The Child of the Sky thing is a reference to the Vongola rings. Since their souls leave an imprint on the rings and get placed in the Throne of the Sky, they aren't fully dead. Happy to see so many of you loved the fact Giotto was cheering Tsunami on last chapter though. XD


Tsunami wasn't the only one crying with relief when she found out Yusuke had a chance to come back. However that was the only bright spot.

It was going to take months for Yusuke to convince the god of the dead to come back. Months where his influence over the worst of the delinquents in town would go missing.

There was a major upset in the lines of power, and until he was back and active again it could mean untold amounts of problems. Which was why Tsunami was doing something she never would have considered a year ago, before Yusuke entered her life.

She was approaching Kyouya Hibari directly in his office to ask for his help keeping the "lesser carnivores" in their place.

"Enter!" barked the voice of Kyouya. It took everything she had not to flinch. He sounded pissed.

Hibari glared at the intruder. Sawada Tsunami was the weakest of the herbivores under his watch. Outside of her attempting to attach herself to a potential equal carnivore, she was uttering uninteresting.

So it was only natural he would be taken aback by her request to train her.

Hibari stared at her openly.

Sawada was an herbivore who almost never spoke up in class, and who was only now starting to come out of her introverted shell that she had been shoved in by the lesser herbivores. The mere fact she was openly asking him to train her in how to fight was something he never would have expected.

And if she was anyone else, he would have refused her on the grounds she was too weak to be of interest.

Except... this was a girl who was almost universally bullied, harassed and beaten up by the fake carnivores. She had zero friends until recently, and any other herbivore in her position would have tried to transfer to a new school or killed themselves under the strain. More to the point, she had enough strength to actually return to the lesser part of his territory on her own to befriend someone with a reputation almost as wide spread as Kyouya's own.

Which meant she had the potential to be a tiger cub, rather than the kitten he had always taken her for. And that made her interesting.

"Hmph. I have no patience to train a green horn, and I highly doubt you could be interesting enough to keep my attention as you are now in a fight," said Kyouya flatly.

She partially deflated.

"But..."

She perked up and he could see a fire in her eyes that was held in check by something.

"I do know someone that does train complete novices in martial arts. However if I give you his number I want you to agree to keep that damn carnivore far, far away from me," said Kyouya flatly.

"Okay," she said in relief. Then an idea occurred to her. Something to pay him back for the number. "On an unrelated note, exactly how often have you bitten any of the delinquents to death in recent months?"

"They're under my control, herbivore," he said darkly.

"Not all of them. Since Yusuke-nii won't be around for a few more months while he earns his way back, the ones on the other side of Namimori have lost the one keeping them in check. They're going to get very cocky and might even try to make a play for your half of the city until he returns..." she said, eyes gleaming.

Kyouya perked up at that. Though his eyes narrowed at her.

"What do you mean 'when he comes back'?" he repeated dangerously.

"Apparently his death wasn't on the books, so Enma-sama agreed to give him a chance to come back. Except it's going to take several months, during which time the idiots that were kept in check by his reputation are going to get ideas above their station and cause trouble in your territory."

Kyouya wanted to tell her that it was ridiculous, but there were things even he couldn't fully explain. Like the red flames that his uncle could use and kept pretending didn't exist. Or the hints of violet and indigo that sometimes manifested on his favorite weapons when he really got into it.

Well, he had been rather bored lately and there was no way in hell he was going to let some uppity delinquent try to cause trouble in HIS town. Even if he normally left the policing of that to the weaker carnivores like his men.

Hibari looked positively bloodthirsty at the idea of teaching more of the fake carnivores their place.

If nothing else, Sawada had just provided him a few months worth of entertainment.


Kyouya's uncle was tiny, but rather polite and highly amused at the fact his nephew had actually given his number to someone like Tsunami.

Fon was positively adorable. Her mother looked like she wanted to hug him to bits.

"So little one, you wish to learn how to fight?"

Tsunami nodded. They were in her room, mostly because her mother was busy cooking dinner.

"I know my big brother is working towards coming back after the accident, but it's going to take several months before he earns Enma's favor to return. And I have the feeling things are going to get very...interesting...when he comes home, so I want to be able to stand by his side and not as a potential hostage when he does."

Fon's serene smile almost cracked.

Most people would tell her that coming back from the dead and believing the gods would give someone a second chance to return was ridiculous.

