A sway of Tsuna’s hand brushed his shirt. “That damned cigarette smell got on my clothes now!” He moved faster as if his patting could dispel the scent. “It’s great that my work is paying off! Problem with that is that I’m too broke to do anything else, but Emiko’s ring will be worth it.” A bright blue ray beamed on him from above, pulling his attention towards the sky. “That’s a blue moon, didn’t think one of those were this close. I’ve never seen it so big either! The socials are probably blowing up about this. I’ll read what they say before I head to bed tonight. Almost home.” After some time walking, he had reached his home with its windows pitch black. “Emiko took my advice? I’ll have to buy her some sweets since she’s not being lazy.” Strange noises came to him as he approached the door, sounding similar to a struggle. Someones in the house? Mom! Tsuna turned his shoulder towards the door and prepared to charge in. Hold on, I’m sure I just heard something fall, too. It’s faint, so they’re just up the stairs. Mom’s room is downstairs. Tsuna cracked open the door, carefully leaving the door open in case he needed to make a fast break. A flicker of light glistened from up the stairs as he heard a door slam shut. On the tip of his toes, he moved swiftly, as he could now pinpoint where the infiltrator was. They’re in my room? What the hell? Another step and his foot slid forward. He grabbed onto the wall, keeping himself from falling. Shit! Why is the floor wet? He took a breath to recompose himself as he crept closer to the door and reached for its handle. His heart climbed up to his throat, then dropped into the sea of rage that swelled in his chest. “I’ll teach this bastard!” Fist clenched, Tsuna burst into the room. Emiko sat in front of his laptop drenched in water, but wrapped in a towel that covered her torso to her thighs. A headset sitting on her damp hair as she yelled into the microphone.

“Hey, healer! Do your job! The dungeon just started, and this worthless tank is here already kissing dirt! I don’t see you having to eat deal with a boss on you! Damage is too low! Does this mage even know their rotation!?”

Tsuna’s rage subsided, overran by confusion, frustration, and disappointment. “Final Aura Online.” The only video game he knew she played, a MMORPG.

Her head swiveled to her shoulder, sensing someone was behind her. She gave him a calm and quick glance before looking back at the screen as her character fell to the ground.

“One of the worst dungeon runs of my life. Get good, shitters.” She said before pressing the ‘alt’ and ‘f4’ keys. She then threw off her headset and jumped onto Tsuna. “Tsuna! You’re back!”

“Yes, I am. What the hell was that noise before I came in? Mom is probably still awake with all this noise in the house.”

Emiko gave an embarrassing smile. “Well, I was taking a shower. I unplugged the headset so I could hear when my dungeon queue would go off, and then it did. So, I grabbed a towel and ran out the door then…”

Tsuna snickered. “You fell on your ass didn’t you.” He burst into laughter while grabbing his sides.

“Shut up! You’re not supposed to laugh at my pain! That horrible queue didn’t make it any better. The run didn’t last 5 minutes!”

A misty eyed Tsuna wiped face before taking a deep breath. “Mom’s probably awake now. Tell her that story and she’ll get a better laugh than I did.”

“Oh, she left a few hours ago.”

His head tilted as one of his eyebrows leaped. “She left? Did she say where? The office rarely keeps her this late.”

“While I was in here sleeping, resting up for when you came back, she poked her head in. My amazing senses felt her presence, so I waved. She looked mad at first but said it was okay then told me to pass a message to you.”

“Why didn’t she just text me? Fine. Go on then, what’s the message?”

“She said that she would not be home until late tonight, or maybe even tomorrow morning.” Emiko said, “But that was only the first part. She then said to remember that she loves you.”

An already confused Tsuna blinked in response. Why’s mom being so weird? A phone isn’t new to her since she’s practically on one all the time. Is she trying to be funny? “Thanks for passing the message, Emi. I’ll make breakfast for the three of us in the morning, but for now.” Tsuna walked over to his bed. “I’m going to head to bed.”

“Bed already! Bu-but don’t I deserve a reward today? It’s been such a long and boring day... I’ve been waiting for you to get back. So we can maybe get a workout?”

As he stepped away, he heard something hit the ground from where Emiko was standing. Blood surged to his head before he could take another step and he grit his teeth. Don’t turn around, you need to sleep. Don’t turn around you need to sleep. As he chanted away in his head, he completely froze before his bed. An audible gulp echoed within the room and he could sense the devilish grin that Emiko had been giving him. He licked his lips. “10 minutes. Give me 10 minutes to rest. Put something on for now and it’ll be off again in 11, so make it easy.”

