Author's Note (edited 6/24/19): This was originally the pilot, then it became a full blown story. I promise the writing gets better. Probably. At least, I think I've improved. This story is a twist on the usual "evil brother" story, with all the tropes included. Be warned: not all of them will be played straight, but some will be.

I have a few arcs planned and I release chapters only when I'm certain I can finish it. Please enjoy!

Edit 3/23/2019: Tsuna's nickname for Ieyasu was changed from "Yasu" to "Ie" so that I as the author do not get confused when brainstorming for a different story where Primo's generation is reincarnated.

Pilot Chapter 1: Sawada Ieyasu

Reborn peered at the football field through his spyglass. Sawada Ieyasu, the younger twin and most qualified candidate for Decimo. The teen was most aptly named. Beneath the sunlight, you could see his blond hair gleam from a mile away.

In his file, it was said that he was the spitting image of his great ancestor, but what Reborn himself saw...the tutor frowned. There was technically nothing wrong with Sawada Ieyasu. He consistently scored in the top ten of his year mates, all save his Japanese. Given that he was all but raised in Italy until the past few years, this was to be expected. This was easily remedied.

His athleticism was beyond excellent. Peerless, even. Powerful, strong, fast, and even flexible. Nearly all of the major traits, he already had. All the other athletic clubs were consistently begging for him to help in their games or practices, which he did with little fuss.

As a result, his relationships with his classmates-both male and female-were very good. He was popular amongst his female classmates for his good-looks and sophisticated manners. Usually there would be some jealousy in his male classmates because of it, but all of them genuinely admired him and found him a worthy target for the girls' affections.

The best way to describe his target would be like this:

"Sawada Ieyasu?" The pimply teen's face brightened. "Oh! You mean Ie! He's part of my study group. We meet every week." Sheepishly, the teen scratched his face. "He helps me with my calculus. I know I'm older than him...but he really knows his math."

"Sawada Ieyasu?" A dreamy sigh. "He's absolutely perfect!"

"He has a six pack and beat up the entire Yumei Karate team last week. On his own." The teen leaned in to whisper, "I was there."

"I hear he inherited his blond hair from European royalty." The girl gushed.

"I hear he does fashion modeling. In France."

"His favorite play is Giselle." A flash of glasses. "He watched it with us at the European club last week."

"One time, he bumped into Hibari-san in the hallway when he was late. And Hibari-san moved out of the way."

"One time, he kicked me in the face." A goofy smile split across the teen's face. "It was awesome."

His friend scowled. "Dude. He's your brother."

On paper, he was too good to be true. And Reborn's many, many years of experience working as a freelance hitman taught him this: what was too good to be true, usually was.

His suspicions were confirmed the moment he arrived at the Sawada home.

"I'm here to train your son."

"Oh my!" The mother said, "you're here to train Su-chan?"

Not a word of the other teen hunched over the breakfast table. When the hit-man glanced at him, his mother smiled and prodded the teen. Beside him, Ieyasu scowled and went back to his breakfast, ignoring his tutor.

That was strange. Originally, when he'd seen Reborn, his face had lit up into such a pleasant smile it was like watching the sun rise. He'd been polite and well-mannered, speaking in fluent Italian. The epitome of the perfect student and son. What was with this cold behavior!?

"Tsu-kun! Guess who came?"

The teen mumbled a bit before going back to sleep. It took a little more persistent prodding before he woke up. "Tsu-kun" eyed Reborn warily. He was a brunette with spiky hair and a bloodshot eyes. There was a bruise on the side of his head-newly formed. The remnants of a black eye covered his left face like a scar. He smiled. Timidly.

"Nice to meet you, Reborn-san. You can call me Tsuna."

"I look forward to working with you."

"Aren't you going to greet your new tutor, Ie?" Tsuna asked quietly.

Ieyasu shook his head. "No!" He glared at Tsuna before turning to his mother with a brilliant smile. "Sorry Maman, but I have to go get ready for school. I'll see you after."

A loving kiss on the cheek that had Nana giggling and then the boy was back to being angry. He brushed past Reborn and stormed upstairs, but not before giving his older brother a truly nasty look. The Arcobaleno watched the rest of the family members. Tsuna returned to his meal, slowly chipping away at the food spread before him. Meanwhile, there was an amused smile on the mother's face, as if she were watching a show.

