Title: Ardent

Summary: Reborn hadn't thought that finding a small human child outside in the cold during his daily prowls for food would lead him to take the child home and nurture him. It was a strange thing, him being a demon that eats beings like this child. So what made him do such a thing in the first place? Demon!Reborn

Pairing: Eventual R27

Rating: M

A/N: Finally an update for those that have been waiting!

Edit: Just something I forgot to add to this document. I wasn't able to do this until after work. My bad. I'll leave the details at the bottom

Beat'ed by WhiteAngel128 Ankou13

Chapter 2

Reborn sneered angrily as he peered down at a house from another rooftop, his body completely hidden from any wandering eyes. He had been trying to break into one particular house for hours, attempting to bypass the magical barrier that had been placed around the building. His demonic powers were useless and simply bounced back as if nothing had happened. He sneered again, glaring at the building in frustration. He needed to get inside, to get the person who was purposely hiding within. This one person had been an annoyance to him for the past three months, following him until Reborn had been forced to vanish to prevent exposing his identity. However, despite the lack of a trail the demon left behind, it wouldn't be long before the exorcist found one of his resting places and gather evidence against him to call in everyone else. One he could handle, but multiple could be quite troublesome even with his abilities.

Still, he couldn't do anything for the time being, not while those barriers were up. He could only wait until the person came out into the open, but even that made things difficult. If an exorcist died unusually and word got out, it would no doubt give his presence away. Growling, he glanced around the house's surroundings, seeing if he could use something in the area to help him break through. It was only then that he noticed the city he was currently residing in. 'Is this… Namimori?' His mind went through the various times he had been here until it came to a child, a small child he had once met and let go after finding out his identify. 'That's right, the child…'

Grinning as a thought crossed his mind, he spun around to find the little brunet. It had been two years since their first meeting and now was as grand a time as any to have the child pay him back. It was perfect – his plan. And even if the child somehow managed to screw up, everything would fall into place. 'Now, to find him…' He was tempted to sigh at the thought of running across the entire town, but at least he remembered where the child lived. Heading towards that very direction, his mind began to wander as he jumped from one building to the other, keeping himself invisible. 'Hmm, if he was five then, he'll be seven now. I wonder how much that child has grown.'

Tsuna sighed heavily to himself, hiding behind various buildings and closed-off areas to keep himself out of sight. He couldn't allow himself to be found, not unless he wanted to suffer for the rest of the day. It was during these times that he absolutely hated his life and most of all, he hated school. However, the reason Tsuna hated school differed from what other children typically disliked it for. Everyone there was cruel to him and there was only one reason as to why: his brother. His older brother hated him dearly and made sure that the rest of the school tormented him in return. Everything was orchestrated by him to just make his life as miserable as possible. Tsuna sniffed softly as he hid deeper in the darkness to let his bullies pass by, burying himself behind bushes so that no one would be able to spot his clothes. It was a good hiding spot, he'd admit to himself.

It was at the fences of a house where a long string of thick bushes went down in a line. The leaves were so green that no other color could show through and the bushes were cut in a way that from the ground up that there was no space in-between. Tsuna had been running from his bullies one day a year ago when he stumbled across this place, slipping through a small crack within the line of bushes. This hiding spot had saved him multiple times in the past year, keeping him safe from excessive abuse he would have suffered if found. Suddenly, he heard multiple footsteps and went quiet, pulling himself together as a tight ball.

"Looks like Dame-Tsuna is gone," One of his bullies grumbled, walking by. Tsuna could see the feet clearly from the other side, watching everything that was going on carefully. He kept still, not wanting to give himself away. "He must have left early to prevent us from getting to him."

"He's getting smarter. Well whatever, we'll just have to pay him back twice as much tomorrow," The other member of the group grinned menacingly and Tsuna flinched, hiding further in his hiding spot. He wanted to cry, but knew that if he did, it would give him away. All he could do was remain still. "How are you even related to that idiot, Tsuya?"

