Warning(s): Shitty Grammar, OOC, mild language (Unbeta-ed)

Achromatic Sky
[4] Yellow Punch and Poisonous Ranking

"I'm so sorry for imposing this house for too long. We're leaving now," the baby with the Chinese dress said while bowing. Nana looked at the duo and saw the child with a tail head kept looking back. Noticing, or rather assuming that the child was looking at her son, Natsu. She beamed and said. "It's fine, it's fine. Do you have a place to stay? I insist. It seems that your lady friend there wants to be with my Natsu." She ushered the two babies back at the house. I-Pin made a confuse face because she was sure that who she wanted to see was named, Tsuna, and not some Natsu but she nodded anyway since she would get to be with Lambo's Tsuna-nii.

Fon, the other baby who has the same predicament as the hitman Reborn, kept sending his student worried glances. Due to his involvement in the mafia, he already knew that each of this people have ties in the mafia. As he only not have seen his old friend, Reborn hanging around the house, but also the feeling of someone's inner flame.

Fon felt the feeling of one of the rarest flame he had encountered, but he was sure that one was awaken, and the other was blooming. He didn't understand the whole situation, but judging from Reborn's troubled look when they talked on the roof of this house (even if the hitman only showed him impassive expression) Fon knew that something was up. And that something was bothering the hitman who Fon swore never had before. And as I-Pin's master, he didn't want his student to suffer more than she suffered enough in her early years. But seeing that smile pasted on her student's face, he wanted to actually meet the person whom I-Pin eagerly wanted to come back to.

I-Pin understands a lot of things in this cruel world. Yes, Fon already knew that even if Namimori looked peaceful at first glance, there would always be, always would be danger in any part of it. Fon knew that in this world, nothing, not even the place where light couldn't reach wouldn't be sufficed to be called as safe. It was the reality that Fon had to teach his student to know. Because I-Pin was a child that Fon treasured, his charge, and handing her to people who have ties in the mafia wasn't really boding in his vocabulary. He knew he was somewhat responsible for I-Pin's desire (or chose to be since she didn't have a choice) to become one of the hitmen in the world. But, I-Pin was only five and Fon wanted her to back down her dreams to become one of the murderers who didn't have remorse thoughts when they were assigned to kill and asked her to be just a normal girl.

I-Pin smiled at her master, knowing what he was thinking of her being normal. But no one treated I-Pin that way besides her master. It was a hard fact that she had to bear. When she started daycare (she's too smart for her own liking) she thought she could live in peace. But when someone tried to prank her (because kids were just that of a prankster) I-Pin managed to break the other's neck and sent him to the hospital, and then stayed there for at least a month. It was horrifying seeing that she not only hurt one of her innocent classmates, but her classmates feared her. It was a sickening fact that she knew she was beyond normal. She didn't belong to normal people, she belonged to the underworld where blood stains, smell of drying blood, screams of people dying, and everything that the underground had to offer was I-Pin's normal world.

Where she belonged because the day she opened her eyes, she knew she had no escape.

But I-Pin's hope sparkled when she saw the brunet. It was strange for her to even think of someone so dearly with just a matter of hours of meeting. But the way he interacted with her, laughed lightly watching over them until Maman (she got to call Nana that too) decided that it was time for dinner. I-Pin was not one of those who trusted anyone so easily, but in this Sawada Household, all she could feel was warmth that she never had the chance to treasure before. She wanted more, she craved for more of that warmth because she was reminded that even in this cruel world, there would always be someone who would treat her as normal. Not a hitman she was trying to be. Today, I-pin felt the feeling of being just I-Pin, the Chinese girl who have broken Japanese, a five year old little girl, and Lambo's favorite playmate.

It was nice, she thought. When she walked inside the house again, she fixed her blurry eyes to scan the room. She didn't get to see where Tsuna-Ge ge's (Big brother, I think in Chinese?) room was so she was going to explore. She looked at her master expectantly when they were both inside the house again, and said. "Master, can I go play somewhere?" She didn't realize that her voice almost sounded a pleading tone with a sound of giddiness in there, how I-Pin managed to do that, Fon would never know. He smiled a little and nodded. I-Pin bowed to him before moving upstairs but after asking for Nana's permission first.

It was already night time, and Fon felt restless so he sat down on the couch inside the living room, and decided whether he would take Nana's offer or not. For him, he was still skeptical because Nana seemed to be more clueless than he had given her credit for. When they ate dinner earlier, he already noticed that something was wrong. Fon was never to doubt his observation because he had lived on that ability, paring with Reborn's uncanny follow up mind works, Fon was never the one to be underestimated.

He already had a vague idea of what was bothering the hitman. Fon already had the information that Reborn was tutoring the soon-to-be-Vongola Boss, and from what he could see. The blond which was apparently called 'Natsu' was the one, but he couldn't take his eyes off the brunet on the other side of the table. Yes, he too also noticed how the brunet placed himself to the farthest chair from the table. It was as if he has some contagious disease, Fon mused, but he already had an idea what was happening when his eyes landed on Nana.

