Disclaimer: KHR belongs to Amano Akira. Mahiro, the Hisagi family, Papa's Tasty Fritters, and Anotsu Takatori belong to sky of c-o-l-o-r-s

A/N: GAWD! I am so happy to have finished this chapter! It took forever! I hope that I was able to convey Mahiro's and Tsuna's feelings well. It's hard writing angst. You can't make it too dramatic or too little. HAS BEEN BETA-ed.

Some quick references so you aren't confused while reading this.

Hisagi Family: Kiyomi/Kiyo (Mom), Manabu/ Mana (Eldest son; Information Broker), Masahiro/ Masa (2nd eldest son; private investigator/ policeman), Sumire (Eldest daughter, third eldest; Doctor), Jun (3rd eldest son, 2nd youngest; high school student), Raizo/ Rai (Dad).

Momokyokai yakuza: Anotsu Takatori (Boss/ Aniki; has some hate against Masahiro(?) and knows Mahiro(?)), Tatsuo Ishinori (Guy who got his fingers broken by Mahiro in Ch. 6)

Chapter 7

Palermo, Italy

Someone was going to pay for wasting his time. Jun un-wrapped a chocolate lollipop and popped it between his lips. He flattened himself against the wall, seemingly indifferent about keeping it clean. Although that was probably for the best, since the tan jacket was already streaked with his sweat and blo-shit. Jun swore underneath his breath, and tucked in his chin while a group of bloodied, angry Italian thugs ran past shouting.

"Andò così!" He went that way. Jun tucked away the sharp blade he'd pulled from the inside of his sleeve. You could never be too careful while abroad. People were people, and there were bound to be some dumbasses who thought it'd be fun to fuck with a tourist. Though this was the first occasion Jun actually had had to use some of his hidden weapons. He hadn't gotten in one fight since the plane landed on Italian soil.

The trick, Jun had learned, was not to rise to petty insults-

"Figlio di puttana!" Son of a whore! The sugary, chocolatey lollipop cracked between his grinding molars. Son of a whore? Oh hell no...

Jun seethed silently. His sensually curved lips flattening out into a grim line while bloody thoughts of retribution consumed his mind. Jun had his blade in hand, and was already moving before he remembered why he'd ducked into this godforsaken aclove.

Jun paused, closed his eyes, dropped his knife, and counted to ten beneath his breath. When Jun could think again without wanting to shove his knife down someone's gullet, he picked it up. Jun would have to remember to find that ass-wipe before his field trip was over.

Jun smiled a tense smile to himself. Those anger management courses weren't a waste of his time after all. He'd have to thank his dad again, that annoying guy.

The running faded in the distance. Jun did not breathe a sigh of relief. Instead he crunched down loudly on the chocolate lollipop (which had about the same meaning). Jun straightened up and moved away from the aclove. His hand disappeared into the front pocket of his jacket, fished around for a bit, then pulled out his cell phone.

He started to text, rolling the swiftly melting hard candy around his mouth while he walked calmly down the crowded street, just another high school student separated from his group, nothing to see here.

Masa,

Bad news, they had it trashed by the time I arrived.

Jun stopped texting, scratched his head a little. He knew that his older brother, him being a professional investigator, wouldn't like what Jun had done when he'd seen that going on. Ah, well. Jun was relatively cool tempered compared to the rest of his siblings, but he was a Hisagiafter all.

Information retrieval was impossible from the mainframe. They also had the place booby-trapped to call reinforcements. When they arrived I had to fight my way out-

That still annoyed him. Jun had gone in too hot. He hadn't bothered to check if the rundown bar still had a working alarm system. Dangerous and stupid, Jun chuckled to himself, while he spun on his heel to avoid a lovey-dovey couple. That sounded more like Mahiro's speed than his.

I was chased for a while but lost them in an alley. Should I continue to investigate while I'm here?

Jun.

P.S. I'll try and get some souvenirs. But I doubt that the spaghetti will keep for long. Keep looking for Hiro.

And send. Jun finished the text at the same time he finished his lollipop and started to absently pat his front pocket for another, which was about the time two fingers, holding a thin cigarette jabbed under his nose. Jun looked up, one eyebrow rising incredulously while the plastic straw of the lollipop drooped between his lips.

A pretty Italian woman leered down at him. Jun smiled politely and waved the cigarette away. He was hoping the woman would go away as well.

"No, grazie." Jun pulled out the plastic stub, "E' candy." The girl, Jun had realized that she was around his age, pouted exaggeratedly. Jun sweat dropped. She appeared to be a native, but without any of the native suavity that Italy was famous for. She was about as smooth as sandpaper from the way she beamed down at him.

"Lei parla Italiano?" Do you speak italian?

She purred hopefully, or at least Jun thought it was a purr. It could just as easily be her horrific smoking habit acting up. Sad, and disgusting. Jun had made out with a few smokers before, it was like licking an ashtray, and about as arousing as well.

"Si." Jun hoped his blunt, monosyllable replies would turn her off. He also wished she'd take that coffin nail out from under his nose. Which reminded Jun that he had to talk to mom about Manabu's habit. Just because the man had chosen a job that didn't require a life of action, didn't mean he could cut his own life short by sucking on cancer sticks for shits and giggles- and this chick would still not take the hint.

She continued talking, her interest in him blatant. "Il mio nome è Lele. Il tuo?" My name is Lele. Yours?

"Jun." Jun was flattered, he really was. This was the fifth time today, counting the gaggle of Italian school girls he'd got numbers off of, that he'd been hit on. But there were the sensual, sophisticated advances of the European cuties, and then this. Jun normally loved girls, but something about this one was tripping off all his inner crazy-stalker alarms.

Jun had had to develop them at an early age. Middle school and high school continued to be a trying, but fun time for him in terms of girl troubles. As long as he continued to take his mom's advice to heart, to be nice but firm with the few crazies he was bound to encounter, Jun had no problem neutralizing any scary obsessions. Nice, but firm, didn't mean that he had to be rude though.

