As usual, replies to reviews are at the bottom Author's Note!
I originally intended for this be the date chapter, but when I started writing it, it got waaayyyy too long, so I had to cut it off halfway. The actual 27K "date" will be next chapter.
I managed to cram in a slight 1827 moment for all y'all fangirls out there. Just slight, as to not make it seem forced, hehe). Sorry I didn't do some kind of funny Valentine's Day special or anything like that, but I didn't develop the characters enough so far to have interactions on an intimate level. :/ Maybe next Valentine's? (If I'm still writing, that is. And I mean like…assuming the story isn't finished. I really hope I can finish this one! D: )
Last Chapter: Hibari arrived, ready to dish out punishment, but was confronted by Tsuna's friends. Reborn managed to quell the prefect's bloodthirst and sent him away with a promise of a battle another day. The injured parties were taken to the nurse's office where they met the infamous Dr. Shamal, a mafia doctor who had terrible womanizing habits. Everyone ended up leaving the office, allowing Tsuna and Yamamoto to rest, but without any supervision. Because of this, Gokudera's sister, Bianchi, sneaked into the office and poisoned an unknowing Tsuna in order to give Reborn a reason to leave Japan. A race to save the brunet's life began, and after tensions bubbled between the teens and a change of heart from Bianchi, the group cooperated to convince Dr. Shamal to heal Tsuna, despite the doctor's strict policy of female-only patients. With Tsuna's life no longer at risk, Bianchi departs to pack her belongings in preparation of moving to the Sawada residence to be closer to Reborn.
Let's hope that Nana Sawada is the sole chef of the house.
Warnings: Wow...nothing to really warn about this time.
Disclaimer: KHR does not belong to me, but Amano Akira. I'd say more wonderful things about her, but no one knows anything about her, so I'll just leave it at that.
Chapter 7: Kids Do the Darnest Things
"Ryohei, Kyoko. I would like you to join Tsuna's family."
Even though he was noxious and lethargic, that question alone made Gokudera shoot right up, and he stared at Reborn in disbelief. The Sasagawas gazed at the baby in confusion.
"Family? What do you mean?" Kyoko asked, turning to Yamamoto as he laughed.
"Haha! It's a game the kid started. Some kind of mafia role play with Tsuna as the boss. Gokudera insists on being the right-hand man, so I guess I'm the left-hand man, hahaha!" The baseball star started to wrap his arm back in the sling now that all the excitement was over. Kyoko frowned, touching the athlete's arm in concern.
Fumbling, the silverette pushed himself up with a growl, "First of all, I apologize Reborn-san, but I had allowed this baseball idiot to join, and letting the Turf-Top join is just crossing the line." His gaze averted to Yamamoto, "And second of all, there's no such thing as a left-hand man, and don't think even think about taking my spot as the right-hand man!" The bomber pointed an accusatory finger at the baseball star, who was laughing merrily.
"Ah, Gokudera! It's just a game right? Let's just make a left-hand man for the fun of it."
"No way, moron!"
Meanwhile, Ryohei realized he had been insulted, and immediately went on the defensive. "What was that, Octopus-Head?" He raised his fist with his teeth gritted, and Gokudera responded by getting haughtily to his feet.
Before a confrontation could break out, Kyoko tapped her brother's shoulder, scolding, "Onii-chan. Don't fight. I thought I already told you. Besides," she turned to Reborn, clasping her fingers together, "This sounds really interesting! Onii-chan and I would love to join!"
"Excellent!" The baby hopped off the bed, "Glad to hear it. With that settled," he flashed a warning glance at Gokudera, who looked ready to object again, "Let's go home then. Someone will need to carry Tsuna. He won't be waking up for a while longer. It's disappointing." Reborn paused, toddling towards the door. "We won't have time for homework tonight."
Vehement insistence resulted in Gokudera carrying his precious boss home, but not before Kyoko reminded the group to put some clothes on the half-naked brunet. The group got to the Sawada residence with no more problems, except when they got to the door. No one knew where Tsuna kept his key, but luckily, Nana was already home. She fussed over her unconscious son, and finally relented when the group insisted he had simply fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Nana Sawada had come home with an ungodly amount of food that she had cooked at the restaurant, so she extended an invitation to the group for dinner, quite overjoyed that Tsuna had so many friends over. The teens all accepted the invitation graciously as they wanted to be around when the brunet woke up.
Not too long after they got there, the doorbell rang, sending an odd ominous chill through the atmosphere. Reborn smiled, hopping off his seat and heading to the door.
"Ciaossu, Bianchi." Squeals could be heard from the hall, no doubt from a Bianchi joyfully hugging her hitman lover. Gokudera paled considerably, and suddenly his mug became the most interesting thing in the room, captivating his intense glare. Nana blinked as the beautiful assassin came to the kitchen threshold, sleek black suitcase in hand.
Bianchi smiled, bowing, "Good day, Mrs. Sawada. I'm sorry for intruding. My name is Bianchi. Pleasure to meet you."
"Oh!" the cook giggled, "Not at all! Are you a friend of Reborn's?" she asked, eying the baby being cradled in Bianchi's arms.
Said baby only smiled, quick to reply before his lover could, "She's a very important person to me. Mama, would it be possible for her to stay here? She will help out around the house, of course."
Nodding with a smile, the rose-haired woman offered, "I can cook-"
"No way in hell!" Gokudera suddenly screamed, looking up in frenzied fury. His stomach flipped when he realized what he did, but...
Nothing happened.
The silverette blinked, staring at his sister's face. She had a pair of stylish red-tinted shades, covering a pair of green eyes staring straight back at her brother. The eye contact was made. He was clearly gawking at her face. But there were no stomach aches. No pain. No churning or bowels threatening to explode. Nothing.
"Oh Hayato!" Bianchi gasped, taking off her shades, revealing glittering green eyes, "You are finally able to look at your sister!"
With that, the silverette collapsed into a twitching lump on the ground, moaning in pain. Yamamoto yelped in surprise, at the bomber's side in a moment. The Sasagawas joined them, and Nana fluttered nervously, as she did not know of Gokudera's unusual phobia. Bianchi blinked, holding her shades up casually. Reborn's ears perked at that moment, and he smirked as he heard padded footsteps behind.
