I don't own KHR.

Ryohei silently pulled his hoodie over his head and when he was done, looked over to his siblings. When they were all clearly still asleep, including a smiling Lambo, Ryohei nodded in satisfaction.

It had been about two days now since Lambo had gotten his shots and despite his limbs being a bit sore at first, the baby was recovering nicely. They all had been more or less concerned at first, especially when they found out that a fever was a common side-effect of getting shots, but it seemed they all had been worried for nothing. Lambo didn't get a fever within the first twenty-four hours and he was still their smiling, happy baby brother.

Which was good, not only because Ryohei extremely loved his baby brother and wanted him to be happy, but Knuckle had finally declared his hand healed enough to not need the bandage anymore. If Lambo had ended up getting sick, then Ryohei still would not have been able to go on a run now.

Back when they lived at the orphanage, and later at the cave, Ryohei went on an one hour run almost every morning just before the sun started to rise. He honestly would like to run every morning, but his siblings put their foot down whenever he was sick or injured. Ryohei also didn't want to run on the days when they were either sick or injured. After all, what if his sick siblings needed him but he couldn't help because he was too busy running?

But he was finally well, Lambo was well, Tsuna didn't have a headache anymore, and Hayato was doing much better as well. So finally, Ryohei felt like he was finally free to run to his heart's content.

Excited and filled with extreme anticipation, Ryohei quietly walked to the door and slowly turned the doorknob.

"Where're ya goin'?" Ryohei's body stiffened in guilt as he slowly turned around to see Mukuro sitting up in bed with half-droopy eyes.

"...I'm gonna go on a run," Ryohei admitted hesitantly and softly even though he extremely didn't have anything to hide. He was healthy now, so Mukuro shouldn't have any problem with him running. Though...

"...Okay," Mukuro finally said simply before falling back onto their bed with a plop and within seconds, he was fast asleep once again. Ryohei smiled brightly. Before, Mukuro definitely would have stopped Ryohei running on his own in a place full of mafioso. But now here he was, asleep without uttering a single protest.

And all it took was for Mukuro to get a panic attack. Hopefully that won't happen the next time Mukuro needed a change of heart.

When he was extremely sure Mukuro or any of the others weren't going to wake up, Ryohei pulled the door open all the way and tiptoed out into the hallway. He then quietly closed the door behind him and after a second or two of not hearing any noises, Ryohei sighed in relief.

Now to actually run. Ryohei was planning to run several laps around the mansion but Ryohei didn't see anything wrong with a small, warm-up jog to the nearest door that led outside. He just needed to be quiet and make sure he didn't bump to anything.

So after stretching his arms and legs properly, Ryohei took a deep breath and started to jog. Despite his somewhat slow pace and accidently taking the wrong turn, he made it to the door in good time. Ryohei didn't waste any time going outside and once the door was quietly closed behind him, he took off.

And boy, was it wonderful. Ryohei couldn't remember the last time a run that felt this good, this exhilarating, this extreme. He hadn't been able to run since the day they reunited with Hayato and Chrome but he hadn't realized how much he missed it until now. Talk about not extremely taking things for granted.

Not that he did that. At least not ever since Kyoko died.

Ryohei continued to run laps around the Vongola home, which really was extremely big. By the time an hour had passed and the sun was beginning to shine its beautiful rays on the world, Ryohei had almost run six laps around the mansion.

All in all, Ryohei was proud of himself.

The eleven-year-old was on his way back to the door he came from when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Something that wasn't there the last five times he ran past this spot. Curious, Ryohei looked over and what he saw had him stop in his tracks.

It was Knuckle. He was in a dark-gray sweatsuit (instead of his usual black priest robes) while standing out in the yard, stretching out his right arm before he switched to his left arm. Knuckle apparently had the same idea as Ryohei about having a workout early in the morning. Ryohei wondered if Knuckle was going to go on a run too or he was going to another kind of extreme workout.

Not that it really mattered. Ryohei was just extremely happy that there was someone other than him who got up early in the morning just to workout to the extreme.

"Knuckle!" Ryohei cried without a second thought as he waved at him. Knuckle jumped out of his skin a little as he turned around to face Ryohei.

"Ryohei! What are you doing up? What happened? What's the matter?" Knuckle questioned in a rapid fire manner as he quickly made his way to Ryohei.

"Nothing," Ryohei asked as he slightly tilted his head, honestly confused at this sudden line of questioning. "I was just out running when I saw you about to do an extreme workout so I just wanted to say hello to the extreme. Am I not supposed to run outside?"

He honestly didn't think of that...

