A weak moan was emitted from a small brunette as his bleary chocolate coloured eyes opened to see that most of the sunlight had faded, the growing twilight slowly crept through the room that Tsuna was in currently. He slowly sat up, though he immediately regretted the action as he felt an intense migraine attack his head and made him wince in pain. As the throbbing went away, Tsuna could now look at his surroundings, as long as he kept his movements minimal and didn't do something his body or stomach agreed with. "Ugh… What happened to me…?" He muttered, feeling sick.

"You fainted." Someone said next to his futon.

Forgetting that he had internally told himself not to make any sudden moves, Tsuna whirled around in surprise, though he groaned as he could feel both his brain and his stomach protesting. He fell back into his futon and waited for the pain to pass as it ravaged his weak body. He had no idea what he had done to be in this kind of torture, but he vowed to never to it ever again. "W-What happened?" He managed to groan out.

He heard a sigh, but his mind was too busy with the rest of his protesting body to figure out who the voice belonged to. "After you exchanged sakazuki with Zen, you threw up in Oboro-Guruma and then you fainted."

"I did…? Sorry…" Tsuna replied, not really paying attention to what the other person just said. He laid an arm over his eyes and sighed, reluctant to get up and figure out just where he was.

He heard thumping of flesh against wood, coming closer to where his room was. The sound stopped in front of his rooms, and the sound of the doors sliding open became present in Tsuna's ears, allowing the last few rays of sunlight to stretch into the room before they retreated into darkness. Tsuna listened for the other person to speak, but moments passed and no one said anything. Deciding that the new person wasn't going to say anything, Tsuna opted to go and sleep off whatever it was that he got and figure out where he was when he felt better.

However, the new occupant in the room decided to speak right when Tsuna was about to fall asleep, though he spoke so loud that he startled the poor brunette. "TSUNA! YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BRAT!"

The person next to Tsuna moaned, "Zen… Could you please speak a little quieter? My tummy still hurts…"

In return, Zen scoffed at the other. "Didn't you say that you built up a tolerance for it?"

"Well... I'm still only eight. None of my classmates drink sake at eight." Rikuo replied, sounding slightly annoyed.

Finally, Tsuna decided to speak up. "Guys, would you please be quiet? I don't feel so good…"

Remembering what he had come into the room for, Zen strode forward with the tray he had carried in with him. He placed the tray carrying a cup with steaming liquid inside next to the brunette, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him up into a sitting position. Tsuna whined, not liking the feeling of his stomach churning around and threatening to empty its contents onto Zen for a second time. Zen picked up the cup in the tray and pushed it into Tsuna's hand. He kept his grip on the smaller boy's shoulder, keeping him in place. "Here, drink this."

Sniffing the contents suspiciously, he nearly gagged at the bitter smell. "It smells gross though… What is it?" He asked, reluctant to down the foul substance down his throat. He had learned from the medicine yōkai that if it smelled bad, DO NOT EAT IT.

Zen scowled, pushing the cup in Tsuna's hand closer to his mouth. "Drink it, its hangover medicine. It'll get rid of that queasy stomach and aching head." Tsuna's gurgling stomach protested against those words.

"Little brat…" Zen muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. If Tsuna didn't want to do something, there was no budging. He idly wondered if he had inherited that stubbornness from his mother or father's side of the family. "Speaking of family… Hey, Tsuna?" He called, bringing both of the two boy's attention to him. "What happened up on the mountain yesterday?"

Tsuna shifted slightly in his futon uncomfortably, his eyes darting away from Zen's suspiciously. "W-What do you mean? N-Nothing happened. I-I…I got lost." He muttered, his nervous stutter returning as it usually did when he lied. He would really need work on the art of subtlety if he wanted to avoid being interrogated like this.

Tempted to knock Tsuna on the head for the obvious lie, Zen forced himself to calm down, and try again. He really didn't want Nana to be angry at him again for causing an injury on her hangover son. Not that she really needed to know of course, but there were always ways of finding out. "More than you 'got lost' happened yesterday, Tsuna. You transformed. And the same thing happened with Rikuo, too." He nodded in the said brunette's direction, who returned it with a surprised look.

"Me? I transformed? That's awesome!" Rikuo cheered, before stopping for a moment. "What did I transform into?"

