Trigger: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Important Stuff: N/A

-sends buckets and buckets of love to all you wonderful readers- I love you guys okay? Just I really love you guys. You guys are amazing. Thank you to those who keep my company in the PMs encouraging me to write. The motivation you guys provide is amazing! Thank you so much.

Busy Household

Nana welcomed the newest guests with as much love and fanfare as she possibly could. Without even questioning it, Bianchi was put into the guestroom and she would be sharing with I-pin once she recovered. Lambo and Fon got Ienari's currently empty bedroom and Reborn staked his claim in Tsuna's room.

With the Yousei Incident neatly wrapped up, everyone had trudged back to the Sawada House. The first few nights, to Reborn's endless amusement, all of Tsuna's friends slept over in giant puppy piles in the living room. Gokudera wasn't let out of anyone's sight during that time, nor was Lambo. I-pin woke the second day and was ecstatic to find Fon watching over her.

It was amusing to watch.

Ayame came and went, to Reborn's endless ire; he had not been able to corner her. It seemed to be she came when Reborn left and was gone by the time he had been returned. If Ienari hadn't been his student, Reborn would have remained in the Sawada Household until he managed to corner her, but he still had a job to fulfill, no matter his feelings towards Ienari. So training for Ienari continued while Reborn kept a close eye on Tsuna and his friends. If he didn't sympathize so much, the confusion he felt Fon enduring would have been amusing. Still, at least someone would be suffering with him.

"Reborn," Fon said, gesturing to the outside balcony where they would have some privacy.

Reborn nodded and followed his fellow Arcobaleno out. It would figure it would take Fon less than a week to piece things together.

Recap

Fon had concluded Namimori was strange. He hadn't noticed it last year when he had visited with I-pin, but Namimori was strange, and the longer he stayed in the Sawada Household the more evident it became. It was small little things, starting off with Reborn's behavior.

For Fon, Reborn had always been in control, accepting nothing less than perfection in everything he did and the people around him. The world and its people conformed around him, bending to his rules and reality. The hitman had been nothing but cool, suave, and dangerous. Yet the Reborn Fon found in Namimori was… different. Reborn was still cool, suave, and dangerous, but at the same time, he was softer, more subdued, gentle and very much hands-off. This Reborn was sitting back, letting the world go as it pleased, watching and waiting for something to happen.

The defining point was the Sawada Twins. Fon had been allowed to observe Reborn training Ienari. Bullets being fired for every wrong answer to questions as Reborn drilled into Ienari the ethics and politics of a mafia boss. That was a familiar Reborn and one Fon had expected. The Spartan tutor training method was tested and true after all.

But around Tsuna, Reborn seemed to be -dare Fon think it- fond of the boy and his friends. The hitman was indulging them. His tutoring of Tsuna was with patience and understanding and without bullets and bombs, and Reborn followed Tsuna and his friends around when he wasn't training Ienari.

The most telling was Reborn let Tsuna pick him up, hug him and carry him. In fact, Reborn spent more time sitting on Tsuna's lap at home, Tsuna's arms loosely wrapped around him, than anywhere else. Fon was not jealous, but that was not fair because Tsuna was warm and reminded Fon of a home that he long ago lost. So he compromised and took Tsuna's free shoulder.

Kyoya just looked amused the entire time Fon had done this.

His nephew was another strange point. Fon and Kyoya have never seen eye to eye ever since Kyoya was old enough to understand (and comprehend) what exactly Fon did as a job and his connection to the Chinese Triads. Every time Fon took the time to visit, Kyoya always met him with unwavering hatred and an unbendable pride. Kyoya hadn't called him Uncle in years.

And yet, he introduced Fon as his uncle to Tsuna and then bowed to Tsuna like a subordinate to a boss. This was his untamable, unmovable, free floating cloud, aloof, and violent nephew. Shock did not even cover what Fon felt toward that information. When had this happened? How had Fon missed it?

"Namimori is a strange place," Fon said, as an opening salvo.

Reborn snorted. "Strange does not even cover it," he said tiredly.

That was another thing different about Reborn. The hitman had an excellent poker face, but the exhausted resignation and simmering frustration reflected in his black eyes, that was new.

"Do you know why?" Fon asked, fishing. Reborn always kept his cards close to this chest. Fon would learn the information he sought, depending on Reborn's mood.

"You're going to have to be more specific," Reborn said, mirth leaking into his tone.

How to word it? Start with the obvious. "People treat Tsuna poorly," Fon said. "I accompanied him to the park with Lambo and I-pin and in those few short blocks, three people tried to trip him, another purposely bumped into him and didn't apologize and one tried to mug him."

Reborn nodded. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Fon blinked, surprised by the admission. He would have figured that would have been the first thing Reborn would have found out.

"People treat Tsuna as a walking scapegoat. They haven't gone back to school yet, but you should see the fragrant amount of bullying Tsuna suffers in school. The teachers do nothing and Tsuna's only defense is his friends. No one, of course, can tell me why, just that it has always been like this as far back as anyone can remember. The ones who could probably tell me, remain tight lipped on the matter. Anything else you've noticed?" Reborn asked.

Fon frowned at that information. What would cause people to treat Tsuna like that? He was a nice boy, if only a little clumsy, but that was no excuse for people to bully and terrorize the small brunet.

Hesitating, Fon was unsure how to breach the next topic, not knowing it if would offend Reborn. "Ienari… it is not that he's a bad person, but there's something off about him. He is genuinely a nice boy, is polite, well mannered and very smart. He absorbs all of your lessons like the sponge. In fact, I would have not been surprised if he became Decimo fairly early. You could not ask for a better student." He trailed off, trying to explain the oddity he felt around Ienari.

