Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.

Chapter 12: Revenge is as Sweet as Soap

It was another grueling day for little Tsuna.

After a few hours of training, another few hours of mental training, lunch, dinner, and all the chaos Tsuna had been subjected to, she was tired in both mind and body. The five year-old was too small, too frail, too weak (as everyone else had said), to put up with much of their training, and she couldn't do anything about it. They had disregarded her predicament and munificently forced her to fight them. Meaning they tortured her while she attempted to run away from the numerous knives, sword, bullets, etc.

But no, her adoptive brothers didn't care. No, they demanded her run farther than them, and even mocked her, calling her a 'weak little girl who stunk of her mamma's milk'.

She was going to get back at them one day…

Of course, her wishes wouldn't be happening soon. The distance between her abilities and theirs were far too great, she had to admit. And before any revenge could be put into action, she had to first start getting the feel of her body back.

"Ughh~~~" she cried out in frustration, still attempting to move her arm.

Tsuna groaned, sighing, when she saw her pinky finger twitch for a second. That is, she would've, if she wasn't feeling the slight sting that came with the minuscule movement. This would take a long time… And she (sadly) didn't have that. She pouted.

"This isn't fair" she whined aloud.

"Life isn't fair, Trash" was an unpredicted response.

Miraculously, her head turned (and it wasn't painful! Her body must've only been affected below neck) and faced the gruff baritone voice, which she was sure belonged to her brother, Xan-niichan. After all, this was his room.

Giving the brightest smile she could manage, she beamed up maliciously at the figure in front of her. "Welcome back, Xan-niichan!" she called out with a throbbing vein on her forehead.

Her only response was a twitch and a small murmur. "…Trash." Her brother wasn't the most expressive person out there, but she liked him like that. He could stay that grumpy, mean-looking, name-calling, rough, bad-tempered, rude person and she wouldn't mind. After all, they were (sort of) siblings.

"Trash, go to bed." Xanxus grounded out before slipping into his king sized bed.

Tsuna pouted. "But Xan-niichan. I haven't showered. Or brushed my teeth. Or washed my face. Or-"

Her mouth (well really her whole face) was smothered with a large hand as her brother growled out, "Then do whatever the hell you want. Don't bother me."

She let her lips quiver as she looked up as him with sad, (and was there a tint of viciousness?) eyes. "But Xan-niichan. I can't move my body after what you did with me… Take a bath with me?"

Xanxus's narrow eyes widened slightly; a light hue of pink ravaged his cheeks. Then his face grew red in anger (at least that was what she thought) as he bellowed, "Trash, get a maid to do that for you!"

Her eyes grew bored, calm almost, as she responded aloofly, "I don't trust strangers to take a bath with me."

"You're too old to take a bath with a male!"

"Iemitsu forced me to take a shower with him whenever he visits." She retorted.

'That is, with Nana and me.' She voiced in her head. But he didn't need to know that.

"Just get in the damn tub and drown yourself." Xanxus growled, his veins pulsing red. Tsuna let out a small giggle. Her brother was so fun to play with sometimes.

"You wouldn't want that to happen to me, would you? And you didn't take a shower yet, right? This kills two birds with one bullet!" She batted her lashes and let her eyes take on that sparkly gleam that had fell many others in their goal.

Xanxus snarled, staring into her unnervingly large eyes, before giving a loud growl.

"Get in the tub, Trash" was his final answer before getting off the bed and stripping his shirt, throwing it down onto the floor beside him.

Tsuna relaxed, her body loosening in accomplishment.

She waited as he stomped over to her and hefted her over his back like a sack of potatoes. The air in her lungs stopped circulating for a second as it hit her bruised stomach and Tsuna whined in pain. Xanxus ignored her.

Once in the large bathroom, she was lifted to the ground and with rough hands, Xanxus tore off her shirt and shorts. Lightning wracked its way throughout her body by the forceful movements, and Tsuna hissed involuntarily.

Her 'brother' noticed this, and predictably did nothing but snort in scoff. "Only trash like you would need help taking a bath."

