La Promessa Fatta - aoihaneul (2024)

Chapter 1: Anya Marter's New Life

Chapter Text

Well this is a boring start. Do I really have to tell you my tale? Then again this isn't called a story for nothing so I'll comply.

My name? It's Anya Marter. I'm 17 years old. I lived in England. I had red fiery hair and green eyes. I had two older sisters and one baby brother.

We lived with our mother, who is the daughter of the chairman of the most powerful and well known company in the UK. My father, was already deadHe had died by drug overdose, that's what the doctor had said but I knew otherwise. My dad did not do drugs ever in his life. He was murdered. A closed case that my mother didn't bother to want to keep open. Call it hidden or fake grief. Who even knew if she did.

Speaking of my mother, I was the hated child in hers and my grandfather's eyes and they never showed me one single drop of affection. My dad was the only one who had wanted me. I didn't know the reason why my mother hated me until later but I grew up to be a bit bitter in my lifetime. I didn't let love ever take over my heart with the exception of my dad, my sisters, and my little brother. They were my only light in the dark places in my mind. They reminded me to keep living

Now you're probably wondering why I'm telling you this. Look back at the previous words. Don't notice anything peculiar? I used past tense. Which means that yeah, I'm not moving, I'm not breathing, nada. I'm dead. Whoopdi 's why I'm here, in heaven, talking to a a person dressed in white with wings, telling me I was going to have another chance and where I was going to live now.

"So... let me get this straight. And I mean bloody straight. You're telling me, that you'll be giving me one more chance to live?" I said, not believing a single word this angel was saying.

"Yes. I have seen your life Anya. It hasn't been kind to you and you have died with many regrets. I'm giving you an opportunity to start over in a new world," the female angel said. "Well, not me. The Higher Up of course. Makes the rules, alters it, meh."/

"And which world was I chosen to go to exactly?"

"The world of KHR."

I blinked twice making sure I heard right. "What? You mean KHR as in-"

The angel looked a little annoyed at me asking so many questions. "Yes yes I mean the anime world of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. You will be reincarnated there."

I felt a little tickle in my chest. Then it released. I laughed. I held my non-existing invisible stomach hard as I laughed my heart out.

"Hahahahaha! T-That's a funny joke. You're kidding right? If you've watched me my whole 17 years of my life you would know that's my least favorite anime. Ihatedit." Yes, by secret I was an otaku. Behind this British accent I was a fan of Japanese culture.

The angel rolled her eyes at me. "No duh you stupid kid. That's why I'm sending you there. Besides, you didn't even finish watching the whole show!"

"I saw what was needed to be seen," I retorted and crossed my arms.

"You only got to the fifth episode!"

An unwanted inkling at the show made my lips press tighter. I shrugged in denial. "...I still didn't like it."

The angel sighed roughly. "Well you're going to that world and that's final. Now, you have a choice on how you'd like to live. Who would you like to exist as and with who?"

I put my hand under my chin in thought. Well, I didn't have a liking towards Yamamoto Takeshi so being related to him would make me inherit his oblivious nature so no.

Gokudera Hayato was a hothead. If we were related, I'd probably want to kill him every passing minute for his grouchy behavior.

Sasagawa Ryohei already had a little sister.

Maybe choosing the main character as someone being related to wasn't so bad. Since I stopped at the fifth episode, I didn't know any more characters to choose from so might as well. Tsunayoshi wasn't unlikeable, and we had some things in common so he'd be an okay brother.

"I guess being the sister of the main character wouldn't be so bad..." I whispered and the angel brightened up.

"I knew it! You didn't like the anime but you've had an admiration for Sawada Tsunayoshi since the first episode!" it cried and jumped up and down the cloud we were standing in like a fangirl.

I mentally slapped myself for saying my decision out loud. "Not true. I'm just thinking the benefits of being the sister or brother of the main character. It means more screen time."

"Whatever Anya Marter, keep yourself in denial. You have made your decision. You will now be Sawada Tsunayoshi's twin sister!"

"Glad to have-WHAT?! That is NOT WHAT I SAID!" I yelled angrily at the holy messenger. "Why are you warping everything I say! You can't do that!"

"Sorry kid but I make the rules here. It's settled. You're going to be a part of the anime you least like. You'll be able to experience what you haven't been able to feel in this world of reality. Now one more thing..."

The angel gave me a sad glance before doing her hand waves and flap of wings.

"You won't be remember anything of your past life. That is the catch. Will you accept it anyways?"

My eyes observed downwards where we were above the scene of my funeral.

My two older sisters Lillian and Kristin were mourning for me. My little brother Emile was hiding behind my coffin, trying so hard not to cry. My mother and my grandfather were outside the church discussing about business, not even caring that I died. I tried to hold in the hurt I was feeling just seeing the very person who gave birth to me not even shed a tear that I was gone.

I faced the angel with a calm nature and I nodded my head in agreement./

"...I accept that condition." My heart pulled at it though. A little part of me didn't want to forget my source of light I once had.

"I will let you know something before you fully agree to it. Sometimes the Higher Up has dealt with cases such as yours. We grant many who've had unfortunate lives of level severe to forget. BUT, your whole soul must be willing to give it up, and I mean everything, moment and one. If you don't, it may cause side effects towards your new life. That means getting snippets of your old life and receiving confusion to your new self. Do you agree to not hang onto your life? It makes the process easier for us."

I nodded. It sounded like contract agreements no one read because they were boring. "Sure I guess. But as a favor, think you can watch Emile for me?"/p

The angel smiled. "Of course I will Anya I promise. Nothing will happen to him while I am watching over him. Now, are you ready to start your new life?"

"Yes." I said still a bit bothered that the angel had changed my words. Well whatever it's not like I'll end up being that Vongola Decimo or whatever in the anime. Mafia and me didn't mix. Hell, I avoided streets with mugging and all that bugger.

"May you earn what you haven't in this world dear Anya. May you find love and kindness," she said as a light started to consume me.

"Wait! I never got your name! To thank you!" I yelled as my sight kept getting whiter and whiter.

"You will know in due time child. Until we meet again."

Before I knew it, I blacked out. Black consumed. My life had played and was being reset.

What would await me?

A scream pierced the air in the Namimori Hospital. There was a whole commotion around the hospital about someone dying but then after a while, the screams had then turned to utter silence. Soon after a while, two more cries, high pitched ones had overpowered the silence.

A patter of footsteps went through each floor in a hurry, trying to find the room where his wife was to give birth. Once he had arrived to the second floor and rushed into a room with the name SAWADA, three heads turned to face the newcomers. His eyes landed on the honey haired brunette in the hospital bed, his honey eyes brightening as he made his way to her. "Nana!"

"I congratulate you Sawada-san. Your wife has given birth to twins." The doctor said and smiled as he exited the room to let the father see his wife and newborn children. The man slowly entered the room, as if his footsteps could cause thundering noise to wake up his newborns.

"Iemitsu!" The woman who had given birth gazed up to see her husband. She held her two new sleeping children in her arms. "Say hello to your children!"

Iemitsu smiled as he looked down at them. "Twins..." One boy, one girl. He then glanced up to see his wife's dark brown eyes. "What will we name them?"

"Hmm..." Nana observed the baby on the right, her son and a gentle gaze overcame her. "Tsunayoshi. Our son will be Tsunayoshi."

"Tsunayoshi. A wonderful name. And our little girl?"

Nana couldn't help but giggle at her husband's tender behavior. "I'll give you the chance to name our little youngest one."

"How about Tsukairi? It has a gentle ring to it..." Iemitsu grabbed the edge of the hospital bed and let the little baby grab ahold of his finger.

"Tsunayoshi and Tsukairi. I love it Iemitsu," Nana smiled and observed her now sleeping children with loving eyes. "We will take care of you two no matter what. We will shower you with love and kindness, won't we?"

The father nodded and sat down on a nearby chair beside his wife. "Always. We promise."

Meanwhile an angel with splendid white wings and dressed in a white robe looked down at the sight of two happy parents promising their vows to their two brand new children.

"I bid you good luck , Anya," the angel smiled sadly but then gently shook her head and rolled the new name of the child. She wouldn't like it that she was the twin, but then again she wouldn't remember who she was before this.

"May you grow up to be a fine lady, Tsukairi Sawada." The angel smiled and flapped her wings, flying off to some other place to watch a certain little boy as a promise she had done to a girl that had the name,Anya.

Chapter 2: Tutor and Student/s

Chapter Text

Sawada Twins' Childhood

Year 3

As babies the twins were no trouble. Nana and Iemitsu had no hard time. Unless it came to changing. And feeding. And waking up. And losing sleep. It was exhausting work, but hey, nobody said it'd be easy being a parent. Or easy getting to attached to them too. That was more of the father's issue. He married an adorable wife. Now he had adorable kids that melted his heart everyday, even if they were troublemakers and crybabies.

"Tsu-kun, Ri-chan! Time for breakfast!" Nana called her children downstairs as she readied the rice cooker.

Her husband Iemitsu was already awake, ready for the day, and was sitting on their brown rectangular table.

My three years have passed since his adorable twins were time could slow down the memories they parents wanted to keep forever.

Tsuna learned to walk two days before his sister did. Tsukairi then spoke her first word a week before Tsunayoshi did. Now that his kids were three years old now, it was time to see them unravel more. Good thing he was home most days to see them progress and grow. As Nana set the morning toast in the middle of the table a loud thump caught her and her and Iemitsu's attention.

"Mou Tsu-nii, careful!" a little girl's voice softly scolded at someone.

"I-Itai..." the other voice, a boy's voice complained. Nana made her way to the hall and stared at her daughter helping up her brother from the floor.

"Mama, Tsu-nii fell of the stairs..." the little girl then pulled her mother's pink apron down. The little girl had short hair that reached to her chin with untamed little spikes on top of the crown of the head. Her caramel eyes looked worried as if telling Nana to check up on her brother. It pulled on the woman's heart strings.

"Hai Hai. Tsu-kun, are you okay?" the mother had bent down on her knees and patted her son's head.

"Y-Yes Mama. Ri-nee helped me," the little boy with his short gravity defying hair that had more defined spikes nodded and dried his tears. He had the same resembling eyes his sister owned. Nana laughed and blushed at her twin's resembling cuteness.

"Alright. Let's go get breakfast! I made your favorite! Pancakes!"

"Yay!" both children yelled out excited and ran towards the kitchen where their father was already eating.

"Ohayo Tou-san!" Tsukairi greeted her dad.

"Good morning to my little Tuna Fish and Sea!" Iemitsu lowered his newspape and grabbed the young ones into a tight embrace. One that made Tsukairi giggle and Tsuna squirm for air.

"Tou-san! C-Can't b-breathe!" Tsuna complained and was immediately released.

"Sorry sorry!"

"Mama, why'd you cook a lot of food? Tsuri's not that hungry," the little girl struggled to climb her chair and once she succeeded she helped her brother on the other chair next to her. Nana smiled.

"That's because your father just got a job!"

"EH?!" the two little ones cried, surprised.

'Please don't ever learn about my job until its time,' Iemitsu thought as he stopped his chopsticks from moving. 'For now, be innocent children.'

"And also because Tsu-kun and Ri-chan are going to kindergarten!~"

"WHAT?" The other body on the table looked at the woman a little surprised! He was not ready to let his kids go to school yet! No! That meant they were growing up!

"Ne, Tsu-nii! We get to go to school!" Tsukairi poked her brothers shoulder as he ate. Tsuna only nodded but shook with nervousness. How was school like?

Iemitsu could only cry out in the corner of the kitchen, now wishing his kids wouldn't grow up and stay little forever.

"Tou-san?"

"Hmm? Iemistu looked at Tsuri who looked on the verge of crying a river. His heart dropped miles below the surface.

"Will you forget about me and Tsu-nii? Please don't leave us behind!"

"No no my little sea!" Iemistu rushed over to pick up his daughter and hug her tightly in his arms. She leaned on his shoulder, taking in all that her father was. Nana settled Tsuna who also felt sad because of Tsuri and both shared warm loving smiles at them, and each other.

"Your Papa will always be here. Always!"

Year 7

"Ne ne, Tsu-nii!"

"What's up Ri-chan?"

The twins were at the park. They were playing on the swings after waiting the whole day for them to be unoccupied. They could see their mother talking with the owner of that big sushi place over across town, as his son was in the corner swatting baseballs with other kids.

Little Tsuri hummed. "I've been seeing people in color."

Tsuna scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Don't we already see in color?"

"Yeah but... I'm seeing like hidden colors behind colors. Kind of like rainbows? Do you see them too?"

Tsuna thought really hard. He did at some point but then it went away. "I did before. Now I don't. Do you see them?"

"Mhm. But I don't know if I'm crazy for it."

"Hey, if you are I am too!"

The twins laughed. Maybe they were.

Maybe they were since they always communicated with their mind. Strange as it was to have telepathy at baby age was a mystery no one knew. But hey, the twins never questioned it. And neither did Nana who watched from a distance as she saw her kids take long looks at each other, and would make random facial expressions as their form of communication.

The twins were inseparable at age 7. They would go everywhere together, comfort each other whenever they needed it and even shared most of their stuff together. They obviously fought for simple things like food, toys and games even though they would make up sooner than Nana and Iemitsu could take over. They had been going to grade school for quite some time and no serious stuff had occurred until one sunny day Tsuna had fallen down the stairs while on the way to recess, tripped the other kids as well like tumbling dominos and knocked down balls from who knows where. Later that day, Tsuna had stuttered while reading, and had caused a fire that Tsuri didn't even know how he ignited it.

From there, Tsuna had begun his clumsy phase, and then his failing had earned his nickname Dame-Tsuna. His bullying days began. Tsukairi defended her brother no matter what. Tsuri still hadn't entered her clumsy phase yet so Tsuna was the only one targeted. Tsuri was considered a gift while Tsuna was the curse.

Year 10

It had been a rainy day after school. One minute the twins had been walking home together, passing the shopping district after Tsuri begged him to shop by the bakery for some fresh bread. The next thing he knew, he heard her crying for help and her umbrella dropped blocks away after they had departed. Tsuna had gone home, running to his parents in tears. Iemitsu had taken off and six hours later and with unexplained injured, Nana and Tsuna were reunited with a red eyed and sobbing Tsuri.

Two week after the phone to their residence rang. Tsuri was going to answer until she heard her father's voice speaking in some unknown language. Then it shifted over to Japanese and then, she heard the word Vongola. That phone call her dad made that night proved to her she was involved in something she wasn't supposed to know about, with the name Vongola being affiliated She didn't understand much, but she knew that her Dad's real job consisted of bad people.

Tsuna, being himself, did not know whatsoever about it other than to vow to himself and his sister that he would protect her no matter what after what happened. He would be more careful, even if he were Dame Tsuna. Tsukairi also vowed to become good and strong to protect her family and she trained.

One night, there was a false alarm with her house. Her dad had brought work friends over to help surveil the twins and Nana when Iemistu had shot a loud noise by a tree next to their fence. Tsuri had gone down in all the commotion and meet a tiny person with red glasses and markings on her face. To avoid dealing with another mess and risking exposure, Tsuri asked this person for a favor; to help her become strong. The person told her how and after two months the child grew prone to severe injuries she couldn't bear. So unfortunately, she gave up and returned to finding her own way to protect her family, and her dad's secret job.

Year 13

Tsuna and Tsuri were now 13 years old. They were in middle school. The oldest of the twins had kept his name in school of being 'No-good.' Tsuri had gone from a social person into a girl who didn't have as much friends. Girls hated the way she got attention without even trying so Tsuri gave up on being friendly and became aloof. It hurt her that she was lonely but it was better. Her dad had left home two years ago and hadn't come back even now. She missed him but because of his secret, she grew to hate him because of it. They were once his world and now they were forgotten at the back of his mind. She decided to join a sport to help her increase stamina levels in case of an emergency, so she joined the soccer team much to some girl's chagrin. The soccer team hated her but had to admit she knew how to play so they remained civil up to a certain point.

With Tsuna? Tsuri was forced to stop defending him and let him be much to her protests. Because Tsuna didn't want to spread his misfortune, he pulled away from his twin. He didn't understand that it took quite an effect on her and gave her the need to not even try for school either. They had gone distant over the years but they never stopped having each other's backs though. Tsuri would still find ways to get her brother's bullies even. Maybe pull some pranks that caused them to lose sleep or get bad grades. Tsuna was unaware of course.

Now thirteen, the twins didn't know, but soon a self claimed baby hitman was to come to their door in a couple of days and tell them some important news. And Tsuri, was to become a part of it as well. The secret was going to unroll itself, and would no longer stay hidden.

Morning as usual. It was a very peaceful morning in the Sawada household. There was no noise other than the chopping and whirring in the kitchen who so happened to be Nana Sawada, making breakfast. Although her hands were moving and cutting this and that, her mind was on the flyer she found this morning.

Oh wait, weren't her kids supposed to be on their way to school right about now?

"Tsuna! Tsuri!" Silence.

"Tsu-kun! Ri-chan! You're going to be late again!"

No one seemed to be hearing her.'Might as well go up and see,'the mother thought and turned off the stove.

She exited the kitchen and went up the stairs to where her Tsu-kun and Ri-chan were sleeping.

They had gotten this house right after they were born. Because of Iemitsu's obsession that his twins bond, he asked Nana if they could share a room with each other just until they get older of age. They could be taught how to dwell in each other's presence since Tsuri was obsession attached to her brother at the hip. So, to this day they decided to let the twins share one room as long as they respected each other's privacy, even though Tsuri always threatened her brother to leave and get her own room whenever they had their sibling spats.

When Nana opened the door, she firstly looked at the floor. Since there was a line for keeping space of their stuff, Tsuna's side of the room was very messy. Pants thrown here, wrappers and bottles on the brown desk, it was a mother's worst nightmare and yet Nana could only sigh at her son's messiness.

As for her daughter's side, there was nothing but magazines scattered there and her shoes not put in place. Besides the stack of books beside her bed, it seemed as clean but not so much.

Nana shook her son awake first.

"Tsu-kun, wake up. You're going to be late again."

Nana touched her daughter's forehead and rubbed it. "Ri-chan, you too. I can't believe you slept in again!"

After a futile attempt, by the corner of her eye, Nana caught two papers sticking out of the study desk Tsuna and his sister shared. "What could this be?"

Nana pulled and found two math exams. One had the number 15 in red, the other had a 68 in green. Nana sighed. Her children really needed to study more. Well at least she now had an excuse to wake them up.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi who received a fifteen and Sawada Tsukairi who earned a sixty eight?"

Both brother and sister shot up from their beds at the same time. "Ah, ah yes?!" Tsuna said nervously, only to find his mother holding the test he so tried to hide.

Tsuri rubbed her eyes, still feeling a bit drowsy. "... Kaasan? No! My test!" she cried. As Tsuna tried to take away the papers from his mom's hands, he fell off the edge of the bed and landed on his chin.

Tsuri sweat dropped and Nana asked if he was okay. Tsuna looked up to see his mother holding a piece of paper that wasn't his test.

"Look Tsu-kun! Starting today a home tutor is going to be coming!" Tsuri's ear itched. Nana smiled excitedly. "There was an interesting flyer in the mailbox!"

The female version of her brother crossed the line of the room and went behind Tsuna to read the flyer. " 'You will be starting a home tutor. I will raise your child to become the leader of the next generation. I am young and good looking.'"

"I gave them a call immediately!"

Tsuna's eyes crossed slightly. "I don't need a home tutor," both twins said in unison. Nana ignored them. "And as long as they have a place to stay and a meal each day they'll teach you for free twenty four hours a day!"

"That just sounds like a scam- WHAT?! It's that time already?" Tsuna looked above the clock and rushed out his bedroom door. "Anyway, I don't need a tutor!" he yelled.

"Kaasan, I'll have to agree with Tsuna. Its okay, I can figure it out myself," Tsuri said and went back to her side of the room.

"Don't you tell me that young lady, you've been failing your math class for as long as I can remember! You'll get that tutor and that's final." Tsuri saw her mother exit as she heard her brother fall off the stairs; again. She couldn't help but feel that her mother sounded like someone she knew but she couldn't quite pin it. She shrugged. She was probaly still drowsy.

'Maybe I'm still sleepy...' She thought and went to the bathroom to comb out her uncontrollable hair and get dressed. When she came out neat and speck, she went downstairs to find a weird looking baby dressed in a suit and a fedora kicking her brother on the head.

Her mother seemed to not know that this baby was dangerous or something. How could Tsuri tell? The aura. She had the weird ability to see people's color since she was little. She asked Tsuna if he saw them au but all he did was look at her like she grew another head. So, she had asked a teacher once about people's colors after visiting a shrine and a priestess mentioning it. She told her many colors meant many things; with white as an aura of innocence. If it was green, pure greed. Purple meant resentment and so on. This baby had one mixed with all sorts of colors but the color of white was one he did NOT have on. It was enveloped with more black and yellow than anything else. She shivered.

'Hell he's a baby! Aren't all babies innocent?!' She thought feeling afraid of him.

"Ara Tsu-kun, if you don't hurry you'll be late for school," Nana said as she saw Tsuna cringe in pain. When Tsuna left to go change Tsuri grabbed a toast and started to chew. She stood below the stairs, waiting for her lazy brother to hurry up.

Thanks to their argument last night about their study time and how Tsuna earned another black eye, she had slept in and wasn't able to go run a lap or so for the day as a wake up call for her muscles. Though weak in other areas she had found out she was nimble with her feet so she thanked herself for that abiluty everyday. Not today. While she thought of her missed run, the baby with no white aura was also there with her.

"You must be Tsuri, sister of Tsuna" the baby spoke up and earned a suspicious glare from the said person.

"Yeah what about it?" she replied and clapped her hands together to get rid of the crumbs on her hands.

"I am Reborn. I'll be tutoring you and your brother starting today."

She blinked three times. And she found herself trying to suppress a laugh coming from her lips. "You? Tutor us? That's a funny joke. Who exactly are you baby?"

Reborn, who was getting a tad bit annoyed at these twins saying the exact same thing was going to kick her on the shin when she dodged it out of pure instinct.'No way in hell. I've already got tons of bruises on my arms and legs from life! I don't need another trip to the hospital again!'

Reborn was taken aback just slightly but he didn't show it. If he knew correctly in the information he had gotten, the younger Sawada twin had no skills like her brother.

"TSUNA IF IM LATE I AM GOING TO TELL MOM ABOUT OUR HISTORY TEST NEXT!"

"IM COMING IM COMING!" Tsuna had then rushed downstairs even more careful to make sure he wouldn't fall this time and ran out the door with Tsuri behind.

"Ne, who was that baby back there?" Tsuri questioned her brother who seemed to be thinking.

"I'm a hitman," a voice, apparently the baby again, said while atop Tsuna. Tsuna, not knowing who was sitting on his head commented ,"A hitman? That's stupid."

Tsuri was about to speak about babies and their imagination when in their path they had crossed a chihuahua. And Tsuna's foot was stepping on it's tail. Someone take cover! "HIEE! It's off its leash!" Tsuna screamed and fell backwards as he tried escaping the small dog's wrath.

Tsuri sweat dropped again. Reborn jumped off of Tsuna's head and patted the dog, to which it responded with liking towards the baby. "You're probably the only middle schooler who's afraid of a chihuahua," he pointed out and kept patting the dog.

"That's already a fact," Tsuri added and guided back the small animal to its home and closed the gate. "There. You can get up from the floor now, Tsuna."

When Tsuna elevated his body to move, he and his company were suddenly approached by another student of their school whom Tsuna knew well.

"Ah how cute!" she beamed and bent down on the baby's level. "Good morning."

'The idol of Nami-chuu, Sasagawa Kyoko. Heh, Tsuna aren't you lucky today?'Tsuri only saw the blush forming on her brother's face as he saw his crush talking to Reborn.

Then he and her saw yet another girl approach their little group. She looked as if she fell off from somewhere. "Is this kid your younger brother?" she ran out panting rather heavily. Tsuna and Tsuri couldn't help but wince at the strange person's voice.

"N-No he's not," Tsuna replied instantly.

'But you can have him for free,' Tsuri was about to say it but held it back.

That morning routine was destroyed and was awfully eventful.

"You two sure know how to live with regrets don't you?"

"Huh?" Tsuri could hear her brother's sad comment watching Sasagawa leave with that brilliant smile of hers. She wanted to stop her for his sake, but then Tsuna would take the favor as a form of pity and fight with her about it at home. She couldn't.

"Maybe we do," she muttered in defeat, a pout appearing in her features. "There are a whole lot of reasons why we do.

"Don't you ever wish you didn't?"

"What's going on? Why are you suddenly sounding like you could solve that problem—"

Suddenly his chameleon shape shifted and Tsuri shrieked loudly. What the hell in Nami's gravestones did just happen? Was this magic or something? EXORCISM! POSSESSION?! KAMI SAMA HELP HER.

"Don't question it. Right now I'm going to show you exactly how Tsuna can resolve his regret." The chameleon took form in the baby's hand and when the light cleared Tsuri swore her legs would give out.

"THAT'S AGUN! ARE YOU GOING TO KILL US?"

"You ask too many questions. Shut up and watch."

BANG. Tsuri felt her whole body grow cold when she witnessed the red colored bullet shoot through her brother's forehead and disappear. He fell to his back, body unreacting as if he were wiped out dead. She could still hear his voice in her mind, rambling about how he could have just talked to Kyoko, tell her how pretty she was, tell her he liked her…

She shuddered, freaked out. "You just killed my brother! You're insane!"

"REEEEEEBBOOOOOOORRRRNNNNNNNNN!" Tsuna's zombie corpse had risen from the dead, clothes riped of by unknown forces. His forehead lit with a little orange fire and his eyes were do deadly fierced and determined that she even questioned if Tsuna had just shape shifted too like the gun. "I'll confess my feelings to Kyoko-chan with my dying will!"

"DYING WILL?! OI TSUNA YOU WERE JUST—"

And with those words left in her mouth, Tsuri watched her twin brother, Sawada Tsunayoshi, run with inhumane speed to the front of their school gate in his underwear, about to confess to Sasagawa Kyoko, and possibly would be labeled as a pervert after that.

"…..What was that….? He just died… and came back….?"

The baby in the fedora smirked. "Its called a Dying Will bullet. It awakens the part of yourself that you wish you'd not regretted doing. Tsuna was my experiment just now to show you that."

"You're…. y-you were serious then…?" her voice squeaked out.

"Like the dead Sawada Tsukairi. Want to give it a go?"

She recoiled at the thought of being whistled by as she'd wander around naked too. She shook her head fervently in refusal. "N-No thank you! I actually got to go to school to resc—I mean go to class I will be home later BYE!" Before Tsuna could commit the atrocious, Tsuri picked up whatever speed she could to make up for his dash and ran until her legs felt like they would fall off. But, she had caught up to him too late. People were already laughing and Kyoko had run inside the gates in embarrassment and in tears.

Tsuna was standing still like a mannequin, skin white and pale, full of even more regret than he had stayed with before by the chihuahua's gate. Tsuri released evil demon eyes at anyone who dared to keep laughing while she was there. She took off the sweater she had borrowed from her twin's closet and wrapped it around him.

"This is the worst day of my life."

"Yeah… but it could get worse couldn't it?"

"It could."

Both twins looked and jumped in alarm again. The baby hitman they thought they had left behind had popped in front of them again like a ghost who never left.

"Please don't say that…"

"Did't we leave you blocks behind—HEY don't just walk away and ignore us!"

"Oi Dame-Tsuna! How dare you harass Kyoko-chan like that!"The next person approaching the commotion was a tall bulky looking figure. It was a senior that Tsuri had been seeing trail behind many girls in Nami Chuu. Mochida. She rolled her eyes when she caught him trying to wink her way. She bared her teeth at him to stop. No way.

"You better prepare yourself! I challenge you to a match afternoon break in the gym to defend her honor! You better not make Tsuri-chan take your place OR run away or I'll hunt you down! You got that?"

Tsuna could see Tsuri's figure fuming as they watched his macho self, strut away as if he'd done good for the earth. "I'm not going to go."

"HEY. If you let him trample over you and not have a chance to clear the misunderstanding—"

"I don't need to clear it up. Just leave it alone Tsuri."

Once they had gotten inside to their classroom, people were now starting to spread the rumor of Tsuna turning into a pervert and about Mochida challenging him. Tsuri couldn't help but roll her eyes at that name. Her senpai was full of himself. Couldn't these following puppies notice it already or were they too busy bullying her twin brother? She wanted to scream, make a show over it. But Tsuna wouldn't like that if she did. She bit her lip.

When she sat on her window seat on the far back she decided to see whether Tsuna could convince his own self to go without running away and fight this idiot senpai of theirs. If he did, then she'd go watch the match. She'd ditch practice for this too, not that her teammates cared anyways.

The day went by as normal as it could. Tsuna being called on, being picked on, being tasked to do things that'd cause him to trip or appear humiliated. Tsuri would be on the corners, eyes, shut, mouth shut and glaring at any boy or girl who decided it was wise to even go near here.

Reborn made an observation; the twin watching everything and not taking action. But he could see the way her fists held out and the way her legs shook to stop them from moving. Hm. It seems that one twin wanted to push away his twin because of his dame-ness and the other wanted to be there and rescue him from it.

He had some work to do with them.

Second, he had to do some research on sky flame leakage ASAP. Because of it, these twins also were able to talk telepathically, and he needed to know why.

"It's Dame-Tsuna! He actually showed up!"

"Tsuri-chan's behind him too."

You think she'll take his place?"

"I hope she does, that way her face could get punched."

The brunet sighed. Typical. Haters and bullies were just an endless sea. Tsuri pushed the girl who wished ill on her aside harshly so she could take first row and watch her brother. Tsuna stared behind, clearly terrified. But Reborn had given him a pep talk about it and he did make some good points.

Sasagawa Kyoko was standing next to Tsuri. "Sawada-kun…"

"It would be better if he ran away."

Tsuna stopped in front of Mochida. The raven haired kendo captain smirked. "There you are, perverted stalker. Heaven may forgive you but I won't. I shall punish you!"

"W-Wait. There was reason for what happened."

Mochida pointed his bamboo sword towards Tsuna. "I won't listen to any excuse!"

"Haa?"

"And the prize is, of course, Sasagawa Kyoko!"

Kyoko looked at the kendo captain. "P-Prize?"

"What a jerk," Kurokawa Hana said.

Tsuri's eyes widened in horror. She looked at her twin. "Are you seriously going to let him treat her like a piece of meat to win?" Tsuri held out a hand for one of the kendo club's members to hand her a bamboo sword forcibly. Afraid of that purple monster on her back, the member gave it to her with shaky hands.

"Even if my brother loses to you, if you think you can treat Sasagawa like this I dare you to get close! I don't have good accuracy but I sure as hell can aim at a certain place that will Make. You. Weep. Like a little boy."

Mochida held his bamboo sword in attack stance, trying to ignore the scary atmosphere threatening to drag his neck over. "L-Let's go Sawada."

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto Takeshi shouted and passed the brunet a bamboo sword.

Tsuna clumsily caught it, tightened his grip below and stared at the weapon in his hands as if it could magically move with mental will.What should I do with this? I don't know how to use a sword!

Mochida ran towards the brunet and swung his sword. Tsuna immediately dodged the attack by jumping to the other side.

"You can't run away!"

Tsuna slowly stood in a stance, making everyone in the gym focus at him. He shrunk. He hated the attention.

"Whatever you have in your sleeve, Sawada, you'll never win this!" The kendo captain shouted and smirked at the brunet. "You're a loser after all."

Mochida dodged a failed attack from the brunet and swiftly moved his bamboo stick under, causing Tsuna to fall down on the floor again.

'Tsuri, I can't do this!'

'Don't you dare give me that look!' Tsuri scolded. 'I'm helping you after so long Tsuna. Kyoko needs you to do this. You're brave! Just believe it.'

"You're mine."

"Ah…" Tsuna stared at the bamboo sword waiting to hit him.Oh no…How I'm going to win this?

"Sawada-kun, do your best," Kyoko said, making both Tsuna and Mochida looked at the orange haired girl. Tsuri hid a small smile.

Reborn, who'd been watching the whole exchange readied his aim. "Fight with your dying will."

Silence followed as Tsuna fell down on the floor. They all thought he'd dropped dead. But then thw weird flame reaction came again. Tsuri had to hold in the laughter at the way Tsuna started flinging his arms around while standing half naked; again.

"REEEBBBOOORRRNNNNN! I'll get a point no matter what it takes!"

In a blink of an eye, the twin watched as the one brother who hid and avoided confrontation actually use his inner resolve and wack their senior senseless. It wasn't until he had been hit and shoved to the ground in tears that Tsuri actuallu jumped up happily. The students around actually cheered as the fight ended. Mochida was lying on the floor with waterfall of tears and scattered hair on the floor.

Tsuna had actuallywon. He'd never won a match of physical strength against nobody before! This was a first!

"Can I call you Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko asked at the brunet.

The older twin was blushing at the first long conversation he was having with his crush. "E-Eh? A-Ah…Sure, Kyoko-chan."

"Ah, can I also call you Tsuri-chan?"

"Huh?" Tsuri blinked rapidly at the other girl. She was sharing a grateful smile at her. Weird, she wasn't used to that reaction.

"Y-You want to use first name basis with m-me?"

"You defended her when the jerk wanted to claim her," Kurokawa Hana stood next to her best friend with a smile as well. "It takes guts to talk to a guy like that at this day and age. You have quite a sharp tongue."

'I-I do…?'Tsuri wanted to dig herself into a hole and cry. She did not just show her inner personality out in the open like that, especially to these two.

"Thank you, Tsuri-chan! I hope we can be friends too starting from today!"

Tsuri gaped, not surprised at this turn of events. Did… did she really just make friends? She glanced at Tsuna with a look he hadn't seen in years. It was happiness. She smiled widely as if she had been given the best gift there was. And that smile meant everything to Tsuna too.

This day was one hell of a turn out.

Tsuna and Tsuri had finally gotten home, still too surprised to reel in the events of their school day. Tsuna had been accused of a pervert, he got into a brawl with a senior, left him bald and made some friends. It was all thanks to that weird self claime hitman Reborn who was now their home tutor. And now he was telling his two students, in their bedroom, that the oldest twin was going to become Vongola Decimo.

Wait a second... VONGOLA?

"I'm going to be the tenth- generation's mafia boss of the Vongola Family?!"

Tsuri's eyes widened. Her dad's job... it came back to haunt them after all. What the hell? Tsuna was to be the head of the place where he worked at? Not that Tsuri felt jealous or anything it was quite the opposite. She felt proud that he had chosen her brother. He could have the potential to become well, a criminal, but the head of a family. This feeling totally went down as soon as she remembered that this meant that the people from before could return. Danger would be lurking in every corner now. She could not be celebrating this, not at all.

Reborn stared at the other twin, seeing her take in the information in a slighter calmer mood, not like her idiot of a brother. Suspicious. What he failed to see were nails digging into her palms so hard they were drawing blood.

"That's... surprising," she had said and stood up to go get her school bag so she could start in homework.

"And you, Tsuri are going to have to accept your job too," Reborn said as he magically popped out a cup of espresso and began to drink it. This was a test. Let's see if he could gain that reaction he wanted.

"What job? Don't bring me into this play you're setting up—"

"Its not roleplay. You will be Vongola Mezza, the second in command boss of the Vongola Family after your brother."

Tsuri dropped her bag and stopped her in place. Her face went white and swore her soul ascended somewhere in the beyond. How to pull it back! She needed to pull it back! "...WHAT? You have got to be kidding! I can't be a mafia boss!" The twins yelled the last line angrily in perfect harmony.

Meanwhile the angel above in the clouds who had been observing the teenage girl for thirteen years sighed to herself a bit roughly.

'I said she would be the sister, I didn't expect a change in the plot of the story. Oh well, she did say she wanted more screen time. So you got it Anya. Thank the creator later.'

Chapter 3: Hothead

Chapter Text

Morning. Again. The same routine, only different. Days of their life changing alteration caused by a baby; self claiming home tutor AND hitman. His purpose of coming was, according to his orders, to train the oldest Sawada twin, Tsuna , to be a mafioso boss, and his sister was being pulled down with him with a mysterious position known as a Mezza.

Thankfully their mother was a little naïve to know the actual reason why their new 'tutor' was here. Or maybe Reborn DID tell her and she just brushed it off thinking it was a joke. The siblings didn't question it. Nana was persistent about their dwindling grades despite being so carefree. So getting rid of Reborn was not ever going to be an option.

After the Mochida incident, the next couple of days in school reverted back to the way they used to be. Except for the one fact that Tsuri had two new people to greet in the morning, and her baka brother had more chances to also greet Kyoko and make a fool of himself. Tsuna was looked at a little better once they saw how he had shattered his challenger's pride and a hairline that would take forever to repair.

Class was starting normally as usual; the teacher making announcements, selecting the representatives to talk, the tasks needed to be done, tests and etc. Booooring.

Tsuna yawned, busy 'trying' to pay attention in class while Tsuri only stared out the window beside him. She drowned out all the voices around for the time being.

Reborn coming... Was that really just a coincidence? Who actually sent him? Did he know her dad? Did he contain more information about him? Did he know where he was? Many questions popped in her head like a racing car. No no. She stepped on the brake. She didn't need to hang onto those details. She couldn't just ask him and expose her awareness yet. But it pissed her off.

How could he just get up and git and disappear for over two years? That wasn't right. Tsuna and her always avoided talking about the subject on their dad and in reality she tried not to care too much about it. When he came back (if he was still living), he better be buttering his kids up with affection because if it weren't for her mother present, she would be so kind enough to crack him into the next day.

Tsuna tried to grab her attention with a small pat on her desk. It didn't do anything other than earn him a "Hm?" and a wave. He gave up after two minutes and sighed. Students were awe-ing and oohing the minute they set their eyes in the front of the classroom. Huh. Tsuri could somewhat make out squealing and quick breathing whispers. Maybe the fangirls were being triggered by the presence of something. Tsuri hated that area of school life. Fan girls were insane.

"I'll introduce the transfer student." The middle-aged teacher announced loudly. "He was studying abroad in Italy until now, his name is… Gokudera Hayato."

Silver white hair, olive green eyes, girls couldn't stop fawning over it. His uniform was quite messy, surprising many on how he'd escape the most scariest person in Nami Chuu who cared about the appearance of students the most. Tsuna co*cked his head to the side as more basic words were being said. He could tell he didn't look very nice with that scowl implanted on his face. His head went right back in its place with a snap, jumping in his seat when the green hit him as if their misson was to murder him with them.

"Wow, he's so hot!" A random girl squealed in delight. "On top of that he's moved from another country!"

'Don't tell me that Kyoko-chan is captivated too!'Tsuna whined as he caught the idol smiling as she saw the silver head.

Thought bubbles popped when she heard her brother's voice. Tsuri hummed. There was an unknown person in the room Ah, the source of the squeals. She crossed her arms over her chest and began to examine him. He was foreign, and though obviously dwelling striking features, he had a somewhat assuming permanent scowl on his lips. 'Something in my gut tells me that this guy is a hothead...'

New student Gokudera walked forward. He knew his glare was working because it was obvious that the smaller boy was being completely affected by it. Stopping in front of the target, the foreign boy then placed his feet on Tsuna's desk, and gave it a kick. Tsuna tumbled down with it, shocked at the unexpected action. There were some snickers being supressed around the room. Tsuri took her hand off her chin and her distant eyes, full of disinterest and exhaustion, dissipated and came back to the classroom. She stared at the figure and then felt anger well up inside her system. Tsuna gazed upwards, shaken.

"Who the hell are you and what in Nami's name do you think you're doing!" Tsuri stood up from her desk, slamming her hands. Everyone else in the room looked away from the scene. The fan girls tied their eyes to them as Tsuna raised himself and the desk. He angled his gaze towards his sister.

'Sit.' The one worded order made her veins freeze in place. The look in his eyes were stern and unmoving. She had no option but to listen.

Tsuri motioned her body to sit right back down before Tsuna's glare got worse. She rolled her eyes, bit her tongue and stuck her chin out toward where she couldn't catch a glimpse of the transfer, but Gokudera caught her line of sight just before they changed direction. Green and caramel eyes struck lightning with each other and Tsuna swore he heard the loud crackle zap him on his back.

"Gokudera-kun! Your seat is… Gokudera-kun!" The teacher attempted to control the foreign student, but failed in the end as he paid the man no mind and walked to the back of the classroom.

"You know him, Tsuna?" A boy that sat next to him asked.

"O-Of course not..."

"You should be careful, he's definitely no good."

"That's his good part!" Girl 1 chirped up.

"His scary-ness makes me go numb!" Girl 2 added. "We're totally making a fan club!"

'Here they go. How the hell is someone so bitter looking attractive?' Tsuri scoffed. First impression of the transfer: a total asshole thug. 'I'd rather swallow contaminated water than admit it.'

'Tsuri, I thought I asked you to back down a long time ago 'Tsuna said in his thoughts. She took in the sharp tone and huffed loudly. She could now feel that glare at the back of their heads and she wished she could turn around and give him a piece of her mind.

'That hotheaded jerk was about to rip you to shreds with his face. You've got to stop with this no help rule Tsuna'His sister snapped.'You're welcome by the way.'

Tsuna sensed some disappointment and pouting.'Ah, I-I just didn't want you to cause a commotion in class. I'm sorry. Thank you.'There was a pause. Then an audible sigh.

'Don't apologize. I'm really trying Tsuna,—'

'You didn't have to so stop trying. The fan girls are watching you closely now and you know how crazy they get—'

'I had to. It just came out! And he was being a jerk!'

'Just don't talk to me at school okay? It's better this way.'

There was a deeper much slower sigh. 'I'll talk to you as much as I want. But I'll look the other way if you want me to, unfortunately. If you buy me pocky.'

Tsuna glanced behind him in slight annoyance and groaned. He hated when Tsuri made him agree to compromises just to get snacks out of him. And the tactic never worked because she never listened to him. 'Agh, fine. Deal. But you have to hide them from Reborn. Somehow I have a feeling he knows where you stash your snacks.'

'Go figure. Now this tutor is not only making our life impossible. He's stealing my snacks and trying to make me starve.'Tsuri turned to the window where a PE class was running some laps on the school field.

'Ne Tsuna. Kyoko told me our class has a volleyball tournament coming up and Yamamoto signed you up to play. Are you doing it?'

There were waves of desperation and tension beginning to run down like a river behind the other teen's slouched back. 'I didn't even know.'

'You better make up your mind. I can see him looking at you too.'

Class resumed. The whole duration of it Tsuri could tell Tsuna was on edge because of the kid in the back. And so when the bell hit, Yamamoto Takeshi, the baseball star and some other guys surrounded him, telling him of the volleyball game. Just another event to add to Tsuna's stressed mind.

"Did Tsuri-Chan tell you, Tsuna-kun?"

"M-More or less," he scratched his head shyly.

"We're counting on you today. Use some of that last ditch effort to win," Yamamoto said.

"People stopped calling you Dame-Tsuna after that," Hana pointed out the the past match. Tsuri doubted that was true but she did notice a decrease in his bullying for some days now.

"You were really cool then! I'll cheer you on, Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko praised with a smile that made him blush, and his pride rise. Tsuri stifled a laugh.

'There's your motivation. Are you going to take it?'Tsuna turned to Tsuri in silence while the rest of the group were confused at the way they were just staring at each other head on.

'Well I could manage if Reborn shoots me with the deathsperation bullet.'

'You WANT to get shot? Are you kidding? That's insane!'

'It's the only way I won't disappoint everyone! I can't do it on my own.'

Tsuri sighed aloud, confusing everyone more. Nothing had been said yet.

'… You really like being naked in front of her then, don't you?'

"N-No I don't!" Tsuna bursted out with a shout. He apologized soon after seeing everyone's puzzled expressions. "A-Ah I mean sure. I'll do it."

Behind a vent Reborn sneezed, sensing he had just been talked about.

-Later that day-

While the other classmates were getting ready for the volleyball match in the gym, Tsuri exited the locker room. Though it was a match for their class, everyone still had to change into their PE clothes. She made a right turned and stopped walking.

The transfer had his back to the wall near the gym door, scowl extending on his features. He had something lit on one of his fingers, and white smoke coming out from his nostrils and slithering around the air. He was a smoker. God, this couldn't get any worse. The stench and building stereotype against the middle school boy were getting progressively worse.

'This guy's going to get wrinkles fast for frowning a lot...'She scrunched her nose and coughed.

The silver head heard the noise coming from the right and turned. The copy. Female replica of his target. And she was eyeing him with those judgey eyes the teachers had given him earlier. Che.

"...You're blocking the door. Can you move?" Tsuri put her hands to her hips, unaware that some attitude was slipping in her tone.

"Tch." The silver head just backed away from the door slightly and ignored her.

Tsuri felt a stress mark appear on her untamable looking head.'Did he just click his tongue at me?'

"Hmph. Cranky old man. I hope you choke on your smoke," Tsuri muttered and opened the door to the gym. It took a few moments for the silver haired smoker follow behind and go towards the net to meet the other players, tick marks adorning his forehead for being called a cranky old man. He wasn't going to let this go. His sight followed the female copy. He could make out distinctively how different and alike these twins were.

For one, both were small and petite looking. The male had more of a broader build and cowering expression, while the female was less of that and more aggressive.

Huh. An aggressive twin. Talk about similar and polar opposites. He could booth an aggressive woman. It wouldn't be the first time he'd beat someone up.

She caught him staring again but unlike her wuss of a brother she didn't look away or break it. Taking it more of a challenge, Gokudera didn't break eye contact. And neither did she. Within those seconds he got taken aback when all of a sudden she lifted her hand slowly, stretched her palm and fingers, and was slowly closing one by one until she struck him with the middle-

His whole vision was going red. It would be his first time hitting a woman and though a taboo he was not going to let her get away with it.

Tsuri snickered at the reaction she gained. It was petty revenge, flipping him off but she was not going to let that morning show stunt he pulled, slide. She searched for a spot where she could watch the incoming game. She randomly caught sight of the prefect of Namimori Chuu around the left corner and her previous bravery dissipated in vapor.'Hibari Kyoya-san. I should avoid his area or I'll get it for sure.'

The gym was growing, filling with students from Class 1-A who were rooting for the players of their own class, mainly Tsuna which must've been the result from the match with Mochida. Tsuna seemed not so confident he could pull it off without a dying will bullet. He saw Reborn from the upper level, eyes in fear that he could get shot and not at the same time.

Tsuri threw a little wave and when she did she winced at the loud panicking 'HIEEEE' he was throwing.

'OW! What the hell was that for?!'

'I can't do this!'Tsuna began. 'Why don't you take over! M-My head hurts I think I'm going to be sick—'he shrunk when some purplish waves earned him a headache.

'Are you crazy? This is a boy's match! Though we look alike I'm pretty sure they're going to tell the difference with the hair and the chest!'

'D-Don't say it like that! It was just a thought!'

' And a dumb one! I thought you asked to be shot!'

'I did! But Reborn said I could die because I'm not regretting anything right now!'

"We will now begin the match against Year 1's Class A and C." The instructor yelled, blowing the whistle.

And so the game started. A boy from the other class did the starting serve and it came towards Tsuna. He ran forward and jumped to hit the ball but he didn't reach it. Instead, the ball had hit his face. The cheers died out. Some began muttering about beginner's luck and 'a loser will always be a loser.'

It made Tsuri sad. She was so sure her brother had more potential than he led on. His previous misfits and clumsiness were obviously something they both inherited from one side of the family, ahem, their father, but it didn't mean it had to define them for a lifetime.

Tsuri wished Tsuna could talk to her more about this pressing issue. But it seemed that he would never do it because he thought he was a walking plague that could ruin her life. And it was stupid because Tsuna had painted a stupid image of her thinking she wasn't as dame as him when in fact it came close in bits.

She hated studying so she got failing grades, she barely understood anything concerning their English class, much less math. The only class that she messed up and actually could improve from was home ec and that was thanks to their mother. She was only athletic because of her good endurance but she was the worst when it came to getting hurt. She had a long record from the hospital that looked like a crazy shopping spree receipt.

So why couldn't he understand that side of her and just let her defend him ways she knew she could? Wasn't that what siblings did for each other?

The match went on for few more minutes and as it ticked away, Tsuna's team continued losing points with failed hits and errors.

'Im failing everyone. I knew I couldn't do it.'

Tsuri big her lip as Tsuna's team began reprimanding him. The other, Yamamoto Takeshi, as she guessed, thought he'd join in and give up on Tsuna. But instead he brushed off the others, kept calm and gave her brother another shot with a smile. Tsuri blushed a little by it. Refreshing. It was like she'd been given a cold glass of water to cool her down. She grinned. That was exactly what Tsuna's mind needed. A little water splash.

Tsuri, Kyoko, the class and Sasagawa Ryohei noticed the change in the brunet. Determation filled his system and his body and suddenly it was game start again. Tsuri spotted Reborn upstairs, thinking she should go thank him for helping Tsuna realize that he could have done this on his own, as manly as it was. But, her face began losing color at seeing the chameleon turn into a long distance shooting rifle than a fan. She gulped, thinking he was going to get shot and die; but instead he fired somewhere else.

The hitman shot Tsuna's legs that had given him a boost of stamina and jumping reflexes. Tsuri could hear herself gasping several times from his close calls on falling off the net. But, the ball was being caught and they were gaining points. Class A was winning. At the last tally everyone was in celebration thinking this one was it and prepared the Class 1-A team stances up to stop the ball from crossing the net., Tsuna was closer as he was in the front so when he jumped, his force was too high and it landed in the middle of his groin with a SMACK.

It was a slow motion minute Tsuri did not want to process with everyone else. The silence was so loud that the smack reverberated the gym and it wasn't until Tsuna fell down on the floor crying in pain that everyone snapped back into reality and cheered louder than other times before.

'Put your mind barrier up, put your barrier up put it up dammit'Tsuri ranted in her head over and over trying not to pay in mind to her brother's curses.

"He blocks it with his organ!" Their other senior and Kyoko's older brother Sasagawa Ryohei exclaimed in shock. "I can't believe that he would sacrifice a man's most valuable part just to block the ball!"

"I won't ever understand men..." Tsuri laughed nervously and shook her head. Kyoko laughed similarly at her reaction, knowing her older brother wasn't helping to erase the image they just saw.

'If I didn't jump so high...'thought Tsuna as he clutched but he earned amazing smiles among his teammates. The cheering died down when they won slowly, students went back to change and the disciplinary committee had gone back to their tasks. Tsuri and some students remained and she tittered her way to her brother who was sweating from head to toe and laughing.

"Are you okay? That sounded like it hurt," Tsuri said with a blue face.

"It did… sorry I didn't mean to start saying all that stuff earlier" Tsuna scratched the back of his head apologetically.

Tsuna wearing a smile was always the best sight to see. "We won! You did so well."

"Hehe, thanks Tsuri."

"Tsuna was doing awesome right!" Yamamoto had heard their conversation and strided over, hanging his arm over Tsuna's shoulder, wide toothy grin stretched out. "You believed in Tsuna too, didn't you Sawada-chan?"

"Of course I did! He's my brother!" She said it proudly, causing the male twin to blush. "Others may not see it but he's awesome!" She patted him on the head. "I saw what you did earlier Yamamoto-san. Thanks for believing in him too."

"No problem! I knew Tsuna would come through for us!"

"I can't accept that."

"Huh?" Both twins turned to the silver headed player from the back. Yamamoto had gone somewhere else to congratulate another teammate so it was just them. Tsuri's annoyance returned once she saw his glare.

'What the hell is he glaring at? I'll give him a reason to glare , this piece of —'

"W-What do you mean Gokudera-s-san?" Tsuna cut her off before her thoughts could turn for the worse. He squeaked at the evolving glare.

"Tch!" Gokudera quickly broke the eye contact. "I'm the one who's worthy to become the tenth!"

'Tenth? Wait, he knows?!'

"Meet me at the back of school after this."

Gokudera vowed to not accept this unworthy filth succeed the Vongola Family. And he was going to make sure the middle finger flipping idiot would see it too.

...

...

And yet, that's how Tsuna and Tsuri found themselves talking to Gokudera Hayato by the back of the gym, and the atmosphere was so suffocatingly tense Tsuri even considered just dragging Tsuna out of there even if it meant looking like cowards.

"U-Um, so what did you want to talk about Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked the transfer, hoping he wasn't going to get strangled.

"If some trash like you becomes the 10th, the Vongola Family is done for," the silver head straightforwardly said. "I don't accept you. I refuse."

"Who you calling trash you little-" the copy started.

"H-How do you know about the family?" Tsuna cut her voice off again while shaking in his boots.

"This was faster than I expected," Reborn suddenly showed up himself from tree's bark.

"Reborn!"

Tsuri felt her eye twitch when she saw him step out from a tree's lower base. It was a hidden elevator his size. 'What in Nami's name?'

"This is one of many hiding spots I have." Reborn casually jumped and landed on Tsuna's shoulder.

'He has one inside the vent outside our class too.'

'When did he get these installed?!'

The tutor paid no mind to his students' mental conversation and turned to the grey haired teenager.

"Gokudera Hayato."

"You know him?" Tsuna said surprised.

"Yes, he's part of the Vongola. I called him over from Italy. This is the first time we're meeting."

"Gokudera-kun is a part of the mafia too?!"

Gokudera looked at the baby and nodded. "So you're the hitman that the Ninth trusts the most. Reborn. I've heard rumors about you."

Tsuri swallowed her anxiety. So Reborn was the real deal. If he was popular to have rumors that meant her family was super screwed now.

"Is it true if I eliminate these two, then I'll be next in line to become the Tenth boss of the Vongola family?"

Both twins turned white and took a step back. "W-What?!"

"It's true." The baby in the suit confirmed nonchalantly.

"I-I'd like to s-see you try!" Tsuri blurted out, mouthy twitching. The mafia was now here in front of her and there was absolutely no way she was going to let herself get bested again. She was going to just dash and run but an explosion landed in front of her. She quickly jumped back, anxiety increasing. "What the hell!"

"Tsuri!" Tsuna shouted and ran to check on her. She had inhaled some smoke and was coughing hard.

"We can't fight someone from mafia!" Tsuna yelled to Reborn.

"You're not going to run away!" Gokudera revealed some dynamites between his hands and had been already activated.

"He just lit it without any matches?!"

"You know, even though we're in a risky position I have to admit that's impressive…"Tsuri hummed in thoughts. Tsuna had to shake her shoulders to snap out of it and get out of the way before they were blown to bits.

Both twins shrieked as they went left and right trying to get away from death. Both were running out of breath when they found themselves encircled with dynamite around them. And they looked seconds to blowing.

'We need to turn them off!'

'The faucets and hose are out of range!'Tsuri looked towards the outer garden they had just feet away.

'I'll have to try with my hands!'

"No Tsuna don't! You can get burned!"

"Fight with your dying will."

Tsuri covered her ears and closed her eyes to brace herself for the exploding impact. Instead, her brother was in his deathsperation form once again, and half naked too.

"REEEEEBBOOOORRRRNNNNN! Extinguish the dynamite with my dying will!"

"Double the bombs!"

"Extinguish! Extinguish! Extinguish! Extinguish! Extinguish!" Tsuna was moving faster than the speed of a racecar. Tsuri gaped watching him turn off the bombs like lit candles. Tsuri swallowed down her freezing instincts and helped by kicking some away towards the fields so none of the buildings or windows could be destroyed in the impact.

Gokudera was panicking so he decided to carry more than he could handle. "T-Triple the bombs!"

The twins were in stance to take more but watched as their opponent struggle and drop some of his own weapon below his feet. Tsuri didn't want to help him. He didn't seem like a good person and he wanted to kill them for a dangerous position none of them wanted. But he was a kid like them. And letting someone young die like this was not morally right.

"This is my end," the bomber gave up. He expected the force to send him to die. Instead he heard an

"Extinguish! Extinguish! Extinguish!" and a "You'll owe me for this favor you ass!"

The dynamited had been turned off by the half naked male twin and the dirty stained female. It wasn't until they made sure they turned it off that Gokudera's legs gave out and collapsed to the ground. Tsuri shook her hurting fingers from the burns she earned and then threw daggers to the culprit.

Tsuna's energy was back to normal and he sighed in relief. "That wasdangerous!"

"You're telling me!" Tsuri sat on the ground as well. "Hey, if you're killing us don't take yourself down either KONO BAKA! That defeats your purpose entirely!"

Gokudera immediately bowed in front of the twin.

"I did not realize it!"

The two looked at each other in confusion.

"You are more of a suitable fit to become boss than I! You were amazing,Juudaime! Please let me serve you!"

…

…

"HAH?!"

After he tried to kill them?! This was not how introductions worked! Not at all!

But who was she to tell Tsuna what to do? He did what he pleased. He was much more kindhearted than her to be honest. She would've loved to just kick him in the face and tell him to go back to Italy.

Tsuna now had a loyal puppy that would take no for an answer. But that meant more protection for him so, did Tsuri want to complain about it? Maybe just a little bit. Reborn was pleased by the way he had a smirk on his lips. Oh she wished she could just erase her memory and be allowed to play dumb.

"Oh I forgot to add," Reborn interrupted the teens after the bomber was done blowing some third year bullies who had dropped by to tease his beloved 'Juudaime.'

"Gokudera, say hello to your second boss, Tsuri."

The silver head paled naturally. "Juudaime's copy is...Also Juudaime?!"

Reborn smirked, amused at the boy's reaction.

Tsuri snorted. The boy had already seen her true aggressive nature. There was no point in holding back if he was going to be around. "I never accepted the job! Stop announcing it so casually! And as for you Gokudera, you can respect and play puppy for Tsuna but don't even bother trying to suck up to me! You tried to chew my brother apart and for that I will never respect you!" She noticed that the bombers aura was filled with enough purple to call a Barney figure.

"Like hell I would respect you stupid woman! I have no respect for a middle finger flipping wench like you! You're just a copy of Juudaime and nothing more! You're inferior to him! You're not as strong as him!"

"Are you calling me weak?! Come here, I'll show you weakness you idiotic bastard—!

"Tch. Juudaime, can you give me permission to destroy your copy?" Gokudera raised two sticks of unlit dynamite on his left hand.

"P-Permission not granted Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna tried to have him shove his weapons away in his pockets and turned to his sister. "Youflippedhim off? Why would you do that?!"

"He kicked your desk! I told you I wasn't going to stand by and let him get away with it!"

Tsuna audibly sighed.

"I hate you new transfer student," Tsuri mumbled angrily and turned her shoes heel to head back to class.

"I hate you too Juudaime's copy!" he yelled with equal fervor.

"I have a NAME! It's TSURI!"

Tsuna had a feeling that with Gokudera Hayato's addition to Reborn's successful scheme, Tsuri was going to get more agitating than usual and clash with him. He prayed he could find the way to handle the both of them because these type of people who clashed often would be causes of ulcers in some people.

Some people being him.

Extra

On the way home, Tsuri couldn't help but clench her teeth in rage as she saw who was walking with them. How was it possible that her brother wasnt annoyed even the slightest bit of his presence? He had a fake looking smile plastered on his face. She clicked her tongue.

How could he go in pretending he didn't try killing her and her brother just a few hours ago?

"So how old is Juudaime?"

"E-Erm thirteen. How about you Gokudera-kun?"

"Thirteen as well! How surprising!"

Tsuri snorted loudly, earning a piercing glare from him. "What the hell is your problem copy!"

"You're getting annoying. Who should be surprised at someone's age? It's not that fascinating at all."

"I want to see how old you are!"

Tsuri's grip on her bag loosened and stared at Gokudera in disbelief. "I'm Tsuna's twin sister! How old do you think the hell I am?!"

"Probably a five year old since you act like a stinkin loud mouth brat!"

"I'm going to kill you!"

"T-Tsuri, Gokudera-kun pleae calm down. We don't want unwanted attention do we?"

Gokudera bit his lip and backed away from Tsuri's face. "I-If Juudaime says so..."

Tsuna sweat dropped at his sisters childish behavior with their new 'companion'. "Now apologize to each other."

The two stared at the Vongola 10th candidate in shock.

"B-But!"

"You've got to be joking!"

The male twin stopped in his tracks and sighed, clearly agitated. "I won't get you pocky sticks if you don't, Ri-nee."

Tsuri blushed and her eyebrows twitched the second her brother called her that. It was her other nickname. The one her older brother used to call her when they were kids. Tsuri liked it, don't get her wrong, but her brother was cunning with it. He used it against her because he knew just how much she got embarrassed by it when he said it in public.

"Will you apologize, Ri-nee?"

Tsuri's eyebrow twitched. She bit her tongue hard and found her voice to speak. "I didn't do anything wrong b-but," she stared at wide green eyes. "S-Sorry, Gokudera."

Gokudera stared at the copy.

The slightly guilty look. Instead of the cat-like glares she had been sharing since he saw her they were now doe-eyed. Heat tainted his cheeks. Why the hell were there sparkles around her? They were just like the ones he had seen when he admired his savior and admitted defeat. But these were 5x more intense. What the hell?

'S-so this is what Juudaime would look like as a girl...' He turned his head away from his allegedly second boss, cleared his throat to restore his composure and shut his eyes. He put his arms against his chest as if to protect his self considered invaded bubble. "I-I'm sorry too, Tsuri."

It was the latter's turn to blush a little. This was the first time she heard it coming out of his mouth. And since he wasn't as aggressive like in the morning, the way his voice uttered her name came with a gentle ring to it.

'This guy is so weird... He really is a hothead.' She nodded her head, accepting the stupid apology. Tsuna sighed in relief. A little bit of silence followed the trio.

"...So Juudaime, am I eligible to become your right hand man?"

"EH? What are you saying Gokudera-kun! We just talked about this earlier! I don't need a right hand man!"

"Ne Tsuna. You owe me a second box of Pocky sticks for dragging me into your little showdown. Don't make me double it more since we're walking with said disaster here."

"EHHHH?!" the brother whined as he knew his allowance was cut short. There was only one person to blame.

"REBORN!"

Chapter 4: Having Lots to Live For

Chapter Text

Dream

"Ri-nee! Help me!" a miniature looking Tsuna cried as he kept running around the playground. His frantic and obviously frightened breathing increased as he turned around. He was avoiding the new 'friends' he made. More like the bullies that never left him alone in class.

"Dame-Tsuna is calling for his sister! What a loser!" one bully cackled at the weakling, two more kids trailing behind.

Tsuna panicked and tried to hide behind the slide in the nearby playground. But that would only trap him and he would have no escape. He ran to the other corner where familiar grey poles stop. He eyed the monkey bars wearily. He was afraid of them, but he had to do it. He had to climb them. Or he would be beat up, like always.

"Ri-nee! Where are you!"

Tsuna stood on the ladder and began to climb the monkey bars. He stopped in the fourth one. As the bullies caught up to Tsuna, one was about to follow him on the ladder when his shirt was suddenly pulled down with a big force by small hands.

"You leave my brother alone you big bully!" A look-alike female version of Tsuna with longer hair and wearing blue overalls defended. The bullies started blushing. They couldn't take her seriously by the way she was cutely pouting.

Her brother had made a bad first impression on their first day of 2nd grade elementary. He had accidentally spilled some paint on the boys during art class. They thought it had been done on purpose by him and sought revenge for it.

"Tsukairi-chan! W-We're playing with Tsuna-kun!" one of the boys said as he dug his shoe into the playground's dirt nervously.

"If that were true Tsuna-nii wouldn't be calling for me! I heard you when you were chasing him!"

One of the bullies who had a short temper, walked up to the girl and pushed her to the ground. Tsuri went tumbling down on the floor, her right leg crashing with the metallic pole ladder that connected to the monkey bar below the ground. She winced.

"Don't butt in! This is between us and Dame-Tsuna!" he roared angrily. The second bully was about to climb the ladder when suddenly he was tackled from behind. Tsuna watched the tiny girl pull and scratch at their faces and when they succeeded in getting her off them, She found and lifted a piece of a pole that had broken down from the old monkey bar next to the new one. Looking like a feral cat had ripped their skin to shreds, they decided to flee.

Tsuri sighed and dropped to the ground, gripping her leg. Her adrenaline had lowered and the pain was now spreading all over her nerves.

"Ri-nee... Y-You didn't have to go so far..." Tsuna said tearfully as he saw her hold in her own. He wanted to see how bad the injury was. She tends to get hurt frequently. He tried to get down off the monkey bars but once he saw how high he was, he cowered. "HIEE! It's so high!"

"Hold on Tsuna-nii I'll help!" Tsuri ran to her brother without another thoighand extended her arms to reach for her brother but the pain on her leg made it impossible to stand up so she collapsed on the floor. Tsuna's hands were slipping.

"T-Tsuna!"

THUD. "Itetete..." Tsuri pushed off her brother and grabbed her leg.

"Ri-nee! Are you okay?"

"Meh it's just a bruise Tsuna. I'll be okay."

Tsuna helped his sister up by offering her a piggy back ride home. "No youre not..."

Tsuri refused but sighed when her twin insisted. "okay find. just dont drop me…"

…

…

…

The memory of her childhood was slowly fading away. It changed suddenly and now it was in an unknown location. There were many people inside a huge house dressed in fancy attire like dresses, heels, suits and ties. There was a flight of stairs in both corners of the place, by a big ballroom. The people invited to the gathering seemed to be enjoying themselves, chattering in inaudible and possibly boring were four figures on the top floor above the inner balcony, looking down at the party without interest.

"Is there really any point in being here?" one girl with raven black hair and celestial blue eyes complained as she put her hands on her hips.

"It isn't so bad..." the other girl seemingly the oldest out of the bunch fixed her ash blond hair from falling off its position and landing on her blue eyes.

"We get to eat food in a few minutes, Mum said so," the youngest, a boy about age 8 wearing a plain old suit and red bow tie grabbed the edge of the railing waiting for the call to enter the dining room.

"This is so gloomy. I have no idea why I have to wear such a despicable dress, and in pink no less!" The middle child with emerald green eyes and the only red head in the family complained as she picked the hem of her clothing.

"Oh Anya quit judging my sense of style! You didn't like the green one you tried on either..." the oldest sulked and looked away from the middle child.

"That's because your sense of style is horrible Lillian! I would've looked like a big blob of a moss! A funeral would be less depressing to be in than here…" Anya muttered.

"It's going to be your funeral if you don't shut up! Grandfather will hear you!"

Anya shot a glare at her second sister with the raven black hair. "I don't give a damn if that cursed old man hears me. He can make this party my own funeral and he still wouldn't bat an eye," she muttered and went towards her little brother Emile in the rail.

"Come on Emile let's head to the kitchen. A snack wouldn't bite!"

Emile thought about the suggestion for a mere second before nodding quickly. "Let's go then! I'm starving!"

"Anya! You know we can't go to the kitchen without being called! It's rude!" Lillian grabbed her sister's arm to prevent her going down the stairs.

Anya shook her off aggressively. "Lighten up! I'm just going to get some grapes! What's the harm in that?"

"Mother will surely get mad at you Anya. We don't want her to, you know, punish you..." Kristin whispered and gave her sister a concerned look.

"She's already punishing me by excluding me apart of the family and neglecting me as her daughter. Every single day! I don't even know why I'm here to begin with!"

"Those are the rules Anya."

She scoffed. "Screw her and the rules this is my f*cking house too and I can wander wherever the hell I'd like! Let's go Emile!"

Lillian and Kristin watched the middle and the youngest child walk down the stairs. They held their heads in sympathy, thinking about possible excuses they could give their mother for Anya's disappearance with Emile. These outbursts were expected. She had just been used by their mother for her political gain after all.

Emile stepped in and made sure no chef or adult was present. He gave his sister an okay and in they went. He grabbed an apple from the refrigerator and gave some drops of grapes to Anya.

"Here sis."

"Thanks Emile."

As they ate, the little one could hear his sister laughing silently. He could see the way she was holding back from grabbing a plate and smashing it underneath them. "You don't know how lucky you are little brother."

"Lucky? In what way?"

"To be loved by a parent… like Lil and Kris," she said and grabbed a napkin from the counter.

"It's not fair that Mom treats you so ill," Emile's green eyes scrunched up as he bit his apple harshly.

"Things in life aren't fair Emile. The only thing I'm looking forward to now is going on my vacation and then leaving from this hell hole" Anya patted her little brother's blond hair and smiled.

"I'll come visit you, Lillian and Kristin. But before I do I have to give you guys your souvenirs. What do you want? Japan has a lot of things."

"I'll let you know! I still have to check my bookshelf and see if I want more figurines or manga."

"Then I'll get you both!"

Emile laughed quietly. "Thanks! Oh, i forgot to tell you! I've started a new anime today."

"Ho? You little traitor! You couldnt wait until we finished One Piece?"

Emile shook his head. "That anime is going to keep going for a long time. My friend from school told me about this one and recommended it in case I got tired of waiting for new episodes each week."

Anya grinned wide. She was happy that she wasn't the only British otaku in the Marter family.

"And what's the name of this anime?"

Emile bit his apple again. "I don't remember the name but it's cool! It's about this boy in middle school who's no good at anything he does. A baby hitman suddenly comes into his home and tells him he's going to be the head of a mafia family called the Vongola! It's pretty cool!"

Anya gave his brother a disinterested face with her green eyes. Emile started pouting at her expression.

"What? Doesn't catch your attention?"

"It's not that. I know the anime you're talking about. I tried watching the show when I was thirteen but I stopped. I didn't like it."

'You probably stopped at the fifth episode like that time when we started to watch Bleach'Emile thought agitated.

"The main character reminds me of… me."

Emile's green eyes widened in curiousity. "How are you like Tsuna?"

Anya popped a grape in her mouth. "You said he was 'No-good' right?" Emile nodded.

"Well, just as he fails in his exams and has a fat chance of getting with the girl he likes, I'm no good in the way mother sees me. I'm a failure to her in whatever thing I do, it's like an excuse to not want me. I have a fat chance of being included in the Marter Family for some reason I'm not supposed to know about when I clearly do." She rubbed her arms to keep her budding anxiety in check but it wasn't supressing all the bad moments she has to endure.

"I haven't had one single drop of affection from her since Dad died when you were two, Emile. I'm like a sore loser at school because mother so happens to complain about me with the principal when she gets the chance. Hell I didn't even know they were best friends..."

Emile could see the tears forming in his big sister's green eyes.

"Tsuna has something I don't have and that's why I refuse to watch the show. He has parents that love him endlessly despite being who he is. He has a family. The way it should look like and be." She sighed.

"It's hard Emile. I just want to be loved. I want to be wanted."

Emile grabbed his sisters hand tenderly and smiled. "But you have it. It's not complete but we're your family! I love you Anya. And so does Lillian and Kristin."

Anya cleaned up her tears before it ruined her mascara. "I love you too little brother. All of you." 'Even though you don't know it's not enough for me…'

Emile grabbed another napkin from the counter and handed it to Anya. "Maybe I'll be your Reborn. I'll make you look pleasant in the eyes of mother, by shooting you with a special bullet so you can show her your dying will."

Anya laughed wholeheartedly. "Heh that demon tutor huh? I have regrets but I wouldn't risk it! And I don't think she'd be worthy of my dying will. Anyways, let's head back. I don't want you to get in trouble with mother."

The siblings were hugging each other comfortably, loving smiles in their features.

...........…

This dream was also fading. Tsuri could hear a gruff voice somewhere trying to stir her awake. No, she didn't want to wake up. This was somewhat comforting to see. She wanted to dream more of them. She wanted to see more.

"Oi Sawada! Wake up!"

'Leave me alone. Let me sleep…'

"SAWADA! This isn't your house for you to be relaxing and sleeping!"

Tsuri groaned drowsily, lifting her head up. Their teacher was holding a notebook just ready to smack her in the head if she hadn't listened the first two times. She rolled her eyes. She hated when she was jolted awake, and much less if it were with violence.

"About time! If you're so keen on sleeping during a lesson, you can also answer the question on the board!"

Tsuri yawned, squinting her eyes to see an english sentence scribbled messily in chalk. She could make out certain words but there was no way she could tell what it meant. It was a moment, and an attempt for the teacher's 'I was right' lecture. Especially since it was the most hated and annoying teacher; Nezu-sensei.

He could take his bragging and high expectations up his—

Tsuri shrugged. "I don't know the answer at all. I could guess?"

'There's no way I'm going to let him humiliate me right now.'

"Hmm, this is why a student like you has no brain to learn. Your grades show that well."

Tsuri gave the stupid teacher a most well deserved snarl as a response, but before she could act on it and earn her a trip to the principals office, the bell rang to head for break. A god send too because Tsuri just had enough about learning in this foolish teacher's class and was more interested in food.

All the students exited the classroom and the only ones that remained in the class were a few, and a sleeping Tsuna with Gokudera patiently standing by his side like a loyal puppy. She could almost see the folded ears and tail wagging behind him.

Tsuri snickered mentally and grabbed her packed bento. She sat on the desk in front of her still sleeping brother and nudged him on the head with her hand.

"Tsuna…. Oi, it's lunch. Time to head to the roof," she whispered. No sudden movement.

"Stupid copy! Leave Juudaime alone to rest!"

"He needs to eat. And so do you," she sighed. "Tsunaaaaaa."

As if on cue two growls were emitted from Tsuna's and Gokudera's stomach, to which he denied with a blush on his face.

She let out a small tired smile.

She still wasn't used to him being around them yet but for some reason, it had given Tsuri a reason to latch herself to her brother. He was still so reluctant on having her around him but because Gokudera was out of control most times and couldn't handle him, it gave Tsuri excuses to come to his said rescue and take over. Which meant more arguing and insults being thrown left and right but Tsuna preferred that than having a student fly out a broken window.

Though in actuality, Tsuna and Tsuri found it nice to eat with each other. They hadn't done so in so long. The roof had been an empty spot for the longest so they chose to eat there. Gokudera was still adamant on being at peace with Tsuri following behind and the latter, but both were learning something about each other as the days passed. So maybe it wasn't so bad.

Tsuna woke up drowsily and stretched himself out. He turned his head left and right. "Huh? Where's everyone?"

Tsuri sighed. "It's break. Time to eat."

"Shall we head to the rooftop together Juudaime?" Gokudera beamed and grabbed his lunch too from his bag.

"U-Un. Let's go," Tsuna said and grabbed his own meal.

"She doesn't have to tag along today too does she Juudaime?"

"Tag along? Since when are you to decide when I can come along?"

"I'm his right hand man!"

Tsuri shrugged. His self claim to that title and position was so ridiculous she wanted to cackle. "If you say so Gokudera. If you say so."

Tsuna sighed. There they went, fighting. He hoped it wouldn't turn out to be about who could help him better than who. Tsuna was the older twin but Tsuri had taken the task to take care of him. And now that Gokudera was here, she wasn't so keen on letting him take her job.

Tsuna opened the door to the stairwell that led up and started walking without them.

'Are you going to tell him to stop hovering or am I? He's acting like he's in love with you.'

Tsuna fell off a stair caused by the shock. 'What the heck are you saying Tsuri! That's highly impossible!'

"Juudaime! Are you alright?" Gokudera rushed to his boss' side and picked him up gently. Tsuri's eyebrow twitched.

"I-I'm fine Gokudera-kun. Thank you." Gokudera only ushered him to be cautious while Tsuri's face became as sour as a lemon.

'Don't be surprised if he asks you to marry him or something...'

'Shutup he's not like that! You two need to leave me alone! And stop reading those yaoi mangas that you borrow from our neighbor!'

Tsuri rolled her eyes. That wasn't the point she was trying to get across. She could already tell tsuna didn't want either of them hovering. If he didn't stop him, then she wasn't going to either. Not until he understood it was her job to take care of her twin.

Later that day

"Are we done choosing teams?"

"There's two left."

One pair of twins stood in the field watching the teams on the left and right bicker on and on about who deserved who in their group.

"We want Tsuri-chan! She deserves to be in the best team! She's in the soccer team so she runs fast!" The left declared. A few girls growled in response to that.

"Then what about Dame-Tsuna?" one classmate asked. Everyone's eyes were on the other twin. Then the bickering started on who should have Tsuna on their team. Tsuna sighed, while Tsuri could feel the impulse to start kicking shins.

"I'm saying you can have No-Good Tsuna on your team!" the right said.

"No way! We don't want to lose!" The other side argued.

Tsuri and Tsuna looked at each other and sighed.

'We've played baseball when we were kids. You know how to hit. Your running isn't so bad either'Tsuri's caramel eyes eyed the bat and the balls at the batting cage behind them.

'I-I'm bad at baseball! What makes you think I can show them I'm good at it!'Tsuna's matching caramel orbs burned other ones a little irritated.'I know one of them are going to choose you first so just let me be.'

Tsuri moved in a protesting stance. 'Can you stop degrading yourself for Nami's sake! What makes you think I'm also great at baseball! All I know is how to run away!"

Tsuna let out a breath of air.'P.E is always such a pain.'

Tsuri bit her lips in regret. She had suggested Gokudera to go restock his dynamite with the thought that if he did it right now, he would be able to guard Tsuna more. How he got through the security of Hibari Kyoya was beyond her thinking. Oh well it wasn't her fault. Okay half her fault but he wasn't leaving Tsuna breathe some air away from his urge to fight every inanimate and breathing thing. Maybe she should have waited to prank him after PE. These boys were being assholes and actually needed some dynamite up their noses.

"Isn't it alright? Just join our team." Tsuna turned. It was the baseball star, Yamamoto Takeshi, and he was asking him to be on his team. Two teammates from the left group looked horrified.

"Are you serious Yamamoto? You don't have to let that loser in," the first one said. Tsuri raised a fist behind the tall boy, and the one who spoke jittered in fear.

"Don't be so stingy. I just have to keep them from hitting, right?" said Yamamoto with his usual grin.

"Well, if Yamamoto is saying so, alright."

Tsuri grabbed her hair into a ponytail and went to the right side where her team was waiting for her. Sending Gokudera away really wasn't such a good idea after all.

As the game started it's first round, it was finally Yamamoto's turn. He hit the ball and sent it flying far away in a home run.

"Oh, so sorry." Yamamoto said, grinning as he rushed to first base.

"Pft, you should use one arm to hit!" The right team said.

Tsuna just stared at the baseball freak, a bit awed and intimidated by the skill he had. His eyes followed up where the ball was still traveling and then caught sight of Reborn.

'Reborn! Why… is he looking at Yamamoto like that?'

'He's here again?'Tsuri heard Tsuna and followed his trail. The baby reflected a smirk, and a suspicious one as he turned back to probably one of his hiding spots again. 'That smirk doesn't bode well for the both of us.'

'What does he want with him? We don't talk to him much.'

Tsuri could feel waves of oppression. 'I don't think we want to know, but it's best if we avoid him. We already have Bakadera, we don't need to add more people into this stupid mafia issue.'

They watched Yamamoto come back to home base and handed the bat to Tsuna with his infamous grin, not knowing the frail boy was shaking his in gym clothes.

In the end, her team won, they lost. Apparently Tsuna knew how to hit the ball: on her own head that is. She has no chance to even run away and when it hit her head, she landed on the dirt with the ball inside her glove.

Tsuri gained consciousness in the nurse's office. She blinked out the sore pain coming from her head. Surely there would be a bump tomorrow. Tsuna had a good swing in him. She groaned and closed her eyes for a few more minutes. When she opened them again there she was, with a certain baby sitting on a chair. His black beaded eyes only intensified the atmosphere in the room.

She shot up from the bed quickly, suddenly fearing he'd make the headache worse than it should've been.

"R-Reborn? What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on my other useless student," he replied bluntly. He was holding the nurse's file and hummed questioningly. "It seems this isn't your first trip to the nurse's office this year."

Tsuri shrugged. "I'm more prone to getting hurt than Tsuna. Last month I tripped on the stairs and sprained my wrist. The month before that I got hit by a locker and bruised up my nose."

"Hm." The baby looked like he wanted to ask more but instead jumped down from the chair and headed towards the door.

"Thanks for checking up on me. Shows you care," she said sarcastically earning a glare from Reborn.

The white aura from when she woke up wasn't around him anymore. It was replaced with an aura that looked as if Reborn had a evil planned intent to commit if she continued to talk like that.

Tsuri gulped. She needed to find a less aggressive way to talk to him. He didn't flinch and instead had the way to make her pay for disrespect. She didn't want to mess with Reborn but her mouth just had to slip.

"Classes are done for the day, you should head home."

"I was knocked out for three more periods?! Are you serious!" Tsuri got up from the mattress and slipped on her shoes quickly. She nearly stepped and tripped over the curtain near the bed. "Who brought me here?"

"That one student from the other team. Tsuna couldnt carry you on his own so he helped." Reborn tilted his fedora and began to walk out. "Since Dame-Tsuna is staying after school today and you skipped your soccer practice, you can go buy more espresso. I've run out of my batch."

Tsuri felt irritation consume her head. Why couldn't he do it on his own? He had more time than her anyways.

"Just because I have more spare time doesn't mean I can do it Baka-Tsuri," Reborn commented. "They could kidnap a baby like me."

Tsuri sighed exhaustedly. Her tutor certainly liked to pull the younger card when he saw fit. She walked out of the room to go get her school back. She hummed in thought.

Exactly how old was Reborn? Was he even a baby to begin with?

She had a feeling she wouldn't get an answer even if she asked.

Sawada Residence

"! Why the hell are you polishing your gun inside our room for Nami's sake!" Tsuri cried as she came in her bedroom with a tray full of snacks and the coffe she had been asked for their demon tutor.

Reborn, aside from his mafia mission, was in fact an academic tutor. Said something that mafia people needed education besides their difficult job. It made Tsuri scoff. It was very contradictory but hey, each to their own.

Tsuna was doing homework under his watch. Tsuri didn't even want to start her own. Reborn used a very aggressive method to get them to learn. At first it was alarming a few weeks back that made her hide under her mom's apron. After than Nana was immune and didn't even bother questioning his methods. The twins had no choice but to just go with the flow of his teaching.

"It makes it easier for you two to fear me," said the baby. "Think of it as motivation for you two to do your work."

'It's not motivation but threats!'

Tsuna however wasn't paying attention and was taking out more undone homework from his bag with a smile.

"Eh, Tsuna, are you excited to do homework or something...?" Tsuri asked with a weird expression. She putting the tray down the coffee table that was in the middle of their room.

"Did something good happen?" Reborn picked up his espresso. Tsuna grabbed his tea.

"Can you tell? Today a popular kid came to me for advice. Man what to do what to do."

Tsuri decided to take advantage of their starting conversation to escape the papers in her school bag and turned on the small television in the corner of the room. She plugged in their game counsel to play an arcade fighting game. It had been a long day, and games would help with the incoming stress."Popular guy, asking you for advice? Who was it?"

Reborn stood up, drink in hand. "About that Yamamoto."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW!"

"Yamamoto?" Tsuri violently pressed the buttons of her controller after she made a wrong move.

"Make him your subordinate."

"WHA? You're going to turn my classmate into a mafia member too?! Tsuri, are you hearing this?!"

"Yeah yeah I'm hearing you… DAMNIT!" the twin sister's focus was still on the tv, the aggressive clicking making Tsuna sigh. "Reborn, stop dragging people we don't talk to into this mafia mess of yours!"

Tsuna sweat dropped at her behavior and then turned to face his tutor. "Shes right! And even if you wanted him in, Yamamoto is hot on baseball! I'm going to help him with his problem as a friend! Not a mafia recruitment!"

'These stupid twins have not learned yet,'Reborn thought. He pointed his polished gun towards Tsuna and Tsuri. He fired it and suddenly fire flames erupted in their direction like a guided waterfall.

"You should try getting hot too, especially you Baka-Tsuri," Reborn said, tapping the button as the two were screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"ITS HOT ITS HOT WHY ARENT MY CLOTHES BURNING! REBORN WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!"

"HIEEEEEEEE MAKE IT STOP!"

Meanwhile downstairs as Nana was hanging laundry by the porch she heard the cries of agony her children were throwing out from their bedroom window. She giggled.

"My my aren't they having fun with Reborn-kun. I knew it was a good idea to call that flyer!"

Tsuri and Tsuna were covered in soot that came from nowhere. When they blinked out and coughed out some smoke from their lungs, they watched the direction that the flames had actually hit. Tsuri lost half of the hidden 'yaoi' manga that she borrowed from her neighbor and her snack stash she hid under her bed. Tsuna lost who knows what else since Reborn couldn't understand him behind his sobs.

"I DONT UNDERSTAND YOU MAMA! YOU DEFINITELY DO NOT KNOW WHAT TUTOR YOU CALLED!"

Next Day, after lunch

It was independent study, which meant no work was going to be done at all. Her homework hadn't been done since yesterday, but she didn't even feel the obligation to finish.

"Tsuri-chan? Are you okay?" Kyoko asked her from a few seats away.

'If I told you I had to run to school today because I almost got fried with fire' Tsuri's eyebrows twitched. 'She wouldn't believe me.'

"I… didn't get enough sleep…"

The other girl laughed at Tsuri's sleepy face and continued her task.

Tsuri was about to lay her head for another short nap when suddenly someone slid and banged the class door harshly, looking panicked. Tsuna and Tsuri raised an eyebrow in confusion. So did everyone else in their class.

Maybe Hibari Kyoya scared him or something. He was known for terrorizing students when they weren't in their classroom.

"HEY, EVERYONE!" he shouted, earning all the students attention. "YAMAMOTO IS ABOUT TO JUMP OFF THE ROOF!"

"Yamamoto from our class?" whispered a girl with glasses.

"Hm, that's impossible." Another whisper came about.

"There are good and bad pranks you know." grumbled a fan girl of Yamamoto

"When he stayed after school practicing yesterday, he went too far and broke his arm." The boy who shouted earlier informed them.

Tsuri's head shot up. Yesterday Reborn told her Tsuna had stayed after school to sweep up the fields with someone. Didn't he say he gave someone popular advice? She turned to the boy in a flash. Her stomach was turning. Was Tsuna behind this?

"Anyway, go to the roof!" the boy ordered, earning agreement from all students. "We need to do something!"

"Tsuna-kun, Tsuri-chan let's go!" Kyoko as she ran out of the class

"Uh, yeah! A-after I go to the bathroom…" answered Tsuna who quickly rushed out.

Worried and terrified, Tsuri ran after him, legs wobbly from the mile she'd done in the morning. She decided to ignore how her thighs screamed in pain but Tsuna being in involved in this mess was bigger than some sore muscles.

She opened the door to the roof after skipping some steps. There was a crowd on one side where they were halting Yamamoto's frightening attempt of his life and then there was Tsuna by the left corner, sitting and cowering with his hands over his head.

"You gave himadvice? You know you're not supposed to do that with people we don't talk to!" Tsuri half yelled and half whispered in panic. "What did you tell him yesterday!"

"What should I do! I shouldn't have said anything to him!" Tsuna panicked.

"Tsuna that's no longer important! We need to do something! He can fall and hurt himself!"

