More Important Stuff: Um usually my chapters aren't this long, apologies if you're getting used to this length. It may or may not be this long next chapter. Guest reviewer asked for a time frame for my slow updates, I can say this much, right now the inspiration is hot and the motivation from the reviews really helped, so the chapters are actually gonna come fairly decent rate. (This was kinda fast, even for my normal standard and especially considering this is double my average word rate). It also helps that I have some free time right now, but my real life has been known to change at a moment's notice. This story is the first story I've written since early March.

Triggers: Bullying

Moon

The moon was a distant but ever watchful presence in the sky. It may never shine as brightly as the sun, may be hidden by the clouds, but always there subtly affecting and changing things like how the moon affected the tides.

For all the moon watched and protected, it was always farther from the sky than the other elements.

That distance made Ayame curse at the unfairness of the situation. "Tsuna?" she asked; her eyes roaming over Tsuna's form, trying to see if he was hurt. Of course, Ienari would do something while she had been away on a business trip. The minute her plane touched down in Japan, she had rushed over to Namimori, worried sick out of her mind.

There was a sense of relief to see the resolve still lit in Tsuna's eyes, the strength to live that Ayame helped forged because that was all she could do. Ienari hadn't snuffed out that fire yet.

"I'm fine, Neesan," Tsuna reassured her. "No, really, everyone has been taking care of me. We have been sleeping over at Kyoya-sempai's house the last three days."

Bless Hibari Kyoya. Crowding or not, Kyoya never turned away Tsuna, never. Ayame thanked every star in the sky that Tsuna had such a strong protector. Especially when she was unable to do so.

"And Reborn?" Ayame asked sharply. She knew logically that Reborn wasn't a threat to Tsuna, not really. The hitman had morals, but it didn't change the fact that he was a hitman. She would never forgive herself for letting Reborn get close to Tsuna if the hitman was hurting her little brother.

Tsuna hesitated for a bit. "Reborn has been, well nice, isn't really the word to describe him. And he did kick me-"

"WHAT?"

"Not like that, Neesan!" Tsuna hurried to explain. "It didn't really hurt and he hasn't done anything since. I mean he normally shoots bullets and throws bombs at Ienari, so that's probably his normal teaching style. He has been tutoring me too, which is great because Hana has to help out with her family since her dad broke his leg last month and lunch break and study period aren't enough for her to cover everything. Reborn is really good at explaining math. Plus…" he trailed off. A thoughtful expression crossing his face.

"Plus?" Ayame pressed.

"He defended me against Ienari last night," Tsuna said. "I thought… -he's Ienari's tutor- but Reborn stood in between Ienari and me and defended me." He looked at Ayame, eyes wide in disbelief. "I don't understand why he did that."

By Inari-sama's grace, bless Reborn! If the hitman kept this up, Ayame might actually approve of him. Ayame ruffled Tsuna's soft locks of hair. "He probably understands, even subconsciously, what a special person you are."

Tsuna frowned. "I'm not special, neesan."

"You are, and I will tell you that every day until you believe me."

The Oncoming Storm

"C'mon Tsuna-kun," Kyoko said brightly. She looped her arm around Tsuna's as they approached the school gates. "Class is about to start. Also, after school, you're coming with Hana and me for cake! Hana doesn't have to help her family today, so we're going to celebrate!"

Tsuna smiled, radiating with happiness. "Sure thing, Kyoko-chan." There was a good cause of celebration. Kyoya had deemed it safe enough for Tsuna (and his "herbivore" friends) to return to school. The missed classes were a pain, but Ayame had spent all yesterday covering all the material they had missed. Reborn's training seemed to keep Ienari suitably distracted as well.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the new transfer student Kyoya had mentioned. "Gokudera Hayato," Tsuna mumbled to himself. From Italy; no doubt Reborn had called him to enter Ienari's Family.

Tsuna made a mental note to himself to avoid Gokudera. He didn't need another bully after him all.

So why did his intuition cry sadly?

Gokudera Hayato

Hayato ran a hand through his silver hair, feeling the twinge of irritation building. This school was odd.

He had arrived in Namimori two days ago at Reborn's request. Reborn had told him not to engage Sawada Ienari without first observing him. Hayato complied; it was good to gather intel on your target first after all. The last two days had been uneventful. Sawada Ienari was exactly as the reports say, popular, kind and friendly. Hayato could see himself following a boss like that.

Then everything went to kilter when Sawada Tsunayoshi, Jyuudaime's twin brother returned to school.

Suddenly it was like the world decided to tilt, throwing Hayato off balance. It made his skin itch as teasing about Dame-Tsuna echoed through the halls. Jyuudaime didn't seem concerned about the words either. In fact, he seemed to agree with the words being thrown around. That wasn't right. Hayato and his sister didn't exactly get along, but it still pissed him off whenever those scumbags bad mouthed her skills, her gender, or her looks. Because that was what family did, they looked out for each other even if they hated each other.

