Can I just say I hate fighting scenes (when *I* have to write them)? They fun as heck in my head but putting words to actions in a comprehensible way is... ugh. The Ring Battles are going to give me a migraine if the fight with Mr. Loudspeaker and Tuna is any indication...

REVIEWS: When I answer them I might be answering some again without meaning to, so bear with me? It's been a rough week. My diabetic grandma got herself in the hospital via failed kidneys. She developed delirium (like dementia sort of, forgetting things, places, reverting to earlier memories), wouldn't eat at first, and I was terrified and trying not to cry and be miserable. I have read that suppressing emotions is very unhealthy and leads to health problems (like high blood pressure, aggravated asthma (which explains why I was coughing and wheezing more this week) and, wouldn't you know it, diabetes. So yes, not a fun week. Watching vines that showed plucky grandmas being funny for their grandkids had me crying and diving for funny animal videos and Markiplier bloopers.

NOTE: I'm so frazzled I thought I misplaced the omake with Verde-not-yet-there and Spanner. I was pretty much crying. It's not even that cursed time of the month. x.X

"There is no limit to the power of loving." ~ John Morton.

The next morning Tsuna was woken up in a new and mildly terrifying way. He opened his eyes, still half asleep and curious about the warm arms around him, and saw Mukuro's sleeping face right next to his.

"HIIIEEEEE!" Tsuna threw himself out of bed and went rolling across the floor.

"Kufufufu." Mukuro sat up and stretched his arms up lazily, exposing his stomach muscles. When he caught sight of Tsuna's scowl he went on chuckling for several seconds. "That face is worth the ringing in my ears, Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna stood, stomped over, and grabbed the tall Mist's arm in a gentle grip before hauling him out his bedroom and slamming the door.

"Ah, Tsunayoshi-kun, I had a reason for this little visit."

The Sky had his sleep-shirt stripped off and one hand holding the top of his school uniform as he waved the middle finger at the door. It was private venting. "What is it?"

"Chikusa and Ken are in Kokuyo Land. They look a bit starved."

"... You could just say 'I demand you go feed my minions, please'. It's not that hard."

"Kufufu. You seem to be on point, little Vongola."

"Mm-hm, I'll ferry food their way later*. It'll be home-cooked from my madre and they'll eat well at least."

"Very well. By the way, earlier on there was a blond creature here and he wore a hard hat. The baby hitman kicked him out before your mother woke up."

Tsuna froze before hanging his head with a groan. "And I missed that. Fuck."

"Kufufu. I could recreate it... for a little kiss."

Tsuna pinched his brow and threw his arms in the air before leaving his room, fully dressed, and scowling up at Mukuro with a darkly blushing face. Then he grabbed the Mist by his shirt and yanked him down to lay a soft kiss on his cheek. Mukuro looked a bit shocked, which probably amounted to gobsmacked, and he stared at Tsuna for a long moment before a slight smirk crossed his face. He pulled the shorter male snuggly into his side, lifted his hand, and suddenly the area directly outside Tsuna's room was the kitchen and he could see and experience what happened.

Reborn had been sitting on the dining table with a mug of coffee in hand. Looking around Tsuna could see from the window above the sink that the sky was brightening from night into a lovely lighter blue as the sun rose. The main door clicked as a key unlocked it and Reborn put his coffee to the side and hopped down to approach the entry hall. Mukuro, presumably a spirit at the time, followed and stood to the side as everything began to unfold:

Iemitsu, the "blond creature", opened the door and froze. Reborn tilted his fedora up and held the man's stare for an uncomfortably long eight seconds. Then the baby talked.

"Just how stupid are you?"

"What?" Iemitsu relaxed enough to step inside and shut himself in. "What brought this on?"

"The file you gave me on Tsuna was borderline useless, just like the man I'm looking at. Did you even know he was molested when he was ten?"

Tsuna felt himself pale and clutch at Mukuro. The older boy tightened his arm around him.

"Nana saved him before the worst happened, but not before he was hurt. Now.Did. You. Know?"

Iemitsu slumped against the door and there seemed to be tears welling up in his eyes. "No... I-I didn't. I never heard anything."

"Nothing at all? Are you certain?"

"Th...there was a time when one of my secretaries tried to get a hold of me. I never got around to reading the note she left. Probably disappeared during spring cleaning..."

Reborn's hand twitched like he either wanted to strangle the man or shoot him.

