Disclaimer: I do not own KHR

Reborn rolled his eyes as he hung up, running a hand through his hair. Well, that was taken care of. Now he just needed a way to get Tsuna out of the house long enough for him to mentally prepare himself. Without Iemitsu kicking up a fuss and trying to stop him. Maybe he could find that Enma kid he was talking about, and have him convince Tsuna to stay at the apartment with him.

And maybe ask if he's witnessed anything, or has any proof.

He glanced down when his phone rang, raising an eyebrow at the name that popped up on screen. "Yes?"

'Do you actually have some other place you stay, or do you just like sneak in and out of the house without anyone noticing?'

'Natsu, what the fuck.'

Reborn snorted at G's response in the background, putting the phone on speaker and setting it down. "I do have an apartment, I just choose to stay with Tsuna most of the time."

'Then why can't you just have Tsuna stay at your apartment with you?'

"First of all," Reborn started, skimming over the document open on his laptop, "Tsuna wouldn't let me do that, for obvious reasons you should know. And second, your dad will throw a fit and try to get the authorities involved, probably by trying to play me off as a sexual predator."

'But the age of consent is-'

"Yeah, but he's not legally an adult until he's 20. So things will get iffy, quickly, with him staying with me for an extended period of time without the consent of your parents, since I'm not a relative."

Natsu hummed and Reborn could picture the frown on his face. 'But... Nevermind.'

"That all you had to ask?"

'Uh... Yeah, that's it. I don't really have anymore questions. Thanks for clarifying.'

"Just because I answered that one, doesn't mean I'm free to call whenever you like."

'I figured, but I can still text you. Anyway, bye.' Natsu hung up before he could respond and Reborn sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wondered to himself why he didn't just block the kid's number, but thought better of it. He'd find a way to get into contact, and it would end with more trouble than it was worth.

Natsu lightly frowned in thought as he watched Tsuna play with Lambo. He guessed Reborn had a point. Tsuna probably wouldn't let himself be taken somewhere else, some place safe, when his parents had made it very clear that they would move the abuse to him and Gio, if they couldn't do anything to Tsuna. Plus, his dad would definitely throw a fit to try and keep Tsuna here.

Natsu groaned, pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes. That was ridiculous. Even if Tsuna did want to go, he wouldn't be allowed to. And his dad would hands down get everyone involved if Reborn ever tried to do it.

How had he not seen all of this before? Now that he knew about it, it was obvious. The way Tsuna would make himself smaller in the presence of everyone except Reborn and G, how he would avoid eye contact with his parents. How he always tried to avoid being alone in a room with them. The way his parents would always look at Tsuna, like he was the bane of their existence. Everything was so obvious now. How could he have missed it?

Or maybe Takeshi was right, and he was just blocking it all out. He did have a tendency to do that, not as bad as Gio, but he did. But something like this...

"Natsu-nii, are you okay?"

Natsu looked down, giving a quick smile to his twin. "Yeah, Tsu, I'm good. Just thinking about some stuff."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Natsu shrugged. "It's okay, I don't want to, like, ruin your mood or something."

Tsuna pouted but nodded. Natsu had been careful with his words, very careful with his words, since The Incident. He understood, of course, but that didn't meant he was okay when Natsu made it so obvious he was upset over something and then refused to talk about it.

"Hey, Tsu, do you wanna go to the park for a bit? You haven't really been out of the house for anything except school and work."

"Yeah, Tsuna-nii, let's go to the park! I haven't been to the park yet."

Tsuna chuckled at the way Lambo tugged on his arm as he stood, picking him up. "Okay. We can go to the park." Both Lambo and Natsu cheered and Tsuna smiled. Well, at least they were going to do something fun.

Maybe not the best idea, Tsuna thought to himself as Lambo ran around loudly, a few of the other kids following behind him. Well, at least he was having fun, and playing with others his age.

"Tsuna." He looked up at his name, standing when Natsu waved him over. "Lay down with me."

Tsuna looked at him in confusion before laying down next to him on the merry-go-round. "Why? We can't watch Lambo if we're laying down."

"It's fine." Natsu waved a hand in the air and Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed before they shot up when he felt the merry-go-round moving.

"Natsu-"

"It's okay! The kids wanted to, and this way we can see him while we rotate."

Tsuna sighed but let it happen, smiling slightly at the kids giggling as they pushed. This was nice.

Tsuna nodded along as Natsu babbled about what they could do, and how much fun they would have once they got to the park. He wasn't so sure, since bad things tended to happen whenever he went outside for too long. But if his brother wanted him to go, then he guessed he would. It couldn't be too bad with Natsu there with him.

