A/N: Hey loyal readers! I'm finally back, school is finally done for me, and I'm happy (and kind of sad) to say that you'll be seeing the end of this story this summer for sure. Enjoy!

Japan…

Birds chirping.

It was always the sound of birds chirping that woke Reborn up in the morning, and today was no exception. Reborn sat up in his bed, running his hand through his hair with a sigh. He then got up and headed into the bathroom to take a shower, brush his teeth, wash his face, get dressed…it was all routine.

Since Tsunade left, everything became nothing more than a routine…

Reborn stepped out from the bathroom, buttoning up his dress shirt. He looked out the window, watching the first rays of sunlight peek over the horizon. As he pulled a comb through his hair, he stepped over to his window and opened it, taking in a breath of the fresh morning air.

Yet another day, he thought, propping his chin on his hand as he gazed out at the rising sun. It's been too long.

He no longer kept track of days based off the calendar. He thought of time in terms of how long it had been since Tsunade left.

One year, ten months, sixteen hours, eighteen minutes, five seconds. Six seconds. Seven seconds…

A part of him hurt with every passing second. Anyone who knew him would be shocked to see him like this: quiet, pining, hurting, but Reborn had already waited for Tsunade for nearly two decades once. Waiting for her hurt even more the second time around.

Leon climbed onto his shoulder, chattering sorrowfully. Reborn looked at his companion with a sad smile. He knew Leon missed Jacine as much as he missed Tsunade.

After a few more minutes at the window, he sighed again and stood up, straightening his tie. There's no use standing here, he thought, his hand on the door handle. Wishing won't bring her back any faster.

When he stepped out of the room, he noticed a strange smell in the air. "Coffee?" he muttered, confused. Reborn immediately tensed, his senses on high alert. Signaling to Leon to change forms, he cautiously began walking slowly to the balcony overlooking the living room, where the smell was coming from.

I didn't sense anyone, he thought suspiciously. But I definitely didn't set up the coffee machine last night, so where's this smell coming from? If there was someone in the house, there's no way I couldn't sense their aura unless they hid it, but that's impossible.

Unless…

Reborn's heart skipped a beat, and he paused behind the wall. For once in his life, he couldn't calm his shaking hands, and his breathing became shallow. Did he dare to hope, hope that the person he would see once he turned the corner was the person he only saw in his dreams for the past year? With a deep breath, he turned the corner.

And his heart melted with joy.

There, sitting on the couch with her back to Reborn, was a figure dressed in an all-black suit with dark red combat boots and a red long-sleeved polo with a black tie underneath. On her red fedora was a chameleon, a smug smile on its face. After taking a long sip of her coffee, the figure put her mug down carefully on the table and leaned back, looking up at him with her green and gold eyes.

"Ciaossu," said Tsunade with a grin.

There was a long moment of silence. Then, Reborn took Leon and promptly fired at her.

Tsunade quickly whirled to the side, the bullet missing her by mere inches. After swearing loudly, she glared at Reborn. "The first thing you do when I come back is try to kill me?!" she said angrily. "Are you insane?!"

Reborn jumped down from the balcony, landing on his feet. Tsunade stomped towards him, brimming with rage. "This is not the way you greet someone after they've been gone for nearly two years," she hissed. "I don't even know why I decided to—"

Reborn wrapped his arms around her tightly, and Tsunade abruptly stopped talking.

"It really is you," he said breathlessly. "This isn't another dream."

"This is real," said Tsunade softly. "I'm here."

"Good," said Reborn. He stepped back.

"Now I'm going to kill you for leaving me behind!"

Tsunade ducked to avoid the first barrage of throwing knives, and then she rolled to the side to avoid the second. "And the psychopathic maniac is back," she grumbled, using the couch as a temporary barrier.

"I'm going to make you pay for running off without me to hunt down Leoko," growled Reborn, firing with Leon. "With another man who clearly stated he was interested in you too!"

"Quit tearing up the living room!" snapped Tsunade, jumping around the room. "Nothing happened with Sakamoto! Don't tell me you're still jealous of him! "

"Any man would be!" Reborn replied furiously. "You went on a two year trip with a man who nearly became your fiancé!"

"It's not like our trip was particularly leisurely!"

"It better not have been!"

"Idiot!"

"Dame-Tsunade!"

After a few minutes of angry bantering, Reborn finally stopped firing at Tsunade, and Tsunade let go of the chandelier and fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Are you done?" she asked, glaring. Reborn nodded, and Tsunade sighed in exasperation.

"This is like dealing with a child," she grumbled.

"So you've learned through this trip, haven't you?" asked Reborn skeptically.

"Of course!" replied Tsunade, throwing her hands up in the air. "This was one of the most intense experiences I've faced since—" She stopped talking, but they both could hear her unsaid words hanging heavily in the air.

