Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Revised: 03/22/15

Blazing Sky

Gen. fic, no pairings.

Summary: Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Chapter One – The Gun-wielding Baby

"Tsu-kun! Could you please get the mail for me?" Nana called out from the kitchen as she turned an omelet in the pan. "Breakfast will be ready in a moment!"

Her son stumbled sleepily into the kitchen, hiding a yawn behind his hand. "A'right, Mom, I got it," he replied, heading to the door. He wished he could sleep in. Stupid school. Stupid Hibari who had been attacking him at random intervals the past two years because of that incident on the roof. At least his dodging reflexes had improved. He couldn't bring himself to lie to Hibari about the flames—not because Hibari was scary as hell or because his flames weren't exactly normal, but because lying was just another painful reminder of his absent father and the countless number of times he had stood outside his mother's bedroom door and listened to her quiet sobs. Tsuna would never be like that asshole if he could help it.

He walked outside and opened the mailbox to pull out its contents. Two bills. An invitation to lunch hosted by the local neighborhood association. A glossy photo advertisement. A flyer. As he walked back to the house, Tsuna turned his attention to the flyer and skimmed it briefly. His eyebrows flew up to his hairline.

'I will raise your child to be a leader of the next generation. Grade and subject don't matter.' A home tutor advertisement? What is this, a scam? He frowned at the piece of paper, then shrugged. Eh, whatever. I'll toss it when I go back in.

But he didn't get the chance to do so, because the moment he put the mail on the kitchen counter and made to throw the flyer away, an unexpectedly squeaky voice piped up somewhere behind him, "Ciaossu!"

Both Tsuna and Nana paused and glanced around in confusion, wondering who was talking. Tsuna turned around when he heard his mother gasp. He stared in bewilderment at the baby standing on their dining table just before Nana gushed excitedly, "You're so cute!" and promptly rushed forward to scoop him up with her arms. "Are you lost, honey? Mama will gladly help you find your way home!"

"I'm not lost. I'm the home tutor, Reborn," the baby announced. "I sent you a flyer."

"How adorable," said Nana, thinking the baby was kidding around.

Tsuna examined the strange baby suspiciously. What kind of baby in this day and age wore a formal black suit and a matching black fedora hat with a wide orange stripe wrapped around it? As far as he knew, babies that small didn't dress like they were in the mafia. The baby also had large, black eyes and a pair of curly sideburns that bounced when he moved his head. There was a green chameleon casually riding on the brim of his hat. A bright yellow pacifier dangled from his neck. What a weird kid.

Hang on… home tutor? Tsuna quickly looked at the partially-crumpled flyer he was still holding in his hand. Then he looked back at the baby in Nana's arms, who was staring at him with an innocent expression on his chubby face. This wasn't a scam?! he thought wildly, mentally flailing. He must be losing his mind. Suit-wearing babies didn't just appear out of thin air and say they were home tutors. The kid must've been trained by someone. Shaking his head to clear out the thoughts, Tsuna turned to drop the flyer in the trash.

Bang!

The brunet jerked back in shock as the flyer he had just been about to throw away was shot straight out of his hand. The crumpled flyer now had a singed and smoking hole right in the middle of it—a mere inch from where he had been holding it. Tsuna looked at the suit-wearing, gun-wielding baby incredulously. His mother smiled cheerfully and said that he shouldn't be playing with toy guns. She didn't seem to hear him as he straight-up told her that it wasn't a boy gun. The baby turned his head and gave him a smirk. Apparently he didn't like being ignored.

You've got to be kidding me. Who the hell gave this baby a handgun? Tsuna thought, a little freaked out. What kind of strange world did I wake up in? Please tell me this is all a dream… wait a second, the gun's green. I have to be dreaming.

The baby slipped out of Nana's arms and landed back on the kitchen table. "You're not dreaming, Baka-Tsuna," he said, leaping on to Tsuna's shoulder. The brunet let out a tiny yelp in surprise. He watched with wide eyes as the gun in the baby's hands suddenly morphed, transforming back into the green chameleon that had been standing on the brim of the kid's fedora earlier. What the hell? Tsuna didn't know what to think anymore.

