Hello my lovely readers! I'm sorry about the long wait, I was really busy these last couple months and my muse went off into a different fandom once things cleared up some.

But on a happier note – besides a new chapter (at last!) – guess who now has a Bachelor's Degree? *cue hysterical laughter and crying*

I'm going to try (key word here since I'm trying to get a job and apply for med school, the MCAT is a bitch to study for) to write more for y'all now that I actually have some time for my hobbies without feeling guilty about it. No promises but I'll do my best. Anyway, I want to thank everyone for your patience, comments, likes, and follows.

On another note, I suck at naming things. Like, really suck. For characters I use baby name websites so that's not much of an issue, but for places and other things they sound about as cheesy as it gets. Or cringey. Anyone who has a suggestion for the name of the circus please let me know. It will most likely get used.

Chapter 26

000

Finding an old friend is like finding a lost treasure.

Anothony Douglous Williams

000

After tripping, Tsuna and the group had managed to drag her to the nearest bench to sit her down and attempt to stop the bleeding that was a result of Kyouya none too gently setting her broken nose.

Nudging a hovering Tsuna out of the way, Shouichi's hands flickered yellow as he held them up to her face. While it didn't completely heal her, it did slow the bleeding and brought down some of the swelling.

Waving the red head away, Leora turned to Tsuna who was still nervously wringing his hands.

"I need an explanation. A circus? How did you even come up that?"

"Well," Tsuna hesitantly started after taking a deep breath. "I got the idea when you were describing your old circus when we were in China, and I've planned out more since we've gotten back to Japan. Shouichi and Spanner have helped." Tsuna admitted sheepishly, shooting them a grateful glance. "I've thought about it a lot though. If we started a circus we'd get to travel and keep doing what we've been doing pretty much every day. And if we're performers then it'll be harder for people to figure out that we have Flames with all of the special effects that people can use. I thought that it would be the best way to avoid the Mafia and all of the underworld crap that comes with Flames." Tsuna's twitchy hands moved to his pockets and his eyes darted to the ground. "…And since you lived with a circus before, I thought it would be something you would want to do, too."

Leora's skin prickled, like a hundred tiny ants made of ice were crawling across her skin as her vision narrowed down to only a few meters in front of her. Her eyes ached as her headache spiked before being smothered in cold.

She vaguely noted the numb feeling. It usually happened when her emotions got to be too much to handle, but that wasn't important. Getting more information was.

"And the amusement park?"

"It would be a good place to start." Tsuna defended, "We could set up acts, see if people would actually want to see us perform, and save up more money for once we actually start to travel. Plus, Kyouya doesn't really like to go too far from Namimori. If we use this place as a base once we're a bit older, Kyouya could be in charge here and won't have to leave if he doesn't want to and he'd still be a part of everything."

Kyouya looked surprised that Tsuna would have taken his wants and feelings into account, then touched, face softening into a slight smile as he relaxed some, looking completely at ease which was rare outside of his house now that Spanner and Shouichi had invaded Tsuna's room on a nearly daily basis.

"Spanner and Shouichi like building things," Tsuna continued, eyes now nervously staring at his feet, "So I thought they could be in charge of building the games, rides, and anything else we could need. They seemed to like the idea when I mentioned it and they have been helping me with a lot of the planning process."

And they did like the idea if their previous designing and fervent note taking from before was anything to go by, Leora mused detachedly. They still looked pretty excited about all the work they would have to do if the eager smiles and sparkling eyes were anything to go by.

"And you lived with a circus before." Tsuna continued quietly, hunching in on himself a little. "You know everything and have even been teaching us acrobatics. You'd know what a circus is supposed to be like so you'd be sure we're doing everything right."

Tsuna fell silent after that, and Leora just stared at him, running his words over and over in her head as she tried to digest how things had changed so much.

A circus. The idea was baffling.

It was the last thing Leora ever thought would cross Tsuna's mind to do, but thinking back on it, it made some sense.

She'd essentially been running a circus camp before and after school but actually starting a circus? That was so far from the original storyline it was ridiculous.

Leora felt nauseous once she really thought about all the changes that had happened in the last few months. All of which could be almost directly traced back to her now that she actually took the time to look at it.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Even though they went Flame active, Leora always thought that the story would straighten itself out once Tsuna turned fourteen, and she would be mostly out of the picture by then. But if they started a circus, that wouldn't happen.

A circus meant traveling, and a lot of it. They obviously didn't want to wait until they were done with school. They wouldn't be in Namimori that often like they would need to be for canon to take place, and that wasn't even taking into account the circus itself. If this actually took off and got popular - and knowing Tsuna's ridiculous luck that was really likely - they'd be in the public eye. Any Flame use by them could be considered special effects, and the Mafia would have to be careful if they wanted to avoid somehow angering the Vindice.

