Takeshi was having an off week. The championships were coming up and he was training his ass off, but he had noticed with some disgust that none of his teammates were doing the same. In fact he had seen more than a few of them goofing off after school while passing the batting cages he frequented.

It was as if they expected him to shoulder all the weight of winning and it pissed him off.

Most wouldn't notice it, but he had a well hidden disgust and dislike of the people around him. He had long since perfected his smiling mask to hide what he really felt about people.

Deep inside though, he felt like he was drowning in a sea of expectations that were heaped upon him with nothing to help him anchor himself.

He was clinically depressed, but still he kept pretending everything was fine.

Takeshi wanted to sigh...instead he kept up his fake smile.

So he was quite surprised when out of the blue someone pressed a cold water bottle against his neck.

"You look like you need it, Yamamoto-san."

Takeshi had to blink at the most skittish boy in his class standing there with a water bottle and actually talking to him.

Namely because Tsuna seemed to keep to himself when he wasn't stuck acting as Hibari's secretary. How he ended up with that role was a mystery to everyone, but the smaller boy had yet to be bitten to death for "crowding".

Takeshi laughed nervously.

"Thanks."

"You shouldn't smile like that if you don't really mean it, Yamamoto-san."

Takeshi froze.

"What?"

"I said you shouldn't smile if you aren't actually happy. How are people supposed to tell if you're okay if you keep pretending to be something you're not?"

"I..."

How did Tsuna know his smile was fake?

"Then again I guess that it's a reflex, especially when you've somehow managed to surround yourself with useless idiots who are all too ready to shove the responsibility of winning the championship on your shoulders and skive off practice simply because you have actual talent."

Takeshi stared at him. A weird sort of hopeful feeling came into him and he slumped a bit. The fake smile was gone, replaced with a tired, miserable expression.

"How?" he asked.

How did Tsuna of all people know his smile was a fake? That he was absolutely miserable inside?

"You're not the only one hiding their true self, though admittedly my reasons are a bit more...extreme... than yours are. It hurts, doesn't it, putting up a fake exterior and being around people who are so caught up in themselves that they don't even bother to look underneath to see the real person behind the mask."

Takeshi nodded absently.

"Want to be friends?" asked the other boy.

Takeshi thought back on what little he knew of the biggest outcast in school. Tsuna didn't really belong to any 'cliques' and had never shown an iota of interest in him as "Takeshi Yamamoto, Star Baseball Ace". And somehow the smaller boy had managed to worm himself into Hibari's social circle despite the fact that Hibari hated being around others.

For the first time in a long time, Takeshi had a glimmer of hope that he might have an actual friend who saw him, and not the "baseball star".

"Yeah, I'd like that," said Takeshi with a rueful smile.

G was struggling very, very hard not to laugh at the look on Giotto's face when Tsukiyo came to visit armed with books. He had heard from Alaude that she had stumbled upon their 'alone time' or the beginnings of one, but he hadn't believed it when the Cloud had said she was completely unfazed by the sight or the fact that Giotto liked his Cloud best.

Giotto cracked one open and almost immediately flung the book away with a look of horrified dismay on his face. Knuckle had tentatively opened it and a fierce blush spread across his as he stared at the pictures within in shock.

"I told you it wasn't that big a deal, and maybe this will give Alaude some ideas for you to play around with," said Tsukiyo with a straight face.

The fact Alaude did have a speculative look on his face (once he got over the disbelief she hadn't been kidding about being okay with their relationship, however hidden) did not bode well for Giotto.

G was more focused on breathing since he was too busy laughing his ass off.

"Why are they all in English?" asked Alaude.

"I wasn't sure if you knew how to read kanji, so I looked for the translated copies," she said immediately. "That and I don't know if they have them in Italian."

Her mother was too ashamed at perpetually forgetting her daughter's birthday that she hadn't asked why she needed the credit card or what her daughter had bought so long as it wasn't illegal.

When she did catch a good look at the reading material she would later shrug it off as her 'son' being "at that age" and wanting an idea of what to do if "Tsuna" wanted to experiment with Takeshi or Kyouya later.

That being said, Tsukiyo had been more than happy to loan Takeshi a few copies since he was thoroughly sick of fangirls and was a bit leery of any of his 'friends' catching him checking out their ass.

