Thanks so much for all of the reviews and alerts! You guys are awesome! I haven't been able to update my stories lately since my family is in the process of moving and we haven't set up internet yet. And until we do, updates might be fairly slow.

A special thanks to:

Belletiger BT, LadySuzy, 18tuna, skylark-san, Reg Greenbaum

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR...must you always remind me?


"Oya? Well if you insist on payment," Mukuro took a step closer to the brunette and grabbed him by the chin, tilting his head up so that they were staring into each others eyes. "How about a kiss as payment?"

X X X

"Um...t- that's not really what I had in mind, Mukuro..." Tsuna stuttered as he twisted out of the other's grasp. Tsuna hugged the box of blueberries closer to his chest, as though it could protect him from the man in front of him. "A- Are you sure that you don't want money instead?"

"Kufufu. Tsunayoshi-kun, does it really matter how you pay as long as I get payment of some sort?" Tsuna stiffened in surprise as Mukuro suddenly slipped an arm around the brunette's waist, and then pulled him in close, holding him in place.

Tsuna flushed in embarrassment, very aware that Mukuro's friends were still there. Even though they were paying them no attention and just seemed to be scaring off some curious eyes, it still really was embarrassing to be in this kind of situation.

"But I would have thought that you'd be more willing, Tsunayoshi-kun. It's just a little kiss," Mukuro grabbed Tsuna by the chin once more. "Better than paying money. It really is very quick and easy, no?" Mukuro hummed questioningly as he awaited the brunette's answer.

"But-"

"Don't be so stubborn," Mukuro growled. There was a hidden threat in Mukuro's voice that alerted Tsuna that Mukuro wasn't going to take no for an answer. Tsuna tried pulling away but Mukuro only tightened his hold on Tsuna's chin and he leaned in closer and purred, "Don't worry, Tsunayoshi-kun. Just relax..."

Tsuna screwed his eyes shut in fear. This is really happening! I'm going to lose my first kiss to Mukuro! But Mukuro wasn't given the chance to do anything more when a rope shot out from above the rooftops and encircled itself around Tsuna, blueberry box and all. With a sudden jerk, Tsuna was hoisted into the air, yelling out in surprise as he did so. Mukuro's eyes widened in surprise, but by the time he realized what had happened, the brunette was already gone, having disappeared above the rooftops. Mukuro stood there numbly, then proceeded to punch the nearest wall in frustration.

"Damn it all!" Mukuro snarled, then cried out towards the sky, as if it were the cause of all of his problems. "Why do all of my plans always have to get foiled! Why! Why! Why!"

"Uh...Mukuro-san?"

"What!" Mukuro growled and spun on his feet to face Ken, who visibly flinched at the death glare Mukuro was shooting at him.

"W- Well, I just thought that we should move out since we're attracting a lot of attention- byon." Ken motioned towards the crowd that Mukuro had failed to notice had gathered whilst he had been busy trying to woo Tsuna.

"Why is Mukuro-san going after Dame-Tsuna! He's got nothing to his name at all!"

"No! This is horrible! How am I supposed to continue living now! Mukuro-sama!"

"Dame-Tsuna's one lucky bastard."

Coughing awkwardly, Mukuro fixed up his dress shirt and looked pointedly down the road, ignoring the hushed whispers floating around in the air. "Ken. Chikusa. Let's go. I have many plans to get done, but there is so little time for it. We must hurry."

"Yes, Mukuro-san," they answered in unison and obediently followed their master as he walked down the road, leaving the crowd to their speculations and gossip.

X X X

Meanwhile, with Tsuna...

"Hiee!" Tsuna shrieked as the rope pulled him to Kami knows where. After he had been pulled over the side of the building he continued across the many rooftops, earning cries of surprise from the townspeople below who managed to catch a glimpse of him. Tsuna was tugged to the left and underwent a series of turns and flips when he suddenly found himself hanging upside down. Groaning from dizziness Tsuna looked up, or in his case down, when a dark figure stepped in front of him. He stiffened in fear when he realized who it was.

"R- Reborn!" Tsuna squeaked, as said man smirked at him.

"Chaos, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn greeted. A chill ran down Tsuna's spine at the sadistic gleam in the man's eyes.

"You...but...why would you do something like this, Reborn! And how in the world is this even possible! I could have died you know!" Tsuna cried and began struggling against the ropes still holding him in place. A few people noticed his predicament, but upon seeing who the brunette was with, quickly turned tail and ran, not wanting to incur the wrath of Reborn.