And the older twin, didn't even defend himself. Just gave a humorless smile with tired, resigned eyes, as if he was used to the fact the entire school was bullying him.

How was Jyuudaime going to take care of their Famaglia if he didn't even defend his own brother?

Rain and Storm Clash

"Watch where you are going, Dame-Tsuna," Hayato said with a sneer. God this school was so annoying and Hayato's short temper lit the moment the small brunet had collided with him in the hallway.

The brunet let out a soft, 'Hiiee' before stepping back. His shoulders hunched, shrinking into himself, trembling like Hayato had hit him.

The weak and pathetic attitude only further to increase Hayato's ire. "You're as annoying as your brother -!"

Hayato's words were cut off as a silver baseball bat was placed against his neck in a swift swing. Cursing loudly, he took a step back, but the bat followed him, pinning him against the wall.

"Takeshi!" Jyuudaime's brother called out.

Hayato knew that name. Yamamoto Takeshi. A natural born hitman, according to Reborn. A would be candidate for Rain Guardian, except he was friends with the wrong twin.

"I don't appreciate your words, Gokudera-san," Yamamoto said softly. His eyes narrowed and the normal present smile was gone. The air seemed to ripple around him, getting denser from the pressure that Yamamoto seemed to protrude.

Hayato cursed inside his head. Yamamoto was supposed to be a civilian. This… this aura was not something a civilian was suppose to have. He watched as Jyuudaime's brother placed a hand on the baseball idiot's shoulder and suddenly the pressure vanished. Yamamoto released Gokudera, taking a step back.

"Are you okay, Gokudera-san?" Jyuudaime's brother asked, concern reflected in his large brown eyes. "Sorry about that. Takeshi's a bit overprotective of me."

What the hell? Where did the small trembling brunet with fear in his eyes go?

"He deserved it, Tsuna," Yamamoto said.

"He doesn't know, Takeshi," Jyuudaime's brother protested. "It's just a mistake."

Hayato refused to acknowledge the warmth that someone was defending him. He also bit back the guilt that just moments ago he was willing to throw dynamite at small brunet.

Yamamoto shook his head. "You're too nice, Tsuna." Then he turned to pin Gokudera with a glare. He stepped forward to shuffle Tsuna behind him, like a true subordinate. "Stay away from Tsuna. If you're going to play that mafia game with Ienari or if you hate Ienari, I don't care. If this is how you're going to treat Tsuna, I promise you will be bitten to death."

Without letting Hayato say another word, Yamamoto was gone, pulling Jyuudaime's brother with him, leaving Hayato behind, stun and confused.

Bitten to death? Wasn't that the demonic prefect's catchphrase? Wait, mafia game? How did Yamamoto know about the mafia and why on earth did he think it was a game? Such bizarre attitudes everywhere too. Yamamoto wasn't just an overprotective friend. Hayato knew if he so much toed the line, Yamamoto would have beaten him for insulting Tsuna.

Hayato pulled at his hair. God, this school was so frustrating!

Running Out of Time

"You look exhausted, Ayame-neesan," Hana remarked. She handed Kyoko her cake order and passed a napkin to a concern looking Tsuna. The four of them had met up at the Lucky Cat Cafe after school, sitting in the back corner, ignoring the stream of people that came in and out. It was a small cafe serving the best cake, desserts and coffee in town, located just three blocks from school.

"Hmm," Ayame grunted in agreement. She tiredly poked her strawberry mousse cake with her fork. Dark circles under her golden eyes and her entire body language screamed of exhaustion and tension.

Hana wasn't surprised. The moment Ayame had returned to Namimori, she had hit the ground running. Even though she didn't know all of the changes, she knew Ayame had been influencing things in the background again. It had been unfortunate timing that Reborn had arrived after she had left for her business trip. Things were changing and only time would tell if it was for the better.

Tsuna cut into the chocolate cake he had bought. "Have you slept at all since you came back, Neesan?" he asked.

"A couple hours," Ayame said, waving her hand dismissively.

"That's not enough," Kyoko said with a frown. She jabbed her red velvet cake with a fork.

"I'm running out of time," Ayame said with an equal frown.

"Running out of time?" Hana questioned.

Ayame let out a tired sigh. " I knew Vongola was hurting for a heir, but I didn't expect them to make a move yet. Tsuna is only thirteen, but that's the mafia for you. Child soldiers aren't that uncommon. The only thing that concerns me at the moment is…" She trailed off, poking at her cake.

"Reborn," Tsuna supplied.

"Is he that much a threat?" Kyoko asked. Worried filled her eyes as she bit her lip nervously.

