THANK YOU TO: lovleydragonfly, Tegasus, Dragon of Selene, MissSexyRain, Hall of the Laughing King, EndlessChains, DemWildRemix, oOGolden-MoonOo, JUST SET ME ON FIRE, vampireharry the 2, Yumi014, Arashi - IV of VI, SakuraSamuraiGirl, Kuroi Rin, general zargon, Yana5, SilverDreamer-PhoenixotD, and Littlest1!

NOTE [OF NON-STORY IMPORTANCE]: The thing about me is that I am very easy to distract and I find it a genuine miracle that I have 22 and a half chapters written up (yes, 23 is underway and mooostly done]. I'm also easy to distract when it comes to answering reviews, which any of you should feel free to beat me up over (just not physically). I'm probably going to get slower and slower about answering reviews, but I'm seeing them!

NOTE: Thought I didn't have time before when I uploaded a few minutes ago... So, I'm sorry this came up so late, but thats the way life goes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some One Punch Man to watch for stress relief (and not for the lateness). Please read and enjoy. :)

ITALICS INSIDE BRACKETS are words spoken in Italian.

"There is hope in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who wish to make those dreams a reality." ~ Jonas Salk.

Predictably the only one who had any real problem with Chrome at first was Gokudera. He was worried she was secretly a spy who would be Tsuna's ruin, and while that was amusing to the Decimo knowing she was certainly not like that, he could see some concern in other's faces.

To Tsuna's surprise he didn't have to speak up.

She did.

Chrome stepped forward, shivering from nerves, and she briefly bowed low at the waist before rising and casting her wide, fearful, and determined eyes around the room.

"Tsuna-sama saved my life. M-more than that... he and his mother are unspeakably kind." Her knuckles were white as she clenched her shirt. "They have offered to let me st-stay and help look after the children because... I have no... r-real home, not one where I've ever felt h-happy. I would never hurt Tsuna-sama, Nana-san, the kids, or anyone he c-cares for."

There was a heavy silence as everyone weighed her words and the sincerity there, and then the Sasegawa siblings and two Rain's were the first to step forward and cheerfully welcome her. Rather in Hana's case she was greeted and gently asked to relax with a warm smile. No one would hurt her. From there Fuuta and the other kids found their freedom from the laps they were held in and they greeted Chrome loudly, with the de la Stella acting as mediator between her and the boisterous Lambo who had wanted a hug from the pretty "auntie". Spanner offered to create cool Nanny Gadgets to make looking after the kids easier, which flustered Chrome and drove her to stutter through asking him not to waste his time. The mechanic had snorted, smiled slightly, and waved her protests off before leaving the room whistling with Shoichi following. Haru remained long enough to bow and happily welcome her to the Family and that she promised things would be fun and happy for her. Fon, standing on Takeshi's shoulder, greeted her too and said that if she needed assistance with the children, and if he was available, he would gladly help. Gokudera was hunched grumpily as he walked up to her and said he'd accept her but he would be watching to make sure she didn't hurt Tsuna.

Chrome, though obviously nervous and still a bit frightened by the number of people, had nodded since she privately expected something like this even before Mukuro told her that Tsuna was, indeed, someone highly important. She didn't understand everything quite yet, but she quietly said Gokudera was right to be careful of anyone new, and she shyly thanked him for being vigilant before she escaped to the kitchen to take solace from Nana's warm, and most importantly, solitary presence.

Tsuna was amused to see that Gokudera felt flattered and seemed to be preening. Just enough for Takeshi to notice and get a laugh out of it. This lead to one-sided acerbic comments which the Rain ignored in favor of hugging Tsuna with one arm and suggesting everyone go to Takesushi to celebrate Chrome's joining the family, which Tsuna could tell was said in a very non-mafia game way.

. . .

After being ordered to explain the whole mafia business to Chrome, well, Tsuna knew he had to go about it in a direct, though hopefully semi-delicate, manner.

He relied on his Sky and Romu in his lap, to keep relatively calm. He started with telling her of the Flames of the Sky and describing their individual abilities, then went into explaining the capabilities granted by his Sky Flames, from his Sky Magnetism, to his Sky Presence, then he showed her his Lightning in one palm and his Sky in the other, which got a gasp that sounded somewhere between delighted and awed. Only then did he tell her that he was, through necessity and the inability to deny inevitability, as well his own desire to see some good change in the world (if only for his group, and other children out there), going to be a part of the mafia underworld. In fact, due to his blood, he was the only heir left to a bloody, terrible "kingdom" called the Vongola.

