Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, I've been having a lot of trouble keeping characters and series of events in order. I can already tell this is going to be a terrible attempt at a multi-chap crossover, but I want to at least finish it so sorry for the lack of quality due to my lack of experience.

Rating: T

Warnings: mentions of violence, angst, spoilers, mentions of experimentation, swearing, gen, crossover, OOCness

Summary: What do a shinigami hybrid and mafia boss-in-training have in common? Absolutely nothing…aside from the fact that they've been kidnapped right under their friends noses and only have each other to rely on to survive.

Puzzles

For the first time in a very long time, Takeshi was lost.

His dad had disappeared, Tsuna was gone, Reborn wasn't here, and Gokudera was nowhere to be found. It was like the four most influential people in his life, a part from his mother once upon a time, had suddenly fallen off the face of the earth into a void and he didn't know what to do.

For a moment, he almost wished he was with them even if that were the case.

He thought back to what seemed like a lifetime ago, when his unease was confirmed by a seemingly innocent call from his absent father.

xxx

"Takeshi! How's the tournament so far?"

Takeshi's face brightened, both at hearing his dads voice and the coach's announcement that they would be meeting some professional players later in the day. The noise in their temporary locker room was loud, especially with the excited cheering that burst at the news, and he could barely hear his dad.

Pressing the phone closer to his ear and covering the other with his hand, he half-shouted, "Hey old man! It's great over here!"

He paused with a grin as another round of cheers broke over the team before the din settled somewhat, low enough for him to speak normally again.

"We got to practice with some of the high school teams yesterday and today, and coach says we're about to meet some professional baseball players. We even saw Suzuki Ichiro, the Rookie of the Year, American League MVP, and New York Yankee outfielder, and guess what? The legendary Hideki Matsui is here! You know, the 2009 MVP of the World Series and one of the best batters ever with ten postseason homeruns, and–!"

"Whoa, slow down there son, I can barely understand all that. You have posters of them on the back of your door right?"

Takeshi pinked at his father's boisterous laughter, but his smile dimmed despite his seemingly amiable words. "Haha, yeah, sorry pops. It's just really exciting to meet them."

"It's not problem Takeshi, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself over there."

Again, the words rang false.

Takeshi knew his father was genuinely happy and supportive of the trip, but something didn't seem right, and suddenly the gnawing in his gut that he'd ignored for most of the tournament came back ten fold. He turned away from his teammates for a moment for some semblance of privacy and asked, with all the seriousness and worry a teenage boy could muster, "Hey dad, is everything alright over there?"

The phone was silent for a moment before his fathers warm voice came back over the phone, and despite his words, Takeshi didn't feel any relief. "Of course son, nothings wrong at all. Hey, you got your lucky bat with you, right?"

Now the baseball player's grin had all but disappeared in his confusion, hand reflexively reaching out and grabbing the baseball bat bag that carried his katana. He wasn't exactly allowed to carry a shinai so he'd snuck it in along with his other regular bat. "Yeah dad, I don't go anywhere without it," he replied, excitement completely drained.

"Good, good. Just making sure. By the way, you should give your friends a call before you get too busy, I'm sure they'd love to hear from you. Gotta go Takeshi, lots of customers today!"

Beep.

Takeshi kept the phone to his ear a moment longer, stunned at his father's abrupt goodbye.

In spite of his father's claim, hadn't heard the familiar clamor of a busy restaurant, and he was sure something like a rock had dropped to the pit of his stomach. Heart racing, he immediately called Tsuna, and when no one picked up the phone after two attempts, called Tsuna's house, then Gokudera's cell, and then the Sasagawa residence.

Nothing.

What's going on over there guys? Takeshi thought worriedly, ignoring his teams laughter and banter behind him. He wasn't one to raise red flags unnecessarily or bend under pressure, but even his naturally calm personality was starting to give way to uneasy apprehension.

What do I do now?

His finger had hovered on the call button with the name Superbi Squalo highlighted on his phone, but beat back the urge to call the older man. Even though Squalo had been his mentor in the future, Takeshi didn't have all the facts yet an there was a good chance Squalo wouldn't answer anyway, or would yell then hang up without Takeshi saying a word. After all, though his instincts were as good as any assassin, he didn't have any solid facts and Squalo was probably busy. He kept scrolling, hoping to find a name that would be able to help or give him answers, and suddenly the answer smacked him the face. For a full minute, he swore he was every bit the idiot Gokudera accused him of being.

