Greetings readers . I apologize for the wait, and will attempt to write faster. But I hope you understand that it won't always happen, as real life is my main priority. As well, this story is still being planned out, so some chapters may take a long time to come out while others won't. If there are certain ideas you want to see, now would be the time to suggest them.

That said, this story is GEN. Which means romance is unlikely to appear. I write stories to explore character interactions and 'what-if's', unless I change my mind, you'll be sorely disappointed.

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.

~I'm not the only kid who grew up this way
surrounded by people who used to say that rhyme about sticks and stones~ Shane Koyczan- To This Day

Chapter One- Plans on Sunny Days

Clear blue skies and a shining sun made for a beautiful day in Namimori, perfect for a family outing, or even just lazing about at home. So nice was the comfortable tranquility that settled over the town, that not even delinquents bothered to get up to their usual antics.

And yet, one Sawada Nana planned.

The Crimson-Masked Angel planned, sitting quietly at her kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of her, absently watching the world outside her window. As much as her maternal instincts screamed to get on with dealing with the problems that revolved around her son right now, years as an assassin curbed the temptation. Acting rashly would do no good for anyone.

Focus, Nana told herself sternly, you may be ditzy and airheaded as Sawada Nana, but as The Crimson-Masked Angel, nothing less than absolute concentration is permitted. Do not let those two integrate too much. Now what are some of the goals that need to be attained?

Well for starters, she was concerned about the basics that her son would need to survive just civilian life. At the moment, even in first grade, Tsuna was struggling academically, physically, and socially. The basics of theoretical subjects like math and science escaped him, subjects requiring memorization of things like history practically put him to sleep, and his Japanese was barely scraping by. Other than that, the only subjects he managed decently, if not well, in were home economics and art.

Physically, Tsuna was among the scrawniest and weakest of the class, if not grade, which wasn't a big problem. But it could be should he-, no, when he would get involved in the Underworld. That wasn't even speaking of his clumsiness, which was reaching worrying levels, as it seemed that her son came home with several new cuts or bruises every day.

That or he was being bullied. Unconsciously, Nana's eyes narrowed dangerously at the thought of idiotic, spoiled brats harming her son, fingers tightening their grip on her tea cup. No mother wanted to think about that possibility, and indeed, some didn't, but Nana was nothing if not thorough when thinking about her son. She was quite aware that he didn't have any friends, the closest being a few neutral or kind classmates. There was that Sasagawa Kyoko girl and Tsuyoshi's son, along with a few others who treated Tsuna well enough, but distantly. The others in his class seemed to completely avoid him.

Then there was that block on her son's Flames needed to be removed, and ASAP. Unfortunately, it would have to wait since she couldn't do it. As strong as she was, she didn't specialize in this area and trying to remove a seal created by Vongola Nono, regardless of age, herself was plain foolishness.

So she would have to use her resources to try and find someone who could do this in the meanwhile then, and if she couldn't, she would try and work around the block. That wasn't her desired result, and this solution was shaky at best. This plan would have to be developed more later on.

At the very least though, she was working on her son's academic difficulties. Physical development could hold off for a while; she didn't want to change her persona in her Tsuna's eyes too much, too fast, nor did she want to pressure him too much.

Sighing slightly, she raised her cup to her lips as she continued to plan and organize her and her son's future, the natural light in the room waning as a cloud blocked the sun.

Her Tsuna would be home soon, and she was in the mood for baking. It helped her think. Perhaps she'd pull out those recipes for some snacks she'd yet to make.

~As if broken bones hurt more than the names that we got called~

A shove.

"Hahaha, you're so dumb Tsuna, you can't do anything right!"

Ow. No he wasn't. He was perfectly fine, and he could do things right. It wasn't his fault that things just never seemed right, like there was something missing from himself, or like the world wasn't quite right on its axis.

"Stupid-Tsuna! Useless-Tsuna! No-Good Tsuna!"

Another shove, this time to the ground. He landed awkwardly on his arm, a small cry escaping him. They were lying. He wasn't, he wasn't, he wasn't!

"Look at him, he can't even defend himself. He won't even say something!"

A hit. A smack. A punch.

"Stuupid!"

…Right?

~And we got called them all~

The door to the Sawada household unlocked with a click, swinging open with a small murmur of, "Tadaima."

Nana put down the book she'd been reading to greet her son with her now customary cheery smile, which didn't falter as for once- she looked and saw, listened and heard. Looked and saw what she should've seen and dealt with from the beginning, listened and heard the signs that had been a long time in coming, clueless airhead persona be damned. "Okaeri, Tsuna-kun. How was school?"

Uncharacteristically ruffled clothing, grime and something else on parts of the arms, sides and left hip. At least one bruise was in the midst of forming on a visible portion of her son's right forearm. A slight pause then hitch in a much too passive and quiet answer. "It was good."

