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Words: 4197.

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Previously... little snippets.

The boy had lost his mother at age nine.

Alex. The hitman. Unknown, clean, professional. He was called the Punisher, in his world.

His eyes spoke of strength, his shoulders spoke of responsibility, his cool spoke of control. This was not the Sawada Tsunayoshi he was expecting.

"A friend helped me until I was able to live alone."

"You are clumsy."

No one wanted anything to do with Hibari Kyouya.

"Loud thoughts, carnivore."

"Oh, I have a job here." He answered, opening a back door. "Nothing serious, the shop owner just loves my cakes and asks for a special every weekend."

"You're trained."

"Enough to fight back."

03 – A Peaceful Saturday

Reborn dearly missed using his green Leon-mallet. Tsuna woke up at exactly 8 o'clock. No alarms. He had hoped he would be able to use it on him this time, Saturday not being a school day, but the boy woke up by himself and groggily stared at him.

"You wanted to hit me."

The hitman, already dressed up, stood and left for the kitchen without answering. He snorted, looking at the empty room. He sat on the table, imagining it with a waiting breakfast ready to be eaten. The furniture gave him the idea of a warm house, a welcoming family. Reborn suddenly understood that, more than needed, he wanted information on Tsuna.

And that was it. He had to bring forth the teen's flames and be sure this attachment was because of them. Else… He had a little issue. And he didn't even want to process it in his mind. It was too problematic.

Plus, the night had not gone smoothly. He woke up a few times and the teen was having nightmares. The first time, he had calmed down on his own after some minutes. The second time, Tsuna had woken up with a start and run to the bathroom. Judging from the sound, he'd been probably puking. Luckily, it had been too late and the only thing he could have vomited was his bile. He then had returned to bed, fighting a lot to fall asleep again. The third time, Reborn had stood and patted his head, letting the teen calm down.

The boy joined him, still dressed in the white tight jumpsuit. He yawned and prepared breakfast.

"Morning…"

Black hot coffee for Reborn and hot honeyed milk for himself. Once finished, the teen stood and went in the garden. The hitman observed the boy stretch and position two wooden tables under the willow tree, adding some chairs. He returned inside and opened the fridge, humming to himself.

After a while, he nodded and took the schoolbag, sitting and focusing on his homework. Reborn sighed inwardly at the other's autonomy and inched forward, checking everything with his scanning eyes.

As two days prior, Tsuna did his work neatly and perfectly. Reborn proceeded then in his own tutoring, telling him about other important families and their relationships with Vongola. He also taught the boy the nine generations that had led the Famiglia until then.

"Guardians?"

Reborn nodded. "There are six in total.

First, the Storm Guardian: 'continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious Storm that never rests'.

Second, the Rain Guardian: 'to become a blessed shower that settles conflict and washes everything away'.

Third, the Sun Guardian: 'destroying the misfortune that attacks the Famiglia with their own body, they become the Sun that brightly shines upon an area'.

Fourth, the Cloud Guardian: 'to be the aloof, drifting Cloud that protects the Family from an independent standpoint, and whom nothing can ever bind'.

Fifth, the Lightning Guardian: 'to draw damage to himself and away from the rest of the Famiglia, serving as a lightning rod'.

Sixth, the Mist Guardian: 'creating something from nothing, and nothing from something, thus bewildering the enemy, to render the Famiglia's true form intangible with visions of deceit'."

He made pauses in-between, letting everything settle.

"Tsuna, you are the Sky: 'Rain, Storm, Cloud, Sun, Mist, Lightning, he influences all of them; he understands and accepts all of them'."

"I don't want to bring anyone in this, though…" He frowned. "I still don't want the title."

"And why are you willingly listening to me and learning?" Reborn asked before he could stop.

Tsuna shrugged. "First, I fear some pain in trying to deter you from doing this. You did want to hit me this morning as a wake-up alarm. Second, these information's could be useful in the future. I am in the line of fire, after all."

The hitman nodded, thoughtful. "Good thinking process."

The teen smiled. "Thanks." And huffed. "Now I should start preparing lunch… But I don't know how many are coming today…" He stood and took a baking tin. "It's already noon…"

He put it on the counter and went to the front door, Reborn on his head. He opened it and froze. As for Reborn, he didn't know what to think about the scene.

Hibari Kyouya stood at the right side, outside of the gate, held back by two Disciplinary Committee members. One of them was Kusakabe Tetsuya, the one that always followed his Boss around. The other was slightly shorter than the skylark, lean but muscular. He had slightly long, spiky bright red hair that hid a bit the black narrowed eyes. His expression was jovial and he was putting little effort in successfully stopping Hibari. They were all wearing the Committee Uniform.

