Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They say that life can change in an instant. 

Tsuna learns this lesson the hard way. 

He’s five years old and his Papa goes home and they have the best-est week ever.

They spend a day in Kokuyo Amusement Park and Tsuna doesn’t need anything else in the world.

Then his Papa introduces him to Nonno, and Tsuna thinks for a moment - he finally has a complete family.

He remembers being happy. He remembers warm orange flames…

And then suddenly it's cold. 

Tsuna remembers being warm and happy and amazing one moment then cold, dull and constantly falling the next.

He remembers being scared.

Then one day, Papa left. 

Everything changes in an instant. 

Suddenly, he’s six years old and he’s in first grade and everyone just hates him.

Tsuna’s just introduced himself but everyone’s already calling him Dame-Tsuna, and when he stutters to answer, it only seems to make Dame-Tsuna even more real.

He’s six years old and he’s getting kicked to the ground because he’s useless. He learns to curl in on himself when the hits do come because what else can a useless boy do?

He’s seven years old and his mother gives him a disapproving look. “Ah, my son is so dame”, Nana says, and Tsuna feels his heart break.

He doesn’t cry. He’s run out of tears at that point.

He’s eight years old and he thinks it would be better if he just left. If he could be anywhere else but here. 

He's out in the streets, planning to run away when he bumps into a smaller child who looks back at him with amethyst eyes.

Tsuna pauses, just to make sure the kid is real.

Purple hair. Purple eyes. A chain hanging from his left earring to the edge of his lip.

Tsuna stares, not just because the kid is weird, but because the kid is looking up at him as if he truly sees Tsuna.

It's the first time anyone has looked at Tsuna with care and concern since the day everything turned cold.

The small child looks surprised. “You-”, he says, and Tsuna flinches, waiting for the assault or dismissal to start like it had with all the other kids. 

But the purple haired kid only shakes his head, and introduces himself with a fluency and attitude that makes Tsuna think he’s not really a kid at all, but a grown-up.

“I’m Skull, what’s your name?”.

Tsuna bows and he treats the smaller - person - with the same respect he would give his teachers. “Hello Skull-san, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi”.

Skull looks shell-shocked, mouthing the last name Sawada silently, before exploding into expletives that confirmed Tsuna’s hypothesis that the purple haired baby wasn’t a baby at all.

Skull gives him a full-body look, and it’s like Skull knows, like Skull actually understands what’s wrong with him.

“Would you like to come with me, Tsuna?”. Skull asks and eight year old Tsuna freezes.

He’s slightly warm for the first time in two years.

Like everything’s slightly clicked back into place even though he doesn’t quite understand what or why or how. 

Tsuna knew from experience that life could change in an instant.

He had everything for a moment. He lost everything the next.

He takes the purple-haired baby’s hand with a smile and Tsuna nods.

Maybe, just maybe, life would change for the better this time.

5 years later

“Ciaossu”. Reborn puts the phone to his ears. Right on time.

“Is this the home tutor?”, Nana Sawada’s voice rings from the other side of the call. “I’m looking for a home tutor for my son, Tsunayoshi”. 

Reborn accepts and informs Nana that he would be arriving by morning.

Easy.

Although he does make a mental note that the ease with which he infiltrates the Sawada household is… concerning, to say the least.

Still, Reborn wasn’t Vongola and he didn’t care how Iemitsu or Timoteo saw it best to control the civilian heir and his family.

If that method of control happened to be via Sky flame attraction on suspicious-looking posters? Well, it wasn’t any of Reborn’s business.

His student, though. Sawada Tsunayoshi was his business.

Reborn mentally curses Iemitsu and Nono for leaving the boy without any training. Hell, they didn’t even think to teach the boy skills he needed to survive civilian school. The kid's grades were constantly failing, and Iemitsu's reports said that the boy was socially inept, without any friends in school. 

If the boy didn't have the pure Sky flames Iemitsu and Nono have observed from their last visit, Tsunayoshi would probably not even be considered at all. It was just Reborn's luck the kid happened to be eligible to inherit the Strongest Mafia Famiglia in the World by virtue of the strength and purity of his Sky Flames. 

Still, he observed Tsuna as he introduces himself to the family and found that he was too thin and short. There were muscles there, sure, from running which the boy at least seemed to be able to do, but the boy was also clumsy.

Reborn had to watch him trip over thin air far too many times in the last hour since their introduction.

He also noted that Tsuna had such a high-pitch shriek, it made his ears feel like they were bleeding. 

Training Dino had been a challenge. But Dino, at least, had fencing lessons and shooting lessons from the moment he could walk. 

Training Tsuna from this fluffy child to a respectable Mafia Boss?

"Don't you have to be in grade school?", Tsuna asks, and Reborn only sighs.

Guess the teen's intuition wasn't as hyper as he hoped.

Reborn was starting to get a migraine.

So he decided to solve the problem the same way he had solved so many others in his long, prolific, hitman career.

"You'll know when you die", he says, noticing that Tsuna had blushed at the girl's, Sasagawa Kyoko's fleeting compliment as they walked to school. 

He shot his student. 

Tsuna falls with a bang and for a second, the boy is entirely still.

Then, he gets up, flames wrapping around his form, although to Reborn’s surprise, he doesn’t lose all his clothes.

Reborn hums. Tsuna’s flames may be weaker than what Timoteo and Iemitsu wrote in the boy’s files, then. 

““I’LL GIVE KYOKO BACK HER PENCIL WITH MY DYING WILL!!”, his student shouts, the teen’s shrill voice deafening Reborn.

To the hitman’s surprise though, Tsuna doesn’t quite run. Instead, the teen sends flame shooting out his hands and flies.

Reborn blinks, assuring himself that he’s not dreaming. 

Right. His civilian student was flying.

His civilian student’s last regrets were apparently returning a pencil to the most beautiful girl in his class.

But screw that. Tsuna apparently instinctively knew how to use his flames to fly…

Reborn didn't even want to think about where the teenager had gotten that idea.

Well, at the very least, Tsuna’s slowly proving to be an interesting student. 

Hana and Kyoko are shooting Tsuna twin looks of amusement as he hits his head against his desk for the twentieth time. 

“It’s not that bad, Tsuna-kun. Reborn-san would probably assume you got it from an anime, or something”. Kyoko says.

At that, Tsuna looks up hopefully, before grimacing and then groaning again.

“That’s not the point, Kyoko-chan! I’m such an amateur. I got so pressured and scared when he shot me out of the blue, I just couldn’t think of anything but flying out of there!”. 

He hears a choked sound - Hana, before her forceful question. “ He shot you?”. 

Tsuna looks up, “I mean, he’s a hitman, it’s pretty much his job and -”. He cuts himself off, fingers tapping the desk three times. Their code for someone is listening in. 

Hana wisely changes the topic. “Still, that’s too much flare for just returning a pencil, Sawada-kun”.

As if on cue, Reborn appears from literally nowhere. “Ciaossu”. 

Tsuna shrieks, earning him twin amused looks from the pair of girls. 

“Aww, Tsuna-kun, is this your little brother?”. Kyoko asks and Tsuna stops the urge to openly wince at the question.

“No. I’m a hitman. I’m training Tsuna to become the next Mafia Boss”. Hana freezes, but Kyoko doesn’t even miss a beat before she squeals. 

“That sounds like a fun game, Reborn-kun! Is Tsuna going to wear a cute fedora that matches yours?”, Kyoko asks and Tsuna and Hana turn to their friend with matching looks of surprise, although Tsuna’s was more of betrayal.

Reborn hums thoughtfully to Tsuna’s abject horror. “Dame-Tsuna has to earn it first”. He says. Then, he turns to Tsuna, and the brunette can’t help but flinch at the suspicion in the hitman’s stare. “I didn’t know you had friends, Tsuna”.

Tsuna just blinks at that, staring at Reborn for an awkward while, before he looks back up at Kyoko and Hana, equally silent. “Uh… We’ve kind of been friends since third grade? Everyone knows?”. Tsuna hesitates.

“Go home early later, Dame-Tsuna”. Reborn says, annoyance lacing his voice but Tsuna’s intuition helpfully supplies that Reborn isn’t annoyed at him. Or at least, not entirely at him. 

“What was that about?”, Hana asks a few moments later when they’re both sure Reborn is nowhere within earshot.

Tsuna just grins, slightly happier this time. “I’m guessing he just found out that some of his information was wrong. If he’s going by what Iemitsu gave him, well, it’s probably written on there that I don’t have any friends”. 

Hana snorts in amusement, while Kyoko just gives Tsuna a pointed look. “Tsuna-kun, I thought we agreed to give Reborn-kun a chance. It’s not his fault if the Vongola didn’t give him good information”. 

Tsuna pouts again while Hana just scoffs. “Good information my ass. I wonder how he’ll react once he finds out that Tsuna has half of his guardians already”. She says, and Tsuna sighs. 

"I don't even want to think about it. But", Tsuna sends a glare towards Kyoko. "When did you become such a good actor?".

Hana's surprisingly the one to sigh, the girl's fingers massaging the frowns on her forehead. "Kyoko's been getting extra lessons because apparently, she has a lot of potential".

There's a bit of resentment there that Tsuna raises his eyebrows.

"Aww, don't be like that Hana-chan. You're not that talented with acting, but he did say you're amazing with the administrative side of things". Kyoko assures her friend.

Hana just shakes her head at that, before turning to Tsuna with another pointed glare. "See, once Reborn finds out half of what we've been up to for the last five years, I bet you he's going to murder us".

"It's a given he's going to find out, Hana-chan. He's the Strongest Hitman in the World. The only question is, how long can Tsuna keep the act going". Kyoko says. Tsuna shudders at the brilliant smile she sends him. "You gave to do your best, Tsu-kun. I have a bet with Kyo-kun about how long you could keep the act up".

Tsuna definitely did not want to know about Kyoko-chan and Kyo-kun's bets. He did not want to even think about the consequences of the outcome of said bet. Whoever won or lost would not end well for him and his continued sanity.

“I’ll keep the act up, sure, but I'm still not going to be a Mafia boss”. He says ignoring the shared looks of amusement between his two oldest friends.

"Keep telling yourself that, Tsuna, and who knows? You might end up a giant robot, after all". Hana says and Tsuna groans, banging his head against his desk for the twenty-first time. 

Reborn calls Gokudera and the teenage hitman arrives in Namimori as planned.

Gokudera challenges the Vongola heir to test him under Reborn’s orders, right on schedule.

Gokudera throws dynamites and accidentally messes up, the explosives spilling around the boy.

Reborn shoots Tsuna with the dying will bullet and orange flames ignite. 

Reborn should have honestly expected that Tsuna would once again use his flying technique, lifting Gokudera out of the way of his own explosions - bridal style.

Reborn makes a point to ignore Gokudera's red face.

Instead, he's about to praise Tsuna for a job well done, when the brunette turns swiftly towards Gokudera, orange flames dying out but not diminishing the anger reflected in his glowing amber eyes.

“Are you actually an idiot? You could have gotten yourself killed! Why would you be so reckless?!”, the teen screams at Gokudera.

Reborn wouldn’t have minded the shouting, except Tsuna had done so in fluent, native-sounding Italian that Reborn had to take five seconds to register what he was hearing from the tiny teen. 

Gokudera’s mouth just gapes open, before he’s doing a dogeza in front of Decimo, begging for forgiveness even as the brunette continues on his tirade about fire hazards and pyrotechnics and armorers and annoying, fucking permits? .

“Gokudera lost, so he's now going to be part of your family, Tsuna”. Reborn says.

Narrowed amber eyes meet Reborn and he freezes at the seriousness and anger that doesn't quite fit on the boy's still fluffy face. 

“No”. Tsuna immediately answers, and his words are followed by silence. There’s a dejected look on Gokudera’s face mirroring Reborn’s stunned one. 

It doesn’t seem to bother Tsuna, who with strength of unknown origins, lifts Gokudera up until the boy is standing, all while maintaining his glare towards the other teen. 

“Not yet. You’re not going to be part of my family until you get the proper permits from Hibari-san for all your weapons, until you’ve visited an actual doctor to treat your injuries, and you get training for fire safety and proper handling of explosives”. Tsuna declares decisively and Gokudera just stares at him, processing his words. 

“Am I understood, Gokudera?”, Tsuna asks in Italian and the silver-haired teen quickly stiffens, nodding repeatedly.

“Yes, Decimo. I, I understand”. Gokudera replies.

Only then does Tsuna smile, pleased. “And call me Tsuna, I’m not planning on being the Vongola Decimo”.

Gokudera looks appalled at the thought. “Yes, T-Tsunayoshi-sama”.

Reborn chooses this moment to intervene, kicking Tsuna in the head. Tsuna falls theatrically. “What was that for, Reborn?”. 

“Dame-Tsuna, where did you learn to speak Italian?”, Reborn asks and Tsuna flinches.

“Uhh– I learned it from a friend. In Italy”. Reborn raises an eyebrow but he does acknowledge that Tsuna’s telling the truth. 

“And what’s the name of this friend?”

“Uhh.. Scott?”. Tsuna says and Reborn gives Tsuna an unamused look.

“I only know his nickname, Reborn. We talk online, okay?”. 

Reborn gives Tsuna his hardest stare but he doesn’t sense the kid lying. Instead, he sighs and lets it go. Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth and all that.

Tsuna knowing Italian helped him do his job easier, at least.

Gokudera's looking at Tsuna like the brunette hung the moon and the stars. Tsuna just sighs. 

"I mean it though, Gokudera-kun. You really do have to register your weapons because I definitely don't want to get bitten to death. You probably should do that... uh, now? Please?".

Gokudera nods enthusiastically, before running off to do as he was told. 

Tsuna mumbles something about crazy pyromaniacs and stupid explosives in Italian, and Reborn just thoughtfully watches his student.

Honestly, though, that should have been Reborn’s first sign that something was wrong. 

Reborn’s second sign that things didn't quite add up came immediately after Tsuna rescued Yamamoto from jumping off the school roof - bridal style, once more. 

Tsuna had given the boy a proper dressing down like he had done with Gokudera, before promptly dragging the baseball player to his family’s sushi shop.

Tsuna then pushed a very guilty and dejected Takeshi before his own father, making sure the teen did not omit any information from his latest stunt. 

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto had been horrified at his son’s actions and Reborn silently watched as Tsuna patiently waited for the father-and-son duo to process the emotional turmoil of the day and have their moment.

When Tsuyoshi turned to talk to the brunette, Tsuna assured him that Takeshi had learned his lesson well, but Tsuna also hadn’t let the issue go until he was a hundred percent guaranteed Takeshi would be spending time in the hospital receiving the proper therapy he needs. 

Tsuna hadn't stopped glaring at Takeshi until the teen had sworn he would be seeing the therapy sessions through. 

Tsuyoshi had given Tsuna a thankful look, before handing the teen boxes of sushi to bring home.

“Thank the old man for me too, yeah? Tell him he’s free to drop by anytime he’s around”. 

Tsuna just nods, “It’s nothing Yamamoto-san. I’ll make sure to tell him though, he loves sushi”.

Reborn hadn’t thought about it then, thinking that Tsuna and the elder Yamamoto were probably talking about Namimori things. After all, Tsuna had come rushing to the sushi shop with Takeshi in tow, as if he was more than a regular in the old man’s sushi shop. 

It wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility that Tsuna frequented Yamamoto’s shop, having grown up in the small town.

Things sort of went flawlessly, after that.

The Sawadas took Lambo and Ipin in. Nana hadn't even questioned  the addition of two new charges and all Reborn could think of was the security concern that was posing.

He staged a challenge for Tsuna, Hayato and Takeshi, hoping the trio would meet Namimori's infamous Hibari Kyoya, only to find out that the brunette already considered the demon prefect one of his closest friends.

Reborn had been very surprised to find out that Sasagawa Kyoko and Hibari Kyoya had a... friendship, of sorts.

He filed the information away as something to investigate for later. 

Honestly, Tsuna's list of friendships had been very different from Reborn's original plans.

For one, Hana and Kyoko were definitely better candidates for Tsuna’s lightning and sun respectively than Lambo and Kyoko’s own brother, and the fact that the two girls were starting to show signs of becoming Flame active soon wasn't lost on the hitman. 

He had asked Tsuna for more information about how he had made friends with the two girls and the demon prefect, and the brunette had given him some strange story about an elementary school drama club and filming a nature documentary. 

Things might have been unfolding differently from Reborn's original plans, but the hitman was quite good at improvisation.

He welcomed the changes with the ease of a chameleon changing colors.

Tsuna speaking fluent Italian with Dino certainly surprised the Cavallone Don, but it was more welcomed than not, what with Dino’s recent acquisition of the Japanese language. Reborn did not think it particularly suspicious Tsuna spoke at a level where he called Dino’s blunders una figura di merda - he and Bianchi had found it amusing even. 

Tsuna's proficiency in Italian and apparently, basic Chinese from learning with Hibari Kyoya also greatly helped the two younger children under his roof, with whom he immediately formed a sibling bond. Reborn hadn't thought it out of the ordinary when Tsuna confiscated all Lambo's weapons, bar the Ten Year Bazooka, with the same enthusiasm he had with Gokudera's bombs. 

Scott, Tsuna's mysterious online friend, also actually existed. Reborn watched his student amusedly as the kid spent the late hours of the evening exchanging messages with the stranger. Reborn had read the messages on his student's phone, of course, and found nothing beyond the usual memes, some random trivia about musky octopi and passages from the Arkady Renko series that both boys apparently followed.  

Right. Things had been going according to Reborn’s plan for the most part that he had grown exceedingly complacent despite the signs things weren’t entirely as they should be.

The third sign that something was wrong happened on a Monday.

Tsuna was walking to school as always with Reborn trailing after him. The teen is slightly tired, he had spent the evening messaging Scott on his phone until the early hours of the morning.

Reborn hadn’t bothered telling him off - he understood that Tsuna was still a kid, in the end, and if he was going to choose to spend his time so unwisely, then he had to suffer the consequences.

To reinforce his point, Reborn absentmindedly shoots a harmless foam bullet towards the child's head.

An innocent, nothing-out-of-the-ordinary blue and orange foam bullet.

So consider Reborn utterly speechless and surprised when Tsuna falls over as if he had actually been shot with a real bullet - 

Before bursting into familiar orange colored flames, screaming in the usual shrill voice: 

“REBORN! I’LL GO BACK TO SLEEP WITH MY DYING WILL!”

Reborn can only give Tsuna an unamused, deadpan stare, the awkward atmosphere stretching as Tsuna just stands there, processing why Reborn was acting the way he was.

In the end, Reborn loads his gun with an actual bullet, this time, pointing it towards the teen.

“Dame-Tsuna, I shot you with a foam bullet”. He says, a warning of future pain and horrible consequences should the boy decide to lie to his face. 

Dying Will flames cut off like a shut faucet and Tsuna’s amber eyes turn back to panicked chocolate.

“Hieeeee”, the teen shrieks.

Reborn isn’t amused.

Honestly, what?

Chapter Text

“You have to go to school, Tsuna”. Skull says with a sigh, but the seven year old just shakes his head violently. The thought of going back to Namimori, going back to his mother sends a wave of anxiety over the young child who had spent the last month in what may as well have been a fever dream, riding a motorcycle and learning to climb cliffs in the Andes and learning to swim in Argentina’s bluest lakes. 

“Please don’t send me back. I’ve been doing my best to learn everything, Skull”. Tsuna says in near-perfect Spanish. Skull had been teaching him the language in their free time, and it certainly helped that Tsuna was surrounded by the language.

At first, Tsuna had panicked over every single thing, struggled to keep up with what was happening, but after the first week of running, jumping and learning to swim with Skull near every waking moment, Tsuna just woke up one day warmer and calmer, his body finally feeling slightly more like it was his own than it ever had in ages. 

Skull gives him an understanding smile. “Tsuna, our trip has been training your body, but you also need to learn what they teach in school and make friends with kids your age”. 

Tsuna pouts. “They don’t like me in school. They beat me up and…”. 

Tsuna can’t control the tears that are threatening to form in the corner of his eyes. He doesn’t want Skull-san to see him cry. Not when Skull had done his best to reassure Tsuna in the last month that he was an amazing kid and he just needed to learn more about what he was capable of, just needed to see more of the world to stop getting scared over every single thing – Tsuna wanted nothing more than to prove to Skull-san that he was stronger.

He meets amethyst eyes and Tsuna sighs in relief when he finds no judgement there, only slight anger that Tsuna knows even isn’t directed at him. Skull ruffles his gravity-defying hair and smiles.

"Do you know the best way to stop getting beat up, Tsuna?".

"Fight back?", the seven year old answers hesitantly.

"Of course not, silly. You're too small for that. You have to pretend to get beat up. Give your audience what they want to see". Skull says, his eyes and smile brightening. He hums, then makes a finger gun gesture at Tsuna.

“Here, I’ll show you. Pretend to shoot me”. It’s an absurd request but definitely not Skull’s weirdest one. Skull splits into a run around Tsuna and when the kid makes a “bang” gesture at the stuntman, Skull… falls, as if shot. 

The fall is so realistic Tsuna worries that Skull had actually been attacked so he runs towards him, only to find the infant chuckling at his worried look. 

“See, the punches don’t have to hit you, Tsuna. You can just pretend and everybody wins”. 

Tsuna processes Skull’s words, nodding. He feels something akin to excitement lighting up inside him. It’s the same feeling he used to feel whenever he’d see the orange flames dancing around his hands. 

“Can you teach me?”. Skull’s giving him a surprised look, but then the stuntman just shakes his head, chucking once more.

“Of course piccolo cielo . But you have to promise me you’ll go back to school when you’re ready”. 

Tsuna pouts, but he knows going back to Namimori is non-negotiable from the way Skull-san refused to drop the conversation.

“Okay”. He thinks he looks dejected because Skull laughs again, before lightly tapping his forehead.

“No need to look that sad, Tsuna. I’m not leaving you. I’ll still bring you around with me once I see you’re doing well in school. I just have work to do and you have school too. But I’ll always be here for you, Tsuna”. 

Tsuna processes Skull’s words. I’ll always be here for you. He beams, feeling so, so much hope that it hurts - that this time, it would be different.

“Promise?” He asks, holding out his pinky finger.

“Promise”. Skull wraps his own pinky around Tsuna’s.

Tsuna knows it’s a promise Skull would always keep. 

5 years later

“I’ve always had Dying Will Flames”. Tsuna says. Reborn frowns but the kid isn’t lying. “I’ve been able to use my flames for as long as I can remember”. 

Reborn processes Tsuna’s words. Mafia children were often subjected to life and death experiences to awaken their Dying Will Flame abilities - the fact that Tsuna, a mere civilian child, had unlocked his flames before he could remember brought up more questions than answers.

“That doesn’t explain how you can control them, Dame-Tsuna”. Reborn says. Tsuna grimaces at the nickname but shrugs.

“Scott taught me. He knew about Iemitsu and the mafia and he told me everything”. Tsuna nonchalantly says, ignoring the gaping hitman. “He said he wasn’t supposed to, but that I had a seal on my flames so I was free game”.

The information silences Reborn and whatever surprise the hitman had walked out the metaphorical window, to be replaced by clear anger.

“Your flames were sealed”. He repeats, trying to make sure he had just misheard.

Tsuna nods grimly. “Scott never gave me the full explanation about what it meant. He just said it was bad and that Iemitsu and Nono put it on me when I was five. And that, when you came to tutor me… don’t let myself get hit with the flame bullets”.

The simmering anger in Reborn turned fully into anger. Iemitsu and Nono had both consciously sealed a young, five year old Sky and kept the information from the rest of the Mafia, knowing full well that their decision left the child to live a life in a state worse than dead.

Sealed skies tended to fall into discord not just with the world but themselves. Tsuna would’ve become a disaster socially and physically, and emotionally, he would have lost all belief in himself – no will to either work or improve on himself. No resolve. His willpower forever as inaccessible as his flames

If Reborn had come barging into Tsuna’s life, shooting the teen with dying will flame bullets, the seal would have cracked and allowed Tsuna sudden access to his flames, to the detriment of the boy’s body. Tsunayoshi would have been lucky to survive until thirty, then, and Reborn would have been responsible for murdering his own student.

Something tells Reborn that’s exactly what Iemitsu and Nono had in mind. An expendable heir whose flames could be passed on to an Undicesimo the Vongola can then mould to become the ideal heir.

“And Scott helped you unlock your flames? What Mafia Family is he part of?”. That was the other thing bothering Reborn about the entire tale. Tsuna would have had a horrible life, Reborn would have unknowingly murdered his student, and yet, they were spared of that fate by a random stranger that had come into Tsuna’s life at the right time. 

“Scott’s not Mafia. He just knows Mafia things, that’s what he said. And he’s not that much older than me… I think?”. Tsuna says. Reborn doesn’t sense the kid lying, but the fact only strengthens Reborn’s own disbelief. 

A civilian kid, if Tsuna’s to be believed? How had the Mafia let this Scott go free.

Sensing his dissatisfaction, Tsuna helpfully adds. “Scott’s visiting next week, though? I guess you could ask him all your questions ‘cause he could answer them better?”. 

Reborn resignedly accepts Tsuna’s statement, knowing that having Tsuna’s supposed mentor for that discussion would be a lot more efficient than grilling the young teen for answers.

“Don’t expect me to let you slack on your training just because I can’t shoot you with dying will bullets, Dame-Tsuna”. 

To Reborn’s surprise, Tsuna laughs. ”Wouldn’t dream of it, Reborn-san”. 

The sudden contrast between Tsuna’s earlier dismissal and the sudden respect is enough to make Reborn raise eyebrows at Tsuna.

“You’ve been hiding what you’re capable of. You should know I’m not going to let that slide anymore”. It’s a threat that Tsuna calmly takes with a thoughtful smile.

“Hmm.. I think Kyo-san would be happy. He did say he wanted to fight me this afternoon”.

For the third time that day, Reborn finds himself speechless and gaping at his student.

Tsunayoshi Sawada fighting the demon prefect of Namimori head on?

“The cat’s out of the bag, then, isn’t it Tsu-kun ?”.

Tsuna freezes. Beside him, Takeshi and Hayato, who had taken to walking the brunette to school daily, look towards their boss with hesitant looks.

Tsuna contemplates running. It’s a stupid thought. 

He turns around, instead. He feels a shudder run down his spine seeing Kyoko’s smile, the one normally reserved for assassins who refused to give up the names of their employers.

“Hi Kyoko-chan”. Tsuna manages to mumble, even though his entire instincts have been screaming at him to turn tail and run. 

“Mou, Tsu-kun. You said you’d last another week, at least. Just two more days and I could have won the bet against Kyo-kun”. Kyoko is pouting, but Tsuna can see the promise of pain behind her amber eyes glowing absurdly and threateningly yellow.

“I’msorryKyoko-chanpleasedon’tkillme”. Tsuna blurts out in panic. Kyoko blinks once or twice, but only smiles.

“Of course I won’t kill you, Tsu-kun, you’re so silly. But, I do get all your crème brûlées for the next month”.

Tsuna gasps, almost says no, but Kyoko-chan smiles and whatever willpower Tsuna found disappeared. 

“Fine…”, Tsuna says gloomily. “You know they’re my favorite”.

Kyoko smiles, but instead of the promise of pain, she virtually makes sparkles appear behind her. “Exactly. Do better next time, ne, Tsu-kun?”.

Kyoko walks forward and leaves the three teens behind. Hayato immediately tries to console his boss, while Takeshi keeps on warily watching out for Kyoko until she disappears around a corner.

“Huh, remind me never to piss Kyoko-chan off”. 

Hayato mutters something that sounds suspiciously like agreement. 

That same Monday afternoon, Reborn watches his student fight Hibari Kyoya, if it could even be called a fight. 

Reborn almost shot both teens when upon stepping onto the battlefield, the pair spontaneously combusted into flames, orange and purple. 

Reborn had known for a fact that Tsuna was flame active, but to see Hibari Kyoya wielding his own flames effortlessly and with the expertise of a trained Mafioso? 

Reborn had an alarmingly increasing list of questions.

As expected, Kyoya opts for a headfirst, all-out attack, rushing towards Tsunayoshi with his tonfas alight in purple flames. The Cloud had the personality of an aggressor and while it did match his prodigious strength, it was also a huge disadvantage for more strategic opponents.

Tsuna, to Reborn’s surprise, speeds into a run towards the Cloud and…

Did the kid just dodge the prefect’s attack with a double axle? 

“Tsunayoshi-kun has been taking figure skating lessons to control his body better”, Kyoko says as Tsuna performs a ballet split leap supported by his flames to dodge the incoming projectiles the Cloud had started hurling at him.

Reborn takes note of the projectiles… metallic discs that detached from Kyoya’s tonfas? It seems the teen was not as stubborn as he had first thought, if the boy was willing to expand his strategies to include long range weapons. 

Tsuna actually laughs, when Kyoya fails to land a hit on him despite the raven’s continuous attempts – and is that a pout on Kyoya’s face?

“He’s also taken rock climbing, martial arts, parkour, gymnastics, boxing, ballet and a bunch of diving lessons to train his body to dodge everything”. Hana adds.

Reborn turns to the pair of girls, both watching the scene with much amusement. “Train his body for what?”, he immediately regrets asking, when he received twin frowns from Hana and Kyoko.

“The Vongola has many enemies, Reborn-san. But, as Tsunayoshi-kun always says, ‘your enemies can’t win against you if they can’t hit you’”. 

Reborn wonders if it’s the angelic smile that gives Kyoko’s words the amplified bloodthirst. 

Reborn doesn’t think so.

The match ends in Tsuna’s favor – the same result for the one hundred sixty seventh week in a row, Hana helpfully points out. Hibari Kyoya comes out of the match with flame exhaustion and few bruises from his own projectiles sent back at him, and Tsunayoshi Sawada with a wide grin on his face and not a single scratch.

“The shots were better timed this week, Kyo-san. Great job”. Tsuna tells the older teen, who grunts before stalking off.

Reborn notes the exchange. Was his student teaching the Cloud?

Reborn also notes, with exasperation, that Kyoko casually says goodbye to Tsuna and Hana, before catching up to the raven prefect… and was that Kyoko handing Kyoya a thick envelope of cash? What? 

Reborn then just short-circuits when it’s actually Tsuna who calls out to the other teen. “Hey! Kyo-san! Don’t forget! Same time next week!”.

Reborn had quickly accepted that his student was both a very weird boy and a force of nature at once. Tsuna had pure, powerful Sky flames, actual guardian bonds with three strong flame users - Lightning, Sun and Cloud – and was slowly forming new ones with his Rain and Storm. 

And in all honesty, Tsuna had so much potential, he was almost blinding. Reborn had been blind to not notice it within the first week of knowing the boy and watching his interactions with Gokudera and Yamamoto – but he could see it clearly now that he was watching much more closely. 

Tsuna cared. He had a bleeding heart and an overprotective streak that easily set his willpower ablaze at the slightest harm to the people he cared about.

And even more, painfully so, Tsuna was kind. 

“It wasn’t so bad. I was awfully scared at first but then we got around to talking. It was just about baseball at first, then dad started talking about sushi and the shop and… I guess we’ve never really realized how much we both tried to pretend we were doing better than we actually were with each other, you know”. 

Takeshi’s telling the story of his first therapy session with his dad. Tsuna’s listening to every word, looking straight at Takeshi and smiling at the teen encouragingly. Today, the trio are hanging out in Takesushi, reviewing their science notes while tasting Tsuyoshi-san’s new recipes. 

“I don’t even think I like baseball, I’m not sure…”, There’s a dark, sad look that makes its way into Takeshi’s eyes. Tsuna immediately notices and puts a hand on the Rain’s shoulders.

“You don’t have to keep smiling and liking the same thing forever, Takeshi-kun. You’re allowed to look for new things that make you happier”. Tsuna assures the teen who sends him a grateful smile.

Then, Tsuna turns to Hayato, who at the brunette’s gaze suddenly looks to the floor guiltily. “Tsuna-sama, I went but then the stupid woman started making assumptions about my family and I…”.

It’s not difficult to figure out what happened next. Hayato guiltily looks away, expecting to be reprimanded but Tsuna only nods and sends him a thoughtful look. 

“I’m glad you at least went, Hayato-kun. I’m not expecting you to have everything figured out, but I’m also hoping you’d at least keep on trying”.

There’s a shocked look on Hayato’s face, who had clearly not expected the lack of consequences. Tsuna frowns at the Storm’s hesitation. 

“I’m not going to abandon you just because you’re having a hard time at therapy, Hayato-kun. It wouldn’t be therapy if it was comfortable, now, would it? I’ve also walked out of some of my therapy sessions and one of my friends ended up traumatizing seven of his therapists before he ended up finding the right one”.

Hayato and Takeshi’s eyes widen in surprise at Tsuna’s admission. Even Reborn sends a sharp look towards the brunette. 

“Dame-Tsuna, you’ve gone to therapy?”.

Tsuna actually chuckles. “Of course I do, Reborn-san. My dad’s in the Mafia and assassins have been dropping into Namimori for ages trying to kill me and I’m in training to become a Mafia boss. I still go, actually. Once a month with Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan”. 

Reborn knows it’s not the entire story but he doesn’t pry with the growing anger in Tsuna’s eyes. He does note that the three teenagers have actually gone through events that merit enough meetings of therapy. 

Reborn mentally catalogues bringing Shamal in quicker to gather and erase all the kids’ medical records for their eventual transition to the Vongola. 

Tsuyoshi approaches the group of teens and gently lays down his newest recipe to appreciative and excited looks. 

“Your suggestion has really been helping me and Takeshi patch things up, Tsuna-kun. I’ve never realized how little Take-kun and I have been talking…”

Tsuna just smiles, shaking his head. “It’s all part of the job, Tsuyoshi-san”.

As if remembering something, Tsuyoshi-san says “Ah!”, before pulling out a thick, brown envelope of money and handing it to the brunette. 

Tsuna discretely takes the offer, hiding it deep into his backpack and ticking off Tsuyoshi’s name in a small notebook he kept in his pocket.

Reborn stops himself from openly gaping.

“Tell Kyoya-kun to keep up the good work. This town has never been safer since he’s started protecting us”.

When Tsuyoshi-san walks away, Reborn points his pistol at the brunette who immediately shrieks. Reborn can sense the faint amusement in his student. It irks him

“Tsuna, why did Yamamoto Tsuyoshi give you protection money? ”. 

Tsuna pouts at the question but only sighs. “I’m part of the disciplinary committee. Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan too. We collect the committee’s… funds ”.

Right. Namimori is officially broken. Reborn has officially given up trying to make sense of his student’s, now students’, extracurricular activities. 

He still shoots Tsuna who infuriatingly manages to dodge his bullets yet again. 

Reborn smiles, pleased with himself though, when one of the bullets manages to leave a scratch on the boy’s arms.

He’s not losing his touch, just yet.

Namimori teenagers simply defied logic.

On Thursday, Tsuna skips school.

“It’s the third Thursday of the month, Reborn-san. It’s Kyo’s Friendship Day.

Reborn deadpans at the stupid name but follows Tsuna to the abandoned forest surrounding Namimori anyway.

They find their way to a clearing where Hana, Kyoya and Kyoko are all sitting on a picnic mat, sharing tea and sandwiches. 

“You’re late”. Kyoya glares at the brunette who only shrugs and sits beside Hana.

Kyoya and Kyoko both stand, moving towards opposite ends of the clearing. Reborn sends Tsuna a curious look, but the brunette only points back towards his friends.

That’s the only warning Reborn gets before both teens erupt into flames and start… going at each other. 

The fight isn’t like Tsuna’s and Kyoya’s, where both teens were in control of their moves and actively strategizing against the other. 

No. This was a barbaric, close-combat, fight to the death match. Hibari was using his tonfa and Kyoko had in both hands a wooden yawara-bo. Both teens were landing hit after hit after hit towards each other, instantly healing both their injuries with Sun and Cloud flames respectively. 

Beside him, Tsuna and Hana have started a conversation about the ongoing construction work in Namimori’s commercial center, as if the fight before them was a usual occurrence. 

Reborn takes a sip from the mug Tsuna had casually handed him.

Huh. It’s his favorite espresso.

Reborn feels a wave of resignation wash over him, quickly replaced by a spark of excitement.

So much potential from these teenagers in Namimori. 

Reborn had plans to redesign. Training events to rearrange.

Once he was done with Tsuna and his friends, Vongola would not know what had hit them.

It’s Saturday evening and Tsuna’s walking home, Reborn sat on his shoulders. 

“How did you even end up taking over a yakuza family accidentally, Tsuna?”, Reborn asks exasperatedly. The Arcobaleno had spent the entire day watching his student fulfill his responsibilities as the acting Boss of Namimori’s disciplinary committee, which honestly functioned more as the town’s yakuza instead of a school club. 

Tsuna sighs, recalling the incident. “It was all Hana-chan’s fault, honestly. At the time, I was already friends with Kyoya-kun, but he didn’t know Hana-chan and Kyoko-chan outside of school. When they first met, Kyoya-kun called them herbivores…”.

Reborn chuckles at that. “Hana doesn’t like being called weak”.