"Both of you transformed into yōkai yesterday during the eclipse." Zen informed him, watching for both of their reactions carefully. Rikuo got that sparkling look in his eyes whenever something yōkai became involved. However, there was no recollection of transforming into one himself, and Rikuo was no liar. On the other hand, Tsuna was twitching a little bit more, and he thought he could see a faint sheen of sweat that could not be attributed to his current hangover. "Seems like you remember more about that, Tsuna." He said.

At the sound of his name, Tsuna flinched and stilled instantly. Still avoiding both Rikuo and Zen's eyes, he gave a slow and reluctant nod. "Y-Yeah." He said quietly as he looked into his cup of steaming medicine. When only silence followed, Zen prompted, "How much?"

Tsuna gave a wry smile that somehow didn't seem to fit on his features. He should have been giving a smile that was vibrant and bright, and made others believe they belonged by his side. Just like the smile that Rikuo, and all who carried the Nurarihyon bloodline held. That distorted look had no place on the face of his sworn little brother, who he had bonded to through sakazuki exchange. "Enough to know… I'm not as human as I thought I was." He answered, his stutter disappearing as his voice became soft. That infuriating smile was still there, and Zen was becoming rather close to snapping and just slap the look off his face.

The look of wonder had faded from Rikuo's expression, though there were still thoughts on telling everyone back at the main house he had actually used yōkai powers for the first time. Maybe his grandfather would be more willing to give him the title of Third when finds out. But that subtle tone that was hidden inside of Tsuna's voice… Something about it made Rikuo forget his thoughts of yōkai, and concentrate on his cousin. "Tsuna… Only a half of our blood is yōkai. We still have a human part of ourselves, and right now, we are human."

Still, Tsuna didn't meet Rikuo's gaze. "That's not true," He said, "Between the three of us; you're the one with the most human blood. Uncle was a hanyō, like me. But…" Trailing off, Tsuna's grip on the cup tightened as he closed his eyes tightly. Rikuo and Zen exchanged a look, knowing what Tsuna was talking about.

Back 400 years ago when Rikuo's grandfather had defeated Hagoromo Gitsune and taken Tokyo, then called Edo, as his own territory. With his human wife, Yōhime, they had a hanyō child who eventually became the Second head of the Nura Clan, Nura Rihan. Though both he and Tsuna were similar, Rihan had been raised among yōkai since the day he was born, and he eventually took on the title of Second in order to protect both humans and yōkai, as his father had wanted to when he finally became the Supreme Commander of all spirits. On the other hand, Tsuna had no idea of the lineage of both his parents, and had no utter clue of his father's involvement in the most powerful mafia family in the world, nor of the sleeping power hidden deep within him through his mother and her position as a powerful yōkai and daughter of the Supreme Commander's brother and another human-turned yōkai who was powerful in her own right.

When suddenly thrust into a world where monsters he had only head of in folk tales actually do exist, he had no idea where to turn, what to do, nor the laws that govern yōkai. Initially, he had been confused, scared, and just plainly wanted to go back to the human world where he was safe, and he could place his feet firmly on the ground. But once Rikuo, and through him Zen, had warmed up to him and played with him, he could feel that kinship start to form, and his fear toward yōkai slowly disappeared. Eventually, he didn't mind the yōkai at all, and was now beginning to see them as family like Rikuo did.

Despite all that, he had never once wished that he could become a yōkai like them. Sometimes he wished he had the courage to stand up to the bullies in his school, or the frightening appearance to keep the scary people in his neighbourhood away, but never to become a yōkai. He had seen numerous times how his classmates treated those that were different from themselves, and he didn't want that to happen to him. He also didn't want to lose any potential friends he might gain just because they discovered his non-human half, and shunned him for it. He wanted his friends to stay by him, and they wouldn't do that if they discovered the secret he would now have to desperately keep.

"Tsuna." Zen said firmly, laying a hand on Tsuna's should to make the brunette finally meet his eyes. "Just because you carry half of your mother's blood doesn't make you non-human. Your father is a complete human, right? And it was only yesterday that I found feel that yōkai power from you. Right now, to me, you are a complete and utterly human, and nothing else."

"And even if you weren't, we'd always stand by your side. We're family after all, right?" Rikuo added, giving the other brunette a blinding smile. "You are someone who is important to us after all."

Surprised, Tsuna looked between the two of them. Both of their eyes were firm and honest, and Tsuna knew he could trust them. They were his family, and his first friends as well, and he would protect them with everything he had, even if he was dying.