"I expected a boy as needy as Dino and I found more than I bargained for in different ways. I needed Tsuna's trust to work with him optimally. Now that I have it I feel inclined to do more than beat you into the ground for having his Flames sealed when someone should have taken him in and trained him."

Iemitsu scrubbed at his face before the tears fell. "I wasn't thinking well at the time. All I felt... all I felt was Dissonance and... damn it, part of me wanted to hurt him. As for Timoteo, I can't be sure."

"Hm." Reborn stroked Leon for a moment before voicing further thoughts. "You tested him for the seat of the Vongola by kidnapping his friends. Normally I would see nothing wrong with that, but I'm afraid Nana and her son have affected me a bit more than I initially thought anyone could, and now I see your little test as imbecilic. You alienated him and I can only assume that any knowledge of this will feed his hatred for the Nono's Vongola and general mafia."

Iemitsu was white and there was a miniscule shaking in his clenched fists. "I see. That shouldn't be surprising. Is... there anything else you want to say?"

"Do me a favor and grin."

"..."

"Just do it."

Tsuna watched his father pull on (with disturbing ease) one of those stupid grins the boy had come to just about hate, and Reborn came at him like a little bullet to kick him in the face. The man was sent flying straight through the front door and clear over the road to completely wreck someone's lovely flower bed like a meteor.

Reborn was quiet for a moment. "Did you get all that, Mukuro?"

The illusion faded out and leaving with it went the gentle spring warmth of Chrome's Mukuro influenced Flames. Tsuna stayed like that, clutching at Mukuro and struggling to keep down his anger and sense of betrayal as hot Intuition assured him that, yes, everything in that illusion had been real. What he had suspected and done his level best to ignore had just been shoved in his face. Iemitsu was part of the mafia, probably worked for Timoteo or was some sort of partner, and the young Sky felt torn between a potentially destructive rage and the desire to hide in a quiet place where no one would find him and he could scream obscenities or cry in peace.

A soft pressure of Mist made Tsuna open eyes he hadn't realized he'd closed, and he blinked at the sight of Chrome looking at him tearfully. Right as his mind caught up with what he saw, that she must know exactly what went on in Mukuro's memory, she wrapped him in a tight hug and guided his head to her shoulder.

"I-it's okay to cry, Tsuna-san... Mukuro-san won't see, I promise."

Chrome's Mist increased and the Sky was hit with the distinct feeling of irritation from Mukuro as he being pushed out of the house. Tsuna's eyes pricked and he shivered before nodding toward his bedroom. Chrome gained a determined expression and followed him through the doorway. It was an awkward moment before Tsuna shut the door and slumped against it, only to slide down and bury his face in his hands and concentrate on slow, shaky breathing. No screaming in the house, that disturbs everyone's peace. Chrome, in a slightly clumsy way that spoke of her being unaccustomed to giving comfort, settled on her knees and wrapped him in a softer hug before she started petting his hair. While holding him she created an illusion. They were soon in a forested area and the chirping of birds could be heard. It felt perfectly isolated and Tsuna gave in to the less destructive vent of his ugly emotions, minus any screaming. It was half an hour later that his tears stopped and he felt a bit better. He and Chrome had shifted positions during that time until she was holding him to her chest and he had his arms around her waist.

It was a comfortable position but Tsuna, leaving the slight fugue he'd entered when he gave in and cried, felt embarrassed and had a blush on his face as he drew back and wiped at his eyes. Chrome pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him with a shy smile.

"I hope I helped Tsuna-san... I'm n-not good at helping p-people like this."

Tsuna took a deep breath and noticed that her illusion even smelled like a forest. "You did. Thank you, Chrome-san. I felt close to doing something bad... so, really, thank you."

Chrome tugged at the sleeve of her shirt and smiled. "I'm glad. M-maybe you should go out and have fun after school today. S-see a movie maybe. Or... or go to that bakery you like."

"She's right. You're not in any state of mind for me to train."

Chrome and Tsuna jumped and looked up to see Reborn sitting in a "bush" within the illusion. With a wave of her hand Chrome dispelled it and Tsuna could see that his tutor was comfortably perched on his pillow.

"Right. Thanks, Reborn." Tsuna smiled, just a bit weak, and stood along with Chrome. "I'll train extra hard tomorrow, I promise."

"I know you will. Now don't come home after school or it's the Leon Jig for you." With that said the infant dropped a small smoke bomb and disappeared.

