Holy crap you guys! I didn't expect so many reviews, favorites, and alerts just for the first chapter. I hope this one is up to your expectations. The whole reincarnated soul thing was actually inspired by a scene from 07-Ghost, but then I had a vision of Gokudera exploding out of a rose bush with petals flying everywhere and yeah. That's how this story started.

Okay. So I've had this huge chunk of text sitting on a flash drive for over a year and I just add bits and pieces every now and then, but the longer it gets, the more anxious I get to just put out the part that's more than long enough to be one. So I've decided to split it and just polish up the second half later instead of giving you a 20,000 word monstrosity.

The point of view here kinda jumps around a little, but I hope it doesn't bother you too much. The tone of this chapter is far more depressing than the first chapter let on, but oh well.

This chapter starts shortly after Hibiki dies, before Tsuna enters middle school. Tsuna is currently 12.

Warnings: OOC, mentions of character death, bullying, some age/time line liberties taken

Beta'd by Tsumugi Hitomi.

Chapter 2: In Which the Garden Becomes a Place for Relaxation

As time passed, the plants under Tsuna's care thrived, but there was no one who saw his favorites aside from his mother and Hibiki. Hibiki who was now dead. At least he had peacefully passed away in his sleep. He had once proclaimed that he had gotten done everything he had wanted to do in life and everything else was just a bonus. "I've got no regrets boy. It's the best way to live and I hope that you'll be able to do it too someday."

Living without regret…

That sounded amazing, wonderful, almost like a dream…but Tsuna had things to do. Things to protect. Things to care for. He couldn't indulge himself. Not like the way Hibiki had wanted him to. To keep on going, he needed to survive and to do that, he needed to keep his head down and bite back whatever he truly felt.

But Tsuna still missed him terribly. He was one of the few people who actually saw something worthwhile in Tsuna and didn't hesitate to let him know that he did.

One Sunday morning, Tsuna, on his way home from picking up more seeds, passed by a baby in red Chinese robes with a red pacifier hanging from his neck. He was simply strolling along the top of a stone wall. The sight was enough to make Tsuna stop and in turn the baby stopped as well when he noticed that he was being stared at.

Tsuna opened his mouth to ask if he was lost, but stopped and thought better of it. Something was telling him that this wasn't the right thing to ask.

"Yes? Is there something you need?"

While Tsuna tried to overlook the fact that this strange baby was surprisingly articulate and had a ridiculously deep voice for his size, his mouth moved of its own accord.

"Are you alright?"

The baby blinked at him.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I-I…well…you just seem like you're really sad about something. Do…do you want to talk about it?"

The baby was now giving him a considering look.

Tsuna realized that he should be minding his own business, but those eyes…

Those eyes were familiar, full of grief and loss. Aside from the glimmer of guilt and self-loathing, they didn't look too different from the way his own eyes did lately.

Tsuna didn't know a thing about this stranger's circumstances, but he did realize that the baby would probably feel better after talking it out. At least, he did. Whenever Tsuna's problems were getting to be too much for him to handle, he would cry or talk to the various flowering plants in his room. It's not like there was anyone else who he could go to, but there was some relief to be felt in pouring out his troubles.

"You would be willing to listen to a complete stranger's troubles?"

"Maybe. Sometimes it's better to talk to someone you don't know. Sometimes the people you do know are too close and you need someone where it wouldn't matter what you say to them because you'll probably never have to see them again. You'll get it off your chest and the stranger will carry your some of your burden away never to be seen again."

The baby…was he really a baby? He had such a mature expression on his chubby, and rather adorable, face. There was a little longing mixed in as if he wanted to accept the offer and Tsuna mentally encouraged him with all his might.

"Very well then kind stranger. I accept your offer. Where would you like to go?"

"Umm…" In retrospect, he probably shouldn't have offered a complete stranger something like this, but he knew all too well what it was like to have things bottled up with no way to vent. It built and it built until you were mired deep into depression with every single thing that bothered you pressed heavily onto your shoulders. Tsuna had plenty of people to do that for him. He didn't need to add anymore to the pile himself.

"Would you like to come to my house? We can have some tea and snacks in my room and…"

The baby looked at him carefully as he trailed off.

"And?"

"And if you don't want to talk to me, then you can talk to my flowers. It's what I do. They're great listeners and I always feel better just being with them. I can wait in the living room until you're done."

"There is no need for that. You are being generous enough as it is."

With that Tsuna continued on his way home, the baby following along beside him.

"I guess Mama must have gone out. You can wait here if you'd like Stranger-san. Sorry for the mess."

"Thank you very much Stranger-san. It's quite alright. I've seen far worse."

Somewhere along the way, they had agreed to simply refer to the other as Stranger-san. It was odd and sort of silly, but it suited their purpose just fine. As Tsuna went back down to prepare some tea and snacks, Fon took a good look around the room.

What he saw certainly impressed him. The bottom two shelves of a wooden bookcase in one corner had several small containers color coordinated with supplies for their matching plant. Above those where mostly books on plant care with the highest ones filled with manga.

Bright green leaves and vibrant flowers in pots of dark rich soil added the smell of life into the small room. Each and every one of them was clearly healthy and cared for.

