AN: It's been longer than I wanted, but y'all know me by now. Couldn't update on a schedule to save myself. Nevertheless, thank you all so much for always supporting!

Akashi Seijuurou rarely made decisions in haste. He didn't need to; most things in his life happened exactly as he planned them to.

Momoi Satsuki's discovery of Kuroko's relation to the World's Greatest Hitman's current pet project was not something he had foreseen. It was foolish of him, to be sure. Momoi's dedication to their phantom sixth man was unparalleled, and Seijuurou definitely should have been keeping a closer eye on her.

When Kise rang him, out of the blue and full of innocent curiosity, Seijuurou's stomach dropped to his feet. He took immediate action; made some calls, did a little digging, just to ensure that his friends weren't in any danger (they weren't, at that point). But still, for the next few hours he was plagued by 'what ifs'. It nagged at him, the proximity of his friends to the hitman Reborn. The man's last project had been the young head of the Cavallone Famiglia; who knew what kinds of ties Kuroko's cousin had to the Italian mafia?

And then he received word that Aomine and Kagami Taiga had boarded a train bound for Kanagawa. Where Kise was waiting for them.

Seijuurou was a little embarrassed to say that he panicked. He knew damn well that the three of them were headed for Namimori (for reasons unknown, but probably stupid). So what did he do?

Not calmly and collectedly arrange to have his friends put under closer watch than they already were, ensure that they were as safe and protected as he could make them from Kyoto.

Not rationally decide to interfere with their journey, delaying them until Kuroko and Momoi (the two most level-headed of Seijuurou's problem children (not that that was saying much)) were already out of Namimori and Reborn's immediate reach.

Of course not. Seijuurou panicked. He saw his friends unknowingly putting themselves in a supremely dangerous situation; what else could he do but follow them?

Tsuna shivered.

"Ne, Tsunayoshi-kun. That girl over there is waving at you; is she a friend of yours?"

Momoi Satsuki was peering at him with pink eyes bright with curiosity. The older girl was a little unnerving, if Tsuna was being honest. Tetsuya had told him that Momoi was very observant, with a mind like a steel trap, but Tsuna hadn't quite expected her to be so intense.

Also, the waving girl in question was none other than Miura Haru, and Tsuna had been trying (in vain) to avoid looking at her.

He felt bad about it, he really did. Haru was a precious, if exasperating, friend of his, and Tsuna had pretty much gotten used to her eccentric ways over the last few months. But Tetsuya and Momoi had already been bombarded by a good portion of Tsuna's friends last night, and if Reborn was to be believed, Gokudera-kun was already going to be waiting for them back at Tsuna's house.

Tsuna didn't have the energy needed to deal with his two friends' rather volatile relationship today (or any day, to be totally honest). And he especially didn't want them doing or saying anything embarrassing in front of his cousin.

So it wasn't at all surprising when Reborn took it upon himself to leap out of Tetsuya's arms and toddle right on over to her.

"Uwahhh, Reborn-chan!" Haru squealed, taking the hitman into her arms and squeezing him tight.

Tsuna privately wondered how his tutor bore it; surely Haru had crushed all the oxygen out of his tiny body. Probably just another one of those impossible little Reborn things.

"Would that be Miura Haru-san?"

"Gah!" Tsuna (masterfully) refrained from leaping around in shock. He did twitch though, twisting to meet his cousin's curious gaze (probably; truthfully, Tetsuya looked just as blank as ever). That was one scary ability, Tsuna thought ruefully. Somehow even when Tsuna knew he was there, Tetsuya still managed to fade into the background.

"It is," Tsuna replied. "I'm surprised you remember."

A minute something-that-could-hardly-even-be-called-a-smile pulled at Tetsuya's lips. "You described her very well in your letters. Who else could she be?"

Flushing, Tsuna was both very pleased that Tetsuya had paid such close attention to his letters, and also embarrassed over just how much he had gone on about his friends. Maybe they were the most insane group of teenagers on the planet – but when it came down to it, he loved them very dearly and truthfully, Tsuna couldn't imagine them any other way.

"Tsuna-san!"

Haru, Reborn still cradled in her arms, bounced up to him with a smile like sunshine. And then her gaze slid sideways; right over Tetsuya like he wasn't there, landing square on Momoi. The rate at which the warmth left her eyes was, frankly, frightening.

"Ne, Tsuna-san," Haru said, sidling closer and linking their arms together. "Who is this? Haru doesn't know this person." Neither her voice nor her face had changed, but the chill coming off of her was giving Tsuna goosebumps. He caught Yamamoto's eyes over her head.

'Help me.'

Yamamoto didn't seem to be picking up Tsuna's distress signals; he continued to grin, as carefree as ever. Tsuna sighed. It was better than Gokudera-kun's reaction would have been, at least.

"Uh, Haru, this is Momoi Satsuki. She's visiting from Tokyo with my cousin." Tsuna said, gesturing awkwardly with his free hand. "Momoi-san, this is my friend, Miura Haru."

"Hahi!" Before he could introduce Tetsuya, Haru had startled, peering up at him with wide brown eyes. "Tsuna-san's cousin is here? Is that why those men in suits were asking about you just now?"

There was a beat of silence. Yamamoto's grin faltered.

'Not again.'

Tsuna shot a hopeful glance at Reborn, praying to all the gods he knew of that this was another one of the hitman's crazy tests. He wasn't sure, but Tsuna thought he could detect a faint hint of concern on his tutor's usually-faultless poker face.

Now if only he could decide whether Reborn was letting him see that on purpose or not.

"How many men were there, Haru? Did they say why they were asking for me?" Tsuna asked, electing to just roll with it. No matter if this was a real situation or not, Reborn would still make him deal with it in the same way.

Haru shook her head, chewing on her lower lip. "There were two of them, but they got out of a car. I don't know how many others there might be. I didn't tell them anything, Tsuna-san, I promise."

The desperate way she looked at him, begging him to believe her- Tsuna almost threw his stomach up at her feet, he felt so guilty. Why were his friends always dragged into every dangerous incident that came up?

To make matter worse, Tetsuya chose then to remind Tsuna that he was there, seeming almost to fade into existence with a small cough. While Haru was shrieking her surprise, Tsuna met his cousin's eyes; his stomach, which had just been about to heave itself up and out of his oesophagus, filled with lead and instead fell to his feet.

"Is everything okay, Tsunayoshi-kun?"

Tsuna really had no idea how he was supposed to answer that.

AN: Shit's going down, guys. Tell me ya thoughts and all that!

Recs: I am so much more than royal (snatch your chain and mace your eyes) by blackkat, an amazing Ichigo x Xanxus, Bleach x KHR crossover, over on AO3. Other rec is Challenge Time by WaiiKitsune, another crossover! KHR x Assassination Classroom, super fun. God, I love crossovers.

- Kelly