Step By Step

by CherryDrug

The mafia is a much harsher life for females. Where you actually have to make a name for yourself despite the honorary position you've been born in; Where women are considered weaker and infernal compared to men, and where women have to bear the most burdens. But when you're born as a heir to the Vongola Famiglia, everything is twice as hard and miserable. Indefinite Hiatus. Sorry.

2. Unlocking the Cage

Disclaimer:

"I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! And I respect the fact that it belongs to Akira Amane, who created such a wonderful storyline and manga"

---

INTERESTING FACT OF THE DAY:

Ne, did you know that 69+27=96

Which means that Mukuro+Tsuna=Chrome

. . .

COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!

---

CHAPTER 2

UNLOCKING THE CAGE

Reborn

A word meaning reincarnation;

To start a whole new different life;

If you search it up Google.

But, in reality, Reborn

Is an infant;

Sadistic, cruel, mean, heartless, emotionless, and definitely selfish and crazy.

He's someone;

Who's definitely deserved my hate

---

After a moment of panic and shock by finding out that she was a candidate to become the next Vongola boss, she realized and remembered that there was a baby holding a loaded rifle just a few inches away from her.

Following both her intuition and instincts, she swiftly moved away from Reborn, who didn't look like a cute and adorable baby anymore but rather an intimidating and scary infant, while having a diameter of five feet away from him. Her hand immediately went into her pocket where she kept her weapon, that she only used to defend herself.

Her eyes calculatingly narrowed as she glared at him, her sepia orbs flashing dangerously as she tried to think of a way to get out of the room without triggering Reborn to aim at her or get shot at by that gun he held—she swore that he was holding a green chameleon earlier!

As she eyed him, tactically thinking of a way out, Reborn gazed at her in amusement, feeling a little impressed by the way she responded, quickly moving away from an armed opponent.

"Dame-Tsuna" he started, using her 'nickname' from school making her tense and the hand in her pocket dived deeper into the fabric in an attempt to grasp the object in it. "Pull your hand out of your pocket and sit back down" he commanded but Tsuna didn't even seem to hear him as her lips pursed into a low growl.

"Put the rifle down first" she demanded, making Reborn narrow his eyes at her this time. The two stared at each for a moment, one tense while the other relax but both glaring down at each other.

"Pull your hand out of your pocket and sit back down" he repeated, his voice both tight and firm. He would not put his weapon down first, it would disgrace his pride and it would make it seem like he had just obeyed the demands of a child that was no older than him if you would count his real age (not the one now).

Neither moved but Reborn repeated it again, impatience lacing his tone.

"I will not put Leon down until you follow my orders" he said, confusing Tsuna a bit.

Leon? Who's that?, She wondered, puzzled by just who Leon was, until she connected two and two together in less than five seconds, Ah . . . he must mean that rifle . . . weird kid.

With hesitation and regret, Tsuna let go of the pocket knife that was hidden in her pocket for safety reasons and pulled her hand out from her pocket. She moved nearer to the table but kept a maximum distance of two feet away from Reborn, still feeling wary and cautious of him.

And, the moment she sat in front of him, albeit closer this time, a blinding, white light had appeared at the spot where Reborn stood making Tsuna shield her eyes once again with her right arm.

After a while, the bright light died down making it possible for Tsuna to put her arms down. Immediately, the effects of being blinded by the light even for a little moment clicked in as Tsuna suddenly felt an overwhelming pain emerge from her eyes. Without whimpering or showing any signs of pain, she merely closed her eyes tightly while rubbing it gently with her hands in order for the pain to quickly subside.

As she could feel the pain slowly fade away, her eyelids fluttered open, revealing her brown eyes that held distrust and caution in them.

And, for the third time that day, she was surprised to see that the infant no longer held a rifle in his hands nor did he have any bullets or magazines strapped to his chest. And instead, she found a small chameleon just in front of her.

She squinted her eyes in order to inspect said chameleon. The animal looked more like a lizard instead of a chameleon since it's scales looked barely noticeable and it resembled a human's skin that came in the color of green. His eyes were large and its iris came in a yellowish color but the color around the charcoal colored pupil was a faded orange. And, compared to ordinary chameleons, this chameleon was rather small, in fact it looked tiny which informed Tsuna that the chameleon was still a baby.

"Dame-Tsuna, this is Leon, my partner" Reborn introduced the baby chameleon as he continued to stand on the table, "And you will treat him with respect as you will do to me" he quipped as Leon's red tongue flickered out with a hiss.

Tsuna didn't respond as she gazed at the chameleon with an unreadable expression in her eyes. The chameleon's large eyes stared back at her with innocence as its forked tongue silently flickered out. As the two stared at each other, Reborn watched the exchange, confusion and interest clouding his eyes.

Suddenly, Leon had jumped out of its partner's arms and landed onto the wooden table with a quiet 'thump'. Both Tsuna and Reborn looked at the chameleon at the same time as Leon's tongue continued to flicker out. Then, doing the unthinkable, Leon began to crawl towards Tsuna and stopped just at the edge of the table, in front of Tsuna, its bright eyes flashing at it looked up at Tsuna with an unreadable look in its eyes.

Tsuna blinked twice, surprised at Leon's sudden actions before, out of instincts, brought her hand out to pet the chameleon on the head, affectionately scratching his head.

Leon, as if pleased by the scratching, released a sound between a croak and a purr making Tsuna smile at how cute it looked. Giving it one last scratch, she showed it her open palm, as if relaying a message to it.

Leon stared at the opened palm, as if contemplating something, before looking back up at her for a moment. And, as if answering her message, its bright red tongue flickered out making Tsuna's smile soften.

"Go ahead" she urged Leon with a gentle voice, forgetting that there was someone else in the room (Reborn). Leon stared at her for a moment before it looked away from her and stepped onto her palm without hesitation and reluctance, as if it'd know her for years and was used to doing this kind of thing with her.

Reborn stayed silent, staying composed as always but on the inside was surprised that Leon—his partner that hardly trusted many people—had seemed to trust Tsuna on the first meeting, while gladly accepting the affection she showered onto him.

"Ah" Tsuna muttered, feeling a little ticklish as she resisted the urge to crack a grin as Leon started to slither up her arm until it reached her shoulder.

Leon seemed to click its tongue, creating a continuous clicking sound, in reply as it rounded about her shoulder, finding a comfortable place to rest on and once it found one, it created that same clicking sound again, but with more pleasure, before gracefully nesting itself on her shoulder.

Tsuna sweatdropped at the chameleon who was getting comfortable on her shoulder which she guessed she couldn't move in a while without waking up the green reptilian.

Suddenly, she snapped her head to face Reborn who was watching the scene with interest, a devilish smirk plastered on his face which made Tsuna's upcoming rage boil.

Her eyebrows had been slanted just like how her eyes were as she bared her teeth at him, creating a deep growling sound as her anger rose(anger for both herself and Reborn; for herself since she should have at least remembered that Reborn was in the room; and at Reborn for not mentioning that he was in the room)

"You" she started slowly, her sepia eyes flashing "did you just see that?" she questioned as an eerie silence followed after it.

Reborn elegantly arched a brow, in amusement, a 'What-if-I-did?' look on his face which answered Tsuna's question making her swear.

"Fuck" she murmured as she clenched her hands until it turned into white fists.

Both of Reborn's eyebrows shot up, both in amusement and confusion, as he mockingly lectured.

"Twelve year olds shouldn't curse with words like that" he seemed to frown but that amused glint in his coal orbs seemed to answer otherwise.

Tsuna frowned back, for real, as she wittily responded.

"I'm not twelve years old. I'm twelve years, two month, two days, and a few minutes old" she shot back, not bluffing in the least.

"But you're still twelve"

"No"

"You are"

"Am not"

"I'm sure"

"Well, you're not sure enough!" she snapped, irritated at him.

"Oh, but I am, I know almost everything about you" he seemed to cackle on the inside(feeling triumphant that he made her snap) since his smirk transformed into a full-blown evil grin making Tsuna stiffen for a moment before forcing herself to relax.

In times like this, when a creepy, suit-wearing, home tutor claiming baby just announced that he knows everything about you (revealing that he is, indeed, a stalker), it's best to remain cool, calm and collected.

Just like what Nami-chuu's billboard says when you're reciting in front of a class.

"Prove it" Tsuna dared.

"Alright" Reborn nodded "Sawada Tsunayuki. Twelve years old. Male. Born on October fourteen. Height is one hundred and forty nine centimeters and currently weighs forty five pounds. Mother's name is Sawada Nura Nanayume, currently thirty three and current occupation is a housewife, and father's name is Sawada Iemitsu, currently thirty four and current occupation is both a traffic enforcer and a construction worker" he stopped for a moment to inhale the oxygen he lost, and lightly coughing in his fist (which Tsuna suspected that he was hiding a chuckle) "You wear that hat to conceal your long hair since people used to bully you and make fun of you since you looked like a girl, and your grades are particularly low in physical education but are average in other subjects. You wake up at around five in the morning, have a jog, cook breakfast at six in the morning, wake up your mother, have breakfast, prepare for school then laze around before going to school which makes you late for first period. After that, you get home at sharply three in the afternoon , watch your favorite T.V. show, do your homework, study a little, read some manga, play video games, eat dinner at eight, clean up, take a bath, dress up for bed, then read some more manga before going to sleep at eleven" he informed her.

Tsuna stayed frozen, processing her ordinary weekday schedule. How the hell does he know what I do?!, She thought before voicing out her concerns

"How the hell did you know all that?!" she almost shrieked, feeling her personal privacy practically being invaded.

Reborn sighed "I said earlier, Iemitsu gave me the necessary information that I would need to know about you while your moth—Mama gave me your everyday schedule to fit in my tutoring sessions with you" he said, dusting a bit of dirt that stuck to the pants of his suit, clicking his tongue in disdain at the small smudge.

What the fuck . . . ?, she thought, obviously surprised by the sudden revelation that both her parents had suddenly gave away information concerning her. She propped her elbows on the table, being sure to be careful not to wake up Leon, and buried her red face in her hands.

As her face was hidden and despite feeling embarrass that her weakness for cute things had been revealed, a small smile appeared on her face, It seems like Papa didn't trust him enough to give him my real gender and why I wear this hat, she seemed to think proudly of her father even for just the tiniest bit because, despite being an asshole, it meant that he still cared enough to hide her gender to protect both her and her mother.

Be-Beep! Be-Beep! Be-Beep!

A startling, yet squeaky, alarm broke the silence as Tsuna's head snap up in surprise, her brown eyes roaming around the room to locate the sound.

"Calm down" Reborn ordered, "It's just my watch" he said, bringing his arm up to reveal the sleek black wristwatch that he wore. He tapped the screen of the watch with his index finger, pointing it at the current time, "It's already fix o'clock-" just as he said that, Tsuna looked out the window to confirm his statement and realized that the sky had already taken a purplish color, "-and we're wasting precious tutoring time" he finished, pursing his lips before he brought both of his arms down.

"Anyway, let me explain your heritage" he impatiently said, cutting Tsuna off as she was about to open her mouth to retort, "As I've just mentioned, you're a candidate to become the next boss of the most prestigious, strongest and most esteemed mafia Famiglia in history; the Vongola Famiglia" he informed "And I was sent here by the Ninth's orders to groom you into a suitable candidate befitting for the title of Vongola Decimo" he inquired, staying silent while allowing Tsuna to finally question him.

Tsuna narrowed her eyes for a split second as she noticed the keyword in his words; she was just a candidate, meaning that there must be other candidates since she wouldn't have been named as a candidate if there weren't others. And, while raising both eyebrows, she questioned "Aren't there other candidates?"

"Well, there were four other" he said, emphasizing the 'were'.

Tsuna's eyes narrowed, for the umph-teenth time that day, "Explain"

Reborn removed the fedora from his head before ruffling his spiky ebony hair in an exasperated manner, then placed the fedora(that was too big for his head) back on. "Well," he started, pocketing his tiny hands in equally tiny pockets found on the outside part of his jacket, "The first one was Enrico Onerie, the Ninth's eldest son and heir, who had been killed in a family feud between the Vongola Famiglia and the Pericoloso Insetto 'Pericolosetto' Famiglia" he muttered, bringing out a folded photo from his pocket.

Tsuna grabbed hold of the photo, removing it from Reborn's hands before he could take it back. Her eyes scanned the picture; the picture, so far, was of a dead man who was sprawled on the floor in an awkward and painful position. His right leg seemed to have been twisted, and so was his left arm. The man, upon closer inspection, looked handsome in a way. He had brown hair that seemed ruffled and unruly, he possessed a thin yet muscular build and he had sun-kissed skin that complemented the black suit he wore. His eyes were a nice shade of amber brown but the irises were smaller compared to the whites of his eyes which said that he was dead. Another thing that said that he was dead was the bullet hole from the side of his head that seemed to still have blood oozing from it. But what interested Tsuna was that the expression on the man's face, which was neither surprise or shock, remained emotionless, as if he had been expecting this.

Tsuna's eyes half-lidded as she stared at the photo before placing it in her jacket pocket, a sign that meant that she wasn't going to return the picture and was instead going to keep it as her property.

Reborn eyed her critically before he continued listing down the candidates, "The next one, Matsumuto Onerie, the Ninth's second son who had a Japanese mother, had been mercilessly drowned by the Pericolosetto Famiglia when he tried to negotiate with them to prevent another war from happening again", he brought out another folded picture from the same pocket, handing it to Tsuna who quickly snatched it.

The picture was of another dead man; the man resembled Enrico a lot apart from his pale skin, fat build, slightly slanted black eyes and the style of his hair, which seemed neat compared to his older brother's. The image took in a blue shade which meant that the body of the man was still underwater, a rope had been tied around his neck, wrists and ankles. His mouth was slightly opened but he possessed no surprised look. It was as if he had been expecting his death and was already prepared for it.

Tsuna didn't even flinch at the sight of another dead man as she pocketed the picture, refusing to give it back to Reborn.

Reborn, as if not expecting the picture back, continued listing down, "The next one, Frederico Onerie, the Ninth's third son, the child favorite and the earliest one to die, had been found reduced to bones after he had been kidnapped by unknown mafiosso when he was out playing in the Vongola's inside gardens" he mentioned as he brought out another picture and gladly gave it to Tsuna who accepted it carefully instead of rashfully.

"Ahhh" she muttered as she examined the picture. There was nothing special there except a pile of bones that seemed to belong to an eight year old. She quickly pocketed the picture, feeling her hand clench on the picture a moment longer before she let it rest in her pocket.

She raised her head to look at Reborn, expecting another explanation for the last candidate, but she raised her eyebrow once she saw him make no move to give her information regarding the last candidate. She pursed her lips as she easily read the hesitation and reluctance in his actions.

"Reborn" she started, her voice firm as she propped her elbows on the table once again and laced her fingers together before resting her chin on it. "Tell me. Who is the last candidate" she didn't question him. She demanded the answer and she would not receive no for an answer or else she would lash out on him.

Reborn, as if feeling the aura that the Ninth possessed whenever he had a serious conversation with him, quickly answered "Xanxus . . . Xanxus Onerie" he seemed to whisper but in the silent room, it came out like an announcement.

Tsuna's ears twitched once she heard the name that was unknown yet eerily familiar to her.

. . . Xanxus . . . ? She thought

.

..

.

Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt

"Oi! The phone is ringing!"

"Hah? It is? Okay, wait, just give me a minute~"

". . . e-eek!"

"Sheesh, the brat sure has a strong voice box"

"Can I see it?"

"No. No dissecting of live targets. Only dead ones."

"Hmph! Fine! Whatever, it's not like I really wanted to see it anyway!"

"Shh! The boss is speaking!"

" . . . "

"Buon pomeriggio, capo ... Ah, sì, signore, abbiamo l'obiettivo ... lei è viva, ma sembra come se avesse dimostrato di essere inutile. Lei non sapeva nulla per quanto riguarda il giovane leone della Vongola. Noi aveva accuratamente la sua tormentata ma nulla è uscito dalla sua bocca parte grida e urla ... divertente? sì, signore ... è stato molto divertente per noi. Hmm? tuo figlio? Ahh, lui è con la madre, signore. Sì, lo abbiamo visto in precedenza ... ci ha causato tutto il problema, signore. Ah. vedo. Bene, io li informa, signore "*

click

"Guys, we have another mission"

"Hmm? About what?"

"Another target mission. This time its the Vongola Ninth's youngest son"

"Xanxus Onerie?"

"No. I meant his real youngest son. Frederico Onerie"

"Ah . . . okay"

"eek!"

". . . Bloody Hell! Somebody! Find a gag before I rip out that brat's throat!"

.

..

.

"Xanxus Onerie . . ." she said, a bit louder this time which caught Reborn's attention.

The infant eyed her critically again, regarding how she reacted to his name. "Yes . . . Xanxus Onerie" he repeated, eyes narrowing as he stared at her with suspicion. "Why?" he questioned, snapping Tsuna back from her thoughts.

Her eyes widened for a moment before it returned back to its half-lidded state once again. She glanced at him and nonchalantly replied "Ah. It's nothing" Reborn didn't buy it "Anyway, could you tell me who this 'Xanxus Onerie' is?" she politely said.

Reborn arched a questioning eyebrow at her before coughing into his fist and continuing what he was about to explain, still slightly hesitant and reluctant to relay this kind of information to Tsuna. "He is the Ninth's fourth long lost son and is the youngest out of the four. And, out of his four brothers, he is the only one currently alive" he stated.

Tsuna's eyebrows shot up in both confusion and surprise once she heard that he was—is alive! "Then," she started "If this 'Xanxus' is alive, why didn't the Ninth make him the boss instead? If he did, then I wouldn't have to become a candidate to become this boss of yours and I wouldn't need to be dragged into this" she inquired as Reborn frowned.

"It's because the Ninth doesn't find him . . . suitable enough to become the next boss"

An eerie silent followed after as Tsuna patiently waited.

But, as another moment passed and Reborn had finally returned to his seat on the other side of the table, she grew weary and confused.

"What does he look like?" she finally asked, expecting another picture that would pop out from Reborn's pocket. But, the so called tutor didn't bring out anything. She crinkled her eyebrows together as she asked once again, "What does he look like, Reborn?" her voice was tight and firm, meaning that she would not back down until she got what she wanted.

I sound like a spoiled brat now, she inwardly frowned.

Reborn made no move to respond. But, Tsuna lent her open palm out, as if expecting him to give her something and giving him no other choice but to give the image that displayed the appearance of Xanxus.

But, she wasn't done yet.

"And could you give me a picture of the Ninth?" she asked, the corners of her mouth twitching in a small smile that seemed mocking to Reborn but triumphant to herself.

Reborn frowned, his eye twitching, he would not be ordered around by a mere child, dammit! "No. It is too confidential and dangerous to reveal the Ninth's appearance to a person he hasn't met yet" he stated firmly.