"Tsuna come spin on the merry-go-round with me."

Tsuna looked over at said equipment, freezing for a moment before giving his twin a wary smile. "A-ah, I don't think I really want to, Natsu-nii. I-I get dizzy really easy, remember?"

Natsu pouted and Tsuna flinched at the weight of his father's glare. "Tsuna go play with your brother. It doesn't even go that fast."

"But..." His bullies were over there, and he didn't want to talk to them, even if they were Natsu's friends.

"Yeah, Tsu, come on. I promise we won't go too fast."

If his brother really wanted to... "Okay, Natsu-nii."

Natsu cheered as he pulled him over to the merry-go-round, having him sit while he asked his friends to push. He came back over to him, pulling him to the center and had him lay down beside him. Natsu gave a thumbs up and Tsuna gripped his hand when he saw the mean smiles on their faces, directed towards him.

Tsuna jolted, blinking rapidly as his mind played over the memory.

That was the last time he'd gone to the park with Natsu. After that he always made up some excuse as to why he couldn't go. It wasn't too bad, since his parents just decided to leave him home alone after that kept happening. He could do what he wanted, so long as he didn't make a mess. So long as he stayed in his room, basically.

"Tsuna?"

He looked over at his brother. "Yes?"

"Are you okay? You zoned out for a bit, there."

"Yeah, sorry, I'm fine. Just thinking about something."

Natsu gave him a look but decided not to ask at the moment. It probably wasn't something good, with the far away look Tsuna had in his eyes. He would probably ask later.

"Tsuna-nii!" Tsuna sat up at the call, smiling when he saw Lambo coming over with someone following behind him. "I made a friend!"

"Did you?" he asked, getting off the merry-go-round despite Natsu's protests. "And what's your friend's name?" he asked, stooping down to their height.

"M-my name is Fuuta. Nice to meet you."

Tsuna grinned. "My name is Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna. It's nice to meet you too, Fuuta. Can you tell me how old you are?"

"I'm nine years old."

"You're already nine?" Tsuna exclaimed softly and Fuuta nodded with a small blush, playing with the hem of his sweater. "That means you're a big boy now, you know?"

"I-I know! Bianchi says that I can go on errands by myself now, since I'm so close to ten."

"And who's Bianchi?"

"She's m-my sister!" Fuuta replied brightly. "W-well, n-not really, but I stay with her, and she says I can c-call her that."

"Are you adopted?" Tsuna asked, now sitting in front of him with Lambo in his lap, Fuuta moving to sit down also.

"N-not yet. She just takes care of me sometimes, whenever I'm i-in between homes."

"Oh," Tsuna nodded in understanding. "So where are you from? Originally?"

"Oh! I'm f-from Italy! Like Lambo said he was. Bianchi is visiting someone here, a-and she brought me with. She didn't want to leave me at the orphanage, w-with the ladies there. Th-they aren't that nice."

"Well I'm glad she did. You're so sweet and polite. And you've already made a new friend, right?"

Fuuta smiled with a nod. "Yeah. A-and you're my friend too, right Tsuna-san?"

"Of course," Tsuna agreed.

"You should call him Tsuna-nii, since me and you are friends now."

Fuuta looked up at Tsuna who nodded. "If you want to, you can. I don't mind."

"Th-thank you, Tsuna-nii."

Tsuna then decided that he would protect Fuuta in anyway he could, if only to see that smile again. This child was adorable. He startled slightly at the hand on his shoulder, breathing a small sigh of relief when he saw that it was only Natsu. "Y-yes?" Natsu motioned to Fuuta. "This is Fuuta. He's Lambo's new friend. Fuuta, this is my older brother Natsuyama, but you can call him Natsu if you want."

"N-nice to meet y-you, Natsu-san," Fuuta mumbled as he bowed his head.

"Nice to meet you too, kid." He turned his head to look down at his brother. "We need to get going. Dad just texted me, and said we had to be home."

"Why?"

"Apparently someone's coming over? He says we know him, but he wouldn't tell me who it is."

Tsuna's face went blank as a sudden feeling of dread overcame him. The last time their dad said something like that, their grandfather came to visit. And that was not a fun time for him. It's not like his grandfather hurt him like his parents, but... He was just mean. In the worst way.

"Uhm, okay," was all he could manage to reply as he stood, brushing himself off before picking Lambo up. "It was nice meeting you, Fuuta."

"It was nice meeting you too, Tsuna-nii."