"Let me introduce myself again," said the baby, slapping Tsuna's ear. The brunet hid a wince at the amount of force behind that tiny slap. Damn, this was one strong baby. Maybe it was a genetic mutation. "I won't be repeating myself, so you better listen up, Baka-Tsuna. I'm Reborn, your new home tutor. My job is to train you into the tenth boss of the Vongola Famiglia, the strongest mafia organization in the world."

…What?

Tsuna glanced at his mother, who was humming at the stove, then at the clock hanging on the wall. He bit back a curse when he realized how much he had wasted because of Reborn. He snatched the finished omelet from his plate, scarfed it down, grabbed his school bag and the neatly-wrapped bento on the kitchen counter, and rushed out the door. "Bye, Mom!" he called, closing the door hastily. He heard Nana's muffled "Have a good day!" through the door as he was leaving.

Tsuna turned his attention back to Reborn once he was out the gate and jogging to school. "Alright, now that Mom's not around… you said something about training me to be the boss of a mafia organization? Me? Are you crazy?" Tsuna hissed quietly, so as not to draw attention to the unnatural topic of the conversation.

Reborn smacked him on the cheek this time. "I don't need to repeat myself, Baka-Tsuna. You heard me the first time," he said, settling back on Tsuna's shoulder. Tsuna turned his head to give a half-hearted glare at the baby, and almost crashed into a telephone pole. He swerved to avoid it, earning a couple of dirty looks from some passersby who he almost ran into as he dodged around the telephone pole. He apologized to them quickly and resumed jogging to school.

"That was pathetic, Baka-Tsuna," chirped Reborn. "A good boss must always be aware of their surroundings."

Tsuna scowled, but kept his eyes forward this time. "Since when did I agree to become the next boss of your mafia organization?" he grumbled quietly, skirting past a group of chattering girls on the sidewalk. He could see the gates of his school in the distance. "I never said 'yes', you know."

"You will," Reborn told him confidently, leaping off the teenager's shoulder as they approached the middle school. "I never fail my missions, and I don't intend to start now. I will make sure you become a great boss worthy of the title of Vongola Decimo." The baby's black eyes glinted shrewdly in the sunlight. He vanished as a throng of students swarmed through the gate, desperate not to be late to school lest they be accosted by the demon of Namimori.

Tsuna just frowned. "Why was I the one picked for this?" he muttered, jogging across the campus grounds to the shoe lockers. "Me, a mafia boss? Ha, what bullshit. I'd like to see that baby try." He removed his shoes and slipped his school shoes on, putting his dirty sneakers into his locker. Then he made his way to class.

The brunet arrived and sat down in his seat just as the school bell rang, signaling the start of class. Anyone outside of class would officially be considered late, and thus free game for the satanic prefect from hell. Tsuna could already hear the screams and cries for mercy as Hibari made short work of the late students. Better them than me, he thought, burying his head into his arms. Time to sleep. He waved a lazy hand as his name was called for attendance, then promptly fell asleep. The homeroom teacher just gave an exasperated sigh and moved on.

Tsuna slept through his first class. The teacher ignored him, having learned long ago that throwing chalk at his head was a very bad idea. The teenager apparently possessed a keen sixth sense that allowed him to catch the chalk without looking and throw it back with double the amount of force. The first time it happened, the teacher gave him detention. But upon learning that Tsuna had done it in his sleep (because the teenager didn't remember doing so and this particular student was known for his blunt honesty and lack of deceit), the teacher decided that leaving the brunet alone would be the best decision. And it was. It wasn't worth the trouble having chalk pelted back at him by a sleeping student, who wouldn't remember throwing it anyway.

