A/N:

Quotation on the word 'FINE' is from Deadpoll. Seriously not mine.

Anyway, onward.

Chapter Thirty-Four

"Woah." Tsuna breathed as he stood in awe in front of a motorcycle.

The ride is beautiful. A dark purple motorcycle with a ting of silver in it. The vehicle can hold two person and looked fast. It also appeared well taken cared of. Not a scratch is visible nor any dents are seen. The brunet admits that he doesn't know a lot about vehicles, but this one is nice enough to do some stunts and such in some motorcycle shows.

The child looked at the demon with anticipation. Skull only smiled and Tsuna touched the motor. His mouth went 'o' as he felt how dynamic the engine is. He has experiences with machines since his Dad has taught him how to do machines after he asked how they work, and feeling engines are his field. He was proud of it.

"Pretty powerful, aight?" The Cloud queried.

"Yeah!" He answered with vigor.

"I made it."

Tsuna's eyes glinted with awe. "No way! I know you're a stuntman, but no way!"

"Yes way." Skull answered as he patted the seat. "I made this baby from scratch. It took me five years to get them together."

"All by yourself?" The Arcobaleno nodded. "You're awesome."

The stuntman laughed. "You praise me too much, Tsuna."

"But it's true! I mean you're a stuntman, an actor, a powerful cloud, an Arcobaleno and now a mechanic. I won't be surprised if you're a scientist, or an account. Or even a lawyer who defended one of my ancestors back in the days."

Skull flushed red at the compliment, and it made Tsuna's eyes widen.

"Really? Woah!"

"Yes way." The Cloud responded as he mounted the vehicle. "Come on. We're going for a ride."

Tsuna took the helmet being handed to him and wore it over his head. After fixing the strap, he sat behind the Cloud who made the engine roar. Pulling the visor over his eyes, the brunet put a good grip on his hand after looping his arm around Skull's stomach and they rode off.

The scenery of early night was beautiful in his eyes as they sped off. The lights were blur, making a wonderful splashy and fireworks like combination in his eyes. He likes how fast they were, he even wanted to make it more faster. If he doesn't have his helmet on, he'll be having a good bath in the air.

Being a little bold, he let go of his hand and put them on his companion's shoulders. He heard Skull's warning, but he didn't heed. He slowly stood up, steadying himself with his grip on the demon's shoulder and then looked straight ahead. His face morphed to a complete exuberance as he takes in the view. He shouted with a smile, making the Cloud laugh at his extremism.

God. He's so glad he alerted his family that he'll be out tonight. He won't be feeling so happy like this.

After a few seconds, he slowly sat down and resumed to his position. He pressed himself to the Cloud as he can't stop giggling, adrenaline still rushing in his system. Good thing Skull is his companion tonight. If he wasn't, the brunet will surely get a lot of scolding for doing a dangerous stunt like that (not that he will do it with anyone other than Skull).

Tsuna looked up when he felt the change in pace. They were coming to a stop in a small restaurant. Inspecting his environment, he observed that they're far off from Namimori. Probably two to three towns away with all the nice shops and tall buildings in sights. He climbed off and removed his head gear just as Skull turned off the engine and removed his own helmet.

"You are one crazy rider, Tsuna." Skull shook his head in amazement. "You almost gave me a heart attack when you stood up."

Tsuna beamed. "A pleasure. That was the first time I did it. Good thing you're good at balancing."

The Cloud eyed him skeptically. "Want me to show you a drift?"

The brunet stared at him in silence before perking up. "That drift?"

"If we have the same thought, yes." The Arcobaleno responded with a smile.

The child jumped. "Let's go!"

"We have to eat first." Skull laughed as he unmounted the vehicle and took the human's wrist to tug. "I'm hungry as hell. Do you want me to get us into an accident?"

"What's the relation of that stomach of yours to our drifting and our possible accident?" The brunet asked, making the Cloud laugh again. Then he smiled. "Kidding. Now then, since we're going to eat, let's split the bill."

The stuntman glanced at him in disbelief. "No way. I'm the one who invited you out, so I'm going to treat you. That's the rule."

