Days went by and before long the season of the Athletic Fest came fast approaching. Nami-chuu was buzzing with activity as the students came together to prepare for the big event. All the students scurried to bring the festival to life with Yuuki maintaining watch over everything. As the student body president, it was her job to make sure that everyone was on task and that the whole festival become a success.

Aside from the preparations, many students were eager for the event. The school was divided into three team during the fest and the competition between the teams can get quite heated, especially during the pole knocking event where the leaders of each team try to stay on top of their respective poles and the team members had to try to knock the enemy's leader over.

"Ne, ne, have you heard? Team A's leader is a first-year, Sawada Tsuna from class 1-A," a female student gossiped to her friends as they painted a banner for their team.

"No way! I thought Ryouhei-kun was the leader."

"I heard that Ryouhei-kun nominated a different leader because he wanted to participate in the event. He apparently ordered the group to vote for Sawada as their leader."

"How typical of him."

"I hope you ladies are doing your work," a voice interrupted their gossiping. The girls glanced up and blushed when they realized that it was their president. Yuuki quirked an eyebrow and the girls snapped back to their work. Seeing them work, Yuuki nodded in satisfaction before she maneuvered through the hallways, mindful of the scattered students working on their respective tasks. While she walked, Yuuki contemplated on the information she received from the girls' gossiping.

It does seem like something Ryouhei would do, going by what Yuuki have observed of the boy. Ryouhei was a severely ambitious classmate of Yuuki who seemed to like to do things to the extreme end of things, especially when it came down to boxing.

Tsuna was officially acquainted with Ryouhei during a misunderstood boxing event. It was amusing since her classmate had come running up to her in the hallway with an application form for Tsuna to join the boxing club. Yuuki knew Reborn had something to do with it, but she accepted it anyway. It took Tsuna a few days after the affair to realized that he somehow joined the club and had to make a request to quit. As Yuuki said, the whole thing was comical to witness.

"Hey!" Yuuki suddenly shouted, noticing a student on a ladder without someone watching over him. "Someone become his watcher and make sure he doesn't fall!"

-`ღ´-

Throughout the week, Yuuki gave out multiple orders to students and made sure that everything was set up properly: the field, the score board, the photographers, the announcement tent, the stage, and the first-aid tent. Some of the Disciplinary Committee members even helped with the preparation, but Hibari himself, mostly avoided the set-up because of the crowding. Apart from that, Hibari knew that Yuuki was capable at handling all the proceedings and so she didn't need his help. Moreover, if there were any problems, he would have a report of it by the end of the day.

Eventually the day of the Athletic Fest finally arrived and everyone was in high spirit. There was a competitive rivalry sparking between each team as they competed against each other to see who will become the overall winner. Yuuki was not able to participate because of her role as the student council president. She had to stay under the announcement tent to supervise the whole event.

On the borders of the large field were a crowd of friends and families who came to cheer for their loved ones. Amongst the masses, Yuuki could see Haru, Bianchi, Nana, and Lambo, cheering for Tsuna and the others. Yuuki already knew who those people were, having gathered their personal information once they made contacted with Tsuna.

Yuuki found Nana to be an amazing person. Being a wife of a mafia member was no easy feat, but she was able to handle it. Next was Bianchi and her interesting cooking ability. She made Yuuki wondered whether her food would have any sort of effect on the informant since one part of Yuuki's shinobi training was to build up an immunity for poison and other harmful substances. It was awful being sick and Yuuki experienced enough to last a lifetime, but the results were well worth it in the end.

Her thoughts on Lambo was a bit mixed. She found him to be a bit of an annoyance, but since she was quite fond of children, she wasn't too annoyed by him. Haru, on the other hand, was a weird girl. Yuuki admired the fact that the girl was strong enough to become a part of the group – any normal girl would run away screaming – but her personality was a bit strange. Yuuki would need to observe her more before having any final thoughts on her.

"Hmm?" Yuuki hummed with a curious tone as a large, black beetle landed on her left shoulder. Yuuki tilted her head as though she was listening to something, "Hmmm, ok, got it."