But, Tsuna was thrice as stubborn as him when she wanted something.

"Oh. Well, that's no problem" she shrugged half-heartedly "Since I'm a candidate, the Ninth must have known me pretty well" she countered back "After all, just like you've said, my father must have talked about me in front of you and the Ninth" she added.

Reborn really felt like choking something right now.

And, out of irritation, he snarkily refused "No"

"Why not? I'm qualified enough to see his picture"

"He hasn't met you face to face yet"

"So? His face must have already faced my picture"

"But still. That isn't allowed. So no"

"Oh. But you will" Tsuna resorted to psycho-manipulation.

"Oh. But I won't" Reborn mocked.

"Just show me the picture already, dammit!" her patience was slowly coming to an end.

"Why? Are you curious of what the Ninth looks like? I could just describe what he looks like. Let's see, he's old, has gray hair, wrinkles, brown skin, dark golden colored eyes, he always wears a suit and has a cane in his hand. Oh, and he's also slouching, too" he described.

Tsuna's eye twitched at the lame description that could hardly be used for her imagination to bring up an image of what the Ninth probably looks like.

"Anyway, it's already quarter to seven. We need to finish this before dinner so let me continue without any interruptions, capisci?" he said, coal eyes narrowing dangerously as he immediately switched the subject to avoid any further interrogation.

Tsuna remained silent, hearing the silent threat in his words. She was neither a fool or an idiot to refuse his instructions. She didn't want to be a dead woman by the age of twelve. So, gathering up all the patience she could muster, she closed her eyes and heaved out a heavy sigh.

Once her eyes opened, she quickly glared at Reborn.

But foolishness and bravery were two different things to her.

She was no fool but she was brave.

Unfortunately for her, Reborn, being Reborn, was unaffected by the 'weak glare' (as he termed it with disdain) that Tsuna directed towards him. Balling his right hand into a fist, he brought it up to his to cough in it, a polite (sometimes mocking) manner.

"Now then," he began, placing his hand back to his side, "Let me explain to you why you were chosen as a candidate" he informed.

Tsuna's ears twitched and she felt her curiosity and interest peek up. This was something that she had been wondering about since the moment Reborn had told her that she was going to be a candidate for a mafia family. After all, it wouldn't make sense to her if she had just suddenly been picked as a candidate out of the whim and for no reason at all.

Her glaring stopped, and instead, her fingers began to play together, twiddling around. It was a habit of hers that she never lost, she would only do this when she feeling either anxious or nervous.

"For starters, you were picked out because of your personality and traits" Reborn pointed out "The Ninth had labeled you as a strong-willed individual who has a heart of gold and can carry himself and others perfectly in difficult situations that are against you. He also labeled you as someone who could change another person's perspective of something," he explained, "And I doubt that you are all of these, since all Iemitsu talked about in front of the Ninth and I was that you were an adorable and cute kid" he deadpanned, "I don't even know how and where the Ninth perceived something like this" He seemed to purse his lips in annoyance.

Tsuna took offense to that as she glared at him once more.

Reborn shrugged off her glare and continued, "The next one is because of your blood" He states it as blandly as a poker master can.

Tsuna raised a brow as she opened her mouth to question him but Reborn raised a hand, meaning that she should silence herself. With a huff, she indignantly snapped her mouth shut and stared at him cross-eyed.

Reborn smirked at her obedience before he continued again, "Apparently, you are a direct descendant of Giotto Aristos" His smirk widened here.

Tsuna silently mouthed the word 'Giotto?' in confusion as her expression took on a more puzzling turn.

"Yes, Giotto. Giotto Aristos is the founder of the Vongola Famiglia as well as its first boss. He is your great-great-great grandfather as you are his great-great-great grandson" he informed her.

Tsuna's head had began spinning in circles as she registered the information. G-Grandfather? I-I had a mafia boss as my great-grea-whatever-grandfather?! She exclaimed in her thoughts bewildered and surprised at the same time.

Reborn, while snickering at the expression on Tsuna's face, continued explaining as he brought out a medium sized chart that had boxes with names drawn on it. Bringing out a long metal baton from the inside of his jacket sleeve, he pointed it at the lower box that had Tsuna's written on it in beautiful cursive calligraphy. "This is you," he stated, his baton tapping on the box, "And these are you parents," the baton slid upwards where two boxes were on top of it, the only thing connecting them were lines, "And these are the parents of your father," he pointed at another pair of boxes. Tsuna cringed once she saw their names, a dark feeling swirling in the bottom pit of her stomach. "And, if you go to the top, you'll see Giotto's name" The baton whisked upward as it landed on the box with the aforementioned name.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow as she asked him, momentarily forgetting about his threat, "Who's Giotto's wife?" she questioned, wondering why there was no box beside Giotto's name. After all, it's impossible for a man to have a child without having a woman first.

Reborn frowned, towards Tsuna, but answered the question, "The records doesn't say who he eloped with. But it did say that Giotto had a half-sister" he said, rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger as he pretended to get lost in thought.

"What was his sister's name?"

"Her name was Evangeline Aristos, she was the full-fledged daughter and also the heir of another mafia famiglia" he smoothly answered, not even skipping a beat, "But there's nothing else about her except that she had been mentioned as his sister" he added

"Ah, I see" Tsuna murmured, she was always interested in women who had high power or were related to people with high power. She was a feminist at heart and thought that women should have been given more rights before or shouldn't be underestimated since women were stronger, both in mind and emotionally since emotions could be used as a powerful weapon. And they were the best assassins since they could easily lure their target and kill them with one swipe without even getting their body tainted, unless they wanted it to. "Do you have a picture of her?"

"No, and why would I even have one?"

". . ."

A moment of pure silence passed before Tsuna broke it.

"But, if Giotto was from my father's side . . . why didn't my father become the candidate instead?" Tsuna questioned, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the answers to all of her questions since she was a little kid.

Where did Papa go?

Why did he have to go there?

Okaa-san, why didn't Papa go to my birthday?

. . . Doesn't he love us?

She could feel her shoulders shaking as she waited in anticipation.

Meanwhile, Reborn was having a conflict with himself once again. Should he tell? Or should he not? God, why is that idiot's (Iemitsu) troubles passing itself onto me? Reborn wryly questioned as he outwardly sighed, catching Tsuna's attention.

"So?" the cross-dressing girl questioned.

Yeah, he'll go with that one.

"Dame-Tsuna, as you've known, your father is already old" he purposely emphasized the old with amusement, "And the candidates that the Ninth is looking for are supposed to be young and capable of doing work without hazardly messing things up" he emphasized the young with amusement again.

Unknown to Tsuna, Reborn was blatantly stabbing arrows of insults towards her father who might have felt it at the other side of the world.

Tsuna, who was not an idiot (again), knew that Reborn was using an excuse. Though the expressions on his face was hard to read which told her whether or not he was lying, she could easily see the lies through his words.

After all, didn't he mentioned earlier that the Ninth was looking for anyone with a strong-will?

She inwardly snorted; her father had a strong-will towards work.

But, this didn't stop her from getting annoyed at Reborn. Why? Why couldn't he just be obedient like all other babies were? She mournfully questioned as she nibbled on her bottom lip, No matters, I'll get the answers sooner or later; one way or another.

"Anyway" Reborn started again, snapping Tsuna out of her thoughts once again, "Since you already know how and why you were chosen as a candidate, let me explain to you, again, what you will inherit," he pursed his lips, "You have been given a position to become the Decimo of the Vongola Famiglia" he explained, praying that this will be enough for Tsuna to understand.

Tsuna, who had been raised in a normal life instead of a mafia filled one, was confused and curious. She tilted her head, her eyebrows furrowed as she pondered for a moment. The Decimo of the Vongola Famiglia? She idly wondered, What does that even mean? Deciding to voice out of thoughts, she opened her mouth to question, "And what exactly does it mean to be a candidate of this 'Vongola Famiglia', no, better yet, what exactly is this 'Vongola Famiglia'?"

Reborn let out a sigh or irritation. As one would expect from a relative of Iemitsu, he drawled, Not even polite enough to ask questions when the time is appropriate enough. He sighed wearily again as he tilted his fedora again, which made the irritation his eyes sharply gleam.

"Well," he drawled, "The Vongola Famiglia is one of the largest mafia families in existence, and also the most powerful out of all the mafia families. There are many other mafia families, important and lesser ones, who serve underneath the reign of Vongola. The influence of the Vongola is worldwide, and it was said that no other mafia family could match them in terms of size, tradition, rules, or power, and due to this, the boss of the Vongola is considered by many to be the 'capo di tutti capi', or the 'Boss of all Bosses'" He explained it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "And since the Vongola Famiglia is the most powerful mafia family, it is also the biggest threat to all other mafia familes" Reborn explained, "Which is why, every mafia family out there has attempted to assassinate the current Vongola bosses since the boss is the largest threat in a family and once the boss falls down, the family does too. And, in order to prevent the Vongola Famiglia from falling down, the Vongola boss has always prepared a single heir to take over the family once he dies" He took a deep breath "But in the Ninth's situation, since three of his candidatory heirs have died, only two remains and one of them is his son, who isn't suitable enough to inherit the title of Vongola Decimo, while the other one is a stranger who he hasn't met before but knows that this stranger has the ability and capability to handle the title of Vongola Decimo" he explained, "Which I highly doubt" he silently whispered the last part.

Tsuna pursed her lips, "I'm guessing that stranger is me and the son is Xanxus" she pointed out.

Reborn solemnly nodded.

"But, what exactly does the Vongola do ," Tsuna asked,

This time, it was Reborn's turn to feel confused, "Elaborate" He narrowed his black eyes as his eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, I know that its a mafia family and I know what mafia do. But, what makes the Vongola so unique that it could greatly influence anything? Well, aside from it's reputation, it being the best mafia family and all" she hastily explained to him.

Reborn paused for a moment, pondering over her question.

Aside from what stood out from it, what made the Vongola so unique?

Suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind

.

..

.

He was in front of an old, wooden, antique desk table that had beautiful, curvaceous stools that supported the whole table in standing. He had been seated on a nice, comfortable, leathery rouge couch that had comfortable arm chairs where his arms had rested on. His longs legs had been folded as he leaned back into the chair.

This was before the Arcobaleno curse had been placed upon him.

This was also a little later when he had just started his career as not only a promising mafiosso but also the strongest hitman the world will ever know.

On the other side of the desk was an elderly woman. The elderly woman seemed to be sixty years old or so with a pale complexion and a wrinkled face. Her hair that was once an ebony black had faded into a snow white color and had been placed in a low and loose ponytail with a red ribbon. Her eyes, a nice golden color, looked tired and weary but her willpower still burned in it. The elderly woman wore an elegant and passionate red dress that flowed down to her knees and was slightly tight at the top. The sleeves of the red dress had reached her wrist and were made of red, transparent lace.

All in all, the elderly woman looked like an ordinary woman with lots and lots of money.

If you didn't regard the beautiful and graceful flowery tattoo at the side of her face.

Vongola Ottavo, otherwise known as Daniela Onerie.

Beside her was a male adult, probably twenty years old, four years older than him. The teenager had ordinary brown hair that had seemed to be neatly combed with his bangs parted to one side, leaving a part of his forehead into fullview. His eyes, which weren't as golden as his mother's eyes were but instead took a browner color, were wide with curiosity as he too stared back at him. The teenager wore a black suit with a white dress shirt and a black tie around his neck. On one side of his jacket was a pin which displayed the crest of Vongola, which immediately told Reborn that this man was a very important person.

"Reborn," Daniela called his name out, her voice coming out firm instead of throaty or gruff, "Did I get it right?" Though her voice sounded strict and serious, amusement twinkled in her golden eyes.

Reborn frowned, not liking it when someone thought that his name was ridiculous, but kept his contradiction to himself, it would not be wise to direct the anger of the strongest mafia boss onto you. He nodded sullenly, tilting his trademark fedora to reveal the coal orbs that it shadowed.

Daniela laced her fingers together and placed it upon her lap, completely unfazed by the strong gaze Reborn held with her as she pursed her lips.

"Did your mother really name you Reborn?" she questioned, her eyes half-heartedly narrowing in an act to intimidate the younger fellow.

Reborn didn't as much as flinch underneath the woman's gaze. Even at this age, Reborn was still an egoistic and prideful person.

"No, Ma'am" he denied, "I gave that name to myself" he informed.

Daniela's lips twitched for a moment before a small smile nestled itself upon her face, "A codename, perhaps?" she questioned and received a nod from the hitman, "I see" she lightly bobbed her head up and down in understanding, "But what does it signify?" her eyes stayed half-lidded as a mysterious kind of aura was emitted from her.

"Pardon, Ma'am?" Reborn said, both eyebrows raised in question.

Daniela's smile seemed to spread. The boy was not only being awfully polite, which was common, but also rather calm about being in the same room as her. Her eyes twinkled in interest, this boy was interesting. "I said," she coughed for dramatic measure making her son, the one beside her, roll his eyes, "What does you new name signify?" she repeated as she turned her gaze towards Timoteo, her son, for a split-second, before she looked away.

Reborn paused, his actions (even his breathing) had come to a stop as he pondered over the question. He already knew the answer, it was one of his decisions before he even joined the Vongola, but he was uncomfortable to give her the answer. She didn't seem like someone to trust, after all, she was a mafia boss and she could probably use that to blackmail him.

Daniela smirked once she saw his reluctance and closed her eyes to give him a silent praise. Smart boy, she thought in approval. She was already impressed by him and she could also let him leave as a new agent of Vongola, but as the boss, she needed to collect information about the people working for her.

Yeah, I'll just use the same old one I always use, she thought as her laced fingers clasped each other gently yet firmly.

Her eyelids fluttered open and Reborn tensed.

"It doesn't seem like you can answer that one" she pointed out as Reborn stayed silent, "But I won't pry, it's a part of your privacy and I can tell that one day, you'll give me the answer to that" her smile turned softer. "But, in exchange, could you answer another question? It's a lot easier and it'll be required as a display of how loyal you are to the Vongola, which depends on your answer" her soft smile turned rigid.

Reborn nodded, his curly sideburns bobbing up and down, as he let his arms fall back to rest on the armrests. He could already feel himself become tired and weary just from this question and answer section of the interview.

"What is your reason for joining the Vongola Famiglia?" her smile had been wiped off and a serious expression had been replaced on her face. Timeteo, as well, looked serious as he crossed his arms together while staring down at him.

Reborn kept his lips tight for a moment, looking as if he was pondering over something, but in reality, he wasn't and was instead adding to the dramatic effect of his answer.

After a moment, a real smile appeared on his face, shocking the wits out of Timoteo but pleasing Daniela, as he gave his reason

.

..

.

Though both questions sounded different and came out differently, the same meaning had been embedded in both words.

'Why did you pick the Vongola Famiglia as your mafia family?'The question echoed in his mind for a moment that was filled with utter silence and nothing else. He closed his eyes and started reminiscing about his past. The past where he worked hard, had to sacrifice so many things, had to endure the pain and sorrow, in order to become into what he was now, someone that would be proud to just know him.

"What made the Vongola Famiglia so special?" he quietly repeated and Tsuna leaned in to hear his answer. "It's because of its members, its origin, its original goal and the alluring aura it possessed since Primo's time up until now. It made the Vongola famiglia feel and seem so special that you can't help but feel so entranced by it, and once you go in, you feel as if you belong in that family since the very beginning. It's as if it was a real family" he said, as if that answered all of Tsuna's questions.

Tsuna could see and understand the deep meaning behind his words and she knew then and that: Reborn really treasures the Vongola Famiglia more than he treasures his life, She thought, I think that's one of the few things that makes Reborn happy, she continued, And I also think it would be a bad idea to speak so badly about it, she concluded, storing all of that information in her mind to write down in her black notebook.

"Thanks," she muttered to Reborn who still had his eyes closed, "I can see that you really think highly of the Vongola Famiglia" she added, hoping that it would catch Reborn off-guard. Sadly, it didn't as he opened his eyes, and for one, it was soft as he stiffly nodded,

But Tsuna could read the silent message in his eyes: 'I do'.

As Tsuna sat there, awed by how Reborn admired and treated to highly of the Vongola Famiglia, she could feel a small ounce of respect for him. Since now, she could tell that he wasn't a robotic-tutor-claiming-hitman that her father had sent over to her to furtherly torture her. And, he was only human, like her and every other person on earth, aside from animals, dead people, plants, etc (I think you already get the point)

As another moment of silence passed, Reborn broke it as he (fake) coughed into his fist. Raising a brow, he said, "Anyway, since I'm already done explaining to you the basics of what you need to know, adding a little too much information" he seem to scowl," And, since we still have some time left, I suppose it's my turn to ask the questions" A devilish glint in his eyes as his mouth had been set into a devilish smirk

Tsuna's hands suddenly felt very sweaty right now as a cold drop of sweat rolled down the side of her face. In a manner to hide her nervousness, she quickly clasped her hands together before setting it upon the table, and her face, which had been void of emotion, gave away no suspicion. She looked as calm as a porcelain doll would look.

Which made it even more suspicious to Reborn.

"What is your opinion of the Vongola Famiglia?"

" . . . Nothing yet. I can't particularly desribe the Vongola in my own point of view. The only thing I've heard are facts—like, the Vongola is strong, the Vongola is the largest family, etc—and I can't really use those as my opinion unless I encounter its boss—"

"The Ninth"

"—The Ninth. Since, just as you've said, a mafia family is based off its mafia boss" Tsuna quoted as originally as she could.

Reborn frowned but lightly chortled behind a hand.

"Why do you hate your father?" he asked.

". . ."

"Answer me"

". . . It's complicated"

"Elaborate"

"Next question!"

Reborn bristled in annoyance at Tsuna who kept her lips tightly sealed together.

"Can you remove your hat?"

"Why?"

"I just want to see something"

"Why should I?"

Bringing out the contract signifying that he was her tutor, Reborn pointed at it, "Full cooperation is needed for me to properly teach you"

Tsuna's frown evidently deepened as she sent him a glare, "I didn't even need a tutor in the first place" she inquired, haughtily crossing her arms together.

Reborn smirked, "Your needs and your survival are two different things"

"What survival? I have a house to live in, a mother who cooks me food, hell, I can can cook food for myself, satisfying education, and if needed, I could get a part-time job for extra money or just to help my mom but the necessities" she countered

"Yes, but with your level of experience, you can be killed by assassins that other mafia families have sent after you because of your dangerous position" he pointed out

"I don't really care" she shrugged.

"How about your mother? She will definitely be targeted too and I highly doubt she can defend herself against experienced and merciless killers that could brutally mu-"

"Shut up, I get the point already"

Reborn scowled as he clicked his tongue twice, awakening Leon from his sleep. Leon, the little green chameleon, hissed before standing up and stretching his tiny body on Tsuna's shoulder before slithering down her arm and onto the table. The chameleon hissed as he looked at his master with large, yellow eyes.

