Disclaimer: I own nothing from Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

-Don't want to reveal too much so I won't confirm who's boss or who's on what side in the future.

-Some of you have got the general idea of what will happen in the future but I won't confirm that either. You'll just have to wait:)

-I'll keep putting small excerpts of the future at the end of each chapter but it won't be anything specific.

Chapter 5 – Unexpected Help and a Coward's Resolve

"Hey, you're kinda cute," Hiko cut in after listening to the girl gush about Reborn like he was a normal baby.

The girl's face flamed red as she stopped mid-word and Hiko smirked. He could make Kyoko jealous if he went out with another girl.

"I'm Sawada Hiko. What's your name?" Hiko asked, a winning smile making its way onto his face.

"H- Hahi!" She squeaked. "U- Um, Miura Haru," Still blushing, she glanced shyly back over at Reborn. "Y- You have a very cute little brother."

Hiko kept his irritation hidden. The girl was more interested in a child than him. "Yeah, I suppose," He said offhandedly.

He did a double-take when Reborn reached up for Leon, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"I'm not his little brother," The hitman said calmly, his chameleon transforming into a gun. "I'm his tutor and a hitman."

Hiko gaped. "What are you-" He cut himself off and caught the hand suddenly swinging at his face.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" He snapped, any patience for the girl evaporating on the spot.

For her part, the girl, Haru, was glaring angrily at him, not seeming to notice that he could break her wrist at a moment's notice.

"You're horrible!" She yelled. "What are you teaching the poor baby? Babies are angelic, with hearts of purest white!"

Hiko sneered, tightening his grip on the girl's wrist. "What the hell are you talking about? I haven't taught Reborn anything."

He glanced sidelong at his tutor who was watching them with unreadable eyes. He'd been getting the feeling that Reborn was really displeased with his actions lately, and since he would have to impress the hitman if he wanted a leg up to becoming Vongola Decimo, he supposed he should curb his reactions a little.

With a huff, Hiko released the girl and stepped back. "Look," He said flatly. "What Reborn does is his own business. He's my tutor, not the other way around. Don't let his looks fool you."

Haru just scowled at him, rubbing her wrist. "As if Haru would believe that. You're just a bully."

Hiko's eyes narrowed and he took a threatening step forward, satisfied when the girl retreated a little. "I'm not a bully. Don't make accusations without-"

An irksome laugh interrupted him, grating against his ears.

"Ahahahaha! Lambo-san has appeared! Reborn, brace yourself!"

Hiko turned in time to see his idiot brother's new charge swing towards them, two of those grenades the cow always carried around in its hands. He snorted when the baby's grasp on the rope faltered before it fell off completely, and then scoffed loudly when his twin dashed around a corner and dove forward, catching the cow before it could hit the ground.

"Tsuna-sama, are you alright?" The bomber called, running up behind Hiko's brother.

Dame-Tsuna nodded, letting Gokudera give him a hand up. The bomber turned a scowl on the Bovino instead.

"Stupid cow! Why are you always giving Tsuna-sama trouble?"

The cow stuck out its tongue. "Aho-dera's just jealous because he's not as good as Lambo-san!"

Hiko cut in before the situation could get any more ridiculous. "Bringing the cow to school again, Dame-Tsuna?"

He was instantly on the receiving end of the bomber's glare and he did his best to stare back condescendingly. If he was honest, he was always slightly wary of Gokudera. There was something in those eyes that said he wasn't above murder and Hiko was at the top of the bomber's list.

"Lambo-san is going to school to protect Tsuna-nii!" The cow piped up. "Lambo-san is the best hitman in the world so Tsuna-nii will be safe with him!"

Before Hiko could react to this, Haru stormed past him, eyes flashing, and she slapped Dame-Tsuna across the face.

Hiko blinked and then smirked. He might like this girl after all.

"What the hell, bitch?!" Gokudera roared, whipping out his dynamite as he roughly shoved her back. But before he could hurl them, Dame-Tsuna clamped a hand around the bomber's wrist, successfully halting his movements.

"Tsuna-sama?" Gokudera glanced back, jaw clenching when his twin shook his head but obediently putting his dynamite away.

Hiko rolled his eyes. The bomber was so whipped.

"You must be his brother!" Haru screeched, jabbing an accusing finger at Dame-Tsuna. "You're teaching babies bad things too! I can't believe the abuse you put them through! You're so cruel!"

Dame-Tsuna flinched, shoulders rounding as if it would shield him from the girl's wrath. Gokudera growled and glared down at her with intense dislike but before he could retort, the cow spoke up, its voice pitched with childish outrage.

