The running away was something he should have anticipated. It should not have taken him by surprise, it should not have left him blinking after a quickly disappearing figure. Yet there he was, crouched low hand still raised as he tried to process that the boy was no longer there. It was truly undignified.

The greatest hitman was left at a loss for words.

The soft sound of shuffling drew his attention, he turned to face the form of the woman who had been previously unconscious. She was watching him, her green eyes narrowed in anger and her lips pulled back in a vicious snarl.

"You." She growled out, slowly pushing herself up until she was sitting up. "You sure took your time showing yourself." She spat at his feet, one arm coming to clutch at her injured arm. Reborn blinked slowly taking in the dark haired woman before his attention slid to the unmoving figure of the man who was obviously her partner.

"Oh? Were you waiting on me?" he questioned casually. He pushed himself up from his crouched position and made his way over to the injured woman. "You knew I was going to be here." The woman let out a mocking laugh.

"Of course, you fool." hers lips twisted into a mocking grin as she stared up at him. "Who wouldn't come to the rescue of their pathetic partner," she explained, her eyes darted to the unmoving figure a bit away from her. It was a quick glance barely noticeable and easily mistaken as an annoyed roll of the eyes, but Reborn caught it all the same.

Her words had him tensing momentarily before he forced himself to relax. These two had obviously known who the boy was, had attacked him because he was connected to Reborn. It made sense, Reborn had made many enemies over the years, why shouldn't they go after his partner to get to Reborn when they obviously couldn't get Reborn himself. Except how had they known to go after the small brunette when even Reborn hadn't known the boy was his until moments before he had stepped in to help him.

Had only found the boy because of the overwhelming fear and pain Reborn had suddenly felt, the brunette's fear, as he wandered around the town. The strong urge in him that pushed him in one direction instead of another until he was in the perfect position to see everything that had been happening. Perfect position to pull out a gun and shoot without much thought, just that the young brunette being held to the ground being beaten had to be his and no one touched what was his.

Hie eyes narrowed on the hunched figure as she continued to stare up at him. A smirk on her face full of smug confidence.

"Does it irk you that someone managed to find him?" She questions casually, her grin stretching in arrogance. As if she wasn't at Reborn's mercy, her life in his hands. "Does it unnerve you that someone managed to get through you?"

Yes, yes it does but Reborn would be dead and buried ten times over before he even considered admitting it to anyone out loud. HIs hand tightened around the gun in his hand in a small show of annoyance and raised it so the woman could see it. Green eyes immediately snapped to the handgun, eyes wary. Fear flashed through her eyes before it was immediately pushed down.

"How did you find out about him?" Reborn questions. He lowers himself into a crouch so the other woman doesn't have to stare up at him. "Who told you about him?"

The thought that someone knew who Reborn's partner was before even Reborn is an entirely new level of annoying. How was it even possible? The woman's face shutters and Reborn knows she won't answer. He could forcibly pry the answer out of her, but the thought of doing such a thing to a woman leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

His eyes slide over the woman to land on the figure lying unmoving. He lets out a sigh before pushing himself to his feet. He steps away and around the green-eyed woman, her narrowed gaze following his form.

"I hear that losing one's partner is more painful than losing a limb," he begins, coming to a stop before the limp body of the woman's partner. Her eyes widen in fear, and it takes longer for her to fight it back down. "Yet, you seem fine." With the exception of the pained grimace, she's been doing her best to hide that Reborn himself has caused. He raises his gun, making an obvious sign of switching the safety off, he aims at the figure.

He meets hazy dark brown eyes and feels a smirk tug at his mouth. He's not sure how the other had managed to avoid being killed like Reborn had intended, (they had come looking for Reborn so he's not too surprised they had to have some skill, no matter how little) but he's glad for it now.

He glances back at the glaring form of the woman, her hands are clenched into tight fists and she looks like she would want nothing better than to strangle Reborn with her bare hands. He raises a brow in silent question. The woman grits her teeth as she watches him, her eyes darting from Reborn to her partner, but says nothing.

That itself lets him know that these two didn't have the best relationship. He had seen the bond between Colonnello and Lal, had seen it between Aria and Gamma, and neither pair would have hesitated to save the other no matter how much little patience they had with each other.

Reborn tilts his head in acceptance, he meets green eyes head on and without any hesitance, he pulls the trigger. The bang the gun lets out is deafening in the quiet streets, but not nearly as much as the pained scream the man lets loose before he forces himself quiet, teeth digging into the flesh of his lips. He didn't shoot anywhere immediately life threatening, as long as they give Reborn the answers he's looking for the woman could get her partner some help.

