Sorry the prologue was so short, but I had to get it out of the way! I'm (hopefully) uploading this chapter right after, and chapter two is also (once again, hopefully) on its way. This chapter's kind of short, but I really wanted to get it out of the way. The story will pick up next chapter, but I had to end this one where it ends. You'll see why.

Disclaimer: I did not, do not, and will NEVER own KHR. I don't want to either, because I'd probably destroy it pretty quickly, and no one wants that.

Warnings: None for this chapter, I think. Swearing? Tsuna and Lambo being related?

Please review. I'm not begging, I just want to know what you think of this story. Good? Bad? So horrible I shouldn't bother posting the rest? ...On second thought, if it's that bad, I'm not sure I want to know. NO FLAMES!! Notice the caps. Respect the caps. Obey the caps.

BTW: I think I'm mixing up the first and last names somewhat, but I'm just trying to put them how I heard them in the anime. Please correct me if I'm wrong. That's all. :)

Love's Many Risks

Chapter 1: There Must Be Some Mistake Here

Love can be a scary thing. It makes us become something different from what we are. When you fall in love, it's like giving part of your heart away. It's offering that part of you to another, and hoping they don't break it. It gives someone power over you. Love makes people do crazy things. So, even knowing all this, why do humans still fall in love?

Simple: because despite all these things, love can also be the sweetest feeling in the world. It makes you feel euphoric, and light, and happy. It's about taking risks. Yes, that's what it is. Love is a risk.

* * *

"Stupid cow!" yelled an angry silver haired teenager. He was chasing a small child in a cow suit around the school hallways. Oddly enough, the odd pair drew next to no notice from the crowd of students loitering around. Maybe an amused or irritated glance here and there, but nothing else. Most people would find the whole situation at least mildly interesting, but not the students of Namimori Middle. After all, things like this were a daily occurrence. The child was the headmaster's nephew, and often came to school with the man. The 'stupid cow' often amused himself with annoying the student body in general. Today, he was tormenting one of his favorite victims, Gokudera Hayato. "Give back my goddamn lunch!" the teen continued.

"Lambo-sama doesn't want to," the kid, Lambo, said imperiously, eyeing the yakisoba bread hungrily. "This lunch is now Lambo's!"

This only served to infuriate Gokudera more. He sped up, catching Lambo by the tail of his cow suit. He delivered a quick blow to the child's afro-covered head, successfully managing to recover his food. Meanwhile, the younger boy was choking out "Gotta...stay...calm," through tears. His attempts proved useless, as he soon succumbed to the tears. Gokudera stiffened. He couldn't deal with crying kids.

Pale hands picked Lambo up, cradling the kid's head in a shoulder. The owner of the hands looked at Gokudera reproachfully.

"Please be nicer to my cousin, Gokudera," the brunette said. It wasn't a question.

"Tenth!" the other boy cried, immediately dropping to his knees and bowing. "I sincerely apologize for my actions."

Tsuna sighed. He really wished his friend would stop calling him that. Yes, he was the tenth heir for the famous Vongola Corporation, but he wouldn't be inheriting the company for quite some time. His father, Iemistu Sawada, was still young and healthy, and wasn't planning on retiring anytime soon. Gokudera's father worked for the Vongola, so the boy had been brought up to revere (coughworshipcough) Iemitsu, and, by extension, Tsuna.

"Please stop calling me that," the smaller boy begged wearily. "Just Tsuna's fine, really."

"But-"

"Tsu-na," Tsuna repeated slowly, enunciating each syllable carefully.

"A-alright," Gokudera hung his head in defeat. "Tsuna-san."

It wasn't exactly what Tsuna wanted. He'd wanted the other to drop the honorific too, but, hey, it was a step in the right direction, and he was willing to compromise. So he just smiled at his friend.

Hibari Kyoya was completely oblivious to the small drama occurring outside his classroom, instead opting to look out the window at the blooming sakura trees. A small, yellow bird perched in his hair, occasionally chirping out words. It alternated between, "Hibari," and the school's anthem. Because of this unfortunate habit, people had begun to refer to the bird as 'Hibird', and come up with the idea that Hibari had taught it the song because of his love for the school. Which was wrong. Hibari didn't hate his school, but he certainly didn't love it either, as everyone now believed. The bird had just heard the song somewhere, and decided it liked it. Not that the teen tried to stop the rumors. If that's what the stupid herbivores chose to believe, good for them. He certainly didn't care. It was just kind of annoying.

A shadow fell over his desk, partially blocking the sunlight streaming through the window. He turned to glare at the disturbance, and found himself face to face with his self-proclaimed friend, Yamamoto.

"Yamamoto Takeshi," he said coldly, treating the taller boy to his best death glare. Yamamoto backed up slightly, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm, but didn't go away. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to come over for sushi at my family's restaurant on Saturday," he said, smiling his trademark, ever-present goofy smile. "Everyone else is coming. Tsuna, Ryohei, Gokudera..." he continued to list them, but Hibari tuned him out. When he assumed Yamamoto was finished, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Why would I want to do that?" Yamamoto's grin dropped somewhat, but stayed in place.

"I just thought it'd be fun," the baseball player shrugged, then ran a hand through his spiky black hair. "We don't all hang out a lot anymore."

When they were younger, they'd been friends. Not great ones, but friends none the less. But as the grew older, that friendship began to dwindle, until it was almost nonexistent. Hibari had grown colder, and Yamamoto had gotten new friends. They still spoke a little, but it wasn't the same.

"No thanks," Hibari declined.

"O-oh." the other boy looked down at his shoes awkwardly. "Okay then. See you around, I guess." He walked off. Hibari heard a loud, "What the hell do you want, Baseball Idiot?" and assumed he'd rejoined Gokudera and Tsuna. He sighed inwardly. It's not that he'd been strictly against going, but he felt uncomfortable around Yamamoto's friends, and he was pretty sure they felt the same way about him. They weren't rude or anything, it was just...

Hibari shook his head. He didn't know what it was that made him so uncomfortable around them, which annoyed him.

"Hibari," a cute voice chirped from above. He brought his hand up, and Hibird hopped down onto one of his fingers. He petted the bird absently, wondering just what it was that he didn't like about the baseball players friends.

* * *

"This is your new target, Mukuro-sama," Chrome held out a thin folder, meaning for Mukuro to take it. The demon did so, looking through the folder's contents idly. He stopped short.

"I think there's been some mistake here," he said to the messenger. He handed it back to the small demoness, wondering just what could have gone wrong. She'd never messed up before. First time for everything.

"No," she replied. "Reborn-sama definitely said this one was for you." She opened the folder, and immediately realized what the other meant. Her eyes widened, and she pulled out her cellphone to call Reborn, their boss.

He waited while she dialed the number, then took the phone when she offered it to him. Reborn picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" came the greeting. "Who is this?"

"It's Mukuro," he answered.

"What is it?"

"It's about the file you gave Chrome."

"What about it?'

Mukuro raised his eyebrows. Maybe there really had been a mistake.

"I can't take the job on it."

"Why not?"

"B-because," the demon stammered slightly, an rare occurrence for him. "The target, it's, it's a boy."