Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in KHR…

TO: Carnotaurus: Well, I think I'll keep the simpler Japanese words like 'hai' and 'ohayo' and definitely 'Jyuudaime' (that's trademark!), but I could cut back on some of the other ones like 'Yarazu no Ame' and other attacks… And yes, I know Tsuna's character is really perfect but I have already put that under consideration. I'm planning on writing a sequel to this one which will be focused more on Tsuna's past. There will be hints of a dark past for Tsuna but nothing clear until they all go to Italy (this is much later). In this fanfic, I'm just trying to pass Tsuna off as a great Vongola Decimo and will focus mainly on how he helps his guardians (I think I've revealed too much so I'll stop here). As for possible pairings, I'm sure you know that this is my first fanfic and I have no idea how to go about writing pairings; thus I'll probably keep this a family fic at least until the sequel.

TO: AukiBiya: I made this story so that Tsuna and most of his guardians would be in the same class. So Namimori High's school system is that they put 15, 16, and 17-year-olds in the same class so they have mixed classes.

I hope everyone will stick with me on this even if some prefer more romance or more family (whichever).

Thanks a lot, and here's the next chapter!

Chapter 14

"Here, this should make you feel better. It's not much but it's better than nothing. I haven't done my shopping this week."

Yamamoto blinked as a steaming bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. Without a word, he dug in.

The house was quiet. Most of the occupants had already gone to bed so it was just Tsuna and Yamamoto now.

"It's good," Yamamoto said suddenly. His voice echoed off the walls of the large kitchen. He had to say something. The brown eyes staring so intently at him were getting a little unnerving. But Tsuna only nodded, gaze never wavering. Yamamoto looked back down at his food, concentrating on eating instead.

"Don't you need to call someone?" Tsuna eventually said, as Yamamoto finished.

Yamamoto shrugged. "My dad's used to it. I don't need to phone him." He waited for the inevitable "what about your mom" but it never came. Instead, Tsuna pulled out his own cell and tossed it to him.

"Call him," Tsuna said calmly.

Yamamoto didn't move. "He's not expecting any phone call."

"Call him anyway."

"He's probably asleep. I'll just wake him up."

"I don't think he'd mind."

Yamamoto stared in puzzlement as he heard the steed in the other's voice. With a shrug, he quickly dialed home. To his surprise, his father answered on the first ring.

"Moshi moshi?" His father didn't sound tired at all.

"Um, it's me. I just called to tell you I'm staying at… a friend's house until the rain lets up. So, yeah." Finishing awkwardly, Yamamoto waited for his father to answer.

If Tsuyoshi had heard the hesitation and clumsiness in his son's voice, he didn't let on. Instead, Yamamoto could have sworn he could hear the slightest hint of relief creep into his father's voice.

"Okay, Takeshi," his father replied. "Mind your manners and I'll see you later then."

"Hai, ja ne."

Hanging up, Yamamoto turned to Tsuna again. "How did you know he would be waiting for my call?"

Tsuna shrugged, taking his phone back. "I didn't, but I figured most parents would worry if their kids were still out in the middle of a rainstorm in the middle of the night. That's all."

Standing up and stretching, Tsuna checked the time. 5:00am. Great. And there was school tomorrow too.

Turning back, Tsuna glanced at the other boy still sitting at the dinner table. All through the meal, he had wanted… well, he didn't know what he wanted, just that all through the meal, Tsuna had known that Yamamoto needed some sense knocked into that thick skull of his.

Sitting down again abruptly, Tsuna asked, "What were you doing out in that rain? Did you really think practicing for so many hours like that would improve your skills? If I hadn't come, you could have collapsed!" Without realizing it, Tsuna's voice had risen and he fought to keep it down so he wouldn't wake everyone else. Yamamoto was now staring at him warily and Tsuna realized that the swordsman still didn't trust him and yelling at him wouldn't help.

With a sigh, Tsuna ran a hand through his hair. But it was Yamamoto who spoke up first.

"I need to get stronger."

Tsuna glanced over at him, brown eyes tired. "And you think that's the way to go about it? Practicing until you either learn it or drop dead?"

Yamamoto's features hardened. "What do you know? You've had your family around you for all your life. You don't know what it's like not to have a mother!"

Tsuna's face twisted into a funny expression, as if he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He finally settled for the same tired expression as before, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. Silence dominated the kitchen as both boys stopped talking.

