Lightning Never Strikes Twice

Chapter 2

This chapter isn't edited in any way, shape, or form. If you see a mistake, please don't hesitate to tell me! :D

Warnings: Non-graphic animal cruelty. Attempted suicide. Rushed writing.

A/N: Takeshi's uncle appears in this chapter! He will talk about a story that will involve animal cruelty. This part of the story will be separated from the rest with this: 0 words, words, words 0. And near the end of the chapter will end with Takeshi's 'being thrown away by the baseball god' thing.

Don't worry if you want more magic in this story; that will appear later, especially as the events at Hogwarts unfold without their proper main character there. :P Things over there will go downhill, fast.

But for now, let's get through the first Arc, or two, of KHR! :D I had told someone who reviewed previously that Hibari would appear in this chapter, but I had to rewrite this chapter a few times, and Hibari didn't make the cut, ;a;. So I hope I can make up for it with the long chapter, I didn't expect it to get this long, haha.

Gokudera didn't even appear- though, he is mentioned. ;a; I'm sure to make it up next chapter, when he returns!

fun fact of the chapter: The name 'Emi' can mean a few things in Japanese, but I chose it mostly because it can also mean: "(a) smile".

Enjoy!

[Edit 9/20/17: THE FORMATTING KEEPS GETTING CLEARED!? What is wrong with this chapter, omg. I'm so sorry! D:]


Life is the art of living with uncertainty, without being paralyzed by fear.

-Dr. W. Dillion


Hyacinth managed to find Tsuna.

Sadly, it was only after the fact that he had managed to confess to Kyoko in his underwear. The situation was too hilarious and funny, and Hyacinth couldn't help but laugh a bit helplessly at it. The only thing that stopped her from rolling on the ground in laughter was that Mochida threw a strong one at Tsuna.

"You bastard!" Mochida snarled, and Hyacinth grinned, a bit more tighter.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Hyacinth hopped off her bike, kicking the stand out so it will support her awesome bike. It was totally awesomer than Hibari's motorcyle, by the way! So more awesome, like, you didn't even know. But that's besides the point.

Mochida stopped short and sent her a flabbergasted stare. Tsuna had fallen onto his ass, shell-shocked by this whole situation. "Is this your idea of a sick joke?" Mochida snapped, still posed to run off after Kyoko. "You have got to be kidding me," he muttered, turning away and running off. "You both are nothing but a couple of perverts!"

"The only pervert one here is you, you bastard," Hyacinth called after him, knowing full well that he was too far away to respond. She huffed, and glanced at Tsuna, who was still sitting on the ground pathetically. "Are you okay, Tsu-kun?"

"I- I just confessed my feelings," Tsuna admitted, more to himself than her. "I'm a pervert," Tsuna whimpered, breathing becoming laboured. Hyacinth laughed, and weathered Tsuna's scandalized glare.

"The Dying Will time lasts for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, you revert back to normal," Reborn told Tsuna, breezily. Tsuna looked ready to reply before he looked like he had to sneeze, and Hyacinth watched curiously as he shot out a bullet through one of his nostrils.

"Ah! Gross," Hyacinth laughed, even as Tsuna stared incredulously at the bullet.

"So I was shot in the head after all!" Tsuna accused Reborn, unhappy.

"No duh," Hyacinth grinned, peering closer at Tsuna's nose bullet. "It's a good thing you died wanting to confess to Kyoko-chan, Tsu-kun! If you had died without regrets, then you would have died for real!"

"What?" Tsuna asked, weakly. Hyacinth glanced at Reborn for a clearer explanation, causing the tor-tutor to snatch the bullet from Tsuna's hand. He held it up so both of them could see it clearly, Hyacinth still slightly amazed that that bullet had been used, and was physically inside Tsuna for some time.

It was a bit gross, now that she thought more about it.

Amazed, and a bit disgusted, she guessed.

"This is a Dying Will Bullet. When shot with it, the person who dies from this bullet will resurrect with the Will of the Dying. Your Dying Will is based on what you were regretting when you die," Reborn explained, further. He pocketed the bullet casually, and Hyacinth glanced at Tsuna's pale and stricken face.

"So, like I said before, it's a good thing your weird crush on Kyoko-chan saved you!" Hyacinth chirped, brightly. Hyacinth was still slightly reeling over the fact that Tsuna had the possibility of actually dying back there, but she consoled herself that a bullet wasn't anything special. A spoon could kill you, if you weren't careful.

Maybe Hyacinth could try and experiment with that later. Food for thought.

"I- I could have died!?" Tsuna reiterated, still slightly disbelieving. Hyacinth shrugged, deciding to give Tsuna some slack for today. He did just almost died, and he did confess to Kyoko-chan in his underwear. The only regret Hyacinth had was that she didn't think to get any evidence for this, seeing as of that Tsuna had literally rushed off after getting shot and the bullet waring off the moment she found him again.

Reborn looked undisturbed by this prospect. "I am an assassin," he mused, making Tsuna sputter wildly. Hyacinth hummed, thoughtful. Was there a difference between assassins and hitmen? And she didn't think that was quite true, considering the fact that Reborn was here to train Tsuna to be a mob boss.

How could he do that if Tsuna was dead?

"How embarrassing," Tsuna almost yelped, scrambling up to his feet. He glanced around at the other pedestrians with a pale and embarrassed air, face flushing horribly. Wrapping arms around himself, Tsuna looked predictably miserable. He probably just now re-noticed the fact that he was in his underwear.

Hyacinth laughed, standing up as well. She brushed herself off. "You wanna continue on to school, or you do you wanna skip?" Tsuna gave her a bland look, which pretty much answered her. "Ah, right, right~! Let's go back, then," Hyacinth grinned, gesturing at her bike. There was a rear seat stationed right above her back wheel.

"This is crazy," Tsuna hissed at her, as they started to make their way back towards their respective homes. Reborn had settled himself back in front of Hyacinth, and Hyacinth was seriously glad that her bike was motorized to some sort. "How are you so calm about this?"

"I'm so excited that I am calm," Hyacinth told him, smiling cheerfully. While she was undoubtedly worried that this was the mafia that they were talking about, it was still pretty exciting. Almost like a shounen manga! "Just think of how cool this can be?"

"Cool? This isn't real," Tsuna muttered, defeated behind her.

Sawada Nana wasn't all that thrilled when they showed back up, Hyacinth noticed. Especially towards Tsuna, who she frowned sternly at. "Are you skipping class again?" Nana's eyes raked down her son's body, making him sputter wildly. Hyacinth snickered. "And where are your clothes?"

"I, erm," Tsuna stuttered, unsure.

"A prank gone wrong, mama~" Hyacinth interjected with an easygoing grin. She jerked a thumb towards Tsuna and shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid that I miscalculated a certain joke, and it ruined his clothes." Nana softened considerably, smiling brightly at her.

"Ahh, Hya-chan~ It's so nice of you to visit," Nana cooed, before looking a bit unsure. "Still, you guys are missing school," she bit her lip, worriedly. "What would Sirius think, Hya-chan?" Hyacinth shrugged, not too worried. Unlike Tsuna, she wasn't failing in school, and despite her attendance record, she made pretty solid grades in each of her periods.

"He'll understand," Hyacinth assured her.

"Don't worry, mama," Reborn chirped. Nana, surprisingly, is reassured by this. Tsuna looked surprised and exasperated, glancing between both his mom and Reborn. "I got this," Reborn smirked, oblivious to Tsuna's bewildered staring.

"If you say so," Nana said, with an airy giggle. "I'm going to go run some errands. Hya-chan, will you look after the house while I'm gone?" Nana had caught them in the middle of slipping her shoes on, along with grabbing her purse from the entrance hallway; she resumed, looking at Hyacinth expectantly.

"Right, right!" Hyacinth saluted her, eagerly. "I'll make sure to try and not burn the house down while you're gone, mama!" Calling her mama was still a bit weird, but Nana persistence at being called that wore Hyacinth down after awhile. Especially when she started to bribe Hyacinth with her omelettes, which were amazing. So in the end, it was a lost cause since the very beginning.

Hyacinth was weak to good food, after all.

Yamamoto Tsuyoshi could order her to slaughter her entire clan just for a good discount on her favorite sushi set. And she would. With a smile.

When they caught up with Tsuna, he was dressed in casual clothing and pacing his room worriedly. He kept gripping at his hair and breathing rapidly through his nose, face scrunched up. Hyacinth settled herself on his bed, Reborn in her lap, watching him; Hyacinth wondered if she should alert him to their presence or just let him figure it out for himself.

