Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

Warning, there will be angst and fluff on this chapter.

Vongola's Special Training Program

White snow snuggly blanketed Namimori but it didn't stop people from living their lives. People still went to work, mothers went shopping and children kept playing. For Mia, she spent her time reading inside her room while sipping hot chocolate. The room was silent except for the quiet rustle of pages turning. Ever since Fuuta moved in with her, her time had been sorely divided between tutoring, working and researching. On her desk were three notebooks filled with notes about Vongola's history, contained within them were reminders of how some agreements with other Families need to be assessed and renewed, Families which the Vongola may still have bad blood with, and coming up with ways to… rid some businesses that the Family runs in the future. Fuuta had never noticed it due to the fact that they looked like school work.

Besides, there were at least six generations of documents to view over… going through them at the pace she was going at would take maybe two years to do. Just thinking of the thick ledgers waiting for her to look made her head spin. So here she was, taking a break from her self-induced work. Mia was a bit grateful that Fuuta went back to the Sawada residence for the duration of the winter holidays.

Her Papa decided to come home for a month but unlike Tsuna's mom, her Papa would definitely ask questions so she sent him back in the meantime. He would be arriving in a few days but until then, Mia will take it easy until she goes to move the boxes to where her Papa can't stumble onto by accident. Despite the serene atmosphere in her room, at the back of her mind she couldn't help but glance occasionally to her bedside table. A sleek black business phone sat on top of the wood. It was given to her by the Ninth before she went to rejoin her friends and was only to be used for emergencies.

Mia didn't want to dwell on it so she stuffed it into her drawer and went on reading. School break had already started and she was going to use it to just sit back and relax because god knows she won't get it around her friends. That and one other thing... She was three-fourths away from finishing her book when her door opened and Tsuna walked in.

Mia hardly budged from her place on the bed, not bothered in the least. She had given Tsuna a spare key months ago so he can come in whenever he wanted to.

The brunette was looking a bit put out that Mia hardly even acknowledged him. He came here to drag her out seeing that she was serious on becoming a hermit. He leaned against the doorframe.

"Mia, come on let's go outside!"

Mia didn't look up from her book. "No thanks."

"Reborn wanted to go meet up at school."

"Tell Reborn that he can shove his ideas somewhere else, I'm really not in the mood to go outside." She shut her book, set it aside and crossed her arms over her chest. She was comfortable here in her sweats and she was not going to leave under any circumstances. Tsuna though, raised a brow at her juvenile defiance.

"Is there something wrong Mia? Why won't you go outside?" he asked her.

"It's cold," she complained. Tsuna fought off a smile.

"It's winter silly." She pouted. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

She let out a heavy sigh and wrapped her arms around her legs instead, drawing them nearer to her chest. She placed her cheek on her knees. "It's cold so it's going to hurt."

"What's going to hurt?" he strode towards her, suddenly worried.

She looked up at him for a moment, seemingly thinking whether she should tell him or not and shrugged her shoulders as if saying 'why the hell not?'. "Tsuna, you're aware I'm a girl right?"

"What the – of course I'm aware of that!"

"Then every month, what do girls have?" she encouraged him.

He stared at her, mouth agape. She sighed in resignation and gave him a very bland smile.

"Figured it out yet?" she asked wryly. Tsuna turned red and he nodded. To his credit, he didn't make it awkward and coughed to clear the embarrassment away. He sat down beside her, worry returning to his eyes.

"Does it really hurt?" he wondered. "What can I do for you?"

This part of Tsuna was what she hated and at the same time loved – he was such a sweetheart sometimes that she wanted to pinch his cheeks. Regardless of her weird feelings, it was a trait of his that she had always found endearing since the start. Looking at his worried face, Mia changed her mind.

"In the bathroom cabinet there's a canister of pain pills. Get it for me will you while I change?"

He shook his head. "You don't feel well and you don't like drinking medicine, you don't need to come anymore. I'll deal with Reborn."

Oh he was such an adorable bastard. Tsuna should stop being so sweet before those cheeks of his are abused. It was true that she didn't like to take medication but it was necessary from time to time, like today.

