Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.

Chapter 9; Tests Suck

It was a regular, ordinary, and luckily, a possibly non-crazy day for Tsuna. She had woken up and prepared herself for the arduous task of school, along with the numerous abominations of mankind she would be forced to meet.

Yamamoto and Gokudera had taken it upon themselves to escort her to and from school each day. Their loyalty to her surpassed even those of lovers; their possessiveness reached no bounds.

Tsuna had learned quickly that it didn't matter what she did; they would follow her wherever she went, both inand out of her school life, and she had the foreboding feeling that whatever she did to dissuade them would be meaningless. Therefore, she had given up the small slip of hope that they would leave her in solitude. To add to her never-ending irritation, Reborn encouraged them, despite his ever worsening (For what reason it was truly unclear) behavior.

So, she walked with them each day to school, and it was something… exhausting for her. The two boys' relationship would be something akin to a cat and dog. Yamamoto was the relaxed cat, and Gokudera would be the barking dog, infuriated by the cat's presence, especially in that of his 'master's' sight. Both were cute in their own way when separated, but together, they were a catastrophe waiting to occur.

"Yo Tsuna! No sleep? You have bags under your eyes." Yamamoto remarked casually with an arm hung around her shoulder in what should be considered to be an intimate gesture. Gokudera didn't take it too well.

"You! Baseball idiot, get your hand off Juudaime!" he growled, tugging Tsuna away from the bastard. Gokudera was his usual high-blood pressured self, though she had made some improvement with him. He would no longer recklessly attack a random innocent, unless she was endangered or ordered. Of course, that did not mean that he would keep his mouth shut; it only stopped him from pulling out his dynamite.

"Yawwwn… Yeah..." she yawned tiredly.

'Curse you, Reborn…' she snapped internally. Reborn's 'training' had let her sleeping hours wane from ten hours to eight and below. She was becoming accustomed to the lessened resting time, yet it still had a large impact on her body. Getting Lambo to fall asleep and handling Reborn's random angry moments only decreased her time even further.

"Ah, well, you better not be studying. I mean, I wouldn't want to lose my failing partner!" Yamamoto grinned, elbowing her on the side (and completely forgetting that Tsuna had better grades than him anyway). Gokudera grinded his teeth and crushed his cigarette box at the movement.

Yamamoto's interaction with her really only heated things.

"You….YOU BASTARD! I'm telling you to get away from Juudaime!" he yelled, screaming for all his worth. That is, until Reborn popped out from a random tree (he was following her again…) onto Tsuna's head. This was occurring so often no one really complained nor questioned his actions.

"REBORN! You can't possibly accept him into the Vongola, he's not worthy!" Gokudera pleaded, glaring at the other man. The baby only smirked and replied, "I've already decided. However…"

Tsuna didn't like where this was going. 'Reborn wouldn't complicate things… would he?' she questioned herself, then remembering he loved to mess up her life in the first place.

"If you are so adamant, I will hold a family entrance test for Yamamoto. And yes Dame- Tsuna, that's my job." He ended with an 'innocent' look, a small tint of sadistic humor inside. Tsuna sighed, Yamamoto grinned, and Gokudera agreed happily.

"It will be held after school. Don't be late." Reborn warned before disappearing once more.

Gokudera was now appeased. For the whole rest of the school day, his mood seemed a large portion better. No longer did he try to insult the baseball player, nor was he gritting his teeth, destroying his cigarette cases, grumbling softly, frowning intensely, and dreaming of the baseball idiot's demise and everything else that came with Yamamoto's presence. No, it was all the buildup for the (hopefully for him) fight with Yamamoto.

…

It was time. They were behind the school in a field, where Yamamoto's 'family entrance test' would commence. Tsuna was not looking forward to it; she would've left so much earlier if not for Reborn, that evil tutor. She had absolutely no wish to see the destruction they would cause, and even if she did want to 'observe' Hibari, that did not mean that she enjoyed the pain and annoyance he would bring if he saw what would happen.

But again, she had no choice in the manner.

"So what's the test?" Yamamoto asked with a cheery grin. Gokudera smirked and retorted, "Well, you're-"

"Going to dodge the attacks. Simple, no?" Reborn interrupted. The enthusiastic bomber hung his head down in disappointment. Tsuna sighed. And Yamamoto visibly brightened. "Sure!" If it was that easy then—

Reborn smiled deviously and started with something simple and easy: knives. He flung a line of sharp daggers straight towards Yamamoto, who, with wide eyes, had dodged them just in time. If it weren't for his superior baseball reflexes, he would have been made into sashimi.

Tsuna watched with morbid amusement, seeing the oh-so-calm Yamamoto flustered. Perhaps she would make this a habit… Other than that, she ignored the surrounding events and continued to stare at his adorably shocked face.