He scrolled to the name that had been there from the beginning, mysteriously programmed into his phone days after his ridiculous suicide attempt, and had never been used until now because I didn't need to, because even when everything was going crazy, we were all together.

Two rings and a familiar voice came over the phone.

"What is it Yamamoto?"

Takeshi let out a breath of relief even though the hitman didn't sound like he was in a good mood. "Hey Reborn! What's going on? Are you guys playing a game over there? Maa, you should tell Tsuna and Gokudera to check their phones more often, haha. I was getting worried."

The kids voice sharpened. "What do you mean?"

The rock in his stomach suddenly became a boulder.

"Well," Takeshi started, unsure, "my dad called me just now and we were talking but he sounded weird and hung up when he said the restaurant was busy, but I didn't hear anyone else in the restaurant. And I just tried calling Tsuna, Gokudera, and senpai, but not one's answering. I figured you guys must've been busy."

It was silent for a moment and Takeshi felt the inexplicable need to fidget. "Where are you now?"

Takeshi blinked. "I'm at the National High School Baseball Tournament in Nishinomiya. Didn't Tsuna tell you when I left a few days ago?"

He heard the other mutter something like "idiot student" before replying, "No, he didn't. I'm on a plane to Mexico and Bianchi and Gokudera are in Tokyo. Since you couldn't reach the Sasagawa's, they're probably gone too. Yamamoto," Takeshi straightened instinctively, "get back to Namimori as quickly as you can. Don't do anything stupid."

Beep.

Takeshi stared at his phone, slightly bemused at being hung up on twice in one day, but the small slight was washed away by the sudden feeling of nearly overwhelming worry, only tempered by his Flame's tranquil properties. No one was in town or answering their phones, and it seemed Tsuna hadn't told anyone else he was going to be alone. Why?

"Whoa, Yamamoto. What's with the scary look?" Taniguchi joked, slinging an arm around the taller baseball players shoulders.

Takeshi tried to smile, he really did, but it was strained with the knowledge that he needed to leave, now. His father's unspoken words made sense now, and he didn't like the implications – he didn't need all the facts to know that if he stayed here and ended up being a target, his school friends would be in danger as well. He needed to get back home, needed to find Tsuna and everyone else so they could figure out what was going on, because suddenly this miracle trip to Nishinomiya felt less like a fun vacation and more like an effective distraction.

Takeshi quickly grabbed his things, ignorant to his teammates sudden cries of surprise and dismay, and bolted out the door with some half-formed excuse of a family emergency, mind set on getting home as quickly as possible.

"Hey, you got your lucky bat with you, right?"

Keep your weapon close.

Protect yourself.

You're not safe.

xxx

Midori tanabiku Namimori no...

Dai naku shou naku nami ga ii…

Yamamoto was pulled from his spiraling thoughts, digging through the memory for some kind of clue, a place to start looking, when he recognized the song. A small, fluffy yellow bird came into view, still singing as it landed gently in his palm.

"Herbivore, herbivore!" the bird chirped.

Something tight in his chest loosened at the little birds cheeps, a feeling of purpose filling him again, and he grinned. "Haha, you must be Hibari's bird. Hibird right?" The little bird pecked lightly at his thumb and he took it as confirmation. "Can you show me where Hibari is? He might know what's going on." He'd already checked the school, and aside from the usual Disciplinary Committee members on patrol, he hadn't seen the prefect and none of the members he'd talked to knew either. It seemed Hibari had been busy over break.

Hibird chirped at him again, "Herbivore, herbivore!" before puffing up his feathers and taking off into the air.

Guess that means I should follow.

Yamamoto followed the small bird to a familiar hill and was greeted by a long flight of old cement stairs stretched out before him with a torii at the top, the red gate looking almost surreal and spiritual in such bright light. His mind flashed to the future, when he and his friends battled for their lives in a game of Choice, and it was no surprise that Hibird had led him here.

Namimori Shrine had been Hibari's base of operations in the future, after all.

The swordsman was quick to ascend the stairs and was greeted by the abandoned courtyard of the shrine, empty of tourists and Hibird still chirping overhead. He wasn't alone though. A few feet from the torii stood Hibari's right hand man, Kusakabe Tetsuya.

