NOTE: This is my first fanfic on Katekyo Hitman Reborn! I hope that you'll enjoy and love this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Thank you for choosing this story as a read, it's much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or only of its characters. I only own Karasu and Alana. Plus the original scenes so HANDS OFF!

Thanks and Enjoy!

Warriors Don't Cry

Chapter 1: Of Airplanes and Shuttle Buses – Karasu

"Excuse me, Miss? The plane is about to land."

I rubbed my eyes and politely thanked the flight attendant. After reaching into my bag to retrieve my sunglasses, I turned to my friend and gently shook her awake. "Hey Alana, we're about to land."

"I wasn't asleep." My friend's voice murmured. Alana turned to face me. "How could anyone sleep on this thing? Weren't you scared that the plane might've malfunctioned and fell while we slept? Weren't you airsick?" It was only then when I noticed that my friend's face was a little green.

I chuckled. "I take it that you don't like flying."

"Not on planes." Alana replied shortly. "Thank God it's almost over, I thought I was going to die!"

"What about this, I'll buy you some candy when we reach the airport." I suggested. Alana's face brightened up at the mention of sweets. She waited patiently for the plane to land and made no complaints after that.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have finally reached Narita Airport. We hope you enjoyed this flight and we hope you will fly with us again."

"Are they crazy? That flight was torturous!" Alana hissed.

Unfortunately, a bulky looking flight attendant overheard her and rumbled toward our seats. "Was there anything wrong about this flight?" The lady asked in a threatening manner.

Too bad, flight attendants that resembled more like sumo wrestlers than women didn't scare Alana one bit.

"Hell yeah there was!" Alana claimed loudly in Japanese. "The flight was-

"Wonderful!" I interrupted before my best friend could say anything more that might result some broken bones and bloody noses. "My friend here is an American so she's inexperienced in speaking Japanese. Please excuse her."

That was untrue, of course. She was fluent in six languages including English and Japanese. Worse yet, Alana meant everything she said…so far. Alana might act tough, but she was actually really, really short for her age. She was half my size for cristssake!

Imagine how small she was in front of the lady.

…That's right, she was like a freaking ant compared to her.

"I'll buy you a whole bag of sweets so be quiet at least until we get off." I whispered to her under my breath when she looked like she was about to retort.

Alana immediately snapped her mouth shut. Thank Alana's sweet tooth.

I grabbed my duffel bag from under the seat and took Alana's hand. "Let's go. I want you to admire Japan before you wreak havoc there like you did back at home."

I'm home.

"So, who's this Tenth Vongola Boss?" Alana drawled while stuffing her face in her big bag of candy. I took a small bite from my onigiri and savored its taste. We were currently sitting on a shuttle bus. How much happier can I get? When the wind blew one of Alana's candy wrappers into my face, my happy moment was ruined.

Allow me to repeat.

We were on a shuttle bus. Not in, but on top of the shuttle bus.

Funny how we get into these situations

Prying the wrapper away from my face, I answered. "The Vongola Family is a mafia group. I already told you that, Alana. You were the one who insisted to come after hearing that my mission was involved with the mafia."

"I know! But I want to know what the Tenth is like! Does he smoke? Is he awesomely muscled? Is he strong? Handsome? Old?"

I laughed at the image that Alana created in her head. "From what I heard, he's just the heir to the Vongola Family, the Ninth is still alive. And, knowing him, he's none of the characteristics from above."

"You know him?" Alana gaped at me. "Why didn't you tell me before? Was he a boyfriend of yours?"

"Well, he wasn't the Vongola heir when I knew him." I admitted, taking another bite from my onigiri. "And no, he wasn't my boyfriend and will never be."

Alana let out a disappointed sigh. "That's boring!" She complained.

"Deal with it, my friend. Our life is interesting enough." I said while brushing the sticky rice pieces from my lap. "We're stopping by my home. I want to say hello to my mother."

"Why?" Alana wined, "I wanna meet the Tenth!"

"I haven't seen or heard from my mother for four years." I stated flatly, shutting Alana up. "I just want to say hello."

I stood up and pointed at the street sign. "We'll be jumping off in ten seconds."

Alana shoved all of her precious candy into her mouth and jumped off of the bus, looking very much like a flying squirrel. "Cowabunga!" She shouted, or tried to with her stuffed mouth.

I jumped after her after grabbing my duffel bag.

BAM!

I never expected to collide into an innocent bystander but I guess I should've, seeing that I was jumping off of a shuttle bus. I recovered much quicker than the person I crashed into so I quickly helped the poor guy up. "I'm SO sorry! Are you okay?"

