Thank you for the wait. Enjoy and sorry for errors. I liked this simple chapter, so I hope you like it too.

Disclaimer: Do not own KHR

Chapter 10

The next morning came quickly after Tsuna had fallen asleep. He woke up from another nightmare. Tsuna raised his head and saw the children still asleep around him. He looked at the clock. It was 5 in the morning. Tsuna thought about trying to go back to sleep, but he felt like he couldn't. Sighing, he rises and lifts the small calf off his chest. He placed him next to Futa. He tiptoed across the room to get clothes to change into before going out of his room. He decided to start cooking the lunch bento, so he headed down stairs. Today, he decides to make steamed meat buns. He began to grab the ingredients out of the cabinets and fridge. As he cooked, he took his time. It was still early, but he knew his Mom will be up by 6 to cook and make the bento. Today he wanted her to relax. He wanted her to have more time in her morning. Maybe she can spend time with the kids today. Mama appeared from the stairs. She looked to the kitchen to see Tsuna cooking. She smiled and stepped in.

"Good morning Tsu-kun!"

"Morning Mom."

"Did you get enough sleep?"

"Yes, I just woke up early." Mama stared at Tsuna for a moment. She still looked worried. 'Tsu-kun couldn't be hurting again, could he?'

"Would you like help this morning with breakfast?" She asked with her warm and mothering smile in place. Tsuna looked toward her and smiled back.

"No thanks. I want to surprise everyone this morning."

"Alright."

Tsuna continued to make the meat buns until he heard screaming, yelling, and laughter signaling everyone was awake now. Tsuna smiled as he listened to them from the kitchen. He started to work on the pancakes he planned to make.

"AHOSHI!"

"Bwahahaha!" Tsuna smiles up to the ceiling as he images Lambo running around the room as Gokudera chases him. Fuuta was most likely trying to calm them down and get them to stop fighting.

BANG!

"Waaaa!"

"Stupid cow! Don't run down the stairs!"

Tsuna walked out of the kitchen to see a crying cow on the floor. Gokudera comes down the stairs scolding the small calf for probably tripping down the stairs.

"Lambo-kun, you need to be careful," Tsuna says as he lifts him off the ground. Tsuna tried to calm the calf down as he listened to him try to explain something, probably what happened upstairs. Tsuna nodded and listened with a small smile on his face.

"Bww I wus and bawadawa *hiccup* and I waaa."

"I see I'm sorry that happened but try to calm down. Tell me, where do you hurt?"

"Hewe" Lambo points to his forehead. Tsuna placed a cool cloth on the soon to be bruised. Tsuna has had practice over the years of healing his own bruises and pains.

"Feel better? Ready to eat breakfast?" Tsuna asked Lambo as he sat him in his spot at the table. The little calf looked up quickly nodding his head. Lambo was a happy eater so Tsuna had already known the answer.

"Good!" He left to get a plate together for the baby cow. He placed the stack of chocolate pancakes in front of Lambo and left to get Gokudera a plate. The silver haired teen sat at the table quietly, watching Tsuna go into the kitchen.

"Here you go," Tsuna says as he placed the plate down. He sat with his own plate seeing Lambo already blowing and tasting his cooking.

"Ummmy!" He yelled.

"It's very tasty," Gokudera said as he too took a bite. Tsuna smiled as he continued to eat his own. Mama walked into the dining room smiling down at the boys. Fuuta right behind her.

"Morning Fuuta-kun."

"Good morning, Tsunayoshi-san," he spoke so properly to him it shocked Tsuna, but not just him. Everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing and stared at the little brunet. Lambo looked unstartled because he was eating happily.

"You don't have to say my whole name like that. Say what you feel comfortable with." Tsuna smiled down at the boy.

"..." Fuuta stared at the teen before nodding. "Okay, Tsuna-nii." Tsuna smiles and serves him his breakfast. Mama smiled at the boys as she began to eat as well.

"Tsu-kun, it's delicious!"

"Thank you."

"What? You made this?"

"Tsuna-nii, cooked?"

"It really is amazing, Tsuna-nii."

"Yes, I did and thank you. I woke up too early this morning, so I decided to make breakfast. I made our bento today as well."

