A/N: Guys... Wow. WOW. I love you all for such a great response and ...THANK YOU SO MUCH! :')

Also, I just realised that I forgot to state some things when I wrote the previous chapters, because I have mentioned them in some future chaps that I'd already written and thought I'd written them in chapters 1 and 2 instead. xD So I went back and edited a bit, but not to worry, it's things that you've all figured out already - Ienashi's the younger twin and the vice captain of the baseball team! And I actually use some of the anime canon and some of the manga one, because I've watched/read both until about the time Yamamoto arrives. :D Also, I've read a ton of fanfics in this fandom, so I may sometimes use an idea or two I got from the various fanfics. (Don't all writers do that, though?) I have no intention to plagiarise and I will never copy and paste from someone else's work, but if I accidentally cross the line, please tell me! :)

And this is kinda a late Christmas gift to all of y'all; hope you enjoy! MERRY CHRISTMAS~ (The server was down. Stoo-pid server T.T Glad it's back!)

To sss: (I usually reply (PM) my reviewers but you're a guest so...) Thanks! I'm glad you like this story so much ^^ Well, Reborn's got plenty reason to be calculative and I guess you'd find out why! Soon, hopefully... :P

Warnings: I'm giving up on this thing. Oh right! A bit of cursing in this chap.

Dedication: To my beta-reader who still refuses to let me reveal her username :P The same one who helped me with Chap 1. Thanks for ...being my beta-reader… Well that was lame. HAHAHA

Disclaimer: Don't own!


The next day when Tsuna left the house, Reborn hopped onto his head and settled himself into the nest of fluffy brown hair. Today, the hitman decided, he would focus on Tsuna, since he had already let the younger twin have a taste of the Dying Will bullet the previous day. He would observe the older brunet - closely, this time - and he'd be damned if he didn't find out some things about Tsuna. The boy was an enigma, and if there was one thing Reborn hated, it was to be withheld information. Always being in the know was something the infant prided himself greatly on, and it had saved him and the Vongola Famiglia more times than he could count. He wasn't the number one hitman in the world for nothing.

What Reborn wanted, Reborn got, and if he didn't, he'd try and try until he's dead, or everyone else is. And that day, what Reborn wanted was information on the older Decimo candidate.

As such, he took in all of Tsuna's actions eagerly, like a sponge did water. He filed away the information he gleaned: the way the boy's eyes were constantly darting around, alert but not afraid; his tense shoulders that gradually relaxed but never completely; the way he even seemed to be able to tune down his presence subconsciously (but part of the reason had to be his lack of confidence - he automatically shrunk into himself and tried to become smaller and less noticeable).

There was something that really irked the baby hitman about it all, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. And so, he thought about what he could understand, but it disturbed him just as much as what he couldn't understand, and that was saying a lot.

The fact of the matter was - he couldn't shoot Tsuna with the Dying Will bullet.

It wasn't that he didn't have the ability to do it, per se, but that if he did do it, the outcome would not be favourable. While the thrill and excitement could be appreciated, Reborn didn't like, and didn't, killing for fun. He only dealt out permanent damage like death if the person had absolutely deserved it, and any kind of damage at all if he had good reason to. (He had a good reason to hurt Skull, he'd decided long ago - the stuntman really just bragged too much.)

The thing was, Tsuna certainly did not deserve to die, but the hitman knew he would kill Tsuna if he ever shot him with the Dying Will bullet. That conclusion was drawn partly from the hitman's intuition (which was nowhere near the Vongola bloodline's Hyper Intuition, but still much more reliable than the average human's), and partly from his observations.

After Reborn had hopped off Tsuna's head, he had shot side-long glances at the brunet for more than a few times. Every single time, it was directed at chocolate-brown orbs, trying to identify something that would betray what the brunet was feeling and thinking. Something that would show vulnerability or strength, a healthy amount of fear or an immeasurable courage. Anything, really.

But - nothing. He saw nothing at all, just the honey colour of Tsuna's irises with a slightly darker coloured rim, and the deep, pure black of his pupils. Blank; empty; dull. They flitted from object to object, street to street, but nothing flitted within them.

Again, that same feeling that irked him earlier arose, and he tried to pry it apart and figure it out. He failed over and over, and finally decided to put it away somewhere in his mind and think on it later. In the meantime, he struck up a conversation with Tsuna, hoping to discover something that would trigger his emotions or at the very least just to find out a little more about his student. (He'd disposed of the twins' files a mere hour after his arrival; they were completely out-of-date and useless.)

