Target 4: Gokudera Hayato

It was morning in Namimori, the time that signaled the hurry of the salary men to get to work before they were fired, the starting of the housewives' chores and their reflection on what they would be doing the rest of the day, and last but not least, the frustrated groans of the students at the prospect of a new school day.

Yoshida Akio was not an exception. School was dull to him, and his inherent fluctuating sleepiness in the mornings wasn't awfully helpful. Little drew his attention, and few subjects enabled him to focus whole-heartedly. He could say school was mostly a chance to learn social skills. After all, one couldn't make a living if he didn't know how to relate to and interact with others, he thought. Regardless, he found himself quite proficient with that particular field of psychology. Especially in regards to infuriating people, solely for his delight. Everything got boring after a while though. However, the usual normalcy had gotten increasingly interesting lately. And he had no idea exactly how much more interesting they would become soon enough.

"I heard a rumor there's going to be a transfer student this week." Rang one of many whispers behind him. Unlike the usual quiet talks that went on between students every morning, this one actually pulled his attention.

He shifted in his chair and took his arms from their place behind his head, where they supported his leaning shape, and laid the left on the wooden desk. Of his right arm he rested only the elbow in the desk, dropped his chin on the back of the corresponding hand, leaning forward, and chuckled quietly. His classmates weren't discussing a rumor, they were discussing a fact. They just didn't know it. There really was a transfer student coming. In that same day, actually. He'd heard about it previously, and was already quite aware of the fact. But how he came to know something the remainder of the classroom wasn't sure about, and before them, was a secret he wasn't about to relinquish. After all, working for an egotistical murderous tyrant wasn't something he particularly enjoyed. But it did have its advantages.

"Attention everyone." The teacher said, entering the classroom. "We have a new student, who was studying overseas in Italy. This is Gokudera Hayato." He added, motioning to the person that had entered alongside him.

Akio looked up in momentary surprise as he analyzed the boy that had just entered. What drew his attention wasn't his grey hair, for it wasn't uncommon for teens to bleach their hair in unusual colors, but rather his eyes. They were an untainted emerald color, not typical of the Japanese. And Akio seriously doubted he was using contacts. His name sounded Japanese enough, but upon further inspection he realized the transfer student's face possessed some foreign curves. The transfer notice sent to the school stated he "was returning to Japan after having finished his studies abroad". Akio had found that suspicious. And now he knew why. Gokudera Hayato may have had a Japanese name, but one of his parents was surely a foreigner, besides being Italian. And when you knew Reborn, that kind of thing was never a coincidence.

His smile vanished when he realized Gokudera was glaring in his direction. 'Is he glaring at me?' he thought, raising his brows in indifferent surprise. 'Wait… He's not looking at me, he's looking at the person behind me, in other words…Tsuna?´ he realized, the truth dawning on him.

Accordingly, Gokudera paid no attention to Akio and waltzed over to Tsuna's seat, ignoring the teacher's stifled voice, and kicking the desk of the shorter boy, causing Tsuna to yelp in pain and surprise. Akio's eyes displayed just as much astonishment as Tsuna's, but were filled with newly developed dislike over the transfer student, as they watched him retreat to a seat in the back row. During the rest of the lesson, Akio's gaze kept switching from Tsuna, with worry visible in his irises, to Gokudera, when the worry was replaced with an annoyed spite. Tsuna tried not to focus on the angry glare directed at his back, nor on the exchange of dark looks between his friend and the odd transfer student, but still spent the rest of the class under a rather unpleasant pressure.

As the bell finally rang, Tsuna hastily exited the classroom without Akio, seeking some sort of refuge from the negative aura that had him as its center. However, not minding where he was walking to, he ended up bumping into some tall, intimidating seniors. Which were all too happy to have someone to torment.

"Hey pipsqueak, watch it. Someone could get hurt like that." One of them said with a malicious smirk, prompting Tsuna to run away in a flurry of apologies.

The older students shrugged in boredom and walked away, with their enthusiasm gone along with their prey, leaving the hall seemingly deserted. Or nearly. Gokudera Hayato leant against a wall with a half-hearted frown, having witnessed the show of cowardice Tsuna had just displayed. He uttered a "tch" loaded with something akin to annoyance and forced himself to head in the same direction Tsuna did. He was not about to allow such a shameful person to lead the Vongola. His eyes wondered along the corridor that lead outside to suddenly find themselves on the other end of a piercing stare. On the opposite end, and blocking his way was none other than Akio. Gokudera took another step forward only to have the mind-breaking stare placed upon him intensify.

'What the hell does this bastard want with me?' he thought, glaring harder in response. Akio didn't budge an inch, just stood there, as a watchdog would. Why wouldn't he get out of his way? Was he protecting the weakling? Such an idiotic thing was beyond his understanding. Gokudera grunted in defeat and walked away. It wasn't worth so much effort. He'd just approach the Sawada twerp later. After all, the icy-eyed bastard, 'Was Yoshida his name?', couldn't always be on the lookout for his friend. Could he?

As it turned out, yes, he could. Several times into the day, students stared uneasily at the repeating scene featuring Gokudera, Akio and Tsuna. Gokudera would try to approach Tsuna when all of a sudden Akio would show up, apparently out of thin air, and drive him away with his glare. And to add to the awkwardness of the spectacle, whenever Tsuna asked him what was wrong, he'd just smile in response, increasing the confusion of the soon-to-be mafia boss. Even though there was no real trouble for the bystanders at all, no one could shake off the notion that something about it just seemed fundamentally wrong.