Nana Sawada, the mother of twins, Fon looked at her during dinner without her realizing that someone was staring at her. She didn't seem to mind, if even would she ever knew. That's how clueless and gullible she was. But Fon noticed how the twins, – he still hesitated to believe that the two teens were siblings, let alone twins – were different in all aspects. In just one simple dinner, he realized what was different.

Natsu was out-going, while Tsunayoshi was timid, Natsu was smart, Tsunayoshi was named Dame-Tsuna, but what difference they had the most was. Tsunayoshi understands what Fon taught I-Pin about the ruthlessness of the world, but Natsu doesn't. Fon was beyond surprised when he learned that fact during the time he was eating quietly. And he too didn't miss how Nana's look was something a mother shouldn't have when she has sons, let alone twins. She was comparing them. Most often than not, Fon would see Nana looked at her younger son, Natsu with proud, joy, and glee, while she would spare at least one at a time glance to his older, Tsunayoshi and sent him looks such as, disappointment, downcast, and stuff that weren't worth mentioning. For the umpteenth time, he had seen the unfairness of this world.

Really, and he thought it only happens underground.

.

I-Pin walked around the house before she spotted a casual door, but with a strange wooden Tuna-Fish designed on it. Thinking that it was safe to at least peak in a little, she did. Caution steps, she took, before revealing what caused her something she was so used to feel. Jealousy. There on the bed laid two figures. Lambo was snuggling to Tsuna as he always did since he favored being Tsuna more than with that Baka-Natsu and Reborn, and Tsuna was stroking his hair comfortingly while his eyes were closed. I-Pin looked away because as much as she wanted to go there and kick Lambo in the butt. She couldn't because she wasn't one of Tsuna-Ge ge's family. She only came here because of an assassination assignment which she completely forgotten that she had failed. Walking away, she looked one last time before attempting to close the door when suddenly someone opened it fully.

"I-Pin?" the voice asked, I-Pin looked up and saw Tsuna-Ge ge looking at her expectantly. She couldn't just say, "I invade your room, sorry" but still, she couldn't lie to him either. It was matter of life-and-death (at least she thought it was) when Tsuna-Ge ge crouched down to fully meet her eyes, and asked. "Do you want to sleep here?" She looked at him in surprise, saying insolent things! She wasn't supposed to agree because Tsuna-Ge ge was still a stranger even if I-Pin felt he wasn't.

But still… She nodded and Tsuna-Ge ge smiled at her again. Those smiles, it was one of the memory she would treasure the most when she would fly away again. The thought of leaving sent a pain in her chest, but it was completely forgotten when she was tucked in the same as Lambo's before and she was cradled with Tsuna-Ge ge's arms together with Lambo on the same bed. "Good night, little I-Pin."

His voice said and I-Pin found her eyelids starting to close. She didn't really plan on sleeping here, all was she wanted to know where Tsuna-Ge ge's room was, but this warm… She couldn't let it go. Because for the first time, someone treated I-Pin as gentle as this man could be. So once she settled in a comfortable position with Lambo beside her, she cradled, heaved a sigh, evening her breathing while her head placed next to Tsuna-Ge ge's open arm before her eyelids gave out, she whispered,

"Good night, Tsuna-nii."

.

Gokudera wondered sometimes if he was doing the right thing. If he was really following the right boss, but once he thought of doubting his boss, he would bang his head on the wall. It was a sign of insolence (at least in his vocabulary) because he dared think less of the supposedly Vongola Decimo. Right now, they were in some basement that his boss claimed to be theirs – saying that it would be their temporary base before he was officially elected as the Vongola Decimo.

Gokudera noticed that Reborn-san wasn't on Natsu-sama's shoulder today. Gokudera already knew who Reborn was from the beginning. But he still didn't get why Reborn-san was a baby. From what he could tell, Reborn-san wasn't a normal baby compared to that annoying stupid cow that dared to live under Natsu-sama's mother's care. It was unforgivable, but Natsu-sama said that he didn't mind. See, how kind he was? Why would he even doubt his own leader? And Gokudera would always proceed to bang to his head on some wall, window, door, or anything that would draw blood on Gokudera's forehead.

They were discussing some things about guardians and stuff, Gokudera has a lot more knowledge about this stuff, but Natsu-sama told him to bring them coffees. Of course, he obeyed seeing that he was going to be the right-hand-man of Vongola boss so he should be more prepared to serve the boss anytime. He smiled. One of the rarest smiles he only gave to his mother whom he didn't know was his mother at that time, when someone actually accepted him. He lived alone, he grew up alone with only little supervisions from his father, but Gokudera always felt alone. Even with his sister being there, he still felt alone.

