Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.

Word Count: 9235

"You wouldn't."

Natsume stared down the stair case, mouth pursed in thought before slowly nodding and looking back at Hayato who put a lot of effort in not putting his face into his hands.

"This is a bad idea."

"There's a cushion at the bottom, if anything happens I'll hopefully land on that."

"You want to float down stairs, what if you don't?"

"Excuse you I can float in place."

"Have you tried moving?"

There was a deep inhale, "This is why I'm doing this…" Natsume gestured around the home, "in a controlled environment."

Hayato gave the girl a deadpanned look to which she gave him open mouthed smile and a thumbs up, "I'll walk beside you until your imminent demise," sure the swat he received hurt, but he knew she really believed in putting out negative and positive energy and he wasn't exactly helping.

He watched as she prepared herself, her left hand coming up to rest on his shoulder, and then raised her right leg, the back of her heel resting against the front of her shin. Pretending as if she was holding herself up on railings, she picked up her left leg and crossed it behind her right leg. Her toes barely touched the floor and Hayato could almost pinpoint the moment she had settled whatever thought, because she brought her legs up even higher and acted as if she was sitting criss cross on the floor.

She still kept her hand on his shoulder and once she opened her eyes she brought it down into her lap, looking at both her position and judging the downward movement.

"You should do magic tricks at the school carnival next year," he said, taking one step down and waiting for her to move with him.

"Hmph," was all he got as she slowly floated her way over to him.

They had made it half way down when the back door was opened violently, a loud crash accompanying the sound of Lambo's giggling. Concentration ruined, Hayato missed Natsume as she plomped down onto the stairs and watched as she slid down the stairs and onto the cushion at the base.

"Ow."

"And it would have gone well if it wasn't for those kids."

Natsume shushed him, moving on the cushion enough so that she was on her side glaring up at Hayato who took a seat on the last step. The silver haired teen rested his arms against his knees and waited until she was sitting up, before telling her what he had noted.

"I think the hardest thing for you will be doing it while there are distractions like that going on," he told her, his right thumb idly rubbing the back of his brass ring on his ring finger.

"Yeah," she agreed, twisting one way, her back cracking at the movement, before she did it again the other way. A sigh left her and she looked back at him, "Well I just wanted to test that, so what did you want to do?"

Hayato shrugged, lightly toeing the edge of the cushion, "What do you think I can do?" he wiggled his ring finger, bringing attention to the ring.

"Storm is corrosive, not that you have to be, but it literally eats up everything in its path," and they had proven that a few days ago when Natsume had handed him a metal pipe her mother had taken out of the garden and handed it to him. "But that's if you let it run like it wants too, have you tried controlling it for yourself?"

"It's…difficult."

"It's not supposed to be easy," Natsume's tone sounded as if she was chastising him. She moved from her spot and up beside him, bumping her shoulder with his. "It's not going to happen in a few days or hell even a few months, do you know how long I've been at this?"

"A while?"

"Almost two years, Hayato," she answered. "And what's worked for me probably won't work for you, this, "she held out her palm, indigo flames spurring in the center of it. "This is all about you and finding yourself."

Natsume was about to say something else when she felt the pull and she resigned herself to floating unwillingly in the air as Hayato front flipped from moving too fast and giving himself momentum through the air.

"Fuuta!" Natsume called out, not knowing what the boy was doing, but assuming he had found something interesting to rank.

There was a pause, a murmured 'sorry' and Hayato found himself falling face first into the cushion.

"Awe! Lambo wanted to know what the best place to get grape candy in Namimori was!"

There was a snort from Natsume as she gave the grumbling Hayato a pitiful look, before she pushed herself up and towards the sound of three voices starting to argue.

"The best place for candy in general is the shop at the edge of town and I've already said I'll take you there soon."

"But if Lambo knows the name, he can go by himself!"

"Uh, no, you crazy," she lightly poked the six year old's forehead, before ruffling Fuuta's hair, who almost whined. "And you," she flicked his nose, before bringing her hand to her chest, "Keep it in, not out."

"I'm trying, it's getting better."

There was a scoff behind her from Hayato and Natsume shook her head, giving Fuuta a smile, "Time will show us that."

"…that sounds very ominous Tsume-nee."

"Also this noogie is pretty ominous don't you think?" Fuuta could only squeal as Natsume put him in a headlock and began to give the boy a noogie.

Hayato sighed, moving onto his back as he wondered how Natsume could flit between being so serious and being a total dork.

Intermission 22

The first time I met Sawada Tsunayoshi was when I had been heading to the music store to check out the new CDs and to study in the small lounge area they had.

The second time he was with a girl who looked similarly like him, followed by a few small children – one wearing a suit and fedora, a familiar looking child in a cow print shirt and pants, another wearing more traditional clothes and a boy that wore a long, blue striped scarf.

The child in the cow print outfit had started having a one sided argument with the kid wearing the fedora. The one that ended up calming him down was the girl that was with Tsunayoshi, easily picking up the child and pointing out some shop that instantly got his attention.

Not really noticing what shop it was exactly, I went into the candy store that my sister had sent me to pick up an order she had made. Not long after I went in, the door opened and in came the girl and the cow print wearing child.