'Ignorance is blissful' echoed the minds of the spectators.

Meanwhile, Gokudera leant against a wall, panting nervously. All of his attempts to 'communicate' with the supposed tenth generation heir had so far been foiled by the timely and startling interferences of Akio. No, he decided, startling was an understatement. It was like the guy appeared out of nowhere. And that was, to a certain degree, very creepy. Last time, he conveniently decided to materialize right next to him, actually scaring the bomber out of his wits. Hence the reason he was gasping for air. 'What the hell is he, a kouga ninja?' he questioned his rapidly decaying sanity.

Gokudera straightened himself up and breathed slowly. Mustering a need for nicotine, he lit a cigarette to anesthetize his shaking nerves and considered his next move. He had to change his approach. Yoshida would not let him get close to Sawada. That much was certain. He had to find another way. Someway they wouldn't be interrupted or anyone would be able to interfere…

"Hey what's this?" he heard someone by the lockers say. He swung his head around to see two students whose faces he couldn't (or hadn't bothered to) recognize indulged in quiet chatter. The boy that had spoken was holding up an open envelope and a small piece of paper. "It's asking me to go the rooftop. Alone." He finished, after analyzing the letter.

"Ehh, you lucky dog!" teased the other boy, lightly punching his friend's shoulder.

The flushed individual waved his arms around in protest. "He-hey! It's not like this is a love letter or anything!" he protested "But if it is…" he beamed. By this time, however, the onlooker's attention had already closed off from the conversation.

As soon as he saw the letter, an idea lit in Gokudera Hayato's grade A brain. If he couldn't get close to Sawada due to Yoshida's interference, he would just have to change tactics and have his target come to him by writing an anonymous letter. Finally, when the coward was cornered and alone, he'd pass on his judgment. The perfect plan, he mused. He walked away in his newfound elation, unaware that his challenge letter would probably be mistaken for a document of a more delicate nature.

After acquiring the necessary materials for writing a letter, including an old-fashioned ink pencil, he launched himself at work. Determined to make the paper as regal and imposing as the Vongola Famiglia, he worked the finest and most delicate calligraphy he could out of his hands. Content with his work, he returned to the area where he'd first had the wondrous idea that would bring him his target for the picking. Noticing no one at a first look, his eyes flashed in resolve.

Instantly assuming an overly serious look, Gokudera stuck to the closest pile of lockers. His frame slowly moved to the corner, where he peeked over his shoulder cautiously. Confirming the surrounding area as devoid of any presence other than his, he rocketed towards his destination. The locker of one Sawada Tsunayoshi. In a single theatrical gesture, the bomber slipped the letter he had prepared into the locker, and ran from the scene to avoid suspicion. He smirked haughtily. Now that the trap was sprung, he needed only to wait for the time to come. That and decide how he would deal with the miserable boy that was his target.

He cocked his head to the side as he contemplated the possibilities. 'Let's see… I could tie his feet to a brick and dump him in Tokyo Bay. That would show him the mafia isn't a playground.' He dismissed the thought as fast as it appeared and shook his head disapprovingly. 'No, that's too much trouble. I'll just blast him with my dynamite.'

Walking around absentmindedly, he didn't noticed when he wandered into a hall with good visibility to the courtyard of the school. Outside, the sun was closing in on the horizon, tainting the clouds and skies alike in hues of light orange and yellow, and producing streams of light that reached the corridor. The dark hall was illuminated only by the encroaching beams of sunlight, gifting it with a sullen atmosphere. Suddenly, the sound of something hitting the floor woke him from his daze. Hayato looked outside the window for the source of the sound and saw a dust-covered Tsuna lifting himself back from the floor where he had fell.

"What a weakling." He mumbled under his breath.

As he turned around to continue his stride until the time came for his ingenious plan to hatch, he was unexpectedly met with the figure of his newfound nemesis moving towards him. Akio stopped few meters short of him and eyed him eerily. The faint light of dusk illuminated part of his features and cast heavy shadows over the remainder of his frame. Amongst the darkness, Gokudera could barely make out an edge of a scar in the exposed area of Akio's neck.

"What do you want with Tsuna?" The raven haired boy asked, glaring at the lighter haired bomber.

"That's not any of your business." he replied coldly. Akio's frown grew, but he produced a crooked smirk in his face.

"Tsuna is my friend, so it is my business," He stopped momentarily before finishing in a teasing tone. "Hayato-chan."

Gokudera's expression twisted into a mix of embarrassment and anger. "Who the hell gave you permission to call me that?"

Akio laughed dryly. "Haha, I guess no one." He turned his back to Gokudera and began walking away, but stopped as if remembering something. "Ah, that's right" He turned towards him slowly and removed his glasses, again facing the part-Italian youth. "Hayato, have you ever heard the saying 'You mess with the bull, you get the horns'?" He asked, smiling icily in an expression of warped serenity.