But when he found the Decimo, and accepted him whole-heartedly (heh) he swore he would protect this man. Gokudera Hayato was an illegitimate child, and half-breed children were always ostracized in the mafia. He was a sign of mistake, an epitome of why mafia bosses shouldn't mess around, he was a reminder of one terrible mistake, and he was raised with that conclusion in mind. He was raised to be independent, to be able to defend himself, but once he felt the loneliness his mother left him the days he thought she was just some random lady, and died during his birthday without him knowing that she was his mother, it was something that could tear Gokudera down.

He lived in Italy with constant fights the moment he thought of running away was more than better than to stay in that disastrous mansion where everyone didn't accept him as him. For them, he was nothing but a mistake, a fluke, something that no one would ever acknowledge. But once the boss of Vongola held his hand for him to stand up, he knew he would turn blind eye just to follow this man. He was the one to first accepted him, he was the one who never pried on his privacy, he was the one who saved him from going crazy, he was the one who made him understand that his boss would never threw him away like how mafia bosses did to him, and he was damn proud of himself for gaining his boss's trust. Heh.

He would turn blind eye from everything. He wouldn't be swayed by Natsu-sama's twin. He wasn't going to be drawn in that smile, because Gokudera swore on his grave that Natsu-sama was his boss. The one he would follow to the ends of earth. Even if he die protecting the boss he was so thankful for. Because once Gokudera Hayato threw his dynamites, he was risking his life. He was fighting not for his own, but fighting for his boss. The boss who lightened his black and white world, he would do anything, even if it that meant for him to turn blind eye, and forgot about how many facts his boss wasn't qualified to be one of the Vongola Bosses he admired and despised.

Because, he knew from the back of his head that Sawada Natsu was not to be fitted as the crowned Vongola Decimo.

.

"Kyoko, you're hanging out with that monkey too much." A student wearing the Namimori High girl's uniform with violet wavy hair complained as she looked at her best friend's dreamy state. Kurokawa Hana despised monkey people, especially the kind of the monkeys, like Gorillas. She didn't like Sawada Natsu at all, but she couldn't do anything since her best friend was infatuated with the boy. She couldn't blame her with that because the boy has the talent of playing on words. And being the dense Sasagawa Kyoko as her best friend was, she would totally like the boy.

And it irked her to no end. Everyone in this school was all bunches of monkeys that should belong to the jungle and never here in Namimori High where they could crowd around her. It sent chills on her spine and she would have hives whenever they were near her, like how she reacted with annoying little brats. But those didn't stop whenever she sees that Sawada brat, the leader of the monkey kingdom since the Sawada brat already announced that he was the boss. Whenever Hana sees that blond, all she wanted to do was grab some bucket of water, and threw it to the blond to have some sense of the difference between reality and delusions.

Really, and this didn't also help when Kyoko told her that she was dating that gorilla. It almost took her at least a three-hour-straight-lecture on her best friend on why she shouldn't be dating that monkey. But to her own despair, the orange sunset best friend of hers didn't even bother to listen to her during her ranting. She just stared into space and looked dreamy, a look that Hana was proud herself she didn't puke. It was a look pure of adoration, praising, and stuff that should fit anyone but Sawada Natsu. That guy was an eyesore, to be honest.

"He's really nice Hana. You should give him a chance." Kyoko scolded a little before going back to her Lala land. Hana snorted but didn't say anything. It was fruitless to have some sense with someone who was obviously not going to listen even if how many hours she spared. Then her ears prickled when she heard the shouts of EXTREME from what she deduced were on the first floor. And take note, they were at the third floor of the school. She sighed and rubbed her temple. Here comes the idiot.

"Kyoko! Where have you been to the EXTREME?! I've been EXTREMELY looking for you! Where is your EXTREMELY annoying boyfriend?! I need to make him EXTREMELY join the EXTREME boxing club!" He yelled as soon as he got the image of his sister. Hana sighed, remained in her footing, but not before adjusting her earbuds that she successfully placed before the idiot brother of her best friend came. For some reason, this guy didn't seem to be unfazed from anything.

"I've been here the whole time, onii-chan." Kyoko chided before turning his head to Hana who purposely ignored the both of them, much to her embarrassment, and her boyfriend appeared out of nowhere. "Oh, senpai! What's up?" Ah, Kyoko stood dreamily as she inspected her boyfriend, ogling every part her eyes darted on. Hana snorted behind her, but she paid no mind. Natsu was perfect, Kyoko concluded.

"Join the boxing club to the EXTREME!" His brother yelled and Kyoko wished she could die in embarrassment. Don't get her wrong, she truly loved her brother, but sometimes he really was just an idiot who kept running around the whole campus shouting something like how EXTREME manly the other karate members were, and then he would recruit them much like how he was doing to her Natsu.

"Sorry, senpai. I have baseball and soccer practices every morning and afternoon so I don't really have that much time for another sport. Maybe next time, 'ne?" Natsu flashed his ever knowing smile that Kyoko fascinated, girls swooned over, boys envied for, Ryohei hated, and Hana could possibly be more on the same side of Kyoko's brother's side in agreement. In Hana's calculating gaze, she knew that something was wrong with Natsu. It wasn't just her gut telling her that this man has something up on his sleeves, but what she also observed through her keen eyes. No one, not even pests escaped her experienced eyes to determine in one person's persona which was real and which was not. And this smile of his? It disgusted her.

