A simple reminder to all the readers and viewers of this story:

"Katekyo Hitman Reborn does not and will never ever belong to someone like me who merely adores it's plot, who loves every single character, who ships people together, who dreams of being reborn into their universe and personally meeting them. I am merely someone, like most of you who are writers, who wants to express their imagination with answers to questions like 'What would happen if it goes this way?' And thank you for clicking or tapping the link of this story. It makes me smile to know that someone has the heart, patience and interest to read this story that I–me and my Aunt–have worked on"

Sincere gratitude to all you readers *coughs* fanfictioners to be more . . . truthful :D for reading this story!

Anyway. Let us begin to unfurl the red curtains of the first chapter of 'Step by Step'

INTERESTING FACT OF THE DAY:

The Scientific Name of the Philippine Eagle is:

Ptericophaga Jefferi

(Which oddly sounds like Jeff the Killer for me)

CHAPTER 1

TURN ONE'S HAND TO A NEW FUTURE

I am a useless girl

Born of simplicity with a bit of misfortune,

But born with an inheritance

That many would envy,

But something I never wanted

Because something like this

Is something that I don't deserve.

"Reborn . . . It is time"

Coal black orbs flashed dangerously as a fedora was tilted.

"Si"

Everything feels so numb . . .

Why can't I feel anything . . . ?

It's so dim . . .

Where's the sun when I need it?

Tsuna's thoughts, which were supposed to be sealed in her mind just for her and only her to hear, had bounced off the imaginary matter that seemed to be out of her sight. She imagined that there were walls around her, even though there was no evidence that there was one, since there was no place in which she knew that didn't have a wall to protect, to cover or to surround something or someone.

She herself knew that everything and everyone around her had a wall. It would simply baffle her if she found out that there was something or someone out there that didn't have a wall. Since a wall is always with you. It could be a friend, a relative or an object. As long it was something near you that provides you solitude and keeps you from harm that might injure you physically, mentally or emotionally.

Even she had to admit that she had a wall. And that wall of hers was herself. This might make you raise a brow in amusement or confusion or you might think that she was lying but she isn't since that was the cold hard truth that needed to be heard or read in your point of view.

She was her own wall. It wasn't the precise thing but it was still the truth. But if you wanted it to be more precise then read on. She was using a façade as her own wall. An enormous lie was her very own wall. She thought that it was both clever and stupid of her father for suggesting to use this technique to hide her true self from the cruel and unkind world that he had dubbed, which Tsuna was the truth.

Because if they knew her true self then they would, not probably but would, hate her.

But after a few moments of staring at the dim sky that hovered over her floating form, she had come to realize that why did she feel so cold? It wasn't the kind of cold where you lack warmth that was needed in order to survive. But it was the kind of cold where you feel exposed. It was as if everyone around you could see who you are and what you are. It was like a dark and uncomfortable feeling had settled on her stomach, making it twist and turn painfully until the 'cold' left.

She then came up with the horrific conclusion that there were no walls around her.

Her radioactive orange eyes widened in terror at the sudden comprehension that she had no walls which meant that she was bare which then meant that someone could she her for who she really was.

Tears gathered in her eyes, making it look glossy. She closed her eyes, squinting them to force the tears away. This was her. Someone who would cry over the simplest of things. So sad and pitiful. I'm just like what everyone calls me, a useless crybaby. She wretchedly thought in dark amusement.

She would have started to thrash around but she couldn't. The numb feeling was still in her making it unable for her to move her body from the shoulders down. She turned her head. Unable to look forward anymore since someone could be looking at her, judging her, criticizing her.

Make it end! Please make it end!

Her thoughts screamed as she started to feel queasy but it seemed like her wishes never came true. And, instead of helping her, something worse happened.

The dim light, that illuminated her floating body in the dark abyss that endlessly surrounded her, had slowly widened inch by inch until the dark abyss had become an endless room filled with light.

And as that light kept on expanding, photos from above, photos from above the girl, seemed to be raining down onto her.

Despite the uncanny situation she was in. The fears that once filled the girl's eyes had soon transformed into something more positive. Interest. Curiosity. Enchanting. All these feeling danced around in her eyes like ballet dancers would do on the stage when performing the ever so popular 'The Nutcracker'.

It simply dazzled her once she saw the photos rain down on her, about to reach her body. The pictures fell slowly in large amounts of numbers. Despite their numbers and how slow they moved, Tsuna could see and unbelievably feel the grace that surrounded them as they dropped down to her.

But that positive thinking immediately ended once one of the photos landed on her chest, right where her heart was.

It all came too fast for her. At first, all she could feel was something land on her then enter her. Once it entered her, she could feel something surge within her body and it was anything but pleasurable nor enjoyable. It was quite the opposite. Her head tilted backwards as her mouth flew open to release the screech that was filled with agony and pain. Her whole body spasmed, as if she had felt a seizure.

But that was only the start since something more excruciatingly horrifying happened.

They came.

It made her eyes widen just seeing them. It made her scream even more louder. It made her eyes even more glossy with unshed tears as she watched them, unable to do anything but watch and wish:

MakeitstopMakeitstopMakeitstopMakeitstopOhfortheloveofcheesecakemakeitstop!

In that end, it didn't stop. Not until what felt like hours, every minute of it was pure and utter torture that made her just want to gouge her own brain out so that she wouldn't think of them anymore, had passed and the world she was in had turned completely black.

And for once, in her entire period of time, she rued the light.

Her eyelids inelegantly fluttered open, revealing the obscured sepia colored eyes behind it. And what she immediately saw was the color of white. At first, she thought it was the same white and endless ceiling she had in that dream—no, nightmare of hers—but then she realized that the white she was seeing was rather blurry and it was so bright compared to the colorless ceiling she had seen—dreamt a while ago. Then, she realized. It wasn't that white ceiling that she was seeing. It was the sun.

She then began to start staring at the sun, taking up its aspect or just how it looks, with a twinkle in her large yet clouded eyes. The sun was a sphere in shape, just like any other planet out there in the entire galaxy filled with stars. It was colossal sized, bigger than every single planet out there combined, and it was a reddish orange color since its body was mostly made up of active volcanoes spitting out lava and magma.

Tsuna didn't understand how most people considered the sun beautiful and spectacular when in reality it was dangerous. And if she could remember and recall her father's last words to her before he left she and her Mother for two years, seven months, three days, fifteen minutes, twenty eight seconds and still counting, taking with him someone who could have made her life more enjoyable than it was miserable and depressing right now.

'Stay away from dangerous things, my little Tsu-chan. Or else the same thing in the past will happen again'

Not even a goodbye or a hug or a kiss on a cheek. Not even a simple 'I love you' or 'be safe' from the person who helped bring her to life. And just as he said that. He left the house, tilting his orange metal cap that all construction workers wore, and grinned back at the house. Without him even knowing that he had left his family to cry on the doorstep, feeling alone and unprotected.

Tsuna clicked her tongue in disdain as the face of her father entered her mind. She couldn't forget what he looked like. She could never forget the face of the man who made her Mother cry every single night. Never. Not ever.

Her father was nowhere near hideous or ugly. He was a relatively handsome guy, as her Mother (and surprisingly other housewives) swooned over. He was tall, she could still remember the time when he carried her over his shoulders. Making her feel like that she was on the top of the world, making her think that she could take on anything as long as she stayed on his broad and wide shoulders.

He was a healthy man with a muscled build, as she last remembered. He had short blonde hair which was always messy and ruffled as if he had just gotten out of bed. His eyes were a dark brown color that always had a certain kind of spark in them.

