A/N: I've been wanting to write for this fandom for a while '^'

Warnings: Rude language - some may offend, violence, kinda OOC sarcastic Tsuna.

This deviates from canon where Frederico didn't die and so Tsuna continued undisturbed by Reborn/Vongola. He also isn't entirely useless like in canon.

Honestly, Tsuna had expected getting away with murder to be a lot harder. It wasn't like he wanted to get caught, but he'd figured there'd be a lot more trouble than carving the local gang crest into the body of his victim and leaving amongst the rubbish piled in the alleys of the shadier part of town. Bodies like this showed up every couple of months as a result of the warring gangs in the area – or so most people assumed. The gangs didn't often threaten the lives of civilians; in fact some commended them for getting rid of some of the trash that roamed the streets at night, and so very little effort was made into dealing with deaths like these. With this reasoning, Tsuna admitted he'd done a fair job of covering up his little accident with Takada, as fair as he could for a first time murderer. The twelve (going on thirteen) year old sighed and hoped at least the next one would prove a little more of a challenge.

Wait a minute. 'The next one?' Tsuna decided to halt his thought process so he could fully understand the implications of his actions. Not a day before he'd been an ordinary twelve (going on thirteen) year old, and now he was looking forwards to his next murder. It was surprising how very normal events had somehow led to this outcome.

XXXXX flashback

Tsuna winced as he cleaned the last of his scrapes and covered it with a small and unassuming flesh-coloured plaster. His last set of cuts and bruises had barely faded before his bullies had kindly provided him with more. Tsuna was starting to consider charging them for the never-ending need to buy more plasters. Sure he was fairly small, soft-spoken and decidedly feminine in appearance. And he might have blushed that one time when he got close to a shirtless Yamamoto in the changing rooms one Monday afternoon, but still – he didn't deserve the constant harassment of his peers. Not that people had ever needed a reason to bully him, it had been a problem he'd faced since entering nursery. Often he wondered if he created some sort of magnetism that attracted negative attention and trouble, but most times he'd dismiss it as being surrounded by a bunch of idiots.

Shaking his head, Tsuna put away his small medical kit and stretched his muscles. It was still early yet, so he decided to cook himself a proper breakfast before school. Nana, his mother, was away on a two day, three night trip to the hot springs she'd won in town the other week. Although she had protested leaving him by himself, Tsuna had insisted she go. Lord knows she needed a break from raising him single handedly. Turning on the stove, Tsuna let his mind wander to the other person who was supposed to be raising him alongside his mother. Sawada Iemitsu: oil worker (abroad) and bastard who hadn't bothered visiting for at least four years. As he cut various vegetables to put into his omelette, Tsuna decided Iemitsu was an arsehole like the rest of the people who had abused him over the years. He was sure neglect counted as a form of abuse, not that Tsuna actually needed the man the pay attention to him.

Speaking of the undesirable people in his life, Tsuna thought back to the bullies he was constantly facing. You would think after years of being beaten, he would develop his fighting skills. While Tsuna now possessed extraordinary fleeing skills instead, it couldn't be said he didn't fight back. It was simple reality that a twelve year old could only do so much against a gang of at least five upperclassmen. Individually he was confident enough to take them on, but five at once often left him overwhelmed and overpowered. Not to mention there was a new one, that guy Takada. Tsuna decided within minutes of meeting the sumo club member (while giving him a polite greeting and a smile of course), that he looked like a boiled egg gone wrong. It astounded him how someone could shave his (egg shaped) head and flaunt his excessive body mass for a sport that involved tackling another, equally chubby and sweaty boy with pride. Let it be said that as these thoughts ran rampant through Tsuna's head while politely greeting the other boy that his personality had somewhat been warped by the years of excessive bullying.