"What kind of a rule is that?" Tsuna asked incredulously as they pushed through the swing door of the eatery. "No wait. Don't answer that. Few of the universal rules, laws and things in this world are stupid. There are no sense in them."

"It's not." The Cloud argued as he leads them to a table. "Who said being a gentleman is stupid?"

"Well, that's an exception, if the man is being polite and not boasting how dominating he is over an inferior woman, then it's good."

"That's human thing." The Cloud argued before waving a hand to his being. "I'm a demon."

The two stared at each other before laughing.

"Point taken." Tsuna answered, a little flustered with all the laughing before he sat on a chair while looking around. "You know this place?"

"No. I just saw it when I got hungry awhile ago." The Cloud shrugged.

The brunet cackled quietly. "Seriously, Skull."

Skull only grinned.

The two opened the menu on the table and started an idle talk about the food. Tsuna eyed the Arcobaleno in front of him when the latter talked about the earlier food in the world. He listened and let the demon talk his heart out. At some point, Skull started to boast about his accomplishments with stories to back them up. And being amazed about them is the understatement of the century.

Tsuna started to engage him more after they ordered food and got it as quickly as they ordered (he pouted at Skull's smug expression though when the food arrived). It wasn't hard since Skull didn't mind sharing. However, the brunet saw the shine on the Cloud's eyes. They seemed wiser, bolder... Older. His intuition suddenly warned him about being careful around Skull. It was a first time, so he heed. On the other hand, he's glad that it wasn't about trust. To make up, he discreetly threw some good jokes to make the demon at ease.

"You know, that dessert you ordered was delicious." The Arcobaleno chirped as they stepped out to the cool air of the night.

"We can go back if you want more." Tsuna responded, a little hopeful that they would. The dessert was that good.

"Nah. You'll make me penniless."

"Hey! Now you crushed me. I was thinking we split the bill to buy each other's food."

Skull turned around look at him, surprised at what he said and making him cautious. "What did you mean?"

"I mean what I said." Tsuna carefully chose his next words. "When people say 'let's split the bill', it doesn't mean we're really splitting the bill. In my opinion, I think it's treating that someone with your money while the other treats you too at the same time. No matter how costly the other's order or how low prize it is, as long as the pay is cut in the middle perfectly, it's already a treat."

"What if I ordered the most expensive dish in there? What will you do?"

"Split the bill." Tsuna crinkled his nose after saying that. "Sometimes, I will graciously take on someone's treat. But at a time like this, when this is my first time eating with someone I see as a friend, I wanna treat them too. First time is everything."

"I'm your first date?"

"This was a date?" Tsuna questioned.

Skull laughed out loud so hard. "Damn it, Tsuna!"

The teen remained silent until the Cloud found his composure.

"Damn. You really got me there." The demon took a deep breath before grinning at the brunet. "You wanna know a secret?"

"No."

The Arcobaleno chuckled. "Come on. I'll take us to somewhere peaceful before we go drifting."

The young man shook his head at the Cloud's silliness before taking his helmet and took his place behind the demon. They drove off for some minutes before they stopped in a good overview with the scenery of the city. It's like a part of a famous park, but that one specific spot they stopped at wasn't occupied like any other places in the plaza.

Tsuna followed Skull obediently to the sole bench and sat beside him when the latter patted the space. While looking out the view, he relished the good fresh air that passed by them before smiling in content. He'll love to read here. He'll even invite his Jii-jii if permissible.

"The one time I went to this place was when people haven't built a single house in that city." Tsuna looked at Skull who was so relaxed in his space. "Sixteen millennia ago."

"You're ancient." The Cloud laughed. "I wonder why you didn't become a pervert." He can almost see the arrow piercing straight to the Cloud's heart.

"That's rude." The demon cried dramatically that Tsuna dismissed as he thought of something else.

"So if you're twenty or so millennia old, it means you're the oldest among them?"

"Yes." Skull answered with pride before his shoulders slumped a little. "But I never really show it nor tell it to others. Arcobaleno are more on pride."

"Nah. I like your pride." The young man assured as leaned back to the bench rest. "If you're oldest, you must be huge and strong."

"Yes, in terms of demon size. But Reborn is still stronger. I don't know how he became that powerful. He was just a level one demon when I saw him. Then the next thing I know, he was helping me with my baby when it got jammed. You could only stare at him, you know. I mean I'm like an uncle looking at my nephew that I haven't seen for six millennia."

