It was during the end of summer, when Tsuna was 5, that he met the neighbor.

Tall, lean, and curly is what Tsuna notices about him. The sideburns were the most curious thing about this man, and would be for any normal child. Except, Tsuna has a knack for noticing the smallest of details, so the sideburns weren't the only thing that was curious about the neighbor.

Mysterious… was a more accurate term for him, for what a child could put a name to. Tsuna could tell something was really mysterious about the neighbor Reborn. It was in the way he walked with such grace and pride that could also double into silence and ease of someone who wanted to hide his presence.

It was in the way he unlocked his front door to his number 15 apartment. Those long fingers are nimble and quick, as if opening doors was a necessity for his line of work.

It was in the way he smiled at Tsuna and his mother with a gentleness that wasn't really true, like it was almost a lie to cover his emotions lest he reveal his true self.

It was in the way that his quick glance to Tsuna was as if he could see through his very soul, read his thoughts and emotions and could use them against him in an instant.

Tsuna knew he was very dangerous, the prickling on the back of his neck telling him so.

"Reborn I'd like you to meet my son, Tsunayoshi. Tsuna for short. Tsuna dear this is our neighbor, Reborn," Nana, his mother, says as she tries to nudge him from behind her leg. Tsuna is a very shy boy.

Reborn's lips lift in bemusement as he watches the child shake. Tsuna wants to cry as his heart speeds up and his knees quivers at the attention. With all his will, Tsuna pokes his head around Nana's leg and nods in acknowledgement.

In a voice so quiet, he speaks, "H-Hello, Reb-born."

He hides behind his mother, his hands gripping onto her pants for dear life. This is all too much for Tsuna!

Reborn laughs under his breath, "It's nice meeting you, Tsuna."

Nana pats the fluff of messy hair on her son in reassurance and laughs, "Tsuna is such a shy child. It's always hard for him to say even one word to somebody. You must be unique if he's said two words," She holds up two fingers with that statement.

"Oh," Reborn breathes, raising an eyebrow at her comment and focusing on Tsuna again. Tsuna's breath hitches at the gaze. He stops breathing and his heart is pounding again. He wishes the man wouldn't look at him.

"And you're so handsome!" Nana claps her hands. Reborn laughs and pockets his keys.

"To be called handsome by a beautiful woman such as yourself is an honor." Reborn lifts his fedora and places it over his chest, giving her a small bow.

Nana giggles, "Oh goodness you're embarrassing me." And Tsuna, too. He blushes at the statement. Having people hit on his mom is so weird! Yes his mom is beautiful, but a total stranger calling her that!?

"Your son looks like he's going to pass out."

Nana looks down at Tsuna whose face is red. "Oh dear, not again."

Reborn tilts his head, "Again?"

Nana waves her hand and crouches down, rubbing her sons arms, "Ah, yes well, because he's so shy and nervous he sometimes faints. He even fainted when he met a dog once!"

Nana rubs Tsuna's head and turns him towards her. "Tsuna, honey, just breathe. We'll leave now so you won't be late for school."

Tsuna nods his head furiously and opens his mouth, relishing the fresh air his lungs desperately needed. Nana smiles and kisses his forehead.

Reborn hides his smile behind his hat. He shouldn't scare the poor boy anymore (no matter how much he wanted to).

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you though, Reborn. You moved in here months ago and I haven't seen you until just now! "

Reborn drops his fedora on top his head. "I work overseas, since my job requires me to move around a lot with crazy hours. I guess you could say this is my vacation home."

"An apartment for a vacation home?" Nana wonders, tucking a lock behind her ear, "That's odd. Well that's not too odd I guess if you compare that to my husband!" Nana giggles and grabs Tsuna's hand making her way to the stairs.

"I hope we cross paths again, Reborn!"

"As do I," Reborn repeats, waving the family goodbye.

He watches them until they're out of sight, but they are not out of mind. Particularly, Tsuna isn't out of mind. The cold pads of toes that crawl up his neck and stop at his shoulder doesn't distract him from his thoughts.

