I might be mood swinging oh no. I'm so sorry for the sudden change into crazy angst after random comedy. I hope it was not tooooo dramatic :/ Please continue reading and review!

Chapter 10

Keriko keep her tears from running. Her salivary glands and sinus start to hurt as she holds them in. Her pitiful sad reflection provides her heart little comfort as she constantly reminds herself that she's the one in the wrong. Gripping the sides of the sink, Keriko sniffs roughly before wiping her eyes on her sleeve, secretly hoping that the redness could be blamed on pollen allergies later on. Why on earth did I over react so badly? How could I just doubt my friends like that? As much as they weren't your friends for that long, they have proved themselves haven't they? Frowning deeply, Keriko narrowed her eyes and grit her teeth, guilt engulfing her like a tsunami.

The scene changes and the three boys are in the disciplinary room, absolutely baffled and confused. Gokudera had his forehead creased together as he tried to decipher the human feelings he was not very well-versed in. Yamamoto rubs the back of his nape slowly, and his heart feels heavy and burned, crinkling in like charred paper. "Huh seems like we got something worse than being friendzoned." He tried to joke. Lastly, they all turned to look at Tsuna, whose back was towards them. He stood frozen, expression unseen, facing the door. Suddenly he turned around and at that moment everybody dreaded some devastated expression with teary eyes. But no, Tsuna looked absolutely indifferent. Hazel eyes seem to have become cold like petrified wood. Looking at his comrades, he said, "Well, seems like actions do show more than words can. What can we do? We'd be even more horrible people by forcing her to join. It seems like I haven't been able to change the Vongola like I wanted to." He bowed a little to his superiors, a small flash of anger and hurt coursing through his eyes when he looked at his grandfather and dad. With that, he walked out.

The day passed uneventfully for everybody, though tense emotions ran high.

The next morning, Keriko woke up with her eyes hurting. She had only managed to fall asleep an hour and half before. Planning her apology and approach had been the only thing on her mind that night. She had rummaged through her books to find Communication and Argument Skills and How to Stay Calm in Tense Situations. Who knew that she would be using this collection of "boring and useless books" from her grandmother. Nevertheless, she was as ready as one night's worth of research and (sorta) ready to face the day.

It's the journey to school, and a dangerous one at that. Despite living at the edge of the town, the alley into Disciplinary Committee President's house almost immediately enters the main road leading up to the school gate and at least half of the students take that route, including the Vongola 10th Familia. First up, is Sasagawa Ryohei, who, well, was not even there at the time.

"An EXTREEEEEME good morning to you Keri-chan!" Came the loud burst of a morning greeting. The Boxing captain jogged in time to Keriko's large stride. She smiled a little uneasily and whispered back a greeting. After pondering a moment Keriko asked, "Ne, Sasagawa san, how would you, apologize… To someone who means a great deal to you but you had no idea until you fought with them?" Keriko shook her head after her question since it was obvious that he would only shout "In an extreme way!" and run off. Much to her surprise though, Ryohei slowed to a walk and looked very seriously into Keriko's eyes. He said, "I've fought with Kyoko many times. The first time it happened, I was extremely shocked. It was after getting angry over a petty fact that she couldn't punch, instead of being proud of the fact that I could and it helped me protect her. I struggled to apologize because I felt so guilty and weak, but I finally did, and she immediately showed me the happiest smile I'd seen. This is an important experience. Just be extremely sincere, and if you mean so much to them as they mean to you, then I bet they'll forgive you! ALRIGHT I FEEL SO PUMPED UP NOW THAT WAS AN EXTREMELY GOOD SPEECH." Throwing out a few fast punches he sped away.

Left behind in a billow of dust, Keriko felt enlightened and walked to school with more determination.

Tsuna looked up towards the looming shadow above him, trembling. "G-good m-m-m-morning…. Hi-Hiba-Hibari san." Tsuna whimpered. From the corner of his eye, he could see that everybody had evacuated the classroom, Yamamoto was at baseball practice and Gokudera was… somewhere. Snapping back to attention, the black aura coming from the protective older brother seemed even more potent.