A pause occurred before the both of them cracked up.

Tsuna removed his eyes from the view and stared at the starless sky. "It must be pretty lonely to grow old like that."

Skull didn't say anything.

"It must have been hard to be born so early." He closed his eyes. "I wonder if I will be able to live that long."

"It's not fun."

"I know." Tsuna remembered Reborn's loneliness. "I know." The young man looked at his friend. "Seeing and hearing your human contractors, friends, and people you know by face die or pass away must've been hard. I can't imagine myself not breaking if I ever experience that. To see Kaasan, Tousan and Jii-jii go... I honestly don't know how should I feel about you."

"I'm fine." The Arcobaleno gave a tired smile. "I'll always be."

Tsuna scooted closer and gave the demon a tight hug. He felt his shirt getting wet, making him smile at the shown trust.

They stayed like that for awhile. Tsuna didn't mind even though he's not that good at comforting others. He's a delinquent who lacked socialization. He can sympathize, not comfort (Except for Kyouya and Hana. They're his fam.). He should ask his mother when he gets home later. He needs pointers in this kind of situations.

"Thanks." The Cloud whispered on the Sky's shoulder.

"It's okay. As much as it made you refreshed, it comforted me too." The young man assured.

"I'm fine."

"Skull. There's a border line between okay and fine." He whispered on the Cloud's ear. "Okay is saying you're not tired at all, or you feel just a bit happy. But fine? Nope. It's just saying that you're fucked up, insecure, needy and emotional."

Skull gave a watery laugh. "That's not it."

"It is." Tsuna asserted before patting the Arcobaleno's knee. "I'm glad you opened up to me. Or cry even. Thank you."

"It's because you're a friend, Tsuna." The demon said. "You're just getting to know me and still unfamiliar with my other self that's why I was able to give in."

"You're not the only one who wear a mask, Skull." The brunet gazed at the view. "I, too, wear a mask. Of how brave and badass I look, that's how much scared and wimpy I am. I'm dead good at hiding. We're good at hiding." His mind wondered. "You remind me of Kyouya."

"The prefect?"

Tsuna nodded. "He's indifferent and very zealous of order. But that's how he copes up. He bottles things too, and when he doesn't have anyone to rely on, he breaks down. It's one of the reason why I like to call him my little brother even if he's older. I can't bear seeing him destroy himself with all the stress he keeps inside. And that applies to you too.

"You have the Arcobaleno but you can't show them who you are. And if you do show it, they're not with you. They might get the hints and clues, but it doesn't mean they understand nor deduce it as a whole entirely. You're afraid of showing who you are because you think they'll judge you or see you weak."

"I trust them." The Cloud insisted, making Tsuna raise a hand to stop him from talking.

"You do trust them, but you can't be honest with them. It's the mask. And no one has cracked it yet. Mine has one or two chips already."

"Reborn and Viper."

"Yup. Yours should have seven different cracks to shatter it completely. All you need to do is be honest."

Skull mummed for a sec. "I don't know how to do it. I've been alone for awhile. Honesty is not my best asset right now."

"It takes time." Tsuna smiled. The grin flattered a little when the Cloud only gave a weak nod. "You know what, show me that drift. I want to experience it and give you a heart attack again."

The stuntman sat up, gaping at him. "You won't!"

"Try me." The brunet dared with a smirk, a little glad that he was able to wash off some sadness on the Arcobaleno.

"Tsuna?"

The brunet looked up from his position. "Jii-jii. Why are you up? You should be resting." He asked, startled and confused.

"I'm going to get a glass of water." The old man answered as he trod down the stairs.

"I'll get it for you." Tsuna volunteered as he got up, only to almost fall when his lower limbs protested out of numbness. He winced at how bad they are before forcing them to move.

"Nah. Stay right there. I'll get you something." Ietsuna waved off, a teasing smile on his lips.

The child laughed a little. "Sorry, Jii-jii."

