Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.


Summary: When Tsuna's pride - his family - shattered, there really weren't anymore reasons for him to be the all-encompassing Sky. But when he was given another chance, to protect them once more, he didn't hesitate - even if it's in another parallel world where he is no longer Vongola Decimo but his twin brother, his Elements no longer his but his brother's... and Vongola is falling (quite literally in terms of ranks).


His surroundings seemed to fade as Ienari had watched his brother pushing him of the way - again - and the lifeless body on the ground just seemed so familiar.

(Familiar Sky flames cackled as they immersed themselves in burning away the chains. This time, they succeeded in melting everything away, bring to surface the rest of what once had been restriction in his mind.)

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He shouldn't have persuaded his sickly brother to go the playground with him that day. It was his fault that they landed themselves in the wrong hands that time.

And they had to pay the price for it. Especially his older twin.

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"Hehe, I was told to kill you two brats but they never said to give a quick and painless death."

"No!" The brunet shouted adamantly, completely different from his usual demeanor, when the scary man approached Ienari first. "Evil man can't hurt Nari -" Cough cough!

"O-Onii-san!"

Even though Tsuna was shielding for the blonde, the latter had to support the former when he started to cough due to the ever-heightening fever.

"I-I'm okay..." The small brunet assured, though his croaking voice didn't sound too convincing.

"O-Onii-san... I-I'm scared..." The younger grabbed at the older tightly. "M-make this n-nightmare go away...!"

"Okay," Tsuna tried to comfort the blonde by stroking his head. "Onii-san will make it go away so Nari-kun won't be scared any more."

"Ho," The man smirked, looking from Ienari to Tsuna. "What a show of brotherly love, I'm really touched by the display."

Brown eyes narrowed as menacingly as they could, and they succeeded in sending chills down the man's spine by how eerie they were to switch between orange and brown. He clicked his tongue, forcing himself to brush it off as he took Tsuna and lift him by the throat akin to that of someone butchering a chicken.

"O-Onii-san! L-Let go of him!"

The man ignored Ienari trying to attack his leg while Tsuna's tiny hands many a fruitless attempt of trying to loosen the death grip so he could breath.

"You..." Tsuna didn't relent his glare as the man spoke, unsettling him even more. "I don't like those eyes of yours."

In the next moment, all the brunet saw was a flash of steel and then -

"AAAAHHHHH!"

- his sight was no more.

"ONII-SAN!"

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No... nonononono...! This isn't happening. This isn't happening this isn't happening thisisn'thappening t H I s I S n ' t H a p P e N i n G... !

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Little Ienari shook with fear as he tried to stop the bleeding that came from Tsuna's face but his brother didn't seem to be able to stop crying out red tears. "O-Onii-san... Onii-san..!"

"I-it hurts..." Tsuna whimpered, curling up in a ball. It had been a miracle that the boy was still conscious.

Seeing his big brother in that wretched state, Ienari somehow mustered enough courage to stand and attack the evil stranger that kidnapped them. "Why did you hurt Onii-san?!"

That charge was a mistake, he would soon realized, because with just one slap from the man, Ienari had skidded several feet away.

"Stupid brat." The man growled and gave a few harsh kicks at the little blonde. "I have enough of your whining."

"Let's see if you make make another sound after this."

"No... N-not Nari-kun... Nari-kun run!" Tsuna had warned even as he entered into motion. He may not be able to see anymore but something in his head told him where the man and Ienari was.

"Onii-san, h-help - AHHHHH!"

"NARI!" Bright orange flames burst into life around the brunet's body, its tendrils wild and wrecking havoc to the surrounding blindly and free from the seal that it once had to burn everything that it touches.

The building had soon been wreathed in bright orange flames, the air filled with screams of agony and of pleads.

By the time someone found the two boys, one had been shivering like no tomorrow in a corner, protected by a thin veil of orange while there had been a few cuts here and there, the other was laying in a pool of blood, shallow breathes were present but almost nonexistent.

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This is just a dream right? I don't want to see this. Not any of this. I don't - Wake up wakeupwakeupwakup -

Whack!

- and Ienari gained his wish courtesy of the one-ton Leon-hammer. He was by no means a masochist but he never thought he would one day be so happy to be hit by the blasted hammer -

"Snap out of it Baka-Nari or the next one's gonna be a hundred-ton."

- nor did he think he would feel so relief at hearing and seeing Reborn.