All in all, Tsuna just saw him as the man of the house who was never really there.

As she felt her eyes throb in pain for staring at the sunshine for at least a minute or so, without blinking, she closed them and leaned against the tree behind her back, the one she's been using since the very beginning to sleep on. She let her head face down instead of up, feeling tired and drowsy all of a sudden. And just like that, she allowed sleep to take over her

The third time she woke up that warm and breezy day was nearly as uncomfortable as the second time she woke up that day. But it was different on how she woke up for the second time since the second time she awoke, she was dreaming of a nightmare and her mind was blaring alarms, screaming at her to wake up in order to escape her horrible and unforgettable nightmare. But this time, it wasn't her mind telling her to wake up. It was a voice. Obviously not hers since the voice was different from hers. The voice was incredibly deep and husky and if she was an ordinary and regular girl, she would have melted from hearing such a voice.

But those were only the good parts of the voice. The other parts were the tone of the voice and what were the feelings in the voice.

Tsuna could list down several emotions embedded into that voice. It was child's play for her, after all. Since her wall—façade—was able to help her sense and see the emotions in other people. Well, to be more precise and exact. In her eyes, the people around her were open books, just begging for her to read them and find out what their true emotions were.

Which then lead to the creation of this little 'game' of hers which was to observe the people around her and collect as much data about them. Such as their name, age, likes and dislikes and what their fake and true feeling were when they were around a certain something or someone.

It was a very fun game for her and it had become her very own personal hobby. That's why, four years ago, on one rainy day. She bought a notebook. It was black and there were spirals at one side which she replaced with orange string—God, orange was the only color she was obsessed with, other than the color rainbow, if that was even a color. It was supposed to be her diary and it still is. But that notebook became a diary slash her own information notebook.

It was where she jotted down every single thing she knew of a person.

Call her a stalker or whatever but her 'skill' was incredibly useful for blackmailing purposes for those people who bullied her.

But once, her mother had found that notebook on her study table when she forgot to put it in her school bag. She confronted Tsuna and asked what it was. Tsuna told the true, but not the exact truth. She said it was her diary, which was half true since she didn't have the heart to completely lie to her Mother.

And she was also lucky since everything written in her diary was written in her special code that only she knew and understood,

Her Mother was, after all, one of the last people in the world she still care about and love. Her Mother was always there for her when she needed her. She was the one who replaced the father figure of the family, making sure that everything around them was alright and would cause no problems to the entire household, protecting her from little harms that came after her such as fevers and the likes, encouraging her to take up new things even though she never did.

Being proud of her when she didn't even deserve it.

But the one thing she liked about her Mother was that: even if it was bad or good, she would look happy and enthusiastic and would showcase it by cooking a feast of food that were Tsuna's favorites.

She may have her flaws that other Mothers pointed out but to Tsuna, she was perfect. Very Perfect. And she didn't see or notice just what were the flaws that had her Mother had since her Mother always showed what she truly felt and never covered it up.

She wasn't plastic and that was what Tsuna admired about her. She was the first person she knew that was never plastic, aside from her grandmother, of course.

But, back to the matter at hand, someone was trying to wake her up. And that someone held a lot of authority in his voice. Tsuna could simply list down the emotions in that person's voice since it was quite obvious. The voice sounded cold, irritated, annoyed, angry and many other feelings that were steps to wrath. But the tone in his voice caught her attention. No hesitation or reluctance was in it. It was authoritative, as if that person owned everything and could treat that 'everything' anyway he liked.

Tsuna had lightly laughed in her head.

This was the first time she heard such a person with such . . . pure feelings. Not the 'innocent' feelings that many people were talking about that a girl called 'Kyoko Sasagawa' had. But feelings that were true and complete.

So, Tsuna opened her eyes to stare at the person who owned such a voice that piqued her interest.

The person in front of her was obviously male since his shoulders were muscular which no girl would have. Tsuna noticed that the man looming over her was quite stout, probably five nine? Five eleven? Ah, she didn't know what his exact height was since she wasn't a ruler nor a measuring tape. He was thin but not lanky since he obviously had muscles which were quite evident even though it hid behind his clothes.

His hair was short and in the color of black and he had a fringe that reached to his nose and parted off to the sides which created an 'M' shape. His face was chiseled, his eyes were sharp and gray, which Tsuna guessed, were used for intimidating people.

The clothes he wore were very amusing to Tsuna. He wore a white button-up long-sleeved shirt that had its cuffs and collar folded neatly but no red necktie was seen around his neck. He wore black trousers that were long and had many creases in them which meant that he either walked all the time or he ran but Tsuna picked the first one since he didn't seem to be sweaty at all. His shoes were black and he had a gakuran styled top over his clothes that had a small silver chain at both ends of the collar so that it wouldn't fall off of him. The left sleeve of the gakuran top had a red armband pinned to it. The armband was pretty interesting. The outline of the armband was golden but in the middle, it was rouge in color with the black kanji for 'discipline' at the center.

But, as Tsuna stared at the strange man that had suddenly appeared, a question mark appeared on top of her head. Judging by how young he looked, she could tell that he was a good two or three years older than her, and yet, the clothes he wore were for University students, except for the Gakuran top which was for grade schoolers.

But, as Tsuna gazed at the man for a moment longer, she could now clearly see that he had worn a scowl on his face. She had noted that either he could be a person who had a short temper or that he was a rather impatient man since they had been staring—without blinking, mind you—for the past two minutes or so?

Wow, that was a new record for her. Two minutes and twenty one seconds.

As Tsuna was about to open her mouth to question this stranger on who he is and why was he bothering her, the stranger spoke first in the same deep and husky voice he used and Tsuna could now clearly hear the venom and annoyance laced with his words and, was that hatred in his voice?

Tsuna could only sigh in her thoughts and wondered what she did now. She was a good girl, very good. She avoided every bully out there today like they were the plague—but she wasn't scared of them, they no longer scared her—and she knew that she hadn't done anything bad today, except for tripping down the stairs several times today and accidentally killing her plant for neglecting it from water for a few days. But that was it! She was perfectly clean.

But, as she stared at the stranger with large brown eyes, she couldn't help but note that he was quite attractive and he wonder whether or not he had a fanclub since this 'Yamamoto Takeshi' had one for being exceedingly attractive as the rumors had entered her ears.

Hibari Kyoya wasn't exactly someone who could tolerate another person's presence, aside from his faithful right-hand man known as Kusakabe Tetsuya, for a long amount of time. But, as five long minutes passed, he couldn't find the feeling of being irritated by the presence of the Herbivore in front of him. It confused him a lot since usually, right about now, he would feel the same feeling of bloodshed, wanting to 'Bite the Herbivore to Death' or cause any kind of pain to someone who broke the rules.

And apparently, the Herbivore sitting before him had broken a rule—no, some rules which was already a scandal in his dictionary.

'Page twenty six, paragraph three, article number zero zero sixty two concerning class schedules, rule number eighty five. A student must not be out of the classroom during school hours unless with special permission from either the guardian or teacher'

His mind stated a rule solemnly. A rule that had been broken by the Herbivore in front of him.

'Page twenty seven, paragraph one, article number zero zero seventy two concerning classes, rule number eighty six. A student must not skip any classes assigned to him or her'

His mind continued, stating another rule, this time with a heavy voice. Another rule that had been broken by the useless Herbivore in front of him

'Page four paragraph two, article number zero zero zero one concerning dress code, rule number nine. A student is not allowed to wear any head wear or hats inside of school premises unless with a note from their guardian saying that he or she is allowed to wear one'

His mind finished in a grave voice filled with anger and he could feel an irk mark secretly throbbing on his temple which had been covered by his rather long bangs. Another rule that had been broken by the useless and weak looking herbivore in front of him.

