Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I am simply borrowing the characters for this story. This fanfic will be as original as it can be. Similarities with other fanfics are not intended. The story is not related to any real story and similarities are simply coincidence. Reference to real life places are just to set the setting. This is strictly a work of fiction.

Warning: Dark theme and OOC-ness. This fic also contains hints of bendable morals which might not be comfortable for some people.

Chapter 1

-BREAKING NEWS-

"Kimura Hanako was reported missing just a few weeks ago. Last night, her body was

found under the Namimori bridge. A representive of the police, Inspector Ugetsu, told the conference

that it is currently too early to conclude that this case is related to the

other four murders. There is nothing about the murder that indicates that this is the

work of the same individual. For more details, please stay tune for the 9 o'clock news."

A piece of flyer was shoved under the door of the Sawada household, alerting the only son of the family who was tying up his shoes readying to go out. A tanned hand grabbed the piece of paper from where it was stuck.

"Welcome to Namimori, the town of unexpected relics."

The brown-haired male groaned when he saw that it was only the tourist flyer from the town council. He did not know why they still bothered sending these flyers to his house when it had already been almost twelve years since they moved to Namimori.

The first time he came to the city with his parents was when he was ten years old. He had always wondered what made his father chose this barely known town to move to from the big city. For one, there was nothing special about the place. From what little he had heard about Namimori was about its still dense forest, still untouched by the dawn of civilization. Ironically, despite the fact that it was still mostly in its natural state, Tsuna found a lot of abandoned buildings in the area.

The people who ruled the town, the Arcobalenos, were strange, in his opinion. He had never really met them but recently, he had been receiving invitations to formal events like a private council meeting or to informal ones like a hi-tea or a soiree. This started only three years ago. Judging from how his father was rarely home, he doubted that his father had finally frequented the council's public meetings and somehow got him invited to their private events. His father might always thirst for any actions for goodwill but he would never do it through a very political method.

They used to barely acknowledge the Sawada family's existence. There had been a couple of letters addressed to them detailing the formalities update on the council that everyone else in town received every year but that was it.

He felt like the flyer might as well be a beacon demanding for their attention. Without a care, he crumpled the piece of paper and threw it into the bin near the entrance to his place.

Tilting his head to the side, he called out, "Okaa-san, I'm going now!"

He waited a bit and at the lack of reply, a fond smile came to his face.

"Tsuna!" A tall male shouted just as he was about to enter the entrance to the lecture building. The male nudged him hard on his side causing a pained 'oof' to escape his mouth. "Where were you this morning? There was a mandatory talk by the town council."

"Yamamoto-kun," Tsuna greeted with a pained smile while rubbing his side in a useless attempt to erase the pain. His friend did not realize his own strength sometimes. "I had my shift moved to early this morning, remember?" They both settled to stand just in front of the building, as far as possible from the door so as not to disturb the other students.

Yamamoto's warm brown eyes sported a quizzical look, prompting Tsuna to continue.

"I asked you to take over my shift yesterday but you said you already exchanged your shift with someone else for the evening. So I asked Ryohei-niisan to take over my shift for me and I took his."

"Oh yeah," Yamamoto laughed. "I totally forgot about that, haha. I've been forgetful lately. Must be the stress."

Tsuna just chuckled. "Yeah. Must be."

"So, about the talk. Apparently there've been a lot of murders lately," Yamamoto filled him in. "The victims are mostly people our age, if not younger. It was just a talk to make sure that we will always keep ourselves safe though and to make sure to not walk alone at night. They're just repeating what they had said on TV, basically. I wonder though," Yamamoto brought his forefinger and folded it over his lips in a thinking pose. At the sight of the brunet's polite attention, he shook his head. "Never mind, Tsuna. You might be rushing to class right now."

"I don't mind listening, Yamamoto-kun," Tsuna checked his watch. "I still have twenty minutes to spare, anyway. What were you going to say?"

"It's just… Few years ago, the Superintendant pointed out that the murders happening in Tokyo were decreasing just as the one in Shimbashi increased. And then the incidents moved to Shibuya and just last year the same thing happened around Ikeno-ue. Now, it's happening in Namimori. He said that there is a certain direction that the increase in crime-rate is heading, district-wise."

"Maa, Yamamoto-kun. I did not know that you keep tabs on crime news," Tsuna commented with an impressed tone.

"Haha, Oyaji has always been interested in that area. It's an accidental knowledge on my part. But what do you think, Tsuna?" Yamamoto looked at him earnestly, his arms falling to his sides. "You're the Criminology major here Tsuna. You must have an opinion about this."

