Comfort

"Our instructions are set. In 5 days, we will be moving to raid the Millefiore base!"

"F-Five days is too soon!"

"The enemy could find our base at any time. The faster we move, the better."

"Now that Ryohei is here, Tsuna, we've completed the first condition. You've assembled all of the guardians."

"If we carry this out or not is your decision, Sawada."

Sighing, June was left on her own for a while. None of the guardians really appreciated all this stress being put on Tsuna. June was surprised he hadn't snapped, already…

Sitting in her training room, she mulled over the events of the day…so much had happened and it was beginning to get to her.

"Chrome Dokuro's condition has stabilized."

"Thank goodness…But…what happened to Mukuro?"

"We don't quite know…I'm sure we'll find out, one way or another. Chrome won't be able to join our raid, though."

"I'll take her place."

"Lal? That's impossible. You're exhausted. Looking at you, I can tell…your body has absorbed too much radiation from the non-tre-nisette."

"You don't know anything, Reborn. We need to take them down, or this world will never return to normal!"

In the end, Tsuna agreed to the raid in five days and this shoved the Vongola straight back into training. June's problem rested with Lal Mirch…she and Lal were trying to head back to the training room, alongside Yamamoto and Reborn, when…;

"G-Guh-!"

"L-Lal!"

"I-It's just anemia! Don't touch me!"

The woman wasn't ready to do ANYTHING, never mind help train June. She wasn't ready, at all, and hadn't even gotten down to sparring with Lal…she was upset, though. Lal was a great teacher over the past week and June was even beginning to show progress with her weapon, actually being able to move her dying will through it, now! But now, Lal wouldn't be able to see it and help it…

Sighing, June looked to her white boxes, looking them over curiously before inserting her flamed ring, letting out her two ferrets; Matsu and Toshi, who seemed happy to jump on their master, awaiting any instruction. But both ferrets frowned when June just petted their heads softly, frowning sadly.

"What am I supposed to do, guys…? I feel like I'm getting left behind…Tsuna is so much stronger, now. Hayato is running off on his own and Takeshi is getting trained by Reborn. They must all be so strong, by now…and then there's me. Little June, left behind."

The answer to her question was an answer she already knew. She had to keep training. But she had nobody to teach her, all she could do was keep trying…hell, she could, modestly, say she was a quick leaner! But with no one to teach her, she felt…she felt useless…

"Maybe I should just forget about going on the raid. I'm sure Takeshi would look after my Vongola ring for me. I'd probably be better off just cooking with Kyoko and Haru…"

"Don't say that!"

Jumping, June felt more than a little confused. For a second, she wondered if Matsu and Toshi were attempting to talk with her, but hearing footsteps running towards her, she ended up watching Tsuna skidding down to his knees to kneel next to her, looking rather worried.

"Tsuna? What are you doing?"

"I came to see how everyone was doing…I-I know Lal Mirch can't train you, but we need you for the raid, June! Y-You still have time-!"

"We have five days, Tsuna. I like to think I'm a quick learner, but…that just feels impossible. All I can do is give a swift kick or two, at this point…"

"J-June…I'm sorry you got dragged into this…I wish you were back home and your older self were here, so you wouldn't have to go through this! June, are you scared?"

"Dumb question…of course I'm scared. I end up thrown in this new time, straight into a battle, only to watch Takeshi and Hayato fight and push me to the side. Then I end up finding out about this whole damned situation. It's fucked up! But, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's trying to put on a brave face…"

Tsuna sat next to his friend, letting Matsu shuffle into his lap, even letting her lick at his hands as he offered it to her. "I'm sorry about everything, June…"

"About everything?"

"Yeah! I'm sorry Reborn had to make you my guardian. I'm sorry about what happened during the Varia battles. I'm sorry about-!"

"Whoa, whoa, Tsuna! Step back, okay? Take a breath…it's supposed to be ME getting upset here, geez!" June felt herself chuckle a little. She didn't know what it was, but knowing Tsuna worried for her so much gave her the warmest feelings in her chest. "It's okay, Tsuna. I'm glad I can be your guardian."

"But…why?"

"Well, there are a ton of reasons. For starters; I got to meet you. I'm so happy I can call you my friend." Now was Tsuna's turn to feel a bit of warmth in his chest as he began to smile. "I'm finally part of something, Tsuna. I finally have something to give my life for. I trained to be some stealth agent like Solid Snake or some shit…but, being a stealth agent means being alone and hiding away from everyone…I don't want to do that. So, training myself so I can fight better, alongside you, rather than behind you…that's what I want, Tsuna!"

"J-June…"

"Besides…I hate when you apologize for 'dragging me into this'. I was still trained into the mafia and brought up by two people IN the mafia. I probably would've just ended up working for someone else. Which means…I could have been put into an even worse situation with someone who might not have cared for my life. But, you've cafred about keeping me alive ever since I met you."

"Of course. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"So, stop moping about it. I'm here and I'll be staying right here."

