A/N: It's nice to know that Xanxus being captured was surprising. I think it's fair, considering they managed to capture his brother (who by all rights is a Vongola heir) and Xanxus had to deal with that while fighting. It's sad they all die, but I'd like to think they had some sort of affection for each other.

Guest - I don't really want to give away spoilers about Vongola, but they aren't to kind to screw up. Whatever they do is intentional really. Aha, I based it off some dress I was forced into myself. You really can't get corsets on without help :A:;

Takeshi looked down towards his birth town – the one in which he spent most of his life, the one where he'd lived with his mother, and got into baseball, and failed spectacularly at making friends – and sighed.

'Although, with one exception'. The swordsman mused thinking upon the small brunet they had planned to meet.

When Mukuro had said he was looking for someone, Takeshi could never have imagined hearing such a familiar name. Tsuna was someone he'd known – or known of – his entire life, spending most of his school years in the same class as the other boy, but only knowing him as that one kid who people called 'dame'. He was far too involved in baseball, clinging to the memories of his mother, to notice the other boy for what a good person he was. It was only until Takeshi was up upon a roof, still holding to a fast dwindling hope that some of his classmates – his 'friends' – would bring him back, before Tsuna arrived in a blaze of passion and fury, all but demanding that he get his sorry arse away from the ledge.

Tsuna has, in one way or another, saved his life. Takeshi really wanted to make friends with the boy afterwards – and no doubt Tsuna would have been a great friend – but his dad, shaken by the ordeal, decided he would flourish somewhere new; somewhere away from the painful memories of his mother, and the jeers of his classmates – a bigger town where he wasn't raised on a pedestal and expected to jump through loops to stay there. The baseball player might have protested regardless of how attractive a new start sounded, if not for a few words Tsuna had said which cut through his core and made their impact.

He had been too reliant upon other people for his mental stability, and it was dangerous, it had been what brought him to the edge of the roof in the first place. Tsuna hadn't said them as criticism, Takeshi had realised, but to give advice. The people he was relying upon weren't good people, they were selfish and childish, and completely wrecked his self esteem with their callous words. Tsuna would have been a far better candidate to rely upon – to give him the affection he missed when his mother died, and to make him feel like he was worth something.

However, Takeshi realised it would be unfair to the brunet, and any of his future friends – real ones this time – to be constantly placing such a burden upon them. Tsuna might not have intended it to be so, but his words were taken very seriously, and Takeshi knew he'd have to become someone whole, who didn't need to be completed by others just so he could survive, so that when he was he could happily be whole with others. Of course, he knew that the brunet would have helped him get there, that he wasn't being shoved to the side and told to 'man up' or anything of the sort (Tsuna would never say anything of the sort) – and it made him want to be able to do this without the other boy's help even more. He still had his dad to help him, so get his out of depression and onto being someone who Tsuna could be proud to have as a friend.

So the baseball player took the chance at a new start, and resolved to get better with a burning passion, and he moved to Kyoto with his dad, and it was the best thing – besides Tsuna's appearance in his life – that had ever happened to him. Sadly enough, Tsuna had been on one of his extended trips with Hibari at the time he decided to leave – and the prefect's friendship with Tsuna was another reason Takeshi didn't want to rely upon the boy; they had such a lovely friendship, the baseball player had noticed after observing, that he would have felt far worse for getting between it. They never got to say their goodbyes, and although Takeshi left his message with the other boy's mother, he would have liked to express his gratitude to Tsuna's face.

Mukuro came up besides the swordsman, and Takeshi tore his eyes away from his birth town – which enticed such conflicting feelings within him – to look at the illusionist.

"All set?"

Mukruo nodded, humming a little in affirmation. The swordsman paused for a moment, before asking a question he'd pestered the older boy since finding Tsuna's name on his lips.

"You really aren't going to do anything bad to him?"

Mukuro sighed, but answered seriously regardless. The swordsman was grateful for the seriousness; Mukuro could be playful at the worst of times, but spending a while travelling all over Japan with the other boy had Takeshi knowing that Mukuro could understand the weight of a given situation, and could reply with some semblance of honest sincerity.

"No, I'm not."