He was once more surprised when Zen and Rikuo suddenly fell backwards with a startled yelp, staring at Tsuna with wide eyes that were plainly reflecting the confused look on his own face. "W-What?" He asked, not understanding why he was getting such a strange reaction for doing nothing at all.

Raising a shaking hand, he pointed at Tsuna's face. "Y-Your head… It's on fire!"

"W-What are you talking about? I'm not on fire…" He trailed off as Rikuo scrambled up and fetched a hand mirror from one of the storage spaces. He stuck the mirror in front of Tsuna's face, and for a moment Tsuna just sat there, staring at his reflection. The next, the cup flew out of his hand as he scrambled to get away as quickly as possible, shrieking loudly in surprise and fear. He raised a shaky hand toward his forehead, scared of burning himself, but needing confirmation that it really is there. But when he felt nothing but the soft locks of his bushy hair, a quick glance through his bangs revealed the fire had disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

"Wha… What happened?" Zen said, completely baffled as to what had just happened. He had never heard of any yōkai that had that sort of ability. So maybe this was some sort of human ability…? But that was impossible; humans were incapable to doing such acts other than onmyouji, and no yōkai in the right mind would go and marry one. Heck, even crazy ones wouldn't marry one unless they had some sort of death wish.

Instead of feeling disturbed and confused as the other two were, Rikuo was feeling quite curious about the strange flame. "Ne, Tsuna, what was that? Was that some kind of cool yōkai ability? It looked so awesome! Can you do it again?" He gushed, the bright and sparkly look returning to his brown eyes.

Already feeling tired just looking into Rikuo's energetic expression, Tsuna shook his head. "I don't even know how I even did… what it was I did."

"You know, just go whoosh!" Rikuo said, spreading his hands around him as he tried to imitate a fire. Tsuna started to giggle at Rikuo's 'fire' expression, and Zen could feel a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as well. Before long, all three of them were laughing uproariously, holding their sides as they rolled across the floor, Tsuna's mysterious head flame forgotten.

The three of them were sitting on the veranda as they watched the moon start to slowly rise into the sky. This would be the last time they would be together until the summer, and that was a long ways away for the three of them. So for now, they were content with sitting with each other, enjoying the little time together left before they went their separate ways until they could finally meet again and play.

"This… Is the last time, huh?" Rikuo said, finally breaking the silence.

Tsuna nodded, "Until we see each other again in the summertime." His face started to scrunch up as he felt like crying, not wanting to separate from the people he felt closest to.

"Rikuo, Tsuna," Zen said, catching their attention. "I think it would be best if we kept the fact you both transformed a secret, other than the Supreme Commander and Mama."

Instantly, Rikuo started to complain about the idea. "Eeeh? Whyyy? I can finally tell kids in my class about my powers, like Grandpa's."

Zen shook his head. "No, for your safety, I think it would be safer if you two said nothing of what happened on the mountain."

The shy brunette twitched slightly, unnerved by the hidden meaning in his sentence. "W-What do you mean?"

"The both of you are of relation to the Supreme Commander, meaning that there are four of you who are potential candidates for the position of the next head of the Nura Clan." Zen explained.

"Four…? But there is only Aunty, me, and Tsuna… Who's the fourth?" Rikuo said, counting on his fingers to make sure he was getting the right number.

Zen scratched the back of his head. "Well, there is also Tsuna's grandfather, who is the elder brother of your grandfather, the Supreme Commander."

"If Grandpa is Great Uncle's brother, then why didn't Grandpa take the position as head when Uncle died?" Tsuna asked, not understanding. "And Mama... Why didn't anyone go look for Mama before?"

For a moment, the bird yōkai was silent as he tried to remember what his father had told him during that situation years ago. "Your grandfather doesn't like to be tied down to a place too long. I guess you could say he's a drifter…? He's never in one place for very long, and it's nearly impossible to track him down. If he doesn't want to be found, then he won't be found. Mama, well. I guess she took after her father. It was hard to find her, and I don't think anyone knew she was still around." Zen shook his head back and forth. "Most yōkai had assumed they died somehow, as we never received word of them other than their condolences when the Second… passed on. We never even knew you existed until you appeared out of nowhere with your mother."

Rikuo still looked confused, placing a hand under his chin. "I don't get it… That doesn't explain why they wouldn't want the title of head."

