Edit: it's all up now, including the extra~ KeiGinya, NagiRokudo, thor94, and TripOverFlatSurfaces correctly guessed who the "guard dog" was even without my prompting. Good job~

Reborn had finally stopped disappearing for lengths at a time and hung around the house more. Whatever he had to do was done by then. As Reborn was more lax during the times he was gone, Fon had freer reign to commandeer training time. So as Tsuna's close-combat prowess increased, his education on the more intricate workings of the mafia stagnated. Since Tsuna was progressing well, Fon didn't feel bad about cutting down on his training and working on I-pin to give Reborn more time to catch Tsuna up. Not that Reborn needed Fon's permission to take more time. He would've done it even if Fon wasn't okay with it. Tsuna was Reborn's student first.

Tsuna was right in predicting new residents. And just a week after Fuuta, too.

The school day started off as it did normally. Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Fran took their seats in the back of the classroom while the rest of the class chattered about like squabbling birds at a feeder. The bell rang, yet no one bothered to quiet down until the teacher arrived ten minutes late. That was when normality began to deviate. Nezu was usually late by five minutes.

Nezu took his spot in front of the board and coughed into his hand to clear his throat. With an air of importance, he announced, "Class, we have three new transfer students."

As soon as the word "transfer" was out of his mouth, the students burst into discussion, completely ignoring the teacher's useless attempts in regaining control of the class. More new students? They already got three within just two months. Well, it made sense that any transfers of their year would be placed into their class. Theirs started off with the smallest amount of students—probably because the administration knew that Nezu was a horrible teacher and wished to put as few students under his responsibility as possible. Other classes were maxed out already.

Giving up in quieting down his unruly class, he chose to pretend that he had and waved towards the door, signaling the waiting trio to enter. Curiosity piqued, the gossipers silenced themselves and avidly watched the opening door.

A pineapple entered.

Well, no, it wasn't a pineapple, but the boy's hairstyle certainly resembled one if the abnormal blue color was disregarded. A feral looking boy and a teen with a barcode on his cheek trailed after him.

Pleased with his perceived hold over the class, Nezu puffed up. "As I was saying, these are our new transfers." He gestured toward the class. "Introduce yourselves."

The boy who was probably the leader stepped up. "I am Rokudo Mukuro. These two are Chikusa Kakimoto and Joshima Ken." Then, wishing to demean the teacher, Mukuro smirked and said, "If you'd like to ask me anything, now's a good time."

The class exploded in overlapping questions, and Nezu was unsuccessful in trying to quiet them down again. Pleased with the chaos, Mukuro laughed. Fran turned an admiring eye toward him.

"Keh, these children are loud," Ken complained.

"You're the same age as them," Chikusa pointed out.

One girl's hand shot up. Everyone else stopped trying to shout over each other to listen to the girl who rarely spoke. Mukuro waved a hand in her direction, gesturing for her to speak. "Why Namimori? If you looked into the school even a little bit, you'd know that we have a demon residing here." The others nodded and murmured in agreement. "There's another school close by that's much more tame."

Mukuro smirked and sat at the teacher's desk, angering Nezu even further, although the teacher didn't act out in fear of making it obvious he couldn't rein in his class. The two other transfers followed and took posts on either side of him. "Oya? Yes, I know about the skylark. It'll be fun to play with him, no?" He received disbelieving stares. He laughed again. "Other than him, there's someone here that I'm interested in meeting. My associate told me he attends this school, and I have confirmed that. In fact, he's in this room right now."

Interested murmurs started up. Someone that he was interested in? But no one in the class was all that special, other than the Italian transfer and their school's best baseball player. However, Mukuro wasn't looking at either of them. Instead, he was looking at… Tsuna? Why?

Tsuna stood up slowly, gaining the riveted attention of his classmates (and the teacher). "The secret's out, I guess."

Many whispers arose from the simple statement. "Could it be...?"

"Mukuro is…"

"Another love affair. Squee~" Tsuna tried to ignore the star-struck girls excitedly swapping their attention between him and Mukuro.

"I'm sorry to have kept this secret for so long, but I didn't think it mattered so much," he continued.

More whispers ensued. "Why is Tsuna...?"

"I'm so right! I'm so right!" And now the girls were hopping in place while hugging each other…

Tsuna pointed dramatically at a student who was trying to ignore the rest of the excited class by staring intently into a book. "Sasuke-kun is the heir to Uchiha Confectionaries!"

The girls sullenly sat back down. "Aw… Not right."

All of the other students shouted, "What?!"

Immediately, the students around the new target whipped out their phones and took several pictures of him. And the rumor mill got another boost… and the school newspaper journalists in the class were scribbling frantically into their hastily drawn notepads.

The broody student sharply put down his book and glared at him. "What? How dare you give away private information?"