The curtains had been drawn and tied back to allow as much sunlight into the room as possible. A short square table was centered on the floor with tall yellow lilies sitting in the middle, green chrysanthemums inches away from it. The larger plants were on the floor. The red roses sat by the foot of the bed still in the light of the windows. Dark purple roses were set about five feet away from it. The purple carnations sat a bit away from the rest of the plants close to the wall. On the wooden desk pressed against the wall was a…a small red plum blossom bonsai.

Fon leapt up onto the desk to take a better look. The miniature tree was in set in a black rectangular ceramic pot. A red and gold dragon was painted on each of the longer sides. Small white pebbles covered the top of the soil making the dark roots and trunk stick out in contrast. The bright blossoms on the otherwise bare branches drew the eyes in.

I-Pin had loved these. They had been her favorites back in China. The ones he was used to were usually pink or white though. He didn't see red too often. In fact, aside from the red rose bush and the yellow lily all of these plants had rare colors. Even then, the lily had twice as many petals as he was used to seeing and the rose bush, for its size, had an incredible abundance of flowers.

I-Pin…if only he had waited a little longer before allowing her to take another solo mission. He could have followed her just to make sure, but with the recent successes she had had, he had become a little complacent and decided to back off and let her handle it with him shadowing her every move. She was fine until the last assignment had several opponents corner her on a bridge and she ended up using her Pinzu-Timed Super Explosion. While unharmed from the explosion itself, she had been stunned by it and as the bridge collapsed into the water below, I-Pin unable to move away from the falling stones in time, drowned as she was swept downstream. Fon had found her body washed up a few miles away against the muddy bank. He closed his eyes in pain as the memories washed over him.

"I'm back, Stranger-san. Do…do you need sometime alone?"

Fon watched as the young boy set down a tray with a pitcher of iced barley tea, two glasses, one clearly smaller than the other, and, a plate with several rice crackers and cookies neatly arranged on it.

"Not at the moment. Tell me Stranger-san. All are of these plants your doing? They're quite impressive."

"Hmm? Oh, thank you. But I didn't raise them from a seed or anything like that. Most of these were just given to me. Like that one."

The brunet pointed at the red rose bush.

"That was the first one I got. It's a Crimson Bouquet Rose and it had gray mold. The florist was just going to have it destroyed because he didn't want to have to deal with attempting to save it, but he gave it to me for free when I asked. The lilies are called the Fata Morgana or Asiatic Double Lily. I found it in an alley by a dump. The purple rose bush is called Burgundy Iceberg. It came from a high-end department store where most of it had been damaged. The purple carnations are called Moonshadow. They were growing at school somehow, but when the area was going to be leveled out for a new sidewalk…" Here the boy flushed a little, "I dug it out and took it home. The Shamrock Chrysanthemum came from a random guy on the street who asked me to trash it for him. And the Plum Blossom…"

Seems like Fon wasn't the only one who had sad memories associated with this particular plant.

"…Little Dragon was given to me as thanks by an old man."

"Little Dragon?"

"A-ah. I named it by the design on its pot. The rest were well..."

"That's Lightning." He pointed to the chrysanthemum. "I was going to transplant it into a new pot after I got it, but the pot I was originally going to put it in broke. There was a storm and then the lightning and thunder scared me and I dropped it. So that's how it got its name." The boy was now bright red and looking away shyly as he gestured to the next one.

"That's Sun next to it. There had been two straight weeks of rain and on the day I found this one, the sun was shining really bright and strong."

"Cloud was…well. It was growing at a place that I still couldn't figure out how it even managed to sprout at, but the area was going to be renovated so everything there was about to be torn up. The construction workers were supposed to start that day, but dark clouds came in and they decided to wait out the coming storm…long enough for me sneak in and-I mean take Cloud home."

The baby didn't bat an eye at his hasty change of words, so Tsuna continued even as his cheeks grew a little warm.

"Mist came from a department store. It was a display plant that was nearly destroyed after it fell on a customer. The cashier gave me a bag to put it in and it had the name of the perfume store that she was working at, Fragrances of the Myst."

"And Storm." Here Tsuna gentle smile widened. "Storm is the first personal plant that I took in. I got it for free and carried it home through a heavy storm. It was in bad shape and took all night to clean and treat even with Mama's help. We finished just at the storm broke and here it is, three years later and healthier than ever." Realizing that he was monologing, Tsuna's blush returned with a vengeance.

Fon could barely hide the surprise on his face. Was it coincidence or something more? That they were all named after a type of flame?

"I-it's sort of silly isn't it?"

"No. Not at all. They are fitting names."

The silence was becoming a little awkward, so Tsuna began his daily afternoon checkups on each plant as the red robed infant watched sipping at his tea and nibbling on a cracker.

Watering, wiping leaves and petals, checking and adding more fertilizer if he deemed it necessary and pruning away dead or dying leaves. While working, he nearly forgot about his visitor and jumped when Stranger-san began talking.

"My cousin who lived here passed away a little over a year ago. I was going to bring flowers for his grave, but in the end I never did. He didn't really care for what he considered frivolous things. We weren't especially close, but I liked to think that he respected me…somewhat."