As it turns out, she didn't need to do anything. Tsuna whirled on them, narrowing in on Reborn. "I can't walk the streets anymore! This is horrible! And I definitely can't confront Sasagawa Kyoko, anymore, either!"

"It's not like you could have done it anytime before this," Hyacinth chirped, causing Tsuna to send her a scathing look. She grinned. "I don't know, man. You had no intent of telling her anything beforehand, right?"

"Dame-Tsuna wanted to, but couldn't," Reborn said, casually. Tsuna flushed horribly, and stomped towards them. Hyacinth blinked, realizing that his intent- oh, Hyacinth burst out laughing when Tsuna reached to pinch Reborn's cheeks ended with him flipped over.

"Wow, you're strong!" Hyacinth enthused, glancing at the preening baby on her lap. Man, what kind of training regimens did this baby have? Why couldn't she have been this strong as a baby? Then again, she didn't think she was this coherent when she was a baby...

So that only begs the question that if Reborn wasn't a regular baby, then what exactly is he?

"I'm the World's Greatest Hitman," Reborn answered her. Oh, alright, then. Wait. Hyacinth laughed, a bit bewildered. She didn't ask that outloud, did she? That was embarrassing, if so. Reborn patted her hand, before moving off her lap to stand in front of her fallen friend. "I can read minds," he told her with a smirk.

That was-

So.

Cool!

"Oh, snap! You gotta teach me that!" Hyacinth pleaded, with stars in her eyes. Tsuna muttered something, rubbing his head and glaring at his tor-tutor. "Tsuna, did you hear that? Your tor-tutor can read minds! How awesome is that?"

"Don't believe him!" Tsuna complained. "You'll just encourage his delusions," he huffed. He winced, when his fingers prodded his jaw a bit too hard. "Ow, that hurt. I was fine when I was hit by that bike," Tsuna accused Reborn, staring suspiciously at him.

"Woah, woah, wait. You here hit by a bike?" Hyacinth blinked.

Tsuna sighed, nodding. "I think it was delivery for TakeSushi," he admitted, uneasily. Hyacinth gasped, pressing an offended hand to her chest.

"You monster!" Hyacinth accused. "What did TakeSushi ever do to you?"

"It's not like I meant to hit them!" Tsuna replied, defensive. "But I should have gotten hurt, then." Tsuna stared at Reborn, who was sipping from a cup- Hyacinth sniffed the air, slightly. Coffee? Coffee was yet another thing Hyacinth was barred to drink, alongside soda.

"That was because you were in Dying Will mode," Reborn answered, casually. "In that state, all your safety switches are off. So in exchange for risking your life by breaking your limits, you can harness amazing strengths."

"Oh, cool," Hyacinth mused. A heightened state of potential strength. you just had to die to get there. But Reborn's earlier warning of dying with no regrets just equaled death, so that was always a downside. She wanted to get shot with it, but she didn't know what she would regret when she was dying; regret was hardly an emotion long-lived inside of her, so it was risky either way.

Damn you, curiosity!

"I don't get it," Tsuna huffed. He sat next to Hyacinth on his bed, folding his arms defensively. He sent her a pleading look. "You can't honestly believe anything he says, can you?" Hyacinth shrugged.

"You were just shot with a Dying Will bullet, dude," Hyacinth laughed. "There has to be some truth to his words. And I like to believe in everything until proven false." She gestured at the smirking baby before them. "And if you want to prove him wrong, I wanna watch." Tsuna groaned, frustrated.

"Yeah, but," Tsuna protested, sullen.

"Being skeptical is a great thing until it is just outright denial," Hyacinth grinned. "And denial is just a river in Egypt," she nodded, making Tsuna twitch. His English wasn't all that good, due to his lackluster performance in school; the pun was lost on him.

"If it's such a great bullet, then why haven't we ever heard of it before, huh?" Tsuna demanded, at both Reborn and Hyacinth. Hyacinth shrugged; she wasn't one for firearms, to be honest. Pranks, yes. Which soda pop worked the best with certain reactive chemicals- yeah! Actual ammunition was lost on her, and probably the rest of the population of Japan, seeing as of that firearms were banned in Japan.

Today was the first time she ever seen a gun.

And It was in the form of a shapeshifting lizard! How awesome was that!?

"The Dying Will bullet is passed down through the Vongola Family," Reborn explained, carefully. Vongola Family? Was that the family Tsuna was supposed to be the mob boss for? Hyacinth hummed, curious. Tsuna was still skeptical.

Tsuna questioned, "Vongola Family?"

"I was assigned by the Vongola's 9th generation boss to come to Japan and to train you to become the next mafia boss," Reborn said, innocently. Hyacinth grinned, excited and glancing between her bewildered friend and his tor-tutor. This was exactly like how a shounen manga would be like! Her best friend was going to become a main character!

Wait- what does that make her?

A witty side-character in which the audience will make a protection squad for?! Oh, wait, that's only in musicals, right? Maybe this could be a musical...

"The 9th is getting old, so he is planning on passing on the boss status to the 10th generation." There was a glint in Reborn's eyes as he said this, as simply as he could. 10th generation mafia boss, huh? What a title.

She wanted a cool title like that!

"Was Tsu-kun your first choice, or?" Hyacinth interjected, giving Tsuna some time to process this fully. "I don't see how an Italian mafia family chose a Japanese born Tsu-kun." Reborn smirked, and pulled out a piece of tattered parchment. It was worn down, and Hyacinth had to treat it gingerly, carefully smoothing it out.

Ah, it was a family tree! Tsuna peered at it, unsure. "Dame-Tsuna is a direct descendant to the first boss of the Vongola Family, who retired early and crossed over to Japan. He is the great-great-great grandfather to dame-Tsuna, which makes him apart of the Vongola bloodline, and a legitimate heir."

"What happened to the others?" Tsuna asked, weakly. He pointed to the other line, with the other three people's names. He still looked unaccepting of the fact that this seemed pretty legit. Hyacinth pinched him, making him squeak and send her a slight glare, and she shrugged back.

"Enrico, the most qualified," Reborn pulled them back to attention. "Was shot in the field." He held up a picture of someone who looked- well, dead. Hyacinth blinked, and Tsuna made a wounded noise in the back of his throat. "Matsumo was drowned," Reborn smirked, holding up another picture. Hyacinth laughed, even as Tsuna paled even further. "The favorite child, Federico, was found reduced to bone."

"Why the hell are you showing us pictures of it!? Stop it," Tsuna demanded, covering his face and groaning. He looked queasy.

"How do you even have pictures of that?" Hyacinth laughed, a bit bemused. Was it sent to them as evidence? How- how cruel. And if all the other legitimate heirs have all been assassinated... Hyacinth's fists tightened on her lap, even as her leg shook off the jitters, unable to stay still even now. She'd have to keep an eye out for any future dangers concerning her best friend, it seemed.

Reborn smirked at her, as if sensing her thoughts. "Don't worry about anything, Hya-chan," he assured her. "I'll make dame-Tsuna into a fine mafia boss." Tsuna groaned again. "In fact," Reborn addressed Tsuna with a glint to his eyes, as if mocking him. "I think you found your first family member, dame-Tsuna."

Family member? Her? Hyacinth brightened, even when Tsuna choked on air. "What? Don't bring Hya-chan into this!" Tsuna demanded, whirling around to meet Hyacinth's excited and eager stare. "Hya-chan, you can't honestly- you-"

"Yes, let Hya-chan into this!" Hyacinth whooped, punching Tsuna's shoulder in her excitement. He winced and glowered at her, face scrunching into something unreadable. She smiled at him, excitement running through her veins. She stood and rocked on her feet. "This will be fun!"

"Those people died," Tsuna reminded her.

"Everyone dies, Tsu-kun!" Hyacinth waved him off. She looked at him as sincere as she should, making him falter. "Don't you wanna live life to the full, Tsuna? Don't you wanna live everyday like it's your last?" Tsuna stared at her, before glancing away and folding his arms.

"You're sounding like my mother," he complained, unhappily. It wasn't exactly a full agreement, but Hyacinth took it. After all, they were good friends, and Hyacinth was determined to stick it through till the very end for Tsuna. And even if he complained a lot, she was pretty sure Tsuna would do the same for her.