"R-Reborn...!" The blonde stammered, hands shaking as he took the infant by his small frame. "M-my brother - he -"

"I know." The hitman sighed with agitation. "Shamal had already performed hands-on surgery and I have healed Tsuna's wound with Sun flames but we still need to get him to the hospital quickly."

"But..."

"Ienari," Reborn stare straight into the boy's chestnut brown eyes. "He'll live."

"... R-Reborn... I -" Ienari's voice quivered as his fear-filled eyes traveled to the unconscious brunet who was now on a Leon-stretcher. "I remembered."

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Reborn would be lying if he hadn't panic for that one moment when Tsuna had been shot. He hadn't been fast enough to intervene but he should have prevented something like this happening. He was supposed to be the World's Greatest Hitman dammit! Something like preventing from the worst possible outcome was supposed to be his forte!

"You okay there, kora?" Colonello asked, resting a hand on Reborn's shoulder. The Rain Arcobaleno had to assist with pouring a doze of Rain flames over Tsuna's wild ones so that Shamal could perform hands-on operation to treat the wound. Heck, the doctor had to ask Fon to use Storm flames disintegrate the bullet that had embedded deep within Tsuna's chest - and that required a great deal of effort because one wrong move would damage Tsuna's vital organs.

Reborn forced his hands to un-clench themselves and nodded curtly. He put his hands over Tsuna's wound and sunny yellow flames danced into existence. Once the wound was closed, he motioned for Leon to turn into a stretcher and place the shape-shifter next to the brunet. He then ordered the frozen guardians to get Tsuna on the stretched and get him to the hospital asap.

Then he'd gotten on Ienari's case.

That one had been a surprise as well because the memories that Ienari had unknowingly locked away came back, and Reborn felt that the gaps in his information has finally been filled. He would have to say, Ienari really had been an idiot when he was a child... to have dragged his sick brother out without adult supervision of all things.

"I need you to go back and tell Mama that Tsuna's going to be staying at a friend's house. You need to act as if nothing happened, understand?"

"W-what?" Ienari stammered, startled. "But..."

"Do you want Mama to worry about the possibility of losing her eldest again?"

After that reasoning, Ienari got up on his feet and rush back home.

"Don't you think the parent has the right to know what happened to her child?" Fon voiced after Ienari had been out of earshot.

"... Tsuna wouldn't want people to worry." Reborn responded, pulling his fedora down. "Let's go clean this place up. I got some questions for the Scorpios that I want answers to."

Colonello and Fon exchanged a brief look before following after Reborn.


It had been a day since the incident and Ienari, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Dokuro were now standing in front of the hospital room where Tsuna was said to be admitted into. The blonde had told his friends that he was going to visit his brother, which had lead to the others expressing their desire to tag along too. And quite adamantly at that.

But now that they were in front of their destination...

"So... are we going in?" Yamamoto asked somewhat uncertainly.

"W-what if he's asleep?" Dokuro mumbled, shifting nervously. "W-we might be a bother..."

"Che, we wouldn't know unless we enter right?" Gokudera said but he made no move to follow through with his words. (Clearly, he was torn between going in and not.)

Ryohei had been silent but him lacking his usual enthusiasm already spoke volumes of how he was trying to be considerate.

Ienari himself had a hand against the door as if he was about to knock but didn't. He looked at his group of friends, brows furrowed. "M-maybe Tsuna's still resting. I mean -"

"What are you all dawdling in front of the door for?"

"Ah!" Ienari had been startled by his tutor's sudden appearance that he had jumped about a foot in the air. "R-Reborn?"

"You're quite jittery there Decimo, kora!" Colonello commented. He and Fon had also tagged along because they were a tad bit curious about the elder twin whom Reborn had given them information about the night before.

"I see that you're all trying to be considerate," Fon nodded his head in approval. "It seems that your bonds have been improving recently."

"It only took two years." Reborn snarked back at the Storm Arcobaleno's remark. He then turned towards Ienari. "Well? What are you all waiting for?"

"But..."

Reborn ignored what may have been an excuse and trotted to the door of Room 115 -

"Wait -!"

Slam!

- and promptly kicked it down.

When he saw was just what he'd expected to happen - which was a conscious Tsuna up and in the motion of trying to get out of bed -

Click.

- he already had Leon morphed into a gun.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Um... getting out...?" Tsuna was getting the feeling of deja vu, his leg now danging on the side of the bed and would have touched the ground if he hadn't been caught red-handed.

"It's only been a day."