"Yes? No?" Ayame said, vaguely gesturing in the air. "Reborn is a bit of a wildcard. I didn't have a choice but to let him come to Namimori. If he had failed to arrive, Reborn, the World's Greatest Hitman, failed to arrive, Vongola would have been interested and would have started investigating. We can't have them looking too closely. Not now."

"He hasn't done anything yet besides hang out at the school, observing," Hana said. It wasn't hard to miss the baby in the tree, in the lockers, and other numerous hiding spots throughout the school. Honestly, everyone was just blind.

Hana polished off the last of her lemon chiffon cake and wiped her mouth. "But that might just make him smarter then most monkeys and he might just be bidding his time."

Ayame waved her hands. "I'm like 97% certain that Reborn isn't a threat to us. But the remaining 3% makes me a paranoid bastard and there is nothing more I want to do than to put a bullet in his head to protect you lot. Plus, he might not want to hurt any of you, but there's still a strong possibility he could convince Vongola to make Tsuna a candidate. Unless you want that Tsuna?" She turned to look at the boy she considered to be a younger brother.

Tsuna shook his head. "No. Still don't want to be Decimo."

"Because if you change your mind, I'm not going to be angry," Ayame promised. "I just want all of you to be happy and safe and as far away from Ienari as possible."

Lips quirking up into a smile, Tsuna shook his head again. "Really neesan. I don't want to become mafia boss and definitely no intention of inheriting Vongola. You're putting enough on my plate as is."

"If it's too much-!"

"It's fine, Neesan."

"You two are being sickeningly sweet again," Hana commented dryly.

The two would be siblings both pouted at her while Kyoko giggled from beside her.

"That said, I think we can trust Reborn," Tsuna said.

"You sure, Tsuna?" Kyoko asked.

Hana watched the flash of orange in Tsuna's eyes appear. That settled that. Tsuna's intuition had yet to lead them wrong.

The conversation lulled into a peaceful silence as the rest of the group finished off their cakes.

"Ah, one more thing," Ayame said as they gathered their trash. "Be careful going out these days. There's this group calling themselves Yousei that are going around kidnapping kids and teenagers. I think they're trying to start a child slavery ring. I already alerted Kyoya about it. Intel is a bit vague, nothing more than rumors on the streets. But it says their next town target is Namimori. Just… be careful, okay?"

"We will," Hana said, speaking for the three teens. She made a note to make sure Takeshi knew as well. Kyoko would will tell Ryohei later.

Namimori was peaceful. Namimori was quiet. Namimori was a magnet for trouble.

Missing Food

Reborn was determined to figure out who the white plate with blue moons belonged to. Today had been a perfect day to do so. Ienari and Tsuna had long departed for school and Nana, after cooking breakfast, had left to go food shopping, promising to return in time for lunch.

And thus, sat the white plate with Nana's homemade pancakes on the kitchen counter. Nana had covered it with a plastic cover so bugs wouldn't get to it and to keep it warm before departing.

Reborn sat down at the dining table and took out his guns to clean. The white plate never failed to make an appearance at every single meal. So between now and lunch, someone had to come into the kitchen to eat. Thus Reborn would simply not move from the kitchen. Then he would at least know one of the five mysterious other occupants of the Sawada Household.

Ever since Nana told him there were five other people living in the house, Reborn had gone through the house searching for additional evidence. He found an extra toothbrush and a pair of house slippers that didn't fit anyone's current shoe size but other than that, nothing. No extra clothes, signs of where they could be sleeping, not a single hair or sight of them at all. It was aggravating and frustrating and Reborn might kill someone soon if things didn't start making sense.

As the clock neared 11, Reborn frowned. Nana was due back soon and yet no one had entered the kitchen. "Did they figure out I was going to be watching and decided not to eat?" Reborn asked himself. He hopped onto the kitchen counter. "That's a waste of Mamma's food."

Reborn lifted the plastic cover to find the white plate still under it. But the pancakes were gone. The hitman stared and stared, confused. The white plate was still there, covered in syrup and crumbs. Someone had eaten the pancakes. Someone had eaten the pancakes while Reborn was still in the room and he never noticed.

Letting out a frustrated cry, Reborn gnashed his teeth. "How is this possible?"

Akemi Kaori

Tsuna had been heading down the stairs toward the baseball field to meet Takeshi when someone had hugged him from behind.

"Na-kun!" came a cheerful bouncy voice.

Tsuna recognized that voice. It was Akemi Kaori. While not as popular as Kyoko, she was still one of the prettiest girls in their grade with long straight black hair and impressive purple eyes. She was also the president of Ienari's fan club.

"Akemi-san," Tsuna said, wary. He wiggled out of her grasp and put several feet of distance between her and him. "I'm not Ienari."

