Summary: It's mentioned above so I don't think it's necessary for me to repeat it again.

Beta: momorona

Rating: T might change to M in later chapters

Disclaimer: Only the plot of this is my idea

CHAPTER 2

Only the sound of the soothing gentle rain filled the silence. Peaceful. Calm. Therapeutic. The serenity of the simplest acts Mother Nature could give, nourishing the dirt and giving life to the living on earth was tantamount to paradise. But somewhere in Italy, the atmosphere deep within the city of wet cobblestone streets was of a different matter.

In a dimly lit kitchen, as well as the rest of the rooms, its atmosphere appeared depressing for a child living here, too gloomy for someone like Tsuna who shone with his innocent, child-like smile. The toddler appeared out of place just by being here, Reborn mused. Shadowed obsidian eyes observed as large expressive brown orbs peered uncertainly back and forth between the man and his surroundings. He could even see Tsuna fidgeting and squirming nervously on the hard cold surface of the wooden furniture. Though Reborn understood that such a new environment would cause one to feel unease, what he didn't realise was the fact that his intimidating gaze, together with the dimness of their surroundings, would result of a delusion from an over imaginative child's mind. For a toddler as young as Tsuna, to his curious eyes, Reborn appeared like some monster from a nightmare.

This clearly terrified the young brunet to his wits.

Tsuna burst out crying. Loudly.

It was immediate. There was no warning to this confusing incident happening before him. And the more Reborn tried to figure it out, the more blanks he came up with. It felt as though one tried to accomplish something that had never been done or had even been known before. Tsuna was neither picked up nor touched. So why...? And like earlier, there was no answer he could come up with.

He mentally winced at the sheer volume of those distressed cries, disliking the sensation of feeling helpless in such a situation. Reborn was used to knowing almost everything when it came to his job. Or when information was lacking, the hitman would hunt down his targets to gain them his way.

But it was nothing like this. Leon wasn't even here with him either. Tch. There was just no one around for questioning or any familiar faces for advice on child rearing.

With a toddler now under his care, that option of asking around wasn't exactly a smart idea. In such an unknown place and time, Reborn was able to take care of himself, but it would be risky for Tsuna's safety. And bringing his young charge from place to place wouldn't ensure the toddler to be quiet the entire time. Those cries of his would attract unwanted attention towards themselves, endangering them in the process of all these mess.

He would have to figure about that later. Some way, somehow. Tsuna's crying was already starting to deafen him.

Exhaling heavily, Reborn took his fedora off and ran a hand through his unruly dark locks. And without thinking much about it, he placed the hat onto Tsuna's head. It engulfed most of that fluffy brown hair due to its large size and, to his slight amusement; it even went over the young brunet's tearful eyes.

Sniff. "...da...?" came the soft response as large brown eyes shut in reflex. Reborn watched, observing closely.

The sudden weigh on his head made the toddler curious despite his crying. Sniffs and hiccups could be heard shortly as Tsuna's sobs died down in his distraction. His large puffy eyes opened slowly. But the sight of total darkness underneath the fedora made the young brunet squeak in surprise, recoiling at once to get away from it. Tiny hands tried to shove off whatever it was on him, clumsily at that, but his feeble strength merely pushed the fedora up slightly, only enabling the toddler to peer back at Reborn again.

The man appeared not as scary as before, the toddler noted, blinking back stray tears and hiccupped a couple more. Reborn, on the other hand, wasn't even sure how such a simple, random action could help with this. But it did its part, unexpectedly. And he was pleased by this turnout. With Tsuna no longer crying, the hitman suddenly remembered he had yet to feed the young brunet. Maybe that was the reason why the other was upset? It wasn't as though the hitman had ignored Tsuna's hunger in the first place.

Hmm...

Still wearing the fedora, the curious young brunet peered at his surroundings in interest. It wasn't as dark as before. The morning sun outside had already started to rise up slowly in the sky, its grumpy brother no longer showering the rooftops with its gentle pour. A beautiful orangey glow from the dawning sun bathed every available surface it touched, its soft golden rays warm and welcoming. It was a brand new day with clear skies and a peaceful breeze. And that meant a new adventure for a highly curious Sawada Tsunayoshi.