"I have no clue. I wish he wasn't my brother. It would have made things so much easier." Tsuya, Tsuna's older brother, grumbled under his breath as he followed the other two bullies away. There was a flash of sadness and disappointment in Tsuya's eyes. He apparently hadn't been able to see his brother's terrified expression, something that always seemed to cheer him up after a bad day. Still, it wouldn't matter much. He could see it at home when he managed to trap his little brother in his room where there was no escape and their own mother would do nothing to stop it. He grinned and Tsuna saw it from his spot, shivering at the sight.

The brunet didn't want to go home now, not after seeing that. It wasn't hard to tell what his brother was thinking. In the end, Tsuna continued to hide, waiting for the coast to be clear before attempting to leave. He absolutely hated his brother. It hadn't been like that at the beginning. At first he had loved and adored him like any other sibling, but now, after so many years, that was gone. There was no love, no care, nothing but emptiness that was quickly filled with hatred.

It wasn't fair that Tsuya had the smarts and the looks, allowing him to become one of the most popular students in the school within days. His brother even had the same color of hair as Tsuna, well used to. Tsuya later had it dyed blond with Mama's consent, not wanting to get mixed up as his younger brother. He didn't want to be associated with Tsuna. However, due to a mess-up by the stylist, his hair ended up retaining the brown but acquired blond tips – something his older brother had taken a liking to immediately. The effect it left behind at school was welcoming since his popularity only grew further.

Sniffing, Tsuna glanced up at the sky to see how late it was before finally crawling out of his spot. He had been hiding in that one spot for around an hour, refusing to move until he was certain that there was no one around. The sun was just starting to head downwards, but its light was radiant enough to continuously brighten the day with little effect lost. Tsuna peered out the bushes, shuffling out carefully. It was safe now and he slowly began his trek towards home, not really wanting to head back since he knew what was waiting for him. He didn't want to, but it was the only place he could go. As he went further down the street, hiding behind people or objects whenever he saw someone from his school, he ignored the glaring from the people of the town. Everyone knew about him: Dame-Tsuna. Tsuna ignored it and continued on despite it being a slow process. However, as he turned right to make it down another street, he suddenly ducked back around in fear.

His brother was waiting right in front of the house along with those two bullies from before. It was clear that he hadn't come home yet so they wanted to surprise him upon his arrival. It was too obvious. Tsuna sighed heavily and turned away, heading towards another direction since home was out of the question. If he was going to be tormented, he'd rather it be one person than three. There would less punches and kicks to take into consideration. In the end, he aimlessly wandered around in the streets before heading towards a park that wasn't too far away from the house, hoping that it was devoid of people. Conversely, a sharp sound echoed from behind, startling him enough to make him jump.

"Tsuna," A dark voice called out following the snap of a heel, earning a loud terrified squeak from the child. The little brunet spun around quickly, enough to make his bangs slap the side of his face, and stared up at the figure with a frightened expression. He hoped that it wasn't his brother who had followed him and swallowed in fear as he focused on the person. However, it only took a moment for the child to be able to identify who it was and the second he did, he broke out into a wide smile as happiness flashed through his appearance.

"Reborn!" Tsuna ran forward towards the demon, stopping in front of the adult just before he crashed into the other. It was clear the child had every intention to wrap his arms around the other, only holding back because he didn't know how the demon would react. "You're back! I thought I would never see you again!"

The demon hadn't changed much, not at all, besides the clothes. Instead of the usual suit he wore the last time Tsuna saw him, Reborn was only wearing a yellow button-up long sleeve shirt with a loose pair of slacks. Amazingly, the fedora was gone, leaving Reborn's black hair to reveal its spikiness and nothing to hide his sharp gaze. The child, however, had obviously aged by two years during that time. The demon could tell the boy had grown a few inches in height and the hair had become longer, almost to the shoulder. There was a dark shadow underneath the eyes, probably from lack of sleep, and a thinness where it looked like the child had been starved. Regardless of these years that had taken its toll on the boy, that friendly personality remained exactly the same. Reborn noticed a few bruises here and there on those tiny arms, but paid no attention to that. He had come here for one thing only. "I'm here on business."