Reborn lowered his open palm down for Leon to climb onto it.

And, with another blind light, Leon transformed into a metallic, green pistol.

Tsuna closed her eyes and waited for the light to die down. But, as her eyes were still closed, she heard something being cocked-which vaguely sounded like the safety of a gun being removed-making her tense. Suddenly, she felt something being placed underneath her chin. Reflexively, her brown eyes snapped open to stare back cold, black ones that seemed to stare straight into her soul.

"You will not use that kind of tongue on me" he inquired, voice very cold.

Tsuna puffed her cheeks as she felt herself become red with anger, "And you," she started, "Will not use such a weapon against me" she scowled, moving the gun away from her chin and making sure that it wasn't aimed at her face but at the wall instead. "You will not use Leon, an animal, against me. Use a real weapon instead of your partner" she seemed to scold, choosing the weapon she will threatened by.

Reborn stared at her, unable to comprehend her reaction but placed Leon, who transformed back into a chameleon, onto the spot in his fedora.

"Just remove your hat. It's such a simple task that even a tree can do it"

Tsuna resisted the urge to chortle-seems like Reborn reads quotes as much as she does, which she was surprisingly comfortable with and relieved to hear.

"Just remove the hat, if you do, I'll ask my last question" he said, causing Tsuna to give him a look. Sighing, he raised his right hand, "You have me in the word of the Omerta" he vowed

Tsuna stayed still for a moment before a breathy sigh escaped past her lips and she closed her eyes, trying to hide the anxiety that tried to reveal itself

---

Reborn would understand why the boy would do such a simple thing. Why the boy who seemed so hesitant to remove his hat would now remove it. It was an act of courage and bravery. It was also an act of unselfishness and his love and devotion to his mother.

Which Reborn couldn't help but be impressed about.

Reborn knew that the boy would never remove his hat unless in dire situations-since Iemitsu had told him that-but seeing the boy remove it now, he couldn't help but give the child some credit for sacrificing his wants in exchange for the need to protect his mother from danger. And now, Reborn could see just a little bit of the reason why the Ninth chose a stranger to possibly become the next Vongola Decimo.

Reborn smirked, expecting to see a hilarious image of the boy with long hair.

But, as Reborn watched Tsuna swipe off his hat and his hair tumble down from it, his smirk slowly faded as an expression stretched between awe and surprise had appeared on his face as his fedora had been tilted to reveal his face.

There, in front of him, Tsuna sat down with his hair down. Underestimating its length, Reborn didn't expect that Tsuna's hair would reach the ground from where he sat, and, if his estimation was correct, Tsuna's hair would reach his waist if he was standing at full height. His hair was straight with the ends being slightly curly. The top portion of his hair was slightly ruffled but looked neat enough and his bangs emphasized his heart shaped face and large, doe, brown eyes that still glimmered with nothing.

The Tsuna right now looked different.

No, the Tsuna right now looked like a whole different person!

It slightly frightened Reborn as he stared at the boy(?). Just who was this person? This person looked completely different from the person earlier.

Tsuna, who looked like a boy, resembled a girl!

He had all the right features that a girl would have. Soft features instead of sharp ones, large eyes instead of narrowed ones, long, curly eyelashes instead of short ones , thin eyebrows instead of slightly thick ones, pouty lips, slightly reddish cheeks and a collarbone with no adam's apple in sight.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Have you gone through puberty yet?"

As an eerie silence fell upon the present occupants of the room, Tsuna's face had flushed a beet red in either embarrassment or anger making both Reborn and Leon, who created a weird croaking sound, snicker at the boy's silly expression.

"W-What kind of question is that?!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"Just answer the question"

"I-I . . ." Tsuna stammered as he clasped his hands together and ignored the hitman's intense gaze on him once more

"I-I, well?" Reborn mocked devilish smirk on as he watched the boy's face become redder than before. It was both fun and amusing to tease Tsuna, he was definitely going to be addicted to doing this to him.

"I haven't" Tsuna sheepishly confessed while looking down at his hands on his lap while nibbling on his lower lip

"Hmm," Reborn mused seriously, albeit amused at the same time, "Then that's normal" he quietly muttered, mostly to himself but it appeared that a nosy soon-to-be-student of his had heard him.

"What's normal?" Tsuna asked, his emotions seeping out of his like a leaking pipe; slowly progressing.

'I see. So, if the hat is removed, Tsuna's emotions can be easily read . . . It's like he's been wearing a mask the whole time, Reborn observed. "Hm? I was just wodering why you looked so feminine when you have your hair down" he nonchalantly replied waving his hand to add an extra effect to his words

"E-Ehh?" Tsuna almost exlaimed in surprise.

Revealing his high-pitched voice in the meantime which Reborn had heard loud and clear.

The infant froze. That voice. It wasn't its usual deep yet slightly husky tone. But, instead, it sounded soft and high-pitched with a silky undertone.

Definitely not a voice a man would have even if he hadn't gone through puberty yet.

With narrowed eyes, Reborn questioned, not even hiding his suspicion, "Your voice . . . what's wrong with it?" He could clearly see the sliver of sweat on Tsuna's forehead which rolled down as the boy suddenly appeared nervous.

"Nothing. It's just that it becomes like that when . . . I'm nervous and the likes" Tsuna smoothly replied, the truth never reaching his eyes.

Reborn pursed his lips, "Who did you inherit it from, then? Or, perhaps, did you just develop it?"

" . . . I developed it. You see, I had a very noisy and annoying friend, who always shrieks with a high pitched voice and I kind of copied it and it just kind of stuck" he shrugged.

'He's lying yet at the same time telling me the truth', Reborn confirmed, his frown deepening, 'It seems as though he doesn't trust me' He thought, confirming his thoughts, 'It'll be hard to earn his trust, but I'll need it to properly train him' He grimly understood the consequences, nibbling on his thumb.

Suddenly, the cuckoo clock alarmed, startling the people in the room - Leon included, of course - as the cuckoo bird shot out of the clock several times.

"Ah, Mama must be setting the plates now" Tsuna said, quickly changing the subject as he looked at the clock as naturally as he could. It was already seven o'clock which meant that dinner would be served soon.

As Tsuna got up and took his hat and placed it upon his head, hair still down, he then proceeded to get out of the room.

"I'll call you when dinner is ready, Reborn" he reminded the infant before slamming the door shut behind him.

Reborn sat still from where he was sitting down on. He looked like a statue as he was lost in thought. And the last thought that revolved around his mind before he got up and proceeded to go downstairs, planning to observe the mother and son duo, was:

'I must earn his respect to gain his trust'

---

In Tsuna's opinion, dinner went by swimmingly for the first part. The conversation they had during dinner wasn't as awkward as the conversation they had earlier since Nana was there to brighten things up.

But, during the last part, things went wrong.

Why?

Because, though her mother kept producing sparkles as they all ate their miso soup topped with tofu and some spices that were unknown to Tsuna(she wasn't a cuisine prodigy like her mother was), she could clearly see the tense atmosphere that hung around Reborn. Sometimes, when Reborn asked for more miso soup, he would shoot confused and suspicious looks towards her mother who would get him the soup, as if the woman was considered a threat or a danger to him.

Tsuna didn't like the looks Reborn was giving her mother.

So, half-way done eating the leftover cake that was given to them from the old man (Furui, that old geezer) as a gift, Tsuna had 'accidentally' kicked Reborn under the table, using her longer legs.

Reborn sent her nasty looks and glares that said: 'Stop it'

Tsuna sent her own glare which also meant: 'Stop looking at Mama like she's a criminal!'

Reborn scowled at her, unable to retaliate since his legs were far too short to kick Tsuna back and the woman next to him could switch to her yandere side if she saw him hurting Tsuna.

Which Tsuna was completely oblivious to the fact that her mother had a different and more scarier personality.

So, throughout the whole night, Reborn and Tsuna kept sending each other glares, the taller one had stopped kicking since it seemed unfair to harm the other who wasn't able to fight back(Which Reborn found completely mockable to him), while Nana continued eating in ecstasy, oblivious to the silent war her daughter and her new family member were having

---

Rummaging through her closet with only a fluffy white towel wrapped around her, Tsuna eagerly pushed aside the front portion of her clothes which only consisted of male clothes such as the Nami-chuu boys uniform and some going out clothes which she wore most of the time when going out. Her female clothes, which were thrice the amount of her boy clothes, had been pushed at the back of her closet to stay hidden from the view of people who might sneak into her room.

Grabbing some underwear that had cute blue stripes on them and her pajamas from the back, she tucked these articles of clothes underneath her arm as she pushed back her male clothing back into place, immediately concealing her girl clothes.

With one hand, she held her towel in an effort to make sure it wouldn't fall off her body, and with the other, she slammed her closet door close and locked it with a heart-shaped key that she hid underneath a small loose wood in her study table.

Glancing at the three locked doors and the single large window, that had been covered with a thick orange curtain to obstruct the view of those outside, in her room, she released a relieved sigh before letting the towel around her drop to the ground.

She sighed and looked at her chest, a blush forming on her cheeks. It was still flat. But, as she silently fist pumped the air with determination, she quietly announced,

"Once I've reached puberty, this flat chest of mine will soon be gone!"

Fire danced in her eyes as she silently wished for this to really happen. It sucked to be as flat as a male when she was really a female.

Puffing her cheeks, she decided that she should put aside her complaints and started dressing up. The room was rather chilly, probably from the cold air seeping into her room from the small crack on her window, and her wet body was starting to shiver from how cold it was.

Once her underwear were on, she wiggled into a white T-shirt that was twice her size making the neckline show off her shoulders. Comfortable and warm enough, just the way she liked it.

Oh, and just a trivia, Tsunayuki doesn't like wearing pants in bed because it makes her legs itchy, which irritates her very much.

As she grabbed a computer chair that had a vibrant orange head and cushion, she pulled it towards the white wooden study table that had been positioned near the only window of the room that was covered with orange curtains. Placing the chair in front of the study table, she sat on it before pulling on a string.

Said string had been connected to a medium-sized lamp which took the form of hello kitty. It was a gift from an old friend, someone she treasured as a sister, for her fourth birthday. She kept it all this time, as a remembrance of one of her happy memories that kept her going and moving on to the future.

But, with a mafia hitman claiming the he was her tutor, she knew that it would be harder to move on with haunting memories, both good and horrible, coming back.

Tsuna pursed her lips, pushing thoughts like these to the back of her mind. She didn't have time to reminisce about the past since right now, she needed to concentrate and find out just who was this Reborn and who were the people he mentioned.

Snapping back to reality, she glanced at the source of light that illuminated the room with a golden color, amusing her. Yellow. Her friend's favorite color and a color that she, too, found pretty.

Quickly, she looked away from the lamp and at the four pictures that were laid on the desk in a straight line.

"Enrico Onerie, died from a gunshot wound in the head, no surprise on his face, probably in his early twenties. First son of the Ninth and a full-fledged Italian. Died because of a dispute between the Vongola Famiglia and the Pericolosetto Famiglia" she summarized, looking at the first picture at the out most left, black notebook in hand and a pencil in the other as she wrote down every single piece of information that she knew about and estimated.

"Matsumuto Onerie, died from drowning, no surprise on his face, probably late teens. Second son of the Ninth and have am Italian and Japanese heritage in his blood. Died because he went to settle the earlier dispute with the Pericolosetto Famiglia but had been taken hostage of and seemed to have been tortured. But, in my estimation, I think he's been tortured to reveal some secrets about the Vongola" she continued, glancing at the second picture that was next to the first one, jotting down notes.

"Frederico Onerie, kidnapped, probably tortured before being murdered and left as a pile of bones, eight years old. Third son if the Ninth and born of Italian heritage, maybe. Death could be suspiciously the Pericolosetto's fault if the correct points and evidences match and connect" She murmured quietly as sadness revolved in her eyes. She didn't like it when kids were involved in killing or when they were the ones killed or being hurt. They didn't deserve it, they were just kids, who needed to stay innocent for the time being before they grew up into what they would be: Monsters or Saints or probably neither. Those were what adults were now.

"Then finally, Xanxus Onerie, the Ninth's youngest son" Seeing the picture of the man for the very first time, Tsuna had to inhale a large amount of air to suppress a surprised and startled gasp. The man in the picture was handsome. Devilishly handsome. Twice as handsome as his elder brothers were, who were, in her book, quite handsome.

Her brown eyes scanned the picture with no emotion except just a hint of disbelief of how handsome one could get(Well, that Hibari guy she met this morning was pretty handsome too) but, she reminded herself, just because the guy was handsome didn't mean his personality was as well. With sepia orbs, she took in his image.

The man had tanned skin that had some scars on his fingers which were dangling on the ends of the armrest of the leather red chair he sat on. His face had no scars or marks marred onto it but Tsuna could guess that one day, since the man was in the mafia, he would get one or two someday. His hair was as black as night and was both messy and spiky with a buzz cut on both sides. His narrowed eyes had a cold glint it it and were as red as rubies which made Tsuna's heart throb, those eyes reminded her about an old friend that she would never forget. Attached to his short hair were a series of colorful feathers that belonged to a Brazilian bird and a tail that could have belonged to either a ferret or a minx or probably just a baby raccoon. The man wore a long-sleeved white dress shirt with a loosely knotted tie around his neck. He wore tight black jeans with a belt that had an intricate design of the roman numeral ten in the middle of the buckle. Tsuna didn't know what shoes he wore but she could definitely see the black jacket that he wore like a cape over his dress shirt.

Same fashion style as that Hibari Kyoya, minus the tie, feathers and animal tail, Tsuna inwardly snorted.

If she properly guessed, the man was probably in his late teens or early twenties since he looked incredibly young compared to a middle-aged man. And, just by staring at that picture, she could almost feel the heavy aura that he had weighed on his shoulders, like he had a huge burden to carry.

"So this is other candidate. The only one left alive," she murmured, writing down the notes that she had gathered just by looking at his picture, "The only obstacle to obtaining the title of 'Vongola Decimo'" she muttered before a grin appeared on her face, "And it's also the same for him. I'm also an obstacle that he has to get rid of to earn this so called title" she added, slamming her notebook shut before hiding it in one of the drawers in her study table, locking it with a bronze key where she hid underneath a loose wood on the study table where numerous keys were also hidden in.

"Well," she started, stretching, "Now that that's over" she murmured before bringing out her laptop, a sleek black Mac, "Let's see what we can find out about the Vongola" she muttered, opening the laptop.

For a moment, she waited as she pushed aside the orange curtains which obstructed her view of the beautiful moon that shone a brilliant silver light that shone down upon everything. Her sepia orbs twinkling as she ran a hand through her long hair.

Why she never had a haircut was one of the reasons that kept her dreaming and wishing. Something she never wanted to get rid of.

---

Breakfast was the same as dinner but the atmosphere was lighter compared to last night. Tsuna was calmly eating her fluffy and cheesy omelet with pleasure while her mother was doing the same while admiring her daughter's cooking. Reborn was the only one in a dark mood in the beginning, his omelet untouched and the water beside him gently rippling the glass.

Tsuna arched an eyebrow, observing him for a moment, unaffected by the dark look he gave her, and figured what he was missing.

"Reborn, do you want some coffee? We have a coffee machine, I can make an espresso for you" she offered, a little act of kindness that she would rarely show.

The hitman nodded as he watched the brunette prepare his coffee before placing it in front of him.

This was not coffee. . . This was espresso. espresso that could easily be mistakened as ambrosia. Drinks that were only meant for the Gods. The Gods. Delicious looking espresso that would make any common man drool over it. It had a mocha brown color with whip cream on top of it with some sprinkles of chocolate grates on the whip cream, creating a soothing yet elegant image, and, amazingly, all of it had been placed in a pale yellow mug that looked neither vibrant nor dead.

Bringing the mug of steaming espresso near his nose, he sniffed it, making sure that there were no poisons in it. Confirming it that it was safe, he took a sip.

His brain nearly exploded from how delicious it was.

Gulping down the coffee not only as quickly as he could but also as appropriately and professionally as he could. He didn't want to look like a pig in front of others nor did he want to give Tsuna the pleasure that her coffee had made him her slave.

Releasing a pleasantly filled breath, he placed down the empty mug of coffee.

He looked up, his face not dark anymore, as he began eating his breakfast.

Tsuna remained composed and unaffected by it but on the inside, she was cackling in triumph. Finally! A moment of weakness! Letting a small, polite smile make its way up to her face, she asked in a soft yet firm voice, "Would you like another cup?"

A moment of silence passed as her mother and Reborn chewed their food before swallowing.

"Yes"

She inwardly smirked

---

She had barely stifled a yawn making her mouth stretch as wide as it could while at the same time, releasing a tired and drowsy sound and making her eyes seem glossy from sleepy tears.

Reborn looked at her, confusion etched upon his face as he finally noticed the tired and sleepy look on her face. Frowning, he questioned,

"You look tired. What did you do last night?" Hopping onto her shoulder, which she didn't seem to mind, he gazed at her with a serious look.

Tsuna tensed from the sudden contact but forced herself to relax, swallowing a lump in her throat, she forced her voice to become deep and slightly husky, a voice that a man would possess unlike her high-pitched one that certainly belonged to a girl.

"Yeah, I'm tired. I stayed up all night reading a new volume of 'Naruto' that I bought a few days ago" she answered.

Truthfully, she had actually stayed up until twelve o six in the morning, researching about anything that involved the Vongola Famiglia or the simply the mafia. She needed to know and understand just what exactly was she dealing with. So, with a cup of black coffee, she printed everything she could gather about the mafia or the Vongola Famiglia, highlighting the important parts that would prove to benefit her in the future or maybe just tomorrow or possibly just later in the afternoon.

But, she had also read the new volume of 'Naruto' after cooking, preparing, and eating breakfast and during her 'lazing around' time, which was the cause of why she was always late.

Reborn narrowed his eyes at her, as if he didn't believe her, which he really shouldn't, before he hopped down from her shoulder and onto the concrete floors to walk along side her with his suave suit and fedora on.

Leon, the adorable green baby chameleon that he was, had been perched atop Reborn's hat, his body curled up on his spot in his partner's fedora. The chameleon stirred slightly before his amber eyes slowly fluttered open and had instantly connected with Tsuna's sepia orbs. Stretching for a moment, he gave a croaking sound as if he was saying 'good morning' to Tsuna.

Tsuna let a real smile plaster itself upon her face for a moment before it disappeared, only for it to be replaced by a straight line, and she had murmured a small greeting in return.

Reborn, who had watched the whole, jutted his bottom lip out, as if he was—

"Are you pouting?" Tsuna incredulously asked

"No"

"You are! You're really pouting!"