Sasagawa Ryohei was the kind of a man who always looked at life in the bright side. He was optimistic, strong, and he believed that everything has solutions. Solutions that not involved so many complicated things such as planning. Ryohei was more of an improviser because whenever there was an obstacle that he had to face, his fists were glowing like yellow. Pumping to the air gives him the reassurance that with boxing he would be able to face anyone. And yes, Sasagawa Ryohei was undeniably devoted to his little sister, Sasagawa Kyoko.

To him, she was the most important sister in the world that he could ever wish for. She was nice, kind, open-minded, innocent, contented, happy, and always supported him on everything he does. So he always trained in his gym, always had his jogging in the morning, and only one thing was running through his mind whenever he trained himself to be the strongest, it was the thought of protecting his little sister from any harm. Ryohei promised to himself that whenever he was near, or even far away from his little sister, if she ever gets in trouble, Ryohei would fly the ocean if it's needed.

He always supported her decision whether it was to bring her best friend Hana to their house, or if it's about the projects they had to do in their house. He always welcomed them because they were Kyoko's friends, but when his little sister introduced her boyfriend to him, he felt his knees go numb. It wasn't because the guy didn't appeal anything to him. It was because Kyoko already found someone, someone that could take care of her besides him. Protecting Kyoko has always been Ryohei's job as her big brother, but Ryohei had to remind himself that Kyoko would be growing up soon enough without him realizing. It just dawn to him, and bam! He realized how his mind was still stuck from the past. Where a little Kyoko came crying to him because he got beat up, and she was worried.

He didn't see this coming.

He hadn't noticed that Kyoko was silently growing, leaving him behind the past. He was still the Ryohei that promised to protect Kyoko from dangers with his fists. He was still inclined to the fact that Kyoko needed him when they were younger, still does. Now that he saw how Kyoko looked at her boyfriend, that's the only time he saw how much years he was left behind. But once his eyes landed on those green eyes that captivated his little sister, he wasn't sure if he could hand her over. There was uncertainty, but Ryohei couldn't read the other's eyes. It was as if a deep core that no one was allowed to enter besides its master. He wasn't going to object in her sister's relationship, but once this bastard even dared to hurt his little sister.

He would show him how blinding his fists were.

.

Natsu was starting to feel a little creep out now. He has gone out from the school earlier and when he stopped to some vending machine. A girl came up from behind him and gave him a soda. Feeling a little creep out, he passed by her without even noticing that he has already taken the soda to his own. The girl from the background smirked before hiding in the shadows. Natsu kept his gaze indifferent even if inside he was fuming.

He could still feel the girl was behind him. Preparing for attack, that Natsu had no clue on why he was even targeted by some random woman in public. He walked faster than his normal and people think he was just running, but no. He was skipped walking because he didn't want to be the center of attention. Sure he enjoyed the spotlights, but not when people were not around to praise him. Natsu was more than willing to show his own emotion. He remained impassive, only a corner of his mouth twitched. The woman behind him laughed lightly creating more impression to him that she was crazy.

When he reached his house, he didn't know he was holding his breath because once he reached their gate, he came out of breath. The woman smirked behind but Natsu couldn't see it. Natsu entered the house, saying "I'm home," shakily before flopping down next to the couch. But he was surprised when the door opened harshly and widened his eyes when the woman appeared and said,

"Prepare to die!"

.

Bianchi, a gorgeous woman who has pink hair and has green eyes almost similar as someone who has silver hair, had never really hid her dislike to the Decimo. He not only took her beloved, Reborn, he also took his brother, Gokudera. She didn't like it. She was observing the Decimo for the past three days now and all she could say was that, "Pathetic."

That guy made her blood boil, and all she wanted was to snatch her brother and run away with Reborn. But she knew she didn't have that privilege, so all she could do was stand back. But then she has an idea. What if she killed him accidentally? Sure, she could just say that he ate her poison cooking on his own and then died because of it. She was sure no one would notice (she didn't really know or chose not to know that her dishes has purple smokes, but no one dared to even questioned her cooking with love) that she made him eat her poison cooking.

Nodding her head, she decided to do the annihilation (heh) today. And that's how she found herself following the little shrimp to his house jumping most of the time when she decided to show her shadow. It was amusing really because from what she had gathered, the shrimp was popular and considered smart and strong. But seeing this state of his? Hah, Bianchi felt the victory in her hands. Reborn would be hers again and Hayato would be away from this little shrimp. Who knows? So when the little shrimp went inside the house, she swiftly barged in (read: force).

"Prepare to die!" she yelled with force and threw her dishes (so much for her plan of making him eat on his own). She saw his eyes widened but then she heard a gunshot from the background, and Natsu swore he saw hearts in her eyes. Bianchi abandoned her previous doing and scooped Reborn up from the head of the boy who she had not recognized and rubbed her cheeks to the other's baby cheeks.

