I don't own KHR... or much of anything, for that matter. Huh.

Um... Enjoy.

"All right, guys," Reborn squeaked, expression grim. "You're all as strong as you've ever been, but we can't be sure that'll be enough. Our next opponents are not to be taken lightly; it's possible that some of you could die." The baby looked at each of the guardians in turn, his gaze finally falling on Tsuna. "This is the time to say what you need to say to your loved ones. If you haven't confessed, do it now."

Tsuna faced the Sasagawa household, his face set in grim determination.

He would do it. He would confess his love to the girl of his dreams. For better or worse, he would finish what he'd started all those months ago, when he first entered Dying Will mode.

He gathered every ounce of his courage and resolution as he took his first step towards the front door.

Then he turned on his heel and ran back into the street with a squeal, his resolve bursting out of him like water from a broken balloon.

This would not be easy.

Several blocks away, Chrome Dokuro faced a similar dilemma, stalling in front of a Japanese-style house that appeared to have staunchly ignored all Western influence.

However, in her case, the front door opened for her.

"Enter."

Gokudera and Yamamoto locked eyes, steel grey crashing into olive green, and some unspoken understanding passed between them. It was a conclusion that they had both been brushing at for almost as long as they'd known each other, a nagging thought at the back of their minds that they would repeatedly stave off.

Now, at what might have been the zenith of their remaining lifetimes, they could no longer afford to avoid the issue; they would have to work through their differences if they wanted a shot at happiness.

Gokudera, however, had no choice but to be in denial until the very end, simply because he always had trouble opening his heart to others; he would do everything in his power to deny the direction in which all signs were pointing. After all, Gokudera would always be Gokudera.

"What the hell are you doing here, bastard?" he said, grinding out his last hopeless prayer that things between them could remain the same.

"I should ask you the same question," Yamamoto replied, matching Gokudera's tension. "Except, you know… without all the swearing."

After a moment of tense silence, each boy sizing up the other, the Smoking Bomb shook silver locks out of his eyes and cocked his head towards the nearest residence. "I have business with a certain idiot here."

Yamamoto's eyes narrowed, and, instantaneously, they both knew their friendship had changed forever.

"You fell for her too, huh?"

Lambo stared at I-pin, who was chatting animatedly and incomprehensively with Maman. What was happening in his tiny, afro-covered mind was well beyond human comprehension.

Finally, he shrugged and pulled a lollipop out of his hair, shoving it in his mouth and walking to the bathroom without a second glance.

"Geh," Gokudera grunted, taken aback by the sudden conversation shift. "Wh-what's it to you?!"

"If you can't even admit it properly to me, how can you expect to confess your feelings to her?" Yamamoto challenged.

"It-It'll work out! Besides, it's not like an idiot like you could – "

"I love her," Yamamoto cut in. "I love Haru Miura, and I will make her happier than you ever could."

"You hardly even talk to her!"

"You only ever yell at her!"

He wanted to deny it, but he and everybody else in Namimori knew it was true.

Gokudera gnashed his teeth together. "…Why? Why is it always you that gets in my way? Why is it that time and time again, I have to fight an uphill battle against you for everything I want? When I sought to be the Boss's right hand man, it was you that was more useful to him. When I strove to lead the guardians, it was you that got along with them better. And now, when I've finally found the courage to give everything I have to somebody, it's you that's a far better match for her!" His hands clenched into fists. "Am I doomed to have to compete against you for my happiness for the rest of my life?! Will this rivalry never end?!"

Yamamoto's hand went to Shigure Kintoki's handle. It was a completely unconscious decision; this was the first time that he had gotten so riled up in a situation he didn't need his sword for. "I will tell you now that I never wanted the things you wanted; glory within the Vongola wouldn't give me as much happiness as it gives you. I only competed with you for those positions in order to pressure you to become the best possible fit for those roles, for the sake of everyone we protect. This, however, this alone I will not yield on. And it is for that reason that I acknowledge you as a rival for the first time."

Tsuna started pacing up and down the block, muttering, "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, whatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?!"

Sasagawa Ryohei stood beneath the window of the girl he loved, faced with the issue of how to get her attention without waking the whole neighborhood, a task that was in direct conflict with everything he believed in.

Spotting some pebbles by his feet, he scooped them up with a nod. He tossed them in the air and whispered, "MAXIMUM SUNSHINE INGRAM, PEBBLE VERSION!" However, each punch reduced the pebbles to dust, and he only succeeded in showering the girl's window in sand. "Hmm… Maybe I should find some bigger rocks, to the extreme," he mused. "Wait, no, this extremely isn't the time for that. Think Ryohei, think!" He crouched down and rubbed his fists against his temples. After a moment of inexperienced brainstorming, he slapped his fist into his palm and jumped to his feet. "That's it!" He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Master PaoPao's secret technique: localized howl of the banshee!" After taking a deep breath, Ryohei shouted, "OPEN YOUR WINDOW, TO THE EXTREME!"