" Mi dispiace, ma il mio cuore appartiene a un altro," I'm sorry, but my heart belongs to another. Jun smiled, pitching his voice to bring out the brass undertones. One of his fans had sighed over it just the other day.

"Like silk," the fan had blushed hotly in his wake. Jun had grinned over that then, and he grinned now, the perfect picture of a teenage boy head over heels in love, (not that Jun would know for real, but he'd practiced the look in the mirror just for these sorts of situations). Jun looked into the far distance, letting a soft growl undercut his Italian to further accentuate the sheer romance of his words.

I have someone important to me.

"Ho una persona importante per me." Jun sighed, turning back to lock dreamy, bedroom eyes with the pink faced girl. Jun made sure to school his features into an expression of bitter sweet sadness that yet held a contentment that said: here is the wild beast that used to run wild, but having been chained by the locks of a maiden, discovered a different sweeter freedom. A shame, that that maiden hadn't been you.

"Non posso essere con voi per il mio Edelweiss." Jun said softly, letting his native Japanese accent color his Italian slightly.

I can't be with you for I have my Edelweiss…

"Edelweiss?" The girl seemed to sway, her lips trembling from Jun's onslaught. Then she shook herself out of her romantic daze. Sharply, she asked. "Non è che un tipo di fiore?"

Isn't that a type of flower?

Jun grinned. "Si, è un tipo di fiore."

Yes, it is a type of flower. Jun adopted the love-struck-playboy mask again, staring at an imaginary tower in the distance, all the while laughing inwardly at her fuming face. Dreamily, he continued softly, "E 'il fiore più bello di tutti." It is the most beautiful flower of all.

"Weirdo!" Lulu? Lela? Limo snapped, before turning tail. "Damned tourists!" She snapped in badly accented English.

Jun watched her go with a relieved expression. Then he forgot all about her in the next second when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. It was in his hand mid-tremble. "Hello?"

"Hisagi, where the hell are you?" Kasuki Tegawa was Jun's best friend, and for some reason, this also meant to the school and Kasuki, that he was also Jun's babysitter.

Jun sucked his teeth irritably. Kasuki was getting that shrill edge to his normally deep voice again, Jun had just sent some rather disappointing news to Masahiro, and he'd run out of chocolate. Today had been altogether disappointing. Jun did not like disappointing days. "I'm in Palermo."

Silence. "Why are you in Palermo? Our hotel is in Capaci! We are in Capaci!"

Jun hailed a cab. "I ran out of chocolate lollipops."

"So you went to Palermo which is practically a city sized slum? And for chocolate lollipops, why didn't you just buy some from the front desk!?"

"You ever heard the saying, that to really experience a city, you had to get lost in it?" A rickety cab, with dull looking headlights and a scowling man behind the wheel pulled up.

There was another ominous silence from the other side of the line. "So you got lost, aaalll the way to Palermo? And don't you dare quote Andrew Zimmern at me!"

Jun jumped into the cab, and gave him a hundred or so dollars in cash. His part time job paid rather well, so he could afford it and his chocolate addiction. It was a real shame that Mahiro had gone missing when she did, Jun knew that there were some overpriced, killer chocolate to be found in Italy.

"Oh, sorry, I'm getting a text from my bro, hang on." Jun looked almost harried. He pressed the button to show his text. Kasuki was worse than Manabu was sometimes. Now Jun knew how Mahiro felt whenever they started to get overprotective of her.

Jun smiled, his classic, boy band good looks softening when he thought about his baby sister. The cab drove, making its way up the winding street.

And then he saw the text.

Jun,

This is Mom. I know what you three are doing, and I want it to stop. Now.

Jun sucked in a horrified breath. Mom must have grabbed Masahiro's phone-

Naah, just messing with you. This is Masa. I think you ought to leave sleeping dogs lie over there; we don't want to start a blood bath. Mana and Helga will handle the rest over here and I don't want you stranded over there in mafia territory. BTW, I still want the spaghetti.

P.S. did I scare you? :)

Jun felt his eyelid twitch. Count to ten, count to ten… He reminded himself. Remember the anger counseling…

Mahiro had forgotten how good it felt to beat the crap out of someone. The power. The physical pain on her end and the veritable agony sustained on the other. There was nothing quite like it, nothing quite like that feeling of conquering, and subjugating, and reducing the shit heads stupid enough to cross her into puddles of meat and excrement-

Mahiro doubled over and threw up.

Mahiro wiped the vomit from her mouth and continued on home, her hands both bruised and bloodied, dried blood caked under her nails.

Her expression was grim. The taste in her mouth foul. Her twin braids were messy and damp with her sweat. Her legs felt wobbly, they ached from the long period of disuse. She kept walking, a lone girl on a largely deserted and dilapidated street. But if there was anyone sneaking around looking for an easy mark, they were smart enough to keep their heads down and out of her way. In her current mood, she'd be liable to kill anyone stupid enough to cross her.

Because Mahiro was doing something she'd been doing a lot of lately with no one to fight and with too much time on her hands.

Mahiro was thinking.

She was thinking about her friend Tsuna and how she knew that Tsuna had become weak. He'd been weak from the start, but it had been shallow, like a spot of rot on the skin of a young fruit. But in the time that she'd been away, Tsuna had begun to rot from the inside out; from the very core of him. It had been easy to cut that weakness out of him then, but you can't do anything with a rot like this. You could only throw away the fruit.

But Tsuna was your friend. He'd always been your friend even when everyone had been too afraid of you to even get near you. A voice cried from inside her.

Mahiro shook off the thought immediately. No. Was. Tsuna was my friend. Now, he's just a coward. A pathetic excuse for a mafia boss and a friend. I don't want to have anything to do with someone like that.

The voice continued to argue. You know he's a good friend. He'd never abandon you. He's the only friend you've ever had. He's been with you since you guys first met.

