Chapter 3.

It's been 2 weeks since Reborn came to Namimori. He had duties to fulfill, moreover it was a request from Nono himself and he couldn't refuse. But he didn't fly all the way to Japan from Italy to babysit Iemitsu's kid.

Shigeru was still a naïve brat. In the beginning, he wriggled out of every training session that he could, either to go on dates with Kyoko or to go for soccer practice. He couldn't care less about being part of the mafia, and still didn't. But after a few kicks, punches and blankly fired shots, Shigeru grudgingly started to obey him. Right now, he was in the process of reading the Everything About Maria guide.

But progress was still too darned slow.

Perhaps things would change starting today. Reborn smirked.

Tsuna was scared stiff. Of all people, the new kid had to pick on her. It was like he had been searching for her. The moment he entered the classroom, his gaze locked onto Tsuna, and now she was under the full brunt of his terrifying glare.

She fidgeted in her seat, and tried to duck his heated glare. But even as she stared at her wrists, and tried to pre-occupy herself by rubbing off invisible dirt, she could feel his eyes burning a hole through her bushy head.

Why is this happening to me? She wailed internally. "Eeep!" the silver-haired boy had kicked her desk! She could have died of a heart attack on the spot!

"Hey, leave Tsuna alone." The transfer student just switched his glare onto her twin, who sat directly behind her. Shigeru stared back, but he wasn't one to pick a fight so he held up his hands in defence and just grinned back.

"Gokudera-kun, your seat is the other way," the teacher called. This time, Gokudera glared at the teacher, who also looked like she was about to faint in fear, before stomping to his seat.

Tsuna's shoulders slumped in relief. Grabbing a post-it, she wrote a little thank-you note for her twin. What would she do without Shigeru, honestly.

She had experienced her fair share of bullies, but now most of them stopped, mainly because of Shigeru's popularity. But Gokudera Hayato didn't seem to care either way, signalling the end of her peaceful days in Namimori High. Tsuna sighed.

Things didn't go exactly as Reborn had hoped. Smoking-Bomb Hayato had challenged Shigeru during recess. That went according to plan. What had not gone according to plan, was Shigeru ignoring Gokudera and running off because he saw Sasagawa Kyoko.

When Gokudera challenged him a second time, after school, it was only because Reborn threatened Shigeru, that Shigeru agreed to fight, and subsequently won it. Then, he proceeded to turn down Gokudera's request to the join his family. Reborn wanted to slam Shigeru's head into the nearest wall. Instead, he restrained himself, and settled with twisting Shigeru's arm.

Finally, they got their first family member.

"Morning, Boss!"

Shigeru grunted in response. "Who let you in here?"

"I did! We always welcome Shi-kun's friends." Mom replied with a wide smile.

"We're not friends."

Tsuna almost missed it, but she was quite sure she saw a look of hurt flash across Gokudera-kun's eyes. It lasted for just a second before his eyes hardened and he continued to eat his breakfast as though nothing had happened.

Over the next few mornings, Gokudera Hayato continued to appear for breakfast. He even attempted to accompany Shigeru to school, but Shigeru would not allow it.

"Alright, I'm heading out! Don't follow me, you gangster!"

In the end, Tsuna would be left awkwardly at the table with Gokudera, afraid to even meet his stormy eyes. Silence would reign over the dining room. Most of the time, Gokudera would leave on his own, and then after a while, Tsuna would head to school too. Even though she risked being late, she would rather walk to school comfortably on her own than in fear, if she were to walk to school with Gokudera-kun.

However, today Gokudera stayed at the dining table longer than he usually did. Tsuna winced as she remembered what happened...

"Erm..."

Silence.

"G-Gokudera-kun.."

His brows were furrowed. What was he thinking about?

"Gokudera-kun?"

Still no reaction.

Mustering up all her courage, Tsuna took a big breath. She reached over slowly, and lightly, ever so lightly, tapped the silver-haired boy's shoulder.

"Eep!"

He was glaring at her.

"We should be going soon, we're going to be late." She squeaked.

Gokudera slammed his palm on the table and shouted, "I don't give a damn about school!"

Tsuna cringed, and returned back to the present. She looked at her textbook in dismay. Her hand had jerked when she recalled how fierce Gokudera-kun had been. The result was an ugly smudge on her textbook. Tsuna sighed.

In the end, she had scrambled out of her house. Gokudera-kun didn't turn up for school. And she still ended up late for school.

Tsuna sighed again.

At least today's Thursday. Upon remembering that, Tsuna smiled a little smile to herself. She couldn't wait for school to end.

Watching him play baseball was the highlight of her days in school. Practices were every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and one more on Saturday mornings, not counting the other unofficial games they play during their free time.

Sure, she could see him almost every other day. (She thanked her lucky stars that they were in the same class.) Sometimes he even came over to their house, because he was buddies with her twin. (Yepp, totally thanking her lucky stars!)

There was just something different about watching him play baseball, that made her heart glow with a tinge of warmth. Maybe it was the way his eyes steeled, just a bit, showing his focus in the game. Or maybe it was his wide smile when he shot a home run. Tsuna could not put a finger to it, but whatever it was, it made her heart flutter.

And she was not the only one. Definitely, there were many other girls who liked him and he had a fan club for goodness sake. That is why she would never stand a chance, even if she were Shigeru's twin. But it's alright, Tsuna made it a habit to never hope for too much, she was content to just look at Yamamoto-kun from afar.

Third chapter! Did you like it? Please leave a review, I would love to know your thoughts.

DISCLAIMER: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and its characters don't belong to me. The only thing I can claim ownership over is the storyline.