Disclaimer: Me no owns Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Akira Amano do

Hahaha, so on we go! I hope I don't mess up with my juggling. _

In Japan

Several black cars, lined up in one row, occupied the road leading to the airport. One single white car drove in the middle of this black line.

"I'm really thankful that you wanted to pay your respects to Dad, but you didn't need to bring the whole Family, Tsuna," Yamamoto smiled from a small television screen that covered the back of a beige leather headrest.

"We're all here to stand by you, Yamamoto. After all, we're all your friends. Besides, even if I didn't ask them to come, they would've wanted to go anyways," Tsuna answered with a soft smile on his lips. His black-haired chauffer glanced at the brown-haired man from the rearview mirror, eyes narrowing at the sight of seeing the well-pasted smile.

The man looked back at the road, noticing a small blinking red light emitting from next to a button. "You have another call, Sawada."

Tsuna stretched out his neck to see the light. "I got to go now, Yamamoto. Let's talk more later, okay?"

Yamamoto nodded, "Then I'll see you—"

"Wait!" Gokudera's voice cried from the screen. The Rain Guardian turned to see a silver-haired man in an apron slam the door to his small office open. "Are you talking to the Tenth right now?" he panted.

"Ah, Hayato, I was just about to hang up."

"Just a second, please?" he begged.

"It's alright with me, but Tsuna has another call on the line."

Gokudera tensed up, finding it hard to choose between talking with Tsuna and allowing his friend to do his job. "I-I see, then I'll just talk to the Tenth later."

"You heard him, right Tsuna?" Yamamoto smiled. The brown-haired man nodded with a semi-amused smile on his face. "Right, then call when you land in Narita, okay? We'll pick you up. Bye."

"Bye, Tenth!" Gokudera quickly added in before Yamamoto cut the feed.

"Was there really another call on the line, Hibari, or was there something that you wanted to say?" Tsuna questioned his chauffer. His smile had faded away in the silence.

"Why? Did you not trust me?"

Tsuna closed his eyes, opening his mouth to sigh, but stopped himself. "Hibari, do we need to go through this again?"

Hibari didn't say anymore on the topic and instead answered Tsuna's first question. "The call was from Irie. He has already hung up, but he left a message. I'll play it right now." The Cloud Guardian reached for a button on the radio and a face appeared on the screen in front of Tsuna, whose eyes widened in shock.

On the screen in front of him was a white-haired man with a purple tattoo under his left eye. His corner of his lips curled up into a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Sawada," the man greeted. "I heard you were going to visit Japan and I decided to use Shou-chan's phone before I headed back to Italy. You see, I was here for a Christmas Party, like the one that Cavallone held except it was smaller. Well, that's all the time I have if you're not picking up. Shou-chan will be mad if I miss my flight. Bye-bye."

After the screen turned off, the car was silent again. Hibari turned to see Tsuna's stunned expression. "Who was that, Sawada?"

At the sound of Hibari's voice, Tsuna recovered himself. "That was the leader of the Millefiore, Byakuran."

"The Millefiore's Byakuran? Interesting…"

Baggage claim was normally the second worst thing that came with traveling next to airplane food. For the Vongola, however, there were no problems. Black bags, all identical in brand and style, came sliding down into the carousel. These bags were then picked up by one of the many subordinates that had arrived from Italy.

"Tenth!" Gokudera waved to his childhood friend and boss with a smile resembling a child's. After being away from Tsuna for almost a week, all he could do was smile. "Welcome back to Japan!"

Tsuna scanned the area of waiting bystanders. The only two from the crowd that he recognized were Yamamoto and Gokudera. "You didn't tell Kyoko or Haru about my return, did you?"

The smile slowly faded from Gokudera's face. "I did as you instructed, Tenth. All they know is that you'll be back for a few days and you'll visit them if you get the chance."

"Thanks, Gokudera," Tsuna smiled, trying to lift Gokudera's mood up.

"Yo, Tsuna!" Yamamoto smiled as he walked up to the brown-haired boss. A familiar happiness had finally begun its return to Yamamoto, something that Tsuna—and even Gokudera—was glad about. "The car's waiting for us outside. Where's Hibari?" He asked, looking behind Tsuna for the Cloud Guardian.

"There was some business he needed to take care of," Tsuna explained. "He said that he'd come meet up with us a little bit later."

"Okay, then I guess I'm driving."