She pushed him lightly with her foot and smiled. "Nah its okay. Go on Tsuna, I need to find something to wear." With a bit of more nudging and eventually shoving him off the bed, Tsuna went to grab her pills while she changed. While winter wasn't the ideal weather when on her period, it was great to wear some kickass boots. After putting on two layers of shirts and a grey sweater on top, she crammed a beanie on top of her head and stepped out of her room where Tsuna waited.

Together, they set off towards school and before she started having doubts, she swallowed a pill dry. Tsuna kept glancing at her, worried but she brushed him off. His frown deepened.

"You're not cold are you? You can borrow my scarf if you want," he offered. It was tempting but this was getting a bit too much. Mia resisted the urge to roll her eyes and tried very hard not to let her frustration bleed into her tone.

"I'm fine. Non si sa che questo è per la vita?" she said ( "You do know this is for life right?" ). "I'll have to live with this for the rest of my life so can we move on?"

"But…" Tsuna protested and she shot him a look.

"If you don't drop it I will make it uncomfortable for you," she threatened. Really? he thought, amused.

"I can get cranky when I'm like this," she warned. "And when I cramp up, people tend to say I'm ovaryacting."

Tsuna groaned and gave up.

When they arrived at school, Yamamoto, Gokudera and Reborn were already waiting for them. Mia stood right next to Gokudera and noticed how determined the bomber looked. "Did something happen?" she asked as Tsuna went to demand from Reborn what he was up to now.

Gokudera was shamefully apologetic as he replied, "I've failed to protect Tenth. But don't worry Mia-sama," the determined glint returned to his eyes. "I will prove that I am the Tenth's right-hand man! I'll do you and Nana-san proud!"

Mia had no idea what the hell Gokudera was talking about then she remembered the incident yesterday before winter break that Tsuna had managed to get himself blown up by Gokudera. She wasn't there as she went ahead to school to sort out some things with Hibari but she heard from Bianchi and Reborn that Shamal now worked as the school doctor and that Tsuna might or might not have had his first kiss with a man and may or may have not sucker punched Shamal.

Still, is this what he was bothered about? Mia didn't get to ask as Kyoko suddenly showed up.

"Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"We'll need at least one audience member don't you think?" Reborn said. Both Mia and Tsuna glared at him.

"What if she gets hurt?" Tsuna hissed.

"Then you'll protect her." Tsuna did not retort but resigned himself with a sigh while Mia slightly scowled. She quickly masked her irritation though as Reborn began to 'train' Yamamoto.

Training started and Mia had half a mind to shake Yamamoto and Kyoko to see if they even had common sense. She stared at the hole that Yamamoto had just destroyed with a micro-hammer and wondered how pissed Hibari was going to be if that wasn't fixed by the next day. If Reborn didn't fix that, Hibari would come after either her or Tsuna and that was not a very pleasant idea. Since the snow was still shallow, there were lots of space to move around and when a small tank came rolling in, Tsuna said "What is a tank doing here?!"

"It's a pitching machine," Reborn said.

Mia said out loud what she exactly thought in English, "Bullshit."

Reborn whacked her behind the head.

The latch opened and Dino popped out, grinning. "Hey Tsuna, Mia! It's great seeing you guys again!" Tsuna waved at his pseudo older brother.

"Don't you have anything better to do than driving a tank?" Mia asked him.

Dino laughed. "I'd take this anytime over paperwork!" Romario suddenly popped out beside him.

Mia gave a wave. "Nice to see you Romario!"

"As with you Miss." The lackey nodded at her.

Dino looked hurt. "How come Romario gets the nice greeting?" he whined.

"Get back inside Dino," Reborn ordered and Dino was forced to go back in while pouting.

Training resumed and Yamamoto was chased around the field by the tank. Mia did not know how to feel about that, Tsuna as well but Yamamoto seemed to be having fun so they let him at it. Reborn led them inside to finally train Gokudera. She honestly felt for the bomber as he was being obviously being messed with and before she could speak out about it, Reborn had brought in I-pin. He explained how Gokudera needed to learn to master the seventy percent of his mind so that he could be super strong and in doing so, had to master his control while I-pin uses her Gyoza Fist against him.

