Chapter 10

Dino ended up staying much longer than Tsuyuki anticipated.

He had tried to get close to her, but Tsuyuki wouldn't have it. He vied for the position of an older brother figure and she absolutely refused to allow that. No one, not even Tsuna, the reincarnation of her older brother, could take Leo's place.

That being said, Dino was easily assimilated into the Family, though his bouts of clumsiness took away his sense of authority. The Sawadas excelled in judging one's character and Dino was the very definition of sincere. He did everything he could to make everyone happy.

While the man himself was pleasant, Tsuyuki didn't like how Dino's large presence seemed to push itself against her own. It felt like a challenge she had to answer to, but picking a fight with a Mafia boss was not a good idea. Tsuyuki ended up camping out at the Yamamoto household for the duration of his stay.

Tsuyoshi happily accepted the extra hand and extended his lessons on wielding blades. Tsuna, on the other hand, sulked and quietly complained about the less time they spent together. If she really thought about it, Tsuyuki hadn't spent that much time with her brother in over a week.

The guilt was eating at her, but Tsuyuki refused to go home unless Dino wasn't there.

The older blonde felt hurt about Tsuyuki's blatant rejection, but he understood. He was the one encroaching in their territory after all. The Sawada household was the Skies' Domain, but more specifically, the Skies of Sawada blood. Dino had no place there and felt mildly intimidated by the sheer force of Sky Flames naturally emitted by the trio.

The Sawadas were a force to be reckoned with.

Soon enough, it was time for Dino's departure and it was met with varying degrees of teary farewells. Tsuyuki stood at the back of the group with Reborn on her shoulder. The hitman had generously allowed his Flames to act as a buffer to Dino's natural Flames just so Tsuyuki could tolerate the blonde's presence.

Dino seemed to realize that this was his only chance at a proper conversation and immediately zeroed in on her after meeting with everyone else. She had to give it to him, the Cavallone Don was persistent. Even after her many death threats and minor acts of bodily harm, the blonde still tried to get to know her.

The man stood awkwardly in front of her for a minute before grinning brightly, "Thanks for letting me stay. Your family is wonderful."

Tsuyuki simply nodded her head in thanks, but spoke up when Reborn subtly nudged her, "Thank you for saying so. You make a good Don."

Dino visibly brightened as he laughed, "That's a relief. I figured you hated me or something after the car stunt."

Tsuyuki's eyebrow twitched at the memory. While she would never admit it, Tsuyuki was terrified when Tsuna was suddenly pulled into a red car. The last time her brother was in a car, he died. Up until that moment, Tsuyuki had done a damn good job at keeping Tsuna away from the deadly vehicles. It helped that the boy himself felt uneasy in them too.

When the Momoyokai attacked her brother just minutes after the incident, she had snapped. In the dark of night, another massacre took place. The Momoyokai Clan was obliterated, along with anyone closely affiliated with them. The Oyabun was mounted on the wall and a bloody crown was branded on his chest. The Murder Princess held no mercy that night.

~.~.~

Tsuyuki felt apathy wash over her like a cool blanket as she walked through the silent hallways. Her cold eyes looked over the bodies littering the floor, her bloodstained shoes walking on the corpses without care.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

Her heels met the tiled floors ominously with every step, her clothes clinging to her skin with the drying blood. Tsuyuki casually flicked her wrist, the blood on her blade flying off and splattering onto the already red walls. Her face was expressionless as she entered the last room.

"P-Please spare me! I s-swear on my-my life- oh god, I'm going to-"

The man huddled in a corner with a gun let out a terrified yelp as a knife lodged itself into the wall next to his ear, just barely nicking it. Tsuyuki quietly regarded the obese man trembling in his own pool of urine. Her voice was as cold and sharp as steel, "You know the rules."

"We didn't know the boy was a Sawada!" The Oyabun of the Momoyokai cried out desperately, his fat arms waving widely, "If we h-had known-!"

Tsuyuki mercilessly smashed her foot into his leg, fracturing his knee into pieces. She disregarded the screams of agony as she twirled her sai in her hand, her wide apathetic blue eyes staring unnervingly at the man, "That doesn't matter. You attacked him."