"Oh no...you're okay," Knuckle said with a sigh of relief as he stopped a few feet away from Ryohei. "I was just surprised that's all. I thought I was the only one who liked to run really early in the morning."

"Me too!" Ryohei exclaimed happily. "Well, Takeshi likes to run in the morning too, but not as early as me. And at first I thought Kyoya would be the type to run early in the morning because he likes getting stronger but nope, he values his sleep too much for that."

"Alaude too," Knuckle replied with a nod.

"So you're gonna go on a run too?" Ryohei asked.

"Just came from one actually, there's a good trail in the forest that's perfect for running," Knuckle answered as he jutted his thumb behind him. "I was just doing my cooling down routine."

"Really? I just ran around the mansion six times," Ryohei said happily as he peered around Knuckle and thanks to the growing sunlight, saw the beginnings of a trail at the edge of the forest on the other side of the yard.

"That's an ultimate workout too," Knuckle approved before he smiled widely. "Hey, I was just about to do some pushups but I was thinking they needed something...ultimately extra. Wanna sit on my back while I do them?"

"...Extremely yes!" Ryohei yelled, so happy that he could burst for joy.

"Okay, but let's try to keep it down alright? We don't want to accidentally wake up any of the others," Knuckle told him with a hushed chuckle, as he nervously glanced at the mansion behind Ryohei. Instantly imagining Kyoya rudely awakened, Ryohei quickly covered his mouth with his hand and nodded.

He had been so excited to help Knuckle with his extreme workout that he forgot. Knuckle just smiled though as he led Ryohei back to where he had been stretching his arms. When they got there, Knuckle quietly got into position. When Ryohei was sure Knuckle was ready, the young boy sat on Knuckle's back with his legs crossed.

"Ultimately ready?" Knuckle asked.

"Extremely ready!" Ryohei replied excitedly, though he made sure to keep his voice down this time.

"Alright, here goes!" And with that, Knuckle started his push-ups. Despite the extra weight, Knuckle went up and down like he only had a few feathers on his back. And it was all in perfect form too. Ryohei was extremely impressed.

And it was honestly fun going up and down so quickly. It was almost like a seesaw.

Ryohei looked at Knuckle and once again noted that if it wasn't for Knuckle's dark hair and honey-brown eyes, they would look exactly alike, despite the clear age difference. And their almost similar appearances wasn't the only similarity either, Knuckle liked working out too. It made Ryohei wonder...

"Do you think we're related? Like distant cousins like Takeshi and Asari?" Ryohei asked without any warning. Knuckle just chuckled though.

"I guess it's ultimately possible, but the last time I checked, I didn't have any Japanese relatives."

"Ah," Ryohei sighed in response, feeling a little disappointed in spite of himself. "I don't think I have any Italian relatives either. Unless I do and my parents didn't tell me."

"I see," Knuckle replied. "...Were you close to your parents?"

'Can you go straight home after school Ryohei? Your dad has a rare free day off work so we would like to have some alone time with Kyoko at the hospital today. You do understand right?'

Ryohei didn't answer right away, his good mood suddenly not so extreme anymore.

"I thought we were," Ryohei said softly as he gripped the back of Knuckle's sweatshirt. "Well, I guess I knew that I wasn't their favorite but I was okay with that because Kyoko needed and deserved the extra attention, especially when she got sick. But then...not long after she died, they dropped me off at an orphanage not too far from where we lived."

Knuckle suddenly stopped in the middle of his push-up but Ryohei didn't really think anything of it, believing it was just part of Knuckle's workout.

"I...honestly thought they had left me there by mistake, that they had just forgotten to make sure I was in the car. Parents accidentally lose their kids all the time right? Parents aren't perfect, it happens sometimes. And since I was too busy playing with the other kids there, I thought that was what had happened. But instead of waiting for them, I just left when the adults weren't looking and walked all the way back home. It was extremely hard, but I thought it would be extremely worth it so I managed to do it. But..."

'How did you get here?! Why are you here?!'

"They clearly weren't happy."

Knuckle's body started to tremble a bit violently, but despite that, he didn't continue his push-up.

"But then they covered it up so I thought everything was extremely good again, and that we were going to get through Kyoko's death together, like a family. Dad even announced a trip to Italy during Christmas time so I really did think that everything was going to be fine. But then...they dropped me off at the first orphanage they could find."

'If we knew what you were going to be like, we would have aborted you as soon as we could!'

"I got the message that time."

Ryohe sighed. He hadn't been exactly planning on telling Knuckle the whole story but it all had just kind of slipped out. Not that Ryohei minded that Knuckle now knew about his parents, since he wasn't ashamed or terribly hurt by what had happened anymore. It was just...still something he preferred not to talk or think about.

