"T-Thank you!" Tsuna exclaimed, still staring at the folded twenty that a passerby had dropped in his pot. Quickly scraping it out, he shoved it in his pocket before any of the other guys saw how much had been dropped on him. Jimmy was too drunk to notice or care, but Richie was a shrewd one. Carl was walking around, looking for change since few wanted to help out a guy that looked as bad off as he did. Once it was safely hidden, Tsuna stayed in place without showing any sign that the bill had been larger than a one. He always showed his gratitude for any bills that came his way and he always hid it the moment that he got it. Snicker had taught him that. It was a form of protection since he'd be targeted if anyone noticed that he'd gotten more.

For now, he continued to stay in the open. No one would attack him on a crowded street. They'd wait until he was alone in an alley. He knew that since he'd already been followed and had to fend off Colonel three times in the past month. The last time, he'd only gotten away by the skin of his teeth and a timely right cross by Snicker. Since then, they'd agreed that Tsuna wouldn't move from his spot while they were apart unless it was to move to an even more crowded spot. He had all the good spots mapped in his head now. He knew where to be and when in order to make the most out of his begging.

Currently, Snicker was trying his luck across town. They'd decided to split up on days that they begged since people wouldn't toss change into two men's cups that were side-by-side. If a person tossed anything, they probably wouldn't toss anything again that day. Hence, it was a waste for them to stay together. Tsuna only wished that they had some other way to get their meals. They didn't, though. The restaurant where they'd traded taking out the trash for a meal on Mondays had said that they couldn't do it anymore. The owner had found out and threatened to fire all of them. The place that they went on Wednesdays had burnt down. And the place they went on Fridays had been taken over by a guy that beat them there by half an hour for the past three weeks running.

They'd been managing, though. Between begging and Snicker calling in favors at an increasing rate, they had been surviving. But Snicker's favors were slowly drying up and they were running out of options. They hadn't had cigarettes or whiskey in almost a month. Just getting food was becoming a problem since prices were skyrocketing due to the way that tourist season was drawing near. They'd been ran out of three different grocery stores that they'd normally went to, which had forced them to go across town every single time they wanted to buy a can of food.

The worst part had to be the weather, though. That was what was really killing them. The sky stayed dark for days on end due to the cloud cover. They'd already used their time up at the mission a mere week ago, which meant that they had been forced to find other ways to deal with the constant rains. People didn't go out as much when it rained, either. The pickings had been poor because of that and twice this week, they had given up on even attempting to beg in order to stay huddled out of the weather in their makeshift homes.

It could be worse, though. Bridgette's house had collapsed entirely and she'd been forced to sleep in the rain until she could find a new home or rebuild her own out of boxes. Tsuna had taken pity and let her use his doghouse for three days before he realized that she had no plans on taking the time to fix what was broken. His empathy for her had disappeared after that and he'd stayed in his house until she'd figured out on her own that he wasn't going to let her have it anymore. After that, someone had went through Daren's spot and had melted the bags and string that made up his roof out of simple spite. Then, Niles had simply gotten tired of living and had thrown himself in front of a car. Daren had taken over his hole in the alley as a result.

It could get even worse than that, though. Phoebe had turned whore. Not the good kind, either. She didn't even have a room to take the guys to. She's started sleeping with other bums in the alley for a mere three dollars each. Desperation had drove her to it and she'd got pregnant as a result because she hadn't taken the time to go downtown and pick up free condoms at the health offices. She had went down and gotten aid when she walked in pregnant, though. She hadn't thought it through, however. Tsuna knew that she'd be back on the street the moment that the baby was born. Assuming she thought ahead enough to actually care enough about whether the baby survived.

Tsuna was merely happy that sickness hadn't started to spread yet. With all the rain, there'd already been a few sniffles and coughs. Thankfully nothing worse than that. If something worse went through the neighborhood, then none of them would be able to protect themselves from it. Everyone would get sick and they'd continue to pass it around between each other until the weather changed enough that they could overcome it. Tsuna still had some of his painkillers left, but that only helped with fever. They'd still have to suffer through all the other symptoms that came with colds and flu.

Glancing upward, Tsuna eyed the sky warily when a rumble of thunder heralded another upcoming storm. It didn't look good. Carefully getting to his feet, he scrapped out the change that he'd used to salt his cup and shoved it into his pocket. It was his last good pocket, too. All the others had ripped and they hadn't had time to spare lately in order to fix them. There were more important things to worry about than sewing right now. Things such as finding Snicker and retreating for cover before the storm broke. It was almost time for Snicker to return, anyway. He had probably already used his subway pass to return to this side of town. It was only a question of meeting up with him en route.

