Headache

Misty's Apartment...

Sirius and Remus went to drink the hardest scotch in their stash. A Laphroaig Quarter Cask, making the mafioso whistle. Especially as they have several bottles of expensive scotches in their cabinet!

Straight from the bottle after getting a thorough explanation of what Misty got herself into by just being simply on a day out with friends.

To be fair, they didn't expect that either. They really WERE out to have fun as a gang, not expect a real fight-to-the-death and get into it! The kids fought off a psycho and did well as a team, but the psycho is simply stronger.

That, and Tsuna is heir to a big-time mafioso family, a fact he really, REALLY did not want Misty into if he could help it, but Squalo saw her thus the Cavallone are willing to protect them until things smoothed over.

'So that's the gist of it?' Sirius asked Tsuna as Yamamoto was getting help from Misty in understanding English temporarily.

'Yes.'

'Y'know kid, your saving grace is that you really didn't ask for this and you and Misty grew up together so she could really vouch for you otherwise I'm one unhappy old dog. Capiche?' Sirius griped, scowling at Tsuna. 'We left Britain to leave behind our issues only to get new issues in Japan. Whoop-de-doo.' he remarked sarcastically.

'What's done is done Sirius.' said Remus. 'All we can do now is get really drunk once we deal with stuff.' he said. 'Like, taking on their offer for Misty's sake until this stuff blows over but once you're in, can we even step back out?'

'I tried.' Gokudera told them blandly. 'Guess what, I failed and my only hope was Vongola for a decent life while still stuck a mafioso.' he sighed. 'Living in Japan with juudaime was the closest thing I got to normalcy, might as well enjoy it before we become adults.'

'Well, I'm fine with it.' said Misty. 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. If those morons in England are still after me for obvious reasons...' she growled as shadowy tentacles appeared behind her with various deadly weapons at their tips.

'Huh?' Yamamoto squawked, looking at the weapons apprehensively.

'Misty is heiress to her family's money being from a super-old family, hence the Guardianship Wars over her while her godfather from a just-as-old family was out for the count back then, she hid the fact she was conscious or be pressured to accept some scumbag as her guardian who would then fleece her as much as they could.' Reborn explained in which, the boys looked disgusted. 'Good thing Sirius got himself exonerated from a crime he didn't even do so she was able to finally wake up using her powers. He was framed and was in the slammer for thirteen years.' the Cavallone winced horribly. 13 years for nothing in prison? Uuugh! 'He broke out around the same time Mukuro did and his prison is in England.'

Reborn did NOT know that Sirius broke out way earlier than that and based his information on what Misty told him thus assuming so, and coincidentally, the BMOM altered information just to save their non-existent dignities.

'I got my revenge.' Sirius snorted. 'Sweet, sweet revenge.' he said, grinning ferally and has this scary smile on his face that made the boys gulp.

'Sirius, you're scaring the boys.' Remus snorted into his drink. 'And Misty, no killing the idiots if they ever find us here. Maiming is OK just to humiliate them.'

Misty scowled.

'You're not the one who heard how much they'd enjoy themselves if they succeeded!' Misty griped. 'For five freaking years! So yes I want to kill some of them at least so I can enjoy my life in Japan without looking behind my shoulder!'

'That's where most of her beliefs about adults came from.' Tsuna sighed to his guy friends.

'That's quite a tale.' Dino scratched his head. 'Don't worry about me fleecing you, my family's the third richest in the alliance and I'm not that kind of guy either.'

'What's your net worth as a precaution?' Sirius asked Dino warily.

'Nearly a trillion euros and still counting due to my revenues, why?' Gokudera looked like he's about to have a heart attack.

'Equivalent in British Pounds?'

'875901339 last I checked in ForEx.'

'Phew, safe.' Sirius sighed in relief. 'We don't have to worry about you and I can safely entrust Misty to you in the mafia side while I deal with the civilian side. Misty, you OK with this?'

