Chapter 6

Takeshi Yamamoto looked down on his arm and sighed. During a baseball match his arm broke due to stress and overuse so it had to be put in a sling for a while. Now, while his team was still able to win albeit barely that wasn't what annoyed him. What annoyed him the most was that those on the team that he thought were his friends turned their backs on him and thought he was nothing more than a fucking washout.

Some were ballsy enough to say that he was a glory hog and that he deserved the injury of having his arm broken. He was more than happy to glare at them which sent them running the other direction.

Either way, Takeshi was fucking frustrated with how the way things turned out and in another life, he probably would've thought about killing himself by jumping from the school rooftop. However, he didn't do that and thought about Tsuna's speech to Gokudera and it motivated him to live and to stay alive.

Seeing the brown-haired teen interact with his odd (yet nice in their own ways) band of friends made the baseball obsessed teen rather jealous but also hopeful. From observing them, they all had their quirks and arguments at times yet they were also a close-knit group that centered around Tsuna and seemed to follow his word. Hell, that scary looking moss-haired teen Zoro listened to him and even called Tsuna captain at times for some odd reason!

He didn't know what that was about, but assumed it was a form of respect that the new Kendo Captain gave to him and left it at that.

His mind made up, Takeshi decided to seek out Tsuna and his group and see if he could be friends with them.

Ironically enough, it would be the best decision he had ever made though later on in life he would look back on it and laugh at the crazy adventures he got involved in.

Tsuna and his friends were surprised at Takeshi joining them for lunch on the rooftop of the school though no one said anything about it except for Gokudera who was grumbling a bit at the "baseball idiot" for interrupting their lunch time.

"So, finally wised up and figured out those lazy fucks on the baseball team weren't your friends to begin with?" Zoro said rather bluntly as he stared at the black haired teen who laughed rather nervously at the older teen's question.

"Hahaha… yep. Faced the cold hard truth that they were expecting me to carry them through every match without putting in any effort for themselves."

"Well at least you learned your lesson and understood that those guys were using you for their own selfish desires." Tanjiro said as he patted Takeshi on the shoulder with Nezuko agreeing as well. "Yep those guys weren't good to begin with but don't worry. Soon they will get their comeuppance hehehe."

The laughter that came from the female twin that while cute, also carried a hidden malice of sorts which made Takeshi feel concerned about his fellow team members but decided that they didn't deserve any of it since he knew that almost if not all of them slacked off their baseball training for playing video games, reading comics and talking about girls. Hell, he even caught a few looking at some porno mags they had on them when they thought no one was looking.

So whatever kind of karma that comes for them, well that was their fault, simple as that.

"So anyways, how's your arm? It's not too bad is it?" Tsuna asked as he looked over the damaged limb with Takeshi waving him off but was smiling that the other teen cared.

"Hahaha, it's rather sore but nothing to worry about. Dad's just happy that I'm not in baseball for the time being since he noticed I winced every time I moved my arm. Honestly, I have a feeling it could've been much worse than getting broken." He laughed rather self-deprecatingly, but Tsuna wasn't having none of it.

"Regardless, you need to take better care of yourself Yamamoto-kun. In a way you did get off lucky, but next time it could be so much worse and your arm may not work again properly after that. He warned before continuing. "It's in your best interest to recover and allow your arm to heal along with rethinking what you really wanna do. Everyone knows you love baseball, but the fact of the matter is that you weren't happy as you were forced to carry the burden of leading your team while everyone else slacked off and neglected their skills while expecting you to do all of the hard work."

And like with Gokudera, Tsuna's eyes glowed as he stared at the raven-haired teen. "So then Yamamoto-kun, what is it that you want?"

"I-I… I want friends!" Takeshi suddenly blurted out which surprised even himself. "I want real actual friends that I can hang out with and talk to instead of dealing with a bunch of fakes who would leave me at the drop of a hat if they felt I had nothing to give to them! I want people that I can trust to have my back if things get too difficult for me to handle instead of ditching or backstabbing me for their own whims. I… want those that share my love for swordsmanship and can help me with my training so I can make my dad proud and be a worthy successor of our family sword style!"

Takeshi panted a bit after his rant, along with wiping away tears that were forming in his eyes. He really couldn't help himself. Ever since Middle School, He was pressured so much by his coaches to practice playing baseball that he was forced to neglect most of his social life along with any chance of finding decent people to be friends with instead of having to deal with his idiotic teammates that expected him to win all the matches for them while they slacked off and goofed around.

It really was a breaking point for him and he feared he would snap from the stress and unrealistic expectations placed on him.