Zen sighed. "According to my Father, members of Tsuna's yōkai line did not want any position of power. Of course, they were powerful enough or they wouldn't be considered, but they didn't want to involve themselves with it. Apparently, they didn't want to deal with any of the paperwork. They repeatedly told them that they wouldn't have to do that, but they refused each time."

"Paperwork? What's that? Is that a yōkai group?" Rikuo asked, unfamiliar with the word.

The khaki haired teen scratched his chin as he thought up a definition that would be best understood by two eight year old boys. "To sum it up, you could say its homework." He said.

Rikuo's expression melted into amusement as he laughed. "Homework? That's it? That's not quite so bad."

Though he didn't share Rikuo's opinion, Tsuna silently agreed. Becoming a leader of all the spirits in Japan and just doing homework wasn't a bad deal, though he still wouldn't do it either. Something just told him that it really wasn't a good idea to take that kind of just for 'homework.'

"It's not that simple." Zen said, waving his hand. "Paperwork is much more complicated than that, and it usually deals with all kinds of business within the clan."

"Don't the yōkai at the house just party and drink sake all day long?" Rikuo asked, thinking that the main house was all to the Nura Clan.

Zen mentally made a note to tell Karasu to educate Rikuo more in things involving the Nura Clan. If he was to be the next head of the Clan, he had to learn that the Nura clan territory was much, much larger than their town of Tokyo. It was just during this peacetime that yōkai just lazed around and partied all day. Rikuo would be angry for a while, since Karasu was such a nagger and nit-picky on making sure Rikuo knew all the details, but he would appreciate it in the future when he strove to become the leader of all the yōkai territories.

"There are clans that are under the Nura clan, and have different jobs. Some are like mine, where we supply medicine to the main house. Others take care of the financial needs of the clan, earning money from humans and yōkai alike from different forms of business." Zen explained.

Still, Tsuna couldn't quite see the connection between 'homework' and those jobs. "I don't see why…" He trailed off.

"Most likely, you two don't get a lot of homework at school, am I correct?" Zen asked. Rikuo gave a nod, while Tsuna's was much more reluctant. "Well, imagine that kind of stuff, but much, much more. Enough work to fill an entire room. And that's just for half a day's worth of business. Luckily, yōkai deal with only that small amount. I've heard that some human leaders have to deal with twice as much, and in some cases, they even need to continue filling them out even after they quit, or whatever it is that humans do."

Horror now filled the faces of both boys. "W-Why do they have so much more?" Tsuna asked, feeling sympathetic towards those poor souls condemned to do homework for the rest of their lives. He can barely finish his, and was in still in primary school! He could only imagine the work that adults like his parents would have to do…

"Well, for groups like, I don't know, a mafia I guess," Zen said, picking a group from off the top of his head, "They have probably ten times the amount an average human boss has to do. Most humans are destructive, for some reason, and they usually feel the need to destroy property that, more often than not, belongs to them. The boss would have to fill out paperwork to have repairs done, make sure the work such as wiring, or water pipes are done, and the like. On top of that, they would have to sign papers to accept aligning their group with another, and sign mission papers for their subordinates. There is much more that they need to do in regard to 'homework,' but that's all I think you should know for now. Between us, I think being a yōkai boss is much better than being a human boss."

The two of them nodded vigorously, and made a mental promise to themselves that they would never involve themselves in human businesses. It seemed like an absolute nightmare to be a human boss, especially one for a mafia. If somehow they had no choice, they vowed to struggle to the end before being cursed with 'homework.'

"I think it's time you two head back to the main house, it's late and I don't need your families coming after my head for sending you back in the dark." Zen said, standing them up and leading them to Oboro-Guruma, who had been waiting for quite a while. "Make sure you come to Ukiyo when the summer comes; I'll be waiting there with Tsuna. Got it?"

Though obviously sad that he wouldn't be seeing his older brother for a few months, Tsuna allowed for a small smile to stretch across his lips as he nodded. They climbed into Oboro-Guruma, and waved Zen goodbye until he was a mere speck before being swallowed up in the darkness.

As they flew through the night, all that could be heard was the faint whistling of the wind as it glided smoothly around them, and the soft sound of Rikuo's breathing as he slept. Tsuna figured it was most likely because the alcohol finally affecting him. His hangover hand faded, and there was only a slight discomfort in his stomach, but nothing he couldn't bear. He hadn't even noticed that at some point in their travels, Tsuna had transformed once more into his yōkai form.