"H-Hey, what's going on?" Tsuna's wary voice drifted into the kitchen. He felt absolutely awful, like he had just come back from the dead. He felt noxious and his muscles ached, not to mention the massive head ache that bombarded his brain. Only bits and pieces of that afternoon's events were registering in his cloudy mind, and at the sight of luscious rose-colored locks, he could not shake the ominous feeling that engulfed him. Warning signs set off immediately, the brunet struggled to remember that distant memory.
Bianchi turned around, peering at Tsuna in surprise. "Oh. You woke up sooner than I expected."
And like that, every memory broke through his foggy mind. The poison, the pain, the suffering. The stunning face struck an icy chill into his core, and the teen frozen.
Then, Tsuna did what he did best.
"HIIIIIIIEEEEEE?"
It took about ten minutes to calm the brunet down, and the episode only left his mother more confused than ever. His fears were exacerbated when Nana announced that Bianchi would be staying with them as a guest, a decision that Gokudera vehemently tried to protest, only to fall prey to his stomach pains once again when he looked at his sister. Reborn convinced her to keep her shades on, claiming it was a medical condition that required her to keep her shades on most of the time. Only then was Hayato able to endure his sister's suffocating presence.
A tense dinner followed, where no one really talked. Everyone simply stared at Bianchi, who seemed perfectly normal as she ate. The Sasagawas were convinced the incident earlier was an accident, so it was easier for them to break the ice and strike up conversation with the gorgeous woman. Takeshi and Hayato remained suspicious, although the baseball star did not show it on his face.
"Bianchi is known as the Poison Scorpion in the mafia world. Her ability, Poison Cooking, activates through simple touch. She is capable of making anything into poison of varying levels of fatality, although it works best with her cooking. She is one of the top assassins of the Vongola family," Reborn explained once the group returned to the brunet's room. Tsuna and Gokudera kept their distance from Bianchi as Reborn spoke, and the brunet shivered as his now lucid memories haunted him.
The female assassin blushed, happily cooing, "Oh Reborn, you think too highly of me!"
"It's true. Frankly, I'm surprised that Tsuna survived. That phenomenon, however, is a topic to be discussed another day," the hitman continued, smirking as Tsuna paled. Kyoko and Ryohei had matching frowns as they listened, growing suspicious of Bianchi once again.
Bianchi noticed this, and smiled, "Something like that won't happen again. Don't worry." She directed her words more to Kyoko than anyone else.
"Yeah right," her brother muttered, scooting so he was slightly in front of Tsuna, a small display of protection.
Reborn looked up with a smile, "Oh yes. I forgot to mention. I invited Ryohei and Kyoko into the family as well, and they graciously accepted. Good job Tsuna. You have gained more family members."
The brunet's mouth dropped open, and he sputtered, "W-Wha-REBORN!"
It was no wonder the brunet could not sleep that night. A woman who had only attempted to take his life mere hours before was sleeping just down the hall, and now he had the responsibility of the Sasagawa siblings on his hands. He pulled the pillow over his head, face contorting, trying to contain the feelings of turmoil and fear within him. He drifted off to a restless sleep, waking up every hour to nightmares he would rather not recall.
School happened just as normal the next day. Hibari had taken to lurking around the front gates, scrutinizing the brunet and his posse as they approached the school. Tsuna withered under the fierce glare, and more than once, Gokudera sent the prefect dirty looks of his own. "Don't worry, Juudaime. He's just looking for Reborn." To that, Tsuna would just nod. Kyoko greeted him joyfully, and even other classmates seemed to warm up to the brunet. Mochida kept his distance and there was distinct lack of malice in his glares now.
Finally, it was Saturday, and Tsuna was eager for a break from school the next day. He had gotten used to Bianchi's presence in the house, and even though he was wary about his food with her around. Thoughts of his d-date with Kyoko the next day filled his mind, and he went off to school with a spring in his step. His aches were gone, his bruises and wounds had mysteriously healed a great deal; his black eye was gone, and most cuts had closed up by now. He vaguely wondered if the poison had some kind of healing property to it, absurd as the thought was.
As usual, Gokudera and Yamamoto were waiting for their boss at the intersection, and the three began to head to school. Yamamoto was babbling about some new baseball game, which Gokudera ignored as best as he could. Laughing, the baseball star chirped, "Hey hey, wanna come over after school and play to celebrate my sling coming off? I have enough controllers for all three of us, haha!" He waved his arm around happily as to show off.[1]
Before either companion could reply, something short crashed into Tsuna, nearly causing him to lose his balance. He yelped when he felt an arm wrap around his waist. A small boy could be seen in his peripheral vision, and the child was quick to take refuge behind the brunet. A mop of light brown hair obscured large sienna eyes filled with fear. It looked like the boy was trying to shrink into the thick wool scarf encircling his neck, and he was clutching a giant carmine book tightly to his chest. Tsuna barely registered the situation when two men in black suits ran up to them.
"Hey! Get back here, Ranking Futa!" one of them yelled, heading directly up to the teenagers. Yamamoto and Gokudera were immediately on guard as Tsuna backed away in fear.
Tsuna whipped around, facing the terrified boy behind him. "W-What is going on? Who are you? W-Who are these people?" He cast a quick and wary glance at the men in suits, who were facing against Takeshi and Hayato.
"My name is Futa. Protect me from these people, please, Tsuna-nii!" the boy begged. Tsuna was immediately taken aback, as he had no idea how they boy knew his name.
"W-What-?"
"Brats, out of the way! Ranking Futa is ours!" one of the men shouted, brandishing a dagger. The other did exactly the same, menacingly advancing on the teens.
Gokudera whipped out a cigarette, lighting it with flourish. "Tch. Pieces of shit. Juudaime!" he called to the figure behind him, "Get out of here. I'll handle things here." He withdrew a few sticks of dynamite, preparing to ignite them.
Yamamoto glanced around, spotting a pile of small wooden beams off to the side of the street. He immediately ran to grab one, spinning it around in his hand to get a feel for it. "Interesting. This is part of the game, right?" he smiled, eyes narrowing in concentration.
Tsuna felt a strange feeling wash over him, and somehow knew his friends would be alright. Acting on instinct, he grabbed Futa's little hand and ran towards the school, where hopefully those men would not approach. Seeing their target escape, the men tried to break through Gokudera and Yamamoto, but were forced back by an explosion and a well-aimed swing of a wooden beam.
"Hurricane Bomb Hayato? What's a brat like you doing here in Japan?" a man spat, holding his dagger out again. "Don't recognize the other one though. Get out of our way."
