Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Ch. 2: Family

Brown eyes opened blearily as warm sunshine hit the young boy's face through the nearby window. He blinked rapidly, feeling smooth cotton instead of bristling forest brush and took in his surroundings in baffled wonder.

The unfamiliar room he found himself in was rather plain. Other than the bed he currently lay in, the only fixtures in the room were a small wooden desk with a chair and a matching dresser. When he looked down, he noticed that he was wearing clean clothes that were rather large instead of the rags from the lab. Confused, he pushed himself into a sitting position, letting out a hiss as the action caused his aching body pain.

The last thing he remembered was running far, far away from his prison. It had been a hard, long journey. He hadn't known where to go nor did he have a final destination in mind. Gnawing hunger and pain nearly had him blacking out and sometimes he had the urge to just give in to the darkness. Even so, he continued forward, with nothing but the comforting flame that beat within him to guide the way and the ghost of a blond man to follow. A hollow feeling echoed within him as the feeling that he may never see the man again was brought to the surface.

Growing restless, the boy prepared to get up and explore his surroundings when the sound of a turning knob resounded in the quiet room. Heart fluttering in fear, he realized someone must have brought him to this room. Why didn't he think of that sooner? Would the person coming in lock him away again? With bated breath, he watched the door slowly open to reveal a foreign young woman.

From the doorway, the woman smiled at him kindly with warm chocolate brown eyes, long chestnut hair swaying as she walked toward him. In her hands she held a tray with a bowl and cup poised on top. The scent it carried made his mouth water and his empty stomach growled much to his confusion. He tensed, frightened of this mysterious woman, and backed away into the wall as she approached.

"Good morning, dear. My name is Nana Sawada. I found you, collapsed in the market place by the forest. I brought you to my home to take care of you. How are you feeling?" Her voice was light and cheerful.

Nana had spent the whole night worrying as she waited for the young boy to wake up. Iemitsu's words from the phone call had been rather startling. It seemed as if her husband knew of the boy she was talking about and that he thought the young child to be a threat. How could he think that such a small boy would be dangerous? All she could see before her was a scared little boy who was urgently in need of some kindness.

The boy didn't answer. He just watched her with suspicious eyes. The men from the lab had been nice at first too. But when they realized what a 'failure' he was, their expressions became scary and they caused him more and more pain. How could he trust this stranger's words?

Undeterred by the lack of response, Nana continued patiently hoping to ease the boy's discomfort. "Are you hungry? I brought some soup if you would like some." She placed the tray beside him on the bed.

The boy remained still for a while, watching her distrustfully. When he deemed it safe, he turned to the tray curiously. He leaned forward and sniffed the contents of the bowl before turning to Nana, completely puzzled. The men at the lab had never given him anything that smelled like it. They never gave him anything other than pills or shots and occasionally water with gray tasteless mush.

Nana blinked back at him for a moment and let out an "Oh!" of surprise as she realized he didn't understand what to do with the soup. The implications of this worried her but she didn't let it show as she smiled back at the boy. Scooping up a spoonful of the broth, she sipped the soup with a cheerful hum. Taking another spoonful, she offered it to the boy with an expectant expression.

This lady confused him. He didn't understand why she was offering the strange liquid to him, let alone treating him so kindly. He was tempted to run away but that familiar warmth pulsed urgently, telling him to trust her. The flame had been guiding him since he left his prison and not once had it been wrong.

He watched Nana for a moment before finally opening his mouth and accepting the soup. His eyes widened, surprised at the warmth it brought his cold stomach and how it soothed his aching throat. It had a pleasing taste, nothing at all like the bland pills or gruel, and he found himself wanting more, eagerly accepting spoonful after spoonful from the lady.

Nana was extremely relieved when the boy started to eat. Looking at his condition, she thought he could use some nice, home cooked meals. It looked like he enjoyed the soup and she was just about to ask if he wanted more when something warm landed on her hand. Startled, Nana looked up and was surprised to find tears falling from confused brown eyes.

"Are you okay, dear?" She asked in shocked concern. Had the soup made him nauseous? Did he eat too much, too soon? Were his wounds acting up? Was his fever coming back?

He didn't answer. His small hands were desperately trying to stem the tears flowing from his eyes. His breathing came in panicked gasps when the tears wouldn't stop. Why was weird liquid falling from his eyes? He didn't understand. He felt better and safer than ever before so why was his body behaving in such a strange way? The tightness in his chest made the tears fall faster.

