Nico: Hey!I thought I'd just squeeze in a one-shot between my busy schedule.

I was looking up some Katekyo Hitman Reborn pictures on DeviantART (for those who do not know, I happen to have an account there, I just haven't uploaded anything in...a while, however I will get to that as soon as inspiration hits me). So I looked up pictures of Kozato Enma (once again, for those of you who do not know, he is character that appears in the Inheritance Ceremony Arc in the manga, meaning he has not been shown on the anime yet) and, as usual, there was a lot people ranting about how Enma is horrible, for not listening to Tsuna, not letting Tsuna talk, blah de blah...

I can't blame them for thinking so, but I can't help but feel annoyed when I come across their rage that fills up my screen.

It was thanks to them that I wrote this story.

I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!

Et Cetera

"I trusted you..."

"Hahahaha!"

It started getting hard to breathe with all the kicks I was receiving. Everywhere ached, and I was wondering whether or not I had enough band-aids. Probably not, I kept forgetting them.

While they kicked, they got a close look at my eyes. Then laughter erupted. "One's a loser! The other's a mute! Come on guys, let's leave! The Shimon aren't our problem!"

Oh, they left. I tried to push myself up, but my body felt heavy. I could taste the metallic taste of my own blood. I had accidentally bit my tongue when they pushed my face to the ground. My legs were sore and I begun to feel pins and needles on the soles of my feet. My arms were shaking under my jacket, and my hands were cut by their cleats. Perhaps...saving a girl from the soccer team was not a good idea.

I felt something pull me up, and when I looked there was the girl. She was a bit chubby, not like one of those dainty girls in television shows. Her hair was cut short and just touched her neck. She was short too, but probably the same age as I was. She seemed to be fine, except for the discoloring bruise on her cheek.

She waved her arms around and made shapes with her hands and fingers. I didn't understand she was saying.

"I don't understand," I said quietly; even so, my voice cracked.

She huffed and then reached into her backpack. It was a big backpack for her size. She took out a sketchbook and a pen, she wrote on the book and shoved the collection of papers close to my face. I stared at the big words.

"Are you okay, idiot?"

I blinked a couple times after she took the book away from my face. "I-I'm okay..." She stared at me in disbelief. Then she scribbled something into the book and held it up to me, this time not as close.

"Are you really from the Shimon Famiglia?"

I nodded.

"Honestly?"

I nodded again.

"I heard you guys disappeared from the face of the Earth!"

As much as I disliked it, it was not literally true, but everyone had forgotten about the Shimon Famiglia. Ever since the betrayal between Giotto Vongola and Cozart Shimon. The two were close as brothers...and yet...

"Hey! What's your name?"

"K...Kozato Enma," I said.

"Cozart Enma?"

I felt the heat rise to my face as I shook my head. It was a common misconception for people to spell "Cozart" instead of "Kozato(1)." I motioned for the pen she held. She noticed this and handed the pen to me. I wrote the romanization of my Japanese name onto the white canvas. When I was done, I returned the pen to the girl. She quickly turned the book around to read what i had written.

"Kozato Enma, my name is Xetol Hue."

That was how I met the chubby girl who could not speak, named Xetol. Backtracking, I was wondering just how it all happened.

I was walking home from school. Adelheid would normally walk with me, safety in numbers as she said, but today she had a meeting with the Liquidation Committee. Kaoru had left without me. Koyo had to stay after class to work on his assignment, which was due a couple weeks ago. Shitt. P left early to meditate. Rauji and Julie had skipped school today, both for very different reasons, I'm sure.

On my walk I came across the old soccer field by the park, where a soccer team would usually practice. Today, instead of seeing them spread out in their various positions, they were all grouped together in this little huddle. They were making a lot of noise, so I hurried over, wondering what was going on. I discovered that the soccer team was bullying this girl. After a few minutes of eaves dropping I found out why.

The girl, Xetol, came to stick up for her friend. Apparently her friend had confessed to the star player of the team, and he rudely brushed her off, laughing in her face and even tossing away her card. Xetol came to make the star player apologize. The boys, found this amusing, a mute girl standing up against them for her friend who couldn't even stand up for herself.

I found this surprising. She couldn't speak, yet here she was speaking for someone else. What compelled her to do so? I wondered as I had long said good bye to the girl, and continued to walk home. She was chubby, but short. She had a boyish outlook, but she was still a girl. She was ready to speak for her friend, yet she had no voice. She had a firm look in her eyes, but in the end she was still bullied by the soccer team. She bullied, yet she showed no weakness. She endured the punches and kicks, and even had the strength to pull me up.