Hayato lit up another round of explosives, snarling, "Like I'll let you get to Juudaime!"
"Right. We gotta protect Tsuna, haha!" Takeshi grinned, readying for another attack.
"Don't waste your time," the other man sighed, reaching into his pocket. Quick as lightning, the air seem to explode in black. The teens started to cough, having not expected a smoke bomb to be deployed. Running footsteps pounded past before fading behind them, and the two teenagers wasted no time in giving chase.
Tsuna was tugging the boy along, trying to prevent the kid from tripping, ironic of a concept as that was. Just a block from the school however, a flying dagger flew past the couple, shocking them into a stop. The men had somehow caught up, and Tsuna's heart flew to his throat. Where were Gokudera and Yamamoto? Had something happen to them? Did they lose? The brunet took a step back, unconsciously shielding Futa as he retreated. The men charged forward, daggers brandished. Tsuna panicked, caramel eyes widening as the glinting blade neared. He never even wanted to get invol-
Another flash of metal flashed before his eyes before black covered his vision. Two grunts of pain could be heard, and the daggers clattered to the ground. The black settled, revealing itself to be a sleek school blazer. The tell-tale shimmer of the golden Disciplinary Committee armband made Tsuna's heart skip a beat. He looked up at the figure before him, coming face-to-face with Kyoya Hibari's emotionless mask. "H-Hibari-san?" he stammered in shock. Ignoring the brunet, Hibari flicked his tonfas clean of blood before stowing them back inside his coat. Without another word, the prefect brushed past Tsuna, heading back towards the school.[2]
"A-Ah," Tsuna turned around, calling out timidly, "T-Thanks!" His face flushed red when the prefect turned around.
"Tell the infant I'm still waiting," Kyoya simply said before stalking off. The brunet flinched, breathing out a sigh of relief.
Hayato and Yamamoto had finally caught up, with the former apologizing profusely for letting the men escape past their guard. The latter gazed thoughtfully at the unconscious and wounded pursuers, "Wow, you did this, Tsuna?"
"H-Hibari-san did, a-actually."
Emeralds and ambers blinked in surprise. A disbelieving scoff and laugh followed by their respective owners before everyone's attention fixed on the small boy who had started the whole ordeal.
"Alright, talk. What was that all about?" Gokudera hissed, glaring down at the boy. Futa barely showed any sign of intimidation, a sweet smile lighting up his face instead.
"Thank you for saving me! You see, a lot of people are after me. My name is Futa."
Blinking, the silverette's mouth opened, and his cigarette fell to the ground. "Eh? Futa? As in Ranking Futa?" In the heat of the moment, he totally had missed that little detail in the men's dialogue. The boy nodded timidly.
"Makes sense then. But why did you come to Japan?" Hayato's attitude had completely turned, and he was speaking quite civilly to the child. Yamamoto and Tsuna were left with question marks hanging over their heads.
"There are currently more than three groups after me. I wanted protection, but Nono has his hands tied up with other matters, so I did not want to trouble him. I trusted no one else for my protection. My rankings told me that a Tsunayoshi Sawada in the town of Namimori, Japan, is the person who is most unable to refuse a request and also the one who is least likely to betray someone." Futa smiled up at a bewildered Tsuna, who pointed at himself in disbelief.
Proudly puffing out his chest, Gokudera boasted, "Of course! That's our Juudaime for you!"
"But his physical rankings are at the bottom of the list…" Futa mused, cracking open the giant tome of his. Gokudera deflated, eye betraying annoyance in their emerald depths. "I knew I would be safe here though, because Nono had told me that Reborn coincidentally training Tsuna-nii. I really wouldn't come all the way to Japan if I wasn't sure it was worth my time." The child spoke so eloquently that it did not even seem like he was truly the age he appeared. He started to flip through his book, but the bell began to chime in the background, and immediately, Tsuna began to panic.
"We need to go! School is starting already!" he glanced nervously at the boy, whose brown eyes were glimmering hopefully, "I-I suppose we can…h-have someone in the office take care of y-you…while we're in class…" The brunet ran a hand through his messy locks, looking down at the child.
Nodding happily, Futa chirped, "That's fine! I'll wait for you until school is over then, Tsuna-nii!"
There was honestly so much Tsuna wanted to ask, but he knew that school came first. Or rather, not being destroyed by Hibari for being tardy was the most important thing. Luckily for the trio, they got formal excusals from the office secretary, who seemed to accept the situation. They left Futa at the office, where he immediately cracked open a book that was on the table next to him.
When lunch came, the trio and the Sasagawa siblings went to pick up Futa. Tsuna vaguely explained the situation to a confused Kyoko and Ryohei, "This is Futa. He's a cousin who is visiting. He's…" Wait, was Futa even part of the mafia? It seemed like he knew enough about it…"He's a-also playing the game with us," he finished lamely, rubbing his neck.
Futa gazed questioningly at the brunet, but said nothing. Instead he beamed brightly at the Sasagawas. "It's nice to meet you!"
The group went outside to find a place to talk, and Futa immediately chose a spot under a large oak tree. He plopped down, cracking his giant book open. The others seated themselves, peering at the boy with interest. Ryohei cleared his throat, "So, what is-"
"Allow me to explain," Futa smiled, and the boxer closed his mouth. "My full name is Futa de la Stella. I'm known as Ranking Futa, though, because I have the ability to rank a great number of individuals in any category. I communicate with cosmic forces to get the most accurate rankings in the world. I have never been wrong in my life!" he chirped proudly, "But I have to write rankings I find down in my book, otherwise I'll forget it right away." Everyone seemed bewildered, especially Ryohei, who seemed confused out of his mind.
Kyoko smiled, tapping her brother, "He basically says he can put people in the order of being the best to being the worst at something. Then he writes it down. Like a list." Ryohei nodded, understanding.
Futa opened up his book, gazing over the contents, "Are there any rankings you're interested in? I can't perform a ranking ritual right now, since…it's really obvious when I do. I'm still hiding from the guys after me." He peered cutely over the top of the book, eyes twinkling at Ryohei. "Did you want to hear one, Ryohei Sasagawa?"
