Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. The Gamer belongs to Sangyoung Seong and Sang-a.

This chapter was inspired by Maxfic's "Naruto: The Gamer Files" and Shadlith's "Grimm Games". Check them out!

Tsuna thought that Miura Haru was a little overenthusiastic, but very fun.

He met her in a bookstore while browsing for a beginner's book on knitting. Grandma had told him that was a good idea so he could check his work at home and have projects to work on that he wouldn't need supervision for.

Tsuna had seen the perfect book, Fun Knitting for Beginners, on a high shelf, just out of reach. He stood on his tippy toes, trying to get it when a small hand darted out and grabbed it for him.

"Ah! Thank you," said Tsuna, turning to the owner of the hand. Next to him was a girl about Tsuna's age in a brightly colored dress with her hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Hahi! No problem, Haru is happy to help!" said the girl. She took a look at the book.

"Ah! Are you learning to knit? Haru would like to learn how to too!"

"U-um, yes," said Tsuna shyly.

"Hahi! Great! Maybe we can learn together! Haru's name is Miura Haru. Your name is?"

"S-Sawada Tsunayoshi," Tsuna said. He didn't know this girl, but she seemed very friendly.

"Hahi! Let's be best friends! Can Haru call you Tsuna-chan?"

"E-eh?" Chan!? "B-but I'm a boy."

"Hahi?!" Haru looked shocked. "B-but you're so cute! Haru wants to hug you!"

"Hiee?!" Tsuna could feel his face turn bright red.

"Kyaa! You're even more adorable! Haru can't help herself!"

Then she reached out and hugged him.

Tsuna's brain promptly short-circuited.

When he finally could think again, he was being shaken vigorously by Haru.

"Haru is sorry! Haru didn't mean to shock Sawada-san!" she kept saying.

"A-ah! I'm okay!" Tsuna said.

Immediately Haru backed off, looking miserable. "Haru is sorry! Haru didn't mean to shock Sawada-san," she said again.

She looked so sad that Tsuna couldn't help but feel a little bit of his heart go out to her.

"I-it's okay," he said softly. "And you can call me Tsuna-kun."

Haru brightened right up.

"Hahi! Thank you Tsuna-kun!" She pulled a piece of paper out of her bag, scribbled something on it and gave it to him. "This is Haru's address. Come visit Haru sometime!" she told him.

Then she skipped out of the store. Tsuna was left inside, clutching a book on knitting and a scrap of paper. A window popped up. "Miura Haru is now a Friend," it said.

Tsuna could only give a dry laugh at that. Well, he had wanted friends. Tsuna would have been happy with one or two friends, who was he to say no to four. Three, three, he corrected himself. He still wasn't sure Hibari counted.

Tsuna looked down at the book he had tried to grab. As he did so, another screen popped up. "You have acquired a skill book! Would you like to learn "Fun Knitting for Beginners", Yes/No?" it said.

Tsuna paused. A new feature? He glanced around. No, this place was too public. He resolved to buy the book and figure it out at home.

Later, ensconced in his room, Tsuna pulled out the book again. The same window popped up. Tsuna spent a moment staring at the window, weighing the pros and cons before he hit Yes.

Immediately the world around him dissolved. The book in front of him burst into orange flames that flickered and then jumped up to reach Tsuna. Images flashed through his mind, of how to hold his needles, the different sizes, various stitches.

Then, as soon as it started, the odd sensation stopped and Tsuna was back in his bedroom. He sat down shakily as a new window popped up. "Congratulations! You have learned a new skill, [Knit]. [Knit] is now LV1," it said. Five more immediately popped up afterwards. "Congratulations! You have gained a new recipe, [Basic Scarf]!" "Congratulations! You have gained a new recipe, [Basic Beanie]!" "Congratulations! You have gained a new recipe, [Knit Flower]!" "Congratulations! You have gained a new recipe, [Basic Poncho]!" "Congratulations! You have gained a new recipe, [Basic Knited Blanket]!"

Tsuna blinked at all the windows crowding his view. Then he shook himself and put a hand on his head. What was that?

He absentmindedly picked up the needles and the yarn he had bought to practice with. Then he blinked again as he realized that he knew how to hold the needles. Tsuna knew how to knit.

Tsuna dropped the needles and yarn in shock. Then he looked at where the book had been moments before. Only a spot of ash remained.