"No way are you driving, stupid Takeshi," Gokudera barked, grabbing the car keys from the taller man. "I'm driving."

The two started walking towards the exit, Yamamoto chuckling at Gokudera's annoyance. Watching the two's back reminded Tsuna of when they were younger. Both of them had matured, but they were both still the same despite the situation. Whether or not the two were acting this way for Tsuna or out of nature, though, he couldn't tell.

His nostalgia was interrupted by a creeping coldness. The freezing temperature, however, did not make him shiver. Instead, he found the cool to be mysteriously relaxing.

"He's not dead yet," the voice of a woman whispered into Tsuna's ear. He made a sharp turn but couldn't find the owner of the familiar voice. The only thing he could see was the bunch of people waiting for passengers to arrive into the port.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto called, causing him to turn his attention back to his two childhood friends. "Are you coming?"

"I'll be right there," Tsuna yelled back. He checked around him one more time before following after his friends, feeling predatory eyes cut at his back.

A rather short man with a glossy head stood waiting at the edge of Namimori's forest, humming as he watched the clouds roll by. Japan was in for a late snow season. His soft music stopped playing as a large car pulled up ten feet away from him.

From the car emerged a silver-haired man that ran over to open the back door for his boss. A swordsman, who had ridden in the passenger seat, came out last.

"Vongola Decimo!" the short man bowed, "It's great to see you again, sir!"

"It's good to see you again, too, Giannini. So, where is your recent project?"

The inventor smiled smugly as he led the trio behind him into the forest. "We're here," he announced as they reached a small clearing. "Now, all I have to do is open the door." He turned to Yamamoto, "Now, if you'd be so kind as to supply a cover with your Pioggia…"

The swordsman gave a nod and fished out a blue box from his pocket. He pushed his ring into the indent on one of the box's sides and a sparrow covered in blue Dying Will flames flew out, sprinkling harmless rain over the group, gradually turning the sprinkling into a pelting downpour.

At exactly the right moment, the downpour cleared and Giannini stood at an opening to the underground. "This way please," the inventor smiled, gesturing to the metal staircase with his hands.

The sky was the color of burning night—violent red and soft orange dying down as it met brooding blue, mysterious indigo, and deep violet dotted with shimmering sparkles. The golden sun sat right above the greens of the trees still brave enough to grow in the winter before a blanket of white settled in.

At Namimori shrine, situated at the top of a hill, the leaves on the trees weren't so brave and the brown crisps littered the front courtyard, which were quickly swept to the side by a light breeze. Starting from the posts of the mahogany-red Torii gate was a line of men, each with a black pompadour attached to their scalps. They were almost all identical with the exception of one, who had a sprig of wheat sticking out of his mouth.

A man with flat hair that could symbolize oblivion and eyes of sharp grey stepped out of the driver's side of a Mercedes parked along the curb in front of the stone steps leading up to the shrine. He was dressed in a suit and held a briefcase in his left hand. The index and middle fingers on his right hand were adorned with rings set with purple gems of different shapes and sizes.

"Welcome home, Sir Hibari Kyouya!" the line chanted in unison.

"Hn," the man acknowledged as he walked past the row of men until he reached the temple, where he took off his leather shoes. Without another word or any hurried motion, he slid open the paper-screen door and retired to the hidden room.

The two lines dispersed and the man with straw in his mouth took off his shoes before following his boss into the temple.

"Do you have any new information, Kusakabe?" the man asked as he slid his arms through the sleeves on a kimono. His suit was neatly folded in a basket.

"Our intelligence stationed close the Vendiche Prison has reported that Rokudou Mukuro was seen fighting a man from the Millefiore known as 'Glo Xinia', a member of the white spell and holder of the Rain Mare Ring," Kusakabe announced.

Hibari wrapped his obi around his waist and tied it together. He sat down on a seat cushion as another man came into the temple, serving two cups of tea on the short table. After the man left, the seated man took a sip of the bitter green tea. "Outcome of the battle?" he asked, half interested.

When no reply came, the man turned to look Kusakabe in the eyes. However, their eyes didn't meet; Kusakabe's gaze was averted to the floor. "Rokudou Mukuro lost. The subordinate stationed near Vendiche also told me that Rokudou Mukuro also lost his life in the battle.

An odd little silence settled over the room. Hibari's hand that held the tea cup trembled slightly, but his voice was steady and his face was hard, "And Chrome Dokuro?"