Tsuna kept up his air of bravado, desperately trying to keep suspicions off of himself. "Admit it. You were just delaying the inevitable. You knew it would come out sooner or later."

"Why, you…" Sasuke stopped abruptly as a thought struck him. He laughed darkly. "Well, if you're releasing my secret, then I'll reveal one of yours."

Tsuna froze at that. It can't be he knows that I'm...

"Did you think I wouldn't notice? I work as an executive, as you may be aware."

The sound of writing increased at the admittance. Tsuna got more nervous.

"I know where our ingredients come from. And I know…"

That I'm the heir of Vongola? No, a purely legal company wouldn't know that! Then he knows I'm the missing prince of Merith? Do our partners even know I'm gone? Tsuna, panicking, tried to go through all of the possibilities. Does Uchiha Confectionaries extend into Australia? Does he know about the emus?!

"…You're Vin Jameson, aren't you?! The head of Le Château Royal Wine Company!"

Absolute silence reigned for several moments.

…Go with it.

Before anything further could be said, Mukuro cut into the rather dramatic conversation. "Kufufu… as entertaining as this is, I think the teacher is about to snap, and as interested as I am in the skylark, now's not a good time for me."

Indeed. Nezu was an unflattering shade of red and reaching toward the phone, probably to call in the Disciplinary Committee. Everyone quickly organized themselves into the perfect image of an ideal classroom. All except for the three transfers that still commandeered the teacher's desk.

Mukuro slowly stood up and walked to the back of the class, the two others dogging his heels. They claimed three empty seats and settled, willingly giving control back to Nezu, who calmed down with visible effort and resumed teaching, all the while attempting and failing to forget about the disastrous introduction. If he really had resorted to calling in the Disciplinary Committee, he would've been bitten to death, too—for being an incompetent adult. Hibari didn't take too well for pretenders, so Nezu had to do his utmost best to keep up the illusion that he was an outstanding teacher in order to keep from being viciously bitten. (And of course, it never occurred to him that he could simply get a job at a school with a less intimidating disciplinary system.)

When the bell rang, the students streamed out of the room, still subdued from fear of Hibari. That didn't stop them from making and passing on rumors, though. The new gossips going around centered on Sasuke's revealed title as Uchiha heir ("That Uchiha? So that's why he's always so broody!") and another person interesting enough to garner three transfers into the class just to meet the person (but the name of the person was never revealed. Yet another mystery to dig into…).

Tsuna thought it was strange that no one thought it was odd that a thirteen-year-old was running a wine producing company. Actually, he never confirmed that, did he? In that case, he came out on top. He managed to avoid calling too much attention to himself and he got a small measure of revenge on Sasuke.

A couple days ago, Sasuke stole a contract that Tsuna had negotiated for with a local juice producing factory for days and was close to securing. Tsuna would've been fine with that and graciously let it go, but Sasuke then sent a mocking letter addressed to Vin Jameson—the alias that Tsuna had negotiated as—for the unfortunate conclusion of the contract and that Uchiha Confectionaries would benefit from its new partner and thank you for your cooperation. Jerk.

Today's incident just happened to work in Tsuna's favor. He smiled, satisfied. Sasuke-kun is still a jerk, but… I guess I can pity him, Tsuna decided as he watched as Sasuke was hounded by the school reporters and curious gossipers.

At the end of the school day, Tsuna and Gokudera watched Yamamoto practice baseball while Fran went off to do something else.

The first time he lost sight of Fran, Tsuna panicked and turned the school over to search for him. He was unable to find him after a full thirty minutes of searching and was about to summon Natsu to get more help when Fran suddenly appeared behind him and prompted him to scream in surprise. Once he had an eye on Fran again, Tsuna calmed down and did a thorough comb-over of the school to make sure there was no errant destruction—with Fran in tow. He did not any sign of mischief and took Fran home, relieved. He was late in making dinner. Tsuna should've checked the gym, where Fran had hauled in half a ton of dirt and planted an indoor garden of ivies along the walls.

After several more occurrences of Fran disappearing and Tsuna being unable to find proof of Fran messing with the school, Tsuna became accustomed to Fran going off on his own periodically. He no longer went into a frenzy to locate Fran. And of course, Fran played in areas of the school that Tsuna never thought to look. The cafeteria now had a painting of a fiery lion that spanned the entire length of the floor, the principal's office had a section of the ceiling that Fran controlled with Mist Flames to make illusionary snakes drop down and cause a scare once in a while, and several other places of the school were altered, all for Fran's momentary amusement. Then he got bored and played around some more.

Today, Fran sought out the pineapple transfer. He sensed Mist Flames in him. Maybe he could teach him more tricks. Snakes got boring after a while and the fairy prince's tutor was disappointingly deficient in Mist Flame knowledge—at least about teaching how to harness it.

