It's been almost a year...oops.

Sidenote, a few of those months I wasn't writing because I got frustrated with demands for updates etc, so don't do that. If you haven't already you should probably follow this story on A03 because I really don't like uploading to anymore

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—

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Moriko sits Nana down at a hole-in-the-wall barbeque place and orders them some drinks. She ignores her sister's frown and waits until the sake comes out before talking.

"Now, I know you don't keep up with the gossip back home," she says slowly, taking a sip. Her eyes are intent, but there's a glimmer of amusement in them.

Nana shakes her head.

"Just as well, I feel if you knew who you were harbouring in your house you might have given up the game before it even started. Let's put it this way," Moriko places her cup down and draws a line of condensation across the tabletop, "you have families like us; businessmen and trade dealers, deeply rooted in the traditions of Japan. And then you have them."

Here she flicks out a hand in a rough flourish, grinning roguishly at her sister. Nana lifts a brow and brings her cup to her lips.

"Them?" she prompts, when it looks like her sister isn't going to elaborate.

Moriko nods.

"Them, families who deal mostly in power. Not just money, no. These are those who crave being the strongest, who will spill blood and walk all over proper business practices to get what they want."

Nana frowns, tugging at a tuft of hair just like her son does.

"Flames, you mean?" she's trying to remember what her long ago lesson told her about Flame-using families. There's not a lot.

"Flames! Weapons, technology, whatever they can get their hands on to stand at the top of the foodchain. There's no real goal for these outsiders, they just glut themselves on their own insulated bubble. I might be able to drudge up some respect if they actually gained anything from it, but they've forgotten how to really do business," Moriko sighs.

She twirls the liquid in her cup and pauses.

"Now, I might not respect a lot of the Western families, but I can't deny that their quest for power has given them some things. Chiefly, a large amount of extremely dangerous enforcers and assassins. Flames can do a lot, as I'm sure you know. But even outside of that there's men and women out there that even I wouldn't want to face. Like your guest."

Nana shifts uncomfortably, biting her lip.

"You know who he is then?" she asks uncertainly.

"Do I? I can guess. There's only a few people out there who look like babies but act like thirty-year-old men in suits. I don't know a lot, but what I do know is concerning."

Moriko chugs her sake like it's water and then sighs with her elbows on the table.

Nana frowns. "Which is? Come on, Mori-chan, you've told me practically nothing," she sighs. Her sister grimaces.

"He's an assassin. A hitman. Supposedly non-affiliated, but rumoured to be in one of the largest families' back pocket. That's all I know, really," she finally forces out.

Nana brings her hands to her head and sighs. It's not really surprising, but it's also something she was hoping against.

"What. What am I going to do? What does he want with Tsu-kun?" she mutters, voice small and cracking.

Moriko slumps down herself and stares at her drink.

"Now that? That is a good fucking question."

—

Tsuna wakes up the next day determined to get a head start on the Mukuro problem. He knows, more than anything, that the other boy can be reasoned with. It just usually takes the sort of head games and twisted logic that he is unsuited towards.

At least in the future they had developed something of a system, but he knows if he goes in half-heartedly now he could very well die. Or be possessed.

This Mukuro isn't the one he's used to dealing with.

Still, that doesn't mean he deserves to be locked up in the Vindice, even if he is plotting to end the world. It's too bad there's not some sort of law or subclause that he can use to get him out for good. But wouldn't you know it, there's no lawyers in the Mafia.

Instead, he figures his best bet is to drop off a hint about the incoming threat to the other boy, while still giving him a reason to be interested in the younger him.

He tugs on his school outfit and flattens his hair in the mirror, before smiling at his reflection and letting his Flames rise to the surface for a second.

Purple mist cracked with orange sky flicker about his head, before dying down to a low glow in his eyes. He inspects them for a second, pulling the lid down to look at the new colour, before humming and turning them off. Of all of Byakuran's little gifts in this new timeline, the Flames are perhaps the most odd.

Useful though.

He turns away to continue his routine. Behind him, his reflection stretches and presses a hand on the mirror. This Tsuna is older, with longer hair and a sharper jawline. He's wearing a black suit and gold chains around his hands.

One Tsuna goes to class, while the other steps out of the mirror and heads towards the abandoned Kokuyo Land.

—

Class that day is a chore. The hours drag by, only manageable by the antics of his friends, who, as usual, are complete menaces. Even Hana seems to get dragged into it, getting into an argument at lunch with Hayato. About math of all things.

He forgets sometimes just how smart his friends are compared to him.

"No no no no. I don't care how 'plausible' the math is, that kind of situation just wouldn't happen. If you're basing it off of the theory of—"

"—please, like you even understand the math behind it, woman. There's proof! How else do you think—"

"—Don't call me woman! And shut up about your weird conspiracies. Also, I'll let you know that my dad is a well known mathematician and I grew up on—" Hana snarls, slamming her hands on her desk.

On the other side, Gokudera snarls right back.

"Well obviously not a good one, if he's let you living under the delusion—"

"—DELUSION? Who's being delusional here? Me, the pinnacle of rationality and intelligence, or you, who thinks aliens and TIME TRAVEL exists?"

Next to the brewing storm of vitriol that is Hana and Hayato trying to prove something to the other, Tsuna winces. Luckily, both of them are so caught up in trying to talk over each other that they don't notice. Instead Takeshi bumps his side with an elbow and raises an inquisitive eyebrow his way. Tsuna shrugs, and then accepts the offering of fried shrimp from his friend's lunch.

On the other side of their pushed-together desks, Kyoko eats her bento peacefully, seemingly oblivious to the nearly crackling energy of the two arguing in front of her. Hana slams against the desk again, standing up with aggression visible in her whole body. Hayato snaps up as well, and both end up snarling into each other's faces.

Tsuna laughs nervously, rubbing his head.

An incoherent scream of rage has the rest of the class jumping, as Hayato reaches into his jacket to pull out a stick of dynamite. Tsuna jumps up, ready to interfere, but Hana beats him to the punch.