"Kaichou! Team A is causing a commotion!" A student came running up to Yuuki.

Yuuki glanced at the student before facing the others to hand out orders. "Go stop the commotion before it could escalate! If anyone is hurt, bring them to the first-aid tent. I need to go somewhere."

"Hai, Kaichou!" The student saluted before running off. Stealthily, Yuuki slinked off to do a small errand. Walking through the empty hallways of the school, Yuuki soon arrived at the boys' washroom where her target was. Silently, Yuuki entered, creating no noise as she hid amongst the shadows. She waited for her target, who was in one of the stalls, to finish his business.

The leader of Team B soon exited the stall and went to the sink to wash his hand. As he ran his hands under the streaming waters, he abruptly grew tense, sensing that he was not alone. Before he could do anything though, Yuuki smashed the boy's face into the mirror to prevent him from seeing her. With his face pressed against the mirror, Yuuki expertly jabbed at a pressure point in his neck to render the boy unconscious. Letting go, the boy plummeted to the ground, hitting his head on the edge of the sink along the way.

I probably overdid it, Yuuki thought when she saw the disfigured face, blood trail, and shattered mirror. Crouching beside the boy, she examined his body to make sure that she didn't accidently kill the boy. Nope, he was just bleeding profusely. Head injuries can cause the most bleeding because of all the blood vessels in the head.

Done with her examination, Yuuki got up from the floor. "Tell Reborn that the target has been taken care of," Yuuki said to the beetle who managed to stay on her shoulder. Messaged received, the beetle opened its wings and flew away.

Yuuki watched the beetle go before hearing footsteps heading her way. Swiftly, she made her escape through the bathroom's window and headed back to her position at the announcement tent. At the tent, Yuuki waited for a few minutes, knowing that a student would soon discover the body. On cue, a student came running up to Yuuki.

"Kaichou! I found Team B's leader injured and unconscious in the boys' bathroom!" The student panted.

A fake look of worry, surprise, and anger appeared on Yuuki face as she started to shout out orders to people. "Someone, quickly grab the nurse from the first-aid tent and take her to the boy! You! Make sure that no one touches the body until the nurse arrive!" Yuuki plastered a fake frown onto her face. "Who could do such a thing!"

"A witness managed to see who done it!" The student reported.

"Oh? Who?" Yuuki asked, curious on this development. She was confident that there was no witness around during her assault. So, who could this mysterious person be? She has a feeling that she knew precisely who this witness was.

"Him," the student point towards Reborn, disguised as an old man.

"The attacker said it was under the orders of Team A's leader," Reborn testified.

"What?!" The students around them shouted.

"Kaichou, we got to do something," a student stated as Reborn and the other student went away to spread the news.

"Yeah, we can't let any more incidents like this happen."

"What are we going to do now for the pole knocking event." The students whispered to each other in worry.

"I'll tell you what we will do," Yuuki said, silencing the group. "We're going to have our lunch break early and use that time to devise a plan."

Yuuki spun around and grabbed hold of the microphone of the outdoor speaker system. "May I please have your attention, ladies and gentlemen? This is your president speaking. Because of an unexpected incident, we will be taking an early lunch break where we will be debating on the issue of the pole knocking event. Can each team's 3rd grade representative please come to the headquarter now."

"I say we disqualify the team!" Team B's representative shouted.

"What?! It's not the team's fault for Sawada's action!" The representative from Team A replied.

"What about our leader?! He got knocked unconscious by members of Team A?!" The one from Team C reminded them. The three argued while Yuuki sat wordlessly in front of them in thought. What would be the best solution to go for? Yuuki wondered. Since this whole event was just another ploy for Reborn to mess or 'train' Tsuna, the decision must play along with his plans.

"Now the Team A leader put poison in the food!" Someone announced, reaching everyone's ears.

"Reborn?" Yuuki muttered, her words overshadowed by outraged cries of the representatives. She recognized that voice.

"SAWADA!"

"How could he?!"

