Chapter 5: Flirting with Danger

"Regret nothing. Until it is too late. Then, regret everything."

-WTNV

Apparently, Dino had the idea that I was not going with him to Japan (which is rather humorous, considering at this point and at this age, one would assume he'd know better than to try to stop me).

"Cloud," he questioned warily, a large group of our subordinates behind him, ready to leave, "What are you doing?"

(But my brother always had a knack for asking oblivious questions, a habit even Reborn had failed to beat out of him)

"And here I thought that my lightly packed luggage would clue you off," I said rather cheekily, jutting my hip and cocking my head sweetly. Dino opened his mouth, looking down at me with a rather flat expression before taking a breath, pressing his fingers then hands together (almost as if he were praying, his exasperation amusing me further).

"Cloud," and my smile widened further, hearing the tired tone in which he pronounced my name, "I wanted you to stay here – "

"But we both know," I finished for him leaning forward as I nodded, "that I don't always take what other people want into consideration."

"Yeah," he said dryly, "You're pretty selfish that way."

"Not gonna argue that," I said happily, moving forward and patting him on the shoulder (reaching slightly to do so) as I passed him.

"You relented so easily, Boss," Romario noted, looking over at Dino, who was slumped only slightly in defeat.

"It was either let her come with me, or her finding her own way to get to Japan," Dino sighed, straightening and running a hand through his hair, "It's better to just slightly redirect her, rather than trying to fight and inevitably losing, you know?"

Dino sighed again, but there was an airy smile to it, seeing his sister fondly interact with his subordinates.

"So yeah," he said with a light chuckle, "I picked a good nickname."

"So, curiosity here; why where you trying to screw me out of a trip to Japan?"

"… not the way I would phrase it, but since I'm stuck on a plane with you, and I know you'll keep bugging me about it, I'll save myself the headache; so the we're meeting the Vongola Tenth, right? And well, he's the same age as you….. and you know, well, I just kind of wanted to meet him first you know, before any mafia politics got in the way or were thrown around…"

(Images flashed through my head, recalling panels upon panels of Tsuna falling over, humiliating himself, shrieking, and being an utter disaster in general)

"Nah, we're good, 'Bro. You don't have to worry about anything like that."

Per his usual terrifyingly accurate efficiency and tact, Reborn was there to greet us at Tsunayoshi Sawada's house as soon as we arrived.

"Yo, Reborn! Long time no see, right?" Dino greeted happily, nearly shining the moment he saw his former tutor.

"It hasn't been that long, No-Good-Student," Reborn immediately quipped back, jumping from the concrete wall he had been perched upon, and unceremoniously turning and retreating into the house.

"Like nothing's change, yeah?" I mused, side eyeing Dino. My brother chuckled in return, rolling his eyes only slightly before turning to address his men. My attention turned back to the house, quaint and warm both in feeling and color. Gently, I put my hand on the wall, separating the small street from the yard, tilting my head only slightly. It was cold, which somehow, I found surprising.

My head nearly jerked up, however, when a figure stepped out from the front door of the house;

Nana Sawada was ecstatic to have visitors. She was a kind woman, clearly, and fit the aesthetic of the house. Not beautiful, but pretty and soft – no, there was a vividness to her, wasn't there?

(But also a sadness? What was that? But was this my place to wonder, to question?)

"Cloud," I introduced myself after my own brother's suave introduction, "Dino's sister."

"Little," Dino enunciated, making a point to put his elbow on my head, leaning on me, "sister."

"Because that needed to be made clear," I retorted, my look souring and gently pushing him off (but unable to keep a smile from creeping onto my face when he grinned and ruffled my hair in response). Nana found our interaction endearing, humming happily and clasping her hands together.

"Siblings are so much fun! Unfortunately, Tsuna's an only child, but lately he's made so many wonderful friends! And I'm so glad to have you visiting him and Reborn!"

"We're glad to be here in your wonderful home as well," Dino responded courteously as I was fixing my mess of hair, "But if you don't mind, Mrs. Sawada, we'll go ahead and go on up to Tsunayoshi's room to wait for him."

"How kind of you, but please," the woman cooed, putting one hand on her cheek while the other gently wafted in the air, "Call me Mama! Everyone does!"

My smiled faltered, nearly. But quickly I recovered and hummed happily, giving pleased goodbyes and pleasantries as we moved up the stairs.

"So why does Dino need to be in a huge-ass chair again?" I asked once I was situated in the room, finding a welcoming distraction.

"Language," Dino reprimanded, spinning around to give me a stern look, "I don't want you to make a bad impression on the Vongola Tenth." I laughed loudly at the statement, making Dino raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah," I said, wiping a fake tear away, "I'm the one that's in danger of making a bad impression. We all know that I'm a delight."