With a crackle of displaced air, she reaches out and clasps one green lit hand around his wrist. Both go yelping as static electricity arcs through the contact.

"Hey, let's all calm down now ok?" Tsuna rushes, waving his hands over his downed friends. Hana is slumped over the desk looking shocked, but it's Gokudera who is flat on his back on the ground.

In the background, Takeshi is laughing as Kyoko continues to ignore the chaos. Slowly the rest of the class settles, already starting to get used to the group and its oddities.

"You're getting better at that, Hana-chan!" Takeshi says, grinning at the groaning girl, "I thought you said you were going to forget about the 'strange magical powers'?"

Hana snorts.

"Like I could get away with it. I keep accidentally shocking people just brushing up against them. Have you guys had any weird...things happen?"

The group hums, Tsuna trying to keep a straight face. He's not successful, because the girl turns towards him and narrows her eyes at him.

"Cough it up, Sawada, or you'll be the next in line to get shocked," she grits out, waving a fist threatenly.

Takeshi's laughing slows down, and suddenly Tsuna has the avid attention of the whole group. Considering they are missing Ryohei and Hibari, it's still quite the intense atmosphere.

"Hahaha. Ha," he hedges, edging away a little.

"It's because you are now Tsuna's guardians," the voice comes from behind, and Tsuna squeaks as the heeled sole of Reborn hits his head. The baby settles himself on top of his head, digging into the messy locks.

Over Tsuna's startled disagreements, the other turn their attention to the scheming hitman.

"Guardians?" Hana asks, with a gleam in her eye. Hayato harrumphs and sneers at her.

"Of course you would never be a guardian for the Tenth, I, on the other hand, am his right hand man."

Next to Tsuna, Takeshi straightens in his seat.

"Oh, is this the Mafia game?"

Silence rings out for a couple heartbeats, as everyone stares at him with blank expressions. Tsuna blinks a few times before shaking his head vigorously.

"How do you—? No, never mind that. I mean technically it is a Mafia thing, but since I am not becoming a boss it doesn't matter."

Reborn pulls on his hair to stop the shaking and ignores him completely.

"As guardians to the next in line for Vongola's throne—"

"Now you're making me sound like some sort of long lost prince!"

"—you all have the potential to use Flames; supernatural forces used to protect and fight."

"Wait a minute," Hana interrupts, pushing herself back into a sitting position, "you're saying that he—" here she points towards Tsuna, "is some sort of Mob boss and that we—" and here she gestures towards the group with one waved hand, "are his, what, enforcers?"

Tsuna can feel Reborn nod. His friends reactions are less nonchalant. Kyoko has her hand up over her mouth, with a small little divot in her brow that makes her look both worried and shocked. Hana looks both surprised and triumphant, perhaps happy to have finally figured out one mystery. Hayato looks, obviously, unsurprised, but there's a tenseness to his muscles that say he too is reacting to the situation.

Most worrying is that Takeshi has stopped laughing.

"No!" Tsuna yelps, waving Reborn off of his head, "that's not how it is, because I refuse to become a Mafia boss."

Slipping off of his head onto the circle of desks, Reborn levels and even look his way.

"Of course you are, Tsunayoshi-kun. Because as the world's strongest hitman, I will make you one." It sounds like a threat.

"I'm sure Tsuna-kun can be whatever he wants to be," Kyoko pipes up, almost mechanically. Besides her, Hayato nods resolutely.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that Dame-Tsuna is supposed to inherit a crime empire for a second and ask the real question. What are these powers?" Hana interrupts, waving a hand.

Tsuna, already recognising the look in Reborn's eyes as the coming of a lecture, leans back and watches his tutor impart the basics of Flames into his friends.

It's no-doubt something that will need to be re-examined later, not just with the inclusion of Ryohei and Hibari, but also to weed out Reborn's Mafia bias. He knows better than to let the hitman have complete control over what information his friends are getting.

—

Mukuro is alone when the shadow comes. The rest of the gang are out on various tasks for the upcoming event, whether that be starting the campaign of terror against the Namimori students or searching for the Ranking Fūta, rumoured to have been seen in the city.

Mukuro, on the other hand, is staying back to work on the details of the plan. It annoys him to think that he has to rely on subpar minions to do his work, but with the Vindice still after them it would be idiotic to be reckless.

That's why, when a man saunters into the room, seemingly rising up from the shadows flickering on the walls, Mukuro is both prepared and unsurprised.

"If I knew I was going to have guests, I would have cleaned up a little," he says with a smirk, not moving from his seat. His trident is clasped loosely in his hand.

"Hmm, it does have a certain, je ne sais pas quoi, ambience to it. Very evil lair," the man says with a grin, slowing to a stop a few feet away. He's short, with golden hair spiking up all over the place and a tailored suit that makes him look sleek and dangerous instead of tiny. His eyes are narrow and burnished gold, glinting in the dim light.

Mukuro narrows his eyes and waves a hand, displacing the shimmering illusion around the man. With a sound of a bell chime, purple mist evaporates. Like falling water, a wound is revealed on the man's forehead. Blood trickles down from the bullet wound.

Mukuro feels his eyebrows rise.

"Let me guess, reanimated corpse being controlled by someone elsewhere? Layered illusion being used as an avatar? Tacky Halloween decoration?" he asks, fiddling with his trident.

The man smiles.

"Nope. This is me, as I am," he opens his arms wide, "dead and only an illusion."

Mukuro doesn't dispute it. The man reeks of it, something he's become attuned to every since gaining the Six Paths of Reincarnation. However he is here, through illusion or other forces, he's existing on a completely different plane.

"And what does a dead man want with me?" he asks, after the silence stretches.

"I think the question should really be what you want from me."

—

The older Tsuna, once again under an illusion to disguise the hole in his head, walks out of the abandoned park whistling. There's no doubt that if he wasn't a simple projection, a shadow, he would either be dead or possessed right now. Mukuro isn't stupid, and he wouldn't let a threat walk out alive if he felt he didn't have all the cards in his hands. He's also a curious child though, with a weakness for oddities and phenomena, especially when it comes to mist Flames.

