A/N I really should give up on giving myself deadlines. They never work. Hopefully I made up for it with this chapter!

This fic was meant to just be a Hurt/Comfort thing where the Guardians slowly nurse Tsuna back to how he was and then some, but, well...a plot bunny invaded my head and it was all like 'Hey, you know what would be awesome? This!' So yeah, that's what I did.

Lemme tell ya it's hard to try and balance fact with fiction. In Italy the Mafia are powerful, but they never flaunted it like the Vongola did with a jillion black-clad men swarming outside a house or with a massive mansion in the middle of nowhere. They never kidnapped and very few assassins exist since they don't want the police getting suspicious. The money isn't made from drug cartels but rather from pimping, illegal construction and illegal waste disposal. The Italian government is pretty annoyed with them since they don't seem to care jack about the environment, preferring to toss toxic waste and garbage on the side of highways. You'd never know who was a Mafioso or who wasn't since they never even speak about family affairs without a third party both trust present. When they're underground, they MEAN it. A lot of current information are from rumours, speculation and defectors. Plus they mainly operate in Sicily and rarely let foreigners, sometimes not even fellow Italians join.

But hey, Rule of Cool and all that.


Look, they whisper, it's Dame Tsuna.

Dame-Tsuna.

I thought he dropped out?

Didn't you hear? His mum died.

Must've been fed up of her useless son and fled to Heaven.

Dame-Tsuna.

"Ignore them," Reborn instructed. "Keep your head high. Shoulders back, legs straight. Keep your line of sight forward. Looking down implies inferiority."

Easier said than done, Tsuna thought hopelessly but did so nonetheless. In front of all those people he just felt like shrinking into a little ball and scurry into a hole somewhere, but it was still better than a barrel in your face.

Two months it had been since Nana passed away and the ache still lingered, as strong as before. It seemed unreal to return to an empty shell of a house stripped of all but the bare necessities and two cold, dangerous strangers; even more so when the smell of Nana's shampoo still hung tight to the wallpaper and carpet in a way not even Vongola's finest could get rid of lest they rebuild the house from scratch.

He was released only two days ago and he was already tired. Tired of the world, tired of himself, tired of everything. And unlike back in the hospital he was alone. Yamamoto had a game to prepare for and Gokudera went abroad to Peru to study.

He tripped over a loose shoelace and fell head-first to the pavement, spilling pencils and books everywhere. But this time nobody laughed. Nobody made fun of him. Someone actually helped him up. But between the uneasy pity and outright malice, he would choose having his head bashed into lockers every day of his life within a heartbeat if it meant having his mother back.

He was empty as his house; cold, sterile, bare.

"Focus, Tsuna." Reborn snapped from his ear piece. "You're looking down again."

"Sorry," He mumbled back and paused in front of his classroom. Like Reborn said, he repeated again and again. Shoulders back and head up. Look forward. Shoulders back, head up, look forward. Back, up and forward. Legs straight. He looked at his reflection in the glass; not confident enough. He needed to relax a bit, but when he looked into the chaos and merriment beyond the door all the courage he could muster disappeared.

"Tsuna," Coaxed Reborn, "Don't let those dregs get to you. This isn't about being confident, it's about fixing your posture. Confidence will come when you are ready."

"I-oh, okay," Tsuna stuttered and tried again. Reborn had been on about posture all month and it wasn't like he had a choice. He kept his eyes focused on one point and pushed his shoulders back as far as he could manage. The spine would straighten along with them. He clicked his heels together, the toes pointing directly forward and breathed deeply and slowly, halting all thought. Just focus on the breathing, he thought. Confidence will come when he is ready.

One would wonder how a meek, skinny boy would transform into someone so different, but Nezu-sensei just had to ruin it.

"Sawada," He growled, "Back from your little vacation I see."

Instant silence fell across the room, for the teacher had opened the door and his voice was loud enough the reach Hibari Kyouya two floors up. Tsuna instantly drew back, utterly mortified.

"Sensei," Tsuna mumbled, "I-I was just-"

"Preening like a little peacock, eh? Soaking up the pity like a filthy little sponge, eh? Got a bit of an ego now Mummy's gone and kicked the bucket? You are a hopeless child," Nezu snarled. "Seeing you ruffle your feathers proudly while peeking at your sympathetic friends raises my blood pressure far too high. I can only wonder where Nana-san, bless her poor soul, went wrong with you." The looks from his classmates were of barely concealed disgust. "Sit down, I have a class to teach and you are just wasting everyone's time."

