One day, a website was opened after ages of being left in the dust.

When opened, a jaw was dropped in shock.

You guys. I never expected this story to reach 100 reviews. Like holy shit. HOLY. MOLY. It began as a random idle thought and had it's outlined written down and pushed aside by the demanding work life, but whoa. WHOA. Thank you so much for everybody who read, faved or reviewed. Really, thank you very, very much.

So now that I've also gotten a new laptop, I think it's about time I returned to this. I think the beginning could've been done better, so I might go back and edit around with it in the future. (I might not.)

And now.

Edit: I wrote a bunch of pages, but forgot to save. Now I try to salvage it, and it shortens a lot. *tears*

Chapter 06: One Year

To Tsuna's great embarrassment, it was only after three months did he realize that the two newly bonded brothers were, in fact, not within the Land of Fire. Instead, they were right in between the borders of Fire and Water, a tiny space reluctantly placed as a semi-neutral zone so that both sides would not break out into fights every time a shinobi accidentally toe over. He'd assumed that they'd reached the outermost layer due to the squiggly line drawn helpfully on the map, but the line actually represented the zone of in-between. Three months later, as he splits open a dusty book to satisfy his curiosity about shinobi shenanigans, Tsuna freezes when he reaches the part about the Border Pact.

It takes him many hours of mentally berating himself before he dragged himself out to help Kimmimaro on the farm. After all, how else would they have made it so far out without a patrol stopping them? They'd only been able to slip out of Water due to the lack of shinobi as compared to most of the others and Fire would definitely have constant security checks on their borders. The only good thing that came out of it was probably when he'd meekly told the older boy about his findings and received the rare sight of Kimmimaro's laugh. (It was more of a chuckle, but that was as good as a laugh when it came to the usually stone-faced boy.)

With that little episode over, the duo quickly settle down into a daily routine in the Ueda household.

When the day begins, they wake up from the small guest room for them and to the smell of Shizuka's cooking, greeting the two kind elders and quickly finishing the breakfast provided. They are then instructed on the chores given by Muto who, at first, had been skeptical of having two tiny children running around doing heavy work. After watching in fascination as Kimmimaro worked effortlessly and somehow with grace, he'd thrown his hands up and allowed the boy to tend to the rice paddies. Tsuna, who looked even smaller and frail, would sometimes share the work with his older brother and other times be inside helping the lady of the house. He became even more awed when he realized that they were using chakra for the work. Although having never delved into shinobi arts, every civilian had a small, basic amount of knowledge on Chakra, so he was understandably impressed by the control the duo held in his point of view.

If they were not working, the brothers found themselves soaking up knowledge through either books, the Ueda couple or from walking around town. They'd learned that the town, Azuma-mura, was one of the many villages hidden within the In Between zone. The villages tend to act as one of the resting spots for the Shinobi that pass by during missions, as well as a warning that any further would lead to the border of their neighboring Hidden Villages.

They also spent time hidden away in the forest around the village, making sure that it was safely kept away from anybody and always keeping their senses up in case somebody stumbles to their Secret Spot. Tsuna would pull out his maman's journal, wrinkled despite his careful handling but constant use, and go over her notes over and over again with the Kaguya. They'd set aside the book aside once it was drilled into their heads, beginning the first set of instructions.

They trained, as they carried no paperwork for identifications, and would not for a long while as children. So closely bonded they'd became, that both did not question about why they were training, mutually understanding of their desire to protect the brother they now have.

Some days, they practiced together, chakra control and theories. Other days, they sparred, lips curling into smiles whenever the thrill of battle latched on.

Tsuna learned about his clan's techniques whilst Kimmimaro experimented with his. It was fascinating, especially when he attempted to play around with Flames and Chakra. Of course, he doesn't even dare to show his flames outside of their little room, not with Reborn's voice snapping at him in his head. ("Stupid Dame-Tsuna, have you already forgotten? Always keep Aces within Aces. You never know who's watching.")

In the end, he had to keep to borrowing basic chakra books and pretending to read those so that the the people in the village wouldn't realize that they're learning from a journal, which would be correctly interpreted to have belonged to a shinobi and bring attention to the two just-adorable-totally-not-suspicious kids. They gradually became known as ninja-wannabes, but that was fine with them, since it gave the assumption that they were just playful boys who would otherwise be perfectly well mannered and nice, if albeit quiet.