So of course, combined with the things Tsuna whispered into his ear, he'll be biddable for now. He's an adaptable sort.

Not, of course, that there still isn't going to be a danger in the coming days. He's not going to stop his plans just because a strange man with a bullet wound told him to. Which means his next stop is home and then a chat with Reborn, so they can step up the training schedule for his friends. No doubt the baby will be surprised at Tsuna taking an active part in the whole 'Mafia tutoring', but that's not all that important. He already knows that until he stands there with Vongola burning behind him, Reborn will still think he's going to become a Mafia boss. That's just how his ego works.

Passing by occupied cafés and quiet storefronts, he lets his mind wander. It's strange being in his 'true' body, the one he still feels the most comfortable with. It's a lie of course, a delusion brought on by the smattering of Mist Flames he holds, but there's a comfort in knowing that at the end of the day he'll be back in his young body.

Like an amputee using mirrors to work through phantom pain, seeing himself in the reflected windows of shops and the muddy puddles of the ground has something in his chest loosening.

The mixing of selves wasn't a comfortable one, and even now he feels a vague itch between the two versions of himself. He's not the man he sees in the mirror, nor the boy in his memories. For the most part he doesn't mourn his identity as either of them, feels excited and happy to experience things differently and with the sort of control he never was able to find in his past life. He's frustrated he's in this position in the first place, pissed and confused at Byakuran, but not crushed or angsting about it.

Maybe he has just gotten too blasé about time travel and weird happenings. Too used to things going wrong and having to fight by the skin of his teeth.

This feels almost like a vacation.

There's only one thing that would maybe trip him up, and because of the merging of selves it's a non-issue. He knows that if he was purely the older Tsuna, he would be grieving over losing the version of his friends from the future. As past Tsuna had no connection to them, that emotion is faded and worn. He mostly is concentrating on the potential of them, on knowing that they can work so well, that they will, eventually, be family.

He steps away from the street and blends into the lengthening shadows as he approaches his house. Reborn is stalking young Tsuna today, and his mom and aunt are talking quietly in the living room, so it's nothing to climb up to his window and shimmy into his bedroom. He could technically dissolve the illusion keeping him here, but he doesn't want to risk it until the true him comes back. It gets disorienting otherwise, and the last thing he needs is for his body to faint in the middle of the sakura blossom viewing.

—

Tsuna is sandwiched in between a relatively relaxed Hayato and a smiling Ryohei. Up ahead Kyoko and Hana walk arm in arm, chatting quietly and holding bags from the cake shop down the road. Takeshi is taking the rear, and walking way too close to him, bulky sports bag slung over his shoulder.

"Here we are!" Kyoko cheers, unhooking her arm to skip a few steps ahead. The path opens into a small park, gentle hills bracketing an area with a few benches and a slow running creek.

"Looks nice," Tsuna says around a smile, watching his friends wander down towards the center. It does look nice, pink flowers swaying in the breeze and covering the ground.

"EXTREME NATURE," Ryohei agrees, for some reason wrapping boxing tape around his knuckles. He wonders for a second if the Sasagawa's family version of a sakura viewing party are different from the usual, before remembering that Kyoko would never stand for a tradition that involves fighting.

Just a Ryohei thing, then.

"Here, we can set up here, it has the best view," Hana says, spreading out a thin blanket on the cool grass. The spot she's standing at is in a relatively central location, but set aside from the benches and the other sparse groups of people. It's not quite time for the more popular viewing parties, not that this area gets crazy like some of the bigger parks.

Tsuna makes a noise of assent and wanders closer. At his side Hayato makes a noise of disgust, seemingly at the way Hana is shaking out the blanket, but walks ahead to help anyways.

They set aside the cake, open up the selection of sushi from Yamamoto senior, and start on the rest of the food. Tsuna's mom has even packed a few of his favourite, along with the curried squid Hayato really likes. Soda is opened, and passed around, and soon everyone is relaxing and chatting under the breeze.

"Ah, this was a good idea," Kyoko sighs, leaning back. Tsuna nods in agreement, mouth occupied by a sweet dumpling.

"Yeah, it's a much better party than the dynamite one a few days ago," Takeshi says in agreement, elbowing a suddenly flustered Hayato.

"EXTREME SCIENCE," Ryohei cries, eyes crinkled in delight. At his side Hana covers her eyes in apparent second-hand embarrassment, although her cheeks are flushed anyway.

The group dissolves into good natured bickering, and Tsuna lets the noise flow past him without much care. Once upon a time he would find such interactions stressful, be anxious at all the loud personalities and extreme emotions. Now he finds it soothing. It's when the group gets quiet and still that he knows things are wrong. Noise just means happiness.

—

Takeshi shoves another piece of sushi into his mouth and leans away from Hayato's flailing arms. The other boy is arguing with Ryohei over whether the use of 'extreme' in 'extreme science' is warranted. Hayato is of the opinion that something as basic as baking soda and vinegar could never be called extreme, whereas Ryohei is rhapsodising about how the effect is more impactful than the process, or something.

On Takeshi's other side, Tsuna is leaning back with his head tilted towards the slowly drifting petals. There's a contented expression on his face, even though he's barely touched any of the food.

Hana and Kyoko are in their own little world, having taken the opportunity to divide the cake up so that they have the biggest pieces.

It's peaceful, and a part of Takeshi is still surprised he can have it. He's not used to having true friends, to being part of a group outside of baseball. It might seem odd that one of the class's most popular athletes is unused to having friends, but it's true. Most of his previous relationships have been with boys envious about his skill or whose only interest in him have been because of his popularity.

None of the people here care about baseball. Or about popularity, even if Kyoko is the school idol and Tsuna the ex-pariah. It's nice.

Takeshi feels alive in a way he hasn't in a long time. And it's not just about the new friendship either, that fight against Gokudera was so exciting that he was smiling for days. The adrenaline rush was so much more than a simple baseball game. And the Flames, well, those were interesting and new and exciting.

All in all, life is good. He's happy.

So why does he have the feeling something bad is coming?

