Apparently Tsuna recognized him too because he called out before Gokudera's brain could start functioning again. "Yamamoto-sensei!"

The enthused greeting caused the teacher to snap his head up, a full grin already stretching into place. "Yo!"

Tsuna was down the stairs in a heartbeat, his two companions following at a significantly slower pace. As Tsuna held Yamamoto's jacket, easily chatting with the older male, Gokudera swore his feet were turning to stone. Each step was difficult and he was starting to feel light headed. But that was probably due to any number of reasons not dealing with Yamamoto. At least that's what he was telling himself. Standing with his back against the railing he observed as Nana beamed at the men in her doorway.

"It was so nice of you to come over today Yamamoto-sensei! I thought it was sweet of you to help Tsuna with his studies." She clasped her hands together happily, smiling warmly at the young teacher.

Rubbing his hand through his hair, Yamamoto smiled sheepishly. "Ah it was no problem at all Sawada-san. Tsuna's been a good student, it's a pleasure to teach him."

"Ah," Nana continued thoughtfully, a finger on her chin. "It is a little odd though; a teacher who's willing to tutor outside of the class room…"

The two adults continued to chat away politely while Gokudera and Enma looked on. Gokudera with suspicion and Enma with an apathetic look. Which was his default look. But still. The silver haired boy sniffed loudly. "Just what is going on? Since when does Yamamoto-sensei do house calls?"

Enma shrugged halfhearted. "What an odd guy. I wouldn't want to be around my students outside school."

"You don't want to be around students now."

"Very true. But still, no one loves their job that much."

Gokudera hummed a small agreement.

A particularly girlie laugh caught the boys attention and they both turned their attention to watch as Nana retreated to the kitchen, "If you want you can study in the room down the hall, Tsu-kun will show you! I've got a nice snack prepared for you all."

With that the petite brunette disappeared to the recesses of the kitchen.

Tsuna started off towards their study room, "This way Yamamoto-sensei!"


Twenty minutes into the study session Gokudera wondered just why he was even there.

Flopping onto his back, Gokudera bit at his lip absently. He already knew all of what Yamamoto was covering. Formulas and equations had come easily enough to him since he was little and the Japanese school system was behind the one he had attended in Italy. Grudgingly he admitted that Tsuna and to a lesser extent Enma were getting something out of this. But then there was Yamamoto, who was acting like he hadn't done a damn thing in the classroom, which was pissing off Gokudera to no end anyway. Idiot.

His temper had always been short to begin with, but after piling up all these tidbits, Gokudera was like a time bomb right now.

There was a gentle kick to his leg moments before a less gentle jump onto his stomach jerked Gokudera abruptly from his thoughts.

"Wake up Goku-baka!" Lambo chanted from his seat on Gokduera's stomach.

Green eyes glared up at Enma, who shrugged and turned back to his text book. "Tried to warn you."

"Thanks a lot." Gokudera muttered as he tried not to puke out the contents of his stomach. Hoisting the cow-clad boy, Gokudera stared grumpily at the tiny terror. Lambo, not one to fear the silver haired male, simply thrashed around.

"Look, cowbrat. I don't have the energy to deal with you and your-"

With an overly happy laugh Tsuna removed Lambo from Gokudera. "Why don't you help Nana in the kitchen, huh Lambo?"

"Because Nana already finished making her delicious treats!" On cue Nana appeared in the doorway, a tray of delicious smelling muffins in her hands. Lambo quickly scurried over to his savior, pulling down an eyelid triumphantly. Gokudera practically growled at him. Nana missed the gesture, smiling down at the child. "Isn't that right Lambo-kun?"

Soon enough all the males in the Sawada house were munching on Nana's famous blue and black berry muffins and settled back at the table, moving on to their second subject of study for the night.

Polishing off the last bite of his muffin Gokudera felt well enough to interact with the people at the table.

"So. Why exactly am I here?"

The question seemed to startle Tsuna, who questioningly looked up at his friend. Had he forgotten Gokudera was even here?

"Oh Gokudera-kun. Are you bored? I'm sorry, it's just that me and Enma are so far behind. We are going to need a lot to catch up to where you are." Tsuna was doubting his own ability again and Gokudera sighed, Tsuna really needed to get a little self-confidence. He wasn't that terrible a student.

"No, I'm fine Tsuna. I was just wondering what you needed me here for."

