Despite Chi having found a friend in Tsuna, the bullying she experienced in preschool had only gotten worse as the duo grew older.

Chi had also discovered that Tsuna had an affinity for failing quizzes and tests, sports, and arts and crafts. Thus earning him the name, 'Dame-Tsuna' or 'No-good-Tsuna'.

On Chi's side, her skin had stayed a sickly white since she had decided that going outside had nothing worthwhile to provide her other than her best friend, video games, and manga and opted to stay inside. And, much to her surprise, her yellow eyes had become more striking as she grew up. Coupled with her shy and quiet personality, their peers had deemed her odd and strange. Therefore, they had called her, 'Freak' due to her complexion and strange eyes.

For the next ten years, she (and sometimes Tsuna) had been pelted with mud, rocks, gum and other questionable objects. And most of the time after school, Chi would either be told/asked/dragged to certain areas of the campus and be harassed face to face by her tormentors and when the two entered middle school, beatings would become common. The others would often mock her for not fighting back.

But every time she tried, they'd only retaliate and leave Chi to be sent to the hospital (but those were rare cases). If she ran, the result would be the same.

She didn't get angry at them though. Because honestly, who would want their world to be overtaken by monsters with paper white skin and yellow eyes whose voices were, at their loudest, whispers and rasps?

It was because of this that Chi had not told any of her teachers that her peers were treating her this way. Always making excuses about tripping over her own feet or falling down stairs, Chi was already known to be naturally clumsy, so the staff had no trouble believing her.

Makoto's worries had become stronger due to the bruises and cuts her daughter would come home with day after day, but Chi would merely brush it off, saying she could take care of it and would refuse any offers of going to a different school from fear of being separated from Tsuna.

Chi honestly didn't care if the others at school didn't like her for whatever reason. As long as Tsuna had wanted to be her friend, she'd be perfectly content.

But she soon realized that just knowing she had a friend and a loving mother couldn't protect her from her own depreciating thoughts...

But that's for another time.

And so, life had continued on like this for the next ten years, and through those ten years, the friendship between Tsuna and Chi had strengthened. Everyday the two would get together and play video games or read their manga with each other. It was rare to see one without the other.

And now, it was another year at the hellish Namimori Middle.

Standing in front of the body length mirror in her room, Chi gave herself a once-over.

She was now a young girl of medium height, the ends of her black hair just touching the undersides of her shoulder blades. Her topaz-colored eyes were slightly covered by her bangs, the nervousness that was seen in them hidden from view, nightmares from the night before had darkened the skin underneath. Pale arms slid through the sleeves of her school-issued shirt and the beige skirt standing out from her thin figure. Straightening her red bow around her collar, Chi took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly and shakily.

It was time for school.

She didn't want to go, for obvious reasons. Fortunately, spending time around Tsuna had helped lessen her fear of people, though not by much, but at least now she wouldn't burst into tears at the very thought of seeing other people.

Bidding her mother goodbye with a kiss on the cheek after trying to stomach half of her breakfast, Chi began walking to Tsuna's house.

Chi sighed, "Another day, another trip to the hospital…probably…" she unconsciously touched the side her head, fingers grazing over a certain area under her hair, her eyes glazed over in thought as she walked along the same path she always took to her best friend's home, "Please let this day pass by quickly..."

Reaching the front door, Chi knocked.

"Come in!" Nana called out from inside, "The door's unlocked!"

"Good morning, Auntie Nana," greeted Chi politely, stepping in and taking off her shoes. She was quickly held tightly by an excited Nana who sat her down at the kitchen table.

"Good morning Chi-chan!" she said, gleefully, "Here you go!" She placed a freshly made omelet in front of the girl.

"Ah…" Chi started nervously, "Auntie, my mom already made breakfast for me…"

"Oh nonsense!" She waved her spatula around in short circles, "I know Ma-chan makes Tsu-kun breakfast whenever he comes over in the morning~!"

Chi sighed quietly, "A-alright…" she put her hands together, "Thank you for the food," and proceeded to eat, letting out a happy mumble when the savory taste hit her tongue.

Nana looked and the clock and sighed, "Speaking of mornings, I wonder if Tsu-kun's woken up yet?"

Swallowing another bite, Chi said, "I can check for you if you'd like?"

Nana shook her head, "What kind of host would I be if I made you do that?" She started up the stairs with Chi following.

