"For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Kyoya—Oh God, it was fucking Kyoya.

Before Tsuna absolutely lost his mind, Reborn started wailing behind him. He looked back and forth between his couch and baby Kyoya. Jesus fucking Christ, it was Kyoya. He didn't want to know—well, actually he did but that wasn't the point. Throwing all caution to the wind, he grabbed baby Kyoya's basket and carried it inside before anyone came out to check what the hell was going on.

Locking the door behind him, Tsuna carried the basket and laid it on the sofa next to Reborn and Bermuda's. He lifted Reborn in his arms, hushing him gently, while he searched for the infant's bottle. Was it just him or was Reborn a little heavier? Tsuna was pretty sure babies didn't just gain weight overnight; but then again, he was barely functioning with little sleep and probably making things up in his head.

Still, when he pressed the bottle against Reborn's lips, he couldn't help but dumbly stare at baby Kyoya. Okay, Tsuna had seen Kyoya's baby pictures, courtesy to his overexcited parents, and this—this baby was fucking Kyoya. The short black hair, the chubby cheeks, hell, even the freakin' eyebrows looked the same. What were the goddamn odds?

"I swear," Tsuna mumbled, "if I'm dreaming, someone please wake me up."

When he checked the time, it was around 8. His stomach grumbled for food but there was baby Kyoya who had just appeared outside his door and he was still kind of freaking out. Reborn pushed the bottle away then, whimpering a bit. Tsuna patted his back as he shook the empty bottle. Babies ate a lot.

After he laid Reborn back down beside Bermuda, he glanced at baby Kyoya and immediately entered another existential crisis. Maybe it wasn't…Kyoya? He picked up the card from the red blankets and pursed his lips. Fon. Okay, but…

He gasped. Did Kyoya have some kind of fun without him knowing? Was Fon his illegitimate child? A way to get revenge? Ex-lover's quarrel gone bad? Some creepy, coincidental adoption sent to Tsuna to take care of his mess? Hell, did Kyoya even get drunk? (The man couldn't drink for the life of him.)

Tsuna reached for his phone and dialed Tetsuya's number. It rang a few times before he realized that the other man could be busy, but this took absolute precedence over whatever he was doing. The company's reputations—no, Kyoya's reputation was at stake here. And if Kyoya's name went down the drain, he was going to drag Tsuna down with him, kicking and screaming.

Finally, before the phone reached voicemail, Tetsuya picked up. "Is there something you need, Tsunayoshi? I apologize but it'll have to wait. I'm—"

"Tetsuya, this is Code Black," Tsuna said. "Like, really black. So fucking black I can't even."

A bout of silence passed. Tetsuya soon mumbled his apologies to someone and Tsuna could hear him leaving the room, the door clicking shut softly in the background. "Explain."

Tsuna took a deep breath, ignoring Reborn's penetrating stare. Why did the baby look like he'd grow up to be an axe-murderer? Actually, an axe would be too crude. "I need you to be honest with me. Did Kyoya ever get hitched? And I'm being absolutely serious here. I'm not drunk."

Tetsuya inhaled sharply, and was silent for a moment. Tsuna slumped on the couch, careful not to wake the other sleeping babies. Reborn still stared at him and it was low-key freaking him out. These babies didn't seem normal now that he thought about it; actually, this whole situation wasn't normal. Kyoya was probably with him in baby form and there were no scientific explanations for that. How was Tsuna going to tell Kyoya's parents? They'd either burn him at the stake or feed him to their dogs, all with a smile on their faces.

"What do you mean?" Tetsuya finally said.

Leaning forward, Tsuna sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "I mean, did Kyoya ever slept with anyone? Had a one-night stand? Do the do? Went to shady parties? Hell, did he ever drink more than a tiny sip anywhere? Something along those lines."

"W—Why would you—Kyo-sama would—He never did any of those things!"

Tsuna ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "Yeah, but there could be things you know that I don't know and—You know what, I'll just show you." He took a quick picture of baby Kyoya and sent it to Tetsuya. "Look at him." Tetsuya didn't speak again for a while; there was some shuffling of feet in the background though. "Exactly. See where I'm coming from? He looks like Kyoya. I thought he was Kyoya. I still think he is though. Where is Kyoya anyways?"