"Yo, Kusakabe! Is Hibari here?" Yamamoto greeted, smile a few shades too pale to be his normal, outgoing grin.

Kusakabe was dressed in his familiar Disciplinary Committee uniform and didn't seem surprised to see him, and if he noticed Yamamoto's uncharacteristic agitation, he didn't say. The older teen nodded once, motioning for the baseball player to follow as they made their way around to the back of the shrine. "Kyou-san is with a guest. I'm sure you two are already aquainted."

Yamamoto cocked his head to the side curiously before Kusakabe slid the shrine door open for him. On one side of the room was Hibari with a cup of tea before him, expression curiously calm despite his company. On the other sat someone Yamamoto hadn't even thought of since halfway through his first year of middle school.

The baseball player could only stare, missing Kusakabe's amused smile.

A short wave. "Yo, Yamamoto."

Yamamoto blinked.

"Mochida-senpai?"

It was early afternoon when Ryohei decided to go around the block for a quick jog.

He had to keep in shape for the boxing tournament later that day, after all, and only half-heard his little sister's worried warnings not to get lost and that she and the others would be out.

Their parents had surprised them by stopping in Nagoya at an inn instead of heading to Kyoto as planned for their family trip. They'd found great deals on a variety of activities for them all to do together and separately, and one of them was something Ryohei had dreamed of going since the group was founded.

PRIDE Fighting Championships.

The main event was always held in Toyko every three years, the place the championship had formed, but because of their popularity and the growing number of boxers and MMA fighters in Japan, they had smaller but equally thrilling tournament/training sectors in other populous cities. Nagoya happened to be one of them, and Ryohei was more than extremely excited to see and meet some of the greatest names in fighting history. Kyoko and Haru had found plenty of things to do with the kids as well, including shopping and taking Lambo and Ipin to a few hands-on museums, while their parents went on all-day couples retreats.

Ryohei and Kyoko didn't mind since their parents hardly got any alone time together, and Lambo and Ipin were more than enough of a handful to deal with in such a large city so different from their home in Namimori.

"EXTREME BOXING TOURNAMENT!" Ryohei shouted, thrusting his fists into the air excitedly.

There were no bystanders on the street to look at him strangely – he'd gotten lost while training and now was in the intersection of what appeared to be an abandoned neighborhood – so hearing a few voices an alleyway away wasn't something he expected.

More EXTREME people out training! EXTREME!

"Hey baby, wanna hop on my bike and go for a ride? It'll be fun."

"U-Uh, no thank you…"

"Hey, leave us alone you bastards!"

"Shut up, bitch, I wasn't talkin' to you. But my buddies over there wouldn't mind goin' a few rounds with you."

"Yeah, baby, we'll take good care of you, geheheh. Wanna ride me instead?"

"Please just let us go."

"You heard her you pigs! Just leave already, we're not interested."

"Mmm feisty one huh? Been a while since we've had one of those. Fine then, we'll to do this the fun way. Break her."

That was all Ryohei needed to hear before he was running full speed towards where he heard the voices, mouth slanted in a grim line. He'd heard those words and tone of voice before, disgusting and suggestive, and they made his blood boil because his little sister had been subjected to those before he corrected the problem and he wasn't about to let someone's daughter or sister go through the same thing.

He turned a corner and saw two girls, older than him by a few years, and half a dozen burley guys with leers and weapons closing in on them in a half circle. "OI! THAT IS NOT EXTREME!"

All eight heads snapped in his direction, but almost immediately the girl with long black hair slipped into a martial arts pose, expression dark and maybe a little sadistic, and struck with deadly accuracy. In three swift, powerful moves, two of the men were out cold and the third was clutching his face, blood seeping between his fingers.

"Ah, you little bitch!" he snarled, clumsily pulling out a six-inch knife and thrusting.

She weaved around the weapon like a serpent, eyes narrowed and cold as she struck him in the face, chest, and groin within seconds. He dropped like a stone.

Ryohei admired her ferocity and perfect form, and something in the back of his mind recognized her. A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he noticed the two men move in on the second girl with long hair and kind eyes – he didn't see her lips thin into a grim line or see her shift into a subtle defensive stance – while her friend was busy with her fourth victim and he moved so quickly, an after image was left as he blurred forward.