The bell finally rang, signaling the end of class. Tsuna let out a muffled groan when he felt something hard and heavy lightly hit him on the head. He sat up, tenderly rubbing his head, and shot a look at the dark-haired girl standing beside him. "Did you have to use a textbook, Hana-chan?" he complained. "I could have lost a few brain cells."

Hana just rolled her eyes at him. "You'd still have more than the rest of the monkeys in the classroom combined," she said, setting the textbook down. "So spill the beans, Tsuna-kun. Why were you almost late this morning? You're usually here earlier. And don't tell me you overslept, that excuse is bullshit and everyone knows it." She gave him a suspicious glance, settling one hand against her hip.

Tsuna yawned. "Of course I didn't, I haven't overslept in years thanks to Hibari-san. Have a little more faith in me, Hana-chan," he replied, absently running a hand through his fluffy brown locks. He glanced at his seatmate, a smiling orange-haired girl named Sasagawa Kyoko, and gestured for both her and Hana to lean in. "Listen, this might sound really weird, but the reason I was almost late today was because a creepy baby walked into my house and spouted some nonsense about me becoming the next boss of a world-renowned crime syndicate."

"What?" Hana whispered, straightening up and sending him a skeptical glare. "You're kidding me."

"I shit you not. My mom was there, too," Tsuna said with a straight face.

"But what kind of baby would say something like that?" wondered Kyoko, adopting a thinking pose. "Maybe the baby was trained?"

"I don't know, but he was the strangest baby I've ever seen—" Whatever else Tsuna meant to say was lost when he heard that familiar squeaky voice pipe up from the floor beside his feet.

"Ciaossu!"

"What the—ow!" Reborn leaped up and kicked Tsuna in the face, sending the boy crashing to the floor with a pained shout. The chattering in the classroom briefly paused as his classmates looked over to see what was going on, but it picked back up once they saw that Tsuna had just fallen out of his chair. Tsuna got up, glaring at the smirking infant standing on his desk like he belonged there. "Where the hell did you come from?" he asked, annoyed. He rubbed at his cheek where Reborn's shoe had hit him.

"Language, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn reprimanded, transforming his pet chameleon into a cane and whacking the brunet over the head with it. "I told you to be aware of your surroundings at all times. You'll be an easy target for assassins if you space out so much."

"Stop hitting me!" Tsuna cradled his tender head. "Abusive baby—ow! Hey!"

Hana just stared at the suit-wearing infant in disbelief. "How—what? Tsuna-kun, you're not telling me this kid is…" she began slowly, looking from the smirking kid to her long-time friend. What kind of baby talked like an adult and wore a formal black suit and a fedora hat? But she had to admit, even though she hated kids, this particular baby was kind of cute. The curly sideburns he sported were just begging to be twirled.

"Yeah, he's the baby I was telling you about," groused Tsuna, slumping into his chair. "Weird, isn't he?"

"I think he's cute," said Kyoko, giggling. "Where are your parents, little boy? I can take you to the principal if you want."

"No need," said Reborn cutely. "I'm here to train Baka-Tsuna into a mafia boss."

If Hana had been drinking something, she would have spit it out all over Tsuna's desk. Instead, she choked on her own spit and averted her gaze to the wall. Tsuna just sighed and slapped a palm to his face. Kyoko smiled brightly and patted the baby on the head, taking a few seconds to stroke Reborn's green chameleon as well. The shape-shifting reptile closed its eyes in bliss.

"Aw, you're funny. I'm sure Tsuna-kun will make an excellent boss," she said.

The fact that Reborn had specifically told her 'mafia boss' went right over her head. Hana exchanged incredulous looks with Tsuna, who rolled his eyes and mouthed, "My mom was like this, too." Hana shook her head in exasperation. She loved Kyoko as a friend and all, but sometimes she was concerned about the level of air-headedness the orange-haired girl exuded.

Reborn jumped down from the desk as the homeroom teacher returned. "Well, I'll leave you to your studies now," he chirped, and promptly disappeared to who-knows-where. Tsuna huffed, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. He'd probably see Reborn again during lunchtime. For now he would concentrate on class—and nap if it was boring.

