Hi, guys. This is actually the first author's note that I'm posting. All these chapters have been posted up by my friend mostly because I never really liked this fic very much. But she loved it, and apparently, you guys do too. I nearly have a heart attack every time I get an email saying someone reviewed or favorited, and I started screaming at my screen, "WHY?! IT'S NOT EVEN THAT GOOD!" But I've learned to appreciate all your support. Thank you so much for your patronage.

Though I would like to say that there are some reviews that have made me less than happy. Please, if you're going to read on, don't judge people for what they like and what they don't. Please don't tell me how I should write it or how it should end. I feel that it's a bit disrespectful to the other readers as well as to the author. This fic is already written and will end how it's going to end.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope this note hasn't discouraged any followers who've stuck with me so far. Be sure to check out the rest of my fics as well as my best friend Miyavilurver. We RP a lot and so we have each other's writings on each of our page.

Thank you again and I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic!

"I heard he grabbed a two-by-four and beat all of them up to a bloody pulp!"

"I heard he grabbed bricks and smashed it in this one guy's face!"

"No way, that was the guy he grabbed and head butted! At the same time, he punched this guy in the face!"

"I heard he even broke one of their arms with his bare hands!"

Whispers and rumors followed Tsuna as he walked through the hallway. He held onto his bag, glancing around. Gokudera was walking at his right side, insisting on being his "right hand." The other four boys were walking in formation behind the two. Somehow, this was scarier than when they were trying to beat him up.

"Hey, Tsuna!" It was like a voice from heaven.

"Yamamoto!" Tsuna smiled happily, seeing the baseball player running towards them. The boys immediately tensed and Gokudera stood in front of Tsuna, putting an arm out protectively. The other hand was clenched in a threatening fist.

"OI!" Gokudera yelled at a confused-looking Yamamoto. "Who the hell do you think you are!? Stop acting so casual around the Tenth!"

"Tenth?" Yamamoto blinked before looking at the shocked Tsuna.

"G-Gokudera! Leave him alone, he's my friend!" Tsuna protested quickly.

Gokudera looked at Tsuna before looking disbelievingly at Yamamoto. He then moved aside and returned to Tsuna's right side.

Yamamoto looked at the boys and then at Tsuna, his expression slightly unreadable. Oh no. The only friend he had… Tsuna was sure he was about to lose him. After all, who wanted to be friends with the head of a school gang!? But once again, Yamamoto caught him by surprise as the baseball player started to laugh.

"That's awesome, Tsuna! You made some great friends! You're the leader, right? Can I join?" Yamamoto said with a laugh and a smile.

Tsuna's jaw dropped and Gokudera spoke before he could react. "Like hell! The Tenth would never allow someone like you to join!" He growled. "This isn't some game!"

"G-Gokudera! Please!" Tsuna looked at him. "Please be nice to Yamamoto!"

Gokudera looked back at Tsuna and sighed slightly before nodding and crossing his arms with a huff. Tsuna looked back at Yamamoto and sighed slightly. "I'll talk to you about all this later, but... if you don't mind, Yamamoto, I wouldn't mind having you around," he said, looking at him as he bit his lip a bit. With Yamamoto around, Tsuna was sure he could be a bit more confident.

"Of course I wouldn't mind!" Yamamoto grinned. "This looks fun!"

Fun… Fun was the last word on Tsuna's mind.

So as they headed to the classroom, Yamamoto walked on Tsuna's left side, talking excitedly about the baseball game that was coming up in a few days. It seemed he wasn't at all perturbed by the gang around him which had grown even tenser than before at the baseball player's arrival.

As Yamamoto spoke, it served to calm Tsuna down very much. Soon, the brunette was smiling and nodding at Yamamoto's words and exclamations. Gokudera, though, was thoroughly annoyed at the baseball player. But it was Tsuna's previous order that prevented him from punching the baseball idiot in the face.