"Please, please, pleasepleaseplease!" The man blubbered, his terrified face soaked in sweat, "G-Give me another chance-"

Another ear-splitting scream ripped past his lips as Tsuyuki stabbed his hands with her sai and pinned them onto the floor. The blonde girl observed the sobbing mess on the ground before cocking her head to the side, her unnerving expression having yet to disappear, "You're the first Clan in Namimori I've dealt with in a long while… Perhaps they all need a reminder."

The man begged and begged for mercy, but his words made no difference. It was simply white noise in Tsuyuki's ears. They had hurt Tsuna. They dared to attack her brother. That could not go unpunished.

Before the man even realized what had happened, his throat bursted into a shower of blood. Tsuyuki didn't flinch when the red substance stained her face and shirt, painting her completely red in the front. The man gurgled before falling limply to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Silently, Tsuyuki pulled out the knife lodged in the corpse's neck before hauling the body up by its neck. She dragged it across the room and slammed it into the wall directly in front of the doorway. Picking up a couple of broken poles lying around, Tsuyuki mounted the body on the wall and pinned it there with the poles. The metal jutted out of the Oyabun's body awkwardly, but did well to hold him against the wall.

Tsuyuki found that the shining red blood running down the wall from the bleeding body was quite aesthetic. Wielding the knife she had previously used to stab the man in the throat, Tsuyuki carved a crude crown into the corpse's chest.

Once she finished, Tsuyuki took a step back and took in her work. Sucking in a deep breath, the blonde slowly let in out, her shoulders untensing with the action. Blinking, her eyes lost its apathetic look in favor of a more tired and bored one.

Tsuyuki stared at the hanging body, the stench of blood and other bodily fluids finally processing in her senses. She stared a little more and after a moment, she turned around and went back the way she came from, finally registering the amount of carnage she left in her wake.

She mentally shrugged.

It would serve as a warning, a reminder to everyone that the Murder Princess held no mercy for those who broke her Rules.

~.~.~

Mentally shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Tsuyuki pasted on a pleasant expression and shook her head towards the Cavallone Don, "No hard feelings."

To emphasize her statement, Tsuyuki held out a hand. Dino smiled cheerfully as he grabbed her hand and shook it firmly, unaware of the bloody massacre Tsuyuki was reminiscing beforehand. Seconds later, his smile dropped and he paled drastically.

Tsuyuki blinked at the sudden change in demeanor.

Dino's eyes nervously darted between her and Reborn, "I-I… Uh… This is… umm-"

"Yes?" Reborn asked pleasantly, but the sharp threat of danger was not missed by anyone. Tsuyuki was confused at how the air around them had changed without warning; no doubt Reborn was the cause. Dino swallowed thickly as he retracted his hand, "I… I think you should consider... er- investing in gloves?"

"Gloves?" Tsuyuki repeated.

His eyes seemed to darken as he stared at Reborn, "You're predominantly surrounded one color at the moment. A very noticeable color and until you grow a bit older, with more control, it's going to be easy for anyone else to notice."

Dino regarded the baby hitman cautiously, speaking lowly, "It would help if you drew back a bit…"

Reborn shielded his face with his fedora and without warning, drew back his Flames. Tsuyuki immediately froze as Dino's aura rushed at her, heavy and choking. She wanted to scream, but her voice was drowned out by the wave of orange Flames (not Tsuna's Flames, Tsuna's was warm and soft and safeandnotsuffocatingher-) forcing itself down on her. Tsuyuki choked back a gasp as her eyes widened with every second. No. Stop. No. Drowning. Drowning. Her lungs were being suffocated and she was drowning and- ohmygodshecouldn'tbreathe-

Tsuyuki's dormant Flames flared out brightly in response -notstablenotstableshewasunstableRebornHELP- and slammed against Dino's own, her hand twitching for a knife as the blue flames ate at the bright orange-unstabledestroythreattooweak- Tsuyuki's eyes darkened in wild anger, the only thing keeping her from attacking the blonde was the tight grip Reborn had on her hair.