"I can't face Yamamoto! What should I do!"

Tsuri caught a glimpse of a fedora and chameleon.

Tsuna paled. "What if i make it worse! I can't go show my face to him!"he cried, shaking by the minute.

Tsuri needed to do something and fast. It wasn't a joke or uncommon that a student would want to end their life. But the mere little fact that Tsuna was connected could entangle him for responsibility and that wasn't something she wanted to see. Tsuna was stupid as it came to certain situations and Tsuri was always willing to help him.

If Tsuna refused to do this, then it was up to her. Sheneededtopush.

"Tsuna! This isserious!"

"I can't!"

She slammed her hand on the wall above his head. "For Nami's sake Sawada Tsunayoshi! My brother isn't someone who gives up and lets this happen! DO SOMETHING!"

Through the distance she could see Yamamoto's worn out sad smile. Her chest ached. It hit her chest hard and weirdly, it was like she understood the meaning behind it.

'What's going on…?'

Reborn stood in front of the twin on the floor, oddly surprised that Tsuri was urging and demanding something from Tsuna.

"Tsuna. She's right. You need to figure something out."

"But—"

"Tsuna!" Tsuri cried a little more desperately. There was a weird prickly sensation appearing in her vision and in her head. She pushed it down, shoved it down. instead it took over her own mind and now there were voices popping into her mind, unfamilar and yet familiar at the same time.

'Don't do it! You know that she always says things like that!'

…

'I know you're old enough to choose but please reconsider!'

…

'Killing yourself won't do good! Think about the littlest one! You know how much pain we'll be in if you die?!'

…

'ANYA!'

Tsuri felt something wet coming from somewhere. She touched her cheeks. Tears? Why was she crying?

….Who was Anya? Somehow and strangely she she could feel...

'Stop him.'

…

…

'You need to stop him before he commits the same mistake we almost did…'

…

'Stop him!'

Her chest felt heavy with feelings she had to let out, or she would be feeling remorse for this situation.

"T-Tsuri?! Why are you crying?!"

"Tsuna I'm begging you do something! He can't lose his life! Not like this!" She tried to speak coherently but she could not halt the emotions spilling out from her.

Tsuna scratched his head in panic, but then took a glance at Reborn, and his sister.

"You wanted to help Yamamoto as a friend right?" Reborn pointed Leon at him threateningly. And it didn't look like a dying will would come out from the end this time. "Then don't run away."

She was right. He needed to fix this. He could do it. He could certainly try.

But being held at gunpoint wasNOTthe way!

Tsuna raised himself quickly, running away with nerves almost shot out in fear. His feet then got tangled together in a mysterious way and he feel flat in front of everyone present to stop the other boy. A path had been split for him to near the rail since Yamamoto was staring at him with eyes devoid of all happy thoughts.

"Tsuna…"

"If you're trying to stop me, it's no use. You should be able to understand my feelings."

Tsuri followed behind, the fear in her system increasing the longer Yamamoto stayed behind the rail.

"For someone that's called 'Dame-Tsuna' all the time, you can understand the feeling of preferring to die over failing at everything right?" Yamamoto asked.

"Huh? Erm no." Tsuna answered, rubbing his head.

'Oi, what the hell kind of response is that?!'Tsuri mentally smacked her face at behalf of her brother's response. She never wanted to hit her brother as badly as she did right now.

Yamamoto's face scrunched up in anger. "How arrogant of the recently awesome Tsuna-sama. So you're a fine student now as opposed to me." Yamamoto said in a dark like manner, a taste of sarcasm inside it.

"N-No, that's wrong! It's because I'm no good!" Tsuna said. "Unlike you, I've never put any effort into anything. I arrogantly told you "effort" and such but I've really done nothing."

Tsuna turned to look at Tsuri's tear stained face and looked down, ashamed, "What I said yesterday was a lie... I'm sorry!" He apologized. "Saying you're so frustrated that you want to die, or you want to die because of a career-ending accident... Unlike you, I've never had those kinds of intense thoughts."

The raven haired boy could see Tsuna's hands balling into fists. "In fact, I'm a pathetic person who would have regrets when dying... Thinking if I'm going to die then I should've done it with dying will... Thinking it's a waste to die from something like this...

"So I can't understand your feelings. Sorry…" Tsuna decided that was enough. He turned around and took a step to run away. "Later!"

"You stop right there Sawada Tsunayoshi!" Tsuri stopped him by pulling his arms and dragging him back to where he had stood. "KONO BAKA! YOURE NOT DONE!"

"What do you mean I'm not done!"

"Yamamoto Takeshi!" The said person's saddened eyes turned to the other twin and they instantly turned huge. Her face was tear stained, red and blotchy. And it didn't look like she was doing anything to stop her eyes from shedding more tears because she kept drying it with her sleeve.

"Tsuna doesn't word things right. He degrades himself on a daily basis that he can't even say anything positive for once!" She hi-cupped and scolded, letting him go harshly.

"Effort or no effort, people find a will of life! If a purpose we built crumbles into dust at first, we don't just give up easily! We need to keep building more and more! Life isn't so fickle! So what if you broke your arm! It'll heal! If you still can't play even after you recover then you can worry about that after!"

The class blinked in surprise. What were the Sawada twins on? One day they were like bubbles in air and now? They were like persistent sun rays trying to peek itself through clouds.

Tsuri outstretched her hand for him to grab. Yamamoto stared at it wearily. But then Tsuna shyly extended his own. The broken armed boy swore he saw a hue of orange and honey in the twins' eyes.

Yamamoto stared at the Sawada twins in awe and smiled. He jumped to the other side of the fence, clearly backed down from jumping off the roof.

Class 1-A hung with their mouths open.

"Both of you!" the saved male smiles. "You're amazing."

"Eh?"

"Just like you said right? Have to do it with dying will. I don't know what I was thinking. Nothing good comes from my idiocy."

Tsuri crossed her arms, restraining the need to somewhat hit both of the boys in front of her. "Of course it doesn't! Use your head a little more, the both you!"

Yamamoto laughed guiltily at the girl and before he could apologize for making her cry he was approached by teachers that came rushing in quickly

Tsuri slung her arm over her brother's shoulder.

"Nice job. You just reversed what you committed. With my help of course."

Tsuna's mouth twitched in irritation. "S-Shut up! I'll make sure to apologize properly later!" He averted his gaze. "Also… sorry for making you cry. I didn't know you werethataffected by this situation."

She wasn't. She couldn't and yet it happened. She rubbed her eyes, blushing in embarrassment. Then, Tsuri's eyes dimmed. "Um, Tsuna. Do we know anyone named Anya?"

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, then shook his head. "I don't think so. Why?"

Tsuri collapsed to the floor in an exhausted sigh, making Tsuna begin to fidget and worry about her state of mind. A name and voices couldn't just come and pop out of no where. What was that static TV like feeling she sensed? It was like those black and white sounds she saw whenever their cable lost signal. It had gritted her nerves and it had just taken over herself.

'Im losing it. I blame Reborn for this' She shrugged her shoulders, eyeing the tutor smirk weirdly at them.

'I need a break from this. I'm so exhausted.'

Tired as the twins would be, there were more people to deal with at home after school.

A cow child that was insanely annoying problematic. Tsuna had wanted to send him back but had integrated himself among their household and Nana. There was no returning him to Italy after that

.

Then there was a rose haired woman. Claiming she was in love with Reborn, mind you he was a baby, and needed the twins out of the way because they were chaining him down in Japan.

Tsuri wantedoutfrom this mafia family. It was getting even more agitating at the fact that more strangers coming into their home and acting like it was hotel for them to stay.

After another avoidance with a poison cooking plate, Tsuri went to bed, questions in her mind. What more new events would come into their life? A life that had been just separated from her brother was now mashing together.

She let out a little smile.

Having Reborn around was a pain, but maybe he helped in some way. Maybe he was the fix to having Tsuna and her finally connecting more as siblings.

The angel was observing the 13 year old Tsukairi Sawada. She bit and pulled her hair out of her scalp. She could not believe this!

'I TOTALLY SAID THAT ANYA WOULD NOT REMEMBER HER MEMORIES! SO WHY IS TSU-CHAN DREAMING OF THEM!'

The angel started slapping herself.

"If the seal breaks… catastrophic consequences could ensue... I pray Anya and Tsuri can avoid that at all costs."

"They couldbreak."

Chapter 5: Stolen Kiss

Chapter Text

In another life…

It was a high upstairs veranda. The mansion had many balconies to hang around, with beach chairs umbrellas and their own mini bars to make your own drink. This one however wasn't being used to relax at all. It was being used to grasp the attention of someone who would never turn to look.

"Get down from there mistress! You're causing a commotion!" her personal maid tried to get her down from the stone balcony's rail before she could slip.

Two more people were home that day, it was a weekend and the whole family was planning a trip to Hawaii; but they were not going without the middle child.

The fifteen year old oldest daughter and the thirteen second tried to get their ten year old sister from jumping off that balcony in her room.

"Anya, think about this throughly," Lillian said approaching her sister carefully in slow steps.

"Get back!" Anya yelled not bothering to turn around to look at her tear stained relatives. "Don't come any closer or I swear I'll jump!"

Lillian and her sister Kristin heard the harsh gasps of her previous sobbing session. It was so hard to hear because these attacks on Anya's state were so severe, last time she had to go to the hospital for intubation.

The maid was panicking whether to call the mistress of their estate but even if she did, there would be no concern if her middle child attempted to end her life. Since her second husband died, there was no one that could comfort Anya when her mother would verbally abuse her.

It was exactly that reason why she stood on the balcony on bare feet, telling herself it was time to end her suffering and join her father.

"I miss Dad. He was the ONLY one who wanted me! I hate her! Why does she always bring me down! If she didn't want me, then why didn't she abort or give me up!" Anya screamed, her loose red hair bouncing with the cold wind.

"Mistress don't say that!" The maid, who was closer to her lady tried to grab her arm. Anya hated the pity in her eyes, so she pushed it away with force, sending her back and to the floor.

"I'm going to jump! And no one can stop me!" She readied herself to let go of the umbrella she was supporting herself with and let her hands go from the pole.

"Don't do it! You know that she always says things like that!" Lillian yelled, her blue eyes freezing from the cold hair hitting her. "We've always watched you get hurt! We know now that it isn't doing any good! We've let her do what she wants and we're no longer willing to let that happen!"

"Killing yourself won't do good! Think about the littlest one! Think about our two year old brother Anya! Do you know how much pain he and we'll be in if you die?!" Kristin stepped up and took huge steps to grab her sister's pale, skinny hands.

"You're only ten years old! You have a lot to live for! You can show Mother you don't need her!"

Anya turned around. "H-How can I? No one loves me... Not even you two!"

The oldest saw red. She balled her fists in the air and threw the cellphone she had in her hand violently, the screen breaking into pieces. "WE CRACK OUR ARSES TWENTY FOUR SEVEN JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE OKAY MOST OF THE DAY! DON'T YOU DARE SAY WE DON'T LOVE YOU OR THATS NOT LOVE! WE DO! MORE THAN ANYTHING!" Lillian roared and began to cry.

"You have no idea what we've gone through to keep you with us Anya! Dad told us to protect you when he passed! He told us to promise him to run away with you if we need to! How can you say we don't love you when we're willing to sacrifice ourselves for you!"

The next thing they knew the child that was about to jump off and end everything, came down. She grabbed her shoulders to shield away all the pain she was letting go, feelings spilling out from a cup that had been filled to the brim. Her siblings outstretched their arms and grabbed her in a comforting embrace. Anya knew she was safe now, that she was loved and taken care of. It was hard to believe after everything, so she started crying like a baby.

"You'll live your life to the fullest, Anya. And when it's time for you to die, you won't have any regrets."

Tsuri never thought what it'd be like if they had a bigger family. If they had a younger or older sibling, some cousins running inside their houses or some aunts and uncles, grandmas or grandpas living with them.

A noisy household would've been better than a silent one with just Tsuna and their mom.

Before, breakfast, and dinners were the dullest moments of their day. Nana would strike up random conversations that went nowhere because Tsuna would avoid going further into detail of school and his work. Tsuri chewed and filled her mouth with food so she wouldn't have to answer in long sentences. Tsuna would then excuse himself first and escape first. At first it hurt the younger twin in being ditched but it had turned into an unfortunate routine.

With more people in the house, it wasn't like that anymore. Or in this case, the people Reborn was bringing in totally destroyed that habit and was converting it to new ones.

And don't get her wrong, Tsuri enjoyed having Lambo around, but he was madly annoying for a five year old. Not to mention he was involved heavily in a mafia family that at first wanted to assassinate their tutor at one point. He also was spoiled, threw tantrums for the simplest things and had such a potty mouth that it was a wonder he hadn't gotten smacked by anyone.

Bianchi was another story. She had only been here two weeks, with the same circ*mstance of murdering her and Tsuna because they had stolen Reborn from her. Needless to say that had also ended and now she was playing peaceful and enjoying her time with their tutor. She didn't know if had actually wanted to murder them, or if she had been blinded by love to choose morally. Oh, did she forget to mention that she was Gokudera's older sister? One that made his sight of her go her queasy and make him fall faster to the ground than a bowling ball? She'd take reference to use her face to win an argument nowadays.

In total, these new people in the house just made the house livelier. Besides the literal killing side of things, everything just seemed about better. Their mother was especially happy she got to take care of Lambo and have Bianchi to help out with chores. Their mother was a stray keeper. Wasn't too surprising given her nature of being kind.

"This is getting too normalized here."

"Kaasan is happier though."

"Do you not see the issue here?!"

Tsuna and Tsuri had come down to eat breakfast and found it noisy and chatty with Lambo eating and crying about his gratin being hot and with Bianchi feeding it to Reborn. Tsuna's eyes were nearly out of his sockets.

Tsuri greeted by giving her mom a morning hug. She greeted the other people weakly as she went to get a spoonful of the gratin by the stove. Best to keep the morning greetings brief and short. Having some sort of social relationship with these people were not an option.

"Oh Tsu-kun! Better hurry and eat or you'll be late for school!" Nana turned to her naturally pale son that wore his usual purple waves of defeat.

"Tsuna, do you want some gratin or not? There's only enough for half a bowl."

"Is anyone really just not seeing how normalized this is?!"

'Of course I do but the more you complain the less peace we have with Reborn,'Tsuri gave him a wide eyed warning.'Shut up and eat something or he'll turn them on us to have us killed. Again. And I don't want Kaasan's cooking to turn into poison cooking like it did last week.'

Tsuna wanted out of this situation.

When didn't he?

Her twin ended up digesting his food rather quickly with how stressed he was and dragged them out the door, already tired with his day. Well, a bigger portion for Tsuri meant she would be more content with her day. She didn't like feeling cranky with a light breakfast. Tsuna's sacrifice would not be in vain.

Speaking of Tsuna… She had tried to eat quick and catch up to him before she was left behind once again. The boy was weak but when it came to escaping places or situations Tsuna had quick feet.

"The day hasn't even started and you're already sulking," she sighed, pulling her bag over her shoulder. "Is it really that bad that we have other people in the house?"

"You're one to talk! These people have tried killing us in more ways than one regular person can imagine! Is that normal for you?" He almost pulled his hair out and if his bag hadn't slid off his own shoulder she was sure he could have smacked his face with it.

"Nope" Tsuri said with a blue face, the literal fact almost cutting off the blood supply in her body. "Kaasan looks happy though. Its been a long time since she's cared for others than ourselves."

Tsuna watched her sister's body language shift. It was that one emotion he hated to see her wear. It was always related to their absent father. There was never a moment where both twins would remember the lack of his presence and how their mom was battling in raising her twins because of it.

"Wait a sec. Isn't that the girl who attacked you because of Reborn not too long ago?"

Both twins stopped walking once they saw the Midair Middle School uniform and the somewhat happy go lucky face of Mirua Haru dashing towards Tsuna, hold a massive blue container in hand. She would have made a clean hello if it wasn't for her falling face first on the floor right under their feet. Tsuri quickly bent down to see if she hadn't hurt herself. Haru had caused a nosebleed and just giggled like nothing, making her and her brother back away in fright.

"H-Haru?"

"Yes it is I, Mirua Haru, whose life you saved the other day and whom you promised would become Mrs. Sawada in the future!"

A tree branch surely snapped somewhere by Tsuri's ears. What did she say? "Mrs… Sawada…?"

Tsuna could feel his sister's menacing aura and he was ready to book it to school with or without a dying will bullet right then and there. "I-I did not! I didn't promise anything like that!" He denied fervently.

"Should I leave? Is this a private moment I shouldn't be seeing?"

"Ah! Tsuri-san! Good morning! I hope you don't mind, I made my beloved Tsuna-sama a bento for today!"

"A bento? For me?"

"I was up for two night making it!"

'Two nights? That's terrifying.'

'Remind me never to fall in love. By the looks of it, it makes people crazy'Tsuri rubbed her arms to get rid of the incoming goosebumps this gave her.

"I-Isn't that too much Haru-san?"

"Oh don't worry about it! This is all part of being a Mafia boss's wife! Its nothing!"

'YOU"RE KIDDING ME. TSUNA ARE YOU KIDDING ME?'

She could see Tsuna's panic slipping from his controlled expression on his face.'I want to run and hide! Help me!'

And when Kyoko came it seemed to just get worse for Tsuna. Talking about misunderstandings and not getting to defend himself. Tsuri decided to get a head start for school and leave her mess of a brother alone with his crush and stalker.

While she paced faster so she could get to homeroom on time, she shuddered at the mere thought of boys surrounding themselves around her like a flock of puppies, with bouquets, and imagining herself making bentos and offering them. She wanted to gag at how cringey everything seemed. Maybe it was because she wasn't so interested in relationships for the time being or anything. It was gross. "Remind me never to have a crush. It makes girls look insane!"

As she got to the gate she'd been seeing on a daily basis, she flinched when she took a glance at the school clock, then at the familiar figures by the gates, entrances and whole school campus, with their freaky rolled up hair and scary guarding.

'Thank Kami I made it on time. Last thing I need is to mess with the Disciplinary Committee and their leader, Hibari Kyoya.'

Class was a hoot. It was a bore for Tsuri most days, especially when it came to literature and english. Today was independent partner study and because they were assigned by the teacher, Tsuri had the unfortunate honor to have the italian bomber working with her today. She wasn't the study type, but there was a test coming up and it was based on a book they were reading for the class and if she didn't pass with a 75 or better, Reborn was going to make sure she would pay for the lack of effort.

So, here she was, yet again arguing with Gokudera Hayato for the most pettiest things. And it wasn't like she wanted to, but the idiot just picked any small reason to get on her nerves and act like he knew better.

"Are you going to keep lecturing me on how I'm reading or are you going to listen?!"

"You sound like a monotonic robot! How am I going to understand how the tone in the dialogue makes the main character feel if you're not putting any emotion in it!"

They were sitting in the back, shooting and breathing fire at each other non stop since the minute their butts touched their seats.

Tsuna who was sitting upfront with another student, refusing to work by sleeping, couldn't help but sigh again. When would it ever end, he wondered, if his sister and friend got along? He tried imagining them strolling and skipping with each other, arms linked and smiling as if they'd been shoved with sugar in their blood for how sickly sweet it looked. Tsuna didn't like it, it just didn't suit their personalities and just decided he'd take what he could get.

Tsuna's thoughts were then interrupted, as were many others in he classroom when they all heard a loud smack reverberate the whole room. He sweat dropped nervously and turned. Everyone in the class followed, with slight fear of what was to ensue.

They wondered why ofallpeople, Gokudera Hayato, the transfer, was hanging out with the Sawada twins; the loser and the outcast. He was probably forced to hang out with Tsuna, maybe he was holding something over him and was blackmailing him. But Sawada Tsukairi? How in the hell were they even friends when they were chewing at each other's heads like chew toys?

Gokudera was holding his head and shot deadly piercing glares at the copy. Tsuri's hand was holding their hardcover textbook in the air, meaning that she had used it as a weapon to hit the bomber on the head.

"Are you f*cking kidding me you stupid copy? How dare you!"

"How dare I? Are you f*cking kidding me? If I fail this class I'll make sure that your ass is handed to you by any means necessary!"

Gokudera blinked three times. Everyone in the class sweat dropped.

"How dare she hit Gokudera-sama!" a fangirl sitting near the door fussed. The girl next to her nodded in agreement and shot knives at Tsuri, who just rolled her eyes in annoyance. They'd get the end of her stick too if they wanted. Both girls felt a sharp chill creep onto their backs and flinched, turning back into occupying themselves in their work.

"You stupid woman! There's something called using words instead of hitting me with a f*cking book!" he bellowed, making his fangirls secretly cheer for him in their minds to destroy the girl.

Tsuri let out a breath of air to calm her boiling rage, swore to anything holy that she would try not to commit murder and opened the book to the page where they left off. She wasn't wasting her time with the pointless argument.

"I'll tell Tsuna you're bullying me if you don't do our assignment properly. Do you want that to happen?"

Gokudera was taken aback at picturing his beloved boss hanging him from his toes at swearing at his only twin sister. He looked at Tsuna in the front who had been watching the whole excahnge and quickly turned away as if saying 'I don't know them!'

The silver head, taking that sign as an act of action, muttered in displeasure, violently opened his own book and started reading without the robotic voice Tsuri had complained about. After he finished the chapter, he was going to begin their discussion on their character analysis questions when he saw her raise her right hand approach his space, and rub his head where the book had landed harshly on him. He froze in place like a statue, obviously shocked that she would be doing that in the first place.

Tsuri was doing it gently, to soothe the hard hit as she tried biting down on her guilty expression. He gave her a confused gaze and she slightly blushed.

"S-Shut up and don't say anything. I'm only doing this because I could tell it really hurt."

Gokudera tried not to let warmth consume his face but it was all visible.

"I should give you a taste of how it felt if you want."

"Go ahead then! Lets see if you can even try!"

The fangirls in their class could only watch the scene in jealousy, while the rest began to complain again at their interrupted silent time for work. They would get that Sawada Tsuri somehow for hitting and trying to steal their beloved Gokudera-sama. They swore in the name of beautiful men.

If they could get past her glares of mortal death, they thought.

.....

.....

Hibari Kyoya. The most feared man in Namimori, both inside and outside of school. No one knew about his life. The rumors on him piled on like a mountain of books; all the horrors and violent acts a boy like him could cause and get away with so easily with a snap of his fingers. It was scary to say and think of.

His family bloodline was unknown. His ethnicity ( besides being Japanese) was also unknown. His very own file didn't have that much information about the boy other than knowing he was the leader of the Disciplinary Committee

He was Reborn's next target to be apart of Tsuna's forming family.

Reborn, who was always roaming around the school to observe his students was waiting outside to find a way for Tsuna and Tsuri to come face to face with the demon of Namimori. Then as he heard the conversation the committees were having during lunch he found the perfect opportunity.

Tsuri however was moping about the soreness in her arms and back. It had been her turn for clean up duty and the person who was supposed to help her sure enough was someone in her soccer team who hated her guts and refused to even collaborate. So, to spare herself a trip to the teacher's office, Tsuri took it upon herself to fulfill her tasks, even though she secretly wished she could kick that other girl's face with a soccer ball after school.

She had wandered off in her own thoughts, thinking about lunch and how she wished Gokudera could drop himself off a cliff and break his bones. Stopping herself from another anger spasm, she decided to take it out with the trash disposal. But before she could make that sharp turn to get there, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw some people in familiar black coats swinging their fists and legs at some students she was sure belonged to the Plant Committee. Her whole face went white and she could feel the bin slipping from her fingers… but she caught it before it could fall and cause a commotion and hid behind the wall.

How ruthless the Disciplinary Committee truly were. It pissed her off at how people really thought they called the shots and made people's life miserable for any obstacle they had in their path. Those destructive people, when would they ever be stopped? She sighed when she finally saw them leave by the other exit and she made sure to run, drop the trash and dash away, tiptoeing and making sure she wasn't see nor heard by anyone. She held her bin like a lifeline and booking it back to their class, not long before looking up at an open window from the third floor and making eye contact with grey black steel eyes with the a glare she knew screamed avoidance at all cost. She whipped her head to the side so quickly she felt a bone crack.

Upstairs, Hibari Kyoya watched the mysterious girl run away like her life depended on it, away from the displayed scene of unconscious bodies. It bode her well not to say anything or do anything. If she did, he'd probably target her next.

Break meant lunch. Lunch meant food. Food meant it was a well deserved rest after working their brains to learn so much (even though the knowledge would slip like butter and be forgotten). Tsuna had been surprised when Yamamoto came to him a few days ago, asking if he wanted to eat lunch together. He could see the dislike coming from his baseball friends behind him that day but it was as if Yamamoto didn't care for their opinion because he made sure to make it clear to them that he was going to eat with Tsuna no matter what. And it didn't matter if Gokudera or them were against that idea, it was going to happen whether anyone liked it or not.

Tsuri had been there and honestly didn't object to it. If anything, she was admiring on how bold and determined Yamamoto was for having her brother as company. Gokudera was a pest who didn't give him a chance to say no in an aggressive way and even though the baseball dude was doing the same, it was more with the intention of friendship.

And so here they were after a few weeks, a used to be trio, now quadruple, relaxing on top of Nami-chuu's outside roof, eating like they haven't eaten in years and enjoying the calm weather and wind. Tsuri was initially supposed to eat with Kyoko and Hana today but they said they needed to talk to her brother and Tsuri treaded delicately when it came to Sasagawa Ryohei. He was determined to get anyone to his club with that persistent personality of his, Tsuri especially even though she was a girl and in a club already. To escape that, she came here today.

As Tsuri opened the lid to her bento, she eyed Tsuna's huge package. She, Gokudera, and Yamamoto stared at it freakishly. "Don't tell me you're actually going to eat all that without sharing."

Tsuna paused from launching a mini octopus sausage in his mouth and his face froze. "Eh? What do you mean?"

Tsuri shoved rice into her mouth and chewed. "SharingiscaringTsuna. I want to test Haru's cooking."

Gokudera was confused at the mention of the name. "Juudaime, your mother doesn't serve something so huge does she?"

"If you think our mom's name is Mirua Haru, Bakadera."

Yamamoto laughed. "Oh, I see! Did a girl give you this Tsuna?"

Tsuna nodded, pale faced by the intense stare Tsuri was giving the bento. "I-It was the girl I rescued from drowning the other day."

Gokudera sensed a dark aura being emitted from somewhere and he shivered.

"She's already declared her love for my brother. Isn't that so strange? Having someone who barely knows you, making you food?"

Tsuna nervously laughed and handed her the first row of the box so she could take the first bite. Tsuri was an overprotective sister, but never this bad. She probably was weary of the Midori girl considering she had almost made Tsuna drown by the river and make him rescue her because of her stupidity. Tsuna was the same however, he was sure if there was anyone who wanted Tsuri at any point in life he'd make sure they stayed away and proved they deserved her. As if. He wondered if this was hereditary because this was the first time a thought like this ever crossed his mind.

Tsuna shoved more food into his mouth to keep him from talking. He nodded. Tsuri sighed and only kept smiling while she ate like no problem. Seemed like the food was subpar because she was making sure that the tamago slices she was picking weren't sweet.

'Shes a weird girl, and she's pretty dangerous,'she said to Tsuna in his mind. 'Watch yourself...'

'I hope Kyoko-chan didn't misunderstand'Tsuna fake cried as he bit his chopsticks disappointed.

'Who knows. I prefer Kyoko-chan than Mirua any day.'

Tsuna''s face reddened.'Hey, can you lower the hostility here? It's not my fault she decided to declare her love for me and stalk me.'

Tsuri rolled her eyes, stealing her brother's sausage from his chopsticks again.

Yamamoto peered at the twins' facial expressions and just gave them his usual grin when Tsuna offered him some of what was left to eat. After a few instances of choking on rice and eating with a few glares, everyone finished. Gokudera was refreshing himself with a drink. When everyone was done eating each let out a yawn of being terribly bored out of their minds. It made Tsuri smile at the chain of yawns.

"Don't go yawning like that in front of Juudaime without permission!" Gokudera snapped at the baseball star.

"Oh come on it's just a yawn," he replied. "They do say that yawns are contagious." Yamamoto explained.

"Next time you yawn in front of the boss Im going to shove one of these in your mouth!" Gokudera took out a pair of dynamites and lit it.

"Come on guys! Don't start that again!" Tsuna waved his hands all over trying to get his two friends to stop arguing.

"Stop picking fights with both of us you old cranky man" Tsuri sighed and stood up to lay her back on the fence to get away from the tension with her two friends. "I'm starting to go deaf by how loud you are."

"Its him Juudaime! He should be more respectful!"

"It's not my fault. You don't have to be on my case all the time Gokudera," Yamamoto said.

Tsuri smiled a little and lifted her head up to face the big blue sky. It felt good to have company, but a little hard to get used to. She liked the way Yamamoto just let Gokudera slip over like soap on water. If Reborn hadn't really helped Tsuna get him off the roof, would he be here with them, with that relaxing an happy smile he wore? She wondered if the circle would grow. She was looking forward to it, but couldn't help but feel a bit distressed by it.

Before she could stretch and get a head start back to class she jumped in alarm when something sharp and spike hit her in the ribs. "Yikes! What the hell?!"

"That hurts!" Tsuna barked after from the ground. When both twins blinked out their the tears in their eyes after being shot with two more balls, they saw something brown and pokey, to the size of a chestnut. No food was ever this sharp especially if it were a nut. Both felt their exhaustion and stress come back when Reborn whipped himself out of nowhere, like the usual, wearing a costume with the same spikes details the little golf-ball sized things were.

"Are you trying to send me to the nurse's office again?" Tsuri made sure any blood wasn't drawn on her school shirt.

"Have quicker reflexes next time," the baby smirked. She wanted to take one of the weapons in her hands and throw it at him.

"What are you..? A big chestnut with spikes?"

'Seems like he's throwing a Japanese gag here' Tsuna thought.

'Knowing him he'll pass it off.'

"Its a sea urchin. This is my camouflage spy suit used when tailing targets who commute in packed trains."

Yamamoto laughed at the self considered joke.

'Demented. Or crazy. Or likes to cosplay too much'.

"What does that even have to do with spying if you stand out too much?" Tsuna asked with an incredulous look to his face.

"Bianchi made it," Reborn ignored the question to answer Tsuri's own in her mind and she jumped. "Home Ec. So you know you need to be cautious around it."

"Why?"

"Anyone who gets pricked by one of these spikes will be on their way to heaven in thirty seconds."

"Heaven—" Poison cooking. The Italian woman's specialty. Oh sh*t. She looked down her shoes. She was shot with three of the little balls. Tsuna froze when he realized he was right beside the suit since Reborn had arrived.

On cue, both twins toppled to the floor in one go, though Yamamoto used his quick reflexes to cushion tsuri's fall.

"Tsuri-chan? Tsuna?"

"Juudaime! Don't die! Reborn-san what do we do?!"

"I know where we can take them in the meantime," Reborn said. "The effect will wear off in ten minutes."

An interaction none of the twins could avoid was going to happen soon. It was not going to be fun.

'Tsuri? Tsukairi-chan!'

Who was that voice? It sounded oddly familiar. Not one she knew but someone else... was she dead?

'Anya, you need to stop your memories from leaking! Ugh, tell me she can hear me!'

'Not if she's sleeping this heavy. You would think her reflexes would be quicker considering she's dealing with Reborn. And stop calling her Anya, that won't reach her if you're calling her past name!'

Huh. There was that name again.

'You're not helping! Anya, if you keep this up you're going to break!'

'Oi! Stop! She's coming to, its time to leave!'

'Tsuri! Oi Tsuri wake up.'

Tsuri opened her eyes slowly, the room feeling like it was spinning and her head felt like a rock had fallen on it.

'I don't learn. Reborn is such a sneaky predator!'Tsuri raised herself slowly to see that she was not sitting on cement but on a plush seat. She turned back and forth. Since when had they been inside? And what was this room? Only clubs and teachers ever reserved rooms like this.

"Ah, Tsuri-chan, you're finally awake!"

"Yamamoto? Where are we?"

"Reborn-san brought us here," Gokudera muttered from another corner. "He says this is our hideout for the family. You can see yourself out now."

"There you go again with your idiotic comments!" She dusted her skirt and went toward the couch right across from her to check on Tsuna's breathing. Sleeping like he had a long day. She shook her head slightly, and sighed in relief.

"Its a secret base! Its going to be fun," yamamoto agreed, even though he was oblivious as to what that meant for everyone. "I'm pretty sure this room was up for grabs by some other people though. Are you sure we can use it?" he then looked over towards Reborn, back in his normal suit with his legs crossed.

"The reception room hasn't been taken by anyone."

"Sweet!"

"Nope, I don't believe you," Tsuri shook her head. "You're up to something!"

"What ever do you mean? Why would I do that?"

"Don't do that! I know you! You're trying to pull something here—"

The doors burst open. Tsuri squinted her eyes and shrieked inwardly. They were the same people she had seen during her trash duty. The gangster haircuts that resembled rolled up cabbage and the arm bandage pinned to the side of their uniforms….

The disciplinary committee! And they were not happy one bit.

Tsuri didn't even blink and without any explanations given the men started attacking. Typical macho reaction for dominion of space. Might as well they should pee on the room and claim it like pets. In the struggle, they tried to reach Tsuna so Tsuri shielded him with her body, She expected someone to pull her off and give her a punch, but it never came. Yamamoto and Gokudera were hovering above, untouched and uninjured. She thanked them with a sigh of relief.

"D-Did you two serious beat them up, just like that…?"

"Heh, they weren't even that strong," Gokudera huffed with pride. She puked inwardly. His feathers were too ruffled.

"I didn't want to, but they gave no choice to explain," Yamamoto looked at the people on the ground. "Mops are for cleaning, not hitting."

She got up slowly, pointing at their club label. "You do know that they are from the Disciplinary Committee… right?"

"Who cares! This room is ours!"

"Don't be an idiot Gokudera, you don't know who you're dealing with—"

"…You people…who are you." A cold demanding voice immediately changed the whole atmosphere. Tension and some mild bloodlust. There was the prefect she'd caught a glimpse of earlier, the so called Demon of Namimori. Tsuri felt a cold sweat consume her.

Hibari Kyoya, raven black hair, grey black steel eyes. His white button shirt looked soiled and he had his famous tonfas out on both sides of his arms, ready to strike. She was scared to know at how he managed to use them to knock out teeth and spill blood with it.

"Are you kidding me Reborn?! You brought us to a room they had control over?! Why are you brewing coffee for Nami's sake!"

"You are not allowed to be here without permission. I will bite you all to death." Hibari said.

Gokudera was the first to step up. He was about to say something but Hibari quickly smashed his weapons toward him in a flash, he didn't even have time to whip out his dynamites. Tsuri watched as he sent him flying toward the wall with a slam.

"One down." His voice was void of emotion. It made Tsuri's nerves stand up. She stared at the other boy from the side of where they were, body prepped in alarm.

Yamamoto knew better. He knew of their school's ruthless club that sought out and maintained order for a peaceful Namimori. But to beat up someone without getting a word in was not a cause for violence. He told Tsuri with serious eyes to stay by Tsuna on the couch while he dealt with it. It didn't serve him well.

Tsuri rarely watched the baseball team after school. She was busy running in the fields with her own soccer club, kicking the balls in the goals on her own and practicing her balance. On instances where their coach made them run around their field for a warm-up, she caught glances at Yamamoto play. He was sporty, and had good skill and reflexes too. So seeing the way he was dodging Hibari Kyoya from hitting him was impressive, but it wasn't enough. The other boy got to him quickly, getting a closer range.

"Your better than the other one…but you're protecting your right arm. I see…the baseball club." Hibari said. He took the chance to beat his tonfas down on Yamamotos arm when he paused and caused him to also collapse near Gokudera.

"2 down… 1 more to go…"said Hibari while turning towards her. She started to stir Tsuna awake as harshly as she could.

"Tsuna! Tsuna!" There was no response. "Oh for nami's sake Tsunayoshi wake up or we'll be toast!"

It took a few slaps and nail clawing to get Tsuna awake. And when he opened his eyes and realized where they were, well, it didn't help to have Reborn sitting by the sidelines and sipping on his coffee while his two students yelled at him to help. He loved watching them squirm around, the way they flailed around was just so entertaining.

Besides, this was a time for learning. And handling the demon of Namimori would be one of many methods to use to make sure they realized that they wouldn't be able to escape situations such as these.

"T-Tsuri! Get back!" Tsuna cowered as he leaped off the couch, leaving Tsuri on the ground, suffering the glares that Hibari Kyoya was throwing.

"Sawada Tsukairi. Hn, you're this herbivore's sister," Hibari eyed the girl who resembled the tuna fish he was going to beat up on the floor. He seemed like he wanted to chew her out too like the rest, but she watched his arms retract when he said her name. "Get out. This does not concern you."

Tsuri shivered at first. This is what she wanted to avoid, getting caught by the toughest boy in school and get beat up. But was she really just going to let Tsuna deal with him alone or was she going to try to help? She wasn't a quitter and she wasn't going to run away just because someone like him was demanding it.

Hibari Kyoya wasn't royalty. He ruled by fear and power. But was that the only thing he could use to make someone fearful and run just by his presence. Tsuri had watched scarier people, and he definitely frightened the sh*t out of her. But she wasn't going to tread eggshells just because of a room.

She gained composure in her jelly-feeling legs and stood up straight, glaring at the prefect in his own eyes. Hibari rose an eyebrow seeing a quick flash of orange in her caramel colored eyes. Hoh, these weren't the eyes of a cowering herbivore like her brother.

"I'm not leaving my brother here with you alone. I refuse."

"Tsuri! What are you doing! Just leave!"

"Like hell. We owe an explanation and instead of letting us give it to you, you beat up my friends? Talk about abuse of power."

"Tsuri stop!"

"I may be a girl, but I'm not going to back down. Want to test me?"

Hibari was fairly tempted, but he'd never let himself get taunted by a girl who appeared weak and ran every chance she got. But was this the same person he saw earlier today who ran from getting caught by his goons? He took his target off the male twin and co*cked his head to the side. "Hn. Are you strong?"

Tsuri smirked and Tsuna prayed his mom wouldn't lose both of her children today. "Why don't you find out for yourself, Disciplinary boy? Wanna bite me?"

Hibari grew mad at the given nickname. "I will. I'll bite you to death, Sawada Tsukairi."

Right when Tsuri walked up front while Hibari charged, she didn't notice the floor she didn't notice that below was the previous unconscious body Yamamoto talked about. She forgot to scan the room and as she took the first near step where she could throw a kick, she slipped on the handle of a mop, then a body and came toppling down with the body in front. The impact was surprisingly soft and when Tsuri came to, she realized she had landed on him.

Too close. Her mouth was not supposed to be there.

Why were her lips on Hibari Kyoya?

OUT OF ALL PEOPLE. Not only did she embarrass herself by tripping, she had lost something precious and innocent to her. Tsuri shrieked as loud as she could, not caring if Hibari would swing a tonfa for his bleeding ears, and scooted her body up and away as far as the room would allow her to be. She swore she could see her skin turning blue. She had just kissed the prefect of Namimori.'I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes...!'

Hibari stood up from the floor and pretended as if nothing had happened and picked up Yamamoto and Gokudera. Tsuna saw that he was about to throw them out the room by the window and started to feel dread consume him.

'T-Tsuri! Hibari-san is about to throw Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto out the window!'

'I...I... I see white stars... Hehe they're so pretty...'

Tsuna's face drained out of blood. 'Well you're going to be of no help...'

...

...

...

The trio were walking home, with Tsuna earning some praise for his quick act of saving the day. He was too tired to even process what had happened. They escaped by a mere hair away, and in a way they also had Tsuri to thank for stalling him and give him a chance to get shot with the deathsperation bullet.

Reborn was smirking the whole way over, perched on Yamamoto's shoulder.

"The day is over Baka-Tsuri. Are you going to keep sulking?"

"Respectfully Reborn, I do not want to speak to you. Leave me alone."

"Ma ma Tsuri. Everything turned out okay! Tsuna saved us!"

"Okay? OKAY? You have no idea what happened because you both got knocked out, and you're telling me everything is fine?"

"You were bound to do with someone."

"NOT LIKE THIS. Ugh you boys are sostupidwhen it comes to girls. Leave me alone," Tsuri sucked in tears full of regret and turmoil, running toward their house a few feet away.

Yamamoto stood still, flabbergasted. "…Did she just call us stupid?"

"Juudaime, I want to kill your copy."

"Please don't," Tsuna took a breath of air. Hibari was scary, but he was sure he wanted to murder the man for what he did to Tsuri. Black waves were surrounding him whole, as if urging him to go back and finish the job.

Reborn sipped his cold coffee.

Well, if that was motivation enough to cross paths with Hibari Kyoya again, so be it.

Chapter 6: Older Brothers

Chapter Text

In that other life...

The world of fanfiction was endless. It was a sort of entertainment that shows, books and especially anime, didn't sometimes deliver. So when Anya Marter, found the website one day after wandering around archives for school, she decided to share it with Emile with a secret plot in mind.

"Hey Emile! Check this out!" The seventeen year old girl with red curly locks and green eyes called her brother from across the hall of their home library.

"Aw man! I was just getting to the good part of my book Anya!"

"Leave that book on the desk! I found something even better to read online!" Anya said and typed up a website on her blue Dell laptop.

The brother with golden blonde hair and matching green eyes left the book on a sofa with a loud groan of complaint and scooted behind his sister's chair to take a glance at the screen. His eyes grew wide. "Whoa! This is a full archive of books we've read! And they're written by regular people like us? What's it called?"

"Fanfiction. The creativity here is NUTS Emile. Some need work but regardless, they're genius!"

Emile laughed. "Its best to avoid them. These people tend to go a little overboard in their minds if you know where I'm getting at."

Anya waved her hands all over the air. "Yeah yeah whatever just give this a try. I clicked on the KHR tab, your favorite anime and look what I found," Anya clicked a couple of things with her mouse. Her plan was in motion.

Emile inched closer.

"I amabout to shatter your innocence and purity right now," Anya laughed evilly and clicked a story that had descriptive language and a most suspicious plot and pairing. Needless to say, it was going to be a but much for the boy and it was becauseEmile yelled as if he'd been set on fire and collapsed on the floor. It was horrid for his age and he couldn't get up from the shock he had just experienced.

"Sometimes I hate you Anya..." her brother said angrily. "But I love you too much. Just so you know, even if you showed me this, and I have a bad image of Tsuna and Gokudera," Emile shivered, "You won't stop me from watching it just so I can ditch it and watch another show."

Anya growled. "Oh come on! What's the use of watching it when there are plenty of other good ones?"

Emile rubbed his head and supported himself with his sister's chair to get up. "I'm the child here. You have no right to act like me, in fact I should be pouting! You promised I could have my own personal time for my own shows."

Anya rolled her eyes. What ever did her brother see in the anime was beyond her. She wished that the wifi could get cut. "Whatever little brother. Let's go to the living room. We're missingmovie night with the rest of our sisters…"

.

.

Studying was always such a pain for the Sawada twins. No subject could make school interesting no matter how hard their teachers tried to make it.

English? Nezu-sensei was a narcissist and bragged about his schooling more than teaching.

Science and Social Studies were too complex; chemicals, bonds and maps of history that Tsuri was sure was totally written one sided.

Math was an illogical alien language she was sure was invented to torture the human population. This one was the focus in their after school sessions when Reborn wasn't dedicated to having them run death laps and practice their sucky coordination.

"So, which formula do you use for the eighth problem?"

"Substitution?" Tsuna said in an unsure voice.

"Elimination!" Tsuri blurted out loud and with confidence, hoping she was right. Reborn had pulled down a TNT lever and exploded the twins' room and bodies in five seconds. Not hard enough to burn but good enough to give a scare impact on their bodies and souls.

"C-Chotto Reborn! What was that for?!" Tsuna coughed out some smoke.

"The notes we wrote LITERALLY state the methods used for these kinds of equations!" Tsuri dusted soot off her clothes. "I'm getting tired to dusting my clothes off and breathing toxic smoke…" The tutor, sitting on their table sprawled with markers, pens and notebooks, urged her to continue as his tiny hand reached for the lever near him again.

"D-Don't! I'm sorry!"

Reborn smirked, satisfied. "Both of you got the answer wrong. It's the Pythagorean Theorem. That was covered in last week's class."

"How the hell are we supposed to memorize everything," Tsuri muttered and sighed. "All these math problems look the same and there's no description to tell us how to solve it!"

"I hate your method of teaching," Tsuna stood up and searched for a duster inside his room so he wouldn't go to the kitchen to make noise and wake his mother in the middle of the night.

A late-night study session was served as punishment for failing their last math test and since Reborn doesn't accept failures, he insisted them to take the tutoring politely (if they considered being pointed by Leon as a gun as polite as it could get).

Tsuri discontinued her mental arguing as she pulled the curtain that covered her side of the room from the pole that was installed in their roof so she could change. Tsuna did the same after he was done clearing the dust out of every corner.

Tsuri really needed to ask their mom if she could get her own room soon. Tsuna wasn't that kind of brother that would snoop in and catch her indecently, but he was one hell of a mess. She was average when it came to her doing projects and coming home tired from her club to even bother to pick up. Tsuna was a boy, and he was just a mess and she didn't want to have the smell of stale potato stuck in her nostrils forever. She'd remind herself to see if she could move soon. For their sake.

Once the twins were in their sleeping attire, they removed the curtain and decided to call it a night. Tsuna turned off his light and instantly hit the hay. Tsuri on the other hand was still quite awake, mind reeling with questions she wanted answered by the baby hitman. There was never an opportune time to ask and she couldn't even approach him with all that deadly aura around him.

"If you're curious of anything, by all means ask," Reborn, who was sleeping in a hammock hung near Tsuna's bed, said in between all the silence.

"Can you quit reading my mind," Tsuri half demanded as she whispered, turning her head to see the hitman.

Reborn smirked again. Oh how Tsuri hated that smile. It never bode well to see it, it made her ski crawl and her body to stress on its own.

"I can read minds."

'You burnt my snack stash. Why did you do that?' Tsuri thought with a face of mourning.

"Your grade for english wasn't up to par. If you want to keep your snacks, you have to earn them," Reborn instantly replied. Tsuri felt a chill on her back. That was one hell of a freaky ability.

"Now, are you going to ask your questions or do I have to put you to sleep with Leon?" Reborn transformed his partner into a needle shot and Tsuri paled sheet white. " I need my sleep you know."

'How do you know my fear of needles! You're in humane!'

"I know all, Baka-Tsuri. Now ask. I don't usually let anyone ask me anything," Reborn put away Leon and jumped all the way to Tsuri's bed. The girl sat up cross legged. She squirmed, not too comfortable at the fact that she was putting herself on the spot.

She was curious of her dad's job and what it entailed for them two. She never got any details after that phone call years ago, so having Reborn to give her the chance to get some answers was somewhat of a godsend.

"What is this position I'm in exactly? Vongola Mezza right? Don't mafia families have only one boss at the top?" Tsuri hid the anxiety consuming her body. She worried that Reborn knew that she was aware of the mafia even before he'd arrived. What if she revealed that? That other person from her dad's group warned her not to reveal anything until her dad came clean or if someone important came to them.

"Most families don't have an extra hand helping them manage their work other than the right hand man but the Vongola are a special exception. You'll find out why eventually," Reborn explained. "You and Dame-Tsuna are next in line because it was made that way. You two are candidates to become the heir to the throne. Would you rather battle it out, or work together?"

'You make it sound like a monarchy'she rolled her eyes. "Aren't there more people that can take the job? I'm sure that list has people way ahead than Tsuna and I are."

Reborn shook his head. "The Ninth's sons were next in line but some events occurred. Enrico was reckless and got himself killed in a gunfight. Massimo was drowned. Federico's death was a mystery but they say he was reduced to bone."

"This is exactly why I don't want us involved…" Tsuri paled. "S-So does what does that mean? I mean why did the boss choose both of us instead of one?"

Reborn scowled. "You ask too many questions Baka-Tsuri. Like I said before, I will tell you more when I can and feel like it. Now go to sleep or you'll go down painfully."

Tsuri gulped and pulled her sheets over her head. Better to leave it alone and figure it out as time went. Knowing Reborn he was waiting to drop a bomb and have them say yes without any choice in the matter.

If only she could drop hers and come clean to him but there was no way she'd do that. She needed to know she could trust him and their lives with him. She needed to know that his intentions for her family here were good. She could hold back that piece of information for now.

"Goodnight Reborn."

"Hn."

Tsuri pouted inside her blanket.'Hmph. Fine. Die in your sleep.'

It only took a click to make her apologize and force herself to sleep.

...

...

...

If their mornings started with violence one more time, Tsuri thought with a massive headache, she was going to run away from Japan and start a new life somewhere because this was going to just literallykillher one day.

Lambo was a pinch short in killing them while on their way to school, Reborn so happens to choose when to shoot Tsuna in the head which meant that she had to either start packing extra uniforms in her bag for him or ask their mom to sew the ones he shredded every chance he got. Nana never asked; Tsuri wished she did.

Her feet were quite nimble and quick but because she had a tournament just yesterday, her calves were sore and aching and she barely caught up to roof running Tsuna in his boxers and… had he dragged someone with him?

"You have got to start having a stronger dying will," Tsuri said in breaths after she got to the school gate entrance. Tsuna made sure to check she was alright but she only gave a nod to assure him she'd be fine.

"You have more power, stamina and passion than I anticipated!" The other body said after some body rolls on the ground. "One of your ability only comes every hundred years!"

"Huh?" both twins said, one surprised at the praise, and the other in disbelief by it. Tsuri squinted. She'd seen this person before. He was definitely an upperclassman. She scanned his arms, wrapped with bandage, the kind of wrap only people who used their fists—

Boxing. Holy sh*t this was Sasagawa Ryohei, the leader of the boxing club AND Kyoko's older brother.

She needed to leave.

"Join the boxing club, Sawada Tsuna!"

"Hah? How do you know my name?"

"Um… Tsuna, here I have an extra uniform. I have to meet up Kurokawa and Kyoko for our social studies homework… excuse me.." Tsuri bowed and was going to book it but with Ryohei's intense eyes she had been automatically glued in place. Intense as sun rays and she was sure she was going to go blind.

"Hm, where have I seen you.."

'I'm Tsuna's twin. We look alike… He can't be that airheaded…'

"Ah! I remember! You're Kyoko's friend, Sawada Tsuri! The girl who runs fast!"

"N-Nice to meet you again, Sasagawa-senpai."

"Sasagawa… Wait. He's Kyoko-chan's brother?!"

'You have got to start paying attention to your surroundings Tsunayoshi.'

"Both Sawadas with extreme talents! Join the boxing club!"

"I'm already in a club senpai. I told you before…"

"I won't take no for an answer! Both of you come check out the club! I'll wait by the gym after school!"

Thus both twins had no chance to refuse their senpais request as he dashed off into the school, and both twins had just burnt a day's worth of energy for an early morning.

"I got practice after school."

Tsuna grunted. "I didn't say anything."

Tsuri snorted. " I know that look. You're asking me to go with you."

"Please? I know you've been tired after you guys lost the game yesterday but can you come? If Kyoko-chan sees you there, it'll help me lots!"

She sighed. Tsuna rarely asked her for help. This was probably one of those times when he'd let her be around if he got his ass kicked in front of his crush. Better her than Gokudera going and babying him around everyone like a doting mother.

Tsuna scratched his head. "Feels weird huh?"

"What?"

"Asking to spend some time together? Its been weird, ever since that day with Mochida-senpai, everything is changing."

Tsuri shared a weak smile, not liking the incoming insecurity that went with Tsuna's comfortable and happy smile.

She prayed this lasted. Tsuna never wanted her around before because of his bad luck. If all of this went away one day, would they revert back to the way they were, not talking and avoiding each other?

She didn't want to think that way, but she really wanted all of this to stay long term.

She sighed. "Fine, I'll see if I can get out early than usual. Not that anyone minds, they hate me for missing the goal in yesterday's match so they probably want me gone too."

Tsuna gripped the neat folded uniform as he followed his twin inside with a grateful smile. Spending time with his twin in any form was enough for him. They needed it.

...

...

A rumor had spread about Sasagawa Ryohei the entire day. People in their homeroom started saying how he singlehandedly defeated the whole karate club and humiliated the captain soon after.

Everyone knew that he was a fire to be reckoned with; he was a strong contender and athlete in Namimori Middle, and Tsuri honestly was sure that there were a few girls in her class who had a big crush on him by the way they described his toned up body and manly features.

They were not even high schoolers yet, and they were letting their hormones go haywire. Nami have mercy.

She had lunch with Kyoko and Kurokawa today, talking about their upcoming project for their next class. Tsuri wasn't so experienced with girls as friends so she usually let her and Hana take course of the conversation. Tsuri held a big wall still in terms of trust. It wasn't as if she wanted to keep it up, but she didn't want to get her feelings hurt if she put her whole self out there. Hana and Kyoko didn't seem to notice she was but if they did one day, maybe Tsuri would have enough bravery to confide in them on what she was feeling.

Reborn hadn't been spotted all day, which was odd but sure enough he was probably spying through vents or underground. Tsuri couldn't slack enough for today, even if her whole body was just screaming rest. If she were honest, school was a drag for all subjects except certain few like Home Ec. She wasn't the best in sewing and cooking but it was passable effort. In her opinion, Tsuri lacked girlish charm. She preferred to steer clear of the color pink, anything to do with frills, dresses, skirts, and anything revealing. She was more on the jeans side of things; shorts, skinny jeans, baggy sweaters and beanies when the day presented itself a weekend or vacation. She had no choice in the matter for school uniform, but it was a rule for shorts to be worn under because there was absolutely no way that she'd let guys run under her skirt and let girls judge her for not flashing anyone.

Hormonal girls and boys were SICK.

By the time it was after school, she went to the lockers to change in some sweats, her favorite sport hoodie and sneakers to meet her team and coach in the field. They were going to do some make-up laps in Yamamoto's baseball field again which meant she'd be able to say hi.

After doing some solo cool-down stretches by a corner away from the rest of the girls and gaining some death glares she walked away to go grab some water by the fountains. Yamamoto was no where to be seen anymore. probably went to see Tsuna too. She just had to sneak away while the glares lasted…

"Are we sure we want to do this?"

"Don't chicken out! We need a manager, and she is the best we can get!"

"Idol flower girl Sasagawa Kyoko! If we forcibly take her then her idiot of a brother can't refuse a rematch!"

The brunette finished her water, scanning behind some benches and the garden to find the source of the voices. By the mention of her senpai, they were the same karate club that Ryohei had taken down. That said, Kyoko was in danger right now from getting man-handled; again. She sighed. She fixed her headband that brushed away her bangs from her face and started rushing toward the boxing club room. She passed the gym and caught sight of silver hair and the look of ick in his face made her want to gag out of laughter.

"Oi, Bakadera!"

Gokudera, who had escaped from the nurses office, didn't even bother to turn. He was doing his best not to topple and knock himself back down to the ground. "Don't talk to me stupid copy. I'm determined to make my way to Juudaime and see him box!"

She hummed. "I'm heading there myself anyways. You haven't seen Kyoko anywhere have you?"

"Hah? Sasagawa? She was here a few moments ago but she was taken by some club."

Tsuri clicked her tongue. She was too late. She turned to see anywhere she could catch up until she saw Hana rush her way, face in panic.

"Ah, Tsuri! Kyoko's in trouble!"

"I know, i heard that damn karate club talk about taking her! Gokudera just saw them go this way. Maybe they're going to see Sasagawa-senpai and use her as leverage."

"Then what are we doing here! Let's go!"

Tsuri didn't bother to tell Gokudera where the boxing club room was since he was acting like as ass, as always, so she left him behind with no worry in mind.

It didn't take long to scan the club rooms after the gym and find Tsuna sparring with Ryohei in the boxing ring. It was impressive to see that one, Tsuna hadn't run away yet and two, that Ryohei had a faint flame on his forehead but wasn't affected, which meant he had a strong dying will resolve. It was a first to see that. Tsuri wondered if she'd be able to take the bullet too, but she was not ready to deal with her clothes getting ripped and chasing people in her panties. No way.

She broke the imagination when she and Hana slid the doors open to warn him and Ryohei about Kyoko.

"Ah, Tsuri-san! You made it!"

"Haru-chan?" Tsuri stared at the mini audience in the room. Yamamoto, like she figured, came to watch and support, as well as Mirua Haru, Bianchi, Lambo and I-pin, the little Chinese girl that had joined her family home just last week. Was this an official match she missed or did Reborn bring them to give Tsuna motivation?

Was it because Tsuri hadn't come on time to watch her brother? She felt guilt come up her system but now wasn't the time.

"Hi, sorry for interrupting senpai but there's a situation."

"Sawada Tsuri! You came to join the match!"

She chuckled lightly, sweat dropping.

"Kyoko's been taken by the karate club!"

"Hm? Hana, Tsuri-chan? What is it? Did something happen?"

Both girls that came in alarm, as well as everyone else inside turned to the door to see said girl Kyoko come in safely.

"She's fine?" Tsuna pointed at her.

"Kyoko!"

'She brought them in the school…'Tsuri stared at the sign that read 'Namimori Visitors.' with blank eyes.

Last thing they knew chaos ensued, just like always. The members had brought in the leader of the Namimori High Karate club and declared that if he beat Ryohei they'd take Kyoko as manager, which pissed him off obviously and began fighting. Tsuri had to guide Hana to the side while she tried to reach over for Kyoko but the karate men just kept dodging her reach. One of them even tried to kick her away before Gokudera came in from the door to hit him on the face.

"Oi, you left me behind! You thought you could help Juudaime by himself!?"

"I thought seeing your sister would make you sick?" she taunted briefly.

"F-For Juudaime, I'll sacrifice my well-being!"

"Tsuri! You should stand with Haru on the side!" Tsuna yelled from the ring. "You could get hurt!"

"And watch Kyoko get taken away by more smelly men?" Tsuri kicked someone in the stomach after dodging another punch. "I know basic self defense Tsuna, I'll be fine!" Reborn co*cked an eyebrow. Self defense? Since when?

"I don't want to have to drag you to the hospital again! Kaasan will worry!"

"Stop nagging at me and come help then!"

"Poison Cooking!" Bianchi slipped into the chaos threw some poison looking things at the attackers.

"Extreme Rush!"

"Gyoza Fist!"

"Explode! Pick-Pocket Bomb!"

Yamamoto was seen laughing as he jumped, hit and avoided their hits. What laid back fighting.

One of the people on the floor groaned in pain. "These people…they're too strong!"

"Then…" one said while Tsuri had been occupied in guiding Kyoko to safety. "This one will have to do!" One of the live ones grabbed her from the arm, dragging her out to the door.

"HEY! Let go or I'll break your teeth!"

"Tsuri!" Tsuna quickly got down from the ring and ran toward her. "Let her go!"

"There's no way I'll be beat by you!" the karate member yelled as he shoved Tsuri to the side. He lifted both boxing gloves up. Tsuna instantly winced, afraid of getting hit. He shut his eyes, waiting for the impact to hit…

"Tsuna!"

"Counter it Tsuna!"

The younger Sawada twin had her mouth agape when Tsuna miraculously dodged the punch and landed a swift and clean hit on the opponent's face, knocking him straight down the floor.

Tsuna nowadays ran because he was shot. He was unlocking some hidden strength he nor she didn't know he had. And it was working? Reborn was definitely doing something because there was absolutely no way the Tsuna from months ago would be able to do this.

She and him stared at each other as if they'd just seen something rare happen.

'Did you just—"

'Did I just land a clean hit on someone's face?'

"Nice hit!" Tsuri's face brightened and accepted the help Yamamoto gave to raise her up and grunted in pain. She lifted her sleeve and found a purple mark on her wrist. sh*t. She mustvelanded wrong when the dude pushed her to the ground. Another wrist sprain. Just great.

"Tsuri! Are you sure you're okay?"

She hid her arm behind her back, laughing nervously.

Everyone was busy praising the Vongola heir and while they did so Tsuri made sure to hide and turn to take another look at he wrist, not noticing that the bomber was watching her intently.

"You're not going to tell Juudaime?"

"Ack!" Tsuri jumped up, caught off guard. "Tell him what?"

Gokudera reached over with a soft hold to lift the arm she was hiding and move the sleeve. "This. You got hurt."

She pulled away, slight blush on her face at getting caught. "Him getting praised is more important. I don't want to worry him more."

Gokudera watched Tsuri run over toward the room's emergency kit to grab some wrap bandage wrap. "Don't tell him anything. If you do, I'll tell your sister to come over."

Gokudera recoiled at the thought and once Tsuri confirmed that her threat was in effect, she smiled in a sickly sweet way and ran toward Tsuna to join in the praise.

'That must hurt a lot,he thought secretly. 'She must really not want to worry Juudaime.'

"Good job defending, Tsuna," Reborn closed the praising. "Thanks to you, the unity of the family became stronger."

"Family? What's that family thing?"

The baby looked up at Ryohei. "A passionate guy like him is needed, too."

Tsuna, on the ground cross legged and exhausted stared at the tutor, then at Tsuri. Both twins acted like they didn't have any idea what Reborn just said and laughed it off. Ryohei didn't stop asking what it was, to which Yamamoto explained in a wishy washy way and Gokudera only complained about it the whole moment.

Sasagawa Ryohei, member number three, has joined the tenth generation mafia family.

According to Reborn that was.

......

......

A few more days had passed and mostly everyone knew what Sasagawa and Tsuna had done at the club. But just like what happened with Mochida, it came and it went like the wind. Tsuna was back to being his usual no-good self.

Tsuri's sprain was doing much better, and had been able to keep the thing under wraps so tsuna wouldn't find out, even though the Italian boy's stares would make her wish she had said something to get him off her back. He wasn't asking how she was, like hell he would do it since he hated her guts. But she was grateful that he wasn't saying anything and trying to check up in his own stupid and irritating way by getting her some cold compressions to reduce the swelling.

She wanted to ask him why he was doing it, she didn't even ask for it, but whatever. He was helping and though it was out of his nature she wasn't that much of a bitch to refuse it.

The school day had ended and the twins had been forced to go straight home on orders by Reborn. And when he ordered behind a note paper it meant serious business.

Tsuna had debated to run away but to be honest Tsuri was dead tired from being out of her home for so many days. She'd been spartan taught by reborn after school, after coming home dead tired from soccer practice. Her body hurt too much lately, she was on her monthly, and she was hungry for her mom's cooking. She needed time for herself right now.

"Should we run away?"

Tsuri cranked her sore neck to the side and without wanting to, glared at Tsuna. "I'm tired. I don't want to chase, nor be chased by Reborn Tsuna. I want to go home and lie on my bed. Everything hurts."

Tsuna felt bad. Tsuri never said anything to him about her days because it was embarrassing to even discuss it but they hit her hard when it wanted. It would be the first time Reborn would see her this way so he begged to Kami that she'd be sparred from his wrath for all the incoming hormonal defiance he'd deal with once they came home.

Tsuri was groaning about her stomach and before they could get to their home and cross their rickety gates, they both witnessed their street blocked off by black cars and people in suits. Was there a parade going on? Or someone famous visiting?

'Is there a celebrity among our street?'

'I don't mean to judge but they don't seem like it.'

Tsuna came nearer to the crowd, keeping her behind him just in case. Some of them men turned around, some in glasses, others with facial tattoos and aggressive looking faces. The duo backed away and Tsuri didn't have a chance to protest when Tsuna cried his usual cry as caught him from fainting half-way with her arms.

"Welcome home Master Sawada Tsunayoshi and Mistress Sawada Tsukairi," one of them greeted with a bow. Both watched as the sea of expensive suited rough looking men parted, allowing a path to come inside. Tsuri's arms were screaming from the big weight so she pulled up Tsuna and harshly pushed him to continue forward. The brother clutched his bag to his chest, debating whether to be more scared of the suits than his angry hormonal sister. He was the first to run inside, not even leaving an open door for Tsuri.

She growled. She could still feel his weight on the door and again, with force from her inner most annoyance she pushed it open again and closed it. Before she could chew him out, their mom popped their head out from the dining room, wearing that soft and soothing smile that nearly made Tsuri run to her and ask her to hug all the soreness away.

"Ah Tsu-kun, Ri-chan! Welcome home~" she pointed up the stairs. "We have guests!"

"Guests?" Tsuna was the first to quickly take his shoes off and run to his room.

Tsuri on the other hand, clutched her stomach once again, feeling hungry and something sharp clawing its way through her mid section at the same time. It was better to stay with her mom than see some guests right now.

"Ara Ri-chan, what's wrong?" Nana helped her daughter from the entrance and brought her in. "Is it that time again?"

She nodded. "Can I lie down in the guest bedroom for a while?"

"Of course! We wouldn't want your guest to see you this way," Nana quickly dashed off to the kitchen to retrieve medicine, a glass of water and dark chocolate from the pantry.

"Here, take these. They should help you feel better soon."

Tsuri's lips wobbled, the urge to cry heavy. Her mom was such a godsend to this world. "Thank you Mama."

Tsuri hoped to slip unnoticed to the next door room but their bedroom door was open wide, Tsuna was screaming mafia like his world was tearing open with lava once more and there were two more suits. Her mouth twitched. She was definitely going to tell their mom today about separate rooms. This was getting ridiculous.

"You don't have the aura. Ain't got the look, no ambition or aspirations either."

Huh? Who was that good looking dude in the green jacket, and why was he badmouthing Tsuna? Tsuri turned red. Did she just say good looking?

"Plus he has short legs, no money and no power either."

"Doesn't seem like he's got much luck either. He has none of the attributes of a boss."

"Chotto! You're being an ass, can you stop?" Tsuri forgot why she was escaping in the first place and came in the room, ignoring the sharp eyes the suits in front of her wore after the fit of laughter subsided. The blond and tall stranger raised an eyebrow, eyeing her as well.

"Reborn! Who are these people," Tsuna lost his nerve.

"Dino is your"older brother." Better to show some respect now before you get taken by these suits," Reborn scolded. Tsuri rolled her eyes only in silence. Reborn could tell she wasn't in her best shape, she was holding her stomach tightly and her legs were trembling just enough for him to notice something was up. He hummed.

He hoped that she wouldn't get an idea to unleash her worst self this week. He'd seen plenty of women with different symptoms, so he definitely knew it wasn't her own normal self talking. A valid excuse to take it lightly with her.

"My older brother?"

"Let me guess, you were also a student under Reborn?" Tsuri smirked. "So I'm guessing you were also once puny and useless like my brother too?"

"Tsuri!" Tsuna warned. "Stop it. If you're not feeling well just go rest!"

"I already took my medicine. So, Dino. How can we help you today?"

"Boss, should we remove her from the room?" One of the suits asked the man sitting in the plush chair by their coffee table.

Dino waved a hand off. "It's fine Romario. We are in their room after all. I understand the hostility. Tsukairi was it? Sit please. You look like you could use it."

Tsuri muttered with a blush. "Only because you asked nicely."

Both twins sat as Dino began to explain that he only come to visit the rumored Vongola Twins and show them the fruit of Reborn's labors. His family, the Chiavarone Family, was a 5,000 membered group with Dino as its head. It was impressive enough to have the twins hood their mouth opens in surprise, but Tsuna quickly knew where it was heading.

"Um, I have no intention of becoming a mafia boss so feel free to take Reborn back with you." He flew back again when Dino briefly shared a look of disapproval. It disappeared quick enough for him to regain his composure when their guest began to laugh again.

"You're right Reborn! He is just the way I used to be," Dino looked at the brunette. "How about you?"

"I don't want anything to do with it either. It's not a sane—"

"Sane job to have?" Dino smiled and Tsuri was sure she heard angels sing somewhere. "I used to think the same too. I figured any person who plots to join the mafia can't be any good."

She could tell that Dino Chiavarone did not have any ill intention being here with them. He did have that big brother aura about him and was reliable to say when he helped take Lambo's grenade mistake out of their room. But even though he was a good person, didn't mean his job was. The job they were supposed to take. There was more to that world, and that meant being responsible for one's life as well as many more.

Dino took mental note of them both. Tsuna, brave but hid in between all the what ifs. Tsuri, aggressive in speech but also hid in her own way from it. They were both interesting and he was curious as to how they'd develop under Reborn.

"Dino-san's really cool," she heard Tsuna say from their window.

"See Tsuna? That's what a boss does, risk their life for their family."

"Don't tie this to that!"

Tsuri bit a big chunk out of her chocolate bar. 'We're just kids… we can't do something like that…'

It was decided that Dino would stay with them for the night and see how their Japanese lifestyle was like. He fit in like a glove, with his clumsiness feeling like they did have a long lost brother who hadn't come home for a long time.

He was only there to help them. That's what Reborn said at least.

But that was just another lie Tsuri should have seen coming after dealing with a humongous turtle that nearly destroyed their house from the inside, and a gang who were only provoked because they were "testing" their Family members' loyalty.

If Dino wasn't such a good looking big brother figure to her and her twin, she would've already set his ass on fire to get rid of him. But he wasn't, and even though both twins admired him dearly, they were still determined to run away from their job.

Reborn wouldn't let them

Chapter 7: Fortune Teller

Chapter Text

It was the month of October. The month where you could dress up as whomever you liked for once, whether it'd be a potato or a book. You'd earn candy from house to house just by saying Trick or Treat. October meant Halloween. It also meant that Tsuna's and Tsuri's birthdays. Another year older, and not much change except their house. Their mom always went overboard with food and it could never be eaten whole, but maybe, just maybe, they'd have a bigger gathering this time where it would be enough.

Their school hours went normally as usual. Tsuna had tripped once, had failed his math test and almost ate another poison bento made by Bianchi. Tsuri was being a smart ass in English causing Nezu to drop her recent test grade and burned her hand in Home Ec. They didn't let it faze them though. The twins decided not to say anything about their birthdays to anyone, more like make sure because it never boded well. Something always happened whenever someone congratulated them and it was better to just keep it on the down low. Besides, maybe Reborn already told their friends already, so there was no need to even mention it.

They were short on time though. Their birthday was in two days and the y still hadn't gotten a chance to get anything. So, both twins planned today carefully. They would go to school, get some ideas for presents to give each other during lunch on their own and then make up some errand excuses to go get them separately.

The only ones out of the plan at the moment were their two friends to whom they always walked home with.

"Yo Tsuri, Tsuna!" Yamamoto called out to them as they exited the gate of Namimori Middle. "Are you guys heading home?"

"Juudaime!" Another voice popped out next to the baseball star. "I'll accompany you home!" Tsuri's eye twitched when the silver head stuck his tongue right out and told her to beat it.

Tsuna smiled wearily. "Uh... Actually I-I'm heading somewhere else right now," he said.

"Reborn sent me on another errand so…." Tsuri was about to march off to the right direction at the same time Tsuna was aiming for the left when the other two blocked their paths.

"Something's up with you two..." Yamamoto crossed his arms and narrowed his amber eyes suspiciously.

"For once, I agree with the baseball freak. Stupid copy, what's going on?" Gokudera glared at her.

"What makes you think something's going on? Reborn is my tutor and if I don't get him his coffee beans and desert for today he's not going to be pleased" Tsuri lied with a scared expression.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, also suspicious. Tsuri wasn't a good liar when it came to their mafia tutor. Familiar with his facial emotions since childhood, Tsuri sighed, roamed through her bag and took out a white sheet of paper with scribbles to answer his mental question.

'Baka Tsuri. Go get more coffee and some sweets for Maman. If you don't…'

Tsuna yelped and gave her back the paper.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

Tsuna took out a yellow sticky note. "Kaasan ordered some boxes from the homeware store and asked me to pick them up."

Yamamoto stared at the twins weirdly. Gokudera co*cked his head to the side, not understanding their behavior.

'Ne, they seem like they don't believe us. Should we take one of them with us?'

"Hah?"Tsuri said outloud in annoyance.

"Its getting dark. Its dangerous for you to be out without anyone," Tsuna pointed out and crossed his arms. "We can just do our errands together if that's—"

"NO! No way erm…" Tsuri turned the idea down in panic. If they did that then she wouldn't be able to buy and hide her gift from him. "Fine, i'll take one of them with me."

Tsuna nodded and turned to the lost duo. "Yamamoto, Gokudera-kun. Would you like to come with us?"

"Of course Juudaime!"

"Sure! I don't have anything else to do right now. where to?"

"Tsuna's heading over to the market plaza where the homeware store is, and I'm going to the bakery."

"Oh, how convenient! My dad's sushi restaurant is just by the plaza," the baseball player slung his shoulder around Tsuna. "I'll tag along."

"No way baseball freak! I'll go with Juudaime!"

"Then who'll go with Tsuri? Its getting dark and she could be in trouble."

'Its not like he'll want to though but…'Tsuri muttered and took a deep breath, praying for patience.

"I actually have to head out now, they'll be closing soon. Gokudera, do you want to come?" Gokudera stopped protesting, surprised that she had actually offered him to come along for once.

Tsuna sighed in relief. "That would be helpful, thank you Gokudera-kun!" Gokudera couldn't even refuse since he got his boss' okay. He blushed with pride that he was aiding him from his mental troubles. "Leave it to me Juudaime! I'll make sure to bring your stupid copy home safe and sound."

Tsuna laughed nervously, hoping the two wouldn't go overboard with their spasms of anger. If he saw a building lit on fire on the news, he'd know it was because of them. "I'll see you at home okay? Don't be late!" Tsuna walked to the left with Yamamoto leaving Tsuri and the silver head alone by the gate.

She took another breath and opened her eyes. 'Peace. Peace.' "Shall we go?"

"Tch."

"Click that tongue of yours again. I dare you."

...

...

The bakery's scent was filled with a familiar, warm, baked smell of fresh pastries. the bakery smelled of fresh bread and buttery pastries as it sat inside glass cabinets that were designed especially for the sole purpose of displaying its delicious delights. One large window allowed light into the shop, while a smaller one provided enough warmth throughout the space to provide comfort for those who came to enjoy a sweet treat. It wasn't the kind of smell you would ever find anywhere else on Earth.

The bakery belonged to a short old woman whose face was painted like a beautiful sunflower in the light, and who carried herself as though every action took care not to disrupt the peaceful peace that surrounded her. She always wore an apron made of soft cotton and white linen, and had just finished sweeping away the countertops before heading outside to tend to the customers.

Tsuri loved to come to this bakery. Everything was warm, quiet and calm and it soothed her inner self; as if she were wrapped around with the softest blanket in the world.

The old lady's dark green eyes looked around until she found Tsuri, her usual customer and a boy who appeared desperate to get their purchase over and done with by the front counter.

"Welcome! Tsuri-chan," she greeted happily. "its so good to see you."

"Good afternoon Hinata-san." Gokudera recoiled, seeing a warm and sincere smile in Tsuri's features. He clearly wasn't used to it so having it in front made him super uncomfortable. Good, she looked over to him. Its better than having him pick a one-sided fight in front of a sweet old lady.

"What will it be today?"

"Can I get a pack of the Italian ground coffee beans from last time? Oh and um," Tsuri took the note out again. "A strawberry shortcake?"

The lady in the counter nodded and turned to search around the pastry shop for the coffee. Tsuri turned to the silver head who had a new implanted scowl on his features. The customers and the workers inside the shop backed away from the intense atmosphere surrounding Gokudera. The old lady however, was unfazed and giggled.

"Is he your boyfriend Tsuri-chan?"

Both of the teen's faces became severely feverish. They both began stammering nonsense, trying to explain something that they definitely didn't want to say. Tsuri felt like dying from embarrassment and Gokudera felt like running away. It was clear that it couldn't be anything more but a friend thing if he came here with such a grim expression and with a scowl that repelled people. No doubt that the old woman had no idea what was going on and kept looking at them expectantly. Tsuri waved a hand to signal a no.

"He's my brother's friend. He came because Tsuna asked him to escort me safely."

"Ah yes," She said cheerfully. "Tsuna is a very caring young man." She paused, taking her glasses off, putting them back on to ring Tsuri's order up. With a respectful bow after paying for the content she and her bitter companion walked out of the sliding doors.

"Oi, now what? Are you done?" Gokudera asked harshly and earned a low glare from the girl.

"I can't believe Hinata-san asked me if we were dating. Clearly you don't look like someone who would date anybody." She made sure her items were secure and shook her head in embarrassment.

Gokudera coughed and returned the glare. "Are you finished or not?"

Tsuri pointed at the stationary store across the street. "See that place over there? They have something I need."

"What could you possibly want from there? I've seen your desk and you have enough supplies to last a lifetime."

" For crying out loud Gokudera. I'm not going there for me, I'm shopping for Tsuna's birthday present. See, I'm going to get him this cute Tuna charm I saw for his bag—" She yelped when the silver head hovered over her like a glitter covered wall.

"JUUDAIME'S BIRTHDAY?! HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS! LETS GO QUICKLY BAKA WOMAN!"

"Okay okay, chill!" Geez," the brunette was taken aback when her companion was leading the errand this time. In his happy puppy form, he grabbed Tsuri's wrist to pull her along. Tsuri couldn't help but grin at the childlike action and readied herself to go get the rest of what she needed when her whole body paused itself.

Something was happening.

Her vision was swimming all of a sudden and a queasy icky feeling began to spread through her system. It was as if she had just gotten off a spinny ride and was trying to regain her balance. Faint, unfamiliar voices surrounded her, the tones harsh and full of judgement. Strange. The streets right now weren't as busy as they were for a weekend. No one but them and a few shop clerks.

"H-Hey… are you okay?"

She could hear Gokudera but she couldn't see him anywhere. What the hell was happening?

"Tsuri! Oi, Tsuri!"

'You're just a runt searching for a family. No one will ever accept someone like you. Get lost.'

'Did you hear? The Bocchama isn't the mistress' son!'

'You don't see it. You don't value it. I won't be coming back, Hayato.'

Tsuri clutched her chest, pain blooming all the way in her ribs, as if needles were stabbing her flesh. The smell of fresh blood wafted through her nose and a faint sound of a piano playing rung in her ears. She gripped her shirt tightly, the chest pain getting stronger by the minute, making it harder to breathe. She bent down on the cement, wheezing.

In alarm, Gokudera bent down as well to get her to snap out of whatever trance she was in. "Tsuri! Get a grip! Are you hurt?"

"I need to get his gift... I.." Her words were cut off as she coughed heavily from her chest ache. "Can't breathe." Tsuri gasped for air and coughed again as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The world was swaying around her, like a boat on a stormy sea and the wind buffeted them both.

Then, Everything went dark.

With Tsuna

"So this is why you wanted to come alone?" Yamamoto laughed wholeheartedly after coming into another stationary store with Tsuna after picking up the boxes. Unfortunately, because he was carrying them with his arms, he had to rely on Yamamoto to lift some plushies up for him to see.

"Sorry…"

"No its fine Tsuna! I was actually looking at this place a few weeks ago and thought if she'd like something from here. But i didn't know both your birthdays were coming."

"I thought Reborn told you and Gokudera-kun about it," Tsuna said sheepishly. "Now you know."

The raven head began scanning the room for the perfect gift. He didn't know Tsuri much to know her taste, but he did know that whatever he or anyone got her, she'd be happy about it.

"Hm. Okay then. Lets see what we have here."

Tsuna's heart stopped when he saw Gokudera bring an unconscious Tsuri back home. According to the silver head, she had randomly collapsed, said a bunch of nonsense and passed out. Nana had urged many times to call the doctor but Tsuna, seeing as this had happened before, kept insisting it wasn't a major issue.

Tsuri always got physically hurt in more ways than one, but she rarely ever passed out. The last time she did, it didn't bode well for Tsuna and it was a memory he wished he could forget.

He sat beside Tsuri on her bed, brushing her bangs away from her face.

They had been seven years old. That day, Tsuri had collapsed suddenly on the ground when a classmate of theirs named Hikari grabbed her hand to drag her out to play on the playground swings at school. Tsuri was feeling off that day, after getting another upsetting letter that their dad wouldn't be showing up for their birthday that morning. Tsuna, who had been sitting on the seesaw by himself, saw the way Tsuri's body halted and froze in place, and then dropped down heavy like a rock.

After two days of examination and testing, Nana had accompanied Tsuna to the hospital. While their concerned mother spoke about her little girl's condition out of earshot where Tsuna couldn't hear, Tsuna was pending on Tsuri's bed side in a chair, tears in his eyes and wishing she'd wake up. With his hand intertwined with hers, there was a reaction. Tsuri gave a squeeze, and then said", Hikari-chan... Bruises... Car..."

Tsuna shuddered as he remembered that after they left the hospital, his mother got the news that the only child of the Hishiragi family had gotten into a car accident. Hikari had crossed the street without looking on her way back home and the car strayed. She survived however with a broken arm and many bruises on her little legs.

Then, the doctor had called the Sawada Residence hours later saying that Sawada Tsukairi was up on her feet, completely conscious and energetic, asking every five minutes when she would see her family. It was a momentary relief to Tsuna's soul. When their mother and him asked if she remembered anything related to her friend Hikari, Tsuri innocently denied ever saying nor remembering anything after they had gotten off the swings in the playground.

It had been a scary event, one Tsuna hoped wouldn't happen again. The universe had so happened to say nope and now here he was, debating whether to take her to the hospital like their mom said or leave her here and wait for her to wake up who knew when. Maybe he was overreacting and maybe she just passed out due to low blood pressure or something.

"Gokudera-kun, did you touch Tsuri anywhere?"

The silver head teen's cheeks revealed a slight blush as he averted his gaze from his precious boss. If he told that to his boss that he'd pulled her wrist like an excited child because they were hunting down his birthday gift, not only would it ruin the surprise, he would think that he was some sort of a sexual harassing monkey! "I-I didn't touch her anywhere unnecessary!"

Tsuna sweat dropped. He should've been more specific. Now it sounded as if he was calling his friend a pervert. "I-I didn't mean it to sound like that Gokudera-kun! Sorry! What I meant was that if you grabbed her hand or her wrist."

"Oh. Actually, yes I did. I grabbed her wrist to pull her away from an incoming bicycle…" Gokudera laughed nervously, feeling shame for lying to his precious boss. Even though he disliked Tsuri, he wanted to keep her secret mission safe.

Tsuna clicked his tongue. It was hard for him to believe in the conclusion he had fallen in but it was no doubt. He just assumed it was coincidence when Hishiragi Hikari had gotten into that accident when Tsuri mumbled about it in her sleep.

"Gokudera..." Tsuri murmured again a little wobbly. "Family... Piano..."

Gokudera stiffened. Tsuna noticed the tense body of the boy next to him. "Poisoned needles… it hurts to breathe…"

Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed in concern. Gokudera was still frozen in place. Reborn, who was watching from the crack of his students' room door hinted a clue to what Tsuri had. After hearing Tsuna's thoughts, it wasn't the first time this had happened.

An ability he was sure was just a myth in Primo's time. He'd read about it and the description of symptoms that showed up over the years in a person. They shared Vongola blood alright because only the true family members of blood had this condition.

Tsuna was sensing that Tsuri could predict the future, like a fortune teller.

To Reborn, it was even more important than just fortune telling. It was a rare talent no one in the world but her had.

Sawada Tsukairi inherited the Vongola's Augury Intuition.

...

Within the sleep Tsuri earned from her random fainting spell, she had appeared in a clear land with a beautiful lake and in what seemed to be a meadow with tall flowers, some of which she recognized. It was an incredibly warm spring day. She had no idea why she was in this place, or even where she was. She looked around for an explanation but found none. She couldn't remember how it all started; only that she was here now.

She decided that there wasn't much sense dwelling on things she didn't understand, so she continued walking along the lakeside and as she walked, a strange figure was ahead, below a tree that gave enough shade for her to sit beneath. The person sat on a branch and stared at their hands without moving them. They were wearing a simple white cotton blouse and long trousers that matched the color.

It was a bit creepy, the way he was standing there, as if the silence and failure to tell time passing was unimportant. Despite that, something in his expression was oddly familiar to her, as if she had met him before.

Dark indigo hair, and blue eyes. Foreign features but still strikingly attractive. His hair was odd, it had the shape of a pineapple too.

"Kufufu I didn't expect another visitor," she heard him say to another person beside him and signaled her to walk closer to where he stood. She knew this was a dream, that anything here wasn't real. But still, she didn't want to get closer. She got into a huge mess the last time she approached someone she didn't know, so how could she possibly trust someone in her dream world?

"This is only a dream...right?" she said softly, not budging from the flower field.

"I assure you, this isn't just a mere dream."

"Are you a spirit? A guardian angel? An apparition? I don't even know how this dream works," she said as she tried to think back. Was this a dream or not? How many days would it take her to wake up from this strange dream? Would everything be the same? She hadn't been able to find an answer to this question yet.

The strange looking man smiled, and it wasn't one that made her trust him more. "Yes, I am indeed a spirit, a messenger. You've been asleep for a very long time and it seems like no one has come to rescue you." He shrugged. "You're sleeping deep within your subconscious. There are many layers between consciousness and unconsciousness, but there isn't really any distinction between those two places anymore. This is the closest realm you'll ever get to dreaming."

"Then who will come to save me?" She asked and was surprised to hear herself sounding hopeful. She hated being vulnerable like this, but her dream self was clearly waiting for help. It was almost like she needed the assurance more than he did. He seemed calm and relaxed, but then again, he had probably done this kind of thing for a lot longer than she had. His confidence came from experience. What she was seeing was a strong and a confident person. Arrogant at most.

He laughed slightly at the question. "Not until you wake up, silly girl. It might help if I gave you some incentive to do so."

She nodded slowly, unsure of what he meant. "I'm sure that I'll find some reason to wake up on my own, eventually."

"I suppose the best way to explain it is that you need to become aware of yourself first. Your consciousness will become more sensitive and will recognize certain stimuli. That's where dreams come in. You'll recognize a specific event and dream about it. If your subconscious recognizes the event, that's when you wake up." He spoke confidently, but also somewhat hesitantly. Like he wanted to share this information, yet didn't feel comfortable doing so.

" I could show you how." He extended a hand over for her to take.

Tsuri weighed her options. Was this man trying to convince her that he was harmless? It seemed like it, as if to get her close enough for something.

"I don't trust you. Who the hell are you?"

Even if she was in danger, there should be a part of her subconscious that told her to trust the unknown stranger. The rational part knew that she should listen , however, the other part was more concerned with safety over logic and reason was telling her to be wary. To trust the words and actions of the stranger, despite knowing she shouldn't. And yet another part of her that was more worried about waking up was telling her to listen to it, to let it do its job, even if it felt irrational. "Why should I believe a word that comes out of your mouth?"

He chuckled lightly. "Well that's fair… but I suppose the only way for you to fully wake up is by becoming aware of yourself. You cannot do that on your own just yet. Let me help you."

"Why would I want your help?" She challenged him. Her intuition was warning her that he would lie, that he was deceiving her, and that it was deinitely intentional. "Answer my question first."

