Tsuna popped another piece of sushi into his mouth, eyes drooping as he savored the taste. Expensive sushi really tasted completely different.

His gaze drifted to the three others that were with him: Bianchi, Reborn and Lambo. All of them were eating at a rapid pace, nonstop as though this was some kind of buffet.

A strange, foreboding feeling started to grow within him at the sight.

"R-Reborn," Tsuna said, turning to his baby tutor who was gorging himself. "Should we really be eating like this? How are you going to pay?"

Bianchi stopped eating on cue and quickly stood. Tsuna could only watch, stupefied, as she broke into a run.

"Thank you for the food," she said, speeding towards the door. She lifted her hand for a moment.

Tsuna wondered what she was doing, until a green rope-like thing wrapped around her wrist. At the end of the rope was Reborn.

Reborn was getting away via Bianchi.

"It was good," Reborn complimented casually, and Lambo jumped off his seat as well.

"Bye," the child shouted, and it didn't take more than thirty seconds before they all cleared out.

DID THEY JUST EAT AND RUN?! Tsuna thought.

"Oh no," Tsuna said, quickly standing. He had to run…

A laugh brought Tsuna's attention away from recent mess Reborn made for his student.

A man slowly stood up from the screened section of the TakeSushi, revealing himself to be…

"Yusuke-san!" Tsuna exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Yusuke's mouth curled upwards in amusement. "What do you do in a sushi restaurant?"

Tsuna flushed at the comment, and Yusuke-san laughed again. It should have reminded Tsuna of the bullies who always called him No-good Tsuna, except it didn't sound cruel at all. Merely extremely amused.

That's not too much better, Tsuna thought, shoulders slumped and comical tears streaming down his face. Then he recalled the challenge that he faced.

That's right. Reborn just ate and run, and Tsuna didn't have any money to pay.

"I need to go," Tsuna said, quickly turning away. "I'll talk to you later…"

A hand grabbed the scuff of his shirt.

"Where do you think you're going, kid?" the owner of the TakeSushi demanded, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Who's going to pay for all the sushi you and your companions ate?"

"Wahh! Please don't kill me! I'm sorry! I don't have any money!" Tsuna exclaimed, flailing. Tsuna's eyes darted to Yusuke. "Yusuke-san?" he said, his voice imploring.

The owner blinked and turned to the other man as well. "Yusuke, you know him?"

Yusuke-san grinned. "Yeah, he's a friend."

The owner dropped Tsuna back onto the ground, and Tsuna heaved a sigh. "Thank –" you, Tsuna wanted to say, but then Yusuke-san tacked the last part.

"I'm not paying for his bill though."

"Yusuke-san!" Tsuna wailed as the owner directed his glare at Tsuna again.

Yusuke-san took a sip from the sake cup in his hand. "Reborn's going to kill me if I interfere, you know?" he pointed out. "It's fine, it's fine," Yusuke-san assured Tsuna, casually waving his hand around as though that would dispel Tsuna's problem. "I know you can figure out a way to get through this."

Yusuke directed his gaze to the owner. "Tsuyoshi, can you give me my bill?"

"I hope you're not going to assist him in running away, Yusuke," he said, even as he began to walk away to get Yusuke the receipt. "Or I'm going to drop their tab on to you."

"Hell if I'm paying for that," Yusuke said, eyeing at the mess the Tsuna's group made. "They ate better things than I did," he grumbled.

Yusuke looked over at Tsuna.

"Tsuna, come sit next to me for a bit," Yusuke said, waving him over. Tsuna trudged over despondently. "Want some sake?"

"I'm not old enough to drink yet, Yusuke-san," Tsuna sighed.

Yusuke grinned mischievously. "A little is fine," Yusuke said, pushing the bottle towards him. Tsuna hesitated. "It tastes pretty good," Yusuke wheedled.

Tsuna tentatively wrapped his hand around the bottle and at Yusuke's encouraging look, he took a sip. Tsuna immediately started coughing as what tasted like warm fire slid down his throat.

Yusuke grinned behind the hand that he used to prop his head up and waited for Tsuna to settle. "How is it?" Yusuke asked.

"How was it?!" Tsuna asked, sounding so indignant. "It was-"

He paused and swallowed. The sake's bitter taste still lingered in his mouth, making Tsuna want to grimace, but the dull warmth in his throat…

Yusuke grinned. "Not bad, right?"

"It tastes like flames," Tsuna murmured, almost to himself. He recalled how he felt whenever Reborn shot him with the Dying Will Flame. A burst of fire at first, so hot that it seemed to burn even Tsuna himself, until Tsuna slowly got used to it. Then the flame became a constant, a presence there that Tsuna could rely on; a power dwelling within Tsuna, humming passively and just waiting for Tsuna to use.

Yes, Tsuna thought, concentrating on the slight burn he could feel in his throat. It tastes like flames.

"You want the rest?" Yusuke-san asked, gesturing to the sake.

Tsuna blinked. "Is it fine?" he asked. "I wouldn't get drunk or anything?"