Tsuna sagged against the metal fence boxing in the school's rooftop, munching on the bento his mother had prepared for him that morning. Having only eaten an omelet for breakfast, he had been quite happy when the bell finally rang to signal the end of class and the start of lunch break. He usually ate with Hana and Kyoko, but the two girls had something to attend to today, so he was alone—'was' being the key word.

Tsuna felt something light settle on top of his head as he was eating. "Hey, Reborn. What do you want this time? Haven't you bugged me enough times today?" he sighed, finishing off the remainder of his rice.

Reborn smacked him over the head, causing the teenager to choke as some of the rice grains went down the wrong pipe. The baby took the opportunity to hop off of Tsuna's head and land in front of him, looking perfectly unruffled, as well as unrepentant.

Once his coughing subsided, Tsuna glared at the baby with slightly watery eyes. "That was uncalled for," he rasped, coughing into his fist twice. He blinked furiously to clear his eyes again. Then he sat up and crossed his legs, putting the finished bento back into his bag. Tsuna turned to look down at Reborn, who stared up at him with wide, unflinching eyes; black as pitch and darker than night. An unfathomable void like two round beads of obsidian set in a doll-like face. Reborn seemed to be looking through him, rather than at him.

"…You're not a normal baby, are you?" said Tsuna suddenly, breaking the silence. He looked contemplative. "Regular babies don't talk like adults, wield guns like extensions of their own bodies, or dress like they're in the mafia. Not the way you do."

Reborn smiled, looking so horrendously cute that Tsuna almost forgave him for every bruise the baby had given him so far. Almost. "Correct. Good to see that you're more observant than your mother is, Baka-Tsuna," the infant replied cheerfully. "I am your home tutor, yes, but my main line of work is assassination. I'm the greatest hitman in the world." He smirked surreptitiously as Tsuna paled.

"You're an assassin?" asked Tsuna, disbelief coloring his voice. "How? You physically look two years-old."

"Don't underestimate me," said Reborn, his chameleon shape-shifting into a gun. The baby cocked it at him, his tiny thumb hovering over the safety catch. "The reason I look like this is because I'm one of the Arcobaleno. But you don't need to know about that right now. As per Vongola Nono's orders, I am here to make sure you become a suitable boss for the Vongola Famiglia." His black eyes twinkled evilly. The smirk on his face—which looked downright strange on a baby—didn't help. Tsuna shuddered.

"Okay…" the teenager said slowly, standing up and brushing off his clothes. "I've got one more question to ask you. Is my stupid father part of this Vongola Famiglia?"

The smile instantly vanished from the baby hitman's face, replaced by a minuscule scowl that grew darker when Reborn tipped the brim of his fedora over his eyes. Tsuna inwardly cheered—it seemed like Reborn didn't like his father either. Take that, Iemitsu!

"Sawada Iemitsu," began Reborn, who seemed to be carefully keeping any disdain from his voice, "is the head of an organization known as CEDEF, which stands for 'Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia'. CEDEF acts as the external advisory body for the Vongola Famiglia. They operate as a secret intelligence agency independent from Vongola and are comprised of Vongola members who are not under direct control of the main Famiglia."

'Furious' didn't even begin to describe how Tsuna felt learning the truth about his absent father at that moment, and from his new tutor no less. It took all the willpower he could dredge up to keep a tight lid on his flames, otherwise he would explode and burn down half the school. No doubt Hibari would hunt him down and murder him in cold-blood if that happened. But that didn't stop him from raging in true angry-Tsuna fashion, "That fucking lying piece of shit! I knew he wasn't an overseas construction worker. How dare he deceive Mom with his lies! If that poor excuse of a bastard father ever comes back, I'll punch him so hard that he'll fly right back to Italy. Fucking asshole."