Something cracked, and the brunet just stared, barely listening. He wasn't even frightened any more, just…numb. Utterly numb. He was detached from his body and the words just echoed pointlessly. He was not even aware of what he was doing, but just knew he had to. "No," he whispered softly. "No. Not sitting."

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Nezu warned. "Sit down or I will have to book you a detention with Hibari-san."

Tsuna smiled. He was a doll, plastic and hollow, still. He was calm, serene almost as the numbness set into his very bones. "Not sitting," he repeated quietly. "I have to go."

Nobody moved.

"Not sitting," Tsuna said once again, a soft, faraway smile on his face and his eyes looking away into a distant realm only he could see. "I'm leaving."

"Sawada if you do not sit down this very instant-"

But Tsuna had already turned around, his stride purposeful and a small lift at the corners of his mouth. A faint buzzing echoed around in his skull, but the emptiness he felt was so rare and so peaceful and so, so very good, and he just kept on walking. Walking and walking, confidently-the confidence did come-and purposefully and utterly devoid of all emotion.

As soon as he reached the school gates he broke into a manic dash.

His earpiece was still ringing, so he threw it down the drain. His bag was heavy, so he left it in the middle of the road for some car to go over. When he fell, he just ignored it and dragged himself back up and did not let himself feel the piece of gravel scraping against the inside of his eyelid. When his lungs began to burn and his throat stuck to itself from the lack of moisture he just laughed. He was not aware he was shedding tears nor his nails dug into his hands so hard they bled. He just knew he had to go. He had to start anew.

Once he began running every second of the last ten minutes suddenly exploded into a cloud of shame and fear. What was he to do? Reborn would shoot him for sure and this time he might really be killed. Maybe it was better if he disappeared, actually. It would be easier on everyone.

But then he saw a boy.

He was pale and skinny with bags around his lifeless eyes. His face was adorned with countless freckles and his rust-like hair drooped from grease and dirt, with the latter covering an entire layer over his skin.

The boy looked up.

We are the same, you and I. His eyes seemed to say, we are alone.

And to the other boy, Tsuna's eyes were like that too.

"I'm Enma," he said.

"I'm Tsuna."

Grief did not have to be expressed by words alone. And meanwhile Yamamoto had returned from his game, almost camouflaged with all the grime he had accumulated. "Think I should take a celebratory shower in honour of our victory?"

"A celebratory what," the other replied flatly.

"Don't be like that 'Dera!" Said Yamamoto cheerfully and slung a dust-caked arm over Gokudera's shoulder. "We won the regionals! Five to One! It's a huge success! Plus you finally came back from your studies abroad! C'mon, last one in is a rotten egg!"

"What the fuck?!" Gokudera hollered, utterly mortified, "I ain't getting in a shower with you, baseball freak! Lemme go!"

"But everyone's in there," said Yamamoto innocently.

"The whole fucking team is in the shower?!"

"We won, duh."

"How in the sweet name of the Lord does that have anything to do with that-"

"You two." Gokudera stopped his rant half-way and they turned to a grim faced Reborn. "Tsuna is gone."

"Hi there kiddo," said Yamamoto. "How are you?"

"Tsuna is gone," Reborn repeated.

"Eh?"

"Sawada is missing, you Neanderthal."

He dropped his bat. "I beg your pardon? He's gone? Gone where?"

"I don't know," replied Reborn. "Find him."

Gokudera just took out a cigarette and turned away. "I don't own him shit," he said and took a drag. "Let the bitch do what he wants."

"Gokudera."

But the green-eyed teen had already disappeared. Yamamoto looked down the road, at the team showers, then down the road again. He tossed his glove down. "It's okay kid," he reassured. "He'll come round eventually. I'll help in the meantime."

The baby nodded. "Follow me."

As the two headed in the opposite direction Gokudera heaved the smoke from his mouth. If Sawada had the balls to run away it meant only one thing; something shocking enough happened to temporarily manifest him a spine, and it wasn't pretty. Hayato himself knew from experience. As soon as the adrenaline rush stopped he had ducked in an alleyway between two houses, cried silently until his feet tingled from the shaking.

Sawada wouldn't survive a week.

Namimori might not be as bad as Sicily, but it still had its slums and shady sorts roaming around at night waiting for easy prey to cross their gaping jaws. The disciplinary committee can't do jack against the more agile yakuza. Not even Hibari could dodge a hundred bullets at once. Add the lack of food, shelter, and the coming of winter…well. No use crying over spilt milk.

But they were the same. No family, no friends, no anything.

Reborn might be borderline psychic, but only birds of a feather knew where to roost.


"It's cold."