It was almost as if Tsuna wasn't her son.

"Do you want to join us, Reborn-san?" Tsunayoshi asked politely.

"I'd be happy to." He said simply.

This was the perfect opportunity to gather information. Something was telling him that this assignment was not as clean cut as its file implied. When Ieyasu had brushed past him earlier, there had been scrapes on his knuckles, as if he were fighting.

"Ah don't worry," the mother said, "Su-chan is an excellent student. He will definitely listen to you once he calms down."

"I pushed him too far last night." Tsuna lamented as he went back to his omelet.

Nana immediately burst into giggles before returning to the stove to make another batch for the newcomer. He inwardly frowned, even as his face stayed impassive. What kind of household was this? What kind of parent would allow the youngest son to act this way to the older?

From what he'd seen of Iemitsu, the Young Lion would definitely not abide by such a thing. He ran a tight ship: always neat, always clear, and always positive. Lal Mirch's presence as a CEDEF adviser was proof of that. Her pride would never have allowed her to work for anyone lesser.

Unless...Iemitsu didn't know. Or didn't care. From his brief conversation with him, Iemitsu doted on Ieyasu to the point of overindulgence.

A nasty suspicion filled the hitman's mind. As he subtly pumped the sleep-deprived (sleep-deprived people were like drunks, words slipping easily out of their mouths) brunette for information, that suspicion only grew.

"Su-chan was just playing around!" A conspiratorial smile from Nana."You know how boys can get."

No, he most assuredly did not.

By the time Reborn finished and left the still eating Tsuna behind, his mind was already made up. He'd complete the student evaluation and send off his report. If this house really did have an abuse problem...then he would act accordingly, Iemitsu and his doting be damned.

This abuse would continue only over his dead body.

Ieyasu came back down with his shirt collar buttoned all the way up. By that time, the achingly slow-eating Tsuna had finally finished the bevy of foods laid out for him. The older brother kept his bag resting against his chair. When he'd finally finished eating, he slung that bag across his shoulder and quietly thanked his mother before going off to join his younger brother.

The bratty blond point blank refused.

"No! I've had enough of you!" Shove. "Creep."

"Not going to wait for your brother?" His tutor asked disapprovingly.

"THAT ASSHOLE IS NOT MY BROTHER!" With those angry words, he ran off into the clear morning, kicking up a large dust cloud as he went.

Instead of looking devastated or upset, Tsuna only smiled. "Don't worry, you can go on ahead, Reborn-san. Since you're training him, after all."

Reborn nodded and left to go find his wayward student. By that time, Ieyasu had already reached the school. Just how fast was the boy? At the time, he'd shrugged it off, but later, he realized this had been important evidence to figuring out the mystery behind the Sawada brothers.

He spent the entire day observing. By the end of the day, he was certain of three things:

One: Sawada Tsunayoshi could sense him.

Tsuna looked out the window, bored out of his mind. His amber eyes caught sight of Reborn. He smiled and waved. The hitman nearly dropped his binoculars in shock.

In the seat behind him, Ieyasu frowned and kicked Tsuna's seat.

Two: Sawada Ieyasu was a complete brat.

Ieyasu entered the rooftop. He immediately made a beeline for Tsuna, who was sitting alone that day. Tsuna looked up, chopsticks still in his hand. Because Tsuna had his back turned to him, the tutor couldn't make out what he said. Only Ieyasu, who was sitting across from him.

"I lost my lunch," Ieyasu said.

Then, "hand over your lunch, it's the least you can do, you asshole."

And finally, "over my dead body."

Tsuna gave up his lunch with little argument. Reborn frowned. There was something he was missing. Wasn't that interaction...it was a little strange? A little tense? He didn't understand. Tsuna wasn't afraid at all. So why was he letting his younger brother push him around like that?

Lost in his thoughts, the tutor missed the last thing Ieyasu said.

"I'll pay you back."

Third: Sawada Ieyasu was violent

Later, he saw them beneath the stairs, in an abandoned corridor after school. The brat was wandering that area (the boy seemed to have wanderlust) and when he saw his brother following him, immediately ran away. When Tsuna grabbed him from behind, the boy whirled around and punched him in the face.

