For the whole night, Ira did her job. She wasn't even supposed to but she looked through the finances of Hibird Univ. She didn't have to be a genius to hack the system, truthfully. The code was very easy mostly because Hibari couldn't bother to remember.

However, his laptop was always with him or in his room. She found it suspicious mostly because for the whole night, he didn't budge from his seat in front of the screen. He was reading something with a lot of care.

Next morning, she packed quickly and showered. Hibari was in his room. She was hoping that she could leave without much fuss but that didn't happen.

"Where are you going?" His voice was really low in the morning. She had to choose between telling him the truth and lying.

"My friend invited me over for Christmas" She made it sound so normal. It was normal, as a matter of fact. Hibari stared at her with his eyes half closed half open and grunted.

"You have work to finish" He started. She pointed at his table. Every file was neatly placed on top of each other, in order and with posts to highlight the weird things. He blinked.

"I'll come back when students come back" She was ready to open the door when she heard him walk closer. He passed her on the way to the counter.

"As long as the work is done, I don't care" She chuckled and left.

The whole way to the train station, she couldn't help but wonder. It's been a few years since she last met the Vongola. She didn't find it vital to meet him when they were still kids but some certain hitman had different thoughts. Therefore, when Ira was 16, right before she got sent to Colonello in Italy, she had to pass a test. She was still not sure if it was a test for her or for Tsuna. They had to fight in order to awaken the flame in her. It was weird because her flame was the one of a leader and she wasn't one. Her parents didn't give her the family inheritance; they gave it to her younger brother, Ren.

Anyway, that test was a farewell from Reborn. He got his hands on her when she was only 10 years old and he trained her harshly. It wasn't the body as much as it was her charm. He wanted her to be a femme fatale; which she eventually became. But she was still human and couldn't just flirt with everyone when he wanted her to. She learned that lesson the hard way. Reborn had certain ways of torturing her if she wasn't doing her studies right.

Living with Colonello was really easy compared to that. Colonello had a heart and he was handsome. She was in her teens when they met and she instantly liked him. However, Collonelo was nothing compared to her crush. He was tall, brown hair, lean body, kind yet dangerous.

His name was Fon.

He only passed by yet she found him thrilling. It was hard to know who seduced who first. In the end, Fon recognized there was something and she ran away from it. She ran away from what could have been a nice love story. She ran to Japan, she ran to Osaka. But now, things were different. She was different.

Those thought kept her busy for the whole train ride. When she got to Namimori, she was surprised just how fast the time passed.

She took a deep breath and embraced herself for what was to come. She walked the streets of the peaceful city without a problem. It was midday so nothing bad could happen. After all, Vongola was still living there. You could never be sure what could rise from around the corner.


Which was exactly what happened.

A red sports car almost hit her. Her eyes widened and her heart was beating really fast. She almost got hit. That was really bad. Her reflexes should have kicked in. She was getting rusty.

"Hey! Sorry!" The window rolled down and a familiar face smiled apologetically at her. "Oh, wait!" She gulped. "I know you, don't I?" She glanced around, looking for a way to escape. She had none and people were staring.

"I have a common face" She mumbled. The blonde opened the door and tripped while getting out of the car.

"You have not. Those green eyes are the trace of the Dubois family. You're Irene, aren't you?" She was surprised that he knew so much about it. She wasn't in the picture for a while; actually, she has never been.

"You caught me" He chuckled.

"It's been a long time, Ira. I haven't seen you since you left Namimori 7 years ago!" She tilted her head to the side and watched him come closer. He hugged her and patted her head. "You've grown a lot" He whispered in her ear. That only got him a kick in the ribs.

"So, you came for the Christmas party, didn't you?" For how shameful Dino was sometimes, he could really surprise the people around him with his sharpness.

"Yes" But she wasn't the same Ira. She wasn't young anymore and she had a lot on her plate. She could be found anywhere; she had to be careful.

Since the car was damaged, they decided to walk together towards Tsuna's house. It felt calming, in a way.

"Ren became the head of the family" Dino started in a serious tone. She nodded.

"I know" He was curious why that sounded like she was fine with it. "That's because I am fine with it. I didn't want that title anyway" Dino chuckled.

"You can still read minds, huh?" He pointed at her before he closed his eyes. He opened one to see her reaction. "What am I thinking now?" He asked bemusedly. She didn't seem amused at all.

"You are the same as ever" Her response wasn't even close to satisfying.

When they got to Sawada residence, Ira was surprised to see the same sized house with the same Nana in the kitchen. She smiled and welcomed them.

"You are looking for Tsuna, right?" Dino shook his head.

"No need. He said he has something to do but will be here tonight. We will just wait" He said that with such an easy attitude. Ira nodded and stood awkwardly next to the blonde.


When she finally got into the living room, she sighed in relief. She had good communication skills but she was nervous. She hasn't been in Namimori in a very long time. She hasn't used her real personality in a long time. She hid her identity and lived on with only little information. But Vongola knew everything about her. No. Reborn knew.

