When Nana entered the premises of her kitchen, she was surprised to see the scene in front of her. She did not expect her son, of all people, to be in an intimate position with a beautiful young female with someone else in the room, considering how the female's appearance was not exactly wrinkle-free. "Tsu-kun?"

"HIEEE!" Tsuna jumped suddenly at his mother's voice, almost bumping into Ibara's chin, releasing himself from Ibara's warmth. He scooted so far away that he bumped into the kitchen wall. Chocolate eyes looked up and met with his mother's, unable to say anything but her name. "Okaa-san!"

Nana's lips curved into a mischievous smile, one that could rival Mukuro's smirk. "Ara? I didn't know you had a girlfriend, an older at that. And you're so open about it in front of people too. I didn't think you had it in you!" She giggled as her son's expression exploded in embarrassment complimented with a blush.

"Okaa-san!" Tsuna pouted at her misunderstanding as he quickly stood up and rushed upstairs to his room. "She's not my girlfriend!"

Nana eyed the female before coming to another conclusion. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, I did not raise you to be a player!" Her eyes gave an obvious sign that she was not someone one would want to anger.

A sound of a collision of a door was heard upstairs. "Itai… I'm not a player and she's not someone I'm playing with!"

"Then what is she?"

There was a moment of silence except for the sound of Nana's foot tapping as she waited for an answer.

Tsuna's head popped over the banister, looking at his mom with a blush while rubbing the pain from the collision on his head. "She's someone I care about, okay?" He noticed Ibara was looking at him with surprised eyes, making him blush some more and rushed into his room, but not before running into it again. That was he got for running with his head down and eyes closed.

Nana gave out a sigh of relief and a smile replaced her scowl. As long he was a gentleman toward girls, she did not have lecture him about dating and all that. She turned around and entered the kitchen with a small prescription bad in hand.

Ibara shook herself out of shock, as a pink glow slowly tinted her cheeks. She noticed Nana was coming closer, making haste to fix her appearance.

Before Ibara had the chance to pull her sleeve over her now visible scar, Nana had already caught a sight of it. "That scar…" It looked familiar to her as if she had seen it before, but where? Her eyes moved from the scar to widened violet ones, realizing her comment was heard. "Oh! Don't mind what I said. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

Ibara shook her head and smiled at Decimo's mother. "You want to know about it since you're worried because of its damage to my skin, aren't you?"

Nana hesitantly nodded.

Ibara pulled up her seat as Nana followed suit. Her eyes gazed at her arm with a warm feeling. "It was something I received from a loved one by accident. He did it unintentionally but I take this as atonement for my actions when I was younger. I failed to protect to him and he gave this to me in return. But I forgave him and he forgave me."

Nana's mind slowly placed the pieces together as it started to finally connect. "So it was Tsu-kun who gave you that scar?" When she came in the kitchen, she noticed Tsuna was touching the scar with a delicate touch while hugging the girl close to him, like he did not want to lose her. "Then that would make you two the Onee-chan and Onii-chan who saved him when he was kidnapped."

Tsuru slowly turned toward Nana with a hidden expression. How did she know that? He thought it was kept a secret from Decimo's mother so they did not need to worry her and drag her into the Mafia world even more.

Nana smiled softly at Tsuru when she saw the worried look on his face. "You should you that a mother can't stay still when she knows her child has been kidnapped." She started to fumble with her fingers in her lap as she told them her story.

"It was the scariest moment of my life when my husband told me that Tsu-kun was missing because he was kidnapped. I realized he knew something but did not want to tell me, so I refused to let him near me or the house. Knowing that he could stand being apart from me because of what recently happened, he finally told me why it happened and how we were related to it. I was shock when I heard the words coming from his mouth. At that moment, I was on the verge of wanting to escape my marriage with my husband, but I just couldn't.

He had kept me safe after all these years even though there were so many people after him. That should me how much he treasured me. And there was Tsu-kun. He was already pulled in without knowing it and was dealing with it. I told myself that I could not be selfish and escape on my own fate when I accepted my husband's proposal so I came to accept it and that nothing could change it. My love for my family was stronger than my fear of dying at any time.