"I am not"

"Well, in my eyes, you are, and you're doing a pretty good job at it too" A chortle escaped her lips as her eyes sparkled with vibrance that made Reborn still for a moment.

"You know, it's bad to lie, especially to your elders"

"I'm not lying" she defended herself, "I really saw you pouting just then!"

"It was just your imagination"

"No, it wasn't—!"

"Oh no!" Another voice wailed in frustration making both Reborn and Tsuna snap their heads towards the source of that wail.

There, sitting in the middle of the road and just a few meters away from them, was a girl.

The girl, in Tsuna's opinion, was pretty. Very pretty. She had a small build that labeled her petite yet her body was as slender as a super model's, which was rather rare. Her layered hair, a yellow orange color, had only reached her shoulders with the ends curling outwards like a wisp. Her golden colored eyes were large and wide, complemented with long and curly eyelashes, and had been filled with vibrance and what seemed like innocence.

The girl wore the same uniform that Namimori students were required to wear to school. Unlike Tsuna, who was wearing the boy's uniform, the girl had been wearing the girl's uniform but without the jacket. The uniform was consisted of a white, short sleeved, button up shirt with a short collar that had a thick, bow-like red ribbon tied around it. For her bottoms, she wore a plaid, black miniskirt with knee-length white socks and dark brown loafers that glimmered whenever the sunlight glowered upon it.

"I'm gonna be late for school now!" the girl whimpered loudly, scrambling around to collect the objects on the ground.

Blinking, Tsuna finally realized the reason for why the pretty girl was on the floor in the first place. It seemed that the pretty girl's belongings had fallen from her bag and had gleefully scattered itselves in various places, just for the fun of giving the pretty girl a hard time.

On instincts, she looked at the ground and immediately spotted an eraser that was shaped into a bunny and had the eyes and the mouth drawn onto it. A small blush dusted itself on her cheeks as she admired its cuteness. So cute~, She ogled the eraser for a moment longer before she bent down to pick it up, resisting the urge to just keep it for herself since that would be stealing(which she didn't care about)and it wouldn't just feel right(which she really cared about).

Walking over to the girl she had never met before and stopping just in front of her, Tsuna called her out, "Hey, you" For a moment, the girl on the ground froze before turning her head to face her, surprise written on her face.

Finally regaining her senses, the girl questioned as innocently as an angel can, "Who? Me?" Eyes wide with curiosity, Tsuna didn't have the heart to retort a sassy or sarcastic reply to those eyes as she opted to plainly nod.

"Here. I think this is yours" Tsuna murmured, showing the girl the bunny-shaped eraser she was still plotting to keep.

For a moment, the girl stared at the eraser in confusion before realization and remembrance dawned upon her face as a bright smile lit up her whole face. It was like staring at fireworks lighting up the night sky, "Oh! Thank you!" the girl graciously exclaimed as she took the eraser and hid it in her school bag, "You know, this eraser really means a lot to me" she admitted as she gathered some notebooks from the ground, most definitely hers, "My best friend gave it to me a long time ago. It was when we were still in preschool and just the moment before the exams started . . ." the girl rambled on and on, but Tsuna patiently waited and listened to the girl's rambling, finding the story rather intriguing.

Heh. Who knew such a small item possessed such worth.

Yeah. It was probably a good thing she didn't opted to take it for herself.

"Oh!" The pretty girl exclaimed for the fourth time that day, making Tsuna cringe at the girl's overuse of 'Oh!', "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ramble! It seems that I've lost track of time, especially when I'm late to school" she flushed a beet red as she got up from the ground, dusting the dirt from the skirt, "Um, again, thank you . . ." She trailed off, obviously expecting something.

"Sawada Tsunayuki"

"Ah. Then, thank you Sawada-san—"

"Call me Tsuna"

"—Tsuna-san" the girl smiled, bowing her head in a polite and grateful manner

"It's alright" Tsuna mustered a small smile. She was starting to like this girl a bit. This girl was reminding her of a very eccentric old friend, except she was more polite and less rash.

"Oi, Dame-Tsuna, you still have school" A small voice reminded as both girls looked down to face the person who owned such a squeaky and cute voice.

The pretty girl squealed in delight as she crouched down in front of the suited baby, "Kyah~ So cute~!" she gleefully gushed as sparkles seemed to radiate from her smile.

Tsuna squinted her eyes as she examined the sparkles, completely ignoring the conversation between the new girl and Reborn. She was rather intrigued by these sparkles since the only people she knew who could produce such things were her mother, her father and this girl.

Such peculiar people. She wondered if there were others who could produce these . . . things too.

"Ciaossu. My name is Reborn" Reborn greeted as a fake smile had plastered itself upon his face. Always stay polite and composed, especially in front of females to show your respect to them. That was a rule in Vongola.

The orange haired girl's smile seemed to widen once she had received a greeting from the infant. Deciding to ask simple questions, the girl questioned, "Why are you wearing a suit?" Curiosity gleamed in her eyes just like a moment ago.

"Because I'm in the mafia" He stated it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The girl perked an eyebrow at him but continued smiling while releasing a giggle, completely taking Reborn's answer as a joke, which didn't bode well for the hitman(Whatever he says should be taken seriously! Whether it sounds like a joke or not!). Finally, after a comfortable moment of silence, she remembered that Tsuna was still there and turned her head to face the brunette with wide, golden orbs.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot that you were here!" she sheepishly confessed, scratching her cheeks as she stood up to her full height.

Tsuna didn't smile nor frown but raised both eyebrows, as if surprised, "Huh?" This was the first time someone had actually apologized to her for forgetting about her presence in the room. Blushing, she shyly avoided the pretty girl's eyes, feeling rather flattered that she had actually remembered her presence and had even bothered to say sorry. "I-It's alright. I-I don't really mind" she stuttered out, feeling her facade dwindling down as she almost lowered her guard.

Keyword Almost. Since she remembered that there was a certain hitman next to her, eyeing her with caution and observing her every move like how a predator would watch their prey.

"Ah! Where are my manners! I forgot to introduce myself!" The girl fussed, scrunching her eyebrows in disdain, as if disappointed with herself, "My name is Sasagawa Kyoko, but call me Kyoko instead" she introduced herself, smiling kindly and brightly at Tsuna.

"Ah, then, nice to meet you Kyoko-san"

"Oh, just call me Kyoko, Tsuna!"

". . . ." Tsuna didn't know what to say as a warm, bubbling feeling stirred in her stomach and in her heart. She was incredibly touched. She was finally talking with someone that didn't include death threats, insults of anything that would lead to a fight or a conversation resulting to her being degraded.

Coughing into her fist, and trying to force the red blush off her cheeks, she evaded the large, bright eyes that belonged to Kyoko. "So," Tsuna started, "You study in Nami-chuu, too?" She changed the subject, trying not to make the conversation anymore awkward as it was now.

Kyoko blinked before nodding, "Yeah"

"What class?"

"Class 1-A. Why?" Kyoko tilted her head as she wondered out loud.

"Eh? You're in 1-A?" Tsuna couldn't believe this. She was in 1-A. And, after the horrible incident with Nezu-sensei, she made sure that she memorized all of her classmates' faces that day. She was gonna humiliate them all on the internet, those things who didn't ever bother to help but instead just laughed at her, "I'm also in 1-A. Why didn't I see you yesterday?"

Kyoko's eyes widened as she stared at her classmate in surprise but after a moment of registering the news, a bright smile occupied her face. "Well, what coincidence! I hope we get along then!" She said with a hopeful tone in her voice. "And, I was absent 'cause my Onii-chan got injured from the sports event yesterday," Her eyes snapped open as she stared at Tsuna, "Didn't you know? All students of Nami-chuu who are in a sports club or are planning to join one must attend the sports event in Kyoto where all of the sports club put up auditions or show of their skills for those who want to join their club. I bet that a few of our classmates were absent too" she professionally explained.

"Onii-chan?"

"Yeah. My Onii-chan got hurt since he ran through a wall"

"Through a wall?!"

"Mhmm. Onii-chan was very excited since there were many people willing to join his club, he's the captain of the boxing club, you see, and one of the teachers was calling him from outside. And, forgetting that there was wall, he ran through it and broke his arm" she detailed it as happily as she can but Tsuna could see the worry and concern gleaming in her eyes.

"I see. I hope he gets better then" Tsuna wished.

"Thank you"

"No problem"

"Anyway, I really need to go" Kyoko said, checking her watch, her eyes almost bulging out of its eye sockets. "Oh no! I'm gonna be late! The Disciplinary Committee might scold me!" she exclaimed before turning on her heel and scurrying away. But, before she disappeared from Tsuna's sight, she turned her head and yelled out, "I'll see you in class, Tsuna!" She added a wave before disappearing.

Tsuna waved back but she knew that Kyoko wouldn't see it anymore. She just did it ou of the whim, and it felt right to that since Kyoko was rather nice and polite to her. Oh, who was she kidding, Kyoko practically treated her like a human being!(Which she hadn't felt from other people, especially schoolmates, in a while)

Letting her hand fall back to her side, she quickly muttered underneath her breath, while at the same time hoping that a certain infant next to her wouldn't hear her, "No wonder there were less bullies yesterday. Most of them were at Kyoto"

Unfortunately, the infant heard her loud and clear. "Bullies?" he perked an eyebrow, his eyes narrowed*. He knew Tsuna had been bullied at a very young age, but up until now? Up until the child was already twelve?

The information Iemitsu had given him was certainly lacking in facts and were more of opinions of his own.

Grimacing, he thought, 'Iemitsu is worse than his son in terms of uselessness. Note to self, never go to Iemitsu for information concerning his family' He made a mental note to himself.

Tsuna waved her hand, as if brushing the word 'bullies' aside, "It's nothing" she nonchalantly replied but the dark look that clouded her eyes spoke more about it.

Deciding not to turn Tsuna's neutral mood into a bad one, Reborn quickly switched the topic into a more positive and conversational one(he read on the internet one time that if he wanted to impress someone, he must be the one to start the conversation). "Hm. Alright. By the way, what do you think of Sasagawa Kyoko?" he questioned.

Tsuna turned to face him as she raised both eyebrows in surprise, since this was the first time Reborn had properly asked about something without usually interrogating her or with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Relaxing herself, she simply answered what everyone would answer, "I think she's a nice girl" she nodded her head in agreement to emphasize her point.

Reborn almost scowled at the not-too-detailed-question that gave him too little to no information. Rolling his shoulders in little circles, he attempted to calm himself down. He was already irritated with Tsuna since yesterday since the teen wasn't giving him straight answers or wasn't really answering him at all and was instead ignoring him, which he really loathed. It was supposed to be him ignoring someone, but now, Tsuna had managed to reverse the cycle.

Now calm and relax, he began asking again, but with a snippy voice, "I know. I know she's a nice girl. I've met her, remember? What I'm asking is, what do you think about her? What is your opinion about her? Better yet, what do you feel about her?"

Tsuna's mouth snapped open to answer the question but no words came out of her mouth. It was as if she was surprised by his questions, particularly the last one. No one, not even her mother, had asked her in a long time what she really felt like about a certain something or someone. Usually, people would ask her if she liked it or not or usually just ignored her opinion.

She knew the answer to the last question. It had formed in her mind so fast that she wasn't able to properly comprehend the words and had unconsciously opened mouth. But she stopped herself once she realized that she was about to speak her true feelings to Reborn—someone she knew that cannot be trusted unless a certain bargain had been placed.

Despite her refusal to tell him, something in her made her feel so reluctant. It made her hesitate instead of completely refusing it. It wast just a small part, a teensy-weensy small part in the depths her heart, that told her to give him a chance.

Give him a chance and trust him.

By now, as at least a few seconds passed, she was now deciding what she should do. She knew that she gambling something—her secrets, her safety, her pride—and if she didn't play it the right way, she would lose everything.

After another second, she finally decided to set her cards right before rolling the dice, increasing her chance of succession instead of losing something.

She wasn't ready to lose something again and she never will be.

"Kyoko . . . my opinion of her is that . . . she's just a nice girl" she murmured as Reborn's head faced the ground as a dejected expression appeared on his face, "She's also pretty, she's kind and she's overall just someone I want to be around" she continued as Reborn's head snapped up, his black eyes filled with surprise connecting with her brown ones that had a certain vibrance in them.

"And I could feel . . . how truthful she was," Tsuna muttered, as if amazed by what she'd just said, while Reborn merely perked a confused eyebrow towards her, as if telling her to elaborate. Unconsciously releasing a chortle, she explained while forgetting just who was she talking to—an armed, world-class hitman, adorable infant AKA Reborn. But, who could blame her? It was like she'd drank several glasses of wine and was now intoxicated, unable to stop what she was talking about. And it's been so long. So painfully long since she's talked about her true feelings in front of someone other than herself.

"You see, Reborn, I have a certain type of people I prefer," she began in a firm voice but a tint of nervousness clouded it. "I like people who express what they are truly feeling instead of hiding them. Um, how to put this into simpler word . . ." Tsuna trailed off, stumbling upon words that she chose unfitting of what she was trying to describe. "Aha!" She exclaimed all of a sudden, slightly startling the hitman, "Basically, I don't like 'plastic' people" she announced, finding it rather ironic since she liked people who weren't hiding behind a mask when she herself was hiding behind one.

Amazingly, she was able to suppress a mocking chortle.

"And Kyoko had perfectly fit that category," she chirped as a small smile appeared on her face before she replaced it with a thin line that expressed nothing, "She seemed to sincere with her emotions and she didn't even bother to hide what she was really feeling, she expressed it so freely that even I'm envious of her." she said, letting a certain feeling gleam in her eyes before it disappeared.

"Wait, but how were you able to tell what she was really feeling?" Reborn suspiciously questioned as he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits, distrust and confusion evident in deep, coal black orbs. "It's not like you're Kyoko" he pointed out.

Tsuna, forgetting to keep her façade up, quickly answered without even considering her choice of words, "I can tell what kind of person she is just by looking and talking to her" she stated it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Just by chatting with her, I can tell that she's a very kind and polite person who is also good-natured. And, judging by the way how she talked about her brother, she's a very family oriented person and puts her family before anything. And because of her rather attractive appearance, she must be incredibly popular with the boys. And because of her cheery and bright personality, she must also be popular with the girls and the teachers, instantly giving her a good reputation at school" she pointed out, "She's also quite sociable since she talks a lot and she also seems to adore cute stuff like hearts, frilly clothes and babies," she instantly stared at Reborn who snorted, "And judging by the tiny fat from her inner thighs, she must eat a lot of sweet things" she added. "And she also possess a strong character which is quite rare these days since most people would scurry away once danger starts to threaten them. But, at times, even she could cry but it all depends on the certain occasion she does" she shrugs as a thoughtful expression appeared on her face while she tried to figure out what else she was able to gather about Sasagawa Kyoko.

Reborn stayed quiet for moment before he retorted in a mocking voice, "Who's the stalker now?"

Tsuna frowned, "I'm not a stalker" she hissed

"Prove it" he taunted

"I will," she snapped. "A stalker is someone who is obsessed about a certain person they admire. They gather as much information as they can about their victim and constantly follow them wherever they go and is also willing to do whatever their victim wants and will also do whatever it takes to please their obsession" she described, "And, just to prove my point, I have never met Sasagawa Kyoko before and I will never in my life follow her around and I am clearly not obsessed with her" she deadpanned, "I hope this is enough proof to clarify that fact that I am not a stalker"

Rebron snorted, "That doesn't prove anything. All it proves is that you are denying your feelings towards someone"

"What are you talking about?" Tsuna questioned, a frown painted upon her face, "All I want is to be friends with her"

"It means that you have a crush on her, idiot" he pointed out.

Tsuna tilted her head in confusion before she froze, finally registering his words, and her whole body began to tremble in what seemed like fear. But, in reality, she was actually trembling since she was trying her best to hold back the sniggers and laughs that wanted to be freed from her throat.

Swallowing it all down in her throat, she coughed into her fist(which oddly sounded like a giggle)before she gave the infant a deadpanned look while saying, "You must be kidding me"

In all her life, Tsuna hasn't seen someone so clueless, aside from her mother, of course. She's shown Reborn a lot of her feminine side, causing a mistake or two, and yet the baby hasn't even taken a hint of her real gender!

And yet, the hitman claims to be all knowing. What a joke.

Reborn frowned, "If you must know, I don't joke a lot, unless I find the situation ironic and incredibly amusing" He crossed his arms again.

"Let me get things straight first. I do NOT have a crush on Sasagawa Kyoko"

"Which could be denial"

"I've only met her once, which was today!" And I'm a girl!, just what the fuck is wrong with your head and eyes! Are all mafioso like this! If so, no wonder father is cuckoo on the brain for leaving Mama and I!

"Haven't you've heard of the term, 'Love at first sight?'" He even made air quotations with his tiny and stubby fingers to emphasize his point.

"Um, haven't you heard of the term, 'Must get to know before making love?'" Tsuna mocked, opting to cross her arms because if she placed her hands on her hips, she would totally look even more feminine than she did yesterday, (Not to mention the fact that other onlookers might mistake her male identity being gay and all)

". . . I have, but that is for adults" Reborn slowly confirmed, eyeing the child with an evil eye. He knew that quote. It was from an adult novel that most woman were swooning over right now, it was called 'Heels can Click' or just something like that. "And love at first sight is for anyone, except for me" he added.

Tsuna frowned, about to protest, before a sleek, black barrel had been placed against her temple, the words in her throat instantly dying and left unspoken. Immediately, her brown eyes widened as it stared at, at least, half of the gun's shaft, and confirmed the fact that the gun's safety had been switched off. While swallowing down a rather large lump that had accumulated in her throat, her hand immediately went to one of the pockets in her pants where her automatic swiss knife had been nesting in.

But, she had been too late since a moment after she had grabbed her swiss knife and was about to pull it out, Reborn's index finger pressed, instantly pushing down the trigger that would unleash the bullet within it.

The last image she saw, before a bullet had been shot into her temple and had embedded itself in her brain, was of Reborn whose black orbs glinted with a dangerous spark as a smirk—one that promised pain for her and amusement for him—played itself upon his lips. And the last thing she heard before her head hit the ground was, "You'll know what your truly feeling after you've died"

.

.

Pain should have been what Tsuna had felt even before her eyelids fluttered open, revealing the sepia orbs that hid behind it. A gasp escaped her parted lips as she bolted upright in a speed that would put 'The Flash' to shame. Her whole body shuddered as she panted, her breaths coming out like how smoke comes out from chimneys.

Her eyes were wide as she wrapped herself with her arms, her hands rubbing her bare arms—'Bare arms?' Tsuna thought, her eyebrows furrowing, 'I swear I made sure to wear my jacket to school today,' she thought before looking down at herself, confirming the fact that she wasn't wearing a jacket—. . . cross that out. Everything that she'd worn since this morning had suddenly vanished into thin air and had been replaced by a new set of clothes that definitely didn't belong to her.