Silence stretched on in the kitchen stretched as Chrome, nursing her milk tea from earlier, ruminated on the info-dump he laid out. He was worried she would run screaming and he only hoped there was some sort of Men In Black memory thing to protect her...

"Y-you really are... the heir to a g-genuine Mafia, Tsuna-sama?"

The Decimo managed not to jump at the sound of her voice. "Yes, I am. But please, if you wouldn't mind too much, would you call me Tsuna-san instead?"

Chrome looked up and pushed some hair behind her ear. Reluctantly she nodded and when he grinned she held herself a little higher knowing she put that smile on his face.

"I don't mind, Tsuna-san. Um... I b-believe you'll stay the same, you'll still b-be the same boy who saved..." Someone like me, that thought was clear as she looked at her mug with a frown. "I promise... I-I'll look after the children. And with my Mist, c-couldn't I protect them? Um... m-maybe protect... y-you?"

Tsuna frowned at the slight flutter he felt in his chest, but maybe he was just a sucker for big doe-eyes. He was also surprised she seemed to care so much, but he supposed that's what happens when you're saved from a mother and step-father that should be reincarnated as slugs and then slowly introduced to salt. A smile crossed the Decimo's face as he attributed her soft boldness to the compassion his mother showed her, though some part of it was probably his doing, and he decided he felt pretty fond of the quiet girl. He couldn't see her fighting anyone, though the same could be said of Kyoko months ago, but despite his reservations he knew that knowing how to defend and protect is a priceless skill. Sweet and soft though she seemed, Tsuna had a feeling backed by the warm hum of his Intuition, that it was only right to let Chrome learn how to control her Mist. Maybe even learn how to fight if she really wanted. He could easily imagine her with a jō staff made of light special-steel, or maybe something more offensive.

"Chrome, you don't have to touch a weapon," Tsuna said, leaning forward and holding her eyes steadily with his Sky-orange ones. "But I know the world will never be a safe place, and that I can't protect everyone from everything... so how do you feel about learning from my mother? If you want to learn physical fighting I can talk to a friend of mine too."

A thought crossed Tsuna's mind and he sighed. "Once you learn everything you can from my mom, I... I sort of know someone else you can learn Mist techniques from, but he's... not the greatest when it comes to women so I'd rather not..."

Chrome blinked and a soft flare of cool Mist later Mukuro was sitting there and smiling a cat-got-the-cream smile. When did Mukuro even leave Piero? Tsuna usually noticed. Sneaky bugger.

"I believe I can help, Tsunaysoshi-kun, and all it would cost you is a little..."

o o o

The ideas that Tsuna planned to hand over to his smartest group members was put on a back-burner. He was only a child after all, and even with allies he couldn't expect to be taken seriously at this age. Tsuna decided to bide his time, continue growing stronger, and make sure he had the power to go through with his desire to put away people like the Estraneo.

On that note it was a month and two weeks before anything of interest happened. Chrome worked on her Mist under his mom, and twice a week he would join lessons mainly to be there and encourage her. His weighted clothes had gained ten pounds and he was working his way up to his usual speed while wearing them. Chrome was learning how to wield a jo staff from Nobu and occasionally Fon, and there seemed to be talk about teaching her a polearm. Tsuna managed to pull off three Movie Nights during that time too, and those were the highlight of his days because those that attended enjoyed the films and with them clustered in the room Tsuna could almost feel how content they were.

Tsuna was startled on a quiet afternoon which Reborn designated for "resting half the day" so the boy's body could recover from the stress of training with him, Fon and Nobu. Hibari called him. Not texted, called him up. Maybe it was an overreaction, but Tsuna was lucky he didn't crap bricks from the sheer shock alone. After getting instructions to gather the "babies", he was told to wait outside for a car to pick them up. They were visiting Mama Hibari. A text sent to everyone (but Hibari, who wasn't included to spare him any possible irritation) in the "Clam" group left him with just a few protests, mainly because Takeshi and the girls wanted to join him to see the Hibari home, and only Gokudera was worried for his health. Nothing bad would happen, he was sure of it because he was going into Hibari's. Besides, he had two Arcobaleno backing him up.

. . .

Fortunately this wasn't a case of "And the apocalypse hit Namimori", as Tsuna and the two babies safely arrived at the Hibari estate in an expensive car driven by one of the Disciplinary Committee. Sitting in Tsuna's hair was the richly blue colored mini-monkey bot named Aota.