A loud crunching noise was suddenly heard below them, followed by several booms of some type of explosive. Tsuna peered over the edge of the cart, rather curious about the source of the noise. The noise… it sounded oddly familiar to him, like the sound of fireworks back in Nanimori during festivals. But there was no festival that he knew of that would be happening, and certainly none would be held in the forest where it was easy to catch fire and burn down a large area.

"Oi, Oboro-Guruma," He called, "Land somewhere close by, I'm going to go investigate the sound." And so saying, he jumped off into the cold air, and fell smoothly into the darkness below. He landed on the ground softly, his fall cushioned by the undergrowth that had grown through the years. He straightened and looked around, trying to identify where the sound was coming from. If a fire caught and became to blaze through, many of the valuable herbs Tsuna knew that Zen harvested would be destroyed and the bird yōkai would be absolutely livid.

BOOM!

Whipping his head toward the sound of the explosion instantly, he began to dash nimbly between the trees, weaving through them with ease. Suddenly, he tripped over a large object that had slipped his notice, and he was sent flying. He crashed a meter away, his chin landing painfully first into the dirt. Tsuna groaned as he sat up, his spine popping at the unfamiliar movement, and wincing as he rubbed his chin. There were some light cuts, but nothing too dangerous. He was lucky there were not sharp rocks there, or he would definitely need some stitches. He turned around to get a look at the offending object, and was surprised to see what had tripped him.

It was the boy that he had met back on the mountain yesterday, Hayato. He was wearing fancy western clothing as he had yesterday, though it was mussed up once again due to him running away from someone. Tsuna wondered if it was fate that they met again in a place like this.

"Hey, kid, are you alright?" He asked, deciding that was most important.

Hayato moaned and got up from where he had been laying on the ground. He held a hand on his stomach where Tsuna's foot made contact with his body, and gave the best glare he could without wincing in pain. "What do you think, stupid? You kicked me in the side!" He snarled.

Not perturbed in the slightest, Tsuna waved him off. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't see you there. What are you doing out here, anyways? Weren't you on a mountain much further away yesterday?"

"Yesterday…?" The boy muttered, his brows furrowing as he tried to examine the person more carefully. The trees blocked most of the moonlight, but it was enough for the boy to see Tsuna's orange hair and orangey reddish hued eyes. "Y-You! You're that guy from yesterday!" He yelled, "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you think that's rude for someone you've just met?" Tsuna asked, looking around for whoever was chasing Hayato. He figured it might be his sister, but it could be someone else. "By the way, whatever happened to that guy that was chasing you?"

Confusion filled Hayato's face, unsure what he was asking. "Bianchi?"

Tsuna raised a brow. "Is that the rude guy with the gun?"

Recognition flittered into Hayato's face, and he gave a smirk. "Oh, that guy? My father dealt with him appropriately."

Tsuna looked at him surprised, not used to seeing someone of his age being so cruel to someone like that. He had a suspicion on what he meant by 'appropriately,' but he decided to leave it. He didn't need to have a nauseous stomach again by hearing what they did to him. "How old are you? You don't seem the age to talk like that."

"Don't look down on my like that! I'm going to be a respectable Mafioso when I grow up!" yelled the boy because of his own pride that had been stung more than a little. Maybe he should try doing more adult things so he seems older. "I'll take you on right now!"

Instead of drawing his wakizashi from within his kimono, he just stared at the silver haired boy in front of him impassively. He could already tell that though the boy was used to using explosives as a weapon, he had a few that he would drop around him instead of at the enemy, and he could easily dodge the projectiles. "I can already see plenty of openings in your stance, not to mention your own weapon would blow you up as well. You're still much too early to fight against me."

"Why you…!" Hayato snarled, pulling out a lighter and igniting all the dynamite in his hand despite Tsuna's protests. "I'll show you what Smokin' Bomb Hayato is capable of!" He threw the bombs at Tsuna in a rage, but he didn't see two sticks of dynamite drop from his hand and drop his feet, hissing as the wick sizzled shorter and shorter.

Annoyed at being ignored by the other, Tsuna dashed forward and grabbed Hayato by the collar, running out of the area as fast as possible. Not long after, the bombs that would have blown Hayato up exploded, leaving a large plume of smoke in its wake. Tsuna sighed as he watched it from a nearby tree, already hearing the rant Zen was sure to give him if he found out there was an explosion in his forest, and that he was involved in it. Beside him, Hayato was panting after screaming bloody murder as he was unceremoniously pulled behind Tsuna like a rag doll, and thrown up into a tree.