"Even if you start a circus, there's always a chance that the Mafia or someone else will still try to get you." Leora voiced a concern, eyes fixed on Tsuna to gauge his reaction.

Tsuna grimaced. "I know. I don't have a solid plan for that yet, but Spanner had the idea for a security system and some kind of special forces we could hire or train for security."

"Special forces." Leora repeated dubiously.

"I was thinking ninjas." Spanner oh so helpfully explained, "Like the ANBU from the manga we read last month. We're already in Japan so finding ninjas shouldn't be a problem. And if they have Mist flames then they could disappear or keep watch whenever they want." Spanner popped another lollipop in his mouth. "Though since we're doing a circus, they can dress up as clowns or jesters or something instead of the animal masks."

Tsuna slapped a hand over the blonds mouth just as Leora's face clamed up, cold sweat running down his face again. "Please, just shut up. I'm begging you."

Spanner blinked. "But we were talking about it just yester-"

"This is not the time!" Tsuna shrieked, cutting off the mumbling and all but tackling Spanner to the ground to get him to stop talking, taking an unfortunate Shouichi down with him.

These brats…

Feeling her headache go up another notch, Leora put her head in her hands and closed her eyes to try to relieve the tension building up behind her eyes.

They shouldn't be doing this. They shouldn't be planning this. They shouldn't have even thought of this.

Taking a deep breath, ignoring the headache with the ease of practice, Leora pushed all of her feeling of unease, agitation, and distress to the back of her mind so she could clearly look at the situation.

Logically, a circus wasn't a necessarily a bad thing if you didn't already know the canon story line. It was a pretty well thought out cover and contingency plan coming from a nine-year-old. And she knew Tsuna well enough by now that if he truly decided on something, nothing short of an act of god would make him change his mind.

Even then the little idiot was more likely to just smile like his mother and do whatever he wanted anyway. So she would have to be a part of it, or at least the set up, whether she wanted to or not.

But still, she had to ask.

Leora lifted her head tiredly. "You're really serious about this?"

Tsuna stopped trying to wrestle Spanner into submission.

"I am." He said solemnly, face set and radiating a kind of determination that didn't suite how young he was.

"It'll be hard." She pointed out.

"I know."

"You could always change your mind later."

"I won't." Tsuna's eyes were solidly orange.

Leora sighed and rubbed at her aching nose. "You'll need to choose a name for the circus. I get veto rights. The lot of you can't name things worth a damn."

This was her fault. The least she could do is make sure they didn't get themselves killed or worse following Tsuna's stubborn idea.

Tsuna lit up like the sun. "So you'll help?" he asked, practically vibrating in place.

"I'll help." She affirmed.

For now.

Once things got settled and they were happy enough with the results, she was washing her hands of it.

Trying to keep up with them was exhausting.

000

Now that everyone was on the same page about the circus, the kids decided to temporarily forego examining the amusement park and started hashing out exactly what they were going to want to be part of the circus. Tsuna fished his own notebook out of Shouichi's bag and pretty soon all four of them were sprawled out on the floor of the nearest building while Leora sat off to the side.

Shouichi and Spanner obviously wanted some kind of laser guns; be it for tag, game booths, or security they didn't really care. They also wanted magic shows, robot jugglers, rollercoasters, and maybe a hall of mirrors.

Kyouya wanted animals. Preferably ones what could either potentially eat him or crush him with their sheer size. It was immediately decided that he'd be put in charge of any and all animal acts.

Tsuna wanted acrobatics. All acrobatics; trapeze, tightrope, aerial silks, you name it he wanted it. Maybe some stunt acting since he had seen a couple videos of motorcycle shows during his weeks of research.

Once they got a rough idea, they immediately started bombarding Leora with questions so they could make a more detailed plan.

Leora, how would you set up a tightrope?

Would tigers or lions be best?

I read something about a teeterboard, but it didn't go into detail. What exactly is it?

What kind of prizes did they have for the game booths for your circus Leora?

Obviously we need roller coasters. But what other types of rides should we do? Maybe a juggling ride? Put people in capsules then have a robot juggle them? What? It sounds cool.

Your circus had monkeys? We aren't keeping monkeys.

You have one of those silk thingies. What do you need to actually attach it to something? The last time you just tied it on, but that didn't seem safe. At all. Now that I'm thinking about it, we need a net. How do we get a net?

Have you ever been shot out of a cannon? Do you know how they set up the cannon for that?

Can there be a fighting act? You mentioned you had a fighting act. What weapons would I need for that?

