Hello!

I had this thing written for months and I finally decided to post it here (it spent some time on tumblr before I decided to move it on ff).

Please don't expect another chapter in a while. I honestly don't know how long it'll take till I update again.

Pairings: Allxfem!27 and a final ?xfem!27 (I don't even know yet myself. I'll put up a poll at some point I guess)

Warning: some gender-bending and possible homosexuality (no pairings are decided yet!)

Note (to get this first chapter): this is Tsuna's diary (the other chapters won't be set like this) and between parentheses is her talking out loud to Reborn, who sometimes talks between double quotes. ...It seems more complicated than it is.

Disclaimer: disclaimed.

Once upon a time, in the lovely kingdom of Namimori―

(What, this is too archaic?

But Reborn, I don't even want to write this. What point is there of me having a diary? I don't even have a single interesting event that is worth keeping in a diary. Certainly, I could whine about how I tripped down the stairs thirteen times that one day; however that's really not worth remembering.

Fine, fine! Hiie! Don't hit me with that hammer ― and where did that even come from?)

Once upon a time, in the lovely city of Namimori, there was a young girl who lived with her kind mother and mostly absent father. This young girl's name was Sawada Tsunahime, and it was to be her eighteenth birthday the next day, October 14th.

Now, while it might not seem very important to you readers―

(Why do you want me to say 'readers'? It's not like anyone but you and I will ever get to read this crap.

Waaah! Okay, I get it, I get it! No questioning, only writing! Right!)

Now, while it might not seem very important to you readers, in the lovely-city-of-Namimori, the birthday that marked the eighteenth year of someone's life was of utmost importance.

And why is that?

Well, for you to understand, you must know about a Namimori tradition that went back to years and years ago.

(How many exactly, Reborn? I don't remember...

"If you listened in class you'd know, Dame-Tsuna."

...So?

"Not telling. There is nothing to tell either way."

Eh? What do you mean? Ouch!

"As I said: if you were attentive in class you'd know its age or other details are an enigma for all."

Oh. Thanks!

"And you do know it's a worldwide happening."

Ah yes, indeed, naturally I do! What are you talking about? Ha ha ha...)

This mysterious tradition, which origins are unknown, was almost a curse in one particular aspect: every child born in this city was Marked, a tattoo of sorts. It could be either letters, numbers or symbols, either way it held a message...

...A Quest.

If you completed the goal set for you at your birth, you obtained something. It could be anything really - it only depended on the person. Most of the times, it was hinted at in your Mark.

Let's take my father's case, for example. His Mark was very simple, but very cryptic. It was a golden clam.

(Come on. Who would even want the tattoo of a clam? Poor Dad...

Still, lol.

Ouch, ouch! That was really mean! Why the hell did you pull so hard on my hair?!

Ouuuuch! Why, again?

"No 'lol'. That's disgusting. And you should never use an interrobang."

Why can't I use an interrobang ― no matter what that is?

"It's when you put an interrogation mark besides an exclamation mark."

Oh. Really?

"Yes, really. Now, go back to writing."

Hiiiie, fine, fine!

Where was I again? Ah, I remember!)

So, my father's mark was a golden clam. Most of his childhood was spent quizzing over the meaning of that. His parents even brought him to a Reader―

(That's the right term, right?

"Unless you are suddenly being out of context, yes."

People whose job is to interpret the Mark? Like you?

"Indeed."

Then I'm right!)

That Reader told them something akin those lines: "With the clam, your son will achieved success. Perhaps he should become a fisherman? Or a cook?"

(...Did you just snort, Reborn?

"That Reader was an incapable moron."

Huh?)

And so Dad kept in mind this 'advice'. The day he turned eighteen, he went with his friends to a restaurant to celebrate his coming of age. He was ready to start his job of fisherman the very next day.

(Did you know he actually tried out for cook, but it didn't fit him at all? He was too lazy; he didn't want to through hours of preparation if he could just have eggs. Mom couldn't stop laughing when she heard that.

"Dame-Tsuna. Do I look like I care for such stupidities?"

N-no...

"Go back to writing, then. It's an order.")

The restaurant they went to was quite expensive (Dad's friends paid for him, of course!). The table just besides them had men dressed in tailored suits and very expensive phones, but my father was never the kind of man to pay any attention to details. When one of them choked, like really choked―

("Was that precision necessary?"

Yes...?

Man, that was quite a deep sigh Reborn. What did I do again?)

So, one of them choked, and the rest of his table stilled, startled. My Dad, while he's very idiotic, has excellent instincts. He jumped over the other table, grabbed Choking-Man, and quickly did the Heimlich thingie.

("Choking-Man became a name? And― The Heimlich thingie."

Huh?

"Why― No, forget it. No point in asking."

Eh?

Anyway, please stop interrupting me Reborn!

Ouch. That hurt, damn it.)

What Dad didn't know was that Choking-Man was very important, as in boss-of-an-international-firm important. Choking-Man, whose name was revealed to be Timeteo, thanked dearly my father. He added that he 'needed more young men like him, ready to spring into action in emergency cases' and that he would be 'very pleased if said young man joined his company' along with other flattering lines.

And this is how my father got to his present position of most-important-man-after-Timeteo-the-boss-no-need- to-precise-that-of-course in Vongola, a very high-tech security business. That was what his Mark, a golden (success) clam (name of the company in Italian, bet you didn't know that readers), clued at. The moment he stepped into the office, his Mark disappeared, proof of his accomplishment.

What was the point of this very long and boring introduction, now? Well, I'll remind you of one previously mentioned point.

My name is Sawada Tsunahime, and I am to be eighteen on October 14th. Tomorrow, my Quest begins.

Tomorrow, my story begins.