Wasn't that just because I'd been easy to befriend, and also the strongest kid on the block? Mahiro thought grimly. But nothing's changed at all. He'd hid behind me then because I was the strongest. He'd only fought beside me then because he knew I was right there in case he messed up too badly. All this mafia crap with Reborn is just the same shit, different trash can. Tsuna knows Reborn's strong. He knows that the bullet Reborn shoots him with gives him strength without fear. But hell, you can't survive a street fight without a healthy dose of fear! And Reborn's not even bothering to wean Tsuna off it and give him a strength he can depend on when the going gets rough!

Do you really think that Tsuna is that kind of person? Countered the voice. Do you really see Tsuna as the kind of person to leech off another for his own benefit? Is he that despicable?

Mahiro didn't answer. Instead, she unlocked the door to her apartment, and threw all her things onto the ground.

Mahiro knew little of the Italian mafia underworld but the little she knew about it, showed that it was a world which had no room for the weak. If Tsuna was going to be involved in a dangerous world like that, he would need all the strength that he could get.

There was just no room for cowardice in a boss. He would have to learn to be a leader for his future subordinates and be the standing force which would hold his men and women together. Tsuna had to learn to stand on his own feet. He could not always depend on Reborn or Mahiro whenever there was danger.

They had to cut the umbilical cord sometime. She didn't really care if Tsuna hated her now for what she'd had to do.

Mahiro entered the bathroom and turned on the shower, hoping that along with the blood, sweat, and grime, the water would wash away the heavy turmoil inside her.

But that stupid little voice in the back of her head still wouldn't shut up.

You left him. Tsuna might've failed today, but you'd failed him a long time before then. It said.

"I thought that he'dgrow strong." Mahiro gritted out, refusing to believe that the hot tracks streaming down her face were tears.

You left him when you were his only ally. His own parents didn't care about the bullies, and they still don't. What did you think would happen to him as a little, wimpy kid without you there? Your mom must've had known this, that's why she sent you back here. Not to berate and abandon him, but to finish the job you started.The voice said. To make him strong.

And instead she'd forgotten everything. She couldn't believe she'd been so blind..!

"Damn it!" Mahiro slammed a fist against the wall, regardless of how much it hurt when the scabs over her knuckles broke open again. Guilt, shame, and frustration plagued her. The shame and guilt was from knowing how she hadn't been able to keep either of her promises to them.

Mahiro had left Tsuna before he was able to support himself. She'd forgotten everything about how easily swayed Tsuna was. How blind his parents were in realizing the damage being dealt to Tsuna's physical, and emotional health.

She'd also forgotten her promise with her mother about living peacefully and instead had glutted herself on violence like a fat tick in a horse's armpit. The number one woman who Mahiro looked up to. And she'd failed her.

Mahiro knew that even if her mom knew that Mahiro had broken the agreement- which she probably already did- and had caused trouble in Namimori, she would just get off with an exasperated sigh and a slap on the wrist. Maybe a lecture or two but that was it.

That had always been the way how her mom raised her and her siblings. Even if they hadn't lived up to her expectations, that was fine. There would be no punishments of the corporeal nature, her siblings would just have to live with the fact that they'd disappointed her.

And Mahiro Hisagi, despite being a substantial distance away from her mother's reproving wry smiles, shrank into herself with shame.

"Damn it..!" Mahiro whispered. Her bleeding knuckles left stains on the shower stall.

The hot water pitter-patted on her back, as if it were a living companion offering support.

Tatsuo Ishinori stood as straight and tall as he could with his injuries. The large, bald man didn't want to appear weak in front of his brothers, especially while they were being beaten for his fucking mistake. As if the injuries from that feral girl were not enough, they were also getting a second beatdown for fucking up in the first place. That'd make even the most loyal of men get pissy, and Tatsuo knew that all of his 'brothers' were only as loyal as they were made to be. The minute they sensed any weakness, they'd turn on each other (him!) without a second thought. That was how their world worked. This was their world of the strong, of the Yakuza. And out of all the bosses he'd seen passing through this world, this guy, Tatsuo shivered, this guy was the strongest.

"You guys are lucky," Anotsu addressed them, eyes meeting each and every one of the unsuccessful yakuza members. They visibly straightened up, even though doing so caused them much pain.

Anotsu Takatori may have been a young boss, but there was no denying the fact that he had the power and charisma to lead. Rumor had it that he had been the oyabun of the Kokusui-kai* gang's second most trusted man. After the Kokusui-kai had been merged with the larger and more powerful Yamaguchi-gumi**, the Kokusui-kai's boss committed suicide not two years later. The Kokusei-kai then fought against the Sumiyoshi-kai***, a rival gang, over gang territory. The two gangs eventually came to an agreement to stop the fighting but there had been speculations that the former boss of the Sumiyoshi-kai along with several other members were killed by Anotsu Takatori alone. He would have been no older than nineteen during that time.

And so the veteran members of the Momokyokai stood at attention- or in most of their cases- sat up at attention as Anotsu spoke. His six foot one stature was not very intimidating. He was not as musclebound as most Yakuza members or as rugged as them either. He was a handsome man with short black hair and a fringe swept to the right of his face. It did nothing to hide the wickedly gruesome scar running down that side of his face. It had been sustained during a rival gang's attack a few years back, and was reportedly almost life threatening in it's severity.

That and the blue-green tattoos on his shoulder running and down his back weren't the characteristics that demanded the most attention and respect. It was his hard and calculating eyes. They missed nothing, constantly sizing up his opponents, noticing even the smallest of details. There were those in his group, who attributed supernatural attributes to their new Aniki's perceptive nature.

"I would have had you all cut off a piece of your pinky for failing such a simple task but," Anotsu cast a dismissive glance over to Tatsuo. "The reconnaissance team actually found someone interesting."

The men looked at Anotsu with questioning looks. Someone interesting?