Had it only been the bruises, then she might've thought it was only her son's clumsiness, but the behavior spoke otherwise. Oh how she wanted to gather her son up into arms and tell him it was all fine, she would make it fine. Then she would go and show the bullies why it was a terrible idea to do as they did. Scare them a little, maybe their parents as well, if they were condoning that kind of behavior. If they weren't aware of it, then they had no excuse for not having raised their children better, other than perhaps for the child being a sociopath or something.

But she couldn't. It wouldn't help anything in the long run when Tsuna-kun would actually have to go out into the world by himself. In fact, he would very likely just have the same experience, but worse.

So instead, Nana resolved to deal with it soon, standing up. "Are you hungry then? I've made some snacks."

Even out of the corner of her eyes as she turned, Nana could see the emotions flicker across her son's face with ease. Indecision, sadness, acceptance, before a small smile appeared on his lips. "O-Okay."

There was a light thump as he set his school bag down, before padding across the room to pull out a chair for himself while she busied herself, gathering plates and some of the snacks she'd made. Setting everything down on the table, she laughed and teased her Tsuna-kun as he ate, pouring both of them some water.

At one point, the boy was giggling so hard that he accidentally knocked his glass over. It shattered, spilling its contents all over the ground, and an uncharacteristic panicked look appeared in his eyes. "A-Ah! I'm sorry, I'll get that!"

And as he lurched to his feet before Nana could react, he tripped, landing on several pieces of the broken glass. Immediately, he began to cry, tears flowing.

Nana hurried to his side, coaxing him to stand so they could make their way to the bathroom, where a first-aid kit was. Reaching the small space, she lowered her Tsuna-kun down to sit on the toilet seat gently before rummaging through the cabinet to find the kit. Finding what she needed, the brunette set to removing any pieces of glass that might've gotten stuck in the skin.

Rolling up her son's sleeves, Nana felt her heart drop slightly as her suspicions were confirmed, though they'd been evident even before. A few purpling bruises marred the skin, with some scrapes and a cut or two as well.

The young mother said nothing as she disinfected the superficial injuries, bandaged them, and cleaned up her son. Leaving him momentarily to retrieve a new set of clothes, she spoke only after she'd gathered the dirtied articles in her arms, kneeling and looking her son in the eye. "Tsuna-kun,"

The brunet winced slightly at the quiet tone, even though it wasn't scolding, "Hai?"

"You know you can tell me if something is going on at school right?"

Brown doe eyes flickered away, a flash of fear appearing for only a moment. "Hai."

Nana ignored the lump that had appeared in her throat. Cheerful he may have been, there had been times when the quieter side of her Tsuna-kun's personality surfaced. It seemed that this was one of those times. It shouldn't have been surprising, really, but she wanted her son to be able to tell her these things, let her comfort him.

God, what else had she missed with her son during the time she'd been angry with her husband? True, the peak of it had been in the weeks following his visit with Timoteo, but she admitted that the ensuing months had been little better. She'd often retreated into her mind to think and plan, leaving her day to day behavior to a small part of her conscious when she was running on autopilot. Years of playing, and eventually becoming to some degree, the kind though airheaded housewife had dulled some of her skills.

Thinking on it, what could she have missed during that visit; the catalyst for all of this? It was probably only her acting that remained sharp, and even then, analyzing it over the course of Iemitsu's visit, she probably hadn't fooled Timoteo fully.

A sigh escaped her as she smiled at her son. Even with all these depressing thoughts and events, it was still a nice day. She could still make something out of it, spend some time with her son. Start to try and fix things. Perhaps an outing and some fresh air would do them both well.

"Ne, Tsuna-kun, how would you feel about having sushi for dinner?"

~So we grew up believing no one would ever fall in love with us- that we'd be lonely forever~

"Welcome to Takesushi!" greeted the owner of the establishment, smiling at the mother and son duo as they entered the shop. At this time of day, there were a few other customers eating and exchanging quiet conversation in the restaurant, none of whom looked at them. Wiping a knife clean, the man gathered two menus in his hands before stepping out from behind the counter to seat them. "I'm Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, the owner of this place. Take your time ordering and call as soon as you've decided; wouldn't want me esteemed customers to go hungry now would I?"

Nana smiled in return, while sitting across from her, her Tsuna-kun merely ducked his head shyly, using the menu as a shield. Why did that name seem familiar? "Thank you very much, Yamamoto-san, and we will."

"Alright then, I won't bother you any longer. I'll be back with some tea in just a moment."

Turning her attention back to her son, she told him to point out whatever he liked to order, to which the six-year old nodded. A comfortable quiet settled between the two as they looked their options over, her Tsuna-kun looking up every now and then to ask what a certain dish was. A few minutes later, they placed their orders and drank their tea while waiting after having cleaned their hands.