"Dame-Tsuna, you should set an example" Reborn stated with innocent joy. And right after, knives began to fly her way. Tsuna wasn't exactly surprised, and yet she didn't really have a desire for this… exercise routine in her life. No, she could be at home, sleeping, or reading, or something more productive than running from her insane tutor.

But that just wasn't her life anymore. So she did the only thing she could do in such a situation—follow her teacher's words to avoid crippling pain.

And there she was, running along with the baseball boy, avoiding what was now an upgrade to bullets. Lovely. Just lovely. She sighed and continued jogging side by side with Yamamoto, who was smiling softly at her. Perhaps he didn't understand that she did not run beside him to help, but she was forced to?

Still, even after pushing his student to listen to his orders, Reborn wasn't happy. No, how could he be happy when the idiot was grinning stupidly at his Tsuna, running with her like…. No, he didn't like that at all. The bullets shot out quickly and Reborn turned to Gokudera with a glint in his eyes.

"Gokudera, you may let loose."

The bomber's face lit up in astonishment and joy. "Hai Reborn!" he shouted and prepared his bombs for Yamamoto. If he had it his way, the bastard running with his Juudaime would be blown out of the area, preferably out of the world. At the very least, he could die. With that in mind, he threw his dynamite with all his power and watched as they went flying towards the pair.

Tsuna growled irritably while Yamamoto smiled back at Gokudera, viewing the murderous intents coming from the boy like a television screen. It was interesting to no end.

With the whole play between Yamamoto and Gokudera was going on, a small boy stood on a rooftop ignored. Because of their bantering, no one paid any attention nor noticed the 5-year old Lambo. No one heard his soft, "To-le-rate" nor did they see the tears running down his eyes. Well, Reborn had noticed him, and turned his head anyways.

So, Tsuna and Yamamoto had not noticed the missile launchers come their way (along with the bullets and dynamite) until it was too late.

Reborn had somehow run in front of them and with Gokudera and Lambo at another corner, they were stuck with less than 3 meters of space to dodge. Not a lot when there were bullets, explosives and a missile or three coming at them.

Her lack of restricted movement and thus, inability to dodge his attacks did not even occur to her subordinate. No, Gokudera saw only Yamamoto, the man that was crowding his Juudaime; the man he needed to take out. His foolish actions most likely came from the result of his enormous jealousy.

The three explosions came straight at them right at the center, and Tsuna and Yamamoto had no defense. Gokudera's, finally realizing the situation his boss was in, widened his eyes in worry and he cried out, "JUUDAIME! Are you alright?" as he ran towards the dust and debris. Reborn stood with apathetic eyes (possibly a tint of worry?), and Lambo… couldn't exactly see anything through his tear stricken eyes.

Once the dust had cleared up, it revealed to their eyes, a slightly wounded Yamamoto who stood, covering Tsuna who knelt with blinking eyes aimed towards her savior. She didn't think he would actually cover her, leaving all damage (though he did dodge most of them) at him…

Gokudera stood in anguish; at what could have happened to his boss, envy; he should have been the one who saved her, and finally, self-hatred; at what he had done. Yet begrudgingly, he still needed to thank Yamamoto for what the boy had done. Gokudera took slow, hesitant, steps towards Yamamoto and grabbed the boy's shirt with a fist.

He bit his lips before sighing and gave a pained smile. "Good Job." He bit his lips once more, crossing his arms with a light blush, clearly seen in comparison to his pale Italian skin. "You protected Juudaime, so I have no choice but to admit you into the family" he announced regretfully, before instinctively snatching Tsuna away from the baseball idiot's arms and into his own, inducing a blush on himself.

Altogether, the sight was too adorable to say in words. Tsuna's heart wasn't exactly throbbing, but the scene did warm it to a certain degree. Gokudera's sullen face was just so… beautiful it made her want to see more. He was like a kitten, she wanted to pet and cuddle it.

She had also noticed that pained, regretful expression Gokudera had on him. Knowing exactly what he was thinking, she said aloud, "Gokudera, don't feel guilty. It didn't really matter if you noticed or not. Reborn had given you orders, and I expected you to follow them." She waved a hand off, as in dismissing the whole 'accident'.

Still, Gokudera couldn't just let himself go after what he did—what he thought that hindered his own thinking ability. It was because of his inexcusable jealousy towards his boss's affection to the other.

'Because of me- Because of me Juudaime was…'

Gokudera, in tears at his boss's forgiveness frowned. "B-But Juudaime, it was because of my foolish—"

His word's were cut short as Tsuna sighed. This 'problem' of his kept on repeating. Could he not stand being forgiven? Was it that hard? It was starting to fray on her nerves.

"Gokudera, what did I tell you? It's fine."

"But"

"NO buts. Gokudera, I said I forgave you. Are you going against me?" she growled, annoyed.

