Title: Oozora
Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi is ninja of the leaf. Though he doesn't know it yet, he is also the container for the seven-tailed beast.
Rating: T
Notes: A new story. It's been a while since I wrote KHR hah. I didn't put this in the crossover section because while the concepts, culture and geography of Naruto feature prominently in this story, none of the characters do. So I thought it best if it kept to the KHR section. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own neither Katekyo Hitman Reborn nor Naruto franchise.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was not anyone's idea of a good ninja. He was clumsy, shy, underachieving, gifted with an immense chakara reserve but with no idea how to use it. People avoided him like the plague, his mother was often dreaming and his father was...

Tsuna expected to hear one of these days that the fierce ANBU captain had died in the line of duty. Even his teammates tended to treat him like a chore. Gokudera Hayato swung between ignoring him and telling him he wasn't good enough while Kurokawa Hana focused on stalking their dark-haired sensei.

But Reborn himself was absent more often than not, leaving them to their own devices in training and signing them up for D-rank missions on the side as a hobby, sulking over a broken leg that had landed him a team of genins in the first place. And now, one month into their careers as grass-trimmers and pot-scrubbers, they were told to prepare for the annual chuunin exams. Gokudera had scowled at the news while Hana looked thoughtful, sneaking glimpses at their fuming sensei for cues on how she should react.

Ripping the message to pieces, Reborn had stomped over to the Hokage's office to complain and had returned tight-lipped with his nostrils flared, fingers twitching sporadically as though looking for a convenient target to lay waste.

Team Seven snuck away while he was distracted by a fellow jounin named Skull appeared in a storm of leaves.

"What was that about?" He asked, a safe distance away.

Hana rolled her eyes so hard that he feared that the kunoichi might sprain something.

Gokudera ignored him and jammed a cigarette into the corner of his mouth. Rifling through his pockets, he produced a match and struck it against a fence post. "What else? Sensei's pissed he's stuck with a dead-last on his team."

Tsuna wilted.

"Oh"

His two teammates stared at him in a mixture of pity, disdain and something else he'd never been able to quite identify. After a moment, Gokudera turned away, grinding the burning match under his heel. "We've got laundry duty this afternoon. Be back here by two." And he disappeared.

.

"Mom?" Tsuna swallowed nervously.

Sawada Nana sat at the table, the cup of tea in front of her gone tepid during his absence, the plate of sweet rice cakes untouched beside it. Her fingers twitched once, tapping against the rounded edge of the plate as though she heard him though she did not look his way.

She had always been like that in his memories, a sleeper never quite awake. When he was young, they would receive visitors in their little house near the edge of the village, bustling matrons with armloads of groceries and concerned friends whose faces only darkened at his attention.

But over the years, no more footsteps haunted their door and only his father came every few weeks to check on his dreaming wife, never wondering how his son was or how he fared at the Academy. If Tsuna ever felt hurt by this exchange, he kept it quiet. He learned better a long time ago.

"I'm going out mom okay? I'll be back soon so if you need anything..." He swallowed. "I'll be at Mrs. Nomura's okay?"

Unlike the other genin, Tsuna found that he didn't quite mind the D-ranked missions his team was sent on. They were easy for one, allowed him to stay within the bounds of the village which meant that he could go home that much faster, stay in bed that much longer. It also allowed him to see his neighbor Kyoko-chan more often while washing windows or sprucing up trees for the environmental committee.

Sasagawa Kyoko was the younger sister of Sasagawa Ryohei, a genin who was earning a name for himself in their village through his impressive taijutsu skills. Though it was odd that only one sibling chose the way of the shinobi, the Sasagawas were a civilian family. Their parents made comfortable living through a flower shop at the village center. But it didn't stop Tsuna from hours of daydreaming about a world where Kyoko had attended the ninja academy and became his year mate. They could have even been on the same team.

And then what? Asked a caustic voice, sounding suspiciously like his sensei. Stammer and stutter until even she's convinced that you're a complete waste of air? Face it—the inner-Reborn said crushingly. A girl like her is never going to look twice at a dame like you.

