Moved into my new apartment and it's pretty sweet! All that work is finally paying off and I'm loving it. Not loving how long it took to get this done, though. Hope you all enjoy anyway!

Lambo/Nana day

Tsuna makes too many choices

Kouske isn't a monster

I-Pin joins the fray

Sleepovers are fun

-00-

Breaking Bridges

-00-

"Maman."

"Mgh," Nana twisted their face against the pillow, hair dragging to get lodged in their mouth. "Mha?"

"Maman," Lambo pushed at their face again, kneeling next to their pillow.

"Bovino Lambo seems to have had a nightmare."

Nana lifted their head, blinking blearily at the young boy. Lambo stared back with wide, wobbling eyes.

"Hey bud," Nana reached out, cupping his cheek in one hand. Lambo buried his face in it, sniffing. "Want to stay here tonight?"

He nodded, burrowing into the blankets. Nana curled around him, holding him close.

"Wanna know what I do when I have a nightmare?" Nana hummed, rubbing his back when he shivered. The vast differences between Lambo and a young Tsuna had been driving them a bit insane, trying to figure out how to handle each situation, but when it came to nightmares? Nana was a fucking pro.

One green eye peered up at them. Nana wiped away the stray tear there.

"Maman has nightmares?"

"Of course," Nana said. "Everyone has nightmares sometimes."

"Even Reborn?"

"...Uh-huh." Probably.

Lambo leaned back enough to reveal the rest of his face. He looked like his mind was exploding. Nana could relate.

"How do you beat them?"

"Well," Nana started, running their hand through his afro (it was hard to keep that thing clean, seeing as how he stuck everything within arms reach in there), "there are a few different ways. The first one is to get help. You're very smart to have figured that one out all by yourself, good job Lambo!"

Lambo giggled, puffing out his chest with pride.

"The second one is to have a protector with you, to watch over you while you sleep. They keep the bad dreams away."

"Like Maman?" Lambo bounced a little. Nana weighed him down more with their arm. The added weight settled him easily. They'd look into getting him a weighted blanket. It had helped Tsuna, perhaps it would help Lambo too.

"Not quite. See, the protectors are small. They fool the bad dreams into thinking they're not very strong, and then when they get closer," Nana grinned, tickling his sides, "they gobble them up!"

Lambo squealed, wriggling around. Nana shushed him gently, chuckling. Once he was settled again, fear completely drained away, Nana continued.

"Do you know anyone that can do that job?"

"Crybaby Tsuna!"

Nana snorted.

"Almost. Has Tsuna showed you Plat?"

Lambo's eyes went wide. "It… eats bad dreams?!"

Nana nodded like a wise old priest. "He does. Lavina designed him special."

"Whoa." He sat there, mouth wide open. "Can I have one?"

"Sure bud, I'll ask Lavina about it tomorrow."

Little hands tapped excitedly at Nana's arms. "What else, what else?"

"Well, Tsuna didn't really like to do this one but I bet you would be great at it," Nana said. "I've noticed you're a very good singer."

"Lambo-san likes to sing," he preened.

"That's wonderful, because bad dreams hate music."

Nana blinked when Lambo frowned.

"Reborn said monsters hate music, not bad dreams."

...

"When did Reborn tell you that?"

"When Lambo-san got a room," his eyes brightened, easily overjoyed at the mere mention of his very own room even now. "Lambo-san couldn't sleep because monsters might sneak in. Reborn said if I hid under the covers then they would just eat everyone else."

Wow. Wait to go Reborn. What the fuck.

Lambo seemed anything but disheartened. He puffed his chest out proudly. "He said that the great Lambo-san was in charge of keeping the monsters away cause he was too busy, and that they hated music so if I just sang before bed they'd be so scared of Lambo-san they wouldn't come back!"

That was… sweet? In a very Reborn way, Nana guessed.

"Wow, so you've been protecting us this whole time?" Nana grinned.

Lambo noded fiercely.

"Thank you!" Nana ruffled his hair. "You're an amazing hero!"

Lambo giggled, burrowing into the hug even further and going mostly limp. He'd fall alseep in a few minutes tops.

"Both monsters and bad dreams hate music, so one of your songs will work for both. If you ever wake up from a bad dream that's slipped through sing your Lambo song to scare it away, okay?"

Lambo blinked long and slow, one eyelid closing a little bit faster than the other as he started to nod off. "What if it's a really bad one?"

Nana ran a hand through his afro and across his back. "Then you come get me or Tsuna and we'll scare it away for you."

Tiny hands clenched around Nana's sleep shirt. He couldn't keep his eyes open anymore, cheek smooshed on Nana's collar bone. Nana relaxed too, underneath the familiar but time missed feeling of the safe weight of their kid drifting to sleep. Soon enough he was completely limp and gone from the world.

"You seem more relaxed than usual," Snake noted. "It normally takes a fair amount of time for you to resettle if you wake up too early."

"Do you have a discovery channel like journal about me?" Nana wondered, whispering softly as they ran a hand over Lambo's back. "Cause that's what that sounds like."

"No," Snake sounded like a put upon parent being asked the five hundredth inane question in a row. "I am simply observant paired with a good memory."

"Right. Sure," Nana nodded, not believing him at all. "I forgot what it was like to have a kid so young. I definitely missed the cuddles more than I thought."

"That is a common feeling in most parents. It is often the starting point leading to having more children. You could consider it an early form of the empty nest syndrome but minimized to missing behavioral patterns as they grow instead of missing them entirely when they leave."

Nana blinked. "Huh. That makes sense I guess. There are a lot of things Tsuna did when he was little that I missed when he stopped."

Gosh Tsuna had been so flipping cute. He was still cute, of course, but there was a difference between 'my cute teenage son full of fluff and anxiety' and 'my cute toddler son who thinks the sun is a person and greets them every morning'.

"Did you know that the empty nest syndrome is actually considered a very serious medical concern? It is often mirrored with grief. Missing the finality of death of course, children leaving is similar to experiencing an extreme loss of personal connection and it can often lead to depression and anxiety."

Nana yawned, shifting a little bit so they could sink further into their pillow without dislodging Lambo. "That sounds like it sucks. I felt really sad when my siblings moved out. I was really attached to them so when they left I kind of felt like I'd never see them again even though I knew they were just a call away."

"It is similar to that, yes. Having someone who was a dependant upon you for so many years suddenly become independent often leaves people with a loss of purpose."

"I can... see that," Nana blinked slowly. "It won't be too bad though."

"I think you are underestimating the effects Bovino Lambo and Tsunayoshi's future independence will have on you."

"Oh I'll be devastated for a while, I'm sure," Nana yawned, eyes closed. "But I'll still have people that need me."

"You mean Lavina?"

"I mean you."

"...I was not aware I needed you," Snake said softly, sounding oddly uncertain.

"Dun' worry bout it," Nana breathed deeply, slowly slipping off. This was kind of becoming an important conversation but damn it they'd been conditioned. Snake lessons meant sleep. It was like hearing a lullaby from your childhood and finding yourself suddenly a lot more relaxed and sleepy. You couldn't fight shit like that. "I need you… too."

"Hm."

Nana dreamed about the cliffs again. On the far cliff they could see their family from before. The twins were waving, calling out, but Nana couldn't hear what they were saying. Dad was sitting down, leaning against the rocks with his eyes closed as he waited.