"I have a friend," Tsuna said softly without opening his eyes or moving, startling Yamamoto at the sudden sound of his voice again. "He was just like you, a swordsman, practicing day and night without giving himself any rest. He worked hard at perfecting all his moves, all to gain some sort of revenge on other swordsmen who dared mock him when he was younger, for being born to parents who were widely known to grovel at the feet of others to get what they want."

"What happened?" Yamamoto couldn't resist asking.

Tsuna offered a small smile, traces of wry amusement on his face. "He became one of the strongest swordsmen I have ever met in my entire life."

Yamamoto unconsciously clenched his hands. "Then you see why-"

"He also got his ass handed to him on a silver platter by his current Boss." Tsuna finally raised his head, cutting off the other boy.

"Then he can't be all that strong." Yamamoto finally said.

Tsuna shook his head. "He's strong. He went around and challenged any and all swordsmen he could find, and he beat them all."

Yamamoto frowned. "Then why couldn't he beat that person?"

Tsuna smiled. "Because while training to be the best, he forgot everything except his revenge. And the person who beat him exploited that weakness and defeated him."

"What did he forget?" Unbeknownst to him, Yamamoto was just as mesmerized by Tsuna's words as Gokudera had been that very morning.

Tsuna's smile saddened. "He forgot how to let go." Glancing up at Yamamoto's confused expression, he continued, "A person can't survive on revenge alone. If a person only has that, what will happen once they've taken their revenge? They'll only find emptiness after that, with absolutely nothing to live for."

Understanding dawned on Yamamoto's face before anger quickly flooded his being.

So Tsuna knew.

Yamamoto would bet his sword arm that Tsuna had known from the very beginning, and if not, almost. He tried, and failed, to not listen to the brown-haired boy that had come into his world and uprooted everything he believed in.

"The person that beat that swordsman had nothing to do with the criticism that swordsman had suffered. As soon as the person pointed that out and managed to make him understand it, that swordsman completely lost his will to fight. And with out a will to fight, he understandably lost." Tsuna smiled. "In a way, his current boss saved him from himself. If the swordsman had continued on with only revenge on his mind, sooner or later, he would realize that there was nothing left for him to fight or fight for. And that's the saddest thing of all: having no one who loved him enough for him to fight for."

Yamamoto stood up so fast the chair he had been sitting on fell back with a loud thump. Throat tightening with anger, he whirled around and stalked out of the kitchen, pausing only long enough to grab his katana before storming out the front door, barely noticing that the rainstorm had slowed to a light drizzle.

Tsuna's shoulders slumped. He barely felt Gokudera move up behind him, silently placing a blanket over his shoulders before gently ushering him upstairs to bed.

Why won't you understand, Yamamoto? All you have to do is open your eyes and look around. There will always be people beside you, waiting for you to see them.

TIMESKIP TO TWENTY MINUTES LATER AT YAMAMOTO'S HOUSE

Yamamoto quietly opened his front door and slipped inside, not making a sound. But before he had taken two steps towards the stairs leading upstairs, a light switched on and Yamamoto spun around to see his father sitting calmly in one of the living room chairs.

Studying his son's features, Tsuyoshi sighed. "Sit down, Takeshi. There are some things I want to tell you."

Yamamoto tried to smile. He tried to assure his father that he was only home so early because the weather had finally let up. But he couldn't. No matter what he did, he couldn't pull that mask back up onto his face. Without a word, he entered the living room and sat down on one of the sofas.

Tsuyoshi was silent for a moment longer, gathering his thoughts. "One of your friends, Sawada Tsunayoshi, came to talk to me a few days ago."

Yamamoto was ready to charge back to Tsuna's house and just put a sword through him and be done with all this. Vongola had even messed with his personal life?!

Tsuyoshi, reading his son's tight features, said sternly, "He was very worried about you. He thought that I should tell you the truth about your mother." Tsuyoshi looked thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that he knew, but he thought that the only person who had the right to tell you about it was me. He was very straightforward, and after explaining to me about what he thought of you, I decided I would tell you." Tawny, amber eyes that were similar stared straight at each other. "So you will listen to me, Takeshi, at least until I finish. How you want to accept this is up to you."