"Tsuna-nii's not cruel!" The baby spat out. "How dare you hurt Tsuna-nii! Lambo-san will make you pay!"

With that said, another grenade was produced, but once again, Dame-Tsuna put a stop to it, gently plucking the weapon from the cow's hands.

"Tsuna-nii!" The cow glanced indignantly up at Dame-Tsuna. "She has to pay!"

Dame-Tsuna raised an eyebrow and the cow huffed, crossing his arms.

"She hit you!" It persisted sulkily.

Dame-Tsuna shook his head, frowning sternly at the cow.

The Bovino drooped. "No using weapons against defenceless people. Lambo-san remembers."

Dame-Tsuna nodded, stuffing the grenade back into the cow's hair before turning his attention on Haru.

The girl looked a little uncertain now but she regained her footing and plastered on a dopey smile for the kid. "You're really cute! Don't worry; Haru will protect you from your brother."

The cow scowled darkly at the girl. "Lambo-san is not cute, and he doesn't need protection, especially from Tsuna-nii. Go away, crazy meanie!"

Gokudera snorted at the flabbergasted look on Haru's face. "I hate to say this but I agree with the stupid cow. Come on, Tsuna-sama, we'll be late for school if we don't go now."

Hiko couldn't hold back a last taunting jeer as Dame-Tsuna nodded and stepped around the girl, giving her a wide berth. "Scared of a girl, Dame-Tsuna? Only you would be weak enough to let someone hit you without doing anything about it."

His twin just avoided his gaze, irritating him even further as Gokudera shot him a dirty look but didn't bother insulting him back.

"Che," Hiko shouldered his bag and glanced dismissively at the girl. "Hey, don't try to attack me again. I won't go easy on you next time."

Haru didn't know what to make of the pair of twins. They were clearly teaching the babies evil things, but the first twin, Hiko, gave her the creeps. The second twin (did his own brother call him Dame-Tsuna?) looked almost like the first but he seemed more frightened of her than anything else. Not to mention both the fierce-looking grey-haired teen and the cute baby in his arms had defended him. The baby had even called her a crazy meanie!

She blinked out of her thoughts when someone cleared their throat and she turned to find the other baby, Reborn, staring at her. She smiled tentatively at him; he didn't seem particularly friendly either.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't go around hitting people without cause," Reborn said mildly. "Especially when they don't deserve it."

"Hahi! They're teaching you and the other baby bad things!" Haru said anxiously. "They definitely deserve it."

Reborn's face was still as cute as ever but Haru stiffened instinctively as something flashed in his black eyes for a split second.

"Not Tsuna," The baby said adamantly. "Don't hit him again."

And before Haru could blink, Reborn had turned and leapt out of sight.

Reborn watched with shadowed eyes as Yamamoto swung an arm around Tsuna's shoulders, only for the brunet to jerk and pull away before he remembered who it was.

He had suspected it for a while but it had never been as clear as it was now. Before Gokudera had shown up and chased all his bullies away, Tsuna would've been defenceless, and bullies often got bored with just taking lunches and belongings. They would've eventually resorted to violence.

It wasn't too serious, Reborn decided as he watched Tsuna slowly relax again, the tension wiring his body since this morning slowly dissipating. Still, he should've stopped the girl before she had lashed out at Tsuna, but he hadn't been expecting the older twin on the scene, and then he had expected Gokudera to defend him if need be. He had forgotten that the bomber usually labeled Hiko as the biggest threat whenever his student was in Tsuna's vicinity and didn't pay too much attention to anything else.

"Hey kid," Yamamoto greeted. He had come over to Reborn's side as Tsuna and Gokudera chased Lambo around, trying to get him off the school gates he was climbing on.

Reborn nodded, already knowing what the baseball player wanted.

"So what happened this morning?" Yamamoto enquired lightly. "I was at baseball practice so I couldn't walk with Tsuna to school."

"They bumped into Hiko," Reborn said truthfully.

Yamamoto's smile sharpened. "Tsuna wouldn't let me touch him when he came to class earlier. I was going to clap him on the shoulder like I always do and he flinched away from me. And there was a bruise on his face," Any humour in his eyes drained away. "Did Hiko hit him?"

Reborn knew if he lied and said yes, the baseball player wouldn't hesitate to teach Hiko a lesson, even if Tsuna told him not to, and it was with startling regret that he said no.

"There was a misunderstanding with a girl," Reborn explained. "It's been cleared up."

Well actually, no it hadn't. Reborn jumped to the ground. "Have another sleepover soon," He suggested over his shoulder as he left to find his student.