He chuckled. "I knew you wouldn't fall for it. What if I told you this dream world was created by using mere illusions?"

Illusions? The magic trick of warping someone's mind and making them see or hear things that felt real but weren't? Surely another lie.

"As for my identity, you need not concern yourself with it, for I cannot tell you. I won't harm you." He smiled.

Lie. This person had a killing aura that was off the roof, a major one that screamed danger in every corner. Tsuri could decipher in a strange way, that this man wasn't a guide. He was an invader of the mind, who wanted revenge, and had a lust for power. He was no ordinary person, and she was her prey.

"I won't harm you," he repeated. "Don't you trust me?"

"I don't trust anyone besides my family," She crossed her arms. "Lie after lie. You have a possessive aura around you. You are not innocent, and if I draw closer to you, you're going to use that to swallow me whole in this place."

The boy looked taken aback at the insightful response.

The stranger's lips quirked up in a smirk and took out a trident from behind. "I see... You have that rare ability..."

Ability? What was this guy talking about? The only ability Tsuri dwelled was unfazed courage to talk back and get even with people, and that weird ESP telepathic thing she had with her twin since they were toddlers. What else did she have? She wasn't that special.

"Who are you?" She repeated, losing patience.

"You will know in due time Sawada Tsukairi. When I search for my revenge, you will not be able to erase my name from your puny mind."

Tsuna and Gokudera agreed that they needed to talk about what happened that day by the bakery. They tried to get some answers when she woke up the next day but Reborn stopped them and said he'd take this one in his hands.

Tsuri was oblivious. She had no clue as to what anyone was saying or asking her about why she passed out. It was blank. All she remembered was seeing Gokudera's puppy like state and thinking how cute it was to see and then nothing. Black.

In the end, she wasn't able to get her gift for Tsuna. Everyone watched her sulk as the two days passed. The day of their birthday, Nana had woken them up with confetti shooters and party favors, as Lambo and I-pin jumped on them on their beds, shouting how it was sweets day and they wanted to get the day started.

Tsuna and Tsuri came down in their pajamas, expecting to have a small gathering with family.

They didn't know that Reborn's birthday also fell the same day as theirs. Which meant that their friends and many others came to celebrate him. They all gave him gifts, a cake and it wasn't until Tsuna shouted at him that it was their day too that everyone else laughed and popped out the banner that read, "Happy Birthday Tsuna and Tsuri" in the living room.

The party ended up being very messy and loud. Yamamoto was playing outside with the kids, Bianchi and Nana were sitting and sipping tea as they talked with Kyoko, Haru and Hana. It made for interesting parties that Tsuna and Tsuri were both pretty happy with, but there was something nagging in the back of their minds all through that time. A small feeling that kept coming and going whenever one of them thought about it and would disappear again once they tried to figure it out. They never bothered to ask Reborn though. After all, it was none of his business. Not really, anyway.

The gift giving began. First it was Kyoko and Haru. They gave the twins each an oversized bag of homemade sweets for their birthdays. Tsuna got a boxing set from Ryohei and gave Tsuri a pair of some weird looking tools that apparently helped flex leg muscles for running. Both thanked him even though they were sure the gift would be left in their closet for a good while. Nana gave the twins matching sweaters that made them blush in embarrassment but she worked super hard to make them, so they both decided to wear them to show it off. Yamamoto gave them some plushies Tsuna had seen from their trip to the store that day. Tsuri was so fascinated by the squishy bear that it nearly got taken away by Lambo and she childishly took it back. It made their baseball friend smile that his gift was appreicated so much.

It came to the twins giving their gifts to each other. Tsuna handed Tsuri a small blue box with a yellow ribbon. The sister smiled weakly, too scared to tell him that she wasnt able to get him his gift when she heard a fake cough coming from the side. It was Gokudera, holding a box with opposing colors to Tsuna's own.

Her eyes were wide. "When did you...?"

"Yesterday. I remembered what you wanted to get Juudaime and since I know youve been sulking about it, I went to get it for you."

Tsuri had never felt so happy until this moment. She grabbed the box and handed it to her twin. Both opened them at the same time and took out a duo of a cute tuna plushie keychain. Tsuna's was a dark blue and Tsuri's a light blue one. Both stared at each other and laughed. It made everyone in the room warm at the scene, especially Nana. She recalled a very dull birthday last year with both twins blowing out their candles and going their separate ways soon after the celebrating was done. To see this happy scene made her want to frame it and treasure it forever.

"How did you know?"

"I didn't. I just saw it and it reminded me of you."

"Same! Honestly, we're twins. We shouldn't be so surprised that we think the same way sometimes." Tsuri nuzzled her face onto Tsuna's shoulder, making him go red since Kyoko was seeing it. "Thank you. I'll keep it with me everywhere."

"Thanks Tsuri. I will too."

After the gift sharing ended, it was time for cake. Nana and Kyoko insisted that there be more than enough cake for them and their guests, to take home. The girls were the first to leave, and Tsuri thanked them for the gifts with a shy smile. Then it was Ryohei who reminded them to try out their gifts if they wanted to become extremely stronger.

Yamamoto was the next, after getting some cake to take to his dad. Tsuna had gone to the kitchen to wrap up the cake with him, leaving Tsuri and Gokudera by the gate, alone. An awkward air began to settle between both of them.

Tsuri rubbed her cheek, laughing nervously. She put her hands into her hoodie's pocket, fiddling with the ribbon that came from Tsuna's gift box.

"Thanks. You know, for earlier."

The other scratched his face, avoiding eye contact. "Juudaime would have been upset if he hadn't gotten anything from you. So in reality, I only did it for him."

"Not because I fainted and felt sorry for me?" Tsuri peered at his face curiously.

"...Yes."

Tsuri sighed. She didn't expect him to admit it, but he really had saved her life. There was probably no one she knew who would have stood in front of a girl she couldn't stand that well and told her 'you looked sad and I wanted to help'. He didn't seem like someone who usually said things like that behind his bad boy tough behavior.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't hate it when people do nice things for me," she added on. She hadn't mean to let the comment slip out when already said thank you but… she needed him to know how much it really meant to her.

"T-This won't ever happen again. You're still a stupid copy that doesn't reflect Juudaime's brilliance."

Her eye twitched. Dumbass. He just ruined the vibe.

"Hai Hai. I know that Bakadera. I'm not deserving of a gift from you because of it blah blah."

She heard some rustling from his pockets. Out came another small box, this time an organs box with a red bow. It didn't look like the store had wrapped it, more like he had quickly tried to do it on his own but got frustrated and let the messy bow speak for itself.

"Here."

Tsuri narrowed her eyes, thinking it was another joke. She snatched it before he could regret it. She opened the lid and stared at it confused.

It was a bracelet. It had a weird looking button on it with a tanuki drawing on it. It was comedic and cute very simple and easy to wear with beneath the sleeves of her uniform blazer and everyday wear.

"It's a safety bracelet. Juddaime has a keychain version."

"Ehhhh," Tsuri slipped it on. "Am I that much of a child that I need to be tracked?"

"No you stupid woman! I got in in casethatever happens again!"

Oh. The fainting spell. Was Gokudera really that concerned when she passed out? It just I've scared the wits out of him to not know what had happened her or what to do.

"It's a long distance advisor. When you press it, it emits a light and vibration for Juudaime. He'll know when you need help even if you're far away."

"hm. You really went out of your way," Tsuri said smugly.

Gokudera hid his face away from her to hide the pink in his cheeks. She wanted to push and annoy him more but Tsuna had come with Yamamoto in tow. The two stopped, crossed their arms and huffed. Tsuna looked back and forth at the sudden fall of quietness and then left their eyes on Tsuri.

She pouted, eyeing the big slice of cake he was sending home with their other friend. "What?"

"You two aren't arguing," Tsuna said instead of asking.

"Why? Is the world suddenly ending?"

"Haha, Tsuri's funny," Yamamoto adjusted his grip under the top aware and gaped. He pointed at the chibi tanuki bracelet dangling over her sleeve. "What's that?"

"Tanuki safe bracelet. He gave it to me," She pointed at the silver head.

"I didn't give you permission to tell anyone!" He argued, face still red.

"It's a matching set with yours Tsuna. Now you can track me whenever I'm in trouble and let your loyal puppy know too."

Tsuna's mouth twitched. He spoke too soon. "N-nice. Anyways, thanks for coming you two. Gokudera-kun, are you sure you don't want to take cake? Bianchi was asking."

A loud growling and upset stomach resounded and the Italian boy's face turned sheet white. "N-No thank you Juudaime. I'll be off then."

"I'll walk with you!"

"I don't need to be escorted by you baseball freak! I can walk on my own!"

The twins watched their two friends go in their way home. Tsuna watched Tsuri happily skip her way in to get more of their cake, eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

What the hell did those two talk about and why was his sister acting like something great had happened?

The tanuki bracelet should have pissed her off, right? She hated being hovered on as much as him, but…Tsuna was grateful for it. Now he had a way of making sure Tsuri was alright. Nowadays they could never tell.

Meanwhile Reborn, enjoying his slice hummed. Fourteen.

What other abilities would these twins unlock now that they were a year older?

And how would that help them with the issue at hand. He stared at the envelope on the twins bedroom coffee table, with the Vongola insignia and wax seal.

A criminal and their posse have just escaped from their cages. And it was up to his no good students to hunt them down before they wrecked havoc in their peaceful lives.

Chapter 8: Ranking Chaos

Chapter Text

There were many graves, many stones on dry, dead grounds. It wasn't called a cemetery for nothing. The sky was gray and cloudy and he immediately knew it was going to rain like the many times it did when he visited. A man in a suit and scarf bent down and touched the smooth stone in front of him.

Anya Marter

Beloved sister

We'll miss you with our hearts

"I can't believe it's been thirteen years already..." the man spoke to no one as he kept his gaze on the stone, running his hands through the letters. "Remember me sis? It's been a while since I visited. It's Emile. You're little brother." Emile smiled sadly as he could recall the times when he was eight years old and laughing crazily with a healthy looking Anya.

'Hiya Emile! How was your day?'Was would she had said to him. But she didn't. She'd been dead for years. How could the dead talk back?

Green eyes started shedding tears. Emile sat on the ground, not caring that his suit was brand new. His hands were on his blonde hair, resisting the urge to scream out to the world. "Just letting you know, they said I have no cure," Emile's nose was red and he sniffed. "The...The doctors said I only have one more month to live. I'm officially going to die."

Emile sniffed again and grabbed a tissue from his pocket and blew his nose. "I'm not scared of dying anymore. I'm still young and people want me to live, but how can I when you're not here watching me grow Anya?"

The boy that was once eight, now twenty one years old closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "I'll be able to see you again sis. If I die I'll only have one regret, not seeing you again."

Emile coughed and stood up from the floor. "I know you would've wanted me to continue my life, but I can't. Now I understand why mother didn't approve of you and your choices." Emile patted the gravestone one more time, feeling a little better. "This will be my last visit. I'll have to be transported to the hospital first thing in the morning. See you soon, Anya."

Emile Marter then left from the cemetery and was met by an old woman who had on a very grim expression, and two others who were his older sisters. The man then entered a black car with his company and they rode off somewhere else.

The angel above who was asked to watch over Emile stared at the black car in sadness. What could she do? She couldn't break her promise to Anya. Besides, the Higher Up wouldn't let her do anything unless she requested it and have Him the reason why. The angel pulled her long blonde hair and bit on her garment's sleeve. 'Ill just have to wait and see. I made a promise with your sister and I'm not about to break it. Emile, you might just be able to see your older sister again, but she won't remember you. Would you be okay with that...?'

..

..

The days were getting normalized, like Tsuna had said. Normalized that Tsuri just didn't bother to get surprised at every little strange thing crossing their path. Yamamoto and Gokudera were seen everyday, for every day off school, after school and so on. Kyoko and Haru latched themselves onto Tsuri when they found her at her favorite bakery and have been frequenting for sweets when they could. Tsuri tried to avoid them, and sweets weren't something she could eat freely because she gained weight easily. If she did put a pound or two, they'd be lost immediately due to all the running around and agility training Reborn made them do. He disguised them as fun everyday to do things, but she was sure he was having the twins and their friends run around for mafia building.

For some reason, their big brother in mafia-terms Dino, also had extended his stay in Japan after his first visit, which was another thing to question but if they asked, Tsuri knew that he would just say something about it being related to business and studying the twins. So he had passed time with them during the snow days, New Years, and even that dreadful knocked off training session to Death Mountain.

Tsuri shuddered in her blazer and it wasn't because of the cold weather. Just remembering that hospital trip pissed her off. Tsuna had taken a good while to heal with all the mess everyone created for him. Tsuri's was a usual customer for the hospital staff so she was able to get a quick cast and rest at home instead because none of the nurses liked the way she cursed at them when she was in pain. Quite a way to start the new year. Regardless, time went on. Normally.

It was an odd morning. The new term was already starting, and she had gotten up early so she could get a head start on eating breakfast without feeling rushed. Because Tsuna was a heavy sleeper, he never listened to their alarm and always made them late.

After finishing her toast with jam and helping Lambo and I-pin to their chairs, she spied the familiar suit and chameleon also making their morning way to the table. Nana, who had served everyone apologized to Reborn, as the coffee beans had run out and couldn't serve him coffee. There was a heavy stare on her and Tsuri stopped sipping her water. She glared at Reborn. The baby hitman held the piece of paper he had just scribbled on without even glancing over.

"W-Why do I have to go! Why can't Tsuna do it! You're always sending me!"

Reborn transformed Leon into his usual gun, clicked it and pointed at her forehead. "I'll choose whoever I want. And it's your turn to do it."

"Seriously?"

"I haven't shot you yet. Would you like to try it today?"

Tsuri gulped. There was absolutely in no way she would let herself get shot and let everyone in Namimori label her as a pervert who had no shame in running around their home in their undergarments. Tsuna already had their neighbors turning and staring at their mother weirdly in the grocery store.

She looked at the clock above the stove. Right now, 7:15am. It was still early. She snatched the paper from the little hands and smacked her hands in the table in disbelief. "You want me to go all the way over there to get them?! It'll take me an hour or so to get you that bag. I'll be late to school!"

"Then do it with your dying will."

"N-No way! I already told you I don't wanna run around naked! Don't you get it, N-A-K-E-D!"

Reborn co*cked his gun towards her face. "We need to work on your respect. Remember that I'm a hitman Tsukairi."

"Outspoken-ness isn't disrespect," she huffed and dodged a bullet that had been shot. She slipped her shoes on and grabbed her school bag from the floor. "Don't you do anything to Tsuna while I'm gone please." The sound of the door closed behind her and Reborn stood in his place smirking widely.

"Don't tell me things I won't follow Baka-Tsuri."

...

Tsuri could've seriously snapped. She stared hard at the map Reborn had given her at home and turned it upside down countless times.

She'd heard that Kokuyo wasn't really a town someone should enter so casually. Many accidents had occurred on the towns road such as cars set on fire or random trees falling on people. There's be their es, muggers, some gangs on the rundown corners with the ugliest burns and scars. Those are what rumors in Namimori had spread. Probably by someone who wanted to forget.

It was a bunch of rubbish. The place was sane and resembled any other town to Tsuri.

She remembered this path. It was the one that her mother used to take them, a place named Kokuyo Center. She'd come with Tsuna when they were kids and everyone used to have so much fun. It was a beautiful place with an exhibit of flora and fauna, a movie theater and a karaoke bar. There had also been a carousel that appeared once every few days when they went. She loved that memory. It was when they were but toddlers. When their dad was still around.

Tsuri made another turn and found a little shack in the middle of nowhere: with the delivery truck on the road, handing the coffee bean cargo box to the shack owner. Tsuri could feel multiple stress lines appearing on her too tired face.

'Reborn is too much. He could have waited for the cargo to come. And he wonders why I'm failing school.' She walked towards it in a brisk manner, planted her fake polite face and voice and asked the owner for the fresh bag of Italian ground coffee she was specifically there for.

Reborn probably missed Italy and the brand he used to buy over there. It was rash, to have her family chase after a certain type of coffee just to please him, but if Tsuri were him, wanting a piece of home with her, she'd probably do the same thing. She wondered what Italy was like, how the food and culture was; how the mafia blended in there. And if her dad was there too.

'As if. The old man can rot for all I care'Tsuri destroyed her image of the European country and started squishing a can she saw on the ground. The shack owner tried not to freak and scream as he saw a purple aura emit from the girl's body as she payed. Distracted still in her thoughts, Tsuri turned and was suddenly knocked down by the force she crashed with. Not a pole, definitely not a tree so it was a body. And the body above her did not look too pleased about it.

"Oi stupid girl! Watch where you're going pyon~!" The person snapped angrily. Tsuri didn't want to meet eyes, but she was getting pissed off at the other boy's menacing glare.

There were two of them. The first boy had shaggy, not too short blonde hair with hair pins keeping his bangs in place. His hazel eyes pierced dangerously through Tsuri, making her think if she was seeing an animal or a human. She also noticed that he had noticeable scars on his face. Caused by burns… maybe knives… did the Namimori rumors hold some truth to them then? Her knees started to shake.

"Ken..." the person with glasses and a beanie warned. He had a...barcode on his cheek? Was he human merchandise or something? Tsuri held her gaze with those emotionless purple eyes of his as he moved some of his dark blue hair away from his face.

She raised herself up and tried not to make any unnecessary movements as she picked up her bag. She glanced at their clothing.'Kokuyo Middle students? All the way over here?'

"Urasai Kakipi! Oi, baka onna! Are you going to apologize or what?!" Ken brushed off his companion, gaze turning menacing and mean. Tsuri winced. Nope, she could pick a fight with boys like Gokudera. Not them. Better to save her ass than get it handed.

"E-Erm... Sorry. I wasn't looking..." she apologized with a bow.

The one named Ken snorted, muttered something about being pathetic and went past her to get something from the shack.

Tsuri shivered and left leaving smoke after her. Hibari would not let her slide for being so extremely late!

A lightbulb turned on the minute the girl with the glare dashed off and Ken tilted his head to see the left side of the road. "Ne Kakipi! Isn't that stupid girl one of Mukuro-san's main targets?!"

Chikusa pushed up his glasses and watched the said target vanishing from sight. "Looks like it. She's wearing their uniform."

"Then let's go hunt her down pyon~!"

"That's Mukuro-san's prey, Ken."

The blonde growled under his breath and handed the shack owner his change. "We'll just have to wait then! I can't wait to beat people to a pulp pyon~!" Ken snickered as he stuck out his tongue.

Chikusa sighed again.

In a week, their plan would commence. They were going to make the mafia wish they regretted ever messing with them.

Hibari didn't punish her when she got there in the morning. Instead, he made sure to chase her all around Namimori Middle School as soon as school ended. Which meant that she wouldn't have a chance to even slip inside the gym nor the lockers and hide. So Tsuri decided to be wise and hope her legs wouldn't break. She didn't even give Tsuna time to say goodbye properly to Kyoko and he complained the whole way home.

Tsuri asked Nana about the room change. She had hoped her mom would've listened and complied to her daughters request. Instead, it warped into Reborn's hands and now to conserve room and give more "privacy", the twins found themselves with wooden bunk beds stacked up on each other like it were camp. Tsuri asked Reborn why the hell she couldn't move out from the room to which he replied "Not yet."

They were fourteen. FOURTEEN. Puberty was hitting them harder than usual, especially for a boy like Tsuna. He was considerate in keeping himself private too, but Tsuri knew that their hormones were changing and that was not something they should be bonding over. If she'd been born a boy instead maybe.

The older twin opened their door, and yawned. He threw his bag somewhere nearby, irking Tsuri. She wanted to pull his collar and demand him to pick it up but his hands were now occupied by smaller ones. It was a little boy, maybe ten or eleven at most, with light brownish blonde hair. He wore a striped muffler over him. Foreign. She put a palm to her face. Not another one. The house was already stocked up with enough strays.

"Hooray! I'm finally meeting you! Nice to meet you Tsuna-nii!" He said with cheer.

Tsuri held in a laugh. She hadn't heard that in years. She rarely ever called Tsuna 'big brother' anymore. It was a weaponized calling whenever she wanted to get her way.

"Tsuna-nii?" Tsuna said thinking if they had a long lost little brother coming home to reveal himself. "Who are you?"

The little boy then approached her and also shook her hands. Something inside Tsuri melted immediately. She didn't know where it was coming from, but she had this little familiar itch within her that made her want to squeeze this little boy's cheeks and hug him to death.

"Nice to meet you Tsuri-nee!"

"Same here...?" Tsuri looked back and forth from Reborn to her brother to the little boy again and again.

"He wanted to ask both of you a favor," Reborn hopped off of Tsuna's head and went behind the little boy who looked very troubled.

"My name is Futa. The mafia's after me."

Tsuna sweat dropped. "Ha? Themafia?"

Tsuri heard an amused sound coming from Reborn. "You're serious?!"

They let Fuuta explain his piece, talking about his predicament. He was apparently a big part of the mafia world. He was an informant dealer that took record of every mafia related person and their ranking based on their abilities, tastes, you name it, and it was 100% accurate. They couldn't believe it until he took out a heavy, massive looking book to prove he wasn't lying. He even ranked Tsuna out of 872 people, saying he was in the lowest mark due to his lack of ability. Tsuri snorted and earned a kick from a pissed off Tsuna.

'Tsuri, we can't! I told you I don't want to be apart of the mafia!'Tsuna complained.

Tsuri kicked him on his knees in return.''He's just a kid!'

'We're putting ourselves on the spot. We'll be on their line of sight!'

"Oh stop with all your grumbling!" Tsuri yelled.

"Tenth Generation Vongola Twins!" Futa pleaded and put on his best cute and adorable face. "Please hide me! I promise I won't bring you too much trouble!"

"But my house is already full! Don't expect me to accept by making a cute face!" Tsuna exclaimed loudly.

"He can be a bit stubborn…" Tsuri mentioned, side eyeing him badly.

" Tsuna-nii will accept. I know he will!"

"Futa… you're cute and I want to hug you but, that's not possible."

"Tsuna-nii has the number one ranking for someone who would never refuse a proposal or request!"

"I take it back. You're absolutely right," Tsuri hummed in agreement.

"That doesn't mean you can take advantage and ask me!"

Futa and Reborn looked at each other and shook their heads at the Vongola boss. "That's not the only reason. You are also ranked as the number one boss that has no ambition! Therefore I don't need to worry about you taking away my ranking book!"

Tsuna took a slipper in his hands and threw it at his sister's face when she burst into laughter.

"Hey, it won't be so bad having one more kid in the house," Tsuri dried her tears and picked Futa into her lap. There was a twinkle, a gentleness in her eyes that no one had ever seen before. It was peculiar. To Tsuna and to Reborn.

Tsuri wasn't an openly affectionate person, and if she wanted to show it, it was rare. Tsuna and Nana received some nuzzles or hugs, because they were family No one else really knew Tsuri at her best, or were deserving of it just yet. She was a hit or miss person when it came to kids too. When Lambo arrived, all she wanted to do was hammer him onto a wall because he was massively annoying. I-pin was a girl and the minimal thing she did was pat her on the head or pick her up to help her get some cookies from their pantry.

Futa was new. Of course Tsuna had to admit, he was also weak for cute things, but he wasn't the type to pick kids up all of a sudden and squish them into a hug. She was acting weird. Maybe she had some of their mother's maternal instincts within the inner most parts where her aggressive spikes couldn't reach? Tsuna shook his head.

'You're hugging him.'

Tsuri patted Futa's hair gently, eyebrows raised at Tsuna's scrutinizing.'So?'

'You never hug me that way.'

Tsuri let Futa go, and extended her arms towards Tsuna as an overly sweet smile appeared over her lips. "Are you jealousTsu-nii?"

"Not in a million years!" Tsuna shot her down. "So I see you've already agreed to keep him here."

"Like I said. He's just a kid. We're not that cruel enough to send him back and get himself killed."

Futa had on a puppy face that he wished he could erase from his vision. Reborn was adding to the pressure since he suggested that Futa rank them and see where they fall in the book.

Curiosity and pressure fell into his mind. Tsuna took a long sigh. "Fine."

"Stop sighing. You're acting like an old man."

It was an afternoon full of laughter for Tsuri. One she knew never came often and hoped it could stay.

...

A week later….

Nana handed the twins a letter that had been left on the kitchen table.

'I'll be visiting some known friends. I won't be back anytime soon. Thank you and take care Tsuna-nii, Tsuri-nee.'

-Fuuta

Agitation was the first word that crossed Tsuri's mind. After all the trouble they went to keep him safe and sound from harm, he left without even saying goodbye? That wasn't like him at stared at the note suspiciously but instead decided to give up on the whole thing. She prayed he could stay safe. She felt her whole mind reel with different scenarios of danger he'd be put in and she felt like she was going to cry.

Fuuta was a good kid, and he fit into their family mold easily just as Dino had. He was cute, very intelligent and gave good, honest ranks that came randomly. He was like a little brother, and it oddly reminded her of someone she couldn't quite recall. It was like gum stuck into her brain, and even though she was pulling hard it, she just could not think of anyone they knew that fit. It felt nice to feel like an older sibling though. Tsuna and he were twins but he was born first, therefore he was actually the older of the two.

"I can't believe Kaasan insists we take these," Tsuna mumbled and held up the posters and sign up advertisem*nts Nana showed them after breakfast.

"Nanmimori hasn't been the safest neighborhood as of late," Reborn pointed out again. "You two could use some extra strength training by picking up self defense."

"I don't need it," Tsuri said bluntly, looking straight at the road and not at the questioning faces Reborn and Tsuna were sharing. "I can take care of myself."

"The hospital bills on your name say otherwise," Reborn took out a long list out from his suit pocket. Tsuri took it, feeling shame.

She didnt want to admit it, but just the thought of more serious danger spiked up anxiety. Just like she said, murder was lurking through the shadows. She didn't know where it was coming from, maybe the back of her mind or some invisible whisper in her ear, but she knew that they were going to cross paths with danger.

She didnt want to. She wasn't prepared. She wasn't trained enough like Tsuna, or had any other skills that could help her defend her family.

'We're vulnerable… What if its the same people that tried to take me before? What if they find where we live? What if they hold mom hostage? What if Tsuna is put into the hospital? What if…'

"Tsuri."

She picked her head up and looked up at Tsuna. There was that knowing worry in hiss features. How she hated to see it. It made her feel weak.

"We'll be okay. Nothing's going to happen to us."

"You don't know that," she said.

"Baka-Tsuri. There's no need to get so anxious. Let's assess the situation and go from there."

Was Reborn able to sense her fear? All she was used to hearing from him were nags, and direct jabs at undermining her confidence. Was this his way of caring? She hoped so. Having Reborn around was more reassuring.

She took a deep breath. They were safe now. Better to think about that before overthinking. "Maybe taking aikido won't be so bad.."

"You're actually going to listen to Kaasan…"

"Yikes! They look scary!" The twins heard a classmate shout. By the gates, was a great amount of bodies, and if it weren't for the obvious uniform and arm bands on them, anyone would have mistaken them for a yankee gang taking over their middle school.

"The Disciplinary Committee? Why are there so much of them?"

"Since there was that kind of incident last weekend, it's natural that they would be tense," Reborn explained. Tsuna was the one shaking this time as he shook in his shoes.

"I wonder if it really is someone who has something against the Disciplinary Commitee..."

"Maybe. They can be pretty frightening..." Tsuri continued. "Hibari"-san does control most of the town's safety. Maybe they're trying to get back at him or something."

"That's not it."

The twins jumped in surprise at the new voice present and faced the leader of the commitee itself, Hibari Kyoya.

"H-Hibari-san!"

"W-We were just on out way to school and..." Tsuna waved his hands in front of him in defense. "I'm not bad mouthing you or anything."

"But she is", Reborn pointed at the blue faced teen hiding behind Tsuna.

"I'm not bad mouthing anybody!" Tsuri defended herself before the prefect could even lay a tonfa much less a hand on her. She swore she wouldn't let herself he touched by the prefect. Not after he stole her first kiss a few months ago.

"We'll be on our way Hibari-san. I'm sorry."

Before she could even begin to reclaim at Reborn, Hibari looked behind the small Sawada crowd. He swiftly took Tsuri's wrist in his hands to move her aside, and a body tumbled on the floor. A man in his late 30s the most, wearing a doctor's coat and a most disgusting look on his face.

"Dr. Shamal!"

"Man that hurt", the hitman doctor rubbed his head soothingly from the hard hit. "Why'd you do that?"

"I felt malicious intent," Hibari narrowed his eyes at the doctor.

"Oi, Tsuri. You should thank Hibari-san!" Tsuna waved a hand over her face. "Huh?"

Reborn frowned. Tsuri wasn't budging an inch, glued in place. His eyes widened slightly before reverting back to his secretive look.

It was happening again. She couldn't feel her legs. They felt as if a ton of bulldozers had rolled over them, rendering them unmoveable. She knelt down to numb the feeling but it just made it worse. Tsuna watched as she angled her head toward the sky. Her eyes… they were blank, and blinded. Almost like Futa's did when he was in his ranking mode.

There was a pulling sensation on her hair and a metallic smell of blood wafted through her breathing passage making her almost gag. Tsuna flinched and experienced uneasiness when a line of blood visibly trailed down from her mouth.

Hibari wasn't concerned, but he was clearly taken aback. He hadn't made any violent movements to cause her to collapse and bleed. What was going on?

"Tsuri! Are you okay?! You're bleeding!" Tsuna picked her up and supported her right arm above his shoulders.

'Please tell me this isn't another one!'

"Sakura petals..." the girl murmured. "They're stained with blood."

It took a slap from Reborn to bring her back to earth. Her blank pupils now had light in them, and Tsuri was no longer in her trance. Tsuna prepared to catch her in case she did pass out again, but weirdly enough she didnt. She blinked, took her surroundings, rubbed her cheek angrily and asked them what had just happened.

Dr. Shamal exchanged a knowing glance with the baby hitman but the doctor only shook his head. "It was an impulse, sorry. There's no sakura around during this season, so he should be alright."

"Yeah."

'But Baka-Tsuri's prediction somehow gives me a bad feeling.'

"What are you doing here?" Tsuna asked the trident assassin as he rubbed Tsuri's back reassuringly. Tsuri responded quite well to the warm rubs, but she couldn't help but feel fear at the pit of her stomach. Did she pass out again? Why was everyone but Tsuna distressed? Did that happen again? If so, she should be knocked out or something. Why was she standing, and why was her head pulsing a million times per minute?

"I heard the rumors," Shamal said. "I thought I'd protect the girls from them. Especially you, Tsuri-chan.~ "

Tsuri wiped her mouth with a tissue she randomly found inside her bag and wrinkled her nose. "No thank you. I can take care of myself and if you touch me I'll aim for your crotch."

Shamal tried to get closer despite the threat. She hated this doctor in more ways than one, and his despicable impulsive perverted things. She punched him straight in the gut, kicked where she said she would and onto the pole he had hit earlier.

Hibari noticed their crowd was "growing" and was going to swing a tonga for them to get out of his space when his cell phone rang.

"Midori tanabiku~ Namimori no~ Dai naku shou naku-" the twins turned their heads to Hibari's back and their school anthem ceased playing.

Hibari glanced at Tsuna. "You're both friends with Sasagawa Ryohei, correct?"

Tsuna paled. "Y-Yes?"

"He's been attacked."

Seeing Ryohei in various casts was a sight. The boy was reckless, impulsive and loud, but he was capable of seeing himself away from getting extremely hurt. On a hospital bed and rendered bedridden was upsetting.

Tsuri took back the unintended pun when they left his room. She held in a gasp when she saw that the hospital was full of Nami-chuu students, afraid of even being near the campus and get targeted by whatever or whoever was harming students.. Their parents didn't know and she prayed that Nana didn't check up on their attendance today or watched the news. She made sure to text Gokudera that they wouldn't be coming to school. They had all planned to meet at the shopping district. Maybe he'd stay put if she read her text.

Reborn wasn't full of smirks and remarks today either. His whole face was serious and it worsened when Leon's tail fell off signaling a bad omen. He checked on the Vice President of the Disciplinary Committee. He had been fine earlier. Now he was on a gurney, bleeding and suffering broken bones.

Reborn showed the twins a pair of pocket watches as Kusakabe was led to nearest emergency room.

"There's no mistake. They're trying to pick a fight with you two."

He then showed them how the minute hand and the hour hand were stuck on numbers, one from the watch that Kusakabe had, and the one Sasagawa Ryohei was found with. Marked 5 and 4 with the hour hand.

"This is a countdown. Look at this list."

"What list?"

"This is a ranking of the strongest people in Namimori."

Ranking? Tsuri's face began to lose all color and felt dread on the pit of her stomach come back full force.

Tsuna took it in his hands, lost as to what it meant.

Tsuri wanted to smack him on the face for being an idiot. Tsuna was panicking, she couldn't blame him for overseeing something so simple.

Futa made it. He would never disclose important information like this; accurate enough for the enemy to track down. Unless…

He was being held hostage.

She knew it. The note was a lie. Futa would never leave, especially since he had grown so fond of their home. She would have never let him leave.

She grew angry, the pocket watch's front glass breaking as her grip tightened around it.

"Who's next on the list?"

Tsuna scanned the numbers. Passing 10, 6, 5…

"Gokudera Hayato Number 3."

"Gokudera-kun is the next target!"

At Kokuyo Land

"Ne, Mukuro-san? Did you beat the crap out that Nami-chuu boss?"

"Well he wouldn't be unconscious now in the other room if wasn't."

Joshima Ken, the only blonde in the room started to laugh. So much for looking tough, that leader from Namimori.

"By the way, where's Chikusa?"

"He went off to hunt down target number three. He's probably thinking how troublesome it is and all that."

The blue haired boy relaxing on a chair in the middle of the bowling room chuckled slightly. "I understand how he feels, not to get a 'hit'. By the way Ken, you said you sawhernot too long ago?"

Ken turned to Mukuro and nodded. "She bumped into me carrying some coffee for who knows what, wearing her Namimori uniform."

A silence ensued the room for a little while. "Mukuro-san, how exactly did you know about the cherry blossoms -pyon?"

"Our dear little hostage, Ranking Fuuta just so happened to spy on Sawada Tsukairi when her Vongola Augury intuition was activated by the skylark. It was very useful indeed."

"You sound very interested in this runt..."

"Well of course I am. She has abilities we don't know of Ken. The little Vongola's aren't only going to be my vessels, but my toys as well."

"They're going to help medestroythe mafia from the inside."

...

...

...

Tsuri tapped her foot angrily. Reborn broke her cell phone with Leon. Not even a sorry, just an "His shapeshifting is out of control." She wanted to scream. How else was she supposed to contact the bomber? Tsuna had suggested a pay phone but that wasn't helping either.

"What thehell?! Is his phone dead or something?!" Tsuri banged the pay phone back in its place. "I swear the next time I see Haru I'm going to tie her to a post!"

Haru, Lambo and I-pin had showed up with a net earlier to catch Tsuna and Tsuri as they headed towards the shopping district. Though Tsuna was trying to soften his urgency, Tsuri was sure that she had said some unfriendly things for how rushed her nerves were.

"You said the shopping district isn't far from here right?" Tsuna began running again. Clues. He needed clues. Someone was targeting them. Then he remembered what Tsuri had said months ago.

Something about shops and… was it needles?

It was a stretch, but there were no other hints of what to expect except believe her words.

"Tsuri, do you really not remember what you told Gokudera-kun when you fainted?"

"Here we go again. I've ben repeating the same thingover and over!" she yelled. "How will that even help us right now!"

"It does if it'll help him when we get there!" Tsuna paused every second, running out of breath. "You said something about shops and poisoned needles making it hard for you to breathe."

Tsuri's brain run at the last part, triggering her memory 'Its hard to breathe. My chest hurts…'

"I saidWHAT?"

"If Kusakabe came back injured that must mean something happened to Hibari-san. You also said things to him. You didn't faint this time, so now you believe me?" Tsuna continued, his pace getting a little slower. He wasn't really good at running laps at school, but this wasn't even school and he felt as if he had signed up for track and field.

"Stop it! I can't tell the future!" Her feet started slowing down as the realization downed.

''He does have a point. I said some mysterious things to Hibari-san back there... if 'he didnt come back then just maybe…'

'Sakura petals… they're stained with blood.'

It wasn't even spring yet. No cherry blossoms were around right now. Tsuna was being absurd.

A faint sound of explosions resounded in the background. Tsuna' and Tsuri picked up their pace. "This is bad. Very bad! Oi, run faster!"

She hoped she wasn't right. She hoped with all her might they they'd get there on time and save him before he ended up just like she said.

'Gokudera, please be okay when we get there!'

To be continued...

Chapter 9: Forgiveness

Chapter Text

"Forgiveness is more than saying sorry." - Just Friends

Anya's hands shook and nearly crumpled the paper she was holding. It had been only three days since he had been touring all over Japan and she was already being charged over hundreds of dollars. She regretted not saving more money and reducing her calls overseas. Room service was also too good not to order. But… She laughed creepily, holding a silver mastercard. Her mom would get a great surprise on her next bill.

It was her last day, so before she could do anything that morning, Anya worked on trying to connect a webcam on her blue Dell laptop. The wifi was free and right now she was mentally scolding herself for not trying this sooner.

After a few minutes of struggling with wires and software installation, she finally saw her little brother Emile, who was sitting on the older sister, Lillian's lap while the middle child Kristin waved at Anya with a small smile.

Anya tucked a strand of loose red hair behind her ear and smiled widely at the sight of the family she loved.

"Hiya An!" Lillian greeted.

"There's an eight hour difference from over there and here right?" Kristin questioned. Anya nodded and checked the world clock on her iPhone, and her eyes went wide. "It's two a.m over there! What are you guys doing awake and video chatting me! You're missing sleep! I would have called later!"

Lillian rolled her blue eyes and paused to rub them. Kristin's black hair looked messy signaling that she had just gotten up recently.

"Emile kept bugging us to connect the computer already," Kristin complained and glared at the said little blonde boy. He winced. "Can you believe this boy! He woke us up banging a wooden spoon to a pot!"

Anya stifled a laugh. "I used to do that whenever you two wouldn't wake up. It runs in the family I guess."

"Hey sis, how's it over there?! Is it like we said it was?!" Emile, who didn't look tired at all jumped up and down and nearly made the other side's computer crash down; if it wasn't for Kristin grabbing it on time. Lillian sighed in relief.

"It's actually better than the pictures we saw on my laptop! It's very cool over here! I get to eat their food, I shopped a little here and there. I have my last tour today after breakfast. When I come back tonight, I have lots of presents to give each of you!"

The sister with ash blonde hair rolled her eyes. "Lots? You mean a ton. I swear to Big Ben if you get me another ridiculous T-shirt, you will never hear the end of it."

Anya puffed cheeks out in a pout. "But the t-shirts are cool! I'm sure you'll like this one!"

Before the Marter children knew it, an hour had already past. It was time to get some sleep.

"I think it's time for our leave," yawned Lillian drowsily.

"-yawn- Come home soon An! We'll be waiting! The big one-eight little sis!" Kristin cheered. "You made it. We're so proud of you."

"Aw guys!" Anya blushed and nearly cried. "You're the best siblings a girl like me could ask for. I have to get ready for my tour now so I'll leave you guys here!"

"Anya! Wait!" Emile waved the screen and his gaze became tender. "Happy early birthday! Thank you for doing your best!"

Anya jumped at the gentleness of her little brother and she smiled with a blush. "Thank you. Now, get some rest! We'll see each other later. Lillian, I'll make sure to send you my terminal number so you can pick me up. Love you!"

A few hours after the video call, the children of the Marter family watched the news in despair and utter disbelief.

"Flight number 270 was spotted on the air crash landing. Reports say that the pilot did not check a certain valve and the plane ceased flight in the sky. About half of the passengers were found dead and twenty were injured. Here is the list of deceased passengers found by identification."

The reporter was replaced with a white list, and the screen read one name the Marter children hoped not too see. Their blood ran cold.

Anya Marter

Age: 17

Passenger no. : 38

Deceased

They couldn't believe their eyes. They had just talked to her a few hours ago. She couldn't be gone that fast. It was a tragic day for Lillian, Kristin, and especially Emile. They had prepared the whole day to celebrate with Anya but now they couldn't even think of the balloons, the presents or the cake at the moment. She would never be able to turn 18. She had died on her own birthday.

She wasn't going to come home.

...

...

.....

She hadn't expected for things to turn out horribly in a flash. If only she hadn't interfered. If only she hadn't been in the way, and stopped Tsuna, Gokudera wouldn't have gotten stabbed with assailant's needles all over his chest.

But that didn't mean one of the twins didn't get off easy.

When Tsuri pushed Tsuna out of the way from another attack, Yamamoto did his best to slice and dodge the next set of needles from reaching with his sword bat. Tsuri got pierced on her right shoulder with the strays and before their friend could chase him further, he ran away after attracting a crowd. The twins had never seen Yamamoto so angry. He was the most laid back and friendly person anyone could ever meet.

Reborn called Shamal to treat the two teens as a favor. Because the needles were poisoned, it required an antidote. Gokudera was on bed rest as his injuries were far worse than Tsuri's. Shamal had nearly shed buckets of blood when the female had to shrug her sleeve so he could administer the shot. If Tsuri hadn't held onto Tsuna to stop him from leaving, she was sure the perverted doctor would have done something more to her. Because she didn't like needles, it took some restraining to give her the first two shots. By the third, her struggling caused the needle to penetrate farther into her skin and form an internal bruise. Shamal earned an earful from her after her tears and cries subsided temporarily.

The enemy said they'd come back to finish what they started.

Like hell they would.

Slipping on a plain sky blue T-shirt and skinny jeans back at her home, Tsuri gently tapped the large bandage Shamal had covered the wound. It didn't hurt too much due to the painkillers she took earlier but the it did catch attention by the location it was in.

Tsuri watched as her brother talked to their mom about heading out for the afternoon, his face smiling, but his eyes reflecting the slight fear he was feeling. She knew he didn't want to do this. He's rather just hide under a rock and pray it passed. But they were aiming for him for a reason, and if they didn't do anything then the people who were in the hospital got hurt for nothing.

She bit her lip. 'I can't let the pain show, or Tsuna will make me stay.'

"Ara Ri-chan, why is your school blouse and skirt drenched in red?" Nana pointed at the rugged and balled up bloody uniform her daughter had so tried to hide under her bed. The ones that were covered in her and Gokudera's blood. Tsuri instantly started to pale. How wonderful a mother's radar was if she spotted that in their messy room.

"A-Ano I u-um...dropped some red paint on my uniform?"

Nana sighed and shook her head as she picked up the dirty clothes and dropped them in her laundry basket.

"Mou, be a little careful Ri-chan. For a second, I thought it was blood!" Tsuri laughed it off like she always did when she had an accident like this.

Tsuna eyed the soiled white blouse's right sleeve.'You lost a lot of blood. Are you sure that you're okay to be coming with us?'

His twin who wouldn't meet him in the eye. She was picking at her nails as if they were more interesting than talking to him.'I took three shots to the arm. I took something for the pain. I'm fine.'

"Tsuna." Reborn was sitting cross legged on their TV. He was messing with Leon, who had now turned into a shapeless slime. "You need to be careful. Whenever Leon gets like this it's means one of my students is near death."

He put him away in his fedora. "Also, I won't be fighting so good luck."

"Are you kidding? Why not?!"

"The Ninth's orders were for you two. I'm only allowed to shoot deathperation bullets."

He held out his palm, two red things they recognized immediately to be the Dying Will Bullet. "You only have one shot. The second one is reserved for Tsuri, in case she decides to jump in and help you. Even if she doesn't, I can't shoot you with two, your body won't be able to take it. Discuss with each other and come up with a plan."

Tsuna nodded smally. Tsuri eyed the bullet. She wondered what it would feel like. Would she go rampant and wild like Tsuna usually did? Or would it have a null effect on her?

She wouldn't know until she talked to Tsuna about it.

"Yo Tsuna! I brought us some sushi and juice!" Yamamoto showed up, carrying two plastic bags.

'He thinks this is a picnic trip doesn't he?'

'If that will help him blow the tension he felt earlier, leave him be.'

"Are you trying to compete with me Yamamoto Takeshi?" Bianchi was holding some more bentos she made. Their bright purple appearance was indicator enough that it was not edible whatsoever. Yamamoto tried to edge away from her.

"Uh… why don't we just bring them together?" he suggested carefully.

"G-Good idea Yamamoto!" Tsuna said nervously. "Gokudera-kun is downstairs already. We should go."

"Give me a minute. I forgot something."

Tsuna knew Tsuri needed some headspace. But he couldn't just let her process everything by herself. He was going to tell her he was going to stay but Yamamoto grabbed him from the shoulder. He shook his head, silently telling him that she wasn't in the position to have him hover.

Tsuri took a big breath in and out. She tried to hide her shaking hands inside her sweater and felt she was fine enough to go out the door and walk down but Bianchi was still there, leaning on the frame with her arms crossed. Her green eyes were like scanning beams seeing through her.

Tsuri never really talked to Bianchi one on one. She was very intimidating to get close to, and did try to kill her at one point in the time she was here to get Reborn back to Italy. She wasn't exactly the most trustable woman, but she did help their mom with what she could at home and kept her company.

"A-Ah, Bianchi-san. I'm ready. We can go."

"You can't fool anyone Tsukairi."

She tried to laugh but it came out weaker than expected. "W-What do you mean?"

"Don't let it get to you. It's not your fault that Hayato got hurt. You're doing what you can in your own way." The rose haired woman took the squirrel looking costume Reborn was offering her on the side. She jerked back. sh*t. She forgot he was still here.

"Dame-Tsuna may be wussing out but he's determined," Reborn said.

"Will you follow, or cower all your life?"

Cower? Their lives were in danger and Reborn was calling her a coward for playing it safe?

"This is why I haven't shot you yet, Dame-Tsuri," Reborn hopped off his seat and perched himself on Bianchi's shoulder.

No-good. Reborn never called her that.

"As long as you still keep playing it safe, your dying will will always remain dead. You better fix that or you'll never survive in this world."

...

Kokyuo Land. It was the place of their childhood. The place used to be big and clean, now it was all in ruins and neglect after being abandoned.

Tsuna had the most visual memory so he was in charge of guiding them. Tsuri was sure the mountain they were climbing was a buried building but she didn't want to say anything. Better to trust Tsuna for now. She wouldn't be any use to anyone after Gokudera's accident.

Speaking of the bomber…

He seemed to be okay-ish. She could tell that he was struggling to catch up, endurance wise. He didn't seem to be complaining of any pain as of late. She wondered what he did to feel conditioned enough to help, then again he was always a determined individual; when it came to his precious Juudaime, he'd put his life on the line without even asking.

"I think that we are…right here should be a fauna… or was it the glass zoo." Tsuna stopped walking. "Tsuri, do you remember?"

"There's nothing like that here," Bianchi commented. "You must be blind."

"Sis…"

"It should be here," the other female spoke, looking around for any glass that could confirm. She stopped when she saw Yamamoto bend to the ground, a deep imprint near his shoe. Something was here recently.

"What is this? It looks like an animal print" Yamamoto asked me.

"Heads up. Something's coming" Reborn suddenly warned. There was a rumbling and a rustle. Something popped out of a bush. No one was able to take a look by how fast the attack was. It knocked Yamamoto down on his back hard and had no time to get back up because the whole ground opened and swallowed him whole.

"Welcome~" the voice introduced itself in the dark. Everyone hovered from the hole above carefully to check if Yamamoto was okay.

"Tsuna's memory was correct. The zoo is buried below the dirt."

"So we're on its roof?!"

"You see, there's something called erosion and overtime the ground—" Tsuri started explaining from what she remembered on yesterday' science session with Bianchi.

"Oh shut up. I know!"

"You alive, baseball freak?"

"Ouch! Hahaha! That caught me off guard." Yamamoto yelled back up.

"Yamamoto! There's something down there with you! Be careful!"

There was a growl. Was there really an animal down there? Or…. A beast? "I welcome you, Yamamoto Takeshi…I'm Ken. Kakipi's still out cold and I have no orders from Mukuro-sama so I grew bored out of my mind. Now that my prey's shown up, I'm so happy~" the figure came out and Tsuri gasped. It was the same person she saw at the shack this morning! That violent Kokuyo student! But he looked different! He wasn't human-looking… he resembled an animal. Was he cosplaying or was it the real deal?

"Y-You!"

"Haha! You look like a dog! Is it an impression or something?" Yamamoto asked curiously.

"Huh? Are you some kind of retard or something? Well who cares. Here we go~"

The strange kokuyo human hybrid began to attack and hide within the dark spaces of the run down glass zoo. It was difficult to think of a way to help Yamamoto get out: if Gokudera used his bombs then he'd not only bury the enemy, but their friend as well.

Everyone was in a panic and as Yamamoto raised his bat for defense, it broke. Tsuri raised an eyebrow.

Yamamoto's eyes… they were the ones he'd worn earlier when he got them out of the way from the yo yo freak. They weren't eyes of fear, nor were they sad or sorrowful or worried…they were filled with burning determination, and something even more dangerous. Something a bit more sinister, if not deadly. Was he pissed about his only defending weapon being broken to pieces?

Was this really the same happy go luck Yamamoto Takeshi?

Wasn't he afraid?

"Let's end this shall we? Wolf Channel!" Ken said as he changed cartridges and changed himself into a wolf. He attacked Yamamoto with lightning speed. Luckily. Yamamoto managed to dodge.

He was fearless and yet…

"Yamamoto is being careful with his body…like he's afraid of being hurt." Reborn explained.

"Or is playing it safe."

Tsuri's shrunk at Reborn's dark stare. Was he trying to make her learn something here?

"…maybe he has good reason to," she answered him with a glare.

"Are your puny friends right? Are you holding back? Come at me with all you've got!"

"That's not it… There are just more important things than playing mafia" Yamamoto explained referring to his favorite sport. Baseball. It was everything to him.

'How many times must we tell him it isn't a game.'

"Tell him yourself if you're complaining," Reborn suggested. Tsuri didn't have time to react. One minute she was an observer, and the next she was dusting dirt off her cheek.

"Are you kidding me?! Why the hell did you throw me down here!"

"Reborn! Why did you do that1?" Tsuna demanded, clearly angry. "She's hurt! She can't defend herself!"

"Shut up and watch." Reborn said. 'Tsuri could learn something from Yamamoto.'

Joshima Ken had changed form, and target as he took pleasure in Tsuri's eyes full of terror. This was the first time that fear kicked in her system instead of adrenaline. She wanted out; she wanted to leave. Ken charged towards her, fangs waiting to rip her open as he said. Tsuri shut her eyes, settling for the inevitable. When she opened them, her friend was in front of her.

Ken's mouth was on Yamamoto's wrist. Blood started seeping through his sweater's sleeves. Yamamoto made sure the bite was held and used the back of his broken bat sword to knock him out on the face.

Yamamoto supported her with his good arm before Tsuri's legs gave out under her. "I got you."

"Y-Your arm! You shouldn't have—!"

"If it came to baseball or protecting my friends, I'd choose the second option always," he said with a grin. "I learned that from you and Tsuna."

She wanted to cry. How many times were the people around her willing to get hurt, when she couldn't even lift a finger? Was she truly so weak and careless that she couldn't go into the deepest parts of her body and bring the courage she'd been showing all of these months whenever they were in a pinch? Or had it been faked the whole time?

Was she even as strong as she believed?

...

...

The next opponent had been a girl that went by the name M.M. It was Bianchi's turn to debut. The opponent's clarinet melted away all the lunch they had hoped to eat after a well deserved break but they should have known better. Either way the opponent ate her words; literally due to Bianchi's lethal touch of turning everything into inedible poisoned food.

The next had Tsuri stressed. It made her regret not staying home because that perverted bird man and some skull twins were bribing them to hit Tsuna, or they'd target Haru and Kyoko. She should've had more faith in Reborn, turns out he had prepared for the worst and aimed for help from Shamal, 10 years later I-pin and Lambo.

The enemies were less, they'd taken out at least five people. Futa had popped out of nowhere after the last stressing battle and disappeared into the forest part of Kokuyo Land.

Tsuna and Tsuri decided to follow the runaway hostage while the others caught their breath. Wandering above in tall trunks and dirt, Tsuna examined the left and right sides before stopping. Tsuri wiped some sweat off her brow. "Tired already? Why'd you stop?"

"Tsuri, I want you to go back home."

Caramel eyes scrunched up in rising exasperation. "What?"

"Kaasan looked scared when she saw your blouse stained red. Having you around only makes me worry for your safety… I can't let you get even more hurt," Tsuna lowered his head in remorse. "This battle is too dangerous for you-"

"Stop it. I don't want to hear this from my no good brother who was about to wimp out. I'm not going back home!"

"T-There's a difference in that! You're injured!"

"For the last time my arm does not hurt! I'm moving around fine without problem!"

"Stop being stubborn Tsuri! I'm the oldest out of the two of us!"

"Don't start pulling that I'm-the-oldest-twin-so-obey-me type of crap! I don't care! I'm staying and I'm helping!" She retorted.

"Tsuri!" Tsuna repeated more sternly and pleading this time.

"Do you think I'm weak? That because I haven't moved a finger means I can't help?"

Tsuna groaned in frustration. "I never said that! You have never been weak, but you have something on your mind, something your afraid of but you won't tell me—"

"Is it so wrong that I want to play it safe and keep us alive?!" Flashbacks to her kidnapping went through her mind like darts; suits with guns, the threats and scary sounds she'd heard. She could picture everyone she loved, hearing their screams.

'You won't survive in this world.'

By the clawing of her nails. Like hell she won't.

Tsuna wanted to read her mind, help her and ease the conversation like they usually did whenever the fought but it was as if she were blocking him out, refusing to open up. "I'll prove you and Reborn wrong. Don't bother following me, I'll go find Futa myself," Tsuri angrily turned her shoes heel back to the direction Tsuna and he aimed for in the beginning and ran, ignoring the persistent yells.

Tsuri stopped in her tracks for a brief moment, finally letting her brother through in their telepathic communication. His voice was different, laced with a flame that she was sure was burning within him. His resolve. How jealous she was that Tsuna had one.

'I will be waiting for you. Promise me you'll be careful.'

'I will. I'll come back to you safe and sound. That's a promise I won't break, Tsuna.'

Tsuri wandered throughout the forest with feet nearly soaked wet because of the moist ground and stopped to find an old building her family used to enter once a year when visiting. Tsuri examined the area in a sad like manner.

The bright grey blue color that covered most of the outer walls of the building were now peeled off like an apple's skin when bitten. Debris of rubble were scattered around the bushes and cement floors, making it look as if a wrecking ball had come and hit it. Some of the windows were broken and pieces of the glass decorated the floor with the rubble as well.

'Maybe Futa came inside here'Tsuri eyed the entrance. More destroyed furniture. There was no light in any corner so she could go no deeper than the hallway where the broken windows were to use for her vision.

Footsetps. She could hear them. She turned, hopeful in seeing the little child she was keen on rescuing when she caught a pair of eyes staring at her through one of the doors of the destroyed structure. Tsuri ran inside urgently to see this mysterious person. It sure wasn't the little boy she was searching for, but the gaze he gave made her curious. His stare felt so cold, so murderous and malicious.

Her footsteps ceased as her body froze at the sight of the person in front of her. Had she seen this person somewhere before? It took her a few seconds until something clicked and eyes widened when she recognized the heterochromatic eyes, the dark blue pineapple shaped hair. It was the same person that had been in her dream a couple of months ago, except he wore a Kokuyo Middle school uniform.

"You're... You're the person I saw in my dream," Tsuri pointed at the spikes above the boy's head. Clearly her mind was still fuzzy because she had forgotten his suspicious persona. Tsuri paused. His eyes were full of death… hidden pain and revenge.

"I should be asking you the same question," the mysterious boy replied with a sly smile.

Before she could ask what he was talking about, Tsuri heard a huge thud a couple of meters away from where she was. She could hear Tsuna's loud voice bellowing their target enemy's name. Mukuro Rokudo. They found him. Finally, the terror was over.

"They found him, thank goodness," Tsuri sighed in relief. She turned to the nameless Kokuyo student and scratched her head. "Sorry, I need to go. My brother just found the person we are looking for. I have to get there now. I'll come back for you soon!"

She was about to run out the direction where she had come from when the other person's hand grabbed her from the shoulder tightly. She tried to shrug him off but he would not let up. "They found the enemy?"

Tsuri nodded slowly. The boy smirked.

"How disappointing."

"Why would that be disappointing?"

"What your dear little Tsunayoshi found was a decoy of mine," he chuckled darkly.

"Decoy…? Wait, I never told you his name." A new itch grew at the nape of her neck, her hair standing by the chilling voice and her nerves feeling sensitive to the air around her. "You're...You're the real Mukuro!"

"Kufufu, allow me to introduce myself properly. I am the real Mukuro Rokudo," Mukuro fixed his position and bowed, a silver spear in his hand.

He lunged without warning, the force of which left Tsuri reeling back as the ground rumbled under her feet. He jabbed a foot towards her head, making Tsuri duck. The spear struck the wall next to her head instead and she winced. It would leave a scar if it punctured through the plaster. It could crumble the whole second floor if she didnt get away.A piece of stone from the openeing on the room bounced off her head. "Ow! sh*t!" She yelped and stumbled backwards.

"I thought you had some promise in you," he said coolly, raising his spear to throw at her again. She darted out of the way, and he paused only briefly before launching another spear from across the room. She jumped back and fell to the ground.'Damn! This guy is fast, too damn fast.'"Clearly I was wrong. Sawada Tsunayoshi may look weak, but you take the cake. You're worse."

"Shut up!" Tsuri scrambled to her feet, her face twisting as fear clawed its way up her throat. "You don't know sh*t about me!" Her voice shook with adrenaline as she lunged forward and threw a kick into his cheek. Mukuro jerked away and retaliated by striking the wall where she'd just been standing. The sound made blood run down her knuckles angrily when she saw him smirk.

"Oh? Is that so? Make it easier for yourself Sawada Tsukairi. Surrender. Or better yet why don't you just try running away, like a coward." His smile stretched across his face wider as he raised his spear once more. "I could make it fun for both of us~"

Tsuri screamed as she dodged a series of jabs, the force sending more debris flying.'How is he this strong?'With all her might she swung around and kicked him hard enough to send him back several feet. A small gash appeared on his shoulder, though he didn't seem concerned by it.

Instead he smirked cruelly. "You know what you need? More practice."

"Screw you!" Tsuri charged forwards, throwing herself onto her knees and kicking out, knocking him right on his backside. She landed on top of him and straddled his waist, trying her best to keep her hold on the spear. Mukuro struggled to regain control of his weapon. Tsuri tried not to think about how badly this was hurting her arms and legs but the adrenaline kept her mind sharp.

There wasn't time to waste. She couldn't let Mukuro go again! If she couldn't beat him now she never would! She would have to resort to Plan B. Which meant she had no choice; her first priority was to escape.

Her eyes scanned their surroundings frantically. Could she make it back to Tsuna on time if she ran like her life depended on it? She cursed under her breath. "sh*t, sh*t, sh*t.."'sh*t sh*t sh*tsh*tsh*t-'She felt the spear shake beneath her hands as Mukuro pushed against her weight.'This will probably be my last chance.' "Okay! Okay!" Tsuri panted and released her grip, launching herself as far away as she could from him. She scrambled to her feet, taking one last look behind her to see if he'd gotten out of his predicament yet.

He's gotten up with no problem, and in a blink of an eye, a literal one, there was a change in her opponents eyes. His left read eye had the kanji numeral one. Tsuri's whole line of sight changed in an instant. One moment it was the broken building and debris that decorated the floor. The next, fire pillars had burst from the ground up. One, two, four… all of them burst with fire like shooting geysers. She was late in her movement so her hands became grazed by the heat, and she cried out. What was this…? It nearly burnt her whole skin off! She squinted her eyes, shielding her whole body from getting singed, to see if she could reach an exit and find safety.

He was nowhere to be seen. Thinking he must've disappeared with the fire, Tsuri drew forward and was going to dash away at the speed of light but then screamed at the top of her lungs. There was a searing pain coming from the left side of her abdomen. She slowly moved her arm to touch the area; an object plunged into her body and opened a newly created wound. Her Blood dripped down all over like water, non-stopping.

Tsuri could savor the metallic taste of blood running down her mouth. Mukuro had stabbed her with his weapon from behind her. She had let her guard down.

For the first time in her life, a murderous intent spread through like wildfire. She wanted to kill this man with her bare hands. She had been stupid… so so stupid… "W-Why..."

"I can't hunt down my prey without a little entertainment. You're going to be my extra bait," Mukuro forced the Sawada twin to look out a nearby window. Tsuri winced at the tremendous pain, but what she saw out the glass, it made another part of her cry even more. Her friends were on the floor unconscious. Her eyes widened as she watched her brother descend on the floor in his dying will being crushed by a metal ball.

"NO!" Tsuri yelled at the top of her lungs. She wanted to escape, away from all of this, but with Mukuro's weapon still inside her, she couldn't go anywhere.

"No wonder… they have such a bad reputation… mafia criminal "Tsuri coughed.

"Mafia?" Mukuro pushed his trident deeper, earning a well deserved shrill cry. "Do not compare me to that insolent corrupt system. I am nothing like them."

"Calling...them...corrupt...ha. What makes you any different?" Tsuri growled in a hoarse voice. "I thought you were just another innocent hostage…"

Tsuri's itch wasn't leaving. Despite all the major nerves reacting to the agony she was suffering, something at the back of her mind pushed her to dig. What would Tsuna do? Tsuna wouldn't let anger consume him whole. He was a kind soul, someone who searched the why instead of the how. The Ninth, Reborn… the whole mafia community. Just what did these criminals, these kids do to get chased?

By the despising look in his eyes, Mukuro wasn't fond of the mafia, nor wanted to be associated with it. Almost like her and Tsuna. Tsuna never wanted to be involved, nor denied it. Tsuri's experience as a kid freed her to have curiosity, and a bit of hate towards them. Maybe that's why she was scared. The system that had scarred her was also one that they were defending and was drawing her closer to that life.

She understood Mukuro… despising a system as flawed as it was. But innocent people should never pay the price for it. Never.

Mukuro harshly slipped out his sharp weapon from Tsuri's hip and grabbed her from her chin. "Innocent is not a part of my vocabulary. You should learn that looks can be deceiving."

Ready to collapse, the last thing Tsuri saw was the wicked look on Mukuro's face and the pleasure in seeing her writhe in agony. She pitied him. She pitied his hate. If Tsuri always played it safe, hiding and hating the mafia… would she end up like him?

"I pity you," Tsuri said in between short breaths. "Your grudge… your hate… it consumes you so much that you truly lost sight of what you're really after."

Mukuro raised an eyebrow silently, watching the young girl go limp.

'Tsuna, I'm sorry. I broke my promise.'

As he saw his extra bait and spare vessel on the floor, Mukuro hid the spark of fire he had in his eyes as Tsuri's words resounded in his mind.

'You've truly lost sight of what you're really after.'

He wouldn't admit that her words had begun to bubble up inside him. No. He hadn't felt like this in 8 years. He couldn't go back to that feeling again. Shove it down. Let it die. Hate and grudges were all he had now. He picked up Tsuri's body and began to walk to his destination where the Vongola would surely come and where he'd be waiting to give him this surprise.

As Mukuro walked, a little boy's voice at the back of his mind spoke in a sad, mourning manner.

'Liar… you lie…. What I truly want… I just want to seeheragain.'

—-

Tsuna, in fact wasn't defeated. He had won against the man who claimed to have been the real Mukuro. His friends were were unharmed and dirty. He couldn't be any more happier that everything was over. Tsuna couldn't wait to see Tsuri with a well Futa come back so they could go home. Or so he thought.

Tsuna stared at the man he fought on the floor utterly confused. "Huh?! What are you saying?! Aren't you Mukuro Rokudo?"

The man who had faked to be the enemy shook his head in denial. "I'm a double."

Tsuna felt so weak that he could've passed out for a fluffy cloud of white. "The enemy is still around wandering someplace," Bianchi said worriedly, noticing that the other Sawada twin wasn't present.

"If that's true, then Tsuri must've found the enemy," Reborn commented. "And if she hasn't come back that must mean that she has been captured."

Tsuna's ears twitched. Gokudera began to feel a bombard of emotions swim inside him. Bianchi and Gokudera shared the same look towards the Vongola to be. Tsuna nodded.

"Let's go. I won't leave until I have Tsuri and Futa safe with me."

—-

Tsuna entered the theater room with precaution and observed his surroundings along with the people beside him. Bianchi had her guard up looking sideways while Reborn kept an eye out. Mukuro, who hid behind the shadows laughed silently as he observed the resembling twin by his side struggling plenty with his invasion of her consciousness in amusem*nt.

'Time to start the show, my puppets.'

The struggle minimized and until he knew she was deeply subjugated she then nodded at her controller.

Tsuna skimmed the room for any possible movement and his eyes landed in the middle of the stage where someone was sitting down in the darkness. As Tsuna began to realize who the person was, the door behind him, Bianchi and Reborn closed. They turned around to see Futa and Tsuri.

"Tsuri! Futa!" Tsuna cried relieved. "You're safe!"

"Thank goodness," Bianchi breathed. "So the enemy did end up capturing you."

"Baka-Tsuri. Look what you've done," Reborn pointed to the bloodied part of her shirt. "You were supposed to keep yourself away from harm." Tsuna's protective instincts kicked in, flinging his arms around like a chicken. He'd expect Tsuri to comment normally and brush them off. Instead he heard a frightful chuckle. It came from her.

"Tsu…ri?"

"I can't help it can I? I'm just the extra twin. Why do you need me when you have the true Vongola X, Reborn? " Tsuri retorted with a voice that sounded like her normal voice… but it didn't belong to her.

A shiver ran up the other brunette's spine. "So much for bringing me along, Dame-Tsuna."

Futa who was next to her smiled cruelly and laughed. The three figures stood in their place extremely confused.

"What's...going on...?" Tsuna stared at the wicked grin his own twin sister was wearing. Similar faces… this is what he would look like if he were twisted and insane.

"Wait Tsuna." Reborn narrowed his gaze. Tsuri smirked and raised her arm and began to sway it back and forth like a metronome.

"Hmmm, I think..." Tsuri's finger stopped at Bianchi. "You're first!"

Futa rushed at Bianchi and stabbed her with a weapon that was unfamiliar to the arcobaleno. Bianchi collapsed. Tsuna tried to regain her senses but she was already unconscious.

"Tsuri! Futa! What is wrong with you!" Futa's grip on the weapon tightened. Tsuri cackled loudly.

"I have such a pathetic brother. Why don't you defend your friends, Vongola Decimo? If you keep running," Tsuri pointed directly at him as if pointing at his own soul. "You're going to be his next target."

Futa tried to catch Tsuna with the trident, but the brunette dodged with his reflexes. "It can't be... Are Futa and Tsuri being manipulated?"

"Looks like mind control," Reborn stared at the hollow eyes his other student and ranking kid dwelled. Mukuro only watched the scene in amusem*nt. "Tsuna you have to stop him," Reborn said as he began to examine Bianchi's wound. Tsuna was handed the whip Dino had gifted him for emergencies but not even that could help him right now. He didn't want to hurt him and Tsuri. Tsuna became cornered and Futa was about to pounce on him when Tsuna felt an itch, a tiny little voice coming from the little boy himself. He said some words, and it touched the little boy deeply that the mind control came undone and collapsed.

"You're forgetting Sawada Tsunayoshi, I still have her," Mukuro eyed Tsuri who picked up the fallen weapon near a sleeping Futa and started to attack Tsuna with her fists and legs. The other twin let himself, too afraid to even lay a hand on Tsuri.

As toddlers, fighting was normal. They'd pull each other's hair, punched each other on the nose. One time Tsuri accidentally tripped him and Tsuna had hit his head on the metal part of their old beds. She had felt so guilty and cried for hours until Nana and their father had reassured her that he would be fine after getting checked up. She promised herself, and he to her, that they would never do that to each other again, no matter how angry or upset they were at each other. He couldn't go back on his word now, even if that meant Tsuri was not herself right now.

"How does it feel to be weak Tsuna?" Tsuri asked darkly as she roughly pushed him to the nearest wall. "I know you can't touch me. You're too scared to. C'mon Tsuna, defend yourself!"

"Kufufufu, I knew I chose the right sibling. She's very entertaining." Mukuro smiled widely. Tsuna shot him a glare from where he was.

"Mukuro ! What did you do to my sister?!"

"I merely showed her a wide and broad perspective from my point of view."

Tsuri grabbed Tsuna's throat and squeezed hard. His breathing… he couldn't take any air…

"Oya, it looks like she really really hates you."

"T-Tsuri!" Tsuna gasped out and began to claw against the other's hold, reaching up to pull at the hand at his neck. "Snap out of it! You're being controlled!" He pleaded wheezily.

It wasn't reaching. Whatever he was saying wasn't either not going through or she was ignoring it for a reason. Instead, the brunette tightened her hold and squeezed harder. Tsuna stared at her empty caramel eyes that were supposed to be filled with light inside. Instead all he saw was that same gaze she gave to him when they had argued in the forest. It was fear, remorse. He should have known better than to let her out of his sight. Tsuna let out a grunt. He had to break her out of Mukuro's control.

'Tsuna remembered earlier when all of his friends were at the hospital patiently waiting for Gokudera to wake up from his bed. Tsuri had become silent after her tantrum and Tsuna saw that lips and hands were quivering, almost as if she had stared at a corpse instead. Also when Reborn had kicked her off the flora and fauna roof when they arrived earlier, Yamamoto sacrificed his arm to protect her from the enemy. Tsuri ended up looking even worse than she should have been. Yamamoto assured her that his wound wasn't such a big deal, but Tsuri was harried, and bit back words that were clearly lodged in her throat.

'That's probably why she didn't want to go back... She wanted to make it up to us and find Futa before any of us got even more hurt,'Tsuna concluded. 'This was her only way she thought she could protect us.'

'Is it so bad that I'm playing it safe and trying to keep us alive?!'

"We...don't blame you..." Tsuna managed to breathe out. The squeezing stopped. Her bland eyes widened in surprise.

'So that was it!'

"It's okay! It's not your fault! You're focusing on the injuries more that the person Tsuri! Gokudera didn't blame you for his injury and neither did Yamamoto. They're still alive aren't they?!"

Tsuna grabbed the now loose hand on his neck. "I know you think you broke our promise when you said you'd return to me safely. You're standing right here with me aren't you! That proves you aren't weak! So snap out of it and come back to me, to our family!"

Reborn watched and tried to remain poker faced. Tsuna's sky flame… the leaking he was aware of was trying to ignite Tsuri's own buried flame within their physical touch. Both couldn't sense it or see it yet, but he watched the way the Vongola don's pulsed from his hands and traveled around Tsuri's body like a chain reaction, reaching and being absorbed by her. It seemed to work because she was no longer choking him;

Tsuri was blinking, responding and fighting her way back, to get control of the body she had. Tsuna grabbed the hand and stared at now clear, tear stained caramel eyes that matched his own in every way. Tsuri, the real her, was in front of him, looking like a wilted leaf as she dropped the trident on her hand and hugged her brother so tightly that Tsuna lost his breath again. "Tsuri!"

"Tsuna... I'm sorry..." The girl's body sagged and she closed her eyes in sleep. Tsuna tried to move her safely down and gently next to Futa on the ground, feeling his palms wet. When he looked down, an ardent red color adorned them. It was unbelievable to him, to see so much blood at this young age. And even more so, it enraged him that it had to belong to a family member of his, one he considered his other half.

His pulse elevated higher than ever and he was sure he could feel it calling for justice. "What do you take people for Mukuro Rokudo?!"

Mukuro stared at the bait he had lost in annoyance and put a finger on his lips. "They're...toys."

Reborn glanced at determined Sawada Tsunayoshi and at the fragile looking Tsukairi. The arcobaleno slightly frowned as he felt the lizard on his back jiggle.

This was meant to happen.

These twins had to battle together or else all would be lost.

"This trial is not only for one twin," Reborn whispered and tilted his fedora down. "Raise yourself up Sawada Tsukairi. It's time you show fear that it will no longer control you."

Chapter 10: Your Eyes

Chapter Text

Sawada Residence: - About two years ago-

It was a dark place. There were no windows, no outside light from the sun but artificial glows coming from the flickering ceiling lamps above her. The room, was completely destroyed in the sense that something had occurred, a possible rebellion or a shock wave reaction.

Tsuri sat on a leather chair that could be found in a dentists' office, only it had full body straps and there were scratch marks on the sides. She was bound to these straps and could not, and did not utter a sound.

Tsuri wondered why she couldn't free herself but the minute she looked down, she saw that her hands and feet were miniature and filled with cuts and bruises. What raised her curiosity even more was that there were people, dressed in white lab coats, taking notes of what they were observing or more likely, testing.

"Project NERO is ready," a female lab coat said to the older looking one beside something.

Before Tsuri could ask what the hell was going on, the scene was warped into that of a study office. She was in her regular sized body now and felt relief but it didn't last long. She gaped around the scene in horror.

The walls and the windows were completely destroyed. Tsuri not only recorded details in her head of how ruined the very elegant room looked but of people as well, very unfamiliar people that she knew on the floor with pools of blood running under them. They weren't moving.

The office shelves that were supposed to be filled with books were either torn on one corner and papers, once white now stained crimson,were scattered around the dead bodies.

Tsuri felt horror at the sight. A silver head person and a black haired teen had traces of bullets on their chests.

Another silver head's body was twisted and shot on his back.

Unfamiliar cow prints and Chinese garments that belonged to two young teens were spotted face down on the wooden floor bleeding profusely.

More people that Tsuri didn't know were either slashed on their throats by a blade or were shot to death. There was a girl with long dark indigo hair, a man with dark blue hair and another separated from the rest with raven black hair that seemed awfully familiar to the brunette.

Tsuri backed away from the scene. What occurred here?! Who were these people?

Were they...dead?

She felt traces of tears starting to come out of her caramel eyes and moved her little hands to cover her mouth from erupting a cry as she saw the sight behind the study desk. Her own brother, a grown up version of Tsuna, was on the ground with his eyes closed. There were tatters on his white button shirt, telling her he had been either stabbed or cut deeply. He had bruises in his face and a line of blood on the corner of his mouth.

'You did this you know,'a mysterious voice spoke shaking Tsuri who crouched down and mourned for the deceased people.

'Who are you? Are you the one who did this?' Tsuri roared in anger, examining the room to see where the voice was coming from.

'I did. I had to.' The voice laughed darkly sending goosebumps on Tsuri's skin.

'You did too you know.'

'You think I would do something like this? I don't kill!'

'You would think so. You're young, too soft and kind like your pitiful twin brother. But why become like him? Why become weak, when your future can be filled with power?'

'The future me?'

'It is… a demonstration of where it could lead. Would you hold on to weak feelings such as love and thrive, or let it take over your life and become nothing?' The voice chucked again. 'Your fear of killing your loved ones… embrace it.'

Tsuri held her arms tightly. 'No. NO! I won't believe any of this!'

The voice snorted.'Bad people will always lurk in the darkest places. Including your own kind. Why don't I show you?'

Tsuri stood in place, unmoving and letting tears burn her eyes. This seemed so real. Was this reality or simply a mere illusion? It scared her very much to think that this wasn't just a nightmare but reality as well. Her heart felt emotionally attached to these people and and it tore her apart, more than ever.

'Obey me. Go to the mirror.'

Tsuri shook in fear at the dark isolated voice and walked to the rectangular mirror hanging on the study's exit. Her eyes widened at the sight.

She was seeing an exact replica of herself but grown; long jet black hair and the most deepest red crimson eyes she had ever seen. Her skin was pale sheet white. The reflection smirked. 'Surprised? Believe me now, Sawada Tsukairi? I am the dark parts that lurk within you. And sooner or later, you'll have to let me out.'

"N-NO! LET ME GO! TSUNA! ANYONE! HELP ME!"

"Tsuri! Tsuri! Wake up!" Tsuna shook his sister in her bed wanting her to stop screaming and yelling. Caramel eyes shot open with fear. She was shaking uncontrollably and she started bawling.

Tsuna got off his bed and sat in her own bringing her close to his arms. "Tsuri its alright! I'm here!" he rubbed her back and tried to calm her down. "It was only a nightmare!"

"There was blood... You died... I-I... was going I be next..."

"Shh...It's okay. Try to calm down you may wake up Kaasan" Tsuna was about to let go but Tsuri kept her grip on him.

"P-Please stay with me... I-I'm scared. I'm scared she'll come after me."

Tsuna had never seen such terror in her eyes since she had been rescued. Him and his parents thought the nightmare phase disappeared. It seems that he needed to be on night patrol again. "Un. Okay, I'll stay for a little bit until you fall asleep."

Present time:

Reborn watched as Tsuna began to fight with Mukuro without a deathperation flame. Sadly, he was failing. Tsuna couldn't do it alone. He needed help. His friends were being used like puppets to attack him, so there was no one. He couldn't help either because he wasn't allowed to interfere with the battle.

The hitman then looked over to his other student, Tsukairi. Huh, that was strange. Her wound had been a horror show and now… it had sealed itself up with no treatment. It was open still, but an ugly scab was beginning to form. He'd never seen this before.

The stages of a body healing took days, weeks or months. He himself saw deep wounds take a month or two get stitched up and form the scab after a few weeks. So why was he seeing a body with a wound that would clearly need more than a few stitches, heal itself rapidly?

Did she emit sun flames? It was too early, way too soon to be seeing any other type of flame activity becoming active at her state.

Reborn also noted that Tsuri dwelled an excellent level of stamina than Tsuna's did at the start. This was observed when they had gone to Death Mountain. It was a little mysterious and suspicious. Iemitsu's information about his kids were severely outdated.

Then again the failure of a father hadn't seen his kids in a long time so it was possible that Tsuna and Tsuri developed over the years. How was Tsuri's stamina at a passing level already when Tsuna's just barely caught up to her? Did she unlock her hyper intuition earlier than her brother? It could explain her good reflexes.

Reborn ended his questioning by just observing Tsuna and Mukuro battle with whip and trident. It may be the wrong time to question why his student was acting weak and yet, being strong at the same time…. And then Reborn remembered reading the top secret file on Tsuri's record. One he received from Nono himself.

There were two counts of Tsuri getting kidnapped. The first time had been a long time ago and the records had been redacted and blurred so much that it didn't hold an ounce of importance. The second had happened a fee years ago when Iemitsu had taken emergency leave because his daughter had been taken by a rival group.

Was Tsuri playing it safe because she held trauma? She claimed she didn't remember much of the incident at the hospital. Maybe she did, and maybe she held so much anxiety buried in the depths of her mind that she hesitated getting involved.

Reborn didn't have time to administer any bandages because as he grew closer to check on her breathing, Tsuri shot up like a living corpse, looking around frantically.

The first thing she felt was muscle aches. On her arms, legs. It felt like she had been wet paper crumpled into a ball, and leftover pieces were sticking out sorely from her whole self. "Reborn! What'd happened?"

"You passed out after Mukuro's mind control wore off on you." There was a huge ripping sound. The arcobaleno had tied her tattered shirt to put pressure on her abdomen. Great, she had to come up with a new excuse as to why one of her favorite shirts resembled a dragged out rag.

"You don't have much time."

Tsuna was a few feet away, and Tsuri had to blink out some floaters within her vision a couple of times to get a better look.

Their comrades, when had they arrived? Some others she knew by the similar uniform the blue haired guy wore and their friends.

They were attacking Tsuna. And a sinister aura she knew so well. She looked around frantically.

"M-Mukuro. Did they beat him?"

Reborn pointed at the collapsed body in the middle of the bowling alley. Sure enough, his body was sprawled, unmoving and lifeless. A trace of a white gun was inches away from his hands.

'He's dead?'her itch was pricking at her heavy head.'He's not gone. How?'

"He used a possession shot and is controlling more than one person."

"No…"

"Playing it safe is no longer an option, Tsuri." No warning, the next motion the hitman did was kick her over and far towards the middle of the fight.

"Go. Your job is to give Tsuna what you lack."

"Lack? Are you talking about courage?!" Tsuri rubbed her bottom, drawing her eyes away to see Mukuro's possession. Clear enough, everyone's eyes had the kanji symbol on the right eye. The rage she held onto came back when she eyed just how Bianchi's and Gokudera's bodies were forced to move beyond the extent of their wounds.

She tried to raise herself up and stand tall but she was in far too much pain to do it. She mentally thanked Reborn for taking care of her, even though he did carelessly just kick her. Tough love, it was tough love.

"Ah, the weak twin is awake once more. It doesn't make much of a difference. I'll just take over her too and make you much more miserable, Décimo."

Mukuro tried to use the ability the posesión shot gave and allow him to take over her senses again; He was met with a barrier this time, one that went deeper than his six paths of rebirth and stop him for the first time in his life. The more he pushed, the stronger the walls were made. The female Sawada was not and could not sense him. And she blinked at him, as if she were still waiting to see it coming. Why?

Mukuro retracted when he took a glimpse of the soul he was trying to take over.

A girl… red hair and green eyes… that unknown entity…she was hugging a figment of the younger Sawada's consciousness protectively, pushing him back out.

"What just happened?" Tsuri shuddered as if something ghastly had been expelled from her body.

"You are no longer controllable."

'Another dormant soul already holds this body…?'

"Why do you need us anyways!" Tsuri yelled, shielding Tsuna as she faced the silver spear once more. "What's your aim, Mukuro Rokudo? Revenge against the mafia? We're just kids!"

"Who ever said I needed you both?" Possessed Chikusa smirked. "You may have ties to the mafia, but there is only one Vongola Decimo, and you are not it."

'He doesn't know… he doesn't know of Vongola Mezza's existence does he?'

"The mafia would never allow to have a female take charge at this day and age. Neither would your pitiful brother. A boy like you won't survive in this world. You're not suited to be Vongola X," Ken held the weapon this time. "Now, will you surrender your body?"

'Oi, a little sexist are we?'She could feel Tsuna's back tremble, plagued. She turned to him. "Tsuna, you have to get up. You need to fight."

"H-Hes holding them as leverage against us. If I don't do as he says, he'll hurt them!" His eyes had lost their usual light. His shoulders shook more violently, and it took all of her self control not to tear up and cry.

"Reborn! what do we do!"

"I cant help, you already know that. figure it out yourself."

"How is that fine!? you always save me! don't abandon me now!"

Reborn did what she couldn't. He leaped over again, this time giving Tsuna a swift kick that knocked him back.

"Quit whining."

"B-but what can I do?"

"You two have gone through a ton of sh*t to get here. You're both suited to lead the Vongola Family and no one else."

"Huh?"

"Shout out what you feel. That is the Vongola answer.

If Tsuri had been weak, she would have let Mukuro consume her whole being when she was captured. Instead she found the will to fight him off and keep him away.

If Tsuna had been useless, he wouldn't have been brave enough to make the decision to come here. He wouldn't have willingly offered go stab himself for Kyoko or Haru in order go keep them safe.

If the twins were truly weak, they would have perished the minute Reborn arrived at their doorstep.

She knew exactly what it felt like. To be powerless. And she didn't want this for either of them. They shouldn't have to go through that ever again. Not if she could stop it. Not without Tsuna's help. Even if it meant putting up with all the horrible things that came with that particular trait. It might not be fair for her, but she couldn't let him suffer alone.

"Tsunayoshi…" she began, carefully choosing the right words to convey.'It's okay, Tsuna. It will be okay. I'm right here with you. Breathe.'

Tsuri closed her eyes again and tried to relax herself. To focus. What did she have to work toward? She couldn't let Tsuna fall into despair. He could handle it. Tsuna was stronger than everyone thought, better than he gave himself credit for. She believed in him, she always saw the hidden potential he had and he needed to see it, feel it. And if she could help him get back into fighting shape, then that was exactly what she'd do. Even if it meant she died trying.

She focused harder, willing herself to find those emotions deep inside herself and to let them fuel her energy. She felt herself slowly growing lighter and lighter, like some part of her was getting carried away in the clouds above. In her head. Or maybe her soul, or spirit. Tsuri intertwined her hands with Tsuna's, a burning fire igniting in the pit of her stomach. Reborn once again saw the sky flames he saw earlier burst and pulse… they weren't a blinding orange but a pure honey color. They were resonating around them, as if responding and communicating to one another in another plane of existence. Where was this color coming from? He'd never seen this one before. She could hear all his negative energy that was rendering him still.

'I can't do this.'

' I'm useless.'

I've always been this way.'

'I'm no-good Tsuna and will always be.'

'Tsuna… Remember what you told me? About me being afraid? You were right.'

Tsuna stared at the matching caramel eyes.

'You've always been the braver one out of the two of us.'

'Its a disguise I hide behind. Appear strong when I'm weak to escape everything.'She looked toward Reborn.'But I'm done running.'

'Running is better isn't it?'

'Not when our loved ones are in danger.'

'They've kept us safe. I haven't done anything for them.'

'Yes you have. You're just blinding yourself by every shot of negative energy you've received since forever. The fear we both share; its exactly the same.'

'What is that?'

'Lack of strength to protect those we love'Tsuna watched a smile over Tsuri's up bruised lips. 'But guess what I learned? People can label us as they see fit. We can choose to label ourselves as we see fit. But it will never define us. We are stronger together.'She let go of his hands.'So? What do you want to do?'

"What does the Sawada TsunaI knowwant to do?"

Mukuro halted. That was something he hadn't sensed earlier. Resolve. A most fervent, burning resolve that both hadn't had since the moment they stepped foot in this room. This was dangerous. He'd thought the female twin was just a side piece, a meaningless weakling who hid behind everyone and lacked the courage to fight.

She was the cause of hope in the Vongola's eyes. One that was spreading and consuming. How had she taken control of the atmosphere?

What abilities had he missed?

"I… want to win."

He needed to cut this off. Panic was settling in and Mukuro had no clue as to why. He needed to kill her. If he couldn't bury himself in the corners of her mind anymore then perhaps delivering her corpse to her beloved brother was the better outcome to break his spirit.

"I can't hear you! Speak up so Reborn can hear!"

"I want to win! I want to beat Mukuro…I don't want to lose to such a terrible person. I want to win against this person and protect everyone!"

There was a smile. A winning smile on Tsuri that drove Mukuro forward to her first in absolute revulsion.

"That's right. And we're going to kick this pineapple heads ass and set things right!"

When Reborn had told them Leon was spitting out weapons for them to use, they thought it'd be a cool thing like a gun, a giant turtle like Enzio or a taser to use against all the possessed bodies so they could get that obstacle out of the way.

Mukuro did them a favor by tearing Leon up after Tsuri dodged an attack. It sped up the process.

So pray tell why, out of all items did she get something useless?