Mukuro found Fran first. He and his two lackeys approached Fran from behind while the green-haired boy was digging around in the flowerbeds. "Kufufu. Found you."

Fran looked up and saw the person he was searching for. He got up from his crouched position and dusted off his dirt-covered knees. "Found you, too. I thought I'd have to find some pineapples to lure you out, which is harder than I thought it would be."

"Why pineapples?" Mukuro muttered. Louder, he said, "Pineapples don't grow here. It's much too cold for a tropical plant."

Fran made an "oh" motion. "Ah, right. This isn't Merith. I thought that since you like pineapples so much, you'd come if I had some."

Mukuro tilted his head quizzically. "What makes you think I like pineapples?"

Fran pointed up to his head. Mukuro immediately caught on to the implied statement.

Mukuro chuckled. "My hair does not resemble a pineapple, little boy."

Fran simply hummed and continued dusting himself off. He'd definitely have to take a shower once he got home. "Aren't you the same age as me?"

"No. I'm fifteen, and from what I know, your class should be around fourteen."

"Why are you in a class a year younger than you? Were you held back?" Fran asked bluntly.

Mukuro sniffed, offended. "No. I'm here for business, not for school. What does it matter if I'm in the right year for my age if I'm going to leave in a couple of days?"

"Going where?"

"That's why I was looking for you—well, one of you. Take me to Sawada Tsunayoshi."

When Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto left the baseball field to track down Fran and head home, they spotted him not far from the outside fence with the new transfers. Confused with the situation, Tsuna approached the small group. "Hey, Fran, made some new friends?"

"Not really. The pineapple is very violent. Ah." A trident that materialized from nowhere was stabbed into Fran's back. Tsuna was just barely able to stop himself from screaming because he didn't see any blood and Fran appeared to be fine. "Would you mind taking that out? It hurts very much," Fran monotonously complained. More than fine.

Mukuro acquiesced after digging the prongs in an inch deeper. The trident dissolved once it was withdrawn. Now with both hands free, Mukuro bent into a bow and greeted, "Hello, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Or should I call you Tsunayoshi la Alsveith?"

By then, Gokudera and Yamamoto had taken stands next to Tsuna. Gokudera immediately got into attack mode when he heard the transfer utter the prince's name. "Please stand back, Tsuna-sama!"

Yamamoto just laughed, uncomprehending of the situation. "What is this? A new game?"

While Gokudera growled at Yamamoto in the background, Tsuna ran through possibilities in his head. His mother may have sent another person for him to look after like she did with Fran, but Mukuro seemed a bit more volatile, and she wouldn't push any real danger onto him. Then Mukuro found out who he was on his own. But how? He was broken out of his thoughts when Mukuro walked closer to him, leaned in, and whispered in his ear, lips barely brushing against his cheek. "I seek political asylum."

Gokudera stopped growling. Sensing that the topic was much more complex than first perceived, Tsuna motioned for the entire group to follow him home. He was definitely not blushing from the close contact just seconds before. Not at all.

They all trailed after him like ducklings after their mother. Tsuna was leading as the mother duck. Gokudera was next, walking while having a small squabble with Yamamoto behind him. Mukuro strolled after Yamamoto, with Ken and Chikusa in line after him. Chikusa kept Ken on a tight watch, making sure the dog-like boy didn't go chasing after that cat, or that squirrel, or that car… Fran was at the very end, watching the individual interactions and making illusions for the dog-boy to chase without being noticed by Chikusa.

Tsuna went through his customary guest setting, steeping fresh tea and pulling out small snacks to place decoratively on a tray. "Here," he said as he put the tray onto the coffee table.

"Thank you," everyone murmured as they each claimed a teacup and a small plate of cookies.

"Thanks, Tsuna-nii!" Fuuta smiled at Tsuna as he was handed a plate with an extra cream biscuit.

"You're welcome," Tsuna replied in general. He ruffled Fuuta's head as he walked by on his way upstairs, probably to make more rankings. Tsuna had no idea how such a huge book fit in Fuuta's jacket. He didn't question it. Some things were better left alone.

Natsu loped up the stairs and followed Fuuta, probably hoping to steal a cookie. Tsuna wouldn't give him any, thinking that they might affect his Flame body negatively. But Fuuta had been sneaking him some of his delicious snacks for a while now, and nothing bad has happened yet.

As the head of the group, Tsuna started the conversation. "So, Mukuro, why did you need to meet with me? You seek political asylum for yourself and your associates, is that it?" It seems that such meetings were common to him. First Fran, then Fuuta, and now Mukuro. He'd put the issue of how he'd known his hidden identity aside for now.

"Kufufu…" Mukuro nodded.