Tall fences of thick metal stretched on and on and out of sight from where Tsuna stood with his two trainers. The top of the fence had needle sharp spikes and was wrapped in delicate wire that Fon casually stated to be sharp and durable enough to slice through kevlar and weaker steels. Reborn was suitably impressed and Tsuna resisted a shiver as he stood at the regal door of the fence that was decorated with a magnolia blossom held by a lark, the Hibari family crest. When a little yellow bird flew through the fence and landed in Tsuna's hair with a cheerful chirp, the Decimo knew his Cloud was on his way or, at least, sending Kusakabe to fetch them. He was proven right when the tall Right Hand of the Disciplinary Committee head arrived and bowed them through the silently opened massive doors of the protective fence. They walked up a graveled drive way with Kusakabe quietly telling them that Mitsuko-hime was excited to meet them and had ordered a small feast complete with desert. With a slight smile the older teen told Tsuna to relax and enjoy himself while he could.

How very reassuring.

As for the grand house, from the ground it looked two stories tall with distinct taste of old-school Japanese architecture fit for nobles in the slanted roof. Painted a dark violet with nearly black slate shingles and shutters for the windows. There was a large porch spanning the entirety of the very wide house-front and on there, in the middle of a half-circle of squishy looking couches and chairs was a portable, expensive and large firepit. The set up looked like it would be criminally comfortable in the winter or fall. Tsuna found himself a teensy bit jealous and half-seriously wondered if the Hibari Matriarch would invite his family over during the coming fall season. Kusakabe patiently allowed a few seconds for gawking at the porch furniture before he ushered everyone through the door where Hibari stood, leaning against the wall with a frown.

The yellow bird Haru had taken to calling Hibird flew out of his hair and landed in Hibari's and, without a word of greeting, only a nod in Tsuna's direction with eye contact held, they were following the quiet Cloud through the front hall and into a side room. Tsuna had only a few seconds to admire the paintings of nature hanging on lavender colored walls, the brief glimpse he had of a warmly colored kitchen, and then he was standing in a handsome living room painted a rich Prussian blue with cream colored curtains on the wide, airy windows. The furniture was cream colored too, but the carpet was thick and patterned like checkerboard of black and maroon, so apparently Mitsuko had unique taste. In a corner sheltered from the windows stood a fairly long table set for six. A fireplace had a mantle covered in knick-knacks and small photos he couldn't quite see well from his distance, and the room was filled with photo's of nature from high, high up, and there were only a few large ones depicting a child-Hibari dressed in a black martial artists gi and pitted against his mother and there was only one showing an adult Fon tutoring an adorably tiny, chubby-cheeked prefect.

Maybe Hibari's animosity to Fon stemmed from some sort of abandonment? That's a question best left alone for health reasons.

Someone cleared their throat and Tsuna felt his cheeks burn as he turned to a gorgeous woman standing to his far left, leaning against the wall. She had probably been observing him and his expression. Likely saw him smile at the photo's of her son, and that made Tsuna want to sink into the ground. Mitsuko was tall, taller than her own son, who she resembled greatly, from her black hair to her slanted grey eyes, but there was an open warmth on her face that Hibari lacked. She was dressed modestly in a large shirt and jeans which went against what Tsuna had been thinking she would dress like, and her hair was up in a messy bun that let tendrils of hair frame her face and accent her natural beauty.

With his attention on her she approached and had an amused expression when he tensed and straightened up. She stood within arms reach, looking him over, and then she tisked and reached out to tap his chest gently.

"What happened to the present I sent you, little one?"

Oh! Tsuna had come over with his usual black and silver lumbar back, and he shifted it so he could easily reach into a pocket and pull out the gorgeous locket-brooch. It had a bright shine to it and there was a glitter of bright Flames deep in the purple stone because it absorbed Tsuna's hybrid Flames when he tried to see if it would do as the letter said. He had felt the absorbed power then multiply several times before settling in and laying dormant.

"I'm sorry I don't wear it a lot... I guess I'll have to get comfortable wearing jewelery soon," Tsuna said as he fastened the brooch to his shirt.

Reborn yanked on his ear in reprimand. "Some of the strongest weapons you get will involve jewelery, so if you don't "get used to it" I'll be upping your weekly training."

Tsuna nodded and withheld his desire to say, "Don't you mean weekly beat downs?" since that was essentially what he went through under his three tutors.

Mitsuko clapped her hands and directed Tsuna to the long mahogany table. Once he was seated with Hibari at his side and the two Arcobaleno on his shoulders, Mitsuko sat down and gazed at Tsuna with suddenly icy, critical eyes. Now she looked like a female Hibari clone. With a slight flinch and a gritting of his teeth, Tsuna sat straighter and held her eyes as best he could. A minute later her imperious, cold look disappeared and a warm smile replaced it. She turned to her son and nodded with a soft, "I approve, Mozu-kun" before she finally looked to the Arcobaleno.