"Tsuna," the baby started. He received no response, but he knew that Tsuna was listening, so he continued, "what do you do after school?"

Whatever tension that had left the brunet's body returned immediately, and Reborn almost regretted asking him such a personal question. Tsuna kept his voice light as he answered, "Nothing much; why?"

Reborn was not so easily fooled, however, and he said threateningly, "Answer me honestly."

This time, his student fell silent for a while before whispering, "Bullies."

The hitman felt guilt rise up, but he reminded himself that it was his job to do this; if he wanted to help the Vongola find a suitable Decimo, one who would restore it to its former glory as a vigilante group, he had to do his job properly, even if he didn't like it. And so he listened to the gut feeling that that wasn't all, and continued prying, "And?"

Tsuna looked down, suddenly finding his hands very interesting as he inspected them and traced the lines on his palm. He clenched his fists and relaxed them, wrung his hands and flipped them. The tutor kept quiet as well, silently prompting the brunet as he fidgeted. Finally, just when Reborn was ready to give up and move on to the next question, Tsuna said softly, "I don't want to talk about it."

And Reborn respected the brunet's choice, because it was said so quietly yet firmly, so full of sincerity and bitterness. And because, for once, the infant heard a miniscule of emotion in his student's voice. It was special, and Reborn didn't want to brush past it like it meant nothing at all.

So he agreed and said nothing for the remainder of the walk, allowing the brunet to simply get used to and comfortable in his presence.

Ienashi hated Wednesdays. Hated them with a passion, because that day, he didn't have baseball practice.

It wasn't so much that he couldn't survive a day without the sport (he wasn't a certain baseball idiot), but that he had to join his ...friends… on days that he was free. And those friends of his knew the baseball team's training schedule, and thus knew that he was able to join them that day.

If he didn't, well… he didn't even want to think about the consequences.

As he trudged his way to the back of Building A to meet up with Ukami, Asa and Derutochi, he prayed to whatever deity he knew that they wouldn't think it fit to bring up the fight with Mochida from a day ago. He didn't think the day (dammit, Wednesdays) would turn out the slightest bit decent if they were angry that he had almost been defeated by the black-haired sempai.

Turning it over in his mind, he found that it was rather ironic. A true friend would have been angry in that situation too, but for a different reason. While the three bullies were angry because Ienashi could have ruined their images, the friend that the brunet wished for and yearned for would be angry because Ienashi could have gotten hurt.

It was a drastic difference, and the brunet once again cursed his bad luck. Things would turn out well someday, he tried to convince himself so that he would feel a little bit better. Then his thoughts landed on his twin brother and he felt decidedly worse.

A tad bit more walking later, he heard familiar voices, groaned and prepared himself before turning the corner.

"Oi, Ienashi! You're late!" Derutochi hollered the moment Ienashi's spiky brown hair appeared in his line of vision (it was only a little less gravity-defying than his twin brother's).

"Sorry," he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say? Speak louder, won't you? Last time I checked, you weren't weak and mute!" The three proceeded to laugh their hearts out, as though demeaning someone you called a 'friend' was the funniest and most natural thing in the world.

Ienashi bit back the words that he really wanted to say ("That isn't funny at all, bastard!"), but which would obtain himself quite a few injuries, and lied instead, "Sorry! I was held up by the teacher!"

Asa snarled, "What? You care more about a pesky sensei than the friends who saved you so many years ago?"

Ienashi didn't know what to say that wouldn't anger the trio further, so he simply continued to apologise, inserting a sheepish laugh here and there while the others continued to pile cruel comments on him.

Suddenly, Ukami sneered, and the brunet recognised it as the 'I-have-a-good-idea' sneer. Whatever it was, though, Ienashi was certain it would be anything but.

"Y'know guys, I've been running out of money these few days, and I'm really starving right now. Won't ya buy me some lunch, eh, Ienashi? Since we're, y'know, friends and all?" The other two added in their own two cents' worth, and their errand boy thus ended up with three lunches to buy (not including his own).

And for the first time since he had met them that day, the baseball vice-captain felt somewhat relieved. Going to buy lunch meant that he would be alone and away from them for a while, and the money he would spend on the lunches was a small price to pay in return (especially since he could ask for more from kaa-san anytime; not that he spent money frivolously).

As he made his way to the caféteria and back with more enthusiasm than he should have, trying to stall as long as unnoticeably possible, he found himself wondering - once again - whether it was all worth it.