The window had barely stopped rattling it its pane before the bedroom's occupant threw it open.

"Are you out of your mind, you idiot?!" Kurokawa Hana hissed.

Chrome Dokurou gulped, staring at her cooling cup of green tea.

She ventured a glance across the table, where Hibari Kyoya sat, sipping at his own tea. Her eyes traced the edges of his kimono until he set his cup down, whereupon she immediately returned her gaze to her own cup before his gaze could catch hers.

Neither had spoken since she had entered his home, and Chrome was trying desperately to find the right timing to break the ever-solidifying silence. She was quickly becoming frustrated with herself; she'd resolved to, at the very least, make an impression on the skylark, but, to her immortal shame, she still feared him on some primal level.

Just before she could will herself to simply make a sound, Hibari spoke.

"I will admit, Chrome Dokuro, that I am confused by your presence here. All I can imagine is that you're following the infant's instructions, but I cannot believe for an instant that you would choose me over your benefactor."

"I-" She cleared her throat. "It's not a matter of ch-choosing one over the other; I will always be Mukuro-sama's servant and soldier. However, um… I… I want to be your l-l-"

"Lover," Hibari finished. "So you wish to serve Rokudo Mukuro, retain your position in the Vongola, and take me as your own?" She nodded, lowering her face even further until he could only see the top of her head. "Greedy herbivore. And what made you think I would accept this proposal?" She didn't answer. "I doubt that you came here without a plan."

"I…I had planned to imply that pursuing a relationship with me would cause Mukuro-sama discomfort, and thought that alone would be enough to attract you. Then I planned to win you over from that point on."

"How devious," Hibari commended. "But?"

"But I decided that I would not be satisfied by winning a relationship through deception."

"Hm. Herbivores shouldn't feel ashamed of their deceptions; they need them to survive."

"Even herbivores would rather take what they want with their own power."

Hibari regarded the girl through hooded lids. "I decline."

She looked up at him. "B-but—" She flinched away as he reached towards her, and a small, sarcastic smirk appeared on his face as he retracted his hand.

"I do not intend to pursue a relationship with someone that cannot even endure my touch."

"I—I won't always be like this! I'll get over my fear soon, so, um, maybe until then…"

"And why should I wait for you?" Hibari countered.

"Because you were here."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What does that mean?"

"It means that on a night when the guardians are supposed to be saying goodbye to their loved ones, you are the only one that stayed home."

"Unlike the rest of you herbivores, I don't take orders from the infant."

"But you don't have anyone to go to, anyway."

He closed his eyes. "You think you're my only option."

"Th-that's right."

Hibari scoffed. "What arrogance. Fine, then; we'll make it a competition. If you can get over your perfectly rational fear of me before I find somebody else, then you will become my lover, though you may find that you'd rather be on the receiving end of my malice. If not, then I will bite you to death for your insolence. Is that understood?"

She sealed her fate with a nod.

Tsuna's pacing had increased in speed, and he started releasing a high-pitched "HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII".

"So…" Yamamoto said. "…Who goes first?"

"Wha—We can't both go, you idiot!" Gokudera protested.

"Why not?"

"Because that's lame as hell!"

Yamamoto shrugged. "So, what, only one of us gets to go?"

"Obviously!"

"And who should that be? You?"

"Obviously!"

"No, we need a fair way of deciding this. How about rock-paper-scissors?"

"I am not leaving this to luck!"

"It's not luck, it's fate."

Gokudera considered. "So, if you lose, you'll accept that it isn't your fate to be with the idiot woman?"

"I'll accept that it's not my fate to confess to her tonight," Yamamoto replied, eyes flashing, "but that's only if I lose."

"All right, fine. We throw on shoot." They formed fists between them. "One, two, three, shoot."

They both threw rock.

"Again. One, two, three, shoot."

They both threw scissors.

"Again."

Paper.

Rock.

Scissors.

Rock.

"KUROKAWA!" Ryohei shouted, his sound-directing technique still in effect. "I HAVE SOMETHING EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO SAY TO YOU!"

"It had better be important, you inconsiderate boxing freak! Do you have any idea what time it is?!" Hana snapped.

"NONE AT ALL! JUST LISTEN, I HAD THIS ALL PLANNED OUT!"

Hana frowned. Sasagawa Ryohei had planned something? Maybe it was important.

"BUT THEN I EXTREMELY FORGOT!"

Hana facepalmed. She had a feeling she wouldn't be getting any sleep anytime soon.