"You'll have to share if you get candy, Lambo," I heard the girl say to the child, who grumbled something but ultimately agreed.

I chanced a glance at her, something about her both familiar and not.

It was like when I had run into Tsunayoshi the first time, but with Tsuna he had been easy to recognize and the girl, well, she just made me uneasy.

I didn't know that I had been staring, but a tug at my pants had me looking down at a scowling child, his bright green eyes narrowed at me, "Why are you staring at my Ane like that?"

I blinked, not at all expecting that and not getting a chance to answer because the girl came up and offered me an apology, seeming completely sheepish as she gave me an awkward half smile.

"Lambo, apologize for bothering him."

The kid pouted, sticking out his upper lip, and I first thought he wasn't going to do it, until the girl flicked the back of his head and he grumbled out an apology.

"Sorry for that, you have a good one."

I had wondered why the kid seemed so familiar and it wasn't until I ran into him again that he was that kid from a year or two ago.

Ranbo was it? I don't know how it happened, but I had been home alone and all of a sudden there's an explosion that rocks my building and a small shape crashed into my window, scattering glass everywhere.

I screamed, toppling off the couch.

My stomach was already cramping up due to the explosion, now this? I had no clued how I managed it but I crawled over to the other couch that was set up on the other side of the room that would make it easier to make a run for if I had too.

I hid as the figure or whatever it was cackled something in a foreign language. There was a pop sound, that had me peeking to see what had happened and in the place of the small figure, there was a much taller one that uttered something unintelligible.

I watched from my hiding spot as the figure began to clean up the mess in my kitchen, all the while muttering something under their breath. A sharp pain in my stomach had me gasping and I covered my mouth too late as the figure turned, eyes searching for the sound until they landed on me.

For a second they blinked slowly, before they were glowing brightly and I felt myself choke on my spit at the sudden pressure in the room.

"You!"

Before they could step any closer there was a knock on the door, followed by another pop and the tall figure was replaced by the young child, who looked around the room confused. Completely ignoring me the child decided to leave out the way he had come in, easily hopping out the window and disappearing from view.

I shuddered, feeling the urge to vomit from how fluttery my stomach was feeling and the constant cramps. With a shaky breath and trying to calm myself seeing as everything was already over, I pushed myself up after a few minutes and headed to the door.

Someone had knocked and hadn't bothered to do so again.

When I opened the door there was no one there.

Just a medium sized box with the front of it looking as if it had smashed against something harshly. (Had someone….thrown this? Or had his sister ordered something from overseas again, those usually tended to come in pretty beat up after all that transport.)

Hesitantly I brought the box in and wondered what Akiko had bought. Since my sister had opened my last package, it was only fair that I opened hers. So imagine my surprise when I open the box and beneath the pasta noodles, boxed wine and olive oil, there's a couple stacks of cash and in another much smaller box, labelled with 'reserve ammo for Lambo, please deliver' with a ton of actual ammunition and a few choice weapons that really made me question what the hell was going on?!

I don't know how I didn't straight up freak out right then and there, instead I carefully took one out, noting that it was the length of my hand.. They weren't that bulky, it had an arrow head shape to it and was surprisingly a lot lighter than it looked.

There were nine more in the box and as I was about to put back the tenth one when it slipped out of my hand and landed on the floor tip first.

The small pop-like explosion that followed and the gut wrenching feeling of being yanked off my feet and hurled through the air was not something I would like to experience again. So when my feet hit solid ground, my knees buckled and my stomach emptied itself of the little lunch I had had earlier without a problem.

I coughed, rubbing at my eyes as I spit out the remaining taste in my mouth. Blearily I looked around the small apartment I was in, completely different from my parents. I noted the awards on the wall.

Music awards.

With my name on it.

I gapped, completely forgetting about the mess I had made and striding over to get a closer look, thinking that my eyes were playing a trick on me.

Nope.

Along with the awards there were a few pictures of me, looking much older and confident with a man with white hair and a lilac colored tattoo under his eyes. My stomach felt queasy the moment I noticed the man, but I didn't pay much mind as I looked over everything else.

I was about to look over a white uniform when I felt a tug at my naval again and once again fell to the floor, but luckily this time I didn't throw up.

"…was…that my future? What…" I launched myself at the box again, picking out another of the ammo. My hand hovered over the piece of paper that definitely hadn't been there before and I picked it up, wondering when I had written this and why it was in the box now.

.Beware of Byakuran.

Part 55: Riddle Me That

The school break was more than welcomed and Tsuna found it funny that the white board his sister had placed in his room, noting that the 'Number of Days without a Mafia Incident' was at fifty. Said sister was not found at the house at the moment, having gone over to Hana's for a sleepover the day before and would be staying there for a couple of days.

He had gotten a phone, curtesy of Dino once again, since the blond Boss wanted to stay in touch with him. The Cavallone Boss had made sure that the phone was waterproof and was pretty much indestructible (he had proven this by chucking it down the top of the staircase and then later on shooting a bullet into it, which had just dented the bullet casing.)

One day he would be able to repay Dino and his generosity, even if he knew the older man was more than happy to just help him along.)