As Tsuna and the rest of them entered the classroom, the rest of the students froze in fear. Usually Tsuna would see this whenever Gokudera walked in, but now, the fearful gazes were directed at him. The smile Yamamoto had given him faded away.

Tsuna frowned and moved to his seat. The people around him suddenly scrambled away and the rest of the gang took the now empty chairs. Gokudera was, of course, on the seat to his right. Yamamoto took the seat to his left. The other four boys arranged themselves so that there were two behind Tsuna and two in front. There was a perfect square around the Tenth boss and it made Tsuna feel rather suffocated.

The rest of the day, however, went on quietly. Their last two classes took place without incident. and when it was time to go, the four boys along with Yamamoto and Gokudera walked Tsuna out of the school. As they reached the gate, Reborn and Dino stood there, watching them. Dino was slightly shocked while Reborn had a slightly smug look on his face. The older Sawada waved with a grin and Yamamoto smiled and waved back. Tsuna looked between them, wondering what was going on and why Reborn wasn't asking any questions.

Regardless, the other boys didn't allow Tsuna to stop to talk to Reborn. It seemed they still hated his guts. Tsuna was forced to continue walking out of the school as the boys glared hotly at Reborn. Tsuna didn't want them to start a fight so he was grateful when the rest of them followed his pace.

As they walked down the street, one by one, the other four boys stopped and bowed to Tsuna, bidding good afternoon before taking a different route. By the time they arrived at Tsuna's house, Yamamoto and Gokudera were the only two that were accompanying him.

"Good afternoon, Tenth," Gokudera said respectfully. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya, Tsuna!" Yamamoto said with a grin.

Gokudera growled and glared at Yamamoto. "Stop being so casual!" But Gokudera's yelling fell on deaf ears as Yamamoto just laughed. Gokudera clenched his fists and Tsuna was quick to jump in front of him.

"Please calm down, Gokudera!" Tsuna said quickly, still slightly scared of the taller boy.

Gokudera, though, did calm down. He glared at Yamamoto before nodding to Tsuna. "See you tomorrow."

Tsuna sighed slightly and nodded, watching him go. He wondered if he was still, in a way, being bullied to be their boss. This all seemed way too surreal.

"Hey, Tsuna." Yamamoto put a hand on the brunette's shoulder. Tsuna looked up at him. "Don't sweat it, alright? Everything will be fine." He flashed his signature carefree smile.

Tsuna smiled a bit and nodded. "Yeah. I guess this is better than how things were before. Thanks, Yamamoto."

Yamamoto grinned before bidding Tsuna goodbye. Tsuna entered his house, nearly tripping on his little brother who was bolting across the living room, chasing a small green lizard.

"Lambo!" Tsuna hurried over and picked Leon up. The small five-year-old pouted.

"Tsuna's no fun!" Lambo proclaimed. "Leon and I were playing tag!"

"You know Reborn doesn't like it when you touch Leon," Tsuna scolded, trying to prevent the traumatized lizard from hiding in his hair.

"Bleh! Reborn is boring too! And he's stupid! And dumb! And-"

"What did you say, brat?" Reborn was suddenly behind Tsuna and glaring down at Lambo. The five-year-old immediately paled.

"I SAID YOU WERE DUMB," Lambo screamed in an attempt to hide his fearful tone. "Y-YOU'RE LUCKY I HAVE THINGS TO DO OR ELSE I'D BEAT YOU UP." After this, the five-year-old fled to the kitchen, most likely looking for their mother to cling to.

Tsuna sighed slightly as he felt Leon jump from his hand and land on Reborn's shoulder. His older brother petted the little lizard's head, calming the small reptile. Reborn then looked at Tsuna and smirked a bit.

"So I see you made a few more friends," Reborn said with a slightly smug tone.

Tsuna frowned, looking at him. "You can hardly call them friends!" he said, shaking his head. "They're scary! I don't even know how it happened! And now they're calling me Tenth. They're convinced that I'm their new boss!"