"Then don't you think there's some truth in there?" Hyacinth puffed herself up. She glanced at Reborn. "Hey, hey, have you ate at TakeSushi's before? I'll treat us all out to eat~ The day is still young, and Tsuna and I can totally treat you out to eat! I can even show you my favorite places of Namimori- oh, oh, we can show him our favorite alley, Tsuna!"

"Why do we even have a favorite alley?" Tsuna lamented.

Despite the weird start to the day, Hyacinth was sure that it'd only be better going forward.

-0-0-0-

Yamamoto Takeshi returned to his home after a long day at school. Baseball practice had passed by in a blink of an eye, and Takeshi had to return home simply because Hibari Kyoya was starting to circle the field, warningly. No trespassers after club hours, and Takeshi didn't really want to start a fight with him.

"I'm home!" Takeshi called into the restaurant, when he entered. A few of his father's helpers called back out to him, and he let his eyes wander briefly, calculating. "Where's pops?"

"He went out to do an errand," his father's assistant manager, Tachibana-san, told him. "You wanna stay down here, and help out? You father told me to tell you to not go upstairs," Tachibana-san sounded slightly perplexed, and Takeshi hummed, thoughtful.

Not to go upstairs, huh?

Well, that settled it. Takeshi was going upstairs. Usually, he'd just shed his school bag in a corner of the kitchen, and start working, even in his uniform. He had spares for a reason, after all. Still, though, his father warning him of not going upstairs was too suspicious to not go upstairs, now. "I need to get changed, Tachibana-san," Takeshi added with a laugh, to alleve some suspicion. "I'll come back down and help afterwards, I promise!"

"If you say so," Tachibana-san sounded reluctant.

Takeshi just flashed him one of his confident smiles, and walked through the restaurant. He relaxed momentarily once he was in the back, and started up the stairs, slow and evenly as he could. Carefully avoiding that one creaky step, Takeshi managed to find himself on the second level of his house. Nothing seemed out of place, despite it being relatively dark; still, something was off.

Taking a slow whiff of the air, Takeshi dimly noted that the faint smell of cigarette smoke lingered. That could only mean one thing-

Takeshi barely had enough reflex to throw himself down to the ground, narrowly dodging the sharp swing of something sharp. Somersaulting forward, Takeshi straightened and flipped on the light, whirling around to meet the briefly amused stare of his uncle. His uncle straightened as well, sheathing his tantō.

"Oh, it's you," Takeshi forced a laugh, any type of content falling away inside him. He internally sighed, eying his uncle rather shrewdly. It was always a hassle to juggle his reactions when both his father and his uncle were in the same room, always a delicate balance of trying to show how he really felt, and trying not to worry his father.

His uncle knew who he really was; his father knew the person that Takeshi desperately wanted to be.

Kobayashi Eishun stood there, his lazy smirk never fading. He was dressed in a tailored suit, his tantō strapped to his belt. His hair was cropped short, and a distinctive scar marred one of his eyebrows. From what Takeshi's mother told him, it was from when they were younger; she had accidentally slammed the door open on an eavesdropping Eishun, almost giving him a concussion. And Eishun would agree with the story, just to clarify that his 'job' never hurt him.

Because he was good at his 'job'.

"Is that really all you can say to your favorite uncle?" Eishun asked, languidly.

"My only uncle," Takeshi clarified. "Does dad know you're here?" Obviously, considering the fact that he warned people to not let Takeshi go upstairs. Still, small talk was becoming something of an art form for Takeshi. Eishun shrugged, not really replying, and settled back into examining the various pictures of Takeshi's family on the walls.

Was he doing that in the dark? Takeshi made a face, and sighed, scooting past his uncle towards his room. He needed to dress himself, and put away his school bag. He highly doubted he'd get to do his homework today, which was fine by him considering the fact that he barely does it in the first place. Baseball will always, and forever will be, his main priority in school.

When Takeshi emerged from his room, he found his uncle staring intently at one of his mother's pictures. Takeshi faltered a bit. "I came to visit her," his uncle thankfully spoke, voice carefully blank. "So I thought I'd drop by and see how her son is doing." Eishun turned towards him, expression grim. Takeshi didn't know if it was genuine or fake, seeing as of that it was really hard to tell with his uncle.

"I'm doing fine," Takeshi assured his uncle, as confidently as he could. His uncle looked unconvinced. "I am," Takeshi smiled brightly at him. Eishun snorted, eying him skeptically.

"Sure you are," Eishun replied. "You can lie to everyone else around here, but me, Take-kun," Eishun told him, smile merciless. "Answer me honestly," he ordered, ignoring Takeshi's indigent look.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Takeshi sighed. What could he say? Not much had changed from the last time he met his uncle. The same empty days, the same empty conversations; while the everyday activities was slowly building up, almost crushing his chest. Thankfully, baseball was a great stress reliever. The only real interesting thing to happen around here was Hyacinth and Tsuna, who seemed to getting into more antics since the day Tsuna confessed to Sawagawa Kyoko in front of the school, in his underwear.

An Italian transfer student had came and settled himself almost seamlessly into their friendship, it almost left Takeshi sick to his stomach. Despite the animosity Gokudera Hayato and Hyacinth shared, she still let him linger around. Most people knew that if Hyacinth truly disliked a person, she'd make sure they'd stayed away. Takeshi twitched, bringing himself back to attention, and blinking at his uncle, who was staring at him, blandly.

"What?" Takeshi smiled.

Eishun's eyes narrowed in on it. "Nothing," he finally said. "You need to be honest with yourself, Takeshi; if you're not going to be honest with everyone else, at least be honest with yourself." Eishun sighed. "You're what my sister left in this world, I don't want to see you doing something rash."

"I'm not lying," Takeshi replied back, almost too quickly. Too snappishly. Eishun didn't react, and Takeshi fought to keep a frown off his face. Frowning would feel too impersonal, too much like how he acted when he was younger. Too much before his mother's death. Despite what his uncle thought, he didn't really start to smile and laugh as much as this before his mother died, still struggling to understand the concept of such a thing.

Then his mother passed away, something inside him crumbled.

His father was more of a wreck then he was, during that time. Takeshi had to take up caring for the restaurant, and dealing with people. Somewhere along the way, his smiles and laughing became easier to dish out, and by the time his father came back to his senses, it had long since been ingrained in his reflex.

People had said that he had his mother's smile.

"I'm hungry," Eishun yawned, at last. He seemed to dismiss their current conversation, and peer intently at the stairwell. Takeshi wondered how he even got into the house, seeing as of that the more direct was way through the restaurant itself. Seeing as of that his father's helpers didn't know why his father wanted him to not go upstairs, it was probably safe to say that his uncle came in some other, more discreet, way. So probably through the side entrance. "Is your father back?"

Eishun's voice was pathetically bland, as it always was when mentioning Takeshi's father. Their relationship wasn't much of a relationship at all, and consisted of both of them desperately attempting to ignore one another. Apparently, they had constantly tried to fight each other, especially for his mother's attention. Nowadays, their relationship was strained, and Tsuyoshi always tried his best to make sure Eishun's visits were as quick as possible. If that meant feeding him so he'd be on his way, then so be it.

"I don't think so," Takeshi shrugged. "If you want, I can make you something. I usually help out downstairs anyways, haha," he offered, and his uncle didn't glance at him. Eishun's sharp, yet still distant, eyes had trailed back to the wall which held various pictures of Takeshi's family. "Uncle?"

"Don't poison me," Eishun said, shortly. "If you manage to not do that, I'll tell you a story about Emi and I's childhood." Takeshi considered this, a meal exchanged for some more backstory? To be honest, Takeshi already knew about his uncle and mother's childhood, simply because his mother liked to talk. But his uncle always had his own interesting take on his side of thing.

Not to mention that he probably had his own secrets as well.

It might make Takeshi feel slightly better to hear more about his uncle's childhood, considering the fact that they shared a similar condition. Takeshi smiled. "Sure, why not? It'll be fun, haha," he said, as he lead his uncle downstairs. His father was just entering the restaurant, tense and pale, when they entered from the opposite side. "Hey, pops!"

His father's expression spasmed, eyes flickering from Eishun's lazy smirk to Takeshi's bright smile. "Hey, Takeshi," his father finally said, strained. He smiled, dimly. "I see you know that your uncle Kobayashi-kun is visiting, eh?"

"His favorite uncle Kobayashi," Eishun interjected, smoothly. His father's expression tensed again, and he glanced at Takeshi's uncle in barely veiled distaste. "Takeshi here was just telling me about his prowess in sushi making, and offered to cook me something."