Tsuna stared at him for a moment before turning to Nezuko and whispering something into her ear that had her surprised for a bit before nodding and turning back to the baseball loving teen. "Takeshi, there is a way to heal your broken arm quickly. However, you must keep this to yourself as while it isn't exactly a secret it's not something that's normally out in the open either. Do you trust us?" He asked and Takeshi nodded, wondering if the other teen knew about some kind of new medical procedure or even a medicine that could heal people quickly.

What he did not expect was for the black-flame orange haired girl to suddenly change size as she became taller and bustier along with a large horn growing out the right side of her forehead along with vein-like markings appearing near it and red and green vine-like patterns appeared near her neck and around her arms. He admitted she looked like a deadly beauty and if he was honest, he was rather frightened along with Gokudera who was shocked to see such an event happen before him and kept muttering about "U.M.A.S" and "Demons are real?!"

"Now, I know you're frightened but please stay calm Yamamoto-kun." Nezuko spoke, her voice sounding calm and mature but had a deadly edge to it. "With the exception of Chrome-chan, the rest of us are demons. Though me and my brother Tanjiro are a special case as we use a rare form of Demon Magic known as the Blood Demon Arts (Kekkijutsu) that allows us to use specialized demonic abilities." Tanjiro nodded as his eyes flashed red for a moment.

Nezuko then raked her sharp nails over her right arm, drawing blood that seemed to hiss and burn into crimson-pinkish looking fire as she looked at Takeshi. "My Demon Blood Art allows me to use flames generated from my own blood that are harmful to other demons and demonic objects but are harmless to humans and normal objects. I can even use the flames to burn away poisons and toxins in a human body while leaving said body unharmed." She said with a smirk as she saw Takeshi's shocked face upon hearing that. "Course though I've been experimenting with my blood for a while and I'm now able to heal wounds and broken limbs so your arm will be nice and healed up, however you will still feel stiffness in it for a while. So, do you still want it healed?"

Takeshi nodded and that made the female Kamado twin grin even more. "Great! Now just hold still, this won't take long." She said and proceeded to claw her arm over Takeshi's slinged arm, allowing the potent blood to drip down onto it. "Blood Demon Art: Blood Healing!" She yelled out and in seconds Takeshi could feel the flaming blood working its literal magic on his arm.

After it ended, he could feel movement in his arm though like Nezuko said, there was some stiffness. Either way, he was happy that it wasn't broken anymore.

"Well there you have it Yamamoto-kun. Your arm is healed up, but be sure to keep it in the sling so people won't ask questions about how it healed so quickly." Tsuna said with a smile as he held out his hand to Takeshi. "So, friends?"

"Hahah, sure Tsuna. Friends!" Takeshi said with a laugh as he shook hands with the brown-haired teen and smiled along with the others who laughed a bit.

Even though some of them were real actual demons, Takeshi felt like he found a good group of friends.

Tsuna and his group were returning home when they found the house surrounded by men in suits. They narrowed their eyes and thought that bastard Iemitsu had returned, but had a feeling it wasn't that so they ruled it out.

"Halt, only the Sawada Family are allowed to enter!" Said one of the men who made a stopping motion.

Eyes flashing red, Tsuna glared at the man who flinched a bit. "Fuck off bub, Me and my friends live here. Mama just hasn't had the time to divorce my so-called father since she has no idea where to send the divorce papers to."

That was a somewhat true statement as Iemitsu never left them any contact information to get a hold of him and Tsuna suspected it was because the bastard did it on purpose just so he remained delusional in thinking he had a perfect family while living it up in Italy doing who knows what.

He had a feeling that Grandfather Edwin would be more than happy to send the papers there if asked as he had a feeling that the Ancient Vampire had contacts in said country.

The man in the suit sulked a bit at being told off, but let them in without any hassle. There they found Reborn talking to an older teen with shaggy blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Yo, what's up? Said the teen with a bit of an accent as he waved at them.

Tsuna looked at him and then at Reborn with a deadpan look. "Reborn, who the hell is this?" He pointed at the older man who let out a depressed air at being ignored.

Reborn just snickered. "Tsuna, I would like you to meet with Dino. The Decimo of the Cavallone Famiglia and a former student of mine. Play nice." He said with a teasing smirk as the half-vampire rolled his eyes at that remark and ignored it.

He then shook Dino's hand. "Tsunayoshi Black, potential candidate for being the Decimo of the Vongola Famiglia and Reborn's current student." He introduced himself to the older man. "Guess we learn from each other and swap stories on the sadistic little midget that calls himself a Home Tutor." He smirked at Reborn's pout as Dino laughed at the jab towards the small hitman.

