Disclaimer: No matter what my heart says, I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

Title: Standing in Motion

Rated: T

By: Wynter Spite

Summary: One-Shot. Even in another world, they know their Sky, and he knows them. AU

Standing in Motion

He felt there was something missing. Perhaps a part of his life? A piece of his heart? A portion of his soul.

Pleasure was only so much, so little, like…a glass of satisfaction only half-full.

He swept through life as a ghost, half-living until he found what had been missing.

And he found it.

He set heterochromatic eyes on the Sky, and for a moment he ceased to breathe. There was the missing piece of his life that he had been searching for. There was his satisfaction. There was his soul.

Uncaring of where he was at the moment, he reached out, sinking to his knees and wrapping his arms around the Sky to bury his face in his midriff.

The Sky blinked. "Ah…" And then his eyes softened, for though he'd never met this man, he knew him. He placed a hand on his head, the other on his back, and pulled him closer, curling over him slightly. He closed his eyes, and there was a smile on his lips as he laid his cheek on the other male's head.

They stayed like that for minutes or an eternity. And then the Sky spoke. "Not that I don't suddenly find a part of me completed or anything, but I don't know your name."

The other man tightened his arms around him. "Mukuro." His voice was muffled.

"Mukuro." The Sky smiled, one hand cradling his head gently. "Hello, Mukuro. I'm Tsuna."

(the rain)

Takeshi breathed out, placing a ball cap back on his head. It was starting to rain, but practice was over anyway.

He set the bat on his shoulder and flashed a smile (unreal) at one of his teammates when he asked him if he was going out to eat with them afterwards. He opened his mouth to speak (lie), when his gaze caught something…no, someone, who was the Sky. He had no idea why or how the person was the Sky, only that they were.

His mouth dropped open.

And that was when it began to rain in earnest.

He didn't notice.

"Uh…Yamamoto?" Something waved their hand in front of his face. His eyes snapped back to his teammate.

"Later," he blurted. "You guys go on without me."

His teammate eyed him oddly, but shrugged. "Okay. C'mon, guys." They left. Takeshi forced himself to watch them go, practically shaking with the urge to turn back to the Sky.

Unbeknownst to him, the Sky had noticed him as well.

He almost jumped when he turned back, only to meet the eyes of the missing piece of his joy. He couldn't help but laugh breathlessly. "Hi!"

The Sky smiled back. "Hi."

They stood there, smiling foolishly at each other.

Takeshi realized that he should probably say something. "Oh! I'm Takeshi."

"I'm Tsuna."

Takeshi laughed again because you just can't contain all that happiness quietly. "That's great!" And then, because he was done waiting and keeping a distance, he lunged forward to wrap his arms around the young Sky, holding him tightly and squishing his cheek against the shorter male's head. "Hi, Tsuna!"

Tsuna laughed. "Hi, Takeshi."

Takeshi grinned, heedless of the rain that was now soaking them completely. "Will you be my Sky?"

"Sure. Will you be my Rain?"

Takeshi's grin widened, and he didn't even need to think about it. "Yeah!"

(the storm)

Hayato scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. What was he even doing there? What, just because this ice cream shop had a new flavor, his sister had to rush both him and herself there? And then, when they did arrive, and he demanded whether she was going to buy him some too, she didn't even look at him as she responded with, "Get your own."

He didn't even have his money because his sister was all in a hurry to get here before they ran out!

Well, fine. He didn't care whether she bought him ice cream or not. She'd probably have just poisoned it somehow, anyway.

His glare was causing people to hurry by without stopping, sending frightened glances his way. His scowl had deepened. One child took one look at him and burst into tears. The mother led her away, soothing, "It's okay, look, we're going away from the scary man now…"

Yes, Hayato knew that he was frightening the innocent bystanders, but he just didn't care.

He realized that someone had stopped and was now watching him. He turned to glare and run that person off, too, but he didn't see just anyone. He saw the Sky.

His eyes widened.

The Sky blinked. "Um. Hello."

Hayato realized that he was gaping, so he closed his mouth. Then his lips parted again, but he wasn't entirely sure what to say.

The Sky's gaze softened, and he offered a smile. "Hi. My name's Tsuna."

"Hayato," Hayato choked out. He cleared his throat, but that didn't really help the feeling in his chest. Because-

Here was his Sky.

Here was his acceptance.