Tsuna and Enma were squeezed against each other like baby penguins, shivering and chattering their teeth. Nobody came to the public restrooms there. Nobody would want to, when the walls were cracking and the plumbing failed and the stench of urea floated around like phantoms at their resting place. The walls were all covered in vulgar graffiti and wet toilet paper-turned-mache. It wasn't much better in the women's toilets where they were staying, but it had more stalls and one that was actually functional. Tsuna didn't even mind the smell anymore; his nose was used to it.

He and Enma mostly snuck snacks to eat from the market, but since it was closed in the winter they had to resort to bits of grass and tree bark cooked over a weak fire with pond water. Not exactly the epitome of living, but he had never felt more free.

No fear of failure when there was nothing to fail at. No jeering when he fell or walked into a tree, when there was someone who did the same and could help him up with a sheepish but genuine smile. No gun barrel in his face when he slouched even the slightest bit. No missing alarms and being late, no football in the face, no bullies threatening his dignity.

There was the fear of starving to death, of course, but there were plenty of trees in Namimori forest.

Something snapped outside and Enma stiffened.

"Did you hear that?" He whispered. "Someone's coming." Indeed footsteps came closer and closer.

"A logger on a bathroom break?"

"At three am in this weather?"

The door seemed to break into splinters and the handle clanged on the broken tiles. Tsuna shivered from the sudden cold. Enma was shivering too, but from terror or the chill no one knew. Heavy boots slammed against the cubicle door, actually bending the tough plastic.

"Get your ass out from there Sawada," Gokudera's voice shouted from outside, "I don't have all night to wait for you to grow a spine and crawl out from there!"

Enma looked at Tsuna with wide wary eyes, but he shook his head fiercely and pressed a finger to his mouth hastily. No, he'll take us back. Keep quiet.

"Fuck you," Gokudera snarled, "I ain't freezing my balls off just to drag you out from there! I'll count from five and if your sorry behind isn't in front of me by then I will just bomb that shitty door down!"

Bomb?! Tsuna didn't dare breathe.

"Five."

Enma looked pale as chalk.

"Four."

Tsuna was pretty sure his bladder would burst.

"Three."

And his kidneys.

"Two."

Enma curled up into a ball, as if it would somehow save him from certain destruction.

"One."

The two friends held each other tight.

"Zero."

Tsuna squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the explosion. It never came. "I-Fuck," Several minutes of utter silence passed. "Come out Sawada," said Gokudera, and this time his voice was soft. "I won't take you back to Reborn-san."

Another uncomfortable minute passed.

"Y-you won't?" Tsuna finally whispered, much to Enma's horror. He had pressed himself against the wall and made himself as small as possible.

"I won't," Gokudera promised, though every word seemed to pain him. "Come on. The soup will get cold."

"Soup?" Enma whispered hungrily and Gokudera was immediately tense.

"Who's there?" He growled and Tsuna almost buckled from the sheer hostility. "Show yourself!"

"Don't Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna screamed and flew from the cubicle and into Gokudera. "Don't hurt him! He doesn't have anything to do with me!"

"Sawada!" Gokudera snapped. "Off before I fucking make you!"

"He's harmless!" Tsuna rambled on desperately, "I just met him a few days ago! Reborn wouldn't know who he is-"

"I don't fucking care who he is or where he came from! Just get off me!"

"T-that's dynamite!" Enma cried from behind the door. "I-I-oh I-"

"Dynamite? G-Gokudera-kun, you were actually going to blow us up?!"

"No goddammit, look at the fucking wick! The tip isn't even singed!"

The redhead approached the orange tube warily like it was some savage beast.

"H-He's right Tsuna-kun," Enma stammered. "I-it's harmless now, I think. I mean, it's all w-wet from the water…"

"Oh…"

The tallest boy threw Tsuna off. "Great," he snapped. "Now put those fucking things on."

He had brought a lot of things along, Tsuna realised. He had brought sleeping bags, jackets, canned food and all sorts of things inside a huge camping bag, which he had emptied. "These are water-proof," he explained gruffly. "They've got a thick layer underneath you can zip on and off. I brought hiking boots too. I don't know your size so I just brought the average size. And drink this. It'll heat you up a bit"

"G-Gokudera-kun…"

"I'm not repeating it twice."

Tsuna put them on. "The boots are a bit big," he admitted shyly. "B-but I can lace 'em up tight so it won't feel like it." Gokudera glared at the other boy. "H-he's Kozato Enma," said Tsuna hurriedly. "H-he's just like me."

"Just like you, huh." Gokudera looked him up and down, but tossed the top layer of his own jacket off and threw it at Enma. "Put it on. I don't have boots for you. You'll just have to suck it up."