"What was that? I would have thought that you'd show more appreciation towards your savior for saving you from being molested by that punk." Reborn crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the building, smirking as he did so.

Tsuna flushed in embarrassment as he remembered his previous encounter with Mukuro. "H- How did you know about that?"

"I'm sorry, Sawada-san. I got a premonition that something bad was happening to you, so I asked Uncle Reborn to save you, but..." Tsuna turned to face the voice as a small figured stepped out from the shadows. "...I didn't realize he would save you like this."

"Yuni! Why are you dressed like that?" Tsuna asked, staring quizzically at her outfit. Unlike her usual attire which consisted of her white mushroom-like hat and white cape, the shaman was wearing a simple emerald gown that flowed around her legs and ended up pooling together at her feet. A dark black cloak was on top of the gown, the hood currently thrown over the young girl's evergreen hair completely hiding it from view.

"Oh," Yuni fingered the hem of the cloak and smiled sheepishly. "Well, I didn't want to attract too much attention. Besides that, I didn't want Gamma or someone else following me around either. I love them to death but I need room to breathe sometimes, too."

"Ah," Tsuna replied, nodding his head in understanding. Yuni was the head of one of the wealthiest families in the town, which was also one of the most influential. So it would make sense that Yuni would want to remain inconspicuous, otherwise she would be hounded by many of the townspeople wanting for the shaman to predict their fortunes...and that wouldn't sit well with Gamma or any other member of her family. Tsuna was glad that he was able to have met Yuni through Reborn, although he would never admit it to the man himself.

"Anyways, I'm glad that we got you away from Mukuro-san, even if Uncle Reborn's method of saving you was a bit...unorthodox. But it worked, so that's all that matters, right?" Yuni clasped her hands together and offered a small smile. Tsuna sighed as he looked into Yuni's blue eyes, or as best as he could since they were shadowed by her hood. Tsuna never could get angry with her. Besides that, he couldn't help but be in awe at her abilities for clairvoyance. She had saved him once again.

"Yeah, and thank you for that, Yuni. But..." Tsuna wriggled against the ropes that were still holding him upside-down, "could you guys let me down now?" Yuni's eyes widened slightly in surprise as she remembered his current situation.

"Of course!" Yuni turned towards Reborn who was still leaning against the wall in a leisurely fashion, "Uncle Reborn, could you let Sawada-san down now, please?"

"Sure, since it's you asking, Yuni..." Reborn stuck his arm out with his palm partly open, "Leon, come back." Immediately, the ropes holding Tsuna merged together into a small, green mold and jumped onto Reborn's outstretched hand. The mold solidified together to reveal the shape-shifting chameleon, Leon, who instantly took its place on the rim of Reborn's fedora. Not having anything holding him up any longer, Tsuna cried out in alarm as he fell to the ground.

"Sawada-san!" Yuni rushed to Tsuna's side and helped prop him up so that he was sitting upright. Tsuna groaned in pain and reached up to rub at the spot on his head that he'd landed on. Yuni noticed this and furrowed her brows together in concern. "Are you okay, Sawada-san?"

"Don't worry about him, Yuni," Reborn said, an annoyed edge to his voice, "If the idiot can't survive something as simple as falling on his head then it would be better for you to save your energy for someone else who's more deserving of your pity." Reborn's the devil! Tsuna screamed in the depths of his mind.

"Uncle Reborn..." Yuni frowned disapprovingly at the man's words from where she was kneeling on the ground. Tsuna just ignored Reborn, since he knew from experience that arguing with him would only result in a kick in the head. But then he remembered the blueberries, and in a slight panic he threw open the box. Checking the contents Tsuna sighed lightly in relief as he saw that the blueberries were all, miraculously, still intact.

Both Reborn and Yuni watched as the brunette stood up box in hand, brushed himself off and bowed, although more to Yuni than Reborn. This wasn't unnoticed by the hitman and a murderous glint shone behind his eyes before being hidden by the edge of his fedora as he bent his head down.

