A/N

(This is a re-upload just to say that I got some comments on Byakuran's hair color, and my defense is the colored image of his as a teenager during the Curse of the Rainbow arc showed him with purple, not white, hair. I wanted to do the present versions of the Millefiore rather than the future ones. No content has been changed)

I hope you guys had a good break or holiday and HAPPY 2014! I hope I'm not the only one who will be writing the date wrong for a while... I guess this is a little late, but, in my defense, holidays, brother's girlfriend, monopoly, my friends, and little sisters make it harder to hide away for hours to write. That and the snow... I've said it before, but I love that stuff, powdery or otherwise. In other news, I'm trying something out because a certain reviewer mentioned how short the chapters were. So instead of giving you individual chapters, I'm going to combine two at a time (don't let it be said that I don't listen to you guys!). We'll see how this goes! I do a lot of thinking in Tsuna's part in this chapter (kinda boring), but remember he doesn't really know what's going on so he does have to think even the simplest of things through. I didn't really like the way I shoved it all in this chapter, but I think I hit all the basics so this should be the end of it. Enjoy the chapter!

Sadistic soldier: Thank you so much! I swear that made my day when I saw that review! For the record (and maybe I should put it in the description) this is a GEN!Fic (family/friend only). Hope you like the chapter!

DISCLAIMER: It was never revealed if Mammon/Viper was male or female, so I don't own it.

8.

Tsuna looked around at his lunch mates and couldn't help but notice something: their suits were colored. Tsuna's was still a boring gray, but Mukuro and Chrome both had indigo on their uniforms. M.M., Ken, and Ryohei all had yellow decorating their clothes; Chikusa and Yamamoto had blue on their uniforms. Even Lambo had green at various points on his suit; he also had some sort of cow print belt, but Tsuna saw that as a personal preference. And now that he thought about it, Hibari had had purple coloring to his uniform, too! Looking around, everyone seemed to have color on their uniforms. All except him.

Seeing Tsuna frown a bit, Yamamoto asked, "What's up, Tsuna?"

"The color," Tsuna mumbled. Yamamoto looked at him with a confused expression. "Why is mine still gray while the rest of you have color?"

Yamamoto thought for a moment. "Ha ha, that's easy!" he said, the answer coming to him. "Ours changed color when we lit our Flames. And since you haven't lit yours yet, it doesn't know what color to give you. Speaking of which, what color are you?"

Tsuna cringed a little as he was reminded it was just one more thing that set him apart from everyone else. Focusing on Yamamoto's question, Tsuna thought hard. "Well, it's the same as the one we had for the entrance exam, right?" He received a nod. "Well, then, I guess all of them."

Yamamoto nearly dropped his fork in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I managed to light all of them," Tsuna said, shrugging. Suddenly feeling everyone's eyes on him in disbelief, embarrassment came over him and he quickly backtracked, "But my brightest one was the orange." It seemed to pacify everyone – no one really surprised due to the flare of orange in his eyes – but there was still a burning question on the tip of their tongues: how can someone be compatible with all Flames?

Lunch ended without further incident, but his lunch mates still snuck looks at him when they thought he wasn't looking; Tsuna had noticed but didn't say anything because he understood their curiosity. He, however, did not catch just how curious he was to the others. They split to go to their respective halls, promising to meet back up for dinner.

Tsuna realized he now had to face his fellow classmates as the Exception. This is not going to end well. At all, Tsuna despaired. He walked through the arch again, once more feeling a tingle, and took in the room. In the large clearing before the mosaic five other students milled around aimlessly, waiting for something. As Tsuna fully stepped into the room, all eyes fell on him before flicking away, obviously not who they were expecting. So, upon being ignored, Tsuna also began to look around. There was one rather official-looking door right below the mosaic, but that had an astounding seven locks holding it shut. Deciding to leave that alone, Tsuna also noticed a door on either wall. He pushed one open just a little bit, finding it unlocked, and stood facing a large, sound-proofed room. It was huge, as though it was built for elephant fights. And from the reinforcement Tsuna could see, it looked sturdy enough for it. Not really wanting to know what that was for, he closed the door and crossed the room to the other side. Unfortunately, he tripped. On air. Into another student.