Then again, most people weren't hit with a curse to turn a grown man into a toddler or work for the underworld where all manner of strange and bizarre things were almost commonplace.

It sounded rather far fetched, but not entirely impossible.

Besides, there was something about this girl that said she had a lot of power waiting to be tapped into if she had the right training.

"Very well, I suppose I could at least give you a thorough understanding of the basics," said Fon. "What do you know of martial arts?"

"Nothing at all. Before now I was more interested in escaping my bullies than trying to fight back. With how clumsy I am, showing any sort of backbone would be just begging for them to hit me harder," she replied honestly. "Never mind the fact that if I showed any real talent for fighting, there would be an almost certainty Hibari-san would have challenged me at some point to see if I was worthy of 'playing' with him."

If Fon had been drinking anything he would have choked in amusement. His nephew was rather...bloodthirsty. As a natural warrior it wasn't that big of a surprise he'd go after the stronger fighters to challenge himself.

"You're refreshingly honest, little one."

"I don't like liars. And I really hate it when people pretend they care when in reality they're faking it," said Tsunami flatly.

Like the man her mother insisted was her father. The one who was never around and the one time she almost begged him for help with the bullying he flat out ignored her.

Tsunami was of the strong opinion her father was dead, and that the man her mother claimed was him was some drifter who happened to look like him to the point he could fool her.

Fon's smile shifted, just a little.

"Well I promise that I'll try to be as honest as possible with you. If there's something that shouldn't be discussed I'll at least give you fair warning and not lie to your face."

Tsunami beamed at him. She liked him already.


The next morning...

Fon was awoken by a very odd experience.

"EXTREME!"

He looked so very much like Kyouya after a nap that it took him a few moments to register what had woken him up.

"Morning, little one."

"Morning, Fon-sensei."

"What on earth is making that racket?"

"Onii-san. He agreed to wake me up so I can join him in his morning runs. I haven't quite gotten to his level yet, but he never tries to leave me behind like some would. Even if Takeshi is such a bear in the morning..." said Tsunami cheerfully. She had already woken up five minutes earlier to change into her running clothes.

Fon blinked, still a little sleepy. To be fair, it was barely six in the morning.

Tsunami eyed his sleepy form before an idea occurred to her. She went into her closet and found a backpack that was still good and a pair of noise canceling headphones.

After Ryohei took notice of her, she bought a pair to dampen his "Extreme" habit of yelling loudly in the morning. She easily scooped up Fon and a light blanket for him to use as a pillow, and handed him the headphones.

It didn't take much for him to get the idea, and he easily fixed up a spot in the backpack (which was left open) before putting on the headphones and going back to sleep. He had the feeling his new student would wake him so they could get some morning training done before school.

"So who's he?" asked Ryohei at a slightly lower volume level.

"Hibari-san recommended him to me. He said he could teach me the basics of Chinese Kenpo," said Tsunami.

Ryohei blinked. Tsunami-chan had asked him to learn boxing, so he decided to have her join him in his morning runs to first get some stamina. She reminded him too much of Kyoko for him to teach her how to fight just yet.

"He sounds very extreme!" said Ryohei.

"I hope so!" she replied cheerfully.

The two ran at a sedate pace (for Ryohei) until they reached Takesushi.

"Morning," yawned Takeshi. He was not someone who enjoyed waking up early, and did so under extreme protest.

His father found it hilarious though.

Takeshi noticed the backpack.

"What's in..."

Then he heard a yawn almost as jaw-cracking as his own. A small head that looked far too much like Hibari Kyouya to be a coincidence wearing Tsuna's headphones popped out of the back.

"That was surprisingly relaxing," said the tiny person who had been snoozing in her backpack.

"Who is this?" asked Takeshi warily.

Tiny size, pacifier, and an aura that practically screamed dangerous...

He had to be an Arcobaleno, which meant mafia. His dad had been rather open about what he would be getting into if he decided to keep following Tsunami into those gambling dens...especially once he finally manifested the blue fire that his old man had.

Tsuyoshi didn't want his son to accidentally be roped into a dangerous Familigia without knowing the truth, and considering what he had done before he retired to raise his son in neutral territory, it was an almost guarantee he'd be noticed rather quickly.

"This is Fon. He's agreed to teach me Chinese Kenpo, or at least the basics."