Sadness welled within her as she watched the broken boy before her. Nana gently grabbed his hands and moved them away from his face before slowly pulling him into an embrace. The boy froze at the contact but Nana held on and gently rubbed his back, murmuring comforting words.

"It's going to be alright," she said softly. Suddenly, he couldn't hold back the sobs that had been locked inside him for so long. He held on to her tightly as he cried desolate tears.

Nana's eyes stung as she listened to the boy's broken hearted wails. How scared must he have been all this time? Trying to remain strong all by himself, unable to trust anyone. Constantly pushing himself, despite the hurt it brought to his small body and to his heart.

After a long while, his sobs died down. In that time, Nana Sawada had come to a decision. Never again would this boy ever endure such suffering because she would take care of him from now on.

Wiping the last of his tears, she gave him a soft smile, pleased when he looked back at her with a curious blink, the haunted look fading from his eyes. Nana didn't think that look would ever completely leave the boy, but hopefully with time, he could live past it.

As the boy calmed down, Nana's smile turned a trifle embarrassed as she realized something important. "Do you think you can tell me your name or where you're from?" She couldn't very well continue calling him simply 'dear' from now on.

The boy tilted his head as he considered the question, pondering what she meant by his 'name'. Nodding to himself, he lifted his shirt and looked puzzled when he saw the bandages underneath. Ignoring them, he turned and pointed to the right side of his lower back which was currently covered.

Nana was confused for a moment before she nodded in sudden understanding, realizing he meant the "27" burnt onto his back. She bit her lip and tried to keep her expression friendly, after all she didn't want to scare the poor boy. Is that what they had referred to him as? How could anyone treat a child like that? As if they were nothing more than an object. She refused to call him by such. "Is it alright if I call you something else?" she asked gently.

He nodded slowly, captivated by the prospect. When the men from his prison had called his old name, it had always been in angry voices. Maybe with this new "name" he wouldn't be a "failure" anymore and the lady wouldn't get angry at him and hurt him.

Nana took a moment to think before clapping her hands in excitement. "Tsunayoshi! Would Tsunayoshi be okay? In my native language it means 'long rope'; like a connection. Just like our meeting has connected us!"

Brown eyes stared at her in confusion, not really understanding what the lady meant. Still he repeated the "name" mentally, somehow liking the sound of it. The boy tilted his head and pointed to himself, replying with a hoarse whispered voice that cracked in disuse, "Tsuna...yo...shi?"

Nana smiled brightly, nodding and Tsunayoshi thought that her smile made him much, much warmer than the "soup" did.

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It was a fact. Tsunayoshi was the cutest little boy Nana had seen. Ever.

After their little talk, Tsunayoshi had refused to let her out of his sight; as if afraid she would disappear. It was absolutely adorable. Whenever she looked behind her, Nana could see him shyly peeking at her before quickly hiding. At first she had tried to get him to rest so he wouldn't walk on injured feet but in the end his stubbornness won out.

"Tsu-kun, would you like to help me fold clothes?"

Guiltily, he came out from his hiding place behind the door frame. Nana smiled at him to show she wasn't mad. Seeing this, Tsunayoshi walked toward her and shyly nodded. He wasn't quite sure why she shortened his name in such a weird way but didn't question it as it seemed to make her very happy.

Nana giggled as she watched Tsunayoshi clumsily try to imitate her. After a while he gave up and just watched Nana fold the clothes, listening to her hum cheerfully. When she finished, she almost squealed at the cute scene of Tsunayoshi asleep in the messy pile of blankets he tried to fold.

Rearranging the sheets to cover him better, she jumped in surprise when the doorbell rang. Hurrying to the door, she was greeted by the sight of Iemitsu accompanied by his boss, Timoteo-san.

"Ara, Iemitsu, you're early! Is everything alright?" Turning to greet Timoteo, she was promptly interrupted as Iemitsu embraced her tightly.

"Are you alright, Nana? He didn't hurt you did he?" His voice was serious as he let go of her to get a better look at her condition.

"What on earth are you talking about Iemitsu?" Nana answered, completely baffled.

He was about to respond when he eyes caught movement by the doorway. Tensing, he watched the boy in question enter the hallway.