The Snake was still watching, eyes never blinking, but it was closer now. If Nana reached out, leaned forward a bit, they would be able to touch it. Nana smiled at it, looking back at their family and feeling the sun on their face. The Snake would get closer when it wanted to. Nana had the time to wait.

-00-

It was 7:30 when Tsuna and Hayato stumbled down the stairs with sleep still dragging at the corners of their eyes.

"Where are you two going so early in the morning?" Nana wondered. Tsuna usually hated leaving the house before ten at the earliest on a weekend and Hayato just kind of followed Tsuna so long as Lavina didn't need anything.

"We're training," Hayato clenched his fist, eyes glinting.

Tsuna looked halfway to dead already. "Nii-san wants us to prepare for the festival coming up. We're doing the stupid pole thing and for some reason he voted for me to be the representative."

Oof. Nana tried not to wince. Ryohei had been trying to get Tsuna to join the boxing club for years now. He could only assume this was the older teen's latest attempt. "Well… good luck boys. Text me where you'll be and I'll run some lunch over for all of you later."

"Thanks Dad."

"Thank you Nana-san," Hayato bowed a bit.

Nana sent a mental prayer Tsuna's way as he grumbled all the way out the door. It'd be good for him to get some sun, but maybe he'd bring the first-aid kit along with their lunch, just in case.

"Maman?"

Nana got up and went to the stairs. He smiled up at Lambo who was rubbing his eyes. "Morning bud, how'd you sleep?"

Lambo beamed, launching himself off the top step and straight into Nana's arms.

"Oh shi- ning, uh, stairs. Cause they're so clean," Nana caught him, easily tucking Lambo into his arms. "Lambo, sweet little cow child, you can not jump off of stairs like that."

Lambo giggled, now far more awake. "Lambo-san is hungry!"

Nana sighed. This whole 'selective hearing' thing was a new experience. He needed more info on how to approach that, since apparently his usual parenting method wasn't quite up to the challenge.

"Let's go have an omelet then."

"Pancakes!"

"Those are on Fridays and holidays. It's omelets today."

Lambo went limp in Nana's arms, whining.

Nana looked down at him with one eyebrow raised. "Keep that up and I'll fill yours with carrots. And you'll have to eat the whole thing."

"No!" Lambo looked horrified. "Lambo-san will be good! Lambo-san loves omelets!"

Nana laughed, ruffling his hair and setting him down. "That's good to hear. Since you're listening and being good then you can pick the vegetable we use."

Lambo pouted, fiddling with the ends of his shirt. "Does it have to have vegetables?"

Nana nodded. "At least one. Not all vegetables taste bad you know. We just need to find the ones you like."

That might have been a bit much for him to comprehend. Nana wanted to feel surprised, kids usually had at least one vegetable they liked, but considering the only food he had on him when he got to Namimori was candy shoved into his hair it just made Nana angry to think about. So he didn't.

"What about spinach?" Nana offered. "It was in the pasta on Tuesday and you seemed to really like that."

Lambo perked up. "Really? It didn't taste bad."

"Then let's give that one a shot."

Lambo did seem to have a better reaction foods that were reminiscent of Italian food. That made sense. Damn, Nana was an idiot. He'd have to start making more Italian stuff, ease Lambo into different food cultures more slowly. When he went to Italy for the reunion it would be the perfect time to talk to the cafeteria chefs about what kind of meal plan would work best for Lambo.

"Can Lambo-san add sprinkles?"

"Uh," Nana frowned a bit. "I don't think that would taste very good, but we can try. Let's make two regular ones and a sprinkle one to share."

"Yeah!" Lambo cheered, dancing his way into the kitchen.

"You're making omelets?"

If, one day, Nana punched Shouto hard enough to break something it would be his own god damned fault.

"I told you to stop sneaking around like that!"

Shouto shrugged, bed head and lazy yawns marking his silent appearance. "Learn to hear better."

Nana would kill him. One day.

Soft footsteps padded down the hall audibly.

Ryu, fresh-faced and ready for the day, smiled warmly at Nana. "Good morning Nana, you look very energized today."

Nana smiled back, nudging the giant starting to doze off out of the way. "Morning Ryu-kun! I slept really well last night."

Ryu placed his hands on Shouto's shoulders, guiding him towards the kitchen. "That's good, I've been worried about how tired you've seemed lately."

"Oh," Nana frowned. He hoped Tsuna hadn't noticed. That boy had enough problems to deal with without Nana's thrown on top. "I've just been a bit stressed, but everything's coming together better now."

Shouto tried to pat Nana's shoulder, missed, shrugged, then went to sit down at the table next to Lambo.

Ryu shook his head. "I'm sorry about him."

Nana laughed. "Don't worry about it. Besides the heart-attacks, he adds some extra life to this house."

"I don't know how much more 'life' this place can take," Ryu huffed under his breath. He looked fondly over at his husband who was blinking at Lambo in a way that showed he had clearly clocked out of that fast-paced conversation the moment it started.

There was a crash upstairs.

"Enzo no! How did you get in the bathroom again?! Michelle-san, please don't do that, he'll only get bigger."

"He seemed thirsty, poor thing."

Michelle-san, no!"

Nana took a deep breath. Then blocked out every sound that wasn't coming from the kitchen with practiced ease.

"May I help?" Ryu motioned towards the stove.

"Sure. Spinach omelets sound good?"

Ryu nodded. Nana tossed him a spare apron and they got to work.

They ended up making a lot more than three omelets. Ryu made two for himself, and Shouto got a whopping six. Then Michelle had wandered in (or Nana assumed she did, seeing as how the first two omelets mysteriously disappeared when her keys vanished from the key ring. That woman needed a nap or something, her schedule was a disaster to keep track of), Dino tried to rush out so Nana had to literally wrap one up and shove it in the hood of his jacket before he could chase after his abnormally large turtle into the neighborhood, Bianchi grabbed one on her way out to wherever she was planning to go that day, and finally the one Nana wrapped up and stowed away in the fridge for Lavina whenever she woke up.

Nana allowed himself a brief moment to reminisce about the times where it was just him and Tsuna, where grocery store trips were a bi-weekly thing instead of a daily one.

Shouto made an unflattering noise when he shoved a forkful of food in his mouth, before even finishing his last bite.

"Dude," Nana stared at him when he was digging into the third with no sign of slowing down. "How do you actually eat that much?"

Ryu bumped Shouto's shoulder when he tried to answer with his mouth full. Instead of finishing the bite he was on and pausing to talk like a normal person Shouto apparently decided speaking was not worth the lost time in eating. He shrugged and kept going.

Ryu rolled his eyes fondly. "He's always had a very fast metabolism. And we've always thought he had an extra stomach in there."

Shouto squirmed away from the finger poking at his side, giving Ryu the stink eye that lasted for all of a second before he smiled happily at him around another bite. Ryu smiled back.

"You two are cute," Nana pointed between them with his fork. He kept it leveled at Shouto. "But you're still really fricken weird."

"Lambo-san is cute!" Lambo cried, bits of food flying out of his mouth.

Nana wiped his face off, tapping his nose. "Don't talk with your mouth full. But yes, you're very cute too."

The sprinkle omelet (all they had was the rainbow sprinkles from the last baking day) wasn't as bad as Nana thought it would be but it definitely wasn't good. At the very least it made Lambo appreciate the very delicious Spinach ones better.

Clean up was nice and easy, especially with an extra pair of hands helping out with the dishes as well as keeping Lambo preoccupied.