"Thanks again for saving me Yuni," Tsuna stood straight up and shifted the box so that it was resting in the crook of his arm. Yuni smiled and gave a small nod, accepting his thanks. Sensing a sudden murderous aura Tsuna stiffened slightly, and stiffened even more when he noticed that it was coming from Reborn. Yuni seemed unaffected by it as she just gave Tsuna a puzzled look, but when Reborn tilted his head Tsuna managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes and the sight of them alone petrified the brunette. Forcing his mouth to move, Tsuna managed to stutter out, "T- Thanks to you t- too...Reborn."

"Do you really think I need your thanks, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn growled, pulling out a gun from his suit jacket. Tsuna immediately froze at the sight of the black weapon, a cold chill running down his spine as horrible memories of his childhood shot across his mind. Gulping, Tsuna began backing away, taking baby steps as to not aggravate Reborn any more than he already was.

"I- I guess if y- you don't want it, then-" Tsuna was interrupted when Reborn pulled the trigger and the bullet just barely grazed Tsuna's cheek, continuing into and through the wall behind him. There were some screams and shouts, and Tsuna just hoped with all of his being that the bullet hadn't hit anyone.

"Go back home before I...accidentally shoot you, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn ordered, amused. Reborn's definitely the devil! Not wanting to see whether Reborn was serious or not, Tsuna bolted down the road and towards his house. Once the brunette was out of hearing range Reborn put his gun away and offered his hand to Yuni, who took it gratefully and used it to stand up.

"Thank you, Uncle Reborn," Yuni smiled at the older man, but frowned in thought as she watched Tsuna run down the road. Noticing her worried expression Reborn placed a hand under her hood and ruffled her hair. Yuni screwed her eyes shut and pouted cutely as she waited for him to finish.

"Now what's that worried look for, Yuni?" Reborn inquired, grinning as she tried flattening the parts of her hair that he made stick up. Yuni stopped her movements as he said this and clasped her hands together like she was praying.

"I...I don't know, Uncle Reborn, it's just-" at this Yuni placed her hands over her heart, a pained expression on her face. "Every time I think of Sawada-san, my heart clenches painfully and fills up with anxiety. Something horrible is going to happen to him, but I don't know what it is...something- or someone blocks my vision each time I try to look further into Sawada-san's future. I feel so useless..." Yuni rubbed at her eyes and leaned into the wall, wrapping her arms around herself.

Reborn frowned at this new knowledge and place a reassuring hand on top of Yuni's head. Yuni looked up at the hitman, tears lining her eyes and a concerned frown on her face.

"Don't think like that anymore, Yuni. You're a great shaman, just like your mother and grandmother. If someone's preventing you from seeing Tsuna's future, then that means that we really should be careful. If they don't want us to know what's going to happen then we should try our best to find out what exactly is going to happen. And standing here doing nothing won't change anything." A dark look appeared on Reborn's face as he said this. Yuni took in Reborn's words, carefully analyzing them in her mind. Dissecting them and placing them in her heart for future reference.

"So don't worry anymore, Yuni, all right? That dame, even though he doesn't look like it, can take care of himself. Besides..." Reborn looked away, his fedora hiding his expression, "I don't like seeing you like this, and I'm sure Tsuna wouldn't either."

"Uncle Reborn..." Yuni looked up at the hitman in a mix of surprise and admiration. Even though Reborn was the one person in the world who wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in between your eyes, he really did have a soft side to him as well.

"Princess!" A voice bellowed out before either of them could say anything else. Yuni's eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the voice.

"Gamma!" She cried as she was suddenly wrapped in a pair of protective arms. Yuni squirmed against the hold until she managed to pull her face out from the blonde man's shoulder. "Gamma...I can't breathe..." Gamma quickly slackened his hold on the young girl, although he kept sure to keep her in his arms, afraid that she would disappear if he let go.

"Why did you just disappear like that, Princess!" Gamma pulled down Yuni's hood so that he could get a good look at her face. "I was so- I mean, everyone was so worried about you! What if you had gotten attacked or worse, kidnapped!"

"Gamma!" Yuni pressed her hands into his chest, effectively interrupting him. "I'm fine! Besides, I was with Uncle Reborn so I was perfectly safe." Gamma frowned and glared towards Reborn, who had been watching the exchange with mild amusement until it was replaced with annoyance.

"Do you doubt my abilities to protect her, Gamma?" Reborn hissed under his breath. He felt his fingers twitch instinctively for the gun in his jacket.

"Not at all, Reborn," Gamma replied, his voice a little gruff. "But you could have at least notified everyone so that we knew Princess was safe."