Since I died.

After another brief moment of silence, Reborn spoke. "You remember everything?" he asked.

Tsunade looked down at the floor at her feet. "Yes," she said. "Every single memory I lost when I was reborn has been returned to me." She could feel Reborn's stare, his eyes boring a hole in her head.

"So what?"

Tsunade's head snapped up, and she looked at him in shock.

"You're still my student because you haven't proven yourself to me yet," said Reborn with a slight smile. "I recommend you gather all your previous knowledge and experience right now because I'm about to put your skills to the test." He held his hand out to her. "Kudo or Sawada, it doesn't matter right now. Come,

Show me what you've learned."

Tsunade blinked at him a few times before a smile broke out on her face. She took his hand and let him lead her to the place where it all started in this life.

This time, she was ready.

Reborn felt a sense of nostalgia as he observed Tsunade from the other side of the training room, watching her go through the same series of warmups as he was. This battle would be the final culmination of everything she learned. If she won, he would officially recognize her as his equal.

Of course, he wasn't going to make it easy for her.

"Same rules as last time," he shouted to her, unable to conceal his grin. "First one to knock the other out or be in a position to deliver a fatal blow will win. Are you ready?"

"Of course!" Tsunade shouted back.

Reborn chuckled, remembering how she responded to him the last time he asked that question.

Two years ago, you didn't sound half as confident as you do now, he thought. You better have a good reason to feel arrogant, or else I'll crush you.

With a slight smile, Reborn pointed his Leon-gun into the air and fired the starting shot.

Reborn didn't waste any time. He aimed and fired off a Chaos shot in a split second, knowing that Tsunade, like him, wasn't looking to play a childish game of chase. His eyebrow rose up in surprise when he saw her knock out half of the bullets with a flick of her wrist.

Her reaction time has doubled since I last saw her, he thought, watching one of his bullets fall to the ground with one of Tsunade's playing cards embedded in it as he ran by. Impressive.

Reborn came up behind her and fired another Chaos shot before flying down towards her, However, Tsunade easily whirled to the side and grabbed Reborn's leg, using his momentum to throw him over her shoulder. Reborn managed to avoid crashing into the ground with a front flip, but he almost lost his balance when his own Chaos shot came towards him and grazed his cheek as it passed by.

"Using my own weapons against me," he yelled, amused. "That's not very nice."

"Rule number 77: Hitman don't play fair," replied Tsunade, throwing several knives towards him.

Reborn laughed and jumped up to avoid the knives, grabbing a few and throwing them back in a blink of an eye, managing to make a small cut on Tsunade's arm before she hastily dodged.

You're right, he thought. I've taught you well.

Tsunade threw a punch aimed at Reborn's head while aiming a knife at his chest. Reborn forced her arm up and wrenched the knife out of her hand, twisting his leg around hers and pushing her to the ground. Tsunade rolled to the side to avoid the knife he threw down with her and fired off a few shots before jumping back. She then threw her cards in groups of three, making it much harder to disable all of them at once. By the time Reborn either dodged of stopped them all, Tsunade was right in front of him, starting another sequence of fluid attacks.

She's good, thought Reborn as he brought his leg up in a round house kick to deflect hers. It really is her: Kudo and Sawada combined. He realized, in that brief second, that this was all he ever wanted: to be able to call himself Kudo Tsunade's equal so he could protect her. The thought would've brought tears to his eyes if he wasn't leaning back to avoid a Flaming card from hitting his carotid artery.

Reborn continued his assault, firing Chaos shot after Chaos shot and always following up with a physical attack. Every time, Tsunade was able to minimize the damage he caused, while getting a few of her own blows in as well. After several minutes, they were bruised and battered, but the glint of determination in their eyes was brighter than ever.

They both jumped back, breathing heavily. The room was full of smoke and dust from their battle, making it nearly impossible to see anything. Reborn quickly concealed his aura, feeling Tsunade do the same. Now, it was like they were fighting with their eyes closed. Scanning the smoke, he saw a slight disturbance in the dust every time Tsunade landed on the floor. Quickly calculating where Tsunade would land next, he pushed off the ground and onto the walls.

Same mistake, he thought disapprovingly. Maybe she hasn't learned—

His thought was abruptly cut short when Tsunade's elbow came crashing into his back, forcing him onto the ground. When he looked up, he could see Jacine smirking, even in her gun form, while Tsunade smiled and said,

"Game over."

Tsunade almost laughed when she saw Reborn's confused expression.

"Surely you don't think I would've made the same mistake?" she said, her eyes dancing with amusement. "This time, when I landed, I kicked the dust in the direction I was going, so you would interpret the swirls of dust the wrong way."