Why did she get a two set of cotton scrunchies?

"Am I supposed to tie my hair with them?!" Tsuri screamed at Reborn. She didn't care that he could land a hit anywhere in her body and render her motionless. But she had just given a passionate speech about her finally feeling brave enough to put her life on the line and having her brother take charge in defending and protecting and this is what they end up with?

Wool gloves and some cotton hair ties?!

"Good circulation isn't going to help me here!" Tsuna also reclaimed.

"I am not going waste anymore time." Mukuro/Ken said as he used his trident to strike for Tsuna once more. Tsuna put on his gloves like Reborn ordered him and blocked the attack. It worked.

"He deflected it?" Mukuro yelled surprised.

"Eh? There's something inside." Tsuna said as he took out the thing inside his mitten. It was a silver bullet. A set of two.

"A Special Bullet!"

"Give it to me, Tsuna!" yelled Reborn.

"I won't let you shoot it!" yelled Mukuro as he tried to attack Reborn. Reborn jumped over to Tsuna and took the bullet from him, thus escaping the attack from Mukuro.

"Hm…never seen it before…let's try it then." Reborn said as he put it into his Leon gun.

"TRY? I'M A GUINEA PIG NOW, REBORN?"

"Tsuri, are you willing to try it this time?"

The young girl sighed and pulled the two hair accessories on either wrist, and positioned herself in a fighting stance. "I have my resolve. Let's do this!"

Tsuna wailed, freaked out that Tsuri could lose her clothes and reveal her whole self to everyone in the room, including Mukuro.

Reborn aimed for the twins, but no one could tell if the shots made it to them as Gokudera's possessed bodies launched dynamite straight toward them.

The smoke cleared, revealing two burning dying will flames. Dual sky flames that burned brighter than any star in the sky.

The blood of Vongola was flowing.

Tsuri didn't know how either of them lost no clothes as they got shot. It felt kind of like a needle pricking the skin, and then an adrenaline rush inside the body. She could tell that the silver bullet was different that the common red one Reborn used though.

She could feel her resolve enveloping her, fierce as wind and yet as calm as a wave. She didn't know if Tsuna was experiencing it too, all she knew was that all their five senses weee on high alert; sensitive and awakened.

Reborn called it their Hyper Intuition. Meaning that this power only appears when one is succeeding the Vongola bloodline; "The power to see through all that the first Vongola was said to have."

She didn't know how she could tell that Mukuro was behind her, or hiding in the shadows as she threw punches to his face to get the silver spear away from Tsuna's skin. Maybe she was experiencing that power.

She didn't know how her scrunchies ended up turning into sai swords either but hey, as long as they were useful for defending it didn't matter.

Tsuri left Tsuna in charge of going one on one with Mukuro while she busied herself with his omnipresent self in their friends' and his ally's bodies. She was able to spot their nerve points well enough with the sai's blunt edges to shut them down.

'Did you knock them out safely?'

Hell, even tsuna's voice sounded differently, mature and manly even. What the hell did these bullets have inside them?

'I did.'Tsuri laid them next to Futa's form.'Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone.'

"Reborn, treat them alright?"

"Don't get co*cky now Tsuna."

'His body. Where is his body?' Tsuri scanned the room to see if she could sense any body heat, any motions her ears could detect. 'He's still alive.'

"Come out Mukuro," Tsuna. "We know you're alive."

"Kufufu." The pineapple haired boy emerged from the shadows, his silver spear laying top and shiny on his new staff.

One minute she was holding Mukuro back with the sai as Tsuna floated mid air and aimed to hit him on the back. She was kicked back by the force of gravity, almost hitting a wall when she landed on her hands and knees and crawled backwards. Her legs wobbled, but not from lack of trying. She had been thrown down the floor and had to crawl away fast. Now she just needed to find a way to make sure they both survived this mess.

There was also the fact that these new weapons allowed the twins to float in mid air. Any logic behind them was Reborn's explanations as they moved like flies to different locations. She'd ask about it again later, she had more important things to tend to right now.

Tsuna was able to hold him off when he melted the trident's staff, Mukuro watching in pure resentment before he got punched back down in one swoop from Tsuna's burning gloves.

"Are you done warming up yet?"

Mukuro wore this disturbing glare, an expression of someone who was going to kill the world in their next breath, with eyes that screamed murder in the dead of night, when all the other people were sleeping. Until he laughed. Putting on a brave front instead of showing defeat. This man had lost all his sanity.

"Kufufu….Kuahahaha! This was a fortunate miscalculation on my part. Once I get my hands on your body, an elaborate scheme will be unnecessary. I can attack the families directly and cause a war within the mafia."

"So that's your goal…" muttered Reborn.

"No…I'm not so simple-minded. I plan on possessing the body of every single important person in the world. By controlling the, I will paint this world in a pure and beautiful darkness. But first, I will eradicate the mafia."

'No…. There's something more. World domination doesn't sound right. He has a small motive behind all this.'Tsuri felt her sai swords rattling as she floated. They were responding to her thoughts. As if they had a conscious within.

"Why are you obsessed with the mafia?" Reborn asked.

"Do you have a grudge against them?" Tsuna asked.

"Kufufu…I have no need to tell you further than what I have."

"He does."

Everyone turned to Tsuri whose weapon had shapeshifted into chains, ignited with the dying will flame around. "And with these I'll find out what it is." Okay. So her scrunchies could change form? Shapeshifting? Tsuri didn't have time to question it.

'These things are telling me to get close. To his body. I need to go inside his mind,'Tsuri told Tsuna in their mind.

'Why?'

'I don't know. Just a hyper intuition thing?'

"Tsuna, let me warm these up. Knock him out."

"Roger."

"Are you going to chain me as your pet? No thank you." Mukuro used an illusion of himself to charge at Tsuna. "An illusion…that won't hurt me…ARH!" Tsuna tumbled backwards after a hit.

"Mukuro hid a real rock in the illusion." Reborn explained. "Stupid Tsuna. Don't let your guard down."

"This is the end!" Mukuro said as he jumped towards Tsuna, but Tsuna disappeared and reappeared behind him again, throwing him to the floor again. Tsuna, thinking everything was over, was being challenged to finish him off, but got taken advantage of, and Mukuro was right back up, holding his arms in place.

"That softness is what will kill you in the end." Mukuro said.

"You…" Tsuna growled.

"I know that your odd abilities came from the flames on your hands. If I can take hold of your hands, then you aren't scary!" Mukuro said as he head butted Tsuna from behind.

"Why do you think I sent so many assassins after you? It was to take over your body after you've drawn out all of your powers." Mukuro said as he kicked Tsuna in the stomach and sent him flying towards the trident on the wall, stuck in between the broken cracks of it.

"Don't forget there'sanotherone you have to deal with," Tsuri said, her chains rattling with her movement from above the roof. "Tsuna, knock him back!" The Vongola don did as he was told, leaving an opening for Tsuri to take over whilst also avoiding a nick from the weapon.

Tsuri immediately gained momentum and flicked her wrists, the chains extending and moving towards Mukuro's body like a whipped snake. Tsuri then took the second pair of chains, shapeshifting them again into a gloved hand, similar to Tsuna's own. She ignited that same honey colored flame Reborn grew curious about from earlier, her fingers drawing closer to come into contact with Mukuro's forehead.

"D-Don't touch me—!" He struggled within the chains she held with her other hand. They only grew tighter. What was this warmth? This disgusting, weak sensation that crawled through his body, up and down like ants, and freezing his alerted nerves? Where is it coming from… It's burning, and stinging him everywhere. He had seen enough suffering in his years as a human to last several lifetimes, but this...

"Lets see what your soul's desire is, Rokudo Mukuro. And whether judgement will be set upon you for it."

There was a circular wave after her touch, and Tsuna watched as Mukuro's eyes shut just as hers did, floating in that honey colored flame; in a state of frozen time.

Tsuri had yet another ability granted to her by the Vongola Blood.

She was able to go into the conscious soul of others. She could sense feelings through them, their anger, their fears, and their sorrows. Their love, their regrets, their joys. She heard their voices through their own thoughts and could touch their minds and hear all their hopes and aspirations for the future. It wasn't as if she was a real ghost or anything. She was just an observer of their lives. Almost like a wishing star in hopes of weighing their wishes within.

Only the first Vongola Mezza had this ability. And it helped her soothe and heal, possibly change many individuals in Primo's lifetime. It secured generational long lasting trust in the Vongola, and absolute loyalty for the Mezza as well.

The Vongola's Hyper Introspection.

What a day, Reborn thought. That would be a record for the books. Vongola Twins that dwelled all trace of the first generation; possibly more.

..

Meanwhile...

Tsuri felt cold and alone. She felt guilt, anger and melancholy at the same time. Those weren't her feelings, she could never feel these emotions with the life she'd led up to know. She could however, miss how she had entered the dark dim place she was in now. Wasn't she just battling Mukuro?

'Am I dead?', she asked somewhat saddened that she would never be able to see the light of day with the people she loved. "If I'm dead, shouldn't I be in a white bright lit room? What is this place?"

It was a mid lit corridor, like the kind you might expect one to have in a doctor's office or hospital, but more… empty. She couldn't see where any doors or corridors lead. There were no lights in the hallways either. She saw a small window on each side of the hall that had no glass. Tsuri couldn't even tell if there was anything on the other side of it.

She didn't think there was, so it seemed to be a blank wall, and that was probably it too. Tsuri was pretty sure she couldn't have ended up in a hallway without opening her eyes. The feeling around her felt different though, like she wasn't the only one here.

Why did her body feel so weird and cold? Why was it so uncomfortable to try walking? How was it possible for a person to feel like she was freezing from the inside out? The air around her felt thick and heavy, weighing down on her, almost suffocating.

Something moved behind the door she'd come through. She heard a low growl and looked behind her.

"What are you doing here?" There was a boy in the middle of the darkness that she could not recognize at first. She squinted her eyes to be able to see and she almost choked on her saliva.

She knew him.

The only difference he had from the person she knew were the eyes. These eyes were both dark blue.

"Mu...kuro?"

The boy in front of her a few feet flinched at the name. His face was hidden by darkness but the look on his eyes told her everything she needed to know. He was angry. Angry and scared.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

Tsuri rubbed her eyes hard, thinking this was just an illusion but when her vision cleared out he was still there. "Um..."

"Whatever. I don't care as long as you don't stop me from looking."

Tsuri stared at him confused. "Looking? What are you looking for?"

The boy gave her another glare, but this time it was more subdued, and instead of saying anything he turned to leave.

"Wait!" She hurried on after him. He didn't stop or acknowledge that she had followed him but continued on down the hall. Tsuri caught up to him in the doorway and he stopped again, turning his head so that she could see his profile.

There were traces of scars on his whole persona, in and out. On his body.. on his heart. He'd gone through terrifying things physically and in his mind and soul. Something ached in her to see him this way.

"Why are you small?"

"Why are you an idiot?"

She opened her mouth to retort with something else and then realized how dumb it'd be to argue with a child. So instead she crossed her arms, digging holes into his back until he answered.

He glanced back over at her again in vexation before answering. "You've entered my soul. The deepest part where I hold my desires and wishes."

"That doesn't make any sense," she said blankly. "It's a literal sh*t show in here, out from a scary movie."

He snorted and turned away again, taking a few steps toward the door. "This is why no one comes here. It's the only place I can hide." Tsuri took a hesitant step behind him. She wasn't quite sure what to do now, other than follow along and hope the strange boy didn't decide to try anything funny. After a minute she heard a soft sigh from the boy and saw him shift his weight slightly, like he couldn't quite sit still anymore.

"Do you want toknow?"

"Know what?"

He put a hand to his face. "You came here to see what my wish is behind my grudge, and here you are acting like an idiot."

"Its not my fault, you're supposed to open up first," Tsuri said defensively. She took a step closer, trying to get a better look at his expression. "You're searching for something?"

He shook his head.

"Someone?"

His shoulders slumped even further and he sighed softly. "Yes."

"Oh...OhhhI get it. It's a girl isn't it?~".

His face snapped up then, and began to blush. "I-it's not like that!"

Tsuri thought this sounded more ridiculous by the second, but the kid was cute so maybe her judgement could be clouded by how flustered he seemed to get. She held up her hands, "Okay, okay! Calm down. I won't tell anyone, promise. What's her name?"

"I don't know. I never really asked. She was always scared, resembling a cowering mouse. So I called her Little Mouse."

"You used past tense."

"Some people took her away from me. That's why I've been searching for her."

Tsuri tilted her head, studying him carefully. "Was that… the mafia?"

His gaze drifted out the dark space continuing from the door once more, and this time he hesitated longer, until he nodded, his eyes darkening.

"How long have you been looking?" She asked gently. He definitely had more contrast with the older version of himself. His child self was more... human-like. Mukuro still retained some human feelings in him, but he had them so buried within himself that he grew twisted and insane due to the ugliness of the world. His world.

"Six years."

"And youstillhaven't given up?! That's a long time to search for someone!"

Mukuro growled a little, annoyed by all this woman's pitiful words . "It may be long, but I won't give up. The mafia needs to pay for hurting me and taking her away from me. Once I control the Vongola, a world of possibility will be granted for me. To find her."

"Was she that special to you?"

The little boy nodded. "She brought light into my deep dark world. She was all I had." He balled up his fists. "When they took her, I had no other option other than to forget her and succumb myself into the darkness. Even now, I just want to see her. I want to know if she's still alive."

Tsuri began to see tears forming in his eyes. Little Mukuro looked so broken and fragile. It made her feel bad. So she stepped forward again, closer to him, until their bare toes touched. She placed a hand under his chin, tilting his head so they could make eye contact again.

That honey colored flame appeared on her palm again, and Mukuro nuzzled into it like a cat does. He closed his eyes, relaxing, like she'd brought him peace and calmness. His eyelashes fluttered lightly against his cheeks. The tears slowly fell from his eyes to drop onto the floor like little raindrops. He leaned against her touch, and when his breathing evened out she pulled away.

She knelt down to his level and grabbed his hands into hers. "You know, when I was little my mom showed me this. She said that to make the pain in our hearts go away, we can hold another person's hand tightly, like a lifeline. Then, like this flame, the heart's fire will fill you up with so much warmness that the pain will just have no other choice than to leave." Tsuri smiled.

"Pain shows we're human Mukuro. But innocent lives are in danger if you succumb to the dark. Don't let yourself. Your Little Mouse would think so. And I know you'll find her one day."

Little Mukuro's eyes widened so huge that he looked like an owl. His gaze locked onto hers with an intensity that almost burned. There was an unspoken understanding between them, something more than words

"Your eyes..."

"Hm?" Tsuri turned to him questioningly. Then, a bright light began to shine and Tsuri disappeared. It was quick, but Mukuro remained in his place, and his hand could still feel the teen's grip, the honey flame. He felt tears of joy coming.

"Your eyes... They're just likehers."

..........

..........

A long time ago

It was a regular thing everyday. The usual events of being inserted with needles and tubes for testing, it was the same routine one day after the other.

It was normal. Hearing many children whine or cry uncontrollably out of pain was something to get used to as well. For Mukuro Rokudo, age 7, it was normal but bothersome. However what could he do about it?

If he caused an uproar he could get severely punished. Not that he would do it anyways. He was still planning, still waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He would go along with the same routines everyday just to be able to grab more ideas to break free.

Until the arrival of a new child began to completely turn the cycle around.

It wasn't a really big change. The only alteration that was made were the scheduled times of the experiments the Estraneo Family set up for each family child. In all honesty, he didn't like it. Mukuro didn't like the way they were prioritizing that child from the rest. He was young, but also old enough to understand that this new kid had some important and special properties they could use, but if that was so it would mean big trouble. If they found a good strength or idea in this one, it could cause misery for the others, including himself.

So many children that had been a part of the Estraneo Family had died, and Mukuro was tired of seeing death. This kid would be the spark of chaos. The boy decided that it was a burden and if needed to be, he'd kill it.

In the days where he would remain in his room, it was said that he would be sharing it with the burden, who had been a small little petite girl who looked no older than 3 or 4. Every hour or so, she would cry. Cry for her rescue, her parents, and cry out of the unbearable pain she felt. It did a good job in agitating the blue haired boy.

Mukuro tried to abstain from communicating with it too. She looked too vulnerable and weak. Associating himself with the weak, he thought, would bring him more of it and he had no need of it in his space and mind.

The crying irritated him more than he could handle. Her silent states and stares after she was done added more to it and he would either give her a good deserving glare to make her stop (with a side of visible stress marks on his face) or he would yell at her, earning some frightful squeaks and nods.

Days had turned to weeks.

The little mouse's cries minimized into that of small, loudless tears. Her pain tolerance was just kicking in, thoigh he knew she still felt the intensity of it. She had also begun to demonstrate inner strength to fight off her weakness, to which caught Mukuro's interest. He, whom appeared with just as much plenty of bruises and scrapes as she did, had slowly gotten accustomed to her presence.

There was a day when the kid had gotten sick and yet, the scientists said it was time for her third round. Mukuro bit his lip and mentally cursed at the girl who was on the floor with a fever, irritated at the injustice and inhumanity of no compassion for a child and found himself jumping to her aid. He somehow was able to convince them to leave her be for a few days until she recovered. And since there was a woman in the bunch of adults, she let it slide. When they left, Mukuro observed the petite body rise slowly from the ground and gave him a tired smile.

"Thank you."

Mukuro blushed instantly at the unexpected voice. This was the first time she had ever said a word to him. It looked like she spoke Japanese. Learning different languages when he was younger certainly had been worth it. He shied away from her and sat down on one of the beds from the two bunk. The little girl approached her savior.

"...Don't get used to this," Mukuro's blue eyes looked away from making eye contact with her. He was still blushing much to his dismay.

"I won't. Don't worry," she replied and giggled. "You remind me of my brother. He also gets shy and embarrased when I thank him."

Mukuro's embarrassment faded and glanced at the little mouse who looked sad but then turned angry which made him chuckle. "These people are very mean. Why do they hurt us so much?"

He snorted. "They're greedy adults who think nothing but themselves and not what we want. They want power and won't stop until they obtain it. Us, who were born in this family have to pay the price for what was done, and we have to endure these painful tests no matter how much we wish it would stop. I don't know why you're here, but you're probably a part of their new plan."

Mukuro pretended to study her and flicked her on the forehead. "I don't think you'll understand me anyways since you're a naïve little twerp."

"Hey! I'm very smart!" The little girl yelled softly. She could see that the boy in front of her was furious and badmouthing her to bring down the tension. She gently grabbed Mukuro's left hand with her own and gripped it tightly, so much that Mukuro had to bite his lip to hold in the pain that shot from the small squeeze.

"What are you doing? Let go of me. I never said you could touch me."

The Little Mouse sighed. " Everything hurts right? If you hold my hand, maybe the pain that you're feeling will go away. My mama always says that we can make it better by warming up the heart."

Mukuro stared at the small hand, it's skin color still a healthy shade even after all the horrible tests it had gone through.

"Ne Mukuro? Can we be friends?"

"Are you in another world? Why would I need a friend like you? You're a crybaby."

"Mou. I'm just trying to be nice!"

Mukuro glanced at the intertwined hands again. There was a strange warmness coming from it and it made him feel weird inside. It felt a little bothersome, but welcoming as well. That's why he didn't pull nor push it away.

'Friends huh?'

He pulled at her hand towards his bed so she could sit down. His grip tightened on her own. She turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Do friends hold hands like this all the time?" He asked.

The little mouse felt a huge grin appearing. She nodded excitedly.

Weeks turned to about 3 months.

There had been a break in the main Estraneo Lab and the people who infiltrated rescued many children, and one in particular that damaged Mukuro greatly. His little mouse was taken and not even with a goodbye.

Mukuro had stood in the broken hallway where some dead bodies of scientists were, staring off into space and gripping the left side of his shirt so tightly it would've ripped both fabric and skin. Why did it hurt his heart so much? His other hand touched his face, and strangely it felt wet. They were tears.

He wascrying.

Mukuro remembered not crying for anything since he was much younger. He tried to make it stop but the salt water just kept overflowing and resounding with the beating of his bleeding heart. As he kept staring at the now empty destroyed room, he came to a realization that he was hurting because he felt weak for the first time in forever; he wanted his beloved mouse.

He had come to love her in a way he never thought it was possible for him to do. He liked her pleasant warmness whenever he grabbed her petite hand, the way her smiles and gentle laughs made him feel fuzzy, and even though he sometimes gave her the cold shoulder, she never stopped trying to make him show her a smile. He loved his little mouse so dearly that not even a million severe experiments could erase it.

But now she was gone.

The little light that shone so brightly into his dark world had been taken away from him.

As the remaining Estraneo coats gathered the children they had left, Mukuro dared not to resist this time. He couldn't escape this torture anymore. Not with his light gone now.

Mukuro didn't know that soon, he would begin to lose the knowledge of love that he felt for the little girl inside. In just a few more years, he would start to earn an even greater emotion; hate. And to him, it was the best emotion one could ever happen to hold. Who needed such a weak and easily stolen feeling like love? Mukuro instantly went back to square one.

He had pushed down that boy who believed in his light way inside his head, heart and soul. That little boy he thought was too naïve and stupid wished for her the more years passed. And the only remaining image that his mind retained forever to remember her, were the shade of caramel eyes his little mouse owned.

...

Tsuna had taken over the moment Tsur's conscious came back. Mukuro was laying down in a hole on the ground, his evil aura cleansed by her flame. "To be defeated... by you two..."

"You weren't defeated. You were stopped by plunging in deeper to that darkness of yours," said Tsuri, who was now back to normal. Tsuna's dying will had also gone out, dashing to support her before she crashed into the ground.

"Will you let yourself heal?" Tsuri nudged Tsuna to help her get closer. Before he could object, they were interrupted by the other kokuyo partners. Mukuro's allies, Ken and Chikusa. They were dragging their broken and rugged bodies just to get closer to their leader.

"Don't you mafia jerks touch him!"

"Why…why do you go so far for him? You were possessed and used by Mukuro you know!" Tsuna yelled.

"Don't talk to us like you understand…" Chikusa retorted.

"This is nothing…compared to the suffering we endured back then…"

"Back then?" Tsuna said.

"Figures…Why do you hate the mafia so much?" Reborn asked.

"We were used as guinea pigs for human experimentation by our own family."

Guinea pigs?

The office/doctor looking lab in Mukuro's soul… that was why it was so gloomy and dark in there. Because of all he suffered through.

"I knew it…you're members of the Estraneo Family creators of the forbidden Possession Shot." Reborn muttered.

"You guys made it forbidden out of your own convenience. Thanks to that, our family was completely crushed. Our family was cornered and forced to develop special weapons just to survive. And for those experiments, all of the Family's children were gathered…. We went through day after day of cruel tests…we had no way to escape. But he…singlehandedly destroyed that place! He was quiet.. never the type of person who stood out. And I think that was the first time I'd even heard his voice." Ken lowered his head to stop the tears in his eyes

'She brought light into my deep dark world. She was all I had. When they took her, I had no other option other than to forget her and succumb myself into the darkness.'

Mukuro's light. Had he been suffering so much from its absence..?

"That moment, for the first time in our lives, we had a place we belonged. I won't let you destroy that!"

"But I…also…can't just sit and watch my friends get hurt! Because…that's the placeIbelong in too." Tsuna confessed in honesty. It seemed to get into the two's head because Ken froze stiff, and Chikusa understood well. That they didn't come to or would ever harm them like their past had. They came to halt it, to break that cycle.

"Tsuna… get me close. Please."

"But Tsuri—!"

She smiled weakly. "He won't harm me. Not anymore."Tsuri took all of her strength left to approach Mukuro's body and bent down. "It's over Mukuro."

The boy still had that infamous smirk planted on his lips. "I know it is. My search is over. I already found her."

Mukuro's gaze had softened, so unlike him at all. It was strange to see a stranger staring into her eyes like that, so full of emotion and longing. And the way they shone with such sincerity… it almost scared her. She didn't want him to look at her like that, she wanted his gaze to be different –more guarded.

She'd never expected this sort of thing.

He smiled at her, warmly. Something in her chest stirred at seeing him smile like that, as though he were finally free from his worries after all these years. His lips quirked up ever so slightly as if amused by whatever it is that had just passed over her face.

"Your eyes..."

Her body felt like it was swimming in hot water, overheating her attention span. She wanted to say something else but her lips were no longer moving and her eyes were forcibly shutting closed. Tsuri's body went forward, and Tsuna had to catch her or else she'd fall in the pit with the other teen. "Tsuri..? Oi."

"Reborn? Please tell me these two aren't dead."

Reborn pulled on his fedora to hide the annoyance he had for Tsuna. "Geez, you're pretty new to this."

...

...

It was hard to erase Mukuro from her mind after that day. After being able to touch his soul and purify it to the extent that her flame allowed her, Tsuri dreamt for two days in deep sleep. Her dreams had been hazy to remember and when she came to, she was surrounded by the kids, Futa, Bianchi, Tsuna, Reborn and their mom. An IV bag was in the corner of the room, and Shamal had to pop in to make sure she didn't freak out about being poked in her sleep.

Her wounds were taken care of, but Shamal did tell her the one in her abdomen would scar. It was okay. It was one that she was sure would remind her that she had been brave enough to protect her loved ones, as long as they needed her.

Reborn said that their task from the Ninth was fulfilled and thanked them for their help. Tsuri asked what happened to the Kokuyo students but was met with a glum shake of his head. Tsuna had to confess that they were taken by some weird people, the Vindice and that he wanted to stop them but Reborn wouldn't let him. That they were the law in the mafia world or something.

She didn't want to think about them anymore. Mukuro had been weird to her, saying something about her eyes, and that his search had stopped. She mentally shrugged. Good for him. Maybe now he'd give up on world domination and leave her and her family the hell alone.

By the third day, she was sent home. Her request had finally been granted. Nana had set up the room next to Tsuna, into her own bedroom now. She didn't know if it was a twin thing or something, being separated from Tsuna even at sleeping quarters now. It felt like a small disconnect but she'd take that any day than seeing his underpants on the ground everyday. Maybe it was a reward from Reborn for helping. She'd take what she could get. Own personal space was finally here, even though she was sure she'd crash into Tsuna's room more often for hanging out and whatnot.

It was the fourth day, and she was in more shape than before. She could move on her own now without help, dress her own wounds and help Nana around the house while she recovered. They had told her mom that Tsuri had hurt herself at school with a glass piece of a shattered window. If she believed it or not it didn't seem to matter to her. She was happy that her daughter was okay.

Tsuri watched as Lambo and I-pin ran in the yard playing tag as she sat on the porch with Futa. The sun was at its warmest today, toasty like a cup of tea. She never realized what it was like to enjoy time resting without having the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Tsuna needed this morning that she did though.

"Tsuri-nee, everything alright?" Futa drew closer, laying his head on her lap as she pet his head tenderly.

"Hmm, just thinking about Tsuna's stress level. He hasn't rested well since then. Reborn should give him some time off."

"Tsuna-nii made a deal with him the other day," the little boy fiddled with the hoodie strings on his sweater. "He said if you recover quicker, then he'll let him rest."

She scrunched her eyes in displeasure. sad*stic baby. She was probably squeezing him dry for training after they nearly fumbled the bag. "So we're tag teaming. Goodness gracious."

"Want to hear a random ranking fact about you Tsuri-nee?"

"Oooh! I never get to hear a ranking about me," Tsuri clapped her hands happily. "Sure!"

"Did you know that you're rated 37 out of 976 people in the mafia world whose wounds heal faster than the average human?"

Tsuri blinked, unsure how to react. "….37?" Was she a superhuman or a monster? That was a close and high number. She wanted to dig more into it but before she could ask Futa to show her in his book, three voices popped by from their hole gate.

"Kaasan, Tsuri! I'm home!"

"Tsuri! I came with some sushi from my dad's place!"

"Oi don't go taking credit for Juudaime's idea!"

It was Gokudera and Yamamoto.

"Hahi! Tsuna-san, you almost dropped the cake! Let me carry it for you!"

It was Haru as well.

"Welcome home…?" Tsuri greeted smally at the gathering of her friend group. She removed Futa from her lap gently and walked over to greet everyone inside.

"Tsuri-san! You look much better than you did yesterday!" Haru made a circle all around her, scanning her all over like a barcode for any sign of distress.

Hell yeah she was distressed. Everyone was coming over repetitively and acting like nothing has happened. They haven't even given her the chance to assimilate that them, middle school kids, had almost been murdered by some mafia convicts around their same age. Or even bring up the conversation.

Yamamoto had come to her hospital room on the second day to show her how his arm was holding up. There were still traces of the puncture wound that Ken left, but it was healing up quite nicely. Yamamoto made sure to let her know that he didn't blame her for anything, and it was a shame that he missed her whole mafia act with Tsuna in the end. She really needed to talk to Reborn about his visual state with assimilating the whole mafia dynamic or Yamamoto would never get a clue.

Gokudera came next, forcibly by Tsuna and Yamamoto. He also explained that his wounds were doing fine, and that he was going to be taking it easy for a few days since Tsuna asked him to. Tsuri lost all trace of her apologies when the insults and arguing began but it made her feel like everything was back to normal. He was dragged out by Shamal and a few nurses after Tsuri almost kicked him out a window after the twentieth insult so there was that.

She let everyone in the house, as another cake part commenced. A hyper household, with crazy mafia hitman tutors, assassins, kids, mother and friends. Everyday life like this. Well, at least she was alive. Everyone was doing fine. Despite all the nonsensical things around, Tsuri was grateful for a family like this, and for being alive to enjoy it well.

Would it last? Only time would tell.

Chapter 11: Second Years

Chapter Text

Emile gaped around the area where he stood in awe. He'd never seen a room filled with such splendor and light. The room shone so much that he swore that even blind people would be able to see it. He would've and probably could've gotten blinded too.

Repeat, could've.

He knew that he was somewhere beyond life now. He had died today after all. He had died in the middle of the afternoon at the hospital with his sisters Lillian and Kristin by his side. They began to cry uncontrollably at the sight but what could they have done?

When he left his body, he could see his mother down in the lobby waiting with a desperate look on her face. She had come to talk to her son about his leave from the company and how he was thinking irrationally but sadly, she never got the chance to speak with him.

Emile saw the tears that rolled down his mother's cheeks as she heard the news that he was now gone. He didn't really care for those tears however. His mother was a hypocrite. She only loved money and power. She didn't even give a cabbage when Emile said he wanted to make his own future rather than take over some powerful company that his grandfather left him. Emile loved his mother very much, but he couldn't help but just sigh angrily at the tears; those droplets of salt water that could've fallen for another certain daughter long ago. That was the past. And now he was waiting for his future after death.

Emile's green eyes circulated the space he was in once more. "Is this like a waiting lobby or something? You think they could add some chairs so people can sit down...eesh..." He sighed exasperated. He was about to pass to the other side when footsteps began to resound all over the room. Emile stared and gaped.

There was a long blonde haired woman in front of him with shiny blue eyes. She wore a white garment that reached down to her petite feet and owned the most beautiful whitest wings Emile ever laid eyes on. The pictures down on earth were total shams compared to these.

The woman, no, angel smiled kindly at the twenty-one year old man. "Hi! You must be Emile Marter," she said.

"That's me," Emile confirmed.

"Welcome to Heaven! Oh wait, that sounds like a horrible welcome. Sorry if it sounded too happy," the angel grinned apologetically. "You're not alive anymore..."

"Eh, it's okay. my time was up. Better to be here than anywhere else," Emile stared at the fluffy white clouds in the background. The clouds not being able to stand on was also a total lie on Earth. Man, if the angel weren't here he couldve jumped on them crazily and never get tired. But, he was an adult, and adults had to act mature. He almost let out a psh sound due to his thoughts. Wow that sounded too adult- like to even follow it.

"Thanks for welcoming me in. It's pretty nice up here."

The angel stared at him surprised. "Is it just me dreaming, or have you matured? Wow, you've matured."

"Um... thank you?" Emile laughed a little. The angel laughed along and urged the young man to walk around with her.

"I've been watching over you since you were eight and look at you!" The angel suddenly stopped walking, appeared in front of Emile to pinch his cheeks. "My, you've really really REALLY grown after 14 years! If Anya saw you now, she would've gushed all over you!"

'I think the one gushing over me is you' Emile sweat dropped lightly. Then he did a double take. "Wait. Did you just say Anya?"

The angel nodded. "Anya Marter. Yeah, I know her." Green eyes widened like saucers.

"Really?! Is she here? Where is she? Can I see her?!" He roamed all over the space, trying to spot red hair he knew so well from his memories.

The angel was about to reply when Emile stopped her with his hand first. "Can i have my cheek back? It hurts."

The angel realized that her fingers were still on the young man's cheek and she released him gently. "Sorry! I have a bad habit of doing that to new souls that come here. Some of them are just too adorable! I can't resist!"

'Daily? Wow this angel is weird...'

The said person cleared her voice. "As I was about to reply to your enthusiastic questions, no Anya is not here. She left."

Emile blinked. Twice. That didn't sound right. "Left? Where, to hell? Where could a dead soul possibly leave to?"

"Oh many possible places. The underrealm, back to life if it isn't their time yet. They can also be reincarnated and reborn back to either Earth, or a different world from this one. So explaining her whereabouts, Anya was given a second chance to live. That's why she's not here anymore."

Emile's lip wobbled only a little in a small forced smile. "I see...so I won't be able to see her?"

The holy messenger sighed. A silence stood for about a minute or so.

"Where is she now?"

The person with white wings folded her arms. "She's in the Katekyo Hitman Reborn world."

"WHAT?! But she HATES that show!"

"Oh we knew."

'I think I'm starting to dislike her a little' thought Emile.

"I was told to send her somewhere good so I chose that place for her to live again. By the way, she has an attitude problem..."

"That's cool. I'd give anything to go there! Who is she now?"

"She's Tsunsyoshi's twin sister. Her new name is Tsukairi."

"That means more screen time for her."

"That's exactly what she said."

"And she also has to deal with that demon..."

"Demon?" The angel tilted her head. "Oh...you mean Reborn-san..."

"Man, I really want to be her now!"

The angel smiled sneakily at Emile. "And you can be."

"Be Anya?"

"No dude, go see Reborn. Live in their world."

"REALLY?! You'd do that for me?"

"Yep." The angel patted his head gently like a mother would do to a son.

"Before Anya left, I promised her that I would watch over you always from here. Now that you are no longer alive the promise is over, but I feel like I should give you two a little gift to complete it. You really want to see her don't you?"

The grown up man nodded. "I love my family equally, but Anya was something else. She was inspiring to me. She was special."

"I discussed with the Higher Up not to long ago for permission to do this and I got a stamp of approval!" she jumped high in the clouds like a little child. "You'll be incarnated into someone else's body. "You'll be able to remember your past life, and the person's memories as well so you'll be still Emile, but them as well."

Emile couldn't believe his ears. "Holy bleep! Are you kidding?! This is awesome! Am I leaving now?"

"Yes but there's something you need to know. Anya does not and will not remember you no matter what you say or do. Lately, she's been having dreams of her past life but does not remember anything because she is not supposed to. Ive been trying to figure out how to fix this in the meantime, and having you there would actually help us gain some insight on this. Will you still want to go?"

Emile smiled sincerely this time. "Yes, I still want to. She won't know who I am, but what matters is that I get to see her again."

The blue eyes of the woman softened and closed them, expecting the unsaid reply he had spoken. "Very well Emile. I will send you down right now. This person is growing desperate to leave already and switch with you. I cant stand his whining at the moment. Darn brat..." Emile laughed slightly.

"One last thing", the angel turned very serious then. "While you live there, you absolutely by any means, cannot reveal your past self to others. Including Tsukairi aka Anya. You agree?"

Emile nodded. "Alright then. I bid you a short goodbye. I have to talk to this kid seriously before coming up." She poofed out somwhere and just like she said, she came back with a very irritated face, but when she gazed back at Emile, its like it were never there. 'She really is a weird angel...'

She glanced a warm look at Emile. "Your new name will be Cielo diAzzure. You're an eleven year old kid. You are the second adopted son of the boss of Vongola and your adoptive brother is Xanxus, who is still sleeping in ice. By the way, pretend you don't know you're adopted okay? You weren't supposed to know that hahaha..."

A bright light began to shine upon Emile before his green eyes widened and shouted, "Wait. A KID?"

"Cielo says to tell everyone that he'll miss them, he just grew tired of all the violence and killing and wanted peace!"

'You told me not to reveal anything! Can't make promises, Cielo!'

The minutes felt like mere seconds to the boy. When Emile fluttered his eyes open he found himself in a room that was completely white with blue curtains flapping in a nearby window. When his sight traveled lower , he saw that he was in a hospital bed. His legs were small, as that of a child. 'I KNEW IT! SHE SAID A KID! IM IN A KID'S BODY AGAIN?' he complained mentally as he fought the urge to smack and move his new body.

Then as if a hammer hat hit a gong, his body began feeling pain spreading over around his chest, legs and head. He felt as if a grand piano had fallen from the sky and dropped on his body. What the hell had happened to the kid? Emile tried to shake his head but winced. Nope, best to reduce some motion right now.

He noticed a small but big vertical rectangular mirror hanging on the left wall and his eyes could have fallen out of their sockets. He WAS a kid after all.

His face was slim and very young looking. He had to admit he was very attractive (not that he wasn't already). He owned chocolate brown hair with baby blue highlights, and a normal emerald green eye color he owned before. At least one feature of his old self remained. He wanted to chuckle but there was an ache. His head was wrapped up in bandages and he also had an oxygen mask on. There were IVs everywhere around is body and Emile mentally sighed. He had to deal with stupid medication even in the anime world. What a pain.

'I'm an OC added to the storyline just like Anya, So cool!' Emile put a hand under his chin and tried to remember who he was and the people he knew based on Cielo's memories. After a minute or so sitting up and thinking hard, Emile heard the door open and found two recognizable faces Cielo knew but not Emile.

"Oh my!~ Cielo's awake! Thank heavens! I thought you'd never see the light of day!" happily spoke a man with multicolored hair, well toned body wearing a muscle shirt and dark shade glasses. He had rushed to him in bed. Emile swore he felt chills shoot over him. This dude definitely rolled the other way! Emile made a note to steer clear of this pervert dude.

"Voi, you sh*tty brat! You're alive! Do you know how much money we paid for your f*cking hospital bills?! A funeral would've been cheaper for us!" a long silver haired man yelled waving a sword around like a flag.

Emile recognized the two as Lussuria and Superbi Squalo, the people who consisted of the Vongola's top assassination squad; the Varia. Emile had stopped watching KHR's Ring Arc after Anya had died so he didn't really know much of the Varia or how the rest of the battles went or who won, but Cielo's memories were helpful to get the basics down.

If he remembered based on his memories, he knew them since he was a little kid and when Xanxus had been wrecking havoc in the mansion. It also seemed that Cielo cared for his adoptive brother very much and looked up to him as a role model.

… Well that explains Cielo's involvement in aggression and violence.

Emile blinked in the midst of the silence, his usual personality taken abac at a group so offending and rude. But it was Cielo's family and he left them to him now. Emile needed to speak and act the way Cielo did or he would lose his cover. As much as he would love to be kind, he'd only get killed and be called an imposter. The chance this kid gave him would go down the drain.

He chuckled and winched again. "Y-Yo Lus! Nice to see you too shark-breath," he replied mockingly. "Glad I could make you waste lots of money for me. Disappointed that I'm alive?"

There was an aggressive hum at the stutter, with Lussuria and Squalo staring at each other and both sighed, almost in what could be relief.

'I should be sighing in relief…'

"Completely," Squalo muttered, crossing his arms. "You are such a stupid kid for not watching where you were going. I" promised your sh*tty brother I'd watch you but I never made any promises to help you breathe."

Emile/Cielo rolled his eyes. "Lucky for you Xanxus is MIA or I'd have him feed you to your pet shark in bits."

Lussuria hit him gently on the head." Don't be so harsh Cielo. You know you don't mean that."

"Whatever. Oi, when am I being released from the hospital? You know how I hate feeling cramped up in here!" the boy said rudely. Emile 'recoiled at himself. 'Tenshi-san was right! This kid is a natural brat! How'd he get to heaven?!'

"Still with that sh*tty loose mouth of yours. You're being released in two weeks," Squalo spat angrily and glared at the kid. Emile couldn't help but laugh. He was going to enjoy his new life to the fullest for his sake. It was going to be exciting and fun.

'I'll be able to see you soon, Anya! Just wait for me!'

And thus Emile Marter's new life began as Cielo diAzzure.

Sawada Residence 7:15 am

From the New Year in January, to trying to make it through toward the last months of their first year in middle school, to passing finals by one point; spring had come.

The Sawada twins survived by a hair. Whether it was thanks to spartan tutor and mafia hitman Reborn, or by the sheer will they had, they were ready to welcome their next stage of typical teen students enjoying their life in Namimori, Japan.

Feeling like second year students felt weird. It was a new stage of life that tsuna and Tsuri were sure would never come, or could enjoy considering all the personal turmoil they'd dealt with.

Life after the Kokuyo Gang went on, although Tsuri grew scared of her heightened sixth sense. She asked Reborn if the bullet could leave lingering side effects like vivid dreams she'd forget, feeling anxious every time they went outside and feeling weary of every passing stranger in sight. Her hands and the tips of her fingers also felt like they randomly would catch on fire, or have burning sensations that made her skin sensitive. The baby wasn't sure as the people affected with his bullets never presented such symptoms, but he said he'd make some calls and investigate for her.

If he did find something or not, he wasn't so keen on being urgent about it as he also told Tsuri that maybe her new abilities being unlocked just made her whole self sensitive and would wear off.

It did eventually…but not completely. Were morning hallucinations a side effect? Or confusion of self? Each time she woke up in the morning, her home would warp to that of a different room, and in her sleepy state she would see Bianchi and Futa as strangers with blond hair, or even her own eyes turning green in the mirror when she brushed her teeth.

Tsuri swore she was going crazy. She blamed the stress of the mafia and Reborn's stupid bullets. She should have never agreed to get shot.

"Tsu -kun! Ri-chan! Hurry or you'll be late to your first day of school!"

Tsuri poked her head out of her room door, making sure that Reborn hadn't set up an early morning trap. Her hair was sticking on all sides after all the tossing and turning she did again. It was still hard to get used to being in her own space, but that wasn't what kept her awake all night. She was exhausted, but somehow full of energy waiting to be burned. And that was because for once, she was actually looking forward to go to school and see if she and the rest of their friends would share another class together.

Excited and yet, why did her head feel fuzzy. There was an unbearable itch that would just not leave her be since she woke up. Were her morning allergies acting up? Or was it that her body inhaled too much of the smoke? Tsuri shrugged. Maybe it was the pollen from the spring air.

"Mornin' Tsuna" she greeted

Tsuna, who emerged from his own room with half-opened eyes, yawned and stretched his arms out. Tsuri swore she could see a piece of a potato chip in his disheveled hair.

"Morning. Did you get to sleep last night?"

"Nope," Tsuri rubbed her eyes. "I was a little too excited. I managed to sleep a little, but I'm still tired." Both brunettes searched around their room for a certain baby tutor but he was nowhere to be found.

"Huh. Reborn's not here?"

"He's probably eating breakfast downstairs or something", said Tsuna and got out of his bed. He began to doubt what he said slightly but knowing their tutor he popped out of thin air in random places and always went on trips without telling them.

He was about to take another step from the ground until Tsuri pulled his pajama shirt's sleeve in one forceful motion. Tsuna felt fully awake by then, rubbed his back in complaint after it hit the door, his morning irritation bubbling up. "What was that for Tsuri! If it's to wake me up, it worked!"

"Do. Not. Move. Carefully step back inside."

"Huh? Why? If we don't go downstairs, Lambo and Reborn will steal our portion—"

"Baka I said don't move!"

Tsuna brushed her off and the second his foot hit out his door, a small but strong explosion went off. He blinked dumbfoundedly, then crossed his arms hoping for an explanation.

"There was a mine right there," Tsuri pointed sweat dropping. "You set it off."

"YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT BEFORE!" Tsuna retreated back in, covered with soot from head to toe.

Tsuri tiptoed through a clear area of their hallway, to get a closer look, much to Tsuna's panic. "I bet you Reborn woke up extra early in the morning to set these up."

"Where did he even find all this?!"

"This is Reborn we're talking about. He has his ways and sources." Tsuri put a hand to her chin in thought. "I think that was the only one he set. Should be okay now. I'm going downstairs."

"HIEEEE! No Tsuri don't do it—"

There was another aggressive sneeze, one of those that made your body lose control, jerk and shut your eyes tightly. And one that made sure Tsuri's bare foot would perfectly calculate its step to set off another hidden mine.

Tsuna coughed out the smoke. It cleared out enough for him to see an almost exact image of himself, except with singed orange colored pajamas, dusty and grey skin, and braided hair now a darker shade of brown.

"I told you not to."

"I sneezed. I'm notyou."

Tsuri yelped as a slipper landed on her face in one swift move. When it came to sibling attack spats, Tsuna sure had good precision.

…

"Okay. We're exactly on time," Tsuri stared at her room clock and dusted her vest of all the toast crumbs. She made sure to check that her mother made enough breakfast this time since the others tended to leave them little portions. Thankfully and oddly, Reborn hadn't shown up to steal their food. They had eyed the roof, windows and cabinets to prepare themselves with his odd entrances and fly away with their food to make them suffer after his obvious trap set up. He didn't come out. He was probably busy and being secretive, as always.

"Whew thats good to know!" Tsuna buttoned up his yellow blazer. Thankfully he had time to shower and rinse off all of the black dust. He was sure he still smelled like smoke. Tsuna cried mentally. He hoped the Namimori prefect would just check their clothing and not their smell.

"You two are up pretty early."

The twins' eyebrows twitched. They spoke too soon.

There he was, their beloved hitman tutor that loved to torture them and draw minimum blood in the most bizarre ways.

"That mine was to test your morning reflexes after a deep sleep. If you set them off them you both of you are proving to be dumber than I initially thought."

"Tsuna was the least aware! Ijust sneezedand it went off!"

"If you had told me clearly beforehand then I would have avoided it," Tsuna defended.

Reborn tutted. "Dame-Tsuna, you need to learn to use your own senses. And even a sneeze lets your guard down."

'How do you even stop a damn sneeze! That's impossible!The nerve! You...! Ugh!'Tsuna sweatdropped and brushed off his sister's little tantrum.

"Why weren't you here for breakfast?" Tsuna side eyed another said sneeze attack from Tsuri, moving to the side so her germs wouldn't fly to his face.

"I had something to do."

"Figures you wouldn't tell us."

"You're all second years now" Reborn dodged the conversation as usual. In pointing out their new grade, clearly it meant not just the twins advanced, but their friends as well.

'And we barely made passing grades… for once I'm glad we went through all that hard studying'Tsuna said relieved.

Tsuri nodded fervently, remembering all the headaches they earned when Gokudera and Yamamoto dropped by to help them. It was outrageous in their difference in tutoring; one went all professor Einstein with his formulas and advanced theoretical language while the other made incoherent gestures and noises beyond comprehension. Tsuri had to end up escaping and relying on Hana and Kyoko to have at least one decent and reasonable explanation on math sets and Japanese idiom analysis.

'Got that right.'

"Next year's classes will be announced before the advancement ceremony."

"I hope I'm in the same class with Kyoko-chan this year too."

Tsuri and Reborn stared at the hopeless lovestruck boy emitting heart bubbles everywhere around him. Tsuri had to swat one away in aversion.

"You should create some more progress Tsuna. You can't keep remaining on the sidelines, being all dopey and drooling," Tsuri scolded lightly. "I've done by best to give her insights on the best parts of you but you keep acting stupid and missing your shots."

Tsuna's ears went red. "S-Shut up. Of course I know that! If we're in the same class this year, I'll try my best to get even closer to her!"

"You don't always get what you wish for" Reborn pulled down his fedora, hiding any facial expression the twins could've seen; not that they could anyway. His dark beady eyed never gave room for anyone to read them. Anyone but Bianchi probably.

Tsuri groaned, deciding to go and put her shoes. She exhaled deeply. She could already detect somehow that Reborn was up to something. It was too damn early for all of this.

She closed her eyes, applying pressure to the sides of her head to relieve the blossoming headache and whatever tension she retained. Darn baby and his stupid intrusive methods. His menacing aura around him and with each passing day augmented more and more and it was so excessively unpredictable and too risky for her own health.

Nana, Futa and I-pin popped their heads out as they watched the blue stress lined and clouds of water droplets the Sawada female was releasing.

Her head pulsed and she was sneezing too much.Wasshe getting sick? The world around her spun as if on the cusp of disaster - but why? She was fine, really. Her nose was so damn itchy and runny and her throat felt sore, almost as if she had screamed her voice to death. Maybe she did catch a cold, but she didn't want to get sick before the new semester at school started...

To hell with it, she was going to school anyways. A cold wouldn't kill her.

"Ara Ri-chan, are you feeling alright? You don't look very good," Nana told her daughter worriedly. She took a piece of tissue offered to her by the ranking child and sniffed once more.

Why was everyone always so concerned about her all the damn time? Was she really that reckless and stubborn?

"I'm fine. Just allergies from all the spring pollen in the air."

"Are you sure Tsuri-nee? Your face is pale..." Futa said., his eyes of worry making her want to suffocate him in her arms. "You're not sick, are you?" He continued.

She never understood why everyone, especially the kiddos, seemed to care more about what was happening with her than just annoying her in the middle of the day when Lambo was active. But then again, she understood why the ranking child did his best to check in on her, even more than Tsuna did. Futa was just a kid, but he had witnessed her at her worst, with Mukuro taking over her body and nearly killing her too. She should have expected him to be protective in his own way. It took a while for both of them come to terms to everything that happened to them.

She didn't want to dismiss his feelings or anything but she didn't want to be babied. "I feelfineFuta, it's just the new season. I'm off to school." She grabbed her bag beside the door.

"Now wait just a second young lady" Nana rushed towards the door to lightly touch her daughter's forehead. "Just as I thought. You're starting a fever!" Nana shook her head. "You've been sleeping with your hair wet while the window's open again, haven't you?"

She winced and rubbed the back of her head nervously. "N-Not really..." Tsuri lied. Her mother wasn't wrong but only a little. She had always made sure her hair was dry enough to sleep with the window open. She liked to feel the cold air; it made it better to snuggle into her comforter and sleep better as she breathed flowing air.

"Maybe you should stay home..."

"No way!"

Nana paused, alarmed at the shout. Futa and I-pin looked at each other.

"S-Sorry Kaasan but today we're starting our second year. I want to at least see which class I'll be in..." She heard footsteps and looked up to see Tsuna coming down without Reborn. When the other twin saw their mother's crinkled eyes and hand in cheek he knew something was up.

"Kaasan?"

"Tsu-kun, Ri-chan is sick. I'm trying to tell her to stay but she's not listening..." Nana explained.

Cue the automatic twin connection. Tsuna was now hovering over her, touching her forehead and examining her whole. "You do look a bit pale."

"I said I feel fine!" She pushed his hand away, face flushed at all the fuss and attention in her way.

"Kaasan's right. Maybe you should stay home."

'This is starting to agitate me.' "I said I'll be okay! If I am sick I promise to come back home and get some rest. See you later, love you bye!"

Nana watched her daughter slip on her shoes and dash out the door without looking back and shook her head.

Tsuna gave his mother a gentle smile that gave her the notion that her son would keep that promise active, even if she had to drag her from her toes. Nana grinned at her son. She was glad that she had twins. They took care of each other well, despite being the way they were. Especially now, seeing them so grown and starting another year of school. She knew though, this moment was entirely different. They had people around them now.

She patted Tsuna's hair and giggled at the memory, seeing her babies off when it had been their first day of kindergarten. When she and her husband shed tears at just how time flew by without warning. She wished he could be here to see them, he'd be so proud.

"I'm off!"

"Have a good day Tsu-kun!"

…

…

Having a brother who hovered had its perks. It made life easier in ways that other people wouldn't even begin to understand, and it was one of the few advantages when going places. Tsuna wasn't the strongest boy, his punches felt like a teddy bear but he did have a kick ass glare that he rarely used. And just one look at it made hell freeze over and over for the person. She'd experienced it once when a boy had tried to talk to her as kids. That kid was one out of a million happening chances where Tsuna caused someone to fear him.

Is this how Tsuna felt when she hovered around him during their first year of school when he'd been bullied? That constant presence that was always watching him like a hawk and making him feel like he could go nowhere unseen? He hadn't said anything in elementary school. Was it because they were older now?

Tsuri felt her body slump. Was this payback? Tsuna and the rest of her family overly checked in on her to see if her mind was present and if were to go far from them for any reason, they assured she never went out of their sight. She could tell how Yamamoto insistently pressured her to start running morning laps with him, and how Gokudera would glue himself onto Tsuna's side every morning to scan his bag for that tanuki system he recommended to them; he even seriously yelled at her a few days ago for forgetting to attach her own alarm on her.

Tsuri wasn't sure which was worse. Being constantly watched like an overprotective parent, or having absolutely nobody notice anything was wrong. Either way, she needed to let them know that she was fine now. Hell, her senses were still sensitive and felt like she could hear every living being's breathing but she was fine!

Another sneeze came and she prayed to all that was holy that she wouldn't result with a stuffy nose later in the day. She was seriously even considering chopping off her long hair and keeping it short like her mother just for the sake of not drying it.

Their morning group had grown over the last few minutes of taking their usual route. Gokudera was fussing with her sleeve to make sure that damned tanuki bracelet was on to which she had to shove him off violently across a brick wall for him to stop pestering. Then, to Tsuna's good luck they were able to cross paths with Kyoko and Ryohei. Kyoko commented to her about the way she looked exhausted, but Tsuri made sure to tell her that she was just tired from staying up all of last night. Which was mostly true.

Ryohei didn't even give a chance for Tsuna to offer Kyoko to walk side by side because in a blink of an eye, the now third year took him by surprise and dragged him along sprinting to Nami-chuu. The three others had no choice but ti follow behind, with Gokudera worriedly asking Tsuna to wait (he couldn't either way) and Kyoko calling out to her big brother to do the same.

Out of breath and feeling worse, they reached Nami-chuu's entry gate. Yamamoto had already been there and greeted them, and telling them that their class bulletin boards were up.

"Its over there" Yamamoto pointed behind him. "The class announcements are out."

"Really? Already?" Tsuna said surprised.

"They just posted it up. But it looks like we're all separated. That's too bad."

"What?"

Tsuna and Tsuri rushed towards the bulletin board and searched for their names. It was true. Tsuna was in Class A, Kyoko and Tsuri were in B, followed by the other guys who were in C and D. Ryohei was one year older than them so that was a different thing.

Gokudera had been boasting to Yamamoto that it was tough luck up until the second his green eyes scanned around for his name . He started to fake cry while gripping on his beloved Juudaime and resorted to wanting to blow it all to pieces and make them reconsider.

Tsuri let out a harsh sigh. She had probably hoped too much. The school arrangement system was pure bull sh*t. They practically used a roulette system to have them decide where to place students instead of just making it simple and keeping the classmates the same for advancement. And to top it off they'd probably come with with an excuse on how they took their careful thought and time to organize the class roster.

"This really sucks… hey, Gokudera, blow up the board. I refuse to conform to this list."

The silver head chuckled darkly, his occupied weapons in hand waiting to be lit on. "With pleasure!"

"EH? WAIT!" Tsuna yelled as he went to tell Gokudera to stop. "Don't motivate him Tsuri! We can't destroy school property on our first day back!"

"Haha! Both of you have a sense of humor for a welcome back, " Yamamoto laughed.

"I just can't believe all of us are separated…" Tsuri glared at the display once more. "I wont accept it! Gokudera, give me a dynamite I'll blow it up!"

"Tsuri!"

"Juddaime it's alright, I'll make sure that she won't get hurt!"

"That's not the issue!"

"It's awfully noisy."

Raven hair, flying black coat on his shoulders and those petrifying eyes of his… Hibari Kyoya.

Tsuri's body hairs stood up and she hid behind Tsuna once more. She was glad to see that he was much better, after all the broken bones and blood blows he suffered through Mukuro's hands. His bloodlust was definitely bigger though.

"Herbivores…don't crowd around here or I'll bite you to death."

"Uh…Hibari-san. Didn't you graduate already?"

He snorted, taking the comment as nonsense. "I'm free to choose to be in any year I wish. Nobody can use conventional wisdom to restrain me." Hibari eas actually smiling. And it wasn't one that produced rainbows and sparkles. This one was deadly.

'You want your ass handed to you?!' Tsuri scolded. 'Shut up and don't say anything anymore!'

"So…why don't I start acting like a member from the disciplinary committee?" said Hibari as he took out his tonfas.

"You asking for a fight?" Gokudera said as he walked up and took out his dynamites. Yamamoto causally just stood next to the silver head. It felt like a repeat of when they had first crossed paths with the DC leader, which worsened Tsuri's mood further. She hoped that she'd hear some fists and grunting but Hibari hadn't moved a muscle. Instead, he was focused on the flowing petals of their school's Sakura trees flowing with the morning air.

Displeasure was evident in his face now. "Who planted a Sakura tree here?"

"It's been here for a while…" the older Sawada said.

"Our school always has had sakuras around season for the new term," Tsuri added.

"Hn…I've changed my mind. this place puts me off."

"Does Hibari-san hate sakura as a lingering effect of the Sakura-kura disease?" Tsuna asked out loud.

"Besides that," Tsuri was no longer hiding, watching their DC committee leader's retreating figure grow smaller.'I think this tree represents something worse for Hibari-san.'

'Is that speculation or your ability talking again?'Tsuna sighed.

'You have hyper intuition too. Tell me I'm wrong.'

Tsuri was guiding Gokudera on how to create minimal damage but just enough so that the board could disappear. Tsuna was pulling on his hairs to make the two stop. It was a comedic sight, as it was always when it came to the twins and everyone just went with it. They were observant though, very very observant. Tsuri's movements were rather slow even though she had her usual energy surge. Her whole countenance was ashen, lacked the glow it had, and her eyes looked like they were forcing herself to push through whatever she was feeling physically.

Before Yamamoto or Kyoko could say anything, Gokudera had rushed to a teacher and demanded that he change the class arrangements. Just as Tsuri predicted, they had made the comment that they took their time to think and set the classes. It wasn't until Reborn made his presence known as a fake high end professor that she had concluded that this was his scheme for the day. make everyone chase him around the whole school's premises to catch what was a blank roster where they could decide what class to share with whomever they wished.

Tsuna and the rest were determined to make their sole will known. He could see the beginning of a bad cold in Tsuri just by the way she was sneezing. He didn't let her follow and instead relied on observant Kyoko to keep her with her until they were able to complete their task.

Tsuri stood in front of the bulletin board with the younger Sasagawa sibling, knowing fully well that she wouldn't have been able to find the stamina and will to even go along with Reborn's shenanigans. Tsuna could pull the weight for her today.

"I wish I could be in the same class with Tsuna-kun and the others Tsuri-chan..." Kyoko said sadly.

She sighed. "I don't know if they'll be able to catch him." Kyoko's dejected expression made Tsuri wish she hadn't let her thoughts out loud. "D-Don't get me wrong, I'm happy we're together and sharing the same class. It's just…"

"It's fun when we have everyone. Tsuna-kun is brighter when you're with him Tsuri-chan." Kyoko smiled that ever so easing flower smile of hers.

Tsuri perked up at the comment despite feeling sh*ttier as the seconds passed. "R-Really? I've always thought he found me annoying for hovering so much."

"You've been keeping him safe in your own way. I'm sure Tsuna-kun appreciates it. He smiles a lot more than he used to."

Tsuri felt her chest grow warm at the compliment. Kyoko was truly a positive girl who saw the world in a happier light. Tsuna definitely needed to secure the bag with her. She'd love to have her as a future sister in law. She reminded her a lot of their mother too. Like a warm sun to hug.

"These teachers are sh*theads to separate us like this." Tsuri side a sidetake, Kyoko's eyes wide at the foul language that had slipped out if her mouth. Tsuri instantly flung her arms around as a sort of defense. "A-Ah, I'm so sorry Kyoko, what I meant was…"

Kyoko laughed at the brunette and returned a smile. "It's alright. You're saying what you actually feel." Tsuri shared the smile and laughed, but it didn't last long. Traces of mildly aggressive coughing appeared out of thin air, making Tsuri regret brushing off the ranking child and her ever so knowing mother.

"Speaking of feeling, Tsuri-chan you look sick. Are you alright?"

"I… may have caught a small cold. Don't worry I feel fine. I'll head to the nurse's office and take a nap while you go and catch up with the others. I think they're by the roof."

Kyoko glanced another worried look at Tsuri but decided to follow what she said. The girl was at stubborn as it came when they insisted her to do something. The only person who could ever convince her for anything was her own brother. "Okay then. Be sure to let me know if you need anything okay Tsuri-chan?"

"I will! When you have a chance please tell Tsuna that I'll be in the nurse's office, "Tsuri wiped some sweat, evening her breathing. Oh the joys of not obeying your mother. Thats probably why the I-told-you-so's existed.

"Ugh I feel like crap. I need a bed pronto or I'll think the concrete is one."

In Nurse's Office

The nurse's office at Namimori Elementary has been her go to place ever since Tsuri could remember. Not that she did most times because whenever she got hurt, and frequently, she'd end up with the nurse. The nurse was a reluctant and strict woman. Every kid that came in and out would come out crying because of the harshness she emitted from the get go. Tsuri guessed it was her way to make sure they never came back, but it just didn't see me to stick for Tsuri after the many concussions int be playground, arm and leg sprains from playing kickball and the bad finger breakage from punching an upperclassman to stop him from throwing her brother out a window.

It was a hard goodbye to say to the woman after they graduated Namimori Elementary, and hoped that maybe she'd come and transfer to Nami-chuu. The woman probably found it relieving that she wouldn't see her on a week-to-month basis. Now Tsuri and the rest of Namimori Middle's students had to conform with no other than the Vongola's mafia doctor and hitman instead and that made her vow to keep herself out of harms way so she wouldn't see him at all.

There was a second nurse who came to fill out Shamal's days off, so she prayed that he had taken his rest day. "Sensei! I'll be staying—Shamal?! What the hell?!"

Why was she always talking too soon? There he was, the trident mosquito hitman looking a little tipsy by his desk. Not that it was rare seeing the middle aged man drinking. It was, when he wasnt around Tsuna or Tsuri but today it seemed as if he needed booze to cope with his handed out rejection; again. He had been seen hitting on a girl in the morning, and like always, dealt him a flat no. She had to give it to the man though, he was annoying and harassed anything with a chest, but he was too persistent for his own good.

"Oho look who's come to check up on me. How are you Tsuri-chan?~ Need a little assistance?"

Tsuri slid the room door closed and crossed her arms. "I don't need your pervertedly tainted hands giving me any assistance."

Shamal's expression changed into a weird sleezy one. "Hoh, thats coming from an amateur in love right? Lovely girl, you still have a ways to go. If you've had experience like me, then I'd prove to you that I don't have tainted hands when it comes to the opposite gender."

Tsuri blushed at the implication his words had. God, why couldn't the other nurse be working here today? Why did Reborn even hook him up with a job if he wasn't going to act like an adult? The assassin certainly was able to escape certain death, but not with reports of sexual harassment!

"I'm fourteen you sh*tty old man. Give me another comment like that and I'll make sure to ask Reborn to shoot you in the head." 'How'd this topic come up again...? I'm here for rest not a love talk!'

The male doctor began to laugh so hard, he almost dropped his clipboard from holding his stomach with one hand while nearly dropping the drink on his other.

"You know, even though you're Vongola Decimo's sister, you act a lot like Hayato."

Tsuri's face went a few more redder shades down than usual. "What the hell does this have to do with Bakadera? We'renothingalike!"

How the hell was she like Gokudera? The boy was completely insane! He was always pissed off about everything, fought with anyone regardless of age and had such a bad vice on smoking like a damn chimney, it was a miracle that his lungs and breathing weren't blackening.

"Well not so much in the sense that you act like him, but you have picked up some of his habits like cursing and yelling. You shouldn't spend so much time with him, it's going to get worse."

"Does it look like I have a choice in the matter? He's everywhere I go he's like a leech on Tsuna and no matter how much I pull him off him he just finds ways to stick. I swear I he doesn't stop I'm going to end up digging an open hole on the ground and just—" Tsuri didn't find it so bothersome now, though Gokudera Hayato did give her motives to kick him in several occasions for hogging Tsuna away and calling her a useless replicated and failed copy.

After getting body snatched by Mukuro and waking up all battered and with no memory of what entailed after he reunited with Tsuna with Hibari, his whole demeanor had shifted. He was still as badmouthing as ever, and passive aggressive, like a little child who was always looking for something to be tsundere about. Even with all the weird stuff that went on, Tsuri hadn't realized how out of sorts Mukuro and his posse affected him. He had probably beat himself up with guilt about not being able to protect Bianchi or Tsuna. Gokudera was an ass but she could tell that he had a caring side to him. Probably one that she wasn't worthy to have, despite getting mixed signals from him.

He was definitely a tsundere.

"Hai Hai alright Miss Temper. Whatever you say," Shamal waved his free hand up and down and then sipped more of his drink. "May I ask why you are here?"

"I'm not feeling well. I need a bed."

Shamal unconsciously began doctor scanning her open symptoms, making Tsuri shrink at the intensity. Red flushed face and nose, glazed over and sleepy caramel eyes. If it weren't for his emotional provocation from earlier, her skin would've appeared see through by how pale it was looking in contrast to the redness. He hummed. "I get it. You can go on that unoccupied bed." His lips were wiggling funnily. "There's some IV fluids I can give you for the time being—"

Needles. No way in hell was Tsuri going to let him put a needle into her skin again or let him touch her. She'd rather be dead.

"Okay. I can see you're not ecstatic about it. Fine. If you change your mind, they'll be over there by the first aid kit. I'd administer it for you but you'll be alone for a little while. I have to go do a couple of errands by the pharmacy. Restock and whatnot."

'Liar. You're going out to pick up more women and drink booze. Typical.'Tsuri snorted in her head.

"But if you want I can stay and dedicate all my time for you~."

"I refuse," Tsuri deadpanned.

The middle aged doctor clicked his tongue in defeat. "Hidoi yo Tsukairi-chan. I understand. I'll close the door to make sure no one disturbs you. You can leave at any time you wish. Ja ne~."

…

…

Hibari Kyoya was not a caring person. He could care less if people were hurt or yelling at each other violently. (unless it concerned the town or the school) Seeing Sawada Tsunayoshi and his little herbivore friends run around the school did not interest him much, as long as they did not destroy school property. To which they did. He'd get even with them soon due to it.

While patrolling school grounds, Hibari glanced inside a classroom where that herbivore, Sawada Tsunayoshi, was inside. He stopped in his tracks and rose an eyebrow as he noticed that someone was missing in between his crowd.

"Oh Tsuna-kun! I forgot to tell you!" the orange haired girl with big brown eyes said suddenly. "Tsuri-chan is in the nurse's office."

"What?!" the herbivore's brother shouted. "Is she okay?!"

"Mmm, she was getting worse so she went to the nurse's office to rest for now."

"Maybe we should check up on her," Yamamoto Takeshi suggested. "She really didn't look too good."

""And if Shamal is in today…" Gokudera Hayato put a hand to his head. "Juudaime, we really should go and check."

Huh. Another subject to ignore, but he had something to do to satisfy his slight boredom. The prefect gave another disinterested look and walked a little more towards the nurse's office down the hall to bite someone to death for not attending class. With tonfas ready at hand, Hibari finally arrived and slid the door to come inside. The room was silent and peaceful making him think she wasn't there but then the prefect heard a faint grunt coming from somewhere. He drew forward and slid the curtains to reveal a sick brunette breathing heavily on a bed. Her face was crimson red, and she was sweating from head to toe.

The nurse wasn't present. Had they administered any medication? There was no way that he'd let the herbivore's sister spread disease among the school for everyone to catch.

He didn't want to associate with this situation. So what if she was sick? As long as she was confined to this room, no sickness would leave. His job was done here. No need to bite anyone to death if her ailment was the truth.

He turned to leave, but one more look at her gave him the notion that in order for the solution to become active, she needed to be given medicine. Hibari roamed about the place, the smell of faint beer and rubbing alcohol mixing together. This nurse was definitely breaking school rules of being on the influence during work hours. He would remind himself to come by and apply punishment. After a minute or so of wandering in the room, Hibari was able to spot some IV bags by the first aid box and a jar of water. The bags were rarely used in the school, only for emergencies when they knew students couldn't be taken to the hospital.

"Juudaime, she should be here shouldnt she?"

"Not so loud Gokudera-kun. You might wake her."

The prefect froze for a split second. He needed to exit quickly. He could leave the IV ready and have them give it ti her but by the looks of it she really needed it now.

Mind you, Hibari Kyoya was by no means a doctor or had any knowledge on administering IV bags or any of the sort. But when it came to self injury and treatment he had to come by many things himself and learn. What would be the harm in doing it for the Herbivore? It was good practice anyways in case he considered using this method for himself at a given point.

He quickly ripped off an alcoholic wipe to disinfect her right arm. He then made sure to locate a vein, albeit a visible one to gently insert the catheter carefully. He could see that the young female didn't seem to like the sensation of being prickled but Hibari did his best to make sure it was gentle enough to place a piece of tape in place so it wouldn't be painfully yanked, and hung the bag above the rack next to the bed.

By the time he was done, the curtains slid slowly and the prefect found himself face to face with the herbivore and his crowd. He recoiled inwardly.

Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto stared with their mouths gaped open. Hibari only gave them that cold glare of his.

The silver head eyed a tissue stained red by the nightstand. He felt his whole chest burn with something he couldn't name. "You bastard! What did you do to her?!" Gokudera yelled angrily, popping dynamite in between his fingers, ready to blow the prefect to bits.

"Don't be like that Gokudera. You know she doesn't like needles. Maybe Hibari came in to check up and see if she got her treatment," Yamamoto patted his friend on the shoulder but the latter responded back with a glare and growl.

Hibari felt his annoyance spike up. Check up? Not even close. He didnt have any interest in Sawada Tsukairi other than her strength. Thats why he had nursed her, to get something out of it once she noticed he had helped her.

"H-Hibari-san! What are you doing here?" Tsuna asked carefully.

His gaze made him wish he hadn't asked at all. "Hn. I was checking if the herbivore was skipping class so I could bite her to death but she is sick," Hibari responded apathetically, ignoring the question. He made himself through the door. "Keep the peace and order, or I'll have to bite you all to death."

The trio watched the prefect's coat flap away with the rest of his body and disappear into the hallway. Tsuna let out a breath of air, relieved that the scary person was now gone. He and his friends grew closer to the person on the bed. Looked like the IV started kicking in and good thing she wasn't awake or they was sure she would've screamed bloody murder at being poked at.

"Huh?" Tsuna touched the bag. "It's still full. Was she given this just recently?"

"It couldnt be Shamal. I saw him leave the school earlier by the window," Gokudera said in thought. "Wait! It couldnt be..."

"Did Hibari-sanadministerthe IV bag?!" Tsuna somewhat shouted in shock. "How does he even know how to do it?!"

"Haha so he was worried," said Yamamoto with a grin.

Gokudera's fists balled up next to his sides and he scowled quietly. His mind raced with countless thoughts of why. It words didn't make sense in his head. He didn't think himself as someone who was so sensitive about what happened to others, except his Juudaime.

Tsuri was not him. Even if she was his twin she was entirely different from him, in some physical aspects and their personalities. But even if he hated her, Gokudera would have been bothered by this kind of behaviour from anyone else regardless. Tsuna was always involved in his copy's well being no matter what, and though knowing him and her never clicked, he expected him to care one way or another. Thats why Gokudera did his best to make sure he would step up, for his Juudaime so he wouldn't see his face drop like a suffering puppy.

No matter how much he told himself that, though, his chest stung. His fingers twitched in the grip, and he tried to swallow down the lump forming at the back of his throat. His mind swam. Why, he wondered. Why did it irritate him ? If he had any idea what the answer was he would find it.

"I don't think Sensei will come for a while. Why don't we stay here with her?" Yamamoto threw the stained napkins into the nearest bin.

"Um, thats a good idea, but we're gonna miss class. Hibari-san will also bite us to death if we're not there," Tsuna said. "I'll stay with her for a few minutes and leave a note for Reborn or Shamal to look after her. "

"Un. Sounds like a plan!"

"Okay. For now lets see... Gokudera-kun, can you get a towel? Yamamoto, please fill a small bowl with mild cool water."

"I'm on it!"

"You can count on me Juudaime!"

As his friends dashed off to do their assigned task, Tsuna brushed Tsuri's bangs out of her sweaty forehead.

"I swear you're as stubborn as it comes."

…

…

…

Later...

The entire school day had passed by quickly. Even witha few hours of rest, Tsuri was still a bit weak to walk on her own. After plenty of screams and protests, Tsuna had to carry her home piggy back style as Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Kyoko followed behind him to make sure they didn't topple down together, and make sure their friend was in good conditions to settle their worry.

So when the doorbell rang, Nana paused her cooking and opened the front door to find her son with daughter in back, along with his friends beside them. "Why if it isn't Tsu-kun and friends! Welcome!"

"Good afternoon okaasama," the silver headed teen greeted politely.

"Good afternoon Sawada-san," Yamamoto and Kyoko said together.

"Hi Kaasan," Tsuna blushed a little. "We're home."

Nana tilted her head to see her little girl's body behind her brother's, her face still flushed red. Tsuri waved. "… please don't say anything…"

"Mou, I keep telling you! You are as stubborn as it comes, Sawada Tsukairi! I told you to stay home." The mother of the twins however couldn't help but squeal a little. "But it's not everyday when I get to see you two like this! Wait right there I need to take a picture of this!"

Tsuna blushed even more when Nana had taken out a Polaroid camera from who knows where, and took a picture in front of his friends and crush. Kyoko let a small giggle escape her lips. "So adorable! Oh, I'm sorry everyone! Come on in! Tsu-kun, make sure her pillows are upright when you leave her in her room okay?" Tsuna nodded and went in first, climbing the stairs carefully but quickly.

"Sorry for the intrusion," the friends said together and walked inside the house. "Their rooms are upstairs. I'll be there in a short minute after I brew some tea for you all."

Tsuna went ahead of everyone else upstairs, with Tsuri's weight making it hard for his own knees to stay straight. He successfully made it, and opened her room door with a tiny kick, layed Tsuri on his bed and plunged himself on the floor swiftly, tired and exhausted from chasing Reborn earlier in the morning, and carrying Tsuri from school.

"Thank you…" Tsuri's soft smile made him relax. "So? Did you fix the whole class roster problem, or am I going to have to file a complaint?"

Tsuna spread his arms over the bed, using the mattress as support for his chin. "Kyoko-chan caught Reborn for us. We're all in the same class now."

"Good."

Their first day on being second years certainly was unexpected and very tiresome, but the good thing was that everyone would be together again for another year. Tsuna yawned, clearly sleepy and feeling relaxed. It was still early, so maybe he could take a little nap. Tsuna closed his eyes. It would only be a little one. Tsuri gently smiled, her heavy lidded eyes craving for another nap.

"Tsuna, Tsuri? we're coming in..."

Silence. "Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko knocked.

"Juudaime?" Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Kyoko peeped their heads in the slightly opened door to find the brunet asleep on the floor beside Tsuri's bed peacefully.

"He needed some sleep too huh?" Yamamoto grinned again. Their mother was right. It was a rare sight to see the twins' intimate moments as siblings. Right here they could see something they didn't see everyday at school; a brother and sister who were there for one another. Even for a simple cold.

"Un" Kyoko laughed quietly.

"Let's stay here and make sure we don't wake them up."

Without Tsuna or Tsuri noticing, their room became occupied by their family. And by half an hour later, each of them fell into their own little nap. Nana came in for another round of check up, and stared at the teenagers sprawled all over her daughter's bedroom sleeping. Her lips curled into a small genuine smile that had been genetically if not taught to her own kids.

'Isn't it great Tsu-kun, Ri-chan? You have all these friends that take care of you and trying to help one of you get better!' Her chocolate brown eyes softened and she closed their room door.

After two more hours of dreamless sleep, Tsuri opened her eyes to find her room filled with familiar people on the ground sleeping and snoring. Beside the bed, her twin brother was sleeping, his head lyed onto the sheets gently. Ryohei and Kyoko slept back to back by a wall, Yamamoto and Gokudera had their heads and arms on their coffee table with traces of tea cups near them. They all looked scattered like the toys she and Tsuna used to play with a leave after getting bored and it made her laugh.

She rose from the bed carefully and gently removed the cooling patch that had been put on her forehead. She still felt a little heavy, but thankfully her body wasn't boiling like a pot anymore. Tsuri stretched her arms out and released a relieving yawn, one that woke up her brother, and the others one by one. 'Oops...'

"Huh...Tsuri, you're...awake..." Tsuna spoke slowly.

"Un. How long have you all been here?" Tsuri turned to everyone else that had gotten up.

"Since school ended," Yamamoto yawned. "We wanted to stay and see how you were doing."

"I helped your mother change you into your pajamas," Kyoko mumbled still somewhat sleepy. Tsuri knew that her twin was probably fawning over how cute Kyoko looked at the moment.

"Sawada-chan, you look extremely better," shouted Ryohei with a restored resolve. "Kyoko called and said if I could bring some things to help you get better and I ended up taking a great nap to the extreme!"

"Tch. Juudaime was so worried," muttered a still drowsy Gokudera.

Tsuna stood up and stretched along with his friends. "Are you feeling better?"

"I think my fever's down now, and the scratchy sensation in my throat is gone," Tsuri's palm traced under her bangs and neck. "Thanks for being here everyone. I appreciate it!" She whirled her head towards Yamamoto, Gokudera and Tsuna. "Oh and tell Shamal thanks for the IV. I didn't know if he'd return to the office after his woman hunt."

The trio shared confusing glances at each other,but the silver head began to feel irritated all over again by the allegation they had come up with. Tsuri tilted her head to the side in question. "What? Am I wrong? Did one of you decide to play nurse and give it to me instead?"

"We didn't give you the medicine," Yamamoto said truthfully. "It was Hibari."

A quick shot in her nerves made her whole body jerk. "What?"

"Hibari-san gave you the IV," Tsuna repeated. "Which is really strange..."

"EH?! You mean to tell me thatH-Hibari-s-san g-gave me— he actually knows how to prick people He ADMINISTERED the IV to me?!"

"Are you slow?" Gokudera growled. Everyone stared at the bomber with an eyebrow, and he glowered at them but Tsuna.

"Tako-head sure is grumpy..." Ryohei folded his arms.

"Why the hell are you so angry at me? I'm just shocked," Tsuri muttered.

"He's Hibari. Who knows what other things he knows how to do that we don't. I can't believe you let someone that dangerous touch you."

"Excuse me? How could I do anything with me being knocked out due to a fever? You'd think I'd let the guy who stole my first kiss help inject me with the thing I hate the most?"

Eerie silence filled the room along with various pairs of eyes bulging out of their sockets. Tsuri sighed roughly. Great.

"Tsuri-chan, you had you first kiss with Hibari-san?!" Kyoko's eyes widened in surprise.

Yamamoto chuckled slightly, drops of sweat forming behind his head as he saw Tsuna emit another dark aura, and Ryohei yelling 'EXTREME' more than 5 times. Gokudera looked as if he were about to blow at the mention of that day. The stinging in his chest hit harder than the needles the glasses bastard threw him a long time ago.

Tsuna sweat dropped, sighed to calm his brotherly instincts down and grinned wearily. "A-Anyways, why dont we check downstairs and see if dinner's ready?" he offered. "Can you guys stay over?"

"Sure!" Everyone but Gokudera and Tsuri agreed happily that they would be eating wonderful Nana Sawada's food. Kyoko, Ryohei, and Yamamoto exited the twins' room hastily.

Tsuna lingered a little at the door, waiting for the bomber or his sister to budge or move their eyes away from their odd staring contest but neither of them creaked a muscle. Tsuna shook his head, his own way of saying that he was used to his friend and twin acting childish most of the time and closed the door behind him.

Gokudera was standing beside the bunk beds with his arms folded in between his chest still feeling annoyed. He tried to shove it away, but it wouldn't disappear.

Tsuri however, was a little disturbed at the yell Gokudera threw her. He had woken up minutes ago, but she was sure that he wasn't cranky because of that. By the deep frown that was visible on his lips, she knew he was mad at something else. She thought that she might have done something to him that had ticked him off. Did she say something he didn't like? She didn't recall saying much a few moments ago. She wanted to know what was going on inside the head of the idiot, but she wasn't going to ask.

Gokudera had been looking away, but he stole glances at the brunette, and vice versa. When they caught each other staring, they both blushed and turned away. The silence was more than the female could bear and a tick mark began to throb on Tsuri's forehead.

"Ah mou! I'm tired of dealing with you. I'm going downstairs," she said in a bothered tone and got up from the bed to head to the door when a hand pulled her back from reaching the knob. She flipped her head back.

"Where are you going?"

"Let me go you hotheaded idiot. If you're not going to tell me what I did to piss you off then leave me alone," she tried pulling out of his grip.

"You should be resting, not moving around like you're the most active person on earth! Juudaime has had enough worrying to last a lifetime because of you."

"Something you want to say?" Tsuri burned holes into his skull with his glare. The young man was trying hard not to flinch but that stubbornness only made him more intimidating. The fact that he didn't look scared at all made her more weary than ever, "You sound like Ilovespreading concern on Tsuna on purpose. For your information, I don't."

"You do."

"How?"

"Your stubbornness. You purposely keep your mouth shut and hide things from Juudaime so he won't find out, just like that time you sprained your wrist."

Tsuri scoffed. "I didn't tell him because I could deal with it on my own. I didn't want Tsuna to feel responsible and I also don't llike Tsuna worrying over me because of simple things like this." She gestured all over herself and the box of cooling patches on her nightstand.

The guy didn't answer just stared harder at her as if waiting for something and she glared right back.

"If you have nothing else to say then get your hands off me." She yanked his hand away from the door handle but he didn't let go. It made her want to pry his fingers off the door and kick him in the chest.

"Are you angry because ofthat? Because I don't tell Tsuna things that in the end make him freak out?"

"Juudaime already has enough on his plate. You would do well tolessenthat by not hiding things from him."

That hit Tsuri in the chest. It reminded her of the heaviest secret she still had hidden. About their dad. About the mafia. But Tsuri couldn't say a word. Gokudera was right, he already had enough in his plate. But that's exactly why Tsuri kept things to herself. She disliked becoming a burden to him, and anyone really. She could figure things out for herself, she was adept at it, until it fell out of her hands. Like today.

"Mind your own business," she finally hissed after taking a deep breath, "You have no idea how our relationship works. You can care for Tsuna all you wish, and even if you don't do the same for me out of your own accord, don't youeverquestionmy actionsor what I do to make sure he's okay."

Gokudera froze. His eyebrows became furrowed. He felt so conflicted. She had a point. He didn't know how their sibling relationship was at all. Tsuna was a person of kindness and acceptance, and Gokudera admired him greatly most of all because of those attributes of his.

He found himself wondering about Tsuri's actions all the time because of it. He knew she would never do anything to hurt him, but he didn't want to see that day come where Juudaime would kill himself, heart and soul for Tsuri's secretive nature.

His Juudaime needed his twin no matter what. That was a given. Gokudera vowed to make sure Tsuri's nature wouldn't destroy her in the end.

Tsuri's body grew limp. Usually Gokudera, being the loyal puppy he was to Tsuna, he couldn't care less about her since she wasn't Vongola Decimo. But the way this conversation was going. Was he concerned that Tsuri's way of being would harm her brother in the end… or herself? She shook her head. There was no way the cranky old mancaredfor her. Something in her chest ached at the thought though.

Both of them stood by the door, faces cross. Tsuri was the first to give up and huffed. "Sorry… I didn't mean to sound so harsh…" she looked at the floor, a hint of guilt on her face but he was still frowning, hands shoved deep in his pockets. She could see him pondering really hard on what to say next.

"I know you love Juudaime…" his voice was still pissed but it was better restrained. "But you seriously need to take care of yourself better, for his sake." His voice trailed off slightly as he turned back around, eyes looking anywhere but her.

She blinked owlishly, unsure if this was supposed to be his way of apologizing, even though it clearly didn't sound like one. She decided that she was better off not questioning it. The last thing she wanted right then was enter into another awkward argument with a person that she couldn't read.

"I… promise I'll do better?" Her face flushed. "Obviously for my brother, not becauseyoutold me to."

Tsuri slipped on her slippers and made her way to the door again. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm starving and there's food downstairs."

"You don't learn you stupid woman. You should be resting!"

"Here you go again with your yelling. I'm sick you know," Tsuri fake coughed.

"You're being a hypocrite!"

Tsuri's radiating and sincere smile caught him off guard and made him want to run away from the room by how much it made his heart do funny things in his chest. Her hair looked soft like silk and her eyes, even though they still revealed how unwell she still was, were bright like stars.

This was a Tsuri that he'd never seen before, and only his Juudaime had the honor to see it. He coughed into his palm, trying to suppress the redness spreading from his face to his ears.

"Ne Bakadera, we just had a conversation that sounded almost as if you're… concerned about us. Are you and… are we friends?"

Friends? Everyone was his enemy. No one but his boss was worthy of such a title. His distorted face gave her the answer she was expecting and she sighed again. Too good to be true.

"Your facial expressions are too honest, my god. If I were anyone else I'm pretty sure that would have hurt my feelings."

The silver head watched as Sawada Tsukairi waved him off as she ignored his request to stay inside the room.

He was losing his mind.

There was no way that right now, out of all the thoughts he could have had about this damned woman, was the fact that her whole self emitted this adorable , but irritatingly infuriating jump of excitement she had at the thought of her mother's delicious cooking.

In the kitchen everyone could hear severe banging coming from upstairs, ones that sounded like they were being self inflicted on the ground along words such as 'Forgive me Juudaime!' and some ritual cleansing chant.

"Tsuri? What's going on up there?" Tsuna asked as Yamamoto sweat dropped again at the echoing sounds of head to wood.

The brunette shrugged as she ate another spoonful of her soup.

"Who the hell knows?"

Chapter 12: An Afternoon with Hibari

Chapter Text

Reborn mentioned to the twins about celebrating their advancement this morning. Tsuri didnt want to, pointing out that the first day jitters were over and at this point they needed to move on with their daily lives and routine like usual.

Tsuri ended up getting kicked in the shin, and was forced to tell her soccer club that she had an important errand to do. Not that they cared, but at least she let them know so they wouldn't use it as an excuse to make her look bad and tell their coach that she ditched.