'I will if Tsuna vouches for his character.' Misty stated flatly with expression to match as she glanced at Tsuna. 'He's the Sky here and a living character heebie-jeebie detector by his lineage. His word, I trust.' she said decisively. So yes, Sirius and Remus looked at Tsuna for that too.

'Don't worry Misty, I got a good feeling from Dino-san since we met last December.' Tsuna promised her. 'He's the second adult I liked so far.'

'Heee...' Dino sweatdropped. 'Guess Reborn was the first.'

His little brother, was one messed-up kid due to severe bullying and no adult doing the right thing leading to his dark beliefs. Reborn was trying to fix that somehow.

xxx

Due to the incoming Ring Battles, the boys need to train more until the Varia realize they've been duped by the fake rings, and Basil was appalled that he went through heck and back to defend a set of fakes!

As for Misty...she was to be trained as a rescue unit incase shit hits the fan by mafia standards.

However, there's a problem.

She and Gokudera shared tutors. Shamal.

Gokudera asked Shamal to tutor him, only to earn a glare.

'You came to me the worse off of you four. Sawada, Yamamoto and Misty at least had brains in their noggin' to do all means NOT to die.' he said, glowering. 'You clearly haven't changed one bit. When you figure out why I dropped you as a student, come back and see me.' and he shooed Gokudera out despite his protests.

'...what do you mean?' Misty asked Shamal who sighed.

'Fucking kid has his fucking issues.' Shamal sighed, pinching his nose in exasperation. 'As a result, he doesn't care about himself as long as he gets the job done. By dropping him as my student, he lived up to age 14 by being careful for his own sake. Had I seriously trained him, hell, he'd die young by taking on jobs beyond his scope out of confidence. And I don't want a dead kid on my conscience. I only kill assholes, not kids whether indirectly or not. I want him to realize this on his own. No cheating by dreams, Misty!'

'How about we peep on him instead?'

xxx

Gokudera did one thing after he got tossed out.

Go to the Marauders for advice at the gym.

'So you want to talk to us, Hayato?' Remus asked as they were currently working off their nerves with weights due to their 'luck'.

'Yeah...Shamal rejected me for training.' said Gokudera gloomily. 'I need that training, how can I protect Juudaime if I don't improve?'

'With the Ring Battles around the corner?!' Sirius sputtered in horror. 'Why?'

'Maybe you should repeat word-for-word about your conversation earlier?' Remus helpfully suggested.

So Gokudera did and Remus looked thoughtful. He asked about Gokudera's jobs in the past and how often he came out of it that got the Marauders wincing.

'Last question,' Remus choked out, wanting to get drunk really fast. This kid, is something else. He's a freaking martyr to the cause. 'How did Tsuna react on the streets on the day Squalo had fun with you kids?'

Gokudera looked back down memory lane...

'...he wasn't too happy.' he said glumly. 'I asked him if he's alright and he looked ready to cry while yelling at me, 'I should ask you'.' he told them. 'Don't subordinates usually die for bosses?'

'Gokudera, we found what's wrong with you.' Remus told him in a long-suffering voice.

'You did?' Sirius asked Remus who nodded.

'Yes. I am the one with common sense since we were teenagers Padfoot.' Remus chuckled. 'Its you and Prongs who's crazy most of the time until Lily tamed him and until you became a godparent.' he reminisced the old happy days before shaking his head. 'Gokudera, the way you do things, your friends will cry for you on your funeral. Take note that your friends and soon to be boss, are civilian-born, not mafioso-born so we have different beliefs from your kind.' he said. 'You're willing to do crazy things that brings you a step closer to the grave. Tsuna looked ready to cry because you nearly died and you're his friend first, wacky career second.' he pointed out. 'If you died protecting him, he would live with the fact that his friend died because of him and never forgive himself for it.' Gokudera's eye bulged. 'That, is the problem.' Remus lectured him while jabbing his chest with his finger. 'You don't value your life at all while you don't realize how much your friends value you. And Tsuna is your Sky and your Boss. And you've been friends for over a year now. True friendship doesn't mean you die for them, true friendship means you stick together through the end. Perhaps after this, you'll actually think this through. This is why Shamal rejected you.'