Gokudera shivered, not noticing he had traced back a step. The palpable dark aura behind that smile made it a thousand times scarier than any glare he could've possibly mustered. His mind had stopped working, but his instincts were screaming at him in fear. Warning him that 'This guy is dangerous'. He felt a drop of sweat make its way down his cheek and took another small step back. The killing intent pouring uncontrollably was giving him goosebumps. He considered running away for a moment, but stopped that thought when he realized it would the same as letting an insult slide by. Worse, it would be a stain on his honor as a Mafiosi. And as a man, even. He clenched his fists in insurgency and bit down hard on his cigarette. There was no way he was going to let himself be intimidated. He looked at his opponent and noticed his increasingly smug look.

The part-Italian boy felt a vein of irritation pop up in his forehead, the beforehand felt fear all but forgotten, and began rashly chanting an aggravated outburst. "You! I'll -"

"Ahh~ so you haven't heard it." Akio promptly interrupted him, with a sickly sweet smile replacing the preceding chilly smirk. "And here I thought such a well-versed person like you would know an old saying like that backwards!" he said, returning his glasses to their resting site.

Frozen on the spot from the drastic and somewhat disturbing mood change, Gokudera had no reaction when Akio strolled over to him to pat his shoulder twice and acted out his stage exit, tinted with a thick drop of mockery. "Alas, my esteemed presence is required elsewhere. See you around, Hayato-chan!" he bid his goodbyes, zooming around the corner in a cartoonish manner.

The smoker's tube of nicotine was left to hang dangly at the side of his open mouth, about to fall to the floor. 'What the hell just happened?'

Leaving his dumbfounded classmate staring at the walls without as much as a second thought, Akio zoomed happily in search of Tsuna. He had already passed on the cares one should have when dealing with the metaphorical bull. How much the beast's horns would sting Hayato, dare he goad it, was something no longer within his zone of earthly concerns. Nor outwordly. Regardless, if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that the single entity that could break the limits of stubbornness even beyond the bull was the matador alone. But of what use would the caped fighter's expendable courage be when faced against the beast's affable willingness to maim him? About the same an umbrella had to protect oneself from a falling anvil. Somehow, the thought of Hayato having a five-ton anvil en route to his head with only an umbrella for protection brought a smile to his lips.

Well, he would make an effort to enjoy the bloody onslaught that would follow if the octopi-head truly threatened his dearest friend, he decided. If a mess was going to go off in spite of his hundred per cent honest and diligent advices promoted solely to safeguard the mental and physical health of transfer student Gokudera Hayato-kun, he might as well make the best out of it.

"Akio, don't interfere."

Said honor student froze in place at the sudden reemergence of the one character that had been MIA for the most of the day. Shifting his head to the side, he found none other than the infamous assassin and merciless home tutor together with his trusted chameleon sidekick staring at him. He felt a classy sweatdrop slide down his head.

'Did I just get out"kouga-ninja"ed?' Akio deadpanned inwardly. Removing a non-existing ache in his throat by coughing, he quickly molded his expression back into a cheerful, but nonetheless superficial, grin.

"Ehhhh, interfere? What might you mean by that, Reborn?" The assassin returned the shallow smile with a smirk of his own before proceeding to unleash his witty retort.

"Nothing in particular. I was just considering how auspicious it is that Gokudera has sparked your interest. Surely, it should be a given that no hindering animosity will be born from the two of you. Ne?"

Akio twitched. In what was a ridiculous notion, if he said so himself, the baby had completely seen through him. And he'd done it in such a way that it was almost an insult to his ego. Usually, he was the one who saw through people like they were low quality glass. Who, in many cases, would likely be more useful to society as such than in their present state. But that was beyond the point. And completely unrelated to the eventful and flowery choice of words that seemed specifically chosen to mock him.

"Your killing intent is seeping through." Reborn pointed out, noticing the figurative black tendrils that seemed to be escaping from him.

Eyes widened in startle, he spun around and flailed his arms to dissipate the smoky strands of his bloodlust. Damning his carelessness over the opening cracks in his performance, he glared at Reborn without resuming the act. Loitering around with words at the current point would just be a waste of saliva. And he sure as hell did not want to leave his lips dry.

"Listen, you. There is no reason you could possibly summon to make me hesitate over standing between my friend and, by all signs so far, a murderous whelp without any sense of self-preservation." The words left his mouth before he'd even ordered them in his head. But processing them properly after hearing them, he realized that his evaluation of Hayato's awareness didn't really have anything to do with what he wanted to get across. Even if he was annoyed by watching him engage in a futile, self-destructive activity like smoking.

Reborn, however, seemed as though he already had his answer and awaited only the question, for he spoke without hesitation or flinching. "I'm a home tutor. And this is a test I decided Tsuna has to pass to keep advancing. And merits are meaningless if you haven't earned them with your own strength. That's all there is to it."

Akio stared in doubt at the infant for a second. Was he serious? He couldn't notice any deception in the words. Mostly calm professionalism. But that wasn't all there was. Reborn had proven to care about training Tsuna as a person, not just as a mafia boss. He had trusted him in the volleyball incident to come through with his own resolution. Akio felt he had understood a little about Reborn then. And he was sure the baby wouldn't let harm come to Tsuna. It also helped that the infant had an almost supernatural ability to inspire confidence in others.

Akio relaxed, or at least seemed to, and smirked subtly. "Ehh, I better stay quiet then. We can't have your student bailing out thanks to me." Silencing himself to think for a moment, he added a sterner afterword to his sugary declaration. "On the same note, I can't have him endangered either. Keep that in mind."