Dino's expression deadpanned, and wisely, instead of responding, he swiveled away from me again.

"So," I addressed Reborn again, looking down where the hitman sat at the small table, calmly sipping an espresso as we waited, "just being extra, Demon Tutor?"

"I'm never extra, Cloud," Reborn addressed me, titling the end of his fedora down and casting a shadow across his face, "I do everything in amounts of perfection. And besides the chair ups Dino's intimidation factor."

"Yeah," I hummed, moving back and leaning against the wall, nearly sprawling out on the bed, "I guess he's not that threatening."

"Says the girl who stands at an underwhelming – "

"Watch it," I warned, pointing the manga I had found at him as a threat before flipping it open.

We heard Tsunayoshi Sawada far before we saw him. There was a sharp squawk heard through the open window, followed by frantic footsteps entering the house and racing clumsily up the stairs.

"Here he comes," Dino mused, turning his chair around just before the door burst open with a loud exclamation:

"Reborn! This is all your fault isn't it?"

Tsunayoshi Sawada looked just as frazzled as the loud noise he made; wild and unkempt hair (clearly never under his control) jutted out and around a rather young looking face. Not for the first time, I frowned, remembering how young he was, his family was; how young I was, technically. His stance was wobbly, and his eyes were wide, even terrified. Upon entering and seeing that his room was occupied by unfamiliar and intimidating men, standing on both sides of a large chair, turned away and mysterious, Tsunayoshi froze in place, his body even quivering.

All together rather pathetic, I noted; but was that normal, wasn't it? A standard, civilian reaction to men like these, to seeing all these clearly and obvious Mafioso (I was wholly unimpressed with how oblivious they all were to their own appearance. It was almost stressful at times, their lack of ability to blend in).

Per usual, I remained quiet and observing, with the Vongola Tenth not even noticing me; his attention was completely on my brother, who turned threateningly in his chair to greet the younger.

"We've been waiting for you, Tsuna. I traveled from afar to pay you a visit," Dino introduced, his hands clasped and body leaned forward, successful pulling of the air of a boss, "I'm Cavallone Tenth generation boss, Dino."

I softly snorted, knowing he was having way too much fun with this. Dino was clearly playing, testing, evaluating; this was a future ally, naturally, and a boy who held the future of the underworld in his shaking hands. Dino may be kind but he was no fool, and he was treating this situation with caution and the proper amount of evaluation. That, and no doubt he was judging Tsunayoshi's position as a student of Reborn (this was the kid that Reborn left Dino for, after all, and briefly I wondered if there was any underlying resentment there, and if Dino was using this to get revenge in a soft way).

There was a beat of silence as Dino evaluated Tsuna, the boy shaking and petrified, clearly. Then:

"He's no good!"

(Oh yeah, he's definitely taking out a little bit of pettiness on Tsuna, the poor guy)

"You don't have the aura. The way you represent yourself is terrible. You don't seem ambitious either. There's no sense of anticipation. You look unlucky too," my brother listed off.

"Your legs are short," Reborn joined in casually

"And you have horrible taste in manga," I inputted, flipping through the book and eventually abandoning it.

"Your disposition to be a boss is zero," Dino concluded. Tsunayoshi openly gaped at him, horrified that someone he just met would judge him so harshly. I hummed, but managed to hold back any laughter, enjoying the fact that Tsuna had yet to notice me. Dino retained a smug look while Romario and Bono blatantly laughed from behind Tsuna, who turned to Reborn and asked the obvious question in almost a stage whisper.

"Hey, Reborn! Who are these guys?"

"Dino is your senior apprentice," his tutor answered evenly (not even bothering to introduce me, the bastard).

"Don't let the things I said get you down, Vongola Tenth," Dino reassured him smiling lightly and dropping the small act he was playing, "You know, before I met Reborn..."

I blinked and yawned, tuning out again as Dino relayed his backstory and many trials Reborn put him through. Although, I would admit that Tsunayoshi (at this stage in his life) was extremely similar to my brother before Reborn trained him. It was endearing almost, seeing this mirror image, and I was sure Dino held this in a much warmer regard considering he was looking at a reflection of himself.

Well, I corrected, witnessing Tsuna shriek loudly and nearly fall on his ass after Dino pulled Enzo out of his jacket; Dino was a lot quieter and calmer. That was for sure. My attention after this event was drawn towards the door, seeing two small figures enter.

Immediately, I brightened seeing Ipin, but became concerned in the same instance, easily guessing who was with her. Even without my vague knowledge of the series, trouble clearly followed Lambo like his own fucking shadow.

