Numinous (adj.) – filled with a sense of the presence of divinity

"Hey, can you toss that to me?"

Takeshi blinked. He just happened to pass by a middle school field when the other second-grader called out to him. He raised the dirty volleyball he picked up from the floor in the air. "This?"

The smaller boy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Toss it to me, please?"

Despite the boy's smaller stature, Takeshi knew a budding athlete when he saw one. He wasn't a baseball maniac for nothing, and his mom used to be an awesome volleyball player too! Automatically, he found kinship with the brunet. Anyone one who played sports was a friend on Takeshi's list (even though he easily made friends with everyone).

He nodded, grinning. "Okay!"

Takeshi pulled his arm back as if he were throwing a pitch, realized his mistake far too late. He rubbed the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, I was thinking about…baseball…"

The brunet vanished in a blur. Takeshi gaped when the boy sprinted across the field. He was fast, really fast. His short legs looked like they were working overdrive and his eyes were trained on the sailing ball. Under the light, the looked more amber than brown. His focus was almost scary. Takeshi saw that in his mom when he watched old tapes of her volleyball matches. He couldn't help but admire the boy's determination. Finally, as the volleyball descended, the boy dove on the ground, his short arm barely reaching the ball. It sailed back in the air before falling a few feet away from the brunet, rolling for a few seconds.

The boy pouted as he looked over his shoulder. "Mou, it never goes far enough." He stood up, dusting off his dirty shirt and pants. Streaks of dirt painted his chubby cheeks and arms.

All Takeshi could think about was the boy running across the field. The more he thought about it, the more his heart raced against his chest. He had never felt so excited about anything other than baseball. Sure, his mom would always ask him if he wanted to give volleyball a try but baseball was his first love, his first precious memory with his dad.

"—ou there?" The other boy's voice snapped Takeshi out of his thoughts.

He blinked, staring at the brunet in front of him. He was a good few inches taller than him, Takeshi realized.

"That was so cool!" he blurted out while making ridiculous arm motions. "You were here and then you were suddenly over there! Like—Like Ultraman!"

The brunet blushed and scratched his cheek. "Ah, well, I, uh, thank you."

"What's your name? I'm Takeshi! I just moved here yesterday."

The brunet grinned. "I'm Tsuna! I've lived in Namimori for as long as I can remember."

They both laughed. It felt really nice, Takeshi thought. He didn't feel so alone anymore. He was worried about moving to Namimori.

Tsuna glanced at the setting sun with a frown. "Oh, I have to go back home. Mama will get worried."

Takeshi frowned. He didn't want to leave yet but his parents would get worried if he stayed out too long. He really liked his new friend. "Oh, okay."

"Where do you live?" Tsuna said, his eyes brightening. "I can walk you there so you don't get lost."

Takeshi instantly grinned. "Thanks! It took forever for me to find the grocery store. I don't know why my mom told me to go since I'm not that good with directions. But she sometimes forgets that too."

Tsuna gave him a thumbs-up. "Alright, let's go! Do you remember the neighborhood?"

"I think it started with a M? I know it's near Kokuyo."

"There's only two other neighborhoods near Kokuyo. I live in Midori."

"Oh! Yeah, that one. I live there!"

Tsuna was literally bouncing on his toes. "Really? I hope we're neighbors!"

They started to walk towards Midori, with Tsuna leading the way. He asked some questions here and there and let Takeshi talk as much as he wanted. Tsuna was a very good listener, Takeshi thought. He hadn't talked to someone for so long like this, other than his parents. Sure, he missed his friends back in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture—Namimori was pretty far and was in the Yamanashi Prefecture, which was right next to the Tokyo Prefecture—but he didn't mind making new ones here. And he had a feeling Tsuna would be just that.

"Hey, Tsuna," he said, "why were you all alone there? Did your friends leave early or something?"

The brunet's face fell, which made Takeshi regret asking. He had already grown fond of the energetic boy and hated to see him so sad.

"Well, this might sound weird but I don't…have any friends?"

Takeshi blinked. "What?" How could no one want to be friends with Tsuna? He was so nice and funny. Were there not a lot of kids in Namimori? Takeshi wished that was the answer.

"Ah, look we're almost there!" Tsuna said, quickly changing the topic. "See, it's not that far. Do you see your house?"

Takeshi frowned. It was true. They were getting closer to the familiar neighborhood and he could already see his house in the distance. It was big and painted in beige. It belonged to his mom's family before it was put up in the market. They had moved here to keep the house, plus, both of his parents missed Namimori, even though he'd never heard about it. It was a pretty small town though.

"That's mine," Takeshi said, pointing it out.

Tsuna grinned. "Oh, my house is right next to it! I didn't know it was you moving in."

That helped Takeshi feel a little bit better. His adorable friend was his neighbor—awesome! That would make things easier. He didn't have to get lost trying to find him tomorrow.

Tsuna was nice enough to drop Takeshi at his house first, even though the brunet's was closer. He played with the hem of his shirt as they stood outside the small house gate.

"I'll see you again, right, Takeshi?" he said hesitantly. "But you don't have to if you don't want to! I mean, it was just a suggestion. We don't have to meet again ever again if that's what you want! I'll understand."

"Hey, hey," Takeshi said, trying to calm his friend down. "I'd be happy to see you again, Tsuna! Besides, we're friends! Friends always see each other again!"

His heart nearly stopped when Tsuna looked up at him with such awe and adoration. He'd never felt so proud and happy for cheering someone up.

"Really?" Tsuna said with hope. "We're really friends?"

Takeshi ruffled his fluffy hair, which was soft underneath his hand. Tsuna squawked indignantly from the sudden contact, drawing a laugh from the taller boy. "Yeah, we're friends."

Tsuna grinned. "I'm glad."

"I'll see you around, Tsuna!"

"I'll see you again too, Takeshi!"

Takeshi rang his doorbell and waited for his mother to open the door for him. He didn't miss Tsuna waving at him and disappearing inside his own home. He smiled. Maybe Namimori wouldn't be so bad after all.

A/N I finally did it—lo and behold, peeps, another story to add to this bare crossover section! Seriously, KHR has so much flexibility it's insane how there's not a lot of crossovers. :^(

So, this story will take place in the Haikyu universe as well, and I've already planned some of the more important roles for the characters. Compared to Komorebi, I'll be able to utilize more of the canon characters from KHR. I'm still debating on how to properly use the Haikyu characters as well, since most of the plot I planned so far will mainly be in Namimori (…and maybe Italy, hehe…). But, hey! There's a small hint in this chapter that alludes to the Haikyu universe. Let me know if you find it, hehe.

I wanted to give you peeps the option to see how the story will unfold from the next chapter. I could continue with how Tsuna meets each of his guardian over the years until he reaches high school or I can just jump straight into the story! Let me know what you think, peeps!

And yes, the mafia won't be involved in this story but I have other plans for how Vongola would be incorporated along with the Arcobaleno. No matter what I write, I can't pass up on some drama/angst so I'll be tackling a lot of sports' issues here to keep the realism alive, hehe.

Thank you for reading! Leave a thought or two if you can! For any questions, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

I hope to see you again in the next chapter!

Have a lovely day~

Little Miss Bunny