Judging by what Hiko had said, the brat wasn't above hitting girls. When Reborn had spotted Haru following them a few weeks back, he had given his student the benefit of the doubt, believing that the girl would be a good test for him. Now Reborn had to think of a way to resolve the entire situation peacefully, preferably before Haru pushed Hiko too far.

It was times like these when he wished he had never agreed to the Nono's request.

Tsuna watched worriedly as that strange girl from yesterday morning tailed his brother around, still demanding he stop influencing Reborn. It was only the presence of other students around him that Hiko hadn't yet lashed out, thought Tsuna could tell that his twin was on his last nerve, eyeing the girl with growing anger.

"He's a real bastard. Even I don't treat girls like that."

Tsuna jumped and backed away as he turned and found Mochida Kensuke standing beside him. The kendo captain snorted, rolling his eyes at him.

"Relax," The teen said with some annoyance. "As if I can do anything to you with your bodyguards hovering over you all day."

He jabbed a finger over his shoulder and Tsuna followed it to where Takeshi was practicing his swings. Tsuna knew his friend well enough though to know that he was well aware of where Tsuna was. It was lucky Hayato was in detention at the moment. Tsuna knew the bomber wouldn't have hesitated to throw his dynamite at Mochida.

Turning back to Mochida, Tsuna remained wary. The kendo captain had been one of the ones who had once picked on him, though not regularly and only when Tsuna bumped into him outside of school.

"Can't you do anything about it?" Mochida now said, glancing back at where Hiko was attempting to ignore the girl. "You're his older brother, aren't you?"

Tsuna gave him a guarded but bewildered look. As far as he knew, Mochida hated him, just like almost everyone else. Why was he talking to him now?

Mochida seemed to pick up some of his misgivings because the older student eyed him with distaste.

"Don't worry; I still don't like you," Mochida assured derisively. "But he's being a creep to Kyoko, stalking her everywhere, and unfortunately, he's stronger than me, especially when he does that crazy shit and fight in his boxers. So I've stooped to asking you. If you can't keep your own brother under control, can't you at least get your mom to do something about it?"

Tsuna dropped his gaze and shrugged helplessly. His mother could scold Hiko all she wanted (which wouldn't be more than a gentle reprimand), but she couldn't control what his twin did outside of the house. Most of the time, she couldn't even control what he did inside.

"You know, this is why I've never liked you," Mochida said from somewhere above him. "You're such a spineless wimp, and when it comes to your brother, you don't even try. You just let him walk all over you. I know people can be weak, but it's hard to believe anyone can be as weak as you. How you managed to get people like Yamamoto and Gokudera on your side is beyond me. Probably bribed them or something."

Tsuna's head shot up at this, mouth opening to snap something back - as if either of his friends would ever take bribes from anyone - as his hands involuntarily curled into fists but Mochida had already turned away, dismissing him like he always did.

It shouldn't upset him so much. Mochida had insulted him before but back then, he had never had friends for the kendo captain to taunt. Was that the difference? Mochida had dragged Takeshi and Hayato into their confrontation, and instead of the hurt resignation that always followed each slight, he had felt anger. No, not quite anger; just an overwhelming need to... protect?

"Tsuna, are you okay?"

Tsuna watched Takeshi approach, a slight frown on his face as his eyes followed Mochida. Takeshi protected him, as did Hayato, but what had Tsuna done to protect them? He couldn't even defend them against Mochida's accusations.

"I'm fine," Tsuna mumbled hollowly and turned away from Takeshi's piercing gaze. He looked back at Hiko instead, watching his twin sneer at the girl.

His friends didn't mind that he didn't talk, that he avoided conflict like the plague, and they were always willing to step in for him. Tsuna was grateful for that, but was he happy about it? He was weak, he knew that, and he didn't mind being a coward when the only one he had had to look out for was himself. But he had Takeshi and Hayato now; being a coward when he had friends to protect was... unforgiveable.

And for the first time in his life, Tsuna didn't just regret being so weak, always being so scared. He hated it.

"-and she followed me everywhere! I mean doesn't she have school? I should've made it clearer yesterday that she shouldn't mess with me. If she shows up again, I'll make sure she doesn't dare show her face around me ever again."

Tsuna gripped his chopsticks in his hands, heart thudding as he listened to Hiko complain about his day as they ate their dinner. Strangely enough, Mochida's words hadn't stopped ringing in his ears and Tsuna had to start somewhere, didn't he? It might as well be the latest problem his brother had caused.

"A scare is all she needs before she'll back off," Hiko was saying confidently. "I'll get someone to rough her up a bit outside of school-"

"Leave her alone."

