It was a day similar to any other when the past of Mukuro's crew caught up to them.
Shoichi had been called away for a system maintenance job, and he had seen fit to bring Lambo and I-pin with him. The company was a regular customer of theirs and the red-head knew them enough to know that they wouldn't have issues with two 5-year-olds tagging along to see how to interact with clients. Plus, the female workers in that company adored the two children, so there was little risk of an incident and it provided valuable social experience for Lambo and I-pin.
Meanwhile, Tsuna, Kyoya, Shoichi, Hayato, Mukuro, Chikusa and Ken were in the Office, working on their schooling. By now, the illusionist was roughly at a normal 11-year-old's level, Chikusa at a 10-year-old's and Ken at a 9-year-old's.
The Sky was in the middle of walking Ken through his math exercises when a shiver ran through his spine. His Intuition was screaming that something dangerous was getting closer. Something abnormal, cold, wrong...
He jumped to his feet. "Something is coming." He warned his friend, who all reached for their weapons at once, and positioned themselves for battle. Tsuna's voice had been too alarmed and urging for this to be anything but an enemy attack.
A dense, gray fog was rising, obscuring the floor and their feet. They all saw Mukuro and his companions freeze and turn as white as a sheet. "Vindice..." Whispered Chikusa, tightening his grip on his yoyos.
Hayato let out a frightened grasp; he had been fed tales of the police of the Mafia since he was a toddler. It was like facing the boogie man. The silveret started inching towards the back door, imitated by the three outlaws.
"It's no use." Tsuna shook his head tensely. "They are too close, it would only make things worse."
"We have to try, byon!" Panicked Ken. He was about to bolt when Kyoya caught him by the collar of his t-shirt and held him in place with a glare.
"Out of the way, you bastard! You have no idea what's coming!" Exploded Hayato, dynamite in hand and ready to throw at the raven's head.
"Stop whining, Herbivores." Growled Kyoya, as Chikusa joined Hayato in trying to intimidate him. Ken was still thrashing in his grip. Strangely enough, the only one apart from Tsuna and Kyoya that was not trying to run was Mukuro. The bluenet, while inwardly terrified, was glancing between the raven and the brunet.
All the while, the mist was thickening and was now reaching their knees. The clock was ticking, and Tsuna knew that -felt it deep in his bones. They had to have at least some sort of plan when Vindice arrived.
"Guys." He began, but his voice was drowned by the yelling. "Guys!" He shouted, adding a hint of Sky Flames. That got him their attention. "We won't be able to avoid them. Our only chance is negotiating our way through this."
"Negotiating?! That's frigging Vindice we're talking about! They don't negotiate, they imprison! No trial, no jury, just a cold cell!" Yelled Hayato. The arrival of his childhood nightmare making him so hysterical that he forgot his usual respect for his Tsuna-san.
"That's still our only option, Hayato, so you're going to have to calm down and face it, or I'm knocking you out so you don't endanger our talking!" Shouted Tsuna back, uncharacteristically harsh. It seemed to shock the silveret so much that he could only stare blankly for a moment before nodding mutely. Ken and Chikusa were also stunned for a second, but got their bearings back quickly and attempted to move Kyoya out of the way once more.
