"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."

--Anatole France


Ashlynn walked slowly in her new (adorable; she had loved the sailor uniforms since she watched Sailor Moon as a child) uniform to Namimori high, the new school that she was to attend during her stay in Japan ;for however long she decided. She ignored some of the curious stares she received on the way to the main office to find her homeroom. A new student was always exciting for the Japanese. In the U.S. there wasn't as much excitement compared to what these students. It was like she was an animal placed on display to be ogled. Ashlynn knew that it was a few weeks after the term first started so she guessed she really shouldn't blame them.

So here she was standing in front of a first year class waiting for the Sensei to allow her in so more of her peers could stare at her and letting her mind wander.

The previous few weeks had passed by in a fast colorful blur. In the beginning while her mind was shutting down and rebooting itself trying to understand the absolute absurdness of her situation, her body continued going through the motions of life on auto-pilot settings. This really pissed Dolly off; she took Ashlynn for a check-up with Ozumi to see if there was anything of risk caused by the concussion. They found nothing and Dr. Ozumi told the girl that he was very pleased by her speedy recovery and explained to Dolly about Ashlynn's unique situation and apologized for not having any new information to give them. Ashlynn had thanked the doctor for his efforts and followed Dolly out of the hospital to the home that wasn't really home.

Right as they got in Dolly's car the woman held Ashlynn's chin in her hand to keep her from looking away and firmly explained that she had had enough of watching as she went around like a zombie. Dolly had no doubts, and told her so, that she was more than likely dead in her world and that was the reason why she was here in Namimori. This was not the time to wallow in self-pity. Even though there was no promise that Ashlynn could ever return to her rightful world, it was high time that she continue living on with the life she had in this one. She was alive and in good health and she had better be God damned grateful about that fact.

After chewing her out on her behavior Dolly helped her get a food handlers license and got her a job working at Fukano's bakery in town. Though Ashlynn had just recently started working there she found that she enjoyed it. She was put in the baking area and even though she had to look off of many recipes they gave to the new employees (just a precaution), she felt a lot calmer and was able to think. That and she was able to bring something home every once and a while. This made Dolly's six year old daughter, Suzume, very happy. The first grader of Namimori Elementary was the spitting image of her mother: Dark brown hair and dark green eyes although they looked a lighter tint and she was much more slender than her mother. She preferred to be called by her nickname, 'Birdy-chan' and she had immediately asked if she could call her 'Onee-san'. Birdy was a very excitable child who was very mature for her age and liked to play in every sport possible; her current favorite was soccer.

Dolly had also helped her register to go to high school. Ashlynn was a little disappointed that she would be re-taking her freshman year because the Japanese school year begins a month before the school year in the U.S.A. ends. Dolly had convinced her to take the first year classes because the curriculum between the two countries were vastly different. So if she was ahead of the curriculum in Japan (not very likely) then she could use the review and would not have to worry about falling helplessly behind if the second year was too far ahead her current level of study. Ashlynn quickly agreed with her reasoning, she didn't want to redo more than she absolutely had to.

Ashlynn sighed smoothing the pleats of her skirt. 'Can they possibly take any longer? The other kids are still talking...did Sensei fall asleep or something...?

She absolutely loved the school uniform. They didn't require uniforms at her old school and even if it had they were normally something khaki with a few other colors or the school colors to 'promote school spirit'. But in Japan she got the super cute navy blue and white sailor uniform. She'd decided that she wouldn't get a new bag so she was carrying her messenger bag that had traveled with her across dimensions. It still had some of her belongings safe inside: her cell phone and its charger, even though she couldn't call anyone in either dimension. Dolly told her that after a little while they would have it activated since there wasn't too big of a difference in the phone styles of this world so she wouldn't have to worry if people asked why she had such a new version. She also happily had her I-pod that was still in as great condition as it always had been and its charger along with it (she was happy with this because it had a lot of pictures and recordings of her friends and family). And at the bottom of the bag were some folders and a pile of string and beaded bracelets. Ashlynn felt a little better about her situation.