"Hibari Kyoya?" The former boss's right hand man, Ishida Taro asked. He was a middle aged man, shirtless and showing off his full body tattoos that had taken years to ink. Even so, his tattoos were yet to be complete.

Anotsu waved a hand. "No, not him. That boy is strong, I admit, but he's not the one I'm talking about. Although he would make a capable subordinate." The rest of the Momokyokai all blanched at the thought of him joining them. They had all ran into the famed demon prefect of Namimori at one time or another in their life as a yakuza and things had not gone too well.

Anotsu saw the expressions on his men's face. He sneered coldly, the livid scar bunching against the side of his cheek. "But from what I've gleaned from my sources, not only does the brat not follow orders well, but he refuses to cooperate with others. He's practically un-useable. It'd be an ongoing power struggle between us."

The glint in his eyes showed that Anotsu wouldn't be giving up his spot as boss of the Momokyokai anytime soon.

He continued. "From what Tatsuo's failed reconnaisance has shown us. The most dangerous of the group is the girl."

"The girl? But she's just-" Ishida interjected but was immediately cut off.

"A girl?" Anotsu finished smoothly. Ishida seemed to wither under his gaze. "A girl who just happened to take out over thirteen of my men and break Tatsuo's poor fingers over here. How are they by the way? She broke at least three from your dominant hand, didn't she?"

Tatsuo could only manage a short and clipped nod as the embarrassment came back to him. To be completely at the power of a girl not even half of his age. The shame.

"Back to the matters at hand. The Momokyokai will be securing Namimori under our power and for that to happen we've got to get rid of these kids. The Momokyokai is the only yakuza gang residing in Namimori. We're already a laughingstock with you idiots getting trashed by that middle school prefect."

A hand, missing a few joints from its pinky rose into the air shakily. "Yes, what is it?" Anotsu pointed at the hand.

"But, they're just kids. Can't we just give 'em a whack and a warning and then be done with it? I mean, we can always try recruiting them can't we?"

Anotsu shook his head disapprovingly at the naive fuck. "Oi, Kishitani that's too naive. I showed the clip to you all, didn't I?"

They all nodded in the hideout.

Anotsu motioned for one of them to turn on the projector and play the clip. At the sight of the kids, he paused it. He pointed first at Hibari with a pointer one of his men handed to him. "Hibari Kyoya. The tyrant of Namimori. He needs to disappear if we want to establish the Momokyokai's rule." He moved over to Tsuna and his terrified face. "This kid here, he's being trained to become a mafia boss. Those two boys beside him plus the baby are probably his lackeys, especially the gay headed kid- oops I mean gray- who keeps yelling out 'Juudaime.'"

Many of the men laughed.

Anotsu cracked a small grin. It was hilarious. He'd had some run ins with the Italian mob before, and had barely escaped with his life and dignity. That weak little boy with troll like hair and large frightened doe eyes a mafia boss? Impossible. The world of the Italian Mafia would eat him alive and shit out the pieces. He continued.

"He doesn't look it but he's a mafia boss in training." His eyes narrowed as a useless piece of refuse spoke out of turn.

"Haha. Aniki, how can you be so sure? Come on? Him? I've slept with tons of girls looking like that!" Honda was a huge man with small piggish eyes, and a perpetually sneering face. Tattoo's decorated his neck, and disappeared down the collar of his flamboyant silk shirt.

Anotsu pointed next to Mahiro who was nothing but a whirl of braids. "I don't give a shit about your liking for younger girls Honda, or about how much the boy looks like one of your victims. Now this girl here, she clearly stated that the fuzz head was a mafioso in training from the clip. If your greasy ears weren't so filled up with wax you would've heard."

The idiots that he was left with. If Anotsu weren't so worried about gathering enough manpower, men like Honda would be lying in a ditch somewhere, or grounded up into fishcakes. Or maybe, one dark night, Anotsu would just quietly slice the pig from neck to groin and leave him as a lesson to any of the other useless men he had to contend with under his rule.

He liked to remind the group that they were bakuto yakuza, those who specialized in gambling. He knew that many yakuza groups all over Japan had sex rings, drug rings and a great many other specialized trades, but to him, he felt that the sex trade was demeaning, not only to the women, but to the men involved as well.

(Some might call Anotsu a prude, some of these same people end up as fish food.)

It was just that Anotsu had been taught to respect women. They were not the weak creatures that men made them out to be. In many ways, they often proved to be more useful when situations involving more of a diplomatic touch arose. And even though he would concede that women didn't have the brutal strength that would make them true equals, they posessed the calculating nastiness that was essential to surviving in this world. He would know. One of the living examples of them was right in front of him. On screen of course. Mahiro Hisagi was physically a normal preteen girl, and had only the normal strength threshhold of one, but that was not what allowed her to wreak bloody havoc on his men. Brute strength could only do so much without a calculating, ruthless mind behind it. One moment of hesitation would've gotten her torn apart by his men. And she hadn't shown even a hint of it! The other example was probably off somewhere on a murder spree or something like that.

"The one you really need to look out for is her. Hisagi Mahiro. Youngest sibling to Tokyo's new and upcoming police officer, Hisagi Masahiro." He said the name with distaste.

"Aniki, can I have my fun with her?" Honda licked his lips, his beady dark eyes gleaming like the shell of a cockroach.

Anotsu smirked, even though inwardly he was mentally running through this week's schedule, trying to fit in the murder and food processing of Honda Isao between Sunday and Tuesday. "If you want to die, Honda, then go right ahead. The Momokyokai isn't for you to satisfy you lolicon fantasies."

You filthy cuntscab. Anotsu added inwardly with a snarl.

The men laughed. Honda glared at their Aniki.