Tsuna's easy smile strained at Yamamoto's words. "I might be a Criminology major, Yamamoto-kun, but that doesn't mean that every crime demands my opinion." A guilty expression appeared on Yamamoto's face so Tsuna decided to humour him. "But if I must say, spikes in crime rates in different areas at different time are not indicator of a trend. Despite the fact that the rail lines between all districts are connected, it's too vague of a factor to take into consideration. In my opinion, it's the nature of the victims or the killing itself that we must focus on. So if what you were indicating is that the direction indicated a sole murderer terrorizing a certain district for a certain time, then I guess I can't agree with you."

A slow grin came to Yamamoto's face. "As expected of the best Criminology student."

Tsuna prided himself in being observant. He did not miss the bitter undertone in Yamamoto's praise. Before Tsuna could ask what the matter with him was, there was a hand on Tsuna's shoulder causing him to tense and clammed up. He slowly turned to look at whoever it was only to find a blonde-haired man who looked eerily similar to him. The man had an easy smile on his face but Tsuna knew not to take things at face value. The man let go of Tsuna's shoulder and Tsuna did an once-over.

The man was decidedly taller than him and if he did not look positively foreign what was with his blonde hair and orange eyes, he could have passed off as Tsuna's older brother. He had on the usual dark blue uniform of the police. Despite the easy smile, there was an overwhelming air of confidence surrounding the man and his eyes held a certain depth that Tsuna could not pinpoint. His presence itself demanded authority and respect. Tsuna's eyes moved to his left breast only to see a gold-wreathed silver emblem with three gold bars.

"Superintendent Giotto," Yamamoto greeted, confirming Tsuna's thoughts of the man's rank. They both instinctively straightened their back at the sight of the high-ranking officer.

The Superintendent nodded at Yamamoto in greeting before turning to Tsuna. "Are you Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Yamamoto was about to answer for his friend but Tsuna beat him to it. Tsuna gave the man a bright smile. "I'm sorry, but I'm not Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna reckoned lying to the police Superintendent might be a very bad move considering where his Degree was headed. As if his thought was not enough of a reality check, he heard his phone vibrated against the table.

Glancing at the front to make sure that the lecturer was not looking at him lest he would get into trouble, Tsuna discreetly grabbed his phone and brought it under the makeshift table.

I don't think lying to the Superintendent will bring you any favour, Tsuna – Yamamoto

Tsuna frowned at the text. He ignored the fact that Yamamoto was voicing exactly what he was thinking. He furiously typed back.

You know exactly why I don't want him to know who I am – Tsuna

Tsuna placed his phone back on the table. There were a couple of vibrations not long after. The person sitting next to Tsuna was visibly getting annoyed by the sound if the not-so-subtle stink eye he was getting was any indication. He only gave the girl a sheepish smile and a muttered apology.

He decided to focus on the lecture for the next few minutes. When he felt his eyes drooping at the lull of the lecturer's voice, he checked his phone again.

Maa, you entered the competition and they wanted their winner. Don't blame them for wanting 'their' reward. Haha, you must have made quite an impression with your essay. – Yamamoto

I did it for the extra credits, not to get an attachment at their Investigation Unit. Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be training right now? – Tsuna

Training is cancelled. Just saying but I think you're crazy for letting that chance go. I hope you have a good enough reason to decline the opportunity. – Yamamoto

Tsuna felt a bitter smile crept up his face. He did, but he did not bother replying.

Giotto flopped down on his seat in a less than graceful manner. He leaned back with his eyes closed on his reclining chair which looked so out of place in the shared workstation. He felt someone approaching his table and with a resigned sigh, he squinted at the person without moving. "What?" he tiredly demanded.

The male in front of him had platinum blond hair and ice blue eyes. There was disapproval in his eyes at how Giotto was sitting. "Did you find the little animal?"

"He would be here if I did," Giotto closed his eyes. "Why don't we just go and choose someone else, Alaude?" He sat up. "It has been months and we really need some fresh mind right here. We're reaching a stalemate now."

The man named Alaude's lips turned downward into a miniscule frown. "No. We need him."

Giotto supported his head on an arm on the table. "I get why you want Sawada Tsunayoshi. His theory is brilliant. His approach to things is different. But I'm sure the runner-up is good enough as well."

Giotto did not even flinch at the menacing glare that he received.

He shook his head and sighed, folding his arms over the table. "Okay, I understand where you're heading with this. Good enough may not be enough at this point and unfortunately, I agree with you."