—

Moriko sits on a park bench and waits for someone under the shade of a sakura tree. It's a nice day, with a gentle breeze that keeps her from being too hot under the bright sun. She could stay in this one spot for a long time, if she wanted. She doesn't.

Luckily, her contact struts into view before the boredom can drive her into leaving.

She knows through her research that this is a man who almost never leaves his ivory tower, someone who prefers to watch from a distance and maneuver things as he likes. She also knows that he does most of the things he does for entertainment, and therefore most probably accepted her family's request for in-person meetings on a whim.

"Well, if it isn't the beautiful miss Moriko," he says with a smile, stopping just shy of her and her bench. She rolls her eyes.

"Oh get on with it, we don't have that much time, Byakuran."

—

Mochida is walking home from the corner store when a shadow flickers in the corner of his eye. For a second he thinks it's Sawada, come back for another wrist, but that doesn't make sense. Sawada doesn't even react to him at school, despite the times that Mochida has waited outside the classroom door in hopes of—something.

The shadows flicker again. He stops and clenches his fist, wishing that he had brought his shinai with him.

"Come on out, I know you're there," he snaps, turning around so he can try and catch whoever is following him. The echo of a laugh is his only answer.

The shadows shift again, and he curses. He's at a relatively deserted intersection, old brick buildings creating a little alcove in the street design. He normally goes down the side street as a shortcut, but now that he knows someone is following him the normally innocent looking alley looks ominous.

He shifts again, eyes flickering around.

"Coward! You better show your face, you bastards—" A gurgle, as a force hits him in the neck hard enough to force him to his knees.

"What's this? Is a little rat trying to act tough?" A mocking voice calls out, and Mochida can just make out a pair of scuffed shoes enter his blurry vision. Another pair join them.

"Really, I thought we were supposed to rough him up, not immediately knock him out?" Someone drawls, sounding unconcerned. Mochida coughs, darkness creeping into his vision.

"Eh, I thought he would be stronger. He's supposed to be the kendo captain, right? Whatever, we just need to injure enough of them that Sawada comes running. Boss won't care if this one isn't awake to get his beating."

Just before he slumps over completely, Mochida can just make out the school uniforms both shapes are wearing. The Kokuyo high school crest is the last thing he sees before waking up in the hospital.

—

Hana and Kyoko get to school the next day to see the discipline committee on full alert. Students in pompadours and red armbands stand at the gate, watchful eyes on those who nervously wander in. Even Hibari can be seen, prowling the edges and glaring at anyone 'crowding'.

"What's going on?" Hana asks one of the committee members nearby. The boy takes one look at Kyoko and goes bright red.

"Oh, uh. Nothing to worry about, there's just been some...disturbances last night," he mumbles, eyes only for the school idol. Hana rolls her eyes at the display and crosses her arms.

"What kind of disturbances?" she asks, unimpressed. Kyoko giggles at her tone and smiles brightly at the boy. Hana is sure she does it on purpose.

"Um," the boy stutters, before his eyes snap to the space behind them, abruptly straightening at whatever he sees there. The girls turn.

"Last night eight students were attacked by unidentifiable figures. Three kendo members, including the captain, two Judo members, one karate member, and two members of the committee," Kusakabe Tetsuya says with a flat look.

"Oh no!" Kyoko gasps, hand flying to her mouth. The committee member looks stuck between terror at the presence of his superior and delight at her cuteness.

"We are doing everything in our power to protect the school body, but I'm sure you two will be safe. They seem to be targeting prominent athletes. You should head in anyway and leave the members to their duties without distraction," Tetsuya says, eyes somewhere between amused and annoyed.

"Of course." Kyoko smiles and tugs Hana further into the courtyard. They pass by more committee members, patrolling back and forth, and Hana can't help but think she hasn't seen this many of them in one spot in a long time.

It sets off a lot of red flags.

"Think this has something to do with Sawada?" she asks slowly, keeping her voice down.

"Probably," Kyoko agrees. Hana glances over at her, surprised. She honestly thought the other girl would disagree, always looking for someone's good side. But of course both of them have known Sawada for long enough to realise the kind of chaos he brings.

"How is Sawada involved?" a voice asks right behind them, sounding flat and scary without even raising volume. They turn to see Hibari glaring at them. Both girls jump.

"Hibari-san!" Kyoko squeaks, and Hana doesn't blame her. The prefect is even scarier up close, and no matter how much she might enjoy betting on his fights with Sawada doesn't change that.

The boy just glares at them, body still with violence. Hana winces.

"I mean, how is he not involved? You have to admit that for every weird thing happening lately he's at the centre of it," Hana says, part-nerves and part-frustration in her voice. Kyoko frowns and looks almost like she wants to defend the boy, but ends up shrugging. Hana isn't wrong after all.

Hibari stares at them for a few more seconds before making a noise of derision and stalking off. Hana feels the tension slipping down her spine and she sighs. Kyoko gives her a sympathetic look.

"Come on, let's head to class. I still have to look over the history notes, and Kaede-chan was going to let us borrow the newest copy of Sylph," Kyoko says after a slight hesitation. Hana nods and follows her into the school.

No doubt they're going to have to warn Sawada of Hibari's interest, but for now, they have better things to do.

—

Tsuna calls a meeting the next day, after school. He'd spent most of his class hours running from Hibari as his friends look on in amusement (and in Gokudera's case, rage), and if it weren't for the fact that things are finally starting to pick up, he might have been tempted just to go take a well-deserved nap.

Instead he gathers his group; Takeshi and Hayato on one side of his bed, the girls by the desk and Ryohei down on the floor wrapping his knuckles. And of course Reborn on his shoulder as he brings up the refreshments his mother prepared.

"So," Hana says while taking her glass of lemonade, "what trouble have you dragged us into this time? More magical bullshit? Maybe a quest to reclaim lost treasure!"

"Oh! Are we going to rescue a princess?" Kyoko pipes up.