"Do either of you have any plans next Saturday?" Nana wiped off the last of the dishes, passing it to Shouto to dry.

Ryu looked up from where he was playing some kind of rhythm game, Lambo singing happily to keep the tempo. "I don't think so. Why?"

"It's Tsuna's birthday, and the day before I leave for Italy. You guys don't have to do anything, but we usually have a big family dinner over at TakeSushi. If you're free you're welcome to join us!"

"We're in," Shouto said with far more determination than was needed for a birthday dinner.

Ah. It was probably the 'dinner' part.

"We'd be honored to join you all," Ryu looked up, wide-eyed. "Are you sure though? You said… you said it was for family."

"Ryu," Nana looked over his shoulder at him. "Your Grandmother was practically my Grandmother growing up. And you've lived here for weeks now. You both are family as far as I'm concerned."

There must be more history than Nana was aware of because Ryu looked like he was about to cry.

"...Thank you," Ryu ducked his head, looking away when Lambo peered up at him curiously.

Shouto dried off his hands, placing one on Nana's shoulder and looking him dead in the eye.

"Thank you," he, solemn. "Ryu, we should go get ready."

Ryu nodded, standing up and patting Lambo's head. "I'm already ready."

"Help me get ready then."

"So lazy," Ryu muttered, smiling softly. He couldn't quite make eye contact with Nana when they walked out, but the smile never left his face.

Nana watched them go with pursed lips. She knew more about Shouto than the man probably wanted, thanks to Reborn and Kouske's hacking network, but everything he knew about Ryu came second-hand from Hanazawa-san. He could piece some things together, sure, but that reaction seemed a bit… stronger than the bits of story Nana had gathered would suggest.

Well, whatever it was either Ryu would talk about it at some point or he wouldn't. They were staying for another month at least, so he'd just have to invite them to more things.

Nodding to himself Nana dried off his hands and turned towards his youngest son (could he… could he call Lambo his son? Was that a little early? Would Lambo be okay with that?).

"Wanna go to the park Lambo?"

"Yeah!"

Getting Tsuna ready for a walk had been easy. Sing a little song about tying shoes and he'd be ready to go in a minute, tops. Lambo buzzed around like he was about to burst from his own skin, easily distracted by everything he saw, touched, or even smelled. Halfway through shoving his arms into a jacket (just in case it rained or something) Shouto had come out of the bathroom wearing the cologne he only wore when he was going on a date with Ryu (honestly, those two were absolutely adorable) and Lambo latched onto his leg the second he passed by.

"You smell funny! Are you wearing perfume?" Lambo demanded, jacket half-on as Nana hung his head and sighed.

Shouto blinked down at him. "...Of a sort."

"Lambo-san thought only ladies wore perfume," Lambo looked confused.

Shouto shrugged. "If it smells nice anyone can wear it but this was technically made for men so-"

"Lambo-san wants some!"

And then it took some time to wrestle Lambo away from both Shouto and then the bathroom where the very nice bottle of cologne was hidden away carefully.

"There!" Nana near shouted, clapping their hands once. Lambo was finally, finally bundled and ready to go. Shoes tied and everything.

"Don't you look precious," Lavina yawned, patting Lambo's head as she ambled down the stairs. Lambo grinned happily up at her. "Where are you two going?"

"The park!" Lambo cheered.

"Then the store, probably," Nana nodded. "We need more eggs. You've got an omelet in the fridge."

Lavina gave him a little side hug, droopy eyes blinking slowly as she tried to wake up. "...Thanks. Have fun."

"Will do. Try not to run into the wall or anything."

Lavina waved him off, sliding lazily against the wall on her way to the kitchen.

"Alright bud, let's get going."

"Yeah!"

-00-

Tsuna had three choices.

1. Stop Hayato from murdering Ryohei. This was the second most difficult choice because even if he helped Takeshi restrain the silverette Ryohei would just keep laughing and calling him 'octopus head' and eventually Hayato's stamina would beat them all.

2. Climb the wooden pole Ryohei had brought so he could practice not falling off. Because he would be doing the same thing in two days in front of the entire school because Ryohei thought Tsuna somehow had the strength and endurance to be their representative. This was the most difficult choice because Tsuna couldn't even climb a tree, with handholds and grooves for your feet, much less a completely sanded down eight-foot pole.

3. Fall into the river for the second time that day (the first had been from his original sad attempt at climbing the pole) and let the current carry him far, far away from his troubles.

Option three was looking pretty appealing. The water wasn't even that cold, if he thought about it. And in a few hours the sun would warm it right up. It would be like taking a bath. A nice, relaxing bath where the craziness of his friends or the expectations of the society around them couldn't reach him.

That sounded nice.

"I agree with Sasagawa," Reborn, the bringer of chaos, piped in.

Then he took Tsuna's choices, ripped them in half, and shot him in the face. And maybe that would have been okay, if Tsuna had only been thinking about one thing. But he'd been thinking about three, and when the will to do everything you want to before you die takes over your body in a fiery blaze of passion you try to accomplish all of them. At once.

"Whoa!" Takeshi laughed when Tsuna lifted them all onto his shoulders, ran up the pole before it fell now that the people holding it were gone, and rocket launched them all into the river with enough strength to send them hopping down it like the smoothest of stones.

"EXTREEEEMMMMEEE!" Ryohei cheered, fists pumping in the air as he cheered.

Hayato screamed. It was a little hard to tell if it was out of fear or excitement. Probably both.

"Hello Tsunayoshi-kun," Natsuki waved at them, arm linked with Kouske's as they walked along the bank.

"HELLO!" Tsuna roared back as they sailed past them.

Kouske slowly wiped the water off his face from the wave of their passing.

Natsuki laughed, thumbing at a spot he missed. "I'll tell Kyoya they're having fun without him. He needs a break."

Kouske rolled his eyes.

"Tsuna, you're so strong!" Takeshi had to yell to be heard past the roar of the wind in their ears, already soaked from head to toe.

Ryohei cackled. "I knew you were the right choice!"

"BRIDGE!" Hayato shrieked, shielding his face.

Tsuna didn't really remember what happened after that. All he knew was that there was a loud sound like a crack, everyone screamed, and then they were all staring up at a very unimpressed Kyoya who seemed a bit upset that they had broken the bridge in half.

"I," Tsuna started, praying his friends would follow his lead for once in their lives, "am so sorry."

No one else apologized, but they did manage to act as a cohesive unit of survivalists when they started running the second Kyoya pulled out his tonfas.

"Consider this training," Reborn called, relaxing peacefully in one of the trees ahead of where Tsuna was running. They had all split up, the smartest move they'd made that day, and Tsuna knew that out of all of them Kyoya was most likely to follow Ryohei. Their resident boxer was clearly the most challenging to catch and fight, which was like catnip to Kyoya.

It was his klutziness that saved his head from decapitation.

"Why are you chasing me?!" Tsuna cried, scrambling away faster than before. He'd be more concerned about running through the neighborhood in his boxers if his adrenaline wasn't so high.

Kyoya flicked out his tonfa, eyes narrowed.

"You're the one that broke the bridge Tsuna," Reborn informed him, stretching out and settling in for an afternoon nap.

"That was your fault! You shot me!"

"I told you to climb the pole. Destroying the bridge was your own decision."

Tsuna made a mental promise to join Nana on more of their morning runs. He was still absolutely going to die, but he would last at least five more minutes than normal. Marked improvement.