"Wow! I'm looking forward to it."

xxxxxx

They headed out saying their goodbyes to everyone. Gokudera led the way as they walked to meet Yamamoto. Tsuna followed behind. He didn't know why he woke so early, but he began to worry that he won't function well in the classes. He could already feel the heavy weight of the day that he was about to endure. Tsuna and Gokudera were around the corner of Yamamoto's house when Gokudera turned to face him.

"Are you going to be okay today? Do you need to skip today? We can go to my place and wait out school there. Hibari might not try finding us… but even so, we should be fine if you need to." Tsuna stared in shock at how he knew how much today was going to be for the brunet to endure.

"N-no I'll be fine. Re-really." Tsuna looked away and stared toward his knees. He knew his stuttering, just the slightest, sets Gokudera off. He always tried to pretend he did not stutter, but it feels more obvious lately. They stood there in silence for a moment, but Tsuna feared what the other would say or yell at him. Probably something like 'Don't pretend you're stupid! Do you think I can't tell when you're lying?' Tsuna began to twitch as he waited for the louder teen to yell but nothing came. Final, Tsuna looked up to the silver teen just as he turned away and began walking again. Tsuna followed after him believing the older teen had believed him somehow.

"If something happens at school, don't be scared to come to me about it. Okay?"

"Um o-okay. I mean, I hope nothing does happen, but if it does, I'll tell you." Gokudera nodded his head as he walked into the restaurant.

"Morning boys!"

"Morning Yamamoto-san," Tsuna said as he walked to the bar where he worked on cutting the fish for the day. "Is Yamamoto-kun almost ready?"

"Should be, but that boy. His mind is always else where." Tsuna's laughed and Gokudera looked like he wanted to put in his own comment, but Tsuna interrupted him.

"He's just a distracted soul. He's still just trying to figure out what he wants." Gokudera stared at the brunet but soon Yamamoto came bouncing down. He said good bye to his dad, and they headed out. The boys headed to school. Tsuna listened to Yamamoto talk about his excitement for baseball. As they were making it to the front of the school, they heard a voice from behind them.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, good morning!" The voice was soft and sweet. The trio of boys turned to see an elegant brunet coming closer. She walked up to the group of boys.

"Kyoko-chan, good morning," Tsuna said as the girl was now in front of them. Kyoko was smiling brightly as she stared at all the boys.

"Hey monkeys," Hana spoke as she walked up from behind Kyoko.

"Don't call us that!" Gokudera screamed as he glared at the taller girl. She laughed at him for being easy. She obviously enjoyed making Gokudera angry.

"What? Can't handle the truth?" She snickered to the boy as he looked baffled by the girl's comeback. Suddenly, a loud scream was heard from behind the boys. They turned to the scream that had gotten louder and louder.

"EXTREME! Hey, Kyoko!"

"Onii-san!"

The group of boys turned back to the brunet girl as she smiled and waved at her brother. They saw a short haired male teen. He was taller than Yamamoto, had bigger muscles too. His body had bandages wrapped around his arms and fists, and a bandage on his nose. The teen was running up to them and stopped next to Kyoko.

"How was your run, Onii-san?"

"It was EXTREME!" He yelled at the smiling girl. The others in the group all threw their hands onto their ears to prevent so much damage to their hearing. The older teen seemed to not care how loud his voice got, or the damage his loudness might cause to their ears. They looked at the unfazed girl as she continued to smile at her brother. Tsuna worried that her hearing might already be damaged.

"That's great, Onii-san." She turned to the group of boys and introduced everyone to her brother. "Onii-san, this is Tsunayoshi-kun, Yamamoto-kun, and Gokudera-kun. Everyone, this is my onii-san, Ryohei. He wasn't able to come the first two weeks because of illness, but he got better over the weekend." She smiled brightly as she looked at the boys. Ryohei was looking at the boys with a questioning and perhaps apprehensive look. Ryohei looked from boy to boy, and when Tsuna felt his eyes on him, he stared back. Ryohei looked down to his little sister and placed a hand on her head like she was a little kid. Tsuna assumed because she is a little kid in his eyes. He knew once his three new siblings grew up, they would always be little kids in his eyes. Tsuna looked at Ryohei some more because he had such a protective vibe around him, and Tsuna respected that a lot.