"SILENCE!" Yuuki ordered, slamming her fist onto the table. The loud noise startled the others, causing the representatives' mouths to snapped close. Having their attention, Yuuki explained her plan and decision. "I've decided. This is what we're going to do…"

With decision made, the representatives went back to their teams while Yuuki headed to the announcement tent to broadcast the verdict. "Thank you for waiting," Yuuki spoke into the microphone and gaining everyone's attention. "A decision has been made for the pole knocking issue. Upon debating with the representatives, we came to an agreement. This year's pole knocking event will be Team A versus the joined Team of B and C!"

Team B and C cheered while Team A looked on, afraid. "All the boys, please prepare for the pole knocking!"

Yuuki watched as each team got ready. Members of Team A were giving each other disbelief looks at the strange situation they were in while the joined Team B and C seemed to have some trouble in deciding on who would become their leader. Seeing them troubled, Yuuki went over to investigate.

"What's going on?" Yuuki asked.

"Kaichou!"

"We're just having problem with deciding who would be the leader."

"Understandable," Yuuki nodded. "The decision has been last-minute." Yuuki stood in the middle of the large group, listening as they debated on who would be the leader. Before they could decide though, someone made it for them.

"I'll do it," Hibari stated, surprising everyone's with his unexpected appearance.

"Hibari-san!"

Even Yuuki was a bit alarmed. She thought the crowd would be a too much for Hibari. Guess she was wrong. He probably has his reason for coming. If she were to guess, it would have something to do with Reborn since as of lately, he seemed quite invested with the infant. Yuuki watched, impressed as Hibari walked up the pole, using the students as stepping stones.

"He went up with his uniform on!" A boy shouted as the group struggled to keep the pole up during Hibari's climb.

"Don't knock it over," Hibari ordered once he got to the top, his jacket bellowing in the wind.

"Yes, sir!" The boys shouted, scared for their lives. Noticing that everyone was ready, Yuuki left the group and headed towards the small stage. Once on the stage, she was handed a megaphone by one of the student assistants.

"We shall now start the pole knocking. Please get into position." The students marched until the two groups were facing each other. The audience watched in anticipation, dumbfounded by the sheer difference in sizes.

"You can do it!" Haru cheered from the sideline.

"Good luck!" Kyoko shouted.

Amused by the whole situation, Yuuki decided to tease Tsuna some more by saying, "Good luck, Hibari-kun! I'll be cheering you on! Since I'm unable to participate, please kick Tsuna-kun's butt for me!"

"EEEEEEEHHHH?!" Everyone shouted, their attention and concentration shattered by Yuuki's declaration. Hibari huffed in amusement, throw an amused grin over his shoulder. Yuuki smiled, waving at him. Yuuki was happy with the current relationship she has with Hibari – you can even say they were friends or even comrades. Yuuki at least knew for sure that she tends to bring some entertainment into Hibari's mundane life whether it was Yuuki's attitude, personality, connections to the underworld, or even her ability to stay on par with Hibari in fights.

Yuuki patiently stood, waiting for the teams to composed themselves before raising her hand, using it as some sort of signal. "Ready! Go!"

Immediately each team rushed towards each other and before long, Team A was swamped by the other team. There was a lot of struggling as Team A was slowly getting overpowered by the enemies. Eventually it became too much and some members of Team B and C managed to climb the pole where they tried to pull Tsuna off the pole by tugging and kicking at the boy. The battle was fierce as Tsuna grappled to stay on. At one point of the game, Tsuna began to slip and fall off the pole. While in mid-air, Reborn shot a Dying-Will bullet at him, causing Tsuna to transform.

In his Re-Born state, Tsuna started to jump around, using the students as platforms. This gave Ryouhei, Gokudera, and Yamamoto an idea. The three got together and formed a cavalcade with Tsuna on top. They seemed to have found a loophole; the team only loses if the leader touches the ground and so they just have to keep the leader off the ground.