"Reborn-san, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

The hitman tipped his hat to her with a softly said, ["And you, madam."]

Her eyes turned to Fon and she sighed slightly before smiling. "Good to see you again, cousin. Do try visiting after this. I forgive you for leaving us in shame of your curse."

Tsuna carefully did not react to what he was hearing and instead he traced the delicate whorls in the table with his eyes.

Fon nodded with a faintly embarrassed look. "Emotions were... unstable for a number of years after the incident. I'm deeply sorry."

Mitsuko nodded and looked at the large and ornate clock above the fireplace, then she pulled out her phone and sent a text. Several Disciplinary Committee members soon arrived with platters of food covered in silver domes like something out of a cartoon and the table was covered in brunch-type dishes from both Japan and Italy, alongside metal jugs holding tea and coffee, going by the smells, and other platters held several desserts. The soft cannoli looked divine.

"We should have a guest arriving soon. Please, have a snack."

Tsuna waited until Fon had off to take a dango stick to grab two cannoli for himself. It was quiet in the room and as he took his time nibbling through the pastry's Tsuna was half way to smacking his head off a wall in order to come up with anything to say, so he stayed quiet and took comfort in Hibari's presence beside him. Mitsuko soon started talking to Reborn about his training techniques involving Tsuna and this lead to a discussion that the Decimo noticed interested Hibari as the prefect occasionally glanced at his mother and the hitman.

["It sounds like all has been well, but what do you say?"]

Tsuna almost snorted, caught between amusement and exasperation as the two continued to discuss him like he wasn't there. Plus, they were doing it in Italian and judging by the calm expression on his Cloud's face he was also fluent in the language.

["When I arrived he was already well-trained in physical defence by a semi-retired yakuza member. The only training I have had to do is build on what he already has and nudge him in directions where he tends to work toward improving himself on his own power."]

["Sounds like he's a good student. You're lucky. My Mozu-kun used to be so stubborn... anyway, should I take it that Nobu-chan is the one that trained him?"]

Tsuna's eye twitched as he briefly halted in lifting a zeppole to his mouth, then slowly nibbled as he gave up. There shouldn't be that much surprise in shocking things happening to him or being talked about nearby, not anymore. From the Flames of the Sky, adopted gravity-defying sons, him being the heir to a mafia and training under not-babies, meeting a genius teenager who makes intelligent robotic monkeys, and Kyoko pulling a Sakura... Yeah. Tsuna resolved to start taking things as they come and be more calm about bizarre things and coincidences.

["Yes. He imparted the Shadow Step Technique and probably several others, but I'm interested in seeing where they pop up in battle. It should be amusing."]

Tsuna rolled his eyes and took another three zeppole's while Fon, sitting close beside him, seemed amused as he snacked. The Storm Arcobaleno jumped to his shoulder and patted his cheek.

"Nervous?"

"More than a bit," the Decimo admitted in a soft undertone.

Beside him Hibari made a soft huffing sound and he elbowed the Decimo with a sharp look: Don't be stupid. Tsuna kept his amusement inside as he nodded and took this as the prefect's way of calming him down.

"Little Sky."

"Y-yes?"

"Tell me about your Famiglia, please. I would love to hear what you think of them."

As Tsuna pondered how to go about describing his friends as she asked, he sighed and decided to just go for it. That would save him a migraine.

"Well... there's Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan, they're amazing and they've they've trained in martial arts and firearms in secret. Imagine my surprise," he said with a crooked smile as he held Mitsuko's gaze steadily. "There's Takeshi, who used to be all about baseball until he realized I was a trouble magnet, and while he still loves the game..." Tsuna's lips thinned and he pushed away his guilt. "He gave up being part of Namimori's team to train with his dad more, who's apparently a swordmaster... There's Ryohei, Kyoko-chan's brother, who can punch though a foot and a half of specialized steel tiles and who never gives up on anything... Gokudera-kun is a bomb expert, he has great accuracy, and he's awesome enough to make his own weapons and chemical smoke bombs."

Mitsuko leaned on the table with her chin resting on her steepled fingers. There was a smile playing at the corners of her mouth and she seemed very pleased, something that flustered the boy somewhat.

"Newer friends of mine are Aurelio Spanner, a mechanical genius who makes highly intelligent robot monkey's, is good at coming up with weapons, and he's worked with another friend to create underarmor with a friend. Irie Shuichi is that friend. He goes to his school and he's a computer genius and a better hacker than Spanner-kun, and he's been teaching another friend, Miura Haru, to hack as well, and she's learning about robotics too..." Tsuna chuckled nervously and rubbed his neck. "Honestly I'm a bit worried about the kinds of robots she'll come up with. Her imagination is really something."