On the other side, four teens stood, looking at the skylark. One, the taller, was slender, with blue hair in an odd shape that resembled that of a pineapple. He had heterochromia, with his left eye blue and his right one red, number 'six' in the middle. He was wearing earrings. The only girl was small, but resembled the boy a lot in facial features and hair-style. She had an eyepatch on the right eye. The second boy had a large horizontal scar stretching from cheek to cheek, crossing the bridge of his nose, blonde hair and brown eyes. The last teen was tall, thin, with a barcode on his left cheek and a bandage on his right. He had blue eyes and hair. Each of them was wearing a strange green uniform.

The pineapple teen was smirking broadly, almost laughing. Tsuna sighed and walked between the two parties. He snapped his fingers to get their attention and Hibari stopped his seething.

"If you two want to fight, do it in the forest, far from my house." He said with a cold voice, urging the others in the garden. "But you will have no lunch."

As if electrocuted, everyone stood straight and slowly obliged. Reborn shook his head at that antic and overlooked everything from his spot. Tsuna followed them and took some more chairs for his friends.

"Now, I shall present you my guest." The hitman hummed and looked at who the teen pointed. "Guys, this is Reborn. Reborn, they are some of my friends. Hibari Kyouya, Kusakabe Tetsuya, Hanawara Kair, Rokudo Mukuro, Dokuro Chrome, Kakimoto Chikusa and Joshima Ken."

The baby memorized names and faces and studied them, noting to himself personalities and stances. Out of them all, Rokudo Mukuro was the one that gave him some creeps. That devil smirk and those eyes seemed dangerous. Hanawara Kair was just looking at the willow, head turned almost like an owl, arms and legs crossed and blank expression. Reborn couldn't feel any vibes from him. The three that had accompanied Mukuro, after nodding to him in respect, were kindly conversing with each other. No dangers there.

"Okay, now I know how much to cook… Don't destroy anything."

"Wait, I'll help…" Chrome said.

Tsuna smiled. "If you want."

The girl happily followed him inside. Reborn jumped on the windowsill to have an unobstructed view of both parties. Tsuna opened the window with a knowing smirk and wore a black apron. He gave Chrome a pink one and potatoes to peel and cut into little cubes. In the meantime, the boy took another baking tin and horse meat from the fridge. He adjusted some fillets in it and a hamburger. He put back the meat left in the fridge and took bread crumb, grated cheese, oil and salt. He covered the meat with the ingredients and did the same with the potatoes' cubes. With the two tins in the oven, the teens cleaned their hands with water.

Outside, Reborn heard Ken and Chikusa talking amicably. Mukuro was chuckling darkly while smirking down at Hibari. Tetsuya was doing his best to avoid any fight between the two. Kair had stood and was leaning on the willow's trunk, looking at the forest with crossed arms and an almost-there smile.

Meanwhile, Tsuna cut minutely some salad and Chrome julienned carrots. They mixed the two and started gathering plates, glasses and silverware. Reborn noticed they were different from each other, in colour and details. Kair joined them and took the salad bowl and the various seasonings. He jumped on Tsuna's head to follow them outside. Hibari's plate and fork were grey and plain. Tetsuya's were black and rounded. Kair's plate was black with white floral decorations. Mukuro and Chrome's were violet with a white corner. Ken's were brown with a lion and Chikusa's were blue. His own were orange shading in black and Tsuna's were plain white.

Tsuna and Kair went back inside to take the tins and came carrying them with pot holders. They sat and Reborn took his place. Chit-chatter soon filled the air as the group ate in a peaceful atmosphere. Even Mukuro's smirk and Hibari's scowl had disappeared. The hamburger was for the latter, was it his favourite? The hitman savoured a bite of combined meat, potatoes and salad. They were all heavenly cooked. The freshness of the salad mixed blissfully with the heat of the others. The flavour of the bread crumbs and melted grated cheese was an explosion in his mouth.

Apparently, everyone was of the same opinion. They were greedily but calmly eating. It was rather strange to have someone aloof like Hibari at the same table of so many people. Hell, there was also someone whom he didn't like.

"How's school going, Chrome?" Tsuna asked, wiping his mouth with the handkerchief.

She smiled. "It's fine."

"Friends? Aside from those two…"

"Hey, pyon!" Ken shouted, but was ignored.

"I've met two kind girls at a bus stop this week. They're friendly and cheerful."

Tsuna smiled softly. "That's good."

