Warning: This chapter mentions penises and suicide. (And this has to be the weirdest chapter warning I've made.)

. . .

"APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR UNEXTREME WAYS!" Ryohei yelled into Mochida's face, which was getting redder by the minute.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Mochida answered back, his voice as loud as Ryohei.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!" Gokudera repeated for the umpteenth time, menacingly holding his dynamites in his hands.

"DON'T TELL ME TO SHUT UP, YOU FUCKING NERD!" Mochida yelled back at Gokudera while holding his bokken tightly.

"BOTH OF YOU SHOULD STOP WITH YOUR UNEXTREME WORDS!" Ryohei yelled back because he was never comfortable being ignored especially when there's a fight going on.

"I blame you for this, Sawada," Hana said as she gave the stink-eye to the brown-haired kitten, who just bowed his head. She sighed because she never usually felt guilty for her sharp tongue.

But it was truly the fault of this sweet innocent kitten why she was surrounded by annoyingly loud monkeys with a penchant for violence, judging by the way they were holding their weapons at ready.

For some odd reason, the kitten was a magnet for these loud violent monkeys whom she's unfortunate enough to currently spend lunchtime with. Maybe it was pheromones or something, the way he attracted Mochida and Ryohei into their small lunch group, which originally consisted of Kyoko, Sawada, and herself. And about a week after the transferee arrived, he managed to get into his good side (well, not completely hostile side since there was nothing about him that was good) and invite him to lunch after a week of rejection, much to everyone's surprise because he seemed deadest on avoiding Sawada until that moment.

(It was also important to note that he had to look away and wipe his nose after seeing the blinding smile on Sawada's face when he finally accepted. And he was not the only one, since both Ryohei and Mochida had to do the same. She may have silently squealed at the sight while Kyoko may have fainted. None of them were immune to his charms after all.)

The bottom line is that she was now - sadly - surrounded by an overload of testosterone-fueled monkeys who were now comparing their penis sizes.

(If they weren't stronger than her, she would have beaten them into submission right now, but she was in the company of the captains of the Kendo and Boxing Clubs as well as a delinquent who was smart enough to know how to use dynamites. In fact, the only male weaker than her was Sawada and it would feel so unfair to hurt him, despite the trouble he brought.)

"Don't be like that, Hana-chan. Lunch is more fun now, isn't it?" Kyoko, the most optimistic person in the world, said cheerfully as she took another shrimp from Sawada's bento and replaced it with a piece of beef from her own lunch. She was obviously enjoying herself with the free food and entertainment Sawada brought, no doubt.

"Your mother's cooking is so amazing! Do you think she would teach me how to cook as well as her?" Kyoko squealed as she took a bite from the shrimp. Sawada lifted his head to give a small smile. (And Hana would never admit that her heart may have skipped a beat because he looked so charming when he smiled. Kyoko was even more vulnerable to his charms, judging by the way she's blushing.)

"Yeah. He's* teaching me how to cook as well. I could probably teach you if you want," Sawada offered in his soft quiet tone, which was a far cry better than his annoying stuttering.

"REALLY?" Kyoko shouted, overpowering the monkeys still bickering in the background and showing the world that she was truly Ryohei's sister. They paused in their fight to look at the three of them, or at least at Kyoko, who was practically glowing as she was holding onto Sawada's hands. "You'd teach me?"

"Get your hands off my girl!" Mochida snarled at Sawada, who flinched at his tone, but still didn't release his hands from Kyoko's grasp. (Or it might be that Kyoko's hold was too strong. Like she said, she was Ryohei's sister. Some of his traits might be genetic.)

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'YOUR GIRL'? SHE'S MY SISTER TO THE EXTREME!" Ryohei shouted back, starting the same argument once more. She was honestly sick and tired of it and was this close to stealing the dynamites from Gokudera's hands to blow them up herself, if only to stop this needless shouting.

As she was about to get up, she froze. There was something in the air that was…not exactly dangerous but definitely different. It seemed that everyone noticed it as well since silence pervaded the air, which was unusual given her current company.

Only Gokudera was tense, as he whipped out his dynamites, scanning the area for threats. It seemed that Mochida and Ryohei followed his example as they held their bokken and fists ready in case of a fight while looking at their surroundings with an observant eye.

Her gaze landed on Sawada, who was still in Kyoko's hold. He seemed to be staring through the wall with how intense his gaze was. Then he suddenly got up and shot off, forcing Kyoko to let go of him in shock.

It was only after he left that she realized the air was comfortably cool again, instead of being stifling hot.

. . .

Tsuna didn't know why but he had to get to the rooftops now.

Once he opened the doors (and he noticed that he wasn't even out of breath, Reborn and Hari's training was really paying off), he saw his classmate, Yamamoto Takeshi, standing on the other side of the fence on the edge of the roof.

"Yamamoto-san?" he asked as he slowly went to the taller boy's side.