Dejected, he dumped the bucket of sudsy water, watching it swirl down the drain. If only he'd been born handsome like Gokudera or strong like Ryohei. He was just no-good Tsuna, unneeded and unwanted in all things. But he basked in Kyoko's smile all the same and held up a hand when she waved from the sidewalk, a bouquet of flowers in her arms. Maybe someday, he'd have the courage to go up and talk to her.

.

"Again" Came the flat tone of their sensei as he plowed into the dirt. The dark-haired man sat propped against the tree stump, his face shadowed and looking for all the world like he was a sleep. He tapped his foot impatiently, legs splayed though there were no apparatus attached to his ankles to indicate any signs of prior injury. Tsuna immediately pulled his head from the dirt, certain that he had a bug stuck in between his teeth, and stared up at the man in disbelief.

Gokudera had creamed him today, and yesterday, and the day before. He would continue to do so for the next foreseeable future. Even Hana, who was strictly a medic-nin, her interest in ninjutsu purely academic and stemming from the fact she had a massive crush on Reborn, could stomp him flat in a second. Gokudera had hardly broken a sweat.

Reborn's black eyes darkened further.

"I said, again."

Tsuna rolled away with a quick eep as a foot landed where his head had been moments before. He jumped to his feet, bruised and dirty and proceeded to stumble over a hole created by one of Gokudera's many exploding notes when the silver-haired genin had been fighting Hana. But it seemed that he had no need for weapons when a solid punch could easily have Tsuna eating mud.

He braced himself for the next barrage of attacks.

They were fairly predictable. Both of his teammates had foregone 'going easy' and were now using textbook exercises from the Academy. In theory, Tsuna could have easily defended himself against them. But his chakara control was poor and any seal he made was liable to blow up in his face. After the third time his jutsu caused the grass to grow and leaves to wilt in the training grounds, Reborn stopped them and demanded,

"Dame-Tsuna! Did you learn anything at the academy?"

Tsuna shrugged helplessly.

"I learned a couple of hand seals and... but they were worried and..."

Reborn sighed.

"If you're planning to qualify for the chuunin exams, you're going to have to measure up."

He hesitated, smudging the line of soot by his toes.

"I'm not sure..."

"You're not sure what?" Reborn interrupted, suddenly towering in front of him and blotting out the sun. Tsuna felt momentary fear grip his stomach and took a step backwards, words unbidden fragmenting as soon as they escaped past his treacherous tongue. Indifferent to his cause, Reborn poked him on the forehead. The burst of chakara against his skin made him yelp. "If you want to be chuunin? What to make of yourself? Why you're doing this? What?"

When Hana began to quietly snicker, he pinned her with a neat glare. He spread his arms. "You three are supposed to be a team. All I see are a bunch of spoiled brats intent on wasting my time."

Gokudera made a noise of protest.

"You had us..."

"I was hoping," Reborn said darkly as though he hadn't heard. "That you'd learn. I can see that I expected too much out of all of you. Dismissed."

Hanna said meekly—"But"

"I said you're dismissed." Reborn snapped and disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Hana glared at him.

.

Tsuna tried. He honestly did. But he was so far behind all of them. The only reason he had passed the genin exams in the first place was because he had accidentally ingested a soldier pill while trying to get away from his opponent. Mochida Kensuke had railed against his defeat once he regained consciousness but all was fair in battle and Tsuna's strategic use of the soldier pill was lauded for its innovation.

Whenever they finished D-rank missions in the evening, he was surprised at how many people wanted midnight deliveries from their favorite noodle place, Tsuna met his teammates at the practice field, having the lessons of the past three years driven into him by people with more ambitions than he ever would. Hana's open palm smashed into his ribs and drove the air from his lungs.

"Dammit Tsuna, you're really bad at this."

"Haha... it's just that Kurokawa-san is so fast..."

"Hana, Kurokawa-san is my mother—a five-year-old could have blocked that."

Tsuna scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I don't know..."

"So think." Gokudera interjected from the sidelines, sprinkling a line of tobacco into a scrap of paper. "You get bullied a lot right?"