Tsuna would be lying if he said he hadn't been texting his sister, though it was mostly just him sending pictures to annoy her and so she would remember to call their mother to make sure everything was alright. Not something that would have been insisted on a year or so ago, but now it was just a way to ease their minds.

Even if Natsume was more than capable of taking care of herself and getting away in the most ridiculous manner.

There was a shout out in the hallway that pulled him out of his thoughts. Hearing Lambo and I-pin arguing, with Fuuta trying to get them to stop had Tsuna sighing, though he couldn't help the small smile.

He pushed himself off his bed and opened his door enough so that he could stick his head out and look at the three. Fuuta gave him an exasperated look, Lambo merely continued on, something about how I-pin shouldn't be touching his things and that it wasn't nice of her to misplace his things.

It probably had something to do with the box that came the day before. Why the Bovino's sent care packages to Lambo, Tsuna wouldn't understand, especially since they hadn't bothered phoning in to actually see if the boy was okay.

The Bovino's in general were a weird famiglia. At first they hadn't cared at all about Lambo, though they still sent him care packges every once in a while. In the last few months, before the Ring Thing they hadn't been as consistent in sending them. But recently after Lambo had been chosen as one of his Guardians, the Bovino's still didn't get in touch with Lambo, but they started sending their packages again.

('Care' package meaning that Lambo had been restocked on his weapons and ammunition, along with a plush that looked like it had seen better days, though had instantly gotten his attention. The picture of that moment was on his mother's camera and would one day be used to embarrass Lambo in front of any future girlfriends.)

That and the amount of money that had been recently deposited into his account was ridiculous. He took the amount out and with a little help from the banker that was available, set up a savings account for Lambo.

"Lambo, I-pin, everything alright?" he asked, getting the two kids attention.

"I-pin lost Gnocchi!"

"I put him back!" the young girl finally blurted out, sounding on the verge of tears. "Its not I-pin's fault if Lambo can't find his things!"

"Why don't we look for Gnocchi then?"

Lambo sniffed and muttered something that Tsuna didn't quite catch, so Fuuta cleared it up for him, "We have Tsuna-nii and we can't find Gnocchi anywhere."

"I-pin put him back on Lambo's bed."

A distinct meow caught Tsuna's attention. Emi froze as she reached the top of the step, amber eyes roving over all of them, ears twitching as if it was in thought before slinking past all of them and pushing herself up against Natsume's door. When none of them moved to open it, the cat cast them all an unimpressed look before moving on and heading to the kid's room.

Tsuna puffed his cheeks, "Where does Emi usually keep her toys?"

"She likes to hide things underneath Tsume-nee's bed," Fuuta answered after a bit of thought. "I found my star socks there after they went missing and Tsume-nee cleaned her room."

Did he want to brave Natsume's room? The last time he had gone in there he learned what it was like to get stuck to the ceiling as did Hayato and Takeshi. Lucky for them they had hung up over Natsume's bed, so when they had figured out how to get out of that mess they landed on something soft.

"Let me check," Tsuna sighed after seeing the hopeful look in Lambo's eye. He stepped out of his room and went to Natsume's door, fingers lightly touching the door knob. Before he twisted it he sent out a steady flow of his flame through the metal and feeling a 'click' he turned the knob. He continued to focus on keeping a steady flame, flaring it out slightly so that he was recognized by whatever trap Natsume had set.

He got on his knees, pressing his face against the wooden floor once he stood by her bed and just as Fuuta had said, Lambo's plush was in the middle of the accumulating dust bunnies. He reached out, happy that his reach was more now as his fingers pinched the soft material and dragged it towards him.

Tsuna quickly stepped out of his sister's room, closing the door behind him and breathing out a sigh of relief. There was a cheer from Lambo and Tsuna looked from the happy six year old giving the boy a knowing look before he gestured to I-pin.

Lambo pouted, but he turned to the girl, "I'm sorry I-pin," he apologized quietly. I-pin patted him on the shoulder and accepted the boy's quiet thanks.

"Next time believe I-pin, Lambo."

Tsuna wryly smiled at that, taking his eyes off the pair as he looked down at the beat up white rhinoceros in his hands, before handing it off to the boy, "Make sure that's somewhere that silly cat won't take it."

The plush wasn't that big, just half the size of Emi herself. He wondered when exactly the cat had made off with the toy and how she had snuck off with it, when the cats bell collar jingled as she came out of the kid's bedroom a black sock with little moon's in her mouth.

"My socks!" Fuuta cried, "Stop taking my socks, Emi!"

It also made Tsuna wonder when this habit started up. A question for Natsume to find the answer too when she came back….on second thought, Tsuna pulled out his phone and took a picture of Fuuta trying to get the sock out of the cat's mouth.

'Since when is your cat a thief?'

/ | \

Hana glanced from the glittering green flames in her hands to Natsume who was checking her phone after the message tone had gone off.

"Awe, Emi's so cute~"

"You're so helpful," Hana muttered, brow furrowed as she tried to get the lightening-like fire in her hands to do something other than make her hand tingle. Natsume sighed, closing her phone and chucking it onto her bed before giving Hana her full attention.