"It's alright, really, you should finish making his lunch," Chi argued.

Nana let out a light giggle, "Well, if you're going to fight about it, we'll both check on him."

She opened the door to reveal her son's messy room. Nana sighed heavily, "Oh honestly," She began walking around picking up various pieces of wrinkled clothing and papers with numerous red marks from past tests and tossing them in their respective places.

Chi was still standing in the door way, her eyes were wide open in shock, 'Didn't I help him clean up his room yesterday?' she thought.

Nana was pulling another piece of paper from Tsuna's desk. He had most likely tried hiding it, but stuffing it in a drawer filled with past crumpled failed tests probably wasn't such a good idea, that drawer looked ready to burst…

Chi frowned a little and glanced over at her best friend contently sleeping away, a bit disappointed in his choice of a hiding spot.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi!" Nana exclaimed, her lips set into a small frown. Tsuna immediately shot up, arms and legs flailing everywhere.

"AH! Wha?" Tsuna was tangled in his blanket as he stared at his mom, "HIEEE! Why do you have that!" he shouted.

He threw out an arm to tear away the test Nana had in her hand. Failing at doing so, Nana had begun scolding Tsuna about his scores and lack of motivation. Chi stood silent behind her, not knowing what to do. Once she finished, Nana went downstairs, leaving the two to themselves.

"Sorry you had to see that, Chi," Tsuna groaned, rubbing his head.

"It's okay," Chi reassured, picking up a few things and putting them back where they were yesterday, "To be honest…I'm used to it."

Tsuna scoffed, "I'm not surprised, there's a reason everyone makes fun of us…" He grabbed his uniform and went to the bathroom. As he was taking a quick shower, Chi continued cleaning, letting the task clear her mind.

"Tsu-kun! Chi-chan! Hurry up or you'll be late again!" called Nana from the bottom of the stairs.

The two ran down the stairs and out the door saying a quick, 'goodbye!'

Nana giggled, "Those two...hm?" Nana picked up Chi's plate with a barely touched omelet, "Well, they were in a hurry."


Tsuna and Chi were speeding down the sidewalk towards Namimori Middle in order to avoid the wrath of their school's disciplinary committee head, Hibari Kyoya, who was known for his vicious beatings as punishment for breaking rules.

Fortunately, the two made it to their seats just as the bell rang.

Sitting down, they sighed in relief. Turning around to look at Chi, Tsuna said, "Good thing Hibari-san didn't catch us running, huh?" he laughed hesitantly.

She nodded, nervously, "Yeah…I really don't want to be on the receiving end of those tonfas…" They both shivered at the thought of being struck by the solid steel weapons.

Chi laid her head on her desk face-down as the other students began to tease and laugh her and Tsuna for almost being late...again. Chi flinched when she felt a paper ball hit the back of her head. Fortunately, the teacher came in to begin the day.

…Which quickly came to a near close in a blur of mocking and bullying from the other students who had continuously called them names. Now, the two were ending their PE classes by cleaning whatever it was the other students didn't want to clean up…which meant everything.

Chi grunted quietly when she hit the ground, her arms and legs littered with blossoming bruises. She pushed herself up on her elbows and no higher, too scared to face the other girls who had pushed her down. She let out a whimper when one of the girls grabbed her by the hair.

"Don't you know your manners?" the girl teased, "Look at someone when they're talking to you!"

"Yeah!" said another girl, "It's no wonder your teachers don't like you, you're so rude!" The rest of the group of girls cackled loudly. Chi trembled and bit her lip, still not looking up.

"So," said the first girl, "you'll clean up everything, right? We got things to do and people to see. We don't have time to clean the field today." She tugged harder on Chi's hair, "You better clean it all up, got it?" she threatened. Chi nodded shakily and was again thrown on the ground while the other girls went to the locker rooms, chattering as if they didn't just beat a student into submission.

Chi whimpered again as she stood up, 'I hope Tsuna's not having too much trouble…' she thought, gathering all the softball equipment the girls used that day, 'I better hurry so I can help him out…'

Once she finished, Chi ran to the gym where the boys had their PE class, ignoring the sharp pains running up and down her body. Stepping inside, Chi found her best friend standing by the window in the empty gym, staring outside with a wistful gaze and holding a push broom with a loose grip.