A few hours later…

Dino honestly didn't know what to think of Tsuna. Originally, he thought the kid would be quite similar to him when he was first starting out but that didn't appear to be the case. The younger man was quite confident in himself (if slightly rude as well) and his Guardians were competent and looked strong in their own right.

Though he did wonder why his surname was Black. Wasn't it supposed to be Sawada? He asked Reborn about it and the Sun looked a little hesitant before telling him anyway.

"Tsuna's real Grandfather came by when he was seven years old and still had the seal placed on him by Nono. He took him in and trained him for a few years while also having the seal removed. All you need to know is that Edwin Black is a powerful man who I suspect is a Vampire and a powerful one at that."

Hearing that really shocked the young Cavallone Boss, but it didn't surprise him. Vampires along with other Demons were known only by the Bosses of the various Famiglias along with their Guardians to prevent unrest and panic from happening, not to mention not wanting to deal with the Church cracking down on them. The Vindice on the other hand… they were only concerned with keeping Dying Will Flames a secret, but there were rumors of half-demon children being able to use said Flames so there was a possibility of the undead enforcers being forced to intervene.

He once heard from Nono Vongola that the only reason why the Secondo was able to wrestle control of the Famigilia from the Primo to begin with was that he had made a deal with a demon woman in exchange for the power of the Flames of Wrath. What that deal was nobody knew, but many assume the cost was his immortal soul and others assume more… carnal reasons. Whatever it was, it cemented the Secondo's reign as a rather violent and bloody one that put the Vongola on the path to being the most powerful Famiglia amongst the mafia families.

So hearing Tsuna having the blood of a vampire such as Edwin Black made Dino rather nervous, as he wasn't sure if being around the Vampire Lord for so long had corrupted the brown-haired teen. From the way he handled the young Bovino child, it was clearly not the case and he certainly was impressed by how he handled Enzo when the turtle was acting out again by getting him out of the bathtub and onto the laundry lines outside.

He would've been panicking at his age.

And from getting a feel of his Sky Flames, Tsuna's flame purity and strength were the highest which made him a little jealous but also eased his worries. Sure there was the hidden darkness and taint of the Vampire that dwelled beneath almost like a dark ocean but that inner darkness was kept in check by his flames almost as if they were balanced in a way.

So he had no doubt that Tsuna would be an excellent boss of the Vongola and bring the family back to full strength, maybe even bring it back to its original goal when it was first started by the Primo. He certainly would do a better job than Nono who was barely holding it together especially after hearing about the man when he was questioning Iemitsu about the family background of his wife and who she really was related to.

Dino didn't pity the older blonde man one bit, he never really liked the guy much as he was loud, obnoxious and a complete fool at times especially with how he handled CEDEF. He wasn't sure if Nono had lit a fire under Iemitsu's ass, but he did hear about threats to sick Mammon of the Varia on him to also check the financial records of the group he was supposed to be running just to see if there was anything else that was incorrect or missing along with checking to see if the people that worked under him were loyal or not.

So far there have been several "accidents".

Either way, by all accounts it was considered a housecleaning that was long overdue and forced Sawada to get off his ass and really pay attention to what was going on.

He felt sorry for Lal having to work under such a complete fool of a man.

Tsuna was walking home alone when saw that weird kid he found during PE. The one that was in possession of a large book that felt a little suspicious and was making stuff float while mumbling names and rank numbers. At first he didn't think much of it and considered leaving the kid alone since it didn't look like he was causing trouble, but when he heard the kid mumble the names of his friends along with him that was when he decided to look into it.

"Ahh! Tsuna-nii help!" Cried out the kid as he panted from all of the running that he did.

Okay, so the kid knew his name. How great… and apparently he was being chased by a rather annoying Famiglia that wanted him for some strange reason. After giving them the run around and throwing a few fireballs for misdirection they finally made it to his house.

"Alight, we're here. Sit down and tell me why you're here and what you need while I make some tea." Tsuna said calmly as he went into the kitchen.

The kid smiled at him. After drinking his tea and calming down enough he explained why he was being chased in the first place.

"So let me get this straight. This random book of yours has a massive amount of information of all of the various mafia families that if fallen into the hands of those with ill intentions could use it to get up high in the ranks while causing trouble for everyone else." Tsuna summed it up and the kid nodded.

"Yep, that's how the book works especially since I get the information from the Ranking Planet." Said Futa. "Your abilities are ranked above average, especially the vampiric ones. You're also ranked number 1 in helping others and solving problems while not expecting anything in return and ranked high for charisma as well, especially when making friends." The young child said as he showed the Dhampir his rankings and he was rather surprised at how accurate they were.