Tsuna pulled out his phone and went to a folder with happy photo's he's taken of the kids. "Um... these two call me papa -"

"I-Pin as well, just so you know," Fon said, smiling in clear amusement. Tsuna blinked in surprise before smiling.

"Right! Um... that's Lambo-kun, he's kind of a walking terror-disaster, but he's becoming better, and the girl dragging him by his tail is I-Pin-chan. She's Fon-sensei's protege. This is Fuuta-kun, he's like a minature gentleman and he's a great learner, and he's... learning how to fight from your son."

Tsuna looked at Hibari, wondering if he should use his first name in the presence of his mother. "I was worried at first, but... I trust him. I've trusted H-Hibari-sempai for years now." A smile lit the Decimo's face. "He's a great protector of Namimori and there's no questioning that he's extremely reliable. Trouble blowing through the town stands no chance."

Hibari sipped his tea and leveled a brief, very pleased, look on his little carnivore.

Mitsuko was beaming and from the slight sounds below, she seemed to be kicking her feet back and forth. "Wonderful! I'm happy you think so highly of my Mozu-kun! The both of you make a good pair, and seeings as I've watched several recordings of your most recent fights, little Sky, I don't feel the need to test you myself. You are strong and you have great potential."

The woman popped to her feet and pulled out her phone, and just like that her good cheer went away and she looked angry enough to breathe fire.

"It seems my sister is not coming. There's an emergency she needs to attend to..." Mitsuko turned to Tsuna and bowed her head for a moment. "My apologies, Decimo. Kiku is the boss of the Irukaza, and she was meant to meet with you today and arrange an alliance with your fledgling group, but... there's a little war on the borders of her territory."

"Oh... will she and her people be okay?"

Mitsuko's bad mood lifted and she chuckled softly. "No, no, but the sentiment is appreciated. Kiku-chan is very strong and she's more than capable of protecting her subordinates. Now, would you tell me what you think about the brooch, Decimo?"

"It's amazing. Was it your... battery, kinda?"

"Oh, yes, it's saved me a number of times. My son is much too proud to accept such a gift, but as the boss, the one that needs to be the spine of the new Vongola, you should have no such reservations. What advantages you gain and do not go against your morals, you should not hesitate to use as ruthlessly as you are comfortable with."

Tsuna nodded and smiled. "Thank you for the gift. I'll start wearing it everyday."

. . .

"I believe I can help, Tsunaysoshi-kun, and all it would cost you is a little..." The boy leaned closer to Tsuna and raised his chin with one finger. "Kiss on the lips. It won't be your first, so why not?"

Tsuna jerked back and nearly fell off his chair. "Why the hell would you want to kiss me? And the answer is hell no!"

"My reason is curiosity. I want to know why your people care for you so much." There was a smirk on the older male's face, both extremely amused and candid, just like the whispers of feelings brushing across their odd Guardian bond. "I'm not one for human emotions, you see, but perhaps some physical experiments will teach me."

"You ignoring my no won't change my answer."

Mukuro chuckled. "Very well. Tell them how you feel. Doesn't matter who, I'll know if you lie to me."

Tsuna was shaking and his ears were red. "If you weren't in Chrome I'd punch your lights out."

"Kufufufu~! I know. Is this a yes or will you have to subject sweet little Chrome to the one that put such a disgusted look on your face?"

Tsuna grimaced and stood to stare down at the illusionist. Seconds later he sighed heavily and walked around the table to shuffle closer, eyeing Mukuro like a cornered mouse. Once he stood there in front of the seated male he leaned down and a look of triumph crossed Mukuro's face right before Tsuna wrapped him in a warm, tight hug. Then the Decimo left the kitchen only to poke his head back in with a pointed glare.

"If you don't follow through on our deal... I'll find some way to get back at you."

Then he left. Laughter filled the kitchen, a sound somewhere between genuine, warm amusement and something a little bitter.

"...Are you okay? Xuéshēng?"

Tsuna jumped and turned his head to see a concerned Fon looking at him from his seat on the table.

"Uh, y-yeah! I... I just need to talk to Hibari-sempai for a moment. In p-private." Tsuna turned to Hibari and looked up at him, half hopeful he would and wanting him to say no. "That is, if you d-don't mind a word in private."

From the corner of his eye Tsuna saw how Mitsuko suddenly sparkled and he managed to not wilt. What on earth was she even thinking? Wait, it's better not to know.

"Hn."