"Yes, but why? I'd like to know what types of people seek a haven in my kingdom."

The mood turned noticeably dark. "Our family was not… very kind to us. So I… acted out."

Tsuna sighed. "If this is teenage rebellion—"

"It's not! It's much more than that. We—" Mukuro stopped, hesitating, but continued, "—we're from a mafia Famiglia."

For the next hour, Mukuro explained his unfortunate circumstances—from the time he spent as an imprisoned experiment starting in his early childhood, to making an escape and killing all of the so-called scientists that tortured him for years, to being captured by the Vindice and escaping, to catching rumors of the prince of Merith in Japan (yet another thing that would never be traced back to Fran), and hoping the remoteness and defensiveness of Merith would keep away the enemies he made while escaping. "And then I will crush the maf—"

What Mukuro was about to say next was cut off as a pit of black spontaneously rent the air. Three heavily bandaged people stepped out of the swirling portal, wielding heavy chains. Mukuro, Ken, and Chikusa froze at the sudden appearance of the unidentified figures. Ken whined anxiously. In unison, the three people raised their chains and threw them at the escapees. The collars attached to the ends wrapped around their throats too tightly, cutting off a consistent stream of air and reducing them to choked gasps. The chains were yanked, pulling them off their feet and making breathing harder. So these were the Vindice, and they'd take the escapees back to Vendicare…

Tsuna could glimpse a glimmer of hopelessness and resignation in Mukuro's eyes. Because of it, he made a decision that changed his fate.

"You can't take him," Tsuna boldly stated. "I am Tsunayoshi Sawada, the to-be Tenth Vongola Boss. He's my Mist Guardian."

A shocked silence overtook the broken room. Mukuro was surprised as well. He'd know that Tsuna was Merith's prince, but he wasn't aware of Tsuna's status as Vongola heir. This might cut into his plan of revenge against the entire mafia world.

Gokudera looked ready to object and speak out, but Reborn stopped him. He wanted to see how this would turn out. Best case scenario, Mukuro really does become the Mist Guardian. The worst, Mukuro is taken away.

The Vindice guard holding Mukuro's chain turned back to Tsuna. "Is that so? Regardless, he broke the rules of the Vindice. It is not so easily excused. We do not care if you are down one Guardian. Find another if you must. It has been done before." After all, the only irreplaceable position was the Sky. It would be hard to find a suitable replacement for a Mist so skilled, but it was not an impossible task.

This feels like a court hearing. In that case… "He pleads insanity," Tsuna replied.

Mukuro was stunned at what the small thirteen-year old was saying. "What—?

Tsuna cut in over Mukuro's exclamation. "I'll take responsibility and keep watch over him."

"I'm not—" Mukuro was interrupted again.

"Yes you are. Shut up," he told Mukuro. Tsuna turned back to the Vindice. "It's the Estraneo's fault he became like this," he unflinchingly blamed. "If they were not allowed to experiment on easily-influenced children, Mukuro would never have gone insane and the massacre would never have happened. You are supposed to stop heinous crimes from happening within the mafia, yes? Then where were you?"

The shadowy guards were still. He had a point. The Estraneo situation and the resulting Lancia mess were on their heads if the Mist boy really had gone insane from the unauthorized experiments that they should've taken care of. The leader spoke up. "Fine. Keep him on a leash and prevent it from happening again. There will be no second chances." Hopefully he made the right call or else Bermuda would be inconsolably furious.

"Can you release those two as well? They were with him," Tsuna added on hopefully.

The Vindice growled. "Don't push us too far." Regardless, all three chains were withdrawn. Ken lied on his back, panting heavily for breath. Chikusa had a little more composure. Mukuro got up once he felt his lungs were not attempting to collapse. The three shadowy figures of the Vindice phased away through the disappearing portal without another word exchanged, taking the oppressing air with them.

The remaining people stayed still for several minutes, letting their minds catch up with what just occurred. Once Tsuna's heart stopped trying to beat itself to death, he stood up and helped the now ex-convicts onto the couch. He got them each a glass of water, putting away the tea tray while he did so.

Tsuna sighed from exhaustion and belated relief. "So, it looks like you're staying with us," he concluded.

Tsuna intended to keep his promise to the Vindice—there was no way he wanted to risk another visit—so he wanted Mukuro to stay close to him, but his room was already quite full.

"I feel like our house is a hotel," Tsuna commented as he tried to figure out the problem. There was no room left. "Ah, this is hard."

"Unless you want to sleep in the living room, there's no way to fit in three more people," Reborn told him.

"Then what do I do? Hm… I should've bought another house," Tsuna lamented.

"I have that taken care of."

Tsuna perked up. "Really?"