Tsuna went down, taking the blond individual down with him. As soon as he realized he'd landed on someone, he jumped up, babbling apologies. The boy merely laughed, rubbing the back of his head that had hit the floor. "Don't worry about it," he laughed. "I'm just glad I'm not the only clumsy one here!"

Tsuna couldn't help but sigh in relief that the student hadn't exploded at him. Helping the boy onto his feet, Tsuna introduced himself, "My name's Sawada Tsunayoshi. Friends know me as Tsuna."

The boy nodded, returning the favor, "Dino Chiavarone. Just call me Dino."

Tsuna felt a little put out to be calling the boy by his family name* after calling everyone so far by their first name, but if that was what he wanted, Tsuna would comply. Dino, as if reading the boy's mind, quickly fixed the confusion, "Gah, I forgot! I'm Italian, so my name comes first and my family name is last. There are quite a few of us here, but I assume you're Japanese. Don't worry, I'm not trying to add unnecessary formality." Dino smiled at Tsuna and Tsuna returned the smile, glad to have made another friend.

"So you're the student whose Flame didn't show?" Dino asked. Tsuna nodded warily, wondering if everything was about to go downhill. "Hm, well that's pretty unlucky. I hope you manage to light it soon." Tsuna blinked in surprise at the lack of rejection.

"Wait, you don't care they made an exception?" Tsuna asked, not believing his ears.

"Nope," Dino said. "I've known Reborn for a while, so if he's says you're good, then you're good. It's a weird circumstance, but I'm sure everything will be fine."

Staring in awe at the strange boy, Tsuna didn't see the smile on Dino's face widen until he was pulled down into a hug with Dino's arm around his neck. "AH! I know!" the boy said excitedly, his eyes lighting up a bit, "I'll make you my little brother! You've been chosen by Reborn as well, so think of me like your older brother. I'll help you out where he helped me!"

Unable to resist the boy's enthusiasm, Tsuna nodded along with it. Two older brothers where before there were none, Tsuna thought with a slightly wistful grin, not too bad for Dame-Tsuna. Freeing his head from Dino's grasp, he waved good-bye and went to explore the other door. This one opened onto a classroom setting and Tsuna couldn't help but sigh. Well, it is a school after all, he thought ruefully. Closing the door, he heard a student behind him yell out, "Where's that trash teacher?"

No one bothered to answer him, wondering the same thing. "Well, if the trash doesn't show in five, I'm leaving," the boy growled. Tsuna finally had chance to take a good look at his classmates. The boy who was speaking had olive skin and black hair. He had stitched feathers onto the collar of his suit and currently wore it with the jacket hanging on his shoulders. His shirt was open at the top and the tie had probably been thrown away. His face was horribly scarred; from what, Tsuna didn't want to know. His eyes had a reddish tint, a menacing scowl on his face that had Tsuna quickly focusing elsewhere.

Tsuna was already familiar with Dino, but looked a little closer. The boy had tattoos lining his arms, visible at the wrists and collarbone. He had unbuttoned the top of his shirt and lost the tie somewhere, but at least he was wearing the suit jacket properly. He was overall a good-looking guy, a subdued power hidden under his jacket. Tsuna would bet more than one woman had been enchanted by those brown eyes; they were a curious mix of adult maturity and a more subtle playful spark of childishness.

Another student was relaxing against a wall, his hair purple and a spiky, three-triangle tattoo sitting under one eye. His mouth was currently grinning and his eyes were closed, obviously enjoying the marshmallows he kept popping into his mouth. As if feeling Tsuna looking at him, he opened his eyes and looked at the boy, revealing violet irises. Tsuna had an odd feeling as he looked at the boy, another present from whatever kept giving him these sensations. The boy gave a cheerful wave and went back to his marshmallows. Feeling self-conscious at being caught, Tsuna turned to the next student and the only girl in the room.