"Well, yeah -"

"Did you forget the fact that you have been punctured through the heart by a bullet?"

Compared to the grimaces that everyone else wore when they heard Reborn, the brunet hadn't so much as wince as if that kind of wound was a very normal occurrence. "Well, no -"

"Then get your a** back on that piece of mattress. Now."

"But I'm fi -"

Bang!

Tsuna rolled over and hid behind the bed to dodge the bullet that was now embedded in the wall behind the spot he had been seconds prior.

"Finish that sentence and I guarantee that the next one will put you to sleep. Permanently."

"..." Tsuna sweatdropped but he was prudent enough to crawl back on the hospital bed, pulled the covers over his body, and obediently lied still like the good patient he was supposed to be.

The others had watched, speechless, with a gaping mouth as the scene played itself out. It was only when a nurse came that they snapped out of their daze.

"What was that noise just now?" She asked, frowning. "Don't you know that we have patients all around and they need all the rest that they could get?"

"Yeah, Tsuna," Reborn gave the sweating brunet a sneer. "Patients need all the rest they can get."

"Haha..." The boy laughed nervously, sweating bullets. "R-right. Sorry about that Miss... I err... dropped a book."

The nurse huffed and folded her arms across her chest in disapproval. "Well, make sure to be careful next time. And have your visitors keep their volume to the minimum, understand? I wouldn't be surprise a group this big makes a ruckus."

"... Yes, m'am."

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"... pfft...!" It was only after the nurse left that Colonello failed to keep his laughter in. "That was golden, kora!" He hopped onto the edge of the bed and gave Tsuna a thumbs-up. "You're as interesting as Reborn says! Name's Colonello, kora!"

Fon shook his head and entered the room after Reborn and Colonello, the rest following after the Storm Arcobaleno. He took a spot next to Colonello and did a traditional bow. "Hello Tsunayoshi, I am Fon."

Tsuna stared for several long seconds before flicking his gaze towards Reborn.

"Only the things on record unless you will allow it." The hitman answered vaguely.

"Oh," Tsuna was relieved to hear that Reborn was considerate enough not to tattletale off about his origins. He faced Colonello and Fon again, dipping his head in a polite greeting. "Nice to meet you two."

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto spoke up, gaining said boy's attention. "You shouldn't be moving so much like that, what if you get in an accident?"

"What accident can he get into dumbass?" Gokudera retorted in his usual ill-tempered manner. "This is the hospital." (He has no idea that hospitals weren't exactly safe if Tsuna was one of the residences. Having his guardians fussing over his well-being was... well, like going into a warzone, because they often over-fuss over everything - Tsuna still remembered that one time when he barely avoided having a pool-size jacuzzi built into the hospital room that he once stayed in.)

"That wasn't very extreme Tsuna," Ryohei had to agree with the ravenet as he loomed over the brunet with the others.

"Um... T-Tsuna..." Dukuro spoke meekly and hesitantly handed the teen a bouquet of flowers that she had bought along the way to the Naimori General Hospital. "P-please don't be so reckless or you won't get better..."

"A-ah...?" Tsuna jolted, absentmindedly took the bundle of get-well flowers and his slowly-functioning gears wondered if he was seeing this right because, for all the time he has stayed in this world, he was not used to... this.

"Tsuna..." Ienari was on the verge of crying tears of happiness to see Tsuna alive and breathing - completely different to the image that had been locked away in his memories and of yesterday. "Y-you're okay..."

Sunset-orange eyes stared, somewhat dumbfounded at how Ienari and his guardians were showering him this much concern.

... He was definitely not used to this. (Did the sun rise from the west instead of the east today?!)

Tsuna blinked owlishly for several long seconds before returning their gestures with a kind smile, heart feeling warm. "... Thanks, you guys... but it wasn't that bad was it?"

"What are you saying?" Ienari disagreed with a frown. "You... you could have died and - and I just wouldn't know what to think if you - and what about Mom and -"

"Ienari, slow down," Yamamoto tried to placate, giving the blonde a pat on the back to jump-start him back to reality. "Tsuna's all better now and that's all that matters!"

Said brunet chuckled, bring all the attention back to himself. "Don't get worked up over little things like this. It would take a lot more to get rid of me, right?"

"..."

Tsuna smiled brilliantly as he placed a hand on Ienari's head when he didn't give an answer (the latter had sat down on the available chair next to Tsuna). "Right, Ienari?"