Tsuna shook himself again. Best not look a gift horse in the mouth. He picked the needles and yarn back up and began to knit himself a scarf.

So apparently learning from a "skill book" didn't mean one could do the skill well. Tsuna looked the tangled mess that was meant to be his scarf. It looked like one big long knot. He sighed and began to pick it apart. Well, at least it seemed he leveled up quickly. Only an hour of practice and he was level three. You could see the difference in his work too. The edge of the scarf nearest to him looked almost like he knew what he was doing.

Still, he'd been doing this for a while. Maybe it was time for Tsuna to take a break and do something else. After all, there were still a lot of things he didn't know about his gamer ability. Like the whole "Sun Guardian" thing, what was that about?

At the same time though, Tsuna wasn't certain he wanted to know more. He didn't think he could take it if another one of the people he trusted turned out to be a scum-bag.

Well, he did have an address to look into. Tsuna pulled out the piece of paper Haru had given him. His reading had gotten better with his intelligence, so it wasn't too difficult to decipher Haru's slightly messy handwriting.

Tsuna wanted to see if his map feature would allow him to find Haru's house. He had been too distracted by the pretty pictures and dungeons before to figure out some of his less apparent features. Now that his intelligence was higher, he wanted to see if he could use his map like an actual map.

"Map," said Tsuna, looking at the piece of paper, trying to memorize Haru's address. When he thought that he had it, he looked up at his map.

What, thought Tsuna. There was now a sun symbol on his map. Furthermore, it was moving. What.

Hesitantly, Tsuna clicked on it. "Sasagawa Ryohei, Sun Guardian," it read. "Chat?"

Ryohei?! Tsuna wasn't certain what the whole "Sun Guardian" thing did, if anything, but he now had a pretty good clue. Still, he wondered how the chat feature worked.

Well, no time like the present. Tsuna laughed inwardly as he thought of how a few weeks ago this would have been unthinkable. Giant monsters really do a lot for ones courage, and didn't that sound wrong.

The chat button beeped once when he pressed on it, then an orange box popped up in the corner. "EXTREME! A YELLOW BOX JUST APPEARED!" came out of it.

"Nii-san?" Tsuna asked.

"Tsuna! Are you Extremely trapped in that little yellow box? Don't worry, Nii-san will extremely get you out!"

"N-no! I'm alright, Nii-san! It's a chat feature, in the game."

There was a pause. "That is EXTREMELY COOL, Tsuna! What else can it do?"

"Err…" Tsuna took a closer look at the chat box. There were several buttons: privacy setting, mute and text.

Tsuna tried pressing the "text" button. Immediately, a keyboard appeared in front of him. "It looks like we can text," Tsuna wrote down.

"THAT IS ALSO EXTREME," Ryohei wrote back.

"I'm pretty sure we can also mute each other. And privacy settings…" Tsuna pushed the button. It opened up a small menu. There were three options: Everyone, Those in Chat and One Way. "…I have no idea what that does," Tsuna concluded.

"EXTREME!" Ryohei wrote. Then he switched over to speaking. "Hey Tsuna, my sister's been wondering when you're planning on coming over again."

"Well, I was planning on going out today-" if only to figure out where Haru's house was"-so I could stop by, I mean, if you really want me. Oh, and I don't have any cakes, so-"

"That's EXTREMELY okay, Tsuna! Kyoko made cakes herself. You can have one if you come over!"

Him? Have one of sweet Kyoko's cakes? He couldn't, she probably worked really hard on those and they were probably meant for someone else also.

"I want to see you too! And I think Kyoko wants to talk to you about something."

Oh. Immediately Tsuna began to feel slightly ill. Did he do something wrong? He had made sure that Ryohei was healed of any injuries he might have after that last fight, like Kyoko had wanted. Was she angry at him? Did she change her mind?

"Hey, I can EXTREMELY see your house, Tsuna! I'll come get you!" Ryohei yelled happily.

"Ah, really that's not necessary, Ryohei-I mean Onii-san," Tsuna stuttered. He really did not want to go outside right now.

But it was too late. Ring-ring-ring went the doorbell. "Tsuna!" Ryohei yelled from both downstairs and Tsuna's chat window. Tsuna jumped up and ran for the door. Please, don't let Mama open it, he thought, desperately. I don't want to go outside again. He was almost to his bedroom door when his foot slipped on one of the manga books Tsuna had been reading earlier. The world tipped backwards. Bang. "-1 HP".