"An EXTREME duel to the death!" is Ryohei's two cents. By the bed Hayato rolls his eyes. No doubt he still thinks the rest of them are not being serious enough about Mafia business, but Tsuna knows that all of his friends are, to a point, being serious.

"A bit of all of that," he admits, cool glass gathering condensation in his palm. The steady weight of Reborn on his shoulder shifts, and he can practically feel the amusement from the tiny figure.

"A group of dangerous criminals has appeared in the area, and seems to be targeting middle school students. No doubt they will try to strike against Vongola too, which means you," Reborn explains. Tsuna has to bite down on his instinctual defense of Mukuro. Nothing Reborn has said isn't true after all, and he's not the type to fool himself into thinking the illusionist is a good person.

"You think they'll come after us?" Hana asks, eyes narrowed.

"Tcha! They can try." The sound of Gokudera's voice is almost drowned out by Ryohei's excited yell.

"We will EXTREMELY fight back!"

Tsuna smiles.

"You guys don't have to, I mean, I would prefer you being able to defend yourselves, especially considering that being know you guys are my friends now but. Well. I don't want to make it seem like you have to fight." He tries to put into words what he's been thinking of lately. He knows his friends can become strong, can fight their own battles. But just like he shouldn't have to pick up a crown he never wanted, they shouldn't have to be dragged into his messes just because in some far future they stood besides him.

He doesn't want guardians who only become so because they didn't think they had a different choice.

"Aha, what are you talking about Tsuna? Of course we'll help you out," Takeshi says through a crooked smile. At his side Hayato nods vigorously, looking on the verge of tears. Tsuna blinks.

"Yeah, c'mon, do you think we're like, weak or something? Do I need to remind you who has lighting magic?" Hana crosses her arms and tries to look insulted, at her side Kyoko is giggling quietly.

But it's Ryohei who snaps out a hand in a thumbs up and drives the fear from his chest.

"No worries! We EXTREMELY got this."

"Listen to your guardians, Tsunayoshi-kun. They're a lot smarter than you are." Reborn tips his hat down and smirks in Tsuna's face. His small grin would be foreboding, if Tsuna didn't already have an idea what the baby is planning.

"Of course, none of you would survive at your current level, so it looks like it's about time we got serious with the training."

Groaning from the group.

—

A small child wanders the streets of Namimori, clutching a book to his chest and breathing heavily. He's been running from his pursuers for days now, and his stamina is waning. He know's there's someone in town who can help him, has ranked that much already, but there's some sort of interference that's keeping him from pinpointing the exact location.

Even just finding the right town was a real pain.

So here he is, back to the wall and trying desperately not to give away his position to the suited men running by.

"Hahi? What's a kid like you doing here?" a voice pipes up from right next to him, and he shrieks.

A girl with a ponytail and a school uniform stares at him curiously over the hedge he's using for cover. She has a broom in one hand and a duffle bag in the other.

"Hey! Over there!"

Fuuta flinches at the noise and goes to dash away again, but is stopped by a hand on his collar.

"Eh? Are you in trouble?" the girl asks, and then lifts him over the hedge in one fell swoop.

"Let me go! If they see me with you you'll get hurt!" Fuuta yelps, already hearing the sound of boots striking the concrete.

"Hahi? Someone hurt Haru? Why would they do that?" The girl doesn't let go of his collar, instead shifting the dufflebag farther up her shoulder and turning around. He notices for the first time that he's actually in someone's yard, and they're moving towards the door.

"Adults shouldn't go around chasing children, it's rude you know? You can stay with Haru until the mean men go away," the girl (Haru?) says. Fuuta shakes his head quickly, but finds himself still caught in the girl's hold.

She's strong, for someone who looks like she's practically a twig.

"You don't understand! These are real dangerous men, and, and they won't stop just because you're—" He stops talking, because the girl has just opened the door to what has to be a relative's face.

Fuuta looks up, and up and up. The man is at least six feet tall, and built like a bear. He has a low ponytail quite similar to the girl, but his hair is darker, almost black. Behind him is another man, more normal-looking. Slightly pudgy.

"Uncle! Papa! Look what I found! Can we keep him?" Haru asks.

Fuuta shrinks back.

—

"This is bullshit!" Hana yells, hands wreathed in green lighting and muscles burning. At her side Takeshi grins tiredly and lifts his sword a smudge higher.

"Look, I'm not saying we should kill Reborn, but we should kill Reborn," she continues, voiced filled with salt and exhaustion. Underneath them the raging waters of the remote waterfall they are training on rushes by. She feels vaguely dizzy just watching them.

"I invite you to try," Reborn drawls upon his little throne watching the battleground. On the other side of the narrow log they are walking on, Tsuna and Ryohei stand just as exhausted. They've been at it for a while, rotating partners to not get too comfortable in any which fighting style. Every few rotations one might get a break to try and hold up a stack of boulders with Flames, or run around the forest until they drop.

Tsuna grimaces and resettles against the log. In an ideal world they would be able to split up and learn under individual teachers, like with the Varia. But they don't have the time, and he knows even if they did Reborn still doesn't consider Mukuro that much of a threat, even if he should.

"C'mon," he whispers to the panting boy next to him, "we just have to get through their guard. Both of us are frontline fighters, and with this log…"

He tries not to imagine the kind of drop that will happen if one of them falls off. He has to trust that his tutor will save them, or at least use the bullets to make them save themselves. And both Takeshi and Hana have a more defensive fighting style, which matched up with Tsuna and Ryohei has made the current fight a long one. It's a stalemate, but one Tsuna's sure they can beat.

"Right!" Ryohei says through a grin. "We can EXTREMELY do this."

Maybe Takeshi can see what they're planning in their body language, or else has just gotten bored with the ceasefire, but Tsuna barely gets a dash in before a sword is swinging up and the boy is pushing forward. Hana yelps, and then joins him, sparks obscuring vision and singeing clothing. She's got a curved stick in hand, similar to an unstrung bow, and Tsuna knows that she can use it as a makeshift club and a conduit for lightning arrows. When she has the concentration, that is. Right now she looks exhausted enough that he's not sure she would be able to manifest the string, let alone the arrows.