Takeshi felt like sighing himself, because he actually believed the other boy. The baseball player always had good instincts, the past few weeks only making them sharper, and he honestly couldn't sense any malice from the illusionist. He'd have liked it more if he knew why they were looking for Tsuna, but his desire to see the other boy, and his growing faith in his skills so that he'd be able to protect Tsuna enough for him to escape – if Mukuro tried anything – won out over caution, and he'd led the illusionist to Namimori.

The baseball player smiled instead. "Good."

Mukruo seemed to be rolling his eyes in his head, but the illusionist decided to give his signature smirk in reality, before looking back towards the town. "Then let's go."

XXXXX

"Make sure you have everything packed, Tsu-kun."

The brunet huffed, exasperated, but responded regardless. "Yes, mama, I have."

"Everything?" Nana asked, and Tsuna rolled his eyes.

"Yes."

Honestly, she was treating this mission like an overnight school trip. He wasn't a blasted child, and he'd done this hundreds of times before, but Tsuna couldn't quite bring himself to snap at his mother to stop her mothering. She had his best intentions at heart, and she'd been through enough without him shooting her down for caring.

Tsuna wondered exactly how she took his father turning up, gun in hand and men on standby. She didn't talk to the man, and she didn't ask Tsuna anything after he talked to him either. The younger brunet was afraid to bring it up himself, because he honestly didn't know how he'd handle another breakdown. Iemitsu had a lot to answer for, and unfortunately, the blond man was the only one capable of providing them.

Nana patted his head fondly, a wry smile on her face. "I know you're used to this Tsu-kun, but humour me, please?"

Instantly, Tsuna's heart melted. "Of course, mama."

"Ah, you don't call me mama very often anymore." Nana gave an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, my boy is all grown up."

Tsuna ducked his head in embarrassment, much to Nana's amusement.

"And next month you'll be seventeen!" The older woman exclaimed, and Tsuna had to blink in surprise. He had entirely forgotten his birthday, although he distinctly remembered celebrating Gokudera's birthday before going on that mission and coming back to the absolute shitstorm of his house burning down, and subsequent week of hectic research while waiting for Xanxus to call. It had quite honestly slipped his mind that October was just around the corner. Honestly, he couldn't believe it had been that long – four years already. Time had flown through the hectic first year with Hibari, and then half a year later, after he'd gotten a hang of things Gokudera jumped into the picture, and it was smooth sailing since.

"Oh," Nana continued to lament, and Tsuna got a bad feeling. "You'll be old enough for a boyfriend to come along and whisk you away!"

"M-mum!" Tsuna protested, blushing in mortification. Nana might have been wilfully ignorant when it came to Iemitsu, but she was more than sharp enough to mess with her son.

The brunette laughed, deciding to stop with her teasing there. It wouldn't do for her baby to be preoccupied with thoughts of a certain someone while he was running around and getting into danger.

"Do be careful though." Nana smiled fondly at her son. "Come back home safely."

Tsuna's expression softened, and he nodded resolutely. "Of course."

In the end, everyone decided to see him off for his flight. Nana couldn't, of course, for fear of running into Iemitsu and exposing Caelum's identity of Tsuna, but they had said goodbye at the house. Gokudera used to send him off a lot more in the early days, so it was a nostalgic experience seeing him at the airport once more, less excitable than he used to be, but still wearing the same kicked puppy expression of worry. Tsuna had the urge to pat him on the head.

Both Kusekabe and Hibari stood slightly to the side, the latter almost hissing in contempt at the presence of the CEDEF leader. It was evident that the prefect wanted to be going as well, being far too impatient to wait the day it would take his parents to arrive. Tsuna gave him a reassuring look – as much as he could from behind his glasses and mask. Hibari seemed to have gotten it anyway, because he relaxed his shoulders a little, even as he returned a look that expressed his dislike.

Tsuna wanted to say something to the elder assassin, because they both knew he'd be going off to dangerous territory, and both of them having become even closer recently meant he knew that the other boy would be fretting badly until they could be reunited. Tsuna didn't really go on dangerous missions without Hibari, even after he had gotten Gokudera and gone mostly solo, and it felt odd leaving the other boy behind. It would feel odder however, to have a heart to heart with Hibari in front of his father. He didn't want to draw too much scrutiny from the older man, some part of him still silently freaking out by being a medical mask away from having his identity discovered. At least it wasn't an ordinary medical mask (being far stronger than the usual flimsy ones, and tied much more securely), and he did have another on underneath, but the brunet thought he only really got away with it because Iemitsu hadn't been home in so long that he wasn't intimately familiar with his son's appearance.

