Ahahahahaahahahahahahahhahaha. Ha. Ha.

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Of Stars and Men

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Confusion – the stunned, what-the-hell sort of confusion – was the most prominent feeling that I had at this moment. It was followed closely by what-did-I-doooo and shit-shit-shit – a very powerful combination, they were. Because what was happening wasn't supposed to be happening. Everything up to this point had been, well, on point, and that had probably spoiled me just a bit. Because now there was a chance that what I knew wasn't going to be.

The reason?

Fuuta de la Stella.

The child informant, connected with some "ranking star" far off in the galaxy, had purposely clung to me like a burr. All in order to escape some thugs, like what happened originally – but I was not Tsuna. And Fuuta hadn't shown up until after Dino had (which he hadn't quite yet). Now he was cozying up in Takesushi, stuffing himself with freshly made food.

"So, kid," I chewed on my straw, watching the star-child across the booth munch on his food. "Why'd you come runnin' to me? Why were those guys even chasing you?"

"They want to use me, Takara-nee." Fuuta looked up, eyes naturally doe-y (or purposely; the kid was skilled, I had no doubt). "And Takara-nee is ranked third in 'Mafioso likely to help innocent children' and first in 'Likely to help in situations that end in amusement.'"

That…I could not really deny. My grin felt lopsided as I perched my chin on my hand, "So, that's why you asked me to bring you to Tsuna? You saw me and the stars aligned?"

Fuuta smiled. "Something like that."

Well, how much could it hurt? Fuuta showing up early, that is. His whole situation was dangerous, yes, but it wasn't extreme like the rest of what we'd be facing. It was tame in comparison to all of that, but still, 'a butterfly flaps it's wing' and all of that. Which would explain why he was early too – I was the butterfly in this whole situation (though I'd expected to change something bigger than this – but, again, I am friends with Enma).

"It's pretty late now, so, after school tomorrow?" I gathered our empty plates. "After school I'll make sure you meet Tsuna."

"Thank you, Takara-nee!" Fuuta shuffled out of the booth, lugging his big book behind him. "Let me help you wash those! It's only right, since you're helping me."

"If you want." I shrugged, my smile somewhat impish. "Had I been in your situation I'd just go to sleep after such a nice meal."

Tou-chan stuck his head around the corner, a fond sort of scowl on his face –

"Don't be a bad influence, Takara! And you don't mind her kid – she'd help out. She'd be all sarcastic and joke about it to try and annoy 'em, but she'd still do it."

"Ah, you've cut me with your words. I'm deeply wounded, tou-chan."

"This is a very nice family." Fuuta's face was sweet, but somewhat sad. "Very happy."

I ruffled his hair almost instinctively – a leftover action from a very long time ago –

"Better get used to it, Star Child."

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Sender: Takara

I feel like I now have an in-home horoscope generator. Except it tells me how awesome I am instead of that mumbo-jumbo in the papers.

From: Enma

Are you sure you're not just talking to your own reflection?

Sender: Takara

Oh, my, look whose getting sassy!

*sniffs*

Brings a tear to my eye, that.

From: Enma

I'm not sassy.

Because it's not sass when you're expressing a valid concern.

Sender: Takara

Ah, I knew there was a reason you were my friend.

My number one friend, too, it seems.

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There was something inherently relaxing about doing stretches in the early morning – perhaps it was the letting out of tension from the past day. Conversely, there was something invigorating about kendo practice with tou-chan in the morning. Even if he was still saying my basics weren't good enough after weeks of practice (perhaps it was also the sleepy Fuuta who had come down to watch and a disinclination to showing him a master at real work).

"Takara! You still have too many wasted movements! Fluidity! You need fluidity!"

Or maybe it was because I still sucked.

"Oh, just you wait, tou-chan." My voice came out in a breathy huff. "I'll be so fluid, one day I'll make it rain."

He rubbed his face with an exasperated sigh and a fond smile on his face, "Oh, I have no doubts about that. You are my daughter, after all. I'd have to disown you if you ever shamed the family name."

