A/N: Haha... I'm late '^'; I added an omake as an apology

Hibari-Sayaku Shiina - I shall do then, although nothing to up the rating .w. For one, Mukuro mainly hated mafia families, because it was a family that hurt him, and Tsuna is freelance, so that would reduce the animosity. Also his stance shall be revealed in due time '^'b

percy44442 - Thank you .w. It's a wonder how time goes so fast between updates o-o

Kuroi Rin - Well I can somehow imagine Tsuna getting to know all sorts of people. Even if he is a little more ooc here, his overall nature is still gentle enough to interest people

Snowyh2o - Hue hue, almost~ And nope, it didn't. In reality, I'm surprised Xanxus wouldn't have found out sooner. I'm sure there would have been maids who remembered some strange kid appearing out of nowhere, and speculation to start and whatnot. Xanxus and Tsuna are slightly closer in age, because I think them having even a semi-decent relationship would be more plausible that way.

Akane Ume - Thank you~ I just found it a shame, Gokudera is amazingly smart and is far too loud to be cut out as an assassin. It'd seem a waste not to use him as a tactician, more so than he's too weak to fight. Kusakabe is... idk what personality he even has. He's pretty minor.

Hweianime - Haha, thank you .w. I'm not overly fond of relationships that don't have some sort of time to build up beforehand. They just seem a bit more shallow. And yeah, Tsuna shall meet Reborn, although he still has his mask to hide himself with~

["Text"] - speaking over the phone

"Takeshi! You'll be late for school if you don't hurry up."

"Sure thing, dad." A tanned teenager grinned as he rushed down the stairs of his house-cum-restaurant. His short, spiky hair was jet black and his amber eyes glistened with enthusiasm. He grabbed the lunch box his father had set out for him, before picking up an apple and making his way towards the exit.

"I'm going! See ya dad." Yamamoto Takeshi gave a cheerful wave to the middle-aged man that was his father before exiting TakeSushifor the streets of Kyoto.

The elder Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi, smiled happily at his son's cheerful demeanour. After his wife had died ten years ago, his son had seemed to have fallen into a pit of despair. It had been only after an attempted suicide that Tsuyoshi had finally seen that he'd needed to do something, and had decided they both needed a new start in Kyoto. No matter how much time had passed, he was eternally glad to see that his son had recovered and returned to the cheerful young boy he had been before.

Said teenager smiled happily while munching on his apple, navigating the streets of Kyoto to get to his high school. The sun was shining, it was a Friday and his baseball team had won their last game. Even better, since he no longer lived in a small town, there were quite a lot of talented players in the school teams, and so he wasn't solely responsible for winning any more. It was a good day for Yamamoto Takeshi. He continued towards his school, oblivious to his surroundings before a sudden collision sent him sprawling. Looking up, Yamamoto saw an odd teenager, if he was a teenager (ages were hard to tell with foreigners, Yamamoto mused, and the other boy was definitely not from Japan). Heterochromatic eyes - one a deep blue and the other a startling red - stared back at him. The stranger raised a pale hand to push unusual navy hair out of his face before standing and offering the same hand to Yamamoto.

"My sincerest apologies."

The voice was a low baritone, and Yamamoto could practically hear the smirk in it. It took the baseball player a moment to realise the voice had come from the odd boy he'd ran into, and that it was directed athim. He accepted the offered hand and allowed it to pull him back onto his feet before grinning sheepishly.

"Haha, sorry about that."

"It's no problem." The blue-haired boy now sounded amused. He glanced at Yamamoto with interest for a moment.

"You go to school here?"

The raven-haired teen blinked. He had forgotten entirely about school. 'Aha, I'm gonna be late.' He worried silently for a moment before realising that he'd forgotten to reply again.

"Oh yeah. Are you new around here?"

The other boy smirked. "You could say that." He paused for a moment. "Well, I'll see you around." The smirk never left his face as he waved goodbye and continued down the street.

Yamamoto found himself staring after the boy before, with a jolt, he suddenly remembered he was now very late for school.

"Crap!" The baseball player sped off, pushing thoughts of the odd boy to the back of his mind as he concentrated on getting to school.