Speaking of said situation; Though Dolly and Dr. Ozumi knew she was otherworldly, she did not dare tell them that this reality was from an anime. Yes, she had said that the name, Namimori, was familiar but did not exist. But she never did mention why it was familiar to her.

Ashlynn was in the universe of Katekyo Hitman Reborn and she needed to find out just which arc she was in and decided that while she was here, should she involve herself in the storyline? She knew for certain that the bakery she worked at was the one that both Kyoko and Haru went to (she had already seen them a few times already). Eventually she would catch a glimpse of the other characters but then maybe that would be enough. This was a world of mafia; rival families, deceit, breaking laws of physics and any law in general, fighting, and killing. This was in no way 'Super Happy Fun Time where everything was safe and peaceful with happy kittens and unicorns frolicking over double rainbows', or some kind of romanticized Shoujo series where she would out of no where receive or discover a powerful magical artifact transforming her into some sort of magical faerie/witch/princess/Angel/Priestess/Demigoddess. Though in her childhood she had dreamed of growing up to be a sailor scout...

For once she was actually glad that her siblings had included her with them to watch Katekyō Hitman Reborn. She wasn't one to watch it religiously like Flaithri and Norene, but the plot-line was interesting enough so she had read the manga twice and had watched all of the anime episodes. Ironic that she had been the one magically whisked away to an anime. This was a fangirl's dream or someone's crazy fan fiction online, and here she was; In a popular anime and she wanted nothing more to return back home, though with each passing day that wish no longer seemed realistic.


"Alright now class settle down. We have a new transfer student from the United States of America. Meagher Ashlynn. Please give her a warm welcome," the teacher (finally) announced to the class. He was the Japanese history teacher and the one that watched the homeroom class in the mornings. His name is Enomoto Hiiro. Ashlynn's first thought was he wasn't very eye-catching: dark brown hair, brown eyes, dressed in a suit, and seemed to have a perpetual straight face. Though he seemed to be able to keep the class's behavior in check.

Ashlynn looked out to the rest of the pupils staring back at her then she bowed to them. "A pleasure to meet you. Please let us get along."

"There is an empty seat next to Hiraoka-san. Please sit next to her Meagher-san." Enomoto-sensei motioned to the girl who was now raising her hand in the air. Ashlynn nodded and made her way to her right side of the class to the window seat in the fifth row. She recognized a few faces from the series, she didn't know their names but they were the high school students that appeared during the episode at the beach and at the summer festival in Tsuna's second year at Namimori middle. She would have to be careful who she made friends with it seemed. When she sat down the girl next to her bowed her head a little and held out her hand.

"Hajimemashite. My name is Hiraoka Ran. If you need any help getting around I'll help you. And if you'd like then you could join me during our lunch break." Ran was of a rather short nature though it was very noticeable while sitting down. She had dirty blonde hair that was cut boyishly short with a flower barrette pulling her bangs to the left side of her heart shaped face. Deep indigo eyes sparkled happily and hopefully.

Ashlynn nodded her head and shook the offered hand. "Thank you, Hiraoka-san. I would like that very much."

"Hahaha! Look at us: being so formal it's funny." Ran giggled into her hand. "Neh, I think we'll get along very well don't you think?"

Ashlynn grinned; at least it hadn't been hard as she thought it would be to make new friends. Ran was nice and genuinely wanted to be her friend.

"You know what?" Ran suddenly stared with an odd intensity. "You look exactly like a character I saw from a series called 'Night's Winter Rain'."

"Hiraoka-san, Meagher-san, please pay attention." Enomoto-sensei called from the front of the room. Ashlynn grinned again. 'First day here and I've already met an otaku though I have no idea what 'Night's Winter Rain' is. I wonder...would this world have any of the titles from my world except Katekyo Hitman Reborn of course.'

