Another Path Part 5 : That exposed family secrets to the sun

Thank you for the reviews, favorites and alerts, they really motivate me to write more. In this new chapter, another character is introduced, but probably not one you expected. Yes, might I like to troll a little.

Also, this is not a romance story. I don't have either the writing skills or the experience needed to make a believable one. Sorry.

Disclaimer : I still don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and probably never will.

When Tsuna awoke in the Hibari mansion a month after his birthday, his first thoughts were : 'Ah, I finally have to return home for a while'. His intuition was regretfully informing him that Iemitsu would be returning home today.

After getting up and preparing himself for kindergarten, the now 5-year-old met Hibari Kyoya in the dinning room and told him the unfortunate turn of events. The older boy was not pleased to say the least, but sent a servant to stalk the house unseen until the man arrived. You never know, perhaps Tsunayoshi's intuition was dysfunctional. For the first time...

The kids both left for school hoping not to have to part in the afternoon. But the Vongola's famous Hyper Intuition was not wrong.

During lunchtime, Tsuna was studying basic Chinese while eating his bento on the roof (Hibari's staff had started making him one as soon as he unofficially moved in) when Kyoya appeared by his side. The brunet preferred to focus on the fact that the building had four floors and the middle schooler came from over the railing rather than his obviously unhappy and less obviously worried expression.

"The Herbivore has arrived an hour ago. He came with an older Herbivore he introduced as his boss."

That detail caught Tsunayoshi by surprise. The blond always tried his best to hide everything about his real job -Tsuna was convinced he was not a construction worker. Inviting his boss, if the man was truly his boss, at his home was a risky and unexpected move. All the more reason for Tsuna to visit and pretend he never left, unfortunately.

Hibari was thinking along the same line and stayed silent until the bell rang. They parted after Kyoya handed a few spare clothes and belongings for Tsuna to hide in his bag and after the brunet promised to keep him updated and to return once the men left. Tsuna was apprehensive, but being in Hibari's presence all day did wonders for his self-confidence and he knew he could pull the charade off.

When a beaming Nana appeared at the end of school to bring back Ienobu, Tsunayoshi followed as innocuous as possible and discreetly entered the back of the car. He needed to show that their family dynamics were as normal as could be.

Once 'home', their father rushed to hug first his wife and swipe her off her feet, then Ienobu, who screamed in delight, and finally Tsuna, who stayed slightly behind and was hoping for invisibility. Then he pushed them all in the living room to introduce an elderly man in a suit with a cane sitting on the couch.

"Nana, No-kun, Tuna-fishy, this is my boss, Timoteo. Timoteo, this is my cute and adorable family." Iemitsu was evidently ecstatic at the idea of showing his family to his boss.

"Mrs Sawada, Ienobu, Tsunayoshi, it is a pleasure to meet you" replied the old man, eying each of them in turn with a warm smile. It seemed sincere, but Tsuna was instantly wary of the man. He was somehow dangerous. Very dangerous said his intuition. "But please, call me Grandpa. I already consider Iemitsu as a son of sorts."

"Only if you call me 'Nana' Timoteo-san." answered the woman. She was smiling from one ear to the other : her husband was home, her No-kun had finally recovered from his injuries. What could be better?

Nobu politely introduced himself the way he had been taught as Tsuna mumbled a greeting. But nobody minded, and 'Grandpa' just sent him a indulgent smile.

The afternoon passed by fast, dinner was somehow normal, and after eating Tsunayoshi was thankfully allowed by his father to go to his room with a book. It was then that he heard said father and his boss speaking in a low voice alone on the second floor. They sounded like they were plotting something and it caught the brunet's attention through his door.

"It was lucky that we were there when Nobu first released his flames. Who knew he would awaken them so young. My son truly is a prodigy!" stated Iemitsu in Italian of all things. It caught Tsuna's curiosity even more and he leaned against his door to listen. Thank God he had decided to learn Italian. And were they talking about flames? Did they know about his power?