With tiny hands, he pushed himself up unsteadily to his little feet on the dining table. Large brown eyes peered up and the first thing that he saw was Reborn's broad back covered by the black suit. The hitman was currently preoccupied in searching through cupboards in the kitchen for food available. And being so small even if Tsuna stood with both feet on the large furniture, he wasn't tall enough to see the things stored in those cupboards. But the curious toddler did notice that the man was the closest thing he could reach. He toddled over, hands outstretched for balance as little feet padded softly across a short distance on the table's surface.

It wasn't far off between the edges of the furniture with the kitchen counters. And with Reborn in the middle, Tsuna started his new adventure by climbing. Tiny hands gripped onto the thick, dark material, the sensation unique to his touch that it made him wonder for a moment. But despite his curiosity over it, the young brunet carried on climbing. Little feet nearly slipped a couple of times along the way while through this obstacle course, a challenge in his opinion in order to reach his goal.

What would await him at the top, he wondered excitedly. But he didn't get far.

The action in itself surprised Reborn as he stopped his search. His large hand reached to his back just when Tsuna clung onto his neck and started gnawing onto the back of his shirt collar. Reborn almost made a face at that. His shirt would be ruined by saliva if the toddler kept up with it.

"Oi, dame Tsuna, stop chewing it." The hitman quickly made a grab for the too-large t-shirt his young charge was wearing, pulling him away.

"...!"

Startled, Tsuna tried to have a firm hold onto Reborn's suit, not wanting his fun to end but his tiny hands did not have enough strength. Little brows furrowed at that as the man took him away. And instead, he found himself seated on the kitchen counter face-to-face before the other. The toddler could only peer up at Reborn, wondering what would happen next. But nothing occurred. He watched as the man took a couple of items off one of the cupboards above before heading over to the stove with a pot and a pan. Curious by that, Tsuna started to follow after, crawling along the counter. He did not notice Reborn's sharp gaze keeping watch over both cooking and the toddler.

Bubbles. Lots and lots of pretty bubbles started growing in the boiling pot. Tsuna was immediately fascinated by the sight as he edged closer. But a large hand got into his way, stopping him right when the toddler was almost to the stove. The young brunet could only frown, his lower lip protruding at that when he could go no further. Tiny hands tried to reach out but it was futile. All he could do was watch the pretty bubbles foam and accumulate in the pot.

...pretty bubbles...

"Don't come too close, dame Tsuna, you'll get hurt if you touch this." Came Reborn's deep, smooth voice yet there was a hint of a purr in his husky tone, rich with his Italian accent. If this was the teenager Tsuna, he would've understood somehow on why women throw themselves by the hitman's feet —other than Reborn's appearance of course.

But since this was his toddler self, the young brunet merely blinked up at him whilst seated at the counter. He tilted his fluffy head to the side in questioning.

"Babbu...?"

And right after that, Tsuna started making gurgling sounds from his mouth. It seemed he was trying to indicate to the man what he wanted by his nonsensical way of speech that only babies understood. Tiny hands were outstretched once more —Reborn was still holding him back by his front— as they flexed in a 'grabbing' motion towards the bubbling pot. It took a few moments as the hitman observed the toddler's frowning face, thinking about his behaviour. And as he stirred the softened pasta in hot water with a wooden spoon, Reborn wondered if his young charge was really starving for his age.

Did Tsuna even had food way before all these mess occurred?

The last he remembered, when he was with Tsuna before this, they had dinner that Nana had prepared last night. Being with the brunet for some time now, Reborn had seen firsthand how much the teenager ate. The amount was suitable for an average growing boy at fourteen. And he knew Tsuna wasn't a big eater either. So it shouldn't be that much of a difference even when the other was now a toddler, right?

Reborn would have to observe the young brunet's eating habits later. But for now, he had to attend to the sauce cooking in the pan as it required his attention.

The sweet aroma of freshly grounded tomatoes mixed with olive oil bubbled smoothly under medium heat. Reborn had come across some, and for some strange reason, they were found growing from a potted plant in one of the cupboards he found. Wouldn't it wither and die in there without sunlight? If it was being kept there for a couple of days, it would have. But the plant appeared fine. Maybe it was put in there recently by the owner, seeing as the air from the cupboard did not smell musty and damp from trapped moisture. It even appeared healthy and ripe for picking too.

Strange.

Reborn was just about to add some finely chopped onions when he caught sight of what Tsuna was about to do by the corner of his eyes. With the same hand that was stopping the toddler earlier; he quickly took the pepper shaker away from his young charge's little grasps.