He exhaled sharply, unaware that Reborn had caught sight of his eyes momentarily turning a bright, burning orange. Undeniable proof that Sawada Tsunayoshi was a Sky Flame user. Reborn hid an excited grin beneath the shadow of his fedora hat. Iemitsu was in for a rude awakening if he thought Tsuna was still his 'shy, cute, and sweet tunafish'.

Tsuna took several deep breaths to calm himself down. He looked back down at Reborn with undisguised anger still simmering in his hazel-brown eyes, but spoke in a tightly-controlled voice, "I will not be the next boss of the Vongola Famiglia. I refuse to take part of anything that my ass of a father is involved in." His voice was hard as stone and his manner stiff. He picked up his bag and dug his phone out of his pocket, checking the time displayed on the screen. "I've got to head back to class. Bye." His farewell was short and brusque. Tsuna walked over to the rooftop door, intending to make his exit.

As he opened the door, he heard Reborn say quietly behind him, "You don't have a choice, Baka-Tsuna. You're the only heir left."

Tsuna slammed the door closed, seething. I have no choice, huh? he growled inwardly, stomping back his classroom. What a fine pickle you've got me into, Iemitsu. Now that he knew the truth, his father no longer deserved to be called 'Dad'. He would never call that stupid blond that endearing title again until he earned it back.

He slid the classroom door open with more force than necessary, making half the class jump in surprise. They wisely left him alone upon seeing that something had clearly put him in a foul mood. Tsuna walked to his seat and threw himself into his chair, burying his face in his arms. A hesitant tap on his arm made him look up, ready to snarl.

He quickly deflated when he realized it was just Kyoko. "Are you okay, Tsuna-kun? You look upset," said Kyoko, looking at him with round, concerned eyes.

"Absolutely peachy, Kyoko-chan," Tsuna groaned, letting his head fall back on his arms. He bled the anger from his voice as much as could. He wasn't mad at Kyoko, after all.

"That violent barbarian didn't attack you again, did he?" demanded Hana, slapping a hand down on his desk. "You don't look beaten up…"

"No, it wasn't Hibari-san," sighed Tsuna, lifting his head. The door opened and their next teacher walked in. He mouthed that he would tell them after school, and both girls nodded. Hana turned and made her way back to her seat.

As the teacher began to drone on about the day's lesson, Tsuna tuned him out. He propped the open textbook upright in front of his face and promptly fell back asleep. It wouldn't hurt to take another nap. He seemed to be doing a lot of that nowadays. Well, it wasn't his fault the lessons were so boring.

The last bell rang, indicating that school was over at last. As Tsuna gathered up his belongings, Hana walked up to him with her arms crossed. Her bag was already slung over her back. Kyoko stood up, all finished packing her stuff. Luckily the three of them weren't on cleaning duty today, so Tsuna could tell them what happened as they walked home.

As he revealed what happened between him and Reborn on the rooftop earlier, Hana's eyes darkened. "The baby actually said that?" she asked, a hint of disdain appearing in her voice.

Tsuna nodded. "I'm the last heir left. I don't know how many there were before me, but three guesses as to what happened to them. First two don't count," he said, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. "I don't have a choice, though. I have to become the next boss or the syndicate is doomed. That's what I think, anyway. What bullshit." He kicked a rock in his path and watched it bounce off to the side.

He looked at Kyoko as she grabbed his arm, looking uncharacteristically serious. "Kyoko-chan?"

"We won't let you die, Tsuna-kun," the orange-haired girl said solemnly. "Whatever happens in the future, remember that Hana-chan and I will definitely support you." She gave him a small smile and released his arm.

"Yeah, that's right," Hana agreed, giving him a good-natured slap on the other arm. "So, your father's a mafioso, huh? He's a bigger monkey than all of our classmates combined for leaving you and Nana-san alone for all these years. When—or if—he finally comes back, ring me up. I'll make sure to kick him in the balls for you. Maybe give him a slap or two."