So here she was, inside a restaurant within the outer side of Namimori's shopping district, staring at a clean wooden board filled with the most deliciously shiny sushi she'd ever laid eyes on. Her eyebrow twitched and it wasn't of hunger. "So I did ditch practice?! And for tuna?!"

"We were going to come yesterday but you were sick," Reborn answered, still chewing his food. Inside a medium sized restaurant stood Reborn, Bianchi, Tsuna, Lambo, Haru. Why was Haru here too? Might as well bring the whole brigade like the usual. "Why not enjoy your youth by eating good food?"

'Because you kill the joy in an instant with your plans'."Are you not even the slightest bit suspicious by this? Reborn isn't nice for no reason, " Tsuri looked over to her twin who was happily stuffing his face.

"The sushi's really good you know," Tsuna spoke up with a full mouth. "You're missing out."

"Alright, Alright I get it. I'll eat." Tsuri grabbed her share on the table carefully, but quick so Reborn wouldn't steal it. Lambo eyed her plate but seeing as how she lunged for it before he could, he stole Tsuna's plate again. "I'm amazed that you took us to a sushi restaurant Reborn."

"It's to celebrate your advancement."

"Thanks for inviting me too!" Haru bubbled up happily, chopsticks waved in the air to show everyone her feeling.

"It's no big deal," Bianchi long pink hair replied politely.

"Tsuri-san, I'm sorry I wasn't able to visit yesterday! I was stuck doing homework!"

"Its okay Haru-chan really. And what did I say about being too formal? You can just call me Tsuri or Tsuri-chan." Haru shook her head as if the request was too much to ask her to do. Tsuri shrugged her shoulders in defeat. It would stick eventually. Her eyes glinted when she saw the next stack of sushi on her brother's plate. Her chopsticks hovered over and Tsuna had no time to react when she snatched his portion from right under his nose. "I'm taking your lean cut tuna Tsuna."

"Eh? Hey give me that back!"

"Don't worry Tsuna-san! Haru will order more sushi!"

"Lambo-san will too!"

The whole table had laughs and much more sushi to their hearts content. After the millionth plate, the twins leaned back on their chairs and let out a satisfied breath. One of the servers inside the restaurant grinned widely at the pleased expressions their customers wore.

The issue now, was the tremendous pay check the invitee had to pay. But hey, their tutor said it was celebration so of course the twins didn't need to lift their wallets out.

Rveryone ordered a few more pieces and then out of seemingly nowhere Reborn, Bianchi and even Lambo dashed out in a rush. Haru, Tsuna and Tsuri remained, still sipping tea and wondering where their friends had gone. It wasn't until the time hit an hour mark that they were growing antsy at the missing adults who were supposed to pay their bill.

"The bathroom should be that way," Tsuna rose an eyebrow. "Why would they leave? The pay check isn't even here yet."

"Very strange-desu," said Haru.

"Wait," Tsuri paused from her seat, and then put a hand to her growing blue face. "You don't think..."

"DINE AND DASH?!"

"IknewReborn's kind gesture had some hidden plan behind it!" Tsuri had stress marks beginning to form on her forehead, on top of her hair, and her fists. "YOU REWARD US BY LEAVING US IN DEBT?! WHAT KIND OF TUTOR ARE YOU!"

Tsuna and Haru started to fake cry. "Tsuri-san looks furious and scary!"

"I went along with him this time. I should have objected into coming here!" Tsuna wailed.

"You should have!" Tsuri scolded, wanting to grab him by the spikes of his hair and slam him onto the table. "You're usually the first out of the two of us who goes against what that damn baby says or does!"

"I didn't know where we were going or what his intention was! He only gave me a map and told me to follow it!" Tsuna retorted. "Besides, you went along with it too!"

"I was persuaded byyou, dear brother! Did I have a choice!"

"Ahem." The three teenagers rotated their heads to see the waiter with check in hand. "Who is paying? From all the dishes you ordered, it sums up to be about-"

"I don't even want to hear the price!" the twins yelled together in despair. Haru stood next to them while praying that it wouldn't get worse. Wrong. It would. The solution to the check came in with the teens helping out in the back by washing dishes.

There was good timing because the owner came in the store which turned out to have been Yamamoto's old man and their friend. It turned out that the restaurant was TakeSushi, their family sushi restaurant. Tsuri heard Yamamoto mention it several times, and even brought some sushi to them when he could too. Their mother also frequented here on her good days when she had some time to spare for herself. What an expensive and well kept place. Their friend was off pretty well.

Gladly, the adult let them off the hook because they were friends with his son, but Reborn, Bianchi and Lambo showed up again, consuming all of the more expensive sushi and now Tsuna, Tsuri and Haru had to pay the price with their bodies. As in working themselves to the bone to pay 70,000 yen for all the goddamn food the people they knew ate.

Yamamoto, being the kind guy he was, offered to help them and they really appreciated it.

Two hours already into their labor, they started to feel it in their arms and legs. Haru and Yamamoto were drying up some huge bento boxes while Tsuna and Tsuri were washing and drying plates. Tsuri was not looking at him nor speaking to him, clearly pissed that Tsuna got them into this in the first place. They could have avoided the whole ordeal if he had questioned Reborn beforehand.

Tsuna pouted. Sure, he should have refused, but did it look like he also had a choice in the matter? It was either refuse and die or go alone with whatever Reborn had planned. He'd promised he wouldn't make them so anything physical since Tsuri was still recovering but honestly! She could appreciate the fact that it was because of him that their consequence was light! The brother and sister worked together yet, inharmoniously, clearly angry at one another.

Haru and Yamamoto sweat dropped at their tense and obvious behavior and continued to dry up the sushi boxes. Tsuri was too concentrated in her work so as Tsuna turned off the sink, he sighed loudly and reached out his hand to Tsuri for the towel.

"Lets switch. I'll dry, and you wash."

"I'm fine with drying plates thank you," Tsuri replied too quickly.

"I already told you it wasn't my fault."

"But you still went along with it! We were lucky that Kaasan didn't answer the phone! She would've had our heads!"Haru watched Tsuri shudder from head to toe. It seemed as if she had just remembered a most horrible memory from the past.

"Your Mom? She's very kind. I don't think she'd be very angry with you," Yamamoto said honestly.

"She can seem pretty loose about anything serious but she can be dead scary," Tsuri mumbled. "If we told her that we didn't do a dine and dash, she'd believe Reborn of all people if he said that it was us and not them."

Tsuna turned off the sink and nodded. "She would then turn on her sweet demon smile and lecture us about knowing better and maybe add a few intense chores to do while she cooks..."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Yamamoto waved a hand with a smile. When he saw the serious looks on the twins, he laughed awkwardly while beginning to feel a bit scared. "Could it?"

"Tsuna, remember the time I broke Hanakari-san's window with a rock when we played with our slingshots?"

Tsuna shivered. Tsuri pointed at the boy next to her to show their baseball loving friend his face to prove their point. "Don't remind me. I still have to come to dinner about 5 minutes after you do to make sure Kaasan isn't mad."

While Tsuri exclaimed to her brother about what it meant to sacrifice herself for her brother, Yamamoto and Haru stared at each other afraid and were planning to catch a small break when Gokudera came tumbling inside the kitchen looking furious and worried.

"I won't let you hog all the glory!"

"Gokudera-kun!"

"I heard from Reborn-san. You were tricked by Yamamoto's fishy family restaurant."

"Don't badmouth us like that," Yamamoto shot back in a tone that Tsuri wasn't used to hearing from him.

"T-that's not it! You've got it wrong! Totally wrong!" Tsuna defended quickly.

"When you come in, you should ask for the whole story than spouting nonsense," Tsuri sprinkled some water left in her hands at the silver head's face. "Your older sister, Lambo and Reborn came in and ate some sushi without paying."

He growled like a guard dog after being sprayed with water to stop its barring and shrugged. "Well either way. It's my job to help Juudaime when he's in trouble." He lifted his sleeves and pushed Tsuri's body away. "I'll have these dishes washed in no time!"

"Tsuna… stop him before—"

Tsuna turned quickly to stop him from doing any reckless but he was too fast and broke a dish or two.

The twins stared at the shattered ceramic pieces on the ground. It took a minute or too to take it in.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME BAKADERA?! THATS EXPENSIVE!" Tsuri screamed like an erupting volcano.

"100,000 yen...Hahi an endless hell of debt", Haru began to cry. Tsuri rushed to her and began to fidget everywhere.

"Tsuri, Haru calm down! W-We'll get through this!" Tsuna waved his arms all over the air frantically as if the action could convince him too that it was going to be alright. "Gokudera-kun, I'm begging you. Don't move an inch."

"I-I'm sorry Juudaime."

"Yamamoto, I sacrifice my livelihood to pay this debt. Tell your dad I'll pay it with my life," Tsuri dramatically sobbed as Tsuna began to tell her that he would do it too.

"E-Eh? Tsuri-chan its alright. We just have to be even more careful than before", the baseball star smiled reassuringly. "My dad values his dishes but they can be replaced."

The twins decided to complete their task and look towards the positive side. As long as they labored they would slowly pay off what they could. For better or for worse? They had spoken too soon. More sushi was eaten, Bianchi had "changed" her cooking style, and many stomachs were destroyed not only because of the delayed poison cooking, but also because of the HUGE debt the twins would have to pay soon by working more hours at TakeSushi.

…

…

After Bianchi's delayed sushi effect…

"Tsuna, Octopus-head, why don't you guys go walk Haru home?" Tsuri suggested when everyone exited TakeSushi. It had been an exhausting day for everyone and going home hadn't been done in hesitation. If Bianchi weren't so dangerous and Tsuri wasn't terribly bad at choosing the right words, she probably would have gone all Evil Nana on the Italian woman. She did promise to take her to get medicine for her to make up for it. Might as well.

"What about you? I can't let you walk home by yourself," Tsuna objected. "Take Gokudera-kun with you-"

Tsuri flung her hands everywhere as fast as she could to make her brother stop talking. "Nope. Its kind of best if he doesn't come with me. I have to pass by a certain store to go get some stomach pain pills or something to get me off the urgency to use the bathroom every so minutes and his sister will be there. I don't want to be carrying his body."'Not that I would anyways'Tsuri muttered imagining the heavy weight on her back.

"Don't get kidnapped or anything," Gokudera let waves of irritation show at the female copy. "You have your—"

"Yes, for the millionth time, I got your damn tanuki alarm on." Tsuri lifted her sweater's sleeve to show him and Tsuna. "Now get going. Its getting late and I have to meet Bianchi as soon as possible," Tsuri rolled her eyes.

Tsuna, Haru and Gokudera also began to walk the opposite direction and Tsuna couldn't help but feel a little tingle in the back of his head and that it was because of Tsuri. He ignored it much to his dismay because he knew that his twin sister didn't like to be babied and be protected too much. He did pause and turn to look at her but was met with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.'Relax. I'll be fine.'Tsuna bit his lip to restrain his brotherly instincts wanting to take over his nerves and continued on alongside a blushing Haru and still irritated Gokudera.

Tsuri sighed at the success of reassuring her twin and was starting on the way to meet Bianchi when she felt her whole face beginning to heat up like a starting fire. Her feet stopped moving as she looked on to the person standing in front of her. He was wearing the Namimori's Disciplinary Committee's arm band attached to clothes that weren't the school uniform. 'Weird. Did something happen to his uniform?' She raised an eyebrow curiously. When his eyes met with hers she could feel a cold chill creeping up her back. "H-Hibari-san! G-Good Afternoon!" Tsuri bowed quickly.

"Hn. I see you're up and about, Sawada Tsukairi," Hibari's steel eyes scanned the petite body in front of him.

"Yes. Its all thanks to you," she said and smiled when she recalled his actions from the previous day. "I wanted to thank you for nursing me back to health. I hear you administered the IV bag while the perv— I mean Shamal-sensei was out..." Tsuri mentally pictured herself punching the stupid male nurse for walking away and neglecting his duty. Though who knew what kind of pervy move he'd make on her while she'd been out cold. "Actually I had doubts that it had been you... because well... its you..." Hibari glared. Tsuri hid a squeak behind her lips. "B-But... anyways thank you very much! I'm in your debt."

Hibari held his gaze on the brunette for a few long seconds. Tsuri began to wonder if he had anything left to say since the prefect wasn't much for words but as she was going to speak, her voice got stuck in her throat when his eyes turned slightly dangerous. Tsuri's head rang bells and when she spiked up a weird sense that one of his arms was going to move, she moved to the right before to avoid a hit. And quite a hit it would've been.

Hibari smirked at the girl, revealing his tonfa that had been hidden underneath his jacket. "Now that you are well, you owe me herbivore. I want a fight." The female swallowed hard. And it wasn't because of the poison cooking aftertaste. "I've seen that you are pretty strong. Fight me."

Tsuri swore inside her head. Had Hibari seen her fight with Mukuro months ago? That couldn't be possible. He's been out cold due to all the broken bones he sustained on their earlier fight. She blinked.

She wasn't as strong as Hibari, and it was a futile attempt in demonstrating whatever defensive skills she had when she had let her guard down and earned a fresh wound in her abdomen from Mukuro. She promised the person she had trained with as a kid years ago that she would keep practicing combat, but since she had been busy moping about her school grades, her dad's absence and protecting her brother from bullies at the time, she was majorly rusty. If it wasn't for that hyper will shot then her sixth sense would be sleeping. Now for some reason it was way easier to dodge Hibari's surprise attacks but still!

She would obviously lose, and appear all beaten up if she fought with the prefect. If anything she was swift because she had soccer. Thank Nami for a sport that helped with running away because she swore her legs itched to do so at this moment.

As much as her deep instincts were telling her to listen to that urge, Tsuri's body was paralyzed at the hungry hunting glance coming from the prefect. She felt like tied up prey in the middle of nowhere trying to find a way to escape from her predator. "I'm not strong Hibari-san!"

Hibari lunged for another attack and she shifted again but the movement made her stomach hurt. Hibari paused. "You lie." Cue another lunge. Another dodge. She began running for her dear life but was thrown to the floor with one clean hit on her abdomen, which made the feeling in her gut worse. Tsuri clicked her tongue. Was the prefect too stubborn to take a hint of refusal or was he deaf? Hibari stared at the petite body on the ground and waited.

"I-I'm not lying! I'm still recovering, just got food poisoned today and I am not in the condition to fight anyone—," Tsuri got cut off when she felt her pocket vibrate. She pulled out her phone. Bianchi was calling her. She raised herself from the pavement and scratched her head furiously. "Shoot! I forgot I was supposed to meet her at the store now!" Tsuri clutched her stomach in a panicky manner and looked towards Hibari. "Hibari-san I need to be somewhere. Can we discuss this another time?"

"No."

The blunt answer struck irritation inside Tsuri. "I need to meet someone!"

"Where?"

"The store by the post office! I need to pick up a medicine and buy some things I need with Gokudera's older sister."

Hibari seemed apathetic to the female twin but she just blinked once and saw that he was walking the way she was going. Her eyes darted to the road and back to him a few times before blinking again. "I'll go with you."

Tsuri looked at him like he grew another head. She wanted to ask why, but her pain was preventing that and she needed a bathroom ASAP. She groaned audibly. "Okay, okay fine Hibari-san. But I have one request or no deal..."

Hibari remained apathetic but his eyes gave her a look that told her to continue...

…

…

…

Hibari swore that was the first time a person, and a girl at that, angered him with her request. He was currently inside a strange store that looked like a convenience store, but also a shopping one that consisted of clothes in every corner. He still had his emotionless expression on, but he had stress marks on top of his head that wanted to be let out to rampage among the only two people inside the store plus the clerk. He was more responsible for the space being so enclosed and small.

Bianchi was busy roaming among the clothes section while Tsuri had just returned from yet another trip to the bathroom. Hibari wanted so badly to at least bite the clerk to death to release his burning annoyance, but in order for him to demand a fight from Sawada Tsukairi he had been restrained. But why? Tsuri sighed out loud as she picked out some stomach medicine from a counter. Her face was pale. She glanced at the prefect standing next to her.

Surprisingly, he looked calm since not many people were in their space to 'crowd', but somehow she could tell by his aura that he wasn't too content not biting people to death. It was for the best however. He seemed to really want that fight from her though so she asked him to stay put in exchange for a probable thumbs up from her for a spar.

Tsuri walked over to him and gave the prefect a small smile. "Um, Hibari-san? If you want I can buy you a stress ball to keep you calm for now," Tsuri offered. Hibari ignored her and instead had walked away towards the cellphone accessories section. Tsuri ignored the shining smiles of the rose haired woman who was picking out girly clothes by the back and instead followed Hibari. She had a premonition she was buying those to make Tsuri try them on at home. There was no way she was going to stay and watch her do that. Running away and making her think she wasn't there anyone seemed like a better idea now.

She sighed, slowly making her way to hide behind Hibari. He was taller and it was plausible that it'd hide her away from sight. He didn't even notice her change of movement since his interest was focused on a phone charm. Tsuri didn't want to even think it, but the prefect seemed harmless as he gazed at the little yellow fluffy bird charm. The yellow bird even had a little fluff material to go along with its soft appearance and Tsuri reached out for it.

"Reminds me of the yellow bird you carry on your shoulder at school. Do you like this one?"

The prefect glared, but it didn't last long as his face was dusted in a faint pink before vanishing in a flash. Tsuri blushed as well, taken aback. Who knew the prefect liked small little things like a yellow bird? The little moment of innocence caught her off guard and noticing the small wide caramel eyes staring at him surprised Hibari looked away and cleared his throat. "Hurry up herbivore.I don't have your precious time."

Tsuri shook her head to gain back her senses and giggled a little. It didn't last too long as her stomach began to bug her again. As if her prayers were answered, Bianchi had gone away from the store, since she herself figured out that she must have witnessed the pink frilly clothes she was going to bring home and ran away. Once the coast was clear and knew she wouldn't return, Tsuri took a breath of relief and put her stuff on the counter to pay.

Receipts and money exchanged Tsuri searched for the prefect and found him already outside the doors.

She had expected for him to leave after that since their deal was now fulfilled, but before she could tell him thank you and leave, he found the prefect already by the road without looking back, obviously cueing her to start moving her legs and walk. Tsuri blushed. Hibari Kyoya was known to be a ruthless, cold, apathetic and violent person. But a person wasn't born like that at the get-go. He had turned this way for something, obviously personal. He was scary...Tsuri could see that, but instead she found just another guy who reminded her of her brother.

When she and her brother were little and Tsuna had started becoming more and more loser-ish, he began losing friends. Tsuri witnessed how much it affected her brother and sometimes she would sacrifice her then-social nature to be with him and defend him. Tsuna would lash out to her in anger, it didnt even sound like he could do something like that and yet... the younger twin just knew they were his pent up emotions he didn't want anyone to see.

It didn't' erase that sad look in his eyes every time they went from and out of school. And ever since Tsuri helped rescue Yamamoto from the roof she had a high alert to know when people were sad; when they were lonely. Call it some other worldly static she earned from the Anya flashback she got. From that day on she had the weird sense to know when someone was feeling lonely. Hibari didn't show it in any inch of his physical body and emotion, but his eyes did. Hidden somewhere beneath all the glaring and death stares. How did he keep himself away from feeling all of it she wondered, when he hated crowding?

Tsuri shook her head violently. There wasno wayshe was going to start being compassionate to the Demon of Namimori and the jerk who stole her first kiss. He could manage on his own without a stranger worrying about him. He'd bite her to death if she even thought once of doing that.

"So about this debt..." Tsuri began slowly but soon found herself struggling to keep up with the prefect's quick pace. He didn't seem to stop walking. Curse her short height and legs.

"I've changed my mind."

Tsuri raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"For now, I want you to become my helper around the reception room. Our previous secretary has transferred schools. The paperwork is piling up."

"Eh? Secretary?" Tsuri regretted bringing the conversation up again. She hates doing homework and now she was going to file paperwork. Talk about torture after hours of writing notes and retaining lessons.

"I don't repeat myself twice."

Tsuri narrowed her eyes. "No spar or anything then...?"

Hibari stared at the gleaming caramel eyes that looked at him expectantly for him to say no. It strangely amused him. "You still owe me for asking me to stay restrained."

Tsuri puffed out her cheeks in disappointment. "You take advantage of requests don't you Hibari-san?"

"Hn."

Tsuri sighed and crossed her arms while looking away as a sign that she was no longer going to push the conversation for a compromise. Not yet anyway.

The prefect slipped his hands into his pockets and stole another glance at the small girl next to him. She was odd. By a distance, she was always loud, back talked to the weird baby with the fedora, and had a sharp tongue to those closest to her as in Gokudera Hayato or the school nurse when he passed by the halls.

The girl in front of him was entirely different from what he saw every single day by the school. It was a given that she was being polite to him. He was her senpai and a stranger, and someone known not to be messed with. Not that it could stop her though. She had been the one to challenge him back at the reception room fiasco and she even called him a ridiculous nickname that he loathed by hearing at first glance. He averted his eyes and instead watched the road. He would not grow interest in her. He didn't want to attract her crowd to him. But... he really did want to test her strength for himself so maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let her work for him for a while. He'd be able to demand a spar whenever he pleased.

For the rest of the walk, they remained in silence walking together side by side. Tsuri raised her head to see the moon above in the sky, and when she did so, she noticed that they had already arrived in front of a familiar gate. How did he know where she and Tsuna lived? She shuddered. Nope, let's not go there.

"Thank you for walking me home, Hibari-san," Tsuri bowed politely at the raven head. He nodded in response.

"I expect to see you tomorrow in the reception room after your club is done for the day to sign the paperwork and temporary contract."

'Contract? Am I selling my soul?'Tsuri gave an incredulous look. "B-But tomorrow-" The narrowed black steel eyes made her rethink her answer. "F-Fine. But I can't promise I'll be there on time."

"I'll let Kusakabe inform you your duties by lunch hour."

'At least let me have the time to be able to eat for Nami's sake!'Tsuri complained in her head. Tsuri sighed while nodding softly and opened her house gate when she realized she forgot something.

Hibari was leaving but paused when he saw her run to him holding a small yellow bird phone charm. "Wait. I almost forgot to give this to you." Tsuri grabbed his palm. At first he wanted to pull away, he didnt like to be touched by anyone. But her small, warm hands made their way to his own and slipped something inside before he could. It was a charm. The same one they had looked at a few moments ago.

"I don't think you'll say thank you, but you're welcome anyways. Goodnight!" Hibari watched as the little herbivore went and opened her front door of her home and stepped inside. He held the fluffy charm that was still in his hand. He let out a small huff.'That herbivore can be too innocent for her own good.'

The young girl slipped off her shoes and heard some voices in the kitchen The kids must have gone to bed since the house was so peaceful. It was scary. Tsuri followed the noise and light. Tsuna and their mother were engaged in conversation of something. And the way Tsuna's expression was looking it seemed like it was one that was all too familiar to her. She didn't even want to ask about it so she pretended she hadn't seen it.

"I'm home!"

"Ara Ri-chan! Welcome home," Nana shouted. "Come and have some tea. Tsuna already told me about your stomaches. Make sure to drink your medicine as much as you need okay?"

Tsuri nearly laughed when she saw that Tsuna began moping about his stomach ache again, head on the table while their mother soothed his back comfortingly. She dropped the plastic bag on the table and sat down.

"Reborn-kun told me about what happened today."

The twins gulped.'What did he say, WHAT DID HE SAY!?'both of them cried inside their still conscious heads. "Did Bianchi-chan really make sushi today? He said you two tried it and fell right after you tasted it! Was it that good?"

"M-Ma na..." both Tsuri and Tsuna said together.

"I think my stomach ache just came back," Tsuri's eyes twitched.

Nana got up from her chair and fetched tea for her daughter, along with two white worn out envelopes. They had mailing stamps like a passport would have at traveling from place to place. She pushed them in front of her children.

"Whats this?" Tsuri asked as their matching caramel eyes met. Tsuna silently apologized because he had wanted to avoid opening this conversation again with her present. He knew just how delicate she took the topic. So, the first thing Tsuri did was to take a breath.

She grabbed the envelopes with her and Tsuna's name on it and opened it to find the first one with personal handwritten letters, and the other with a couple of yen bills. The typical thing they'd get once in a while. Tsuna stared at it and for a moment, Nana saw a flicker of anger pass through the twins' eyes. Both put back the money without reading the letters inside and pushed it back towards their mother.

Nana struggled with a smile, the same as many times when this exact scene happened. "You two can at least read the letter-"

"Why can't he ship off his own body instead?" Tsuri interrupted.

"Tsuri..." Tsuna said, eyeing her a warning to stop so she wouldn't upset their mother. Nana lowered her gaze. Tsuri didn't want to deal with this, she didn't like opening the sealed jar of emotions. It was always this same sitatuon with him. He could never care for dropping by to check in on them and instead thought a piece of paper and currecy was enough to make up for it? She wanted to shout and cry and break something. But Tsuna was right. Their mother didn't need to deal with this.

Tsuri sighed and grabbed her letter, tucking it into her pocket so she could read it on her own. Tsuri smiled only faintly as a silent promise to her mother she wouldn't tear or throw it away but Tsuna could still see the lingering sparks of resentment in her eyes.

"I'm going to bed Kaasan. I'll see you tomorrow." She walked out of the dining room without another glance

and climbed the stairs towards her room. Tsuna's eyes dimmed a little. Tsuri would need him soon. He raised himself from his chair and went to hug his mother good night and go up as well. Nana appreciated her son's gesture and smiled faintly at the retreating figures of her children.

Nana stared at her own letter. "She'll understand one day," she spoke as she stared at the envelope. "You're trying your best to show them how much you miss them from afar, but I think she's right. And she may not show it, but she misses you as much as I do. I hope we see you soon."

Reborn observed the whole interaction between mother and children. He felt a little sorry for them, and a little anger towards the father. Nono didn't have strict rules to limit Iemitsu to contact and visit his family. Why couldn't he dedicate even a week to come and see them when he had the chance?

'Baka Iemitsu. You're constructing a big gap in between you and your family.'

Little did Reborn know that Nana's wish would be heard and that she would see her husband again, but this time Iemitsu Sawada would bring utter chaos with him.

Chapter 13: Summer Debt Madness Pt. 1

Chapter Text

Summer should be relaxing. It should be a time where every student can get away from school and go hang out with friends, go on a vacation with family or be as lazy as they can be.

The Sawada twins prayed for a peaceful summer like those before. Peaceful in the sense that all they did was stay home, help their mom with the simple at-home tasks and get away with not doing summer homework.

This summer was COMPLETELY different since Reborn was in the picture. Which meant that a relaxing summer was irrefutably impossible.

It was a quiet and already hot morning. Tsuri Sawada sat on her home's porch watching her mother hang laundry with Bianchi and the kids while waiting for her idiot of a brother to wake up so they could get moving on their busy schedule. Busy as in they had to literally work. Why? Well here came the summary of the past two weeks since summer began.

Their mother had gotten a prize for a cruise from a magazine she submitted. Nana had been so excited and happy to spend some time with her kids that Bianchi and Reborn assured them that they'd take care of the kids and the house while the Sawada family left. It turned out as not so amazing and lucky as the vacation sail was a setup from Reborn; her friends had snuck in the yacht, became cast aways, and as it turned out it was just a stress ploy from their tutor.

Worst of all, they were heading to Mafia Land. Tsuri felt a headache coming just remembering the horrible experience. Tsuna begged Tsuri to take the front lines of the trip, convincing her to check in and help him get through the beginning so their mom could go in without any worries. Needless to say, even Tsuri suffered at the hands of Reborn's mischief and the twins ended up getting kicked to the ends of the island for failure of identification.

The twins then met another baby, or 'Arcobaleno' like Reborn named Colonello and Tsuri watched half of their 45 minutes of being stranded in Mafialand's deserted sections, seeing Tsuna get beat up by both babies mercilessly and running for her life to prevent herself from getting kicked and dragged around. There was also Skull since he brought chaos to the island with a stupid war and Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto fell responsible for the so called 'Practice Emergency Evac.' Three babies like Reborn only made Tsuri want to hide in an isolated room and refuse to come out to the world any longer. The trip back home felt more stressful, but at least their mom had a good time.

After that then came Tsuna's swimming situation.

Boy oh boy had she wished that she'd been there to help him out but one, she was a poor swimmer and couldn't teach her brother for sh*t, and two, had been stuck in the reception room filing papers and doing errands for the Demon of Namimori, Hibari Kyoya. Seems that even the secretary of the disciplinary committee had things to prep for the summer. How annoying.

She heard that the boys, Haru and even Kyoko had tried to help and when she came home that day Tsuna was crying a bucket load of tears because he learned how to swim and reached 18 meters. The tears didn't stop and after worrying Tsuna would dehydrate himself, she was met with an expense bill of a water slide her dear brother had failed to mention he destroyed because of Lambo and a shark behaving dolphin.

Tsuri went to "sleep" that night knowing that her summer was now on the track of never ending bills and business. She begged to Buddha, Kami many times and pleaded to have a normal life but sadly this was all she'd get. Present Tsuri tugged on her hoodie's string contemplating about her life.

"You're up early."

Tsuri turned her head to find Bianchi now resting beside her on the porch with Reborn on her lap. She gave them a tired sigh.

"How can I sleep in after seeing the massive bill from last night?"

"You stress too much about everything Baka-Tsuri."

"How can I not!? I bet everyone in our neighborhood thinks we're a destructive bunch of delinquents thanks to you!" Which had been proven when she had walked towards Namimori Mall to drop off some books at Yamamoto's place. She had accidentally bumped into an old lady whom had run away in less than a minute after laying eyes on her screaming"HELP! ITS THE CRAZY HALF NAKED GIRL WHO LOOKS LIKE THE CRAZY HALF NAKED BOY!"She hadn't even been half naked or anything! "And it's no thanks to you! This summer is going so bad that my hair is starting to fall out!"

Reborn shrugged, obviously not going to waste his energy on her and answer. "So, you're going to the beach with them today?" All she did was roll her eyes and sigh again.

"Yeah. Tsuna said that the pool's manager gave him and the guys community service. I think he said they were on lifeguard duty? Don't know if Tsuna would be capable of saving anyone for his lack of swimming…"

"Great! Now you'll be able to wear that swimsuit I bought you the other day," Bianchi chirped up happily. "You have a great body under those unfashionable baggy clothes. It's time you show it to the world."

Tsuri blushed furiously. "I'm not wearing that! Im taking decent clothes okay? DECENT. I'm young! I don't need prying and gross eyes on me!"

"You're an unappreciative brat," Reborn shook his head. "Being able to charm someone from the opposite gender is a trait most mafia women need to get through any mission."

"You've got to be joking," Tsuri backfired. "I'm not even 16 yet. This isn't a mission either!"

"-yawn- Ohayo Kaasan..." a voice mumbled tiredly behind Tsuri and company. They turned to see the boy twin still dressed in PJs, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. Tsuri watched Reborn leap off Bianchi's lap to kick Tsuna on the back. "ITAI!"

"Oh, morning Tsu-kun!" Nana greeted her son normally, laughing in the process at seeing him plastered on the floor. Tsuna rubbed the spot behind him where a tiny shoe print dwelled and, as always, scolded the Arcobaleno.

"Stop complaining Dame-Tsuna and go get dressed. You have a long day today."

Tsuri raised herself from her sitting position and stretched. "I'm helping you guys out today, so hurry up."

Tsuna nodded and walked out of the kitchen. Tsuri was about to follow suit when her mother called out to her. "Oh Ri-chan, Bianchi-chan and I picked out a kimono for tonight's festival for you yesterday so make sure you come home early to get ready," Nana smiled sweetly at her daughter.

Tsuri's eyebrow twitched. She was going to begin refusing greatly but seeing the sparkling hopeful eyes Nana wore commenced guilt. She wanted to say no, but who knew what these women would do to her if she refused. They would definitely bribe her and she hated being bribed with pocky, since they knew it was her weakness. "O-Okay..." Tsuri smiled an equally forced smile. "I-I'm going to pack now..."

"Don't forget the bathing suit!"

If Bianchi wasn't a mafia woman, an assassin and a new integration in her family, she would've totally told her to go to hell.

.

..

"Hey, aren't those three really cute?" said a random guy.

"They're like models from a magazine." Said another. Tsuna and the others glanced behind them where Haru, Kyoko and Tsuri were. Kyoko was wearing an orange tank top with sunflower designs and a pair of shorts. Haru was wearing a one piece pink swim suit. Tsuri walked beside them wearing a pale yellow tank top with orange beach shorts. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, her mini spikes sticking out from the crown of her hair.

"We finished changing!" yelled Haru and Kyoko. Tsuna could see that Tsuri was displeased and even tried to hide behind them. She didn't want to disappoint them, so she waved smally. Tsuna could see she was internally cursing and screaming by the strained smile on her lips.

Yamamoto had gone to Tsuri to compliment her, which made her face go red in embarrassment. Tsuna, making sure his brotherly instincts were on check, made sure everything seemed fine before he sent Tsuri to change but one glance at Kyoko made him forget. Gokudera on the other hand…

He didn't know why his eyes became glued to her. He turned his face away towards the ocean so no one could see how red his face was turning.

"HAHA! Lambo-san is going in first!" yelled Lambo as he rushed into water with an inflated ring.

"I-pin will be first!" yelled I-pin as she also ran into the water.

"Hey! Hold on you two! Whose fault do you think it is that we had to come all the way to the ocean?!" Tsuna yelled angrily. The kids feigned innocence, especially Lambo.

"Lambo-san doesn't know…" Lambo said with a smile.

"Lambo…" Tsuri warned, her voice going down a few notes. The cow child gulped in fear for his life.

"It's because YOU broke the water slide in the public pool! We all came here so we could work part-time in order to pay it off!"

"So, Sasagawa's brother is working part-time here as a lifeguard?" Yamamoto watched Tsuna's strict demeanor lead the children to go sit under the umbrella they had set up.

"Lifeguard? We're working as lifeguards?"

"Eh? Juudaime, you didn't know?"

"Reborn told me we'd do a summer job but wasn't specific."

"I told him I was worried how you'd react considering your history at the beach," Tsuri laughed softly. "Where is Ryohei-senpai anyways?"

"He says he's helping out his senior," Kyoko explained. "Oh. There he is! Onii-chan!"

"EXTREME! GOOD OF YOU TO COME!" yelled Ryohei suddenly who popped up out of nowhere.

"Lion-Punch, a.k.a Namimori's Rumblefish, spends his summers here as a lifeguard in training!" explained Ryohei proudly. Tsuri stifled a laugh at the name but stopped to look in horror when he jumped into the swimming pool and waved his arms and legs like an octopus.

"…I thought you told me he could swim…?" Tsuri said in disbelief.

'I told you he couldn't' Tsuna sweat dropped.

"Let me introduce you to my co-workers, but first, here's Elder Pao Pao, who is being beaten by the heat!" Ryohei said while pointing to a Reborn who was dressed as an elephant with boxing gloves. He was lying down on the lifeguard seat, sleeping. Tsuna stared.

"Didn't he leave with us?" he turned to Tsuri who shrugged. "He's Reborn. I don't ask anymore."

'He's being way too lazy…' thought Tsuna.

"And also, let me find my fellow seniors…where are they?" Ryohei said searching around the area.

"You're just making trouble when you throw away garbage. That only makes more work for us!" said a random dark skinned man in his swimming underwear. Tsuna and company gazed at the new voices speaking. He was holding up a small boy by the collar and looked like he was about to burst into tears. Two others beside the guy threw the kid down and threw trash down at him.

Wow. This dude was a piece of sh*t, Tsuri thought. She could sense her building animosity leaking out. She turned to look at Yamamoto and Gokudera, who were also matching her energy equally.

"Let me introduce you to them. These are my senpai!" Ryohei introduced, oblivious at the reason why the little boy beside him was crying.

"Yo!" said one of them while smirking. The others were also grinning evilly.

"They are former Namimori Middle School Boxing Club members."

All three of these high schoolers were looking at them like pieces of meat. It reminded Tsuri of the way Mochida had tried to mark and claim Kyoko months ago.

"Hn…oh!" said he guy in the swimming underwear smiled with a dangerous glint in his eyes as he walked over to Kyoko. "Are you Ryohei's little sister? She's just my type." Another went up to Haru and grabbed her arm and held it tight.

"Let the girls play with us. You guys keep the peace on the beach," ordered the other guy. Suddenly, another guy came up from behind Tsuri and wrapped an arm behind her shoulders. His other arm sneaked up behind her waist, a hand trailing down slowly. Tsuri winced, and her whole neck was growing hot with fury. She could see how pissed Tsuna, and the other two became the minute they made contact with them.

"Hey, you're actually pretty cute" he whispered. The pervert high schooler slowly moved his hands further down Tsuri and she was going to raise one of her arms and land her knuckles towards his face to break his nose. Without warning, Gokudera walked up to the guy that was holding her waist and removed his hand from where it was, forcefully pushing him feet away.

Yamamoto went towards Haru and snatched the second guy's arm off her shoulder with a firm squeeze. Tsuna took the hand off that was on his sister's shoulder harshly and for the first time, was standing next to Kyoko in a protective stance. The boys glared.

"We have no need to do our work for you!" yelled Gokudera. "And if you touch her again I'll blow your brains out!"

"That's right senpai! I didn't call them here so that you could mess around!" Ryohei added.

"Don't you understand, Ryohei? We want our darling juniors to learn how wonderful it is to be a lifeguard."

"Piece of sh*t lies," Tsuri muttered angrily.

"Oh, I see!" yelled Ryohei.

"DON'T AGREE WITH THEM!" Gokudera bellowed in rage.

"Hm? Did you say something, little girl?" the one that held Tsuri earlier asked dangerously.

She stared at her nails as if they were more interesting to look at. "You heard me."

He appeared in front of her this time and reached a hand out to grab her. Tsuri's reflexes kicked in, quickly raised a leg to kick him on the shin, and rushed to hide behind the silver head.

"Ouch! You're gonna pay for that you bitch!"

"I came to help my brother and friends. I'm not going to ditch them for you!" Tsuri said grabbing Gokudera's shoulders from behind. The bomber began to blush heavily at the contact. Tsuna eyed the two with his glare and the blush on the bombers cheeks. He did a double take.

"I'm going to help my brother!" Kyoko also said determined.

"That's right! We want to stay with Tsuna-san and the others!" Haru yelled with fervor. The three girls looked at each other and nodded.

"Which one is Tsuna? Tsuna as in tuna right? HAHAHA!" the seniors mocked and began to laugh.

"How fragile are your egos that you go so far to make fun of someone younger?" The twin sister smiled evilly. "Is it that we prefer him than some wannabe sh*tty boys like you?"

"Wanna repeat that? I'm sure you'll regret it." One of them tried to snatch Tsuri again but the silver head blocked him out of his way once again. Tsuri's eyes widened at the repeated behavior, suppressing a blush on her face.

"Seems that we agree to disagree. How about we settle it fair and square through sports. A 3 on 3 swimming contest? The losers become the winners' slaves. We're giving you another chance since you are still middle schoolers. And you, I'm going to make you entertain us until nightfall if we have to."

Tsuna's murderous intent went up and the twins were going to object until—

"That sounds good to me. We accept," said a squeaky voice.

"EH? REBORN! DON'T DECIDE BY YOURSELF!" Tsuna yelled in protest.

"Go to that round rock out there in the sea and come back. We're gonna go one by one. The side that winds 2/3 rounds win."

"Then, I'll go first." Yamamoto offered.

"I'll go second. Juudaime, can you go third?" Gokudera asked.

"Eh? ME TOO?" yelled Tsuna. Tsuri smacked him on the head. "If you want Kyoko and me to become some playthings for these perverts then don't complain and help!"

"You don't have to hit me! Geez!" Tsuna rubbed his head.

"We can't leave this to Sawada yet! I'll swim!" yelled Ryohei.

"I think it's best if you supervise and fill in as lifeguard for now Senpai… Tsuri tried to divert the boxer toward another role he could fulfill. He would definitely be the cause of hers and his sister's demise if he swam for their team. Better Tsuna than him.

"…I…agree…" Tsuna's face turned blue at the thought of Ryohei swimming.

"Do your best, Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko rooted with a smile.

"All right!" Tsuri saw Tsuna wear a motivated expression until it quickly faded into panic mode. Tsuri shook her head.'Kyoko will definitely run to you in appreciation for saving us…'Tsuri teased and the boy turned to give her a playful glare.

Yamamoto and a senior got ready to swim. Ryohei gave the signal and the contest commenced. At first, Yamamoto swam slower than the senior but soon caught up to his pace. They curved around the round rock….but then Yamamoto didn't come back. The twins raised an eyebrow.

'What happened?'

The senior mentioned that he had complained about getting a cramp in his leg and that he had to stay at the rock to rest.

'Yamamoto doesn't get cramps easily. He's an athlete and I'm pretty sure they know that'Tsuri told Tsuna who nodded.

'Something's not right...'he replied.

After Yamamoto was Gokudera. He started out the same as Yamamoto and caught up. He had also disappeared behind the rocks. Tsuna was seriously starting to worry.

"Did your second racer cramp his leg too?" asked the leader that was left with a smirk.

In the unfairness of it all, Tsuri pushed invisible sleeves up her arms. She approached the lifeguard, batted her eyes, lifted a leg and with one swift move, kicked him right in the groin.

Tsuna, Kyoko, and Haru stared in complete shock. Lambo and I-pin, who had only observed the interaction between teens silently froze like ice at the sight of their Tsuri-nee. Reborn for the first time had to retrain himself from laughing out loud.

The lifeguard winced in unbearable pain and fell to the floor. The second lifeguard backed away in fear. Tsuna paled.

"You pieces of sh*t! I'll castrate each and every one of you when they come back to shore! There's no f*cking way that i'll be betted like cattle to a total ninny group of cheaters and let them get away with it!"

Tsuri had gone into Evil Nana Mode. Nana wasn't their mother for nothing. She was oblivious and kind at heart, but you didn't want to tick off the woman. Tsuna knew that Tsuri had a ticking temper when provoked but this was absolutely nuts. It was as if she had replicated Gokudera's rage and added their mother's angry trait to make someone who kicked men in the nuts.

"YOU ASSHOLES BETTER TELL ME WHAT THE f*ck IS GOING ON OR ILL CUT YOUR MAN PARTS OFF!" she yelled, a black aura hugging her body. Tsuna and Reborn only had to blink to see the other two men on the floor, not moving a muscle with foam running down their mouth and right onto the sand.

An awkward silence ensued for about two minutes as the spiked brunette fixed her hair and tried to catch her breath. Tsuna's mouth twitched and tried to ask Reborn for help in managing his sister's problematic behavior but only saw him write something down on a leon-shaped notepad.

"Tsuri-chan, you're so brave!" Kyoko and Haru yelled and ran towards her in happiness. Tsuna questioned their behavior but instead let it slide and sighed in exasperation.

"My hero desu~"

"I won't let them touch us at all! Stay by me from now on okay?"

"Hai, Tsuri-chan/san!"

'You didn't have to go that far Tsuri…'

'The pervert needed a warning. Now, race the third jerk or I'll give you something to whine about later!'

The one who got kicked raised himself from the floor, clearly still in pain, and waited for Tsuna to take position.

"So are you telling us how you're cheating, or do I have to give you another kick!" Tsuri threatened.

"I'm not telling you sh*t! Now you, race me or we take the girls by force!"

'Tsuna, there's probably people behind those rocks holding Yamamoto and Gokudera back. You have to win the last round.'

Tsuna nodded, finally feeling the courage to take on the challenge. Thanks to Tsuri, he felt like he could win.'I'll make sure I win. Don't worry.'

Reborn smirked.

In a flash, Tsuna dived in and began to swim. Tsuri noticed that Tsuna hadn't come back after turning the rock either and was planning on going in the water to see what was up, but the girls wouldn't let her. Kyoko and Haru hoped that he would appear. And appear he did.

Yamamoto and Gokudera were already swimming their way back, the lifeguard had already come to shore, but Tsuna had gone into dying will mode and helped a little girl that was floating away.

The leader thought he won and was heading towards Haru and Kyoko. Tsuri ran at full speed to kick the guy into the sand but Tsuna beat her to it as he brought the kid to safety, trampling him unde his feet under the sand. Everyone cheered, including some bystanders that saw Tsuna rescue the little girl.

"I'll tell the head of the lifeguard about the seniors," Ryohei stared darkly at their limp figures and dragged the leader away in the burning sand. "There is no way they'll stay around anymore."

Everyone sweat dropped at his obliviousness. It had only gone so far...

The twins shared a victory gaze and fist bumped each other.

"So, now what?" Yamamoto asked while wincing at the pain shooting from his knuckles.

"We take a mild break," Reborn chirped up as he got out of the water. Everyone agreed.

...

..

An hour or so had passed through after the whole ordeal with the seniors and the guys. Tsuri sat under the umbrella watching the girls and the kids play in the water with joy. Tsuna and the guys had begun a game of volleyball. Reborn sat behind her, fanning himself with a Leon fan with one hand while the other held a cup of what looked like iced coffee. Where he got that was beyond her.

"Since when do you kick boys for fun Baka-Tsuri?" Reborn asked out of nowhere.

Tsuri groaned. "I didn't do it for fun. His jerk nature and stupid smirking fueled my anger. I also hate when men think we can be treated like playthings. I saw Kyoko get targeted so I just defended her and Haru," she confessed honestly. She eyed her tutor in an amused way. "You found that hilarious didn't you?"

"I did."

Tsuri laughed.

"So that's why I've been meaning to ask you. Why have you been hiding your skills?"

The brunette tensed. "Skills? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me Tsukairi. I've noticed your progress during training. You're at a slightly higher level than Dame-Tsuna."

If Tsuri's hair could have reacted, it would've looked like Tsuna's hair.'sh*t.'"M-My mom made me take lessons on self defense!"

"There's no reports of you stepping into a dojo. Not even once."

"I-I'm very athletic!"

Reborn sipped more of his drink. "My notes also say you've never been athletic until just recently."

"I'm just naturally healthy?"

"I can assume you've never stepped into a hospital frequently like your brother, but even that's impossible to believe. Your history of medical bills and nurse trips at school contradict it."

Tsuri was fuming with steam, her mind going crazy.

"If you're going to lie, make sure it's accurate to your personality Baka-Tsuri." Reborn transformed his partner into his signature green gun. "Tell me or I'll shoot the truth out of you."

Tsuri flinged her arms around nervously. "Wait a second!"

"Hey Tsuri-chan!"

A tired Yamamoto ran towards the colorful umbrella where the said person was. The girl couldn't be even more relieved. 'YAMAMOTO MY LIFE SAVER!'

Reborn clicked his tongue. One of these days he's force the truth out of her. Leon reverted back to his normal form and climbed next to his partner's shoulder and sat peacefully.

"What's up Yamamoto?"

"Tsuna says if you can go grab us some lemonade."

"Sure. How many do I-"

"ALLOW ME TO GO GET REFRESHMENTS FOR YOU JUUDAIME!" Gokudera's loud voice cut Tsuri's own. Her eyebrow twitched. Tsuna and the said silver head walked towards their area dripping with sweat.

"I'm pretty sure he asked me to do him the favor," the female spat, tick marks adorning her forehead. "You can play puppy and patienty stay in your leash!"

"I'm his right hand man you stupid woman. It's my job to serve him!" The silver head retorted with equal irritation.

"Sister trumps right hand man you idiot. I'm going."

The Vongola successor was going to change his mind and just suffer in dehydration but Yamamoto placed himself in the middle of his two friends, despite the risk and waved his hands in a calming manner.

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down, you two." Yamamoto chortled a bit nervously with his usual goofy grin. "Why don't both of you go to get the drinks? It is too much for one person to carry. Right, Tsuri?"

Caramel and emerald eyes scrunched up in displeasure. But both turned to see the spiked haired male who begged internally for them to get along.

Tsuri huffed and rolled her eyes. "I-I guess."

"Fine."

Tsuna tilted his head in confusion at their behavior. Gokudera couldn't... And Tsuri couldn't either... He scratched his head roughly. Maybe he was overthinking this. They were like cats; they'd scratch and yelp at each other non-stop. To have two people who hated each other like each other… it made Tsuna wonder.

..

...

Gokudera didn't get it. He didn't understand what was wrong with him today.

The young man had never been so objective to the idea of being alone with a woman, much less a little toddler. At first, he was sure it was because she looked like his beloved boss, whom he worshipped like the world. As weird as it was, if he had been a female, he would have completely lost it. *cough* But he wasn't, and instead had a twin sister who always grated on his nerves.

He glanced next to him where the said person was. He made sure to keep his facial expressions on check.

The silverette knew that they weren't the best of friends or anything—However, after their last serious conversation, they were getting better acquainted, right?

"Hey, you got the change?"

Gokudera broke his trance and focused on the brunette's extended hand. Her eyes were still filled red with irritation. He clicked his tongue, his own irritation returning and handed her the yen necessary to buy the drinks.

Wait, why in the world would he even care if they were getting to know each other better? It's not like their relationship with each other would change much just because they cared about Juudaime at the same level.

"Welcome! What may I get you?"

"8 lemonades please!" the copy replied in an equal polite tone.

He was sure he hated her too. Her constant bitching annoyed him greatly. She'd hit him at every opportunity given. She was ridiculously, weirdly obsessed with pocky, and got in trouble way too often, and the biggest one was that she decided to keep quiet and suffer alone on certain things because she didn't want to cause worry.

He did understand though just how much she loved Tsuna. He could tell that she would deal with anything displeasing to make him happy. Gokudera knew from observation just how Tsuri wasn't keen on being girly. So the fact that she came to help Tsuna and put up with a bathing suit that revealed all her curves and skin to be there for him… His cheeks were dusting a faint shade of pink. He didn't move a muscle, stunned. Were his thoughts going crazy too?! How did he come from badmouthing Tsuri to secretly complimenting her and even…. GAH.

Was she a low key witch? Is that why his heart was pounding violently inside his chest when he glanced at her every so often? Is that why he felt so irritated? Did she do some kind of heart attack voodoo spell on him?

"Hello! Earth to blushing puppy! Would you mind helping me out here instead of wandering into your lala land?" Tsuri turned to him, handing him the carton holding the refreshments.

"Give it to me." He reached out to grab the carton, not before touching Tsuri's hands in the process. The uncalled for skin to skin contact made his whole composure nearly fall apart but thankfully he made it on time to salvage the drinks before the scorching sand absorbed it all.

"Baka! Pay attention!" Tsuri scolded lightly, noticing the silver heads strange demeanor. He averted his green eyes and looked towards the tables where people sat down chatting.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem off." She tried to get a good look at his face, the tips of his ears and face the color of a tomato. She snorted and shook her head.

"Kono hentai. You were ogling the girls sitting over there weren't you?"

Gokudera choked on his saliva. "W-What?! That's not it you stupid woman!"

"I mean hey whatever floats your boat. Who knew you liked checkin girls out considering you give that same reaction to my own brother."

Like hell she was attractive. She definitely did something to him.

"Hey um, Gokudera?"

"What the hell do you want, damn woman?"

Tsuri resisted the urge to respond harshly. For Nami's sake what was wrong with the guy today? He was more touchy than usual ever. "Can we lower the hostility for a few minutes? I wanted to thank you. You know, for earlier? I was going to smack the dude for touching me but my nerves got frozen and…" Tsuri's dusted cheeks made his symptoms worsen. "You stepped in at the right moment. So thanks."

Gokudera scowled, feeling his cheeks becoming even hotter. "I didn't do it for you. I did it so Juudaime wouldn't worry."

The silver head expected her retort and looked to the said girl. The reaction he got almost made him drop the lemonades again.

Her stare was stoic and cool, her brows as flat as raised an eyebrow. Was it just him or did a flicker of hurt flash through her eyes?

"Wow. Even after that last conversation. Youstilldon't get it do you?" she muttered in a strange tone. "The next time you step out for me, I'm going to punch you. Do you understand me?" Shaking her head, she turned on her heel, her brown hair swaying around, and walked further ahead of him.

Gokudera kept himself at a steady pace, his green eyes boring the petite body in front of him. Confusion washed over him. What the hell was she angry about? It was true. Tsuri had almost been harassed, so he did what Tsuna would've wanted him to do. What was so wrong about it? And what did she mean about the last conversation they had? Instead of questioning it, the bomber shrugged it off. Girls, especially ones like Tsuri, weren't worth worrying over. If anything she hated it more than not worrying.

It wasnt much of a long walk since by the time she advanced her pace, she had already arrived by their reserved area, the girls and the kids waving while Yamamoto and Tsuna were temporarily in the water helping out a little boy retrieve his floatie.

Tsuri's weird behavior was gone in a millisecond and was replaced with one she unconsciously let out. Futa, who sat next to her to rest, hid under a towel to avoid the weird vibes that came with that smile. "Tsuna, Yamamoto!" she waved at them, pointing at the drinks sitting on the towel by the umbrella. They nodded in response.

'Tsuri, are you okay?'Tsuna asked worriedly by the water while the kid he was helping kept tugging at his blue swim trunks.

The look alike twin sat in the towel sipping her drink quietly. Everyone but Reborn slightly backed away at the blue aura she had emitted without her consent. 'I'm perfectly fine,' she said, her ponytail swaying.'What makes you think I'm angry, Tsu-nii?'she asked dryly.

'Y-You're w-wearing K-Kaasan's sweet d-devil s-s-smile'he pointed out, frightened.

'I am? Maybe you're hallucinating,' she curled her lips upwards again while waving from her spot.

Tsuna winced at the gesture and weakly lifted a hand to wave back at the figure in the yellow tube top. He could clearly tell when she was fuming with actual anger. Tsuri would use his nickname while smiling a little too sweetly. The others didn't seem to notice but him. Tsuna closed his eyes and tried to make the disturbing image disappear.

"Hey onii-chan! It's right there! My floatie! Usagi-chan!"

Tsuna wearily smiled at the little child and guided him to the water where Yamamoto was holding the said water object, smiling his signature grin.

'Hopefully she'll feel better by tonight at the festival ...'Tsuna thought, praying his thoughts would come true.

Chapter 14: Summer Debt Madness Pt. 2

Chapter Text

All she had wanted was for him to demonstrate once, at leastonegosh damn time it wasn't about Tsuna.Juudaime here. Juudaime there.

Ugh, since today that name was making her whole neck grow hot with rage. Tsuri had never felt so bothered hearing it until today. But she asked herself, why should it start? It was obvious that the self claiming right hand man would dote on the actual boss of the Vongola, not the side piece. They covered that from the day she got sick. But still. No matter how much the silver headed smoker denied them being friends… they were. Friends cared about each other. So why couldn't he muster any care behind his actions forherinstead of making them solely centered on Tsuna?

Tsuri brushed her bangs out of her eyes and sighed roughly. Gokudera Hayato was seriously one tough person to understand, especially if he was a hothead. Hotheaded people tended not to rationalize about anything. Ever. She meant what she said. If he was going to act like an ass then there was no way he'd give him the satisfaction of being praised for protecting her for Tsuna's sake.

Tsuri shook her head. She could think about this later. She looked at both sides of the road, making sure the coast was clear. As she was about to start walking again, a woman with rose colored hair appeared in front of her, a dark aura surrounding her. And she didn't look pleased at the runaway.

"Tsuri, please make this easy."

"NO! I'm not wearing that!"

"You gave your mom your word."

"I said I would try it on, not promise to wear it the whole night!" Tsuri defended, hoping Bianchi had bought her lie. Of course the older Italian woman could be gullible sometimes. She did believe 10 year older Lambo was her ex-lover, Romeo after all.

"I have proof." Or not.

Bianchi lifted a green tape recorder and pressed the play button. Tsuri could tell the recorder was Leon. She could feel a massive amount of stress marks adorning the top of her head. Reborn was such an instigator. "For Nami's sake FINE. You win!"

Face flaring with fury Tsuri decided to turn right, returning back to her home to put on the 'stupid pink see through demon clothing.' "Kami-sama, please make Reborn pay one day," She muttered with a scowl.

Meanwhile at the Sawada Residence the baby hitman that was sitting in the kitchen with Tsuna and sneezed, sensing he was being talked about. "You're welcome Baka-Tsuri" he smirked, knowing well the female twin was badmouthing and cursing him to the ends of the earth.

Forty five minutes later...

The festival at Namimori Shrine had begun. Everyone loved the event and every year the town and its people looked forward to the games, the food stands and especially the fireworks at the end. It lifted much stress from work and school. Especially for summer vacation.

Tsuri remembered that it was a family tradition in going to the summer festivals since she and her twin were kids. Their mom would dress them up and enjoy all the festivities it had to offer. They remembered that their dad would go on certain occasions, but after he stopped coming home, they could tell that their mom wasn't fully into it anymore. She urged her kids to go however, with friends and the like to make memories.

So despite the fact that she didn't like the clothes she had on, she would do it for her mom. And because it would the first one that Tsuna and her would be attending after so long.

They checked out all the stands; some with games, to which Reborn was leaving run down for his shooting skills. In one section though, stood out a stand that read'Choco-Bananas'and so the Chinese child they were watching got entranced and walked towards it.

"May we please have one choco-banana!" Tsuna asked.

"Coming right up! We'll have to ask you to wait for a few moments while we warm up the chocolate! We're using French!" a cheerful familiar voice chirped up.

"No you idiot! It's BELGIAN!" Another rough voice snapped at the kind voice. When the second person behind the stand turned around to hand the customer the banana, he was surprised to see that it was his boss. And Tsuri.

"Gokudera-kun?!" The brunet bellowed in surprise.

"Hey, it's Yamamoto!" The other one smiled and laughed.

"Don't startle me like that, Juudaime!" The bomber replied, regretful of his rudeness a few minutes earlier.

"Haha! We were waiting for you!" Yamamoto grinned. The raven head then blinked at his female friends appearance. "Haha Tsuri-chan's wearing a yukata! I thought you said you were going to die before you wore one?"

Gokudera suppressed another wave of the symptoms he received from earlier in the morning. "Hm. So you can look like a girl."

Yamamoto nudged him. "Don't be mean Gokudera. You look very pretty Tsuri-chan!"

She lifted a sleeve to hide her bashful expression. Yamamoto was a real honest charmer. No wonder he also has a trail of fans behind him at school.

"I didn't want to wear one if I'm honest…" She shared annoyance at the other person behind the stand. "Your sister and my mom forced me into it. I want to take it off…" She picked on the pink yukata and lifted her sleeves. The clothing had white and orange daisy designs everywhere from top to bottom. Her brown hair was still slightly damp due to the bath she took earlier but was picked up in a side ponytail with an orange flower scrunchie holding in place. She wore the traditional wooden sandals, even though she objected greatly because they would slip every so often from her tiny feet when she walked.

Three blue lines appeared under her left caramel eye. "But I don't want to let their effort go to waste. Yamamoto gets it. Thanks." Tsuri narrowed her eyes at the silver head and stuck her tongue out at him. "And screw you Bakadera."

Tsuna let out little laughs and waved off her sisters childishness. "Anyways, what are you guys doing here?" he asked.

"Wait…Reborn-san didn't tell you? We're working here for the money." Gokudera explained, setting up more bananas in the front of the stand.

"We received the right to set up a shop from the committee." Tsuri jumped at the identified voice who popped out of nowhere.

"In my ranking, Choco-banana stands sell the most!" Fuuta said, found beside Reborn.

"Fuuta!" Tsuri cried in delight.

"Hi Tsuri-nee!" Fuuta ran up to her and was squeezed into a hug.

Tsuna glanced at the scene, feeling a little left out and jealous at the displayed affection.

"Our goal is to sell 500 bananas!" yelled Gokudera.

"Eh? That's a lot…" Tsuna complained. Tsuri sighed.

"Ah, right. Also, don't forget to prepare and pay the lot fee."

"Pay?" asked Tsuna.

"Lot fee?" The twins stared at the arcobaleno in question.

"It seems to be a Namimori tradition to pay the guys running this area." The silver head explained with a sour face.

"…OH! So that's why I had to stay late that day in the reception room!" Tsuri blurted out in realization and struck a fist to her palm. Then she paled a little. "You're going to want to hold on to the money protectively..."

"Wait what? Tsuri? Who is it for?" The people present asked in unison.

"Fifty Thousand." Everyone turned to find who the deep voice belonged to. Their eyes traveled to his left arm where a red armband dwelled.

"Hibari-san!" Tsuna squeaked out the name as if it were cursed to say. Tsuri put a hand to her face and sighed. She totally knew it.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Gokudera yelled.

"…we're paying the Disciplinary Committee." Tsuri answered their previous question in annoyance. "Is that why you had me sign an NDA before the festival? So I wouldn't reveal who's feeing the stands until it began?" Tsuri crossed her arms. "That's a bit of a jerk move Hibari-san."

"…Tsuri…you're…being rude...Aren't you scared?" asked Tsuna. She shrugged, but Tsuna could see that she was shaking in fright. So she was putting on a brave front.

Hibari ignored his desk manager's considered annoying question and insult. "You have to pay for the operations around here. If you don't…then I'll destroy your shop."

Tsuna looked over to the shop next to theirs to see some of his other club members holding knives, axes, and some other weird weapons, ready to break down the shop. Tsuri almost shrieked her way out of her spot.

"I'll pay, I'll pay!" yelled the owner of the shop as he panicked and quickly gave the money.

"…accepted." Hibari smirked in victory, counting the money as he walked away.

"Can we have chocolate bananas please?" yelled two certain voices. Everyone turned to see Haru and Kyoko in yukatas just like Tsuri's except with different designs and colors. Tsuri grinned, feeling more comfortable in her clothes now that she knew her friends were wearing it too. She side glanced towards her brother who was smiling awkwardly. Tsuri poked him with her elbow, causing the latter's cheeks to redden.

"Hahi! Tsuri-san! You're wearing a yukata too?" asked Haru. Tsuri gave her a toothy smile. Tsuna's eyes widened only a fraction before softening. His sisters smile looked very honest and sincere.

"Yep. Bianchi-san and my mom forced me into it. But it's alright I guess!"

"I see! You look beautiful Tsuri-chan!" Kyoko complimented.

"Thanks. Both of you look great too!"

Both of the girls blushed in appreciation and thanked the female.

"Ah! Tsuna-san! We're going off to see the fireworks which will start soon!" Haru said beginning to run off. "We'll see you later!"

"Bye!" said Kyoko chan she followed Haru. Fuuta had wanted to go too so Tsuri patted his head and let him follow the girls while she stayed. I-pin also followed. She then turned to Tsuna and saw that he was sulking, a black dark aura surrounding him.

'You wanted to see fireworks with Kyoko didn't you?'She asked while patting his head comfortingly.

Tsuna sniffed and nodded.'But we'll never make it'he moped.

"Oh don't be so negative Tsuna!" Tsuri scolded outloud. Yamamoto and Gokudera shared confused glances at one another at the sudden outburst. They both saw her determined face and energy surge up quickly. "I promise that you will! We still have time to watch the fireworks!"

"Hey, if we sell all of these before they start, we could still go." Yamamoto piped up while unpacking more boxes containing chocolate and bananas.

Tsuna's lips curled up into a grateful smile and nodded. "Un! Let's do our best and sell them all!" he replied happily.

"If that is what Juudaime wants…then okay!" yelled Gokudera as he peeled some bananas. Tsuri pushed her sleeves up and began to help the baseball star cut the chocolate bars while Tsuna readied the pot and slipped in the cut pieces into the fire.

'You know Tsuna, you're always being babied too much by Yamamoto'Tsuri stifled her giggles behind her pink sleeve.'What would he do if he knew just how bad your crush on her is?'

Tsuna rolled his eyes at her teasing while stirring the pot of chocolate.'I'm not obvious!'

'Sure, sure.'

.

..

Everything went by smoothly. After a tough struggle with having a bitter silver head forcing their product to by-passers while Yamamoto gave some for free, Adult I-pin had helped the group of teens attract many people into buying delicious choco-bananas with a lovely decorated stand Chinese style.

Everyone was taking a mild break now that they gathered enough profit for the broken water slide and Tsuna was left alone to watch the stand with Tsuri who sat down, sleeping soundly when suddenly her eyes snapped open and saw Tsuna running after someone who had their face covered.

She was groggy and awake enough to quickly grab a piece of cardboard and write that the stand was closed and followed suit to grab the man that stole their profits. Since she was wearing a yukata and sandals it made it harder for her to follow.

Hesitating whether the yukata or the profits was more important, she silently apologized to Nana and Bianchi, ripped the hem of her clothing, slid off the sandals and ran like her life depended on it. When Tsuna and her finally caught up, they tried catching their breath and saw that they were led to the temple shrine on the hill above the festival. Their eyes widened.

The guy who snatched their box money and the rest of the people he met up with at the shrine were the guys they had beaten up in the morning. The lifeguards who tried to grope her and the girls.

"Ha! You fell right into our trap! Thieving is our second profession and summer is the best time to make a profit. But simply taking this doesn't make me feel better." The boss of the group smirked and whistled, summoning several people with several sharp weapons big and small.

"Oi you." The lifeguard that had tried to touch Tsuri pointed at her as if his finger could cut her down like a sword. "You're gonna pay for what you did to me," he snarled and smirked. "But if you agree to let us keep the money and you spend time with my pals and I tonight, I'll let you and your brother slide."

Now wide awake, Tsuri stood in front of Tsuna protectively. "I'd rather get beaten and cut up than waste my time with you and your pervert pals. No wonder you don't get laid."

"Y-You...!"

"Oi, who says you can take our profit and my sister with you?" Tsuna said darkly. Tsuri smiled. Times like these made the shy brunet intimidating and scary. The female swore that this overprotective trait was definitely from their dad.

"You…both of you are just middle schoolers…what could you do?" taunted the man. Both twins smirked evilly.

"Wanna see? I kicked one of you earlier. II'm pretty sure I can snap more twigs," Tsuri cracked her knuckles with a smirk. The guy shivered a little but soon regained his composure. Tsuna was going to lunge for him when suddenly a knocked out body landed in front of them, stopping him.

"I thought I found a delicious little flock and it turned out to be the big catch of thieves I've been after."

"Hibari-san?" The Vongola heirs said in surprise.

"Who the hell is that?" asked a random guy from the gang.

"The Disciplinary Committee of Nami-chuu!" said another guy as his voice shook in fear.

"This saves me the trouble of collecting. The money you took will be taken by the Disciplinary Committee." Hibari said, oozing out an evil malicious smirk. Suddenly, the gang started to attack the trio. Hibari knocked some of the people out from the back easily, his signature smirk growing.

"Che…then….GET THE GIRL!" yelled a few of them, charging towards Tsuri who only smiled. No use in keeping her fighting strength a secret from Tsuna or the others now that it was out in the open. That would be the only thing she'd thank Mukuro for since she didn't have to hide it anymore.

Tsuri ran into the middle of the circle and kneed three in between their legs. She turned her body and kicked another in the face very hard, sending him flying, invoking a couple more down. Tsuna watched with his mouth open.

'You got some skill too'she told him through their link.'Use your fists and punch some assholes!"

Tsuna's eyes brightened suddenly and felt a rush of emotions swim inside. A guy had targeted Tsuna and lunged for him when Tsuna gave him a solid kick to the stomach. Tsuri stood solid still for a second. They exchanged a small glance at one another and smiled proudly.'Nice one!'

Suddenly, one man snuck up behind Tsuna. Tsuri panicked and was going to reach out to pull him out of the way when suddenly, a red light, clearly a bullet, shot his head from nowhere. Tsuri moved to see that Reborn was on top of a tree holding a Leon sniper gun. The glint in his eyes sent shivers up her spine and she swore he was planning on shooting her too. Tsuri was going to run out of the scene if that happened. She could tell that he'd use this as an excuse for being secretive.

Crazy fighter Tsuna went on a rampage and ended up beating half of the people surrounding her and Hibari. She glanced at the raven head and almost squeaked out of her place. He was looking at her hungrily, and his aura was definitely filled with a purplish color and only increased each passing second.

"Arg…they're only three middle schoolers! GET THEM!" The leader yelled, clearly panicked. Then, right when they were about to attack again, a dynamite stick was thrown and exploded from behind. Tsuri couldn't hold back her eyebrow from twitching. The black smoke cleared, revealing Yamamoto and Gokudera.

"We came to help!" Yamamoto shouted as he got into the middle of them.

"Juudaime!" said Gokudera. He winced when he saw Tsuri's annoyed face but ignored it quickly, getting back to the situation at hand.

"Don't kid around…I'm taking the stolen money." Hibari prepared his tonfas.

"Like hell!" Tsuri cried.

"NO WAY." Tsuna denied.

"Naturally." Gokudera agreed.

"Yeah." Yamamoto nodded with a half smile.

"Why are you getting all excited amongst yourselves? Get them!" yelled the leader sharper than the last time as the people charged at the teens. They all exchanged smirks at one another and charged at them. It didn't last long. Each had done their part and after a cool ten minutes, all the delinquents were found on the floor with broken noses, arms, bruises and pain in the middle of their legs.

Hibari bent down to take the stolen money from the previous stands, eyeing the box that clearly belonged to the pack of herbivores he wanted to crush with his tonfas. "I'm taking this." Tsuna immediately hovered over it protectively. Yamamoto and Gokudera covered him from behind, while Tsuri contemplated over her ripped yukata. It looked shorter and luckily she had slipped on some shorts under just for situations like these.

Tsuna's dying will then ran out." We worked together for this money…I can't let you take it!" he objected, shaking with fear.

"That's right. We won't let you take it!" Gokudera declared with his signature scowl.

"That's the way it is" Yamamoto stepped up with a serious expression. Hibari seemed like he didn't care and was going to take the profit by force if necessary when the female twin blocked him from continuing his path. He raised an eyebrow.

"P-Please Hibari-san? I'll owe you a favor in exchange. Please." The herbivore pleaded. Hibari looked like he was thinking it through for a second and then smiled evilly. Tsuri's whole skin nearly went blue. His hunting gaze was back.

"…Then, herbivore, I'll take on that favor right now, " Hibari began, keeping his prey on lockdown. Everyone gulped. "Fight me."

"EH?" Tsuna and Gokudera bellowed.

"That's crazy!" Yamamoto yelled.

"Then I'm taking the box." Hibari resumed walking towards them, lifting a tonfa.

"…Fine."

"What! Tsuri!" Tsuna called out. "What are you thinking!"

"Stupid woman! You're crazy! You can't fight this bastard!" Gokudera snapped angrily and approached Tsuri. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "I won't let you!"

"Oi Gokudera calm down!" Yamamoto also approached his friends and tried to remove the silver head from the brunette.

"Shall I punch you in the face like I said earlier?" Tsuri calmly replied, and somehow Tsuna could tell behind the tone that she was holding the urge to move her arm and give it to him. By the srunch in her eyebrows, clearly she was pissed at him for some reason. Did something happen back at the beach?. "I'm not some damsel in distress that needs her brother's loyal dog to protect her. If you can see around you, I can do it myself."

She pushed his hands off her and let Yamamoto come between them. "Protect your Juudaime instead." Gokudera froze in place. Tsuna stared, dumbstruck. Yamamoto laughed nervously waving his hands to calm his two friends down.

Gokudera's face suddenly turned red with anger. "Fine! Go get beat to a pulp for all I care! Let's go, baseball nut, Juudaime!" The Italian walked away fuming like never before.

Tsuri looked towards the prefect. "I agree." She said ignoring the tiny daggers her brother was shooting.

"Be careful Tsuri-chan" Yamamoto smiled a tiny smile and followed Gokudera. She nodded in response.

Tsuna was going to follow but stopped to see his sister. She looked regretful. 'You know, he cares about you too.'

Tsuri stared at the ground, irritated at the way Tsuna scolded her. He had no idea how she felt about this either. She wished she could tell him how much it bothered her, but she didn't want Tsuna to pull away from his friend.

'No he doesn't. You're more important in his book.'

Tsuna sighed. "Be careful" he said and ran past the two. Behind, Tsuna could see that Gokudera was angry, but he also looked confused, a bit hurt and maybe even remorseful. He argued with her before, and nothing like this happened. The Vongola tenth sighed. Would they ever get along?

Tsuri stood in place feeling stress lines under her tired eyes. Hibari already had his tonfas out, waiting.

"Um, Hibari-san...?" She asked. "W-When do we begin?"

"Now."

"B-But aren't you tired...? Oh what's the use," she mumbled and readied herself. "Any rules you want to apply?"

"Whomever pins their opponent down wins." Said Hibari. Tsuri sighed. Sounded pretty easy and simple. Maybe it wouldn't be so violent...

"And, if you lose, there's a penalty, " He added with a smirk. Tsuri's skin crawled. His smirk was too intense it reminded her of Reborn's. And punishment... He wasn't serious was he?!

Tsuri rubbed her head hesitantly. Maybe Hibari was doing this under Reborn's orders? There was no way this was the prefect's idea! She growled. Her tutor seriously wanted answers and he would do absolutely anything to obtain his piece of information! Knowing her yukata would be in the way, she took it off, leaving her in only an orange tank top and black shorts. What Hibari saw next intrigued him.

Her caramel eyes were no longer hesitant nor filled with fear. Eyes that had been a warm syrup color were now a piercing orange, unwavering. Just like the ones he'd seen before. That same look he saw when he had first interacted with the small girl. Excitement rushed through his veins and he smiled. "Wao," he said in amazement. "Shall we begin?"

...

...

"Tsuna-kun! The fireworks are about to start!" Kyoko chirped up in happiness and waved a hand over to him to come over. The brunet screamed internally. He was behind his friends who were sitting in the grass waiting for the show to start while he waited for his sister to show up.

He put his hand under his chin in thought.

There was definitely something off about her stamina. He had definitely been surprised when he saw her beat people to a pulp. If he knew correctly, she'd never taken karate classes nor anything else during their childhood. She was, in no offense, weak like him.

'Are?' Tsuna's mind traveled down memory lane for an apparent reason and remembered something he had forgotten long ago.

A week after Tsuri had been kidnaped when they were ten, she'd had asked permission from their mother to go out every day after lunch and came back around dinner. Nana and him thought it had something to do with extra classes in order to improve her grades but on a certain day Tsuri had come home beaten up in their front door.

Her arms and legs had gashes and bruises, and her hands were red and purple. Nana had gone to her cooking classes not far from their home so she hadn't been there to see her in her state. Tsuri had looked up at Tsuna from their mat in exhaustion and laughed, something he thought she'd forgotten to do after being drugged and used as a hostage for money senseless. Her excuse had been,"I fell into a construction site's hole on my way home."

Tsuna didn't like to pry into his sisters business so much back then and not too much now, but it still had concerned him just as much as it did now. He just didn't want to pressure her into telling. That's when Tsuri's record of hospital trips began. They stared with sprains, then broken bones, then constant fever trips.

Had Tsuri been training with someone or pushing herself to improve her own body? Was it her way of fixing the trauma she held?

'Mou! I'm going to ask you for an explanation!' Tsuna muttered to himself and shook his head in denial. There was no way she could have. Maybe she was just a little stronger because she exercised everyday for her soccer games and such. But it didnt explain the fragility she contained too. Tsuna waved off his self considered paranoia and rushed off to sit next to Kyoko.

Meanwhile Gokudera distanced himself from the others, wallowing in irritation. The stupid woman was still angry at him and he couldn't really tell why. Yamamoto had tried to explain to him the same situation they've been dealing with since forever. The fact that he was protecting her because of her importance to Tsuna. She was Juudaime's sister. Of course he had to protect her for him. He was his right hand man. It was his duty!

"Wahh! The fireworks are starting!" Ranking Fuuta exclaimed, deeply enthralled at the throwing of colors in the night sky and how they lit up like stars before disappearing.

"Lambo-san wants to fly with the fireworks!" The cow child yelled, jumping up and down crazily.

"No Lambo! You will blow up!" I-pin replied worriedly causing Yamamoto and the rest to laugh at their typical child behavior.

The silver head just couldn't keep up and instead found himself still in his foul mood. The fireworks did seem pretty, but he couldn't enjoy them somehow.

"Oh! It started already?"

"Tsuri!/Tsuri-chan!/Tsuri-nee!" Everyone yelled in complete surprise at the new voice. Gokudera turned his head slightly and his green eyes fell on her appearance. Her clothes had tatters here and there, on her legs and behind her right arm was a big red scratch. Her hair was disheveled and down with leaves covering it on top. The rest could see that she was hugging the yukata she'd worn earlier to her chest.

"Are you okay? Did you break anything— How'd it go?!" Tsuna asked worriedly. "Did you beat him?"

"I'm fine. No hospital trips today. As for me winning…N-No," she replied stuttering. "He's definitely not human! I didn't even last more than ten minutes!" She let out a breath and brushed her bangs out of her face. "But I can't say I didn't land any hits on his face and chest, He probably won't be happy with me later."

"Hibari is Hibari, " Yamamoto laughed nervously. "Were there any rules?"

"Yeah a penalty. Since I lost I was punished..."

"Eh? What did he make you do?"

Tsuri groaned. "I'm his punching bag for the next week or so."

"Yikes. You sure you can keep up with that?"

"I keep my word. And he's scary so I don't want him hunting me down later."

"Sit down Tsuri-chan! The fireworks started already!" Kyoko said, ignoring the way she appeared. While the others got back to admiring the flying colors in the night sky, Tsuri was going to sit next to Fuuta but then noticed Gokudera far from the others. Feeling pulled to resolve their earlier spat, she got up and plopped herself next to his right. The silver head kept his gaze at the sky, trying to ignore her presence. It didn't work.

"I'm sorry."

"Eh?"

Gokudera scowled. "If I did anything earlier to get you upset, I'm sorry."

Tsuri stared blankly and then shook her head. "No Gokudera. I'm sorry."

She covered her injured legs with her torn up yukata and laid her arms on top of her knees. "Look. I know you say we're not friends, but I consider you one of mine. As weird as this," She gestured back and forth from themselves. "You're okay." She pressed her lips together. "But the fact that you step in to help me because you're doing it as a favor for my brother doesn't make me feel okay."

"You're an idiot," Gokudera mumbled angrily, hiding his face from Tsuri.

"Huh?!"

The bomber ran a hand through his silver hair and closed his eyes. "I won't say I don't do things for Juudaime because I do. He's my number one priority." He then stared directly at Tsuri with an expression she couldn't read. "You're right. Like hell it'd change."

"We're friends. We're friends Bakadera so believe it."

Gokudera felt a tug on his sleeve and soon felt inches closer to a body that had been a few feet away from his. He felt his neck grow hot, and his pulse speed up.

Tsuri didn't glance at him and kept silent. Almost as if she were being careful with her words with him. She was waiting for him to reply, but how could he? He didn't want to say the wrong thing again. So what could he say?

Gokudera's patience—or what he had of it—was wearing thin. He hated what ever this emotion was that was tugging him back and forth.

"I need you to care for me because of me." Tsuri felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment at the way she said it. "A-And I-I totally mean in the friend way. Don't get any ideas." She flung her arms all over the place nervously. Her voice was so soft that if he hadn't been right next to her, Gokudera wouldn't have heard her. "So,do you?"

"Wha-What?"

She was sitting so close and looking at him so intensely, that he had to back up a little, feeling his cheeks reach a newer temperature. Was she honestly asking him that? Why?

"Wha-What...?" he choked out, trying to keep his composure. Why had he reacted like that? She was just looking at him and standing near him. Then again, she had never been so close to him nor looked at him in such a manner. It seemed like she was begging him. But he was at a loss for words.

Tsuri smiled sadly, and let out a defeated sigh. She let go of his sleeve. "Geez Bakadera. Be a little more honest with yourself. I don't think I'll ever hear you say it, but my intuition tells me you do care. I'll take it." Her eyes again avoided contact with his green ones and listened to the pop and release of the explosives, but a small sincere smile made its way onto her tired expression. Gokudera didn't take his gaze off her. He watched the lights dance in her syrupy eyes, curious as to how those eyes could look like his Juudaime's and yet be so different at the same time.

He wanted to internally beat himself up. She was definitely a witch. How dare someone like her make him feel so flustered and caught off guard! He shut his eyes, no longer feeling the desire to continue observing the show.

"You're such a handful and you're right. You'll never hear me-" he couldn't continue his sentence as he felt something heavy sit on his shoulder. He blinked his tired eyes to find that Tsuri's head was on it, completely asleep and knocked out. He stared at the sleeping figure in irritation, but for the first time didnt even feel himself let go to the fireworks in his own body, and his expression soften.

Meanwhile from afar Tsuna emitted black waves all over his side at the scene. And by a tree, a certain baby Spartan smirked at the scene unfolding.

'Dame-Tsuna, you're sister complex is starting to show.'

Back at the shrine, Hibari sat on top of the roof, staring at his injuries. They weren't major but they certainly weren't minor either. The little herbivore had a strong punch. His steel eyes then traveled up towards the fireworks.

"There will be more punishments to come Sawada Tsukairi," he said, feeling excitement all over again just remembering the way her eyes looked. He rested his hands behind, smirking. This was one penalty won. And Hibari was sure he'd win more of the spars and penalties to come too.

Chapter 15: Possessive Nature

Chapter Text

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade right? Tsuna thought differently.

He thought, if life gives you lemons, give them to your mom to make you the lemonade. It tasted better.

If life gave Reborn lemons, you automatically knew you had to run for your dear life if you wanted your eyes to be acidic free.

It was a summer midday, and the said Vongola boss was busy trying to escape from the hitman who was spraying lemon juice at his back. Tsuri was occupied in the bathroom, trying to rid her eyes of the substance that had gotten into her eye when their tutor woke them up. And well their mother? In their kitchen, using the lemons she had bought at the market the previous day to make lemonade for later in the day.

"Stop Reborn!" Tsuna wailed, as he hid behind a kitchen chair. "I said I was sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it," the baby in the fedora lifted Leon, aiming for his students eyes. "Both you and Baka-Tsuri promised to get a 70 or higher in your make up test and failed. So now you pay the price."

"It's summer school! Not everyone takes it seriously!"

"I do."

Tsuna decided it was best not to retort anymore or he'd find his eyes stinging for who knew how long.

"You better pass the next test or next time I'll use an even better method to wake you two up." Reborn smirked at his student's freaked out expression and saw him without protest.

"HIEEEE! W-We promise! Just put the lemon juice away!" He screamed.

Yep, when life gives Reborn lemons, take it from him if you can and throw them as far as possible without thinking twice.

"Kaasan..." Tsuri walked in the dining room exhaustedly, revealing slightly red eyes. "Do we have ice packs?"

Nana shut the fridge door and greeted her daughter. "If course we do... Ri-chan? Why are your eyes so red? Were you crying?"

Tsuri eyed Reborn who's beaded black orbs glinted with hidden intentions. She immediately took that as a hint to not say anything pr she'd lose her sight for over a year. "I-I accidentally let soap enter my eye when I washed my face!"

Nana laughed. "Oh Ri-chan! You're so clumsy sometimes!" The mother pulled the teen from her arm gently and sat her down on the chair Tsuna was using as a shield against Reborn. "Let's see, hm, looks like you irritated it too much. I'll go see if I have any eye drops okay?"

Tsuri closed her eyes to stop the stinging and nodded. Tsuna shot a glare towards the baby who shrugged. "You went too far this time!"

"Not really. Tsuri just happened to be in front of you and took the blow," Reborn explained and jumped up in the table. Tsuri sighed. She definitely hated lemons now.

"You could have used something else though," Tsuri complained. "If Hibari-san sees me like this he's going to bite me to death for sure..."

"Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked, confused.

"We have a meeting with Yumei Private Middle School. It seems like our disciplinary committee and theirs are having an argument."

"What does that have to do with you?"

Tsuri opened her eyes, even though it stung badly she wanted to rip them off, and gave Tsuna an 'are you serious' stare. "I'm their secretary remember? I'm supposed to be there to take notes, give them a contract and maybe clean up if something tragic goes on. So if I can't see properly," she glared at the individual who caused her misery. "He'll flip out."

Tsuna paled. What was his sister doing? "...That's too much... I thought you were temporary."

Tsuri gave him the same identical look he was giving her, shrugged and shut her eyes again. "I thought so too but after that thing with Mukuro, he's refusing to let me go. That's Hibari-san. If something doesn't go his way, he uses any methods necessary to get it."

Nana had come back from the bathroom with a tiny bottle in hand.

"This will relieve the stinging okay?" Nana pulled her head back gently and began her work. "You know, I assumed you were crying because I thought your boyfriend broke up with you!" She continued, laying the bottle down once Tsuri's eyes took in the drops.

Tsuri choked on thin air, while Tsuna's eyes slanted down dangerously, releasing smoke that only dry ice would release. "Ara, is it just me or did it get a little cold in here?"

"I-I don't have a boyfriend Kaasan!" Tsuri yelled, blushing furiously. She then began to run her hands up her arms to warm them up, feeling chilly all of a sudden. "As if I would have one right now!"

"Are you sure you're not just putting up an excuse Tsuri?" Reborn asked innocently, obviously wanting to further worsen Tsuna's attitude. "You were crying all night too."

...When life gives you lemons, use them as a weapon to throw them at Reborn instead.

"Is this true Tsuri?" Tsuna's gravity defying hair was now waving around with a purplish aura. He had definitely heard his sister crying in the middle of the night. He thought it had been Lambo instead, since usually he'd be the one banging and crying at their room door for midnight snacks.

The said girl opened her recovering eyes and wanted to literally grab the lemon juice her mother had on top of the counter, and spill it all over the instigating tutor. "OF COURSE ITS NOT TRUE!" She defended loudly. "I was crying because someone had taken my last box of pocky from my stash last night! And, Lambo broke my game counsel! Have some trust in me stupid!"

"Then don't go crying for no reason in the middle of the night! " He retorted with the same tone, his dangerous aura long gone.

"Oi, remember I still have more lemon juice to shoot at someone," Reborn threatened. The twins recoiled at the mention of the damned fruit and backed away from him slowly.

Nana blinked. Then shined her lovingly smile everyone adored. "Oh Reborn-kun, would you like some lemonade?" Nana, oblivious to the arguments (or maybe deciding to ignore it) offered.

While Reborn turned his attention to the woman, Tsuna headed for the living room where Futa, I-pin, and Lambo were playing a board game.

"Gyahahahaha! Lambo-san wins again!"

"No fair Lambo! You cheated!" Futa pouted.

"Did not!"

"Did too!" I-pin joined the argument. "Lambo cheated! Not winner!"

"Lambo, you know you can't do that," Tsuna scolded lightly, kneeling down at his level. The cow child only stuck his tongue out at the Vongola boss in response. Tsuna's eyebrow twitched.

"Lambo-san won fair and square Dame-Tsuna," he insulted and crossed his little arms. "Lambo!" Fuuta scolded.

"Blegh!" Lambo stuck his tongue out at the ranking child too. But alas, I-pin and Fuuta weren't paying attention to him, but the dark black figure behind him in fright. They could feel chills creeping up like spiders on their arms.

Tsuna felt a chill behind his back and decided not to turn his head around to see who it was since there was only one person that could emit such an aura (liar Tsuna, you do too...).

