A/N: Not many warnings this chapter, but the story will start to get more serious from here on out. Well, not too serious, while I like adventure, I also like my romance and humor. So expect it here and there. Yay another update~.

~Just Keep Swimming~

I was relieved when I finally got home (as much as a yakuza manor can be a home). My life in this world was starting to get really complicated and I hated it. Relationships? School? Being consistent? I was never good at that. When something caught my attention, I tended to drop everything else to focus solely on that new venture; it was one of the main reasons I could never finish anything.

Near the end of my old life I had started trying to get my act together; setting goals, setting limitations, acting like an adult. When you had no one to hold your hand it was either sink or swim, and eventually you learn to swim. Even if you true nature was that of a fucking cat and you fucking hated water. But if you didn't want to die, you just had to…

…keep on swimming.

I stared up at the ceiling of my room from my futon when I realized where that line was from and I moaned in despair. Stupid kid's movies having hidden meanings that you never realize until you're an adult and you wonder why couldn't they have just said that straight out the bastards!

Keep on swimming my ass.

I rolled over onto my stomach and buried my face in my pillow. Why was I being useless and wallowing in my bed, you ask? Because I had to go and be stupid and kiss Tsuna, that's why. I wasn't quite sure what Tatsumi and I were exactly, I mean okay, he called me his boyfriend, but he went and decided that himself! I was just…going with the flow and indulging my libido. And okay we had sex, but I was vulnerable! He's my best friend; of course I would go to him for comfort. And on that night I just needed…

"Uuuuuuughhhh…"

Trying to figure out the reasons for why I did things was never good. Even I was afraid to delve into my damaged psyche. I really didn't want to go and make myself depressed by doing that…there were some pretty dark things in there, you know? Its scary imagining the things I can become, because I know I can, it's in there, buried deep, but in there.

And I was afraid of that, that other me, the monster.

So until it was forced out, I was cool with just burring it far, far into my psyche and being the good boy (girl) that had been expected of me for so long.

(This is your past life talking you know…you were never like this as Kota-)

"AHHH SHUT UP!"

"But I didn't say anything."

I whipped my head up from my pillow in surprise and turned towards whoever was at my door. I must have been so deep in my thoughts I didn't hear it open. (Stupid Kota). My mood soured when I noticed it was Tatsumi and I buried my face back into my pillow with a groan. I really hadn't wanted to talk to him yet. So defeats the point of trying to avoid him…

I resolutely ignored him when I felt him sit on the edge of my futon. I further ignored him when he put an arm around me so I was trapped between him and the futon. It was a little hard to ignore the way he was breathing against the back of my neck though, the way his breath brushed against the small hairs, sending shivers down my spine.

"What's wrong?"

It was spoken in little more than a whisper and I could detect the rough quality to it, but gosh-dangit, he knew when he spoke like that it got me aroused. Bastard was using it against me. Fucking, lovable bastard…

I mumbled into my pillow.

I felt his lips brush against the back of my neck and I resolutely held in my whimper.

"I didn't quite hear you."

I mumbled a little louder this time.

I heard in mumble something in return before I was suddenly grabbed and flipped over onto my back. I stared up at him in shock as he held my wrists above my head and stared down at me with a glare.

"If you don't speak up, I'm going to rape you."

I shifted a bit under him; his words got me even more aroused and I couldn't help but leer up at him with a grin.

"You can't rape the willing, Ryuu-chan~."

To prove my point I tried leaning up to kiss him, but he stayed just out of reach, his glare still firmly in place. I pouted before dropping back down onto my pillow. I turned my gaze away from him and pouted in defeat.

"Tell me what's bothering you."

He really had a way with getting just that right tone of voice to order people around. It was kind of hot…his hands tightened on my wrists and I winced at the slight pain. I chanced a peek up at him and was properly cowed by his glare. He wouldn't take my diversion tactics.

"Mou…fine."