In fact, the clothes—a white, halter top styled, summer dress that was brushing against her knees—she was wearing right now didn't suit the current atmosphere—which was freezing.

While fiddling with the bottom of her dress that had ruffles peeking out from underneath it, Tsuna realized that she was also wearing white stockings and white stilettos —which she guessed she would be having a hard time walking in.

With one of her eyes twitching, Tsuna rubbed her bare arms, the lacy, white cuffs that encircled around her wrists were suddenly feeling tight and itchy.

A sigh escaped her, and so did a shiver, as she thought with dismay, 'With what I'm wearing now, I can be mistakened as a bride. All I'm missing now is the veil and the man I'm supposed to marry.'

But, with thoughts aside, just what the fuck was she doing here?

Last thing she remembered was Reborn aiming a gun at her forehead and pressing the trig—'That little fucktard!' Tsuna scowled, 'He one-shotted me!' Looking at her surroundings and confirming that there wasn't anything in here—wherever she was—aside from her and the cold air that wafted throughout the atmosphere.

'Anyway, looking at where I am right now, I might as well be dead,' She frowned, 'So . . . is this what heaven looks like? Where's God? And the angels that I'm supposed to see? Don't tell me that Father Yuno lied, since that is basically impossible,' Nothing came up as Tsuna squinted, trying to see something in the place that wasn't white.

"Your not exactly dead yet, you retard" Someone spoke, his or her voice soft yet with a snappy tone underneath. Tsuna could easily detect the irritation and impatience that the person was feeling.

Turning her head, she stared at the person that stood in front of her, and immediately her jaw slackened as her eyes grew wider by the moment.

It was like staring at your own reflection. The person had the same brown hair as her, the same brown eyes that were firm and cold, as if lifeless, and possessed the same, small scar that found at the back of her neck.

An exact replica of her.

The girl—the other Tsuna—scowled at her as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What? Never seen an Insouled Negative Necessity Enacted by Reincarnation?" The replica snapped, before sighing loudly, "Judging by the look on your face, you haven't. Okay, just let me explain the basics first," The girl said, running a hand through her long brown hair.

"I am an Insouled Negative Necessity Enacted by Reincarnation, but you can call me Inner—since that's what it's short for. Anyway, I am one of the many effects that comes after being shot by the dying will bullet—Shut you mouth, girl, and let me explain. The dying will bullet—" the girl paused for a moment to bring up her hand, in a way to present something, before a holographic screen appeared over it. "This is the dying will bullet," The screen contained a picture of a red rifle bullet that had a single black strip at the bottom and a menacingly looking orange flame that was grinning in the middle, "It is a special bullet created by the Vongola Famiglia and is made so by burying prime bullets in Leon's—" the picture changed into an image of Leon, "—body for three days. It is an ordinary bullet in many ways but it is also an extraordinary one because once it hits a person with regrets, his or her body will turn off every safety switch; making it capable for the person to harness an incredible strength beyond any normal human capabilities; such as the power to jump from the ground and onto a fifty feet tall building, being able to carry a truck with one arm—"

"So, it's like I'll be superman?"

"WonderWoman, actually, considering your true gender and all," Inner shrugged, "Anyway, those are some of the good effects that comes with being hit by the bullet. So, let's carry on with the bad effects!" Inner grinned, her canines flashing, a difference she had with Tsuna. "Basically, the dying will bullet strips off any control you have with your body; the only thing your body will do is to accomplish the regret you had while dying and nobody can stop you—not even close friends or your family members—since the sub-conscious part of your body will be removed, making it a mindless drone who'll do anything to accomplish the task given to it, and the only thing that can stop your body is by annihilating it AKA successfully killing you"

"W-What happens after the body finishes the task?" Tsuna definitely didn't like the idea of dying for a reason like that.

"Hm? Simple, you'll go back to normal!"

"I see . . . But, wait, what happens after you've been shot by the dying will bullet without any regrets?"

"Easy. You die~!" Inner chirped, a happy grin on her face.

Tsuna's eyes widened, "B-But I got shot by it with no regrets at all!"

Inner gave her a look that crossed between confusion and irritation, "What are you talking about? You died with a lot of regrets . . . Don't tell me," Inner's eyes widened, "You're still regretting about your mistakes from that time?" Inner gave her a pointed look.

Tsuna narrowed her eyes, "How would you know what happened then?" She scowled

Inner sent her own scowl, her canines glinting, "Of course I know about it. I'm a part of you that's been activated by the dying will bullet which gives me the right to know everything about you"

"Well sorry, apparently, a certain someone didn't mention the fact that she was already a part of me since the beginning!" Tsuna sarcastically retorted.

"Whatever, bitch," Inner snorted, brushing off the aggravated look that Tsuna gave her, "Anyway, you need to quickly pick a regret. Time is ticking away and you might really die if you pick too late," Inner said, her voice firm and immediate.

"Wait, what?"

"I can see that you still want to talk, but we don't have time for that. Let me pick for you," Inner said as she clenched her hand in front of her before unclenching it. Immediately, a holographic screen appeared in front of her, "Hmm, I see, let's pick the latest one" Inner hummed before looking at her, "Quick, say, 'I wish I could have told Kyoko what I really felt about her!'"

"What? No! You're just like Reborn! Gosh! I talk to one girl and you all think I have some sort of crush with her!"

Inner pursed her lips, "I know you don't like her in that way! What I'm trying to say is that you should tell Kyoko that you want to be her friend!" Inner screamed, impatience in her voice as well as irritation, "Stop being such an idiot and do what I told you to do, or else we'll both die in the end!"

Tsuna sniffed, "Well, sorry," the girl crossed her arms before complying with her replica's wishes, "fine, I'll do it, just give me a second to breathe," Tsuna frowned before inhaling an immense amount of air that smelled like roses with vanilla mixed with it; it smelled like her grandmother's perfume, the one she had displayed on the table next to her bed, "I wish I could have told Kyoko what I really felt about her . . . I really wish I could have also told her that I wanted to be her friend," she quietly whispered her true feelings and suddenly felt like there was nothing below her; as if she was standing on nothing and was instead floating.

But an eerie drowsiness overtook her, making it unable for her to open her eyes, and the last thing she heard before darkness clouded her consciousness was,

"Please take note that every time you're revived by the dying will bullet with regrets, there'll be some repercussions but it all depends how regretful you are. But, anyway, see you soon, Yuki"

.

A small orange flame appeared on her forehead; its form flickering as its size grew bigger and bigger before it was big enough to overshadow her hat. Her eyelids fluttered open and what hid behind them were not brown eyes but instead flaming, orange ones that burned with such vibrance and life that would put the sun to shame. Her school clothes immediately bursted into ashes, leaving the girl in her black boxers and white tank-top.

Magically, the hat on her head didn't burst into ashes as well but instead stayed on her head, unharmed.

"REBORN!" Tsuna screamed with all her might, causing all the birds in some trees to fly away, startled and frightened by the roar Tsuna emitted. "TELL KYOKO WHAT I REALLY FEEL ABOUT HER WITH MY DYING WILL!" She screamed again, the intensity of her voice unwavering from her earlier scream. With orange eyes that were narrowed with determination and passion swirling within them, Tsuna turned around and dashed away, leaving Reborn alone.

The hitman merely stared at Tsuna the whole time and once the brunette had scurried off, he let a chortle escape his lips. Such an amusing kid, he thought with glee, a sadistic grin on his face as he brought out a video camera and turned towards Leon who had transformed into a jetpack for him to use.

'Oh God,' Tsuna thought, aghast by her appearance as her uncontrollable body swept through the streets of Namimori, leaving but only white smoke in its trail. 'Why am I in my underwear?! What happened to my clothes?!'

'Oh, that's just another side—effect that comes with the dying will bullet,' Inner nonchalantly replied, and Tsuna could imagine that the girl was checking her nails in boredom. 'Apparently, the deathperation flame within your body singed off your clothes, aside from you underwear, of course'

'Deathperation flames?' Tsuna inwardly cringed as her body jumped over the large truck, avoiding her doom.

'Hm? Yeah. Deathperation flames AKA Dying will Flames. It's a high density form of energy that comes from within the will of every person, but only certain individuals can wield it such as the mafia—though not many are able to properly control it due to the lack of willpower. And, just as a quick note, the Dying Will Flames are basically the symbols of the Mafia World since that's what's sets us a part from the real world;'Inner described.

'. . . How . . . How do you know all these things?' Oh, she could have hit that old woman walking down the lane if it weren't for her body turning a harsh left, just the direction she needed to go to in order to arrive at school.

'I just know it'

Tsuna frowned, easily seeing the fact that Inner wasn't telling her the real deal, but she would settle with this kind of information for now. It would be useless to agitate someone who is willing enough to tell you as much as she can.

Oh. And just in time. Tsuna had been able to pull away her attention from Inner to see what was going on now. Her eyes immediately widened once she saw that her body was headed for a delivery motorcycle that was driven by an elderly man.

With her own scream, her own body released a roar as it jumped out of the road in order to avoid collision with the vehicle. And, instead of getting into safety, she got into a more dangerous situation where she and her body were now falling down a steep cliff.

'HIIIIIIEEEEEE!' Inside her thoughts, Tsuna was screaming and flailing around like a fish out of water, 'I'm gonna die! HIIIE-!'

'My God, would you just shut the fuck up already? Look, we're not gonna die, you idiot,' Her Inner retorted, pointing at something.

Tsuna glanced and her brown eyes widened once she saw her own hands grab at whatever bump on the cliff it could find, anything that could support her weight and preventing her from falling. Her own body growled in irritation once it couldn't find anything to hold onto and instead resorted on digging her fingers into the ground, immediately slowing down her fall but since the soil wasn't hard enough to stop her from falling, it crumbled underneath her fingers.

"Grr," her throat released a low growl before she placed her feet against the cliff, now standing sideways. Immediately, Tsuna's body removed its fingers from the ground and proceeded to run uphill, forcing its shoulders forward in a way to prevent itself from falling backwards. With a fierce roar, it charged upwards until its feet no longer touched the ground and before Tsuna could register the fact that her body was in mid-air, struggling for something to land on.

'Great. Now we're falling from somewhere higher!' Tsuna shrieked while Inner remained calm, watching everything with vast interest.

'Shhh. Just watch. Your body's quite resourceful," Inner commented, as if impressed by it.

Tsuna glanced back and stared as her body grabbed a light pole, swinging on it twice before propelling itself in the air once again, but this time several feet higher than the last one. Staying silent, Tsuna observed the way her body moved.

Unexpected, uncoordinated, powerful and yet, despite all of these strong points, her body's movements looked mindless-something that she couldn't completely allow since all of her moves were full of tact and were well-planned.

And, not to mention the fact that a personality that she never had was flaring out in this 'Dying Will Mode', which was bad. Really bad. She was supposed to maintain her useless, silent, and vulnerable facade, not letting an over-passionate personality she definitely didn't own just ruin her facade!

But, despite her loud protests and screams of 'STOP IT!' in her mind, her body didn't waver as it flew over the horizon and into a large, leafy hedge. Leaves of said hedge was starting to scratch her skins, immediately leaving scratch marks, scabs, wounds and a red skin that she would need to apply lotion in order to get rid of it all.

And as quickly as she jumped into the hedge, she popped out of it, immediately pushing someone out of the way and spotting her target at the same time.

With a grin, her body yelled in triumph, "SASAGAWA KYOKO FOUND!"

Said girl turned her head, surprised that someone called out her name, but what she saw scared her. With a frightened expression on her face, the girl stepped back, tightening her grip on the school bag that had been slung over her shoulder. "Tsu...na?" she stuttered out.

Tsuna snapped her head in the direction Kyoko was at. With the vibrant orange flame crackling, her radioactive orange eyes glinted with a certain spark in them. Raising her arm with her index finger pointed at the other girl, Tsuna roared, "SASAGAWA KYOKO! I LIKE YOU! PLEASE BE MY-!" The sentence had been cut off by a thoroughly loud SMACK that echoed around them.

Poor Kyoko didn't know what to do once her common sense had been frightened away, and the only reasonable thing she could think of was to defend herself. Using her brother's tutelage ways, she straightened her left arm, making the school bag slide down her arm and onto her hand. With a screechy and high-pitched scream, she slapped Tsuna on the face with it.

After a silent moment, Kyoko's eyes widened once she realized what she did and cringed. And, unable to face Tsuna in the moment since her thoughts had been scattered around, she turned on her heel and scurried away, her lips tight and eyes wide with fear, bewilderment and regret.

Another moment passed before the flame on Tsuna's forehead disappeared, leaving a distressed and slightly injured girl dressed in boxers and a tank-top. Her brown eyes were wide as she watched Kyoko's figure disappear from her sight, making her even more distressed and lonely and never the more humiliated in her life.

With dark eyes, her head lowered in shame and her fists curled up into fists as she began to torture her lower lip with her teeth. For the past years, ever since she'd covered her identity, she'd never felt so embarrassed that she just wanted to crawl into a hole and just die there.

Due to her excessively pondering, she failed to detect or even remember that there was someone behind her-the one she pushed onto the floor just a minute ago-glaring at her from beneath bangs of spiky, black hair.

With a growl, the unknown assailant lunged towards her with a snarl, "YOU BASTARD!"

Not in the mood for a rough fight, Tsuna sidestepped while at the same time dodging the attack, never raising her head the whole time.

The attacker growled lowly, his muscles tensing, as he lunged again, with the intention of punching the brunette in the gut until he was starting to vomit out blood, "HOW DARE YOU HURT KYOKO!"

Hearing the familiar name being mentioned, Tsuna raised her head, her narrowed eyes a crackling orange color, and gave an irritated and annoyed growl of her own. With great swiftness and grace, Tsuna appeared in front of the boy, hand clenching the fist that was targeting for her stomach and gave the deadliest glare she could ever give to a person."Get out of my sight, Mochida Kensuke, or else you'll be the receiver of my anger," she warned, before harshly pushing the boy away from her. "Go away," she repeated.

Mochida Kensuke stood in astonishment towards the boy before staggering a few steps backward—not out of fear, but out of respect—before collecting his composure once again. With a heated glare directed towards Tsuna, he snarled, "Shut the fuck up, Dame-Tsuna, you have no right to order me around" But, he heeded the younger child's words and turned around and ran while yelling out, "You hentai! You better stay away from Kyoko, if you know what's good for you!"

Tsuna's lips perked up before she forced an up-coming, amused smile into a frown. Sighing, she sat down on the floor, not even caring that she was in the middle of the road and could possibly get run-over by a vehicle, and covered her face with her pale hands, still feeling ashamed and humiliated of herself for what she had done.

'Every time,' her thoughts echoed, making it unbearable for her to keep her eyes from becoming glassy, 'Every single fucking time I try to make a friend, something goes awfully wrong, making it end with nothing for me,' a soft, scratchy whine left her lips. It was futile to to be sad now, Sasagawa Kyoko was just another person, that left her. She wasn't lonely. She definitely wasn't. After all, she was already content with her life, having no friends and all, and just staying with her Mama and helping her out around the house.

'You know, denial just makes everything worse,'Inner chirped

'Shut up'

'Hmph. Just trying to point things out for you, no need to be so bitchy to me'

Guilt entered her stomach, making her sigh. She never did like this feeling, and she never will. Swallowing her pride, Tsuna quietly muttered, "Sorry, Inner," she apologized.

'It's no biggie, Yuki. I understand what you're feeling. But honestly, in my opinion, it wasn't your fault, it was Reborn's since he was the one who shot you, forcing you to confess what you really feel for Kyoko and frightening the poor girl, making it possible that she would never talk to you again unless a miracle happens'

'Inner?'

'Hmm?'

'Just-just shut up'

"Heh. Exact timing. The effect really does die out after five minutes," a voice stated, sounding rather impressed by what he was talking about. "Oi, why do you look like that?" the high-pitched voice called out. "Dame-Tsuna? Dame-Tsun-"

"Shut the fuck up, Reborn,"

Reborn narrowed his eyes, "Don't order me around, Dame-Ts-"

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Snapping his mouth shut, Reborn's shoulders tensed as he stared at the boy in disbelief. This, he thought, This is the first time I've seen him get seriously mad, he confirmed as his jetpack transformed back into Leon, who was eyeing the boy with confusion.

Removing the hands from her face, Tsuna got up, her bangs shadowing half of her face, and she turned around, in his direction, then proceeded to walk towards him.

Reborn's whole body tensed up as his hand went up to Leon-a signal for the chameleon to transform into a gun-but the animal didn't respond, instead just watched Tsuna, his forked tongue flickering out with a hiss.

Tsuna grabbed her school bag that was in Reborn's hands, not even thanking him or even giving him a glance, making the infant stiffen, his whole body rigid.

Tsuna proceeded to open her bag, where a second set of school clothes sat-the reason for which was because the bullies would always rip his clothes whenever they roughly tugged on the soft fabric. Immediately, she began dressing herself up, the dark look in her eyes. After she was done dressing up, she closed her school bag and lifted it up from the ground before proceeding to walk away from the infant.

Reborn, snapping out from his thoughts, stared at Tsuna before talking, "Wait. Where are you going, Dame-Tsu-"

"You know," Tsuna stopped in her tracks, "The least you can do when I'm in a bad mood is call me by my real name, not that stupid, doltish and pathetic nickname that those people at school called me," the girl took a deep breath, "It was stupid of me to think of ever trusting you," she muttered, making the infant cring, "And by the way," the girl turned her head to face him, her eyes dark yet bright at the same time, "Thanks a lot for letting me lose the chance of finally having a friend in such a long time" a cold and malicious smile appeared on her face, "But next time, just . . . Just. Leave. Me. ALONE," the girl scowled before turning away from him and walking away.

---

Reborn watched Tsuna's form disappear from his range of sight, and finally let his breath out, relieved that the tension on his shoulders was gone. But, he stayed silent as he faced the ground, contemplating over his next plan.

Nothing.

For the first time in his life, Reborn had nothing in his thoughts, except for the strange and nagging feeling in his gut.

Guilt.

He's felt it several times before, but never this intense that it felt like it was eating the inside of his stomach, making it uncomfortable which would not do for the infant.

He glanced at Leon who was staring at him with an odd expression on his face, before his nose scrunched up and his eyebrows furrowed.

His partner was telling him, 'You DID deserve what was coming. . . '

He scowled but the chameleon hissed in reply, 'Fix it, or all else will fail. Fix it quickly. Fix it today, if not, well, the outcome won't be pretty'

Reborn pursed his lips, "What do you know, Leon?" The chameleon blinked back at him, his yellow eyes shined and Reborn knew what it meant, "Hah. Now I remember why I chose you as my partner, again" a light chortle escaped his throat as a smile appeared on his face. Leon hissed as its face brightened, as if to say, 'You finally understand!'