Seconds later, Reborn's buffer was back (Sun-warm-safe-protect-herSun-safe), preventing Tsuyuki's Flames from overtaking Dino's. The icy blue flames flailed for a moment before Tsuyuki caught herself (shh-broken-not-broken-safe) and reeled it in tightly. She took in a deep breath and took a step away from Dino before viciously swinging her fist at the baby on her shoulder (nonono don't hurt Sun- he wasn't her Sun- yes he was- no he wasn't- he's Ours).

Unfortunately, Reborn deftly jumped out of the way and landed on the ground. He ignored the deadly glare sent his way and turned towards Dino who was still processing what had happened, "You get it, Stupid Dino?"

Dino let out a shaky laugh as he ran a hand through his messy hair, "Those are some scary Flames you got there, Yuki. I've never felt anything like that before. Not with other Skies at least..."

(Breathe. Think. Why was her Flame different? In. Out. Breathe. Her Flames, blue Flames… because...)

That was because her icy blue flames were a variation of Sky Flames known as Snow Flames… Tsuyuki took a breath as her mind settled into a more focused state... Her Flame… Snow Flames… The only reason why Tsuyuki was able to push back Dino was because the property of Snow Flames was meant to seal away others' Flames. But she was weak, her Fire unstable because… Why?

Tsuyuki didn't relay any of the errant thoughts running through her mind and only inclined her head forward in response to Dino, her body still twitching at random moments in time.

Learning her lesson, Tsuyuki stayed far, faaaar away from Dino until he left. If she coincidentally kept the same distance away from RebornSunReborn then, well, no one mentioned it. Tsuyuki should've known better than to rely on that bastard of a baby.

She'd gone soft with that constant presence on the back of her mind. Reborn was an asshole who did whatever he deemed fit and Tsuyuki would do well to remember that. Just because he somehow managed to become her Sun (and her damn Tsuna Instincts started to include him too) didn't change that fact.

With that in mind, Tsuyuki scooped up Lambo and I-pin (the bomber child that lived with them for some reason) and made her way home. Reborn had some training in mind for the boys and Nana had some errands to run. Bianchi was apparently restocking her supplies at some unknown location. That left just her to take care of the kids.

The two kids were mildly behaved as they settled in her arms, very much aware that Tsuyuki wasn't afraid to subtly strangle them into submission in her deceptively gentle hold. Sure that the two wouldn't cause her problems, Tsuyuki decided to go to a cafe that made the absolutely best dango she'd ever tasted. She figured she deserved some after dealing with the Mafia.

Settled at a table, the three happily munched on their chosen food. After a few minutes, Tsuyuki stopped eating in favor of thinking about her situation. Dino's presence had made her aware of her lack of restraint. The foreign Sky Flames had just simply brushed against her skin and yet she had the strong urge to end the source.

The feeling was disgusting. She had felt dirtied and no amount of showers would wash it off. The only time she felt remotely comfortable was if Nana, Tsuna, or Reborn were wrapping her in their cocoons of safety. That state of dependence left a sour taste in her mouth.

What if someone else far stronger than Dino came along? How would she cope? Tsuyuki needed a way to deal with this weakness, this vulnerability. She knew how to, Nana made sure her children were aware of everything regarding their Flames, but she didn't like that option.

Dino felt threatening to her because he had more Bonds supporting him, thus allowing his Harmony to overpower her. No doubt Dino had felt intimidated by Tsuna, who had an almost complete Harmony- with or without his knowledge. The easiest way to go about the problem was to get herself another Guardian to become more stabilized until she grew into her Flames. Her Flames were already unstable and Reborn's Resonance with her only tipped it to the other side. Her best bet was to anchor herself to other Flames.

No way in hell was she doing that.

There had to be another option to keep her from being so disadvantaged. She just needed to find a way.

"AhhH, Nee-chan, Egghead's leaving without per-pre-pim- without asking!" Lambo's voice whined loudly as he wildly waved a finger at the quickly receding figure of I-pin. Tsuyuki's eye twitched at the thought of leaving her dango behind before reluctantly grabbing Lambo and shooting after the wayward child.

Tsuyuki inwardly swore that she would give the kid no mercy once I-pin was captured. The kids should know better than to run off without informing her. She and Tsuna had taught them better.