"Thank you for taking care of Kyoko while I was away." He spoke in a quieter voice than before. Perhaps, he was speaking more seriously. "I heard EXTREMELY a lot about you boys!" He screamed to the boys who were only a foot away from him. "IT'S EXTREMELY NICE TO MEET YOU ALL!"

Whack!

Tsuna watched as Ryohei was sent flying across the pavement. Hibari had appeared out of nowhere. He now had Ryohei pinned to the ground, and Tsuna stared wide eyed at them.

"Herbivore, you are disturbing the peace. As punishment, I will bite you to death." He growled to the extremely loud teen.

"Haha! An EXTREME fight so early in the morning! Let's do it!" he yelled back causing everyone to flinch at the volume, except Hibari. He seemed determined not to show any weakness to the other teen. Tsuna saw Ryohei send a quick right to Hibari, making the teen jump back. and allowing Ryohei to stand up.

"Haha! Nice dodge!" Ryohei said as he got into a boxing stance. Hibari glared at him with evil intent, but Tsuna saw the excitement that was in his eyes too. Tsuna suspected he was excited about a fight. Hibari shot off and went after Ryhoei with his tonfas. Ryhoei dodged, and Hibari blocked his punches. They continued to attack each other, and Tsuna began to worry.

"Please, stop fighting." He pleaded the two older teens. They paid no attention to him as they continued to attack one another. Gokudera got mad at them. He didn't know why, but he was upset that they ignored the small brunet. He jumped in between them as they continued to fight ignoring the addition to the brawl.

"Listen to Tsuna-sama!" He screamed at them.

"Now, now everyone. Let's all just stop attacking each other." Yamamoto interjected as well. He had a forced smile on as he watched them fight. He seemed to not like the fighting and perhaps even the emotions behind it.

"Onii-san, stop picking fights."

"He started it, and a man never backs down from an EXTREME invitation to a brawl." They continue to fight. Tsuna stares in shock at the conflict, and the scene they were making. He saw many students and even teacher staring as they passed them by. Obviously, they were too scared to interfere with Hibari around. Even without Hibari there, they would not know what to do because they never had to handle conflicts before with Hibari around. No one causes trouble more than once if at all because of the demon perfect. Tsuna began to get anxious and he was worried. He stared at the boys in front of him as they continued to fight and shove each other. Finally, he ran and grabbed Hibari's elbow as he was about to hit Ryohei in the stomach with his tonfa. Tsuna blocked the attack of Gokudera's as he was running to punch Hibari from behind. Everything froze at that moment. Almost like their flames to fight ran out.

"Please stop fighting. We need to get to class, and we are causing a scene." He said in a calm and quiet voice. They all relaxed and looked at the small brunet.

"Haha, you're right!"

"Okay."

"Extreme point!"

"..."

Hibari glared at the teen for a moment as they all grabbed their things to get ready for class again. They turned to go.

WHACK! "Don't order me around again, or I'll bite you to death." Tsuna rubbed the back of his head as he felt a bruise form again.

"He'll pay for doing that, and no one ordered him to do anything," Gokudera growled as he glared to the perfect walking away. Tsuna placed his hand on the silver haired teen's shoulder.

"It's okay. At least he left." Gokudera looked to the sweet smile the brunet had on his face and looked back to Hibari with a glare.

"He still shouldn't have done that. As punishment, he doesn't deserve his lunch today."

"No, we can't do that. He needs his lunch, Gokudera-kun."

"Fine." Gokudera caved in to Tsuna's persuasion.

"Let's go before he returns," Tsuna said as he leads their group inside.

"Extreme, I have to go now. See you at lunch, Kyoko."

"Okay, Onii-san. Meet us in our classroom 1-C."

"Right!"