“Deal!” She rushed over to his closet and dug through a corner where an extra stash of her clothing stacked. Hopping into underwear and shorts then sliding on a tank-top, she bounced back into the room with the window pulling her attention. “Whoa, Tsuna! Did you see the moon on the way here?”

Tsuna’s face collapsed into his pillow before his body reached the bed. “Yeah, it was big and blue. I don’t think we’re in the window for one of those. I read It’s like 2 and a half years.”

“When was the last one?”

“I dunno.”

Emiko let out a sigh. “Stupid Tsuna… Tsuna! Tsuna!”

Tsuna sat up. "What are you yelling about?" Eyes fixed to something outside of the window, he watched her point a finger as she stepped back. He climbed out of bed and moved next to her, almost copying her sentiment once he had seen what she had been pointing at.

An object was floating in the air below the moon. It appeared in a disfigured shape as it flew over the city. A purple visage built up around it before the color dispersed and blanketed the area. A loud crash erupted from outside, sounding similar to explosions as they witnessed a rain of orbs descending from the sky.

His body when cold, a numb sensation ran through his right hand as the cut glimmered a bright white. “Run!” Tsuna said when an ear-piercing screech shattered the window, forcing the two of them to cover their ears. Tsuna’s head felt like it was going to shatter to pieces as he watched Emiko fall to her knees. Through the window, a white light shined on them and obscured his vision. The floating object now headed in their direction. It unraveled, opening into the shape of a giant woman, looking down with her arms crossed over her bosom, slowly breaking from their petrified state. “Shit. That thing’s coming for us!” Tsuna trembled as he heard what sounded like people marching in unison or faint flapping. The noises were growing louder, something was getting closer. “Come on!” He pulled Emiko and ran into the closet. Moving her in first, he closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. Emiko panted, her face flushed red and visually in shock. He pulled her close.

“What’s happening, Tsuna! Y-your hand! It’s glowing!”

“I wish I could tell you why, but just stay calm, Emi. We’re going to be alright. I’ll keep you safe, I promise. Just stay with me.”

Speechless, she stared at him and trembled as if it were her last moment.

This light… when did it come from my hand? Could that be why it’s heading this way? If so, why are we sitting here?! If I’m what it wants, then I need to get Emiko away. I can’t lose her! But what about mom? I need to find her too! Tsuna pulled his phone from his pocket. “No signal.” What now? If we run, I put the both of us at risk. If I don’t, then something might happen to mom. What do I-! A third option popped into his head. He reached out for the cane tucked away in the corner and stood up as he adjusted his grip on the top, revealing a blade that sparkled a glint from of his glowing hand. “We’re going to get out of here. That thing will find us if we keep hiding here. It sounds stupid, I know, but if they find us, I want you to run. Run as fast as you can. Besides, I think it’s after me.”

“How do you know that? You’re risking your life for nothing! We should wait for help!”

“Tell me who’s going to help us! Who’s going to stop some giant from finding us!”

Another crash nearby and a howl that spread through the night followed by screams from men and women outside.

Tsuna mustered up his courage. Hesitantly placing his hand on the door with his other hand gripping the cane tight. I have to protect mom. I have to protect Emiko. The people who saved me. I will keep them safe! He cracked open the door, finding the room unchanged except for the broken glass from the window. Distant screams plagued the outside along with rugged breathing, as if they had let hounds loose. Something was hunting people. He eased out of the doorway, urging Emiko to follow, and peeked around in all directions. Tsuna crept his way towards the shattered window and could see enormous creatures flying outside, beasts on top of buildings descending below and attacking those who were unfortunate enough to be seen. Keep going! He pressed on. “Nothing seems to notice we’re here, but I think the house is empty. If we leave through the back, we should-.” Without warning, something tackled him from the side, knocking him across the glass and causing him to drop the cane. One of the flying creatures had emerged from the shadow in the room’s corner It had a half-human, half-bird appearance, but with large pitch-black wings extending from the upper part of their back, and solid white eyes. Its talons tried to grab hold of him. Tsuna avoided its talons and grabbed onto a large fragment of shattered glass that was lying nearby. He stabbed it into the creature’s leg, and it let out a deafening shriek. Emiko ran out of the closet and attacking it from behind with her fists. Her punches mangled the creature, distorting its shape, but every blow appeared ineffective. While the creature regained its shape, Tsuna reached for the cane hearing a scream, then saw creature turned around and lunging at Emiko. “No!” He grabbed the cane and whipped it into its neck, knocking the creature back as it stumbled into the wall. A swift motion disposed of the blade’s sheath, allowing Tsuna to stab into the monster’s neck. Pinned, it shook into a frenzy, jerking left and right while slowly evaporating into thin air. A shaken sigh escaped his lips as he felt Emiko pull at his arm.