Rounding a corner, Tsuyuki came to a skidding halt at the sight of I-pin standing in front of some food stand. Manning the stand was Reborn's weirdly dressed friend. Fon, if she remembered correctly. Tsuyuki wanted to cry, there was only so much she could deal with at one time.

Gathering her patience, Tsuyuki straightened her back and walked over to the two toddlers. Tsuyuki made her disapproval known in her voice as she called out, "I-pin, come here."

I-pin immediately flinched and bowed her head, "I-pin sorry, jie jie."

Ignoring Fon, Tsuyuki held out a hand, "Don't run off like that again. Come."

I-pin shot a glance at Fon before hopping into Tsuyuki's arms. Lambo moved over with a low grumble, sticking his tongue out at the Chinese girl. I-pin gave him the stink-eye in return.

Tightening her hold in warning, Tsuyuki finally turned her attention towards the not-baby and slightly bowed her head, "Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Not at all." A smooth, childish baritone answered from underneath the layers of clothing shielding his face from view, "I'm glad I-pin is so cared for."

Tsuyuki politely bowed again before turning around to leave. She immediately took a step back as a group of men in suits rushed passed her. Tsuyuki's eyes narrowed as she watched them go. Tsuyuki didn't recognize any of their faces and that meant one thing.

They were not registered and they were certainly not civilians.

Tsuyuki hand twitched, wanting to go after them, but her eyes fell upon the two children in her arms. She couldn't do anything with them still with her. Breathing through her nose in irritation, Tsuyuki moved to fish out her phone to inform the Committee. One of the other squads could deal with the annoyances.

Before she had the chance to move, Fon spoke out, "Allow me to watch over them for you."

Tsuyuki's cold blue eyes bore into the baby in front of her. Fon calmly gestured towards I-pin and Lambo, "I will see to it that they'll be safely returned to their home. I swear it."

That didn't mean shit to Tsuyuki, words meant nothing from strangers. However- though she didn't like it- Fon was an ally to Reborn and that meant that he wouldn't dare to go against his word. Reborn would hunt the not-baby down if Tsuna's Lightning Guardian was harmed. That and I-pin seemed to trust Fon with her life. The two seemed to share a history, something Tsuyuki had no interest in.

"They are a Famiglia chasing after a boy by the name of Fuuta de la Stella. I would like to help, but it's not within my… jurisdiction." Fon explained further when he realized the blonde wasn't going to do anything but stare at him intensely. Tsuyuki sighed through her nose before settling the kids onto the seats at the stand.

"Behave. Be safe." She patted their heads when they gave her questioning glances. She held Fon under a probing stare until she was satisfied that her Intuition sensed no upcoming danger before running in the direction of the men.

It didn't take her long to catch up to the group. It was hardly a challenge seeing as they were all unconscious and in a pile before a waiting Reborn. Tsuyuki walked over to him just as he called out, "It's safe to come out now."

Tsuyuki watched as a little boy crawled from within a doghouse in the front yard of a very familiar house. Wasn't this the home of the little chihuahua Tsuna despised?

Mentally shrugging, she turned her attention back to Reborn and raised an eyebrow. He pushed the tip of his fedora upward with a Leon-gun and gestured towards the boy who was shyly standing a meter away, "He's Fuuta de la Stella, the Ranking Prince. He'll be under Tsuna's protection."

"Tsuna's." She hummed, "Not the Vongola."

Reborn smirked but did not verbally answer. Instead, he turned towards the boy before indicating towards her, "She's the sister of the boy you're searching for."

"Sawada Tsuyuki." Fuuta smiled uneasily as he tightly gripped his large book before his expression smoothed out dazedly, "Thirteenth most likely to kill anyone who endangers her kin. Twenty second and one thousand twentieth in most infamously known alias in the Yakuza: Murder Princess and Kitsune no-"

The boy let out a terrified yelp as a knife flew past his cheek and imbedded itself into the wall behind him. Tsuyuki calmly walked past the boy to retrieve her weapon before turning away from them, "It would serve you well to keep information about myself away from the ears of others. Should my brother take you under his wing, none of the information you gather will slip past your lips to anyone other than those of Sawada blood and their Guardians. Should you fail to do this, you will no longer be protected."

In other words, Tsuyuki would kill the child herself if he compromised the safety of her family.