Hibari left the large room and headed down a hall that soon ended at smoky glass shoji doors he opened to reveal a gorgeous backyard. Feeling like a patch of thin forest, there was a large and natural looking pond ringed sparsely with cattails and filled with pearly white and pink lotus blossoms that perfumed the air. Grass, long and uniformly cut, swayed in the gentle breeze, and every cluster of shrubs dotting the area either held berries or were in bloom. Tsuna stared at the shiny berries and wondered if the two Hibari's planted these to lure animals in just to watch them. Actually, that sounds about right.

"Anaguma."

Tsuna turned and Hibari pressed a single fruit the size of a big blueberry against his lips. The Decimo blinked, quickly more amused (and happy) at the gesture than startled, and he opened his mouth to accept. The taste was satisfyingly sweet and tangy with a slightly bitter edge like with blackberries. After swallowing the fruit he smiled happily up at his Cloud.

"That was delicious, thank you."

There was very nearly soft look in Hibari's eyes as he made his customary I-acknowledge-that-you-said-something "Hn" before walking toward a particularly large berry filled shrub and sitting down. One pointed stare later Tsuna was sitting beside him and fiddling nervously with the brooch. Knowing Hibari marginally well he had the feeling there wasn't too long of a time before the prefect became impatient.

Steeling his nerves and telling himself to expect rejection, just in case, Tsuna resisted drawing on his Flames as a crutch in that moment because he was with someone he trusted. He then looked up and held Hibari's eyes.

["I... I like you. In more than a friendly way."]

Never did Tsuna think he would ever see Hibari's eyes widen so much. For him that face might as well be called "bug-eyed". A moment later that look was gone and there was a startling glare in its place. Before Tsuna could so much as twitch away he found himself pinned to the grass and his wrists tightly gripped.

"You gave into a threat."

Tsuna grimaced. "No, I gave into a deal to help with Chrome's training. But... I..." The Decimo bit his cheek hard and looked away, cheeks flushed with shame. "The worst part is that... you're not the only one I... really, really like."

The bordering-painful holds on his wrists loosened and he looked up to see a very deadpan expression on the Cloud user.

"That isn't revolutionary news, Anaguma."

"Heh?"

Now Tsuna felt lost.

The bordering-painful holds on his wrists released and he looked up to see a very deadpan expression on the Cloud user. That look faded and a certain glint entered those slate-colored eyes and Tsuna swallowed as he realized that it meant Hibari felt playful (and there just had to be a better word for that, he was sure). Hibari wrapped his larger hand around Tsuna's and lifted it to his mouth, and whatever the younger expected, he wasn't ready for the warm lips pressing to his inner wrist. Stunned, Tsuna's flushed face grew redder and he debated on how to return the physical affection (Kiss on the cheek? Copy him? Hug him? How!?). Hibari released a brief chuckle and let his lips skim up until they pressed to Tsuna's sensitive palm and the boy gasped with a visible shiver.

Hibari, looking ever-so-slightly pleased, drew back and resumed sitting beside him. "The Sasegawa girl described your Vongola aptly. You have a Pride, not a pack, and alpha lions have more than one mate."

It took Tsuna ten seconds to fully digest what Hibari said and he turned on his side to pillow his head on his upper arm and face the prefect.

"Does that mean... you don't m-mind that you're... not the only one I'm, um, a-attracted to?"

"I will not cage you. But that does not mean I won't snatch you away whenever I feel like it."

Tsuna chuckled as he relaxed knowing Hibari did not feel betrayed. As for the "snatching away" bit, he wouldn't be surprised (or not a whole lot at least) whenever it happens. He wriggled a bit closer and curled himself on the thick, soft grass. A minute passed before the prefect moved and laid down beside the slender Sky with half a foot of space between them. It remained like this, the two of them enjoying the peace and quiet in each others presence.

Half an hour later Mitsuko came out to fetch them. At the door of her home she hugged Tsuna, half scaring him with the sudden affection, and she thanked him for being her son's Harmony.

o o o

After that early evening meeting with the Hibari Matriarch Tsuna thought carefully over how he could use the brooch. In the morning, as he meditated with Sky in one hand and Lightning in his other, he watched Chrome sitting with his mother in the shade of the large oak. His madre was letting Chrome read a palm-sized notebook full of Shamal's thoughts on Mist, exercise plans, and other possible ways to use Mist. Tsuna himself had had the opportunity to flip through the book and he was grudgingly impressed with the pervert.

They were his sudden inspiration.

He absorbed the hybrid Flames from his brooch, which happened to feel like a tingly adrenaline rush that lasted a minute, and used the ring Spanner made him to create his own Mist-Resonance Sky to store inside. Immediately there was a brush of softly warm Cloud greeting his manufactured Mist and began multiplying it. His meditation turned toward keeping a steady flow of Flames going for the next hour and at the end of it he was sweating and satisfied. The brooch's stone glowed brightly with a light indigo for a minute before fading.