Pretty damn creepy not gonna lie, but rather useful in a way. Looking at Reborn who was watching all of this he asked him what would happen if he placed the young child under his group's protection.

"Hypothetically, anyone who wants to purchase rankings from him would have to go through you and your friends first to see him. Futa is supposed to be a neutral entity in the criminal underworld, but seeing as the Famiglia chasing him is attempting to keep him all to themselves… it's for the best that he be with someone trustworthy." Reborn explained and asked Futa which family is chasing him.

"The Todd Famiglia. They're ranked 7th in bloodlust out of all of the mafia families and thus are quite violent. Not to mention some of them are very ambitious since they want my book."

Well that explains why he's been running for a long time. Not to mention those dark circles under his eyes that look pretty bad. Sensing that those mafioso were outside his house, Tsuna was already on the phone talking with Ingrid about the situation.

"Hey Ingrid, found a kid being chased by some mafioso from the Todd Famiglia due to an odd power that revolves around a book that ranks people and their abilities. He's fine right now, but the guys chasing him are outside the house. Wanna come by and teach them a lesson? Okay, see ya soon. Love ya~." He hung up and grinned at Reborn and Futa. "Well then don't worry, but Ingrid will come along soon to spill some mafia blood hehehe."

"I look forward to seeing the entertainment then." Announced Reborn as Futa suddenly got an odd look in his eye as he opened his book and made stuff float. "Ingrid is ranked one in loyalty especially to Edwin Black, but more so has been shifting over to Tsuna. She is ranked highest in swordsmanship and surpasses Squalo Superbia of the Varia. She's also ranked the highest in helping children and defending them."

"Yep, that's Ingrid for ya." Tsuna said with a smile as he went outside to deal with the members of the Todd Famiglia and looked at them with a disinterested look. "I suggest that you gentlemen leave and never return. Consider this a warning. Attempting to go after Futa will result in your lives being forfeit."

That only made the mafia members laugh, with some mocking him as if they thought he was some random civilian.

Oh well, at least he warned them. Within seconds he summoned his sickles and began to swiftly cut up some of the mafia men, killing them and drinking their blood which was kinda bitter but was not that bad.

"Oh shit! The kid's a vampire!" Said one guy with a black mohawk who attempted to bring out a cross only to get sliced in half by Ingrid who teleported behind him. "Such a foolish man." She sneered at the sliced up corpse. "A cross, really? That only works if there's enough faith behind it and only then it's nothing more than a psychological effect."

"Hey Ingrid, you sure got here quick." Tsuna said in a teasing manner as Ingrid rolled her eyes at the Dhampir and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm the strongest Hell Knight for a reason sweetie, if I didn't know how to use teleportation magic I wouldn't be where I am right now." She teased back before sneering at the remaining Todd family members. "Now then, time to punish some child abusers."

The fight was rather one-sided as Tsuna and Ingrid were stronger and faster than the mafioso, but was still good entertainment in Reborn's eyes at seeing the two work so well together.

All that was soon left was the boss Paolo Aldina, a man with slick, gelled back black hair and shaved stubbles on his chin. He was currently on the ground shaking in fear at seeing his men cut down without remorse and, to Reborn's amusement, may have soiled himself judging from the smell.

For all their bluster and bravado, the Todd Famiglia really were a bunch of cowards desperate to throw some weight around.

"P-p-please… h-h-have m-mercy!" Paolo stuttered out rather pitifully as he pleaded for his life before the two demons before him.

They weren't amused.

Ingrid snorted. "Really? Despite the fact that you and your goons were chasing around a child all because of a special book to the point he couldn't sleep properly, I think not!" The pink-haired demon woman exclaimed as she moved to strike Paolo down only for the man to be instantly encased in ice, shattering him completely.

Tsuna and Ingrid along with Reborn were surprised by this until a feminine voice was heard. "Sorry for stealing your kill, but I figured it was the best way to get your attention. Plus it was a fitting way for a made man to die, to get iced hehehe." They sweat dropped at the rather cliche joke as they saw the perpetrator in view. A young looking woman that was short in appearance with pale skin, white hair with a half crown of ice around it and pale purple looking eyes. She was wearing what looked to be a white, ankle-length kimono with lined patterns and ornate designing. In her hand was a white katana that looked to be made of transparent ice.

"Who are you?" Asked Tsuna as he raised his sickles up while staring at the white haired woman. She was kinda cute in a way, but he wasn't sure if she was friendly or not.