"Reborn! Do you know that crazy woman?!" Natsu asked from the background. Tsuna, who has been standing from the doorway with Yamamoto on his side slipped inside without saying anything after bowing slightly to the woman who nodded in return because it looked like they weren't supposed to be involve anyway. "Dame-Tsuna, why are you with Reborn?! And Yamamoto?!" Natsu added, and Tsuna stopped his tracks. He faced his brother, as much as he didn't want to, and titled his head on the side. Natsu was about to say something harsh again when Yamamoto beat him to it,

"As much as I want to chat with you, Natsu, but Tsuna and I need to do our homework. So, we really need to go now," Yamamoto supplied with an easy grin, but when Tsuna and he were walking to the stairs where Natsu was near, Yamamoto added in a stiff tone, his smile not reaching his eyes, and said, "Please. Don't ever call Tsuna, Dame ever again when I'm within reach." And his eyes completely change to an easy grin he has earlier and pardoned his intrusion to no one. Tsuna was nowhere to be seen before that so he didn't have a clue.

Natsu completely stood still, not imagining that someone even raised a voice in him, especially Yamamoto Takeshi. The one who has the same status as him raised his voice at him, Sawada Natsu. The campus prince, damn he had never felt this pathetic before. He looked at Reborn's side and saw the baby still in hold of that crazy woman, he was about to turn his back, when Reborn called him.

"Baka-Natsu, this is Bianchi. She's going to teach you about cooking." Reborn said his fedora bent down covering most of his eyes. That action Yamamoto Takeshi, the one Reborn deemed of being a born hitman, pulled an easy one with his student. From then on he knew, that no one even him could break the bonds within the two. For the baseball player to leave Tsuna alone and start hanging out with Natsu, it was impossible to accomplish. To Yamamoto, Tsuna was a friend, and Tsuna felt the same. It's an unbreakable bond that was built during the short amount of time.

Again, Reborn cursed Iemitsu.

Natsu seemingly overcoming the shock of being told by not only one ordinary teen, but by one Yamamoto Takeshi looked at Reborn incredulously. "She's going to tutor me? Are you crazy?! And why do I even need to learn cooking anyway?" Reborn wanted to facepalm because that answer should be obvious by now, but no. Natsu apparently didn't know what the answer was. Natsu looked at Reborn for explanation but, he was ignored. The baby and the crazy woman left him in the living room, and his jaw dropped.

"What just happened?"

.

"I don't like him, Reborn." Bianchi bluntly said when they left the living room. Reborn looked at her before sipping his coffee and said, "You don't have to. Just teach him your knowledge in cooking because he will need it someday." Bianchi looked at him, but she didn't say anything. She didn't question Reborn because she always respected how the hitman's mind worked. It was something that she wanted to know, but she didn't want to ask.

She was afraid to ask.

Bianchi wasn't someone to be intimidated with neither enemies nor strong allies. She was strong herself, but she knew her limits. She was born in a wealthy family that no one really cared. It was a fact that she had to bear for the rest of her life because she was born in the Mafia. In mafia, trusts wouldn't get you anywhere. In mafia that she learned, cruelty only ruled people. Bloodshed, blood drips, it was the environment she grew up in.

Bianchi almost thanked the gods when she heard her brother ran away. But not after learning that Hayato's mother died that she cursed under her breath. She was young, but she was matured. She knew how to handle herself as much as she knew how Hayato could handle his. But once she learned that Hayato ran away after hearing his mother's death, she knew she couldn't protect him anymore like the way she used to. Hayato changed and she did too. But still, there's still this lingering fact that Hayato was her brother, half or not. They were related by blood.

Bianchi swore that she would protect him, but the more she looked at it, the more she knew that he was getting farther and farther away. She couldn't blame him though because she knew that Hayato blamed the Mafia for killing his mother. Even she would hate this world if she ever known that the person she thought was just a regular visitor happened to be her mother and she only knew it the day she died. Bianchi tried to put her place on her brother's shoes, and she was right.

It hurts.

It hurt Hayato to the very core that he ran away out of depression. But Bianchi knew that her brother was strong. So when she saw him all giddy about that little shrimp, she didn't know if she was even seeing the same person anymore. She wanted to protect him, but she couldn't since he was pushing everyone away. He was pushing all the people he acquainted in the past, and she couldn't blame him because if she was in her brother's shoes, she would have done the same.

So, that's why she wasn't intimidated in anyone that looked stronger than her. Because she already had the resolve that she would live until she proved to her brother that she could protect him. That he could rely on her even if they were only half-siblings. But Bianchi knew that only one person could scare her, surprise her, intimidated her, and shut her.

It was Reborn, her beloved.

.

"Yo, Tsuna!" Yamamoto greeted when Tsuna walked out of the house for their school with Lambo and I-Pin on tow. Yamamoto liked the kids too because they were a unique bunch and Yamamoto liked eccentric stuffs. He looked at his friend, and waved. His friend waved back before crouching down to talk with the two kids. It still amazed him how Tsuna could calm down Lambo. Yamamoto had to admit, the kid was a spoiled brat. But once he looked at Tsuna, the kid would go quiet but there's admiration in the kid's eyes. It was something Yamamoto understood greatly.

