Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.

Chapter 8: A True Smile

Tsuna was curious. Yamamoto Takeshi was someone who had seen her… more furious side. Hell, she had almost shot him with her guns. It would be no surprise if he indeed was scared of her and like the rest of the population, tried to stay away.

But he seemed different. He wasn't smart—no, the only positive things about him would be his ever-present smile (if that could be considered a good thing—she would never be able to smile that often) and baseball obsession. The two aspects commandeered his popularity throughout the school. He was nice to his fangirls despite how wild they were, he was nice to his classmates, baseball club members, heck anyone. The real question was if he could keep his happy go lucky smile while seeing her (God, those rumors must have increased by more than double now).

So Tsuna quickly marched to school (along with Gokudera who had accompanied her in front of her house), ready to face Hibari if necessary. She had a feeling he would be coming for her, considering what he did yesterday as well as the fact that he probably found out about her targeting practice on Yamamoto and the bullet filled roof floor as well as the broken fence that should have landed somewhere on the ground…

But she was on time, and didn't see the prefect anywhere. When she arrived in her classroom, every one of her classmates was there, except for Yamamoto.

As soon as she slid open the doors, whisperings started from the majority of the students.

"Didn't you know? Dame-Tsuna was about to kill Yamamoto-kun yesterday. She took out a gun and shot him, even though she knew he was about to kill himself!"

"Ehhh~ She's like, really mean…"

"I know, right?"

"Did you know? Yamamoto-kun's not here."

"I know, right? Do you know where he is?"

"I dunno. He probably like, stayed home 'cause he was so scared of Dame-Tsuna."

"Yeah, I know right?"

'…Girls always have this small repertoire of words they add to their already elementary level vocabulary, don't they.' Tsuna thought with disgust. It just wasn't right to see girls talking like that; they were a disgrace to any of the more sensitive, intelligent females out there. But otherwise, now she had proof that the rumors were spreading.

And yes, Yamamoto's absence was leading her to multiple theories, all of which were likely. One: He was late. Two: He really was frightened of her, and had stayed home. Three: He was sick.

Her theory was proved right after the class had started. As soon as the bell signaling the start of class had rung, she peered outside the window to see the out of breath Yamamoto. He was, fortunately, inside the school gates, and would not receive the wrath of Hibari.

So he was late. But still. That did not prove at all, that he did not fear her. Perhaps he did, and it took him a while to courageously get out of bed and head for school, thus making him late.

After a few moments, the classroom door slammed open and he appeared with a smile. "Hey, sorry I'm late."

He sauntered to his seat right beside hers and sat down. The class was cheering, applauding his 'bravery' and 'courage'. Pathetic lots.

While the teacher was talking, Tsuna turned, to find Yamamoto… sleeping… She sweat dropped. He seemed so relaxed, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Or he was just tired.

So she decided that she too, would sleep for the remainder of the class. It's not like anything valuable was learned here. Gokudera, who had been watching her, also decided that there was nothing he could do now that his boss was asleep, and continued to watch her.

"So you use this formula to solve for x, where as you can see, x—" the teacher's lecture was cut off by the bell, signaling the end of class. The students (most of who were sleeping) cried out in triumph (and then in dismay at the prospect of their second period class) and fled the classroom for their break while the teacher yelled, "STUDY! You hear me? THE HOMEWORK IS TO STUDY FOR THE QUIZ TOMORROW!" He screamed this whilst running out of the room to his next class.

Tsuna's eyes snapped open at the ear breaking screech and lifted herself up from the table. She glanced around the table, to find that the only ones left were Gokudera, Yamamoto and her.

'Eh, this is a perfect time as any. This room won't be used for next class anyway.' She amused herself with the thought until Yamamoto shifted nervously.

"A-aa… Tsuna-chan?" he began before he was interrupted by Gokudera. "DON'T BE SO INTIMATE WITH JUUDAIME, YOU BASEBALL FREAK!" he screamed before pulling out his dynamite and ready to throw.

Yamamoto's eyes narrowed at the sticks and he asked, "Those wouldn't be real, would they?" If Tsuna had real guns, then maybe this guy would have real bombs, which suddenly appeared from what he saw, nowhere. If Tsuna hadn't shot at him before, he would've thought them to be fireworks. Lucky, wasn't he.

"What do you think, idiot?" Gokudera sneered before he flung them at the boy, whose eyes widened in fear at the incoming bombs. He had no room to move, blocked by the thin walls and tables. His baseball, or anything else similar to such an object was nowhere in sight. Meaning: it was over for him.

SPLASH

THWAK THWAK THWAK THWAK

The dynamite clattered on the floor, soaked. The two jumped in astonishment and turned to Tsuna, who stood in between them holding her two water guns.

"Juudaime, what—"

"Gokudera, Yamamoto-san, stop."

Tsuna wasn't growling, barking, her voice had not even transcended in pitch. Yet just by her tone: her aura, they could feel her mood, her state. The murderous miasma filtered in the air and tasted like musky fog on their clamped tongues. Their lives were forfeit if they decided to disobey her commands.