Something that Ashlynn learned during her first day of Japanese education was that the students stayed in a single classroom and the teachers would rotate around the school, except for the P.E. being held in the school's gym. Ashlynn noticed that all of her year's teachers weren't anything special. They just didn't stick out which was surprising. They introduced themselves when they found that she was new but other than that the teacher's weren't very...open with their pupils. She was very happy to have Ran with her, the girl practically lit up the room with her (she swore the girl was glowing) smile. But for some reason the majority of the students and even the teachers seemed to be rather irritated with her. When she asked during lunch, Ran shrugged her shoulders and replied that it was no big deal to her and it was no bother. Ashlynn figured it was because the girl was so obviously Otaku, she remembered once reading that a lot of Japanese really didn't take too kindly to Otaku whereas the United States just branded the Otaku as another sub-culture of nerds and geeks. Ran didn't go into detail and she did say that it was no bother so she had let it go. Though she was a bit concerned about the looks that the other students shot at her new friend.

After school the two found that they walked the same route home, though Ashlynn's apartment was another five to ten minute walk away more than Ran's. Once they got a split in the road they waved goodbye and went their separate ways. Ashlynn decided to take a small detour on the way back home. There was a small coffee shop nearby. She didn't like coffee herself but Dolly liked the smell and she would sometimes allow Birdy to have a decaf with cream. Ashlynn decided that she would get a cup for her.

She walked into the little coffee shop and saw a familiar baby at the counter talking to the cashier.


Tsuna was lying on his bed with one leg crossed over the other, happily reading his small collection of Manga. "I'm glad that I can slack off whenever Reborn isn't around."

He smiled happily and closed the graphic novel and placed it back on the bookshelf and grabbed another volume from the shelf. He made his way back to fall on his bed when he caught sight of the suitcase that Reborn had brought with him when he first came to his house. 'Now that I think about it...' Tsuna set down his book on the low table in the middle of the room. 'Reborn's only possessions are in this suitcase. He has many weapons though, I wonder how he got them all to fit in there? How did he make it work?'

Tsuna quickly glanced around the room to make sure the hitman really wasn't hiding in his room disguised before reaching over to unlock one of the buckles on the case. As he managed to unlock one a mechanical arm extended from the exterior and handcuffed his wrists together, flipped the boy onto his back and held Tsuna into a tight headlock.

"UwaaAAAAAAHHHH!"

The door opened and Reborn calmly strode into the bedroom with Leon on his little hat. Reborn looked unamused at the spectacle his troublesome student was making. "What are you doing Dame-Tsuna?"

"Reborn! Help! Stop this! Save me! Hiiiie!" Tsuna cried trying to pull himself away from the demonic briefcase come to life.

"Hello. May I come in?" Another person had walked into his room and he recognized her uniform as the one for Namimori high school and she had a bunch of bracelets on her wrists, mostly beaded and ones made from string but there were a few little bangles in different colors mixed in. Her honey colored hair was pulled to the left side of her head into a ponytail just above her ear with the strands falling neatly to the top of her chest. She looked down on him with a raised eyebrow and an amused glint in her bronze eyes.

Tsuna closed his eyes and resumed his struggle from his captives hold. It was kinda sad that he was being watched when he was trying to get away from an animate object that was supposed to be inanimate and he was losing miserably. "Reborn! Who is this?"

At Reborn's motioning the older girl came all the way into the room and sat down on the other side of the low table. She looked around the room curiously before she set her eyes on him again and slightly tilted her head to the right. Tsuna struggled again from the hold on his wrists and his head.

Reborn wasn't even going to help him out! He looked at the girl looking at him. 'I can't believe that Reborn brought someone here to see how much of a loser I am! I hope she's not apart of the mafia, but if she isn't...Reborn! Don't be dragging innocent people into your crazy world!'

"I asked her here so I could return her money." Reborn clarified for the struggling teen on the floor.

"Money?" Tsuna stopped moving to look at the hitman. The restraints holding him back released him from its hold. Tsuna rubbed gently at his wrists and his neck.

"Yes. I went to a coffee shop today..."