"Let's go to school!" Yamamoto grinned, ruffled Tsuna's brown lock hair, slung his right arm to Tsuna's shoulder, and waved goodbye to the two kids. Yamamoto looked at how Tsuna softly smiled before closing his eyes, and opening them again. Why hasn't he noticed Tsuna before? That's always the question that bugged Yamamoto ever since he found out that he and Tsuna were in the same class. But then he would just smile and say to himself that, "At least I know him now." He was really grateful.

Before, when he woke up he would practice stretching his lips to form smiles and stuff. He would look at the mirror and asked, "Who are you?" And then he would bitterly laugh because he knew who was behind the mirror. It was him. It has always been him. He didn't even know if he knew himself anymore. But once he found Tsuna, under the rain, he looked at the mirror again. And then he asked the same question, "Who are you?" The answer to the question was different than before. He would laugh lightly, smiled, waved, and say, "Yamamoto, long time no see!"

He looked at his friend. Really, it still wonders him on why Tsuna accepted him without hesitation. Without even asking what his intention were. They were friends only for a short time, but he couldn't help but think that they were more than before. It was as if telling him that they had been destined to be friends before. Sounds cliché, but he wanted to believe that he and Tsuna were friends. And he liked that fact. Even if Tsuna didn't talk that much, Yamamoto didn't mind the silence. It was the silence that he didn't know he wanted for so long.

He was thankful and he was not going to complain because once he looked at Tsuna. He knew he had a friend. A friend that he could count on and a friend he vowed to protect. Tsuna's smile was the prospect Yamamoto always wanted to see. The smile that always told Yamamoto that he had a friend, that he had a friend who wouldn't care if he failed. It was a proof that Tsuna was his friend. The friend that accepted him as him, the aspiring baseball player who was the son of the owner of TakeSushi, and not some Yamamoto Takeshi who was the famous Namimori baseball player, to Tsuna, he was his friend.

One time Yamamoto asked Tsuna, "Hey Tsuna, what do you think of me?" Tsuna looked at him with those brown eyes that held the innocence Yamamoto wanted to protect. But he knew that behind those eyes, Tsuna knew what the world has to offer. Tsuna looked at him that time and said, "My friend." That simple answer made Yamamoto grinning the whole day. It was as if he won the lottery, no, even better than that. So when he got the chance, he asked Tsuna to come to his place.

Yamamoto was grinning like an idiot and only stopped his trance when Tsuna held his hand, and said in a quiet voice, "We're late!" Yamamoto grinned and ran as fast as Tsuna. Man, he still couldn't believe how fast Tsuna run whenever they were at least five minute late. He enjoyed those, anyway. When they broke into a run, Tsuna sighed, and said. "We made it." Yamamoto laughed heartily before he slung his arm again at Tsuna's shoulder and they walked inside the room.

There were some things that Yamamoto didn't like, but most often than not, they were all trivial matters. Such as he didn't like summer as much as he liked winter, something along those, but there's one thing he hated. It was when people whispered behind his back. No, don't get him wrong. Yamamoto couldn't care less about those, but the one he worried the most was Tsuna. He always knew that Tsuna was called Dame from all the people inside the campus because of his inability in sports, clumsiness, and his low grades compared to everyone Yamamoto knew. But Yamamoto knew better because Tsuna was great. And Yamamoto could see that more than anyone else.

"Dame-Tsuna, you forgot your ass in your seat!" And all the students laughed inside the classroom. Tsuna sunk lower to his seat, Yamamoto on his side, and faced the window instead. Yamamoto frowned, the thing that he rarely did. And looked at his classmate, he smiled sweetly, too sweet in everyone's liking, before Yamamoto narrowed his eyes. And they all stopped laughing, afraid of what Yamamoto would do.

Yamamoto looked at his friend, sighed, and smiled again. He moved his arm chair next to Tsuna, and said. "Hey Tsuna, want to come to my house?" Tsuna looked at him in surprise, and then broke into a smile before nodding. Yamamoto grinned. Completely ignoring all the curious glances from the boys, the jealousy from most of the girls, and Natsu's glares as he blabbed on and on and Tsuna simply listened.

Once the school was over, Yamamoto wanted to jump in glee. Tsuna was coming over and he was excited. It was the first time he would bring a friend in his house. And he couldn't wait to introduce Tsuna to his father. Once he and Tsuna were walking down the street, he was grinning like an idiot as he and Tsuna were walking side by side. Yamamoto could tell that Tsuna was nervous, and couldn't help but laughed lightly. Tsuna could be like an innocent kid if he was at it.