By the time their food was ready, it was getting later on in the evening, and there was a significantly smaller amount of people still present. Upon returning from his rounds around the restaurant after having delivered their food, Yamamoto spared a few moments to make some small talk.

"How's the food then? Is it to your liking?"

"I-It's very good, Yamamoto-san," offered the six-year old softly, flushing as the chef's attention was suddenly focused on him.

"Thank you. I do my best to make sure that everything is to my customers' liking." Yamamoto paused, peering a bit closer at her Tsuna-kun. "Say, do you happen to share a class with Takeshi?"

"Y-Yamamoto-kun? H-hai, I do," He started slightly, blinking, before it hit him, "A-ah! You must be Yamamoto-kun's tou-san! I-I'm Sawada T-Tsunayoshi, b-but everyone calls me Tsuna. I-It's nice to meet you!"

The sushi chef laughed as everything escaped the boy in a rush, though not unkindly. "Well, it's nice to meet you as well, Sawada-kun. You seem like a nice boy. Perhaps you and Takeshi can meet up sometime and play together."

Tsuna-kun faltered slightly, drawing Nana's attention. "A-ah, well, Yamamoto-kun seems busy, I don't want to be a bother…"

"Nonsense, Takeshi would love to meet you! That is, if you don't mind, Sawada-kun."

Clearly is was getting a bit much for her son, who looked as if he were being backed into a corner. Social awkwardness or anxiety? It wasn't exactly uncommon. But she'd have to look into this more, as well as run a background check on Yamamoto Tsuyoshi. It didn't matter if he was only a sushi chef; appearances could be deceiving- she herself was a very good example.

With a kind smile, she looked over her son before turning to Yamamoto again, "That sounds like a lovely idea, though I'm afraid we'll have to meet up again later to discuss plans. It is getting late after all, and Tsuna-kun has been up all day. We should be getting home soon. But when shall we meet again?"

Catching on, the man returned the gesture, though slightly apologetic. "Ah, I apologize for disturbing you, Sawada-san. If you aren't busy then, Takeshi and I will be at the park tomorrow in the afternoon."

"Wonderful. If nothing pops up, we'll be there."

Sensing that the conversation was at an end, Yamamoto dipped his head, backing up slightly. "I won't keep you any longer then. Enjoy your food."

"We will, thank you.

Once he was gone, Nana observed her son as he picked at his food, with noticeably less enthusiasm than before. "Are you all right, Tsuna-kun?"

The six-year old was quiet for a heartbeat before nodding, "Aa."

Though she didn't say anything, Nana let him be, but left her body language open in a way that would hopefully encourage him to continue. And he did.

"I-It's just that…everybody l-likes Yamamoto-kun. A-And I heard t-that some of his f-friends w-were going to the park too…"

Here, Nana could already guess what the story was. The children who played with Yamamoto-kun were also going to be at the park, but they didn't like Tsuna-kun for various reasons. As such, he was nervous about accepting and actually going to a place where he'd likely be openly mocked by the others.

Still, she waited for him to keep going. But it seemed that her son had filled his quota for sharing feelings for the day, clamming up as soon as he finished, not even bothering to eat the rest of his food.

Finishing up her sushi (it was good, very well made and fresh; they'd have to come back sometime), she led Tsuna-kun up and out of his seat. They paid quickly, and with an exchange of good-bye with Yamamoto, were off back home. Walking together hand-in-hand, neither spoke for a while.

"You know, Tsuna-kun, if you really don't want to go, you don't have to."

The six-year old turned to look at her, an unspoken question in his eyes.

"Kaa-san thought that you were lonely, coming home from school every day and just staying in your room reading manga or doing your homework. Never do I see you going out to play with friends, or even doing anything interesting. So I thought that it would be a good chance for you to go and maybe make some friends." Nana explained.

"…They don't like me." Who 'they' were was clear; the kids who hung around with Yamamoto Takeshi.

"Tsuna-kun, people won't always like you. Maybe because of how you act, or what you do, but you have to ignore them and find those who do like you for who you are. Things like this can be complicated, but you have to find your own way through." The brunette paused, "But if you don't want to go tomorrow, then we can go find something interesting and fun to do ourselves."

"…Okay. I'll go tomorrow, but can we leave if I don't like it?"

Nana smiled, and despite everything, she felt better than she had all day. Maybe better than she had for even longer.

"Of course, Tsuna-kun."

Things were starting to look up.

If I happen to miss any mistakes or contradict myself, please tell me so I may fix it. I have no beta for this story, so all the editing is being done by myself.

For those on Tumblr; summer-ice7. tumblr. com, where I will post updates and story ideas.

Thank you for your support, and have a nice day.