It seemed Hibari had no such qualms, shooting a venomous glare at Iemitsu until the blond looked away, before stepping closer to Tsuna and looking him in the eyes.

"Don't die, omnivore."

Tsuna nodded, a smile overcoming his face and crinkling his eyes. "Catch up soon."

Hibari gave a quick, sharp nod, and before Tsuna could convince himself not to, he rushed forwards and enveloped the older teen in a hug. Squeezing the surprised Hibari once, the brunet jumped back, blushing to the tips of his ears before he turn tailed and practically ran to the waiting aeroplane. He ducked his head with a smile as he heard the booming laughter of his father, and the loud whack of a tonfa hitting flesh.

Tsuna jogged up the steps of the plane, and entered it quickly, scanning the interior for other people. Whoever he was supposed to work with in retrieving Xanxus should be on board.

The sound of a deep baritone voice from his left startled Tsuna, and he looked to find an older man clad in a classy black suit. The hitman tipped his hat as their eyes met.

"Ciaossu."

XXXXX

Stubbing out his cigarette, Gokudera glowered at the world around him. He didn't normally smoke, but he was stressed, and Tsuna had gone to visit the blasted Vongola alone, since it would take at least a day for Hibari to prepare to leave for France as well. Of course the bomber would be worried for his friend, Tsuna had saved him multiple times through the years, and Gokudera couldn't be right beside him to do the same. This time it would be Hibari's job, and the bomber might have been jealous if he wasn't so relieved to know Tsuna had someone that cared for him on this mission as well. Plus, he knew that they both cared for each other, and maybe there was some fear that Tsuna wouldn't have time for him, being with the prefect instead, he could be happy for his friend.

He could also, the bomber thought, do far more good by completing his job of information gathering. Gokudera, despite being abrasive, could in fact make contacts, and find information, and hack a little if need be. He was a strategist at heart, and Gokudera knew that they desperately needed to be in the know. If they knew who was attacking the Vongola – which included one of Tsuna's friends and family (and Gokudera knew how far the brunet went for people he cared about; Tsuna was stubborn to a fault, and relentless in caring for others), then Vongola could take care of it. Tsuna wouldn't need to be paranoid about his other – or his father, though Gokudera had a feeling the young assassin only really cared about the man's bellbeing for his mother's sake – and he wouldn't need to rush off to save anyone. Gokudera then wouldn't need to be paranoid about Vongola finding out too much about his partner – like the fact he was their CEDEF leader's only son. The Mafia were ruthless, including their most powerful famaglia, and Gokudera had no illusions that Vongola would leave them be if they could claim the boy for their own.

Taking in another drag of the unhealthy smoke, Gokudera huffed, watching the white tendrils disappear. He mentally reviewed the information he'd gotten so far. Gesso had been the lead he's gotten from the thugs, but the family was small – far too small to be behind the entire hunt on Vongola. Maybe they were a pawn of someone bigger, or maybe it was a one off attempt, a means to one up the strongest family while it was distracted by other attacks. Reports he had gathered from other attacks on the Vongola was far more ominous. Some had likewise encounters – thugs going to attack related civilians, but many of the members had run into something far more sinister, and it was this that had the bomber worrying so.

Image reports had shown bodied ripped in half, claw marks raking their bodies as if some animal had attacked them. Gokudera would have assumed so, if it wasn't a consistent pattern that happened in various locations across the world to Vongola members. Rumours spread in whispers across the Mafia community, wondering what on Earth could have done it, and who on Earth would stand up to the Vongola. There were far too many pleased famaglias, ones that Gokudera feared, would join in or support the attack against the strongest family, bringing about an all out war.

What was more disturbing was that the rumours led to one word. Estraneo.