Tsuna frowned. It had only been three days, and she still hadn't gotten him to stop calling her derogatory names. He probably never would change that fact, but it was hard to handle sometimes. Her ire was a bit too strong at the moment, and she was at the thin edge of snapping. Her body was bruised, her head throbbing, the muscles were stressed, and her playful mood gone. She needed a more loving nature right now.

Like Nana.

It was times like these when her mother was truly appreciated. (Well, that and when she was hungry.) She wouldn't tolerate him right now. She couldn't giggle when he so obviously saw her pain, and berated her for it.

So the poor child let out all her steam all at once. Her mouth opened slightly before she snapped at him.

"Don't you realize that females have delicate bodies, rather than your rock of a leg you use to kick others with? I'm sore, treat me gently!"

Xanxus sneered at her before snarling out, "Trash will always be trash." The gruff teen lifted her up before tossing her lightly (after all, he would have been in massive trouble if the girl was injured) into the tub before climbing in after her.

The petite girl landed on her arse with a cry of pain before growling at the smirking teen. "That does it!"

With a howl of warning, she jumped and pounced, ignoring the agony that shocked her body. Xanxus, who had been unprepared, widened his eyes in surprise, before he was thrown back against the side of the tub by her naked body. He grunted in shock before staring down at the child.

Tsuna's legs and arms were hugging his firm chest, grabbing it as it were a lifeline. However, her head was tilted down, her face invisible as her small body trembled.

The violent teen really didn't care what she was doing. He hadn't even realized that he should have been as furious as the burning flames of hell. All he knew was that her small shape clung tightly to him, and close to his… manhood. Xanxus's face grew red on his tanned face as his voice grew loud.

"TRASH GET OFF!"

What Xanxus didn't know was that Tsuna was in immense pain. Her body shook uncontrollably, her face pale. She supposed what she had done was foolish of her. That her natural intelligence had failed her, blinded by irritation, and she was paying the price.

There was no way she would detach herself from the body she clung to. There was no way she would even try to shift her stressed muscles even a bit.

So she did the only thing she could do: Hold still until Xanxus calmed down enough to gently bring her to her bed. Or to hold still until Xanxus wrested her off him and throw her far away from his proximity. She much preferred the first choice.

Yet fate had different plans. A bang was heard, before the door to the bathroom was knocked down as a screaming white haired teen barged in.

"VOOOOI! What the fuck is going on Boss?"

The stupid Squalo came running in with his full Varia attire, holding his sword in his hands. His keen eyes looked around for any sense of danger, until they finally landed on the two in the large ed

It made a very confusing picture, and reach an even more confusing conclusion.

Squalo's eyes widened to enormous measures as his pale skin burned a rose red hue. His gruff voice let out a stutter, letting his mind fill up with wild assumptions.

Tsuna stared at him in confusion (Why in the world would his face be red? Embarrassment? Anger? Jealousy?) while Xanxus growled aloud as he realized his predicament.

"Oi Trash, what the fuck are you thinking about!" he yelled in fury.

The silver-haired teen sputtered replying, "W-What? What do you think I'm thinking? I see you in the damn tub, naked, with the brat latched on your fucking stomach! What the hell do you think I'm seeing?"

Xanxus's anger was apparent, even if there was no empty whisky bottle being thrown at the subordinate (due to the fact that he had no wine to throw). No, her big brother had settled on taking out his guns (Tsuna had no idea where they came from) and shot with rampage at the flustered silver-head.

A mere detail stood in the way of Xanxus's fury: Squalo was a Varia member. All members had to be considered Varia quality by the boss, and a fool who couldn't dodge a simple bullet would have been dead long ago. Most likely at their first meeting with Xanxus.

With a shaky grace, Squalo dodged the oncoming bullets, moving across the tiled floor in jumps, slides and leaps. Unfortunately, he didn't take into account the water splashed on the floor (courtesy of Xanxus throwing Tsuna into the tub), thus making it as slippery as soap (after the solvent combined with the body wash the somehow spilled onto the floor).

In less than seconds, Squalo's boots had slid on the tiles as he fell face-first into the bathtub.

SPLASH

…

His head first came up, hacking and coughing up the water that had filled his mouth and nose. The heavy, water-soaked uniform weighed him down, and his hair fell flat, covering his eyes.