"Here's what's going to happen. After what we've seen, Mahiro won't be hanging around fuzz head or his gang much. She'll most likely be alone. Hibari is, as always, alone too. As for the gang," Anotsu slapped the pointer at the projection of the rest of the people. "It will be easier to dispose of them altogether if we take them out one by one. The ones left will be in a panic and while searching for the others, will be too busy worrying about who is next to act cleverly. Mahiro will be easier to draw out once we've done that. She wouldn't leave them as is. She'll most likely try to save them."

Anotsu turned the projector off and addressed his men. "That'll be all. Hibari is easy. Just attack the school or mess up the town a bit and he'll be on you like white on rice. He's just a rabid dog." He glanced at the gleaming Rolex on his wrist. "I expect this to be done in three days time. Or less if you can handle it." He eyed Tatsuo and Honda while he said it. "Watch out for Mahiro."

With that, Anotsu left the room with his right hand man close behind. He was someone that had come along with Anotsu from Tokyo, back when he was still in the Kokusui-kai. The veteran yakuza of the Momokyokai immediately began giving orders to the others, eager to please.

Tatsuo along with Honda glared hatefully at Anotsu's disappearing back, although Honda more so than the other.

To make fun of him like that. A well known man with a reputation and a former member of one of the Yamaguchi-gumi's affiliate clans. He'd show him. Honda would show that young upstart who should be boss around here. And what better way than with the girl who Anotsu somehow knew?

"Ne, Tsu-kun! What happened to your arm? Are you alright?" Nana Sawada asked.

Tsuna gave his mom an embarassed smile. "I-It's nothing. I just fell... down the stairs..." he lied.

She nodded. "Oh I see. Tsu-kun be more careful next time alright? Dinner will be ready in an hour so wash up." Nana headed back into the kitchen with Tsuna staring at her back, silently wishing for her to turn around and inquire more about his injuries.

His cheek was swelling up from Mahiro's punch and his left arm was broken. At the hospital he had been given a splint.

No luck though. Nana didn't ask anymore questions and instead started on dinner. Tsuna sighed as he trudged up the steps to his room. He hadn't really expected anything different from his mom though.

He opened the door and exhaled the breath he had been holding in, glad that Reborn was nowhere to be seen. After what happened, Tsuna just wanted to be alone. He knew that Gokudera and Yamamoto were worried about him and that they wanted to make sure that he was alright, but Tsuna just didn't have it in him to talk to anyone.

He flopped down onto his bed, his right arm lying over his forehead. Tsuna had never really gotten mad anyone in his life and when he had, he'd never yelled at them. He hadn't realized how much energy it took to yell at someone, especially if that person didn't seem to give a damn.

Tsuna wasn't even mad at Mahiro anymore. No, right now he just felt sick to his stomach. In fact, Tsuna really had no idea at all why he was mad with Mahiro. That she'd abandoned him maybe? But it wasn't her fault that she had to leave. Her parents had gotten a job transfer and it wasn't like she had a say in it at all.

That she expected so much from him? No. Mahiro was the only one who had really expected anything from a no good person like him. Before Reborn even came along, Mahiro had been the one who encouraged him to fight and become stronger. And what Mahiro had expected wasn't even much. All she'd asked for was a friend who would be strong enough to stand by her side and fight with her when needed. A comrade.

Maybe that was too much for a person like him though. Tsuna was always "No Good" and he sucked at everything, so having those kind of expectations thrusted upon him were just... frustrating. Dame Tsuna who no one ever expected anything from now had expectations to fulfill. A friend. A comrade. Juudaime. Next heir to the powerful mafia family, the Vongola. It was overwhelming.

The throbbing pain in his arm was nothing compared to the hard knot in his stomach. Kansai Voice was awfully quiet and for that Tsuna was glad. At the hospital, Kansai Voice couldn't stop going on about where Tsuna had gone wrong and why Mahiro had broken off their friendship. If Kansai Voice had been corporeal, Tsuna had no doubt that Kansai Voice would be kicking his ass.

Tsuna was glad that tomorrow was the weekend. He didn't think he would be able to face Mahiro so soon. Most likely she would avoid him and just ignore his entire existence along with Reborn and the others.

"OI! DAME TSUNA! Where's Hiro-nee?! Hiro-nee said she was going to come over and play with the amazing Lambo today!" Lambo said obnoxiously, having swung open Tsuna's bedroom door to reveal I-pin standing behind him.

She said something in Chinese which probably translated to, "Hiro-nee promised to teach me a new move!" or something like that.

Tsuna sighed, his body feeling heavy all over again. "Mahiro's not going to be coming over for a while guys.." he tried to break it to them gently.

"Why not?" I-pin seemed to ask.

"Was Dame Tsuna being dame again!?" demanded Lambo. "Go and apologize so that Hiro-nee will come back and play with us!"

Tsuna frowned. How had Lambo easily figured out the reason why Mahiro wouldn't be coming over again?

Because you're dame, of course. Kansai Voice was back. You heard the cow. Go and apologize now and maybe Mahiro'll forgive you.

It's not that easy. Tsuna thought. Mahiro's stubborn. I doubt she'll forgive me even if I begged. I was the one who messed up our friendship. We can't just make up immediately like that. We're not kids anymore where the next day we'll just go back to being friends.

"Tsuna!" Lambo whined even louder.

That's why you should show her that you're not completely useless. Kansai Voice said.

How do I do that?

How the hell should I know? You fucked up. You think of something.

Trust me, Hiro. You and me? We're the same. Don't just shake your head at me. Listen to what I'm saying, got it? Good. You and me, Hiro. Come on, admit it. This is fun, ain't it? Look at that face. Doesn't it just make you wanna' break another limb or two?

Mahiro's fist slammed into the bathroom mirror, shattering the glass and impaling her right hand. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath. She took a pair of tweezers from the cabinet and took out the pieces of glass. After bandaging her hand, she finished cleaning up the sink where she'd dripped blood all over.

Dammit, and right after I just finished wiping down the mirror too. Mahiro grimaced to herself, and for herself.

