Kusakabe will never admit it aloud, but he takes great pride in his unflappable demeanor.

Hibari Kyoya goes out on a mission, a tiny, beautiful child of elven years old, to unite his territory and manages to beat down the few yakuza families who have sprung up in recent years. He goes out with only Kusakabe to stand, faithful and loyal, by his side, and returns with an army in tow.

Granted, over half of them were under the age of fifteen, but that left the rest of them, who ranged in ages from fifteen to twenty-three. Some were merely thugs. Only useful in case of intimidation and muscle.

Others were clever and cunning, street rats who survived and made a name and a life for themselves. The cowards who attached themselves to the strongest predator in hopes they would endure the hard times without actually risking their lives. There were the ambitious, those longing for fame and power, others simply wishing for the safety of theirs.

Truthfully, almost all of those faces who follow eleven year old Hibari Kyoya from the ruins of their glory and ambitions, all held traces of awe.

A delicate, beautiful face, pretty silver eyes, thick black hair with enough volume to hint as to its fluffiness and a tiny slim body, accented by baby fat.

Looks were deceiving.

Hibari Kyoya was a demon in encased mortal flesh. A being made out of bloodlust, fighting instincts and a hunger for challenges. He wielded tonfas, a weapon that was specifically designed to be non-lethal, to which, the boy only utilized to cause maximum damage while minimizing the possibility of a swift death.

However, Tetsuya cannot control his expression when he pulls up to Kyo-san's location with the requested transportation.

His jaw drops, his eyes widen, he literally cannot find the words and he will later be ashamed to say, he stood there like a useless shrub as Kyo-san lifted a small boy into his arms, a tiny, reptilian creature curled into a ball on his chest. He stares, because those are scales, yes? Those are wings, right? Tail. Claws.

Error. has stopped working. Critical system failure. Reboot systems.

Surprisingly, once Kyo-san reaches where he's standing, the look Hibari gives him is understanding and vaguely sympathetic. As if they're suffering together, of course Kusakabe is forgiven for this loss of composure, and Tetsuya does not want to know what is prompting this look.

Luckily, Kyo-san's attention is drawn away by the boy in his arms- along with that creature who is starting to look exactly like something out of fairy tales- who shifts and snuggles the...reptilian creature...closer, while burrowing in deeply into Kyo-san's arms.

Tetsuya is now so far out of his league, after this incident, he will now be able to say, he's seen it all, but this is now the top impossible thing Kyo-san has done before hitting his teens.

(Tetsuya weeps when he considers the future, when Kyo-san's territories are secured and he his reign is assured enough that he might wish to expand.)

Fortunately, Hibari issues his orders. Which is a good thing because Tetsuya can follow orders without needing to take a moment to come to terms with that fact that reality is an illusion and life is a lie.

"Kusakabe, there are shell fragments around the base of the tree directly behind me that need to be gathered. Arrange a room for Tsunayoshi, search for appropriate foods to feed a baby dragon, but be discreet. The armory needs to be updated, defenses need to be organized and I will require everyone's files on my desk."

"Hai," Tetsuya doesn't even hesitate to whip out his phone and start texting orders to his assistants.

He goes for the shell fragments himself, pulling out a box from the van and carefully making his way to the base of the aforementioned tree. It's easy enough to spot the fragments, so he knees down to pick the glittering and beautiful pieces of a dragon's eggshell, and set them carefully in the box. He has to pause when on touching them they gleam with swirls of green.

Kusakabe ignores that and continues with his work, until he's collected all the fragments and stands to his feet. He walks carefully back, all the shards still glimmering green, until he reaches the open door of the van. Kyo-san raises his eyebrows in something like surprise when he sees the emerald glow before a vicious satisfied expression takes over his face.

He doesn't want to know.

Tetsuya mechanically climbs into the van after after situating the box on the floor, slamming the door and gives the order to go. He prioritises by proceeding to keep his mind busy with phone calls, texts and emails. He puts in orders for meats, mostly fish with fruits and leafy greens. He makes sure to message the chefs to prepare the food so it's soft and leave some raw.

Small baby omnivore with a leaning towards being carnivorous.

(Tetsuya is so glad he did a research project about dragons last year for that DnD game.)

He's forcibly concentrating his attention away from the dragon- because it's a dragon and Kyo-san totally found it, because of course he did- but even he can't ignore the sudden flash of purple fire in Kyo-san's hands, blessed Inari.

He clamps down on his reaction, his teeth sink into his lip and he takes a deep, measured breath. He is also ignoring that the shells started glowing green the moment he touched it. That is a complication he doesn't want to deal with right now.

He glances over at Kyo-san, the- the dragon and the boy sleeping peacefully in Kyo-san's arms. His boss's eyes are very purple. Tetsuya's gaze lingers over both of them-

There's an answering flash of orange fire from the boy still sleeping in Kyo-san's arms. The dragon chirps, perking up to rub its head all over the front of Kyo-san's shirt and then it settles back down to curl up into Sawada Tsunayoshi's lap. Kyo-san is excluding smugness and Kusakabe has never seen him so happy.

Tetsuya eases his teeth out of his lip, ignores the stinging and takes a deep, measured breath.

