This story is AU with Strong!Tsuna and Adult!Reborn. The characters will have the same personality for the most part but the way and order they meet is completely different and this is my first time writing a fanfic on this site so constructive criticism would be very helpful! Okay RE EDITED! I am so incredibly sorry for the like four month delay, but I broke my lap top and didn't get it fixed for a month then had to move and then exams for two weeks! Hopefully updates will be much smoother now. Sorry for the wait but I will post all weekend. I'll also respond to your reviews soon! Its 12 (which isn't late really) but I have to get up at 3... damn. Hope I helped with the editing! Thanks and enjoy~ :D

'words'-thoughts, words-titles,"words"-dialect also Divalo Squilibrato means deranged devil and progetto X means project x or 10 in roman numeral (nickname he acquired and sorry if the translations off!)

SUMMARY

Sawada Tsunayoshi has a very complicated life. He puts on a charade, a second persona, everyday just to protect everyone who is involved with him. At home, at school, with his newly acquainted friends, heck anywhere he goes he has to act different. He's gained the infamous title "Dame Tsuna" all throughout Namimori, living this life, trying to forget the painful past he had lived. He has made it up to the age of 15, second year of high school, and everything has been going rather well. That is of course, until a certain person comes from Italy to be his tutor. Will everyone find out? No, they can't, I won't let them.

Chapter one: How Do They Know?

Tsuna had just been woken up by the annoying repetitive ringing of his alarm clock. Being in an unusually bad mood today, he throws his alarm across the room, successfully smashing it to pieces on contact with the wall. Considering he's still half asleep, you can't blame him for making a small slip of personality, even showing the smallest hint of strength he wasn't known for.

Due to the sound, his mother came rushing up the stairs, worrying about her son. Since he would often trip down the stairs, she was worried that he may have fallen again. Thinking fast, he got out of bed and cleaned up the mess at an impossible speed for most people. He got the mess cleaned up, seconds before Nana Sawada came rushing in. "Tsu-kun what happened? Are you okay?" 'Crap', Tsuna thought, 'I should've been faster so I could've gotten back in bed.'

"Ahh okaa-san. It's fine I just dropped my alarm clock, I'm not hurt or anything. Sorry for worrying you." Nana nodded, then left the room, causing Tsuna to flop down on the bed releasing a long and heavy sigh. 'Well, I guess I should get ready. If I'm Lucky I can leave before he gets here.'

'Ahh this is not going to be a good day. I wonder if I can just go to Yamamoto's house after school and spend the night. I bet I could, but I don't want to oppose I just don't want to have to deal with him. I better make it out of the house soon. I might as well go see if breakfast is ready yet.'

As soon as he starts to walk down the stairs, he hears the door open along with a familiar voice, one he would rather not remember. The voice belonged to none other than his father, Iemitsu Sawada. Instantly, Tsuna turned around, trying to make his escape to his room, he could just jump out the window and leave. As he neared the top step, he was stopped by a hard grip on his arm.

He turned around, only to see a complete stranger. Though there was something strange about this stranger, something familiar. He was snapped out of his thoughts, when the stranger said, "Long time no see, Dame Tsuna. It's me, Reborn, in case you somehow managed to forget me, which is likely. So, what were you doing? Trying to escape? A failure as always ,Dame Tsuna, I guess it's a good thing I'm here to teach you again." Said Reborn with a triumphant smirk.

Tsuna's heart stopped. 'Is this really that same Reborn? The one he used to play with as a child, while he was in high school? He's grown so much. What's with that murderous aura anyways? If I wasn't used to that kind of thing, I might be having trouble breathing right now. Well, I guess it's time to act Dame and leave.'

"Hiiee! Reborn-san, what are you doing here?! What do you mean teach me?!" 'Kami, this act is so pathetic'. Reborn just looked at Tsuna, then let go of his arm. He left him there, walked down the stairs, then hit Iemitsu on the back of the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" "For having let your son grow up to be such a pathetic let down. How is he supposed to be boss? Now I see why you chose me for this job. After not seeing him for awhile, it's amazing he's still alive. It'd be far from possible for anyone else." Tsuna decided to use their bickering to leave, completely forgetting his breakfast, bento, and money for any possibility of lunch. It was worth the sacrifice.