"I mean you asked if you could do the same and here is proof that you can," Natsume said, leaning forward, her right hand coming up, pointer finger lit with her own fire and prodding at the sparking mess. "I'm here to help you expand on ideas," she lifted her finger up at this point, lightening following after her flames before it sputtered out. "But you really haven't answered my questions."

Hana closed her glowing hand into a fist, the usually clear crystal in her hand maintaining a light green hue so if she wanted to spark or chuck it at Natsume it would at least explode and shock the girl.

(It had happened once and she wanted to know how it had happened. Natsume had refused to let her have a third crystal and merely directed her to Shiro's Antiques where she got a few for herself.)

"What practical use can these be?" Hana asked, opening up her palm, tilting it so that the quartz would roll off and down into her left hand below. "It's lightening Natsume, you get more out of hurting people than anything else."

"If you think they're more for hurting people, then maybe you should consider what they can do to help people."

Hana considered what she asked, her face falling into her right hand as one answer came to her. "I am a walking defibrillator machine."

"A what?"

Hana straightened up, "You know the ones they use in the hospital to get a patient's heart to contract if they've suffered from a heart attack or something."

Natsume flattened her hands together, rubbed them and then pressed them against her chest and went "Clear?"

The dark haired girl gave her friend a blank stare, which earned her a sheepish smile, "I'm just going to say yes."

"I'm not the one who has a mom as a nurse, nor am I the one considering medical school," Natsume shrugged, snatching the stone out of Hana's palm and holding it up above her head. "What else do you think of?"

It was Hana's turn to shrug, running her right hand through her hair, "I honestly don't know, I'm still getting used to the idea that I can do this, let alone use it to hurt people."

Natsume made a disagreeing sound, her hand coming down, resting in her lap as she gave Hana a confused look, "You don't have to hurt people, y'know, unless they're trying to hurt you, then just zap them away Pikachu."

Natsume paused, blinking at what she said. Hana just stared, before starting, "Don't you –"

"Your nickname is now Pikachu," Natsume breathed out, moving to get up and reach for her phone to change her name officially. The dark haired girl tackled her, moving before actually thinking and as the two hit the floor, Natsume on her side and Hana's arms around her to hold her down, the girl gave her a pleading pout, "Hana, for me, just for me, please, can we try to recreate thunderbolt?"

"No."

Seriously with all her time being eaten up, how did Natsume have the time to play half the games she did? And of all things to recreate!

(She'd rather mimic Sailor Jupiter before she mimicked a small little rodent.)

/ | \

It was nearing the start up to the last quarter of the school year and Shoichi had somehow managed to forget – if only for a moment – about the strange box that he had gotten from the Bovino.

Or more like he had just kept it, because they definitely weren't for him.

Also what kind of people expected someone like him to deliver it to who it was originally intended for? He was thirteen and who knew what would happen if he was caught by someone carrying all those weapons around!

(Who in their right mind sent a package of grenades, guns of varying sizes and weird as hell ammunition as a care package…..TO JAPAN OF ALL PLACES?)

"So much for getting that out of my head," he mumbled to himself, running his hands through his hair and sighing as he gave up on his current report. Standing up from his desk, he headed to his closet opened it and dragged out the box he had shoved back there weeks ago.

He had messed with the odd contraptions (could they be considered bullets?) a second time (because curiosity did kill the cat) and he found himself in a mechanic's shop, with all types of different technology lining the walls. He didn't understand how time could go by so fast, he hadn't had the chance to check out the large automated machine before he felt the tug around his naval and he was back in his room.

.Be careful with your choices.

That current note lay somewhere under his notebooks and he really wondered what the person leaving those notes was trying to tell him. With a sigh, Shoichi picked out the strange ammo, his mind unable to wrap around the abilities of such a simple looking thing.

Really all he was happy about was that his current interests still aligned themselves with whatever was happening in the future. He just kind of wished he could tell Spanner about the things he'd seen and how they could possibly recreate them at this moment in time.

But then Spanner would wonder where he got the ideas from, so he could check them over himself and Shoichi wasn't sure how to explain

'Oh yeah, a weird bullet thing took me to some odd place, which I think is the future, and I saw it there!'

That was one way to alienate his friend and he wasn't about to even bother seeing how much weird Spanner could handle. Shoichi was barely able to do it himself at the current moment.

"Oh shoot," his watch beeped loudly and he twitched violently as he was snapped out of his thoughts. His reaction wasn't a good one seeing as he loosened his grip on the bullet and dropped it on himself.

Again.

When he felt solid ground beneath his bottom again, he was happy that he didn't puke this time, but when he opened his eyes the feeling did come up.

The world around him was in utter destruction, some buildings were crumbled, others were barely standing. People didn't seem to notice him as they walked on by, heads hung and just trying their best not to catch attention.

Shoichi frowned as he pushed himself up, hugging himself as he felt his hands begin to tremble, his nerves acting up. On the buildings that were still semi decent, were large screens that showed a similar situation going on in the rest of the world.

When the tugging sensation came up again, a white haired man appeared on screen, giving a false smile, lilac eyes seeming amused and at the same time piercing right through him.

"The world is a much better place when people follow what they are told to do. There is no struggle, no worry, just a job that must be done and an order that needs to be completed." Those words made Shoichi feel sick to his stomach even as he felt himself being pulled away, he could have sworn the white haired man looked directly at him and gave him a sharp smirk. "Don't you agree Sho-"

"Shoichi? What was that sound?"