A few hours later, the guests started to gather. She met Bianchi and they started to talk. There was actually a lot going on in her life. Her long time crush on Reborn dimmed but didn't disappear completely. Kyoko and Hana came next. They were the same girls but a little grown up. Maybe Kyoko should have learned how to be more perceptive and read the atmosphere, though. When Ryohei entered the house, he was rambling about some mission he had to attend to right after Christmas was over. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the girls. His eyes went first to Hana and they both blushed.

"Hana and my brother have been going out lately," Kyoko whispered to Ira. The French woman hummed and smiled.

"They do seem to fit each other." She mumbled.

It took Ryohei another few minutes to realize someone else was there; someone he hasn't seen in a very long time.

"Paris!" The girls glanced at each other nervously.

Ryohei walked in front of her and grabbed her hand. He pulled her up and gave her a big hug.

"Um- brother-I don't think Ira-"Kyoko was trying to say something but Hana simply hit him in the head.

"Don't call her Paris! And stop hugging her! You're making her feel uncomfortable!" She yelled at her boyfriend.

"It's alright! I can still breathe!" Ira barely got out. Ryohei listened to his girlfriend and let her go. At that time, Yamamoto entered the room with Lambo and I-Pin. "Everyone is here, huh" Ira mumbled under her breath. It was a lot of pressure for some reason.

"Ira? Wow, you actually came! When Tsuna told me, I didn't believe him at first!" He gave her a hug too. "It's nice to have the gang complete" She blinked.

"I am part of the gang?" She didn't think that and it came out her mouth when it was supposed to stay in her head.

"Of course you are!" Kyoko responded. "From the moment you became a friend to us, you became part of us." Yamamoto patted Ira's back and went into the kitchen. Lambo waved and I-Pin bowed.

Haru came next, her face all red from the cold.

"Sorry I'm late! I just-"Her eyes found the newcomer as soon as she entered the living room. "Ira-chan!" She hugged her too after she bowed in respect. Ira was older than everyone in the room, except Bianchi.

Once they calmed down, Mama Sawada brought cookies and green tea. The Christmas tree was in the corner, shining beautifully in red and blue. Ira's eyes stayed on the tree for a few minutes in adoration. She couldn't help but remember how simple and lonely Christmas has been for the past years.

"So, Ira-chan. What happened after you left? You didn't give any sign of life." She stared nervously at the curious faces. Everyone was waiting for her to respond.

"Nothing much. As you know, I've been living in Italy for the past 9 years. When time came, I moved to Japan for University." Kyoko's eyes widened a little bit.

"But aren't European universities better?" Ira gulped. "Wouldn't that have been easier for you?"

"Europe is not a safe place right now. At least, not for me." Everyone seemed even more interested. "My brother became head of the family. I'm not sure if the small families around Paris will welcome him with the changes he made. His rules may bring a lot of complaints" Her answer was hard to combat. They nodded and changed the subject.

The boys started to talk about their own things while the girls gathered around Ira.

"Where are you living right now?" Hana asked.

"Do you have enough money? What about people? It's important to have friends" Haru's questions were firing like bullets.

"What about men? Are you living with a man or have a boyfriend?" Kyoko's question was quite blunt.

"Wait. Wait a moment," She needed a breath. "I do live with a guy, actually." Their eyes widened and they leaned closer. "I'm attending a special university and I became the student council president. This school is different so I ended up staying with him. But we have different rooms." She clarified. It didn't seem like it had any effect, though.


That was how the next few hours passed. Someone would ask something and a new subject would be born. It was nice to talk about random things. Ira couldn't help but enjoy herself and give in.

Of course, that ended when Vongola Decimo arrived. He entered first while his faithful right hand entered second. She could hear Gokudera ramble on and on about Tsuna's excessive kindness. It seemed he let someone live when he should have killed him.

"Tenth, I'm telling you! He's going to come around and bite us in the ass!" He was really loud. Tsuna was tired. The entire day, he could only think of his mother's cooking and the Christmas tree. He really needed a break.

"I wasn't going to kill him when he didn't hurt me." Gokudera sighed stomped his foot like a child.

As soon as Tsuna entered, he sighed and rubbed his eyes. Ira could see the signs on his posture and the way he just dragged himself into the room. Mama Sawada passed him and put another plate of snacks on the table.

"Tsuna, you have guests!" the boy knew that already. He saw their shoes at the entrance. He saw an extra pair which meant only one thing.

"I know mom." His eyes scanned the room for her. He smiled when he saw her green eyes. "Ira-chan. You made it." She smiled softly and nodded.

If Tsuna seemed happy to see her, Gokudera's eyes widened in shock. He didn't know she was going to be there.

"I-Ira-san," He was speechless. She smiled towards him and he blushed. He gulped when he remembered how simple she looked when they first met and how much she has grown over the years. She really looked like a lady.