"He—He's in a conference call with buyers from Korea."

"…You just checked, didn't you?"

"…Yes, he's still in his chair…"

"Please tell me we're really not dealing with Code Black here."

"I—I will get back to you as soon as I can, but I swear that Kyo-sama isn't the type to do those things. I would know since he can be…the least subtle of people."

"Actually, a very small part of me would be happy if he did because that means he has a life. Then he can take care of this little one and I'll be A-Okay. Get back to me, alright? And don't mention that this came from me. I still want to live."

"Of course. I'll call you as soon as possible."

"Thanks."

After Tetsuya hung up, Tsuna tossed his phone to the side and fell back against the couch with a big sigh. He peered at Reborn from the corner of his eye; the baby was still awake, admirably enough. Huffing, Tsuna reached out to caress Reborn's cheek. It was warm. "You know," he said, leaning a little, "can't you just tell me what the heck is going on? You seem smart."

Reborn gave him a look as if he was stupid, again, and waved his tiny fists in the air to smack Tsuna's hand away. They felt like nothing. Sighing, Tsuna leaned back against the couch and lolled his head back to face the gray ceilings. He stared at them blankly, his mind drifting off to God knew where. His body felt heavy and his eyes fluttered for a second. He shook his head. Yeah, nope. He couldn't sleep now.

Rubbing his eyes, he stood up and headed to the kitchen when Reborn whined behind him. "Oh, for the love of—"

Tsuna groaned, went back, and picked up Reborn along with his empty bottle. He had to get another one soon for baby Kyoya. He was going to call the little one baby Kyoya until Tetsuya called him back. Maybe Hana had an extra bottle. Or he could finally get around to using the car Hibari's parents had given him and drive to the nearest baby supplies store. But then who would look over the babies? He was definitely not bringing them out when they were probably un-vaccinated. Shit. Were they even vaccinated? Why was Tsuna thinking about all of this now?

Grabbing the blanket from the couch, Tsuna hoisted Reborn on his back and tied a firm knot around his stomach, keeping the baby in place. "You better be sleeping when I'm done with this," he mumbled, turning on the coffee machine.

He washed Reborn's bottle while the water heated up. Reborn squirmed a little against his back but stayed quiet for the most part, thank God. As soon as Tsuna had his fill of some coffee, maybe he could last throughout the night. He could already feel his sleep schedule becoming fucked up. When Tsuna placed a mug under the coffee machine and watched the brown liquid pour inside, he relaxed when the rich aroma filled the air.

Reborn wriggled a little bit more, making Tsuna grimace as he grabbed his cup. "Stop that," he said. "You're going to end up falling."

It wasn't true and Reborn wouldn't know. Actually, Tsuna had a feeling that he would though, which was kind of creepy because babies weren't that smart, no offense. Then again, this whole situation was weird, and he needed that coffee. He peered over his shoulder to see Reborn still awake and squirming even more. Was it the coffee?

Tsuna sighed. "Sorry, the coffee probably smells weird to you." He blew the mug, watching the steam disappear. "I'll drink it quick." Reborn's response was a loud, piercing wail. "Oh my God, someone kill me… Now what, Reborn? What?" Tsuna thumped his head against the fridge. Reborn's wailing grew louder. "Please, someone, just kill me."

Knowing it was hopeless to get Reborn to stop, Tsuna just set on making more milk for the little devil. His brows furrowed, almost pressing against each other, as he tried to ignore Reborn's cries. The baby was definitely hungry but for what, Tsuna didn't know. He glanced at the coffee machine, lips pursed, and vaguely wondered if babies could even drink coffee. He shook his head. How much dumber was he going to get? At this point, half of his brain cells were probably obliterated and never regenerating again.

By the time Tsuna had a warm bottle of milk in his hand, Reborn was pressed against his chest instead of his back and still crying. Tsuna gaped at him when the baby refused to drink the milk. "Come on," he said. "I know it tastes bad but if you don't drink it, you'll starve to death and I really don't think you'll like that." A little too desperately, he added, "Don't you want to grow up bigger and stronger than Bermuda?"