Mama opened the door. "Oh, hello," she said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sasagawa Ryohei! I'm Tsuna's EXTREME older brother!"

"Really? He hasn't told me. Tsuna!" Mama looked back at Tsuna, who was crawling out of his room.

"Why haven't you told you had such a nice older brother!" she scolded lightly.

"Ah, we only met a few days ago," Tsuna explained, confused. Did she think Ryohei was normal or something?

"Really?" Mama hummed in delight. "Well, good for you for making such a good friend so quickly."

"A-ah, thank you." Tsuna blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I EXTREMELY don't get what's going on, but okay!" yelled Ryohei. "Can Tsuna EXTREMELY come over to my house?"

"Oh, of course! Here, let me get some sandwiches for Tsuna to take over," Mama said with a blinding smile, before she turned on her heel and bustled into the kitchen.

Tsuna awkwardly walked down the stairs to where Ryohei was.

"Er, hello again," Tsuna mumbled.

"HI," said Ryohei back. "Your mother is EXTREMELY pretty!"

"Ah, thank you?" Tsuna said. Wait why was he hearing an echo of his voice? It sounded like it was coming from—

A spot near Ryohei's head. Tsuna had totally forgotten to close the chat window. Tsuna felt like an idiot. How in the world did he forget about the bright orange, glowing box that was floating in the air a few feet above his head? Either Tsuna was really stupid, or he had actually become accustomed to his gamer system. Now that was a scary thought.

Luckily for Tsuna's sanity, Mama chose that moment to go bustling back into the hallway carrying a small basket.

"Here you go!" she said cheerfully, offering Tsuna the basket. "Now, off you go."

Tsuna hung his head. Now he had no choice but to go back outside. He just got over killing that Fear-Wraith boss yesterday, Tsuna had been hoping for a lie-in. But it looked like it was not meant to be.

Forcing a smile, Tsuna went back outdoors, following Ryohei who was cheerfully punching the air.

Oh, well. At least it was nice outside, a bright sunny day. The air was full of the scent of freshly cut grass and life.

Hey, this might not be so bad, Tsuna thought to himself.

"Hey, Hibari-san! What are you EXTREMELY doing here?"

NOPE, no, no, not right now. Tsuna did not need freakin' Hibari showing up of all the people. Well, maybe if he looked the other way, Hibari wouldn't notice him and-

"Herbivore." Well, there went that plan.

"H-hello Hibari-san," Tsuna stuttered. "D-did you want something?"

Hibari glared at him. "What does the loud herbivore have that I do not?"

"W-what?" What on earth was Hibari talking about?

Hibari used a tonfa to point at Ryohei, who was cheerfully running around in circles. "What does this loud herbivore have that I don't?" he repeated.

To Tsuna's horror Hibari seemed genuinely upset. "I don't understand what you are talking about. Why are you asking me this?" Tsuna tried to say in a calming manner.

It didn't work. Hibari took a swing at Tsuna before growling out, "I have been going to dungeons with you for far more often than the loud herbivore. Why did he get a title and I didn't?"

"Wait, do you mean the Sun Guardian thing?" Tsuna asked.

"Yeah, it's EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled. "We can even talk to each other now whenever we want to, 'cause it has an EXTREME chat function!"

If Tsuna thought Hibari looked angry before, now he looked downright murderous.

"I-I don't know how it happened, I swear!" Tsuna said desperately. "Onii-san was telling me that I shouldn't listen to my father and that he'd punch him or take revenge or something-HIEEE!"

Tsuna dodged a tonfa strike. He skipped back a few steps in case Hibari decided to "train" him again, but Hibari was deep in thought.

Seeming to come to a decision, Hibari stood straight up, looked Tsuna in the eye and said, "Herbivore, I swear vengeance on your father."

"Wha-wha-whaaat?" Tsuna wailed. Why was Hibari telling him this?

Hibari glowered at Tsuna. "Herbivore, I swear vengeance on your father."

Again, what? All they were talking about was how Ryohei became Tsuna's Sun Guardian thing and-

Oh.

That was it.

Hibari wanted to be Tsuna's Sun Guardian too.

Now that Tsuna thought of it, Hibari was acting jealous of all things. He actually, really wanted to be Tsuna's friend.

Hibari Kyouya cared.

And maybe, if the Demon Kid of Namimori could consider Tsuna a friend, Tsuna could do the same for Hibari.