Fwump. Tsuna plopped onto his bed, exhausted from twisting and turning his Chakra. A few months had passed, and they'd gradually learned about the various natures of chakra. He also found out that one of the reason ice manipulation was so easy was because he had handled the Zero Point Breakthrough; Primo Edition before. Mixing both Flames and Chakra gave the already hard to break ice an almost impenetrable ability. An idea jumped into his head, and with a smile, he made a necklace which he now kept on his neck as remembrance of his past Famiglia; An orange pacifier with the Vongola emblem within. He then made a similar one, though this time in a cool reddish tone for Kimmimaro, whom he would later find religiously polishing it every night. ( 'He'd fit right in with them...' A pang of pain, one that he was used to, a pain that brings out the tears and his Will to keep them from falling.)

Meanwhile, within the village, Kimmimaro finds himself getting used to smiling. He wouldn't be going around expressing himself loudly, but the young boy had at least grasped onto social niceties. It was still awkward at times, but Tsuna's social abilities was enough for the both of them most of the time. (Decimo finds it amusing, considering how Dame he was.) At other times, he would keep to politeness, which he found would work out just as well, even if the person he was speaking to would shift uncomfortably at the mature manner the two children has that was unusual on civilian born kids.

Besides that, life was pretty good. Nobody recognized the Kaguya mark with his fringe growing out to cover them, and Tsuna still hasn't realized he'd been going behind his back convincing idiot kids that yes, his brother is cute, but no, they will not attempt their foolish I-like-this-girl-I'm-going-to-pull-their-hair-because-why-not routine because he will make their lives miserable.

"Ahhh! It's the white demon!"

"Eeee..!"

"Run!"

"What the...? Crazy kids..."

Kimmimaro merely smiles politely at the old lady, carrying her groceries for her. Yup, all was well.

One day, Tsuna finds the map he'd dumped aside months ago. He pulls it open and blinks, a thought popping up. He turns to Kimmimaro, who had settled on his bed and was reading a scroll, "Do you think it's possible to travel around via the in-between zone, Nii-san?" The older boy turns his eyes towards the younger boy, a curious look in his eyes as he asks instead, "Do you not like it here?" (Sometimes, his eyes gains a look of pure joy at the close terms they'd adopted around each other, and Tsuna can't help but smile and chirp in an even more childish manner.)

The fluffy-haired child shrugs in response, the duo sitting down on their respective cots, "Muto-san and Shizuka-san are very nice people, but..." He hesitated, glancing at the curtains hiding the windows, "I saw a Shinobi the other day... And some days, it's like he hasn't left yet. I know Shinobi are paranoid by nature but..."

Kimmimaro frowns, shifting closer protectively, as if the mystery Shinobi would pop out of thin air, "There is not much we can do now except wait for the shinobi to reveal his or her intentions... We have not earned enough for travel yet, so we can only be patient now." Tsuna nods his head, though the uneasy rolling in his gut continues to churn. There was a sudden spike in his Hyper Intuition, and Decimo catches the sound of a knock on the main wooden door followed by muffled voices.

"... boys... Konoha..."

"... nobi?"

"... talent... Clan... good of..."

"... them yourself."

"Alright... you."

Then, their room door was knocked upon and opened by Shizuka, who smiled as she entered, "Hello boys, you've both got a visitor who says he'd like to talk about some things with you." She waits as the duo exchanged looks, before retreating back out when they nodded their heads. Tsuna's brown eyes widens in the way children stares with innocence, partially hidden behind Kimmimaro shyly. The older boy carried the edge of wariness as an old man stepped into the room.

He looked frail, yet still managed to exude a hidden sense of danger. Short, shaggy black hair was pushed up slightly by the bandages on his face which covered his right eye and he wore a white shirt beneath his black robe. His right hand was tucked within, the robe whilst his left clutched on to a sturdy cane. A light purple sash completed the outfit. He gazes back at the children, observing their features just as they had done to him the moment he'd stepped in.

With a glint of approval in his eyes, the old man speaks, a polite facade of a smile on his face.

"My name is Shimura Danzo."

To be Continued...

And that ends the one year in the village.

Welp.

Haha.