Tsuna's expression flattened when she returned home from the Kokuyo Centre to find the yard filled with freshly laundered clothing – in particular, man-style shirts and cover-alls. She was even less happy to find muddy boots, a hard-hat, a shovel, and a pickaxe in the entryway. Worse, she recognised the other, much more dainty sets of shoes that were set neatly in cubby holes. Her friends were being exposed to Iemitsu.

When she entered the living room, it turned out to be even worse than she imagined. They were being exposed to a slovenly, snoring Iemitsu who was dressed in only his underwear.

"Ah, Tsuna-chan!" Kyoko greeted. "I'm so glad. I was worried about you this morning, and then you left with Hibari-sempai rather than attending... Hana-chan said to leave you be, but I still worried."

"Haru was worried too, desu," Miura joined in. "People were being evacuated from the shopping district, and Kyoko-chan had told Haru that Tsuna-chan wasn't safely at school, desu!"

"I was with Hibari-sempai," Tsuna placated. "I'm fine. I came home when he got the call about the violence happening. He'll put a stop to it... but... what is going on here?"

"Tsu-chan, your papa came home while you were gone," Nana announced happily as she brought out yet more food. As if there weren't enough on the table already. "So we went ahead and started celebrating."

"That was an amazing story," Kyoko commented to her friend. Kyoko had become closer to Miura than Tsuna had, for all that she was slowly becoming closer to the other girl.

"Yes!" Miura agreed. "I was so surprised!"

"We all listened to your dad's stories," Miura said with a happy smile. "He had many difficult and thrilling jobs all around the world! Haru was so moved, desu!"

Tsuna held in a sigh. This, this was why she wasn't as close to Miura as Kyoko was. Miura Haru had that same rosy, starry-eyed, romantic, ridiculous outlook that Sawada Nana did. Tsuna lived near it, but disagreed with it.

Kyoko had a similar disposition – not exactly the same, but similar. It should be noted that it had taken Tsuna two years of regular exposure and a whole lot of Hana for Tsuna to be as close to Kyoko as she now was.

The sooner both of them got married – Miura to Dino, and Kyoko to... Yamamoto? He seemed like a good candidate for her – the better, really. For their sakes. It would likely also help Tsuna's relationship with both girls, if they had someone specific to focus their starry-eyes and sweet doting on.

Kyoko already had her brother, but she didn't have a brother complex, and the girl wasn't meant to be a spinster. She was too much a natural at mothering.

"Your dad certainly is interesting!" Kyoko added brightly.

"I don't have a 'dad'," Tsunahime declared coldly.

Everybody froze. Except, of course, for Iemitsu himself, who was still snoring away in his underwear. Lambo, who had been happily digging into the food, stopped. Fuuta, who had been about to take a bite of a sandwich, stopped. Kyoko and Miura, who had been giggling, stopped, blinked, and their smiles fell away. Nana, who had been about to stand up from the table and fetch more food from the kitchen, practically froze up.

"Mama told me two years ago that the man she was married to had died," Tsuna continued, uncaring. "He was a very bad father, when he was alive. Maybe he was a better husband, I don't know. The savings he left behind, and the regular cheques we get from his life-insurance, mean that we live comfortably without either Mama or me needing to work. I'm sure they will last until I have graduated and found a job."

"Hahi?" Miura squeaked weakly.

"Tsu-chan..." Nana whispered brokenly.

"I know you have different feelings about him than I do, Mama," Tsuna said, a little more kindly, as she turned away from the feast that was laid out. "But to me, he is dead, and should stay that way. Excuse me. I'm going up to my room."

Hana was already there, two bags open on Tsuna's bed, as she piled in clothes and various other items she would need for an extended sleep-over at a friend's house.

Tsuna dug into a couple of hidden spots and pulled out some things that she had kept hidden from everybody. Just in case.

"Tsu-chan, you... you didn't mean it..." Nana said from the door, just as Tsuna zipped up one bag and Hana did the other. The woman had followed her daughter up as soon as she had unfrozen.

