A/N: Not much to say I guess. Just plot happening here. Maybe a little hanky panky in the next chapter. If you're good.

~Yakuza In The Family~

I stood under the shower head, eyes closed as the warm water washed over my body. Tatsumi was still sleeping and I didn't want to wake him, I just need time to myself to think over everything that happened.

I killed a man.

It didn't matter to me that he was trying to kill me, I still took his life and I had to acknowledge that. It was strange how easy you could take someone's life; all it took was the pull of a trigger. I was stuck somewhere in between myself; I didn't know whether to hate myself and regret taking that man's life, or to disregard him for being someone that needed to be put down eventually.

I knew who I was, and that I can be two very different people depending on the situation. There was the innocent girl in me who wanted a free and happy life, but on the other hand there was the girl that had been abused and beaten down, forced to put up a wall and slowly warped into a bitter being. The problem was mixing those two parts of my psyche.

And on top of all that, probably even more profound, was the new me; the boy. I leaned my head on the heated tile of the shower. All those things were a maelstrom in my head. Breath. Think. Breath.

I focused on the water and cleaning myself. This wasn't me, the negative energy from last night was still clinging to me, and it was effecting how I think. Negative events, a dirty body; it all affected how one felt. I was especially susceptible because I was more in tune with that energy. For that reason it was even more important that I keep a clean body and sound mind.

Get a hold of yourself.

Energy of the earth. Cleansing. Energy of the water. Healing.

I repeated those thoughts as I slowly washed my body, trying to focus as much of that energy into the motions as possible. I started with my head, scrubbing my hair and face, then down to my arms and chest. I imagined dark energy being pushed down by my hands, being pushed down through my legs and feet and back to the earth. It was a common ritual meditation I partook in.

After I finished cleaning I stood under the spray of water, letting it wash the suds and negative thoughts from my body. I caressed my skin, wiping excess suds off and stimulating the flow of positive energy. At the end of it I felt clean, fresh, and significantly lighter. My energy was flowing a lot smoother, like a quiet mountain brook; peaceful.

I turned off the shower head and wrapped a towel around my waste.

I hate it when negative energy gets a hold of me…

I left the small bathroom that was in Tatsumi's apartment and looked through his dresser for an extra pair of clothes. Tatsumi was a few inches taller than me, but everything should fit none the less. I looked through his underwear, trying to find something that fit me.

"Hey."

I blinked and turned around in my crouched position beside his dresser. Tatsumi was sitting on his bed, completely naked with only a blanket to cover the important bits. I gazed at his lean chest for a minute before looking back up at his eyes. I smiled before standing up and walking over to him. I set my hands on either side of his face and gave him a kiss. His hand wrapped around the back of my neck to bring me closer; forcing me to lean on the edge of the bed between his legs.

I broke away with a chuckle before pushing away from him and going back through his clothes.

"Hey yourself."

I heard him get up and move around as I chose a pair of pants and shirt.

"You doing alright?"

Was I? Yes…I think I was. I think I can handle this all without breaking down now.

"Yeah…Yeah I am."

"Good."

He left to go take his shower and I got dressed in the borrowed clothes. I smoothed them out once I had them on before going over to check on my soaked school uniform. I held up the shirt and cringed at the blood stains on the front. I must have looked a sight when I showed up on Tatsumi's doorstep. There was no way I was salvaging that shirt. In the trash that goes.

I threw the shirt in a plastic bag before just deciding to get rid of the slacks as well. There weren't as many blood stains on those, but they were hard to get out none-the-less. And I didn't want to go through the trouble of having to explain it to my mother.

I froze.

Mother.

If they sent assassins after me, who's to say they wouldn't send any after her? I ran to the bathroom and threw the door open.

"Tatsumi!"

I heard him slip but paid no mind to it. He threw open the curtain.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"My mother…I…what if they're after her too?"

Tatsumi opened his mouth to respond before looking down at himself. He frowned before looking back at me.

"Let me finish up and then we'll sort this out. You need to tell me everything."

I blushed before nodding and leaving the bathroom. Ohhh man, I had just walked in on him in the shower. But wow, those abs…

I shook off the perverted thoughts sitting down on the bed. My eyes were drawn to the black steel of the gun sitting on the end table and I grabbed it before staring at it in thought. I had made my first kill with it. And a funny thought that, first kill, as if there would be others. But wouldn't there? I was already deep in the underground, through no choice of my own, and people would be after me regardless.

The Gotuda family…because I was related to the head I was in danger. I narrowed my eyes in anger. The Yakuza…were they all really as merciless as the one that had been killing off all the heirs? That reminded me…

"Satoshi."

The spirit of the assassin came to being in front of me. His form hesitated before it hovered around me in question.

"Your family…tell me about them."

The spirit nodded before images and information of all the spirit knew flew through my head.

The Yokoyama Clan; only a few years old, but gaining ground with underhanded deals and maneuvers. While not as strong in numbers as the Gotuda, the Yokoyama isn't afraid to kill innocents to achieve their goals. Several establishments are under their control, keeping the owners under their control with threats and bribes. They have large ambitions.