Here was his warmth.

Here was his…Family.

Tsuna reached out, and Hayato practically collapsed into him, clutching him almost desperately and burying his face in his collar.

"See, Mama?" a child said loudly, pointing. "The scary man just needed a hug."

(the cloud)

Hibari held still. Carnivores did not fidget, that was a herbivorous activity, and so he would not give in to the impulse to tap his tonfa against his arm in impatience.

A breeze blew by, pushing his hair back, brushing against his face. He exhaled, but otherwise did not move. It was productive for carnivores to not bring attention to themselves when hunting, and Hibari was indeed hunting. He was always hunting. Always searching for something…indefinable. And that irritated him.

What could a carnivore such as he need- he gritted his teeth at the term, he needed nothing- that he positively itched at its absence?

No matter who he bit to death or how many, he still keenly felt whatever was missing.

And he would continue to search for it. He would hunt it down until he was nothing but bones for other carnivores to feed on, until he was dust.

The breeze changed, and Hibari lifted his head. There was a new scent on the wind.

His eyes scanned the surroundings, falling on a figure that had walked around the corner, then stopped upon seeing him.

If Hibari had been still before, he was a positive statue now.

Tsuna had wondered why he'd been warned not to go this way, even though his usual path was blocked by a large tree that had fallen in the last storm. Now he knew. He'd heard things about the Namimori town protector, mostly things involving blood and mangled limbs and people being bitten to death.

Still. Despite that, Tsuna wasn't afraid. He peered at the Cloud.

Hibari himself had realized that this was why:

Because even carnivores needed the Sky.

A home.

And in the waning light of the setting sun, this was exactly what Tsuna looked like.

The skylark had found his Sky.

Hibari's eyes narrowed. "You are late, omnivore," he said gruffly.

"My name's Tsuna." He knew who Hibari was, of course. Though his name was only spoken in frantic whispers, and only once in case repeating it made him somehow appear to bite you to death.

"Hn. Omnivore."

Tsuna smiled slightly. Since Hibari apparently wasn't going to do it (ever), Tsuna walked forward and when Hibari didn't move, he placed his arms around him, embracing the skylark.

Hibari let him. Just this once.

(the mist)

Nagi tucked her jacket around herself, hunching over slightly. It was cold outside, but it was a brisk cold, a better cold than the one at her house. The silence there was icy. The quiet of solitude. It was a lonely solitude. There, she felt small because there was no one else there. Out here, she felt small because the world so very big, and she was a part of it.

Nagi leaned back on the wooden bench she sat on. There were not many people at the park but for her. She lifted her head to look up at the vast blue sky. Overhead, a sparrow flew away. She watched its flight with wistful eyes.

Suddenly, her view was obscured by another pair of eyes, these heterochromatic and somewhat impish.

"Kufufufu…Now, what could a precious little girl like you be looking so melancholy for?" The man's lips were stretched into a roguish smile.

Nagi blinked, but otherwise did not seem perturbed by his suddenly appearance or his remark. She watched him. Though she had never seen him before, he seemed familiar to her. "Have we met…?" she asked tentatively.

He cocked his head, multicolored eyes glinting strangely in the daylight. "Perhaps." His peculiar smile widened. "In another world."

She just looked at him curiously, guilelessly. Her large eyes seemed endlessly patient.

He lifted a hand and reached out. Oddly, she found she had no inclination to shrink away.

He placed the hand on her head. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then he said, somewhat aimlessly, "How dear you are. I do believe I am going to have to keep you."

Nagi found she was perfectly okay with that. She mused that the reason she sensed he was so familiar was because he felt like Family.

Another person who felt like Family walked over. "Here, Mukuro. I got you vanilla."

"Kufufu…ice cream in the midst of winter, Tsunayoshi?" Mukuro seemed to find this funny.

"It's the best time," Tsuna defended.

Mukuro didn't bother arguing and took his ice cream cone, dropping into the seat next to Nagi. She blinked at him, then glanced up at the Sky.

The Sky gave her a nice smile. "Hi. I'm Tsuna."

"Hello," she said softly.

Mukuro's smile was devilish. But then, it usually was. "Rokudo Mukuro." He licked his ice cream.

Nagi hesitated. Then she offered her own shy smile. "Nagi."

"I shall call you Chrome," Mukuro proclaimed, licking his ice cream.