The human tank charged forward with great strength, knocking away those who was in their path. Things were going well for Team A until a fight broke out between Gokudera and Ryouhei. This triggered the group to drop Tsuna, leaving him in the open to be pummelled by the other teams. Gokudera and Yamamoto, along with their team members tried to help, but it soon became a huge brawl. Gokudera even decided to throw in his dynamite to the mix as well.

"Umm, shouldn't we stop them, Kaichou?" A female student asked as she and the others watch the fight while sweat-dropping.

"Hmm?" Yuuki hummed turning to the student. Yuuki pondered for a bit, watching the brawl. "Nah, let them release some steam. There's too much tension build up from the competition."

From the corner of her eyes, Yuuki noticed Hibari walking away. There was no need for him to continue staying. It would not be a good use of his time to participate in a fight filled with weak herbivores. That would be a too easy of a fight.

Seeing how the battle was going to last for a while, Yuuki made a choice. She jumped off the stage and followed Hibari, leaving behind the adults to handle things. No one would really miss her… Well, probably the principal, but only because he was a coward who needed his master there. Without her, he would be a bit lost on what to do. He was not stupid. He did govern the whole school for many years, but ever since Yuuki took over the school, he was forced to follow Yuuki's ruling. That meant, he had to be careful with his actions or he could get severely punished for it.

"So, what do you think of the Athletic Fest?" Yuuki asked as she stopped beside Hibari.

"Hn," Hibari said, looking a bit disappointed. He was not able to encounter the baby. The baby was one of the few people who can matched or even exceed his strength and he wanted a fight. Reborn also seemed to be acquainted with Yuuki which was a plus, enhancing the value of both Reborn and Yuuki in his eyes.

"Don't worry, you'll get a chance to battle Reborn one day," Yuuki guessed. She knew of Hibari's sudden liking to Reborn and she was not too surprised by it. Hibari enjoys fighting and like strong opponents. Smiling at an idea, Yuuki ran ahead of Hibari and called over her shoulders, "Since everyone is fighting, why don't we have our own brawl?"

A slow smirk grew on Hibari's face and a glint of excitement gleamed in his eyes as the skylark chased after the omnivore. Well, at least he's not bored anymore.

-`ღ´-

Yuuki sat on the porch of her house, reading over some information delivered to her by her father. The package of information arrived just this morning along with a letter from her parents asking questions about her well-being.

This was not the first time Yuuki went on a mission by herself, but her parents would always worry about her. They knew that she was capable in taking care of herself, but they feared that she may be pushing herself too hard sometime. If possible, they would have kept her locked up in the clan compound, but that would be too cruel to do. Instead, all they could do was let Yuuki live her life freely for the limited time she has. It was the least they could do for their precious child.

Soundlessly, Yuuki read through the materials, taking her time to absorb and ingrain the information into her brain. While she read, she could hear the sounds of leaves rustling from the breeze and small critters exploring her yard.

The peaceful did not last long as the ringing of a phone penetrated the air. Curious on who may be calling her, Yuuki quickly gathered up the papers and headed inside. Her home may be secure from intruders, but it was still never a good idea to leave important information out in the open like that – a lesson her parents made sure she remembers.

Placing the stack of papers on a small table near the door where her home phone was, Yuuki answered the ringing phone. "Hello? This is Yuuki speaking."

Before Yuuki even picked up the phone, she knew that this was a personal call from someone outside of the clan. Rarely do the Mugen members contact each other or make deals through phone calls. Contact between family members are usually made through video calls through their own specialized phones and technology.

Deals, on the other hand, are typically conducted through face-to-face meetings and requests are typically taken through a third party who would personally contact the Mugen clan or through a Mugen subordinate whose sole job was to take requests for their superiors.

You see, like all families, the Mugen clan have a hierarchy with Yuuki and her family being at the top, followed by the elders, the elites, and then the rest of the families. The elites are normally high-status members whose jobs closely relate to the informant business: protection of information, gathering of information, and dealing of information. The rest of the members work in close approximation with society and regular people like a bodyguard or the requests-taker. There were even those who don't participate in the family business, but was still a part of the clan like housewives – still trained in the shinobi ways, but lives a mundane life.