"But… compared to Tsuna last week, it feels… perplexing," Fon said; eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Tsuna's flames are welcoming, like coming home. Ienari on the other hand shows no flame potential and what little I do catch, it isn't nearly as… warm. Sharp even. And Ienari is constantly leaking flames."

Reborn nodded. "Ienari's flames were sealed by Nono when he was a child. That's part of the reason why Ienari was chosen as successor because it was known that Ienari had Sky Flames where as Tsuna had shown no potential. They trickle out very slowly but are mostly restrained thanks to the seal. Have you noticed? Nana goes to see Ienari every day at the hospital, but Tsuna never goes."

Fon nodded. He found it odd that Tsuna didn't go to visit his brother in the hospital. It didn't match the friendly personality of Tsuna.

"Apparently, the first rule of Namimori is to keep the Sawada Twins apart. If you can avoid having them together in the same room, do so, otherwise, be prepared to be a buffer in between them. All of Tsuna's friends try and keep Tsuna as far away from Ienari as possible. Before Ienari went into the hospital, I use to train him until he was unconscious and both Nana and Tsuna slept better through the night once I started that," Reborn explained.

Fon openly gaped. "Why?"

"Ienari apparently wants Tsuna dead for some reason," Reborn said casually as Fon choked. "Again, no one can tell me why, Tsuna is unable to speak about it and my instincts warn against asking Ienari, though I doubt I'll be able to get a straight answer from him. Once Ienari is home, keep them apart, Fon. The fallout was not pretty."

Closing his eyes, Fon felt his head pulse at the growing headache. "Kyoya knows, doesn't he? That's why he's so protective of Tsuna."

"Most likely. Tsuna's friends all remain tight lipped," said Reborn. "Though, I suspect it has to do more with the fact that I'm here as Ienari's tutor and then out of pure spite not to tell me."

That would make sense. If the goal was to keep the twins apart, then all of Tsuna's friends would see Reborn, being Ienari's tutor, as an enemy. If Reborn was to side with Ienari, then telling Reborn the weakness, the reason why, would be counterproductive to them protecting Tsuna.

"But you like Tsuna more," Fon said.

Reborn said nothing, tilting his hat down to hide his eyes.

"That Ayame girl is strange too," Fon said, allowing the subject to change.

"There's no information on her," Reborn said. "The informants turned up nothing aside from her address and age. They can't even confirm her last name, much less bank records, birth certificate, family history, absolutely nothing."

Fon blinked, stunned. "How is that possible?"

Reborn shrugged. "The same way how the informants didn't have any information on Yousei. I didn't even know until the morning we attacked that Yousei was an organ plant group. Tsuna said Ayame was the one who told them about Yousei, so she is also probably the one who informed them that Yousei was an organ plan. If she can find information that no one else can, it would make sense that she could obscure her records to make sure no one can trace her. Cornering her has been an impossible mission in itself and she keeps coming and going without a care in the world."

"That makes her better than Viper," Fon said quietly.

"At least Viper's methods make sense," Reborn retorted. "Tsuna was not surprised to learn about the mafia. Given his reaction to your introduction as the Storm Arcobaleno, it suggests that he knows about us too. The extent of their knowledge has not been discussed, but they clearly know more than they should and I'm willing to bet it is because of Ayame. Nana knows about the mafia."

Fon glanced back inside at the cheerful but oblivious housewife. "She does?" Fon asked. While extremely friendly and welcoming, Fon had found it odd that the woman hadn't even questioned where they had all come from, where their parents were, much less let them stay without any fuss.

"Nana said she knows enough, enough that she was always going to lose one son to Vongola, enough to know that her husband is lying to her. She has not said the depth of her knowledge nor how she came to learn…" Reborn trailed off.

"You suspect the Ayame is responsible for that too?" Fon asked.

"It fits with everything else," Reborn said.

"I've noticed you have been trying to talk to her all week long," Fon said. "She does not even stay long in my presence either." Ayame would be there one minute, gone the next and Fon had no idea where she was going or leaving. She didn't announce it like most people, didn't even seem to be using the front door like most people and it would take an hour or so for Fon to realize, she had left and would not be coming back, but other times she would disappear and reappear ten minutes later. It was strange and despite the fact that she was very close to Tsuna and his friends, she had yet to stay for a meal.

"Yes. It's annoying," Reborn said.

Fon looked back inside the house. Nana had moved on to washing the dishes; the kids were beginning to slowly leave, Kyoya, though, remained in the corner, waiting and watching. "There is one more thing that bothers me," Fon said. "But it is a small thing. However, for some reason, it stands out."

"Oh? What is that?" Reborn asked.

"Who does the white plate with blue moons belong to?" Fon asked. He had noticed that Nana frequently made food and placed it on a white plate with blue moons. But no one ever claimed it within Fon's sight. In fact, he would look away only to look back to see that the food had disappeared.

To his surprise, Reborn let out a bark of laughter. "I'm surprised you noticed that because you're right, it's a small minor detail."

"It's just everything seemed to be themed or colored for a certain person," Fon said. "In fact, there's a whole cupboard full of plates just for a specific person. You have a green plate, a green coffee cup, a green bowl, all the same shade as Leon, I noticed. Those of us who don't have a specific set, it seems to be because we're just newcomers to the household. Kyoya has a set! But for nearly every meal we've had here, Nana-san never fails to make food for the white plate with blue moons. However, I've never noticed anyone actually using that plate."

"I once sat in front that plate and watched it for over four hours. The food disappeared but no one came into the kitchen," Reborn said dryly. "I'm starting to suspect ghosts."