Tsuna's voice had been barely above a whisper but dead silence descended on the table in the blink of an eye. Somewhere in the back of his mind, detached from his racing heartbeat and shaking hands, he remembered that his mother hadn't heard him talk in over a year and his brother even longer. And as far as he knew, Reborn hadn't ever been in the same room when he had spoken, and neither had Bianchi. While Lambo had, it was definitely not in front of his family.

"What did you say?" Hiko asked, a warning edging his voice and making Tsuna feel like he couldn't breathe. But he had to do this. If not now, when? If not here, where? Now that he thought about it, his own brother had always been the one thing Tsuna was most afraid of, more than the bullies, more than school, more than life.

"I- I said," Tsuna tried to keep the quaver out of his voice as he stared at Hiko's chin. "I said, leave her alone."

His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white and his nails dug painfully into his palms, but that was a good thing. It helped center him somewhat.

"Sh- She's a girl," Tsuna continued, mouth dry. "A- And she d- doesn't even know how t- to fight. H- Hurting her is wrong."

Another long silence followed, tension so thick Tsuna could probably take a knife and cut it.

And then Hiko began to laugh, mocking and scornful, and Tsuna heard a chair being scraped back as his brother rose to his feet.

"Tell me that when you can actually look at me, Dame-Tsuna," Hiko scoffed, turning to leave.

Tsuna began to feel the first wave of defeat that always came after an altercation with his brother. Well, at least he had tried this time-

"Probably bribed them or something."

No. No, no, no.

Those words popped into his mind again and Tsuna had no idea why. They were two different situations and Mochida had meant them as an insult to him, not Takeshi and Hayato, but all Tsuna could think of was that he hadn't been able to defend the only friends he had, and if he couldn't even defend a girl he barely knew, then what hope did he have when it came to his friends?

Without thinking, without letting himself think and talk himself out of it, Tsuna shot to his feet as well, chair skidding backwards and falling over as he threw himself forward, leaning across the table to grab Hiko's wrist before his twin could move away. His elbow smashed against a dish and it skittered off the table, shattering on the ground.

Everything seemed to slow around him and, miraculously, his head seemed to clear, the panic driven out of his mind as a familiar-foreign warmth curled in his chest and a funny but reassuring heat rose inside him, calming his heart and steadying his resolve.

He looked up, staring his shocked-looking twin in the eye as he repeated quietly, "Leave her alone. Promise me you'll leave her alone."

A flicker of fear darted through Hiko's eyes before it disappeared but Tsuna saw it as clear as day.

"I'll do what I want to the girl. Don't touch me!" Hiko snarled, his body turning sharply to face Tsuna.

Left, the heat whispered, and instinctively, Tsuna shifted to the left just as a fist came flying at his head, missing him by mere inches.

Pull to the right, the heat urged. He's off-balance.

Tsuna pulled, yanking Hiko sideways and sending his twin staggering to the right. Hiko tripped over a leg of his chair and his free arm flailed wildly to try to maintain his equilibrium.

Let go, the heat said smugly. He'll fall.

Tsuna let go, and as Hiko crashed to the ground with a shout, the heat sang in his chest, ready and waiting for Tsuna to call on it again.

He had never felt this at peace before. There were still emotions swimming inside him; concern for his brother, anger on behalf of the girl, but he had them under control and he was no longer overpowered with fear for himself. He had something other than himself to protect now; being a coward was no longer an option.

"Leave her alone," Tsuna said a final time, his voice still soft but filled with that heat that blazed but didn't burn as he stared over the table at his brother currently sprawled on the kitchen floor. "If she won't stop following you around, then I'll explain the situation to her. Just don't hurt her. She hasn't done anything to you."

He paused, remembering the entire reason Mochida had talked to him in the first place.

"And stop following Sasagawa-san around," He added sternly, gaze locking onto his twin's and refusing to let him look away. "Enough's enough. Show some respect for other people."

Hiko stared up at him, resentment and something very close to hatred as well as a healthy amount of fear staining his expression.

"Whatever," He finally spat out, pushing himself to his feet again. "Just make sure the bitch stops bothering me. And Kyoko's not worth my effort anyway."

And with that said, Hiko stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs, the distant sound of a door slamming shut echoing around the house ending their exchange.

In the following silence, Tsuna felt the heat ebb and the warmth – still settled contentedly around his heart – fade to a simmer in his chest. His gaze lowered and he blinked in surprise when he found his free hand still curled around his chopsticks. As he lowered them back onto the table, he only had enough time to catch a glimpse of his mother's oddly proud face and Reborn's equally stunned expression before a wave of vertigo washed over him. He thought he saw Bianchi gaping at him and Lambo was strangely silent, but darkness soon closed over him and he knew no more.