Kusakabe shook his head, "She's still missing from that time she and Kokuyo tried to free Rokudou Mukuro."

"I see," Hibari mumbled. "Please tell Sawada the information you just told me."

The subordinate stood up and bowed, "Understood, Kyou." Then he turned for the sliding door, leaving the oblivion man alone in the room.

"Stupid idiot," he muttered, grip tightening around the cup until it shattered. "I was supposed to be the one to bite you to death…"

The ground of the forest quaked and dirt slid backwards, revealing a metal staircase as well as four men that came out from the hole.

"Thanks for the tour, Giannini," the leading man smiled as they reached the level ground.

"It's an honor to have made the base, Vongola Decimo—I mean, Mr. Sawada."

"Just make sure that the medical facility is top-notch and it'll be perfect," Tsuna reminded; his voice just barely audible over the sound of the closing hatch.

"Of course, Mr. Sawada," the short inventor smiled. "Well, I parked on the other side of the forest, so I'll be going that way." He pointed backwards with his thumb before walking off.

"Yamamoto, can you get out your sparrow?" Tsuna whispered to the Rain Guardian.

The swordsman nodded, already aware of what Tsuna's next request would be. He opened his Box once again and released the bird. "After Giannini, please," he said to the circling animal before it followed after the Vongola's inventor.

"So, where to now, Tsuna?"

Gokudera glared up at Yamamoto, who was now only a few inches taller than him, "Hey, I thought I told you that I'm driving."

"Actually," Tsuna interrupted before a fight could break out between the two, "I'm going to take a little walk instead."

Yamamoto and Gokudera exchanged looks of shock and confusion then looked back at their boss with worry. "T-Tenth…I don't think that's such a great idea. With all the recent disappearances, we can't just let you go around alone."

"Besides, Tsuna, you're not just our 'boss', you're our friend. It's too dangerous for us to separate. Especially since what we're dealing with also took out Skull of the Arcobaleno."

Tsuna gave his friends an appreciative smile. "You guys don't need to worry, I have my X-Gloves with me and it's not like I'll be leaving Namimori. I'm just going to be walking around a bit. If I get into any trouble, I release some flames into the air, okay?"

Gokudera took a step forward, "Tenth—"

A calloused, tanned hand rested on the silver-haired man's shoulder. While the hand looked relaxed, the reality was that it was clasped tightly over the suit. "Just don't forget to signal to us, okay, Tsuna?"

He nodded, "I won't." Then the brown-haired boss turned from his two childhood friends, heading for a different exit of the forest. His hands crawled to his pockets, one hand slipped into a mitten while the other took out a small, beaten charm. On the outside of the pouch was a picture of a blue fish. A small reminiscing smile found a home on Tsuna's lips as he held the small charm, which was nearly ten years old.

His smile widened and he closed his eyes. In his mind, the figure of a young woman with long orange hair appeared in his mind. "Kyoko…"

A large round moon surrounded by small stars popped out from the dark night sky. "Eh? You have to go on a business trip to Italy?" Kyoko asked, unable to believe what she was hearing. A mess of brown lay on her lap and thin fingers twined into the ends of her hair absentmindedly.

"Yeah, I have to get packed up and be ready in a week," the mess replied, amber eyes staring up into bright hazel orbs. The light dimmed in the sparkling eyes after hearing the words leave mouth.

"I see," she smiled understandingly, "Your promotion just made you busier and more important, right? I told you, didn't I? You're not useless." She placed a gentle kiss on a cleared forehead.

The chestnut left her lap and sat up beside her, turned to face her and pressed lips upon hers. "Thanks Kyoko." His smile was soft and genuine. He caressed her reddened cheeks with his hand and kissed her again.

"T-Tsu-kun!"

"Sorry," he apologized, "I couldn't help it; you just looked too cute!"

At this, she turned a deep cherry red. "How do you manage to say this with a straight face?" she asked, embarrassed.

He kissed her again, this time on her forehead. "That's because it's true."

"You're too nice, Tsu-kun," she murmured.

Tsuna laughed, "Maybe I am."

Without realizing it, Tsuna's feet had taken him to the park. Kindergarteners climbed and slid and swung, laughing and smiling. He took a step into the now miniature world and spotted a small boy crying in the center of the playground. A girl and a boy were next to him. Tsuna walked over to the three, squatting down to their height.