By eaves dropping, the soccer team finally noticed my presence. They assumed I was here to stand up for Xetol, and began bullying me as well. As I had thought, I had forgotten my band-aids again...

I finally made it to my house. It had gotten pretty late. I hope no one's worried about me.

"Enma!" I guess...I spoke to soon. Adelheid appeared before me. It seemed like everyone had gathered at my house again. "Where were you? When I told you to head home before me, I meant head home before I got here."

I gulped at the strictness of her words. I simply drooped my head in guilt.

"Hey! Don't go around lowering your head, Loser Enma!" Koyo appeared. "In the end, apart of the Shimon Famiglia. With you dropping your head to everybody, in the end, you're trashing every bit of pride the Shimon Famiglia has left!"

"That's enough Koyo," Adelheid said firmly. Koyo sighed and walked back to the coffee table, back to his assignment. I walked into the sitting room with Adelheid.

"What the Hell happened to you, kid?" Julie chuckled. His choice of words would usually sound of worry. However, these words came from Julie, and had an enjoyed sound to them.

"Kids from school?" Rauji asked.

I merely shook my head.

"Pride, Loser Enma!" Koyo said. "In the end, you're going to bring Shimon's reputation(2) to the ground!"

"Koyo!" Adelheid said firmly. "I don't want to remind you again." Koyo muttered as he returned to his papers.

"Yeah, Koyo," Julie snickered. "It's not like you're helping with our rep. You being the dumbest idiot in the world."

The usual arguments began to erupt. Adelheid didn't even see the point in calming them down and walked to the showers. I sat on the floor, my back slumped, and my head still down. Kaoru was silently sitting far from the arguing two, flipping through a magazine. Shitt. P stood straight as she leaned her head on the door frame, meditating as she spoke her mantra. Julie was laying back in his chair as his little argument with Koyo continued.

"Here," Rauji, who sat beside me, handed me a box of band-aids. "You forgot them again."

"Thanks," I spoke quietly and took the box.

"So, what happened today?" Rauji asked. Rauji and Adelheid were two of Shimon Famiglia who really cared about me. Adelheid cared because she was the leader of our group. Leaders always keep the group in order, and never leaves one member one his own. Rauji however, understood what it was like to be bullied. The scar on his face was from bullies at his school, making fun of his weight and size. "These...don't look like the wounds you usually come home with."

"I...helped out a mute girl who was being bullied," I said as I struggled to open the packaging of a single bandage.

"Wow, that's real tough, Enma," Rauji said. "Looks like you got roughed up though..."

"Yeah...they were soccer players, with cleats," I said. I finally got one bandage out of its packaging.

"Ouch," Rauji winced. "How was the girl? She alright?"

"Yeah," I said and started wrapping my injured fingers with the band-aids. "Just a bruise on her cheek, but she seemed fine."

Suddenly there was a shake. I heard glasses tinkling at first, and I thought perhaps that Julie and Koyo's argument had gotten a bit more serious. However, I had realized that they had stopped arguing, and the shaking was only getting worse.

"It's an earthquake!" Koyo yelled.

"Gee who'd have thought, genius," Julie said sarcastically. Everyone huddled underneath tables and by doorways. I heard a couple shatters and clangs, probably from the dishes and cutlery falling and hitting the unforgiving porcelain tile floor below.

Eventually the tremors stopped and the electricity went off.

I had no idea that that day I would come across the power that could bring Shimon's reputation back.

"I thought of you as my friend! Someone who could actually understand me!"

"Enma?"

"Huh?" I turned around and saw Tsuna. I had long left Shimon Middle High School, along with Adelheid, Rauji, Koyo, Kaoru, Shitt. P, and Julie. The earthquake had caused a lot of damage. While the buildings were able to stay intact, there were many property damages. Some people had even died. However, it was that day we of the Shimon had discovered the long lost Shimon rings.

Now we attended Namimori Middle High School, where the current Vongola studied. Now, I was being adressed to the tenth generation Vongola, Sawada Tsunayoshi. He is the ten year equivalent to the Vongola Primo, while I am the ten year equivalent to the Shimon Primo.

"Oh, you're okay," Tsuna smiled. "You suddenly spaced out, I was a bit worried."

"I'm fine," I said. It is obvious the Vongola have no idea of the Shimon. If Tsuna did know...would he still have smiled at me like he just did. Would he still allow me at his house with open arms.

"Enma...I have something to ask you," Tsuna said, scratching the back of his head in nervousness. "Do you think...I should agree to the entire inheritance ceremony? I mean...I can't see why I would ever fit such high qualifications..."

I stared at his nervous state for a moment. "You ask me this...because I am also part of the mafia?"