Reborn nodded, letting his fedora fall over his eyes to cover their laughing depths. "Yes. You also won't have to worry about being seen when training. The new house has a vicious guard dog that lives nearby. He's very territorial. He'll keep people away from the area."

Apparently, Reborn had commissioned the building of a house weeks before Mukuro had arrived. Reborn somehow cut the entire construction period by more than half the time it should've taken and it was all framed, built, and polished off within two weeks. The whole group was going to see it right now, walking the entire distance. It was on the outskirts of Namimori so that there was a lot of space and a smaller chance of people coming close. Reborn's alleged guard dog should help with that, too.

Tsuna led the group with Reborn sitting in his arms and telling him in which direction to go. "You must be rich, huh, Reborn? You didn't care about spending all that money on building a house, and on such short notice, too," he said.

Reborn pointed to the left, and the group turned in unison like a school of fish. "Yes, I am rich. No, it's not from my wallet. Why would I spend that much money on something not for me?"

Tsuna blinked. "Eh? Then where'd you get the money from?"

Reborn smirked. "You need to be more vigilant with your bank accounts. What if someone steals from them?"

Ah… so it was his money. Reasonably it was only right since it was for his benefit. Still, Tsuna couldn't help but talk back. "Like you did?" A green gun was shoved into his face. "I didn't say anything," he rescinded.

Leon transformed back and stole a cookie from Reborn's snack bag. Natsu, walking on Tsuna's left, attempted to jump up and snatch one, but he awkwardly stumbled while making his jump, missing his mark widely. Reborn turned his attention back to Tsuna. "As I was saying, you need to be careful with who has access to your money."

"But I didn't give you access…" Tsuna muttered moodily.

Reborn ran right over Tsuna's petty complaint. "And make sure there are no discrepancies. Haven't you audited before?"

Natsu positioned himself to jump again but aborted the motion when Reborn threw him a small biscuit when Tsuna wasn't looking. "Gao~" he purred contently.

The house… was not a house. It was a mansion. That definitely cost a lot of money, Tsuna thought to himself. It was much larger than the average two-story houses that made up Namimori's residential district and definitely had enough room to house the group and many others that may end up coming in the future. But…

"Reborn…" Tsuna sighed, exasperated. "That's not a guard dog."

Hibari stood in front, glaring at the mansion that had popped up within a matter of weeks. He was unable to deal with it until now because whenever he attempted to approach the developing structure, some issue in Namimori would come up. (Reborn had worked tirelessly to keep the destructive teen away. He'd enjoyed causing havoc to draw Hibari from his goal, and Fran had occasionally joined in.) He slid his glare to the new inhabitants, spotting the lynx kit from earlier.

The baby carnivore was interesting, but not yet a threat to him. He'd seen the little lynx playing with strange orange fire while he was on patrols. The lynx shaped the abnormal flames into animals and made delightful destruction—within bounds, of course. Hibari would be angry should Namimori be damaged by careless play. The residents of Namimori were admittedly abnormally obtuse or oblivious, but there was no way Hibari would overlook the kit and ignore a possible budding challenge. Perhaps he'd roughhouse with the lynx and help him grow up…

"Close enough." Reborn shrugged. Hibari was actually better than a guard dog. He guaranteed there would be no trespassers. The glint in Hibari's eyes caught Reborn's attention, but he chose not to comment on it. It's Tsuna's fault if he did not pick up on potential dangers in his surroundings. They had that lesson in Australia already.

Tsuna prevented Hibari from destroying the mansion by inviting him in. Then Hibari said he'd take a room, too. Tsuna didn't know why he'd want one considering he lived pretty much right next door, but he didn't ask. (Hibari wanted to stay close to the lynx kit. That pineapple herbivore made his instincts ring, warning of danger.) So before doing anything else, they went into the innermost corridor of bedrooms. For some reason, no one else made a motion to claim one before Tsuna did. But once Tsuna announced his decision, there was a sudden rush to take the room next to his; Tsuna was at the start of the corridor, where there was only one room next to the one he chose.

Four people collided as they tried to get to the door first. Each was pushed back a couple of feet from the impact. Hibari drew his tonfas, Mukuro materialized his trident, Gokudera reached into his jacket for a bomb ("But we're indoors! That's dangerous!" Tsuna protested), and Fran slipped to the back to strike sneakily from behind. A fight was about to break out; Tsuna could tell. And it did. Hibari flashed forward, aiming to hit Mukuro. That first movement prompted the others to jump into action. A shouting contest ensued as well. Then, for a reason that Tsuna completely missed, Fran leapt out of the scuffle. "You can't touch him," Fran announced as he wrapped his arms around Tsuna's shoulders and drew him close, completely ignoring Tsuna's attempts to get away. "He's my toy."