Tsuna nods enthusiastically. “Nope. She doesn’t. So she told Kyoya-kun that she bets, Kyoko-chan could take care of Namimori’s crime better than he can. Kyoya-kun didn’t like the challenge so he started beating up criminals everywhere. Thievery, graffiti, people who were late to school - everyone that was ruining the peace of Namimori.

Of course, you know Kyoko-chan. She also doesn’t like losing, but she tends to be more systematic about things. Kyoko-chan decided that organized crime would be easier to target, because it was, well, organized ”. 

Reborn outwardly laughs.

“Kyoko-chan wiped out the Momokyokai Yakuza in a week and Kyoya-kun hates losing, so he wiped out three yakuza families by the next week. In a month, Kyoko and Kyoya’s joint efforts ended up deposing Namimori’s mayor who was useless and suddenly, there was a huge power vacuum and peace in the entire town because all the yakuza here were wiped out.

So, because Namimori didn’t exactly have a mayor and neither Kyoko-chan or Kyoya-kun were good at taking responsibility for their actions, Hana-chan ended up taking a lot of the paperwork and legal work to keep the town running. She made Kyoya-kun the leader of his own personal army and Kyoko-chan’s basically our liaison with the police force. I’m in charge of the citizen side”.

Reborn gives his student a weird look. “That doesn’t explain the protection money at all, Tsuna”. 

“Ah right. Well, Namimori was suddenly peaceful and Hana-chan working as the mayor also led to really quick development. We had the shopping center built in a month, see. The quick development made us appealing to Yakuza elsewhere in Japan so we would have people attacking us at least once a week. The protection money’s basically funds we use to make sure everything gets rebuilt practically overnight, especially with both Kyoya-kun and Kyoko-chan going on their respective rampages against our enemies. I just collect them because I’m the friendliest face”.

“You do know, Tsuna, that by definition, Namimori is a Mafia town and you’re a Mafia boss, aren’t you?”. 

Tsuna wrinkles his nose in disgust at the thought. “If anything, Hana-chan’s the Mafia boss, Reborn-san. I’m just an accidental member”. 

Reborn doesn’t mention to the brunette that Hana literally runs her decisions by him almost every day and that both Kyos look towards Tsunayoshi for guidance and combat training. Takeshi and Hayato had a lot to catch up on, obviously, the four other teens have been at this for much longer, but both the Rain and the Storm have also started following Tsuna’s directives.

Beside him, Tsuna freezes at something and Reborn suddenly becomes alert.

Wide eyes turn to him, filled with excitement.

“Scott’s here!”.

The teen, like a child, starts running home and Reborn sighs at the childish excitement.

To the Sun Arcobaleno’s surprise, however, they’re about three houses away from Tsuna’s house when his pacifier starts glowing a bright yellow.

He jumps off the teen’s shoulder before they reach the Sawada residence. Tsuna runs straight inside, almost bouncing from excitement. 

Reborn is more wary. He looks around for which Arcobaleno had arrived in Namimori, trying to sense any of the others’ presence. There’s no stranger in the surrounding areas. The only foreign presence Reborn could tell was inside Tsuna’s home.

Scott.

Unless…

Reborn doesn’t let himself finish the thought.

He barges into the house, kicking open the front door.

The sight that greets him is infuriating. 

Purple hair. Purple eyes. The same tight bodysuit around a familiar two-year-old form whose helmet was surprisingly absent from his usual attire.

His lackey. 

Skull.

He watches the idiotic Cloud ruffle his student’s gravity defying hair and suddenly, everything clicks into place.

Scott. Skull. 

Reborn shoots the annoying, purple menace out of pure reflex.

Chapter Text

Four years ago

“Okay, Tsu, you’ve been sulking all afternoon, what’s wrong?”. Skull asks. 

Eight-year old Tsuna flinches, but quickly looks away. “Nothing”. The familiar feeling of fear fills Tsuna, but even worse, shame.

“Tsu, come on. I can’t help you, if I don’t know what’s up”. Skull insists. This time, Skull sits beside Tsuna and climbs up onto his lap. 

It’s been a year since they’ve first met, and where Tsuna had grown a head taller, Skull had stayed the same. Tsuna had never looked at Skull any differently, of course. Skull took care of Tsuna throughout their travels and even in Namimori, Skull hasn’t left Tsuna feeling alone since they met last year.

Skull doesn’t pry, just sits silently beside Tsuna until the third grader speaks up. “The teacher said I drew my family assignment wrong”. 

Tsuna looks at Skull a bit scared. Meeting his eyes, Skull just smiles. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, Tsu. Can I see?”. 

Tsuna hesitates. He hesitates for a very long time before he hands over a folded drawing to Skull. He waits for the stuntman to open the drawing nervously, uncomfortably holding his breath.

Skull says “oh”. Tsuna feels even more nervous now. He wonders if Skull would get mad, if Skull would leave...

“Your teacher was wrong, Tsuna”. Skull says, instead and Tsuna looks up in surprise. Suddenly, the kid finds himself worried because Skull looks like he’s about to cry.

But then Skull climbs up the eight year old’s shoulder, and ruffles his hair gently.

“We can’t control the families we’re born into, but luckily, we can choose the people we call family, ne?”.

Tsuna nods, not really understanding why he feels like crying, when he should be relieved that Skull hadn’t gotten mad at him for the drawing.

“You’re my family too, Tsuna”. Skull says it like a promise.

Tsuna believes. So much that it hurts. 

Skull puts the folded drawing as carefully as he could in his pocket.

Eight year old Tsuna suddenly feels warm, wondering why he ever even felt worried at all.

Present Day

Reborn watches the exchange with sharp, suspicious eyes.

Tsuna seems to be entirely unaware of the dark tension that has now filled the room, still chattering away.

Skull is aware, but is more uncaring, his entire attention fondly focused on commenting on the brunette’s latest stories.

Reborn loses his patience eventually. He clears his throat. 

“Hey, Tsu? Shouldn’t you be packing up if you’re staying with me?”. Skull reminds the teen, who immediately perks up, and excitedly runs up the stairs to his bedroom.

With Tsuna gone, Skull’s fond expression turns blank as he looks at Reborn. “Hi senpai”. 

Reborn isn’t a patient man. He points his gun towards the other cursed infant, “Explain yourself, lackey”. 

Skull puts his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, I wasn’t looking for the Vongola on purpose. I found him in the middle of a mission for Fon”. The Cloud says.

Reborn notes the hints of dark resentment in the stuntman's voice as he says Vongola.

“You, on a mission, for Fon? Don’t you mean errands, lackey?”. He teases.  

Skull just rolls his eyes. “Whatever you say, senpai”.

Sighing, Skull continues. “I might not know much about flames, but I know enough to know that sealing a baby Sky isn’t a good thing, so the Great Skull-sama has been teaching Tsu a few things”.

Reborn glares at the Cloud, “You mean you’ve been teaching Tsuna useless things”.

Skull actually laughs. “Hey, he wasn’t exactly first in line for the Vongola Decimo when I met him, senpai”.

Point. Reborn puts his gun away, sighing.

“You’re going to tell me everything important about Tsuna, lackey. Forget a single detail and I’ll make sure you regret it”.

Skull just shrugs, then turns to the sound of Tsuna’s footsteps quickly coming down the stairs.

“I’m ready!”. The kid is carrying a large orange backpack and there’s a huge childish grin on his face that surprises Reborn.

His student’s smiles so far had been heavily guarded and strained compared to this. 

Skull doesn’t seem to notice anything different in Tsuna. “Let’s go home, Tsu?”. 

Tsuna nods and there’s a sudden burst of warm Sky flames that makes Reborn pause.

The heavy Sky flames don’t even seem to surprise Skull who just smiles at the teen.

The apartment, Reborn notes, is surprisingly clean, though it also looked comfortably lived in. 

There’s a wacky orange couch in the center of the living room that Tsuna immediately lies down on.

“You’ve been gone for three months. What was the job even this time?”.

Absentmindedly, Skull replies. “Oh, not a job this time. I was doing a favor for a friend, melting ice and all that”. 

Tsuna perks up, sitting up straight and with a suspicious look towards Skull. “Ice?”.

Reborn listens to the exchange just as he lets his eyes wander around the room. He notes the fridge door has been filled with magnets from all over the world, framing a child’s drawing of Tsuna and Skull.

There’s picture frames filling an entire section of the wall behind the living room couch, and Reborn’s eyes are immediately drawn to a framed test paper with the large number 100 written in red.

Surrounding the test paper are pictures of Tsuna as a younger child, around nine or so holding up what appears to be a massive snake.

There’s a picture of Skull, Tsuna and Kyoya in yukatas, and equally, a picture of Tsuna, Kyoko and Hana at the pool. 

Reborn’s filled with the sudden realization that this tiny apartment living room has more details about his young student’s life than his own supposed home with his own mother.

“The job was just one of the weird ones”.

“Are you going to leave again? Can’t you stay longer?”. 

At the childishness in Tsuna’s tone, both Skull and Reborn look up, albeit for different reasons. Reborn is actually surprised to hear Tsuna sound almost pleading.

Skull only looks at the teen with fond exasperation.

“Fortunately for you, piccolo cielo, I’ll be in Namimori for the next three months. Honestly, Tsu. The older you get, the clingier you are”.

Tsuna doesn’t even seem to register the dig, a big grin on the kid’s face.

“You’re going to be here that long? Kyoko, Hana and Kyo-san would be really happy!”.

Reborn simply watches, feeling oddly like an intruder in such a domestic exchange.  Skull seems to notice his discomfort because he just shakes his head at the teen.

“Now, Tsu. You’re being rude to our guest. You should at least show senpai your room, ne?”. Skull asks the kid, who immediately stands to move towards one of the bedrooms. 

The Sun Arcobaleno rushes after the teen, pausing at the unexpected design of the kid’s bedroom.

Where Tsuna’s room in the Sawada household was ordinary and filled to the brim with the kid’s manga and games like a storage room, Tsuna's room in Skull’s apartment clearly showed more of the teen's personality.

Tsuna’s bed was a large mattress on top of wooden pallets. His walls were lined with rock climbing footholds that led straight to a net hammock on the ceiling.

The other half of the ceiling had an assortment of obstacles – from hanging bars, rings and even a peg board on the top of Tsuna’s door.

A wooden ladder clearly designed for a smaller and younger Tsunayoshi, now sat at a corner of the room filled with Tsuna’s trinkets – a glass box of gemstones, a tiny ceramic llama and a wreath of mala beads. On Tsuna’s bed, there’s a large purple octopus plush toy, suspiciously similar to Skull’s own pet, Oodako.

The manga and games Tsuna does have in Skull’s house aren’t in his room, they’re on the living room shelves. Instead, Tsuna’s room has shelves of photo albums that Reborn resolves to look at later. 

“You actually live here”. Reborn comments, noting the lightness in Tsuna’s form and the ease with which he navigates around the cluttered mess of the bedroom in a way he never did when he was in the Sawada household.

Tsuna looks at him, as if finally registering he’s been with them the entire time and just nods. “This is my home”. 

Tsuna’s admission is the verbal confirmation of all Reborn’s observations thus far.

Skull’s apartment was Tsunayoshi Sawada’s actual home in a way the Sawada residence could never claim to be.

Gone was the anxious, guarded and ever-mischievous teen Reborn had come to know in the last few weeks, replaced by the actual cheerful, confident and chaos-loving child that Reborn had seen fragments of. 

He hums, sets his hammock up in a corner of the bedroom and keeps a careful eye on Tsuna who has a peaceful smile as he drops down to his bed.

Tsuna shares a vindictive look with Hana as they watch Reborn’s dumbfounded look from the corner of their eyes. The hitman is calmly taking bites out of his bruciuluni, a dish Skull had specially made for their Italian guests.

Beside the hitman, Hayato was commenting about how genuinely faithful to the Sicilian version of the dish Skull’s cooking was.

Across the table, Skull was speaking with both Kyoko and Kyoya.

“The projectiles have been doing you well, then, Kyo-kun?”, Skull asked, prompting a gape from Reborn. The raven-haired teen only nods, but then grimaces. 

“I do not like them. They feel…”

Skull just gives the teen an understanding look. “Okay. That’s alright. Maybe we can try attaching chains to the end of your tonfas so they still feel like an extension of your weapon? Don’t worry Kyo-kun, we’ll figure it out”.

Skull then turns to Kyoko, “And you, Kyo-chan, have you been doing your drills everyday?”.

Kyoko just nods, a strangely serious and bloodthirsty look on her face. “I’ve been doing all the gymnastics routine perfectly well so far, and I’m going to jump on to the pole vaulting exercises soon, Skull-san”. 

Skull nods. “Good. And Hana-chan? I hope Tsu and the Kyos haven’t been giving you so much  trouble”.

Hana grimaces. “Please don’t leave me with these idiots again, Skull-san. Do you know how expensive it is to pay hospital bills for Kyoya’s victims? And Kyoko? Kyoko set fire to Yoshino-san’s lettuce farm because she wanted to learn fire dance last month! Don’t even get me started on Tsuna! He’s a trouble magnet and the explosions following him around have put a massive dent on the town’s budget. Did you know they played baseball with military tanks at school last week?”. 

Tsuna gapes at Hana at the betrayal but Skull just laughs. Tsuna lightens up at the sound of his mentor’s giggles.

Tsuna secretly glances at his hitman tutor again. Good. Reborn looked ready to have a conniption at the revelation Skull, his so-called lackey, trained Tsuna and his crazy friends. 

“You’re also training Kurokawa, Sasagawa and Hibari?”, Reborn asks, joining the conversation. There’s disbelief in his voice that even makes Hana grin. 

“Of course, senpai. They’re Tsu-kun’s friends. And these kids are honestly amazing at getting themselves in trouble. You should’ve seen the chaos they used to bring in Namimori when they were little kids”.

Kyoko and Kyoya puff up at Skull’s mention of the mess they were capable of while Hana mumbles something about massive desks of paperwork. 

Skull turns to look at the two other new faces in the room, “You must be Takeshi-kun and Hayato-kun. I’m Skull”.

Hayato immediately stands and bows. “The Cloud Arcobaleno, I am honored to be invited in your home!”. 

Just as Takeshi says, “My dad wanted to say thank you and that you’re free to have sushi at ours anytime”. 

Skull frowns at the two teens. “None of that now, you’re Tsuna’s friends. You’re as welcome here as the others are, and there will be none of that worship over Decimo under my roof. Am I clear, Hayato-kun?”.

The seriousness in Skull’s tone makes all the teens look up. Hayato, especially, nods and sits down shyly.

“So you were the one to convince Hibari to use long range fighting techniques?”, Reborn asks again, bringing the conversation back to Skull’s teachings.

Skull smiles at the hitman patiently. “Yep. Kyo-kun’s really good at fighting the offensive but he does leave a lot of holes in his defense because he only thinks about attacking. With long range weapons, he gets to cover both”.

Reborn hums. “Not bad. It seems you have picked up a few things after all, lackey”.

Tsuna winces at the nickname and exchanges looks with Hana. Tsuna tries to bury the indignant feeling that had risen up from Reborn’s underestimation of Skull. 

“Hey, come on now, senpai. The Great Skull-sama is actually a great strategist and teacher, you know”.

Even Kyoko and Kyoya were now watching the exchange with unreadable stares, but Tsuna has known both of them long enough to notice that they’re not taking Reborn’s comments towards their teacher all that well. 

“If you were teaching them for schoolyard fights that is. You haven’t taught them anything that could get them a leg up in a Mafia fight at all. Still as weak as ever, lackey”.

The arrogance in the hitman’s tone annoys Tsuna to the core. He turns to his friends. 

“Alright, senpai… Now kids ”, Skull sends a firm look towards the Cloud and the Sun of their group. “I’ve made dessert and it’s Tsuna’s favorite crème brûlée. So let’s behave ourselves while I get it from the oven, okay? And honestly, senpai, let me train the kids tomorrow and I’ll prove to you how good a teacher I can be”. 

Reborn mumbles something that suspiciously sounds like he’s dismissing Skull which the Cloud ignores in favor of getting the promised dessert from the oven. 

Tsuna trades glances with Kyoko and Kyoya.

Yeah right. The hitman probably wasn’t even that good, if he missed the way Kyoko’s and Kyoya’s flames have been about to strangle him if Skull hadn’t stopped them.

Even Hana had brought out one of her knives and was about ready to stab Reborn for insulting Skull.

Skull returns with the treats from the kitchen and the tension eases from the teens’ shoulders.

Hana gives Tsuna a teasing look this time, as the brunette hands over his share to Kyoko.

“Evil”, he mouths towards the deceptively innocent-looking girl.  

Kyoko just winks at him and slowly finishes Tsuna’s share before his eyes.

Tsuna meets Reborn’s confused look, the hitman having witnessed the trade and conversation.

Tsuna just snickers to himself. Honestly, there’s so much the hitman just didn’t know.

It’s Sunday morning and while normally Reborn uses the weekends to foster Tsuna’s bonds with his prospective guardians, he lets Skull prove himself as a great teacher and hands over the training regimen for the day.

Five minutes in and Reborn is already expressing his skepticism over the Cloud’s idea of training. Honestly, a three-legged, three-armed race? How uninspiringly unoriginal. 

“Senpai, you’re missing the point of the training. Everyone’s already close with Tsu-kun. He’s charismatic and friendly that way, but they’re not exactly close with each other now, are they? The Mafia’s so obsessed with the Sky and its elements they tend to forget that a Famiglia would be much, much stronger if its members were actually friends”. Skull explains casually.

“And you think, they would be friends through this… exercise?”. Reborn makes his skepticism known. They’re standing in front of a clearing and whatever race this may be, Reborn already knows the kids are going to complete it within a span of minutes with their current capabilities. 

The Cloud just laughs and turns to the teens. 

“Oh come on. Of course we’re not just going to be running, that’s far too easy for you kids. Nope. You’re going to climb that”.

Skull is pointing towards a cliff a few miles ahead, concealed behind the thick trees.

“First one to make it up there wins a tray of desserts each and last one to make it up there doesn’t get dessert for the next three dinners”. 

At the mention of the consequences, the teens collectively speed run to the cliff. Reborn had quickly learned from yesterday’s dinner that desserts were a serious affair for Skull’s… charges. 

Hayato had obliviously attempted to take a second piece from the tray after finishing his first, and almost lost his fingers from the lightning flame-infused switchblade between the Storm and the tray. 

“We play scopa for the extra pieces, Hayato-kun”. Tsuna calmly explains.

Reborn won three pieces himself of course, but the hitman had to admit the teens were good. It was the most intense scopa match he’d played since the days the Arcobaleno were living together. 

He turns to the teens struggling to climb the tall rock wall with their hands and legs handcuffed so closely with their partners. 

Reborn feels the strong urge to shoot the other infant, but then again, the exercise was actually so on-brand and could have easily been one of Reborn’s own ideas.

Skull had even chosen the most interesting pairings. Takeshi and Kyoko, Hayato and Kyoya, Hana and Tsuna.

Reborn had never expected his lackey to be such an agent of… chaos. 

To no one’s surprise, Hana and Tsuna were experiencing the best success. What was surprising though, was that Hayato and Kyoya were a close second, immediately somehow getting along after a short shouting (Hayato) and glaring (Kyoya) match at the foot of the cliff. 

Takeshi and Kyoko were still on the foot of the cliff, neither of the pair conceding to the other. Both teens had their respective happy-go-lucky smiles on their faces, but the look in either of their eyes was a different story.

“See, friendship-building”. Skull says, pointing to the Sun and Rain both a hair strand away from murdering each other.

As if hearing Skull’s statement, the Rain and Sun turn to the pair of Arcobaleno, before engaging in the most intense match of rock-paper-scissors Reborn has ever seen. 

Kyoko won. Takeshi obediently followed Kyoko’s lead and they end up overtaking the two other pairs. Tsuna and Hana lose, ultimately, much to the Lightning and Sky’s disappointment.

“Goddamn inhuman monsters”. Hana mumbles under her breath as Skull laughs. 

Tsuna is pouting too. “This is just unfair. I was hoping they’d try to kill each other for longer, at least”. 

Reborn turns to his student with a look of utter surprise, opens his mouth to say something, before promptly closing it again. 

Reborn just looks at the Cloud who had now gone on a lecture for both Tsuna and Hana about how to not bank on possibilities, and how a little provocation could go a long way. 

He closes his eyes and lightly kicks Skull on the head. “Not bad, lackey”.

Behind them, Hayato and Kyoya are actually conversing about something while Kyoko and Takeshi are scheduling something that sounds suspiciously like a Kyo-Take Friendship Day.

Damn the Cloud’s talent for chaos, indeed. 

Reborn is a stubborn man, but even he can admit to the fact that the lackey wasn’t quite who he had expected him to be at all. A week of living with Skull and Tsuna and the Sun Arcobaleno had witnessed just how close the teen and the Cloud was, and how much of an influence Skull had been for the Namimori kids. 

On Monday, Reborn witnessed Skull’s private tutoring sessions with Kyoko where the stuntman was teaching the girl how to use her tinier form to move in an agile way. Reborn quickly made the observation that Kyoko was similar to Kyoya in a lot of ways, obsessively attacking instead of defending. 

“Do you think I could do long range attacks too?”, Kyoko casually asks Skull who only shrugs.

“If you want to”.

Kyoko casually summons a ball of flames in her hand which she sends flying against a random tree. The force leaves a dent on the poor tree, before engulfing the wood into flames.

Reborn just gapes at the casual damage just as Skull whistles appreciatively. “Yeah, that’ll definitely work, Kyo-chan. Maybe just fire it against rocks next time so Hana doesn’t kill us over paperwork, yeah?”. 

On Tuesday, Skull spends the entire afternoon in a classroom with Hana, the stuntman going over every single major world government and their current characteristics, while the teen named at least ten ways to upheave and destroy each one.

After the class, Reborn turns to the Cloud with a look of pure disbelief. “Just what?”.

“You know, senpai, Hana-chan thinks she’s my least favorite student because I don’t teach her how to fight and act like Tsu-kun and the others, but she’s actually my little world conqueror”. 

Reborn just stares blankly at the stuntman and walks away. 

On Wednesday, Skull comes with Tsuna to Tsuyoshi’s sushi shop and both the Cloud Arcobaleno and the brunette teen burst out crying when the swordsman serves them octopus sashimi.

So, Reborn just sighs when Tsuna and his friends spend Thursday afternoon lounging on the beach and playing with Skull’s giant octopus, Oodako.

It’s due to the peaceful events of the week that Reborn is caught off-guard when Lambo and Ipin come barreling into Skull’s apartment that Friday afternoon.

Tsuna’s just fondly exasperated at the pair of kids that had apparently stalked him from the middle school to his new residence, after a week of not seeing Tsuna-nii at home.

Skull takes in the two kids without missing a beat and even invites them over for dinner. To Reborn’s surprise, he catches the Cloud Arcobaleno and Tsuna speaking fluent Chinese with young Ipin, the pair immediately switching to Italian with Lambo. 

Everything is peaceful throughout dinner, until Lambo tries to steal a piece of Reborn’s karaage, and the hitman sends the young Bovino away with a kick.

Lambo’s loud cries immediately fill the room, but the temperature shifts a few degrees colder.

“Bring the kids to your room, Tsuna”. Skull’s voice is serious and cold and Tsuna immediately scampers away with Ipin and Lambo in his arms to his room.

Skull is glaring at Reborn, now. “I have one rule in my home, senpai, and that’s you don’t hurt any of the kids under my roof. You can bring them back here with bruises and scars from your training, but you’re not allowed to touch a single hair on their head as long as they’re home ”.

Reborn can feel the waves of Cloud flames radiating off of Skull. He’s seen territorial Clouds before. He’s heard of the myths of Cloud rage. But he takes one look at the purple-haired stuntman with his face chock full of makeup and piercings and he can’t help but see the same idiot that walked into the I Prescelti Sette with zero knowledge of the Mafia and his own purple flames.

“Rules only work if you can actually enforce them, lackey”. Is all Reborn says and Skull snarls.

“Follow me”. Skull orders.

Reborn scoffs at the other infant but follows him out, away from Namimori and towards the beach. 

The entire town is covered in darkness, the moon concealed by the Clouds and it’s enough to make Skull look positively demonic with the vibrant swirl of his Cloud flames surrounding him. Skull turns back towards him swiftly.

“I have one rule, Reborn. You need to respect that”. It’s an actual threat, this time, but Reborn just chuckles.

“Honestly, lackey. Decades in the Mafia and you’re still so naive. Do you honestly think that no one would attack those kids when they’re at home just because of some stupid rule? ”.

It’s the wrong answer. 

Reborn only has a split second to realize that Skull is rushing towards him in attack, a crater left behind where Reborn was previously standing from the stuntman’s punch. 

Reborn tries to take out his gun - Skull is behind him immediately, and Reborn is forced to twist in midair to avoid the barrage of swift punches coming towards him. One hits Reborn in the shoulder and there’s sharp, sharp pain that sends Reborn flying across the beach.

Oh Skull is definitely going to get it now.

The hitman uses the force to pull out Leon, who immediately transforms into Reborn’s favorite Beretta. The Cloud takes the lull in battle to propagate his own muscles and make them bulletproof. Skull immediately dashes forward and Reborn is taken by surprise.

For someone with that much muscle on his body, Skull crossed the ten meters between himself and the hitman in less than three seconds. Reborn shoots Skull with his Chaos Shot, gaping when only one of the bullets from his famed technique grazes the stuntman.

It hadn’t been a fluke. 

Skull had positioned himself exactly in the one blind spot that Reborn’s chaos shot bullets don’t strike – a weakness Reborn had been aware of himself, but as far as he had known, none of the others had ever figured out.

After all, Reborn’s chaos shot was rumored to be random. Except, Skull had been able to calculate the formula of his bullets’ randomness. 

Reborn had so many questions that he couldn’t ask because Skull kept on creeping up on him with insane speeds that forced Reborn to forego his long range weapons in favor of hand to hand combat. 

The hitman may have preferred his guns, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a few tricks up his sleeves when it came to hand to hand combat. Reborn knew enough aikido, judo and boxing – knew how to infuse his own fists with Sun Flames.

He tries to punch Skull but then the stuntman jumped up in a surprising gymnast-like move that Reborn had seen Kyoko do earlier that week -

The Sun pauses. 

Skull knew how to fight. Skull knew how to fight well, and he was teaching his young students in Namimori the same moves he was using to positively wear Reborn down right now. 

Reborn could admit that much. He was being tired out by the insane Cloud. Reborn sent punch after punch towards the stuntman, and while sometimes his fist did make contact, more often than not, Skull would dodge and force Reborn to block one of his own hits. 

Then, when Reborn thought he could finally read all the Cloud’s moves, Skull summons Cloud fireballs from nowhere and sends them flying towards Reborn. 

Fortunately for the hitman, he’s developed enough instincts to swiftly avoid the attacks. Unfortunately for his fedora, it couldn’t quite stay on his head as the hitman swiftly maneuvered through Skull’s relentless attempts to set him on fire.

Well shit. Reborn and the other Arcobaleno really need to reevaluate who actually was the Weakest Arcobaleno. 

Reborn would eat his own fedora ten times over if the lackey was still truly the weakest of their group with this… infuriating show of strength. 

It’s sunrise by the time the battle ends and Reborn’s happy to say that he’s still the Greatest Hitman in the World because he’s the last one standing. 

Still, Skull had given him a proper fight. It’s the first proper fight he’s had in decades, ever since the last time he’s pissed off Fon over an argument between coffee and tea and they destroyed a quarter of Mafia Land. 

Well, the beach is razed to the ground, craters in various shapes and sizes around them and trees suspiciously burnt in the distance.

Skull is lying unconscious in the sand with injuries over his tiny body, but even from the (safe) distance between them, Reborn could already see the stuntman’s wounds healing.

Reborn sighs. Skull’s flame supply has always been infuriatingly endless.

On the other hand, Reborn can’t even shoot a single sun-infused bullet at this point. He can’t remember the last time he’s been properly brought to flame exhaustion. It hasn’t happened since before they were cursed – and even then, it had been nothing compared to this. 

Reborn pulls out his phone and calls Shamal who should have just arrived in Japan. 

Reborn sighs, but this time, it’s more exasperatingly fond than anything else. 

Stubborn clouds… 

Reborn shouldn’t have expected the Strongest Cloud to be any different from the stories.

Skull hadn’t backed down until Reborn promised to never hurt the kids under his roof.

Skull hadn’t backed down at all when his body was clearly at its limits – even when Skull seemed to be standing up on pure flames alone. 

“I promise I won’t hurt your kids, you idiot lackey”. Reborn had said in the end, more out of concern for his fellow Arcobaleno in the end, rather than actual thought towards the promise. 

That had been enough. Skull immediately fainted, his flames extinguished and the stuntman falling unconscious against the sand.

Reborn walks towards the other infant, making sure to gently move Skull so the Cloud was lying in a more comfortable position.

Stubborn Clouds.

That resolve, though.

Skull’s strong resolve, Reborn could honestly admire and respect.

It seems the lackey had more to him than meets the eye, after all.

Chapter Text

Five years ago

Tsuna’s trying his best not to cry because Skull is looking and he doesn’t want his first friend to think that he’s a wimp. He’s tripped over his own two feet, again, but this time, Tsuna’s managed to scrape his knee and it’s bleeding bad, he’s actually scared —

Skull helps Tsuna up, muttering a string of curses under his breath when he sees Tsuna’s wound. Tsuna manages to mumble out, “I’m okay…”, but the words only makes him unravel – and now tears are falling from his eyes….

“It’s alright, Tsuna. It hurts. But you’re going to get better, okay?”. Skull gently assures him. The purple-haired stuntman gently wipes Tsuna’s injury with a cloth. It stings for a bit, but slowly, the pain disappears and Tsuna stops crying.

“I’m sorry”, Tsuna says, but then Skull just shakes his head.

“It’s alright, Tsu. I fall a lot too. I know it hurts”.

Tsuna looks at Skull with wide, worried eyes. “Skull-san falls a lot?”, he asks with frantic worry that makes the other smile.

“Hmm.. sometimes, my job can be dangerous, which means I can get hurt”.

Tsuna bites his lip, “When I’m older and stronger, I’m going to protect you”. He says.

Skull smiles, gently putting a blue, lion-patterned bandaid over Tsuna’s wound. 

“You better eat the vegetables you hate, then, Tsu. Or you wouldn't grow big and strong”.

Tsuna shudders at the thought of the hated vegetables, but inhales all the same with newfound resolve. 

Someday, he’ll be the one to stop Skull from getting hurt.

Present-day

Reborn is confused. 

Tsuna has never been the student he had expected the teen would be. From the start, the kid was guarded and silent most of the time, but in the last two days, Tsuna had suddenly jumped from distant to downright unteachable. 

Tsuna was ignoring him, for one.

Reborn shot bullets at Tsuna. He tried kicking the kid in the head but Tsuna hardly reacted, even when he’d actually get hurt.

Reborn tried taunting the kid, calling him “Dame-Tsuna”, but that didn’t work either.

Instead, Tsuna turned completely ice-cold, ignoring Reborn’s existence.

When the third day rolled around, Reborn gave up completely and decided to ask Hana Kurokawa.

“Dame-Tsuna has been acting strange lately”, Reborn begins. Hana gives him an unimpressed look.

“Please, Reborn-san. You’re supposed to be the Greatest Hitman in the World. I think it would be pretty obvious why Tsuna’s acting strange”. 

Reborn opened his mouth to say something before closing it immediately after. 

Right.

Passive-aggressive-world-conqueror-in-training.

He tries to ask Takeshi and Hayato, but then the swordsman and the bomber just give him twin looks of pure confusion. 

Like it hadn't even occurred to either Rain or Storm that the current situation was utterly incomprehensible for the hitman. 

So, Reborn resorts to other strategies.

He calls in Dino who’s still in town from last week's training session and sends him as a diplomatic envoy of sorts to Tsuna. 

“My little brother is finally matching your chaos, isn’t he, Reborn?”, Dino asks with a smirk that the hitman shoots his student for. 

“Make him go back to his training, Baka-Dino. It’s your job as an older student to encourage your kouhais”. Reborn justifies.

Dino just laughs but he goes to do what Reborn asked, anyway. 

Reborn thought everything was finally going to go back to normal, but unexpectedly, sending Dino to Tsuna only backfired - and now he was stuck with not one unresponsive student, but two actively rebelling ones.

"That was really mean of you, Reborn". Is all Dino says, before the blonde stops picking up any of Reborn's calls. 

Five days into his students’ strange uprising, Reborn receives a text message from Shamal informing him that the Cloud Arcobaleno had finally woken up.

He enters Tsuna's room where the kids have built a large pillow fort for an anime-watching party. 

All he manages to get out were the words “Skull is awake”, before the kids are running out the door, Tsuna’s indoor slippers still on his feet. 

Shamal doesn’t even try to stop the group from entering the room, which Reborn raises an eyebrow at, because the doctor had always been adamant about keeping his space free from chaos. 

“I know when to choose my battles, Reborn”. Shamal says with a shrug. “Honestly, I’m surprised that you haven’t given up yet. Those kids are damn stubborn”.

Reborn looks at Shamal in confusion. “What?”. 

Shamal turns to look at Reborn, a shocked expression on his face. “I should have known you wouldn’t even understand. You haven’t been a teenager in so long, much less a civilian”. The doctor mutters more to himself.

Reborn frowns. “Understand what?”.

Shamal just shakes his head.

“I was surprised the Vongola kid hasn’t kicked you out yet. Normal people usually don’t take well to guests beating up people they care about to the point of unconsciousness”. 

Reborn blinks once, then twice, before nodding at Shamal nonchalantly, pretending he had known the reason for his student's rebellion all along.

It doesn’t work, of course.   

The doctor barely hides his snicker which makes Reborn itch to shoot him. 

The scene that greets Reborn behind the door makes the hitman pause momentarily.

Tsuna’s sitting the closest to Skull, on his right side, but Kyoko and Kyoya have made themselves comfortable, sitting side by side on the foot of the stuntman’s bed. Hana’s sitting close to the stuntman on his left, but Takeshi and Hayato were standing beside her, hovering over the group protectively.

Skull looks only half conscious, honestly, but he’s earnestly trying to listen to each one of the kids huddled around him.

Tsuna’s talking the most, he’s going off about his latest science exam, but Kyoko and Kyoya are also ranting about a few yakuza members they picked off over the weekend while Hana and Hayato are arguing about Namimori’s budget and —

When did that start? 

Then, an argument breaks out between Kyoko and Takeshi, “it’s better to hide the bodies in a basement than a forest, Yamamoto-kun”, and Tsuna stops talking and just buries his head on top of Skull’s chest while the Cloud Arcobaleno gently ruffles his head.

Reborn inhales. Shamal was right. 

He had been an idiot to attack someone his student had clearly cared about.

Looking at the group of teens, Reborn quickly comes to the realization that while he had been building a Famiglia for Tsuna, the teen had clearly taken it a step further and was already pulling people into his family. 

Reborn sighs.

A troublesome family with his lackey in the middle of it.

Although, the hitman had spent the last few days reflecting over Skull’s lackey status.

While his flames had more or less gone back to normal, Reborn could still feel some aches and bruises from his last battle with the Cloud. 

He had won, but he had won barely. Could he even call Skull his lackey if the man could actually go head to head against him, the Greatest Hitman in the World?

He catches Skull’s gaze and the stuntman smiles almost-apologetically at him, as if reading Reborn’s thoughts.

Beside him, Tsuna seethes like an offended cat.

Reborn just sighs and lowers his fedora.

A troublesome family, indeed.

“You’re really creepy when you smile, you know”. Hayato says, looking straight at Kyoko. 

Behind the bomber, Hana winks at Tsuna. It’s nice seeing Takeshi slowly fall out of his tendency for emotionless smiles and Hayato of his subservience.

Sasagawa Kyoko – their resident genius in social relationships had quickly figured out that the best way to help the pair show their respective personalities was to challenge both the Rain and the Storms to random fights . 

Tsuna could only accept his fate, quickly realizing that his friends’ idea of friendly small talk equated to unusually active discussions related to murder.

“Aww, you’re just bitter because you can’t smile as scarily as me, Haya-chan”. Kyoko lightly teases, earning giggles from Takeshi while Hayato protests strongly. 

“I think Hayato-kun’s going more for the bad boy high-school delinquent look, Kyoko-chan, instead of smiley next-door-neighbor-turned-slasher”. Tsuna thoughtfully says, earning looks of betrayal from the bomber.

“That’s still two creepy slashers too many for our group, Tsuna”. Hana says, motioning to Takeshi and Kyoko. 

“Aw, I thought I was the creepy slasher and Kyoko-chan was the girly girl of the group”. Takeshi says with a sharp smile that has Tsuna gasping and hurrying over to cover his mouth. 

“Takeshi — no!”, — but it’s too late. Kyoko had already launched an attack towards the baseball loving teen who was now dodging Kyoko’s hits with pure reflex.

Tsuna looks at Hana for help, but the girl only shrugs. “Let them fight to the death. That’ll solve the extra slasher problem”. Hana suggests nonchalantly, pretending to be unaware of the fact that Kyoko would inevitably win in the end because Takeshi barely had any combat training. 

Tsuna just sighs. 