Not waiting for an answer, Tsuyuki walked off towards her home. The two males silently followed her, Fuuta nervously trailing after her and Reborn settled atop his head. Tsuyuki paid them no mind and quickly made her way to the Sawada Household, anxious to see if I-pin and Lambo were truly there as Fon had promised.

When she arrived, she was met with the kids playing tag and Fon peacefully drinking tea with her mother. Tsuyuki honestly didn't know how to react. One Arcobaleno was bad enough, but another?

Nana noticed her daughter frozen at the doorway and happily gestured for her to join them, "Ah, welcome home, Yuki-chan. You didn't tell me you were friends with such nice company. I hear he's close friends with Reborn-chan too."

While the words themselves were entirely innocent, Tsuyuki knew Nana enough to know that the woman was irritated at the lack of information provided to her. Nana was wary of having two Arcobaleno residing within Japan, let alone under her roof.

Tsuyuki shared her sentiments, but she couldn't do anything about it. Reborn was here on behalf of the Vongola and Fon was here on behalf of Reborn. There'd have to be a good reason to be able to kick Fon out without repercussions.

Mentally sighing, Tsuyuki greeted her mother and their unplanned guest. After a moment of consideration, she bowed towards Fon, "Thank you for returning them home safely."

"It was no problem at all." Fon replied kindly, "I enjoyed their company."

Tsuyuki sincerely doubted that was true, but didn't call him out on it.

Fon ended up staying for dinner, helping around the house while Tsuna and his Guardians were running around trying to protect Fuuta from the mafiosi. Tsuyuki managed to catch Lambo and I-pin before they followed after her brother and made them sit down at the table. The two children found themselves occupied with the worksheets Tsuyuki created for them in preparation of their first year of school.

To properly motivate them, she offered candy to the one who finished the quickest while having the most accurate answers. With them out of the way, Tsuyuki focused on helping Nana get all the food ready for when Tsuna and the others returned. They'd come to an understanding that their household was quickly going to be filled with Tsuna's Family.

Tsuyuki didn't like the idea of it, but didn't protest. Despite what she personally felt, the people that came into their lives were beneficial to her family. With his guardians at his side, Tsuna had quickly come out of his shell and confidently lead his friends through their Reborn-induced adventures. Tsuyuki wasn't going to ruin what progress he had made.

"Yuki-chan," Nana softly called, breaking Tsuyuki out of her thoughts. The woman kept her voice low even though Fon had excused himself to go to the bathroom, "Is there something I should be aware of?"

Tsuyuki raised an eyebrow questioningly. Nana furrowed her brows, "I know enough to figure out that the Storm Arcobaleno isn't here for your brother. Even Reborn has been giving you more attention, Yuki-chan. If you need anything…"

Tsuyuki reassuringly placed a hand on Nana's shoulder, "It's nothing I can't handle."

"I worry for you, dear." Nana sighed, "I won't question how you managed to Harmonize with the Reborn of all people, but with Fon-san here… I can't help but think-"

"It's alright." Tsuyuki squeezed Nana's shoulder gently, "I can deal with whatever comes at me. There's no need for you to worry about me, just focus on Tsuna."

The pacifier hanging from her neck underneath her clothes felt heavier than ever before as Tsuyuki watched Nana smile sadly at her. Nana patted her head with a light chuckle, "I'm your mother, it's my job to worry for the both of you, silly."

"I-pin finished!"

"Did not! You're a liar!"

Nana laughed fondly before waving Tsuyuki off, "Go on and take care of our little misfits, hmm?"

Tsuyuki silently nodded before leaving the kitchen, but stopped in the hallway just before entering the living room where the kids were. She stared blankly at the wall with a picture of her family hanging on it for a moment before speaking, "I want to ask a favor from you."

It was impulsive. A stupid idea that would only bring about more problems for her to deal with. But… But the advantages were also numerous. She couldn't miss this chance.

Fon hummed from his place on a table drawer next to the hanging.

Tsuyuki cocked her head to the side and stared at the baby before her, "I have Reborn to watch over Tsuna; I can trust the hitman to keep him alive. My concern lies with my mother. I cannot guarantee my mother's safety during the time in which school is in session where I am otherwise occupied."