"Gokudera, if Yamamoto-san wanted to talk to me, what gave you the right to try to kill him?" she spoke calmly. Gokudera stuttered, "W-Well, the baseball-idiot could have hurt you!"

"And when did I suddenly become a weak little fool?" she replied with a condescending tone.

"NEVER!" he shouted defensively and seeing her even stare that seemed to question him; as if trying to prosecute him, whispered, "I- I'm sorry Juudaime… I'll go now." His head hung down and his silver locks cascaded down his face, covering any expressions he would have had. Slowly, he shifted to the doors and left. The entrance slid shut with a soft click.

Tsuna didn't agree nor disagree with his choice.

For a few moments, silence reigned in the room; the little scene had not released the thick tension at all.

"…"

Finally, unable to stand the dominating atmosphere, Yamamoto tried to break the tension. "Eh. Aaaaa. Tsuna-chan?" he asked hesitantly, wondering if Tsuna was upset or not. She seemed so, but he would never be too sure…

"Yes?" she raised a brow at him. "What did you want to say to me before?" She presented him with her piercing eyes that dug deep into his chest. His nerves were on frayed at the stare she had given him.

That is, until a look of complete concentration and confliction crossed his face, unlike his regular personality; his inward struggle was visible, replacing the usual smile. What it was about, Tsuna had no clue, but it must have been important for such a laid-back person to have such emotions there.

His thoughtful expression laid there as his troubled brown/black eyes stared into her own. It felt a bit like her stares; she felt violated in both mind and body, yet unwilling to submit to such a burning, almost passionate heat.

Seeming to find whatever he wanted of her, Yamamoto grinned: one that was somehow, strangely different from his usual ridiculously wide smiles. "Well, I just wanted to thank you, ya know?" he laughed heartily, softly with shimmering eyes.

The suffocating air was leaving slowly, dissipating from the room and leaving. His smile; his laugh assuaged the dark aura, just like rain that washed away the heavy smog. It had a softening blow on her heart.

And she was stunned. Until she felt the idiotic look on her face (Mouth opened and eyes unrealistically wide), and so schooled her facial appearance into something less demeaning.

She may have predicted that Yamamoto would not have been too upset, but to be happy about it? What was he, a masochist? So she raised the question aloud. "Are you a masochist?"

"…"

Silence ensued as Yamamoto stared at her in confusion. "Huh? What's a maso-chist?"

"…"

Tsuna's bad mood was cleared completely and she smirked. 'What an innocent, naïve, fool.' She strolled towards the sliding doors and spoke lazily, "If you don't know, I won't tell you."

But just as she was about to open the door, the other male shouted, "Wait!" She stopped, and turned with a raised brow. "What?"

His cheery disposition turned nervous once more and he asked, "…Could I ask you something?" Tsuna inwardly grinned. This was the moment she was waiting for. "Yes, what do you want?"

"Well, I just wanted to ask why… are you being chased by the yakuza? Is there something I should know about you? I mean, you don't have to tell me but, are you in danger or something, for you to need a weapon like a gun?" he asked, staring intently at her.

"…"

Now Tsuna was truly amused. She had imagined him as a caring fellow, just not sure how caring. But if he insisted, she would tell. She couldn't possibly keep Yamamoto out of the loop when Reborn had wanted him in the mafia. And whatever Reborn wanted, he got.

"Fine, I'll tell you. So, Yamamoto-san, what do you think I am? And I'll give you a hint: I have a family, I take part in illegal dealings, and I'm dangerous. What am I?" she spoke, basically giving him the answer.

Yamamoto, however, was never good at guessing. "Aaaa, a drug dealer?"

"Close."

"Ganster?"

"Closer"

"…Yakuza?"

"Almost there."

"…M-Mafia?"

"Jackpot"

Tsuna smirked. This had been easier than she imagined. What she had imagined, was torturous sessions where the boy would say anything that came to mind, hell maybe even a stupid math teacher. If it was him it would be possible, she was sure of it.

But across the room, Yamamoto gaped. It felt unimaginable, that someone like Tsuna, the one people called, "Dame-Tsuna" was part of the mafia… (Did he not listen to rumors? That she was part of the yakuza or mafia? Apparently not.)

"Wait, so are you really part of the mafia?" he exhaled slowly.

"In Italy, yes."

"Then you're like one of those lower workers right?" It would seem obvious that someone in middle school—if they were part of the mafia—would be lower in the food chain.

"Nope, Dame-Tsuna is the 10th Vongola Mafia boss."

A squeaky voice said as Reborn along with his fedora, fine suit, and Leon appeared on her head. Yamamoto's eyes widened at the baby that had just popped out of nowhere. "Who're you?" he asked, confused. And did the baby just say Tsuna was a mafia boss?

"I'm Reborn, Dame-Tsuna's tutor. I'm a first-class hitman assassin. And yes, I did." Reborn answered with a smug look and a scary gleam in his fully black eyes. His not so innocent stare was really starting to creep a certain guy out.

'So he really can read minds… I always thought he mastered the art of predicting what others think based on their personality and mind processing…' Tsuna muttered internally, truly curious.