Oh his sister just got home and was heading this way, judging by how her footsteps were getting. He shoved the box back into his closet, quickly taking out his cellphone and turning on a ringtone that could be passed off as the 'popping' sound that could pass off as the one of his displacement.

"It was my phone, Akiko!"

"Huh, stop tinkering with the volume on that thing! It was really loud," she knocked on his door, but instead of opening it up she walked away, footsteps fading. "Mom and Dad are going to be late tonight, want to go get take out?"

"S-sure," he managed out, before quietly sighing in relief.

Pushing himself up, he headed back to his desk only to curiously blink as his laptop, which had been closed, was opened up and logged in. A blinking light to the side of it and a USB that he had no clue how it got there was plugged in.

Clicking on one of the windows that popped up asking to open it, Shoichi was greeted to a portfolio filled with files. The main one that grabbed his attention was the one labelled Sawada Tsunayoshi. Curious he clicked the file open, clicking on one of the images available, he was completely shocked to see a much older Tsunayoshi, a lazy smirk on his features as he looked to be listening to the blond man beside him.

-Sawada Tsunayoshi, twenty five years old.

-Current Don of Vongola, speaking with the Don of Cavallone.

-Subject is being observed

The other pictures in the file were set up in the same manner, along with the other names listed in the main portfolio. He found out that the girl he had been with a few weeks ago was Tsunayoshi's sister, his elder twin to be exact and was suspicious of being a person called 'La Strega Nera' but there wasn't any evidence to support it.

By the end of it all, Shoichi felt dirty for knowing half the stuff he did without having ever met or even heard of half of these people.

The last file was labelled Last Resort and if he hadn't been freaking out, he would have thought the title funny since it was the name of a song that Spanner had showed him awhile back. Something about a Roach, the thought was cast aside as he read the beginning which was addressed directly to him.

His eyes read every word, once he finished he knew if he looked at the mirror his eyes would be wide and oh no, he didn't feel good. Clutching his stomach and trying to breath in hopes of calming down the aches, Shoichi reread the last nine,

'Of the original ten bazooka bullets, you should have seven left by this time.

Be sure to strictly follow this and do it.

I am begging you, please.

What you've seen is a possible future for us and I'd rather be able to do something about it, than sit around and wait for it to come around.

So please, Shoichi, younger me – do this.

Please.

Maybe this way I can redeem myself in the eyes of God.'

He felt queasy and unusually flushed. He closed his laptop shut and walked out of his room, hoping to get to his medicine before anything else happened.

"Shoichi are you okay? You're as pale as a sheet!" He felt himself being steered away and sat on the couch by his sister, a glass of water put in his hands and a pill in another one a few seconds later. His sister was surprisingly nice enough to help guide the cup to his mouth and he took the pill after the first gulp of water.

A few minutes ticked by as he got his bearings, still feeling unsteady, but not as much as before.

"You want to tell me what's got you all hyped up like this?"

Shoichi lightly shook his head, sighing as he slouched back against the couch, spilling a bit of water on himself.

"I shouldn't have left my reports till the last minute," he muttered pathetically, waiting for the moment to be called out on his lie.

His sister scoffed and he looked to her in time to catch her rolling her eyes at him, "For someone so smart Shoichi, you can be so lazy." She tapped him lightly against his forehead, before she stood up, giving him a look over and deciding that he would be fine. "If you want I can go pick up some food for later."

Shoichi nodded numbly, merely sighing as his sister's words played in his head.

'For someone so smart….'

What had he gotten himself into?

Part 56: Time Flies When You Least Expect it

"You're going to do fine on the exam Takeshi," Natsume nudged the baseball player. Takeshi looked up from his note cards and grimaced. She returned his pained smile with a flat look, "Its history and if anything all the answers are on the paper, you just have to circle the right one."

Takeshi sighed, tapping his fingers against the back of his cards, before he stopped shuffling them around, "I'm just not the best writer under pressure."

His last couple tests hadn't been so bad, but seeing as Hishida-sensei had said there was going to be a written portion that would be worth more than the multiple choice, it had him more than a little nervous. Thankfully Hishida-sensei had given them four questions to look over, two of which would be on the test.

Natsume prodded his side, shaking her head at him, "You'll be fine, you studied with Tsuna, if anything I'll be surprised if nothing stuck with how much I heard him rambling last night."

Tsuna had gone off on one of the points they had been studying which if he remembered right had had to do with World War II. The brunet had not been happy to note that his current school textbook had toned down what exactly Japan had done during those years and had proceeded to throw said book across the room.

Tsuna had left his room, leaving him and Hayato staring at each other a bit confused, though even Hayato did look a bit peeved. Tsuna returned soon with Reborn in his arms and set him down and asked the tiny hitman to help them finish studying for history.

"Yeah…you don't think Hishida-sensei would dock points if we go from outside the book do you?"

"He shouldn't," Natsume answered, crossing her arms beneath her small chest, "But if he does, Reborn can always come in dressed up as your overly concerned big sister and have a talk with him about it."

Takeshi blinked, confused at that, "Why would Reborn do that?"

