I.

Ryohei, as it turned out, was actually a pretty decent instructor and coach when it came to teaching others about the sport of boxing.

"It's fucking weird to see the Loud Kid get all fucking serious and smart all of a sudden…"

'Isn't that what you do all the time, Zero? Become all smart and serious too?'

"Yeah, but in my case it's fucking awesome and shit… but in the Loud Kid's case, it's just plain freaky like… like, I'm getting the feeling that he's trying way too fucking hard to act all stern and shit in order to not scare us away or something and if I'm being honest, it's really starting to fucking irritate the crap out of me."

'What should I do, then?'

"Hmm… I got it! You should punch him upside the head and tell him to stop acting like a fucking weirdo and to just be himself and all that good, philosophical shit."

II.

Tsuna did just that – albeit in a much more… eloquent manner than what Zero suggested.

It turned out that one Sasagawa Ryohei didn't have any friends aside from his younger sister and that he had indeed been trying to act like someone he wasn't in order not to frighten away Tsuna.

"Hah! I fucking called it!"

"A good friend once told me, that it wasn't nice to try and change someone if they don't want to be changed, Sasagawa-sempai. So don't try and hide who you are around me, I won't get angry or scared or try to run way like the others. It's okay to just be yourself!"

"S-Sawada… th-that was EXTREMELY deep! I want to do an EXTREME run around Namimori because of your words!"

"… That sounds like fun, Sasagawa-sempai, mind if I join you?"

"S-Sure!"

III.

Tsuna's fourth year of attending Namimori Elementary School passes by in the blink-of-an-eye and soon, the brunet is entering his fifth year of school.

"Another school year, another chance to show everyone how fucking awesome and kick-ass you became! First, we'll nab the title of the smartest student in your year and then world domination! Mwahahaha!"

"How about we just make it through this year first, Zero? I still have the rest the of my life to figure out what I want to do and besides, I don't think putting 'world domination' as one of my future dream jobs will be accepted by the faculty and teachers."

"You shouldn't give a fuck what those moronic idiots think, Kid. The only thing limiting you and your potential is the belief that you won't be able to do it and that you'll fail… well, that and the law of fucking physics I guess. Damn gravity sometimes…"

"You do know that gravity is the only thing that's keeping everything from just floating off into space, right? Without it, we'd all die a painful death."

"Still… gravity fucking sucks sometimes… I want to be able to fucking fly whenever the fuck I want! … Or I should say: you should be able to fly and float and do whatever the fuck you want without having to worry about gravity and falling!"

"You never know, maybe one day I'll be able to do something like that."

"The day you learn how to fly without wings is the day I'll finally admit that I'm not fucking amazingly awesome and wonderful – which is to say, that'll never fucking happen."

"You never know, Zero. You never know."

IV.

"Hey, Kid… who's that dark, brooding emo-looking kid over there?"

Tsuna turns in his assigned seat and peers out the classroom window. 'Him? That's Hibari Kyoya…'

"… He looks strong don'cha think?"

'I guess he does… he kinda has the same aura about him as Sasagawa-sempai, meaning that he seems like someone that trains a lot.'

"… You should fight him."

'Yeah, you're right I- … Excuse me?'

"Fight him."

'Uh, no? I'm not going to 'fight' Hibari Kyoya.'

"Fight. Him."

'Why do you want me to fight him anyway? It's not like I can just waltz on up to him and demand a fight or something!'

"Of course you fucking can, just do that… without the asking part!"

'No. I'm not just going to blindly attack someone like that.'

"Then attack him from the front! That way it's not considered a 'blind attack'!"

'No.'

"Aw… c'mon, Kid! You should totally fight him! I bet you'd win!"

'No.'

"Fight him!"

'For the last time, Zero, no!'

"… Pah!... Fine then! Just sit here and listen to this boring-ass teacher drone on and fucking on about the isosceles triangle then! See if I care!"

'… You just want an excuse to leave the classroom, don't you?'

"Well, can ya blame me?! I taught you all this crap a full year ago! You already know all this shit – and more!"

'It's always good to take a refresher course now and again, you know?'

"With me hanging out in your head, Kid, you never need to take a 'refresher course' ever again."

'I guess that's true…'

"Well, now that you've realized the error of your ways… I can only think of one thing that can make it up to me!"

'I'm still not fighting Hibari Kyoya, Zero.'

"… Break my heart some more, why don'cha?! GO ON AND BREAK MY HEART SOME MORE!"

Tsuna rolled his eyes and sighed mentally. 'If it makes you feel any better, Zero, I promise that I'll fight him one day… just not today or anytime in the near future.'

"… Fine… I guess that's fine… but, I'll fucking hold you to that promise, Kid! Don't think I'll forget! I have a memory like a fucking elephant, you know! I never forget anything!"