"Reborn-san is..."

"Calling him unique is putting it very, very mildly."

Chrome smiled before her face turned somber. She grabbed his hand and held his eyes steadily. "I d-didn't hear or see anything, Tsuna-san. I hope you s-smile a lot today."

After giving his hand a gentle squeeze Chrome went to the children's rooms to wake them up and get them ready for the day, leaving Tsuna softly smiling in his empty bedroom.

Two minutes later he met up with his male Rain and his bomber. Three minutes of listening to Gokudera talk about a Sci-Fi show he really liked (something about a Doctor?) Tsuna worked up the courage to say what was on his mind.

"So my father's back, he sneaked in this morning. Reborn was kind enough to boot him out with a kick to the face."

Takeshi choked slightly on his milk before he looked at Tsuna with a sunny smile. "Oh? Reborn's awesome! How about you sleep over just in case? We could play video games or watch movies!"

Gokudera glared at Takeshi before deciding to one-up him. "Better yet, Juudaime, let's skip today. It's just preps and I can help you study later!"

Takeshi put his arm around Tsuna and fist-pumped. "He's right. Hana can help you too! What do you say?"

Tsuna smiled at their attempts to cheer him up. "How does heck yeah, sound?"

. . .

For a while everything went well considering most of his Famiglia came along with him to the downtown area.

Haru and Shoichi were at school, with the former absolutely determined to do her best, and Spanner was a few steps behind Tsuna. Hana also opted to attend school in order to properly help the out-of-sorts Sky study harder later on. Ryohei was at school as well, mostly for attending his boxing club and whipping his fellow clubmates into shape for an upcoming tournament between Namimori and Kokuyo Junior High. It was presumed that Hibari was at school, and Nana was home with Bianchi and watching a romcom last he heard. Everyone else, from Fon and the kids to Lancia, were with him. Tsuna even had Aota on his shoulder.

With Fuuta holding his hand and Lambo sitting on his free shoulder doing his best to be good for candy, Tsuna had been having a lot of fun. First he, Kyoko, Chrome, and the kids headed into the pet store to look at the kittens and puppies while Piero waited outside with Gokudera and the rest, or rather in Gokudera's arms getting a scratch behind the ear. Chrome, who had texted that Mukuro was sharing her body but was not in control, looked adorable while giggling with two puppies in her arms, and then she had to hand the pups to him and Kyoko to avoid being licked too much. Lambo somehow ended up in one of the show-cages by the pet store windows and for the life of him Tsuna could not fathom how.

Next came the arcade, a quick visit to the bookstore for manga, then the toy store. There was plenty of window shopping, but the kids each had a single stuffed animal to enjoy. Fuuta chose a bird of prey called a kestrel, while I-Pin chose a dragon and Lambo picked out a cow that mooed.

By lunch time everyone headed to a cafe near the mall with outside seating. They each had drinks and food and it was pleasantly calm. Tsuna had a table with Takeshi, Gokudera on one side, and Chrome and Kyoko were on his, with the Mist sitting at his left and talking to everyone when she had something to say. Lancia was seated at a table with the children and Fon. Spanner had a table with Reborn and was showing the Sun Arcobaleno things on his palmtop computer. From the looks of the hitman he was pleased with Spanner's show and tell.

For a moment a smiling Tsuna thought the day would go on quietly and he could deal with Iemitsu's presence without prior stress, but that was not meant to be.

An overhang to their far left exploded, causing everyone to stand up and ready for attack*. When the body came flying at him Tsuna had been prepared to catch the person, but Chrome pulled him away and Kyoko did it herself. She only staggered back a step before helping the stranger, a boy roughly Tsuna's height, stand upright.

"M-milady, thank you for your help," he said, and that's when it became obvious.

He had a Hyper Dying Will Flame of Rain.

"Tsuna-san, I'll help with the kids," said Chrome, squeezing his arm briefly. He felt her presence move away.

Some of Tsuna's group gathered close in a loose circle, with Takeshi and Gokudera flanking him and Kyoko. Lancia and Fon had herded the kids far out of the way with Chrome carrying a struggling Lambo, and Reborn was to the far side so he could observe out of the way. He intended to intervene before anyone died. Those with Tsuna, and the HDW boy, watched their enemy closely.

"VOOOI! What's this? There's a bunch of interfereing lumps of trash in my way. They're about to be sliced to ribbons if they don't move."