"Kyo-kun, I swear, I didn't mean too!"

"I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna cried as he ran, which was probably a waste of valuable air but it made him feel better so he did it anyway.

"Just try and hit him, I'll fucking kill you!" Hayato roared from somewhere behind them. He must have looped back around once he realized he wasn't the one targeted for death.

"Keep running!" Takeshi called out helpfully. As though Tsuna had actually thought to stop.

"TSUNA! Lead him over here! I'll take him out!"

And get caught in the crossfire?! No thank you!

Kyoya growled, stepping off his front foot, twisting, and rocketing back towards the others. "I have been too lenient on you herbivores. Destroying public property, disturbing the peace, crowding," he spat.

Takeshi, the only one with any self-preservation apparently, had turned to run the second Kyoya targeted them instead of Tsuna. Hayato and Ryohei had taken it as a challenge and were now standing their ground, fists up and dynamite in hand.

Tsuna kept running. He loved his friends, he did, and if he could help them he would. But you didn't fight Kyoya. You either died or distracted him. His friends had made their choice.

"I will find you later, Sawada Tsunayoshi," Kyoya promised. Tsuna couldn't see his bloodthirsty smile when he jumped into the air to kick at Hayato's head, but he could hear it in his voice clear enough. "As the instigator, your punishment will be twice that of these weaklings."

When Hayato had come knocking on his door that morning Tsuna should have pretended to be dead. That's what he would do from now on. If anyone, even Reborn, tried to get him to leave he'd just play dead. Foolproof.

For now though, he needed a place to hide.

-00-

Parks were nice. As a kid, the first time, Nana had loved just sitting near them and listening to all the noise of the afternoons, where families were abundant and laughter was constant. The big groups had never noticed the extra kid that joined for snack time, so that had been cool too.

"Lambo!" Nana called, flopped back on the bench like a starfish. "Don't eat the rocks!"

Lambo blinked up over at him, slowly spitting out the three rocks he had shoved in his mouth. He laughed loudly and ran for the slide.

"Disgusting."

Nana scowled at the voice behind them, hanging their head back to glare at the tall man. "Kyoya would have drank the blood of his enemies if you let him, don't judge mine for thinking every white rock is a salt rock."

Kouske rolled his eyes, shoving at Nana's head a little. Natsuki smiled down at him pleasantly. "Hello, Nana."

"Hey Natsuki," Nana beamed. "You guys taking a walk? That's cute."

They were totally going to be that old couple that took walks every day together. Adorable.

"Kyoya wanted our opinion on his new security set up and Kouske needed a break," Natsuki unlinked her arm from Kouske's, coming around to sit next to him. Nana straightened, suddenly a little nervous when Kouske sat on his other side. Maybe he shouldn't have starfished right in the middle of the bench.

"Uh, security set up?"

Kouske nodded towards the tree line.

Nana squinted. He could just barely make out the sleeve of the Disciplinary Committee uniform sticking out from behind it.

"...Kinda creepy."

"It's amateur," Kousked snorted. "If even you can see them then they are clearly not ready to be part of the main security force."

"Every single time you talk all I feel is confused concern."

"And anger," Natsuki reminded him.

Nana nodded. "And anger."

One of the little girls that had been running around screaming at every tree (she had some serious lungs, she should play a wind instrument or something) tripped in front of them. The three other children (two boys and another girl, all trying to get her to 'stop screaming you're so loud!) gasped and rushed to help her. She didn't seem to be hurt. There was a scrape on her knee that wasn't even bleeding but the shock of it might make her cry.

Nana leaned forward, ready to help if they needed it, but that was a mistake. By moving he had drawn the children's attention to the bench. Nana felt nothing but sympathy when they all realized they were right in front of Kouske, who was looking down at them as the true personification of apathy.

"What." He frowned.

Nana nodded when they all screamed and ran away. These were truly smart children. His faith in the future of humanity was solidified.

"H-hey!"

All three adults turned to see Lambo, shivering and scowling next to the bench. He looked between Nana and Kouske, torn.

"Is something wrong bud?" Nana reached for him, worried.

Lambo held onto his hand, staring at Kouske unblinkingly. He glanced at Nana once, quickly, before he started to sing.

To Kouske.

Lambo was singing his Lambo song. To Kouske. Nana had been worried about his natural survival instincts already, this just made him realize that Lambo apparently had none to speak of.

Natsuki tilted her head as the tiny child began to sing to her husband. She pulled out her phone.

"It's Lambo~!" Lambo cheered. He stared at Kouske, squinting in a way that made it look like he'd swallowed a lemon. "Did you like Lambo-san's song?"

Kouske blinked once, slowly at him. "...Yes."

Lambo grinned so wide you could see all of his teeth. "Those idiots were idiots, you're not a monster!"

Then he hopped onto Nana's lap so he could reach up and pat Kouske's cheek, scavenged a sucker from his hair (how did he keep sneaking those things in there?!), wrapped Kouske's fingers around it, then ran off to play again.

Nana's hand barely muffled the laughter he tried to choke back, the effort causing tears to start well up in their eyes. He had to turn away, hunching in on himself as he desperately held back his giggles.

"...What." Kouske turned to stare at him.

"Oh my god," Nana wheezed. "Oh my god, that was the best thing I've ever witnessed!"

You know how everyone has different types of laughs for different situations? Such as a sudden silly surprise, genuine joy, sarcastic agreement/disagreement, mocking anger, ect. Even for joy, there's a whole bunch of different laughs you have. Nana, in particular, had a certain laugh that they rarely let loose into the world because it was by far the most embarrassing witch-snort-dying cackle hopped up on five levels of helium that a human can possibly create. It only made an appearance when Nana saw something so funny it touched their soul and typically when whatever had happened was aimed at someone he dreamed of punching.

When Nana fell off the bench, fighting for breath as he did his best impression of a witch with bronchitis, Kouske looked down at him, then back to the sucker with literal canyons being formed between his eyebrows.

"What the fuck," he said with the deadpan delivery of a man on the verge of throwing themself off the nearest cliff purely to escape the stupidity of the world around him.

The tone and the fact that he actually cursed only made Nana laugh harder. So hard, in fact, that he couldn't actually make noise besides the occasional screech of escaping air because he couldn't fucking breathe.

"You seem to be struggling," Natsuki suddenly appeared above him, looking down with her phone hiding the smile behind it. The corners of her eyes were crinkled and she sounded more than amused.

"Heee," Nana cried, bright red and undoubtedly a complete and utter mess. "Can't… breeeeaath…!"

"You may actually pass out if you do not calm down," Snake warned.

It wasn't even particularly funny, but the soft chuckles in Snake's own voice as the only other person who truly understood what just happened made Nana fall even further into their fit.

Besides, it wouldn't be the first time he passed out in front of the Hibaris.

"Maman?" Lambo sounded freaked out. He ran over, kneeling down to pat at Nana's face. He whipped his head up to stare at Kouske, alarmed and suspicious.

Oh shit, he was going to start singing again. He thought Kouske had tricked him somehow and that he actually was a monster. He couldn't sing again, Nana wouldn't survive.

"I'm… fine!" Nana pushed up on his elbows, patting Lambo's arm. "I'm, hehe, I'm fine sweetheart, ha. Really, I'm just- just laughing."

Nana shook with the effort of restraining themselves, carefully taking hiccuped breaths as they fanned at their flaming face.

Lambo leaned forwards, ducking past Nana's hair so he could see their face. Nana gave him a huge smile, his cheeks hurting.