Reborn didn't sleep that night. He couldn't. His mind kept him awake, replaying the scene at dinner over and over again.

For all his experience and knowledge, what Tsuna had done hadn't even made it onto his list of expectations for the boy. He hadn't expected Tsuna to talk in front of them and he hadn't expected the teen to confront Hiko directly, but most of all, he hadn't expected the copper orange that had shone in previously brown eyes and the dying will flame that had ignited on Tsuna's head like a glowing beacon.

Tsuna was definitely physically weaker than Hiko and he didn't know how to fight, nor had he resorted to aggression during the disagreement with his twin, but simply by using Hiko's momentum against him, Tsuna had floored the brat with enviable ease.

And Reborn knew it had been the Vongola Hyper Intuition guiding Tsuna's movements.

Hiko had quailed and submitted under his brother's formidable resolve, and right before Tsuna had fainted from exhaustion, Reborn had caught his gaze.

The potential he had found there had been blinding.

Leon had leapt off his fedora of his own accord, transforming into a stretcher under Tsuna before the teen could hit the ground. And before Reborn could ask, Bianchi had risen to her feet and scooped the boy up, willingly carrying him upstairs into his bedroom. Hours later, when she had turned in for the night, the muted awe still hadn't disappeared.

Reborn hadn't ever wanted to teach someone as much as he wanted to teach Sawada Tsunayoshi, but all he could do now was curse Iemitsu to hell and back. How could the fool make such a mistake? Weak? Lacking in potential? A failure all-around? Where the hell was the man getting his information from?

Reborn should write to the Nono. He should tell him, straight out, that Tsuna was the one who was most suitable to take up the mantle of Vongola Decimo, that Hiko didn't have a tenth of the potential his twin had.

But then what?

Iemitsu would throw a fit. Takehiko was the blond's darling son; Tsuna was just the shadow, easily dismissed and forgotten.

In the best case scenario, Timoteo would want proof at the very least, and when he got it (because Reborn was certain the Nono would see what Reborn saw), the boss would most likely insist on moving Tsuna to Italy, appointing him other tutors and maybe even teaching the boy himself. Reborn wouldn't be allowed because his contract with the Nono regarding Hiko would be broken and Timoteo would probably see this as a failure on Reborn's part. A broken promise to a mafia boss was not taken lightly; it was almost equivalent to an outright betrayal of trust, and the Nono would never let Reborn anywhere near Tsuna again.

Reborn was a selfish man through and through; he could admit that he didn't want anyone teaching Tsuna with the exception of himself.

But Hiko clearly wasn't the right choice. Even if the Nono banned him from Tsuna's side, shouldn't he inform him anyway? The Vongola was heading to its doom otherwise.

"You made the wrong damn choice and it cost us everything."

The cow's words jumped to the forefront of his mind. Was this the choice Reborn was supposed to make? Or was it something else later on, something even more important?

No, Reborn was fairly certain that this wasn't the choice the cow had been talking about. In the end, this choice was on the Nono's head, not Reborn's. The Bovino had been very clear in his meaning; Reborn had been the one solely or almost entirely responsible for whatever had taken place.

So what the hell was he supposed to do now? It didn't take a genius to realize that Tsuna would never be happy in Italy, growing up around Mafioso, and even with Gokudera and perhaps Yamamoto, living smack in the middle of the darkness that Reborn hoped Tsuna could one day disperse would break the teen.

And while he would never admit it out loud, Tsuna had grown on him. Reborn didn't want anything to happen to him and he had a feeling Gokudera and Yamamoto would sooner smuggle the brunet out of Japan before handing him over to the Vongola.

With a frustrated sigh, Reborn removed his fedora and tilted his head against the couch. He had never been so undecided in his entire life.

When Tsuna woke up, the first things he saw were his friends, sitting side by side in his room with their books on their laps as they huddled by his bed.

"Tsuna-sama!" Hayato looked overjoyed when he noticed Tsuna staring blearily at them. "You're awake!"

"Tsuna," Takeshi was more contained but no less relieved as he leaned forward, carelessly dropping his schoolbooks onto the ground. "How do you feel?"

Tsuna stirred, trying to sit up, but is limbs felt heavy and clumsy. "Umm, tired."

"You shouldn't try to sit up yet, Tsuna-sama," Hayato said, pushing him back down with embarrassing ease. "You've been sick for three days."

Three days? "Three days?" Tsuna croaked out, wide-eyed. He had been sick?