At these words, Reborn began laughing heartily. Tsuna's eyes widened slightly in shock, but then he frowned. "This isn't funny, Reborn!" he said, his voice cracking with slight distress.

"Of course it is!" Reborn chuckled. "Yamamoto and I only planned for them to leave you alone, but this turned out so much better than I ever thought!"

Tsuna stared at his older brother as he continued laughing. Then it all suddenly made sense. The baseball he slipped on. The wood falling from the scaffolding. The brick.

"THAT WAS YOU?!" Tsuna's eyes were wide.

"We had to do something," Reborn said with a smirk. "If not, they'd never leave you alone. Originally, Yamamoto and I had planned to just scare them away from you." He smirked a bit wider. "But now you command them, Tsuna! Good job!"

"You could have seriously hurt someone, Reborn!" Tsuna frowned. "Especially with that brick!"

"Don't worry, it wasn't going to hit you."

"Even if it was just to hit Gokudera! That's horrible! You could have killed him!" Tsuna grit his teeth.

Reborn's eyes turned hard. "Anyone that messes with my little brother like that deserves what's coming to them."

Tsuna stared in slight shock at Reborn for a moment before he frowned, looking away. "Did Yamamoto know about the brick?"

"No. That was my idea and he wasn't involved. The only thing he did was the ball. I did everything else," Reborn said simply.

Tsuna put his hands over his face, feeling a little relief. At least Yamamoto wasn't involved with Reborn in hurting people like what had happened. He felt a hand on his shoulder and Tsuna looked up at Reborn.

"Listen, Tsuna. I did that because I care about you. And you know just as well as I do that if that hadn't happened, nothing would have changed." He frowned.

Reborn's words hurt him, but Tsuna knew they were true. He would have never had the courage to stand up to Gokudera. Without Reborn's interference, he'd probably would have been beat up again and left at the dumpster.

"Reborn, I-"

Knock, knock!

"Tsu-kun, honey, could you get that for me?" their mother called from the kitchen.

"Y-yeah!" Tsuna sighed slightly as he watched Reborn take the interruption easily. His older brother was already heading up the stairs. Tsuna went to the door and opened it, slightly shocked at who it was.

"Gokudera? What are you doing here?" Tsuna blinked in slight shock as he stared at his self-proclaimed right hand.

"You dropped a book, Tenth!" Gokudera was panting slightly and held out a textbook for Tsuna. The brunette blinked as he stared at the book, taking it and realizing that he did need the book for his homework.

"Oh… Thank you…" Tsuna muttered slightly. He held the book to his chest for a moment wondering what to do now. Gokudera was staring at him… "U-Um… Would you like to come in…?"

It was as if the words made Gokudera realize he was staring. The teen blinked several times before almost flailing. "Oh, no. It's okay! I don't want to intrude!" he said as seriously as he could. But Tsuna could see Gokudera was trying not to look embarrassed. Perhaps he wasn't as scary as he looked…?

"I... I'm sure Mom wouldn't mind," Tsuna said with a small, hesitant smile. He stepped to the side. "Come on inside."

Gokudera looked at Tsuna and rubbed his arm slightly. "Sorry for intruding..." he muttered as he walked in. Tsuna closed the door after Gokudera and after the taller teen removed his shoes, putting them next to Tsuna's, he led him into the house.

"I-if you want, you can stay for dinner. Mom loves having people over," Tsuna said with a small smile.

"No, I couldn't possibly-" Gokudera began to protest, but it was then that Tsuna's mother walked out and spotted Tsuna with a different boy this time. Her eyes lit up happily.

"Oh, Tsu-kun! You made another friend!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "I'm so proud of you! Aren't you going to introduce him?"

Tsuna's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Ah… Yeah… This is Gokudera Hayato. Gokudera, this is my Mom."

"Good evening," Gokudera said stiffly. It was clear that the boy was out of his element.

"It's very nice to meet you, Gokudera!" She smiled at him brightly. "You're going to stay for dinner, right?"