It would have been convincing if she hadn't felt like this was just a huge joke and that seventy percent thing was total crap. She had to watch Gokudera make a fool of himself repeatedly as he pitifully tried to eat the Ramen presented to him. At one point or another, I-pin had freaked out when Lambo came out of nowhere and hit the window with his ugly cry face pressed against the glass. Mia would have helped him… if she hadn't been hit by a stray Gyoza fist.

Oh the sensation reminded her of when Mukuro had taken control except that it smelled really bad but forget the smell, her mind had gone overdrive at the sudden intrusion. Even if there was no malice in the action, Mia realized how much she hated to be controlled and violently fought against it. Her body wanted to leap over the counter and Mia had already done the action when her joints locked and she fell on top of it instead then rolled and dropped down to the floor. Tsuna and Gokudera weren't as lucky as she was and she watched as Gokudera drowned Tsuna with his hot Ramen.

Gokudera was apologizing profusely and naturally, Tsuna told him that there was nothing to be sorry for. Mia had to agree – she blamed it on Reborn. Then Yamamoto showed up. Tsuna was relieved to see his friend alright and she watched as Gokudera's expression fell. He abruptly stood up and left the room. Mia went to follow him when Reborn stopped her.

"Leave him, he'll come back."

She glared at the hitman. No way in hell she was going to let Gokudera walk off like that. "And so will I," she said and ran out before Reborn lassoed her back inside or something. She managed to catch Gokudera as he made his way to the park. He sat on of the swings, the air around him gloomy. She approached the bomber and occupied the other seat. Gokudera didn't look up.

"I've failed to protect the Tenth. I'm sorry Mia-sama."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she said gently. "Things just got… wild."

He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Even so… maybe I'm not meant to be the Tenth's right-hand man."

"I think you have the makings of a great Right-hand Man." He looked up at that and was taken aback at the sheer ferocity shining in them.

Gokudera felt a rise of hope in his chest. Mia continued on a bit more carefully, "However I also think you're too brash and a bit of an idiot at times."

His gaped at her. "Mia-sama?"

"You heard me Hayato." A jolt of shock went through him at hearing her say his first name. Mia did not let her eyes stray away from his. She kept him in rapt attention, kept him grounded to her words. "You could become a wonderful right hand but what sets you back is you. You're too hard on yourself and you make it hard to get along with others. I don't know what you're expecting from Reborn but he can't help you if you don't even you're not even sure what you should do."

He wants to be the Tenth's right hand, but he didn't even know where to start.

It must have shown on his face how lost he was as she gave him a small comforting smile. "You're a brilliant person Hayato but you really need to put that head of yours to good use and start thinking for yourself. Its alright if you haven't come up with a starting line yet. I'm always here if you want to bounce ideas with - that's what a family does right?"

His expression scrunched up as if he wanted to cry but he turned his face towards the ground away from her.

"I… I've always wanted to be part of a Family… to mean something." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

Mia knelt before him and tilted her head to get a better look at his face. She smiled. "And now you do."

He raised his head, saw her disheveled hair and her warm smile and chuckled. "And I am ever grateful for that."

When they returned to school, Gokudera had shocked them all when he apologized for his rude behavior and politely declined Reborn's training. The Hitman himself was surprised, though his face didn't show it but he was curious though.

"You've begged to be trained before so what changed your mind?"

Gokudera set his shoulders straight. "I've decided that… that I will have Mia-sama guide me to be the Tenth's Right Hand Man!" He spun around to face her stunned form and dropped to one knee, as if he was proposing. Tsuna made a sound that sounded like a cross between a choke and a gurgle. "Mia-sama, I beg of you, please!" And Mia? Pinned on the spot with everyone's gazes on her she couldn't refuse… after all, she did bring this down on herself. She had one condition though.

"Fine," she snapped and his expression lit up. She pointed a finger at him. "But you need to drop the 'sama' from my name."

Gokudera looked horrified at her proposition. "I can't do that Mia-sama! It's obvious disrespect!"

"What about a nickname?"

Gokudera suddenly agreed and Mia had to wonder what kind of nickname he picked out for her. "So… deal?" she said cautiously.