She reminded him of Luce and Aria. Now that Tsuna thought about it, Aria could be old enough to have a daughter about that age. Putting that thought in the back of his mind, he took in her big blue eyes and the orange flower tattoo sitting under her eye. She had the same short, dark green hair that Aria had. That and the tattoo all but confirmed his suspicions. There was a sense of charisma about her that Tsuna respected, but there was something more than that to this feeling of respect towards her. It was a similar feeling he'd had when looking at the purple-haired boy. Taking note of these vague hunches, Tsuna turned to the final student.

Tsuna was sure he would've missed him if he hadn't been looking for him. The student had cherry red hair and was currently sitting in a corner, trying not to attract attention. He had several bandages on his face. Tsuna was wondering what could have caused those when he saw the student stand up and stretch his legs. The student was in the middle of stretching when he lost his balance and crashed to the floor. Ah, thought Tsuna with a smile, same as Dino and I. But there was something about him. The same something that both the girl and the purple-haired boy had had. It was going to be his next mission to figure out what exactly these feelings were trying to say.

Observing the student, he noticed that the boy had the orange on his uniform that confirmed him a student of the class. Tsuna noticed that every place that the boy had orange, Tsuna had gray. It at least made sense now. The gray would turn into orange when he finally managed to release his Flame. That was another thing. Why was Flame given so much emphasis? Was it that weird light Tsuna managed to make come out of the rings? It was a lot like the Dying Will Reborn had talked about when they'd first met. They all seemed to have a second meaning.

Tsuna put that to the back of his mind for the moment, cramming it in there with everything else. Turning his attention back to the student, who was now also looking around the room, Tsuna nearly fell over in surprise when he saw his eyes. They were red; that was strange enough. But his pupils! That's not normal! They were shaped like a compass with an open circle in the middle and four spokes going out in the four cardinal directions.

Before Tsuna could be caught staring, heels clicked into the room. Luce had appeared with Aria. Judging by the scarred boy's reaction, he'd been just about to leave when they'd walked in. Luce smiled warmly at all of us before saying, "Welcome to the Sky Class!" She seemed to pause for dramatic effect, but nothing happened so she just continued. "Because there was a problem in another sector, I was late. We'll just quickly introduce ourselves and then you're free to go. I'll begin. My name's Luce Giglio Nero. I am Italian. I'm also the former boss of the Giglio Nero and the current head teacher of the school."

Aria stepped up next, "I am Aria Giglio Nero and Luce's daughter. I am also Italian and the current boss of the Giglio Nero Famiglia. I am serving as my mother's teaching aide in my spare time."

There was silence as none of the students spoke. Finally, the purple-haired boy stepped forward, "I'm Byakuran Gesso~. I am Italian and will be the boss of the Gesso Famiglia when my father steps down. I love marshmallows~." As if to make a point, he grabbed another bag from underneath his suit jacket and ripped it open, putting yet another of the sugary treat in his mouth.

Dino cleared his throat and went next, "I'm Dino Chiavarone and I currently hold the position as leader of the Chiavarone Famiglia. I am Italian and have known Reborn," at the name there was a small wince, "for quite a few years."

The boy with the scarred face followed, "Listen up, trash. I'm Xanxus. I'm Italian. My old man's the leader of the Vongola, but I plan on taking over the assassination squad rather than the trash Famiglia. Don't get in my way here or you'll regret it." Tsuna made a mental note to never cross the guy. He didn't seem bad per se, but definitely dangerous…

The girl who looked like Aria spoke after, "My name's Yuni Giglio Nero. My mother is Aria and I am Italian." That confirmed Tsuna's suspicions and he almost had to laugh. Three generations in the same school was practically unheard of! And Luce really didn't look like a grandmother… Whatever was with the family, they had amazing anti-aging genes.

Tsuna, noting it was only him and the other boy left, spoke up, "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but my friends call me Tsuna. I am Japanese. My Flame is unclassified." He winced at his last words, waiting for the protests to start up, but no one said anything. There were a couple of curious looks exchanged, but there didn't seem to be any sign of imminent danger. Tsuna took it as a good sign.

The boy with strange eyes spoke last. He mumbled something. "Please speak up, dear," said Luce encouragingly.