Her expression twisted into an ugly snarl that didn't match her appearance. "Dame-Tsuna," she sneered. "Why do you have to look like Na-kun? Ugh, I can't believe I touched you," she snapped. She stormed off without another word.

As she left, Tsuna could only say one thing. 'I don't know why you can't tell us apart. Everyone else can.'

Bullet Hell

"Reborn! Why am I tied up like this!" Ienari howled. He was hanging upside from a tree by his ankles.

The baby hitman smirked and loaded his gun. "We're testing your evasion skills today. You better dodge or be prepared to die."

"REBORN!"

Desk

"Oh my god Ienari-kun! What happened to you!"

"Are you alright?!"

"Did someone hurt you?!"

Hayato scowled, tilting his chair backwards. Jyuudaime had come to class, late and covered in bandages. The moment lunch break had signaled, the baseball idiot hauled Jyuudaime's brother out of the room, disappearing like they always do. The remainder of the students flocked to Ienari, questioning him why he was hurt.

"Maa," Ienari said with a light laugh. "It's nothing. I just had to rescue my useless brother from being run over by a car this morning. I stopped by the infirmary to get my wounds looked at."

"You saved Dame-Tsuna and he abandoned you at the infirmary!"

"What a jerk!"

Hayato scoffed. He knew bullet graze wounds when he saw them. No doubt a result of Reborn's training. He couldn't believe Jyuudaime pin the blame on his brother though. Cover story great. But if Jyuudaime had changed to say a 'little girl' instead of 'his useless brother' (and Hayato's teeth grated together at the lack of respect Jyuudaime had for his own blood family member), Jyuudaime's popularity would have been boosted without anyone knowing about the mafia and without putting down his own brother.

Then a student wandered over to the desk in front of Hayato where Tsuna normally sat and kicked it. "Stupid Dame-Tsuna," the student said, kicking the brunet's desk again.

Another student took out a knife and stabbed it into the desk, scratching the wooden surface. A few girls pulled out markers as a couple boys took to trash Tsuna's chair.

Hayato felt his stomach lurch. He turned away from the mess the students were creating. How could they be so cruel? Out of the corner his eye, Hayato spotted Jyuudaime smiling at their actions.

Unable to stomach it anymore, Hayato stood up and headed toward the door.

"Hey Gokudera-san," one of his classmates called out. "Don't you want to help?"

"No. You're too noisy," Hayato threw over his shoulder.

He needed to find that baseball idiot and Jyuudaime's brother before they came back to the classroom.

Ditching Class

Hayato eventually found them as they were coming down the stairs from the rooftop. Not a moment to lose as the bell signaling the end of lunch would be ringing any minute now.

Hayato grabbed the baseball idiot by the collar of his uniform, slamming him into the wall. He ignored the plea of "Gokudera-san!" from Jyuudaime's brother.

"Don't let him go back to the classroom," Hayato whispered into the baseball idiot's ear, soft enough that the small brunet wouldn't hear. "Our classmates are trashing his desk right now." He pushed the baseball idiot away, scowling. "Got that?" Hayato said in a louder tone of voice.

The baseball idiot blinked in surprise before his eyes narrowed in consideration. "Yeah, thanks," he said. He then grabbed Jyuudaime's brother's hand and started to pull him away, saying, "Tsuna, we're ditching for the rest of the day."

"Hiee? But don't we have a test next period?" the small brunet asked.

"It's fine," the baseball idiot said. "We're going to fail it anyways. Might as well skip the stress and go eat cake."

"Cake?"

Hayato twitched at the sight of flowers that seemed to appear around Jyuudaime's brother. Mist illusions?

The brunet then turned around to face Hayato, beaming. "Why don't you come with us, Gokudera-san?" Then he shrank into himself and sputtered out, "I-I m-mean the test is more important!"

Hayato stared and stared before pinching his eyes shut. God, this school was maddening and crazy and Hayato could practically feel himself being swept by the sheer insanity this school caused. He glanced at the baseball idiot and saw him with a look of consideration, quietly waiting for Hayato's response. Green eyes drifted back to Jyuudaime's brother, waiting just as patience and entirely too hopeful for someone who should probably consider Hayato to be a threat. He thought about his classmates, the bullying, and the teasing that surrounded this small brunet for no apparent reason at all. The very idea that he would have to return back to the classroom and would be staring at trashed and destroyed desk for the rest of the day unsettled him. He thought about Jyuudaime, about his smiles, his words, his inaction and the subtle meanings laced in his very personality.

"Fine," Hayato said. "It's just a stupid test and this cake better be good."

Jyuudaime's brother smiled brightly. "It's the best in town."

Hayato ignored the tug at his heart, ignored the warmth, ignored the feeling that everything felt right.