As soon as Tsunayoshi saw the strange men in the doorway, his lingering drowsiness vanished and he sprang forward. Iemitsu reached for his gun only for Timoteo to still his hand, shaking his head. Tsunayoshi stopped in front of Nana and held a protective stance, tiny arms thrust out to shield her. The young boy glared at the men, focusing his gaze on Timoteo. His eyes shimmered a brilliant orange, calm and determined.

Surprised, Nana placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's alright, Tsu-kun, they won't hurt you or me. They are family."

Tsuna stubbornly shook his head, still glowering back at Timoteo, "Mafioso," he muttered roughly. "Vongola Nono. Rival famiglia."

Nana was shocked that he knew such things and turned a questioning gaze toward Iemitsu. He, however, kept a careful watch over "Tsu-kun". There was surprise in his expression, however, as he observed the boy's protective stance and eyes. "How…?"

Timoteo held his arms up in a placating gesture to show he was no threat, watching sunset eyes in shock. He slowly went down to one knee until he was eye level with Tsunayoshi. "I'm just here to talk, boy. You have my word that I will harm no one."

Cautious orange clashed with gentle hazel before Tsunayoshi gave a curt nod and relaxed his stance, moving to stand by Nana who placed a comforting arm around him. Not once did he take his eyes off the old man in front of them. The flame hummed contentedly. It sensed no danger, but Tsunayoshi wasn't prepared to completely relax just yet even as calm orange faded to wary brown.

Seeing the two lower their guards, Iemitsu let the tension leave his shoulders as he turned to Nana only to be met with a stern glare coupled with crossed arms. Not a good sign.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Iemitsu."

He thought she had some explaining to do as well, but in the face of that look all he could say was, "…Yes, dear."

Nono stifled an amused smile while Tsunayoshi gave a questioning blink.

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"Human…experimentation? On children?" Nana's voice rang out in the quiet room, a hushed whisper of disbelief. The four of them sat in the kitchen, cold cups of untouched tea before them.

She felt sick to her stomach and could almost taste the bile that rose as she tried to digest the information. Feeling a tug on her shirt she looked down into wide worried brown eyes and hugged Tsu-kun who sat at her sided, tightly. After all he had been through; here he sat worried for her. Tears stung her eyes, "On Tsu-kun too?" she asked even though she already knew the answer.

"The boy, Tsunayoshi-kun I mean, is a little different," Nono replied with some trouble. It was difficult to admit just how far gone from humanity the Estraneo famiglia had been and to be reminded of the Vongola's inability to stop them.

"Different?"

Iemitsu took over and continued, "An artificially created human. A clone of my distant ancestor…"

"Vongola Primo. Giotto."

All heads turned to the Tsunayoshi who had suddenly decided to join the conversation.

"Could you tell us what you know, Tsunayoshi-kun?" Nono urged him gently, somewhat surprised that the taciturn boy had been following their conversation.

Tsunayoshi nodded, closing his eyes to think for a moment. His words were very limited as the men in white hadn't really thought it important to teach their little puppet how to speak, but he would try his hardest to make them understand. He glanced at Nana before turning back to the two men across from them. Even if it meant the way he was treated would change.

Somehow the thought made his heart ache.

His tongue felt heavy as Tsunayoshi spoke his next words, "Strongest familgia. Vongola. Strongest mafioso. Primo. 'Subject 27."

Tiny hands clenched in his lap and brows furrowed as he relived painful memories, "Failure. No fight. No flames. Not strong. Not needed. 'To be disposed'."

Seeing his struggle, Nana placed a warm hand on a clenched fist and squeezed gently. The fist loosened slightly and he continued, "Men gone. Free. Boy." He took a trembling finger and clumsily drew an approximation of what must have been a six and nine.

At the statement, Timoteo and Iemitsu exchanged looks, piecing together parts of the puzzle as to what exactly had led to the fall of the Estraneo famiglia. They had seen the reports of "subject 69". If the information written was true, then they needed to find the boy immediately. The brutality that he was capable of…

The two Mafioso were interrupted as Tsunayoshi continued, "Lost. Man. Flame. Warm. Darkness. Here."

They waited for the boy to elaborate. "Man"? Who on earth could that be? But Tsunayoshi remained silent, finished with his tale. Timoteo's brow crinkled as he pondered the boy's words. "Flame"… could he be referring to Dying Will Flames? Nono tucked the information away carefully to ponder for later, remembering the way the boy's eyes had flashed orange earlier. For now, they needed to focus on the problem at hand.