Chrome hummed with a nod. "One of them is from your school."

He arched a brow. "Really? Interesting…"

Mukuro cleared his throat. "Kair, why don't you join us for the afternoon?"

The boy looked up from his empty plate and frowned.

"Come on, bro, you're wasted in that Committee, pyon."

Kair rolled his eyes at Ken and looked at Tsuna.

"Leave him alone, he won't join you. Not now, nor later on." The brunette said after a sigh.

Hibari smirked and Tetsuya smiled.

"I honestly can't fathom why." Chikusa commented.

The red-haired shrugged and tilted his head to Hibari, then to Tsuna, that blinked. "For me, too?" He nodded, and the boy frowned. "Why?"

Kair sighed and shrugged again, then turned to look at the willow. Reborn stayed silent, observing the exchange. From his point of view, judging their behaviour and way of conversing, it seemed like everyone revolved around his student. Aside from Kair just admitting it, as if he meant that he wanted to be near in case something happened to Tsuna, they all talked to him with high respect and consideration. Them eating at the same table had spoken volumes about it, already. Maybe the fact that Tsuna treated them as friends nonetheless was another clear sign of the hypothetical hierarchy, hidden and almost invisible. But why?

There was a story. No, more than one, linking them all to the teen. As if they were in debt with him or something like that. Perhaps, the only one that did not match that connection was the skylark. Though, there was some kind, a strong one, that allowed the two to be in a friendly relationship.

Unfortunately, as before, he had a feeling that he could not discover things easily. Asking directly would have led him nowhere, he just knew. Again, the only option was to wait. He could ask his contacts, but… He was losing the little trust he had in them.

Tsuna stood and gathered the dirty plates. Chrome and Tetsuya did the same, helping him. When they disappeared inside, Kair looked at him and Reborn gazed back. He pointed at the baby, then at the house and glared.

"You're threatening me?" The hitman asked.

Kair shook his head and shrugged.

"An advice?"

This time he nodded, then stood and sat beside him, in Tsuna's place. He took a piece of paper and scrabbled something before giving it to him.

'I know you are curious and that you need to know, but don't push. You've been doing a great job so far.'

"Really…" He said, sceptic.

Kair nodded and tilted his head towards the kitchen's window. Tsuna and the other two were talking amicably and smiling. The red-haired pointed two fingers to his eyes and nodded. Reborn could intuitively say that the boy was telling him to observe the brunette carefully. He hummed and tucked the paper in a pocket.

The three came outside with a bowl of fruit salad and one of ice cream. By the time they finished lunch, it was already 4 p.m. Hibari stood and laid on the grass, falling asleep instantly. Kair silently chuckled, while Tsuna and Tetsuya tried to hide their own laughter.

Mukuro scoffed. Chrome went inside and reappeared with the cake from the day before. They ate it, leaving a slice for the skylark, with little leftover. Kair took it and placed it on the grass near him, then sat there with his own portion.

"Yummy, pyon!" Ken shouted.

"As always, Tsunayoshi." Mukuro added.

Chikusa hummed.

"Thanks, guys."

Reborn ate his piece and almost licked his lips. Later, Mukuro's group left. Chrome insisted on helping Tsuna with the dishes, but he shooed them away with a smile. Tetsuya gave him a hand, though. Kair stayed outside, on a branch of the willow, with Hibari, that was still sleeping. Reborn had to admit that this lifestyle was peaceful, but not to the point of being boring. It felt like a family.

He wondered, from his spot on Tsuna's head… Should he make use of this opportunity? He needed Guardians. While Gokudera Hayato was still on his way, he had to think about the others.

Hibari Kyouya was a possible cloud. A highly possible one. He was aloof, strong and already had a, even if strange and not categorizable, relationship with the brunette. It made bringing him in a lot easier. But it had to be on Tsuna's words. The skylark would not listen to the hitman, he knew.

What about the others? He needed the Rain… Yamamoto Takeshi gave him the feeling of it. The calmness he gave, even when sleeping, was a key. Yeah, he had to work on that. Tsuna and the boy didn't have any connections.

Lightning… He maybe had someone… But he was annoying. He'd rather not involve him… Well, he had no say in that… The boy was sure to come on his own, sent by that wicked family… And Tsuna… He had a foreboding he will adopt him. For sure. He sighed.

Sun. Ugh. He had no one. In the school, he had seen no one capable, no one that gave off the feeling of strength and brilliance. He had to search more.