I instinctively tried bringing my arms down to shield myself but was thwarted again by Tatsumi, he just wouldn't let me hide my reactions and emotions from him. It brought a blush to my cheeks. Why was I so embarrassed to admit something like this? No…that wasn't embarrassment, but…fear of rejection. Mou…

"…I might have kissed Tsuna…"

I felt his hands twitch against my wrists and I made sure to look at anywhere but his face.

"What?"

I moaned before whining a bit in despair.

"You don't understand! He was just so vulnerable! With him blushing on top of me, and, and stuttering, and just looking so damn kissable! I couldn't stop myself from wanting to molest him!"

I finally chanced looking up at him, my eyes wide and pleading with him to understand. However I blinked at his raised brow and mocking eyes.

"And you thought I would feel…threatened by that? Betrayed?"

"Uhhh…maybe?"

The way he was staring at me was starting to get really unnerving. I broke away from the stare first and looked somewhere else, my eyes drawn to the intricate tie wrapped around the swords on the wall. I couldn't help it; it felt like his stare was looking right through me. That's some pretty nice work on that sword though…

"You're an idiot."

I turned back to him at the insult.

"Hah?"

I wasn't prepared for the kiss, nor the intensity of it. My hand went straight to his shoulder when he released it, the hand once gripping my wrist now gripping my chin to give him access to my mouth. Swirling, sucking, biting, god, I was starting to forget what even brought us to this point, I just wanted him to keep on kissing me.

The hand still under Tatsumi's hold twitched with the need to wrap around the body above me. Not to mention the growing stiffness in my pants, it was all I could do to rub my thighs together to relieve it. It was only when I was starting to become lightheaded from the lack of air did he relent, pulling back just enough to give me room to breathe, gasping and heated.

"W-What was…"

"I know you, Kota. You were always as much of a playboy as Yoshi, the only difference is that you never went all the way. This thing with Dame-Tsuna is no different."

His body closed the distance between ours, the plains of his muscled frame molding perfectly onto mine. I moaned at the heat.

"Compared to me…" I felt his tongue run up my neck, I shivered in pleasure "…he's no match."

Okay he had a point there. I gasped when he bit my collar-bone. Tsuna was cute...but—I moaned when he slid his hands beneath my shirt—right now, compared to Ryuu? While I found it fun to tease things smaller and cuter than me, I enjoyed it even more when someone could dominate me. And as Tsuna was, there was no way he could beat out Tatsumi.

(You're forgetting how he gets when he's all flamed up…)

"S-So…you're not mad?"

It was getting kind of hard to talk when Ryuu kept trying to turn my brain to mush. He bit down on a nipple. When had he pushed my shirt up?

"Oh, I'm pissed. I just know how to deal with you."

I pouted.

"You fucking—A-Ah!"

My hand unconsciously rose to my mouth to cover any more indecent noises. I was really embarrassed by the sound he managed to get to leave my mouth. And all from sucking on my nipple? Fuck, I didn't know they would be that sensitive. My face must have been cherry red when he grabbed the hand covering my mouth and held it down against the futon, this was just too embarrassing!

"I want to hear every. sound."

"Dirty bastard…"

He chuckled before turning his attention back to my chest, his tongue swirling around a cherry tipped nipple.

"Your dirty bastard."

"F-Fuck—"

I had only just recovered from a bout of mind-blowing sex with Tatsumi when one of pops underdogs said he needed to talk to me. I was preparing myself for defending my relationship with Tatsumi, assuming he was trying to break us apart like always. The idea that he could want to talk about anything else hadn't crossed my mind.

So I was justifiably surprised when he didn't start shouting at me the moment I entered his office. He usually reacted that way to my relationship with guys. But so far he was ignoring me and focusing on the papers below him.

"Pops?"