It was with a tired laugh that he finally shooed me away to get going for school, and after pulling my newly-damp hair up into a bun I did just that. I paused at the door for a moment –

"I'll bring Tsuna after school – so be sure not to prepare any Tsuna-fish tonight, tou-chan!"

"Leave, Takara."

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Dino, as it turns out, apparently decided to show up the same day as Fuuta, if the suited men loitering in front of the Sawada household had anything to say about the matter. A somewhat overwhelmed but speculatively-awed Tsuna and a sheepish Dino were in the middle of them all. IT was interesting to see firsthand – the look of developing respect and fondness on ones face for someone else; aka Tsuna's growing fondness of his fellow student-of-Reborn.

"Juudaime! Good morning, Juudaime!"

Gokudera practically plowed through a couple of Dino's men before skidding to a halt in front of the now slightly flustered brunet. And, that, I took as my Que.

"Look at you storming in, Dera. Quite an explosive entrance, that." One of my rolled up sleeves slouched a bit below my elbow as I came to a bouncy stop. "It's nice to run into each other in the mornings though, isn't it?"

Gokudera scowled, but before he could respond a loud, familiar voice pitched in –

"Hahi! Haru-chan is glad to have caught you this morning, Tsuna-san!" Tsuna grew a bit more flustered, leaning back as Haru momentarily invaded his personal space. "We don't go to the same school, but we can walk part of the way together, right?"

A loud bout of joyous laughter flowed over us then, Dino's eyes crinkling just so as he smiled at our display –

"What a cute little group!"

His accent was sort of endearing – the way his Italian accent curled around his spoken Japanese. It was different from the initial roughness that Gokudera's remaining Italian accent had. Also, it didn't hurt that the guy was good looking (eye-candy is a wonderful thing, really); too bad he was technically quite a bit older than me.

"You!" Gokudera was quick to jump in front of Tsuna. "You're the 'Bucking Bronco' Dino Cavallone! What are you doing here?!"

"And you're 'Smoking Bomb' Hayato." Dino laughed, appraising Gokudera carefully. "I'm here to visit my little bro, that's all."

At that a few confused mumbles came from Gokudera and Haru, but I just smiled and my head lolled to the side a bit. Tsuna looked a little horrified once he realized I was about to speak –

"So, were you saddled with Reborn before too? Did he have to break you in to a new way of life so you didn't feel bridled with it?"

There were various reaction, ranging from confused to indifferent to pained to amused, with a bonus groan from Tsuna thrown in to round it all up. The sniggers I got from some of Dino's men though? Worth it. I peered up at the currently amused (at least, I think) Reborn –

"Oh, Reborn, have –"

With a deceptive sort of strength, Tsuna yanked me away from Reborn, his face showing just how worried about what I might have been about to say…or cause. Words tumbled from his mouth as Gokudera and Haru scrambled to follow –

"We should really be getting to school. I can't get another tardy!"

"But, Tsuna, Star Child." We veered around a corner, the street nice and empty. "Star Child."

"Shut up, Taka-baka!"

"Be more creative, Bam Bam."

"What did you just –"

"Hieee!"

"HAHI! TSUNA-SAAAN!"

"Ah, this could be bad." Reborn tilted his fedora down, our heads turning slightly up to peer at him where he stood on the precipice of the wall. "Those were members of the local Yakuza syndicate, the Momokyokai. They can be a rather violent bunch."

Haru looked so weak in the knees that she might collapse to the ground, so I gave her shoulder a reassuring pat before jogging off in the direction they had went –

"No worries, Haru!"

Gokudera was moving forward in no time, casing me to speed up to match his pace. "Juudaime! I'll save you, no matter what!"

Behind us, I imagine Reborn was smirking.

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One thing I could never understand about this whole situation was the fact that the Yakuza group had Momokyokai blatantly written above the door to their so-called base of operations. Whether it was cockiness on their part, stupidity on the police's, or just the wacky this-is-the-way-it-is or the world we were in I didn't know. And I suppose it didn't really matter in the long run, as if the police were actually competent it be pretty damn hard for most things that happened to happen.

"These bastards are gonna get what's coming to 'em!" Gokudera's foot slammed into the front door with a heavy thud, shoving it open by force. "Taking Juudaime like that!"