"Hey Lambo! Didn't I tell you not to play with grenades?" Tsuna scolded, confirming my suspicions. Naturally, by some damnation of this odd universe, the child tripped, pulling the pins of the grenades he had been holding. Blankly, I watched as the grenades flew out the open window. Dino's response was immediate:

Efficiently, he got rid of the grenades, and in a rather flashy way at that. I snorted, knowing that he was only doing this for Tsunayoshi's sake. After Dino's leap out the window, using his whip to throw the grenades high up into the air, far, far out of range and no longer in danger of harming his men or the house, he landed coolly on the street below. I stood, Ipin now in my arms (having noticed me and gluing to me immediately as a greeting), and went to the window, whistling as I leaned out.

"He's so cool..." Tsuna admitted from my side, staring down at my brother in awe.

"Eh," I said with a shrug, smiling lightly as I glanced over, "a little flashy, yeah?"

"Well, I guess it was a little–" Tsunayoshi blinked, his head snapping to look at me. His face turned red immediately, and another small shriek escaped his lips before scrambling back into the room.

"Who the hell are you?!" He asked, pointed a rude and accusing finger.

"Me?" I said innocently, cocking my head, "I'm Cloud. Dino's sister."

"Sister?!"

"Little," I elaborated with a shrug before leaning down to let Ipin out of my arms, "Same age as you." Tsuna continued to stare at me as I warmly watched her leave. I hummed once more before turning my attention to him, giving the boy plenty of time to flounder.

"You know, since Dino's kind of your sworn brother or whatever," I said, waving my hand dismissively, "that makes me your sister, you know?"

"Sister?" Tsuna parroted again. I smiled again, and stepped forward, gently placing my arms on his shoulders, leaning forward to peck him lightly on the cheek. His response was immediate;

A gasping noise, and his body nearly slinking to the floor, face flaming. I leaned down to pat him on the head before making a floaty exit, lightly teasing,

"We're going to have so much fun, right 'Bro?"

Dino and Cloud Cavallone spent the night per Reborn's request (or rather demand, but at this point, Tsunayoshi was learning to pick his battles much more wisely in the time since the Demon Tutor first came). And Tsunayoshi sat at the table with them as his mother gushed and handed out their meals, watching and observing, taking in information without his own awareness.

They were… strange? But everyone that was somehow related to Reborn and the mafia were strange, and weirder people somehow kept finding their way into Tsuna's life.

Despite his introduction, Dino turned out to be rather kind and caring. He was warm and endearing in the way he treated Tsuna, and insisted on taking the role of an older brother figure in his life. It was a surprise (?) to say, upon learning of Dino's drastic drop in abilities and overall grace and functionality when without his men, but somehow? It fit him? There was a certain suaveness that Dino retained despite this, his men around or not, but always, always, he was kind. Even after his pet had wrecked their bathroom, he was extremely apologetic. Warm, kind, and personable.

Cloud was personable as well, but in a way, it was different. Certainly, she was not shy about contact, having kissed Tsunayoshi on the cheek earlier, and despite him reacting the way he had (all the blood rushing to his face, and nearly fainting), he soon realized that this was normal for her. He witnessed her grab Dino's arm, and even grab Tsuna's and lean into him a few times during the night, and although surprised, he wasn't made entirely uncomfortable with her actions (and he was sure, if he had asked, she would stop and be wary). She had swagger to her as well, but unlike Dino, there was a certain amount of casualness to her persona, a relaxing aura that she emitted; calm, but with a hint of mischief? She had bite, certainly, with how she spoke to Reborn, blatantly teasing and going back and forth with the Demon Tutor.

She was kind as well, like Dino, and Tsunayoshi noticed this most with how Cloud interacted with his mother. She was softer, immediately upon talking to Nana, and more than willing to help the older woman clean up while the others tried to salvage what was left of the bathroom. And when Tsunayoshi passed again, looking in the kitchen, seeing Cloud and his mother at the counter; he felt warm in that moment, witnessing this scene with them both smiling softly and speaking happily.

(But was that a glint of sadness in Cloud's eyes, or was that just his imagination?)

"Good morning, Cloud!" Nana greeted happily. My smile was delayed, but I responded to her greeting, and then immediately moved to make myself a cup of coffee. I had taken Bianchi's room for the night (the fact that I told Nana I knew the other woman helped a lot with that), and had impressively managed to wake up considerably early. After our small greeting Nana returned to her work happily while I blissfully sat at the table, half-dead but waking up only due to the coffee. Soon, however, I noticed Nana looking worriedly up at the second floor. Again, I hesitated before speaking up,

"Something wrong?"

"Tsuna isn't down yet…" she muttered with concern. She looked back at me with an apologetic smile, "Would you mind checking on him for me? I'm worried he'll be late for school again."

