EDIT: Nov/24/18 (Check end for notes)

THANK YOU TO: Reapergenesis32, general zargon, XxShadowfangxX, Guest 1, Not-Gonna-Update, Sceonn, detrametal, Guest 2, Arashi -IV of VI, sympatheticassassin, Akayuki Novak, Phoenix Lumen, Kuroi Rin, suzie, LoneWolfsRage, Gentle Snow, Sawada Ten-chan, Alicia Testarossa, Guest, turtlefan16, Natsu Yuuki, and MissSexyRain.

TO OTHERS: I don't often check my email. I know I should. So here, thank you to everyone who favorited and followed the story after this chapter. :)

Guest 1: TsunaxKyoko and TsunaxHana will happen, I'm just not sure when. There will be little hints here and there though. :) Thanks for reviewing.

Guest 2: Reborn and Tsuna's relationship will differ from canon, but I'm pretty sure I make that obvious in this chapter. Thank you for reviewing. :)

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"One kind word can warm three winter months." - Japanese Proverb.

Lunch appeared to be a time of revelations as everyone gathered on the roof. Reborn, quite bluntly and only after ensuring no unwelcome fools were listening in, informed Tsuna in front of his budding Famiglia that he was to become the head of the bloodiest, strongest mafia the underworld had ever known. He, Reborn, would be training Tsuna to become a great boss and that as his Famiglia the others would have to know about his future and the Flames of the Sky if they wanted to remain at his side.

Reborn explained the role of each Flame and a few known abilities of each before he made it clear that to activate and utilyze Flames the way they were is unusual without the use of rings. Only two percent of the mafia are Flame Active, and all are connected to powerful and open Skies.

When Reborn came to the topic of sealed Flames and the possibility that secondary Flames could be lost with breaking the seal, Tsuna failed to keep down a rising sense of terror as his Intuition, the old ghost-whispers, gave him the unshakeable feeling that his primary Flame is Sky. Did that mean he'd lose his Lightning? Without his Lightning he wouldn't have even followed Reborn's concise but long explanation, so how could he function with only Sky? Would it be like before he was five? There was no way to know and he hated that.

Technically more pressing than the matter of his Flames was obviously the mafia stuff. Even with his Intuition burning hot and cold he just couldn't fathom becoming the boss of a bloody and dark mafia in Italy. Becoming a criminal was not how he wanted to finally visit and or live in Italy, damn it.

Hana spoke, breaking him free of his thoughts. "Well, that explains our glowy magic crap." She offered Tsuna small smile. "Tsuna is connected to us all, and we've all spent a lot of time with him. Made friends, had sleep-overs, et cetera. He's the catalyst."

Reborn nodded at her. From his profiling he knew she was level-headed, accepting, and it was clear to see that she was in tune with her Sky. Kurokawa Hana already seemed a good fit with Tsuna's Famiglia.

"EXTREME! It's thanks to Otōto that I can do awesome stuff!" Tsuna barely braced himself in time for the rugby style tackle-hug Ryohei pulled on him. "My boxing club can't keep up me I'm so EXTREME, thanks!"

Tsuna groaned and tapped the roof in defeat and Takeshi pulled the boxer off with a laugh.

"Tsuna-kun won't become the head of such a mafia," came Kyoko's quiet, steady words. All heads turned toward her and she gripped Hana's arm for comfort while she leveled frown at Reborn. "Tsuna-kun isn't the type to accept that kind of position, Reborn-san. He would sooner change or stop the mafia then join it."

Tsuna and Hana marveled at how seriously their usually sweet and somewhat childish friend looked. What she said was very true and it warmed his heart to see that she knew him so well and would stand up to a presence like Reborn. The baby was looking at her closely and she held his eyes without blinking. A minute passed and not even Ryohei broke the silence before the little hitman pulled his hat down and his his face.