The speed to which Reborn stopped crying was very disturbing. Aside from some sniffles, Reborn just…stopped. Not that Tsuna didn't mind but it was probably normal. His guts told him to expect the unexpected more often. That didn't do anything to quell his nerves. Tsuna finally cleared his throat and raised Reborn's bottle.

"Yeah," he said. "The more you drink this, the more you'll grow…and stuff. If you don't drink this, you won't be able to get stronger or live, really. You need food." Tsuna didn't know where this conversation was going, it wasn't like Reborn understood what he was saying; but the strangely keen eyes of the said baby told otherwise. Tsuna was convinced that he stepped into the twilight zone somehow. "If you don't eat food, you won't be able to grow up to eat other kinds of food either." In the spur of the moment, he threw in, "And you definitely cannot drink coffee. Not like this. Maybe when you're older."

Reborn looked like he wanted to kill him and Tsuna had the odd feeling that he would. Before his mind strayed to killing-baby-machines, he said, "You can drink it once you're…10." He winced. "Actually, wait, 10-year-olds shouldn't drink coffee. 14? No, that's still too young." When did Tsuna drink coffee for the first time? When he looked down at Reborn, he was greeted with a blank face. Well, as much of a blank look a baby could muster. The effect wasn't as scary with Reborn's red eyes and nose and dried tears, but it did the trick. "10 it is then."

Mentally, Tsuna scoffed. As if. He'd wait until Reborn was like 18 or something. Coffee wasn't good for children. He froze. Wait…did he just admit that he'd be keeping the babies? And for that long? Holy shit, Tsuna had lost it, didn't he? As if sensing Tsuna's internal conflict, Reborn waved a small hand in the air vaguely in the direction of the cooling bottle. Tsuna blinked, snapping out of his muddled thoughts, before smiling a bit. "Sorry," he said, letting Reborn suck on the bottle. "All that talk and I almost forgot to feed you."

It was quiet for a few moments but not the bad kind of quiet. Tsuna found himself relaxing against his chair as he adjusted Reborn into a more comfortable position in his arms. The only sounds in the kitchen were Reborn's reluctant sucks from his bottle and the light hum of the city outside. A knock suddenly came from the door, making Tsuna tense. Who would that be? He groaned softly. If it was Hibari again, he was going to flip or do something else more ridiculous.

With Reborn nestled in his arms, Tsuna headed for the door and peeked in the peephole. He raised a brow when he saw who it was. "Hana," he said, opening the door, "what are you doing here?"

The woman was dressed a little more casually but still wore a nice sweater and some slacks. Her short black hair was neat as always and she looked presentable, human, compared to Tsuna's rumpled shirt and pants. He had some decency to blush.

"I just came by to check on you," Hana said, her eyes flickering down to Reborn who paused in his feeding to stare at the woman. "Is this the baby?"

"Kaa-chan, can I see?" a chipper voice said. Tsuna blinked until he realized a little girl clutching Hana's hand. She had white hair like her father in pigtails and bright brown eyes. "Can I see the baby, too? Please?"

Hana sighed. "Emiko."

Tsuna found it fascinating how quickly the girl deflated from just her name. He briefly wondered if that would work on Reborn but mentally shook that thought away. He wasn't going to keep them. Nope. Never. This was temporary.

"Do you want to come inside?" Tsuna said, opening the door wider. "I have some juice too, if you want, Emiko-chan."

Emiko brightened immediately. "Really? Do you have orange juice?"

"Emiko," Hana said again. Though she accepted Tsuna's invitation and stepped inside, keeping her daughter close to her side.

And again, Emiko deflated. Tsuna made a mental note to ask Hana later how she did th—Oh no. Hell no. He forced a smile at Emiko. "Sure, I do," he said, turning on the lights and leading the two into the kitchen. "Take a seat. Make yourself comfortable. I'll get you a glass. Do you want anything, Hana?"

The woman raised a brow at the baskets of babies in the living room. "I thought you only had two with you," she said.

Tsuna laughed nervously. "Right, yeah, uh, my cousin's…friend dropped that one off like, an hour ago."