I nodded and pushed myself up, taking my coffee with me. I knocked once at his door, and upon hearing no response, I let myself in the room. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I noticed a lump on the bed.

"Yo, Tsuna," I approached him and knelt next the bed at his level. Another pause. And then I poked him in the cheek. "Yo, Tuna-fish," I repeated again. He grumbled and scrunched his nose before rolling over.

"Tsuna, your mom says you're going to be late for scho-" he shot up instantly and bolted out of the bed.

"Wah! I'm going to be late!" he yelled out, starting to undress. Another moment. And then he froze midway through taking off his pajama pants, his eyes snapping to my figure, standing simply and casually, sipping my coffee as I watched him. He stared, red immediately twinging his cheeks.

"You're one awkward little duckling, aren't you?" I commented blankly after another drink. His face turned a deep shade of red and he pushed me out of the room, slamming the door shut. I shrugged easily and went back downstairs, informing Nana that Tsunayoshi was indeed up before making my way outside.

I was not surprised in the slightest to find nearly all of Dino's men just outside the house. I moved outside of the gate to greet them, handing my coffee cup to Romario so I could use both arms to hop up and then sit on the wall.

"Come to pick Dino up?" I questioned dryly.

"Well, we just wandered here – "

"Uh huh," I tutted, giving Romario and knowing but amused look. Tsuna then chose that moment to burst from the door, looking stricken immediately upon seeing the large group that was waiting outside of his house.

"There's a commotion outside the house again!" he bemoaned, clutching his head..

"Good morning, Tenth," Romario said to Tsuna, who was sputtering something almost incoherent about Dino. I barely turned my head, seeing Dino himself walk out of the house, expression immediately amused, yet slightly annoyed, seeing his men.

"Why are you guys here? I didn't ask you to pick me up," he reprimanded tiredly, yawning before leaning on the wall I was sitting on. He chuckled, rolling his eyes at their pathetic excuses. He then turned to me, his expression further tinged with humor.

"Surprised to see you up so early," he teased lightly. I clicked my tongue, and opened my mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a loud exclamation:

"Good morning, Tenth!"

My expression soured, disliking the volume so early in the morning. Both Dino and I inspected the boy, fast approaching and nearly running up to Tsuna, who immediately took on an embarrassed front. I noticed his resemblance to his sister immediately, recognizing the green of his eyes. But aside from that and perhaps his skin tone,

Gokudera Hayato was completely different than his half-sister. It was interesting seeing his change in demeanor, going from excited and perky when addressing Tsuna, to a complete flip when he turned his attention to us; he became hostile and defensive, even taking a slight step in front of Tsunayoshi, putting himself between his boss and us. His hand, I noticed, went to his belt and rested, no doubt prepared to pull his weapons (dynamite, which was annoying to deal with). Green eyes narrowed and evaluated, clearly recognizing my brother's tattoos he was blatantly displaying, while still keeping a curious eye on me. His eyes were cold and calculating, his mind clearly racing, and this was all in one instance before he addressed us, spitting the words out with malice and distaste:

"Who are they?"

Dino smirked and leaned on the gate, looking rather cool and mature.

"Hey, Smoking-Brat! It's our first time meeting, right?" Dino addressed him, openly evaluating as well. Gokudera's eyes flickered to Dino's tattoos once more, and even made a small nod of confirmation.

"Bucking Horse Dino," he addressed carefully, narrowing his eyes.

"Hey, Tsuna and Gokudera," another voice greeted, calling my attention to an approaching figure.

It was always interesting when two like-minded people met, and Yamamoto Takeshi and I? We understood immediately we were alike. In some sense we knew, not that we knew what that was yet (oddly enough, it reminded me of my relationship with Squalo).

He was calculating as well, but nowhere near the same way that Gokudera was. He reviewed us quickly, his welcoming smile barely faltering before brilliantly shining. His body was lithe and athletic, and he nearly met Dino with his height. With my position sitting on the wall, this put me only slightly above him, and his eyes glinted curiously when meeting mine, coming to a stop right in front of me. A moment, and then he broke eye contact, looking at Dino before addressing Tsuna and Gokudera.

"What are you guys doing? We're going to be late!" he said with light laughter in his voice.

While Tsuna looked relieved to see the other boy, Gokudera looked less than happy with his arrival. Yamamoto's eyes returned to Dino, and he nodded politely.

"Hello."

"Yo," My brother responded with a nod and a smirk. Yamamoto then turned his attention to me, but I ended up taking the initiative.

"Cloud," I introduce, leaning forward with an easy smile, further pleased that he made no move to lean away, despite me nearly closing the distance between us, "You?"