This time the reply was audible, "I'm Enma Kozato. I'm Italian and am part of the Shimon Famiglia." At this, a huge intake of breath was heard and the other students looked at each other in surprise. Why is that so weird to be part of the Shimon… Famiglia? Wait a second…

Tsuna's mouth spoke before he considered what he was saying, "What's a Famiglia? Everyone keeps talking about them, but I still don't know what they are."

Dead silence followed the question, disbelief gracing everyone's features. Luce was the first to recover, "Tsuna, dear, what do you think this place is?" Don't tell me…

"A school. I wasn't any good at my old school, but then Reborn showed up and I apparently passed the entrance exam, so here I am. Isn't that what's supposed to happen?" Once again, dead silence.

"Oh boy," Luce murmured, "I can't deal with this right now. Class dismissed. See you all tomorrow."

Everyone left, leaving Tsuna's question unanswered and a very nasty feeling growing in his stomach as he realized there might be more to this school than just violent students and strange flames.

Tsuna decided to skip dinner in favor of thinking, mainly to get the thoughts in the back of his head straightened out. He started with the Princes but soon gave up, finding that it was going nowhere anytime soon. He didn't know what the feeling he had about the Princes was and probably never would.

Concerning the tingles that he felt every time he went under a colored arch… he had no idea. That one required more investigation. It seemed harmless, so there was no rush to figure out that mystery. But the Flames. Tsuna sat and thought. There was obviously a difference between fire and a Flame. Perhaps it was something as simple as the type? After all, he'd never heard of a person being able to create fire just from concentrating on something. So that meant that all the lights people had created were Flames. It actually made sense, but that meant that everyone in the school, sans himself at the current moment, had Flames. Yeah, that was pretty special. No wonder it was such an exclusive school. But that just made Tsuna feel more useless. The whole reason he was here – which apparently was not to learn if the events of class were any indication – was solely because he could form a Flame, and he had failed to do that. Tsuna sighed.

The Dying Will… that seemed to be a Reborn-only thing, so he'd have to ask the man himself. Oh, what a joy that'd be. Tsuna got into his pajamas, resolving that by tomorrow night, they'd no longer be gray. He fell asleep formulating ideas on how to summon his Flame.

The alarm woke him up at 6:30 again, but Tsuna was beginning to get used to it and just started to get ready as usual. By the time he'd gotten to cafeteria, he noticed everyone except Ryohei was already there. Probably on a run, Tsuna thought. Breakfast passed quickly once he was done partially explaining why he hadn't been at dinner the previous night and gotten chided for skipping meals.

Walking into the orange hall, once more feeling the tingle, Tsuna noted no one except Luce was there. "Ah, Tsuna," Luce said as he came closer, "perfect timing. I gave everyone the day off so I could talk to you alone."

Tsuna almost sighed at how relaxed Luce was about school, but it was her class after all. "Of course, Luce. Just what do you need to talk with me about? If it's the Flame thing, I'm working on it."

"Oh, no, not that," Luce replied. "It's about your question yesterday. Reborn didn't explain properly because most of the students already know, but I figured I should clear it up for you."

Tsuna nodded in relief. At least he hadn't been ignored. So he followed Luce into the classroom, sitting so the two faced each other. "Well, the name of the school, for one, is just a cover-up for the acronym." Writing the name of the school so each word was under the next produced a very specific word that actually made Tsuna fall out of his chair.

"MAFIA?! This is a school for the MAFIA?!" Tsuna all but screamed. Luce calmly nodded, waiting for the boy's hysterics to pass. They didn't. "That means everyone… the students… teachers… are in the MAFIA?!" It went on like that for a few more minutes before Luce finally lost patience and smacked him over the head with her fan.

"Ow," Tsuna whimpered as he rubbed the bump forming on his head.

"Calmer?" Luce asked, not as much of a question as a demand. Tsuna nodded tearily, wondering where the fan had come from.