"Are you gonna be here tomorrow?" Lambo asked, now sitting on Tsuna's shoulders.

Fuuta shrugged, brushing himself off. "I'll have to ask, but Bianchi will probably say yes."

"Tsuna-nii, can we-"

"Yes, Lambo, we can come back tomorrow. The same time, okay?" The two younger boys cheered and Tsuna smiled softly, waving as Natsu gently pulled him along.

"Hey, Tsu?"

"Yeah?"

Natsu stopped walking and Tsuna did the same, waiting for him to speak. "Do you... Do you think you might know who's coming?"

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. "Why would I? Iemitsu-san doesn't tell me anything."

And Natsu held back a wince at the way Tsuna referred to their dad. He's glad that he's better enough that just mentioning him won't send him into an episode anymore, but it still made him remember all the times it did. "It's just... You made a face when I mentioned it. So I thought, you know... That you might have an idea."

Tsuna shrugged. "I might have an idea... It's probably bad either way, so I don't think it matters."

"Well, who do you think it is?"

"...Grandpa. This is what Iemitsu-san did the last time Grandpa came over, so it might be him again."

"Oh," Natsu frowned, holding Tsuna's hands in his own. "You don't have good memories of him either, do you?"

"Mm... He's just... Mean. It's fine."

"No," Natsu denied immediately, "it's not. What do you mean he's mean? Does he say stuff to you?"

"He... Well..." Tsuna huffed, clenching Natsu's hands for a moment before letting go. "You'll see if it is him. There isn't really a way to explain it without it sounding like I'm whining. But, you'll understand when it happens."

Natsu made a small noise of distress. "Tsuna... If it is him, and he does the thing and I'm not there, or don't notice? Please tell me, okay? Please."

Tsuna nodded. "I will, Natsu. I promise."

Tsuna nodded along as Lambo babbled about one thing or another, the five year old hanging off of his back as he cooked a late lunch. Apparently the guest would be arriving tomorrow morning, and Iemitsu-san wanted everyone home to help clean up. He didn't understand why they had to come home right then, since there was so much time and not that much to clean, but it's not like he could say anything about it.

"Tsuna-nii?"

"Yes, Lambo?"

"Can Fuuta-nii come over tomorrow after we play at the park?" the child asked, climbing up further so he was sitting on Tsuna's shoulders. "Please?"

"Uh, well it depends if our guest is still going to be here around that time. But if they leave before then, then I guess Fuuta can come over. If Bianchi is okay with it." Lambo gave a small cheer in response and Tsuna smiled softly at the action, continuing on with his cooking. At least someone would be happy tomorrow.

"Shouldn't you ask me first before you agree to something like that?"

Tsuna jumped at Iemitsu's voice behind him, whipping around in surprise. How had he not heard him walk in? "W-what?" he squeaked out.

"Don't talk to Tsuna-nii, you meanie!" Lambo interrupted just as Iemitsu was about to respond. "And mama already said I could have friends over if I wanted, so there." Tsuna held back a snigger at the way Lambo stuck out his tongue, taking a small step back when Iemitsu's face twisted in agitation.

"Dad, leave the kid alone!" Natsu called from the living room. "Mom likes him, you'll get in trouble if you upset him. You know that."

Iemitsu growled, teeth clenched in annoyance but he didn't bother to say anything else. He would just grab what he came for, then leave. It was better not to trouble the beast. Tsuna watched quietly as he left, slowly turning back around to continue his task.

That was... weird. Right? Iemitsu-san didn't usually hold back when he had something to say, even with Reborn there. So why had he backed off so easy that time? Was it because of Lambo? Nana-san really did like the boy a lot; he probably didn't want to upset her. Anymore than she probably already was. He hasn't seen much of her lately, but when he did she was always upset for some reason or another.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen much of either of them lately. Which was confusing because they always had so much free time to... Well. He shouldn't over analyze the situation. Maybe now that they didn't have much chance to do anything, they were using their time better. At least, he hoped they were. He hoped they weren't- planning, like last time. That wouldn't be good.

"...Tsuna-nii?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

Tsuna smiled softly at the boy's worry, gently nodding his head. "I'm fine, Lambo. You don't have to worry."

"Tsuna."

He looked up at his name, bookmarking the page he was reading when Reborn waved him over. "Yes?" he asked, walking over to him.

"There's someone coming down to help with the case, and I want you to meet her. She's a part of Child Protective Services, and she can help you sort things out on what you want to say, and what you want to do after."

Tsuna nodded. "When... When do you want me to meet her? Is she here?"

