A/n: I'm back from vacation! Yay! Sooooo, I'm running out of inspiration for Of Flames and Wizards, so any prompts you wanna send in would be really great. Also, I have no idea what happened with this one-shot. Like really, it was supposed to be short, but I ended up adding more parts, and then it grew into this! Anyway, plz enjoy.

P.S. One of my reviewers from OFW said they were confused, which I can fix, but they didn't tell me what they were confused about, so I can't really fix it. If something is confusing or needs explaining plz say something.

Disclaimer: *Clink Clink* All I have here is gold, sorry. *ruffles wings* I don't own KHR.

Instinct

Tsuna was very possessive. His Guardians didn't notice, they really didn't give him any reasons to need to claim them.

He could count on one hand the number of times he had let that side of him out. The first time was at a party, one of those ones he had to go to for business purposes. Most of his Guardians were busy, so he only had Takeshi and Hayato with him. The décor of the Gamberetti Family's ballroom was impeccable, chandeliers of gold and walls of scarlet. The floor was marble covered in a thick strip of red and gold carpet down the center leading to the stairs.

The three of them had separated, seeking out different areas of the ballroom to mingle in. He grabbed a glass of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter as he made small talk with a small group of people. The thing with this particular party was that it was a masquerade party. Which meant they had to wear masks. And they had to wear clothes to go with the masks. This did not fit his definition of enjoyable.

Thanks to the information network that Kyoya runs, they had managed to find out who was planning to wear what mask, as well as some other identifiers. As such, they had each picked different groups of people to speak with for information and gossip. The first time they had gone to a party, the Guardians had complained about having to gossip like teenage girls. He had very quickly shut them up.

He sighed and adjusted his mask. The annoying thing was shaped to go around his eyes and hide most of his features. There would undoubtedly be red lines from it later. He pulled on what he liked to call his 'Haru Persona'. "So, what is this I hear about the Chiavarone Family becoming weak?" He nearly snorted into his drink at the stir his words caused. Smooth, Tsuna, very smooth.

"Oh, yes, it's so horrible, haven't you heard?"

"It's the rumors about how the boss fell in love, right? It's all the rage now. It's a pity the man isn't still available." As one the whole female population gave a deep sigh. He was ever so slightly jealous of Dino, though the man had indeed fallen in love with one heck of a spitfire. The woman in green who spoke before continued, "As far as I can tell, they think that because he got himself a woman, he's weak." She leaned in and lowered her voice, "Personally, I disagree. I have found time and again that men are stronger when they have someone to come home to."

"True, true, but I hope his lover can protect herself." He examined her as he spoke. Emerald green dress and mask, bright blues eyes and stunning red hair paired with a fair complexion. This must be the Sky of the Gamberetti Family. Now, how to get close to her... The music changed to a waltz. Perfect timing. He stepped toward her and held his hand out, "May I ask for this dance?"

"I would be honored."

He kissed her hand and gave their glasses off to a waiter. As they whirled onto the dance floor, he leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "You look stunning tonight, my dear Rakor. You make a wonderful boss."

"The same to you, Tsunayoshi." To anyone else, it would have seemed threatening, the both of them exchanging names so casually like that. To them, it was expected, a way of showing off their networks. "You make a very good gossip. I am beginning to think it's something all bosses do."

"I appreciate the compliment, but that's not what we are here to talk about is it?"

"Are you going to offer me an alliance?" Rakor gave a barking laugh, "Let's see if you really are as powerful as they say, shall we?"

Their Flames crashed against each other in a rush of power. They continued bantering back and forth as their Wills fought. The twirling pairs around them slowly drifted away, almost as if they could sense the intangible battle going on in front of them. Rakor pulled her Flames away first, panting slightly as they moved.

"Well done young man. I am impressed. It has been a long time since anyone challenged me. They all tend to just flow around me, even the Vongola Nono." The Gamberetti Family was one of the few Families that were just one step below the Vongola. The whole purpose of him being at this party was to secure an alliance. "Perhaps I will consider your offer after all." She took a quick breath and leaned into him as the song changed, "Tell me, boy, who is teaching you to control your instincts?"

"So far, no one has noticed I have any."

"Of course, you have to be one of those." The way she said those made it sound like it was a word she wished she had never learned. He had the passing thought that perhaps he should be having this conversation with his Guardians present.

"One of what?"

"You're like I used to be, a stubborn young boss who hid their instincts to prevent making their Guardians worry. Trust me, it only makes it worse. Doing something like that is bound to end up biting you in the ass later, forgive my language." She peered at something over his shoulder, "In fact, it's about to do so right now."

"Do wh-" He wasn't entirely certain of what he was going to ask, but whatever it was got cut off as a wave of jealously and possession hit him hard. His head snapped toward Takeshi and ice cold Flames radiated from his body. Rakor let go and pushed him away. Someone touched what was his. They tried to steal his Rain. Unacceptable.

As he stalked over to his Rain, everyone scattered out of his way. He took a good long look at the foolish Sky who had attempted to draw his Guardian away. The man was not a very powerful Sky, and so he had been drawn to Takeshi because of his extremely powerful Flame. It was similar to when weak Elements were drawn to a Sky, but in reverse. It still didn't make it better.

"You." He pointed toward the shaking Sky, his Flames spreading out and surrounding the man, crushing the offending Flame down. "You tried to steal my Rain." It wasn't a question. He was fairly certain his eyes were glowing orange by now.

The Sky's eyes rounded in horror, having realized that he had attempted to claim an Element from an extremely powerful Sky. The more powerful the Sky, the stronger the instincts, and Tsuna's were screaming at him to kill the man. He distantly heard and felt his Rain and Storm trying to calm him down, but nothing could reach him in his rage.

"Hummer, get the man out of here! The longer he's here, the worse Tsunayoshi will get!" The feeling of soft hands cupping his face and softer Flames surrounding his own accompanied the familiar voice. "Tsuna, I can call you Tsuna, right? Right. Focus on my voice, focus on the feel of your Rain and Storm. They are still here, they haven't left you. It's alright to calm down."

Rakor continued to talk to him, his Guardians sending reassurances down their bonds. The rage slowly left, leaving only exhaustion in their wake. Rakor gently handed him off to Takeshi when he collapsed. "I can't even blame any of you for not noticing him reaching a breaking point since he chose to hide it. Make sure he gets a lot of rest, this really took it out of him. When I find out who failed to inform his Guardians of this..." She trailed off as she stared at the ice covering the floor he had been standing on.

She sighed, "Well? What are you waiting for? Go on, get out of here."

She made a shooing motion with her hands that made Hayato and Takeshi start moving. As they left the building, she shouted after them, "Make sure Tsuna knows I'm available when he wants to talk!"

Hayato nodded and gave a wave as they bundled him into the car. Tsuna had the absentminded thought that he must have taken his mask off at some point. Soon they were moving, the gentle bumping of the car on the road and his own exhaustion taking him straight to the sweet oblivion of sleep.

I hope this makes sense, cause I had a lot of fun writing it. Also, if anyone can guess where I got the names for Rakor, her Storm Guardian (Hummer), and the Gamberetti Family, they get bonus cookies!

Ja ne!

Scarlet