"R-Right!" The younger twin squeaked, the sense of fear pervading him at how scary Tsuna's sugary-sweet smile seemed to be.

The action caused the brunet to laugh again. "Gee, Ienari, are you that easily spooked?"

"W-what, you - Onii!" Ienari deigned to whine.

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Tsuna's smile stayed fixed in place while the room descended into an unusual silence. He then pointed at himself and with a tilt of his head, he asked half amused half confused, "... Ogre?"**

"Pffft..." Yamamoto covered his mouth when he failed to held back a laugh. "S-sorry but - haha... i-it's just... Tsuna doesn't look anywhere near as scary as an ogre!"

"Haha EXTREMELY not scary at all!"

"Shut up! Juudaime's brother can look scary all he likes!"

"What - no!" Ienari flailed, flapping his arms. He then ducked his head down and played with his hands. "I just thought... well, you're my brother so maybe I should start calling you by the proper honorifics but 'Aniki' didn't sound right and - and 'Onii-san' just seem... childish so... um..."

"Ienari." Tsuna called, eyes dancing with mirth. "I can't understand you if you're mumbling."

"... I'm not mumbling." Ienari... well, mumbled.

"Aw, I have never seen Nari this shy before!" Yamamoto teased, swinging an arm over the blonde's shoulder.

"Oi, back off sword-freak! You're making Juudaime uncomfortable!"

"Maa maa, Nari doesn't mind, right?"

"Uh..."

"Of course he does!" Gokudera hissed, a dynamite in hand. "Just look at how stiff Juudaime is! So back off!"

"Gokudera, I don't think you should -"

"You should all EXTREMELY settle this like real men!"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ienari said. "I mean this is the hospital and my brother's a patient here..."

The three Arcobaleno watched the group of teens interact, noting how natural they seem to be with each other.

"Do they realize they're harmonizing with Tsunayoshi?" Fon offhandedly commented. "Even Ienari is being pulled in."

"An all-encompassing Sky isn't limited to six other elements." Reborn commented.

"The kid sure is special," Colonello whistled just as things were about to get out of hand on Ienari's end with the bomber and the boxer somehow managing to get into a disagreement. None of them bothered to stop the soon-to-be chaos though since it was quite a sight to behold.

"Haha, Tsuna, your plan yesterday was awesome!" Yamamoto complimented suddenly. "How did you come that up on the spot?"

"I have been playing a few strategy games recently." The brunet countered smoothly. "I just applied what I have learned to your mafia game."

They all blinked, thinking back to that strange yet familiar feeling of Sky flames that sudden appeared but disappeared just as quick as if it was just their imagination - which they were starting to believe so because the moment had been so fleeting and they didn't dare to bring it up if Tsuna didn't.

Ienari shook his head and sighed in defeat, deciding to no longer bother to correct his brother of reality. "Only you would think of it as -"

"Since we're on the topic," Reborn entered into the conversation and effectively cutting Ienari off. His eyes were gleaming evilly as he looked towards the blonde and his guardians. "We got a lot to do. Your performance when suddenly placed in that kind of situation was horrid."

He gave his student a chilling smirk. "Would you like to hear my opinion?"

"But..." Ienari gulped. "How did you...?"

"I bugged the entire school, Baka-Nari." Reborn chuckled. "You really think I would just leave you to your own devices? Of course not. Now, I repeat, would you like to hear what I think of your performance?"

"No..."

"Good, because you're going to hear it anyways."

"..."

"Let's start with your overall score. If this had actually been a test, I would have failed you the moment Tsuna was shot the first time. Was your Hyper Intuition asleep or something? Or is it that you weren't listening to it like I told you to - I'm not done yet." Reborn shot down whatever Ienari had to say and continued with his evaluation, his hand playing with the trigger on Leon-gun. "All of your reaction speeds towards the situation was just too slow."

The hitman took his time tutting and shaking his head mockingly. "More so than that, you spend a good five minutes acing like headless chickens. If not for Tsuna taking control and telling you all to shut up, then I would have a pretty good guess as to how long you would continue doing so."

"I told them to snap out of it, not shutting up." Tsuna mumbled indignantly. "And that's not called controlling the situation."

"Did I ask for your opinion? No." Reborn asked and answered the question for the brunet, making the latter roll his eyes discreetly. "Now, shut up all of you and listen. Baka-Nari, you and your guardians took more than five minutes to come up with a plan and following it through when any other experienced mafioso would have responded within seconds. I have to praise Hiabri and Chrome for responding in a relatively shorter time period though, but that's all they get from me. The so-called Earthquake drill might be a good idea... if you didn't take into account that there would be enemy off school grounds and they could very well take civilians under hostage - and the fact that you made the announcement but then left the students to their own accords... really, that was pathetic."