Autograph

Ayame was enjoying a cup of coffee and a slice of carrot cake when Tsuna, Takeshi and Gokudera walked into the Lucky Cat Cafe. She blinked at their appearance, but otherwise didn't question it.

"Neesan!" Tsuna greeted.

Ayame gave a wave. "Yo, Tsuna, Takeshi. What brings you here and who is this?" She knew who Smoking Bomb Gokudera Hayato was really, but the boy didn't know her, so introductions needed to be made.

"We're ditching," Takeshi said with a smile that had a sharp edge. Ayame made a note to ask him about it later. Something happened, but Takeshi managed to prevent Tsuna from learning about it.

"And this is our classmate Gokudera Hayato. He's a transfer student from Italy. Gokudera-san, this is Ayame. She owns the cafe," Tsuna introduced.

"Douzo yoroshiku," Gokudera said with a bow.

Ayame returned the bow. "Douzo yoroshiku, Gokudera-san. And maa, I only own the building. Cass is the real owner of Lucky Cat Cafe. She makes all these wonderful cakes," Ayame said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder to a small woman with short brown hair at the cashier.

"You're not concerned that we're ditching?" Gokudera asked.

Ayame quirked her eyebrow up. "Should I be? I honestly don't care. I assume you have a good reason to do so."

Gokudera rolled his eyes and Ayame was struck with a sense of familiarity. She frowned. "Gokudera Hayato," she mumbled, bouncing her fork against her lips. "Where have I heard that name before?"

It was something outside of his mafia connection, but what? The three boys stared at her curiously, though Gokudera was a touch nervous. Probably because he assumed Ayame was talking about his mafia connection.

God Ayame, you roll your eyes just like my piano teacher when she's exasperated!

Ayame blinked, her brain making the lightning fast connections. "You're that child prodigy pianist, Gokudera Hayato," she blurted out. How had she missed that when she was researching him?

Gokudera blushed a bright red. "H-H-How do you know that?"

"You play the piano, Gokudera-san?" Tsuna asked, surprised.

"I would have never guessed. Are you going to join the band club?" Takeshi asked.

"I haven't played the piano in years!" Gokudera snapped. He turned back to Ayame. "How do you even know that? I wasn't a child prodigy!"

Ayame shrugged. "I went to one of your concerts. It was very impressive."

"I would love to hear you," Tsuna said.

"I don't play the piano anymore," Gokudera repeated.

Tsuna wilted at the negative response.

"It's okay, Tsuna," Ayame said, reaching over to pat her little brother on the shoulder. "I got a recording. It isn't as good as the real thing, but at least you'll be able to hear Gokudera-san's music."

Tsuna brightened at her words while Takeshi laughed.

"How do you have a recording?" Gokudera shrieked. "I never made a recording!"

Ayame ignored his question, pulling out a blank sheet of paper and pen from her bag. "Can I get an autograph?"

Gokudera stared at her, jaw dropping open.

"Cake will be on me," Ayame offered.

Gokudera made some various frustrated hand gestures at her and appeared to be swearing in several languages under his breath. "This town in insane," he hissed, snatching the paper out of Ayame's hands.

"Thank you!"

Placing the autograph back in her bag, Ayame then gestured for the boys to take a seat. "Cake is on me," she said. "What do you want?"

"Oero cheesecake," Tsuna said as he took the seat next to her.

"I'll take a slice of the Dream cake," Takeshi said, grabbing the chair next to Tsuna.

Gokudera crossed his arms as he dropped into the last empty seat. "I'm not hungry." Right on cue, his stomach grumbled.

Ayame nodded. "Right, so one of everything for Gokudera-san. "

"W-what! Do you even listen to the words you're saying out of your mouth! Crazy woman!"

Takeshi laughed, swinging his arm around Gokudera. "You might as well tell her. Ayame-neesan will seriously buy you one of everything."

Tsuna nodded in agreement. "She will. Kyoya-sempai did the same thing and he went home with fifteen different types of cake that day."

Takeshi grinned. "Not that anything really happened because of it. He just kept feeding them to you all week long, Tsuna."

Ayame chuckled to herself when Gokudera shot her a pleading look. It was nice to see the three boys like this. It was like the balance of the world righted itself for just a little bit and the threads of destiny and fate sang.

"Fine! I'll take a slice of chocolate cake," Gokudera said, giving in.

Ayame's smile grew wider. And thus the Storm began to stir under the blue Sky and the gentle Rain.

Concert

The boys had gone, headed home before the sun began to set with another warning to be careful. Yousei was still on the prowl and there had already been one report of a child gone missing that hit the police.

Ayame watched them leave, waving as they disappeared around the corner. Once they were gone from sight, her smile slipped off her face. She closed her golden eyes, feeling the warm breeze wrap around her like a comforting hug. A distant memory floated in her mind, recalling an old conversation from long, long ago.