"Yeah, she got here a few days ago. She's settled in now, so she told me she'd be ready to meet you whenever you're ready."

"Okay. Do I... Do I have to meet her alone?"

Reborn shook his head, guiding Tsuna to sit down in his lap. "Nope. You can have however many people there with you to make you comfortable, and she'll meet where you want to. All of this is on your terms, okay?"

"I-I... So we can meet here? And you, a-and Natsu can be there with me?"

"If that's what you want," Reborn agreed. "It's all up to you." Tsuna hummed, head leaning on Reborn's chest as he poked at his cuticles. Reborn huffed as he pulled his hands away, holding them in his own. "Stop that, you'll ruin them. What time do you want to meet her?"

"Uh... Maybe, tomorrow after I come back from the park with Lambo. So around the time we got back today, I guess. That would be okay. Nana-san and Iemitsu-san should still be out at that time tomorrow, and I-I don't really want to do it while they're here."

"Okay. We can do that."

The two sat in a companionable silence, Tsuna playing with Reborn's fingers while the other gently ran a hand up and down Tsuna's back in comfort. "Reborn?" Tsuna mumbled after several minutes, eyes drooping as he grew drowsy.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Reborn huffed out a laugh, pecking the top of his head. "I love you, too, Tsuna."

Fuuta proudly held up the picture he'd drawn, Bianchi cooing in praise as she took it and put it up on the fridge. "You get more talented by the day. But who's the boy next to you and Lambo?"

"Oh, that's Tsuna-nii! He's the one Lambo is staying with. His name is Tsunayoshi, but he said I could call him Tsuna-nii like Lambo does. He's really nice!"

Bianchi hummed in response, gently patting his head. "Well, why don't you go read for a bit while I make dinner? It shouldn't take too long."

"Okay. Thank you for putting my picture up, Bianchi."

"No problem, Fuuta."

Tsuna gave a tight-lipped smile when his grandfather greeted him, bowing his head in respect. "Good morning, grandpa."

"And how have you been, Tsunayoshi? I don't hear much from you, unlike your brothers."

Natsu's eyes narrowed at the tone he used. So that's what Tsuna meant. "Tsuna's usually pretty busy with school and work, so he doesn't really have time to call." He took a couple steps closer to his twin, almost standing in front of him. "Nice to see you again, grandpa."

"And it's nice to see you, too, Natsu. You've grown up into a fine young man. But, where's Giotto? I expected him to be out here to greet me."

Natsu regarded him carefully for a moment before shrugging. "He's doing some extra work for the student council; we have class trips coming up soon so he needs to sort that out."

"I see."

"Right," the older brunet mumbled with narrowed eyes. "How long are you staying?"

"Natsu," Tsuna mumbled, tugging on his sleeve. "Please be nice."

"No, it's alright, Tsunayoshi. And I'll only be here for two days, to sort out some business."

"Uh-huh... Okay, well, me and Tsuna have stuff to do. Nice seeing you again. Bye."

Tsuna barely had time to protest as Natsu turned and ushered him away and up to his room. "Is it always like that?" he asked, locking the door behind him.

Tsuna nodded, sitting down on the bed. "He doesn't like me, but he doesn't make it obvious like Nana-san and Iemitsu-san. And he hasn't tried to hurt me, physically."

Natsu frowned, sitting down next to him. "But he knows mom and dad are doing it, doesn't he?" Tsuna nodded and Natsu's frown deepened. "And he's just letting them."

"Y-yeah... I think- I think he's the reason Iemitsu-san started hurting me in the first place. But..."

"Why do you think that? Did something happen?"

"W-well... After the first time he visited, Iemitsu-san got more... aggressive, with me, with the way he spoke. A-and then, I would hear them talking on the phone sometimes. And he would- he would say things, about me. And each time, Iemitsu-san would get meaner. It's like he wanted him to hurt me." Tsuna shrugged, fidgeting with his fingers. "I don't know why, but..."

"Tsuna, what did he say about you?"

"Mm... I don't- Well..." Tsuna gave a helpless shrug, chewing on his lip. He didn't want to repeat any of what was said.

Natsu gently held Tsuna's hands when he started picking at his cuticles. "I'm sorry, it's okay, Tsu. You don't have to tell me. I shouldn't have asked you to; that can't be good to remember. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, Natsu. You couldn't have known."

Natsu wasn't entirely reassured considering the way Tsuna's shoulders slumped, but he decided to drop the subject. It would probably only make the situation worse. "So, when did you want to go back to the park? The same time, right?" Tsuna nodded. "You wanna make some snacks for while we're there? I can help!"