Cross out his earlier statement. The Herbivore in front of him had broken three rules.

'For breaking three rules, the incredibly useless and weak Herbivore must suffer the consequences. Fucking. Bite. Him. To. Death' His mind gave out the order which would seal the boy's faith

He snarled at the boy, knowing that it would intimidate him. But, the boy didn't even flinch but had merely stared back at him with confusion.

A red tick mark appeared on his temple which was hidden behind his bangs.

"Herbivore . . ." He started, both of his hands moving to his back where his tonfas were hiding, his hands twitching with the urge to beat this boy into a pulp with his head saying that he should plan a way to torture him painfully before beating him to a pulp.

Ah, but this was Hibari Kyoya were talking about. He would mostly act before he think.

"What are you doing outside of class" He demanded, eyes narrowing even more to send his signature glare at the boy. But, as he was glaring, he inspected what the boy looked like. He wanted to know what the unmoving and unfazed boy looked like before he was beaten to a pulp.

The boy was small, probably reaching at the height of four feet and nine inches. He was also thin and it seemed that he didn't have any muscles underneath the clothes he wore. The cap on his head was an eight pointed cap, the one that boys wore in Europe during the seventeenth to the eighteenth hundreds, and seemed to be made of brown leather since it shined so much. But with the cap on his head, it was difficult to identify the boy's hair color but fortunately, some light brown strands of his hair had escaped his hat and perfectly framed the sides of his face. His skin was pale but not too pale to make it seem that he was sick and his lips had been made into a straight line meaning that he didn't seem to be scared about the situation he was in.

The boy wore the official Namimori middle school uniform for first year males which consisted of clothes that seemed too hot to wear during spring. A white collared dress shirt with long sleeves that reached his wrist had been worn underneath a tan colored jacket with long sleeves that reached his wrists but was shorter than the sleeves of the dress shirt. The jacket had its lower buttons bottoned while the top part wasn't which revealed the dark blue necktie that combined well with the dress shirt. His pants were dark grey slacks that seemed long and loose while wearing white running shoes.

But the most captivating part of him was his eyes. His eyes being large, but not too large to make it look abnormal but those large eyes that seemed to radiate innocence. It was brown in color and always gleamed whenever the sun's rays glowered over him. But what seemed to put Hibari on the edge and to make him feel infuriated and intimidated at the same time was that, his eyes seemed so empty. It was like looking into a porcelain doll's eyes.

It was creepy yet beautiful at the same time.

But, he secretly had to admit that the boy was just a little cute which he would never voice out even if it would save his life.

He and the boy stared at each other for a moment before the boy opened his mouth to answer, his eyes never looking away from Hibari's own charcoal orbs.

"Nezu-sensei sent me out of the classroom" He informed and it seemed that he wasn't lying or looking for some excuse. He was different, Hibari noted, he wasn't like all the other students who would think of an excuse. This boy just said the truth, feeling unashamed of it. How Hibari would knew the boy was telling the truth? Well, usually, when someone was lying to him, alarms would blare in his mind, telling him that that person was lying through their teeth. It was like he had his own personal lie detector.

The boy continued, noticing the look Hibari wore on his face as a gesture to explain. "Ah, Nezu-sensei is my Homeroom teacher. He teaches Science for all levels and he is rather strict and bullies most students, like me" he explains, giving out information about this 'Nezu-sensei' but Hibari was uncertain if that was all the boy knew about this 'Nezu-sensei' of his.

But, that wasn't what Hibari wanted to be explained but at least he got information about a teacher bullying a student which was against a rule in Namimori which stated: 'Every teacher, young or old, male or female, should always treat the students with respect as the students does to the teacher'. It seemed like he had another target on the list . . .

Hibari gave another look to the boy. And the boy, as if he could read his eyes, knew that that wasn't what he was demanding for. The boy spoke, using the same monotonous voice he used before, and knowing what to answer this time.

"Nezu-sensei sent me out because I didn't want to answer a question on the board" Hibari's hands fell back to his side, no longer wanting to beat the boy to a pulp anymore. It was too amusing. The boy was. No matter what kind of glare Hibari gave the boy, the boy wouldn't feel intimidated. And Hibari knew that if he flashed out his tonfas, the boy wouldn't even flinch but just gaze at it with nothing.

"Hn" was all Hibari gave as a reply but the boy continued.

"He told me to get out of the building to think what I've done for the rest of Science" he finished

". . ." Hibari sent the boy a questioning gaze which was rare to get from the prefect but what he was listening to was interesting. The most interesting thing he've ever heard from a student so far.

The boy knew what that gaze meant, it was like he was translating the look in his eyes into words. And he knew what the words were: 'Why didn't you answer the question on the board?'

And finally, the boy's lips curved upwards, creating a small serene smile on his eyes as his brown orbs gleamed while he told his story.

"Before I start, I just want you to know that what I'm about to say isn't some kind of brand new stupid excuse some smarty brat would use" He started, his voice holding a warning tone in it with a hintof amusement "You see, Nezu-sensei wrote a question on the board" he continued, his eyes looking up as if he was remembering something "The question was 'Why do onions make you cry?' It sounds simple, no?" he asked, looking at Hibari "But ironically, my classmates didn't know what the answer was" he smiled wryly "the question was hard, extremely, for the eyes of an average middle-schooler" he added the last part which Hibari found confusing but he didn't need show it on his face since the boy could clearly see it gleaming in his eyes "It wasn't a question that was supposed to be asked from middle-schoolers, it was supposed to be asked from University students applying for the 'Bachelor of Science in Chemistry' course" he continued, his brown eyes looking at his steel ones "So, I saw it a bit unfair to answer such a question that's why I refused to answer an unfair question" he finished.

"But" he started again and what Hibari was about to say died down in his throat as he continued to silently listen to what else the boy had to say "I thought Nezu-sensei was gonna excuse me for not answering this since nobody else in class knew it but instead," his smile turned into a frown, his eyebrows furrowing as his eyes sharply narrowed that threw Hibari aback in his mind "before telling me to leave the building to think what I've done, he started to speak, he started to list down all of my faults instead of telling me the correct answer like a good teacher should, he started to say that I shouldn't refuse a question if I didn't know the answer, he started to say how stupid and useless I was, he started to say how disappointing I was as a student, as a person and as a child to my parents. He continued to humiliate me in front of everyone as everyone watched, laughing, giggling, snickering without doing anything to stop him " he said, his eyes flashing with an emotion Hibari didn't know. He wasn't a good emotion reader but he could guess that the boy was angry, no, slowly getting angry despite how calm his voice was.

"But I didn't do anything since it would cause more trouble, which would be best to ignore. So I listened to him and exited the room without a word" He finished, his breathing abnormally calm and stable and his eyes returned back to its empty state.

Hibari stared at the child, his eyes reflecting a look that meant: Are you stupid? Why didn't you fight back? Why did you let yourself be humiliated like that?.

The boy didn't even need to look at him, it was like he knew the question Hibari would ask next.

"If I fought back . . ."He paused and contemplated whether to tell the prefect what his reason was for not fighting back "which would mean I was disrespecting Nezu-sensei, a teacher, which is against the rules, right?" he said and Hibari couldn't tell whether the boy was lying or not since what he said sounded true but it felt so wrong

But, Hibari nodded, feeling satisfied by the answer (and a little—little—respect for the weak herbivore) but he couldn't get rid of that nagging feeling telling him that what the boy had said was not completely the whole truth. But, he shrugged it off since he didn't feel like interrogating the boy nor did he feel like he wanted to bite him to death for breaking the rules.