They walked to their classroom and went to sit. Tsuna could hear the other students in the class whispering. He caught words like "Did you see?" "Wow" "That can't be for real" "No way" "Them" "Hibari-san" "Lies" "Dame-Tsuna" At that last person's whisper, he felt the atmosphere in the room turn cold. He sighed. He was not sure how he felt about the name, but he could see Gokudera and Yamamoto begin to stand, clearly unhappy. I knew the kid who spoke was now wishing to take back his words. Before any screaming and possible deaths could occur, the teacher walked in to start class.

xxxxxx

It was lunch time now, and Tsuna was ready for it. He didn't feel like he was functioning well today. Maybe because he was ready to go home already. Today, the teacher had announced they will be starting a project. After lunch, they will be teaming up with someone from another class to work on an Economical Project. Tsuna sighed 'partners'. That word continues to echo in his head as he looks to friends sitting on the roof with him. Yamamoto was opening up the sushi he brought. He seemed okay with the project. Of course, he was more social than Tsuna was. He was popular and liked. Kyoko and Hana seemed happy about the project. Kyoko was excited to meet someone new, and Hana was just looking at the impact on her grade depending on the partner she chooses. Tsuna was worried about who he would get as a partner because he didn't want to bring them down. He knew how bad he was at anything.

"I can't believe we have to work with that other class. I'm going to have to deal with some idiot who is probably annoying."

"Now, now, this is a great way to make a friend, Gokudera." Tsuna saw Yamamoto have a small smile and slightly sad eyes. He noticed Tsuna staring at him. "It is too bad though. It would have been fun if we got to partner up, huh Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna smiled back at the athlete and then looked back at the girls. Hana was talking to Kyoko about wanting to partner up with a smart girl and not a guy who would bring it all down. Ryohei had been quiet so far. They had asked him to try his best at being quiet since Hibari was on the other half of the roof. Tsuna was worried still. He didn't want Ryohei to be uncomfortable and restricting himself, so the small brunet promised to find them a new spot tomorrow. Ryohei had stared at the caring boy curiously. He was amazed at how caring he was for a person he just met. Tsuna noticed how Ryohei was constantly staring at him. He felt uncomfortable with being watched. Finally, the older teen stopped, and lunch was close to over. Gokudera was fighting with Yamamoto still over something Tsuna was not listening to. Suddenly, Kyoko stood up while Tsuna was finishing packing Hibari's lunch.

"I'm going to deliver Hibari-san's food." Ryohei stared at her curiously.

"I'll go too!" He screamed accidentally.

"Shhhh!" They all said.

"Sorry," he said quieter, but he was still watching his sister. Tsuna could feel how uneasy he felt about letting his sister go, especially by herself.

"I don't think so Onii-san. You might accidentally start a fight with him."

"I'll go with." Tsuna raised off the ground. Tsuna could tell Ryohei was worried about her, but if he went with her, the boy might start a fight with the demon. Seeing as the two teens had looked excited to start a fight anytime. Tsuna knew she would be in some danger. Ryohei stared at the boy for a long time, well it sure felt that way.

"That's Extremely alright!" He said as quietly as he could which was still louder than they were comfortable with, but they let it pass. The two volunteers headed off to the other side of the roof with the demon perfect's lunch. The two boys who had been talking moments ago were now quiet. They sat there on the roof motionless. Hana found it weird that the monkeys were so quiet and tamed now. She wondered what was wrong with them as she looked from one to the other.

"What's wrong with you Monkeys? Can't function with out your overseer?" she asked trying to push a button, but Gokudera only glare at her with no more reaction. They looked like they were thinking about something. She could see Yamamoto staring down at his bento box while Gokudera stared toward the left watching birds fly in the sky. After another moment of silence, Yamamoto looked over at the silver haired teen.

"So, Tsuna seems better today."

"Yeah," he muttered back. "Seems like it."

The other two heard them but didn't say anything. They felt like they would be intruding on a private conversation. Soon the two shorter teens arrived, and everyone began to talk and laugh again. They acted like that silent moment never existed. The bell rang signaling lunch time was over, and Tsuna could only hope class would end quickly. He wasn't ready for this project or new people.

xxxxxx

They were all in their classroom waiting for the other class to come in. While they were waiting, Tsuna could feel his nerves get worse. Suddenly, they heard the other class coming down the hall. They could hear their voices and the chatter coming from them. Their teacher walked in followed by the teens. They looked from student to student probably looking for a potential partner.