Tsuna nearly choked on his own chocolate ice cream. "You- why- you can't just-"

Nagi beamed. "Okay."

Tsuna gave up. "Well, so long as she likes it…"

"Kufufufufu…"

(the sun)

Ryohei breathed in the fresh morning air. He tasted mint on his tongue and smelled pine and rain from the shower that had fallen softly through the night, only stopping a short time before he went on his morning jog.

Birds sang in the trees, and the sky was still a variety of colors from the sunrise. Light burst through the clouds, turning the edges gold, the sky a breathtaking radiance, a glorious splendor.

A grin of awe made its way to his lips as he marveled at the beauty of the world, and he just barely dodged a telephone pole, tearing his eyes from the majestic sight to twist his body away before he hit something.

He let out a joyous laugh at the near miss and went on happily. It was truly a splendid day, and he had the great feeling it would continue to be so.

A short while later, Ryohei turned a corner and noticed a fellow runner on the road. Pleasantly surprised, he sprinted forward until he was running beside the boy, who had quite a noticeable head of hair the color of caramel. "Hello!" he greeted him.

The boy blinked, looking startled, but for some reason the sight of Ryohei noticeably put him at ease. He smiled warmly. "Good morning."

"It is indeed!" Ryohei agreed boisterously. "An EXTREMELY good morning!" He didn't seem to find the immediate friendliness and affection from the brunet odd at all.

"I've seen you running before, in the mornings," commented aforementioned brunet. Then he added, "And in the afternoons." He thought a moment. "…and the evenings. I'm Tsuna," he introduced himself.

"It is EXTREMELY nice to meet you, Tsuna! My name is Ryohei! But you may call me Onii-san," Ryohei said happily.

Tsuna didn't blink, unfazed. "Okay, Onii-san."

There was a friendly call. "Hey, Tsuna!" A boy with short black hair fell into step- well, jog- beside him. He flashed a smile at Ryohei. "Hi, I'm Takeshi, Tsuna's friend."

"Hello, Takeshi, Tsuna's friend," Ryohei greeted him. "I am Ryohei, Tsuna's new older brother!"

"You're his brother?" Takeshi laughed. "Cool!"

"Good morning, Tsuna!" Here came a silver-haired boy to run next to Tsuna, addressing him with enthusiasm.

Tsuna smiled at him. "Morning, Hayato."

"Morning, Hayato," Takeshi said brightly.

"Baseball idiot." Hayato turned his attention to Ryohei, eyeing him suspiciously. "Who is this, Tsuna?"

"Oh, this is Onii-san," Tsuna introduced him, and Ryohei flashed a welcoming grin. "Onii-san, this is Hayato."

Hayato seemed to choke. "Wha…Tsuna…has a brother?!"

"Oh, I met him this morning," Tsuna said somewhat belatedly, which explained nothing at all.

Hayato's mind raced. Just this morning? Did that mean that Tsuna and the white-haired turf-top had been separated since birth, and had only learned of each other's existence recently, which caused the turf-top to conduct a search for his missing otouto that spread across the world, gathering info and help from nomads and shamans, speaking to tribal chieftains and traversing jungles and deserts, climbing mountains in the Himalayas for one small hint of his estranged sibling, until, finally, just as hope was waning, he came upon word of a person who fit the description of his younger brother in the small town of Namimori, and with renewed, yet fragile optimism that maybe, just possibly, he would finally get the chance to meet his beloved and much-longed-for family member, he arrived in Namimori, and with tears in his eyes, he finally, finally reunited with his lost loved one?

"And you're already calling him Onii-san?" Takeshi laughed. "You're funny, Tsuna."

Tsuna shrugged. "He told me to call him that, and I don't mind, so Onii-san it is. We're not actually related, though."

Just like that, Hayato's fantasies (cough- delusions- cough) fell to the ground and shattered into less than dust.

Tsuna gave him an odd look. "Hayato? Are you okay?"

"Fine, Tsuna," Hayato muttered.

Ryohei laughed. He thought his sister would like these people. "You are all extreme people," he declared. "I believe I will like being with you."

And he did.

(the lightning)

Lambo pouted. He'd been told to just wait there, but it was so boring, and he had no grape candy to chew on while he waited. He wanted the older brother that he'd always been told he didn't have, but obviously he did, because why wouldn't he?