Stranger-san took another sip of his tea and remained silent for a little while. In that time, Tsuna snipped off three leaves and a new shoot that would have grown into a tight intersection of two bigger branches from Mist. He frowned a little. If it hadn't come out so close to the larger one above, he could have trained it to grow outward away from main plant.

"I also lost my apprentice nearly five months ago. She…she was very promising and very young. I should have been with her, but I was confident that she would have been fine by herself for a little while. Maybe too confident."

The baby clutched his small glass tightly with both hands and decided to put it down before he shattered it.

Tsuna didn't say a word as he refilled it and moved on from Mist to Storm, but he would sometimes hum snippets of random songs. He wiped off each of the instruments he had been using for Mist with a damp cloth and laid them out in a row on top of towel on the floor as he settled himself in front of his red rose bush.

They continued this way for another hour, Tsuna, quietly humming and working with the occasional tidbits of the baby's problems interspersing the soothing atmosphere. When the infant seemed to have said all that he needed to, he closed his eyes and let the warmth of the sun, the earthy fragrance of the room and brunet's soft humming lull him into a sense of peace that he had not been able to achieve for over a year.

Once Tsuna had finished and packed all his supplies back into the bookshelf, he finally sat down to take a sip of his own glass and snagged a few rice crackers for himself.

"I need to start on the rest outside." Tsuna gestured to the window. "What would you like to do now?"

"Hmm?" The baby leapt onto the window sill and raised a brow at the sight below

"Is that your work as well, Stranger-san?"

"What?" Tsuna looked up from where he had been pouring more tea into his glasses. "Oh. The vegetable garden? Mama and I work on it together. Fresh fruits and vegetables always taste better than the store bought ones and Mama is a great cook. She makes the best meals with them. Even though I don't really like vegetables, I like the ones she cooks and…um…sorry for rambling."

"It's alright. If you don't mind, I'd like to watch you work for a little longer. With the love and care you provide for these plants, it is no wonder that they look as beautiful as they do."

"Oh. Umm. Thank you." The boy's face was turning red. He probably wasn't used to being praised or just shy, but either way it was an endearing sight.

It turned into an amusing one, when the baby jumped out the open window, landing safely on the grassy lawn below.

Outside, a tiny white-furred monkey had joined the pair, and Stranger-san introduced him as Lichi. His partner, who was a fast learner and really quite helpful despite Tsuna's initial reservations. His small size and nimble body allowed him to reach places Tsuna could not. In the space of the afternoon, Lichi became quite proficient at tying back overlapping branches and Fon, with the various ways of clearing unwanted growths.

Tsuna's mother had called home saying that she wouldn't be home late due to the fact that she was stuck in traffic. Apparently, Tsuna had forgotten that she and several of her friends had planned an impromptu shopping trip in Tokyo for the day.

A little flustered, Tsuna asked if the tiny duo would join him for dinner. His reasoning being that food tasted better when eaten with company and Fon accepted seeing as he had nowhere else to be at the moment. So Tsuna set about preparing dinner for himself, Lichi, and Stranger-san and brought it to his room explaining that both he and his mother liked to eat there surrounded by his favorite plants.

"I can certainly see why."

Tsuna flushed when Fon praised him for their meal of vegetable stir-fry, braised eel, and fried rice with omelets. Lichi chattered his approval as well, a monkey dish and the smallest teacup Tsuna could find by his side.

"I-i-it's really not that special. Mama's a much better cook than me."

"I think that you don't give yourself enough credit, Stranger-san."

The boy looked down, still red faced as he mumbled.

"No way. The only thing I can do is care for plants. They call me Dame-Tsu-" He caught himself with a grimace.

"Dame for a reason. I fail at every sport so I'm always the last pick for teams and I'm the slowest runner in my entire school. The highest grade I've ever gotten was a 50 on a Japanese test and that was because it was multiple choice and I just guessed. My usual grades are in the 20s at the most and I'm the least popular kid too and…sorry. I'm rambling about my problems when there are others less fortunate than me."

"It is fine. I'm here to listen as well. After all, wasn't this the reason we are still referring to each other as Stranger-san?"

So red-faced and grateful, Tsuna talked about the old man who had been the only other person aside from his mother to say anything kind to him as he cleaned the dishes and set aside a plate of leftovers for his mother 's return.

Night had fallen and the street lamps outside flickered to life. Fon stood on the sill of the opened window as he watched Tsuna rearrange his plants for the night. He explained that it was so they would all get the morning sun, but some preferred partial shade during the afternoon and when he came home from school, he could move them again.

"I must be going now. Thank you very much for your hospitality Stranger-san. I truly feel as if a great weight has been lifted. But if I may, what made you offer such a thing in the first place?"

"You just…looked like you really needed it." It's something I once wished that someone would have done for me.

"Then I will return soon and listen to more of your troubles at a later time."

"E-e-eh?!" Tsuna frantically waved his hands. "Yo-you-you don't have to do that!"

"But it would only be the right thing to do and I must repay you for your compassion for a complete stranger. I haven't felt this unburdened in a good while. I have a feeling that you know exactly what I mean don't you?" It was more of a statement than a question but Tsuna nodded anyways.