He made sure they saw him coming and were prepared – his pride as a boxer would be tainted if he attacked an unaware opponent from behind – and landed a powerful hit on the first man's face and another strong blow to the second one's chest, knocking them into the air before landing a few feet away, unconscious.

The small courtyard was quiet for a moment when the short fight was over.

"Hey, you."

He turned to the girl with black hair who looked torn between wary and thankful, eyes full of suspicion. She looked like she was ready to yell but he grinned and shouted, "THAT WAS EXTREME! You're an extremely good fighter!"

Another bout of silence met his exclamation.

He blinked.

"You think I'm a good fighter?" she asked, as if surprised as she cautiously looked him up and down and kept a defensive pose in front of her wide-eyed friend.

Ryohei nodded enthusiastically, less tense now that the problem was taken care of. "Your form was extremely perfect and you're extremely fast and accurate!"

The black haired girl was quiet for a moment, lips pursed, before she relaxed her stance with a smirk. "My name's Tatsuki and that's Orihime." She introduced, pointing at the smiling orange-haired one next to her. The light haired girls expression was kind and open, but there was strength in her gaze that Ryohei recognized. In fact, she strongly reminded him of Kyoko, and he had a sudden urge to give his little sister a hug. "What's your name, kid?"

Ryohei pumped both fists in the air passionately, "Sasagawa Ryohei, EXTREME captain of the Namimori Middle School Boxing Team!"

Both girls looked at him strangely for a moment before Tatsuki grinned, Orihime giggling beside her. "Well, Sasagawa Ryohei, extreme captain of the Namimori Middle School Boxing Team, you have just earned yourself lunch with us as thanks for helping us out. Let's go! I'm starving!"

They started to walk away and he blinked, not really sure what had just happened but then his stomach growled.

He could think later with some food.

"Dammit!" Lal hissed, gripping the cell phone tightly in her hands. It took more self-control than she cared to admit to not throw the device and shatter it on the wall. A few agents within earshot shifted warily and cautiously moved away, equal parts curious and nervous as they continued their work.

Colonello watched her carefully, frowning as he finished up his own call. "What's the matter Lal, kora?"

Her jaw clenched and unclenched with tension, jerking her head towards the corridor in a silent sign to follow. Briskly walking passed other agents with the ex-Rain Arcobaleno hot on her heels to her office, Lal tried to take deep breaths. She rarely used the office, preferring being on the field or in the gym opposed to the stuffy room she kept out of formality rather than practicality, but it was times like these that she was grateful to have it.

The short walk helped her temper somewhat but it also allowed the concern she felt to show on her face.

She locked the door behind her with Colonello settled on her desk and his calming presence chased away the rest of her sudden rage (at whoever had taken Tsuna, at Tsuna for being taken, at Reborn for not protecting his charge, at Vongola for painting a target on his back, at herself for not being quicker, at everyone because Tsuna didn't deserve this). "I just got a call from Basil. All of Tsuna's guardians are out of town or MIA and Tsuna's missing. Someone got to him before Basil could get there. He's already contacted Reborn and says Reborn was already working on it but so far there aren't many clues as to what happened."

It was years of experience that allowed her to see the shock flit through Colonello's eyes like quicksilver, as well as the worry and incredulity. "What? When? How?"

Only the upper echelon of Vongola, CEDEF and the Varia knew where Tsuna was. As potential and probable heir to Vongola, already shouldering the title of Vongola Decimo, any private information aside from his Guardians and what other famiglias could gleam from their stay in Japan for the false Inheritance Ceremony was classified as extremely sensitive and highly protected. It seemed their information network had been more severely damaged than they thought if it had taken so long for Tsuna's disappearance to reach them.

Lal sighed, stomach twisting uncomfortably as she sat her chair heavily and stared down at her hands – her adult hands, hands that would still be the size of a small child's if not for Tsuna.

"Basil thinks it happened a day and a half ago but there wasn't much to go on."

Colonello's eyebrow raised in surprise. "No signs of fighting?"

Lal shook her head. "No. He says he's going to meet with someone who might have information, but otherwise the house was wiped clean and no one in the neighborhood has any useful information."

"So Tsuna was either blackmailed or knocked out before he could fight back, kora."

