Studying sucked. Math, for all the teacher insisted it was a universal language that followed laws and gave logical answers, did not make sense.

Which meant Tsuna needed to take makeup classes, which made studying suck even more. The classroom looked more spacious with fewer students sitting in it, but it was still stifling because of the summer heat. That, and the fact that Kyoko wasn't in it, made it a hell for Tsuna. Everything their teacher said felt like it went into one ear and out the other without leaving a trace of its existence in his brain.

"Hey, Tsuna," Yamamoto said, as they began to leave the makeup class. The taller boy had failed the exam, close to the cut-off line for a passing grade. It probably made him a terrible person to think this, but Tsuna was kind of glad Yamamoto was in the makeup class with him. This way he had a friend with him, and that made the time of torture a lot more bearable.

"Want to study together?" Yamamoto suggested. "My friend usually tutors me in school subjects, and she told me that she wanted to meet you."

Tsuna nearly shrieked because for the love of Reborn's sadism, he could not imagine why Yamamoto's friend wanted to meet him.

"Why?!" he half-wailed. If Yamamoto's friend happened to be from Italy like Lambo or Bianchi or Reborn, Tsuna was going to lose it.

Yamamoto grinned, carefree like it was no big deal. "Oh, she wanted to thank you for saving my life."

That . . . that was embarrassing and a lot of pressure, but not as bad as he expected.

"So we should go to her house today!"

Never mind, it was bad.

Tsuna was about to protest, but Reborn popped out of his usual place – that is to say, nowhere – and answered for him. "He'll be there."

"Don't decide that on your own," Tsuna said automatically, and he hurried to add a reason before Reborn could turn violent. It was a poor attempt and Reborn was hardly ever logical or reasonable when he dished out the blows, but he tried if only for the sake of Yamamoto's friend. Whoever she was, it wasn't too late for her yet. She could still not become involved with the chaos that was slowly starting to permeate his own life. "It's not even your house, we can't just go without advance notice. What if she's out or something?"

Yamamoto betrayed him with a cheerful grin. "She won't mind. She usually stays at home during the summer, because it's too bright and hot outside for her to go out."

"It's settled, then," Reborn decided before Tsuna could even try to stop him. It was basically the story of his life.

After dropping by home for a change of clothes – and grabbing some drinks to not go with empty hands – Tsuna met up with Yamamoto. Reborn followed, despite Tsuna's best attempts to have him stay home. All it earned him was another kick to the face, and the burden of somehow having to explain to Yamamoto's friend why a baby was with them.

He wasn't even sure if Yamamoto's friend would welcome him, how was he supposed to cover the presence of a baby?

"What's your friend's name?" Tsuna asked, because while Yamamoto was popular with the girls in school, he had never seen him close with any of them.

"Tomoe Hotaru," Yamamoto answered, and no, that wasn't a name he recognized. "She goes to Midori Middle School, and she's the same age as us. She's really smart, so you don't have to worry."

Whether Yamamoto's friend was smart or not was actually the least of his worries, because she was still a total stranger to him.

"Although I might have to worry," Yamamoto continued, scratching at his face sheepishly. "She's going to be a little disappointed that I have to take makeup classes."

"What's she like?" he asked, a little worried now despite what Yamamoto had said. If she was going to be mad about Yamamoto's grades, then maybe she would be a stern kind of person that was serious about studies.

And if she was, then she was going to be disappointed that he was friends with Yamamoto.

Yamamoto considered the question before he answered in the simplest way possible. "She's nice."

That was incredibly unhelpful and Tsuna put all his heart into the Look he shot Yamamoto, but they had already arrived at their destination for a better explanation to be given.

Tense with trepidation, Tsuna clutched at the bag with the drinks from the convenience store Yamamoto swore his friend liked as the taller boy rang the doorbell to a two-story house. Tomoe Hotaru lived in a nice part of town – actually, not that far from his own home, closer to the direction of Midori.

The door opened. Standing in the doorway was a pale girl with chin-length dark hair, around their age. If she had attended Namimori with Yamamoto, Tsuna was fairly sure there would have been two school idols. He thought, personally, Kyoko was prettier, bright and warm as the sun, but Yamamoto's friend was pretty in her own serene, calm way. Like the difference between the sun and the moon.

Her dark eyes landed on Tsuna, and they widened in surprise.

Before he could explain his presence and introduce himself, Yamamoto waved and put an arm around Tsuna's shoulders.

"Hey, Hotaru!" he said. "I brought Tsuna over to study with us!"

"At least introduce us before getting right to the point!" Tsuna protested loudly, despairing at the lack of common sense in his life.

Sawada Tsunayoshi, even before she had met him, was already someone she considered quite favorably. He had saved Takeshi, he had saved Haru, and Hotaru was grateful for both counts. They were her friends, and she didn't make those very easily. It was a little unfortunate that both her friends had suddenly gained the quirk of falling from high places and nearly dying, but they had been saved.