"Is that so?" Takeshi's father said, airly. He shot a quick glance at the curious helpers, Tachibana-san standing at the counter idly. With a quick gesture, everyone resumed their tasks, and the patrons turned away, continuing their soft conversations. His father sighed. "Just sit down, and don't cause trouble, Kobayashi-kun."

"I would never," Kobayashi remarked, turning away and finding an empty table. Takeshi followed his father into the kitchen, standing near the entrance as his father staggered to a counter and slammed the bags down, breathing shallow. It was always like this when his uncle visited.

Takeshi moved to stand next to his father, making sure to make his smile as soft as possible. "Hey, hey, is everything cool?" Takeshi's father turned towards him, barely. "It's just a quick visit, eh? Nothing to sweat about, haha."

"... Sure," Takeshi's father agreed, faintly. He blew out a forceful sigh. "Sorry about this, son. He always gets under my skin, even if he doesn't do anything." His eyes trailed back towards the exit of the kitchen, expression barely readable. "I'm guessing he wants his usual?"

"I'll cook it for him, pops," Takeshi offered. "Just worry about the restaurant. I'll keep him occupied, haha," his father looked like he wanted to disagree. "Plus, he told me that he'll tell me more about his childhood. More about mom." Takeshi pushed the conversation a bit, including the bit about his mom to get his father to agree.

It was a bit of an underhanded way to get what he wants, basically.

His father was unbearably sentimental, and a pushover, when it came to Takeshi's late mother. Takeshi wanted to feel bad about using this to his advantage, but what his father didn't know, didn't hurt him. He made sure to let his smile falter a bit, and his father's expression crumpled a bit.

"Fine," his father agreed. "Just make sure he doesn't stay the night. I don't think I can sleep at night if he's sleeping on our extra futon," his father shook his head, and Takeshi laughed. "And if he does anything to make you uncomfortable, tell me. I'll make sure he'll behave." His father nodded, and Takeshi smiled.

"That sounds like a threat, pops," he said, moving around the kitchen. A few of the helpers were bustling in and out of the kitchen, thankfully giving them time to themselves. Getting an extra apron, and putting on some gloves, he started to gather the stuff he needed to make his uncle his favorite set. "I didn't know you had it in you."

His father laughed, a bit more warm than it had been all evening. "I'm tougher than I look, son," he replied.

"Tell that to Hya-chan next time she bargains with you for a lower discount," Takeshi challenged, and his father sputtered. It was an inside joke used by the entire staff at TakeSushi, seeing as of that Hyacinth could bargain like the devil, and usually got her way at the end of the night. His father was helplessly weak to such an earnest costumer.

Hyacinth used to come around often. Takeshi felt briefly annoyed that she doesn't do that much, anymore. Still, it made sense, she had her own life, and Takeshi had his. He had baseball. That was enough. Even if his average was faltering recently...

It was a bit disheartening.

His uncle Eishun was tapping away at his phone when Takeshi finally appeared, with refreshments and his uncle's favorite meal: chirashizushi. It was basically a bowl of sushi rice topped with various other toppings. Takeshi had managed to make thin omelette slices tucking in sauteed shiitake mushrooms, and crab meat. He made sure to add tuna sashimi on the very top, the whole bowl sprinkled with sesame seeds. A cup of sake should help swallow it all down, and Takeshi sat opposite his uncle, with a small carton of milk, watching expectantly.

With slow deliberateness, his uncle glanced at him and put up his phone. He broke apart his chopsticks, and muttered a short, "Itadakimasu." Takeshi leaned forward onto the table, resting his chin on his hand as he watched his uncle dig in. His expression didn't change, nor did he make any appreciative hum; he just chewed and stared at his bowl, mouth full. Feeling slightly insulted, Takeshi had to remind himself that his uncle wasn't like Hyacinth or any of his other customers he personally served. At last, his uncle glanced at him, blinking. "It's good," he told him, with a quick flash of a smile.

Takeshi wasn't fooled. "Just tell me a story, uncle," he ordered, shortly. His uncle's smile was too quick, looked too off on his face. It made him uncomfortable to see such a bad imitation of a smile, a smile Takeshi was sure that he, himself, could pull off so easily. It only made Takeshi question who was the more- real, was that the term he was looking for? More real. His uncle who knew that he was different and made no effort to change his behavior other than mock attempts, or himself, who put forth real effort but felt no real results?

The answer wasn't something Takeshi really wanted to know.

"When we were younger, you mother and I used to live under our strict grandfather. I think he was like us," Takeshi's uncle said, around mouthfuls of his he managed to look so dignified while gulping down his meal as ungracefully as he could was lost upon Takeshi. "He was an old coot. I'm glad he's dead," his uncle said, seriously. He paused in sipping his sake, staring at the cup before gulping it down in a hurry. "But one time, he gave Emi-nii a small little cat. It was a cute little thing, with grey fur, and giant shimmery eyes."

"Mom had a cat?" Takeshi mused. It made sense, in a way. He was never allowed to have pets, nor did he ever press for one. He didn't want to take care of some small, probably stupid, animal, nor did he have time for them. "Mom never said anything about any pets."

Eishun's eyes turned harder, and his smirk faded into something a bit more sterner. He idly scratched at the scar on his eyebrow. "I bet she wouldn't," Eishun murmured, carefully. "You see, when I was younger, I didn't know what was wrong with me. I didn't even know something was wrong with me until I started going to classes with other kids, who acted differently from me. There was something more about them, something that I was lacking," a pause, and his dark eyes met Takeshi's. "What we're lacking. We lacked an understanding and empathy needed to connect emotionally to our peers. My grandfather wasn't much help, seeing as of that he had our estate to run. I wanted to feel normal. Or to feel anything at all."

Takeshi stayed silent, willingly not trying to connect the dots. His mother had a cat, never spoke about it, and his uncle wanted to feel something. It was a puzzle that had a morbid conclusion, and Takeshi refused to finish it.

000

"Emi-nii's cat was just called Neko, and your mother loved it to bits. She would dress it up in frilly ribbons and talk with it, as if it could actually understand her," Eishun snorted, resuming eating. His movements were slower, though, giving off an air of forced nonchalance. He played with his chopsticks. "I wanted to feel something, anything. Whether it'd be happiness, or," he trailed off, sending Takeshi a serious look. His lazy smirk had fell away, and for a terrifying moment, his uncle's expression was blank. "Maybe even guilt."

"You killed mom's cat, didn't you?" Takeshi accused, leaning forward. His words were quiet, hidden under the bustle of activity that the restaurant usually had buzzing about during the evening rush. His uncle's smirk came back, and Takeshi felt a brief lurch of nausea rock his stomach, and he sat back, unsure how to feel about his uncle. "How old were you?"

"I was only 6," Eishun shrugged. "Emi-nii was only 8. She found me covered in the cat's blood, and wouldn't stop screaming." Takeshi wanted to press what exactly he did to his mother's cat, but refrained, unwilling to give in to the curiosity. Thankfully, he didn't need to, seeing his uncle smirk mercilessly at him. "I twisted that poor thing's head clean off."

Takeshi blanched, settled back into his seat more. His uncle observed him curiously.

000

"Does that disgust you?" Eishun questioned.

"I don't know," Takeshi admitted, with a slight grimace of his own. He didn't know how to feel about this news. He never considered killing little animals himself, nor did he think that was even an option. Seeing how his uncle apparently implied that he never got the results he wanted, he guessed that remorse and guilt were lost upon him. Takeshi didn't know how to feel, or how he even wanted to feel. Normal protocol calls upon disgust and immediate disapproval at his uncle's actions, but Takeshi understood the reasons, his desperate need to feel something that resembles something real and raw.

It was all confusing in the end, and all Takeshi could do was settle on shaking his head, unsure. Eishun's huffed, bemused. "Maybe you have hope yet, Take-kun," Eishun praised him, though it felt anything but. He continued eating. "It never bothered me, and I can sleep at night. The fact that you don't know how to react is something that I never experienced. I never reacted at all." Eishun smirked.

"Is- is there anything that makes you feel anything?" Takeshi questioned, glancing over at the counter. His father stood there, rigidly, staring balefully at his uncle. When he caught his father's eyes, his father looked worried, and Takeshi waved him off. "Mom says that you live a very happy life."

Eishun snorted. "I guess I do," he said, vaguely. "I'm good at my job, and I am able to act more like myself. That's the best I can hope for, I suppose," his eyes focused on Takeshi's. "Have you found anything that makes you happy?" The emphasis on the last word was mocking.