Looking back at the direction Tsuna walked off to, he tipped his fedora downwards so that it shadowed his face, before he walked off in short strides towards Tsuna's school.

"Well," he drawled, "might as well fix it and get rid of this disgusting feeling, right, Leon?"

The chameleon gave him another look before it looked away, its attention caught by a fly that had been hovering over the chameleon for the past moment.

But, his shoulders were still tense, and he couldn't get rid of the feeling that Tsuna had forced into him. It wasn't the guilt, but it was something else, like an aura. An aura that forced itself into his body, making him forget that he was holding his breath the whole time and making him feel slightly submissive, and the only times he was feeling submissive was when he was having a private conference with the Ninth.

A chortle escaped his throat, the kid had skills to become the next Vongola Boss, enough for him to feel like this.

---

Striding down the hallways of Nami-chuu with a moderate speed yet with a ferocious stomp in her stops, Tsuna's eyebrows were still furrowed as her dark brown eyes were still dark with detest and ill will, her eyes flashing a bronze golden color for a while before it settled back to brown. Squeezing onto the strap of her school bag, she adjusted her jacket and smoothened out the creases that were on it. A sigh escaped her lips, one that sounded neither relieved nor pleasant, but tired, weary and just dead irritated.

"Stupid Reborn," she murmured, relaxing the grip she had on her bag, before she stopped right in front of the door of her classroom. Hearing the chatter from the other side (most definitely about her 'show' just a while ago). Taking a deep breath, she slid the door open, immediately silencing the room and collecting everyone's attentions whose eyes traveled towards her male clothed form.

A moment of silence.

"Oi, Dame Tsuna!" A classmate, one who teased him a lot, yelled, "we heard from Mochida-senpai!" he announced, a gleeful grin on his face.

Tsuna remained silent.

"You're such a hentai!" Another yelled, laughing like the others, "'Please go out with me!' Ha! What a joke!" he bellowed.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, she had certainly not said that, all she said was that she liked Kyoko, but not in THAT way. She rolled her eyes but composed herself, legs slightly bent with the feet pointing inwards, and a frightened expression on her face, she still needed to keep her facade on.

"H-hah?" she stuttered out, and almost gave an award to herself. She was such a good actress. Maybe with a lot of persuasion from her father, she could have that kind of job in the future.

"HAHAHA! I feel very bad for Kyoko-chan, having Dame-Tsuna as an admirer is just sad!" Another howled in laughter, clutching his throbbing stomach.

"DAME-TSUNA'S A PANTSMAN~!" One male student sang in a girlish voice, his hands cupping his face as a dreamy expression appeared on it. Everyone laughed at the joke.

Tsuna ignored the usual teasing of her classmates and instead focused her attention on the current victim of the day. Her brown eyes softened as she stared Kyoko, whose golden orbs met hers for second before she turned away. Tsuna stared at her for a moment as a bewildered expression appeared on her face, 'D-Did I just see regret in her eyes?' She pondered, but immediately denied it since that was currently impossible, with the current situation and all (*sighs*).

"Oi, Kyoko," a girl—Kurokawa Hana, Tsuna noted, the most mature and observant person among her other classmates, and also the one she needed to be wary of whenever she was around—said, a cautious tone in her voice, "Sawada's staring at you," she warned, pushing some loose strands of her long, wavy, black hair behind her ears, her black eyes narrowing at the sight of Tsuna.

Tsuna turned her attention from Kyoko to Hana, an interesting look crossing her features. 'She's the first person to ever call me by my last name,' she thought, slightly impressed that the girl had respect for her male facade. A small smile crossed her lips as she tipped her head in greeting towards the black haired girl.

A scowl was what she received but Tsuna could see the interest—with distrust mixed within—clouding the other girl's black eyes.

Giving Kyoko another fleeting look, she turned away, fed up with the constant noise coming out from her classmates' mouth, with an irritated look on her face. Sliding the door shut, she expected to walk into nothing and make her way towards the rooftop, to probably get a small nap or continue the manga she was reading this morning.

But nooooo, apparently, karma still wasn't done playing with her destiny just yet, since once she turned around, her face was met with a broad chest that was clothed with the Kendo club uniform and a chest armor, so once she stepped forward, her nose clashed with the rigid armor, instantly shooting a painful electric feeling up her spine.

Releasing a soft whimper, she rubbed her aching nose, her face scrunched up in pain."Ow, what the hell?" she groaned, looking up to stare at the source of her pain. Her eyes narrowed in detest once she saw a male Nami-chuu student cladded in the Kendo Club uniform, a smug smirk on his face as glee twinkled in his eyes.

Tsuna's nose scrunched up in irritation before she stammered out, "H-Hah?"

The guy's smirk grew as he said, "Woah! Where're you going, Dame-Tsuna? You can't go home just yet! The fun's just about to begin!" Without any difficulty, the guy grabbed her knees and hefted her up over his shoulder, handling her as if she was just a bag of potatoes, before he bolted out of the school building and towards the school gym.

A small sigh escaped Tsuna's lips as she dangled from the man's back, she really wasn't in the mood to fight with someone like Mochida Kensuke, who was quite popular since he was a smooth talker and not to mention the captain of the Kendo club. Seeing an opportunity to escape from the stranger's clutches, she grabbed a sturdy branch that belonged to the tree they were about to pass by. With a breathy pant, she hefted herself up away from the stranger's clutches and swung around the branch once before planting her feet onto the branch.

Turning her head, she watched the guy dash towards the gym, clueless about the fact that his captive has escaped.

Not even a moment after, a whole crowd of Nami-chuu students followed, eager and enthusiastic of the fight between Dame-Tsuna, the school's biggest loser, and Mochida Kensuke, the school's kendo prodigy.

Watching the crowd pass by her, a small smirk appeared on her face as she tightened the grasp her hat had on her head. Waiting for the last person to be a few meters away from the tree, she jumped off the branch and landed on her right foot, imitating the silhouette of a cat.

She looked around, inspecting her surroundings to make sure that the coast was clear.

"Ciaossu," someone said, making her jump.

Startled, Tsuna looked down towards the source of that voice and immediately her glare returned back on her face as she growled out in irritation, "Do you see what you've done now, Reborn?" No response, so she continued, "Because of that, Mochida Kensuke wants to stab his sword right up my ass, and Sasagawa Kyoko thinks I'm a pervert and doesn't even want to look at my face, and the rest of the school's population is now laughing at me and calling me a 'Hentai!'" she complained.

"Which you don't really care about," Reborn pointed out, crossing his arms as a smug look appeared on his face.

Tsuna froze, her hands up in the air to emphasize her previous points. Slowly, she settled her hands back to her sides and stared at Reborn, a contemplating look on her face as she asked, "What?"

"You don't really care about what others think of you," he repeated, his coal eyes glinting even though his fedora was tipped downwards to cast a shadow over his eyes. "All you really care about is the safety of you and your mother," he continued, "Because of what I've done, which is clearly not my fault but yours, everyone in school is talking about what you've done, immediately gaining the awareness of other people who are currently in Namimori," he says it as if he'd known it since forever. "And I know of the fact that you know who are in Namimori now," he quips.

Tsuna couldn't say anything, her mouth opening, but no words come out, before she closes it again and repeats the process before she could finally utter one word, "How?"

"The information Iemitsu gave me about you is all wrong. And I have come up with several theories of how it became wrong," he shrugs, "Either you're father told you everything about the mafia or you've encountered an assassin whose target was you. In an effort to conceal you and your mother's existence to protect you from the mafia, you've come up with a disguise to fool other people," he states, and judging by the flinch she emitted he was spot on.

"I see, so that was the case all along," he murmurs, "though I don't understand the whole thing of why you chose to hide yourself from people who could've helped you too, I'll brush it aside for now since you have important matters to deal with,"

"Do you know?"

"Know about what?"

"Who I am? What happened before?"

"You are Sawada Tsunayuki, son of Sawada Iemitsu and Nana, AKA Dame-Tsuna in Namimori. You are someone who can easily deceive another person, but your intentions are pure and reasonable which proves the fact that you are suitable to becoming the next Vongola Boss. I do not know what happened before, but I can tell that was what changed you into who you are now, so you better explain it to me when we get it home," he threatens, but the threat unaffects Tsuna who sighed in relief.

'So he doesn't know,' she thought, satisfied with just that kind of knowledge.

"Anyway," she started, "Since you understand my reasons, let's just get home," she quickly avoids the topic, and before she could walk away, Reborn stops her, again.

"Why don't you face that guy?"

Turning her head, she gave the infant an incredulous look that contained bewilderment, "Are you insane? Didn't you understand that in order to stay low and NOT attract the attention of people who are after my head, we need to avoid as much troublesome and dangerous situations AT ALL COST," she scowls, crossing her arms over her chest

"But you don't need to do that anymore"

Tsuna sends him a confused look, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to analyze the meaning of his words.

Reborn sighs, "Didn't I just promised to you just yesterday that I'll protect you and your mother at all costs, even if my life is on the line," he twirls his hands to emphasize his point, "And as long as I'm here, I'll keep your mother within the safe zone, while I'll train you to become someone who is strong enough to protect the people around him," he says it as if he's reciting an oath that's never been broken.

Tsuna clenches her fists until it turns into a deadly white color. Her brown eyes weren't narrowed anymore as she stared at him, long and hard, until she could find something in him that would tell her that he was just saying words a fox would utter.

Her eyes gradually softened as she realized that she couldn't find anything. He wasn't twitching, nor was he even tense. His shoulders were lax and he possessed a cool and calm aura. His black orbs had steeled with emotions—his determination, his strength, his honesty, and his will above all else—swirling within them. His mouth had been set into a thin line as he stared right back at her with a look that said that he was dead serious.

Slowly, Tsuna unclenched her hands as her eyes gradually hardened as a certain flame had been ignited within them. With one, simple word, she gave her consent towards the infant before she turned on her heel and walked towards the gym with a breathy pace.

"Fine"

It even brought a smile to the cursed hitman's babyish face.

---

Tsuna peeked the insides of the gym, a curious expression on her face as she inspected the occupants of the room. A small frown made its way up to her face once she realized that everyone, and she meant every one, was there, waiting for her, first year Dame-Tsuna, to fight Mochida, kendo-club captain; third year.

A sweatdrop was her reaction.

'Damn. A lot of people really wants to see a kendo sword gets shoved up your ass, fufu'

'Bokken or Shinai'

'Hah?'

'It's what the Kendo swords are called. Shinai are swords made out of bamboo, and are usually used for practicing Kendo. A Bokken is like a Shinai, but it's instead crafted out of wood and are used in official matches or tournaments, or in some cases, protection'

'. . . . Smartass. I already knew that'

'Suuuuuure'

'We share the same memories, so of course I know!'

'Whatever you say, Inner'

'WHA?! BUT I'M-!'

Tsuna casually tuned out Inner's ramblings and instead concentrated on her apparent opponent of the day. Her bottom lip being held back by her upper one as she pursed her lips in annoyance. She already had information about Mochida Kensuke, the latter being not better than her in terms of fighting experience, intelligence, swiftness and resourcefulness. But, he had the advantage in terms of physical strength, since she remembered one time that he was able to lift up several students sitting on a table, with both arms, mind you.

But, looking at him now, it seemed impossible that he was able to do such a task, since he didn't look . . . strong enough to do so.

'Appearances can deceive you, Tsuna,' she reminded herself, 'Like how you're deceiving people with what you look like,' something in her mind cackled (probably Inner)

Giving him a once over, Tsuna couldn't help but feel impressed of his physique. He was handsome, to say the most, since his looks were sharp and angular, and he possessed an aura that drew people towards him. His hair was a dark brown color, not black as she had previously mistaken, and was kinda messy, as if he'd just rolled out of bed, and his eyes were a deep copper color that expressed agitation and malice-obviously directed towards her.

Puffing her cheeks, she pushed herself off the wall until she was standing straight, and with a deep breath, she walked into the gym, her head held high.

---

Mochida Kensuke stood there, the tip of his bokken touching the ground whilst his fingers were wrapped around the wooden hilt. A detestable glare upon his features. He gnawed on the inner portion of his right cheek, irritation building up in his gut as he patiently waited for his target today. Dame-Tsuna. His grasp on the bokken tightened as he remembered the scrawny brunette who had dared confessed to his beloved Kyoko-chan.

A dark look crossed his face as he thought over the sadistic plans he had prepared for the unfortunate Tsuna.

Suddenly, the loud talking of students ceased as a sudden silence engulfed the whole room. Looking up from the floor, he saw his victim

"Dame-Tsuna," he growled as he watched the boy walk inside the gym and towards the court square, a solemn look upon the boy's face instead of its usual nervousness and fearful expression.

His grip tightened on the hilt even more as he watched the brunette stop just a few meters away from his.

"Mochida Kensuke," the brunette nodded in response, acknowledging her opponent

"Where were you a while ago, you hentai stalker?!" Kensuke's voice rose.

Expecting the brunette to quiver and step away from him in fear, his jaw slackened once he saw Dame-Tsuna do none except stand his ground with his arms crossed and the same unaffected look on his face.

"For what reason did you call me here for?" Dame-Tsuna asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but Kensuke could see that the boy was trying to act naive in front of everyone.

Anger rose inside of him as he glared at Dame-Tsuna with loathe, "For what reason?" he repeated, his teeth gritting against each other, "DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" he roared, his words echoing throughout the whole gym, making Kyoko, who was standing a few meters away from him, flinch. "You harassed Kyoko and tried to force yourself upon her, all in your underwear!" he accused.

Dame-Tsuna blinked once, then twice, before he frowned, "I did no such thing. I didn't even touch her, all I did was scream out what I really felt about her, so it's hardly harassing or forcing myself upon her," he shrugged, a calm aura surrounding him, aggravating Kensuke even more.

"You're lying! I saw the whole thing with my very own eyes!" he protested.

"Then why don't we ask the victim of all these?" Dame-Tsuna questioned, "Ne, Kyoko?" he looked towards Kyoko, a soft expression on his face.

Kyoko didn't flinch as his stare was on her. A thoughtful expression washed over her features before she looked at nobody with realization, "T-Tsuna's right" she stammered, refusing to meet the brunette's eyes as embarrassment came upon her face.

"See?" Dame-Tsuna raised a brow towards Kensuke.

'Just when did that bastard grew cocky?!' Kensuke wondered but he wouldn't let his pride just collapse just yet.

"Then why were you in your underwear?!"

A hesitant expression came upon Dame-Tsuna face as Kensuke smirked. 'Bingo,' he thought as an accomplished expression came upon his face.

"If I tell you, you wouldn't believe me," the brunette muttered.

Kensuke heard what Dame-Tsuna just said but ignored it, since he'd already won this battle, with only him knowing.

"See?! That just proves that you ARE a hentai stalker!" Kensuke laughed, erupting snickers and giggles from the crowd of people that surrounded him and Dame-Tsuna.

After his arrogant laughs died down, he pointed his bokken at the other male, and sneered, "God may forgive a piece of shit like you, but I won't! I shall smite you for your evil crimes!" he announced.

Dame-Tsuna's face scrunched up in a look that screamed out: 'What the fuck?'

---

'Just . . . Just what the fuck,' Tsuna thought, confused on whether she should be angered or surprised by his declaration.

About to back away from Mochida, who was being super creepy right now, her back bumped into something that was hard. Turning her head and peeking from the corners of her eyes, she saw two male students dressed up in armor; Kendo-club students AKA Mochida's henchmen.

Tsuna pursed her lips in irritation; this guy wouldn't just let her go off easily without a fight that would cause her humiliation.

"But don't worry," Mochida said, "It's an easy duel that even an idiot like you can understand" he sneered.

'Idiot? US? WE are the IDIOTS?! OH HELL NO!'Her Inner raged within her mind, making her inwardly sigh.

"You're a novice at Kendo, so if you can get an 'Ippon' off me than you win! If you can't than you lose!" He grinned.

'Ippon?'

'It's called a point in Kendo. Kinda like Kendo; if you hit your opponent with you're sword than you get a point. But, in some ways, Ippon can also be achieved by removing something that your opponent is currently wearing,' Tsuna explained.

'Oh'

'But of coooouuuuurse you knew that already, we have the same memories, don't we?'

'Just shut up'

Tsuna lightly giggled, hoping that nobody noticed it.

"And the prize," A dramatic pause, "Is Sasagawa Kyoko!" Mochida pointed at said girl who stared at him with wide eyes.

---

"Pr-Prize?!" Kyoko screeched in confusion, her amber orbs wide with bewilderment before something dark swirled within them.

Hana, who was standing right beside her, growled, "What a fucking jerk he is, that Mochida"

Before Kyoko was about to surge towards Mochida, she was stopped by two hands holding both of her arms. Looking back, she saw another girl holding her off, a mischievous grin twinkling on her lips.

"Ah-Ah-Ah. The prize should just wait for the winner like the good prize it is," the girl sang in an annoying high-pitched voice.

Kyoko frowned at her in distaste before she looked at her right and saw Hana in the same situation as her. The black-haired girl was resisting the person who was holding her off and was kicking her legs everywhere, trying to harm her capturer, making another student, a male this time, hold her off.

"LET ME GO!" Hana screamed in protest before a hand covered her mouth, instantly gagging her. The girl glared at the person who covered her mouth, annoyance and hate in her black eyes.

---

'He's gonna use Kyoko as the prize?' she thought, disgusted and aggravated by Mochida's intentions. She clenched her hands into fists until it had turned into a ghostly, white color. Her brown eyes were narrowed into a malicious glare as she glared at mochida with pursed lips and gritting teeth. A clearly seen, red tick mark was throbbing on her temple, showing how mad she was

'What a sexist jerk,'Inner commented, scrunching her nose in disgust, 'Thinking he can use a human being-a girl, no less, too-as a prize,'she drawled in Tsuna's mind, 'Well, we can't let him win, can we?' she grinned, canines glinting.

Tsuna nodded, before she looked up, noticing a flash from above. Seeing Reborn there, positioned on an open window of the gym, with a Leon rifle in his tiny hands, she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

'Why is he here?' she questioned to no one but herself.

'I think he wants to help us with Mochida,'Inner pointed out.

'But . . . But I don't need his help!' Tsuna loudly protested in her thoughts, 'And plus, I don't want to get shot by that dying will bullet again, it really gave me one heck of a headache,' she pouted

'Well, if I were you, I'd crane my head,' Inner suggested.

Tsuna blinked but craned her head, avoiding a bullet that wheezed by her, blowing some tresses of her side bangs. Eyes widening, she turned her head and saw a bullet engraved in the ground, smoking coming out from the hole it had created on the wooden floor.

'How did you-!'

'Intuition'

'Intuition?'