Takeshi looked at Fon, before his usual fake smile plastered on his face. Fon immediately recognized Tsuyoshi but said nothing...though he was very pleased with the tea.

He had a new source of his favorite drink.

Ryohei left to continue his run, while Takeshi went through his morning routine of practicing with the bamboo sword his father gave him. Since they had a decent dojo, Tsuyoshi left Fon and Tsunami to practice in there. It wasn't like Takeshi took up that much space and it meant that Tsuna could get breakfast before she went to school.


Fon was Not Happy.

It wasn't that he was complaining about his newest student... the girl was a genuine delight to teach as she actually listened to his corrections without complaint and tried her hardest every time he told her to do something. Nor was he upset about the fact she had an amusing habit of cuddling with him at night, usually from the fact she was so exhausted she forgot he wasn't an actual toddler.

No, it had everything to do with the fact that some idiot had sealed a child with Active Flames when she was very young.

There was only ONE reason a Sky seal would be warranted, and he highly doubted a five year old (because her mother clearly remembered her daughter's personality shifting from happy and friendly to timid and scared when she was roughly around five years old) would have done something so heinous that a seal would be warranted.

If she had been latent, then it wouldn't have done much harm. At most it would have kept her from awakening her flames except in an emergency. But she distinctly remembered an incident before someone visited where she saw pretty flames on her hands. She couldn't remember the color, but she remembered that after the visit she never seemed to get warm at all.

Tsunami-chan had gotten used to the cold, but she didn't like it.

If Fon ever found out who was stupid enough to seal a child with active flames, he was so going to introduce them to his Storm Dragons.

Children were sacred, and Flame Active children doubly so. It was almost instinctive to protect and nourish such a gift, and for her to awaken so young meant she had a lot of potential inside her.

Well, far be it for him to let such a travesty continue. There were a few ways to break a seal, and he had little doubt her Flames had been trying to free themselves for years, especially with the intense bullying problem she had. All she needed was the right sort of push and some of the seal would crack. At least enough that he could work with it.


Three months later...

Tsunami was visiting Yusuke (she knew she couldn't "talk" to him while he was working to get his body back, but she still visited regularly) when she realized with horror that the house he lived in was on fire.

She knew there had been a string of arsons in the area (something that had pissed Kyouya off to no end) but she never thought his house would be hit as well. Plus with Atsuko's "cleaning" habits it was a veritable fire trap!

She didn't think twice, and barely registered Fon's cry of alarm when she ran in. He cursed and went in after her, already dialing Takeshi, Ryohei and Kyouya.

Tsunami reached Yusuke's room, and the front of the house was already engulfed in flames. Just touching the door when she reached him told her going out that way was a bad idea. And she wasn't about to open up a window.

She was trapped, and so was Yusuke.

Fon looked irritable. While he was technically flame proof to a point, his student wasn't. He could admire her loyalty though...not many would jump in without hesitation to save a friend in a burning building.

"EXTREME!"

Tsunami almost sobbed with relief. It was Ryohei!

She spotted Takeshi nearby.

"Stand back, and keep clear of the wall," he warned. She shifted her hold on Yusuke's still unconscious body. It was incredibly heavy and the smoke was making her dizzy.

Ryohei's fist broke through the cheap wall with ease, and within moments he had an opening big enough to carry everyone out.

However the sudden influx of oxygen created a flashover, and Tsuna was so very close to the flames.

There was a surge of energy around her and Fon, and the air seemed to clear for a few brief moments. Something inside her raged and lashed out, and for several moments her eyes went from a warm brown to a stunning amber orange color.

Takeshi helped her out while Ryohei easily carried Yusuke. Kyouya was annoyed, but helped to relocate the group to his home since it would mean less annoying questions from his father in the police force.

Keiko sobbed with relief when she saw that Yusuke was alright, even if she was surprised Tsunami had gotten there before she did.

However Fon's attention wasn't on Tsunami (who had passed out in Takeshi's arms from both the smoke and the sudden energy inside her) but on something above them.

Being an Arcobaleno had it's perks... including one he hadn't been aware of, like seeing the spirits of the dead. That or maybe it was just the after effect of whatever the boy and the blue reaper had done.

The teen looked like a delinquent, but Fon had little doubt he had sacrificed something important to protect them. Likely his chance at coming back to life.

Such loyalty...he hoped the gods of the dead rewarded such behavior appropriately.