"Ayame! Wanna go to this concert with me?"

"Gokudera Hayato? This is in Italy!"

"I know! But this is Lavina-sensei's kid!"

"Your piano teacher? She had a kid?"

"I didn't know either. She never mentioned anything before she passed away. But he's got her eyes. Her hair too."

"Oh, fine. We can go. But after we finish this okay?"

"Thanks Ayame!"

Ayame's eyes opened, filled with nostalgia. She smiled up at the sky, fingers threading through the open air. "We never did make it to that concert, did we Asher?"

Delay

Reborn exit Ienari's bedroom, leaving behind his unconscious student. He didn't know why, but it felt as if everyone breathed a little easier if Reborn trained his student until he was literally unconscious. All subtle movements like usual, the way Tsuna was more likely to speak him after Ienari was down for the night or the tension that left Nana's shoulders.

It was approaching the two week mark since Reborn had arrived and he had yet to fire a dying will bullet at Ienari. It wasn't as if Ienari wasn't ready. In fact, Ienari was an excellent student, who absorbed everything Reborn threw at him. They had already covered the basics of mafia history, an introduction into weapons and Ienari already had a strong physical core due to his karate training.

But the darker or more dangerous things of the mafia, how to dispose of a body, how kill someone with only a finger, dying will flames, they all left Reborn with an unsettled feeling every time he thought about teaching them to Ienari.

So maybe Reborn could get away with not teaching Ienari some of the finer points of being a killer, but he knew dying will flames had to be introduced eventually. What Vongola boss couldn't use dying will flames?

Perhaps if he called Bianchi to help with fine arts and poison training. Maybe he could put it off a bit longer.

Making Friends

Apparently going out to get cake with Jyuudaime's brother and the baseball idiot meant they were now friends. Or at least that was what Hayato was going with. It was the only way to explain how lunch had come around the next day and he found himself eating lunch in the Disciplinary Council room with them, two girls who introduced themselves as Kyoko and Hana, Kyoko's older brother Ryohei (turf-top head!) and of course the school demonic prefect Hibari Kyoya.

(He ignored the swell of pride and happiness at the looks of gratitude the group of friends had shot him discreetly. He had done something right for once.)

Had Hayato mentioned how strange this school was? Because there was no intel that mentioned that Jyuudaime's brother managed to befriend Hibari Kyoya. Hayato felt that needed to be stressed several times over. Hibari Kyoya, would be Cloud Guardian and like a true cloud the Skylark was aloof and unrestrained and so dangerously violent. And yet it was clear as day how fond the violent prefect was of Tsuna.

Actually, it was painfully obvious that Tsuna was the glue that held this group together. The love and adoration were reflected in their eyes. Hayato's heart sang at how right it felt. Tsuna was a true Sky, drawing others into his sphere of influence. It was equally easy to see how protective they were of Tsuna too. Hayato would bet his next month rent that each and every one of them would have reacted exactly like the baseball idiot did in that first disastrous meeting Hayato and Tsuna had. Even the girls.

Hayato lost himself in the easy camaraderie and teasing that filled the room. He didn't even mind when the baseball idiot swung his arm around Hayato's shoulder like they were best friends or got into an argument with turf-top. He allowed himself to share a few facts about himself at the girls' insistence and even managed to return Tsuna's smile. It was nice to forget about the mafia for a short while.

He didn't even notice that mentally he stopped referring to Sawada Tsunayoshi as Jyuudaime's brother and just as Tsuna.

Not Chosen

"I'm surprised, Gokudera, that you haven't challenged Sawada Ienari yet," Reborn remarked. He had tracked down the bomber after school one day. When Reborn had told Gokudera to hold off challenging Ienari, he hadn't expected the silveret to wait an entire week. It didn't speak of any of the impatience the bomber was known for.

Gokudera scowled, sticking his hands into his pockets, not meeting Reborn's eyes. Finally the teen spoke up, "Reborn-san why wasn't Sawada Tsunayoshi chosen for Decimo?"

Reborn instantly replied, "It isn't our place to question it. It's Nono's decision. Why?"

Gokudera's scowl deepened. "There's something weird about this town, about the people here. There's something weird about Sawada Ienari. It makes my skin itch. And Tsuna is like a walking mystery that doesn't make any sense."

'Even Gokudera picked up on it,' Reborn realized with startling clarity. What was it about this town that everything just seemed wrong? Was it only apparent to outsiders? No Tsuna and all his friends appear to be painfully aware about it. In fact, they seem to be at the center of it all.