"I forgot my wallet at home, so give me an espresso on credit." Reborn said to the teenage girl working at the girl behind the counter. She was surprised, the child ordering in front of her spoke like an old articulate man. But he was such a cute tiny little thing. She wanted to hug him.

"Honey, where are your mommy and Daddy? Are they around? Do you want me to take you to the police station if you're lost?" She asked him nicely.

Reborn pulled out his gun and aimed at her, "Try and the police station will be covered in blood."

"H-Honey! If you keep joking around, I'll call the store owner" She cried, freaked out. The kid had a gun at it looked very real!

"Fnn that will make things easier. Go and get your manager."

"It's okay Miss; I'll pay for him." A high school student had come up to the counter, bought a decaf and got an espresso for him to have. Reborn wanted her to follow him so he could give her money back but she declined and had said that it was no problem and asked if he need help going back home. She then said if he really didn't need any help home then she was going to go and drop off the decaf for one of her neighbors.

He followed her.

When she went up the stairs and entered another apartment and dropped her bag on the kitchen island, Reborn revealed himself pointing a pistol at her and told her that he was going to pay her back and that she really shouldn't give him trouble over it. Despite her protests she ended up following him to the Sawada household.


"And that's how it went," Reborn said putting some money in the older girls' hand. "Thank you very much Ashlynn."

"I see...Wait! What! You broke into her home and threatened her to come here, Reborn!" Tsuna screeched as he picked up books, clothes, and clearing the bed and floor of his room. Most of the things he picked up were shoved straight into his closet.

"You didn't have to worry about it." The girl, now identified as Ashlynn replied.

'Hmm, her name is foreign. Is she actually part of the mafia? No! No, she could be a transfer student or her parents just liked a different origin for her name! Yeah, that has to be it.' Tsuna consoled himself.

"You've come all the way here. Please make yourself at home. And Tsuna," Reborn said.

"Y-yes?"

"You are being incredibly rude, Loser-student, it is very unfitting of your station as the next Boss. Introduce yourself to our lovely guest."

"Hiiiie! I'm sorry!" He exclaimed as his head whipped back to face Ashlynn. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, but everyone usually calls me Tsuna."

"A pleasure to meet you Tsuna-san. My name is Meagher Ashlynn. Reborn says that he is your home tutor, teaching you to be a mafia boss. Congratulations to you. "Ashlynn nodded her head with a smile but then frowned and looked at Reborn. "Is it alright if I call you Reborn or am I being too familiar? It's been a while since I've used honorifics."

"Fnn, its f-" He was cut off as Tsuna clamped his hands over his mouth.

"He's not my home tutor! H-he's my younger cousin and I'm definitely not a member of the mafia and I'm not going to be a boss for a crime family! Or anything else like that! Ha-ha, isn't little Reborn funny? He's always making jokes to get attention! Ha ha~" Tsuna laughed nervously.

"Eh, but he wasn't lying to me at all when he told me...and your ears are turning red. I believe that is you who is lying Tsuna-san." Ashlynn said bluntly pointing at the reddening ears.

"No I'm no-" Tsuna said quickly letting go of Reborn and clamped his hands over his ears before Reborn flipped him over and started choking him. Tsuna began to foam at the mouth and clawed at the hands that were keeping him from breathing correctly.

"Don't touch me. And don't call me little Dame-Tsuna." Reborn stated.

"Knock knock!" Maman knocked on the door before walking in carrying a tray with snacks and drinks.

"Geh!" Tsuna gulped.

"Hello, Welcome! I'm Tsuna's mother, Sawada Nana."

"Good afternoon, my name is Meagher Ashlynn. Thank you for having me." Ashlynn smiled back.

'My, she's cute! And so polite!' Nana thought, rather shocked, 'Tsuna's with a cute high school girl! This is wonderful!' Nana set the tray on the floor and dropped down and bowed, "Isn't it a bit difficult to have this no-good-son as your boyfriend? He's a bit younger than you too and he's only a first year in middle school. But I'm not one to judge other people's relationships! I hope that he is treating you well."

"MOM!" Tsuna cried.

