Sora and Lucy walked to the elder girl's apartment hand in hand, laughing as they tried to continue their friendly touch as they walked on the edge of the pier. Sora almost feel into the murky water, but was gratefully anchored to her sister, however, with the displacement of weight and the fright of Sora's slip made them crash to the pavement.

All they seemed to be doing since they were re-united was falling over each other and laughing, but they deserve this small happiness.

They finally arrived inside the apartment, Sora was not at all surprised to see pink across the room, nor the cleanliness that made the apartment sparkle.
"Make yourself at home." Lucy shut the door behind them and began to take off her shoes, reminding Sora to do the same.

She hastily untied her black boots, hopping on one foot at a point before it released her foot. She carefully placed her boots to the side of the door where Lucy had placed hers.

The room was quite spacious and personalized with small items of Lucy's here and there; it reminded Sora of the room they shared back in the mansion. Sora smiled at the memory, but she quickly pushed her thoughts of home away before less friendly ones appeared.

She sat on the comfortable bed, flopping on her back with a sigh before curling on her side. She looked to Lucy who pulled back her chair, placing a steaming cup of tea on her desk before sitting, watching Sora's every movement with a beatific smile. Lucy held a second cup in her other hand and raised it with a grin from where she sat,
"Raspberry tea, your favorite." She held it out and Sora jumped onto her knees and crawled over to the edge of the bed, grasping it firmly.

She took a hasty sip and gave a large sigh, her shoulders drooping with relaxation,
"I haven't had this since we were kids, you even remembered I liked it chilled." Sora looked to her elder sister with compassion, Lucy simply waved it off and took a sip of her own drink.

Sora eyed it as she laid on her stomach along the length of the bed, tea in both hands near the foot,
"Let me guess, hot peach tea. You always liked the way it smelt when hot, though I thought it smelt the same cold." Lucy raised the cup in sign she was correct before taking another relishing sip, nostalgia enwrapping her.

There was a moment of silence between the sisters before Lucy finally set her cup aside and placed a hand on her chin,
"So, how did you get your keys? You said we would swap stories." She gestured towards Sora with an expectant smile.
"Well, after I left home," she paused, her smile fading and pain crossed her expression before she glanced away in discomfort,
"After father tried to sale me off for money in form of a marriage..." Her voice was quiet but rage was evident as her tight grasp on the cup shook the liquid inside.

Lucy got up and sat on the bed near Sora's head, her brows knitted in concern.
"No one blames you for running away like you did, what father was doing after mom died was terrible." She touched the girl's arm, but she pulled away, waving the situation away as she stretched her arm and sat her tea beside Lucy's on the desk.
"It's okay, so about my keys," she hastily changed the subject as she sat up,
" I found my four silver keys during my travels; Owl was a mission reward, Kangaroo I bought in a shop while I was in the capital, but Lion and Cat was a present." Sora grasped her keys and looked at them lovingly, separating them accordingly as she spoke.
"A present? From who?" Lucy tilted her head in question.

Sora put a hand to her chin and hummed as she worked her memory,
"I'm not very sure. The man was cloaked, but his hair was definitely a shade of blue. He gave me the keys as we passed on the side of the road saying I would need them. Freaked me out." She giggled slightly, but Lucy didn't join her in laughter a she stared intently at her sister.

Sora noticed and touched her forearm,
"Luc?" She was brought out of her musings and shifted her eyes,
"S-So, how old are you now? You barely look over 16."

Sora grasped the keys in her hand, softly rubbing over G's key almost unconsciously,
"Well, I spent seven years Earthland time training with G and Alaude in the spirit world. But I was actually only training for 28 days. Mama always said the Vongola keys packed a punch and they really did train me hard." Sora snickered, but she grew silent.

Lucy shifted on the bed,
"Yah, I trained in my spirit world too. It was a surprise that time moved so quickly there, it's almost un-fair," she chuckled,
"But why did you decide to train there? We were pushed into a corner and had to train quickly, but of course I didn't realize how time worked then." Sora leaned into Lucy's shoulder,
"I heard about you and your guild vanishing. We lost Mama and then I lost you," her voice was quiet, almost on the point of breaking a she flicked her eyes down,
"I couldn't handle it. That's when G told me to stop moping around and do something with my feelings. To put it into training, and that's exactly what I did for 28 days. However, one day, G told me you guys have returned. I was so excited and decided to find you. First place I went was home though."