"True, signora... I'm starting to see how much of a bleeding heart my student is. If he's been like this for years it's an impossible habit to break, but I can at least put some steel into that goodness, otherwise it's weak sentiment and will get people killed. Besides..." Reborn looked up and there was a glint in his eyes. "The Nono said he would count on the next generation to change the Vongola. He never specified in what way."

Whether or not Reborn said that to placate Kyoko, Tsuna was glad for the worried tension leaving her face.

"What will becoming a boss mean for Tsuna?" said Hana, squinting at the hitman. "Is he going to have to fight?"

"Yes, he will have to defeat many an enemy on his way to the top. Being declared the Decimo is a risky business and the other heirs are dead, and in one case he's in something of a coma."

Tsuna paled and shivered beside Kyoko. She wrapped her arm around him and rubbed his shoulder as the full impact of everything began to hit. His Intuition, when it decided to work, was something to trust. Right then it was telling him, in the claws of ice dragging down his spine, that he would never escape the Vongola, nor the mafia. He was the last hope of a ruthless criminal group, him, a No Good and Health Hazard loser. Their last resort.

He could be killed. No, he'll probably be killed! Worse, he'll be taken from his madre and Fuuta, and his friends.

His breathing started coming in short gasps and he felt like the world was shrinking in on him before a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. His breath caught and looked up to see Takeshi smiling at him gently, and the look in his eyes said it all. Tsuna isn't alone, he has his friends, the people that came to his rescue in the on the day he first met Fuuta, and Takeshi's expression promised he wouldn't fight alone. Like that, in moments, Tsuna's breathing regulated and he was better.

"Tsuna, I know when to take a game seriously, and if this is such a dangerous adventure you know I would never let you drown, right?"

The irrational urge to hug Takeshi and hide his face against the taller teen's chest was so startling that Tsuna lost some of the color he'd regained, and could only nod. Where had that come from? Nowhere good. Absolutely nowhere good.

Lunch was quiet after that until Ryohei got particularly loud. Hibari dropped down from the top of the roof entrance, scaring Tsuna and startling most of those present, and smacked the boxer for disturbing his nap before kicking him down the stairs. When those angry eyes settled on the others Tsuna mimed zipping his mouth shut and the prefect returned to his perch. Reborn had disappeared somewhere in the distraction Hibari made and mercifully everyone had time to relax before going back to class.

. . .

Once the school bell rang Tsuna did not hesitate to head toward the gym with his usual 'pack' at his side. In recent times this was an odd term Hibari had come to call Tsuna's group. Was he referencing wolf packs?

Upon noticing the suspicious level of sound coming out from under the door he felt his stomach curl with dread.

His fear was realized when he pushed open the door to stare in abject horror at the sea of students waiting inside. His expression was clear for anyone to see and students started whispering and laughing at how Dame-Tsuna will fail and he'd lose the charity-case friendship he had with Kyoko and the rest of his friends, and how he'll have to go to the hospital. Even with the cruel words being tossed around Tsuna felt no inclination to risk showing any possible Flame Actives his Lightning, he was too much of a coward for that right then, and since the people he trusted were far, far outnumbered by those he was never comfortable with, he couldn't. A part of him shriveled and recoiled violently from that notion.

What kept him from collapsing was Takeshi and Hana, both true Rains, each placing a hand on his shoulder and calming away the fear with a touch infused with their Flames. Tsuna breathed deep and looked to Kyoko, catching her worried eye (no doubt she'd seen the start of a panic attack, she was sensitive to other's suffering after all) and he smiled apologetically.

"I-I'm not comfortable going all out, Kyoko-chan, I'm sorry in advance if I lose."

Before she could speak Ryohei slapped a hand on his back and gave him a thumbs up. "No worries, Otōto! Mochida didn't say that the date had to be with my sister alone!"

Tsuna laughed in relief. Why didn't he notice that? Oh, right, he's No Good with two capitals.