Knuckle's body started to tremble even more as he muttered incoherently, though Ryohei managed to catch the words 'at Christmas.' Curious and a bit concerned as well, Ryohei peered over Knuckle's shoulder and to his alarm, saw a bit blood seeping out from his fists.

"Knuckle, you're bleeding!" Ryohei cried out. Knuckle instantly stopped muttering.

"Oh, oops, looks like I need to cut my fingernails," Knuckle humorlessly chuckled as he finally lowered himself to the ground. Before Ryohei could get off though, Knuckle pushed his body back off the ground, his fists now enveloped in yellow flames. "I'm okay though, it's just a few minor scratches. Nothing that my flames can't take care of."

Ryohei recalled how on their first night, Knuckle had used his flames to help heal Ryohei and Hayato faster and made their wounds not hurt as much. If what Knuckle said was true, then the doctor mafioso really should be okay. Ryohei nodded in satisfaction, seeing no reason not to believe Knuckle.

Especially when Knuckle hadn't been bleeding that much anyway.

"Thank you for worrying though," Knuckle added as he continued through his push-ups like nothing had happened. "You have a good, ultimate heart. It's a shame that your parents couldn't see that."

'Hey Ryohei, wanna race me to see who's faster?'

'Happy Birthday Ryohei! We love you!'

'Well, I for one am very glad that you didn't get aborted. And I know I'm not the only one who thinks that either.'

"Yeah...it is an extreme shame," Ryohei said with a small smile as he felt his spirits lift to the extreme. "But it's okay, because my siblings can. And...in a way, I'm glad that my parents dropped me off at the orphanage. I wouldn't have met my siblings otherwise, and I definitely wouldn't have met you guys. And I probably wouldn't be who I extremely am today either. And I love me, extreme mistakes and all!"

Once again, Knuckle stopped in mid-air, though this time Ryohei swore he thought he heard a sniffle when Knuckle's body went completely still.

"That's a healthy and ultimate attitude to have Ryohei. I for one am glad to have met you. I really am," Knuckle replied as he continued doing push-ups, making Ryohei chuckle happily in response. Then after two more push-ups, Knuckle lowered himself to the ground and stayed there.

"Well, I think I've done enough push-ups this morning," Knuckle said. Ryohei recognized the silent request and quickly got off of Knuckle's back. "Thank you."

"No problem, that was extremely-" Ryohei was about to say when he got a good look at Knuckle's face, effectively cutting himself off. Knuckle, who was in the middle of getting to his feet, had tears in his honey-brown eyes.

"Are you okay?" Ryohei asked as he glanced at Knuckle's hands, which weren't encased in Knuckle's flames anymore. But they didn't look injured so that couldn't be the reason why Knuckle was crying.

...It was because Ryohei had told him about his parents, wasn't it? Tsuna, Chrome, and even Hayato had teared up when they learned more about Ryohei's past, especially about Kyoko.

"Oh...oh yeah, I'm alright," Knuckle assured with a smile as he wiped his eyes with a thumb. "It's just...your words ultimately touched me. You're a rare kind of brave and extreme soul Ryohei."

Oh. Ryohei was extremely fine with that.

"And you're a great and ultimate soul Knuckle!" Ryohei complimented right back as he held his fist out. Knuckle's smile grew wider as he bumped Ryohei's fist with his own.

"Well, we should be getting back now," Knuckle said with a glance at the ever-brightening sky. "We will need to wash up before breakfast, or else Elena would not be pleased."

"Alright!" Ryohei exclaimed as he started to walk back to the mansion along with Knuckle, feeling quite happy to the extreme. He was with his family, they were happy, and they were all safe in a place filled with caring, extreme adults like Knuckle. How could Ryohei not be feeling extreme right now?

This was starting to be a great day.

"Hey, you said you liked to box right? Because while I don't do it as much anymore, I used to be quite the champion in my heyday. I could give you a few pointers if you like."

Scratch that, today was looking to be the best day ever to the extreme.

Just goes to show that sometimes, your family is the one you choose and not the one you were born in. Not that Kyoko was a bad sister by any stretch of the means but I think my point still stands. Also, as a side note, Ryohei didn't know what the word 'aborted' meant until later. When he does will be discussed in 'Holding on Together.'

So what did you guys think? How were Ryohei and Knuckle? How was the flow of the chapter? Please tell me your thoughts and reactions in a review and I will update next month.

Till then, have a great day or night! And stay safe!