The man standing on top of the same overhand had a sword attached to his arm. He sported the longest hair Tsuna had ever seen, also the palest when compared to Gokudera's, and he radiated the sort of danger that sent the Decimo's hair standing up. To emphasize his statement he swung his sword wildly and caused shockwaves that gouged deep slices in the brick covered ground.

Tsuna turned his head to take a quick look toward where his buzzing Intuition told him the kids were and smiled to himself when he saw them. Chrome and Fon disappeared into the fleeing civilian masses with the kids as he watched. Lancia, on the other hand, moved closer with a firm look on his face. He wouldn't be heading off with the children, partly because this attack wasn't about Fuuta, and because they had enough protection with an Arcobaleno and Chrome. She had learned more than just his mother's Mist trick with causing crippling level of fear. Tsuna turned to Kyoko and, as though in sync, she turned to look at him as well. Her honey eyes were like diamond and there was no convincing her to leave, giving the boy something else to worry about.

A habit of Tsuna's was to wear his X27-Gloves damn near always, and as such he cracked his knuckles and steadied his racing heart. He needed to keep his calm if he was going to keep his people in one piece with or without Reborn's help (who would likely watch until the last moment to check on his combat capability, ever the opportunist).

"I'm sorry, Sawada-dono, I did not mean to lead him to you*."

Tsuna glanced the boy with his Rain still flickering strongly. "I'll ask you questions later..."

"Basil."

"But for now, maybe you should get to a safer place where you can recover."

Basil frowned and shook his head. "If I'm leaving I must insist that you follow. It isn't safe for you or your friends."

Tsuna reached into his pocket and pulled out two little turquoise pills. "Fine, then, you better take these. They're kinda like senzu beans only not as all powerful."

Basil's eyes lit up briefly in recognition and he quickly downed the pills right before the silver haired Rapunzel, as Tsuna privately dubbed the swordsman, landed before him and his group.

"A little drug won't help you survive, brat." Rapunzel pointed his blade at Basil, ignoring Tsuna for the moment. "Hand over the damn box and I won't paint the ground with everyone's guts."

Taking those pills left Basil feeling a bit better immediately and that healthy sensation only grew, along with the mild numbing of his pains, as he stood beside Tsuna and the Decimo's comrades. He pulled out his blade-boomerang and stepped forward with a glare.

"I cannot."

Rapunzel let out a derisive snort and lunged forward to attack. Basil, still recovering, barely stopped the blade from spilling his insides before he was sent flying and rolling across the ground behind everyone. Kyoko touched Tsuna's arm briefly and hurried to Basil's side to begin healing him properly. She trusted everyone to take care of this, or at least last until Reborn saw fit to intervene, or...

Silver Rapunzel set his eyes on Tsuna and observed, with very mild interest, as nearly all those close and in attendance, even a kid with two robotic monkey's on him in the far back, tensed or shifted in response.

"You, fluffy, what's your relationship with the brat? If you don't talk I'll slice you to chunky bits."

Tsuna glared and tugged at his gloves. "I just met him, but I already like him. Why are you after him?"

Rapunzel sneered. "That's none of your business, bambi, now move out of my way or I'll see how far your head goes flying."

Gokudera couldn't hold himself back anymore, he threw a dozen of the more dangerous bombs he's created and forced the long haired bastard to jump back and off a wall to escape the shock-wave. When the smoke cleared Gokudera stood with Takeshi in front of Tsuna, and both sported rather dark expressions.

"Lay a hand on him and I'll see how many limbs I can blast off."

Takeshi stood in a loose stance with his sword at the ready. "I second that. Touch him and you won't like what any of us do to you."

Tsuna withheld a sigh that threatened to be fond and scared for them all at once. "Gokudera, Takeshi, please, you need to work together on this one."

Rapunzel wrinkled his nose like he smelled something awful. "Pathetic. If you go against me, you're going to die. Painfully."

"Don't! He is not a man any of you can defeat!"

With a grimace Tsuna headed to Kyoko and and Basil and stood by them. "They won't die. I have people I trust waiting and watching, and as terrible as one can be in training me, neither will let them die here."

Basil looked up at Tsuna and nodded, though clearly still worried. Kyoko's healing was speeding up his recovery quite nicely in conjunction with the soothing effects of the pills.