Hana's gaze didn't waver. "Are you opening up a nursery?"

Tsuna flushed. "What? No! Never! Why would I—Babies aren't—I wouldn't!"

Emiko giggled. "You look funny, Nii-chan."

After Hana and Emiko got settled at the dining table, Tsuna quickly poured a cup of orange juice for Emiko and grabbed some animal crackers from the cupboard to keep her busy. Hana glanced at the living room, her arm draped behind Emiko's chair. "They can't sleep in baskets forever," she said, a little skeptical at the woven hampers.

Tsuna sighed, taking away Reborn's now empty bottle. The infant struggled to stay awake, eyes fluttering, while mumbling incoherent babbles. It was pretty cute until Tsuna remembered that he was the devil in disguise. "I ordered some cribs online," he said. "They should be here by tomorrow."

Hana pursed her lips. "Didn't your cousin give you some of their essentials?"

Tsuna made himself busy by gently rocking Reborn to sleep and headed for the couch so he wouldn't have to look at Hana in the eyes. She could probably tell he was lying if he did. "She was in a rush," he said.

"So much that she left two babies for you to take care of with no instruction manual?"

Tucking Reborn next to a sleeping Bermuda, Tsuna rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you could say that again," he mumbled under his breath. "She…forgets a lot of things. I'm used to it."

"Let's hope she doesn't forget to pick them up," Hana said. Tsuna had to give it to her though. The woman had one hell of a poker face unlike her husband who was like an open book.

Tsuna's smile strained a bit. "Yeah. Do you want something? Coffee?"

"I'm fine." Hana perused his abode idly while Emiko happily munched on her animal crackers. "Do you have space for them?"

"I can empty that out." Tsuna gestured at the spare room. He grimaced. "Probably should get to that soon."

Hana brushed some crumbs from Emiko's lips. "You know, I'm surprised you're still standing. Taking care of…three infants isn't easy."

Tsuna leaned against the fridge and huffed out a laugh. "You think? My respect for my mom—well, every mom—just went up a couple of notches. I'm standing only because I got more mouths to feed and I'm a little paranoid that they'd end up dead if I mess up."

Emiko blinked, her big eyes curious. "Did someone die, Nii-chan?"

Tsuna laughed and shook his head. "No, just a figure of speech."

Emiko wrinkled her nose before looking up at Hana. "What's a figure of speech, Kaa-chan?"

"I'll explain later." Hana gave Tsuna a look, which he returned with an easier smile.

"Oh, right," Tsuna said. "I was wondering if you had extra stuff I could borrow. Like a bottle and maybe some more formula?"

"Emiko's 5," Hana deadpanned. "And I already gave you all that I had. The formula's not even mine. They're from Ito-san." When Tsuna pinched the bridge of his nose and quietly counted to ten under his breath, Hana glanced at her watch. "You still have time to head over to Akachan Honpo. They're still open for another two hours."

"What?" Tsuna flushed before lowering his voice. "Really?" He was already looking up the closest store on his phone. "I can get there in 20 minutes. They have everything, right?"

Hana, God bless her, simply listed off all the newborn essentials Tsuna would need (temporarily) until his nonexistent cousin came back. "A week," he said, when she asked how long they would be with him. After typing all the stuff Hana told him, with some excited chatters from Emiko about dolls and juice, Tsuna grabbed his coat and was about to slip on his shoes when he suddenly realized something. He looked back at the couch, taking in the sleeping infants in their strange baskets. "I can't leave them," he said.

Rolling her eyes, Hana waved him off. "I'll stay here until you come back."

Tsuna sagged in relief. "Thank you, Hana. I owe you."

"Just hurry back."

With a nod, Tsuna left his apartment and bolted towards the stairs, foregoing the elevator. This better be fucking temporary or else he'd combust.

Although Fon was familiar with peace, he wasn't comfortable with the peace that fell on him after Kawahira cast his curse. Peace was supposed to be gentle, a soft caress of quiet warm on his skin. This kind of peace was foreign to him, suffocating, oppressive—and Fon did not like being suppressed. However, unlike his siblings, he had patience. He was slightly miffed at the fact that he had to wait until the stifling silence released him, but there was no other course of action he could take.

