Hello, hello. Welcome to my most recent KHR fic. This is a general fiction, which means there are NO PAIRINGS. At all. No matter what. Enjoy!

Revised: 03/15/15

Blazing Sky

Gen. fic, no pairings.

Summary: Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Prologue

[5 years old]

Little Tsunayoshi wasn't oblivious, nor was he stupid. He knew his mother was the only one in the house aside from him. His father, barely more than a blurry memory of yellow hair and obnoxious laughter, had gone away to "become a star". At least, that's what his mother said. He believed it at first, of course. But one night, he was feeling more restless than usual, and decided to seek his mother out so she could sing him to sleep.

"Mama?" he called out, peeking into the kitchen. His mother, Nana, gasped and wheeled around, startled. She swiftly wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to smile at him. It was dull and flat and didn't reach her eyes. Tsuna instantly hated it. "Why are you crying, Mama?" he asked, running over and hugging her around the waist. He peered up at her with wide, round eyes. "I don't like it."

Nana laughed weakly and patted his head. "Oh, Tsu-kun, my precious little man," she sighed, stroking her delicate fingers through his hair. "It's nothing important. Your papa just can't make it home this year." Her eyes shifted sadly to the crinkled paper and photograph lying on top of the kitchen counter. Her face settled into a distant gaze. Her hand slowed, and eventually stopped, as if she had entered some lonely dream detached from reality.

"Mama?" He tried to get her attention by removing her hand from his head. "Mama, please…"

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry, Tsu-kun. I must have spaced out there," said Nana, blinking a few times. "What is it?"

"I want to see the picture," Tsuna said, stepping back and holding out a hand. He wasn't tall enough to reach the countertop yet, a fact that he despaired about because a lot of boys his age were a little taller than him.

Nana nodded and picked the photograph up. She cast a lingering look at it before she gave it to her son. Tsuna finally got a good look at the man who supposedly was his father. Bright, short blond hair. A goofy grin. Laughing hazel eyes set in a sharp, ruggedly handsome face. A rough growth of whiskers on his chin. He was clad in a white wifebeater and orange coveralls. The top was pulled down and tied around his waist. He wore a yellow helmet with a light. Black work boots completed the ensemble.

The man in the picture looked ordinary enough. Tsuna suspected he might have believed his father was actually a construction worker if not for the fact that the man happened to be standing on an ice floe, surrounded by dozens of penguins, while holding a pickax and giving a peace sign to the cameraman. He turned the photograph over. The large black scribble of 'NANA HONEYBUN!' surrounded by badly-drawn hearts was the first thing his eyes landed on. Scrawled beneath that was, 'At the South Pole'. Ridiculous. Tsuna felt indescribably angry and was tempted to tear the photograph to shreds and let it rain down on the floor like confetti. But he didn't. His mother would be sad if he did and he didn't want her to be sad anymore.

He gave the photograph back. "I don't believe it," he boldly declared, squashing the timid side of him that wanted to just run back to the bedroom and jump into bed. "I don't believe him, Mama. I think he's lying and he's dumb and I think you should leave him. I want a nice papa who will make you happy and not make you cry. He's not a nice papa." Tsuna crossed his arms defiantly.

Nana looked startled as she carefully set the photograph back on the counter. She smiled sadly and knelt down to look her son in the eye. "You shouldn't say bad things about your papa, Tsu-kun. I'm sure he's working hard so that we can live comfortably over here. He might not be a good papa to you, but I'm sure he'll come back soon. You'll understand when you're older," she admonished gently. "I can't leave him, Tsu-kun. He's counting on me to make sure he has a home and a family to return to. We have to be patient, okay?"

Tsuna looked upset because his mother didn't seem to be taking him seriously. "But Mama—" he protested, grabbing her skirt.

"That's enough about your papa, Tsu-kun," Nana said, taking his small hand in hers and leading him towards the hall. "You should go to bed. You have school tomorrow, remember?"

"Mama—"

"Tsu-kun, please." Nana gave him a watery, broken smile. "Enough."

"He made you cry!" the frustrated little boy burst out as she herded him into his room. "He's not a nice papa! He's not!" Tears began to gather at the corners of his own eyes. "Why don't you believe me, Mama?"

Nana didn't answer him this time. She picked him up and tucked him under the covers, brushing the fluffy bangs away from his forehead and lightly kissing him there. Tsuna squirmed, but could only watch as she moved away. He tried to sit up, calling out to her one last time, "Mama, please—"

"Goodnight, Tsu-kun," Nana said, her voice coming out more strained than usual. "Sleep well, my little man." When she closed the door, the room was plunged into darkness, save for the small bit of light coming from clam-shaped nightlight glowing merrily near the door. Tsuna rolled over restlessly, his tiny fists clutching the blankets.