By the time school had ended, Yamamoto had forgotten entirely about the blue-haired boy with striking eyes. He'd gotten a lunchtime detention for being so late, having overslept and been held up on the street. The baseball player waved goodbye to his friends before heading in the opposite direction. Usually he'd walk home with one of them, but today he wanted to spend some time practising in the batting booth. He was walking along the street before he came across a small gang of people. They, too, seemed foreign. Oblivious as he was, Yamamoto didn't realise he was looking at a stereotypical yakuza-style group. 'Must be tourists.' The teen was content to ignore them and go on his way, but a call held him back.

"Oi, kid." One of the group members had noticed him staring.

"Hey," Yamamoto smiled politely. "You need any help?"

Now most people at this point would have been warned off by the general look of the group, before becoming severely frightened at the amused leers they gave each other in response to his question. There was something entirely off about the group, no matter how you looked at it.

"Sure, kid. We need help getting to TakeSushi." Yamamoto blinked, before a grin lit up his face. 'They are tourists.' The teen thought happily, assuming his dad's sushi shop had become famous enough to attract hoards of customers.

"Oh, no problem! Let me give you directions..."

Having given directions, Yamamoto happily made his way to the batting booths. He managed to play for three hours before deciding he didn't want to strain himself, and went to get something to eat. He rarely ate outside, which was a given since he lived in a sushi restaurant. The change was nice every once in a while.

It was pushing ten in the evening when he arrived home. For some odd reason, the streets around his house were completely deserted, when it wasn't unusual to still see some people milling about at that time. Shrugging it off, he went inside to find the restaurant surprisingly empty. A few distant sounds met the baseball player's ears, and he curiously followed them until they became louder and more distinguishable. Shouts, crashes and clangs could be heard from inside the dojo attached to their house. Yamamoto frowned. Was his father teaching a lesson there? The teen decided to check, opening the doors with his usual smile.

Said smile dropped when Yamamoto took in the sight before him. Blood spattered the floor, pooling around the dead bodies that littered the dojo. The bright red almost looked fake, like something from a scene in a horror movie, but something in Yamamoto knew that it was undeniably real. He could see his father surrounded by five or so enemies, and with a jolt the teenager realised they were part of the group from before. A sense of horror came over Yamamoto as he realised this, which only grew as he saw that same red - so bright and unreal - dripping from the sword his father clutched in his hands. The elder Yamamoto had an expression his son had never seen before: hard and cold, as he struck down another one of his assailants. Blood spattered once more, in small red droplets, one of them hitting the swordsman in the face. Yamamoto's breath caught in his throat.

"D-dad?"

Tsuyoshi looked up quickly, eyes widening at the sight of his son. He knew how he must look, covered in blood and about to strike down another person, end another life. The horror in his son's gaze froze the swordsman in his tracks. Yamamoto could only watch as his father stopped, the next moments almost too fast for him to comprehend.

One attacker rushed forwards, fist raised as if to hit the swordsman. Tsuyoshi span, raising one arm almost as a reflex to block, unwilling to kill another with his son watching. With a sudden, horrific realisation, the swordsman noticed for the first time the small blade in the attacker's hand. Said blade glinted in the light for a moment before it sank, harshly, into the older man's wrist.

"Dad!" Yamamoto's scream tore through the air. The teenager ran to the swordsman who had fallen by then, ignoring the enemies that still surrounded them. He cradled his father, glaring up at the remaining attackers as he shielded the man with his own body, as if to protect him. Tears streamed down Yamamoto's face as the assailants looked on in amusement. It was obvious to both parties that the boy couldn't really do anything as the assailants drew closer, almost gleeful at the prospect of finishing off both father and son.

A deep voice cut off their advances, filled with an oddly familiar hint of dark amusement.

"Oya oya, what do we have here?"

XXXXX

Gokudera blinked at his partner and best friend.

"Xanxus? The leader of Vongola's independant assassin squad?"

Tsuna nodded happily.

"Yup! If anyone will know what's going on, it'll be him."

"Who's this herbivore?" Hibari cut in, furrowing his eyebrows. The 'how do you know him' went unsaid, but was heard all the same.