Fon blinked. "Ghost?" As in the supernatural? Magical flames aside, Fon didn't believe in the supernatural and he was certained Reborn didn't either. Why would ghosts even be something that Reborn would consider?

"Nana said after I came to live here, that there are nine people living in the household. Tsuna, Ienari, herself and me. That left five people unaccounted for," Reborn explained.

Fon's eyebrow raised, perplexed by Reborn's words. "How is that possible? We've been here a week and we're already taking up majority of the free space."

Reborn shrugged. "Ienari doesn't know who they are, Tsuna and Nana apparently do. The identity of the remaining five was explained as one doesn't eat, three can take care of themselves and the last doesn't always live with them."

"That doesn't explain the white plate with blue moons at all."

"Exactly. I know who is the one that doesn't eat, but there's no point telling you because you won't believe me until you meet them yourself," Reborn said.

Fon merely stared.

Reborn just gave a sardonic smile. "Welcome to Namimori and the Sawada Household."

Engrave Those Feelings

It was by chance that Hana woke up before everyone else in her household. It was a good thing too, because she found Ayame curled up under their kitchen table again. At least this time, she had the mindset to take with her a pillow and blanket. Hana let out a sigh, not wanting to wake up her up because clearly Ayame needed the sleep.

But in about twenty minutes or so, her parents would be up and they always freaked out a little when they found Ayame under their kitchen table. Partly because they didn't know how she was getting into their house, and mostly, why on earth was she under the table?

"Ayame," Hana said, shaking her awake.

Tired golden eyes snapped open and Hana felt a stab of guilt. Dark circles under Ayame's eyes, dark enough to look like bruises were just the tip of the exhaustion the young woman must be feeling. Ayame definitely needed more sleep, but given how noisy her family was in the morning, it wasn't like Ayame was going to find rest here.

"Neesan," Hana said quietly. "Time to get up. It's going to get noisy in the kitchen soon."

Ayame nodded, rolling out from under the table. She shuffled into the living room to dump her pillow and blanket in the closet where Hana kept them before returning to the kitchen table and slumped across the table.

Hana who had started a pot of tea, pour into a gray cup with a stylish K logo and slid it over to Ayame. She knew full well that food would not be welcomed for at least another hour while Ayame tried to muster up the energy to even care. "You look like shit," Hana said, blunt as usual. "Tsuna is going to be mad if you're overworking yourself again."

Curling her hands around the warm cup, Ayame chuckled. "I am never not overworking myself."

"Seriously, slow down. Or at least let us help," Hana demanded.

"Hm."

Hana suppressed the urge to sigh. Ayame was nothing but stubborn and most likely she would spin some tale about how she was older and thus should be the one to handle it. Hana scoffed at the thought. That meant nothing if she was working herself to the point of exhaustion.

"You need more sleep," Hana said.

"That's why I'm here."

"Surely there are more comfortable places than under my kitchen table?" Hana asked. She never really questioned why Ayame slept under their kitchen table. Too tired to take out the futon aside, the couch was a perfectly viable option. She knew Ayame often slept on Kyoko's couch, so why on earth did Ayame always end up under the kitchen table?

Ayame merely blinked at her owlishly. "But it is comfortable?" she said in a bemused tone.

"It's the floor," Hana countered.

Ayame continued to look at her confused.

Hana merely sighed. It didn't pop up as often anymore, but there were times when Hana forgot that Ayame seemed to exist outside of normal social niceties. It wasn't like the older girl didn't know them, she acknowledged that they existed and had the basics down, but then Ayame would do things like sleeping under the kitchen table and not realize it was not normal at all. Not to mention, the whole breaking into people's houses to sleep in the first place, but Hana and her parents had long given up trying teach Ayame otherwise in that aspect. Frankly, it was like Ayame followed a completely different set of rules than the rest of society. 'Let's not even start on her frighteningly lack of understanding toward human relationships; platonic, romantic, friendship or familial it doesn't matter, Ayame always struggles to understand the subtle cues,' Hana thought, ironically.

Back when they first met, Hana had invited Ayame over for dinner one day with her family. It wasn't even funny how hopelessly lost she looked at the dinner table with her parents, Kyoko, Ryohei and herself. Ayame had spent the night looking distinctly uncomfortable, despite the good cheer that filled the atmosphere or friendly conversation her parents tried to draw her into. These days, Ayame relaxed more when sitting down to eat with other people, Nana's cooking, Kyoko and Hana often dragging her out for cake, Tsuna's gentle insistence and even Takeshi dragging all of them back to Takesushi had finally desensitized Ayame to group eating.

What did it say about Ayame's own family that sitting down for dinner with people seemed like a strange and foreign thing? Ayame, however, never said anything and to this day, Hana still didn't know anything about Ayame's past before she met Tsuna. Sometimes Hana wondered if Tsuna even knew.

Alright, a different angle then.

"Why do you find sleeping under the kitchen table more comfortable than say the couch?" Hana asked.

"Oh," Ayame said quietly. "You can't… that probably explains it then." Her eyebrows furrowed together in thought. "Do you have a favorite stuffed animal, Hana?" she asked.

Hana's eyebrow rose, but she answered, too use to Ayame's frequent subject jumps. "Yes."

"Why is it your favorite?" Ayame asked, searching for her bag. She grabbed it off the counter and went digging through it.

"I've had it forever," Hana said.

"But what makes it different than any other stuffed animal you had for just as long?" Ayame asked. "I'm sure you didn't just have one stuffed animal growing up."

Hana paused. That was true; she use to have an entire closet full of stuffed animals growing up. Why did she always wander back to the one pink rabbit, matted and seams tearing? "Nostalgia?" she finally asked.