Lal felt a headache coming on. Knowing Tsuna, whose compassion and naivety often lead him to as much trouble as victory, it was – "Most likely the former. Or both."

"You think they used Iemitsu and Nana's disappearance for leverage?"

"It's a strong possibility. Their cruise disappeared twelve hours before Nono sent Reborn on that mission to Mexico. Not a day later and Tsuna's gone and that idiot wouldn't dream of doing anything to put them in danger."

Unanswered questions lingered in the uncomfortable silence, but the most prominent one was of Tsuna's safety. Lal didn't want to think about the photos she'd seen of the crime scenes where they'd found the bodies of Vongola and CEDEF personnel, mutilated and drained of life.

"They're not gonna kill him, kora."

Lal glanced up from her hands, feeling uncomfortably raw with just him the room with her. "I know."

Precious cargo, valuable hostage, a well of information.

The future of Vongola.

Colonello nodded, lips thinned into a grim line. "I looked over the autopsies again, kora, and noticed that every single person that had been taken and suffered from lack of flames had Sun or Cloud flames, though it might just be a coincidence." Doubtful. "All the others were known for being information brokers or messengers, people that knew something but not everything."

Lal didn't like what he was implying. "They absorbed their flames and left them to rot?"

Colonello shrugged, "It's the best thing I can come up with, kora. Verde's machine did the same during the Arcobaleno Trails, only he stopped when he had enough flames so Tsuna and his friends didn't die."

"And they've only been taking flames with Activation and Propagation properties." Her brows furrowed. "Then why didn't they take Tsuna's friends with him? Sasagawa is out of town with his family and Hibari is most likely in Namimori. Why not go after his Sun or Cloud guardian?"

She caught the flash of sharp intelligence in the ex-Rain Arcobaleno's gaze and her own widened in response.

"Who says they won't?"

Mochida watched carefully as the younger teen entered the shrine, taking his seat at the cushion and table with tea already set for him with a casual grace he'd never noticed before. He knew nothing really fazed Yamamoto, but still, he'd expected more than a blink of surprise at his presence.

Well, whatever. They had more important things to worry about.

Yamamoto grinned at him as if they were old friends and weren't in the heart of Hibari Kyouya's domain. "Haha, I didn't expect to see you here, Mochida-senpai. What's the occasion?"

Mochida scowled but couldn't muster up the energy to be genuinely irritated. It was bad enough that he had to tell the cheery baseball player the bad news; the situation was only made worse by the fact that he'd found out, from Hibari no less, that Tsuna and his gang were technically criminals. He didn't really know how to say it delicately – and some part of him was still wondering if he was in some really fucked up dream – so he said it like he did everything else. Blunt as hell.

"I'm here cause Dame-Tsuna's a dumbass and got himself kidnapped."

The smile froze on Yamamoto's face, becoming brittle and the slightest bit threatening, and Mochida had to refrain from grabbing his bokken in self-defense.

Then the smile disappeared, replaced by an uncomfortably broken open and raw look of guilt and terror that the kendo captain had never seen on anyone's face before, let alone Yamamoto's. It only lasted for a second before it disappeared, but there was still a note of anxiety and disbelief in his voice when he asked, "Tsuna's been kidnapped?"

Reigning in his unease, Mochida met Yamamoto's unnerving stare.

"Yeah, a few days ago. I didn't find out you didn't know until a yesterday, though. You and that Gokudera guy are always hanging around Dame-Ts–" Yamamoto's demeanor darkened abruptly. "I-I mean, Sawada…I thought you might've been kidnapped with him or already searching."

Yamamoto frowned at the unintentional accusation, a strange expression on his usually happy face. "The baseball team was invited to a tournament in the beginning of break. My dad called me this morning and said some weird things so when no one answered their phones, I called Reborn. He's the one that told me to come back to Namimori."

"Yeah, well– wait, the Nationals? Isn't that, like, half a day away by bus? How the hell did you get here so fast?"

"I got a ride," was all he said and something like suspicion darkened his hard amber eyes when he turned to Hibari. "What about everyone else? Gokudera or Sasagawa-senpai? Or Reborn? I know they're gone now but they were still here when I left, weren't they?"

