(Dante96: Hooray for first review! I'm ecstatic that you find this plot interesting. So I will try not to disappoint you!) (Haruka And Rainbows: Thanks for the review!) (Nekokratik: Haha, you will ALL see. Yes, the AU will involve the Mafia, Dying Will Flames, etc. And yes, no one has yet to confess to our little rebel. But the will! And some will be very openly seductive about it, just for the readers' entertainment~!) (iloveyaoi-G27: Thanks so for the review!) (doremishine itsuko: Thank you, thank you, thank you! Well then, expect some 0027 coming your way!) (sorrowryuu: And I love you for reviewing! Haha! Spread the love.)

Disclaimer: KHR is not mine. OTL

*REVISED: 06/13/11

Reborn

(STILL) THAT AFTERNOON,

"Ciaossu, Dame-Tsuna."

In retrospect, Tsuna had every right to be surprise. The last thing he expected to find was a strange toddler standing on his bed and pointing a miniature green gun at his face (seriously, if it was a water gun, there will be hell to pay). Then there was fact that said toddler was referring to him by his 'No Good' nickname, which was an utter, letdown on his rep. So what, even babies call me that? The toddler was wearing a bizarre—though stylish—tux, with a yellow pacifier strapped along a thin line that wrapped around his little nick. And what stood out the most though, was the knowing smirk he had.

The toddler dropped the arm that held still held onto the toy-looking gun. It no longer pointed threateningly at the brunet.

"My name is Reborn. I will be your tutor from now on." The toddler Reborn had a fluent Japanese dialect. If Tsuna didn't know any better, he presumed that this baby had years of practice and experience in his native tongue, much longer than the age he appeared to be.

But Tsuna decided to brush off his suspicion, and spoke of what else had been on his mind. "What is this? A prank?"

That would be the only sane explanation for this phenomenon. Because, let's face it: toddlers don't learn to talk like that, not even a prodigy. So maybe someone else in the room, or some speaker-like contraption thingy was doing all the talking. Moreover, the baby was just miraculously matching his lips with those words—damn. Now he just sounded stupid.

Reborn sighed. "The level of your ignorance astounds me."

"What?" Tsuna snapped back, purely by instinct.

Then he came across another thought. He recalled that Nana had mentioned that she would get him a private tutor if his grades do not progress. Normally, Tsuna would simply brush that thought off, because she knew she would be wasting money on the tutor. If Tsuna barely listens to his teachers, imagine what he will do the tutor. Therefore, it would seem that she finally decided to take a risk. But seriously… a toddler? He wasn't doing that bad in school, right?

"That's rich, coming from a baby." With that, Tsuna crossed his arms in content. "Sorry, but your services won't be needed. I don't need a child to tell me how to cite the alphabet."

Tsuna closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down from the building irritation that the baby was giving him, simply from just talking. Then he opened his eyes to focus his attention on the room. He took a few steps forward, tossed his unused school items onto a small wooden, and sat in a swivel chair beside it. He wanted to ignore the baby present altogether, but found that curiosity got the best of him. He stared at Reborn, who returned it with a look of amusement.

The baby kept a good poker face, much to Tsuna's annoyance. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, you are Vongola's tenth Generation boss candidate. I came here because I was chosen to train you into becoming a worthy Mafia boss." The brunet went from peeved, to mixed expressions of shock and confusion.

"That face you're making is very unbecoming of a boss, Dame-Tsuna."

"Okay. Now I know you're just bull-shitting with me."

What happened next caught him completely off guard. There was a quick flash, before he found himself slapped once to the side of his face by a giant paper-fan. Who knew that such a thin substance could cause such destruction on him, let alone leave a painful burning sensation that could last for days?

He lamented, but not before cussing some more. Which earned him a few more paper slaps to the face.

As Tsuna tried to recollect his composure, Reborn spoke out calmly. "I have zero tolerance for those who give me disrespect. I will not hesitate to enforce an even greater punishment on you if you continue to speak to me in such a way. Understood?"

The searing pain on both sides of Tsuna's cheek made it hard for him to reply. He had the perfect opportunity to say something clever, but quickly stopped himself. He also had to refuse the temptation to comfort his cheeks; for fear that, the slightest touch will send him tearing. The boy simply nodded, and prayed that no one was around to see this obedient side of him.

"Good." Then Reborn took his eyes off the boy, and turned to face the door. "Nana, as his mother I will hand down further details to you."

"Thank you, Reborn. I'd just finished making dinner, so feel free to dig in." Tsuna turned to see his mother talking, standing by the door. She smiled at the toddler, but there was this lingering sadness in her eyes that poked at Tsuna—much to his discomfort.

"You have my sincerest thanks, Nana." Reborn swung his giant fan over his left shoulder, and jumped off the bed with it. He landed with a comical plop sound, and proceeded to exit the room. But not before pausing dramatically in the midst of his strut. "Dame-Tsuna."