His eyes were unreadable as he glanced up at me, simply pointing to the seat on the other side of his desk as he went back to signing documents. I stayed quiet, recognizing the serious air surrounding us; I could be mature when needed. I watched as he sighed and ran a hand through his greying hair, the pepper strands reminding me of how old he was and that I was his heir, his last heir. My hands fisted at the reminder.

"I'm going to have to pull you out of school for now."

"W-What?"

His brows furrowed as he stilled his writing hand, gaze looking past the papers below him and no doubt on thoughts far away.

"The assassins are getting more aggressive; a few almost got around the perimeter we stationed around your school."

That shocked me; I had been so absorbed in my love life that I forgot there were people actively trying to kill me. If it hadn't been for gramps…

Dammit, I thought I had gotten over this silly love phase. I guess there really was something to teenage hormones. My mind was that of an adult past her teenage years, but my body was still that of a teenage boy in the middle of puberty. I felt horrible; people out there had most likely almost died trying to protect me from Yokoyama assassins and I was goofing off.

"For how long?"

"Until the problem is dealt with."

'Dealt with'. There was a finality in his tone. I had no doubt that he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who posed a threat. And I knew it was a mentality I needed to seriously adapt to. The manga and anime I had loved in my past life never really showed the readers what true assassins were like. What being part of the underground crime scene was really like. It wasn't a game.

I looked straight into Hidenori's eyes, keeping my gaze as determined as possible.

"I want to help."

He didn't look away from me, simply watched me as if expecting something.

"Oh?"

"I'm going to be the boss someday, head of the Gotuda Clan…it's as much my responsibility to take care of them as it is yours."

He leaned back in his leather chair, hand coming up to stroke at his trimmed beard as he considered me. I managed to not fidget, but his stare still made me nervous. I was unprepared for his grin.

"Good."

He opened a drawer on the right of his desk and took something out of it. My eyes latched on to the ivory finish desert eagle he slid across the wood, stopping just before me. The metal was an off-white, intricately carved with what looked like sakura blossoms along the length. My eyes wandered to the grip to find it was white as well, the Gotuda's emblem embossed along the length; a majestic white Jaguar, its eyes fierce and muscled body on the prowl.

I took it carefully into my hands and looked at my grandfather in question.

"A sibling piece to your acquired desert eagle. This one is a .50 magnum desert eagle, uniquely crafted just for you."

"That…thank you."

He nodded once before taking on a serious air again.

"We'll begin training you in how to use them simultaneously tonight. With your frame and potential for speed, dual wielding should be ideal for you."

I nodded my head in agreement, but my gaze was only for my new gun. It was just so…pretty. And I was in love with it. It had an almost innate purity to it that amused me; it was the irony that such a pure looking weapon would be used to kill. Even more amusing was that the Gotuda clan emblem was what I had always believed my spirit animal to be. Cosmic humor perhaps?

"Tomorrow you'll go with me on an outing. Make sure to bring both of your guns."

I looked back up at him at that, gaze suspicious.

"Will there be a reason to use them?"

He simply stared at me, gaze unwavering as he looked deep into my soul.

"I won't lie to you Kota; I'm a shrewd man who doesn't waste any opportunity to achieve his goals. I don't hesitate. It's something that I hope to instill in you before I'm gone."

My grip tightened on the gun, not liking how I knew the answer to my question even without him outright telling me. This life was different; I was bound for a darkness I hadn't had to face in my previous one. And it was looking like I would have no choice but to plunge into that darkness headfirst.

My grip tightened to a painful degree.

But I wouldn't hesitate, not anymore. If I was going to survive this life, then I needed to learn to fight back. And deal with the darkness after all was said and done. It would hurt…learning to kill…but I knew I had the potential to be good at it, it was that innate darkness I already had buried deep inside me. The other side of me I always kept hidden away. It looked like it would finally be time to bring it out.

"Ah, I won't let you down."

I just hoped I wouldn't drown in it.

A/N: There ya have it. The excitement should start to begin within the next few chapters there'abouts. Remember to review~.