Lambo, angry that they were ignoring him waved his hands around frantically when he felt the wave of anger and complete thirst for blood behind him. He stifly turned his head to see a pissed off girl with red eyes and demon teeth. "Lambo...you broke my game counsel last night..." The scary voice spoke darkly.

The afro child's tiny body began to shiver from head to toe at the sight of his neechan. Her hair was waving creepily, and her hands were outstretched in front of her, revealing sharp nails waiting to pierce into his flesh.

Lambo screamed and exited fast enough to save his life. Fuuta and I-pin sighed, and Tsuna was the only one left to look pale sheet white with terror. If he wasn't good at handling his mother when she got angry, there was no way that he could do the same with his sister. They were too alike in that aspect.

Tsuri's creepy demon aura passed, and when the kids and her brother looked at her one more time, she looked like she was going to cry.

"Tsuri-nee!" Fuuta quickly got up from the floor and rushed to her, pulling her orange long sleeve tee from the bottom.

"What's wrong?" Tsuna was beside her in a millisecond as well, whereas I-pin angrily left to go chase after the broccoli head and make him apologize.

"I can't..." she sniffed softly.

"Can't what?" The two others asked gently.

"I CANT PLAY MY NEW GAME NOW!" She yelled, her fake tears running down her face rapidly. "Do you have any idea how long I waited for its release?! Now that I have it in my hands after MONTHS of waiting I can't even play it because this irritating broccoli cow child decided it was a good weapon to throw at our tutor!"Fuuta and Tsuna sweat dropped.

They stood in the living room trying to take the poor gamer's mind off her broken machine for quite a while before she had to leave. Tsuna watched the depressed moping body walk towards the stairs to go get her bag, thinking that maybe he should go check out Game Stop.

"Ne Fuuta, are you going anywhere today?"

"No not really. Why Tsuna-nii?" Tsuna looked like something pained him greatly, earning a confused look from the tilted head of the ranking genius.

"Why are your eyes red?"

"Erm, I got soap in my eye earlier?"

"It's not irritated."

"I don't have to tell you everything Hibari-san."

Tsuri, the temporary but yet kinda permanent secretary of Namimori Chuu's Disciplinary Committee sighed and tried to make herself look invisible. She, the members of the committee, and the head Hibari Kyoya were currently on their way to the prestigious Yumei Private Middle, where their own committee was waiting for them to, ahem 'discuss' about power issues.

The freaky weird haired people were tightly crowded way, way, way behind from where Tsuri and Hibari were walking (since their leader didn't like crowds) and were earning too much attention from the other people passing by the streets. While Hibari didn't have a care in the world, Tsuri felt pretty weird. She pushed up the black rimmed glasses she had on top of her nose for the third time and crossed her arms.

"Kusakabe-san?" She whispered to the Vice President who had been beside her the whole time.

"Yes Sawada-san?"

"Why exactly am I wearing fake glasses?"

He hesitated but spoke anyways. "Hibari-san needs a serious atmosphere when we meet Yumei's Security Committee. He thought it was best for you to look intelligent," Kusakabe scanned Tsuri's long sleeved orange tee and black slacks. "Hence the clothes you're wearing. Though he did prefer you wearing a buttoned up collared shirt instead."

Tsuri sighed at the response and suddenly felt conscious of her appearance. "He thinks I'm an idiot doesn't he?" The Vice President shrunk a little at the glare the female was throwing him.

"That is correct" Hibari replied with no emotion and turned to stare at Tsuri. She squeaked in place and shifted her eyes elsewhere. 'Jerk!'

"You seriously think glasses will make me look smarter?" Hibari ignored her question, like he usually did everyday and kept walking. Kusakabe sighed. Hibari was never really good at dealing with the opposite gender. It was surprising though, to see him interact with Sawada Tsukairi. Maybe because she didn't seem like a girl to him?

"Ehh, really?" A depressed voice spoke.

"Oops. Did I say that out loud Sawada-san?"

Tsuri had little blue flames dancing around her slouching figure but they disappeared just as fast. "It's alright Kusa-san. I don't really consider Hibari-san a guy either because of his short stature," she blurted out. She covered her mouth just as quickly. She was dead.

Hibari stopped walking and slowly turned to glare at the girl. Tsuri tried to make herself look like she wasn't afraid, but her sweating and body posture said otherwise. Kusakabe observed and sighed, knowing well what these interactions brought on. It reminded him of her first day working in the reception room.

She had complained non stop about her lunch time and how Hibari-san wasn't being understanding. Hibari was relaxing in the couch with no worries, but he could see that he was greatly bothered by Tsuri's whining. To make the long story short, the disciplinary leader had bitten his secretary to death for annoying him greatly and Kusakabe had to pay the price by bandaging the poor girl up, and sort out the reception room back to its former glory. If he didn't stop these two now, there was going to be blood spilled. And, it'd be Sawada Tsukairi's.

"I'll bite you death if you dare to say that again herbivore.," Hibari took out a tonfa from underneath his jacket.

"I dare!" She yelled. "Who the hell is shorter than the average male?"

Hibari's blue steel eyes glinted with killing intent and smirked. "I see someone is looking for more punishment then?" Tsuri's whole body shivered in what could be future pain from future bruises. The brunette's fists balled up and for a second she decided to be brave and run away, but then noticed a group of people staring at the scene by a gate.

She paused, her eyes landing on a sigh that read'Yumei Private. Gifted in studies since 1967.'She snorted.

Hibari had put away his tonfas and fixed his posture while the disciplinary committee stayed in position. Tsuri cleared her throat and pushed her glasses up, grabbing her folder tightly against her chest. By the corner of her eye she could still see the prefect smirking at her. He looked very well entertained by her reactions. She glared in response, too busy playing the serious card to pay attention to his provoking.

A well dressed boy, with a perfectly ironed shirt, blazer and slacks walked up and stared at the prefect, then the members, then Tsuri. His blue eyes were covered with round shaped glasses, and his black short hair was combed back neatly. Tsuri wondered if there was anyone in Nami Chuu who looked almost intelligent as this person. He basically oozed a rich and co*cky personality and emitted an aura that was mixed up in green, orange, and a barely appearing red.

"Oh, if it isn't Namimori Middle's Disciplinary Committee," he said cheerfully and smiled brightly. "Come in! Please! Shall we have tea and sandwiches in our exclusive garden?"

'A garden? They seriously have money to build a patio there to eat for middle school students?'Tsuri felt internally lightheaded. Hibari remained silent, and only gave that emotionless look he always had on. Tsuri didn't know if he was just doing it to make them feel scared or if that was how he normally appeared.

Kusakabe, feeling internally conflicted didn't know whether to speak up for the prefect or let the silence continue and go straight to beating them up. His answer, was surprisingly Tsuri who bowed politely and showed a gentle professional smile. But her nerves were going crazy so her posture wasn't too confident and she stuttered a whole mess. "Y-Yes we would l-like to. I apologize for H-H-Hibari-san's silence. He is normally like this," she said. "I am Sawada Tsukairi, his secretary. P-Pleased to meet you."

Yumei's Security Committee was taken aback at the kindness being displayed since rumors around Namimori depicted Hibari Kyoya's Disciplinary Committee as a ruthless violent bunch of brats. They basically dominated more than half of Namimori's authority. "A-Ah likewise Sawada-san. I am Yumei's Security Committee's head, Morinaga Akihiro. Pleased to meet you." Akihiro stuttered with a forced smile and then eyed the man next to her.

"Kusakabe Tetsuya. Vice President." He answered and directed his hand towards the leader. "And you already know our head, Hibari Kyoya-san."

"Of course. Please follow us." While Kusakabe and Tsuri followed the Security Committee, Hibari stayed behind and stared towards his other members as a signal to stay for a little while at the gates in case anything happened. The raven head then yawned and followed his vice and secretary to another boring meeting he considered a waste of his time.

"Tsuna-nii! Look at this game!"

"Oh! That ones cool too... Ah I can't decide which one she'd want," said an exasperated gravity defying haired brunet. He rubbed his head, undecided. He had turned to look at a different section and when he was going to tell his companion to pick a random one, Fuuta was already in his ranking mode, ranking the different types of games that Tsuri liked to play the most.

Everyone inside GameStop began floating up towards the roof. Some kids were laughing and oohing at the zero gravity effect, others like the mothers in their dresses shrieked in embarrassment. Tsuna sweatdropped and did his best to reach his little companion but failed.

"Tenth on Tsuri-nee's favorite game list is her otome romance journeys... Ninth is Dragon's Cove..." Fuuta murmured, his mind focused on communicating with the ranking star.

"Agh! What is this! Let me down!" The store manager, a chubby man in his 20s yelled. "Let me down! I'm afraid of heights!"

Tsuna sighed his body now giving up on trying to get Fuuta to stop. This was going to take a while...

Hibari's cape flowed with the blowing wind as he exited Yumei's gate with an implanted smirk on his face. His tonfas were by his side, begging to be used once more but deciding it was enough destruction he'd created, he put them away. Behind him followed an exhausted hair droopy Kusakabe Tetsuya and a regretful red faced Tsuri with a tattered shirt, broken glasses and messy hair sticking up everywhere like the spikes on top of her crown. She knew it had been wrong to come here! It was lucky Hibari was respected everywhere or they would've been running out like fugitives! She felt her whole body sag, and she tried to calm her rapidly anxious heart due to what had happened back inside the school.

Half an hour ago...

"...So I was proposing that the Disciplinary Commitee could give up half of their authorityaround the town and let the other committees take charge for their respective areas," Akihiro waved his hands around in a dramatic pose and smiled yet again. The Namimori Chuu students were beginning to think that he smiled waaay too much. His mouth looked like it was hurting because of it.

"...Huh?" Tsuri blabbed out while writing something down in her notepad.

"Outrageous!" Kusakabe shot up from his seat and struck the round table with a fist. Akihiro, his members, and Tsuri backed their chairs away in fright. Kusakabe noticed this, cleared his throat and sat back down.

"U-Um, Morinaga-san, why would you request this?" Tsuri fidgeted with her pen and grinned apologetically. Akihiro was suddenly hit with waves of flowers and sparkles flying everywhere at this person's display of friendliness and felt his whole face turn red.

Hibari opened an eye from the back of his secretary's chair, and raised an eyebrow at the reaction.

"W-We object to the idea that they have too much power in their hands that ought to be shared," Yumei's S.C leader fiddled with his red tie, afraid of meeting Tsuri in the eye. "Oh I see..." She wrote something down, and Akihiro watched with interest at the way her large caramel eyes were sparkling with the sunlight and how lovely her hair looked.

Tsuri looked up again only to see the prestigious smart intelligent aura oozing boy avert his gaze. She stared, clearly confused. He cleared his throat and gulped down some tea from his cup.

"What's wrong with Aki-san?" One of the the members whispered to the other. "It seems like he's becoming nervous around Sawada-san... It's unlike him..." He whispered back also confused to why his calm and collected leader was being so fidgety around the girl.

"Hn..." Hibari let out an audible yawn soon after. Kusakabe became curious at the actions and wondered why the DC president looked like he just wanted to skip negotiations and begin the strangling. Akihiro tried to make conversation with the secretary, as well as try to persuade Kusakabe and Hibari to agree to his offer or he'd have no choice but to declare war along with the other schools. Tsuri of course stayed quiet on that subject being touched and pretended to be busy taking even more notes when in reality, she was thinking of hiding under a rock by the immense animosity leaking from Hibari.

Akihiro grew enraged that Nami Chuu's representatives were not agreeing and began to offer a bargain; one that included money, and Tsuri much to her great objection. Kusakabe kept insisting that if he kept it up, he'd be crossing a major line (it was actually Hibari but since he was busy playing the silent, intimidating figure, he transferred his message by eye sight)

"What?! Why the hell do you want me!" She yelled in disbelief. "Here we go with men picking at girls like meat. You don't want me! I'm not a genius! These glasses are fake!"

"Not possible!" Akihiro grabbed her hand and shook his head fiercely. "A lovely woman wearing spectacles such as those ought to be intelligent such as I. If you come study here at Yumei Private and join our club, your future would be set! You'd no longer be apart of that wretched school and its violent committee!"

Tsuri sweatdropped at the considered nonsense, unsure of what to do. '...I'm lovely? For Nami's sake I told him these were fake!'

Kusakabe looked as mad as a running bulldozer and rose from his seat. "Morinaga-san, with all due respect, we have not insulted Yumei Middle in any way. What gives you the right to do so with our school!"

Akihiro and his minions scoffed. "All schools lower than us are worthless. We're the number one richest academy around Namimori. We have a good reputation, unlike Namimori Middle who's known for using their arms and legs to beat up any obstacle in their way!" Minion number two explained proudly.

Akihiro stood up from his chair and leaned in towards Tsuri, grabbing her chin and bringing her forward. "You can remain by my side, Sawada-san. You deserve the absolute best! I-I like you!"

Tsuri was blushing at the declaration and became flustered all of a sudden, unsure of how to respond.

"Eh..." Everyone looked towards Hibari, his eyes narrowed down dangerously like always. "Not only do you want us to give you access to protect Namimori on your own terms, but you want my secretary as well?" Hibari inserted his hands into his pockets, his legs moving towards where the brunette was sitting.

"Someone as innocent as her is not meant to be with someone like you, Hibari Kyoya," glasses boy spat in annoyance.

"Oi, innocent?" Tsuri felt her eyebrow twitch and pulled her hand away. "Don't label me like a weak helpless bunny!" She sighed, put her things away inside her bag, and tried to stand up so she could leave but somehow she couldn't. She looked back to see Hibari and his eyes invisibly gluing her body to her chair, telling her clearly to not move from her position. She gulped loudly. What was he going to do?!

"What you, Morinaga Akihiro, ramble on about, is only lies." Hibari put his hands on Tsuri's chair. "Your rich family that you speak about is the number one culprit to Namimori's corrupt system. You cost Namimori half of its economy due to your father's lack of leadership."

Akihiro flinched at the mention of his father. His two minions shared a confused expression.

"You have blackmailed many with your money, and have soiled your name. The only reason why you and your family is up and about and not facing charges by the name of these other companies that have been blackmailed, is because of me." The prefect's eyes finally showed his intentions, and Tsuri wanted out from the bloodlust emitting through the atmosphere.

"The Disciplinary Committee refuses to make negotiations with Yumei Private. As for the other schools, they have been taken care of as of now."

Kusakabe smirked in victory while Tsuri kept sending him signals of help, but he couldn't read the message on her face. Akihiro looked absolutely furious that his plan to overthrow Hibari and his authority failed.

"And as for my secretary..." The black haired teen bent down slowly, his face closing in on his secretary's neck. His lips sucked the found area, while Tsuri was too busy blushing red with shock and anger, and tried pushing him away. Once he was sure he left his desired result, his arms snuck up forward, pulling her body towards his behind the chair. "She's mine," his eyes suddenly turned very very dark.

Kusakabe was also as speechless as the brunette who was busy trying to comprehend what the prefect had done. Hibari released Tsuri, who now stood up from her chair and backed away from him in utter disbelief. "W-W-Wha... H-Hibari-san!"

Two steel objects were suddenly taken out as the prefect prepared himself in a stance that was too familiar for the Vongola heir. "For wasting my time and almost ruining Namimori, I'll bite you to death, Morinaga Akihiro."

End

Tsuri touched her neck, wincing at the little pain the red spot sent her. What had that been? She was Hibari's? What the hell did that even mean? Did he mean that as in she was his secretary and that he wouldn't give her to just anyone? But then if that was it then why did he do that? He could've just put a hand on her shoulder or something. She sighed, staring at her ripped shirt sadly. It had been one of her favorites.

Damn it all. She was happy though that her slacks had survived or she would've shown a little too much skin for her own good. Tsuri threw the glasses away in a nearby trashcan and sighed again. This job was definitely bad for her heart. She should have listened to Tsuna before about rejecting the job on the spot.

"Sawada-san?"

The brunette turned to find Kusakabe beside her, his face looking a little embarrassed. She raised an eyebrow. "Yes Kusa-san?"

"A-Are you and Iinchou dating?"

...

...

...

"Hah?!" Tsuri stopped walking and instead screamed in utter horror. "NO WAY! WHAT GAVE YOU THAT CONCLUSION! LIKE HELL,"

"He did say you were his... And he did...thatin public..."

Tsuri shook her head like a baby rattle. "I am definitely and will not ever date as someone as scary and intimidating as Hibari-san! If he did that then he was probably punishing me for provoking Akihiro-san!"

Kusakabe crossed his arms over his chest, perplexed. Punishment? The only punishment Hibari Kyoya ever gave was a storm of bruises and broken bones! How was giving your secretary a hickey called punishment!

Both Vice President and now confirmed permanent secretary sighed at the same time, having a difficult time understanding the demon who ruled all with his steel tonfas.

"Oh Kusa-san?"

"Yes?"

"How the hell do I get rid of this spot. There is no way that I have an excuse for this when I get home."

...

...

...

"Welcome home- Ri-chan! Look at you!" Nana, standing at the front of the main door to her home, nearly screamed at her daughter's appearance. Her stockings and shirt were tattered and the slacks she borrowed from her closet was soiled. Tsuri smiled sheepishly at her mother who shook her head once again and slid her shoes off to come inside. Surprisingly it wasn't as noisy as usual.

"Mou, you and Tsu-kun are becoming a handful," Nana mumbled in light frustration. "I swear you two are becoming a little too much like your father everyday."

Tsuri shrugged, following her mother into the dining room. "Maybe Tsuna, not me. Anyways, where's everybody Kaasan?" Nana sat on a chair and grabbed her cup of green tea. "Hmm lets see, Bianchi-chan and Reborn-kun just left to grab me some groceries. Lambo-kun and I-pin-chan are taking a small nap in the living room. Your brother and Fuuta-kun went somewhere else. They rushed off as soon as you did."

Tsuri nodded. "So since everyone's out at the moment and the kids are sleeping, want me to help you make dinner?"

Nana's eyes brightened the minute her daughter offered to help. "OF COURSE!" She beamed happily. Tsuri smiled. It had been a while since she and her mother have had some time together.

"It's a little early but I bet everyone will be hungry once they come home. Just let me take a quick bath and get changed okay?"

While Tsuri left to get her towel and clothes, Nana immediately took out the leftover vegetables she had in her refrigerator, some noodles, and other ingredients. She smiled, her heart swelling with happiness. How long has it been since she had cooked food with her daughter? Sure she was a tad bit horrible in home economics and had burned half of the food in her fridge one time but she didn't care if that happened today. All she needed was some time with her lovely Tsukairi.

..

When everyone came home, they got the surprise of their lives. They found not only Nana in the kitchen, but their lovely mini Nana, Tsuri. She was stirring something near the stove, her long hair picked up in a messy bun and wearing a blue apron Tsuna remembered. She used to wear it once or twice a year when she'd cook with their parents.

Bianchi set Reborn down on the table, and took a seat. Lambo and I-pin were already awake, running around happily that their food was almost ready. Tsuna smiled at his twin while the latter did the same and called him to sit down too. Fuuta rushed to his chair too and sat, while Tsuna put away the bags they brought.

"I'm surprised you know how to cook Tsuri," Reborn commented, smirking once he saw the reaction he wanted. Tsuri blushed a little in embarrassment and glared. "I don't! I usually burn stuff just at the touch like Tsuna, unless I have someone guiding me in the kitchen."

The said male twin also blushed in shame. "D-Don't go telling the whole world Tsuri!" He shot out.

"Oh shush! He already knows our grades in Home Ec!"

"Ri-chan, are the noodles ready?"

"Eh? Ah! Yes! What do I put in now Kaasan?"

"What are you making Mama?" Bianchi peeked behind the two female Sawadas. "We're making Miso ramen, Ri-chan's favorite!" Nana chirped, putting something inside the pot and resumed to cutting the ingredients in her side of the kitchen.

"Miso ramen~! Miso ramen~!" Fuuta, Lambo and I-pin singsonged together making the woman giggle.

"It's been a long time since we've eaten ramen huh?" Tsuna relaxed on his chair, enjoying the smell of the food.

Tsuri nodded while stirring. "Yeah," she said, her mouth watering hungrily. "It has. Hey, wanna help?"

"Eh? But I can't cook either... I'll probably ruin dinner."

Tsuri laughed wholeheartedly. "I'll teach you what I know. Come on." Tsuna sighed and walked over to the stove. Reborn from his side of the table, analyzed their interaction closely. Tsuna was a whiny, useless loser while Tsuri was an average loser.

Two pairs of the same yet so different. Reborn betted that without one, the other couldn't function properly.

Tsuri was definitely as pitiful as her brother, but she was his crutch. For Tsuna, Tsukairi was like his support, encouraging him with words when he needed it, giving him a boost every time he needed it and helped as much as she could. She was seen to put him first above herself and could never satisfied until Tsuna shone brighter and better than her.

Tsuna was helpless but he was needed too. He showed his sister the kinder more understanding side she needed. Tsuri was very negative, and always being conclusive without analyzing, but Tsunayoshi was there to always remind her to think positive and always look at both sides of things, even though he was equally as pessimistic.

Reborn smirked and adjusted his fedora. His students were definitely interesting. He couldn't wait to keep tor- ahem tutoring them in the future. Molding them into strong leaders.

"Okay so once you add this, then you stir it gently," Tsuri handed Tsuna the wooden spoon she was holding. "Here. Your turn."

"B-But-"

"Grab the spoon. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. I'm here if you need me." Tsuna looked like he was thinking hard after finally taking the spoon from her hand and taking over. Tsuri patted his shoulder and ruffled his hair.

Bianchi watched the scene with warmth and was going to go back so she could give them some more room in the kitchen when her eyes fell on a little purplish red spot on Tsuri's neck. Her eyes widened significantly, and she grinned sneakily. Tsuri noticed the look the Italian woman was giving her and she blinked twice in question. "Is there something wrong?"

"I'd never thought you to be that type Tsuri-chan~" Bianchi said and pointed at the spot with her index finger. "Where'd you get that spot?"

"Eh?" Tsuri followed her pointing, landing on to the little area Hibari has sucked on earlier. Tsuri's quickly covered it up with her palm, blue lines showing under her right eye. "T-This? I don't..."

"Then why are you covering it?"

"..."

"It's your first one isn't it! Let me see!"

"It was an accident— hey, don't pull my hood!" Bianchi chased Tsuri around the dining room, making sure to avoid Nana and Tsuna. The male twin glanced to the weird behavior Tsuri was showing. Nana hummed to herself and checked up on the last of the ramen, telling a concerned Tsuna to keep stirring and to then let it sit for a few minutes.

After what seemed like forever, Bianchi had finally caught up and grabbed Tsuri by her hoodie's hood, sat her down and removed her hands to see the mark right below the left side of her chin. "Wow. It is one!" Bianchi said, interested. Reborn stared, seeing the mark as well. He raised a brow. "Who gave it to you?"

Tsuri didn't answer, only trying to find a way to get herself out of the pressurable woman's grasp. "I punched myself with my pen earlier! For Nami's sake what's the big deal!" Bianchi looked at Tsuri funnily, not convinced that a mere utensil with ink could cause something like that.

"...Oh. You don't know what it is, do you?"

Tsuri groaned. "It's just a spot…There are no other implications to this, understand?" Bianchi slapped a hand to her face. Boy, was this girl dense. Obviously it was a hickey. She was a woman after all.

"So it was Hibari."

"Stop reading my mind—! For the love of Nami, he just did it to provoke me!"

"If Tsuna figures it out, you're going to need a bullet to escape him."

"Don't you dare!"

That whole afternoon was spent with Tsuri eating her ramen faster than a race car and rushing to her room so she could escape from the baby wearing a fedora and rose haired woman's intense stares. Nana laughed at her weird behavior. Tsuna's head went back and forth between his home tutor and his "lover" who were sharing big wide smirks, whispering something about 'hickeys'.

He co*cked his head to the side. Hickey? What was that?

"You're too young to know about that, Tsuna," Reborn replied slurping some of his ramen.

"Don't go reading my mind!" He said, resuming back to his noodles. And thus, Tsuna never knew the true meaning of the word hickey, too intimidated to even ask the adults what it was and who had it. Reborn wasn't quite ready yet to deal with the consequences Tsuna's overprotective side would reveal. Well, he thought, at least he and Vongola Primo shared something in common. The tutor just hoped that he would be the only one with that nature.

Future wise, for the first time, the hitman was wrong.

...

It was the next morning, but it wasn't. The sun still wasn't out, the sky was still dark and everyone was still asleep. Inside the Sawada house, everyone was still in their dream zone, nothing could wake them up from it. In the twins' room, on the bottom bunk bed was Tsuna, snoring loudly and dreaming about being chased by one of his failed tests. His loud snores had been annoying Reborn and took action by covering his mouth with balls of cotton. Knowing his student would get the hint when he woke up choking on the fluffy objects, the hitman climbed back into his hammock and hit the hay. There was however, the one on the top bunk that was silent and peaceful, but wasn't enjoying her dream to the fullest.

Tsuri tossed and turned multiple times not only because the temperature in her room was burning hot and unbearable, but because someone had invaded her dreams. How did she know? Well because dreams don't just change without you wanting them to.

Her brain had been programmed with her sitting down in a golden throne, wearing chocolate colored clothes and a crown with pocky people bowing down to her and pleading that she eat them. She was pleased to see the snack and was going to instantly dig in when in a flash, her throne disappeared along with the snacks. She fell into a deep, deep hole, screaming in terror at how real it felt. Then, she found herself where she was at now.

The space was tiny, wasn't well lit and it felt slightly cold. Tsuri rubbed her eyes to see that the place was actually a cell, the light being some candles that were lit in every corner of the space. There were no windows. Not a trace of an outside scene. Where was she? What happened to her pocky kingdom!

"Mou see! This is why you need to be nicer!" Tsuri whirled her head back and saw a metal made bunk bed much different from the one she shared with Tsuna by the wall of the cell, and a pair of kids sitting in the bottom bed. She could make out a boy, looking about six to seven years old and a small petite body wearing a worn out orange dress. The boy seemed a little familiar to the brunette with his dark blue hair and blue eyes, but for a reason she didn't know, she couldn't see the face of the little girl. She could see the boy, her arms, legs and the surroundings crystal clear but when she tried to see her, the face was blurry.

Tsuri rubbed her eyes again to get rid of it, and instead focused her attention unto the boy. The blue colored eyes were piecing an angry stare at the body in front of him. "I've told you many times, being nice means being taken advantage of," the boy muttered. The little girl took out a first aid kit she had hidden behind a pillow and opened it to begin bandaging the scratched the boy had on his face and arms.

"But being nice for once is good too!" Tsuri couldn't see the expression on the child's face but by her voice she could tell that she was pouting.

"I'd rather not."

"Mukuro!"

Tsuri flinched at the name and glanced back at the boy. Pineapple hair, and blue eyes. Definitely Mukuro. Was the little girl next to him the one that impacted him greatly before plunging into his plot for revenge? Why couldn't she see her face?

"Don't look at me like that. It's not my fault I'm like this," Mukuro groaned and the teen could see he looked ashamed. Wow. Mukuro? Ashamed? That was something she thought she'd never see. She snorted. He looked more like an intimidating pineapple thug.

"Can't you be less...uh... Mukuro? What was that word you taught me yesterday?"

"Idiot?"

"No..."

"Tiny twerp?"

"No."

"Shrimp?"

"No... I think it was... Intimidating? Oh yeah! Can't you be unintimidating?"

Tsuri's stared at the little girl hard. Did she seriously not notice the boy calling her so many nicknames? She wanted to scold Mukuro for teaching a five year old words like those but she gave up on it. Lambo was five and he called everyone something five year olds weren't supposed to say.

"That's not a word you idiot. And of course not. That's how I'm getting the other kids to stop pestering you," Mukuro folded his arms.

'...This Mukuro is weird...'Tsuri thought, feeling strange at seeing an innocent tiny version of the guy who had controlled her and put her against her brother. They were two different people. This pineapple was kinder and more expressive than the one who was unreadable and had that creepy Yamamoto hybrid laugh. She shuddered.

Tsuri heard the laugh of the little girl and joined her once she saw the weird expression little Mukuro had on. "Next time they bully you, let me know or I'll have to stop being your friend." The little girl let out a big huff. "Okay. I'm sorry."

Tsuri felt her heart warm up at the scene and had melted even more when she saw Mukuro's gentle gaze and smile. The glint in his blue orbs demonstrated warmth and care as he patted the little girl on the head. It was the same one that he'd shown her before he had been taken away by the weird people in bandages. Tsuri didn't know what to do and just fidgeted everywhere, blushing like mad. She hated to admit it, but the pineapple haired boy seemed really cute wearing that expression. It suited him. "I'll always be here with you, my Little Mouse."

Tsuri's blurred vision of the little girl began to clear out little by little and before she could make out whose features it belonged to the scene disappeared like a stopped movie and found herself in that empty black void again. The invader could have at least taken her back to her kingdom!

"You need to remember"a deep voice echoed throughout the room, making her desire to go back to her original dream disappear. She'd heard that voice somewhere before. Who did it belong to again?

"Remember? Remember what?" She asked it, turning her head several times to find the source where it came from. Nothing was there.

The voice sighed, sounding disappointed."...You need to rememberme."

...

That same night was the night everything would change. The town was silent as a mouse. No one uttered even the slighest of noises and no lights were on other than the street lamps and the moonlight.

In that city of Namimori, the sound of metal clashing echoed. Three shadows moved back and forth by the buildings' rooftop like lightning, battling til their death.

The angel on top of the heavens observing bit her nails frantically, not prepared for such an event. She stared at the battle, while in the sidelines stood a short boy, his green eyes gleaming with evil intentions. The holy messenger gripped her white garments tightly. 'Emile... What are you doing...?'

Extra -In Nami Chuu's reception room after meeting w/ Yumei-

"Eto, Hibari-san?" Kusakabe asked, handing his leader the papers he needed to fill out for the day. "Are you interested in Sawada Tsukairi?"

The Vice President watched a little yellow ball flap its wings and sing happily by the shoulder it was standing next to. Hibari Kyoya was was lying on the couch on his back, his hands cupping behind his head and a leg crossed over his other.

"Hibari, Hibari." It chirped.

The perfect opened his eyes and stared at his most trusted member, grabbing the documents and leaving them onto the table nearby. "She's my new sandbag. I wasn't going to let her get swayed by another school."

"Possessive..."

Hibari sat up straight and turned his head towards the desk by the far back where the window was. The same desk that the herbivore he enjoyed irritating and punishing used was empty and desolate. He poked the yellow bird beside him.

"Hn. I don't know what you mean."

Kusakabe sighed, expecting his leader to give such an answer and nodded. "Forgive me Hibari-san. I will leave now. Excuse me."

Chapter 16: Unexpected Visitors

Chapter Text

That same night...

The night everything would change. The town was silent as a mouse. No one uttered even the slighest of noises and no lights were on other than the street lamps and the moonlight. In that city, the sound of metal clashing echoed. Three shadows moved back and forth by the buildings' rooftop like lightning, battling til their death. One of them, a short boy with green eyes smiled crookedly as he watched the fight intently.

"VOIIIII! You! Why are you in Japan?" Silver hair gleamed with the beams of the moon. "If you don't answer me I'll slash you ya hear!"

"I do not need to answer thee!" another short boy with a blue flame alit on his forehead shouted back with fervor.

"VOI! Do you think you're in the position to say something like that?" the silver-head yelled as he flew from his place and slashed the boy with the blue flame off the building. The opponent nailed his boomerang like weapon onto the building's concrete wall to prevent himself from plunging to his death. "Heh. You're weak."

"Enough chit-chat!" the short boy said to the silver-head as a look of menace appeared on his features. He approached his enemy that was hanging by a thread, smirked and stepped on his hand. "Yo Spice. Care to tell us why you're here? If you confess, we'll let you leave with your limbs still intact."

"I... cannot...afford to lose..." the falling boy replied his hand slipping from his weapon while his other loose hand,tightly gripped on a polaroid picture like his life depended on it. "I...cannot...believe thou would betray the Ninth...Cielo-donno..."

The boy stared at the other apathetically; eyes that should be bright and contain light were now dull and gray, almost as of a veil had been put into his vision to blind him. "I'm not betraying him Basil." He stepped into the falling boy's hand harder than intended. "I'm doing him a favor. See you soon~."

Basil hadnt been able to keep himself from slipping. His beaten and stepped hand could no longer hold him up and had let himself fall into the pitch black darkness. Cielo stared at the tall figure seriously, picking at his hands. "The chase is on Squalo. Lets not fail Xanxus."

"VOI! You let the stupid kid fall to his death you sh*tty brat!"

Cielo crossed his arms and walked away from the edge of the building. "Shut up and stop complaining you wuss. He's still alive. I implanted a tracking device on him. Once you see him on the move, you can follow him."

Squalo glared and then smirked. The kid may be a brat, but he liked thisnewside of him. So wild and merciless.

"I don't care if we have to murder this entire country to find them. Those rings are ours."

"Ri-chan! Tsu-kun! A postcard came! Your father is coming home!"

Tsuri almost dropped her breakfast. She squinted her eyes to make sure she heard right. "That's a good joke Kaasan," Tsuri laughed it off and sat on the table next to Reborn. "There's no way he's coming."

"Do you not see all of the food Tsuri?!" Tsuna cried. The female twin paused and glared at the stuff occupying the table. Plenty of food covered their kitchen counters, the whole dining table which made it even harder to find a placement for her plate and cups. Nana knew it was enough and she was still making more. Where did the infinite supply of groceries even come from?!

"Ever heard of the words 'being ignorant'? Of course I do!" Tsuri half yelled and began to play with her food. Was she excited that her father was coming home?

It was complicated to be honest. She was happy she'd see him physically after so long but there was one major issue; He had literally been missing for two whole years of their lives. How could he just have the nerve to walk in through their main door and pretend like no one had left? He hadn't really bothered to contact them frequently to know what was going on either, no phone call, no check-in. Not even a picture! A postcard is how he's annoying his return? Utter crap!

Tsuna, Tsuri and Nana needed him in those missing hours. He had bailed on every single important day because his job was more important than his wife and kids. The absolute nerve.

'Oh great. Now my morning annoyance has started. Gokudera's not even here to be causing it this time...'

Tsuna could see from his seat across hers that she was gripping her chopsticks a little too hard. He sighed.'Hey. You okay?'

Tsuri handed him another glare and he furrowed his eyebrows. A no would have sufficed. '......I'll have to sleep over at Kyoko's or Haru's tonight...'

"Oi, anta-tachi. You're making really weird facial expressions at each other," Bianchi pointed out as she walked inside the kitchen. The Vongola Decimo let out a tiny laugh and resumed his attention to his breakfast.

Tsuri ignored her and the other existing bodies in the room, finishing her breakfast silently and going back up to her room to change. There was no f*cking way that she would welcome her dad with a hug. If she could give him a punch to his smug face when the opportunity hit, and land him to the floor, it would satisfy her way more.

...

"Eh? So your dad is coming home?" Yamamoto said with a casual smile. "Isn't that good?"

"No," Tsuna and Tsuri deadpanned together in unison.

While Tsuna told them their life story about how there dad hadn't been home for quite a while, Tsuri decided it was best if she pretended that she didn't know a thing.

Being a boy, Tsuna had a very rocky relationship with their dad. Since he wanted him to become tough and brave, he'd push him to do things he was afraid to do. Maybe that's why Tsuna cowered when trying new things. Call it parenting trauma or whatnot. For her, she had no problem bonding with Iemitsu. Whatever Tsuna was afraid to do, he'd allow Tsuri to attempt. She liked being challenged and encouraged and on some occasions dragged Tsuna to do them with her.

Being daddy's little girl was a comfort but at this point in her grown age? He left them. For his stupid vague mafia job Tsuri had no clue what it was. He decided to become invisible to his own family. So, there was no room for pretending to be a perfect loving family when it wasn't true.

She would've hated her father more if it weren't for that mysterious person that fell off the tree a long time ago. She tried to cushion the reveal, saying that her dad was protecting them and others. She also said that she worked beside him and watched him do great work and how he loved his family. Nothing more.

She stared at her twin, too scared to even imagine how'd he react when he found her out that she knew about the mafia before he did. He probably wouldn't talk to her for a whole year. She was impressed with herself at how she'd also been keeping it hidden from Reborn despite him knowing she was holding a secret.

Gokudera noticed Tsuri's pace slowing down and decided to let Yamamoto discuss with Juudaime about their newfound plan to hang out somewhere instead of heading to school. He waited for her to catch up and was soon walking next to her side by side.

"Is it really that horrible that your father's coming home?" He asked, making Tsuri raise an eyebrow. Wasn't he supposed to be beside Tsuna and ask him this question? She shrugged, sighing deeply.

"It's a big deal to us. He's been away for two years, and he hasn't bothered to come home at all to see how we're doing. He only sends letters of apology along with some allowance," she mumbled, her face scrunching up. "As if money and saying sorry can resolve his absence. Irresponsible jerk..."

Gokudera wanted to say how lucky she and Juudaime were for at least having a father, but held his tongue once he saw her sad and grudge-filled eyes. Tsuri looked more affected than Juudaime. His eyebrow twitched, unsure of what to say to take the expression off her face.

"I-It's best not to worry about family issues too much. My family is messed up beyond recognition." Gokudera gave her an awkward thumbs up and she had no other reaction than staring at him weirdly. He recoiled. He wanted to smack himself for saying something like that.

Tsuri found herself smiling a little sadly. Was he trying to cheer her up by saying that? "Don't say that so casually like no problem Gokudera," she smiled, lifting an arm to give him a pat to his shoulder. "Family sucks in some ways doesn't it?"

Gokudera blushed, like the person he was, feeling slightly glad he at least made Tsuri smile. Even if it were forced, she looked better with a grin than with a frown. "..." He stared and broke the silence by huffing and walking head to shake the baseball star by his shoulders. "Oi baseball freak! Hurry up and call the others!"

"Hai Hai." Yamamoto replied with a grin and took out his cellphone. Tsuri exchanged a glance of appreciation to her twin who gave her that enveloping cute smile he had.

'Who knew we'd end up with friends trying to make us ditch school? 'Tsuri said, staring at them with care.

'Even though I'm pretty sure we'll get in trouble, it's worth it,' Tsuna nodded.'We're lucky to have them.'

'Extremely,' Tsuri joked.

'What a bad joke Tsuri!'Tsuna snorted, understanding that she was using Ryohei's catchphrase, causing them to both erupt into a fit of giggles. Their friends stared, not really sure why their friends were laughing, but smiled anyway. At least their gloomy mood was pushed out for now.

...

...

And their adventures went by. They had gone to the arcade to play games with everyone. Tsuri was the most that got into it and beat almost all of the guys and Kyoko. She had beat Tsuri nearly ten times in the same game. After her final defeat, she went to go sit next to Reborn who had set off his machine. It strangely looked like the ones you'd find in gambling places around Las Vegas. Reborn smirked, pleased while Tsuri sweatdropped thinking that he probably rigged it.

The twins had found their favorite band's new album in the music shop, chatting away and excitedly hearing the songs in a pair of earphones. The rest of the group joined in, while Lambo was snoozing to classical music Gokudera had purposely put for him.

At the photo booth, everyone decided to take pictures together for memories. Yamamoto, Tsuna and Gokudera (to his dismay) took one together first, then Fuuta, Reborn and the rest. Tsuri had shyly taken one with Kyoko and Haru, one with the guys too and a separate one with Reborn and Tsuna. Everyone stared at the last photo from Tsuri's stub and were surprised at the uncanny resemblance they had.

"Tsuri-chan, we should check out the sports store don't you think?" Yamamoto suddenly said after a while, and then grabbed Tsuri by her wrist. "Let's go!"

"Hai Hai, I'm coming," Tsuri nodded in response and was going to follow when a strange wave hit her entire body. Yamamoto, Tsuna and Reborn noticed how she paused abruptly and gave it a moment. Tsuri began feeling the same weird sensation when Hibari had pulled her away from Shamal. She tried to push away the heavy and overpowering feeling, but it was too overwhelming and it overtook her senses.

She couldn't see anything, as if a gust of sharp wind hit her in the face, even though there was none. Her body felt heavy, as if she had come out from an intense workout. She sniffed, smelling gunpowder and metal. Huh? What the hell?

"Do you guys smell anything?" She turned slowly back and forth, looking front and back. Her vision was back but something deep in the pit of her stomach wasn't settling down. Was her intuition going off? But there was nothing in sight. It was as if she had hallucinated everything.

Reborn and Tsuna shared a look and then shook their heads at Tsuri. "No..."

Yamamoto laughed, letting go of his grip. "Maybe you're hungry!" He said. "Tsuna, why don't we take a break? We can explore more after filling up."

Tsuna nodded. "Good idea."

"I'll go tell the others!"

While Yamamoto ran off to tell the others, Tsuna and Reborn watched Tsuri's frozen body look back and forth once more. She could see... Silver hair. What the hell? She put a hand to her face to hide the scared look she was wearing. Was she having one of those 'I can predict the future' moments? If so, was something going to happen to Yamamoto? "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"You're not getting sick again are you?" Tsuna asked worriedly.

She gave him a glare. "You seriously need to stop being a worry wart Tuna." She stuck her tongue out at him, ticking off the brunet. "I-I'm going ahead to get something for my stomach okay! I'll meet you by that tall building!"

Reborn stared at the running figure in suspicion. Tsuri's Augury Intuition had definitely spiked up. Reborn sensed the stiffness of the air.

A storm was brewing.

Her friends had looked at her weirdly but she didn't care. What she needed to do was go home and prepare for the worst. Even if she were to be wrong and considered crazy for it. She needed their gloves and Yamamoto's bat. Something was going to happen, she could feel it at the tip of her tongue. Her head was screaming warning bells and it increased each passing second the closer she ran farther down the street to her house.

When she walked in she expected to find it empty, but as she took off her shoes and eyed muddy and worn out boots by her mother's out shoes, she wished she hadn't had bad timing.

Their dad was home.

His mother was serving him some of the food she made earlier in the kitchen, and saw the gaping face of her daughter standing by the entrance. The blond man followed his wife's eyes and they nearly fell out of their sockets. How long had it been since he had seen her!? Her brown hair was longer, she had definitely grown a couple of inches in height. The total reflection of his son with their own mother's cuteness factor.

"Tsukairi~!" He singsonged happily. "I'm home~!" The father was going to lunge to embrace his daughter but Tsuri evaded it by taking a step to the side.

"Like hell I'm welcoming you home," she spat and turned to go to her room to find the items she needed. Iemitsu stared at Nana like he didn't have a clue to her anger and excused himself to the bathroom. When Tsuri was coming down, he immediately followed her to the door.

"Hey, what's going on Tsuri?" He asked in a fatherly tone, one that Tsuri instantly hated.

"Nothing that concerns you. I just needed to pick up something for Tsuna," she slipped on her shoes and turned to give her excuse of a father a glare. "Don't expect me home later."

"Oh don't be like that Tsuri~! You do know I've been wanting to come home to visit!," the father began twiddling his fingers. "I just haven't had the time because of my job and-" Tsuri gave a sharp turn to look at her father, and stared at him. Really stared at him as if her eyes were cutting a hole into his body. Iemitsu gulped. Those fiery burning eyes, he knew them so well. Nana wore them when he did something displeasing.

Tsuri tried to hold back all the anger she'd held in for two years for the sake of her mother, but it wasn't enough. She couldn't do it anymore. "Cut the bullsh*t. I know what your real job is,Tousan," she spat.

Iemitsu's playful eyes lost their shine at the revelation, and reverted into a professional serious side Tsuri never saw him wore since her kidnapping. Tsuri took a small step back when she saw it. "How… did you find out?"

"If you're going to talk on the phone, make sure the other line can't hear it. Secondly, if you're going to speak in code, better in italian than the language your family is fluent in. Thirdly, I'm sure yourco-workerdidn't appreciate her cover being blown and being prodded with questions."

"Tsukairi I-"

"I doubt the mafia refrains you from having contact with family. You could have called… you could have shown up for a day at least." The older man winced again. Just hearing the dreadful underground name come from us daughter's lips definitely didn't please him. "Don't we matter to you at all?"

"My jobs more important than anything else, Tsuri. My number one priority is them. You must understand that."

Tsuri's grip tightened on the gloves she was holding.Important? The mafia?A ruthless system that killed innocent people? It was more important than being home taking care of his son and daughter who were having it rough at the start of middle school? How many times did she and Tsuna hear their mother cry at night, wishing he were there? How many times did Tsuna have to comfort her in the night every time he sent a letter saying sorry that he couldn't come home? How many times did he wish he were home too?

Tsuri wanted to slap her father right then and there. She wanted to tell her mother that he'd been lying to them about his job all these years. But, she wasn't too cruel. Her heart would break and Tsuri knew how much Nana loved Iemitsu. She wouldn't do that to her, no matter how unfair this whole thing was.

She bit back tears and left the house quickly without saying anything, leaving a disappointed and very angry Iemitsu by the door. He decided in giving someone a call in Italy. He had a pretty good guess in who that co-worker was and was going to need to do some explaining.

When Tsuri arrived, everything was in ruins. There was smoke erupting from the building, its glass windows shattered by what hit it. Her friends were gazing up at someone while her brother was bare like always, on the floor, with a body on top of him. While she ran she squinted, seeing a blue flame on the boy's forehead. Were those dying will flames? Why were they blue?

"OWWW!" yelled Tsuna as he got up.

"VOIIIIIIII! What is this? A bunch of outsiders are starting to make a crowd. Any piece of trash that gets in my way will be cut!" A random guy with long white hair yelled from the top of a building. He had a sword. Tsuri eyes widened. That silver hair...

"What's going on!"

"Your instincts were right again Baka-Tsuri," Reborn glanced at the body next to him. "Your intuition predicted what was to come."

Tsuna watched her sweat immense bullets.

"T-That's crazy..." She trailed off. "T-That can't be possible…" Or could it?

"GET BACK!" yelled the man as he slashed his sword once, causing a great air current that pushed all objects in the area away and send them flying. The same sensation she felt when Yamamoto had grabbed her. It was no mistake. She stared at her wrists, fear appearing at the pit of her stomach. Why... Why and how could she do this?

"Who is that guy?" yelled Tsuna. The long haired guy kept slashing back and forth with his sword like a maniac, and Tsuri's fear grew. But she knew what she had to do so she shoved it into the deepest part of her brain. She could revisit it now she had to protect everyone at any cost.

"Women and children are going to evacuate." Reborn poked Kyoko and Haru.

"Eh! Okay…Tsuri-chan!" Kyoko ran towards her and pulled her arm. "We need to go!" Tsuri placed the baseball bat and the gloves on one of the sturdy tables that hadn't flown away.

"Go on ahead Kyoko! I need to stay!"

"Eh? But Tsuri-san! It's too dangerous!" Haru pleaded with her eyes. Lambo and I-pin nodded in agreement. "Please come with us!"

"Tsuna needs my help right now. But I promise I'll make it back safely. Please Kyoko, Haru," she said reassuringly.

"Don't do anything stupid without thinking it through Tsuri," Reborn warned, taking the girls and kids to safety. Tsuri turned her attention to the body towering above them.

Then, her eyes fell to the boy dragging Tsuna away. Her intuition said that he wasn't in any danger with him, but probably was the cause of this mess.

She growled. She couldn't do anything at the moment without being shot by Reborn. She'd have to stick to borrowing Yamamoto's bat if anything.

"Hey! Where are you taking Juudaime?!" yelled Gokudera. He then looked behind the smoke to see her standing in place. "Oi, Tsuri! Stop him! He's taking Juudaime somewhere!"

"He'll be fine. Don't worry!" She yelled. "I sense no danger from him other than this one here!"

"TSUNA!" yelled Yamamoto. Suddenly, the long haired guy came crashing down in front of them. Tsuri had to wave some flying dust and concrete to get a better look at the man.

He was older, had a build that read strong and severe aggressive, overwhelming abilities that she knew were higher than anyone they'd ever encountered.

"Let's quit playing chase. So who is that?!" yelled Squalo. The boy didn't answer.

"OI! TELL ME!" yelled the long haired as he slashed an air current directly at the guy. The boy dodged well, but he was launched back into a window.

"You!" yelled Tsuna.

"OI! Trash!" yelled the long haired. Tsuna froze and whirled around.

"That's right, you! What's your relationship with the kid? Spill it or I'll cut you!" yelled the long hair.

Tsuri immediately began to panic again. If she didn't do something, no one here would be left alive. Then, she remembered what she brought. Without reborn there was nothing to be done. She'd have to leave it all up to her friends to protect him.

"Yamamoto! I have your bat!"

"HIE!" Tsuna did his infamous panic scream, expecting to be stabbed but the blade never came. Instead he saw dynamite blow in his way while the long haired guy dodged. When the smoke cleared, his friends were there with weapons in hand, looking cool. Tsuri wanted to slap a hand to her face. Did they even have time to be posing like that? Seriously?

"Touch him or you'll deal with us!" The silver haired boy threatened.

"Well, it's something like that." Yamamoto agreed.

"Gokudera-kun! Yamamoto!" Tsuna cheered.

"I didn't bring it with me, but my bat was sitting over there for no reason." The baseball star laughed. "Thanks Tsuri-chan for giving it to me!"

"I brought it for you..." She mumbled, a little annoyed.

"YOU GUYS INVOLVED WITH HIM?! I don't really understand, but I'll tell you one thing for certain. Defy me and you'll get cut down!" the man threatened with a glare and smirk.

"Back at you!" yelled Gokudera.

"That's a sword right? I'll take you on first!" said Yamamoto. Tsuri's mind rang like crazy once she saw her baseball friend stand up first.

Tsuna was looking back and forth, at first co fused but then made eye contact with hers. It's as if their hyper intuitions were merging together, in understanding that maybe Yamamoto was a risk of being in harms way.

'They'll be fine… right?'

'I want to believe that… but—!'

Her friends were reliable. They could do this.

Or not. Her nerves were screeching at this point. "Wait! Yamamoto, don't—!"

Everything happened too quickly. Yamamoto was going to start his strike but then once his blade met with Squalo's, he was shot with explosives. Her eyes widened. Tsuna tumbled to the floor in fear.

Gokudera stepped up with dynamites in hand, determined to takethe long hair on too, but the result was exactly the same.

"GOKUDERA-KUN!"

Tsuri needed to do something. Now. Both were down and unresponsive. Her legs wouldn't budge. Was that all she was going to do? Just stand through the sidelines and watch? She would die before she cowered in fear!'Move, dammit!'

Tsuna stared at the blade, praying to Buudha, Kami anyone to help him. Where was Reborn? He needed him! And Tsuri! Was she okay? He felt tears blurring his vision. He was useless, helpless. He wanted to take action but his own legs wouldn't budge. Well, his life was a good run. At least he got to spend his last moments with Kyoko. That was something he wouldn't regret. Adios world.

"Why don't you just die!" the long hair laughed as his sword came crashing down. Tsuna expected the pain to come fast. It didn't. He glanced up to see similar brown hair and caramel eyes shielding him and holding something. It looked like Yamamoto's bat. But wasn't transformed.

"VOIIIII! Are you with him?" Tsuri blocked the blow with all her strength, trying not to fall at the heaviness of the object she was holding. Holy Namimori was it heavy! How did Yamamoto hold this thing!

"Leave him alone." The enemy glared and his eyes widened. These two were twins.

"Not until I get an answer!" yelled the long haired guy as he ran again towards her. Tsuri did her best to dodge, but it wasn't enough. The bat was too heavy and she was already drained from the long run she'd taken.

"VOIIII! The way you move... It looks oddly familiar" yelled the guy as he charged again. Tsuri blocked again and jumped up into the air to dodge the explosives he had used on her friend earlier. She landed on the ground safely, but the bat brought her down as soon as she grabbed it, tumbling her to the ground. Tsuna sweatdropped.

"Sawada-dono. Who is that?" The blue flame boy asked, observing.

"That's my twin sister Tsuri." Tsuna explained his mouth agape. The other boy then widened his eyes in surprise. So this was the other sibling his master was talking about! Oh what did he do!

"VOIIIIII! I'M GOING TO SLICE YOU TO PIECES!" yelled the guy as he once again came thrashing his weapon back and forth. Tsuri was too late in raising the heavy object and was met with a kick, sending her to the wall. The enemy didn't stop his attacks, to which she was able to dodge with what was left of her adrenaline by rolling down the floor full of glass. The long haired man then managed to reach with the tip of his blade to her right arm, marking an x. Tsuri screamed at the incoming pain.

"You may seem more active in battle, but you twins are exactly the same! Weak!" yelled the guy as he brought his sword down. Tsuri was on the floor trying to reach for the bat when she heard a loud noise of a bullet. She was next to stare up and see Tsuna protecting her this time, transformed gloves in hand, holding the enemy back. She looked everywhere, trying to look for her tutor.

"VOIIIII! That emblem and dying will…" he stared at the bloodied girl on the ground and then the boy twin. "... Are you the rumored Japanese?" yelled the long haired as he slashed his sword at Tsuna. He was sent back to the wall, his dying will running out after that. Tsuri dragged herself to where her brother was. Tsuna looked beside him to his twin, and then to her bleeding arm. "Tsuri!"

"Tsuna!" She yelled desperately, reaching a hand out to reach him but the long haired guy stopped her by pointing his sword to her neck.

"If you're the rumored Japanese kid... There's only supposed to be one of you. Why are there two?" He said in question, his eyes looking confused. He shook his head, gaze coming to a realization and smiled an evil grin. "So this is what Cielo was talking about. Sothatdoes exist." he then walked over and pointed a sword at Tsuna who was now holding a black box.

"I NEED TO DEFEAT YOU AND TAKE THOSE BACK!" yelled the man. Tsuna decided already to give it back and end this but the other boy told him not to. He fidgeted. What was he supposed to do!?

"Eh?" Tsuna screamed as he shook in fear. The long haired man was about to attack Tsuna when a new voice popped out. Tsuna and Tsuri tried to look behind the smoke and their eyes widened in happiness and relief. Blonde hair. Brown eyes. A furry jacket and a tattoo running on one of his arms. He was holding a whip.

"You haven't changed at all…Superbi Squalo." The figure said, standing in preparation. "Getting so serious against children…aren't you embarrassed?"

"Dino-san!"

"Sorry for getting here late, Tsuna, Tsuri."

"Che…" Squalo clicked his tongue.

"If you don't stop now, I'll fight you." Squalo thought about something and then smirked. "VOIIII! It would be nice to fight now but the family wouldn't like that so I'll go home quietly….NOT!" he picked up Tsuna from the head.

"Tsuna!" Dino and Tsuri yelled together. The older male charged but Squalo attacked Dino and took the box that Tsuna was holding with him.

"AH! HE HAS THE VONGOLA RINGS!" yelled the blue flame boy. The twins glanced at him in confusion.

"Eh? Vongola Rings..?"

"See you never trash!" yelled a laughing Squalo as he disappeared. Tsuri clicked her tongue. She glanced towards her friends who were on the floor, still unconscious. If only she had followed her instincts. If only she hadn't left... If she was able to control her said ability and if it had come earlier…She could have prevented all of this from happening. She rolled her body forward towards the sky, holding her bleeding arm tightly.

"Tsuri!" Tsuna ran to her. "Y-Your arm…!"

"I-I'm fine... We need to chase him..."

"It wouldn't be good to pursue him." All of the people turned to the new voice. The baby wearing a... Plant costume? Tsuri narrowed her eyes in disbelief.

"REBORN! Why are you stepping up now?" Tsuna yelled angrily. "You could have helped us! Look how Tsuri is! You could have shot her too!" He didn't respond. They all waited for his answer.

"That's because…he's from the Vongola Family too. You two attacking would've made things worse."

...

...

...

"EH/WHHAAT!?" Both twins yelled at the top of their lungs.

Tsuri instantly groaned in pain after the yell, feeling a river trail down her whole arm and dripping down to her school skirt and shirt. She shut her eyes in thought. What excuse was she going to give her mom this time?

Dino put his whip away and guided his subordinates towards the young teens who were injured. Tsuna tried lifting Tsuri up, while Dino came running to help him out. Reborn kicked Tsuri on the leg lightly, nearly tripping the three students. "Ow!" She cried and glared. "I'm injured for sh*t's same! What's your problem!?"

"I told you to not do anything stupid," Reborn said. "Look at you." Tsuri lowered her gaze, feeling shame.

"Boss, they're not in good shape." Romario, Dino's right hand man informed him upon helping Gokudera and Yamamoto up with their bad injuries.

"Tsuna. Let's talk later. We need to take care of their wounds first." Dino said, gently grabbing Tsuri up bridal style much to her dismay. She was in too much pain and felt too weak to even kick and scream and say that it was embarrassing.

"Okay! Oh! Gokudera-kun! Yamamoto!" Tsuna ran to his friends.

"Juudaime! You're safe! Thank goodness."

"Tsuna!" Both boys then found Tsuri who waved at them weakly from Dino's arms.

"I'm sorry, Juudaime! I'll defeat him the next time I see him!"

"Maybe he's still in the area." Tsuna saw his friends trying to search around for the enemy when he was already long gone. He was going to tell them it was okay, but Reborn spoke first.

"You two can go home."

"Reborn-san!"

"You must have realized from this fight. At your current combat strength, you'll just be in the way."

Gokudera and Yamamoto tensed immediately. Tsuna could see the sparks of remorse and anger in their vision. Tsuri turned her head away, trying to hide her face from all of them. Dino sighed at the sight.

"Even Baka-Tsuri was in the way and got herself hurt badly." Gokudera and Yamamoto turned towards her, their eyes widened in surprise as they saw her form. She was pale and weak, her red stained hand covering the open wound on her arms with a ripped section of her shirt. It reminded them of the way they'd seen her from their fight with the Kokuyo Gang months ago. It didn't sit right with them that she ended up getting hurt again.

"Dino-san..." The blond looked down at his so called little sister. "Hm?"

"My arm hurts…" Tsuri spoke up softly but Tsuna could hear her voice cracking. "Can we leave first?"

"Let's go, Tsuna." Said Reborn as he dragged Tsuna away with his Leon whip. The friends were left behind, being guided to some fancy black cars to be taken to the hospital. Dino had chosen to walk instead, being extremely careful as not to trip out of thin air so Tsuri wouldn't suffer and fall.

"Is he a member of the Vongola?" asked Tsuna. He was in a patient's room with the blue flame boy on the bed sleeping. His sister sat on a chair in silence while Romario disinfected her wound.

"Basil isn't a member of the Vongola but, he's definitely on your side." Dino explained.

"Oh.. I see...Tsuri how's your arm doing?" asked Tsuna as he walked towards her. She didn't raise her face to look at him and didn't respond.

"The wound was pretty deep," Romario answered instead. "It's possible that as it heals it'll scar."

"Oh…" said Tsuna. Tsuri's dejected behavior gave him the notion that it was better to leave her alone a bit. He walked towards Basil again and sat beside him.

Tsuri couldn't speak to Tsuna. She could hear him blame himself in his head but it wasn't. She blamed herself. It was her fault everyone was injured. It was her fault that she couldn't catch this just in time to keep everyone safe. Instead they suffered a humiliation. Tsuna was safe, but that didn't guarantee that this wouldn't happen again.

She bit the urge to hit herself and scream. Then, a warm hand fell on her head. She looked up to see Dino, his expression looked comforting, but she refused to accept such warmth. She didn't deserve it. A failure didn't deserve it.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened."

"But-"

"Reborn told me about your ability. It's pretty amazing if I do say so myself. But your still getting used to it, and you didn't know what to do. You did your best." Dino shined her a warm smile. "You did well."

Tsuri looked up and felt her vision beginning to blur. Dino instantly panicked. He was never really good in dealing with the opposite gender when they cried.

"WHAT IS GOING ON! The enemy is a Vongola…but my ally isn't? Besides, I don't have any enemies or allies!" Tsuna bellowed, not noticing his sister who was bawling her eyes out silently.

"That's no longer the case." Dino moved towards Tsuna.

"It's because those rings are on the move." Reborn mentioned.

"Rings? Basil mentioned that too…the Vongola Rings…" said Tsuna. Tsuri dried her eyes. Vongola Rings? What were those?

"Yeah. The official name for them is the Half Vongola Rings. They were supposed to be held in a secret location for three more years. They are the Vongola Family's treasures."

"Are they really expensive rings?" asked a pale Tsuna.

"They certainly are priceless but that's not all. An untold amount of blood has been spilled over those rings in the Vongola's long history. They're rings with a dark past."

"UWAAA! ARE YOU SERIOUS? Thank goodness the long-haired guy took them."

"Uh…well the things is…" Dino started.

"Hai?" Tsuna said.

"I have them right here." Dino held up the same black box that Superbi Squalo had stolen with a goofy smile. Reborn's expression darkened. Tsuri raised herself from her chair and was instantly beside her twin.

"EHHHHHHHHH? W-w-w-what?! BUT…I thought..they were stolen!" Tsuna yelled again as he panicked.

"Not really. These are real ones." Dino shared a sheepish grin.

"Eh? Then the ones before are…?"

"I came here because of these. A certain individual asked me to give these to you." Dino handed Tsuna the box with the rings in them. Tsuri stared. The Vongola seal. Her eyes widened. No way... Didhebring them along with him?! Is that why he was home?! He brought trouble with him this time!

"That son of a—"

"EH? ME? WHY ME? THOSE SCARY RINGS…." yelled Tsuna as he pointed to himself.

"Well that's because you're Vongola the Ten-"

"STOP! CEASE! HALT! I HAVE TO GO STUDY FOR MY TESTS! I'd better do my best! S-See you later, Dino-san! ILL COME VISIT LATER TSURI!" Tsuna averted the question as he opened the door and closed it immediately before Dino could protest. The individuals inside the room could hear Tsuna's scream from the corridors as he ran outside the building. Tsuri sniffed.

"The semester just started…" Tsuri gave the Chiavarrone boss an apologetic smile.

"That kid, does he still think he can run away from his position?" Dino said amused.

"I would too if I could," Tsuri confessed. "These rings then. If he had the fakes then..."

"Basil was the bait." Reborn stared at the figure.

"He probably didn't even know. But shouldn't he give these to Tsuna directly? He came with me to Japan." Dino stared at the black box.

"I see…so he came."

Here was the opening chance to come clean. Tsuri didn't want to die early by Reborn's hand, so she prayed silently as she sighed. "Reborn, Dino-san" Tsuri began. The two turned towards her. It all fit too perfectly. And it made sense.

"What is it?" Reborn asked, his eyes glued to the readable expression his second student wore.

"My dad is involved, isn't he?"

There was a stifiling silence until the older male raised himself from his chair like the risen dead.

"NO! No way! I don't know anything!" Dino defended immediately.

She blinked and sighed roughly. "You know, you do the same gestures Tsuna does when he attempts to lie. It's okay," She smiled but it didn't last long. "I need to come clean. I know it's my dad, because…" she took a deep inhale. "I knew my dad was a part of the mafia. Before you showed up."

There was a loud click and the safety on the Leon gun had been removed. "Explain.Now."

Dino and Tsuri's skin went pale white. "I-I overheard a conversation he had with a co-worker the day of my kidnapping 5 years ago. I didn't know anything about Tsuna being a boss candidate until you showed up. All I knew was that my dad worked for the mafia and that he was keeping it from us." She rubbed her head to stop herself from crying again. It felt like a weight was being lifted off from her. "I'm sorry for keeping it a secret. I wanted to tell you but you didn't make it easy to."

"So then this explains your stamina levels. If you found out, you'd want to protect your family from any outsiders trying to harm you. Who trained you?"

Tsuri looked reluctant to tell but she sighed in defeat. "It's that co-worker I mentioned. She refused to tell me her name, but she looked a lot like you," She shook her head at trying to remember. "It was a long time ago. I don't even remember much of it. All I know is that she called it quits on me because I kept getting hurt. She went back to Italy and I stayed behind with no one to teach me. I ended up finding ways to get myself up. That explains my history of broken bones and sprains."

Dino's mouth was wide. No way. Tsuri knew? Fate sure had a thing of giving people surprises.

Tsuri sighed and sat back on her chair in exhaustion. "I was afraid that kidnappers would come back and do more than just take me. My mom and Tsuna… I wanted to protect them. In the end I failed at that since I was so busy making sure Tsuna got through school without any worries." She bit her lip. "I won't tell Tsuna. Not yet. Not until this gets figured out. And I'm sure you want to wait until you see him kill me. Unless you do first."

"I will," laughed Reborn. Dino shook his head at his old tutor. Wasn't he going to tell Tsuri of Iemitsu's position? He gasped. He wouldn't!He wasn't going to let her find out for herself was he?

"You'll face a whole lot of tor— I mean training for this Baka-Tsuri. I had my suspicions. No one hides anything from me." A click. Tsuri's skin turned blue. "But I'll wait for you to recover."

The female twin sighed. Reborn and Dino were handling it quite well. Would Tsuna do the same if she told him?

Chapter 17: Eighth Guardian

Chapter Text

Iemitsu expected the call to go through mailbox instead, since he knew his dear co-worker never answered her phone during her job. Although happy she was obeying orders, it was ticking him off a little that she couldn't at least answer once. The phone was still ringing and ringing, and going into voicemail once again. The blond man sighed in frustration before deciding to try again one more time.

It actually went through.

There was an aggressive pant. "WILL YOU STOP BUGGING ME?! CANT YOU SEE IM THE MIDDLE OF AN IMPORTANT JOB COLO-"

Iemitsu cleared his voice, making the other one pause."...This isn't Colonello, is it?"

"Lal, why aren't you answering your phone?"

"I-Iemitsu! I'm in the middle of a job! What the hell do you want!"The voice snapped angrily.

"That can wait. I've just come home to Japan, and I found out some information that might interest you."

"Like what? I don't wanna hear about how your reunion with your wife and your 'adorable kids' went-"

"I know Lal."

Lal Mirch was a tough person, not taking anyone's sh*t lightly. She didn't flinch nor fear at any given moment and her boss, Iemitsu, was someone she admired and respected greatly. He couldn't scare her one bit unless he were beyond angry. This could be one of those rare moments. She gulped at the question. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"My daughter just confessed to be about an hour ago that she knew about the mafia! The MAFIA Lal!"

A groan from the other line. "They were bound to know sooner or later..."

"She also told me she met a co-worker of mine and gave her more juicy details about me. I wonder who that is..." Iemitsu said darkly.

"Maybe it was someone else."

"Mhm... Care to explain how you know my daughter?"

"... Okay fine,"the other voice sighed in defeat. "Yes I know your kid. Tsukairi was it? She saw me keeping watch on your house when you called in about her kidnapping."

Iemitsu sighed too. "So the great Lal Mirch failed on being incognito in front of a ten year old. How amusing."

"And how amusing it is that the father didn't know how to explain to his son why he had a gun hidden in his room,"Lal retorted."You shot it towards the tree I was in. You have yourself to blame for blowing my cover."

Iemitsu cried silent tears of guilt. "So youre saying this is my fault?!"

"Obviously. So, did she finally snap at you?"

The father shrunk. "…She even cursed in front of me."

The other line snorted."You had that coming Iemitsu. You've always been given permission from the Ninth himself to go back home and you've declined them all. I told you too. Kids at that age tend to develop grudges for absent parents. So guess what? You caused this, you fix it."

"How?"

"How the hell should I know? I'm not the one with kids."

"You know, I expected some good detailed advice from my fellow work partner."

"Then you should have called Oregano instead you idiot. Ah sh*t!"A sound of an explosion sounded through the phone, making Iemitsu raise an eyebrow."We can talk later Iemitsu! I'm gonna kill that new intern you brought! Get over here you bastard-!"

"Lal! I'm not-" the call suddenly cut off and the blond was left talking with himself. He ruffled his hair in frustration, putting his cell back in his pocket and opening the closet's door, with Nana looking at him questioningly in the hallway, holding a tray of cookies and some tea. "Dear, why are you in the closet?"

Iemitsu felt bullets of sweat run down behind his back. "I-I was just checking for termites! Ahaha, you know how houses these days tend to get destroyed by that cursed pest!"

Nana blinked, then smiled, giving Iemitsu the notion that his lie was bought. One of these days, he thought, he'd run out of lies to excuse himself from impending doom.

...

...

Tsuri stared at the black box she held with curiosity. "So these are the Vongola Rings?" She asked. "What are they for? Accessorize mafia men and make them look cool for murder?"

Dino laughed nervously at the small unintended jab. "Proof of inheritance. When Tsuna wears it he is officially a candidate for the tenth generation boss of Vongola ," Dino explained, putting his hands behind his head. "Man, I wish our family had heirlooms like those."

"So they're like a crown?"

"Not technically but along those lines, yeah."

Tsuri glared at the box. "So because of these stupid heirlooms, we were attacked by that long haired guy?"

Dino laughed a little. "I wouldn't necessarily call them stupid..."

"But they are stupid!" Tsuri pointed at the box accusingly. "If "they're passing the lines down to people like this then all it does is cause trouble! Why did my dad put us at risk now!"

"Your dad brought them because Tsuna's family was chosen to take on the roles as his guardians. It's inevitable, Tsuri." The brunette wanted to throw the box out the nearest window and sensing a spike of irritation, the blonde quickly rushed to her seat and took the rings from her lap. Dino sighed in relief. Reborn would have killed both of them if he found them lying around somewhere.

"I just don't get it... Why do we have to be apart of this?" Tsuri murmured, her free hand gently touching her injury on her left arm. Dino sat on the chair next to her and patted her head again.

"I've wondered the same thing when I was your age, before I took over the Cavallone Family. I was exactly like Tsuna, always running away from my position and saying I wasn't going to take over as boss," he said, remembering his younger days. "But then my dad died, and my family was put in danger, so I had to chose. I felt like I was being cornered into a wall."

Dino grinned, and it was a smile that told Tsuri that their older brother figure was being honest with his feelings. "My father had left me this mafia family, one that he had struggled to restore, for one sole reason. To learn how to be strong and protect. Not only myself and those within the circle, but those outside it too."

Tsuri glanced at the floor gloomily. "So you chose to give up your personal desires?" She asked, somewhat bothered that he gave up the chance to build his own life. "You could've chosen to be selfish and left it up to another person. Why sacrifice that part of yourself?"

"Keeping my loved ones safe from harm was my personal desire. And I won't lie, I wanted to be selfish, and run farther that anyone to chase another life for myself. But my dad was counting on me. His memory. So to fulfill that, I followed Reborn's advice. I took the job. He may be a devil Spartan and showed me hell, but he's made me who I am today."

Tsuri pursed her lips in thought. Reborn was a pain in the ass for them too since he came. Being a mafia boss was the least thing they'd expect to choose as their career. "You're saying Tsuna and I should just accept this easily like one two three? Just like you did? I',m sorry Dino-san, but this is different," Tsuri shook her head. "Tsuna was left with this legacy. So why should I suck it up top and take on my role as well? I'm not needed."

Dino tilted his head in curiousity. "You have a role too?"

Tsuri put a hand to her throbbing forehead. "He says I'm fit to become Vongola Mezza or something like that..."

Dino choked on his saliva and Tsuri had to tap his back to get him back to earth. "W-What? Is he serious? That position hasn't been filled in since Vongola Primo's time! It could cause a major drift between your family!" Dino shouted, not noticing that the loud noise was causing Basil to stir in his sleep. The two bodies sitting down beside the bed winced and decided that it was best to whisper.

"For an alliance family, you sure do know your stuff about the Vongola."

"Reborn forced me to learn Mafia History when I was in high school..." Dino confessed, his body slouching significantly. "It was the worst year of my entire life."

Tsuri giggled, recognizing the face of terror the Cavallone boss wore. Maybe she shouldn't have asked since the boy was lost in his memories and shivering. "You're really a lot like Tsuna and I. Are you sure we aren't related?" She pointed out teasingly.

Dino noticed her soft smile come back and laughed. "I mean who knows, maybe." As the duo laughed silently Reborn stood by the doorway, waiting to inform Tsuri the serious side of the situation at hand.

The next day

While Reborn explained the information of the rings to Tsuna and her friends inside the hospital lobby, Tsuri decided to leave without a word and make a head start for Nami Chuu to resume working. Her mind was too stressed, and she needed something to take her mind off the conversation she'd had with the baby hitman. It was a weekend, and review classes were going on, but at least being in the reception room would let her focus on something else for a while...

Dino opened the box she had almost thrown out the window, revealing 7 strange looking rings. Each had a different drawing symbol in the middle, but the one in the middle of them was much, much different in appearance. "These are the Vongola Half Rings," he explained, noticing how Tsuri looked at the rings weirdly. "And your ring is right here..."

Dino carefully placed the black box on the table in front of them and lifted the platform with the rings, revealing a hollow bottom. The Cavallone boss then entered his hand and pushed a little door with the Vongola insignia inside the hollow space and took out two things; a necklace with a shield shaped pendant, and a black silver and thinner version of the middle ring she saw recently, except the difference was that the one Dino was holding had seven colorless gems surrounding the middle insignia shield and that it was whole. He handed them to Tsuri, who hesitantly held out her palm to grab them. She traced the spikey star shape on the pendant and looked at Reborn, waiting for his explanation.

"Each ring was based on the personalities and characteristics the first generation had. While the others include rain, storm lightning, cloud, mist and sun, yours and Tsuna's rings are entirely different. They're the rings of the Boss."

Tsuri almost dropped the jewelry on the floor.

"The diamond in the night sky that leads the troubled to their haven and illuminates their path, the Ring of the Star and Starry Sky Pendant. You are the second boss of the Vongola, Vongola Mezza."

Tsuri's occupied hand began to feel extremely heavy.

"You will aid Tsuna to run the family. Your ring is not a Half, because your position is not one that can be fought for," Dino explained, making the tutor pull his fedora in annoyance. If Reborn hated anything, it was mostly being interrupted. Reborn sent a kick to Dino's face and getting the message, Dino backed away. "Okay okay fine! I'm sorry!"

The only female present sweat dropped.

"The eighth ring is said to be a myth among the Vongola Family, and hasn't been seen nor used since Primo's time. It's actually real. It was created to help the first boss carry the purpose of the group and to lessen the burden he had to hold by himself, the position was split into two. Mezza means half in Italian."

Tsuri nodded, letting her tutor know she was keeping up despite the overwhelming sensation in her chest she couldn't control.

"There was a problem with the existence of Vongola Mezza. Afterr their death, and Primo declaring his retirement and a deadly dispute of having two bosses controlling the family was sparked. Having a two way affair of power, especially if they were with siblings, only meant preference and abuse of power. Many would choose sides and become disloyal to the main boss. Once Vongola Secondo came into power, he banished this rule and hid the ring and the pendant so no one could find it and enforce the role again."

Tsuri lifted the chain higher where the two object were dangling from. "Then why has it come back again if it'll only cause problems for Tsuna?"

"Nono chose you to help Tsuna. He thought he needed all the help he can get, especially a guide. Who better than his twin sister?" Reborn crossed his arms, emitting a serious aura. "The first Vongola Mezza helped Primo as boss and as a guardian to build the family into the strong one that exists today. Just because you are declared second in authority does not mean that you will be in front. Tsuna will, and you'll be the light to show him the path he must follow. The guardians as well."

Tsur groaned. "Then doesn't that mean I'm technically his literal right hand man woman? This actually sounds better since Tsuna always shoves me to the front in certain situations…" Tsuri did a double take. "Wait, why the hell am I making it sound like I'm accepting this! I don't want to be responsible to such an objected role! Take this back, I don't want it!"

Reborn sighed. "Shut up and listen Baka-Tsuri. You only need to wear it around your neck until Nono informs and announces this to the others so the rule can be enforced again. After this, it's official. When Tsuna becomes boss then he will have the choice whether to or not to reveal the existence of the eighth position to the next generation."

The brunette sighed, hiding the necklace under her shirt. "I'll wear it for now but I meant what I said. I will not accept it."

"You have to. Secondo placed another rule saying if it is revealed to the eighth guardian candidate that the star ring exists and has seen it, they are permanently chosen without consent. If they refuse, they need to cut off all relations with the people involved in the mafia and never interact with them again. That includes family."

Present Tsuri felt dead. If she refused to become the star guardian and Vongola Mezza, she would never see her family or her friends again. She would never see Tsuna ever again. Or Yamamoto, Gokudera and the others. Stupid Secondo. Stupid lineage. Stupid mafia!

She felt icky. This was definitely not what she asked for. She'd never have a peaceful, danger free future she'd been hoping to have. She'd hope that for her future she'd graduate, fall in love and settle down, have a family and deal with life as it came. It'd be safe, loving, secure… so why the hell was it being squashed underneath the Vongola's shoes? This wasn't fair at all. They were just kids. She had dreams too!

Tsuri passed the main gate of her school, her sulking body passing near a window before suddenly feeling something cold splash all over her. She sucked in her breath, the winter air hitting her all at once.

"Oh my god!" The culprit near the window, holding a water bucket cried. Tsuri's eyes traveled up to the second floor of her school to see the girl sticking her head out the window.

"I'm so sorry Sawada-san! I didn't see you there! I was trying to get Kotari-san! Honest!" The girl apologized over and over with the bucket in hand. Tsuri recognized her as one of the people inside her class whom always pulled low key pranks and never got caught by the teachers. The thing about her pranks, she always ended up catching someone else instead of the designated person. She sighed. Could her day get any worse?

The flames dancing around her body only made the girl feel worse about herself, thinking that she probably ruined the poor girl's day. Tsuri squeezed some water out of her skirt and shared a tired smile at the person who threw water down at her. "Sawada-san! Are you alright! I am so so sorry!"

"It's fine! Don't worry about it!"'Like hell its okay! Hibari-san won't let me live if he sees me like this...'She sighed.'Maybe I should stop by the nurse's office instead and get some pain killers from Shamal... Maybe my clothes will dry before I get to the reception room."Tsuri made her way inside the school, water going here and there but she didn't care. What she didn't notice were a bunch of boys and girls behind her in the locker room. Some of the males looked like they were about to die of blood loss while the girls blushed too heavily to let their female classmate know what they saw.

Shamal's eyes looked like they were going to bulge out of their sockets. Literally. Tsuri gave him an irritated expression at how his face looked. Was that blood under his nose? And was he drunk again?

"Um... Something wrong?"

"T-Tsuri-chan, you're still too young for this..." The doctor held his nose and looked away towards the wall. "I refuse the offer!"

"What the hell are you going on about now?"

Shamal pointed without turning at her chest, where her shirt was soaked wet... revealing something that shouldn't be seen.

Tsuri blushed and quickly grabbed a sheet from the nearest bed in the room. "Y-You are sick! I wasn't even- I didn't even- Mou!" She shouted angrily. "I came to get some painkillers! If I knew I looked like this I wouldn't even have bothered coming in here!"

"Painkillers?" Shamal trailed off as he saw the damp bandages on her left upper arm, the pattern of the wound clearly visible. "Should I even ask how a middle school female student got such a foul injury?"

She titled her head. "You're in the mafia. Isn't it obvious?"

Shamal sighed, grabbing the first aid kid and an extra uniform he had stored in one of his desk drawers. Tsuri didn't even want to ask how he got it or why he had it.

"Give me your arm. I'll re-bandage it."

Tsuri lowered the sheet covering her and used it as a temporary towel. "You and your brother need to seriously stay out of trouble," the doctor muttered, finishing the said touches on the bandage and leaving the little bag with aspirin pills on the bed. "Especially you. You're a girl. You shouldn't be scarring your body like this." Tsuri rolled her eyes.

"After you're done changing, take the pills."

"I'll change when you get out of the room."

"Now that's a request I'd gladly refuse."

The door of the nurse's office quickly swung open, a young teen wearing his signature scowl standing in place. "Oi Shamal I need to talk to you-" His forest green orbs were glued to Tsuri's soaked see through shirt. He could feel his whole vision going pink and a wet sensation trickling down his nose…

Smack!

"OW! What the hell is wrong with you!" Gokudera rubbed his stinging cheek. She glared at the two male figures, agitation and something else bubbling up inside her stomach.

"Who knew you could be such a pervert! The brunette bellowed. "Have the decency to turn!"

"Then cover up dammit!" The bomber answered shutting his eyes at once. The images in his head wouldn't disappear, causing him to turn very pink.

"Oi Oi Hayato, " The nurse worriedly glanced towards Gokudera. "Control yourself."

'You're one to talk'Tsuri inwardly muttered.

"You're acting as if you've never seen one."

"I haven't you pervert! I'm not like you!" The silver head declared, opening his eyes and looking away instantly. "Why is the stupid woman even here?!"

Tsuri grabbed the extra blouse and skirt the nurse handed to her earlier and began unbuttoning her shirt. "I came for some aspirin. My arms been killing me." The two men froze at the action, one anticipating it while the other brought his hands up in protest. Tsuri paused. "Why are you flinging your arms all around like an idiot!"

"P-Pull the curtain and get dressed behind it you idiot!"

"You guys already saw. So why should I have to cover up now?" Tsuri laughed creepily, scaring the bomber and doctor. "Now I won't be able to get married. It's better that way... Hahaha..."

Gokudera pushed Shamal away with force, shoved Tsuri to the nearest corner and pulled the blue curtain harshly to shield her. "As if you have anything to show."

A very loud growl was heard behind the curtain. "Say that again. I'll tear your eyes out." Tsuri slid the curtain back and dusted her new dry uniform. The silver head could see that her face looked unusually irritated more than usual. His eyes traveled and caught glimpse of a silver chain carrying two objects, one that looked like the ring his boss was wearing and a pendant that resembled his own.

"You say that, and yet you couldn't help but blush like a little school girl in love," Shamal mumbled under his breath and smirked.

Gokudera did his best and brushed Shamal off, running his hands over his hair in frustration. He focused his attention to Tsuri, who had a stunned expression on her features. "Gokudera, you have one ofthoserings too?" She said, pointing at his left hand.

The silver head stared at his finger. "Of course! Why wouldn't I have one? I was chosen by Juudaime himself!" He said proudly while showing it off.

"Let me see it." Tsuri jumped and stretched her good arm, pulling his hand towards her to get a better glimpse. Gokudera, clearly caught off guard, blushed at the contact and tried pulling his hand away. Shamal raised an eyebrow. Was it possible that his ex-student had something other than hate for the female Sawada?

"H-Hey!"

"Stop moving! Ah it looks exactly like my pendant! Except yours has a..." She brought the hand closer. "A tornado." She examined the design. "Hm, so your our storm guardian?"

Gokudera was trying to keep a nonchalant face despite the tip of his ears and his cheeks turning red, but Shamal knew him for many years to know when he was embarrassed about something. "Our? I've never accepted to beyourstorm guardian, stupid woman! I'm Juudaime's and his only!" He fumed. "And how were you chosen as a guardian too!"

Tsuri's eye twitched in annoyance. "Not only a guardian, but also as boss. Have you forgotten octopus head?"

Shamal busied himself by staring at his hands in curiousity, purposely eavesdropping in the conversation.

"B-B-Boss!? NO WAY AM I SERVING YOU!"

Tsuri rolled her eyes and huffed. "I'm not asking you to. All I need is to be next to my brother… Huh, it almost sounds like I'm his right hand man," She stuck out her tongue and smirked at his infuriated scowl.

His cheeks were blazing with anger now. "Like hell you're stealing my position!"

Tsuri forgot about her current mental turmoil on the Mezza role and hadn't even noticed herself already accepting. "Already have! See this around my neck? It's already been decided! Looks like I win." The silver head growled at the same time the brunette did, giving Shamal the cue to intervene before things got ugly.

"Maa maa you two. Respect each other. I know being in a relationship is hard when you have priorities..."

"Hah?!" The two shouted at the doctor. "What makes you think we're together!?"

Shamal gave one of his cheesy grins he saved when he was either drunk or trying to hit on girls and pointed somewhere. "You two like to bicker like a married couple." The two teens rolled their eyes at each other. "It's one of the first proving signs."

"Choke yourself."

"Shamal!" Gokudera shouted.

"Did one of you come to ask for relationship advice?" The doctor waved the two students off and reached out for his beer, taking another swing. "My first tip is to grope them first."

Tsuri's mouth twitched. 'Kamisama I beg you, please send Hibari-san to the nurses office. Please.'

Gokudera blushed. "That's not it! I came to see if..." Gokudera turned to the doctor, his face looking slightly hesitant and afraid. "You want to make me your student?"

Student? Tsuri killed her animosity and replaced it with shock. Shamal, the pervert doctor, train Gokudera the hothead?

The doctor's playful drunk expression instantly and turned to the door. "No thanks. I don't have time to babysit brats."

Gokudera's fists balled up. "I'll do anything! Just a little bit of practice everyday, just like before! Please!"

"Don't you remember what I told you the day I left? You don't see it. You don't value it. So no." The doctor said seriously and shook his head in disappointment. "I'm already sick of you. If that's what you want, go home." The doctor's gaze made Tsuri stare at the bomber in concern.

"Gokudera..." She extended a hand out but all he did was ignore it and turn away.

"..." He stayed quiet, and left without a word.

As if the conversations they had never happened, Tsuri was now left alone in the nurse's office, staring at her hand while trying to figure out why Shamal's sentence sounded strangely familiar to her. As if she'd heard it, in his voice. But how could she?

So many things to stress out about now and school wasn't even one of them. She smacked her cheeks twice to snap out of it and gulped down the medication the trident mosquito assassin left for her. She'd ditch the reception room for today. Hibari could live without seeing her.

'I need to find Reborn.'She held the chain where her cursed objects were. 'If I want to get even with that sword freak, then I'm going to need to make some improvements.'

...

...

Along the sidewalk of Nami-Chuu, a girl stood, her body leaning onto a nearby wall, waiting. She gripped her Kokuyo jacket tightly, feeling a bit insecure. She had followed his orders to come and check on the person he wanted to see. But what if they got the wrong place? Or what if they already left for home? Her violet eyes scanned the area once more, her urge, or well the other person's urge, growing more antsy as the seconds passed by.

'Mukuro-sama?'She pointed out inwardly. The person inside her head chuckled, though she could hint out the slight desperation he was feeling. And how he was masking his slight excitement too. Huh. That was funny actually, Mukuro-sama. Being excited.

'Kufufufu...it's nothing, my cute little Chrome.I'm not excited at all.'

She blinked, her eyes filling with curiosity at the source of it.'Who might it be, Mukuro-sama?'She asked. There was silence. Chrome Dokuro, a new addition to the newly prision escapee Kokuyo gang stared at the ring on her finger, and turned to check the gates once more. Someone was exiting the school, and the conscious in her mind spiked up at once.

Chrome studied the girl and blinked in surprise. She looked just like the photo that strange man brought to her and Mukuro-sama a month before enrolling to Kokuyo, except the figure wasn't male. She was female. And she looked like she was in a hurry.

'This is Sawada Tsunayoshi's twin sister. Sawada Tsukairi. Keep an eye on her and the other Vongola in my stead, Chrome.'