"What are you planning?"

"HIIIE!" Tsuna threw himself to the side and glowered at a smirking Reborn. "I hate how you can still do that."

Infuriatingly the little hitman tipped his hat to him and continued to smirk.

"If my idea works then I can use the Mist inside the brooch to... shape my Sky or Lightning in attacks..."

"Hm. It may work, but the problem is whether you're quick to draw out the necessary Flames from the stone. You'll need more training."

Tsuna groaned an flopped back.

"Would you rather me leave you behind?"

The Decimo lurched up, bug-eyed. "No! Why would you even think that?!"

"Heh. I'm just reminding you this is all out of the goodness of my little black heart. I'm not being paid by the Vongola to train you, idiot."

Tsuna slumped in surprise. "It's kind of hard to remember. You seem as likely to do charity as the moon turning neon green."

Reborn hopped onto his student's head and tapped his skull with a shiny shoe. "It's not charity. Now enough talk, go try your idea."

With a slight tremble of nerves, Tsuna put his right hand to the brooch over his heart and withdrew a dense ball of glittering Mist flecked with orange. Next he formed a ball of Sky-Lightning and used them to construct a thick wall of granite with a small target etched into it, and with a light kick he could tell the constuct felt and sounded quite real. With his X27-Gloves activated he gave his brooch a quick tap with his left fingers he coated that hand thickly in Mist and put both limbs together, then pulled them apart to reveal a short but heavy looking amber spear of bamboo two inches thick. This he threw.

The point landed in the middle of the target and exploded like a clap of thunder, ripping startled screams from his mother, Chrome and the children inside the house. Tsuna himself had jumped back and meeped at the noise. He watched his reinforced illusion crumble to rock before dissolving into wisps.

"Uh..."

"Not quiet enough... but you aren't a hitman, that's my job." Reborn, still on the boy's head, lightly tugged on a lock of hair. "Work on doing that while alternating isolated Sky, Lightning, and Rain."

"R-right. Getting right on that."

With that the hitman headed inside, likely to plot some future torture.

"TSU-KUN!"

Tsuna bit his lip and turned to find his mother rushing over with Chrome following a few paces behind. Both looked far more surprised than angry so he hoped for the best and stayed put.

"Tsuna-san, what did you do?" Chrome said, voice soft and almost unheard in the ringing Tsuna could hear.

"Tsu-kun, did you do something good?" Madre had pulled his arms up to inspect them, and seeing nothing amiss she gave him a hug and stepped back. "Reborn-kun looked happy! I'm so proud of you! What did you do?"

Tsuna sucked in his lips and weighed his options, then shrugged. He drew out Mist, summoned a bit of Sky, and created a tiny sphere which he then tossed ten feet above. It exploded with a soft boom and resembled a halo backdropped by the darkly clouded sky. Inwardly he sighed in relief that he had succeeded in keeping the explosion small.

Chrome had her hands covering her mouth before she pulled them away and congratulated him with warm eyes and a shy smile. Nana spun him around in a hug and declared it to be an oden night with cream puffs for dessert. He was to call everyone over, especially the other girls. They loved her creampuffs to bits. When she hurried off with a bounce in her step Chrome was left there and playing with her fingers.

"Th-that was impressive Tsuna-san. I w-wish you luck in your training."

She pretty much ran inside with a dark pink blush on her face. When Tsuna turned around he felt a certain cat brush up against his leg. He picked "Piero" up, let the feline drape over his shoulder lazily, and withheld a sigh.

"I told Hibari. I... I'll get around to the others when the time is right."

Mukuro-cat nosed his cheek and snorted.

"How do you even make that sound sarcastic..."

. . .

Later that night, after an impromptu party, Tsuna found he couldn't sleep. There was something tugging at his Intuition, hot and cold, and he felt the itch to go outside and find the cause. But this wasn't the sort of tug that drew him to Takeshi or Chrome, or even Piero, it was like a gentle tap in the shoulder as if to say "Heads up, there's a little storm heading this way, keep on your toes!"

Tsuna pulled out his phone and weighed his decision to tell everyone to be careful right then, but it was two in the morning and he knew how Hana and Hibari could be when woken too early, and they always kept their messages on. Technically he wasn't feeling a life-or-death chill, so... yes, he put his phone on his side table and curled up on his side. At the very least if he wasn't going to sleep he could go into a deep meditation and relax.

He hoped the trouble wouldn't be anything like that thing with Mukuro.