"OOHHH!" the boxer roared, pumping a fist in the air. "Extreme boxing ranking!" he shouted to the heavens. Futa nodded, flipping a few pages. His eyebrows furrowed, "Erm, I don't have a ranking specifically for boxing. Would one of hand-to-hand combat work?" Ryohei nodded vigorously, and Futa smiled, "Ryohei-nii is ranked 303 out of 51,968 people for strongest in hand-to-hand combat in the mafia."[3]
Crossing his arms, Ryohei grunted thoughtfully, coming to the conclusion, "That's extremely bad. Not extreme enough! I can, and will do better! Watch me!" He roared to the sky, "To the extreme first place!" With that, the boxer hopped to his feet, dashing off to the gym, leaving the other teens with sweat drops rolling down their cheeks.
Gokudera rolled his eyes, pulling out a cigarette. Before he could light it, Yamamoto plucked it from his hand, sly grin on his face. "Come on, Gokudera! These cancer sticks are so bad for you, haha."
"The hell, you baseball moron? Give that back!" the silverette growled, grabbing for his cigarette. Yamamoto pulled back, dangling the white stick out of the bomber's grasp with a laugh.
Before an explosion could occur, both literally and figuratively, Tsuna cut in, "F-Futa, do you think y-you can give a ranking of…uh…" He actually had not given it any thought.
While he deliberated, Kyoko giggled, "I want to know which shop has the best cake in Namimori!"
The boys suddenly stopped, all turning to look at Kyoko. Tsuna blushed, silently in awe at how cute Kyoko was. Noticing the stares, the auburnette jumped slightly, waving her hands, "J-Just curious!" She laughed nervously, clasping her hands together.
Futa was already thoughtfully gazing at his book, commenting, "Again, I don't have rankings of something that specific, but I did make a list of great places to eat before I came here. Let me see…" He trailed his finger down the list, landing on item 13 on the list. "There's a little shop downtown called Parfait. It's a general dessert shop, but the best in town. The cakes should be really good."
"Ah! I heard of that place. Tsuna-kun, let's go there tomorrow!" she laughed, and Tsuna could only nod timidly, pink dusting of his smiling cheeks.
Futa closed his book, humming to himself. "That's just basically what I can do. These rankings are sought after by many others, so I'm always on the run, but I've never had so many groups going after me. That's why I'm asking for your protection, Tsuna-nii!"
There was no way Tsuna could refuse those large sienna eyes. That, and Futa was dead-on right that the brunet was unable to turn down a request. "O-Ok. I-I'll try my b-best…?" How would he actually protect a little boy against so much danger?
"I will help you, Juudaime!"
"Haha, count me in Tsuna!"
"Futa-chan, I'll join in!"
Just then, the bell chimed, and Tsuna looked away from his friends, feeling warmth spreading throughout him. Then he remembered that he had gym class.
Well damn.
After a few grueling hours, the bell signaled the end of the school day, and the friends all met up again. Tsuna was rubbing a new bump on his head that he had gotten in gym; Yamamoto was inviting the Sasagawas to his house as well. After mutual agreement (although Gokudera did seem reluctant), the group set off for Takesushi with Futa toddling along, hugging his book tightly to himself again. Ryohei and Yamamoto were chatted excitedly about sports, the former trying to get the latter to join the boxing club, while Gokudera hung in the back of the group, smoking his cigarette. Tsuna and Kyoko were sandwiched in the middle. Not long after, however, Futa suddenly stopped, blinking. Instantly, he darted forward, screaming, "Run!"
Gokudera and Ryohei tensed, yanking Tsuna and Kyoko forward. Where those two had been standing a moment before had suddenly exploded, whipping up a cloud of dust. Something shot out of the dust, barreling right into Tsuna. The brunet flew back, crashing into a wall with a pained gasp, crumbling to the ground. The attacker shot back into the dust cloud immediately.
"Juudaime!" Gokudera cried out, and was about to dash to his beloved boss when he found himself being flung off to the side. He careened into the ground, rolling to stop himself from skidding. The coarse ground scraped up his arms, and the bomber hissed.
Takeshi was running towards his friends when he lost control of his body, crashing into Ryohei. The two landed in a heap on the ground, but the boxer immediately got back to his feet, as he heard his sister scream. The auburnette was suspended in the air, flailing slightly. Tsuna shook the stars from his head when he heard the scream, gasping, "K-Kyoko-chan!" He stumbled to his feet, gasping at the sight of his companions. "Everyone!"
A sharp laugh cut through the panic of the moment, loud and boisterous. "Wahahaha! The Great Lambo-san of the Bovino cannot be defeated!"
Another voice, much higher in pitch, began to speak in what sounded like Madarin Chinese. The loud voice replied, "Beh, I was still better!"
Two short shadows could be seen through the thick cloud, and the fallen teens were gawking at the figures before them. Both looked like young children, even younger than Futa, although their attire was awfully strange.
Haughtily, one of the perpetrators stepped out, running a finger arrogantly along the bottom of his flat nose. A round face and sparkling green eyes were framed by an unbelievable mess of black curls. The child wore a ridiculous cow-printed oversuit, not unlike one that a baby would wear, even though he seemed a little too old to pass for a toddler. He looked something akin to a cow with an afro, and the obnoxious laugh did not improve his image any.
The other child was a short girl with a heart-shaped face and gracefully curved, thin eyes. Her hair was pulled into a short braid that swung to and fro. She had on a traditional Chinese martial artist uniform, red shirt complementing loose black pants. She tightened her white belt, stepping forward slightly, flat white shoes clacking on the ground. She spoke Madarin again, to which the cow child pulled a face. He returned the words in her language this time, leaving everyone confused. [4]
Hayato scoffed, getting angrily to his feet. "The Bovino? You're joking right? Nothing is great about that shitty pile of manure."
"What was that, you jerk?" The boy screamed, glaring daggers at the silverette. Suddenly, the boy stuck his hand into his afro, withdrawing a few pink objects. The teens realized they were grenades the moment he pulled the pins from them and tossed the bombs at the group again. Everyone scattered to avoid the explosives, getting out just in the nick of time. Kyoko cried out in alarm, although the grenades missed her. Tsuna gazed desperately up at her, trying to figure out a way to reach her. At that moment, the auburnette suddenly dropped, a scream trailing from her throat.
Ryohei dived, catching his sister before she landed, cradling her close to his chest. Both were breathing raggedly, trying to get over the shock of the moment. The brunet felt relieved only momentarily before he felt the unknown force send him sprawling again. This time, Gokudera caught his boss, and they both crashed headlong into a group of trash cans.
