It started then. On the 15th year of his life.

Even as time passed, the young Vongola decimo could still remember that day when their fates intersected, and there upon, entwined to this day.

What would their lives be like, Sawada often wondered, drinking ocha in his office in Sicily, if they hadn't met her then?

But again, there isn't space for "if"s in his life now, a life destined for the darkness that lay underneath, fabricated by lies made from greed.
➹➹➹

Toma Shidou was just another classmate then—quiet and indifferent. He could vaguely remember when she first came to Namimori: a dark raven mane that hung in waves pass her waist, with side-swept bangs long enough to conceal her face—not an unusual color, nor was she eye-catching in any way. Tsunayoshi, barely 13 then, stopped paying attention after her introduction, a short one that stated how she grew up in Honolulu and came back to Japan for her junior years.

"—Are you listening, Miss Shidou?"

The day started with the teacher's exasperated call, apparently directed at Shidou, her thoughts long out the window.

"はい、" replying absently, she turned around, adjusting her headphones, her expressionless face impossible to read, as usual.

"You.." his speech incomplete, the middle-aged teacher resisted the urge to fire a piece of chalk at her forehead, but shrinked away at the sight of her cold stare, "Miss Shidou, you cannot just stare out the window all day long and expect to pass the mid-term. It's of necessity to respect your elders, so lose the headphones..! Don't you know that you're disrupting the class? Also.."

He stopped abruptly when he matched her eyes, for in them was a warning that send a shudder down his back.

...How can a middle schooler have an aura like that?

It was the first time Tsuna had laid his eyes on her in weeks. It was rare to have a teacher be so on Shidou's case, however. For she made the top 10 in the grade easily, so teachers generally tolerate her. With her antisocial appearance and so few words exchanged, she's usually ignored by all around her, merely a silhouette in their world.

"And I don't think you deserve the respect." crossing her ankles, she suddenly smiled, her eyes narrowing into cresents, "Ishikawa Sensei..Lipstick."

For a second, the smile transformed her face into something else, morphing her plain features into something to bright too stare straight at.

"What?"

"Lipstick." She echoed again, nodding at his collar.

Following her gaze, Tsuna spotted a lipstick stain on Ishikawa's shirt collar, prominent on the white fabric, and with it, a inconspicuous hickey on his neck.

Everyone knew that Ishikawa had been married for more than 10 years to a modest and traditional women, someone who no doubt repelled lipstick, so the hickey...

And when Tsuna looked back at the person who had dropped the hint, she was gone.
➹➹➹

It wasn't until dismissal that Toma showed up this time.

Although one reason that people avoided the dark-haired girl was because of her personality—once, some kid tried to ask her about a math problem, but she just strolled by like he's made of air, the more important reason was that she's the only one that dared to disobey Namimori's order, and with it, the king that ruled with a iron fist: Kyoya Hibari.

The first time she ditched class, it was said that she was caught by him, leading to a fight. But the usual one-sided duel, ending with his opponent lying in the hospital for a month was different this time: no one knew how it turned out, only it seemed like those two had assumed some kind of compromise after it, with Toma skipping class on a regular basis now. That alone is enough for the students to draw a equal sign on the level of danger these two can bring.

But the only reason Tsuna knew of this was because she was always a subject of discussion among the students, just like he is infamous with his "No-Good Tsuna " reputation.

"Sawada くん、" looking almost timid, a girl in braids stood before him, broom in hand,"I..I have cleaning duty today, but..um," stealing a look behind her at her friends, the girl continued," I don't want to..ah, can you take my spot for today?"

"あの、、、" wanting to say that his mother would be worried if he came home late, Tsuna stammered, only to have the girl thrust the broomstick at him, along with a quick "thank you".

But these kind of things happen often enough on him, so he only signed, knowing arguing is no use.

"Maybe I shouldn't have forced it on him like that..." in the hallway, the girl's voice sounded faint.

"Oh, don't worry." laughing relentlessly, just loud enough for him to hear, the boy replied," He's the 'Dame-dame Tsuna' after all, what is he gonna do, bite you? He probably doesn't have anywhere to be anyway."

Gripping the broom handle, Tsuna took a deep breath and started sweeping trying to hold back tears.

And that was when she appeared.