"There you are, Dame-Tsuna! Prepare to lose! Even heaven won't accept a worthless piece of trash like you when I'm done beating your corpse! You won't even be recognizable!"

A chill filled the air and Tsuna turned his head to see his 'pack', including a bored looking prefect standing just visible in the back. Wait, even Fuuta-kun was there, and standing with Hibari! The boy also had a Very Unimpressed expression. Tsuna turned his eyes to his friends and meeped when he saw the cold expressions on Hana and Takeshi, though the latter's looked more like a weirdly cheerful Murder Face. He really could feel a cold aura coming off of them.

Students cleared a space of three yards around his entire group of friends and Tsuna couldn't help putting on his best smile for them. It wasn't hard, they were upset on his behalf, upset that someone was treating him like crap so publically. At his smile they relaxed and the people nearest them shook off the Frozen Stone look they sported.

Tsuna rolled his shoulder and reached into his sports duffle and withdrew a pair of weapons before tossing the bag to Takeshi. Two special tonfa with an odd leathery grip in black were held firmly in his grip. Earlier he'd recieved a note from Kusakabe saying he had permission to use them in the fight and that if he didn't Hibari would bite him bloody.

Weeks ago he recieved them as an early birthday present from his father. A letter came with them, one detailing that the pale gold looking weapons, supposedly, were made made of a chromium alloy containing gold, platinum and carbon, and the fact that Iemitsu wrote 'Perfect for conducting a spark!' said a lot that left Tsuna highly frustrated and correctly suspecting something that boggled him still. The most dangerous part of getting tonfa was informing Hibari of it and hoping the fallout did not leave him needing an extended stay at the tolerant Sasegawas. Hibari, however, reacted in a way Tsuna hadn't expected in the least.

The prefect had smirked and roughly patted his head like a dog for the first time in months and said, "You finally got your fangs, Anaguma. Throw away your useless baby teeth now."

Hibari had pointedly eyed the shellshocked Tsuna until the boy mechanically plucked out his two steel tambo and hurried toward the garbage bin, left them propped up for him to get later and dispose of properly, and returned for a spar that left Tsuna all but comatose on the grass. That had been one of the few times no one was around to give him support. Hibari, rarely one for actually talking on the phone, texted Kyoko (a female herbivore he tolerated) and Tsuna awoke in Ryohei's messy room later that day.

Mochida gawked at the sight of his weapons and he turned, along with the rest of the students, to stare at Hibari. An almost smirk had been the tugging the corners of that prefect's lips before he glared death at everyone staring. Mochida pointed his shinai at Tsuna with a dark glare.

"That's against the rules, you filthy slacker!"

Tsuna frowned at Mochida. "No, this morning you didn't specify any rules on weapons, so if you're careful your glorified stick won't break too early."

The upperclassman balked and shook with rage and the fight began without so much as a 'BEGIN' from the referee.

Mochida was quick to attack Tsuna's legs and arms and manoeuver him around the space made by the surrounding students, and while Mochida was at first under the impression he was forcing Tsuna to move at his liesure, the Sky really was shifting and avoiding most of the hits and trying to gauge how strong Mochida really is. To the idiot's credit he had what seemed to be real skill and had it been a sword in his hands he would be a semi-worthy fight, but as it is Tsuna was mostly interested in playing along with the moron and testing his limits by striking at vulnerable spots in his defence and barely tapping them when he couldn't block.

Once it was clear that he didn't have the advantage like he'd wanted, and was failing in fighting No Good freaking Tsuna, Mochida quickly grew enraged and desperate. Despite the different situation Tsuna could recognized this desperation as the type to unlock raw potential. His Intuition encouraged further toying with Mochida, taunting him without words and not even reacting to the strikes he allowed Mochida to land. Tsuna himself wanted to see the idiots potential, and if he was worthy of getting any respect from a No Good boy like Tsuna.