The last name seemed to catch Hibari's attention and Mochida was surprised to see the violent teen respond. He'd been shockingly non-threatening thus far – aside from the first ten minutes of their meeting where Mochida had had the stuffing beat out of him for some godforsaken reason – but now it was as if a predator was stirring.

Fuck, why the hell was he here again?

Hibari must've felt talkative today because instead of lashing out like Mochida half-expected, he actually replied, "The noisy herbivore and the carnivore left the same day you did. The loud herbivore left the next day." Mochida mentally snorted at the descriptions but didn't dare say anything out loud. His bruises didn't need bruises on top of them.

Yamamoto didn't look very happy but some of the hard lines around his mouth disappeared when he turned back to Mochida. "How did you know Tsuna got kidnapped, senpai?"

"A day or so after you left, my mom wanted me to get something Dame– ah, Sawada's mom borrowed so I went over –"

"And he was gone?"

The older teen scowled at being interrupted. "No, he was there. Some priests stopped by while I was there. They wanted to purify some 'evil aura' surrounding Sawada's house and us too. It was fucking weird since they kept waving around some nasty smelling incense and wouldn't leave without tea first. Sawada tried to say no but they said something to him – I don't know what it was but he got all pale and quiet – and he didn't stop them from coming in. I got the hell out of there after they left, but that idiot gave me the wrong box so I went back. The door was still open and –"

Mochida frowned uncomfortably at the memory and he was sure it wouldn't leave him for years to come.

"The two priest guys were there, praying and there were footsteps everywhere. I didn't see Sawada so took a few pictures and hid my phone in the box before some asshole knocked me out from behind." His fingers twitched, resisting the urge to rub the bump on his head since it was still tender as hell. "Four hours later, I'm waking up in the hospital with a concussion and all the neighbors swearing up and down that they didn't see any priests."

They baseball players brows furrowed in worry. "Are you alright now, Mochida-senpai?"

Mochida grunted and instead slid a cream colored folder over to him. "I'm fine, especially since I got all this."

Interest replaced some of the concern, much to Mochida's relief; he didn't like seeing Yamamoto, who was usually obliviously happy about everything, look like that. It was too weird. "What's this?"

"After I woke up, I went back to Da-Sawada's house and he was gone. No signs of forced entry, foul play, or suspicious activity. No one believed me when I said he was kidnapped since they knew his parents were on a cruise. They just assumed he'd gone with them, and since no one's willing to file a missing persons report and have the police conduct a proper investigation, I did some research on my own and found all this. Idiots didn't check the box I hid my phone in."

Yamamoto eyed the pictures carefully with sharp scrutiny before looking up, impressed and curious.

Mochida smirked. "My dad's head of the police force in Namimori and he keeps all the important information off the computers and in his office on paper to prevent hackers from getting to it so," he shrugged casually, "I snuck into the station and searched everything I could. I even managed to get into the stuff he keeps in his office at home."

He wasn't going to mention the ass whooping he got when his dad caught him sneaking out of his private office, but the files he'd copied hadn't been discovered and that was all that mattered at the moment. He grabbed one of the papers hidden beneath some pictures Yamamoto hadn't seen yet and pointed to them.

"These are the two that I saw at Sawada's place."

It was of the two priests, slightly blurry from the rush job and low quality camera, but their clothes were fairly distinct despite their bland, forgettable faces. He snagged another paper and placed it on top, full of text from a historical source with various scribbles everywhere.

"There wasn't much, but I got a few hits and matched their clothes and sutras they used to some obscure religious cults from hundreds of years ago. Real freaky shit. From what I've found, it's not like any religion I've heard about and there's no real name for it. It's got ideals from religions all over the world, and unlike Christianity, you don't get to choose to practice it casually. It's pretty much do or die. A lot of it has to do with getting closer to some kind of all encompassing god-figure and it mainly focuses on the afterlife.

"See here?" He pointed at some symbols, most of them unidentified. "The whole thing is full of rituals and incantations handed down generation-to-generation and master to disciple. Really, it has less to do with deciphering Holy Scriptures and more focused on teaching instructions. For what? I have no fucking idea." He jerked his chin towards Hibari who'd been silently tolerant for the last few minutes as Yamamoto was brought up to speed. "I figured Hibari would be able to find more, future dictator of Japan and all that."