"…When did this go from me trying to comfort you to you comforting me?!"

June burst out laughing, grinning at the other brunette, which ended up with him laughing alongside her.

Tsuna wasn't feeling great, either. He had to make such a hard decision and then drag his friends into some raid to get rid of the Millefiore threat. They didn't have any time to think about more training, they just had to make the most of their time.

"Tsuna…thanks."

"Huh? For what…?"

"For coming here to see me and for rushing to stop me backing out."

"W-Well, of course I would…You're strong, June, I know you are."

"Hah…I still haven't been able to prove it, yet."

"Well…I know it sounds weird from me, but…why not prove it now?"

Blinking, June looked over her friend, slowly realizing that he was ACTUALLY being serious. She couldn't help but smile. "Of course…I'll prove to you that I'm worthy of being your Snow Guardian!"

"Haha. Thanks, June. We'll all be here to watch each other's backs."

"Yeah! We won't let our boss die!"

"SPENCER!"

"Wait, what the fuck?"

Both brunettes jumped as the door practically slammed open, revealing Ryohei in all his futuristic glory, grinning at the two.

"Glad I found you! Eh? Sawada? Shouldn't you be training, too?"

"I was just checking up on June…"

"Well, you don't need to worry! I'll be taking over her training from here on so Lal Mirch can recover!"

"A-Ah? Really?"

While Tsuna seemed worried, June actually seemed really pleased with the idea. She knew Ryohei could be a harsh trainer when he felt like it, but he was also incredibly kind to her in his training and wouldn't push her if he knew it was uncomfortable for her. At her excitement, Matsu and Toshi seemed to get excited, too, jumping around in June and Tsuna's arms, only to have Tsuna drop Matsu. But, she was fine, she just jumped back up to June, squeaking happily. Seemed the two recognized Ryohei pretty well.

"B-Big brother, what about Lal Mirch?"

"She'll be fine, but she can't really train Spencer. That's why I'm here to do so. Don't worry about it. Are you gonna join us?"

"N-No thanks! I'll go check on Yamamoto and Gokudera-Kun!"

It didn't take him a second though to escape from the white haired man, who just laughed at the speed of his boss. "Well, he definitely knows how to run!"

"Yeah…figured he'd have had any excuse to get away from Hibari. Aha…"

Training with Ryohei was as harsh as usual, but it felt much different with this older version of her classmate. He seemed more mature, he didn't end up shouting at her every five minutes like he used to.

First things first, he had to remember what she'd be training with, so they ended up throwing a few punches at each other. He seemed pleased enough with her results. So, now was the time to see how she dealt with her weapon.

"Out of everyone in the Vongola, only three people would really understand how to use your weapon and that's; myself, Gokudera and Lal Mirch. You already know that Gokudera was the one who created your weapon to help you with close combat fighting, even after you learnt from me."

"Yeah. I remember…and Lal said I got so used to them that he developed them more for proper combat."

"Exactly. So, now we just need to teach YOU how to use them! You got down moving your Dying will flames, right?"

"Yeah…I just need to learn how to fire it all now."

Rubbing his chin a little, Ryohei was trying to recall him training her ten years ago. Honestly, he didn't have much of a clue what he trained her in ten years ago, but he was just trying to recall ANYTHING, now…

"I remember you basically kick boxing, rather than just throwing punches."

"Kick boxing? Yeah, I tended to kick a lot, too, rather than just punching. Years of running means I have a decent leg strength. Didn't think it was kick boxing, though…"

"Well, it works! With your gloves, there are a lot of possibilities you can create with your fighting style. It's all up to you, there. I'll be here to help you spar and get you used to actual combat, rather than just learning how to use your equipment."

Well, she was pretty excited! Finally, she'd be getting down to actual combat, rather than just trying to control it all.

But, it still didn't make her training any easier…

Fighting against Ryohei, itself, was a pain in the ass.

Her aim was to completely numb Ryohei's body by firing the flames of the snow at him. Well, that was her aim AS DICTATED by Ryohei, himself. But, while she attempted to do this, he would be fighting back. She would have to fight in order to be able to open up his defences. So, learning how to fight someone as strong as Ryohei was the most important thing she could do with the lack of time she had left.

It had been a tough day for everyone. But, now was the time for their rest, most of the base sleeping away, except Yamamoto. He couldn't really bring himself to sleep. He couldn't stop thinking, which was pretty weird for him. His decision was to go get some food and maybe some milk to help him sleep.

To be honest, he didn't really know what he was thinking about…everything? Yeah, that was probably it.

He had Reborn's training, which he was having a LOT of trouble with. He also had to deal with the kid trying to get him together with June…

Yes, when even YAMAMOTO could see what they were doing, it means nobody is even trying to be subtle, anymore.

And when Reborn was even trying this during Yamamoto's TRAINING, Yamamoto begun to get frustrated. He could only assume the kid was doing it on purpose…

Entering the kitchen, Yamamoto tilted his head to the side seeing a brunette sat with their back to him, but it didn't take much to guess who it was.