"Yamamoto Takeshi," he replied with just as much casualness, "You gonna be around for while?"

"Maybe," I replied easily, adding a wink. He laughed in response, moving to swing an arm around Tsuna (a gesture that caused Gokudera to seethe) before beginning to walk forward.

"Maybe I'll see you around then," he said almost slyly, winking back before walking off.

"You can only hope," I called back, leaning further out to watch as the trio left (Tsuna nearly scandalized, not understanding the interaction he had just witnessed).

Dino blinked, looking back and forth before finally settling suspicious and accusing eyes on me.

"Was that… were you two flirting?" he asked warily.

"He's observant, yeah?" I addressed Reborn instead, who was standing beside me on the wall, "Smart. He assumed we were visiting just from a couple glances, and most likely guessed we were related to you," I finished, nodding to the Arcobaleno.

"He's certainly interesting, that one," Reborn agreed, clearly pleased with the interaction and my thoughts. He frowned however, looking to Dino, "But still, you seem concerned."

"Of course," Dino responded, leaned on the wall and crossing his arms, "After all, it's about the family of the sworn brother who reminds me of my past," he explained with twinge of amusement. I nodded in agreement.

"So, what do you think? Usable?" Reborn continued. Dino shrugged, letting out a sigh.

"Maybe. The most important thing for a family is trust. As long as I don't see that, I don't approve of them," Dino answered evenly.

"Then why don't you test them out?" the Arcobaleno suggested. I nearly shivered, seeing a familiar glint in the hitman's eye.

"Test..?" Dino asked, curious, but wary.

"This won't end well," I commented dryly, sighing and taking another drink of my coffee, before tacking on,

"Well, at least it won't end well for Tsuna."

"Dude," I said, my expression deflating immediately when Reborn called me back.

The 'test' had gone well so far; we seemingly kidnapped Tsuna, sent Yamamoto and Gokudera off to go 'save' their boss, with only a slight hiccup (well, planned hiccup, Reborn definitely knowingly did this, the bastard) when Reborn told the boys the name of a real Yakuza group to go after. But just before I could follow Dino and Tsuna, who were heroically running off to save Gokudera and Yamamoto (or rather, Dino dragging a frazzled Tsuna with him), Reborn called me back. I turned seeing Dino and Tsuna disappear around the corner before I sighed and looked back down at the hitman.

"You do realize I haven't got any action in a long time, yeah?" I address him, pouting.

"Your love life is no concern of mine–"

"Not what I meant, gross; you're like a grandfather to me-"

"I need you," he interrupted swiftly, eye only barely twitching as he held up a few neatly folded papers, "to deliver this for me." I raised an eyebrow.

"You're using your IOU?" I questioned, immediately suspicious, "For just a note delivery?"

"I figured you'd be happy with such a simple task, Cloud. Easy, right?"

"That," I said, taking the papers and inspecting them despite my suspicious, "is why I'm worried. You're not the type to waste these things, you know?"

"And you're not the type to idiotically argue," he retorted easily before swiftly explaining, "The first note is directions to Namimori Middle; the second is the written excuse you need to give them. This will cut into school for Tsuna, and as my student, any unexcused absence is unacceptable."

"And when you say them?" I elaborated, becoming apprehensive, already having easily guessed who I needed to give it to. Reborn smiled, titling his head innocently.

"You need to delivery this to the disciplinary committee of course."

(It was never wise to make a deal with devil. And yet here I was, running his errands)

With enough snooping and common sense, I found the reception room easily enough. Reborn's directions were pristine as usual, but I hesitated before knocking on the door. It was one of those moments where I had built up expectations of the character before actually meeting the person. Logically, I was hoping that the fearsome leader of the disciplinary committee wouldn't be in the room. Stupidly, I wanted to go ahead and meet him. Then again, it was this same side that wanted to be involved in the action I was currently missing to run this errand.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes, berating myself lightly for stalling. I knocked on the door and waited, being forced to look up at the person who opened it. Immediately, I was in disbelief; there was no way that the guy standing in front of me was a middle schooler. He was tall with wide shoulders, looking down at me with a rather calm expression, albeit tired. His hair was styled in a pompadour, which was interesting to see in reality, and barely he shifted the grass he held between his lips before speaking:

"You don't have a visitor's pass."

"Good eye," I responded casually, then continued, "Yeah, just popping in to deliver this note?" I said, my voice lifting as I presented the paper to him, the gesture almost a question. He raised an eyebrow, looking me over once more before taking the note, inspecting it with a frown.

"I can't accept this," he informed me, handing it back, "the only one who can accept this is the president."

"Lovely," I said dryly, "and he is where, exactly?" His expression became a mix of apologetic and wincing.

