Target 05 Developments

Nana was, predictably, over the moon about Tsuna's diner plans that evening, even going as far as digging out a truly horrific pink monstrosity of a dress she insisted would make Tsuna more "feminine".

"It's for your own good, Tsu-chan," she said but Tsuna, of course, refused. She had never and probably would never have any inclination towards being more "girly" as she found the idea rather repulsive and misogynistic. Girls should have the right to dress any way they wanted as do boys should have the right to dress the way the wanted. Tsuna preferred shorts over skirts; t-shirts over tight fitted blouses and running shoes over high heels. It was who she was and nothing, not even her mother, could change that. Besides, she already had the epitome of femininity as a best friend and that was more then enough in her book.

"Why can't you let me go shopping with you?" Nana pouted as Tsuna resolutely looked away, "How are you going to attract boys if you dress like one of them?"

"I don't live to attract boys mom," Tsuna protested hotly, snatching the dress away from the woman and stuffing it in to the first drawer she saw. "I'm perfectly fine the way I am. It's already bad enough I have to way skirts as part of my school uniform. I refuse to wear them outside of school when I do not have to."

Nana sighed, her expression saying everything she was not.

"It's just dinner. No fancy dresses required." Tsuna sighed, annoyed, "I told you, Kyoko and Hana will also be there. Yamamoto simply wants to thank us for helping him out."

"Yes, yes," Nana said absent-mindedly, not listening to a word Tsuna was saying. She was probably off in her own fantasy land where Tsuna was the princess pursued by all the eligible bachelors in the land. "But this is the first time my no-good daughter has been invited to diner by a boy, and such a handsome one too. You should take advantage."

"Stop calling me that!" Tsuna snapped, his anger hiding the hurt she felt every time Nana would bring out that nickname. It was already bad enough that people at school called her that but to have her own mother do as well? It was something that affected her more then she cared to admit.

"Sorry, sorry," Nana said, unconcerned. "When are Kyoko and Hana coming to get you?"

Tsuna glanced at her watch.

"About now," she answered just as the doorbell rang.

Nana hurried off to answer it, leaving Tsuna alone in her room, wondering why the feeling of impending doom wasn't leaving her be.

Hana was dressed in a casual blouse and jeans ensemble that mirrored Tsuna's while Kyoko, in typically Kyoko fashion, was dressed in a flowery summer dress that hugged her every curve; the skirt of the dress twirling flirtatiously around her legs as she walked. It was all very feminine and Nana took at least 10 minutes gushing over her as Tsuna tried her best to get her mother to let go of the young girl.

"We'll be late if we don't leave," she said, finally dragging Kyoko out of the house, "Don't wait up."

They walked silently down the cobbled pathway until they reached the sidewalk. With Tsuna as lead, the trio turned right, heading towards the Shopping district where TakSushi was situated. Since the restaurant was only 15 minutes away, they would be a little early arriving there but Tsuna figured that Yamamoto wouldn't care about that. It was only when they had walked 1 block that Hana finally decided to break the silence.

"You're in a mood," she said, narrowing her eyes contemplatively in Tsuna's direction, "Don't tell me you are still annoyed at me for making decisions for you."

"No, of course not," Tsuna assured her quickly. Tsuna had never been one to hold grudges, especially when her best friends were concerned. "It's just…I have a bad feeling about today."

A shiver ran down her spine and Tsuna glanced around furtively, wondering if they were being followed. Hana, catching on to her reaction, looked as well and frowned at Tsuna when nothing could be found.

"You're thinking too much Tsuna," Kyoko said, smiling brightly. She looked happier now that she knew why Tsuna had been so quiet. "Nothing is going to happen."

"When did you start feeling this way?" Hana asked, ignoring Kyoko causing the girl to pout.

"Since second period after Yamamoto came to talk to us," Tsuna replied, "I had this feeling of impending doom in the pit of my stomach. And for some reason, it's not going away."

For a moment, Hana did not reply.

"Hana?"

The girl shook her head.

"Come on," she said, "Maybe some food will cheer you up."

"Welcome!"

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto was a average-height man with kind eyes and a big smile, not unlike his son. He greeted the trio warmly as they entered and quickly ushered them to seats at the bar.

"It's good to meet my son's friends from school," he said as he poured each one of them a cup of steaming black tea.

Tsuna blushed, resisting the urge to say that they were not really friends as that would sound too rude in this situation. And besides, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto was making her feel extremely uncomfortable for some reason. Despite his jovial manners and easy laugh, Tsuna couldn't help but sense a darkness from him that told her he was more then he seemed. What that meant, she didn't know.

"Tsuna!" Takeshi called out as he made his way over. He was wearing an apron which suggested that he had been working in the kitchen. "And Sasagawa, Kurokawa. I hope you guys are hungry."

"Thank you for inviting us," Tsuna said automatically, turning away from the father to the son. His sentiment was quickly repeated by her two best friends.

"It's the least I can do," Takeshi replied, sweeping the words away with a dismissive hand, "So what do you guys want to eat?"

"Takeshi insisted on making all the sushi himself," Tsuyoshi confided in the three girls, making Tsuna's eyes widen slightly. She had no idea Takeshi was so good at cooking.

"I'm still a beginner," Takeshi insisted, a soft blush coloring his cheeks. "Please be kind to me."

"Well, it can't be worst then my cooking," Hana sighed, sounding dejected. Tsuna didn't blame her. Before Hana, Tsuna hadn't thought it was possible to burn water.

"Cooking is a process," Takeshi said, sounding as if he was quoting someone, "To cook the perfect meal, you need to understand how the ingredients feel as they are being cooked."