"June-Chan?"

The small girl jumped a little, slowly turning her head to see Yamamoto, her mouth full of bread which she had to force down quite quickly. "U-Uhh…hey."

"So, you couldn't sleep, either?"

"I was sleeping fine, for a while, but my stomach kinda woke me up, mate." Yamamoto felt proud of himself, knowing she wasn't remotely bothered about her accent coming out around him, unlike with others, where she'd suddenly get embarrassed and apologize.

After so long of living in Japan and even learning about it, you'd figure the habit would die off, but, for her, it didn't seem to want to go.

"Well, at least we can be awake and have someone to talk to!"

"Haha…of course. How's your training with Reborn going?"

"Ahhhhh…I'd prefer if we didn't talk about training…It's frustrating."

"Reborn being harsh?"

"The kid is fast, I can't get past him."

"That's too bad. I'm sure you'll do it, though! You're strong, Takeshi. I'm pretty jealous, actually."

"Jealous?"

"Hm? Well, why not? I feel so behind in comparison to you guys."

"Well…how is YOUR training going?" The look on June's face said everything, as her smile quickly faded, turning to a grimace. "That well, huh?"

"Don't even joke…I'm learning, but it's slow."

"How exactly does your future-self fight? All we saw from her, at the time, was her wearing some gloves."

"Ah, well…turns out it's like a gun in a glove. Ryohei said my future self could change her dying will energy to at least one other attribute which helped make it a lot stronger, but…I don't have much of a clue on how to do that, yet…"

"Yet?"

"I'd like to learn, but I couldn't do it with the time we have left until the raid. Too bad…could've been fun. For now, Ryohei is seeing about actually using bullets in it all…wait a minute, you still haven't told me anything about YOUR training!"

"But yours sounds so much more interesting!"

"You're a pain in the ass, Takeshi."

It was good that he took that in good humour, just laughing it off like she didn't just, technically, insult him.

But, something felt weird about her…oh…well, it might have been that she wasn't wearing her eyepatch, so he could see her blind eye and she wasn't even wearing any piercings (which made him feel relieved that she didn't wear them to sleep) and she was even wearing very baggy pyjamas, whereas you'd normally see her dressing like it was summer every damn day. But, no, now she wore a baggy t-shirt with baggy, tartan, trousers as her pyjamas.

Plus, her hair was scruffier than usual, if that were even possible. It was weird…

But she looked cute…

"Hey, June-Chan, can I ask you something weird?"

"Depends what you mean by 'weird'…"

"Well, it's more confusing than weird…"

"Okay, fine. Ask away."

"Well…if you knew who you were going to marry in the future, would you change your opinion on them because of it?"

"Wow, you're right, that is confusing…someone told you who you end up marrying?"

"Yeah. The kid told me."

"That's kinda fun. If it helps, Kyoko and Haru told me my future self ends up married. They didn't tell me who it was, but I can kinda relate…"

"Well, still…if you knew who it was and you spoke to them a lot, how would you feel?"

He had definitely got her thinking. She scratched her nose in thought before she gave him an answer; "I guess I wouldn't know, but…I don't think my feelings for them would change. If I marry them, I marry them. If I don't, I don't. It'd probably get me thinking about how I feel about them, but I think I'd treat them the same. Hell, maybe it'd even make you realize your feelings. Who the fuck knows, I guess…"

Well, now he just felt even more confused. "Really? You wouldn't care?"

"Well, I didn't say I wouldn't care. I just don't think I'd really act on it."

"What if it were someone you were good friends with?"

"Like I said; I doubt I'd act on it. Who knows, though?"

Well, it was true. Even if Reborn had told Yamamoto who he, supposedly, married in the future, it didn't mean it would ACTUALLY end up like that. He wasn't told WHY they got married or HOW they got together, so he didn't know if it was even true or not.

Still…it made him think about his feelings for June.

Putting a few together; he knew she was small and cute, that was just there. She was a lot nicer than her appearance stated, with all of her piercings and her scruffy hair and almost punkish way of dressing. She had a crude and sarcastic sense of humour, one that didn't really match his playful sense of humour.

But, that just made June special. He found that her whole personality was a lovely change from the girls he knew and, well…maybe he was getting feelings for her.

Even after months of knowing her, he hadn't really felt anything for her, or he didn't think he had feelings for her. So, suddenly finding her had some now? It didn't actually feel all that weird.

"Maybe you shouldn't think about this stuff. You should try and get more sleep."

"Haha. Same goes to you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get to bed, too, don't worry."

"…hey, June-Chan?"

"What's up?"

"The day before we go to the raid…would I be able to talk to you privately again?"

"Huh? Umm…sure. Why?"

"Nothing serious. Just one of those things you'd want to do before doing something dangerous. It'd be fun!"

"Sounds great, then. Sure. For now, though-"

"Yeah, I know, I should sleep. Good night, then, June-Chan!"

"Night, Takeshi."