Then she left her apartment and headed to work. Papa would be all over her today with her hands looking the way that they were. Her knuckles were bruised and scratched up from yesterday's scuffle and now her right hand was cut up from punching the mirror.

Mahiro was in a bad mood. The funk from yesterday had carried on over to today and she had just remembered something very unpleasant. The day was really not shaping out to be a good one.

It really didn't help that someone was stalking her either.

She wasn't stupid. Mahiro had known all along that Tsuna and the others had been following her; she just hadn't known why. Today's stalker, Mahiro knew, was not Tsuna and the crew or even Reborn. Although as much as Mahiro hated to admit it, if Reborn decided to stalk her, she doubted that she would be able to pick him out. She was good but not that good.

On that note, these guys were fucking amateurs.

The people watching her were too close. There were three, no, five watching her. Two in the alleys, one a few blocks back, another up ahead, and the last one a hand's reach away. The streets were busy and filled with people so to any normal person, nothing would've been out of place. Except...

Mahiro wasn't normal. She had an older brother who specialized in information brokering, one who was already a well known investigator, and a sister who'd nearly killed all her ex-boyfriends just by pressing a few pressure points. Her third brother could charm the pants off of any woman, but Mahiro doubted that it could be a skill.

So suffice to say, Mahiro wasn't new to losing tailers. She passed through a clump of laughing highschoolers, stealing one girl's baseball cap, and another's sweater from around her waist. Cool as a cucumber, she slipped the cap over her braids, and the sweater over her shoulders. As the gaggle of highschoolers passed, Mahiro tucked her chin in and stooped her shoulders, rapidly diminishing her size and presence.

The tail passed right by her, craning his head far above the rest of the crowd. Mahiro sucked in a deep breath, and fell back behind him. Her tail was six foot two, male, had close cropped hair, and Mahiro could see that he was limping.

Mahiro grinned. She slipped her bag out from underneath the sweater. The weight cut into her wrist and forarm. She swung it back and forth, letting it gather speed.

Then she ran up to him and swung her bag hard into the back of his knees.

The man crumpled backwards and Mahiro slipped through the crowd again, eyeing the numerous paths she could take. Soon enough she'd lost them through the marketplace and eventually she made it to Papa's Tasty Fritters.

From what Mahiro had seen of them. They were probably the same yakuza guys from yesterday. Mahiro snickered triumphantly, earning her disturbed looks from some early customers. Mahiro didn't care though, ruining someone else's day suddenly made her own that much brighter in comparison. Mahiro smiled sweetly at the customers, and was rewarded by happy smiles of their own.

Whistling happily, Mahiro nodded a hello to a frazzled looking Tomiko, and headed for the backroom. The door closed behind her, and then a thought occured to Mahiro.

Wait. If they're the guys from yesterday, then I'm probably not the only one they're following, Mahiro swore. She pivoted on her heel and reached for the handle of the shop's door, ready to head back outside and smash a couple of heads to make sure her friends were alright.

"Ma-chan!" cooed the distinctive voice of Papa. "You're actually here on time!"

Mahiro stopped and realized with sick disgust what she'd just been about to do. She retracted her hand from the door and pasted on a cheery face. "What are you talking about, Papa? I'm always on time!" she chirped.

He squealed like a school girl. "Kyaaa~! Ma-chan's finally called me Papa! Shuhei-kun! Yama-chin! Hurry, grab the camera!"

Papa tried to glomp Mahiro but she ducked under his large and muscly forearms.

"Ahaha. Maybe later, Papa. I've got to get into uniform remember?" With that, she escaped into the women's locker room with Papa staring at her receding back, a strange look upon his face.

Once Mahiro was alone, the smile was wiped off her face.

She was worrying about Tsuna and the others? And just when she'd decided she didn't want to have anything to do them anymore. Mahiro massaged the bridge of her nose, sighing heavily.

So all right, Mahiro rationalized. Yamamoto could probably handle himself against a small group of yakuza cronies. And Gokudera had been raised in a mafia family so he should hypothetically know how to hold his own in a fight. Reborn was supposedly the world's best hitman so he'd have no problem handling the Momokyokai. And Tsuna.

Well, she smiled self deprecatingly.

Tsuna had Reborn to take care of him now didn't he? No matter how despicable the means, Tsuna was strong enough now to take care of himself. They all were.

Right?

Right?

Oh, who the hell was she trying to fool? No matter how tough they were, they were still just a bunch of kids playing a fucking dangerous game. Reborn was a baby with a gun, and Tsuna's luck was so awful that Mahiro wouldn't be suprised if his steroids ran out on him in the worst possible moment.

Like say, a gun fight.

Mahiro made a fist, and pounded her head with a groan. Looks like she had no choice, Tsuna and the rest of those idiots really will die if she didn't go and pull their collective asses out of the fire-

"Hero-kun, are you done yet? Papa wants to hold a meeting," she heard Tomiko call from outside.

Mahiro twitched. Her eye twitched, and her hands balled into fists. Holy fucking hell, she was already talking her self into going to save Tsuna and his merry band of idiots!

"Almost. Be out in a bit," Mahiro responded, grimly yanking off the baseball cap. Now she glared at the Fritter cap. It's plastic, knobbly, fritters seemed to gleam evilly underneath the horrible fluorescent lights.

Hero, Mahiro scoffed. She put on the cap, her upper lip curling with disgust.

Right. Mahiro was a fucking hero who went around saving countless innocents from evil madmen. What the fuck was this? A fucking Marvel comic? She wasn't a hero. She wasn't the awesome good guy who showed up when her friends were in need of her. She was just Hiro- as a select few liked to call her- but most importantly, she was Mahiro. Just Mahiro. No fucking Hero anywhere in sight. If this were a comic, she'd be the nefarious evil villain who liked to smack people around just for the heck of it.

"Tsuna doesn't need my help. Nor do Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Reborn. They're big boys now. They can take care of themselves," she growled.

