Chapter Two

"The first Shimon boss was betrayed by Vongola Primo…and left to die."

Tsuna turned around and saw Enma standing before him. He saw nothing but Enma and darkness surrounding the two of them. "No Enma-kun! He wouldn't have done that!"

"Vongola Primo forced our family to go into the dark. We lost all our connections to the mafia and worst of all—"

"It wasn't like that, Enma-kun," Tsuna shouted. "Honestly!"

Enma shook his head slowly. "That's the truth, Tsuna-kun. That's the truth…"

Tsuna stirred under the blankets and opened his eyes. The sun was high overhead now and there was more activity outside. A dream…no, it wasn't. Enma-kun said those things when he attacked us during the Inheritance Ceremony. Tsuna made a fist and gritted his teeth. I have a chance to find out what really happened. I must take it!

"Roar!" Ienari cried out.

Someone laughed. "Now what animal sound did Ienari just make?"

"A bear. ROAR..."

Distracted by the sudden shouts, Tsuna was pulled away from his thoughts and sat up to look around.

He thought sheepishly, I must have slept for a long time. Hiie! I should find out how to get back to the present! Before that…what am I going to say to Primo and his family?

He padded towards the the screens that obscured his view of the garden, which was where the voices were coming from. He stepped out and looked around in awe. There was a large tree off to the side with a shallow pond next to it, which was surrounded by rocks. There weren't only rocks near the pond, but there were rocks all over the garden.

"Oh! Tsunayoshi-kun." Tsuna nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the female voice. To his right, Ienari and his mother were sitting on the ply wood floor with their feet dangling from the ledge. Ienari gave him a shy smile.

"Did we wake you? I'm sorry," Kiku said. Tsuna scratched his head in embarrassment and flapped a hand.

"I-It's fine! I should have woken up earlier anyways…" Tsuna couldn't help but notice how beautiful Primo's wife was. And they had such a cute son. It was practically the perfect family. Speaking of family…

"Eh…where is P—eh—Sawada-san?"

"He went to work," Kiku said with a smile. "He will be back for his noon meal soon though."

"A-Ah…I just wanted to thank him again, and then I'll be off," stuttered Tsuna. The faster he was out of there, the less chances there were for him to spill something about the future. Then he kicked himself. Baka…why did I say that? Now what am I going to do about learning the truth?

"Eh? Are you in a rush to leave? Your wounds have not healed fully yet," Kiku protested and stood. "I'm sure Ieyasu would like you to stay until you are well again."

"If…if you say so," Tsuna said with a nervous smile but sighed in relief in his mind.

Suddenly Kiku gasped. "I still have to prepare the food…" she trailed off and looked at her son hesitantly as if she wasn't comfortable with leaving him outside on his own. "Ienari, let's go inside. You can play with your toys."

Ienari pouted. "But I want to stay here. I didn't get to finish my adventure this morning!"

Kiku put her hands to her hips and stared down at her son. "Ienari…"

The boy bravely stared back at his mother for two quick seconds before looking down. However, he had yet to move from where he stood.

Tsuna shifted on his feet lightly, unsure of what to do as the person in the middle. "Eto…if you don't mind, I can look after him for a while as a favour for taking me in…"

She casted him with a speculative glance. Then she smiled. "Thank you Tsunayoshi-kun! I really appreciate the help." She knelt down and patted her son on his head. "Ienari, I want you to behave while you are with Tsunayoshi-kun, alright?"

"Hai!" Ienari sang out cheerfully. Kiku patted his head and went inside. This left Tsuna and Ienari in each other's company with an awkward silence in the air.

"So…what do you want to do?" Tsuna asked. Ienari looked around shyly. Sure, he was the one who found the boy and hung around when he first woke up, but he wasn't sure what to do now that the older boy was awake and moving.

Having the same experience with I-pin when she first arrived at his home, Tsuna had a vague idea on how to get the kid to start playing.

Giotto hummed to himself as he walked home for his lunch break before going back to work as the accountant of their lord. At first he was in no way comfortable with the idea of being an accountant, but it was lowly enough that no one in the mafia world would suspect the previous Vongola boss to be working as. So it would have to do.