And praying that they wouldn't suddenly decide they were actually really furious about his near-loss to Mochida.

You have to understand, he never could quite get the hang of Wednesdays.

When class let out, Tsuna grabbed his already-packed bag and slipped out of his classroom amidst the chaos of students trying to find their friends or club-mates for lunch. He'd long since learnt that being fast and ahead of everyone else, and making use of crowds, was the best way to avoid bullies. His several years of experience had, if nothing else, taught him ways to escape.

He pushed through the student-filled corridors, and wondered for a moment where the demon prefect was. If he had been there, there was no way there would have been so much crowding, and Tsuna wasn't too sure whether that was a good thing or not - if everyone was lining up in two neat rows along the sides of the walkway, his hopes of slipping away would fly out the window.

As it was, he managed to leave the school grounds relatively unscathed, with only two cases of getting tripped (one of which was unintentional in the mess of pulling and shoving students). The moment he set foot outside the school gates, Reborn jumped onto his head, earning only a small, startled jerk of the shoulders in response. The two continued walking in silence for a while, before the hitman realised that they weren't heading in the direction of the Sawada household.

He questioned, "Where are you going?"

"TakeSushi," Tsuna answered, not bothering to provide further explanation.

"And where's that?"

His student merely shrugged, something that made Reborn think he was saying 'you'll see'.

About ten minutes later, tutor and student stepped into the restaurant, and Reborn did see. TakeSushi was a very Japanese-styled family restaurant - the walls, floor and ceiling were made up of wooden boards, the lights were dimmed, the decorations looked to be from pre-modern eras, and the tables were filled with quiet but happy chatter. The atmosphere was warm and homey, and it almost - almost - made Reborn want to relax.

He could see why Tsuna would like this place.

"Oh, Tsuna-kun, here again?" The question wasn't hostile; instead, its owner sounded almost glad to see the meek brunet. Seemed like he was a regular customer.

"Hai. Konnichiwa."

"Konnichiwa. Who's that with you today?" The man had a nice smile, and the baby hitman immediately felt that there was something itchingly familiar about him.

"This is Reborn, our new home tutor. Reborn-san, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi." That's when it clicked. The common surname - Yamamoto. The black-haired man was the father of the natural born hitman and baseball captain, Yamamoto Takeshi.

"Ciaossu," Reborn greeted.

"Konnichiwa! Would you be sitting with Tsuna-kun today, Reborn-san?"

As Reborn nodded, he felt a little amazed at TakeSushi's owner. He was no ordinary man, the baby knew. He had asked an infant a question that should be meant for someone much older, and he had expected Reborn to answer. He had a reaction that was somewhat a mix between Nana's and Tsuna's - laidback, but with an edge that told he understood a little, if not entirely, that Reborn was not normal in the least.

Soon enough, the two were seated with three plates of delicious-looking sushi placed in front of them (Reborn with several cushions stacked on his chair), and the brunet actually looked mildly embarrassed. The boy's expression was blank as ever, but the body posture gave Reborn the distinct feeling that had it been anyone else, the person would be blushing - hard. His eyes scanned over the food before them ("On the house, since you brought a guest along!" "I can't possibly, Yamamoto-san." "I insist!") and landed on the tuna-sushi, which Tsuna seemed to be carefully avoiding looking at.

Involuntarily, the baby grinned. Really, the apathetic boy was proving to be more and more amusing by the minute. Some part of him - the sadistic part which is never quite suppressed - filed it away as future blackmail material, while some other portion couldn't help the slight fondness bubbling up within him.

One curious question from Tsuna along with a tilt of his head, though, ("What're you smiling about, Reborn-san?") wiped that smirk-smile-hybrid clean off his face.

The brunet noticed, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Reborn replied, digging into his food as an excuse to avert his eyes, "just eat."

Without further questioning, Tsuna did as he was told, and the hitman struggled not to blurt out what had suddenly upset his stomach and ruined his appetite.

Your eyes, Tsuna. Don't sound so curious when your eyes are so dull, so lifeless. You're such a horrible liar it hurts. Honest.


Translations: (keep forgetting them)

Kaa-san - shortened form of 'okaa-san', which means 'mother'. It's more endearing this way.

Ittekimasu - I'm leaving

Itterasshai - Have a nice trip (something along those lines)

Tadaima - I'm home

Okaeri - shortened form of 'okaerinasai', which means 'welcome back'.

Konnichiwa - Good afternoon/Hello

Hai - Yes

I hope I didn't miss out any!