Yamamoto got ready to fight when the girl suddenly dashed forward, but to his surprise, she only agilely leapt over his head. Instead, she dashed toward her true target.
"Futa!" Yamamoto cried, whirling around to get to the scared boy. Takeshi had to step back, however, when the cow child tossed another pink grenade straight at him. The explosion separated Futa from the teens, and the young psychic turned around to run.
The girl suddenly changed directions in the middle of her pursuit, back-flipping several paces back. A volley of bullets hailed down along the path she travelled, sure to have hit her if she had not backed off. Her sharp eyes gazed around for her attacker when she heard her partner scream. Everyone turned to look at the cow child, who was standing stalk still. In front of him stood Reborn, a slick black gun cocked coolly and aimed at his head. Leon was also in gun form, held in his other hand.
"R-Reborn! S-So you d-decided to c-come out a-and f-face me, h-huh?" the boy started to laugh nervously. He was definitely putting up a tough front despite his trembling. The girl froze as well, peering at her companion with concern. Her eyes darted to Tsuna for just a moment before she made a dash for him. Two can play at the hostage game.
Unfortunately for her, Reborn was one step ahead, aiming his Leon gun right where he anticipated the girl to be, firing a shot. She dodged supplely, stopping a few feet from a terrified Tsuna, staring warily back at the hitman. Both of his guns were pointed at the young attackers, and although he was looking at neither one of his targets, both of them knew enough of the hitman to know not to move.
The tension lasted a full minute before Ryohei finally shouted, "What the hell is going on? What is up with all these extreme kids?" The protective older brother was most certainly not happy about his sister's life being in danger.
Kyoko wiggled from her brother's embrace, getting to her feet shakily. "R-Reborn-chan, who are they?"
"The other players of our game," the baby commented suavely. "Meet the idiot reject of the Bovino family and the assassin of the Chinese Triad, I-Pin."
The tears started to flow out of the boy's eyes, and he whimpered, "Tol…er…ate…" He sucked up a trail of snot flowing from his nose before reaching into his hair again.
Reborn shot a warning shot next to Lambo's head, freezing him up again. "I dare you to move, reject."
Lambo snarled in a shaky voice, "D-damn y-you Re-Reborn!" He hiccupped. "I-I…I'm not a-a r-reject! I am t-the Great L-Lambo-san!" He scrunched up his face, trying to stop the tears. I-Pin seemed torn, unsure of what to do. Tsuna bit his lip, feeling bad about the situation. Maybe the kids had tried to attack them, but they really were just kids in the end, were they not?
"R-Reborn, it's ok. I-I'm sure we can all talk it over." Or he hoped to, at least. I-Pin gazed at the brunet, face suspicious. Tsuna flinched under her calculating gaze, managing a shaky smile, "I-It's ok. Reborn won't hurt your friend. Can we just talk? Please?" He cast desperate looks at I-Pin and Reborn.
I-Pin was good at what she did. Hell, for a five year old girl, she does a damned good job. Growing up with the Chinese Triad and learning from one of the best taught her to be tough in the face of adversary, even though she was actually very demure around strangers. She felt this toughness slip in face of the genuine kindness of Tsuna. Call it women's intuition or what not, but she could tell he was sincere. Her posture betrayed her premature defeat, and Reborn curled his lips, lowering the gun pointed at her.
Seeing that I-Pin had given up, Lambo tried to draw himself up confidently again, but failing, plopped down on his bottom instead, wiping his face of snot and tears. I-Pin ran over, helping Lambo to his feet. Takeshi and Hayato ran to their boss, checking over his condition. They helped Tsuna up, who immediately went over to the Sasagawas.
"Kyoko-chan! Onii-san! Are you ok?" he asked frantically, looking over them for wounds.
Both teens shook their heads, with Ryohei asking, "Wasn't that a little too extreme for a couple of kids?"
Fidgetting, Kyoko frowned, "This seemed a little too real to be a game…" Tsuna flinched, rubbing his neck sheepishly. Only he and Gokudera knew just how real this whole thing was; was keeping the others in the dark really such a good idea?
"Haha, of course mafia games come with some kind of risk!" Takeshi chirped, "It wouldn't be fun otherwise, would it?"
Frowning, Kyoko clasped her hands, "But fighting isn't good…"
"Oh, extremely interesting! It will be good training!" Ryohei, punched the air. "I won't lose next time!" Kyoko shot him a nervous look, and Tsuna felt extremely guilty at that moment. The auburnette's nature made her completely unsuitable for the mafia, and he had no idea what Reborn was thinking in inviting her.
Ryohei seemed to sense his sister's uneasiness, for he frowned, "Kyoko, maybe you shouldn't play. This could get extremely dangerous."
The girl glanced between all the friends before shaking her head, "No, I will. Don't worry." She gave a reassuring smile, although the teens still seemed uneasy with the idea.
Lambo was still trying to control his tears while I-Pin attempted to cheer him up, and Tsuna really could not help but think they were still so innocent. To think children as young as them were involved in something like the mafia.
Futa walked over to the group, completely uninjured. "Lambo and I-Pin are also after me. It's unusual for the Italian and Chinese mob to work together, so I'm curious as to why they are together."
"Why don't we find out?" Reborn smirked, "We'll all go to Tsuna's house and talk it over." Lambo growled, but grunted in reluctant defeat. I-Pin agreed with a curt nod, eyes boring into Tsuna. The brunet felt twitchy under her gaze, wondering why she was so fixated on him.
"H-Hey Reborn, why do we have to go to my house?" the brunet asked fearfully, but the hitman only ignored him, leading the way to the Sawada household. As they walked away, however, Reborn turned around, glancing around. He knew there was someone there, but his instincts told him that whoever it was only posed minimal risk. With that in mind, Reborn continued on his way, smirking when he felt a pair of eyes watching them again.
Tsuna warily unlocked his door, finding the house cold and empty. Bianchi had a habit of leaving in the day to do who knows what, so it was normal not to see her when he went home. He could not help but remember how he used to find it depressing to come home to his house like this, but with eight others behind him, a warmth quickly spread throughout the halls. He flicked the lights on, and everyone piled in, removing their shoes respectfully, even I-Pin. It was at this moment that Tsuna finally noticed that Lambo had not been wearing shoes, tracking dirt onto the clean floor. The Chinese girl shouted something in her tongue, to which Lambo made a face. The cow child reached into his hair, pulling out a pair of cow-printed booties and slipped them on, sticking his tongue out at his companion.