"You… Keriko was awake at 2 in the morning poring over books about how to communicate. You're her friends here right. How is it that you managed to make the most sociable person who can even hold conversation with ME to have trouble apologizing to YOU." Hibari rambled. Wow, that's much more than usual, a corner of Tsuna's mind mused. Then again, did what happen yesterday cause her that much trouble? Tsuna felt guilty. "Sorry, the Ninth held a conference in your room yesterday talking about a protection tag team for me without notifying me. Apparently only Yamamoto was involved in the plan. So Keri-chan felt betrayed and stalked I guess, then she left." He mumbled, still feeling the slight pang of hurt from her words.

Let's take a look into Hibari's mind now, shall we.

"Yamamoto, that idiot. Never thought he'd be someone to do things like this, seems like he can be much slyer than I had experienced myself. Perhaps he anticipated this? That Keriko would run away from the seemingly untrustworthy mafia society. Could he be trying to keep Keriko from Gokudera, since that'll make me feel better? Wait Kyouya, you're going off tangent here. He's not doing this for you. Goodness, is that sorrow I see in Herbivore's eyes? Huh, truly a plant eater, my Keriko's meaner than you thought, though what she told you was probably true. If he can't take a bit of betrayal himself, this organization is going to go down with him as the leader, that's why I gotta kill him fast."

Reaching his conclusion fast, Hibari pulled out his Tonfas and swung down. Screaming, Tsuna dodged away and ran off, Hibari hot on his heels. Suddenly at the end of the corridor, Keriko appeared. She turned and saw the two, made a constipated looking face and shouted, "NII-CHAN STOP I GOTTA TALK TO TSUNA."

Hibari saw the carnivore start to appear on her face and humphed, slowed down and kept his tonfas. Walking away, he gave a last glance back and thought, "I guess it'll turn out fine, time to find the omnivore."

Panting (more like wheezing) heavily, Tsuna crawled up to Keriko and made out a "Thanks.." The atmosphere became slightly awkward when Keriko did not reply but instead was half glaring half trying to shun away from Tsuna's sight. She finally managed to open her mouth and say, " Us. Rooftop now." Quickly she left up the stairs with the students in the corridor staring at her in awe.

"Sorry-" They both started.

Keriko looked shocked. "What are you apologizing for? I was the one that took our friendship lightly, overreacted, and ended up betraying your trust… I'm really really sorry for that. I didn't pause to think straight, I didn't relay my feelings properly and maturely. I shouted at you in front of your boss?" Keriko groaned at the memory and covered her face with her hands.

"Pfft. Hahahahaha!" A voice came from behind them. There was Yamamoto, sweaty from practice. He walked up, somehow seeming very intimidating and distant. "Seriously? And that's all there is to it? Not a bad apology so I accept. Just that, next time, please don't get ahead of yourself." He seemed cold, and shrouded by a mist of distrust. Keriko felt the freezing splash of guilt that seeped through her stomach walls and settle in her gut. Lowering her head, she bowed, "I'm really, really sorry Yamamoto, I don't deserve to be your friend but I definitely want to. I admit my mistake and I know that even though you were part of the plan it was only for my good and to test my limits. Please, please, accept my apology."

Laughing again, Yamamoto just said, "I already did, didn't I?" Keriko grimaced and looked at him, smiling a little.

Unsure of the undefined dabs of emotion she could see in his eyes, Keriko turned back to Tsuna, only to see him smiling happily at her. He stepped forward and grasped her arm tight. "I'm so glad you decided to come back to us, it would be such a pity to lose someone who can relate to so many of us, including me. I hope that our friendship will last long after this, Keri-chan." Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Keriko bowed her head and sniffed, "Thanks, Tsuna." An assuring whack on her back startled her as Yamamoto pushed them towards the door. His radiant smile was back and Keriko felt at peace. "Now then, time to eat lunch and go back for lessons!" Shouted Yamamoto, opening the door for them.

That was very very complicated and longwinded. Wait till this is over and it'll be time to speed up and be happy! Please read and review. It jumps genres sometimes I think I want to change that. Yamamoto is supposed to be mysterious. Is he mysterious? And here I portrayed Hibari as the type with an extremely noisy mind.