“Herbivores, you’re getting distracted”. Kyoya reminds them — always the voice of reason of their chaotic group. 

“If Reborn-san catches us…”, Hayato begins, but Tsuna shakes his head quickly. 

“He won’t catch us. I called in a favor from Dino so that Reborn would be distracted for a while… oh, here they are. The spray paints, Takeshi?”.

The pair of Sun and Rain stop their friendly spar and Takeshi hands Tsuna a can of spray paint. 

“No going back now”, Takeshi says, looking at the row of fedoras neatly packed away in a crate, behind a section of Tsuna’s wall in the Sawada house. 

“How’d you even know where Reborn-san kept them, Tsu-kun?”, Kyoko asks.

The brunette just shrugs. It’s Hana that actually answers. “Skull-san owed me a few favors, that’s all”.

Hayato throws the girl a wary look. “Remind me to never piss her off”. 

Tsuna opens the can of spray paint and giggles. 

He’s getting far too old for this.

It’s the realization Reborn suddenly has when he finds his very expensive, custom-made fedoras spray painted neon yellow in what should have been his secret compartment in the Sawada household. 

How the kids even managed to find that one —

Worse, Reborn had just come back from Dino’s “emergency”, which was the understatement of the year. His idiotic student had somehow managed to lose his water-absorbent-giant-turtle in the sewers of Namimori and while Reborn was a fan of chaos, he was decidedly not a fan of having to explain to the Ninth why Namimori fell to the attack of a large mutated turtle. 

Fortunately for everyone involved, Enzo had not in fact, been lost in the sewers, but was instead peacefully sleeping in a very-dry sandbox in the local playground. Crisis averted, at the very least.

Reborn figured that with the events of the day, tomorrow would at least be more peaceful, until Shamal made the very-public-announcement that same morning that Skull was now clear to head home.

Reborn could only watch in confusion as the teens began a battle royale over who would bring Skull home, which Sawada Tsunayoshi effortlessly won.

“It’s a Thursday. Skull-san would hate it if we all went to bring him home because that would mean we were all missing school”. Hana explains a-matter-of-factly, as if Reborn was supposed to know where the priorities of insane teenagers truly lie.

Reborn appreciates the teens' commitment to their academics, honestly, but he could have also done with much less excitement.

The hitman saw his student’s life flash before his eyes when the kid went head on against an overzealous Takeshi suddenly wielding the baseball bat-katana Reborn had gotten him last week.

Tsuna had almost gotten himself beheaded, but the brunette just rolled to the ground, making Takeshi lose his balance while cackling. 

Right. He really was getting old if he was seriously considering confiscating all the kids’ weapons just to keep his sanity intact.

At least, Reborn is somewhat appeased when Skull takes one long look at Tsuna and the burn marks on his hoodie, before bumping the teen on the head.

“What did I say about fighting outside of training and friendship days?”, Skull says and while the question itself gives Reborn a migraine, he gives a satisfied smirk when Tsuna pouts like a scolded puppy.

“I’m glad you’re better”. The teen mumbles, and Reborn watches the expression on Skull’s face soften.

“You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, kid”. Skull says, and Tsuna moves over to hug him.

“I promised I’d protect you when I got older. I’m still as useless as ever, Skull”. 

Skull just chuckles, patting the kid on the head. “Tsu. You’re thirteen. You haven’t gotten any older, kid. You’ve got many years more before you’re even the slightest bit good enough to protect me”. 

“You got hurt”.

“Tsuna, I asked for that fight. It’s not any different from you and Kyoya fighting. You have to let people fight their own battles, piccolo cielo . Put more faith in the abilities of your family”.

Tsuna mumbles something Reborn doesn't quite catch, but it makes Skull laugh.

Reborn is surprised at the gentleness in the Cloud’s tone. For decades, he had known Skull as the lackey with whining, high-pitched screams. To see him actually give Tsuna sound advice – one very much appropriate to the kid’s Sky nature. 

Reborn was actually impressed.  

The hitman lets the pair have a moment, before he clears his throat and brings the stuntman’s attention to his presence.

Skull takes one long look at Reborn and the very bright neon-yellow fedora on his head and sighs.

“Now, Tsunayoshi, young man, would you like to explain why Hana used one of her precious favors just to ask me where Reborn kept his fedoras?”.

Ah. 

So that’s how the kids found out.

Reborn momentarily contemplates if sending Skull to the hospital a second time would be worth it.

In a strange show of being an oddly responsible adult figure, Skull adamantly refuses Tsuna’s request to miss his afternoon classes in favor of staying with the Cloud and forces the teen to head to school once he’s all settled back in the apartment.

“Nothing would happen to me, Tsuna. Reborn would be staying with me”.

The statement does little to assure the brunette who actually reacts like an affronted cat. “ He’s the reason you were sent to the hospital in the first place!”.

Skull frowns. “Tsuna, I told you. We talked. You know how this works”.

The teen frowns, but doesn’t protest. The brunette still doesn’t seem to be happy with the arrangement, but at the very least, he listens to Skull. That’s more than anything the boy has been doing for Reborn. 

With Tsuna officially away, the two Arcobaleno are left in awkward silence and a staredown.

Reborn is the first to break the silence.

“So, you’ve been keeping a lot from us”. Reborn doesn’t mean to sound accusatory, but it’s not as if his words weren’t an understatement. Skull had been keeping everything from them.

Skull just smiles. “I mean, you never asked, senpai ”.

The mocking tone makes Reborn frown and he feels the almost-instinctual irritation rise up. “Stop that”. The hitman frowns deeper, inhales, coming to a realization. “Have you been annoying me on purpose, Skull?”. 

The snicker he gets from the stuntman is an answer enough. “You kind of had a big head, senpai. It was kinda hard to resist”.

Reborn shoots a real bullet towards Skull, who doesn’t even bother dodging. It misses him by a few centimeters as Reborn intended. The look on Skull’s face is challenging and confident, nothing like the whimpering lackey act he’d been playing for years.

“Well played”. Reborn painfully admits. “I should have expected as much, from the Greatest Stuntman in the World”.

There’s surprise on Skull’s face. The Cloud’s eyes narrow. “Did I actually hit you in the head too much, Reborn? – Wait, am I actually dead? ”. 

Reborn looks at the other infant offendedly. “I actually give credit where it’s due, lackey ”. 

At that, Skull gapes. The stuntman’s mouth hangs open for a good while before he explodes into laughs and shakes his head in disbelief.

“Damn it, you really never react the way anyone expects you to, huh, Reborn?”.

There’s a smirk on Reborn’s face at the acknowledgement. “Chaos”. It’s self-explanatory. Skull laughs even harder.

“The fact that you can say that with a straight face and a bright yellow hat on your head…”

At the reminder, Reborn frowns. “Your kids are menaces”. He says, because there was really no other way to call the teenagers but Skull’s kids . They looked at Skull with loving respect, instinctively looked towards him for guidance and sparkled upon receiving his praises. 

In another universe, Reborn might have arrived first and the Namimori teens would have been his, but in this one, Skull had gotten to them first – and gave the kids a childhood of playful mischief. He saw the kids’ quirks and taught them how to wield their uniqueness as weapons – and like a true Cloud, encouraged them to break away from normalcy and societal expectations. 

A part of Reborn is secretly relieved that Skull had gotten to them first. Reborn knows for a fact that he never would have raised the teenagers this way. He was a hitman, first and foremost. A Mafioso through and through. He would have raised them to fit the Mafia which he knew. He would have broken them and shaped them to become his ideal. He would have taken their weaknesses and insecurities against them and manipulated them to become Vongola. 

Tsuna and his friends were far too aware, far too confident for any of Reborn’s manipulations to work against them now. Skull had made sure of that. Reborn is secretly relieved that Skull had made sure of that.

“I taught them everything I knew, of course”. Skull admits sheepishly before sighing and giving the hitman a serious look. “It’s not going to be enough, of course. I never could understand the intricacies of the Mafia as well as you and the others could”.

Reborn is surprised. While Skull had always been an atypical Cloud, he had always exhibited the typical stubbornness of his flame type. That he was asking Reborn for help….

“You are not against Tsuna joining the Mafia?”. It’s the main question that’s been lingering in the back of Reborn’s mind ever since he had discovered Tsuna had been practically raised by Skull. Skull had been a civilian. He had expected more resistance from the stuntman upon finding his student next in line for the Vongola throne. 

“Whether I am against it or not isn’t really important, senpai. Tsuna’s the last heir. And I’m not so oblivious to the fact that the kid looks like the second coming of Vongola Primo. It’s not like they’re going to just let him walk away”. 

But then again, no one knew better than Skull how difficult it was to escape from the Mafia once it had its claws on a person.

“That doesn’t answer my question, lackey. Are you or are you not against the Vongola?”. Reborn asks. He’s bound by contract to always ask.

As long as Reborn works for the Vongola, he would always be bound to ascertain whether the people around his student are a threat to the Famiglia.

“I’m not against the Vongola, Reborn. For now, at least”. There’s a dark look in the stuntman’s eyes as he meets Reborn’s own and it sends shudders up the hitman’s spine. Ominous purple flames swirl around Skull, echoing his resolve.  “I will always choose the side Tsunayoshi is on. No matter what. I can only hope... I never see you on the other side”. 

It’s a warning, if Reborn’s ever heard one. 

If someone had told him a month ago that he was going to be threatened by Skull, Reborn would have laughed and shot the messenger in the head. Now, though, he’s thrown back to the memory of their battle and the sheer power lurking behind the Cloud’s overprotective flames. 

For now, for whatever reason, Tsuna’s intent on hearing Reborn out and playing Vongola Decimo with him. But that could easily change. He’s seen enough of the dark chaos lurking underneath his own student to know that Tsuna is as loose a cannon as any civilian-turned-prince-of-the-underworld overnight. 

When that day comes… Reborn would have to choose.

“Well, all this becomes irrelevant if Tsunayoshi refuses to listen to me”. Reborn says, pointing to his yellow hat.

Skull laughs again and the heavy tension leaves the room. 

“They’re kids, senpai. Let them have their victories”. Skull says with the tone that screams he’s learned it from experience.

Huh. 

Reborn is a hundred percent certain that his favorite espresso has been desecrated and the dark liquid in his favorite mug is at least a third of sugar.

He can smell the sweetness as he brings the cup up to his face.

The teens around him are diving into their bacon and eggs, but there’s the slightest hint of anticipation from Tsuna, who honestly still has far too much of his emotions on his sleeves.

He meets Skull’s gaze, and the stuntman infuriatingly winks at him. 

Reborn sighs, then takes a sip of the blasphemy –

Before promptly spatting it back out in disgust.

The group of teens cheer, before quickly pretending nothing happened. 

Reborn glares at them, but he doesn’t shoot them.

Skull silently hands Reborn a new mug with perfectly made espresso. He politely thanks the Cloud, noting a small smile on Tsuna’s face at the exchange 

That afternoon, Tsuna and his friends follow Reborn’s training plan perfectly, causing a monumental amount of property damage and chaos, just as the hitman wanted them to.

Reborn silently admits.

Skull raised his damn kids well, at least.

Chapter Text

Leaves crunch under Tsuna’s shoes as he walks with Skull towards their favorite cafe. They’re in Amsterdam for the weekend, checking out furniture for Skull’s new apartment in Namimori.

“You should’ve gotten that orange couch”. Tsuna says, half-teasing, half-serious.

Skull chuckles. “Tsu, we have been walking outside for hours looking for a gift for you, but you’ve spent all afternoon trying to buy gifts for me”.

Tsuna shrugs, not really understanding the problem.

“I thought… you told me we’d be going out here looking for furniture? You are moving to Namimori, right?”. The kid narrows his eyes at the stuntman.

Skull smiles, jumping on Tsuna’s shoulder and ruffling the boy’s hair. Tsuna had grown much, much taller since the first time he and the Arcobaleno first met. 

“Of course. A hundred percent, Tsu. And when I said we could get furniture while we’re here, I thought you meant we’re getting you furniture you liked”.

Tsuna relaxes a little. “I do like the furniture. It matches your vibe, Skull”.

Skull just sighs. “You really don’t know what day it is, huh, kiddo?”.

Tsuna scrunches his nose in that way he always does when he’s thinking. 

“Uhhh, Koningsdag?”. 

Skull bursts out laughing. “I don’t even know where you learned that word, Tsu, honestly”.

Tsuna looks even more confused, “I really don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me, Skull”.

The stuntman sighs. “It’s your birthday, Tsuna”.

The kid blinks once, then twice. “Oh”. 

Skull just shakes his head, snorting again. 

“Honestly, Tsu. I’ve been subtly asking you what gift you wanted for the last month and you haven’t even asked for a single thing”.

Tsuna blushes, mentally thinking back to all the times Skull had pestered him about whether he liked one thing or the other. Then, the brunette just shakes his head.

“I have everything I want”. He says softly, Skull gives him a curious look, having only heard the first part.

Tsuna repeats, cheeks still red, but more resolute this time. “I have everything I want. I found new friends this year, we went to so many places, I can finally speak Italian and… we’re going to have a home now”. Tsuna whispers the last part, but Skull hears it anyway.

“That apartment really means that much to you, Tsuna?”.

Tsuna nods quickly. “It’s a home ”, the kid says, as if it explains everything.

Maybe it does.

Skull looks at Tsuna with that strange, always-contemplating look of his, shakes his head. “You really do want that orange couch, don’t you?”. 

At that, Tsuna’s eyes literally brighten and he turns to Skull with almost jumpy excitement. “Can we? It’s super comfortable and it’s super weird, and it would look really, really cool with the purple cushions you got from Tokyo last week!”. 

Skull jumps off Tsuna’s shoulder, heading straight to walk back the way they came. 

“Fine”. Seeing Tsuna frozen in place, the Arcobaleno makes a summoning gesture. “Come on Tsuna, that couch isn’t going to wait for us”.

The kid literally skipped, finally acting like the newly-turned nine-year-old he was supposed to be. 

“Do you think we can find octopus-patterned plates and glasses, anywhere?”.

Skull snorts. “Honestly?”. 

Tsuna just gives him that familiar devious grin. 

“Someday, we’ll celebrate your birthday with a massive party so you’ll never be able to forget the date”. Skull promises the kid.

Tsuna bites the inside of his cheek. “As long as you’re there”.

“I promise”.

“It’s suspiciously quiet today”. Reborn says that morning with a raised eyebrow at Tsuna while he’s sipping his favorite espresso. It’s a Sunday, already late afternoon, and the kid’s just lying on their obnoxious orange couch, wearing a pair of sky blue pajamas with red octopi all over. 

Skull’s wearing purple pajamas in the kitchen with lion cubs printed all over and the stuntman is cooking lunch as always. From the baby clams and the pasta roller Skull has out on the counter, he’s guessing the Cloud would be making vongole fettuccine. 

Suspiciously, Reborn’s favorite. 

Tsuna just hums in response, turning the page to the manga he’s reading.

“Not going out with your friends?”. Reborn asks again. 

Tsuna puts the manga down, looking at the hitman. “They’re out doing tasks”. 

Reborn actually puts down his espresso as well, with an even larger look of suspicion towards Tsunayoshi. “Errands?”. 

There’s a mischievous smile on the teen’s lips, and to Reborn’s annoyance, the teen just goes back to reading his manga with a suppressed chuckle.

“He means that they’re training”. Skull interjects, kneading dough in the kitchen.

Reborn frowns. “Training’.

Skull smiles, a mirror of the earlier mischief on Tsuna’s face. “You know, Kyo-kun and Haya-kun need better PR training, right?”. 

Reborn takes the information in with pure disbelief, before coming to the conclusion. “You let Hibari and Gokudera handle solicitation –”

There’s twin chuckles from Skull and Tsuna as Reborn short-circuits and just mutters curses under his breath.

“Both of you”, the hitman actually points to them “are going to handle damage control”.

Tsuna snorts. “I know for a fact your contract says you have to handle all damage control, Reborn-san”.

“He gets the Vongola’s Black Credit Card to officially pay for any damages caused by one Sawada Tsunayoshi and his friends”. Skull adds with a conspiratorial wink at the teen.

Tsuna gives Reborn a contemplative look that has the hitman immediately saying No.

”Do you think Vongola Nono would let me use his famiglia’s money to rebuild the amusement park in the next town over?”.

The hitman just sighs, finally resigned to his fate.

Hayato Gokudera, fourteen-year-old self-proclaimed hitman had grown up used to violence and people looking down on him for being nothing more than a street rat. 

“You were already the heir”, he remembers being told at the age of nine by some cazzo that had left him beaten and bloody at a sidewalk in Firenze. 

They called him stupid, for having left his wealth and status for a life as an independent.

Ironically, when he started racking up the kills and the cash for a few jobs well-executed – they started calling him a genius instead.

Smoking-Bomb Hayato had grown up surrounded by senseless violence and hypocrisy – so when he fled Italia for Japan in search of greater opportunities, he hadn’t expected much.

Hayato had expected prestige, maybe, a little more wealth, for sure. He hadn’t expected a skinny boy with wide brown eyes and the brightest smile and the constant chaos that followed him. Hayato hadn’t expected fun afternoons and crazy arguments with a future world-conqueror or even combat-practice, with two of the blood thirstiest civilians he’d ever had the misfortune of meeting. 

Hayato had most definitely not expected being pushed into therapy and having to talk about his feelings. 

Hayato had almost been relieved to be partnered with Hibari Kyoya - of all people - because the man spoke the language of violence, and if there was a language Hayato was painstakingly familiar with, it was that. 

But then Hibari Kyoya had given him one look, and while Hayato had first flinched when the older teen’s arm went flying towards him, he realized the older boy was doing nothing else than handing him a notebook of names.

Hayato hesitantly followed Hibari to the shopping center, the older teen pausing in front of the building first on the list. It’s probably because Hayato’s staring so intently, so cautiously for the first sign of a strike from Hibari that he catches the unmistakable hesitation on the raven’s face.   

Hayato doesn’t know what pushes him to do it, but he puts a hand on the prefect’s shoulder and moves forward to open the door with a soft, “I’ll do it”. 

The owner, a middle-aged man, looks at him in confusion at first, but then immediately smiles widely at the sight of Hibari trailing silently behind him. Hayato pushes himself to bow in front of the man. “We’re here to collect the uhh”, Hayato suddenly feels unsure, but opts instead to raise the envelope in his hands and taps it twice.

There’s an understanding nod from the man, and he searches for something behind the counter for a while – a package he gently hands to Hayato. 

“You’re doing such great work”, the man says and Hayato actually blushes at the compliment, struggling through his message of thanks. 

He hands the money to Hibari who gives him a curious look that Hayato can’t quite place. “So, where to next?” Hayato nonchalantly asks, with the usual shrug.

Hibari actually leads the way, and waits once more for Hayato to talk to the building’s occupants.

The day passes on uneventfully, although Hayato did once almost burst out in anger over an older lady complaining about the amount she had to pay.

A single glare from Hibari quickly fixed that, and they were quickly on their way.

It’s almost afternoon when they finish, and to Hayato’s surprise, Hibari doesn’t immediately leave but leads him towards a traditional Japanese restaurant instead. 

The older teen nonchalantly ordered fried bonito from the menu, and waited for Hayato to do the same. The bomber only flinched slightly when his eyes read the price tag for a meal.

“No”. He says, but Hibari shoves an envelope full of cash into his hands.

“Oi”, Gokudera protests, but Hibari just glares at him. “It’s your pay for the day, herbivore”.

Hayato’s definitely sure Hibari doesn’t pay his minions, and that even if he did, the amount he’s just been handed is far too much for a part-time worker. Hell- it’s probably more than Hayato makes in a month at the convenience store.

He pockets the cash anyway. 

The Mafia’s taught him to never question the pay. At least at that, Hibari nods approvingly.

They don’t speak as they eat lunch. Hayato never expected Hibari to be much of a conversationalist. What surprises Hayato, though, is that he actually doesn’t mind the older teen’s company. 

Hibari finishes his meal first, but where Hayato expected the prefect to leave, Hibari instead gives him a contemplative look. 

“What?”, Hayato asks, and HIbari hums.

“I know where the herbivores are”.

Well. That statement could mean so many things considering that Hibari practically considered the entire population of Namimori as herbivorous. But the first thing that pops into Hayato’s mind is the report of thievery from one Nanako-san, aged forty-three, selling fruits and vegetables at a small stand in the city centre. 

Hayato checks his watch. “I’ve got a shift in three hours, but other than that…”

Hayato almost yelps out in surprise when Hibari immediately stands and swiftly walks out of the restaurant, his jacket flowing behind him. Hayato shoves the last few bites of his lunch into his mouth, before running after the other teen.

He’s huffing and Hibari’s sending him an amused look. Hayato could almost swear there’s a teasing smile on the prefect’s face. “You could use more words , you bastard”. He says, but it’s honestly more teasing than genuine. “Honestly, I would think you were shy if I didn’t know any better”.

Hibari tries to hit Hayato which the bomber easily dodged with a chuckle. For once, the tension in Smoking-Bomb Hayato’s shoulders disappear and for the first time, it finally clicks in Hayato’s head that he’s no longer in Firenze, no longer going to get beat up for the next small thing – 

Hayato breathes easy and slowly, Namimori starts to feel like home.

Reborn would be found later cursing at Skull because Hayato and Hibari working together meant the destruction of at least three buildings the Vongola would now have to pay for.

“The reports I have to file for the kids’ damages aren’t a joke, Skull”. Reborn seethes, while the stuntman laughs at the hitman sitting down and going through his ‘expense reports’.

Tsuna gives Reborn a guilty look.

“Umm, Takeshi and Kyoko got into an argument and destroyed the school gym…” 

Skull laughs even harder.

Reborn sends a look of suspicion towards his student who’s currently talking to his mother, Bianchi and the kids.

For once, Tsuna hadn’t gone straight to Skull’s apartment after school and instead headed to the Sawada residence.

“I have to check in on mom sometimes so she doesn’t get too suspicious”, is all Tsuna says and Reborn couldn’t find any hints of a lie on the boy’s face, as always, even though he knows the statement isn’t the full truth.

Still, Reborn notes that it feels very strange to be back in the Sawada family home, especially after getting to know more about his student in the last few weeks. 

The light tension, awkwardness and discomfort Reborn had dismissed back then as part of Tsuna’s personality, could now be easily explained by his strained relationship with his mother.

“You should come home more often, Tsuna-nii”. Lambo’s the one to finally say, oblivious to the pained expression that makes its way to Tsuna’s face. 

“The kids have been acting out more lately without Tsuna around”. Bianchi admits, standing beside Reborn. The hitman sighs.

“Tsuna doesn’t like staying here and I can’t force him to”. Reborn simply states. There’s a wistful look on Bianchi’s face that has Reborn raising an eyebrow.

“He reminds me of Hayato”. Bianchi admits. It’s a strange comparison because the boys have such different personalities, but Reborn notes the way Tsuna constantly checks to see if Nana is paying the slightest bit of attention, and he realizes, Bianchi isn’t so far off the mark.

“You should meet Skull”. Reborn says. At that, Tsuna approaches, both Lambo and Ipin in his arms. 

“I was just telling them the same thing! I can’t stay here, but they can always visit. Skull would love to spend more time with them”.

Bianchi just shrugs in response, but it’s an approval as any.

Their large group leaves the Sawada home headed for Skull’s apartment.

“Mom, we’re going to have a sleepover!”, Tsuna shouts and there’s a hint of disappointment on the teen’s face when his mother only acquiesces without any question.

“Have fun, Tsuna-kun”.

Reborn wonders silently to himself, when he’d started feeling relief at the idea that Tsuna had an actual home to return to. 

Reborn’s still deep in his thoughts when they arrive at Skull’s apartment.

There’s a bang from a confetti popper and sudden cheers of “Surprise!” from inside the room as Reborn and Tsunayoshi walk in. Tsuna’s group of crazy friends are all gathered together wearing party hats.

“Happy Birthday Reborn-san”, they simultaneously say. There’s an actual three tiered cake in the middle of the dining room table, and Dino’s actually standing there with a sheepish grin. 

Reborn could admit to being impressed. The teens had definitely surprised him. But they would have to train a few years more to beat Reborn at his own game.

“Thank you, everyone! Now let’s have a Vongola-Style Birthday party!”.

Reborn would later regret his scheming just a bit, when the kids’ eyes gleamed with mischief and ambition as he explained the rules.

Right. He’d almost forgotten how competitive they all were.

Tsuna sighs for the millionth time as he sweeps clean the shards of glass on the kitchen floor. 

To everyone’s amazement, Hayato’s performance consisted of playing Clair de Lune with a pyramid of glasses filled with water. To everyone’s even greater amazement, Kyoko, with her childhood piano lessons, joined Hayato’s performance.

Of course, Reborn had to ruin the moment by saying “group performance scores would be divided among the members”, and the amazing performance quickly devolved into a competition between Tsuna’s Sun and Storm.

Suffice to say, it ended as it always did - an all-out fight, property damage and a cackling Reborn.

Tsuna had given Skull his best pout to try to get out of cleaning, but the Arcobaleno had only given Tsunayoshi a sympathetic smile and put his foot down. ”Your friends, your responsibility, Tsuna”.

The brunette could only pout even more when Skull went off to help their guests settle in the Cloud’s bedroom for the night.

Tsuna was most definitely not feeling jealous, when Skull actually sat down and read Ipin and Lambo a bedtime story — it was even Tsuna’s favorite. A Russian tale called the Wonderful Shirt in A Choice of Magic.

Still, he’s finished now, so the teen decided he’d go find Skull and just talk with him. He’s a bit surprised then, to find the two Arcobaleno sitting out in the balcony of the apartment. The door’s just slightly open, enough for Tsuna to hear the conversation.

“Had a good birthday, senpai?”, Skull asks with the usual joking tone, but it’s more sincere than the high-pitched, annoying, stuntman act he usually puts up around Reborn.

The hitman seems to notice and pauses, before replying with a curt nod. “I did. Thank you for the fettuccine, and the roast. It was nice”.

It’s the most civil Tsuna had ever heard Reborn be to the Cloud Arcobaleno. The entire time, Reborn had only ever been dismissive, wary, or much more recently, just resigned around the stuntman and his own brand of chaos.

Tsuna can’t see Skull’s expression, but he hears the man say. “We’ve known each other for ages. It’s the least I can do”.

Reborn seems to think about that for a bit. “You, just who are you, Skull?” 

Tsuna’s surprised by the genuine confusion in his tutor’s voice. But Skull only laughs, “Skull-sama is the best in the world! The Immortal Stuntman!”, Skull mockingly plays out his usual act. Tsuna sees Reborn lightly smack the purple haired man in the head. 

“Whoever you are, you really did raise Tsuna and his friends well. Their bonds are as strong as any good Family and they don’t only revolve around Tsuna. Even more, they’ve got the traits to grow into amazing fighters”.

Tsuna grimaces. He thinks Skull’s expression might be the same because the Cloud’s response comes back more bitingly. “I’m not taking care of Tsu for those reasons”.

Tsuna’s surprised when he notices a small wince from the hitman. “I didn’t mean that”, Reborn says, more carefully this time. “I just meant… you did a… good…”.

“Are you actually trying to compliment me?”, Tsuna can hear the shock in Skull’s voice and it makes the teen smile a little.

“Make sure it doesn’t get to your head, lackey. It’s big as it is”, is all Reborn says.

Skull laughs, so much more genuine this time. “Even the Greatest Hitman Reborn acknowledges the amazingness of the Great Skull-sama!”.

Tsuna expects another smack or a frown from his tutor, and is very much surprised to see only a fond look on the hitman’s face. “So you do know that I’m the greatest, lackey”.

“Of course. That’s why I got you the greatest present ever. Happy birthday, senpai”. 

Tsuna sees Reborn’s expression quickly turn from fond to smug to genuine surprise and the teen only feels so confused at whatever the pair are talking about now.

He watches Reborn open the box, a genuine smile on the hitman’s face.

“A Jeroboam”, Reborn says.

“Yep, 1945. Chateau Mouton-Rotschild”. Skull adds.

Tsuna doesn’t know why the pair are suddenly gushing about wine. Reborn sends Skull a look of suspicion, which sends the Cloud chuckling. 

“I used to be a legendary stuntman, senpai. You’d be surprised over the things I got back then”, is all Skull says, and Reborn shakes his head.

The hitman purses his lips, “thank you, Skull”. 

The stiffness sends the stuntman laughing all over again, getting an offended glare from Reborn. Not that the hitman seemed very offended. Tsuna noted the gentle hold the two year old had on the wine bottle.

“Besides, I know you’d actually drink it, senpai. Not stuff it away in some closet for some poor bloke to buy it off of you someday for a fortune”. 

Tsuna wonders if it’s even legal for Reborn or Skull to drink, but the smirk on Reborn’s face is probably answer enough. 

“You really did a good job, Skull”. The compliment comes out of the blue, less strained and definitely more genuine this time. Even Tsuna’s taken aback, but Skull didn’t even seem fazed.

“Not good enough to teach the kid not to eavesdrop though”, Skull says, and Tsuna knows he’s caught.

He walks out to the balcony, shyly meeting Reborn’s amused gaze. “Uh, happy birthday, Reborn. I also got you uh, a present. It’s not as expensive but umm…”

The hitman takes the large box Tsuna offers him. Tsuna watches nervously as Reborn takes off the lid, revealing the custom-made plush inside. 

It’s Leon, wearing a fedora hat similar to Reborn’s.

“Thank you, Tsuna”. Reborn says and the brunette nods with a more relieved grin, this time.

Then, the hitman pauses before looking at his watch. 

There’s a smirk, after a few seconds. “Happy birthday to you, too, Tsuna”. 

Reborn says as the clock strikes midnight. Tsuna looks at his tutor in shock.

“You’re always so theatrical, senpai”. Skull comments while shaking his head in mild exasperation. Purple eyes turn to the teen.

“And you, Tsu, time for bed, come on. I’m pretty sure I saw you sending glares at Lambo and Ipin earlier when I said I’d read them a story”.

Tsuna couldn’t help but stutter out his protests, but he follows his tutor and Skull anyway.

“I’ll read you the story again, if you want me to, Tsu”. Skull says softly and so fondly, it makes Tsuna stop to really think about it.

“Yes, please”. He says in the end, with a shy blush.

“Come on then, kid. Let’s tuck you into bed”. Skull says with a wink, it makes Tsuna smile.

He’s surprised that he doesn’t even mind that Reborn joins in to listen to the story too.

“Happy birthday, Tsu”, Skull whispers when the story ends, and Tsuna’s too tired to open his eyes.

“- love you, Skull”, Tsuna whispers, and he hears a soft “love you too, kid”, as he falls asleep. 

Tsuna dreams of exploring a world of dragons with a hitman and a stuntman by his side .

Tsuna, in true chaotic fashion, requests that they have a beach party — never mind that it’s October and the water’s too cold for swimming. 

That doesn’t stop the kids, including one blonde mafia boss and his water-absorbent turtle, from arriving in their swimming trunks. 

Reborn formally introduces Skull to Dino, and somehow, the two instantly bond over his sadistic teaching abilities.

“He once left me in the middle of a mission so that I’d grow more independent”. Skull says.

“You too?! Reborn told my kidnappers he wouldn’t be paying my ransom because I had to learn how to escape by myself!”. Dino passionately recounts.

If Reborn thought the sudden bond between his lackey and his older student was bad enough, he definitely had something coming when he introduced Bianchi to Skull.

“Reborn really should’ve gotten you a tutor to help you control your flames, Bianchi-chan. That’s why everything you touch turns to poison - your Storm flames are too strong”.

Reborn hadn’t even known that Bianchi was a Storm, much less that she had active flames behind her poison cooking. Reborn didn’t even know how Skull knew.

With that, Skull promised Bianchi flame control lessons in the coming weeks, and well, Reborn wasn’t sure if the outcomes of that relationship would be chaos or disaster. 

Either way - he’d definitely be paying for more property damage.

Just like what he’s stuck with now…

Reborn should have known better than to think the kids would be playing normal beach volleyball, when it was Hana, of all people, that suggested the game. 

Where Tsuna had easily gotten over his initial grudge over Reborn’s dismissal of Skull, Hana was still… passive aggressive. Sometimes, Reborn is certain that Hana’s deliberately encouraging the others to give Reborn the maximum amount of paperwork.

Case in point, the pairings for today’s game. Hayato and Kyoya automatically moved together as a pair, just as Takeshi immediately sided with Hana. Tsuna and Bianchi ended up teaming with Hayato, while Kyoko and Dino teamed up with Takeshi.

The game started out normal - until the kids started using their weapons to mess up the other teams’ play.

Reborn definitely did not want to know when and how Hana Kurokawa and Takeshi Yamamoto to instinctively work together to send daggers flying towards enemies. The Sun Arcobaleno has a feeling it’s all the girl’s idea. 

He’d seen her once, looking at Takeshi with the smile of an evil mastermind. “So pure, so innocent, so easy to train” . She had muttered under her breath.

Where Reborn had seen a natural-born hitman in Takeshi, Hana had apparently seen a natural-born weapon of mass destruction.

By the end of the match, the sand was literally on fire, courtesy of Dino unlocking his own Sky flames mid match and finding out he didn’t know how to control them. 

And in fact, the match only ended because the teens realized Enzo was missing, and the giant turtle had somehow grown Godzilla sized in the ocean —

Well, there goes Reborn’s attempts to prevent Japan from going into panic over mutated monsters in their oceans.

In all honesty, Reborn would have been proud of the chaos, if only he had been the one to orchestrate them. Instead, he’s more often than not just going along for the ride. Still, he couldn’t help but note how much Tsuna and his friends would fit into the Italian Mafia.

Violent battle royales? Check. Flame active members with a penchant for inhuman feats? Check. Devoted worship to the power of friendship? Definitely a check there.

The hitman can only shake his head as the kids simultaneously jump into the definitely freezing October water as Enzo roars like Godzilla in the background.

Well, there goes the sand and the coral reef he imported to Japan to fix the beach after his own battle with Skull

Still, when Tsuyoshi arrives for lunch with ten bentos worth of sushi, Reborn slowly starts to think that maybe — life in Namimori isn’t so bad, after all.

Skull is suggesting that Reborn try the hamachi sashimi when Tsuna sits next to them. The Cloud’s attention is immediately on the teen, a wide grin on his face, unusually uncovered by a helmet. Reborn notes that Skull doesn’t really wear his helmet around the kids, even though he’s still wearing the usual jumpsuit.

“Do you know what date it is, Tsuna?”, the stuntman asks teasingly. 

Tsuna doesn’t even miss a bit, the usual mischievous smile on his face. “I don’t know, Itsenäisyyspäivä, maybe?”.

Reborn doesn’t quite follow the conversation, but he doesn’t really mind. He’s learned to get used to the many inside jokes between the stuntman and teen. 

But then Skull says something that’s easy for Reborn to understand, even out of context.

“I told you, Tsu. Someday, we’ll have a party so massive you’d never forget today”. 

Tsuna just laughs at that, and the teen proceeds to stuff his face full with as much tuna sashimi as he can. 

Reborn just stares at the pair, watches the teens playing around, really listens to Takeshi and Kyoko’s debate about whether penguins should evolve to fly or breathe underwater —

The hitman stops and smiles.

Who knew? 

The beach suddenly felt unusually warm for October. 

Chapter Text

(Flashback)

Tsuna knows he shouldn’t, but he can’t stop himself from making a disgusted face at the sudden bitter taste that fills his mouth. Espresso, Skull had called it.

Tsuna was definitely not having any more of that. 

“Ew”, he says and Skull bursts out laughing. “Why would anyone drink that?”.

“To stay awake, mostly”, Skull says, taking a sip of his own but not being able to stop the disgusted quirk of his lips. 

It’s Tsuna’s turn to laugh. 

He’s only recently turned eight, and Skull had been talking about giving Tsuna more experiences so he could learn about the world.

“You know, Tsu, I know someone who drinks espresso like water”. The story is funny and Tsuna does make a disgusted face just imagining someone gulping down the black drink, but he’s caught off guard by the expression on Skull’s face. Tsuna couldn’t quite place it yet. A bit of sadness. A bit of happiness.

"A friend?”, Tsuna asks, and Skull looks at him confused. “The person you know, was it a friend?”. 

Skull’s not smiling but he’s not frowning either. “You can say that”. 

Tsuna doesn’t say anything. Sometimes, Skull would need more time to think about how to answer Tsuna’s bigger questions, after all. 

“We used to live together, my friends and I. We didn’t get along at first, but because we all lived in the same house we just became… friends. Sometimes, I thought we were kind of like family too, but then… bad things happened and we just couldn’t be the same as we were… before”. 

Tsuna listens and he nods. He’s not quite an expert on the matter – he’s only just recently started acquiring friends of his own.

“It sounds fun, living together”. Is all Tsuna says instead.

Skull just smiles, nodding. “It was fun. They were weird, though”. 

Weird. For as long as Tsuna could remember, the word weird had always been an insult, another negative trait that people associated with Dame-Tsuna. 

Yet, Skull wasn’t frowning at all, or angry, over the memories of his weird friends. Instead, the idea seemed to make him happier, like he was rewinding a funny film in his head.