"T-thank you so much! I-I won't ever forget you b-but why? Why are you being so nice to us?"

And for the first time since Tsuna could remember, Gokudera looked…gentle. "You remind me of myself from a few years back," he admitted quietly, his voice still audible over the howling autumn wind. "I was born to a half-Japanese mother and a fully-Italian father. He was a wealthy, influential, serious man. They met at a bar my mother performed at and fell in love, despite Father already having married a woman. She was just as powerful as Father was.

"Mother refused to marry him since she was a fragile woman with poor health. But she was a kind, beautiful, wonderful musician and she came in a few times after I was born to teach me piano. I loved the lady who came and brought me presents and taught me music. But she died. I never knew she was my mother. I only discovered the truth through a few gossiping maids.

"Father and his wife had decided to end Mother's life, for she was a lowly pianist and should she blab about me being an illegitimate heir the family will surely fall. I ran. I ran into the streets of Sicily, where I was beat and sold and lived on leftover garbage."

"G-Gokudera-kun…"

"I wouldn't wish my enemies that life," he whispered. "I tried to earn money by using the few songs I knew how to play, but not one person would let me use their piano. I was eventually kidnapped and sold to a group of thugs, who then sold me to a black market doctor called Shamal. He was a an assassin and a pervert and everything in between, but he let me go after teaching me about explosives after taking a blood test and saw who my Father was. I barely got away, only because of my parentage. You two wouldn't stand a chance, not even you, Sawada."

"S-Sawada?!" Enma croaked. "Y-You're Sawada Iemitsu's son?!"

"You know tou-san?!"

"H-he was the one w-w-who k-killed…!"

"The External Advisor for CEDEF, a branch of the most powerful Mafia family in the world," Gokudera explained. "The Vongola. Its history of bloodshed and power is not something to be sneezed at."

"M-My dad…" Tsuna murmured in disbelief, "He's Mafia?"

"Don't wet your pants Kozato," Gokudera huffed. "The External Advisor disowned Sawada ages ago."

"He disowned you?!"

"I don't understand!" Tsuna burst. "Is that why they targeted kaa-san?! But why would he have to kill Enma-kun's parents? They were normal people right?"

"Tsuna…"

"I'm so sorry Enma-kun… I had no idea…Y-you can take it out on me if y-you want, I don't m-mind-"

"Enough," Gokudera snapped. "We can sort shit out later at my place. My ass is freezing cold and it's almost dawn. Let's make tracks before Reborn-san decides to search this place."

"R-right…"

"Kozato, you come too."

"Eh, r-really?"

"You thought I was just going to give you the jacket? That thing's fucking expensive. I'm just letting you borrow it for the time being."

"Yeah, I g-guess…"

They made their way down from the forest, taking care to avoid any security cameras on the way. Gokudera ushered them into his small apartment, where the paint flaked off and the water had bits of rust flowing through them, but it was all he could afford. He dragged Enma and Tsuna into the bathtub, wrinkling his nose at the dirt that made its way on the carpet, and left them to wash.

"…so after he disowned you two weeks ago, he killed the Kozatos…" said Gokudera slowly after the two finished their bath together (he barely had the money for a bath, never mind two). "This is bad. If CEDEF wanted someone dead they usually have a damn good reason to do so, otherwise a few puny civilians wouldn't be worth noticing."

"I dunno," Enma replied. "My Great-great grandparents were all born in Japan and they didn't have anything to do with Italy…Tsuna-kun? What do you think?"

Tsuna had his knees up to his chest and was wrapped in a thick blanket, and a waste basket full of tissues beside him. His face was puffy from all the crying he did. "…I'm so sorry, Enma-kun…"

"It's alright, Tsuna-kun." Enma smiled sadly, his own face just as swollen. "It wasn't your fault. You were hurt by Sawada Iemitsu too."

"B-But what if kaa-san's death made him so angry and depressed he took it out on your family-?"

"He wouldn't do that," Gokudera cut in. "Even the most powerful Mafiosi have people keeping tabs on them. Not only will Vongola Nono be pissed with him for catching the attention of the police for no good reason, but all of Vongola's enemies will also jump at the chance to bad-mouth them. And why fly all the way to Japan when there are illegal immigrants nearby? There are no obvious benefits to this at all."

"Wow Gokudera-kun, you're really good at this."

"Politics are vital to any mafia man."

"So what do we do now?" Enma said. "If me and Tsuna-kun stay here too long, Reborn will find us."

"He might even kill Kozato since he saw the External Advisor's face that night," Gokudera added. "'Leave no witnesses', that's extremely important."

