It's been two weeks since my last update! Well, I was running out of time and money for internet, and my school year is started at June 4, and moreover, my Saturdays are now being occupied by CAT class for five to six hours a week! I don't know how the fourth years survive this, but I'm about to find out…

Chapter 4 Possibilities of a Third

Tsuna arrived at the office with a sleeping Giotto on the office couch while Alaude was sitting on his desk, somewhat fixing things to cover their trails from a few minutes ago. It was a wonder how Alaude and Giotto had maintained to keep their relationship under wraps from everyone. "I see you have cleaned up," she mused. In reality, Alaude was the Vice President of the Council because he is the only one who can keep Giotto in line, and the only one who can trace him in less than half an hour, like he did today. It appeared that Giotto was sleeping away at the garden of the school at the courtyard behind a large bush that can hide his form very well.

"I think doing it roughly would remind him not to get out of our radar often," he said.

Tsuna looked at the tired face of her cousin. "I can see the logic, but you could have just deprived him of that for a limited number of days like what Gokudera-kun does to Yamamoto,"

There was a hint of pink in his cheeks, and at that moment, he decided to change the subject. "I see the Sun Arcobaleno has already had some interest in you, Tsunarumi," he stated. "My guess is he plans on telling the Ninth to have three candidates instead of two once his interest on you escalates,"

Tsune frowned as she made her way to her own desk, "I would think the same, but I will not accept being a candidate, and you know that Alaude-san. We already have our priorities straight concerning that side of our lives. And I will stay by the choice I made years ago,"

"Oh, which reminds me, has he already contacted you?" Alaude asked.

Tsuna shook her head, "Not yet, I'm afraid. He is having a hard time locating that person. I think it would be a few more days before he comes across that person, if he doesn't get into his contacts,"

Alaude shook his head, "I have no idea why you are putting up with that guy. He is too whimsical for my taste, and Kyouya despises him,"

Tsuna smiled, "Well, that is one of his best qualities, and besides, Kyouya hates almost everybody,"

Alaude smirked, "Touché,"

…

After classes, Natsuki took the time to go home immediately. Reborn had told him to wait home to discuss what had happened on his first day. There were a lot of surprises from his sister, and from the school itself. He wanted to get out of the territory as quick as possible.

"I'm home," Natsuki called.

Nana was at the yard hanging the washed clothes. "Welcome back! Did you have a talk with Tsu-chan?" she asked enthusiastically.

Natsuki looked at his mother, "You told me nothing because Nee-san asked you to, didn't she?"

Nana laughed lightly, "Well of course she did! She said that she wanted you to find out for yourself. You are old enough to know things on your own vices," she reasoned. "Reborn-kun is waiting for you in your room. I already brought snacks for the two of you,"

"Thanks Mom," Natsuki said as he ran to his room. He was yet to unpack some of his stuff, and Reborn ordered that they would unpack as they discussed the occurrences that happened in his first day.

When he opened the door, Reborn was drinking coffee. "You're home. You have some unpacking to do," he said as he pointed at the final two boxes which composed of his clothes and miscellaneous stuff. As he arranged them, Reborn began, "Your sister has become more intriguing than I seemed at first," he said.

"Yeah, well, Nee-san did ask me not to tell Dad on what she has accomplished over the past years," he said as he arranged his action figure collection in the shelf.

"I called Iemitsu after your rooftop talk,"

Natsu dropped his ten-inch Iron Man action figure, "You what?"

"Hold your horses Baka-Natsuki," Reborn interrupted his tirade, "I just told him that your sister is more than meets the eye, and that his information about her is outdated." He decided to drop the bomb, "And there could be a possibility that the Vongola would end up with three candidates instead of two,"

Natsuki couldn't believe what he was hearing. His sister had the potential to be the Vongola Decimo? His older sister was the sole reason why he decided to accept being a candidate, so that he could protect her from it. Now his tutor was saying that she had potential of being the Vongola Decimo? Flopping down on his bed, he stared at the wall blankly. "No…I went through all this just to protect her from the onslaught of the mafia!" he reasoned.

Reborn could see the sheer worry in his eyes. Tsuna was the main powerhouse of Natsuki's determination of being the Vongola Decimo, with hopes of protecting her from it. That was his main goal that the Ninth and his father had respected. All his life, he has seen his sister struggle and get bullied, and he was always to the rescue. He wanted to protect her more when he found out that the Ninth had chosen him as the candidate of Vongola Decimo. "I understand your worry, but let me finish. She would only become a candidate should she stake the claim herself, and if she finds out that you two were involved in the mafia the entire time," he informed.

"This makes it all the more reason why she must not find out…" Natsuki said.

"But she might, one way or another," Reborn reasoned.

"But-!"

"But nothing Natsuki," Reborn cut off, "She will learn one way or another, but when that time comes, it will be up to her if she will stake her claim. Do you understand me?"

Natsuki could only nod.