"Look, you're obviously foreign and don't know how things work around here," he explained evenly, and then shrugged, "and you seem nice enough and smart enough not to start anything. Those are really the only reasons I haven't kicked you out yet, really. Plus, it's been a long day."

"It's still morning," I stated. His expression deadpanned, proving his point. He continued after another sigh:

"The best thing you can do right now is just forget about it, and let those three get their own punishment for being late. You really, really don't want to get the president involved." I stared up at him, my expression blank.

"Look, I really don't have a choice in the matter," I explained tiredly, "I owe a very dangerous guy and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to survive if I come back without delivering this. So, yeah, I really do need to see the president guy," I confirmed, staring up at him with rather blank conviction.

He blinked owlishly at me, surprised. A moment, then a sigh as he walked out into the hallway. I hummed, happily following, glad that I wouldn't die via Demon Tutor. Of course, I had a pretty decent idea what I was getting into, but after seeing Reborn torture Dino for years, I'd rather face an angry, blood thirsty carnivore than any Arcobaleno (specifically Reborn) any day.

After a few flights of stairs, we reached a door, clearly leading to a roof. He hesitated before opening it, turning back to me.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked, far more curious than concerned.

"I wish I had a choice in the matter," I tutted, my response causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Your funeral, foreign girl," he said with vague amusement, opening the door and allowing me to walk out first. Immediately after my eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, I met a pair of cold, steel-grey ones, fixing me with a glare.

Hibari Kyoya was pretty. But in a rather terrifying sense. He reminded me of art pieces in museums, where you truly did not understand the piece until you witnessed it in person. He rose with a hostile elegance, immediately sizing me up, and scoffing. Naturally, this caused me to huff, slightly annoyed with his easy and clear dismissal of me.

"You don't have a visitor's pass," he commented coldly. His eyes slinked to the guy behind me, and raised as eyebrow. I shifted, making the movement evident enough for Hibari to put his attention back on me.

"Look," I addressed rather bluntly, causing his eyes to narrow further, "I just need someone to accept this note. You're the Disciplinary Committee president, yeah?" He scowled in response.

"Visitors must have a visitor's pass to enter the school," he repeated, causing my expression to deadpan. I sighed, and moved forward, hoping to speed negotiations up.

"Yeah, I know. Look this is really a life or death matt-"

"Herbivores must be punished for breaking the rules," his eyes narrowed and he swiped at me with one of his tonfas, already in range. I ducked and spun around, purely out of instinct. I held up my arms, showing passiveness, and nearly scowling; a fight was most likely inevitable, (and although a part of me was bubbly with excitement at the thought of one) I had yet to evaluate the prefect. Meaning I had no guarantee that I could win, should a fight even happen (which was an annoying fact to consider).

"I just need you to accept the note," I said warily, holding the paper out to him. I became uncomfortable with the way he was eyeing me now. The guy that led me up here was staring blatantly as well, adding to my unease.

At this point? I was pretty sure all negotiations were cut off.

Hibari lunged at me again, both tonfas drawn this time. I bit back a curse and began dodging his wild attacks, focusing on foot work and quickly taking further note of my surroundings.

"I just," I attempted, my words being interrupted by each swing, "Need to give you – fuck! This note from Reborn!" I tried again, moving out of the way, a loud clang resounding when his weapon struck the fence. He stopped and turned back to me, his eyes widening ever so slightly.

"You know the baby, huh?" he mused. I almost relaxed at this display of hesitation, wary of how he would respond.

"That means you're strong, right?" A bloodthirsty smirk slipped on his face.

(Naturally, all mentions of Reborn led to more problems. At this point, I should know this, and know this well)

He started his attacks again, with far more vigor than before, and as I dodged, I repeatedly cursed Reborn's name, despite the futility of the action. But throughout this array of attacks, I realized three things:

1. Hibari wasn't as good as I thought he would be. Naturally, this made sense considering Dino hasn't trained him yet. At this point, he was still a raw, and a rather untrained, force of nature. Strong and resilient, but no tact to his attacks, no deep thought to his actions.

2. He was actually rather predictable too, which made him extremely easy to dodge, which brought my third thought to spot light;

My fighting style gave me a large advantage over him. Since my moves were mostly evading, his straight forward attacks had little to no luck of hitting me. Excitement bubbled in me at this realization, and soon enough I made the mistake of getting caught up in the fight. It was exhilarating, to have an opponent like this, to have a proper fight. Unfortunately, this led to me slipping up, and reacting instead of dodging like I had initially planned. Seeing the opening, I hooked his incoming arm and easily flipped him, using his momentum against him.