"Stop it, Uncle Reborn!" Yuni then turned that glare onto Gamma who was still glaring at Reborn, but shrank back somewhat when Yuni's glare finally took effect. "And you stop too, Gamma. Fighting isn't something we need right now.

"Stop it you two, and Gamma," Gamma twitched as he was addressed by the young shaman, "we're going home. Now." Gamma nodded and released Yuni so she could walk fine. Yuni bowed slightly towards Reborn and bid him good-bye, she and Gamma eventually walking down the road towards their mansion. Gamma kept a hand on the small of Yuni's back, escorting her and shoving away those who were determined on getting to the young shaman with his free hand.

Reborn just sighed, annoyed, and watched after the duo. Luckily, since Yuni wasn't wearing her normal attire she wasn't hounded like she normally was by the townspeople and Gamma was able enough to protect her from those that did recognize her.

But then that brought the hitman back to what Yuni had said about Tsuna. Yuni's predictions were almost always correct, and so that meant that Tsuna really was going to be in trouble. Whatever it was, Reborn hoped that it didn't have anything to do with that pineapple pervert. Since after all, Reborn didn't want his pupil being taken away quite yet.

X X X

As Tsuna walked up to his humble abode he immediately knew something was up when the whole family was outside and forming a half-circle around something he couldn't see. Unfortunately, it was Tsuna's father, Iemitsu, who noticed the brunette approaching first. Tsuna stopped in his tracks and grimaced. Oh boy...first Mukuro and now him...

"Ah! My cute son is finally home!" At this Iemitsu bounded over to his son's side and placed a hand on the small of his back, pushing him forward. "Now come on, son, you must see this! Look at the contraption that's going to make your old dad win first place in the fair tomorrow!"

Tsuna was pushed in line with his other family members and was immediately latched onto by Fuuta and I-pin who were bouncing up and down excitedly. Nana was grinning widely and blushed a little as Iemitsu wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Now, having no choice but to go along with his family's antics he moved his eyes over to the large and bulky machine that lay before him.

"Um...so what is it supposed to be doing exactly?" Tsuna frowned, unimpressed, as nothing happened.

"Huh? Oh!" Iemitsu roared with laughter as he walked up to the machine. "Forgot to turn it on!"

"Oh, Dear," Nana giggled, "You can be so silly sometimes." Iemitsu just chuckled, embarrassed then threw the lever on the side of the machine.

"Well! Now watch the magic happen!" Iemitsu ran backwards as the machine began whirring and vibrating violently in place. Tsuna gulped and stepped in front of his younger siblings protectively, knowing from experience what usually happened with his father's inventions.

"You see that pile of wood over there?" Iemitsu pointed to the pile of tree logs just to the side of the machine as he went to explain his invention. "Well, once it's done powering up that crane right there that's connected to the machine will swing down onto that pile and pick up a log and bring it onto the machine where the ax will swing down and chop it in half. Then the chopped wood will pile up on the other side and voila! You have wood that you can just pop into the fire! Pretty amazing, huh?"

"If it actually works this time..." Tsuna grumbled under his breath, and as usual, the one to hear him was his mother who immediately glared at her son.

"Be nice to your father, Tsu-kun!" Nana scolded, pulling on his cheek. "So apologize!" Ow! Tsuna screwed his eyes shut and whimpered as the pressure increased. His mother could be a very scary woman when she wanted to be.

"It's all right, Nana," Iemitsu said, grinning broadly. Obviously he wasn't bothered at all by the fact that his wife was pinching the skin off of Tsuna's cheek. "It's also my fault for making faulty inventions that he couldn't trust in."

"Dear..." Nana pouted, but still released her vice-like grip on Tsuna who immediately scooted away in case she decided to come back for round two. But then the machine began whirring loudly.

"Now..." Iemitsu rubbed his hands together expectantly, "it begins." If Tsuna had known how true his father's words would be, he would have done everything in his power at that moment to keep his father from going to the competition. But alas, where is the fun in that?


Again, I'm sorry for the really late update, but no internet equals no updates. I think we'll have internet set up in a couple weeks. The internet people, I forget who they are...I think it's either Comcast or Quest...have to 'check' things out before they set it up. Ugh. Anyways, I'll keep working on my stories and update when I get the chance to.

So, on that note...please review! I love reading what you guys think about the story and where I can improve.