"Baseball," Takeshi said out of reflex. His uncle raised an eyebrow. "What? Baseball is a good reason," Takeshi defended, narrowing his eyes slightly. His uncle shook his head, finishing the last of his meal.

"Just be careful, kid," Eishun said, standing up. He tossed his chopsticks lazily into the empty bowl, Takeshi standing up to follow his lead. "You still got a lot to learn about how we live. We're only good at one thing, it seems." How we live, Takeshi thought bitterly. As if he needed any help in remembering the fact that he was different from everyone else, and despite the silent confirmation that he did have someone like him- he still felt isolated, considering the fact that he was still apparently different from his uncle.

Takeshi watched from the back table, as his uncle left without another word. He lazily saluted his father, who glanced away. Eishun didn't even glance back, even when the entrance opened, and a few other regulars entered. As if he never visited at all, Eishun disappeared, and Takeshi sighed, gathering up the bowl, and started to clean up the table. His uncle's visits were always a 50/50 chance of either feeling more confused and unsatisfied as before, or left Takeshi feeling a little less alone. This was the former, and Takeshi couldn't help but think about his mother, wondering how she'd handle her little brother's visits, to how she'd probably teach him more about himself and the world more than Eishun ever could.

Only good at one thing, huh?

It wasn't like his mother had taught him much before she died.

An uncomfortable twinge in his chest made Takeshi's smile a bit more flakier for the next few days to come.

-0-0-0-

PE was always such a pain.

Despite how 'good' he was at volleyball, at baseball- he was absolutely hopeless! Tsuna was clumsy as well as clueless when it came to sports, and the rules that came along with it. He highly doubted that Reborn will help him out here, glancing around the field for his small torturer. The only friendly face around was Hyacinth, who was pressed up against the chainlink fence and smiling threateningly at the already formed teams. Those who were unlucky enough to catch her fiery gaze blanched and pointedly not looked back in her direction, and Tsuna couldn't help but sigh, a bit exasperated.

Still, it made him feel a bit less alone.

Gokudera-kun had went to resupply his dynamite, so he had thought that things would finally calm down for a bit. Tsuna wanted some sense of normalcy, especially with Hyacinth. Ever since they met, Gokudera-kun and Hyacinth often butted heads, and usually ended with Gokudera-kun chasing after Hyacinth with his dynamite. It didn't help that Hyacinth had decided to use Gokudera-kun as her newest testing subject for her various ideas of pranks, which almost always ended badly. Still, Hyacinth listened to Reborn when he told her to stop messing with their newest 'family member'.

And that was a whole other can of worms that Tsuna totally didn't want to get into.

The whole mafia thing sounded absurd, and dangerous. And despite what Hyacinth said, it was totally not cool. And it wasn't the start of a bright, and new, beginning for him! It was troublesome, and being tutored by a sadistic baby wasn't all sunshine and giggles. It also didn't help that Hyacinth seemed to take to Reborn like a duck to water, eager to always help out with Reborn's ideas; it was bad enough that his own mom doted upon the sadistic baby!

Feeling a slight shiver of foreboding, Tsuna shot another quick glance around. For some reason, he felt like Reborn was watching him, knowing what he was thinking. Purging his thoughts, Tsuna managed to focus back onto the arguing teams debating on how much they so didn't want him.

Right when Tsuna was starting to contemplate seppuku in order to avoid the embarrassment of the teams playing rochambeau to see who'll end up with him, someone spoke up.

"Isn't it alright? Just join our team," Yamamoto Takeshi grinned, easily, at him. Tsuna startled, whirling around to meet his easy-going expression. He wasn't the only one surprised, the other people on Yamamoto's team looked disheartened and shocked.

"Are you serious, Yamamoto? You don't have to let that loser in," one of their classmates protested, annoyed. Yamamoto laughed, throwing an arm around him.

In the background, Hyacinth yelled, "That loser has a friend who can kick your ass!"

Everyone turned to stare at her, even as Tsuna wanted to groan in embarrassment. His face felt hot, even as he met Hyacinth's eyes. Even after all these years, she looked angelic and terrifying all at once. Her smile was bright, completely betrayed by how tight she was gripping the fence, and how threatening her eyes appeared to be. Her goggles were pushing the hair away from her face, acting like some type of headband.

She waved brightly at them, causing the world to move forward.

Yamamoto laughed, eyes lingering briefly on Hyacinth before turning towards the slightly bewildered classmate from before. Tsuna always had a feeling that Hyacinth could have flourished and be popular if she wasn't always sticking up for him. While he felt glad that he always had someone to stick up for him, he really did, but it didn't make the slight feelings of shame of probably holding her back from her potential any less bothersome.

"Don't be stingy, I'll just have to keep them from hitting, right?" Yamamoto-kun enthused, not a bit bothered by Hyacinth's interruption/warning. Taking his cue, all the other team members mumbled an agreement.

As the game went on, Tsuna was mostly used as a benchwarmer. He watched as Yamamoto apologized for hitting another home run, almost everyone on the field cheering him on. The girls from their class where squealing, besides from Hyacinth who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else but there. She was probably getting restless, Tsuna couldn't help but think. She liked to be in on the action rather than sitting on the sidelines. Still, Tsuna dragged his eyes back towards the most popular boy in their class, it was pretty amazing that Yamamoto was this good at baseball.

He is pretty amazing, Tsuna thought. If only I were like that.

Sadly, he wasn't like that.

Which was probably why their team still lost.

"Loser! This is your fault! Sweep the field by yourself!"

His previous teammates accused him, handing him the sweeping equipment and walking off. Tsuna stared dejectedly in the distance, overwhelmed with the want to go home. It always ended like this, he thought. Hyacinth had disappeared after the game, as well, so no help there. The only real thing stopping him from giving into the temptation of just leaving was the thought of Reborn, and how he was parading his guns more often around the house. That- that was terrifying...

"Help has arrived!" A voice interrupted Tsuna's thoughts. A familiar voice.

"Yamamoto!?" Tsuna blinked, wanting to pinch himself. Then the guilt seeped in, and he blanched, slamming the equipment down onto the ground and furiously starting to sweep. "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault! I'm sorry, just when you let me on the team-"

Yamamoto laughed, relaxed. "Don't worry about it, it's just PE." He leaned against his own sweeping broom, staring at him contemplatively. Tsuna swallowed, nervously, unsure of what to say. Usually, when Yamamoto talked to him, Hyacinth was there to act like a buffer. In fact, he was pretty sure Yamamoto only talked to him because Hyacinth was there. As if sensing Tsuna's uneasy thoughts, Yamamoto offered him a light smile. "Aren't you pretty amazing lately, Sawada-kun?"

Tsuna sputtered, ready to disagree.

"Like in the kendo battle, and the volleyball tournament," Yamamoto waved him off, bulldozing any protest that Tsuna was ready to shoot out at him. Tsuna clamped his mouth shut, glancing away. Those times weren't completely all him, though; Reborn had helped out in those times... "I got you checked in my books," Yamamoto assured him.

"Eh?" Tsuna laughed, awkward. He was unwilling to say the obvious that those times weren't all him, not when Yamamoto was grinning at him like that. He stuttered, flustered, "Oh, uh." Scratching the back of his head, Tsuna wondered how to reply to that. He was never really complimented all that much before, and Hyacinth's types of compliments were drowned in excitement and constant jitters. Gokudera-kun's types of compliments were awed and too appraising, it made him feel oddly uncomfortable.

And no one else bothered to praise him outside those two. Maybe Hyacinth's guardian, Sirius-san, but he often holed himself up in his house and was barely seen outside the living room of their home. Apparently reduced to doing nothing but 'adult stuff', as Hyacinth put it, who was hardly home to begin with, always hanging out at Tsuna's place or wandering the town causing trouble.

"In comparison, I just play baseball like it's all I know," Yamamoto sighed, standing a few feet away and starting to clean. Tsuna inwardly blinked, even as he followed suit. Wasn't baseball, like, his passion? It made sense that he'd know nothing else about the sport, if so. That type of devotion was something Tsuna could never hope to mimic, who was well-prepared for the life of a future convenience store worker.

It was the way life went, Tsuna couldn't help but think. The only good thing that someone like him will ever accomplish. "What are you're talking about? Your baseball skill is what's amazing," Tsuna told him, seriously.