After a long moment, the room lightened from the previously heavy atmosphere and the grin came back to Yamamoto's face as he laughed good-naturedly, "Haha, wow Mochida-senpai! You're a really good investigator. You'd fit right into the mafia game! Wanna join Tsuna's team?"

Mochida's eyebrow twitched. "Are you retarded?"

"You sound just like Gokudera!"

"The fuck I do! Stop laughing!"

As if silently cued, Kusakabe entered the room and kneeled to Hibari's right.

If Mochida hadn't respected the pompadoured teen as much as he did, he would've sneered at him for being Hibari's lapdog. After all, Kusakabe couldn't be weak or impatient when dealing so closely with the head of the Disciplinary Committee for who knew how long. Mochida was actually amazed the older teen was still breathing and had all his marbles. "Based on the information Mochida-san provided as well as the results of our own investigation, we've found several places where there may be clues to Sawada-san's location, sacred shrines, holy land and the like. We even took samples of the incense left on Mochida-sans clothes– "

He ignored the squawk of indignant protest from said teen, who probably didn't even realize his clothes had been nabbed for more evidence.

"–and we've isolated a compound that has suggestive properties when inhaled, which somewhat explains why Sawada-san wasn't able to turn them away and was left susceptible to being captured. However, there have been instances in the last few weeks that are impeding our progress."

Kusakabe was a respectful person and was always polite, but the solemn note to his voice told Mochida more than words. Because of the Disciplinary Committee's vast and growing influence in Namimori and beyond, there was very little that they couldn't do and it seemed whomever kidnapped Tsuna had the influence to slow down even Hibari Kyoya and the intelligence network he had, no doubt, created with his own hands.

It was a chilling (fucking scary) thought.

"We also received information that an ally of Sawada-san arrived in Japan late yesterday afternoon, a student to Sawada-san's father." With nothing left to say, Kusakabe bowed respectfully before leaving, probably off to do another task set by Hibari.

Yamamoto's eyes brightened. "Oh? Someone from CEDEF? It might be Basil."

Basil? Isn't that a cooking spice? And why the hell does CEDEF sound familiar? Mochida didn't know much about Tsuna's involvement in the mafia and, quite frankly, he wanted to keep it that way, but it was irritating not knowing what was going on.

It was silent for a while as Yamamoto scanned a few more files before he looked up, blank faced. "Why?"

Mochida's brows furrowed, completely thrown by the abrupt change. "Why what?"

"You know searching this stuff will probably get you in trouble with your dad or whoever took Tsuna. Why would you put yourself in danger to help us? I thought you didn't like Tsuna, especially after last year."

The baseball player didn't look very comfortable forming those words and Hibari was watching them both with a calculating shrewdness that scared the kendo captain more than his bloodthirsty catchphrase. It took a second for Mochida to realize it was because Yamamoto was never one to question things or think badly of anyone or their motivations. He went with the flow and never pushed unless it was for something important, and it seemed they were both interested in his answer for some weird reason.

Dame-Tsuna must've been pretty damn important to Yamamoto for him to be acting so out of character.

Mochida fidgeted awkwardly under their combined stares and, fuck, it was like he was being tested or something. He growled and snapped. "I don't. Like Sawada, that is. But," his lips thinned, fists clenching on his lap, "look, no one deserves to get kidnapped, alright? And I should've done more than take pictures when I saw what happened. It's partly my fault that Sawada's gone and I just wanna find the idiot and get on with my life, ok?"

Yamamoto held his stare for another second before nodding and slowly letting out one long breath. "How much do you know about the mafia, Mochida-senpai?"

Mochida grimaced as he ticked off on his fingers, "Let's see: mafia's dangerous, Sawada's somehow involved, and you and your merry band of idiots are going along with him. Oh, and that kid in the suit is part of it too. Rebo-something. A little young, dontcha' think?"

"Haha, yeah. That's Reborn, the strongest hitman in the world. He's training Tsuna to be the next boss of Vongola and we're his guar-"

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up – what?"

The older teen shook his head in denial before the full force of the words hit him.

"The Reborn? And Dame-Tsuna's gonna be the next boss of the Vongola family? The most powerful mafia family in the world?" Oh my god I bullied a mafia boss. Mochida threw back the rest of his tea and wished it were sake. "Ok, I knew you guys were idiots, but what the actual fuck?" he demanded.