"We are class 1-D, and we hope we can get along. After you have formed your groups of two, half of the groups will move into the 1-D classroom. Class 1-C bring your partner to your own desk after you have decided on a partner. Alright, start talking and thinking of ideas as you pick your partners."

The mass of students began to flood further into the classroom. Many of the girls immediately went to Gokudera's and Yamamoto's desk while many of the boys went to Kyoko. Tsuna watched how even their own classmates went to them. Tsuna watched how Kyoko and this black haired girl began to bond as they talked. They were laughing and talking about a lot of nonsense it seemed. It was obvious they were clicking and ready to be partners. The boys around her gave up finally and began to look for a partner as well. Yamamoto saw a teammate from practice and rushed over to him to talk. They talked about practice and how excited they were for it. The girls must have given up once Yamamoto only listened to his new friend. Gokudera had been sitting in his chair watching everyone go crazy. Every now and then, he would glare at the girls who were constantly squealing and cooing at him. Finally, they began to pair off, but they still continued to bother him.

After a while, the teachers finally called out to see if anyone still did not have a partner yet. It seemed almost everyone had one. A few kids still lingered, and they began pairing off quickly. Gokudera and Tsuna were all that was left from class 1-C considering they never actually got up to look for anyone. Class 1-D had one student left. He was tall but thinner than Tsuna. The student looked angry as he looked from Tsuna to Gokudera.

"Alright, Ito-san pick a partner from them." The angry student stared at them for a bit longer, obviously displeased with his options.

"Fine, I guess the delinquent." He muttered making Gokudera angry.

"Oi! Who taught you manners?" Gokudera yelled. He glared at his new partner who he didn't approve of. They clearly hated each other already. Tsuna sighed, already imagining horrible scenarios that Gokudera will leave behind after murdering his new partner. The class 1-D teacher looked to Tsuna as he watched his friend try to resist becoming a murderer.

"Young man, we are sorry, but your partner is not here today. If he does not show tomorrow, we'll let you join another group here," the teacher spoke.

"A-alright!" Tsuna stuttered. Gokudera and Yamamoto gave him a small smile. They each knew what they were hoping for.

"Alright! These two rows will follow me to the other room. We will then go over more of the specifics of the project." Tsuna felt himself finally breathing as he saw that his friends did not have to leave to the other room. He had feared he would end up being alone.

After the other groups left the room, the teacher began to give them papers and explaining the project to them in more details. Tsuna tried to take notes and get as much info as he could because he might have a partner tomorrow and have to explain everything to the person. Tsuna was already horrible at understanding and writing his own notes, so he was not sure what he was taking notes on. He guesses he might try asking Gokudera for more information.

The groups had the last half of class to communicate with each other. Tsuna saw Gokudera sleeping while his partner was yelling at him to wake up and work. Yamamoto and his friend seemed to be talking about baseball still. They probably didn't know more about the assignment than Tsuna. Hana and her partner looked like they were hard at work. Hana probably screaming out orders to the shorter girl. Kyoko and her partner were loud. The other girl was constantly screaming and cooing at every little thing they talked about. Tsuna could see Kyoko was being absorbed by the other's character.

xxxxxx

The school day was finally over, and Tsuna was relieved the day was over with. Kyoko and Hana were packing their things up while Gokudera was grumbling about his annoying partner. Yamamoto walked up to Tsuna and smiled sadly at him.

"Sorry, I have practice today, so I'll have to head out first."

"No problem, Yamamoto-kun. See you tomorrow, and good luck at practice today." Tsuna smiled back at the taller teen before he headed to the door. As he was walking out, Hibari appeared.

"Yo, Hibari!" The baseball player said as the demon perfect walked in.

"Herbivore, don't make me bite you to death."

"Haha, you wouldn't if you still want sushi for lunch tomorrow!"

"Want to bet." Hibari got into a stance with his tonfa out as he glared at the boy.

"Nah. I have to get to practice." He left as Hibari came toward the group.

"You are crowding again. If lunch had not been good, I would bite you all to death." Hibari dropped the bento box on Tsuna's desk and began to walk away.