"I don't know what's going on," Gokudera said, letting out a frustrated sound. "But the more I see, the more I observe, the more I can honestly say I don't feel comfortable working with Ienari-san. I can't explain it. There's just something about the way he doesn't do anything for his brother, doesn't defend him, but doesn't outright support him either that pisses me off. Siblings aren't suppose to act like that; you know how bad my relationship with my sister is. I would never treat her like that for all I may not get along with her. Like how is Ienari-san suppose to protect our Famiglia if he can't even protect his own blood brother? Or rather, that he doesn't do anything to protect his own blood brother?"

Reborn was silent, empathizing with the confusion and frustrated reflected on the bomber's face. "Tsuna is not a Decimo candidate," he said. "To follow Tsuna, that means you're giving up any potential position in Vongola. You'll never amount to be more than a bodyguard for a boy who is to remain a civilian for the rest of his life in this little town. Are you willing to follow Tsuna?"

Gokudera let out another frustrated sound. "I don't know," he answered. "I really don't. All I know is that while he is weak and pathetic, being at Tsuna's side feels right."

Reborn tilted his fedora down in silent agreement.

Protect Me (even when I don't need it)

Reborn had been on his way home from his conversation with Gokudera. It left him with much food for thought. Tsuna was not a Decimo candidate. He was still clumsy, terrible in school, and frightened of everything. But could Reborn really blame him given what he had learned since his arrival? Not really. Namimori was toxic for Tsuna. It hurt to see the limitless potential Tsuna had, if people weren't constantly abusing him. Tsuna's friends certainly saw it.

Tsuna had the potential to become Decimo. There was resolve in his eyes, a fire that burned brightly. Compared to Ienari, Tsuna even had more guardians than his twin brother. Ienari may be more popular and had more friends, but not too many close ones. Tsuna on the other hand, had Reborn's preferred pick for Rain, Sun, Cloud and now Storm.

Ienari just seemed to be so… small compared to Tsuna.

There was one little problem. All of this was based off a gut feeling. There was no proof that Ienari was nothing like what was written on the original report. His attitude to his brother aside, Ienari really was kind, popular and a leader. Ienari just rubbed Reborn the wrong way.

Reborn might suspect abuse, but everyone went out of their way to keep the twins separated, he couldn't even confirm what the twins thought of each other. He couldn't just present to Nono the idea of Tsuna as a candidate without any proof to as why Ienari shouldn't be Decimo. The whole point of picking which twin in the first place was to avoid the fallout of internal war.

And there was no way to explain the feeling of wrongness, not without having Nono coming to Namimori personally and (hopefully) seeing how bizarre this town was. It was simply one had to see for themselves.

Reborn needed to get to the bottom of the mystery of the Sawada twins.

He turned down a street and right into a bunch of teenage delinquents. "What do we have here?" the large one asked.

"A little baby pretending to be an adult," the fat one mocked.

Leon transformed into his gun mode, falling into Reborn's waiting hand. A dark smirk appeared on Reborn's face. What a perfect stress relief that life had presented to him.

"Ooo, what a scary toy," the lanky one said.

Before Reborn could pull the trigger, someone interrupted. "I'll bite you to death!"

The delinquents froze, fear in their expressions. As the large one turned, he was immediately hit on the face with a wooden beam. As he screamed, the fat one was pushed into lanky one causing them to stumble. A small figure darted forward, scooping up Reborn and dashed down the street.

Reborn looked up surprised that someone had purposely interfered to save him. "Tsuna?" Reborn asked.

Warm brown eyes looked down at him. "Hi Reborn," Tsuna said. "Hold on a minute, okay?" Tsuna skidded down another alleyway, jumping onto a series of boxes and trash cans before vaulting over a chain fence. Another turn before a shortcut through an empty yard and through a hole in a brick wall, up a fire escape, across the rooftop and finally dropping into the crowded shopping area of the town.

"I don't think they're following us," Tsuna said, looking over his shoulder. Turning his attention back to Reborn, he asked, "Are you okay Reborn?"

Reborn on the other hand was trying to wrap his brain around the fact that the normally clumsy brunet just pulled off some fairly decent acrobatics and the sheer fact that Tsuna had saved him. (Even if Reborn didn't need any saving).

"Reborn?" Tsuna asked. Concern in his large brown eyes. "Do I need to take you to the hospital?"

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn scoffed. "Why did you interfere?"

"I couldn't leave you there!" Tsuna protested. "I know you're the world's greatest hitman and that you can take care of yourself, but I couldn't leave you there."

Warmth surged in Reborn's heart. When was the last time someone actually cared enough about him that they would put themselves in harm's way like that? Especially someone like Tsuna who couldn't fight and was scared of bullies. Reborn viciously squashed those feelings. Tsuna wasn't his student. But so much potential. Tsuna was such a powerful Sky that even Reborn was being drawn in.

"Plus," Tsuna continued to ramble. "There are rumors about a group called Yousei that are going around kidnapping kids and teens. They already took at least one kid. You may be able to take care of yourself, but you look exactly like what they're targeting and I worry about that okay?"