Like he expected, he found Snicker hurriedly walking down the sidewalk in his direction. Smiling widely, Tsuna waved and rushed up to him to give him the good news.

"Guess what?!" Snicker exclaimed first. "Someone dropped a fiver on me!"

"I got you beat!" Tsuna replied with a wide grin. "Someone tossed me a twenty!"

"No shit?" He gaped. Then he smiled widely and pulled Tsuna into a bear hug, knowing how far they could stretch a twenty. They'd be able to eat every day this week on a twenty. It wouldn't be much, but it was at least a can of food a day along with a replacement bag of rice. "Let's get some hot dogs to celebrate!"

"With chili and cheese?" Tsuna asked with wide eyes, pulling back out of Snicker's friendly embrace.

"As long as you put veggies on it then I won't care," he laughed.

"You sound like a dad every time you say that," Tsuna chuckled in reply. Then his laughter fell when he realized the look that Snicker was giving him in response. It took him aback for a moment, making him realize the kind of relationship that had grown up between them without Tsuna really noticing it.

"Is that a bad thing?" Snicker asked quietly, his tone suggesting that he'd been thinking that way for a while now. It wasn't bad now that he'd noticed it, Tsuna admitted to himself. It was just a little surprising when he thought of himself as Snicker's kid. His own dad hadn't ever been around that much. The last time he'd finally decided to show up had been to turn Tsuna's life into a living hell. Having a dad like Snicker wouldn't have been that bad in retrospect. Snicker was smart and took care of him. He was a little pushy at times when it came to keeping up with their health, but that was only because he'd seen first-hand what happened when one didn't. He protected Tsuna without trying to coddle him, but always made sure Tsuna knew the reasons for his methods. He never tried to force Tsuna into doing things, either. He merely waited and let him come around at his own pace.

"No," Tsuna smiled shyly, scratching his cap in his own habitual fashion while Snicker rubbed his beard in consideration. "I don't think it's a bad thing. You're a lot better than my real dad ever was. I'm kind of old for that kind of thing, but I... um... you know."

"I get the picture," Snicker laughed when Tsuna blushed once more. Tsuna blushed even harder when Snicker put a hand on his head for a moment before pushing him gently in the direction of a street vendor. The vendors were already starting to pack up in order to escape the rain, but Georgie stopped when he saw them walking up.

"You two better hurry," Georgie warned with a thick accent. "This one is supposed to be a big 'un. Says it won't blow through 'til tomorrow afternoon."

"We're heading home," Snicker assured him with a nod. "You mind tossing us something before you head out? We can actually pay today."

"No need for that," Georgie laughed. "Save your cash. I got a whole bag of ones that I cooked up before the call went out to pack up. I'll let you have them for free along with a few buns as long as you two help me get my cart outta here."

"We'll do it," Tsuna said immediately, reaching over to help him stow away all of the fixings that they wouldn't get to partake of after all. Even so, a whole bag of hotdogs would be good enough. Especially if they were still hot and actually cooked. The last time that he'd had a hot one instead of a package of cold ones from the grocery store had been when Georgie had given them to him in thanks for pointing out a guy that'd tried to rob him when he wasn't looking. After that, they'd always made sure to say hello on their way past even if they couldn't buy anything. Such pleasantries created bonds that made lucky breaks such as the one that was currently happening. It was yet another lesson that Snicker had taught him in order to help him create a pool of favors and friendships that could help him survive in the worst of times.

It didn't take long to get his cart packed up and Tsuna took the bag of hotdogs and buns that Georgie handed over while Snicker started pushing the cart for the man. Georgie could have probably done it on his own, but they were able to move faster with Snicker pushing with them working to keep the sides from tipping due to the speed. They didn't have to go far. Just to where Georgie had a large truck parked in a nearby parking garage. Loading it up only took a minute with all three of them working to lift it rather than waste time on pulling out the ramp and Georgie nodded in satisfaction while he strapped the cart in place.

"Listen, you two," he called when they started to retreat. "I got a deal for you, cause I ain't ever been able to get Mary-Sue in my truck that fast before. Usually takes me twenty minutes and a whole lotta hell bringing out the ramp."

"We're listening," Snicker replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll tell you what," he sighed, jumping out of the back in order to shut the back doors. "I can unload her in the morning cause I get here early, but my wife gets to bitchin' when I take too long getting home. If you two help me load her up just like you did tonight, I'll hook you up with at least a dog a piece. Maybe more if there's a lot of leftovers. I usually give 'em to my dogs anyway. I'll even let you have dibs on whatever fixings are left that can't be reused. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a damn fine deal," Snicker answered in surprise while Tsuna nodded furiously. "That's more than most would offer someone like us. You close up shop after the afternoon rush. Right?"