Blinking, Tsuna tilted his head as he tried to understand. "Business?"

Leaning down, the demon got onto one knee so that he could be at head level with Tsuna and momentarily glanced around the area, watching out for any curious eyes. A few people turned their way as they walked by, but no one cared that a stranger was with a child. Everyone knew who Tsuna was, everyone knew how useless he was, and everyone hated him. It was quite sad, but convenient at the same time for the demon. The words spoken between Tsuya and the bullies when he had arrived earlier alerted him to such. Reborn had hoped the child would be home for easy access, but after seeing that, it wasn't possible. And so he waited outside as he listened to the conversation before eventually spotting Tsuna in the distance. "Yes, business. There's a building I need to get into, however, there's a barrier surrounding it that prevents me from entering and getting to the person hiding inside."

"A barrier?"

"Yes, a barrier. What I need you to do is to go inside and steal an item to break it. That's it."

Tsuna continued to stare, not completely understanding what Reborn was asking him to do. Still, he would follow the instructions regardless. "You want me to… break it? Isn't that bad?"

The demon was tempted to roll his eyes, but resisted. It was a normal child-like question. He couldn't get mad about something like that. "Yes, but I need you to do it. It's the only way I can get into the building and punish the bad people inside. That barrier stops someone like me, a demon, from entering, but since you're human, it won't affect you."

"Oh," It was clear the child didn't understand much, looking at the other in confusion. Still, for the brunet, the demon had been the one who had helped him a long time ago. He couldn't say no even if he wanted to, and he didn't. He wanted to help Reborn - he wanted to make Reborn proud of him. "Okay!"

The demon smirked; the child was useful just as he had hoped. Leaning over, he lifted the boy up into his arms with ease and rotated around, heading back towards the house. Tsuna didn't mind being carried, enjoying this little moment, and wrapped his arms around the adult happily. It was probably a first in a long time that he had been treated in such a way, and he drank in this small happiness. Still, there was quite a way before Reborn made it back to his destination, especially considering he couldn't easily slip out of view with a child in his arms in the daylight. Just by himself, he could blend in effortlessly despite his handsome appearance. Tsuna just smiled along quietly, not minding, with his backpack attached to his back.

"Hey, Reborn?" The child suddenly spoke up, staring at the demon as he pulled away from the grasp. "Will you be leaving me after this? Will I see you ever again?"

The demon just shrugged his shoulders and ignored the various stares. "Who knows. If you do well enough, I might come back to ask you for something again."

"Okay! Then I'll do my very best! But…" Tsuna trailed off as he thought over the entire thing. "What am I supposed to do exactly?"

Reborn shook his head momentarily before repeating the information in more detail once more. "There's an item inside the house that's creating a barrier around it. I'm certain that it's a cross of some sort or some holy artifact. You can't miss it. If you take down that item and destroy it, the barrier disappears. However, the tough part is that there's someone inside who you'll need to get past first." Reborn went down the streets, no one looking at the two for a second time. Some lingered on him, taking in his features, before turning away the moment they saw Tsuna. "You'll have to lie to get inside. If you get found out, you'll be in big trouble since I won't be able to help you until after the item is destroyed. Can you do that?"

There was some hesitation within Tsuna's eyes, but the brunet nodded. He didn't care if it was considered bad by society. "I-I'll do my best!"

"Oh? That's good," Reborn shook his head, ignoring the blunt stares towards his direction, most of them aimed directly at Tsuna. A few kids went by and he felt the brunet in his arms tightening his hold against him for protection. It was obvious by the glares Tsuna received from them that they were people who bullied the child as well, able to smell the fear radiating off the boy as he cowered against him. Tsuna was safe in Reborn's grasp and despite knowing this, it wasn't now that the brunet was afraid of, it was the future meetings. "Have you always been bullied?"