"Close enough," Ayame said. "I mean, that's part of the reason and probably the best physical answer you receive. Brain chemistry, great thing." She laid two 500 yen coins on the table. "Good thing I hadn't gotten rid of these yet. What's the difference between these coins?"

Hana stared at them. "Is that a trick question?" she asked.

"No."

"They're the same thing. I mean, if you want to get technical, they were made in different years, one is starting to rust a little," Hana pointed out.

"Pick them up," Ayame said, gesturing to them with a swept of her hand.

Hana did so. The one on the right felt warm, but the left... She shrieked, dropping the left one and shaking her hand to get rid of the slimy feeling. "What was that?" Hana demanded.

"The one on the right is from a kind old lady who repaid me for helping her clean her yard. The one on the left was taken from a greedy thief who killed their victim," Ayame said. "People can engrave feelings into objects. Both negative and positive feelings. It usually takes a long time or some very intense feelings. Unsurprisingly, it's easier to engrave negative feelings, but any well loved object usually picks up positive ones."

Ayame glanced down at the simple cherry wood table and gave it a swift knock. "This table has been in your family for a while, right?"

Hana nodded. It was originally her grandmother's and when her mother had gotten married, her grandmother gave it to her.

A wistful smile played on Ayame's face; the tired look in her golden eyes grew distant. "There are some nice feelings engraved onto this table." She rested her cheek in her hand, closing her eyes. "They're warm feelings, the feeling of family I suppose. That love, the good and bad times, the celebrations and happiness. I suppose that's what family would feel like at least."

Hana stared at the table, trying to feel what Ayame was describing. To her, it was just a table, but the memories were there. It was at this table she celebrated all her birthdays at, at this table her family sat down to eat at every night, at this table where she got good news ("We won a trip to Hawaii!") and bad news ("Honey, daddy had a small accident and he is in the hospital"). There. A small pulse of warmth.

Running her hand across the smooth surface, Hana looked up at Ayame. "Why can I feel that?" she asked.

"Side effect of hanging out with Giotto and his friends," Ayame said. "They spread spirit particles and that makes everyone who hangs out with them, yourself included, a little more sensitive." She chuckled lightly. "In my case, it partly had to do with growing up near a shrine."

"So let me get this straight. You feel a sense of… family from my kitchen table. This is why you're always sleeping under the kitchen table?" Hana asked.

Ayame nodded, sipping the cooled tea.

Hana frowned, trying to match the puzzle pieces. Like with Tsuna, there were just as many clues hidden in what wasn't said when it came to Ayame. Feelings could be engraved into objects. If the sense of family was the reason why Ayame kept coming back to Hana's kitchen table, was it the same for everyone else? While it might be plausible for Kyoko and Ryohei's couch, the same could not be said for Takeshi's closet or Tsuna's bed. Or wherever Ayame slept in Kyoya's house.

"But you don't feel the same thing at everyone's houses, that's why it always changes where you end up sleeping," Hana said.

The curl of a smile on Ayame's lips alerted Hana that she was spot on with her assumption.

"So what feelings do you get at Kyoko's?" Hana asked.

"Happiness on their couch, where the two of them sit down to watch movies and sport matches, having good fun and laughter," Ayame said mildly. "Protection in Takeshi's closet, where he keeps his sword. Peace at Kyoya's, that should be self-explanatory. Freedom under that Sakura tree where birds often make their nest. Dreams in shelves of Kinga Bookstores. Though, I rarely seek those last two out."

"And at Tsuna's?" Hana asked.

Something dark and broken flashed in Ayame's eyes. Her smile twisted into something frail. "I think you already know that," she said lightly.

Yeah. Hana did.

Read to Me

The door to his hospital room slid open. Ienari looked up and sighed. That kid was back again. The other day the nurse had taken Ienari out with the other kids for some playtime. Ienari had been bored out his mind (so much that he was actually looking forward to Reborn's arrival.)

Somehow he ended reading stories to the younger kids. This one kid, Tanaka Tenzo got attached to Ienari and since then kept coming back for Ienari to read to him.

"Sawada-san read me a story?" Tenzo asked. The three year old held up Momotaro.

"Tanaka-kun don't bother Sawada-kun," the nurse said, entering the room. She reached out to grab Tenzo.

"It's fine," Ienari said. He lifted Tenzo up to his bed. "I don't mind. I have nothing better to do."

"Yay! Thank you!" Tenzo said.

Ienari opened the book as Tenzo settled into the nook of Ienari's arms. "A long, long time ago an old man and his wife..."

Arsène Lupin

Reborn blinked as he entered the living room. Curled up on the couch was Tsuna, reading a book.

Jumping on the couch, Reborn walk over and took a seat on Tsuna's shoulder. "What are you reading Tsuna?" Reborn asked, peering at the book.

"Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar," Tsuna said absentmindedly. He flipped the page.

Reborn stared. "... Tsuna," Reborn said slowly. "This is the original French version of Arsène Lupin."

Tsuna blinked, turning his head to look at Reborn. "Yes…" he said hesitantly.

… There was nothing in Tsuna's files that even implied Tsuna knew French, much less shown an interest in learning the language! Reborn knew they were horribly done, but this was getting ridiculous!

"When did you learn to read French?" Reborn asked.

"When you spend three months in France, surrounded by people who don't speak a lick of Japanese and desperately in need of a distraction, it does wonders for your ability to learn a new language," Tsuna said, not meeting Reborn's eyes.

"That's why, not when," Reborn pressed lightly. "You were in France for three months?" Did Iemitsu even actually send actual informants to double check what he knew on Tsuna when Reborn requested detailed profiles on his sons? Ienari's profile was accurate for the most part, but Tsuna's was so wrong it wasn't even funny. Or was this Ayame's possible ability to obscure information?