"Then what do we do?"

"We could go to Italy," said Gokudera. "You're lucky I'm going back soon anyway otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. After that we'll move up North to the border between Italy and Switzerland. The further we get from Vongola territory the better. And when Reborn-san finds out I didn't bring you to him, and believe me he will, he would probably hunt me down too. So I will need to leave as well."

"Why did you come to Japan in the first place?" Tsuna asked curiously. "I mean, obviously you've got a decent life in Italy, so why…?"

Gokudera puffed out some smoke. "Reborn-san asked me to. He wanted me to test Vongola Decimo and see if he was worthy of the title." He glared at Tsuna. "Obviously you're not. Look at you. All bones and skin and not a malicious streak in you anywhere."

"M-ME?!" Tsuna shrieked. "V-Vongola D-D-Decimo?!"

Gokudera stared in surprise. "He didn't tell you?" Tsuna just sat silently with his tea. "Well," he continued, feeling a bit sorry for the boy, "Reborn-san is a famous assassin in the Mafia. He might look like a five-year-old, but he's the world's best hitman. He wasn't lying when he said he was going to be your tutor-Nono asked him to."

"…I can't be in the Mafia. I won't hurt anyone as long as I can help it," Tsuna said eventually from his cup of soup. "I…thank you very much, Gokudera-kun for having us. We'll pay you back somehow." Enma nodded. "You've done so much for us…I thought you were a mean person, but you're really a nice guy."

"You'll die as soon as you step on Italian soil. Wash your cups when you're done," Gokudera replied gruffly. "I'm going to go to bed. You two can stay here until I raise enough money to get you passports and get away from here."

"I think I can pay you back and have enough for passports," said Enma quietly. "Look."

He took out seven ancient rings from under his shirt and Gokudera's eyes widened. "There was a tremor near my place after it happened and I found those," Enma explained. "They look really expensive, don't they? And they're really heavy too, so I bet they're real and we can sell them for a good price. I was going to give them to my friends in Shimon Middle, but…well." He coughed. "And look there, it says SHIMON FAMILY under the stone. Weird, isn't it?"

"Family Rings," Gokudera hissed. "Where did you find them?"

"Eh?" Enma startled at the venomous edge in his voice, "Um…I found them in an old shrine I stayed at. I think the tremors must have loosened some kind of seal and the just popped out…"

Gokudera grabbed them and inspected them carefully. "No mistaking it," he murmured. "These are genuine Famiglia Rings, almost as old as the Vongola Rings." Pause. "But I've never heard of the Shimon Family. How did they get their hands on such powerful artefacts…" Enma shrugged. "We'll keep them," said Gokudera resolutely. He explained the history and importance of the Rings in the mafia briefly to the two confused orphans in front of him. "They're powerful. Don't sell them. Don't wear them. Don't tell anyone else about them. If they're anything like the Vongola Rings they must hold some sort of power."

"I put one on before," Enma admitted. "I felt something strange." He took the biggest one from the pile and it glowed a bloody orange. "See?"

"What on earth," Tsuna gasped, "Are you okay, Enma-kun?"

"I'm fine," said Enma, as if he were in a trance. "Great, even. I feel…calm. Powerful."

"Can you do anything with it?" Gokudera prompted.

"I…um, back in the shrine when everything started to collapse, the part I was sitting under didn't budge," said Enma. "And it was all cracked and everything. I was really surprised." Gokudera took out a badly chipped mug and put it in front of him.

"Do something with it," demanded Gokudera. Enma shrugged and pointed his hand at the mug uncertainly.

"For some reason," he said slowly, "I feel like I can make it float…" The mug glowed as well and one corner lifted a little off the dirty carpet. The others scrambled rapidly to the other end of the room.

"U-UMA!" Gokudera spluttered madly, glueing himself to the wall. "He's an UMA!"

The mug lifted off the carpet.

"Oh my God," said Tsuna weakly, his voice all wobbly and jello-like, "What on earth are those rings?"

"We really can't let anyone else know about them," said Gokudera, pale as a ghost. "If the Mafia got their grubby mitts on them…" Enma let the mug down slowly and Gokudera grabbed the ring and put it on himself. "Nothing's happening," he said. "What about the others?"

"I tried on the others too," said Enma. "Nothing happened with them either." Tsuna tried the largest ring on too, to no effect. "It looks like only the orange one works and only I can use it…"

"Maybe it takes some kind of special trait to activate each ring?" Tsuna suggested. He had spilt his tea all over himself but right now he couldn't care less. Gokudera looked thoughtful.