Yamamoto blinked, surprised. "You know about Vongola?"

Mochida had to try very hard not to hit him and instead threw his hands up in the air. "Of course I know about Vongola, dumbass! Everyone even remotely related to a police officer knows about the Vongola!" He scrubbed his face roughly with his hand, running his fingers through his hair agitatedly. "Jesus fuck, what the hell did you guys get into now?"

The baseball player grinned again with a laugh. "Well, a few weeks ago, we were fighting the Vindice to free the Arcobaleno from their curse, and before that we went ten years into the future to save the world from someone that can see parallel worlds, and before that we –"

Was he even allowed to hear this?

Vindice? Arcobaleno? Time travel? Mochida covered his eyes with his hand and groaned, "Stop, just stop, I can't handle this, you crazy fuckers are on your on your own." His voice lowered but his words were still audible, "What the fuck have I gotten myself into? God, if this is punishment for the last few years then I'm sorry, I swear, I'll try to stop being an asshole, I mean, I can't guarantee anything cause, you know, but–"

Hibari's voice cut through his half-hearted prayer.

"Herbivores."

Both he and Yamamoto looked to the prefect as he fluidly stood, expression blank but still fierce. His jacket, hanging off his shoulders, shifted on his frame and Mochida had a sinking feeling that it wasn't an accident when he saw a flash of silver concealed beneath the black garment.

"There will be a plane to Italy leaving tonight. Don't be late."

The silent promise of being bitten to death for tardiness was heard loud and clear – holy shit were they talking about him too? – and just like that, Hibari was gone, leaving a despairing Mochida and cheery Yamamoto in his wake.

"I don't know you people."

Yamamoto laughed as if he'd made a joke, downing the tea in one go, and beamed at Mochida. "You heard him, Mochida-senpai. Let's get packed and ready to go! We gotta meet with Basil and he'll probably wanna investigate Tsuna's house before we leave. Hibari won't be happy if we're late."

When is he ever happy?

Instead of voicing the question, Mochida scowled and threw a teacup at Yamamoto's head.

This time, when Tsuna woke up, it wasn't slow and drowsy with drug-induced effects.

It was with a start, heart pounding furiously in time with the shrill beep beside him, arms and legs bound to a dentist-like chair, and a sense of nausea so overwhelming he was sure he was going to puke up his organs. The light shining in his face was bright, too bright, too much, but he couldn't close his eyes, couldn't not stare at everything because there were so many machines surrounding him, beeping and humming and whirring, and for a moment he thought he was in Spanner's workshop, listening to the man tinker with Gola Mosca and poking and prodding him with questions and tools about his Flames.

However, unlike the curious bemusement and confusion and safety he felt there, here all he felt was panic and terror so powerful he expected his heart would give out from pumping so furiously in his chest.

It wasn't until he sensed more than saw the shadows passing over the walls that he realized there were people here, moving with controlled, frenetic energy, white lab coats blending in with the white walls and white light. They were talking too, but he could barely hear them over the roar of his blood rushing through his head or the blackness creeping into his vision.

"–blood pressure climbing! Get it down!"

"Sedate him–…pass out again–!"

Again?

"Vitals are unstable –"

"Flames are unresponsive to experimental treatment, take out the IV–"

Wait, my flames? Why are they–

"Hold him down! Give him another pill–"

Pills?

"No, not ye–"

"Doctor, he's losing consciousness, should we use the adrenaline?"

"–re you crazy? At this stage, that'll only kill him–"

"How is…–ther patient?"

"–anaged to break out of his restraints–…rrently under heavy sedati–"

Ichigo…san?

"–leeping agent administered."

That was all Tsuna could hear before ice filled his veins and darkness floating around the edges of his vision consumed him, comforting and terrifying all in one breath. What's going o–

In moments, he knew no more.

Author's Note: I'm going to start writing longer chapters to get things moving. There's a lot of information I want to put in. Also, sorry if the details are messy and not altogether accurate, I realize now that this isn't going to be the best piece I write so sorry for inconsistencies. I'll try to fix them as time goes on. Please let me know what you think will happen next so I know if I'm giving away too much or not enough information. Faves and reviews are appreciated!

PS Mochida's here because in the future arc, TYL!Yamamoto mentioned Mochida being a part of Vongola. I've always wanted to add him to a story!