Xanxus and Tsuna smirked at the hysterical image.

As soon as he had the ability to speak, the enraged, soaking wet Squalo did so. "VOOOOI What the fuck was that for?" he yelled with a raspy voice, before coughing up a bit more water. His dark grey eyes glared murderously at the nonchalant boss.

Xanxus didn't deem his question important enough for a response as the boss settled comfortably into the water.

Squalo's narrowed eyes grew even more enraged before turning to the still naked girl in front of him.

"Tell me why the hell you're taking a bath with Boss. Naked."

Tsuna answered all of his questions, and perhaps even more, in an orderly fashion.

"It's partially your fault I have this enormous pain whenever I move. And I haven't taken my bath yet. What do you think I'm doing now? Xan-niichan had decided to take responsibility for his actions and brought me here. And how else am I supposed to take a bath? Like you?" She made a point by looking at his sopping wet jacket.

It was embarrassing to be outwitted by a 5 year old Squalo knew (Especially when he was the strategist of the team). Before he could retort anything back, Tsuna interfered.

"While you're here, you might as well take a bath with us. After all, this bathtub is big enough for a family, and you haven't showered yet, right?" She finished herself up with a bright, adorably cute smile that showed her soft eyes that seemed to emanate purity.

Squalo stood no chance.

With a sigh, the second in command did so; stripping off his jacket, taking of his shirt and tie, though still keeping his pants on. Tsuna didn't know why, but she figured he was strange like that. The teen let his head lean on the side of the tub as the rest of his body sunk lower into the warm pool.

Xanxus gave no reaction of displeasure, so Tsuna deemed it fine.

It was a comfortable few minutes of silence.

…

In an almost conversational drawl, Tsuna voiced out a question. "Squal-niichan, would you be kind enough to pull me away from Xan-niichan? I really would not like to move."

Squalo was still basking in the tepid water with closed eyes as he gave a lazy, "N-"

"Squal-niichan…sniff… Please?"

The loud teen couldn't see what her facial expression was, but he knew he shouldn't. Just by the sound of her voice; her childish, cute voice, he was losing his will.

Another gruff sigh resounded as Squalo repeated once more, "N-"

Only to be interrupted again.

"Squal-niichan, did you know? I really can't move. I must be because all the others—excluding you of course; you'd never want to torture a little girl right?—hit me so much, and so hard, I have bruises everywhere? My arms hurt a lot… So please?"

To further her persuasion, she attempted to lift her arm despite the pain (after all, sacrifices were needed to persuade someone), only to flinch and squeak in pain as large tears covered her eyelashes.

Accompanied with her set of large eyes, Xanxus, who had been close-eyed leaning on the other side of the tub, creaked open his narrow eyes and glared at the other; a silent warning (threat) in case the teen decided he wouldn't aid the child. Well, that was what Squalo thought it was… It couldn't be anything else right?

So like anyone else, the silver-headed teen decided to submit to the child's wishes.

Releasing a low moan, Squalo complied and began to wade through the large bathtub. Once reaching the two, he gently (as the rough man possibly could) pried the girl off his boss's chest. There were a few twitches and grinding of teeth here and there, but miraculously, Tsuna remained unscathed and no tears (willingly or not) escaped her eyes.

By the end of the arduous procedure, Tsuna was happily resting in the water. Well, she was really just leaning on Squalo, who was leaning on the side of the tub, across from Xanxus. She couldn't hurt her back on the hard, marble bathtub now could she? While Squalo's firm chest was not nearly as comfy as her fluffy pillow, it would have to do.

Squalo distinctly felt his boss's glare on him, and that unsettled him, though it shouldn't. After all, didn't he always glare? The teen nodded to himself, as if confirming his conclusion.

And after a few minutes of turmoil, everyone was happy.

…

"Squal-niichan, wash me please?"

"N-NANI, BRAT?"

The quick and clean disposal of silence was inevitable.

"I can't move my body. That's why you're going to do it for me!" the little girl chirped.