"Congradulations! Hibari Kyouya is now your Cloud Guardian!" Not Sun Guardian? Huh.

"Well?" Hibari growled.

"Er, does Cloud Guardian work? Because that's what you are now listed as," Tsuna told him.

Hibari looked slightly mollified. "Acceptable. Test it." They both ignored Ryohei's shouted "EXTREME"s at Tsuna's question.

"Test it? How-oh, right, the chat."

Tsuna pulled up his map and poked Hibari's new symbol, a cloud. Then he selected the chat function.

"Hello?" he tested.

"Good. Don't use this unless there is a fight." Then Hibari closed the chat and walked off.

Tsuna was left wondering if he'd completely misread the entire situation. What was the point of that if Hibari was just going to walk off?

But then, wasn't that what made Hibari Hibari? After all, despite the bloody training and brutal fights Hibari had forced Tsuna into, he also willingly fought by Tsuna's side. Before, nobody had done that.

So Tsuna decided to just be happy that he had a friend. As he and Ryohei continued along the path to Tsuna's house, Tsuna reflected on how unbelievable it was, just a few days ago, that Hibari could be Tsuna's friend.

"Kyoko! I EXTREMELY brought Tsuna here!" Ryohei yelled as he and Tsuna walked through the door.

"Ah, that's wonderful! Please, come in!" Kyoko said from somewhere inside the house.

Ryohei cheerfully took his shoes off and tramped into the kitchen. Tsuna followed a bit more cautiously. Kyoko was in the kitchen, setting out cupcakes. It… didn't seem like she was mad. Or maybe the cupcakes were only for Ryohei and not Tsuna? Tsuna wasn't sure.

"Ah, Kyoko?" Tsuna asked.

"Hmm?" she still sounded cheerful. That was a good sign, right?

"Are you al-alright?" Tsuna asked.

"Yes? Why wouldn't I be?" Kyoko seemed to be genuinely confused. Tsuna breathed an internal sigh of relief.

"So, you aren't upset with me for taking Onii-san to a fight?" Tsuna asked, just to be certain.

"Nope!" Kyoko said brightly. "Actually, that was part of what I wanted to talk to you about. You see," and here her eyes saddened a bit, "I forbade Nii-san to fight a long time ago, when he got really injured once. I thought it was for the best, but I selfishly didn't see how unhappy it made him. He's like Hibari-san, like you said, a fighter. After I talked to you, I realized that. So I let him go to a fight with you, and when he came back-" Here Kyoko paused, as if searching for a word she didn't know. "-he seemed… relaxed, almost. At peace. As though he had been bottling something up for the longest time and finally let it out. And you were the one that helped him there. I envied that, to be honest. I envied that you were the one to help him when I couldn't."

"Kyoko-chan…" Tsuna felt horrified. He didn't want to make her envious. He was just trying to be her friend!

Suddenly, Kyoko turned to him brightly and chirped, "So that's why I want to go to Nii-san's next fight with you!"

What. Tsuna blanched. Nononono this couldn't be happening. He had to say no-but she was looking at him so expectantly-he couldn't say no to Kyoko-distract her, quick!

"Um, actually today I was planning on finding the house of a new friend of mine. Her name's Haru!" Tsuna smiled brightly at Kyoko. Take the bait, take the bait, don't put yourself in danger…

"Really?" Kyoko said, cocking her had to one side.

"Yep. We're both learning how to how to knit!" Just keep smiling, hope she won't catch on…

"Oh, that sounds fun! Do you have the address?" Yes! She had taken the bait!

"I do." Tsuna fished the address out of his pocket and handed it to Kyoko.

She hummed as she took it and read it. "Oh, I know where this is!" Kyoko said. "It's on the way to the park!"

"Really? That's nice. Do you want to show me the way?" Tsuna asked.

Kyoko beamed brightly at him. "Sure, Tsuna-kun! Onii-san, do you want to come with us to visit Tsuna's friend?"

"That would be EXTREME!" came a yell from the backyard.

Kyoko hummed happily as she started gathering up cakes and putting them in a small basket. Meanwhile a white-haired blur came shooting in from outside.

"Who's your Extreme friend Tsuna?" Ryohei asked as he stopped in front of Tsuna.

"Ah, her name is Miura Haru. She's very nice."

"She sounds EXTREME!"