"You bastard!" She screeches. The woman surges to her feet with the full intention of running for Reborn. She stops short when Reborn aims the gun just a little higher until it's aiming at her partner's head. The man has curled in on himself, arm reaching to cover the bleeding wound on his left shoulder, his other hand covering the first gunshot wound just a bit away from the second. At this rate, the man just might die of blood loss with the amount of blood he's losing. Reborn gives the man another minute, maybe two, before he's beyond saving. By the look on the woman's face, she knows this as well.

The woman lets out a stream of curses as she glares down Reborn, and if looks could kill then maybe the two would have stood a chance against him.

"W-we don't know his name!" She exclaims eyes darting between Reborn and her groaning partner. He says nothing just urging her on with a twitch of his hand. "A man just came to us and told us he could help us kill you, help us make a name for ourselves, told us where to find your partner!" She hurries on, the anger in her face fades into panic as the pained groans of her partner grow quiet. Her tan skin is looking pale and Reborn knows she can feel her partner fading.

"What did he want?" Reborn questions. The woman takes a step forward her attention focused on her partner only but she still answers.

"You dead, that's all." She turns pleading eyes towards him, and it never ceases to amaze him how far someone is willing to go for a bonded partner, even one not strongly bonded like this pair. One moment this woman had been determined to not bend for Reborn and now she stood there silently pleading to Reborn.

Reborn took a step away from the man and she wasted no time to run forward, not once glancing at the gun Reborn still had in his hand. Reborn watches with a detached interest as she skids to a stop over the man, her hands quick to replace his as she covers the wounds still bleeding out.

It's pathetic. There's no way that he's going to survive, he had been laying there bleeding out for too long. The woman's pale and her hands are shaking, covered in blood, her breath coming out in pained gasps. There's no saving him, them. Not that he would want to, they had come here with the intention of killing Reborn, of hurting his partner at least. They should have known they could not cross Reborn and expect to walk away.

The shot rings out in the air, followed by a stunned silence. It's the first time in a long while where Reborn has used more than a single bullet for something so mediocre. The silence doesn't last long before it's broken by the woman screaming.

"W-what are you doing!?" She glances up at him, eyes blown wide. Reborn merely stares back not offering any explanation, he doesn't owe her one and that she sits there looking up at him like he does is almost laughable. She seems to understand what Reborn's thinking because she pushes herself to her feet her eyes narrow into a glare and her mouths pulls back into an angry sneer. Her lips part to what Reborn assumes shout insults at him, but what comes out instead is a pained scream she can't bite back. She falls back to her knees, body bent over her dead partner's own.

He knows what's happening. Her partner is dead and if rumors are to be believed, nothing hurts more than losing your partner. Reborn knows Killing her now would be showing her mercy, but Reborn had never been known for being merciful. It's easy enough to knock her unconscious, a quick blow to the head is enough, she can't even fight back.

He pulls out his phone and makes a quick call, he needs to dispose of the bodies and he's in no mood to do it himself. He gives his destination to the person on the other end and quickly ends the call, then it's just a matter of waiting.

He glances around the surrounding area. It's quiet with no one in sight. That's the thing about Namimori and the people who live there. They don't blink when they hear gunshots and explosions and anything that could possibly hint at a fight. They avoid the area, plan around it and continue about their business. They bury their heads in the sand and ignore the cries for help, ignore anything that doesn't involve them personally.

It had been something that had never bothered him before, had been in fact grateful for it. Now? Now, he thinks about how the small brunette had been lying bruised and beaten on the floor and how no one had come along to help. Thinks of all those flashes of pain he had felt throughout the years, the feelings of loneliness and sadness and finds his hand clenching in irritation, in anger.

He takes in a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. He's attached he realizes, he's done nothing but spoken a handful of words to the boy, doesn't even know his name, and he's attached. Is this what it means to meet your partner?

He sure hopes not, because he doesn't think he could handle much more of this.

Consciousness comes to him slowly. His eyes slide open, take in the white ceiling above him. He blinks up at it, confused as to why he's staring at the familiar ceiling. He doesn't remember arriving at the disciplinary office. The sound of someone shuffling catches his attention just before someone's face pops into view.

He catches sight of the colors first, a soft orange yellow color only overpowered by the light turquoise. He knows it's Kusakabe before he actually sees the older boys face. The older teen always seems to be a strange combination of worry and calm. Kusakabe offers him a smile, looking relieved.

"How are you feeling Tsuna-san?" he asks. His face disappears from view. Tsuna blinks before he pulls himself up until he's sitting comfortably on the couch. He glances back to where Kusakabe had disappeared to and nearly hits himself with the bottle of water Kusakabe is handing him.

"E-eh? I-I'm fine?" Tsuna fumbles with the bottle and offers a quiet 'thanks'. Kusakabe stares down at him as he makes his way around the couch. Tsuna blinks rapidly, before shifting his attention to the bottle in his hands, uncomfortable with the intent staring. He fiddles with the cap, before twisting it off and taking a sip, and then another longer one. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until then.