"You wish for me to watch over your mother." Fon concluded, "It's understandable, but you must be aware that it is improbable that I will be able to."

"I know she can take care of herself, I just need the extra precaution." Tsuyuki continued as if he didn't reply, "You don't need to watch her, just secure the area around her at least once every week. I will pay you at any price you name, within reason."

Tsuyuki didn't really need the baby himself. What she wanted to do was take advantage of Fon's reputation and intimidate anyone from attacking the Sawada Household. It didn't matter that it would bring attention to her family, Tsuna's status as Decimo candidate already ruined any chance of anonymity.

If the Mafia heard that the Arcobaleno's Sun and Storm were acting as protection detail for the Sawada family, they'd be less inclined to send in an assassin, seeing as it would be a fool's errand. Heaven knows how much Tsuyuki had killed off in the past few months after Tsuna had been declared the Decimo candidate. With Fon's reputation acting as a sort of buffer, a safety barrier of sorts, it offered Tsuyuki more leeway in completing her work without having to keep her family under constant surveillance.

Everyone knew better than to cross an Arcobaleno, let alone two.

"And what of you?" Fon asked.

Tsuyuki blinked, thrown for a loop, "What?"

"What about your safety?" Fon clarified, "You're so focused on protecting your family that you've forgotten about yourself. A Sky shouldn't be left unprotected."

"That is irrelevant." Tsuyuki answered shortly, "What is your answer?"

Fon slowly took off his hat and glasses, revealing a face not unlike Hibari's. His ebony eyes bore into Tsuyuki, "You shouldn't write your own safety off as nothing."

Tsuyuki frowned before letting out a long sigh, "I'm not as reckless as to not think about myself in terms of safety. However, my family takes priority over all else."

"You care for them greatly." Fon stated with a curious look in his eyes, "But to what extent?"

Tsuyuki observed the baby for a moment before deciding to answer, "I am simply another line of defense amongst many others. They are my priority."

"I suppose that was too easy a question." Fon hummed, "If both were in danger, who would you choose to save? Your brother? Your mother?"

"My mother." Tsuyuki answered without hesitation. Fon blinked in surprise, "Why is that?"

Tsuyuki leveled Fon with an assessing stare before shrugging, "I've made sure my brother has been protected at all times. Along with the Demon of Namimori and his Committee, there is my own squad of trained combatants ready to defend my brother. Tsuna's Guardians are also at his disposal and Reborn is never too far away. If push comes to shove, the student body will rise to the occasion. While rare, children of the yakuza will always defend each other against foreigners when it comes to a fight. We are a connected community and when one of us is targeted, the rest will retaliate. There's also the Vongola Famiglia to consider. Vongola Nono wouldn't appreciate his Decimo being compromised and the CEDEF Don would be even less pleased."

"Impressive." Fon replied with consideration, "Does your mother not have the same protection?"

Tsuyuki sighed as she leaned against the wall, "My mother lost a lot of respect when she decided to marry a gaijin. To others, my father was just a foreigner who decided to knock up a respectable woman and left her and her children for dead while he traveled back to wherever he came from. My mother became estranged and I found it hard to find anyone willing to lay down their life for her. She had two Guardians, married to each other, but one passed and the other laid down his sword to take care of their child. While her Rain would undoubtedly come to her aid, I cannot guarantee that he hasn't been idle with the sword. I have Bianchi, but there's only so much Poison Cooking can do. In terms of protection, my mother is more vulnerable. I would willing fight to the death for her, but I won't always be there and I might not be there on time when it counts."

Fon did not answer. Instead, he stared at Tsuyuki with a look of contemplation, his dark eyes swimming with unspoken thoughts. A tendril of red flames reached out towards her and Tsuyuki forced herself not to react as it wrapped around her, assessing. After a moment, the flames retreated and Tsuyuki allowed herself to relax. She didn't think she'd ever get used to that feeling.

"I shall accept under one condition." Fon finally spoke after another minute of silence. Tsuyuki leaned her head forward, prompting the baby martial artist to continue.

Fon smiled genially, "I would like to act as your mentor for a time."

Tsuyuki blinked.

…

… Huh?