Natsume who was going up the steps paused near the top, brow furrowed as she considered if he really wanted the answer to that, "You do know that Reborn likes to dress up right?"

Takeshi was sure he would have realized if Reborn liked dressing up or not, if anything the only clothes he'd seen the small tutor was either in his suit or pajamas. "You're kidding, the kid does like that kind of stuff?"

"Yes," he heard her muttered as he caught up with her after she started walking away. "He's done it various times and shown up in front of you like that."

"No way."

Natsume made a choked sound, shaking her head once again, before she patted his arm, "I'll point it out to you the next time he does it, otherwise good luck on your exam."

"Sawada-kun~~ How's my favorite Prince doing today?"

Longchamp's voice kind of grated against Takeshi's ears as he heard him call after Natsume, who greeted the blond back, though not as excitedly. Maybe if Natsume was just used to the blond's energy in the morning, she'd be more willing to chat, but since the teen came and went as he pleased, she couldn't exactly do that.

Takeshi sat in his desk, setting his note cards on top as he put his messenger bag down on the floor. He idly picked up a card, not really taking in his messy writing, but kind of getting the gist of what was written.

Maybe Natsume's willingness to get along with other people just happened because she felt comfortable, or maybe….

"Don't sweat it Takeshi," Tsuna's voice spooked him out of his thoughts and Takeshi gave the brunet a sheepish smile.

"You scared me Tsuna."

A more concerned look was aimed in his direction, the brunet about to say something, only for the sensei to walk in and all Takeshi got was Tsuna's hand on his shoulder, giving him a brief squeeze. Feeling a little more settled after that, Takeshi put away his notecards into his bag, barely listening to his Ito-sensei.

Something about being prepared for this last week's exams and to not only study, but to rest and take care of themselves as well. After that he thanked them all for a good year and announced that he wouldn't be coming in for the rest of the week and probably wouldn't see them until the new school year.

When Hishida-sensei walked in, Takeshi took a deep breath as the test was placed before him. Looking over the questions, even the written ones, he mentally berated himself.

He had been freaking out for nothing.

/ | \

The one week vacation before the start of their third and final year had Reborn realizing that it would be almost two years since he had come along to Namimori.

A lot had changed, though not many would have noticed it.

The twin's had grown taller, features becoming sharper as they lost the pudginess of their youth. As close as they had once been, they weren't as much anymore. Sure many would say the first thing about them was how close they were for siblings, but time and the countless issues that had arisen had started pushing them apart.

Tsuna was still insistent on keeping his sister out of being directly involved with Vongola. Since starting the weekly hang out sessions he had with his friends (who also doubled as his Guardians) he had been leaning less and less on Natsume.

On one hand it was satisfying to see Tsuna grow and be able to stand for himself, on the other hand it was kind of bittersweet.

Natsume had found one lone element, Hana and though Kyoko would have been a good Rain for her, she had unknowingly rebuffed the girl, not really interested in what she had to offer. He did notice her going off to Kokuyo to meet up with Chrome, had even managed to convince the girl to show up once in a while to the bonding time Tsuna had with the others.

Perhaps the oddest thing was seeing Hibari of all people become close with the girl (well not exactly close, but Hibari bothered her more than he bothered Tsuna.)

Reborn knew they sparred with one another, Natsume having complained about how she missed volleyball sessions, if only because it was to give the Cloud the run around.

So it was nice to see the twin's putting their heads together one afternoon, both looking up at him before sharing a glance with one another and waving him over.

Amused, Reborn headed over and he was asked by Natsume if he could do what he did best. He only blinked at the girl, who stared back, not at all fazed by the stare that usually made others inch away if not outright run away from him.

"Why do you say that what I do best is to be outrageous?"

"Well saying you're ridiculous is a bit rude, no?" Natsume asked, biting on her lower lip to keep from laughing at the blank look he gave her.

"You two are ridiculous; I'm doing this for Nana."

"Awe, he doesn't like us," Natsume pouted, rolling her eyes as she turned to Tsuna, who only shrugged.

"Mama isn't one for big things, so I think something small and simple would do," Tsuna commented, trying to help at least give some of ideas.

"Only because that's what we can afford," Natsume muttered, crossing her arms beneath her chest. "And also because Dino told Tsuna that you can pull some pretty great parties."

Ah, yes. He hadn't pulled any of the Vongola-Styled parties on them. The smile that he gave them made Natsume shift, her eyes narrowing at him and Tsuna just sigh, mumbling something about regretting this decision, before he nodded.

Reborn supposed it was time to introduce everyone to a good old fashioned Vongola Birthday Party.

/ | \

"So I have to rate them out of a hundred?" Nana asked as she was led outside by Bianchi, Reborn walking beside her to the low table that had been set out. Bianchi seated her in the middle, the cushion that she sat down was nice and plush and she got comfortable by sitting with her legs criss cross in front of her.

"The winner gets there wish to come true and the loser will be cursed for life."

"Nobody said anything about that –"

"Oh come on it can't be anything serious, it's just a game!"

"I'm going to stuff your dirty socks down your throat, how about that for a game?"

Nana chuckled, shaking her head at how rough Natsume was being with Takeshi. Judging by the sound of someone being smacked, followed by a whine, Tsuna had either reigned control or was about to be physically manhandled.