I froze however, the realization of what I had just done dawning on me all too suddenly. My demeanor changed immediately as I straightened, placing my hands over my mouth as my eyes widened, looking down at him. He blinked back up at me, surprise clearly written on his face. The guy from earlier (who had been acting as a peanut gallery throughout this entire exchange) gaped.

A few beats of silence, and a stiff wind rolling across the roof. And then he reacted.

I barely had time to lean back to avoid an incoming tonfa. Flipping back and landing on top of the fence surrounding the roof top, I tenderly checked my grazed chin. Luckily, I had leaned back in time to avoid a full-on hit, but I clicked my tongue, annoyed with the fact that I froze like that. Hibari rose, practically fuming.

I swallowed, my throat dry, and looked around, giving up on negotiations completely. I had just pissed off Hibari, so the logical thing to do was to look for an escape route. I turned my head only slightly, keeping Hibari in my peripheral; there was a tree below us. Looking between a fuming and stalking Hibari and the tree, I did the logical thing:

I jumped off the roof and towards the tree, Hibari's swing just missing me. Branches smacked me in the face as I entered the foliage. My arms desperately scrambled for a branch and eventually latched onto one (rather painfully too). I precariously hung there from my arms for a moment, until I scrambled up onto the branch, hugging it. It bounced under my weight, but settled after a while.

I sighed in relief, knowing it was a stupid move, but a desperate one. I was not about to face a pissed Hibari. After making sure I was secure and not in danger of falling, I looked back up at the roof, via the hole I made when I fell only to find Hibari angrily glaring down at me. At that time, I made a stupid and childish decision: I stuck my tongue out at him, regretting nothing about the action. I squinted my eyes at him as he gripped to railing. In that moment, I doubted he would make the jump, and believing he was not stupid enough (like me) so do so. But oh, it was then I learned that it was always a mistake to doubt Hibari Kyoya.

I closed my eyes and hugged my branch tighter, so I wouldn't fall off when he hit the tree. I felt a tremor or two and then stillness. I cracked on eye opened, first looking at the branches around me to make sure Hibari wasn't on one, ready to regain his pride up in the tree. I sighed and pushed myself up to where I was straddling the branch when I didn't see the prefect. I looked up to see the other one leaning off the roof to see if his president made it, and then looked down and almost burst out laughing, but caught myself before I enraged the guy even more than I had already.

Hibari roughly pushed himself up off the ground and bushed his clothes off, the action somehow looking graceful. I smiled, victorious as he glared at me, from below this time.

"Having fun?" I asked, deciding to go all out since already wanted to kill me.

"Get down here, herbivore." My expression dead panned.

"Fuck no."

He scowled and raised his tonfa. I scoffed, making the mistake of doubting him again. I ducked my head, a tonfa sailing over me. I narrowed my eyes at him, hugging the branch once again.

He scowled up at me again, before backing up, getting a running start before attempting to climb the tree. This didn't worry me as much, since there weren't any stable bottom branches. It was actually humorous watching him trying to climb it, only becoming worrying when he got within 4 feet of me. So, I did the natural thing;

I took my shoe off and chucked it at him, hitting him in the forehead and effectively sending him down to the ground (it wasn't like I had anything else effective to throw). If he had both his tonfas he would have made it. Somehow, he landed in a graceful crouch. I stared down at him lazily, leaning forward on my branch.

"You know it kind of sucks that you can't climb a tree," I drawled, ignoring the fact that I would've had troubling climbing it too, especially if someone was throwing her shoe at me (I don't mind admitting that I was hypocritical). "And, yet," I continued, deciding to throw him a compliment for his own pride, "you still manage to fall on your ass gracefully. Talent, really."

I was beyond the point where anything I said could anger him more, and I had always been a little vexing, right? We stared (in his case, he glared) at each other for a while and then a thoughtful look popped up on his face. He sat down beneath the tree and leaned against it, laying out rather causally. I raised an eyebrow at this sudden change in demeanor.

"What exactly are you doing?" I questioned warily.

"You have to come down sometime herbivore," he replied, closing his eyes. My expression soured, seeing his logic.

"And don't think about sneaking off," his eyes snapped open, meeting mine, "I wake up at the sound of a leaf hitting the ground."

After that delightful warning, he went back to a somewhat blissful state (as blissful as Hibari could get, which I guess is not very much). I gulped, thinking about my dilemma and surveying the school yard. My eyes lit up when I saw the wall somewhat near my tree and possibly within swinging distance. I glanced down at the napping Hibari, then up at the wall again, deciding whether it was better to just face him or risk swinging straight into a wall.

I sighed in defeat, answering that question easily enough; at least the wall wouldn't bite me to death.