"Hn."

"I actually thought I saw someone who could be him earlier," Giotto admitted. "I overheard this conversation between these two students about the recent murders and this one student was making a valid point in a similar approach Sawada Tsunayoshi did. But when I asked, he said he was not Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"Baka Giotto," a deep voice butted into their conversation. "With the way he's been ignoring our invitations of course he's not going to just say yes to a direct question like that."

Giotto held back a groan at the appearance of the newcomer. "Reborn," he greeted.

"Chaos," Reborn smirked, lifting his fedora a bit.

"Okaa-san, dinner's ready!" Tsuna announced warmly, bringing a bowl of freshly-made chicken porridge onto the table of four. He set the bowl away from the figure sitting on one of the seats on the table and instead placed it in front of the seat he chose to sit on. He grabbed the remote on the table and turned on the flat screen.

"Earlier today, the Superintendent conducted a talk in Namimori University. During the talk, he addressed the recent murder and missing person cases that are currently on the rise here in Namimori."

"Oh, look, kaa-san! It's the talk I told you I missed this morning." He brought a spoonful of porridge to his mouth and with a mouthful, he pondered. "So that's what the talk was about."

"The Superintendent advised everyone to not be alone in quiet areas. He said to walk at least in pairs. He emphasized that this also applies to the males as the victims of the recent cases are not gender-specified."

Tsuna sighed. "The world is a scary place, isn't it, Okaa-san? No one knows what people are thinking nowadays."

"Now moving on to the next news..."

"Oh, before I forget, Okaa-san," Tsuna paused eating and a frown came to his face, "It seems that Yamamoto-kun is bitter about something. I don't know yet but I plan to find out about it. What do you think, Okaa-san?" He turned to her. At the sight of her closed eyes, he shook his head fondly. "Oh Okaa-san, you must be very tired."

There was a bell ringing before the front door was being open. Tsuna recognized the sequence. There was no one else who would enter his home after ringing the bell without any second thought. A wide grin appeared on his face. He heard the confident footsteps heading to the kitchen but paid no mind to it.

He only lifted his head in greeting when a silhouette of the newcomer appeared. He saw one foot entering the living room first. His eyes followed the dirtied green length of the pants upwards until a very familiar smirk greeted him. He met the smirking man's heterochromatic eyes.

Without missing a beat, he pointed out, "You don't look so neat today. Bad day?"

The odd-eyed male went to join Tsuna on the table, his eyes briefly acknowledged the female sitting beside the brunet. He chose to sit across Tsuna. He pulled Tsuna's bowl towards him and challenged the brunet with a look as if to dare him voice out his discontent of having his food stolen.

Tsuna just gave him an amused look.

"I'm going to spend a couple of days here, Tsunayoshi-kun," the man said more than announced as if he was simply saying the sky was blue. "A group of enforcers came to my hideout. They're really just checking things but I rather they don't know that I live there."

Tsuna sighed. He let the male ate his dinner without much of a fight. He placed an arm on the table and used his palm to support his chin. "I suspected as much. The most recent murder seems to put them on edge if the sudden increases in public safety talks are any indication. One question though, Mukuro," Tsuna's eyes narrowed. "It's not you, is it?"

Tsuna was a bit disappointed that the other man did not choke on his food.

"Kufufu, oya oya, Tsunayoshi-kun. I can't believe you can just accuse me like that." His dual coloured eyes narrowed but Tsuna was not intimidated. "Rest assured. It is not my doing. I'm sure you already know though."

Tsuna smiled good-naturedlyly. "Just checking, Mukuro." Tsuna reached for the spoon that Mukuro abandoned and grabbed himself a spoonful. Mukuro pushed the bowl to the middle of the table earning a thankful look from Tsuna. "You know, I think they're still trying to recruit me. Just today, the Superintendent asked if I was Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Mukuro grinned, a gleam appeared in his eyes. "Oya?"

"I sort of panicked and denied it."

"Kufufufu, smooth, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"You can't blame me now, could you?"

Mukuro glanced at the other figure sitting with them and then at the family picture hanging on the wall behind her. He did not need to take a long look to know that the woman in the picture looked nothing like the female sitting with them. While the women had pale skin, brown hair and brown eyes, the female's skin was ashen completely in contrast with her auburn red hair. Her eyes were closed but Mukuro knew that she had similar warm brown eyes beneath her closed eyelids.

A conspiratorial smile appeared on his face as he met the brunet's eyes.

"No, I can't blame you."

AN: I made a new fic. Enough said. And yes, lazy summary on my part.

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