"You came running back to school scared out of your mind, and you're fine?" Kusakabe says eyes still intent on Tsuna, the soft orange yellow surrounding him darkens slightly, his concern growing. His words have Tsuna pausing, and he lowers the bottle because he remembers. He sets the bottle down and raises his hands to his face. Instead of his hands meeting smooth skin he feels the familiar texture of bandages. He glances down at himself, his white uniform shirt has smudges of dirt and there are the beginning of bruises around his arm that is no doubt going to take on the form of a hand by the end of that day.

He remembers the pair that had attacked him, the fear he had felt at being at someone's nonexistent mercy. Remembers the suit-clad man that had come to his rescue, but had killed two people in the process. He remembers running as fast as he could to the only place he knew he would be safe, he ran to Hibari. Tsuna's attention snapped up to Kusakabe.

"He went to find the suit-clad stranger and the bodies you spoke of," Kusakabe stated, answering Tsuna's unspoken question. "He left me here to watch over you."

"I-I'm sorry," Tsuna said, voice low. Kusakabe was always with Hibari, Tsuna knew how much the older boy preferred to be where Hibari could easily reach him. Kusakabe offers a shrug in return.

"There's nothing to apologize for," he says "he left me here to make sure nothing happened to you while he was away." The colors around Kusakabe shift, the turquoise turning green. Tsuna can only blink as it seems to overpower the worry he's feeling. Tsuna knows that Kusakabe is one of the few people Hibari trusts and allows to hang around, he just had never noticed how happy that seemed to make Kusakabe.

The door to the disciplinary room slams open startling both Tsuna and Kusakabe, who quickly jumps to attention. Hibari walks in wearing an air of annoyance. Tsuna doesn't need to be able to see the colors surrounding Hibari to know he's displeased. He makes it to his desk without glancing in either Tsuna or Kusakabe direction.

"There was no one there," he says, taking a seat and turning his attention to Tsuna. Tsuna startles in confusion. There's a red-orange color surrounding the head of the disciplinary committee that lets Tsuna know that not only is Hibari displeased but also deeply irritated.

"W-what?" Tsuna questions quietly, his hands clenching around the fabric that makes up the couch he's sitting on. He swallows the lump that he feels building in the back of his throat, his mouth opens to defend himself, to let Hibari know that he's not lying, but nothing comes out. What if Hibari already thinks he's lying? He told Hibari that a man had shot someone, killed someone, had sent him out on some search that turned up empty.

"There were no bodies, no shooter," Hibari repeats. Kusakabe glances at Tsuna, and a flicker of orange appears in the light purple that had surrounded him when Hibari first spoke. A hint of worry in his disbelief.

"What about the cameras?" Kusakabe asks, his attention shifting from Tsuna to Hibari. Hibari's eyes narrow slightly as they stare Tsuna down, it takes everything Tsuna has to stare back.

"They're clean." he finally says, shifting his attention from Tsuna to Kusakabe who straightens under the attention. "Someone tampered with the cameras in the area."

Tsuna feels himself relax at those words, letting out a shaky breath as he watches Hibari, and finally actually looks at the colors surrounding the older boy. The strongest color surrounding his is the red-orange, his irritation the strongest, but it fades into an orange-yellow color that takes Tsuna by surprise. Hibari is worried.

"Tsunayoshi." His name startles Tsuna out of his musings, his attention snapping to Hibari, who is now standing staring down at him. Tsuna blinks, glancing at Kusakabe who looks like he's ready to leave the room, phone in hand, no doubt to follow whatever orders Hibari had given and Tsuna had obviously missed. "You're staying with that woman tonight." Hibari declares when Tsuna's attention shifts back to him.

Hibari never calls Tsuna's house home, always referring to it as that woman's house, never calls Nana his mother. It had always confused Tsuna at the beginning until he learned that Hibari hadn't seen the house as Tsuna's home, somewhere he could feel like he belonged where he felt wanted. He always looked at Nana with barely masked contempt.

Hibari walks around his desk making his way towards the door leading out of the room, Kusakabe right behind him. Tsuna watches from his position on the couch until Hibari stops and turns back to him, a single brow raised. Tsuna flushes in embarrassment as he fumbles for his bag Kusakabe had placed beside the couch and stumbles for the door. Hibari lets out a huff before he turns around and continues walking, Kusakabe and Tsuna following behind him this time.