"Lead us to your room, Tsuna," Reborn said, kicking the brunet in the head when he stared dumbly. The teen yelped, rubbing his head with a pout. He traversed the stairs slowly, having no desire to trip in the presence of his friends. Everyone milled into the brunet's small room, and Tsuna blushed at the all the clothes on the ground. He quickly tossed them into a pile in the corner, making space for everyone to sit down.
Reborn hopped onto his hammock to see everyone clearly. Onyx eyes bore into the two young assassins before him, and he addressed them, "So talk. Why are you here?"
I-Pin looked at Lambo, who made a face before clearing his throat. "Well, the great Lambo-san was sent to find the Ranking Futa for his family! I-Pin is my assistant-"
He was stopped short by a cute and angry grunt from the Chinese girl, and he quickly amended, "I-Pin was hired by the Chinese Triad for the same thing. S-So we're just travelling together. But I've been helping her a lot, because I'm so great!" he finished boastfully, causing I-Pin to sigh.
Kyoko cocked her head, looking at the little girl, "I-Pin-chan, you can't speak Japanese?" She spoke slowly, wondering if the girl understood her. She assumed that she at least comprehended the words, since she seemed to understand Lambo. The girl blushed slightly, looking down. She nodded silently, but then opened her mouth.
"I understand. But not speak well. Sorry." A thick accent marred her words, and her grammar was poor, but her point was clear enough.
Kyoko grinned, leaning forward slightly. "It's ok. We can help you practice!" Everyone looked at her incredulously. She had just offered help to the enemy! Tsuna felt pride and admiration for the girl, even if he was still wary of the children.
The little girl seemed surprised, her blush deepening. She only nodded, looking down again. The auburnette smiled, giggling a little.
Reborn interrupted, "Why send kids then? I-Pin is understandable, because she can handle herself, but Lambo is completely inept." The baby smirked when Lambo's temper rose.
"Damn you Reborn! We were sent because kids were less suspicious! It was all a trap, hahaha!"
"Lambo!" I-Pin cried, smacking his arm, "You can't tell enemy plans! Ruin them!" The cow child paled at her words, screaming out in frustration.
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Reborn asked, "Is that the only reason you're here?" His voice betrayed suspicion, and both children suddenly seemed wary. Lambo, however, was first to speak, "I also want to destroy you, Reborn! You're my greatest rival, so therefore we are destined to fight!" He pulled out a grenade from his hair, but the baby pointedly ignored him.
Tsuna flinched, "C-Calm down, Lambo!"
It did not help matters that Reborn turned to I-Pin instead, completely ignoring Lambo, "And you?"
Furious, the cow child flung his grenade at Reborn, but the hitman simply whacked it to the side, where it exploded on the wall. Smoke filled the room, and Tsuna stumbled to open his window. Sounds of coughing filled the room, mitigating as the smoke filtered out. When it cleared, the brunet glanced at his wall, squealing, "M-My room! Reborn!" He flashed an exasperated caramel gaze at the hitman, who shrugged.
"Wasn't my fault. Lambo threw the grenade. But anyways," he ignored the distressed brunet and raging boy, turning back to the girl, "Why are you here?"
I-Pin shifted uncomfortably. Her shield was breaking down by the second. Shyly she looked away from Tsuna, mumbling, "I was ordered to kill Tsunayoshi Sawada."
Silence filled the room, everyone taking in severity of her words. Gokudera stood up, hands in fists. "How dare you try and kill Juudaime!" the bomber hissed, startling the girl. Her eyes hardened, and she seemed to be on the alert for an attack from the seething silverette.
"Gokudera-kun, calm down!"
Hayato blinked, turning to look at the brunet. Tsuna had a stiff frown, unwavering. The silverette grunted, sitting back down. I-Pin's eyes flickered to meet Tsuna's caramels, and the teen opened his mouth. Suddenly, he closed it, confusion swirling in his jumbled thoughts. After a pregnant pause, he finally took a shaky breath, softly asking, "Do you still want to kill me?"
Startled by the question, I-Pin dropped her guard completely, mouth dropping open. Her deft fingers played with the silk sleeves of her top, and she pursed her lips, slowly shaking her head. Tsuna seemed genuinely surprised, as did the other members of the room. Reborn raised his eyebrows slightly, before turning to the door. At that moment, a soft knock could be heard, followed by Nana Sawada's chirp, "Tsu-kun, are you in there?"
"A-ah, yeah, mom!" Tsuna pushed himself from the wall, heading to open the door for his mother. Mother and son exchanged bright smiles before the woman poked her head into the room.
"Hello Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun, Sasagawa-kun and Sasagawa-chan," she smiled, everyone returning her smile in full-forth, even Gokudera.
"Please, honored mother of Juudaime! You can just call me Hayato!"
"Anything works for me, haha!"
"Call me Ryohei, to the extreme!"
"I don't mind Kyoko, Mrs. Sawada."
"Oh my," the mother giggled, "If you insist." Her eyes wandered over to the three new kids among them, and she lit up. "Oh! Who might you sweeties be?" Never a sweeter smile would Nana have except when she was around young children. Even shy I-Pin found herself warming up to the woman instantly, and all three offered their quiet greetings.
Reborn smiled, "They're acquaintances of mine," when none of the kids offered an explanation for their appearance. Well, he did not expect them to in the first place.
"Ah, so many guests over!" Nana was absolutely thrilled. "How about I make us all cookies? Yes, I think that's a great idea. Why don't you all come down for drinks while I start on them?"
"I'll help you, Mrs. Sawada!" Kyoko piped up, rolling up the sleeves of her cardigan.
"W-Want to help too," I-Pin softly said, gazing timidly at the other two females.
"Of course, I-Pin-chan!" The beautiful smile warmed the little Chinese girl's heart, and she nodded a little more excitedly as she followed the older females downstairs, leaving the boys in Tsuna's room.
Reborn hopped down from his hammock, toddling out the door without another word. Lambo stalked out right after him, mumbling something under his breath. Futa followed behind the other four boys, still keeping his distance from the other two kids.
In the kitchen, any tension that may have been present evaporated in the face of Nana's overwhelmingly sunny disposition. She asked many questions of the three kids, and it was not long until they started to open up to the kind woman.