She was being arrogant, thinking that everybody needed her help like a god damn super hero/baby sitter. She'd never even dreamed of becoming a super hero as a kid so why start now?

They'd be fine. Afterall, if Mahiro was a nefarious villian who did the things that had to be done, then Tsuna and his merry-fucking-band of do-gooders must be the fucking good guys.

And everybody and their dog knows that the good guys always win.

With a heavy sigh, Mahiro slammed her locker shut and put on the finishing touches to the PTF (Papa's Tasty Fritters) uniform; the shitty hat and a smile.

In his bathroom, Hibari Kyoya splashed water on his face, neck, and chest in descending order. His inky black hair were damp with sweat, his chest was mottled with bruises. Hibari hissed in pain, the cold water stinging his cuts. One calloused, bandaged hand came up to his side. He regarded the purplish, blue bruise that started from under his armpit to just under his rib cage.

He knew exactly which bruises were from her. They were the darkest, the angriest, the ones he had to ice every night and morning.

The bruising covering the shoulder that she'd dislocated in the parking lot, was one of the worst. His personal physician told him that he was very lucky that he was so young. His tendons were still strong and supple, and he'd be able to recover full use of it in a few weeks.

Magnificent. Hibari stared at his reflection in the mirror. His bandaged hand rested directly over his shoulder, recalling the pain and shock of that moment when he'd felt his joint start to separate.

It had been the first time he'd been injured so badly. It had been the first time he'd ever seen his body look like this, like a conquered country, razed down to it's roots.

Hibari inflated his lungs with a breath, savoring the pain in his side. His fists tightened at his sides. He ignored the discomfort, ignored his aches and his pain.

It was all a gift. All of his injuries were like the strike of a hammer in the forge, making him into something better, stronger than before.

In his mind's eye, he could see her. Her tanned skin, her dark almond shaped eyes, and upturned nose. Her light brown hair perpetually bound in braids, and her lips; constantly grinning at him like a Jackal's snarl.

"Hisagi, Mahiro." Hibari leaned in close to the mirror, his eyes blazing with a dark light, unhindered by his one swollen black eye. "I will destroy you."

Reverently he wrapped his ribs and shoulder tightly with clean white gauze. He stepped out of his bathroom to the bedroom, where he headed over to his closet. He picked out a clean white button up longsleeved shirt, a pair of black cotton boxers, and the requisite black pants.

He dressed himself quickly and efficently despite his injuries, and fastened the red arm band on his injured arm. He'd only just slipped the black jacket over his shoulder when his phone started to play the Namimori Middle school's anthem.

Hibari picked up his phone. "What?" He asked, checking the time on his bedroom wall.

"Chairman! This is bad! There are yakuza men everywhere in the school's courtyard!" A shrieking, disembodied voice squealed in his ear. Hibari jerked the reciever away from his ear, scowling.

"Slow down. Yakuza?" Hibari growled, already heading out of his bedroom. He grabbed a random pair of tonfas off the weapons rack he had installed in his hallway.

"Y-yes! Yakuza! They're beating up all the disciplinary members!"

Hibari sneered. "I'm on my way, if you are all defeated by the time I get there, I will bite all of you to death along with those yakuza scum!"

"Y-yes Chairman!" Hibari ended the call. His scowl was as black as night.

"Useless herbivores." His hopped on his motorcycle.

At the school, Saotome was hiding under his desk and cussing the air blue. "I'm not getting paid enough for this!" The teacher pulled his cell phone, and started to dial the area code for Tokyo.

"You've reached the desk of Inspector Maeda, leave a message."

"Maeda-san!" Saotome shrieked. "I'm calling in my debt! Please! Come to Namimori-chu and deal with the ruffians here!"

There was a sharp click from the other line. "If I come over there, only to find some snot nosed punks, I will not be happy Saotome."

From outside, came the sound of breaking glass. "Please come quickly!" Saotome whimpered.

Tsuna was walking between both Yamamoto and Gokudera. Tsuna still wasn't up to talking with his friends but he figured that he'd have enough time of reflecting and being depressed. Besides, he didn't want to worry his friends anymore. They were just as important as Mahiro was.

"J-Juudaime," Gokudera started. "I'll make that woman apologize to you."

"Huh?" Tsuna asked, surprised before waving his hands frantically. "No, it's okay, Gokudera! Really. It's not Mahiro's fault."

Kansai Voice added. Besides, if that idiot tries to do that, Mahiro'll put him in the hospital. Or worse. Kill 'im.

"But! Juudaime!" Gokudera protested. He didn't like seeing his boss look so depressed. As the right hand man, he should do something to cheer his boss up, but how, Gokudera had no idea.

Yamamoto, who had been awfully quiet, slung an arm over Tsuna's shoulder. "Ne, cheer up Tsuna. I'm sure you and Mahiro'll make up soon enough. We're all friends here, right?" He finished with a smile.

"R-right," Tsuna answered, forcing a smile onto his face so that his friends wouldn't worry. Even with Yamamoto's optimism, Tsuna doubted that it would happen anytime soon. Tsuna had betrayed Mahiro's beliefs.

Tsuna had to agree with her though, using the Dying Will Bullet in fights where the opponents were serious was disrespectful to them and also cheap. It wasn't fair.

It was like when Ryohei had wanted to have a boxing match against him. Tsuna had refused to fight him using the DWB because he didn't want Kyoko to hate him. But also because it wouldn't have been fair to Ryohei. Only after Reborn had shot them both with the DWB, had Tsuna actually fought against Ryohei, although that was under the influence of the bullet.

Mahiro who always fought with her own strength and no one else's, must of had found that as despicable as bullies that ganged up on a helpless kid. Lost in his thoughts, Tsuna didn't realize that Yamamoto and Gokudera had stopped walking until Yamamoto grabbed the collar of Tsuna's shirt, stopping him from walking into the yakuza's hands.