Tsuna sighed a little. He hoped Haru wouldn't mind meeting such an… extreme person as Ryohei. She seemed normal. Then again, Kyoko seemed normal too, but she had Ryohei for a brother.

Haru's house was a surprisingly short distance away.

Ryohei was on Tsuna's right as he punched the air. Kyoko, on the other hand, was on his left, and together they produced a steady stream of conversation that lasted the short while. Kyoko was just beginning to say that maybe she'd like to learn how to knit too as Tsuna pressed the doorbell.

They waited a few minutes, then Haru poked her head out the door. "Hahi! It's the cute boy! But who are the others?"

Tsuna blushed. "A-ah, hello, Haru-chan. This is Sasagawa Kyoko and Ryohei. I told them about meeting you, and then they wanted to meet you themselves soo…." Tsuna shrugged his shoulders awkwardly. "I hope that's okay," he finished lamely.

"That's fine! Haru loves meeting new people! Come in!"

Kyoko smiled at Haru as they walked in. "We brought cake to share!" she said. Haru's eyes sparkled. "Cake desu? Haru loves cake." She gave them all a bright smile. Kyoko and Tsuna smiled back. Ryohei was too busy punching the air to notice.

"Ooooh, this is delicious! Did Kyoko make this?" Haru asked as she bit into a piece of cake.

"Yes, I'm glad you enjoy it!" said Kyoko over her own piece of cake. "Ah! But Tsuna cooks very well too."

"Hahi! Really?" Haru turned wide eyes on Tsuna.

"A-a little bit," Tsuna said, feeling shy. He ducked his head.

"They're EXTREMELY good for healing!" yelled Ryohei, who had stopped punching about five minutes ago. Tsuna twitched.

"Eh? What do you mean Nii-san?" Kyoko asked.

"Nii-san-" Tsuna began, but he was cut off by Ryohei.

"Tsuna has this EXTREME ability to make life like a video game!" yelled Ryohei.

"Oh, like how Mom and Dad make it a race to brush our teeth?" Kyoko asked.

"No! Like a video game, with screens and everything! It's EXTREME!"

"Really?" the two girls asked in unison.

"Can we see?" Kyoko asked.

"Hahi! Please?" Haru begged.

"Do it to the EXTREME, Tsuna!" yelled Ryohei.

Tsuna crumpled. Three resolves against one was a no-brainer, especially with such an extreme one added.

"Create group First Time," he mumbled. "Invite Sasagawa Kyoko, Miura Haru and Sasagawa Ryohei."

"Hahi!" "Uuwaahh" "EXTREME!"

"This is always EXTREMELY Awesome Tsuna!" said Ryohei.

"This is so exciting, hahi!" said Haru as she poked the yes button. Kyoko nodded next to her as she did the same.

"You also have an EXTREME menu!" yelled Ryohei. The girls oohed and aahed over each new discovery, with Ryohei commenting.

"So is this what you use when fighting now?" Kyoko asked Ryohei.

"Yes!" Ryohei replied.

"Great! Then, Tsuna-kun, I'd like to go to one of those dungeons," Kyoko said as she turned to him. Inwardly Tsuna flailed. Beside him Ryohei choked on air.

"You can't! It it's EXTREMELY dangerous!" yelled Ryohei.

"The monsters will go after anyone, Kyoko, not just the fighters. You wouldn't be safe," Tsuna clarified, glad that someone was on his side. He didn't think he'd be able to say no if all three were for it.

In front of him, Haru puffed out her cheeks. "Why are you two allowed to go then?" she asked.

"Well, Onii-san knows how to fight," Tsuna defended. "You two don't."

"And you?" asked Kyoko, quite put out.

"I'd get murdered by Hibari-san if I didn't let him fight what he wanted to," Tsuna said.

Kyoko brightened right up. "Then Hibari-san will protect us!" she said.

No, he'll murder you, Tsuna thought. Out loud, he said "I think Hibari-san likes fighting more than protecting, and he's not too understanding when people prevent him from fighting. Spending time to make sure a group of people aren't hurt would probably count."

Haru puffed out her cheeks again. "Well that not very nice of him!" she declared.

Well, duh, Tsuna thought. But he tried to be understanding. Haru had clearly never Hibari. He still wasn't sure what had caused Kyoko to think that Hibari would protect them.

Kyoko's lip trembled. "I know I can't do much fighting," she started, and Tsuna was horrified to hear a tremor in her voice, "but I want to understand why you love fighting so much. I want to help you Nii-san!"