Tsuna bit his lip. "A few weeks after my tenth birthday," he said finally. His amber eyes were dark. "I had to leave Namimori for a while. At first it was just it was me and Neesan. Kyoya-sempai showed up eventually and I… ah dragged Takeshi with me at one point. Same for oniisan, Kyoko and Hana too. We came back for Christmas and New Years before returning permanently at the end of January."

Reborn nodded, filing away the information. There was something else behind this story, but he had recognized that look in Tsuna's eyes. This was something not to push on and perhaps it had to do with whatever happened between Ienari and Tsuna. "Merci de me l'avoir dit."

"Pas de quoi," Tsuna replied.

Teach Me

"Teach me Dying Will Flames," Ienari said the moment Reborn entered the room.

Lips pressed together, Reborn wondered where exactly Ienari had heard about Dying Will Flames. Was Shamal's hypnotism failing? No, impossible. "How do you know about Dying Will Flames?" Reborn said darkly. Leon had transformed in his gun form and Reborn flared his bloodlust.

To his student's credit, Ienari flinched, but held his ground. "Koujin Fuun," Ienari said.

Reborn let his bloodlust fade away. Of course the Koujin boy would be the one to mention it to Ienari. The young assassin was an arrogant one; he was quite lucky that Ienari was a part of Vongola and that Reborn knew Koujin was a possible Cloud Guardian candidate for Ienari. (Hibari would not be moved from Tsuna's side and Reborn would not force him.) Nevertheless, Reborn felt his irritation spike. "You will learn Dying Will Flames when I feel you are ready," Reborn said darkly.

"When will that be?" Ienari asked, temper flaring.

Honestly, his student's temper issues. Somehow Reborn's patience always felt much shorter around Ienari. He wasn't too concerned about teaching Dying Will Flames to Ienari, knowing that Tsuna had them as well and was clearly more experience with them. No, Reborn was more concern in making sure Tsuna defended himself when Ienari undoubtedly went after him. Not to mention Reborn refused to use Dying Will Bullets on Ienari again, so the long method had to be implemented. The seal Nono had used on Ienari would make the process even longer. "Dying Will Flames take years to awaken and master," Reborn said sharply.

"Isn't there a shortcut method?" Ienari asked.

"There is," Reborn said. There would be no point in hiding that knowledge from Ienari. If Ienari did inherit Vongola, Ienari would come to learn about Dying Will Bullets sooner or later. And it was still a strong possibility that Ienari would become Decimo because Fon was right; Ienari was a good student, and a good potential Decimo. His flaws aside, there was no such thing as a perfect person after all, Ienari had all the qualifications to be Decimo. Even some of his flaws were good traits for a mafia boss to have, his desire for strength and his ability to manipulate people (as unknowing as it appeared to be). He was still a strong Sky, one that drew people into his sphere of influence as easily as sand slipping through an hourglass.

Reborn just happened to know that Tsuna was a more powerful Sky. But Tsuna, no matter how powerful his Sky Flames were, he was just too gentle, too kind. The mafia would eat him alive and that was the last thing Reborn wanted to see. Plus, Tsuna was still hiding in the shadow of his twin, not allowing the world to see how much brighter he was. It was frustrating, seeing how far Tsuna could go, the person he would be, but yet the world seemed to be conspiring to keep him sullied in dirt and grime. The rescue of Gokudera and the takedown of Yousei was just a small slice of what Reborn knew Tsuna could be able to do in the future.

The only issue with Ienari was his apparent hatred toward Tsuna and this general sense of wrongness that only a few people seemed to feel. Convincing Nono and Iemitsu that Ienari was not cut out to be Decimo would be close to impossible. Still, perhaps it was time to open the discussion of Tsuna being a candidate to Nono. Tsuna's victory over Yousei would be more than enough proof that he at least deserved a chance.

What a contradiction. Reborn didn't want Ienari to be Decimo because he didn't want his student to inherit any more power that could potentially hurt his Sky. But he didn't want Tsuna to be Decimo because that would taint Tsuna's brightness with blood and death.

Reborn wished he knew what happened between the twins just so it would be easier to make a decision which one would be better suited to inherit the bloodiest and most powerful mafia famiglia.

"Can I learn the shortcut method?" Ienari asked.

"No," Reborn said. "Test results showed you will have a negative reaction to it. Unless you want to prolong your stay in the hospital?"

Paling, Ienari shook his head. "No," he groaned. "I'm already bored out of my mind."

A gleam entered Reborn's eyes. "Well, that can be remedied. You're going to learn everything about Dying Will Flames Basics by the end of today."

No harm in teaching Ienari Dying Will Flames basics. The seven types of Flames of the Sky and the fact that Ienari would have to start gathering guardians.

The problem with Ienari being such a good student was Reborn was running out of "safe" things to teach him.

Report II

Nono,

Have begun teaching basics of Dying Will Flames to Ienari.

I would like to open the discussion regarding Tsunayoshi. He recently took down an organ plant group to rescue one of his kidnapped friends. It was executed flawlessly, showing Tsunayoshi has leadership skills, a tactical mind, and intel gathering. Please see attached report. He has a good heart and the information given to me by Iemitsu were completely off the mark. I believe he has potential and it would be a waste to not let him try.

I know you want to return Vongola to Primo's ideals. Tsunayoshi will be your best choice.

Ienari will most likely continue Vongola's history of bloodshed.

Reborn

Report II Revised

Nono,

Have begun teaching basics of Dying Will Flames to Ienari.

Reborn

Why Not This Way?

"Good morning Tsuna-sama!"