“My friends are weird too. Someday, we’ll live together and you’ll be there and you’ll call us all little nightmares but you’ll have the most fun with us anyway”. Tsuna declares. 

Skull just chuckles at that. “No kidding, Tsu. Your friends are weird. Kyoya told me he’d bite me to death. I had to stop just to confirm I was hearing right”. 

Tsuna laughs at the memory. Kyoya did say the strangest things, but somehow, the boy had never seemed off to Tsuna. Like Tsuna could understand his language naturally. 

“Maybe someday, you’ll get to live together with your friends again too”. Tsuna says. 

Skull laughs. “Yeah. Maybe we can live together with Mister Espresso. He’s got a pet chameleon, you know. Although, he’s always been so strict. He’s sort of like a teacher. If he ends up teaching you, it’s like going through hell, Tsuna”. 

Tsuna just smiles.  

Skull talks more about his friends (there’s a lovestruck, golden retriever puppy and someone like a dragon that hoards gold) and the gleam in Skull’s eyes is so bright, Tsuna almost wishes he could meet them all there and then. 

Hellish, Skull had described his living conditions with his espresso friend.

Secretly, eight-year-old Tsuna wishes he could live with Skull’s friends too, hellish conditions and all.

If it meant seeing Skull this happy, anything would be worth it. 

(Present Day)

Bianchi is a hitwoman and by the standards of Sicilia, the girl was already at the right age to start the peak of her career. 

Assassins were not particularly known for their longevity, after all.

Still, looking at his supposed “lover”, (there’s definitely a story there or two), Reborn’s faced with the sudden realization that Bianchi is, at the end of the day, just a seventeen-year-old girl. 

Skull had Bianchi dress up in a biking suit, gloves and helmet not unlike his own, with the simple explanation that “it’ll help control your flames”.

Bianchi hadn’t been very happy at the suit’s lack of style, but she’d done as he had said and even cooked as she always did, like Skull asked her to. 

Reborn would deny being at all surprised when Bianchi ended up baking actual average, perfectly edible and healthy cookies — a bit too much salt and baking powder — but edible to the average human being all the same.

“My suit and gloves have flame blocking properties that stopped your Storm flames from disintegrating your food. With a bit of meditation training, I can help you keep track of where your flames are”. Skull explains to the teen. “Now, would you like me to pack these in a bag and help you give them to Hayato-kun?”.

Bianchi gapes at her stuntman tutor, before enthusiastically nodding like the seventeen-year-old girl she actually was.

From the corner of the room, Reborn thoughtfully watches Skull and the pink haired assassin pack perfectly average cookies into a pretty red box and black paper bag.

Skull gives Hayato a stern glare when the bomber instinctively flinches at the cookies his sister gave, but then gives the boy a bright smile when the silver-haired teen takes a bite nonetheless with a murmur of ‘thanks’.

Tsuna blinks at the strange girl following him as he walks back home to Skull’s apartment after checking in on Lambo and Ipin back at his mom’s place. 

“Uh, can I help you?”, he asks warily - the strange girl was even wearing a disguise.

Tsuna couldn’t help but jump back in surprise when the girl started accusing Tsuna of a wide variety of things, including, the most atrocious – corrupting the babies he was surrounded by.

If anything, Tsuna was the one being corrupted.

“Er, I can understand your confusion, but Reborn-san is actually an adult. He just has a condition that makes him seem like an infant”, Tsuna replies, with as much patience and sincerity as he can.

Reborn chooses this moment to show up. “Ciaossu, Tsuna is telling the truth. I’m actually his tutor. Tsuna is going to become the next Mafia Boss of the Vongola Family”.

There’s a lot of suspicion on Haru’s face, but Tsuna’s only got a wide grin on his own face.

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll introduce you to someone who could explain it better. I think Skull’s going to like you”.

Reborn’s eyes narrow at Tsuna but the brunette only beams at his tutor.

Haru was wearing a purple helmet and a metal samurai costume that looks like she’d sewn it herself, after all. 

In Tsuna’s books, Skull would definitely love her. 

Reborn arrives back at Tsuna’s house one day to find Dino and his famiglia having tea in Skull’s living room… a renovation courtesy of the Cavallone’s men taking place in the background. 

He gives Dino a questioning look, and the blonde unexpectedly beams at him.

“Skull-san hired me for a construction job, Reborn! He’s expanding the apartment!”. Dino chirps, surprising the hitman. He hadn’t noticed when exactly Dino and Skull had gotten close — enough for the blonde to feel perfectly at home in the Cloud Arcobaleno’s territory.

Dino was sitting splayed all over the wacky coffee table in the middle of the Cloud’s living room surrounded by piles of paper and sketches? 

“Dino said he used to be on track to study art or architecture before you came to tutor him, Reborn”. Skull says with an almost judgmental look. 

Reborn takes that information in. He’d known, of course. It had been on Dino’s file when he first came to the teen and the boy’s childhood bedroom had been utterly filled with sketches and paintings by his own hand.

It had all just seemed irrelevant at the time — he’d been hired to train Dino to become both heir and solution to the Cavallone’s growing debt, after all. 

“I figured Dino, here, could design my new apartment! Takamura-san decided to move so I bought his old apartment!”. 

His next door neighbor, Reborn’s head mentally supplies. The hitman is under no illusion that Skull probably paid the man an unreasonable amount he just couldn’t say no to — 

“Four new bedrooms? I think Bianchi-chan would appreciate having the one next to the bathroom wouldn’t she?” Skull mumbles to himself but Reborn hears anyway. 

The hitman’s about to comment when Dino excitedly responds with his plans for Bianchi’s room, then Lambo’s and Ipin’s and Hayato’s. His blonde student is the happiest he’s seen ever since…

Well, since the day Dino meticulously drew out and finished the designs for his own tattoos. 

Huh. Isn’t that a thought?

Shamal is thirty-five years old and he’s spent thirty of his years in the Mafia, twenty of them as an assassin.

Fifteen of them as a doctor, from the moment he graduated with a PhD and tried dragging himself off of the streets of fair Verona.

Assassins don’t typically live to thirty, and the fact that he had survived this long without knowing how to shoot a gun or swing a sword only proved Trident Shamal’s sheer lethality . 

Or, it spoke much about his paranoia — having survived this far with the policy: 'attack possible assailants now, heal them later when they turn out to be friends'.

It served him well thus far, barring his one near-death experience with the Hitman Reborn, ten years ago where the hitman had most definitely not taken well the attempted mosquito bite Shamal had set upon him.

Not that Shamal regretted that encounter.

Reborn had taken his lost, amateur, twenty-five year old ass off the streets and the Sun had taught him the ways of the Greatest Hitman in the World in exchange for a year of massacring every single person that could link Reborn to the man before the Arcobaleno curse. 

Shamal knew better than to ask for the details to that curse, if the hitman was out murdering everyone who knew him prior to that happening.

Still, for Shamal, it was a year of picking up survival skills for free and an unusual mentor in… Reborn.

He’d been surprised when the name Trident Shamal became known throughout Italy as the Greatest Hitman’s own doctor, one of the hitman’s agents. That claim had definitely given Shamal a lot of protection.

Enough protection that Shamal even got a few years off, hanging out with his childhood friend Lavinia and taking care of her orphaned kid - Hayato. 

Reborn had only met Hayato once, and that was when the brat had been a rebellious, fresh-off-the-streets nine year old with far too little self-preservation skills. Still, the hitman had noted Hayato’s unusually strong Storm Flames and had contacted the kid for the position of Vongola’s Storm the moment he had the chance. 

Shamal’s no longer five years old and he no longer believes in fate or destiny or happy endings, but he watches the boy he’s gotten so used to seeing constantly thin from hunger and scraped and bruised and bleeding suddenly transform to a hesitant, smart and contemplative teen… 

“Why are you asking me? Hayato isn’t even my son”. Shamal dismissively waves his hands away at the Cloud Arcobaleno that had suddenly shown up at Namimori Middle’s nurse’s office which Shamal had claimed as his base of operations in the town.

Unusually, the Cloud isn’t wearing his helmet and the infant shoots Shamal an amused look. Skull doesn’t comment, just shrugs.

“Here’s a house key. You can visit Hayato-kun anytime you‘d like, as long as you don’t talk to Bianchi-chan”.

There’s a threat there, Shamal hears and he knows better than to ignore the threat of the supposed Weakest Arcobaleno that had managed to give Reborn a run for his money just a few months ago. 

Before the Cloud Arcobaleno leaves his office, he turns and gives Shamal an acknowledging nod.

“You did great. He’s a good kid”, Skull says, as if he could see right through Shamal and the soft promises he whispered to the grave of his best friend — his heart . 

“Not my son”. Shamal says as he runs his finger through the contours of the steel key. Then, he puts it gently in the pocket of his coat.

Pats it twice, even, just to be sure. 

Reborn decides he’s avoided asking Skull ‘what the fuck’ long enough when he wakes up to find Shamal in pink fluffy slippers sipping coffee at six in the morning in the Cloud Arcobaleno’s apartment. 

“I could understand Lambo, Ipin, Bianchi and even Hayato, but Shamal?”.

He corners the Cloud Arcobaleno in his bedroom. Skull takes off his helmet and the stuntman gives Reborn one of those looks, as if the answer should be so obvious.

“Shamal and Hayato sort of come in a package, don’t they? Besides, my friends in Italy say Shamal is one of yours ”. Skull asks with such an amused smile Reborn feels the sudden urge to throttle the man. 

“Lambo, Ipin and Bianchi could have stayed with Nana”. Reborn argues and Skull visibly frowns.

“Bianchi is my student, and I’m not leaving any children alone with that woman, Reborn”. 

There’s clear resentment there. Reborn can hear the history behind Skull’s words clearly.

“She’s not in any way fit to be raising children, senpai. Especially not Mafia ones who are equipped with enough weapons to decimate an entire town”. 

Reborn could have argued that members of criminal syndicates or cursed babies weren’t exactly the best subgroup of the population to raise children either, but the look on Skull’s eyes had him keeping his mouth shut.

“When Tsu-kun was eight, I left him back in Namimori with his mother because I had a job to do for the Carcassa in Sweden. He was close to unlocking his Dying Will Flames, but not quite there yet because I wasn’t going to push a kid off of a cliff just for magic fire powers.

I left him with Nana for a week, Reborn. A week later, I came back to Namimori to find out that Tsuna had gotten kidnapped to Italy by enemies of the Vongola”.

There’s shock on Reborn’s face. None of what Skull was saying had made it onto Iemitsu’s own file on his son. It hadn’t been in any of the amended information Lal Mirch had sent him over either, from the Vongola Ninth’s own records.

“Did you know that Nana had signed up for a service allowing strangers to drive her son from school to her house and she actually called Tsuna’s school to let them know that the Mafia would be picking her son up at three pm?”.

Reborn quietly runs through every information he has on the Sawada matriarch and Skull’s descriptions of the woman aren’t far off from his own observations. She had accepted his services from a random flyer in the mail, too.

“She’s not an oblivious housewife, she’s a liability, a walking security breach and I’m not going to let her risk the safety of the kids in Namimori just so she can pretend to be a mother”.

Skull’s eyes are glowing purple and his flames are ringing with an almost feral anger of a beast whose territory had been disturbed. 

How interesting that Reborn had missed noticing Skull for the Cloud that he was in the last few decades, only to see all the signs that he was a veritable Cloud now.

He tips his fedora downwards in a sign of respect because he could at least understand the idea of protecting one’s own. 

“If Tsuna inherits as Decimo, the Vongola would make sure that no one could ever touch a single hair on his head”. Reborn points out.

“And if anyone tries to hurt any of Tsu’s friends… Even the Vongola can’t stop him from standing on the front lines”. 

Skull grimaces as he acknowledges the bitter truth: that Tsunayoshi has the heart of a martyr.

It’s never a good personality for a Sky to have. The more successful, established bosses of the Underworld always acted more like the untouchable, unflinching heavens. 

“He’s going to be fine. You will be there in the front lines right beside him too”. The hitman says and Reborn finds himself surprised to realize that he actually means every word.

Skull sends a grateful look at Reborn and the conversation ends at that.

Tsuna used to imagine what it would be like to have siblings. He let himself fantasize about a younger brother or sister, someone to take care of and someone who would unquestionably admire him.

He quickly stopped having such hopes when he became Dame-Tsuna. Who would admire someone so no-good?

Instead, Tsuna had started fantasizing about an older brother or sister. Someone who’d step up when he was getting pushed around at school. Someone who would help him understand his homework and talk to him when his mom just… wasn’t there. 

Tsuna soon grew up and learned the difference between hope and reality, though.

Soon enough, he’d met Skull, Kyoko and Hana and Kyoya. 

Things had gotten better. He stopped hoping for childish dreams.

And yet… it’s a quarter to eight in the morning and he and Hayato are already dressed and out of school when Bianchi stops the both of them before they’re out the door, and gently wraps an orange and red scarf around their necks.

Hayato blushes like mad and Tsuna laughs at him, before the brunette dashes out ahead of the gaping bomber.

Hana, Kyoko and Takeshi are already at school when they arrive, the trio already discussing the answers to their math homework. Ten minutes later, Hayato and Hana are still arguing over some inane geometric theorem, while Takeshi, Kyoko and Tsuna have successfully completed three rounds of Go Fish on Tsuna’s desk.

Before he knows it, it’s lunch and they’re gathered in the reception room together. Tsuna just raises an eyebrow at Hayato when the bomber hands Kyoya a separate bento box, but none of the others notice.

Takeshi, as always, has enough sushi for all of them. Kyoko, as always, has enough cake for the group. Hana doesn’t even miss a beat, pouring cups of tea enough for them all.

Reborn shows up halfway through lunch and steals half of Tsuna’s burger steak. The teen pouts, but is quickly distracted when a fight breaks out between Kyoya and Kyoko in the background.

In time, the bell rings again and they’re on their way home. Takeshi, Hayato and Tsuna part ways at the bridge, but Hayato walks alongside Tsuna back to their shared apartment.

Tsuna excitedly runs to their home when he sees Dino’s limousine parked in front of the building, narrowly missing one of Lambo’s grenades when he opens the door. 

Immediately, Dino has a protective arm over Tsuna, scolding the crying five-year-old over weapon safety. 

Skull is training Bianchi to control her Storm flames in the kitchen while they’re making dinner, and Reborn immediately has Hayato, Tsuna and Dino sitting around the coffee table working on their history homework and memorizing key Mafia famiglias in Sicily. 

Tsuna listens attentively when Hayato and Dino are immediately thrown into an intense argument over whether the Licciardi or the Mallardo would make a better ally for the Vongola. 

The argument eventually ends when Tsuna musingly says that neither would make good allies since they both seem to be more interested in serving the Contini anyway.

The statement quickly shut both Hayato and Dino up, much to Reborn’s approving nod. 

The hitman doesn’t even steal his karaage over dinner, although that doesn’t stop Tsuna from sending suspicious glares at the hitman and his penchant for mischief.

After dinner, Skull asks Tsuna to put Lambo and Ipin to sleep. The brunette finds that he surprisingly doesn’t mind arguing with Lambo over how to put his pajamas on or trying to convince Ipin that she’s not exactly overstaying her welcome by accepting the pink blankets Skull had gotten for her.

He reads a storybook to the kids and even finds himself smiling at the absurd fact he’s actually doing the voices.

It’s already ten at night by the time the kids are asleep and Tsuna tiredly makes his way to his own bedroom where Skull is waiting with a familiar large tome of stories.

Tsuna gives the stuntman a wide grin, immediately jumping onto his own bed. He isn’t even surprised when Reborn appears.

“Aren’t you getting too old for fairy tales, Dame-Tsuna?”, Reborn teases and the brunette only shrugs.

“You’re older than I am and you like them just as much”. Tsuna deadpans. Reborn lightly smacks him in the arm in return but the teen only laughs.

Skull then starts the story but Tsuna finds himself not quite listening. Instead, his head starts to rewind the day all over and the words are out of his mouth before he can think of them.

“Our family’s growing really large”.

Tsuna’s not sure when he’d started thinking of the others as family.

He’s not sure when Bianchi and Dino had become like his real older siblings, Hayato a brother of the same age and Lambo and Ipin his younger siblings. 

They’re everything he’s ever hoped for and more .

With all their quirks: poison, grenades, bombs and gigantic turtles and all.

Skull smiles at him and he runs his hand through Tsuna’s hair, a gesture so familiar and ever-so-calming for the young teen. 

“I like it”. He admits silently. 

Skull continues the story until Tsuna falls asleep and he dreams of pink grenades and islands made from turtle shells. 

Contrary to popular belief, Namimori’s immunity to the sheer insanity of the Mafia brought by one Sawada Tsunayoshi and the two Arcobaleno members revolving around him was not built atop a hill of hopes and dreams.

No. The reality was far more anticlimactic. Namimori was built atop a hill of konbini coffee cups consumed by one Kurokawa Hana, aged fourteen.

It’s already midnight and the teen has just finished typing up her hundredth email to the Bovino, charging them for reparations to the zoo that Lambo blew up this morning. 

Hana had hives just thinking of the cow kid, but she also couldn’t begrudge Tsunayoshi of the family the kid was finally starting to have. 

Tsunayoshi had a damn bleeding heart and no one deserved better circumstances than the damn brunette.

“Skull was right. You do everything flawlessly”. A voice says from beside her and Hana couldn’t help but scream and throw her poor empty coffee cup at the source of the voice.

Reborn flicks it away with an amused look that spells much, much more headaches for future-Hana. The infant is quietly browsing through a folder of documents Hana was fairly certain was in her school bag all day. 

“What are you doing here?”. Hana asks far more rudely than she normally would’ve, given Reborn’s renown for being a professional mass murderer . Hana’s distaste for Tsuna’s tutor isn’t exactly a secret between the two of them. 

“Are these construction documents?”, the hitman asks instead, ignoring Hana’s question entirely. 

Sighing, Hana turns back to the words on her computer screen. “Namimori’s city hall is due for renovations and because it’s a government building, things get more complicated because we need to show support for local construction companies and contractors. I’m trying to figure out which projects to assign to which companies and how much”. 

Reborn hums, before procuring a folder from seemingly out of nowhere and handing it to Hana. “This folder contains a list of all Namimori’s construction companies, their best projects and a document containing recommended project shares considering their size and expertise”. 

Hana’s frowning at first, but as she goes through the document, her irritation turns to actual surprise. “Did you just do my job for me?”, she asks, knowing that she’s openly gaping at Reborn.

“You have training tomorrow. Get up at eight in the morning, Hana. We’re going hiking”. That’s all Reborn says.

Hana’s just blinks at the hitman, but she does as he says anyway, turning off her computer and heading off to bed. It takes her a solid minute to snap back to reality. “I still don’t like you”. She says.

But Reborn just smiles, infuriatingly. “Good”. He says, before jumping out the open window with his Leon hand glider. 

Hana just closes her eyes, shakes her head and reminds herself that far weirder things have happened in Namimori. 

Still, she has to admit there’s the tiniest bit of gratitude there. 

It’s been ages since she’s had the chance to sleep for more than six hours, after all. 

If Tsuna was being honest, he would say that he didn’t like Reborn. Sure, the hitman had been way more respectful ever since Skull beat him up, but Tsuna was still very, very salty over the fact that Reborn had hurt Tsuna’s family. 

Still, Tsuna has to admit almost begrudgingly that he’d never realized how much Skull had been doing for all of them until Reborn. 

Tsuna realizes that Skull must have been really stretching himself thin — keeping track of Tsuna and his friends, teaching them how to harness their flames, managing Namimori and keeping the worst of the Mafia from their town and still, working for the Carcassa in Italy. 

Tsuna could not genuinely remember the last time Skull hadn’t talked about the long list of things he had to do since he picked up a young seven year old brunette off the streets of Namimori. 

And well, Tsuna’s starting to think Skull is maybe some form of workaholic too, because he’s decided to take in more of Tsuna’s friends into his newly expanded apartment and had started personally seeing to Bianchi and Hayato’s training. 

And Tsuna? Well, he was fourteen and he and his friends were doing their best to learn as quick as they could.

Tsuna knows Hana’s doing her best in making sure Namimori’s up and running and that Kyoya’s taken the bulk of policing the town, but Tsuna knows it’s only a matter of time before his Vongola responsibilities start popping up and he’s not quite sure how they’re going to manage it then. 

It’s a strangely quiet Saturday afternoon in their tiny apartment, with Hayato and Bianchi uncharacteristically out with the kids for their weekly grocery run. Tsuna is certain they’d be billed for damages by the end of the day, but Skull had insisted his family needed to learn how to get along and weekly bonding activities were perfect for that. 

Watching the scene before him, Tsuna would love nothing more than to throw Skull’s words back at him, though.

The stuntman was pouting at their resident hitman sitting in a corner while a girl dressed uncannily almost like Skull watched their exchange.

As Tsuna had predicted, Haru Miura fitted in almost perfectly into their group of misfits. Skull had fallen instantly in love with the girl, with her purple motorcycle helmet and her larger-than-life sense of justice for all things cute and innocent. 

Reborn had raised an eyebrow at Tsuna’s newest friend for her first few visits, until Haru walked in wearing a Namahage costume that she claimed she made herself.

“You can’t steal my apprentices, Reborn! I called dibs on her first!”. Skull protests at a smirking hitman who was sitting in front of a young Haru admiring Reborn’s many costumes.

Reborn doesn’t even react, he just smirks. In front of the hitman, Haru squeals over the invisible stitching on Reborn’s panda costume. 

“I made it myself”. The hitman says and Haru starts looking at the hitman with pure wonder and admiration she actually starts sparkling.

“Hey! No fair, Reborn! You aren’t even listening to me!”. 

“If you agree to an apprenticeship with me, I can teach you to make more than that”, Reborn tells Haru, completely ignoring Skull with the usual cold stare.

And well, Tsuna realizes, as the one-sided argument unfolds before him, that the entire thing is a deliberate ploy by his tutor. 

If he’s being honest, it’s taken him way longer than it should’ve, considering his so-called ‘Hyper Intuition” , to realize that most things were intentionally set up by his tutor.

Reborn had the uncanny ability to pretend he didn’t care, his only tell being the twinkle in his left eye and the slightest upward twitch of his lips to tell Tsuna that his tutor was orchestrating his usual interventions. 

Tsuna’s not oblivious to the way Reborn had practically taken over making sure Takeshi’s training and therapy sessions were going smoothly, just so Skull would have less to do in the afternoons.

Tsuna meets Reborn’s eyes and the hitman allows the slightest bit of surprise over the gratitude he probably sees from Tsuna. Reborn really only allows the slightest acknowledgement with a tip of his fedora towards the teen before that familiar cocky smirk is on his face as he’s staring at the protesting stuntman.

Tsuna still doesn’t like Reborn. He still reminds the teen of his childhood bullies, all caught up in the supposed superiority they had over others. But Tsuna does have to admit, having Reborn around made Skull’s work easier and gave the Cloud Arcobaleno someone his own age to actually talk to. 

Skull and Reborn are now nonchalantly attacking each other in front of an oblivious Haru. Skull pretends to get hit by one of Reborn’s bullets and the hitman’s left eye twitches in annoyance. 

Tsuna hides his laugh a bit too late. Reborn’s now looking straight at him and Tsuna just knows he’s going to need to prepare himself for another of his tutor’s deadly schemes.  

Tsuna looks to Skull for help but he’s greeted only by a mischievous smile on purple lips.

Tsuna sighs in defeat.

Honestly, though, Tsuna’s secretly relieved. A thousand days of Reborn’s hellish tutoring would be worth it if Skull could smile so carefree just a little bit longer.

“There are going to be consequences, Skull”. The disapproval in Reborn’s voice is clear. “He can stay around, we can declare him as a kid going through joint training with the Decimo but we can’t declare him Vongola’s”. 

Skull clicks his tongue in disappointment, but the resolve in his eyes doesn’t even waver. “Theoretically, if there’s a valid threat to his life… he can file for an asylum claim to the Vongola, correct?”. 

Reborn sharply turns to the stuntman and glares. “He’s the Ranking Prince. The Mafia would call for the head of anyone that threatens the life of its most valuable informant, Skull. They would go after the head of even an Arcobaleno ”.

Skull doesn’t seem fazed at all. Instead he’s contemplative. “It’ll work out, senpai. You worry too much. Besides, I think it’s about time that he shows up. He hasn’t come by to visit in quite a while”.

“He?”, Reborn raises an eyebrow. He’s been with Tsunayoshi and Skull for three quarters of a year now, and he had not heard of any other friends, outside the group as he’d known it.

Instead of answering his question, Skull just chuckles. “Tsuna’s first friend. You’ll know him when you see him. He’s kind of… flashy”. 

Reborn doesn’t press what Skull’s idea of flashy is.

Not when the Cloud Arcobaleno has made a scary army of civilian preteens in the middle-of-nowhere Japan, and considers them normal kids. 

Honestly, in hindsight, Reborn’s happy he chose not to press. 

It saved him from advanced migraines, at least.

Two weeks later, after all, Namimori students started getting attacked one after the other. A day later, Reborn receives an urgent missive from the Ninth about escaped Vendicare convicts heading straight for the Vongola Decimo candidate-in-training.

“Mukuro Rokudo”, Reborn says to the crowd of teenagers before him, collectively worrying for the safety of their town.

At the mention of the name, however, all tension suddenly disappears and Reborn is left confused because Hana and Kyoko are smiling at each other while Kyoya looks more… resigned.

“Ah, he always did know how to make an entrance”. Is all Tsuna says, unmistakable fondness in his voice. 

What?

Reborn's still just staring blankly at the teens that have now moved on from discussing curfew implementations and safety protocols to getting Muku-chan's favorite chocolate mousse cake. 

As if on cue, Skull comes in with a large box of chocolate-flavored goods, the stuntman grinning from ear to ear.

Right. Reborn was definitely going to murder Skull.

Chapter Text

(Flashback)

Tsuna’s not sure where he is. 

The only thing he knows for sure, is that wherever here is, it’s nowhere good.

Tsuna’s inching closer to panic, to bawling his eyes out, but then he remembers Skull’s voice.

“There’s always an answer, Tsuna. Just let yourself think”. 

So Tsuna tries to breathe slower and finds himself slowly calming down.

At the same time, he realizes he’s not entirely alone.

“Well, he’s the first one that didn’t burst out crying, byon”. A blonde boy says, a huge scar running across his face, on top of his nose.

It takes Tsuna a while to register that the kid is speaking Italian. Thankfully, he’s started learning a bit with Skull.

“Umm, hi, do you know where we are?”. He tries asking as politely as he can, hoping he hadn’t butchered the pronunciation.

“Japanese?”. A soft voice asks.

Tsuna looks over to another boy, this time with a distinct barcode under his left eye. 

Tsuna nods, sighing in relief before switching to Japanese. “Are you guys Japanese too?”

There’s a scoff from the blonde boy. He glares at Tsuna, before spitting out a question in Japanese.  “That doesn’t matter here. What famiglia are you from?”.

“Famiglia? Family? Uhh, I’m Sawada Tsunayoshi?”.

Before the other two boys could reply, a chill runs down Tsuna’s spine and he’s filled with fear.

“Kufufufu, a civilian? You won’t last long here, kid”. 

Tsuna swiftly turns and there’s a boy right behind him. He would have looked ordinary everywhere, except for the spiky purple hair and his one glowing, red eye. 

It’s been a while since Tsuna shrieked, but he finds himself unable to stop a soft “hieee” from coming out before falling backwards. 

“You’re really lucky, Tsunayoshi-kun. We were just about to escape today”. 

The purple-haired kid is smiling, but Tsuna’s creeped out all the same. 

All his instincts are screaming at Tsuna to run, but something about the boy is calling out to Tsuna…

“Everyone has a story, Tsu. It’s never just black and white”, Skull had told him then and he hadn’t understood.

He's staring straight at red and blue eyes when something just clicks into place.

Tsuna thinks he understands Skull just a bit better now.

So, Tsuna sucks up all the fear, and with a quick motion, turns to the scary-looking boy and pulls out his winning smile.

“Hello! It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?”.

There’s stunned silence at first as the kid openly gapes at Tsuna. He opens his mouth to say something, closes it, before opening it again.

“Mukuro. Rokudo Mukuro”.

Tsuna beams. “Hello Mukuro-kun! Let’s be friends!”.

As Mukuro turns a shade redder and starts stuttering in embarrassment (or shock), Tsuna suddenly gets the feeling that Skull would be utterly proud of him. 

5 years later 

Tsuna sighs for the fifteenth time as another round of protests surround him. 

“I’m telling you, Kyo-chan, Hana-chan, it’s not personal”. He repeats, trying his best to stay patient.

“Sure as hell feels personal, Sawada, when you’re bringing all the boys and Bianchi, leaving us like we’re damsels in distress”. 

“They’re the ones that need training and they need to meet Mu-kun. If we all go, then it’s not training at all”. Tsuna argues

“ We, always, all go. I don’t see why that has to change just because you’ve gotten new best friends, Tsu-kun”. Kyoko says with the usual sweet tone. 

Funnily enough, it only makes her statement more aggressive. 

This time, Tsuna actually groans. “Kyo-chan! You know it’s not about that. Hayato and Takeshi just need this more than we do”. 

“You’re going. Kyo-kun is going. You’re not going to tell me that Kyoya needs it too, are you?”, Kyoko asks again, earning an approving grin from Hana. 

Tsuna actually grimaces. “You both know I’m not going to touch whatever strange rivalry those two have going on”.

Hana and Kyoko do their best to keep their poker faces on, but they don’t last long. 

“That’s not fair, Sawada. Bringing up Hibari’s bromance with Mukuro should be off-limits”. Hana complains. 

There’s a small smile on Tsuna’s lips now too. “Sorry, but there really wasn’t any other way I can argue the case. Kyo-chan brought it up”.

Kyoko’s still pouting, but she’s less serious this time. “It’s just not fair that Kyoya gets to fight while we don’t”.

Again, Tsuna sighs. “Okay. What about we all go, but you, me and Hana aren’t allowed to fight. We’re just going to have a…picnic”. 

The girls are quiet, for a while, before they finally burst out laughing.

“Now that’s more like it. A picnic. I bet you Reborn’s going to have an aneurysm when he sees us having tea with escaped prisoners”. Hana says, a devious smirk on her face. 

Tsuna’s the one to scoff, this time. “Honestly, how the Vongola survived this long is astounding. It’s not like Mukuro and the others were actual prisoners. Skull just had them doing community service for a while after the last stunt they pulled”.

Kyoko actually laughs. “I still think it’s unfair that they had to do community service. They singlehandedly took out that human trafficking famiglia in Verona by sinking their ship. Clean, efficient, and untraceable”.

Hana shakes her head. “ Almost untraceable. Skull gave Mukuro a very long lecture since he forgot to write his, Ken’s and Chikusa’s names on the ship’s manifest”.

“Right. That was an interesting day. I wish you’d been there when Skull talked to him. Mukuro-kun looked so properly scolded, his smug smile wasn’t on his face for once”. Tsuna reminisces.

“Can’t blame him, Tsuna. Being on the receiving end of Skull’s lectures is just horrible. Honestly, I’m surprised Mukuro’s back after just a year. He should know we’ve got teasing rights”. Hana comments.

“I’m glad they’re coming back. It’s been awhile since we last saw them. Do you think Ken-kun still likes peppermint after we accidentally gave him choco mint last time he was a dog?”. Kyoko asks with a smile that would look less out-of-place on a serial killer’s.

Tsuna cackles but internally, he sighs in relief. At least for now, the girls have moved on from insisting they wanted to fight too, to planning the logistics of their newly scheduled picnic. 

Still, Tsuna is fairly certain Reborn is going to have an aneurysm at some point.

Things always get interesting with Mukuro around. 

“Not to point out the obvious, Reborn, but I think your chameleon is sick”. Hana casually says, reading through the pile of reports on her desk.

Beside her, Reborn conveniently has his own box of papers, silently browsing through documents. In truth, Hana's work had significantly been lighter since Reborn started helping her run Namimori.

“Leon is not sick. He’s just in his cocoon state”. Reborn says.

Hana waits for the hitman to continue his explanation, but met with only silence, she rolls her eyes.

“Oh your Holiest, Greatest Hitman in the World, what is Leon turning into a cocoon supposed to mean?”, Hana asks with the most sarcasm she can muster.

Reborn actually turns to look at her, amused. “It means my students would die”. He says with the most casual tone.

Hana actually turns to gape at him in surprise. “What the-“

Before Hana could curse at the hitman, Reborn continues. “When my students face a great trial, Leon turns into a cocoon and creates a special item for my students to use. When Dino was in a desperate situation, Leon gave him his whip and Enzo”.

Hana stops working, approaches Reborn with a thoughtful look and even pokes Leon with a finger.

She feels Reborn watching her, but the Sun Arcobaleno doesn’t say anything.

Satisfied, Hana turns to the infant. 

“So… Enzo is Leon’s kid, huh?”. Hana asks with a deadpan stare. 

Reborn actually glares at her in annoyance.

Hana triumphantly snickers because the hitman can’t even shoot her with Leon in cocoon form. 

Reborn glares at Skull but takes the perfectly brewed espresso the stuntman hands him anyway. 

The teens are in school and Lambo, Ipin and Fuuta are taking their afternoon nap. From the living room, Reborn could hear Bianchi’s favorite afternoon soap opera. 

His mind unhelpfully wonders if Bianchi would like to consider attending a Japanese university or a high school. 

“I know you have questions, senpai, but I promise you it wasn’t even my fault this time!”. Skull quickly says.

Reborn just sighs. “I’m going to have another headache listening to this story, am I?”.

Skull smiles sheepishly. “Sort of? Well, you already heard the first part. Nana let the Mafia pick Tsuna up from school. Enemies of the Vongola. Have you ever heard of the Estraneo?”.

Reborn’s blood instantly freezes at the name he immediately recognized. 

“Estraneo? They did human experiments on their own children”.

He meets Skull’s eyes and to Reborn’s horror, the Cloud Arcobaleno only nods.

“Mukuro Rokudo was among the Estraneo’s children. Tsuna, a child-Sky, was also an even greater potential subject. In the span of a day, they’d taken him from Namimori to Italy and had him locked up in a cell. Of course, Tsuna being Tsuna, somehow decided that this was the perfect opportunity to make some new friends”.

Reborn had seen the pictures of Estraneo, or at least, what it had looked like after their destruction. He couldn’t imagine an eight year old Tsuna in the middle of it all —

“Mukuro and his friends had planned an escape on the same day that Tsuna came. Tsuna didn’t quite realize at the time what escaping from a Mafia famiglia would look like”. Skull’s frowning, now.

“None of the kids would tell me what happened, but when I found Tsuna, he was catatonic and covered in blood from head to toe”.

Reborn grimaces. “Did he…?”.

Reborn’s not a stranger to violence in the Mafia world. But he thinks about the fluffy brunette teen he’s living with and the stacks of manga he’s hidden under his bed and he just can’t imagine Tsuna ever being covered in a stranger’s blood. 

Skull gives Reborn a thin smile that sends shivers down the hitman’s spine. “Tsuna must have told you he goes to therapy”. 

Reborn just nods, trying his best to take the information in like a mission brief. Impersonal. Disconnected. It’s not an easy task, not when he can feel the anger rolling out in waves from his counterpart Cloud. 

“And Mukuro? You didn’t take them in?”.

Skull gives Reborn an are-you-serious look that the hitman would’ve shot him for even just a year ago. “You know as much as I do what kids who grew up in that part of the Mafia are like, senpai. I gave Mukuro and his friends a base in Italy and I check on them as often as I could, but that’s the best I could’ve done. I wouldn’t have done them any favors if I forced them to grow up the same way as Tsuna and his friends”.

Reborn understands completely. He’d seen it so many times. Mafia children forced into educational institutions only to end up straight in prison or dead when they inevitably turn violent over the injustice and violence of high school. 

Still, Reborn has to ask. “Vendicare?”. 

He hates the large smirk that makes its way to Skull’s face.

Reborn knows that Skull is just barely stopping himself from snickering outwardly at his perfectly-valid question.

“Mafia or not, I’m not raising them without repercussions for their mistakes, Reborn. I figured they could do well with some community service”.

Reborn had expected something insane — another strange story he’d never see coming. 

A heist gone wrong. A failed prank on the Vindice. The Estraneo’s retaliation.

But community service?

It’s so utterly civilian that it’s even more absurd .

To his own surprise, Reborn just lets out the softest laugh.

Skull turns to him with eyes as wide as saucers, that it’s enough to make Reborn actually laugh for real.

“I think we’ve officially broken you, senpai”. Skull says warily, like he’s expecting Reborn to explode any minute.

Reborn just keeps on laughing.

When Reborn said that they were going to Kokuyo Land to fight a group of escaped convicts from Vendicare, Hayato had gotten very tense and had armed himself with almost five times more than his usual amount of explosives. 

So, when he’d walked out of his room the morning of the attack, he hadn’t expected the two very large picnic baskets resting on the middle of the table and his boss dragging around what was clearly a cooler.

“Ohayou, Hayato-kun!”, Tsuna says with the mischievous cheer Hayato had come to associate with the brunette. 