"First act up!" Reborn called out, getting the attention of the teen's and God help them if they didn't move any quicker, the sun was starting to set and he hadn't been able to get the fairy garden lights he had been hoping to get to light up the backyard.

Takeshi and Hayato stepped out first, the baseball player standing at the edge of the small stage, a baseball bat in his hand. Reborn tried not to snicker as an Italian tune started playing and Hayato began to juggle dynamite of all things, doing tricks by catching some sticks behind his back or throwing them under his leg.

He managed to get one to land upright on his forehead and he stayed with his head back and before they knew it, the sticks were lit and they burned slowly. As the song came to a finish, phrases being repeated he started throwing the dynamite at Takeshi who struck them up into the sky where they exploded as if they had been fireworks.

Before the song ended, the teen seized the one on his head and threw it at Takeshi, who repeated his earlier motion and as this one exploded in the middle of the previous ones, the words Happy Birthday appeared before fizzling out.

"And that's the Tarantella," Hayato bowed, feeling his ears burn at Nana's zealous clapping. He straightened up and gestured to Takeshi, "And my helper."

Nana was handed a white board and the woman scrawled quickly to reveal an eighty-five. She gave the two boys a thumb's up and Hayato only bowed again before walking off the stage.

"Next!"

Ryohei came out next, with Hana and Kyoko behind him. Nana bit her lower lip to keep from chuckling at the trio's getup and couldn't help a snicker that left her as music started playing. There was a choked 'oh my god' as the three started singing, pulling out fans from the sleeves of the kimono's they wore.

Ryohei was the first to step out, "Everything is a source of fun~"

Kyoko followed, "Nobody's safe for we care none."

And last was Hana, "Life is a joke that's just begun," and they came together, "Three little maid's from school~"

Surprisingly the three did a good job, more so the little extra movement's they did and the flourishes they managed with the fans. Nana wouldn't put it out of character for Ryohei to be dragged into this, all Kyoko-chan had to do was ask nicely and the white haired boy would do his best to pull off whatever his sister wanted.

How Hana was dragged into it, Nana didn't know, but judging by the wheezing laughter of her eldest, someone had goaded or tricked the other to do so.

The three bowed once they finished and Nana quickly wrote out an eighty-eight.

Fuuta, I-pin and Lambo went up next and the three, Fuuta acting as the narrator as Lambo and I-pin acted out a scene. She hadn't really understood the context, but still found it adorable and gave them an eighty.

Natsume came out next, a small ukulele in her hand. Nana could see her fingers shaking as she held the instrument upright and began to strum up and down, the fingers of her left hand pressing down on the strings.

"Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful?"

The tiny 'oh' that escaped her as she remembered her Uncle singing this to her when she was little had Nana covering her mouth with her right hand, in hopes of containing any more sounds. Reborn watched the absolute fondness and love cross Nana's features, how the women just wanted to go up there and sway along with her daughter.

"That's so very lovely made with love," Natsume finished off, voice hitching in the end and seeming just a tad embarrassed, but she stood long enough to bow to her mother. The girl didn't note her score, though Reborn did get it down, a solid ninety.

By the time it was Tsuna and Takeshi's turn, the sun had already set. The two having expecting this they had brought out small tea light candles and two long ones that they had attached to a candle holder. Seven candles were left lit on the floor, while the two main ones were in either boy's hands.

"The story begins with a warrior, wrongly accused and imprisoned," Tsuna began, bringing the light of the candle closer to his face so it could cast a bit of an eerie glow.

"Death was in their future, until the king appeared. A long stare and the king claimed to have dreamt of them."

"Tales of untold deeds, that filled the king with hopes that brought memories of the son he couldn't keep. He knew the path he was heading down was one of his assured death. The warrior was left with words to consider."

"To do as the Gods had granted the King to see, or to lead as they have always done? That was the question they asked themselves, though the answer was already in front of them. An escape, a second chance," Takeshi murmured, eyes shining brightly in the candle light.

And there tale was continued, Nana raptured in the story her son and his friend weaved, as well of the others. Reborn had caught on to what the two were doing and applauded the duo – the flames they had lit in the candles were not ordinary and the mixture of a soothing rain and the call of a sky got the attention of all those present.

When the two ended, they bowed and gestured out to Haru who stood up from where she sat with Kyoko and nodded her head, "It wouldn't have happened if Haru hadn't helped us write this."

The girl blushed and Nana clapped, acknowledging the girl's talents.

"Ninety-five," Reborn read out as Nana wrote out the score.

Before Reborn could continue to announce that Vongola would grant them their wish, Nana put a hand against his back to get his attention, "If you could excuse me Reborn," Nana said to him. She looked up at everyone and gave them all a bright smile, "I believe everyone here is a winner, I'd like for them all to be considered."

'They have done something very few have ever done, surely there's a way to treat them all for what they had worked for?'

"Whatever auntie wishes."

"Aww, Reborn."

The kids were lucky he hadn't tried to outdo them, all it would have taken for him to win was one word. He ignored the snickering as Nana scooped him up and hugged him tightly along with Natsume's comments of 'I told you so' he would get her back eventually.