His best friend I-pin would have pointed out something very logical against that, but she wasn't there at the moment, so he didn't have to argue about the thing that he knew instinctively that he did, indeed, have, id est, an older brother.

Everyone is so stupid, Lambo thought, shaking his head indulgently. They kept saying that his aniki didn't exist, but that was dumb. Of course he existed.

"Well, have you ever seen him?" they tried to reason.

No, he hadn't.

"So you see, he isn't real," they would conclude, like that was the end of it.

It wasn't, and they were crazy to think that.

Obviously, he hadn't seen him because he just hadn't met him yet. That didn't mean he didn't exist, he knew he did, knew it like he knew thunderstorms. And he knew it because he loved this person like…like he loved grape candy. Maybe more, and that was enough to confound him as to why people would think that someone he loved more than grape candy wasn't real.

People are crazy, he concluded.

"Tsuna!" he heard someone call. "Where are you going?"

Someone stopped near Lambo, and he looked up.

A much older boy who felt a lot like a Nii-san smiled down at him. "Hi. Are you waiting for your parents?"

Lambo nodded, eyes wide.

"Oh." Nii-san rummaged around in his pocket, then pulled out several pieces of candy and held them out to him. "Here." He gave a somewhat embarrassed smile. "I don't even really know why I bought these, but you can have them."

Lambo reached out and took them, looking down at the candy in his hand. They were grape, proving his suspicions correct.

He looked back up and grinned toothily. "Nii-san!" He leaped at him.

Nii-san caught him and held him close.

"Hey, a kid!" A boy with short black hair laughed.

"Hey, Tsuna, who's the brat?" asked the voice from earlier, belonging to another teenager with silver hair and green eyes.

"Is he your little brother or something, Tsuna?" asked the friendly one curiously.

"Yes," Lambo stated, gripping Tsuna tightly. "He's my Nii-san."

"It seems so," Tsuna agreed.

Lambo beamed. He hadn't known that he'd had the Sky as his older brother, but for some reason it made sense. After all, he reasoned, all Lightning needed a Sky. And he'd certainly gotten his.

Boy, would his parents be surprised.

(the eclipse)

Outside a perfectly nice house in a perfectly nice neighborhood stood a not so perfectly nice man. He wore a suit and his face was shadowed by a fedora.

After scrutinizing the house for a moment, his sharp eyes noting any and all details, he lifted a hand and knocked on the door, once, twice.

A moment later, the door was opened to reveal a youthful-looking woman with brown hair and big brown eyes. Those eyes fell on the man in the suit, and recognition registered, a smile spreading across her face. "Oh, hello! Are you the new tenant?" she asked.

He nodded, tipping his hat. "You may call me Reborn."

"Well, then, please, call me Nana. Come in!" She led him inside, chattering, "Welcome to the Sawada household. It may get a bit loud sometimes, since my son's friends visit frequently, and they're a very energetic bunch."

Reborn observed as he followed the motherly woman that his new abode was a big house, but with a warmth and comfort to it that made it a home instead of simply a building to live in.

"Now that you've seen the kitchen, how about I show you your room?" Nana said.

"Mom?"

Nana's face lit up. "Oh, Tsu-kun! Say hello to our new tenant. His name is Reborn." She turned to Reborn. "This is my son, Tsuna."

Tsuna looked up at him, and Reborn was surprised to find that the boy felt familiar somehow. Had they met somewhere? But where? If so, he couldn't quite remember…

Interesting. Reborn smirked, tilting his fedora back. "Chaos."

For some reason, Tsuna felt a chill, and an ominous feeling that it was very, very not nice to meet this man.

(the sky)

Tsuna remembered when Nana met his friends. First was Mukuro, then Takeshi, then there was Hayato, Kyoya, Chrome, Ryohei and Lambo. She was charmed by all of them, and he couldn't blame her, because he was enchanted as well. He might as well be spellbound to hold them tight and never let them go, for he would do so with all his strength.

He could barely remember life before then, because everything seemed so much more vibrant now, as if 'before' was a canvas of pastel hues, and then they had come and painted over the muted shades with rich, vivid colors to create 'now'.

And Tsuna was never more amazed and grateful. Sometimes, he would look at them as if he couldn't believe they were there, even though it felt like they had never not been there, and he was so glad, that…

Well. Wow. Just…wow.