"Any nickname right? As long as it's' not 'sama'?"

Exasperated, she said, "Yes, yes!"

Gokudera smiled. "Very well then… My Lady."

Mia was not pleased nor amused or anything. Goddamnit. He had her on that one.

Meeting Pa

Tsuna tried his best not to fidget as Mia looked for her coat. Today, they were going to pick up Mia's father from the airport. Just the two of them. He didn't know if he should be nervous or apprehensive.

He didn't exactly dislike her dad as Mia only had good things to say about him but he wasn't fond of him either. He left his own daughter, a girl, live all by herself in a town she didn't grow up in and in a different country altogether. Granted, Mia was really responsible for her age and nothing happened much in Namimori - except for the occasional Vongola thing - but still.

It reminded him of his own dad who left when he was ten and probably died off somewhere. But this was different, he had to remind himself.

Mia loved her father and he did check in with her every now and then. Maybe not as often as he would have liked but he did and if he really was as kind as she said he was, maybe he wasn't as bad as he thought. If that was the case he hoped that her father wouldn't disapprove of him and ban him from being friends with her.

Maybe he's letting his imagination run wild but he couldn't help it, not after Reborn teased him about it. When she finally found her coat, Tsuna couldn't help but sweat buckets and on their way to the airport, he was hyperventilating.

Mia shook his arm. "Hey," she said. "What's freaking you out so much?"

"Nothing," he rasped out. "You know, just your Dad."

Mia frowned. "He's not going to eat you Tsuna."

"What if he doesn't like me?" he exclaimed, drawing a few odd looks from the other passengers from the bus. He blushed and looked down. Mia let out a small chuckle.

"Don't worry. He'll like you, for sure," she assured him. "If you want to be worried about my family, you should worry about my Uncle Ben."

"Uncle Ben?" his brows furrowed. Mia looked at her nails indifferently.

"Yeah," she said absentmindedly. "He's Papa's older brother and works in the UK's RAF. He's great at making pies."

"RAF?"

"Royal Air Forces. He works for the military." She smiled innocently at him. "He likes hunting."

Tsuna did not know if she was messing with him or not. She burst out laughing at his expression. Annoyed, he wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her against his shoulder. He gagged her mouth with his hand and she struggled in his hold. He smiled disarmingly at the people who looked back at them while Mia weakly pounded on his chest. He did not let go. Eventually, people looked elsewhere and Tsuna finally released her. She scowled at him. He smiled at her. She huffed and turned in her seat to watch the world pass by outside the bus. Tsuna leaned on his seat, feeling his nerves finally free of tension. He reveled at that.

Strangely enough, none of their other friends wanted to come. Tsuna thought they would have jumped at the chance to meet Mia's Father but instead they encouraged them to go together. Tsuna knew they were hiding something but didn't know what. It was odd to see Gokudera dragging Haru away from him once, saying that it was none of her business. Kyoko though, was discreetly handled by Yamamoto. Tsuna had no idea what to make of it.

They got off the bus and Tsuna felt his earlier worries coming back. He was surprised when he felt her slender hand slip into his.

"Come on," she said. "I think it's this way." She tugged at his hand.

He let her lead him away. His nervousness melting away by her touch. They were at the waiting area when Mia exclaimed, "Papa!" A tall blonde man looked their way and Tsuna hastily pulled his hand out of hers, not wanting her Father to get any ideas and possibly call his brother (he still had no idea if Mia was messing with him or not).

The similarities between Father and daughter weren't that many, aside from the different shade of blonde, Mia definitely inherited her blue eyes from her dad. They shared that same intensity that their eyes could convey so well and Tsuna found himself praying that her dad would like him. As he walked over to them, Tsuna noticed how stern he looked, making him look intimidating despite his travel-worn clothes and crooked glasses. If this were a movie, he had no doubt her Dad would be perfect to play the role of the intimidating secret agent.

