AN: So, I hope you guys enjoy. And as always, reviews are appreciated.

AN2: New version is up with minor corrections and changes.

Disclaimer: Don't own KHR

"speaking"

'thinking'

"English"

"Italian"

-9 years ago-

"Hey Tsu-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever wish that your life was different? That you had a better life?" Misaki asked as they were at the park again. The park had become somewhat of a hangout for the duo ever since they first met.

They were both in the sand pit once again with Tsuna building a sand turtle and Misaki just idly using a stick to draw something.

"Sometimes I do. When the bullies bother me." Tsuna responded.

Misaki frowned. "You mean there's still people bullying you? Who are they? I'll go stop them!"

"You don't have to Misa-nee. I can take care of myself!"

"As expected of my number 1 student!" she said with a grin. Misaki had begun teaching Tsuna self-defense moves. Although she didn't look like it, the 14 year old was very adept at martial arts, having been taught by her biological father before he died.

The girl stood up when she heard someone crying behind the bushes. She motioned for Tsuna to stand up and follow her. As they approached the bushes, they saw a familiar sight. A kid about Tsuna's age was crying on the floor. He was surrounded by older boys who were obviously bullying him.

Before Misaki could do anything, Tsuna jetted out from behind the bushes. He tackled the bully who was about to strike the crying boy and proceeded to attack with everything he had. Everyone watched dumbfounded as Tsuna punched the bully repeatedly. His punches may be weak, but the speed in which he delivered them more than made up for it.

The friends of the boy Tsuna attacked finally gained their wits and pulled both of them apart. They flinched at the semi feral look Tsuna gave them and wisely backed down from the fight. They took their friend and made their way out of the park still a little shocked that a 6 year old could do such damage,

Misaki finally made herself known and said "Tsu-chan! That was amazing! I never knew you could fight like that! Why don't you do that when the bullies attack you?"

Tsuna, who finally calmed down, rubbed that back of his head sheepishly and answered "Because I didn't really want to hurt them. It's just me and I'm pretty much used to it. But, seeing them do that to another kid just got me so mad for some reason."

"Aww, you're too nice for your own good. Next time they bully you, just do what you did now." Misaki tried to convince him.

"Err, I'll try." he said before turning to the kid on the floor who had stopped crying. He pulled out some band-aids that he always kept on hand and helped patch the kid up. "Hey, my name's Tsuna. What's yours?"

"Thanks for introducing me brat." Misaki mumbled as she watched the two children interact.

The boy timidly looked up and said "My name is Hiroshi. Nice to meet you."

"Why were they picking on you?"

"Because of my glasses. They called me a nerd and broke them." Hiroshi picked up his glasses from the floor and winced at their broken state.

Tsuna frowned a little before saying, "You look better without them anyway. Your eyes are so cool. It's no fair, both you and Misa-nee have cool eyes. Mine are boring." And it was true. Hiroshi's green eyes, which were now full of live, were uncommon in the Japanese population.

"Misa-nee?" the boy asked.

"That's me! Tsu-chan didn't bother to introduce me, but hi. I'm Misaki. You can call me Misa-nee like Tsu-chan does." Misaki replied before Tsuna could say anything.

The boy and girl chatted for a few minutes before realizing that Tsuna hadn't uttered a word since Misaki introduced herself. "Whatcha thinking about Tsu-chan?" she asked.

Tsuna turned towards the two of them and said, "Hiroshi! You're not a girl? Why?"

Hiroshi was shocked and somewhat affronted. Who could blame him after being asked a question like that? "What do you mean why? I can't help being born a guy."

Trying to stifle her laugh, Misaki lectured, "Tsu-chan, you're not supposed to behave like that! What are you even talking about?"

Tsuna had a thoughtful face on and replied, "Because I wanted the third member of our family of friends to be a girl. I wanted to be an older brother!"

Misaki descended into a fit of laughter as Tsuna continued, "Oh well, I guess the next one can be a girl. All right! Hiroshi-kun, from now on, you're gonna be apart of our family!"

-Present time-

Tsuna was still sitting on his bed when Iemitsu came back in. It looked as if he hadn't moved an inch in the 20 minutes it took to make the call. So deep in thought, Tsuna didn't even notice his dad enter the room until he spoke.

"Tsuna, I just finished talking with Nono. I'm sorry, but he will not retract his orders. You and your guardians will be leaving at 7 PM today. Our people will pick you guys up and drive you to the airport. You'll be taking the Vongola Family private jet." Iemitsu said. He tried to lighten to mood by adding, "But hey! You get to ride a PRIVATE JET! Comfy seats, good food, and all the movies that you can watch! I'm so jealous. We only get to ride in helicopters. All of us squished into that tiny thing, it can be unbearable sometimes. You'd think that me being the external advisor gives me private jet rights, but noooooooooo. It's only for the Boss and guardians." he said with a put at the end.