And so, he waited, drifting within the undercurrents of black shadows and murky darkness that rippled around him like the waters of a disturbed lake. Every tremor made him sink even deeper within himself and embracing what peace he had left. His siblings had labeled it his "eye of the storm", the moment before everything would inevitably fall. But Fon was subtler than that. He'd strike quick and move on as if nothing had happened. That way, no one would knew what even hit them.

Kawahira would not have that luxury and Fon wasn't all that keen on letting his siblings get to the old god first.

Finally, a shaft of dull light breached the shadows. Fon didn't waste time in following it. The first thing that he registered was that his body felt terribly small and weak. None of his tiny limbs seemed to move the way he wanted to. He wriggled a bit in some soft confinement, a blanket, he vaguely noted. His eyes opened slowly and closed even slower as he tried adjusting to the onslaught of artificial lights. They were too bright. He could hear someone—people?—talking in the background, a chorus of voices that overlapped in a nauseating symphony.

A loud bang made him flinch. Full-blown panic, something he had never felt in millenniums, struck him in the head, thrumming through his veins and making his heart thump faster. Before Fon could reign in his control, his mouth opened and a strange wail escaped him. He had never sounded so…vulnerable, so weak.

"You are to be cursed in human bodies as infants with nothing more than your own conscience. You will have no access to your magic or affinities until the curse is complete."

Kawahira's words didn't make it any better. That arrogant man only dragged in innocents to his schemes, only caring about the greater good as he would say. What greater good was it to confine the gods to a horrible prison when there was a whole universe to nurture and guide? Besides, Fon had merely retaliated against Reborn for disturbing his meditation. He wondered how long it would take for Reborn (and his other siblings) the message that there were times he didn't want to be disturbed.

He also wondered when he would stop crying.

"Emiko, I told you to lower the TV," a faint voice said.

"Sorry, Kaa-chan," another person said.

They sounded closer than the other mess of voices in the background, which lowered considerably. Fon could barely see through his hot tears and bright lights when he felt himself being lifted. Someone held him in their arms, a woman, but he couldn't make out her blurry face. She hushed him gently but Fon couldn't hear her. His senses were sluggish, unrefined, and he couldn't tell left from right. Fon, the god of storms and the wind, confined in the body of an infant who could not more or less move without heaving itself across the floor was the perfect punishment. If Fon was a better god, he would have praised Kawahira for such a fine thing—but he wasn't.

"You'll be fine," the woman said quietly, shushing and rocking him gently in her arms. The motion only irritated Fon, not soothe him. His cries inexplicably grew louder. "You're fine. You're fine. Here. You must be hungry."

Something soft pressed against Fon's lips. Mortified, he closed his mouth and turned away, thrashing in his blankets. His panic morphed into anger. Kawahira would never be graced with the wonders of the world ever again. Fon wished he could change into his adult body and run. He quickly vanquished the thought. He was anything but a coward. Yet the fact that he thought of such a foolish desire merely added more fuel to the fire.

The woman clicked her tongue but didn't stop trying to feed Fon the bottle. "I know you're hungry. God knows how long you haven't gone without your mother's milk." The notion of Sepira being his mother wasn't a pleasant one. She was just as responsible as Kawahira. "Alright then." The bottle disappeared and the woman returned to rocking Fon in her arms again, hushing him gently.

"Can I see him, Kaa-chan?" the other occupant said. A child. "Please?"

"Can you get my phone for me please, Emiko?"

The child hummed an affirmative. Fon's throat burned, both from his wailing cries and the sudden arousal of hunger. He never envied children, soft and malleable as they were, and wasn't about to ever. He tried to think of lush green fields, steady rivers, and glowing fireflies but all he drew were blanks. With his incessant crying, it was difficult to even grasp a solid image.

There was a sudden shift in the air after the sound of a door flinging open. Another person had entered the foreign space. As a small distraction, Fon wondered idly how long it would take for him to re-learn all the martial arts he had acquired over the years. It would certainly take a toll on his now mortal body but Fon was determined. And it would be unfortunate for all that knowledge to just go to waste. He did quite like how the humans were able to create different combat styles over the years. Almost unwillingly, Colonnello's voice floated through his head, "Why can't you ever think about the shit you get yourself into?"