"What is wrong with you? What kind of idiot tosses people up in trees?" He yelled, angry and feeling his pride stomped on even more.

The yōkai looked at him surprised, as though he hadn't noticed he had dragged Hayato with him. "That's not something you should say to someone who saved you, you know."

Hayato snapped, "I didn't need saving! I was just fine there; I planned to do that!"

Tsuna looked at the Hayato's green eyes, deciding it would be best to give him some advice lest he blew himself up with that dynamite of his the next time. "If you want to actually beat me with those, you need to take better care of yourself first."

Surprised to receive advice from the other instead of a snappy reply that most others in Mafia would do, Hayato just sat there speechless as he processed what Tsuna had said. He opened his mouth to retort, but closed it with a click as he found that there was nothing he could say in reply. It was true, he should take more care of himself, but he had decided it was good enough that he could send more damage to the enemy than himself. "What does someone like you care for? As long as I get rid of the enemy, that's good enough." He huffed, crossing his arms.

Using quick speed, Tsuna appeared behind Hayato, punching him on the back of the skull. "Oww!" He groaned. "What did you do that for? Agh… That hurts a lot…"

"You need more respect for your life," Tsuna said, his fist still poised to hit Hayato if he protested once again. "A brat like you shouldn't be so reckless. You look about the same age as me; shouldn't you be playing with other kids instead of little sparklers like those?"

"I don't need friends!" Hayato shot defensively, "I'm going to be an awesome Mafia boss like my father! And then I'll be powerful enough to defeat everyone!"

Tsuna gazed into Hayato's eyes for a moment, and then dropped to stare at the ground. "Power isn't everything, you know. I've been alone for much of my life, and the friends I gained here are more valuable to me than any amount of power." Hayato flinched as the yōkai returned his sharp orangey red eyes to stare deeply into his eyes. "You should find people who will value you as a friend, not power."

Hayato opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by the voice of a girl calling somewhere not far away, "Hayato~! Where are yoouuu~?"

"Gah! Big Sis!" Hayato paled, and gulped nervously. He had forgotten she was searching for him, and was probably close by as the bombs were very loud, and there were no other noises in the forest. If she found him, then he would… he would….

Wordlessly watching Hayato's expression changed from surprise, fear, exasperation, then back to fear in a matter of moments, Tsuna had to suppress a smirk that wanted to make its way onto his face. It was amusing, to say the least, though he had no idea why Hayato would be afraid of his own sister. Maybe it was one of those 'girl' things that Rikuo had told him about. He had felt horror at what they could do as well, and he was very glad that he was an only child at that point. "Do you know somewhere you can hide?" He asked.

Looking at Tsuna as if he was stupid, the silver headed child hissed, "Where is there to hide? She's too close to run, and there's no place in his damn forest to hide in!"

"If there is nowhere to hide," Tsuna started, before disappearing and Hayato found himself suddenly on Tsuna's back, piggy-back style. "Then we just run."

Immediately knowing the futility of the effort, Hayato protested against the idea. "She's just going to find us faster! Put me down! Damn you!" He was surprised at Tsuna's apparent strength, as he was able to carry Hayato and look like he was carrying nothing. Most other boys that he knew of struggled to lift such a weight at this age, and didn't concentrate their strength until later, after they finish academic studies and the like. But no person he knew was like this boy, who had hair that was as brightly colored orange as the Sky Flames, and eyes that were reminiscent of the setting sun.

He nearly shrieked as Tsuna dashed forward with inhuman speed, sprinting in the opposite direction Hayato's sister's voice had come from. He seemed able to run through the darkness, though small twigs and leaves still brushed their faces as they passed, leaving naught but a breeze in their wake. He was sure now; no human had this type of appearance or this type of agility and strength at such a young age. The way he spoke seemed older than he really was, and was a bit deeper than it should be for an average boy. And the way he seemed to navigate his way around the forest with only the faint moonlight streaming through the trees was impossible when he ran so fast, it almost felt like he had stuck his head out of a car window. This person must be…

"An U.M.A…" Hayato murmured in wonder.

With most of the wind sweeping into Tsuna's ear, he only heard the last part of Hayato's word. "What was that?" He asked, turning his head slightly to look at Hayato from the corner of his eye.