"Reborn-san told us you fell sick," Hayato explained, worry and fatigue creasing his forehead. "And you got really cold and then really hot before getting back to normal again."

Tsuna blinked, trying to sort out his memories. He hadn't been sick, he recalled, features paling as his confrontation with Hiko rushed back. He had challenged his brother. More importantly, he had challenged his brother and won.

"Tsuna?" Takeshi was studying him anxiously. "Should we call a doctor? The kid said you would be fine but-"

"I'm fine," Tsuna interjected quickly. "Really. Just a bit tired, that's all."

His friends still looked somewhat uncertain, but now that he was forming coherent words, they're expressions visibly relaxed.

Tsuna swallowed and Hayato hastily handed him a glass of water, ignoring the brunet's half-hearted protests and helping him drink.

"Where's Hiko?" Tsuna asked once he finished.

Hayato's expression darkened and Takeshi's mouth twisted a little.

"He tried to haul you out of bed when you wouldn't wake up for school the first day," Takeshi revealed. "Ranting something about you not being much and still being weak even with your dying will. The kid came in firing his toy gun. He told us to keep an eye on you, excused us from school, and we haven't seen either of them since."

Tsuna felt a brief flash of worry. Reborn was a hitman. The tutor hadn't finally snapped and killed Hiko, had he?

"Nee-san's been helpful," Hayato admitted grudgingly. "She kept your temperature down when you were feverish and piled blankets on you when you were near-freezing."

Tsuna nodded. He would have to thank Bianchi later.

"Tsuna, what happened?" Takeshi asked, eyeing him intently. "Hiko seemed a lot worse than usual, and, well, I've never seen a sickness like yours before."

Tsuna shrugged. He honestly didn't know. He remembered the comforting warmth in his chest and the fierce heat that had aided him when he had needed it but he had no idea why he had gotten sick.

"Finally awake?"

Tsuna, along with Hayato and Takeshi, twisted around to face the window. Standing on the windowsill was Reborn, fedora tilted up and black eyes focused solely on Tsuna.

Tsuna nodded slowly, frowning when he didn't hear the front door opening. Where was Hiko?

"Going through my self-made training-from-hell obstacle course," Reborn answered him, jumping down from the window and making his way over to Tsuna's bed. "The cow and Bianchi are out with Mamma."

The hitman landed on beside Tsuna's head and a tiny hand touched his forehead. Tsuna unconsciously stiffened and he felt the hand rise, hovering over him as Reborn waited for him to make up his mind.

Tsuna hesitated and then settled, relaxing as Reborn felt his forehead again.

"Hmm, almost back to normal," Reborn nodded, looking satisfied as he sat down on the bed.

"Reborn-san, what was wrong with Tsuna-sama?" Hayato questioned apprehensively.

Reborn tilted his fedora down and didn't respond for a long moment.

"He went into Hyper Dying Will Mode when he confronted Hiko yesterday," Reborn said at last before glancing sharply at Tsuna as Hayato and Takeshi exchanged surprised but highly pleased looks on the side. "Tsuna, you've seen me shoot your brother with Dying Will bullets."

It wasn't a question but Tsuna nodded anyway.

"It's a special weapon created by the Vongola Family," He started.

"Wait, what's the Vongola Family?" Takeshi cut in, looking confused.

Everyone paused and then Hayato reluctantly gave an overview of the mafia. Several minutes later, Takeshi nodded and commented on how interesting the mafia game sounded. Hayato face-palmed and Tsuna sighed but they all seemed to want to hear Reborn's explanation so neither of them tried to correct him.

"Once it makes contact with a person, they die," Reborn continued. "If they feel regret when they were shot, they are reborn with a flame on their forehead and are capable of feats they wouldn't normally be able to do."

"Like the clone running up the side of buildings!" Hayato grimaced at the memory.

Reborn nodded. "That's Hiko in Dying Will Mode. Hyper Dying Will Mode is taking it a step further. With the help of the bullet, Dying Will Mode only lasts five minutes. Hyper Dying Will Mode is a calmer and more stamina-based version of Dying Will Mode. For one, the user keeps all their clothes and is able to fight calmly instead of using all of their dying will at once. More importantly, someone carrying Vongola blood will have their Vongola Hyper Intuition, a power that can see through all, awakened."

Here, Reborn paused, turning to stare at Tsuna again. "That's what happened to you. But it shouldn't have been possible."

Tsuna blinked. Why?