Eventually Mochida let out an enraged scream as he struck at Tsuna once more, and to the very few who could see Flames, Mochida was blazing with a Sun Flame of a murkier color than the Sasegawas. Tsuna swallowed hard and cursed his curiosity, and upon seeing that no one but his own people were reacting to Mochida suddenly resembling a Super Saiyan, he frowned and activated a low supercharge in his body to keep up better with Mochida's far more damaging strikes and his Kami-damned regenerating weapon. Tsuna soon began to panic and his stance was getting sloppy. Even Ryohei, for all his purer and more powerful flame, could not yet draw out as much as Mochida's rage did. Worse, Lightning Flames appeared to have no affect on the upperclassman.

As Mochida caught Tsuna in the stomach and sent him flying clear across the room and nearly through a wall, Tsuna was hit with a chill. The maggot really would win and with potential like that how could he protect Kyoko from further advances? No, there had to be a way, he had to get stronger. A strange clicking drew Tsuna's attention to a corner of the gym and he spotted Reborn pointing a green sniper rifle at him. Tsuna had time to blink and wish he hadn't let Kyoko and Ryohei down before pain and darkness hit.

With his body still half stuck in the wall, Tsuna's head fell forward and he went limp. Hana and Kyoko were being held back by Takeshi and Ryohei, both of whom looked nervous, and two seconds later a feeling of raw power flooded the room. Few could feel it and those that did gasped and fell to their knees, with the exception of Hibari who briefly had a pleased, intensely feral grin on his face, and a smirking Reborn. A hoarse roar of "REBORN!" cut the utter silence of the gym and Tsuna burst out of his clothes and into a stance that Nobu and few others would recognize, though one Reborn recognized as the loose stance in belonging to a hybrid physical art created by a certain Yakuza. But the stance isn't what really had Reborn's and everyone else's attention.

Tsuna never changed in front of anyone after that attack in the alleyway and Kyoko had healed him quickly enough that only Hibari, herself, and Hana (and a thoughtful Fuuta) had gotten a glimpse at the suspicious scars stretching across his narrow chest. Coupled with what, to the untrained eye, appeared to be cigarette burns and the remains of other signs of abuse, the student body was silent and horrified. They never thought about Tsuna's home life, never pondered what would make him so No Good. Even Mochida, as caught up in his anger as he'd been, paused at the sight of all those scars.

Reborn felt angry at the sight of the claw marks that were clearly the work of a large man, a man that had held him from behind, probably choked him, and meant to do unspeakable things. May have done so. The scars were possibly two or three years old, and Iemitsu never specified events of any trauma except a dog attack, mainly rambling on that his son knew how to hold his own in a fight, was a bit No Good, and that he'd suffered a lot of broken bones. That foolish bastard hadn't mentioned his son being the victim of a sexual assault. Was he even aware?

In Dying Will Mode Tsuna stood stock still, a snarl on his face as two sides of him warred. The side his madre and himself had cultivated, the self-control he had hammered into his subconsious in case he ever came close to losing himself to the little Rage Monster living in his heart, and the wild and thoughtless Other-Self trying to rip his body from his control. The Sky Presence unleashed had remained in the room, pressing into every corner and coiling around everyone, warming the air and bringing with it a sense of looming danger.

When the Tsuna-side won out, smashing apart that non-consciousness, he lifted his head and Reborn was almost startled to see a true Hyper Dying Will in play, and what did startle Reborn enough to blink in shock was the fact that Tsuna's Sky moved and flickered like richly colored amber Lightning.

A soft "Wao" broke the silence and just like that Mochida shook off his stupor and charged, shinai raised. Tsuna lifted his tonfa and with the barest thought of want he had both weapons were covered in his Sky-Lightning Flames. The fight was done in a scant few seconds. Tsuna slammed one tonfa into Mochida's stomach and grabbed his shinai with strength beyond the newly activated Sun user, and that wooden weapon sailed clear across the room and through a conveniently open window. Tsuna expertly grabbed a terrified Mochida's arm and, using Aikido, flipped him over and pinned him down. Tsuna's peculiar Flame flared according to his Intuition guided will and enveloped Mochida briefly and his aura of Sun receded.