“Ah, Tsuna-sama… are we going on a picnic instead?”. He hesitantly asks. 

Tsuna shakes his head. “Oh, we’re still going to Kokuyo Land. We just figured it’ll be better to have a picnic with everyone. We haven’t really seen Mukuro-kun and the others in a while”.

Right. Hayato could still remember the shock he’d felt when Tsuna admitted knowing the escaped convict from a trip to Italy when he was a child. 

Hayato had suddenly found himself very concerned about the work he’d have to do as Tsuna’s right hand man, if the brunette was so insistent on inviting every single serial killer over for tea. 

“Hayato-kun, could you please bring the cake out with you? It’s in the fridge!”. Skull shouts from the kitchen where the Arcobaleno is clearly cooking breakfast, the sound of sizzling oil in the background.

Hayato doesn’t miss a beat, moving past the dining room where Shamal and Reborn are quietly enjoying their mugs of espresso. 

Hayato even tries his best not to react when he opens the fridge and finds a SpongeBob-themed cake, pineapple house and all.

Hayato’s suddenly feeling a bit stupid he’d packed so many of his explosives when it seems like they’re going to a five year old’s birthday party instead of the battle he was promised.

There’s voices coming from the living room and Hayato carefully brings the cake out with him. 

Suddenly, he doesn’t feel that stupid anymore. 

Takeshi’s carrying his own picnic basket and Kyoko’s got a rolled-up mat with cartoon pineapples all over, but Hayato can see that they’re both definitely battle-ready even from a distance.

The katana bag slung around Takeshi’s shoulder looks unusually clean, when normally it’d look like any standard-issue baseball bat bag. 

Kyoko’s got her yawara-bo in the pouch she always keeps them, and she’s got fresh bandages wrapped around her hands. Kyoko catches him staring and winks.

“Tch, I see you took my advice”. Hayato says in greeting. The ginger beams at him, the usual sparkly smile making Hayato wince.

At the other’s questioning look, Kyoko explains. “Haya-chan gave me one of his bomb holsters so I can keep them under my sleeves instead of around my waist. He said it’ll be better for me since I usually tuck my shirt under my skirt”. 

Kyoko demonstrates by pulling up her sleeves to reveal the thin holster Hayato had made for her.

Skull had been teaching the girl to throw tiny bombs while engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Hayato hadn’t been impressed when held notice her struggling to get a bomb from under her shirt. 

Hayato just nods before glancing over at Hana. 

He smiles to himself, all traces of shame and feeling stupid gone from his system. 

After all, if even Hana’s got a knife hidden under her skirt, the battle they’re walking to must be pretty serious.

Pineapple-themed cake and picnic and all.

Funnily enough, Hayato doesn’t even feel a tad bit out of place.

Takeshi tries his best not to resent Ken as he subconsciously runs a hand over his right arm. Tsuna sends him a knowing look but the brunette only smiles. 

That’s what Takeshi liked about the brunette. He knew Takeshi entirely, even his darkest thoughts, and he’d always just greet Takeshi with the most welcoming smile.

Takeshi knew that he had been too cautious in that match, that he’d missed so many openings in Ken’s defense simply because he tried to keep his body as safe as he could for baseball. 

But the worst of it all was that Ken had known. The blonde teen had immediately caught on and slowed down and matched Takeshi’s pace instead. 

Sure, Takeshi had won the match by temporarily hitting Ken in the head in the end to knock him out, but he just can’t shake the bitter feeling that his victory was a performance at best.

It doesn’t help that Ken had immediately sat down next to Hana and Kyoko and the trio were now talking about Italian pastries.

A tiny hand offers Takeshi a yellow cupcake. “You’re looking down for someone who just won his match”. Reborn says.

“I wouldn’t call it a win, exactly”. Takeshi mumbles.

Instead of disappointment though, Reborn actually smiles. “I didn’t expect you to notice. Your perception has improved”.

At Takeshi’s surprised look, Reborn just takes a bite out of the sandwich he’s holding. “Mukuro Rokudo and his friends have been in the Mafia for a decade even though they’re the same age as you”. 

Takeshi objectively knows that. He could see it, the difference in their strength. Takeshi knew it would take him months, if not years of training before he could even stand on equal footing against Tsuna, Kyoko, even. 

“I want to get stronger”. Takeshi finds himself saying.

Reborn just gives him a look. “Your talents could bring you to higher places elsewhere, Yamamoto”.

Takeshi flinches without meaning to. The baby could see through him, as always. 

“Hey senpai, don’t say weird things to Takeshi-kun”, Skull appears from seemingly out of nowhere, his tone disapproving even behind his helmet.

“And Takeshi-kun, don’t mind Reborn-senpai, okay? You’ve been training for baseball for a long time, it wouldn’t be that easy to retrain your instincts. Want a sandwich?”.

Skull is upbeat, calming almost, that Takeshi absentmindedly accepts the offered meal. 

“And well, I should formally introduce you two. Ken! This is Yamamoto Takeshi, Takeshi, he’s Joshima Ken. I hope both of you become good friends from now on!”.

There’s a bright smile on Ken’s face, making him look unusually childish and younger. “Hey, you’re really good with that sword, byon! Better than some of the Mafia trash we’ve fought in Italy even! You’ve got great talent, byon”. 

Takeshi just laughs at the compliment. “You’re a good fighter too! This game is really fun”. He puts on the usual happy-go-lucky act instinctively, but his mind is somewhere else.

Talents.

Reborn had said. 

Takeshi knew he was talented at baseball and playing the game would take him to greater heights.

But Takeshi couldn’t help but listen to the lingering voice in the back of his mind — that he had a talent for the sword too, and maybe… the blade could just take him somewhere even farther.

There’s that mischievous glint in Reborn’s eyes that tells Takeshi his time is running out.

Sooner or later, he would have to choose.

Hayato couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like this.

“Is that all you’ve got, bastard?”. He shouts. Across him, the black-haired teen wielding yoyos only stared back quietly, but Hayato could swear he saw at least some determination in those dead eyes.

Without any warning, another volley of spikes are sent flying towards Hayato, which he quickly stops using the tiny metal bars he’d thrown in the air.

It had been Skull-san’s idea, to teach Hayato how to deflect attacks using dynamite-shaped metal bars. 

“You aim surprisingly well. If you could use your aim to deflect attacks before they hit you, you could be unstoppable”.

There’s a frustrated tch from the teen across him and Hayato actually smiles . 

He’s just getting started, after all. 

Hayato hadn’t expected it… but he’s actually having fun. To the untrained eye, Chikusa was simply throwing his yoyos around, but Hayato knew better.

It took dexterity and brilliance to calculate the linear velocity, to measure the angular momentum and speed his yoyos should have for the needles to hit their target accurately.

Hayato prided himself on his dexterity, timing, aim and accuracy… but this? 

He almost hated to admit it, but Chikusa’s fighting style was genius.

Another wave of needles come flying and Hayato easily sidesteps where he’s certain he’s not going to get hit. Unfortunately for Chikusa, Hayato is a genius too. It’s only a matter of physics, in the end.

Chikusa’s eye twitches and Hayato actually laughs.

Hayato couldn’t remember the last time he had this much fun.

Bianchi tries her hardest to ignore the pair of red eyes burning a hole at the back of her head. 

In any other occasion, Bianchi would’ve simply poisoned the perpetrator and called it a day, but Skull-san was next to her and the Cloud Arcobaleno had been very adamant that she made friends with people closer to her age.

Skull hadn’t been pleased when Bianchi had been unable to name a single acquaintance younger than twenty-one years old, aside from the Namimori kids.  

Bianchi had even heard bits and pieces of the long argument Skull had with Reborn about boundaries and exploitation, which honestly, she would just rather unhear.

Bianchi was already seventeen. She’d been a hitman since she was eleven years old on the day Hayato walked out the front door and she followed her little brother out into the streets. 

Bianchi had survived this long because she adapted quickly and grew up as fast as she could. 

She couldn’t understand what the big deal was.

Sighing, she quickly turns around, meeting red eyes that quickly turned away from her.

“If you have something to say, say it now”. She spits out. 

The girl, M.M., turns a shade red from embarrassment. Huh. After all that bravado she’d shown them earlier, Bianchi had definitely not expected the other girl to be shy. 

“I, I..”, she starts. M.M. takes a deep breath, before finally shouting out. “I’m a big fan of your work!”. 

And… what?

“The Poison Scorpion has always been my idol! I saw you at a Mafia party years back! You were only thirteen but you were very elegant and no one could take their eyes off you!”. 

Bianchi almost wonders if she’s dreaming, but the distinct pain from the bruise she got from falling over earlier confirms that she’s awake.

Unsure of how to respond, Bianchi simply says. “An effective woman assassin must be the poison herself”.

M.M. actually screams. “You’re really amazing Bianchi-san! Your makeup is flawless too… If you have time, could you teach me? I can never look as elegant or as sexy as you no matter how hard I try”. 

Bianchi meets red eyes and she can sense nothing but sincerity. 

Strange.

“My style wouldn’t suit you. You would have to find your own style”. She looks at the other girl and Bianchi finally allows herself to smile. “I can teach you, if you show me how you activate your poison from a distance”. 

M.M smiles and while she’s still as earnest as earlier, Bianchi could finally see the mischief and wickedness at the ends of her innocent grin. 

Ah, so this is what Skull-san meant when he said I needed to make friends.  

Bianchi gets it now. She loves Kyoko and Hana, and even Haru, the new girl that often drops by Skull and Tsuna’s apartment. She would call them her friends, but there would always be parts of her that she couldn’t share with them. Parts of her that come from living and thriving in the Underworld.

M.M. wasn’t as renowned as the Poison Scorpion, but she was fifteen and she had grown up in the Mafia just as much as Bianchi had.

There were simply some things that only they would understand.

They start talking about makeup and all the strange couples at last year’s Mafia ball and Bianchi smiles.

Having a friend closer to her age doesn’t seem so bad anymore.

Hana and Kyoko are best friends. That’s a fact. Anyone from Namimori could attest to the fact that the Kurokawa girl and the Sasagawa girl had always been joined at the hip.

When Kyoko became friends with Tsuna, Hana befriended the brunette too, doubtful she might’ve been of his potential at first.

When Hana started getting tutoring sessions from Skull, Kyoko requested that she get tutoring sessions too. 

When Kyoko started learning how to do martial arts, Hana started learning how to wield a knife.

Unmistakably, best friends.

Of course, the truth was far more complicated. Because while it’s true that Hana and Kyoko were inseparable, it wasn’t because they preferred the other’s company over anything else.

No. 

Hana and Kyoko were rivals. 

Their friendship was born from sheer determination to never be outsmarted, outmatched or outdone by the other. 

Of course, time had revealed that Kyoko and Hana’s talents lay in very different areas and slowly, the competition subsided and made way for the peaceful partnership they had today. But sometimes, every now and then, a special occasion would wake the rivalry between Sasagawa Kyoko and Kurokawa Hana.

For example, a battle over who could defeat more opponents quicker . 

The Bloody Twins and Birds didn’t even stand a chance. 

“He fell because of my knife”. Hana argues, pointing conveniently to where said knife had hit its target.

“He only fell because I hit him so many times!”, Kyoko defends, gesturing to the numerous bruises marking said target’s skin.

“Last hit gets counted”. Hana dismisses.

“That’s called stealing and you know it”. Kyoko fights back. 

The girls had both taken a twin on each, and now they were arguing over the contested defeater of Birds.

They’re still deep in the middle of their argument when a large, wrecking ball comes flying from nowhere, the pair only narrowly dodging the attack.

Instead of fear or confusion, Hana and Kyoko only smile at the same time.

From where he’s watching, Tsuna shudders and prays for the tattooed man’s soul. 

Reborn tries to sneak a subtle glance towards his fellow Arcobaleno, only to find himself disappointed seeing the very familiar helmet on the Cloud’s head.

Skull hadn’t worn the damn thing in ages, so he’s not entirely sure why Skull had decided to wear the thing today, of all days.

Reborn would love to at least see Skull’s reactions at the sheer chaos that was unfolding before him. 

Reborn hadn’t expected any of the events so far. He hadn’t expected either Chikusa or Ken to be very close with the Namimori kids, and he hadn’t expected their presence to stir something up in both Takeshi and Hayato. Even the other kid, who none of the others had even met before but was now taking up space like she’d been part of the group forever, M.M., had been a pleasant surprise for Bianchi.

Reborn would also like to ask a hundred questions about the utter lack of reaction on both Hana and Kyoko’s faces after they’d both disarmed the Bloody Twins and Birds – probably permanently at that. 

Nothing about the other kids’ backgrounds had suggested any exposure to murder and maiming sketchy characters, but the lack of reaction on all their faces bar Takeshi suggested a far more sinister history than Skull was letting on. 

Thus, Reborn’s irritation at the fact he couldn’t read said Cloud at all. 

Skull, who had actually intervened with a ball of Cloud flames stopping Hana and Kyoko from hurting Lancia far more than necessary.

“You both need to work on your observation skills, Hana-chan, Kyoko-chan. He closed his eyes every time he was about to attack”. Skull said. 

That was enough for the man to break out of the mind-control he’d been subjected to, apparently, and began talking about Mukuro wiping out his entire famiglia. 

Tsuna and the others were frowning throughout the story, but Reborn couldn’t sense any fear or indignation from any of the teens.

He was hoping for a reaction from Skull, but was very much disappointed when all Skull said was, “That sounds like Mukuro, alright”. Reborn then witnessed a quiet Chikusa swiftly send needles flying at Lancia, putting the older man to sleep.

Tsuna doesn’t even blink. Instead, the brunette smiles, turns to his friends and with a light laugh, actually jokes. 

“On to the lion’s den we go, huh?”, Tsuna says, casually pointing to the building ahead.

So they walk on. Reborn listens to the conversations but there’s nothing out-of-the-ordinary. In fact, it’s almost like they’re just walking through school. Tsuna, Ken and Chikusa are even talking about some manga they’d all started reading together.

They reach the second floor of the building and they start hearing the familiar sounds of a battlefield. 

They’re a few steps away when Leon, silent and cocooned all day, lets out a blinding white light emerging with brand new weapons.

Reborn internally curses.

“Leon made these gloves for you, Tsuna”. He says, trying his best not to mind the fact that his pet chameleon decided to give the insane teen wool mittens , of all things.

Tsuna looks at the mittens for a second, before he cackles like a deranged madman. The teen actually meets his chameleon’s eyes. 

Since when did Leon and Tsuna even get close?

“Aww, thanks Leon. These are really cute. Mukuro-kun and Kyoya-kun would never see my punches coming”.

Leon, the traitor, actually purrs at the teen. 

Tsuna swiftly puts the mittens on, skipping excitedly forward and nonchalantly activating familiar orange flames.

“Having fun without me?”, Reborn hears Tsuna ask in a very unfamiliar, sassy tone that he’d never have associated with the fluffy, brunette teen he’d come to know. 

Infuriatingly, Reborn still couldn’t see any of Skull’s reactions under the damn helmet. 

Reborn knows for a fact that he, himself, is gaping openly when the world explodes into vibrant Sky, Cloud and Mist flames.

Tsuna tries his best to stifle his laughter as he watches Skull put a pineapple-patterned bandaid on the gash on Mukuro’s cheek.

“Honestly, Mu-kun, do you always have to be so flashy?”. Skull asks. 

Mukuro just gives Skull a brilliant, flattering smile. “I learned from the best, Cloud Arcobaleno”. 

Skull just sighs, before moving on to inspect Kyoya, lying unconscious next to Mukuro. “And Tsu-kun, what did I say about punching people?”. 

Tsuna tries to look guilty, but he knows that the wide grin on his face betrays him. “They started it?”. 

Seeing that it was safe and Mukuro, Kyoya and Tsuna won’t break out into another round of fights, the rest of Tsuna’s friends head straight into the room.

“Hi Mukuro-kun! It’s been a while!”. Kyoko warmly greets the purple-haired teen. 

Ken and Chikusa glance at Mukuro’s injuries, before kneeling down next to Kyoya’s unconscious form.

“That’s probably nine to eight, now? With Mukuro-sama winning?”. Chikusa asks, while Hana nods. 

“He’s going to be in a foul mood all week for sure”. Hana mutters under his breath.

“Kufufufu, Tsunayoshi-kun cheated after all. He used an overpowered weapon to fight us”. 

Tsuna pouts, glaring at Mukuro in offense. “I did not! They’re just wooly mittens, see?”. Tsuna actually proudly holds up Leon’s creation for the illusionist to see.

In his defense, they were actually soft, fluffy and warm.

“Mukuro-kun has a point, Tsu-kun. Your weapon was a gift from Reborn-san”. Kyoko says, and Tsuna pretends to be betrayed. 

“The Sun Arcobaleno?”, Mukuro asks with actual interest. 

Tsuna sighs when Reborn chooses this moment to make his grand entrance. “Ciaossu, Mukuro Rokudo. I am Reborn. Tsunayoshi’s home tutor”. 

Mukuro just blinks at the baby, turning to Skull slowly, before turning back to face Reborn. “So you’re the annoying bastard senpai who always orders Skull-san around like he’s the most important person in the world?”.

Tsuna has to hold himself back from rolling in laughter when Reborn’s face quickly shifts from smug to blank to utterly confused. 

Across him, Skull is already quickly protesting, stuttering as he gives Mukuro a long lecture about manners and not-insulting-people-you’ve-just-met. 

“Anyway, Mukuro-kun, it’s not like I’m the only one with new weapons. Your trident is different too, isn’t it?”, Tsuna asks.

Mukuro instantly turns serious. 

“We left the Vindice because the Bloody Twins claimed they escaped from the Estraneo. We followed them to a facility and found that they’d been continuing their experiments. They’ve been making more of these”.

Skull gasps. “I thought we destroyed all that they had left”. 

Mukuro shakes his head. “They’re still making more, Skull-san. And the trident, it’s connected to the bullets somehow. Anyone who comes in contact with the trident, can be possessed. Lancia’s former family were responsible for the factory manufacturing the bullets”.

“Do you have the location and names of the famiglia involved?”. Reborn interjects. Mukuro sends Skull a questioning look, but the stuntman only nods.

“Reborn-senpai can help us look into it, Mukuro-kun”. Skull confirms.

Tsuna meets Mukuro’s eyes and in the span of seconds, they have a quiet conversation. By the end of the discussion, Mukuro is wearing an amused expression on his face.

Tsuna knows for a fact they’ve come to the same conclusion.

“It looks like you’ve been very busy, Tsunayoshi-kun. I see you’ve recruited new… people”. Mukuro tells Tsuna, and the brunette just smiles brightly. 

“Yep. Mukuro-kun, I’d like you to meet Bianchi-san, Takeshi-kun and Hayato-kun!”. Tsuna says, pointing to his new friends.

“Kufufu, and how exactly, did you meet these new friends of yours, Tsunayoshi-kun?”. Mukuro asks with a challenging tone and Tsuna actually freezes.

Kyoko snickers. “The proven and tested method, of course”.

Mukuro gives Tsuna a threatening smile. “Kufufufu, how many life-threatening scenarios have you had since the last time we saw each other, Tsunayoshi-kun?”.

Tsuna pouts. 

It’s not entirely his fault if he kept on finding his lifelong friends in the most absurd and dangerous situations. 

Reborn sighs in relief as the chaotic trip ends and the teens finally settle into drinking more tea and eating cake together in the surprisingly undestroyed recreation room. 

He’s still in the middle of thinking that the day is finally over and he can start working on his report, when chills run down his spine at the feeling of imminent danger.

And cold. Freezing air coming from nowhere.

It’s the first time Skull takes off his helmet.

“Mukuro Rokudo”. A voice bellows.

Reborn freezes, instantly recognizing the source. Vindice. 

Reborn quickly reacts to stop his student from doing anything, but he realizes too late he stopped the wrong target. 

Skull quickly jumped to defend the teen from the incoming chains. Reborn catches himself staring.Skull is coated in heavy, suffocating Cloud flames from head to toe, an uncharacteristic frown on his face.

Mukuro looks hesitant for the first time and even the other teens are tense.

There’s silence, before the mysterious fog reveals cloaked individuals wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

“Cloud Arcobaleno. Your ward abandoned his station in Vendicare and committed crimes against the Mafia. Do you stand against judgement?”.

To Reborn’s abject horror, Skull actually scoffs. “I think what you mean, Jack, is that my ward actually did the Vindice’s job by tracking the Estraneo who escaped judgement”. 

The Vindice stays quiet for too long. Reborn readies himself for an all-out-fight. Damn Skull.

“Do you have evidence supporting your claim, Cloud Arcobaleno?”. Jack asks.

Skull turns silently to Mukuro and the teen hands him a box which Skull opens to reveal possession bullets. 

“Tell Bermuda he owes me one”. Skull casually says and to Reborn’s surprise, the Vindice actually nods.

Skull gestures to Mukuro to stand and the teen obeys. “My ward will return with you to complete his service. I expect he will not be harmed”. 

Jack nods and gestures at Mukuro to take his hand.

Mukuro glares at Skull, but bravely follows the Vindice anyway, with a slight wave of goodbye towards Tsunayoshi and his friends.

They disappear in a freezing fog as quickly as they came, and Reborn releases a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. 

“Skull, what was that?”. He grits out at the Cloud, who turns to look at him with the usual mischievous grin. 

“Ah, you didn’t recognize the Vindice, senpai?”, Skull teases and it takes all of Reborn’s effort not to throttle the infuriating Arcobaleno.

“What business do you have with the Vindice?”. He asks.

Reborn instantly regrets it. Skull’s expression turns cold and his eyes suddenly look distant as if reliving a secret memory. He’s smiling darkly again, before Reborn could even comment.

“Come on, senpai. The Great Skull-sama has friends everywhere ”. Skull says with the usual joking tone, but Reborn could hear the threat lurking underneath. 

He sighs, unwilling to let this go, but Skull had always been stubborn, even when he’d known him as nothing more than a lackey.

Hesitantly, he lets it go. Skull gives him a grateful smile but it only makes Reborn feel all the more bitter.

“Right, it’s getting late and you kids should be going home now”. Skull declares and obediently, the kids start packing away their things. 

Reborn keeps a careful eye on Skull and the teens, but he doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Skull does take note of Ken, Chikusa and M.M’s worried expressions, and casually assures the teens that “Mukuro could take care of himself and the Vindice would never go back on a promise”.

Tsuna even joins in eventually. “If Mukuro-kun could escape them once, I’m sure he would do it twice just to prove that he can”.

That, at least, makes Chikusa and Ken smile.

Walking back, the kids don’t talk anything out of the ordinary. Ito-san’s holding pottery classes over the weekend and Takeshi, Bianchi and Hana are planning to go. 

No one mentions the Vindice. Or the Mafia. Or Birds and the Bloody Twins.

Reborn notes that Skull pointedly makes an effort not to meet his eyes.

Things weren’t adding up.

Reborn had some researching to do.

Chapter Text

Flashback

It’s near the end of March and next week, Tsuna would be starting fourth grade. For once, he's actually excited. Third grade had definitely been Tsuna’s best year yet. 

Sure, bullies were still after him, but most of the time, they couldn’t even catch him because he finally learned how to run thanks to Skull. 

Tsuna could even talk with Kyoko-chan without stuttering now, and he could even say they’ve become acquaintances. (Skull taught him the big word). 

So Tsuna’s skipping home happily, when his intuition starts screaming at him. 

Someone screams in the distance.

Tsuna doesn’t know what compels him to run towards the sound instead of away, but his tiny legs are taking him to an empty alleyway as fast as they could.

He arrives there just in time to see a silver-haired kid doing his best to fight three junior high school kids —-

“Kyoko-chan!”. Tsuna recognizes her immediately. She’s crying and she’s scared and something like warm fire ignites in Tsuna’s soul.

“Tsuna-kun! You have to help my brother!”. Kyoko pleads and Tsuna doesn’t even have to think twice. 

With all the speed and strength his tiny self could muster, Tsuna tackles one of the teens to the ground.

The other kid manages to take one down but it’s still two against one.

Tsuna runs to help the silver-haired boy and together, they manage to bring another teen to the ground. 

Tsuna’s intuition screams and he grabs the other kid’s hand. 

“Run!”. Tsuna shouts.

He takes Kyoko’s hand in the other, and he drags the siblings away from the battle scene.

Minutes later, they’re in front of the Sawada house, covered in scrapes and bruises.

There’s a small cut above the other boy's eyebrow that's bleeding, but Tsuna's intuition gently lets him know that the other kid would be okay. 

In fact, the kid looked more than okay. He's wearing a huge grin on his face as he looks Tsuna up and down.

“Extreme! You fight really well! You’re an extreme guy!”. He shouts.

Tsuna gives the other boy a shy smile. “I’m Tsuna”. 

“Extreme! Tsuna! I’m Ryohei Sasagawa! Let’s be extreme friends!”.

Something clicks in Tsuna’s soul and he just knows that Ryohei belongs.

Tsuna takes Ryohei’s outstretched hand. 

He’s starting fourth grade next week, and everything is starting to feel like it’s going to get even better

Four years later 

“Congratulations on moving up, Tsu”. Skull says and Tsuna beams.

It’s his first day of second year middle school. He’s ready to skip out the front door, but then he notices the expression on Skull’s face.

“Skull? Are you okay? Is anything wrong?”.

Skull only shakes his head but the sad expression doesn't completely disappear. “You’ve gotten so tall”. He says softly.

Ah. Tsuna should've realized earlier. He sits next to Skull, trying to match the Arcobaleno's height.

“I’m still the shortest boy in my class”. He says with a small smile.

Skull snorts. “You know what I mean, Tsuna”.

Skull's not usually one for sentimentality, but even Tsuna has to admit -- he'd really grown up a lot since he and Skull first met. 

“Sorry I can’t be a baby forever like you”. 

Skull fakes a gasp at the below-the-belt joke.  Tsuna gets a light smack for that but Skull ends up laughing all the same.

The stuntman gives Tsuna a good, long look, searching for his words before finally settling. “I’m proud of you, Tsu. You grew up really well”. 

Tsuna just blushes. “You say that all the time”.

“Hey! It’s true. The Great Skull-sama doesn’t give praises out lightly, you know!”.

“Whatever you say, Skull”.

Tsuna's trying to be nonchalant about it, bending down to put on his shoes, all in the vain attempt to hide his reddening cheeks from the strange warmth blooming from his chest. 

“Thank y-“, Tsuna tries to say but then his voice cracks and he ends up a stuttering mess instead.

Screw puberty. 

Skull is finally laughing, any hint of sadness gone from the stuntman’s face.

Tsuna covers his red face, complaining about Skull always teasing him.

"You'll be late for school, kid". Skull says in the end.

Tsuna rolls his eyes, a strange feeling as he turns towards the door. 

"Ittekimasu", Tsuna makes sure to meet Skull's eyes.

“I’m glad you grew up well.” Skull says.

Tsuna just nods, still blushing.

It’s all thanks to you. 

He wants to say.

Hana’s not even the slightest bit fazed when she finds Reborn drinking a cup of espresso and helping himself to scrambled eggs in the Kurokawa dining room that morning. 

“Hi Leon”, she makes a point to greet the tiny lizard instead, who immediately jumps towards her and rests on her hair.

Reborn doesn't pull any stops. “In Kokuyo, that wasn’t the first time you killed someone”. He lays out. 

Hana doesn’t even flinch. She continues to pack away the usual jug of tea and coffee for today’s lunch. 

“I thought the World’s Greatest Hitman didn’t ask obvious questions”. Hana snarks. If she's going to be forced to deal with Reborn in the morning, well, Reborn would have to deal with her as well. 

“When did you first kill someone?”. The question comes as casually as asking about the weather.

“Four years ago”. 

If Reborn’s surprised that she’s answering his questions, he doesn’t show it at all on his face.

“Why would a ten year old civilian kill anyone?.” 

Hana shrugs. “Why would the Vongola leave one of its heirs unprotected?”. 

Reborn flinches. Hana smiles.

“Skull-san did his best to take care of us, Reborn-san. But he’s just one Arcobaleno and barely even Mafia”. 

Reborn doesn’t even react, but Hana can see his grip on the mug tighten. 

“Kyoko and I were kidnapped in fifth grade because we were friends with Sawada. Sawada and Hibari tried to rescue us, but the assassins were too strong”.  

Reborn doesn’t look so amused anymore. “Assassins should have never gotten into Namimori, let alone be able to kidnap children”.

Hana gives Reborn her darkest smile. “Well, Skull-san shouldn’t have been able to find Sawada as easily as he did either”. 

“This wasn’t in the reports”. Reborn mutters more to himself, but Hana hears him anyway.

“Do you know how many guards the Vongola sent to look after Iemitsu Sawada’s family?”. Hana asks.

Reborn grimaces, already knowing the answer. 

“We know what Namimori is , Reborn-san. It shouldn’t be surprising that we grew up how we did”.

Reborn tips his fedora in acknowledgement. The hitman grows quiet. Hana finishes packing her lunch.

“If you’re late for school, you might not see whether you and the others are all in the same class”. Reborn says after a long time and Hana laughs.

“Reborn-san, you already know we’re running the town. Do you really think we wouldn’t be beyond blackmailing all our teachers to put us in the same class?”.

Finally, Reborn reacts. His eye twitches and he lets out an actual sigh of exasperation.

Hana smiles.

Today is going to be a good day.

Reborn warily watches the pair drinking tea on the rooftop of Namimori Middle, both equally silent for the last fifteen minutes they’ve been staring at each other. 

“I heard you’re not going to high school”. Skull finally breaks the silence. 

Kyoya’s eyes narrow. “I am not restrained by petty things like logic. I can choose to be in whichever grade I want”. 

Skull maintains his poker face. If Reborn hadn’t believed Skull in the past when the stuntman had claimed to be an actor, he definitely believes him now. 

“If I win, you will enroll yourself in high school and do your school work”.

That definitely catches Kyoya’s attention. To Reborn’s surprise, Kyoya actually hesitates despite the shiny opportunity to beat someone up dangling right in front of him. 

“Namimori Middle is my territory”. 

Right. Reborn has definitely stepped into an alternate dimension because the Hibari Kyoya just turned down a fight. 

“And that wouldn’t change, as long as you enroll yourself in high school and study”. Skull repeats.

Kyoya gives Skull a long look. “You’re not asking me to attend my classes?”. 

Skull actually scoffs. “I would not restrain a cloud to a classroom, but your stubbornness doesn’t excuse you from obtaining an education , Kyoya”.

Something like understanding dawns in Kyoya’s eyes and immediately the teen gives Skull a single nod.

“I will accept these conditions if you win, carnivore”.

Skull actually laughs, before promptly bursting out into a huge ball of purple cloud flames.

Reborn barely has any time to jump out of the sudden war zone.

The first day of classes in Namimori Middle were cancelled due to issues with the building’s structural integrity and mysterious explosions that led to the evacuation of the entire block. 

Growing up, Tsuna had gotten used to living in two different houses. When he was a kid, he used to stay in the Sawada household more often and living with Skull was like a vacation.

In time, Skull made more of an effort to be with Tsuna at least eight months out of twelve in a year, which was the longest time he could be absent from the Italian Mafia.

So, Tsuna had known that Skull would be leaving eventually, especially since he hadn’t gone on a single job for the last seven months. 

Of course, objectively knowing and subjectively accepting were two very different things. 

“Do you really have to go?”. Tsuna quietly asks. Skull just stares at him, amused.

“Is it a really important job?”, Tsuna asks again and this time, Skull laughs.

“It’s my only job this year, Tsuna, don’t worry. I just need to do something flashy so the Mafia doesn’t go looking for me in places they shouldn’t”. 

Tsuna’s about to pout, thinking about how he’d have to pack all of his things and clean up his bedroom back at the Sawada house… only to suddenly realize he didn’t have to anymore.

“Could I stay here?”, he excitedly asks.

Skull just smiles. “Of course”. 

Tsuna mentally celebrates.

He always needed to go back whenever Skull left because he’d be a kid living in an apartment alone, but with Hayato, Bianchi, Reborn, Dino, Shamal and the other kids around, Tsuna wasn’t exactly on his own anymore. 

“It’s like you’re celebrating that I’m leaving, Tsu”. Skull teases and Tsuna just laughs.

“Bring home some souvenirs, Skull”.

Skull pokes his cheek. “Cheeky brat. Don’t get into trouble, okay?”.

“If I do get into trouble, it’d be your fault because you left me without supervision”. 

Kyoko feels the familiar darkness of Reborn’s flames even before she feels the hitman perching on her shoulder.

“Ciaossu”. He says. 

“Not with Hana-chan today, Reborn-san?”. She casually asks, already knowing the hitman’s answer. 

Hana had warned her earlier, after all. Reborn was snooping around town.

“Why did you become friends with Tsuna?”. 

Kyoko just smiles. “We had things we wanted to protect together”.

Out of nowhere, Kyoya suddenly appears, cutting off Reborn’s next words. 

The boy simply hands over a box full of DVDs and a few tapes. “He’s finished them all.” 

Kyoko quietly takes the box, smiling as she read quickly through the movie titles. “We’re taking him to the beach next Saturday. He wants to see you and Tsuna”. She says.

Kyoya purses his lips but he only nods, before wordlessly walking away.

Reborn knew that Kyoko and Kyoya were friends, but he hadn't known that the two actively sought each other out enough to trade movie tapes with each other. That, and the conversation's implication of a third friend, outside of Tsuna and Hana. 

“Who is he? ”, Reborn asks, intrigued. 

Kyoko just hums, thinking of an answer. “Ne, Reborn-san, have you ever wondered why Kyoya doesn’t want to leave Namimori Middle?”.

Reborn doesn't quite know. He doesn't even have a guess beyond the usual rumored Cloud's territorial tendencies 

“I heard that Hana-chan told you we got kidnapped by assassins. Do you know where they kept us, Reborn-san?”.

Reborn doesn't like the conclusion he immediately arrives to. He glances at Kyoko and sees an unusually grim expression on her face. 

Kyoko lets out a soft chuckle anyway. “Namimori Middle gets really dark at night, did you know?”.

Reborn doesn’t ask any more questions. 

Kyoko thanks him anyway, for walking her home. 

Reborn watches his student walk around Namimori like a true Mafia boss. 

He watches the boy solicit protection money from shops, help older ladies cross the street and hold casual conversation with a few aunties in the market.

It's nothing out of the ordinary, but Reborn knows he doesn't have the full story, not yet.

They walk down an empty street. It's the perfect opportunity for the hitman.

“Hana and Kyoko would do well in the Mafia”. Reborn tries to get a reaction from his student first.

Instead, Tsuna just nods. “Given the chance, they’d rule the Mafia”. 

Reborn glares at his student. He wasn't in the mood to play games. 

But Tsuna only raises his hands in surrender. “Okay. What do you know?”.  

Reborn raises his eyebrow at the teen's unexpected cooperation, before listing down what he does know. “Hana and Kyoko were kidnapped and hidden in Namimori Middle. You and Kyoya went to rescue them. I’m guessing you fought and killed the assassins after you”. 

Tsuna nods. “That’s pretty much it for the most part”.

Reborn gives his student another stern glare. "But?".

Tsuna doesn't answer immediately. “There were five of us”. He says after a long time. 

Reborn sharply turns to Tsuna in surprise.  

“Before Kyoko-chan and I became close friends, I was friends with a boy who shone as bright as the sun. Onii-san . You probably know his name. Ryohei”.

Reborn freezes at the name. Ryohei Sasagawa. Kyoko’s older brother.

“Onii-san and I became friends after we beat up a bunch of high school kids that took Kyoko hostage after school one day. In time, onii-san became friends with Kyoya too because they both loved fighting. The three of us did everything together. Onii-san was the one who taught me how to fight and punch, you know. He always said he’d start a boxing club in middle school and we would all become members.”

Tsuna sighs, a sad smile on his face. “In school, though, we were in different grades. That’s why I spent most of my time with Hana-chan and Kyoko-chan and why the assassins targeted the girls instead of Nii-san or Kyoya. Ryohei-nii was the first to find out because Kyoko-chan didn’t get home. And nii-san has always been the type of person to act first before thinking. He went to fight them on his own. Kyoya and I found out hours later”.

They’re in an empty park now. Tsuna sits on a swing and stares at the ground.

Reborn doesn’t quite like where the story is going.

“We were too late, of course. Nii-san fought them all but he ended up in a coma for a month and his injuries were so severe he couldn’t even move for a year. He’s still in rehab, even now because he still can't walk and he still gets sick often. Hana-chan ended up stabbing one of the assassins to save the three of them and Kyoko-chan managed to unlock her flames”. 

Four years ago. Reborn tries to think of the teens as tiny ten year olds standing up against trained Mafia killers. They weren’t all intact, but it’s a miracle in itself that they all survived.

“We didn’t want to just sit around after that. When Skull heard what happened, he decided we needed to learn how to fight because we weren’t escaping the Mafia anyway, not with Kyoko-chan's flames and my Vongola blood. Kyoya and Kyoko-chan hated what happened to nii-san the most, so the both of them started protecting Namimori obsessively, trying to clean the Mafia out of it. You could imagine that when Skull told us all Namimori was basically a Mafia town, they weren't happy at all. It's why we took over the entire place”.