"It is rare for a Sky flame user to summon them at this age. But he couldn't be left Active, they had to be sealed. Otherwise he would have been quickly located and attacked." answered the voice of Timoteo (no way was Tsuna going to call him 'Grandpa' when he didn't call Iemitsu 'Papa'). And they were talking about the same flame ability Tsunayoshi had, though he didn't get why it was called 'Sky'. Maybe those flames were blue or something...

"I know, don't worry. I just hadn't expected it. And Nobu has Sky flames of all things, I was just so happy. When I saw that orange fire I couldn't help feeling proud." So Sky flames were orange for some reason? Did that mean he had Sky flames too? Maybe Kyoya's flames had an actual name too. But wait, did they say they sealed Ienobu's flames? That meant his twin had the same ability and apparently just manifested it; and said ability could be taken from Tsuna? That last thought was terrifying.

"I can imagine, but it is too soon. He is too young to control them yet." Tsuna silently begged to differ. Both he and Kyoya were children, but they definitely had control over their ability. And both would fight to the last before anyone sealed such an important, vital and precious part of them. "Are you sure your eldest son won't manifest flames too?"

"Tuna-fishy? Not a chance, he is a nice kid, but is nowhere as talented as Nobu in any field. It's impossible for him to awaken his ability so soon when his brother just summoned them. And that's assuming he actually has Sky flames or even other types." That hurt the brunet deeply. He knew his father saw him as less talented than Ienobu. But to have so little faith in him? Tsuna had to bite his lips to refrain from bursting the door open and show how beautiful and powerful his flames were to the world. But he couldn't, not unless he wanted to lose them afterwards.

"I see. I suppose it is for the best. At least one of your sons will stay away from our world at least. While they could be great assets for Vongola" Tsunayoshi assumed that was someone's name, because 'clam' wouldn't make sense here. "like you are, it would be a shame for such innocent children to fall into the Mafia..." and Tsuna didn't hear the rest of his sentence. The Mafia! His father was in the bloody Mafia! It explained so much, from his long leaves abroad to his secrecy about his actual job! Kyoya had to learn about that and this 'Vongola' person. It was probably the name of the boss he worked for. Hibari would most likely know more thanks to his many connections.

The brunet barely heard the sound of a man with a cane taking the stairs down and another louder one coming towards his door. Quick, he had to hide his shock from his face before he opened the...

"Hey, Tuna-fishy, you're still here? We were about to start a game downstairs, I thought you had already joined." exclaimed the blond. He suddenly grew worried. "Did you hear what Papa and Grandpa were talking about?" he inquired while trying to look as unconcerned as possible.

Tsunayoshi put on his best innocent face and answered. "I heard Papa" God, he hated calling him that, but it would sound less suspicious. "and Grandpa speaking, but you were using weird words and Tsu-kun didn't understand." Aaaaaand he sounded like a two year old just there. How humiliating. It seemed to work on Iemitsu though, and thank goodness it did, because Tsuna wouldn't have been able to bear speaking in such a stupid, herbivorous way (OK, maybe Kyoya was rubbing on him a bit too much, but it seemed appropriate) otherwise. Now for the finishing touch. "What were Papa and Grandpa saying?" A slight, calculated tilt of the head and use of big puppy eyes and sparkles. And a few flowers in the background to be sure.

It worked spectacularly. "Oh, of course, I forgot about that, and my little Tuna-fishy is just soooooo cuuuuuuute!" squealed Iemitsu while crushing the air out of his son's lungs. "Don't worry about it, Papa was just talking about his job. It's nothing as important as my adoooorable two sons..." and the man went on and on for what felt like hours about how cute his family was. Tsunayoshi was trying his best to keep the appearance of a small, shy, easily frightened and harmless child until he was told to go to bed. At long last. He was so tired he fell asleep in seconds despite the thoughts swirling in his mind.