The snow white-haired woman simply smiled. "Oh forgive me for my rudeness. My name is Rukia Kuchiki, proud member of the Frost Demons and Lieutenant of the White Dragon Order. Nice to meet the grandson of Edwin Black along with the Black Dragon Order Leader Ingrid herself!" She exclaimed before looking at Ingrid with a teasing smirk on her face. "Didn't know you liked them young Ingrid, figured you were still pining for Edwin."

Ingrid bristled a bit at that comment, but held her anger in check. "I simply realized that I wasn't getting anywhere with Lord Black and figured out I had a better connection with Tsuna here." She patted the Dhampir's head rather affectionately, something that wasn't lost on the Frost Demon that was grinning at the scene before her. "Now why are you here? Don't tell me that Carmela is too much of a coward to face me herself so she sent a subordinate to fight me instead." She mocked and Rukia shook her head.

"Not exactly, although Lady Carmela still wishes to fight you if so only to prove she's the strongest Hell Knight around." She said rather cooly. "Actually, I came here to see the sights and to look around, only to find a human mafia causing trouble and feeling an odd power coming from many people. Just what is going on here?" She asked rather curiously.

Tsuna sighed and motioned for everyone to come inside. This was gonna take a while.

"Oh, so that's what that power is!" Exclaimed Rukia with a shine in her eyes as Tsuna with some help from Reborn told the Frost Demon about Dying Will Flames and what they did in general. He also gathered up his friends who were curious about what was going on until they saw the unknown Hell Knight.

Gokudera-kun was kinda wary of Rukia, but calmed down as he was re-assured that the young looking demon woman was just curious about Dying Will Flames. Yamamoto-kun was just excited about meeting a Hell Knight in general and asked her what sword styles she uses.

"Oh my! Well, aren't you a lively young man!" Rukia laughed as she waved off Takeshi's questions. "To tell you the truth, my sword style is a series of dances based off of these odd elemental sword styles I saw when I visited the Human World long ago." She said much to Tanjiro and Nezuko's shock.

"Y-you know about the Breathing Styles?!" Both yelled out as Rukia nodded, rather surprised by their reactions.

"If that's what they were called then yes pretty much." She said before continuing. "Truth be told, I was ordered to do recon by Chancellor Bismarck due to reports of unusual demons causing trouble for a very long time with a main one being the culprit." She shrugged before looking at the twins with a critical eye. "You two wouldn't know anything about the demon would you?"

"His name was Muzan…" Tanjiro hissed out the name as if it were a curse. "He killed our family and turned my sister into a demon. I spent time with the Demon Slayer Corps while looking for a cure. In the end, the bastard was killed but Nezuko remained a Demon while I was turned as well." He said rather bitterly while Nezuko rubbed the back of his head. "It's not your fault brother, you tried your very best. Muzan was tricky and hid like a coward. Besides, at least we were able to meet people who care about us."

"Well thanks for ending him, the Chancellor was worried that this Muzan fellow would find a Demon Gate and cause trouble for the Dark World. But enough of that, tell me more about these Flames!" Rukia interjected as she turned to Tsuna with an excited look in her eyes.

The Dhampir could only chuckle at her enthusiasm. He continued explaining Dying Will Flames and showed examples using Reborn or some of his friends. When he showed Rukia his Sky Flames however, the Ice-using Swordswoman got too excited and stuck her hand into the flames causing Rain Flames to appear on her.

"Oh my!" Rukia said with a blush across her face as she felt Harmonization between her and Tsuna. It felt so incredible… and was she feeling warm down there?

"Well Tsuna congratulations, you now have a full Guardian Set!" Reborn proclaimed with a smile as Tsuna suddenly had a sense of deja vu and remembered this happening with Ingrid when he was younger. He then looked at the miniature Sun with a deadpan look. "So? Ain't gonna stop me from gathering more as long as they're compatible with me."

"Eh, true true. Still surprises me how strong your Flames are in being able to gather so many Elements."

Ingrid was rather annoyed with this happening as she didn't want to deal with someone affiliated with that annoying woman Carmela. Sensing her annoyance, Rukia looked at the dark-skinned woman and smirked. "Oh what's wrong? Afraid that your handsome young master is gonna fall for a mature, cool gal like me." She teased seeing the other Hell Knight bristle with annoyance and felt like taking it a step further. "I mean I do have a lovely pair of legs that I bet are smoother than yours, plus my chest is modest yet firm compared to those cow udders that you have." She taunted by shoving Tsuna close to her chest.

"Why you…"

"Ladies knock it off and get along!"

"Yes Tsuna!/Of course master~." Both said at the same time though Rukia's was more teasing.

The young Dhampir sighed, knowing the second Hell Knight was gonna be a handful but he knew he could handle her.

At least he hoped so.