Tsuna expertly side-stepped the sleepy Angel on the third step of the stairs, before promptly tripping down the last step as he had for the past two weeks.

Kaede laughed, and the brown-haired boy grumbled, ungluing his face from the floor. This was the tenth time it happened this week. When the Angel had gotten used to her human body, she took to waking up at the exact same time Tsuna did, causing multiple incidents in the narrow corridor when they tried to rush down to the kitchen for breakfast. What a drat, he thought dully.

"Sorry, Tsuna," she apologized sincerely, sending a tinge of something – he couldn't put adequate words to the feeling, it was more like an icy cold mixed with warmth – travelling through his body when she helped him up. The slight abrasion he got from falling flat on his face healed, as Kaede does every morning. He huffed.

"If you were going to heal me, why do you do that?" He did not pout.

Her pink eyes twinkled in amusement as she skipped on ahead to the kitchen, with Tsuna following sullenly behind.

"It's encouragement for you to wake up earlier than me. Why do you think I even bother?" She turned and stuck her tongue out at him. Childish! Tsuna screamed internally, but harrumphed when her eyes met his. Why does she even bother?

Kaede cuffed his head gently on the side, as she was so prone to do nowadays. "Because I care. Now eat your pancakes before I finish them all, hmph." Tsuna blinked before sighing. The mind-reading thing was really hard to get used to, even with half a month gone.

After the kids said their thanks before digging in. It was a Sunday, so there was no rush to go to school on Tsuna's part. Kaede had tried following him to school awhile back, but she couldn't because she wasn't a student, and had to reluctantly agree to tail him as an invisible Angel. The way she tried to bluff through the teachers were funny, though.

"So, what are we going to do today?" The grey-haired girl asked happily, skipping ahead of him as they went out grocery shopping for Mama. Tsuna refrained from sighing. He hadn't had to help him mother out for chores since he learned how to feign sleep…

"Ooooi, Tsuna! Don't ignore me!" Tsuna blinked blearily at her.

"Huh?"

Kaede mimed knocking on his head, coupled with a 'boink boink' sound; the kind of sound gotten when one knocks on something empty. Tsuna balked and glared, somewhat annoyed. Childish, he grumbled in his mind.

"Come oooon, don't be so grumpy!" The Angel said cheerily. "Mama gave me some pocket money, so we can grab cake at the new shop later!" Tsuna looked up, intrigued. He always spent his pocket money on his Wives and some snacks (having little to no self-discipline, thus no savings), and thus never got around to trying pastries around town. He did feel a tad bit guilty though – didn't Kaede know that pocket money are to be guarded zealously and usually used for themselves? Sometimes when his bullies got his pocket money, Tsuna'll cry for a few days…

"Thanks for offer, Kaede, but you should probably save it for yourself," at that, Tsuna smiled hesitantly. The grey-haired girl turned, her short hair bouncing around with the sudden movement.

"Why? Don't you want to share cake with me? I haven't had strawberries in so looong," she mused brightly. They reached the supermarket, and the girl excitedly pulled Tsuna into the air-conditioned area down the aisles.

"It's not that I don't want to," god forbid him reject sweets, "but pocket money are usually used on your own self." He tried explaining. Tsuna would otherwise feel bad, like he had taken advantage of the Angel who knew nothing much of the habits here.

"Well, I want to use it on us," Kaede argued indignantly. "Whoever made it so that we can only use our pocket money on ourselves is selfish – and I hope their grey matter rots down their vertebrae column." Tsuna winced. That didn't sound very nice. He kept silent after that, trailing after the girl who bounded left and right, reading the plagues and tags on the fresh produce and comparing it to the shopping list.

The boy didn't actually do much during the trip as the Guardian Angel was excited to shop, and thus found all the items by herself. His anxiety peaked when she pushed him forward in the line for paying, and he mournfully wondered why she didn't make him pick the items and she handle the socializing. He was absolutely shit at socializing.

And crap, Tsuna rapidly paled, was the cashier Kajima's mother? He always saw her at parent-teacher meetings, and Kajima is one of his frequent bullies and oh god she's always such a gossiper even he heard the neighbours talk about what a big mouth she has –

"Your heart rate is increasing, Tsuna. What's wrong?" Kaede's worried voice came over.

"K-K-Kaede, can't you do the paying?" He asked, snapping around and trying to tone down his horrified expression. His mind ran rampant with all the ways this can go. Kajima's mother will forget all about him, and not mention it to the bully. Or she'll remember and go blab about how Sawada's kid is so good and helps his mother do grocery runs while you don't talk and he'll get a worse beating than usual –

Kaede frowned and looked from him to the cashier, then back again. Her eyebrows were drawn into a line, and she tilted her head, as if considering.

Please say yes, Tsuna pleaded in his mind, his eyes already darting around to find a hiding spot until she's done. There's only three customers before their turn.

"Sorry, Tsuna. You'll have to do this." His head snapped up, and he resisted the urge to scream 'but you're my Guardian Angel! Isn't that what Guardian Angels are supposed to do?!'

He didn't need to say it though. She seemed to get what he was saying from his expression. "Guardian Angels aren't supposed to coddle you all the time," she said gently and pushed him forward. A quick glance told him two customers were left. "We want to see our human grow and flourish, not stagnate and hide. No challenge thrown your way are impossible to overcome – that's the way of life." She said firmly. But Tsuna wanted to disagree – he couldn't deal with bullies, and he could barely hide his situation from his mother, how was that overcoming his challenges? Not to mention his grades -!