He'll let it slide just for once.

Just for once and no more.

"Hn" With that grunt, Hibari turned around and left the boy alone, not even bothering to ask for a name, he would find it out one way or another, either from the student files or if he ever met the strange Herbivore again, which he had a strong feeling he would.

Tsuna watched the man walk away from her, a small victorious smile on her lips as she spotted an I.D attached to his belt. Once the figure of the man disappeared from her sight and into the school building, she grabbed something from the chest pocket of her jacket.

And, as she shifted in her position underneath the large tree, she opened the notebook she took from her jacket, along with a long Mongol pencil.

Her eyes flashed, accomplishment glimmering in them as she wrote down words that only she could read and no one else's. It was her very own secret alphabet that she created so that nobody else but her could read what she wrote in the notebook.

As she scribbled a name down, the name Hibari Kyoya, in black and bold unreadable and non-understandable letters, her smile widened into a small smirk.

"Target found. Let the first phase of the game begin: Information acquiring"

Ding~ Dong! Ding~ Dong!

Tsuna stood up once she heard the large copper bronze school bell rang, creating a booming chime with sounded either melancholic or fierce, but to her, it sounded to her ears as a peaceful chime. But the ringing of the bell meant that school was over and wouldn't start until sixteen hours or so has passed.

The girl, dressed as a boy, stood up, slinging her dark brown duffel bag along her shoulders which seemed broad underneath the male Namimori uniform.

She hid the small black notebook in her jacket again and took something from her bag, a small orange DigiAngel speaker that had white earplugs attached to it. She placed the earplugs in her ears and pressed the play on her DigiAngel, instantly hearing a familiar tune making a smile plaster itself on her face.

But the smile was soon wiped off her face as her eyebrows furrowed and a contemplative expression appeared on her face.

"Why does he name sound so familiar?" she murmured

Tsuna stalked down the streets of Namimori, passing by the shopping center where numerous girls chattered among themselves, wearing large and joyful grins or smiles on their faces.

Unsurprisingly, her fawn orbs flashed enviously as she passed by those girls.

It was common for her everyday to be jealous of girls who lived normally. She didn't find it unfair when she couldn't dress up like a girl—since she could do that everyday at home or disguised—, she didn't find it unfair when she couldn't act like a girl—because if she did cross-dressed as a boy then she would totally look gay—, or have some priviliges exclusive only to a girl. But what she found unfair was that she couldn't live as a girl.

It was unfair.

Incredibly and honestly unfair.

She wanted to be normal again but she couldn't or else it would trouble her mother and father. Even though she didn't give a rat's ass about her father, she didn't want to trouble her mother who was always there for her.

Damn.

She should stop forgetting when Mother's day came instead of remembering Father's day.

But, with a sigh, she erased her thoughts once she left the street where the shopping centre was built on. She continued walking down several routes that were empty, occasionally half-tripping on small pebbles that she didn't see since she was too busy day-dreaming about what would she have for dinner.

She wished that they could have something related to soup, probably ramen? Or miso?

She continued walking until she saw her house, a small smile brightened her face as she quickened her pacing towards it, excited to be home.

She entered the property and made sure to close the gate behind her, locking the padlock to keep out unwanted intruders.

She checked her wrist where a sleek, black wristwatch had been wrapped around on. One of her eye twitched in annoyance. It was 3:37. She was supposed to arrive home by 3 o'clock. She missed her T.V. show!

"Crazy, ass-chasing, T.V. show missing, born to be satan's vessel, evil Chihuahua!" she cursed under her breath "I hope the bone he buried gets stolen!" she swore childishly.

With imaginations of ways to kill the Chihuahua, Tsuna walked up to the front doorstep of her house, opened the door, entered the house then closed the door behind her which created an almost silent slamming sound.

Her eyes moved to inspect the first part of the house which was the inside doorstep and first level hallway. Nothing seemed wrong with the place, in fact, everything seemed tidy and clean as if they had a visitor or were expecting one. But once Tsuna saw that the family portraits and pictures, that used to be hanging on the wall before she had left for school, had now disappeared which meant that her mother had taken them down to hide them from a visitor.

Now, why would her dear and family oriented mother hide pictures featuring the entire family? Easy, because most of those pictures were shot when she was in her girl form AKA her true form which would lead to her secret being revealed. And nobody, and I mean nobody would want that, right? (AN: well, except those readers out there who would want Tsuna-chan's true gender exposed so that she could have some romances with the guys, no?)

She tucked some loose strands of long brown hair back into the cap, leaving the side bangs aside in order for it to look natural, so that suspicion of her true gender wouldn't arise from the visitor.

She forgot to wear bandages again today so she didn't want any hint of her being a girl to come out.

She removed her white running shoes before stepping into the hallway, her feet only clad in those short white socks the school had given to them for free.

"Okaa-san, I'm home!" she announced as she maneuvered herself through the hallway, passing by the guest room and the living room since she thought that her mother would be in the kitchen, preparing tea for the visitor.

But apparently she was wrong since her mother's voice had echoed from the visitor room, the voice filled with cheeriness and happiness that it always had.

"Ah! Tsu-kun must be home by now! Excuse me for a second, but I'll get him right away so you can see him!" Her mother seemed to beam before the sounds of footsteps and the sliding of a Japanese door were heard.

Once Tsuna heard what suffix her mother had used at the end of her name, she then knew that the visitor they were having didn't know about her true gender.

"Tsu-kun! Come here for a second, I want to introduce you to someone!" Her mother called out to her. Swallowing the lump in her throat and deepening her voice as best and as naturally as she could, Tsuna responded with eagerness.

"Coming, Okaa-san!"

Once Tsuna had seen her mother leave the guest room and into the hallway in order to greet her daughter, Tsuna walked over to her mother, curious to see their guest for the day.

Once she saw her mother who was smiling at her with gentleness and warmth, she couldn't help but smile back with the same gentleness and warmth.

Nana Sawada, her mother, was a woman of thirty three and despite being in her early thirties, she looked as if she had barely aged since she twenty. Her chestnut colored hair that was once long was now cut short in a bob with an outward wisp and only reached until the middle of her neck. Her dark brown eyes were large and round with kindness that seemed to be engraved into it.

She wore her usual house clothes which consisted of a simple dark purple turtle-neck shirt with its long sleeves folded until it reached her elbows. For her bottoms, she wore a flowy white skirt that brushed against her knees. And thrown over these clothes was her signature white apron that looked always clean and neat.

Tsuna, up until now, knew that that apron possessed magical abilities that prevented itself from getting dirty.

Once Tsuna was close, Nana opened her arms to hug her cross-dressing daughter, patting the girl's hat while smiling down at her child.

If you could look closely, the smile that seemed happy possessed incredible sadness.

Tsuna buried her face in her mother's neck, inhaling the scent of spices which meant that her mother must have been cooking just a while ago. A small smile crept up to her face. The smell of food made by mother always reminded her of home which comforted her everyday to continue smiling, even though she would only do it just for mother, which she didn't mind at all.

"Tsu-chan, how was your first day of school?" her mother gently asked while Tsuna pulled away from her mother's warmth.