By now, there had been quite a few verbal arrows stabbing Ienari and his friends' head... not that Reborn cared because he was more than happy to continue his verbal assault.

"And you, Baka-Nari," The Sun Arcbaleno pointed. "You got yourself abducted from the very start. What the hell was that? I expected you to at least notice that you were in danger and what did I tell you to have at least one of your guardians with you at all times? You're the heir to Vongola, Baka-Nari, drilled it into that thick skull of yous because that is a very big deal. The fact that you were kidnapped so easily is an insult to Vongola's capabilities - but more importantly, it was an insult to me because I taught you better, understand?"

"... Yes, sir."

"And Tsuna."

"Uh... yes?"

"Your strategy wasn't half bad," Reborn complimented. "I personally like the brick part."

Tsuna felt a chill run up his spine but forced himself to smile. "T-thanks?"

Colonello wasn't as discreet with his thoughts since his was displaying his appalled expression for the world to see. "Reborn just gave out a compliment, the world must be ending!"

Fon had unknowingly nod his head in agreement.

"... do the both of you want lead in your heads?"


[Location: Italy]

"... what?" The man sitting behind the mahogany desk uttered, a frown etched across his features. "Pabolo was taken down?"

Copycat bobbed her head in confirmation. "I was playing a bit with Vongola's young Mist and Cloud that time so I didn't exactly see what happened but the moment I got on the scene, I saw that Scorpio guy out cold on the ground." She paused as if remembering something, then added. "I think he was done in by a brick..."

"... A brick." The man deadpanned.

"Yeah..." Copycat answered somewhat unwillingly. "It would seem that Ryohei Sasagawa was the one who had finished off his lackeys and apparently, the loud one managed to tap into his flame reservoir so he's now flame-active."

"..."

"I say, Boss," Copycat folded her arms across her chest, lips set into an indignant pout. "I don't think I'll be able to continue to poss as a student of Namimori High anymore. That boy from the Hibari clan seemed to have recognized my origin. Knowing his clan and their wide connection of networks, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm found out within a month."

Her leader remained silent for a few seconds longer before sigh. "Fine, you can stop going incognito."

"Oh yay~!" Copycat cheered and went around the table to give the man a hug like a child to a parent. "You're the best Boss!"

"Copycat... I'm your boss."

"That's what I said!"

"... Remind me again why I took you in as my Mist?'

"Because I'm the best assassin you have and I hate those stupid geezers of my clan for trying to keep me on a leash yet doesn't even plan on making me the next clan head!"

"And you swore your absolute loyalty to me when I promise to help you ascend to your desired position, right?"

"Right~!"

"Then get off of me."

Copycat pouted but obeyed, skipping back to her place in front. "You're no fun Boss."

"... If you weren't one of a kind, then I wouldn't have tolerated you for so long."

"Hehe, I know Boss loves me~"

"You..."

"Oh look at the time, I gotta go byeeeeee~!"

The man sighed exasperatedly as the young woman dashed out. "She's like a kid even though she's well into her prime."

A chuckle entered the room and a man with smooth auburn hair tied back into a low ponytail came in. One hand playing with a short jagged dagger while the was tucked away in his pant pockets. The most prominent features on his face were those sharp green eyes and the scar that ran from the root of his forehead completely down the side of his face. "Copycat does have her mature moments, Itzal."

"Vincent," The man now known as Itzal greeted with a curt nod. "What's your report on the Simons?"

"Well... "


"We're home," Tsuna alerted the Sawada residence. He had, thankfully, been allowed to leave the hospital with Ienari and friends - though the doctors were quite reluctant at first. (It was only after Reborn had a talk with them that they relented and no, Tsuna did not want to know what kind of talk that was.)

"Tsu-kun?" Nana poked her head out from the living room to make sure she didn't hear wrong.

"Ka -" The brunet had been taken by surprised when his mother rushed up to him and suddenly had him at arms length for inspection. "Kaa-san?"

"Tsu-kun, you're okay!" Nana sighed in relief after making sure that her Tsuna was well. She then took him into her arms, holding him ever-so tightly as if he would disappear the moment she let go. "I had the terrible feeling that something happened to you!"