"Or ten, one for each year he's been gone," said Tsuna, grinning at her. Hana laughed and they high-fived. "Still, I wish he hadn't lied to us. It's like he doesn't trust us. I bet he doesn't even know that Mom cries because of how long he's been gone. I don't understand why she doesn't just leave him." He frowned, his fists clenching at his sides.

Hana hummed. "Well, think of it this way. Your dad's some really high-ranking family member, right? So he's bound to have enemies out for his head. If one of those enemies got wind of yours and Nana-san's existences, they'd probably come after you and kill you both," she explained. "Doesn't mean I still don't think he's a monkey, though. He could at least visit you guys instead of dropping a phone call a few times a year."

"Mom would be ecstatic," said Tsuna, rolling his eyes. "In fact, if he ever comes home, let me crash at one of your houses so I don't have to hear anything nasty."

Both Hana and Kyoko made uncomfortable faces at the implications. "That's gross, Tsuna-kun," said the dark-haired girl, grimacing. "But you've got a point. My house will probably be better if you don't want Kyoko's brother keeping you up all night."

"Onii-chan sleeps, too," Kyoko rebutted, smiling in amusement. "He's just very… extreme about it."

"I'm not even sure 'extreme' would describe how extreme he really is," said Tsuna, sweatdropping.

"You've got a point, Tsuna-kun," laughed Hana. "Anyways, don't forget that we're here for you. We won't judge you, but if you ever start to stray off the path of justice, we'll definitely slap some sense back into you. Who knows what kind of trouble you might get into without us around." Kyoko nodded serenely.

The corners of Tsuna's mouth twisted, as if he was trying to smile and frown at the same time. "I don't want to involve you two in such a dangerous world, but I guess you won't take no for an answer. Man, what would I do without you guys?" he sighed.

"You'd be at the bottom of the loser chain," snickered Hana jokingly.

Tsuna looked offended. "I would not!"

"Tsuna-kun, your test grades were abysmal before I started helping you."

Kyoko giggled when the brunet boy flushed pink at the reminder. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he grumbled, adjusting his bag strap. "Well, enough about that. Who wants to go get some ice cr—"

Danger! Alarm bells suddenly went off in his head. Moving instinctively, he pushed the two girls away from him and dodged the steel tonfa that struck an earth-shattering blow right where he'd been standing a second ago. Tsuna swiftly turned around to occupy his opponent's attention while his friends got away. The three of them had been through this drill many times already—Hana would take Kyoko to Tsuna's house while he fought with Hibari. He could hear their rapid footsteps on the soft ground as they retreated. His eyes were fixed on Hibari's lithe form, standing several feet away shaking the dirt from his weapon.

"Again, Hibari-san?" Tsuna exhaled tiredly. He met Hibari's wild, predatory gaze with a resigned expression. "For the last time, I'm not going to tell you about the flames. Stop bothering me about it."

Hibari merely crouched low to the ground, tonfas at the ready. He sprang upwards with furious grace and swung his right arm towards Tsuna's head. The brunet groaned and ducked under the swing, lashing out with a curled fist at Hibari's elbow. The prefect jumped so that Tsuna's fist missed. He aimed a brutal kick at Tsuna's stomach, but Tsuna sidestepped and pivoted, allowing Hibari's foot to sail harmlessly past him.

They leaped away from each other, Tsuna assuming a defensive stance. Hibari eyed him with a frustrated look. "Why don't you use your flames, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" he intoned savagely. "Show me that spark. I know you have it."

Tsuna threw up his hands in exasperation. "I just told you 'no'! Come on, Hibari-san, they're not that important," he groused. "Please just forget about them."

Hibari's steely eyes flashed threateningly. "Herbivore, did you just imply that I am blind?" he growled. He raised his tonfa. "I will bite you to death."

"Goddamnit, leave me alone!" Tsuna wailed, weaving around Hibari's ferocious strikes.

