AN: Hey! It's the next chapter! AND MORE REVIEWS AND STUFFS :P

Also I made this: youtube watch?v=mlLP_OELWfE (add the dot, com and slash in the middle lol)

It's a RebornxLambo vid, check it out if you have the time X3

chibi-shueiri: Yes, definitely! Though it's almost more like old feelings being realized lol, idk XP

Guest: I was worried we wouldn't live so I COULD punish Reborn, lol, but he has his reasons…to be revealed…

/ / /

/Six Years Ago/

A nine-year-old Lambo arrived in the Sawada household in a flash of pink smoke, just back from another trip to the future. Not exactly an unusual turn of events. He was constantly using the ten-year bazooka to run away from his problems, in this case that meanie Reborn.

What was unusual was when he arrived back in his time it was to see said man, towering above him, with his bazooka tucked under his arm.

"Hey! Stupid Reborn, did you forget? That belongs to Lambo, so you'd better give it back!" Lambo pouted. He was unable to hide his bazooka in his hair anymore since Mama had forced him to cut his ever-growing mess of an afro into something more tame, so he had fashioned a harness for it out of a few belts.

Very clever if he did say so himself.

Unfortunately his genius invention was left abandoned on the floor and the bazooka that should be in it was currently being held by his archrival, who had yet to answer him.

"Hey! Are you going deaf? You probably should get your ears checked since your getting so old!" Lambo grinned haughtily.

Reborn simply stared down at him, his dark eyes fixed on him, almost questioningly.

Maybe he really can't hear anymore? Lambo thought worriedly, but he quickly pushed it aside as Reborn finally answered him.

"You are too irresponsible to have such a powerful weapon, so I'll be keeping it from now on." The hitman stated as if it were the most obvious thing.

Lambo glared and stomped his foot. "That's not fair! You can't do that! That's mine!"

Reborn sneered. "I know that. What I'm wondering is how the Bovino gave such a powerful item to such a dimwitted kid in the first place. I suppose it's to be expected of such a lowly Famiglia."

The child growled, though tears were already gathering in his eyes. "The Bovino are great! You can't just-!"

"You'll never grow up properly if you keep hiding behind this thing." Reborn looked down at him sharply for a long moment, looking almost thoughtful. "Listen to me, a whiny brat like you can barely help this Famiglia, but the least you can do is not hurt it."

The dam broke.

Tears and snot streamed down Lambo's face, as he watched the man leave without another word.

The boy wailed for what could have been minutes or hours, before Fuuta and Nana found him. He had no idea how long it was. Time was relative to a child, and the only thing he had to go by was the sound of his own cries.

There was no way for him to escape anymore and it was all he could do to forget the piercing gaze and cruel words attached to the one who had taken that away.

/Present Day/

Lambo was panting so hard he was sure he was about to cough up his lungs by the time he finally stopped running, and then it was only because he nearly crashed into someone.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Oh my God! Lambo?"

The "someone", who turned out to be a rather cute brunette girl, just threw him a wide smile. He recognized her as one of the many girls who gave him Valentine's chocolates last year, but couldn't quite remember her name, though he knew by her friends that she was a little older than him.

"The one and only." The young man gave her his best smile, flirtatiousness practically second nature to him by now. "I'm afraid I can't remember your name…I feel ashamed for forgetting such a pretty face."

The girl giggled and slapped his arm playfully. "You know, silly! It's Giovanna, duh!"

"Of course…"

Giovanna gave him a once over. "Looking so good this early in the morning must be a crime. I look like a total mess." She pouted cutely, crossing her arms behind her back to accentuate her rather well endowed chest.

She was obviously fishing, but Lambo didn't mind biting, especially today. A pretty girl like this was the perfect distraction. "If you look like a mess I can't imagine how I must look. People are probably wondering what an attractive young woman, such as yourself, is doing with a no-good mafioso like me."

Giovanna clung to his arm. "That just means you can protect me right?"

Playing on the mafia card always worked. Even when he wasn't trying, the Vongola was prominent enough for him to get recognized. It was probably a good fifty percent of the reason he was so popular, not that he minded. Lambo had always liked attention, no matter who it came from.

"Why don't you come out with me and my friends tonight? It's just us girls so it'll be good to have a strong mafia boy like you watching out for us!" The bubbly girl suggested. "How's about it? I'll pay for drinks."

Lambo prided himself on never turn down an invitation, especially not from a lady, and this was no exception. In fact, the timing couldn't be better.

"Sounds good."

"Great!" Giovanna jumped, excitedly. "Meet us at L'ubriaco at ten then. You know where that is right?"

Lambo nodded.

"What am I saying? Of course you do!"

The girl finally released him and started to bound away. Before she was out of sight she turned back towards him on her heels.

"I'll see you then! And you better not be late mister, cause I'll be real mad!" Giovanna teased, then quickly skipped out of sight into the already thick crowd of people out for the early morning rush.

Finally, it seemed his day was starting to look up.

/

Reborn knew it was going to be a bad morning when Tsuna sat across from him at the kitchen table, tapping his fingers impatiently on the polished wood. He just wanted to drink his morning espresso in peace, but that clearly wasn't going to happen until whatever lecture the Vongola had in store for him was through.

Reborn set aside the less-than-impressive report that Yamamoto had given him to read over, delivering the stats from his latest mission – honestly that man would make a brilliant hitman, but he was as dumb as a sack of rocks sometimes – and looked at his ex-student.

"That was quick. I expected at least a day until it got back to you." Reborn stated. "Did the cow run crying to you?"

Tsuna crossed his arms, looking beyond peeved at him. "Should he have?"

"Not at his age."

"Reborn!"

The hitman smirked, tipping his fedora over his eyes. "You told me not to associate with him, but you forgot to take into account that he would still associate with me. I did what had to be done."

Tsuna stared at Reborn for a long moment, his eyes narrowed.

"What is this really about?"

Reborn's grin only increased. "Well well, No-Good Tsuna, aren't you observant for someone who couldn't even recognize me without the curse?"

The Vongola boss flushed. "Th-that was a long time ago! Besides, this isn't about me…"

"How are you so sure that this is really about anything? I did what you told me to do to the best of my ability." Reborn countered.

Tsuna hesitated, looking thoughtful. "I don't know anything for sure…I just get this feeling…"

Reborn stood. "Give this to Yamamoto. Tell him to read over the notes carefully and do better next time, or else I'll have to talk to him personally." He gestured towards the report left on the table.

"W-wait!" Tsuna jumped up. "You're leaving? Just like that? You haven't told me anything!"

Reborn suddenly frowned, looking as though he were having an unpleasant thought. "I know I've taught you to interfere when something is wrong in the Famiglia, but this time there's nothing you can do. This is something Lambo will have to deal with…"

Tsuna looked surprised that Reborn had actually used Lambo's name, but even more surprised at how he had trailed off. It was unusual for the hitman to get distracted like that. He was normally focused to the point where it was nearly frustrating, speaking with conviction and honesty to the point of rudeness.

"Alright." Tsuna sighed. "I'll let it go, but only because I trust you. You've never done me wrong before."

Reborn waited for a long moment before nodding and left just as he had at their first meeting.

The one that had started this whole mess.

/ / /

OH GOD! MORE DEVELOPMENT! *cries * I'm SO sorry : ( I would have added more, to this chapter, which was the plan, but that would have complicated how I wrote next chapter, with lots of details no one cares about...

I promise that exciting stuff happen next chapter, but hopefully you like this anyway, as I said before, lot of development to get out of the way, then good stuff, then a little more development with some good stuff and hopefully more good stuff!

THANKS YOU! R&R IF YOU CAN! :D