"Well I don't want to intrude on-"

"Intrude? Oh never! You're always welcome to come and visit! Our door is open! Feel free to stop by whenever you like!" she said kindly.

Gokudera's cheeks reddened slightly before he nodded. "Y-yes. Thank you!" he said before bowing to Tsuna's mother.

Tsuna himself was embarrassed but slightly happy. Gokudera really wasn't that scary. He wondered why he had been so horrible before. Now he seemed so harmless. Maybe because Tsuna was his "boss" now? Either way, he much preferred this Gokudera rather than the first one he met.

"Dinner won't be ready for another few hours," Nana said with a smile.

"Okay, Mom. Um, we'll be up in my room then," Tsuna said before looking at Gokudera. "Come on. I'll show you up." The brunette led him up the stairs and to his small bedroom. Once they got inside, they walked in on Lambo pulling several of Tsuna's things off the shelves as if he was looking for something.

"Lambo!" Tsuna put the book down before hurrying over and pulling the small five-year-old away from the shelf.

"HEY! WAIT! I WANTED TO PLAY!" Lambo complained loudly.

"You're not supposed to be playing in here!" Tsuna said, putting Lambo down in front of the door.

"Eh? Eh? Who's this?" Lambo was immediately distracted at the sight of Gokudera. He put his hands on his hips. His favorite cow-print pajamas were dirty from playing and food and his hair was as unruly as always. "You look stupid!" he announced with a laugh.

Gokudera growled. "Shut up, you stupid cow! You shouldn't bother the Tenth like that!"

"I'm not stupid! You're stupid! And I can do what I want!" Lambo huffed, stomping on Gokudera's foot.

Gokudera grunted in pain and clenched his fists. "Why you…!"

Tsuna suddenly feared for his little brother's life. "L-Lambo! Gokudera and I are busy! Why don't you go bother Reborn!? I'm sure I saw him hiding some grape candies under his mattress!" he said quickly.

At the promise of his favorite candy, Lambo immediately bolted out of the door, heading straight for Reborn's room. Tsuna knew that Reborn would hate him for this, but Lambo was far better off taking Reborn's abuse than whatever Gokudera was capable of.

Gokudera scowled as he watched the boy run off down the hall. He sat down on the floor in front of the low table, Tsuna sitting on the other side with a sigh of relief. "Who was that kid, Tenth?"

"That's Lambo." Tsuna said with a sigh. "He's my little brother. And could you just call me by my name?"

"No," Gokudera said sternly.

Tsuna looked at him and found he couldn't argue. So he just nodded. They sat in silence for a few moments before Tsuna picked up the book Gokudera brought him. "Um, if you brought your homework, do you want to do it together?" he offered.

"Oh, I already finished it, Tenth," Gokudera said, looking at him. "But if you need help, I can help you with the homework."

"How…? How did you do the homework so fast?" Tsuna's eyes widened slightly. Did Gokudera even go home yet?

"I finished it during school. It was easy," Gokudera said with a small shrug. "Would you like me to help you?"

"Um... Sure. That'd be nice." Tsuna said with a small smile as he took out his work. As he did, Gokudera picked up his hair in a small ponytail and taking a pair of reading glasses out of his bag. Tsuna stared in slight shock. Gokudera looked completely different than usual. He looked… smart? He definitely looked a lot less threatening this way. The glasses framed his face in such a way that made him look gentler. The short tufts of hair that couldn't reach the ponytail gently grazed the other's cheeks and Tsuna couldn't pull his eyes away.

"Tenth, which homework would you like to start with?" Gokudera said, breaking the brunette's train of thought.

"Ah! Yes. Um… I guess math. I don't really understand it." Tsuna made sure to stare down at his math book as they began work. In the beginning, Tsuna didn't understand the math work at all, but as Gokudera explained, it soon hit him that the other teen was actually very smart. And it wasn't only math. Science and history also became easy as Gokudera helped him. Tsuna finished his homework in record time.

"Gokudera, you're really smart! I'm impressed!" Tsuna said with a smile as he put his completed homework away.