Fearing they may crash into a tree and be caught by his sister; Hayato smacked Tsuna on the side of the head. "Watch where you're going! Do you want to run into a tree or something?"

Tsuna huffed. "I know where I'm going, boy. I've been in this area before. Haven't you noticed that the trees are getting thinner? We're close to a town I know of."

Surprised that they had reached some sort of civilization so quickly, Hayato took a quick survey of his surroundings with the limited vision that he had. What the U.M.A. person said was true; there weren't as many trees, and he could very faintly hear the sounds of cars ahead of them. Where they this close already? The mansion they had been staying at was a large distance away from any town, in order to prevent any other enemy families from finding them. He hadn't run very far, as he was already weakened by his sister's experiments (read: attempts to kill him) before he managed to escape to the forest surrounding the mansion.

He was now even more convinced this 'boy' was some sort of U.M.A. that had decided to assist him and might even take him to others of his kind, and teach him the ways of their species. He was rather disappointed when they arrived at the town Tsuna had been talking about rather quickly, and it was a small human village rather some kind of secret U.M.A. society.

"Alright, you should be alright here for now. I'm sure you have some way to get back to wherever you came from, so I'll be heading back now." Tsuna said, turning around back into the forest.

Unwilling to let his first U.M.A. leave so quickly, Hayato called, "Wait!"

Though he didn't turn to face Hayato, Tsuna stopped where he was as he waited to hear what the other wanted to say. "Who are you? Why did you save me?"

"Is that all?" Tsuna smirked, turning around. He remembered Zen's warning about keeping his abilities as a yōkai a secret, and he mentally scrambled to give a passable name that wouldn't really be a lie to someone he considered could be his friend. "You can call me… Satsu. Don't friends have each other's backs?" He smirked, and disappeared while Hayato just stared at him in surprise with his jaw dropped.

"You took your time back," A voice mused from the shadows of the moon-lit yōkai cart. The source of the voice walked into the patch of white light, revealing it to be Rikuo in his yōkai form. His crimson eyes seemed rather bored as a smirk was visible on his face, his long white and black hair waving about in the light breeze. He had crossed his arms, his whole posture almost seeming as though he was going to scold Tsuna.

"Ah, you woke up? Sorry about that, I saw someone I know and I went to say hello." Tsuna replied, climbing back into the cart. Once he was safely inside, Oboro-Guruma took off to the skies once more, leaving nothing but a swirl of leaves to show evidence that they were ever there.

Rikuo raised a brow. "Someone you know? Who could you possibly know outside of the Nura clan?"

Tsuna shrugged, "Someone not from the Nura clan maybe?" He suggested. He smirked when Rikuo scowled. "Alright... Alright. It was a human that I met when we were on the mountain yesterday."

"And the shy you managed to become friends with him? Wow, never imagined little 'Dame-Tsuna' would be able to make a friend so easily." Rikuo chuckled.

Tsuna didn't reply as he stared out into the night, in deep thought. Seeing as there was something on his mind, Rikuo stopped laughing. "What's wrong?"

"Back on the mountain yesterday," Tsuna started, pausing as he tried to put his thoughts into words. "When I met my friend, he and his sister were being chased."

"By what? A bear? A dog?" Rikuo asked, not knowing what he was saying.

The orange haired yōkai shook his head. "No, he was being chased by this man. And… He seemed like he wanted to hurt them… He had this gun with him, and he hurt them both. I used the salve Zen gave me to heal them, but… I never thought that…" He sighed. "I never thought there were humans who could be cruel like that."

For a few moments, all was silent in Oboro-Guruma other than the whistling sound of the wind. Then, Rikuo spoke. "You know, we live in a world of darkness. I discovered on the mountain yesterday, too, that there aren't always yōkai who will not attack humans." His eyes hardened as he remembered the tree yōkai he had encountered yesterday. "That's why we have to be there to protect them."

Tsuna shook his head, his face grim. "But how are we supposed to protect them? We're only eight years old. No matter how hard we try, how are we supposed to protect all the humans from other humans and yōkai?"

"Then we'll just have to become stronger, and become the leaders of human and yōkai kind, and be able to keep everyone safe." Rikuo's eyes sparked as his voice started to become more confident. "Kana, mother, and everyone else are important to me. And I will never forgive anyone who makes themselves an enemy of humans! I will become the Third Master of all spirits, and all yōkai will heed my call to join my Hyakki Yakō!"