"This is the most prestigious place to train future members, most specifically heirs to high positions in the Mafia. These people are the best among the underground, and those who aren't will either quit and return to their Famiglia or adjust to our standards. Most do adjust though. More exclusively to your question yesterday, the Mafia is split into groups called Famiglias. They are your Famiglia by oath, not necessarily blood. The oath you take as a Mafioso is called the Omertà, the Code of Silence, which demands loyalty to those above you and forbids interaction with traditional law enforcement. If you have a problem, you're backed up by your Famiglia, not the police." Tsuna blanched a bit. He had entered a school for organized crime. By accident. He really was Dame...

"The final thing you absolutely need to know is about the Flames." Tsuna perked up at this, wanting to see how close he had gotten. "It is a special form of magic that everyone has, but few can summon and fewer still can utilize enough to be of use. That was what your entrance exam was, a confirmation you would be worth teaching." Which I somehow passed, Tsuna thought, regretting being able to do it. "It can be seen as a materialization of your soul. The color reflects the person you are at heart and places you in one of seven categories: Storm, Rain, Lightning, Cloud, Sun, Mist, and the rarest, Sky. You have been identified as one of the last type by Reborn. You need to use a fierce determination, known as a Dying Will, to force the Flame to form. You essentially use your soul to protect or complete whatever you don't have the power to do. As it is a form of magic, there is a special phrase, spell if you will, to help summon the full potential of your Flame until you have achieved mastery over your Flame. It's just a short thing: Sorgi, Fiamma del Cielo**," Luce said, writing out the words for Tsuna. "A combination of this phrase and your own determination will bring forth the Flame. For whatever reason, you seem to have lost the determination your first had," Luce finished, watching her student's reaction. It really was a pain if no one had explained properly, but Reborn wasn't one for explanations. The man had pushed that responsibility onto her. Typical, Luce sighed.

"I-Is there any way out?" Tsuna whispered, almost to himself. "Or am I stuck here?"

"You… you can't go back to the life you had," Luce answered regretfully. "You no longer had a choice from the moment Reborn found you."

Tsuna's hands rapidly clenched and unclenched themselves. The words can't go back echoed through his mind, three words that sent Tsuna's mind into further turmoil. After a few moments of silence, he got up from his seat and began to leave. "Where're you going, Tsuna?" Luce asked, a little worried how he was reacting.

"I… just have a lot to think about," Tsuna murmured, more subdued and polite than usual. "May I leave to think?" Luce hesitantly nodded and the boy left. Luce reached into her desk and pulled out a bottle of vodka. She needed something to convince her she hadn't completely messed up.

Tsuna wandered a little aimlessly into the main hall, absorbing the information he just received. It at least explained why he couldn't summon his Flame: he didn't have any kind of fierce determination. After all, what did Tsuna ever need to be determined about? He was too useless to have any kind of expectations. But the Mafia bit. That made Tsuna a little sick to his stomach. What had he truly gotten himself into now? Or rather what had Reborn gotten him into? Tsuna had to stay, though, both according to Luce as well as the feelings he'd been getting since he got here. So no matter what, Tsuna was stuck.

A shout from the right side of the hall tore Tsuna from his thoughts. It was quickly followed by a deafening boom. Tsuna nearly jumped out of his shoes from fright, not expecting the echo that ended up bombarding him on all sides. He went to run away when he heard it. The familiar sound of voices, many voices, against one.

Tsuna was running towards the voices before he truly thought it through. When he arrived at the edge of the red hall, his voice caught in his throat. There were five people, looking a little singed, surrounding one silver-haired boy who looked as though he was taking the punches quite well and returning the favor with… was that DYNAMITE?! Tsuna could hear a bit of what was going on, but small snitches, "Don't deserve… mother dead… half-breed… no place… trash…"

It painted a large enough picture that Tsuna stepped forward into the hall – noting in the very back of his mind there was another tingle – with the intent to at least get the boy out. The boy looked rather angry and he somehow produced another already lit dynamite, making it appear out of thin air like Luce had. But Tsuna had a feeling this was a little different; Luce's fan had felt a little more off, like it truly had materialized out of nothing.