Hidden in a nearby tree, Reborn watched the mostly one-sided fight with interest. Although not perfect, Hibari Kyouya was the epitome of a Vongola Cloud Guardian—aloof, unrestrained, and vicious. He also had a surprising amount of strength and speed for a teenager. Given a few years under the tutelage of a professional and he would certainly become a man to be feared. Yes, Reborn would definitely get Tsuna to recruit him into the Famiglia later.

Right now, what had caught his attention was that the wild-eyed prefect apparently knew about Tsuna's flames. Knew about and had seen them in person. This was very good news for Reborn—that meant that Tsuna could already harness his Sky Flames and Reborn wouldn't need to use Dying Will bullets on him. That meant he could skip the baby steps and dive straight into the heavy stuff. On the other hand, Tsuna seemed reluctant to show them. Silly boy. Reborn would make sure he knew that he wasn't the only with special flame powers. He continued to watch the fight from his spot in the tree.

As he leaned backwards to avoid a tonfa strike to the chin, Tsuna suddenly shivered. There was a prickling feeling along the back of his neck, like someone was watching him. He'd bet his computer that it was Reborn. Distracted, he wasn't able to completely avoid the next strike aimed at his ribs. The tonfa smashed against his ribs, causing him to let out an agonized gasp. Tsuna staggered backwards, clutching the injured part, and barely ducked under a swipe aimed for his head. He gritted his teeth as his injured ribs violently protested the action. Damn, he was going to have one mother of a bruise there when he got home.

Always pay attention to your surroundings, Baka-Tsuna. He could just hear Reborn's lecturing voice now. A grimace stretched across his face as he looked at Hibari, who had stopped attacking him. The prefect was wearing an odd expression—somewhere between triumphant and simultaneously irked. Triumphant, because he had finally landed a hit on the surprisingly-evasive brunet. Irked, because Tsuna still hadn't used his flames.

Time seemed to slow around them as Hibari stared down at Tsuna's injured figure, the latter glaring up defiantly even as he clutched his side. Up until two years ago, Hibari had thought of Sawada Tsunayoshi as a small animal. Unassuming. Relatively harmless. That was before he watched the herbivore light his fingertips on fire. Perhaps that wasn't the best way to phrase it. He had seen small flames flicker into existence at the tips of the herbivore's fingers, without the use of a lighter. As if the herbivore was controlling them. He had decided to make his presence known before the herbivore decided it would be a good idea to burn his school down.

Now though, Hibari wasn't quite sure what to think of him. For the past two years, Sawada Tsunayoshi had successfully evaded all of his attacks without showing his flames once. As much as he hated to use the boxing club captain's catchphrase, he had to admit that his encounters with the herbivore were frustrating to the extreme. The herbivore was an enigma, and if there was one thing Hibari didn't like, it was mysterious people who didn't fit into their designated categories.

Hibari lowered his tonfa and pivoted on his heel, his gakuran jacket flapping in the nonexistent breeze. "That's enough for today, herbivore," he stated imperiously. "I will bite you to death another time." The demonic prefect briskly walked off to do his daily patrols.

"Sure, Hibari-san," Tsuna mumbled weakly, hesitantly prodding at his fractured ribs. Hana was definitely going to chew him out for this one. Then she and Kyoko would bandage him up and they would study together until it was time for the girls to return to their respective homes. All in all, fairly standard routine.

A slight rustle preceded Reborn's arrival on top of his head. "That was pathetic, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn chirped. "You could have dodged that blow if you had been paying attention."

Tsuna bit his lip to stop himself from snapping back "it's your fault for distracting me". He wouldn't put it past Reborn to hit an injured person. Instead he picked up his fallen bag, dusted it off, and started to walk home. He held on to his ribs, stumbling every now and then as sharp pain spiked through his side.

"So Reborn," the brunet boy began, trying to strike up a conversation to help him ignore the pain, "what's with the whole 'you don't have a choice' thing, huh? What happened to the other candidates?"