"It's not going that well," Yamamoto admitted with a slight huff of amusement. It was- a bit off-putting, to sound so amused with saying something that sounded so disheartening. Tsuna faltered a bit. "No matter how much I practice, my average is dropping, and my fielding is screwing up. At the rate it's going, I think it'll be the first time I don't start since I began playing baseball." His expression was solemn, and Tsuna stared at him.

It sounded like some type of slump, Tsuna thought. He also couldn't help but think that he never seen such an expression on Yamamoto's face, and floundered a bit.

"Tsuna...," Yamamoto didn't look at him. "What should I do?"

The familiarity of his given name combined with the question made Tsuna sputter out in shock. He's asking me!? Dame-Tsuna? He's asking the loser, he's asking him; Tsuna desperately wished that Hyacinth was here, she'd no doubt knew what to do in situations like these. But she wasn't, and Yamamoto had asked him.

Before Tsuna could even think of a proper response, Yamamoto turned towards him with a bright grin. "Just kidding, haha. Lately, you're so reliable. So I just...," he trailed off, easy-going smile faltering slightly. Tsuna swallowed, glancing away in thought.

Tsuna never seen Yamamoto like this. More than ever, he wanted Hyacinth to be next to him. She always knew how to cheer people up, or at the very least, distract them from their down-mood. She was always excited and enthusiastic about something, and that usually drawn people to her like a magnet. Something about her enthusiasm rubbed off on other people. Sometimes, even someone like Tsuna felt it, and it helped inspire many nights of late-night readings. Not that those ended well, his grades were always- horrible.

Still, he wanted to help Yamamoto. But he also didn't want to bring up his tutor, Reborn.

"I guess more effort," Tsuna fumbled to say. "Is the way to go? I think," he offered, feeling a bit cheap. He felt like a liar, considering the fact that he barely put much effort himself. Those 'awesome' moments this school year was due to Reborn literally shooting him.

"Yeah," Yamamoto looked a bit more sure about himself. His smile was back, and Tsuna felt a bit better about himself. Throwing an arm around Tsuna's shoulders, Yamamoto laughed. "I thought the same, too. We agree, like I expected," he laughed.

"We do?" Tsuna smiled, a bit relieved.

"That settles it, I'm staying here and practicing like hell!" Yamamoto laughed, and Tsuna couldn't help but laugh with him. He felt briefly elated that he didn't botch this encounter, especially without Hyacinth there to help him. In fact, the fact that he managed to do this by himself was what made him feel so happy.

Maybe- he wasn't so lame after all!

I actually said something good!

-0-0-0-

Hyacinth was laying on Tsuna's bed, even as he played a video game. She was flipping through one of the newest manga she had brought, having ditched school as soon as their PE class had ended. It was the latest installment about a story about ninjas. It involved a story about an energetic underdog who wanted to be the very best ninja there ever was. The plot was getting a bit convoluted at times, but Hyacinth felt too nostalgic to really give it up.

Maybe she should look into the anime; perhaps it could help explain it better, and fill in some plotholes.

Also, in order to apologize for ditching Tsuna the last minute, she had brought a new series that involved mecha and some pretty cute manga girls, whose clothing choices weren't really all that practical. It didn't seem like she needed to worry, though, seeing as of how good of a mood Tsuna had came home with.

Maybe he found out the meaning of life, cleaning up the field. Maybe his true purpose in life was to be a baseball field groomer.

Not as cool as a mafia boss, but oh well. If that's what he wanted, then Hyacinth would support him.

"Did something good happen?" Reborn asked, innocently. As innocent as a baby could polishing what seemed to be a nozzle of something. Some type of fire extinguisher, grouped together? The lettering on the side of the moderately sized tanks wasn't in any type of Japanese alphabet sets, nor was it in English. Italian, maybe? It looked dangerous, though, and Hyacinth peered at it curiously.

"Can you tell?" Tsuna smiled, brightly. "Today, a popular kid came to me for advice. What to do, what to do," Tsuna sighed, happily. He was still focused on the video game, and Hyacinth smiled, slightly. It was rare to see Tsuna so enthused about something.

"That's sweet! Who was it?" Hyacinth asked, sitting up on the bed and putting her manga aside. It was getting good, and the sensei in this installment was teaching the broody and angsty kid how to do cool trick with lightning. But that could wait, as Hyacinth wanted to be in on the hype of her best friend was experiencing. "Was it Kyoko-chan?" Hyacinth wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Tsuna, who flushed and fumbled.

"N-no," Tsuna denied, shaking his head furiously.

"Was it Yamamoto?" Reborn mused.

Hyacinth blinked, even as Tsuna whirled around to stare incredulously at Reborn. "How did you know!?" Tsuna snapped, as he usually did when it came to Reborn. Man, Reborn really can read minds, couldn't he?

Reborn shot her a slight smirk, before focusing back on Tsuna. Welp, that answered her theories. Reborn = Mind Reading CONFIRMED! Hyacinth still wanted to know how he did that, maybe she could bug him later about it. As of right now, though, he seemed focused on Tsuna. "Make him your subordinate," he ordered.

"What? No," Tsuna protested. "It's bad enough that you dragged Hya-chan into this, I'm not letting you drag another one of my classmates into this. Besides, Yamamoto is hot on baseball! I only wanted to help him out as a friend," Tsuna shook his head, sternly. Hyacinth hummed, thoughtful.

Didn't Tsuna say that Yamamoto had came to him for advice? For what? Yamamoto didn't seem like someone who needed advice, but then again, she hasn't seen him as much recently. Especially since Goku-baka had came around, and Hyacinth spent half her time messing with him, and trying to keep a low profile from Hibari. Maybe she should give him a visit sometime soon, just to see what's up.

But if Tsuna seemed this happy, then maybe he solved it by himself. Hyacinth felt a bit proud that her friend was finally starting to blossom into a not-so-awkward and insecure man-child. At this rate, he'll definitely become a main character!

"You should try getting hot, too, for once," Reborn said, demonstrating the thing he's been polishing earlier as a flame thrower. Hyacinth stared in awe, even as Tsuna yelped and fell backwards. As quick as it had started, Reborn stopped, and lowered the hose. "That's the wrong meaning of hot."

"Don't say my line!" Tsuna snapped at him, still looking terrified. And kind of scorched.

"Man, oh man," Hyacinth enthused, throwing herself beside the contraption. She made grabby fingers for it, which Reborn -probably wisely- kept from her. "I must ash you to let me borrow it, Reborn-san!" Hyacinth pleaded, pressing her hands together and staring imploringly at the bemused baby.

"No, no, and no," Tsuna hissed at her, still looking a bit fried. "That would be the beginning of the apocalypse; no," he sighed, and Hyacinth shrugged, not disagreeing with him. When she glanced back at Reborn, the flamethrower was gone, and she sighed, disappointed. "What would you even do with it anyways, Hya-chan?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to use it," Hyacinth didn't think that far ahead. "I'd probably go brighten up some people's days," she grinned, and Tsuna gave her a bland stare. "Well, it's not like he was actually going to give it to me, right? Hey, hey, are you still in a good mood~ We should go out to celebrate!"

Tsuna paused, embarrassed. "Yeah, but doesn't it seem like a lame thing to celebrate? It seems like a silly thing to be so happy about, now that I think about it," Tsuna faltered, and Hyacinth rolled her eyes.

"Siri once told me that the more your praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate," Hyacinth told him, sagely. "So try not to be so down, Tsu-kun! It's not bad to feel good about stuff," she persuaded, and Tsuna nodded, a bit unsure at first, before he agreed more firmly.

"You're right," Tsuna smiled, happily. "But I need to get dressed, someone ruined my clothe- ack!" Reborn had casually kicked his shin, and was already padding over to the door to Tsuna's room. "Ow, ow, Reborn," Tsuna hissed, and Hyacinth laughed.

"Hurry up and get dressed, Tsu-kun~ We'll be downstairs with mama," Hyacinth told him, following Reborn. She let the door swing shut behind her, dimly noting that Reborn had took the time to wait for her. "Are you excited, Reborn-san? I think we'll go eat at TakeSushi's! There's this great deal that happens if you can finish 5 sushi sets, and an extra large bowl of chirashizushi, under a certain amount of time, you and your party gets their food for free."

Reborn smirked. "Sounds delightful," he said. A moment's pause, and he stopped, causing Hyacinth to falter on the stairwell with him. She glanced back at him, curiously. "Your guardian sounds wise, who is he?"