Tsuna looks at Reborn. “Other assassins came later, but we knew how to deal with them by then. Kyoko-chan and Kyoya usually take care of most of them, but Hana-chan and I needed to handle a few every now and then. Skull never actually told me how many he took care of before… everything”. 

Reborn covers his eyes with his fedora. “The assassins shouldn’t have been able to find you”.

And that's the truth. While it's true Namimori is a Mafia town where Vongola-sponsored retirees and their families hide and live the rest of their lives in seclusion from Italian mafia enemies, CEDEF should have kept Tsunayoshi's existence in the town a complete secret considering the blood that ran through the boy's veins. For targeted and well-orchestrated assassination plans to have taken place... 

Tsuna laughs. ”I heard Hana asked you, Reborn. How many guards did the Vongola send to protect me?"

Zero. 

Reborn already knows that. He thought it'd made sense at the time because Tsunayoshi's existence was supposed to be a secret. But it's clear now, from the kids' stories, that information about the Vongola's last heir had somehow made its way to hands of rookie assassins, green enough to be defeated by a trio of ten year olds. 

The sardonic smirk on Tsuna's face looks so off it makes Reborn pause. Tsuna meets his eyes and the blank expression sends chills down Reborn's spine. " Honestly, I think Hana-chan was asking the wrong question. Do you know how many assassins the Vongola sent instead, Reborn?”.

Reborn realizes for the hundredth time -- he's missing a significant amount of information and he's going through this mission like a fish out of water.

Skull has only been gone for a week, but Tsuna feels like the Cloud Arcobaleno has been gone for a year. 

Tsuna hadn’t realized how much work it took to manage his friends, the kids and the town. 

Somehow, Lambo had broken into the locked closet in the Sawada house where Tsuna had stored all his weapons and had taken out the ten-year-bazooka.

They were all supposed to go to the water park to teach the kids how to swim today, but Lambo ended up throwing a tantrum over wanting more takoyaki.

“Lambo, we’ll look for takoyaki later, okay, just please! Weapons aren’t allowed inside the house, remember?”. Tsuna slowly tries to calm the crying kid, but Lambo doesn’t listen.

“Baka Tsuna! Lambo-san doesn’t want to go!” Lambo screams. 

Tsuna sighs in exasperation, chancing a glance at Fuuta and Ipin, calmly waiting in the living room and all ready to head to the water park.

“Lambo, we have to go. Everyone’s waiting for us”. It’s the wrong thing to say. Lambo only ends up crying harder. 

“Lambo-san doesn’t like you, Baka Tsuna! Skull would make takoyaki for Lambo-san. Lambo-san wants Skull!”.

Tsuna feels his patience crack. The endless crying is giving him a headache, and honestly, Tsuna would rather not deal with Lambo either. 

Ipin’s losing her patience too. “Lambo! You must not be a problem to others!”. She shouts.

Real tears well up in Lambo’s eyes now and Tsuna watches Lambo finally lose all reason. Tsuna doesn't even have time to react

Lambo fires the bazooka on himself, and the entire room is blanketed in pink smoke.

“Ara, I haven’t been in the past in ages”. Tsuna hears an unfamiliar deep voice and he finds himself eye to eye with a raven haired-teen wearing a cow patterned shirt. 

He might’ve grown years older and his expressions were definitely more matured, but Tsuna could recognize those eyes anywhere. 

“Lambo?”. 

The teen blinks at Tsuna, before bursting into a huge smile. “Tsuna-nii! You’re so tiny! Hana-nee always said you were short back then but I didn’t know she meant you were this small!”.

Tsuna turns red immediately. Lambo stands up and Tsuna turns even redder when he realizes he barely reaches the other teen’s shoulders.

“I’m surprised that I’m in the past. You and Skull never let me use my weapons as a kid”. Lambo says, looking around the house with a soft smile. He even waves to Fuuta and Ipin.

Tsuna gives the teen a calculating look. “I’m glad you outgrew your tantrums, at least”. He says.

Lambo only laughs and winks at Tsuna. “Really? I was just about to steal some of Haya-nii’s dynamite. It’s always fun to see him accuse and fight with Kyoko-nee. They don't even suspect me”. He finishes with a toothy grin.  

Tsuna pales at Lambo’s words before protesting. “Lambo! You’ve got to stop giving me more work!”. 

Lambo cackles in a way eerily similar to Tsuna’s own mad scientist laugh that it makes the brunette pause and look at the grinning kid . “I always loved spending chaotic days with you and the others, you know. Even when I was younger than everyone else. I miss you Tsuna-nii”. 

Before Tsuna could react, pink smoke fills the room once more and older Lambo is replaced by his younger self.

Lambo looks calmer now and is quietly eating a box of takoyaki.

Tsuna kneels down. Lambo flinches when he sees Tsuna, trying to hide his snack. 

“Are you ready to go now, Lambo-kun?”. He gently asks, trying to hide his impatience.

Seeing that he isn’t in trouble, Lambo slowly nods.

Tsuna sighs in relief.

He’s not the most patient person quite yet and Tsuna knows he’s got a long way to go before he’s even remotely the big brother Lambo remembers him to be. 

But Tsuna remembers silver hair and the burning resolve of grey eyes and he realizes that he’s got much to live up to if he ever wants to be deserving of the title Tsuna-nii.

Reborn couldn’t help but notice that Tsuna’s unusually nervous, walking slowly and hesitantly to Namimori beach. It was a stark contrast to the usual teen Reborn had watched walk to face serial killers ( like himself) with the confidence of a madman. 

The beach is empty when they arrive, save for a quiet group of three teens. Reborn immediately recognizes Kyoya and Kyoko.

The third must be Ryohei. 

“Hi, Nii-san”, Tsuna is quiet, almost shy. 

There’s a bright smile on Ryohei’s face. Reborn had expected a thin, gloomy boy.

Instead, he’s faced with a definitely thin, definitely sick, but resolute teen. Ryohei’s eyes glow with resolve and Reborn could even see faint wisps of Sun flames emanating from the boy sitting on a wheel chair. 

He’s something special for sure, Reborn couldn’t help but think.

“Oy! Tsuna! It’s nice to see you to the extreme!”. 

His volume is definitely something special too.

Reborn watches Ryohei scream his lungs out at an overwhelmed Tsunayoshi. Eventually, Reborn takes pity on his student and intervenes.

“Ciaossu”. 

Ryohei instantly turns to him.

“I’m Reborn! Tsuna’s home tutor”. He says.

Reborn would’ve thought it impossible, but Ryohei shines even brighter. “Extreme! You’re the Reborn who’s been training Tsuna! My little brother has been much stronger lately thanks to you!”.

Tsuna blushes.

Kyoko starts a conversation about Reborn’s weirdly effective training methods.

Tsuna sighs in relief, appreciating the sudden flow of conversation.

Reborn listens to Kyoko and Tsuna recount tales of his torturing methods, snorting at some of their vivid descriptions. 

The hitman is very surprised, when of all people, it's Kyoya that cuts them off.  

“Herbivore. Your tea”. The raven says out of the blue.

Reborn is treated to the surprising image of one Hibari Kyoya gently handing over a cup of tea to another person. 

Ryohei doesn't even react. In fact, none of the things do. It's with amusement that Reborn notes that this must happen often enough for it to be common between them.

“Oy! Kyoya. You know I extremely don’t like black tea!”. Ryohei complains.

If anyone else had done that, Kyoya would’ve properly bit them to death , but instead, the skylark just gives Ryohei a sharp look before switching the tea with something else.

Reborn feels like he just stepped into an alternate dimension.

To Reborn’s utter horror, Ryohei slings an arm around Hibari Kyoya’s shoulder, and begins screaming .

“Extreme! We definitely should go out drinking sake someday!”.

If anyone else had propositioned Hibari Kyoya to a drinking session , Reborn would have already started preparing the casket. 

To Ryohei, though, Kyoya doesn’t even wince. Instead the teen scoffs and smirks. “Herbivore, I only drink with people who aren’t confined to the hospital”.

Tsuna and Kyoko don’t seem as impressed. 

“Nii-san, you can’t be thinking about drinking when you’re not entirely off your medication yet”. Tsuna scolds.

Ryohei laughs him off. 

Kyoko isn’t as gentle. She actually shoves Ryohei off his wheelchair making her brother yelp in surprise. Kyoya sends her a disapproving glare. 

The teens argue about everything and nothing at all. Reborn listens to his students and smiles as Tsuna slowly grew less hesitant.

By sunset, the four of them are bickering like there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Laughing at inside jokes even Skull probably wouldn’t be able to follow. 

Kyoya’s the one who inevitably stands and cuts the moment short, just when it’s starting to get too dark to see anything beyond a few feet. 

“It’s freezing, herbivore”. 

Ryohei just laughs, and that’s that. 

Tsuna is completely silent as they walk home. Reborn takes one look at his student and he can already tell that the boy is barely holding back his tears. 

“Dame-Tsuna”, Reborn softly says, the nickname more fond than insulting. “It wasn’t your fault”. 

Tsuna just shakes his head, muttering. “They wouldn’t have hurt onii-san if we weren’t friends”.

Reborn couldn’t say it wasn’t true because everyone knew the Mafia worked that way.

Reborn wonders what Skull would say. 

“You’re stronger now. All of you. Ryohei’s family and family protects each other, Tsuna”.

Tsuna only nods, but for a moment, he does look at Reborn with just the tiniest bit more respect. 

The house is silent, all its residents asleep save for one.

The hitman is sitting outside on the balcony, quietly talking on his phone.

“Could you get me tickets? It would be good training for the Vongola Tenth”. He says to the person at the end of the other line.

“And you’re sure there’s going to be an invasion?”

Reborn listens quietly, but the smirk on its face grows more devilish with each passing second 

“Yeah. We’ll be there. Ciaossu”.

The call ends. 

Reborn smiling to himself alone on a quiet night could only mean one thing.

Chaos.

Chapter Text

Flashback

Instinctively, Tsuna grabs the groceries off the counter and says a quick ‘thank you’, to Matsuda-san. 

Skull is already walking ahead, talking about his dinner menu for the evening with Mukuro dropping by from Italy. 

The boys are staying in Japan for a week for Tsuna’s eleventh birthday. Tsuna’s just smiling, thinking about the chaos.

Still, he couldn’t help but realize how small Skull suddenly seemed compared to him. 

“Ne, Skull, would you ever grow up?”. Tsuna asks. 

Without missing a beat, Skull turns to Tsuna smiling. “Why are you asking all of a sudden, Tsu? You’ve never been curious before”.

Tsuna just shrugs. “I used to think you were a dwarf but Hana-chan showed me pictures and you don’t look older, you look like you’re two. Then, I thought you would just grow up slowly but then it’s been years and you still haven’t changed a bit”. 

Skull actually laughs at Tsuna’s conjectures. Tsuna tried his best not to feel embarrassed about it. 

“I was cursed, Tsuna. It means, I’ll be a baby forever”. 

Tsuna had read a lot of manga with cursed characters. They usually had the worst background stories and the worst futures. 

He grimaces. Skull laughs at his expression. 

“Calm down, Tsuna. I’m not dying any time soon. I just have to feed this thing my flames, see”. 

Skull points to the pacifier on his chest. 

The explanation doesn’t assure Tsuna at all. Skull had told him once that dying will flames were the manifestations of one’s soul and if Skull had been feeding his flames into the damn pacifier of all things.

“Tsuna”. Skull says, uncharacteristically serious. “I’m fine. I’ve always had more flames than the average person which is why I was cursed in the first place. They don’t call the Arcobaleno the Strongest Seven for nothing”.

Tsuna sighs, trying to remove all signs of worry on his face. He shakes his head, trying to feign disinterest.

“So, how old are you anyway?”.

Skull hums, mentally calculating something in his head. “Fifty? Maybe?”. 

“Hieee— you’re old enough to be my grandpa?”. 

Tsuna narrowly dodges Skull’s flying kick. 

“Rude. I’m not that old. Besides. The years don’t count. I haven’t aged a day since I was twenty”. Skull argues with a pout.

Tsuna tries his best to imagine a twenty-year old Skull. The image makes him laugh. 

He narrowly avoids another kick. 

“You’ve been two years old for thirty years”, Tsuna mentally counts. “Doesn’t it ever get tiring?”. 

Skull is suddenly wearing a sad expression that makes Tsuna instantly regret asking the question in the first place. Still, he shakes his head. 

“The world is wider than you could imagine, Tsuna. I always thought I was luckier than most people. Having all the time in the world”. 

Tsuna tries to imagine what it would be like if he stayed eleven forever. But then his mind goes to his friends, and he imagines them growing up without him.

“Doesn’t it ever get lonely?”.

Skull grins and Tsuna freezes. Nothing good ever comes out of that look.

“Ne, Tsuna. Has the Great Skull-sama ever told you about his senpais ?”. 

Tsuna wonders what kind of monsters Skull’s senpais would be like, considering the chaos incarnate Skull already was by himself. 

As they’re nearing the apartment, Skull’s pacifier glows a bright shade of purple all of a sudden, making Skull pause thoughtfully. 

“Huh. He always did have perfect timing”. Then, he turns to Tsuna. “Tsu, there’s someone I’d like you to meet”.

3 years later

As far as the entire Mafia world was concerned, Reborn was to be treated like a mischievous god whose every wish must be granted to avoid the apocalypse. 

When he told Tsuna that he’d planned a cruise for him and his friends, the overjoyed reaction of the teens had been enough to inspire Reborn’s scheming. 

It’s almost a shame that Kyoko and Kyoya couldn’t make it because of their own family affairs. 

Still, Reborn had felt a smug sense of satisfaction watching the kids panic when he suddenly initiated a violent stowaway act for the trip — 

“I said I planned a cruise, Tsuna. I never said I got tickets”, he tells the flabbergasted teen. 

The hijacking act initiated a hide-and-seek game across the ship when, as he'd arranged, Lambo, Ipin, Fuuta and Haru, took off to wherever they wanted to go.

Reborn was only slightly disappointed when Tsuna didn’t even look surprised, just resigned, and immediately started asking his guardians to spread out and search for the kids. 

Everything was going according to Reborn’s plan, so when Shamal said, “I saw a pretty lady on the deck, Reborn”. And when Bianchi said she’ll be checking out the ship’s kitchen, Reborn simply shrugged and let them be. 

Now, Reborn is severely regretting that decision, hearing screams and explosions coming from different areas of the ship. 

Reborn could only gape at the unfolding chaos before him, unsure whether he should be impressed or worried that the kids had unleashed such chaos in less than an hour.

Hayato had somehow found an adult I-pin in the cabin hallways, desperately looking for a way to deliver ramen to one Kawahira-san. In a show of infuriating misplaced kindness, Hayato had interpreted the request as permission to seize the ship’s control room and threaten the captain to locate this Kawahira-san.

Reborn did not want to think about the political implications of an illicit Mafia land ship contacting Japanese satellites in search of one, lone civilian by the name Kawahira-san who ordered ramen from a store that exists solely ten years in the future. 

Hana had somehow found Haru in the ship’s cargo hold where Reborn knew for a fact the numerous Mafiosi on the ship had hidden away their weapons. Reborn would love to ask Hana what demon possessed her to invite Haru to a firearm training session — in an enclosed area floating in water of all places.

And worse, Takeshi had found Lambo. Lambo from ten years in the future, to be specific. To Reborn’s horror, the crybaby was most definitely of Italian blood, drinking at the bar before he was of age. Teenage Lambo had somehow managed to convince Takeshi to do the same, and now, the boys were drunkenly playing baseball in the lounge with billiard balls. 

Reborn doesn’t quite know whether he should be legitimately worried or assured of the Vongola’s future at this point, if one of its guardians could get this drunk in less than a minute and proceed to do heavy structural damage to the ship, while drunk, in the next four. 

And lastly, his student. To Reborn’s disappointment, Tsuna doesn’t even seem fazed, the teen having found Fuuta hiding behind a plant. The pair are now walking down the hallway, talking about the largest cruise ship in the world. 

To Reborn’s surprise, Tsuna pauses and looks exactly at where he’s hiding, behind the corner of a random painting.

“That’s impressive Tsuna. A Mafia boss must have the ability to see through illusions”, Reborn says. 

Tsuna simply laughs. “Don’t worry, Reborn. Mukuro made sure I could see through illusions with my eyes closed”.

In the distance, Reborn hears more screams and the sound of an automatic rifle firing at least twenty consecutive shots.

“Aren’t you going to stop your guardians, Tsuna?”. Reborn probes.

Tsuna only shrugs. “It’s their vacation too. I’m sure they’re alright”.

Beside Tsuna, Fuuta is definitely having a most difficult time hiding his laughter. 

“They’re going to sink the ship, Tsuna”. Reborn spells out.

To his utter horror, the brunette simply smiles brightly. “You don’t have to worry, Reborn. Everyone learned how to swim before we got on the boat”.

Reborn glares at his student just as enforcers of the ship surround their small group. One of them, evidently nervous, kneels and starts crying at Reborn. 

“Reborn-san! Please forgive our incompetence. We couldn’t handle your students! We were unable to catch them!”

Another one, starts shaking out of fear but shouts out nonetheless. “Reborn-san, if you don’t stop them it’s certain that the ship will go down!”. 

Reborn’s eye twitches. 

Tsuna gives him an innocent look.

Reborn should have known better than to surrender himself to the fate of being the sole adult watching over such insane, ill-mannered, chaotic children. 

They were Skull’s kids, after all.

Tsuna winks at him.

Reborn transforms Leon into a gun. 

Right. 

He was finally going to kill his student and his friends once and for all.

Tsuna grins at a glaring Reborn, calmly sipping the tropical shake he managed to nab from Mafia land’s lobby. 

“You failed on purpose”. Reborn accuses.

Tsuna shrugs. “I thought you wanted me to fail. Did I get it wrong?”.

“You convinced both the judge and the man that you were Vongola Decimo, charmed them into giving your friends the best rooms on the island, then bribed them to send you here”.

Tsuna smirks. “Exactly. Task failed successfully, right Reborn?”. 

The hitman’s eyes trails upward and he gives Tsuna a dark look. “Are you mocking me, Sawada Tsunayoshi?”.

“Of course not!”, Tsuna says, holding onto the black fedora on his head. He’d nicked the fedora from one of the island’s stalls — a souvenir shop dedicated to Reborn memorabilia. “I found it cool, that’s all”. 

Tsuna’s aware that his cheeks are reddening at the admission. Reborn raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment.

“Besides, I thought it’d be a shame if I didn’t at least get to meet the person you wanted to introduce me to”. Tsuna adds.

“Skull told you, then”. 

“He might’ve mentioned a senpai in Mafia land”.

Said senpai, Tsuna later discovers, was a camouflage-wearing blonde kid with a falcon animal partner. 

“So you’re the Vongola Tenth, kora. If you’re Reborn’s student, it’s no wonder you didn’t pass the test. Don’t worry, I’ll train you properly so you’ll be able to pass the reexamination, kora”.

Reborn scoffs and mutters something under his breath, but Tsuna just laughs. 

“Yeah sure, I’ll be in your care then, Colonnello-sensei!”. Tsuna puts on his best imitation of Skull, grinning mischievously as he did so.

Reborn winces and Colonnello raises an eyebrow, but the blonde remains oblivious.

They start training.

Tsuna laughs at Colonnello, who is utterly taken by surprise, when instead of falling off the cliff after a strong kick, Tsuna starts flying instead.

“Oh come on, Colonnello-sensei, that can’t be your best, can it?”. Tsuna challenges. 

“It seems like you’re worth training after all, kora”.

Tsuna is suddenly treated to a barrage of bullets coated in rain flames, which he seamlessly dodges while doing somersaults in the air. 

“I thought your student was a civilian, kora”.

Reborn only sighs. “He is” . 

Tsuna chooses that moment to go on the offensive, sending balls of fire flying towards Colonnello. The blonde dodges quickly.

“Civilians wouldn’t know how to use their flames like this without training, kora”.

As if to prove Colonnello’s point, Tsuna sends two fireballs at top speed at the blonde, who narrowly dodges the attack. Colonnello sends a sharp glare at Tsuna, who smiles.

“Of course I had training, Colonnello-sensei”, Tsuna mockingly says. 

Before Colonnello could retaliate, the train arrives and Hayato and Takeshi step out, pausing the fight. 

“More kids? Don’t tell me they’re just as crazy as your student, Reborn, kora”.

Reborn sends Colonnello a smirk. “They’re not as crazy as Tsuna, but it wouldn’t do you good to underestimate them”.

And to prove Reborn’s point, Colonnello suddenly had to dodge a three-way attack consisting of a fireball, a sword and a dynamite stick.

“What the-“.

Colonnello didn’t even have the time to curse, before the next set of attacks started raining down on him.

Hana wonders quietly to herself if it’s too early to escape to a deserted island and retire at the age of fourteen. 

Probably not. 

Beside her, the Carcassa grunt goes on and on about the various rooms, facilities and equipment in the Carcassa’s fake battleship. The tour ultimately ends with a one-on-one meeting with the captain . 

Hana gives him an unimpressed look. “If you wanted to see me, you could’ve just texted me instead of kidnapping me, Skull-san”.

Skull laughs but Hana’s not sure if he even means it, with the helmet covering his face. 

“That wouldn’t be any fun at all, Hana-chan. Besides, I wanted you to surprise everyone with me. What do you say to being Carcassa’s commander for the invasion?”.

“Me?”, Hana asks, “A commander?”.

Skull motions for one of the Carcassa to enter the room. The grunt bows in front of Hana, holding forward an elegant sailor hat. 

“It would be the Carcassa’s greatest honor to be commanded by one of Skull-sama’s chosen students!”. The Carcassa soldier says.

“See, Hana-chan? Besides, don’t you want to give our dear Tsuna-kun a hard time at least, for always causing problems?”.

Right. Hana had needed to deal with a fuming and  stressed Reborn on a ship, annoying children and a kidnapping attempt all in less than 24 hours. 

“Where’s the mission brief?”. She finally asks. 

Even with his helmet on, Hana can hear Skull genuinely smiling gleefully. 

It might be a bit too early for Hana to retire just yet. 

“Your student is insane, kora”. Colonnello tells Reborn as the pair of them watch the three teens run towards the source of explosions.

Reborn only hums.

“The control he has over flames should be impossible for a civilian, kora”. Colonnello adds.

“Tsuna’s been training since he was seven years old”. Reborn explains. 

“Seven? He activated early for a civilian kid, kora”.

Reborn shakes his head. 

“He activated earlier. His teacher re-activated his sealed flames and trained him how to control them”.

Colonnello narrows his eyes at Reborn. “Sealing his flames would’ve killed him eventually, kora”.

Reborn nods. “The Vongola authorized his sealing”.

“That’s brutal. But I guess it should have been expected from the strongest Magia Famiglia in the world, kora”.

“The Vongola owes Tsuna’s tutor the life of their heir”.

Colonnello looks at Reborn in surprise. “It almost sounds like you approve of this guy, kora”.

“I do. He almost beat me in a fight”.

At Reborn’s response, Colonnello splutters. “Almost beat you? Even Fon couldn’t almost beat you in a fight, kora!”.

Reborn then starts to ignore the blonde, heading for the sounds coming from the battle just ahead. 

“Oy! Reborn! You can’t just drop that on me and start ignoring me, kora!”. 

Reborn smirks.

Tsuna sighs, silently grateful that Haru had made him a cloak for occasions like this. Sure, Reborn and Skull had repeatedly told Tsuna that the Vongola was the strongest famiglia in the world, but nothing could have prepared Tsuna for an ocean of Mafiosi bowing down to him and waiting for his command.

Still, Tsuna has been trained to handle situations like this. Skull had made sure of that. He wills himself into character. 

A random Mafioso hands him a map. 

“Our primary objective is to defend the castle, but it would be best if our enemies don’t step foot on the island in the first place. Judging from the terrain, ideal docking points would be here, here and here. I want melee fighters stationed in these areas. Ranged fighters should take position here, here and here and cover all surrounding areas. My team and I would stand guard closest to the castle. I’m guessing the enemy would send an ambush force right through this forest”.

The Mafiosi are quiet for a while, that Tsuna’s almost certain he’d done something wrong. Suddenly, the group cheered and followed his command. 

“As expected of the Vongola! Their next boss is something else!”. Tsuna overhears.

The compliment relieves Tsuna, at least, but the feeling didn't last long. A few minutes later, he starts getting reports of forces getting overwhelmed by small ambush groups attacking his forces in the most unexpected locations.

“Hayato, Takeshi, it seems like we’re going to have to go to the front lines”.

His friends only grin in excitement. 

Tsuna flies.

If he’s being honest, Tsuna didn’t expect the exhilaration and adrenaline that came from being on the battlefield. He sends fireballs flying towards some of the attackers. 

Below, allied Mafioso gape in awe and break out into cheers at the Vongola heir’s heroic rescue. 

Tsuna feels slightly embarrassed, but there’s something about the act that thrills him.

They’re finally pushing the invaders back, when a large explosion sends some of Tsuna’s soldiers flying backwards.

Tsuna freezes, feeling familiar Cloud flames.

“Not bad, Vongola, but your understanding of strategy is still quite lacking. You need more training”.

Skull’s hands gesture at Oodako to clear the attacking Mafiosi out of the way.

Tsuna’s about to protest, but he catches himself just in time. It wouldn’t be ideal to alert the entire Mafia of his relationship with Skull. 

“I’m honored that the Cloud Arcobaleno recognizes me”. Tsuna says, gently landing in front of Skull. The group of Mafioso make way for him, watching the exchange in awe. 

“It’s my commander that recognized you, Sawada-kun. Perhaps you would recognize her as well?”.

Tsuna couldn’t hide his surprise when Skull’s commander steps forward. “H, Hana-chan?!”

Hana sends a dark smile his way. “You monkeys were having fun by yourselves. You didn’t expect me to just sit back and watch, did you?”.

Tsuna has many complaints but he reminds himself that he’s currently acting, so he sucks it up and mutters curses under his breath because he’d soon be suffering from the consequences of his actions for weeks, if not months. 

“Well, you asked for it”. Tsuna sends fireballs flying towards his childhood friend and quietly hopes that Kyoko-chan and Kyoya never find out. 

When the Mafioso in the background start cheering for the Decimo, Tsuna just knows he’s never going to live this one down.

Reborn is pleasantly surprised to see Hana engaging in combat, for once. 

Tsuna and the other kids have always hinted that out of all of them, Hana was the least trained in combat. Reborn had taken those words at face value and assumed that Hana was simply not a fighter, but seeing the teen fight Tsuna made Reborn realize that the kids simply meant Hana was more attuned to defensive fighting. 

Reborn had seen enough of Verde’s lightning experiments to know that Lightning flames made for a good solid shield, but Reborn had not expected to see Hana use her lightning flames as long fist blades that effectively deflected any of Tsuna’s attacks.

Tsuna couldn’t even get close to Hana, since the girl was using lightning flames to control her fighting zone and keep Tsuna away from her. It meant she couldn’t quite attack him, but he couldn’t attack her either. 

“Skull’s lightning kid is actually impressive, kora”. Colonnello comments, watching the fight. 

Reborn would like to clarify that Hana’s his student now, thank you very much, but instead he says. “She’s actually Tsuna’s lightning”.

That makes Colonnello pause. “She’s a guardian, kora? Wait, the civilian kid has guardians?”.

Reborn would have laughed, if he didn’t have almost exactly the same reaction himself. “Tsuna has a full set and then some”. 

Colonnello wolf whistles. Finding a complete guardian set that’s perfectly compatible with each other is already difficult in the Mafia where most flame users are already gathered, in the first place. 

Tsuna, a civilian with a full set, was nothing short of miraculous. 

In the end, Tsuna beats Hana by sheer speed and firepower. Hana is clearly annoyed, but she takes the defeat with grace and retreats.

Skull immediately starts making his move. Reborn nods at Colonnello. 

“You haven’t eaten that octopus yet? I bet it tastes great”. Reborn calls out.

Internally, the hitman chuckles at the offended expression on his student’s face and the protests from Skull.

They give the Mafia a show, of course. 

Arcobaleno against Arcobaleno, Reborn and Colonnello destroying Skull’s fleet in a matter of minutes.

“I punish my own lackeys”. Reborn tells the crowd.

He smirks, when the other Mafiosi scramble to give them space. 

With no audience, Skull actually takes off his helmet. The stuntman is sporting a wide grin on his face that makes Reborn want to roll his eyes.

“Hey Reborn-senpai! Hi Nello-senpai! Did you like the show?”. Skull asks excitedly.

Colonnello scoffs. “You’re still as weak as ever, kora!”.

Reborn sends Skull an appraising look. “Did you really need to have Hana on your side?”.

“Hey! Hana-chan was brilliant. She knew all the best places for an ambush!”.

“She needs to consider her opponent’s strengths as well”.

Skull pouts. “It’s not Hana-chan’s fault that Tsu is a bad match against her.”

“Still, Hana was able to defend herself against Tsuna quite well”.

Skull’s eyes shine excitedly. “Right? It took her ages to master solidifying her lightning flames, senpai. But Hana-chan’s always been tenacious!”.

Reborn nods. “With more training, she could create a defensive force field”.

Skull nods enthusiastically. “She just needs a bit more incentive…”

“Oi! Stop ignoring me, kora”. Colonnello finally interjects. 

Reborn raises an eyebrow at the blonde but Colonnello only gives him a weird look. 

“This Hana, is she your student, Skull, kora?”.

“Does Colonnello-senpai think that the Great Skull-sama’s student is amazing too?”, Skull uses his obnoxious voice.

Reborn snorts. He’d forgotten how over-the-top Skull’s act had been. 

Colonnello winces in disgust. “Shut it, lackey, it’s just dumb luck that you managed to find a decent student for once, kora”.

Before Skull could even react, Reborn finds himself saying out loud. “That’s not true”.

Colonnello gives Reborn another strange look. 

Before he could explain himself though, the trio hear the distinct sound of footsteps running towards them.

“Reborn! Are you done talking yet?”, Tsuna calls out much to the hitman’s exasperation. 

He sends Skull a tired look, who only beams.

“Do what you want, Tsuna”. Reborn resignedly says.

Reborn had seen it before, back when he had first arrived at the Sawada household, but seeing it again made the hitman realize just how much brighter Tsuna smiled towards Skull than anyone else. 

“Skull! Was this your huge job for the year? Is it done now? Are you going home?”. Tsuna childishly asks questions one after the other. 

Skull doesn’t even mind, he lets the teen run up to him and carry him in his arms. Skull lightly pats Tsuna’s arms.

“Yep. I’ll be going home after I fix up the Carcassa kids”.

Tsuna looks sheepish. “Was I too rough on them?”.

Skull only laughs, shaking his head. “Of course not. They’re trained to take much more than a few balls of fire, Tsu. We just need to do a strategy debrief”.

Tsuna grimaces. “Hana-chan’s going to stick the fact I couldn’t predict her ambushes in my face, isn’t she?”.

“I think Hana deserves to make fun of you a bit, Tsu. She did really well today”. Skull gently explains to the brunette.

“Did you see the somersaults I did? Didn’t I do well too?”. Tsuna asks, pouting. 

Skull just shakes his head. “Fine. You get extra desserts for a week”. 

Tsuna beams. 

“You know the Vongola Decimo, kora?”, comes Colonnello’s sudden question, eyes wide as he listened to the exchange between Tsuna and Skull.

Reborn smirks. He’s gotten used to Tsuna and Skull’s domestic act, but Colonnello is seeing the pair for the first time.

“Reborn-senpai, you didn’t tell him?”, Skull is openly gaping at Reborn.

“Tell me what, kora?”. 

Tsuna blinks at the exchange, eyes switching back and forth between Colonnello and Reborn. “Skull trained me. I learned everything from him”.

Colonnello opens his mouth to speak, before closing it again. 

Then he turns to Reborn with the widest eyes.

“Skull almost beat you, kora?”.

Reborn smirks.

Colonnello freezes, looking just a bit broken.

If there’s one thing Colonnello had learned being the spare Il Prescelti Sette, it was how to read the Arcobaleno’s moods or risk violent retaliation. So, he’d gotten in the habit of observing their reactions, especially Fon’s, Verde’s and Reborn’s, the most explosive tempers of their group.

Colonnello would even say he’s now an expert at predicting his curse-mates reactions, but he’d never have been able to predict whatever this was.

He’s sitting with Skull and Reborn and the three of them are watching the Vongola kids try to get through Colonnello’s obstacle course.

“Tsuna’s been able to see forest traps from a distance since he was ten. We went camping through Europe’s old forests that summer”. Skull says almost proudly. 

Colonnello needed to pinch himself twice just to make sure he wasn’t hearing things. What kind of insane bastard took a kid camping to figure out traps?

But Reborn only nods approvingly. “We could bring the kids to Vietnam next year?”.

Skull grimaces. “Not until Tsuna’s sixteen, at least. I’d rather he get a full tour of Mafia Italy before he’s sixteen. And, he always wanted to explore Russia at least once”.

Reborn hums. “We could arrange that in the spring or winter?”.

Skull smiles. “For Russia, the kids definitely need to experience a harsh winter, for training of course. For Italy, spring would be okay, but summer much better. Tsuna loved gelato when we visited for the first time”.

Reborn smirks at Skull’s suggestion of torture but his expression instantly changes the moment Skull mentioned gelato. “You do know they sell the same gelato here in Mafia land, right?”.

Skull turns to him in awe. “They do? Tsu and the kids would love that!”.

Colonnello is utterly horrified when Reborn smiles. He’s momentarily distracted by a few explosions from the field. Tsuna had set one of Colonnello’s tanks ablaze.

“Oy! Those machines are expensive! You can’t just set them on fire, kora!”. He shouts.

Infuriatingly, Tsuna only laughs. Beside him, the insane swordsman, Takeshi, cuts through the barbed wire Colonnello had taken hours to set, instead of properly crawling under the damn course.

“Come on, Colonnello- sensei, can’t we think outside the box a bit?”. The teen shouts back with a mischievous grin.

Colonnello then has to watch the kid do stunt flips, of all things, to dodge the hidden trip wires in front of him. Tsuna narrowly missed getting scorched by a flamethrower, but instead of fear, the damn teen laughs. 

Colonnello turns to glare at Skull. “Is this what you’ve been teaching your kid, kora?”. 

It’s unmistakeable. Colonnello realizes now, seeing the brunette run through his course with that familiar carefree, mischievous attitude. 

Colonnello had only gone on a few missions with Skull before everything went to shit, and even then he’d approached all their jobs with an unhealthy amount of joking and mischief. 

He’d thought Skull incompetent, then, like the others. Weak. 

“Tsuna knows when to handle things seriously and he knows not to stretch himself too thin, senpai. I just want him to be happy, that’s all”.

Colonnello is surprised at the sincerity in Skull’s voice. It’s like Skull is a different person entirely. 

Or, Colonnello’s just finally getting to know the person called Skull.

They watch Tsuna catch Colonnello’s grenades with his bare hands, using the damn things to play a fun game of baseball with Takeshi on the other end, slicing clean through the explosives.

“Your training left Tsuna with a form incompatible with shooting”. Reborn comments, eyes still trained on his student.

Colonnello watches Skull turn to Reborn in shock. “You’re planning on teaching Tsuna to shoot guns?”.

Reborn only raises an eyebrow. “He’s wearing my fedora, isn’t he?”. 

Colonnello looks back at the teen. There’s a cheap imitation of Reborn’s fedora on the Decimo’s head, but it is Reborn’s fedora all the same. Tsuna feels Colonnello’s stare and the teen smirks at him.

Colonnello gapes like a fish out of water.

He could recognize that smug, overconfident smirk anywhere. 

Beside him, Reborn and Skull have moved on to a conversation about the ideal location to build a firing range in their tiny Japanese town. 

Colonnello listens to the pair with almost horrified fascination.

Sometime later, the Rain wonders if it would be fair to start an absurd bet with Mammon with the information he had.

He’s definitely excited for his next call with Lal now. 

He’s got a truckload of juicy gossip to share.

Reborn sighs in relief the moment the familiar houses come into view.

He’d had back to back missions hunting his targets across the world as a hitman, but nothing could have prepared him for the difficulty of shepherding excited, hyperactive children in an island made for criminals.

“You must be getting old, senpai”. Skull had teased him, seeing his exhaustion.

But Reborn only glared at the Cloud and walked swiftly home. 

He should’ve known better than to hope for peace considering Tsuna’s little entourage. 

He opens the apartment door and the first thing he realizes is, the supposed-to-be empty apartment isn’t completely empty.

Instead, there’s a familiar raven napping on the couch. 

“Kyoya?”, Tsuna asks, seeing his friend.

The boy stirs just as Skull walks inside.

Reborn could immediately see gears clicking in the stuntman’s head. 

“He’s in town, isn’t he?”. Skull asks.

The question puts Kyoya in a worse mood, but the teen nods in affirmative.

Right on cue, Reborn’s pacifier glows yellow. 

Chapter Text

Flashback 

Tsuna knew that Skull was crazy. Skull liked doing things he called stunts. 

Sometimes, Skull would drive his motorcycle through flaming hoops. Other times, he’d dive headfirst into a lake from great heights. 