"Same time everyday," he nodded. "We got another guy that comes and takes over the late nights for the party crowd. He works over on Mont Street, though."

"We'll be there," Snicker replied firmly.

"I won't be coming out tomorrow," he warned. "But I'll be there as long as the rain don't got no bite to it. You two better run along for now. The weather is supposed to turn real nasty tonight."

"We will!" Tsuna promised. Georgie nodded and headed for the driver's seat of his truck. Without even needing to say anything, both of them headed for the nearest alcove in order to plunder their spoils first. Neither of them had managed to get enough money begging to cover food in two days. Both of them were starving, although neither of them showed it. They were used to starving. This hadn't been the first bad week that they had nor would it probably be their last.

But all that had changed in the space of an hour. Twenty five dollars and a bag of hotdogs to share along with the promise of more. Tsuna was in heaven at the first bite. Georgie's hotdogs were the good kind. The kind that you knew was real meat instead of pressed leftovers. He didn't just have hotdogs, though. That was noticed immediately and Tsuna snatched one of the sausages from the bag in order to make himself a stacked mess of meat and bread. It was greasy, but neither of them cared. It was still warm grease. Both of them had stopped caring about whether food was hot or cold, but times like these allowed them to appreciate the luxury of a hot meal.

"Not too fast," Snicker warned when Tsuna finished inhaling his dual-dog and started to grab another. "We haven't eaten in a while. Unless you want to get sick, don't cram it down like that. You should know better. Do you want a repeat of that bucket of chicken you ate?"

"No," he grimaced, remembering the time that Snicker was talking about. They'd managed to score a whole bucket of fried chicken after going without food for nearly three days. He'd eaten it so fast that he'd overstuffed himself without realizing it. His stomach had rebelled from the sudden onslaught of food and it'd all went to waste. Only the fact that Snicker had held some back had allowed him to try again. Reminded of the pathetic event, Tsuna forced himself to slow down. He nibbled at his next dog almost daintily and chewed as slowly as possible while reminding himself that he already had two in him. It was a good thing that Snicker had stopped him, because halfway through his third dog, his stomach went from empty to bloated between one bite and the next.

"We'll save the rest for later," Snicker chuckled, seeing the sorrowful look cross over Tsuna's face while he stared down at the still-warm remains of the food he couldn't eat. "You still got baggies. Right? Take half of these and keep them and I'll store the rest in my bag." Tsuna nodded and began digging in his bag for one of the spare plastic baggies that he always kept. They'd been reused multiple times for a hundred different uses, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was keeping safe and dry what little food they had. Once that was done, they stood in unison and started heading home.


"No way..." Tsuna mumbled with tears in his eyes. "This isn't the right place. Is it, Snicker? We're just in the wrong place. Right?"

"I wish I could say that," Snicker replied sadly. The two of them continued to stand in shock while the rain poured down on them, staring at what had once been the alley holding nearly two dozen makeshift homes. It was empty now. Completely and absolutely empty. His doghouse was gone and so was Snicker's barrel. The residents had already scattered to find new shelter and not even a scrap of trash remained to show that people had once been living there. "This isn't the first time," Snicker commented with a sniff to betray his own need to cry. "That was my third home. My first one got taken by over by a gang and my second got torn down when they put up the shopping mall. I didn't think I'd lose this one. This one was Zero's favorite."

"What are we going to do?" Tsuna wept without bothering to hide his tears. "They took our home, Snicker! Someone came and took it away! It was here this morning and it's not here anymore and now we don't have anywhere to go!"

"We were homeless to start with, Suoh," he sighed, pulling Tsuna into a hug so that he wouldn't have to cry to himself. Tsuna allowed it, burying his head into Snicker's soaked shirt in order to weep over their loss. It wasn't fair! They'd left to get food and then they came back and their homes were gone! No one had asked them if it was okay! No one cared that it had been all they had! They'd probably just came through and seen junk and trash and then carted it all away. Didn't they understand that it was like tearing an apartment building down while the residents were at work? Didn't they know that they'd taken away the one place that they'd been using to sleep safely and warmly? It hadn't been much, but it had been all that they had!