'Oh...' Gokudera found himself looking glum. 'I...I never knew...I lived my life trying to prove my worthiness but I was always rejected for being a half-breed(for some reason, Remus winced, he noted) or my previous background as a genius pianist. I thought by being willing to do anything, a family will finally accept me but I still remained a Freelancer because I was always rejected. Now that a family finally accepted me the first thing I did was make my boss cry for me? I-I don't know what to say!' he exclaimed, burying his face in his hands.

'Well, now you know.' said Sirius, patting the dismayed teenager's head. 'Love yourself. By loving yourself, you're loving your friends too because you're with them.'

Gokudera flushed.

xxx

'Looks like he went to Moony who's at least, sharp about stuff like this.' said Misty as they were watching through a mirror. 'But that's weird, why not go to any mafioso in town?'

'Are you kidding?' Shamal scoffed. 'Reborn's a worser bastard than I am regarding stuff like that while still remaining cryptic so Hayato still won't get it. As a Vongola Associate, he can't go near Bucking Horse that easily unless its you and Sawada-boy who can come and go willy-nilly. That leaves the neutral civilian uncles.'

'Oh...'

'Well, at least your uncle knows what to do though I still wish he realized that on his own...then again, he's a damn bonehead.' Shamal smirked. 'Well, I better put my game-face on and make him grovel so he'll never do stupid shit ever again and realize his worth to his boss. His only misfortune was meeting with the scumbag of the society hence his beliefs after he ran from home.'

'Well, I missed out on a lot of things since my spiritual sleep...I never knew Tsuna greatly cares for Gokudera.' said Misty thoughtfully.

'Well, now you know.' Shamal grinned. 'After we make Hayato grovel, let's have a celebratory drink of 'one less idiot in the world'.' then he paused. 'Moony?'

'He's a prankster in their old days.' said Misty with an amused smile to hide the fact she's lying about the truth of what Moony actually meant, and sent Remus a warning in advance. 'He posts pictures of his own bare ass above people's beds as well as the left and right side of their heads who he wanted to freak out and it works. The screams in the men's dorm are music to his ears and they still haven't figured out till graduation whose ass that was.' she grinned impishly. 'Only dad and Sirius knows the butty truth and its their private joke.'

Shamal twitched in disgust. Seeing a boy's ass first thing in the morning when you wake up? Ewww...he'd rather look at a girl's!

At the gym, Remus nearly dropped his dumbbell on his foot for the warning he got by Telepathy.

Gokudera never knew he got trolled after he went back to the apartment and Misty tried hard not to react to Shamal screwing with him and milking it for all its worth just to drill it further into the italian's head.

So Shamal and Misty trained him together and ate at her apartment for the time being.

But since Misty is helping out, Dinner became re-heatable goods. She was in charge of projectile training and Shamal in close-range.

xxx

Gokudera found life at Misty's apartment real swell.

Since he eats breakfast and dinner with actual fruit for dessert at Tsuna's on his insistence, he gets to eat good food every day though seeing his sister's face was a drawback so she had to wear a half-mask during meals just to prevent his reactive constitution from kicking in. Eating for two every day combined with training really works wonders. He never felt better in his whole life!

Tasty food but he wondered when they'll start to eat something different...he's had many varieties of chankonabe so far...apparently, anything goes as long as it's mostly protein. Chicken breasts, lean beef, dark leafies, fish fillets, and shrimp with poached eggs on the side, or soft-boiled with loads of nice, chewy mushrooms. There's barely room for soup but bone broth made up for it.

But on the fifth day, after going back from the crags...

'Hey Shamal, we kinda ended early.' Gokudera frowned. 'We usually end at around nine.'

'I dunno but I got a phone call from Reborn that we go back home early.' Shamal shrugged.

'So who are the other guys? I don't know who the Lightning and Cloud is.' said Misty.