"Quit calling me that…" a murmur.

Reborn heard it, but chose to ignore. "Find your resolve. You'll need for training tomorrow."

With that, the baby left a baffled Tsuna in his wake.

Resolve? What the hell was this kid going on about?

Only a few minutes have passed by since the departure of Reborn, who was probably just down stairs and sitting at their dinner table eating the food that Nana cooked up. Wait, what? Should the toddler even be in left alone? Or what if he poisons their food? He wanted to inform his mother of his thoughts, but something in her expression had put him off.

But he had to say at least something, the silence was eating at him. "This is all a joke right?"

Nana had dropped her smile the second Reborn left. Now she just looked utterly troubled, which bothered Tsuna. He was always used to the scorns, and loving teases that she exuded. She can be abusive, but she means well. However, rarely (if ever) has he seen her in distress. A facial expression like this was enough to warn Tsuna that he should be serious as well, because he might potentially end up hurting her further with his casual quips. Yes, he can be such a caring soul sometimes.

Nevertheless, he won't give people the chance to recognize it though.

"No. Reborn was telling the truth." She finally came around. Nana had calmly entered the room, and sat down on Tsuna's bed. Her eyes now focused solely on him. "Tsuna, you're father and I… we knew this day would come but we were always hoping that it didn't have to."

Judging from tone of her voice, Tsuna could tell that she was struggling to find the right words to use. "You're a descendant of founder and first Vongola boss," a pause for breath, "from your father's side. This makes you are a legitimate candidate to becoming the next boss."

Now normally, a teen placed in this sort of situation would be expecting something along the lines of 'you were adopted'. But no, instead the news hit like a bulldozer carrying his various feelings of bewilderment, impatience, and… interest? News this major could leave anyone feeling frighten, but not Tsuna. He was feeling rather excited the more his mother continued to talk about it.

Tsuna had often asked himself: who would Sawada Tsunayoshi be if he wasn't fighting? He often asked this because he's grown tired of all daily violence. He now fought, not because he enjoyed, but seeing that it was the only way people would start to leave him alone. And yet, why was he so interested in the fact that he could possibly be the next boss of some criminal group?

Nana started to talk about the dangers of being a Mafia boss. He could be at risk of dying at all times; he could die before he became an official boss. Then there was the fact that Vongola familglia (oh, yes. Fancy Italian pronunciation) is the most powerful Mafia Family out there, which had strong alliances with other Mafia Families as well. He'll be given unimaginable power, that is, if he can pass that Vongola Trial that his mother kept warning him about. In any case, he still found himself contradiction those thoughts.

His life's mission was not to become a notorious criminal, rather he wanted to avoid getting caught up in those kinds of things. He really wanted to avoid going to jail, for starters. He was sure that if he were to land himself in prison, there was a strong chance that he'll be living in the streets once he got out. Then there was the fact that the prisoners can be vicious, and Tsuna did not want a reason to be caught-up in fights for every single day of every hour. He believed that once a day is enough.

So maybe the thought of hardcore violence didn't excite him. What did was the idea that if he became the Mafia boss of the strongest Mafia Family in the world, he will finally be left at peace. Nobody will pick a fight with him. Once he has proved his worth, people will also start to respect him more.

Tsuna couldn't care less about the money, the crime, the fights, or whatever. He wanted his peace.

And he was willing to take on the entire would to achieve it.

Was this the resolve that baby was talking about?

"Tsuna." He did not even realize that two hours had already passed by until his mother caught his attention again, a concerned look clearly shown on her facade.

"Don't worry, Mom." That was a first. Tsuna had not called his mother 'Mom' since the day he walked on the road of juvenile delinquents. He had been used to calling her by her first name, so the sound of 'Mom' sounded foreign to both of them. "I'll try not to get into too much into trouble." He smiled slyly. Of course he's going to get into trouble, how could he not with a Mafia label (even as a candidate) hanging over his head. But it didn't hurt to joke about, seeing that Nana was now less tense.

"Try not to get yourself killed." With that, Nana sighed. Relieved.

Because it's perfectly normal for a mother to tell her son that.

She got up from the bed, and headed for the door. Tsuna took this opportunity to hop onto his comfortable single bed. "Aight, cool. I'm gonna sleep now." The brunet immediately positions his body into a comfortable position, and gave a fake yawn as reason for her to leave him be. "Have fun with the weird twerp."

"Reborn is a lot older than he looks you know." Even Nana understood that that statement did not sound right, but continued to speak regardless. "You'll find out about it eventually."

With that, she closed the lights to his room and gently closed the door.

AN: Awesome… TO THE EXTREME! Finished my second chapter. I'm sorry if you were expecting a nice long chapter from me, since the length of chapters for this series will vary.

Anyways, review please! :D