"Keep those on you at all times," he instructed. "We need to get those as far from Mafia territory as possible."

"That's right," Tsuna agreed, "Who knows what they can do with those?"

"Maybe I should just wear this one," said Enma. "I want to see what else I can do with it."

"I have some chains you can use to wear it round your neck. Keep it under your shirt."

"R-right…"

"B-but the Vongola-"

"I'm a neutral party," said Gokudera while looking through his extensive collection of silver. "My father was never allied to the Vongola, but he never opposed it either. I'm just an assassin-for-hire who Reborn-san picked to test you since we're the same age."

Enma squeezed into his sleeping bag. "But how will we get away from him?" He said fearfully, "Reborn's really sharp, right?"

"We can't get away using planes or trains," Tsuna said softly. "It'll leave a record. He'll find us in no time."

Gokudera nodded approvingly. "You do have a brain after all," he said. "He hasn't picked up on me hiding you two yet, so I can still come and go under his nose for a little while. You two will need to get out of Namimori as soon as you can. You have a passport, Sawada?"

"I think so. All our legal documents are in the study…"

"I'll go back to my old house and see if I can recover anything. I still have my keys…"

"I'll come with you," said Tsuna. "I don't want you going alone." Enma gave him a grateful smile. He didn't want to relive the experience alone either.

Gokudera sighed. What had he gotten himself into?

Nevertheless the three conversed a little about their personal lives and plans for the week. Gokudera would go to school, drop out, tell Hibari about Reborn (dangerous assassin, totally dangerous to order in Namimori, you'd better find him before he gets in touch with the Yakuza) , before heading to the Sawada residence and take as many papers he could while Enma and Tsuna go into the Kozato home and take everything they need and rendezvous at the mall, where they hire a taxi to drive them as far as they could from Namimori, then hitchhike into central Tokyo before one of Gokudera's contacts will smuggle them into a black market ship and out of Japan. Hopefully.

The next day, according to plan, Gokudera paid the last part of his rent and went into school cool as a cucumber and told the headmaster he was going to stop attending Namimori Middle. "I need to see the Hibari bastard as well," he said. "It's urgent."

The prefect raised an eyebrow. "State your business."

"It's about the Mafia," said Gokudera quietly. "Your dad was in CEDEF, wasn't he."

Hibari frowned but lead him into his office. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Reborn-san, the baby in black," said Gokudera quickly, because he did not have much time before Reborn would catch on and they had everything to lose, "He's a hitman hired by the Vongola."

Hibari listened carefully with a serious expression on his face. "What is his purpose in Namimori?"

"To tutor the next Vongola Heir, Sawada Tsunayoshi," Gokudera explained. "He will probably integrate his network into the local Yakuza to keep tabs on anyone who he thinks might be dangerous or useful and the Yakuza will run wild with Reborn-san on their side. I want you to swear not to let anyone know of this conversation, by the way."

"I do not need you to tell me to do anything," said Hibari coldly.

"I need to get some things from the Sawada Residence, but he's keeping an eye on it at all times."

Hibari smirked. "Sawada has not attended school for several days."

"That's right," said Gokudera. "The school has obligations to check on any students who do not come in for several days without their legal guardian giving the school a reason. I want you to take Sawada's passport and anything else important legally under the guise of reporting to local authorities, but I want you to give them to me. Don't look at me like that," he snapped at Hibari's incredulous look, "I read the fucking rulebook."

"Sawada is in danger from the Mafia?"

"He is," said Gokudera grimly. "He does not want anything to do with the Mafia. Another brat, Kozato Enma, his family was killed by Sawada Iemitsu and he's on the run. We need to get out of Japan without the Mafia noticing." He stood up and looked Hibari in the eye. "If Sawada disappears the Vongola would be weakened. You hate the Mafia for involving your father, don't you?"

"You are an interesting individual," said Hibari. "Very well. Only for keeping the peace in Namimori will I assist you. I will have Kusakabe drive you."

"In the name of our Brothers and Sisters I plead," Gokudera warned.

"In the name of our Father and Mother will I make this oath in blood, and should it break may I be damned," Hibari finished irritably. "Now be gone before I bite you to death."

On the other side of town, the two had snuck into the Kozato house. "This is the place," Enma murmured. "It's exactly the same as I left it."

Tsuna was immediately reminded of his home before Reborn arrived. Blood stains in the carpet and a thick layer of dust over the homely furniture. A picture of Enma and his sister was on the floor, the frame shattered into pieces with a bullet hole through it. "I can't forgive him," Enma growled. "For killing my parents, my sister, and abandoning his own son. What kind of a monster does that?"

