A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful support. Here is the next chapter.

Target 03 Yamamoto Takeshi

"He's staring at you again."

"Hibari?" Tsuna asked in resignation. Two weeks had passed since she had confronted the prefect in question and got told she was a small animal in need of protection; two weeks had passed and Hibari sometimes still stared at her with unnerving intensity, causing her other classmates to keep a wide berth from her where ever she went. Even the teachers were affected, preferring to ignore her instead of calling her out for daydreaming in class. Tsuna wasn't sure if this change of attitude was a blessing or a curse.

"No, surprisingly, "Hana replied, sounding amused. She was probably having a blast at Tsuna's expense. "Yamamoto Takeshi actually."

Tsuna blinked in surprise. That was unexpected.

"The baseball player?" she said, wanting to be sure Hana was talking about who Tsuna thought she was talking about. Although, Tsuna truly doubted there would be two students with the exact same name in the school.

Like every other attendees of Nanimori High who didn't live under a rock or spend their breaks hiding in an empty stall, Tsuna knew Yamamoto; or at least, knew of his reputation. With Yamamoto being a school icon and Tsuna being Tsuna, her only interaction up to date with the young man was accidentally bumping in to him 2 month ago. She had said sorry, he had smiled and they had moved on.

Logically, there shouldn't be any reason for Yamamoto to pay any attention to her. They had only one class in common (gym) and usually that class passed with Yamamoto soaking up all the attention for being the prodigious athlete he was and Tsuna hiding in one corner, trying to avoid being called out by the teacher. Her natural clumsiness seemed to double in power whenever physical activities were concerned.

"Are you sure it's me he's staring at?" Tsuna asked, trying to surreptitiously glance up and look around, "Maybe it's some long-haired beauty sitting behind me whom he's entranced with."

"That would be a viable explanation if people still sat around you voluntarily," Hana told her matter-of-factedly, making Tsuna glare at her. Although her words were entirely fact, Tsuna felt she didn't have to be so direct about it.

"Oh," said Kyoko, taking that moment to jump in to their conversation, "He's coming this way."

The whispers as well as the pointing curtsy of everyone else in the room slowly rose to a crescendo the closer Yamamoto got to their little corner of the classroom and reached its zenith when the teen stopped in front of Tsuna's desk. Although Tsuna was desperately trying to tune out what everyone else was saying, she could still hear phrases like Why is Yamamoto bothering with Dame-Tsuna? and Oh my god, Yamamoto looks so good today. Despite having absolutely no romantic interest in Yamamoto - she really couldn't like someone she hand't interacted with before, Tsuna still had to admit the boy did look good. Wind-swept hair, well-defined features, a gorgeous smile and a lean and athletic body - result of hours upon hours of hard work, Yamamoto Takeshi cut a very attractive figure in his regulatory school uniform...especially in comparison to some of the other male students in class.

Kyoko let out a small squeal and quickly turned away before anything else could come out of her mouth. Tsuna sighed. Kyoko was a class of her own and despite being a girl as well, Tsuna couldn't even start to fathom what was going through that head of hers.

"Hi," Yamamoto said when Tsuna looked up in question, sounding as if this wasn't the first time they had spoken without any spilled books and bruised limps involved, "Sawada? I was wondering if you could lend me a helping hand."

"Me?" Tsuna repeated in confusion, "I don't mind, but what can I do?"

For once, she wasn't being self-deprecating but entirely honest.

Yamamoto took a deep breath.

"You're good friends with Hibari, right?"

Tsuna choked. Hana snorted and Kyoko let out another squeal which was audible despite the fact she was hiding her face in her hands.

"G…Good friends? What on Earth are you tlaking about?" she stuttered, "Hibari doesn't have friends."

"That's true," Yamamoto agreed after a while, "But you seem to be on very good terms with him. My friend saw you voluntarily enter the Disciplinary Committee office during lunch a few times."

"I assure you," Tsuna said, "There is nothing voluntary about those visits."

It was true. Although Tsuna was starting to mind less and less being forced to visit Hibari - usually via a tall and muscular messenger who looked as if he could wring Tsuna's neck with his pinky finger - the fact still remained, she was forced. Why Hibari would voluntarily want to spend time with her was another mystery and one she hadn't even begun to elucidate.

"Hibari usually sends a messenger to get me," Tsuna explained quickly before Yamamoto could get it in his head that Tsuna was being forced in to becoming Hibari's sex slave or something, "I could say no, I guess, but you really don't refuse a guy who could probably crush your skull with one fist. The first time he came, I was a little freaked out, but I'm starting to get used to it."

"What does Hibari want from you?" Yamamoto asked, still looking a little pale.

"Usually, he just has me sitting in front of his desk or has me lying on his leather sofa."

Yamamoto made a horrified sound as Kyoko started to giggle. Hana, predictably, looked amused by the whole situation and was probably recording it for prosperity.

"No, no, no," Tsuna corrected, once again wishing she hadn't confronted the other teen in the first place. At least then, Hibari would simply limit to himself to staring at Tsuna and not...this. "Not like that! He just uses my lap as a pillow for naps. I assure you Yamamoto, Hibari has no interest in me that way. He treats me less as a person and more like a pet. Not surprising, since for him, I'm on the same level as Hibird."

It would be so like Hibari to think that acquiring a human pet was an acceptable practice. Although, when one had as much influence as the prefect, laws and human decency probably didn't mean much.

"Right," Yamamoto said slowly, obviously unsure on how to proceed, "Hmm…anyway, if it's not too much trouble Sawada, I was hoping you could plead my case on my behalf."

"Case?"

"The Student Council has an extra 2000 Yen over, unallocated to any clubs. Naturally, the Disciplinary Committee took custody of the money but hasn't spent it and isn't planning to spend it in the near future. I tried to reason with Hibari for the money because the baseball club really needs new equipment to participate in the Nationals, but Hibari would not budge. But I'm sure if Tsuna talked to him, he would be much more lenient."

"You got to be kidding me," Tsuna said when Yamamoto had stopped talking, "He'll bite me to death if I start making demands of him. I asked him for a glass of water one time and he threw a tonfa at me!"

"W…Well, you are still relatively unharmed right?" Yamamoto pressed, a pleading expression on his face.

"My scars are psychological," Tsuna replied earnestly and wondered when she started being able to say those words non-ironically.

"Oh for god's sake," Hana snapped, "Give the man a break."

She turned to Yamamoto, eyes narrowed.

"If Tsuna's does this for you, you will owe her a big favor. Got that?"

"Yes, of course," Yamamoto agreed eagerly.

Nezu took that moment to enter the room so Yamamoto bid Tsuna goodbye and rushed out before he could get chewed out for not being in his own homeroom.

"Hana," Tsuna hissed, "What on Earth do you think you are doing? I can't talk to Hibari. He still terrifies me. Usually, when I'm in his presence, I tremble too much to even form a coherent sentence. You got Yamamoto's hopes up for nothing."

"Oh you big baby," the girl said, looking unapologetic.

Tsuna resisted the urge to face palm in exasperation.

Why was this all happening to her?

TBC