"Do you yield, senpai?"

"Y-you win, damn it!"

Tsuna stood and, still cocooned in the comforting heat of his Flame, simply left the area with as much of his dignity in tact and tonfa in hand. Takeshi and the rest, minus Hibari, followed him. There were congratulations in slightly off cheerful voices that Tsuna wasn't completely paying attention to, he was caught up in the familiar heat of his Sky, but a hard smack from Reborn and his Leon-hammer ended that as his Flame faded. He stared at the tiny bullet on the ground, swaying on his feet as his nerves and muscles began to burn. This had released what that old bastard imprisoned.

"Are you okay?" Fuuta said as he wrapped his papa in a firm hold. "You look sick!"

Takeshi gently pulled Fuuta away and just as Tsuna was beginning to crumple the Rain user scooped up his slight Sky easily. "Tsuna, you're okay. You're fine."

Still dazed and struggling to really understand what he'd been given back, Tsuna looked up into Takeshi's concerned face only to notice he wasn't looking at his face. The Rain's rich brown eyes were on Tsuna's chest and looked pained. With a start Tsuna's stupor broke and he felt his stomach churn as his senses returned to him. Touch told him he was all but naked and the world could see how damaged he was. Horror warred with shame and he almost wanted to scream as tears pricked his eyes. Deciding to screw his male pride, as he'd never had much of it to begin with, he turned and hid his face against Takeshi's chest and the irony of that wasn't lost on him as it made the whole thing even worse. Takeshi said nothing as he tightened his hold and let Tsuna tuck himself close, in fact he rested his cheek on the shaking Sky's head and wished he could make this better. Tsuna went limp in Takeshi's arms once it was clear he wasn't being rejected and his tears slowed free. He did meep when something warm and soft was draped over his chest area. Turning showed that Reborn, looking remarkably somber for his physical age, had placed blanket-Leon on him.

"Th-thank you."

Reborn nodded and tipped his hat down, hiding his face.

No one asked Tsuna about the scars. It was clear even to dense Ryohei that his little brother would not react well, and so the hitman tutor waited until later that night to explain part of the situation to Nana and ask about the scars. Nana's eyes flashed that rich blue and she had stared at Reborn with a severity that was disconcerting on her meant-to-be happy face. She quietly explained in detail what happened that night, and that she had had an Episode and saved her boy from a worse trauma. That she had been in danger too appeared to mean nothing to her, she had all her attention focused on her son, his friends, and Fuuta. If moron Iemitsu's report could be trusted, it was clear that, like his mother, Tsuna had a habit of putting his family, both lowercase and capital, before himself.

Unused to dealing with people of her and Tsuna's kind (except, maybe Dino), Reborn had bid her good night and found Fuuta sharing Tsuna's bed in a transparent and thoughtful effort to offer comfort.

o o o

There are some days that Tsuna walks to school alone and enjoys the quiet. The night following that unpleasant fight, Tsuna called his friends and said he'd meet them at the school gate. Reborn intruded on his quiet morning by lounging in his hair like a tiny king and the Sky couldn't be bothered to risk his hand, or head, dislodging the trigger happy infant who made Tsuna dance by shooting at his feet not thirty minutes earlier.

"Reborn, is there any particular reason you have to sit in hair like that?"

The hitman kicked him and Tsuna stumbled. "I can sit on you wherever I want. Your hair is like a comfortable nest, Dame-Tsuna. Do you ever lend it to lazy birds?

Silence was all the hitman got and he inwardly frowned at how Tsuna, so far, let the baby's barbs go over his head quite literally. But right as he was about to kick Tsuna into the wall he sensed a change in the boy's posture, a straightening in preparation to say something. When the boy politely asked his tutor to stand on the wall for a moment it was only out of curiosity that the infamous hitman did so.