Tsuna blinked, surprised to see Gokudera waiting outside for him. Today was the first day Tsuna was returning back to school. (Kyoya was getting antsy that they were skipping… again.) Takeshi usually came over to walk with Tsuna to school, but this was the first time Tsuna had found Gokudera waiting for him outside of his door.

"Gokudera-san?" Tsuna asked, confused. "Why are you here?"

"You need escort protection on the way to school, Tsuna-sama," Gokudera said with a bow.

Tsuna tugged Gokudera back upright, pulling him down the street. "Gokudera-san, there's no need to address me as "sama". Just Tsuna or even "san" like you use to, please. I don't need protection really." Heaven forbid if Gokudera joined the rest of his friends in their mad 'Protect Tsuna at All Cost' Club.

"But," Gokudera said, pouting in a way that made Tsuna feel like he had just kicked a puppy. "That would be disrespectful!"

Tsuna shook his head. "I am not a candidate for Decimo, Gokudera-san. I'm just… Tsuna." He smiled weakly, hesitating. "I don't want a bodyguard, I want a friend. Please?"

Gokudera let out a pained whimpered, before conceding. "Alright… Tsuna-san…" he said, wincing as if in pain.

"Haha, does that mean Gokudera-san will be joining the Protect Tsuna at All Cost Club?"

Tsuna felt like banging his head against the wall. Takeshi's timing! "No!" Tsuna protested to his friend who appeared from around the corner.

To his horror, Gokudera actually looked like he was contemplating Takeshi's words. "Turf-top mentioned that club too. What is it exactly?"

Takeshi laughed brightly. "Tsuna gets into trouble like crazy. We can't take our eyes off of him for long. For the record, you're on our watchlist too."

Gokudera squawked. "Why am I on the watchlist?"

Laughing once more, Takeshi said, "Well, given that last stunt, we were pretty concerned about you too."

"What? Why?" Gokudera asked.

Tsuna smiled. "Because you're our friend, Gokudera-san."

"Yup!" Takeshi agreed.

Tsuna stopped mid-stepped as he noticed Gokudera had stopped walking. Turning back, he found the silveret looking stunned at their words.

"Really?" Gokudera asked.

For a brief moment, Tsuna saw his younger self overlapped on Gokudera. In many ways, Gokudera and him were very similar. He had trouble believing that he had friends too when Ayame and Kyoya first wandered into his life.

Reaching for Gokudera's hand, Tsuna gave it a warm squeeze. "Really, Gokudera-san."

Flushing red, Gokudera looked away and mumbled something.

"What?" Tsuna asked, unable to hear what Gokudera had said.

"I said, you can call me Hayato. Just Hayato, no need the honorific," Gokudera, Hayato, said.

Tsuna beamed and Takeshi swung his arm around Hayato's shoulder. "I'll call you Hayato too!"

"Baseball idiot! I didn't give you permission to call me by my first name. Only Tsuna-sama!" Hayato raged.

"Maa, maa. Don't be like that, Haya-kun," Takeshi teased.

Tsuna laughed. These two were never going to stop, were they? The laughter trailed off as Tsuna realized once again, he had not been paying attention and as such, they had ended up in front of the concrete bridge. Lips pressed together in a frown, Tsuna glanced over to Takeshi, who had grown solemn. The smile was gone and there was a haunted look in his eyes.

Grabbing Takeshi's hand, Tsuna gave it a squeeze. "Are you okay Takeshi?"

Snapping out of his trance, Takeshi stared at Tsuna, a fake smile plastered to his face. "I should be asking you that no?" Nevertheless the baseball player squeeze Tsuna's hand back in return.

Poor Hayato looked rather confused at the both of them. "Why aren't we moving?" he asked. He couldn't walk ahead with Tsuna's hand still clasped to his.

Tsuna tugged both of his friends, down and away from the concrete bridge. "We never take that bridge, Hayato. Even if it means leaving a little bit earlier to take a different route."

"Why not?" Hayato asked. "It's the shortest route to school."

Tsuna bit his lip, wincing. Takeshi paled next to him, casting his eyes to the ground. "Ask… Kyoko or Hana, Hayato. They'll… give you a brief summary of why. Tell them I said it was okay."

"O... okay," Hayato said, trailing off and looking lost.

Tsuna tugged along both of his friends; Hayato in his right hand, Takeshi in his left. One day, Tsuna would conquer that bridge, but today… today Tsuna was content to run away from it.

Growing Family

Ienari looked up as the door to his hospital room slid open once more. His body ached from the torture Reborn put him through as usual. There were only so many times he could get hit on the head with a mallet or sprayed with cold or shocked. It would be amazing if Ienari would be able to leave the hospital within the original estimated time frame.

Oddly, no nurse or doctor ever came in to check despite all the noise Reborn's training must make.

Ienari smiled brightly at the sight of his mother walking into the room.

"Good evening Nari-kun," Nana greeted. "I brought dinner!"

His mother was a goddess and no one would ever be able to convince Ienari otherwise. That she took the time every day to bring him her home cooked food made Ienari love his mother even more.

"Thanks, Kaasan," Ienari said with a smile.

Nana smiled back, taking a seat at Ienari's bedside. "Ah," Nana said with a clap of her hands. "Before I forget to tell you, we have house guests! It looks like they'll be staying with us for a long time. A few of them are using your bedroom right now. But don't worry, once you're out of the hospital, we'll rearrange everything again."

Ienari blinked. House guests? Permanent house guests?

"They're some of Reborn-kun's friends!" Nana chirped. "They don't have anywhere else to go and I couldn't turn them out into the street." She paused, tilting her head to the side. "We do have some money saved up from your tousan. Perhaps it's time to renovate the house. We could extend into the yard and make a couple extra bedrooms."

