And it's finally here! I'm sorry this is a bit later in the day to come out but I've only had chance to actually type this up today.

I just want to quickly give a shout out for all the continued support! I'm sorry for not listing users like I had last time, I'll try and do that for next chapter but at the moment I just want to get this uploaded and get ready for work tomorrow,

This chapter is also a bit shorter than the last one but I feel if I don't stop here then the chapter will go on FOREVER! And I need sleep haha.

Anyways I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR!

Chapter 2

His Impulses

"Get on with it then." Came Reborn's irritated command at the fidgeting teen in front on him.

It had been a full five minutes since Reborn had instructed Tsuna to enter his HDWM, and so far, not a single thing had happened.

"It's not working!" Tsuna cried out, shuffling backwards on the bed in a small hope of escaping his tutors ever growing impatience at his sudden, well more returning, incompetence. "I don't know why!" He continued when he could sense the hitman's need to use violence in order to get a result.

Instead Reborn just watched his student steadily, thinking of a cause for his student's inability to enter the state before it came to him a flash. The realisation showing on his face had almost made Tsuna collapse in relief when all violent thoughts looked to have vanished.

"I think I know why" Reborn stated while Tsuna returned to his position at the end of his bed. Reborn waited until the brunet was settled again before he continued. "You are currently not needing to 'protect' anyone. The last two times you entered the state completely was to protect others from harm. So, the reason you are not entering it now is because there is no-one in danger."

"Oh, I guess so." Agreed lamely

Scowling at his student's obliviousness he continued. "As already discussed you are still able to go into a 'mental only' state of HDWM if you reflect back on those two times, as well as other times when you feel you have needed to protect someone. If we focus on this 'mental only' state and see if you are able to go into this at will, it shouldn't be too much a leap to go from that into your full HDWM. It will also give you control over your emotions, so that you are not wanting to 'lash out' at whoever's caused the need for state to appear." There was a long silence, followed by fidgeting, followed by…

"I don't really get it." Tsuna shrunk in on himself as Reborn's unleashed a wave of killing intent at his student followed by a stagnant silence as Reborn collected his thoughts of maiming.

"I'll talk you through it, Dame-Tsuna. Try not to get too confused or you might find yourself with brain damage with how hard I'll kick you into next week." He got nod in response before starting. "Good. Now I want you to recall the kidnapping again. Not the part where you found Lambo and the kidnapper. But the part when you realised how he had actually gone missing. You said you had seen it, but when you came to yourself again you needed to find him, but you weren't in full HDWM, but you knew you had to protect him. Remember that feeling and let it flow into your thoughts. That need to protect."

Reborn could feel the atmosphere in the room change as Tsuna did as instructed, his student eyes were kept closed but he wasn't hiding them behind his bangs, instead his head seemed more raised, his brows furrowed in both concentration and frustration, his hands clenched into fists and trembling. Recognising the restraint of fury Tsuna was feeling Reborn intervened.

"You are letting the rage take hold Tsuna. You don't want to be using that, don't focus on the anger, focus on keeping your family safe and your friends safe" After a minute the shaking looked to stop and Tsuna unfolded his hands before giving a slow nod in understanding, eyes still remining closed. "Good. That's good Tsuna." Reborn started, letting the pride in his student coat his tone. "Now, while keeping this control, think back to when you had found Lambo, remember how that need to protect grew until your HDWM manifested completely." For a moment nothing happened again until Tsuna's brows furrowed further but still no flame appeared on his forehead. After a minute he shook his head slowly before opening his eyes.

Reborn was only a little surprised to see the glowing orange of his irises that were normally adopted in his HDWM and he refrained from smirking at the small progress they had made.

"I'm sorry Reborn" Tsuna murmured as the orange glow started to fade back to his usual honey brown hue. "I just can't seem to do it."

"It's not a problem Tsuna, I wasn't expecting it to happen straight away, it's just something we'll need to work on. In the meantime you should get your homework finished. You have school in the morning, so get it done before going to bed." Tsuna just nodded, still feeling the effects of the 'lesson' calm his thoughts.

Reborn meanwhile left the room and headed back downstairs to the kitchen where Nana was sat with Lambo, I-Pin and Fuuta, the children enjoying a dessert.

"Oh Reborn, I'm sorry for not asking, would you like any?" Nana enquired gesturing to the cake that had been set on the table. The hitman just shook his head in polite refusal before hopping up onto a spare seat. Lambo glanced at him nervously before eating with renewed vigour in an attempt to ignore his presence.

Choosing to ignore the cow child, Reborn turned his attention to Nana.

"Mama" Reborn called, gaining the woman's attention. "A few weeks ago, do you recall Tsuna taking Lambo out shopping on their own." Nana looked to think on this for a time before she shook her head. Lambo meanwhile had stopped his eating and was openly staring at Reborn with nervousness.