She pulled up his orange hoodie, tucking his recognizable brown hair out of sight. "There. Your battle gear's all ready, Tsuna. If you don't start facing your challenges head-on, how do you know you can't overcome them?" She said, a cheery grin erupting on her lips.

One customer in the line left.

He swallowed, and even though the ten-years-old still felt deathly afraid of heading up to the cashier and risking being recognized, he supposed he should try to be more positive. Kaede is his Guardian Angel – they are not supposed to lead their mortals wrong, right?

He wasn't really sure what was fueling his courage to move that step forward in the line. It could be that he thought if he couldn't trust Kaede, he could at least trust someone up there who sent Kaede down – that that someone believed Kaede could lead her ward well. It could also be that he felt resigned that the pink-eyed girl wouldn't let him escape anyway, so he might as well face it… Or, he might have actually believed her words.

Tsuna had always been afraid – afraid of failing, of being mocked, of being kicked and punched, of being ridiculed, of his lunch being taken again, of his new hiding spot being discovered, of even going up to a cashier, of his Kaa-san thinking him too useless one day and discarding him like an old toy… He is afraid of many, many things. Not just those of course – spiders, height, violence… He was always such a coward. Kids his age reveled swinging high and higher on the swings, or playing rough in the sandbox.

Tsuna was different, and everyone mocked him for being so, all except his mother who just accepted it like it was a course of nature. Like it was life.

In truth, what was so bad about shying away from violence and height and spiders? Why did he had to like pushing and pulling at others at the playground? Why was it that those who possessed lesser smarts and vigour in school are mocked? He asked himself those a thousand times before – but the answer he gave himself had always been a resigned 'I'm No-good Tsuna, that's why'.

Stepping forward, his orange-tinted eyes met the cashier's as his basket was pushed forward on the conveyor belt, as if daring her to recognize him. To say anything at all. His shaking hands handed over the membership card.

The woman's mouth opened, then closed.

It wasn't that he felt confident. No, not really. It was really the opposite. But he felt as if it was unfair. None of that No-good Tsuna spiel he convinced himself of came to his mind – and the boy just felt pure determination at wanting to complete this task. To do something for his ditzy mother. To be more active. To stop hiding. Why did he had to hide? Why didn't the others have to hide? Just because playing soccer is more widely socially acceptable than hiding away and playing video games, the ones doing the latter had to make an effort to hide? That sounded stupid. It just seemed stupid and childish.

After the groceries were bagged, Tsuna passed over the exact amount of money (for once, not fiddling and dropping the loose coins all over), and took the purchases outside. The liquid something was still flowing through his veins, making it hard for him to think through the haze of why what did I do to deserve that what is wrong with all of them –

A small hand grabbed his wrist gently, and he snapped around, surprised. The haze of borderline angry, indignant thoughts filtered away slowly, and he blinked slowly, as if getting accustomed to sight again.

"That's enough, Tsuna," Kaede smiled kindly at him, "well done."

He startled, and looked down at the bags of purchases in his hands. Oh. Oh. He had done it.

"Oh," he said softly. It wasn't such a huge achievement when he thought back on it years later, but now, at ten-years-old, it seemed so big and oh my god I DID IT

A toothy grin spread on Kaede's face as she slung an arm over his neck, noogling him. Tsuna let out an undignified yelp, struggling not to drop the bags.

"Congratulations on your reinforcement of your vertebrae! You deserve reward, my ol' friend!" He thought fondly that they only knew each other for weeks – but who was he to reject sweets?

"Cake?" He asked, to which the answer was a bright grin.

"You bet!"


Dear diary,

Today, I pushed Tsuna to pay for the groceries. He seem to have some trouble talking to strangers – but why should he? He's a delightful person, and anyone who don't see so are blind. He has the potential to be so much more… It's hard working on his bad habits and even harder working on his sense of self-worth, but I think I had a breakthrough today.

I could see Soul Fire in his eyes.

That's brilliant news, and to top it off, I think it was orange. It might be a trick of the light though, what with human eyes being less powerful. But I believe in my Tsuna. He could be the very best! Like that Pokemon series that's all the rage nowadays, hehe.

I think I got him to question why he felt so much lesser than others. This may improve him if he reaches a favourable answer, and I'm hopeful! Just a bit more, and he'll reach it…

The higher-ups don't seem to realise that I have breached the rules, and that's the way it should remain. Once found, what would they do? Hm, I don't really know…but I'll stick by what I'm doing now. Coddling doesn't work for Tsuna. I know it. He's one who must survive through trial after trial. Well, after he managed to actually face it head-on. But he can do it, he's a good boy.

The best way this can turn out is that nobody finds out, and I get to fulfill my duties and go back. But who knows? As long as I can help him…

By the Gods, he looks so much like Ieyasu, diary.

Kaede


A/N: So I've been in a stump as to what to write for this, but now I've got an ending in mind, and an actual plot. As well as some character development, which hopefully shows through. Sorry for overdramatizing an experience such as going up to a cashier! It might not seem realistic, but well, I'm not really headed towards the realistic route now anyway. (shrugs hahaha) It is possible to get anxious over having to pay for groceries and generally having contact with strangers though.

Hope you liked this chapter! Please tell me what you thought of it.