Between Harmony's potions and the fact he was quickly regaining his skills thanks to Harmony leaving a spot on the ranch open for his aim (allowing him to adjust to his recently healed eye), Xanxus was back to his old job in the Varia within three months.
During that time Reborn had been hired out to train the next Decimo heir, thus confirming Harmony and Dino's suspicions that there was a legacy left behind by Giotto.
Xanxus would withhold his opinion on whoever Reborn was training until he met the kid.
He was on a more 'even keel' as Harmony put it since she linked her Sky with his Wrath, and it showed. That, and the fact she could repair the large number of vases she kept on one of the empty fields that he just destroyed the hell out of whenever he felt his anger turning too dark helped a lot.
If anyone understood the need to break something and get the pure rage out, it was Harmony. In fact she had a deal with the local art studio where she bought the failed ceramic projects to use as target practice.
On top of that was the kids. Xanxus didn't often show it, but he had a soft spot for little kids.
I-Pin seemed to consider him an 'uncle' the same way she did Reborn and the others, while the twins would stare with undisguised fascination at the feathers in his hair, along with the long coon tail.
Harmony had found the whole reasoning behind the feathers amusing, and had promptly scoured her stables and presented him with an arrangement of new ones from her pegasus stables that he could braid in with the unicorn hair that they shed naturally. But the one he liked the most was one of Hedwig's feathers. It was a sign that she trusted him completely, which was a rarity for an assassin.
Xanxus was actually there when Reborn came through the portal, immediately went to the liquor cabinet before scowling as Xanxus was holding the best (and strongest bottle) in the house hostage.
"What happened?" he asked.
"What happened? What happened is that some idiot sealed the kid when he Activated his Flames without bothering to account for Sky Attraction! A civilian I can deal with, but one with that many issues thanks to years of intense bullying and negative reinforcement is going to be a nightmare!" ranted Reborn.
Xanxus stilled, before pulling down two glasses and pouring them both a healthy shot of the booze.
"Talk."
Harmony came in while Reborn was ranting to a sympathetic ear, and her face went from surprised to downright pissed.
"Let me get this straight. The kid you were sent to train is a lot like my husband except he has zero support system from the people around him and everyone automatically assumes he's a no-good useless person simply because of the effects the seal has on him?" she said, furious. Her Sky was lashing out in pissed off rage.
Reborn nodded.
"And this is the same boy who happens to be related to that imbecile Iemitsu?"
"From what I was told, Iemitsu asked for the seal to be placed claiming his son wouldn't need Flames since he was outside the mafia," said Reborn.
Xanxus ruined his glass, and Reborn healed where the shard went into his hand.
"He what."
Dino came through and took one look at the atmosphere.
"What happened? I could feel Harmony's rage through our bond."
"Iemitsu had Timoteo seal his own son, a baby Sky, and didn't even bother to take into account the effects Sky Attraction has on others," said Reborn tightly.
Dino became pissed as well. The idea of someone sealing his children at such a young age (Tsunayoshi wasn't even fifteen yet), never mind a Sky was something so abhorrent he would never have thought it possible.
Harmony was the one to become rational first.
"Alright boys, we are going to be firmly on damage control mode. It's clear that the Ninth generation and CEDEF have lost their damn minds if they did something like that and expect the kid to still be able to take on the Decimo title. While I have faith in your abilities Reborn, this kid is going to need a real support system if he even wants to remotely survive in the mafia."
"What do you have in mind?" asked Reborn.
"You continue on like normal. I'm going to bring the kids with me to Namimori, was it?"
Reborn nodded.
"I'll bring them with me when Dino makes his appearance, and give him someone to lean on. You're friendly enough dear, but if this kid has been bullied as badly as you say he has, he'll need someone who understands what it's like from a similar perspective and isn't constantly reminding him he's stuck joining the mafia because of his father. Once we figure out what seal was used and remove it, Xanxus and I will help train him up since Timoteo clearly can't be trusted to do that right and Iemitsu is an idiot."
"What's in it for me?" asked Xanxus.
"Do you really want the Family to fall apart because of Iemitsu and the Ninth's stupidity? Take out your justified rage on the ones responsible, not a fellow victim," said Harmony sharply. "Besides, imagine how pissed off they'll be if they found out you trained the one who was supposed to take your spot as Decimo."
Xanxus blinked, before a dark grin came on his face.
He could get behind logic like that.
"We are going to make sure that the Vongola is genuinely strong, not the fake strength that the Ninth and his idiocy has been keeping in check. The sheer number of rats in the Family now are ridiculous, to say nothing of the fact that Iemitsu can't even control his own men!" said Harmony sharply.
Xanxus was openly grinning. He looked at Dino in the eye and stated with absolute certainty "Lucky bastard."
Dino chuckled.
"That seems to be a common sentiment when people meet my wife," said Dino.
"How is it she's not in the mafia already?"
"I hate people, and I like horses more," said Harmony flatly. "And the less said about how much I despise sheeple, the better."
"Sheeple?"
"Mindless drones who follow the loudest and most popular voice, even when they're clearly wrong," she clarified.
Xanxus blinked, before he let out a dark laugh.
"That makes so much fucking sense! I'll have to use that sometime!"
He completely understood what she meant too. He fucking hated the 'sheeple' who cowered like weaklings and expected someone else to solve their problems instead of getting off their ass and fucking doing something about it themselves.
Reborn blinked. Then he considered the effect Harmony had on others, and nodded to himself.