"Ah… Thanks, Tenth." Gokudera smiled a bit crookedly as he folded up his glasses, putting them away. "I'm glad I could help you."

"You really helped me. Thanks so much." Tsuna smiled and nodded.

Gokudera had removed the ponytail, his hair now covering his face as he bent over his bag. But Tsuna could have sworn he had seen a blush. Once again, the two were thrust into an awkward silence. Tsuna stared at the table for a few moments before glancing up at Gokudera. The white-haired teen stared at him before opening his mouth to say something, but instead of hearing his voice, Tsuna heard something far more annoying.

"TSUUUUUUUNAAAA!" Lambo burst into the room and ran over to his older brother. As the five-year-old hid behind Tsuna, it was evident as to why he was panicking.

"You can't hide from me, you brat!" Reborn burst into the room. His black hair was at full spikiness. He was brandishing in his hand his beanie which now had a hole in it.

"Tsuna! He's gonna kill me!" Lambo cried, his nose running slightly as he buried his face into the back of Tsuna's shirt. "It was a accident!"

"Like hell it was," Reborn growled.

"R-Reborn! I'm sure we can deal with this!" Tsuna said quickly, lifting his hands as a sign of peace.

"The only thing I'm going to deal with is that snot-nosed brat you're hiding," Reborn said darkly.

"HEY STUPIDERA! GET HIM FOR ME!" Lambo shouted obnoxiously at Gokudera who was sitting there.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU STUPID COW?!" Gokudera growled.

"My my, everyone's so lively!"

"MAMA! REBORN'S GONNA KILL ME CAUSE HE WAS STUPID AND BROKE HIS HAT!" Lambo shouted immediately at the sight of his mother. She took Reborn's hat and smiled a bit.

"Don't worry, I can have it fixed by tomorrow! No harm done! But dinner's ready right now, so why don't you come on down, everyone?" she suggested with a smile before she left with Reborn's hat.

Reborn watched his mother go before glaring at Lambo. "I'm going to get you for this, brat. Just you wait and see," he warned lowly before leaving down the hallway.

Lambo peeked out from behind Tsuna once Reborn was gone. Once he was sure that his oldest brother wasn't coming back, he put his hands confidently on his hips and laughed loud. "AND I WIN AGAIN!" he said before grabbing Gokudera's sleeve. "Let's go! It's time for dinner, Stupidera!" Of course Lambo was scared of going to the kitchen on his own so he was grabbing hold of the most fearsome boy in the room.

"It's Gokudera! And let go of me, stupid cow!"

"Butt head!"

"Idiot!"

"STUPID DUMMY!"

"SNOT-NOSED BRAT!"

The two growled at each other, electricity sparking as the tension grew between the fifteen-year-old and five-year-old. Tsuna was sad to think that it seemed like a perfectly reasonable rivalry was forming…

"Alright, alright… Come on, let's go to dinner," Tsuna said standing up with a slightly awkward smile. Gokudera and Lambo narrowed their eyes at each other before standing and walking out of the room after Tsuna. The two boys seemed unwilling to break the stare down. As if the person who looked away was the one who would lose. So as they walked, they kept their eyes locked onto each other.

It wasn't long though before Lambo began to get bored. So without breaking eye contact, he swiftly kicked Gokudera in the shin. The teen winced and cursed slightly, the five-year-old laughing loudly and victoriously.

"WHAHAHA! I WIN!" Lambo announced at the top of his lungs.

"YOU DIRTY CHEATER!" Gokudera growled and within seconds, he was chasing after the loud five-year-old.

Tsuna's heart stopped as he ran after them, fearing what Gokudera would do to his little brother. But Lambo made it to the kitchen before the white-haired teen could grab him.

"I see you made a new friend, Lambo-chan!" His mother smiled happily, picking the five-year-old up in her arms.

"Mama, I'm Stupidera's boss! He listens to everything I say!" Lambo exclaimed victoriously.