Lambo blinked and smiled back. Apparently he was taking cues from Nana because he then started cackling like an evil scientist.

"This?" Kouske motioned towards the two children, eyebrow raised.

Natsuki patted his shoulder.

"Maman come play," Lambo tugged at his hand, urging him to stand up. "We can play Lambo is king of the slide!"

"Sure thing bud," Nana giggled, wiping at his eyes. He brushed himself off, running a hand through his hair to straighten it out a little. "You two wanna play?"

"No."

Natsuki scooted across the bench, resting her head on Kouske's shoulder. Nana grinned when Kouske rested his head on hers. "We'll stay here for a bit before leaving. Have fun."

As soon as the two were gone, giggling the whole way, Natsuki pulled out her phone and stole Kouske's from his pocket.

He snorted when he realized what she was doing.

Once Natsuki was done setting their new ringtones for Nana she put their phones away and relaxed into his side completely.

"This is nice," she hummed.

"Mh," Kouske closed his eyes, content.

"When should we test them next?"

"Next Saturday."

Natsuki smiled a bit. "Isn't that Tsuna-kun's birthday?"

"Yes."

"Perhaps the children would want to join this time."

"Kyoya will," Kouske wrapped his arm around her waist, relaxing more. "The others will be easily convinced."

"Even Hayato-kun?"

"I'll talk to Lavina."

The rest of their time in the park was spent in peace. The children in the park gave them a wide berth while Nana and Lambo climbed up and down the slide like monkeys.

Kouske frowned a bit, opening his eyes.

"You're thinking too hard again," Natsuki murmured, resting a hand on his arm with her eyes still closed.

"It is frustrating."

"I know," she agreed. "But there's nothing to be done yet."

His eyes traveled to Nana. "They could take her in."

"Nana would," she nodded, "but we need more information first."

Kouske sighed deep in his throat.

Natsuki sat up, smiling softly up at him. "I'm already looking into it, it won't be long." She kissed him on the cheek before pulling them both to their feet. "Come on, you need to stop worrying so much. Let's go spar."

The light in her husband's eyes made her own reflect the same excitement. Natsuki waved at Nana as they went, chuckling at the over-enthusiastic wave they got in return. It was a shame he had been out with his youngest, otherwise they would have invited him to join. It was always entertaining to fight Nana.

-00-

"Thanks for letting me hide here," Tsuna said. He was sitting, curled up with his knees to his chest and chin resting on his arms. The spare sets of clothing both he and Nana had hidden away around the city had been a smart move so he didn't have to wait around in his boxers until it was safe to go home.

I-Pin nodded once, serious, before she went back to stretching. They were under The Mountain, nearby the same clearing Tsuna had his talk with Nana. The camp was tiny, just big enough for the five-year-old little girl and it was out of the way of all the main paths.

"Do you, um, do you live here?" Tsuna asked. That was probably a stupid question. There was a little tent and an old campfire. She probably lived here.

I-Pin nodded.

"Oh. For how long?"

She rattled off a number, holding up three fingers.

"Three months?" Tsuna frowned. "Are your parents okay with that?"

"No parents," she said, stoic and with a heavy accent. "Just master."

Tsuna curled in a little further. She didn't have any parents? Her master… so her teacher? The one who taught her to fight?

"Do you… do you like your master?"

I-Pin smiled so suddenly it made Tsuna twitch. "Very kind! Very strong. Master is the best!"

Tsuna returned the smile weakly. "That's good. Where is your master?"

I-Pin was facing him now, forgetting her stretches. "Dangerous mission. Went by himself, I took smaller mission."

She spoke with a lot of pauses and it was kind of stilted but it was really impressive that she knew so much Japanese so young.

"So he didn't want you to get hurt," Tsuna said more to himself. That was good, right? It still seemed wrong to give a child an assassination mission. It felt wrong to leave her on her own too.

He doubted Dad would mind if there was another kid around the house.

"Hey I-Pin-chan?" Tsuna looked at her hesitantly. "If you, uh, need a place to stay… you could always come stay with us? At my house. We have a lot of- a lot of rooms and I know my Dad would be okay with it."

I-Pin tilted her head with a frown. "You hire me?"

"No!" Tsuna straightened, waving his hands around. "No, I don't want you to kill anyone! I just- it's going to get cold soon! You'd get a room and meals, i-if you want. I'm sure you're Master would be happy to know you're being looked after too, you know?"

I-Pin was still frowning at him. "Why?"

"Um. Why… why he would want you to be looked after?"

"No," she shook her head, pointing at him. "Why give home?"

"Oh," Tsuna fiddled with his fingers, looking away. "...It's the right thing to do."

Tsuna squeaked, flinching back when I-Pin suddenly hopped up onto his knees and stared at his face.

I-Pin smiled, holding out her hand. "You say what Master says. I accept."

"Okay?" Tsuna shook her hand, leaning away from her squinting gaze. "Good. That's… good! Kyo-kun is probably still chasing the others so we should have time to move all your stuff now if you want."

"Yes," I-Pin nodded, flipping off Tsuna and quickly gathering her things. There wasn't a lot.

"Is this everything?"

I-Pin shook her head. "Hidden. Get later."

"Oh. Alright."

Tsuna carried the tiny little tent, wrapped up in a bag barely big enough to hold it. I-Pin had a little backpack full of clothes and what looked like a bunch of Gyoza buns. Wouldn't her clothes smell like Gyoza all the time?

"Ah," Tsuna realized she was waiting on him. "L-let's get going then?"

"Yes."

-00-

Nana tilted his head. "Who's this?"

"Um," Tsuna rubbed the back of his head nervously. What was the best way to explain this? "Dad, this is I-Pin. She's um, she's helped me out a few times and I found out today that she doesn't have a place to stay so uh-"

"What." Nana deadpanned. Tsuna flinched at the violent flicker of the green surrounding his father. "She doesn't… where are her parents?"

I-Pin bowed next to Tsuna, speaking rapidly.

Nana looked at her now, eyes clearing a bit. "Your teacher? Why isn't he here with you?"

I-Pin looked shocked for a moment before replying.

Nana cupped his chin, closing his eyes. "To protect you, huh? How old are you I-Pin-chan?"

She held up five fingers.

Nana twitched.

"Well," he swallowed down whatever emotion had been building, smiling warmly instead, "you are welcome to stay here for however long you need to dear. And when your… teacher shows up I would love to meet them."

I-Pin seemed thrilled. She bowed rapidly, shouting her thanks.

Tsuna shrugged when Nana looked at him.

Nana sighed. He bent down to offer I-Pin his hand. "Let's go pick a room for you, okay? We can go get your things and stop by the mall tomorrow."

I-Pin looked up at him for a long moment before turning to Tsuna.

Tsuna smiled wobbly down at her. "I'll go too, if you want."

I-Pin nodded vigorously.

Eventually, I-Pin settled on the room next to Lambo's. The other toddler was currently taking a nap and Tsuna worried about how the two would get along. I-Pin seemed so reserved and Lambo was definitely… not. Hopefully the rule about opposites held strong and they were able to get along okay.

"Are you sure?" Nana looked conflicted about whatever I-Pin was telling him. "I'd hate to have you do all that by yourself. I'd be happy to come help."

I-Pin shook her head, saying something about only having a small amount of something.

Tsuna could see the moment his Dad visibly swallowed down his parental instincts.