Both dread and happiness filled Ienari. Dread because anyone who was friends with Reborn was bound to make his life more painful. Ienari shuddered at the thought of more spartan training. That poison cooking girl was insane! She was going to kill him one day! Happiness because he knew his mother always enjoyed a full house with people to take of.

After all, she must be lonely with Ienari in the hospital and just… Dame-Tsuna at home. Ienari's thoughts grew dark as his irritation flared. His stupid brother.

"Nari-kun?" Nana asked, a touch of worry in her voice.

Ienari forced his temper down and smiled at his mother. "It's nothing Kaasan."

He would be the one to protect her after all.

Seeker

"Kyoya."

"If you're looking for the omnivore, she is at this address."

"Thank you."

Moonstorm

Ayame unfolded the newspaper. She hadn't gotten a chance to read it yet.

Kinga Corporation's New Charity Project!

Kinga Orphanage and School is scheduled to open one month from today. A rush project that is trying to complete under an impossible timeline, but if anyone can do it, it would be Kinga Corporation that pulls it off. When asked why they had suddenly decided to explore this field, the PR department said, "Far too many children are abandoned in this day and age and suffer from lack of support. If we cannot find a family for them, we seek to support them until they are able to support themselves."

"That's very kind of them to do that."

Ayame lowered her newspaper to see the Storm Arcobaleno had joined her on her table. Her eyes narrowed. "How did you find me?" she asked. She had been avoiding both Arcobaleno. The two babies were far too smart.

Fon merely smiled. "Kyoya."

Damnit Kyoya!

Ayame folded her newspaper back up and tossed it to the side. Her peaceful evening was going to come to a screeching halt, she just knew it. She crossed her arms across her chest and tilted her chair back. "Alright, what do you want?" she demanded. Ayame was in no mood to play nice. She was tired, damnit. Fon was just as dangerous as Reborn and she didn't want to play their games.

"I just wanted to thank you," Fon said. "Reborn mentioned you were the reason why Kyoya and his friends knew about Yousei. If you hadn't told him about Yousei, we probably would have not found I-pin in time."

"... You welcome," Ayame said.

Silence fell as Ayame stared at Fon and Fon merely met her gaze and smiled back. Ayame was not fooled by that smile. Not one bit.

"You're not normal are you?" Fon said after a while.

"Define normal," Ayame said.

"Well, you're not a civilian," Fon clarified.

He was fishing, trying to see if she had any connection to the mafia. "If by civilian you mean someone without connection to the mafia, then you are wrong. I am a civilian. I'm not connected to the mafia in any form," Ayame said.

"But you are an information broker, no?"

Ayame scoffed. "That would imply that my information is for sale. No. It's not. My information is for Tsuna and his friends, no one else."

"Then why gather the information?" Fon asked, curious.

"Someone once told me, 'Expect the unexpected. Prepare for anything and everything and assume the worst is going to happen, then you will never be caught off guard.' So I do that to protect Tsuna," Ayame said. "It's hard to protect someone when you don't have all the possible players on the table. You need to know what threats you need to take out."

"Like Vongola," Fon said.

"Vongola isn't a threat," Ayame said. She froze, realizing what exactly she had just let slip. Staring down at Fon who was looking rather smug looking, the Storm Arcobaleno clearly heard the weight behind those words.

'Shit.' "You're a dangerous one," Ayame said, eyes narrowed. That was a mistake to let that slip. While it was true, ultimately Vongola was not a threat, not to Ayame and certainly not to Tsuna. That didn't mean she wanted Vongola's attention. Especially because Plan A was not an option in Tsuna's book. Nor was Plan B. Plan C would only work if they continued to fly under Vongola's radar, and she just told the Storm Arcobaleno that Vongola wasn't a threat. Tsuna was going to be so upset if Plan C failed. Plan C was a peaceful solution! Stupid Ayame!

"It's the strongest mafia famiglia in the world," Fon said lightly. "Over ten thousand members strong and that is just the main famiglia. That doesn't count their allies or the separate branches within Vongola. How can they not be a threat?"

"I'm not answering that," Ayame said. She should have stood up and left the minute Fon had shown up.

"I'm not a threat, Ayame-san," Fon said.

"That doesn't mean I trust you," Ayame shot back.

"But I'm not allied with Vongola," Fon pointed out.

"No, you're just under the Chinese Triad's slave contract," Ayame hissed. Her golden eyes widened in shock. Fuck, fuck, fuck. 'Please tell me I didn't just let that slip out too,' she thought miserably, burying her face in her hands. "I didn't say that," she said firmly.

Fon stared at her, paled. "How do you know about that?" he asked, voice so low she barely heard him.

"I didn't say that," Ayame repeated. This was why she was avoiding both Fon and Reborn. She was too exhausted to keep track of her tongue. Not to mention both assassin and hitman kept setting off her danger alarms in her head and it was all Ayame could do to keep from attacking them before they could hurt her. It didn't matter that she knew logically, fundamentally that Reborn would never hurt Tsuna, that Fon loved his nephew, that they weren't here to hurt anyone, they were dangerous and Tsuna and his friends were hers to protect.

She never meant to let that tidbit of information out, but she knew the reason why it did. It was a weakness, a sore spot to exploit in Fon.

The bloodlust in the air spiked. "How. Do. You. Know?" Fon bit out. The serene calm was gone; this was the raging storm.

"It doesn't matter," Ayame hissed. "He knows."

Fon paled even more, but his eyes grew sharper. "You told him?!"

The Triad Slave Contract was how the Triads kept their members in line. Every generation, one member of their family became a warrior, the other hostage. This guaranteed that would be no betrayal. Always in pairs. Fon and his sister were warrior and hostage, but his sister's, Kyoya's mother, her death at the hand of illness put Kyoya as the next hostage. Kyoya had no knowledge of that or at least that was what Fon assumed.