Tsuna looked at Rikuo, awe-stricken by his declaration. He regretted it was most likely he wouldn't remember saying such a thing, though he would still strive for this goal nevertheless. If he could say this while in yōkai form to the clan, Tsuna was sure that many of them would join him and help him protect the humans. "If you say that, I'm sure that many yōkai will join you."

"What about you?" Rikuo asked, "What are you going to do?"

For a moment, Tsuna thought about that. He wasn't quite so sure he liked the idea of joining Rikuo's Hyakki Yakō. Not he had anything against Rikuo, but he still felt he didn't belong in the yōkai world that his yōkai family grew up in. "I'll stay behind the scene, and be your eyes in the human world. Someone has to keep an eye for anything strange, and as half human myself, I think I would be the best choice."

"Hiding away from the yōkai world just like the rest of your family?" Rikuo thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright. It's best to have someone among the humans to know what's going on." He grinned.

"Only a yōkai like you would hide," Tsuna returned, mirroring Rikuo's grin.

"A part of you is the same type as me," Rikuo replied in turn.

The two shared a small chuckle before comfortable silence sank in. The two would miss each other once Tsuna returned home as well, though both would ask their families to visit each other often. They and Zen had formed a bond together in their short time together, and wanted to keep in touch for the years to come.

"Tsuna." Rikuo said suddenly, surprising the other yōkai.

"What?" Tsuna replied, turning to him.

When Rikuo didn't reply, Tsuna thought he had only imagined it and turned away when Rikuo spoke once again. "I want you to do something for me. For when you return to Nanimori."

Surprised, though intrigued, Tsuna quipped, "You, asking a favor of me? That's a surprise. What is it?"

"I will become the Third. However, I need to get the other heads of the country to acknowledge me, and get Gramps to give me the title as well." Rikuo said, "It could take some time, but I will take the title someday. I absolutely will not allow a yōkai that is an enemy of humans to become the leader of all spirits."

Knowing what Rikuo was saying, Tsuna waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I know. You already gave that speech back at Zen's. What does it involve Nanimori?"

"Once I become the Third, I need yōkai who are loyal to me to join me." Rikuo said, "And you are one of them."

Annoyed, Tsuna didn't reply immediately. He was sure that Rikuo already knew his choice on the matter, so why was he going on about it again? "I told you already, I'm going to watch the human world. I can't be helping you in your Hyakki Yakō if I'm watching the humans at the same time."

Rikuo grinned, looking almost like a cat that's cornered a mouse. "And that's what I want to ask of you. As a leader, we will be stronger if we had loyal subordinates; our own group, so to speak."

The oranged haired boy raised a brow, starting to see where Rikuo was going with this. He sighed, knowing that it was inevitable. Once Rikuo had his mind on something, there was no changing it. "And you want me to form my own Hyakki Yakō with the yōkai in Nanimori, right?"

Rikuo shook his head, surprising Tsuna. "No, I want you to make a Hyakki Yakō of whoever you think would be good for the group, human or yōkai."

Tsuna scoffed. "And what do you want me to do with them? Who knows how long it'll take for the other leaders to acknowledge you?"

Not letting the future deter him, Rikuo pressed on. "You can protect both humans and yōkai in the town, since Nanimori is still in Nura clan territory. It's quite far from here, so I need someone to watch over the area until I take the title, and become the Supreme Commander. I'll get them to acknowledge me, and Gramps always said he would pass the title down to me when I developed my yōkai powers."

Running out of arguments, Tsuna decide to accept defeat. And it wasn't such a bad idea; to protect his precious home, and the humans who are important to him, even if most of them were mean to him most of the time. "Fine, I'll watch over them." He grumbled, "Until you become the Third. But you have a long way ahead of you before yōkai like Hitotsume accepts you."

Grinning widely now, Rikuo slapped Tsuna's shoulder heartily. "Don't worry about it, it's my problem and I'll deal with him somehow. Just concentrate on making that family of yours. I'm relying on you to gather up powerful yōkai to protect Nanimori."

"Yeah, yeah," Tsuna grumbled, turning away as a faint red tint made its way across his cheeks.

A/N: Sorry I didn't post this last week, this turned out to be much longer than I thought it would take. Hence, this chapter being rather late. Also, I'm planning out another story, so I've been a little preoccupied.

Just to note, this is 'the end' (not really) and I will be doing a time skip. Use your imagination on how Tsuna and Nana got back home LOL