Her intervention might actually put some proper spine in the kid and get him on the right track to actually staying alive, instead of just going through the motions.
He used his new key to return to Namimori, having already set up the portal through the attic, the one place neither mother or son would think to look for a door that let people into their house.
This was one secret the main Vongola familigia didn't know about, though they had been trying to get their own set for a while now. However the mystery creator had outright stated they were not interested in working with them. Ever.
Reborn couldn't wait for the chaos that would come from Harmony finally stepping out of the shadows into her proper place. The Ripper Prince wasn't too far off when he called Harmony the "Horse Queen".
Tsuna didn't know that a lot of things were about to change, most of them for the better when he came home from school that day.
Seeing five men near his house and meeting Dino was interesting. But it was Dino's wife that had his immediate attention.
Something about her made all his senses jump up and yell at him that he needed to get to know her better. That she would ease a lot of the fears he had about his life.
That she would understand exactly what he was going through and help him get through it.
Harmony was a kind woman, but it was her eyes that had his attention. They were gentle and full of empathy.
The hug made him relax without realizing it, even when Gokudera damn near stormed his house.
"You're Gokudera Hayato, the son of Lavina, right? The pianist?" she asked.
Gokudera blinked, before he nodded shyly. Everyone only ever saw him as the son of a mafioso, not as his mother's child.
He heard rumors about the Cavallone Decimo's wife, but he had never had a chance to meet her personally.
Her smile made him openly blush.
"I've heard some of her performances. I'm pretty sure I could get you some of the recordings, if you don't have them already. I'm sorry you lost your mother so young," said Harmony gently.
Tsuna was amazed at the change. Gokudera was never this calm, and it looked like her words were having a major effect on his behavior. He wasn't so hostile or jumpy.
Harmony was able to calm his Storm down with ease. He was silently impressed and wished he knew how to do the same.
"You're Tsuna, Reborn's new student right?"
He nodded slowly. Harmony's smile calmed his usual skittish behavior down, something he later learned came from working so close with horses every day.
"I know your father Iemitsu, and I have to say..."
Tsuna winced, waiting with baited breath for the inevitable put down. Even his mother compared him unfavorably with his father.
"You look far more competent than that idiot."
Wait, what?
Tsuna looked at her wide eyed in shock. No one had ever told him something like that.
Harmony chuckled.
"I wouldn't trust Iemitsu to do his job, and I never liked him after I found out he had a wife and son, but basically abandoned them to go around gallivanting around Italy. He's living it up in another country and never bothers to visit his family, while pretending he cares? It's like he's trying to fool everyone, including himself."
Tsuna stared at her, mouth agape.
Someone else was putting into words what he had always secretly believed, but didn't dare say in front of his mother who believed that idiot could do no wrong.
It was impossible to hate a man who was never there.
Reborn chuckled, reminding Tsuna he was there. He winced.
"Reborn, you haven't been bullying him have you?"
"I've been trying to work past the damn seal he has on his Flames. I should have just brought you here sooner," he corrected.
"Seal?" repeated Tsuna. What did he mean, seal?
"Iemitsu asked the Ninth to seal your natural talents when you were a child, stating you wouldn't need them as a civilian. Your clumsiness, inability to pay attention in class and general 'no-good' nature is mostly because it's forcing your real self down. Only idiots and fools would seal a Sky," said Reborn patiently.
Tsuna had no words.
He wasn't an actual Dame? Iemitsu (he refused to call that man father ever again) had done this to him deliberately?
Now that he thought back, he could vaguely remember an old man who visited shortly before everything went cold. Tsuna became pissed off immediately.
Harmony patted him on the shoulder.
"Which is why we're going to find a way to remove it as soon as possible, and try to rebuild your real self back to where it should be. By the time we're done with you, you're going to be able to look those idiots in the eye and tell them that they can sit on it and spin if they think they're going to keep to the old way of doing things."
"Besides, this means I get a surrogate little brother/babysitter," said Dino amused.
"What?"
Harmony chuckled.
"You're a fellow victim... I mean student, of Reborn's antics. As such, my husband has decided to treat you like a little brother. Besides I'm sure Ren and Diana would love another uncle."
For the first time in his life, Tsuna felt like things might actually work out for him for once. At the very least, he had someone he could fall back on that wasn't Reborn. He knew he could trust Harmony completely.
On the ranch...
Tsuna nearly yelped when Quest came straight up to him, looked him right in the eyes...and promptly began nuzzling his hair. It was only Harmony's presence that he didn't bolt.
"Easy, Tsuna," she said soothingly. She took his right hand and put it on Quest's long mane. He marveled at how soft and silky it was. Impishly, she whispered something in his ear and he suddenly blinked.
"Is that a horn?"
"Quest is the lead unicorn of the small herd I have on the property. That he came up to you so quickly and isn't dismissing you is a good sign. It means he likes you and that the others might even let you visit. Just avoid the forest. The ones who live in there are less than friendly towards humans for good reason."
"Unicorns are real?" said Tsuna with open awe.
"Very real, in fact the orange stable is full of pegasus...winged horses from Greek myths."
Seeing the innocent awe and enthusiasm, Harmony gave him a tour of the ranch. Seeing the teen relax and not trip once was a relief. The fact he didn't wince too badly when she gave him a set of keys so that he could visit whenever he wanted (either to the ranch, the Cavallone mansion, or to his own home) was merely the first step.
At least now he knew he had someone to turn to when things became overwhelming. Or when Reborn was being a bit too much for him to handle.