In the battle zone Takeshi nudged Gokudera and gave him a pointed stare, then the bomber grunted irritably and nodded. It was no time to take chances if Tsuna actually warned them to work together. First Takeshi came in for the attack, quickly blocking Rapunzel's first strike. When black pellets fell out of the man's blade the younger swordsman's first instinct was to throw himself back and out of the way, but he reacted a touch too slow and was caught in the shock-wave at a bad angle. His head cracked off the ground, knocking him unconscious. Gokudera grit his teeth in rage and vexation, and went to throw more bomb's but Rapunzel's voice spoke right behind him as his lit dynamite were sliced apart. The Storm immediately made to dodge, but he wasn't as physically conditioned as Takeshi, he was hit with a brutal kick and hit the ground hard enough for an instant KO.

Kyoko had a fierce expression on her face as she watched this. She patted Basil's shoulder, told him to stay back, and quickly went to Tsuna's side to squeeze his hand. It went unspoken that she would take them to safety and treat them as he fought the threat.

Tsuna reached into his lumbar pack and withdrew the tonfa that Spanner had been steadily remaking better and more dangerous every two or three weeks. The weapons he held took eighteen days to have crafted and it was still a golden color, only now the weapon was studded with small blue heptagon shaped stones decorating it at random along half the weapon with an inch wide stone at the tip. Tsuna tried to ignore, beyond thanking Spanner (and sending a letter to Dino along with his mother's recipe's for sweets), that the stones were actual diamonds. His X27-Gloves and the tonfa flared brightly and crackled with his angry energy, filling the immediate area with a distinct chill even as the brilliant Sky-Lightning Flames wreathed his body and scented the air with ozone.

Rapunzel, who had the sword raised above Gokudera with dark intent, paused and turned narrowed eyes on Tsuna's display of power. A Sky Flame that pure was rare, the last he saw of one was his boss.

"I don't give a fuck about what you're here for. You're in my hometown, my territory, and you won't get away with hurting anyone."

"Fluffy has some bite, I see..." The foreigner's eyes landed on his gloves and he emitted more of a killing aura as he smirked. "So you're the one I've heard about. To be in contact with the likes of you, that brat really has to talk now!"

Tsuna approached the man, weapons ready and looked at him with glowing eyes daring him to make the first move. Rapunzel's face turned murderous and he attacked with a slash of his blade. Tsuna blocked with his tonfa crossed and he came at the swordsman with a clear note of rage in his Sky Presence. Multiple blows were exchanged, weapons glancing off each other with bright sparks, and Tsuna's speed without a hundred-plus extra pounds slowing him down was far faster than even he anticipated as he managed the first hit and struck Rapunzel with a Sky-Lightning enhanced blow to the swordman's side, sending him flying briefly*. Grinning wildly, the man bounced back from that hit with a torn and charred jacket and some heavily blistered skin showing through. A moment later Tsuna barely blocked another strike before he was kicked and sent barreling through the air like a damn American football, only to crash through a window.

(While the swordsman was distracted Kyoko hurried to her downed friends. She pulled the two boys up and into what must could have been an uncomfortable position for both, as she carried them like sacks of flour to the far side while slumped over her shoulders. Both had damage to the heads that would take more care in healing than a bone. Basil stood guard as she worked with part of her attention on Tsuna.)

Having only in a few cuts on his cheeks and ear, with plenty of rips in his shirt showing what looked to be a gaudy metallic undershirt, Tsuna left the large front window in good health thanks to Spanner and Shoichi's armor. Now that he had gauged more of Squalo's ability and judged him to be like going up against a rhino with himself as the kitten, he dug deep and drew on his Flames until he felt the luscious heat of a Hyper Dying Will. The diamonds on his tonfa released dark orange Flames that made the air around them ripple, and then he rushed Rapunzel with a low growl.

Rapunzel smirked. He was hurt, and that wasn't surprising considering his profession. What had him feeling exhilarated, and for the first time in far too long, was fighting with this diminutive Sky. He could not remember the last time his heart rate picked up on a mission, and for that alone he felt enough respect for the brat to give his all in the fight and see if he lasted.

... And then the Sky Flames that brat emitted from his tonfa nearly melted completely through his sword with the first clash.

"VOI!" The swordsman dodged out of the way narrowly, feeling the heat of those Flames like a particularly strong hair-dryer blowing across his side and singeing more of his outfit. Once he was out of arms reach he had a grin that sent a chill down Tsuna's spine despite the glare on his own face.