But seeing him for herself meant, to her eyes, seeing a glimmer of silver around his heart, an unmistakeable trace of magic left by the Legendary Silver Crystal that only one person in the present time could wield.

Usagi had met Sawada Tsunayoshi.

The magic's trace was minimal. It was benign in nature, a blessing more than anything, meant to give him strength. No, not give him strength, let him access the strength he had within him inherently when he needed it, so he could face his problems, and a prayer for him to one day meet those that would change him for the better.

For him to be happy, and for those around him that he loved to be happy.

It wasn't yet used, and Hotaru remembered a conversation from years ago about an unnamed boy Usagi had tried to help.

It was a very kind blessing, as all things Usagi tended to do were, and the fact that it remained with him meant he was a kind-hearted person fully deserving of it – and that its full potential hadn't been needed yet.

Hotaru beamed at him.

"It's very nice to meet you, Sawada-san," she said to him, extending her hand towards him for a handshake.

He looked a little taken aback at just how friendly she was being to him, but Hotaru didn't let that bother her. She had perfectly valid reasons for seeing him in such a good light, and friendliness had never killed anyone, as far as she knew.

"A-ah, nice to meet you too, Tomoe-san," stammered Sawada Tsunayoshi, taking the hand she offered slowly, like she might take it away at any moment.

She shook it firmly, despite his light grip. "Hotaru is fine." Accepted and acknowledged by Takeshi, Haru and Usagi. Three ringing endorsements of character for Hotaru.

"Then just Tsuna for me, too," he said, before adding "everyone calls me that."

"Then, Tsuna-san," said Hotaru. "Takeshi. And . . . ?"

Now that she had managed to look away from the boy that had been blessed by Usagi, she noticed the third figure in the party, perched on Takeshi's shoulders quite comfortably despite his small size. Given that he was a baby, she might be forgiven for overlooking him at first so long as Haruka didn't find out.

Also, said baby was wearing a fedora, suit and black leather shoes, matching the description Haru had given down to the gem-like pacifier around his neck. He really was quite adorable. Haru hadn't understated his charm.

Hotaru wondered if there was a fate beginning to weave them all into one tapestry. "Is your name Reborn?"

The baby looked at her with dark eyes, and Hotaru's smile nearly slipped. Those eyes were disconcerting, not quite right for someone his age. Something didn't feel right with him.

An invader? No – they usually tried to blend in better, or at least took form into something a little more mobile and less limiting. Not a baby. There was the possibility of a different type of infiltration, though . . .

On the other hand, this was Namimori, so maybe she was overreacting.

"Ciaossu, Tomoe Hotaru," greeted the fedora-wearing baby. "That is my name. How did you know?"

"I have a friend named Miura Haru," she said, and noticed Tsuna jump in surprise. She felt her smile become more genuine at that reaction. "And she told me about a cute baby she met and became friends with. But I'm being rude. Please, come in."

Hotaru had forgotten about it until now, due to the events that followed, but she remembered when she saw that rather unique outfit.

"You know Haru?" Tsuna asked, surprise clear on his face as he followed Takeshi and stepped into her house.

"My other best friend," Hotaru replied, turning to face the two-time saviour of her free-falling friends. "That's why I asked Takeshi to bring you over."

Tsuna fidgeted nervously, a flush slowly growing over his face as Takeshi gave a thumbs up.

"Thank you for saving them," Hotaru said, beginning to lead them into the dining room now that everyone's shoes were off. "Even someone who put baseball over his own life."

Takeshi sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You should be." She went to the kitchen. Makoto had sent over cupcakes, and there was still plenty left. "Any drinks?"

"We brought some!" blurted Tsuna, setting the bag he had been carrying on the table of the dining room and then wincing when the plastic made the trademark crinkling sound of the material rubbing against itself.

"Milk, please," joked Takeshi, coming over to help her grab some cups and plates.

Hotaru pointed at him as she opened the fridge. "Just for that, I'm making it milk tea."

"It's too hot for tea," Takeshi complained without real heat. Hotaru subtly glanced at the cups he had pulled out and nodded in approval. They matched the plates.

"It's never too hot for tea," she said absentmindedly, even as she got the milk out for him. Only Haruka and Takeshi, when he came over, drank milk at their house. Luckily there was still more than enough left.

Once the food and drinks had been laid out, Hotaru helped them with their homework.

"It might be faster," she agreed when Takeshi suggested they split the work in half. "But that also means you get only half the practice and won't get as used to solving different question formats."

Takeshi pouted, but she refused to be budged.

Tsuna scratched at the back of his head, a nervous action that seemed more like he was trying to keep his hands occupied rather than to relieve an actual itch. Hotaru gave him a reassuring smile.

"Math isn't my best subject," he admitted, lightly flushing. "I'm really bad at it. And, well, other subjects too."