Oh! It was a-ma-zing! Today, I met my bullies from grade-school! They could have killed if it wasn't for my awesome hiding skills. Then, during class, Nezu-sensei practically humiliated me in front of everyone! And everyone, being the big awful jerks they were, just laughed! Oh, and I met an interesting guy today, he was alright, didn't degrade me like everyone I knew in school did, but he didn't talk that much and, get this, he called me a herbivore, he practically called me a plant-eater which I am not since I have eaten more meat than vegetables in my entire lifetime. Oh, did I also mention that I didn't make any friends at all today? "It was fine" Tsuna answered, smiling wryly while she placed aside her rant of the day.

"By the way, Okaa-san, who were you talking to?" Tsuna innocently questioned. It would be better—no, best—to get details of the person she was meeting before actually meeting the person herself.

Nana's smile brightened "Ah! I was just talking to your new home tutor" And, to prove her words, Nana brought out a slightly crumpled, folded paper from the one of pockets of her apron "Here, I saw this in the mail earlier" she added as Tsuna took the paper from her mother.

Printed on the paper were big bold letters that came in assorted colors of red, green, blue, yellow and the likes.

"Today could be the day your own child could get their very own personal home tutor!"

"I will raise your child to become the leader of his generation!"

"I am also young and good looking!"

"And in return for teaching your child every day, all I need is a place to sleep, five meals a day and your cooperation!"

After Tsuna finished reading the flyer—scam, she turned to her mother, the woman who took care of her and raised her with love and good food for twelve years, and gave her a blank look.

"Okaa-san, this is obviously a scam" She scowled, but not at her mother, but at the flyer in her hand in which she stared down at it with scorn "I mean, what kind of home tutor would teach anyone for free just as long as they have a place to live in and food on the table?" She queried.

"That would be me"

An eerie silence feel upon the whole household as Tsuna turned her head to the side to stare at the person who had suddenly intruded in she and her mother's conversation.

The person standing in front of her was only a baby. A baby. A baby that barely looked one yet could talk so clearly. Tsuna could almost feel herself going into insanity by just staring at the baby.

The baby, a male one and barely even reaching her knees, possessed a small build with a big and chubby head that looked abnormally cute. On top of his large head was an equally large fedora that came in the color of black with a thick orange stripe in the middle. With the hat on his head, it seemed impossible to know what his hair color was but some spiky tips of his ebony black hair peaked out from underneath the hat. His eyes were also black but something about how dark it looked made Tsuna think that this baby had seen more horrible things than she'd ever seen in her whole life. Another thing that were black were the suit and boots that he wore but underneath his suit was a crimson red long sleeved dress shirt with a dark blue necktie.

But what caught Tsuna's eyes the most was what he wore around his neck. Held by a thin and barely visible black string was a yellow pacifier. No, if she squinted, she could see that the pacifier itself was clearly translucent and the only thing that made it naturally seem yellow was the yellow colored flame within in it.

In response to the flame and without Tsuna knowing, her brown eyes shifted to a blazing orange color before shifting back to ordinary brown.

The baby, as if having noticed the sudden change in Tsuna's eyes, seemed to have smirked before tipping his hat.

"Ciaossu, Sawada Tsunayuki" The baby greeted, his voice coming out squeaky high-pitched. His eyes flashed dangerously which made Tsuna slight shift in discomfort.

Even by just looking at the baby, Tsuna could tell that he was—is dangerous

And dangerous things were what she needed to ignore, or else.

With eyes narrowing, Tsuna had asked the little baby a question as suspicion twinkled in her eyes while her mouth had been set into a thin, firm and straight line.

"Who are you?"

The baby's coal eyes flashed as a polite smile made its way up to his face making Tsuna stiffen.

That's not a smile, Tsuna thought as her eyebrows furrowed, It's a smirk . . . He's testing me.

"Hmmm" The baby mused before speaking out the answer to Tsuna's rude question "My name is Reborn and starting from today on, I'm your home tutor" He explained, his smile—No, smirk widening.

Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed even more as a crease appeared in her forehead. She could tell from his body movements that he was a great actor. He could control his body any way he wanted it to making it almost impossible for her to comprehend whether or not he was telling a lie or the truth.

And, as Tsuna was about to believe that he was but only an incredibly weird home tutor, he pulled a small index card.

Which caused a great flaw in his act as Tsuna smirked triumphantly in her mind.

There were small black letters written on the index card and as she and her mother glanced at the card, they both knew then and there that this baby wasn't only a home tutor.

On the card and written in messy calligraphy, was the baby's name and his supposed occupation.

Tsuna wanted to laugh because she recognized that handwriting from anywhere. It was undeniable. This was her father's hand writing. Why? Because Tsuna could recognize the unique curve of the 'n' in Reborn. Only her father could create that inward curve on one end of the 'n'.

"Well, it's good to meet you, Reborn-san" Tsuna started, purposely implying on the suffix with slight mockery, while quietly snorting, trying her best not to laugh because it seemed so silly that her father, who never once even bothered with her life unless he was visiting, had sent her a home tutor. "But I don't need a home tutor" she continued, her voice firm and strong yet still holding hospitality when the only thing she really wanted to do was kick the baby out of her house but decided to do it the more polite way, and bent down to his height and leaned close to him so that her ear was right next to his ear.

Slightly opening her eyes in a half-lidded gaze, she whispered with a wry frown,"Especially one that was sent by my father".But before he could react, she immediately pulled away from him and stood up at her full height, poker face on once again

"I hope you understand" she finished before slightly bowing in apology.

That concealed her wry smile and hidden words.

'Leave me and Mama alone'

Reborn stayed still, as if he was frozen by what she had whispered to him, before he composed himself. But Tsuna could see that despite how relaxed he looked, he was tensed and uncomfortable since his shoulders looked stiff and his eyes were slightly narrowed.

He was sizing her up.

But a smile, instead of a smirk, appeared on his face making Tsuna stiffen.

What the…? Tsuna thought in confusion. He should be scared by now or surprised! Not smirk! He should have been in the very least be slightly intimidated by what I just said! Her thoughts raged in frustration as she unfurrowed her eyebrows.

The least she can do to look unaffected by his smirk was by not looking frustrated, angry or confused or else this 'Reborn' person, or whatever his real name was, would win in the 'I can control my emotions waaaay better than you' game

"Ah, that's too bad" Reborn said, his voice tinting with disappointment that sounded both fake and real at the same time, "But your father had already employed me to teach you" He said and Tsuna glanced at her mother who gasped in surprise at the mention of her husband, "And your mother and me have already arranged a schedule regarding the when and how long I'll teach you everyday" he finished, his smirk widening while Tsuna stared at him.

Tsuna's eyebrow barely seemed to twitch but it did, in the most unnoticeable way ever.

The thin line on her face which was actually her mouth seemed even more firm as determination to get this baby out of her house as quickly and as safely as possible grew.

And then, the diplomatic war started

"Sorry for mentioning this now and not before but, I think you'll need a signed contract for this before you can stay at our house and teach me. Because if you don't, there would be no official rules or conditions for when you tutor me and either of us could trick the other which would then result to chaos, then conflict, then us going to the court to negotiate this and after that, you might go to jail for this for three months since there is no legal contract of you ever becoming my tutor and intruding into one's home without a signed document approving of this" she explained, her glare targeted at the baby, as her mother looked at her, aghast by the news she had just learned.

Who knew having no signed contracts about things like these could get so difficult and dangerous?

Nana mentally scolded herself, she should have thought of this before!

The baby's eyebrow seemed to twitch and gave her, what seemed to be, an exasperated look with annoyance.

Which only made her smile and amusement grow.