I shifted to a perching position and lowered myself to where I was hanging by my arms again. Luckily I remembered the note before I began swinging. A pause, and I hesitated before I dropping it, wondering whether I should risk him waking up or not. I shrugged, figuring I really didn't have anything else to lose and dropped it in his lap. He twitched, and quickly I looked away. I began swinging, not even bothering to watch him at this point and focusing on slowly building momentum. I only looked down again when I felt something brush my one shoe-less foot. Only then did I see Hibari, bearing his one tonfa, almost within swinging distance of my foot, preparing to try jumping again. Knowing I was limited on time and if he could get a hold of my foot I was going down, I performed one last swing, and let go of my branch, praying to every god I knew on the way (I never did find out if we were Catholic, and made another note to ask Dino if I survived this incident)

My feet hit the edge and my arms shot forward, giving myself the push I needed to keep from falling back into the school yard. I wavered for a moment as I stood up, and then as soon as I regained my balance, I shot off running along the wall, knowing it would be unwise to look back.

(Technically, I completed my errand, and therefore this was a success)

(… in a way)

Dino walked along with his men back to the hotel, feeling rather happy with the results of the test and himself. Not to mention the peaceful silence also calmed him, something he was not used to in his hectic life. Although, he did feel like he was forgetting something...

"Boss, did the princess decide to stay at the Vongola's house?" Bono asked from his side. Dino froze, causing his subordinate behind him to run into him. He twitched, wallowing in his own disbelief.

Dino had forgotten his sister. He had assumed she had followed him and Tsuna earlier and had just sat back and observed like she often did, and hadn't given much thought to her. He groaned and rubbed his temples, thinking (knowing) that Reborn had something to do with this somehow. His men crowded around him, concerned.

"Boss? Are you okay?"

Romario sighed, recognizing the look on his boss's face.

"You forgot the princess, didn't you?" Instead of answering, Dino turned around, deciding to go straight back to Tsuna's house to question his former demon tutor and find his little sister. Turns out he didn't have to go far.

"Dino, catch!"

He looked up to see his sister flying towards him, leaving just enough time to hold out his arms to catch her, the force pushing him back to land on his butt. He blinked at his sister. She blinked back.

"... what are you doing?"

"I'm mastering the art of sky diving," she replied with a serious expression, then pushed herself roughly off of her brother. An annoyed look crossed her features. "What does it look like? I jumped!" His eyes narrowed, however, noticing that she made a point to keep one side of her face turned from him. He rose and grabbed her chin with a firm but gentle hold. She tried to push him off, but he tightened his grip, causing her to wince.

"What happened to you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at her injuries. She was covered with small scratches and bruises, and there was a nasty mark on her chin. She pushed him off, and he allowed her this.

"It's nothing. Don't ask," she reassured him and began walking off towards the hotel. Some of the men started following her, now at peace knowing that she was safe. Dino frowned and briskly walked after her and grabbed her shoulder, turning her around.

"What happened, Cloud?" His voice was firm and demanding, but not harsh (never harsh).

"Seriously, Dino," she repeated, giving him an extremely tired look, "Please. Don't ask."

He hesitated, evaluating her once more. A sigh, and he dropped the subject, but mentally noted to pick it up later. He walked ahead of her, leading the way once again. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hung off of him, rather childishly, her demeanor changing quickly (covering, he noticed, but still remained silent).

"I'm tired..." she whined, "Carry me, Dino." He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"...Fine." He picked her up and piggybacked her back to the hotel.

(He could never refuse his cute little sister)

"So, whatever happened today... is it safe to blame Reborn?"

"Dino, it's always safe to blame Reborn."

(Well, not safe, exactly)

AN:

Not as long as I want it to be, but it will do. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, my studios are fun, but slowly killing me. But yay! We're into canon now! I keep telling myself that I won't rewrite that much, but then I, like, blink, and I rewrite an entire scene (because I apparently hate myself, whoo). I will say that I'm slightly tweaking some relationships, primarily with Yamamoto and kind of? with Hibari? Mostly, that's a focus in this rewrite, and I'm having a lot of fun with it.

I will say, update wise, my focus is more on WHMTH (since that story is actually almost complete) so I wouldn't expect fast updates with this? But you know, reviews always help and motivate me, wink wink. Also, if you really crave content for this story, and don't want to wait for updates, feel free to ask any question either through PM here or you can also send an ask to the blog.

Sorry if there are any mistakes, I'll look this over again when I have more time this weekend, but I just wanted to get this out before I left. Hope you enjoyed!

Review Response:

Guest (Chapter 4): Glad that you like the new version! And I kind of answered the update question in the AN. Thanks for the review!

Guest or am I: Lmao, here's a little bit more buddy. Thanks for the review!