Reborn released a short sigh. "Tsuna, you bypassed Dying Will Mode completely and jumped straight to Hyper Dying Will Mode without bullets or Dying Will Pills. It's unheard of. Only Vongola Primo could activate his Dying Will flames without help from the very beginning. All the other bosses went through vigorous training before they had enough experience to activate their flames at will. Your brother certainly can't."

"No surprise there," Hayato said staunchly. "And it just means Tsuna-sama's better than all of them."

"Wrong," Reborn said almost harshly. "Just because he can doesn't mean he should. Why do you think he got sick? He doesn't have any training and going into Hyper Dying Will Mode strained his body beyond its limits."

Hayato looked properly chastised but Takeshi leaned forward.

"Well you can train him then," He suggested. "You're training Hiko, aren't you? You can train Tsuna too since he already knows how to do it. He just needs some experience."

Reborn said nothing and it was Tsuna who answered, no longer caring that the hitman was within hearing distance.

"Reborn-san's Hiko's tutor, Takeshi-kun," Tsuna said softly, ignoring the startled looks his friends sent him. "Hiko's the one who's going to become Vongola Decimo."

He stopped, thinking back, and then added, "And I don't know how to enter Hyper Dying Will Mode. It just happens."

"I saw it once," Hayato spoke up, his expression becoming mildly sheepish. "That day you first talked to me in class. Your eyes turned orange."

Takeshi nodded. "I saw it too. On the roof, right before I climbed back over. I thought it was a trick of the light though."

"He should be trained, Reborn-san," Hayato urged. "He's the clone's brother in the end."

"I can't," Reborn said flatly, words clipped. "I'm here to train Hiko. That's the contract I made with Nono."

A slightly deflated silence followed before Tsuna spoke again, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"S'okay Reborn-san," He assured. Nothing showed on the hitman's face but Tsuna thought Reborn was sorry anyway. "I don't mind. I'm happy with what I have."

He sent a tentative smile in his friends' direction and they both brightened, Hayato tingeing pink when they understood what he was trying to say.

Beside him, Reborn sighed again, a mixture of exasperation and faint approval.

"Go back to sleep," He ordered. "You're not completely well yet. And you have a stack of homework waiting for you when you get up."

Even Tsuna was surprised when a quiet but decidedly petulant groan escaped his throat.

He received a gentle whack to the head for his efforts.

"So that's how it is."

"Mm," Tsuna nodded, standing nervously in front of the girl, Haru.

As soon as he had gotten better, Tsuna had gone to find Haru, which wasn't hard since the girl was lurking outside his house. It was only due to Bianchi, who had kindly but firmly kept her away, that the brunette hadn't snuck into the house.

With Hayato fuming in the background and Takeshi watching them with a casual eye, Tsuna had explained that Reborn was a lot smarter than his physical age and assured her to the best of his ability that neither he nor his brother were corrupting anybody. It helped that Reborn had been in a good enough mood to add his own assurances on top of Tsuna's. Reborn had always had a way with words and he could probably talk a statue into believing it could move.

The words Tsuna needed to explain came a lot easier than he thought it would be. It was as if some sort of dam had been broken down, and while he was nowhere near being a chatterbox, he found that communicating out loud wasn't as difficult as it used to be.

"Haru is sorry for the trouble," The girl said morosely, hands clasped behind her back. "And she didn't mean to slap you."

Tsuna hid a wince. Yeah, he hadn't particularly enjoyed that.

"It's alright," He shrugged. "I've had-"

He cut himself off at Haru's wide-eyed look and Hayato's growl several feet behind him.

"Uh, d- do you want to come eat sushi with us?" He asked instead in a not-so-subtle attempt to change the subject.

Haru gave him a searching look but relented at Tsuna's pensive expression and smiled tentatively instead. "Haru would like that."

As they moved to join Hayato and Takeshi, she added vehemently, "But Haru doesn't like your brother. There's no doubt he's a bully."

Tsuna opened his mouth to protest and then faltered, remembering Hiko's actions and Hayato's words.

"Yeah," He finally agreed, a little sad but a little relieved as well. "I guess he is."

"Sawada," A voice called out and Tsuna stiffened instinctively, whirling around to pin Mochida with a guarded look.

Mochida rolled his eyes like last time, jabbing a finger at where Hayato was arguing with Lambo by the ice-cream stand with Takeshi and Haru laughing on the side.

"Bodyguards, Sawada," He said dryly.

Tsuna nodded cautiously and tensed even further as the kendo captain came to a stop in front of him.

"You got your brother off Kyoko's back," Mochida stated.

Tsuna nodded again, wondering where this was going.