Tsuna blinked. Wait…what did he just say? Beside her, Kyoko giggled while Hana looked as if she was seriously questioning Takeshi's mental well-being.

"Where on earth did you hear that from?" Tsuyoshi asked incredulously, turning away from the sushi roller.

Takeshi shrugged, looking a little confused. Tsuna sighed. Takeshi had probably got that quote wrong. It wouldn't be the first time he did it too.

While Takeshi tried to get his thoughts in order, Tsuna pursued the menu carefully, writing down a few choices she was interested in on the piece of paper provided by the restaurant. 10 minutes later, she had finally put together a list and was about to give it to a waiting Takeshi when the feeling she had tried to ignore all day came back with a revenge.

"Tsuna?" Hana asked worriedly. Even Kyoko had stopped in mid-action, turning to Tsuna, a uncharacteristic look of alarm on her face.

"Is something wrong?" Takeshi asked, suddenly noticing the silence. Tsuyoshi did not comment.

"It's nothing," Tsuna shrugged, feeling unsettled. Why was she feeling this way?

The door to the restaurant opened and Tsuna jumped in her seat, her heart suddenly beating a thousand miles per minute.

"Tsuna?"

"Owner," one of the new arrivals said, a foreign accent coloring his words. Probably European Tsuna thought and promptly wondered how she was so certain of it.

"Jake," Tsuyoshi replied, sounding strained. He was no longer smiling and that little fact made alarm bells ring in Tsuna's mind. "What are you doing here?"

"Weren't you expecting me?" the man named Jake replied, looking unconcerned, "I do admit I'm a little early."

"You're 5 hours early," Tsuyoshi snapped, "I have guests."

Jake finally glanced away from the elder Yamamoto and turned his attention to Tsuna and company.

"I see," he said, examining them one by one. Tsuna was suddenly reminded of a predator analyzing their prey. "Kids."

His expression of utter boredom changed however when his gaze landed on Tsuna.

"Dear God," Jake said, surprised. He actually took a step back and gestured for his companion to take a look as well. "Mark."

The other man, Mark, looked over at Tsuna as well before his eyes grew large to match his companion's.

"It's uncanny," he admitted and Tsuna wanted very much to ask what they were seeing that fascinated them so.

"This is none of your business," Tsuyoshi said, sounding annoyed. With one smooth movement that really shouldn't be possible for someone his age, he jumped over the bar to land near Tsuna.

"So it's not a coincidence then?" Jake asked, looking amused. "How selfish of you to keep this to yourself. You know the Boss will reward me handsomely if-"

"It's a coincidence," Tsuyoshi interrupted, taking another step toward so that he was now completely covering Tsuna from view. The young woman wondered why her appearance was so fascinating to these men when all her life, she had been a wall flower.

"Dad, what is going on?"

"Takeshi," Tsuyoshi said, his grip on his knife just that much tighter. The situation was quickly dissolving in to something every dangerous and potentially life-threatening. Tsuna did not cry although she really wanted to at that moment. "I'm very sorry for ruining your plans. Something came up. Can you bring your friends somewhere else while I deal with this?"

"Now, now," Jake said, his arm snaking in to his suit jacket to extract…a gun. "Let's not do anything we will regret."

Tsuna suddenly felt faint while Kyoko let out a cry of terror. Predictably, only Hana remained calm, although that was probably shock doing its work.

"Come on," Takeshi said, incredibly calm considering the situation. He grabbed Tsuna by the arm and start pulling her towards the back exit, "Let's get out of here."

There was a big bang, reminiscent of a small bomb going off. The door slammed open once more and to Tsuna's utter shock, Hibari stepped through, looking thunderous.

"Oh," Jake said in the tone of someone who has no idea who Hibari was and what he was capable of, "More company."

"Having a gun is against the law," Hibari hissed and Tsuna was so grateful that he was here that she didn't even question how he knew that there was a man with a gun on the premise. "I'm going to bite you to death."

What soon ensured was an epic fight that involved Hibari expertly dodging every bullet fired his way and the two man crying out in pain when Hibari finally hit them with the metal body of his tonfas.

"Herbivore," Hibari tsked and took out a cellphone from his pocket. "I need a clean up crew ASAP."

"Clean up crew!" Tsuna shrieked taking a step back, her back bumping against the counter, "What does that even mean?"

Hibari did not answer.

"You are a magnet for trouble," he said instead and Tsuna glared at him, adrenaline making her bolder then normal.

"I don't ask for this to happen to me," she snapped. "Besides, this is the first time something like this happened."

"Mr. Yamamoto," Hana said, turning to the only adult in the room, "You said you were expecting them. Is it OK for Hibari to take them away?"

"It's OK for now," he replied, shaking his head. He didn't look alarmed which could mean a lot of things. Unfortunately, Tsuna was still to shocked at being held at gun point that she didn't even think of it. "I'm glad you kids weren't hurt."

"Dad?" Takeshi asked, looking a little shaken by the experience. Tsuna thought that it said a lot about Hibari that the young man had barely blinked at the sight of guns pointing at him. "Who were they? Are they part of the Yakuza?"

It was a valid question as owning a gun in Nanimori was against the law. Only policemen who have received permission from HQ had the right to bear arms. Those two definitely did not look like policeman.

"Make sure you get these noisy herbivores out of here," Hibari said, before making his leave. Tsuyoshi did not reply.

A few minutes later, two members of the disciplinary committee arrived and carried the unconscious bodies off to god-knows where.

Tsuna sank back in to her seat, feeling drained. She had been right to worry after all.

Really, Tsuna thought bitterly to herself, why was this all happening to her?

TBC.

Things are starting to heat up...

Also, I see Tsuna's appearance as similar to male Tsuna but more feminine (same hairstyle and eyes and general features).