Tsuna didn't answer at first as he bit down onto his bottom lip before nodding his head. He didn't speak any further on the subject, not wanting to dive any further into his problems. Of course, Reborn didn't either and continued to move down the street. It would take a while to get to the house and the silence wasn't welcoming between the two. Tsuna eventually shifted in the grasp to peer up at the other curiously. "Ne, Reborn, where have you been these two years?"

"Hm?" The demon glanced over. "Around. You know, working, eating, and all that. Not really interesting to talk about."

"But I'm interested."

Reborn snorted. "Then perhaps another time. Right now, I'd like to get this little problem of mine taken care of." His fingers dug gently into the boy's body, clearly able to feel the boniness underneath the skin. The kid definitely needed a good meal, but it wasn't his problem. He was just using the boy after all.

Tsuna stared up at the door, his finger pressing gently onto the doorbell beside it, and waited for the response that would come soon after. He shuffled his feet gently, swallowing as he went over Reborn's plot and words. All he needed to do was follow the plan and say these words exactly in order to get through. Of course, he needed to put on a scared act, which he already held due to being fearful of the priest's response. Tsuna glanced behind to see if he could spot Reborn anywhere, but the demon was out of sight, unable to be sensed or spotted.

As he peered carefully over his surroundings, footsteps were heard from behind the door, snapping Tsuna's mind straight to the frame. There was some shuffling on the other side, he was able to tell that there were some eyes on him immediately, and then the lock was undone. The door swung open and the man stood before him almost imposingly. Tsuna flinched at the sudden swing, tears beginning to form into his eyes, and sniffled gently. He didn't want to cry, but Reborn had told him to, though it seemed easier now that he was scared. "U-Um…"

"Ah, child, what are you doing here?"

Tsuna swallowed again, trying to form the words at the tip of his tongue. "W-Well…" He stuttered in fear, glancing back for a moment before turning back to the priest. "I-I saw a monster out-outside."

The priest immediately kneeled down, listening closely to the child's words. At the mentioning of 'monster', it was clear Tsuna had the person's full attention. "Monster?"

"Y-Yeah, it was really dark and everything. A-And it saw me for a moment…"

"Oh!" The exorcist glanced around the surroundings before shuffling the child inside, closing the door behind. He peeked through the eyehole, trying to see if there was anything hiding just outside in the shadows. The protection around his home would prevent anything from getting within, assuring himself that it was safe for the time being. "And what happened afterwards?"

Tsuna fluttered, glancing around the insides of the corridor. "W-Well, it chased me. But when I got within this place, it stopped following me. It couldn't come in so I wanted to hide until it was gone. C-Could you please let me stay here? I'm scared!"

"You poor child. Yes, you can definitely hide here until it's safe to head home. Where are your parents, boy? Perhaps it'll be safe to call them so at least they know where you're at."

"My parents…" Tsuna bit down on his bottom lip, refusing to give out any information of his family. Reborn had told him not to and he didn't want to disobey. The priest took it a different way, sighing. To him, he had found an orphan.

"Child, did you by chance make a deal with the demon? Or did this demon mention anything about making a deal?" The priest spoke, looking over the boy carefully. He was pulling at the clothes, looking for a marking that would identify the contract between the two. Tsuna just tilted his head and blinked before shaking his head in confusion. He didn't understand what the older man meant by deal. "So you didn't. That's a relief."

Tsuna glanced around the room, suddenly focusing his attention on a single object that was towards the back of the room. He knew it instantly the moment he saw it, the way it stood out from the rest of the items. It was the one he was supposed to grab for Reborn, but the priest was in his way and there was no doubt in his child-like mind that he would get caught even before grabbing hold of it.