"Ha. I guess I deserved that." Tsuna said.

"..." Ieyasu was damningly silent.

Reborn sat in front of his monitors, shaking out the strange vision that had superimposed over what he'd seen. He murmured to himself, puzzled.

"Why did it somehow look like a virgin defending her chastity?"

Fourth: Sawada Ieyasu encouraged people to bully his older brother

After school, Tsuna was cornered by a group of angry schoolmates. Yes, that's right. Not just his classmates, but his schoolmates as well. They were both male and female.

"Stay away from Ie-kun!"

"Haven't you bullied him enough?"

"He couldn't-" a giggle "-walk properly this morning."

There was an innuendo there, but Reborn pretended not to hear it. Ieyasu, seeing the mob corner his brother, snorted and walked off.

"Aren't you going to save him?" His tutor asked mildly.

"Hmph! He deserves it!" He eyed him distrustfully. "Do you know what kind of shit I have to deal with because of him!?"

His ears were bright red, but his tutor was too busy beating him up to notice. At the very least, the boy took these beatings without complaint. When Reborn outlined that he was disrespectful, cowardly, and where he needed to improve in his school work, he'd listened very earnestly. This brings us to the fourth point.

Fourth: Sawada Ieyasu had two faces. The nasty one he showed Tsuna and the pleasant one he showed the rest of the world.

"Can I take notes on this?" He'd asked.

Reborn hesitated. "No. You need to remember this enough for it to sink it."

He nodded earnestly. "I will! You can count on me, sir!"

Why are you so different when it comes to your brother!?

The only time he spoke up to defend himself was when he was told that "good bosses don't abuse their family members."

"Tell that to him." He'd muttered before nodding his head resentfully.

The boy had swallowed his complaints as if it were second instinct. It seemed Iemitsu had taught him some respect, after all. Then why...

"Why were you rude earlier?"

The boy tilted his head and looked up at the sky, index tapping against his cheek. Then finally, he said, almost tactfully, "I was suspicious. Weren't you here because Maman called?"

"It was only a cover." Reborn explained evasively. "I'm actually here for something different. Your father sent me."

Ieyasu nodded. "Then I don't need to be rude, see?" He smiled. "I thought you were going to bully me like the other babies."

"Which baby?"

"The one with the clear pacifier."

Reborn had never heard of such a being. Whatever little good feelings he'd gained from the boy's earnest desire to learn evaporated into the harsh sunlight. Still, he made a mental note to call Aria, whose family had more knowledge of these things than most.

Fifth: Sawada Ieyasu was a liar(?)

In short, Sawada Ieyasu was not only disrespectful to his tutor and older brother, he was also two faced, a bully, and allowed others to bully his family without a word. Why then did Reborn get the nagging feeling that there was something even more to this? That this wasn't as simple a case of abuse or a spoiled brat with enabling family members as he believed?

The case of the Sawada Brothers was only getting more and more complicated.

That night, Tsuna attempted to enter the room. Ieyasu immediately shoved him out and demanded he "keep you henchman in your room, not mine! I deserve some fucking privacy in this household!"

Sometimes, it seemed like the boy resembled the Vongola brothers more than his own. Especially Xanxus. The resemblance was startling, sometimes.

"Why do you put up with this?" Reborn asked Tsuna point blank.

Tsuna smiled. There was a far away look on his face. "Did you know when I was younger, everyone called me Dame-Tsuna?"

The sudden shift in conversation coupled with the intensity in the teen's eyes had him stumped. "Ie never did though. Even though he was new and couldn't speak Japanese very well-"

Yes, Reborn had heard about this. Ieyasu had lived with Iemitsu in Italy until he was about twelve. One son for the husband and the other the wife…until things got too dangerous for the CEDEF head. Then he was shipped back to Namimori to live with the rest of his family.

The Ninth still thought fondly of the little boy that was Ieyasu in the few snatches of time they'd spent together. It was why the boy was the first choice compared to the relatively unknown Tsuna. Vongola had had time to get to know him better.

"-do you know what he said? He said in his broken Chinese, 'don't pick on my onii-sama'. I had to tell him he'd gotten Chinese and Japanese mixed up. It was so cute." Tsuna sighed, disheartened. His eyes were far away, reminiscing. "Back then, he'd always follow me around like a little duckling calling me 'Onii-chan' with that cute face. I guess now that he's grown up, he's decided he doesn't need me anymore."