Having said what he wanted to, he left the infant to his self-righteous justifications and went back to Tsuna's side, lest certain headstrong worms attempt to start an infestation despite faced with the visage of the grinning bug spray. Needless to say, Tsuna was beyond the boundaries of flustered when Akio found him.

"Akio! Where have you been? Don't just disappear so suddenly! Do you like making me uneasy?" he exclaimed heartfully.

'More like I have a preference for seeing you get jumpy.' Akio's mind whispered spontaneously. Tsuna's nervous whiplashes were something he was already used to, so he had no trouble thinking up another of his teasing retorts. However, his timid friend hadn't finished yet, as the anxiety washed away to be replaced by a voice of concern. "And I was worried! You… weren't doing anything dangerous, right?"

Akio stared into nonexistence, wondering what he should say. In the end, he just smiled and simply answered "Of course not."

Or so he said. Was he lying? He didn't know. The line that distinguished lie and truth was a faint, intermittent one at best. In the passing school days, it wasn't anything he cared much about, at any rate. But if what he'd said was a lie, then it was an ambiguous one. The danger wasn't directed at him, after all. But nonetheless, there was danger involved. And so he decided he was lying. But he cared not. Though, Akio was certain he knew someone who would berate him for it. And she'd do it with nothing to back her up but her strong gaze, and an unyielding conviction. To boot, he was certain she'd win the squabble as well. T'was hassling trouble to craft excusable arguments in the nick of time. She would then smack him and redeem him with a smile. Ahh, the duality of forgiving. But lies were much more fun than truth at times, he'd argue. Except when it came to blackmailing. The best thing invented by man since sarcasm.

His philosophic considerations going unnoticed, Tsuna went on with his reproaching dialogue. "And you even skipped the last class! I was seriously concerned!"

"Sorry, sorry, I just had some delicate business to take care of." He cheerily excused himself. This time it wasn't a lie, just a minor obscuring of the facts. Putting the matter at hand behind him for the moment, he changed back to his teasing self soon thereafter. "But never mind that. I can't believe little Tsuna still can't go without his awesome buddy here." He bumped a fist to his chest. "You're going to have to fix that someday. Surely you wouldn't want me sticking uncomfortably close to you at all times when you should suffer the slightest pang of uncertainty. Like when you and Kyoko-san go on your honeymoon and start making–"

"AKIO!" The sharp tongued youth failed to deliver his overkill rebuttal to its entirety, being interrupted by the enjoyable cries of mortification coming from the mafia heir. He laughed whole-heartily.

"You know, if your hair were as red as your face is right now, we could have you play the main character of 'The Red Haired Snow White' for the school festival." He beckoned, seemingly forgetting the fact that their festival was still some time away. Or simply not minding it, perhaps.

"That's not what's important here!" Tsuna shook his head in disapproval and a hard-feeling headache. "Mou! You walk off, God knows where, and then you return with full-blown tease marathons like this. It's troublesome."

Akio pouted in an exaggerated fashion in response. "I get it, I get it. You party pooper." He said, forcing out a hurt voice. He shifted to regard Tsuna closely, and as he did, the pout faded and his expression mellowed. "I'll make an effort to retain the teasing to acceptable boundaries."

Tsuna noticed the seldom shown sincerity in his friend's words and couldn't help but smile a little. "Thank you." He answered, exhaling a sigh of relief.

Akio extended a hand to Tsuna's shoulder and beckoned for them to walk together. "Classes are just about done. How about we get doing?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Falling into a comfortable silence, the two friends walked in small strides to the school entrance. It was also, unbeknownst to them, the stage of their unfriendly neighbor Hayato's trap. The pair headed to their respective lockers to retrieve their shoes when Tsuna came across a most unusual sight upon opening his. There was a piece of sealed paper signed with his name inside the metal locker. He stared skeptically for a second or so… and closed back the locker without making a sound. The foreign object in the metal casket had to be a mirage. It couldn't possibly be what he thought it was, much less be real. It surely wouldn't be there when he opened the locker again. Yes. Surely.

While the mafiosi-in-training preoccupied himself with his fleeting assumptions, Akio had already changed his shoes and was lazily stretching his arms above his head when he noticed Tsuna gazing aloofly at his locker and holding something in his hands. His tease bait radar then suddenly jolted. Sensing a chance to be charmingly annoying, he grinned and sneaked over to behind the dazed boy.

"Boo!" he suddenly yelled.

"AAAHH!" To say Tsuna was spooked would be an understatement. To say Akio was sneaky would not, however. In a fell swoop, he swiped the paper being prized in Tsuna's arms into his greedy hands. Stretching it before his eyes, he recognized the familiar semblance of a generic love letter. His eyes widened. A love letter? Addressed to naive little Tsuna? Possible but not probable. Regardless, it was very nice taunting material. A smirk then began shaping in his lips at the possibilities for mischief the situation presented. The youth decided to start exploring them all right away.

"Oh? This is this possibly…"

His mouth didn't stop moving until after a few seconds of delay, but any sound ceased right after he realized there was a fait scent of tobacco emanating from Tsuna's letter. He felt his mind shake in an odd convergence of disbelief, surprise, and unsure mirth. 'Hayato.' He deduced instantly. 'This is…wow. Just wow.' How was someone supposed to react in such a ridiculous situation? Damned if you do, damned if you don't, big time. So he decided to pretend he'd noticed nothing. Hoping his expression hadn't given him away, he shoved the initial shock away to pick up his comedic routine where he left off, again hoping Tsuna wouldn't notice.