Months later, Tsu-kun was found but he had changed dramatically. He did not let any near him. I tried to touch him once but he shunned me away. Slowly, he started to warm up to me when he let me pat his head when he was sleeping. He slowly returned back to normal." She placed her hands on top of the table, looking up at the ceiling. "He's going to become Vongola Decimo, isn't he?"

Ibara and Tsuru nodded. "He will, but we will take care of him for you, Sawada-san."

Nana waved her hand back and forth, as if there was an imaginary fly in her space while softly laughing. "But please take your well-being into priority also since I'm sure Tsu-kun does not want to lose you again. Oh, don't call me that. We're family now, aren't we? Call me, Nana.""

Ibara shuffled in her seat nervously before popping a question. "Does that mean Decimo knows that you know who he is?"

Nana nodded with a sad smile. "He was very upset and angry when I told him. He was worried that I would get pulled into something I did not need to get pulled in more. But I told him that I had already accepted the fact and nothing could change it. After that, he did not put up a fight but hugged me, relieved that he did not have to hide it anymore. Also saying that he would protect me in place of his father."

Ibara smiled warmly at Nana. "I see… Decimo has grown up." She noticed Nana was pouting at her, causing her to sweat at the mother's reaction. "I mean, Tsunayoshi has grown up." This time, she saw Nana nod at her, letting out a sigh of relief as a reply.

Tsuru smiled at Nana's little banter with Ibara. "Mama, is there anything you should be doing now?"

Nana blinked at Tsuru's question and clapped her hands in realization. "Mu-chan and Chrome-chan left early, didn't they? Mou… They could have stayed and take some dinner home." She looked at Ibara and sighed in disappointment, earning a confusing expression on Ibara's face. "Ara… Since you're not his girlfriend, I'm starting to question his preferences in women. How did that boy at such a hormonal age stay so calm in such a beautiful female's arms? I'm sorry if my son has offended you."

Ibara gaped at Nana, a blush replacing her confused expression. Her hands were up waving back and forth, trying to erase the thought from Nana's mind. "N-No! I don't mind at all. Deci– I mean, Tsunayoshi has finally reunited with us, and so it was just a simple welcome hug." But she could wipe off that smile that was forming on Nana's lips.

Tsuru chuckled. "Mama, would be alright with you if we stay here for awhile?

Nana stopped teasing Ibara and looked at Tsuru, nodding. "I don't mind. In fact, there are some spare rooms in the house. There are some rooms surrounding Tsu-kun's room and the attic."

Tsuru and Ibara stood up and bowed to Nana in respect. "Please take care of us and thank you."

Nana looked surprised but motioned them to sit back down. "You're welcome. There's no need for such formalities in my house. But if you choose to do so, I would not mind. That reminds me. Where are my manners? I didn't catch your names."

"Ibara."

"Tsuru."

Nana blinked when she heard their names. Where did she had hear those names before?

"Is there anything wrong with our names," asked Ibara, noticing Nana's reaction.

Nana stopped thinking for a moment and shook her head. "I thought I heard your names from somewhere, but I just realized that you couldn't be them since they lived a long time ago.

Thorns and vines, huh? It seems like you were meant to be his Guardians." Nana giggled. "I will be placing my son in your care then, Ibara-chan. Ru-chan."

Ibara laughed at Tsuru's reaction in his nickname, his mouth slightly gaped open in shock. If other people saw them right now, they would not think that these people were deeply a part of the Mafia.

However, uneasiness churned deep in their stomachs as Nana's little comment made its way into their guilt.

Notes:

It looks like Ibara and Tsuru have a few secrets up their sleeve. But we really like our OC's, too bad... We're trying to figure out their personalities, since they are a major component of the story. So it'll be awhile until we post another chapter, just get our finger around their behavior and quirks. From there, we'll see what happens and hope you'll enjoy it. Please review and tell us what you think of the story.