Wait. What? What group? Kidnapping? Reborn hadn't heard anything about that and he kept a strict ear to the ground for things like that. Where on earth did Tsuna hear something like that?

"Tsuna where did you hear that?" Reborn asked.

"Ah a few places," Tsuna said. "Kyoya-sempai is on the patrol for them too."

Where was the skylark getting his intel?

Reborn settled back in Tsuna's arms, promising to himself to look into that rumor. That was troubling. "C'mon Tsuna," the hitman said. "Let's get you home before Mamma worries about you."

Foreshadowing (listen to that voice inside your head)

Reborn frowned. Bianchi had said she was happy to come and help, but she was in the middle of a mission right now and wouldn't be able to make it to Japan until at least next week. Reborn tugged at his fedora and let out an uncharacteristic sigh. There was no helping it, he supposed. Today he would introduce Ienari to the dying will bullet.

But first thing first, the dark warning that rumbled in his head. Get rid of anyone who could potentially get hurt. Thankfully Nana had already left, running a quick errand and Ienari was still asleep. Reborn allowed his student this morning to sleep in since it allowed Reborn to prepare everything.

As for Tsuna… Well, speaking of which, where did the older twin go in the mornings? Reborn rarely saw him.

Checking into the brunet's room revealed to Reborn an empty bed, meaning Tsuna was already up. But the bathroom was empty, so was the kitchen. So where was he?

"Tsuna?" Reborn called out, hoping maybe Tsuna would hear him.

There was an audible thump from the yard and the patio door slid open. "You called Reborn?" Tsuna asked, sticking his head into the living room.

Once more Reborn was surprised by the grace Tsuna seemed to have, so out of character with his usual clumsiness. "Were you on the roof?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna smiled. "Ah yeah. I like starting the day with the sunrise."

The sunrise? Tsuna had been up that long already? Walking mystery indeed. Every time Reborn thought he figured Tsuna out, the boy went and did something to turn all of Reborn's expectations upside down. It was fascinating.

"Do you mind if you leave the house for about an hour?" Reborn asked. "I'm going to teach something to Ienari that could be potentially dangerous to bystanders."

He watched as the flash of orange appear in Tsuna's eyes, wondering, not for the first time, why Ienari didn't show any signs of the famed Hyper Intuition and how much different life would be if Iemitsu and Nono had picked Tsuna instead of Ienari.

Tsuna nodded, grabbing a book off the bookshelf. "No problem. I'll be at the park just down the street if you need me."

Once Tsuna was gone, Reborn turned back to the quiet house. Now to prepare a couple things before Ienari woke up.

He prayed nothing wrong will happened.

Greatest Regret

It hadn't taken more than a few traps and sabotages to prepare the stage. Reborn was aiming for a small but controlled regret. So cleaning. Ienari was a polite boy so he should feel some regret if say he caused a mess in the kitchen.

Ten minutes after Ienari woke up, a mess was exactly what was created in the kitchen. "Shit, Kaasan is gonna kill me," Ienari said.

Without any warning, Reborn fired the dying will bullet.

Of course, nothing ever went as planned.

"REBORN! KILL DAME-TSUNA WITH MY DYING WILL!"

Ienari took off leaving a stunned Reborn in the dust. Reborn felt his heart drop as fear ran rampant through his body. His black eyes widened as he choked out, "That was his regret?!"

Reborn took after his wayward student. Leon transforming into a small car to keep up with the impossible speeds Ienari was now traveling at.

He arrived at the park just in time to see Ienari leap up in the air, still clad in only boxers, dying will flames ablaze on his forehead. Tsuna looked up in horror to see his brother descending upon him.

"TSUNA!" Reborn shouted. Guns already out because between his student and Tsuna, Reborn would pick Tsuna without a moment's hesitation. His instincts told him he was already too late, even if he fired now, it wouldn't be before Ienari killed Tsuna.

A bright light filled the park.

-Looks at the ending.- –cackles-

-Throws bread crumbs everywhere- Haha so I answered a couple mysteries in this chapter, added more questions and introduced even more mysteries and characters. I hope I'm not throwing too many story threads at you guys and hopefully you're picking up all the subtle cues everywhere. Who caught the Disney movie cameo in this chapter?

Gokudera was being an ass when writing this. I didn't want to follow canon events (or popular versions of twin fics) that ended with Gokudera challenging Tsuna or Ienari and ending up with one or the other. This was my compromise (and then the jerk took over the entire chapter when he finally decided to let himself be written. I didn't even get to Lambo!). The power of normal friendships!

Hopefully you guys like Ayame too. :3 Thank you for all the wonderful reviews too. It has proven to be such a wonderful motivation factor.

Please leave a review on the way out and I'll see you guys next chapter!