"Hey, is something wrong?" he asked the children with a smile.

"We were playing tag and Yuuta-kun tripped," the girl explained to the man. She glanced at the boy next to her. His arms were crossed and he snorted, turning his head away from her.

Tsuna caught the small motion, but picked Yuuta up, placing him on his shoulders. "Well, if it's Yuuta-kun's turn to be it, then I'll just have to be his legs, now won't I?"

The girl's eyes lit up like gems and even the sulking boy's attention was stolen. "You'll really do that for us, Big Brother?" she smiled.

Tsuna shrugged, "That's only if Yuuta-kun wants to." He looked up at the boy, his messy brown hair flattened by the kindergartener, "So how about it, Yuuta-kun, want me to help you out?"

Little Yuuta gave a vigorous nod and Tsuna looked down at the kids. "Well, you saw what he said, so let's play."

The orange that plagued the sky was reduced to a sliver between a sulking magenta and the small children at the park hurried home with their parents for dinner. As the sun set, poles with artificial light at the ends lit up the near-empty streets.

Tsuna's jacket hung over his shoulder and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up. He squatted at eye level with Yuuta with a smile. Behind Yuuta was his mother, who was smiling as well.

"It was fun playing with you today, Yuuta-kun. When you get home, make sure you help Mommy with dinner and get all cleaned up, okay?" Tsuna patted the kindergartener's head.

"Will you play with Saku and Mitsu and me again, Tuna-bro?" Yuuta asked meekly, under Tsuna's warm hand.

Tsuna shook his head. "Starting tomorrow, I'll be very busy, so I don't know if I'll be able to come back and play or not. And I have to go back to my work."

"Work? Where does Tuna-bro work?"

"I own a cannery over in Italy," Tsuna answered, "And my friends and workers are counting on me to be there."

"Italy? Is Italy far away from here?"

"It's far away from Japan." Tsuna looked up at the sound of a car parking at the entrance of the playground. His Cloud Guardian came out of the driver's side of the vehicle. The man kept his distance from the park, leaning against the car door, arms crossed with an impatient glare aimed at Tsuna.

The brown-haired man turned back to Yuuta, who had tried to distract his sadness with a small pebble on the floor. Tsuna lifted Yuuta up into the air from under the boy's arms. The surprised kindergartener looked at Tsuna with a mixture of happiness and bewilderment. "I'll teach you a little bit of Italian so you can tell me it when we see each other again."

"Really?" Yuuta's eyes were the size of dinner plates and glittered like polished glass.

Tsuna nodded, "The word is ciao; it means 'hello' and 'bye'."

"Chi-aossu?" Yuuta tilted his head to the side questioningly.

The color and smile drained from Tsuna's face as he remembered his tutor. A mixture of sorrow and worry pounded on his heart and made his stomach clench. The feeling of Hibari's hard stare brought him back to reality and he recovered a soft smile. "Close enough." Tsuna set Yuuta back down on his feet. "Now, then, don't forget to help your Mommy when you get home, alright?"

Yuuta nodded as his mother took his hand. He headed towards the gate with his mother leading him and turned backwards, waving, "Chi-aossu!"

Tsuna waved back until Yuuta was out of sight. At that moment he looked up at the stars twinkling in the night they were woven into until his stargazing was cut off when he remembered a certain impatient Cloud Guardian was waiting for him.

He walked to the car and Hibari leisurely. As he arrived, Hibari opened the door for Tsuna and he gave a small bow as a gesture of thanks. Within a few more seconds, Hibari was behind the wheel and the engine was ignited.

An exhausting silence hung in the air like a ring of cigarette smoke until Hibari broke the through the smog. "While our boss is playing around with children, his subordinates are doing multiple complex errands."

"Did you get my message about the new location?" Tsuna asked, ignoring the comment.

"…Yes," he finally answered, deciding not to bring the topic up again.

End Chapter Five

So here we have a lovely chapter with just a smidge of progression and symbolism.

Anyways, the choice of names for the three children were based off of my alias: Saku Yuuta, and Mitsu, which means honey (and is related to my real name).

Yuuta's "Tuna-bro" was intentional.

Okay, so the next chapter will cover up some important points I believe should have happened before thirteen year-old Tsuna and Co. come to the world of ten years later.

Alright, till next time! ^^

(This is redundant, but…REVIEWS PLEASE! ^^)