"Hahi! And Haru will stand by her new friend, Kyoko!" Haru added.

Tsuna traded a helpless glance with Ryohei. Neither of them wanted to put Kyoko or Haru in danger, but at the same time both were moved by such a heartfelt declaration.

Even so, Tsuna thought, wasn't that the same feeling that caused Tsuna to learn how to cook? Try to find a way to fight, so he wouldn't be a liability? Wasn't that all to help Hibari, and then Ryohei? Could he really deny that to Kyoko or Haru?

Tsuna swallowed and looked down. No, he couldn't. He'd spent far too much time wishing that he wasn't so useless to do that to Kyoko or Haru.

Tsuna swallowed again. Then he looked up at Ryohei. "Onii-san, I'll protect them. And," he added, when Ryohei still looked upset, "I'll see if I can find something to convince Hibari to help."

Ryohei still looked upset, but he raised his fists and said "I'll extremely protect them too."

Kyoko and Haru cheered. "But," Tsuna said, "I want you to bring something to defend yourself with, and if we tell you to run, run."

They both nodded. "Haru has hockey sticks we can use!" added Haru.

"You go get those while I call Hibari," Tsuna said. He took a fortifying breath; he wasn't looking forward to this.

"Hibari-san," he began as the chat came online. "Onii-san's sister, Kyoko, and a friend, Haru, want to do a dungeon, but they aren't fighters. What can I do for you to agree to help protect them?" Tsuna had a feeling trying to trick Hibari or beating around the bush would only end in pain, so he tried to be as straightforward as possible.

"I don't like crowding herbivores," Hibari said. Tsuna winced.

"I know," he replied. Hibari was silent for a minute. Tsuna was about to apologize to Hibari for wasting his time when Hibari said "I'm picking the dungeon. And start bring hamburger steak with your snacks."

Tsuna let out his breath with a woosh. "I can do that," he said. "Thank you, Hibari-san."

There was a moment of silence at the other end before Hibari sort of grunted at him. Then Hibari closed the link with a "Meet me behind the tailor's shop in the older district."

"We're going to the old district!" Tsuna announced. The girls cheerfully agreed, but Ryohei still seemed subdued. As Kyoko and Haru happily chatted together in front of them, Tsuna tugged Ryohei down so Ryohei was leaning towards him.

"I kind of don't want other people to know about the gamer thing, okay?" Tsuna whispered in Ryohei's ear. "Because then there might be more people like Kyoko and Haru who want to join in without understanding. So can you keep it a secret?"

"I EXTREMELY will, Tsuna," he whispered back. "I'm also EXTREMELY sorry for telling."

Tsuna could tell. Ryohei looked absolutely miserable. "It's okay," Tsuna said as he patted Ryohei's back. "I'll help protect them," he repeated his promise.

"I know," Ryohei said seriously. "Because you're an EXTREME man, Tsuna."

Tsuna found himself smiling back at Ryohei for that complement.

In no time at all, Tsuna and the others had reached the tailor shop. Unsurprisingly, Hibari was already there waiting for them. He detached from the wall as Tsuna added him to the party and walked around the girls, who smiled at him.

"Herbivores," Hibari said as he reached his judgement of them.

Kyoko just cocked her head at him while Haru immediately frowned and demanded, "What did you call me!?"

Tsuna, sensing a storm forming, quickly intervened. "That's just what he calls people who aren't good fighters, or annoy him," he explained.

Haru still looked unhappy, but she didn't make a fuss, for which Tsuna was glad. He had no idea what he would do if that happened.

"So, everyone ready?" Tsuna asked. Everyone but Hibari said yes. Hibari just opened the door and walked in. Tsuna inwardly wailed about Hibari's manners, but walked in after them. Everyone else followed suit.

For a moment it was dark in the room, but that quickly disappeared when Tsuna pulled out a lit Molotov.

Long, silky white strands fell from the ceiling, drapping themselves over dusty furniture and connecting corners. Actually, Tsuna couldn't even see the ceiling, just a mash of white. There also weren't any monsters that Tsuna could see. Even so, he said "Everyone stay together. We can't tell when we'll be attacked."

The girls nodded, eyes wide. Hibari gave an irritated grunt, and hit one of the white ropes hanging down in the center of the room. It shivered.