The next day he followed Nana like a shadow when she took care of Ienobu and she didn't notice him at all when he followed them to school. The two men thought it was just his 'usual' shyness that kept him from them and behind his mother, and Nobu just shot him scathing glares when no-one was looking. He knew to behave himself in front of witnessing strangers.

At lunch, he was again joined by Kyoya on the rooftop and told him of his discoveries. The 7-year-old was as shocked as he was and promised to search for any information he could find on Mafia, Vongola, Timoteo or even Sawada Iemitsu, since the man was apparently important enough to be on familiar terms with his superior (Tsuna believed Timoteo was indeed his superior, and Kyoya was willing to trust the brunet's intuition).

()()()()()()

The two men stayed a total of six days in Namimori before leaving. Six whole days of pretending to be a normal if a bit silly 5-year-old, of hiding from his twin in his house, of acting around his mother as if she paid him attention and of enduring the crushing hugs and squeals of his blond sire. Yes, those six days had been hell for Tsunayoshi and he was glad to return to what was now his home. It was coincidently the day Kyoya had told him he would have a report from his parents about the Mafia, Vongola, Timoteo and Iemitsu.

Hibari was waiting for him in his room with large reports neatly stacked in front of him. He looked at the same time dissatisfied and puzzled, which was an odd sight on his usually emotionless face. It was a bad omen according to Tsuna.

"Omnivore" began the boy as soon as the brunet closed the sliding door and took a seat in front of him. "How did you manage to get yourself in such a huge mess?"

He then proceeded to explain to an increasingly shocked Tsunayoshi about a familiar ability used solely in the Mafia and hidden from the public that involved strangely colored flames. He said that Vongola was the world's largest, most powerful and bloodiest Mafia Famiglia, as well as one of the biggest crime syndicates worldwide. He told him Timoteo was commonly known as Vongola Nono, the ninth boss of said group and probably the most influent man alive. That Vongola had a branch known as CEDEF which dealt with internal matters as an outside force. And most frightening point of all, that the head of CEDEF, known as the external advisor, who held as much power as the Vongola boss in times of war or of succession, the Young Lion of Vongola, was a blond man of Japanese descent by the name of Sawada Iemitsu.

By the time Kyoya had finished, Tsuna was as pale as paper, eyes wide open and mouth agape. This wasn't really possible, was it? Not his goofy, oblivious and loud father? Hibari just handed him the folders, many of which contained photos, and waited silently for the Omnivore to course through them.

Late at night, and many hours and cups of tea later, the last report was closed and Tsuna had more or less regained his bearings. It still sounded unreal, but he now had proof that it was all true.

"I can't believe it. All along that goof-ball was... That just makes any attempt to escape my family for good much, much harder."

Kyoya nodded. The same thought had occurred to him. Iemitsu believed that his family was happy and perfect and had demonstrated that nothing, not even hard, cold proof could convince him otherwise. Tsuna had already tried multiple times to explain, but was brushed off. The man wanted the best for his family, but at the same time didn't want his 'ideal family' to be shattered. That also meant he would never allow his eldest to leave and destroy his delusion. If the blond caught wind of his son leaving the house, willingly or not, Tsuna would be tracked and followed until he was dragged home with increased security and surveillance. The Vongola could easily afford and manage it.

"My family has warned me already" started Kyoya, staring holes into the reports. "Any attempt against the Vongola, even if the whole clan leagues together, will be crushed within days. If one wants to go around them, one has to make sure they are not aware of one's plans and of one's acquaintances, or they will destroy you and any possible threat without batting an eye."

Tsuna was about to tell his friend that he would return to the Sawada household definitively to avoid dragging him into this mess and put him in danger when Hibari continued. "That means that if they are not aware of our friendship and of your choice of living place, they will do nothing. You will not return to live to that house unless it is to hide your actual living place and it will only be temporary. I will not let you stupidly sacrifice yourself so I can stay out of this. We are friends, what you are a part of, I am as well, and the other way around. You will continue living here, Mafia threat or not. That is not negotiable Omnivore." He finished with a hint of a smile on his lips.