"No... where did my innocent little Kiyo-chan go?" bemoaned Giotto in dismay.

"Ieyasu-nii, anyone who tells you that women aren't as perverted as men is lying to you. We just hide it better. If you don't believe me try listening to girl talk between good friends and I guarantee you'll come out rather enlightened."

That set G off again.

"I think this would be more to your tastes, Knuckle," said Tsukiyo, handing over a familiar book.

Knuckle smiled brightly, having recovered from his shock when he realized what she had in her hands.

"Bless you, Kiyo-chan. I was most distraught when the leak in the roof ruined my copy," said Knuckle sincerely, holding the bible in his hands like it was a precious gift.

Tsukiyo smiled at him. She might not practice the same faith but she could respect his own.

She knew books in this time were pretty hard to come by and that Alaude was staying close to 'home' for a while so Knuckle would have been without his book for some time. Getting a new copy wasn't really a hardship and she knew he would appreciate it even if there had been a few corrections made.

Right now though she was going to tease the hell out of Ieyasu since Alaude was almost unflappable.

Giotto would get very, very drunk at the fact his "little kitten" wasn't nearly as innocent as he had assumed and knew far too much about a subject that was best discussed in private. Worse, it had given Alaude ideas.

"That was hilarious," said G happily.

"Did you see how red his face got?" cackled Tsukiyo. She had come a long way from the lonely, skittish girl she had been.

G snickered.

"Knuckle was just as bad!" he said with a laugh.

"I can't take it anymore. Fon-san, would you be offended if I hugged you?" asked Tsukiyo seriously.

"Since you asked politely first, I do not mind," said Fon amused. He hated it when people just assumed he would be okay with being hugged because of how "cute" he was.

Tsukiyo squealed and happily hugged him.

"Do you mind if I ask why you allow the other students to believe you are a boy?"

"Long story short I was twelve and made the mistake of looking up what the other parents and my classmates were calling my mother... I hit the wrong link and found out by accident how dangerous it was to be female and a complete outcast with several known bullies. It was safer to let everyone assume I was a boy because the most I would have to deal with is being shoved or tripped, since Kyouya deals with anyone who tries something worse."

Fon winced with sympathy. Just from that alone he could guess what word she looked up, and the sort of links she found by mistake at such a tender age.

Her mouth twitched up into an evil grin.

"Of course that didn't stop me from poking fun at Ieyasu-nii's relationship with his secret boyfriend. The look on his face when he saw the books I handed him was hilarious."

"I am very curious about this 'Ieyasu' person you speak of so fondly. I assume it was his Cloud that you had write down some useful advice for Kyouya?" said Fon.

"Do you believe in time travel?"

"The Bovino have successfully made a device that allows one to switch with their future selves in ten years, so yes."

Tsukiyo pulled out her phone, and with a few swipes pulled up a picture.

"This is Ieyasu-nii behind me, and these are his Guardians."

Fon took one look at the picture and understood the time travel comment.

"Ah. You've found a way into the past to meet your possible ancestor and he's been the one training you."

Because if that wasn't the Vongola Primo, Fon would give up spicy foods forever. It also explained the fact she spoke in an older variant of Italian and French.

"A pity I cannot speak with this Ieyasu or Alaude. I'm sure it would be enlightening to say the least," said Fon.

"Why can't you? I mean I've never tried taking anyone with me through the well."

Fon perked up at that. He didn't mind being carried to the well that Tsukiyo had claimed as her sanctuary.

Without even a second's hesitation, Tsukiyo jumped down into the well, still holding Fon and his pet monkey Lichi.

Fon's pacifier glowed brightly as he felt a strange sensation overcome him...he could definitely feel something happening and held on tightly to the girl by instinct. He knew that he had to do it or this wouldn't work. Or worse, one of them would get stuck.

With a bit of a thump, he found himself staring at his adult hands on top of Tsukiyo. The pacifier thumped against his chest, looking a very faded red.

"What just happened?" she asked, looking at him in shock.

He looked like an older, long-haired Kyouya who wore a lot of red and had kind, if tired eyes.