"I think Hayato knows this, but I've run into the Varia a couple of times on jobs," Tsuna glanced at the bomber, who nodded in confirmation. "I think most of them were jobs I wasn't hired for, but I just wanted to get rid of the target." He furrowed his eyebrows and crinkled his nose in distaste. Both other teens knew that Tsuna only took hits on corrupt, disgusting humans, and sometimes went out of his way to stop them without people asking him. "Well anyway, after so many meetings we sort of became acquaintances. We stayed in contact. I think I still owe him one from the last time we met."

Hibari quirked an eyebrow in question, but Tsuna shook his head in amusement, as if to say 'later'.

"You'd have to tell him your real identity you know." Gokudera frowned in worry.

"Ah... he kinda already knows." Tsuna rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He quickly cut off the bomber before he could start worrying. "But he wouldn't tell anyone! Really, Hayato."

"How can you trust this herbivore?"

"He isn't the type to betray people, Kyoya." The brunet frowned. "Even then, I know some of his important secrets, and he kinda owes me not to reveal them. Plus I don't think he likes my father very much."

Hibari snorted, but accepted the reasoning nonetheless. The brunet was well aware that the skylark didn't have a high opinion of the Young Lion of Vongola either.

"I think I'll call him first." Tsuna mused. He was worried about the Varia leader, who would inevitably also be targeted as a member of Vongola, despite the strength he knew the other possessed. Gokudera seemed to perk up in interest while Hibari only eyed him curiously. Ignoring the two, Tsuna pulled out his phone, scrolling through the contacts until he found the one he wanted. He quickly pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear, waiting. Finally the person of the other side picked up.

"Hey Xanxus."

["Mini trash."]

XXXXX

"Timoteo, I have to go to Japan."

The old Don could only nod kindly. "Of course. Finding your son should become top priority now." Nono was able to emphasise with his external advisor more than anyone, having lost two sons already. He hoped he wouldn't have to go through that pain again; he hoped neither of them would.

Iemitsu stood up, nodding forlornly to his boss, before passing Xanxus and exiting the room. A heavy silence fell over the room, and the Varia leader found himself scowling. He'd never liked the blonde idiot of the CEDEF, but it still left a distasteful feeling to see the man look so broken. It reminded him of the times when his own father had heard of the death of his brothers. Scoffing mentally at his own thoughts, Xanxus turned to stalk out of the room as well. It wasn't his place to tell the CEDEF idiot about his son.

"Trash."

Squalo jumped slightly, before scowling and following behind the Varia leader. They had gone down a few corridors before the high pitched ringing of a phone sounded out. Squalo looked on curiously, but Xanxus' face betrayed no emotion when he checked the caller I.D before answering.

"Mini trash." He growled in hello.

["Aha... hey. How're you?"] The voice had a hint of nervousness within it.

Xanxus rolled his eyes. "Stop with the bullshit and tell me what you want."

["Hey! I am actually concerned with how you are. Especially with this... Vongola hunt going on."]

"I'm fucking dandy. Now speak." He could hear a sigh from the other end.

["At least you're okay."] Xanxus almost growled to tell him to hurry the fuck up, when the speaker continued before he had the chance. ["Anyway, I just found out that I've gotten a hit on me."]

"Well obviously, mini trash. You're that idiot's son." The Varia leader almost sighed. 'What a waste of time.'

["I know that. I meant, a good assassin was asked to kill me even though I'm a normal civilian."] Xanxus snorted, but the speaker ignored it. ["And my mother, who should be in the same situation as me, was only targeted by lackeys. Ah, she's okay by the way."]

"You should be grateful they only sent lackeys, trash."Although Xanxus did see the oddity there. It was only a minor discrepancy, but Xanxus had learnt not to overlook the small things. He'd look into it when he had the chance. "Maybe they think you have guards, or training, trash. Don't worry about every little thing."

A sigh. ["I guess you're right..."]

"Damn right I am."

["Thanks, Xanxus."] The Varia leader grunted in response.

"If you're so worried, why don't you come get rid of whatever bastard is behind this?"

["You want me to work with you?"] A surprised voice replied.

"Didn't you hear me?" Xanxus growled. He wouldn't admit he'd rather be able to keep an eye on the brat, even if he didn't have a problem with worrying about him. They were, by extension, family after all.

["No, no, I did. I'd love to work with you. Where should we meet?"]

"I've got some shit to do first, so meet me in Paris in about a week."

["Sure thing."]