"Hehe. Looks like Tsuna-chan has got himself an admirer." At the face of desperation, Tsuna made his best impression of a frown and lunged at the letter, but Akio let out a confident scoff at the harmless attack and confidently slid out of the way.

It'd serve no purpose to say that Tsuna's nose did not take the resulting fall so kindly. "Ouch!" he said, as he felt his eyes become watery. It hadn't hurt to the point of breaking it, but enough to make his nose redden.

Because Tsuna had fallen with his back to Akio, however, the latter couldn't see the results of the flight. His eyes widened, and his face hardened in alarm as he slipped to his friend's side. Forgetting the joking in an instant, he fell down to a crouch and used one hand to turn the brunet towards him.

His voice resounded coldly, but with a hint of shakiness towards the safety of his friend. "Tsuna! Are you alright –" But it faded as the beacon of discord was snatched from him and clutched tightly in arms belonging to the object of his worries.

"Tsk." Akio spit out. So long for his entertainment. He pushed his glasses back to look at a pouting Tsuna and concluded that was fine. He offered him his hand and helped him up. As long as Tsuna was okay. He had a bruised ego and nose, but he was okay. Mostly. Akio couldn't use the misunderstood message to taunt the acclaimed Mafiosi into going physical anymore. However, just because Akio lost his leverage, didn't mean he couldn't go on with the acting.

"Haahh. Game over for me." he said, accentuating the expression with a melodramatic sigh. "But Tsuna. I thought your heart already belonged to a certain girl you are smitten with. Are you going to dump this …" He continued in a questing expression that soon turned into a sneer. "… innocent maiden that wishes to tell you the full scope of her pure feelings for you? Or perhaps" the sneer widened, "you're going to take her? Ehhhhhh?"

"Wha-" Tsuna was surprised for an instant, but followed through with a surprisingly swift answer. "Of course I'm going to dump her! I… like Kyoko-chan!" It didn't take long for the speech to become hesitant, despite its booming start though. "Yeah. No matter how cute this girl is." Akio stared, drawn in by the suspicious pause. And he stared hard enough that Tsuna could actually hear him staring.

Jiiiiiiiii…

That made him nervous. The truth of the matter was, while he did in fact like Kyoko, and he was sure that wouldn't be changing so soon, receiving a 'love letter' felt flattering. It was a pleasant sensation, akin to feeling needed. Of course, the poor boy was completely unaware that the 'innocent maiden' that wished to speak with him was actually a boy his own age with all the intent to likely murder him, or that Akio was staring at him because he was dying of laughter inwardly from watching Tsuna's reactions to his supposed admirer. Oh, how the poor boss trainee would feel when he realized the truth. It wasn't going to need a supernatural destroying right arm for his illusions to be shattered to pieces.

"So, what does the letter say anyways? I didn't get a chance to read it before you took it back." In acknowledgement, Tsuna spread open the paper and smoothed out a few creases from when it was passed around between them. The message read out, in an incredibly polite manner and a tidy handwriting, the following:

"Sawada Tsunayoshi-san, first and foremost, I apologize for any bother this may possibly cause. However, there is something of dire importance I would like to tell you.

If you will hear me out, please go to the back of the main school building by yourself, so we may speak freely without being bothered. I anxiously await to see you."

Akio tried to smother another chuckle, but he couldn't contain the sound fully and a stifled pfffff escaped his lips despite his attempt. Things were turning more ridiculous by the second. It was almost as if Hayato tried to make it look like a love letter on purpose. Either that, or he was just very single-minded and incredibly dense. He took a mental note of this and gauged Tsuna's assessment of the letter.

He was visibly shaken. "Well, I was just going out on a whim, but lo and behold, it really is a love letter!" Akio said cheerfully.

He gave his friend a strong push to his back, unbalancing him in the process. "Whoa!" the brunet swung around for a few seconds before he felt his weight firm again. "A-Akio?" he questioned.

"Go meet your fervent fan. I'll wait for you." The raven haired boy answered.

"You're not coming?"

Akio tilted his head to the side in a gesture akin to curiosity. "Oh? You wanted me to accompany you? It would be quite rude for you to bring me along when this person's business is exclusively with you though."

Suddenly the floor seemed very interesting to Tsuna, as he hung his head down staring at it. He muttered something like "I see" and sighed. "Try not to get carried away and make me wait for long though." said Akio's bemused voice.

"There's no way!" Tsuna lifted his stare and hurried to the back of the school. At the very least, it surely wouldn't be as embarrassing as dealing with his best friend's insinuations.

The unaware boy skipped off Akio's sights, heading for the meeting that would earn him, even if he didn't know it yet, both one of the most loyal subordinates and friend he'd ever have, and a massive storm of daily headaches and misunderstandings. Such things would be nothing more than the day's side dish in the proving times to come. But since full knowledge of the future tends to be a rather limited thing in most human minds, Akio followed Tsuna with a raised guard, as opposed to carefree anticipation.