Takada had cornered Tsuna after P.E. and had arrogantly proclaimed Tsuna a 'homo faggot' and scum for being so. Tsuna had rolled his eyes and assured Takada that there was no need to fear, since he wasn't into sweaty sumo boys who looked like deformed eggs, and promptly earned himself a punch to the gut. Tsuna thought the entire confrontation was ridiculous. He was bisexual at the very least. Either way, Tsuna had gained a new acquaintance, and he was eager to break off their relations as soon as possible. He had enough people on his arse (figuratively of course) and he wasn't keen on taking on more. With a sudden curiosity, Tsuna eyed the small knife he had used to cook with. It was sleek – entirely metal from tip to hilt – and wonderfully sharp. It would easily fit in one of his pockets and go unnoticed. In a moment Tsuna had wrapped it up protectively in some cloth he found laying around and shoved it in one of his many pockets, before making his way outside and onto his school. It would purely be for scare tactics of course; people often left you alone if they thought you were crazy enough carry around a knife. 'Not to mention how Takada would probably shit himself straight out of fear'. Tsuna thought the idea would be vastly amusing. Evidently his personality was warped more than originally thought.

As predicted, Takada had cornered him at the school gates once all lessons were over. Surprisingly, though it should have been expected, he could see the five older classmen he usually had to endure before exit the school building. There were no other students around – seeing as he had to leave later for failing to produce homework for any of his teachers – and being caught between several of his tormentors was not an ideal situation. Before the five at the gates registered that their target had shown up, Tsuna ran in a dead sprint, passing the shocked teenagers and started gearing towards the older part of the town where streets were narrower and harder to navigate. He was vaguely aware that Takada had sprinted after him almost immediately and so he'd hoped Takada would be easily lost in the winding streets of the older section of Nanimori. As fate (if such a thing existed) would have it, Takada was familiar with the increasingly shady part of town, and soon he had run Tsuna into a dank alley, cluttered with several rubbish bins, before cornering the skinnier boy.

"It's remarkable how someone of your stature managed to chase me here, Takada-san." Tsuna smirked at the panting boy who still had managed to block his route of escape, apparently unfazed by the turn of events.

"Shut it you little faggot shit." Takada was still panting heavily, yet he had the strength to knock the wind out of Tsuna with his beefy fist.

Tsuna, who was slumped against the wall at this point, merely huffed indignantly in reply. 'Honestly, can't they think of new insults?' Takada leered down at the boy before turning away as if to make his subsequent speech more dramatic. The egg shaped boy stood up straight, pacing in a line as if he were on a stage, or some army superior, about to give the new recruits a lashing.

"Honestly, having people like you at my school makes me sick. It's bad enough you ogle other dudes; you have to go around with that pretty face of yours like some slut, trying to attract more boys. It's sickening."

Tsuna ground his teeth in anger, while still holding his midsection. It was one thing to be a repressed little fucker, but to blame it on him was both pathetic and entirely infuriating. Takada seemed to be gearing up to say more, but Tsuna decidedly had enough. Shifting a little, his hand came across the outline of the small knife in his pocket. Normally his lack of hesitation would be surprising, but angry as he was, Tsuna didn't think twice before slipping out the blade and burying it up to the hilt in the back of Takada's skull while the boy was still in the middle of coming up with more insults for the brunet. A moment of shocked silence permeated the air before the larger boy slumped and fell forward. Wincing in disgust, whether over the dead body or Takada's entire existence, Tsuna grasped the hilt of his knife before giving a sharp tug to dislodge it from Takada's skull. It took a minute, but eventually the knife was free. With a grimace, Tsuna wiped it on the larger boy's clothes before heaving him over to take a look at his face. It looked like the fall might have broken his nose, but Tsuna decided it wouldn't make much difference to the boy– no, the corpse. It was starting to make him a little sick, but he figured the full impact of his actions hadn't sunk in. That or he was more fucked up than he thought. Gazing at the still-warm body, Tsuna was struck with an idea, and bringing the small knife once more, he pressed it into the boy's forehead and started carving. Later, when Tsuna found himself cleaning his knife, checking over his appearance, double checking the area for clues of his presence and making his way to the more populated areas of Nanimori unnoticed, he decided he wouldn't mind a next time.