Tsuna bowed low before standing up and looking at his tutor in full earnestness. "Thank you. I haven't... felt free like this, with my Sky Flame, since I was about five. An old man used to visit with Iemitsu and the last time I saw that old bastard he sealed my Sky Flames and crippled me."

Reborn jumped to Tsuna's shoulder with the same ease as before but inside the hitman felt tense. Was his student talking about the Nono? He hadn't been informed that his student's flames had been sealed by the Vongola boss himself, he was sure it had been the kids father. That tense posture, coupled with a certain shadow in his eyes told Reborn that there was probably a sea of anger, if not complete loathing, toward the Nono. Things just became a headache in the making.

"Crippled?"

"Believe it or not, I used to love playing in the trees. I'd jump between them, make a game of it, and even Hibari called me a flying squirrel because of a chase through the trees once..." Tsuna turned and smiled at Reborn, looking awkward and quite hopeful. "I missed being up in the trees and even with Lightning helping my me gain a hint of what I'd had before, it was impossible. The one time I tried to leap from one tree to the next I broke ribs and my left arm."

"Sounds like you had an uncommonly strong synchronization with your Flame at that age."

"Mm... With Iemitsu I figured I didn't matter, or he hated me too. I couldn't come up with reasons why the old man would hurt me like that. Well, I know now that it was to protect me, but that damn seal turned me into... I..." Tsuna's unique Sky Flame filled the air with burned ozone and he breathed deeply to calm himself. "My madre nearly died too many times because of me over the years. One time it was me tripping and getting my shoe stuck in the metal rail thing that street cars use. Another is when I tripped and brought the both of us falling down a long flight of stairs. It was all me and..."

Reborn had one hand in his pocket and the force of his clenched fist would turn a stone to dust. "You really hate yourself. You think you're worthless."

Tsuna flinched at those blunt words, breath halting for several seconds, and Reborn wanted to make the Nono dance for him too, and maybe shoot off a foot. Brow Nie Jr. can certainly reattach and heal a dismembered limb. Back to the matter at hand, that meddling old man should have brought someone in to watch over and teach Tsuna instead of risking a Flame Sealing. Sealing latent Flames are fine, it won't cause too much damage, and the possibility of a seal strengthening Flames? Not worth the risk, as many mafia families have discovered.

Now he has a pre-trained and borderline impressive student who has debilitating self-esteem issues, had gone through a traumatizing experience (multiple, most likely) and trust may be hell to gain from him. He wasn't used to vulnerable students as they needed a kindness he was certain he lacked in total.

"Tsuna, look at me now." The Sky reluctantly faced his tutor, failing in not looking as nervous as he evidently felt. Reborn felt a bit old knowing that tutoring this one will be a trial, especially with his time limit. "As you have experienced, cutting someone off from a powerful Flame they were in perfect sync with has detrimental consequences. It often leads to accidental death and in some cases those who eventually have their primary Flame released may never have the same connection. You are not to blame, the old Sky is. One day you will be better than he ever was and I will ensure ensure that."

There was a heavy silence as Tsuna's eyes darkened and the scent of burned ozone became almost stifling.

"You work for him, don't you?" His voice was low, rough, and almost a whisper.

"Before that my only loyalty was to myself alone. Right now my goal is to help you become strong. He knows my alliance with the Vongola is, rather was, one of mutual benefits and never permanent. Now, do you think I need permission from an old fool to watch over you? No one rules the World's Greatest Hitman. I'll send him word of my resignation and decision to remain teaching you."

It wasn't a difficult decision to make. Reborn realized that he was interested in the young Sky's already honed raw potential. In a different life Tsuna would have been great once he eventually got over his personal issues, but under his direction the boy will go further than any boss before him except, perhaps, the Primo himself.