They walked in a comfortable silence before Yamamoto stopped. Tsuna stopped too, and looked at Yamamoto questioningly. He grinned before sliding the door to his father's restaurant. "Welcome to TakeSushi!" His father chided. Yamamoto entered the Sushi restaurant with Tsuna on tow. "Oyaji!" Yamamoto called and his father broke into a grin before his eyes landed on the brunet.

Yamamoto rubbed the back of his head, and said, "I brought a friend." Yamamoto Tsuyoshi's grin widened and ushered both students inside.

Once they settled, Tsuyoshi made his son enter the kitchen, before nodding in Tsuna's approval which Tsuna returned shyly. Once both son and father were inside, Tsuyoshi spoke first. "This is the first time you brought a friend, Takeshi." He said and was a little surprised when his son looked at him straight in the eyes, smiled before looking at the other side of the restaurant where Tsuna was sitting comfortably, "I did, huh?" Tsuyoshi's grin turned into a soft smile while looking at his son.

It almost felt nostalgic when Tsuyoshi looked at his son. On the day his wife died, Takeshi's smile felt strain. Of course he knew. He was Takeshi's father after all. He always worried that something might happen to his son in school and he wasn't even there to look out for him. But when that rainy day his son asked for his permission that he would stay in a friend's place, Tsuyoshi's eyes softened because the tone his son used was something Tsuyoshi missed. It was the tone that his son used whenever he was talking about something or someone special. And so, he granted his permission. That day when Takeshi came back home, he wasn't surprised to see when his son grinned, and smiled at him. That smile he always longed for since the day his light left him behind.

Starting that day, Takeshi seemed to be getting more like his old self. And Tsuyoshi was happy and grateful of whom this person was that Takeshi took high greatly of care. He was waiting patiently for his son to bring his friend and once he did enter with someone right now, he couldn't believe that someone as fragile as that one was able to bring his son to his old self. He really wanted to know what was so special about the brunet, so once they were done talking. Tsuyoshi excused himself to make some sushi.

Tsuyoshi brought the different kinds of dish that he prepared only for Takeshi's friend. The friend smiled gratefully at him and Tsuyoshi's eyes softened. Now he knew why Takeshi looked so happy around the brunet. It was that smile that looked so familiar and eyes that held innocence. A smile that only dedicated to someone his son's friend looked at. It was a smile with no malice. And Tsuyoshi could only look at the sky, his son laughing in the background with something Tsunayoshi-kun did, closed his eyes, and whispered to himself.

"Dear, our child is back."

.

When Tsuna entered the house, he wasn't surprised when I-Pin and Lambo tackled him on the ground. He chuckled lightly before picking the two kids up. He still didn't understand why I-Pin was here, but he was most likely welcomed in their house. Fon-san was someone he took greatly admired of, like how he looked up to Reborn. They were different, he knew. But Tsuna enjoyed their company too, so he wasn't going to complain.

Lately, Tsuna's life had been more cheerful than before. And he wouldn't complain because he was happy too. To have Yamamoto as his friend, Lambo as his little brother, I-Pin as his little sister, Reborn and Fon as his uncle (which was odd). They were like the family he wanted to have. And he couldn't ask for more because he was contented just seeing them smile before him. It felt new to Tsuna because no one had ever smiled on him before. People he encountered were all looking down at him and muttering something that always suspiciously around the lines, "Why can't he be like his brother?" But he never said anything back because they were right.

He wasn't his brother.

He was just Dame-Tsuna and nothing more. But when Reborn, Lambo, I-Pin, Fon-san, and Yamamoto came, then he now had something to hold on. That he would stay on this dreamland. Even if he closes his eyes, and woke up with no one but him inside his room, then he would still smile. Because over his dream, he learned, he felt, he treasured, and he understood the meaning of family and joy.

.

The boy with brownish eyes and hair was running with his might because if he didn't, he would get caught and that would be bad. Fuuta de la Stella stopped his tracks and breathed heavily as he clutched on his chest tightly because of hunger and exhaustion. He waited for a while to see the men in black changed direction, and he sighed. Panic arose inside him when someone placed their palm to cover his mouth, he almost screamed, but stopped when the person holding him said, "I-I w-won't h-hurt y-you. J-just k-keep q-quiet so they won't find out you're here. They're chasing you, right?" the person said from behind and Fuuta found himself nodding.

They stayed there for a couple of minutes before the person behind him sighed and removed his palm. Fuuta turned his heel to person behind him and was surprised when the person smiled at him and said, "You okay?" Fuuta nodded, still glued to his place before the person tilted his head to the side and said, "Do you have a place to stay?" Fuuta shook his head numbly and stared at the person's hand who grabbed his arm, and they started walking.

Fuuta found himself looking up to the man who just happened to past him, and smiled. Fuuta was a special kid that every mafia don wanted to have. He has the abilities to rank which Famiglia was going to be a good alliance to each, and he could rank anything from the useless things to great things. It was said that he met at least 86,202 people and mafia locals were eager to get their hands on him that's why they were chasing him earlier.