…

Tsuna stared at the photo in the SC office of her younger self and her twin, happily smiling at the picture at the beach when they were nine. She really looked too frail for her own good in the picture, while Natsuki's smile beamed. That was one of the times when she was still Dame-Tsuna back in elementary. She thanked the heavens that she had met Kyouya when she was in fifth grade, and by sixth grade, the moniker disappeared. All she could remember on her childhood was her being overshadowed by the younger twin, a father who rarely comes home, and the bullying and bad grades. It was a childhood nightmare.

Sighing, she didn't notice that Gokudera was calling her until he shook her shoulder. "Hime-sama?" Tsuna flinched at this, and her attention drew on the silver haired teen.

"Ah…what is it Gokudera-kun?" she wondered.

Gokudera made a concerned face, "We are now going to the Hibari residence for the meeting," he informed.

Tsuna shook the memory away and smiled, "Oh, sorry for spacing out. I'll catch up with you at the gates," she said as she stood up from her seat.

"Hime-sama, are you alright?" he wondered.

Tsuna smiled at Gokudera to erase his worry, "Yes I'm fine. I just had a little trip down Memory Lane," she admitted. That seemed to confirm the silver haired teen's suspicion. Ever since she heard that her brother was returning, she has sometimes been spacing out, and everyone had been noticing it. Her constant reminiscing had made her distracted and making her revert to the Dame-Tsuna that she was. Just three days ago, she almost fell on the stairs if it weren't for Kusakabe who saw her. To say the least, Kyouya had been furious about her carelessness. To hell with the documents that she carried while walking, he had scolded Tsuna for spacing out in the most dangerous times. Since then, the Head Prefect had told Gokudera and Yamamoto, who was in the same class as her, to watch her every move after that incident.

By the time she and Gokudera arrived at the gates, everyone was there except for the brothers who already went home to prepare for their meeting. They walked while chatting, and Tsuna tried to pay attention all the while. She had to block her sad memory on the back of her head. This was her world now. This was what she had worked for to get out of the pathetic life she lead four years prior. She has to prove that she doesn't need protection from anyone all the time.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the Hibari household—or mansion, because of their large house. Their parents were barely home, which leaves the twins full control of the house and the staff, which makes it a likeable spot for their extra line of work. When they entered the living room after being greeted by one of the maids, they saw that there were already five others who were there.

There was a man with red hair that looked identical to Gokudera, only he looked more mature and he had the same scowl like Gokudera as well. He was the nephew of Gokudera's birth mother, in other words, his cousin, G. Then there was a teen with dark hair and blue eyes. He was the younger brother of Yamamoto's mother, but surprisingly, he was just a year older than Yamamoto, because his grandparents had his mom early when his grandmother was about sixteen, and Asari Ugetsu came late in their forties. Next is the cousin of Ryohei and Kyoko, Knuckle, the former captain of his school's boxing club who quit after a match accident and moved to a Christian school, which Ryohei greatly admired. The one beside him is the older brother of Mukuro, Daemon Spade. The one sleeping on the edge of the couch was the big brother of Lambo with minty green hair, Lampo. He was only the same age as Tsuna.

Giotto smiled at them, "I see you are here already," he said.

"Sorry if we're a little late," Tsuna apologized.

Daemon chuckled, "Don't worry Hime, there is no harm done," he said.

Giotto turned to Lampo, "Hey, Lampo, wake up," he nudged.

Lampo grumbled and opened his eyes, "Ah…Giotto," he said as he rubbed his eyes, "Sorry, I hadn't much time getting some sleep after Lambo cried endlessly last night, and I tried to keep awake the whole class through. It was a good thing that Hayato was the one who sent him to school this morning," he said with a yawn.

Giotto smiled, "It's okay. Llambo had been accidentally at the wrong place at the wrong time last night anyway,"

G scowled. "Why can't the school just ask for security instead of relying on the Disciplinary Committee anyway?" he asked.

"Because the school can't afford it, and protecting Nami-Private is the job of the Disciplinary Committee," a stern annoyed voice answered.

Alaude and Kyouya came inside the living room in their normal clothes. Alaude was wearing a blue checkered polo shirt over a white t-shirt, and jean shorts, while Kyouya wore a purple shirt and cargo shorts. Perched on his head is a yellow ball of fluff named Hibird who never leaves Kyouya's side unless told to.

"I see you are all here," Alaude said. Kyouya's face showed indifference and a hint of annoyance, telling them that he was the one who answered G's question.

"Let's go then," Tsuna said as she followed the twins first before the others went with her. They came across the study of the house, and Alaude puled a book lever with the title of The Art of War, and the shelf was lifted revealing a corridor lit with fluorescent lights. They came down the stairs until they entered a chamber with the largest supercomputer money could buy, and a large table that can seat twenty-five people. At the other parts of the chamber, one could see numerous boards with tack marks, weapons, unfinished mechanisms and weapons.

There were already two people in the chamber. One was a blond haired teen with a sucker on his mouth, fixing up a small robot butler, named Spanner, and at the seat of the supercomputer was a red headed boy with glasses named Irie Shouichi.

"Hey guys," Tsuna greeted.