Mia came up to her dad to kiss him on the cheek just as he pulled her in for a hug. The stern expression melted and he swept his daughter into a circle, pressing kisses to her hair and just practically embarrassing her in the middle of the floor. He bit his lip to stop the smile he knew was coming. In Japanese culture, people aren't used to seeing such gestures of affection out in public like this but he didn't mind. He had come to appreciate the contact that he and Mia shared even before he started having strange feelings. After witnessing such a warm side from her father, Tsuna relaxed and smiled when Nicola Matteis turned to greet him.

As they shook hands, he noticed how calloused her Dad's hands were.

"It's great to finally meet you Tsuna, Mia never stops talking about her friends but I mostly hear about you the most." He blushed. Mia was grinning from the back and Tsuna tried not to make himself look any more of an idiot he already was. He really wasn't as bad as he thought.

"The same sir, I hope you'll come by for dinner sometime. Mom is always happy to have guests," he said after remembering his mother's request. Nicolas smiled.

"I look forward to it."

Parent and Child

Her Pa was acting weird, Mia thought. He had been giving her these strange glances that unnerved her. Is this what it felt like when she looks at people? Was her gaze just as heavy as her Pa's? Well he did have years of experience to pin people with a single look – he used it all the time on students. Despite the uncomfortable looks, she is happy that he was here. Her Pa tried, he really did, to spend time with her. Sometimes he forgets the pain and would genuinely love to spend time with her but then he'd fall into one of his moods and retreat for long periods of time. She often found him passed out on the couch or in his room, a bottle of scotch nearby and his glasses missing or broken.

And sometimes, she'd find him awake. Those times were always the hardest to deal with.

No matter what he said in this state, she knew that he loved her and that was enough.

But here at present, she had yet to see him drink yet. In fact, he seemed almost thoughtful. Mia didn't want to push him and decided to leave him to it. Maybe her Pa would tell her maybe not but nevertheless it was his choice. She would enjoy this rare time with her Pa as much as she can before the dark cloud settles in once more. So it surprised and pleased her when he suggested they celebrate Christmas with Tsuna's Family.

She couldn't resist asking him why. Her Pa looked up at her from his work and smiled apologetically.

"You know how I am la mia bambina," he said, a tinge of sadness in his tone ("My child."). "I thought it would be good for you to hang with people your age."

And she was fine with that. Happy, she rushed to her room to call Tsuna. He agreed immediately. It was a shame that they couldn't invite their other friends as they had their own families to spend time with. She knew Kyoko and her brother went off on a trip to visit their relatives in a different town, same thing with Yamamoto. There was one other person they could invite and he lived just next door. When she went to invite Hayato – she had come to call him that from now on – he almost had a seizure. Hayato hadn't met her Pa personally but it would be without doubt either embarrassing or hilarious.

A Father's Regret

Mia had made some very odd friends, Nicola thought as they headed to the Sawada residence with a silver-haired boy named Hayato Gokudera. When he had first met the boy, he thought he was a part of the 'bad crowd' but then the boy started to talk and Nicola was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm he had. Overly smothering polite he was and Nicola couldn't help but scold himself for judging by a person's looks. Hayato was a nice boy but it was strange how he followed his daughter like a puppy. Once they've arrived, Tsuna greeted them with smiles.

"Mom made a lot – we've never celebrated Christmas before so she went a bit overboard," he said sheepishly.

"Is there cake?" Mia asked. Tsuna shook his head.

"Good." Nicola smiled and held up a large blue box. "Because we brought some."

Tsuna quickly ushered them inside and Nicola truly wondered how in the world his daughter had met these… odd people. To his surprise, Tsuna was an only child even though there were three other children that lived with him as well as Hayato's sister and the strange person named Reborn who declared that he was Tsuna's home tutor. His head spun from all the questions that accumulated from every twist and turn of his head. Wherever he looked, he was baffled by these people. If he wasn't hearing Hayato and Lambo bickering, then it was Tsuna's screeching and scolding. Despite being thrown out of loop, despite the chaos in this cramped home; Mia's peals of laughter sounded above all. He could hear it as if she was still five years old.

And just for that, he decided to forget his confusion and focused instead on his daughter's joy. He sensed a person's presence beside him and he turned his head to see it was Tsuna's mother. Nana Sawada was the cheeriest person that he had ever met and if he had to admit… a bit daft as well but she was kind nevertheless.