The priest remained close by, looking out the window where he knew the demon was waiting on the other side of the barrier. He couldn't allow the child to leave without some sort of protection, the boy knew nothing about who the person outside really was. The child probably believed that the so-called adult was just messing with him. "What's your name, child?"

The brunet blinked curiously before answering, saying the identity Reborn had told him to give. "Yoshi."

"Alright, Yoshi, I need you to stay here while I get some items to help us. When you see that demon outside, you can't make a deal with it, you hear me?"

"What's a deal?"

The priest sighed and continued, knowing he had better explain it out before the demon tricked the child into doing something he shouldn't. "A deal is where he does something for you and you do something in return. For him, he'll do whatever you wish as long as you pay a price," The priest tightened his grip on the boy, knowing he had Tsuna's attention. "It sounds nice, but it's really not. You get your deepest wish granted at the cost of your life. It's a horrible thing to do."

Tsuna just tilted his head curiously, not entirely understanding everything, but nodded to go along. He would have to ask Reborn about the deal thing later on when this was all done. As he thought that, the priest stood up to move away, heading into the upstairs to grab whatever was needed to fight against the demon. There was a small mutter of 'don't move' from the adult, but the brunet knew he wouldn't be obeying it. Tsuna kept quiet, listening carefully before quickly moving, grabbing the nearby chair to move it towards the barrier item. Immediately, he hopped on top and grabbed the cross before throwing it to the ground. It shattered loudly and once the sound echoed throughout the entire house, there were footsteps rushing down those stairs. The priest ran in, looking frantic and paused to stare at the scene before him. He stared at the child on the chair who was slowly getting down, then to his broken item on the floor, the barrier vanishing within seconds.

"W-What have you done?" The priest yelled out in shock, unable to comprehend what was below on the floor. He couldn't believe his eyes, it was impossible. The child had broken the only thing that was preventing the demon outside from entering. He rushed forward and kneeled down, shaking the child on the shoulders. "Why? Why did you do that?!" There was a frantic echo in his voice as he spoke, fear rising up from within. Tsuna yelped slightly from the roughness and grumbled under his breath from the pain, tearing up as the fingers dug into sore spots where the bruises were.

"L-Let go of me! You're hurting me!" The brunet cried out, struggling out of the grasp. He huffed angrily before finally breaking away, tears welling up in his eyes to the point of breaking.

The priest looked a little shocked at the sight before him, not expecting the boy to cry. "Wha…"

Tsuna spun out of the grasp before running off, heading towards the back of the house where he remembered seeing a door. He needed to escape as quickly as possible before something bad happened. Reborn had warned him about that. As his tiny feet skirted across the room, he could hear the man behind following in loud shouts, wanting to catch him. A small reminder appeared in his mind from Reborn about himself getting hurt. Still, he was proud of himself of being able to accomplish something like this despite it being a little odd. Tsuna yelped when the priest suddenly caught up with him and grabbed the back of his shirt, lifting him up above his head. He was dangling, just centimeters away from being choked by his own clothes, and Tsuna gulped as he felt a rolling aura of rage behind him.

"You poor little brat," The man spoke, tossing the child to the side, watching as the boy slid across the ground. There were skid marks on the pale skin, but nothing was broken. He grumbled under his breath as he peered down at the boy and pulled out his bible from behind his back. "I'll bless you so that you can't be controlled by that demon any longer. He must have done something to you for you to do this."

"Eh?" Tsuna shuffled back, watching as the exorcist quickly spoke a prayer in words the child didn't understand. He didn't stay long to listen though and tried to stand up, running once more. He needed to make it out the front door. It was only there that he would be able to meet up with Reborn, his savior. The exorcist behind continued his prayer, following the child, but within moments, he noticed that nothing was happening. Tsuna wasn't being controlled - he was doing this of his own will. The man sneered and quickened his pace, trying to catch the boy now in order to punish him and show him the true ways of grace.

"Boy, get back here!"

