-insert disclaimer-

I don't and will never own the greatness that is Reborn. As well as the songs listed.

This is a first for me, Sei Honou, so please take care of me! I own nothing else but the OC, whom you will meet soon. Time and duration of every song-shot varies. They don't necessarily follow an order. Tee hee. Constructive criticisms are always appreciated. :) Very well! On with the fic! :D

AU

Twelve Minutes

"Hold on a sec, Hayato. You didn't really hear me say 'I love you' now, did you?"

"I heard. I guess I just don't really care."

"Well, have it your way, then. I can't do anything now, can I?"

"For a princess, you're really..."

"I'm really...?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

"Hey! Hayato!"

1. First Time- Lifehouse

~ "They say that a lot of firsts happen when you're in school."

The way the sea of faces stared at her made her stomach turn. Every face seemed to look alike. So familiar, so similar... So Asian.

She knew that Asians were very warm-hearted people. The Japanese people were no different. The people in that one class greeted their new classmate cordially. She was a new face. A different kind of face. Her face was so foreign. Still, there was a faint trace of eastern ancestry in her blood. After all, her father was a proud American whilst her beloved mother hailed from Japan, home of the loveliest and well-mannered ladies.

"It's very nice to meet all of you," she bowed down, her tawny, waist-length hair falling to her sides. She faced everyone with a smile on her face. It was a warm and inviting smile. "My name is Ruca Rigfort!"

While her new classmates gushed and awed away at her, one face in the crowd stood out. In that certain sea of faces, a particular face stood out from all the others. His visage was unlike any other. Sapphire-like blue eyes, beady black eyes and brown eyes stared at her, amazement, amusement and interest reflected in every orb... But his eyes were the most perceptive. They were green. Forest green. Jade green. Apple green. Emerald green... Every shade of green she would make out in her mind, but they all paled in comparison to his steely gaze.

Gokudera was alert. Now was not the right time to let his guard down. When the kid hitman Reborn spoke of "a princess from a far away land", he knew full well that something was coming up. Something was brewing... Reborn wasn't the kind of person who joked about things, most especially if their family was at stake.

Reborn never said anything else but that. No more. It was up to Gokudera to figure out if this girl was going to cause trouble. As his boss's right-hand man, he wasn't supposed to falter. He will never falter. Not ever.

"Juudaime..." There came his murmur. The doe-eyed boy seated behind him leaned forward on his desk and nodded. "She must be the one... The one Reborn-san was talking about."

"She looks like an ordinary girl to me..." Tsuna said to himself but it was loud enough for the Storm Guardian to hear. "She's looks harmless."

"We can't let our guard down, Juudaime. Reborn-san didn't say much about her..." Gokudera eyed the said girl from head-to-toe once more. "But she might pose a threat..."

"Very well, Rigfort-san. Please take your seat there, behind Sawada-san," Tadano-sensei instructed the newest member of his class. Ruca smiled and bowed down onto her teacher before taking a step toward her seat.

The guardian still had his watchful eyes on the brunette as she approached her desk. She paused right in front of Tsuna, their wide eyes exchanging looks of bewilderment, amusement and confusion. She smiled at him one last time before taking her seat.

"Ah, yes. Rigfort-san will be needing a guide to help her get familiarized with the school," Once again, Tadano-sensei spoke, his gruff voice reaching across the classroom. "Sawada-san."

Alerted and disoriented, Tsuna replied, "H-Hai, sensei."

"Good! Rigfort-san is under your care now, Sawada-san."

Just like it was on cue, the school bell dings, the gentle reverberation distributed throughout the school halls. It was break time. Tsuna turned back, only to be greeted by their foreign classmate's warm smile once again. "Am I going to take my school tour now, Tsunayoshi?"

Gokudera tensed up. That girl knew his boss's name. He knew it. She was with the mafia.

Tsuna smiled uneasily as he got up from his seat. "H-Hai, Rigfort-s–"

"There's no need to be so formal with me, Tsunayoshi," she said as she rose from her seat as well. "Please call me Ruca."

The young mafia boss buried his ill thoughts about the girl deep in his mind. How could someone so well-mannered pose a threat to him and his family? He shook his head and dismissed his thoughts, a queasy smile still printed on his face. "A-All right, Ruca-chan. Shall we start our tour?"

"Gladly."

Vigilant green eyes trailed Tsuna and Ruca's figures as they left the classroom for a short school tour. He got on his feet and made his way to the door. "Gotta keep an eye on that princess."

"I thank you for accompanying me, Tsunayoshi," said Ruca as Tsuna led her to the cafeteria. The place was crowded with Nami students taking their minute-break from their classes. "Namimori Middle School is a very nice school."

"They say that a lot of firsts happen while you're in school," she went on, counting with her fingers the kind of firsts her brother told her. "First crushes, first loves, first kisses, first boyfriends... and a whole lot more."

"Ruca-chan, I–"

"My dear brother is very excited to meet you," she smiled thoughtfully, closing her eyes for a moment. "Did Mr. Reborn tell you anything about this?"

"Well, yes. He mentioned you as a princess from a faraway land," he grinned in an attempt to humor her. It was already clear to him that she was from the mafia. He put in his mind that Reborn had a lot of explaining to do when he gets home this afternoon. She got his point and giggled. Ruca surveyed her surroundings and took a deep breath.