As the questions kept coming, Leora started eyeing the door.

Shouichi was the only one between her and it. She could make it past him. It would be easy to make it past him. Then she could go back to her apartment and curl up in her futon.

A notebook being waved in front of her face snapped her out of her daydream of running away.

Seeing that he had her attention, Spanner put the notebook back down and gestured for Shouichi to go ahead and ask his question.

"I've been meaning to ask, but what type of Flame do you have?" Pushing up his glasses some more, Shouichi held his pen at the ready. "You went over most of the basics but you never said anything about white Flames. We can't try to specialize anything for you unless we know your type."

Leora stared at him, trying and failing to compute.

"I don't have Flames."

"Yes you do." Kyouya rebutted, not looking up from the list of animals he was making. Leora's brows furrowed.

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"I think I would have noticed if I set myself on fire, Kyouya."

"It was your eyes, so maybe not." Tsuna piped up, "And it happened when we were still lost in the woods and you were sick so you might not remember. You didn't really remember much of anything once we fell in the river."

Leora blinked.

"What?"

"Your eyes," Tsuna repeated, bringing his hands up to point at his own for emphasis. "They went completely white and glowy, like our eyes do except it wasn't just the colored part. It was the whole eye. And little bits of fire would come out and flicker around your face. It kind of looked like you were wearing goggles or something."

"Wait, what?"

"So what are white Flames?" Shouichi broke in eagerly, inching closer with his notebook. "You left them out when you gave us the overview."

"There aren't any white Flames." Leora repeated, shoving the redhead out of her space.

"But you have white Flames." Tsuna replied, confusion scrunching up his face.

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do." Kyouya repeated.

"Will you stop saying that?" Leora snapped, "I don't have Flames, and there aren't any white Flames."

"Even if you don't have Flames you have something," Spanner drawled, popping another lollipop in his mouth. "Since we're away from people we might as well find out what it is."

"I keep telling you I don't have anything." Leora repeated, starting to feel annoyed that the conversation kept going in circles. Her headache ratcheting up a couple notches didn't help either.

"Then it won't hurt to try." Kyouya but in, pulling his tonfas out. Leora eyed the weapons with distaste.

"So you're going to beat my so called Flames out of me?"

"We're not beating anyone." Tsuna broke in, deliberately placing himself between the Cloud and carney, glaring warningly at Kyouya.

With a 'Tch' Kyouya put his weapons away.

Satisfied that Kyouya wasn't going to attack, Tsuna turned back towards Leora.

"You could try concentrating." He offered, scratching at his cheek. "After we went Active we could make a small Flame after we focused really hard." He gestured helplessly, "I mean, it wouldn't hurt to try."

"And if nothing happens?" Leora asked blandly. Tsuna shrugged.

"Then we go from there." Leora pursed her lips, but eventually nodded.

"After this I'm done for the day."

"That should be fine." Shouichi piped up, straightening his notebooks. "We've gotten a lot done already, so even if we can't get your Flames to come out today we'll have plenty to work with."

Leora promptly took several steps back. She wasn't sure why, but she had the distinct impression that if Shouichi hadn't gotten enough done today she wouldn't be able to leave.

Closing her eyes, Leora decided to just ignore it. She just needed to focus for a few minutes and when her non-existent Flames failed to show she could go back and sleep off her headache.

She might have to break down and go ask Saitou-sensei for a check-up or a prescription. Over the counter pain killers didn't seem to work.

"How did you want me to do this again?"

"Focus." Tsuna repeated, his voice moving closer to Leora's ear. "There's a feeling to it, like a spark or a candle. It's tiny and barely there so you need to want it to grow, until it fills your chest. Once it fills your chest then you need to try and let it out."

She didn't see how that was supposed to help, but she never the less complied.

Blocking out the sounds around her Leora focused completely on the feelings in her chest.

Her breaths were slow. Almost bated.

Breathing was new. Noisy. The sound whistling like a typhoon.

Her heartbeat was calm. As rhythmic as a metronome.

How strange it was, to have sensation. To thrum with every beat and twist.

She wasn't warm, like Tsuna described.

Her heart had heat, her blood moving it around her body to keep the temperature up.

But it didn't feel right.

Empty. Numb. A heat so bright it froze.

The spark was small. Barely a pinprick. A dim glimpse in a shell made of its own shadow.

Blinding.

The spark grew, filling the space.

Illuminating the cracks.

It was boring in the dark. Nothing but black and the swirl of energy that was barely tangible.

There were channels, paths for the light to follow as it grew. Leora guided the light towards the one that seemed the widest. Like a trail that had been worn by constant use.

It surged forward, eager almost, as it crawled along the path, pooling, congealing as it reached the end, cold searing as the pressure grew and more cracks formed.