Suddenly, a brilliant orange "Danger!" sign popped up in the middle of Tsuna's vision. "Everyone, away from the center!" he yelled as he threw his lit Molotov into the center of the room. Then he tackled Haru and Kyoko. One of them squeaked as they fell to the floor. No sooner had they hit the floor when the biggest, most dangerous spider Tsuna had ever seen dropped down where Hibari had been a minute before. It let out what sounded like a scream as it hit Tsuna's Molotov aoe.

Hibari darted forward and destroyed it with three quick smashes. Then he leapt back as another spider threw itself down the white rope (web, Tsuna realized) into the puttering out aoe. Tsuna quickly threw another Molotov, but it was like a stopper had been pulled out of a bottle; more and more spiders began to pour out from above.

Tsuna could just keep throwing Molotovs, but he'd run out soon. Furthermore, he had no way of knowing how many spiders were there, as he couldn't see above him. Unless…

"Onii-san, throw this up there," Tsuna yelled as he handed Ryohei a burning Molotov and pointed at where the spiders were coming from.

"EXTREME!" Ryohei screamed as he threw the Molotov with all his strength at the dark spot.

Perhaps it was Ryohei's spectacular throw, the level Tsuna had gained in crafting, or just that the webs were particularly flammable, but with a spectacular boom the entire area caught fire. Tsuna could see dozens of spiders writhing in pain, and a few white pods bursting with gooey dead baby spiders oozing out. But it was in the furthest, darkest, highest part of the ceiling that made dread pool in Tsuna's stomach. Up there was a massive, shadowy spider that looked disturbingly like a boss monster.

One of the girls screamed.

Tsuna's head turned so fast it could've been considered whiplash. The two girls had cornered a small, burning spider and where hitting it repeatedly with their hockey sticks. Tsuna ran over and stomped it dead.

"Stay near the door!" he ordered them. Then he ran back into the fray.

For all that there seemed to be so many spiders, Hibari and Ryohei did a decent job of keeping them contained. Tsuna opted to conserve his Molotovs and just attack with his hands and feet. He thought that the Molotovs would be best used against the boss spider.

There were fewer spiders now, a part of Tsuna's mind noted. Ryohei's boxing gloves, Tsuna's shoes and Hibari's tonfas were strong enough to withstand any bites, but their arms weren't.

One of the smaller spiders jumped up and bit Ryohei on the shoulder. Hibari destroyed it a second later but Tsuna saw that Ryohei had gained a poison effect. Tsuna hopped backwards and, instead of pulling out a Molotov, pulled out one of the healing things from the rat dungeon. He jammed it into Ryohei's shoulder and was rewarded with the poison sign disappearing. Good, Tsuna didn't think his cooking could heal that.

And then, suddenly there weren't any more spiders. Tsuna and the others paused, uncertain what to do now.

Then they heard a long, sharp series of clicks start. "Move!" Tsuna yelled.

He, Ryohei and Hibari threw themselves out of the way as the biggest spider Tsuna had ever seen dropped down. Even scarier was the fact that it had a female torso and head where the spider head should have been.

The female upper half was dressed in a traditional kimono in white and black. It would have been beautiful if the kimono wasn't streaked with dirt and other materials. And if the thing's black, knotted hair didn't fall lankly over it like pieces of tangled rope.

Tsuna tensed on his feet as he took in the "Spider Queen, LV 34" title floating over the thing's head. So this was the boss.

He glanced at his companions. Both Hibari and Ryohei had serious expressions on their faces, and the girls were watching on with wide eyes from the door. He nodded to the older boys and they positioned themselves so that they covered the way to the girls. Tsuna was further towards the back of the shop, behind the thing.

Inwardly, Tsuna cursed. With his current position, he couldn't risk throwing a Molotov without hitting one or both of his friends.

That was when the thing moved. It threw itself at Hibari at the speed of a bird diving. Tsuna would have been impressed if he wasn't so terrified. Luckily, Ryohei was there to help deflect the Spider Queen, but at the speed it was moving nothing they could do would be able to really hurt it. They needed to slow it down, but how?

Tsuna glanced around the room. He could bash the monster over its head with a piece of furniture, but he didn't think that would even hit. Tsuna needed to hurt its legs, tie it down somehow. Wait! The webs!

Tsuna grabbed ahold of one of the low-hanging threads and yanked. With a tearing noise it ripped free from the mess. The sudden slack made Tsuna fall to his knees, but he scrambled to his feet and ran towards the boss monster.