But, alas, her victory was short lived once Reborn pulled out a large rolled up paper from his jacket.

"There is no need to worry about that" He started as he pulled the red ribbon that was wrapped around the paper "As I've just mentioned, your father—" Tsuna's eyes flashed dangerously for split second "—employed me to become your tutor. So, here's the contract you're fretting about" he said, straightening the white paper before handing it over to Tsuna who accepted it.

Tsuna's eyebrow arched at the five sentences on the contract

Reborn is hereby Sawada Tsunayuki's home tutor.

And he is permitted to live in the Sawada household.

His pay will only be food, shelter and cooperation from both the parent—Sawada Nanayumi and child—Sawada Tsunayuki

No trickery will be allowed.

Signed, Sawada Iemitsu

The contract was too short to be a contract but it still was since it spoke the conditions and the acceptance of Reborn being her home tutor.

The hands that were holding the ends of the contract clenched making the paper crumple.

She pursed her lips before she sighed and rolled up the paper and handed it back to Reborn without a word.

Looks like I lost, She thought in annoyance, But I can tell that that signature is the real thing, she thought as she eyed the paper in Reborn little hands, And if Otou-san really sent Reborn, then it must mean that it's important for the family . . .

Once Tsuna figured out that the signature was real and that Iemitsu really sent her a home tutor, she would have kicked Reborn in the stomach, telling him to stay away from her and Mama, if not for her mother standing there at the side, watching them interact with a confused expression on her face.

"I see . . ." Tsuna murmured as she eyed Reborn once again, especially the unique pacifier around his neck. It was strange and peculiar for a baby to be wearing a pacifier around his neck—a glowing one, especially—since babies usually have it in their mouth but she decided not to question it since during their conversation, Tsuna could guess that Reborn was patient but not too patient and if he snapped, Tsuna could guess that something bad would happen.

Tsuna turned to her mother, Nana, who was still looking at them in confusion, it seemed like the words that were exchanged seemed to have puzzled her a lot. Nana smiled with her eyebrows raised which meant that Tsuna needed to explain to her what just happened.

"Mama, there's no need to worry" Tsuna reassured her "Otou-san really sent him here to teach me" At the mentioning of her father, her mother's eyes brightened inexplicably as her shoulder relaxed from tension "So we'll need a room for him to stay in the meantime and we'll have an extra mouth to feed" she said as her mother nodded.

Nana then looked at Reborn, a smile playing on her lips as she crouched down and patted his fedora.

"Welcome to the family, Reborn-kun" She spoke warmly as Reborn tipped his fedora to darken his face.

Tsuna guessed that he was blushing since he almost seemed to be flabbergasted by the sudden welcoming into their family.

Oh, if only he knew she didn't see him as one yet. He needed to prove himself first before she would gladly welcome him with a real smile.

And, as the term goes, real smiles are not for not-so-close-friends, acquaintances, and strangers but for family.

"Thank you, Sawada-san" Reborn replied coolly but Tsuna could tell that there was a hint of gratitude and relief in there.

"Oh, no need to be so formal now, Reborn-kun, You're family right now so please call me Mama" she smiled kindly at him, sparkles radiating off her smile which made Tsuna quietly snort.

Oh, god, her mother was sending sparkles to a suit-wearing baby who could easily pass off as a Mafia boss.

"Ah, then, Thank you Maman" Reborn said with his limited teeth of a one year old which made him say 'Maman' which was a slang version of 'Mama'.

"Oh, it's alright dear. Now, why don't you and Tsu-kun head upstairs and get yourselves cozy and friendly while I prepare dinner for tonight" she suggested while Reborn nodded.

But, it seemed like Tsuna wanted to protest.

"Mama!" She quickly exclaimed "I can prepare dinner! You have to finish that letter you need to send to the old man!" she gushed

Her mother merely sent her a questioning gaze.

"Oh, Tsu-kun, don't tell me you're forgetful now!" The woman said, "I already finished and gave the letter to Furui-kun, remember?" She continued "We even talked about it this morning!" she helpfully quipped.

Tsuna gave her mother a pleading look. Where was the mother-daughter telepathy when she needed it?

Sadly, Nana didn't even notice the look and remained obliviousness to her daughter who was trying to avoid the baby as best as she could.

"And since Reborn-kun will be having dinner with us for the first time ever, I'll cook something special!" She cheered, her smile stretching into a grin, before she looked at Reborn, questioning him, "What would you like for dinner, Reborn-kun?"

The ebony haired baby tilted his fedora to look up at the woman for a moment, as if he was contemplating something, before he replied, "How about nami flavored miso soup?" The recommendation was very appealing to Tsuna since she was craving for miso soup that whole day, so she looked at her mother and quietly added.

"I also think that's a good choice, Mama" Nana glanced at her daughter before nodding and contemplating about it.

"Hm, that is a good choice" she mused "A hot meal that would make us feel cozy and warm throughout the entire chilly night!" she said, hitting her clenched fist over her opened palm as a lightbulb appeared over her head, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm and ecstacy

Tsuna merely smiled while Reborn stared at Nana.

The taller one feeling amused while the smaller one feeling disturbed as Nana's sparkles radiated throughout the whole room, lighting up everything.

"Now, my son," Nana said, sparkles still flying everywhere "Go upstairs and show Reborn-kun to his room and get yourselves friendly since he'll be staying with us for at least a year" she instructed, her hands in a shooing motion.

"But Mama-!" Tsuna was cut off by a sudden immense throb of pain coming from the back of her head. And, before she knew it, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her eyelids closed and she fell to the wooden ground with a loud 'THUD'.

A moment passed.

And Nana didn't even seem fazed as she continued smiling and producing sparkles.

"Tsk" The loud clicking of a tongue was heard "Haven't you've heard of the phrase 'Listen to Reason'?" Another loud 'Thud' was heard "Or something more obvious like 'Listen to your parents, kid'?" Reborn suggested, irritated and annoyed as he leaned against a green hammer that was his height and weighed at least twice his weight.

Another moment passed before Reborn pulled himself away from the large hammer. And, a split second later, the hammer shone a bright light before it minimized into a smaller shape. A small, green, yellow-eyed chameleon had taken the hammer's place.

A large, green hammer had suddenly transformed into small, green chameleon.

And all the while, Nana didn't even gasp or twitch as even more sparkles radiated from her.

A puff of smoke was blown out of the baby's mouth as he crouched down to the floor and brought his arm just beside the chameleon. The chameleon stared at him with trusting and loving eyes before it slithered up his arm until it reached the fedora where there was a small space in it that was his resting spot. The chameleon's red tongue flickered out in a small hiss before he nestled himself in it and closing its eyes.

Reborn patted the chameleon on the head as he sighed again before he made his way to Tsuna. And, with monstrous strength, lifted up her thin and frail-looking leg, placed it on his shoulder, and proceeded to drag her up the stairs

BONK!

BONK!

BONK!

BONK!

The sounds of Tsuna hitting her head on the staircase was heard as Reborn hefted her up the stairs.

And as Reborn let Tsuna hit her head at the staircase one more time, Nana, finally reacting to the state and condition her daughter had been placed in, called out to him.