Lucy nodded as Sora trailed off,
"So you know about Father's death." The girl nodded numbly to her words,
"I don't know how to feel about it. He tried to sell me to his work associate for money for God's sake, but I was still surprised to find him dead." Sora took a shaky hand to Lucy's and held it tightly,
"I spent two months looking for you and I thought that I would never find you. I kept thinking you might be dead like mom and dad after all." Lucy had tears gathering in her eyes as she released her sister's weak grasp and pulled her into a hug.

Sora quivered, obviously crying, but she didn't let a sound slip from her lips.

There was a sudden tap at Lucy's window, causing the girls to jerk straight in surprise.

The window suddenly flew open and Natsu and Gray tried to get trough the small frame at the same time, but ended up fumbling into the room. Gray was half naked and draped over Natsu, groaning from the impact of their fall.

Sora quickly wiped her eyes dry and turned away, feeling her face flush slightly at the naked back and the two boy's suggestive positions.

Gray pushed himself up, not caring that he was looming over Natsu's body before snapping his head toward the girls. He jumped up suddenly, Natsu getting to his feet a second after,
"Lucy!" They spoke in unison and with a rushed manner, but their next words were cut off as Lucy threw her pillow at them.

The soft material hit Natsu hard in the face, knocking him off his feet.
"How many times have I told you guys not to come into my room without permission?" Gray looked to the pink haired boy on the floor and then back at the fuming attacker,
"Wait, it's important."

Sora then jumped to her feet and grasped the hot peach tea from the desk and threw it at Gray,
"Put some damn clothes on ya' weirdo!" The hot liquid cascade down his bare chest and his face twisted in pain,
"Hot! Damn it, that's hot!" He brushed his hands over his chest and put a thin layer of ice over the burning tea.

Sora furrowed her brows,
"Ice magic?"

Natsu raised his legs and kicked forward, the momentum pushing him to his feet. He opened his mouth and spit flames as he recovered from the strong blow.
"F-Fire magic?" Sora covered her face from the flames.

Natsu clenched his fists to his side,
"There's no time for this. There's a man looking for Sora, he said he's a friend and that it's urgent you see him right now!" He looked to Sora as he spoke and apprehension rose inside her; she didn't have any friends.

She rushed out of the room and headed towards the guild by memory, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy following behind her.

As they arrived, the group saw a man in his late 20's in front of the guild, pacing with his arms folded in front of him.

The man had black, spiky hair, black slacks and shoes along with a grey dress shirt. He was solemn looking until he spotted them coming closer, his face broke into a wide, sly smile that gave Sora a chill.

Lucy felt the exact moment Sora's whole body froze from the sight of the man, a growl even emerging from the back of the girl's throat. Lucy furrowed her brows a she looked to the man again.

He turned to them and walked as he spread his arms wide,
"Ah, my clear blue sky. How nice it is to see you again. How I've been looking forward to this moment for so long." His silky voice stretched out the words eerily as his eyes roamed over Sora's body.

Lucy shivered from the intensity of those eyes and felt her body move in front of Sora protectively.

Natsu saw their rigid body movements and his leering features and stepped forward,
"Who the hell are you? You don't seem like a friend to me." The fire user questioned as he held his arm, ready for a fight.

The man swung his head back and forth in a disappointed, exaggerated gesture as he un-folded his crossed arms and wagged a finger in front of his face,
" Lucas Pierce, but that's of no concern to you. All I care about is Sora, after all, she is my wife." The air was silent and the group looked to Sora, Lucy especially confused and concerned.

Sora threw her arm to the side and raised her voice to the highest she could take it,
"You stupid, delusional bastard! How many times have I told you I won't marry you?" All were taken aback except for Lucas, he simply shook his head and chuckled to himself,
"Well we're not married yet, of course, but we will be. I guarantee it. After all, I paid for you."