Hibari raised his tonfas. "He is a small animal under my protection." And a potential… well, Hibari didn't know what the lynx would grow to be, but he did manage to garner his attention while he was still a kit. He'd be even more fascinating once fully matured. Hibari would be patient and wait… or take action and hasten his growth. Either way, the lynx was his.

Mukuro laughed and swished his trident, aiming the three tines at Hibari. "What are you two talking about? He's my doll." No way was he going to risk losing his guaranteed freedom. And Tsunayoshi was too cute to lose to that barbarian, enamored puppy, or blasé child anyways.

"Tsuna-sama!" Gokudera shouted out.

And all Tsuna could do while the fight bubbled, broke out, and escalated was helplessly stay under Fran's hold as he deflected violent illusions and brute force with his own retaliating Mist creations.

In the end, Reborn solved the problem by stepping in and leading Tsuna to the master bedroom designed for him in the middle of the corridor. Mukuro and Hibari took the rooms next to Tsuna and Gokudera was right across. Yamamoto predictably claimed a room next to Gokudera's. Fran's was across from Mukuro's and next to Gokudera's, diagonally across from Tsuna's. Ken and Chikusa roomed next to each other on Mukuro's other side.

Tsuna was rather surprised by this arrangement. He'd thought that they'd try to get as far away from each other since they didn't seem to get along very well. Instead, they contradicted his prediction and congregated together. Maybe he was wrong in his evaluation?

As Tsuna puzzled this out, Hibari, Mukuro, and Gokudera glared at each other behind Tsuna's back. Fran went off to wreak more havoc.

The rest of the day was spent moving personal belongings to the mansion. They left the furniture since Fon, I-pin, and Bianchi were staying in the first house. While moving the boxes, Ryohei showed up—he was on his afternoon run—and offered to help, which Tsuna accepted gratefully. When all of the things were moved and put away, Ryohei ran back home, where Kyoko was waiting with dinner set up.

Once everyone was settled in and had dinner, Tsuna retired to his room to take a shower. His muscles ached from going across town so many times in a row. He locked the door and picked out pajamas. He entered the bathroom attached to his bedroom and finally settled into his shower routine.

Hibari was the alpha, because he was undeniably the strongest person of Namimori. And as the alpha, he had to take care of those in his pack, which included the baby lynx. He remembered that the small boy was always picked on when he was much younger, and one day he suddenly disappeared. He was back now, though, and Hibari had to make sure he wouldn't leave again, or he'd be seen by others to be a bad alpha.

Kits need help washing their fur. The lynx was still a kit, so he needed someone to take care of him. Hibari could do that.

A few minutes later, Tsuna startled as his bathroom door was abruptly opened and Hibari entered. He flushed red as Hibari looked at him through the opaque shower curtain, naked under the spray of the shower. How'd he get in? I'm pretty sure I locked my bedroom door…

Outside, the aforementioned door hung precariously on broken hinges.

"Hibari-san, what are you doing here?" he asked nervously.

The intimidating prefect put down the bundle in his arms onto the counter, revealing a towel and a change of clothes. "Shower," he said succinctly.

"But Hibari-san, you have a bathroom connected to your room…" Tsuna pointed out.

"It's broken."

The bathroom in Hibari's room was indeed broken—with a suspicious dent in the bathtub spout and cracks all over the tub itself.

"But we just moved in. How is it broken already?" When Hibari didn't respond, he sighed, "Fine, fine…" He didn't ask why Hibari simply didn't use one of the unclaimed room's bathrooms. Maybe this was a Japanese bonding custom he never learned?

Ah, the door was already broken down. The trident that was about to be used to cut the door dissolved in wavering Flames. That meant the skylark got there first.

Oh well. The door was (smashed) open, and that meant he was welcome to go in.

Right after Hibari entered the shower, Mukuro entered the bathroom, the same as Hibari had just minutes earlier. The trio stared at each other, Hibari and Tsuna standing under the spray and Mukuro standing at the door.

"Mukuro, what are you doing here?" Tsuna asked. Wow, this was… awkward. And compromising, now that he thought about it.

Hibari glared at the intruder, speaking with his eyes. I claimed him first. Go away.

Mukuro ignored the silent warning and chuckled, putting down his own paraphernalia next to Tsuna's clothes. "Taking a shower. Mine's broken."

Mukuro's bathroom had slashes that cut open pipes and allowed a steady stream of water to flow out. Fran, who Mukuro had assigned to make illusory stand-in pipes to limit the wasted water until the pipes could be fixed (because Mukuro admittedly had gone a little wild with the destruction and he knew that dear Tsunayoshi would not approve of wasting that much water), simply shook his head and muttered, "Predictable pineapple."

Luckily, Tsuna's bathroom was large—at Reborn's insistence that the mafia boss must have the absolute best.