"N-no!" Tsuna said waving his hands in front of him. "I'm asking you this...as a friend."

I stared at Tsuna. He really had no idea. Would he still consider me his friend if he knew? "Do what you think is right. How did you end up in the mafia, Tsuna?"

"Ah...well it's sort of strange," Tsuna said sighing. "It was so sudden, Reborn just came into my life, pretending to be some kind of tutor. I guess...I was sort of forced in."

"Why didn't you run then?" I asked.

"I...I ended up getting friends. "Gokudera, Yamamoto, Big Brother(3), Hibari, Lambo, Chrome, everyone. If I never joined the mafia, I...I probably would have continued to live as No-Good Tsuna, and I would never have made so many friends. Soon enough, when we ended up in fights, I never really thought of it having to do with the mafia. I just fought for my friends, so that we could spend more time together."

"For your friends...?" I asked.

"Mm!" Tsuna smiled. "I'm willing to do anything for them."

"Even...inherit the title of Vongola Decimo?" I asked curiously.

"If it's for them," Tsuna's smile never left his face. "I'd do anything."

First Xetol, now Tsuna. They both had their weaknesses, yet the continued to fight for their friends. Xetol failed to, and even died from the earthquake, but Tsuna is different. Tsuna is willing to give everything to his friends. If...if I was considered as a friend to him...would he do the same for me...?

"You said you do anything for your friends! But you never came! If the situation was true, I could have died!"

I waited a the factory site.

I waited.

And waited.

I heard footsteps, but I restrained myself from looking. I recognized the footsteps. They were from high heels, Adelheid's high heels.

"You waited here all day?" she asked me. I didn't move.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi went to school in the morning, as usual," she reported. "Face it, Enma, these are the Vongola's true colours. Always have, always will be."

I wished she would stop talking. It was like a bee buzzing around you. You want so badly to swat away, but you know if you do, you will get stung.

"Enma, we still have our plans to carry out. I'm sure you have not forgotten," Adelheid said.

I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want a lot of things. However, this struck me. I looked up at Adelheid.

"I know."

"I didn't care if you were the Vongola Decimo! I was willing to forget our differences! You were just like me! I thought that we could really be friends!"

I could still hear his words, they were filled with anger and determination. "Enma! Fight me right now!"

I got up from my bed and walked over to the mirror. There I was, Kozato Enma. Did I do anything wrong? No, I trusted Tsuna...he is the one who is wrong.

"What's this?" Rauji said opening the door. "You're awake."

"Couldn't sleep," I said simply.

"You've changed you know," Rauji said. "Ever since you waited for Tsuna. You're not the same Enma as you were before."

"What does it matter to you?" I asked. I saw him flinch, and I noticed the harshness of my words. "Sorry...do...do you miss Lambo?"

"Very," Rauji said. "He was the only kid who wasn't afraid of me. You know, with my scar and all."

"You two seemed like you were having fun," I said.

"We did," Rauji smiled. It had been a while since he smiled. In fact, there were only a few times when I had seen Rauji smile. However, I noticed that whenever he was with Lambo, his smiles were the brightest. "I didn't mind him calling me his subordinate, it was fun."

"Hm...Sorry, Rauji, I'm starting to feel sleepy," I said. "Good night."

"Right, night then," he left and closed the door.

I was once again alone. I walked over to the window, to view the sight of our holy land. Tsuna was probably somewhere in the forest now.

"I didn't do anything wrong. Although...I guess I envy you, Sawada Tsunayoshi. You have friends to fight for. All I have...is the weight of Shimon."

"I trusted you..."

"...and you betrayed me."

Nico: Whoo! That was a workout.

Couple notes:

1. I was on Reborn Wikia, and they said Enma's surname, Kozato, could be a possible Japanese transcription of Cozart.

2. I remember hearing somewhere that Shimon could be translated to "reputation," I just can't remember where I found it.

3. Tsuna refers to Ryohei as Big Brother, just in case you didn't know.

Yeah, like I said earlier, this is from Enma's point of view, which some people just fail to a way I can sort of understand because I used to have a really close friend. I told him everything, and he was always willing to listen. Then one day he went up and left. It was the scariest times of my life, since my worst fear is losing someone and/or something. I felt betrayed because he promised me he'd never leave, then he did.

I can't say Enma is entirely right however, it was a misunderstanding. Tsuna couldn't do anything to prevent it, and Enma didn't know what happened to the letter after he gave it. I'm just saying, Enma's reaction is understandable, so is Tsuna's. I really just can't stand all this hate towards Enma...

If anyone's interested, I was listening to Et Cetera by One Ok Rock while writing this, thus the title.