(And yes, he included Reborn in that, even though the man liked to scare the stuffing out of him, and laughed when he succeeded in doing so.)

Around them, he felt like he could sing in color, see in shades of joy, hear love and just…stand in motion.

Wistfully, he thought that they were miracles like that.

"Tsuna?" Hayato was looking at him in concern, along with Takeshi.

Tsuna had the feeling that the smile that spread across his face probably looked really foolish, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "Hi."

Hayato's face cleared, and he smiled back. "Hi."

Takeshi laughed and threw his arms around their shoulders.

Tsuna thought that this was what joy must be.

Extra

(the wrath)

Xanxus hadn't even wanted to move there, but his old man had insisted that he needed a change of scenery and climate. Apparently, the cold weather, frequent rainstorms and perpetual mist of his last location had not been doing any wonders for his personality. Still, he thought irritably, why did it have to be here? Was there something particularly special about Japan that would have him (God forbid- or was that Satan?) smiling and laughing and picking flowers from a frickin' field?

He snorted at the thought. Squalo finally cutting his hair would be more likely, and considering that probably wasn't going to happen anytime soon, he figured he was safe.

"VOOIII! Why are you just standing there? Help us carry stuff in!" Ah, there was the long-haired shark now.

"Why should I? It's you trash who are going to be living here."

"YOU ARE TOO! IT'S YOUR HOUSE!"

"Be quiet and stop riling yourself up, shark trash."

"Riling myself up?" If Squalo had been anyone else, he would have been pulling at his precious hair. "It's you who does this to me!"

"Ushishishi…So the shark finally admits his true feelings." Bel snickered.

"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

"It's exactly what it sounds like, sempai," said Fran in his familiar monotone. "Please stop shouting about your torrid love affair with the boss. We'd rather not hear the scandalous details."

This stumped Squalo for a moment. He stood there, frozen, and Levi had to walk around him to carry Xanxus's favorite armchair into the house.

Lussuria peeked our from the doorway, having just finished putting up the silverware. He noticed Squalo's immobile form. "Oh, dear. Has Squ-chan's mind finally broken?"

"VOOIII! Don't call me that!" said Squ-chan automatically.

Xanxus finally threw an empty water bottle at him. "Just go put that box in the house. It looks heavy."

"Aw, he cares~" cooed Lussuria.

Xanxus lobbed a full water bottle at him.

"What a beautiful love," Fran said tonelessly.

"Ushishishishi…"

Meanwhile, Tsuna just stood there and looked awkward. He wondered when his new neighbors would finally notice him.

Parody Time! This is what happens when I mock my own story.

Uncaring of where he was at the moment, he reached out, sinking to his knees and wrapping his arms around the Sky to bury his face in his midriff.

The Sky blinked down at him. "Uh, hello, random guy who just suddenly hugged me, but I don't know you."

"My name is Mukuro."

"Wow. That tells me…everything. By the way, personal space, dude." The Sky pushed Mukuro's face away from his stomach. "No, man. Just no. This is why there is yaoi," he said loudly.

Mukuro felt something inside himself die a little.

Takeshi grinned, heedless of the rain that was now soaking them completely. "Will you be my Sky?"

Tsuna looked down bashfully. "I don't know…I mean, I'm just not sure if I'm ready for that kind of commitment," he explained.

"Why? Is it me? I can still change, Tsuna," Takeshi proclaimed.

Tsuna looked regretful. "It's not you. It's me."

"Yeah, right. It's me, isn't it?"

"No, it's-"

"It's totally me."

"Yeah, it's you."

Hayato realized that he was gaping, so he closed his mouth. Then his lips parted again, but he wasn't entirely sure what to say. Unfortunately, it was at that exact moment that a bug was flying straight at his face.

The bug suddenly found itself in a dark, damp place. In a panic, it flapped around.

Hayato choked.

The Sky smiled kindly in compassionate understanding. "I'm Tsuna," he said gently.

Hayato hacked.

The Sky inched away. "Ookay…what's…uh, what's your name?"

Hayato wheezed. "Bug…there's a bug in my throat…"

"…that's…a weird name…"

Hayato could have cried.

Hibari's eyes narrowed. "You are late, omnivore," he said gruffly.

"What? Oh, no." Tsuna gave an embarrassed smile as he explained, "I'm a fruitarian."

Hibari's face went blank. Herbivore…omnivore…carnivore…fruitarian? What? Where …what…some new species? New…

Warning. Cannot process. Default: bite to death.

"HIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

"I shall call you Chrome," Mukuro proclaimed, licking his ice cream.

Tsuna nearly choked on his chocolate ice cream. "You- why- you can't just-"

"No. Don't call me that, you pineapple. I'll rip out all your yellow fruity insides and make a fruit salad out of them."

They turned to stare at her.

"Instead, call me…" She paused dramatically. "Kroam!"

Mukuro began, "But isn't that what I just…"

"No. It's completely different."

"But…"

"Call me Kroam or I'll kill you."

"I just-"

"Do it."

Thoroughly cowed, Mukuro shrunk away.

Tsuna tried, "Erm, K-Krome-"

"It's Kroam."

"…yeah…"

Mukuro watched the four idiots sprint down the block with narrowed eyes, his arms crossed over his chest. And yes, he counted Tsunayoshi in there, because you could not be around that much stupidity and remain unscathed. He snorted at the sound of raucous laughter and yelling.

Beside him, Chrome peered up at the taller male, then looked back at the four other males running together with far more entertainment than seemed the norm for joggers. But then, they weren't the normal joggers.

She gazed thoughtfully for a moment, then looked back up at Mukuro. He was staring at them very intently. Perhaps he wished to join them, she guessed. Sympathetic, she said, "Mukuro-sama, do you want to run as well?"

He paused at this ludicrous notion, giving her an odd look. "No."

"Oh. Ok-"

"Well, all right. I might as well." He threw off his jacket and pants, revealing a tracksuit. "Since I just happened to have this old thing on. Total coincidence, you know."

Uh, no, she didn't know.

"Let's go, Kyoya," Mukuro called.

"Hn." Hibari suddenly appeared, dressed in a fashionable sailor uniform.

Chrome stared. "Wha-"

Mukuro was already trotting off, and Hibari only spared her a glance before resting his fishing pole on his shoulder and walking off, his gait dignified as a passing breeze swirled his skirt around his legs.

Those are some very nice appendages, Chrome noticed. She watched a small yellow bird with a sailor's cap and an anchor tattoo follow the prefect, a piece of spinach clutched in its beak.

Then she woke up.

"Oh." Nii-san rummaged around in his pocket, then pulled out several pieces of candy and held them out to him. "Here." He gave a somewhat embarrassed smile. "I don't even really know why I bought these, but you can have them."

Lambo reached out and took them, looking down at the candy in his hand.

They were strawberry.

He flung them at the ground and kicked the older boy.

"But stepmother, why?!" Tsuna cried, covering his face with the sleeve of his yukata as he cowered on the ground.

"I wanted grape, you incompetent girl!" Lambo sneered, tossing his head contemptfully.

"Mother, please!" Gokudera threw himself in front of Tsuna. "Juudaime was only trying to make you happy!"

"Well, she failed! Do you know why my dear son calls you Juudaime, girl?" Lambo directed his question at Tsuna.

"No?"

"Because yours is the tenth engagement that he's botched!"

Tsuna gasped.

"Juudai- er, Tsuna! I can explain!"

"Explain this, you scumbag!" He decked him and ran off, lifting the hem of his yukata as he beat feet.

Lambo took the cigarillo from his mouth and exhaled, blowing smoke in Gokudera's direction. "This is why you can never keep a girl, son. Next time, make sure she gets me grape." He tossed his cigarillo away.

It landed on Gokudera and would have set his clothes on fire, if he hadn't already been floating in a puddle of his own bitter, bitter tears.

"Welcome to the Sawada household. It may get a bit loud sometimes, since my son's friends visit frequently, and they're a very energetic bunch-" Nana's words were cut off by a loud crash.

"EXTREEEEEEME!"

"You're crowding, herbivores. I'll bite you to death."

"HIIIEEE!"

"Don't worry, Tsuna, I'll take care of these idiots for you!"

"Kufufufufu~"

"My grape candy! I CAN'T TOLERATE THIS! WAAAAAH!"

"Hahaha!"

Reborn listened to all this with a blank face, then he took a gun and started shooting at the ceiling.

Everyone stopped and stared at him. Silence fell.

"Be quiet."

"But we are," whispered an unfortunate brunet unwisely to his silver-haired friend.

Reborn shot him.

"Ow! What the- is that a bean? You shoot beans at people?"