Tsuna blinked. They were surrounded. Unlike yesterday where there had been about only twenty four men, the amount today tripled it. The yakuza had them trapped from all sides. Yamamoto and Gokudera tensed up, moving up ahead of Tsuna to form some kind of protective shield.

"Get back Tsuna, we'll handle this," Yamamoto said, drawing his bat. Gokudera took on a battle stance, his dynamites already out and ready to be ignited.

"Juudaime, don't worry. I'll protect you!" he said.

Tsuna gulped, wondering where Reborn was at the moment. He hadn't seen him at all. Tsuna was glad that Reborn was giving him space but he couldn't help wondering what the baby hitman was doing when not terrorizing his charge.

Damn it. We need Reborn! We can't handle all these guys alone! Yamamoto and Gokudera'll get hurt if nothing's done!

Wow.

Tsuna closed his eyes, his face dark with annoyance. What? He groaned.

Oh, nothing. Kansai Voice began to whistle innocently. It's just~

What the hell do you want? Tsuna sucked in his breath with a sharp clack. Gokudera looked worried. But the yakuza surrounding him proved a stronger draw to his attention than Juudaime's depression.

Gokudera flicked his thumbs nervously over the tips of the fuses he was holding. His green eyes were dilated with fear. These men looked like they were ready to start tearing them up, and his Juudaime was deep in his own thoughts. Of course Gokudera was feeling nervous.

"Hey, Gokudera," Gokudera felt the baseball idiot elbow him in his back.

Gokudera didn't take his eyes off the huge bastard eyeing his Juudaime like he wanted to make barbecue out of him, "What?"

Yamamoto felt a cold drop of sweat roll down his back, he smiled nonetheless. "Ahahaha, man, these guys look like they want to play baseball."

Gokudera groaned, but a smile flashed over his face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, just look at them," Yamamoto continued to chatter cheerfully. "They all brought their own bats!"

"With nails hammered in at the ends! What the hell type of bats are those!?" Gokudera swore loudly.

"Ahaha." Yamamoto laughed.

Meanwhile, Tsuna continued to argue with his own thoughts. Well?

Well I'm just sayin', you really want that so called "Hitman Tutor" of yours to come back and shoot you with one of those Dying Will Bullets so that you can take down these punks? said Kansai Voice. You really are a dumbass, Tsuna.

What?! But if I do nothing, everyone'll get hurt! Tsuna could see the leers the yakuza sent his way. Some were even pointing at him and snickering.

This is why Mahiro beat the crap out of you. You're just some parasitic little douche who can't do shit on his own. You're just one big cockgobbler, Tsuna.

You're being unnecessarily rude again. Tsuna scowled, his fists balling at his sides.

Put em' up. Kansai Voice snapped quickly, Put em' up, and don't tuck in your thumbs you idjit!

"Why aren't they attacking?" Gokudera said quietly, with his dynamite tucked along his knuckles.

Tsuna looked up, his one free hand forming a fist. "Oh, why aren't they attacking?"

Thumbs out dumbass!

Oops. He fumbled, trying to make the proper fist Mahiro had shown 's fingers felt awful clumsy. It was as if his fingers were Dame too, they kept tangling the wrong way.

His middle finger shot up, saluting the entire mob.

Aw, fuck.

Gokudera looked over, his pretty boy face paling with shock and awe at his Juudaime's gumption. Yamamoto burst into laughter.

Aw fuck indeed, Tsuna, Kansai Voice muttered darkly. Fuck indeed.

Key Terms:

The following groups mentioned are legit yakuza organizations.

*Kokusui-kai: A Tokyo based yakuza organization that is wealthy and successful, controlling Tokyo's Ginza district. They have only about 500 members and they have a pretty low membership. On August of 2005, the Kokusui-kai which had been apart of the Kanto Hatsukakai, a federation made up of Tokyo yakuza gangs against the larger and more powerful Kansai based yakuza, the Yamaguchi-gumi, withdrew from the alliance with the Kanto gangs to join with the Yamaguchi-gumi and become an affiliate of theirs. The Oyabun/ Godfather of the Kokusui-kai was Kazuyoshi Kudo, until he committed suicide in February of 2007.

**Yamaguchi-gumi: One of the largest criminal organizations in the world, the Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan's largest yakuza organization. Their headquarters are located in Kobe, Japan but they operate over seas in Asia and even in the United States. (More info on Wiki).

***Sumiyoshi-kai: Another Tokyo based gang. After the Kokusui-kai joined up with the Yamaguchi-gumi, they eventually become enemies with the Kokusui-kai. It is the second most largest yakuza organization located in Japan and they have a slightly different hierarchy then the Yamaguchi-gumi. They are also enemies with the Yamaguchi-gumi. (More info on Wiki).

A/N: Did Tsuna just flip off a bunch of yakuzas? Yes, he did. What's going to happen to him? I don't know, you'll find out when Chapter 8 is out!

I've mentioned some pretty big and important yakuza groups but I won't actually focus on them much. The whole story of Katekyo Hitman Reborn is all about the Italian mafia, so we'll focus on the Italian mafia. Then why am I bringing up big yakuza groups and the Momokyokai, you ask? That's because I find it unbelievable how with Tsuna as the next mafia boss to a big Italian mafia family, the Japanese mafia, the Yakuza, aren't doing anything about it. I mean they were all about "Out with the foreigners" way back when so wouldn't they be trying to kick out these rivals for territory?

This is JAPAN where the story is taking place, so it's only plausible that the yakuza would get involved. The Momokyokai showed up in that one episode but they got their asses beat so easily.

I made Hibari kind of... masochistic there. XD Oh well.

I've realized I've created a lot of OCs. A LOT. But most of them are minor characters so it's alright. Right? RIGHT?

Please review. Constructive criticism is welcome. SERIOUSLY. I feel as if my writing's become bland. GRRR. I need to read some books. Any recommendations? The last book I read was the Scarlet Letter... I think?