The old man only hummed as he walked to the dining room. Tsuna went back to his work though. A hand twirling his pencil with eyes on the paper in front of him whilst thinking, his little workplace is a mess with all the crumpled scratch papers tossed here and there. His hair is messier than usual, feasibly because of repeatedly running his hand on them, his clothes the night before is still worn, indicating that he jumped start on his work immediately after getting home. Concentration and frustration are evident in his features, but the determination can be seen also.

His eyes went to his left when a glass of water was placed there. His grandfather sat on the couch, just opposite from him, and inspected the paper in his hand. He shifted the paper a bit to share it to the old man who rose his eyebrows, amazement is visible on his green eyes.

"What's the problem then?" His Jii-jii questioned.

"I want to fuse my summoning circle and contract circle but I don't know how. I've tried a bunch of methods, and all of them are unbalanced. What do you think that I should do?" Tsuna asked, eyebrows almost knitting in worry.

"You're going to do a summon and offer a contract?" Ietsuna asked, a little addled.

The brunet nodded. "I'm gonna summon Skull and offer a contract. I want him to be himself again. He has been... Hiding for so many years that he almost forgot who he is. He opened up to me last night, but I couldn't help getting worried."

"What's the problem then?"

"He has been alone for millennia. He's the oldest among the group and the wisest I think. But others' don't give him... The respect he must have."

"You pity him."

"No. I don't." Tsuna denied strongly. "I see him as a kindred spirit and a literal demon counterpart of Kyouya." He smiled cheekily. "Stress does wonders on us."

The old man stared at him before smiling back. "Okay. Let's figure that merged circle out. I want to meet this demon you seem so fond of."

Reborn looked around with Tsuna's eyes. They're inside a room with a lot of kids playing around. It looked like a preschool, if his memories don't fail him. There are four tables with eight chairs each. He's in the fourth table and sitting at the edge from the blackboard's right. He looked at his 'peers', who seem to not like the little brunet with a book.

He has been seeing his summoner's memories for five days now. All he can say was... They're interesting. There are times that the memory is about his family, or when his intuition spiked as danger looms. There are also times that it's about the books he reads. Tsuna is really good at reading at the age of three. He figured that the brunet never had anyone to share his knowledge about. Although his grandfather is always there, the brunet has shyness in him and hesitation that maybe how he interpreted the words and sentences were wrong that's why he never speaks up.

But one thing is for sure, Tsunayoshi Sawada is truly intellegent.

The Sawada family is pretty fascinating too. The matriarch, Nana Sawada, is beautiful, as pretty as Tsuna, and the female version too. She's like a sky with how her aura makes a loving ambiance, though a little dense in certain things. It seems like the way his summoner cooks and do female things were because of his mother. Their bond was feature in one of the memories he saw.

The patriarch he met in the first memory was Iemitsu Sawada. A high rank exorcist who knows a lot of things. He has an obnoxious laugh. But of what he heard, the blond was a good leader and a subordinate. He values family too. He has taught Tsuna about playing ball, how the clouds move and how to distinguish what time it is using the sky. So it was obvious that Tsuna got the boisterous attitude and sadistic nature from the man.

Then there's Ietsuna Sawada, the grandfather who was a top hunter. That old timer is pretty cool for him. The way he taught Tsuna about a lot of things, from reading and writing to making a perfect circle, is like a parent to a child. He makes Tsuna read a lot of books, to the point that it became their little past time. He was always the voice of Tsuna when his parents can't understand him, and has high regards on the child because of the brunet's eyes (Reborn wonders what the old man saw in Tsuna's eyes). Although strict when teaching, Tsuna's heart appreciates and loves his Jii-jii like his favorite book.

And who knew all three Sawadas are skies? Yup. No wonder Tsuna is a powerful sky.

"Oi Nerdy Tsuna!" Reborn's attention was taken by a fat kid who is grinning mischievously at him. "Give me that book!"

Tsuna's head tilted a little to his left, the pertained big book in his hands. "Do you want to read too?"

Reborn chuckled at how innocent the child is.

"No! I want to have it!"

The brunet nodded thoughtfully. 'Should I give it to him?' Reborn felt the intuition purr a little. "I'm sorry. I'm still reading it."