"Why, Snicker?" Tsuna cried. "Why did they do that? We weren't hurting anyone. Why did they take our home away?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "Maybe they were tired of looking at us. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Snicker? Pocky?" A voice asked worriedly. Tsuna pulled away with his face still covered in misery in order to look at the small group of women staring at them with pity on their faces. Tsuna immediately buried his face back into Snicker's chest, not wanting to see such expressions. He didn't want pity. He wanted his home back. Pity wouldn't give him a small sense of security that had allowed him to sleep at night no matter how insecure their life was.

"What is it, Summer?" Snicker asked quietly while absently trying to comfort Tsuna.

"We tried to stop them," she said softly, walking up in order to share her umbrella with him. The other girls with her gathered around, blocking out the rain in a huddle of umbrellas. Tsuna pulled his tears back the moment that the rain no longer washed them away, wanting to hear what the girls had to say. "It was the city. Their neighborhood cleanup committee finally reached down this street. They said that all the garbage brought down the property value of the neighborhood, so they brought in crews to clear it all out. We tried to tell them that it wasn't trash, but they still took it anyway. Autumn... Autumn even got arrested. She kind of shocked all of us. She tried pulling out her daddy card and everything. Told them that you guys weren't hurting anything and that it wasn't right about what they were doing. They started to actually look like they had misgivings, but a guy slapped her ass and told her that little girls shouldn't worry about such things."

"And she hit him," Snicker finished with a sigh.

"Laid him out flat," one of the other girls agreed. "You should know that she keeps a five pound weight in her purse. She smacked it right across his face. He never knew what hit him. She broke his nose, too, so the cops didn't have a choice but to take her in. Not that they could keep her in. She got out about an hour ago on bail. By then, most of the damage had already been done. The work crews hadn't stopped and everything had already been torn down pretty well. They..."

"They thought it was funny when they tore Pocky's house down," Summer finished with a grimace. "They took turns jumping on it until the roof caved in so that they could toss it into the garbage truck ea--."

"I don't want to hear anymore," Tsuna interrupted miserably. Pushing himself out of Snicker's comforting hug, he quietly forced his way past them and into the rain. Snicker followed without a second's pause, knowing that they had to find somewhere else to go before the worst of the storm broke. The girls looked at them in sympathy, each one having to stop the other in order to not offer their own apartments to them. Tsuna was touched that they wanted to, but knew as well as they did that such a thing wasn't possible. The rainy season meant people wanted to stay inside, which also meant that the girls would be getting more work. Having two homeless guys in their apartment wasn't something that their pimp would like since the girls wouldn't be there to make sure that they didn't steal anything. Mike was a nice enough guy, but he was a realist, too.

They had to find their own place.

Some place that cost less than twenty-five dollars and half a bag of hot dogs.


"Wake up, Suoh," Snicker hissed. Tsuna woke with a small jerk, his leg lashing out in a knee-jerk reaction to being woken up in the middle of the night. They'd managed to secure a hidden spot in the back of a parking garage where they wouldn't be seen by the guard patrols.

But the sounds that met his ears while he stared at Snicker wasn't that of guards. He froze in the middle of wiping the sleep out of his eyes at the sounds. It was the sound of a crowd and cars parking. A lot of cars and a lot of people.

"What's going on?" He whispered, sitting up from where he'd been curled around his bag.

"It's something bad," Snicker replied worriedly. "Something big enough that the cops will probably show to break it up. We gotta get out of here. They'll want witnesses to testify and all of that."

"Cops would be bad," Tsuna agreed. Quietly, they made their way to the entrance that they'd used to gain access to the underground garage and headed for the exit.

"Hold it!" A voice yelled. Tsuna started running in unison with Snicker and they almost made it before the garage doors slammed shut. He heard Snicker curse at the same moment that they both spun in place to put their backs against the wall. "Hold it!" The man chasing them repeated. They stared with wide eyes, Tsuna's fear plain on his face at the sight of a man in a black suit. "Calm down!" He ordered with his hands out. "I'm not going to hurt you two."

"What's going on?" Someone else yelled from across the garage, gaining the attention of many of the people filling up the area. They were all well-dressed people. People that looked more suited for a fancy restaurant than a place like this.

"Just two bums that were sleeping here," he called back. "I'll take care of it. Tell Boss that we just got a couple extra spectators."

"We don't want no trouble," Snicker said calmly. "Just let us go and we won't go telling anyone that you guys are here."

"I don't want any trouble either," he replied with a quirky grin. "Why don't you two just stick around for a bit and we'll let you go when everyone leaves. That's not too much to ask. Is it? That way we know that you won't go snitching and ruin our little event. I'll even give you both a twenty to keep your mouths shut."