Finally relenting, the now sniffing boy gave a bright smile. "No, I guess not Juudaime. A-Arigato!"

Her words had brought him out of his distressed shell. Meaning, it brought up his overall mood. In fact, Gokudera had even tried to give a proper gratitude to Yamamoto. The boy had, after all, saved his Juudaime's life.

"…Thanks, baseball idiot." Went the rough praise.

Yamamoto grinned at Gokudera's acceptance.

That is, until Gokudera continued with a dead voice, "But Juudaime's right hand is me. You're the shoulder blade."

Then, his cheerful disposition morphed into a serious calm as he answered, "Nope, sorry. I don't want to withdraw from being Tsuna's right arm. You'll be the ear lope." This led to another heated argument with Gokudera yelling out curses at the boy.

Tsuna was caught in the middle of the two, as each snatched her from the other's arms and into their own.

The game went on and on before two bullet shots rang out and cuffed one thread of each boy's hair. The silky strands had burnt tips and the boys froze with a jump. The sound still rang in their ears: the slice that went with the bullet cutting air at light speed.

Slowly, the three turned their heads to see an emotionless Reborn. His beady eyes caught Yamamoto's and he spoke. "You passed the test. You're officially part of the family." The boy gave a sheepish grin and laughed out, "Thanks."

Yet he could say no more, before another bullet shot out near his face.

"Now go home" Reborn ordered curtly. Yamamoto's smile froze as he gave a nod of his head. "Y-Yeah…" He could say no more so with a few deep breaths, he turned to Tsuna giving a warm glance. "I'll be going now, I have baseball practice."

And there went Yamamoto.

Gokudera watched with satisfied eyes. Until Reborn ordered, "You too Gokudera." His dismay was apparent, but he did so anyway albeit with trudging steps. No one disobeyed Reborn.

Finally alone, Reborn jumped onto the amused girl's head and spoke, "We're going home."

With a yawn, Tsuna did so, letting out a tired sigh. Well, today hadn't been so bad. She had only been pushed around by two males, forced to outrun bullets, almost hit by missile launchers; it wasn't so bad. At least she didn't have to move to much right? She tried convinced herself so, though she knew her life was getting crazier by the day.

…

Everyone had left, yet there was one solitary figure remaining. Lambo was still watching around on the roof, playing with his bazooka. His tear-stained cheeks were already dry with the high winds billowing on top. Everyone had left and forgotten about him… He sported a melancholic frown before sniffing and letting out a loud sneeze. Then with a loud wail, he ran down the numerous steps, out into the neighborhood, and back into the safety of Nana's chest.

A/N: Very sorry for the late update... And while I worked hard on this, I've been facing exhaustion for some unknown reason... But not the point. Hope you liked, it (Though this chapter was a bit dull for me) and comment. If you've noticed, I have now incorperated italicized thoughts. Notice, it is only when it had the '' signs.

The next chapter (I find) will be more interesting. It is the added addition of Bianchi! And a tibit of Tsuna Kyoko pairing. If you don't like the pairing, tell me why, and I might change it... (But I just feel that Kyoko shouldn't just be the 'innocent' 'naive' girl who is totally unware of any romantic feelings. That just doesn't work out for me.

Yoruko Rhapsodos- Yes, it is going to be a reverse fanfic. It just doesn't really seem like it now, since Gokudera and Yamamoto are the slower types, Reborn needs to turn into an adult, and the rest haven't come out yet... Sorry.

Nightmaric- Agreed. Though I'm not sure about motherhenning, he will be overprotective. He'll be arguing with Xanxus a lot...

Shugopop- Xanxus will come back... in a far future of my fanfic. But yeah, Byakuran will be in this fanfic, whether in the present or TYL or both I'm still not sure.

MangaFreak- I'm in partial agreement. I would love to write a steamy scene with Tsuna riding Xanxus, but I just can't imagine her dominating him... That would be real awkward. And I'm still in conflict if I should make Xanxus a romantic partner or sibling.

Sachiel Angelo- I know what you mean. It happens all the time where a fanfic doesn't update for while, so I forget what had happened... It's annoying... But recaps are also annoying, becuase I can't properly explain everything with the right feeling...

Squalgasm- Definite agreement here. At first, I called Squalo sissy because of his long hair (and I've read lots of fanfics talking about his hair products), until I heard his VOIs in the anime. His voice is not really suave, but more guttural... I listened to his character song, Break Out. It was awesome.

chibigurl305- I'm not sure about the grammer mistakes, so after another week or so (to clean up my brain) I'll check and edit. Thanks for your comment! I really didn't do the italics before since it was a pain, but since more than one person said so, I felt that I didn't have much thoughts in the first place, so it'd be okay.

Nina- Confused... My story flows differently, as in plot, or sentence/paragraph structure? Explain? Do you like my 'flow'? Thanks!