"I believe...that there were a few side effects of traveling through the well together," he said after a moment. He easily helped her up and noticed the rope hanging on the side.

"Ieyasu-nii put that there so I could climb up easier. The vines were starting to pull away from the sides."

Tsukiyo easily grabbed the rope and climbed up with the ease of long practice. Fon followed her without a second thought.

It took Fon a second to realize that the noise he heard was someone rushing up to meet them.

"Kiyo-chan!" said Giotto, tackling her in a hug.

"Ieyasu-nii!" she replied, hugging him back.

Giotto finally took note of the man next to her, looking openly amused. He stared in shock.

"...Kiyo-chan, why do you have an Asian Alaude with a braid with you?"

"Ieyasu-nii, this is Fon. Fon, this is Ieyasu-nii."

"Hello Giotto," said Fon with far too much amusement in modern Italian with a polite bow.

Giotto froze at that.

Tsukiyo gave Fon an odd look.

If Giotto's reaction was funny, the raised eyebrow from Alaude upon seeing Fon was hilarious. Mostly because it was as close to a shout as Alaude got.

Asari's wife took Tsukiyo away to help with the cooking, which she rather enjoyed.

"So... what's the state of the Vongola now?" asked Giotto with open interest. Because he could tell right off that Fon was an experienced Flame user.

"I don't have a lot of specific details, but I do have general information. If you want inside information I'd have to ask my friend Reborn, which would be a headache since he'd want to know why," said Fon. "As for the Vongola... it went from a supposedly vigilante group almost straight into one of the bloodiest mafia famiglias in history and is currently at the top when it comes to power and influence, followed closely by the Giglio Nero and Gesso famiglias. The territory for the main portion of the family is in Italy's capital."

"What of CEDEF?" asked Alaude.

Fon's expression was very telling.

"It went from being Vongola's best source of intelligence and investigation into a complete joke," he informed the man rather bluntly. "The one who runs it, who coincidentally is Tsukiyo's father, is also the External Adviser. The man is a fool of the highest order and has almost single-handedly ruined the group, were it not for the efforts of a few competent employees."

Alaude's face was twitching, a sure sign of his fury at hearing that news.

"Wait... you said her father is the head of CEDEF and the External Adviser," said Giotto.

Fon nodded.

"That can't be right. I specifically stated in the laws I set down before I retired here that the External Adviser cannot hold any position except for that. If he's running CEDEF and acting as the Adviser then it creates a strong conflict of interest," said Giotto frowning.

Fon blinked, before an evil grin almost formed.

"Really now... maybe if Vongola Nono had bothered to actually learn the laws that had been set down by those before him then the Vongola wouldn't be a complete mess. He's already lost two sons and has alienated the head of the Vongola's personal assassination group."

"The what?!" squawked Giotto.

"The Vongola has a group of assassins. They're called the Varia."

Giotto looked furious hearing that. From the way Fon spoke it was clear that the group he had formed to help people was now no better than the bastards they had fought against!

"Everything alright in here?" Tsukiyo called out.

"Just out of curiosity mind you, have you ever heard of a technique that can freeze Flames? As in turn them into a solid block of almost unmeltable ice?" asked Fon.

If Giotto was pissed hearing about what happened to the group he had formed, it was nothing compared to his expression hearing Fon even inquire about a technique he had thought was their little secret.

"Is this a personal inquiry, or have you seen it used on someone and they're still frozen?" he asked slowly, trying to reign in his temper.

"More of the second. From what I was told by a friend, the Varia's Sky confronted Nono about a personal issue and was 'put on ice' in their words. I had to pay that miser good money to find out what they meant by that, but apparently Nono has turned his fourth son into a literal ice cube for attempting to clear a large number of rats from the Vongola, and he spun it off as the boy attempting a coup against him."

Giotto's face was furious and his eyebrows were twitching rampantly. It was rather entertaining in a way.

"G, remind me to step up Kiyo-chan's Flame training. I want her to be as prepared as possible for when she completely destroys the Vongola and if possible rebuilds it from the ground up."

Considering the amount of pissed off Sky Flame coming off Giotto at the moment, he was dead serious about that.

Like hell was he going to let his legacy continue to be tainted by idiots who had turned into the very thing he had tried to stop!