Except, it was Dino. And this was just a big 'training' exercise by Reborn (and when is anything not with him) – not that there was much that could be done about that except to go along with it.

"Time for some fireworks, huh?" Taking inspiration from the incident with Hibari, I snatched a wooden shaft that was likely broken off from a broom or the like, smacking a man in the face as he turned around a corner. "Whipped up a la –"

"Just," Gokudera yanked out handfuls of dynamite before viciously kicking this door open as well, "SHUT UP!"

I turned my wooden pole around to tap the end on the floor, grinning up at the angry faces of the yakuza –

"Seems like you guys are gonna be getting the short end up the stick today."

One of the tattooed men snarled, and I was amused by the fact that this huge, grown-ass man didn't scare me. None of them did, for that matter. I felt confident and comfortable, more than anything – which was either because I was overestimating myself, was underestimating them, or maybe I was just ready for this.

"Who do you brats think –"

There was a moment of silence following the sharp, smoky bang from the stick of dynamite that knocked Tattooed Thug #1 out –

"You bastards better give Juudaime back!"

Gokudera knocked the legs out from one of the men, yanking him close by his collar –

"Where'd you take him?!"

And, then, hell broke loose (for them, not us). As some of the yakuza thugs lunged forward I twisted around, harshly slamming my so-called weapon against the wrists of one to knock his bat away before switching and smacking him in the face – hard.

Now this – this was adrenaline like I'd never felt before. It was almost like liquid electricity was tickling, trailing through my veins as I smacked around men twice my size. Even as my feeble wooden shaft snapped in half, I had no trouble flipping out of the way (where I may or may not have had a happy accident where I kicked a man firmly in the base of his jaw doing so).

"T-Takara-chan! G-Gokudera-kun!"

I paused before laughing at Tsuna's stunned face – he was horrified and relieved at the same time (also, surprised). The guy Gokudera was throttling hit the floor with a heavy thump as the silveret spun around enthusiastically –

"Juudaime! You're okay!"

The yakuza thug I'd had in my hold met the floor with a similar heavy thump as I dusted my hands off –

"Tsuna! You're gaping like a fish outta water. Why so surprised?"

Dino was the one to answer instead, preceded by a happy laugh, "Wow, you guys are pretty good. I'm impressed."

Gokudera looked ready to let out an acerbic retort of some kind when heavy footsteps caught our attention, and as they got closer, the large figures of those who were probably the "top dogs" of this branch of the Momokyokai's syndicate. They, too, didn't leave me with a feeling of "this is scary" or "this might be though", and to be completely honest, even the members of the weakest echelon of the Disciplinary Committee could probably knock these guys around.

"Ah, sorry about this." Dino stepped forward, one hand behind his head, the other held up. "I'll pay for the damages, since this is partly my fault."

"Oh, we'll take your money, but…" The leader stepped forward, arms crossed and face a mixture of angry and smug, "You think we're just gonna let you walk out of here?"

It descended into chaos after that, starting first with Dino's attempt to fight that left stinging marks across my forearms and Gokudera and Tsuna's faces – Dino also managed to somehow smack himself in the stomach. Tsuna was the one to save the day, in the end, which I was sure was Reborn's plan from the start – it usually is.

"By the way, Tsuna." I stretched my arms up high as we stepped outside.

"H-huh? What is it?"

I pointed to a street clock, my grin extra bright – "It's already halfway through our first class. We were going to be studying Monzaemon Chikamatsu* too. What a tragedy, huh?"

His face, at first, was a mixture of pain and resignation, but then his lips twitched up at the corners, just a bit, as a quiet snort escaped him. Then, at my triumphant grin, he looked just a tiny bit horrified as he slapped a hand over his mouth.

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"H-hey, what are those guys doing lurking around Takesushi?" Tsuna's hands tightened a bit around the strap on his shoulder bag. "Takara-chan? Did- did you make someone angry?"

"I don't think so. Not yet anyways." The way I'd said this with a large smile and chipper voice earned a lowly hissed 'Idiot' from Gokudera and an unsurprised sigh from Tsuna. "But, they do need to go. They're too fishy for our establishment."