Simple—Fon didn't think about it, and instead, replaced what would be chaotic thoughts with much more positive ones. It wasn't his fault if his hot-headed siblings didn't understand how to be grounded.

"Oh, fu—Uh, he's awake?" the new person said, a young man this time. There was the loud rustling of bags and if Fon could, he would frown at how much noise they made.

"Nii-chan, Nii-chan, he's been crying for a long time!" the child said. "He's really, really loud!"

"I think you're louder."

The child giggled. The door soon closed shut. There was a shuffle of footsteps before Fon felt himself being transported carefully into another pair of arms. While the woman's arms were firm and secure, the man's were gentle and comforting. A strange contrast but…Fon found himself slowly settling when the man bounced him lightly in a steady rhythm.

"How long has it been since he woke up?" the man said, his voice soft.

"Give or take 15 minutes," the woman said. "I don't think he would've stopped if you hadn't come on time."

Were they a wedded couple? Their conversation indicated otherwise, however, and the child had referred to the man as an older brother of sorts. Familial ties were simply confusing. Fon had asked Verde once some thousands of years ago and all he got was some convoluted explanation of a tree of family.

"Sorry, Hana. I really owe you for this."

"It's fine. You have your hands full already. I'll think of something later. I made the last bit of formula for that one. You bought more, right?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks for that, too. Watching the babies and all that, also. Just, thanks for everything."

"The others haven't waken up yet but I think one of the twins will soon."

Twins? Was Fon not alone in this unfamiliar place?

"Ah, yeah. Bermuda. It's almost time for him to eat."

Reborn and Bermuda—Fon felt a small inkling of pity for whoever had to handle them. They were already horrendous to manage as adults. He could only imagine how they were as infants. The small rational side inside him told him that he was accepting this situation in too calmly, but he wasn't. He did not accept this situation nor did he accept the curse, merely adapting as an old monk had told him years ago.

"I'm surprised though," Hana said. "That one stopped crying when you held him. I couldn't even feed him the bottle."

"Oh, I don't know," the man said. "Maybe you just held him wrong or something?"

"Tsuna."

"I don't know what you want me to say!" Fon tensed from the volume of the man's voice. As if sensing his discomfort, the man whispered an apology before saying, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. It's been a long night, day, days, I don't know. I'm just…hating my cousin right now and you can understand a bit, right? Still, that doesn't mean I can just lash out at you. I didn't mean to."

The man spoke too much when he was nervous, a habit that was unappealing to Fon in many ways, but strangely, didn't bother him. The man's voice was soothing in a way, soft, and Fon eventually relaxed again. Although, he didn't know that Sepira or Kawahira had a cousin. The strange duo and his siblings were the only deities there were. Yet, this man didn't feel all that powerful. Fon didn't know what to make of the odd situation.

"It's fine, Tsuna," Hana said. "You're tired. I get it. If you'd like, I can get you in contact with my babysitter. She's good with kids."

"Kids, not babies," the man said.

"Tsuna."

The man huffed a small laugh. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Thanks. I'd appreciate it. But this won't be long though. Just a week."

There was a desperate, almost hopeful tinge in his voice that made Fon mentally sigh. There would be no way this curse would last a week, and if he and his siblings ended up in this man's…house, then what was there to say that they'd be forced to get acquainted? It wasn't something Fon was looking forward to, much less so if his siblings would be around, but he had to adapt.

"It'd be good for you to have someone to help," Hana said. "You're going to end up exhausting yourself."

Tsuna sighed. "Yeah." The same rubbery object from before gently pressed against Fon's lips. He still didn't open them. "I appreciate it. I think I need some divine intervention at some point."

Fon supposed Tsuna wouldn't be happy that that had already occurred, and not in the way he expected. Hana snorted lightly. "No mother or parent was ever lucky." Her voice softened just a tad. "You'll be fine. Just give me a call if you need anything. Emiko and I have to go. Ryohei will be back soon."