Lambo's sleeping face was contorted with pain and discomfort, his hands clutching desperately at his sheets as unknown forces bore down upon the young scion of the Bovino family.

Then he farted, and all was right with the world.

Tsuna leaned against a nearby telephone pole, dizzy and out of breath; his panic-attack had drained what little stamina he possessed.

"…Maybe I should just go home."

Rockrockpaperscissorspaperro ckrockrockrockpaperrocksciss orspaperpaperscissorsrockroc krockscissorsrockpaperscisso rspaperpaperrockrockpaperroc k scissorspaperscissorsrockroc kpaperrockscissorsrockpaperp aperpaperpaperscissorspaperp aperrockscissorspaperrockpap errockrockrockrockrockscisso rsrock paperscissorspaperpaperpaper paperscissorspaperrockscisso rspaperpaperrockpaperrocksci ssorsscissorsscissorspaperpa perrockpaperrockrockrockscis sors …

"…You can leave now," Hibari informed his guest.

"O-oh. Okay." Chrome stood and bowed. "Thank you for the tea."

"ANYWAY," Ryohei called, "I MOSTLY REMEMBER THE GIST OF IT, TO THE EXTREME!" He cleared his throat. "KUROKAWA, I LIKE YOU, SO YOU SHOULD EXTREMELY BE MY GIRLFRIEND IF I COME BACK ALIVE FROM MY SUMO TOURNAMENT TOMORROW!"

Hana blinked once, twice, three times before his words registered, then her face took on an alarmingly red pallor. "Wh-wh-wh-WHAT?!"

"I SAID, KUROKAWA, I LIKE YOU, SO—"

"I heard you the first time! Where is all this even coming from?!"

"MY HEART! OR SOMETHING!"

Flustered and overwhelmed by the ambush confession, Hana decided to distract both of them from the main issue. "What sumo tournament are you talking about? Why would you die?"

"TOP SECRET, TO THE EXTREME! WILL YOU EXTREMELY BE MY GIRLFRIEND?"

Hana tried to get away from his gaze by hiding her face in her hands, but she couldn't bring herself to break eye contact with the boy that simply radiated hope and vigor. "I'll…I'll…" He seemed to lean closer with every uttered syllable, and Hana found herself thoroughly defeated by his pure, naïve eyes. "I'll think about it," she sighed.

"YES!" Ryohei, shouted, throwing both fists in the air. "YES, YES, SHE EXTREMELY SAID YES!"

"No, I extremely did not!" Hana shouted in response, but he wasn't listening.

"SHE SAID YES, KUROKAWA SAID YES! I'M GOING TO DO ROADWORK AROUND THE BLOCK FOR THE NEXT TWO HOURS TO CELEBRATE! YES, YES, YES, EXTREMELY YES!" Just before Hana could start regretting the decision that had been made for her, Ryohei stopped chanting and adopted a more serious expression, pointing his fist in her direction. "Wish me luck, Hana."

Hana could only nod dumbly, too rattled by his use of her first name to mount any resistance, or even wonder what it was she was wishing him luck for.

Satisfied, Ryohei nodded and began his promised two hours of training. She watched him for a while as she recovered from the series of blows her reality had taken in the past five minutes, and she slowly came to the realization that there was no way she could possibly bring herself to refuse him.

She almost felt disappointed in herself for having developed feelings for the boxing freak.

Almost.

Chrome walked out of the house feeling slightly dissatisfied, but not yet discouraged; her resolve was still intact, though her pride was a little worse for the wear.

"Chrome Dokuro."

She turned around and found that Hibari was leaning against the door frame.

"Regardless of the outcome of our competition, nothing will begin if you die tomorrow. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes," Chrome responded. He turned and started back into his home. "H-Hibari-san!" He paused, but did not face her. "I promise to live, and I also promise to make it so that you're not alone anymore!"

Chrome couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw Hibari smirk before shutting the door behind him.

Finally, Gokudera just threw his arms in the air and said, "Fuck it, let's just both do it."

Yamamoto cocked his head at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We'll go at the same time."

They approached the door side-by-side. Yamamoto rang the doorbell.

After a moment of waiting, they heard a series of footsteps, and the door swung open. "Hahi?" Haru said, looking from one boy to the other. "Yamamoto-kun, Gokudera-kun, what are you two doing here so late?"

"On shoot?" Yamamoto suggested with a grin.

Gokudera rolled his eyes. "One, two, three, shoot."

The two spoke as one: "I like you, Haru-chan."

A blush immediately blossomed on her cheeks. "Eh? Eeeeeh? Eeeeeeeeeeeeh?"

Gokudera shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away.

"What, you're not even going to wait for her response?" Yamamoto asked, dumbfounded.