Why Reborn had a Flame-conductive stick in the first place is a mystery, but probably not as big of a mystery as to how Leon was able to create Tsuna's gloves. Which are also Flame-conductive. And here he thought that kind of thing was rare.

Of course, that's not the only danger in trying to go head-to-head with what's turning out to be their best Flame user. Lightning is all about defense and taking damage after all. He has to be prepared for freak lightning strikes and smaller electric shocks. All damage done to her is returned, with prejudice.

Takeshi, on the other hand, is easier to deal with and with a glance at Ryohei he slides under the boy's guard and between his legs to pop up before Hana, trusting the boxer to be able to deal with the swordsman. Neither of them have a whole lot of Flame usage yet, but they can compensate with their fighting abilities.

Unlike Tsuna and Hana, who are more...explosive fighters.

"Oh bring it on," Hana mutters, eyes narrowed on his and hands steady. She has the stick in one hand as the other gathers Flames.

Tsuna swallows the spit in the back of his throat that suddenly rises at the sickly green, and grins. He wraps his gloves in orange Flames and goes in for a hit he knows is going to get reflected, starting the deadly dance they've been locked in for about an hour now.

—

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Kyoko asks curiously as she watches Gokudera prepare his dynamite. The sticks look different from the ones she's seen before, and the reason for the dark circles under the boy's eyes becomes obvious. He must have stayed up all night perfecting his formula.

"If it doesn't, we're going to be stuck here forever," he grunts, pulling his lighter out of his pocket as he talks. Kyoko blinks curiously and watches as he lights all five sticks, face attentive.

"It's just, we've been stuck here for at least forty minutes now, and none of your explosives have made a dent in the rock at all in that time," she points out, leaning her borrowed rifle on the ground. Gokudera stares at it worryingly and purses his lips.

"Why'd Reborn give you a gun, anyways?" he deflects, pulling the girl away from the blast range. Wide brown eyes stare at him innocently and he frowns even more.

"He said I would be the best at it, but I'm not sure how much I like it. I think I prefer my fists, like oniichan."

It's quite a change in attitude from the girl who not that long ago begged her brother not to fight, but she's changed her mind, somewhat, ever since she's spent more time with him. Her brother is a fighter, pure and simple, and she's starting to feel like she might be too. The gun feels distasteful in her hands, too mechanical.

"You'd think crazy—eh, I mean, Hana-chan, would be more suited for it," Gokudera mutters, eyes on the slowly burning wicks of the dynamite. Kyoko smiles.

"Who says she's not?"

—

They get three days. Three days of training and fighting and learning, until Reborn drags them back to civilisation by the skin of their teeth and drops them back in their beds for about six hours of sleep.

Then it's time to wake up learn that the attacks have only increased, to the point that Hibari is visibly going mad with rage. Rumours say he went out hunting and hasn't been seen since. Rumours say he found out who's responsible based off of the testimony of the captain of the kendo team, just awakened.

Tsuna curses when he hears and dodges the subsequent kick by Reborn.

"Looks like we're going to have to bring the fight to them after all. No way is Hibari going to be enough against a group like this" is what Reborn has to say, looking at reports of the attacks. Pictures of a few of the attackers have surfaced, and the group as a whole shivers at the emaciated faces staring up at them. An old man with a bitter smile and twins with crazed eyes.

Tsuna, removed from the fear by warrant of having lived it before, can't help but think that they're rather pathetic-looking. The twins look like they've entered a permanent state of hunger, and Bird's arms look thin enough to break from just a strong wind.

Funny how once upon a time these fights were so scary.

Things are very different from the previous timeline already, however. There's no small child in his house getting kidnapped, no alleyway brawls. There are two more people to fight in the park than there were before, but luckily they have two more fighters on their side, too. Even if they are missing Bianchi.

He spares a thought for where the assassin might be, and then shrugs. Reborn has been acting differently this go around, no doubt because of how Tsuna is reacting. Maybe he just didn't see a use for her this time.

"The Discipline Committee said that last they heard, Hibari was going after Kokuyo Junior High. But the chances of them actually using the school as a headquarters is pretty small. More than likely they have a secondary base that they are operating from," Hayato mumbles as they stand in a circle behind Tsuna's house.

"We're probably looking for someplace with very little traffic and supervision. It would have to be located close enough to the city centre but far enough away from any busy streets," Hana agrees.

Tsuna hums and has to stop himself from giving away the game. No doubt Reborn knows where Mukuro and the others are based anyway, so he's not the only one keeping secrets.

"So a warehouse district?" Takeshi asks, and the group devolves into guessing. Ryohei and Takeshi seem set on a warehouse, no doubt because of TV — the bad guys and secret warehouse meeting places are so popular.

Gokudera and Hana on the other hand have been arguing over whether an industrial area would be close enough for the amount of attacks happening, and Kyoko is watching them placidly with an odd look in her eye.

In an attempt to distract the girl, who Tsuna knows gets strange ideas she won't let go of at times, Tsuna tries to bring them back on the right track.

"Do we have a list of abandoned buildings in the right area?"

The group grows quiet, and as one turns to Reborn, who smiles at them and brings out a list from his pocket.

It only has one name one it.

—

"I'm just saying, it's a little suspicious."

Moriko stirs her coffee slowly, a tilt to her lips that doesn't fool Nana into thinking she's amused.

"Our family has never been extraordinary; not any more than any other business out there. We're a tad bit more knowledgeable perhaps, but—"

"Yes, I suppose the excuse of a new informant wouldn't pass with you," Moriko interrupts. There's a hard edge to her voice, but when Nana frowns at her she just sighs.

"Look, I can't say a lot. You're family, you're always going to be family. But you're not part of the business anymore, and frankly, this isn't the sort of thing I want anyone to know. It could...be inconvenient."

Nana crosses her arms and leans back, lips pursed. She can read between the lines well enough to understand that she's not going to get much else. No matter how frustrating all of it is.

"And whatever it is you know makes it so we can't just run, why? If the Mafia is seriously interested in Tsuna, I'm not just going to let them have him no matter what Iemitsu thinks."