"I'm sorry Reborn, Tsuna does that pretty often. I suppose he could have but it was a while ago to remember the day specifically."

"It's alright, I was just wondering if you might have remembered the morning, if Tsuna might have been out of sorts at all?" Nana once again thought on it but not coming up with anything significant she shook her head again.

Reborn was only slightly disappointed, but he had been expected such an outcome. He made sure to check the doorway and kept an ear out for any distant sounds of breathing and walking before he turned to Lambo who was still staring at him, but no longer in fear, just confusion.

"How about you Lambo. Do you remember anything odd about Tsuna that morning?" He asked.

Lambo flinched at the question, understanding that the hitman had been told about what had happened. He thought about refusing to answer, but thought better on it when he noticed the promise of violence if the ex-Arcobaleno was lied to again.

"Tsu-Ni was acting strange." He said simply, trying to figure out a better way of explaining what his surrogate brother was like that morning. He instead settled for describing the morning. "When he came down, Tsu-Ni looked really nervous and looked like he had been crying. When he looked at me he looked really, really sad, like he was going to cry again. I tried asking what was wrong, but he didn't say. Then, then he got weird, just staring at nothing. He was like that for a really long time. Then, then mama asked him to go shopping. Then he was back to normal."

The explanation was simple but didn't reveal a lot to the hitman but he refrained from showing his disappointment. Knowing he couldn't ask his student, already knowing about the odd memory loss of that particular morning, he would instead have to work on getting the amnesia to lift on its own. Hopefully what Lambo had said would help him with that.

Reborn returned to Tsuna's room a couple of hours later to find that his student had opted to fall asleep at his desk rather than his bed, after glancing at the teens homework he was surprised to see that the brunet had actually completed it, maybe even correctly, but he couldn't tell with the teens arms covering most of it.

Leaving Tsuna for the time being he instead headed out of the window and started to make his way to the humble police station to visit a kidnapper.

Jacopo had no idea where he had gone wrong. The mission he had been assigned was simple, he had even been told that there would be no problems, it was a simple retrieval. He was to get the brat, and bring him back to Italy. All transport was provided, there was even a fake passport made for the kid he'd be bringing back with him. All he had to do was grab him, knock him out and he would have been home free. He'd done many missions like it, it was all second nature to him at this point, this mission was supposed to be a breeze.

So why had no-one told him that the brat belonged to the Vongola family. And that he was almost always in the constant care of the upcoming Vongola Decimo. And Why in God's name did no one tell him what the Decimo looked like!

Someone must have set me up. I should have known when my assignment came from a different source, I'm too greedy for my own good. I couldn't say no when they had already paid me. And that was only half! It was too good to be true. God, how am I going to get out of this mess!"

"Ciaossu"

Jacopo visibly jumped at the sudden high-pitched voice that greeted him. When he turned to the source he was surprised to find a small, suited, infant staring up at him adorning a smirk and eyes filled with malice. Opting to remain silent in fear Jacopo simply stared as the baby hopped up onto the small bench that he was seated on before pulling out a gun and proceeded to wipe it down with a cloth. He swallowed thickly as he eventually noticed the small yellow pacifier that hung around the infants neck and tried not to panic at realising what was speaking to him.

"I assume you know why I am here." Came the high-pitched tone again, but not hiding any of the violent intentions that the child was harbouring towards the prisoner.

Mute, Jacopo simply nodded.

"Then I suggest you make this quick and tell me everything. Now" Reborn finished at pointed the end of the gun at the kidnappers head. "Start with your name and Famiglia."

I – I'm Jacopo. I'm freelance, I do kidnappings for Families."

"Fine, so which Famiglia hired you for this suicide mission?" Jacopo winced at the accuracy of the infant's words and weighed up his options of survival if he stuck with silence or blabbed to not get shot by a baby. "We are both Mafia, Idiota, and you are freelance, not allied to the Famiglia that hired you, you are not bound by honour in this instance. Besides, they will have more than likely assumed you dead already if they have any idea what they got you in for. Me on the other hand, if you don't tell me what I want to know. I will make you suffer before I kill you. Now. Which. Famiglia. Hired. You." Reborn grit out, making a show of taking of the safety of his cocked weapon.

"It was Edilizio Family! Please, please don't kill me! They told me it was a simple assignment, and it looked like one. No one told me it was Vongola! If I knew I would have never have done anything! I swear!"

"I've never heard of the Edilizio Family. Tell me more about them."

"I can't say I know anything myself, it was just the name I was given with the assignment. I figure they're just a small Family, or just starting out, or y'know. Both." Jacopo shrugged but only one arm moved and he let out a hiss while wincing.