I sighed at the flow of information and rubbed my forehead. I really wasn't ready for this kind of thing. I felt like I was getting dragged into this dark world against my will. Something like this…I had never wanted a part of. But it seemed like it wouldn't be up to me anymore. I would do anything to protect my family and friends.

Anything.

…Even if it meant killing people trying to hurt them.

I glanced up at Tatsumi when he finally walked out of the bathroom. I watched as he got dressed with half-lidded eyes; he really did have a nice ass…I closed my eyes when I realized where my thoughts were headed and mentally slapped myself. Not the time, so not the time.

"So…" Tatsumi sat on the bed next to me. "…talk."

I sighed before staring down at the gun in my hands. I ran my fingers along the barrel.

"The assassin after me…it's because I'm some heir to a yakuza family; the Gotuda family."

Tatsumi considered this.

"…I know it's not from your dad's side, you said he was a foreigner. So it has to be from your mother's side right?"

I nodded.

"He told me they had already picked off all the other heirs. I was the only one left."

I blinked when Tatsumi took the gun from my hands and set it off to the side. He then grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. I fought back the sting in my eyes that caused.

"I won't let them get to you Kota, you know that right?"

I chuckled weakly, a little embarrassed, but smiled. It was nice having someone there to back me up, to tell me things would be okay.

"…yeah, I know. Thanks."

He showed a rare smile on his serious face before it dropped and he glanced over at the gun.

"…plus the way you were fondling the gun kind of freaked me out."

I snorted before looking at him seriously. If he really was determined to help me, to put his life on the line for me, then he deserved to know more about me; specifically about my flame…and if he might have one himself. Tatsumi was strong, both in body and mind. I wouldn't be surprised if he could do it.

"Ryuu…if you're really determined to stick with me, then I should be honest with you."

He didn't say anything but nodded to show he was listening.

"I'm not completely normal."

"Obviously."

I sent him a dirty look before continuing. Now this is where I decided what to tell him and how.

"Let me first explain that I have an extra sense; a sixth sense if you will."

I had to hold back a giggle when he stiffened and started to pale a little. Tatsumi had always been a little scared of the supernatural. He hid it well though.

"You mean like…ghosts?"

"Yes."

He tried to hold a straight face but I could tell he wanted to look around his room for anything that might be out of the ordinary.

"Are there any here…now?"

I laughed through my nose.

"No, don't worry. There was one talking to me when you were in the shower, but he's gone now."

I patted his hand as he paled further.

"But anyway, and this is the important part…well one of the important parts…I'm Kota, but at the same time not."

"What?"

"You know how I said I have a sixth sense? Well I used that sense to travel the universe in my dreams, ejecting my soul from my body to explore. Well…I got lost and found myself stuck in my alternate self's body; Kota!"

"So what you're saying…is that…you're from another dimension?"

"Yes and no. I'm still the Kota you grew up with, just merged with my alternate self and all her memories."

I saw him nod before he froze.

"Wait…her?"

I chuckled.

"What, you didn't realize that I could be a female in an alternate reality? It's called alternate for a reason."

I could tell he had a hard time processing this so I didn't press him on it. Instead I continued on in my explanation.

"What I'm trying to get to in explaining you that, is that from the knowledge I got from merging with her, I was able to unlock a power only available in this universe."

"Power?"

"Un…it's called a flame."

I noticed his confused expression and stood up from the bed.

"Here, let me show you."

I closed my eyes before calling up the flame I was starting to become so familiar with. Dark clouds engulfed my hands and forehead and my eyes shifted from green to sparkling ebony. I waved my hand in front of me and watched as it distorted reality around it, bending and flowing through it like water.

"That…that's amazing…could I…could I do anything like that?"

"Hmm…I think so. It takes a lot of determination and inner strength though. Course it won't be the same as mine, the flame that develops matches your inner self."

When Tatsumi reached a hand out to touch the flame I drew it back before he could. He blinked before furrowing his brows in question.

"Sorry…I'm not quite sure the effect it has on others. I don't really feel like testing it out on you."

"Makes sense."

The nature of the flame was the ability to warp reality. I wasn't quite sure how warping the reality around a person's body would affect them. And I didn't really want to find out quite yet. I closed off my connection and the flame disappeared, leaving no evidence that it had ever been there.

"You ready then?"

Tatsumi nodded before getting up and digging something out of his dresser; his brawler's gloves. Some people had a lucky shirt, or a pair of lucky underwear; Tatsumi has his black leather brawling gloves. The one thing Kota had always looked up to in Tatsumi as a friend was the way he used his body as a weapon. He could beat almost anyone in a hand to hand fight.

The grin on Ryuu's face as he tightened the gloves on his hands sent a pleasurable chill down my spine. Tatsumi always did seem a little too happy whenever he got to beat someone up. And damn if that didn't turn me on.