"Shut up, demon." He shot him again.

Tsuna shrieked. "Oww! You're the only demon here!"

"That's what she said."

Nana stood there, her gaze distant. Her body was there, but her mind was absent. She was now firmly in her imaginary happy place, and she wasn't leaving. Ever.

Tsuna remembered when Nana met his friends.

Flashback

"Look, mom, this is my new friend, Mukuro," Tsuna introduced him.

Nana smiled at the boy. "Hello."

"Kufufufu…Your son has a very fine body here, Sawada-san…I look forward to possessing it…"

"…" Nana's mind blanked.

...

"This is my new friend, Takeshi."

"No, that's your mom, Tsuna," corrected the baseball player. "I'm Takeshi."

"…"

...

"Hey, mom, meet my new friend." Tsuna gestured towards a boy with silver hair. "his name is There's A Bug In My Throat."

There's A Bug In My Throat wheezed a greeting.

"…"

TABIMT felt the same.

...

"I tried to make a new friend today, mom…" Tsuna coughed, dragging himself across the front step. "Bad idea…really bad idea…"

"…" Happy place, Nana. Happy place.

...

"Here, mom. This is…er…K…Krowm?"

"It's Kroam. Get it right, or I'll feast on your entrails."

By this time, her mind automatically flew to her happy place, in which she spent the rest of the month.

...

"This is Onii-san."

"EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

The sound was suddenly cut off as Nana went deaf out of sheer self-preservation.

...

"This is Lambo."

"Hi, Nii-san's mom! Do you have any grape candy?"

Well, this wasn't so bad. Nana smiled down at the child. "I'm afraid not, but I can buy you some the next time I go to the store."

Lambo took out a cigarillo, which had been somewhere in his cow suit. it was already lit. He blew a puff of smoke, ignoring the other smoke that came from his burning clothing. "Hmph. Make sure it's grape and not something else idiotic, like strawberry. And turn on the air conditioning, it's getting hot in here."

"…"

...

"Chaos."

End Flashback

Tsuna sighed and sent a wistful look at his mother, who was currently very happily comatose.

Good times.

Was there something particularly special about Japan that would have him (God forbid- or was that Satan?) smiling and laughing and picking flowers from a frickin' field?

He snorted at the thought. Squalo finally cutting his hair would be more likely, and considering that probably wasn't going to happen anytime soon, he figured he was safe.

"VOOOIII! Boss! I've finally cut my hair!" Squalo called, galloping over.

Xanxus reeled in horror.

Squalo snorted. "What's with you?"

Xanxus clutched at his chest. Heart! His heart! Was this finally the end?!

Squalo whinnied, nudging Xanxus with his horsy muzzle. "Boss? Are you okay?"

Xanxus fell over.

"Boss?" Squalo neighed.

Xanxus looked up when he felt something touch his face, and realized that it was Squalo's long, white mane. It wasn't short after all. Xanxus had a fleeting thought that if Squalo's hair was this long now, what was it like before? But then it vanished, and Xanxus closed his eyes. He could die happy now.

...

Levi woke up. He jumped out of bed and ran to Squalo's room, barging in. "Squalo! Whatever you do, don't cut-" He stopped and stared at the large bed in the room.

Squalo and Xanxus stared back. "What do you want, trash?" the Boss finally said, annoyed. "I'm busy."

Levi screamed and woke up. He jumped out of bed and raced to Squalo's room, throwing open the door. Frantically, his eyes searched the place. He breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't find anyone there.

Then the bathroom door opened. Levi and Bel stared (well, he presumed that Bel stared, since he couldn't see his eyes) at each other.

"VOOOOOIIII! Who is it, Belover?" he heard Squalo ask.

"Ushishishi~ Just the sea monster peasant, dearest Squalover~"

Levi shrieked and rolled out of bed. With a thump, he hit the floor. Breating heavily, he stared at the ceiling.

It was all a dream. Thank God.

"VOOIII! Why are you lying on the floor?" Squalo leaned over the bed, looking down at him. "Get up. We have business to attend to."

Oh, great. What was it going to be now? Levilover?

At the thought, Levi curled into a fetal position and sobbed.

Squalo's eyebrow twitched. What's with him? Weirdo. Next time, he'd send someone else to tell him when they got a mission.

End

Wynter

...I honestly don't know what to say. But it was worth it.