Yamamoto was the less calm of the two, though he did look more relaxed than before. "Aaaa… Well, I would've never imagined this, ever." He chuckled humorously.

That was a tacit agreement among both parties. Yamamoto would never have believed that his 'useless' classmate was the leader of some Italian mafia. Tsuna didn't imagine she would have to become a mafia boss either. She left that all to Xanxus.

In fact, she planned to live a more solitary life with her brothers in Italy after she grew up and stay in a more peaceful, less troublesome lifestyle. And, she was going to keep it that way. If that was possible with her crazier by the day life.

"…"

A few more seconds of peaceful (or awkward, considering Reborn's glaring eyes at the two) silence and Tsuna was rapidly losing interest in the other.

"So, are you done? If so, I'm going" she yawned out and was about to open the doors. Until she was stopped by a quick shout, startling her into stopping once more.

"Wait! I want to ask you something!" he shouted.

She tilted her head and turned around with an impatient yet curious look. "Yes?" What more did he want with her?

"Well…" he shuffled nervously before inhaling a deep breath and relaxing his tense muscles. "I just wanted to ask if I could join?" He ended with a bright smile aimed towards her.

Tsuna looked skeptic. 'Did he just ask to join the mafia? Reborn must be influencing him somehow... No sane person would do so.' All in all, Tsuna wasn't surprised, but it really didn't matter at this point.

"I'm telling you, this isn't a game. There are guns, knives, assassins out there. You could get killed in a heartbeat. Why do want to get yourself killed?" She asked him, waiting to hear his response. And also wondering why he even wished to join.

"Aaaa, well." He started, glancing out to the windows. The sun was setting with smoldering hues of orange, red and yellow. The glow danced and flickered on him, portraying a tranquil scene.

"I guess it started ever since you yelled at me. It was like a slap in the face y' know? Sort of like a mom, though I would never know…" His smile slipped into one of sadness that just didn't suit him at all.

Tsuna felt a pang of empathy course through her heart. She really didn't want to have a life without her mother—Nana was someone who tied her to this place. If she could never see her again, missing all those loving smiles, meals, infuriating clothing choices, even the tight hugs—well, it would be something incomprehensible.

"I see…"

Yamamoto's smiles cleared as he glanced at the passing emotions on her face. "Even if I was sort'a scared, you helped me. If I had really died back then…" He winced at what would have happened. "I would've regretted it a lot" he concluded.

"And being with you is fun!" he finished with a grin.

Tsuna grimaced. The relaxing atmosphere had totally disappeared. 'He really is a fool.' She lamented.

"So am I in?" he asked hopefully.

"…I'll think about it." She responded, and walked away.

"Wait!"

She twitched and turned. "What?" she snapped. There were only a limited number of times she could tolerate this.

Yamamoto didn't seem to notice her vexation and gave a warm smile.

Tsuna froze. Her cheeks reddened and her heartbeat quickened; something that never happened before. His smile was…

"Thanks." He whispered, and his smile immediately turned into a wide grin.

Frowning at her reaction, Tsuna controlled her face to a neutral look.

"…Meh."

Her last words said, she quickly slid open the doors and left.

"…Hey Reborn," she called out, only to find the baby gone. She sighed, and then head towards her next class. She would be late, but who cares?

Or least that was the plan, until she heard the tell tale signs of feet stomping on the floor and a hand wrapping around her shoulder.

"Hey! Wait up!" Yamamoto grinned as he followed her side by side to their next class. "We have science next right?" he asked.

Tsuna sighed once more. Ignoring him, she walked to class. Yamamoto took her silence as a yes and laughed, spouting random things while following her closely.

…Would her ire never end?

A/N: Sorry it's shorter than usual, it just turned out that way. Please review and comment. Was Tsuna too emotional? Yamamoto is now finally not an ignorant "haha" person! I hope... When I read some fanfics, Yamamoto is either the really angst portion, or just the really 'Ha Ha' one. I was this to be a mixture of both.

Was my ending good? Please, comment and questions are appreciated. I tried making Tsuna more 'female' though not too girly.

Sachiel Angelo- There will be R27, and yes Reborn will have his body back at least sometimes. But only in future chapters. For now, we'll have to make due with his infant body.

Squalgasm- Firstly, I LOVE YOUR NAME. Heh. Secondly, Squalo might be included, it's just for some strange reason, I imagine him more as the uke in the relationship...

ATC- Don't worry, I can change or warp the situation or circumstances so that Tsuna's personality makes sense. Yes, I have thought before of an arranged marriage, but I feel like that would put enormous stress on their relationship. Unless I wish to do that, it's not very likely. Yeah, 1827 is pretty awesome. When I imagine Tsuna manipulating Hibari, Hibari is never actually truly manipulated. I just can't wait to write about him being... humane. I'm not sure about Bel, but Basil is probably going to be a sibling type... I can't really see him romantically liking her, though my opinion might change. 80 and 59, well they aren't exactly normal, but I know what you mean. And yes, Yamamoto IS something different in this chapter! He is NOT just a person who says, "haha!" to everything and acts like an idiot!

Edited. Jan. 4. 2012