"No, you're misunderstanding Sawada-san. We're not dating. We just met each other today actually..." Ashlynn tried to correct the boys' mother but she was beyond listening as the woman had started to walk out of the room.

"Make yourself at home! I won't bother you!" Nana said giggling happily before shutting the door.

Tsuna slumped at one side of the table. "I'm sorry! She is always jumping to conclusions! She's completely clueless! I'll go yell at her later!" he exclaimed.

"No, that's alright. It's just a misunderstanding. You don't have to yell at your mother." Ashlynn tried to console the boy.

"Oh,...um...what should we do now...? H-how about a game...? You are the guest here..." Tsuna mumbled unsure. He never had someone come over to house before. And now he had a girl sitting in his room and had no idea how to keep someone entertained.

Reborn smirked pulled out a revolver, "Good idea. How about this?"

"W-wait! What're you going to do! Don't tell us to kill each other…!"

"Of course not, Dame-Tsuna. We are going to play Russian roulette. Russian roulette is…a practice of placing one round in a revolver, spinning the cylinder, aiming the revolver at one's own head in a suicidal fashion, and then pulling the trigger. It is indeed a life-risking way to test one's luck."

"Who would want to play a game like that!" Tsuna yelled.

"Sounds like fun! I'll play." Ashlynn clapped her hands.

Reborn shot a bullet and a party favor on a spring shot out. "The bullet is for party use. So, it's perfectly safe to shoot."

"Oh, of course." Tsuna said, though there was something about this that was bothering him. He didn't like this. At all.

"We'll all play but who's going to do the honor of going first? We'll go clockwise around the table. " Reborn asked.

"Me! I'll do it!" Ashlynn grinned with her hand raised in the air.

"Alright Ashlynn, here you go." Reborn handed her the gun.

Ashlynn took the gun and held it in her hands for a short moment before looking back up at them. She grinned again. "I know it's just a party favor but I'm actually getting nervous, ha-ha. Come on Lady Luck!" Ashlynn pointed the gun awkwardly aiming in the middle of her forehead, closed her eyes and shot herself. There was a bang.

She promptly fell backwards on the floor with the gun falling out of her grip and blood on her forehead.

Tsuna gasped in shock and kept looking between Reborn sitting on the table and Ashlynn's prone form laying on the ground in his room in growing horror. He swore that the room's temperature had dropped.

"Ah. I loaded the dying will bullet on accident. Oops." A shadow overcame Reborn's face.

"O-oh my god! Ashlynn-san! Reborn! W-what! What were you thinking? There is no way that was an accident! And what do you mean 'Ooops'? This is terrible! What are we going to do! How am I going to explain this!" Tsuna screamed pulling at his hair.

"If she were regretting something when she died, maybe she will come back to life with all her might." Reborn said.

"Don't be so irresponsible!" Tsuna yelled at him, "Besides, when you shoot me it happens almost immediately! If she dies, I won't ever forgive you!"

"Look." Reborn pointed at Ashlynn.

Her dying spirit moved around making a noticeable bump inside the girl's skin. It moved around slowly as if trying to figure out how to get out of it's shell before Ashlynn suddenly burst out of her own skin with her hair unbound and only wearing a dark green bra that was seen through a tiny white tank top and matching dark green panty shorts. But what caught the two's attention, mainly Reborn's, was that instead of the typical yellow orange fire that appeared at the brow of the person shot with the dying will bullet, the flame on Ashlynn's forehead was bright green and was sparking lightning.

"Reborn." She whispered. Her eyes seemed darker than they were previously. She stood up from sitting on the floor and left the bedroom.

"Hiiiie! I'm sorry!" Tsuna covered his eyes but quickly uncovered them when he heard his bedroom door open. The girl was going down the stairs. Tsuna and Reborn both got up and followed her down the steps. "I-is that her dying will? It's green. Why is that?"

"Fnn."

'I wonder what she is regretting right now...' Tsuna wondered. "Oh, shoot! She shouldn't go outside like that!" He ran back up the stairs to his room and grabbed a blanket and rushed down the stairs.