"Yeah, you should go. Sorry for keeping you here."

"I'll let my babysitter know. Come on, Emiko."

"Bye-bye, Nii-chan!" the child said. "When I come back, can I play with them?"

Tsuna laughed, a surprisingly pleasant sound. Fon found himself pitying him even more. He was only a kind mortal and unfortunate enough to be saddled with such burden. Kawahira always went the extra mile, didn't he?

"We'll see," Tsuna said. "Good night, Emiko-chan, Hana."

"Let me know," Hana said. There was a small pause. "Tsuna, that baby—He looks like—"

"Nope, no relations whatsoever. Just a coincidence. I know, trust me."

Hana didn't sound convinced but let the matter drop. Fon felt like there was something missing here. "Okay. Good night."

A brief moment of silence fell after the door closed. Sighing, Tsuna headed to an unknown destination, Fon reveling in the small feeling of movement until Tsuna stopped. The man descended, plopping down on what Fon assumed was the couch. A small beep echoed in the air before the lights dimmed a bit and the TV turned off.

"At least you're better than Reborn," Tsuna finally said. "But please eat. It'll help. I promise. I don't think you want to starve."

Fon blinked, his eyes dryer now. Tsuna's face slowly came into focus but not quite. The bottle pressed against his lips was demeaning, but eventually, Fon forced himself to drink the terrible liquid. He tried to imagine it was oolong tea. It helped only slightly. Tsuna cooed from relief. "Definitely better than Reborn."

It was quiet for the rest of their time together. Soon, Fon's eyes fluttered and darkness creeped again around the edges. Surprisingly the peace that enveloped him was much sweeter than what Kawahira had cast on him. Oh, the simmering anger in him hissed at the thought of the god, but with a full belly and wrapped in warm arms cooled it into a tiny ember. Fon wouldn't hide the fact that he preened when Tsuna said he was better than Reborn.

And with that pleasant thought in mind to keep the large dragon at bay, Fon surrendered himself peacefully to slumber.

It was quite the hunt to find all of the gods, but Sepira found it quite entertaining and amusing to discover that Kawahira had a sense of humor albeit a tad twisted. She found Lal Mirch somewhere on Mt. Vesuvius, which she found fitting and would never voice aloud when all this was done. Lal Mirch would probably cause something else more worse than what happened in Pompeii. Kawahira had confined her in a tomb of ice for years after that spectacle.

"Oh, this is marvelous, isn't it?" Sepira said, carrying Lal Mirch's basket in her arm. Below was the city of Naples, a homely sight with its small white buildings and industrial smoke. The sunset cast a dark glow against it, giving the white clouds a purple-pink tinge and reddening the volcano's peak. The seas whispered in the distance, their waves climbing onto and receding from the shores at the edge of the city. "Fon did quite good work on the lands."

There was no response from the sleeping baby but Sepira didn't expect any. The deity took her time walking down from the top of the volcano, which simmered quietly underneath her feet, thriving with energy and life. She smiled up at the sky. "I hope he's doing fine," she said. "The three of them aren't easy but I believe he can do it. Ah, I know he can do it. This will just take some time." She looked down at Lal Mirch and tucked the maroon blanket more securely around the baby. "Your brother isn't too far from here."

With a skip in her step, Sepira bounded down the jagged rocks on light feet, almost floating as she drew closer to where the mortals were. Before she reached the bottom, she paused for a moment and tilted her head. Some birds flew past overhead, their wings fluttering softly. Sepira chuckled behind her hand. "Colonnello won't be going anywhere," she said. "Let's give Tsuna some time to adjust, hm? Besides, the sights are quite lovely."

And with that, the goddess resumed her leisurely stroll at a patient, more measured pace.

A/N Yeah, this…took a long time, huh.

A little fun fact: Akachan Honpo is basically a chain-store for baby and children goods in Japan.

To answer some questions, yes, Tsuna is going to have to take care of the whole rainbow (because I'm mean like that, ahaha).

Thank you so much for reading! I hope to see you in the next chapter.

Have a lovely day and a Merry Christmas, peeps~

Little Miss Bunny