Shrugging, because this situation definitely could not get worse [unless Gokudera insisted he shower with Tsuna, too. But he was preoccupied in his own bathroom with Yamamoto ("My shower's broken! Hahaha!")], Tsuna allowed Mukuro admittance. He turned away from the two tomcats hissing at each other. And so the rivalry begins…

"Oops, dropped the soap." The two competing males immediately stopped displaying their dominance and turned their heads in Tsuna's direction—and flushed a bright red.

"How is it that four bathrooms are ruined already?" Reborn asked in a quiet voice. Tsuna shuddered. It was scarier than when Reborn was directly aiming a gun at him. At least then he could see the threat.

"Well, I don't know how Yamamoto-kun's bathroom broke. Or Hibari-san's and Mukuro's, for that matter," he added on. "Mine broke when Hibari-san and Mukuro started fighting in it." He'd had to finish his shower in one of the empty rooms, giving Gokudera an eyeful as he rushed to get in the shower and minimize the drips all over the floor. Later, Yamamoto found Gokudera "sleeping" on the floor and carried him to his bed.

Reborn hummed in thought. "Why were they in your bathroom?"

"Um…" Tsuna blushed. Why had he let them stay?

Now amused, Reborn's silently threatening aura dissipated. "Is that it? It's to be expected, I guess. Teenagers," Reborn muttered and shook his head. "You're still paying the bill for repairs."

"Hitsugaya is expected to arrive in Namimori in a few days," Reborn casually informed Tsuna. "He's been in Japan since last week."

Tsuna spluttered. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"And what would you have done?"

"I—I would've—" Tsuna stuttered, unable to think of a viable option on the spot.

"You have no plan. I gave you several weeks' notice and you still don't know what to do." Reborn smacked Tsuna's head with a Leon-fan. "Bad boy."

"Hey!" Tsuna rubbed his head. It hadn't hurt that much, actually. "Then do you have a plan?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

When Reborn didn't elaborate, Tsuna prompted, "Well?"

"What? You expect me to tell you? Hmph. You're going to have to wait like everyone else."

"Everyone else? Like Gokudera-kun?"

Reborn smirked disturbingly, sending chills down Tsuna's spine. "Yes…"

Tsuna had a feeling it would involve more than the usual group.

At this point, neither Hibari nor Mukuro have any romantic inclinations toward Tsuna. It's more of a feeling of competitiveness against each other to get Tsuna's attention, safety (from the Vindice) for Mukuro, and duty to protect for Hibari. But I wonder what Gokudera and Yamamoto were doing in their shower... Seriously, I don't know.

Happy(?) April Fool's (because generally everyone expects something on April 1st and not a couple days before it). I cut the chapter short (by about 2k words). I originally planned to use really bad grammar (but that would hurt me more than you), and then I changed my mind and thought I'd post the first chapter of a new story (but then I'd feel obligated to update that), and finally decided on posting just a shard of the actual chapter (the larger part, though). I hope I made you all sufficiently irritated. The rest will be posted on actual April Fool's Day. Or maybe tomorrow. Or when my sister finally updates one of her stories… Don't be so suspicious. Also, there is vague BL in the next part. And probably an extra (requested by Amaya Ishimoto) about 1k words long.

Uh… Itachi? He… betrayed the Uchiha family business… and… joined the rival Akatsuki Sweets Corporation.

I think I made Tsuna just a little too selfish. He's quite willing to throw his classmates under the bus to get himself and his friends out of trouble. But then again, he has no attachments to them—if anything, he'd have a grudge against them for his early miserable childhood.

In other news, my hair has gotten too long and the dogs keep sitting on it. Very painful.
To hellzboy: I can sit in 90 degree (Fahrenheit) weather and be perfectly fine while everyone else complains. The heat never bothered me— …Curse you, Frozen. Reversely, I hate the cold (and air conditioners). I would like to have my hair cut, but my mom would cut it too short (that's happened too many times for me to risk again), my sisters are unwilling to do it for me, going to the barber sounds ridiculous (really, $20 for a haircut? I'm not well off enough to spend money like that), and I don't trust myself to do it well (I might as well learn to, though). You're right that Ciel and Sebastian are coming up soon (probably next chapter or the one after), but not in the way you think~ Those rumors were circulating in certain parts of the world, not necessarily where Ciel went.

To Madam Bakunawa: Chrome is still going to come, just not canonically. Don't worry~ I haven't forgotten her. I already have plans set. Vague clue that you probably won't get: I like an idealistic world.

Posted: 3/23/15

Reposted: 4/1/15

Extra chapter: Ichigo, Ciel, and the Dead Man

(Warning: slightly gory, if it can be called that)

By request of Amaya Ishimoto

Ichigo ran, tired from continuous minutes of physical exertion. Tsuna had disappeared—again—while under the watch of a full circle of castle guards. He'd tell his dad they were incompetent and needed more training. But for now… WHERE IN MERITH WAS TSUNA?!