"You're his big brother. He will always need you."

"I hope so..." There was a strange quality to Tsuna's voice. "I want him to call me Nii-chan again with those shining eyes."

Oh no. Fuck no. Reborn had heard that tone of voice before. He'd heard it many times. Once upon a time, before he was reduced to this form, he'd uttered words in that exact tone...

Indulging, desiring, and...restrained, very oddly restrained, before blooming into downright lustful.

This was not what he signed up for.

That wasn't a tone of voice you used to refer to your brother! That was the tone of voice you used to refer to your sexy bartender who, besides serving you great alcohol, was a beautiful, bombshell of a woman that listened attentively to all your problems. A bartender that was engaged. That was the tone of voice you used to refer to the girl in your class when she said her father said she wasn't allowed to date you until she hit sixteen. That was the tone of voice you used to refer to the woman with the hottest ass in town, but was way too old for your scrawny teenage self.

That was definitely not a tone you used to refer to your brother.

Reborn's brain shut down.

"What." He asked dryly. "Is your relation with him again?"

It was easy to believe that Ieyasu had inherited his aristocratic features from his distant ancestor, Giotto, but it was also true that when you looked at him, he didn't look any different from any random Italian teen you saw on the streets. His features were purely European. Compared to the Tsuna who looked mostly Japanese, with some foreign features mixed in, it was a stark contrast.

Tsuna smiled innocently. "Don't you already know?"

The little shit.

Nothing passed Tsuna's lips after that. Not one word. His mouth remained stubbornly closed. That only left the younger brother. Reborn confronted the blond brat.

"What is your brother not telling me?" Reborn asked softly, dangerously even.

The boy, without an ounce of fear, glowered at him. On any one else it would've looked dangerous. On him, it only made him look like a wet kitten. He pointedly looked away.

"You were talking to that man." He sulked. "I thought Papa sent you to save me, but clearly you're just here for him. Not me."

"You're talking about Tsuna?" Reborn scoffed. "Don't be childish."

"Of course, I'm talking about that bastard! Who else would I talk about? Papa!?"

The impertinent brat was immediately smacked on the head for that. "Don't talk to me in that tone." Reborn had many things he didn't tolerate and one of them was disrespect. "And I'm not working with your brother in whatever baseless conspiracy you've cooked up in that empty head of yours."

The teen looked skeptical, but stayed silent.

"I'm here to train you to be a world class Mafia boss!"

Ieyasu stared at him in shock.

Halfway through his explanation, when Reborn pulled out the pictures of the brothers, the teen's shoulders began to shake. Sorrow twisted his fine features. Tears began to fall from his clear eyes. Even when crying, that brat looked beautiful.

"They died!?"

Reborn froze. "Oh, that's right. I forgot you knew them."

Shit, he thought. Now what do I do?

The teen broke out into noisy sobs. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Suddenly it all made sense. Ieyasu didn't consider Tsunayoshi his brother because he considered himself related to the Vongola brothers, who had been with him ever since he was small. He most likely resented being moved away from everyone he knew and was likely homesick. Naturally, he took it out on Tsunayoshi.

"I don't know-"

But it was too late. Ieyasu had already pulled out his phone, shouting "PAPA WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME FEDE DIED!? AND MASSIMO! AFTER WHAT HAPPENED TO ENRICO TOO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO THEM!? TO ME!? I HATE YOU!"

(Leon immediately turned into a earplugs. )

Iemitsu, on the other line, said something back but the blond was angrily hanging up. And Tsuna? Tsuna kicked down the door (literally, the door was totaled now).

"What happened!? Why are you crying and shouting!?"

The blond immediately latched onto his older brother like a limpet. "FEDE AND MASSIMO DIEEED!" he wailed, "I WASN'T THERE! I COULDN'T SAVE THEM OR DO ANY RITES AND NOW THEY'LL BE STUCK WANDERING THE AFTERLIFE COLD, ALONE, AND AFRAID! HUNTED DOWN LIKE DOGS!"

Tsuna looked at him, looked at Reborn and whatever expression was on Reborn's face.