'I'll explain later, but for now, it's time to duel with Mochida'

Inner then stayed silent, a sign that meant she wouldn't tell Tsuna anymore. Releasing a sigh, she looked back up, at the confused hitman who had missed his target. She shook her head at him and mouthed him a 'no'; telling him that she didn't need his help on this one.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Reborn sent her a bewildered look.

Sticking her bottom lip out, she glared at him. She could so handle Mochida on her own.

Turning her gaze away from him, she directed her attention towards the armor and shinai that Mochida's minions were holding. Raising an eyebrow on their sweaty and heaving forms, she figured out that the equipment meant for her had been rigged so that it would weigh at least twice its original weight.

Clicking her tongue, she sent Mochida an exasperated look. "You know," she drawled, "If you want to show people that you can beat me, the least you can do is to NOT rig the armor and shinai I'll use," she growled, eliciting a few horrified and shocked whispers from the crowd that surrounded them, "Unless," she smiled, clearly amused, "Your doubting that you'll win"

Mochida snarled, "What the fuck are talking about?"

Tsuna craned her head towards his minions that were still struggling to hold up the armor and shinai, "I'm talking about them," she answered, "Tell you're men to drop the armor and shinai or else the tendons of their shoulders will snap off"

Gasps came from the minions as they let of the armor and the bamboo sword, their shoulders far more important than some stupid rigged items. Once the items fell on the ground, it sank into the wooden floor, creating a crater and revealing its true weight.

Gasps were heard as the whispers grew and some snorts were heard, shocking and angering Mochida at the same time.

Turning her head to face one of the Kendo club member-Daisuke Aichi, a first year like her but in a different class from hers. He was one of the few decent members in the club; being a shy boy and all, he didn't talk to a lot of people, but he has a lot of potential in Kendo, which was sad since he was only being used as the club's towel boy AKA the club's personal slave or dog.

Giving him a neutral look, she politely asked, "Can you get me a bokken? Just like Mochida's?"

Golden orbs widening, Daisuke gave her a surprised look. Looking around him, he saw that there was no one around which meant that Tsuna was talking to him. Bowing his head, he muttered a, "M-Me?"

"Yes, you"

"A-Ah," he stammered before scurrying off to get a bokken from one of the closed closets of the gym.

Tsuna waited for a moment, glancing at an angry looking Mochida once in a while, before she saw Daisuke running back to his original position. A sheathed bokken in his hands.

"H-Here," he offered the bokken to her, his lips trembling with anticipation.

Taking the bokken from his shaking hands, she gave him a small, satisfied smile, "Arigatou . . . ?" she faked her confusion over his name since it would seem strange if she knew his name.

Eyes widening in surprise again, he looked up to stare at her brown orbs, "Y-You're asking for my n-name?"

"Well, yeah, if you don't mind"

"O-Oh. I-I don't really mind," he stuttered, "I-It's Daisuke Aichi"

"Nice to meet you Daisuke-san, I'm Sawada Tsunayuki"

"I-I already knew that. Y-You're the 'D-Dame-Tsuna' everyone is t-talking about right now, r-right, Sawada-san?" he questioned

Tsuna nodded, "yeah, seems like news travels by very fast in Nami-chuu," she confirmed.

"I-I a-agree, Sawada-san. B-But d-don't you need armor?"

"Hm? No need-"

"OI!"

Tsuna turned her head while Daisuke released a small squeak as he backed away from Tsuna until he was blending in with the startled crowd. Seeing Mochida who was panting with rage, her smile disappeared as her brown orbs flashed dangerously.

"CAN. WE. HAVE. OUR. MATCH. NOW?" He snarled, impatience and venom lacing the tone of his voice.

"Of course, Mochida-san" she nodded, before unwrapping the cloth that covered the bokken. Letting the brown, cheap cloth fall to the ground, she admired the bokken that shined in her hands. Her eyes sparkled in response as she delicately ran her fingers over the wooden weapon, treating it as if it was glass.

Grasping the hilt with both hands and taking an offensive stance, she swung the bokken, a familiar feeling squirming inside her stomach. Closing her eyes, she reminisced about distant memories that swirled in her mind, a small, satisfied smile on her face.

'It's been so long since I've held a bokken,' she mused, before her eyelids fluttered open into a half-lidded, soft gaze.

Turning her gaze towards Mochida, it hardened. Without no hesitation, she pointed the tip at Mochida's chest, a certain flame igniting behind her eyes.

Smirking, Mochida turned towards the referee who grinned back at him. After nodding his head towards the referee who received the signal, he turned towards Tsuna and took an advanced stance that could use both offensive and defensive type moves.

"READY?!" The referee yelled, startling everyone. Both Mochida and Tsuna nodded, focusing on each other as they both sent the other a glare.

"MATCH! SET!" A dramatic silence, making everyone watch and wait in anticipation and interest, "BEGIN!"

Both fighters stayed where they were, patiently waiting for the other to make a move. A moment passed before Mochida began circling around Tsuna in a wary and cautious manner.

Tsuna eyed his every movement, watching the muscles in ankles which would tell her whether he was gonna run towards her or just keep circling around her. Glancing at his chest that had a bokken hovering over it in a protective manner, she knew that she needed to wait for the chance she needed to strike it and gain an Ippon.

---

Mochida continued circling around Dame-Tsuna, finding a spot that Dame-Tsuna wasn't defending or cautious of. Gritting his teeth, he found none so far. 'Dame-Tsuna's experiences . . . but how?' his thoughts wondered before his coal black eyes flashed as he found a spot that Tsuna wasn't protecting.

Releasing a mighty roar, he sprinted towards Dame-Tsuna, his bokken still protecting his armored chest, before he aimed his target.

Once he was close enough, he brought his bokken over his head and prepared to strike the boy's unprotected thigh.

Only to have the brunette to step away from him and strike his bokken on his chest, creating a metal sound that everyone in the gym could hear.

---

Tsuna smiled, 'Too easy,' she thought, as she heard a few more gasps from the crowd and murmurs of, "Did Dame-Tsuna really hit Mochida-senpai? And on the first match, too"

But, hearing no whistle from the referee, she glanced at said person and her eyes widened.

The referee was deviously smirking at her, both flags in his hands beside his hips.

Suspiciously narrowing her eyes, she turned to look at Mochida who was grinning at her from ear to ear.

'Oi! Watch out!'

The warning her Inner gave her was too late as she watched Mochida bring down his bokken, the wooden sword striking down on her shoulder, releasing a small surprised and painful gasp from her throat.

Immediately, the pain seared on her shoulder, and Tsuna could guess that the striked skin was starting to turn into an ugly, purplish blue color that her mother would question about when she get home.

PRRRRRRRT!

The sound of a whistle was heard as the referee rose the red flag-Mochida's flag.

Eyes widening, she stared at the raised flag for a moment, before she turned her shocked gaze towards Mochida who was still grinning at her evilly.

"No matter what," he started, "I will win"

---

Reborn watched the match with a contemplating look upon his features, Leon, his companion, had also been sitting beside him instead of sitting on top of the infant's dark fedora.

Crossing his arms, which caused his curly sideburns to bob up and down once, he released a sigh,

"Just what exactly are you trying to prove, Tsuna?"

---

Immediately, murmurs had started in the crowd as everyone watched the match in confusion.

"Didn't Dame-Tsuna hit Mochida-senpai first?" a female students questioned to her companion.

"I think he did. I saw it," the other confirmed.

Hana gritted her teeth as she realized just what kind of trick Mochida was using.

"He's cheating!" she shrieked, outraged by what Mochida was doing, and once again began to struggle from the male student holding her off.

"I-I can't believe Mochida-senpai would do such a thing," Kyoko whispered, horrified, as her golden orbs were wide.

"Well I can!" Hana said, incredibly livid , "That bastard is doing whatever it takes to win the match, even with the spectators watching everything!" she stated, aiming a punch at her holder, "Even Sawada, though you say he didn't molest you, doesn't deserve this kind of treatment!" she shrieked again, "At least have a fair match!" she objected.

Kyoko stayed silent, for a moment, before she yelled

---

"Tsuna!"

Someone was calling her name.

"Tsuna!"

Biting her lower lip, she endured the pain and turned her head towards the person who was calling out her name with such a desperate voice. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Kyoko calling out her name, a determined look on the orange-haired girl's face.

"Tsuna!" Kyoko called out again, determined to get the attention of the brunette. "Give it your all! Do your best and try to win!" she screamed out, eliciting a silence from everyone.

Forgetting anout the throbbing pain in her shoulder, Tsuna stared at her, sepia orbs wide with surprise and disbelief as a sudden warmth settled in her beating heart. Looking around for a moment, she pointed to herself and tried to clarify the situation, "M-Me?"

(Reborn face-palmed at how dense his student was now)

Kyoko furiously nodded, her head bobbing up and down, the curls of her uniquely orange colored hair bouncing on her shoulders.

Feeling her jaw slacken, she gaped at Kyoko, feeling a little dizzy and disoriented from the other girl's support. But, she couldn't help but feel touched by Kyoko's words.

It's been a while since she's heard someone cheer or support her; other than Nana, of course.

And, as quickly as a small nut noticeable smile formed upon the brunette's lips, pain had impacted her nerves, causing the smile on her face to be replaced by a scowl.

"Ow," she winced, clamping her right hand over her left shoulder, gritting her teeth in an effort to soothe the burning sensation on her shoulder. She the began to apply pressure upon the dislocated shoulder by tightening her hold on it, knowing that more pain would be able to soothe the pain; something that her grandma had oh so gracefully taught her.

Forcing the pain into the back of her mind, she gave a nod at Kyoko and turned her head to face Mochida who had been shocked out of his wits from what he'd heard from the love of his life; typical fan-boy.

But, nonetheless, she forced the pained expression off of her face and donned a serious expression which meant that the fun and games were over. Turning her head to face the referee who also had a red face and was trying to contain his laughs in an effort to avoid getting beaten up by Mochida, she gave him a narrowed look.

"Oi," she called, immediately gaining his attention, "Let's continue the match," she held her head up high to show the confidence she held in both her actions and words.

The referee—'the scam,'Inner helpfully added—had immediately stopped trying to hold his laughs that had suddenly vanished into thin air and instead, a huge arrogant grin replaced it making Tsuna scrunch up her nose in distaste. This was one if the reasons she'd never bothered to join the kendo club. Too many arrogant club members, Daisuke excluded.

In an effort to silence everyone who was giggling, snickering or just plainly laughing out loud, he blew his whistle, which released an irritatingly shrill sound.

Immediately, silence reigned upon the whole gym as everyone stared at the referee, glancing at Mochida and Tsuna, expecting something to happen now.

"MOCHIDA! ONE! DAME-TSUNA! ZERO!" the referee announced with a yell.

Murmurs fell upon the whole crowd, bewilderment ad disbelief lacing their tones.

"Okay," Tsuna said, tightening her grip onto the bokken as she maintained a stance which told everyone that she was already prepared for the second match.

Everyone around them-including Hana who had stopped screaming ('Like a banshee, mind you,' Inner had snidely commented)-and were now staring at Tsuna with wide eyes.

Mochida smirked, "You're really asking to get beaten into a pulp," he sneered.

A corner of the brunette's lips lifted up as she returned the smirk, her brown eyes burning with determination, as she smoothly replied, "Not really, since I can see what kind of trick you're using now"

Mochida's smirk widened, "Heh, you've finally realized that whatever happens, you'll never win," he stated, also taking a stance once he saw his referee press the whistle to his lips.

"READY?!" Both middle-schoolers nodded.

"MATCH! SET!" The grip on their bokken had tightened, forcing their knuckles to turn a deathly pale color. "BEGIN!"

Both Mochida and Tsuna wasted no time in running towards the other, and once both had neared their opponent, they both raised their weapon, intent on landing a hit first. Their wooden swords clashed with each other, creating a 'TACK!' sound. Mochida raised his right heel on the ground, intent on forcing his weight forward, in an attempt to force his weapon through Tsuna's.

Tsuna eyed his right foot that had only the toes touching the ground. A glint in her eyes told Mochida to step away but he paid it no heed since his concentration was currently occupied. A small smile appeared upon Tsuna's face as she murmured in a low voice so that only Mochida and she could hear it.

"Actually, the only thing I've realized is how to use your trick as an advantage," Mochida warily eyed her, "And since the referee will only raise your flag once you've hit me, the only thing I can do is avoid getting hit," Mochida raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"How will that help your situation, huh, Dame-Tsuna?"

"It means that no matter what, the referee will never raise my flag even if I hit you," the smile on her face transformed into a feral grin, "Which means this match will never end and I'll get to hit you as much as I want to," she mused.

Mochida furrowed his eyebrows before releasing a chortle, "Keh. What the fuck are you talking about, Dame-Tsuna? Do you really think I'd just let you hit me?" Receiving no response, he continued, "Well you assumed wrong! Only an idiot would let Dame-Tsuna hit him on pur-"

Pursing her lips at Mochida's ramblings and finally having enough of the darker brunette's arrogant rants, she side-stepped, and due to Mochida pushing his weight forward, the latter fell on the ground, momentarily surprised on what happened to the person who was preventing him from falling. Taking advantage of his stupefied form, Tsuna raised her bokken and striked down with all her power, her weapon smashing against Mochida's back, creating a sickening cracking sound, which meant that Tsuna had either broken the bone on his back or bruising the bone.

But, since Tsuna never allowed someone to die on her watch, either bad or good, she avoided breaking his back, which would instantly lead to his death and causing the people around her to fear her for murdering someone, and instead chose to bruise the bone, effectively paralyzing her apparent senpai.

A moment of silence.

"GAHHHH!"

Well, if you ignored Mochida's sreams filled with pain and agony as he spasmed on the floor, writhing in pain but made no move to roll over his back since that would cause him even more pain.

Tsuna ignored his screams as she briefly commented, "As you can see, I can perfectly beat you up myself without your help," A thin line was what her lips formed as she turned her gaze towards the referee who was staring at Mochida, confused on what to do now. Once the referee caught her gaze, he stood up straight and firm and didn't make any move to raise her flag.

Indignantly puffing up her cheeks, she ripped her gaze away from the referee as she faced Mochida while thinking, 'Fiiiiiiiiine, have it your way, I'll just continue beating up Mochida,'. Raising her bokken up, she barked at the writhing boy, "Oi, get up, the match isn't finished yet," while giving him an impatient look.

Mochida eyes snapped open as he sent her a malicious look, "Do you fucking think I can get up, Dame-Tsuna?!"

Tsuna's nose scrunched up, "Just a while ago, you were boasting that you were gonna beat me up to a pulp, but look at you now. On the floor, writhing, and screaming a banshee," she sniffed.

"S-Shut the fuck up!"

Looking at his reddened and embarrassed face, Tsuna couldn't help but point out that even though he was an arrogant jerk, he looked kinda cute.

'Tsundere,' Tsuna concluded. Only Tsunderes could look so cute with a reddened face.

Deciding to take mercy on the boy, she questioned, "Will you yield?"

"Yield?"

Rolling her eyes, she explained, "Will you admit defeat, Mochida?"

A scowl was her response, which meant 'NO'

Pursing her lips, she shrugged, "Whatever, but don't tell me that I didn't warn you,"

Mercilessly raising her bokken, she gave Mochida payback for all the things he's done to her and to what he'd just done to Kyoko now.

Tenfold.

---

"M-M-M-MATCH! E-E-E-END! T-THE W-W-WINNER IS-!"

Everyone remained silent.

"S-S-S-SAWADA TSUNAYUKI!" The referee squawked, trembling underneath Tsuna's heavy and threatening gaze that bore right through him (Actually, the latter was merely staring at him curiously, wondering why the man had a wet spot at his crotch area)

Tsuna sniffed, wiping underneath her nose with the sleeve of her jacket. Seems like she has colds; probably from lack of sleep lately.

Letting go of Mochida's sleeve, she watched Mochida's limp form fall to the ground with a satisfying 'THUMP'. Sniffing again, she blinked, staring at his bruised and beaten form, before brandishing out the latest flip phone model that LG could offer-she would never allow herself to not have the latest technology out today.

Clicking a few buttons, she aimed the phone at Mochida, trying her best to get a perfect image, before the flash went out and her phone had began storing a humiliating yet laughable picture of Mochida Kensuke in its memory.

It would do well to have blackmail material of him, just in case.

Everyone stared at her with a gaze filled with mixed emotions, clearly unable to properly comprehend or handle the situation that had just happened.

All they knew was that Dame-Tsuna had won the match, had taken a picture of Mochida-senpai's beaten up form, and was currently towering over said male with a bokken in her hand, looking quite intimidating as she could get.

Which was a lot.

But, one student had broken the silent momentum as she exclaimed, "I-Is that really Dame-Tsuna?!"

Immediately, pandemonium dropped down amongst every students in the gym.

"Ehhhhh? Wha-What happened to Dame-Tsuna?!"

"S-Sugoi! He really beat Mochida-senpai!"

"He's kinda scary now . . ."

"Oi! How the hell did this happen?!"

"Amazing! He actually did it!"

"Can't Dame-Tsuna had it in him . . ."

Compliments, insults and comments were thrown around in the crowd as Tsuna flipped her phone shut and hid it away in her jacket pocket, her fingers brushing against the small black book that hid within the pocket. Releasing a sigh, Tsuna thought, 'With this, I could pretty much sum up I've attracted a lot of attention now . . .'

'Good job, Yuki,'Inner praised, and Tsuna could imagine that she was being petted by her inner self, but otherwise beamed at the praise.

But, snapping out of her thoughts, she curiously looked around, trying to spot the person she was apparently fighting for. Her face brightened once she saw Kyoko, who was heading towards her.

"You were incredible, Tsuna!" she praised, making Tsuna beam again.

"Thanks, Kyoko" she replied, scratching her cheek which had been flushed.

"O-Oh, and, I forgot to say it, but," Kyoko looked down sheepishly, only on her toes as she began to fiddle with her fingers.

Everyone paused at what they were doing to stare a the interaction between Tsuna and Kyoko.

"I-I-" Everyone leaned forward, anticipation running in their blood as they waited for Kyoko to continue, "I'm very sorry for slapping you this morning and for the misunderstanding that happened just a while ago!" she bowed deeply, apparently ashamed by her actions.

Everyone, who had expected Kyoko to confess to Tsuna, fell to the ground in disbelief.

Tsuna blinked, before a small sheepish smile appeared on her face, "I don't really mind about the slapping part, I kinda deserved it for scaring you, but I'll forgive you for the misunderstanding, it wasn't exactly your fault, it was actually Mochida's fault for spreading it in the first place," Tsuna replied, rubbing her forearm behind her back, another nervous habit she hasn't rid of.

Kyoko blinked for a moment, processing the other person's words with a blank look upon her face. Once the message had peacefully settled itself upon her mind, a wide smile that radiated sparkles stretched her lips.