"You'll give us twenty to just be quiet and watch?" Tsuna asked suspiciously. "And you won't hurt us?"

"That's right," he nodded. "I'll even give you each ten now and another ten after everyone leaves. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like--"

"Twenty now and twenty more later!" Tsuna blurted before Snicker could agree. Both Snicker and the man looked at him in surprise, but he had a feeling. One that he didn't want to ignore. "Twenty for us to be quiet and twenty so that we'll stay and tell the cops that no one was here. That would be good. Wouldn't it? The police will ask and we'll say that we didn't see anyone here and then they'll throw us out anyway but at least then they won't be looking for any signs of you guys. That's worth twenty extra dollars. Right?"

"Alright," the man agreed with another grin. "So, eighty all together and you guys will even stick around to cover our tracks. I think that Boss will agree to that. If not, I'll yank it out of my own pocket. For now, you two just find yourselves somewhere nice and comfortable-like. Here's the first twenty for both of you. I don't want to see you mingling with any of our guests, though. Got it?" Tsuna nodded furiously in agreement and cautiously reached out with Snicker to snatch the twenties that were offered to them. Out of habit, they both shoved them into their pockets without missing a beat, knowing that they'd be harder to take back that way.

At the man's cue, they both walked over to a corner of the garage and leaned up against a wall so that they could be watched at all times. Neither of them cared anymore. Eighty dollars meant that they could survive for a good, long time. If need-be, they could buy a tent now and set it up wherever they happened to be at night if the weather was bad. Any alley would do and no one would care as long as it was gone by the time that they woke up. He saw the same thoughts going through Snicker's head and smiled widely at the look of praise that he shot him. It had been a risk to ask for more, but one that Tsuna was glad he'd taken. Especially since the cops might not necessarily come if this so-called event was as well-hidden as Tsuna was starting to think. They'd get eighty dollars for doing nothing, plus they'd still get to sleep out of the rain.

Then they turned to the event itself and realized the reason for all the secrecy. A fighter had each exited out of two of the vehicles in order to stand within the sights of the crowd. Tsuna wasn't stupid. The moment that he saw that, he realized that it wasn't simply some kind of trade or racing or some other illegal get-together. It was an underground fighting ring. One where people were already betting large amounts of money on who would win.

Yet, that wasn't what Tsuna's mind focused on. Instead, he couldn't help but get a sense that both the fighters were weak. They were really, really weak. He didn't understand it. They were both easily three times his size. Possibly four or five if he was honest with himself. They had more muscles on their bodies than Tsuna could ever dream of having. They were well-fed and obviously itching for a fight. Even so, he had a feeling that they were weak. It made him wonder what exactly his comparison was being based off of since both of them looked perfectly capable of tearing a car in two. They weren't like the people that Tsuna saw every day on the street. The people he saw everyday on the street, he'd never been able to judge. Maybe because of how their wills fluctuated alongside their food supplies and money. These guys, though. These guys gave him an incredibly strong feeling. One so strong that he wanted to laugh at their cocky posing and muscle flexing.

"What's wrong with you?" Snicker gasped when Tsuna actually did let out a small chuckle.

"I can't help it," he hissed. "They're acting all scary but they're weak."

"Who are you kidding?!" Snicker scolded back through clenched teeth. "Don't go laughing at them or else they might see. Unless you want them to tear you in two for calling them something like that?!"

"Sorry," Tsuna mumbled, forcing himself to turn away so that he wouldn't feel the urge to respond to the fighters. The moment that he calmed down and stared at the wall long enough, he immediately started cursing himself. What the hell had he been thinking?! These guys were like semi-trucks and he was just a bug on the windshield! He'd get splattered without a second thought if he caught their attention! He knew that he'd been holding his own against Basil, back when he'd been training under Reborn, but he didn't have a Dying Will Bullet anymore! He was just a normal guy with normal problems and normal ways of getting out of those problems!

Yet, he was having a hard time suppressing the urge to interfere. For the next half-hour while fighter after fighter was presented, only to be defeated by the dark-haired opponent from one side, Tsuna felt a desire growing inside him. It was a suicidal desire, he knew. Even so, he had a desire to test the true strength of the continued winner. He had a desire to show the cocky man that even he could be defeated. Even he could lose. That unless he broke the limits that he was placing on himself by thinking that he was the best there was, he would never get stronger.

And the fighter was a good guy. He deserved to be helped to true strength. Tsuna got that feeling stronger than any other.