"No! Leave me alone!" Tsuna continued to run, just reaching the front door and unlocking it. However, just as he turned the knob to get out and reach the outside, a hand grasped the back of the collar of his shirt and yanked him back again – hard. "Eek!" He flew back, landing on his side painfully and sniffed as tears began to fall down his cheeks at the pain. The priest stood there, face filled with fury and held his bible in one hand, threatening to beat the child senseless. Tsuna shuffled away, wanting to escape once more, but felt a sharp pain at his side where he had fallen and where another bruise laid. Tears continued to fall and he reached up to rub his eyes, trying another tactic Reborn had taught him.

"If you are to get caught, cry. Any good-natured person would hesitate to harm you."

And cry Tsuna did.

The priest immediately hesitated upon seeing those tears, his hand raised up just when he was going to slap the child. He ground his teeth together as he pondered over the idea of harming the child, but couldn't bring himself to do such a thing, not to someone who wasn't possessed.

"You did well, Tsuna," Reborn commented as the front door swung open, stepping inside as if he owned the place with his hands within his pant pockets. His cruel smirk rose up on his lips, staring over the scene in amusement. "Very well, actually. I might give you a reward for doing this for me."

Tsuna immediately brightened up as if he hadn't been crying moments before, smiling happily, and jumped up onto his feet as he rushed towards his savior. "Reborn!" He felt as the demon reached down, rubbing his forehead affectionately, and felt those warm fingers tracing through his hair. Tsuna closed his eyes, enjoying the rare sensation, and pushed himself closer in an effort to gain more.

The demon chuckled in amusement before finally pulling back, smirking at the pout that was returned. "You should leave, Tsuna. Just stay outside and remain there until I'm finished." Tsuna immediately nodded and rushed off, heading out the front door as it closed behind him. This left the exorcist and the demon on their own, sealed into a small setting. Reborn smirked sinisterly as he looked over the fearful human. "Now, to take care of you, permanently."

"Tsuna," Reborn spoke as he stepped out of the house, dusting off his hands against his pants, and looked like nothing had happened. He was a little surprised that the child was still outside the house, waiting for him after knowing he had killed someone. Of course, he had done it in a way to produce the least amount of suspicion from the other exorcists. Tsuna stood at the gate, staring at the other curiously before running forward to grasp onto Reborn's leg as if there was nothing wrong. The demon stared down at the child curiously. "You're not scared?"

Tsuna took that moment to look up. "Scared?"

The demon shook his head, not going further into the subject, and reached down to lift the child up into his arms. He stepped out through the gate, no one nearby, and continued down the pathway back towards the shopping district. "Never mind." He felt the child tilt his head in question before going back to clinging to him happily. His dark eyes drifted over the entire form and lifted up the shirt slightly to see the various spots where the boy had fallen. There lay a giant bruise, dark in color, it must have been there before the incident with the priest. Reborn narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight of it. "I take it this was from a bully."

Tsuna flinched but nodded his head. "Yeah…"

"Hmm," Reborn let go, covering up the spot. "Since you did such a good job, I'll treat you. How about some food? And you can head back to my place to get your wounds treated and spend the night there. I know your brother is waiting for you at home."

"Really? You mean that?" The brunet's eyes brightened so quickly, smiling from one corner of his face to the other. "I would really like that! Thank you so much, Reborn!"

"It's fine, it's the least I could do after freeing up my schedule."

Tsuna simply continued to smile and Reborn almost returned it, but he resisted. He couldn't smile, not at someone he hardly knew. Still, he pet the brunet over the head as his small show of affection. It was odd how this child reacted with him. It had been a while since he'd gotten this close with anyone besides his own kind. Well, at least he had an excuse to come back to Namimori from now on.

Well, here's a start at least, right?

Also, this was the chapter that had been in the thumb drive that was lost which needed to be rewritten. Hopefully it turned out alright beside what happened.

And before I forget, I have a tumblr page (go to my profile to see the link) where you can see what chapters I'm currently working on.