"...Okay. But take my phone with you, okay? Tsu-kun's number is the very first one, just call it if you have any troubles okay? Send a text when you're on your way back too."

I-Pin bowed her head deeply, accepting the phone with a word of thanks. Then she flipped out the window and into the trees.

"Um," Tsuna trailed off.

"She went to get her things," Nana grimaced. "All by herself."

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Tsuna fiddled with his fingers. "She's really strong."

Nana looked at him.

Tsuna shrugged. "Not as strong as Kyo-kun was, I don't think any other five-year-old could ever be that strong, but she's probably the closest someone can get."

"Huh," Nana looked back out the window. He still looked upset but not as tense as before. "That's good, I suppose. Really weird, but good."

Tsuna looked down, nervous energy bubbling in his stomach. "Sorry for inviting her without asking you."

Nana's hand landed on his hair. "What are you sorry for? You did a good thing and it's not like we don't have the room. I'd much rather have her here where she can be taken care of than be roughing it in the woods. How'd you meet her?"

Tsuna gave a brief summary of the dog and their meeting in the backyard. He left out the part about being an accidental assassination target. I-Pin hadn't meant to make a mistake like that, so he wasn't really in danger.

"Well," Nana ran a hand through his hair, "she said her teacher was on a more dangerous mission so he gave her the safer one and promised to come find her when he was done. Who knows how long that will be."

Tsuna kind of doubted the time frame mattered, his Dad already looked ready to pull out the adoption forms. The only reason Lambo wasn't already a legally official Sawada was because they were worried the Bovino Famiglia would start paying attention if they tried.

"Want me to pull out an extra futon?" Tsuna offered. They had a huge closet dedicated to them now.

"That'd be great bud, thanks. Want to come with us when we go to the mall? You could use some new shoes."

"Yeah!" he perked up. It was always fun to go to the mall with his Dad. "Do you think I could get a new game too?"

"I don't see why not," Nana shrugged. "As long as you get all your chores done. And no shoving your laundry under your bed."

He was teasing him, Tsuna knew, but he still cursed the stupid Skull Disease for revealing these things.

"I won't," he grumbled, blushing a bit.

There was a harsh knocking at the door, like someone was hitting it with a metal pole.

"Tsuna," Nana said slowly. "Is he mad at me or you?"

"Uh," Tsuna edged towards the backdoor. "Me. I kind of… um, destroyed a bridge."

Nana looked bewildered.

"It's Reborn's fault!"

"Ah," his face cleared. "I get it. I'll distract him, you make for Takesushi. Come back when I text you about dinner okay?"

"Thanks Dad," Tsuna gave him a quick hug. Seriously, his Dad was the literal best.

"Oh, hello Kyoya-kun," Lavina's voice sounded cheerfully.

They both paled.

"Tsuna-chan? He's in the kitchen with Nana."

"Run son," Nana urged, pushing him towards the back door.

"Stay safe Dad."

Nana ran into the hall, barely stopping Kyoya half way. "Lavine, what the fuck?!"

Lavina giggled, going back up the stairs as she waved.

"Where is he?" Kyoya demanded, slanted eyes and killer vibe as strong as ever.

"Who?" Nana blinked dumbly, which was honestly a mistake, but it was better to goad him into a fight then try to outsmart him. That never ended well.

Kyoya immediately took a swipe at him. "Accomplices receive the same fate."

"You'll never catch me alive!" Nana dove out the nearest window. Thank goodness the weather was still just warm enough for open windows, otherwise that would have been bad.

He sent a mental prayer for Tsuna. He may have given his son some extra time to live, but no one escaped Kyoya forever. All he could do was try to tire him out enough to make the final showdown quick and merciful.

He made sure to keep their death chase to the neighborhood, so he could be nearby when I-Pin came back. Which was both the right and wrong choice when the little girl flew out of fricken nowhere and saved Nana's head from being punted straight off his shoulders.

Good because Nana liked having his head attached to his body.

Bad because somehow, someway, as soon as I-Pin got a good look at who she had just fly-kicked away (Kyoya looked surprised but impressed, which was a good sign) she exploded.

Like, actually exploded.

"What the fuck?" Nana whispered fiercely, scooping up the now smoking child into his arms and booking it back home now that the smoke was shielding them from view."What the- I-Pin? Are you okay?!"

She murmured incoherently, smiling dopily and clearly not in her right mind.

"She is fine. That was normal for her."

"Snake," Nana took a deep breath. "We have talked about what is actually considered normal. This is not it."

"Compared to the copious amounts of weapons and food Bovino Lambo can put into his hair I would think this is more within the realm of your 'normal'. I-Pin is a practitioner of Gyoza-Ken. A very skilled one, at that, but due to her young age she often loses control when experiencing strong emotions."

"So she explodes?!"

"That would be an accurate description, yes."

Of course. Of course the next child they met would be a literal walking time bomb. They had enough metaphorical ones, why not have the real deal?!

"She left her things behind after the explosion."

"Fuck!" Nana cried, glancing down to make sure I-Pin was still too dazed to hear what he said. "I'll grab them later, okay?"

"Fear is unbecoming of you Nana," Snake teased.

Nana cursed at him. "Just because I'm proud of you for getting the hang of socially acceptable teasing doesn't mean I won't slap you one day for targeting me with it."

"You shouldn't fear what a student learns."

"Then treat your teacher with some god damned respect!"

"You have always said to treat others how you want to be treated. Based on your actions towards myself I merely assumed you wished to be shown the same behavior."

Nana scowled. How dare he use his spite against him.

"This is the second time a member of your family has destroyed public property," Kyoya's voice came from above, the promise of pain strong within it.

Nana yelped and dove out of the way. "I had no idea that was going to happen! And you don't know that she's part of my family!"

Kyoya gave him a look so reminiscent of Kouske it made Nana want to punch him on instinct.

"She's not!" Nana swore. Then, a little softer, "...yet."

Kyoya took the words with the grain of salt they deserved and then tried to elbow Nana in the face.

Damn. This might take a while.

-00-

"We're all alive!" Takeshi cheered, sitting criss-cross on his bed without a scratch on him.

Ryohei, bruised and full of life, laughed loudly.

Hayato hissed at them both. He'd gotten out of there with the most bruises, but Tsuna was starting to wonder if all of them had come from Kyoya. He didn't doubt his friend had tried to fight Ryohei again once Takeshi (the impulse control Tsuna sorely needed but often found lacking) was out of the picture.

"I need to fix that bridge," Tsuna muttered into his cup of tea, graciously brought by Aiko once she invited him in and directed him upstairs with laughter in her eyes.

"We can do it together," Takeshi promised. "I've never fixed a bridge before. It'll be fun!"

Ah Takeshi. Ever the bright spot of optimism.

"We can do it while we train!" Ryohei agreed. "You got really far today Tsuna, imagine how good you'll be with a full day of training!"

"If you guys are looking for a good way to get strong fast I have a few ideas," Dino piped in.

Tsuna didn't really know when Dino got there. Or why he was there at all. When he'd asked Takeshi why he was there the taller teen had just shrugged and laughed. Said it was nice to make new friends and left it at that.

"What kind of training?" Ryohei leaned forward, excited.

Dino laughed. "It's pretty intense. You sure you wanna know?"

"Sounds like fun!" Takeshi leaned back on his hands.

Tsuna would like the impulse control back, thanks.

"Let's start bright and early then," Dino pulled out his phone and sent out a text. "Romario will pick us up at five and we'll be back before ten. That good?"