"Are you okay, Suoh?" Snicker asked worriedly. Tsuna broke off from where he'd absently begun mumbling to himself in effort to silence the thoughts going through his head. In effort to talk himself out of acting on the thoughts going through his head.

"We got to get out of here," Tsuna mumbled, looking at him in worry.

"What's wrong? We have to stay so that we can get the other forty," Snicker pointed out. "Plus, we don't know what these guys will do if we try to sneak out."

"B-But--" Tsuna broke off as a commotion erupted between two of the spectators. It was a loud commotion that had silenced the rest of the watching crowd.

"I told you!" A man in a black suede shirt shouted angrily. "He's not up to fighting tonight! I'm not going to lose another fighter just because you want to make a little extra money, you greedy bastard! You've already beat everyone I had to offer. Be satisfied!"

"Like I give a fat damn," the one in a red silk shirt spat in return. "You promised eight. Not seven. Eight. If I knew that you were going to try pulling this bull-shit, then I would have kept Ore at home! We didn't have to come down here and fight for you. You were the one that begged us and now you're trying to protect your assets cause we knocked the fuck out of the rest of your pussy fighters? I don't think so. You better get your next target--oops-- I meant fighter out here and let Ore knock him down like all the others. Unless your fighter just forgot his balls at home alongside his dick and his--"

"Watch who you're talking to!" The man in black shouted back. "I told you last night that Bulldog wouldn't be here and you didn't have a fucking problem with it--"

"And I don't," he snapped. "But I didn't say nothing about you shorting us. You better find a fighter so that we can have a nice finish to this show or else Ore here will be turning you into--"

"I'll do it," someone called. Tsuna choked and realized that it was himself at the same moment that Snicker slapped two hands over his mouth. It was too late, though. Every eye looked in their direction in effort to see who had dared volunteer themselves to go against a man that was already covered in blood.

Blood that wasn't his own.

"Sorry," Snicker called, restraining Tsuna against his chest with his hands still clamped over his mouth. "My friend is kind of crazy. Don't mind him."

"'m 'ot 'ra'y," Tsuna objected. Pointing at the fighter named Ore, he couldn't help himself. "I 'an 'eat 'im."

"See, crazy as he can get," Snicker continued in growing panic. "Just look at him. You can't take someone like him seriously. He--"

"No," the man in the red shirt grinned, pulling down his completely pointless set of sunglasses. "I'll take him seriously. Crazy mother fuckers can sometimes put on a good show. You really willing to fight, kid?" Starting to believe himself that he was crazy, Tsuna found himself nodding in Snicker's arms. The man in the black shirt merely stared at him for a moment while openly relieved that a fighter had appeared to save his own ass. On the other hand, the man in the red shirt began taking bets for the Crazy Bum versus Ore.

"What the hell did you just do?" Snicker gasped, spinning him around in place in order to stare him in the eyes. "You realize that you got to fight that guy now?! He's going to tear you to shreds!"

"I don't know," Tsuna gasped in reply, the aftermath of what he'd just done only finally starting to hit him. "I couldn't help it! I got a feeling and I couldn't ignore it this time!"

"You got to go tell them that you can't do it," Snicker urged. Tsuna shook his head, realizing the impossibility of managing such a feat. He had to fight. There was no backing out of it now. If he tried to back out, the red shirt would just kill him anyway out of disappointment.

"Hey, kid." Tsuna and Snicker looked up in unison to see the well-fed man in a black suit walk up to them with two guys at his shoulders. They didn't look like people that were willing to play around. Although, the look of gratitude on the man's face was surprising. "You just saved my ass," he commented. "I'm-- Well, you probably don't need to know who I am. What's your name, kid?"

"Suoh," he lied.

"Suoh," the man repeated with a small nod. "I'll tell you what, Suoh. Since you saved my ass, I'm going to give you and your friend here a hundred bucks each. How does that sound? When you lose, I'll even cover the hospital bills on top of it. It's a lot less money than I might have--"

"I won't lose," Tsuna blurted before slapping his own hands over his mouth. Beside him, Snicker groaned at the words since they carried over to the crowd and into Ore's ears.

"You got guts," he laughed in reply. "You really are crazy, kid. That's okay, though. Just keep yourself alive and you'll be eating steaks as soon as your jaw gets fixed."

"What if...?" He mumbled quietly.

"What was that?" The man asked, turning his ear in surprise.

"What if I win?" Tsuna repeated hesitantly, lowering his hands from his mouth. "Can we have the money that you would pay the hospital?"

"Alright," he nodded with a small, disbelieving grin. "If it'll make you feel better then I'll promise you two grand if you win. That's not as much as the hospital bills will cost, but it should last you a while."