"Let's sit down and talk, shall we?"

The door closed behind them with an ominous creak.

Tsuna and Ieyasu knelt on the floor, across from Reborn. The brunette's arm was around the younger boy's. The younger boy was all but cuddled up against Tsuna earlier, holding onto him like a lifeline. When he remembered himself, he untangled their arms and knelt a respectable distance away.

(When Tsuna attempted to wrap him up again, Ieyasu slapped his hand away.)

Ieyasu's face was carefully blank, tears long since wiped away by Tsuna's handkerchief. There was no trace of the upset boy from earlier, only a boy with a straight back and careful poise. Reborn had traveled extensively, met many people and seen many things. Without a doubt, that was the stance of an upper class person. A nobleman's comportment. A nobleman's air. It wasn't something easily replicated. Many prominent bosses had tried and failed to gain this level of ability.

Supposedly, Federico had loved a girl from a fallen noble family. He'd always assumed it came from that. Now, he was not so sure.

"Let's try again. I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, a member of the Main House." Tsuna bowed. "This is Sawada Ieyasu, my bride. He was adopted into the family."

Said bride bowed stiffly.

"What the hell." Reborn said blankly. How can a boy be a bride!? And why was he a Vongola candidate when he was adopted? Why not Tsuna?

When the mother entered the room and set down their snacks, he thanked her numbly. There was a brief exchange between Sawada Nana and the two boys, but it was as if he was hearing from underwater. None of it made sense. None of any of this made sense!

"Arara, didn't you know? I thought you knew." Nana put her hand on her cheek. "Wasn't that why Iemitsu sent you? To train Su-chan to be Tsu-kun's bride?"

"Ieyasu still hasn't acclimated fully to Japan yet, so that was what I'd thought." Tsuna said, arms folded. His eyes were still smiling. The moment he'd heard "Tsu-kun's bride" he lit up like a lantern.

What the hell have I gotten myself into was Reborn's thought.

Nana beamed. "Su-chan's done very well for himself." She smiled dotingly at the boy, who flushed in pleasure. "Ah well, then I'll leave you boys to it!"

With little knowledge (or care) of how she dropped that bomb, she left the room, humming softly to herself as she went.

"Are you not related?" Reborn asked, puzzled. "Iemitsu said you were his son and that you and Ie were twins."

"It's just easier to go with that then the truth. In truth, this was merely everybody else's assumptions."

"Explain."

Tsuna scratched the back of his head and folded his arms, eyes thoughtful. "It's hard to believe actually. I'm better off showing you."

"Can we get back to the main point now!?" Ieyasu said angrily. "My family's going to get hunted down and turned into trophy husbands for a horde of horny women in the afterlife instead of being free to rise above into the highest heaven and you're still chatting!?"

"Knowing them, they won't mind." Tsuna said dryly.

Ieyasu tried to shove him out the window. "JUST GO DIE YOU ROTTEN BASTARD! WE! ARE! A! MATRIARCHY! WOMEN ARE SCARY!"

A buzz came from the blond's back pocket. He immediately dropped Tsuna to answer the phone. Tsuna pulled himself out the window and stood up so eagerly you couldn't even see him drop onto the floor.

"Here," Tsuna said, "let me." He reached into Ieyasu's back pocket, making sure to cop a feel while he was at it. Red suffused the blond's pale olive complexion.

"Y-you!" Before he could snatch the phone back, the older boy had already answered it.

"Ah, Dad? Just what have you been telling everyone over at that shit show you call an agency? Hmm?"

Tsuna was still smiling even as his voice darkened. It was mildly impressive.

Reborn snatched the phone away. "Iemitsu, I do not get paid enough for this."

"Ah? But you're doing this as a favor to the Ninth? You're not getting paid at all."

"Exactly." The tutor said grimly. "I'm not getting paid for this at all."

Obligatory advertising: Currently, this story is exclusively on Fanfiction, just as how my collection of Isekai fandom stories are on AO3. If you want to read isekai snippets for varying fandoms (and a full blown oneshot for Fruits Basket) as well as my mad rambling in between, drop by my AO3 profile. My fanfiction profile should have my AO3 link. I have the same name there.

Please let me know what you think of this chapter or the story as a whole. I'm interested in getting feedback.