He put a hand to his chin and nodded, content with himself.
"Your dear, old, dead dad sold you to me years ago." Lucas ruffled inside his jacket and took out a crinkled envelope, the Heartfilia insignia was stamped in wax at the flap of the opening.

He presented it to them in a flourish before carefully putting it back, smiling as he spoke,
"I've been enamored with you since I saw your stubborn pout all those years ago, and now I've got you, my darling. You're mine now." He spread his hands wide and laughed, but Natsu didn't waste anytime stopping the excessive laughter.

He ran and kicked him strongly in the abdomen, making him fly backwards till they both slide on the rough ground.

Lucas flailed and put a hand out to Natsu and one into his pant pocket,
"I wouldn't do that if I was you. I have something for that girl, a wedding gift if you will, but if you hurt me I won't hesitate to break it."

Natsu tilted his head as he leaned his weight more on the man's chest,
"Gift?" Lucas nodded with a wry smile, his comely hair a mess and he slightly panted from the shock of the attack as he brought out a key ring.

It had two keys on it; a black one with an orange flame on it and a silver key with a bull engraved into it.

Sora gasped when she saw the glint of the keys from where she stood, knowing exactly what they were,
"Natsu, do as he says!" Sora blurted suddenly, panic in her voice.

Eight of the fourteen Vongola keys are gathered here, she can't risk him breaking it, especially the black key; Primo's key.

Natsu clicked his tongue and backed away from the man as Lucas scrambled to his feet.
"I don't know what my father promised you, but I am not a toy and neither are those keys. Please hand them over."

Lucas patted dirt from his clothes casually, his moment of disarray seeming to have vanished from existence now that Natsu was away.

As he straightened, his eyes grew dark,
"You can't ask me to simply give this to you without getting anything in return. Life doesn't work like that, child." Sora's mouth twitched at the use of the word child.

He clicked his tongue almost musically at her as he twirled the keys around his index finger.

He froze his movements and grasped the silver key.
"Your old man thought we could get along cause we're both key users, you see, but I despise these things," he held the key away from him in mock disgust, hand shaking with the effort of not breaking the key right then,

"I haven't opened these keys all this time because I knew the Vongola keys were your key of choice, but I might just give it a try. Perhaps with some coaxing from them you will marry me."

He dragged the key through the air and spoke with a stentorian voice ,
"Open, gate of the lightning bull: Lambo."

The familiar, loud gun shot rang out and a swirl of green flames released a young boy.

He was wearing black pants with a cow print shirt and a black jacket. His hair was a dark mess of curls atop his head, a set of dull horns breaking through the forest of curls on the side of his head.

As soon as the flames dissipated the small boy had barely gotten the chance to peer around his new surroundings when he was suddenly hauled into the air by the scruff of his shirt collar. He squeaked in surprise, but it was cut short as he was slammed into the dirt.

Lambo wheezed, all air pushed out of his lungs from the force and Lucas simply giggled as he pushed him harder into the ground still.

Lucy put a hand to her mouth as Natsu and Gray gritted their teeth from the side lines, almost stepping forward but Sora was ahead of them.

Power surged the air around her, her face hidden in darkness as she stepped forward, head down. She eerily lifted her hand Into the air once she got close enough to the man,
"Open, gate of the sky lion: Tsuna."

A bright swirl of orange, gold flames appeared and the gun shot seemed louder this time, with more purpose.

A small, fifteen year old boy emerged, back straight and strange confidence radiated from the tiny body. He had gravity defying brown hair and chestnut cream eyes to match, but the brown glowed with an intense orange undertone that held power. He was dressed in a neat and clean black suit with an orange undershirt that complemented his eyes perfectly. He fashioned a pair of tight gloves with half domes gracing the back of his palms, an insignia dedicated to the Vongola gracefully placed in the dome. The final ensemble to his outfit were red headphones with the number twenty-seven written in white on them.

Lambo's face attempted to lift from the ground against the force of Lucas's pressure, his eyes brimming with tears,
"Tsuna-nii," his voice quivered slightly with hope.

Lucy groped for her own keys, but Sora rose a hand to stop her, not looking away from her opponent,
"Don't interfere, please." Sora rose her head, her eyes piercing as they burrowed into the man, who barely seemed to notice as he lifted Lambo off the ground and pushed him to his chest, caressing his hair uninterestedly.
"I'm going to kill this bastard for touching a Vongola key like that."