Lambo was laughing arrogantly again, bragging about his self-proclaimed greatness. When questions were asked about his family, he seemed to falter in his words, but continued to brag nonetheless. During that time, the teens became quite aware about Lambo's obsessive love for candy, especially the grape-flavored variety, as the cow child incessantly talked about all the brands he liked for a good five minutes.
I-Pin dodged all the questions regarding her family, or anything about her personal life, actually. She did, however, speak highly about a great martial artist who she viewed as her father, idol and master, not once mentioning his name. Reborn listened thoughtfully to her words, smiling slightly as she described her master. Apparently, the girl really enjoyed cooking and displayed a surprising amount of skill when she started baking cookies with Nana and Kyoko.
Futa's stories sounded mysterious and systematic, as if he had a tale weaved ahead of time for situations just like this. Knowing just who he was, however, the teens would not have been surprised if that was the case. He did admit that he had no immediate family or many interests outside of his love of reading.
After the cookies were placed in the oven, Nana came over to the table, offering to play a game of charades with the children. Reborn forced Tsuna and his friends to act for the kids to guess, much to their humiliation. Actually, Ryohei and Yamamoto seemed to really get into it even if their portrayals of their subjects were very poorly done.
"Ah! Turf-top! Your acting sucks! Even Stupidera was better!"[5] Lambo screamed, pointing a finger at the scowling boxer, who was pretending to be a cat at the moment. He had heard all the nicknames being thrown back and forth by the teens, taking a liking to most of them, although he had already come up with one of his own for the forever-pissed-off bomber.
"Lambo! Don't be mean! Calling names bad!" I-Pin chided, frowning at her companion.
"I-Pin's right, Lambo," Futa agreed.
Aghast, the cow child shouted, "No fair! You two can't gang up on me! I'm not going to share any of my candy with you!"
Watching the three of them interact, Tsuna realized just how much they really were like kids; it was as if they had completely forgotten about their mission. An hour ago, they were all enemies, predators chasing prey, but now, they were laughing and playing together, sharing secrets and hints, and bickering with one another like old pals. It hurt to think of their real lives when all he saw were young children before his eyes. Ones who liked to play, sing, laugh and make friends.
Not ones who were cold-blooded murderers.
The brunet's sad expression did not go unnoticed by his tutor, who frowned. The cookies were done quickly, sparing the teens from more embarrassing performances. Nana watched the kids fondly, asking them, "So where are you staying in Namimori? I'll take you kids home."
All three went silent at this, looking at each other nervously. They had bonded in the past hour and really did not want to go back to their families with news of failure. How could they continue their mission as they were right now?
"Don't tell me," Nana frowned, "You have nowhere to stay? How is that possible?"
Well, they had expected to finish their job early, after all…
Nana remembered back to their stories, remembering that Futa had no parents, and I-Pin had mentioned she did not know where her master was. As for Lambo, his family had sent him all the way from Italy. How could any parents let their young child travel like this? All three claimed to be visiting their "friend" Reborn, yet they had nowhere to live in the meantime, and did not even mention how long their trip was. The thought actually made the calm woman feel a bit angered, but she waved it off, smiling as a new idea came to her mind.
"Why don't you three stay here with me and Tsuna? I'll take care of you while you're in Japan. I would love to have you three here."
I-Pin and Lambo were completely taken aback, but Futa had been expecting this outcome. Nana was ranked highly on the list more hospitable people. The young assassins seemed nervous. They should head back, but both had reasons not to, reasons they would not reveal to anyone.
"Will I…get grape candies every day?" Lambo asked bluntly, earning him a short scolding from I-Pin. Nana only laughed, nodding. The young Bovino lit up, jumping up from his seat. "Then I will stay!"
I-Pin fidgeted, "If Lambo stay, me too…"
"Then it's settled! I'll go set up the living room for you sweeties right now!" With that, the joyful mother ran off to gather blankets and pillows. Tsuna watched her go with a smile, having not seen his mother this happy in a while. He knew full well just how much she loved kids, but was worried that having less-than-normal children in the household may attract unpleasant events. Nonetheless, that was a problem to worry about when the time came.
And hopefully, it never would.
After a while longer, the other teens headed home as Reborn said he had to get Tsuna started on his homework. The children all went to sleep after a glass of warm milk, which Tsuna secretly found to be adorable. He headed up to his room to find Reborn setting up a number of booby traps around his hammock. Tsuna gawked at the hitman baby, who acted completely nonchalant about his actions.
"R-Reborn! What are you doing? A-Are those bombs?" he pointed at some shiny black objects strapped to strings surrounding the perimeter of the hammock.
"Of course. I don't want my sleep disturbed by the idiot cow downstairs," the baby responded in a matter-of-factly tone.
The brunet walked over to his own bed, sitting down on it in confusion, "But they won't attack us anymore, right?"
"I-Pin said she won't. But Lambo is too stupid. He'll keep coming after me, and I'm willing to admit that it is rather irritating." Tsuna's eyes widened. Could Reborn actually be fearful of Lambo?
But the baby continued in a huff, "He keeps getting dust on my suits. Such a messy brat." Reborn finished the last of his traps, going to the homework table.
Of course.
"But Tsuna," he looked up at his student, startling the brunet with his serious tone. "You have a huge problem. I noticed it when you were fighting those bullies the first time you used your Dying Will. You had the same problem when you fought Gokudera and Mochida. It's especially troublesome right now, because if you weren't lucky like today, you would have fallen right into a common trap."
Confused, Tsuna stammered, "W-What do you mean?"
Reborn hopped up onto the teen's lap, tilting his fedora up. "You're too soft, and you trust far too easily. It's a fatal flaw. You've been lucky up until now, but soon, that kind of softness is going to cause you more harm than good." Ignoring the shocked expression on the brunet's face, the hitman tutor jumped off, walking back towards the table. "After just seeing Lambo and I-Pin act like kids, you were so quick to drop your guard and accept them. You're lucky they're actually as innocent as they appear. Lambo is a complete imbecile, which is why his family kicked him out. He puts up that tough front of his, and admirable as it may seem, he's really a crybaby on the inside who is still in denial of that fact. He's convinced that he's on a mission when he's really just trying to win the approval of his family back. I-Pin was raised by a good master who lives as a pacifist. He was forced to join the Chinese Triad when something precious to him was held hostage, but it did not stop him from teaching her to be kind and do what she felt was right. That is why she gave up her mission the moment she realized how soft and harmless you were."
