. It was the small guys that were the most dangerous to them. They liked to mess with you mentally. Playing mind games that could leave you scared and messed up for a long, long time, maybe even the rest of your life.

That's why, when the new guard was lead through, long cloak swirling around what looked like a petite body and a small porcelain mask attached to his face, everyone was instantly put on edge.

They recognized the guy who was leading him. He was a real sleaze-ball, one who had an unpleasant habit of running his hands over the slaves whenever he could, like he thought he was in a petting zoo or something.

The new guy was hard to read though, he hid his movements too well and unlike his companion, kept his voice low - if he spoke at all - not going above a murmur. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the new guard was observing the room, carefully scrutinizing each individual, if the tiny head movements were anything to go by. Eventually, he seemed to stop and focus in, rather intently, on one particular slave at the back of the room.

Everyone tensed even further. It was Enma, the newest addition to the danger rooms. He was soft spoken and polite, if a little bit too mopey for some of them to stand, but generally well liked. He was like the kid of the group and the more experienced slaves looked after him as best they could. But he'd recently had an experience they all wished they could have spared him from. His first aggressive dom. had picked him out. The man was well known among the group for the damage he'd inflected on more than one of them in the past. The kid had struggled. You couldn't blame him for that, but he probably would have been better off if he'd just taken it. Instead he'd come out… like this. Even worse off than they'd expected.

And now this new guard, who none of them could figure out yet, had taken an interest in him.

The worst part was, they were all right here, the most powerful people in this whole damn place and they couldn't do a thing. All they could do was watch and pray, for Enma's sake, that the stereotype didn't carry though this time.

The guard silently made his way through the room, his soft steps basically the only sounds in the tense quiet.

After what seemed like much too long a time for such a short trip, he came to a stop in front of the subdued redhead. With slow, careful movements, he lowered himself into a crouch so that they were almost on the same eye level.

No one could figure out where this was going yet and the wait was making them edgy.

Tsuna observed Enma's face carefully. The redhead had tensed at his arrival but apart from that was completely unresponsive. Tsuna frowned and bit his lip behind the mask, never wishing more than now that he could show someone a reassuring face.

A small flash of colour caught Tsuna's eye and the brunette cautiously extended his hand, keeping his movements as slow and obvious as he could, trying not to startle the other. Enma flinched nervously as the hand came closer, his large red eyes darting up to Tsuna's masked face. He trembled slightly but allowed the guard to touch his face without any further response. Tsuna used his thumb and forefinger to grasp the slave's chin, slowly tilting his head back as gently as he possibly could.

Gokudera watched the guard slowly tilt Enma's head back with baited breath. Never before had they seen a guard handle a slave with that level of gentleness. He couldn't decide whether to be relieved or suspicious.

Tsuna drew in a sharp breath at the sight that met him.

Enma's neck, just under his jaw, was a mess of blue, purple and green bruising. They had a certain shape to them and appeared darkest in five distinct spots, as though a person had dug their fingers in and squeezed.

He watch Enma swallow nervously, adam's apple bobbing as he started trembling, obviously uneasy with his neck so exposed, especially after what he'd obviously had to go through.

The brunette rocked back on his heels, breathing deeply though his nose and struggling to contain his emotions. As soon as he let go, Enma's head lowered back to his arms and he curled back in on himself, only keeping his eyes up enough to watch Tsuna, wearily. The brunette almost started crying.

He'd seen enough.

Gokudera watched the new guard - who was apparently done with his observations - rock back on his heels and then push back up to a standing position, before turning and striding from the room. He watched his retreat with no small amount of contempt.

'Too damaged for you?', he thought bitterly.

A replacement guard stepped into the room and settled himself back against the wall, right next to the door. He was familiar and as far as they were concerned, an improvement. They had him figured out already. He was one of the few guys assigned to this area that didn't try anything with them, but neither did he try to stop the others. In a sense, that made him as bad as them. It was hard to feel the same level of hatred though, for a guy that had never done anything to you, when compared to others who had.