"You don't have to worry about that." Here Moriko looks relieved. "I'm not planning to let Vongola have their way either. But it's a little more complicated than just killing off the ones isn't like the fiasco with the bike gang in high school."

Nana sighs.

"That wasn't my fault either. I guess I'm just annoyed at the fact that I should have seen this coming. Should have realised with Iemitsu's absences and vague phone calls that something was wrong but...well. Love blinds and all that," she says finally. She'd like to think she's smarter than that, but the truth is she's gotten used to not having to second-guess the people around her.

"Don't worry sis, Vongola might be powerful but they're in a really precarious position right now. They can't afford to be reckless," Moriko says with something approaching a genuine smile.

She doesn't mention that reckless isn't the same thing as dangerous, or aggressive. Sending an assassin to train a civilian child has already hammered that home. Some part of her can't help but feel insulted that they wouldn't consider that a threat when the time comes. That an assassin will be Tsuna's main role model; not someone who knows how to lead people or an organisation.

And unlike Nana, she can see how it will go if left untreated. Another empire of blood, even if he wishes otherwise. When your only solution is fighting, how do you change a society of violence? But that's not really her problem, and she doesn't really have the moral high ground to stand on. Her family deals in blood just as much as their Western cousins.

"Here, in the meantime there is something I can help you with," she says instead of pointing that all out, rummaging through the bag at her side.

"Moriko, really, that's—" Nana pauses, takes in the sleek gun that Moriko pulls out, and grimaces.

"Your old snubnose .40 revolver? Yeah, I found it while looking through some things in the attic. I'd feel better if you at least have something, even if it's not the fire power I would recommend," Moriko says, acting oblivious to Nana's look of disdain.

"There was a reason it was in the attic," Nana says, "and that hasn't changed in the fifteen years it's been there."

"Trust me, you're going to need something, even if it is a little water pistol. Otherwise you can, and will, be used against Tsuna. No one knows whose family you come from, we can't protect you like we could when you were still in high school." She takes hold of one of Nana's hands, the pistol held out with the other.

"Please, I know you hate it. But I can't let you be defenseless."

Nana scowls down at the weapon in front of her, teeth biting into her lip, before she reluctantly takes it from her sister's grip. She rubs her fingers over the engraved sides and sighs.

"So many things are going wrong in such a small amount of time. I really do have to get back at Iemitsu for all of this."

Moriko smiles.

"I'll help."

—

Tsuna watches Takeshi take another hit to the face and winces. He doesn't have long to sympathise though: his own opponent makes sure of that.

M.M. is a lot stronger than Biachi ever made it seem: her sound attacks are devastating but she's fast too, and Tsuna's body isn't quite up to speed as to what he's used to from the future. To make it worse, the Kokuyo gang isn't holding back like they did before. His little tip off must have really put Mukuro off-centre.

"UGH! Enough with the BIRDS!" Hana's scream from behind has him flinching as green arcs of electricity go flying. There's the sound of a body hitting the wall and plaster cracking: Tsuna doesn't have to worry about that fight at least.

"It would be faster if you left her to someone else and went on ahead, Tsunayoshi-kun," Reborn says from the top of his head. Tsuna jumps back from another soundwave and waves him off.

"Hibari can take care of himself. He can probably take care of all us, to be honest. It's smarter to fight as a group here."

A lesson he never really learnt until Byakuran, unfortunately. It would have saved so much stress if they had just stayed together during their adventures.

"Besides, do you really want to leave Hana and Gokudera alone in the same room, with Flames?"

Tsuna can feel the pause from Reborn, a miniscule shifting of weight.

"Fair, I suppose."

"Enough chatting!" M.M. yells, clarinet thrust out at them, "and stop dodging! It's annoying enough you're fighting with a baby on your head."

Tsuna sighs, adjusts his feet, and dodges just as one of the Bloody Twins goes flying at him. The man skids across the concrete, turning as he does and snarling back at Ryohei's laughter. There's a large bruise across one cheek and he's limping, but it's the one fighting Kyoko that really looks in bad shape.

Turns out rubber bullets still do damage, who knew?

In the midst of the explosions, screaming and laughter, Tsuna can just make out the sound of fighting in the other room. No doubt Hibari has already gotten past Ken and Chikusa, which means he's just started his fight with Mukuro.

They've fought a lot throughout Tsuna's memories, and there's never been a clear winner. He wonders if now that they don't know each other as well there might for once be a victor, of if they're just destined to be in a perpetual stalemate.

He can feel the gathered Flames in his gloves flicker at the thought, and he grins into M.M.'s startled face. She's strong, but she's not strong enough to fight a powered-up Sky. She's able to dodge the first hit, and block the second with her clarinet. The third hit breaks the instrument though and she goes flying, colliding with a struggling Birds and bouncing a few times before coming to a stop by the door. Tsuna lets himself have a sigh of relief before Reborn's pulling hands in his hair has him hissing.

His hands feel a little burnt, but he's still in good enough shape to go help Gokudera and Takeshi against a still-possessed Lancia. Luckily he knows how to deal with that. How odd is it that most of his enemies can be swayed to his side with enough physical force applied? Some part of him is amused by it, the older half no longer naive as to the effect of that much Sky Flame applied directly somebody's body. Skies do more than harmonise, they attract.

It's convenient, he's not going to lie to himself. It does feel a little deceitful however, as if the allies he has only come to his side because of his Flames and not because of his words or personality.

He's just ruthless enough to use it.

He can feel Reborn hop off his head as he rushes into the fight, and hear from behind the yelling of his friends and their fights. At certain moments the whole building shakes, and if it wasn't reinforced with illusions he'd be worried about that.

"Tsuna!" Takeshi yells, catching his eye. "Haha, this guy is pretty strong huh?"

"Shut up and fight, idiot!" Gokudera snarls at him, dynamit lit ominously in his teeth. He's got what looks like a broken nose and it makes his words garbled and muffled, which just gets Takeshi to laugh.