"T-Two...?" Tsuna stared up at Snicker with wide eyes. "Is two grand good?"

"It's twenty hundreds, Suoh," Snicker choked, knowing that Tsuna had never seen more than a hundred American dollars before. Hearing it as twenty hundreds made a lot more sense, though. He knew how much they could get with a hundred. Imagining twenty of them seemed like heaven.

"I'll win, Snicker," he promised quietly. "I'll win and then we can go sleep in a bed tonight. We could afford a hotel room if we had that much."

"We could afford an apartment for a month, Suoh," Snicker breathed. Then he shook his head, tossing dreams of the impossible away. "Don't go thinking such things, Suoh," he ordered, grabbing him by the shoulders with a small shake. "Don't go thinking big like that. Just keep your mind on the hundred that he's promising and try not to get hurt. Fuck," he spat. "That's damn near impossible. Just try not to let him hit any of your sensitive spots and don't let him grab you. If he grabs you, he'll probably break something. You don't want an arm or a leg broke. Do you, Suoh?"

"No," he mumbled.

"If he hits you, just go down," he advised in growing panic. "You don't have to give them a good show. Just go down and lay there and don't move. You got it?"

"Yes," he agreed as his own fear began to build. What the hell had he been thinking? Like he could actually beat a guy like that! It was like two Ryohei's stacked on top of each other! What was he going to do?! Tickle him to death?! He didn't have a choice anymore, though. He hadn't kept his mouth shut and this was the outcome. He should just run away. He knew that if he had a choice, he'd run away. But if he ran away, Snicker would probably be forced to fight in his place. He couldn't do that to Snicker after everything the man had done for him. He'd be dead by now if it hadn't been for Snicker. Plus, there was the money to think about. They didn't have a home anymore. They could have a home for a while with the money that they got. Even if he lost, they'd be able to survive for a little longer.

It would hurt, but they'd survive.

Letting that thought encompass his mind, his determination grew enough that he was able to force his way past his fear. He'd been crazy to get into this, but maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. He couldn't ignore his feelings and his feelings said that doing this was right. He wasn't sure if it was right for Snicker's sake or Ore's sake or maybe black-shirt's sake or even his own. All he knew was that something inside him was spilling over with an assurance that kept his feet from running.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop his knees from trembling.

Quietly, he pulled off his satchel and handed it over to Snicker for safe-keeping. He left his hat on, knowing that his roots were probably showing by now. Summer had trimmed his hair for him a while back and had exclaimed over his natural hair color, but they hadn't been able to afford a pure luxury like hair dye. He'd taken to keeping a lump of charcoal in his hat in order to dust it black in a makeshift fashion. After handing his bag over, he tugged absently on his gloves to make sure that they were in place and prayed that his shirt wouldn't get ripped.

His small bit of preparation done, he turned at the black-shirt's cue and slowly shuffled toward the ring of spectators. He couldn't even walk properly. He had a feeling that if he tried to bend his knees, they'd completely give out. His body was as tense as a board in fear, but his mind was as clear as daylight from determination. The mixture made him feel as crazy as he was sure that he looked. People laughed at him when he straightened his back and marched the last few feet in a pathetic attempt at bluster. He realized it the moment that he did it because his arms and legs moved like a robot due to him thinking too hard about it.

Then everything seemed to disappear.

Ore.

His opponent was weak. The feeling got even stronger while he stared up... and up... at him. He had to be a good three feet taller than him. The man was a giant. A muscle-bound, eight-foot-tall giant. One that was staring down at Tsuna like he was a mere bug. Tsuna didn't feel like a bug, though. It was strange. The man was so much bigger than him, but it was as if he had a hundred weak points that were screaming at Tsuna. They were all screaming 'hit me'. A few of them even screamed 'kill me', which left Tsuna shaking after he noticed them. He put his face in his hands for a moment upon seeing them, shaking from the knowledge that was pouring through his mind.

This wasn't good knowledge. This wasn't knowledge he wanted. This was knowledge that made him want to weep for having. It was knowledge that reminded him why he'd run away. He'd run away from home because of this. He didn't want to kill. He didn't want to hurt people! Why was he here?! Why was he doing this?! He just wanted to be a decent person! He just wanted to live a good life! He just wanted... He just wanted to be left alone!

"You getting scared, twerp?" Ore asked with a cruel laugh. "Here," he continued, leaning down into Tsuna's reach. Tsuna peeked out from his hands in order to see the giant pointing at his own chin. Tsuna stared at it with wide eyes while the man continued to scoff. "I'll let you hit me once so that you'll feel a little better about getting stomped on. Go ahead. I'll let you have one free shot. Or are you too scared to hit me at all?"