Reborn watched with shock sipping in his gut as the fat kid tore the book from the Sky's hands. The sun arcobaleno growled in remorse. The kid laughed while Tsuna only observed. The human was about to tear the book in half when a level one demon suddenly appeared behind the kid and slapped him on the back of his head. The book made a loud 'thud' when it hit the table.

The demon who slapped the kid's head sat beside Tsuna and urged the brunet to take the book. The little summoner glanced at the fat kid who was trying to find who hurt him then to his new friend. He gladly took the book and shared it with the demon who started to read with him.

Reborn jolted back to reality when he heard a knock on his door. Muttering along the lines of 'first demon encounter' and 'he can see through invisibility at a young age', he put the half-way read essay as he stood up. He walked to the door to see Colonnello grinning at him after he opened it. He blinked and regarded his comrade an amused gaze. No matter what situation is, or how anyone on the group is mad at him, the Rain will always be with him. He doesn't know why, but he appreciates the gesture.

"Yes?" He asked.

"It's your turn to cook, dumbass." The Rain informed. "I'm hungry for lunch. Come on, Kora."

Reborn rolled his eyes before exiting his room to follow the blond. "If you're that hungry, you should've eaten some mud outside."

"Blah. Have you no decency, Reborn? Why would I eat dirt if you can cook for me, kora?"

Onyx eyes glared playfully at the demon who laughed victoriously. They descended the stairs. Reborn noticed the Cloud lounging on the couch before they entered the dining room. Fon was there, sipping his tea and gave him a gentle smile that he nodded at. The Storm is friendly too, always asking him things when they meet. He'll forever thank him for giving him the essays and not keeping them for himself (not that he'll say it now, maybe someday).

Asking Colonnello of what to cook is a little... Task. The blond toyed him for three minutes, pretending to think with a poorly schooled serious expression. If the Chinese demon didn't suggest anything in a minute after he asked, he could've slapped the backside of the pan on Colonnello. The maggot only laughed as he started to chop the needed ingredients to every dish, grumbling under his breathe about eagles being stupid and intolerable.

When he finished cooking, Fon helped him set up the table while Colonnello called for the others. He only spared a glance on Viper who appeared on the threshold of the room and sat down on his seat. He's so thankful that he doesn't sit beside nor in front of the Mist. He could've chucked his food on the esper even if the latter helped Tsuna a lot, a contractor or not.

"Well, aren't you banged?" Colonnello said out loud as a disoriented Skull entered the room.

The Cloud appeared as if he had a rough night with all the wrinkles on his clothes. It's like he didn't change his attire at all. But what's troubling was the big happy smile on his face. "Nah. Just had a wonderful night."

"Heard you went riding." Verde piped in just as he took some of the food.

"I did." Skull replied, sitting down on his sit. "We went drifting. Never did that for awhile. It was nice to test my baby with that."

"He's been awake since he arrived." Reborn tensed at what Viper said. It was Tsuna. "He was working on something with his grandpa."

"Really? I told him to sleep." The Cloud uttered befuddled as he took the food from Fon.

The hitman stared at his food. 'So Skull and Tsuna went on a ride.'

"Don't worry, he slept on the spot after they finished what they were doing. His grandfather even told me not to bother him before going to bed himself. I bet he's awake now."

"Eh." The stuntman grinned. "That's good. But where's Bermuda anyway?"

"He said he was going somewhere." Lal answered, head inclined to the door. "Something about searching."

Reborn almost sighed in resignation. 'Of course he will search for Tsuna.' Then he peered at Skull, only to notice that he's glowing softly. "Oi Lackey, you're glowing."

"Huh?"

"He's right, Skull." Colonnello agreed, eyes wide and garnering everyone's attention. "You're glowing!"

Then suddenly, a wave of powerful sky aura was felt. It was encompassing, warm and... Searching. Reborn shuddered visibly at how good it felt. It's like he was deprived of it for months, when in fact he had a taste of how compelling it is. He can feel his heart palpitating at the how beautiful it is and the desire to go to the owner. God. He was even hoping that he gets called.

But he knew he won't be.

"Accept my calling, oh dwellers in darkness." An enchanting voice, so soft, called from above. So hopeful. So heart throbbing. And very familiar to the hitman's ears.

He eyed Skull who stood up, face contorted into an astonishment. "Tsuna is calling."