"Mia-chan often helps me cook when she's here," Nana told him. "She tutors Tsu-kun too when he needs it."

He smiled. "You have a good son Mrs. Sawada." Nana waved him off.

"Please call me Nana, I don't mind."

"Nana then," he said. He looked back to watch his daughter play with the other three children in the house. "Mia's happy," he noted with a tinge of wistfulness. "Your son…he's been a really good friend to her, I'm thankful. She didn't make any friends in America. Didn't want to."

From the corner where the two parents sat watching their children, Nana sighed. "Likewise. I'm honestly grateful for Mia-chan. I can't imagine life without her here."

"You treat her like one of your own?" he asked softly.

"Like my very own daughter," Nana replied firmly. Nicola chuckled and clasped his hands together.

"Thank you Nana."

Mia was a quiet child most of the time and hardly caused any trouble except for the occasional note that said she talked back to her teachers. She spent more time reading, cooking, and daydreaming. He worried that she was too mature to enjoy childhood after her mother passed. He was already contemplating on moving when Mia had gotten into that accident and he feared that he would have lost his daughter. He had stormed in the emergency room, near hysterical until he saw Mia sitting on one of the beds, forlornly staring at another patient that doctors were rushing to save. It was a gory sight, something that he was determined not to have her see. He strode over and called her name. When she looked at him, eyes wide with surprise and not one bit disturbed by the scene happening in front of her, he pulled her tight to his chest to hide her from it. She was mature for her age, more than he would have liked. He wanted to keep her as a child while he still could, so they moved.

Now in Japan, there was a glimmer in her eyes that wasn't there before but now it was all too clear to see. When he checked on her every couple of weeks, Mia was bubbling with stories about her new friend. She spoke nowadays with such fondness over her friends, her worries, the dishes she wanted to try making and how she hoped that when he would come home, he would like them. He looked at her now and saw how heartbreakingly young she looked.

"Nicolas-san? Would you care for some sake?" Nana offered him. He choked back something that was between a sob and a laugh and hastily took off his glasses to wipe his eyes.

"I would like that." Nana gave him a glass and smiled sadly as he sipped at his drink.

"It must have been hard for Mia-chan to grow without a mother," she said quietly.

"It must have been hard to raise Tsuna alone," he replied just as quiet and noticed Nana flinch as he turned their conversation around. He wasn't ready to talk about his wife just yet, definitely not to someone he had just met.

"My husband works overseas," she explained.

"Doesn't he ever come home?"

"No. The last time he was here, Tsu-kun was only ten years old." Nicolas frowned at that.

"No phone calls, emails or even just mail?" Nana shook her head, suddenly saddened.

Well that won't do. "I hope you're planning on smacking him left and right when he comes home. He owes you a call at least." Nicolas took a swing of his drink. Nana smiled at his suggestion.

"I think I will," she giggled.

Nicolas chuckled, feeling now that Nana was a kindred spirit. Perhaps he would visit the woman again just to ask for advice – god knows how hard it was for him to raise a daughter. He went nuts when Mia first had her period, lord was that a nightmare. It was a miracle how Mia turned out the way she did. He smiled into his cup and after a moment of thinking, he set it down. He was already starting to feel it - better to stop now. He clapped his hands together, drawing attention from the others. Smiling, he announced, "Present time!"

He did not expect Mia to be shaking her head furiously before being tackled to the ground by Lambo and I-pin. Tsuna's shriek of horror sounded across the room as Lambo bounced up and down on his chest, demanding for presents. Mia's friends… were definitely eccentric… and odd. Oh dear, his ribs were starting to hurt. But despite the uncomfortable pain, it drew a laugh from him, startling his daughter and causing Lambo to cease jumping.

"It's fine, its fine," he assured the teens. Looking at one face to another, his smile warmed. His daughter was in good hands.

Author's Note:

Originally, I was set on the idea of the Varia getting Nicolas killed but scraped it off. I'm really fond of family themes as some of you guys can recall and decided against it after thinking about it a little bit more. Hope you guys liked Nicolas and thanks for reading!