The teen let out a huge outburst as he got up (after putting Tsuna off him, onto Xanxus. A sitting Tsuna just wasn't tall enough to sit in the bathtub without drowning). "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU BR-"

Before the he could finish his sentence, a bar of soap went flying and hit his head with a 'thunk' as Squalo went crashing into the water.

Tsuna peered from the corner of her eyes Xanxus, who had not moved at all. His head leant against the tub and his eyes closed. The only evidence that gave out his act was his incredibly tense and tight frown that marred his face.

"FUCK THAT HURT!"

Squalo resurfaced from underwater, coughing and exhaling all the liquid he had accidently swallowed. It seemed he was doing that a lot, wasn't he?

"Squal-niichan, I suggest you shut up. Xan-niichan doesn't seem to happy right now, and you wouldn't want to incur his wrath would you? Even if it is especially funny and satisfying to see you hurt, it's disturbing my bath time" Tsuna deadpanned.

She was leaning comfortably on Xanxus with a smug look on her face. The teen she was leaning also had a small twitch of his lips, indicating his amusement (Squalo had been trained to identify his boss's mood).

His tolerance and patience had long been breached; the two had been shattered in mere minutes. The two 'siblings' gloated as he gained the 'short end of the stick', and Squalo growled.

"Ne, Squal-niichan, you shouldn't be so angry! It's not good for your heart you know. I wouldn't want you with a heart attack." Tsuna noted. She gave a small giggle and a tilt of her head in response to her own statement.

'Payback' the child snickered joyfully.

And despite his fury, despite how vindictive the little girl sounded, Squalo gained a minuscule blush on his pale skin, and he forcefully turned his head from the cute display. It wasn't good for his heart.

"Tch, Brat."

With a polite smile, Tsuna easily dissuaded herself from the childish teen in front of her, which irked her silver-haired brother somewhat. But there was really nothing he could do about it.

Within minutes, a calm peace settled over the room for there was not a single outburst, scream, enraged yell, or crash in the mansion (most which have been caused by Xanxus). And this time, unlike all the others, the silence weaved into the inhabitants' bodies as their muscles finally began to loosen, letting the warmth of the water embrace them like a mother's firm hug.

It was only till Tsuna's eyes grew heavy as lead, her arms gently unraveling downwards, her head leaning to her side with Xaxnus, did she realize her exhaustion.

Apparently (or to their shock), so did her usually grim-looking brother. Xanxus let his sharp eyes stray to the younger girl before closing tiredly.

With a soft snarl he commanded, "Oi, Trash, get out."

After Squalo's indignant huff and departure (after picking up his sopping wet clothes and uniform), Xanxus's eyes snapped open. He stood up, bent his head with a satisfying (and a bit disturbing) crack, and picked the tiny girl up in his arms.

His actions were not the most gentle, yet they were not the roughest he had made. Tsuna was now asleep in his arms, perhaps even unconsciously snuggling closer to the beating warmth that was his chest.

Fighting the smirk that was creeping onto his face was no easy task; he gave up midway and felt his lips twitching with vengeance. He walked quickly out the door, dressing her in one of his white shirts (which was much too big, but he would have to make do) and strode to his large bed.

With a groan, he propped himself onto the comfy bed and left his 'sister' beside him, letting out one last yawn before succumbing to sleep.

…

He wouldn't notice until morning came; a welcoming warmth that wrapped close to his chest, cuddling into his soft embrace. A heat so addictive, his body couldn't help but encompass it in its own chest.

A/N: I am extremely sorry for the late update. It is entirely my fault. I spend a week working, another lazing around, and the rest of the two weeks working/editing. SORRY. But at least most chapters now are over 2,000 words right? I'm probably not going to be updating biweekly, considering I have school coming up, but I will update to the best of my ability.

Just saying, this chapter is a sort of reply, or 'hidden scene' from her time back when she was in Italy for a week with the Varia. Specifically at age 5. I incorporated some Xanxus/Tsuna and a bit of Squalo too.

The next chapter is with Haru.

For the poll results:

Nothing much had changed, but Reborn is now #1. He's beat Xanxus by a tiny margin.

Chrome has beaten Kyoko by a few rankings!

Thank you for reading, and please, review and criticize (nicely), for me to improve as a writer, and to give you better updates!