"That was so COOL! Let's do that again!" I heard Alana shout while laughing manically. "Next time, we're going to jump off a helicopter like that!"

"What the hell, lady! How dare you jump Juudaime like that?" A silver haired boy with a cigarette sticking out of his mouth yelled, souring Alana's good mood. She bared her candy-covered teeth at the boy, making him stumble back for a moment in surprise. "It was an accident, Octopus-head!"

Octopus-head…interesting choice of words there, Alana.

I sweatdropped at my friend's antics and helped the boy up. Seeing that my sunglasses were broken, I took them off and threw them at a random direction before turning to the kid. "Sorry about that, my friend-

"Karasu?"

A very familiar face stared at mine in awe. I sheepishly smiled at him. "Not exactly the reuniting scene I had in mind." I admitted. I awkwardly drew the shocked boy into a warm embrace. "I'm back, Tsuna. Did you miss me?"

"HEY! Let go of Juudaime, you creep!" I heard the "Octopus-head" (as Alana kindly dubbed him) yell at me angrily. "If anyone's a creep then it's YOU!" Alana snapped back preparing to attack/jump/possibly mug the silver haired guy.

I sighed and let go of Tsuna. "Alana, back off. You wanted to meet the Tenth Vongola Boss, didn't you?"

Alana gave "Octopus-head" a final hiss before obediently skipping to my side. She took one look at Tsuna, and to my amusement, she became shell-shocked. "W-Wah? Karasu, does my eyes deceive me or is that a male version of you standing in your left?"

"Alana, this is the future Boss of the Great Vongola Family, a.k.a. my twin brother. Tsuna, this is my best friend from America. She's a handful." I warned Tsuna playfully, "but she's also a loveable sweetheart."

Tsuna stuck out his hand and Alana eagerly took it. "Nice to meet you, Alana."

"Whoa, I'm shaking the future Vongola Boss's hand! AWESOME!" She crowed happily. "And I meet my best pal's twin bro." She added giving me an accusing look. "Why didn't you ever tell me that you're a twin?"

"You never asked."

Tsuna scratched the back of his neck sheepishly before realizing something. "Wait! You know about the mafia, Karasu?"

I nodded, grinning. "I knew about it ever since I left to…study abroad."

"You don't seem creeped out a bit!" Tsuna marveled. I let out a depressed sigh. "No…I had to undergo an intense training during my stay in America for the purpose of protecting you. After all the strange things I had to learn, I don't think anything would surprise me now."

It was three whole years of hell. I really didn't want to remember that so I changed the subject. "So, who's he, Tsuna? A friend of yours?" I asked, pointing at the forgotten "Octopus-head". I felt a bit sorry for him, being ignored like that for so long.

"Ah! My name is Gokudera Hayato! It's an honor to meet Juudaime's sister!" Gokudera, abandoning his earlier rudeness, bowed politely to me. Alana glared suspiciously at him. "Hey, weren't you being rude to her earlier? What's with the change?"

"Alana," I warned her firmly, even though I had similar thoughts, "he was just being cautious. What if we were assassins sent to kill Tsuna?" I turned to Gokudera and mimicked his bow. "Thank you for taking care of my brother, Right-hand. I'll be looking forward to working with you to protect my brother."

For some reason, my statement moved the silver haired boy and turned him into a mess.

While Gokudera blabbered his thanks, Alana gave me a confused look. "Protect? I thought this was supposed to be a negotiation mission!"

"That's just a cover-up for the real mission. This is my last mission in the group, Sensei's orders." I told Alana. "It's your choice whether or not you want to join me or go back to America."

"Are you kidding me? You're going to be involved with the freaking mafia! No way in hell am I going to leave you all by your lonesome with that Octopus-head as a poor excuse of a backup! I'm staying!" Alana announced with a huff.

I grinned. "Thought so. Hey Tsuna, do you mind if Alana stays over at our house?"

"Not that I mind, but what about her parents?" Tsuna asked. "Wouldn't they be worried?"

"Nah, my parents died in a car crash a long time ago." Alana said with ease, not at all bothered with the fact that her parents were dead. Seeing the look on Tsuna's face, Alana quickly reassured him. "Don't worry about it! I was a baby then so I never really knew them."

"Che, no wonder you have no manners. You had no parents to teach them to you." Gokudera sneered, earning a whack on the head by Alana. "My grandma taught me enough manners to write a whole novel! I just choose not to use it!"