Reborn hummed. "I'd show you pictures, but then you'd probably crash into something and injure yourself even further. So I'll just tell you. Vongola Nono had three sons who were all eligible to become Vongola Decimo. The oldest, Enrico, was the most qualified of the three to inherit the position, but he was shot and killed in a feud with another famiglia. The second son, Massimo, was drowned sometime later. No one really knows what happened to the third son, Federico. All they found were his bones," the baby hitman explained. "Vongola Nono's adopted son Xanxus is ineligible to become Decimo. Nine years ago, he found out that he wasn't Nono's biological son and rebelled. Since then, he has been sealed away in special unbreakable ice. We call this incident the Cradle Affair."

Tsuna wasn't sure whether he was supposed to be more afraid of the sons' fates or the fact that Reborn said all this in a fairly straight tone of voice.

"And that is why you are the only possible candidate left."

Tsuna was quiet. "Why me?" he questioned, turning a corner. "Why am I even a candidate? Is it because Iemitsu is a mafioso?"

"You're calling your father by his name now?" Reborn sounded amused.

"He doesn't deserve to be called 'Dad'. I won't call him that until he earns it back."

Reborn chuckled. "Good call, he's an idiot. Anyways, regarding your questions… your father isn't the reason why you were chosen as the last possible heir. You are a direct descendant of Vongola Primo, the founder and first generation leader of the Vongola Famiglia. You carry his blood in you, therefore you are a viable candidate for the position of the tenth generation leader," he expounded.

"I'm related to the first generation leader?" Tsuna asked, surprised.

"That's right. He was your great-great-great grandfather."

"Huh. Imagine that." There was no way he was going to get out of this, was there? "Fine, I get it. I really do have no choice but to become the next boss. However…" Tsuna tried to reach up to take Reborn off his head, but yelped and nearly collapsed on the street when his ribs protested the action. "Ah! Ow, geez… Hibari-san really did a number on me this time." He winced, holding his side.

Reborn hopped off his head. "Come over here, Baka-Tsuna," he ordered, walking into the shadow of a large house. The street was deserted, so no one would see what he was about to do.

Tsuna limped after him. "Kneel down so I can reach your side," said Reborn. Tsuna complied. "Now pull up your shirt so I can see the wound."

When Tsuna lifted his shirt with his other arm, Reborn stared at the angry purple bruise swallowing up a good chunk of his student's side. He poked it, eliciting a cry of pain. Tsuna glared down at the baby through watery eyes.

"Relax, Baka-Tsuna. I'm not going to kill you," Reborn said, gathering energy into his tiny fist.

Tsuna stared in utter shock as the baby's hands emitted a warm yellow light, as if they were wreathed in special flames. Reborn touched his side and suddenly, the sharp, jagged pain vanished. Warmth spread through his body, making him tingle pleasantly all over.

The light faded, leaving behind a phantom memory of acute agony. Reborn stepped back. "How do you feel now?" he asked.

Tsuna stood back up, noting with amazement that his ribs didn't hurt as much anymore. He looked down at the infant with a surprised expression. "What did you just do?"

"I'll explain later. Tell me your condition first," Reborn demanded, leaping on to Tsuna's shoulder and settling there comfortably. "It better be reasonable."

"Of course. At least, I think it's reasonable," Tsuna said amicably, resuming the walk home. He donned a serious expression as he side-eyed Reborn. The baby hitman felt a bad feeling bubble up in his tiny chest, suspicions and paranoia bursting forth in his mind and shrieking something unintelligible at him.

Tsuna was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, "My condition is this: Sawada Iemitsu must leave CEDEF."

First chapter revision: COMPLETE! Holy mother of god, I did not expect it to run on for this long. The original chapter one was around ~4300 words. This is over 6000. I changed a few things here and there, like Reborn healing Tsuna with his Sun flames on the way home. That wasn't in the original 'cause I'm a dumbass and kept forgetting about Tsuna's injuries. Some of the lines are from the original chapter, but the rest have been rewritten and/or reworded.

Please review! Thanks.

MangaFreak15