"We-well yeah, but I've got all of them an-and you…" he gestured weakly around the room. "You're welcome back anytime you need to just let go of things and relax for a while. My window will always be open."

Stranger-san merely frowned back. "Are you sure that is wise? I think that it can be dangerous at night."

"Then I'll keep it closed, but it'll be unlocked just for you, Stranger-san."

Tsuna did not see Stranger-san again until four weeks later on an early Saturday morning. He didn't look as sad as before, but there was a tightness around his eyes as if the baby was incredibly tired.

He was standing on the stone wall next to the gate of Tsuna's house.

"Hello Stranger-san. Do you want to come in?"

"I'd like that very much Stranger-san."

They had breakfast, okonomiyaki made from the leftover batter from the previous night's dinner, and the two basked in peace that always seemed to pervade Tsuna's room.

This time the baby didn't say much. He stayed quiet, watching as Tsuna carefully trimmed Little Dragon's errant shoots and half dead leaves.

The sun was warm and the air smelled of earth and greenery and life. A soft breeze blew in from the open window, fluttering the curtains, and kept the room from becoming stifling. Stranger-san's low humming had become a pleasant murmur in the background as he continued to trim and pinch his bonsai with a tiny pair of scissors. Fon never noticed when his eyes closed.

The baby did notice, when he woke up, that he had been tucked into the floor cushion that made his seat with part of the comforter that had previously been on the boy's bed. His partner curled up at his side.

He ended up leaving as the sun set, feeling very refreshed. Both left through the window again, carrying away some sweet smelling tangerines wrapped in handkerchiefs.

"Hello, Stranger-san." Stranger-san was back, together with the monkey again. Lichi chattered something in greeting and waved the two handkerchiefs that the boy had given them last time.

"I brought some tea today." The baby held up a lovely green and white cloud-patterned canister, that was half his height, tied to a black lacquered box. Balanced on his side was a shiny red thermos that was as tall as him. Tsuna wasn't sure how exactly had Stranger-san carried them here nor how he could get a good grip on anything through his long sleeves, but he wasn't going to question it. Their relationship was simply one of taking. Taking comfort from a stranger who didn't know you. That's probably wasn't quite right, but he was feeling too tired and achy to care. The bullies had been a little rougher today.

Nana was out and so it was just the three of them again. Fon untied the box and canister which he had set on the table in Tsuna's room. Now that Tsuna had a better view, he realized the black box must be fairly expensive. The lid had an image of a gingko tree with a backdrop of tall mountains carved out mother of pearl. Inside sat a black tea pot and several small hand-painted china cups on red silk.

"This is Baihao Yinzhen or White Hair Silver Needle. It is a type of white tea. The leaves have fine hairs and are plucked before they open. The one I am preparing now is the Fuding style which has a lighter color."

Tsuna watched and listened carefully as the baby proceeded to demonstrate his skill of tea brewing. As he reached out for the small cup Stranger-san was handing him, Tsuna stiffened, his aching muscles pulling.

"Are you alright?" Stranger-san was looking at him with concern as he pulled back the cup a little.

"I-I'll be okay. I just fell today. I'm clumsy so it happens all the time. You don't have to worry."

Stranger-san still frowning moved closer and set the cup in front of Tsuna, eyeing the way he gingerly held his ribs.

"I thought we were here to unburden our problems to strangers. Problems that we do not or cannot let those close to us know."

"S-sorry."

Tsuna picked up his cup and inhaled its scent with a soft sigh. He took a small sip and stared into the yellow liquid in surprise.

"This…is really good!"

"I'm glad you like it." Smiling, Stranger-san returned to his side to drink own tea. His partner, blowing at the rim of his own tiny cup.

"I-I really did fall today. Down some stairs. It wasn't far, just three or four steps, but after that people laughed at me. I had dropped my bag too and some things spilled out. Some of my books got kicked around an-and while I was trying to get them back, some people kicked me too. Th-they formed a crowd and made a game out of it."

Tsuna looked up to see the baby frowning again. Lichi sporting a matching one as if he understood what Tsuna was saying. The monkey was pretty smart. He probably did, but Tsuna forged on, ignoring that thought.

"I decided to just cut class and go home after that. There wasn't really any point in staying. My homework was ruined anyways and I'll need new books now."

"I take it that the teachers did not do anything?"

Here Tsuna gave a bitter smile. "It wouldn't really matter. I'm Dame-Tsu-…Dame. Teachers like smart kids or popular ones. As long as the bruise doesn't show on my face, they can pretend it doesn't happen and if my face does get injured, people can say that I just fell. I'm clumsy remember? No one would believe me and no one's going to stand up for someone with my reputation. Not when I'm not someone worth anything."

Stranger-san frown had deepened, but on his chubby face, it came out as an adorable pout. Not that Tsuna would say that to Stranger-san's face out loud. It would be rude to one of the few people that actually seemed to care enough to listen.

"Perhaps a change of school can become a new start for you."