Gokudera had thought that since this guy was here now, the other wouldn't be coming back for a while. He was wrong.

The new guard strode back into the room just as abruptly as he'd left, surprising more than one of them. His replacement slipped out again after a short exchange of nods, and as soon as the door closed behind him, the new guard turned back to the room.

Gokudera watched in astonishment as he approached Enma once more and unceremoniously dropped to the floor in front of him. The redhead tensed again, probably as confused as the rest of them.

After a deep, obvious intake on breath, the guard revealed a first aid kit from the volumes of his cloak and set it besides him. There was a long, tense pause, where everyone watched the guard, wonder just what the hell he was going to do next. He seemed to be struggling with a decision and after a while slumped, then straightened again with an air of resolution.

"I hope you know how much I'm breaking the rules for you", a few of the sharper eared occupants heard him mutter, one of which was Gokudera.

The guard took another deep breath and then… he started talking.

"Hey", he started somewhat awkwardly. "Uhh… I'm no psychologist, but a friend of mine told me that talking and human contact can really help in these sorts of… situations. Sooo… I guess we'll start with: Hi, my names 27, well… not really, but I can't give you my real name for… obvious reasons, but 27 should do… right?"

By this point, everyone was staring at the new guard like he'd completely lost his mind.

"You're… Enma, right?", he asked softly.

Enma stared at him with wide, uncertain eyes and slowly nodded, flinching slightly at the action, undoubtedly from his wounds.

Tsuna smiled, just happy that the redhead was responding to him at all. Obviously there was still a ways to go, but it was a good start. He leaned forwards slightly and extended a hand.

"Would you let me see your hands?", he asked kindly.

Enma hesitated for a second, looking confused and uncertain still, but slowly unraveled himself so that his legs were crossed instead, like Tsuna's were. He offered both hands, palms up. Tsuna took one with both of his and, handling it as gently as he possibly could, turned it over, exposing the bruised and split skin around Enma's knuckles. Just as he'd expected they'd be.

He reached into the first aid kit and drew out a tube of ointment and some bandaged, and then glanced back up at Enma's face. He still looked uncertain, but he didn't seem frightened anymore, so that was an improvement. Tsuna uncapped the ointment and squeezed a small amount out, rubbing it between his fingers before soothing it over the damaged knuckles. Enma hissed slightly, flinching, but didn't try to resist.

'Already learned that lesson, huh?', Tsuna thought darkly, glad that the mask could hide his deep frown. Enma might have taken it the wrong way.

Once he'd finished bandaging the other's hands, he let them go and leaned back, dropping his own into his lap. Now that he had a good view of the redhead's face he saw that there was also a small cut on his right cheek. After a bit of a rummage in the first aid kit he triumphantly drew out a single, broad band-aid. Tsuna peeled the covering off and gently took the other's chin again, making sure he kept still. Gingerly, he spread the band-aid over the small wound and sat back again, with a pleased smile to himself, crinkling the band-aid packaging in his hand.

Enma blinked at him wonderingly and Tsuna tilted his head to the side, in a questioning manner, thinking Enma was actually going to say something. But the redhead looked away at the gesture, dropping his gaze to the floor. They stayed like that for a while and Tsuna was just about ready to leave, resigned to the fact that Enma wasn't going to open up to him, when a small voice stopped him.

"Why?", the redhead asked, with his head still bowed, not looking Tsuna in the face.

The brunette blinked, surprised. He leaned forwards again, trying to see the other's expression better. He tilted his head once more.

"Why?", he repeated questioningly, not understanding what the other was asking at first. Then it clicked. "Do you mean… 'why did I bandage your hands'…?", he inquired. Enma nodded mutely. Tsuna leaned back again, sighing to himself.

"Why not?", he asked back, after a short pause, and watched Enma's shoulders tense, as though he were shocked. The redhead's gaze darted up briefly.