"Your mother and I married each other eighteen years ago." Tsuyoshi began. "She was a childhood friend, and a close one at that. So it was natural that we got together eventually. Two years later, we had you and we moved to Japan. I had already semi-retired back then. I still did some information gathering for the Vongola, but nothing like what I used to do. During the first seven years after you were born, I was often called away overseas because the Millefiore Family was already stirring even back then. Because I was known to be a great master in the Shigure Souen Style, I was called back by Vongola Nono to train a new group of assassins in this style. I didn't notice at first, and when I did, it was already too late to fix the problem. Your mother started feeling… neglected. I don't blame her. After all, with a child to take care of and a husband more often away than not, it was hard on her. I don't know when the meetings started, but your mother started seeing another man, someone we all know today as Byakuran. Perhaps she was jealous, or maybe she really had changed sides, but whatever the reason, she started to give Vongola secrets away to Millefiore. Back then, I kept nothing from my wife. Everything I knew, she knew. It was a deadly blow to the Vongola Regime and by the time her betrayal was discovered, it was too late. The head of the Chiavorone Family back then, Chiavorone Keigo, was assassinated by the Millefiore, along with a large section of the Chiavorone soldiers. And that is why your mother was ordered to be killed, Takeshi. There was no way we could let her live. The Mafia, especially the Vongola, has no prison or law system, save for the omerta and Vendicare, both which are saved for lawless, but still useful, killers, or secrets between a Mafia boss and a subordinate. And the boss' word is law. Traitors have no future in the Mafia world. And your mother, no matter how much you and I loved her, was a traitor."

Silence fell over father and son as Tsuyoshi ended his story. Yamamoto sat frozen to his chair for what seemed like an eternity.

"You're lying."

It was barely audible, a whisper as soft as moonlight.

"You're lying."

Louder this time, and it seemed to echo through the whole house. Tsuyoshi was unfazed, sitting quietly in his chair, waiting for the outburst he knew was coming.

And then, "YOU'RE LYING!!!"

The words were like an explosion in the previous silence, shattering the peaceful façade that had hung over the house just moments earlier.

Trembling with rage and still clutching tightly to his katana, Yamamoto, for the second time that night, ran out into the night.

Tsuyoshi watched him go with a sad sort of acceptance. "I leave the rest up to you, Vongola Decimo." He whispered.

TIMESKIP TO SCHOOL

"Does anyone know where Yamamoto-san is?"

When no one moved, Koto-sensei frowned quizzically. Yamamoto rarely, if ever, missed school, and if he did, there would always be a phone call. The boy was such a good student. With a mental shrug, Koto-sensei dismissed it. Everyone had an off day.

By the window, Tsuna was not so relaxed. In fact, ever since he had arrived at school, the anxiety had slowly grown until the feeling had pretty much gravitated to downright fear. By lunchtime, he was just about ready to throw up.

Behind him, Gokudera glanced worriedly at the Tenth. He had heard every word that was said between him and the Sword-freak last night and right now, he had an overwhelming urge to track down said Sword-freak and beat some sense into him.

Tsuna shifted around uneasily, unaware of the worried gaze of the bomber behind him. An invisible hand clenched around his heart and that was the final straw for him. Shooting out of his seat, Tsuna sprinted for the door.

A startled Koto-sensei watched the brunette run by but didn't say anything. Neither did he stop Gokudera as the explosives expert dashed right after Tsuna out of the classroom. With a sigh, Koto-sensei resumed class, pretending the interruption didn't take place.

"Mukuro-nii?" A worried Chrome turned around in her seat.

Mukuro just smiled. "It'll be alright. After all, it is Vongola we're talking about."

With a small nod, Chrome turned around again to face front. She hoped Mukuro was right.

Outside in the hallway, the bomber sprinted alongside his boss barely keeping up. "Where are we going boss?" He panted.

Tsuna skidded to a stop, looking around wildly. His intuition finally kicked in and quickly headed down another hallway. "To the roof." He called back.

With a nod, Gokudera followed, no questions asked. If the Tenth said the roof, then he had a sinking feeling as to what the Sword-freak wanted to do.

ON THE ROOF OF NAMIMORI HIGH

I wonder what I'm doing here. I don't think I came to the roof on purpose.

"Yamamoto!"

The roof door burst open as Tsuna and Gokudera burst onto the roof of the school building. The light drizzle from last night continued around them. Yamamoto, startled, spun around. He was holding his katana and standing at the very edge of the school building, balancing almost carelessly on the ledge.

"Oi, Sword-freak!" Gokudera growled. "Get away from there! It's dangerous!"

Yamamoto didn't move. In one motion, he raised his sword so that it pointed directly at Tsuna. The silver-haired bomber quickly stepped in front of the brunette but Tsuna gave him a reassuring smile before stepping around him and took a few steps closer to the swordsman.