"The same day you told me that Sawada Iemitsu had disappeared to become a star, which even I knew meant he was dead," Tsuna said as she slung the strap of one bag over a shoulder, and picked up the other bag with the opposite hand. "I remember that, on that day, I did my hair up in a special style with my prettiest combs and hairsticks, that I bought an ice-cream with sprinkles on top, and that the next day, I confessed my feelings to the boy I liked."

Hana shuddered, as she also remembered that particular day.

"As long as the dead-man-walking is staying, I will not," Tsuna said plainly. "Hana-chan and Hibari-sempai have both offered me a place to stay until it leaves."

"Tsuna," Reborn called from the door, near Nana's feet, a light reproach in his tone.

"Reborn-san," Tsuna acknowledged. "Will you teach me something right now?"

"Hm?"

"How should I rig explosives to my door so that, when it is opened, the explosion only goes outward, and does not damage my room?" Tsuna asked. "I still have a great many grenades, and other things, that I confiscated from Lambo-kun when he first came to us."

"Impossible. Your door opens in the wrong direction."

"Yare yare," Tsuna grumbled, not really bothered. She had suspected he would deny her that lesson – it would make his own sneaking in of guests that much harder. "Fine. I'll balance a bucket of Bianchi-san's cooking on top of the door, so that it falls on whoever opens it."

"... When you are done, there are some very serious things that we need to discuss."

~oOo~

"Who is he?" Tsunahime asked when she was shown into a room at the hospital. There was a boy, younger than her, unconscious in the bed, as well as Cavallone and one of his subordinates watching over him.

"His name is Basil. He's... not technically Vongola," Dino answered solemnly. "He's definitely on your side though."

"My side? What's going on?"

"The Half Vongola Rings are on the move," Reborn explained. "They were supposed to be held in a secret location for three more years. They are the Vongola Family's treasures."

"Expensive or priceless?" Tsuna queried cautiously.

"Priceless," Reborn confirmed. "An untold amount of blood has been spilled over those rings in the Vongola's long history. They're rings with a dark past."

"It seems that everything to do with Vongola has a dark past, or a skeleton in the closet, or something else going on," Hana complained from Tsuna's side. She had refused to be excluded, and Tsuna had also insisted on her friend being present.

"Let me guess, they got stolen," Tsuna said with a pre-emptively exhausted groan.

"About that..." Dino spoke up. "I have them right here."

Tsuna blinked.

"The decoys were stolen," Dino explained. "I came here because of these. A certain someone asked me to deliver them to you."

"... What herbivorous monkey bastard set up a kid younger than me as bait?!" Tsuna demanded with a dangerous hiss, and her brown eyes flickered with an orange inner flame. A moment later, as she actually thought about that, the flame flared. "Dead man. He's a dead man walking."

"Eh? That monkey?" Hana asked, then paused. "Wait, you're the heir apparent, but he's alive, so it should be him... Tsuna-chan, patricide is frowned upon in most societies, and you don't like actually, personally committing violence."

"And I'm not going to commit violence now either," Tsuna answered as she very deliberately breathed deeply and slowly in and out. "Reborn-san, Cavallone-san, why are these rings being delivered to me, three years earlier than they should have been let out?"

"I don't approve of that, and I don't know why," Reborn said quickly, answering the second question first. "I really think it is too soon to give you the rings, but we can't argue now. It's apparently an emergency situation. As for why you, the ring that you specifically will wear from the set is proof that you are an official successor to Vongola."

"Go back to the part about it being an emergency situation?" Tsuna asked with a sigh. She had been introducing herself to Mafia-affiliated people as the 'heir apparent' to Vongola. It seemed that she was now the official heir, nothing 'apparent' about it any more.

"Some terrible guys are after those rings, which bestow amazing power," Reborn explained solemnly. "The man who did this to Basil is one of them. His name is Superbi Squalo, and he is a member of the Varia, an independent organisation of assassins who are said to be the strongest within Vongola."

"And yet, this kid is still breathing," Hana noted, not sure if she should be impressed with the kid or lower her estimation of these 'strongest assassins'.

"Squalo was after the rings, not Basil," Dino spoke up, "also, I may have interfered."

"The Varia have always been very loyal to Vongola, and have completed many difficult missions," Reborn picked up again. "It's a shadow organisation, never meant to be seen, noticed, or have anything to do with the face of Vongola. But one day, they rebelled, and now they're emerging from the shadows again, and for the same reason as before: to try and take control of the Vongola."