There were a lot of questions running through Tsuna's brain right then. Where were they going? Why did Dino's main bodyguard guy have to pick them up? How far away was this? What exactly was the 'training'? Did he have to go (the eyes of all his friends said yes)?

"Five in the morning?" he groaned, this being the most important question by far.

"The boss who is early to rise is the most wise," Reborn shut the window behind him (when did he even open it?!) and jumped into Tsuna's hair.

"That's not a saying."

It really said something that Tsuna didn't even flinch at the feeling of the gun tapping lightly at his head.

"It is now."

What was his life.

"Am I wise then?" Dino asked.

"No."

"Ah," he deflated.

Tsuna, with practiced efficiency, pulled out his phone and pretended the world didn't exist while he checked his messages.

Lovesyou: Raincheck on dinner tonight bud. Don't think home'll be a safe zone till tomorrow.

Tsuna felt his neck and face heat up, undoubtedly a splotchy red. He forgot to change his Dad's name in his phone back after Nana had borrowed it at dinner last night. Why did he love to embarrass him so much?

Tsuna: That's okay, I can stay at Takeshi's tonight. Dino invited us on some kind of trip too so we should be gone for most of the day. He said we'd be back by ten.

Lovesyou: Is this a Reborn thing?

Tsuna: I don't know yet. Maybe.

Lovesyou: Text me if you want me to come pick you up. I'll drop off some meals for tomorrow too. What time are you guys leaving?

Tsuna: Five.

Lovesyou: In the morning?!

Tsuna laughed a bit.

Tsuna: That's what I said.

Lovesyou: Let me know when you find out where you're going. I'll be on standby for an emergency rescue.

His Dad really was the best.

Tsuna: Thanks Dad. Love you.

Lovesyou: Love you too. We'll go to the mall with I-Pin and Lambo on Monday after school okay?

Tsuna: Okay. See you in the morning.

Lovesyou: Sleep well Tsu-kun

Tsuna took a nice deep breath. He felt better now.

"Hey Takeshi, can I-" he looked up and got a face full of pillow.

"Oops, sorry Tsuna," Takeshi rubbed the back of his neck.

Tsuna blinked. The entire room was a wreck. Dino had Hayato in a headlock, one foot pushed against Ryohei's face to keep him away. Takeshi had all of his pillows hoarded around him, aiming for Dino whenever he was distracted. Reborn was still in his hair and seemed to be asleep, so at least that variable to chaos was out of the way for now.

Tsuna opened his mouth, thought about it, then closed it. He was finally able to fully separate himself from the reality surrounding him. If he asked questions now it would ruin his own efforts.

"Can I stay the night?"

"Of course!" Takeshi beamed. "We should all have a sleepover! It'll be so much fun!"

"Yes!" Ryohei cheered. "Should I call Kyoko? She will be upset to be missing all of this tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Tsuna frowned.

Hayato twisted in a way that made Tsuna wonder exactly how flexible his friend was and shoved away from Dino. "Stupid Turf Head told her to join us tomorrow. She'll be here at five."

Tsuna pursed his lips. He… wasn't sure how to feel about that. It would be nice to hang out with Kyoko, they hadn't really been able to for a while and he missed her. But hanging out in a setting that would most definitely encourage physical competition in any way? That was a recipe for disaster.

The strain in Takeshi's laughter was comforting in the fact that Tsuna knew he wasn't alone in his doubts.

"We should probably go to sleep now if we want to be up in time," Dino advised, ducking under Ryohei when the teen charged at him. He then tripped over his own feet, got tangled in the blankets, and ended up in a heap of struggling limbs on the floor.

Tsuna sighed. "I'll go let Aiko-san and Tsuyoshi-san know we'll be staying over."

Takeshi gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks Tsuna! Grab some blankets from the closet on the way back!"

"Kay."

This was going to be a draining night. Three people, each with their own boundless source of energy, as well as Reborn all in a single room?

"Get moving Tsuna," Reborn kicked at his head, turning on his side to get more comfortable.

Tsuna grumbled but went down the stairs. Tsuyoshi was at the sink cleaning off his knives. Aiko was probably wiping off the tables in the dining area.

"Hey Tsuna," Tsuyoshi beamed, turning off the sink and drying off his hands. "You all staying the night?"

This happened often enough that Tsuna didn't even bother to wonder how he knew that.

"Is that okay?"

"Of course! I'll let Aiko know we'll have to set some extra plates out in the morning."

"That's okay," Tsuna shuffled on his feet. "We're all leaving pretty early for some training thing Dino-san has in mind. We're leaving around 5."

"Oh, have fun then!" Tsuyoshi looked pumped. "I'll still have breakfast ready for you all, I'm up early anyway. Is Kyoko-chan joining you all?"

"You don't have to," Tsuna tried not to mumble. He was tired and Tsuyoshi was always a relaxing presence. "But, um, yeah she's coming too. She'll probably eat something before joining us though."

"Oh we should invite everyone over for breakfast!" Aiko appeared at the door. She must have been listening in. "It'll be a fun start to the morning!"

"At five?" Tsuna muttered under his breath. He doubted anyone would want to go somewhere for breakfast that early.

"That's a bit early dear," Tsuyoshi laughed. "How about we have a parents day while our kids are out having their own fun?"

Aiko clapped happily. "That's perfect! I'll text everyone and let them know."

"Um," Tsuna reached out hurriedly, "don't text Kyoya! ...Please?"

Tsuyoshi waved him off with an even brighter grin. "We know about the bridge, we won't sacrifice you all. He'll find you on his own tomorrow I'm sure."

Oh god, he was right. It didn't matter how far they went, Kyoya would track them down in a heartbeat.

"Don't freak him out before bed," Aiko reprimanded, stepping into the kitchen so she could nudge Tsuna towards the stairs. "You'll be okay Tsuna, I'm sure Kyoya-kun isn't that mad."

The Yamamotos faith in humanity was like an unrealistic miracle, considering who they were friends with.

"Sleep well!" Tsuyoshi said as though he hadn't forced Tsuna to realize his death was literally just around the corner.

"...okay."

Takeshi and Hayato were reading some manga on Takeshi's bed when Tsuna got back. Ryohei, who always fell asleep at the exact stroke of ten, was curled at the bottom of Takeshi's bed like a dog. Dino was still wrapped up on the floor. No one tried to help him apparently and he must have given up because he seemed to be asleep.

"Tsuna!" Hayato sat up, grinning. He patted the spot between them, offering another manga as he flopped onto the bed. He threw the blankets over their legs, poking Hayato until he begrudgingly put one around Ryohei too.

"I'm gonna sleep," Tsuna said, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

"Night!" Takeshi patted his head.

Hayato nodded seriously, looking ready to defend his sleep with his life (which was not necessary, but it was appreciated).

It was easy to drift asleep there, with his friends bickering quietly (Hayato was bickering, Takeshi just liked to tease) above him, Ryohei snoring loudly, and Dino twitching in his sleep.

He'd worry about Kyoya's death sentence tomorrow. That was a problem for Future Tsuna.