In front of them, Lancia looks on with a strangely blank look in his eyes. Whether it's the possession, or if he just doesn't know how to deal with the combination of both Takeshi and Gokudera's personalities, Tsuna doesn't know.

"C'mon guys, let's finish this before Mom gets mad that we're late for dinner."

—

Reborn watches the kids fight (and that's what they are, really, even he isn't jaded enough to think they're anything else) and has to smother the frown tugging at his lips.

Tsunayoshi Sawada makes no sense. He's known that for a while, but it's here, at his first real fight that he can really see the difference. Tsuna knows how to fight. Tsuna knows how to fight in ways Reborn hasn't taught him yet, knows the way his enemies will move and their weakness with the sort of precision that makes no sense for a fifteen year old boy.

And his friends are picking up on it. Hana and Kyoko shouldn't be able to stand their ground against more-seasoned fighters. They shouldn't be able to stand their ground at all. And yet Kyoko is trouncing an assassin with a smile and even Reborn can feel the power behind Hana's attacks from across the room. She's gotten up to five lighting arrows at a time, now.

Even Gokudera, the most trained of the group, is standing with the sort of confidence that he could have only dreamed of months ago.

Their rate of improvement is so astronomical it's almost humourous. Almost.

He's pretty sure he knows the source of it too. He can see it in most large Mafia Families; strong Skies make strong Guardians. That sort of improvement is the sign of a strong and developed Sky.

Except Tsuna isn't. Or isn't supposed to be. With his seal only recently-broken he should be playing catch up with the rest of them; his strong blood would help but not enough so that he could single-handedly fight off criminals on the run from the Vindice without at least the use of the Dying Will Bullets.

The fact that he has is suspicious.

Tsuna is suspicious. His broken Flames (and no matter the fact that he hasn't seen anymore Mist Flames means nothing. Reborn doesn't make mistakes like that). His sudden improvement in school, his well-timed acquisition of friends who just so happen to be perfect guardian matches…

In fact, if he didn't know better he would think that Tsuna was doing it on purpose, that he knew Reborn was going to show up. The fact that at no point has he acted surprised during the whole mess just makes it worse.

He's too calm. Too knowing. And his smile makes Reborn irrationally angry.

And it's never a good sign when he gets angry. It means the mission's about to go to the dogs, and really he's more of a cat person.

Despite how it offends his sensibilities, he's starting to think he should look into recruiting some backup. Someone almost as smart as him who'll be able to look at the things he can't: someone who can investigate the strange woman who is supposed to be Tsuna's aunt, who can distract those Vongola watchers who think they're being sneaky while Reborn does his own digging. And, as much as he won't admit it, someone who will take a few kids off his hands.

He's getting much too old to become a father of five.

—

Fuuta sits awkwardly between the two adults; across the living room Haru twitches the blinds again to peek at the black van waiting outside. The frown on her face threatens to migrate to her chest.

"And you're sure the police can't help?" Haru's uncle asks again. Fuuta doesn't know his name, but his voice is gentle and he can't help the disappointment the question brings. He wants to say that going to the authorities will help, if only so the man doesn't look so sad about it.

"Hmmm," Haru's father hums through his unlit cigarette. Unlike the uncle he looks and sounds a lot less gentle. Something about him, his size maybe, makes him want to hunch down.

"Haru thinks she can take them!" Haru says from the window, oblivious to everyone else's wince.

"No! No, no, that wouldn't be good. These people are dangerous," Fuuta cries for what has to be the tenth time.

"They don't look too tough to me," Haru's father mumbles, only to be shushed by the uncle.

"Haru is strong!" the girl says, completely ignoring the fact that she's maybe 144cm total, and about as big as her father's bicep.

Fuuta rubs his forehead and casts another furtive glance at the back door. If only he could sneak by the two large forms of Haru's male family members and escape through the back…

"Look! I'll show you!"

Both men groan in unison as Haru stomps off towards the door. Fuuta yelps and runs after her, trying to grab a hold of her before she ends up seriously hurt trying to confront Mafia men.

He doesn't even get a grip on her jacket; she's too fast. The creaking sound of the sofa tells him that at least her father and uncle are following, but even then he's not sure there's anything they can do when the men have guns.

He follows her out the door, limbs shaking, and then has to grab a hold of the door jamb when he sees her stomp straight up to the car and — pick it up?

"You should be ashamed of yourselves! Trying to hurt a child like that! Haru think's you're all bad men," the girl screams, hefting up the vehicle like it's a box of peanuts. Fuuta can feel his eyes pop.

"Oi, brat," her father yells, "careful you don't squash them."

The grinding noise of knuckles being cracked echoes through the air.

"You should leave something left for your elders to play with."

—

"I'm pretty sure Haru-chan's father is supposed to be a mathematician," Shoichi complains, eyes narrowed in the face of Byakuran's mirth.

"Well yes, but my power is in alternate realities, so there's bound to be differences," he says through a mouthful of marshmallow. There's silence for a few seconds and then Shoichi huffs, making a lunge for the bag.

"Oi!"

Being a semi-omnipotent god of reality doesn't make you immune to blackmail, Shoichi reflects, as his boss's face crumples in the wake of the loss of his snack.

"Oh fine, I made some changes, what's the big deal? Tsuna got a whole family! Haru-chan's father found his love of underground cage fighting while doing his master's thesis! All minor changes," Byakuran whines, hands clawing at the bag.

"Right. Minor." Shoichi doesn't bother trying to get anymore information out of the man; already he can tell he doesn't want to know.

Sometimes, he really has to wonder why he's following a man as mad as Byakuran. And then he remembers his life without him, and he cuts that train of thought as quick as he can.

"I guess I just don't know why you bothered then, if it's such a small change," he mumbles as he hands the bag back, turning in his chair to get back to his computer. Across the room the gathered men in white politely turn their faces away, smiles carefully tucked away. Bluebelle doesn't even bother, her laughter carries through the room unchecked.

"Well, it's the small things in life that keep you going," Byakuran says with a sigh, eyes already turned back to watching his newest meddling plot.