"Huh? Siri?" Hyacinth blinked. "Oh, he's great! He's so awesome! Like, totally awesome; he's the best guardian out there." How, oh how, was there any words to explain how she felt towards Sirius. He was, bluntly, fun to be around, and Hyacinth trusted him with her life. He never put any restrictions on her, but also expected her to do the best she could do, trusting her to be her own person while also being there for support. Which was why she never pressed about their past, about his past, because that's the least she could ever do for him.

Besides, the past is the past. Nothing will change there. Hyacinth would much rather focus on what's ahead of her, instead.

"What about your real parents?" Reborn questioned. "If you call your guardian Siri, I suppose you don't call him any type of familial relations." Hyacinth blinked. Well, Sirius was her father figure, but- huh. She never thought about that. Sirius never pushed her to call him papa, or otou-san, or anything like that. It felt more- equal, calling him Sirius. Calling him Siri. "Do you know about your parents?"

"I don't," Hyacinth frowned. "Not that it matters, does it? I mean, I'm a pretty well-rounded individual. And it's not like I don't have someone in my life," she shrugged, lamely. "If they're not in my life now, then I guess they're either dead, or don't care enough to be in my life to begin with. So why should I worry about them?"

Reborn stared at her, contemplatively. "I suppose so," he finally said, shrugging. "Sorry if I offended you by asking," he smirked at her, and Hyacinth smiled back. She wasn't that insulted, considering the fact that she didn't think there was anything to be insulted by.

"It's cool," she chirped. "Besides, I'm apart of Tsuna's Family, aren't I?"

Reborn's smirk widened. However, before he could get a chance to reply, Tsuna came barrelling out of his room. Reborn apparently had enough experience in his young baby life to somehow get the hell out of dodge, and away from any immediate danger areas. Hyacinth- wasn't so lucky, so when Tsuna tripped on the top of the stairs, in between stopping and rushing down because he spotted them just hanging in the stairwell, they both went down in a pile of limbs.

Hyacinth had the fortune experience of slamming her face into the wall, landing on her stomach; Tsuna landed harshly on her back, bending her spine, having somehow twisted sideways on the way down. "Ooowwww," Tsuna whined.

"I see a light," Hyacinth rasped out.

Reborn shook his head sadly at them, his smirk amused. "You two still have a lot to learn about being in the mafia," he told them, seriously.

Groaning in slight pain, Hyacinth couldn't help but agree silently.

-0-0-0-

"Hey, everyone!"

The outburst woke Hyacinth up, who sat up straight and winced slightly. Her limbs and torso were bruised, but the pain barely bothered her; it only hindered her slightly, an uncomfortable ache. She rubbed her eyes, blinking sleepily at the panicked looking classmate who had burst into their classmate.

"Yamamoto is about to jump off the roof!" That woke Hyacinth up fully, and her eyes widened. She whirled around to see Tsuna's shocked and paling face, his usually big brown eyes widening even bigger. Guilt lingered in his expression, even as he shot her a helpless glance.

"What? Yamamoto from our class?" One of their classmates blinked.

"That's impossible," another one of their classmates laughed, dismissive. "They're good pranks, and bad pranks, ya' know?"

Their panicked classmate shook his head furiously. "No, no. When he stayed after school practicing yesterday, he went too far and broke his arm!" Hyacinth winced, that sounded serious. Especially to someone like Yamamoto, who loved baseball more than anything. That must be devastating!

Tsuna's guilty look deepend.

Hyacinth shook her head at him, even as the rest of their classmates yelled about everyone going to the roof. Tsuna stood there, still shell-shocked, but Hyacinth grabbed him by the arm and dragged him along, lingering behind the rest of the crowd. Last night, when they were at TakeSushi, Hyacinth had duly noted that both Yamamoto-san and Yamamoto-kun weren't there, but didn't think too much into it. Maybe she should have pressed, but she didn't want to seem too nosy. When they emerged out onto the roof, Tsuna yanked back and Hyacinth blinked as he scrambled to hide behind a nearby wall, crouching down. Hyacinth hesitated, glancing in between Yamamoto who stood on the edge of the roof, and back towards the guilty looking Tsuna.

Deciding that Yamamoto's risk of death outweighed Tsuna's feelings for the time being- she'd deal with Tsuna's probably guilty feelings after there was no risk of Yamamoto falling to his death.

"Hey, Yamamoto, this isn't funny!" Hyacinth scooted past her worried and tense classmates, briefly wondering why there weren't any teachers around. "You're taking it too far!"

"Heh. Sorry, but that's not true," Yamamoto didn't glance back at them. "After the baseball god threw me away, I have nothing left." Hyacinth twitched at the words. Okay, first of all, what the hell? Baseball god? Was that a thing? Was Yamamoto in a cult that worshipped said baseball god?

Wait, not important. "No way," one of their classmates muttered.

"He's serious!?"

"That fence is rusty and might fall apart any time, too," one of Yamamoto's fangirls cried. Hyacinth barely spared them a glance, stepping forward silently. She really didn't know how to approach the situation, never really sparing this scenario a glance at all in her quick-thinking mind. Still, he said that he had nothing left; did he really think that?

"Yo," Hyacinth spoke up, glad her voice didn't betray her inner nervousness. She licked dry lips, and Yamamoto seemed to perk up slightly, sparing a brief glance back towards her. "Um, what'cha doing, Takeshi?"

Yamamoto let out a sort of bitter laugh. It was really jarring to hear it from someone like him. Hyacinth crept closer, cautiously. Luckily for her, Yamamoto didn't react, even when Hyacinth came up beside him, carefully leaning against the fence. It was rusty, and old, and she made sure she didn't put too much weight onto it. "If you came to stop me, Hya-chan, it won't work."

"I- I didn't," Hyacinth offered, hearing the slight gasps of shock behind her. She stubbornly kept her eyes forward, staring down at the ground. Wow, they were really high up, weren't they? Something queasy lurched in her stomach, and she tightened her grip on the fence. While she liked being high up, she didn't fancy the idea of going the hard way down. "Just wanna talk, 'ya know?"

"Oh, so now you want to talk to me," Yamamoto told her, listlessly. Hyacinth jerked, momentarily surprised at the words. "Figures, huh? You seem to take a liking to no-goods like me, right?" He sent her a tired smile, and Hyacinth shrugged, unsure of what to say to that. Take a liking to no-goods like you? He was referencing her friendship with Tsuna, but did he really think that they both were no-goods?

"Wanna talk about it?" Hyacinth offered, still unsure. Concerned.

"What's there to talk about?" His smile was looking more and more tired, a bit more forced. Hyacinth shifted, worried. "I doubt you could ever understand, Hyacinth." His mouth tightened into a thin line, as he stared contemplatively down at the ground below them. "How could you ever understand wanting to die over failing at everything, right?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'failing'," Hyacinth shrugged.

Yamamoto's eyes sharpened on her, and his smile turned a bit colder. "Oh, do you not get the term? Because you're so awesome, right? Never failed at anything before in you life," he sounded vaguely disgusted. Hyacinth laughed, a bit surprised.

"No, no, I failed a lot of times, I think," Hyacinth grinned at him. "But if you're so afraid of failing all your life, then you'll always fail. You gotta look at it a different way, Takeshi-kun. People learn from failure, not from success." Yamamoto stared at her, almost uncomprehending, before jerking his gaze away, expression falling slightly.

"How can you still smile at a time like this?" Yamamoto asked her, words barely carried over to her. Any trace of his smile was gone, his expression tired, and blank. Hyacinth didn't know what to say to that, so luckily, someone interrupted so she wouldn't have to.

Tsuna stood a little ways, apart from their classmates. Yamamoto didn't show any sign of noticing, but Hyacinth had a feeling that he knew who it was all the same. Hyacinth sent an encouraging look towards her best friend, who sent her a quick, nervous, smile back. "Y-Yamamoto-kun," Tsuna stuttered, bowing slightly. "I want to apologize!"

Yamamoto glanced at Tsuna. "What for?"

"What I said yesterday was a...," Tsuna closed his eyes. "It was a lie. Saying you're so frustrated that you want to die, or you want to die because of a career ending accident... Unlike you, I've never had those kinds of intense thoughts. " Hyacinth inwardly huffed, letting Tsuna have his moment. She was glad that he was stepping up to admit his guilt, especially when he cowered earlier. Something must have changed in his heart, right?

Either that, or Reborn stepped in.

Man, she had to thank him somehow. Maybe a gift basket?