"Classy Smoking-Bomb..."

Gokudera ignored her. "How do you usually deal with them?"

"I... run..."

Tsuna was starting to think that he should hand in his resignation and make a career out of washing windows.

.

He got home late.

He didn't bother using the door, he didn't want to see his mother still sitting there at the table, and climbed to the second story, wincing every time paint and wood chipped off, clinging to the bottom of his feet. When he got to his room, the window unlocked for such occasions, he threw himself into bed, not bothering to wash up, staring mournfully at the arms of his alarm clock which spread to two and eleven respectfully.

Tsuna sighed and turned his head, seeing the moonlight bounce off the blackened windows of Kyoko's room. In his borrowed copy of Icha Icha Paradise vol. 7, the dashing protagonist threw pebbles at his beloved Michiko's window until she awoke, whispering sweet nothings of her fair skin and dark hair, coaxing her away to make love under the stars.

He blushed.

Tomorrow, he promised himself as he always did, smothering himself in his pillow. He'd talk to her tomorrow.

But as it turned out, he never got the chance. Kyoko approached him all on her own the next morning on her way to the flower shop, trimming scissors, pouches of seeds and spades all strapped to the belt around her waist.

"Tsuna-kun I heard!"

"Eh, Kyoko-chan?"

Kyoko grabbed his hands, face flushed with excitement. He too felt the color rise in his cheeks at the warmth of her touch. He literally melted in her grip.

"Big brother says that the chuunin exams will be held in Kumo this year. Isn't it exciting? You're awfully brave."

"But I'm not..."

"Big brother says that some of the toughest villages are joining this year. But you'll try your best right?"

He couldn't say no, couldn't and wouldn't disappoint her. His father didn't care, his mother couldn't and his team only hoped that Reborn would change his mind but Kyoko was the one person who didn't know how much of a failure he was. He couldn't shatter that fragile thread of hope, no matter how misplaced. So slowly, he squeezed back.

"Y... yeah, yeah, of course I will."

And as though noticing for the first time how close they were, Kyoko ducked her head, tucked her hair back behind her ear and gave him a small talisman as a good luck charm. He thanked her profusely and she smiled, a little nervous now since her mother's voice had been growing louder in the passing seconds.

"I better go." She whispered, "See you tomorrow!"

.

Invigorated by Kyoko's enthusiasm, by the end of the first week, he was able to hit his target most of the time and the kunai hit one of the inner rings, closest it'd ever been to the center. Gokudera shrugged and berated him a little but Tsuna could tell, the silver-haired genin was pleased. To celebrate, Hana took them out for ramen, the cheapest thing on the menu. Gokudera cursed her the entire way. Tsuna didn't care, it was delicious.

However, Reborn was less than enthusiastic about his progress.

"You've improved a lot." He acknowledged, striking through leaves of paper with red ink. "And I can see the two of them going but you don't measure up. Why should I bother with someone when you don't even want it?"

Tsuna swallowed. "I... I want to become a shinobi, so I can protect the village."

Reborn snorted, bored.

"Don't give me that textbook crap." He said gruffly, rubbing his aching knee. A bird came when summoned, a large magpie who held her beak open for a coin and took the document away.

Tsuna tugged at the hem of his jacket nervously, noting that it was starting to fray and he should get a new one. He tried to think of an answer that would please his sensei and found that no matter how hard he wracked his brain, there was no perfect answer. No matter how he framed it, the end result would be the same. Reborn would do his utmost to tear his sentences apart and feed it back to him piece by piece.

He held his breath, trembling.

He thought of Kyoko.

"Because it's hard." He stammered, looking up at his sensei earnestly. "And not everyone can do it." Reborn cocked his head, listening. "I want to go... I need to go so others don't have to." Quietly he admitted, "So they don't go through what I did."

He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for a rebuke.

Reborn rolled one shoulder. "Pass."

Tsuna perked up.

"Wha... what?"

"I said you pass." Snorting, Reborn turned away. "We're moving in two days. Get packed, get ready and draw up your will."