The two looked away from their work when they heard Tsuna's voice. "Ah, Hime-sama," greeted the red head.

"Nice to see you again, Hime-sama," Spanner greeted as well. As if on cue, the small robot he has been tweaking at opened a hatch on its stomach, and the aroma of lasagna spread through the chamber. "Lasagna, anyone?" he offered.

Tsuna smiled as she sat at the very center of the table, facing the supercomputer. "Sure, that would be nice,"

Spanner nodded and immediately, another robot entered, bringing plates and utensils and started bringing it to the table. "So, what have we got there, Irie-kun?" she asked as the others took a seat on both sides of the rectangular table.

The red head nodded and typed at the computer. It showed an insignia with the name of Sentinella under it and asked for the password. "We finally got a message from Byakuran-san," he informed.

Tsuna flinched as she and the others felt the temperature drop several degrees. Their heads turned in one direction when a certain someone stabbed his lasagna. The vibe coming from the Head Prefect was casting off an irritated aura. Ever since Tsuna met Byakuran through Irie, he has been smitten by Tsuna and her cuteness, much to the irritation of her boyfriend. "Ah…c-continue Irie-kun," she instructed, because the moment the temperature dropped, he also went silent. It was a good thing Hibird chirped, "White haired bastard, white haired bastard!"

It made others snicker. It appeared its owner has been teaching him those. Tsuna hid her snicker, "So, has he already done the task I gave him?" she wondered. For weeks, she has waited for the contact of the teen in finding a certain person.

"Um…Byakuran-san said that he would video call you right about…" Irie looked at his watch.

It was then when the large screen beeped an incoming video call. The red head pressed he answer button and out came a sixteen year-old white haired teen with purple eyes in pajamas. "Hey Tsu-chan~!" he greeted.

Kyouya's blood began to boil in irritation. Tsuna sighed as she looked at the boy in front of her. She has met Byakuran in person two years ago after Irie came back from Italy from vacation, and Byakuran just tailed with him and he started hitting on her when he concluded that she was cute, which irritated a certain prefect, until he was kidnapped home by his father, "What is it Byakuran?"

"I found Aria-san like you ordered me to do~!" he informed.

Their eyes targeted at him as they heard the news, "What? You found the Sky Arcobaleno and the boss of the Gigilio Nero?" Giotto said in surprise.

Byakuran nodded. "I found her using my contacts. You do realize that I rarely use it because of energy consumption. She was a little surprised that I ran into her. I guess it had something to do with my parallel selves," he said.

Everyone in the room knows of his ability of having the knowledge and memory of his other parallel selves. He had also shared a story where Natsuki doesn't exist, where she was the Vongola Decimo, and she was a he, that Tsuna's parallel self had incinerated one of them, and they all ended up powerless but they still get to keep their ability—but they can only communicate when they are sleeping, which explains the teen's pajamas. For another load, he can only use it on certain occasions because of the energy that is needed to do the communications. It would take almost a month before he could do it again.

"So, what has transpired in your meeting?" G. asked.

"Well~ we had coffee and she told me that I was finally rid of the Tri-Ni-Sette and World Domination mumbo-jumbo obsession, as if I'd fall for the same evil deed twice…I also informed her of the existence of Sentinella as you ordered, and she agreed to lend a hand when needed,"

Sentinella is a secret faction of Vindice whose main task is espionage. It has been around for a long time, made at the same time as the Vindice, but their name faded into history by their own preference, to avoid any suspicions of the organization. Since the emergence of Tsuna and her knowledge, added by her skills and inner circle, the Mafia police have wanted to recruit her and use her talents where the Vongola does not recognize her because of false and outdated information. For the longest time, Bermuda had some interest with her. Giotto and the rest of her friends became the new members of Sentinella, and still keep independent of Vindice to make sure that no one finds out about it. They left the organization into Tsuna's own vices after the former leader retired, and as of now, she was doing pretty well, and Tsuna was given enough power by the organization to the point of requesting the release of Mukuro and his group as a member of the growing faction. It goes to show that Bermuda has some trust in her, and Tsuna? She wasn't too sure to trust the Arcobaleno.

She has tasked the white haired Italian to locate Aria for future reasons, and for their aid in the name of the organization when needed. After all, one needs to pick the proper connections.

"Oh, and another thing," Byakuran said, "I got in contact with that group today as well. They said that they want to speak to you,"

Tsuna closed his eyes. So they noticed her. "I see. Well, give me their contact and I will talk to them. Keep doing the job Byakuran, and this time around, try to be in contact with the Cavallone," she said.

Byakuran smiled, "Anything for our precious Hime-chan. Bye~!" he said as he cut the call.

Tsuna sighed. It's beginning. "Well, that's one matter solved," she said as she took a forkful of lasagna.

So, what do you guys think of this chapter? True it is a bit short, because this was originally meant for chapter 3, but I decided to divide it anyway. As expected of me, I won't around too much now what with school, and I have to prepare my application for an entrance exam in one of our country's high quality colleges, and I have until June 15 to submit my application and study by August 5.

REVIEW~!