"Onii-san! Help me tie down its legs!" he yelled as he threw one end of the rope to Ryohei.

With one of Ryohei's characteristic screams of "EXTREME!" they worked together to run around the monster, entangling its legs in its own thread. When its legs were completely trapped, Tsuna grabbed the other end of the web and tied it together. He didn't know too many knots, but he could tie his shoes so that's how he tied it.

"Everyone, kill it while it's trapped!" Tsuna yelled. He began to kick at the thing with all his strength. Hibari and Ryohei joined him. Even Kyoko and Haru ran over to help.

The Spider Queen thrashed once more and then it died, poofing away to become nothing more than a kimono, several spools of white thread, and a bottle that Tsuna, using observe, discovered contained poison.

After everything had been put away, Tsuna started treating Ryohei and Hibari. Sometime during the final fight Hibari had been poisoned. Tsuna frowned as he applied one of the special healing items. If this was going to be a regular thing, Tsuna needed to read up on antidotes. Even though they did have a large stack of healing items built up, they could easily run out quickly. Also…

Tsuna looked guiltily at Hibari and Ryohei's damaged clothing. If the past few dungeons were any indicator, the two would be running through a lot of clothing, and while Tsuna was pretty certain they could afford it, he didn't want to put either Ryohei or Hibari through that. So, also on his list was learning how to mend clothing.

Lastly, he looked at the two girls. Tsuna felt that they really shouldn't have been here. Ryohei and Hibari were one thing, both of them were better at fighting then Tsuna was, but this was probably the first time either of the girls had seen combat.

Kyoko looked up and saw Tsuna looking at here. She gave him a hesitant smile, and then got up and walked over to Ryohei.

"Onii-san?" she asked quietly.

Ryohei flinched and looked away. Kyoko frowned and bit her lip. Then she sat down next to him. "I know that I haven't always been the best sister," she started, holding a hand up before Ryohei could protest.

"But I have always tried to protect you and to make sure you are happy. And seeing you today…" Kyoko gestured at the air. "… You were serious, but you were happy. So, I'm going to do my best to protect that happiness, okay? You don't have to be ashamed of the part of yourself. Because… because I'll be there to help!" she declared as she hugged him. Tsuna thought that he had never seen such a brilliant smile on Ryohei's face before.

"Hahi! What a passion-filled fight!" declared Haru. Tsuna started and whipped around to face her, startled. Haru gave everyone a brilliant smile. "Everyone was amazing!" she chirped.

Tsuna just sighed. He was glad neither of the girls seemed unhappy, but was it really too much to ask for them to realize that was just a little scary?!

Tsuna walked to the meeting place for the next dungeon run. He'd seen both Ryohei and Hibari in the few days it had been since the spider dungeon fight, and both seemed to be well. Ryohei hadn't mentioned Kyoko either, so she was probably okay too. That was good

Tsuna broke out into a light jog. All he had to do was get around the corner and…

Wait what? Standing with the two boys were Kyoko and Haru, each holding a naginata. They all spotted Tsuna at the same time.

"Good Morning, Tsuna-kun." "Hahi! Tsuna-kun!" "EXTREME!" "Herbivore."

Tsuna could only gape at them. Just what was going on here!? Tsuna thought with a touch of hysteria.

Kyoko and Haru noticed that he was staring at their new weapons. "Tsuna-kun! Me and Kyoko were moved by your passionate attack!" started Haru. "We were so moved, we decided to take up arms ourselves, as Battle-Sisters!"

Beside her, Kyoko nodded brightly. She hefted up her naginata and cheered, "Go go Battle-Sisters!"

Tsuna felt like sinking to his knees and sobbing. Why, Kyoko? Why, Haru? But if he did that, Hibari would think that he needed additional "training" and bite him to death. So he numbly let the others tug him along to go on another insane, deadly dungeon run. Why was this life?

Of course, it wouldn't be his life for long. After all, he had forgotten a very simple thing: when you involved Sasagawa Kyoko, you made room for her best friend, Kurokawa Hana.

….

AN: I kinda hate school right now. It's been very busy lately, so don't expect another update until after the AP tests, and probably graduation too. As for leveling, I'm going to try to keep it realistic enough that Tsuna and friends won't just walk over any opponent they see, but also won't just have to go through completely unrealistic training right before a match just so that they could have a chance at surviving.