The hitman allowed a few moments for his student to maul that over before continuing, "There are scores of other mafia children who are every bit as cold-blooded and ruthless as an adult. There was a famous incident several years ago regarding the Estraneo family." Reborn seemed emotionless as he spoke, but a hint of disgust was in his tone. "They took children who were abandoned by their families to become human test subjects for grotesque experiments. These children were brought into the family with promises of security and comfort, but were cruelly met with painful experimentation. One of their more dangerous experiments worked, but the boy who they used ended up massacring all of the scientists and the rest of the family with the terrifying new power they had given him. Even some of the children were killed by his hands. He had escaped the authorities for a time because he was very convincing in his innocent act. Tsuna," he turned back around, onyx eyes locking with frightened caramels. "What if either of those kids were simply fooling you? What if they were as heartless as the Estraneo boy? This kind of trust is deadly. Get rid of it."
Solemn silence followed. Tsuna's brain was working hard at processing everything he had just heard. The severity of the issue weighed heavily on his mind, and the brunet trembled slightly. "I-I knew those kids w-were ok though."
The hitman furrowed his eyebrows, looking away from his student. "And how is it that you know?"
The brunet flushed slightly, running a hand through his hair. "I-I don't know. I-It's like…a feeling, kinda." He realized how stupid he sounded, but Reborn actually seemed interested in his words.
The baby mumbled to something to himself, striking confused curiosity in the brunet.
"Reborn?"
Breaking out of his musings, the tutor looked back up, "It doesn't excuse the softness. You'll have no choice but to fight for real someday. Intimidating bullies, earning sympathy, and disabling limbs will only get you so far. Fighting will be inevitable," the hitman responded coldly, sending chills up the teen's back. "Understand, Dame-Tsuna?"
The brunet stared forward, eyes glazed at the mention of the nickname.
Reborn curled his lips, jumping forcefully onto the brunet's lap again, causing him to squeak. "Do you understand me, Tsunayoshi Sawada?" he repeated in a calm voice.
Caramels widening at the use of his full name, Tsuna was unable to respond for a moment. Finally he nodded, softly speaking.
"Yes."
Smiling, Reborn hopped back onto the ground. "Good. Then let's start homework." His smile only widened when he heard the teen groan.
Ohhh I made a mention of Mukuro, heehee. He's coming up soon~
I hope that wasn't too boring to read. I know Lambo and I-Pin aren't the most interesting or favorite characters for people to read about. I just needed to set this up for later!
Like I said, this was originally supposed to include the "date", but what I had planned would have stretched this to over 15,000 words, and I felt that was too long for a chapter. Do you guys actually like these long chapters, or would you rather have shorter chapters?
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[1] Rotator cuff injuries are not actually disabling. Sure, they take long to heal, but your arm is mostly functional even with the injury. The reason I stuck Yamamoto in a sling was to allow his arm a little rest so he could heal faster. Overexerting the injured limb does hurt though.
[2] Eh? Would you consider that as 1827? Very very little, but still?
[3] Totally not a true ranking. xD I made it up.
[4] You're going to see several different things about Lambo and I-Pin, including with appearances, languages, and perhaps abilities. This is to make things a little more realistic. Also, if you see grammar mistakes in I-Pin's Japanese, that's intentional.
[5] Stupidera = Bakadera. I'm sure you all have heard Lambo call Gokudera that name before.
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Replies to reviews:
Stargazer: Thanks! Ahhh I know 27K is total turn off for most people, but it's honestly a pairing I really love. xD There will be 1827 sometime later, but I'm trying really hard not to force it as to avoid making it awkward. If I ever get there, probably in another 7 chapters there will be a really good 1827 moment. I'm not quite up there in planning yet. Hang tight, 1827 fans!
: Bwahhh you're way too kind to my work. ;n; You shoulda seen me the day I saw you reviewing my story:
Me: "OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS, THIS PERSON WHO WRITES MY FAVORITE KHR FANFIC REVIEWED MY STORY, OH MY GOD, SO EXCITED HRKHSAGDFGH"
My friends: "….o_o"
Me: -still grinning-
I will try to update as fast as I can! I'm trying to balance my writing with schoolwork and my art as well. X_x It's a lot of work haha. Thank you so much for reading my little insignificant story. ;u; I continue to look forward to yours, and I finally reviewed it, at long last! Wah, I'm so sorry!
Jasmin Lietha: I'll try really hard not to let it get out of hand. I'm actually rather excited now. :'D
Wahaha! Oh my goodness, someone who is willing to give it a shot? I mean, in this universe, the characters are a little different, so the pairings may work a little differently. xD They are teenagers, so hormones are bound to run rampant. OuO
Ahhh you understood my intent of this chapter so well! I honestly had a REALLY hard time writing Bianchi since I was so used to her being nice. She just did not come off as a really kind person to me, so I worked hard to make her sound…reasonable? I'm glad you really thought it worked out!
Oh really? I want to read it when you start then! That actually sounds really interesting, a story with Bianchi and Chrome. :D
Qqsha: Pfftttt Shamal amuses me greatly. I can't decide if I like him or not. So maybe I'll just make him badass later.
I'm aiming to make Tsuna kind to a fault, bursting out without thinking and usually regretting his decision since he doesn't know how to handle himself. But that's what his friends are for, right? (After all, they handled Hibari for him ;D)
OH MY LORD, BIANCHI COOKING FOR THE SAWADAS, I DON'T EVEN-
-faints-
Serendipital: R-Really? Oh my goodness, thank you! *U* I spend more time on characterizations than maybe I should, but I'm glad it's working out.
Ok, so it's not just me. I have a tendency to do that with my dialogue, and I've noticed and I know it's wrong, but I am reluctant to make a ton of new paragraphs for all my dialogue. Since no one has said anything thus far, I had kept making this awful mistake. Since you made the note, I'll stop doing it. xD I guess I was just waiting for someone to tell me it's bad haha! Sorry! Thank you! Really! C:
Funeral of the Fallen Musician: Thank you so much for reviewing! Glad you like it so far!
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Only 6 reviewers, but you guys gave me such in-depth reviews and responses, so I'm really happy. No really, I love these in depth responses, even if they're a few. ;u; Love you guys! I enjoy responding to you all~
Oh that note, next chapter may be faster than this time(hopefully), since it's all planned out.
Till next time, please review, and thank you so much for reading and commenting thus far!
Cheers,
~Alexie