The Estraneo were a black mark in recent Mafia history. Their involvement with the possession bullet was only the start – because despite the setback, they simply grew bigger and bigger, like a parasite, and there had only been rumours of the extent they'd go to. They had embodied the darkest part of the Mafia – doing anything for anyone. Despite numerous attempts, the possession bullet wasn't eradicated completely, and fear ran rampant, even when the Estraneo appeared to have come to a stop. Nobody knew that they went even more underground than the underground, becoming like a phantom and supplying people with increasingly gruesome weapons. The Vindice weren't getting involved without proof, especially without blatant examples of how they'd broken the law. The Estraneo had been sneaky, and nobody could fully trace things back to them so they were to an extent, untouchable.

It didn't really end until a public exposure event had occurred. Someone had gone to one of their smaller labs and found child experimentation. He'd wiped out the lab, but not before finally supplying the proof needed to convince the world just how bad the Estraneo had been. With that kick-starting it, the Vindice had swooped in like vengeful birds of prey, going hard and far in their attempts to completely eradicate the rogue family. The Vongola had gotten involved too, and with the joint efforts of them both, the scientist family were never heard of again.

Until now, at least.

Gokudera sighed and put his cigarette out; scowling when the loud and obnoxious sounds of people passing by met his ears. Honestly, it was late, and he didn't want to hear their blabbering. The bomber grimaced and prepared to ignore them – because he had gotten over most of his anger issues, and engaging would set him back, no matter how stressed he was – until the exact words of their conversation met his ears.

"... He should be in high school anyway, we can catch him tomorrow!"

"Going by the state of his house, I'd be surprised if he was still alive."

"Don't worry Mukuro. Tsuna's strong, trust me." A loud, obnoxious laugh met Gokudera's ears, before the same voice continued. "Plus he's friends with this guy called Hibari, who's really strong too. He'll be fine!"

That was it. Evidently, these two people were looking for his partner, and with how dangerous things were looking, there was no way Gokudera would just let them slip away. He kicked away from the wall he had been leaning on, walking up to the two conversing teens with an expression that could curdle milk.

"Oi, why are you two looking for Tsuna-san?"

The two boys froze, glancing at each other before glancing at him. Gokudera tensed, his hands in his pockets, already fingering the dynamite he could use to take them out. They might not have sounded hostile, but he could never know.

Then the black haired one smiled, all bright and dazzling. "Yo! I'm an old classmate of his." The teen was practically oozing charm, and Gokudera had the odd urge to look away. "Yamamoto Takeshi. Nice to meet you!"

XXXXX

Hibari glanced out the window of the sitting room, before looking back at his tea and taking a sip. It hadn't been long since Tsuna had flown off to god knows where, and it was nice for Nana that the older boy would spend some time in her company. It had only been for barely a year in which she had lived alone when her son moved out, but it had been the loneliest yet – even with Tsuna visiting as often as he could. Nana was relieved then, that even after that time apart, her son hadn't grown apart from her.

Yet it hurt the woman to let her son go off somewhere dangerous, though it seemed far too late to stop him. When he'd become so independent a while after entering middle school, Nana had refrained from restricting him in any way – far too happy he finally had friends and things that made him happy in comparison to the bullying and lack of friends he faced before that. Now it seemed a little too late to ask him not to do this, to plead for him to come home and stay home where it was safe. She had no delusions that it would be that simple, but she wished, badly that it was.

Maybe it would have been different if Iemitsu had been there, to parent besides her so that Tsuna didn't feel the need to become an assassin (and honestly, an assassin? Tsuna had grown up nicely of course, and she could tell he still had his morals relatively intact, but she couldn't help but feel that she'd failed him in some way). Then again, Iemitsu was also part of the mafia, so it might have not made any difference.

Nana sighed, taking a drink of her own tea. At least Tsuna had met decent people like the young Hibari, and remained decent himself – because going across the world for a friend in danger was a decent thing to do, no matter how much the action worried Nana.

"He's camping outside." Hibari's voice cut through the peaceful quiet, and Nana glanced out the window herself. She couldn't see Iemitsu – or sense him, as she suspected the teen had done, but it was obvious who 'he' was.

"I know." Nana sighed. "It's the sort of thing that he would do." The brunette smiled. "He probably won't move until I go see him."

"Will you?"

Nana tilted her head, considering. Thinking of her little boy, who was flying across the world right now, she made up her mind.

"He can out wait a night if he must."

Hibari quirked the smallest of smiles, nodding in agreement.