-00-

Poor future Tsuna. He's got a lot of crap coming his way XD

Normally I put up a pole for ships once the story has developed more, because I usually don't mind most ships so I'm up for just about anything, but I'm starting to see that a pole probably won't be necessary. Looks like the majority of votes are going towards Natsuki/Kouske/Nana, and if that's the case I will start building that early on (clearly, from what I've already started adding). Still, I wanna be sure. So vote time! What pairing are you hoping for? Even if your ship isn't the one picked I will, at the very least, do one chapter in the Take No Crap side stories with every pairing offered to show what could have been (and to have heart-melting goodness from all the love). This is just for Nana right now. I might do one for Tsuna much later one. It looks like he's going to be my typical path of waiting to flesh out all the relationships before getting into the relationSHIPS. Let me know what you guys want!

ChaosHearth: Chaos, you are too kind T-T

Kirie Mitsuru: Ah jeez, you're making me blush from all your kind words =^.^= I have so many ideas for Fon, it's going to be a blast. Shamal is sleazy! I'd honestly kind of forgotten until I started re-reading the manga, cause I was so used to fandom Shamal who isn't so bad, so I was super surprised when I re-read and saw how bad he could get. Like, he tries to kiss Kyoko. Ech. The mothering shall happen! *shakes fist* It must! It'll be adorable too. I try to make all my stories end well, and if they don't I'll warn readers way ahead of time. That doesn't mean there won't be a heap ton of angst though. That stuff is a'coming. Thanks for being so nice friend, it seriously helped me out on a not so stellar day. You rock.

bloodshound: Friend! I always adore hearing from you, your insight is much appreciated. Ryu and Shamal's history will be brought up later (cause Shouto's beef is cause of Ryu's beef) so I that'll be a thing again. For the Skulls I did things that Tsuna thinks are his embarrassing secrets. Cause anxiety and embarrassing moments are usually from the eye of the beholder you know? Like you could think, oh my gosh I did so horribly I'm gonna die, but everyone around you didn't even notice or thought poorly about it. I-Pin needs glasses, stat. Nana takes no shit! And poor Dino XD He's gotta speak up more. Nana will adore him though. He's too much like Tsuna not to. Plus he's just a sweetheart. Naps can kind of suck sometimes, regardless of how nice they are T-T Miyu: *awkwardly/nervously hugs back* Thank you. I'm loving all the Snake love, he needs it. For Tsuna he really starts adopting 'if you can't beat them, join them' XD You an of course pinch the idea! The sharing of the ideas is the sharing of worlds and colors and that just rocks! Bloodshound... oh my gosh. That's... so many. So many good things right there. All good things. Oh my gosh you solved so many of my mini plot needs, you are the literal best! Thank you! Seriously, you rock and it's made my mood boost up by like a hundred points. Thank you!

Mel Writer: *blushes and throws candy as a reflex* No You! The ship is well on it's way my friend! Snake missed you too! Even if he won't admit it XD

ADDBaby: 'Shamal, you fuck nugget...' XD XD That was perfect! Reborn is having the time of his life, let me tell ya. Snake: 'Mia motherfucker?' Nana: Oh my god that's perfect, I'm calling you that forever now! Snake: Please don't. XD Why you gotta be so nice ADD?! Why?! It makes my heart do little melting dances on rainy days! Seriously, you're too nice! TOO NICE! Miyu fights for you! Cause you deserve the good Miyu fights!

ps. XD XD The harm is my gift to the world my friend! Take the fright and feel the love! FEEL IT! XD

pss. My fluff has taken it's newest victim. I shall mourn that chip my friend. I shall mourn... and then do it again *evil cackle* Seriously though, glad your teeth are okay! That stuff sucks.

Anya: Sanji might be a pervert, but he never forces himself on unwilling women or minors! He has some gentlemanly bones in his body, unlike Shamal. I love the Italian hand gestures, keep that shit up :D MHA! I am also on the binge. It is all-consuming and I keep getting story ideas but I must finish this first! Or at least get way the heck further in before I attempt the dual post of death! I'm glad YOU exist Anya, you're always super cool and sweet! And Kouske will absolutely hate Shamal the most. He hates that bastard. I hope you liked the Hibaris in this chapter! I'm mostly following the manga, but if there's some small things in the anime I either like more or that fits better that goes in instead. Each has its own shining points. I'm probably gonna skim over some but I'll add those to the other story. Let me know if there's a specific one you want to see! I hope you like the side story too! Thank you for being so kind friend. These badass comments have gotten me through some rough days, I don't think I can say enough how much I appreciate you.

Yuki Nagasawa: Gah! Stop! Stop! I'm gonna die from all the niceness! Seriously! You are way to sweet, I'm sorry your immune system kicks your but so much. You deserve nice things! I'm always down for OC's, even if I can't use them in the end or something. Just having the writing connection gets the brain juices flowing and I just love seeing the ideas people can come up with. They're like paintings with words and are so cool to see. Seriously, thanks for being the sweet, kind friend that you are Yuki. I've had some rough days and all this kindness and positive feedback has really helped me make it through them. Thank you.

Megi Keishii: It's not in this chapter, unfortunately, but you asked and so shall be delivered! I'm writing some stuff to show off the game and I'll let you know when I post in the side-stories for this. Nana thought introducing this to Kyoya would literally be like signing their life away so they've tried to keep him away with a twenty-foot pole (it won't always work XD). I'm glad you liked it friendo!

katsekala: katsekala! It's always a blast to hear from you! I agree about Shamal, he had nuggets of potential they just got buried on the creepy-ass shit he'd pull. We need that character growth damn it! I can never go far with a character without trying to give them that good character development so when you notice stuff for him let me know what you think about the paths he takes! It'll take a while, he's one of those big cases, but I'd love to hear your thoughts! Many hugs in return! Thanks friend!

utaM: Nana adopts all. It is written in stone. XD The ring battle I actually have all written out cause I'm so excited for it. It's gonna be awesome! I hope you like it when it pops up!

Kuroyne: Snake: *looking at the pepe meme* what... what is this? XD Kuroyne you are... way to kind. Like, past the skyline levels of sweetness. Thank you, I'm so glad you like it so much. I like Nana a lot. They're awesome to write about and are the kind of person I want to be so it's cool to write that out. I'm thrilled to know you like them too ^-^. Thank you friend!

GoatLike: Thank you!

Andorxor: Oh yeah, absolutely. Then he'd be confused about how it exploded. The Levy kicking will commence! XD

Mucina: Thank you! I'm ecstatic to know you liked it! And I got some giggles, that's always the best goal post to reach! Thanks Mucci!

Bloody-Asphode11: That would be a power couple if ever there was one XD Chaos abound, forever and always! I have your vote locked in friend! I've also got some extra stuff written for that pairing in particular since so many people wanted to see it I've just gotta wrap it up and post it. It shall come!

Greatazuredragon: Cool username and pic! Thanks for letting me know you liked it! I appreciate you! I'm jazzed to know it's caught your attention so well and that Snake/Nana interactions of absurdity are reeling you in! XD

Guest: I'm loving all the Snake love! Feel loved Snake!

Toaneo07: Ryu is Hanazawa's grandson and Shouto is his mafia husband. They're introduced in chapter 14 but they're talked about for a few chapters before by Reborn and Hanazawa. Sorry, I didn't realize I was using them so little that they were becoming forgettable. I gotta keep their presence more in mind! Thanks friend!

Newest Reader: Welcome friend! I'm jazzed to hear you liked it so much! I've locked in your vote, so you're set! I love the way you envisioned how that would go, it's very sweet and interesting! A lot of it is spot on for how it will go if that's what ends up with the most! I hope you like how it pans out. Thanks for letting me know your thoughts! I appreciate it!