'Next time' came sooner than he thought. Tsuna had been idly lying on the riverbank near the outskirts of town. Usually he would be home around the time the sun started setting, but as the light slowly faded from his surroundings, Tsuna decided he'd rather watch the sky. His newest bruises ached, and his legs were tired from running to the river in the first place. Even after he'd killed Takada, it seemed there were plenty others to take his place. Soon the boy heard the sound of raucous laughter sounded sharp in the air. Three teens passes along the street above him, and it wasn't until Tsuna made eye contact with one that he recognised Mochida sempai and two of his lackeys.

"Hey you guys go on ahead, I gotta take a dump." The older boys made equal sounds of disgust and amusement before leaving a grinning Mochida behind. The other boys hadn't noticed Tsuna. 'Way to make this easier', they boy thought, idly tracing the hilt of his hidden knife. Since the incident with Takada he'd taken to carrying it around, almost hopeful that he would eventually need it. Soon after, Mochida lay twitching, blood leaking from the gash stretching across his throat. After dumping the body in the river, Tsuna wondered where this was taking him. He didn't want to be a mass murderer, but with two innocent lives on his hands at the tender age of twelve, it was steadily heading in that direction. 'Not that Takada or Mochida were innocent.' Tsuna had known (or at least found out afterwards) that Takada had been harassing several boys, going as far as assaulting them in the worst of ways. Mochida was part of a gang, which wasn't such a well kept secret. His involvement with assaulting civilians, and most commonly, teenage girls, wasn't as well known. It was no big secret either that Mochida was after Sasagawa Kyouko, and although Tsuna had long gotten over his crush for the girl, he still felt the need to protect her. 'If you put it that way, I sound like some sort of fucked up vigilante', Tsuna snorted at the thought. He was sure his morality was strong enough that he wouldn't kill innocent people, but a self-satisfying figure of justice was not his ideal career choice. He didn't owe it to anyone – in fact they should owe him for getting rid of the scum. 'Maybe I'll start charging them.' Dusting himself off, Tsuna idly thought he sounded more like a hitman than a vigilante while he started his journey back home.

XXXXX

Whether through some ironic twist of fate, though more likely pure coincidence, Tsuna had his first encounter with a hitman not two weeks after his run-in with Mochida. It was nearly entirely dark outside his school and if not for an intense bad feeling in his gut, Tsuna was sure he'd have been dead. He raised his hand to his hair, feeling the frayed ends of a couple of locks where the bullet had passed through. Unfortunately, by throwing himself to the side without looking, he managed to tumble down a set of stairs, breaking his arm in the process – if the pain was anything to go by. Fortunately, he was able to take cover in the alcove besides them. He could hear the assassin approaching, moving down the stairs quickly. Tsuna almost heaved a sigh of relief when the man continued forwards, under the assumption that Tsuna had continued down the corridor, before choking on it when he saw another person round the corner. The assassin whirled around at the sound, only for the newcomer to rush forwards, tonfas raised to smash them into the assassin's head. Under the attack, the unknown man crumpled as if he were a puppet and his strings were cut, his gun clattering to floor.

"Hibari sempai."

Hibari glanced between the man on the floor and the injured boy besides the stairs. Tsuna kept a calm facade, despite the hint of fear Hibari could glean from the other boy's eyes. Whether it was fear from almost being killed, or fear of himself, Hibari didn't know nor did he care. Neither did Hibari question how a student he had never met face to face before knew his name.

"Ah, I'm S-Sawada Tsunayoshi. Nice to meet you." Hibari grunted in reply, too busy observing the unconscious man. He didn't mention it wasn't the first assassin he found going after the boy (it was around the fifth), but it was the first he let slip so close. Nobody targeted his students on his turf and got away with it. From what he heard from the stupid herbivores, Tsuna was distantly related to a large, wealthy family. Hibari couldn't care less about the boy's connections and would opt to stay out of it, until it became apparent that even the boy was aware of them. Hibari was ruthless, yes, but Nanimori was his kingdom, and the unaware herbivore in front of him did not do anything to deserve to be left to mercy of those who would prey upon him.