"Please be careful with him, Reborn-kun" She said in a light tone "That boy's been through a lot"

Reborn stopped and didn't even wince when heard Tsuna hit her head against the staircase again. He faced the close-eyed smiling woman, a snort escaping his nostrils before he replied,

"Hardly" he started "He doesn't even look like he's been through anything, all he looks like is a spoiled brat who's been babied into this" he continued "I checked his files earlier before coming here. He's barely good at anything, all he has are average grades in every subjects aside from physical education but that's it. And he's been constantly bullied since gradeschool since he's too antisocial" he listed down "But he could have placed an effort to improve his grades, and he could have defended himself since I've heard from Iemitsu that you made him take judo, tae-kwando, arnese and kendo before" he supplied "And I've heard from some of his classmates that he has reputation in his school as 'Dame-Tsuna'" he added "In my opinion, I think he's just too lazy to make a change for himself and it seems to me he's living a better life than anybody else's" he stated.

CRASH!

Reborn bended both his hips and back backwards in order to narrowly dodge the lamp coming his way. He tilted his head to take a good look at the weapon that was used to harm him. It was originally a glass lamp that once stood on a table just beside the staircase, but now it had been shattered into tiny fragments of glass that could cut anything. He glanced at Tsuna and was slightly relieved that he was alright with no scratches at all.

He then straightened his back and stared at Nana, his eyes narrowed contemplatively.

What the . . . ? He thought incredulously.

"Reborn-kun" Nana started in a kind tone, her eyes closed "Please don't talk bad about my son, he's still a child and he still needs to grow up" she continued, a dark aura seeping from her "And it isn't his fault if he was forced to get bad grades instead of good ones, it wasn't his fault that he was forced into becoming anti-social and friendless, it's wasn't also his fault that he was forced to become a target for the bullies, and, it was most definitely not his fault that he was forced to live like this" She said as her eyelids opened, revealing dark brown orbs that had been slit like that of a snake, her bright aura turned dark and heavy which almost seemed suffocating

But, as quickly as, she returned to the bright Nana who smiled kindly at him instead of wryly

"So please take care of my baby, he's been through so much that even I don't know what to do to help him recover!" she gushed "Now, hurry along and get to your room. It's in the second hallway to the right and on the first door to the left, the one I could give that would be nearest to Tsu-kun's room!" she said.

Reborn stared at her for several moments as she too stared at him for several moments, waiting for the other to move. And finally, deciding that he was tired of staring at Nana, Reborn composed himself before he tipped his fedora down.

"I'll be sure to take care of Tsuna and raise him to be a fine young man" he said, as if speaking a vow to the woman whose smile grew.

"Good" she nodded "Now, go on ahead, I have to clean the mess I made!" she ushered before turning on her heel and walked away to probably grab a broom and a dust pan to clean up the shattered glass on the stairs.

But, not before she turned her head to face him with an emotionless face on.

"And Tsu-kun wasn't the only one who took up classes like that, so be careful before you want to make me reach the end of my patience" She warned "I can tolerate anybody insulting me but I can't, I repeat, I cannot tolerate someone speaking bad of my child!" She informed before walking off, humming a happy tune.

. . .

. . .

A child who was supposed to be clumsy, kind and shy was supposed to be the person he was gonna teach,

Not a cold child who seems to hate his father with an immense passion and seem like someone who could deceive almost everyone—even he had to admit he was slightly fooled by the act performed by this boy.

And the mother of the child who was also said to be hospitable, kind, polite and overall a perfect housewife(even though she still is all of these factors), was supposed to be the person who will take care of him for the time being,

Not a yandere-ish mother who has also been trained in the arts of fighting and can almost be twice as deceptive as her son could be.

. . .

. . .

A single thought remained in the tutor's mind as he dragged Tsuna along the hallways, not entirely taking the threat to heart since no one, and I mean no one, could scare the greatest hitman in the world

Iemitsu . . . what the hell happened to your family?!

Tsuna woke up for the third—third? Or was it the fourth?—time that day, feeling a painful throb in the back of her head. She moaned in agony as it seemed like the pain doubled. Her body, which was on a carpeted ground, had curled up in a fetal position as she gripped her head with both hands, her eyes clenched tightly as her body had been forced to tense up from the overwhelming pain.

What the-? Hieeeeeeeee, my head hurts! She ruefully thought as the pain tripled.

"I see you're up" a babyish voice greeted her ears and Tsuna could hear that the person who owned that voice was unimpressed by her. Tsuna looked up, opening one half-lidded brown eye that stared at Reborn with pain and confusion.

"W-Why does my head hurt? W-What did you d-do to me?!" she demanded, her stuttering for real this time, as she cringed once she felt another wave of pain hit her in the head.

No matter how good it would feel to scream, Tsuna would never degrade herself to cry or scream in pain in front of a person who hardly knew her.

Reborn merely placed down the small mug of smoking hot expresso down on the center table of the room that had been decorated with a single vase filled with anthurium flowers. He raised on eyebrow as he tilted his fedora so that both of them would get a better view of the other.

That bastard, She thought angrily, he even has the gal to be amused at what's happening to me now! He's even smirking!

"Why, it's just a side effect after getting hit by Leon in his hammer form" he drawled which made Tsuna feel even more irritated at him. Yet, she sent him a confused look making his coal black eyes twinkle in merit "You must really be forgetful to forget that I hit you in the back of the head earlier when you tried to tell Mama that you'll be cooking dinner instead of her in a chance to avoid me from talking to you in private" he said, smirk deepening and widening at the same time.

Tsuna's body tensed in surprise, How did he-?

"How did I know? Simple, really" he said, shaking his head before clicking his tongue in disappointment "I can sense what you're thinking by reading your actions. Even the simplest of body movements such as the twitching of the index finger could tell me that you were irritated at me before and even now" he explained.

Tsuna blinked as the pain slowly decreased but still remained.

"Now, get up and drink that pain reliever, it will stop the pain" he instructed as he gestured towards the cup of water and the orange colored pill that was on the table, on the side she was closest to.

Slowly, while wincing, she got up in a sitting position before suppressing a yawn and crawling towards the table. Once she was comfortably sitting in front of the table, she popped the pill in her mouth and downed the whole glass of water gulping it greedily.

And, as promised by the tutor, the pain was gone after a few moments making her feel relief

She placed the cup back down in front of her, her eyes closed as she inhaled.

Ah~, Tsuna thought as she heaved out, exhaling the used air from her lungs.

And finally, she opened her eyes to look at Reborn with calculating sepia orbs for a moment.

And Reborn could clearly see the distrust in them.

"Thanks" She muttered as she looked down, feeling a little embarrassed since she'd just shown him a part of her weak side and since she wasn't used to showing gratitude to people aside from her mother.

A smirk made its way up the baby's face as he eyed her, albeit cautiously and curiously, "you're welcome" he says while nodding as he thought with approval, at least this kid has some manners.

Tsuna nodded as she looked at him straight in the eyes again, embarrassment already gone.

"Why are you here?" She questioned, raising a brow "And don't just tell me that you're here just because you're my home tutor, I'm not a fool. If my father sent you here then there must be a good and valid reason" she scoffed just as she saw his mouth open to tell her that 'he was just a home tutor'.

Reborn elegantly raised an amused eyebrow.

"Hmmm, I knew it . . ." he thoughtfully said as he tipped down his fedora to shadow his eyes. Tsuna remained calm and cautious since anything could happen. "The information that your father gave me was wrong" he says it with an irritated voice, "Iemitsu thought that nothing would change about you and your mother and decided to give me information about the both of you from eight years ago" he continued as—a chameleon(?) slithered down from his fedora. "But it seems that a lot can happen in eight years" he eyed her with a critical look

Tsuna let a small, wry smile appear on her face (which slightly surprised Reborn) as she replied "Yeah, a lot can change in eight years but my father thought that everything would still stay the same" then, her smile slipped off her face as she demanded with a tight voice "Anyway, why are you really here? Why did my father send you here? And, really, who are you? There's no way someone would name their own child 'Reborn' "

Reborn stayed silent for a moment as his chameleon hissed and slithered around his arm until it was on his now opened palm—the expresso he once held was now on the side of the table, empty. Reborn got up from his seat and stood up on the table as his face was shadowed by his fedora making it impossible for Tsuna to read the expression on his face.