Tsuna always loved watching Skull do stunts. Skull seemed so free, and he would always wear this expression as if he truly, deeply, loved his life.

Tsuna had admitted as much to Skull last week. They were out camping in the Italian Appenins, watching the stars from the peak of Monte Amaro. 

Tsuna had not expected that Skull would take that opportunity to teach Tsuna rock climbing — which for reasons unbeknownst to nine-year-old Sawada Tsunayoshi, later evolved into lessons on how to fly. 

Tsuna had been hesitant at first, but he had to admit, Skull really knew how to make learning fun. They played catch— except Tsuna had to catch the ball in midair before it arched downwards. 

Within a week, Tsuna had pretty much mastered the art of using his flames to propel himself upwards and to jump higher and farther with the slightest push of his flames. 

Jumping, Tsuna was fairly certain, was an entirely different activity from flying, which Skull was basically asking him to do.

Today, they’re standing on a cliff — a canyon, Skull called it. Tsuna can see the other side, almost a hundred meters away, but he’s paying more attention to the even longer distance that lies between himself and the bottom of the cliff.

He’s already queasy from looking down. Tsuna had always been scared of heights.

“Come on Tsu, let’s get to the other side”, Skull casually says, standing beside Tsuna.

Tsuna shakes his head. “I can’t”.

Skull gives him an uncomprehending look. “Of course you can, we practiced, remember?”.

“Not like this”. 

“There’s a first time for everything, right, Tsuna?”. Skull says with a wide grin. Tsuna would have resented the casual way Skull asked impossible things from him, if the stuntman also wasn’t the best thing that had happened in Tsuna’s very short life. 

Tsuna’s legs start feeling shaky, and his stomach starts doing weird loops the longer he stares at the five-hundred-foot drop. Tsuna wants to cry. He hasn’t felt this much frustration since he was dame-Tsuna.

“I don’t want to, Skull”. Tsuna pleads, his voice shaking.

Skull looks at him, meets his eyes, and Tsuna wishes he had looked away.

It’s too late.

He’s already seen the pure and sincere belief Skull always has for him. 

“Tsuna, of course you can ”. Skull says gently. It’s unfair. Skull knows Tsuna couldn’t not listen to him when he uses that voice. “It’s all going to be okay, Tsu”. 

The fear doesn’t really go away. It’s still there. His stomach is still doing weird loops, but he feels just a tad bit more warmer and his legs feel a bit more like they’re on stable ground. 

“Promise ?”. He asks, hesitantly.

“You can do it, Tsuna”. 

Tsuna closes his eyes. 

He feels the flame light up from under his hands and he runs as fast as he can and jumps as high as he can. 

He’s screaming — he’s definitely screaming his heart out…

And then his feet touch solid ground.

Tsuna opens his eyes.

Tsuna hears Skull laughing, the stuntman had hopped onto his shoulder at some point — and Tsuna dares look back. 

He’s at least another hundred feet away from the edge of the cliff, but he’s definitely on the other side.

“I did it…”, he whispers first, almost disbelieving. “I actually did it!”. He finds himself shouting. 

There’s a wide grin on Skull’s face. “You did it, Tsu! You flew — you were so amazing!”. 

Tsuna couldn’t quite believe it, not entirely, but he’s definitely on the other side. 

“I actually did it”. He repeats, aware that his mouth is open in awe.

There’s a soft smile on Skull’s face. Tsuna couldn’t quite explain the feeling spreading through his chest. He feels like he could fly — he just did, but it feels like he could fly forever. 

Is he actually proud of himself?

“I’m proud of you, Tsuna”, Skull says as if reading his thoughts and Tsuna feels like crying from the lightness he feels.

“I actually flew! I can fly, Skull! I flew!”. Tsuna knows he’s giggling now, but Skull is just watching him fondly.

Tsuna still can’t quite believe it — but he finally feels real, and proud, and for once, confident that maybe, he can. 

“Tsuna”, Skull finally says after a while. “You’re not always going to like the things I ask you to do”.

Tsuna nods, paying attention to the sudden seriousness in Skull’s tone. 

“Sometimes I’ll ask you to do scary, difficult and tiring things. But, I promise you that I would never make you do anything, without knowing that you can completely handle what I’m asking you to do, okay?”. 

Tsuna nods. Skull smiles.

“So there’s no reason for you to ever doubt yourself, okay, Tsu?”

Tsuna couldn’t quite name what he’s feeling, but he suddenly feels like the world shifted and everything feels a bit less scarier.

It makes a huge difference, Tsuna thinks, to have even just one person believing in you. 

Skull winks at him and the mischief in the Cloud’s voice makes Tsuna smile. “Now, why don’t we try going back to the other side with your eyes open this time?”.

Tsuna snorts. 

Tsuna could still see the drop — it’s still as high as before. But somehow, the thought of flying didn’t scare him at all. 

Instead, Tsuna felt something quite familiar — excitement and fun. 

“Make sure you don’t fall off, Skull”. 

Tsuna cheekily says, running headfirst to the edge of the cliff.

Skull only laughs in return, but he does shriek just the tiniest bit when Tsuna momentarily turns off his flames and they fall weightlessly for a few seconds.

Serves you right. 

Tsuna sticks his tongue out teasingly.

5 years later

Reborn wanted a peaceful dinner and a long, well-earned nap, not whatever this is.

“If I knew you were coming, I would have at least made mapo tofu”. Skull tells their guest, handing over a plate of steaming dumplings. 

Honestly, if it was up to Reborn, he would have just kicked said guest out for coming unannounced and told him to return at a later date.

“Skull, I came unannounced. This is more than enough. Hello, Reborn. Is Namimori to your liking?”. Their guest asks.

“Hello, Fon. It’s very lively here. The children, particularly, are full of energy”. 

Not that Fon wouldn’t know that. The martial artist was immediately flanked by a very active Tsuna and Ipin, who both started narrating their Mafia land adventures. 

“Thank you, Skull. It seems like Ipin has been enjoying most of her time here”. Fon says, smiling at the child’s tales.

“It’s no issue. Tsuna loves having her and Lambo around. It makes him feel more like a big brother”.

Tsuna blushes, but he doesn’t deny the claim.

“Your home has certainly been livelier since I last visited… let me help you with that, Skull”.

Reborn watches Fon help Skull carry a tray of steaming, hot tea to the table, as Tsuna automatically stands up to set up the plates. 

Reborn raises an eyebrow as Fon seamlessly moves through the kitchen, opening drawers and finding cutlery instinctively.

“You’re a regular visitor”. Reborn states, rather than asks. 

Fon doesn’t seem fazed. He only nods, balancing six bowls far too heavy for his infant stature as he walks to the table.

“Uncle Fon taught me and Kyoya how to fight”, Tsuna explains with a wide grin. 

Reborn raises an eyebrow. “ Uncle Fon?”.

“Kyoya used to call Fon that when he was younger. He doesn’t anymore, but Tsu still does”. Skull says, still fixated on whatever he’s frying on the stove.

Tsuna blushes again. “I’ve been showing the harder drills to Ipin like you taught me, Uncle Fon”. 

Ipin enthusiastically nods. “It’s fun training with Tsuna-san and Hana-nee”.

Fon smiles at the kids. Then, he turns to Tsuna with a curious look. “Hana-chan is finally interested in martial arts?”.

“She started learning around the time senpai came”. Skull explained.

“Reborn has been stealing your students, then?”. 

Skull pouts. “Tsu’s even started smiling like senpai! I caught him scaring Hayato-kun and Takeshi-kun last week”. 

Fon laughs. “Well, Skull, you did use to complain that Tsuna smiled like an angel, making it hard to say no to his requests”.

Tsuna starts protesting. 

Skull snorts. “Fon’s just envious Kyoya isn’t as cute as you are, Tsu-kun”. 

Kyoya, who up until that point was quietly sitting and sipping his tea, looks up with a glare. “Carnivore…”.

Skull doesn’t even look back, too busy mixing the porridge he’d suddenly cooked up. “Fon, Kyoya, no fighting inside the house”, the Cloud says habitually. 

Reborn silently watches Tsuna introduce his new friends to Uncle Fon, including a surprisingly quieter Hayato sitting next to Lambo and Fuuta. The trio were playing a video game in the living room, Bianchi watching the game disinterestedly as she painted her nails on the couch. 

From the corner of his eye, he sees Skull almost trip, carrying a huge pot of rice to the table. Fon immediately moves to help.

Reborn clicks his tongue. “Your clumsiness is ungraceful, lackey”. He says with much more venom than intended. The kids turn to look at him in surprise. 

Fon just stares at him with a strange expression.

Without missing a beat or even reacting, Skull just sighs. 

“Senpai is probably cranky because of the long trip. I’ll make you an espresso, senpai, it’ll help you feel better”.

Reborn is about to argue, but then he pauses. Huh. 

He might really be feeling a bit cranky if the prospect of a freshly brewed espresso soothes something in his soul. 

The kids seemingly sigh in relief, returning to their conversation. 

Fon is still staring at Reborn. “I see you still treat Skull the same as ever, old friend”.

The disapproval in Fon’s voice stirs up the slightest anger in Reborn. 

“He’s the lackey”.

“I would have thought that seeing Tsunayoshi and his friends would have changed your opinions of Skull, but I see that I was mistaken”.

“And I wouldn’t have thought you to be someone who lets their judgement get clouded by emotions, Uncle Fon”. 

Fon’s still wearing a smile on his face, but Reborn is also perfectly aware that it’s the same smile Fon wears when he’s halfway to exploding in a fiery ball of violent storm flames. 

Skull must have noticed the same thing. “Fon! Don’t listen to whatever Reborn-senpai is saying! He’s probably just being an ass again!”. Skull shouts, waving one of his hands in panic.

Skull’s other hand gently lays a cup of Reborn’s espresso before him. Reborn instantly takes a sip. Perfect as always. 

“Skull, he’s…” Fon starts.

“Being insulting and a prick. I know , Fon. Senpai’s just cranky. He’s massively improved the last few months, I promise”.

There’s an empty chair beside Fon but Skull settles for the one beside Reborn.

Reborn smirks.

The expression isn’t lost on Fon. There’s something like shock on the martial artist’s face.

“The food tastes amazing Skull, I’m sure Reborn appreciates it as well, don’t you, Reborn?”.

Reborn reaches for Skull’s favorite, the slice of sashimi sitting out of the stuntman’s reach, and gently hands it over to Skull who mumbles a small ‘thank you, senpai’.

“He’s passable”. Reborn says, just as his chopsticks steal the large dumpling Tsuna had chosen for himself from the teen’s plate. 

“A Mafia boss must always be aware of their surroundings, Tsuna”. Reborn says.

Tsuna shrieks a little in protest and Skull smiles.

Pouting, the teen mutters something that sounds like ‘a hitman… aware… feelings’, but Reborn doesn’t quite hear him clearly.

Reborn ignores the teen in favor of taking another sip of his prized espresso, raising an eyebrow at Fon who, sitting beside Tsuna, chokes on his dumplings, stunningly losing any form of composure.

Tsuna already knew that Uncle Fon showing up meant that something had gone terribly wrong somewhere, but he hadn’t fully grasped the gravity of the situation until Fon had summoned him and all his friends to Skull’s apartment once they were all rested from their Mafia Land escapade.

“The yakuza are plotting to reclaim Namimori”. Fon bluntly says. Collectively, the teens groan. 

Hana clicks her tongue. “It shouldn’t change anything, right? We’ve been preparing for their retaliation since we kicked the Momokyokai out”. 

Fon shakes his head. “Eight yakuza clans from Tokyo alone have decided to call a truce and invade Namimori together”.

Kyoko sighs. “They’ve decided to finally stop underestimating us, then?”. 

Fon nods gravely.

The atmosphere is tense. Tsuna could see Hana, Kyoko and Kyoya already doing the mental math, trying to figure out how difficult it would be to defend Namimori against a unified yakuza. Takeshi and Hayato look confused, but Tsuna could see the pair weighing the gravity of the situation all the same with the limited information they do have.

Tsuna turns to Skull. “What should we do?”, he asks.

Skull seems to think about it for a while, before his face breaks out into a wide grin.

“I’m sure you’ll figure this out, Tsuna”. Skull says with a wink.

Tsuna wants to protest, beg Skull to be serious, but he meets familiar purple eyes and something like resolve clicks into place.

Skull had never let him get hurt before.

Tsuna inhales. He thinks about the numerous documents on his desk, the hidden maps of Namimori in his bedroom drawers. 

“Namimori is our home and we’re going to fight back. We could force the battle to take place at the beach and forests to Namimori’s northwest, especially if our enemies are coming from Tokyo“. 

Tsuna turns to Kyoya, giving the prefect a nod. “With the disciplinary committee’s help, setting up a blockade preventing them from entering the civilian area of town should be enough. We’ll set up evacuation sites at the Middle school for anyone living in the northern region of Namimori”.

Kyoya immediately stands up, dialing a number on his phone. He’s not even out the door before the other teens can hear him barking orders at Kusakabe. 

Tsuna trades look with Hana, who wordlessly moves to gather maps to clearly draw Tsuna’s plan. 

Takeshi laughs, breaking away most of the tension from the room. “You’re really amazing, Tsuna”. 

Tsuna blushes, shaking his head at the compliment. “Anyone who loves Namimori would do the same, Takeshi-kun”.

Reborn chooses that moment to join the conversation. “Surely, you kids don’t expect to take on that many enemies by yourselves”. 

Tsuna actually laughs and whatever tension had filled the room immediately disappeared.

“Of course not. I told you, Reborn. Anyone who loves Namimori would do the same”.

Tsuna winks at Kyoko who immediately places a hand each on Hayato and Takeshi’s shoulder. 

“I’m going to borrow your boys, Tsu-kun. We’ve got some recruiting to do”. 

Tsuna meets Fon’s eyes and the Storm is looking at him approvingly. “You’ve grown up quite well, Tsunayoshi-kun”. 

Tsuna just smirks. There’s something like surprise in Fon’s face at the expression Tsuna makes. “Of course, Uncle Fon. I was taught by the best, ne?”.

With Tsuna in charge, the yakuza would never know what hit them. 

Namimori is a Mafia town.

Reborn had known as much from his research before heading to Japan. Namimori was a town where former assassins, hitmen, spies and retired clan bosses go after a career of crime to live in peace away from the law’s punishments. 

Reborn had thought that meant Namimori’s various criminals were living in the shadows, repulsive of anything that could break their civilian covers.

Reborn is realizing how wrong he was.

In the span of two days, Kyoko and Takeshi led a massive recruitment campaign that had Namimori’s criminals registering for a fight to defend their home. 

Takeshi, son of a former renowned yakuza swordsman, was an effective poster-boy for the cause. 

It certainly helped that Yamamato Tsuyoshi, Japan’s legendary retired assassin swordsman, had registered first, and the man had openly declared how proud he was that his son was taking on the art of the sword. 

Reborn had to watch as the Sawada’s neighbor, Uenoda-san, a fifty-year old man who spent most of his days planting tomatoes in his garden, shook hands with his fourteen-year-old student, while swiftly assembling an M27 without even looking down. 

Tsuna doesn’t even blink. “Please make sure Haruka-chan and her mom listen to the disciplinary committee on the day of the evacuation, Uenoda-san”.

Uenoda-san only smiles. “Of course, Sawada-kun. Ahh, it’s so nice to see the youth actively taking care of this town”.

Uenoda-san wasn’t alone. 

Reborn watched his student shake hands with hitmen, help old assassins sharpen dull knives and assure fathers and mothers the safety of their daughters and sons. 

Sawada Iemitsu was born in Namimori. Reborn knew this for a fact. The idiotic man’s documents had mentioned that Nono took Iemitsu from Namimori when the boy was fourteen. Iemitsu learned what it meant to be a Sky behind the walls of CEDEF.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was born in Namimori. Namimori is the only home he’s ever known. Tsuna learned what it meant to be a Sky running (flying) through Namimori’s own streets. Tsuna’s family was built in the town’s wide streets.

Reborn did not know of a Sky that would ever allow its home to fall. 

In the span of two days, Tsunayoshi Sawada had instantly transformed the quaint, quiet town of Namimori to a Mafia clan ready to bare its fangs to invaders. 

When the invaders arrived, they were met with an unexpected army of trained fighters led by children. Tsuna had assigned himself, Takeshi, Kyoya, and Ken to lead a squad each in the front lines. 

Kyoko, Bianchi, Shamal and M.M. lay in wait just on the outskirts of the front line’s battlefields, Kyoko used her sun flames to heal injured fighters and Shamal, begrudgingly, used his own medical expertise to provide first aid. 

Hayato, Hana and Chikusa led the evacuation to Namimori Middle, and were actively communicating live updates to Tsuna, Takeshi, Kyoya and Ken in the field. 

Reborn had been very surprised when Skull had taken Fuuta, Lambo, Ipin and Haru with him to Namimori Middle. 

“I thought you would have at least wanted to watch Tsuna from the front lines”. 

Skull just laughs. “That’s why Tsuna has you, senpai”.

Reborn couldn’t exactly argue against that.

So Reborn had followed Fon, who like himself, had been very interested in seeing the teen’s capabilities first-hand. 

Reborn had certainly not expected Tsuna to be such a good fighter. He had been training the teen for a year and a half, and certainly, Tsuna excelled and could breeze through most of Reborn’s antics. Most of the training they had done, however, was with Tsuna and his guardians in chaotic but controlled scenarios. 

The teen before him was clearly much more experienced than that. Tsuna had the makings of a natural-born leader. He could instantly tell where his enemies and allies were – could instantly aid an endangered ally…

“Kyoya, the snipers are trying to target Ken’s group!”. The teen quickly assesses the situation, calling for aid to their weakest long distance fighter. 

“Tsuna, Maeda-san got hit, he needs to retreat—“

“I’ll cover you, Takeshi-kun!”.

Reborn watched with awe as the scrawny brunette flew across the sky with his flames, covering for the entire ground team and quickly stating orders with an eerie calm. 

There’s laughter, from Takeshi’s team, and Reborn watches Yamamoto Tsuyoshi pout at his young son. “Oi, Takeshi, you and your friends should at least leave some for us”. 

Takeshi laughs brightly, “it sounds like you’re getting old, oyaji”.

There’s laughter in Kyoya’s group too — as Sasaki-san, middle school teacher, shoots down four enemies with an archaic-looking crossbow. 

“Who are you calling old, Yamamato-kun…. Honestly, these children like to show off too much”. 

The conversations wouldn’t have been out of place at a sports festival — Reborn just couldn’t stop himself from being in awe. 

“Tsunayoshi-kun is certainly unique, isn’t he, Reborn?”. Fon comments, watching the teenage Sky do loops in the air with a familiar, gleeful, laugh.

Unique is an understatement, Reborn thinks.

“That boy would sweep the Vongola off its feet”. 

The raw power that Tsuna held. The vast potential he had before him. Fourteen. Tsuna could be much more greater.

‘Or maybe’, Reborn’s thoughts betray him.

‘Tsuna’s already great enough as he is’.

“You certainly taught him well”, Fon stares, giving Reborn an approving look. 

In any other situation, Reborn would have met the praise with his trademark smugness, but this time, he only shakes his head.

“No. This is definitely Skull’s doing. I could never teach my students such chaos ”. Reborn admits.

As if on cue, Tsunayoshi Sawada shrieks as he dodges a swiftly incoming tonfa, aimed straight for his head.

“Herbivore, stay focused”. Kyoya doesn’t even hide the humor in his voice. 

Tsuna sends a tiny fireball flying towards his Cloud.

Fon is giving Reborn the same strange look. “Still, Tsunayoshi-kun definitely listens to you. Skull is right. He smiles like you”. 

Fon points to the teen in the air, smirking very eerily similar to Reborn. The hitman finally gives Fon his trademark smug smile.

At the battlefield, Namimori’s assassins laugh at the teenagers’ antics, and Reborn has to hold back himself from laughing when one of the fireballs headed for Kyoya hit Ken instead, setting fire to the fur the boy was wearing. 

“Tsuna would be wasted in the Vongola”. Reborn finds himself saying. 

Fon turns to him in surprise. “Should you really be saying that?”.

Reborn smirks. “Nothing in my contract says that Tsunayoshi needs to become Vongola Decimo, Fon. Only that I must train him”.

“And here I thought you were loyal to Timoteo”.

Reborn tips his fedora upwards, watching his student do barrel rolls in the air. 

“Timoteo’s an old friend I owe favors to, but he would never amount to half the Sky that Tsuna is”.

From the corner of his eyes, Reborn sees Fon smile. “I thought the Greatest Hitman Tutor would never stoop so low as to have favorites”.

Reborn smirks, but he doesn’t deny the accusation.

They restore the forest in three days. 

By the end of the week, Namimori is back to its oblivious, idyllic norm, where a retired Mafioso can seamlessly blend in as the watermelon stall owner living next door.

Tsunayoshi and his friends remain normal middle schoolers, though the group receives more free bags of food and other items more often than before.

And like all normal teens in normal Japanese towns, Tsuna and his friends too, excitedly helped their town set up for the yearly summer festival. 

For the first time, Ryohei was finally given a pass to leave the hospital for an evening to attend the festival. To everyone but Tsuna and Kyoko’s surprise, Kyoya was the most excited, volunteering to bring the boxer around everywhere. 

Tsuna wouldn’t deny that the decision was very efficient, if the sea of people parting at the mere sight of the Demon of Namimori pushing someone on a wheelchair was an indication. 

Tsuna mentally notes that a bright purple yukata with white swirly cloud patterns did little to diminish the fear evoked by Hibari Kyoya. 

Or maybe, it was the fact that Kyoya was more frightening hovering over Ryohei, glaring at anyone who even dared look at his friend longer than two seconds. 

Hana had dubbed Kyoya and Ryohei the strangest pair of best friends, before challenging Kyoko and Haru to a shateki competition.

Tsuna had laughed and made a mental note to ask Fuuta if he’d ever made that ranking. He made a second mental note to ask Skull to frame said ranking on their wall. 

Ryohei quickly made friends with Tetsuya-kun and Takeshi-kun, and to a certain extent, Hayato. 

Hayato looked very… unenthusiastic the entire time. It was so unlike the hot-tempered teen, it was starting to concern Tsuna. 

“Are you okay, Hayato-kun?”.

Hayato hesitates, avoiding Tsuna’s gaze before he manages to ask. “Why didn’t you take me to the front lines with you, Tsuna-san?”.

Tsuna winces. His intuition berates him. Tsuna had known Hayato would feel insecure, with Takeshi on the front lines. Tsuna had chosen to ignore his intuition in favor of believing that Hayato would understand rationality. 

‘Cold, hard, logic shouldn’t have a place in relationships we treasure, Tsu-kun’, Skull had told him once. 

“I’m sorry”. Tsuna begins, and he immediately knows it’s the wrong thing to say, seeing Hayato’s crestfallen look.

He panics. “I don’t think you’re weak Hayato-kun! Not at all! I’m sorry that I never explained it well or asked for your opinion, that’s all”. 

Tsuna inhales, trying to calm himself down. “Objectively, I didn’t know how many enemies we were facing, how many allies we had. Most of our fighters were short-ranged fighters and your dynamites would have been really disadvantaged considering the numbers and the terrain... I didn’t want you to be in danger… and I didn’t want to put anyone on our side in danger either”.

Hayato clenches his fist. “I would die for you, Tsuna-san”.

“No!”, Tsuna surprises himself at the indignation in his own voice. “That’s exactly the last thing I want you to do, Hayato-kun! You’re my brother. I don’t think you’re weak at all. I just want you to be safe”. 

Hayato is looking at Tsuna in shock, he tries to say something. Hayato fails to form coherent words.

Tsuna smiles. “You’re my family, Hayato”.

Hayato looks like he’s about to cry, but he shakes it off before uncharacteristically looking away from Tsuna. 

“You could have asked me at least, Tsuna-san”, the teen says with the slightest hint of annoyance.

Tsuna sheepishly smiles. “I’m sorry. You can knock some sense into me next time, if you’d like. It would really have been more fun with you there, Hayato-kun”. 

Hayato gives Tsuna a grateful look. “You were right, though. The mission would have been difficult if I was in the front lines”.

Tsuna shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter if I’m right. I’m still sorry for not asking you”. 

Hayato hesitates, but he accepts the apology and Tsuna beams. It seems therapy and living with Skull has been doing wonders for the bomber, at the very least. He’s no longer worshipping a flawless Tsuna in his head.

“I’d still die for you, though”. Hayato says, in such an unfamiliar arrogance towards Tsuna that it makes the brunette laugh. 

“And I’ll do my best to make sure you’ll never have to, Hayato-kun”.

There’s a strange emotion on Hayato’s face. “The Vongola… the Mafia is not a kind world, Tsuna-san”.

Tsuna just smiles. “I know. I don’t want to be Vongola Decimo, Hayato-kun. If someone came up to me tomorrow saying that they want to take the Vongola from me, I’d wrap the entire Vongola up with golden ribbons and ship them all off away from here. I would rather have all my friends home and safe than become great, Hayato-kun”.

Tsuna feels Hayato’s green eyes assessing him and for the first time, Tsuna finally gets the impression that the other teen is seeing him as an actual person. 

Tsuna had always worried that Hayato would never see him past the Mafia heir, the Juudaime he’d built up in his head. 

“If that’s what Tsuna-san wants, then, I guess I have to start practicing how to tie ribbons”.

Tsuna couldn't stop himself from laughing.  

I don’t want to become Vongola Decimo.

The words echo in Reborn’s head, even as the pair of teens walk back to join the rest of their group.

“Soo”, Skull casually drawls on, a wary look sent towards Reborn. “You heard Tsuna’s resolve, senpai”. 

Reborn scoffs. 

As if that changes anything. 

“My contract said that I must train Tsunayoshi to become Vongola Decimo. None of the provisions require me to force the boy to become Decimo”.

Reborn had checked, of course. From the first moment he had the sinking feeling he was growing more attached to Tsunayoshi than he should be, he had started reading the finer prints of his contract. 

Skull is giving him a strange look. “You’ve changed, senpai”. 

Reborn doesn’t dignify Skull with a response. Instead, he asks. “There’s something I don’t understand. If Tsunayoshi doesn’t want to become Vongola Decimo, why go along with the Vongola’s games when he’s certainly capable enough to defend himself?”.

Skull only sighs and Reborn quickly realizes the topic is another mystery he would need to solve one day. “Tsu-kun’s a very kind boy, senpai. He wants to save everyone”. 

That’s all Skull says. Reborn already knows that that’s all he’s going to get out of the stuntman.

He quickly changes the topic before the mood can grow more sour.

“You’re not wearing a yukata”. The statement comes out more accusing than Reborn intended.

He had been curious all morning if a special event would have Skull finally trading the jumpsuit for something… more appealing. 

“You’re not wearing one either, senpai”. 

“I’m Italian”. 

Skull frowns. “Last I checked, senpai, I’m Italian too. Ah— Lambo-kun! We have to pay for that!”.

Reborn (did not) pout as Skull’s attention quickly shifted to the five-year-old boy silently shoving a handful of takoyaki into his mouth. 

Beside Lambo, Fuuta looked extremely guilty, having failed to stop the younger kid’s shenanigans again. 

Almost expertly, Skull comforts Fuuta with a few reassuring words, before turning to scold Lambo quietly. 

The Cloud then gives a handful of bills to a laughing stall owner, who happily refuses payment. “You’re Sawada-kun’s friend, aren’t you? Of course it’s okay!”.

To Reborn’s surprise, Lambo doesn’t even throw a tantrum — instead, the kid looks properly apologetic. He sits quietly next to Fuuta, both kids eating the snack Skull got them. 

“I’m surprised Lambo listens to you”. Reborn comments.

“Of course. That’s because I listen to Lambo-kun too, ne?”.

The kid nods enthusiastically. “Skull-san is nice to Lambo-kun, unlike Baka-Reborn!”.

“Lambo-kun, remember what I said? Reborn is older than you, so you should call him Reborn-san, right?”.

Lambo glares at Reborn, but quickly mumbles a “Baka Reborn-san”.

Well, progress, at least

“This is why you’re the lackey, Skull. At least Fon managed to teach Ipin some manners”.

At this point, Lambo gets distracted by a random mini-basketball game that Lambo was obviously too small to even win a prize for. 

Without even any hesitation, Skull pays for a few games, before reminding the kid. 

“Now remember, Lambo-kun. We won’t always be able to win the first time, but what matters is that we try and try again, okay?”.

Lambo happily listens, before dragging Fuuta over to the stall. 

To Reborn’s utter shock, Skull winks at Fuuta, who mischievously winks back.

Reborn hadn’t even known Fuuta could grin so mischievously.

Reborn watches in awe as Fuuta uses his ranking powers on the side to help levitate some of Lambo’s shots. 

“I’m starting to think you’re a bad influence on these kids, Skull”. Reborn comments, still staring at the usually timid child giggle at his own mischief. 

Skull fakes a gasp. “Of course not, senpai! I’m an upstanding, model citizen!”. 

The sarcasm in the absurd stuntman’s voice makes Reborn chuckle. 

“Idiot. You’re the reason why Tsuna and his friends are all so unmanageable”.

Skull winks at Reborn and the hitman has to stop himself from dropkicking the Cloud.

“It’s nice to hear you finally recognizing my charms, senpai~”.

Reborn pinches Skull, but he smiles all the same. 

Tsuna wears a guilty look on his face as Skull takes one long look at his messed-up and dirty yukata.

“In my defense, it’s really not my fault this time”.

Tsuna quickly narrates the last two hours’ events. 

The lifeguards stealing stall money, Kyoya beating everyone up, Ryohei’s thoughtless comment that Kyoya was the strongest of them all, the sudden Death Match, between Kyoya, Takeshi and Kyoko — which Kyoko won by default, because Kyoya and Takeshi accidentally destroyed the kingyo-sukui stall where Hana and Hayato were having a competition over the best goldfish catcher. Kyoya ended up taking one of Hana’s electrified knives in the shoulder and Takeshi was caught off-guard by one of Hayato’s bombs. 

Tsuna points to his two friends carrying a bucket of tiny goldfish each, bickering with each other, unaware of the less-than-friendly glares two slightly smoking and worn-out ravens were sending them from the other side of the field.

“You know, I’m starting to think senpai has a point. You kids are getting more chaotic”.

Tsuna scoffs. “Well, I thought he said that he loved chaos”.

Skull laughs, lightly scolding Tsuna for his cheekiness. At the end of his short lecture, though, his expression softens. “It sounds like you had fun, Tsuna”.

Familiar warmth spreads in Tsuna’s chest. “I really did. My friends are crazy and chaotic and very destructive, and I even have all the damage receipts to prove that, and they’re questionably violent too — but they’re mine”.

Tsuna sees familiar fondness in Skull’s eyes and he relaxes. The Cloud hums. “You know, I actually won something for you”.

Tsuna watches curiously as Skull pulls out a large lion plushie from seemingly out of nowhere. Tsuna blushes. “Aren’t I too old for plushies?”.

Skull raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you? I guess I could just give it to Lambo…”

“N, No!”, Tsuna says, quickly grabbing the lion from Skull’s hands. Skull’s eyes widen in surprise. “You gave it to me already. No take-backs”.

Skull blinks his surprise off, laughing. “You’re still the same as ever, Tsu. Still, you handled that yakuza invasion well. You didn’t even seem scared at all”.

Tsuna snorts. “You told me I could handle it. I don’t have to be scared as long as you say that, right”.

Tsuna grins as Skull gently pats his hair. He hugs the lion plushie closer. Somehow, he’s gotten much taller and Skull seems so much smaller now, but he still feels as young as a tiny kid. 

“I’m proud of you”. Skull says

The fireworks go off. 

“Thanks, dad”. 

Tsuna’s surprised at what he says.

Skull doesn’t hear him, the Cloud’s attention has turned to the fireworks littering the skies, but he does give Tsuna a light pat when he sees the teen’s surprised face. 

Honestly, Tsuna shouldn’t have been so surprised. He’d known it all along, he just never said the words out loud. 

Skull had always been his dad. Skull patiently taught him how to become better, kinder and stronger . Skull always showed up for him. Skull was always the first one to be proud of him. Skull was the first person Tsuna told about his losses and his victories. 

Skull was the only person who knew Tsuna’s worries and fears — and did his best to help Tsuna overcome them. 

Skull had shown up every single day Tsuna needed him and brick by brick, laid down Tsuna’s confidence and bravery and resolve to be as strong as they were today.

Skull had believed in him — believes in him. 

That’s all Dame-Tsuna ever needed. 

That one, single, person who believed in him.

He remembers that day, years ago. On the cliff. The sheer pride he felt when he learned to fly.

Skull was right. Tsuna had never doubted himself since that day.

He looks at the tiny purple figure before him and the vast sky that lit up with all the colors in the world.

 He watches Skull bicker with Reborn and Fon. He watches Kyoya, Kyoko and Ryohei share sandwiches on a bright, yellow, picnic mat. He watches Hana and Hayato’s pained expressions as Lambo, Ipin and Fuuta argue about something next to them — while Takeshi egged the kids further on. 

Warmth fills Tsuna up. He would never trade his life for the world. He felt like the luckiest person in the entire universe. 

The teen’s eyes glow amber with resolve. 

Silently, Tsuna promised that he would do everything to keep his family safe. 

Chapter Text

Flashback

Tsuna had a lot of questions about life. 

He’s ten years old. Skull says that being curious is normal.

Honestly, Tsuna thinks that most ten year olds probably don’t have that one, singular, nagging question echoing in their heads.

“Where’s my dad?”, — always in the corner of Tsuna’s mind as he grew up, seeing peers spend time with their fathers in Namimori.

Tsuna had told his friends about his greatest question once. 

Hana tried to comfort Tsuna saying he didn’t need a dad. 

Hana’s point was perfectly valid, of course. 

Hana didn’t have a dad either. Instead, she had two moms although she had to pretend that her other mom was her aunt when they went outside. 

Tsuna thinks he wouldn’t have minded not having a dad. 

But there’s a huge difference between not having a dad, and having one that’s disappeared like a puff of smoke to the other side of the world.

So when Skull told Tsuna he would answer any of Tsuna’s questions, even the difficult ones, Tsuna had not even hesitated asking the biggest question plaguing his existence.

“Where’s my dad?”. 

The answer is anticlimactic, Tsuna thinks, standing in the middle of the Vongola’s gigantic ballroom. 

He’s looking straight at his dad, like he’s been doing for the last fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes was more than enough for Tsuna to realize that finding his dad was a hopeless endeavor.

Deep down, Tsuna hoped that finding his dad would make his mom happier, make his mom okay enough, so she could see Tsuna, instead of the dame version of him that she’d built up in her head. 

Tsuna was hoping that his dad would see something in Tsuna, recognize him as the son he’d always wanted, and come home because he was proud of who Tsuna had become. 

But instead of a tearful reunion — things falling into place at last, Tsuna got this. 

The damn idiot he called a father couldn’t even recognize his own son standing fifteen feet away, glaring daggers at him. 

“Maybe he doesn’t recognize me because of the illusion”. He mutters. Beside him, the indigo-haired boy snorts.

“Kufufufu, I dyed your hair and eyes purple, Tsunayoshi-kun. I don’t think this even qualifies as an illusion”. 

The truth doesn’t make Tsuna feel less bitter. 

The fact that he’d met Iemitsu’s curious gaze straight on for more than five times only stung even more.

“Besides, even if I changed our illusion completely right now, Skull would still be able to find both of us in seconds”. Mukuro mutters.

There must be a strange expression on Tsuna’s face because Mukuro swears in annoyance and immediately drags him off to an empty room to switch the illusion. 

They’re not even three minutes back in the crowd when the Cloud Arcobaleno marches straight towards them.

Though Skull is wearing his helmet, Tsuna could feel the ‘you’re in big trouble’ echoing distinctly from the toddler’s strides. 

Judging by Mukuro’s snickers behind him, the other kid could sense it too. 

“Mukuro, Tsunayoshi, what on earth are both of you thinking, switching illusions like that in Vongola territory?”, Skull is scolding them in whispers, but Tsuna can’t help it — he smiles.

He found us. 

It’s such a stupid thought but it’s so comforting.

Mukuro’s still wearing his disinterested look, but Tsuna can tell he’s disappointed. “Kufufu, how were you even able to find us so quickly? I’m sure I masked all my Mist flames”.

Skull sighs exasperatedly, “You’re really good at hiding your illusions, Mukuro-kun. But, both of you can’t act to save your lives. It wouldn’t matter how good your illusions are, if you walk, stand and hunch over the same way you normally do”. 

Again, Tsuna’s smile grows wider. 

Skull found them because he knew them. He could recognize Tsuna, no matter what he looked like.

He doesn’t know why the thought fills him with so much relief.

Skull clicks his tongue, motioning Tsuna to kneel lower to his height. “Besides, I can recognize Tsuna’s messy tie anywhere. I told you not to pull on it, didn’t I?”.

Skull’s tiny hands fix Tsuna’s tie expertly, even as he’s scolding the pair of kids. Tsuna just smiles shyly, not even the slightest bit guilty at all.

He meets Mukuro’s eyes, the other boy watching them with a strange expression. 

Tsuna watches Mukuro grin before the Mist starts pulling on his pristine tie too.