That's right…Asari said he was going to visit tomorrow. The sudden thought of one of his friends dropping by put a smile on his face as he opened the front door.

"I'm back," he called out. Kiku replied with a greeting from the kitchen as he went to look for their son. He found him and Tsunayoshi in the yard chasing one another. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of his son actually catching up to the teenager and assumed that Tsunayoshi must be going slowly for Ienari's sake. Then Tsunayoshi…tripped.

"Aah!" Ienari crashed into Tsuna and they were both flattened.

Giotto chuckled at the comical expressions they both wore. How did Tsunayoshi-kun manage to trip on his own two feet? Is he really that clumsy?

Ienari looked up and smiled when he saw his father. "Tou-chan, you're back!"

"For a little while. I have to head back after I eat." He picked up his son and ruffled his hair that was becoming more like his every day.

Tsuna picked himself off from the ground hastily and smiled. "H-Hello…"

"Thanks for looking after Ienari. I assume you were put to the duty of babysitting," Giotto said gratefully.

"O-Oh, it's no problem! Hahaha…I have to do this every day anyways. The two kids at my house keep me busy most of the time…" Tsuna stopped abruptly.

Giotto cocked his head. "Speaking of which, we should contact your relatives, to tell them you're safe."

"No, it's fine!" Tsuna said a bit too quickly with his hands waving back and forth in front of him. He sweated slightly. "They live pretty far away and it would be better if you don't because it will just worry them!"

A trickle of suspicion entered Giotto's mind but he nodded nonetheless. Then he remembered something that he should have asked when the boy first woke up. "Tsunayoshi-kun…what is your family name?"

"My family name?" Tsuna repeated. Uh…my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi…yeah right, like that will work. He'll probably think I'm some kind of spy trying to get into his family! He screamed in his head. But if I don't say something right away, he'll get suspicious! Let's see…come on, Dame-Tsuna, think of something!

These thoughts ran through his mind in a blink of the eye. "Oh…I guess I should have told you that earlier," he said nervously. Then he made the mistake of looking into Giotto's observant eyes. Hiiiiie! He'll know if I lie! At times like this I really hate the family Hyper Intuition! He knew better than to lie to the man who initially possessed the Vongola Hyper Intuition.

Tsuna gulped visibly. Better stick to the truth. "It's S-Sawada…Sawada Tsunayoshi." At Giotto's surprised look, he went on quickly, "I know it's kind of strange! I mean, what's the possibility of running into someone else with the same name, right? But S-Sawada is pretty…common…?" Tsuna finished.

Giotto was struck dumb for a moment. He is Sawada Tsunayoshi? That's… Giotto smiled reassuringly at Tsuna. "Yes, it is a common name. Who knows, we might actually be long lost relatives, ne?" I chose 'Sawada' because it was a common last name, but to actually run into someone who actually has that last name…Maybe it's too common. Then again, why is he explaining himself?

Tsuna laughed along with his ancestor while imaginary tears ran down his face. Oh if only you knew how true those words are, Primo…if only you knew.

"So Tsuna-nii has the same last name as us?" Ienari asked his father.

"Tsuna?" Giotto muttered under his breath.

"I-I told Ienari to call me that, since Tsunayoshi is such a long name…"

"I see." Then to his son, "Yes, he has the same last name."

"Oh," Ienari said with a finger to his lips thoughtfully.

Then Kiku walked out to announce that lunch was ready.

"Let's go, Tsunayoshi-kun. I doubt you've eaten anything since we found you."

"R-Really? Thanks…"

Tsuna looked around as Kiku led him inside. They seemed to be living in a decent house that wasn't too big or too small. Moderate. Normal. It feels weird after seeing Vongola's headquarters in Italy, Tsuna thought.

Giotto watched as Tsuna walked into the room where their meal was set up and sat down. From what he saw of the boy's injuries, he should be showing some signs of being in pain, considering that his entire back was covered with a big bruise with cuts scattered all over the rest of his body. But he didn't. Not even when he tripped and fell with Ienari falling on his back a second later.

Exactly how did he come to have those injuries? It certainly didn't seem like any regular fight. He didn't find any signs of bruising from kicks or punches that came when people fought with someone helpless. He also remembered the slight crack on one of the ribs that would heal eventually. Meanwhile, he should still be in a hell of a lot of pain, which he isn't, or hasn't expressed outwardly.