"EXTREME! How was class today Kyoko?" Tsuna began to sweat. He knew Hibari was in a bit of a foul mood already. Ryohei screaming was not going to help at all.

"Herbivore. Too loud."

After saying so little, Hibari attacked Ryohei and they began to brawl again. Sighing, Tsuna grabbed his things and began to head out. Gokudera close behind. The girls were following a little less reluctantly. Ryohei notices them leaving him and said bye to Hibari. He yelled back to the demon.

"Let's continue this fight later."

xxxxxx

They made it to the separation spot where the girls headed in a different direction. Tsuna was waving bye to the other three when Gokudera got a call. Tsuna watched as he took the call. Once he hung up he came back to Tsuna.

"I'm sorry. I have to go. The job I interviewed for wants me to come in today for a tryout. I have to go. Bye."

"Alright, see you."

They walked in different directions, and Tsuna was walking home alone. Tsuna was used to this more often than anyone, being alone. It wasn't something really new to him, but lately, he was never alone. He continued to head home. Once he was inside the house, he called out.

"I'm home."

No one answered him. He wondered about that. The hallway's lights were off, so he flicked them on. Lately, his life had been noisier than this pure silence. He walked into the kitchen and saw a platter of cookies on the table. Next to it was a note. "Tsuna" was written on it. He picked it up and read it.

Tsuna and Gokudera,

I went out with Lambo, Ipin, and Fuuta. We are off to see your father for a few days. We are going to officially adopt Ipin and Futa. Since you have classes, we decided you would be fine for a few days. I left food in the fridge, and I promise to call tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Love,

Mama

Ipin

Fuuta

LAMBO!

Tsuna sighed and smiled at the scribbles at the bottom of the page. It seems they will be gone for a while. Tsuna headed up stairs and looked at his phone. He had a text from Gokudera.

"Sorry about leaving so early. I promise to help in the morning explaining the project to you and the baseball freak. Also, say sorry to Mama for not being able to come home today. See you tomorrow morning." - Gokudera

Tsuna sighed and sent a message back saying it was fine and no problems. He said thank you and good luck today. Tsuna now laid on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes to rest for awhile. He thought about his new family and his new friends. He saw himself running inside the house to see his family around the table and his friends smiling at him. He felt happiness inside himself. It swelled up in his chest.

He opened his eyes and saw darkness. It was so dark in the room, and Tsuna knew it was late. He raised off the bed and saw it was almost 8. He had fallen asleep without knowing. He walked across the room to turn on his light. He still felt tired but thought it was best to see if the project assignment made any more sense to him after his nap. He lifted his bag and walked to the lonely desk he no longer sat at these days. He pulled out his notebook and began to read over his notes.

Hours had passed, and he still didn't have a clue as to what he was reading. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair giving up. He looked to the drawer that he has not opened in so long. He was staring at it for awhile before gaining the courage to open it. He reached for its handle and rested his hand on it. He closed his eyes and thought about his past. He imagined a small brunet running around. He was crying. The child was crying and you could see a small chihuahua puppy behind him. The child ran and ran. Tsuna watch as the child was lifted up by his dad. The father called him cute and adorable. Tsuna opened his eyes and opened the drawer. He pulled out a necklace. It was gold and had a symbol on a charm. Tsuna remembered the symbol meant closeness and together. Well, his father told him that at least. Tsuna smiled at it for a while before reaching into the drawer again. This time, he pulled out a crinkled photo. He stared at it for a few minutes. He felt a lump in his throat as he held it delicately.

"Hello," he whispered to it. "I'm sorry."

He places the photo down on his desk. He reached for another notebook. He decided to review his math notes to try and remember the things Gokudera had been trying to teach him. He hoped the other teen would not to have to reteach him the same things over and over again. He always felt bad not remember his lessons, and Gokudera, Tsuna could tell, felt bad for not being able to teach him.

Tsuna had gone to sleep for a couple of hours that night, but he was continuously tossing and turning. He was having a nightmare. Lately, every night, when he closed his eyes, nightmares came. Tsuna could only rest so long before the terror of his mind woke him.

Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. Please Review and Favorite if you liked it.