"KYAAAAAAA!"

Tsuna found a human shaped hole in the wall of the kitchen. Nana was cowering behind the island counter with dishes in her hands; her eyes were wide staring at the girl in front of her. Ashlynn clad only in her underwear and a white tank top approached her.

"Sawada-san, what you said back there was unacceptable. A mother should not say such things about her son. You never know that something could happen, and that could be your last words to him. I'll ask that you retract it. No matter what!" She said quietly but was perfectly heard by those in the kitchen. Ashlynn smacked her hands on the counter crushing it in half.

"Hiiie! She was upset about what mom said to me earlier?"

"I'm angry." Ashlynn stepped over the remains of the island counter. "Because you labeled him like that. Without any consideration to how much you are hurting your child emotionally."

"Hieeek!" Nana screamed in terror trying to get away from the girl.

"I won't let you get away." Ashlynn roughly pulled on the straps of Nana's apron then lifted her up by the front of the woman's shirt. "Now please retract your words and apologize to your child."

"Gyaaaaah!" Nana dropped the plates in her hands; they fell to the floor with a crash.

"Ahh! What should I do!" Tsuna shouted.

"There's no other way. I'll have to use that. Reverse ton!" Reborn pulled out and set down a briefcase with a clack, opened it, a pulled out a sledgehammer.

"That's just an ordinary hammer!" Tsuna pointed out.

"It weighs one ton." Reborn walked forward dragging the mallet.

"O-one ton! What are you plotting? Don't tell me you're...Hey! Wait!" Tsuna grabbed, but missed Reborn had already jumped in the air, swung back and smashed the hammer on the back of Ashlynn's head. The Dying will bullet flew out of the girls forehead onto the floor and the sparking green flame went out, she dropped Nana from her hold and fell unconscious to the stared at the girl on the floor before she also fainted and fell to the ground next to the girl.

"The bullet came out!" Tsuna yelled surprised. "Ahh! Mom! Ashlynn-san!" Tsuna remembered the blanket in his hands and he covered the high school girl with the cloth.

"Reverse 1 ton can disable any shots made from the Dying Will Bullet. However, only I can ever use this technique.." Reborn explained placing the hammer back into its case. "Now she will think her entire Dying Will experience was just a dream."

"If you had this method before, then why didn't you use it from the beginning!"


Ashlynn was in her apartment. And she didn't remember walking home.

But once she remembered what she had done that day she knew that it had probably been Tsuna that carried her back with Reborn leading him the way. She hoped that Dolly hadn't seen them with her knocked out and most likely clad only in her underthings. Dolly had become very protective of her over the few weeks that she had been in Namimori and if Dolly found that something bothered her daughter (It had happened when Birdy informed them that a teacher had called her stupid know it all when she had corrected him) or Ashlynn; Dolly became frightening. Even without the use of the shotgun or pistol that was laid on display on the wall in Dolly's room.

Ashlynn sat on her new westernized bed (she had sold the futon to a thrift store, then she had bought the bed on sale with Dolly's help) toweling her hair dry from her shower. Just moments after she woke from her 'nap', a man delivered a garment bag with two new school uniforms inside to her (hers had been ruined when she had been 'reborn').

She smiled. Unknown to Reborn she remembered everything (except being brought back home) from her dying will experience and knew that without a doubt that it wasn't just a mere dream.

"Today I met Reborn, bought him an espresso and went to Tsuna's house. In the anime and manga it had been Kyoko who had done this and Ashlynn had taken the girl's place this time around.

'At least I have a good idea where I am in the storyline now...but being involved or not may not be my decision anymore. Now that Reborn saw my dying will, no doubt he'll have me join whether I want to or not...'

Ashlynn sighed; her body was a little sore from being shot with the dying will bullet. She would go to bed early today. She wanted to start running again in the mornings before school like she had before she arrived in Japan. Though now she would be alone since she didn't know if Namimori high had a track team or not.

She had to find out.