From besides him, Hibari heard the groans of the third person present as he woke up. He would have sighed, if Hibari was the kind of person to sigh, for having to deal with these herbivores. He would have turned to finish the job too, except he saw something entirely unexpected in the brunet in front of him. The fear in the herbivore's eyes disappeared, shifting towards a blood lust that screamed carnivore. With surprising speed, the boy whipped out a blade, taking aim and letting it fly straight into the forehead of the awakening man. It wasn't until a few moments later that the boy seemed to have realised what he'd done, quickly looking towards Hibari with panic in his expression.

"Ah, uh, H-Hibari s-sempai..."

The skylark inwardly smirked with a new-found interest of the boy in front of him. 'Sawada Tsunayoshi.'

"Clean up this mess. If I find bloodstains on my school I'll bite you to death." Hibari allowed his smirk to show on his face before he turned and left. 'What an interesting herbivore.'

XXXXX

Tsuna's back ached. He had spent a good two hours dragging the (heavy) corpse out of the school, making sure to take the route with the least chance of getting caught, only for Hibari to turn up and take it off his hands. Tsuna didn't know what the older boy would do with the body, and he wasn't entirely keen to find out, despite how useful the information could be in the future. He had to spend another hour retracing his path to clean up any stray spots of blood that may have stained Hibari's precious school. Let it not be said that killing was all fun and games. The one lesson Tsuna did gain from the entire ordeal, asides from the difficulty of getting rid of bodies (and ignoring the enigma that was Hibari Kyoya entirely), was that he needed a lot more training. He wasn't entirely sure why someone would target him, but it seemed likely that the gang Mochida was involved with wanted revenge. Tsuna couldn't come up with a logical reason otherwise, but if he'd known true dynamics of a gang he'd have realised that Mochida was a pawn whose existence was probably not even missed – that is, assuming his gang leader even knew about his death.

Either way, Tsuna needed to train. He started taking daily jogs, starting small but quickly building up to a two hour course that would lead him halfway up a mountain. He practised throwing knives more; thankful he'd done some practise before the assassin attacked, even if it was merely for boredom. Every other Sunday he would take a train that led him closer to Tokyo to go to a shooting range under the pretence of having regular study sessions. If his mother wondered what her son was doing waking up at 5 AM, or why there was a constant thunk thunk thunk coming from his room, she never asked. He desperately wanted to train in hand to hand combat, but was struggling to find a place to do so or someone to teach him. Any local place that taught martial arts did so purely for formal competition purposes, and didn't even breach the level he wanted to learn at. Things were starting to look depressing on that front.

Tsuna was reading a book on hand to hand combat as he made his way through the school grounds, and sighed. A sudden burst of warning in his gut barely gave him time to look up and step back before a metal tonfa swung downwards where his head had been, ripping the book from his hands. Wide brown eyes met steel blue ones, yet neither of their owners spoke. Tsuna was busy contemplating whether Hibari had finally decided to punish him for killing someone (because no matter how you looked at that, it was odd right?) and how far he could run away this time before the older boy spoke.

"You will not learn through books, Herbivore." The brunet had to take a moment to realise what the prefect was even referring to before he replied.

"I can't really find another way to learn." Tsuna was apprehensive, wondering whether the raven haired boy would accept that as a decent excuse, or why he even cared that Tsuna still couldn't fight head on.

"Come." The younger boy barely registered the order before Hibari had turned and started walking away. Making a snap decision (which seemed not to be the way he made all his life decisions), Tsuna swallowed his questions and followed.

He found himself in a large, open gym. Tsuna wasn't aware his school had facilities like the ones he found in the gym, although from what he remembered from bits of rumours he'd heard, the room would belong almost exclusively to Hibari – and the disciplinary committee by extension. He warily eyed a particular bench-press that had at least seven large weights on either end and wondered what Hibari could possibly want him to do there. Fortunately (or possibly unfortunately) the prefect bypassed the entire range of intimidating exercise machines and made a beeline towards the large ring in the centre of the room, Tsuna trailing after him with a sinking feeling in his gut. He would likely need extra bandages that night.