"LIKE HELL!" Gokudera flexed his fingers as if itching to wring the annoying boy's neck.

"Ah… So what'd you make, Mom!?" Tsuna said a bit louder than necessary, just to get Gokudera to stop glaring murderously at his little brother.

His mother smiled happily. "Oh, nothing special. I would have made something better if I knew you were going to bring a friend over, Tsu-kun!"

At these words, Gokudera immediately straightened up respectfully. "I apologize again for intruding, Tenth's Mother!" he spoke as if he was in the army.

"Don't worry about it, Gokudera!" she said with a wave of her hand and a smile.

Tsuna wondered if his mom was oblivious or if she was just choosing to ignore Gokudera's… quirks.

Regardless, they all somehow settled down for dinner. Gokudera was too busy arguing with Lambo to throw hatred glares at Reborn and Reborn was glad to ignore him. Other than this, Tsuna noticed that his mother seemed to enjoy all of the commotion. Tsuna smiled slightly at his mother's happiness.

"Mama! I want a lollipop!" Lambo said, grains of rice sticking to his cheeks and shirt.

"Of course, Lambo-chan!" Their mother looked at Gokudera and smiled. "Is there anything you want for dessert, Gokudera-kun?"

Gokudera had grimaced slightly at the mess that Lambo made all over himself, but when he heard the Tenth's Mother's words, he quickly shook his head. "No, thank you! I should get going! I've intruded enough!" he said, looking visibly uncomfortable at the kindness being offered to him. He quickly stood up, bowing to Tsuna's mother who just nodded politely in response.

"Ah, then I'll walk you to the door, Gokudera," Tsuna said, standing up.

"There's no need to, Tenth!" Gokudera said immediately, his discomfort shooting up.

"It's okay, I'm already up," Tsuna said softly, attempting to try and calm Gokudera. Of course the kinder tone made Gokudera blush with embarrassment, but he just nodded, unable to speak anymore against Tsuna.

Tsuna sighed slightly and walked with Gokudera to the door. He stood silently as Gokudera put his shoes back on, and Gokudera returned the silence. After he finished putting on his shoes, he stood and looked uncomfortably at Tsuna and the awkwardness extended for a few more seconds.

"I'll… see you tomorrow, Tenth," Gokudera muttered before he bowed low. "Have a good evening!" he said curtly before turning and hurrying out the door.

"See you, Gokudera," Tsuna called after him before sighing slightly. He wondered what he was doing wrong. He figured if he was nicer to Gokudera, then they could easily be friends… But being nicer to him just seemed to provoke the situation.

"He's not used to it."

"What?" Tsuna turned to see his older brother standing behind him.

"I said he's not used to it." Reborn said, looking at Tsuna. "Normally people don't treat him so nicely."

"I guess…" Tsuna looked at where Gokudera had been standing just a few moments before closing the door. "What should I do?"

"He'll get used to it." Reborn put a hand on Tsuna's head. "You just keep being your stupid, naïve, innocent, and vulnerable self."

"… I'm not sure whether or not to take that as a compliment…" Tsuna frowned, pushing Reborn's hand off.

Reborn just smirked cryptically before turning around and calling to his mom for an espresso. The young brunette stared after his brother before shaking his head slightly. Why couldn't things be simple? Why couldn't he just have a normal high school life with a couple of friends, an average GPA, and simple planning for the future?

But now he was the head of a gang that ruled over the school using fear. No matter how he tried to look at it, this was going to ruin his life. It would most likely go on his permanent record, colleges wouldn't accept him, he would never get hired, and then he'd be arrested on suspicion for murder!

Okay, maybe that was going a bit too far, but who knew?

Tsuna trudged up back to his room, mulling over Reborn's words. Gokudera wasn't used to kindness. What a sad life that had to be. Perhaps Gokudera wasn't as scary as he first thought. Perhaps there was something a bit deeper that he had to discover.

Tsuna fell asleep that night, his head filled with thoughts of his right hand man.