"You are something else, brat. I've never had any trash damage my blade like that! The name is Squalo, kid," said the man as he reached over his shoulder to pull out another sword attachment. "You can't be called trash, but that doesn't mean you're anything."

Tsuna nodded his head. There were bound to be people better than him. He was just fourteen, but youth means he has time to grow and become that force of nature Fon told him he could be. If anyone or anything could give him the strength do that it would be everyone he cared for.

Squalo threw his cracked, half melted sword to the ground and fitted his new one. "Gotta say, brat. I think I'll be remembering you for at least a month."

The two stood in their stances, weapons at the ready and eyes locked on one another, and when a bird overhead released a screech, they came at one another for one last clash. Squalo's new sword was paler in metal, much like Takeshi's, and withstood his hard Sky Flames with each consecutive blow traded, but that was due to the layer of angry looking Rain Flames coating the metal. Tsuna found himself being pushed all the harder, with some backlashes from the blocked strikes eventually slicing through his armor to catch flesh. Finally, when Tsuna felt like he was about to have his arms fall off from how numb they were, something amazing and horrifying happened.

Blurred movement drew Squalo's attention and Tsuna, knowing the presence headed their way, trapped the sword until it snapped in half and provided just enough delay. The moment Squalo managed to turn and block, his forearms were hit with possibly two tonnes of feminine rage and he had the pleasure of flying through a building. The Decimo turned his attention to his left and felt his mouth go dry at how fierce she looked. Was it wrong to find that attractive?

Beside him Kyoko stood, one of both blazing-white fists raised. She had a visible aura of Sun Flames and there were only a few hairs out of place as she settled a heavy stare on the destruction she caused. She wondered, was her punch strong enough? She'd put in as much power as she dared to with Tsuna literally a foot away from the man...

Unseen behind them, Reborn nodded to himself with a smothered rush of pride at how far his students had come. Basil, with his HDW flickering and slowly fading, was pale and shaking and staring at the two teens who, together, had managed to, and without prior planning, successfully double-team a man who was widely known as stand-in boss of the Varia. The small hitman took this as his chance to investigate exactly what the boy seemed to be guarding and knocked him out without being noticed by anyone. Within seconds Reborn found a box containing seven familiar rings, but one touch to the half "Vongola Sun Ring" assured him they were all very well made fakes. He resealed the package and headed over to Tsuna and Kyoko right as Squalo left the rubble with bleeding scrapes over his face and the sleeves of his forearms obliterated by the force and heat of Kyoko's punch.

Reborn tossed the box at Squalo. "Take it. I can't fight a member of the Vongola, and I can't let this fight go on since it risks my pay-check. Now leave before I sic Lancia on you."

(Tsuna heard what was said and didn't think twice about taking it as the hitman wanting to hide his resignation from Rapunzel. Knowing the "baby" even slightly, he couldn't help believing Reborn had a plan of some kind in the works.)

Squalo pried open the box and smirked before he pocketed it and eyed the tall, scarred man standing to the left. That one radiated intent to harm and that fancy looking kanabo must weigh a hundred pounds, but he was spinning it with remarkable ease in one hand. Seconds later Squalo recognized him as "Mukuro", the mafia killer, and continuing the fight looked to be a perfect stress reliever, but then...

"Oi, Squalo, long time no see." Tsuna and Kyoko perked up at the familiar voice. There stood Dino with a hard expression and his whip in hand. "It's pathetic further beating up on children when you have what you came for."

The assassin appeared as though he'd bitten into a lemon disguised as an apple and wasn't sure whether he should toss it in the trash or make someone else eat it*.

"Nah. The Sky brat can fight, and his little girlfriend punches like a bomb. I've had my fun." Tsuna kicked the broken sword to him and he left with his trashed weapons.

Not wanting to wait a second more, Kyoko turned to Tsuna and set about healing his wounds and fixing the damaged armor (a skill Reborn had seen fit to pass on to her). In two minute's time, when every scratch and bruise was gone, she stopped fussing only to grab a hold of his hands. Her thumbs absently stroked the thick silk of his deactivated gloves, and Tsuna watched as her calm and attentive expression melted into one of worry and resignation. Concern kept him quiet and prompted him to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. Taking strength from that gesture, she looked to the adults in range and caught Spanner's eye, then she forced a smile and twirled her finger with a soft call of, "Please turn around." Though one was a just a tad reluctant, all did so.