Regardless, the boy waved the dynamite threateningly at the bullies as he screamed, "Back the **** off! Just shut your ******** mouths about my mother, you *******." Tsuna's eyes widened at the language before noting that the fuse was getting dangerously close to the end. Moving quickly, Tsuna pushed in between the boys, surprising them, and grabbed the dynamite, running into the main hall and launching it into the air. It exploded with an ear-splitting boom and the shockwave from the explosion managed to push Tsuna onto the floor, making his ears ring with the reverberations. He couldn't help but wonder how the boys had stayed on their feet when the last one had gone off.

Getting off the floor, he noticed the boys had ganged up on the last one, taking the chance when he was disarmed to get a few hits in. The boy was doing a good job of returning the favor, but five on one was terrible odds. Tsuna felt a wave of anger as he heard the taunts the boys called, including "Your mother was a *****" and "She was probably a good little ***** for your father." There were many things that he could stand hearing, but family was absolute. No one deserved to have their family taunted. No one.

His blood began to boil as he thought about family – about the only people who stuck with you no matter what – to the point where it was a little uncomfortable and Tsuna couldn't help but will some of the heat to escape so his body didn't feel so hot. With a whumpf of something catching fire, Tsuna felt the heat within dwindle into a comforting warmth. It even spread to… his… hands. HOLY #%$! His hands were on fire! But there was a strange calm that was beginning to fall over him, dampening his shock into something close to mild interest. The boys in front of him had their eyes all but popping out at the sight of him. One spoke up, "N-no way. H-how the heck did a Sky get in here? Only Storms should be able to! The barrier should've blocked him."

Detachedly, Tsuna wondered if that was what the tingle was. He supposed it was a barrier to separate the classes and try to limit conflict between halls. But more importantly, he had to get the bullies to back off. Drawing back his fist, Tsuna slammed a punch into the first's face, sending him crashing into a wall. A small feeling of surprise came over him as Tsuna realized he was much, much stronger like this. Turning to the second bully, who was at least in a fighting stance, Tsuna dodged the badly aimed punch and got him in the stomach, causing him to double over and slump to the floor. A third barely took a step forward before Tsuna whirled to him, a blow to the jaw, spinning the boy before he dropped like a stone to rest on the floor of the hallway. The last two looked at each other and nodded.

They turned and ran with all they had.

Tsuna felt the warmth beginning to subside and saw the Flames on his hand begin to disappear. So that what Luce meant, Tsuna thought as exhaustion began to come over him. The boy he'd saved was staring at him open-mouthed. Summoning up a tired smile, Tsuna asked, "Are you okay?" The boy numbly nodded.

Tsuna nodded, feeling overly tired. Lifting a limp hand in good-bye, he began to stagger towards his room. The main hall was swaying a bit though; it was hard to keep upright when the world was trying to turn itself upside-down. When Tsuna nearly fell, he found a shoulder propping him up. The silver-haired boy was keeping him from falling asleep on the floor. "The least I can do," the boy mumbled, as they moved across the hall and towards the stairs. Tsuna felt a smile appear on his lips.

They managed to get up the two flights and to his door. "Thank you," Tsuna mumbled, feeling too tired to do much else besides sleep. Placing his hand on the door, he didn't even bother to be discreet about his password in front of the other boy. The boy didn't say anything although something close to respect appeared in his eyes, which suddenly flashed red before fading back to green. Must be really tired to be seeing things, Tsuna thought as he stumbled into the room. He closed the door behind him and collapsed on the bed, letting the darkness of sleep overtake him.

A/N

Word Count: 4,696

* - Correct me if I'm wrong, but in Japan the family name comes first (i.e. Sawada Tsunayoshi, Yamamoto Takeshi), which is the opposite of how it is the U.S. and European countries.

** - Arise, Flame of the Sky (excuse me if the Italian is botched); this is sort of a Magic School AU scenario, so I do have to come up with these as well.

Well, that's it for this week (which is mostly over anyways)! I hope you guys enjoyed it and I've got the rest of this arc and the beginning of the next one planned out so I shouldn't run into too much writer's block in terms of ideas. Hope I did the other Sky students okay, but then again, they each had about four lines, so how ad could I possibly mess up? I don't think I'll have school tomorrow, so let me see if I can't get the next chapter done! As always, let me know if I've made a mistake somewhere.

See you next time!