"I suppose that explains what happened at the facility. Somewhat at least," Nono mused thoughtfully, continuing their discussion. "Our first priority should be to consider what to do with the missing children that have been found. We certainly cannot return them to families that gave them away in the first place," he said with hard eyes.

"Sir, should we include this boy with the others?" It was strange to think that the boy was simply a clone. Looking at him, all Iemitsu could see was a troubled youth. But, even so, there was no denying that he was "different". Would it be safe to leave him with the other children?

"Just a minute!" The men started at Nana's sudden outburst. "Tsu-kun's not going anywhere," she stated firmly.

"What…do you mean…dear?" Iemitsu asked hesitantly, nervous smile stuck in place.

Placing a motherly hand on Tsunayoshi's fluffy head, she gave a pleasant smile as she answered, "We are going to adopt Tsu-kun!"

"Eh!?" His eyes widened comically. Iemitsu turned to Timoteo, only to see the man give a smile of approval, and then turned back to his wife who still had that pleasant smile stuck in place. Somehow, that smile was disconcerting. "But, would that be…safe?" He glanced at the boy, slightly wary. "He may seem…normal…now, but what if something was to happen later on?"

Iemitsu inwardly cringed at Nana's disapproving gaze but kept a firm countenance. He would never compromise when it came to Nana's safety. Despite how happy the boy made her, happier than he had seen her in months, if he was a danger, then he needed to be taken away no matter what.

"Even if it broke her heart?" His traitorous mind whispered darkly and he pushed the thought away forcefully.

Surprisingly, it was Timoteo that answered. "I don't think that will be a problem, Iemitsu. I have a feeling that the boy isn't a threat."

Iemitsu balked. He stuttered a rebuttal, "But…what if…well…you know…" The advisor wasn't sure how to phrase his word delicately. He knew better than anyone of the accuracy of the famed Vongola Hyper Intuition, but this was an Estraneo famiglia experiment they were talking about. Just thinking about the cruelty "subject 69" was capable of sent a chill down the hardened mafioso's spine. Who's to say that "subject 27" is any different?

But as the CEDEF leader watch the boy, his own honed instincts, while not as precise as that of his distant ancestor, told him that the boy wasn't a risk. He thought back to determined orange eyes that shone with the resolve to protect Nana even if it meant death.

Looking at Nana's unyielding expression Iemitsu knew that, once again, he had lost the battle. Letting out a resigned sigh, he gave a breathy laugh that quickly turned loud and boisterous. "In that case, I don't see why not!" After all, having a son had always been a fond dream of his.

"Wonderful!" Nana exclaimed excitedly. She turned to Tsunayoshi, "How would you like to be a part of our family, Tsu-kun?"

Tsunayoshi, for his part, had been watching the proceedings with a detached confusion. At the question, however, he tensed. "Famiglia?"

Nana's eyes saddened as she took in his wariness. "No," she said gently, "Family. I would be your Mamma and Iemitsu would be your Papá."

"Mamma? Papá?" He voiced the words in wonder and longing. Tsunayoshi wasn't quite sure what those words meant but they struck a chord within him. In the dark of the night, sitting in his silent cell, he could sometimes hear the other children imprisoned in the facility. They had often cried out those words in soft voices, scared and desperate but filled with yearning. An elusive emotion that was so bittersweet. Was what those children had felt the same as what he felt now? A tender warmth that left his heart feeling light and content, overpowering the cold fear that constantly coated it.

Tsunayoshi nodded in answer to the question, his throat too tight to answer verbally. He gasped, however, when he felt someone pick him up from behind. "Yosh! We're going to have lots of fun together, Tsuna!" Iemitsu shouted cheerfully, already warming up to the boy.

While "Tsuna" gave the man a deadpan look, one that had the man crying humorously ("Nana, our son doesn't like his Papá!"), he couldn't help but wonder why his new mamma and papá were not inclined to call him by his full name. Then again, even he had to admit that "Tsunayoshi" was a mouthful.

Looking around him; the beautiful smile on Nana's face, the goofy grin on Iemitsu's rugged mug, and the twinkle in Nono's eyes, Tsuna thought that he could get very used to being "Tsunayoshi Sawada".

In their excitement the adults all missed the ghost of a smile on the young boy's lips.

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TBC

Hey guys. Been a while, huh?