Sky glowed in Tsuna's eyes as he took Reborn's measure. A long minute passed before the boy smiled and lit up the street. The trust, however small, was clear to see and Reborn knew he was on the right track. Beating Tsuna into submission and displaying brutal dominance would have worked in a different life as it had on Dino, but he needed a more delicate touch this time around. He could feel a migraine coming on, especially knowing the potential shit storm he was bringing upon himself by his choices. It was needed though, Tsuna had to know the Nono was not pulling strings, it was all the Hitman Tutor's decisions.

"Now that that is out of the way I have one question to ask: Where did you learn the Peonia Ballo?"

"Hiiee!" Tsuna tripped forward and face planted before scrambling back up. "Wha-how... f-from my martial arts sensei, Karibachi Nobu. He's... a bit crazy and his training is kind of hellish, but he's helped me become strong enough to protect my own. At the moment he says he's off hiking around Australia and wrestling emu."

Without needing to see Reborn's face the disbelieving silence was enough to make Tsuna choke out a laugh. "With Iemitsu it's hanging out with the penguins, and at least with Nobu his stories are creative and I actually like him."

"For him to teach you the Peonia Ballo this Nobu must have absolute trust you."

Tsuna's face pinked even as his smile grew. "I-I guess so... He said it's been in his family for centuries and I think it's a flexible, always changing style since there are elements of Jeet Kune Do and other modern styles... I promised I'd only use it to protect though."

Reborn pinched the boy's cheek. "You were protecting a member of your Famiglia. Don't make me start calling you Baka-Tsuna, I'm trying an experimental teaching technique."

Tsuna blinked and tried to pick apart what Reborn meant, but without knowing exactly how Reborn would normally act this was an impossible task so he dropped the issue and simply asked if there was anything Reborn wanted him to pick up at the store after school. Stating that there was next to nowhere his student would go without him, Reborn said he'd decide when they got there. For the next few minutes it was quiet between the pair as both pondered their strengths and weaknesses and resolved to go down this strange, new path without fear. Of course the Strongest Infant and Number One Hitman would have no fear, but doubts are different.

A footstep caught Tsuna's attention and he turned to see a cute girl staring at him, or more specifically, Reborn with sparkling eyes.

"May I help you?" Tsuna knew that if this was an anime he'd have a comical sweatdrop over his head. "Are you lost?"

The girl jumped at being addressed and she scurried over, tripped, and then quickly righted herself. "My name is Miura Haru, desu! I think your little brother is cute, Stranger-san! May I hug him?"

"... I think it may be safer not to," Tsuna said with a nervous grin. "He doesn't like being touched by strangers, so..."

"Aw! But... he's so cute! Haru must hug him like this!" She gave herself a tight hug and giggled. Tsuna wondered where all the crazies came from, even the cute ones. Test tubes perhaps. "May I, baby?"

"No. I'm a tough mafia hitman, I cannot let little girls cuddle me."

Haru froze and stared at Reborn in horror and Tsuna felt a distinct foreboding. Not bad per se, but he knew his life was destined to get just a bit more crazy, and on instinct he caught the delicate hand heading right for his head.

"Despicable! How could you corrupt such an innocent youth and poison his beautiful head?!"

Tsuna felt exasperated but did not show it. "Who says I'm the one who did it?"

"Hahi?" Tsuna blinked, finding that verbal tic slightly cute. "Who then, who poisoned such an angel, desu?"

Tsuna sighed, mind racing, and he recalled a novel he read a few months ago. "I have a cousin... his name is Katsu. He's big, blond, a bit dopy looking, and he's always going on about the dumbest things, and he put the whole mafia thing into Reborn's head."

"And you let him?" Haru tried hitting him with her other hand and he caught that in the same gentle vice grip too. "Despicable, desu!"

Tsuna withheld a longsuffering sigh, imagined Hana tearing into this girl for jumping to conclusions, and continued. "I'm scrawny and I know when to fight my battles, Haru-san, and trying to physically attack me is the worst example you can set for the toddler watching us."