"My brother is the ninth generation boss of the Rigfort Family. He wants to be friends with you, Tsunayoshi. And so do I. He said that he wanted to meet a fellow young mafia boss... He's very eager to meet you. I hope you don't mind his childish reasons."

Tsuna barely had enough time to react when his Storm Guardian appeared behind him. Apparently, he heard what the foreign princess just said and took a step forward, shielding his boss from the so-called threat. "Step back, Juudaime."

"G-Gokudera-kun! There's no need to–"

The Storm Guardian looked down at her whilst she looked up at him. They stared at each other. He was analytical. She was bemused, lost in the deep green that was his eyes. The color of his eyes reminded her of home...

Carlos, her family's Sun Guardian, also had tantalizing green eyes. Emerald and piercing cold. Just like the guardian before her. His brows furrowed as her mouth parted in awe. No words came out of her mouth, but her mind spoke vividly about how beautiful Gokudera's eyes were. She was aware that she caught the Storm Guardian's attention– in a bad way, at that... She didn't want him to think that she was weird, talking about his eyes no less. She remained silent, rooted on her spot, still lost in the world inside his eyes.

Gokudera was searching. He was trying to search every inch of her soul through her eyes but found not even a single speckle of evil intention in her. She was obviously stunned by the beauty of his eyes, although he didn't know that. He gave up searching for evil intention because he found none, but that doesn't mean that he was going to lower his defense.

"I am Juudaime's right-hand man! To protect him is my priority above everything else!" He had his right arm poised perfectly before his boss, posed as a shield. "I won't allow any danger to befall upon him, not under my sight! You might have some evil, demented scheme up your sleeve! I'll blow you up if you ever try to harm Juudaime!"

His eyes were ablaze. From his eyes emanated warmth and devotion to his duty. He was passionate, almost in a questionable way... but he was passionate. He cared for his boss's welfare more than anything else. She was still mounted on her spot, feeling the embers sear through her soul.

Ruca felt a tinge of envy for a moment. Carlos never displayed such fierce loyalty to her, but to her brother... Carlos would hurdle a thousand mountains if it was for her brother's sake.

"Gokudera-kun, there's really no need to be so judgemental," Tsuna reasoned out weakly. "It's true that Ruca-chan is from the mafia, but she's not–"

She knew that she would look and sound stupid, but she said it anyway. Not even fazed by his threats, Ruca smiled at Gokudera. "You have beautiful eyes."

"Wh-What?! Are you trying to unnerve me?!" Came the severe reply from the Storm Guardian. Again, he searched her eyes, delving into her soul, searching for insincerity... searching for a lying, deceiving and spiteful heart... which would give him a fairy good reason to blow her up right there and now. But no... this girl didn't display nor hold any evil purpose inside her.

Gokudera lowered his arm. His expression slightly softened. He felt defeated all of a sudden, because he failed to find and know her true intentions. "I'm watching you. If I find your actions unusual, I'll blow you up," he said, almost hissed. Again, Ruca only smiled at him, answering softly, "By all means, Hayato. Watch over me all you want."

"Feh..." the Storm Guardian left with a huff, probably headed back to their classroom. Tsuna has seen his Storm Guardian riled up so many times, but this time was different. He knew that Gokudera was irritated by something but he didn't know what... or why.

"Tsunayoshi, I angered your Storm Guardian, didn't I?" Ruca watched the silver-haired figure retreat to their classroom. Her gaze lingered on him until he disappeared in the sea of students.

"Ah, no," the young mafia boss raised his hands defensively. "Gokudera-kun is always like that, always hot-blooded, I mean. He's not really that trusting..."

"It's all right, Tsunayoshi," she smiled understandingly. "To be your friend, I have to earn his trust. It's not an easy task, but I'm up to it!"

Tsuna admired her optimism, but it was going to take more than just optimism to gain the tempestuous protector's trust. He noticed her gaze still fixed on the exit of the cafeteria, staring at nothing in particular. "He has... really beautiful eyes..."

"I'm sorry?" Tsuna couldn't believe his ears. She was talking about Gokudera! "Did... Did you say something, Ruca-chan?"

The princess was alerted by the sound of her name. She shook away the reverie and replied uneasily. "Ah! I-I'm sorry, Tsunayoshi! I-I was kinda lost in my thoughts just now," a hue of red tinted her cheeks. "Did... Did I say something?"

He laughed to himself. "Shall we continue our tour, Ruca-chan?"

"Uh, would it be all right if we went back to the classroom? I, um, left something important there," Ruca squiggled her toes inside her shoes, hoping that Tsuna would catch the bait. He nodded and walked back to their classroom with the princess by his side. He knew well enough that Ruca never really left anything important there. Gokudera stormed back there on his own.

But Tsuna still didn't get it. Who is this girl? What did she and her brother want from him? He has never met another mafia boss with purely altruistic motives, not to mention sending their own sister to make friends with him...

Reborn had a lot of explaining to do when he gets home. A lot of explaining to do.

Next Minute: The Rescue

Comments, suggestions, violent reactions and all credit cards are accepted. :)