Soft, warm and faintly sweet. Kyoko's kiss was so gentle his breath caught and his face flamed. She pulled away with tearful eyes before she hugged him tight and tucked her head against his neck.

"It's not enough, Tsuna-kun, I'm not... I can't stand beside you and fight yet, but I promise I will."

Tsuna gave himself a mental kick to the head and quickly returned her hug. "I have faith in you, Kyoko-chan. Someday you'll be like Reborn, only a lot easier on the eyes."

She choked out a giggle and even the mini disaster zone around them seemed brighter.

(And then everyone had to flee like Langoliers were on their behinds when the police started heading closer.)

OMAKE

Inside the Matriarch's head once again.

Sawada Nana knew the value of peace of mind. Hers was the health and happiness of her beloved her son, the children, and all his other precious friends. She knew Reborn was doing more than helping him improve in school, she recognized the signs of extreme training from his time with Nobu, who she was happy to see back in her son's life.

When he returned with them and stayed for dinner she asked him to escort her the store. Three blocks from home she reached up, grabbed his ear, and tugged him down so they were face to face, and she had one of her Cyanide Smiles: "Within a week I am going to ask my son if he's had a talk with you. If he doesn't initiate it, Nobu-kun, be a sweetheart and do it yourself."

Nana could not recall ever seeing him go so pale, but then again that was the first time her "assassin's smile" (according to Hana-chan) was directed at him, and a bittersweet, if highly amused, part of her had wondered what her No-Good husband would say if he could see her then.

Back to the subject of Reborn and her son. The supposed "prodigy" who was much more like a man than an abnormally intelligent baby, was helping her son become strong, and so far she had already seen so much change. Tsu-kun stood taller, spoke with a touch more confidence, and best of all he seemed to have more faith in himself. Like most good mothers in regards to their children, she had always believed her son was special, but ever since the little tutor had arrived her boy was showing himself as more of the man she once thought Iemitsu to be, strong and with a growing independent streak. She used to pray for her Tsu-kun to keep going like this, but she had a strong feeling that it wasn't needed.

Nana was not one for secrets, she didn't like how they could drive a wedge between people. She kept some things about herself quiet, things like having family that travels around the world as a popular circus act boasting the best magic shows. She hadn't shown "psychic" ability like the rest of her family so she took it as her excuse to get away, see the world, maybe settle down in a quiet town and have children of her own. Now that she knew the "psychic" powers were Mist Flames she wasn't sure how to go about getting into contact with her family, much less her grandmother, the boss of that circus, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Tsu-kun had never asked about her family after learning that his father's were all dead, and she dreaded the day he ever asked.

Lying was another aspect of life that Nana understood the damage of, and she tried to teach her boy the dangers of it.

One of the few times she unknowingly lied to her son was after Iemitsu's leaving. Three times he asked when his papa was coming home and she answered each time with "this month for sure" because she had deeply hoped for such and believed in her No-Good husband then. He was just attending his construction sites, how long could that take? She had eventually arrived at the conclusion that the man did not work in construction and her wondering over where he was and what he did was the source of her crying as the years went by. Then, after a brief phone call at five in the morning, he returned out of the blue and it was a disaster even before the kidnapping and rescue orchestrated by her twelve year old son. Whatever love Tsuna had for Iemitsu had shriveled to nothing, and the man left before she could even find the courage to bring up the subject of their broken marriage. She was still working on that.

Despite the aversion to secrets that she held, Nana knowingly kept two from Tsuna:

She knew. Granted, not everything at first, but it did not take Sherlock level intellect to deduce a few things when one lives with a walking kidnapper magnet named Fuuta. Especially when a high number of despicable men would make references to mafia's, the criminal underground, and how getting innocent Fuuta-kun would give them a advantage over an envied group called the Vongola. It was a detail that, to her, was no more important than the grass being green because she had full faith in her son and his strong, reliable friends. With the arrival of Reborn she had heard snatches of references to the Vongola group again. It wasn't unil Takeshi-kun volunteered to escort her to the grocery store that all the pieces of a puzzle long-in-completion came together. He casually told her of the "Mafia Game" that he's been playing, a "game" that had her Tsu-kun being trained as the boss, and it started with Reborn's arrival.

In the middle of the sidewalk, just her and Takeshi in the pleasantly warm evening, she hardly noticed her breathing quicken and the world sway as it narrowed down to just herself and her normally controlled emotions building like a rising tide of terror. But then Takeshi stepped in front of her and gave her a soft look of understanding as he said this:

"Next to my dad and friends, Tsuna is the most important person in my life and no matter what comes at him I'll be there to keep him standing. Me and everyone else who cares for him."