"Really? That's great! Thank you so much!" she bowed again.

Tsuna's small smile grew a bit bigger as she shook her head, "You don't have to be so formal, Kyoko," she said, "It wasn't really your fault to begin with, if only I hadn't scared you then this whole thing would have never happened," her eyes softened.

Kyoko's smile widened, "Well, that's great to hear, but, can I ask you something?"

"You already are," Tsuna sheepishly joked, making Kyoko giggle and roll her eyes.

"Well, I was wondering why you were in your boxers then, and what you were gonna say, I couldn't quite catch the last part you wanted to tell me"

Tsuna sweatdropped as her smile turned strained. This was gonna be hard. It was obvious she couldn't tell the truth since nobody would believe her and could easily mistake her as an insane or delusional person.

But luckily, Tsuna was a great liar (due to millions of experience), but if now, creative, and she is a creative person.

"Well . . ." Tsuna trailed off, just to add a dramatic effect, her voice faking hesitation and reluctance, "you see, I was just walking down the road," she started, "then all of a sudden, a monkey jumped out," her hands shaped an imaginary monkey out of thin air, "it came up to me and I thought it was hungry, so I gave it my lunch," she shrugged, "but in reality, it wanted my clothes!" she exclaimed and connected her eyes with Kyoko's to make it more believable, "It suddenly ripped off my clothes and took my bag! It took out a notebook from my bag and began to write on it! On the notebook, it said, 'If you want your clothes back, tell Sasagawa Kyoko what you feel about her.' At first, i refused, since I really didn't want to startle you, but then, the monkey suddenly started chasing me, and did you know, Monkeys have really sharp teeth," she imputed, disbelief written on her face, "And I had no choice but to tell you what I really feel because, what would happen if that monkey found my family? The same embarrassing thing could have happened to them!" she threw her hands up in exasperation.

'There, that seems more believable,' Tsuna thought, mentally nodding her head in agreement.

'What?'Inner commented, a tired and bewildered expression on her face, 'Do you honestly believe that those people will believe what you just said?!' Inner screamed, hands pulling on her own hair.

Tsuna inwardly frowned, 'Of course they will. Just last night on the news, there was an incident that happened in the Namimori Zoo, where all of the animals have escaped for some mysterious reason. All of the carnivorous animals, horses, elephants and gazelles have been captured, but only the birds and monkeys have not been captured,' she explained, 'Shouldn't you know that already? Since we share the same mind and all,' she taunted.

Inner released an enraged screech, 'I just forgot about that!' Tsuna rolled her eyes. 'But, even so, nobody would believe such a thing!' Inner protested.

'Heh, but look at everyone else,'

Inner blinked and stared through Tsuna's eyes where she could the students of Namimori, who all seemed to believe such a thing. Kyoko, the twelve year old girl, had a hand underneath her chin, nodding her head in understanding.

"Oh! I heard about what happened at the zoo last night, I heard from Onii-chan that it could be the fault of one of the local yakuzas in the district," she spoke, apparently distressed by the situation, "I heard that all of the dangerous and large animals have been captured, but I've never imagined that such an adorable animals would attack someone!" she exclaimed, "Are you alright, Tsuna?" she asked.

Inner and Reborn's jaw slackened at the sight of everyone who had been tricked by Tsuna.

Tsuna smiled and nodded, "I'm really okay, Kyoko, but I was serious at what I said this morning," she told the other girl.

Suddenly, a tense silence filled the room as everyone could imagine the lovey-dovey air around the two Nami-chuu students in front of them. Their talking ceased as they leaned forward, expecting the confession that the infamous Dame-Tsuna would tell their school idol, Sasagawa Kyoko.

Kyoko looked up at Tsuna's eyes, a confused yet curious expression on her face, "Eh?" she muttered.

Reborn tilted his fedora to get a better view of the situation at hand, a smirk playing on his lips as his coal black eyes mischievously glinted. Leon, who was still by his side, hissed as he watched the scene, apparent confusion twinkling in his golden orbs as he tilted his head in an action to display how puzzled he was.

"Earlier this morning, I told you that I liked you," Tsuna confessed, a blush appearing on her face as she rubbed her arms behind her back again, her eyes obviously refusing to meet Kyoko's golden ones. Everyone watched in anticipation as Kyoko's face grew hotter by the moment as she realized just what was happening.

Hana huffed, but smirk, already knowing what the outcome of the situation would be.

"So . . ." Tsuna trailed off, eyes looking at the ground, already embarrassed, "I wondering . . ." she continued, everyone leaned forward, "If you would . . " everyone was literally biting off their hankies already, ". . . be my friend?" she quickly uttered, her face already resembling a tomato by now.

A moment passed as everyone assessed the situation in front of them.

And gladly fell to the ground in disbelief, aside from Tsuna and Kyoko who were already red in the face.

Kyoko tilted her head in confusion, but relief shone in her eyes, 'Not another confession,' she sighed in relief. She didn't really want Tsuna to confess to her, but if the brunette did, then she would have no choice but to refuse since her brother would never allow her to date anyone unless she was old enough to properly carry herself. And plus, if Tsuna did confess to her, then they would be all awkward and stuff, which Kyoko really didn't find as a good thing, since she liked Tsuna and obviously wanted to be the other's friend, since Tsuna was a good person; she saved her, after all. What not good person would ever do that?

A real smile twinkled on the orange haired girl's lips. She would have no other choice but to say 'yes' to Tsuna. Tsuna was a good person. Kind, bright, considerate, funny, strong, determined, polite and strong-willed. Everything her brother would accept, in a boy, anyways.

"Of course," Kyoko agreed, pushing some strands of her orange hair behind her right ear, her blush beginning to cool down.

Tsuna's brown eyes shined with delight, as a wide smile appeared on her face, the first one Kyoko and Reborn and anyone else in the room has currently seen on the brunette's lips.

---

"I told you I didn't like her in that kind of way," Tsuna smugly retorted, arms crossed as she sent him a smug look, annoying the hitman, who already had a Leon-gun out, the barrel glinting in a threatening way.

"You just changed your mind about her, you were too cowardly to confess what your true intentions were," Reborn replied, poking Tsuna on the arm with his dangerous weapon.

Tsuna stiffened underneath the touch and immediately tensed her muscles. Scrunching her nose up, she sniffed. Her colds were really effective right now. Eyeing the gun, she saw Leon's eyes wink at her and resisted the urge to smile at how adorable it looked right now. Turning her attention to reborn, she sniffed again, "Don't be ridiculous, I like Kyoko as a friend, not as a girlfriend or as a lover or as any romantic interest. I just like to have a strong friendship with her since she seems like a good person who doesn't easily judge you," Then she turned her attention to the t.v. screen where her favorite t.v. show was currently airing.

Taking the hint that Tsuna was now ignoring him, he jutted out his bottom lip.

"Pouts don't work on me, Reborn,' she added, not even glancing his way, "I'll make you some coffee after my show, so give me some time alone," she offered.

Reborn eyed her for a moment, before allowing Leon to transform back to his chameleon form. He then scooted closer to Tsuna until his shoulders were poking her elbows. Looking upwards, he saw Tsuna watching the show, absorbed by its ridiculous plot.

"Who's that girl?" he questioned, intent on starting some kind of form of conversation with his student.

"Hm? That's Alice"

"Alice?"

A nod, "She's the main character in this show. She came from America, wanting to learn the culture of Japan"

"Then who's that?"

"He's Kazuki, one of the twelve princes and one of Alice's suitors"

'What the-?' "Then who's that other girl?"

"That's Kimiko, Kazuki's younger sister who is in love with him"

"Then who's that other guy?"

"That's Takumi, he's supposed to be Kimiko's fiance, but because Kimiko is married to Satoshi, so he can't. He's also madly in love with her"

"What? If that Kimiko girl is married, then why does she love her brother?"

"Mayu told her that Kazuki was adopted, giving her the chance to fall in love with the only person she trusts, then Mayu's twin sister, Mana, told Gin about it"

"Who's Gin?" Reborn was starting to get confused.

"Kazuki's real elder brother, which he doesn't know yet, and also one of Alice's suitors, he's also Kazuki's rival"

"Why does that blonde girl have suitors, anyways?"

"She helped an old lady, which was the queen, get away from thieves, and in exchange for her generosity and heroism, the queen allowed Alice to marry one of her sons"

"How many sons does that queen have?"

"Twelve, all of which are fighting for Alice's hands"

'Oh God, just what the hell kind of t.v. show is this?!' "Wait, who's that redhead then?"

"That's Alice's older sister, Michelle, who's having an affair with the king"

". . ."

Why did he ever ask?

---

"Reborn-kun~" Nana called out, looking away from the beef stew she was currently making to stare at Reborn with warm brown eyes.

Stiffening, Reborn turned to Nana, apparently still wary of the older woman after what happened yesterday.

Smiling at the infant, Nana pulled away from her cooking and began to walk towards him, eyes closed and smile dazzling and sparkling.

Reborn stayed in his sit, where his coffee was steaming in front of him. Watching the mother stop in front of him, he replied, "Yes, Maman?"

The woman opened her eyes, only soft feelings swirling in her doe brown orbs, as she said, "Could you give this to my son? It seems that he'd caught a cold from last night, apparently he forgot to close the windows," she sighed, her facial expression taking a worried feature. She dug her hand into one of the pockets in her pants and pulled out a small pill that still hasn't been removed from it's silver, plastic container.

Reborn gave her a calm nod as he accepted the pill, "Okay" He got down from his seat, and turned on his heel, but before he could step out of the kitchen room adjoined dining room, Nana stopped him.

"And Reborn?"

"Hm?"

"Don't look so tense. I'm sorry about what happened yesterday, but I promise it won't happen again, so relax, after all, family would never hurt family" she chirped, smiling gleefully before she turned around and resumed her cooking.

"I'm not tense, I'm just tired," he said.

Nana giggled, "Whatever you say~"

Jutting out his bottom lip, he decided to just let what she just said pass, for now. It would do no good to his image to disrespect a female, after all. Exiting the room, he spotted the staircase and began to ascend them, then making his way pass some doors, intent on getting to the room with third door to the right.

Stopping in front of the wooden door that had been painted a vanilla white color with a sign board at the top. Inspecting the sign board that had been painted a peach color, he scrunched up his nose. Why did Tsuna pick such a girly color?

Raising his fisted hand to the door, he gently knocked on it three times. Italian manners. He waited for a response but heard no sign of anyone nearing the door. Frowning, he knocked again and received the same result. Pressing his ear to the lightly colored door, he focused his concentration on detecting any kind of sound from the room behind the door.

"Where is it?" A hushed voice wondered, making Reborn narrow his eyes. Was there another occupant aside from Tsuna in the room? Pressing his ear to the door even more, he continued listening.

"Oh no, Haru-chan will get mad at me if she found out I lost it!" The voice exclaimed, fear and disappointment lacing her tone. 'Haru-chan?,' Reborn wondered in his thoughts

"Ah-ha! I found it~!" The voice chimed, making Reborn furrow his eyebrows in confusion. What did that person find?

Pushing away from the door, he began to ponder. 'That voice. . .' he started, 'It's light, honeyed and high-pitched, definitely a girl's voice, and definitely not Tsuna's voice,' he had a twinkling suspicion that someone might have invaded the boy's room.

Standing on his tip=toes, his chubby hand reached for the brass door knob. Grasping it, he twisted it and found that it was unlocked, making his job easier. Out of the corner of his right eye, he could see a tense Leon slithering towards his hand, ready to transform into a pistol for him to use.

Wasting no more time, he slammed the door open, startling the only occupant in the room, and already had a Leon gun in his hands that was aimed at the mysterious invader.

Black eyes clashed with brown ones.

Reborn found the invader, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

It was a girl, petite yet slender. Long brown hair that could be the same length as Tsuna's, doe brown eyes that were wide in with shock and fear, the same height as Tsuna's, the same build as Tsuna's, and dressed only in her lacy white panties, no bra in sight.

A moment of silence passed as Reborn continued to stare at the familiar looking girl, who's face began to heat up, and realization dawned in his mind.

"Tsuna?" he questioned, making the girl's face grow even redder.

"R-Reborn?" the half-naked girl responded, confirming his suspicions.

Taking a moment to settle this kind of information in his mind, his thoughts began bouncing around. 'I knew that Tsuna looked very feminine, but I didn't expect him to actually be a girl!' his mind panicked, and for the first time in his life, he found himself to feel dumb-founded

Unfortunately, Tsuna took Reborn's serious yet glazed look as him inspecting her appearance. Flushing red in anger and embarrassment, she took the closest thing to her, which was a pillow, and threw it at his face, immediately snapping the hitman out of his thoughts.

"OUT!" She screeched, wrapping one of her arms around her chest, in an effort to hide whatever she could, while the other hand was holding another pillow, arm raised in a threatening way

Reborn, taking the hint, turned around and began to walk out of the room.

"CLOSE THE DOOR!" Tsuna screeched, making Reborn cringe, an enraged female was a bad thing.

Closing the door shut behind him, he leaned against the door and raised a hand to his steaming hot face. Leon, the little bastard, seem to snicker at his reddened face.

"Shut up," he hissed, apparently feeling embarrassed, which was quite abnormal for the oh-so-calm and unfazed hitman. But who could blame him? He was never prepared for a situation like this to happen! Heck, even if Dino looked kinda girly in his younger years, the Cavallone boss was still a man!

Leon just snickered even more, amused by his master's appearance.

---

But;

He's also strong, determined, amazing, adorable, kind (in a weird sort of way), good-hearted;

And someone who can control the situation for him to use as an advantage;

Not to mention he's also a great actor.

I can't help but trust him, even if he looks suspicious and his actions seems like he's taking the other person's side;

He confuses me, which irritates me.

But, in the end;

He always brings me to the light.

And I can't help but admire this side of him

---

A sky's wrath is comparable to a lion's fury.
But a sun's determination is as hard as steel
Unbreakable.
Calming down the sky lets the sun set the sky free from her cage.
Giving the sky a chance to truly express herself instead of hiding behind the dark clouds of her sorrow and fear of getting harmed by the predators outside of her cage.
But the sky outstretched her wings, flapping them, revealing who she is really is to the sun.

---

GUUUUUUUYS! I'M BACK! T^T

:DDDDDDD I'M FINALLY BACK FROM A LONG TIME OF DEPRESSION AND SICKNESS.

AND GODDAMN THAT HOSPITAL BED! It was as hard as a rock! (And NO, I was not talking about the baby-making machine that all guys have!)

And just a quick note, this is my writing style, me and Eri-chan's writing combined together since my stupid Onee-chan commented that I had a lazy style D: What the fuck does she know?!

Oh miguel, just how long have I been separated from my story?!

I'm really sorry for not updating like before! I fail as a writer! WAAAAAAAAAH

okay, i'm done with my drama.

sooooo, here's Eri-chan!

Eri: . . . why is our name CherryDrug?

Choco: ^_^ because Choco+Eri= CheriDrug AKA CherryDrug!

Eri: . . . crazy Auntie, did you get hooked up on pocky? _

Choco: Hah! How did you know?!

Eri: =_= I wonder how . . .

Choco: No matter~ Anyway, I wanted to say hi again and sorry if there some changes to the story, just wanted to experiment and all, hehe. Ne~ Did you know I've passed the U.P exam! Woot! Woot!

Eri: Congratulations!

Choco: Thank you! Thank you! Muah! Muah!

Eri: eeeeeew, kisses, blergh

Choco :( Eri! Your mother taught you better than that! At least give me my moment of spotlight!

Eri: _ Readers, it means ChocoDrug is able to update waaaaay faster than before since it's summer!

Choco: FUCKING SUMMER, GUYS!

And Senpai Crossoveraddict! How r u! :D Thanks for the pocky btw, I loooooove it! :DDDDDD

Eri: . . . ooookaaaaay, i think that's enough screentime for Auntie.

Choco: WHAT?

Eri: Thank you for reading, appreciating our hardwork. If you can, review, if not, PM!

Choco: I looooooove PM! :DDDD

Eri: . . . there she goes again *sighs* anyway, thank you for reading and for everything. Thank you for waiting.

Choco: SLAP ME FOR NOT UPDATING QUICKLY!

Eri: . . . just slap her instead :)

Choco: HUH? THAT'S NOT FAIR, ERI-CHAN!

Eri: _ Bye Bye everyone, Auntie loves you all, and if she could, she would send you all pocky for your support and love.

Choco: Thanks for helping our country with the Yolanda shit! Fuck Yolanda! :D

Eri . . . Adios!

Word Count: . . . I would rather not say :D

*"Good afternoon, boss ... Ah, yes, sir, our target ... she's alive, but it seems as she had proven to be useless. She did not know anything regarding the young lion of the Vongola. We had thoroughly tormented her but nothing came out of her mouth except yelling and screaming ... Was it fun? Yes, sir ... It was very fun. Hmm? your son? Ahh, he is with his mother, sir. Yeah, we have seen it before ... caused us many problem, sir. Ah. wait. Well, I'll inform them, sir, "*

---

Omake

Nana hummed as she added some allspice and some slices of potatoes in the stew, an enthusiastic smile on her face as felt a giddy warmth leap in her heart. Hearing someone enter the kitchen and drag the chair on the floor, she placed the lid on top of the pot and turned her head to glance at the person.

Turning her whole body around, she smiled at Reborn, "Ah! Reborn-kun! Did you do what I asked you to do?" she questioned and had finally noticed the expression on the hitman.

"What's wrong, Reborn-kun?" she asked, apparently worried why the baby had a sullen red face.

Reborn twitched in response, before he took a deep breath and a big gulp from his expresso that Tsuna made for him in order to stop bothering him-her.

"Ne, Maman, did you know . . . ?" Reborn trailed, making Nana blink at him in confusion.

"Know what?" the older woman questioned, eyebrows scrunched up together to display her confusion.

"That . . ." Oh God, he was blushing again, "That Tsuna is . . . a girl" there, he admitted it.

Nana tilted her head, ahhhhh, it seems like Reborn's found out, and judging by the scream from earlier, he must have seen her half-way dressing up with whatever Haru had sent her.

Smiling gleefully, Nana replied, "well of course! Tsu-chan is my child, after all!"

Goddamn his cheeks.

"By the way, did my daughter improve in 'that' area?" Nana questioned, curiosity shining in her sparkling eyes.

Reborn looked at her, his reddened face slowly returning back to its original color, "What area?"

"You know," Nana then gestured to her chest, "This area!" she shamelessly exclaimed.

And back comes Mr. Tomato face.

Nana giggled, "I could never see the improvement there, you know, since she always ties up her chest in order to prevent people from figuring out she was a girl!"

And from today on, Reborn learned that Nana knew nothing about awkwardness or perverseness at all when the topic revolved around a certain son-daughter of hers.