"And when they find out the half-rings that they have taken are fake?" Tsuna asked, but then her eyes narrowed. "They're not fake. But they are half rings. You need both sets."

"Oh? The famed Vongola Hyper Intuition!" Dino said with a chuckle. "I guess it's useful for more than just battle!"

"I'll step up your training, and have you ready to face the rest of the Varia when they come. No matter what, this would be an unavoidable trial on the way to becoming Boss," Reborn said, resolved. "Still... I would have preferred more warning, and the additional three years I had initially expected."

"The plans of mice and men," Tsuna grumbled, and opened up the box that Dino still held. "Why seven?"

Reborn leapt up to perch on Dino's shoulder.

"You wear this one, as the leader, the Sky," Reborn explained, and pulled out the central ring, which he held out to Tsuna.

She took it, and slipped it on over her grey kid gloves. Nice thing about kid gloves – they were so thin that rings could go over them.

"The others are for your Guardians to hold. Chosen members of your Family who are worthy of protecting the next Vongola Boss. They represent Storm, Sun, Mist, Rain, Cloud, and Lightning," Reborn explained , and pointed to each ring in turn. "You will need to choose your Guardians, or they will be chosen for you."

"What are the criteria for the other rings? If I have the 'sky' because I'm the leader, what qualities are expected for the others?" Tsuna asked. As for the 'danger' aspect of holding the rings... well, she had her ranking for a reason. She would sort out this Guardians business to her satisfaction, go through Reborn's training... and when they arrived in Namimori, she would see about meeting the person in charge of the Varia.

~oOo~

"Why did you choose those people as your Guardians?" Reborn asked. "You will have to face the Varia. Your Guardians need to be strong and able to defend you. There were other options. Options that were arguably more suitable."

"Like who?" Tsuna countered as she made up the bed in the room that Hibari was letting her stay over in.

"Gokudera would have been a better choice for Storm Guardian," Reborn stated. "Sasagawa Ryohei would have been a much better choice than his sister, considering the impending confrontation with the Varia. I would also have liked to see Yamamoto holding the Rain ring."

"Well, at least you're not contesting the Cloud or the Mist," Tsuna huffed softly.

"Chrome and Mukuro are the only options available for the Mist ring, and they are able to share the same mind," Reborn complained. "It is frustrating to me that you have extended that kind of protection to someone wanted by Vindicare, but..."

"But you saw for yourself how he swore himself to my service," Tsuna finished with a pleased smile. "And Chrome-chan... she is the sheath to his sword, I think. Will very likely become that in more than one way, when they are older," she added with a giggle.

"Hmph."

"I will not make a Guardian of the idiot who spouts off 'Jyuudaime' everywhere as though that were my name, rather than Sawada, and who has a policy of throw-bombs-first, yell-stupidity-after," Tsuna said, addressing Reborn's earlier nominations. "Not even ask questions, just yelling offended pride, and that's if he hasn't carelessly blown himself up as well. Hana-chan is much more sensible. The eye of the storm, rather than blustering and destructive, though she is very capable of that as well when she wants."

"And what's wrong with Yamamoto or Ryohei?" Reborn wanted to know.

"Nothing," Tsuna said with a shrug, "and I'm sure they'll probably be part of my eventual security detail as well, if they want to be, but I am not close to them. I am close to Kusakabe-sempai and Kyoko-chan. Besides, you can't say that either of them are exactly weak."

Kusakabe had been 'number four' in the count-down through the toughest fighters of Namimori Middle that had been conducted by Rokudo, and Kyoko had proven her own strength of character after her brother was hospitalised.

"No," the pint-sized tutor allowed grudgingly. "I can't say such things about Miura Haru either. She's an odd girl -"

"I don't want to hear that from you."

"But she is eminently capable. Still, Lambo would have also been suitable for the Lightning spot, and in general, having female Guardians is... not done..."

"Lambo-kun is a child," Tsuna stated. "I will never put a child in that position."