Walking to the meeting place, Tsuna realized he was fidgety. Unsure, even. It was, after all, the first time a girl would be confessing to him. Ahh, what if like Akio said, she was really, really cute - No, no! His feelings for Kyoko-chan wouldn't be swayed! Yes, he was going to say hello to her, apologize, and decline her. That's all that was going to happen…

Was what Akio's guts told him Tsuna was thinking as he awaited him from behind the darkness of the school building's corner. Yes, little Tsuna was so simple. His face when he saw the writer of the letter would be priceless. 'Should've brought a camera', he thought, 'to record the moment'.

He took a moment to record the world around him. The wind was blowing softly. The shadows cast by the coming sunset were becoming longer and slimmer, the sky was dyed in numerous warm shades, and the air was almost shining. It was a beautiful evening. Fitting for confessing the purest feelings in your heart. A shame that nothing like that was going to happen. Well, not to Tsuna, at least. But he had crossed ways with a slightly flustered, but enthusiastic looking student he wasn't too familiar with heading for the opposite side of the school. Remembering him from the bubblier friend that he mostly stuck around with, he noted with interest the fact that he was alone this time. Apparently, someone had gotten lucky that day.

But back to the matter at hand. He had spotted the perpetrator. Akio's eyes trailed along the trees that grew next to the school fence along with miscellaneous vegetation, where Gokudera Hayato lay on his feet, relaxing by the thick stem of a tree, under its now long shadow. He appeared quite peaceful for someone who was planning murder or a violent crime of some description. And smoking.

"This is the place, right…" Akio's ears perked up at hearing Tsuna's voice. He shrunk behind the wall to make sure he wouldn't be seen and narrowed his eyes. The scene then began to unfold.

Gokudera snapped from his reverie at Tsuna's arrival. His plan to lure him to a deserted place had worked perfectly. No bodyguards, no hindrances. Now he could safely clear his doubts about the tenth generation heir.

"You've come." He said, making his presence known.

Tsuna jumped in surprise. "Go-Gokudera-kun? What are you doing here? I was, erm, supposed to meet someone here, so if you don't mind can I ask you to le –"

"I was the one that called you here!"

Deathly silence abruptly washed over them.

The corner of Akio's mouth twitched. Reborn looked on with slightly raised eyebrows. Gokudera kept his rough frown on.

But to Tsuna, nothing else occurred him at the time other than screaming. As he did frequently, it seemed.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?"

So sudden it was that even Gokudera jumped back slightly.

"We can't Gokudera-kun! I mean, I've got someone in mind already and… WAIT, THAT'S NOT IT! We – we're both guys!"

And at that phrase, Gokudera broke out of his surprise and raised his voice together with a accusing finger pointed at Tsuna.

"That has nothing to do with whether you can take it!"

The Seventh generation Vongola Boss had been a woman after all. There was no gender barrier.

"Take it! B-but! We're too young for –" Tsuna seemed to do a double-take when he realized what he was very close to saying. "NO! That's not what I meant!"

"People with that kind of attitude will always stay on bottom throughout their lives!" Gokudera said in retort. How dare this guy undermine a person's ability based on their age?

"ON BOTTOM?" Tsuna yelped.

He wanted to run off and never look Gokudera in the eye again. But he knew he couldn't do that. As it had come to this, he had to make his feelings known loud and clear.

"I'm sorry!" he said with a bow.

"Ha?" Gokudera blinked.

"I.. I can't return your feelings!"

Awkward silence ensued. Tsuna looked up from the bow and noticed Gokudera's hands shaking uncontrollably. "So… in the end you mean to say you don't even care, huh?" He asked through grit teeth.

"Eh?" Tsuna raised his head and saw Gokudera clutching two lit dynamite sticks in his hands.

"In that case... You can just die!" he threw the sticks in Tsuna's miscellaneous direction.

Tsuna "eek"-ed and began to run when the explosions sounded and he fell on his back.

Akio's eyes lost their humor and his hand inched dangerously close to the weapon concealed beneath the hem of his unchecked white shirt. His legs tensed but before he took a single step forward, Reborn jumped down to his side and stretched his arm in the way. He glared in response, but stayed his movement. The baby gave a satisfied smirk and turned back to his student.

"Hieeee!" Tsuna got up from the shock and began running away.

"Stand still!" Gokudera yelled as he lit more sticks and threw them at Tsuna.

The victim forced himself to keep running until he was faced with the hard wall of the school building. His palms collided with it and he flipped himself around to look at his enclosing attacker.

"You have nowhere to run now."

Tsuna's back slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground and he started to move his arms frantically.

"Wait, wait, WAIT!" he implored. This was a mistake, he thought. Why was Gokudera even trying to kill him? Surely he didn't take rejection that badly? Tsuna looked at the dynamite sticks poised to blow him up.

Then again, maybe he did.

"This is goodbye." Gokudera said solemnly.

No, no noNO! He had to say something to salvage this, Tsuna thought as he clutched his head in his arms and closed his teary eyes.

"IF YOU SENT ME THAT LOVE LETTER, WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" the brown-haired boy cried in desperation.

Silence ensued once again. But this time it had the feel of the moment just before a bomb exploded.

Tsuna stopped shaking and opened one eye very slowly as he lowered his arms. Did that work? Behind the wall, Reborn scratched his cheek with an aloof expression. Akio held a hand over his mouth and another over his stomach. He looked like he was about to fall over.

The first thing to break the silence it was Gokudera's shaky voice. "What… love letter?"