"I already know what it'll be; she'll accuse me of playing some sort of elaborate prank, then we'll shout at each other, then we'll just end on an angry note, like always."

"Hahi! Don't decide Haru's reactions for her!" Haru protested.

Gokudera half-turned to face her. "I'll decide what I want, idi—" He swallowed his words with a lick of his lips. "What is your response, then?"

Haru started twiddling her thumbs. "Um… Are you playing a prank on Haru?" Gokudera rolled his eyes. "Just kidding! Really, just kidding. Um, Haru is really kind of, um, conflicted right now," she said, gaze flickering nervously between the guardians, "so if you could wait for, like… two… no, three weeks, Haru should have a response for both of you."

Gokudera blinked, shocked at the lack of an immediate rejection, then snorted.

"Hahi! What's so funny?!"

"Nothing you need to worry about." He pointed at her. "Three weeks, three months, three years, three decades, whatever; take all the time you want. I don't know about the baseball idiot, but I've got plenty of time."

Yamamoto nodded as Gokudera left. "Like he said, but, um…" He scratched his head. "Thirty years might be a bit much."

Haru nodded. "Okay, then. Good night, Yamamoto-kun."

"Good night, Haru-chan."

Tsuna sighed and pulled a coin out of his pocket. "Heads, I go for it; tails, I leave."

He tossed the coin, cringing slightly as it flew higher than he'd intended, but was distracted by the sound of a door opening.

"Tsuna-kun?" Sasagawa Kyoko said.

Tsuna looked at the girl in surprise, then flinched when the coin came down on his head. "Owowow… Um, hi, Kyoko-chan. What brings you out here?"

She took a quick glance up and down the street before answering. "A neighbor called and told me that there was a suspicious person pacing in front of my house, and they thought that it might be a stalker…" She turned to him. "Tsuna-kun, have you seen any stalkers around?"

He sweatdropped. "Um… No, I haven't."

"Oh. Never mind, then." She frowned and cocked her head at him. "Now that I think about it, why are you here?"

He laughed nervously and held up his hands. "Oh, you know, just passing through."

"Oh," she said, the barest suggestion of disappointment showing through, "I see."

After a moment of awkward silence, Tsuna sighed and dropped his hands to his side. "I'm sorry, that was a lie; I actually came by to talk to you about something."

She blinked. "What kind of something?"

"I'm – well, we're going to be fighting tomorrow, and there's a fair chance that some of us might die, so I need to tell you something that I've been putting off for a long time now, while I still have the chance." He took a deep breath. "Kyoko-chan, I—"

"Tsuna-kun," she spoke up suddenly, interrupting him.

His sentence stammered to as stop, the momentum that he'd barely managed to work up coming to a crashing halt. "Y-Yes?"

"Don't say things like 'while I still have the chance'; they're not you. And also, there's no reason you should have to rush into things like this. If you don't have the courage to say what you want to say today, then just put it off to tomorrow; you're good at procrastination, aren't you?"

Tsuna worked his jaw, but no sound came out. The words sounded like they should have been a jibe, but when she said it, it felt more like she was complimenting him.

"So if you have something to say to me, say it because you have the courage to say it, not because you're afraid not to. Isn't that your way of doing things?"

Kyoko smiled at him in encouragement, and he found that he couldn't help but return the smile. "Okay… Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Kyoko-chan, I almost did something really stupid." He clenched his fists, as though in prayer. "I'll make it through tomorrow just fine – we all will, and then we'll come home in one piece, just like we always do, and I'll keep putting off the important things for as long as I can."

"Then you'll never get around to it," she teased.

"It's not procrastination if you don't eventually get around to it," Tsuna pointed out.

Kyoko pulled a face. "Is that true?"

"…Probably not, but it almost sounded cool," he replied lamely. "But I promise that I'll say what I need to say one of these days."

She nodded. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Tsuna nodded in turn and rubbed the back of his head. "So…"

"…So?"

"So, um, goodnight, I guess."

"Goodnight…Actually," Kyoko spoke up, "would you mind keeping me company while I wait for Onii-chan to get back? He shouldn't be gone for too much longer, and I'd appreciate having someone to talk to."

Tsuna smiled. "I'd be happy to."

Rokudo Mukuro sat upon the Kokuyo communal couch, arms resting along its back and eyes directed at the ceiling in his usual position, but not even the master of deception could fully contain the sense of discontent that flowing out of him, filling the room to the brim.

Flan cleared his throat, the man's foul mood getting even to him. "Well, Master, at least you still have us."

"Shut up."

Yeah, that's about that. Let me know what you thought; I won't get better if you don't review, or at least not as quickly.

I'd say that I would save a baby panda for every review I get, but I'm not sure how I would go about doing that, or even if there are really any baby pandas to be saved at the moment...

Anyway, please review.