Unceasingly watchful. A clarity that was ineluctable. For there was nothing else to be.

Leora opened her eyes…

And saw.

Her last coherent thought it became too much cursed Tsuna and the rest to hell and back.

Of course they were right.

000

The four kids sat patiently, eagerly staring at the only girl in their group as they waited for her to access her Flames.

She could argue all she wanted but they knew they were right.

She stood motionless, eyes closed and not so much as twitching for almost two hours.

Tsuna was the first to notice the shift. He was the first to notice most things about Leora.

A hitch in her breathing, a twitch of her hands.

Climbing to his feet he walked a bit closer, the others quickly crowding around behind him.

Her eyes were twitching now, almost trembling.

"Do you think she got it to work?" Shouichi asked after a few more minutes of nothing happening.

Tsuna didn't answer, entirely focused on Leora.

And then she opened her eyes.

White. So different from her normally dark eyes.

The others gasped; voices raised in excitement.

Tsuna's own lips curled, nearly splitting his face in half as wild joy bubbled up, his Flames surging and reaching out-

You're-here-You're-here-You-came-it's-been-so-long-You-came-I-missed-you!

His arms were barely up before Leora started screaming.

Tsuna barely caught her as she crumpled, hands clawing at her eyes and ears as she just. Kept. Screaming.

It-hurts-it-hurts-ToO-mUcH-tOo-BrIgHt-iT-hUrTs-

"What's wrong with her?" Kyouya demanded, instantly at Leora's other side and pinning down her hands.

"Should I try healing her?" Shouichi asked anxiously, crouching down in front of then and already raising his trembling hands.

Something in Tsuna snarled.

"Don't touch her."

Shouichi froze. Spanner pulled him back, his normally bored expression replaced by worry.

"More Flames will only make it worse."

She was like this before too. She had screamed and cried, flinching at every touch and sound.

How could he have forgotten that?!

"Kyouya, knock her out." Tsuna ordered, shifting his grip so he would be able to pick her up. His Flames curled around her protectively.

Kyouya didn't hesitate. He'd seen her like this before, too.

"We need to get her to Saitou-sensei. He should have something to dull things so she can manage once she wakes up."

"It'll take over an hour by train to get back to Namimori." Spanner reported, looking up routes on his phone as he kept pace with Tsuna. He grimaced when he checked the departure time. "We won't make the train."

Kyouya snarled.

"What about a taxi?" Shouichi panted.

"This area is deserted. We won't be able to get a taxi until we get to a better neighborhood." Spanner shot down, already trying to look up alternatives to get them back to Namimori.

"We can steal a car." Kyouya said, already on the lookout."

"Steal?" Shouichi shrieked, "How are you going to steal a car?!"

"I break in, one of you hot wires it. Now look for a damn car."

They went another three blocks before they finally found a car. Only it was occupied.

The trunk was open and a group of men were clustered around the back. They practically screamed 'trouble'.

Tsuna very carefully handed Leora over to Spanner before stalking right up to the middle of the group.

"Give me the keys to your car." The men choked on their cigarettes.

Looking Tsuna up and down they sneered, shuffling out to surround him.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, you shitty little brat?"

"Give me your keys."

"Or what?" Another mocked, leaning down to get in his face. "You'll go crying to mommy? You got balls, brat, I'll give you that. But what makes you think I'll just give you my keys?"

Faster than the man could blink, Tsuna's small hand reached up and clutched his throat. His fingers sizzled as they dug into the man's skin.

"Give me your keys." Tsuna repeated, hand tightening. "Or I'll dig them from your ashes."

The man widened his eyes in terror, legs giving way. He desperately tried to pry Tsuna's hands off his throat, but Tsuna's grip didn't loosen a bit. The heat made his hands blister and peel.

The other men with him didn't have time to react to save their leader.

Kyouya smashed into two of them, cracking one's head with a tonfa, spring boarding off of him as he fell and slamming a foot in to the chest of the other.

Shouichi's robot tased a third. Spanner took down the last, shooting out his own Flames to knock the final guy out, careful to keep Leora away from the voltage.

Tsuna's eyes didn't leave the man in his grip.

"Give me your keys."

The man fainted, foam bubbling out of his mouth.

Tsuna let him drop, digging the keys out of his pocket.

Getting Leora settled into the car, Tsuna tossed the keys to Spanner. Shouichi sat in the front to act as navigator while Kyouya flanked Leora's other side.

"If I hack the traffic lights we'll get there in thirty minutes." Shouichi reported, already pulling out his laptop.

"Let Saitou-sensei know we're on our way once you're done."

Shouichi nodded and got to work.