Xanxus grunted once more before hanging up without a goodbye. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Squalo rolling his eyes.

"You're so obvious, boss."

He growled. "Shut it, sword trash." The Varia leader put away his phone and started forwards again, before Squalo could respond. The swordsman merely snorted before following once more.

XXXXX

In the opposite direction, Iemitsu had his mouth set in a grim line, as he made his way over to the CEDEF headquarters. It generally would have been farther away, but with the Ninth getting older, he thought it best to have them close by. He burst into the central command, before going over to the brown-haired woman he saw at one computer.

"Sir!" The woman greeted him as soon as she noticed his arrival.

"What have you got for me, Oregano?"

The young woman glanced nervously at the report, and somehow Iemitsu could tell it wasn't anything he'd be looking forwards to hearing.

"We haven't found any sign of your son, alive or... otherwise." She started. The CEDEF leader nodded for her to go on, relieved at least that there was no proof he was dead. "We don't know who is targeting him, or anyone from Vongola for that matter, but we did find a lead." Here the blonde narrowed his eyes sharply.

"What is it?" He prompted.

"A freelance assassin that is known in the underground by the name Alauda was contracted to kill your son." Iemitsu took in a sharp breath. "There was no confirmation that he completed the request. He is known to be... brutal, and has a signature of leaving behind victims that appear to have been beaten to death via blunt weapons. A few reports show usage of knives in his missions a few years ago, but it is suspected that was caused by his partner."

"So it isn't likely he set my house on fire."

Oregano shook her head. "No sir. Something so flashy isn't generally his style. And finally, rumours are that he lives in Japan."

"Damn, so he's ahead of us." The blonde man muttered.

"Sir?"

"Get a flight ready, Oregano. I will be going to Japan myself."

XXXXX

Tsuna heard the tell-tale beeping that Xanxus had hung up on him, before he looked at his phone and sighed. He looked at his two colleges, one who was waiting impassively, and the other... who was sparkling.

"Tsuna-sama is going to work with the Varia? Amazing!" Gokudera had a slightly reverent look in his eyes. Tsuna had long gotten out of shifting uncomfortably when this side of his best friend emerged, but it was a near thing.

"It's not that big a deal, Hayato. We have a common goal, after all." The brunet gave the bomber a calming smile, and while Gokudera was still proud, he didn't look ready to start bowing in front of the other boy after it. 'It's been a while since he was like that,' Tsuna thought nervously, remembering the period of worship the bomber had gone through in the early years of their relationship. Thankfully it was an increasingly rare occurrence for him to revert to his previous attitude.

"When are you meeting the herbivore?"

"Paris, in about a week." Hibari raised an eyebrow, but ultimately said nothing as the brunet stretched and let out a loud yawn. "Man, today has been so hectic."

As if on cue, Gokudera also let out a yawn of his own, though he tried, and failed, to stifle it.

"Hayato, maybe it's time to go home and get some rest?"

The bomber blinked. "Sure thing, Tsuna-sama." He let out a smile. "Should I go get the bikes ready?"

"Ah, uh," the brunet shifted a little nervously. "I was hoping to stay here tonight, if that's okay with you, Kyoya." Tsuna looked towards the older boy with a tentative, hopeful smile. The raven-haired boy stared back at Tsuna for a moment before he finally get out an accepting grunt. The brunet almost let out a wry smile at the slightly resigned air in which Hibari took out his own phone and pressed a single button.

"Tetsu, prepare the guest room."

"Thank you, Kyoya!" The smile Tsuna let out was almost blinding to the older boy.

"Hn." He abruptly stood up. "I shall prepare dinner." Hibari swiftly exited the room.

"Tsuna-sama..." Gokudera looked worried as soon as the older assassin had left the room. "Are you going to be okay by yourself with him?"

The brunet let out a laugh. "Of course, what bad could happen with Kyoya around?"

"He, he could attack you!" Gokudera waved his arms wildly in agitation.

"But it's not unusual for him to attack me." Tsuna tilted his head in confusion. "We still spar together every couple of weeks."

"N-not that way!" Now the bomber had a tinge of pink dusting his cheeks.

The brunet blinked, before a sudden realisation hit him. "O-oh." He shook his head, as if shaking off his own embarrassment and gave a small, sad smile. "Kyoya wouldn't do that. I think he's still under the impression that we're dating."