'Ah,' Chi surmised, 'It's probably Sasagawa-san again,' she shivered.

Chi didn't really have anything against Sasagawa Kyoko, except that the girl in question had an air about her that commanded attention whenever she stepped into a room. That feeling was so strong, Chi felt completely intimidated and frightened by her, it didn't help that Sasagawa Kyoko was considered the most beautiful girl at Namimori Middle and currently held the attention of Tsuna.

Which was probably the one thing that scared her the most; Chi didn't want to entertain the idea that one day, inevitably, Sasagawa Kyoko would steal away her best friend from her, leaving Chi alone and at the mercy of the cruel world. Nonetheless, Chi wanted to make sure that Tsuna was happy, so she supported him and his feelings for the school idol entirely.

"Tsuna," Chi called. Flinching away from the window, Tsuna looked around for the source of the voice.

Spotting Chi, Tsuna stammered, "Ch-Chi! How long were you there?"

Chi forced a smile, "Long enough to see you gawking at Sasagawa-san," she teased lightly. Tsuna's face became beet red and stuttered some more before putting all of his strength into cleaning the gym.

'Ah…' Chi thought nervously, 'I shouldn't have teased him, I'll make it up to him after we're finished.'


After retrieving their shoes from their lockers, Chi stopped Tsuna at the front gate.

"What's up, Chi?" he asked, wondering why his best friend had a guilty expression on her face.

She played with her fingers a bit, biting at the inside of her cheek, "I want to treat you to ice cream!" she blurted, her face flushing.

"Huh?" Tsuna was confused, "Why?"

"A-as an apology!"

"For what?"

"F-for getting you upset when we were cleaning up!" she admitted.

"Eh!?" Tsuna exclaimed, "Y-you don't have to do that, Chi! I-it's okay, really!"

She shook her head, her face expressing an uncommon look of stubbornness, "I made up my mind!" she took his hand and dragged him to their favorite ice cream store, "I'm treating you, whether you like it or not!"

Upon reaching the store, Chi sat Tsuna down at one of the white tables outside and rushed inside to order their favorite flavors.

'Aaah,' sighed Chi mentally, 'I'm lucky no one stole money from me today!'

Walking back outside Chi handed Tsuna a medium sized cup of vanilla with a bit of chocolate syrup drizzled on top and sat down next to him, holding her own cup of mint ice cream.

Sighing, Tsuna reluctantly began to eat his ice cream, "Thank you, Chi," he said, a small grin on his face. Chi smiled back.

They ate their cold treats in comfortable silence until Tsuna spoke up.

"Chi?"

"Yeah?"

Tsuna glanced at Chi's thighs, the darkening bruises peeking out from under the hem of her skirt, "Those bruises…"

Chi's yellow eyes widened, "A-ah…I-I…"

"You can't use the 'falling down the stairs' excuse," said Tsuna, sternly, "I know you're not that clumsy."

Chi nibbled on her bottom lip, "I-It was after PE…y-you know how th-those girls can…can get…"

"We should've gone to the nurse," Tsuna dug into Chi's school bag, knowing her first aid kit was inside.

"I-it's okay, Tsuna…" she tried to argue, but all Tsuna did was toss a cold compress into her arms.

"Use it, I don't want the others to point it out and get you more nervous and self-conscious than you already are," he explained.

"...Thank you, Tsuna."

After eating the two were on their way home.

"Hey, Chi?" asked Tsuna.

"Hm?" she replied.

"You wanna sleep over again? I'm in the mood to try and finish that game from yesterday," he said. Chi nodded excitedly.

Last night, they were making their way through various puzzles and mazes in their game and had to stop playing when Nana had warned them that they should get to sleep soon or risk being late for school.

"Let me call my mom first," Chi took out her phone and called, they continued walking with Tsuna in front, giving Chi some privacy as she spoke over the phone. Flipping it closed and giving Tsuna an affirmative nod, the pair sped home in anticipation to finish the level they were on and beyond.

"Mom!" Tsuna called when they walked in, "We're home!"

"Ara!" Nana came running out from the back, from the sun hat she was wearing, the two in the doorway concluded that she was working in the garden out back, "Tsu-kun~ Chi-chan~!" She cried, "Welcome home!"

"Nana-chan?" came a voice, "Was that Chi-chan and Tsuna-kun I heard?"