He shook his head. "I doubt it. Namimori isn't a very big place. There aren't many that many middle schools nearby. We can't afford a more expensive one farther away and with my grades, the only one that might accept me would be Namimori Middle School. It's also the closest one so I'll be seeing most of the same people there and they'll be sure to tell anyone who doesn't already know about the Dame kid. If anyone tries to help me, it'll be social suicide; especially since some of the kids already in middle school will definitely still remember me."

For someone who didn't think he was intelligent at all, he could certainly plot out his dismal future prospects very well, Fon mused to himself. Lichi chattered something in monkey speech angrily, but Tsuna just smiled kindly and patted him on the head.

"Thank you for worrying Lichi. But I'll be fine. As long as I keep my head down and don't draw any more attention, I'll survive."

He then turned to Fon.

"Thank you for the tea, Stranger-san."

Tsuna proceeded to stretch and then wince, as he got up and pulled out the colorful boxes from his bookshelves.

"Shouldn't you tend to your own injuries?"

"They'll be fine. I need to check on them first."

"You'll need to take better care of yourself if you wish to care for others. At least let me take a look."

Somehow, Tsuna found himself manhandled into taking off his clothes until he was down to his boxers with the baby gently pressing and prodding at his various bruises.

"It seems like they mostly avoided your lower half and aimed for your torso and upper body. Nothing seems to be broken, but I'll wrap these for you."

"Umm…thank you, Stranger-san." Tsuna murmured softly. He wouldn't question how the baby could tell or how Lichi managed to expertly unroll the bandages. That monkey seemed like he could do everything.

"You are welcome, Stranger-san."

After Tsuna had finished caring for his own plants, he headed outside insisting that he had to work on the garden and in the greenhouse during such a crucial growing period or the next harvest would not be as bountiful as it could be. Fon, in turn, insisted that Tsuna let him at the very least help with the physical labor even if he did not have much experience with gardening himself. During this time, he talked about how his current employers had been rather demanding of late so he was tired from catering to their constant orders.

While Tsuna dealt with the actual weeding and culling of specific parts of the plants, Fon handed him his tools and with Tsuna's instructions, checked the places the boy currently had trouble reaching such as the flowering squashing vines hanging above them from several intersecting wooden beams. The 'roof' was supported by two wooden trellises, forming a large box-like arch.

"Those are zucchini. Here we have kabocha; that's my favorite. That's the winter melon. Over there is the chayote squash, I like those too. This is the Chinese okra or-"

"Silk melon right? I recognize this one and I believe that is the flower of the Mo Qua squash."

"Mm hmm. You got it."

They moved on from there into the green house where Tsuna showed him the white asparagus growing in a covered box and watercress sprouting from a shallow trough, along with several potted herbs kept there. There were even a few fruit trees. Two loquat trees, a tangerine tree, and a fig of all things, sat in large pots that had small wheeled platforms.

Lichi chattered excitedly at the sight of the tangerine tree and bounded over to it, scaling the trunk nimbly. Several round orbs, varying in size and color, hung heavily on its branches as a strong citrus smell wafted over him the closer he came.

"Lichi!" Fon scolded. The monkey flinched and returned, looking ashamed but unable to hide the longing looks he threw the tree.

"I'm sorry about that. He's usually much better behaved and…"

Tsuna stopped his apologies gently but firmly.

"I take it that he enjoyed the tangerines?"

"Yes. We both did very much. They were delicious. Did they come from here as well?"

"Mmm. They did and I'm glad."

Stranger-san has a lovely smile thought Fon. It was warm and compassionate and completely sincere. It was a shame that he didn't do it more often, but then again the boy didn't seem to have much of a reason to unless he was around his plants. Tsuna gestured for the tiny pair to follow him.

"Would you like some more?"

"We really couldn't-"

"It's alright. It makes me happy to know that someone can enjoy fruits of my labor." He flushed a little as the words registered in his head. "No pun intended. Some of these are ready to be picked anyways." The brunet gazed up into the branches and circled around the base a few time. Then he did the same for the loquat trees and the fig.

"I've got a few more things to take care of in here. Then we can harvest whatever's ready and have a few for snacks. You can even take some to go with you. Does that sound good?" Tsuna gave them a beautiful smile as he crouched down in front of the pair, nearly eye level with the red faced monkey sitting on the baby's head.

As Lichi chattered his agreement excitedly, Fon revised his previous thought. It wasn't just a shame that the kind and gentle boy didn't smile much. It was a damn crime.

The seeds Tsuna had bought that day were laid out in plastic tubs. Damp paper towels covered the bottom and a lid was placed above, sealing the tub.

"These need to germinate. They won't be planted until this happens." Tsuna shuffled through a small box he had Lichi take down from a shelf next to the door leading to the kitchen.

"Seeds need to absorb water to germinate. I'm presoaking them to speed the process up, but if there is too much water, they can sometimes drown." He pulled out a folded card and placed it in front of one tray. It had the word 'Daikon Radish' in thick black print.

"Some of these can take up to a week." 'Carrots' were placed in front of another.

"Others will only need a day or two." 'Beets' were next.

"We were supposed to have those planted already, but Mama and I've been busy trying to set up a couple new trellises and ended up forgetting about them. I was passing by a grocery store on the way home and just remembered." Tsuna placed a 'Turnips' in front of the fourth tray.