The bomber's cheeks darkened. "But we aren't!"

"Haha, I know. That doesn't change the fact that Kyoya didn't even blink at the prospect. I don't think he likes me that much, Hayato."

"That guy wouldn't blink even if you slapped him in the face with a dead fish." Gokudera muttered in all seriousness. Tsuna looked at him for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Tsuna-sama!" The bomber became flustered.

"Hahaha, thanks, Hayato." Tsuna grinned. "You sure cheered me up."

Gokudera was saved from answering with the reappearance of Hibari. He looked at Gokudera coldly, as if asking why the bomber was still in his house.

"That was quick," Tsuna remarked.

"I only had to heat it up."

Gokudera looked between the two before grumbling and getting up. "Fine, I'll be leaving now." He nodded at Hibari as he walked through the door, but not before pausing to mouth a quick 'be safe, Tsuna-sama' at the brunet. Tsuna smiled wryly, before getting up himself.

"Hn." Hibari swiftly turned and exited, expecting the brunet to follow. Tsuna did so, with a soft smile and a fond look in his eyes.

[Omake] - During the times Tsuna went on missions with Hibari.

"Hibari?" A soft voice whispered into the darkness. The small sounds of their breathing were the only indications that the two boys were present. "Hibari, are you okay?"

Silence met the brunet's ears, and he began to panic. Hibari was right in front of him, but he wasn't moving or replying at all. For some reason he simply stopped, and the young assassin started imagining an array of scenarios that could cause this. Were the air vents bugged? Was Hibari caught in a trap? Tsuna was about to call out once more, but to his relief, the other boy finally responded.

"Stop making unnecessary noise, herbivore."

The brunet blinked. Hibari rarely called him 'herbivore' anymore, not unless he managed to piss the elder boy off (usually by greeting him with his first name).

"Then what's wrong?" Tsuna let a tiny hint of impatience leak into his voice. They had just left behind a corpse, one that soon would be discovered, and he didn't want to be in the immediate vicinity when that happened. "Come on Hibari, we have to go."

Another pause. Tsuna almost thought the skylark was messing with him before he heard some low mumbling from the other.

"... –uck."

"What?" The brunet blinked. "I didn't hear that, Hibari."

"I said," the raven-haired boy started, irritation leaking into his tone. "I'm stuck."

Tsuna stared at the assassin in front of him, and burst out laughing.

"Shut up," Hibari hissed, and if Tsuna squinted he thought he could see pink dusting the top of his ears. "Just help me."

Tsuna bit back another laugh. "Okay, okay. Let me get to you." The brunet started shifting forwards until he was right behind the prefect. "Now what do you want me to do?"

He heard a sigh. "Just get me unstuck, herbivore."

"Okay." Leaving one arm to keep him propped, Tsuna raised his other hand and grasped Hibari's upper thigh and pushed. The raven-haired boy started to feel uncomfortable with someone's hand in such an intimate place.

"Stop shifting, Hibari. You almost kicked me in the face."

"Then hurry up!"

Muttering under his breath, the brunet used his grip on Hibari to keep him up, and placed his other hand on the prefect so all his weight could be used to push him. Adjusting his hands so he didn't fall face first onto the skylark, Tsuna shoved once again.

"Herbivore, stop molesting me!"

Tsuna kept putting his weight on the other boy in hopes he would get dislodged. "I am not molesting you. I'm trying to help." He added, disgruntled.

"Helping doesn't include putting your hands all over my–"

"Just be quiet!" The brunet was irritated that his continuous efforts still hadn't paid off, and he didn't care for whining on top of it. "It's not my fault you have large hips."

"Did you just call me f–" Hibari was once again cut off when he found himself suddenly lurching forwards, finally unstuck.

Tsuna found himself falling forwards as well, landing on top of the other boy. Hibari was surprisingly soft, the brunet noted. It took him a few moments to realise why that was. With a startled sound, Tsuna lurched back, ignoring the fact that he hit his head on the top of the vent in doing so.

"Hibari, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to grab your-" He started, frantically.

"Not a word about this, herbivore." Hibari hissed venomously.

The brunet wisely decided not to reply as they continued down the vent in silence.