"Mom?" Chi looked behind Nana and was brought back a few steps from Makoto's exuberant embrace.

"Sweetheart, did everything at school go okay? You're not hurt are you? Oh! You didn't finish your breakfast this morning, you must be hungry! I'll go make something for you!" Makoto rambled. Nana laughed and unlatched Makoto's arms from Chi's waist.

"Now, now Ma-chan, they just got home," Nana scolded lightly, "Let them settle down a bit before you interrogate them," Nana gave the two a grin, "Go upstairs, you two, we'll bring up some snacks later."

Walking upstairs, Tsuna whispered to Chi, "Lucky we got rid of those bruises, huh?"

Chi, who was pale-faced, nodded.

Finishing their homework in the early evening, Tsuna and Chi were all ready to finish their game, until…

"Tsu-kuuun! Chi-chaaan!" Called their mothers from below.

"It's time for dinner!" Nana shouted.

"Don't let it get cold!" Makoto warned.

"Awww!" they groaned, upset that their game was interrupted.

But, the blow was softened with the promise of delicious, home-cooked food made by their very own mothers. Tsuna and Chi came down and enjoyed their meal of fried mackerel with rice and a side of vegetables.

Once finished, Makoto excused herself from the table, "Alright, I'll be heading home now," she said. She walked over to Chi's seat and kissed her on the forehead, "Call if you need anything, okay Chi?"

Chi nodded, "I will, get home safe, Mom!"

Makoto smiled, "Don't worry, I will."

"I'll walk you to the door, Ma-chan," offered Nana, "You two go on to your video games~."

"Be sure to get to bed early, Chi!" shouted Makoto before the two went inside Tsuna's room, receiving a muffled, 'Yes, Mom!'

"Hmm~!" hummed Nana, "I think those two are getting better~!"

Makoto held her cheek, "I hope so, Chi hasn't been talking much though, and she's been looking rather thin…"

Nana rubbed her friend's back, "I'm sure it's just a phase, by the way," she gave Makoto a worried gaze, "Are you doing okay with Naoto-kun out and about across the world with Iemitsu?"

Makoto nodded, "I'm fine, he sends small messages through the phone every now and then, but I always scold him since it's such a far distance, and it might cost him a lot just for one call."

Nana giggled brightly.

Hearing her, Makoto flushed darkly, "Wh-what?"

"You and Naoto-kun are so cute!" she gushed, "I remember when you kept talking about him in high school~! The both of you would blush just walking next to each other~!"

"Nanaaa!" Makoto whined, her face still red.


"What do you want to play next, Chi?" asked Tsuna, rummaging through their moderate collection of video games with various genres.

It had been about two hours after Makoto had gone home and Tsuna and Chi had finished at least one third of the newest game they bought last week, they washed up, got ready for bed and decided that there was still time to play something else before sleeping.

"Hm," Chi flipped through the different boxes and picked up a fighting game, "I'm in the mood to kick your butt," she teased. Tsuna eyed the box.

"Oh really?" he challenged, "'Cause from what I remember, the score was my twelve wins to your eight."

"Oho, fighting words, huh?" Chi inserted the game and picked up her controller, the black one, and tossed Tsuna his, the white one.

Although their conversation was merely playful banter, the competitive aura in the room was almost tangible…though it was quickly dispelled once Tsuna's mother came in with a tray of lightly salted and boiled soybeans and two warm cups of green tea.

"I thought the two of you might still be a bit hungry after dinner, so I made you some snacks~" She chirped.

Nana put the plate on the table in the middle of Tsuna's room and left with a cheerful "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!" they replied.

Tsuna and Chi stared at their snack and then the TV screen, eyes going back and forth between the two.

…Decisions, decisions…

Nevertheless, when it was time to go to bed, the snacks were finished, the tea was gone, and Chi's eight wins had increased to fourteen while Tsuna's stayed at twelve.

In the darkened room, dimly lit by the streetlights from outside, Tsuna and Chi were lying face-to-face on Tsuna's bed. Considering that the two were both rather scrawny, they easily fit and had room to spare for rolling around in their sleep.

"Goodnight Chi," Tsuna murmured sleepily. He held Chi's hand tightly and laid his forehead against hers.

"Goodnight Tsuna," She whispered, gently squeezing his hand. They both let out a soft sigh before allowing the comforting darkness of sleep take over.