Once more, Tsuna couldn't believe he had such a great and loyal friend like Kyoya and could only give a huge watery smile back. How could he have lived without friendship before encountering Hibari? He couldn't go back to his life from before now, and he was actually glad about that fact.

And he didn't know it yet, but he would soon meet another child he could call his friend.

()()()()()()

It was Christmas's eve in Namimori and Irie Shoichi was one again running from the men who wanted his brain to work for them. His last creation was a pocket-sized robot that automatically transcribed what it heard on paper. Not so useful for the 5-year old, but he was planning ahead and knew that taking notes would be necessary when he leaves kindergarten and finishes grade school. And he mostly had a sudden idea and followed it on a whim.

But this time, things were looking direr than usual. For starters, his pursuers were more determined to catch him and were more skilled than what he was used to. They obviously memorized the streets of Namimori and Shoichi couldn't lose them in the back alleys. Then, he couldn't call his parents or sister and request them to pick him up and leave his stalkers in the dust.

The Irie family had decided to spend the winter holidays in a theme park. When Shoichi had protested that he wanted to work on his inventions, his relatives went either way and left him alone in Namimori.

Not that the red-hair was surprised. He loved his family, and he knew his family loved him as well. It's just... Well, because Shoichi was so smart and liked to be independent to create better, his relatives saw him almost like an adult and let him do whatever he wanted on his own. They helped him when he requested something, but was left to his own devices otherwise.

He had no idea how his pursuers had found out that he was a genius when it came to creating things. It was a hobby, and he never sold or talked about his inventions. Grown-ups didn't pay any attention to a child's rambling and no kid his age wanted to hear about it. He had a steadily growing reputation as a geek, and was more made fun of than praised. But somehow, while walking back from that spare parts store, he was chased by suspicious individuals screaming that he now had to create weapons for them and ran away as a conditioned reflex. Bullies liked nerdy kids a bit too much...

And this is how he found himself in a back street, surrounded on both sides by shady men -he would bet his arm that they were yakuzas- with the worst stomach-aches he had ever experienced and was praying for a divine intervention.

Said divine intervention took the appearance of a terrifying 7-year-old falling from the nearest building (it was at least 3 stories high for the love of god!) behind the thugs on Shoichi's right and a softly smiling and harmless-looking 5-year old walking towards the yakuzas on his left. The red head thought for a moment that the gods were making fun of him, before he took a good look at the scary child. Never again would he disbelieve the power of the merciful gods.

"For disturbing the peace of Namimori" began the oldest kid who Shoichi now recognized as Hibari Kyoya, the infamous demon child. "I'll bite you all to death." And he proceeded to the beating of the dozen grown men on his side of the street, who didn't stand a chance.

"You know" said the unknown brunet. He still sported a calm smile despite the situation, Shoichi thought he was insane. "You shouldn't have disturbed Kyoya today. We had plans for the day that you just ruined, and he doesn't like to see his plans foiled." So the child was an acquaintance of Hibari Kyoya, maybe even a friend seeing that he called him by his first name. He was madder than he looked!

And then the 'cute and innocent' child, still smiling serenely, threw the two yakuzas closest to him over his head and on the wall where they slowly collapsed, unconscious. The other men met a similar fate and were apparently effortlessly dealt with and knocked out.

In two minutes, all twenty thugs were on the ground. The brunet child went to check on Shoichi while Hibari Kyoya stayed away, glaring at the fallen yakuzas as if daring them to get up and start round two. The fluffy child made sure Shoichi was safe before asking innocently "Hello, there. You seem OK. What exactly were those men after you for? You stole something from them?"

The small insult was enough to reboot the stunned red head who cried out "I didn't steal anything from them! They were the ones who wanted to kidnap me, I didn't ask for anything!"

