A/N: This is an Shouchi and Tsuna friendship fic. xDD Sapphy-chan wrote most of it- I wrote some of it. It's going to be a series of ficlets, I think. xDDDD

Title: Acknowledgment

Author(s): Sapphermine and Shin-chan

Warnings: Slight OOCness?

Summary: Sometimes, all it takes is a little smile and some acknowledgement to change the course of history. Tsuna knows this all too well. Irie Shouchi and Tsuna friendship ficlet. Set after the Future arc. So expect some AUish moments.


"Ohayou," a boy had said, barely above a whisper, and smiled at the him. He barely heard it but he turned around nevertheless to look if it was him this boy had greeted.

Finding no one in the street he frowned as he pointed at himself, "Are you talking to me?"

The other boy with bright amber eyes shyly nodded, "Un. Good morning. You are Irie Shouichi, right?"

Shouichi, for that was his name, frowned in suspicion, "Yes, that would be me. What do you want?"

The other boy laughed nervously, waving his hands in front of him as if to say 'Don't get me wrong', he said, "Nothing! It's just that, I see you everyday when I come home from school, walking the same road with me. So I thought, 'Hey! I'll greet him today!' and I did. I'm sorry if I frightened you."

Shouichi snorted, 'This scrawny boy? Frighten me? He must be kidding!'

"No, you don't scare me."The other boy, with bright and kind amber eyes, sighed as if to say, 'That's good' and said, "I'm Tsuna, by the way." And he had smiled at him. Again.

'What the heck is wrong with this kid?'

"You're Sawada then. The one whose house is always so noisy." Tsuna laughed nervously, "Our noise goes all the way to your street?! How embarassing!"

Walking closer to him, Tsuna continued, "I almost never get the chance to study at home with all the chaos. But it's all fun anyway! Why don't you come over some time? I'll introduce you to everyone!"

Shouchi frowned slightly. Was this some sort of trick? But looking at the boy's shyly smiling face, he quickly scrapped the thought. Sawada-san might've come from a crazy family, but he certainly did look the menacing or manipulative type. But still...he barely knew this kid. Even if they went to the same school.He opened his mouth to decline the boy's offer when two loud calls interrupted him.

"TENTH! GOOD MORNING!"

"Yo, Tsuna!"

"Oh? A new friend, Tsuna?" the new comer, the boy with the a baseball bat strapped across his back said cheerfully.The boy laughed again, louder and so filled with happiness that he uncharacteristically wanted to put a sock in the amber-eyed boy's mouth just to stop him from laughing.

"This is Irie Shouichi-kun! He lives in the street next to mine. Plus, he studies in Namimori too! He's our senpai."The other boy, the white-haired one, scrutinized him. '

What the hell is wrong with this guy?' Shouchi wondered."He smells suspicious, Tenth."'What is this guy?! A dog?!'

Tsuna laughs nervously, "Gokudera-kun! He's nice. I see him when I walk back home from school sometimes."

"Well, now that you mention it, he does look familiar."The was the taller boy, Yamamoto, he remembered. The ace on the baseball team.

"Just as I expected, Tenth! Your powerful observations are simply incredible! I knew this boy was familiar but you knew right away! I'm really amazed Tenth!"And the two kept on babbling.'

And I guess... I'm ignored again, huh? This always happens... I don't know what the hell's wrong with--'Shaking him out of his thoughts was a voice, "...-kun? ...rie-kun? Irie-kun? Everything okay?"He blinked, "Yeah, everything's fine."

When he looked back at the two, Yamamoto and Gokudera if he heard properly, they were still babbling. The other one, though, the white haired one, was getting more and more agitated while the other one had still that calm, nice -but idiotic- smile plastered on his face.

"Gomen ne, Irie-kun. They always get so loud in the morning. It took me a while to get used to it but after a while, it's pretty amusing. Just listen how they go at each other! You'd think they're a married couple or something!" And then he laughed again.'

What the hell is with this kid and laughing way too much?'


"I don't think I'll get used to them." They were way too noisy-he edged away from the boy named Gokudera who seemingly pulled out dynamite from no where- and violent. And stupid, he noted, as the base ball player merely laughed the shorter boy's threats off and put out the sticks of dynamite like it was nothing.

"Why'd you think so?" An innocent question accompanied with large brown eyes, blinking. Shouchi twitched slightly. There was something terribly wrong about a fifteen year old boy being able to pull of that look so well. It was unnatural.

"I don't like crowds that much," he mumbled, wishing for the school to come into view already. He might've wanted friends, but this boy- he was too nice, too sweet. Too friendly and looked at him with seeing eyes that made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Like Hibari-san?"Shouichi grimaced, "Hibari hates crowds too much."

That earned him another laugh from the other boy, "True, true. I don't think I'll ever meet anyone who hates crowds as much as Hibari-san."

Silence reigned for a while and they found themselves near Namimori, much to Shouchi's relief. Sawada might've been nice but his friends were so odd.Hoping to break away from Sawada's group he tried to walk faster. Before he could do that, however, Tsuna's voice broke through his thoughts again,

"Irie-kun?"

"What?" He paused in midstep. Normally, he would've ignored it, tried to go back to his normal life of anomity, silence and ignorance. But something about Sawada Tsunayoshi made him stop- made him want to reach out.

"Let's go to school together again tomorrow."He looked back at the other boy and saw the other one smile brightly, sincerely at him, acknowledging him and his existence. He could genuinely see it now- how earnest it was, how friendly and how it lack the maliciousness of the school bullies he was always so used to.

He didn't think he could say no