"I-it was just a sleepover Kaa-san..." Tsuna assured the Sawada matriarch but still felt guilty for lying. "I don't think anything could happen when sleeping over at a friend's house."

"I know, I know," Nana said softly. "Call it a mother's intuition okay? It was just a feeling but I'm glad it was wrong. Thank goodness that Tsu-kun didn't leave me again."

Tsuna blinked his owlish eyes before softening his glazed orbs. His hands that had been staying frozen in the air as if unsure of whether to return Nana's hug or not finally started to move. He still had some of his reservations before because even though Nana was his mother, it wasn't his mother, so his guilt of replacing Tsunayoshi has kept him of expressing himself as the child he really was inside.

"I'm sorry that I worried you, Kaa-san," Tsuna apologized gently, arms gently wrapping around the mother that was his-yet-not. "I won't leave anymore without telling Kaa-san first."

(That was as close to a promise as he was willing to go, because he was unsure if he could keep it someday.)

"Un!" Nana smiled, unknown of the tears that was starting to fall on the corner of her eyes. She then saw Ienari and bade him over. "Na-kun, you too."

"E-eh?" The blonde had been standing on the side awkwardly, feeling somewhat envious that Tsuna had all of their mother's affections so he was quite startled when Nana suddenly called him over. He pointed at himself, staring widely. "M-me?"

"Mm."

Ienari was hesitant at first, but with the encouraging look he was gaining from Tsuna, he stepped forward. He had only gotten halfway before Nana pulled him in and hold both boys tightly. "No matter what, both are you are my sons, understand? You can't leave without telling me, you hear?"

"... Of course, Kaa-san."

"Y-yeah..." Ienari mumbled, burying his face into his mother's shoulder. "... I'm sorry mom." For everything.

Nana's shoulders sagged, finally being able to released the unknown stress that had always been weighing her down.

It would have been a heartwarming scene if Lambo didn't come in.

"Lambo-san wants a hug too!"

Tsuna chuckled, pulling out of Nana's hold and caught the pouncing cow-child in his arms. He idly noted that Lambo's grip was tighter than usual and visibly shaking, but not out of excitement. It prompted him to stroke the child's head in comfort, eyes softening towards the anxious child.

He seemed to have underestimated the child's sensibility...

"Don't worry Lambo, as long as you're willing, we won't leave you out," Tsuna reassured quietly.

Lambo's eyes flashed and he unconsciously trembled.

"Do you see him anywhere?" One mafioso of the Bovino Famgilia asked another.

"Out of sight," The other replied with a smug smile hanging on his lips. "And hopefully, he won't find his way back this time."

Lambo listened absentmindedly from an alley way where he was hiding from the so-called bodyguards that had took him out to play, but then shook him off for the umpteenth time.

He watched as they walk away, lips pursed but kept his tears from falling. He may be a child but he wasn't an idiot.

His father disliked him because he blamed Lambo for the cause of his mother's death. Death by child birth. That dislike lead to neglect, then to situations where Lambo was cast off like trash by his father and his subordinates alike.

However, they underestimated Lambo's intelligence. If he was a pushover, then Lambo would've already been dead before he could walk. So if they were going to act like that, then fine, Lambo was going to do whatever he liked since no matter what he does, it wouldn't garner any positive results. He'll be the spoiled little brat that they despise so much, partly to annoy them as a payback and partly because he refused to live the life of someone who was so easily bullied.

With a tired huff, Lambo pushed himself up and stepped out onto the street. The world, from his point of view, was filled with giants all of whom offered on assistance.

"T-Tol... ler... rate..." His lips quivered but he refrained from tearing up. Repeatedly mumbled the word under his breath calmed his emotions down, and it was becoming a habit whenever he was feeling hurt.

He had to rely on himself to find his way back to the mansion - it wasn't a home, a home was warm and welcoming while the Bovino mansion was not.

It was that day he met another child that seemed to be like him, but different at the same time. He didn't know what the kid with the fedora was doing in a bar, but Lambo felt a sense of comradeship with him. So, with his chest puffed out proudly, he strode towards the child and strike up a conversation.

Maybe, Lambo hoped, he won't be ignored and despised.

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.

"Promise?" Lambo stared at Tsuna with big, innocent green eyes, but when the brunet looked closely, he noticed the fear of abandonment haunting within them.

"..." Tsuna side-glanced Ienari and Reborn before returning back. "Ienari's your family, of course you won't be left out."