Tsuna had to restock his small medical kit the next day. Hibari was strong, but more than that, he was ruthless. Tsuna wondered if he even was holding back. He seemed to want to push Tsuna to the limits, and then some, and only until the brunet could barely stand did he let up, abruptly declaring their 'lesson' over.

"Same time, tomorrow."

Tsuna soon learnt that Hibari was definitely holding back. The first time Tsuna managed to land a hit on the boy (about a week after their first session), he grinned and increased his speed even more. The brunet then found out that Hibari's smile was to be even more feared than his glare. If not for the feeling in his gut that helped read his opponent, or the odd day or two of rest that Hibari allowed, Tsuna was sure that training with the prefect would have been hell. He never dared complain, for the few times he managed to strike or counter attack against the older boy, the fierce rush of pride and satisfaction left him thankful the prefect bothered to train him. His mother seemed thrilled he had joined a club (as he told her), and even more so that he managed to make a friend. Tsuna didn't bother to refute her claims seeing how happy the woman was, and every now and again he wondered if the raven haired boy considered them friends.

Roughly four months after their first lesson, Tsuna and Hibari could be often found exchanging blow for blow in the private gym of Namimori middle. Kusakabe, the second in command for the disciplinary committee, often came to watch the two. Tsuna may not have known, but Kusakabe could understand the massive feat the young brunet had achieved by progressing so far in such a short amount of time. Tsuna had started to enjoy their daily spar, and he was sure the other boy did as well, so it came as a surprise one day when he entered the gym to find Hibari waiting with a black cloth clutched in his hands rather than the customary attack as a greeting.

"What's going on?" The small boy cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Put this on." Hibari held out the cloth, which Tsuna received without question. "You have good instincts, but you don't use them properly. From now on we will fight with you wearing that."

Tsuna nodded, slipping the cloth over his eyes and giving it a secure double knot at the back of his head. He didn't express his discomfort at the complete lack of sight, knowing it would be pointless to do so, but that didn't mean he was entirely happy with the change in program. Edging towards the ring once more, Tsuna jumped in and faced what he hoped to be Hibari. Without warning, an attack came from his left, knocking the boy off his feet. He barely had time to orientate himself again before another attack came – which he dodged by a hair's breadth. The brunet nearly gulped, feeling rather than seeing that the prefect had a smile on his face.

XXXXXXXX

Hibari rarely took interest in people. He was a carnivore, and only herbivores flocked together and made packs of 'friends'. Sawada Tsunayoshi however was no ordinary herbivore. When they had first met, he had trembled like the frightened animal he seemed to be, only to finish off the other herbivore in a way that was entirely not herbivore. He fought Hibari head on, and while he still was like a hatchling, the brunet showed a mass of potential. He didn't act like a carnivore should at school – when others insulted him he would barely respond, which Hibari found most annoying – but when he saw other weak herbivores in trouble he would attack without mercy.

The weaklings started to leave the Herbivore alone when Hibari went out of his way to pick him up after school every couple of days. At least they understood not to go near what was his. Either way, the prefect had trouble classifying the strange brunet. After much deliberation, he started referring to Tsuna as 'the omnivore' in his mind, but had yet to say so out loud until it was sure the omnivore would not betray his expectations.

"Herbivore."

Tsuna jumped back, trying to regain his breathing back to normal. Hibari had interrupted their spar with that one word. Tsuna indicated his head to the side in question.

"You should get yourself a weapon." The prefect considered what would suit the young brunet. He himself fought head on, and with brute strength – the tonfas were perfect for him but it would not suit the omnivore. Tsuna fought differently, it was almost like dancing how he twisted and twirled around his opponent, counter-attacking just as much has outright attacking. He had less strength than Hibari, which he made up with speed and a lithe, flexible body. His intuition was a strong weapon, but it was not enough. The prefect wanted to see the boy become stronger.