"It's a little late for this year, but I'll be handling the peas in here." He pointed towards the afore mentioned trellises sitting in a wide wooden trough. The brunet pulled a blank card and a marker from the box.

"I'm not sure if these will be ready in time, but I might be able to have some this year." The card was folded in half and 'Sugar Snap Peas" was carefully printed onto the side in the same handwriting as the others.

"Oh! But the muscat grapes will be ready in a few months. I'm pretty excited. They're a little tricky to grow in here, but I…" Tsuna went on and on, talking about this or that plant and how he liked bees better than wasps because they were important for the harvest. Against the wall was a white board where Tsuna filled in the dates and types of new seeds that he had begun germinating. With a hopeful smile on his lips and warmth and kindness shining from the brunet's eyes, Fon found he couldn't turn down the offer for lunch. That and he had a feeling that his partner would be quite angry with him for a while if he did.

The baby left later that day, feeling oddly relaxed, with a promise that he would be more than happy to return and help out again. Lichi, a little more reluctantly, but he had hugged the boy, surprising the brunet and followed Fon out with what amounted to "me too!" in a series of squeaky chatter.

On his sixth visit, Fon finally met Stranger-san's Mama and by no means was she someone to be underestimated as the baby had learned. She had taken everything in stride, from her son's panic anytime she would say his name aloud to the fact that a tiny, rather polite and articulate, baby was helping her garden, carrying a bag of manure that had to be at least three times his weight. Even Lichi didn't faze her beyond her exclamations of how cute the monkey was.

She stuck with 'Tsu-kun' and 'Stranger-chan' the entire time and before Fon knew it, he had stayed for dinner and shared a bath with the boy whose nickname was politely ignored along with the fact that Sawada was engraved on a metal plaque outside the house gate. Not even the fact that the males continued to refer to each other as 'Stranger-san' miffed her for long and she insisted that she be called 'Mama'.

Still, while the boy had settled down to attempt to do his homework; Nana had gotten him alone for a talk. She was sorting out some of her son's old clothes for Fon, after wrangling out a promise from the baby that he would stay since it was so late.

He could still leave, but he'd prefer to leave the house with his clothes. Nana had taken them to be washed during the bath where he and Lichi had soaked with the boy. He wasn't sure if this was the deliberate act of a cunning woman or the same unquestioning kindness that her son seemed to have inherited.

"I'll have your clothes dried by tomorrow. What do you think of this one, Stranger-chan?" She held up a tiny red t-shirt with a faded image of Doraemon posing in the front. Fon was standing in a tiny undershirt and shorts, his long hair still damp and unbound like a dark waterfall spilling out behind him. He reached out to feel the material.

"It is very soft."

"This was one of Tsu-kun's favorites when he was two. He was such an adorable, tiny thing back then. I didn't have the heart to get rid of most of his old things and lucky for me, they're coming in handy now."

She watched in silence as Fon put on the shirt, flicking his hair out from under the collar. The sleeves weren't long enough to completely cover his hands, so his tiny fists could be seen whenever he moved his arms. The shirt itself reached down to his ankles though.

"Thank you. I can see where Stranger-san gets his generosity from."

"No, no, Stranger-chan! I should be the one saying that."

"Hmm?" He looked at her curiously.

"My Tsu-kun has always a sweet and gentle boy. He used to smile and laugh all the time. Even when he hurt himself from his clumsiness, he would be back up and running around with a grin soon enough. Sometimes I wonder if I should have ever let him go to school though…" She was looking far away with a sad smile.

"It started out as little things here and there. He would come home with new scrapes and bruises. He became quieter and quieter, the smiles grew smaller and less frequent and he stopped laughing completely." She pursed her lips.

"But not once did that boy ever complain nor would he tell me what was wrong. I'm not deaf or blind though. My ears and eyes work perfectly fine. I can hear what the other people say about my son and I can see what they do to him. Yet, he continues to smile and hide away his pain, because he doesn't want me to worry."

"Then one day, he came home soaked to the bone hugging a tiny sick rose bush. He treated that bush as if it was his best friends and obsessively cared for it like it would just get up and walk away if he didn't give it his utter devotion. From there, his little garden just grew and grew and the only thing Tsu-kun will spill his troubles to are things that can't tell me just how hurt he really is." Nana's voice became more animated the longer she went on.

"However, there is a big difference between a plant and a human being. He has been a little happier since he met you. Oh don't look at me like that. He didn't breathe a word about you, but I'm his mother. There are some things I just know no matter how hard he tries to hide it and I can put two and two together to get four. Tsu-kun is probably afraid that you will leave or tell me things, but you can reassure him that you won't. Unless it's truly life threatening or an emergency, I'll ask that you keep what he tells you to yourself. After all, strangers are just that. They don't know anything about you, so you can talk to them and odds are it wouldn't matter because you're both just strangers having a chat over a cup of tea."

Something about that didn't seem to come out right, but the message did get across as Fon continued to stare at her. "You are truly a remarkable woman, Sawada-san."

"Now, now." She chided. "Haven't I told you to call me Mama?"