"But... but what about Tsuna-nii?" Lambo's rebut caused the brunet to freeze in his steps towards the living room while Nana had returned to prepare dinner - now with renewed energy.

"Lambo," Tsuna finally responded after the long pause, smiling yet not. "I'll always be a part of the family no matter where I am."

Ienari was startled, since he was quietly listening to the short exchange between Tsuna and Lambo, but he didn't understand the dread he felt when he heard Tsuna's response.

Reborn, on the other hand, gave Tsuna a light bop on the head. Said brunet rolled his eyes at the hitman and ignored the latter entirely when Fuuta and I-pin finally came forth from where they were hiding.


Tsuna had been seeing on the bend of the porch, stargazing, when another person joined him. The two of them didn't exchange a word for several minutes before Tsuna finally spoke.

"What's on your mind Ienari?"

The blonde glanced at his brother who seemed to still be in thought for a brief moment and for a split second, he didn't see Tsuna but a man ten years older. He blinked, and the illusion disappeared. Deciding he was imagining things, he switched his gaze to the two trees that was planted in their yard, most of their light source coming from the porch light and the windows of their house.

"... a lot of things." Ienari finally answered, leaning forward his his elbows propped on his laps.

Tsuna chuckled, giving his younger twin a quick glance. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"Well, you were shot."

The answer was blunt, Ienari knew, but how else was he supposed to phrase it?

"Well, I guess I understand your sentiment, " Tsuna said somewhat slowly, scratching his cheek. "But I'm okay now, aren't I?"

Ienari didn't respond to that, instead, he continued in a deadpan. "And you seem to get along with Reborn really well."

"Eh -"Tsuna did a double take and smiled nervously. "What brought this one, Ienari?"

"I just..." The blonde sighed, but didn't look in Tsuna's direction. "I just wish I could be like you. You're just so... calm about everything and - and you can crack jokes with Reborn so naturally... he doesn't even hit you for it too. Is it because you're not like us?"

"..."

Ienari had been surprised when a hand was suddenly placed on his head. He finally turned his head towards the older twin and he saw gentle sunset-orange eyes filled with warmth and acceptance. Like the Sky that Ienari was supposed to be but will never reach completely.

"Don't beat yourself over it," The brunet advised. "Everyone's a little different."

"We're twins."

"Fraternal twins, Ienari." Tsuna's gaze was deep, too deep that Ienari could've gotten lost in them if the brunet didn't avert his gaze back up to the sky. "You're still young Ienari."

"... we're the same age." Ienari rebutted once again but still haven't moved away from Tsuna's hand because it was warm and gentle unlike their father's.

"..." Tsuna didn't deign the comment a respond. Instead, he removed his hand away from Ienari's head and continued. "Ienari, just continue being who you are. Sooner or later, you'll be able to find stable grounds and you're going to be a great person someday."

Ienari frowned. "Tsuna, let's say you and I are in the mafia -"

"Your game?"

"No, the real one," - but they're practically the same thing, Ienari felt strange to speak of the reality that they were in but not-in at the same time. "Just... just pretend you're in the real mafia."

Tsuna's lips curved up in mirth for a moment before relaxing. "Go on..."

"Shouldn't there be an unspoken rule that applies when a famiglia is to select the next heir but they had to choose between twins?"

"Mm..." Tsuna agreed absentmindedly. "Usually, it's the older one."

"Then in our case, you, the older twin, have been AWOL so I have been selected as heir. But then you came back as if nothing happened at all. In that situation, wouldn't you have the right to the spot of the named heir...?"

"Ienari," Tsuna returned the blonde's question with a stern gaze befitting of an older brother admonishing his younger sibling when they did something wrong. "Assuming that we really are involved with the mafia, that title was originally yours and you have been preparing for it. I'm not going to take it away from you just because I managed to slip from Death's door."

"But you'll be way better at it," The younger twin mumbled but hadn't expect himself to be heard.

"You'll be great at it." Tsuna countered. "Maybe not now, but in the future. Like people say, 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. I trust that you will learn, Ienari."

"I have been learning," The blonde sallied almost frustratingly. "But I just can't seem to get it! There's Family and then there's family, how am I supposed to manage a balance in between them?"

"Ienari..." Tsuna frowned somewhat in confusion. "What the heck are you talking about now? Aren't those two the same thing?"

"Eh...?" Ienari blinked, wondering what his brother was trying to allude to. "No no, I'm talking about Family and family!"