"Enma-kun," said Tsuna softly, "I know how you feel. But we have to wait. We can't leave Gokudera-kun hanging because of something like this."

"Yeah, y-you're right. Here," said Enma, "Is my birth certificate. K-kaa-san showed it to me once. And there's some photos of our family out on vacation. I got hurt a lot, but it was still a good time. That's my passport." He picked them up and drew the best family photos from the album. "I think you can fit into my clothes. My room is upstairs."

They clamoured up and searched through all of Enma's things. "I didn't want to come back here ever again…"said Enma, his voice soft. He had taken out a sports bag and was throwing all his clothes out on to the floor.

"I wish I could go back and take my things," Tsuna murmured. "I don't ever want to forget what Okaa-san looked like." Enma told him where to find backpacks and he took three from the storage while Enma picked out what clothes to bring.

"Jackets," he was muttering and tossed waterproofs into it. "Hiking boots, jumpers, t-shirts, tracksuits…"

"Underpants," Tsuna reminded.

"Right," said Enma. "I was thinking of bringing mum's jewellery too…you know," he looked down. "To sell. And the electronics as well, like my phone and laptop. I can trade those in."

"Are you sure?"

"We can't bring much," said Enma. "And we won't have much money. I don't know my parents' PIN number so we can't use their cards, and I have no idea what they insured or if they had debt-"

"Now isn't the time to think about those things," the other urged. "We made do with insects and tree bark for a while. We'll just start over fresh."

"Y-yeah." Enma slung the sports bag over his shoulder and Tsuna took the backpacks, one of which was filled with portable electronics and the other with jewellery. They looked forlornly at the house but Enma shut the door firmly and cried his little heart out. "I'm leaving, Mum, Dad, Mami..." he choked, "Forgive me."

And the two ran downstairs and out from the garden where the keys were then buried under a tree. Enma cried all the way to the town centre where they sold his laptop, his phone, two MP3 players, five watches and all of his mother's jewellery. "Are ye sure about this one, boy?" the man behind the counter asked, pointing to the wedding ring. "It's pretty darn precious, that one."

"I-"

"We'll keep the jewellery," said Gokudera, a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder. "We don't need the electronics though."

"Gokudera-kun!" Said Tsuna, "But wouldn't you need the money?"

"We have enough," he said simply. "We can sell those later, Kozato." Enma nodded tearfully and put them back into the bag. "I got your passport and birth certificate," Gokudera said quietly inside Kusakabe's car. "I had to tell the damn prefect everything to get to it, but he promised not to tell."

"Hibari-san did?!" Tsuna squeaked.

"He isn't particularly fond of the Mafia either," the teen replied. "I brought you this." It was the photo displayed in the middle of the living room, Tsuna recalled. "Reborn-san took all the photos, but he left the one in the living room."

"It's enough." Tsuna's voice quivered. It was him and Nana, standing together in front of the amusement park. She had a beautiful smile on her face and it seemed her skin had an almost translucent quality under the sunlight. "More than enough."

Gokudera snorted, but said nothing.

"This is where I leave you," Kusakabe said. "I cannot go any further."

They were on the outskirts of Namimori, Enma realised, and they were not coming back. Gokudera nodded and headed towards a shabby motel. "We need to know who brought what," he explained, and they emptied out all the bags.

"I brought two waterproof jackets," said Enma. "I also got a vest, some t-shirts, socks, underwear and two pairs of tracksuit bottoms. I have a pair of hiking shoes as well."

"I'm the same size as Enma-kun," Tsuna continued, "So he gave some of his stuff. I have a jumper, two shirts, gloves, scarves, hats and trainers."

"Mine now; two thermos cans, a lighter, some matchsticks in case, a first aid kit, a waterproof jacket, three sleeping bags, torches, heat-keeping shirts, waterproof trousers and a pair of mountain boots. Kozato, you have the rings?"

"Yes," said Enma. "All seven are around my neck."

"Alright," said Gokudera quietly. "We'll be spending the night here. Tomorrow we leave just before dawn to the harbour." And all three sank into their sleeping bags silently, hoping to God and Allah and the Buddha and every other deity they could to help them escape. None of them dared to sleep.

"Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna murmured, "You're a great friend."

"Friend?" Gokudera sounded like he was being strangled.

"Yeah," Enma whispered. "And we're your friends too. Actually, you guys are actually my first real friends, you know? Back in Shimon they kicked me around and called me names. Especially Adelheid, she loved to boss me around. I guess it's better that I didn't give them the rings; they'll be even more terrifying."