Tsuna opened his other eye and stared uncertainly at him. "Eh? Was I mistaken?"

If it was possible, Gokudera's eyebrows wrinkled further together. His face heated up to a shining red and a popping noise made itself known from his forehead.

"JUST DIE!" he yelled, lighting a handful of dynamite with his cigarette and throwing it at Tsuna.

"UWAH!"

Akio awaked from his trance and crouched in preparation for a dash as he clutched his hidden weapon. But before he could even move, the dynamite sticks' fuses were split off by two sudden bangs while they were still in the air.

Gokudera let out a "Pfft" as the sticks clattered harmlessly on the ground and Akio released a breath of relief.

"Ciaossu."

Tsuna's eyes widened as the small assassin walked into view. "Reborn!" he said, with resounding relief.

"You came earlier than I expected, Gokudera Hayato." The hitman declared.

Tsuna lost the bliss in his expression and paled. "Wait, you know him?"

"Not personally. But he's a member of the family that I called over from Italy, if you were wondering." He answered.

"He's mafia?" Tsuna interjected with a quickly paling face.

"So you're the assassin the Ninth holds in such high regard. Reborn." Gokudera said as he shifted his whole attention from Tsuna to the baby.

Tsuna shot a look filled with a little awe to Reborn, but that feeling was soon replaced through the contents of Gokudera's next sentence.

"You weren't kidding about me becoming the successor if I kill Sawada, right?"

"Wha… what are you talking abou –"

"Ah, that's right. I did say that. Yes, proceed with the killing then." Reborn said, neutral-sounding as ever.

Tsuna did not take kindly to those words. "You're kidding!" he moved between Gokudera and Reborn and stared urgently at the latter. "This…You're joking right?"

"I'm serious."

"So you're just betraying me then! Was everything up till now a lie?"

Reborn pointed his gun at him and let his smile grow a little wider. "Wrong. I'm telling you to fight."

"With… him?" he looked back at Gokudera and gulped.

Then he started running.

"No way I'll fight with the Mafia!"

"Hold it!" Gokudera cut off Tsuna's path and lit a number of cigarettes, which he used to light a larger number of bombs than before.

Tsuna yelped and dashed away to the side. He wouldn't let himself get caught by those bombs again.

"By the way, it's said that Gokudera Hayato is a human explosive device that hides bombs all over his body. Better known as Smokin' Bomb Hayato."

"This is impossible!" Tsuna pushed power into his legs even as the dynamite sticks bounced over around and behind him.

Despite powering his speed as much as he could, he miscalculated one thing. The greater amount of bombs. As they exploded, he was propelled through the air a few feet to land in the ground again.

Akio clenched his fists. He'd had enough of it. He walked out of the shade and towards the explosions. Reborn noticed this and stood in his way, but he went around and kept walking.

"Don't bother." He said as he stopped left Reborn hanging with his partially open mouth. "No matter what you say, there is a fine margin that I don't work with. And I don't trust you this much."

Reborn closed his mouth and looked thoughtful for a moment. Then his voice resounded again towards Akio's shrinking back.

"Then don't trust me. Trust Tsuna." The boy stopped in his tracks.

He shook, slowly at first. Then the shaking erupted and revealed itself as a sudden wave of laughter. The laugh spread loudly into the air for a few seconds when it started to die down until it finally stopped.

"You always know the thing to say." He turned towards the infant with a grin. "Shall we go support him then?"

Reborn smirked back in response and jumped back on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Tsuna was running for his life.

"WHY ME!" he exclaimed, even out of breath as he was. Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and there was Akio waving at him, holding up a placard that read "FIGHT ON!" written in fiery red. And Reborn was perched on his shoulder.

"FIGHT~! Tsuna!" Akio yelled, raising a fist into the air.

"What the hell is this about!"

"To your left!"

"Eh?" an explosion sounded to the left of Tsuna, and he was forced into a roll that threw him between three walls.

"Another dead end!"

"This is it!"

Gokudera threw what he thought would be the finalizing hail of bombs at Tsuna. The sticks flew towards him, and fear reflected in his eyes. Was he going to die just like this?

"Fight with a Dying Will."

A single bullet embedded itself within Tsuna's forehead. His body fell backwards, leaving a trail of blood from the wound, and it happened. His clothes burst and Tsuna rose back to his feet in only his underwear with a bright flame lighting his forehead and a vigorous yell.

"I'LL PUT OUT THE FUSES WITH MY DYING WILL!"

His hand shot towards one of the dynamites' fuses and smothered it. "Defuse!"

And then another, and another, as he defused all the explosives in a flurry of movement.

"DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSE!"

Gokudera's eyes widened. He then grabbed a even larger handful of explosives and threw them at Tsuna once again.

"Double Bomb!"

But it served to no avail, as the boy speedily defused all of them once again without even blinking.

A vein popped up in his head, and Gokudera grabbed an absurd amount of dynamite in his hands to the point where he could hold no more. Akio absentmindedly wondered if all Mafiosi had gigantic pockets. Or maybe the Vongola just issued 4th dimension pockets to the members?

"Triple Bomb!" Gokudera said, lighting the ridiculous number of bombs in his hands. But as he was about to throw them, a single one dropped to the floor. Startled by that small mishap, the bomber's stance fell apart. And all the remaining sticks of dynamite fell and clattered to the floor to join the first one, with their fuses continuing to burn.