"Ciaossu," A voice came through the receiver.

"Ah Reborn," Yuuki replied, recognizing the voice, "How can I help you? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine. Tsuna is panicking over trivial things again."

"What is it this time?" Yuuki sighed, a small smile on her face.

"It actually relates to what I need you to do for me."

"Oh?" Yuuki perked up in interest. "What sort of request are we talking about here?"

"I need you to get rid of a corpse for me."

"A corpse?" It wasn't the first time Reborn asked for such a request. "Okay then, the payment will be the same as last time."

"It will arrive in the afternoon."

"Perfect! Where's the corpse now?"

"Tsuna's house."

"Tsuna…. house….?" Yuuki blinked in slightly surprise before realizing it was probably another one of Reborn's ploys. "Okay then, I will be there in a few minutes."

"Yuuki, I also got you a ride. He will be there soon."

"He?"

"Yes, I will see you later." With that, Reborn hung up. Yuuki blink, staring at the phone receiver for a bit before placing it down.

"Hmm, I wonder who's my ride," Yuuki thought to herself, frowning. It was rare for Reborn to arrange a ride for Yuuki, especially when he knew that she harbors a great, irrational hatred for certain automobiles. She would rather take other methods of transportations like running than ever place a foot inside one of those vehicles. As it has already been decided though, Yuuki would just have to bear with it. It was the least she could do since Reborn had gone through the length to arrange it for her. Grabbing her things, Yuuki locked her door and waited by the front gate for her ride.

-`ღ´-

Before long, the sound of a roaring engine disturbed the peaceful neighborhood as a motorcycle drove down the street and pulled to a stop in front of Yuuki. Seeing the motorcycle brought Yuuki a sense of relief. Motorcycles was one of the few vehicles she can handle. Looking at the rider, she found that it was none other than Hibari.

"So, you're my ride, huh," Yuuki said as she got on behind him.

"That baby owes me a favor now," Hibari explained.

"Ah," Yuuki said, nodding her head. She can understand the act of having someone owe you a favor. It was one of many payments Yuuki and her other clan members like to use, especially when they want to have some leverage over someone or when they don't have a specific payment in mind.

With arms secured around Hibari's waist, the pair drove off to Tsuna's house. Once they got there, Hibari parked the bike while Yuuki hopped off the vehicle. Leaving the bike unattended – because who would even dare try to steal from Hibari – Yuuki followed the skylark up to the balcony in front of the house, using the stone gate as a stepping stone, instead of using the front door like a regular person would. Scaling the roof, they got onto the balcony and entered the house through the second-floor window.

"Yo," Hibari greeted.

"Hibari!" Everyone, excluding Haru, shouted in fright. Haru have heard rumors about the skylark, but haven't seen his true terror yet and so felt a bit indifferent with the older boy.

"Good morning," Yuuki waved, popping out from behind Hibari.

"EH?! Yuuki-senpai?! Why are you here?" Tsuna exclaimed, surprised to see the president.

Surveying the room, Yuuki found the body on Tsuna's bed. Was this the corpse Reborn was talking about? If it was, then it must be one of his ruse again since Yuuki knew right away that the body was no corpse. She recognized the man from his reputation in the underworld and his status in the Vongola family – Moretti, famous in being assassinated. He has the ability, called "Addio", to stop his heart at will and enter an apparent death state.

"I'm here because Reborn asked me to do something," Yuuki said, playing along with Reborn's ploy. Yuuki wondered why Hibari was there. Sure, he was her ride, but why enter the house? Was it to see Reborn?

"I didn't come here to play with you guys today," Hibari said. "I came here so that the baby can owe me one."

"Ah, like some sort of deal," Yuuki said in an understanding tone.

"We had been waiting for the both of you," Reborn said.

Hibari hummed while Yuuki pretend to inspect the body. "So, this is the corpse you were talking about, Reborn?"

"Good job. You even got his heart in one shot," Hibari said nudging the body with his foot.