"I suspect there is a secret society made up of people who can make these flames, who are aware of mythical animals and seek to keep the herbivores of the world ignorant," Kyo-san says, and Tetsuya resists the urge to facepalm.

He's eleven. Granted, he's also some kind of genius, in literally everything, except for social interactions, but Hibari Kyoya is eleven. Of course, his first reaction to finding an animal everyone knows to be fictional, mythical, is to instantly come to the conclusion of secret society.

Bursting into brightly colored flames that don't burn, well, that means it's obviously connected with mythical animals and they're working to keep it a great secret.

Tetsuya…

...actually doesn't disagree.

That actually sounds very logical and considering that if a person is capable of manifesting flames, obviously, it's been happening for a while and therefore there are communities of people who know how to use them.

The logical conclusion is secret societies.

So Tetsuya nods his head and resumes his rapid texting.

"Perhaps there is a method of determining if certain people are capable of wielding these flames. Considering that both you and Tsunayoshi-san have different colors, that suggests different attributes and/or abilities," Kusakabe offers blandly, recalling a certain video game with seven Flames, corresponding to the rainbow and hearts and evil something and/or other.

Kyo-san's eyes flick over to him, before he nods, accepting this explanation, returning his attention to the boy and the dragon sleeping in his arms.

Honestly, later, he will look at this and be ashamed he was even surprised at what happened next.

Kyo-san shifted the boy, freeing his hand and tossing something directly into Tetsuya's face. Excellent reflexes enabled him to catch the object, but he almost dropped what looked like an etched piece of petrified bark when it sparked with green flames.

It was the eggshell and Kusakabe was too hopeful Kyo would ignore it.

Only this time, there was a difference in how the flames looks. Before, it was just light, now, he could actually identify them as green fire.

They arched up like oddly colored lightning bolts, flames, yet not, and swelled up over his hand. Tetsuya let out a startled noise, as warmth rose in his chest. His fingers didn't let go of the fragment though. He jerked up his head as Kyo-san made a satisfied noise in the back of his throat and was greeted with a barely there smile, that really was more of a smirk.

With bared teeth.

Still, he managed to project an aura of pleased pride towards Tetsuya that the teenager was torn between being happy or concerned about. However, as he stared at what he suspected was a piece of the egg the…the dragon hatched from and the brilliant emerald green flames that were acting more like little lightning bolts rather than actual fire-

Before Tetsuya could ask for clarification, or an actual explanation, Sawada Tsunayoshi stirred in Kyo-san's arms. He wasn't coherent, barely managing to open his eyes, revealing a sliver of amber. The noise he made was more of a soft hum than a sound of pain or fear, and it was echoed by the tiny reptile curled up on the boy's stomach.

Only the...dragon made a noise that wasn't unlike a bird's chirp. Even if it was significantly more growly and intimidating. Although, going by the suddenly gooey softness that overtook Kyo-san's face, Kusakabe doubted that no matter how large the dragon would grow, if it breathed fire in all the colors of the rainbow and it's roar was loud enough to shake the Earth, that Kyo-san would ever consider the reptile something to be feared.

Inwardly, he sighed. Then he cleared his throat, carefully willing the green fire lightning in his hands to stop and trying to muster some surprise when it did, before he raised his gaze to his boss.

"Have you decided on a name?"

There. A simple question that did not require complex thinking. Neutral, safe and fool-proof question designed to get Kyo-san thinking about the future of his new pet.

Unfortunately, he severely underestimated Kyo-san's thought process.

"A child's name shouldn't be decided until both parents are in agreement," Hibari said authoritatively, just as the van turns into the gated property in which his home stands.

Tetsuya's brain sputters and briefly stalls. His mouth opens, closes and reluctantly agrees, even as a soft, pained noise escapes his control.

"Yes, that- that's exactly right, Kyo-san," he says.

Again, Tetsuya can see exactly how pleased Kyoya is with himself even as he whistles and chirps quietly at the little dragon who occasionally flicks its tail at the sounds.

Kusakabe quickly texts someone to bring him all the files related to Sawada Tsunayoshi immediately.

When the vehicles rolls to a stop, and another subordinate pulls the door open and both he and Kyoya exit the van, he is the one who has his phone at the ready, in order to memorialize this joyous occasion in which their beloved leader brings home his first-born child.

Such photos will never be allowed to be forgotten on this momentous day, Tetsuya swears to himself even as his silently clicks the enter button again and again.

Kyoya sweeps into the sprawling traditional-style mansion, even as Sawada Tsunayoshi sleeps steadily in his arms and the dragon scampers up to drape- him? Her?- self on his shoulders. Usually, each and every member of the Hibari Household are all capable, competent and discreet employees. Yet, a great many of them are now coming to a stop upon encountering their lord and his burdens.

Some only allow themselves a swift double take. Others freeze, as if one wrong move with mean their certain death or loss of job. And there are the ones who seem to lose all measure of composure and end up on the floor, screaming, or muttering panicked profanity.

Surprisingly, Kyo-san takes each and everyone of these reactions with astonishing patience and sometimes even understanding. Tetsuya wants nothing to do with his thought process in this situation, not in the least because secret societies are an entirely different can of worms he wants to keep closed for as long as possible.