"That's okay," Hotaru reassured him. "No one can be good at everything." Even Setsuna was terrible at cooking and music theory.

Takeshi and Tsuna solved as much of the worksheet as they could and tried their best on the questions that threw them off before asking her for help. It took some time, but they eventually finished all the questions correctly.

Tsuna relaxed through the session. While he had struggled initially, when Hotaru explained and demonstrated multiple times using examples and visual aids, he had begun to understand.

"You're really good at teaching," Tsuna said, after the last question was completed. The relieved sigh he exhaled as he put down his pencil in the way a warrior hero might lay down his sword after days and nights of intense battle against a monster of legends made it clear just how monstrous he had viewed his assignment, and Hotaru fought to not giggle.

He was very genuine about it, too, and his wide eyes were so honest, it was impossible to think of his words as idle compliments.

Hotaru could see why he had drawn Usagi's eyes, all those years ago, and why Takeshi had opened to him. There was something about Tsuna, a charm of sorts beyond Usagi's blessing that made him very likeable. It was so obvious and a part of him it was, counteractively, hard to spot, but it was undeniably there.

"Isn't she?" Takeshi sounded proud on her behalf. "Sometimes I feel like she knows the answers to everything. Hotaru's the best teacher ever."

"Thank you," she answered modestly to them both. "But I can't take all the credit. I had good students."

Takeshi excused himself to go to the bathroom, cracking his neck as he went.

"I'm sorry for coming without," Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Y'know. Advance warning or anything."

Hotaru shook her head. "It's okay, I don't mind."

Tsuna looked like there were a lot of things he wanted to say to that but was just barely holding back for the sake of manners. Hotaru felt mirth fill her when she realized that was the look a person might give to a child blindly trusting the world, ready to step into the unknown and danger if only a candy was dangled in front of their eyes. He thought she was being too trusting, too naïve, and was worried on her behalf.

It really wasn't naivety on her part, though, and not just because of the blessing Usagi had left on him.

"Takeshi brought you," Hotaru said simply. Her friend would have done no such thing if he thought there was even a chance of Tsuna being a threat to her in some way.

"Besides," she added. "I've been telling him to introduce us since you saved him."

And look how it had all worked out. Truly, it was quite serendipitous.

Reborn hopped onto the table. "See? You need to learn the difference between being polite and being social, Tsuna. Otherwise you'll never make new friends."

Tsuna squinted at Reborn suspiciously. "Where have you been?"

"In the garden." Reborn tipped his hat to Hotaru. "It's quite lovely. Your family must spend a lot of time taking care of it."

Realizing he must have been bored while they were studying, Hotaru chastised herself for not paying attention to him.

"Not as much as you might think," she answered. The garden in their house, as with all plant-related things, had Makoto's touch. Makoto always had fun organizing the garden to her tastes, and in that area, she had no equal among the sailor soldiers. All Hotaru and her parents did were water them as per given instructions and keep it neat until Makoto was struck by inspiration again the next time she visited.

Speaking of Makoto, though . . .

"Would you like a cupcake?" she offered, pushing the plate towards him. "I can cut them up for you if you want."

"No need, but thank you." Reborn picked one up and began to eat it after careful examination.

"You're awfully polite . . ." muttered Tsuna.

"Dame-Tsuna. A true man is always polite to ladies."

There was something comical about the way Reborn said it that Hotaru averted her eyes to the side for a moment to avoid laughing. Reborn and Tsuna got along very well, despite the slight oddity in their relationship.

Before it got too late, the boys left.

"Come over again," she told them at the door, bidding them goodbye. Takeshi grinned, understanding that it was a genuine offer rather than a polite thing to say, and nodded. Good.

AN: In Petrichor Reborn held off on question 7 (you can't tell me that he wasn't the one to put it there) and spent the time snooping around Hotaru's house, seeing if he should recruit her. He's on the fence right now, and so far his background checks on her has given him nothing (Kawahira has been eluding Arcobaleno for centuries and he's very good at making fake IDs at this point in his life). Technically Tomoe Hotaru of the present doesn't have a direct link to the criminal world.

Summoning on the new banner for this chapter too, so wish me luck!

TL;DR

*:・ﾟ✧

Takeshi, when Tsuna asked what Hotaru was like: oh boy, where do I begin. Well, she's a little shy, and she's quiet, but she's also really smart, and she's good at playing the violin. She might seem a little distant at first but that's only because she's shy and quiet. If you get to know her she's the greatest person ever, and the best friend you could have. She's awesome.

Also Takeshi: But Tsuna should just get all that himself instead of me telling him, so I should keep it simple.

Takeshi: "She's nice."

Tsuna: That's not helpful?!

*:・ﾟ✧

Hotaru's impression of Namimori: I assume anything weird is because of Kawahira and Namimori being Namimori.

Kawahira, far far away: Rude.

Sweet Dreams~