"Oh, and why did they want to abduct you? Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look like you'd fetch a good ransom." inquired the child. How could he say that so brazenly? He sure did look like he understood the words he said, but there was no way. He couldn't say that knowingly and keep smiling serenely like that, could he? Then again, he didn't seem completely sane either...

"No, no" stuttered Shoichi. Why was he even replying to such a loon? He should be running for his life! But the glare of Hibari on his back was nailing him on his spot. Better answer promptly then. "I-I'm good at inventing things, and these men wanted me to build weapons for them. I refused and they chased me." The brunet was humming thoughtfully, completely ignoring the bodies at his feet. Shoichi wondered where the nearest drugstore selling pills against stomach-aches was -and if he would be allowed to get there alive.

"My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi by the way, if you're from Namimori, you might have heard of me as 'Dame-Tsuna'." and indeed, Shoichi had heard of the no-good kindergartener. He was infamous for his stupidity and clumsiness among young children. But the weirdo in front of him was way too different from that reputation.

It seems Tsunayoshi could guess what he was thinking. "I know, people love to say I'm useless at school and so I got that reputation. But you seem nice, you can call me 'Tsuna'. And this is Hibari Kyoya, but you obviously already know that if your shaking knees are any indication. If you're chased by yakuzas, they probably won't stop trying to kidnap you so easily." Shoichi shuddered. He had realized that and was desperately looking for a solution. The police wouldn't believe a child like him and he knew no-one who could hide him. "So" he continued. "How about coming with me and Kyoya to celebrate Christmas once you tell us your name and I've managed to convince Kyoya to bring you along?"

Shoichi couldn't say if he was more shocked, scared or tempted by the offer. But after thinking about it for half a second, he understood that he had no other choice. The two crazy children were his best and only chance of evading his pursuers or beating them if they found him. And he desperately needed a safe place and a glass of water with pain killer pills. "My na-name is Irie Shoichi, and it would save my life if you could help me escape. Please protect me." he bowed.

Hibari Kyoya was sending deadly glares to the brunet since he made his offer, but Tsunayoshi just brushed him off with a mysterious 'I get the feeling he will be an interesting person to know, Kyoya', and the demon just huffed and walked out of the street.

"Don't worry" chanted Tsunayoshi. "That means he's OK with you following. So, what do you like inventing?" And he continued chatting along the way. Shoichi was walking without asking where they were headed. But Tsuna's enthusiasm was contagious and he seemed genuinely curious about the red hair's hobby. Shoichi quickly found himself enjoying his time with the brunet and was almost at ease when Hibari got closer to hear their conversation and even exchanged a few words. Who would have thought?

They spent their Christmas's eve walking between the stalls prepared for the occasion, buying some food or things that caught their eye. Shoichi bought a small clock, wishing do disassemble it to study it later. Hibari's mere presence left them with a wide area free of people around them, and the few mobsters that got close were gleefully bitten to death. When they got too tired, Shoichi was offered to sleep over at Hibari's and only yielded when Tsunayoshi explained that he lived there most of the time too. The red-hair was curious as to why, but didn't ask : it seemed to be a sore subject.

These arrangements were kept until the end of the winter holidays and the Irie family returned home (and Kyoya found the base of the yakuzas and made sure they wouldn't be bothering Shoichi after a good, long 'talk'). By then, the three kids had spent a lot of time together and had gotten close. The red head was a quiet child and Kyoya didn't mind his presence. That and he had offered a few ideas to upgrade his tonfas. With spikes and chains. Tsuna did not want to see that.

Shoichi felt like he had made his first friends ('Dame-Tsuna' and the demon of Namimori, how strange). He knew the two still had many secrets : they were evasive about Tsuna's family situation (Shoichi knew of Ienobu's existence and wondered why he hadn't seen him during his stay), the things they did when they barricaded themselves in the training room (Shoichi was left alone to work on his inventions for a couple hours each day) or even what their parents did for a living. The red-hair wanted to know more about those two. He wanted to keep spending his days with both odd children and be into their secrets.