Tsuna smiled slightly at the change in subject. "Sure, snacks would be good. And we can make extra for Fuuta, too."

Natsu grinned, pulling him up to stand. "Great! Let's go."

Tsuna frowned, standing on the tips of his toes as he struggled to ring the doorbell. He pouted when he still couldn't reach it, huffing in his frustration. This was stupid. In his frustration, Tsuna made the decision to jump and hit it in hopes that he might be able to ring it. Which he did, but the landing however did not go as planned.

Tsuna yelped when his foot slipped out from under him, wincing as he landed on the watery ground. And he didn't have clothes to change into either. He sniffed as he stood, reaching up to rub his eyes. He just didn't want to be outside anymore. Why was that so hard for him to do?

He looked up when the door open to reveal Alaude standing on the other side. "...Tsunayoshi."

"Hi, Alaude-sempai. I-I know it's really late, and I'm... wet, but could I come inside?"

Alaude nodded, and Tsuna smiled in thanks as he stepped inside, the older closing the door behind him. "Why are you here so late?"

"Iemitsu-san said I wasn't allowed in tonight," Tsuna mumbled as he pulled off his shoes, setting them neatly in the corner. "So he told me to find somewhere else to sleep."

"Your father?" Tsuna nodded. "Alright. I'll tell mother you're here, come with me."

"But... won't I get everything all wet?"

"It's just water, it will dry. Now come." Tsuna didn't have time to protest as Alaude pulled him along. He was led to the back end of the house into what he guessed was an office, Alaude's mother sitting at the desk in the corner. "Mother."

"Hm?" she mumbled, glancing up from her work. "Yes, what's- Oh. Tsunayoshi-kun." She stood, walking around the desk and over to him. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Iemitsu-san said I needed find somewhere else to sleep tonight. Is it-... Is it alright if I stay here?"

"Of course, you're always welcome here. How about we get you some dry clothes to sleep in?"

"Th-thank you, Hibari-san."

"Alaude, go tell your brother we have a guest."

"Yes, mother."

"Tsuna?"

"Hm?" He blinked, snapping out of his trance when Natsu waved a hand in front of his face. "Yes?"

"We're here," Natsu stated, motioning to the park entrance.

"Oh."

Natsu frowned, taking a step closer. "Are you okay?" he asked in worry. "You were zoned out the whole walk here."

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just... remembered something. Anyway! Lambo, you can go play. I'll be on the bench over there, okay? Tell me if you need anything. And be careful."

"I will!" the child reassured as he ran off.

Tsuna sighed softly to himself as he sat down, crossing his legs. Why did he remember that, just now? It's not as if anything had instigated the memory. Nothing similar to the situation had happened. So why... Well, he wouldn't dwell on it. It wasn't even that bad of a memory, compared to others.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?" Tsuna looked up at the question, giving a polite smile as he shook his head. "Thank you."

"Sure, no problem."

"So, are you here by yourself?"

"Ah, no. I brought a younger sibling to the park today. He wanted to see his friend."

"Oh, well that's nice. It's the same for me, my younger brother made a new friend yesterday."

This woman was awfully chatty with him. Was she new here? She had to be if she didn't know who he was. The neighbors must not have gotten to her yet.

"Oh! I haven't introduced myself yet, how silly of me."

"Oh, it's no problem. My name is Tsunayoshi, by the way."

She grinned, holding out her hand to shake. "Nice to meet you, Tsunayoshi-kun. My name is Bianchi."

Oh... So this was Bianchi.

"Nice to meet you, Bianchi."

Yay! I did it. And honestly, this came out sooner than I planned it to. I felt like I would be putting too much in one chapter if I just kept going, so I decided to stop right there. It is also currently 3:23 in the morning and the tea I drank is actually working rn so I'm genuinely a bit tired. This is great. Thank you to all you lovelies who commented and wished me well. It means a lot to me. Also thank you to those who have recently liked and followed the story, and those that commented on the last actual chapter I posted.

Once again I will ask whether or not you guys want Enma to actually show up or to just keep mentioning him in passing, cause there are things I need to switch around for him to show up. Lemme know what you want. Or I could do a poll? If you want? If I figure out how to do that? Mayhaps. Also I passed my certification exam and your bitch is moving to Florida in like, a month. So let's hope I don't like, die from stress or smth.

Anyway. Thank you all so much for reading, sorry I'm such a mess lmao. Love you guys, and if you wanna talk, I'm here. Bye-bee My Lovelies ;)