"But… you're a guard", the redhead stated, as though that explained everything. And in a sad sort of way, it did. Tsuna nodded, acknowledging the fact.

"And?", he pressed, feeling strongly that he could get somewhere with this.

Enma finally raised his head and licked his lips, frowning and looking unsure again.

"But guards, they don't… I mean, they never…", he trailed off.

"Care?", Tsuna supplied, flatly.

Enma swallowed nervously and nodded.

"Well…", Tsuna said as he uncrossed his legs, bracing his hands on his knees and rising to a standing position. Enma's gaze followed him up. "Now one does", the guard stated, with a small self-acknowledging nod. Enma's eyes widened and he stared up at Tsuna, with his lips parted in mute surprise.

"Bullshit!", a loud voice rose up from behind Tsuna, and he tensed in surprise at the sudden outburst, but turned calmly to regard the speaker. It was one of the slaves from the main group, in the middle of the room. He was around Tsuna's age, with unusual grey hair which was parted down the middle, the bangs falling into his pale, blue-green eyes. Eyes that were currently giving Tsuna a glare that was so fierce, if looks could kill, he should have died multiple times by now.

Gokudera couldn't believe what he was hearing. This… poser, was trying to convince them that he cared? What utter bull! They didn't care, none of them did. And if any one of them said so, they were lying. And if there was one thing he hated, it was liars.

"Just what the hell kind of game are you trying to play?", he snarled, giving the guard a contemptuous look.

"Game?", the guard repeated, sounding confused but also slightly upset. Gokudera's frown deepened.

"Don't play dumb", he growled darkly, standing up.

Yamamoto, who had been sitting next to him, looked up worriedly and placed a hand on the other's forearm.

"Gokudera", he said in warning, gaze shifting between the guard and his fellow slave. It was ignored, and Gokudera shook the hand off.

"Guards don't care about us. They never have, never will. The only reason one would do something nice for us is because they want something." The angry slave ground out, clenching his fists and taking a threatening step forwards. He ignored the slight warning twinge from his ankle band.

". . . I'm sorry you feel that way", the guard replied, and the bastard actually sounded apologetic.

"You-", Gokudera started, looking like he was about ready to charge the brunette, when Yamamoto stood up abruptly, putting himself between Gokudera and the guard.

"Gokudera! That's enough, if you don't stop you could get a level three shock." Yamamoto stated, firmly, his face taking on a rare expression of absolute seriousness. Gokudera stared him down angrily but Yamamoto obviously wasn't budging anytime soon. They glared at each other for a few tension filled moments, before Gokudera relented, giving into his common sense. Yamamoto was right after all. Something like this wasn't worth getting a level three shock over. He reluctantly backed down, and Yamamoto relaxed as well, his serious expression softening.

Tsuna watch the exchange between the two slaves and was relieved when someone stepped in to stop this one called 'Gokudera'. He never wanted to be the cause of a slave receiving punishment from their bindings. As Tsuna watched the slave with silver hair back off (though he still looked irritated), he felt a great surge of pity. That level of distrust could only come from years of mistreatment and made it clear that Enma wasn't the only damaged one in here. All of these people probably carried scars of some kind, and that made him sad. But it also made him more motivated in his cause. He was determined to earn these people's trust, no matter what he had to go through to get it.

Gokudera made sure to give the guard one of the most scathing glares he could manage, before he turned sharply on his heel and stalked from the room. Yamamoto turned to regard Tsuna with a guarded expression, though his eyes were sharp. Despite his mask, Tsuna couldn't help but feel like the others gaze was piercing straight through to him.

"I think, perhaps, you should stay away from him for a while", he told the guard bluntly before he too turned his back on him. Just before he left though, he paused long enough to say, "I don't know what you're trying to do, but you'd better be careful about it." And with that, he left the room, trailing after his hotheaded roommate.

