OpalescentGold: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

Adventures

This is how they explore.

Tradition

"In our family, during the odd year birthday, it's tradition for there to be a legendary Vongolian Birthday Game," Reborn announces.

"G-Game?" Tsuna repeats nervously, sneaking a glance at Noriko, who smiles innocently. He has endured years of the petite girl pulling weird and obscure traditions out of nowhere, most of them far too dangerous.

"The game is simple. The person who's celebrating a birthday is going to give scores to the participants' 'present' or 'performance.' And then the participant with the highest score earns a present," Reborn explains.

"Let me guess," Tsuna sighs. "The one with the lowest score dies?"

"That's right!" Reborn confirms cheerily.

Present

Noriko nudges a bag of fine-quality Italian coffee beans across the table and receives ninety points for her efforts. She smiles wistfully as the party goes on, thinking of a birthday party for an altogether different Sun.

It was Ugetsu who suggested a game for entertainment and things had really only deteriorated from there. Knuckle was notoriously competitive, after all, vows to God or not, though the penalty was a day of prayer, not death.

And Giotto had laughed and gifted Knuckle with a red scarf.

"Oi, Nori?" Takeshi peers at her with a smile that doesn't quite hide the worry in his eyes. "You okay?"

"Ah...yeah. I just got caught up in my thoughts for a moment. Sorry." Noriko smiles brightly, waving the moment off just in time to stop Tsuna from twisting himself up into a pretzel.

She imagines that would have hurt.

Gifts

The next day, they throw a party for Tsuna, this time without the life-or-death game. Well, Noriko, Takeshi, Hayato, Ryohei, and Lambo throw a party for Tsuna.

Kyoya just drops by in the middle to scowl at them all for crowding and hurls a present at Tsuna before driving away on his motorcycle.

The radiant smile that Tsuna gifts them all with is definitely worth it though.

I-Pin

Noriko is less interested in the Chinese Triad Hitman than she is in the Storm Arcobaleno who follows his apprentice to Namimori. I-Pin's crush on Kyoya is amusing, but Noriko has no doubts that the little girl is no threat to Tsuna, not with Hayato and Takeshi keeping an eye on him.

Her master is a different story. It's only because she knows that Reborn, abusive and violent as he is, will let no harm come to his charge that she reluctantly lets off on confronting the Storm Arcobaleno.

It helps that while able to fight Kyoya to a standstill most of the time, Noriko is not Cynthia. She is not that powerful, not yet, though she has trained since she was capable of walking, and she does not want to push her luck, not when her Sky is still so entrenched in this mafia business.

Barricade

"Tsuna...what's going on?" Noriko asks curiously, eyeballing the various men in suits surrounding the Sawada house.

"No idea," Tsuna sighs, but trudges forward nonetheless. "Um...excuse me, can I pass through?"

"You can't," is the blunt, but not unkind response. "I can only let Sawada family members pass through right now..."

"Eh...I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi..."

Dino

There's a blond man sitting in an expensive leather chair in Tsuna's room, flanked with two more men in suits. He introduces himself as Dino, the Boss of the Chiavarone Famiglia and Reborn's former student.

Noriko almost instantly dislikes him on principle. She refrains because that is hardly impartial to the man.

Then, Dino begins criticizing Tsuna, saying that he's completely unsuited to being a mafia boss. Noriko agrees, but the reasons he's citing are wrong. Worse, she can see her Sky all but shrinking underneath the comments.

This time, she does not stop the cool, hard anger from rising up, and steps in front of her best friend, shielding him from their view.

"Enough," Noriko says, meeting Dino's brown eyes without blinking. "Didn't your mother ever teach you that if you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all?" Plus, two on one is utterly unfair.

She inwardly relishes in the gobsmacked look on his face.

Clumsy

Apparently, Dino is just yet another test and example Reborn devised. He has the grace to apologize for his comments and claims Tsuna as his little brother on the basis of them both being Reborn's students.

That is all fine, but he also turns out to be clumsier than Tsuna and drops his pet turtle in the bathtub. In seconds, there is an enormous monster out to destroy the house.

Noriko pins him with a justifiably bland stare and watches while Dino stutters incoherently.

Momokyokai

A black car comes out of nowhere and a whip lashes out. Tsuna is swiftly kidnapped before anyone can react and is gone. Reborn claims that a group of yakuza named Momokyokai did it, and Takeshi and Hayato run off to rescue Tsuna.

Noriko remains behind and crosses her arms.

"Aren't you going to go help out Tsuna?" Reborn asks her.

She scoffs, eyes sparkling. "Honestly, Reborn, did you really think I wouldn't recognize Dino's whip?"

He merely smirks slyly.

Hospital

Tsuna somehow ends up in the hospital.

It's Dino's fault again.

Noriko's half-tempted to sic his own turtle on him.

Thankfully, Kyoya informs her that he is keeping an eye on Tsuna, having caught a small cold earlier.

Protection

Reborn corners her while Tsuna is in the hospital. "You can't protect him forever," he says warningly. "If you try, it'll only hurt him in the end."

Noriko doesn't flinch. "I'll protect him until he can protect himself," she retorts because that is her duty. "I'll protect him until he can protect everyone he wants to protect."