It's not that he doesn't disbelieve Kyo-san's conclusion, it's that he understands the dangers of secret societies all too well. After all, Hibari Kyoya is the leader of a slightly-less-than-secret-but-definitely-a-society of his own.

There's also the fact that Tetsuya still has no idea what these flames do or what the colors mean and by extension he has no idea what he should be arming Kyo-san and himself to face. Even as he follows in the footsteps of his little boss, taking as many pictures as he can manage, Tetsuya is making plans.

He needs to find out what the flames are, if the colors mean anything, if they do mean something, then exactly what do they mean, and what the flames might actually do seeing as his own act like mini-lightning bolts and don't actually burn. Or rather, they don't burn himself.

He also needs to make plans for the bullying problem of Tsunayoshi-san.

Kyo-san had claimed the boy, and if Tetsuya didn't have a working system in place to deal with the problem before Kyo-san found out, it would end in blood and tears.

And paperwork.

Just because Tetsuya was marvelous at handling it in a timely and organized manner (The teachers wept at his paperwork handling skills, and begged for secrets. Tetsuya definitely did not use that fact as a bribe where needed. Nope.) did not mean that he wanted to deal with the paperwork that would result from Kyo-san's schoolwide rampage.

Tetsuya heaves a sigh and puts in an order for coffee.

Tonight is going to be a long night.

When Tsuna wakes, he is still warm.

Which is decidedly stange. Tsuna hasn't been warm since-

Well, since the man his mother said was 'papa' and the man his 'papa' said was 'grandpa' had visited that time. He remembers being scared, falling and then the cold came and it hurt.

But he's- the cold is-

He's warm down to his bones in a way he hasn't been in-

Kami, he hated the cold. Loathed it. He'd...Tsuna had forgotten what if felt like to be warm. He shuddered, wrestling with the urge to start crying. He didn't know what had happened since he had fallen asleep in-

-in Hibari's arms hiieeeee-

Tsuna opens his arms, blinking the sleep out of his blurry vision.

He's in a darkened room, very traditional, tucked into a futon surrounded by blankets and pillows. Curled around him are two warm bodies. One of which, is Hibari Kyoya. His black hair is ruffled, eyes closed and face perfectly relaxed in sleep.

Tsuna stares for a solid minute, entirely bewildered and confused as to why he wasn't afraid. He doesn't understand, but there's a flash of blue, like water and he turns and oh.

The other is the tiny dragon whose eyes are fixated on him. Silver scales that shimmer and shine sapphire in the sunlight, itty bitty horns with a bit of a curl in the middle and large reflective eyes that look more blue then gray in the light.

She chirps happily, fluttering her wings and nuzzles into Tsuna and he- he laughs. The sound startles him and he shuts his mouth, almost instinctively. He can't remember the last time he laughed.

The dragon tilts her head at him, before deliberately pressing closer.

Tsuna's breath hitches as love, affection, concern gently brush against his skin, like a physical touch.

Tears fill his eyes, even as he pressed them tightly shut. He was used to muffling his sobs, so when he took in a shuddering breath, he really wasn't expecting the small noise to wake Hibari.

Tsuna jerked, startled as a warm- it was warm- hand brushed his tears away. "Why are you crying?"

Hibari's voice was tired, slurred with sleep, but sharp and alert by the end. There was a hint of dangerous focus under the not-quite-awake and Tsuna froze, staring at the boy.

"I-" Tsuna stopped, unsure. How could he explain…?

The tears came faster and the little dragon's cries because very distressed as she flapped her wings, almost hopping across the blankets, attempting to provide some kind of comfort. Hibari was pressing in closer as well, and he was so warm.

"I-I'm not c-cold," Tsuna manages to say between his sobs.

His fingers clutch at the covers, the softness of the blankts and he weeps.

"It's warm, it's warm," he says, trying to convey how precious this is to him.

It's been so long.

Tsuna has no idea how to convey his reality for the past four years. How those two men came and left him cold and alone. How Mama loves him, but she's not there in a way that he needs her to be and he doesn't know how to fix that.

He's nine years old, already so independent because no one cares if he suffers, if he teachers put him down, if they're mean to him, and Mama doesn't understand.

It doesn't matter what he says, how he looks when he walks through the front door, Mama looks right through at him. Mama can't protect him and he's too busy protecting her to help himself. Mama doesn't notice the bruises, the scrapes and the cuts.

To his Mama, everything is normal and nothing is wrong and it's Tsuna's job to take care of her.

But this…

His vision is blurry because of the tears, but Hibari is looking at him and he's wiping away his tears, he's murmuring something he can't make out-

Hibari is looking at him and he cares.

Tsuna cries harder, but the little dragon snuggles into his chest and around him, Hibari is practically shielding him from the rest of the world.

It's so warm.

So, it's an update. Motivation flowed through our veins once more! Wolfy was given a piece of fanart over on tumblr (north-peach tumblr com/ post /181876122128/wolfsrainrules-for-north-and-wolf-damn-you) and thus, we have this chapter now.

Enjoy!