OpalescentGold: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

Development

This is what they are becoming.

Committee

"You created a club?" Noriko questions incredulously, feeling like the world has been turned upside down. In what universe does the Cloud enjoy crowding?

Kyoya glares at her, dressed in a spiffy uniform with the gakuran jacket thrown on top of his shoulders. "Not a club, Reiki. A Disciplinary Committee."

Of course. Why on Earth would she think differently? "Why?"

"The herbivores in Namimori Middle need herding and I don't have enough time to do everything by myself," he reasons pragmatically.

"And the...pompadours...?"

Kyoya shrugs gracefully. "Why should I care? It's not against school regulations."

Noriko resists the urge to face-palm. Kami-sama, this is just like how CEDEF got started.

Bodyguards

Things change slightly, when Kyoya leaves. The rule-breaking in the school suddenly swells, as do the bullies that walk the hallways.

Still, after Noriko casually trips an upperclassman trying to shove Tsuna to the side, after Takeshi laughingly tells off a fellow classmate trying to threaten lunch money from Tsuna, no one tries to bully their precious Sky.

Tsuna just blinks away the tears in his eyes and wonders how he got so lucky.

Unbeknownst to him, Noriko and Takeshi are asking themselves the same thing.

Boxing

"You created a club?" Noriko questions curiously, whirling around on light feet around the sushi restaurant Takeshi's father runs.

"That's extremely right!" Ryohei beams, all but throwing off light in his extreme joyousness. "An extreme boxing club! You all should join!"

"Hahaha, we're not even in Namimori Middle yet, Senpai," Takeshi points out cheerfully, slicing some fish with quick, deft movements.

Noriko wonders how long it'll take for that katana hanging on the wall to make its way into the Rain's hands.

"You should join anyway!" Ryohei insists, taking no notice when Tsuna just shakes his head numbly and stares blankly at his homework.

Noriko sighs and opens the textbook. For some reason, even though he's older than them, Ryohei sits in on the tutoring sessions, too.

Sick

Her head hurts and her throat is sore, her mind dazed and her heart aching. She wanders the fog of her memories in a trance, finds herself crying when she is met with a family she can't reach, a home she cannot touch.

They're all gone, gone -

A cool rag is placed on her forehead, a soothing voice telling her that it's alright, everything's okay. Another voice, bright and calm, says that he'll be back soon, that he'll be sure to win the baseball game for her.

For Noriko.

But isn't her name Cynthia?

A blanket is flung over her trembling form, a loud but hushed voice informing her that she'll be extremely better soon. That warm presence fades away, leaving the accepting, comforting person who stays by her bedside.

It's okay, he says, Hibari-san won't bite her to death for being absent this one time.

Style

It is Noriko and Kyoya who are the most well-dressed in their family. Or to be exact, they are the ones who actually care about what they look like.

Tsuna, for one, values comfort over looks. He's happy in t-shirts, jeans, and comfy hoodies. The utter rebelliousness of his hair and his frequent falls don't help much.

Both Takeshi and Ryohei are the epitome of the sporty type. When not in tank tops, sweatpants, and sneakers, they're in casual shirts and jackets, often rumpled and wrinkled.

Kyoya is the traditional one, the one whose expectations of everyone, including himself, are sky high. He always makes certain his dress shirts and pants are ironed, his ties perfectly straight.

As for Noriko...she has clear memories of the days she juggled dozens of meetings weekly and was required to negotiate with different factions. Appearances play a heavy role in judgment and respect, and old habits die hard.

She would be in formal clothes whenever out of her school uniform, but Noriko knows the value of blending in as well, and unlike with Kyoya, people would talk if an elementary student was dressing strangely.

So, Noriko just sticks with pretty, classy clothes. She honestly has no idea why Tsuna gives her such a horrified look when she shows up on Christmas Eve in a white lacy evening dress.

Mature

If someone with an accuracy of one hundred percent were to make a list ranking the small little family's levels of maturity under normal circumstances, that list would go like this:

1. Noriko

2. Kyoya

3. Ryohei

4. Tsuna

5. Takeshi

Of course, this list would be very doubtful, as the circumstances of their lives are never exactly "normal."

Case in point: Noriko laughing as she runs away from a bear she was provoking, Kyoya and Ryohei entering into a competition to see who can inflict the most damage on said bear, and Takeshi trying to comfort a sobbing Tsuna.

Goofiness

On some deep level, everyone is aware that Noriko is hiding something. Everyone subconsciously understands that Noriko is more than the laughing, carefree girl who invites trouble wherever she goes.

On a more cognizant level, everyone generally agrees that she's gleefully insane.

"...I'm sorry, Nori-chan, but could you repeat that?" Tsuna asks, hoping against hope that his ears are actually malfunctioning.

To his horror, Noriko's smile doesn't even falter as she chirps, "I got us some tickets for skydiving! Tomorrow at five in the morning, okay?"

"Hiiiieeeee!"

Notably, no one questions where she got the tickets from when her family is struggling to make ends meet, just as her parents don't ask where the mysterious sums of money that arrive every few weeks come from.

Baby

Tsuna, Noriko, and Takeshi graduate in no time at all, leaving Namimori Elementary for Namimori Middle.

Then, the baby hitman named Reborn comes.