"I'm not scared," Tsuna mumbled in honesty. "But I can't hit you there."

"Oh really?" The man laughed, playing the crowd in his amusement. "And why is that? Are you afraid that you'll miss?"

"No," Tsuna mumbled to himself, shaking his head while his face twisted slightly in an internal pain that his opponent could probably never understand. Holding his head, he tried to control the thoughts twisting through it. Thoughts that he had to hit his opponent there. Thoughts that he needed to finish it quickly. Thoughts that he wanted to deny even having. "If I hit you there, you'll die and I don't want to kill you. I just want some money so that Snicker and me can eat. I don't have to kill you to get that. Do I? I don't want to kill you. You're not a bad person and I don't want to be a bad person. I'm a good person but they took away my home today. I don't want to hurt you, either, but I have to. I have to or else Snicker and me won't get two grand. We need two grand. Two grand would--"

"Stop it, Suoh!" Snicker called worriedly from the sidelines. "I told you, don't worry about the money! Just don't get hurt!" Tsuna looked up and stared at Snicker for a long moment. Snicker. The man who'd saved him. The man who took care of him. The man who had given him a reason not to give up. The man who meant everything and did everything for him. How many times had Snicker watched his back? How many times had Snicker been there for him when no one else was?

"I'm sorry, Snicker," he said softly with tears welling up in his eyes. Snicker's jaw dropped at the sudden apology while the audience continued to take delight in the crazy bum who was crying over the fact that he was about to be beaten. Tsuna knew better, though. He knew what he had to do. He had to do it for Snicker. He had to do it to repay everything that Snicker had done for him. Snicker didn't have a home. He didn't have a home. If he did this, he could repay Snicker for everything. He could give something back to Snicker for once. "I'm sorry," he repeated in misery. "I don't want to do bad things, but I have to."

Turning back to his opponent, he saw that the man was still leaning over with a mocking smile on his face. He was still scoffing and pointing to his chin, allowing Tsuna the first hit.

"Please, don't die," Tsuna begged. Ore nodded in exasperation and merely pointed to his chin again. Bawling up his fist, Tsuna pulled back and threw everything he had into a single punch. He put his whole weight behind it. Every ounce of his determination and his weak muscle. He prayed continuously while he swung that he was wrong. He screamed out all his frustration and his pain the moment that it connected with the man's chin.

Ore lurched upward from the force of the follow-through, standing on his toes for a moment while his face became covered with shock instead of amusement. Tsuna froze. He'd done it. He'd hit him there. He'd hit him there so that he could win. So that he could get two grand for Snicker. So that they could survive together for just a little longer.

He was a bad person. He was a horrible, rotten human being. He'd killed him. He'd killed the man just so that they could eat and have a home. He--

"Holy fuck," someone mumbled when Ore fell backward like a log. No one was laughing anymore. The man in the red shirt ran over to check on his fighter in shock while Tsuna simply stared around his tears. He was dead. He had to be dead. Tsuna had hit him in a 'kill me' spot. He'd hit him there without holding back. He--

"He's alive," the red-shirt commented in relief, making Tsuna burst out crying even harder in his own relief. Then the man stared up at Tsuna in shock from beside Ore's unconscious body. "Who the fuck are you, kid?" Tsuna stared back for a long moment before the question registered in his head.

Who the fuck are you?

He was someone that was supposed to be hiding. He was someone that didn't want to be found. He was someone that couldn't afford to draw attention. He was someone who had an identity that he didn't want known.

What had he done?

He'd just revealed himself to bad people. He'd just brought attention to himself in front of people that might be connected with the people that he was running from. People that would catch him and make him do bad things. Bad things that he didn't want to do!

"I... uh..." Tsuna panted, his heart racing in a sudden fear that he couldn't control. He had to run. He had to run away. He had to run away now, before these people started asking him questions. Before they tried to find out who he really was.

"Suoh...?" Snicker mumbled in concern. Tsuna merely shook his head at him, attempting to send him a look of apology around his fear.

He had to run.

Unable to control his fear anymore, he stumbled backward out of the ring in a mixture of shock and panic. He didn't want to be a bad person. He didn't want to be a bad person. He didn't want to be a bad person. Tsuna was clawing at the garage doors before he even noticed that he'd moved. Throwing it open, he was running down into the storm-filled street before anyone could even think to follow him.

He had to run away.

He had to run away so that he wouldn't be a bad person.