Summary: Tsuna gets sick but doesn't tell anyone. It's up to Reborn to take care of his useless student.

Sawada Tsunayoshi got sick. That was a simple fact. He didn't have the worst immune system, but it certainly wasn't great. He'd get sick a few times a year, so it wasn't all that terrible. Whenever he got sick, he'd stay home from school, which was one of the reasons Tsuna didn't mind getting sick (Avoiding bullies was always great, but avoiding bullies and his horrible teachers? That couldn't be beat.)

Nana would dote on him a bit, bringing soup, blankets, and cold washcloths. Tsuna would stay tucked in bed, floating somewhere between partial awareness and a light doze. Rinse and repeat for about three days, and that was how Tsuna would spend his time while ill.

Of course, that had been before Reborn came to his door and dragged poor Tsuna into the mess that was the Mafia. Now, Tsuna had people that depended on him. People who would rely on him and trust him to take care of them, and he knew he had to take care of them.

Reborn told him that a good boss cared for all of his subordinates well. Tsuna had no plans to be a boss. However, he did have good friends he cared a lot about. So when he woke up one morning with a blazing fever, he knew that his normal routine would not cut it.

Thankfully, he'd woken up just in time to avoid a Leon-mallet to the head. Tsuna had never been so thankful for his Hyper Intuition (though it seemed far weaker than normal) as he got out of bed, grumbling at Reborn all the while. He was unsteady on his feet, but that was hardly uncommon. He'd gone his entire Elementary School career without steady feet, so it was nothing new.

He pulled on his school uniform and walked out of his room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen to greet his mother, I-pin, and Lambo. He made it down the entire flight of stairs without tripping, a major feat considering how off-balance and dizzy he was.

Reborn had opted to walk down the stairs on his own, foregoing his usual ride on Tsuna's head, which was just fine with him. Tsuna wasn't sure what the outcome would be with Reborn's extra weight on his head, but he was certain it wouldn't be good. It would also probably involve him tripping and everyone discovering his illness. Tsuna knew this would lead to all of his friends attempting to care for him their way, but with how much they clashed in day to day life, he wasn't eager to see what trouble they could cause fussing over him.

Tsuna snagged a piece of buttered toast from his mother and grabbed his bag. Then he was out the door, heading to Namimori Middle School, Reborn trailing behind him by a few meters.

Spotting Gokudera and Yamamoto up ahead, Tsuna called out to them. "Yamamoto! Gokudera!"

"Hey, Tsuna!" Yamamoto turned to face him, waving and grinning at him.

"Tenth! How are you this morning?" Gokudera turned to and offered a smile, ever polite to his dear Tenth.

Tsuna smiled back, hoping they wouldn't notice the dark, fever-induced flush coloring his pale cheeks. "I'm fine, Gokudera. How about you? And you, Yamamoto?"

"We're great, Tsuna, but we should probably hurry if we don't want to be late," Yamamoto turned back towards the school and broke into a light jog.

"Hey! Don't answer for me, baseball-idiot!" Gokudera fumed but began to jog too, "But he is right, Tenth. We should hurry, so we don't have to face that irritating Skylark."

Tsuna nodded in agreement, but when he went to jog, he found the world morphing into an alarming smear of colors. His body tilted and swayed dangerously before he collapsed to the pavement in a graceless heap.

He cracked open his eyes, unsure of when he closed them, and tried to push himself to his knees, but a small hand pressed on his forehead. "Don't, Tsuna. You're ill, and you shouldn't be here. Any reason why you didn't tell Mama or me that you're sick?"

Tsuna opened his mouth to respond, but his voice wouldn't work, and he was just so tired. Reborn seemed to realize this, so he called to his useless student's subordinates, who had been standing numbly in shock since they'd turned around to see Tsuna's collapse.

"Come here, idiots. You're going to carry him home and get him into bed," Reborn told them, the guilty gleam in his dark eyes the only indication he'd felt anything.

The two agree and gently carried Tsuna's limp body back to the Sawada Household and up into Tsuna's room. Reborn offers a silent prayer of thanksgiving that Nana had taken the children out shopping as Tsuna went to school. While Gokudera and Yamamoto carefully changed Tsuna into pajamas, Reborn went to the bathroom to retrieve and wet a washcloth for his student.

When Reborn entered the bedroom again, Tsuna was fully changed and tucked under his bedcovers. Reborn walks over to the bed and hops up, so he can settle the washcloth on his student's brow. Gokudera and Yamamoto are standing silently by the door, their worried gazes set firmly on Tsuna.

"Will Tsuna be alright, Reborn?" Yamamoto whispers, his eyes flickering over to the baby hitman.

"He will be fine," Reborn murmurs, "Now, you should be on your way. Both of you still have school, and I doubt Hibari will take well to your tardiness. I will take care of Tsuna. You can visit him after school."

Reborn ushers the boys out of the house. He watches them go from Tsuna's window. When they disappear from his sight, he turns back to his student.

Reborn rubs Tsuna's fluffy brown hair fondly. "It seems you still have much to learn, Useless-Tsuna. It is important to admit illness or injury, especially to those close to you. We will have to work on that."