Yamamoto supplied the answer this time, "Well, I can teach all the math just fine Gokudera-kun, but I'll need your help with science and literature!" Yamamoto had a really nice smile. Gokudera rolled his eyes mentally. Get a grip.

It was the first sentence Yamamoto had directed at him since he got here and Gokudera felt annoyed that he even bothered to noticed that. It wasn't like he wanted Yamamoto's attention, but he couldn't deny he was acting weird. Maybe if he should sleep it off?

Enma's dull eyes rolled up to him, as he bit off another bite of his muffin. "It's not like you have anywhere you've got to be."

Something irked Gokudera's last remaining bit of will power because he blurted out, "Actually, there is."

Three sets of eyes locked onto his face and Gokudera fought to keep the blush at bay. An unspoken 'huh' hung in the air.

"Y-yeah. I've got to meet up with Bianchi. She said it's something important this time." Gokudera supplied lamely.

Tsuna's shoulders dropped, fingers unclenching around his pencil. Always gullible but lovable, Tsuna smiled nicely. "You should have said something Gokudera-kun. If it's family we understand."

Great. Now he made Tsuna sad.

But Gokudera wasn't one to backtrack on anything so he nodded stiffly and tossed his untouched notebook into his bag. "I'll probably just get a meal out of it, she's got nothing I want to hear."

With a quick goodbye Gokudera rushed downstairs, picking up a bag of muffin's on the way out.


Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.

Gokudera had been repeating the mantra over and over in his mind since he had so gracefully exited Tsuna's house fifteen minutes ago.

He fisted some of his hair in his hand and groaned. Not only had he let stupid Yamamoto and Enma get to him, but he had also made Tsuna feel bad. Really. Out of everyone he could of upset it had to be Tsuna.

Why couldn't he just suavely leave and not worry his friend? Gokudera knew he was stressing out way too much over everything going on and he briefly wondered if he could let go of what was troubling him. He would feel a hell of a lot better.

Mentally he sighed at the thought, he wasn't good at not thinking. It gave him hives when he couldn't analyze the situation.

But he was yet again torn from his thoughts when he bumped into a warm body.

Great. He couldn't even pay attention to where he was going.

Mumbling a quick apology Gokudera sidestepped the person, trying to get to the train station literally a two minute walk from where he was.

Whoever he bumped into though didn't seem to like the idea of Gokudera just leaving though.

"Hey moron! Why don't you watch where you're going?"

Gokudera continued to walk, knowing he wasn't up to any form of a fight right now. That only seemed to anger the guy because a large hand clasped onto his shoulder. "What no apology? How rude."

Warning bells sounded inside of Gokudera's skull and he cursed all deities on why this had to happen to him now. He began sizing up the competition, knowing he probably wasn't going to get out of this with just his words. His hands unintentionally clenched in his palms.

Two males wearing his school uniform stood before him, both bulky and grinning. There was another male just out of his vision, to his left and then there was the ring leader who was still clutching onto his shoulder.

Fuck. Four in shape and aggravated males against one Gokudera? A sickly one at this point. Maybe if he coughed on them they would back up?

The male holding his shoulder shoved him into one of the guys in front of him. Gokudera spun just in time to look at his attacker for the first time. Surprisingly enough he recognized the face.

"Really Mochida-san? You can't just leave me alone?"

Mochida was the Kendo club captain of his school and one of the biggest assholes Gokudera had ever met. Gokudera realized grudgingly that he had probably just run into the Kendo club right after practice.

Mochida smirked, raising his shoulders in a nonchalant shrug.

"I couldn't do that Gokudera-san." He motioned to his school jacket, which looked completely fine. "See, when you bumped into me, you completely ruined my sleeve. Now what would my club mates think of this dingy appearance?"

Gokudera tried to cover up his eye roll, steading his voice. "I think they would say you looked fine, Mochida-san."

"Oh is that would they say?" Mochida's smile fell into a snarl and Gokudera couldn't help but think that the look was more fitting. Or more natural for the macho idiot. Moving his grip to pull underneath Gokudera's collar, Mochida leaned closer to him and Gokudera almost gagged at the wave of nausea in his gut. "I know these guys pretty well Gokudera-san and I think they'd actually be offended at it. So maybe you could fix it for me, you were the one who bumped into me after all."

Gritting back the bile in his throat Gokudera pushed Mochida's chest hard and stepped away from the immediate threat. He knew from experience that he was in a bad situation and right now as much as he wanted to punch Mochida's lights out, he had to retreat. Self preservation wasn't the strongest emotion in him (Enma would say stupidity was), so whenever the alarms in his head went off he learned to listen. And right now the bells were saying to get the hell out of here.