The girl squeaked and Tsuna let her escape back a few steps. "Haru never thought of that! I'm so, so sorry, Stranger-san! My papa keeps telling me I have to stop and think things through a bit more..."

Tsuna relaxed at her apology, he could tell it was sincere. "That's fine, as long as you try to consider things more. My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, Haru-san, and I have to get going. I hope you have a good day."

The Decimo then took off at a dead sprint, not even twitching when Reborn perched on his shoulder easily mid-run, and met up with his friends. He kept up his fixed and bland smile as he ignored how a number of students were looking, pointing and whispering about him in a different way. He'd rather they continue calling him No Good instead of watching him with pity and trying to pry his story out with their laser eyes. Reborn, for his part, told himself not to regret what he did to cause this change in the student body because it was Iemitsu's fault for failing his kid and he took to a tree to watch over his student. That strange feeling in his gut was not guilt, it was his Expresso disagreeing with him. He'd have to change coffee shops.

Both of Tsuna's Rain's stepped up to walk on either side, striking up a conversation on a dubbed American TV show, and quickly enough Kyoko had squeezed in between Takeshi to hold Tsuna's arm and put her two cents in.

Later that day Reborn somehow finagled Tsuna into a free spot on the volleyball game. As Kyoko and Takeshi had cheerfully dragged him off he gave the stink eye to a smirking Reborn. Normally Tsuna didn't try hard in sports games but he knew with Reborn in his life that would have to change if he wanted to have a bit of peace. Upon glancing over his team mates he noticed that they all had a battered look about them, even Takeshi who had probably trained over lunch since he didn't show up. That settled it more than Reborn's looming presence and he threw away his reservations about abusing his Flames since it wasn't a game for prizes. By the end of the hour only Tsuna and Takeshi were mildly sweat free and still full of energy.

Takeshi won the game and Tsuna was among those cheering for him. As people filed out, calling out congratulations on winning, Tsuna felt a tug on his Intuition and he looked up at a corner of the room.

There, for hardly a second, stood a shadowed figure that darted out of sight. Tsuna couldn't help shivering.

o o o

That night Reborn stole Tsuna's bed and the boy opted to sleep in the living room where he snuggled Piero and thought hard on all this Mafia business.

By three in the morning Tsuna had decided that between the way his Intuition was dancing a fine line between Hot and Cold, and the feeling that avoiding the Mafia would be avoiding a massive tsunami when it was ten feet away, the best thing he could do is study hard, train hard, and be the best that a No-Good kid like him could be. However much he feared for his own health and safety, he feared for his madre, Fuuta and his friends more. Him pestering Nobu to begin that hellish training he'd had nightmares about would be a good start because if there was one thing he could trust most in his life, it was that his friends would follow and watch his back no matter how much he hoped and begged for otherwise. They would willingly follow him into this dark and unknowable future.

Despite being a scrawny mouse still awaiting his growth spurt, for them he would topple mountains.

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EDIT: Nov/24/18

ON MOCHIDA: Some people might notice on a re-read that I've removed the Mochida thing. I liked him well enough, but it wasn't working. I kept forgetting him. And I like Bianchi a helluva lot more than him and I've still been forgetting about her.

ON FLAMES NOT MATCHING: This is a very alternate universe/similar dimension type world, so Flames won't always match up to widespread headcanons and the cards. Like Kyoko having Mist in the card game (which, is it even 'canon'?). Also, personality doesn't always guarantee a specific Flame. You'd think Squalo was a Storm, or Skull was a Sun/Rain, maybe a Lightning.

ON HARU: I think she's prettier than Kyoko but I also feel she's a sisterly-type character here. Please don't brain me with frozen carrots. She's not going to be "useless", she'll find her place.

To all those who read and reviewed when this chapter was first put up over a year ago, thank you.