"Just to answer your questions" Reborn's voice sounded heavier now "Reborn is my real name and your father sent me here to teach you, to train you, to groom you . . ." he trailed off just as a the chameleon on his palm began to emit a blinding, white light which forced Tsuna to shield her eyes with her arms.

A moment passed as the light died down and Tsuna let her arms fall to her sides as she gave Reborn a look filled with genuine shock and bewilderment.

The suited baby who once looked harmless was now armed with a sleek, metallic green rifle in his hands, loaded with bullets that were even strapped the baby's chest.

"Into becoming a suitable candidate befitting to become the next mafia boss of the most esteemed mafia family, the Vongola family"

A moment passed and Tsuna's jaw hit the ground.

This was just too much for her.

SHE DIDN'T EXPECT THAT SHE WAS A CANDIDATE OF BECOMING A MAFIA BOSS!

And the 'most esteemed one'—as Reborn had dubbed—too.

And, the only thing she could say was:

"Holy motherfucking shit, what the hell did my father get me into?!" she screamed, her façade disappearing as she slammed her head onto the table, unable to suppress her emotions anymore

Another moment passed as Tsuna laid her head there, wishing that this was all just a joke, while Reborn stared at her, unable to properly comprehend the situation.

Reborn was having a very difficult time comprehending the situation before him, which was very rare since there were only little things in the world that surprised him. But, after meeting the boy—Tsuna—just a few moments ago—probably an hour or so?—he had been surprised five times already. The first one was when the boy who he thought was timid(since Iemitsu himself have confirmed it) was actually a cold person who had just whispered into his ear his hate for his father with confidence that no timid person could have. The second time was when he displayed his knowledge about politics which showed that he wasn't an idiot that his classmates from school called him. The third time wasn't really Tsuna who surprised, but his mother who seemed incredibly over-protective of her son. The fourth time was after Tsuna woke up and drank the pain relievers that he gave him, he looked so calm and strong—just like how Iemitsu looked like when he was in front of other mafia bosses. The fifth one was just a moment ago when he cursed with a colorful language after hearing the news that he was gonna become a mafia boss.

Even though he was surprised, he was rather excited and amused at the deceptive boy.

Which was bad for other people since an excited Reborn obviously met trouble.

But in this boy's case, it was a good thing because it now meant that Reborn was interested in him. And people that interested Reborn became great leaders of society like the Cavallone Boss who now leads more than 3000 mafia families.

And it also meant that Reborn would put all of his effort to make this boy the best mafia boss that mafia history had ever had.

Well, truth to be told, in the beginning, he wasn't very excited about this tutoring mission given to him since he was more interested in the reward. And, he could hardly even care if the kid he was supposed to reach died at an early age due to not knowing how to defend himself.

But now, he did care. He was interested, to say the least. He wanted to see this boy grow into a suitable candidate-no, he wanted to see this boy grow into a suitable mafia boss fit for the title of 'Vongola Decimo', he wanted to see the boy collect and earn family members that would prove themselves strong and extremely loyal to him that they would never even think of betraying him and he wanted to see himself beside that boy as his tutor, the one who helped him grow into what he will become in the future.

To say the least, the excitement that he was currently experiencing was dangerous.

But that was good.

Because the more riled up he was, the more he would put his effort into making Tsuna great.

Unfortunately,

Thing don't always go my way.

So now,

I am stuck with this crazy, homicidal yet adorable baby

That is currently armed with dangerous weapons that could blast my head of any minute now,

as my home tutor.

And apparently,

Karma can be a real bitch to you.

If you don't give her what she deserves,

which is faith itself.

The sky so young and once vibrant and full of life is now dark and dull with empty space.
But slowly and surely, you could see a light, a yellow light.
The light, though small and seemingly transparent.
Lights up the way for the dark and young sky to follow

Now, before we get started.
Me name is Eri, Choco is sleeping right now. I'm her niece and no, she hasn't been lying to you about her age, she is still in highschool but her older cousin, my Mama, gave birth to me at a young age, the same year Auntie was born.

I just wanted to say hi and I'm very sorry for the news.

If you would be sooooo kind as to check the profile to see why she isn't here and why I'm here, please do.

Now, I want a few changes here that Auntie was toooo scared to snap back at:

"Bitch here and I'll Bitch back"

And, while zooming through the comments, I saw a commenting saying "Why do you even bother hiding her gender? Tsuna's name sounds so girly here"

Well, duh, she is a girl and the reason she's hiding her gender is because of what happened to her past. Which is dark and stuffy.

And, if you must know, this is a fanfiction story A.K.A. an "if" story so if you're gonna judge, judge and I'll snap back a smartyass comment.

And if you're just doing this for fun, I don't really mind because it also keeps me entertained.

Oh, and the reason why this story hasn't been edited yet is because Auntie "forgot" the password to her laptop which contains the word document of this chapter. So, we- by 'we' I mean 'I'- went to the computer stuff, had to ask someone to hack the laptop.

Then, after seeing Auntie's rather diligent typing of this chapter, with occasional few wrong spellings, I decided to clean this up a notch and add some parts that Auntie wanted to add but was too scared to add.

Anyway, if you want, I'll explain.

+Why is Tsuna so dark and cold now? Isn't she supposed to be like her male counterpart, all cute, clumsy and sparkles?

-Well, she is dark and cold now but only on the outside since she does this to, like, protect herself from getting emotionally hurt. But on the inside, she is the kind, cute and all sparkles Tsuna we all know and love. But she is still clumsy.

+Woah, why did Tsuna know all of that diplomatic shit?

-Well, when she was a child, her father left her some books, by books I meant books that were for making her smarter. And, as a child, she grew to like books and dived into some books that made her understand some things and helped her along the way.

+Why did Tsuna just curse?

- Well, imagine your situation, your someone who has reached puberty and has heard a lot of nasty words like 'fuck', 'hell' and 'shit'. So, what would your reaction be if you suddenly found out you're gonna be a mafia boss?

And don't be all smartass on me thinking that you're gonna be all calm but you won't be since you'll never expect it.

Unless you meet a baby wearing a suit who suddenly barged in your home, exclaiming that his your home tutor. Then you might be prepared for that.

Anyway, Ciao Ciao.

I need to go and sleeeeepppp~ It's 11:15 p.m and school starts at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow.

I hope you'll see me as how you saw my Auntie.

Anyway, I just wanted to say.

Thank you for supporting Auntie, she appreciated it and she wasn't joking when she cried about how many reviews she got in this story.

And I can also bet she'll cry once she learned that I've posted the newly edited chapter 1 of step by step . . . . . . _ seriously, I worry about my Aunt's mental and emotional health.

Oh yeah, she said before that she misses writing.

Oh, and she drew a really cute picture of Tsunayuki when she was in the hospital. It was when Tsunayuki was a child, I'll take picture of it tomorrow after school and change the cover picture of the story just to show you guys.

Word Count: 13,671

Question of the Day: Are you mad at Auntie for neglecting her story? Just to let you know, she is very sorry and if you want to know the reason why she's been neglecting, check my our profile which is now 'EriDrug' instead of 'ChocoDrug'