'They somehow got the harebrained idea of giving Lambo the Lightning Ring.' Shamal quipped to Gokudera's horror.

'WHAT?!' he shrieked, 'That stupid cow is only five years old!'

Misty's eyes popped.

'FIVE YEARS OLD?!' she shrieked, 'What the fuck is Vongola thinking?! Where's their humanity or do they even have any?!' she freaked out. 'Bad enough middle schoolers are doing it! High school is reasonable, middle school is crossing the line and now they're having a kindergartener?! Just mercy kill the kid instead!' Gokudera winced at how angry his friend was. She was close to breathing fire, quite literally.

'Don't ask me, ask them!'

Back at Namimori...

Tsuna was just as furious, took the Lightning Ring from Lambo and chucked it hard at his father's head before stomping out of his house, taking Lambo with him.

'Well, one bad idea after another, Iemitsu.' said Reborn wryly. 'That flame seal and now this. Tsuna will never see you as a human being ever again. He disowned you in front of Nono as it is for making his life hell.'

'But I have no choice!' Iemitsu cried. 'Who else is the nearest Lightning?! Lambo has the Ten-Year Bazooka right?'

'We have one another.' said Reborn, tipping his hat down. 'But he's a civilian and we'll have to ask him. But Misty will end up killing you out of family interest. And its justified to boot the Vindice won't fault the kids.'

Iemitsu sighed in defeat.

xxx

'So Tsuna-nii, where are we going?' Lambo asked Tsuna since Tsuna took him out after throwing his pretty ring at the guy who gave him 'magic water'.

'Oh, you'll stay with a pretty friend of mine.' Tsuna made a forced smile. 'It's only for a short while until bad man is away from the house, OK?'

'Bad man?'

'The moron who gave you 'magic water'.' Tsuna's smile became more strained. 'Adults who give magic water that tastes bad, makes you dizzy and loopy are bad people you should run away from, OK? If you drink magic water, you will become an adult nobody would like. You'll be alone forever with no friends. You wouldn't want that, would you?' Lambo choked at that.

'No! I want to be with Maman, stupid I-Pin and everyone!' he cried. 'Lambo-sama doesn't want to be alone!'

'Then run away from bad adults who give you magic water next time, OK?'

'Lambo-sama will!'

xxx

However, that sundown was chaotic at worst.

The Varia arrived in town.

And at Misty's apartment, Reborn has approached Remus Lupin about the matter.

Only half-blood wizardfolk can gain Flames. Purebloods canNOT. Hence Misty being the first to have flames before Remus did.

'So to keep Lambo away from that harebrained responsibility, you ask me to be regent until he's old enough?' Remus asked Reborn incredulously. 'Not a bad idea but what were you morons thinking?!' he almost howled. 'A five year old kid face a bunch of killers?! Middle schoolers is bad enough, but come ON!'

'Its not my idea, it's this idiot's.' Reborn jerked a thumb at Iemitsu who looked at him like he slapped him.

Remus jumped on the blonde, and Reborn had to pull the guy off him just so he doesn't kill the External Advisor so quick in furious rage.

Reborn swore this week was 'Let's hate Iemitsu' week.

That, and he sensed trouble coming too.

"They're here!"

He'd know that sakki anywhere.

The thing is, Remus is an untrained Civilian whose only way out is if Misty 'stamps' him her ingrained combat training just to stand a chance.

For now, a Dying Will Bullet will do.

'Remus, with the Varia outside our doorstep...do you have any regrets?' Reborn asked, loading his gun to Remus' horror.

'I-Is that what I think it is?!' Remus paled as he saw the Dying Will Bullet he heard about. 'I do but...'

BANG!

'REBORN! SURVIVE THE VARIA AS IF I WERE TO DIIIEEE!'

On the way back from buying cigarettes, Sirius gawked from shock as he saw Remus in his boxers fight off cloaked guys who are way more dangerous than Death Eaters like a berserker beast with his flame glowing on his forehead.

'Oh hell...'