Mochida continued eyeing him speculatively before saying abruptly, "You're still ridiculously weak. But your brother's toned down a notch, you talked Yamamoto out of committing suicide, and you tamed that wild puppy of yours within a few days."

Tsuna nodded once more, wanting to snap at the teen for calling Hayato a wild puppy even as a niggling suspicion grew at the back of his mind.

Another long pause followed and then Mochida asked bluntly, "There's a free spot on the kendo team. Do you want it?"

Tsuna's jaw dropped. He'd never been one to cuss but what the hell was going on?

"Don't get me wrong," Mochida sneered hastily. "I still don't like you. But seeing you do all that stuff and still remain pathetically weak is sickening to watch. And you did me a favor with Kyoko. I asked, and you agreed," He added, cutting off Tsuna's denial. "That's a favor, Sawada, so now I'm returning it. My family owns a dojo so I know what I'm doing. I'll teach you everything I know about kendo, and if you want, I'll even get my dad to train you. How 'bout it?"

The suspicion slowly turned to dawning realization. Was Mochida impressed?

Tsuna thought back to his brother's punch. Had it not been his intuition, he would be carrying around a black-eye at the moment. And with all this mafia business, surely, sooner or later, people would be coming after Hiko and, by extension, him and his mother. Maybe even his friends. And if Tsuna couldn't defend them when the time came, he would never forgive himself.

"Sawada?" Mochida pressed impatiently.

Tsuna hesitated for a moment longer and then nodded. "Alright, thank you."

Mochida looked taken aback and it was several seconds before Tsuna remembered he didn't talk around anyone. But the moment passed and Mochida grunted an acknowledgement as he turned away.

"Kendo practice is at six-thirty in the morning in the south gym," He tossed back over his shoulder. "I'll provide the equipment. Just get your ass there on time. And be prepared to learn. I'm not doing this for shits and giggles."

And without another word, Mochida walked off, leaving a slightly dazed Tsuna in his wake.

Well, apparently, he was going to learn kendo.

*Ten Years in the Future*

"I've got bad news."

"What news? And why are you whispering?"

"I'm in Kokuyo. There's a... slight problem. But-"

"What problem?"

"Shut up, Octopus Head! I don't have much time. Chiavarone Dino is alive, confirmed. But his lower echelon's been wiped out to the extreme. He's making his way to Japan right now." *Muffled Shouts* "Damn it, I've gotta go."

"Wait, you idiot! What the hell's going on?"

"Kokuyo's been surrounded. We managed to get Kyoko and Haru-chan out; they're with my wife, but Chrome and I are still here. I've already disabled the Kokuyo entrance to our base though. They won't get in."

"Shit, I'm sending you backup. Takeshi will be-"

"No. We can handle it. We'll meet up with you later."

"Ryo-"

*Line Disconnected*

"...I am going to wring that brainless fool's neck when he gets back! Hey, Sword Freak!"

"...What is it? I've got the Varia on line three-"

"Nevermind that now; I'll talk to them. Get over to Turf Top's house. The women are all there. Contact me when you get there."

"That was Ryohei? Did he get through to Dino?"

"Yeah, he's on his way here. Half his Family's been wiped out though."

"...He has no mercy."

"You just figured that out now? Get going!"

"On my way. Don't leave the Varia hanging. They get grumpy."

"Grumpy my ass. They're fucking psychotic. ...What the hell do you want?"

"Vooiii! Don't take that tone with us, trash!"

"I've got better things to do than listen to you spout crap all day, like clipping my toenails. Could you skip the insults and report?"

"We don't answer to you, trash! We wouldn't even be talking if you shits hadn't grown a backbone!"

"Either get to the point or fuck off! I've got work to do!"

"Che. Our American Base has been destroyed. We evacuated in time but our damn boss can't be bothered to run again without some answers. We'll be holding the line at our Italian Base. We'll get back to you once we've killed the trash on our asses. Capire?"

"Yeah, yeah, do whatever the fuck you want. Just get out in one piece."

"...You channelling our mini-boss now, trash?"

"You acknowledging he's your boss now, bastard?"

"We acknowledged that when we defected, trash. If you had even half a brain, you'd have realized sooner."

*Line Disconnected*

"...Bastards."

-More on Tsuna's growth than actually centered on Haru.

-Was Mochida a surprise? In all the KHR fics I've come across, Mochida's always been an idiot, an asshole, or an idiotic asshole, so I wondered what would happen if he was actually incorporated into a story as more than that. And it is mentioned that he's either associated with the Vongola or in the Vongola in the future and I don't think Tsuna would've let him into the Family if he was a complete jerk.

Next Chapter: Hibari Kyouya