"In fact, I'm a pathetic person who would have regrets when dying," Tsuna continued, brittlely. "Thinking if I'm going to die, then I should've done it with a Dying Will. Thinking it's a waste to die from something like this...," Tsuna looked reminiscent. Hyacinth considered this, wondering if he was talking about his personal experience with the Dying Will bullet.

Did it feel like that for him?

Hyacinth wondered, once again, how it'd feel to be shot with the all-mighty bullet.

"Sorry," Tsuna apologized, again. He flushed horribly, and glanced away. He looked like he wanted to run far away at this point, and Hyacinth sighed, smiling slightly. She didn't really know what Yamamoto felt about this, but she was proud that Tsuna was able to get that off his chest. She turned towards Yamamoto, who was staring at Tsuna, contemplatively.

"You're right," Yamamoto admitted with a slight laugh. It fell a few millimeters short, but he looked more relaxed, and Hyacinth let out a low sigh, relaxing a bit more against the chain fence. "Ah, nothing good comes from my idiocy, haha," he glanced at the fence between him and the rest of the roof. "I'll guess I'll stop for now," he sighed, and Hyacinth nodded.

"Need help, or? How did you even get over there with a broken arm, anyways?" Hyacinth blinked. The danger had passed for now, but she had a lot to think about. She still felt worried for Yamamoto, who seemed a bit too nonchalant about this incident. Still, she'll tackle it when they're well, and away from the edge of the roof.

"Did it with my Dying Will," Yamamoto told her, jokingly. "I think I can jump over again."

"Wait," Tsuna stepped forward, looking momentarily panicked. "I don't think that's a good idea-"

Hyacinth had long since deduced that Tsuna had some sort of sixth sense when it came to falling. The rusty fence buckled underneath the weight of Yamamoto trying to jump back over, and Yamamoto fell backwards, surprise lining his face. Hyacinth, who had been leaning all too idly on said fence, fell with him with a surprised yelp, tumbling over the edge of the roof.

"Hya-chan! Yamamoto!" Tsuna cried out, amongst the screams of shock behind them. Hyacinth swallowed, the feeling of falling more terrifying than anything she felt in her life. Perhaps if she wasn't falling to her death, and instead sky-diving with a safety parachute, she'd find some type of enjoyment in the feeling; as it was, a scream was stuck in her throat.

Yamamoto stared up at her, breathing rapid and shallow. Hyacinth was tempted to grab onto him, onto something, to help them. As it was, the ground was approaching too fast, and Hyacinth glanced around, wanting some type of miracle to happen. I don't want to die, I don't want to die, Hyacinth thought wildly.

And she certainly didn't want to see Yamamoto splatter to bits before she met her untimely fate.

A miracle occurred when they passed by a window, and Hyacinth managed to catch a glimpse of Reborn. The now-familiar sound of a gunshot cracked the air, and Hyacinth barely had time to blink before she felt something impact with her forehead, the slight burning sting passing too quickly to register the intensity of it. Oh-

So this is what it feels like to be shot with a Dying Will bullet.

All she could think about was her regret of not being a good enough friend to Yamamoto. Even after her promise before the school year started, she felt like she failed on some type of level. All she could think about is how they both were going to die. She didn't want Yamamoto to die, especially when she still has a lot to make up for. Hyacinth didn't want Takeshi to die.

I want to save you.

"Reborn! Save Takeshi with my Dying Will!"

"Hyacinth!" Takeshi yelped, was Hyacinth angled herself to fall faster and catch up to him. Managing to grab onto him, Hyacinth tried to drag her feet alongside the outside walls of the school. Shit, she couldn't stop.

"Dammit," she cursed, liberally. At this rate, the only way to save him would to just use herself as some type of cushion for the other boy. Even then, falling at this height would still be harmful if there wasn't some type of way to ride out the momentum. Still, broken bones was survivable-

Another shot was heard, and Hyacinth felt something itch at her scalp. Too itchy! It was making it hard to think, dammit. Still, even then, her body fell reflexively so that the top of her head would hit the ground first. She clung tightly onto Takeshi, briefly surprised at the fact that she fucking bounced like some type of bouncy ball. Still, despite the lingering surprise, she felt happy that it happened. It helped relieve some momentum, and allowed her to land safely, still holding onto Takeshi bridal style.

Hyacinth set him down, feeling the inner, buzzing, flame sputter out. She blinked, even as Takeshi stared up at her, still looking surprised at the fact that they were alive. Hell, she was starting to feel the same, too.

"Takeshi, are you alright?" Hyacinth asked, falling to her knees beside the other boy. She glanced up at the roof, seeing her classmates staring down at them. They were too far away to see their reaction, but she could hear their disbelieving murmurs.

"Yeah," Takeshi sounded a bit dazed. "Hyacinth, you were amazing," he admitted, lowly. He laughed, something about the sound unlike any other laugh Hyacinth had heard from him. While it was different, it felt more- real. Though that could be attributed to the fact that both of them had just shared a near death experience together than any real amusement.

Hyacinth grinned, laughing slightly. "I guess that was pretty amazing, wasn't it?" She was inwardly over the moon. She was totally going to get Reborn something nice now! Maybe she could go to that cake shop in the downtown district of Namimori, and get him that expensive coffee cake that they were advertising.

"Hyacinth! Yamamoto!" Tsuna's voice startled them, both of them seeing Tsuna running over to them. He was panting, out of breath, and he looked immensely relieved. "You two are alright! I was so worried," he said, earnestly.

"Nah, it's cool," Hyacinth chirped. She puffed herself up. "Reborn-san pulled through for us, right?" Tsuna actually looked like he agreed, smiling slightly at her. Grateful couldn't even begin to explain her feelings towards the small baby.

"Oh, er, Hya-chan," Takeshi interrupted, kind of awkward. Hyacinth hummed, glancing at him. He had averted his eyes, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish laugh. "Your clothes are gone, Hya-chan," he explained, making Hyacinth blink and glance down.

"Oh. So they are." Hyacinth stated, unsure of how to really react. On one hand, this was basically exposing her to the world, but on the other hand, if the price of getting to live a little longer was public indecency, then she'd gladly pay it.

Tsuna sputtered, face red, even as he covered his eyes. "That's all you can say to this!?"

"Here, Hya-chan," Takeshi laughed, starting to unbuckle his pants. "I got a spare uniform in my sports locker, you can borrow my clothes for now." Hyacinth accepted the pants, pulling them up and tightening the belt so they wouldn't fall. The pants were longer than her legs, and she had to roll them then, Takeshi had managed to unbutton his school shirt and handed it over; a feat to be proud of, considering the fact that he had to maneuver around with a broken arm.

"Thanks, I owe you big time," Hyacinth told him, buttoning up the shirt. She glanced at Tsuna, who looked untimely relieved, making her inwardly roll her eyes. Man, he reads too much manga, she swears. And not even the good kind!

Probably the fan-service-y kind.

"Don't worry about it, Hyacinth," Takeshi smiled at her. "I think it's the other way around, haha," he grinned. He sounded too genuine, almost too much that it made Hyacinth uncomfortable. Still, if she felt this much gratitude towards Reborn, who saved her life, then she understands how Takeshi might feel.

By all accounts, she did the impossible to save both of them. "I want a free meal at your place," Hyacinth shrugged, and Takeshi blinked, before laughing. "That, and I think I want to upgrade our friendship to best friends. That means that I get to bug you a lot more than before, 'kay?" She smiled, hopefully, at him.

Takeshi considered her, before nodding slightly. "I think I'll like that," he said, with an easy-going smile, and Hyacinth inwardly fist-pumped. He glanced at Tsuna with the same smile, "both of you guys are pretty awesome, now that I think about it, haha. I wouldn't mind being better friends with you two."

As they started to head back inside the school building, to get their stuff, Hyacinth briefly wondered how'd Goku-baka would feel that he missed out on all the action, when he returned.

He'd probably be super jelly.

-0-0-0-

Reborn sighed, heading back to the Sawada residence to rest. Even if the day didn't go out exactly as planned, Hyacinth still managed to gain another member to add to the Family. While he felt slightly disappointed that it wasn't his dame student who managed to convince him, he still felt a smidge proud of the fact that Tsuna managed to step up and apologize to the other boy.

He'll make a mafia boss out of dame-Tsuna yet.

Besides, he consoled himself. Reborn was sure that there would be many more chances for Tsuna to properly prove himself to his potential Rain Guardian. He'll make sure of it.


Review, favorite, follow, or whatever you do on stories that you read.

I'm fried from writing.

That, and school starts up again this month. ;a;

-mms