'Of course Mukuro-sama, but shouldn't you say hello? I can sense that you have been anticipating to greet her...'

The young girl felt the pineapple head's excitement die down rapidly.'The timing isn't right. I will see her soon, that I know for sure.'

'And when I do, I'mneverletting her out of my sight again.'

Chapter 18: Static Reminders of Life

Chapter Text

Tsuri found it difficult to deal with the pain from her wound. She hated getting hurt. Bruises, cuts, hits, scrapes… she hated every inch of them. Most were induced and others were from the consequences of her actions. The hip wound from before had been somewhat manageable but a pain in the ass because Tsuri had to stay in bed for a while. It didn't help that the area of the wound had been self provoking for Shamal because they were in a place that caused him to get slapped by Tsuna multiple times.

Tsuri rarely talked about her past ones, more like remembered and forgot, because they had been bad. When the woman who trained her before asked if she was sure she wanted to learn some moves, she gave her a warning that she wasn't going to go easy because she was a kid. If she were serious enough to learn that meant going through a short rough of a few months until she left for Italy.

Tsuri thought she'd been joking. Adults always exaggerated when they had conversations with their kids about them making decisions that were stupid. But this woman hadn't lied. It was like army training; for a child! Tsuri's memory was foggy so she couldn't remember anything anymore but she did have a record of a concussion, some really bad cuts, a sprain on her ankle, shoulder, purple eye… it was lucky that Tsuri didn't manage to break a bone until the end of her nightmare. For some reason all those wounds didn't last much long and healed quickly.

Tsuri noticed that with her wounds, it typically did not heal on the average time it should. It did before. Tsuna always joked with her saying she was a bionic super being but after that whole I-can-tell-the-future debate? She was sure maybe that part could be true, as stupid as the speculation sounded.

This shoulder one was going to take a while more to heal since it was so deep. That sword freak's sword was so intricately sharpened that anything he could or has cut with it would die instantly or face an ugly mark on their body. Tsuri earned an x and she would hate how to explain to her mother how she received it. Hiding things from Nana was easy but it wasn't when it came to explaining. Her mother knew how her body looked like the back of her hand; she did raise her after all.

Poor nana. Tsuri hated leaving her in the dark. But letting her know about this life was sure to kill her and make her worry til she died. She hated her father for doing this to her. She swore she'd make him pay for allowing them to get involved. If he was still around that is.

The younger Sawada twin held the note Reborn had left for her with Bianchi. Since she wasn't going to be in school might as well change at home. She had quickly just slipped in why she could find, took some extra bandage wrap for her arm, and dashed off to find him and Tsuna. Her father, from what the rose haired woman told her, was sleeping in the living room like he hadn't rested in days.

She snorted. Typical deadbeat father. Even in his visits he decided to ignore his kids. Who cared. She stopped caring years ago. She didn't need a father if he wasn't going to be involved in their lives. She could bet one hundred percent that he thought his twins' behavior was just another stage of adolescence. He better be buckled up because Tsuri was ready to kill on sight.

...

...

Namimori Mountain was bigger than she actually knew. The last time they had been here was with the whole bear incident with Dino and the young girl hoped the area was more controlled. Reborn had connections so the bear probably appeared then because he had asked someone to come by and rile one up for Tsuna's "progress". So if her gut was right, the forest would be a bit calmer now. If Reborn wasn't torturing him with more of that reason.

Thankfully the town was able to build stairs for hikers who didn't want to rock climb all the way up. She could see the mountain probably had more than 100 meters in height. She shuddered. There was no way a regular human being could climb it all in one sitting. They'd have to be insane or really really determined to complete that mission. She mentally prayed that this wouldn't be a part of Reborn's training regime. She began to climb up the steps, breath running out. She paused to catch her breath to read the note again.'Namimori Mountain. Be there or Tsuna will face my wrath.'She sighed. Typical threat.

She searched around for the teen and baby once she arrived at the top. Her sight caught the rays of the setting sun, the orange and yellow, making the sky look toasty on a winter's day.

"Looks like you made it Baka-Tsuri."

Tsuri turned to follow the high pitched voice. Reborn and Tsuna were sitting by a campfire near the second level of the mountain. Her twin was half naked and had a towel wrapped around him. She could make out traces of remaining water on his bangs. She could feel panic rise in her system. He had definitely fallen from the mountain because of climbing. There was no way she was going to do the same!

"Want to try me?' Reborn smirked from his seat with a curious Leon at his hand just waiting to shape shift into his common form.

"No way," Tsuri waved off with her hands, bothered he read her mind again. What a scary skill he had. "There's no way I'm doing his training too. Tsuna can deal with it."

"You're not. I'm not going to be training you."

"Eh?' Tsuna was still trembling of coldness. "You're training?! Don't tell me you're a guardian too?!" He was all beaten up, scratches adorning his arms.

"She's your star guardian and the half boss Dame-Tsuna. She's helping you take over the Vongola. I should shoot you for not paying attention."

"EHHHH? Tsuri run away while you can! There is no way you and I are going to take over—"

Caramel eyes stared at matching ones in dejection. "I can't run. I have no choice."

Tsuna could tell something was off about the way her body slumped. She only did this when she was backed into a corner. She used to do this as kids whenever she did something wrong. But what could she have possibly done at all?

"If its about you losing to that scary long haired man you don't have to fight! All of this is so twisted its insane!"

She gripped her bandaged arm gently as if it holding it for support could make it easier for what she was about to tell him. She needed to prepare herself to confess now. "Its not that either."

"Then what is it? All of us have a choice, though I know Reborn won't let us choose right now—" he stopped mid sentence when Tsuri bursted out a grunt out of pent up frustration.

"This is stupid," Tsuri glared at Reborn. "This rule is sostupid! Why are you taking my future away from me!"

"Its just the way it is Tsuri."

"It shouldn't be! Why should I accept it so readily? I risk not seeing my own family and friends, lose my whole entire life just for saying no? That's not fair!"

"Reborn?" Tsuna glanced over to their tutor. "What is she talking about?"

"Your twin sister Sawada Tsukairi has been chosen as Vongola Mezza. This role hasn't been enforced in centuries after Vongola Primo retired. The Vongola laws state if a Mezza has been told of their role and has seen the ring, they cannot refuse. If they do, they must cease contact with anyone affiliated with the Family. The code of omertà is forced upon her for life."

"What?! And you just chose her without giving her the choice? That's unfair!"

"She has the choice Dame-Tsuna."

"Yeah, costing me at a high price," Tsuri said angrily. "What possible ties to them could our father have that brings us into this whole mess—" She covered her mouth at the slip up.sh*t.

Tsuna's we're shadowed only for a moment before they stared back up at her. She winced. "Wait wait stop for a second," Tsuna lifted a hand. "What does our dad have to do with this?"

Tsuri closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. Here she went. "Tsuna, our dad is a part of the Vongola. He's part of the reason why we're involved."

"What? That is impossible! He's always been a miner! He doesn't seem like he could harm a fly at all! He's not that type… He's flaky! How could he be compromised with something like this? Being a miner fits since he has to fly around and since he's always gone for long periods of time and getting lost while traveling he's very hard to track—" the vongola heir paused. Tsuri could hear the cogs turning in his tiny brain and feel a little bit of his boiling anger beginning to seep out of his system with the way his eyes were narrowing down at her. "You knew."

"T-Tsuna-"

"Youknewhe was a part of it and didn't bother telling me at all?"

"I couldn't! We were kids! I didn't know what hisroleis or why our family has been chosen—"

"You hid this for years! If you had told me ahead of time then we could have avoided all of this in the first place!"

Reborn watched the siblings ague seriously back and forth, disregarding the fact that one of them was even half naked and the fact that a certain someone that was a part of the conversation, was lurking behind a tree near the forest. The tutor had hoped maybe Iemitsu explaining himself to his kids would have been a better outcome. The father was the worst one these kids could have.

"Both of you couldn't have avoided this even if you tried," Reborn interrupted them. "You two are affiliated to this powerful mafia group not because it was chosen at random. You two are tied by blood."

"Blood!"

"That's right." Another voice entered the conversation. The three people turned their heads behind them. A strange unfamiliar person was standing there, watching their exchange with her arms crossed. Her whole demeanor screamed intimidation and fright, and yet, the twins could see no animosity in her baby blue colored eyes. Her clothes were foreign and too dark to even tell if she was wearing a suit or a kimono.

She nodded towards the arcobaleno who tipped his fedora in greeting.

"Rosemary.Finalmente sei arrivato. Cosa ci è voluto così tanto?"

The blonde woman brushed her long hair out of her shoulders and shrugged in response."Il mio cugino idiota mi ha dato indicazioni sbagliate.If I catch him around I'll skin him alive." The woman's violent tone died down the second she eyed the twins. Wow. What an uncanny resemblance they had to each other. And to them.

"Wow. They really are their descendants."

"Of course they are. They are blood relatives after all."

"I hate to interrupt," the woman cleared her throat. "But I don't think you even have time to argue about such non-trivial subjects when you're short of time."

"I don't care if it's trivial. We need to talk about it now."

"Stay out of it please."

There was a really loud click and swish. Tsuri and Tsuna found themselves surrounded by weapons and auras that screamed gruesome death. Reborn's gun was held out again. The lady had also pulled out a black long sword from who the hell knows where. Both turned blue.

"You've got some nerve answering back like that," Reborn's black beady eyes dared them to try him. "Show some respect to your aunt. She came all the way from Italy to help out."

The woman groaned in defeat, as if a secret she'd been wanting to keep tied down had been revealed without her permission. "You couldn't just wait til I said so myself."

"Where's the fun in waiting?"

"Only you think that way Reborn."

There was a long, long pause, as if the silence could magically give the twins answers they sought within it without moving a muscle.

"Wait—"

"SHES OUR AUNT?! HOW?!"

"What is going on today really!"

"Why are you looking at me as if I have the answers! I didn't even know we had an aunt involved too!"

"No one knows actually." The woman put away her sword with an indignant look on her face. "Your failure of a father, Sawada Iemistu, is the only one who knows. My name is Rosemary Solleano." She huffed the minute Reborn jumped to perch at her shoulder, intrigued by the shocked faces of the Sawada twins. He needed this as a picture to show them just how stupid they looked.

"I'm a distant aunt on your father's side. Casa di Solleano has served the Vongola since their founding days. We've been there since the beginning."

"Since the beginning?! How old are you then! You must be ancient if you've lived that long!"

Tsuna's eye twitched.'You sound stupid right now.'

'I'll give you a black eye. Stop.'

'I'm not going to listen to a liar.'

Tsuri flinched and crossed her arms. Tsuna put his hands in his sweater's pockets, huffing away. Fine. Tsuna wanted to be a jerk? She could become one too. It's not like she wanted to hide the information forever! She wanted to keep her family safe! In the end it didn't even work. How did he not understand that?

"Look, I have no time to explain all the details. Ask me questions later." Rosemary fixed her hair and nodded to the arcobaleno. "I'll be training Tsukairi starting tomorrow."

Tsuri got rid of her glare towards Tsuna and gaped in surprise. "Me?You're training me?"

"Meet me on the other side of the mountain tomorrow afternoon. Take your gloves with you. You're going to need them."

"Wait wait just a minute please—"

"When you pass the first stage, Tsuna and you will eventually merge your lessons," Reborn continued, ignoring his other student's objecting silence. He could feel Tsuna's itch to yell at his sister more. He could let him, but any blooming discord could ruin the potential plan he had for them in their training. If two twin sky flames rejected harmony within one another, there was no way both would progress forward.

"You need to calm down. There's no reason for you to hold this against her now."

"You heard her! She knew! Even probably before you got here! Doesn't that bother you at least a little bit?"

"Of course it does, and I'll shoot her for it when the perfect chance comes. But she had good reason. If Baka Tsuri had told your father she knew before, do you think both of you would have been raised the way you would have been now?"

Tsuna paused, thinking. Though their upbringing wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, with a dad missing every year or so, they did have a peaceful living. Their mother who stayed home raising her kids who went to school normally. They normally walked the streets of Namimori with no worry about any other basic dangers. They went to school, had an everyday life that no one could disturb but the little inconveniences in life. And he should just thank Tsuri for that? Keeping a secret this big?

"Look, I know you're pissed with me. You have every right to," Tsuri's eyes were watering. "But Tsuna… the kidnapping… I- I didn't want that to happen again. I really didn't." She stared at the ground with her thoughts trying to organize what she was going say without getting too emotional. "Reborn is right. If I had said anything, people like that would have come back! They would've killed us. So I stayed quiet, hating our dad for not even having the decency to be home to take care of us."

She smiled sadly. "We're twins, you're my older brother. You wanted to take care of me your own way, even now you do. But I wanted to do the same Tsuna. So please… don't hate me."

Tsuna put a hand to his face and sighed out loud.'Baka. I could never hate you. But you shouldn't have hid this from me.'

Two pairs of caramel eyes stared at each other, then one of them patted the head of the one who almost started crying.

"You've been on crybaby mode since the hospital. Are you okay? Need me to give you a hug like we used to do as kids?"

Tsuri blushed in embarrassment at just remembering her childhood self. Nana would always coo on how Tsuri was always clinging onto Tsuna since the day they were born. She swatted his hand away to tell him to be careful of her wound. "Don't push it stupid."

"Good, now that you've made up it makes my job easier." Their newly found aunt sighed inaudibly. "Honestly, dealing with teenagers is not in my job description."

"Make sure to listen to Rosemary, Tsuri. You have a lot to learn from her."

"Make sure you take some painkillers with you. You'll need them with that battered arm of yours."

Tsuri eyed the woman while nodding in slight hesitation. The woman did look different, Italian of course. She couldn't shake the feeling that she felt familiar somehow. As if she'd seen her before. But there was no way right? This was the first time they'd met. Rosemary then said her goodbyes and disappeared into the trees and went her way.

"Huh. We have an aunt now. Look at that. I wonder if she met Kaasan yet."

"Who knows. Anyways, you two better get it together. That means no more fighting."

"Hai hai, I got it."

"Wait before this conversation moves on, you still haven't told me who else has rings," Tsuna pointed out. "Shouldn't we know?"

"The Lightning and Mist rings? You'll both find out soon enough."

'I wonder if it's that Basil kid…'

Tsuri shook her head.'There's not way. He's injured right now.'

Before more vocal words could be exchanged , there was a high shriek coming from the second mountain's cliff. Apparently Haru thought it was genius to climb off the mountain without taking the stairs, showing off under her skirt and all and falling on Tsuna soon after.

"You need to be more careful Haru-chan!" Tsuri scolded as she helped dust dirt off her clothes. She frowned at a red faced Tsuna. "You better not have seen anything or I'll punch your lights out."

"I-I-I didn't! I swear I didn't!"He groaned. "Honestly, Haru why are you here? You know it's dangerous out here."

"I'm so sorry!. I heard that you were training in the mountains so I wanted to bring you some lunch!" Haru shoved a large bento box made for an army on his chest. Tsuri hid the blue color coming back to her face.'I swear she gets more infatuated by the day'she told Tsuna.

'Don't remind me! I have other things to stress about!'

"Alright Tsuna wrap up. It's almost time to start training again."

"Oh! That's right! Speaking of training, I ran into Gokudera-san on my way here!"

Tsuri's ears perked up at the mention of the storm guardian. "Gokudera? He's here too?"

"Yes on the other side of the bridge. I called out to him but he ignored me. He looked pretty beat up."

"Beat up?" Tsuna's hold on the lunch box was getting tighter.

"Was anyone with him?" Reborn asked.

"He was by himself and looked lonely."

Tsuri clicked her tongue. "That idiot! What the hell is he doing?!"

"You know something Tsuri-san?"

"Doesn't he have a tutor?"

The girl sweat dropped. "I ran into him in the nurse's office…" she began to explain.

"Stupid Gokudera. Shamal must've turned him down."

"Shamal is his tutor?!"

"He wouldn't push him so hard. He's probably doing the wrong kind of training on his own."

"He did ask but…" Tsuri remembered the words coming out from the pervert nurse's mouth. 'You don't see it. You don't value it. So no.'

"Isn't that bad? I'll go take a look!"

"Stop right there. You don't have time for that."

"I can't just ignore him!"

Tsuri sensed another itch that her tutor would lift his gun once again and shoot this time but Tsuri stopped him with a wave under where he was. There was a small smile, one that he hadn't seen on her in a while. It was a calm one, as if she were the one reassuring him that everything would be fine. It pissed him off of course but he could tell her budding sky flames were the ones leaking out right now.

"He's right you know. He's our friend."

Reborn followed his students on their way.'A friend? What I see doesn't deceive me Baka-Tsuri. I hope Tsuna doesn't know or you'll have a case on your back.'

....

....

When the twins got there the whole place was a mess. Trees were singed, rustled with empty branches due to lost leaves. Smoke was erupting everywhere with each launch of dynamite the silver head lit. It was really hard to see the spot where he stood on since he was being thrown like a rag doll in mid air.

"He's overdoing it!" Tsuna was about to run in, with Tsuri in tow but an arm stopped them in their tracks.

"Let him continue. It's what he wants anyways."

"Shamal!"

"You have some nerve watching him like this," Tsuri almost wanted to make his nose bleed. "Are you happy? He's going to get himself killed at this rate!" Tsuri took another step but Shamal stopped her again.

"Leave him be."

"We can't possibly do that."

"Guys who don't want to grow up don't deserve to live."

'You need to grow up kid. The world is harsh. I know it's been one hell of a ride for you, but you need to see the bigger picture here.'

Tsuri hit her head with her palms. That weird static imaging was back in her mind. What the heck was it and why did it come back when it wanted to? Was it related to that Anya person again? She blinked out the weird sandy feeling it linger in her ears and mouth. Blink it out, blink it out. This didn't need to happen again.

"Come to think of it, why did he ask you to be his tutor?"

"I'm the one who suggested dynamite to him."

"EH?! You taught him how to use it?! YOURE HIS TEACHER?!"

"Don't ever call me his teacher! That's gross!" Shamal shuddered in disgust. "If I ever take on a student it'll be a nice girl who will let me kiss her!"

"I'll give you a fist to kiss as your last wish if you don't do something," Tsuri readied her fists by hitting one on her palm. The scary expression in her eyes did not lie and the man gulped.

Tsuna tried to wave off Tsuri's aggressiveness. "Why did you say no to him after how far he's come?"

"Because he still doesn't see it."

Tsuri lowered her hostility. There was that phrase again. The same one with that same tone. "What do you mean by that?"

Shamal scratched his head and watched more smoke go up again and again. "As long as he doesn't see it, I don't care if he dies out here."

'Go ahead kid. You want to touch that stuff away and blind yourself until you're drunk, that fine with me.'Irritation. There was a spike of irritation coming up from the back of her mind to the nerves in her finger tips.'Get it together!'

"How are your cryptic messages going to help in this case if you won't explain! It shouldn't be this hard!"

Tsuna and Shamal gaped are Tsuri's unexpected and honest outburst. Almost as if the words Shamal had uttered were for her and not for their friend. There was an unknown glimmer of color in Tsuri's eyes that Tsuna saw but didn't say anything as it faded away. As if her trance broke or whatever control she lost showed in own eyes. They were wide open, stunned.

"Eh? Ah um… my mouth moved on its own…" Tsuri tried to explain her behavior but it didn't help shove the pool of vexation and static filling in her mind.

"Your killing aura is off the roof. You must really care for Hayato," Shamal answered smugly, not at all affected by the outburst.

There was another round of dynamite being it, with Gokudera being caught under it this time. Before Tsuna could go in and try to help him evade another hit and Tsuri could curse the doctor, Shamal sensed movement and stopped them before they could get hurt too.

When the smoke cleared, a hole had been created in the bottom where Gokudera should have been blown. In it was the bomber himself, Reborn in some emergency getup with a helmet adorned in a green cross and a blond man in an orange mining suit….

"DAD?!"

"Great, another wacko."

Tsuri let her impulse take over. Thank goodness for this strange agitation in her body because she needed an outlet. "OH PERFECT TIMING LET ME AT HIM I CAN TAKE HIM ON ILL KILL HIM MOM CAN LIVE WITHOUT HIM ILL DO IT WITH THAT DAMN sh*tTY PICKAXE OF HIS HE WONT EVEN SEE IT COMING-"

Tsuna pulled her sisters torso with his arms as best as he could. "Not now Tsuri! Calm down!"

"You're lucky you fell into this hole, kiddo."

Gokudera turned to see his Juudaime's worried expression and Tsuri on full rage mode from afar. He turned away, not ready to face the unleashed fury his boss would have for sure. He could imagine Tsuna chewing him out heavily. "W-Who the hell are you?"

"That's no way to talk to the man who saved your life ya know! I'm just a guy from the neighborhood. I have a cute wife and twins.

"?"

"You're still young, so I can understand you not being afraid of death."

Tsuri paused her chewing on Tsuna's gloved hand and turned to their father and his oddly weird speech. She rolled her eyes. What would that serve coming from him, that advice. He never really had nothing good to do other than just talk. She scoffed.

"But you've gotta remember that some people hurt and some people heal. From the latter's perspective, they wouldn't want you to undermine the things they treasure. And what's more, a person who can't protect themselves, can't protect anyone else."

The playful but obvious jab struck a cord in Gokudera's shot nerves. The aggression he had held onto since the morning at the nurse's office began to go down a couple notches.

"Anyways, I gotta go to work. See ya kiddo!"

Tsuri was blinded by a light at seeing her father's retreating figure. The static feeling had grown stronger and had now taken over her sight and hearing as the setting around her changed drastically, like spreading spots of white.

It was inside a big old looking mansion, with a furnished piano, and the plushiest red couches ever seen. In the corner of all the magnificence of the chandelier, and outer nightly view of the moon and city, was a girl with ash blond hair standing near a bar.

The bar wasn't like the ones that were usually filled with people drinking and having a fun time out in the dark alleyways. It was a more personal one in the room, with fancy co*cktail and champagne glasses sitting in a rack. Her blue eyes were showing exhaustion, light contempt but a softness to it that meant she didn't want to feel that way. And it was towards another body, blurred out by visible static lines, sitting in that bar holding a big unopened bottle of alcohol. Tsuri didn't know the kind or much of that since her dad only drank sake when he was going for a good time, but the brand was foreign and in plain English.

"Don't tell me you're going to pick up her habit? You're going to open a whole world full of hurt you know that right?"

Strange. They were speaking a different language and Tsuri could understand them.

"Don't tell me what to do Lillian. I'll do as I please."

"You're going to drink that. You're 14 Anya. There's no reason to touch it."

"It is if you've been accused of hurting someone at prep. There's no substantial evidence and they say it was me. Mom isn't even defending me."

"Then let us handle it."

"No. You've already had enough scandals. That'll risk that engagement to that man you have and mom won't allow it—"

"Shut up and listen to me kid. I know the world hasn't been kind to you, and we've witnessed and helped you. But you need to start seeing the bigger picture."

"What picture? The bloody picture of a body taking knives in every part of her body? Give me more I'll take them!" The blurred person was going to open the bottle forcibly but the Lillian girl took it away.

"You need to start moving on from this Anya. You're hurting and that's okay. You need to talk to us instead of relying on something that could kill you."

"I've been dying since a long time ago. What's a bit of alcohol going to do to me but let me forget?"

The blond girl sighed in defeat, leaving the bottle in the counter for the other to grab. "Go ahead kid. You want to touch that stuff away and blind yourself until you're drunk, that's fine with me. But you still aren't seeing it."

"Then tell me dammit! How are your cryptic messages going to help in this case if you won't explain! It shouldn't be this hard!"

Lillian laughed at the blurred person's expression as she threw the bottle to the wall. She was never going to touch it anyway. Tsuri knew somewhere in her soul that the girl in all her dreams and visions, Anya, just had pent up frustration and scars in her heart that needed to bleed and be clogged at the same time.

"Your life Anya. Remember since that day we saved you. It matters. If you can't take care of yourself, what makes you think you can take care of Emile?"

"Tsuri! Tsuri! You there?"

Tsuri blinked once again. She was now back in the forest where her tutor and others were to begin with. She was back to reality and the sandy feeling she had experienced earlier dissipated like air. She could hear the air, the trees of the forest again. The images she saw floated away, but not the message Anya had wanted her to know. Tsuri wanted to cut herself open so where she didn't even know. Why her? Why was Tsuri watching the journey of a sad scarred girl like Anya and what was the reason for seeing her life in these moments? What purpose does it serve?

'They serve for you to understand your friends and your life, Sawada Tsukairi,'something told her. It was like a warmth, a tiny little flame in her body whispering to her.Who the hell are you? She voiced in shock.The voice sounded close very close. She turned this way and that but nothing was in sight but Tsuna and the rest. Her skin prickled with chills sweeping up and down.

'I'll come back when you need me.'

"Ah Tsuri you know what, you look okay. I'll go check on Gokudera-kun. Stay here."

"No no," Tsuri breathed deeply to save her sanity. She was going crazy alright. "I'll go with you."

They both approached the hole, with the silver head soon bowing and hitting his forehead on the dented ground, bombarding Tsuna with a trail of apologies for worrying him, seeing him in a pitiful state and so on.

"As long as you're okay Gokudera-kun but don't do this again! It's not safe!" Tsuna scolded lightly.

"You damn well know, don't you?" Shamal also said from behind, expression so serious the twins were weirded out by it. "You were pathetic. Next time you pull off something this dangerous, I'll finish you off myself."

The silver head didn't react though he got the message loud and clear. "Shamal…"

"Heal your own damn wounds."

"Then…"

"What the hell are you doing? Get out of that hole already. We got work to do."

Tsuri grabbed a rock from the floor and was going to hit the doctor from the back but Tsuna was able to take it from her hands before she could. Cold hearted idiot, she didn't like his reckless behavior either but come on! A little sympathy couldn't hurt once in a while! Instead of letting her tackle Shamal in vengeance Tsuna forced her to help the bomber up from the hole their father had made. They'd ask their old man about that later if they let him breathe.

"Here. Grab my hand."

He clicked his tongue, resisting the urge to stray h his possibly infected cuts on his forehead. "I don't need your help idiot woman. I can do it myself."

"No, you do, you stupid moron."

"Hah?! Call me that again stupid copy and I'll—" Gokudera stopped mid sentence. Tsuri's face was dead serious in that moment that all his comebacks and anger were swallowed in a millisecond. It was exactly like Tsuna's own when he saw his recklessness on a daily basis. He really overdid it today, didn't he..?

"Yes. You overdid it. Good that you finally noticed," Tsuri rolled her eyes at the obvious reading on his scowl. "So. Did you finally see it?"

"S-See what?"

"Your life moron. Will you learn to value your life now?" She pulled him out with a force that came from who knew where because Gokudera did not expect someone so small and petite looking to dwell that much strength within. He gawked awkwardly.

"Why? Do you care for me that much?"

"Okay, I already have one friend that tried to pull a stunt like this and you know him well. I don't want to do this again. You're our friend Bakadera. I don't know how many times I have to repeat it to you. You told me you care, despite your loose mouth. My hate doesn't win from how much I do care about you."

Cheeks went on fire as soon as the words hit his ears and Gokudera let go of his boss' twin sister's hand before she could feel it on his palms. "W-What the hell are you saying you stupid copy! I don't believe you!"

"You better believe me because if you pull this stunt again I'll be the one to send you to hell and back Gokudera Hayato! Get your sh*t together!"

Behind the scenes as usual, Tsuna could feel more dark waves of his brotherly instincts beginning to form into a huge purple monster. Eyes went as low as slits could go. "They better not be doing what I think they're doing."

Shamal laughed, enjoying the rare sight of a blushing bomber too embarrassed to admit the obvious. "Ah don't you see it young Vongola? It's the buds of love im telling you.Love~!"

"There's no way I'm letting that happen. Over my dead body."

There was a big spike of danger Shamal picked up from the older Sawada twin and to avoid being burned to a crisp by his own hands, and his value on his life he kept his mouth shut and sealed until they left the forest.

There were two people not happy about this play in progression. One was of course Tsuna being the protective older brother who would die before letting her sister date a person and in the mafia no less.

And there was the lurker in the distance whose messenger trembled in her shoes with the report she gave him for the day. Mist hid in plain sight. And Rokudo Mukuro wasnotgoing to let thisvermintake his only possession away.

They all had ten days to start training. Everyone thought it too long of a time to deal with bodily pain while this hidden man thought it was too many days to stay away. But thankfully time would tick and tick until they faded away. Ten pain-staking days until he got to see his little mouse again, back fiercer with more bite and burn than heel.

Chapter 19: New Perspectives

Chapter Text

Tsuna didn't utter one word to their dad about them knowing of his role in the mafia. He was troubled by it, and in fact, avoided him even more since. He wondered how Tsuri had lived with the secret for four years and managed to function, but after everything they've been through, it explained Tsuri's major history of hurting herself, being so protective while he pushed her away, and her trait of playing it safe.

Tsuna's own troubled thoughts could not compare to Tsuri's own. He's the twin that got away with everything while there was his other half, suffering by body and soul.

It was his dad's fault. He was responsible for her trauma, for a missing parent figure, failure to protect them from a world that caused so many to lose peace. He remembered Mukuro and the Kokuyo Gang and it made sense the more he went back to analyze it.

Middle schoolers did not need to bear with the responsibilities adults needed to take on their own. He'd rather have their father disown them and leave than drag them along this world where they had no choice in choosing their futures.

He hadn't seen Tsuri come home after meeting their supposed aunt from Italy. She had kept her word in not seeing their dad, which didnt surprise their mother after seeing her walk out of their house with a yellow gym bag and sullen expression, but it did let her worry. What kind of mother didn't worry about their kid leaving home for a few days just because their dysfunctional dad was home?

He thought she'd ask to stay with Kyoko or Hana but Tsuri knew they'd ask about her beaten up stages and arm so she asked to stay with the Solleano woman in her hotel room a few blocks from Namimori Hospital. He didnt know how that was working out considering that his sister was staying with a stranger. Reborn told him not to freak out, and that she could handle herself. Secondly, their tutor had full trust in her which gave tsuna no doubt to question it. He did wonder if Tsuri was having a tough time escalating her training while he was here climbing mountains and fighting Basil.

"Oi, no need to worry about someone who isn't here. We're doing one more round. If you pass this one, then Tsuri gets to come and move onto the next step."

The italian boy with the blue flame lifted his boomerang once more, his eyes urging him to win this round. Tsuna appreciated how motivational Basil was, despite being unbeatable for the long days and hours they'd been at it together.

"Let's do our best in this final match, Sawada-dono!"

...

The first day of Tsuri's training with Rosemary Solleano, was not a physical day, but more of a study day. Reborn had left Tsuna alone to do his 100 meter climbing of Namimori Mountain's lower half while he stayed to give her the Hyper Will Shot.

Tsuri showed the Italian woman her cotton scrunchies and how they turned into sai swords. She hadn't been affected by an everyday item turning into weapons so that told Tsuri that this woman probably had seen everything weird there was within the mafia circle.

Sai swords were a weapon used in martial arts. According to the white marker board in front of her (how it was brought up to a remote location in the middle of nowhere was a mystery), she needed to remember martial art movement and her weapon's ability for her to be able to get to step 2.

Honte, Gyakute, Tokushu, Yoi position, Monouchi, Yoku, Shinken, Tsume, Moto, Tsuka, Saki…

Tsuri went to sleep with all the terms swirling around her head that night.

After day three of stance and hand flip practice, she was put to apply all of them in close combat. Handing the sai swords while making sure all movements were made swift was coming increasingly difficult the more the days passed. She'd already cut herself a couple of times on sharp stones and grazes from Rosemary's rifle and katana.

Being on Hyper Will Mode made it even tougher to balance and found herself stopping several times because her breath capacity was having such a hard time keeping up with her body. Rosemary said it was normal, and as long as she gave her body the healthy push it needed, she'd gain control of her dying will and stop its short cut time, while easing her oxygen intake.

Their italian aunt was strong. Not anywhere near Reborn's level maybe but she proved to be an opponent that she didn't want to piss off for any reason. And, unlike others, she treated her equally like an opponent, without the mushy female vs female fear of hurting each other. Rosemary Solleano, with guns and her long black katana gave all her blows straight and without hesitation, and Tsuri appreciated how she was indirectly teaching her that. She was going to need all of that if she was going to improve on herself.

This training wasn't for the faint hearted, and if weren't for her freakish recovery rate she'd be resembling a thin and kicked stick on the road.

"Lift up your elbow! Swish the blade swiftly then bring it up..." There was a grunt and a kick. "And swing forward…"Again. "Flip your thumbs! Assumefudo dachiform! No no. Again! Thumb, release, flip! Now bend and use the saki and…" Again, and Tsuri nearly lost her balance. She couldn't imagine what it would take to get used to the way Rosemary handled her fighting style but she didn't want to find out.

Her muscles were screaming at her, and she felt like she had weights hanging off every one of them. "Good. Now you're getting it. Now let the dying will flame flow with the motion of the blade. If you nail this then I'll let you take a day off tomorrow."

It wasn't much more than a half-hearted promise, but Tsuri knew that if she failed to deliver, Rosemary would not be pleased. She just nodded.

The woman was truthful. She wasn't mean or anything but she didn't have the calibration to interact with kids. When Tsuri asked her if she could stay with her, she hadn't said no. She was just awkward with her needs and it was amusing at how she was going overboard as a hostess. She had to stop her from going full blown with the room service because she couldn't measure Tsuri's hunger. She could see some of her family's ditziness in her.

After the hundredth drill and kicks to stone walls and slicing tree trunks, Rosemary called it and Tsuri was able to breathe. She let the flame on top of her forehead and hands go out slowly.

This time, when Rosemary went over to grab their water bottle she tossed over, she allowed her to catch it instead of aiming it at Tsuri's head. "You've improved. I think you're ready to move on."

"Which is?" Tsuri threw some water down her head. She was risking on getting another cold but her whole body was burning like a log fire. They were side effects of the hyper dying will mode. Since Tsuri hadn't rejected it back at Kokuyo Land, Reborn said she could skip the red bullet and use the more advanced one. There was a lot of doubt in her when the baby hitman let her skip all sorts of steps... maybe it was his way of making Tsuri come back black and blue for him after her lie was brought to light.

Immediate death sounded better.

"Combat experience with another besides me. Your brother is passing that round right now. I got permission from Reborn, so we'll be popping by in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?! I just finished mastering these sai swords in nine days! How is that enough for me to move on to the next stage?"

"Kid, if you haven't noticed your own progress then I should be concerned about your mental state."

Tsuri found out that her scrunchies had three modes; the basic form as sai in Hyper Mode, and had to learn how to wield them in close and distant combat, which sucked. Secondly, they emitted flames for brawling long distance as gloves, though its transformation didn't last long. As for the chains...

Rosemary had given her a quick resume on all the data Reborn gathered from her last fight with Mukuro her second day, with all the current areas of growth she had and needed to do. But she and Tsuna needed to understand where their inherited abilities stood.

First was the one both twins shared, which was the Hyper Intuition that worked like a sixth sense and enhanced the rest in their bodies. It'd be a center of development in predicting movements and aura.

Then there was the Augury Intuition and Reborn didn't go into much detail about it other than it being that Tsuri could predict future occurrences. The rate and trigger happened randomly and was an automatic thing that Tsuri needed to learn to manage with her body as a whole since it was unpredictable and uncontrollable.

The third one, discovered in her match with Mukuro, was the Hyper Introspection. As far as the mafia tutor knew, Tsuri unlocked it when she purified the Estraneo teen's sixth paths of rebirth. It was triggered when an enemy needed a severe purification into their dying will and soul, hence why Tsuri could not for the life of her, trigger her weapon to shape shift into said chains. Tsuna would have the same ability but it was gradually developing as he controlled his dying will.

For the more technical stuff, Reborn was letting her skip endurance training since she could outrun Tsuna and matched Yamamoto's speed easily. All she needed to work on was body endurance, resistance, defense and control of her dying will. Once she got all four areas down, she'd be partnered with Tsuna once again and Reborn would resume his own training for them.

Nine days of school, training, and gathering some space from home so she could figure out what to do with all of her rage against her father. She sighed at the image of Sawada Iemitsu. He had come to observe her a few times and it only served as a distraction, so Rosemary would direct him back into the line of trees and rock.

"Say… I'm not much about feelings and such but what's with the animosity toward your old man? You nearly threw a tree at him the last time he was here."

Tsuri wiped her face with a towel from her gym bag, her energy draining at the incoming line of talk. "My dad has some shortcomings that doesn't let me to want him near at all. I'm sure you don't want me to go into detail about it."

Rosemary snorted. "I've only met your father a few times during our current lifetime, but even I know his personality. I'm sure I know what you mean."

"So you're not that close? Even though you're family?"

She shook her head. "We're not. We just know each other in some professional sense. The Solleano Family hasn't been directly associated with the Vongola since Primo was alive. We've just been a fishline extended when family blood is in trouble. Think of us like a backsafe for when they're in a severe pinch. Your father, because he has Vongola and Solleano blood in him too, became that other piece of us that is involved, " The lady pulled her shirt's collar to wipe some sweat off her cheek. "If you wanna blame someone, it should be us. It's our fault he hasn't been present as of late in your life."

Tsuri watched her adjust her long blond hair up into the loosest bun she'd ever laid eyes on. She'd made that look so easy. "Your father's absence hasn't been by his own choice. Of course, I don't know if he was allowed to visit you and Tsunayoshi and I don't want to enter into the line of whether he loves his family more than his job. But if you wanna take my advice, you should try to see it from his point of view."

"That's sh*t. It's allbullsh*t." She was really going to spew her feelings out of the blue like this? She wrung her towel tightly to rid it of water. "Blood is thicker than water, so is the family he has here. There is no excuse for him leaving and coming back to drag us into this life. He should be giving us an option— it's his role as our dad to protect us! My dad!"

Oh great. She was using her trainer and tutor as a therapist. She shut her eyes in embarrassment.

"His job role had no choice either, and I'm sure in due time he will tell you what it is. For that to happen, you need to talk to him about all of what is going on in your head Tsukairi." She lifted a finger to emphasize talk.

"Put all of that aside and assess the situation you're in. Let all that pent up anger that is begging you to get even on the person who gave you that," she gestured at her bandaged scar, "and let your inner starlight eradicate it. In order for you to move into the next stage of training, all of your muddled and complicated feelingscannotinfluence your flames and corrupt them. They stunt progress. Trust me, I know."

For an estranged aunt who had no knowledge of having nieces or nephews, she knew what to say. She was like a wise Yoda, with ripped strength and awkward adult tendencies.

Going back to Reborn's hellish methods made her want to cling to her Aunt Rosemary's legs and never let go.

"And to make sure that happens, I'm sending you home! I'll miss your snoring, but no mother or father wants to see their kids room empty and desolate."

"Ehhhhhhhh…."

"Break's over. Let's review your stances before heading to the other side of the mountain. Basil should be itching to go one on one with you too."

...

...

The next day after school, Tsuri showed gratitude towards Aunt Rosemary for her hospitality and understanding, and decided it was the end of her rebellion, pulling her gym bag on her back while she made her way home. It wasn't guaranteed that her dad would even be home. He was busy snooping on her friends' progress and doing other shady job things so it gave her a bit of relief. There could also be the possibility that he was passed out from all his drinking from the night before still…

…How did Tsuna and her end up with a dad like that?

She took a breath of air. Either way, it was her day off, her body ached and needed all the rest it could get. There was a faint sense of danger going off since she stepped out of the hotel so she'd make sure to keep an eye on her surroundings as much as possible.

It was a normal day too. The fact that all this murder and danger aside, and cracking their muscles and bones to the core, there was also the mental war that was called school. It was fairly simple, and their teacher was making sure they remembered their childhood selves dreams of the future. It brought up her depression of their futures still being left on a red danger zone, but Tsuri decided that she'd just leave it all for when she could voice her concerns out. If Tsuna was willing to help vent, then maybe she'd bring it up later after their group project was done for the day.

Speaking of her twin…

"YES! KYOKO-CHAN IS COMING TO MY HOUSE AGAIN!"

Tsuri sweat dropped. It was still baffling how the girl still hadn't noticed Tsuna's blatant crush on her. It was getting worse, actually. It started looking like how their father fawned over their mother each time she did something he considered adorable. Even when washing the dishes, Sawada Iemistu's heart squeezing face could not hide all the leaking love for Sawada Nana.

"Like father like son…" Tsuri's lips twitched in horror. "Tsuna? I'm home…?"

"Ah Tsuri! Welcome back home~"

"Stop the cutesy wiggles. It's not like you," Tsuri had to bite back a gag. "What's got you so joyful?"

"Kyoko-chan is coming over! We'll be working on a project from our elementary selves' dreams ! What a wonderful assignment!" yelled Tsuna.

"It's obvious she would though. We're in the same group. Ah, so Hana is coming too?"

Tsuna wasn't listening, lost in his own imagination yet again. She sighed, set on ignoring him and crossing their gate to head inside when her whole self paused.

There was a weird figure hovering over tsuna's body like a UFO. She didnt know whether to scream or use her soccer kicking reflexes to send it flying away.

"Kyoko-chan? So that's the lady who will one day become the boss's wife. She's quite lovely." spoke the random voice.

"Tsuna… TSUNA!"

"Who said that?" Tsuna's love bubble popped and in an instant was now looking up to his twin from the group while being squished by the circluar object.

"Tsu—"

"Don't even finish that sentence of yours! While you were busy drooling over Kyoko, I was trying to warn you about this!"

"Ahhh! Nice to meet you, boss and stellamezza!"

Tsuri tried pulling the boy from the floor but all she did was pull a sore muscle from his arm, and leaving Tsuna to cry about the beginning cramp. ""Your drop in is squishing my brother! Who are you anyway?"

"I am the purveyor of weapons tuning for the Vongola, Giannini." Said the mini person inside the device.

"So you're Giannichi's son." Reborn popped out from their house's wall, perched on it casually with a tiny crossed leg.

One day Tsuri was going to lose her mind because of Reborn's instigating poses that read careless and casual."Tsuri, welcome home."

"Uh-huh…"

"Reborn-sama I presume. I appreciate the care and kindness you've given my father," Giannini bowed to greet Reborn and made more cracking sounds on Tsuna's back.

Tsuri held her forehead. "Why—"

"The battle with Varia is near. I called Giannini here to help with all kinds of weapons and maintenance. His family has served as the Vongola's exclusive Weapon Tuners for many generations," said Reborn. "His father, Giannichi, was a famous tuner who could make weapons come to life. I'm expecting a lot from you, Giannini."

"Please leave it to me! Although I still pale in comparison to my father."

"I should have waited to come home a bit more."

"Are you going to stay seated on me or are you gonna get off!?"

...

...

After re-folding her clothes back into her drawer and taking an early bath, Tsuri went to ask Tsuna if she could borrow one of his sweater before screaming bloody murder.

"Is this a black market shop or something!" Tsuri's shaky finger gestured over to the hung machetes, flails, spears and range of guns displayed all over Tsuna's room walls. "Tsuna?"

"Do you think I would've allowed them to set it up like this?" her brother pulled at his gravity defying hair. "Reborn!"

"I prepared these for our coming battle with Varia. Wan"t me to lend you some?"

"I DON'T WANT ANY!" both objected in unison.

"These will be worth modifying," Giannini was in thought. " Oh, Now that I recall, word has reached my father that there is a "faction plotting to assassinate the boss during the Vongola succession war."

"Assassination?!"

Was that the prick of danger she was feeling? Tsuri stared at Reborn smirk at something from the room window. He was probably plotting something horrid again.

"Nope. I haven't heard a thing. Anyway", I'm counting on you to modify the weapons."

"Why did it have to be in my room! Kyoko-chan will be here any second!"

Tsuri bit her lip in thought. They could use her room, but it was stacked with laundry her mom had washed for her for the nine days she was out. It was Nana's way of punishing her she thought. Tsuri would apologize when she came back from her grocery run.

Suddenly, their door bell rang and in a panic Tsuna was going to lock his room door shut but it flew open, with the silver head's whole self shining with sparkles. They were lucky he wasn't passed excited or he couldve ignited them with his eyes.

"JUUDAIME! I've come to get my dynamites upgraded!"

"Hurricane Bomb-sama is it?"

Tsuri snorted. The loyal puppy had an underground nickname? How funny.

"It's an honor to have been summoned!"

"Reborn called you over?" asked Tsuna.

"First time I hear you listen to someone other than Tsuna," Tsuri muttered under her breath.

"Where's Dr. Shamal?"

"Well he was starting to show symptoms of withdrawal so he told me to take the day off so he could go pick up women," Gokudera said.

"How's that…going?" Tsuri asked curiously. After not seeing each other since the day he almost bombed himself, she grew curious as to how everyone was getting by and who was training them too. She knew Shamal wasn't so keen on picking up the boy again but if he were actually teaching him then Gokudera wouldn't be looking like he was struggling still.

He was taken aback at the question. He cleared his throat and blinked rapidly. "… It's—"

"Gokudera's training was plateaued." Reborn butted in, amused at Tsuri's worriful expression toward her rival. "Shamal put Gokudera in our care for one day because his training wasn't going the way it should be."

Tsuri could see Reborn's smirk extend. He definitely was plotting something today. And why did she have a feeling it had something to do with Gokudera?

"You should take the day he gave you. Taking a break might help you see things in a fresh way."

Now Tsuna was confused too. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"BWAHAHAHHAH!" The door flew open to show Lambo and his ten year bazooka. "Lambo-san came for an upgrade too!"

"His nap didn't last longer than it should have," Tsuri complained with a loud groan.

"OH! So this is the ten year bazooka I've heard so much about!" yelled Giannini in amazement as he stared at the weapon.

"Your weakness for unusual weapons is reminiscent of your old man."

The third time the bell rung again Tsuri assumed it was another one of the boys but no one came up. She peered through Tsuna's window and sighed in relief. "Ah. Kyoko's here."

"Kyoko-chan and Kurokawa! I can't let them see all of this!" Tsuna's anxiety was causing him to sweat. "I'll let you use my room but you cannot come downstairs for any reason!" He shook Tsuri by the shoulders. "Can we use your room?"

"Kaasan left mountains of laundry in every corner…"

"Then we'll have to use the living room. Like I said, don't come downstairs! I uh…have an important appointment!" Tsuna ran out the door before Tsuri could tell him to breathe. While the other two handed the tinker their weapons and requests in upgrades, Tsuri went over to Tsuna's desk to get their old elementary school essays and head back downstairs.

"How's… your training going?"

Tsuri turned over to the silver head, and blinked. "What?"

"I heard from Juudaime that you ran away from home to stay with the Solleano's Spada Stellare."

"…" Tsuri scratched her cheek. "I came back home today. She's been teaching me how to wield my sai swords." She shrunk under Reborn's amused stare at the both of them. She felt sweat run down her neck.

"Is it true you're having trouble with Shamal?" she asked. Her face was a mix of scrunched eyebrows and twisted lips. It wasn't really a question; she was more concerned than curious. She knew that Shamal couldn't be bothered with much beyond his job, but she would have thought he would've been more considerate to his students' welfare.

Gokudera felt strange in reading the concern on her face and looked at the dynamite in his hand instead. "I'll figure it out," he reassured her. His voice was flat and dull without any hint of a smile. She nodded once, twice. The gesture felt awkward. A long pause fell between them.

"Well, I'm going downstairs too. Don't trash Tsuna's room."

"Ah, Tsuri-chan!" Kyoko perked up when she saw her enter the living room. "Are you here to work with us too?"

"Yup," the brunette waved the papers from her hand. "I brought our essays from second grade. Tsuna forgot to bring them down."

"Ah Tsuri-san!"

"Haru-chan?"

"First time in a while I've seen you look presentable," Hana put a hand under her chin. "You've been working yourself out to the bone that you're looking less like a girl as the time passes."

"Hana!" Kyoko scolded lightly. " You know how Tsuri-chan feels about soccer!"

"It's okay Kyoko," Tsuri handed Tsuna their essay. "A tournament is coming up so it's been taking my time. Anyway!" she laughed nervously in following up with the lie that Reborn made up days ago. "Should we start our project?"

"R-Right!" Tsuna chirped up. "Who's going first?"

Their childhood dreams all ranged from normal to childish. Kyoko wanted to be a ballerina, or a police officer. That made Tsuna throw himself under the coffee table and shout in panic. Tsuri had to brush it off with another laugh by lying that she'd accidentally kicked him.

Hana wanted to be a grown up already, while Haru's was a costume designer.

"What about Tsuri-chan?"

Tsuri handed her the essay. "'Second Grade, Sawada Tsukairi. My dream is to make sure I can protect my family. Maybe being a body guard or a military person would be the best for me. I'm scared that my body could fall apart but it would be cool to have scars! I'd look like that guy from the Rambo movie!'That's so cool Tsuri-chan!"

"I agree!" Haru's eyes sparkled. "You'd be such a cool bodyguard!"

"The military?" Hana was in thought. " I could see you fitting into the uniform. Reasonable and logical."

Tsuri wanted to hide under the table too. She wrote that after her mother took them to see the Rambo movie when it was featured in theaters. She remembered thinking how cool it would be to have scars all over her, and how it'd be a puff of ego to show them to others. The one on her abdomen and arm said otherwise. "T-Thanks?"

"How about Tsuna-kun?"

Kyoko read from his essay too, that explained how Tsuna wanted to become one of those robots from the cartoons they'd see Saturday mornings. She giggled. Tsuri forgot how obsessed Tsuna was with their action figures. She tried to remember where he had them stashed in the house. She was going to pop it back out from storage and remind him about it later.

There was a sniffle from behind them. Thinking it was Lambo coming to become a pain in the ass Tsuri readied herself to become the babysitter, but it was only Gokudera who had been moved by Tsuna's dream.

"G-Gokudera-kun? Why are you here?" tsuna raised himself like the dead.

"I wanted you to see my modified weapon first!"

'That's the one thing I was trying to avoid!'

'Should've been more specific with your instructions,'Tsuri rolled her eyes. "Not inside here you won't," Tsuri also got up and dragged Gokudera by the arm.

"Oi! Let go!"

Tsuri slid their porch's door open and gestured with her index finger. "Do it outside."

"Wait Tsuri!" Tsuna ran over.

"It doesn't pack a punch if he does it outside."

"Oh. Okay. HERE I GO! NEW DYNAMITE!" yelled Gokudera as he threw his dynamites out…although… when the smoked cleared, there was confetti, streamers, pigeons and balloons.

The three teens became befuddled. "?"

"Wow that was fun!"

"Childish tricks…" hana muttered unimpressed.

"Party favors huh?" Tsuna pointed out relieved. It made Tsuri burst into laughter at the pigeon sitting on top of the silver head italian's head.

"What the… Excuse me Juudaime. I need to have a word with Giannini." Gokudera stormed back up the stairs as Reborn came descending down..

"REBORN!" yelled Tsuna.

"Reborn-kun!" Kyoko greeted politely. "Excuse the intrusion!"

"Why are you here too?!"

"I wanted to test out how my gun can shoot the dying will bullet, now that it's upgraded."

Tsuri instantly panicked. "H-Hey, we got visitors, maybe we can hold off on the show—"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! Don't fire that in Kyoko-chan's presence!" yelled Tsuna as Reborn gave no warning like the usual. Nothing happened. The red bullet fell off without momentum. The twins stared at it dumbfoundedly.

Reborn's silence and stoic expression read instant murder. "I'm going to go give Giannini an earful."

The girls looked at the twins in confusion as well for all the interruptions coming their way. Tsuri was going to direct the conversation back to their essays and the task their teacher gave them when disturbing and strangling noises came from upstairs.

"OW! AH! YOYOYOYOYO!"

'He's really letting him have it!'

"L-Lambo's very energetic today i-isn't he?" Tsuri's eyebrow twitched. 'Go check on them quick!'

"I-I need to go take a look. I'll be back! Tsuri, stay here," Tsuna pleaded. He thanked her quickly when she nodded annoyingly.

"…. you have an energetic household don't you?" asked Hana.

"Are they practicing for a show? If so, I can volunteer for costume designs!" Haru exclaimed.

"I-I'll let Reborn know. Thanks Haru," Tsuri said sheepishly, returning to sit on her cushion.

"So…" Hana began. "You and the delinquent seem to be getting along better."

"Huh?"

"Gokudera-san gets very scary when it comes to Tsuna-kun. But when he's around you he seems to relax," Kyoko added with an oblivious smile. Tsuri's mouth twitched. They fought verbally almost everyday. Did they not see that? "I'm glad you two are getting along too!"

"We really don't," Tsuri confessed with hesitation. "But I guess you can say we're trying to talk to each other better?"

"Hahi! How can you endure him is beyond me Tsuri-san," Haru said. "He always badmouths anyone that isn't Tsuna-san or you."

"… He's just over the top protective. I hope you don't misunderstand him," she laughed a little. "He does have his good moments., if you get to know him just a bit better"

"Eh? What was that look just now?"

"What look?" Tsuri asked a now smug looking Hana.

"I didn't know bad boys were your type. I'm not judging."

"Hah?!"

"Oh, is that why? I think I understand!" Haru started nodding fiercely. "Tsuri-san likes Gokudera-san!"

"Oh really! Congratulations Tsuri-chan!"

She stared at the wall in blankness. What? What the hell? How did this conversation go from point a to point z in one go?

"That's not it at all!" Tsuri's face ignited faster than a spreading forest fire. "I-I don't look at him t-that way at all! You couldn't be more wrong!"

"Your face turned all mushy," Hana hummed. "It's the same face you make whenever you eye the pocky at the student store."

"Sorry Tsuri-chan," Kyoko said apologetically. "We didnt mean to assume."

"I-Its okay Kyoko." 'Please drop the conversation. tsuna better come back or I'll drag his ass back down. Kami-sama help me!'

Suddenly, somebody was screaming again. Fed up with all the loudness in their usual quiet home, Tsuri walked out to the entrance to the living room. Her blank stare came back.

Who was this cute little child looking up at her? And why did they look like the octopus head that had been here moments before, wearing a chibi version of his outfit?

Kyoko and Haru fawned at the cute child. Hana only shooed it away. tsuna came dashing downstairs to catch the child back.

"He's so adorable!"

"Shoo! Stay away!"

"Why? He's so cute Isn't he Tsuri-san?"

Tsuri picked up the kid into her hands, poking its cheeks. Soft. They were so soft and jiggly. A warm feeling spread through her whole being. "I meana little bit."

Chibi-looking version of Gokudera began struggling under her grip. "S-Stupid copy! Let me go you hag!"

There was only one person in the world that called her a copy. She instantly went still. "… Gokudera?"

"Tsuri! Good catch!" Tsuna popped back into the room.

Tsuri was now feeling self conscious by what she said and was holding the child away from her chest. "Pray tell how he ended up looking like this?"

"I wouldn't want to look like you either stupid copy!"

Tsuri found herself pulling on his minute ago considered cute cheeks. Tsuna had to pull Gokudera out of her hold to prevent him from being squished to death.

"…Ah! Juudaime! There are suspicious guys on that telephone pole!" Gokudera pointed outside with his small hands. Tsuna turned towards the telephone pole outside but there were nothing but birds perched on it.

There was nothing and yet… Tsuri's danger spike reacted by it. She put a hand under her chin.

"Ah, those are sparrows." Kyoko explained.

"That's not what I mean!"

"Let's go play upstairs!" Tsuna lied and transitioned the conversation to migrating the chibi child away from everyone.'The ten year bazooka hit him, but Giannini is destroying everything left and right.'

'So let me guess. It landed on him and he came out looking like a kid. Is he even aware that he's tiny?'Tsuri kept poking his cheeks and Gokudera kept trying to swat her hands away.

'Nope. I'm waiting for him to come to terms about it by himself.'

"Oi, Tsuri!" The Sawada female perked up. Gokudera never used her name unless he was on serious business. "You need to tell Juudaime about those guys outside!"

His small and adorable voice was not helping her mediate resistance against the cuteness factor he was unknowingly releasing. "There's nothing there though!"

Suddenly, Gokudera tried to escape from Tsuna's hand, yelling it over and over and pulled him back and forth. They both paused when their door bell rang for the fourth time in the day. Tsuri sighed in exhaustion and in popped Yamamoto Takeshi, holding a tall bento wrapped in blue.

"What bad timing…"

"Yo! My old man brought me too much food. There's enough people at your place, right?" asked Yamamoto with his signature smile. "Tsuri-chan's home again? Nice!"

Tsuri dug lasers at Tsuna. Just how many people did he tell that she had run away from home?

"OI! BASEBALL NUT! If you have time for this then defeat the enemies outside!"

"Oh! Gokudera! You were here too? Good timing! Do you want to eat too?"

'He hasn't noticed it either!'

It suddenly went from having the girls over, to having a full house with Yamamoto, Ryohei and Gokudera still convinced that there were invisible people by Tsuna's shoulders. He convinced Tsuri to walk over and she could detect some weird motions on the surface of their roof. Then, he managed to have Ryohei and Yamamoto use a baseball and fist to smack said spaces, revealing the suspicious men in green suits.

"Che…the assassination failed…" mumbled the enemies.

"ASSASINATION?"

"Let's kill him directly, then!" yelled the two enemies as they brought out their bazookas and claws. They charged towards Tsuna.

"HIE!" screamed Tsuna.

Tsuri stood protectively in front of Kyoko, Haru and Hana to shield them away.

"I'll protect Juudaime!" Gokudera lunged but had been smacked down by the person holding the sharp claw drills.

"Gokudera/-kun!" Both twins yelled worriedly.

"How dare you do that to children!" Ryohei and Yamamoto tried to aim for them but one of the two shot a fishing net. Gokudera t was now being held hostage.

'If i step away they could target the girls'Tsuri was sweating, struggling to go over and take a shot. 'Tsuna! Do I save you? Do I stay?'

'Stay there! Don't come over here!'

"Now, Vongola X. Come this way slowly. Otherwise, this kid dies!"

"Don't do it! Please run! Juudaime!" yelled Gokudera. Oh no! Suddenly, Tsuna started to step forward.

"Baka!" Tsuri yelled angrily. "Are you not listening to him?! You're falling under his hand!"

"Give me a better solution then!"

Tsuri looked back and forth, at her friends behind her, and then her brother and chibi Gokudera. She couldn't let anyone get hurt! She couldn't hesitate!

She bit her lip. sh*t. "Hana, think you can handle a bit of defense?"

"Huh?" Hana watched Tsuri sneak a vase to her from behind her back. "If they get near, shatter this on one of their heads, and use a shard for defense."

"Tsuri, it's dangerous, don't do it—!"

"They're trying to rob us," Tsuri made up an in the spot lie to get her to understand. Better than telling them the truth and getting herself more in the mud with everyone and Reborn. "I'm the only one who can get a good kick in!"

Hana was contemplating but then Kyoko and Haru grabbed the vase too, and nodded. "Tsuri-chan is really good at self defense," Kyoko said. "We can trust her!"

"Then by all means, go kick ass!"

Tsuri took a deep breath and with one swift motion, directed all her effort in speed in her legs to get a good kick behind the taller enemy. The impact gave the desired result, but had sent Gokudera flying upwards in his small state.

The kid expected a harsher landing since his Juudaime wasn't in line with where he'd been. But when he opened his eyes, Tsuri was the one who had cushioned his fall and had him clutched tightly to her chest, her eyes shut. He was going to yell at her for making such a stupid risky move but the trembling on her body made him keep his tongue still.

His Juudaime ran to them in worry and relief though he didn't miss when he had started scolding Tsuri in an angry voice about being reckless.

"Damn it. I can still take a shot!" One of the enemies readied their net launcher again but gulped.

"Oi. Tsuri-chan is still recovering. Now you've really done it."

Yamamoto and Ryohei had cut their nets and were not going to take life threats lightly. They readied themselves and cracked their knuckles, malicious aura seeping out of their normally jovial selves.

"Say hello to Verde for us!" said Reborn as he threw the unconscious bodies outside of Tsuna's house.

"Thank goodness you guys got rid of the thieves!" said Kyoko-chan.

"Thieves?"

"I may have mentioned that we were being robbed," Tsuri whispered in Tsuna's ear. Gokudera listened while being held by her still. He felt somewhat uncomfortable at the face that he was in very close proximity within an area he vowed never to reach with any woman until he got older. Some smoke was sizzling up from his head and Tsuna did not miss this sign.

He gestured over for Tsuri to hand him over but she made a strange face and refused. It was the face she'd make whenever Tsuna wanted to snatch something cute out of her hands when they'd been five. He felt a tick mark building on his head but when Kyoko shared her flowery smile once more his brain turned off and he was starting to giggle in lovestruckness.

"Though that was really amazing of you Sawada bodyguard-chan," Hana shuddered. "I'm out of here. Staying with you people is so dangerous."

Haru and Kyoko then said their goodbyes without even asking more detail and went on home, leaving her and Tsuna with the silver head left.

"You can put him down now Tsuri."

She started pouting. "Oh come on. Let me carry him a little more."

"Why do you want to carry him!"

Tsuri ran her hands through silver hair she'd never thought she'd be able to touch. It was strangely soft. She couldn't help but feel somewhat accomplished by it, as if it were a long lost mystery she'd now be able to solve. Gokudera's eyes were swirling like crazy now and forced himself free of her hold.

He went quiet and started walking away with his stubby little feet back home.

"Wait! Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna called out. He could question him about the mystery with Tsuri later. "Thanks. If I had believed you from the start then…"

"Juudaime… I appreciate the sentiment. But…"

"But?"

Tsuri could hear some sniffles. She had to hold her laugh in. Was the toughest loyal puppy crying?

"How in the world am I supposed to protect you with this body!"

Tsuna eyed Tsuri who was red from suppressing her giggles.'Are you laughing?!'

'Look at his little face! His puppy eyes are too much!'

'I can't believe he awoke your suppressed weakness for cute things…'Tsuna sighed.

After his tears and snot started running down his small face, a puff of pink smoke went up, the same kind that appeared when the ten year bazookas expiration time came. Back was the regular teen sized body of Gokudera Hayato and he could not be more joyful that he was back to normal.

"Huh! I'm back! My body's back to normal!"

"That's great Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna congratulated.

In between all the happy he was releasing, Tsuri couldn't help but reflect a smile. Even with the effects being off, she never noticed how cute Gokudera's Juudaime mannerisms could be. He still had shiny green puppy eyes and though his voice wasn't higher in pitch it still…

Tsuri got a coughing attack due to a wave of awareness in her chest. She hid her face with her hands when Tsuna and him turned to her in concern. She waved them off and turned away. The tips of her ears went crimson. "What the hell…"Maybe her need for cute hadn't dissipated just yet. She could not have thought what she just thought without it being a big influence.

"That was a good experience for you Gokudera."

"Reborn-san!"

"A change in perspective has allowed you to see what you couldn't before."

Change in perspective. Tsuri and him made eye contact briefly before averting it like the plague. Tsuna blinked and the purple wave that he'd been suppressing since the summer festival was growing bigger the more his gut intuition increased. Reborn wanted to cackle.

"Wait. Are you saying that what happened today was your way of teaching me that?" Gokudera was in awe all of a sudden.

"Well basically."

'He's such a liar'Tsuna was growing paper thin white at the gullible bomber.

"This should've given you some insight to practice trust too," Reborn directed toward the twins. "Rest is over. Thanks to this, you're now ready to move on to the third stage of training."

Tsuri had to go over to Tsuna to make sure he didn't hit his head on the road.

"We didn't even get an ounce of rest!

Chapter 20: Varia vs. Middle Schoolers

Chapter Text

Tsuna knew something was definitely up with Gokudera and Tsuri's strange enough "friendship."

Yesterday's events and the summer festival played through his mind. They were getting way too close.

He didn't want it to be misunderstood as though he were greatly objected by it. He was definitely glad that the bomber's seeping animosity toward his twin sister had diminished since the day they met. He wasn't exactly eccstatic at the way his eyes gave that small hint of gentleness whenever she was around though. After he came back downstairs too, Tsuri had been dragged into a conversation with the girls and the way she was peeping at the door screamed discomfort. He was so sure he'd heard the silver head's name come out of Kurokawa in a teasing tone.

The Vongola don shuddered. They acted normally as they would at any day; still kill mentally killed each other with their glares, verbally aggressive head butting and hand smacking on Tsuri's part but he could just tell something was up with the two. And whether they also have noticed it or not was a question he was desperately dying to know.

How exactly could he ask his own sister if she liked someone she hated? She was squirmy when it came to talking about feelings. They hadn't gone that since they were toddlers and arguing about pancakes.

And how could he ask it now considering that they were standing on one leg with mines on every corner of the ground?

It were as if Tsuna was using her as a focal point because it getting creepier the more the seconds passed.

"Ah mou!" Tsuri tried to push him off, ruining his attempt at balance. "Cut it out!" Tsuri yelled angrily from his left. " If i get blown up I'm making you do the house chores for a month!"

Definitely not the right time to even think about nonsense like this he thought. "You're not the only one at risk for a blow up! What kind of regime is this?"

The one who truly had the answers in his black suit and fedora made sure to grow closer to knocking a mine over, earning a shrill unison of objection by them. "We're preparing for the third stage of your training. It'll boost your spirit in it."

"More like let our spirits leave our body forever…"

"How about Aunt Rosemary?" Tsuri turned her head carefully back and forth, sweat running down her forehead. "Isn't she joining us?"

"She's supposed to." Reborn stared at the other boy next to him and he shook his head.

"Solleano-sama was not in her hotel room this morning," Basil answered.

"Either way, I'll make sure to have her catch up. She has a big role to play for this stage as well."

"I wonder how important.."

"Oi, focus Dame-Tsuna, or you'll die."

"HIEEEEEEEEEEEE"

..

With the reddest sunset they'd ever seen this winter, the twins, Reborn and Basil made their way back to the Sawada house in one piece. Quite a miracle considering that both twins figured out to use each other as a focal point. Reborn considered it cheating which meant that tomorrow they would t even share the same mines, and it'd be a double amount for their cheekiness.

"Man… I thought I was going to die…."

"I'm getting closer to thinking you really like to drive us over the edge Reborn," Tsuri muttered.

"Thou art rife with splendid potential Sawada-dono. No wonder why my master has such high expectations of thee."

"Your master again? You always speak about him so fondly Basil-kuin…" Tsuna said, tiredly. Tsuri elbowed him again.

'Oi, don't be rude. We all have someone we admire highly.'

"She's right you know," Reborn pointed out. "You'll meet him soon enough too."

"Just how many people have you guys brought to Japan? Basil?"

While the boy counted, Reborn snorted. "Enough to have you kidnapped."

Both twins shuddered. Shouldn't have asked.

'That man brought the rings to us though…'Tsuna replied with a grimace.'He already made a bad first impression. He probably looks like a creepy old man.'

It was Tsuri's turn to snort, but it was as if their mental reaction of Basil's master was see-through because the blue flamed boy and their tutor were sharing knowing smiles at each other.

It couldn't be their dad… could it? He did have build, and he had always been freakishly strong since they were pickaxe he carried with him? The twins had tried picking it up one time and they nearly hit plaster by how difficult it was to raise it from the ground.

'Don't tell me its my dad…'

"Could be," Reborn replied cousing her to almost gain whiplash on her neck by how fast she turned. "You'll just have to find out."

"Kaasan! We're home!"

When they came inside their house, Iemitsu was on their doorstep, slipping on his old muddy boots and dressed in that neon orange suit that hurt the eyes.

"Welcome home."

"Dad? It's rare for you to be awake at this hour."

Tsuri co*cked her head to the side. Tsuna was right. He was snoozing like hell after a couple drinks before they even came home. That was probably why Nana asked them to come home earlier for some family time.

"Good thing I ran into you two before I left."

"Heading out somewhere?" Tsuri asked somewhat indifferently.

"Yeah, some uninvited guests showed up earlier than expected."

"Guests?"

Basil and Reborn's playful expressions were now replaced with utter seriousness, letting anxiety beginning to rise.

"Is that true, Iemistu?"

"The information came from the double I left back in the homeland. There's no doubt about it."

"But it's too soon."

'The rings… Dino-san said they were fakes…'Tsuri grabbed Tsuna's sleeve.'Its happening too fast—!'

"We didnt expect them to notice the rings were fake so quickly," Iemitsu noticed his daughter's pale complexion. "It must've been Xanxus' super intuition. Cielo must've done some analyzation of the rings as well."

Tsuna's eyes traveled from Reborn, to their dad, to Tsuri and back again. "W-What are you all talking about?"

Iemistu stood up. "Seems the Varia have arrived in Japan."

"What?! Those scary people?! Tsuri, didn't you check in with him like you said? I thought we had time!"

Tsuri crossed her arms defensively. "I ran away from home. I haven't had time to talk with Dad about this whole thing yet."

Tsuna put a hand to his face. In all of his sister's tantrums she couldn't push this one could she?"

"Eh?" Iemistu blinked repetitively, perplexed. "I expected Tsuna to freak out about this situation. Why is he so calm about this?"

The twins rolled their eyes.

"I let it slip last week. He knows that I know and that you know."

Iemistu nodded, though gulping for his life once again at the matching eyes of rage his kids genetically shared with his loving wife. He looked towards Basil. "I'm going to confirm the safety of all the Guardians and explain the situation to them. Give me a hand, Basil."

"Yes, master!"

"EH?" Tsuna and Tsuri shouted in surprise.

"Master?" Tsuna's finger shook.

"Yes," Basil confirmed proudly.

"Master?"

Their father was grinning stupidly now, pointing at himself in double confirmation. "Master."

"Why are you shouting in surprise too?" Reborn asked Tsuri with her mouth agape. "You already had a feeling anyway."

"It's still shocking to think that my own father is dwelling that title! And that he trained Basil!"She flung her arms around angrily, feeling unknown jealously creep up her neck. "Do you know how long it took me to bring him down yesterday?!"

"Tsuri, Tsuna, we have no time right now. I'll explain everything fully later, I promise. For now, keep this a secret from your Mom. A promise between a father and his cute children. 'Kay?"

'Shameless to no end…'

"The enemy's advance unit is the leviathan lightning strike squad. They're considered to be some of the strongest fighters in the Varia. He'll come to take the Vongola Lightning Half-ring. I'm worried about how inexperienced our Guardian of Lightning is."

"I'll send help to the other guardians while I've contracted them. but it'll take time. Tsuna, I want you to go to the Guardian of the Lightning Ring and protect him."

Tsuri nearly squeaked at the unfamiliar weight his face reflected. It wasn't the dumb and goofy unserous grin he wore. It was one that knew the area of this life. Just what had her dad gone through to bring him to hold his job so ardently?

"Tsuri, your job is to protect Tsuna from harm. You've always been watching over your mom and him and I don't want it to stop. Okay?"

She wanted to cry. They really needed that talk soon or she was going to become one of those girls who held daddy issues for the rest of her life. "Dont tell me what I already know you crappy excuse of a father!" Tsuri ran upstairs to grab their things. "Tsuna, put your shoes back on."

"Eh? How are you just so calm about this! Can't we just have a minute to take it all in!"

"Calm down Tsuna. You should follow Iemistu's instructions."

"Can you at least tell us who the guardian of the lighting ring is?"

"You sure you want to know? It could trigger her over there?" Reborn gestured over to Tsuri. She furrowed her eyebrows not getting the message that the baby hitman was trying to send her way. "Just tell us. There's no use in keeping their identity hidden if we're heading to protect them."

Reborn's black beaded eyes could not be read. "It's Lambo."

For the first time in her life, Tsuri felt something inside her snap, and found herself wishing Tsuna hadn't asked at all.

...

...

Tsuna and Reborn literally held on top dear life as the female Sawada dragged their bodies with incredible speed toward the location where Lambo should be. Tsuna was lucky that Tsuri had a robust and stretchable waist trainer on her, or elsewhere they would've been behind.

According to Kyoko and Haru, they had been at the park playing with the kids, but one turn and they were nowhere to be seen. Tsuri had the fastest pace out the two of them and Reborn was always riding on shoulders so it was a given that they'd rely on her to pull them into a direction where they could search.

What Tsuna didnt expect was the massive silence Tsuri had as she pulled them along. Tsuna was afraid to even be one inch near with the black aura she was carrying with her since they left the house.

"Why Lambo?" Tsuna decided to break the silence by asking the baby hitman the important question. "He's five and a moron."

"There are reasons to it."

"Isn't he a part of the Bovino family? Wouldn't they have an issue with that?"

"Members are picked in variety based on the boss' impression and attraction to them. In Lambo's case, the boss was weeping for joy of what an honor it is."

A throbbing vein pulsed out more obviously on the back of Tsuri's neck, making Tsuna squirm.

"Futa! I-Pin! Lambo! Where are you?"

There was a reply of some terrified screams and Tsuri made a sharp turn over to an alleyway that led to the beginning entrance route to Namimori Mountain.

Tsuna let go of the band as they called out once more. They witnessed the children they were searching for. Something like instant terror blinded Tsuri and replaced her rage. Tsuna could see that she had grown stiff watching Futa run with the other two in his arms.

"Futa!" Tsuna yelled. "Watch behind you!" 'I won't make it in time!'

A black figure holding a spear toward them was approaching and none off them were near to swoop them away.

Tsuna expected Tsuri to use her quick reflexes and take the chance he couldn't but all he saw her wide and bland eyes. One's he remembered so well.

I-pin was covered in scratches and dirt, Lambo was deemed unconscious, probably passed out in fear. Futa looked like he was limping, and that set Tsuri off the edge.

She could see a refection of her younger self replacing Futa's image. She was running away, wailing in terror. The lingering memory of being hit with impacts to her head…The group of suits holding a gun to her head as she called out for her brother, her father, anyone to save her… Chills and shakes snuck inside her muscles.

This had never happened to her before. She wasn't the same person who would cower and play it safe. Their battle in Kokyuo Land would never let her forget. So what was this internalized fear coming from and why were so many flashes and bits of messed up memories making their way through her line of vision now?

Trauma didnt leave immediately. Though Tsuri wished she could push it out of her mind, her body remembered it well. So this is what Reborn warned her of, that knowing it was a child, Lambo no less, could become a trigger. Her dad expected too much of her. It was a literal child as a target of assassination!

Both twins shut their eyes expecting to hear shrill cries, but a swift and loud strike toward the assassin and rendered him unconscious and unmoving.

"The Vongola family's Guardian of the Sun Ring… Colonello's number one pupil… Sasagawa Ryohei has arrived!"

Tsuri didnt know what else was happening but the fact that the enemies were falling down like swatted flies didnt make anything go away. And it wasn't until Tsuna knelt down to give her a pressurized hug and then have Futa run to her, that it was all beginning to settle down.

"Juudaime?"

"Tsuna, is she okay? Thank goodness we made it on time!"

"Tsuri?" Tsuna's gentle voice rang in front of her. He waved a hand to get her to blink and then reached out to wipe something off her face with his sleeve. The sensation of fabric making contact to her skin. She could see the corners of Tsuna's sleeve slightly damp. Were those her tears? Had she been crying? She hadn't noticed at all.

She slowly moved her pupils. Sasagawa… Yamamoto and Gokudeara were watching from above in concern.

"Tsuri-nee! We're fine! See!" Futa gestured over his whole self. She blinked again, eyes traveling around to try and take in everything. Reborn was perched somewhere high, humming about something but nevertheless relieved that whatever state or trance she'd been in had ceased. Gokudera, Yamamoto and Ryohei were now arguing about Lambo, the the silver-head pointing at him and yelling about how it was possible that the stupid cow had a ring.

"What… happened to me?" Tsuri looked at her palms, the trembling in them slight but still obvious. "I feel so pathetic…"

"You're not Tsuri," Tsuna helped her up by supporting her arms with his own. "I was as helpless as you were. If they weren't here then…"

"You saw yourself in them."

Tsuri made sure to hug Futa and I-pin tightly in her arms, as if making sure it was all real and not a trick in her mind. "I told you it'd be a trigger. Shameful that your own father thought you'd suppressed all that trauma." She nodded at Reborn.

"I'm sorry… I don't know what happened to me."

"We'll get back to it soon Tsukairi. Just make sure your guardian is safe."

"Lambo-san is starving! Tsuna, carry me! Piggyback, Piggyback!"

The whole atmosphere dissipated at the sight of the supposed enemy target, five year old entitled brat Lambo who was squirming on the floor, clearly unharmed and sleepy. Tsuna noticed the ring on his hair, and even scolded the child at his behavior.

How unaware was he, though he tended to blow their whole household up randomly as he saw fit.

And yet…

Tsuri lowered her gaze. They were little. They were children. How was this world so messed up that they had to involve children and risk their lives being taken? And Lambo was targeted for a measly ring that no one but his own family and the adults knew the value it held.

How was this okay?

"Who were they?" Tsuri asked, approaching one and kicking them with her foot.

"Yeah, they seemed pretty weak. It was a cinch," Ryohei lifted a fist. It was unharmed. There was something different in his air, the twins thought. Then again they hadn't been able to keep up with everyone else's training but their own. It was the first reunion after a while.

"That's foolish thinking," Reborn said. "They're Low ranking Varia. The truly terrifying one…" He gestured over to the blank of trees above them with his head. "He's coming."

Tsuri had a vague recall of mafia members. She thought they wore suits and glasses, similar to those who had kidnapped her.

These people wore different clothes. In all black like his henchmen, but with multiple spears on his back. The piercings would've looked cool if they were on someone younger, more attractive. The dude just screamed creep.

Tsuri swore to herself that she was not going to repeat that pathetic display of weakness. She could deal with trauma later, protection is what came first and above all of herself. She gestured the kids to stay behind her as this figure scoured around, demanding the lightning ring as if it were his birthright.

"Oi, curly haired brat. Give me the ring. I know you have it!" He demanded.

"N-n-no! This is a misunderstanding!"

"How dare you target a child!" Tsuri ignored Tsuna's line of lying and yelled out angrily. "There's no point in denying anything now Tsuna."

"If you get in the way, I'll kill you." The assassin was near in pulling out another one of those electric spears but stopped. More people were now out of the bushes. And they wore an even worse sinister aura than just him. Besides Squalo, the man who humiliated them days ago there were more people in what matched the uniform in unique styles. There was a man in colorful hair and dark shades, a big looking person who seemed more of a machine than a person, a weirdo with bangs that covered his eyes and wore a tiara of some sort and… another baby? He resembled Reborn and Colonello.

Was the hooded purple figure another arcobaleno or whatever they were called?

"Wait, Levi. You dont get to hunt them by yourself~!"

"Share your prey…ushishishi…"

"The situation has changed now. It appears that the other ring beaerers are here too."

"VOI!" Squalo was the first to address them. Disrespectfully too. "Nice trick trash!"

"There he is!"

"That bastard…" yelled Gokudera as Yamamoto tensed in anger.

"VOI! Which one of you has the rain ring?!"

"Me," Yamamoto answered. His pissed off face made Tsuri recall of when Reborn had mentioned that Yamamoto had assassin-like tendencies in him since he was brought into their whole ordeal. She was beginning to see them seeping out the more he got riled up by opponents.

"Oh, you? Three seconds. I'll slice you up in three seconds."

"This is bad. This is bad!"

"Don't point out the obvious, " Tsuri shot back. "You already knew what situation we've been put! It's been bad since that asshole appeared!"

Squalo did not appreciate the comment and his sword changed its target but like a dog on a leash, it was called back once a bigger person made his way forward

"Move." The one command made Squalo's face turn from aggression into another kind.

"He's here. I never thought I'd see you again… Xanxus." Reborn said.

Tsuri had her share of facing murderous stares. There were those who barely stung, like the jealous fangirls Yamamoto and Gokudera had back at Nami Chuu. There were those who packed a punch for a while, but Tsuri could blink it out and match energy if needed.

But this person? She'd seen scars in the face, like Koshima Ken's. His were more spread out, like burns more than scars. They were like those that formed if dry ice were put onto skin for a good amount of time.

Xanxus' stare felt like it was choking the air and sucking it out of their own bodies. Tsuna had toppled down to the floor, terrified. The rest of their friends remained still and afraid to even twitch a muscle. Her own blood ran cold. Those were eyes that held fueled hate and ran his systems wild to release and kill. They were eyes of a true assassin. Someone who had seen death.

There was a dark cackle coming from one of the people on that hill. Another figure. It was a boy. Tsuri had never seen a mix of green eyes and baby blue highlighted hair in one go. These people were nuts already so it wouldn't be surprising if they dressed the part.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." Xanxus' left palm was now glowing in a similar looking color that they've seen many times.

It was a dying will flame. And it looked like he was charging it whole power full by how bright and hot it appeared.

'Is he going to shoot that here?!'

'What do we do!?"

"Boss, you're going to start with that? Here?"the multi-colored haired guy said backing away immediately.

"You gonna take us down with you too?!"

If his own comrades were already in a panic, it wasn't a good sign.

"That's not good," Reborn directed everyone to listen. "Run for it!"

"Die."

Everyone braced for impact. Instead a big metal thud resounded all around the gathered group of people. A pickaxe was aimed right in front of Xanxus, stopping him from launching his attack forward.

"Wait Xanxus. That's enough. I'll be running the show now."

"DAD?!"

"What's he doing here?!"

There were a lot of logistics being thrown all at once. And how their dad was handling himself in front of the mere embodiment of murder made the twins worry if they should plan a funeral. Instead, they were met with their dad'a actual play in the whole Vongola Family.

"Vongola's External Advisor. That is his post in the Vongola. One who is Vongola but also one who is not. Normally, he is an outsider but during emergencies, he has the right to succeed the boss." Reborn explained.

"WHAT?" screamed Tsuna in surprise.

"Are you saying that he could be second in command!?" Tsuri was seeing swirlies in her vision.

"Not could be. He is. The external advisor has a part equal to the boss in deciding the successor. Basically, he can choose to give the Half Vongola rings to whomever he chooses."

"Half rings?" asked Tsuna.

"I didn't tell you? The seven rings that you possess are just shards by themselves. They become the proof of successor when each pair is merged together to become a Vongola ring. In other words, you need to have both halves to become the true successor. Though it's rare for the boss and external advisor to choose different candidates."

"Are you saying that it wasn't the Ninth who chose us, it was our own dad?"

Reborn nodded.

"You said that we were the only blood candidates! How is it that the Ninth has a son!? You said all of them died!"

"Hush Baka-Tsuri. Now's not the time to get distracted by mere logistics. Your father is reading Vongola IX's direct order."

'Until now, I had always believed that Iemitsu's son, Sawada Tsunayoshi would be a worthy successor and acted accordingly. But lately, perhaps because death may be near, my intuition has awoken and I have chosen a more suitable candidate. That would be my son, Xanxus. He alone is worthy to be my successor. However there will be this who disporpe of this change. Iemitsu has, in fact, refused to pass the rings on to Xanxus.But I have no wish to begin a pointless succession war within the family. There fore I shall hold an officially- sanctioned Vongola battle.'

'What? Why did he refuse? He should've just handed the over!'

'He should have!'

"There you have it. Vongola succession candidate, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Second candidate, Xanxus. The Vongola Rings necessary for you to become the legitimate heir…to decide who has the right to these, we will begin the desicive battle between Tsuna's family and the Varia!" yelled Iemitsu.

"EH?!" yelled Tsuna.

"Huh…wouldn't have had it any other way." Gokudera struck his palm with a fist. Yamamoto laughed.

"That's true!"

"There will be one-on-one battles between those who hold the same type of ring. After that, the letter just says to wait for the next batch of instructions."

Tsuna turned to Tsuri, peeking at the objects hidden on her neck. Tsuri shook her head, unsure what to say about her role in the whole fight.

Two more figures leaped out from the bushes and landed on the grounds. They were two identical women with pink hair.

So many people involved. Just how many of these people were here hiding in Namimori? Was it even safe anymore?

"Apologies for the wait and intrusion. For this ring conflict, we shall be the judges. We are the Cervello Organization that serve Vongola Ninth." one of them spoke up.

"During the Ring conflict, our decisions are those of the Ninth. The Ninth believes that this will cease all disruptions and internal objections within the whole Family. Any objections, Xanxus-sama?" The other finished, her masked eyes awaiting a reply. All the scary boy did was glare.

"Thank you."

"Wait. I have an objection," Iemitsu interrupted. "Even I, being the external advisor, have never heard about the Cervello Organization. I simply cannot allow outsiders to select and determine the future of the Vongola succession line."

There was no facial reaction from the Cervello Women. "It is overruled. We serve under the Ninth therefore we are out of reach of your appointed authority."

"What?" scowled Iemitsu as the green-red haired guy mockingly laughed.

"What a shame indeed."

"Normally, one set of the rings is held by the boss and the other with the external advisor and during the announcement of the successor, the completed rings are given to the chosen seven. However, this has become an exception."

"The seven chosen do not match and each handed out the rings to whomever they chose. Meaning the seven led by Xanxus-sama, who was chosen by the Ninth and the seven under Sawada Tsunayoshi, who was chosen by the External Advisor. In these one on one battles, you will prove which is more worthy of the rings by having you bet your lives on them."

"LIVES?!" screamed Tsuna in horror.

"As for the Vongola Mezza's established rules…" one of them looked toward Tsuri. "The role cannot be fought for at all. Sawada Tsukairi, whomever results victorious in the battle between the Vongola Boss candidates, it is mandatory to serve under them, or risk isolation on the code of omertà."

"What?!" the female twin shouted in disbelief. "How the hell could I serve the winner! I'm not just some side piece that will be moved by your ridiculous whims!"

The boy with the green eyes stepped up next to Xanxus, his grin extending to almost a Cheshire like smile. "We thought you'd say something like that."

"And who the hell are you?"

"Cielo diAzzure. The Ninth's youngest son and rightful Mezza sucessor. Make sure to remember that name even on your deathbed,brat."

A massive tickmark throbbed on her forehead and Tsuri swore she never wanted to strangle another child more besides Lambo. "Brat?!"

"We expected your refusal. The Ninth has found some clauses hidden involving the discovery and role of Vongola Mezza. You will also be allowed to fight if there is another elected candidate. That would behim."

Cielo sighed and crossed his arms as if it were a pain by hearing the Cervello women speak.

"Cielo-sama, do you consent to the rules and agree to the abiding law of omertà set upon the position of Vongola Mezza?"

The kid rolled his eyes. "Duh. Why else would I be here? Just killing them isn't going to be fun enough."

"Who the hell does this kid think he is?" She heard Gokudera bite under his breath.

"Any objections, Sawada Tsukairi?"

She wasn't going to be tied to anyone and like hell was she going to let anyone take the position away and risk her from cutting contact with everyone she loved. "Bring it on twerp."

"Confirmed. Thank you."

"The battle ground will be at Namimori Chuu, late at night. We will explain the details there. We will be waiting for you at eleven o'clock tomorrow evening. Farewell."

Xanxus had to push Cielo harshly to get him to get his hunting gaze off the female twin before retreating back to the forest with his posse.