"Ah." Tsuna suddenly seemed embarrassed all of a sudden. "I was actually thinking... daggers? Or knives really. They feel most comfortable to me."

Hibari nodded. Daggers would suit the younger boy. Soon they returned to their spar.

The next day, Tsuna arrived to find Kusakabe holding a sleek, black box. It was fairly large, and Tsuna could only raise an eyebrow in question. The older boy grinned, waving Tsuna over with one hand. He set the box down, pressing hard on either side until the lid clicked open. Inside lay an array of knives – at least two of each. Deadly silver blades almost gleamed under the light of the room, practically asking to be used. Tsuna immediately zeroed in on a pair.

Looking entirely unlike the rest, the pair of tactical combat knives had ten inch blades. The matt black handles bled into the blades – which were also black almost entirely throughout, rimmed with silver. They were neither curved nor grooved but were perfectly smooth and straight, giving the knives a symmetrical outlook and a dead centre balance. The brunet didn't hesitate before he grabbed the pair, immediately ignoring every other knife within the box. Experimentally adjusting his grip a few times, Tsuna whirled the knives around before giving a slash to an imaginary opponent.

"I want these."

Kusakabe whistled, grinning once more. "Hell, I didn't get around to saying anything yet." He laughed. "Consider it a present from Hibari-san, and nice choice Sawada-san."

Almost entrapped by his new toys, Tsuna barely thought before giving his usual response. "I told you to call me Tsuna."

The disciplinary member shook his head but made no comment. In his opinion, Tsuna was fast approaching the level of strength Hibari had, and should be treated with the same amount of respect as the prefect. Furthermore, not many people could fight Hibari and get along with volatile teen.

"Now there are few basic rules about knives. Keep your knife dry, keep it clean – and all of it, not just the blade. You can oil it too, to prevent rusting. Most importantly, keep it sharp."

Tsuna nodded, evidently agreeing.

"Hibari-san will be coming in thirty minutes. That should be enough time for you to get used to your knives."

The brunet nodded again, setting out straight away into practise with his new favourite weapons. When Hibari arrived thirty minutes later, brown eyes dancing with barely-contained delight greeted him.

XXXXX

Tsuna didn't quite remember exactly when they became assassins. He didn't remember how he started including himself on Hibari's jobs, at the very least. It didn't come as a surprise that the prefect accepted hits on people; in fact it was more of a surprise to the brunet that the older boy took orders from people at all, even for the funds he used for his precious disciplinary committee. After having seen the house his parents left him, Tsuna would have thought Hibari would have had no need to rely upon himself for money before he realised that it was just like Hibari not to want to rely upon others – even his parents – for support.

It was on one of those jobs that Tsuna met the explosive teen known as Gokudera Hayato. Hibari had gone ahead to hunt his prey, leaving Tsuna to pick off whoever he wanted as long as he didn't get in the prefect's way – which was essentially the set up they agreed upon when Hibari first took Tsuna along with him on a job. The mansion they were in had a typical Italian style from the 19th century, which wasn't surprising considering that they were in fact, within Italy. As much as Hibari despised leaving Namimori and Japan, he would despise it more if the underworld noticed his kingdom because he drew attention to it by only taking hits there. And so they took a small jet that was built more for speed than luxury to Italy for their jobs, later which Tsuna found was another part of Hibari's inheritance.

After having cleared the first floor, Tsuna found his way to the basement, picking off each person he came across. They chose a day when almost the entire house (sans the boss, who wanted to spend time with his woman alone) was absent for a particular celebration, leaving almost no resistance. The whoosh of air and subsequent squelch his throwing knives made as they found their target in enemy heads and chests was almost inaudible in the dark stone corridor. Only the following thunk of a heavy body hitting the floor broke the silence until the brunet picked up the sound of harsh and heavy panting. Following the sound, Tsuna found himself outside a wooden door that was almost hidden in the gloom. He winced at the loud creak the door made when opened, but soon forgot about it upon seeing the room's resident. A silver haired teen lay slumped against the opposite wall, thick ropes binding his wrists to the wall, keeping him upright. Emerald eyes glared fiercely at the intruder, despite the obvious fatigue within them.