Leon, his companion lizard, looks at the spot Reborn is looking at then back to his face.

Being the world's greatest hitman (self-proclaimed but has yet to be rebutted), he's seen many strange things. It isn't strange to be interrogated by people while on the job, by bosses and lackeys. Except, they were adults not children.

Looking at Tsunayoshi Sawada, it felt like he was being interrogated with his eyes alone. Those large, brown eyes watched him intensely; bore into his mind and his soul. It was such a bearing weight that didn't even dig down deep. It merely scraped the surface of his being, trying to figure out who he was as a person and open his heart.

It wasn't normal for a child of 5 to read him like that. Tsuna looked so normal and boring to a fault that Reborn couldn't grasp what had happened fully. It didn't even feel like a read. It almost felt like Tsuna almost knew upon first glance who he was and Reborn didn't like that. Reborn doesn't like being exposed, especially to a child.

Closing the door and slipping out of his shoes, Reborn looked around his "home." It wasn't truly his home since he, in fact, didn't have a true home. Moving around so much for work, he didn't have time to settle down, much less call a place his "home."

He threw his hat to the kitchen table and loosened his tie, watching as Leon climb down his arm and hop onto the chair. Reborn crossed his arms and eyed the apartment. He told Nana this was his vacation home, but if he were to be honest, this is his first "home." He decided to try out the whole "home" thing to see if it was entertaining.

At the moment, it was boring. The only entertainment he had was scaring the wits out of Tsuna and meeting his lovely mother.

Ah well, it was only the first day anyways.

Reborn took a seat on the luxurious couch he ordered before moving in. Basically, everything in his "home" was top quality material. Did you really expect the world's greatest (still self-proclaimed) hitman to live in such shoddy conditions? He has his requirements for what he uses. Using anything that was below him, inferior to him, made him cringe inwardly (thought it was sometimes necessary for his job.)

Reborn uncuffed his sleeves, staring absentmindedly at the dust particles swirling in the sunlight.

Nobody actually knew about this investment. Not even the annoying Colonello (thank god). He can finally be alone in a place he owned. Better than the hotels and rooms of his lovers.

Today is his first day living in his new "home", officially. His work had kept him away for 3 months since he bought it.

Reborn is known to be calm and collected during his hits, but his targets during this job were more than surprised to last see annoyance grace his features before their deaths. The shots weren't even quick and painless like he's known for, but slow and torturous. It, of course, had nothing to do with him being called away from his new "home" as soon as he bought it.

Not at all.

Reborn scoffed at the memory of his last client, an old fool who hasn't grasped the concept of time and age. He should be retired now, handing off his status as boss to his son. But fools are the ones who hold power, somehow. Not his problem now since he's been paid and has finally stepped foot into his new "home." If the family starts an inner war because nobody has been chosen heir after the old man dies, Reborn would gladly accept the highest offer.

Reborn smirked and lied down closing his eyes.

The mafia life is exciting.

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"Tsuna, honey," Nana ran a thumb over her son's cheek, trying to calm down the shivering that racked through his small body.

"It's scary, but it'll go by quick. If not, just think about our song. Hum it when you feel nervous."

Right, the song. That does make him feel better, but right now his mind couldn't even remember the song!

"Tsuna. I'll be here when class is over. Okay?"

A nod was her answer. Nana smiled and pulled him into a hug, smelling his hair then kissing his forehead. Tsuna accepted but held on a moment longer.

"I love you Tsu-kun."

"I love you too, Mama," was the faint reply from her shoulder.

And Nana left, leaving Tsuna to himself and the devilish hands known as "school." He grasped the necklace and marched forward, determined to get in, find his seat, and get the heck out of there once the school ended.

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HONESTLY... I have know idea how to pan this out BUT! I like the idea I have in my head so what fucking ever. I'll play bullshit with this like I did my other stories LOL. I'm not a writer so expect horrible grammar/punctuation/character development/plot/etc. etc.

Anyways... just wanted to write something for KHR since I still love it and Reborn….