Lichi was being offered more food by Nana in the kitchen and the baby idly wondered if his partner would still be able to move for much longer. Both Sawadas seemed intent on stuffing the pair, but only Lichi had apparently unleashed his inner glutton. Or maybe it was Stranger-san's tangerines? They really were amazing. Sweet and juicy with just the right amount of tartness.

The boy had possessed some inner sense that allowed him to pick out exactly which ones weren't quite ready even if they looked no different from the ones that were. His movements were swift and sure as he expertly plucked or twisted his chosen fruits with deft movements, directing Fon and Lichi to the ones he couldn't reach.

Shaking his head from the memory, Fon headed back to Tsuna's room where the door was kept open by a crack. He could see Tsuna at the small floor table, his back facing the door. Tsuna was checking over a book. On the table was a stack of colorful hard-back books. As Fon moved closer, he realized that the book the boy was poring over was actually a journal. In fact, they were all journals.

Tsuna, engrossed in his writing, didn't notice the baby standing in front of him until he looked up.

"Stra-stranger-san!" the boy yelped clutching the green journal to his chest.

Fon noticed the engraved words 'Dairy of' above a light green box on the cover. 'Lightning' had been filled into the box with a black marker.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing your homework?"

The boy flushed guiltily.

"Y-yeah, but I wanted to finish these first. My homework's going to take a while and I don't want to forget…well."

"What are these?"

"Everyone's diaries." He waved a hand to his plants. "I record their growth and things that happen to them or involve them in some way. Here."

He took the top dairy from the stack and opened it to the beginning. The date and time were written at the top. A picture of the bonsai, Little Dragon, was glued to the top half of the page. The pot was different though. It was even shallower than the current pot and had a teal-colored oval shape. Under it was a description of the type of plant and basic care that would be needed for it. The next page was where the he found something a little more interesting.

'Today, I was walking home from school (on a different route since those guys decided to chase me a little farther today) when I saw smoke coming from someone's house. Somebody had thrown a cigarette into some dried grass nearby and it started a fire. The fire climbed up and burned part of the house. I went to get the neighbors…'

As the baby continued to read on, Tsuna decided to finish filling in Lightning's weekly growth and how a wasp had flown into his room the other day and caught a fly that had been sitting on the rim of Lightning's pot. It traumatized Tsuna a bit, but he couldn't look away for fear of losing sight the wasp and having the possibility that it would hide somewhere in his room. It eventually flew out the window, leaving the fly behind. Tsuna snatched a handful of tissues and hurriedly squished the fly, trying not to think about his mercy kill as he flushed the mess down the toilet.

'…small. The only one to be touched by the fire(burning debris) and it…'

Tsuna decided to finally start on his homework. The baby seemed to be really into the dairy entries. Maybe he was getting interested in plants too? That would be nice if he did.

'…main trunk was badly damaged. The only part that Hibiki-san said could be salvaged was a single branch. Hibiki-san offered a different one, but this young tree still had a chance to carry on and I wanted to make sure that it had that chance. So Hibiki agreed to show me how to make that branch into a cutting and…'

He gently placed the green book on top of the stack and headed back to his desk.

'…Hibiki-san turned the cutting into a new bonsai. I took the main plant home though. No matter how much he insisted that it was better to let it go instead of wasting my time, I couldn't. If even an expert bonsai handler like Hibiki-san didn't give it a chance, who would? So I…"

Ugh. Math. Tsuna decided that he would try working on that last.

'…new leaves. Hibiki-san said it was a miracle and that I didn't just have a green thumb. I had a green heart. It was a little strange and I still don't quite understand what he meant, but it may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. This is the first time someone other than Mama has given me a compliment. It was a very nice feeling…'

At least he was somewhat decent in science. They were going over plants this week and while he still sucked at the topic in general, at least he had a chance to get above a 40 on this upcoming quiz.

'…started teaching me about how to create and care for bonsai. It turns out lots of things can 'burn' a plant. Everything from harsh sunlight to too much fertilizer, but as long as…'

Wow. He actually knew this! Take that biology! He might even as high as a 60 next Friday!

'…bought me a new pot. It's deeper and made out of ceramic. Hibiki-san says it's stoneware. That means it's been fired at a higher temperature and less likely to crack in the cold. Not that I'll let it get that cold in here, but it was…'

He had finished and was working on the math worksheet his teacher had given them. Aikawa-sensei might teach his least favorite subject, but she was his favorite teacher. She always gave the least homework due to her laziness and never called on him like some of the others did knowing that he would most likely get the answer wrong.

'…gone. The rest of his bonsai are being split up by his children. Apparently, they're worth a lot of money. Especially the big ones. He left me some things too. He already gave me his time and his company. And Little Dragon of course. He had already given me so much. All his notes had been passed down to me over the time I've known him. Lots of books too. I think his relatives didn't actually follow through with the will completely (some didn't look so happy to see a stranger getting his things and some looked a little shady with fake smiles and loud voices), but Hibiki-san had already made me take home the ones that he thought were the most useful anyways. I still miss him even though...'

Fon blinked as he finished the last entry. He stretched and carefully closed the book, placing it to the side. That wasn't exactly what he had been expecting from a plant's diary. Yes, there were charts and growth measurements and pictures of the tree, but really, it was like reading Stranger-san's journal instead.