"I wouldn't have picked him either," Reborn assured her quickly. "But the External Advisor... Well, there are certain people in Namimori right now who are descended from, and greatly resemble, the Guardians of the First. To people who don't know you as well as I am beginning to, they would be the first choice for your Guardians."

Tsuna scoffed.

"I'm not the second coming, and I won't let my Guardians be dictated by an idiot who doesn't know jack about me," she said firmly.

"... He hasn't told you."

"No," Tsuna said, aware of exactly what Reborn was talking about. "But Rokudo-kun did. I know who the External Advisor is, and as soon as I am actually the Boss of Vongola, he's going to be out of a job. Advisors should be trusted, reliable, and sensible, after all. To me, that man is none of those things. To me, he is dead."

"Hm..."

"His current position of Advisor to the Ninth does begin to answer a few questions though," Tsuna added darkly. "Even if it also raises more."

~oOo~

It promised to be a gruelling week of training, for everybody. Reborn had called in a favour from a couple of his friends/colleagues, as even he couldn't train with seven people, each with vastly different fighting styles, at once.

A blonde dwarf, also with a pacifier like Reborn, formerly of the aquatic arm of the Italian Military, came at his call. He was introduced as Collonello, and took over the training of Kyoko, who was arguably the softest of the group. Miura talked to Yamamoto, and both went to his father for lessons in the art of the sword. Dr Shamal helped Chrome and Rokudo with their training, though Rokudo only indirectly, and it wasn't like he needed much help anyway. The Cavallone boss, Dino, had volunteered himself as a sparring partner for Hibari. Hana asked Hibari to lend her someone from his mother's side of the family to help with her training. It was well known exactly which side of Hibari's family was the more violent one – his father had been a police detective. Not a day later, someone who was suspiciously short, and who I-Pin called 'Sifu', arrived to train her. Kusakabe, who was also Hibari's cousin (on both of their mother's sides), was able to go to his parents for further combat training. Unlike Hibari, his parents were both still alive and able to give him that training.

Tsuna was once again dragged out into the wilderness by Reborn for a training session. This time, she didn't simply hitch-hike back home again.

"If you were a boy, I'd have taught you some of this already," Reborn said as he sat down with her at the base of a cliff, next to a river. "I'd have shot you on the day we met with a Dying Will Bullet."

"Is that anything like Rokudo-kun's Possession Bullet?" Tsuna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The person shot in the head with a Dying Will Bullet will be resurrected with Dying Will," Reborn said.

"That is... no help at all," Tsuna confessed apologetically. "Like describing a circle by saying it's circular."

"The basis of the resurrection is any regrets that you have when dying. This means that, even though you're shot in the head, as long as you regret something, you don't die. On the other hand, the boost from the bullet lasts only five minutes. Dying Will means that all your safety switches are turned off, so in exchange for risking your life to the limit, you can harness amazing strength," Reborn explained. "I haven't used it on you because, as well as all of that, people hit with the Dying Will Bullet do tend to rip all their clothes off, apart from their underwear. This can be mildly embarrassing for boys, but it is taboo for girls."

Tsuna grimaced. "Let's skip that," she agreed, glad for a taboo which had kept her from being sent haring around in her underthings.

"But it lets the person get a feel for their Flames, which you will need in the battles to come. The Flames of the Dying Will are a Vongola signature," Reborn countered firmly. "Even your Guardians will need to know it."

"So... what are we going to do instead?"

"Since Shamal arrived, as well as helping Chrome, I have had him working on a Dying Will Pill for you," Reborn revealed, and handed over a plastic bottle, the kind that pharmacies gave out vitamin pills in. "These are just a training tool," he cautioned. "To help you get in touch with your inner Flame. Some people rely on them, but they are difficult to make and you need to learn to be able to access your flame without them. Your opponent has been able to do this instinctively since he was very young."

Tsuna didn't say anything about her 'opponent' – she had her own ideas of how to deal with that matter – but she would probably need this training sooner than later. She opened the bottle and poured a single pill into the palm of her hand. For a moment, she just rolled it between her fingers and thought about what 'dying will' meant to her.

"Have all of my friends been given one of these as well, to help them?" she asked.

"Not yet," Reborn said. "I'll arrange it."

Tsuna nodded, then, with one last glance at Reborn, she swallowed down the pill.