Ayame knew that Fon had found a way, had used the power as the Storm Arcobaleno to let his sister and Kyoya roam free in Namimori instead of being taken to the Chinese Triads' Hostage Camps. The hostages always lived freely and comfortably, but any attempts to rescue one would randomly kill twenty others, all in a chain reaction, thus no one dared. A truly gilded cage. Ayame also knew that I-pin would be the warrior to Kyoya's hostage should anything happen to Fon (or the reverse would happen because no one could deny that Kyoya was strong).

"He suspected, Kyoya had always suspected," Ayame answered tiredly. "I merely confirmed it for him."

The bloodlust drained away, leaving a tense but quiet atmosphere. "When?" Fon asked, looking dejected.

"Two years ago. But I don't think he really believed it until a year ago," Ayame answered truthfully. She let out a sigh. What a mess. Ayame rubbed her temple, feeling her head pound. Another wave of bone weary exhaustion settled in her and judging from the stress Fon was putting her under, she was probably going to end up in Takeshi's closet tonight just for peace of mind.

"Look, I'm sorry," Ayame said as sincerely as possible. "I didn't mean to let that slip. My tongue tends to run away from me when I'm tired. Kyoya would have confronted you on that on his own terms when he was ready."

A small smile appeared on Fon's face. "I am sorry for cornering you like this."

"Better you than Reborn," Ayame said truthfully. If the hitman had succeeded in cornering Ayame, blood probably would have been drawn. She hadn't quite worked out all of her issues with Reborn yet. Fon was safer on so many more levels; no direct connection to Vongola, no relationship with Ienari, and an obvious attachment to Kyoya.

"I do mean it though," Fon said. "I'm not a threat, not to you, not to Tsuna and definitely not to Kyoya."

"I know," Ayame said, squeezing her eyes shut. She was so exhausted. "I know. I know the same way I know that Reborn really isn't a threat to Tsuna either. I can trust you both not to hurt them. It is everything else I don't trust you both with."

"I can help," Fon offered.

Ayame gave a sardonic smile. "It's not something you can help with, but I do appreciate the offer. If you want to help, stay. Help Reborn unravel this town's mysteries if you like. Tsuna could use someone who is calm. Gokudera-kun could use a teacher for his untapped Storm Flames. Ienari could use some meditation techniques to curb that temper of his. Support Kyoya, despite the fact that he does not want nor particularly need it. I'm afraid I rely on Kyoya too often to protect Tsuna where I can't. Be there for I-pin because you and I both know you are the closest thing she has to a father. And when the time comes, make a choice."

Fon tilted his head. "What choice?"

"If you're still around, you'll see," Ayame said.

"I think I can manage that," Fon replied.

"Good."

That was about all Ayame could hope for at the moment.

Let's Talk

The Sawada Household was quiet. The clock ticked slowly; two in the morning. A small, silent figure made its way out to the living room, taking care not to wake all of the guests.

The air in the living room was denser, thicker as if something or rather someone was present.

"Primo."

A burst of orange flames lit the room as Giotto materialized, shifting down to the lower plane. Rubbing his orange eyes, Giotto yawned. "Giotto please, Reborn. No one calls me Primo these days," the blond said.

"Giotto, then," Reborn said, looking amused. "Do you actually need to sleep?"

"It saves on energy," Giotto said, yawning once more. "What can I help you with at this awful hour in the morning?"

Reborn's expression grew serious, a sight that looked fairly comical in his pale pink polka dotted pajamas. He had been waiting for Giotto's return, hoping that maybe some of his questions would finally be answered. "Let's talk," Reborn said.

Giotto tilted his head, indicated for Reborn to continue.

Reborn took a deep breath and asked the one question he needed to find the answer to.

"Do you know what happened between Ienari and Tsuna?"

"Yes."

-Dangles bait for Reborn-

So this chapter is not only 1.5k in words longer than usual, it also is a bit of a recap (Fon provided an excellent POV for that) and a closer look into Ienari and Ayame's heads. Ayame is eccentric and clearly an insomniac and Ienari got some pet the dog moments and he really does love Nana.

Since this was a recap, if you're willing to indulge me, I would love to hear your theories and suspicions for the story so far? Has anything stood out as suspicious like the crow in chapter 4? Why and what's your theory behind it? Take a shot and guess what happened between Ienari and Tsuna? I've gotten a couple so far (one was brilliant and it's a shame I can't use it because that would change my entire story. A few were almost spot on and stop reading my mind!) and I'm curious to see what else you guys have. I don't bite, I promise!

General Notes:

Momotaro – Peach Boy. Popular Japanese folklore story. Tells the story of a young boy, born from a peach. He sets out to defeat a group of Oni (Orges). On his journey he meets a Dog, Monkey and Pheasant and with his friends, he defeats the Onis.

Arsène Lupin – fictional gentleman thief created by French Writer Maurice Leblanc. Often known as a rival to Sherlock Holmes (though officially Conan Doyle never agreed to it). If you're familiar with animes like Lupin III and Magic Kaito, Arsène Lupin serves as inspiration/characters in them – Lupin III being his grandson and Kaitou KID being called a Modern Day Lupin.

"Merci de me l'avoir dit." – Thank you for telling me.

"Pas de quoi," – No problem

Guest Reviewer Response

HeartsOfStone

You know me so well. -looks at cliffy- Haha. Thank you! I'm really glad you liked the flow of the last chapter. I really proud of it (and see what happens when you actually focus on just like an hour instead of an entire day Seito? You work miracles!) That's really cool you're a composer though! I lack musical talent. OTL (But sleep is important!)