"What are you doing here, Dame-Tsuna?" the baseball star asked dully with a smile on his face. (It was so fake, like most - if not all - of his smiles.)

"I could ask you the same thing, Yamamoto-san," Tsuna asked, as he climbed over the fence to stand on Yamamoto's right side.

"The baseball gods have abandoned me," he said, a little hysterically as he looked down on Tsuna, which was expected since Yamamoto was much taller than him. But at that moment, Tsuna felt like he was being insulted because how dare he look down on him when he wasn't the one standing on the edge, both literally and figuratively.

And then he inwardly flinched in shock because he swore he sounded a bit like Reborn and he didn't know whether he should be happy or not. (But to be honest, a part of him was really pleased he could be somewhat similar to that amazing tutor of his.)

"Why do you think so?" he asked, as he looked up at Yamamoto's dead brown eyes.

"You're not laughing?" he asked, shocked at Tsuna's question, and Tsuna gave him an odd look in return.

"Why would I laugh?"

"Because the baseball gods aren't real," he said bitterly.

"But they are to you," he said after a brief moment of contemplation. "But they're real to you. So why would I laugh at something that is obviously important to you?" he asked in return.

A brief spark entered Yamamoto's eyes at Tsuna's response before dying out completely.

Silence passed between the two of them before Tsuna asked, "Why do you think the baseball gods have abandoned you, Yamamoto-san?"

"There's a game next week and my performance was off. So I thought, if I practiced it off, then I'd get better in time for the game. But what I got instead was a broken arm," Yamamoto snarled bitterly, glaring at his right arm, which was in a cast and sling.

"Yamamoto-san. You wanted to be a better baseball player, right? That's what you asked from the baseball gods," Tsuna asked and Yamamoto gave him a look that said that he was being stupid. (He should know, he's received that look so many times in his life. But he knew - he knew - he wasn't the stupid one right now.)

"Yeah. And they just abandoned me. Made me off my game and broke my arm."

"I don't think they abandoned you, Yamamoto-san."

"My arm is broken, Dame-Tsuna. I can't play in the next game. How can you say that they haven't abandoned me?" he asked, with barely restrained fury as his eyes were sharp and wild. (Which was a much better sight than dead and dull eyes.)

Back then, Tsuna might have curled into himself and apologized for his words. But he knew that if he backed down, even for a moment, then he would have lost. And with Yamamoto's life at stake, he can't afford to lose. So he ploughed on despite the dangerous glint in Yamamoto's eyes.

"You asked to be a better player, Yamamoto-san. Maybe the slump and the broken arm were signs to tell you to slow down. Rest a little so when you come back, you're stronger than ever."

Tsuna let his words sink in for a moment before adding, "I think the gods do grant wishes. Just in ways we don't expect them to."

"Are you sure?" Yamamoto asked, begging and desperate.

And Tsuna remembered a time when he wished for a mother who didn't shrink at the sight of him, a father who was actually there for him, and siblings. Instead, what he got was Hari, who was happily teaching him how to cook as well as he can; Reborn, who was teaching and training Tsuna to be someone who is not Dame (to be someone like Reborn or even vaguely like him because he knew he could never be as amazing and perfect as Reborn himself); and Sasagawa-buchou, Sasagawa-san, Kurokawa, Mochida-senpai, and Gokudera.

"Yes." He knew, without a doubt, that the gods listened to his wish and granted it in their own way.

"So come on. Let's get off the roof, Yamamoto-san. So you can rest up and become a better player when you're arm is healed," he said as he offered his arm.

"Okay," Yamamoto said, a little more lively than before, as he reached out to Tsuna with his left arm. But that meant that he had to twist his body, which put him off balance on the thin edge of the roof.

"YAMAMOTO-SAN!" Tsuna screamed as he caught Yamamoto's outstretched left arm as the taller brunet was falling. But he had nothing to hold onto so Tsuna fell as well.

Gods and Wishes - end.

sorry for the unexpected hiatus. life was really mean to me and stuff. it still is, to be honest. actually, i'm going to be late for class right now but i felt so guilty not updating for so long so here's a chapter for you. also, i will not be able to update next sunday because i have no weekend. so the earliest time i can post the next chapter would be on the 25th. so sorry for that and the cliffhanger. but hey, at least it's a new chapter, right?

KK, thanks for your review as well. x3 and thanks for the full points. i adore Hayato in all his behaviors and it would only make sense that he would be anti-Tsuna at the start. and apparently, i had a longer hiatus than you. so hah. i hope you enjoyed your time without the interwebs.

Grayfia, thanks for your review. x3 and yes, no escape from tsuna's puppy eyes of doom. he is simply too cute. xDD and i'm happy that you think that i captured hayato pretty well. as much as i love his complete adoration to tsuna, i think that tsuna should actually work for his devotion than being completely given like the manga. and hahaha, i didnt' notice that. x3 but yeah, great minds think alike.

thanks for your reviews. i'll get to answering them (one day) but anyways, i hope you enjoyed this chapter. x3