Mist… Why did Mukuro pop up in his mind? He was a sneaky and devious one… Maybe he was right for the position. Well, he had to see about that, too.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Reborn looked at Tsuna, that was holding up a cup of coffee. He sighed and took it, sipping some.

"Guess not…"

The brunette returned to drying the glasses. Tetsuya went outside to give Kair a cup of espressino and stayed there, drinking his own.

"My mission is to make you a worthy Decimo. For that, you need your Guardians. I was thinking about possible candidates."

Tsuna finished and sighed, drying his hands. "I see." He left the towel on the counter and looked outside. "I guess you're thinking about Kyouya and Mukuro…" Right on spot… "Well, they would like a life like that. Fights and enemies and fights and bloodbaths…"

Oh gosh… Something going the right way. What a shock. Now, the others though… That was bound to be a problem. Given Lambo's age, or Yamamoto's life.

"What do you think of them?" Ha suddenly asked. "I mean, my friends."

And why was he asking that? "They have a high consideration of you. They respect you. Why?"

"Uhm… Let's say that… I've helped them. Many times and in many ways." He smiled. "But I insist that they consider me only as a friend. Mukuro was a hard one to convince."

"Hibari, too?"

"No, he's… The other way around. He helped me, when I needed it the most. I don't know why, honestly. Maybe he saw strength in me and wanted an opponent to train with." Tsuna took a long breath. "He's impossible, sometimes."

"I agree. He told me my thoughts were too loud and to stop."

The brunette blinked, before slowly bursting into a laughing fit. Reborn jumped on the counter, avoiding a fall, because the boy bended forward to hold his stomach. This was the first time he heard him laugh heartily. The hitman had to suppress a smile of his own at the sound. It was oddly right, as if it was supposed to happen more frequently. From outside, Tetsuya and Kair turned to look at them. The pompadour one smiled openly, while the other's lips curled up slightly.

Tsuna recomposed and straightened his back with teary eyes. He huffed some more and sipped his hot chocolate.

"So impossible…" He commented. "Your thoughts… I should say you think too much, but given your profession..." He shrugged. "Can't blame you."

They looked outside and noticed Kair was nowhere to be seen. Tetsuya, instead, was gazing towards the front gate. Tsuna narrowed his eyes and went to the door, opening it. The red-haired teen was leaning on the wall, hands in pocket, looking with… pity? Sadness?... to a startled Yamamoto Takeshi. He had the right arm bandaged and held high by a cloth around his neck.

The brunette blinked, mouth agape. "What… Yamamoto-san?"

The boy turned his head to Tsuna and then looked around. He chuckled and scratched his nape in embarrassment.

"Hi, Sawada!"

Reborn thought it was strange for him to be there, so far from the centre of the town. On a Saturday, too. What was he doing?

"Hello, Yamamoto-san…" Tsuna smiled. "What brings you here?"

"Ahah, I was just walking around. I might be lost, actually…" At that, Kair rolled his eyes.

"I see… What happened to you?"

"Oh, I trained too much."

There was something strained in his smile this time. It didn't seem right… Almost ominous. Kair sighed, grabbed Yamamoto's left arm and brought him in the garden. The boy tried to struggle out of the grip, but found it surprisingly impossible and gave up. Tsuna followed them with the hitman nestled on his head. Kair made the boy sit on a chair and took back his place on the tree.

"Uhm, Sawada… Who is he?" The baseball ace pointed a finger to the red-haired, that shrugged and closed his eyes.

Tsuna chuckled. "His name is Hanawara Kair, Disciplinary Committee member."

"I have never seen him before…"

Oh… So, it wasn't Reborn that hadn't notice him, the boy simply was never at school? But, he was a member of the Committee. Strange. Hibari would not let someone under him lazy around. So, what were his duties?

The brunette wore a knowing smile and shrugged. "Are you hungry? I have the leftovers of a chocolate cake."

The boy smiled and nodded. "Thanks!"

Reborn jumped on the table, letting Tsuna go inside alone. Yamamoto noticed him and waved a hand.

"Oh, you're the chibi that follows Sawada around. Nice to meet you!"

Kair laughed silently while Tetsuya coughed. Chibi. The boy was surely naïve. And smiley.

"His name's Reborn. He's staying here for the time being."

Tsuna put a white plate with the slice of cake in front of Yamamoto, a fork and a glass of honeyed milk. He sat as the other started eating with a thanking phrase. The brunette continued sipping his drink. The silence was broken seldom by the wind brushing the willow's leaves.

"Sawada… Why is Hibari sleeping in your garden?"

… Had the boy just noticed him? Yeah, naïve and slow.