For now, the rest of the night would continue on in the high spirits it was in.

Part 57: Journey's Begin

Perhaps it had been a bit foolish on his behalf to believe that everything had calmed down. Nana's thirty-ninth birthday had just been celebrated last weekend and his student's had just started their third year of middle school.

The peacefulness of Namimori had lulled him enough that he wasn't as worried to watch his back. He knew the people around the area, knew their backgrounds and ways to make them crumble in an instant if they ever tried anything against him or his student's.

But Namimori had always been peaceful, rarely had he ever had to lift a finger to deal with them. No, the only people that ever needed to be dealt with were the outsiders and Tsuna and the others had done that more than he had.

A shadow washed over him, his body freezing and refusing to obey the simple command. A whispered 'I'm sorry' and he felt something drop on him, a small pop and a harsh tug around his navel.

He felt displaced for a second and when his feet touched solid floor, he was able to move, before he fell over, feeling as if gravity was too heavy and his skin was on fire. Reborn didn't know how long he stayed there like that, it wasn't until he felt someone approach him and briefly turn him over, and only to be swept up like the child he was.

"Prepare the infirmary, patient to receive two doses of Nusyxs to stall radiation," Reborn couldn't place the voice, not knowing anyone with such a deep baritone. "I repeat, prepare the infirmary, the patient is one of the arcobaleno."

The sense that gravity was about to crush him eased, but it had left him feeling very weak. He still didn't know who was carrying him and where to, but they were trying to help him.

"Don't worry Reborn-san," the figure assured him as if sensing his unease. "We here at the Namimori Vongola base will make sure you recover."

Since when did Namimori have a Vongola base?

"Kusakabe-san bring the patient over here and procced to the screening room," this voice was much more familiar, if a little more snappish than usual.

"How long have we known each other now Hana?"

Could it be?

Reborn was gently laid down on his back, his fedora being taken off and he was able to see that the boy that had hung around as Hibari's second was no longer that and that Hana was definitely a lot older than he last had seen her.

"Follow protocol, we are on duty," she waved him off, turning away and focusing her attention on Reborn. "I'll be the first to apologize for the way you came here," Hana began, putting on the stethoscope, pressing the round metal against his chest. "Inoue the vaccinations need to be given now."

"Pardon me," came the soft voice of red haired woman, who handed two syringes to Hana, the short haired woman shaking her head even as she let this Inoue begin to take his clothes off. "Your clothing will be cleaned and returned once we're sure they're no longer contaminated."

"While you're at that call one of the Guardians in, won't you?" Hana opened one of the cabinets nearby, pulling on gloves and getting a small little packet. Ripping it open she took out the wipe and dabbed at the crook of his elbow. "This may feel a little weird, Reborn, so please just try to deal with it."

The tiny hitman didn't even get a chance to question, nor was his mouth able to form the words to do so, when Hana uncapped the syringe, looked at him as if thinking over something before standing up and resting her left arm against his chest to hold him down. Sticking the syringe in his arm felt no different than any other, it was what accompanied it that had him wanting to jolt up.

Yes it was easier to breath and his flesh didn't feel as if it wasn't on fire anymore. It was the oddness of something other invading his body that he had not accepted to happen that had him wanting to fight back. Without him noticing Hana pulled out the syringe, watching him with a careful eye as she uncapped the other one.

"Nusyxs one has been given, time for the second."

The same sensation came over him again, though this time Reborn noted that he could tell what exactly was in the syringe.

Flames.

Hana was injecting flames into his body and whatever the mixture of them was, was fighting at whatever the hell he had contacted outside.

"We'll be screening you now," Hana looked away from him, mouth pursed. "Well Inoue-san will be screening you once she comes back, let's hope you've kept in good shape." She was about to walk away when she turned back to him, looking down at her watch and up at him again.

"It's been more than five minutes."

Time had been more than a little elusive, so he wasn't exactly too sure.

Hana scowled something fierce, reaching into her coat's pocket and pulling out a slim looking walkie talkie, "Kusakabe-san, time of which you found Reborn-san is needed."

There was a crackle, "1158."

A much younger Hana would have had a tick acting up, her left brow twitching whenever she got in a mood like this. This Hana's face completely blanked out, "1211, Reborn's still here."

"Ah, that's a problem."

Author Note:

I think the only part that needs explanation is the Nana's birthday contest part? Hayato's juggling to the Tarantella, though I forgot which version I listened too when writing that part of him. Hana, Kyoko and Ryohei are singing Three Little Maids (i'm still laughing, because originally Tsuna, Takeshi and Hayato were supposed to do that). I should probably note it next time, I'm pretty sure The little ones are retelling a disney tale? I don't remember, Takeshi and Tsuna, along with haru, are doing The Elder Scrolls IV, and doing a 'dramatic' retelling. Natsume learned (and spent a lot of time practicing) Isn't she lovely by Stevie Wonder.

La Strega Nera hopefully translates to "The Black Witch", if not, I'll fix it...somehow.

And ya, that's it!

We're finally moving on into the future.

Thanks to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed! You guys are really awesome and I'm so happy you like this story that much!

Hope you guys enjoy this update just as much!

Until next time!

Sorugao