Omake:

Hibari raised an eyebrow, which was apparently Hibari-speak for 'you have got to be kidding me'. Tsuna blatantly ignored it, pointing towards to object with both a proud and hopeful look on his face.

Hibari's eye twitched, which meant he was quickly moving on from amusement and onto irritation at the brunet's sheer stupidity.

"A box." The prefect's voice was low and monotone, and probably the closest to incredulous as Tsuna was ever going to get it.

Tsuna nodded in response to the slight questioning edge in the older boy's voice. "It's perfect."

"It's stupid." Hibari snapped back, almost immediately.

"No it isn't!" Tsuna defended his box. "Haven't you ever played Metal Gear Solid? This is classic!"

The flat look on Hibari's face was all the answer the brunet got.

"I refuse to crawl around, under a box." Hibari hissed. "It is dirty, restricts movement, and is far more suspicious than walking around normally."

Tsuna mentally applauded himself for managing to get Hibari riled up so much. He hadn't heard the prefect say more than a sentence at once for months. The brunet sighed however, when the other boy continued to reject his brilliant idea. It wasn't as if Hibari had been any more productive in figuring out how they'd escape from that particular boiler room undetected. They'd done their job, but it seems like the body was discovered far too quickly, leaving them trapped within a building that was on high alert. Fighting their way out, Tsuna decided, was not a helpful suggestion.

"Fine." The brunet relented. "You can do things your way."

He watched as Hibari relaxed – as much as the prefect ever relaxed – before continuing. "But," Tsuna added, seeing Hibari tense up again. "I will not abandon my box. We can meet up at the checkpoint."

"The rendezvous," Hibari muttered, but he seemed content with the idea. It would be more difficult to escape together – most likely there's be a small opening, if any at all, for the exit, and it would be hard enough to be stealthy without someone else breathing down their necks. Even disregarding that, the prefect was always happily to go solo, being so adverse to human company in the first place.

"That's what I said," Tsuna replied, his eyes sparkling with excitement. It really was like real life Metal Gear Solid!

Hibari sighed at his younger companion. If he hadn't trained the other boy himself, he might have been slightly apprehensive at letting the brunet run around, all willy nilly.

"Don't die, stupid herbivore."

Hibari was off before he could get a reply, slipping through one corridor to another – his presence almost nonexistent as he went. It was far easier, the prefect summarised, than crouching around under boxes. Maybe Tsuna would learn a lesson or two, once his ridiculous plan failed spectacularly.

The assassin had to pause in his musings as a sound in front of him had him freezing. There was someone there. Hibari hid behind an alcove, wondering how he was supposed to get past unseen. There were no more doors or breaks in the corridor for a while, and even if he slipped past unnoticed, the guard simply had to turn around and he'd be exposed. There was always the option of finding another route, but the exit was right there and the prefect was far too impatient for his own good.

As soon as the guard passed, the assassin rushed forwards, grabbing the man by the sides of his head and twisting it to produce an audible snap of his neck breaking. The guard slumped, dead, almost immediately, and Hibari let out a tiny breath of relief.

"What the hell?"

The prefect's head snapped around immediately, and silver eyes widened almost unnoticeably as Hibari mentally cursed. The guard had been with a group.

Exiting the building, slightly too bruised for his liking, Hibari finally spared a thought for his brunet companion, hoping that the other boy likewise hadn't run into anyone. God knows how anyone would fight from under a bloody box. Either way, the prefect resolved himself for waiting a while – because it would take far longer to move around while crouching – wondering if he'd have to get Kusekabe to provide him with a diversion to get the other boy out.

Hibari walked up to the rendezvous, mind working out various possible scenarios. He glanced up, and immediately his mental processes came to a halt.

"Hey Hibari. Took you long enough."

Standing proudly upon their meeting point, box in tow (Tsuna was loath to leave it behind for some inexplicable reason), was one smiling brunet – who appeared to be entirely unharmed.

"What."

"The box worked!" Tsuna declared happily. "I told you it would– eh, Hibari? Are you alright?"

– x –

Later that night, Tsuna cackled hysterically to himself, remembering the look on Hibari's face when he'd arrived at their meeting place, under the impression that the brunet actually escaped by hiding under an empty box. The poor fool didn't notice the air vents.