I'll just have to keep an eye on him for now even if I don't sense any hostility coming from him, Giotto thought to himself with a nod.

"Oi, Ieyasu! Are you in there?" A gruff voice from outside shouted. Giotto put down his cup with a smile.

Tsuna frowned into his own tea. That voice sounded very familiar…but where did he hear it from? This was the past. There was no way he would know someone from this time…

"Gokudera, come on in! We're having lunch," Giotto shouted back out the window. A few moments later, they heard the door open and a voice saying, "Excuse me." Then a red headed man stepped through the doorway and bowed awkwardly to Kiku.

Hiiie…so…G took G-Gokudera as his…Japanese name? Tsuna thought in shock. Is this some kind of messed up coincidence?!

G glared at Tsuna. "Hey…who's he?"

Tsuna jerked. "I-I'm Tsunayoshi…"

G just narrowed his eyes even more.

"He's staying with us for the time being while he recovers from some injuries," Giotto said simply. G continued to eye Tsuna suspiciously but he walked towards Giotto.

"We're meeting at the usual place tonight. Are you coming?"

Giotto grinned. "Of course I am. I'm not going to let you all out-do me now, am I?"

G smirked in return. Then he patted his best friend's shoulder a bit too hard to be friendly before he left.

Tsuna sighed in relief when the Storm Guardian left. Those eyes looked like they wanted to kill him. He shivered at the thought. Don't cross the Storm Guardian. Don't cross the Storm Guardian...

Giotto winced and had to stop himself from rubbing the spot that was probably going to turn black by the evening. You have some explaining to do, Giotto. That was what G probably meant by it. Giotto sighed and stood.

"I'll be off now. There's not need to wait for me to eat tonight—I'm going straight there."

"Have fun," Kiku said with a smile. "And be careful."

Eh? Tsuna noticed that there was some worry in her eyes when she spoke. And it didn't look like the usual worry a wife would show her husband when he's just going out with his friends. Exactly where was Primo going in the evening?

"You're late," a tone filled with irritation said when Giotto stepped out into the open. They were meeting in a secluded area in the mountains near the village they made their home. They stumbled upon this perfect area for training when Knuckle had gone on a hike.

Giotto beamed at them and gave the occupants a wave. "Sorry about that…Alaude…Knuckle."

Alaude turned his head away with a scoff while Knuckle grinned at him.

"I'm not even the last one here," Giotto said reasonably.

"You're still going to turn into a pulp when this is done," Alaude promised and twirled his handcuffs with a finger.

Giotto laughed nervously and inched away from the cold man and closer to Knuckle who was smiling warmly.

Giotto leaned back to whisper in Knuckle's ear, "What's got him in a foul mood today?"

Before he could answer, Lampo ran into the clearing with an angry G right behind him.

"Stop! I'll kill you for that!"

"Ore-sama didn't do it!"

"Yeah right," G snarled and threw a rock at Lampo, who jumped away just in time to avoid a rock that could have given him a concussion. "And stop using 'ore-sama', it's pissing me off!"

"Careful! You almost killed me with that."

"As if an idiot can get killed," G retorted.

Giotto sighed and shook his head. "They'll never grow up, will they?"

"Hello everyone!" A cheerful voice shouted from the shadows. Asari revealed himself with a laugh when he saw what was happening: G had Lampo in a headlock and was shouting at him to not set such foolish traps anymore while Knuckle was trying to get G to release their youngest member.

"Good, looks like we're all here," Giotto said. "G, do you mind letting go of Lampo? We're about to start."

"Che." G did so with a shove.

"Okay…first things first. Alaude, have you tracked down any new information?"

Alaude leaned against a large boulder. "No one has made any inquiries of your whereabouts. With all of the new names we have taken up, they know nothing more about you than what they knew ten years ago."

Giotto nodded. He was about to speak when he noticed that Alaude seemed to have more to add. "Alaude?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

There was a moment of silence before they all spoke at once.

"Wait, what?"

"That's too soon!"

"Are you an idiot?"

"You just came back a month ago!"