The walk to the Sawada house is short and quiet, not that Tsuna expected otherwise. The house seems empty and Tsuna isn't sure if his mother just isn't home or had just headed to bed early. Tsuna glances at Hibari, who's staring at the house face blank. His irritation has faded slightly and taken on a darker purple to show his dislike for the house. Hibari's face rarely seems to shows what he's feeling, when it does it's usually in annoyance, boredom or when he's feeling particularly bloodthirsty. He's rarely surprised, and seems to takes things in stride.

Tsuna sometimes finds himself wondering how Hibari would take knowing Tsuna's secret. It's something he wonders and then just as quickly crushes and buries it away because Hibari's his friend and he doesn't need to know something that would make him look at Tsuna like he's some sort of freak.

Hibari drags his attention away from the house and turns back to Tsuna, blinking when he catches Tsuna staring. Tsuna feels heat rise to his face at being caught staring and hurriedly turns away.

"I'm leaving someone here to keep an eye out," Hibari says. Tsuna's grateful he didn't decide to question Tsuna about his staring, then the other boy's words process and Tsuna's turning back to face Hibari.

"All night? Is that fine?" Tsuna questions nervously, eyes darting around before meeting Hibari's own.

"They'll switch among themselves." Tsuna has no doubt Hibari means the disciplinary committee, but also not what Tsuna meant. There's a man running around Namimori with a gun shooting people. Despite popular belief Tsuna is not a complete idiot, he knows Hibari is going to be looking for whoever the guy is. He's leaving someone here because he thinks there's a possibility that the man could come back for Tsuna.

"T-that's not what I meant!" Tsuna hisses, and it seems to startle Hibari if the pale yellow flicker of color is any indication. It's quickly overtaken by a pale green, amusement.

"It'll be fine," Hibari states and then ushers Tsuna into the house without actually doing anything but dart a glance towards the building. Tsuna wants to argue, but Hibari is already leaving, his back turned and ignoring Tsuna's calls.

A flicker of movement catches his attention and has Tsuna immediately turning towards it, startled. There's a figure standing not to far off hidden behind the neighbor's wall, Tsuna freezes before he catches sight of what can be nothing else but a pompadour. He releases a shaky breath before darting into the house.

The inside is dark and it's all Tsuna needs to see to know that his mother isn't home. Tsuna feels himself slump in relief, takes a deep breath and then heads up the stairs to his bedroom. He lets his bag drop to the floor by his door and pushes his bedroom door open. Cool air hits him and stops in the doorway. He doesn't remember leaving his bedroom window open.

The light suddenly flicks on to reveal his messy room, everything seems to be how he left it. With exception of his bedroom window, which in now slightly open. He tenses as he glances to his right where the light switch is.

"Chaos." Someone greets.

The scream Tsuna lets out is loud and quickly cut off by a hand covering his mouth. The suited man stares down at him slightly wide-eyed. Tsuna moves to kick the man, arms flailing as he tries to get the man to let go of him. It doesn't seem to faze the man as he takes every blow with barely a wince.

This, Tsuna thinks with a sinking feeling in his stomach, is how he's going to die, murdered in his own bedroom by a man wearing a fedora.

"You need to calm down." The man says, taking a hold of Tsuna's arm when it swings to close to his face and nearly knocking his hat off. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

Tsuna continues in his struggle because strangers don't sneak into people's houses and not want to hurt them. He breaks free of the man's hold when his free hand manages to knock into the man's face with a hard slap. Tsuna stumbles back, catching himself on the wall across from his room. The man has his face in his hands, cursing in something that isn't Japanese, Tsuna had obviously managed to hit the man straight in the eye.

Tsuna has every intention to run but a flash a yellow catches his attention, there wrapped around the man's left wrist is a yellow thread. Tsuna's eyes follow it down, curiosity filling him when he realizes it doesn't pool at the bottom but hangs and leads right..to Tsuna's own wrist. Tsuna pales as he watches the perfect blend of yellow and orange in the middle where both threads meet.

Just his luck that the person on the other end of his string would be the one set to kill him.

"Look, I'm not here to hurt you." The man says suddenly, having pulled himself together. Tsuna forces his attention away from the strings and to the man who had broken into his house. He's no longer standing in Tsuna's doorway but had made his way out while the younger man was distracted so he was now standing between Tsuna and the stairs. He's a mix between a dark and pale orange. Frustrated and anxious, Tsuna doesn't pay it more than a quick glance. "Just want to talk."

Damnit Tsuna, way to go losing your chance to run. Tsuna eyes the man warily, then the way behind him. Tsuna takes a deep calming breath, eyes darting to his open bedroom door. The man catches the look and darts forward, but Tsuna's closer and faster and makes it into the room, slamming the door behind him before the man could make it inside, resting his full weight against the door.

Now to call for help. He reaches down for his bag and freezes when it's not where he left it, his eyes dart around his room in search before it hits him. He had put it down outside of his room. He lets his head fall against his door, silently cursing his idiocy.