Hayato was in the special arena for the supernatural to get out their aggressive tendencies when it happened. A group of big, brawlers stalked up to him with a leer. It was pretty clear what they wanted and he wasn't interested in the least.

"What's this? An uppity little half-breed walking around all cocky because he's whoring himself out to a vamp?" sneered the lead wolf.

Hayato bristled, but kept his silence.

He had dealt with assholes like this ever since he ran away from home and nothing pissed them off more than just ignoring them. Besides, it would make them look worse to the other wolves if Hayato kept his mouth shut.

He had no idea someone else was watching the exchange...just waiting for the first proper excuse they could use against these idiots.

The older wolf kept goading Hayato, growing angrier and angrier the more Hayato ignored his taunts. It was clear he was picking a fight purely because he thought the smaller wolf was weak and packless.

The other packs watched in silence, waiting for the whole thing to tip over into a brawl. Though there was a slight modicum of respect for Hayato for enduring even half the comments the older wolf made about him.

It wasn't until the wolf went to slap him that he finally got a reaction. It just wasn't the one he was expecting.

Tsuna had the wolf's wrist in a death grip with a 'pleasant' smile on his face.

"You did well, Hayato. I'm proud of you for holding your ground until he snapped," said Tsuna pleased.

Hayato barely kept his tail from wagging at the praise.

"Now as for you... I do believe a reprimand is in order for attempting to goad my blood partner into a fight, much less trying to physically attack him," purred Tsuna darkly.

It was one thing if Hayato had instigated the fight after being goaded. That the older wolf attacked first when that failed meant Tsuna didn't have to be 'kind'. If anything allowing such an attack to go unpunished was a signal that Tsuna (and by extension Hayato) were weak.

Tsuna broke the wolf's arm in three places in rapid succession, before kicking him into a wall. Considering he had only been attempting to goad a newcomer and then resorted to violence first, minor injuries like that were acceptable as punishment.

Hayato noticed the way that the other packs nodded in approval at the way Tsuna handled the older wolf, and how he had only stepped in after Hayato was about to be assaulted for standing his ground. He wasn't the only one confused.

"Tsuna, a word," said Reborn.

"Hmm?"

"Care to explain why the other wolves are giving you looks of respect after that display, rather than go after you?" asked Reborn.

"I'm a traditionalist. The supernatural sect in Japan has very long memories, so it has a rather high concentration of them," shrugged Tsuna.

Reborn was still very confused on that point.

Tsuna sighed.

"Traditionalists follow the old ways that have stood the test of time and humanity. Progressives are generally from newer clans and are always causing no end of problems with those that hate us because they draw so much attention," said Tsuna. "Mama's blood sire is a traditionalist and once I started showing all the signs of being like her I spent two years with them. They made sure to give me a proper grounding in our culture, which made controlling my instincts a lot easier. They also made certain I had access to the blood bank supply, since we couldn't hunt in Namimori."

Well that explained how Tsuna was able to partially feed, when no one was even aware of what he was until Reborn showed up.

"What's the difference between a traditionalist and a progressive?" asked Hayato curious.

Tsuna thought of how to describe it, before he hit upon the perfect example.

"Well what's the difference between an old school mafioso like Reborn and someone like that arrogant bastard I just beat up?" he countered.

Hayato's eyes light up with understanding, as did Reborn's.

"You're saying a traditionalist is more in lines with how the older mafioso who follow the old ways before flames became such a big deal, whereas a progressive is like a new famiglia still learning their place in the pecking order?" said Reborn.

"Close enough," said Tsuna.

Reborn mentally made another check for the boss category. The Vongola were deeply rooted with the 'traditionalist' sect as Tsuna called them, so having a boss that instinctively followed the old ways would put him in the good books of a lot of people.

"Why did you step in back there though? I could have handled him."

Tsuna sighed.

"Hayato, just because you might have been able to handle him doesn't mean you should have to. Besides, several of the comments he made challenged my authority as an 'alpha' to you. If I had let you handle that entirely alone it would have told the packs that I didn't care if you got your ass kicked. By stepping in when he went after you first, I made it clear that I consider you part of my pack and therefor worthy of personal protection," lectured Tsuna gently.

Hayato stared at him, as a fledgling warmth grew in his chest.

"You... you consider me pack?"

Tsuna looked him dead in the eye.

"I wouldn't have considered you for a blood partner if I didn't. Besides, taking care of you like family reflects better on us both. Did you really think I kept you around as a source of blood?" he asked.

From the way Hayato averted his eyes, that was a yes. Tsuna pulled his friend into a hug.