"Nice work, Tsuna-kun," Yuuki teasingly praised the boy, giving him a thumbs-up. Yuuki knew that Tsuna couldn't have shot the man. Besides the fact that the man was not dead, Tsuna was not skilled enough to even wield a gun, but it was fun messing with him anyway.

"No! It's not!" Tsuna cried, anime tears dripping down his face.

"Ok, I can dispose of the body," Hibari announced.

"Wha?! Whaaaaat! What are you saying?" Tsuna shouted.

"Oh, Reborn asked you disposed of the body as well?" Yuuki casually asked as though she was talking about the weather.

"They will get rid of the corpse so it can never be found. That way this murder never happened," Reborn explained to Tsuna.

"That's wrong in so many different ways!" Tsuna cried.

"I will send someone over from the Disciplinary Committee later," Hibari said already halfway out the window. Hibari turned to Yuuki. "Let's go. They will deliver the corpse to the Student Council room for the disposal."

"Ok, I will have everything set-up and ready," Yuuki said following him.

"You're using the committee and council to cover up a murder!" Everyone shouted in disbelief.

"See ya," Hibari said, jumping out of the window. Yuuki waved goodbye, following suit.

Halfway to the motorcycle, Hibari turned around while Yuuki continued her trek. It didn't seem like the attack was targeted at her and so she let Hibari take care of things. Hibari took out one of his tonfas and defected all the flying dynamites back into Tsuna's room. Yuuki leaned against the motorcycle and watched Tsuna's room exploded.

Hibari calmly got on his bike as though he hasn't inadvertently caused a room to explode. Giving the smoking room one last look, Yuuki got onto the bike and the pair zoomed back to Yuuki's home.

"Thank you for the ride Hibari-kun," Yuuki said as she got off the bike.

"No need to thank me, Omnivore. I only did it to make the baby owe me."

"I know," Yuuki smiled, unaware of her eyes softening, "I will still thank you anyway."

Yuuki became used to saying, "thank you" after living her new life with her current parents. She knew of the sentiment of saying, "thank you" but never had a real cause for it before. It wasn't until she lost something she took granted for and living in her new life that she started to understand the feeling of being grateful.

Suddenly, an impulse flourished from her mind and before she could stop herself, she leaned forward to give a small peck on Hibari's cheek. Stunned and slightly embarrassed by what she has done, she froze, her lips tingling from the touch. Hibari stared, wide eyes at Yuuki, shocked by her action. Not wanting to stay and receive Hibari's wrath, she scampered back into her house, "S-SORRY!"

Her heart raced as burst into her house, slamming closed the door behind her. She waited by the door, listening, straining to hear what will happen next. Will he come chasing after her? There were a few beats of silence before the unmistakable sound of motorcycle engine can be heard as Hibari drove away.

Having unconsciously held her breath, Yuuki released it, her hearting continuing to pound against her chest. She turned and leaned against the door, sliding down to the floor. She drew her legs towards her body, her head dropped down until her forehead touched her knees. What was this feeling? This skipping of the heart, what was it? Why did she have that impulse? Why did she do that? Why does her lips tingled afterwards?

Yuuki never felt this way before. Her body would always react different whenever Hibari was around; her heart would stutter; her head would feel light and airy; and her mind would be constantly filled with thoughts of Hibari, hyperaware of everything in regards to him.

This newfound feeling frightens her. Why was her body out of whack? Why was she not in control of it? This could potentially be a risk to her performance and she doesn't want that!

Suddenly, a memory surfaced, causing her to think. Could it be? No! It couldn't! How is that possible? Why now? It was too good to be true. She doesn't deserve it.

She was probably wrong anyway. She shouldn't even be feeling this way. These feelings were wrong….

Why was it wrong?

Her head ached as she tried to recall something, something that was missing. Why did she think this was wrong? WHAT was wrong? Confused and a bit disoriented from her thinking, Yuuki got up from the floor and went back to work, in hopes to distract herself from her feelings and behavior.