The other slaves watched the new guard warily, wondering how he would react in the aftermath of the confrontation.

Tsuna heaved a great sigh. 'Well, that could have gone better', he thought despairingly. 'Although', he perked up slightly and turned his head, glancing back over his shoulder. Enma was still staring up at him, large red eyes still nervous and unsure, but there was a distinct lack of fear, which had been there when he'd first approached him. 'At least someone doesn't hate me', he thought happily.

He went to the couch where Enma was sitting and dropped down onto the soft cushions, with an audible sigh. Enma blinked back at him questioningly from his place on the floor.

"Is he always like that?", he asked the redhead, feeling tired all of a sudden. Enma shook his head in answer, but didn't elaborate. Instead, someone else did.

"He doesn't like deception."

Tsuna glanced up and caught the gaze of one of the other slaves. He too had an unnatural hair colour, an off white, which looked somewhat strange on a person so young. Despite its oddness though, it went well with his dark grey eyes, which held the same amount of intensity as the majority of the people in the room.

Tsuna tilted his head forwards at the other's words. "You think I'm being deceptive?", he asked, in a tone far lighter than what he felt.

The other gave him a long, hard stare. "I don't know", he finally answered, looking like he wasn't entirely comfortable with the notion.

Tsuna took a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting his head loll back against the couch. He stared at the ceiling for a long time, realizing just how hard this journey was going to be.

'How am I supposed to prove myself?', he wondered, contemplating different scenarios.

He straightened up with another sigh and caught Enma looking at him again.

'One step at a time I guess.', he concluded, smiling to himself behind the mask.

"Don't you want to sit up here?", he asked the redhead.

Enma's gaze darted around, unsure, before he nodded with a small sound of agreement and hauled himself up, using the couch as a brace. He sat down, looking uncomfortably stiff and almost comically uncertain about the new position. Tsuna couldn't help letting out a small chuckle.

"It wasn't an order you know. I was only asking. You can stay on the floor if it's more comfortable for you", he told the redhead, who gave him such a wide eyed look of shock that he let out a real laugh. Poor Enma looked so startled and confused by the turn of events that Tsuna continued laughing, finding it difficult to stop his sudden bout of amusement.

The slaves were startled when they heard the guard's laugh. It was… different. Most guards laughed out of cruelty, taking amusement in the slaves' misfortunes and the tortures they inflicted on them. But this wasn't anything like that. It was a true laugh, one that seemed out of place in this kind of environment. Though Tsuna - and the slaves themselves - didn't realize it, just the simple act of him laughing so purely was already taking the first step towards gaining their complete trust in him.

At first, when he'd encountered this guard, Enma had thought he was exactly the same as all the others. Cruel, selfish and with no regard to the well-being of any one of them. But he'd bandaged his hands, and he'd seemed so upset just by the sight of his wounds. And his laugh, it was unlike anything he'd ever encountered in this place. Everything about this person was warm, from the sound of his voice to the gentleness of his touch. He was different.

Enma wasn't entirely sure if he could trust this person yet, but... he wanted to. And as he sat next to the chuckling guard, he felt something that he hadn't felt in a very long time. Hope.

ummmmm...yeah...so, that's that...

Some of you may be thinking about how the first chapter doesn't seem to fit in with the summary... Well, all I can say is, everything will be explained...in time...

The thing that made me want to write this story is... anonymity... It feels like...in a lot of the stories I read, if not the vast majority, one of the biggest factor in Tsuna having people 'fall for him'...is his looks. Like..."oh, he's just so cute, I think I love him!" Do you guys know what I mean...? I know that looks do often have an important role in catching people's interest... but that's not all there is to these things... I just wanted to create a story where the sole factor that had people becoming interested in Tsuna... is his personality, not his appearance... There's a lot of different ways I could have gone about that but... I do -admittedly - have a weakness for 'harem' type settings... uwu" Hence...this... :')

Anyway... I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.