"They don't sound like good friends," Tsuna said seriously. "The first people who bothered to be nice to me were Yamamoto-kun, Kyoko-chan and Onii-san. And you two, of course," he added hastily. "I thought Reborn was a nice person too, but as soon as I began sleeping properly again he pointed a gun to my face and I've been terrified of him ever since…"

"…"

"…Gokudera-kun?"

"You really want to be my friend?" He said roughly, but Tsuna thought he sounded almost desperate.

"I know you're angry a lot and you smoke and you've hurt a lot of people," said Tsuna, "But that doesn't matter when you're our friend. You're clever and kind and…you need help." His eyes seemed to turn a liquid gold. "You're just like us, Gokudera-kun." He didn't know where this came from, just that he needed to keep talking. "You've lost a lot too and got involved a lot of bad people, but that's okay, we're here to help. You need all the help you can get, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna was really tiptoeing on this now, but he was right; Gokudera did need help. He was just as delicate as Tsuna was inside. He saw that when Gokudera explained his past to them back in his apartment.

He was silent.

"S-sorry, Gokudera-kun." The brunet stuttered. "I-I don't know where that came from, I just suddenly started talking-"

"You'll accept me?" He sounded broken, desperate.

"O-of course," Enma butted in. "You're fine just the way you are."

"We need you, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna smiled. "I know we're a huge burden, but we'll do all we can to pay you back."

"That's right," Enma agreed. "I'll see if I can do anything with my rings."

Gokudera sat up and combed his hands through his silver hair. "Hayato," he grumbled, but his lips twitched into a small smile. Somebody wanted him, needed him, for the first time and his heart was about to burst. "I-you're my first friends too, I guess-gack!"

Enma leapt right on top of him and Tsuna followed shortly after. "We're just the same, aren't we?" Enma laughed. "We're just a bunch of nobodies who found each other."

And they paid him back almost immediately.

Using money from Enma's electronics, they managed to bribe their way into the black market ship. Enma himself was practising with his ring, and testing out his limits. He couldn't do much yet but the potential and practicality of it was enormous. Enma himself was quiet, thoughtful and a very good liar.

And while Tsuna had nothing to give physically, he became the group's emotional crutch. He could understand every side of the argument, he was sympathetic and forgiving, and after employing Reborn's posture lessons (he did manage to learn something from the guy)and combining it with a doe-like smile, he could charm and smooth talk through anything. It helped that neither were as clumsy as before, through tough life and necessity.

Gokudera-no, Hayato had become a lot more open with them too. He discovered that the two 'idiots', when left on their own and not crippled by expectation and peer pressure, figured things out very fast.

"The ship'll have to go through a security check, right? They'll definitely come down to the hold and check stuff out."

"The captain will have to have thought of that. Maybe he bribed the guards or something."

"We still have enough money to bribe him when we arrive, right?"

"I think so. What's the exchange rate again?"

Hayato rolled his eyes. "We still have another three months to wait, you know. More importantly," he said, pointing at some phrasebooks, "Your Italian is still abysmal."

Enma groaned.

"And especially your German," he continued as if Enma didn't say anything, "How can you expect to live near the Italian-Swiss border when you can't even say what time it is?"

"It takes time, Hayato." Tsuna sighed in exasperated fondness, "Let's take baby steps with this. Italian first, then German."

Enma twiddled his ring and held it up to the lamplight. "I wonder what everyone else is doing back in Japan."

"Probably celebrating," said Tsuna. "Although I'm worried about Yamamoto-kun. Reborn's probably thinking of getting him to join the mafia. He's far too nice."

"Shit," Hayato scratched his head, "I haven't thought of that. After we settle we'll go back and grab him-"

"No."

Enma raised his head. "Why not Tsuna? He and all your friends will get dragged into it-"

"He deserves his happiness," Tsuna whispered. "We have no right to take his ordinary life away from him. He'll be fine, I know it."

But he wasn't.

He was standing on the edge of the rooftop, his cast arm hanging from his neck while his classmates screamed at him to not jump. "Tsuna, Gokudera," he murmured, "I thought we were friends. I thought we had something in common. I guess I was wrong."

And he took a step forward and knew no more.


And that's it for this chapter! Didja like it? Hate it? Either way leave a review or a message to tell me what you think? And isn't it such a coincidence that those three ended together like Primo and G did with Cozarto? *Coughtotallyunintentional*

For those who haven't yet, check out my other Reborn fanfiction, Hunt for Mrs Sawada, where Tsuna is pressured to find a wife, Reborn is involved, and shenanigans ensue! Meanwhile, I'll melt into a puddle of stress from moving house and prepping for college...