"Da!" Tsuna cried and flung his small arms into the air to get it back, trying to reach for the so called 'Mr Pepper'. "Daaaaaaaa!" He whined, upset. And for some reason, it made Reborn recall the exact same way the brunet would complain to him by dragging his name to emphasize his frustration.

The corners of his lips twitched upwards of a smirk, amused. And ignoring the upset huff coming from the toddler, Reborn carried on with his cooking by adding in some of the needed pepper. He made a quick glance over to the young brunet, watching as the other sulked. Tsuna appeared more like he was pouting, his chubby cheeks rosy red when he had puffed them out.

Reborn's smirk widened at that.

"Dame Tsuna, that's not for eating by itself." He tutted, placing the pepper shaker back onto the counter. The hitman then took salt from the spice rack this time. "Not everything can be put into your mouth."

And before Tsuna could sulk further, the large fedora on his head slipped over his eyes again. It took a while for him to realise this, startling the poor toddler who wasn't expecting his sight to be engulfed in darkness. And all he did was to shriek in fright. It even almost sounded like a bloodcurdling scream.

"Oi, oi, it's just a hat, dame Tsuna." Reborn decided to take his fedora back and wore it, his eardrums ringing from the aftermath. With his free hand, he ruffled up the toddler's fluffy brown locks just as Tsuna sniffed, teary-eyed. "See? It's nothing to be scared of."

The young brunet merely eyed the hat on the man's head uncertainly but for a moment. He could only frown at it, thinking that Mr Hat was a scary black thing that sat on Reborn's head. Tsuna didn't understand why the other had it in the first place. Inside was all dark and creepy to the toddler. But his attention to it didn't last long as his eyes caught sight of something shiny. He made a grab onto a large metal table spoon by the counter beside him, his attention solely on it now.

And being the child he was, Tsuna started shaking it. He suddenly held it towards Reborn with a happy wide smile, showing baby teeth.

"Da! Da da!" The toddler cheered, waving it about like a wand. But it seemed he didn't have a firm grip on the handle as it flew out of his grasp. "Da!" Tsuna cried, horrified.

And as though in slow motion, the spoon immediately smacked right onto Reborn's left cheek before landing onto the stone-slab floor with a tinny 'tinging' sound.

"..."

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed. I guess it was a little shocking when I woke up the next day to find so many notifications in my inbox. And while I was still stunned by them, I guess I deleted one of the anonymous reviews by mistake. I'm still trying to get use to this site and their functions. And it seems that before my brain could register what I was doing while looking at the moderate reviews section, I had clicked onto some sort of 'submit' button before I noticed what they were already selected at. I am still regretting over that fact till now. orz

Oh and one thing I noticed, it seemed I didn't research well enough on babies that I made another mistake orz I read that most of 15 month olds could already talk at least simple, one to two words in their vocabulary. So I'm gonna make it seem that Tsuna is just a slow bloomer. (Strange that my friend didn't point this out to me as she knows more about child behaviour, etc.)

Beta-chan was busy with her homework so this chapter took a while to submit till she was free. u_u

To Come Winter, if you hadn't pointed those bits out, I wouldn't have realised my mistake. My bad. But this just gave me a new idea to my story. I know those items which seem out of place in such a timeline, but they're those small oddities which one wouldn't realize until later. Unless you are from that generation itself/a collector/have studied about certain topics relating them, you would've noticed it right away on this strangeness. Then again, majority of the population (unless I'm wrong) in the world now are used to the everyday current things which we rely on in this generation. So old antiques would just blend in with their surroundings, seeing that they're all from the past.

The thing is that, everything in itself is odd to begin with. Reborn finding himself here with a baby is already strange. But because he's preoccupied with Tsuna's behaviour and trying to find clues (which are barely to none), he hasn't notice those misplaced items...yet. He will soon enough once he isn't distracted with his confusion on the toddler. And I'm also trying to make Reborn as human as possible despite his profession. There's no way a single person out there would be completely flawless in everything. So let's just say he's just a little sidetracked at the moment, like a jetlag to his new environment.

Oh and one last thing, is the information on the newspaper the actual date where they are at? ;) Who knows? Yup, everything from the room itself where he found himself in is an entire big mystery.

Again, reviews would be nice on any constructive criticism and comments. They would help me greatly in improving my story as I get used to this.