Reborn groaned, bringing a hand to his forehead.

"I was defeated by such a simple trick," he grumbled. "What a joke."

"The student surpasses the master," said Tsunade, grinning.

Reborn pretended to sulk for a little while longer, and then he laughed. In a quick motion, he grabbed Tsunade's arm and pulled her down on top of him. Tsunade let out a squeak of surprise.

"Never let your guard down," teased Reborn.

Then, he kissed her.

Tsunade's eyes widened, and she blushed furiously. Despite her immense embarrassment, she couldn't pull herself away. This was what she waited two years for.

Reborn sat up, never breaking contact as he wrapped her arms around her. Tsunade brought her hands to his cheek and lightly brushed the wound she caused just moments before. She almost laughed at the absurdity of going from trying to kill each other to a passionate embrace. This was definitely not a normal situation, but they were definitely not a normal couple. They had a love that no normal person could even begin to understand.

Tsunade was starting to get used to the feeling of not being able to think the moment Reborn's lips met hers. It made it even harder for her to pull away for even just a brief second as they looked at each other, breathless.

"I bet you Sakamoto can't do that," said Reborn jokingly.

He didn't give her a chance to protest before he pressed his lips against hers again, pulling her back into his desire. She was mesmerized every aspect of him: his spiky hair, his sharp features, his crisp voice, his coal black eyes, and even his curly sideburns. It was a miracle that she didn't fall for him earlier. He was her second chance, her Reborn, her…

"Renato."

Reborn stopped for a brief moment again, pulling back to look at her. Tsunade could've sworn there were tears in his eyes, and his voice quavered slightly.

"My beautiful Tsunade," he said softly, caressing her cheek. "You've finally returned to me."

Tsunade nodded, struggling to hold back tears of her own now. "Of course," she said. "I have nothing without you."

"I love you, Tsunade."

"And I love you, Renato."

She could feel Reborn's whirlwind of emotions envelope her in a warm combination of love, hope, and happiness. Reborn couldn't help but kiss her again, and as he left a trail of kisses down from her lips to her collarbone. Tsunade felt a sense of nearly overwhelming joy. From star-crossed lovers to soul mates, things finally worked out in their favor. She was no longer a lost orphan with no future, or an unwanted daughter in a lonely home. Home was where the heart was, and from the moment they met., Reborn would always have hers. This was finally the Reborn she remembered and loved.

Reborn eventually stopped, and though they both could feel the passion in the air, he stood up and pulled Tsunade to her feet.

"As much as I would like to take this intimacy further," said Reborn, making Tsunade flush dark red. "I need to go check in with your brother soon. He's been keeping tabs on me so I didn't run after you, but I think we should inform him that there's nothing to worry about anymore. This would also probably be the best time to announce that you aren't my student anymore."

Reborn turned around and started walking away. Tsunade followed him, but she felt slightly disappointed. Though she wasn't sure why, Tsunade felt like she expected something…more.

Right before they got to the door, Reborn stopped. "The last ten years with you," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "Were the best years of my life. You were bound to me in a student-teacher relationship that kept you by my side. Though that relationship is over, I still can't let you go, and I have the slight feeling that you're not too happy about leaving either." He turned around to face her, and Tsunade was surprised to see a slight blush in his cheeks.

"I want you in my life forever," said Reborn softly, sounding, for the first time in his life, nervous. "I can't see myself in the future without you. You give my life hope and purpose. You give my love fire. That's why I think we need a new relationship together." He reached into the pocket of his fedora and pulled out a small, thin box. Tsunade's heart nearly stopped, and her breathing quickened.

"The clasp on the necklace had been broken too many times to repair, but I had another plan for the pendant anyway," he said, getting on one knee and opening the box to reveal the small black rose pendant now fixed to a thin gold band. "Sawada Tsunade,

Will you marry me?"

For a moment, Tsunade couldn't speak as she stood there, frozen with shock. Then, the tears began falling, and she threw herself into Reborn's arms, knocking him over back on the ground. There was no need for a verbal answer.

Tsunade made her answer clear when she kissed him more deeply and passionately than ever before.

Reborn laughed and kissed her back, overflowing with his own joy. He lifted her up and slipped the ring onto her finger in one fluid motion with a smile that Tsunade only ever saw in another life. She wrapped her arms around his neck, giddy with happiness. Her heart felt as if it would burst from the sheer amount of emotions she was experiencing.

This was happiness.

This was love.

Reborn carried her out of the training room in almost a dance like motion, grinning widely. He glanced up at the clock, and then back down at Tsunade. He shrugged and said,

"Tsuna can wait."

A/N: The moment everyone (or at least me) has been waiting for :) Thank you SO MUCH to SakurazukaSeiru18 and Lite Crystal27 for reviewing!