"What do you fuckers want now?" His voice was raspy, through lack of water or excess shouting, Tsuna couldn't tell.

"Why are you here?"

Confusion was evident upon the other teen's face. "Who are you?"

"I asked first."

Emerald eyes narrowed in anger for a moment before they closed and their owner sighed in resignation.

"These fuckers have been questioning me obviously. They think I know some shit about my dad's family." The silver haired teen spat. "My dad practically handed me over to them."

Tsuna took a moment to process the information before replying.

"Well it looks like they managed to piss someone off. My friend upstairs is doing his job of getting rid of the boss of this place, and I'm just getting rid of the rest."

The bomber snorted. "So you're here to kill me."

"What?" The brunet blinked. "No. The job was to get rid of the boss and as many members as possible and you've just told me that you're neither."

"Are you stupid?! I've seen your face, how could you just let me go?" The response came almost as a growl. Gokudera couldn't believe that anyone would simply let him off just because he was innocent. That was practically unheard of in the underworld, especially from an assassin. The bomber refused to believe that someone would be so kind without asking for something in return. "What do you want?"

"Nothing." Tsuna shrugged, going over to pick cut through the binding rope with one of his smaller knives. They fell to the floor, as would have their captive if Tsuna didn't reach out to catch him. "Do what you want now, go home or whatever. You're free."

The bomber stumbled to his feet, the confusion and disbelief in his face morphing into sadness and anger.

"I don't have anywhere to go. I'm not going back to a place that would cast me off like this."

"Then come with me."

Gokudera blinked once. Twice. "A-are you serious?"

"Sure." Tsuna gave a smile. "Oh by the way, what's your name?"

The bomber almost laughed. "Gokudera. Gokudera Hayato."

"Nice. You can call me Tsuna." He grinned, unbelieving of his good luck.

Later, when Hibari and Tsuna were meeting up after all the work was done, the prefect gave a glare to his companion's extra baggage before looking to Tsuna for explanation.

"This is Gokudera Hayato. They were holding him captive in the dungeon."

"Hn." Hibari turned his back on Tsuna and started walking away. "You can start hunting by yourself then, omnivore."

"Did your partner just abandon you?" Gokudera was wide-eyed, already starting to feel guilty for breaking up the assassin duo. Tsuna simply laughed in response.

"No, no. Hibari has his own way of saying things." The bomber looked confused. "Think of it as approval for independence. He likes working alone, but he's been letting me get the feel of things with him. I couldn't do it on my own anyway since I don't have my own Kusakabe-"

"Kusakabe?" The silver hair teen interrupted without thinking.

"Pretty much his right hand man. Do don't think we just barge in and kill people do you? We need to gather info and plan and all that stuff." Gokudera nodded, before a thought occurred to him and his eyes widened.

"You want me to be your right hand man?" The bomber asked incredulously.

"Well yeah, if you want. I've heard that you're practically a genius, who wouldn't want you?"

Gokudera's answer was cut off upon their arrival at a sleek, black car. Hibari was already inside, glaring impatiently at the duo while another, older teen – Gokudera assumed this was the 'Kusakabe' – was smiling somewhat sheepishly. Tsuna sighed and turned to look the taller boy in the eye.

"I don't care what family you came from, who your parents are or even what people said to you in the past. None of that matters. I don't want a subordinate, I want a partner, and I want that partner to be you." The brunet looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "You don't know how many times Hibari had to hit me to shut up about getting you on my side after I first heard about you."

Gokudera sputtered indignantly, and in the following months he denied with vehemence that he blushed. Tsuna held back another smile before he offered the teen his hand.

"Partner?"

"Tch. Idiot." He grasped the offered hand.