"Why did you wait so long to step in though? Some of those comments would have had even me pissed off," asked Reborn.

"It looks better for Hayato if I allowed him to fight his own battles. By letting it go on so long that arrogant Alpha lost a lot of face, and it showed that I believe Hayato is strong enough to hold his own without me protecting him all the time. Because Hayato kept his mouth shut, he earned a lot of points with the other packs because it showed he knows when not to fight," said Tsuna.

Reborn was satisfied with that answer.

"I have the distinct feeling a lot of things are going to be changed when you take over as boss," said Reborn pleased.

Why couldn't Dino had been this much fun? Tsuna had all the right instincts, it was just his environment made it difficult for his natural abilities to shine.

The second Lambo showed up, Reborn briefly worried Tsuna would turn him into another source of blood.

He found his worries were highly unfounded... Tsuna not only adored small children (thus keeping the cow brat out of his hair) but so did his mother.

Tsuna had looked exasperated when he realized Reborn's line of thought.

"Reborn, he's five."

"Yes, and? Didn't stop the Bovino to send him after me of all people on a kill mission."

Tsuna's eyes went hard at that, before they shifted. Reborn had the distinct feeling the Bovino family don was about to get chewed out royally.

"Blood partners can't be under the age of consent in whatever country you come from. Mostly because quite a few times it translates into bed partners... and because if you're not careful you can easily turn them. Child vampires are a nightmare to deal with if they're turned, rather than born that way. There's a reason the traditionalists put a firm ban on them centuries ago and tend to rip apart anyone stupid enough to make one."

Reborn cocked his head a little.

"How so?"

"They hunt indiscriminately and make the humans hate us even more than normal. Can you imagine Lambo as a vampire, with how bratty he is as a human?"

Reborn followed that train of thought, before openly cringing.

Lambo was a pain in the ass as a human, with how he liked to throw low-level explosives around and shoot guns like they were toys. He didn't even understand the reality of the fact he had basically been sent on a suicide mission.

If he was turned... yeah, the only thing that Reborn could use to describe what would happen would be a bloodbath.

"There are a few child vampires that were turned, but they're extremely rare and generally had the impulses beaten into submission by an older one. It's why vampires are particularly careful to kill any pedophiles they feed from if found."

Reborn could guess why. If a pedophile were turned, they wouldn't think twice about doing the same to a child they could 'enjoy' for centuries, regardless of the damage it would do if the kid broke free. Besides, as a grown man forcibly cursed into a two-year-old body, he had a particular empathy for the victims and a sincere hatred of the bastards who explioted them.

Not that he didn't hate them before, but now it was more of a personal hatred.

Nana seemed particularly pleased with Lambo's presence in the house. Though Reborn had to frown when he noticed the light fang mark on the brat's left wrist three days after he arrived.

"I thought you said you don't feed from children?"

"We don't. Marking them as 'protected' is another story. It's basically a way to warn off other vampires and the supernatural that he's under our personal protection and that if anyone wants to go after him they will have to come through us first," said Tsuna. "It's deep enough to leave a mark that can be healed over later, but not so deep to make it look like we're feeding from him."

"Is this why you usually go for the wrist rather than the neck?"

Tsuna made a face.

"I hate Hollywood. Only idiots go for the neck... wrist marks are easier to hide and explain. No proper vampire goes for the jugular...it's far too easy to slip and make such a mess that draws all sorts of scavengers to you, never mind that it makes you look like such a freaking noob at being a vampire," said Tsuna pinching his nose. "Unless you believe the Godfather franchise perfectly demonstrates what the mafia is actually about."

Reborn silently conceded his point.

"Anyway wrist marks like the one Lambo now has states he's protected by someone who actually knows what they're doing while looking like a simple childhood scar that's easily explained away. Not exactly something that draws the humans in with fire and pitchforks."

If Reborn hadn't know the boy was unmarked beforehand, he never would have noticed it in the first place.

However there were a few downsides to the fact Tsuna was a 'traditionalist'.

Honestly, Reborn should have seen it coming. It was obvious Tsuna had wrapped up his entire mental health over something he considered 'guidelines' at best that when something caused him to break said guidelines he would react very badly indeed.

It had started out so simple too. A Rain 'legacy' as they were collectively known he had been keeping an eye on as a potential Left Hand broke his arm and provided an opening for Tsuna to work with. Naturally the boy gravitated towards the only active Sky in the area, and Tsuna handled it well enough.

That's when things went wrong as the unspoken predisposition towards depression that most Rains had kicked in, in the absolute worst possible way. The boy attempted to kill himself over a broken arm, and his adorable little student dove to save him

Reborn had to stare at the fact that his student had just broken up into hundreds of crows. He would have expected bats.