The elder sister gawked at Sora for a moment before resigning a step back, standing beside Natsu.

Sora took a deep breath before glaring at the man fervently, calling all her attention onto him and forcing his attention away from Lambo's hair.

She flicked her wrist and the small, brown haired boy shifted out of sight, Sora's blonde hair whipping behind her with the celerity of his movements.

Lucas stiffened at the unsettled dust in front of Sora as he looked around hastily for Tsuna, doubt in his eyes. He held Lambo closer to him, smothering his whimpers as he took a step backwards.

He felt a pressure at his back and he broke out in a cold sweat, he turned around but Tsuna had already swiftly moved to the front of him.

Lucas whipped back around, eyes wide at the quickness of the boy's step. His expression twisted as he suddenly rose Lambo over his head, ready to throw him at Tsuna like a weapon, but Tsuna reached up and clasped his hands around Luca's wrist.

Crystals floated around Tsuna's grasp, binding the treacherous man' hands together, forcing his hands open in the process.

Lambo squirmed out and jumped into Tsuna's waiting arms as the brown haired boy put his leg in between Lucas' and pulled it forward; forcing him to his knees.

Tsuna stepped aside, comforting the crying child as Sora strolled forward. Lucas barely noticed as he fussed over his frozen arms, pulling it, but to no avail.

Sora swiped her hand down and a pail blue light shone around her fingers and extended forward, a long katana materialized where the light outlined. It had a black hilt wrapped in a red string and the guard had a crescent moon with a wolf and fire insignia on the corners.

The kneeled man's attention finally focused when the glint of steel was in his face, he flailed back and ended up on his back.

Sora placed the sharp edge of her katana to his neck, purposely pushing hard enough to draw a line of blood as she crouched casually over him.

She tilted her head as she pushed her face closer, yanking the black key from his belt,
"If I ever see you again, I will kill you. So take your pathetic, un-married ass out of my guild." She yanked the envelope inside his jacket out to emphasize her words of 'un-married' as she rose away from him.

She threw the paper into the air and skillfully cut the dead promise of marriage into small, even ribbons that floated onto his still form. Her katana dematerialized a she crossed her arms over her chest, peering down her nose in a condescending manner,
"Now, get out of my sight, child."

He scrambled to his feet the best he could with his hands bounded by Tsuna's crystallized fire, tripping on his way into the dark of the night.

Sora turned to Tsuna and the sniffling child, she crouched in front of them and patted Lambo on the head,
"That must have been scary, huh?" The cow printed boy nodded shyly, his hand grasping the hem of his shirt nervously.

Tsuna smiled as he looked to the boy and gave a relishing ruffle of his curly hair,
"This is Lambo, he's the youngest of the Vongola and he's the keeper of the bulls." Lambo gave a weak smile at his title as he looked to Tsuna with admiring eyes.

Tsuna gestured to Sora, calling Lambo's attention,
"This is Sora. She's been keeping good care of our family and I'm sure she would love to make a contract with you." Lambo's lips pursed skeptically as he tugged on Tsuna's suit,
"Then we can be together again? Lambo has been lonely and I want candy." Tsuna chuckled and nodded to the young boy's amazement.

He then beamed to Sora and jumped into her arms,
"Thank you! I get to be with Tsuna-nii and away from that man. Thank you." She squeezed him into a tight hug right before he popped into green smoke; going back into the spirit world.

The key glowed a friendly green as she strung it onto her key ring, pressing them to her chest with a smile.

She felt Tsuna's eyes on her expectantly and she gave an apologetic smile,
"You want to see Primo, right? Sorry for making you wait even a second longer." She looked at the black key with the orange flame in her fist, the key that lead all the others, the one who would die for his family and whose family would die for him.

Sora raised her hand, feeling the pressure of her magic in her chest but she pushed through the strain as she released the spirit,
"Open, gate of the Sky: Giotto."

A bright orange pillar of flames shot up and as soon as it cleared Tsuna leaped at the shadowed man,
"Papa!"