Whenever he got almost one foot away from his house, he heard multiple gun shots the saw his father fly threw the window by him. 'Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. Ignore.' "MY TUNA FISH! Are you leaving your father without even saying hi? No, how can it be?! Can my Tuna really hate me?"

As he continued with his self argument, Tsuna sprinted down the street as far away as he could get. He was about two blocks from home when he saw Gokudera and Yamamoto walking towards him, arguing like usual "Baseball idiot! You're not allowed to act so friendly to him! Why do you think he would want to hang out with you rather than me?" Even though they've been together for a while now, they never seemed to grow up.

Just as Gokudera lit his dynamites, his precious tenth came forward and pulled on his arm saying, "Gokudera-kun, you can't go around destroying random places in town every time you have an argument with Yamamoto. Though, you have been getting better at it." "Jyuudaime! I am so sorry. Also thank you for the compliment!" He said with big sparkling eyes. Why does he get so excited about getting praised anyways?

"Maa maa, lets just go to school okay?" "Yeah! I don't want to be late again or else I can't go to practice today." Yamamoto said. They walked the rest of the way to school with Reborn following them. Though he didn't act like it, Tsuna knew he was there, and that he wasn't as sneaky as he thought.

The first half of the day went by with nothing out of the ordinary happening. The trio was at lunch now, where Yamamoto just happened to pack extra and offered it to Tsuna, considering food wasn't the first thing on his mind with the previous occurrences.

About 15 minutes went by normally, until the heard a gun shot. 'Great what the hell is Reborn doing here? Why is he shooting at people in the middle of the day, at my school no less?' As soon as he heard the shot, he got up and sprinted (well what was considered a sprint to those who know him-light jog to him) to the door, amazingly with no trips or stumbles the whole way.

The guardians followed after, but they couldn't find him once they took their eyes off him. Tsuna made it seem he went through the door, but actually went behind the entrance and jumped off the roof, despite it being on the 4th floor and landing on concrete. Those who saw him land on the ground, just took it as their imagination and thought they just didn't see him there before.

He went off walking quickly to the back of the school where there was an alley that was mostly hidden. There, he saw Reborn just standing there as if he were expecting him. "Hmm, for someone who was one the roof no less than a minute ago, you sure got down here fast. Mind to explain Tsuna? Or should I call you by your other name? Proggeto X, Divalo Squilibrato.(check beginning for translations)" he finished with a cold smirk.

'Come on these are the times I should really act dame!' But no matter how long or hard he thought of what to say back, he couldn't find the right words. 'Great I'm officially found out. Hasn't even been around me for 5 minutes, and he already knows who I really am. Someone must have informed him, and when I find who, I'll be sure to make their death be a long and torturous one.' he thought while he opened and closed his mouth, resembling a fish gaping for water.

He had been like this for around a minute. He was just about to say something when he heard, "Get away from Jyuudaime, and don't accuse him of such things!". Though this time, Tsuna wasn't able to move yet, so Gokudera did end up throwing his dynamite, while Reborn just shot off the tops of each stick, without any effort.

"I'll see you back at home Dame Tsuna, or are you finally going to give up that act after all these years? Might as well, since the truths out in the open." said Reborn, this time with a completely amused smirk.

Tsuna heard the words, but they didn't process, for all he was thinking is, 'They know. Two of the people I have desperately been trying to protect the truth from for 5 years, finally know. What's worse is Gokudera replied like he knows Divalo Squilibrato. If he knows about my past, I don't think I would be able to live with myself. Kami. Oh Kami please. Is this going to be my punishment for how I act? For all those I've killed? If it is, then I would rather die than this. Them knowing I'm not even a human, just some monster created by the sadistic bastards who enjoy torturing and testing on children. Should I try to make a run for it? Go back to Italy, without telling a soul? But then I would just be abandoning them. No. They need to know. If they're truly my friends they won't mind, right? They won't be disgusted and leave? Turn me into the people who've been searching for me? I've lost everything before, I just hope I can survive a second time.'