As the mother-child pairs left in opposite directions, Makoto noticed that her trembling daughter had a small smile on her pale face and her big yellow eyes glittering with happiness. Makoto smiled, and gently squeezed Chi's hand.

"Chi-chan?" she asked, her daughter looked up, "You look happy."

Chi blushed a dark pink, and nodded, "I had a lot of fun, Mommy," she answered.

Makoto let out a light chuckle, "Well then, this calls for a celebration, doesn't it? Why don't I make your favorite for dinner?"

Chi nodded happily.

Reaching their neighborhood, Chi had caught sight of her new friend and his mommy turning the corner. Curious, she tugged her mother's hand.

"Mommy?" she asked. Her mother looked down at her.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"How come you never told me that Tsuna-kun lived so close to us?"

She giggled, "I'm sorry Chi-chan, I wanted it to be a surprise~."

Chi pouted in response. It was a nice surprise to meet someone who was so much like her, but to think that for two of the years she had been living in Namimori, the perfect best friend was living just a few houses away from hers. Then, a thought popped in her mind.

"Does that mean I can go over and play with Tsuna-kun tomorrow, Mommy?" Makoto brushed some of Chi's hair back.

"I'll call Nana-chan and ask, okay?" Chi nodded excitedly, eager to finish the adventure she and Tsuna-kun had been unable to finish.

They still had to find the dragon's lair.


The next morning, Chi had practically inhaled her breakfast and was now trying to sit still, but couldn't help but tap her feet in anticipation. She was beginning to get antsy. Last night, Chi was so excited to learn that Sawada-san had allowed her to play with Tsuna-kun the following day.

'Why do adults have to eat so slowly?' thought Chi wearily, looking over at her parents at the dining table, talking and eating as if they had all the time in the world.

She and Tsuna had a village to save! They couldn't waste any time eating!

At long last (which was really only a few minutes, but really, there were villagers to protect!), Makoto had cleaned off her plate and carried it over to the sink to wash. Her father was still sitting at the table, chuckling at his daughter's pout that had unconsciously made itself visible.

"Chi-chan, are you excited about playing with Tsunayoshi-kun?" he asked.

Chi nodded, eyes clenched shut, and hair waving about, "We haven't beaten the dragon yet!"

He chuckled again, "Dragon?"

Makoto came over and placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"She and Tsuna-kun were having quite the adventure the other day, Nao-kun~" Makoto explained, "Alright, Chi-chan! Let's go!" she announced, pressing a kiss against Naoto's cheek.

"Eeew…" Chi turned away. Her parents had only laughed.


The two walked up to the Sawada's front door and was greeted by Nana.

"Good morning Makoto-chan, Chi-chan!" Nana smiled, "Tsu-kun's in his room, Chi-chan. It's upstairs and the first door to the left."

Nana and Makoto went into the kitchen, leaving Chi to navigate the house. She walked upstairs, clinging to the railing. At the top, Chi looked around, trying to tell the doors apart when she caught sight of a small, blue, wooden fish cutout hanging from a door that read, 'Tsuna'. Grinning, Chi knocked on the door, rocking back and forth on her heels in eagerness. Hearing the knob being turned, Chi looked up, meeting the excited honey-brown eyes of Tsuna.

"Are you ready to play Chi-chan?" he asked. Chi nodded and stepped inside the room. There were toys and papers and games all over the floor. Chi held back a nervous smile, seeing the resemblance between her room and his.

"S-sorry it's so messy, Chi-chan…" Tsuna-kun looked at the floor, "I was looking for something we could use as swords."

Chi looked around, thinking, 'Maybe his mommy would let us use chopsticks? No, we might poke an eye or something…'

"Do you have any crayons?" She asked. He nodded and pulled a big box from his desk.

"What are you gonna do?" Tsuna followed Chi downstairs where their mothers were talking.

"Sawada-san?" Chi asked.

"Hm? What is it?"

She nibbled on her bottom lip nervously before asking.

"Can Tsuna-kun and I borrow some scissors and cardboard?" Makoto had a curious look in her eyes.

"What are you planning sweetie?" Chi held up Tsuna's big box of crayons.

"We wanna make swords."

"Well, you're going to have to let us help, okay?" said Nana.

The two were back in Tsuna room staring at their new swords, one could almost see the sparkles coming off them.

Imaginary sparkles. They were just that cool.

"These are so cool!" Tsuna grinned widely. Chi held up her sword.

"Time to save the kingdom?" She asked. Tsuna nodded.

"Yeah! Let's go!" They went outside and ran around, hiding behind things so they wouldn't be hit by the 'fire-breathing dragon'. Chi was reveling in the adventure, not recalling a time when she had this much fun with anyone her age.

'I hope Tsuna-kun wants to keep being friends with me,' thought Chi, 'It'd make school a lot less lonely.'