He felt a little guilty as he noticed that the boy was scratching his head over a problem, but he gently removed the green journal from the top of the stack, idly noting the number '3' on the spine, and cracked it open to a random page.

'…first new blooms since…2.7 cm longer and 9 more petals than last...'

No. This was just a growth chart. He flipped to the latest entry.

'…wasp. It was scary. I sat watching as it laid its eggs into the fly…squished it. I feel bad, but…'

He closed it and placed it on top of Little Dragon's diary and pulled down the purple journal next. There was a '2' on the side written in black permanent marker.

'…trying so hard to grow in a place like that. I decided to help it and brought…'

As he suspected. These weren't just recordings of the plant's growth. These were Stranger-san's personal experiences scattered over time across several different books. And he had just offered to let Fon read them without a care. He wondered if the boy realized that he was actually putting down his own thoughts and feelings into written form. Probably not. Fon replaced the journals onto the stack and hopped over to the desk.

Half the problems on the sheet were filled out and over half of those were wrong.

"Would you like some help?'

"St-stran-stranger-san!" The boy yelped in surprise and tumbled out of his chair.

"Are you alright?" Fon peered down at the fallen child in surprise. He had never seen anyone have such a spectacular fall from such a stable position. Except maybe Skull, but in his defense, usually Reborn or Colonello had something to do with that.

"Uh-uhm…yeah." He flushed in embarrassment as he righted his chair. "Sorry you had to see that."

"No worries, but I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be having trouble. Would you like me to check over your work for you?"

"You-you'd do that?" 'For me?' went unspoken, but Fon could hear it anyways.

"Of course. It would be no trouble at all."

"I have to warn you. I'm really slow. It could take a lot of time."

"I have plenty of patience."

Nana came in around 10:30, just as Tsuna finished the last problem. Lichi perched on her shoulder stomach distended from the amount of food he had spent the last hour sampling.

"Oh how nice of you! Helping my Tsu-kun with his homework."

The two looked up and stared at the large basket she was carrying.

"Stranger-chan! I've brought your bed."

"Mama, what…?"

The large woven basket was a dark brown color and filled with several layers of folded towels. A firm flat cushion was on top and a tiny pillow was placed on one end. The blanket that was neatly folded on top was white with pastel circus animals parading around the edges. More of Tsuna's baby things, but like the T-shirt Fon was currently wearing, they were all soft and clean.

"Good night Storm. Good night Sun. Good night Mist. Good night Cloud. Good night Lightning. Good night Little Dragon."

The air still smelled of earth and whatever unique scent each plant gave out and the same sense of tranquility that always filled the room seemed to have strengthened.

"Good night Stranger-san. Good night Lichi."

The basket had been placed on the desk next to Little Dragon. His host turned off the lights after making sure that Fon and his partner had been settled in comfortably first.

"Good night Stranger-san."

That night, Fon dreamed of I-Pin. He dreamed that she was sitting next to him in Little Dragon's pot and telling him that she was fine and happy to see him again. That he should not feel bad for her because it wasn't his fault. Then she settled down to sleep on a bed of dirt and moss surrounded by shiny white pebbles. By sunrise, the dream had almost been forgotten, but the feeling of relief and acceptance continued to accompany him even after he left.

Fon found that he was not adverse to the idea of spending the night again sometime in the future.

Visits from Stranger-san, sporadic as they were, became more and more frequent. To the point that his basket-bed and a box of clothes had their own spot in Tsuna's closet. Canisters of high grade teas appeared in the pantries and the lacquered box of the finely made tea pot and cups had a place next to Little Dragon on Tsuna's desk. More than a few recipe books on Chinese cuisine found their way to Nana's shelves and tiny china doll dishes purchased for them could be seen stacked next to the larger ones that the Sawadas used.

The baby and monkey would seamlessly slide in and out of the lives of the mother and son, bringing presents from wherever they had been and helping out around the gardening, household chores, homework, or whatever else needed to be done. It became a new norm for the Sawada household; a little livelier, but not necessarily noisier. At least until the girls came.

I had basic points that I wanted to get over with in this chapter so I could move on to a little more action in the next. Then more and more things started adding themselves and yeah…About 8,000 words in, I realized that I had forgotten about Lichi and had to go back to rework all of Fon's visits. Cue frustration and pain of headdesking.

I think I failed with Fon's character. OTL Fon mentions that Hibari and he were related somehow, but Hibari didn't like people knowing about it, so here they are first-cousins with a really large age gap. It's entirely possible because there's over a 40 year gap between some of mine.

We now have how I-Pin died and Fon's guilt and some sort of relief over it. Hibiki's role is pretty much over. His only purpose was to be nice, give Tsuna I-Pin and a reason to talk to Fon, and die.

Please ignore that fact that some of these plants are either growing out of season or in a wrong environment/climate. It's Tsuna's magical plant powers.

Some wasps lay their eggs in a host which dies once the larvae hatches and emerges from the host's body as an adult wasp. I think a quick death would be more preferable to being eaten alive by a parasite and dying when your body can no longer contain it.