When he expressed his wish, Hibari and Tsuna (he had insisted to being called that and had more success than with the raven head) exchanged a look. The brunet tilted his head slightly and the raven nodded. It seemed to Shoichi that they agreed and he was deemed worthy of their trust and secrets. It made him happy.

"Well" started Tsuna, pulling Shoichi from his reverie. "I guess you should know about everything. So you can decide if we truly become friends after that."

And he then exposed the most unbelievable story to a fascinated child. He told things from the beginning, about his mother's neglect and his brother's abuse, about his eerily accurate intuition and how it saved him multiple times. He explained how he discovered his ability and made a demonstration of his orange flame. The inventor in Shoichi wanted to know more, but he controlled himself. Tsuna continued with his meeting with Kyoya (and with Hibird who was chirping in the raven's hair) and how they became friends.

At this point, Hibari took the lead and briefly explained his situation : how much he could do with his purple flame, why he patrolled the town, and his parent's job. Shoichi paled, but didn't say a word or make a move to leave. He was now familiar enough with the raven to not let that last piece of information cloud his judgment.

When Kyoya finished his part and Shoichi didn't really react negatively (run away screaming his head off), Tsuna continued from where he left : how and why he came to live in the Hibari mansion, his deal with Hibari to only return to the Sawada house while Iemitsu was in Namimori. He then exposed the time the man came home and the conversation with his boss that he overheard. He finished with Kyoya's reports.

That shocked Shoichi much more. To link Hibari Kyoya with the Underworld was one thing. To imagine kind and selfless Tsuna -despite the fighting skills he had seen first-hand- in the Mafia was another. The brunet quickly assured the panicking kid that he had no interest in becoming a Mafioso and that he wasn't even supposed to know about Iemitsu's real job. This calmed the red-hair down. Both boys were still the same crazies as the ones he met a week ago.

Tsunayoshi and Kyoya let him think about those revelations for long minutes. The decision Shoichi had to take was an important one. Would he still 'officially' become friends with them now that he knew their family circumstances and secrets?

Kyoya's family wasn't really a problem. They wouldn't bother the red-head unless he bothered them first. And if he was attacked due to his ties with the Hibari clan and Kyoya wasn't enough to save him, the rest of his family would help. That was the way they worked : solitary unless needed as a pack.

The actual issue was Tsuna's ties with the Mafia. And not just any Famiglia either, the most powerful one. Vongola didn't know that the brunet was aware of these relations, and would most likely eliminate any threat to them and their secrecy if they found out about the kids. That meant Kyoya, and Shoichi if he decided to stay in this and help shelter Tsunayoshi from his family. Also, Tsuna had no-one to rely on in the Mafia in case of a problem.

Shoichi drew a deep breath and nodded to himself. The 5-year-old had made his mind.

"I can't deny this is a lot to accept at once, but thank you for the trust you have in me. If I'm not a bother, I'd still like for us three to be friends. I'll keep your secrets and help you with what I can." He said, voice low and was barely heard, but his tone showed his determination. He had acknowledged the risks and still wished to stay.

Tsuna's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he jumped over the table to hug his new friend. Kyoya was much less demonstrative, but still nodded in agreement, a small smile playing on his lips.

Once the red-head managed to free himself from the surprisingly strong grip of a certain brunet, he replaced his glasses and finally let his inner inventor out. "So, can I know more about these flames?"

I'll just ask the same question as last chapter, but this time at the end, so hopefully you will remember it if you leave a review (not that I blame any of you, I'm just the same, if not even more forgetful).

Could anyone give me some ideas for box-animals/pets for the following characters : Shoichi, I-pin, Fuuta, Spanner, Fran, Kyoko, Haru, Hana and Chrome (who definitely won't have the owl because it suits Mukuro so much better)?

I already have some ideas, but am not completely satisfied with them. The box-animals won't appear until much later, but I like to plan ahead and this is one detail I have yet to figure out. Thank you again and hope you enjoyed the chapter!