This man, Fuuta mused, felt different. There's something that pulled Fuuta to this man, and he couldn't get away. It was a feeling, but he couldn't put a finger on it. Fuuta just knew that this man, whoever he was, was different from all the people he had met. And he never betrayed his feeling before.

The man stopped in front of a two-story house and led Fuuta inside. The man smiled at him and Fuuta felt that he needed to treasure that one. When they entered, a woman who held a great resemblance to this man in front of him, welcomed them, and said, "You don't have a home? Of course, I don't mind!" She smiled down at him and ushered them both inside. The man, whom Fuuta still didn't know the name, smiled down at him before saying, "Feel at home. She doesn't care if anyone lives here. You can play with Lambo and I-Pin." Fuuta looked at the man before turning his head to the side when he heard someone screaming.

The man, whom Fuuta still didn't know the name, ran to the living room, and went back to where Fuuta was holding two children on each side. Fuuta tilted his head to the side, before breaking into a smile. The kids looked down at him before the kid with the afro said, "Ne ne, you wanna be Lambo-sama's slave? Ne? Ne?" Lambo looked at him then broke into a laughter joining the girl whom Fuuta presumed I-Pin was the name, and the man holding them let the two down.

The man smiled at Fuuta, held out his hand, before saying, "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. Nice to meet you." Fuuta returned the smile, ignoring for a little while the ruckus behind him, taking the hand hesitantly before saying, "Fuuta, Fuuta de la Stella. Nice to meet you too," he smiled shyly. Fuuta didn't know how to react if this man used him too, or throw him away because he was part of the mafia, but once he looked at that smile, he couldn't help but return the smile as warm as possible.

Sawada-san crouched down to reach his level, ruffled his hair, before saying, "You don't have to be so formal, Fuuta." And then Sawada-san turned to Lambo and I-Pin who were fighting in the background. Lambo immediately quiet down as soon as he felt that his Tsuna-nii was looking at him and I-Pin did the same. They both waited for Tsuna-nii/Tsuna-Ge ge to scold them both for being noisy, but then he smiled at them, and said, "Ne, I-Pin, Lambo, can you play with Fuuta? Tsuna-nii has homework do." The two children immediately nodded, smiling proudly, and Tsuna patted both their heads, and said, "Thank you," turning his head to Fuuta, nodded, and headed to his room.

Once Lambo was sure that his Tsuna-nii wasn't there anymore, he approached the kid who was named Fuuta. "Ne, do you know? Tsuna-nii is Lambo-sama's big brother." He said smugly then I-Pin looked at Fuuta, she nodded, and said, "Tsuna-Ge ge is nice," she said in broken Japanese. Fuuta smiled before nodding his head, and soon Fuuta found himself enjoying the game his playmates wanted to play, Tag.

When night came, he walked to where Lambo was sleeping, and wasn't surprised when Tsuna-nii was there. He decided that he would call Tsuna-nii, Tsuna-nii because once he settled next to Tsuna-nii's bed, snuggling like how I-Pin and Lambo were doing. He brought out his ranking book, and quietly he did his thing with things floating in the air for seconds, before everything went back to its own place like nothing happened, and Fuuta smiled before his eyes gave up. In his ranking book, a sentence was written that made his day. Because inside his book, it says…

"Sawada Tsunayoshi ranked number 1 out of 86,202 people in the Mafia that will not use Fuuta de la Stella."

.

Next Chapter: Carnivorous Violet and the Other Sky

A/N: It amuses me how people were trying to guess which characters will be appearing. Haha. I never had any idea that my titling for each chapter gives a whole lot of meaning. Haha! Tell me if you guys are getting irritated because most of my chapters are too long. And there's not much of conversation. By the way, I'm afraid I can't update for at least a month or so. But no worries, I will finish this. I like typing this story for some reason. Haha. This chapter seems a bit longer than before, huh?

cross-over-lover232: Haha! I'm still wondering why you all wanted to say that. XD Thanks for the review!
GreenDrkness: I'm sorry about that! I know, I tried to change it a bit, but I think it didn't sound alright. Although, thanks for the review!
blacklightningwolf: You didn't think it was boring? I thought it was since there's not much of a conversation in any of these chapters. Haha. But, thanks for the review!
Faliara: Haha! I laughed at that. Thanks for the review!
otaku908: Aww! Thanks for the suggestion! I really appreciate it. 'Cause seriously, Gokudera' royalty is hard to bent, right? So it really needs a lot of brainstorming to get his trust. Haha. Thanks for the review!
Okami Endless: Aww, thanks! I think I only read three of the twincies and one in waiting, mind lending me one? Thanks for the review!
Rikkai and hyotei lover: Haha! I'm not bashing them, but I really think that Iemitsu isn't the father you wanted to have. But anyway, I still liked him, but not the character I would favor. Haha! Thanks for the review!
BlackAndWhiteRoseWolf: Haha! Thank you! Thanks for the review!
Bacon Powder: Oh my god, you don't know how much I cracked at your review. Haha! I didn't even it see in that category, but oh well. Haha! Thanks for the review!