"Yes, he is. I guess he was sleepy after lunch."

"Lunch? He ate here?" Yamamoto's expression was incredulous.

"Not only him." Tsuna chuckled. "Kair, Tetsuya and some other friends did, too."

"You're not unfriendly then…" Maybe not that slow, Reborn mused. "But why do you close up like that in class?"

Nice, direct. The hitman could use this boy's personality for his own purposes.

"Ah… That's a bit complicate." Tsuna hummed and shrugged.

"Complicate?"

The brunette nodded. "Friends, true ones, are hard to find. I'm honest and have to trust them, so it's even harder."

Yamamoto looked sideway and frowned. "You're right…"

"That applies to you, too." The boy flinched with wide eyes. "Your so-called friends. They're there only because of your cleverness in baseball."

After some moments, Takeshi sighed and wore the same strange smile as before. "They're not going to anymore." He tilted his head to the bandaged arm. "Plus, my score is dropping. And training got me like this. I'm useless."

"That's harsh. I don't think so."

Yamamoto scoffed. "What could you know."

Tsuna snorted. "I've observed you playing. You've been doing fine, in my opinion. But, pushing too much is not healthy. Sometimes you need to loosen up instead of focusing restlessly. Use your arm's healing time to rest, maybe think some things over, too."

The boy froze with the fork mid-way to his gaping mouth. His eyes were wide and blinking. His student smiled and finished his drink, waiting for a reply. Silence fell like a blanket. Yamamoto slowly let the fork on the plate. His eyes were unfocused, his mind was absent. For a long time, maybe fifteen minutes, the teen stayed like that. Reborn found that a mature way of sorting things out. Finally, the boy sighed.

"Maybe you're right."

"Maybe."

Yamamoto finished eating his cake and drank the beverage. "Thank you, Tsuna."

The brunette blinked at the change and smiled again. "Whenever you want, you now know where I live. And, Yamamoto…"

"Call me Takeshi."

"Uhm… Takeshi…" He seemed a little embarrassed. "I have not that kind of luck, but you should talk with your dad more."

His eyes flashed orange for an instant. Reborn recognized immediately the Hyper Intuition of Vongola.

"What…"

"Just a feeling." He shrugged.

Kair jumped down from the tree and smacked Yamamoto on the head. He yelped and turned with a somewhat annoyed glare. The red-haired flickered a finger on his fore-head and went to Hibari, ignoring the second yelp. He gently shook the skylark's shoulder and poked his nose. Reborn actually feared an explosion of anger at that. Instead, the boy woke up and assessed his surroundings. Hibari sat and stood, stretching and yawning.

Kair stood, too, and waved at them. Tetsuya said a quick goodbye. The skylark simply hummed and they all left. Yamamoto whistled and looked at Tsuna.

"What's his problem?"

"That's his way of comforting. Strange, but get used to it, I have a feeling he'll take you under his watchful gaze."

"Why?"

"Because he heard your plea."

Takeshi frowned but let the subject slide. "Anyway, thank you, Tsuna. I needed this…"

"No problem."

Almost an hour later, filled with chit-chatter, the boy left to go back home. Reborn was now sure of his position as Rain Guardian at Tsuna's side. But what did the teen think about that? … And why did he care… Honestly… He should have been more worried about the ex-assassin.

The brunette took away the wooden tables and chair and they both went inside. The sky was starting to darken. They skipped dinner, still too full to even think about eating more.

Reborn waited for the teen to get out of the bathroom and got inside himself to shower. He sat on the windowsill and observed the teen sleeping peacefully on his bed. He seemed more tired than usual. Dealing with those guys had to be, after all. And maybe it was also the nightmares' fault. Chrome and Tetsuya were the only ones that behaved completely good. Kair, though… Was unusual. He didn't talk, but he was not sure if the boy was mute or not. He was oddly discerning and observant, protective and cautious. He took the piece of paper.

'I know you are curious and that you need to know, but don't push. You've been doing a great job so far.'

Maybe he was right, but he didn't like his own attitude. He'd been acting strange since coming to town. He wanted chaos, wanted to lose control and be able to take it back. Because he was Reborn, the World's Greatest Hitman.

Basically, he didn't have control on this situation. It was calm, okay, but not knowing what exactly passed through that head of his student was mind"blowing. And annoying. He was damn hard to read. Reborn had to set up some events to bring out more reactions and better judge the boy. Yes, that was definitely more like his way of doing things.

Still…

Reb unsure and a new addition, uhm?

YaMi: Thanks for reading, dear followers. ... You're not going to tell them–...

See ya next month!