“Are you okay, Tsuna? Be careful of the glass.”

“I’m fine. Are you okay?”

Emiko nodded and looked out of the window. “I think it called for help. That cry was loud enough for more to hear it.”

“Then let’s get going before more show up.”

***

Not once did Tsuna’s mind stray from his goal. Bodies laying in the streets; blood splattered against the walls and cars only made him more determined to find his mother. The dark creatures had slowed the floating woman down by similar to the one that had attacked them. They weren’t on the same side. It swiped at creatures by the dozen, knocking them into buildings and evaporating any that fell into her bright gaze. Tsuna led Emiko to a dark alley between buildings where they rested until they were ready to move again. This is horrible. These people killed by those monsters. “This shouldn’t have happened.”

“Tsuna, you’re talking crazy. There’s no way we would’ve known this was going to happen.” Emiko said. “This is a phenomenon, some shit that nobody’s dealt with! Don’t blame yourself!”

Deep inside, he believed her, but every glance at the white light in his hand made him think otherwise. He covered his hand. “Whatever this is, is the reason. It has to be. You don’t have it, we’ve never heard of something like this. It’s like I’m wearing a tracking device. That thing will follow me until it has me.”

“You’re not going alone, if that’s what you’re thinking! At first, I was worried but that we’ve survived an attack once gives me hope we can survive another! What you did back there gave me hope, Tsuna. It’s like you said, we’ll be alright. As long as we’re together, we’ll be alright.”

Her words rekindled his resolve, bringing a smile to his face. “Stay with me, Emiko. I have a plan.”

She nodded intently, listening closely.

“We need to get to my job. There are people who are working overnight and I’m certain they locked the place up when things started hitting the fan. The more people we have, the more likely our chance of surviving. But also the chances of us getting caught. We’ll figure out something from there.”

“Let’s go then. I’m ready when you are!”

The two of them ran out into the streets, Tsuna noticing almost instantly that the giant woman had caught sight of them and flew in their direction.

A chill ran up his spine as when the giants lights swung in their direction. “Shit! That was too soon!" The flapping of wings over the buildings and heavy steps rushing down the street came next. Creatures of different shapes and sizes surrounded him and Emiko. “That plan didn’t last. No matter what, don’t leave my side!” Out of the darkness, one of the more massive creatures rushed them, grabbing Tsuna and took to the skies. Emiko could do nothing but scream as she watched Tsuna being taken away from her.

“Tsuna!”

They doused the hope he had in his heart with a wave of despair. The monsters surrounding her were getting closer and he could only watch. Tsuna swung wildly, swaying through the skies as the beast took him higher. The giants ray of light shone on them, the creature let out a terrible cry as the dark dripped away like paint and released him in order to escape. Tsuna’s body fell numb. He was now thousands of feet above Yanagawa. The air rushing around his body, the deafening wind piercing his ears, until he crashed into a building and down to its first floor.

The adrenaline in his body raged like an untamed fire, his anger coming first before his questioning of how he’d survived the fall. “What the hell is happening! This isn’t any dream! Why me!” Covered in debris, the light in his hand now pulsed. As this was happening, he felt a rush of energy overflowing his body, giving him the strength to stand up. “I feel…” The giant stood hundreds of feet over him, her eyes now human-like, with pupils moving around the area he landed. Slowly, it raised its leg, intending to snuff the life left in him. Tsuna clenched the fist where the light shined and pulled it back, waiting for the foot to fall. “If I die, I die fighting!”

The foot fell like a guillotine, dropping before his eyes. As the giant’s attempt on his life drew closer, time had appeared to slow down along with his body. A swing of his fist slowly approached his attacker, each moment a pulse along his arm traveled further towards his fist until it connected. The clash of blows halted one another, Tsuna holding under the weight on the colossus. The woman’s stone face shifted from one of sternness to one of surprise. Tsuna swayed her leg, it landing to his side. Light embraced his fist as he pulled back and attacked the giant’s foot, the light rippling through to her leg. More human-like expressions appeared on the woman’s face. She now appeared enraged.

The light around Tsuna’s hand grew larger than his body, it raising itself into the air. He now realized that everything that’s happened was his blame to take. “This is for everyone!” A hum echoed from his hand as if it had responded to him, the light bursting into smaller beams and spreading throughout the city.

The woman’s mouth broke open, a scream reverberating through its insides as it desperately reached out for him. Before her eyes, Tsuna was falling again, into a void that opened below his feet.

The reality he knew faded away as Tsuna’s vision warped between darkness and light, blending together in a mesh of hysteria and euphoria. The energy in his body slipped away, along with his senses. He closed his eyes, hoping he would wake up from this nightmare. “Mom. Emiko.”