He reached for his sword, which had Zangetsu's soul stone embedded in it. He drew a small measure of Zangetsu's power to enhance his senses. He couldn't use all of it since Zangetsu was not… normal and so Ichigo couldn't control all of his power without his mind breaking apart.

There! Ichigo caught a whiff of Tsuna's sweet scent and followed it to the emptier part of the village. He didn't lose the trail even once as he tracked it. After carefully but hurriedly nosing around, he finally spotted Tsuna. But something was wrong. An obviously drunken man was approaching Tsuna.

"Hey, kid, wanna make some money?" he heard the man say.

Tsuna looked adorably confused. "Money?"

Oh, no way in Hell this was happening. Not now, or ever if he could help it. Ichigo rushed forward.

"—boy, and it ain't hard either. Just come here and take off—" The man stopped his lewd suggestion abruptly when Ichigo smashed his foot into his shin harshly, the sickening snap making it obvious there was a break. The man screamed and bent down to clutch his broken leg, at which point Ichigo drew up his knee and broke his nose as well. A couple more well-placed hits knocked the man out short-term, enough for the molester to stay under until Ichigo could get officers to take him.

He then gathered Tsuna up in his arms, making sure he wouldn't disappear again. He held him, scolding him all the while, the entire way back to the castle, where he raised the alarm once Tsuna was safely in his room and under a battalion of guards.

"Come, Sebastian."

"Yes, my lord."

The drunk man woke up, groggy and with a severe headache. His body was sore all over from the hits by that little orange-haired delinquent. He'd report him for attacking an upstanding citizen—as soon as he could stand up. He groaned in pain as sharp throbbing crippled his leg. Ah, that's right. His leg was broken.

Raising his head a bit more, he caught sight of two approaching people. One was smaller than the other, but both wore clean, neatly pressed clothes. The taller one was walking behind the shorter boy. He must be a servant. Then that one is a noble? How rare to see one here.

"It took you a while to wake up, longer than I thought it'd take. The junior guard is still inexperienced, but I guess I shouldn't underestimate him," the boy casually said to him.

"I heard he's being considered to be the prince's personal guard," the tall man commented.

"That too," the boy agreed.

"Excuse me, but can you be decent people and help me? I'm right in front of you!" the still mildly drunk man demanded.

The boy turned a coldly glinting blue eye at him. "Ah, yes, about that…" The alley seemed to get darker all of a sudden. "You won't be needing help. Not now, not anymore. Sebastian."

"Right away, my lord," the dark-haired man cheerily said as he bowed to the boy. He reached into his coat and withdrew… cutlery knives? What for? "If you still haven't caught on to the situation," he spoke happily as he slowly walked closer and closer, "you're not leaving this alley alive." And he swung a hand, releasing three silver knives. They sliced quickly through the air and embedded themselves into the flesh of the prostrate man.

The man screamed. He was definitely sober now. Adrenaline flooded his veins, trying to provide enough stimulation to get him to run to safety. Unfortunately for him, that was impossible. Two more knives were thrown. They pinned his feet into the concrete floor, preventing escape. "Now…" The butler's eyes glowed red eerily. "Why don't we have some fun?"

That empty alley was working against his favor now, as no one was around to save him from being repetitively stabbed and cut.

"You may stop," Ciel told Sebastian, and the butler stood back. He looked over the numerous cuts appreciatively. "Good work."

"Thank you." Sebastian walked toward the bleeding man, careful not to get any of the dirty blood on his shoes. He ripped out the knives from the man's body and wiped them off on the drier parts of his clothes. Once they were more or less clean—although he'd certainly polish them once they got back to the castle—he stored them in his inner pockets.

"P-please… help…" the dying man gasped out.

"Oh? Still alive? Too bad for you. Mercy will come… in approximately seven minutes," Ciel told him. And for those seven minutes, Ciel and Sebastian watched the man bleed out. His futile attempts to stem the flow of life out of his body did not help except to extend his suffering by a few more seconds. When the man finally died, Ciel raised a hand in mock surprise. "Dear lord, it's a dead body," he said in a shocked tone as if he'd just stumbled upon it. He took a step closer, pretending to look more closely at the cadaver's face. "And wait a minute, isn't this the rapist we were investigating and looking for?"

"Yes indeed," Sebastian amusedly indulged his master.

Ciel turned away, dismissing the corpse disinterestedly. "He must've angered the wrong person. How unfortunate for him." The young noble shook his head in false pity. "Well, there's nothing that can be done now. We'll report this to the king. Case closed."

With one final glare that belied the pretension, the duo walked away, slipping out of sight as the first of the officers Ichigo called arrived on the scene.