"What's wrong?" Reborn asked, not missing the movement at all and realised that the kidnapper had kept his left arm still throughout the whole time he had been there. "What's wrong with your arm. Is it broken?" He enquired, now thinking that Tsuna had been keeping a lot more from him if his student had failed to mention that he had injured the suicidal dunce before him.

Jacopo just shook his head, his face set in grim determination as he slowly lifted the sleeve of his black sweater.

"Not broken. But I don't even know how to describe this. Other than the obvious way of course. I'd heard of strange powers and what not, but this?" Jacopo cut himself off as his sleeve lifted to reveal his arm.

Reborn supressed a gasp at seeing stone in the place of an elbow, spread further to his mid forearm and upwards towards his shoulder. He looked to Jacopo in silent askance.

"It doesn't go up all the way, and it hasn't spread since. Well, since it happened. Looks crazy, right? Have no idea what to do about it mind." He looked to the infant warily but had a desperation in his eyes. "You, er, you wouldn't happen to know if this is reversible. Do you?" Sadly, Reborn shook his head, still recovering from the fact that he knew what had caused this, but not accepting it. He couldn't, he needed to get to the bottom of this.

"I need you to tell me exactly what happened. Don't leave out any details." Jacopo just nodded as he lowered his sleeve again.

The child was blissfully silent, appeased by the lollipop he was currently sucking on while they made their way to a train station before they would then make their way to the closest airport to leave the country. Unfortunately, lollipops didn't last forever and the child was starting to become difficult, asking question about where his 'Tsu-Ni' was and where they were going, and who was he. Then the child started to try and get away from the stranger to get back to his brother, who would get him more candy.

Of course, Jacopo couldn't let him do that, the train station was only another five minutes away. Then he could knock the child out for some peace and he wouldn't wake up again until they were landing in Italy.

But he wasn't going to get to the train station if this child kept kicking up a fuss. He decided to drag him into an alley way while there was no one around and try and get him to shut up.

"Tsu-Ni! Tsu-Ni!" The kid was shouting now, and crying, and struggling something rotten. Getting frustrated Jacopo grabbed hold of the kids hair and yanked earning a yelp of pain before he used his other hand to cover the brats mouth.

"Lambo!"

A voice shouted from the end of the alley and Jacopo turned to see a shortish brunet with brown eyes, he was breathing as if out of breath and dishevelled as if he had been sprinting, but his hands were clenched into fists, adorning unique black gloves with white fingers, and his gaze was intense as he was taking in the scene before him. Jacopo recognised the spiky hair and realised that the teen before him was the one the brat had been with before his 'voluntary' abduction.

The brat then seemed to settle in relief and tried to mumble something past his kidnapper's mouth. Jacopo instinctively tried to shut him up by yanking on his hair again, once again bringing tears to the child's face.

He'd turned away for less than a second before he found himself crushed against a wall. The child he had a grip on was now cowering over in a corner, looking to be in shock, but Jacopo was more distracted by the almost bone breaking grip on his arm and the choking sensation he was getting from a grip on his neck. He turned his pained gaze to the teen in front of him, now noticing a large flame burning on his forehead, the once brown eyes now a fierce orange, his gaze promising pain all the while inflicting it. He cried out when the grip on his arm tightened and he seemed to feel a hardening sensation spread from the gloved hand that was gripping him. That was when he noticed the ring on the middle finger of the teen. Extended out to cover the whole digit with a separate smaller circlet adorning the males pinky.

'Vongola'

His mind supplied for him as he recognised the sigil that adorned the gloved, faint under the unusual blue gem, but as clear as crystal to him.

"Tsu-Ni?" Came a small voice, he remembered faintly the brat that had been cowering in a corner as his consciousness was fading from being choked.

'Tsu-Ni, Tsuna. Tsunayoshi. Sawada Tsunayoshi. Vongola….Decimo….Shit!'

The chokehold lifted suddenly and he slumped to the ground coughing as he desperately tried to get air back into his lungs, but his consciousness was short lived as he felt a blow to the head and darkness took him.

"When I woke up I was in a hospital, the nurses and doctors were baffled of course by my condition. But I couldn't say anything of course. Omerta and all that. After getting nothing from me I was carted off here. I was contemplating my mortality when you showed up."

The infant he was speaking to however was remaining quiet, not noting his last remark and instead moved to leave.

"Wait! What am I going to do?" He asked desperately. The hitman just shrugged however before he disappeared, leaving the kidnapper for hire to once again contemplate his mortality.

'Nana must have checked on him at some point'

Reborn thought to himself as he found that his student had been moved from his desk to the bed and was currently asleep, unaware of the hitman's return.

Thoughts of what he had heard from the kidnapper was still going through his mind as he tried to settle himself to sleep.