What he didn't expect was the panic attack Tsuna had that night.

Hayato looked baffled and had no idea how to calm Tsuna down.

"Is it really so bad you turned into crows?" asked Reborn.

"Grandma said not to show any major powers in front of others. It makes the lesser vampires nervous when they realize that a royal vampire is living in the same city as them, since we have a tendency to rule over them with an iron fist. We can get away with it in Europe, especially the old country, but we're not supposed to show off unless absolutely necessary in places like Asia and America," said Tsuna miserably. "She's going to be so angry with me!"

"Who's your grandmother?" asked Reborn.

"Elizabeth Batheroy. Contrary to popular belief, Vlad the Impaler wasn't actually a vampire in the least. He was just a human king who left a big enough impression that a human writer decided to use him as a basis for a book," said Tsuna without hesitation.

Reborn wasn't the only one to stare at him.

"Elizabeth Batheroy, as in the Blood Countess? A woman who literally bathed in the blood of young women and has a recorded death count of at least several hundred and was only imprisoned when she switched to the nobility at the behest of her female lover? Who died imprisoned in her own castle?" said Reborn flatly. "That Elizabeth Batheroy?"

Tsuna perked up at that.

"You've heard of grandma?"

Reborn stared at him.

"Tsuna, damn near anyone who's studied European history knows about her. She's known as one of the worst mass murderers in European history."

"Considering during the time frame pedophilia was an accepted practice among the nobility, never mind incest, is it really that big a deal?" asked Tsuna. He didn't get why Reborn seemed so disturbed by this information. "I mean they only put her on house arrest for a hundred and fifty years because she was drawing too much attention from the human nobility."

"The fact you can say something like that with a straight face and not get why this is important information disturbs me," said Reborn bluntly. "Anyway, the crows? Wait, house arrest?"

Tsuna shrugged.

"Grandma got severely scolded and she had to help write the traditions that most of us follow today. Like the part about 'no turning or using children under thirteen as blood partners' rule. She only really settled down when she had a few children, though Mama is the youngest and the only one still active. The rest are either gone or went into hibernation for several centuries."

"So Batheroy was a vampire from the start?"

"She had the blood in her, but it awakened really late and no one is sure if her 'bad habit' started before or after she got into bathing in blood," admitted Tsuna. "She doesn't really do it much anymore with how loose girls are with their favor these days. I think she mostly imports from China when she does get the urge."

Reborn had a headache, as did Hayato.

"How would she feel about you having a werewolf for a blood partner?"

"Considering the circumstances the only thing she would care about is the fact that he's extremely loyal and efficient. If he can prove himself a good fighter without being so loud about it, then she'd give her approval once she got to know him."

"Seriously?" said Hayato in shock.

Tsuna snorted.

"Grandma very much prefers her own gender and only had kids to get out of house arrest early. Even if she was nobility, her flings with other women were frowned upon by the human nobles since she didn't really give a damn about who knew it. Bear in mind that with the church the way it was back then, being a lesbian was an almost certain way to get branded 'evil' and killed off if you were human."

"...Point," said Hayato.

"So...why crows?"

"They're actually Yatagarasu. Vampires from the really old, really powerful bloodlines have all sorts of abilities that the newer ones don't. Grandma was really amused when she found out I had somehow managed to use my familiar summoning ability to turn myself into one," admitted Tsuna. "For some reason though, I could never get the hang of summoning my familiar at all, despite having the predisposition for it. She said it just means that I have a really strong one that I need to prove myself to first before it'll show itself."

"What's a yatagarasu?" asked Hayato.

"A three legged crow from Japanese mythology. Said to inhabit and represent the sun. It's a symbol of rebirth and rejuvenation and is known to provide guidance. Basically a minor kami of sorts with heavy ties to Amaterasu," said Tsuna promptly.

It took a lot of willpower for Hayato not to look at Reborn, because that sounded suspiciously like him in many ways. Just not the crow part.

Tsuna only really calmed down about the matter when a few days later (when Takeshi was allowed to return to school by his father who was less than happy with his behavior) the Rain quickly attached himself to Tsuna's side.

Apparently Tsuyoshi was well aware of the old customs, because once they were alone in the restaurant he offered to become Tsuna's vassal and if necessary a blood partner.

Takeshi had some supernatural blood in him, but not enough to be allowed into the same areas Tsuna and Hayato frequented. Being Tsuna's vassal changed that, even if there was a high chance Tsuna could turn him by accident while feeding. After all, Takeshi was mostly human.