Tsuna sweat dropped at his dad's antics and asked, "Will Reborn be coming with us? How about back up?"

Iemitsu answered with a shake of his head. "No, it will only be you guys. We want to show what the next generation can do without any babying. There will be no back up."

Suddenly, a beeping sound was heard and Iemitsu pulled out a cell phone. He spoke in Italian for a good 5 minutes before shutting the phone and grinning. "That was Nono just now. He has decided to give you some leeway. As long as the Boss of the family, Alberto Genovesse, and advisors are dealt with, the other members only have to be captured. But, these people HAVE to be terminated, no excuses. This is Nono's direct order; you will be the one who kills Alberto after he watches all his advisors die. It doesn't matter who deals with the others as long as they die. Don't let us down Tsuna."

"I got it dad." Tsuna said in a quiet voice. He had much to think about. They spent the next hour hashing out details for the mission: things like who had to go or if there was a time limit.

After all was done, Iemitsu stood up and stretched. "Great! Let's go see what your mama cooked for lunch, I'm still starving! No good food in helicopters, cheapos." his dad said while murmuring the last part.

'The way he's acting, it's as if he just didn't tell his only son that he would have to kill someone' Tsuna thought as he was dragged towards the kitchen.

The graduation ceremony had just started, but Tsuna's mind was somewhere else. He was trying to think of a way to best protect his guardian's innocence. Or what's left of their innocence after all they have been through. He pictured each and every one of them in his head.

Gokudera-kun, the hot headed but loyal dynamite user. Yamamoto, the ever smiling and naïve swordsman. Ryohei, the loud and ever excited extreme boxer. Hibari, the aloof and dedicated tonfa wielder. Lambo, the always crying and emotional baby of the family. Mukuro, the creepy but useful illusionist. He was just thankful that Chrome didn't have to go since officially, Mukuro was the Mist Guardian. He was just using Chrome as a proxy because of his situation. But now that he was free, she didn't have to do anything too dangerous.

As he watched the student body president stand up to give his speech, Tsuna glanced at each of his guardians that were here. His gaze ended at a boy who had semi spiky black hair. He was taller than Tsuna by a couple of inches. His green eyes, which were closed at the moment, always seemed to glow with the moon. His glasses effectively hid them from unwanted attention. This boy was Yanagi Hiroshi, Ombranera's Iron Snake and the Family's capable Cloud Guardian. As if noticing Tsuna's gaze, Yanagi opened his eyes and looked at Tsuna.

A silent conversation was held between them using their own secret hand signals. These hand signals functioned as their own secret language and everyone in the Ombranera Family knew them.

Deftly, Tsuna conveyed all that happened this morning, knowing that Yanagi would inform the others. With a slight nod, Yanagi looked away to avoid suspicion. After all, not only were Tsuna's Vongola Guaridans here, CEDEF members were also hidden amongst the crowd. Tsuna and Yanagi only had minimal contact during school ever since they started middle school. That changed to almost no contact at all after Gokudera transferred and Reborn came. You can't be too careful after all, especially with the world's greatest hitman as a tutor.

The speech was done, the awards were given, and the names were called. The graduation ceremony was officially over. Tsuna stood off to the side as his guardians slowly made their way to him. They had been told of the mission before the ceremony started. But, Tsuna didn't mention the killing part. Although he thought that Mukuro and maybe Hibari might actually enjoy killing, he didn't want them to. He decided to carry the burden by himself: he would be the only one doing any killing, preferably somewhere where his guardians wouldn't see.

The group as a whole walked towards a limo that was parked close to the school. Lambo was already inside. Although Tsuna didn't agree with taking Lambo, his dad had overruled him, saying that Lambo was born and raised in the Mafia. He was trained for this and had to do this. And, if worst comes to worst, he had the 10-year bazooka for help.

As they were walking, they were observed by a lone student; his bright green eyes that were no longer hidden behind glasses analyzed the group, trying to gouge their strength. He mentally scoffed at what he saw. Besides Hibari, none of them looked strong at all. If these people joined the Ombranera, he was positive that they wouldn't even make it to Squad Captain. Yet here they were, walking next to his Boss as Guardians.

Yanagi walked towards the Vongola group and as he passed them, put his hand on Tsuna's shoulder. The message was clear: be safe. Tsuna nodded his thanks as Gokudera yelled at Yanagi for touching his "Juudaime."

They sat in the limo silently, each thinking about the upcoming mission. Before they reached the airport, a loud ringing sound penetrated the air. Tsuna took out his phone and looked at the caller ID. This definitely wasn't a call that could be ignored. 'Grandpa, what could you possibly want now?" he thought as he answered.

"Hello?"

"Tsuna-kun, there has been a change in plans." Nono's voice came out and if Tsuna had to guess, there was plenty of barely restrained anger in it. 'Great. Just great.'