"Why are you going back again…?" Lampo backed away when he sensed the dark aura coming off of Alaude. The others sensed it as well and they quieted. An annoyed Alaude isn't a good sign.

"I don't have to explain myself," Alaude stated. "Now can we get started?"

G glared at him with a grumble.

"I found someone—well, more like Ienari found someone—lying in the middle of the road this morning. He didn't seem to be around these parts."

"Is this about that Tsunayoshi kid?" G asked. Giotto nodded.

"He was covered with injuries and said he was in a fight before he collapsed. But I think there's more to it than that. There's something he's not telling me."

Lampo scoffed. "Give the kid some privacy. Everyone has a few secrets. He probably ran away from home or something…"

"I'm afraid that this case might fall under 'or something'. Those injuries didn't seem to come from some random thieves kicking and beating him up." It was more like he had a bad run in with Cozart, which is impossible. Besides, Cozart wouldn't do that to a kid, Giotto thought. What would a kid have to do with the Shimon family, whom should already be safely hidden from the mafia? Instead, he said, "He might know about Dying Will Flames."

When he looked up he was met with looks of disbelief.

"Giotto…how did you figure that out?" Knuckle asked. "People who know how to wield those flames are rare."

"…he has a pair of mittens that were made with the same material as my gloves, which are made to withhold the burning of Sky Flames." With that, Giotto pulled out his gauntlets.

"That is truly strange," Asari murmured.

Alaude noted that down as something else he should look into while he was away. Then he straightened from his sitting position.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it for now," G said.

Lampo also stood and brought out his shield.

"All we can do is train like usual," Asari said with a smile. "What's the reward for winning this time?" He asked as he brought out his blades.

"Hm…" Giotto tapped his chin. "We're running out of prizes."

Lampo huffed. "Just let the winner decide on it when the time comes."

"That works too," Giotto said and activated his Hyper Dying Will Mode.

It was a quick training session and less serious than it used to be, now that they weren't living among Mafiosi and fighting for their lives. Nowadays the training was meant to just keep them in shape.

It was training in the form of a competition, with all of them except for Knuckle competing until the winners faced each other, and then until only one was left. Tonight, that winner was Asari.

"Well, that was fun," Asari said with a satisfied sigh. His opponent, G, was glaring.

"Damn, I was so close," he muttered. "Hell, I can't believe I lost to you."

Knuckle opened his month to object to G's language but closed it with a shake of his head.

Asari sheathed his swords with a laugh. "Better luck next time, G."

Giotto brought out his pocket watch and saw that it was just after nine.

"Alaude, do you mind coming over? I need to give you something."

"Hn."

They said their farewells and left.

"Don't get yourself killed," G growled at Alaude. "If you get caught, don't lead them back to us."

Alaude was tempted to roll his eyes. As if he would do something as stupid as that.

"Bring back some cakes, would you?" Lampo asked. Alaude stared at him until Lampo grew uncomfortable. "…I'm joking."

Alaude snorted.

"We'll see you in a week then, Alaude," Asari said. "Have a safe journey."

As they walked back to Giotto's home, Giotto said to him, "Thanks for going back so soon."

"I'm not doing it for you," Alaude said.

"But you're going there and bringing a letter to Cozart while you're at it. So thanks in advance."

"Whatever."

Giotto chuckled and went into the house as Alaude waited outside. Giotto quickly emerged again with a plain white envelope that seemed to be filled to bursting. Alaude took it and was going to leave but Giotto held him back.

"One more thing…a favour…"

Alaude looked at him suspiciously. "Go on."

"Do you mind bringing back some of those special treats made by Nuovo Pianeta Zucchero?"

Alaude stared at him, not believing what he was hearing. "What?"

"We haven't had those for so long and you know how we all like to have some of those once in a while since they remind us of home and all of those good times we had back in Italy when we were younger, so if you don't mind, if you could I don't know, pop by some random shop and just grab a bunch for us, you'll be a life saver! You won't even be recognised since the treat is mass produced in Italy and you could find it in most general stores in Italy."

Alaude closed his eyes as he felt a twitch start in his left eye. "You and Lampo are ridiculous."

Giotto grinned, knowing he had won.

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Uploaded 2013-06-25th

Edited 2013-07-02nd