It was Tsuna's turn to look silently pissed and she could see her life flash before her eyes. Tsuri groaned.

"You and I are going to have a talk about your recklessness."

Their talk at home was going to consist more of yelling than some heart to heart.

But why wait? She was already being chewed out by Tsuna. Yamamoto and Gokudera had strayed feet away, unsure as to how to approach their boss with this new and unknown side to him as a sibling.

Reborn was the only one making a mental note to make sure to weaponize this side of Tsuna whenever the time came to let Tsuri have it. This moment was said time.

...

...

When Tsuri planned their parent to children conversation she didn't expect to have it out in the openness of their porch while their mother gave the kids a bath after their played-in the first excuse.

Their dad was enjoying another good swig of his cold drink. Tsuna sat in the middle and Tsuri on the other side, resembling a scared squirrel about to get fur reaped by Tsuna's shears of anger.

Tsuna took another breath of air after the massive rambling he'd presented. "I want you to explain what you couldn't. You're number two?!"

Iemitsu sighed. "I'm sure your tutor has explained that our family is tied to the Vongola by blood?"

"He did," Tsuri said averting her eyes from the mediator. "He also said that there were others in line but they died. How is it that there are others in line for succession?"

Iemitsu rubbed his head, thinking about something hard and shook his head. "It's a Vongola secret that I can't say so openly. But those two cannot succeed the family. If they do, all hell will break loose."

"Aunt Rosemary said that your role in the Vongola wasn't a choice you had," Tsuri reminded.

"It wasn't. I didn't want to involve myself in it. Our family has had history with them, but I wanted to live my life peacefully with your mother. But… the Ninth's health became delicate and well…" Iemitsu rubbed his head. Similar to the way that Dino had confessed that he had no choice but to take on the role as boss for his father… her dad had the same body language. Like he had no choice either.

"His sons died unexpectedly. Xanxus and Cielo were known to be destructive children. He consulted with the Solleanos to see if there was a branch besides my own family that had Vongola blood. He wanted to let me live my life normally. But he had no choice. And neither did I."

"So couldn't you let at least one of choose this life?" Tsuna crossed his arms. "You had no choice. We did. And yet you took it away from us."

"Tsuna, the Vongola is your birth right—"

"Tsuri and I are just kids! We're your kids!"

Tsuri knew that Tsuna had been the silent one, observing her need for her dad to be home all the time. He came to understand exactly why she had held her tongue in telling him about his job. He was her advocate, but in reality, he had always felt the same. Somewhere deep in that kind and soft heart that he had, he had been hurt by their dad too.

Extroverted Sawada Iemitsu with his go lucky personality. Tsuna never inherited it. Tsuri had it as a kid but for certain circ*mstances it had been cut from her whole self. It was always being aggressive, defensive and angry at the world. She didn't want that for Tsuna now.

"I won't let you bring her into this whole life either! She's already risked her life enough for us by even holding in this secret. You have to get her out of this."

"You all gave verbal vows of agreement. It is out of my hands now."

Tsuna was pulling on his hair in stress. "Agh!"

"Tsuna…" Tsuri sat cross legged, facing him and their father. "Don't ask for something impossible. I'm the one who accepted it."

"Even if you did! Like I said earlier, don't just bet your life so recklessly like that!" Tsuna's eyes were turning glassy. Though a coward and weak most of his life, Tsuri knew that Tsunayoshi was stronger than her in every aspect. He was called a loser and a failure but he couldn't be farther from it. How much love her twin had for her and everyone else despite whining about it daily. It was a rare trait that rarely anyone had.

His desire to protect those he loved. It was overwhelming sometimes.

"You lectured Gokudera-kun about it! So why can't you view your life more importantly too! You're my sister!"

He had a point. Gokudera was able to now view his life as valuable. That Anya person in her weird static states had been lectured about it too. Had Tsuri been that blind to keep hers close to herself too?

"I can see why she's struggled to. Tsukairi's just like you."

"Huh?"

Their father let out a deep chuckle. "You're twins Tsuna! You have a weird connection to each other so why haven't you noticed? You're both so selfless and dedicated. Tsuri's always acted like the older sibling toward you, even though she's not. She'll do anything to protect those she loves. Just like you." Iemitsu raised himself from his seat and approaches his children . He patted their heads gently.

"It really is long overdue…I'm sorry for letting you take the burden so young Tsukairi. I'm sorry for not being here when you both needed me. But I'm here now. I'll do the utmost that I can to make sure harm does not befall any of you. I promise it on my life."

Tsuri swore years ago that if an apology ever came their way, she would flat out reject it and hate their dad forever. He deserved as much for everything he'd put them through. But Tsuri had failed to see his own perspective on the matter. It wasn't that he didnt love his family. He treasured them so much that their father took drastic measures and risked his life daily to keep them out of the mafia's sights until he couldn't. He still did.

He protected her as a child, and though traumatic, he had done everything in his power to keep her out of harms way.

He was a sh*tty dad still, but he had always protected them in his own way, even if it looked selfish to them.

Tsuri covered her eyes so they couldn't see how red they were turning. "It still doesn't make everything okay…"

"I know…"

" You owe us a whole lifetime of apologies. Like hell I'm forgiving you fight away too."

"A whole lot."

Tsuna watched as Tsuri let out a sob, one that she had held in for so long, come out leaking like a collapsed roof. It had freaked out Nana, Bianchi and the kids so much that they ran out to check the scene out and make sure someone hadn't died.

A daughter and son embracing the father they'd longed to have present, trying to make up for it now.

"Oh dear," Nana smiled lovingly. "They've finally made up!"

"She's a crybaby too isn't she she?" Bianchi commented, earning giggles from the mother.

Reborn watched the scene, satisfied by the result.

'Do you think that Tsukairi has the strength to face her inner demons?'Rosemary had asked him days ago. She'd come to talk to him about her observations with her and Iemitsu and how dismissive she was toward him.'It could stunt her growth.'

Reborn wasn't worried one bit. Like he said before, both twins made up for what they each lacked. If Tsuna hadn't stepped up for her then maybe Tsuri would've remained locked tight with her thoughts and suffered in silence.

"Tsuna, protect your sister too okay? You're the older brother."

"Hah? She's always been stronger though!" Tsuna blushed. "I-I'll try to train harder though."

Tsuri tackled her twin into another hug, and Tsuna reciprocated it with all the care he dwelled within. "I know you will. I'll make sure to do good too and promise you that I'll win. You make sure you do!"

Tsuna could feel the pressure maximizing. There was no way he'd think about such a thing, but for Tsuri's comfort, he'd suck this one up.

Chapter 21: Sun Rays and Smoke

Chapter Text

T he angel who had been present in Anya and Emile's second chances being granted, stared blankly below in the universe's lens of different timelines and worlds.

In the Katekyo Hitman world, everything was going okay as could be.

Except the fact that Emile was acting out of sorts. Ever since the Varia had busted Xanxus out of the ice the Ninth had held him in, that illusionist baby had picked up on Emile's supposed memory loss and did some swirly hypnotic thing.

"Have they done this to you often below?"

The actual soul of Cielo diAzzure sitting on a beach chair adjusted his halo and shrugged, continued sipping on his seventh piña colada of the hour. "They do this sh*t when they need me to do some of their dirty work."

"And it worked on Emile?!"

"Goes to show that the kid's mental barrier is still weak. Loser."

The angel really should've asked the Higher Up to check on the book of souls to confirm that Real Cielo deserved to even be up here. "Is he still conscious?"

"He should be. I learned right breaking the trance in a week. Mist flames can be a real pain in the ass. Mammon's especially."

"What can Emile do!? If he meets Anya— I mean Tsuri this way he'll regret it."

The empty sipping of the boy's cup aggravated rhetorical angel more. "He's me now. He's either going to have to figure it on his own, or ask for help. When I'm in this mode, I tend to go on murder mode."

"Anya… Emile… I pray that this can be solved!"

What did it mean to be a Vongola Guardian? What was the whole concept of being a Star Guardian or even fitting the role?

Whydidshe deserve the Mezza role?

A lot had happened in these past few days. She could barely remember the studying from the night before too. What was that description Reborn gave her last week again?

"The diamond in the night sky that leads the troubled to their haven and illuminates their path, the Ring of the Star and Starry Sky Pendant. You are the second boss of the Vongola, Vongola Mezza."

"You are the protector of the Sky. You burn bright, as equal as it does.'

"Sawada-san?"

Tsuri smacked her hands on her own secretary desk, unsure where to go with her thoughts from here. She'd decided to skip classes by telling their teacher that Hibari had asked her to file student records. It was successfully permitted. That's what she loved about the job. Hibari was so feared that even being tied to him somehow had its benefits.

She wasn't wrong, she had neglected her job for a few days and needed to catch up swiftly. Thank Nami that Hibari was still training with the Cavallone boss or she was sure he'd had hung her by her toes outside Namimori's roof if he'd found out that she'd gathered dust on her desk duties. She gave a silent prayer to Dino's body too, which was probably already falling apart.

"Kusa-san, can you promise that you won't tell Hibari-san that I missed a couple of days?" She held her hands out in prayer mode. Unlike the boss of the committee, the vice president had a kinder and more understanding nature. She wondered how someone like Kusakabe Tetsuya ended up dedicating his whole body and soul for the Demon of Namimori. And agreed to the funky haircut.

Said vice president sighed. "I can't lie Sawada-san."

"Please? Just this once!" Puppy eyes were activated. The older person sighed again, dropping off yet a few forms needed for review on her desk before nodding and closing the reception room door to go patrol.

The weather was getting chillier the more the days passed. The windows were open to let the breeze in. Hibari's preference probably since he liked his surrounding to be restricted free.

Befitting of a cloud guardian. Isolated, floating alone. The way it covered the sky massively whenever it decided to affect the weather in one go…

Tsuri plopped her face on her desk, watching the bare trees outside sway with the wind. See,thatwas the way descriptions fit the right person. Hibari Kyoya fit his role as cloud guardian, even reluctant to crowd. What kind of qualities did she hold that made her star-like?

Was she supposed to be dancing around in a frilly skirt and decorated sparkles like one of those idols on TV to be a star? Was she supposed to be shinier? How the hell was she supposed to do that, lather herself with oil? These ideas just worsened her lack of sleep. She rubbed her eyes to rid them of the itch to take a nap.

Tsuri had dreamt something weird again last night. She couldn't remember the dream, but it had definitely made her brain all fumbly and fuzzy by the way the familiar pricks of static were creeping through like crashing ocean waves.

One minute or hour, she could tell an Anya static attack would pop up and leave her looking dumb yet again. She wondered if she should tell Tsuna or Reborn about it. Maybe it was another weird ability she had. Peering into another person's memories as if they were her own.

She peered over to a hung quote on the other side of the reception room, by the Namimori's row of past classes who have graduated over the years. There was a quote, who knew who put it there, in handmade calligraphy.

'The soul is a wanderer, traveling the realm of time and space to seek enlightenment.' - unknown

Had that always been there? Why'd she have a feeling that not even the leader of the Disciplinary Committee would have an idea of this being displayed here?

She face planted on the desk again, a headache forming. The universe was either giving her some form of message, or she was being driven crazy.

The first ring battle was tonight. Reborn said her job was to give pep talks to each guardian before each fight. How the hell was she going to do that when she couldn't even give herself one?

"Be the guiding light my ass," she muttered grabbing a pen and a stack of painfully looking paperwork. "All these adults do is order us around without any help."

She paused, reading the first one. Her lips formed a straight line once she saw the yellow sticky note on the upper left corner.

'Get the permission slip signed by the Committee before the school day ends or else.' -Reborn

She urged to crumple that little self drawn figure of said tutor with a peace sign.

Eyes everywhere. Never time for herself, even when in self crisis.

...

It was lunch time, and she wanted all the thinking and reason to end so, the brunette decided to search for her friends and Tsuna in the classroom. She wasn't going to miss out on one of their rooftop meals. After all this mafia chaos, she was still 14 and a student after all. She needed to bask in the whole circle of youth Reborn was so keen on having them live.

She slid the class door with a yawn and found Kyoko and Hana by Tsuna's desk. The boy looked troubled, and just a tad worse than how she'd been earlier. She didn't want to interrupt, Tsuna thought any time with Kyoko was sacred, but before she turned her indoor shoes straight to the path up, his shakes caramel eyes met with hers, as if his twin radar went off without her even making noise.

She should have taken her lunch with her at the reception room better. Anything was better than sharing turmoil with her twin.

"Ah, Tsuri."

"Hi," she lifted a palm casually in greeting. Her mind was way into her own self analyzation from earlier that she could t even muster a more honest reaction toward Tsuna. His eyebrows ruffled in annoyance. She shrugged at him silently. What the hell did he want her to do, look happy go lucky like their father?

"Tsuri-chan!" Kyoko greeted. Hana acknowledged the wave with that teeny tiny smile that peeked out when she saw fit. She wondered if she was the only one out of the whole friend group that earned that reaction from her.

"What's up with your brother?"

"What's up?" Tsuri's eyes moved side to side, making Tsuna's eyebrow twitch at Hana's comment. "Am I missing something here?"

"Tsuri-chan, do you know if there is anything going on with my older brother?" Kyoko's eyes blinked in worry. That was rare. Usually the orange haired girl was full of life and sunshine.

"Ryohei-senpai?"

"I was trying to see if anyone knew anything about what he's been doing," she continued. "He's been training harder than he normally does. It's something that I know has nothing to do with boxing."

Her gaze was literally dripping with concern and Tsuna was struggling to process it. "Do you know what it might be?"

'Did onii-san not tell her about it at all?'

Tsuri drew closer, giving him an incredulous reaction.'Would you have told me if I were in her shoes?'

Tsuna pressed his lips together.'Maybe not. It's all my fault. What can I say?'

Hana and Kyoko shared their confusion with each other at the silent communication the twins displayed on a daily basis. "Ah, sorry if the question was random. I just thought you might know something."

'I can't let him fight. This might be a mistake.'

'Tsuna…'

"Actually Kyoko-chan, your brother's been—"

"Sumo wrestling!"

"Ryohei-senpai," Tsuri jumped back. How had he entered without a sound?

"Onii-chan!"

"I'm going to have a sumo match with Gokudera and Yamamoto. I'm training for it, thats all!"

"Eh? Sumo?" Hana looked skeptical. "Don't tell me Tsuna's going to join too, Tsuri."

She hated these lies. How Kyoko believed them was beyond her really.

"That's what I came to do!" The older Sasagawa sibling grabbed Tsuna by the neck. "Sawada, you should join us! You too Sawada-chan!"

"Sumo's for men, senpai. Either way, don't worry Kyoko. The match will be on close watch. The Disciplinary committee just approved the permission slip for it. I'll be their representative tonight in monitoring the match."

"You'restillHibari-san's secretary?"

"A job I'll probably end up dying in before high school," the girl muttered under her breath.

"Senpai, now that you're here, can we discuss the details? It's just some things like the score board and whatnot."

Ryohei took it as a sign for an explanantion and dragged Tsuna out.

"Must be a difficult job Tsuri-chan. Please watch over my brother!" Kyoko said. Her worry was finally gone. Fuihei sure did a good job in lying to make sure Kyoko didn't hassle him too much about what he did. But then again, if she'd been in her position, she'd try hovering into Tsuna's business if he were pushing himself over the edge.

"I promise Kyoko. I'll see you for classes later. Don't get so suspicious Hana. It's just boys being boys."

The dark haired female was too observant. Another good quality that Kyoko needed in a best friend too. "Uh-huh," was all she said.

...

Ryohei had explained that all his lying stemmed from making sure Kyoko didn't get tied up into his future conflicts. After having her held hostage by some older students as a kid, he'd gotten into a fight and almost had his head split open. The scar on his left eyebrow was his reminder. Kyoko still had lingering guilt by what happened that day, which is why Ryohei created assurances for her to believe.

"I'm sure that as an older brother yourself, you'll understand how I feel Sawada," he told Tsuna. "My little sister is everything to me. There's nothing wrong with not telling her."

"Then make sure you win," Tsuri chimed in, adjusting her long hair into a simple ponytail. "As a little sister myself, I worry too. Turn that care into motivation. I'm sure if you think of Kyoko as you're fighting, even in a pinch it'll help you."

Tsuna co*cked his head to the side. Ryohei seemed amused. "Exactly my thinking Sawada-chan! Thanks for the faith you have in me. I won't lose! Your sister's awesome Sawada!"

Tsuna sighed, Tsuri's eyes burning his sides.'Are you psycho-analyzing me now?'

'The pressure feels bad I know.'Tsuri put a hand to his shoulder and shined a toothy grin. "We got this. We're all in this together. Let's give it our best shot, yeah?"

"To the extreme Sawada!"

"Y-Yeah."

...

...

...

Chasing Lambo around the house and playing with him came second worse to training. The tiny cow had stamina to spend even during the evening. Kids needed lesser naps. The more they did, the less anyone older would have time to relax.

Because Lambo was a guardian, he had to come with them in the ring battles. Tsuri was still pissed at Reborn for hiding it but she didn't feel like arguing with him about it anymore. It was deadly and risky. So, she took it upon herself to be responsible for his well being while Tsuna took the fronts in all this. He was the main character in all of this after all. She didn't need to take charge in anything of the sort. Not until her own battle of course.

The nights were darker during the winter. Thankfully their school had bright lights so it was easy to spot the boys inside. By them was the Sawada's Aunt Rosemary too. Was it just their imagination or was one of her hands bandaged up?

"Hey Tsuna! Tsuri!" Yamamoto waved them over.

"Sorry we're late!" Tsuri apologized.

"You're never on time anywhere…" Gokudera complained. She took a breath of air.

Tsuri carried herself over to her trainer with Lambo in her arms. She pointed at her arm. "What happened? You were missing yesterday."

"Got a call from the homeland. Gave a late warning on your opponents being in Japan and got myself nearly chopped into sushi," Rosemary rested her hand on her waist, where her katana was placed. "Your dad caught me up. I'm just here as a bodyguard so don't mind me."

"You need to touch up on your senses Rosemary."

"Get off my back Reborn. Not all of us are gifted with abilities such as yours."

Abilities? Reborn coughed, driving the conversation to an end.

"We're still missing people huh?" Yamamoto looked around. "Should we still wait?"

"The Mist Guardian hasn't even shown up yet. Where the hell are they?"

"Yeah Reborn," Tsuri narrowed her eyes. "Will you end up telling us who they are? Don't tell me they're a child too."

"I'm not that insensitive either Baka-Tsuri. Get over it. Surprises will stay surprises unless I decide when to reveal it."

Reborn seriously needed to stop being so suspenseful all the time. It was exhausting to keep up with.

"Aren't the Varia here yet?"

"We've been on stand-by."

The Cervello women were standing literally on the edges of their school building, with the Varia near as well. Hibari would have itched to bite with how their footprints were soiling their walls.

Also, how was it that the Cervello were present with the Varia. Tsuri had a feeling that either they were being bribed, or something worse was going on.

"After an official conference, the battle order for tonight's ring conflict has been decided. The first match will be between the Guardians of the Sun Ring."

The one with green hair and shades stepped up, as did Ryohei. She could spot the brat in blue click his tongue in disappointment.

"We will now begin the tournament of the successor. Please direct your attention this way."

There was a big ring set on the grounds, almost like one that could be seen in real-time boxing matches on their TV. It was literally Ryohei's own matching grounds.

"….So they throw money away like that huh?" Tsuri's knees went weak.

"Of course. Things like these are expensive after all," the prince across from them said. "Not like it matters to you."

"Investments are always made for the winning side after all," the hooded baby scoffed.

"Is the boss here? I want to show him my golden hour!"

"He's a no show. He probably has better things to do than watch a half assed match like this— VOI why are you even glaring at me you piece of sh*t!"

"Cut it out Levi," Cielo had popped up from behind Squalo with a huff. "It's Lussuria's match, not yours. Kiss ass."

"Someone's glaring atyou, Mammon."

" I know. He's not even a guardian. I should charge him a fee just for being here."

Tsuri followed their direction. They were talking about Reborn. And truthfully he was glaring. Almost like if he weren't restricted by all the Vongola rules and regulations, he would've actually lunged at the other baby and strangled him.

Arcobaleno. What influence did they have in the mafia world anyways?

"Focus on the match," she heard Reborn say darkly. "Don't start sticking your nose in wondering about my business and issues with others."

'Fine. Geez.'

With a huddle of friendship and a knocked out Lambo, the twins, Yamamoto and Gokudera let Ryohei go into the ring and begin his fight.

The vibes were entirely different to their first fights from months ago. To this, it felt like child's play.

The Kokuya Gang were children affected by the mafia and dedicated to destroying it.

The Varia were Vongola assassins, trained and raised in the life of mafia. The direct source and had developed skill that Tsuri was sure they had yet to achieve.

The Varia's Sun guardian had slipped off his fur coat and when Ryohei took off his shirt, he started wiggling weirdly.

"Oh my! Now that I look a lot closer, you have a pretty good body! You're just my type!"

Say what?

"…What did he just say?" Gokudera's eye twitched.

"I dunno…" muttered Tsuna.

"I'm taking you home with me~" Lussuria said more provocatively with a smooch.

The boys were wearing blue lines under their eyes. Except Yamamoto who just blinked and laughed.

"This son of a bitch," she could hear Cielo say in displeasure. "Fight already you horny whor*!"

"H-Horny?!"

Tsuri put a hand to her face. "His preferences are definitely unique I admit. Senpai does have a good figure. If I were a guy I'd probably compliment him too. Frustration at its finest."

Gokudera turned his head slowly in horror.

"Tsuri!" Tsuna yelled louder than intended, his face red with embarrassment. "Why are you saying that?"

"Hey, I'm not judging. Better to be out of the closet than in right?"

Reborn shrugged, amused at the way Tsuna's whole self was growing more timid the more this conversation escalated. Even the Varia were watching the twins in their own amused and disgusted way.

"Closet?" Yamamoto hummed. "Is it the choice in clothes that made him admire Senpai? I'd agree with Tsuri!"

"Yamamoto!"

"Are you out of your mind! Women shouldn't say things so shamelessly like that!" Gokudera shouted too.

"You boys need to get over it. The world's colorful. End of story. Ryohei-senpai, this dude is a pedo anyways, so just focus on the match!"

Lussuria's face twisted into one of immense hate at the comment. "Ugly little girl—! Wait until I knee you with my Muay Thai when I win!"

"At least I'm not a pedophile!" Tsuri shouted. The comment at least made someone on the opposite side smirk. It was Cielo. When Tsuri noticed, he made sure to erase it before she saw it.

The match proceeded swiftly and with beginning troubles. The ring had some heated lamps on the roof, rendering everyone's vision, including Ryohei's. Without his line of sight, he couldn't aim properly to throw a punch.

Reborn had handed them some sunglasses to keep up with the match.

Lussuria had lifted himself into the air, aiming a shiny metal part placed on the top of his knees and when Ryohei's fist made contact with it, he collapsed onto the floor.

"Goes to show that a kid like you cant fit the sun guardian's description. Like the sun, I reflected adversity back to you. My left knee has a metallic knee guard composed of steel. You won't be able to use that fist anymore."

"Ack!"

"Senpai!"

"Onii-san!"

"Get up turf-top!"

"Stand up, kora!"

"Colonello?!" the twins shouted at the same time, confused as to how the new party had entered without being detected. He hovered above with his aid, Falco, above them all.

"Sorry I'm late. I was kept up with Kyoko,kora."

"You were playing with Kyoko-chan again?!" Tsuna's jealousy seeped out.

"He's staying with them?" Tsuri asked in surprise, not expecting the baby to have taken refuge in her friend's home.

'Playing with her, taking baths with her…'

"Okay, and you're telling me I'm too much!" Tsuri slapped Tsuna on the back to bring him back to reality. "Get your head out of the gutter you hormonal teenager!"

"Still as aggressive as as ever, kora."

"Nice to see you too Colonello. Please don't kick me."

Tsuri decided to back away a bit from the match and looked around. Besides the Cervello, weren't there supposed to be people on posts, watching and making sure the school was surrounded? She went to ask Rosemary from the back. She gestured over deeper into the school. Her dad and Basil waved.

Seems like no other guards but her own relatives and a subordinate. They could afford a custom made ring but not guards. Insane.

"Between you and me, our bodies were sculpted differently. You won't hold out much longer under these lights. Hurry and give up and join my collection," Tsuri heard Lussuria say when she came back to her original position.

Ryohei had good strategies. He used his dehydrated state and had hardened his own sweat to pop the lights. Their sunglasses were no longer needed, but because Lussuria's fast movements were blinding and too quick, he still couldn't get a clean shot without his well saved and conditioned right fist meeting the metal knee again.

Another swift kick to the stomach and Ryohei was now collapsed on the ground, struggling to move.

Confidence. Ryohei was fierce and had energy that ardently desired to be used. Tsuri didnt interact with him as much as Tsuna did, but she could see the traits.

The auras she had decided to quit using was letting her see an oozing yellow coming from his body in bits, like jumping micros of the salt he'd used earlier. Wisps of golden bright yellow. Like sunrays.

Ryohei couldn't lose. If he did then what would they tell Kyoko?

"Oi Lussuria! Hurry up and end the match before I end up charging you a fee!"

"Uishishishishi… too easy."

"No!" yelled Tsuna.

"ONII-CHAN!" came a cry. Kyoko and Hana had also snuck inside the school. Tsuri did tell her she was 'observing' the match tonight so it was her fault that she let it slip. Even more so Colonello for abruptly leaving without even telling her where he was headed. He was a baby after all.

Didn;t act like one and yet looked like one.

"Kyoko? What are you doing here!" Tsuri ran over to her.

"Even I-pin?!" yelled Tsuna as he tried to lead himself away from panicking. He was met with Iemistu and Basil. "D-DAD?"

"The ladies were looking for Colonello, so we escorted them."

"Dad! This match isn't for them to see!" Tsuri objected, conflicted whether to guide them away, or apologize profusely.

Kyoko decided for her own and sprinted toward the ring. Tsuri was able to stop her from touching it before something more drastic happened.

"Why, onii-chan? You're hurt!" Lussuria kneeled down to meet her, Tsuri's eyes slanted down dangerously, urging him to make a wrong move and touch her before he lost an eye.

"Ara? Are you this boy's sister? You came at a perfect time! IYour "brother lost to me in a fight and I was just about to finish him." Lussuria was now laughing, the pleasure evident in his tone at the way Kyoko's worry stood out.

'Reborn!' Tsuri looked over to him pleadingly.'What do I do? I can't let her get involved!'

Reborn shrugged, his own way of telling her to figure it out on her own. She hated that sometimes.

"Onii-chan stop! You promised that you wouldn't fight anymore!"

Tsuna was still panicked out, but he sighed. 'She still thinks it's a regular fight.'

'But still—!'

The prickling in her brain. Tsuri groaned. What bad timing did this Anya memory play have on her mind.

Her body wanted to sway and Kyoko momentarily paused to check to see if she was alright. She could hear Tsuna's vague voice in her head but it was being drowned out.

Tsuri put a hand on her forehead, trying to force play the signal than resist it.

'Anya! Why are you bleeding! You said you wouldn't get into fights anymore!'

It was the voice of a little boy this time. Usually it was Anya's older sisters that participated in this whole movie play. Now it was someone younger, with the same kind of green eyes the red-head had. She couldn't tell how old the two were. All she could see was that Anya had been hiding behind a garden fountain and was putting some sort of makeup on below her right eye.

'Go inside Emile. I'm not in the mood.'

'Did those bullies at school gang up on you again? Didn't Kristen tell you she'd pick you up?'

'Mother took her car away because of the stunt she pulled for me yesterday. She'll do something to you if you don't go.'

Emile hadn't listened. Instead, he snatched the contour and puff from her hands and sat next to his older sister. Tsuri could tell that Anya had waves of anger at not being listened to, and yet the love she held for the boy overruled it.

'You're the one who told off Louis for me didnt you? On the mural I made for the contest next week'

No reply. Then a deep breath. 'I tried to protect your hard work. I don't understand how Mother allows these entitled pricks to squash down tour dreams.'

Tsuri saw Emile shake his head. 'Did you at least win?'

'No boy has got anything on me Emile. I hope you know that.'

Tsuri opened her eyes to meet Kyoko's own. She was now using her hands as a support into her own, almost as if silently begging her to help her stop her brother's madness.

Siblings came in different shapes and circles. Fights were unavoidable sometimes with or for them. In Anya's case, she fought for her little brother and he just accepted it without any protest other than letting her know he cared.

Tsuna hadn't ever wanted to take the older brother role, because he let his insecurities make him think he couldn't do it. Tsuri didn't tell him, but the majority of the injuries she'd sustained in her history were mainly for him. Though not always inflicted by his dunderheaded bullies. She went out of her way for her brother. Because she loved him so dearly.

In the Sasagawa circle, Kyoko was a girl who gave her heart and soul for those close to her. She befriended her despite Tsuri being a loudmouth and aggressive in nature. Her brother was hot-blooded and faced adversity head on like a wall to bust. Her hands were cold and Tsuri wished she could be the voice of reason. But she was alike to Ryohei and Anya in this area.

"Tsuri, please don't let Kyoko near!" Hana yelled from a distance. "It's too risky!"

Tsuri took a deep breathe, risking losing her friendship to the only person that had accepted her but both girls watched as Ryohei shifted a bit and raise himself slowly.

"Kyoko…I know I promised that I wouldn't fight anymore back when I had my head split open by that bully in grade school. But remember that my promise, I said something else too. If me fighting would only cause you to cry…" the appointed sun guardian raised his whole body. That yellow aura was now brighter and more prominent, and bright. Almost… like sun rays peeking out after an eclipse. "I promised that I wouln't lose!"

Ryohei tunred over his hsoulder to give Tsuri a shiny sun-like smiile. It was a rougher one, but it was an exact one that Kyoko wore on a daily basis. It made her feel warm. "Sawada-chan, thank you for the reminder!"

"Eh? Tsuri blinked.'What did I do?'Tsuri guided Kyoko back with an apologetic expression.

"Kyoko, I'm sorry. I didnt mean to step in but…" She watched as Ryhei charged his attack and smash the next attack Lussuria threw his way once more. Tsuna and the rest watched in amazement at Ryohei securing his win after being put through literal blind punches. The smile that he wore let Tsuri see that bonds had everything to do with their inner strength.

"Your brother is extremely cool. You're lucky to have someone like him."

With the match now won and with Lussuria out of commission, thank goodness that the girls had been dragged away by Colonello the first 5 minutes of it ending. That metal massive robot had shot down their Varia member after he refused to hand the ring over.

The Varia were a different breed of people. And it infuriated Tsuri to see how they disregarded each other.

'Trash.'

Like literal worthless pieces in a game, Tsuri thought in hearing Xanxus's voice echo in her head.

Everything got wrapped up quickly, the boxing ring collapsed after its function and the Varia was taking their leave.

One however stood across the damaged rubble with his hands crossed over his chest, while the people in the back were celebrating and making sure Ryohei's body wasn't totaled completely.

"This one win doesn't mean sh*t," the kid glared.

"Tough luck," Tsuri barked back, not able to shake the familiarity his green eyes were making her feel. Like she'd seen them somewhere else. "Tell your sh*tty brother that we're not gonna be easy to take down."

"Heh," Cielo gritted his teeth, adjusting his oversized Varia jacket back in its place. "I'll make you eat your words Scarface. If I were you, I'd make sure that my weakness isn't put into a pathetic display so out in the open."

Her eyebrows furrowed, not liking where the conversation was going and the fact that Cielo had seen her trauma attack even before that Lightning asshole arrived. She'd need to up her intuitions reaction. "What do you mean?"

The Cervello had stuck around to give one more announcement.

"Tonight's round has no come to a close, however based on tonight's results, we will announce the next challengers. Accordingly to the order, the next match will feature the Guardians of…"

"Lightning."

"This match is offically concluded. We shall meet tomorrow night for the next match."

Tsuri searched for Lambo's sleeping figure on the ground, Cielo's maniacal laugh resounding all over the school until he too vanished like air.

Lambo… this tiny little person… he was next?

"Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko had run back. She shook her head. Just how attached was Kyoko to Ryohei? This was the fist time she'd seen her object so strongly in leaving him alone.

"Kyoko-chan!" yelled Tsuna in surprise.

"Tsuna-kun…tell me the truth! What was my brother doing?"

Tsuna swore he'd get sick from this cold air by all the unnatural sweating coming out of his body.

'Help! Tsuri!'

He gestured over to her, Kyoko followed and Tsuri averted in being put in the middle by picking up Lambo from the floor. The child didnt stir despite it having it been noisy a few moments before.

'Traitor!'

'I took the first half when she was here while you were busy! This is all you!'

.

"Uh…well…ah…um…"

"Tsuna-kun!"

"It was a Sumo Contest." Tsuri sweat dropped at Gokudera, yamamoto and Reborn butting in to saye the day with the same lie Ryohei had followed with earlier in the day. She ran her fingers on her face to stop herself from letting her lips stretch out by how stupid it sounded. Boys were definitely so stupid. And yet she appreciated just how much they were doing to keep her friend's thoughts from going haywire.

She walked over by Gokudera's empty left, silently gesturing him with her eyes to say something more convincing than just repeating what Ryohei said.

"It's a hybrid form of sumo done in a ring," Gokudera told her to stop.

"It's "gaining popularity on the underground circuit. Pretty good fight today, huh, kid?" Yamamoto grinned.

"Yeah." Said Reborn.

Gokudera was known to be fairly intelligent in their class considering his straight A's. A miracle but nonetheless he was a credible person to believe.

Yamamoto was just a go with the flow type of dude, but he was also convincing since he was into sports, which included him into the circle of jock like Ryohei.

Reborn was just believable and she didn't know what made him so but she wasn't complaining.

"Eh? Really, that's all?" Kyoko's eyes didnt leave Tsuri alone and she sighed, feeling a drop of sweat running down her neck.

"That's why the Disciplinary Committee needed me and the guys here. It's a new form that Ryohei-senpai's club is trying to integrate. R-Right?"

Ryohei had definite bruises all over his chest and she was sure it was worse on his fists. Regardless, the older brother smiled and walked toward his little sister, urging her home with him.

"We're going home, Kyoko."

The lie worked once again as Kyoko hugged Tsuri as a thank you.

"Thank you," Tsuri mouthed to the other two by them. Gokudera clicked his tongue and Yamamoto scratched his nose, saying it wasn't a big deal.

"Oi."

"What?"

"You hesitated back there. You were going to tell her something she wasn't going to like, were you?"

She stiffened. How was Gokudera Hyato becoming more observant? Was he analyzing her body language or something now? Wasn't he obsessed with Tsuna?

She groaned softly, her grip on Lambo got unconsciously tighter, but couldn't hide the embarrassment on her face. "You noticed."

"You're alike with Juudaime in that area," Gokudera was still refusing to meet her eye to eye. A pause.

"What did that bastard say to you over there?"

Point of weakness. This was going to get into something she refused to talk about, even with Tsuna. Tsuri shook her head, and the silver-head didn't miss the way the copy's eyes grew cloudy. He huffed, and chose not to press the issue, but it was going to be something that he was sure was going to get in the way of the next day's match, and Juudaime could not afford to have anyone ruin their chances at winning. Even if it were the stupid cow.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Ryohei put the sun ring halves together, handing it to Tsuna for keeping before deciding to leave everything to rest and go home with his sister. Gokudera and Yamamoto followed suit, even though one of them wanted to linger behind and ask about what that seaweed brain diAzzure said to Tsuri.

The sigh of relief didn't last long. Iemitsu, who had been fine seconds ago was now wearing a strange and frightening expression that literally could have chilled her as firm as ice on the spot. Basil had backed away from his master and stood as still as a rock next to Rosemary who had a hand to her face.

"You're definitely not ready to date yet Tsukairi. I forbid it."

"What the hell are you going on about!?" Tsuri backed away with a red face. "That's not even related to what just happened right now!"

Her dad did breathe in before reverting back to his usual expression. "Tsuna does have a harem of girls trailing behind him so I'm not surprised that you're in that stage too. He seems like a fine young man."

"Who the hell are you talking about?!"

"Dad! Don't give her any ideas. Like hell she's ready for dating."

"And you are?! Talk about being jealous by a baby who takes bath with your crush! Dad, get that expression off your face! Reborn, do something!"

"The men in your life may be losers, but they definitely are overprotective," Reborn jumped on her shoulder and tutted. "Your future husband is going to have a handful."

"What is this conversation for f*ck's sake!" Tsuri decided to sprint home before she gave one of her family members a concussion.

On person did pop into her mind as she thought about what her dad said, before smacking her cheeks into next year and wishing that it never came up in the first place.

Stupid fathers.

...

...

...

Later that night…

She was appalled. Scared for her life, appalled, shocked and many emotions in between. How had she ended up in this place?

After taking the bath first and running away from a still pissed off Tsuna, she'd locked her room from the inside. She had forgotten to leave Lambo and I-pin in their room. She was too scared to leave her bubble with her brother acting like a lion and with no reason, so she set up some pillows on her carpeted floor, and decided to sleep with them for once.

It had been some good sleep, with some weird dreams she couldn't remember coming back every time she went deeper. There was a snapping noise, some pink smoke coming from all corners of herself and when she woke up she found herself in a new place, and it definitely was not Japan since it was still around midnight. Her original room window was smaller than this, and it should still be dark. Instead, this one was showing warm-sunlight from a massive see-through window the size of a literal door.

She clutched her baby blue pajama top, caramel eyes moving from side to side, unsure of what just happened but trying her best to make out the location where she'd be. Bed under, check. By the big size, maybe queen. Room doors and massive amounts of space. It's like the dream-room she'd wished long ago in her imagination that she'd have in a mansion when and if she became rich when she'd be older.

Huh.

She let out a cough, waving out the remains of pink smoke and it dawned on her.

Pink smoke. Lambo.

Ten-year bazooka.

The comforter and sheets felt expensive too and Tsuri was now wishing that this was an actual dream than a literal time travel. She scrambled on the bed, unsure if she should even move until the five minutes were up. She curled into the headboard behind her, her hands noticing a mass under the sheets.

All her limbs were intact. What was it?

Like rattling metal, she turned her head slowly to her right, afraid to see a massive bug or wild animal. Instead it was an arm.

The body was resting on a wooden chair, the person's face and upper half collapsed on the queen bed and snoring softly. By the clothes, she could tell it was a well-tailored and expensive suit, and she could peek out a somewhat faded red tie loosely hanging from their neck.

She poked the suit's arm. They moved ever so slightly and with a start, Tsuri recognized the familiar form as a man lying in front of her. He looked… normal, relaxed like always, but there was a tension around his jaw and his shoulders as well. His brows were furrowed though, they seemed almost soft looking, somehow.

Tsuri let her hand hover above him in hesitation before shaking his shoulder gently.

"Oi. Helloooo... Wakey Wakey..."

He didn't stir at all. His eyes did flutter momentarily, as if to fight off sleep and wakefulness before opening again. The man looked so exhausted that she couldn't help but feel sympathy for him.

It must be horrible waking up with no sense of reality. Maybe it was just one of those nights?

His expression changed to one of alarm when he saw her observe him like a deer in headlights.

Literal deer in headlights because she knew this person.

Her mind reeled back to the past image of him, and this older version just... Tsuri wished her expressions gave away her emotions easily but she found her whole neck and the tips of her ears grow increasingly hot.

There were traces of piercing and earrings sitting on the earlobes, something she'd definitely had thought would suit him best if he got older and strikingly more attractive than he already was.

"S... Tsuri?" His voice sounded hoarse. "Whuh.. what happened…?" He blinked rapidly, rubbing his eyes with both hands. "Ugh, my head hurts..."

Good. He was still half asleep. He still hadn't noticed her yet. She needed to pull herself together. It was only five minutes. Five stinking torturing minutes. Or it could be a dream instead.

The man glanced around, seeming disoriented. "Where the hell are we?"

He stared at her, then blinked a few more times before noticing some younger features in the person right in front of him.

The older version had gone to sleep in a black co*cktail dress, and she was definitely much more mature-looking.

Uh-oh. He knew. He definitely knew now. Caramel eyes blinked in a panic.

She was sooooooooo going to make Lambo pay up front for this little stunt.

Chapter 22: Wilted Star

Chapter Text

Nana knew her children. Being a full-time mother who had hawk-like tendencies and super-human skills, she was an expert with her twins. Every diaper she'd changed, every playdate, fight and project, she was there. The Sawada twins were ever so evolving in personality.

Tsunayoshi had clumsy tendencies and wasn't the smartest cookie. He was introverted and shy, but Nana knew that all those areas dissipated when Tsukairi was around. Tsuna was a natural whiner, complainer but was such a good boy.

Tsukairi was loud, and gave no effort to what she considered a waste of time. She was too outspoken, a fighter, arguer, yet never had much friends growing up either because she lacked "girlish charm." Tsuna's two-year barrier on her probably gave birth to her ever so rising aggression.

Nana loved her twins. She couldn't be more grateful to have been sent two angels who were polar opposites and similar reflections of each other.

Going back to her girl…

Sawada Tsuri never woke up early. She hated being woken up, and would rise in crankiness. Reborn-kun was helping that area, thank goodness, since he'd arrived. Nana couldn't be more grateful that the throwing pillows ceased, and yet…

What was she doing up, awake and dazed at the ceiling for?

"Ri-chan?" Nana put the bowl of gratin in front of her and sat down. "Is everything okay?"

"Hmm?" The young girl broke her trance. "Sorry Mama, did you say something?"

First thing Nana did was touch her forehead. Normal temperature. She turned her head left and right. Skin color was its usual color. She did have a trace of eyebags, and that only happened when she was occupying her free time playing her games in her room or having nightmares.

"Did you get enough sleep last night? You weren't staying up late and playing games were you?"

The daughter gently put her mother's hands down and shook her head. "I'm still waiting for the new console to come in the mail."

The mother pressed her lips together. "Are the nightmares back?"

There was a small twitch in the corner of her eyes and it appeared as if she'd been reminded about something. There was a small spike of irritation in them. "Nope. I've been sleeping fine."

'Thought last night was definitely on my top five of nightmares'Tsuri shuddered, her stomach pricking weirdly.

"Something isn't right," Nana put a hand under her chin, pondering. "You're not ill? What could it be?"

"I know Maman."

The painfully aware groan she let out audiably now that her tutor was up too made Tsuri want to bury her head down a hole.

"Ciaossu."

"Good morning Reborn-kun!"

"Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" Tsuri pouted, grabbing her food before he decided it'd be fun to knock it over and make her starve. "Like finding an evil method to wake up Tsuna or something?"

"Do you really want me to wake him up considering how the conversation was left last night? I had to hammer him to sleep by how ticked off he looked."

"About what! My goodness he's acting like I showed interest in someone already! I have more important things to focus on right now than catching feelings—" Tsuri's voice trailed off slowly.

His heart wrenching green eyes that oozed an emotion she'd never seen in him, made her whole insides swirm with unfamiliar sensations. The dark hollowed patterns under them were strained, and she could almost feel it too, like just seeing her younger self gave him a form of alleviation. He'd been facing pain and Tsuri guessed it was the worst kind. She didn't like to see him like that and never would've expected to.

There was a chuckle. And it came from Reborn and Nana.

Uh-oh. Her silence had definitely given Rebkrn the chance to whisper into her mom's ear and share whatever her dad and Tsuna were talking about last night.

"Ah so thats what it is~! Don't mind Tsuna! You should bring him over Ri-chan. I'd like to meet this boy."

Tsuri out her bowl down and let out a long minute groan, burying her whole head in her arms. What was it with this family and relationships for the love of Nami!

"I just said there was no one Kaasan— you know what I'm heading to school early. I've been skipping practice too much and it's a miracle they haven't kicked me off the soccer team yet."

"You got training straight after school!"

"I know that! Tell Tsuna I went ahead!"

"Take an umbrella Ri-chan! It's going to rain today!"

"Hai hai!"

Nana giggled to herself as she handed Reborn his daily coffee and readied more bowls for the incoming kids and Bianchi. The arcobaleno raised an eyebrow at Tsuri's racing pace to get out of her own house.

Tsuri may have her own room and the door may have been closed for a certain amount of time, but her mind had definitely been vulnerable to read. Lambo proved to be useful in some sense.

He wondered if Tsuna would like the news that Tsuri wasn't even aware of her budding attraction to Gokudera Hayato yet.

There was someone following her around, she could tell. Her hairs had stood up high since the minute she stepped out of her home, but Tsuri hadn't wanted to go back in and face more Reborn's scheming antics so she sucked it up and ran to school.

They didn't have a hostile presence and it didn't make her reach for her scrunchies at all but it was ominous. Like a prick at the back of her neck, it was an invisible sensation that her body recognized, but she didn't. Tsuri decided after classes ended for the day that if it persisted, she'd tell Reborn and have him help.

Stage 3 was put into motion. Tsuri needed to wait a bit to see if Tsuna could prepare his muscles to face the strain the Hyper Dying Will Bullet would give, but each time he closed his eyes and stretched, he'd leave it half-way, his focus trailing off over and over again.

He wasn't the only one. Tsuri still couldn't come to terms that Lambo was going to fight tonight and dreaded being there to see it.

Rosemary took charge of Tsuna today and was making sure he restarted again and again, holding an umbrella to keep herself dry from the pouring rain. Tsuri sighed for the seventh time, causing Reborn to tap her on the head with a leon shaped stick.

"Distraction isn't good for training."

"I'm really trying here you know." Tsuri swatted the stick away, not at all happy at being interrupted. "I'm trying to decide how to feel about this."

"Tsuna's worried about your state of mind as much as he is about Lambo," Reborn observed Tsuna getting katana smacked by Rosemary once again for messing up his form.

No wonder she hadn't sensed or heard his voice. Tsuna had put a mental barrier up all day to shield her from hearing their thoughts. He was also off but Tsuri just assumed it had to do with his overprotective nature.

"I want to conquer this trauma," Tsuri lifted her palms up. "But every time I remember Lambo, Futa and I-pin's near death, it puts me off." She shut her eyes hard. "Why did my dad think it was a good idea to give the responsibility of a guardian to a mere child?"

"He knows he has the potential to mature into his role when he's older."

"That's just…"

"Like how he views Tsuna and you," Reborn finished, crossing his arms. "He probably is taking this as a chance for you to face what happened to you."

"Which is why you'll be undergoing flame meditation while yourdebole di un fratellohere works on his body tolerance," Rosemary yelled over before poking her brother with her sword again. "Come on Tsunayoshi! Put your back into it!"

"You can do it Sawada-dono!" Basil encouraged with fist pumps to the air. "Its only been three hours but you can do it!"

"R-Rosemary-san is scary…" Tsuna muttered in fear as he resumed back to his stretching, and gave up again half-way. He sighed. "It's no use. I can't focus. Not like this."

Tsuri and Reborn glanced at each other before moving from their dry position under a tree.

"The Special Shot carries a high risk of death. If you keep that up, you'll be dead soon."

"Say what you want but I can't help it! I'm worried about tonight's fight!"

Tsuri held her bandaged arm, not able to meet Tsuna's eyes. She was partially responsible for this. She didn't know he was that concerned on her well being too.

"We'll postpone stage three then," Reborn stated in a neutral tone and turned around. "Let's head back home."

"Huh?" Tsuna sat on the ground, confounded by Reborn's reply. He'd usually be forcing them to use through into their training until they cried uncle. Why wasn't he doing it now?

The Solleano woman helped her nephew from the ground and handed him a dry towel from under her raincoat. She tried giving one to Tsuri too but she refused to take it, pointing at her hoodie.

"Why isn't he holding me at gunpoint…?" Tsuna asked the two women, unsure where to go from here. If he headed back home then he was sure he'd think about all of this more and drive himself into a corner.

"If you two don't talk about that bad memory in the back of your minds," their aunt began with a solemn look, "You won't survive. Your heart and mind will kill you before any special bullet can."

Before Rosemary walked away, she turned to the water soaked twins. "Give the meditation a try in your own room. Both of you. Maybe you'll understand when you relive it."

Tsuri now knew why Rosemary was the perfect person to have in her training. She held star-like qualities too, guiding her with advice, making her that she let light come to peek inside her.

The next to pick up his feet and walk was Tsuna. He was somber and sad, and only handed Tsuri his hand to hold it if she wished. Like he needed her physical comfort more than her words. Or maybe he was doing it to ease her anxiety. She hated this weather by what it reminded her of.

She didn't want to cry in the rain. It was a cliche. And yet Tsuri let her inner child take control of her actions to hold her twin's cold hands. It felt like they were ten year olds again, standing in the rain and holding an umbrella together in the same way they had done that day.

She decided that she was going to talk about it. It would be the first step in making sure Tsuna would never have to worry about her like this ever again. She had to believe that Lambo would be in safe hands, and if they had to risk stepping in to protect them, then she'd let Tsuna do it.

'Maybe you'll understand when you relive it.'

What did Rosemary mean by reliving it? That's the last thing she wanted to do. Was there any method to where she could just gain memory loss and forget it forever?

Maybe pull a Mukuro and bury it so deep inside herself that she'd seal it inside a bottle?

It was still a few hours before they would head out to Nami-chuu again, the rain wasn't letting up and the darkness in her room was not helping her emotions.

First thing she needed to do was to have the talk with Tsuna. But how could she? She'd only worry him more if she opened up about it now.

She could take initiative on her own for now. Maybe? She didn't know what side effects the meditation could have when done by herself but if it'd aid in holding back another possible panic attack tonight, she'd try anything.

After making sure the room was locked, Tsuri turned off her room lights and plopped herself on her rug in the middle of her room, crossing her legs and shutting her eyes.

'You'll need to take deep breaths. Focus on visualizing a flame on both your palms. When you feel it beginning to grow, put your hands together. It should let the memories play. If it gets too intense, break it. Your flames can go haywire based on your distress.'

Tsuri inhaled another big wave of oxygen and breathed out slowly. Time to re-live.

At first the barrier was refusing to comply, but after a few forceful pushes, she had been able to get through.

... ... ...

One minute she was walking home with her brother after making a trip down her favorite bakery for a snack. They were talking about school and how their new tv show was getting better each saturday morning. In all the conversation, she had seen some older men in some dark suits eyeing them back at the shop, but her thinking they were the place's security, she heeded no mind to them.

They were half-way home by the time they secured their snacks, but Tsuri could tell something wasn't right. The streets were empty because of the rain, making it hard to travel anywhere dry. And the suited people were a few feet away from them, following them carefully. She looked back at Tsuna who seemed fine and unaware of everything that was going on. Then the man behind her suddenly grabbed her arm, spinning her around harshly.

The umbrella they'd held together was knocked down easily by the grab and Tsuna had stumbled backwards and tripped over his own shoes, falling to the ground and landing hard onto the concrete.

Tsuri let out a small yelp, struggling onto his hold and screaming to be released, but the bigger and buffer man stared at her dead in the eye to make her stop. Tsuri was able to land a bite on a hand and the hold was loosened. He dropped her roughly onto her butt and crouched next to her brother. Tsuna let out a cry and tried reaching towards her, but the man kicked him away easily and reached out towards her again. She scrambled to get away from him as quickly as possible. However, he was quick to regain his composure and grab her again, slipping a towel under her nose and begin running away.

Tsuri remembered the lost and complete oblivion Tsuna dwelled in his eyes as she was snatched away from him. It was the last thing she viewed.

When she came to, the complete silence and darkness was replaced by a faint light shining above her, it reminded her of hospitals but the lighting was different, dim and flickering. The only sound she could hear was the sound of her own harsh breathing and the ticking of a clock somewhere in the background.

Her body ached all over, her muscles were cramped and sore, a throbbing headache began forming near her temples. She tried making sense of what was happening, but her fight and flight response, the adrenaline in her whole little body was urging to run, to escape.

Why had she been taken? Who were these people? What was the reason she was kidnapped?

As soon as she thought the words, the light above her began flickering faster and the light in the room dimmed as if someone switched on the lights. Then something hit her hard across the face. Pain shot through her entire body as something heavy crashed into her left cheek. She cried out in pain, feeling the blood flowing freely from her split lip, but the impact was so severe that she couldn't scream.

She heard footsteps coming closer and another blow hit her directly in the stomach, knocking the air from her lungs with a gasp. This is when they started asking questions, "Where is Iemitsu! We know he's your father!"

She was starting to feel sick, her body was trembling and shaking, her skin was hot and sticky. Something warm trickled down the side of her face, dripping to her mouth, its bitter taste unpleasant. She couldn't tell whether the liquid was her own saliva or blood.

Another impact landed in her other cheek and she cried out, curling into herself and trying to shut out the sounds. She knew she should reply to her captors, but her vision was slowly fading out and she was becoming more and more nauseous witj every tumble down the ground and up, her legs unable to keep up with the repeating blows. She couldnt understand most of what they had said, it was a different language and the one who inquired had this thick accent behind his broken Japanese.

She didn't care about it. She wanted her brother. She wanted her father.. anyone to make this end. Who in their right mind would hit a child randomly with no cause, no reason?

"You idiots! You kidnapped the wrong kid, AGAIN. WE NEEDED THE SON!"

"Does it even matter!?"

"Iemitsu! You bastard! Your daughter's here and you haven't come yet! Come and face your death!"

A new set of hits hit her in the chest, causing her ribs to creak painfully, the pain making her cough out blood again, leaving her panting and shivering. The beating stopped for a second, but resumed quickly. Another hit landed on her forehead and she collapsed, her vision turning grey.

Someone grabbed her legs and pulled her along, pulling her further from the source of light. One of the suits grabbed her arms and tied her wrists, then took off their coat to wrap it around her. The cold seeped through her shirt and she shivered uncontrollably. She was left alone to contemplate what was going on around her, and now she was lying on a mattress. Her head was dizzy and her ears rang.

She didn't know how long she had passed out or how her rescue happened, it had felt like days and months, but in between all the hazy shots of pain from her fragile body, a warm, enveloping presence had raised her carefully into their arms and was the only thing keeping her conscious. There was shouting, begging and the sounds of blasting rockets echoing in the drifted off again.

She'd woken up twice. Her body felt like it had been laid on a row of burning coal. She could hear herself screaming at the top of her lungs, each part of her body felt cramped, her skin burned as if it were on fire, the agony was excruciating. She couldn't breathe or have a moment to prepare herself to take it in.

Then its as if all the pain had vanished away, like how a thorn is removed from skin. The first thing Tsuri saw when she was able to finally open her eyes, was the face of her father, and some lingering lights of gold and orange coming from somewhere else. It didn't look like she'd been sent to the hospital, but she could tell that her injuries weren't major anymore and the throbbing ceased to cause her vision to blur.

Iemistu had worn such a frightening expression but he immediately broke down into tears. She didn't understand why he was repetitively asking for forgiveness, why he couldn't let go of her. All she could see in his eyes was sadness and regret, regret for not realizing sooner, regret for being too late.

... ... ...

There it was. The same sensation that blurred her rationality and instilled so much fear in her system. It was similar to a needle prick, not pleasant but tolerable. But after the memories decided to start rounding over like Russian roulette, her whole her whole nervous system felt like it was being electrocuted over and over.'No. No no no I don't want to see this. Make it go away. Someone make it disappear! I don't want to see this again!'

She needed it to let her leave. Tsuri could feel her flames beginning to sway out of their regular position on her palms.

'You can't do this by yourself. You'll break!'

That voice. It wasn't hers. Someone else inside her. The same one that had spoken to her just mere days ago. Soft like a feather and yet fierce like a sword. The pitch and tone; was this Anya's voice in her head?

'You needhishelp! Don't let it loose!'

'?'

The reels were going at sonic speed that Tsuri swore she was going to be ill. She decided it was better to put a stop to it herself how ever possible. Then, the spinning stopped. The visualization had taken her into another location.

It was a dark and isolated prison with no walls or windows. She could make out rivers of blood on the ground… screams of children, and one of those chairs that were used to strap bodies down right down in the middle of the room. Machines, doctor coats… the sounds of wiring, smelting and burning…

She hadn't seen this before. This wasn't her memory.

It couldn't be.

"sh*t sh*t sh*t stop!"

It took all the willpower and hyperventilating in her being to open her eyes. When she did, the orange fire in her palms transformed. Like how a stove fire ignited after the first sparks, they adjusted to blue… to orange… then something abnormal happened.

At the center of her flames, charcoal colored smoke began spreading and pulsing like veins, swarming on all directions. The ever so growing flame was leaking fuel of explosive rage and with all efforts she made to hold back whatever menacing presence was taking control of her.

The sound of the doorknob trying to twist open broke her hypnotic state of survival and a switch was moved. The flame had dissipated and she was left dumbfounded.

"Tsuri! Open the door!"

Tsuri scrambled over to remove the lock to let the person inside. "I heard you yelling. Are you okay?"

She hid her hands behind her back, afraid it'd have some visible residue. "I'm fine! I was just…meditating. Are you okay? You're sweating like crazy."

Tsuna watched back and forth, searching over her head, out the window and back. He ran his hands through his hair. "Reborn said that a nap would do me good. I was sure I was dreaming and I can't remember much but…" Tsuna tried to take a peek at her hidden hands. "I could see you. You were in a dark room, holding a flame. It looked like the Deathsperation one except, it was black."

"Huh?"

"It tried to swallow you whole. I was trying to pull you back but then I got woken up. Reborn kicked me awake."

Had Tsuna's deep sleep turn into meditation as well? If so how was he able to see what she'd seen? Had he seen through her memories too?

They were interconnected in little areas, like their mind conversations and twin intuition. Nothing special. but if he had, then his whole demeanor toward her would be different. He'd treat her like a fragile vase.

Was it possible that Reborn was right, that besides her, Tsuna had the potential to unlock his Hyper Introspection? If he did that meant that he'd peeked into her soul. What was inside?

What did the black flame mean? And what did Anya's voice mean? She needed his help? Was it Tsuna? Reborn?

"Y-You were probably having a nightmare," Tsuri raised herself up and smacked her brother on the arm to dissolve the suffocating atmosphere in the room.

"But—"

"W-We should go eat dinner. Or else we won't have the energy we need for tonight."

"Y-Yeah." Tsuna studied Tsuri's hands as they trodded down the stairs. Clear enough, there was some black residue seeping out from her fingertips.

Had everything really just been a dream, or had it been real?

...

Budding questions were gathering up like a mountain. Why the hell was Tsuri having so much trouble with her own inner self? Was she that broken?

Observing memories of someone she had no connection or relation to. Hearing voices in her head like some loony person out of an institution. What was wrong with her?

The error she made was not looking into it right away. She had been thinking it was just something out of the ordinary like Reborn shooting flames out of his shape shifting chameleon or Lambo's bazooka that let people travel ten years into the future.

But the presence of the black flame and the fact that Tsuna saw something dangerous inside her…

What the hell was wrong with her?

Everything was just irritating her. Worse beyond imagination. After dinner, she had given birth to a short fuse that had come out of nowhere. It stuck like chewing gum. She didn't want to be here, she shouldn't have even come. She could care less into what the Cervello rules were, they were mere pawns being bribed and used by Xanxus to just beat the sh*t out of all of them and call it a day.

Reborn warned her with his dark beaded gaze to keep it low and restrained. She was doing her best to hold out all that impending rage trying to seep out of her fists and mouth. The nerve he had. 'If you know what's wrong with me' She glared, 'Then tell me instead of perching yourself up on my friend's shoulder and being so ominous.'

Reborn wasn't so keen on her behavior ever since they'd left their house. She knew that he was probably responsible for Tsuna's accidental meditation too. But what had he hoped to gain from it at all? The meditation hadnt worked and left her with these side effects and she had no clue whether to chain them up into a ball or let it gradually out and die on its own.

Had he wanted her to come to Lambo's match with this explosive need to burn someone? It was better than bending over and crying into a panic attack but what was she supposed to do with all this negativity stored inside? Reborn was too busy making sure Tsuna's stable mind remained that way. He wouldn't tolerate her wavering on and off behavior. Tsuri wanted to blame it on growing hormones if the body, but even this went far beyond that. Physics that he haven't converted and understood yet.

All the guardians were present; except the cloud and mist once again. Tsuna was definitely concerned with the outcome of the night rather than their presence indeed.

They were all guided toward one of Nami Chuu's rooftops. Its emptiness was no where to be found. There were wires, boxes and what looked like lightning rods were scattered around the battle ground. Only the area by the roof access where they'd come from, and the upper top of the building's air conditioning system were electric-free.

"VOI! Let's get this over with!" Squalo and the other Varia members stood on said air conditioning box while the rest of them remained on the main ground.

Tsuri wanted to grab some of the cables and electrify Squalo's loud impatience out of him. Maybe that was the therapy she needed right now. Those cracks of lightning only matched what she felt. If she could just replace Lambo in this fight just maybe she'd be able to bash someone's head on solid concrete and make them bleed—

"You need to control yourself before I tie you up."

Yamamoto, Gokudera, Ryohei and Tsuna glanced over at the only girl in their party, her body language emitting out the worst waves of vexation. She crossed her arms over her chest like a punished child in a corner.

"Tsuri?" Yamamoto patted her shoulder gently. "You sure you're fine?"

Sh shrugged him off without meaning to. "I'm good."

"You don't look it. If you dont feel well, you should sit down.

Even refreshing and sweet Yamamoto was irking her. She scolded her inner self for being so mean when it hadn't been of her own accord. She put a hand out to stop him from talking. "I'm fine."

"Baka-Tsuri~ Baka-Tsuri's face looks stupid~" she could hear Lambo chant over and over. She shot daggers at her twin to make it stop.

Gokudera bit his tongue. This was worse than the usual copy who argued back and forth like no tomorrow. This behavior was different, and he could tell by the way Reborn had reversed his Leon rope back. She was on edge.

"You got something to shoot out of your ass now or what?"

Gokudera was not going to feed it. He'd been right. She was definitely not in the right headspace to be present. He walked away and stood next to Ryohei instead. The muscle head was infuriating, but with Tsuri acting like a wild boar? He'd take the sun guardian any day.

"Is it just me or is the other Vongola brat baring her teeth at her own allies?"

"Of course she is," Cielo tossed a small squishy ball from his hands up and down to keep himself from yawning in boredom. "Did you not see the panic attack she had when Levi's squad nearly skewered the cow brat?" He snickered. "She's not made for this life. What a loser."

"The peasant is weak. Why was she even chosen? She'll snap herself like a twig."

"I'm sooooo ready to see that happen. Or maybe I'll just save her the trouble and let Xanxus crisp her to ashes."

"Uishishishi."

"There's so many puddles!" Lambo jumped on them with his yellow rain boots. "Ne ne, let's play Tsuna!"

"He thinks this is an amusem*nt park…" Tsuna picked him up to avoid hitting the electric currents flowing from the cables.

"Let me go! I'm gonna have fun!" In all the squirming, Lambo's horns fell off. Gokudera was the first to pick them up, scribbling on one of them with a black sharpie that had come out of nowhere. "Stupid cow. Don't make the boss worry."

He turned it back to show him and Tsuna. "If you ever lose these horns then all you need to do is make sure by this mark."

"He wrote stupid on it!"

Ryohei dragged everyone into another huddle, embarrassing as it was.

"That was hilarious! Let's do it again."

"Not happening!"

Lambo started pouting and spewing puffs of smoke. "Tsuna's such a party pooper."

"You really think he'll be okay though?" Yamamoto asked.

"He obviously has no clue about what's going on here."

'No one told him. You didn't tell him?'

Tsuna yelped at the purple figure behind him and gulped. For all of that was heaven, he prayed this whole anger tantrum passed or he would ascend before his time came.

"I know what's going on, dumbbell!"

"You stupid cow, why I oughta—"

Tsuri remained at the back, tucked away from everyone. She decided to pull her hoodie up so she could avoid being side-eyed. Mostly also for the reason that she couldn't bear see Lambo let go.

"Wait, Lambo." Tsuna had stopped him by patting him on his fluffy hair. "Listen carefully. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Juudaime…"

"I don't know how my dad made his choices. but it's wrong to make a kid like you fight. You don't want to die, right?"

"Arara. Didn't you know? Lambo-san's invincible. I can't die," Lambo bragged and picked his own nose.

"Be serious about this!"

"See ya~!"

"Wait! Don't fire the ten-year bazooka. Adult Lambo said not to."

'Adult Lambo? Did he pop in when I was sent back too last night?'Tsuri thought. 'That means my ten year future self should have traveled here too.'She checked over toward Reborn.'I wonder if he interacted with myself…'

"Shut up!"

Lambo was a complainer and a whiner. He was spoiled, childish and rude. Someone who couldn't stand kids his age would think good riddance.

Tsuri had no heart like that. And neither did Tsuna.

He handed him some dusty and worn out horns from somewhere in his orange jacket's pocket and there went Lambo, into the zap trap that spelled death.

...

...

One thing was for sure. Lambo was a literal crybaby who hadn't been able to stay in the beginning minutes of his match. He had special skin that let him tolerate being hit with electric currents,Electtrico Cuioit was called, but as it was underdeveloped, Lambo had cried when the opponent, Levi, had struck him with a hit.

Out was summoned, Lambo dug into his hair to take out the very think Tsuna said not to. Props to him for not listening. Ten-years older Lambo had shown up, in what was probably his time of eating.

In he stepped, with Tsuna apologizing to him about how he'd tried to keep his word in not preventing his younger self to summon him. But his calm self told Tsuna he was more than capable of taking the responsibly for his fight. He had the potential now, and he had helped defend the girls back when they were fighting at Kokuyo Land. It made Tsuna feel less concerned.

But even that wasn't enough. Lambo had been hit with more of Levi's umbrellas, and rendered him unavailable to fight equally. Lambo ran away again in tears, for his grown age, and did the unusual. He'd jumped in again inside the bazooka.

The atmosphere's pressure had transformed. In all the smoke came out someone much older. It was still Lambo but at the same time it wasn't. It was a bigger difference.

This 20 years up Lambo had more reliable ability considering that even the Varia's overconfident smirks were gone. It lowered the hostility inside Tsuri's brain, letting her focus more on believing that this match could be won, instead of picturing a mutilated child.

"Is that one of Sawada's friends?" asked Ryohei.

"Y-Yeah, probably." Said Yamamoto.

"Is that supposed to be…LAMBO FROM TWENTY YEARS IN THE FUTURE?!" exclaimed Tsuna in shock.

"My, my…what's this?. Either I'm dreaming or I've been summoned to the past by the ten year bazooka for the first time in a while."

"Is that really that stupid cow?" asked Gokudera.

"Lambo seems really dependable somehow." Commented Tsuna.

Lambo turned to the crowd behind him, a soft and somber smile in his features. "I didn't expect to meet you people again. Sure brings back memories. Such familiar faces…"

That flash. The same exact one she saw last night. On the face of the older Gokudera Hayato back in that room where she had been battling for her life until she got poofed back.

Lambo's eyes were weighted with sadness and pity too. But why?

Why was thinking about the future getting so scary now?

"I feel tears rising, but this doesn't seem to be the time to get sentimental. I'm being glared at by a savage." Older Adult Lambo said as he turned towards Levi.

"It doesn't matter who you are. I'll eliminate you," said Levi.

Out of the Varia, this one seemed much more determined to win against a kid. From the comments above, the creep was worse than they had thought; he had some undying love and loyalty toward Xanxus and would dedicate all his blood sweat and tears for and to him. He'd probably let himself get bitchslapped and impaled and he'dstillfind some way to be grateful for it.

That oddly reminded the brunette of Gokudera. Tsuri shuddered. She prayed to Kami that he wouldn't get anywhere as near as him.

"The old me appears to have had a great deal of trouble with you, but I won't." Lambo took the ring on the chain, as well as the match in his hands. He used his matured skin and was able to stand after being hit with voltage from Levi-a-than's parabolas and the lightning rods on the ground to aim them to the ground, and gather up more energy than ever to shoot a long range aim at Levi.

In all of the battle, Iemitsu and Basil arrived at the scene to observe once more. Her dad's presence would have been better at a larger and farther distance. She thought she'd been able to divert her attention away toward the battle but the gripping clawing inside her chest at his presence just made its magnitude go up tenfolds.

It seemed the battle would've been concluded with them winning. Until the pink smoke arrived.

Smaller Lambo had come back, vulnerable as ever, shocked beyond what he would withstand, and collapsed into the ground without a swift breath. The effects of the bazooka hadn't changed any rules of time which meant that the older Lambo had been using some of Adult Lambo's time. Five minutes could not have been more useless.

Levi scoffed. He should have just snatched the ring and called it the end. He had other motives, his jealousy controlling his movements. "I am the one most suited to being the Guardian of the Lightning Ring. Scum like you is not needed."Instead, he had one hand on his head, while using the other to aim his weapon on him once more. "Disappear into nothing!"

Tsuri's stomach dropped just as fast. "Tsuna! Lambo!"

"LAMBO!"

"That bastard…!"

"That's not good!"

Gokudera, Yamamoto, even bandaged up Ryohei, took action to run, but the arcobaleno hopped off Yamamoto's shoulder to stop them.

"You'll be disqualified if you interfere." he said.

"What should we do?!"

"He is correct," the Cervello confirmed. "If you step into the Eléctrico Circuit, you will be disqualified. And his ring will be confiscated."

"If we can't do anything, he's done for!" Tsuna knelt in front of his tutor, desperate for a solution. "Do something Reborn!"

"We'll just have to sit and watch."

"That can't be an option!" Tsuri screamed. "Something, anything…"

'You need to relive it.'

'I can't—! The pain—!'

Tsuna watched as his sister's eyes scrunched up, a weird detectable color flashing through them before she started punching the door in the back and yelling out in total aggravation.

Lambo had been shot with another current, with Levi dropping him down like one would do to a feather and hit the ground.

"We'll be witnessing a harsh end," Mammon smirked from his seat on Gola Mosca.

"VOI! Burn him already!"

'Tsuna! Don't let them take me! Tsuna!'

The same helplessness he had back then was trying to keep his feet glued together. Was he really going to let it influence him now? There was no way he'd let a repeat of a kid getting harmed by people as heartless as these.

Tsuna started running forward.

"Where are you going? You'll be disqualified."

Tsuna stopped. He turned to see Tsuri who was now sobbing uncontrollably in silence, then at Reborn.

"I know that… I know that but… I need to protect Lambo!"

'Or else Tsuri's heart won't recover from this!'

Iemitsu glanced at his older child, taking in his words before grinning in approval.

"You're so hopeless. I have no choice."

Tsuri heard the familiar recoil of Reborn's gun. She blinked and in her line of vision, that radiant sky flame that only he could shine brightly, contrary to her own was released. These were the ones that were as calm and tranquil as a peaceful sky. Tsuna's flames.

She didn't know how fast Reborn aimed at him or if Tsuna had always carried his wool gloves around like she'd nagged him to do everyday, all she knew was that seeing him step in, despite feeling so hopeless and useless, he'd risked his own self to do what was right gave her some hope.

She was going to take this chance he was allowing her now that they were all distracted.

The three towers surrounded and used by the Varia assassin had been charged fully for one more attack. Instead, the three towers collapsed like legos, and allowing Levi to leap free and fail.

When the smoke cleared, Tsuri had been able to secure Lambo's body out of the pillars, kicking one away harshly to make her way back to their side of the area. Gokudera and Yamamoto instantly swarmed around her, checking her and examining to see if the cow child was still breathing. She handed him to Gokudera, who felt himself stiffen at the readable emotions in her eyes.

"It doesn't seem to be the wind," the wannabe prince scanned the towers' bases.

"Yeah. Look how the lightning rods are bent at the base. It was heat."

"Heat which melted the weak parts of the rod… this is heat conduction." The Cervello searched around for the source. Tsuna, lit in what was his hyper will state, had one of the sizzled cables in hand, labeling himself as the culprit.

"What's that flame?!" yelled Yamamoto.

"W-Who is it?" asked Ryohei.

"Could it be?"

"Tsuna?"

"Yeah. No doubt about it. That's Juudaime." Gokudera said with pride.

The sight of Tsuna's burning will left everyone in awe of it. Especially the boys, since it was their first time seeing it. No one had the opportunity to have seen exactly how Tsuna had been able to save everyone from Mukuro's possession shot back then. It was a given to see how fascinated they were. Rightfully so. And the fact that they did not once deny that it was the same Sawada Tsunayoshi gave Iemitsu the proof he needed of the bonds they dwelled.

"I see. The metal which composed the electro circuit's structure is heat-conductive. That heat reached the narrow parts of the lightning rods. Once melted, the rods collapsed because they could no longer her support the weight." Mammon said distastefully.

"I've never heard anything about a guy that could generate such a huge flame, Squalo."

"The phony prince is right. Either you bullsh*tted us, or you're going blind shark-head."

"Blind is right,sh*theads."

Squalo and Cielo turned to the other twin who had finally spoken up after being silent the majority of the match. Both of them flinched at the lava-like colors in her eyes.

"No matter how important you guys tell me it is…Vongola…to be next in line for the boss…I can't fight for things like that." Tsuna said lowly. The flames died out. "But I will fight to stop my friends from getting hurt!"

A spike. A danger spike was acting up. From where she could tell. But it had been too late to listen to it.

'Tsuna! Above you!'

"Shut up!" Tsuna barely had gotten his arms up when it hit him. The sheer force of the attack made him skid backwards. He lowered his arms cautiously and angled his head carefully upwards. So did everyone else.

Xanxus, in all his self considered callous glory had thrown a shot his way, his eyes containing all that hatred and animosity he dwelled within.

Surprisingly for Reborn, Tsuna did not break the eye contact. He was facing him head on by using whatever resolve of his flame was left in his system.

"What's with that look? You don't really think you can seriously defeat me and become the successor, do you?"

"I'm not saying that. I just don't want… to lose any of my allies in this battle!"

Something in Tsuna's voice and words seemed to have triggered something in Xanxus's brain. Like it clicked and forced him to recall something unpleasant. He readied his hand once more to fire another shot.

"Tsuna!" Tsuri tried rushing over but her father's arms had grabbed ahold of her own, rendering her still. "Dad—! Let go!"

"You're unstable. You can't confront them like this. You'll get yourself killed."

The Cervello had tried to settle his temper down, but that effort was in vain. Instead Xanxus had let it out on the poor woman and she had flown like piece of thrown paper down to the ground, body burnt. Xanxus. The cruel man was smiling. It made her blood boil and her heart pulse faster This wasn't adrenaline.

"This is rare."

"When did we last see that? The Boss' smile?"

"About 8 years ago…"

His deep and brutal cackling let the rush of wrath flow once again in her body. Iemistu quickly noticed his daughter's body temperature beginning to rise at an alarmingly high rate. It took more than his strength to hold her and pray his gloves didn't melt off.

"I haven't snapped yet. In fact, I'm amused. I finally understand why the old man chose you even if it was just temporary. With that sickeningly putrid nonsense speech of yours, that pathetic excuse of a flame. You and that old fool have much in common." He let out a mocking laugh. "This will be quite the tragedy— no, comedy."

'W-what's so funny?'

His red eyes met her own. "Your replica is the same. Letting weakness control your actions. Pathetic." He gesture diver to the surviving Cervello. "Hey, woman. Continue."

The other Cervello, who didn't seemed as concerned of her partner as she should be nodded. "Of course. I shall announce the results. Due to the interference of Sawada and the Mezza candidate, it is determined that Leviathan is the winner. Both the Sky, Star and Lightning rings will be given to the Varia."

Tsuna stared at his ring, then back at Tsuri who was fuming. A weird color on her eyes was beginning to blend in with the usual caramel she had. Crimson…

He didn't know if it was still Tsuri but something inside him was telling him that the person in front wasn't her. And he needed to make sure it didn't run loose or she'd do more than bellow out insults.

Iemitsu was still struggling to keep Tsuri from escaping from his grasp. She was seething, her vision blurred from the person in front of her, like a set target she needed to reach.

Kill. Hurt. She needed to hurtsomeoneor wouldn't calm down. A part of her was questioning these thoughts but she was too busy trying to let her dad let go of his hold on her than bother with it.

The Cervello woman was able to confiscate the boss ring from Gsuna easily without any protest. But when she tried to get near Tsuri's neck, the woman backed away from getting bit and scorched from her own leaking flames of fury.

"Touch my ring and I'll reduce you to dust!"

"Tsukairi, calm down!"

"Iemitsu, give her a tranquilizer—"

"No. It'll make it worse. Let it happen."

"Let me go you sh*tty old man! Let me go before I break your arms off!"

"What's wrong with her Juudaime?" Gokudera and Yamamoto watched the rampaging girl beginning to squirm more aggressively out of her father's grip.

"I don't know…"

"If she won't willingly give it…" the Cervello woman was going to take something out of her pocket before Cielo cleared his throat to stop her.

"Don't. Clearly that broken doll isn't in her five senses. Leave her with it. I can still win it easily off of her. Right, Xanxus?"

The Cervello were a joke. They indeed ever only listened to the varia boss' whims and as soon as they gave him the half of the ring to complete it, he was already wearing that haught pretentious look that screamed power.

She wanted to wipe the floor with him. Smear his blood and choke him until he saw pitch black.

"It's inevitable that I would get this ring. Can you imagine anyone else besides me being the boss of Vongola?"

There was a scoff. "Tainted blood of a stranger," Tsuri's voice dropped a few notes, making everyone in the room squirm. "Living within ice would've been better for you."

Reborn's eyes slanted down dangerously.

Xanxus, Squalo and Cielo were the only ones who reacted strongly to the words, but it faded away. There was more speeches, nonsense and bragging at the Vongola group. Xanxus had spewed more cryptic perturbing comments about the Ninth.

It had Iemitsu and Reborn questioning the safety of the Vongola boss.

The Cervello ignored all the chaos, and willingly followed Cielo's orders to let Tsuri keep her ring, and announced that the storm battle would be next. Everything on the roof was left empty and wrecked, the same way it had been the night before. Unsure where to go from the animosity from their enemies, and their one ally, everyone remained on the roof, the sounds of remaining thunder and lightning not aiding with the thumping inside the teens' chests.

Iemitsu touched Tsuri's forehead, the burning refusing to subside. He released his hands from her arms slowly, not before being met with a punch.

"Tsuri!" Tsuna immediately ran over to hold her back from the waist. "What are you doing! It's over! It's done!"

"It's his fault!" She shouted, eyes bloodshot and red from everything she was feeling at once. Too much. It was all too much to handle. She didn't want to do this anymore. She couldn't keep being that same strong girl that held the fort for her family. The bricks on her shoulders were making the steps harder to take. Rosemary would hate her for taking a step back from all the work she'd put into letting her mental state calm itself down but after this afternoon's visualizing, it only reminded her exactly why she had hated her dad leaving. It had been more than just leaving his family. He was to blame for her current self having scars that wouldn't heal.

"It's all your fault! How dare you do this to Lambo—! How dare you do this to me again! I can't move on from this painbecause of you! Make it stop, just make it stop!"

Iemitsu connected the dots, and put an arm in between Basil and his daughter, with his eyes telling him that no harm should befall his own kid. He deserved it. He had it coming. Earning forgiveness from his daughter directly would prove more difficult than he thought.

Tsuna, with the help of Yamamoto and Ryohei's free hand, did their best to pry Tsuri away from scratching her dad's face more, Gokudera left speechless to lift a finger. Tsuna held onto her waist with all his might, praying to someone, anyone anywhere that could allow her to settle before she said or do something she'd regret.

Both twins could sense it. An invisible party somewhere off in the grounds, mist clouding their surroundings.

'Let me take over, Sawada Tsunayoshi.'

Huh? That voice was coming from Tsuri's thoughts. It was eerie and rose goosebumps on his arms. No. He didn't trust it.

'I am the only one who can truly help her. If you don't let me, the Sawada Tsukairi you know will be lost.'

'How can I be sure you won't make it worse?'

'She is one I will never harm.'

Tsuna knew. All this heat radiating from her…If it was a flame, it definitely wasn't the one she used to fight and train with. A resolve like this wasn't full of pure anger and urge to kill. He knew the voice, at the tip of his tongue he could recognize it if he focused but now wasn't the time for that.

'Okay! Whoever you are! Please! Let her calm down!'

With a snap of non-existent fingers, it was said and done. Tsuri's breathing was slowing down, the tension in her muscles loosening until it grew limp. Tsuna had the opportunity to catch her before she crashed down roughly.

The only people out of the loop as to what happened were the guardians, Tsuna and Basil. While Iemitsu patted the open wounds with a handkerchief in his pockets, softly explaining something to Reborn from afar, they all stared at the relaxed body, unsure where to go from here.

Plan B. It was time for plan B.

The external advisor instructed his son to put Tsuri on his back delicately in order to take her to the hospital. Lambo and them should follow suit quickly.

Tsuna was going to need to unlock that Hyper Introspection as soon as he possibly could in his training. He was the only one who dwelled the ability to purify Tsuri's flames. That black stain would be a challenge for removal if they didn't act now.

Lambo and Tsuri were both admitted into the hospital. Because of the severe electrical currents that had struck Lambo, he was taken to the emergency room.

As for Sawada Tsukairi; her temperature had been above 37.4° Celsius. No one, not even the doctors could tell what was the cause. Her scans were clean, her neuro tests fine. The only part that had worried the nurses was the injury to her shoulder but with a bit of a white lie, Reborn was able to shoo away the nurses and leave them alone.

Of course, Nana had been called which meant that the twins and the father owed her an explanation of yet another trip to common place, with another child in her custody involved.

Everyone refused to go home. They had paced back and forth, with Tsuna being the only person to be on the bedside and holding her hand.

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

Tsuna's shoulders were shaking. "I shouldn't have brought her. She should have stayed home."

"She would've dealt with worse consequences than just disqualification," Reborn leaped toward the bed, examining Tsuri briefly. "I called Shamal. He should be on his way."

"Shamal?" Gokudera repeated. "But Reborn-san, they said there was nothing wrong."

"This isn't something physical. It's internal."

"What do you mean?"

"Her flame's been corrupted."

'Corrupted?'

" I dont really understand," Ryohei started. "Sawada-chan is sick?"

"Rosemary-san told her to try meditating when we got home," Tsuna recalled. "I… took that nap. Its not—"

"Your dream. You didnt just imagine it. It actually happened." Reborn put a hand on Tsuri's palm, pointing at the faint black tint on the tips of her fingers. "She touched a corrupted flame within her. From her memory."

"Flame?" The three boys remembered Tsuna's odd behavior minutes ago. Did Tsuri have that skill too? They peeked over behind Tsuna to take a closer look. Indeed, her thumb, index and rest of her fingers looked like they'd touched soot or black paint.

Tsuna's back slouched in response to the word 'memory.'

"Juudaime? What's wrong?"

"Do you want to tell them?"

Tsuna looked back and forth toward the arcobaleno, then at his friends with hesitation. It wasn't just information he could casually start as a normal conversation. He wasn't sure how they'd take it, and if Tsuri found out that he blabbed to them about her business then she'd never forgive him for it.

"They care about Tsuri too, you know. They're your family. You two don't have to suffer with this knowledge alone."

"She'll kill me if I open my mouth."

"Tsuna…" Yamamoto stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on the older Sawada's back, his face stern. "You can trust us. You know that. Tell us what we can do to help."

"Yamamoto…"

"He's right Sawada! You've helped us all out in every way. You helped me keep Kyoko out of the loop when I fought!" Ryohei said passionately. "Let me help you with your sister too!"

"Onii-san…"

Tsuna directed his gaze toward the bomber. He could tell. His hands were shaking slightly, maybe in agitation or restlessness. He wasn't so good with hiding with just how much he regarded his sibling. tsuna still wasn't sure how he felt towards Gokudera's blind feelings for his twin or if he was just overthinking things, but he found himself tenderly grinning. Tsuri could assume that their friend frazzled himself over only him, but it was a straight fat lie. If she could see him now, she'd use this as teasing material until the day she died.

"Gokudera-kun?"

The silver-head shrunk at the telling eyes of his precious boss. He scratched his head sheepishly, not knowing how to stop his face from flushing at being read so easily. "L-Let us help you take the burden Juudaime. If that can help you feel less stressed about Tsuri, we'll lend an ear."

Tsuna nodded at Reborn, to confirm that whatever was to be said, he'd take responisbity as well if Tsuri found out. He'd probably blame it on him anyways and watch with glee as his sister ripped him to shreds.

And so Tsuna began his side of the story, and knew with his friends' acceptance and care, they'd be able to listen too if Tsuri explained her side later if she wished too.

After story time, they were told that Tsuna's mother had arrived. Reborn had to pry Tsuna away, explaining that she would be in good hands with their mom and if he didn't leave shifty, he'd have no excuses to give their mother on why they were here to begin with.

Tsuna felt bad leaving a white lie for his mom about Lambo and Tsuri, but if it could lessen her suspicions and worry, he'd do what was needed to leave her at ease.

... ... ...

The clouds and rain dispersing, leaving the sky clear, the stars twinkling and illuminating. The moonlight was beautiful and alluring, giving every living thing a sense of tranquil sleep.

The open window's curtains danced lightly against the breeze. And through the windows, the gentle earthy scent of still moist ground.

A figure had emerged from the shadows, standing in front of the large windowsill, his silhouette illuminated by the soft moon's glow. He was sure to take soft steps toward the hospital bed inches away.

His eyes were staring directly at the sleeping form of the girl. He stared at her peaceful, sleeping visage with tenderness, his lips curving upwards, and for the first time since his return to Namimori that night, he allowed himself to smile.

A gloved hand reached out to tuck one of the loose strands of her long brown hair behind her ear. The brief touch sent a warm tingle down his spine and he smiled wider. The subtle shift in her breath made her eyes flutter open drowsily.

Mukuro knew her conscious was still not fully regained since her caramel eyes were foggy and glazed over with exhaustion.

She stirred once again, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Her lips curled up into the most adorable expression Mukuro had ever seen, making him chuckle softly.

"Mu...kuro?" her voice said his name in such an angelic way.

He leaned forward slightly, his hand gently caressing her face.

"Shhh. Go back to sleep." Her eyelids flickered shut slowly, her head leaning into Mukuro's palm.

"It was your voice. I heard you."

"Of course, my Little Mouse. It was me."

Mukuro took the chance to carefully sneak inside the side of her bed. She made no attempt to move away. Instead she shifted herself toward him, nuzzling herself into his chest, feeling it softer and preferred it than the rock hard pillow behind her. "Thank you," she whispered.

He chuckled again fondly, brushing his fingers through her hair. Her breathing grew slow and deep, lulling her back to slumber. The sight of her serene face gave him a strong urge to stay with her. But he knew that his time was limited and as much as his wish was to remain here, he could not strain his vessel's mist flames any longer than needed.

As soon as Tsuri returned back to a deep sleep, Mukuro leaned forward, placing his lips on hers. A kiss of passion. One of affection. A kiss full of longing. He lingered on her lips for a while but eventually pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, before he began fading away slowly.

"Rest, mylittle mouse. I will see you soon."