"What are you going to do now, Yamamoto?" Tsuna's soft voice was carried to the dark-haired boy and the grip on the katana tightened.

"Vongola took my mother away!" Yamamoto snarled. "If I take you away from Vongola, I think that should even things out!"

Tsuna tilted his head. "Go ahead, then," His reply was cool, brown eyes boring holes into Yamamoto once again. "Kill me."

Yamamoto gritted his teeth. One strike. That was all it would take to cut Vongola Decimo down. He tried to raise his sword. Tried to take a step forward. Tried to move.

But he couldn't. And he realized. He realized that everything that he had been told last night was true. He realized what Tsuna had already known all along.

I can't kill him.

With a bitter smile, Yamamoto dropped the katana. It seemed that was one movement he could still carry out.

"I'm sorry."

Tsuna's eyes widened as Yamamoto took a step back. Except there was no step back and Yamamoto disappeared over the edge, straight down in a 200-foot drop. But even as this thought crossed his mind, Tsuna was already hurtling across the rooftop and, without thinking, lunged forward, grabbing the swordsman's hand. But the momentum of Yamamoto's fall carried both of them over the edge of the roof.

Tsuna grunted with pain as his body slammed against the side of the school building, one hand still tightly wrapped around Yamamoto's hand in a death grip, the other trying desperately to gain a better grip on the ledge of the school roof.

Below him, Yamamoto's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing?" If Tsuna didn't let go soon, they would both fall… "Let me go!"

Tsuna didn't even bother glancing down. "No!"

And then Gokudera was there, hauling both of them back onto the roof. His hands were steady as he pulled them back up but he had turned almost white with fear.

"Sword-freak! What the hell were you think-" Before Gokudera could get started though, Tsuna had lunged directly at Yamamoto, hands tightening on his shoulders and shaking him roughly.

"What were you thinking?! Were you thinking at all?!" Tsuna's hysterical voice was followed by tears that he wasn't even bothering to try and hold back.

Yamamoto blinked before lowering is head. "You were right," he murmured. "Revenge is useless and now I have nothing left."

SLAP!

Yamamoto raised a trembling to his face where Tsuna had hit him, disbelief in his amber eyes.

"Nothing left?" Tsuna's voice was tight with barely controlled fury. "Nothing left?! What about your father?! What about your friends here at school?! What about me?! What the hell are we going to do when you go and kill yourself just because you thought that there was nothing left?!"

Yamamoto turned slowly back to look at Tsuna. "My father?" He repeated slowly.

"Yes, remember him?" Tsuna heaved a sigh, anger draining out with it as he quickly wiped his tears away. "You know I've always wondered if people who commit suicide knows how selfish they are, leaving everyone behind to mourn them."

Tsuna glanced at the dark-haired boy once again. "If you can't live for revenge anymore, then why don't you live to protect the people you care about? Your father's retired now, and one day, you'll surpass him in skill. When that time comes, shouldn't you be the one to protect him?"

Yamamoto was silent for a few minutes. Gokudera's words from last night came back.

He's the boss I'm willing to follow for the rest of my life.

With a small, but genuine smile, the swordsman looked up again. "Thanks, Tsuna."

Tsuna smiled, relieved. Gokudera wasn't half as accepting.

"You better start kowtowing, Sword-freak!" The bomber snapped. "Not only did you almost kill Jyuudaime, you made him cry too! You better start making it up to him now because it'll take you two lifetimes to thank him!"

To Gokudera's annoyance, Yamamoto only smiled wider. "I know." Turning to Tsuna, he said cheerfully, "I'll join your Family, Tsuna, so I can thank you by protecting you. You won't ever have to worry about getting killed."

Gokudera almost fell over. "He never had to worry about that in the first place, Sword-freak! I'm in his Family!"

But Tsuna smiled. "Sure," He said warmly. "Thank you."

Gokudera grumbled, but as they made their way back downstairs, as soon as Tsuna turned a corner and was out of earshot, the bomber said softly, "I told you didn't I? He's not fake."

Yamamoto nodded. He knew that now. As Tsuna turned around to smile happily at them, he suddenly felt a lot better.

Tsuna, I'll always protect you, no matter what.

Outside, the rain finally let up and the dark clouds seemed to shift a bit. If anyone had looked up at the sky at that moment, they would have seen a piece of the blue sky, peeking out from behind the rain clouds.

Finished! Please review lots!

There might not be another update until tonight or tomorrow as I'm busy all day today.