"A-Anyway…I'm going to open a portal so we can land just a ways away from my house."

Tatsumi grabbed the metal bat sitting against the wall before standing next to me. While I did say he loved beating people up with his hands, he equally loved using his bat. It was always fun to see the looks on people's faces when they thought they had disarmed him.

"Portal?"

"One of the abilities of my flame."

He nodded and I activated my flame. I stuck a black coated hand out in front of me and twisted it to the right. A black spiral formed and a distortion started forming in the middle of it. Once I was sure I had formed the portal on the other side of reality I grabbed Tatsumi's arm and pulled him in.

We came out in the alley we had…ahem…masturbated in before. I was starting to get a hang of traveling like this; I didn't trip at all this time. We made sure to traverse the streets as sneakily as possible before my house came into sight. There was an expensive looking black car parked in front of it. My eyes narrowed. Had they already gotten there before us?

I gestured to Tatsumi and we snuck up to the front door. I turned off my flame way back in the alley so I didn't stick out and was sure no one would see me as I snuck a look through the window. A group of men in black suits were standing around an older man in what I was sure was an Armani suit with an expensive looking scarf.

My mother was on the couch in front of him, eyes positively fuming with anger. I fingered the gun in the back of my pants before deciding to leave it there for now. I wanted to keep the element of surprise. I took a deep breath and gestured for Tatsumi to wait outside. He shot me an angry look at me but didn't question it.

I schooled my face into a normal look and opened the door.

"Mom, I'm home!"

All the men were quick to turn around and point guns at me. I held my breath and was ready to activate my own flame at a moment's notice. Of course none of this showed on my face. The older man gave a sharp order and the lackeys put their guns away. I breathed out a sigh of relief.

The man looked at me with a penetrating stare.

"Is this my grandson then?"

My eyes grew wide and I looked to my mother for confirmation. She glared at what I now knew was her father before talking.

"Yes, this is my son, Inoue Kota."

"Mom?"

She sent me a sympathetic look before continuing.

"Kota, this is your grandfather, Gotuda Hidenori; head of the Gotuda Yakuza."

I stared at him. He was what I would have expected; a hardened man who had seen a hard life and beat it with a stick until it stopped moving. His eyes stared into mine as if they were assessing my worth. I glared back at him, daring him to say I was worth anything less. He snorted before frowning.

"Gather his things."

The suits bowed before heading up to my room. I protested, loudly.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Hidenori glared down at me.

"I may have despised your father, but you are the only heir I have left. I cannot leave your safety in the hands of your mother."

I glared at him before looking to my mother. She was angry but resigned. She knew she could do nothing to stop him and then I realized neither could I. My grandfather had an army; I didn't. Plus, I reluctantly reasoned, his house was probably the safest place there was.

"Fine, but you better promise to keep my mother safe."

He grunted but nodded. I watched as the men carried my stuff out in boxes and suitcases and pouted at the forced move.

"Oi Kota! What the hell's going on?!"

Tatsumi weaved around the suits carrying stuff out of the house. He came to stand beside me and sent an assessing look at my grandfather. My grandfather stared down his nose at him, passing him off as a pest.

"Meet my grandfather, Gotuda Hidenori. I'm being forced to move in with him."

I watched as Tatsumi glared at my grandfather before bowing before him. He stood back up with a decision clear in his eyes.

"Allow me to be his bodyguard."

"Oi, what are you doing?!"

He only glared at me before looking back into my grandfather's eyes. I watched as Hidenori considered my friend's request before smirking.

"You have a fire in you boy. If you can beat some of my best men then I'll allow it."

I looked at Tatsumi before deciding it was useless to try and talk him out of it. Once he set his mind on something he didn't let up on it. Plus…it would be nice to have him by my side all the time. My thoughts drifted to Ogawa and realized that he wouldn't want to miss out on this. We three had been friends for years and we had always done things together. He'd bash our heads in if he found out we didn't tell him.

"Sir, everything is loaded."

"Good."

My grandfather turned to my mother and I couldn't see the look on his face, but I could feel the tension in the air.

"Setsuya."

She glared at him before coming over to give me a hug. I hugged her back equally as hard before she pulled away. Her eyes were teary as she stared at me.

"You be good, you hear?"

I nodded, little tears forming in the corners of my eyes as well.

"I will." I hugged her close. "I love you."

She hiccupped into my shoulder and squeezed me tight.

"I love you too honey."

"We're leaving."

I separated from my mother and gave her one last smile before following my grandfather out the door. Tatsumi was close behind me. We were quiet as we slid into the back of the expensive car, not really knowing what to say. I settled on linking my hand with Tatsumi's and giving it a squeeze.

He squeezed back.

A/N: So far the pairing is Ryuu/Kota. I'm not sure if I'll add more into it and make it a threesome or moresome, but anything can happen. :D And just because I have Tsuna, Hibari, and Reborn as the main characters doesn't mean they're the main pairing. They just have a bigger part in the story than others. Hope you review! xD