Plus, they were likely here for Fuuta, having finally tracked him down. They didn't seem angry enough to have tried anything yet – as tou-chan would have kicked them out no problem. Which meant we'd gotten here just in time (except any time there would be a fight was a bad time for Tsuna).

"Oi, you brats!"

"Hieeee!"

The group turned to us, eyeing us with an irritated disinterest. "Scram, we've got adult things to take care of."

Gokudera scowled and I felt one of my eyebrows shoot up, and as we refused to move their leader motioned for two of his men to come at us – presumably to make us move it. This earned one a face-full of dynamite and the other a hit to the knee and a dislocated shoulder, which, in turn, surprised the remaining Mafioso. Before any more moved could be made by either us, or the Italian men, Dino and his men showed up (I had invited him to try our sushi after the incident this morning, after all).

"My, my." Dino laughed, a group of his men standing firmly behind him. "All sort of trouble going on today, huh?"

"T-he Bucking Bronco?!" The apparent leader of Fuuta's Italian chasers took a step back, a sheen of sweat slowly forming on his temple. "What are you doing here of all places?"

"Just getting some sushi." Dino's eyes are sharp, and unquestionably suspicious. "What might you fine fellows be doing in Namimori?"

The man's jaw tightened for a moment before jumbled stutters tumbled out, so with a sharp grin I tilted my head towards Dino –

"They're tryin' to kidnap Star Child. I sent their plans yesterday down the drain, but apparently that wasn't enough."

Dino's smile turned a little more sharp at that – dangerous. "There will be none of that. Why don't you fellows end this vacation and go back to Italy?"

As the men ran off – one lopsidedly with his damaged shoulder and another being all but dragged – the front door to Takesushi slid open and a little blur shot out and firmly attached itself to my waist. I rested my hand on Fuuta's head and ruffled his short hair before grinning at Tsuna –

"This is Star Child. I tried to tell say so this morning when I was oh so rudely cut off, that he wanted to meet you, Tsuna."

Reborn spoke up first, and I could have sworn I heard a tinge of surprised in his voice, but alas. "You're Fuuta de la Stella. A mafia informant that uses rankings."

"Mmn!" Fuuta bowed, his face bright. "I used my rankings to find Takara-nee and Tsuna-san so they could help me keep away from those guys!"

"And I suppose we just did that, then, didn't we?" Dino laughed, his face delightfully surprised. "I didn't expect to see Ranking Fuuta here! I was actually meaning to find you!"

I tugged Fuuta close and twirled around before wagging a finger at Dino's face –

"Nu-uh, no need to saddle him with questions tonight, so hold your horses!"

Several of Dino's men snickered and even Romario cracked a bit of a smile, whereas Tsuna just sighed in a wistful sort of way and Gokudera scoffed. Dino himself also laughed before agreeing, offering to go for just a nice non-mafia deal dinner instead.

"We can, perhaps, get some rankings from Fuuta as well." Reborn piped up as we all settled down inside, earning a panicked look from Tsuna.

"R-Reborn!" Tsuna's voice was almost a hiss, "Takara's dad!"

"Oh, he knows." My voice was light, almost a chirp, as I set down the last tray of drinks at our table. "He's cool with it, you know? Then again he might just turn you into a Tsuna-roll. He's pretty good at hiding what he thinks, you know?"

"H-Hieee!"

And in that moment, Tsuna truly looked as of life had left him – and, thankfully, ranking for us were momentarily forgotten for the night as the food came out. I was honestly a bit scared of what might come out of Fuuta's mouth about me, which couldn't be discounted unless there was interference by rain.

It was a can of worms I was not prepared to stick my hands down into just yet.

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EDIT: *Monzaemon Chikamatsu; he was known for writing tragedies for bunraku, a form of puppet theater and for kabuki performances.

Thank you Guest for pointing out that I forgot to add this. xD;

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SOOOORRRRYYYYYY. College started back, and I'm getting into the main subject matter for my chosen major, so I've been working super hard. Plus I got a part-time job on top of that, so it's been super stressful.

But I'm here.

I don't think my jokes were up to par this chapter though. :(