"Alana, be nice!" I scolded. She pouted. "Why are you taking his side?" She whined.

"It's not my place to scold him." I reminded her. "As his right hand man-

"Actually, he's not. I don't have a right-hand man." Tsuna interrupted, surprising me. "Really? Then excuse me for my mistake, Gokudera-san. I hope you aren't offended for my careless mistake."

"N-Not at all!" Gokudera stammered.

Strange, wasn't he a little rude to Alana a moment ago?

I brushed the thought from my mind. That didn't really matter now, I had something important to do. "Tsuna, do you happen to know a hitman named Reborn?"

"Ciaossu, Sawada Karasu."

I jerked my head up…err, down in surprise. "Reborn! It's good to see you again after two years. How was the tutoring with the Chiavarone heir? I heard that he was quite a handful!"

"You came five seconds later than planned." Reborn stated flatly, ignoring my greeting. "You're supposed to be the protector of the Tenth. Time is precious. Please remember that the next time you hitch-hike a shuttle bus."

I sighed. "Strict as usual, aren't you? Fine, I won't be late again during my time here."

"Wait, you know him?" Tsuna shrieked causing Alana and me to wince. What a high voice for a boy. Even Alana can't reach that high when screaming or throwing a tantrum. "Yes Tsuna, I was under his tutelage for a brief time before he left me in my Sensei's hands."

"Your sister and her friend will help you in your training." Reborn butted in, making me raise my eyebrows. "I wasn't aware of that."

"Of course you're not. I just decided that a few minutes ago."

I sighed. "This is Alana we're talking about. She can't control herself, unlike me. He may not survive." I warned the little hitman, sending Tsuna in his little world of panic.

"I am very well aware of that." Reborn said plainly. I rolled my eyes. Of course, he was always like that. Treats possible death situations as if it was something that happens every day.

Well, it was the mafia. I wouldn't be surprised if it was normal.

Alana cracked her knuckles and gave Tsuna a creepy smile. "Just because you're Karasu's twin doesn't mean I'll go easy on you, got it kid?"

Tsuna gulped nervously.

I stood awkwardly in front of my house.

Tsuna placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and smiled supportively. "Everything is going to be fine. Mom will be thrilled to see you."

Yeah, I knew that but it was comforting to hear that from my brother's mouth. I was more nervous about how different the house is going to look. I opened the door and stepped into the house.

No

My home

To my utmost relief, not that much changed about the house aside from new pictures and unfamiliar furniture here or there. The place still had the same homey smell and warm aura.

"Welcome home!"

I bit my lip at the sound of my mother's voice. A painful nostalgia washed over me and soaked into my bones, making them weak. I waited patiently as I heard mom walk to the front.

"Tsuna, I cooked-

Mother stared at me in shock. I shifted nervously and raised my hand in greeting. "Hi Mom, I'm back from America."

Mom bursted into tears, making my worst fears into reality. I closed my eyes in shame. I hurt her because I didn't write as much as I promised. My eyes snapped open in shock when I felt mother embrace me in a tight hug. "Karasu, my precious baby, you're home."

"Yeah, I missed you too, Mom." She drew away and looked at me warmly, "Look at how much you've grown. But you lost all the baby fat and you aren't tripping over your own feet!" She said in wonder.

I was like this before Reborn came into my life:

Once upon a four years ago, when I was a chubby, clumsy little ten year old, I used to be a bookworm who got straight A's. Though, like my brother, I was the worst at P.E. So I was nothing special.

Reborn's training does wonders, no?

Mom led me into the kitchen and threw a small party, which Tsuna, Reborn, Alana, and Gokudera participated in. It was nice to eat homemade cooking again instead of the store-bought food I had to eat during the last four years.

After the small dinner party, Gokudera went home. Mom led Alana and me to my room. Everything was the way I left it. My heart did a small dance when I saw that there was not a dust in sight despite of its lack of use. Mom cleaned this room every day, didn't she? I turned to Mom and hugged her.

"Thanks Mom."

I felt Mom pat my head. "Don't thank me. You're brother was the one who insisted on cleaning your room every day."

I jerked back in surprise. "Tsuna did?"

Mom nodded proudly.

"I have to go thank him!" I rushed out of the room and made a beeline for Tsuna's room. My brother squeaked when I violently threw his door open. I tackled him and drew him into a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Brother! I love you more than anyone in the world!"

A bit confused but none the less happy that I was hugging him, Tsuna returned the hug with a smile.

"Welcome home, Sister."

I hope you enjoyed my first chapter!

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