OMAKE

Spanner and the Mysterious Failed Attacks [Thanks to "Littlest1"**]

Sarumane two "sisters" now:

Saruken had a humanoid shape and was made to have a thick body for extra strength and endurance; she stood at five feet tall and was colored blue and grey to mildly resemble a power ranger. She utilized Rain Flames like Hana, who, along with Takeshi, generously donated Flames to be used in the specialized system which cycled Rain through Cloud and Sky in an ametrine, so essentially the Rain, like the Lightning Saruken runs on, lasts for weeks through hard-testing.

Then there's Sarubūto. This one, to be described properly at a later time, was designed to be a battle-bot far stronger than Saryuki ever was, and stronger than Saruken. What can be said, however, is that within Sarubūto's programming is loyalty to Tsuna and others, as well as thirty martial arts skills and techniques from around the world, courtesy of Nobu and Fon sparring with Tsuna, as well as the internet. Combined with Sarubūto's learning-AI, the bot was quick to improve and develop a tendency to improvise and go for some surprising moves.

Maybe letting Sarubūto watch One Piece and Naruto wasn't the best idea...

Spanner had been talking with Reborn and this usually ended with the young genius walking away with more inspiration for his robotics creations. He learned that Sky's have six or more Guardians, and that he is one with his active Lightning. Since Spanner was no fighter and had no intention of becoming one, it was suggested that he make something to fight for him, Tsuna, and the group. Thus, Sarubūto was created.

Days before a certain character's noisy appearance...

One of Spanner's personal protection inventions was a little key-chain like contraption that stored Sky-Lightning Flames and utilized them in a localized EMP attack that would fry electronics not keyed to his and Tsuna's energy signatures. This was further developed and added to his monkey-bots arsenals.

A series six of child sized robots attacked him while he was testing Saruken and Sarubūto against each other three miles into the mountains. He barely threw himself out of the way and that was thanks to Sarumane screeching a warning the tugging on his shirt.

The little bots were green and deceptively simple looking. They gave his two main combat-bots a good workout before Sarubūto grew irritated, judging by the violent twitching of its hands, and released a strong EMP wave that reached the intended thirty yards and downed the smaller bots. Spanner inspected them and found the same vaguely Egyptian crocodile symbol on the inside panel of the the chest that the mechanic had found on the men that attempted to kidnap him on a number of occasions.

Fortunately Sarumane had been equipped with powerful tasers in all paws and her tail, as well as the fangs she could bite with. She, a small martial artist in her own right, was good with quickly zapping them into submission, but aside from the crocodile symbol they were effectively ghosts with no ID. Not even Reborn could identify exactly who would have the croc symbol, though judging by an amused glint in his eyes whenever Spanner brought up the topic he had a good idea of who it was.

Spanner's personal weapon, a precious-steel umbrella, was perfectly capable of reflecting (so far) all attacks and had a specified ability just in case he's caught in a storm.

The young genius took all bots home with him after having Sarubūto perform a smaller and stronger EMP pulse just-in-case of surviving tracking tech, since the Double Tap is always a good idea in tricky situations, regardless of zombies being the target*.

Later that night as Spanner is eating a bento between taking apart the robots, he felt an odd shiver crawl down his back and wonders if the one wanting his head has finally given up and decided to come after him. Should he tell Tsuna?

... Maybe. Spanner didn't feel like stressing out the fluffy boy when he's capable of protecting himself and is being protected by Saruken and Sarubūto.

CAN IT BE? ARE THE RING BATTLES ON THEIR WAY? Yes, yes they are.

SO, how did people find Mitsuko? I hope I did her justice. She's very much her own person, and somewhat childish and exciteable. I also imagine her as like... Polarized? She's not a normal Cloud, or Classic like Hibari being distant and cold and preferring alone time in the manga (and in this, just less cold maybe). She's like... the clouds in the sky that gather close and bunch together. I may have messed up that description, but look at Fon. He's a calm and collected Storm that is normally unruffled.

** Right as I finish this sentence an AMV with Highschool of the Dead clips comes on. xD

** Littlest1 has been awesome about pointing out things I'm too absent-minded to think about. Rather, I get caught up in imagining what happens in the later part of the series in relation to what I'm writing, and I forget little things. Like Verde being perfectly willing to hunt down someone who has stolen some technology of his. Thus, this is born and Verde will make an appearance (though... you may have to pardon OOC-ness).

Critique, pointing out of mistakes (like possible plot holes that may just be something to do with the AU), or plain telling me how much you liked this (or disliked for a named reason), or some scenes, are EXTREMEly welcomed. :D