Yusuke shook his head with a faint smile. "You'll be fine, unless you're a complete lightweight. There's only a little left anyway."

"Yusuke," the owner said, returning with the bill. "Don't teach minors to drink in my restaurant."

"Oops," Yusuke-san said, looking like a guilty child caught red-handed. He chuckled. "My bad," he said as he took the bill. Tsuna took a peek at the receipt and only saw two things listed. One was a platter of sushi and the other was the small bottle of sake.

Tsuna's eyes bulged out when he saw the price of the sake. "30,000 yen?! Isn't that too expensive?!"

Tsuna winced when he saw the owner's eye twitched. "I don't cheat my customers, kid, and especially not a friend."

Yusuke-san's laughter dispelled the tension between them. "Tsuyoshi is right. That," Yusuke said, gesturing to the bottle in Tsuna's hand, "is good stuff. Savor it, 'kay?"

"B-But," Tsuna protested, looking down at the bottle. "Maybe I shouldn't take it."

"Don't mind it," Yusuke said. "Like I said, there's only a little left anyway. Worry about your debt instead, Tsuna."

"Wahh!" Tsuna exclaimed, having completely forgotten about the 'eat and run incident'.

"Did you say Tsuna?"

Tsuna looked up cautiously. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi," he said carefully, weary of the owner's reaction. Tsuna certainly didn't expect the owner to start beaming at him.

"Tsuna!" the owner exclaimed, smiling in a familiar way. Something nagged at Tsuna. Where had he seen that smile before? "You're Takeshi's friend, aren't you?"

"Are you talking about Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked, slowly unwinding.

The owner and Yusuke-san both grinned at him. "I am Yamamoto," the owner said.

Tsuna's brown eyes slowly widened. "Then," Tsuna said, except he never got to finish his statement.

The door to TakeSushi slid opened and a familiar voice called out, "Dad, I'm home."

Tsuna rushed out of the screened area as the owner stepped out, and he was greeted with the sight of his friend standing by the door.

The younger Yamamoto's eyes widened with surprise that soon blended with delight. "Tsuna!"

Xxx

Reborn slipped into TakeSushi after the sun had gone down, and Tsuna had returned home.

Reborn turned as Yamamoto Tsuyoshi stepped into the room a moment later. "What is the hitman Reborn doing here in my humble adobe?" the elder Yamamoto said, glancing at Reborn.

"I want to talk to you," Reborn said, "about Yusuke."

While the elder Yamamoto could be described as distant before, now he was simply cool. "Yusuke is a friend," he said simply.

"And?" Reborn questioned.

"I think you know more about him than me, Acrobaleno," the elder Yamamoto said. "I don't probe into his business."

"Do you trust him?" Reborn asked, and something flashed across the elder Yamamoto's expression. Something like understanding at why Reborn seemed to be so desperate to find information regarding Urameshi.

"He's a strange man, isn't he?" the elder Yamamoto commented, gazing rather knowingly at Reborn.

"Just answer my question," Reborn prompted. He didn't need others to tell Reborn that Urameshi was a strange man. He knew and experienced it first-hand enough times already, present and future.

"I trust him with Takeshi's life," the elder Yamamoto answered obligingly after another beat of silence.

Reborn knew for a fact that the wielder of Shigure Soen Ryu stepped out of mafia life for his family. For him to say that he would trust his son's life with Urameshi… that was the ultimate sign of faith.

"Tsuna is your student, isn't he, and the future Vongola Decimo as well," the elder Yamamoto continued.

Reborn glanced at the elder Yamamoto sharply.

The other man chuckled a bit. "My son talks to me about his friends and the games he played, you know. The most recent game being the Mafia game."

The look in the elder Yamamoto's eyes turned into a serious one.

"I know you've been taking care of Takeshi," he said. "Can I trust you to continue doing that?"

"He's part of Tsuna's Family," Reborn said, careful with his wording. "Vongola always protects their own."

"But you're not Vongola," the wielder of Shigure Soen Ryu pointed out.

"It's not my style to interfere directly," Reborn said. "But I'll make sure my student will."

The elder Yamamoto nodded. "That's good enough for me. Tsuna is a good kid, if not a little overreacting at times." He gave Reborn a look. "I still haven't settled your debt at TakeSushi with you."

"My student took care of it," Reborn said dismissively.

The elder Yamamoto raised an eyebrow. "That's not setting a good example for him, is it? If Yusuke and Takeshi weren't there to wheedle him into washing dishes for me to settle the debt, what would have happened? Are you trying to settle him into the life of crime already?"

"Mama did a good job installing morals into him, and he should know better by now. If he did run and you called the police on him, it would have been his mess to settle."

"Harsh, isn't it, your methods," the elder Yamamoto pointed out.

"He needs to learn to take care of problems that may arise from everyday life. If he cannot do even that, how would he lead Vongola in the future?"

The elder Yamamoto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I see your point," he said. His mouth curved briefly in amusement. "Although I really do feel sorry for Tsuna to be submitted to your teaching methods."

Reborn tilted his head forward in acknowledgement.