A sarcastic tilt of his lips, "Maybe another time huh? I've got a train to catch."

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere Gokudera-san. You need to learn some respect for your elders."

Gokudera heard a crash as Mochida's fist hit the fence beside his ear.

"And now you've pissed me off."

There really wasn't a way out of this huh? Maybe he should of asked Bianchi for a ride home. Or even Yamamoto was a better choice at this point. With his stupid van and all. But it was too late to think about what if's as Mochida's fist came directly at his jaw. Instinctively Gokudera ducked and moved his hands to protect his face. He readied himself with a deep breath. As a full out scuffle ensued, Gokudera hoped he wouldn't look too bad tomorrow morning.


Obviously he missed the train.

By the time Mochida and his goons had finished kicking his ass the sun was dipping behind the skyscrapers and Gokudera had grabbed a seat on an empty train. Luckily enough that meant that there weren't any disapproving stares to look at his ripped collar, bloodied nose and lip, or the angry red coloring of his knuckles. At his peak health Gokudera would have put up a decent fight, but with all things considered Gokudera had his ass handed to him and Mochida had found a new target.

Although he had managed to make sure one of the guys could never reproduce, which was quite satisfying.

Touching his lip lightly, Gokudera only flinched at the obviously torn up skin there. If he put ice on it maybe no one would notice tomorrow.

As Gokudera unlocked his door he recalled Mochida's last words as he strolled off. "I think we just became best buddies Gokudera-san. See you tomorrow for another lovely time."

Uri meowed at his feet and Gokudera wondered absently if he should just skip tomorrow.


"Geez Gokudera-kun, what happened?"

Gokudera looked away from the sad eyes of his best friend. Tsuna stood with his arms crossed and a frown perched on his face. Deciding he couldn't lie looking at him, Gokudera laid his chin on the desk and coolly explained, "Uri didn't like the new food I bought."

Tsuna sensed the lie (cats left scratches, not split lips) but he also knew he would get nowhere prompting the larger male this way. Sighing he pushed the bag of ice into Gokudera's reach. "Maybe this will help with the swelling."

"Thanks." But Gokudera made no move to take the ice.

Enma deftly picked up the bag and smashed it against Gokudera's face.

Gokudera reared back, eyes dark and a deep hiss emanating from his throat. Enma felt the radiating sense of doom like a brick to the gut. Well at least he didn't look like a kicked puppy anymore.

The thought wasn't all that comforting through the rest of lunch as Gokudera glared at the red head and Tsuna had to restrain the smoker from forcing ice into Enma's pants. Or keep the bombs away from Gokudera's twitching fingers.

Ten minutes later lunch was over and Enma left quickly to return to his own classroom. As Gokudera promptly flicked off the small boy, Mochida and his crew walked in. They laughed in return to the gesture. Gokudera promptly sunk into his seat, purposefully ignoring the idiots as Yamamoto returned the class to attention.

Gokudera pointedly ignored the vibrant smile from his teacher and unknowingly missed the careful gaze of Tsuna.


A/N: WARNING: Mild Violence, Language and Minor Blood.

Told you, loved but not forgotten. This story has a plot line again! hahaha Let's see where Gokudera goes from here. It looks bad now, but before Gokudera can lighten up he's having a stroke of bad luck. PS. Mochida is an idiot.

sugarsweetie: Thanks dear! It's cool knowing people want to see this continue even with the sparadoic updates. Means it's kinda intresting huh? AND YES THE DRAMA... ;)

NanaliJoci: haha, not much interaction, but really Gokudera is about as oblivious as it gets and when you are hungry you aren't really in tune with things around you. Gokudera's a survivor and he's going to prove it.

: Let's just say Yamamoto isn't always the brightest? Haha

kelaparut: Eventually Gokudera will relaize that he is jealous and that will make things simpler, for everyone involved. Yamamoto's already come to terms with some of his feelings at least.

Fran-anisca Grave: Sweet and Thank YOU! Hope this keeps your interest! D18 is wonderful too (something about angry little guys and chill funny love interests right?)

nyeracau: Welcome to the story then! :)

Nicholai8059Lover: I swear I will try to make up for everything. With so many lovely reviews, I can't handle you guys being awesome :). Hope this story answers your questions well and everything will tie together promise!