"Shit." He said simply.

The moment fell apart like the bombs. Akio spit a "tsk" and made to grab his weapon and move. As much as he wanted to protect Tsuna, he didn't want anyone to die. But Hayato was too far away. He wouldn't make it in time.

"DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSEDEFUSEDEFUSEDEFUUUSE!"

Fortunately, he didn't have to. With the same burning speed he defended himself, Tsuna rushed to Gokudera and smothered all of the bombs before they had a chance to detonate and end the bomber's life.

And as Tsuna and Akio sighed in relief, Gokudera dropped the cigarette still in his mouth.

"Whew. I made it." The former said. He sat on his knees and his energy seemed to fade the same way the extinguishing flame on his head.

"That was a close one." Akio offered, coming close to Tsuna.

"Akio! Yeah, it was –"

"I was mistaken!" Gokudera interrupted Tsuna and prostrated himself before him. "You're the one who's fit to be the Boss!"

Akio's eyes widened and Tsuna acquired a surprised look in his face.

"I swear I will follow you! Command me to do anything!" the half-italian concluded, raising his face now shaped in a heartfelt grin.

"Whaaa?"

Reborn chose this time to impose on the conversation. "It's a family rule to have the loser of a duel serve under the winner."

"But…" Tsuna glanced uncertainly at Gokudera.

"Please hear me out!" he asked from where he stood. "I actually didn't have any ambitions to become the Tenth. It's just, when I heard he was supposed to be a Japanese guy the same age as me… I felt like I had to test his strength." He said with an apologetic look to him.

"But you were so much more than I expected!" he continued with renewed fervor. "You put yourself on the line to save me! For this, I place my life on your hands! I promise to be forever loyal to you!"

Gokudera then turned to Akio. His expression contorted as though admitting a mistake, but he settled on a solemn gaze. "Yoshida."

Akio regarded him with a neutral gaze. Oh? Seems like Hayato still had issues with him. Granted, he wasn't hoping for a reconciliation, but still…

'It seems like someone needs to be taught his pla-'

"I'm sorry for my disrespect!" the bomber said with bow.

Wait, what? Akio blinked and stared at him as he continued.

"I insulted the Tenth and thought less of you for standing on his side. But I was wrong! You showed inspiring loyalty to a worthy man like the Tenth! And you have my admiration. I hope we will get along from now on, for the sake of the Boss!" he exclaimed, raising his head.

Akio was surprised. Hayato had actually gone out of his way to swallow his pride and apologize to him, despite their earlier disagreements? If anything, that was the admirable thing. But he wasn't convinced.

And yet, scanning Gokudera's eyes, he couldn't find anything to fault him for. Just a strong gaze determined to make amends. A gaze that expressed loyalty. And a little deeper, even a familiar-looking gaze.

He smirked.

"You're actually a pretty simple guy, aren't you?" he asked. "But I don't dislike that."

Gokudera found himself a little irked by the first sentence, but beamed, taking the whole of it as an approval.

"I won't disappoint you!" he turned back to Tsuna and bowed his head again with a slight blush. "And Tenth! My apologies for writing such an easily misunderstood letter!"

Tsuna blushed, thinking back to their conversation. "It's fine! I mean, it was kind of my fault as well… oof!" he exclaimed, feeling something land on his head.

"Good job Tsuna. You've gained your second subordinate. Gokudera decided to follow you because of your strength." Reborn said with the tiniest bit of pride to his voice.

Tsuna came closer to Reborn. "Wait, second subordinate?"

Akio made an outraged-looking face and rested his head on his hand.

"Tsuna… you wound me. Did you think I would let you embark on this great endeavor alone?"

"Ehhh! But – I don't want subordinates!" Tsuna turned to his newly gained follower. "Gokudera-kun, can't we just keep being regular classmates?"

The aforementioned immediately frowned and set a gaze of steel about him. "Absolutely not! I am determined to follow you to the ends of the Earth if need be!"

Tsuna made a troubled-looking face and groaned.

"Don't worry Tenth! I will do my best to support you as your right hand!" Gokudera reassured.

"Eh." Akio said in a teasing tone. "You've got a long way to go before becoming Tsuna's right hand man, Hayato."

"Even so, I won't lose to you Yoshida!"

"We'll see."

Reborn smirked at the antics of the family-in-the-making and Tsuna wished, not for the last time, that life wasn't so troublesome.

xXxXxXxxXx

OH MY GOD AN UPDATE! This is surely a dream!

Well, turns out it isn't! I have ACTUALLY managed to update this fanfiction. So, to my few readers, be assured, it isn't dead. Let me explain the circumstance surrounding this chapter then.

I originally set the deadline to Christmas Day when I resumed writing. Unfortunately, I only managed to have 80% done by then, and then I decided to set another mark to before the 29th, so I could at least have it out before New Year's. And well, here it is! Seeing as I'm leaving for a few days for New Year's, and am probably already out by the time you read this, I didn't send it to my second Beta Reader, even though my friend read it and gave me her honest opinion as always.

But to both of them thank you regardless! Especially my friend, who really helped out when I was finishing it.

I also thank all of my reviewers and people who read this story, and apologize for not putting this out earlier.

And to everyone, a Happy New Year and my best wishes for the future! Including that I may update more! :D