That earned him a flick on the head. "Dummy, that's where the problem lies."

"What...?"

Tsuna shook his head helplessly. "As far as I can tell, there's really no distinct between the two." He stood up, stretching his body for a moment before giving his brother one last pat on the head. "I'm going back to my room. I need to do the homework I missed yesterday."

Ienari was still mulling over his brother's words that he was startled when Tsuna spoke again.

"Remember this Ienari: you have friends whom you can rely on. Kaa-san and I are also here if you need help." Tsuna paused, his hand holding the door open. His sunset-orange eyes glowed and Ienari couldn't see Tsuna again. "You have to accept all the people around you, Ienari, and value each and every person. A life is a life no matter how insignificant they may seem."

...

Creak... click.

The door close after Tsuna went inside and Ienari was left to wonder if Tsuna was trying to give him some sort of advice.

"You should be feeling quite lucky because he's going to be your adviser and second-in-command some day."

"WHAT THE-" Ienari jumped off of the bend when Reborn literally dropped in from the sky. "Don't do that Reborn!"

"You're a hundred years too early to be telling me what to and not to do."

Ienari groaned but then the gravity of the hitman's previous words weighted down on him. "What do you mean Tsuna's going to be my adviser? You're still trying to rope him in?!"

"What are you talking about?" Reborn gave his student a look of obviousness. "He's already in."

"..." When Ienari thought about it, there was some truth in his tutor's words. Tsuna had already been involved the moment he met Reborn - or rather, the moment he was born with Vongola blood in his veins. The blonde sighed in defeat and sat back down.

"... why can't Onii be the Decimo?" He complained. "I'm sure he would be better at it than -"

Whack!

- "Ow!"

Reborn put Leon-hammer down after killing some of Ienari's brain cells. "Finally admitted that you have faults that you can't seem to fix?"

"..." Ienari's silence was more than enough of an answer for the hitman.

"At least you're going somewhere now. You can't fix a fault unless you acknowledge that you have one."

"..."

"Besides, I have already started training you for two years." Reborn continued. "I'll be damned if I have to start from scratch again."

"Reborn..." Ienari was moved at his words... though it was dosed with cold water by Reborn's words in the next second.

"What are you looking at me for? You still have a few hundred homework exercises that you haven't done and I have plenty of grenades left unused."

The way how Reborn sounded so gleeful made Ienari cry on the inside. Why exactly did he have to have the infant as a home tutor?


Family and family bonding and fluff! Ienari's awkward and shy isn't he? (But I find that cute :D)

A bit of a typical kidnapping and torture so there's nothing interesting about that... maybe. I don't know, I'm not too creative with these things. :P But hey, at least we finally have the reason for Ienari's memory lapse. (Whether it was Tsuna's or Ienari's doing though... it's up to interpretation.)

Also, I'm not sure if bullet wounds to the heart can be saved or not but uh... as long as it's given immediate treatment right? Right! (Plus, they have Flames - though using real illusions to replace internal organs is a really huge cheat against Death.)

Okay, so, I can't think of much for Lambo's problem since he's - he's a kid! And - uh... I don't know if it was appropriate to insert a flashback in there or not but I did it anyways but Lambo was the only one left that I haven't done because I didn't know how so yeah...

I'm not sure if I'm satisfy with this chapter... but oh well.

** I took the Onii from Onii-san and made a pun of it to Oni (which, if you didn't know already, is a yōkai from the Japanese folklore that is depicted to have an ogre-like appearance most of the time), though I'm not sure of Oni and Onii has similar pronunciations but they're pretty close in spelling so yeah.

Thanks to WildRosa13474, vampireharry the 2, Guest(3), Kitani, Woezy, Yuki, Revantio Van Cario, Neko Nishiriu, Otaku1727, yukihime, hyraM, Guest97, Guest(2), theselfproclaimedgreatest7, xoxo, Lalalu, I-AM-A-SUPER-SADIST, Seablue eyes 9311, Guest(1), JustSome01 , niniku, Bell2629, thor94, PhantomCielo27, Moonpuzzle, Undertheskys, Herushiru, angelaneahwalker, D C JoKeR H S, StarlitBaby, akachan23, naturefire, Sora Rider X, wildcat1144, doremishine itsuko, MayaHikari, Chew Chew, setsuna koori, Knight Yuuki, Owlstar7, Little Ms. Pumpkin, YokaiAngel for reviewing!

Happy reading! ~ヾ(^∇^)