“Kufufufu, I’ve ruined mine too, clumsy me”.

Skull doesn’t even miss a beat, motioning at Mukuro to kneel down before fixing his tie and scolding the boy. 

Tsuna exchanges wide smiles with Mukuro.

Skull only shakes his head at the both of them. “So, Tsuna, Iemitsu’s right there. Didn’t you want to ask him something?”.

Tsuna flinches. It all seems stupid now. He’d wanted to ask Iemitsu to come home. 

He shakes his head, looking downwards.

“No, forget it, Skull. Let’s just go home”.

He hears Skull sigh. 

Tsuna winces, already anticipating the disappointment in Skull’s tone. He’d wasted their time. They’d gone to Italy because of Tsuna’s stupid question and now they weren’t getting anything out of the trip at all…

“You don’t have to hold back, Tsuna-kun”.

“I’m s— huh?”, Tsuna looks up mid-apology in surprise. 

“You’re kids. If you or Mukuro-kun feel angry, then you’re allowed to yell. You’re allowed to complain. You’re allowed to fight back when something hurts and you don’t understand it because you’re kids”.

Mukuro frowns, sending Skull a suspicious look. “I thought adults prefer children who don’t throw tantrums”. 

Skull just chuckles. “Quiet kids are just easier to handle, that’s all. But it’s supposed to be an adult’s responsibility to listen to kids no matter what they want to say and no matter how loud they want to say it”.

Tsuna tries to really think about what Skull is saying. “You won’t ever hate us, no matter how much damage we cause?”.

Skull laughs. “Tsu-kun, Mu-kun, you can both set the world on fire, and if it’s for the right reasons — I’ll always be proud of you”.

A distance away, Tsuna sees Iemitsu Sawada cross the room. Suddenly, the blonde man doesn’t feel as significant as before. In fact, Tsuna feels absolutely nothing. 

In the end, Iemitsu Sawada was nothing more than a stranger that Tsuna shared a handful of memories with. 

Tsuna stares at Skull. He does feel angry. He’d always told himself it was okay, but Tsuna’s actually mad at his dad for leaving him — for not knowing him enough to recognize him under the flimsiest of illusions. 

“Kufufufu, does this mean we can sneak around the Vongola base instead?”.

“Can we burn the paperwork in my dad’s office?”, Tsuna surprised himself by asking. 

Tsuna doesn’t have to see under Skull’s helmet to know that the stuntman is wearing the widest grin.

“I thought you’d never ask”.

4 years later

There's about twenty taunting remarks hanging on the tip of Reborn’s tongue right now, but he valiantly holds them back seeing Tsuna’s defeated expression.

It’s Saturday, and normally, the boy would be overjoyed by the prospect of spending the weekends with his friends — but the morning had started with Tsuna’s quick evacuation from Skull’s apartment after receiving news that Iemitsu was coming home.

There’s a thick layer of dust over the teen’s bedroom in the Sawada household, but Tsuna doesn’t even seem to notice, immediately plopping down on the cushion before the tiny television in his room. 

Tsuna’s wearing a soulless expression, but Reborn couldn’t exactly blame him. Nana hadn’t so much as acknowledged Tsuna’s prolonged absence when he’d come home. The woman was deep in the middle of preparing her feast for her husband’s return home. 

She had greeted Tsuna like he was returning home from school instead of a nearly year-long absence from under her roof.

Tsuna hadn’t even flinched, but Reborn knew his student enough to notice the dismay clouding his normally mischievous and bright amber eyes.

Reborn takes a sip of the espresso Nana had given him — it’s too bland. 

For a moment, Reborn shares his student’s desire to go home. 

The quiet is unsettling but it doesn’t last long. Tsuna puts on a video game and the room is immediately filled with faint 8-bit background music. 

Reborn finds it surprisingly soothing. The kids would play the same game back in Skull’s apartment.

He watches Tsuna play, quietly, but finds himself snorting when the kid dies over an attack he could’ve easily dodged if he’d just jumped a second earlier.

Tsuna glares at him. “I bet you don’t even know how to play video games, you old… hitman”, the teen finished lamely.

Reborn smirks. “There’s nothing I can’t do, Dame-Tsuna”.

“Really? Prove it then”. Tsuna hands Reborn a game controller. 

Immediately, Reborn is tempted to scold the teen for his audacity — but he sees Tsuna’s tense shoulders and his uncharacteristically timid eyes, so Reborn ends up accepting the controller from the teen.

They play in silence, at first. 

But as Reborn won round, after round, after round — Tsuna slowly starts muttering and groaning under his breath. 

“What the — how on earth are you so good at this, Reborn?”. 

Reborn holds himself back from laughing. “A good Mafia boss must always be prepared for all battles, Dame-Tsuna”. 

Tsuna groans in annoyance, “That doesn’t even make any sense! This is a video game! You’re old enough to be my grandfather — aaaah!!! I surrender!”

Reborn lets go of Tsuna’s arm, smirking. “Are you saying you’re that weak at playing video games, Dame-Tsuna? That you got defeated by an amateur player?”.

There’s a stubborn look on Tsuna’s face. Reborn had clearly wounded his pride. 

“This doesn’t make sense — Kyoya can’t even beat me at this game”. The teen mutters, just as they start another round. 

Reborn wins again, effortlessly, much to the dismay of one Sawada Tsunayoshi. 

Reborn only smirks, but his eyes note that finally, Tsuna’s smiling like normal and dishing out sassy comments that Reborn is just the teensiest, tiniest, bit proud of him for. 

“Is it honestly your first time playing this game?”, Tsuna asks, glaring at Reborn suspiciously.

“Yes”. Reborn says back with a poker face.

It’s a total lie, of course. 

Reborn couldn’t count the number of times Skull had forced him to play the wretched video game while the kids were at school, just because he was bored. 

Reborn couldn’t refuse the stuntman’s pleading face — especially not when Skull promised to share Tsuna’s most embarrassing childhood stories with Reborn every time he won a round.

The incentives were far too good for Reborn to resist.

He quickly became an expert in the wretched video game. 

(He also now possesses an unhealthy amount of blackmail material on his student)

But — Tsuna didn’t need to know that… yet.

He wins another round. 

Tsuna screams. 

Reborn laughs.

Tsuna used to think that he’d probably die due to the typical violence of the Underworld, his dying will flames malfunctioning or some megalomaniac world destroyer out to get him. 

Tsuna now believes that he’s certainly most likely to die from the stress of reining in his friends.

After a very long Sunday out in Namimori’s shopping district, Tsuna lets out a sigh of relief finally sitting down in front of the food court. 

Hana sends him a look of pity as she hands him a glass of lemonade. Takeshi only chuckles and Tsuna reminds himself that no, burying his friends alive would not solve any of his current life problems. 

“I can understand why Lambo would be curious enough to sleep in a dog cage but you, Takeshi?”.

There’s a wide grin on Takeshi’s face. “Woof”.

Tsuna looks to Hayato for help, but somehow, after suffering from repeated shock and disbelief over Namimori’s strangeness, Hayato was now practically immune to anything remotely weird. 

Hayato only takes one look at Takeshi, before returning to the occult book he was reading. “He would definitely be more useful as a dog, Tsuna-sama”.

Hana snorts. Tsuna glares at her.

“And Hana-chan, just because Reborn was winning against you at the arcades doesn’t mean you could use lightning flames to manipulate the slot machines!”.

Hana, at least, looks the slightest bit guilty when she says, “it was a power surge, Sawada. I had nothing to do with it”.

Yeah right. A power surge was about as likely as Kyoko not setting something on fire on a regular day. 

From the corner of his eyes, he sees Kyoko quietly teaching Fuuta and Ipin how to set things on fire using a battery and a gum wrapper. 

“A Mafioso takes advantage of unpredictable situations, Dame-Tsuna. You could learn a lot from Hana”. Reborn’s familiar tutor voice says from behind him.

Tsuna doesn’t even want to look at Reborn. His hitman tutor and Haru had decided to join today’s outing in matching costumes — dressed as darumas to bring Tsuna the good luck he needs to deal with his father coming home.

Honestly, he could almost appreciate the sentiment, if Haru and Reborn hadn’t done such a good job with their costumes that he’d nearly fainted from fear when he woke up to two hyperrealistic daruma-people watching him while he slept that morning. 

Again, Tsuna quietly reconsiders burying his friends alive.

“It could have been a power surge, Tsuna-san. The arcade’s owner used subpar materials that weren’t up to code. Hibari’s going to bite them to death soon”. Hayato says.

That was another development Tsuna hadn’t expected at all. 

Something in Hayato had clicked into place and he’d quickly gone from hero-worshipping Tsuna to becoming close friends with Hana and Kyoya, of all people. 

Hayato quickly took up the responsibility of managing Namimori extensively — and recently, he’d been translating Kyoya’s ‘bite the herbivores to death’ projects for the rest of them.

Tsuna’s about to ask Hayato the secret to his translation work, when a loud explosion rang throughout Namimori.

Tsuna barely had time to react before he’s dodging a teen falling from the sky— blue flames shining bright on his forehead. 

“I’m sorry —“, the teen says before recognition flashes through the boy’s eyes. “Thou are—“

“Voiiiiii!”, the teen is interrupted by a loud shout from a silver haired swordsman. “What is this? Any piece of trash that gets in my way will be cut”.

Tsuna only sighs as the fight erupts around them. He doesn’t move or react. Instead, he takes another sip of lemonade and stays firmly seated. 

“Sawada-dono, you and your friends must evacuate quickly. He’s very dangerous”. The strange teen says, but Tsuna only shakes his head. 

“Uhh, I don’t think your fight has anything to do with us. So please just move to an area far from the city, secure fighting permits, and you may continue your battle”. Tsuna calmly explains.

There’s a look of incomprehension in the teen’s eyes. 

“My master asked me to deliver these to you, Sawada-dono”.

It’s a black, ornate box with the Vongola logo. 

Tsuna opens the box, sees sparkling rings inside and sighs. 

An explosion sends Tsuna’s glass of lemonade flying, much to Tsuna’s dismay.

The swordsman is now standing on top of the table, glaring straight at him. Tsuna notes that his friends are watching the scene unfold with barely-disguised amusement. 

“I see how it is. I need to defeat you and take those back”. The swordsman says pointing a sword straight at Tsuna. 

Tsuna meets silver eyes full of resolve and overwhelming strength he couldn’t help but grin madly. 

The swordsman winces. It probably doesn’t help that Tsuna’s friends are looking at him the same way — like he’s an angel that fell from the sky.

“You really want the Vongola rings?”, Tsuna asks, almost giddy.

“Voi! If you don’t give them to me, I’ll skewer you!”.

Tsuna’s eyes are probably sparkling at this point. 

In a rare show of coordination, Takeshi uses his rain flames to knock the smaller, Rain teen unconscious. 

Kyoko summons a glittery pink ribbon she hands to Hayato. 

Hayato quietly takes the box from Tsuna’s hands, ties the pink ribbon around it perfectly, before sending it flying to the long haired swordsman. 

“There. All yours!”. Tsuna smiles as sweetly as he can. 

There’s a strange expression on the swordsman’s face — like he’s unsure whether to gape at them or glare at them threateningly.

It makes him look like a fish out of water. 

Tsuna tries his best not to laugh.

The swordsman probably notices and glares at him distrustfully. 

“Voiiii, if I find out that these are fake, I will make sure none of you are left alive”.

There’s another explosion that scatters smoke all over the place. Tsuna and his friends don’t even move. 

The swordsman exits dramatically 

“Sawada Tsunayoshi”, Reborn starts, and Tsuna flinches. It’s the hitman’s familiar ‘you’re in deep trouble’ tone. 

He pouts. “What? I clearly said that if anyone wants the Vongola, I’ll give it back to them tied up with a ribbon, didn’t I?”.

Tsuna flinches. Reborn doesn’t look pleased at all. In fact, he looks stressed. 

He hears familiar footsteps approach them and he’s greeted by the familiar silhouette of Dino Cavallone approaching.

Dino just takes one look at the scene before taking it all in stride. 

”So, what did I miss?”.

Tsuna cheerfully greets Dino. “I gave the Vongola rings to that weird swordsman who wanted them. I don’t need to be the heir anymore, right?”.

Dino freezes.

Tsuna suddenly gets an ominous feeling. 

“Well… the thing is… Tsuna, I have them right here”.

“…”, Tsuna blinks. 

“…”. Dino smiles. 

“Nooooo! And Hayato-kun tied that ribbon so perfectly too!”, Tsuna screams, kneeling in anguish while his friends shake their heads disappointedly around the table. 

Kyoko takes the box from Dino, takes one long look at its contents before giving Tsuna a deadpan stare. “These look real, Tsuna-kun”.

Tsuna pales. 

Takeshi laughs. “Well, looks like you’re going to be barbecued tuna soon, Tsuna”.

Dino stays smiling, but his eyes clearly show both his confusion and panic.

Reborn inhales. 

Tsuna starts running. 

Familiar gunshots and explosions echo throughout Namimori.

Residents chuckle while they reminisce over the passions of youth.

Colonnello takes a quiet sip of the hot chocolate he’s been offered and tries to nonchalantly take a look around the large apartment unit.

It’s homey, that’s for sure. 

There’s a pile of scattered video games left on the living room floor and by the lack of dust, Colonnello quickly figures it’s something the kids love doing.

There’s a pile of papers haphazardly thrown under one of the shelves and Colonnello can see crayon from its corners.

There’s far too many mugs on the kitchen counters and they’re all in insanely different sizes, shapes and colors. Colonnello quietly wonders which one of the kids uses the pineapple mug with a quaint window and door.

Then, there’s the picture frames. 

Colonnello finds himself smiling as his eyes scan over the numerous frames littering Skull’s living room wall. A tiny Tsuna flying with his flames over a cliff. An exam with a perfect score. Kyoko, Hana and Tsuna in their elementary school uniforms eating cake. A child’s watercolor painting of Skull. Tiny Kyoya and Tsuna sparring…

His eyes drift to a picture in the corner of the room. It’s Reborn and Tsuna wearing matching fedoras sporting identical smirks, staring at the camera. 

He almost spits out his drink. 

Reborn sends him a curious look but then quickly returns to his bickering with Skull. 

“You can’t teach Hana-chan, senpai. Iemitsu’s eyes would definitely be on the boys”. Skull finally says something rational after a long conversation about Reborn poaching his students in the first place.

“Tsuna’s a menace. Why do you get to teach my best, obedient student while I’m left with your little monsters?”.

Colonnello feels like he’s dreaming. Reborn looks like he’s genuinely pouting and all Skull does is laugh. The damn idiot actually laughs.

“Tsu‘s not that bad, senpai. Besides, he likes you”.

Reborn looks offended at that. “Dame-Tsuna likes testing his stunts with me because he knows I have to keep him alive”.

Skull only laughs harder.

“Even Colonnello is luckier. He’s getting the Sun siblings”. Reborn points out.

So they haven’t forgotten Colonnello’s existence. He’s not sure whether that’s a good thing.

“Oy, it’s too early for this noise”. One of the bedroom doors opens and out comes Trident Shamal wearing pink fluffy slippers, looking like he’d just woken up, never mind the fact that it’s already three in the afternoon.

Neither Reborn or Skull even look surprised. Instead, Skull even looks contemplative. 

“We really should get you your own room. You can’t keep on sleeping on Haya-kun’s couch”. 

Shamal tiredly rubs his eyes and sits down next to Colonnello. Skull instantly hands him a cup of coffee. 

Reborn glares at Shamal.

“What? I know I’m going to train Hayato. You don’t have to tell me”. Shamal says, taking a sip of his coffee.

Colonnello blinks. He’d have expected more resistance from the stubborn assassin known to have rejected even the Varia’s invitation. 

Reborn’s still glaring daggers at Shamal until Skull gently sets down a mug of espresso in front of the hitman. Automatically, Reborn sighs, appeased.

Colonnello feels like he’s just stepped into a parallel world.

“The Ninth’s last instructions were for me to teach Tsunayoshi the first Vongola’s technique. Zero Point Breakthrough”. Reborn says.

“No”. The rejection from Skull comes swiftly and sternly. They all turn to the stuntman in surprise.

“You can teach Tsu-kun that technique later, but not when he’s fighting against Xanxus”.

“Skull, the Varia are dangerous, professional assassins. Tsunayoshi needs all the tricks he can learn to fight safely against them”. Reborn explains.

Colonnello hides his surprise. The old Reborn would’ve simply quashed anyone’s complaints — whether it was Skull or not. It had always been Reborn’s way or nothing at all.

“The Zero Point Breakthrough technique turns Sky Flames into ice. Two years ago, Viper called me for a mission to melt ice made of flames”.

Shamal is the fastest to react. “The fourth Vongola son has not been seen since the Cradle Affair eight years ago. Officially, they say he’s been put on house arrest”.

Skull somberly nods. “The Vongola Ninth trapped his fourth son, Xanxus, in a pillar of ice for years”.

Then the stuntman turns to Reborn. “The Varia’s a group of professional assassins. Since the cradle affair, Varia’ officers have taken on the roles of official adult Mafiosi. But senpai, Xanxus hasn’t grown up since he was sixteen”.

Colonnello knows he’s sporting a dark look. There’s a reason why it was called the Cradle Affair and why though the casualties were numerous — the Vongola hadn’t given harsher repercussions to the Varia at the time.

The coup was led by kids, after all. 

Varia officers — the oldest being Lussuria at seventeen and the youngest being Belphegor, aged eight — invaded the Vongola base all for the sake of a confrontation between Xanxus and Vongola Nono. 

It was the Mafia-version of a teenage rebellion. It wasn’t a big deal.

In fact, some supporters of the Ninth even felt relieved that Nono’s youngest was daring and brave enough to stage such a coup deserving of the “Mafia” name.

He was a kid. 

Colonnello, as an Arcobaleno, knew first hand the frustration of being a different age in mind and body. He looks across the table and he sees Reborn thinking the same thing.

“I want Tsuna to be ready to fight the Varia as much as you do, senpai, but I didn’t raise Tsu-kun to be a bully”.

Reborn snorts at the statement. Then, he says with enough gentleness to shatter Colonnello’s world view. 

“Fine, lackey, but you’re going to tell Tsunayoshi to take training seriously”.

“Deal”. Skull smiles. 

There’s a sound from the front door and Dino shyly walks in, taking his own seat around the table. 

“Sorry I’m late”, the Cavallone shyly says to the table of Arcobaleno plus one esteemed assassin.

Skull just grins. Colonnello watches with amazement as the Cloud he’d never really given a chance to know put on the familiar stuntman act.

“Great, we’re all here. Now, as responsible adults, don’t you think it’s our role as responsible adults to make sure the kids can play their games in a safe environment?”.

For the next hour, Skull presents his thirty-stage plan and Colonnello is, honestly, floored. 

Skull had thought of every single scenario, thought of every possible issue and planned contingencies accordingly. 

None of the others even seemed surprised. They took it all in stride, adding their own feedback and tiny details to Skull’s ‘grand plan’ throughout the meeting.

When the conversation ends, Shamal and Dino leave to find their students both wearing excited grins on their faces.

Colonnello stays back, takes one long look at Reborn and Skull going through the plans one last time and grins.

“Great work, lackey! You’re not so bad after all, kora”. He shouts.

Skull looks at him taken-aback. 

Reborn looks the tiniest bit murderous, but Colonnello doesn’t mind it one bit.

Things are just getting interesting and he’s glad he’s somehow gotten front-row seats. 

Kyoya has been glaring at him for the last hour and Takeshi still doesn’t know why. 

They’re an odd trio, that’s for sure — Hibari, Sasagawa-senpai and Takeshi together in Namimori Middle’s boxing club room. 

But Tsuna had insisted on some form of buddy system to keep everyone safe while they’re waiting for the Varia to strike back and somehow, Takeshi had ended up with the demon prefect. 

“Hey Kyoya! Look! There’s an extreme dent in the bag!”. Ryohei enthusiastically shouts from the middle of the boxing ring where he’s been punching a lone bag for the last hour.

“Hn”, Kyoya says, but he also sends the white haired teen an approving nod.

The interaction only makes Takeshi feel more out of place. He’s not sure why he’s here. Normally, he wouldn’t have minded spending time with Hibari and Sasagawa-senpai.

Except, today was one of those days.

Takeshi could feel it growing. The familiar emptiness spreading through his insides telling him that he wasn’t really special or good at anything. 

Takeshi could feel phantom pain in his arm. Damaged goods. He hears in his head over and over and over —

The feeling of cold metal against his temple wakes Takeshi up from his thoughts and his eyes meet stern steel grey ones.

“Herbivore. Your thoughts are too noisy”.

It takes Takeshi a full minute to realize that Kyoya was talking to him and that second, Kyoya was talking about him.

“What?”.

Kyoya doesn’t repeat himself. 

Instead, he looks towards the boxer across the room. 

“Do you think he is weak?”. Kyoya asks.

“Sasagawa-senpai? Of course not”. Takeshi honestly says.

“Hn. But he is crippled”. Kyoya bluntly says. Takeshi winces at the word. Crippled.

He shakes his head. “Sasagawa-senpai is doing his best though. He’s working hard to get stronger”.

Kyoya, at least, seems satisfied with the response and puts away his tonfas. “The herbivore refuses to surrender to nature or his fate and so he surpasses his limits”.

Takeshi stares at Sasagawa Ryohei. He’s certain he’s not imagining it. The faint yellow glow that surrounds Ryohei as he punches the sandbag again and again. 

The heavy bag is hanging on a rope tied to the ceiling. Takeshi knows that if he tried punching the same bag, it'd swing for at least a few inches. 

Ryohei punches the bag again. It doesn’t move. He clicks his tongue in annoyance, but he punches the same bag, in the same spot, over and over again.

“Sasagawa-senpai is amazing”. Takeshi mumbles.

Kyoya nods in agreement. “Do you think the herbivore does not feel despair?”.

Takeshi looks at Ryohei. He takes a good long look. He imagines what it would be like if he’d gotten into an accident as a kid and was told he’d never play baseball again.

“It’s impossible not to feel despair in senpai’s situation”. He says.

“Hn. You’re not a complete idiot after all, Yamamoto Takeshi”.

Takeshi looks up in surprise. “What?”.

“If an animal has been kept captive for all its life, do you think it would survive in the wild?”. 

Takeshi doesn’t know what Kyoya’s talking about all of a sudden but he shakes his head a “no”. 

“No. The animal must train to survive in the wild”. Hibari sends a piercing glare at Takeshi. He instantly freezes. “You are no longer captive but you are not yet free. You must sharpen your fangs, herbivore”.

From across the room, Ryohei lets out a battle cry and sends a strong punch flying towards the bag. 

It swings. It couldn’t have moved more than five inches but the bag moved all the same.

Takeshi feels something like fire in his soul.

“Extreeeeme!”. Ryohei screams, but Takeshi could see that his senpai seemed like he was close to crying.

He turns to Kyoya. “Everyone’s working hard. I guess I should stop thinking too much and just work hard too”.

“Hn”.

Takeshi just laughs, walking out of the boxing club with a quick, “see you later, Sasagawa-senpai!”.

He still feels empty. The voices in the back of mind haven’t completely turned themselves off. But Takeshi knows better now than to fall into despair.

He runs faster, heading home, a strange sense of resolve finally solidifying into a decision Takeshi’s a hundred percent certain he would never regret.

He would sharpen his fangs, like Kyoya said. 

It’s time to learn the sword. 

Reborn had always thought Sawada Iemitsu was an idiot, but nothing had reinforced this idea more than the last twelve hours he had spent watching the man attempt to reintegrate himself in the Sawada household.

Reintegrate, being the generous word.

No. It was more like he’d decided to pretend the last eight years never happened — and that his family had never noticed his absence at all.

“That’s my boy. He’s grown so much”. Iemitsu says almost braggingly.

Reborn feels the urge to shoot the man. There was only one person who could claim credit for Tsuna’s growth and his name definitely wasn’t Iemitsu. 

“I know. I’ve been taking care of him until now”. Reborn sarcastically says. 

“Thank you. I appreciate it”. Iemitsu says. 

It takes all of Reborn’s self control not to shoot the man full of holes. 

“Aren’t you going to tell Tsuna who you are?”. Reborn asks.

“There wasn’t a good time. But in the end, it worked out. I’ve already distributed what I needed to”.

The conversation ends at that. Iemitsu leaves. Reborn feels like he’s lost a significant amount of brain cells from the conversation alone. 

“I know you heard everything, Dame-Tsuna. You need to work on your spying skills if you want to trick me”. Reborn says, smirking at the shadow hiding between two walls.

Still, he could give Tsuna credit. 

He hadn’t noticed the kid poking around at least until halfway through the conversation.

Tsuna’s pouting when he emerges. “Does he really think I still don’t know what he does and who he is?”. 

Reborn doesn’t see the point in answering such an obvious question. “He’s given the Vongola rings to your friends”.

Tsuna frowns. “He really thinks we’re going to play his game just like that, huh?”. 

Reborn is about to insult Iemitsu when he sees a strange expression on his student’s face. Reborn holds his tongue.

“It scares me because in another world, I really might have played his game just like that”. 

There’s something vulnerable about Tsunayoshi, something young and raw that makes Reborn tread carefully over his words.

“I doubt that. You’re too stubborn for your own good”.

The statement makes Tsuna smile, at least. 

“I am stubborn, but… there’s always been a huge part of me that wanted to make him proud. I wanted to get his approval no matter what… even if it meant accepting the Vongola”.

“Do you still…”  Reborn starts asking, but as soon as he does, Tsuna shakes his head.

“I don’t need his approval anymore. There’s someone else I want to make proud of me no matter what”. Tsuna says, finally smiling. 

Reborn tips his fedora downwards to hide the smile creeping on his face. 

“He’s not the only one”. Reborn allows himself some sincerity. 

Tsuna looks at him in confusion. 

Reborn meets the brunette’s amber eyes and admires the bright resolve running through the damn kid. 

“He’s not the only one who has your back. Whatever your decision may be, I will support you, Dame-Tsuna”. 

Tsuna gapes at Reborn and the hitman smirks. 

Snapping back to reality, Tsuna quickly shakes his head. 

“T,thank you, Reborn”. The kid says with a bright smile. 

Reborn quickly looks away, but he does allow himself to quietly admit that regardless of the consequences, this was most certainly a reckless decision he would never come to regret. 

“Sawada Iemitsu is a misogynistic prick”. Sasagawa Kyoko declares and Hayato nods along. 

It’s one of those strange days where Tsuna’s too busy with Reborn or Skull, so he spends the days with the others instead.

Today, apparently, it’s Kyoko that seeks him out — the girl having walked all the way to the convenience store where Hayato worked just to rant about the Vongola’s advisor. 

“That’s probably one of his better qualities”. Hayato says, munching on an onigiri. 

“True. Still, he gave the Sun ring to Nii-san. He’s barely two months out of the hospital and he expects my brother to fight with trained elite assassins?”.

Hayato raises an eyebrow in surprise. “He gave the rings to Turf top? That idiot’s strong for sure but his punches aren’t even half as destructive as yours”.

Kyoko smirks. “Aww, Haya-chan, I didn’t know you thought of me so highly”. 

Hayato doesn’t even react. “Idiot. You have to be at least that strong if you want to stick around Tsuna-san and protect him”.

Kyoko grins. Hayato rolls his eyes. 

Quietly, Hayato goes back to putting things back onto their proper shelves. The silence stretches on. He can feel Kyoko’s eyes trained on him. 

“What?”. He glares at the girl staring straight right at him.

“You know, Haya-chan. You’re actually surprisingly nice”. 

Hayato runs that over in his head before snorting. “Okay”. 

For the first time, Kyoko actually looks surprised. “What? No, what did you say, woman?”. Kyoko does her best interpretation of Hayato’s shouting.

Hayato winces but then sighs. “Well, unlike Iemitsu Sawada, I know how not to be a misogynistic prick”.

Kyoko can’t help it. She bursts out laughing.

“You’re actually not as uptight as I thought you were, Haya-chan. I guess that’s why Kyo-kun likes keeping you around”.

“…What?”

“What?…”

They stare at each other uncomprehendingly. 

Fortunately for both of them, the awkward stare-off is broken off by the swift opening of the convenience store doors, followed by the familiar footsteps of one exhausted Kurokawa Hana.

The brunette groans.

“Sawada Iemitsu is a misogynistic prick”.

The statement cracks both Hayato and Kyoko, sending them laughing.

“Join the club, Hana-chan”. Kyoko laughs, trying to hold herself back from crying.

They’re laughing for about five seconds before Hayato freezes.

“Wait. If Kurokawa’s not the Lightning…”

The three of them immediately stand up.

Hana pales. 

“There’s only one other active lightning in Namimori”…

Tsuna can’t remember the last time he had felt this angry. 

He feels anger fuel his flames. 

Behind him, Lambo’s complaining about being hungry. 

Hayato’s doing her best to keep the kids away from the group of assassins that had shown up before them.

That’s probably the sign that everything’s gone to hell, if Hayato’s the one out of them all handling kids. 

Tsuna can distinctly feel the cold waves trying to wash over him — Takeshi’s rain flames were flooding out at this point in an attempt to calm him…

Tsuna hears the cackling lightning of Hana‘s flames. He almost laughs.

The Varia and his dad must have really messed up if Tsuna’s normally rational, calm and disinterested lightning was taking up arms against them. 

There’s a steady and strong hand holding both his shoulders and Tsuna doesn’t have to look back to know it’s Takeshi and Kyoko’s joint efforts keeping him grounded to the floor and stopping him from attacking the idiots who dared hurt his little brother.

The screaming idiot they’d met a few days ago was having a conversation with Takeshi — only to be cut off by a scarred man wearing a raccoon around his neck.

Reborn’s narrating something, Tsuna’s too out of it to fully understand but he does hear the scarred man’s name. 

Xanxus.

Tsuna’s read enough manga to know that the man was probably the group’s leader, and he’d fought enough villains to know that the man was most-likely dangerous.

Something in the back of Tsuna’s mind tells him he could beat Xanxus in battle, though. Barely, but a chance is a chance. 

Xanxus lights his hand up with familiar orange flames and Tsuna smiles almost murderously. 

No one could blame him for tearing into the Vongola heir if it was done in self-defense, right?

A large pickaxe lands in front of Xanxus and Tsuna annoyedly restrains himself from sending a flaming punch at the older man. 

Tsuna follows the weapon to its source — and his eyes only narrow at the familiar blonde hair. 

Iemitsu?

His so-called father starts a stare off with Xanxus and to Tsuna’s surprise, the Vongola heir and his subordinates do not even make an attempt to harm Iemitsu.

Tsuna had known his father was powerful in the Mafia world. He’d known it since he was ten years old and Skull had shown him the Vongola’s territory —

“Vongola’s external advisor”. Reborn continues to narrate beside him. 

“The external advisor has a part equal to the boss in deciding the successor. He has the right to give the Half Vongola Rings to whomever he chooses”. 

Tsuna had known, logically, what the half Vongola rings mysteriously distributed to him and his friends meant. 

He’d known his ‘father’ had played a part in it somehow, but that doesn’t stop the bitterness and betrayal that fills him all the same.

“My son, Xanxus. He is truly worthy to become the Decimo”. Nono had written in his letter. 

Tsuna had been told that all three of the Ninth’s sons had been killed so for a fourth adult son to surface out of nowhere. Tsuna was sure there’s a story there somewhere.

But he sees Iemitsu smile fractionally as he watches Tsuna and his friends from above the cliff — and the anger inside him grows.

He thinks of this as a game.

Tsuna imagines a world where he and his friends were truly civilians. He imagines a version of himself that doesn’t know anything about the Mafia, mindlessly accepting Lambo as his Lightning.

They would have all been in real danger and his ‘father’ would have just stood by and watched the damn show. 

Tsuna doesn’t want the Vongola. He could’ve thrown the damned box of half rings straight at Iemitsu’s face. He still wanted to if he’s being honest.

But his eyes lock with Hana and Kyoko and both his childhood friends give him wordless nods. 

If the Varia and Iemitsu wanted to play a game, well, Tsuna didn’t want to be the spoilsport ruining their fun.

He’ll do anything to wipe those smug smirks off their faces.

Lambo’s asking what’s for dinner again and his flames burn ever warmer.

Screw the Varia. Screw Iemitsu. Screw the Vongola.

No one touches his little brother.

Reborn could count the number of times he’s ever been at a loss of what to do on one hand. 

He’s the World’s Greatest Hitman — he’s ready for all possible outcomes. He’s got a thousand battle plans and safe houses hidden around the planet. 

But still, he’s not quite prepared for one intelligent, sassy and massively chaotic Sawada Tsunayoshi bursting into tears the moment he steps foot into Skull’s apartment with his friends.

No one’s really prepared for it either. Reborn’s met with the mixture of shocked and lost faces of Tsuna’s friends. 

Skull’s the only one who really jumps into action. It’s not even a second later that he’s followed Tsuna to his room.

Reborn sighs and follows the pair. The door is slightly open and the sounds of soft conversations drift outside. 

Reborn quietly listens, although he does get the sudden urge to shoot the Varia and Iemitsu full of holes over the sound of Tsuna’s sobs.

“It’s unfair, Skull. I never wanted any of this. I don’t even want to be a Mafia boss”. Tsuna starts. “I could handle it if it was just me, but I can’t let my friends get into danger just because of me”.

Reborn peeks into the room and he sees Skull lightly draw circles around Tsuna’s back. 

“We can run away if you want. I can call in enough favors to make you and your friends disappear off the face of the earth”. 

Tsuna stops crying. He sits up, wiping his tears off his face. “You’d do that?”.

Skull shrugs. “If it was what you wanted, I’ll make it work, Tsunayoshi-kun”.

Reborn watches Tsuna really think about the offer and the hitman feels uncannily like there’s something stuck in his chest. 

Then, Tsuna shakes his head. 

“No”. And Reborn feels like he’s breathing again. 

Tsuna continues on, “We can’t do that. Kyoko-chan would want to bring Haru-chan along and Haru-chan has her dad who’s a professor. Mukuro-kun has his friends and Kyoya — Kyo-kun would never leave Namimori behind. And… you’d have to leave Reborn and your other friends”.

Skull smiles softly. “If you wanted it, Tsu-kun, I would want it too”. 

Despite the distance, Reborn feels the familiar warmth of Skull’s ever-territorial Cloud flames. 

Skull is full of sincerity when he declares, “There’s nothing I’ll ever want more than your happiness and safety, Tsu-kun”.

The words send Tsuna crying again — but even Reborn can tell that it’s different, somehow. Tsuna’s faintly glowing amber, for one. 

He coughs, before letting himself in, to make the pair aware of his presence. 

Tsuna tries to stop crying almost immediately, but chokes on his own sob. Skull and Reborn snicker. The teen glares at both of them — offended. 

His puffy eyes only make Reborn and Skull snicker harder.

“I hate both of you”. Tsuna says, his voice slightly hoarse from crying. 

“You’re going to get hurt. Your friends are going to get hurt, because you’re all playing Mafia together. But that shouldn’t have been an excuse for the kids tagging along with you to get hurt too”. Skull begins, “I’m sorry Tsuna, someone should’ve been looking after Lambo, Ipin and Fuuta as well”. 

Tsuna blushes at the sudden apology, looking away quickly. “No, it wasn’t your fault. If anything, Iemitsu’s to blame because he gave the rings to Lambo-kun when Hana-chan’s Lightning flame is far stronger than his. No one could’ve seen that coming, Skull”. 

Reborn coughs. He’s guilty of this, at least, and he knows it. “I should’ve seen it coming, at least. The Bovino Famiglia has always been a wild card. Iemitsu must have wanted them to become part of the alliance by having the youngest son of the second-in-line heir become Vongola”.

Reborn can only sigh in relief when Tsuna only looks disgusted by the fact Iemitsu had considered using a five-year-old as a bargaining chip, and not that Reborn had suspected but didn’t try protecting the cow child. 

Skull gives him a pointed stare that tells Reborn he’s not completely out of the woods yet.

The stuntman then turns to the young teen. “Does this mean you’re going to fight the Varia, Tsuna?”. 

The question turns Tsuna hesitant and nervous. He turns to Skull. “Would it be okay if I wanted to?”.

Skull grins and Reborn is almost worried for the Varia. 

“There’s no reason not to, Tsu-kun. The only important thing is that you’ve got a clear reason why you’re fighting. You’ve got no plans of taking over the Vongola, remember?”.

Tsuna contemplates Skull’s words. “There’s nothing wrong with making them believe they could beat us all easily, right?”.

Skull actually laughs at the mischievous grin Tsuna’s now sporting.

If Reborn wasn’t worried about the Varia before, he definitely is now.

“Would you be proud of me even if I lose?”, Tsuna asks and Reborn feels like he’s witnessing another one of those private moments — inside jokes he’ll never fully understand.

“You can set the Vongola on fire, Tsuna-kun, and I would still be proud of you”.

Reborn could bring up at least two hundred and three bullet points as to why burning down a major world power like the Vongola would not be good for the world’s continued existence — but then Tsuna smiles. Really, really smiles without worry.

Reborn thinks, at this moment, he could understand Skull, even just a little.