Needless to say, this gave Nana the strength resume being herself. The two of them returned soon after that with food and none seemed to notice anything off.

Her second secret was the training with Shamal. He explained to her in detail what Mist's can do, how the most skilled and powerful can make their illusions real enough to physically heal, in a way, as much as damage the body in addition to breaking a mind, and all with the Construction trait of Mist. Real Illusions will leave damage to the surrounding area when dispelled, but the problem with that useful skill rests in how few Mist users are capable of using Construction. In the end she had both the power and gift for it, but that isn't the secret.

In order to inflict specific pain on someone a Mist user must experience it for themselves*.

I don't suppose this counts as a cliff-hanger? Uh, before the omake I hit you guys with the force of a flying cow. (At least that's how it felt to me after writing it out.)

* Ken and Chikusa: M.M. fled to her cushy hide-away in France. As for the other two, well, I'll write an omake for that! I might put an entire chapter of omakes up. It's tempting and it would be the only one not with "Chapter ##" at the top, it would have "Interlude: Insert Snappy Name".

* "Hey, Author, why did Iemitsu try sneaking into the house earlier than in canon?" Because I imagine he wanted to talk to Nana and before getting the cold shoulder from his son. AND ALSO... the kick-him-in-the-face scene was supposed to be more humorous than that but it was 2:30 in the morning when I was hit in the face with a sudden just start writing for the love of everything JUST WRITE WOMAN, DANG IT feeling, and my Muses were plotting with Reborn.

PS. I got the kick-to-the-face idea from general zargon and Blazin'Blue, so thanks you two! Sorry it wasn't funnier.

* Tsuna's Crying: He'd rather be "weak" than resort to destruction to vent his frustrations, though I think I say as much in the writing.

* Chrome: Being in a loving environment where people treat her with respect and there's a woman like Nana treating her like a daughter and spending precious time on her, it's bound to have a fairly quick effect on a girl who previously had received nothing good from her mother. Next to Nana I feel like she would open up most around Tsuna since he nearly died saving her.

* SQUALO IN NAMIMORI: One, he was clearly after Basil, who she did not know is connected to the Vongola. Two, Mitsuko (who has the town bugged) tries not to interfere unless the underworld person is a "rabid wolverine" and causes a ruckus like an angry goat. Which means she's disappointed in Squalo's lack of subtlety. And YES, if Mitsuko ever, ever met Squalo or other loud, prone-to-expensive-damages Varia officers, she would refer to them as "Silver Goat, Prince Goat, Pitiful Goat (Levi) and etc. Xanxus would be the only one she doesn't call "goat" because he'd be too much of a headache. Mammon would be "Chibi Kid".

* Basil's Speech: It's adorkable, I'll give you that, but Basil watched some modern anime and Japanese horror films and realized, not long after the rosy sunglasses were removed, that Iemitsu had messed with him so he sought to fix that (for the most part). Those he respects are addressed a "-dono".

* FIGHT WITH A SHARK: To start off, Gokudera doesn't have the same conditioning as Tsuna, or even Takeshi, but he's getting there. As for Takeshi, well, Squalo is Varia Quality and this his first time going up against a man from a group of assassins that are in a league all their own. Give the poor guy a break. That and I wanted to give Kyoko one more Crowning Moment of Awesome.

* Tsuna's Fight: He had the advantage of watching the man's movement and his Intuition on top of sorta "testing" the others strength. He also knew that Gokudera and Takeshi had a chance to defeat the swordsman, but neither were prepared for that level of ferocious skill. Nor were they very good at working together. Keep in mind that Tsuna has had the benefit of fighting the human incarnation of the God of War, Mars, also known as a severely enraged Hibari. (A Hibari Kyoya who has had much more concentrated training than the wild canon counterpart). Include Fon and a prone-to-mostly-feigned-craziness Nobu, and well...

* Squalo and Lemon-Apple: That feels so right. I gotta keep it in. xD

* The Kiss: It literally came out of nowhere, the idea hit me as I was answering a review (thank you Natsu Yuuki!) and I hope it was done okay.

* NANA: I wonder if that was actually a revelation to anyone. A lot of you are quicker on the uptake (or think harder on the stories you read) so ... probably none?