'What exactly is going on with you Tsuna? You've always been too quick to forgive to cause harm to others. You try to get their story before making judgement, and then you are just too understanding. What is happening to you?'

"What's wrong Reborn?" the hitman turned to the soft voice that broke the rooms silence and saw that Tsuna had turned and was now staring at him with questioning caramel eyes, heavy with sleep.

"It's nothing Dame-Tsuna. Get back to sleep." Tsuna frowned momentarily at this before heeding his tutors command and turning away to sleep. Leaving Reborn to return to his conflicting thoughts.

The next morning saw Tsuna awake with the normal means of violence and rain of bullets to get ready for school. While his student was distracted Reborn made is way downstairs to Tsuna's two waiting friends, having been brought in by Nana to have some breakfast before they depart with Tsuna. The two noticed the hitman man and gave their greetings before Reborn shuffled them out to the yard, keeping his eye on the door in case Tsuna appeared.

"What's wrong Reborn-San?" Gokudera enquired, finding the infants behaviour odd, Yamamoto likewise confused.

"I just want the two of you to keep an extra close eye on Tsuna today. I'm not sure if you've already noticed or not but he's been acting odd lately," The two guardians froze slightly and glanced at each other, understanding reflecting in their eyes before they turned back to the hitman. "So, you have noticed then. I only have a small idea on what's going on, but nothing concrete. Just try and make sure that he doesn't get into any, difficult, situations. If you know what I mean."

"Ma ma Reborn, you don't need to worry. We'll make sure Tsuna will be alright, just as we always do." Yamamoto stated confidently while Gokudera looked a little stunned at the proclamation. Wondering if the sword wielder had been upset at the ex-arcobaleno's lack of faith in them. "Come on Gokudera, we should head back inside before Tsuna comes down and notices us missing." Without waiting for a response, he turned back towards the Sawada household and returned to the kitchen, sitting down while finishing his breakfast. Gokudera merely nodded in understanding of Reborn's earlier request before he followed suit.

The hitman joined them at the kitchen table just as Tsuna tiredly made his way into the kitchen.

"Ah, Gokudera-Kun, Yamamoto-Kun. Sorry for keeping you both waiting!" He called as he saw the two at the table.

"Not at all Tenth!" Came Gokudera's usual exclamation which Tsuna received with a smile before he sat himself at the table and quickly ate the food that was left to him by his mother.

When the three had finished they quickly departed and made their way to school. Reborn remaining in the house, he waited until Nana busied herself with cleaning up before he made his way to his and Tsuna's room before pulling out his phone and dialling a number

"Ciao"

Came a wearied voice from the other end of the line once the phone was picked up.

"Nono"

"Ah Reborn! It is rare to receive a call from you. I trust you have a good reason to resort to such means of communication?" Nono's voice seemed to brighten immediately with hearing the infants voice and Reborn realised that he must have woken the Vongola head, forgetting the time zone differences in his need for information.

"It's about Tsuna" Reborn continued, not caring how abrupt he was sounding.

"I've no doubt. Would you like to tell me what's happened?"

"You're not acting very surprised. Do you know something?" Reborn asked, noting that Nono sounded completely unfazed.

"I'm in the dark unless you tell me Reborn, I only know that Tsuna would be the only reason you would be calling me at such a time, and I can only assume that something has happened with the young boy."

Silence carried on the line before Reborn decided to go ahead with the reason he called.

"There's something happening to him and I don't know what it is."

"How do you mean Reborn?"

Nono asked, now serious with the infant's tone.

"He's acting, strangely. His intuition seems to be developing oddly and he's acting on impulses that are very unlike him. Even in a dying will state."

"What impulses, Reborn?"

"Violent ones."

A Heavy sigh was heard from Nono and Reborn waited while the Vongola head took in the news of his heir.

"What about this thing with his intuition?"

"He's said that it's more clear and potent. He described an event where it was if he was watching it rather than being in it. It then acted as a 'radar' as he was searching for someone."

"You are going to have to explain this event to me Reborn."

Reborn did as instructed and proceeded to account the conversation he'd had with the kidnapper the previous night.

A long silence followed while Reborn tapped impatiently with his foot.

"I understand your concerns Reborn. There are some aspects of what you have told me that I had been expecting, but not so soon. While others are concerning me as well."

"You had been expecting this?"

"Only some, Reborn. Mainly the intuition and the ability to enter Hyper Dying Will Mode of his own volition. But the impulses you speak of are worrying."

"I think you are going to have to explain some of this yourself Nono." Reborn stated earning himself another sigh.

"Very well"

I Hope you enjoyed the chapter, again, I'm sorry that it is a lot shorter than the last one, but you can expect the continuation of this conversation next chapter, which I shall hopefully get updated for next week.

Thank you again for the continued support!

Until next time,

~Killing Reality