Stupid man. Tsuna vowed to make his no-good papa pay for making his mama cry. Once he came home, Tsuna would kick him a few times for his mama. Maybe he would hide his things. As much as he wished his dumb papa would die alone in a ditch somewhere, he knew if that really happened, his mama would be destroyed. More than anything, he just wanted to see his mama smile again—smile like she really meant it. A smile brighter and more radiant than any star could ever hope to be.

Nothing like the brittle curl of lips he'd been seeing lately. He didn't need to see her to know that she was crying in privacy behind closed doors now. He burrowed his face into his pillow, silent tears trickling down his chubby cheeks. He felt bitter because even though he was her son, he wasn't the one.

He couldn't make her happy like his papa did.

[Seven years old]

"Oh, look. If it isn't the kid whose dad ran away from home because he couldn't stand having such a stupid, useless son."

Tsuna gripped the straps of his backpack tightly as his path home was blocked by a trio of older kids. The two standing beside the obese leader cracked their knuckles threateningly, leering down at him with twin smirks that promised blood and pain. He took an uncertain step back.

"Please let me through," he said quietly, his eyes never leaving the bullies. "I don't have any money to give you."

"What, we can't be here just to have some fun?" taunted the oldest boy. He tapped the baseball bat he was holding against his shoulder. "Everyone knows you're a weak and hopeless piece of garbage, forever doomed to be a mama's boy. Nobody will miss you if you disappear. I bet even your own mom wouldn't care." His sidekicks snickered.

Alarm flared briefly in Tsuna's eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came. It wasn't the first time he had heard these kinds of things before. Sure, he wasn't the brightest match in the box, but he was far from stupid or useless or weak. They were just words. His bullies could only mouth off at him because they didn't understand how he felt, or how his mama felt. They didn't hear her crying alone in her room at night where no one could see her.

Tsuna wasn't too worried about his current situation, though. He wondered if the trio knew that they were digging their own graves right now. He just had to stall for a bit and it would only be a matter of time before the devil himself came along, like the winds of wrath through the streets.

"Ready, pipsqueak?" The obese boy took a threatening step forward, towering over Tsuna like a behemoth. "I'm gonna break you so hard that no one will even hear you scream." The two sidekicks slunk forward, waving their pocket knives at the small boy.

Tsuna turned on his heel and ran in the opposite direction as fast as his tiny legs could carry him. A roar of irritation rose up behind him as the leader screamed for the sidekicks to grab him. The other boys were older, taller, and stronger than him, so he hadn't been able to get far before he was roughly grabbed by the arm and yanked backwards. He let out a cry as he was slammed into the pavement, the sharp edge of a pocket knife held mockingly to his cheek. The bully's face, all beady eyes, small nose, and crooked teeth, loomed over him.

"Say goodbye, baby," he rumbled, pushing the pocket knife lightly against the soft surface of Tsuna's skin. There was a shadow just beyond the corner, loose black sleeves flapping in the breeze. Tsuna shut his eyes, knowing exactly what was going to happen.

Whatever else the sidekick was going to say was cut off as the sickening sound of solid metal meeting tender flesh rang out. The bully let out an agonized shriek as his bones snapped underneath the pressure. The pocket knife dropped from his hand. Tsuna tentatively opened his eyes, shifting to the side so he didn't accidentally stab himself on the knife. A glint of light. A flash of red accompanied by loud cries for mercy. Fifteen inches of gleaming steel were all the confirmation that Tsuna needed.

When the three bullies were nothing but twitching, bloody messes on the ground, his savior turned around. Wide hazel eyes clashed with narrow stormy gray. Tsuna dipped his head in acknowledgement, a small smile lighting up his cherubic face. "Thank you, Hibari-san," he said politely, picking himself up and dusting himself off. He had a small scrape on his elbow where he had hit the pavement and a couple bruises, but otherwise he was fine.

The older boy studied him in silence. Tsuna did his best not to fidget beneath the weight of that heavy stare. The seconds ticked by. His pulse quickened. He was going up in flames, slowly, inch by inch. Burning a hole through the layers to reach the pulsing core. That was what Hibari's stare felt like. Even though the "demon child" was only a couple years older than him, Tsuna felt incredibly small in that moment.

Please stop staring at me, Hibari-san. I didn't do anything wrong, he mentally pleaded, tightening his grip around the straps of his backpack.

Finally, Hibari snorted and turned away, kicking derisively at the bullies' broken bodies. "Leave at once, herbivore. Or I will bite you to death," he growled, his voice coming out low and rough. He flashed one of his bloody tonfa menacingly, the wicked metal gleaming dully in the dim lighting.

Tsuna nodded quickly and scampered away. He dared not ignite the flames of Hibari's fury when he didn't even know how to defend himself from the local troublemakers.

One day, he told himself. One day.

[Nine years old]

Four years had passed since Tsuna had first witnessed his mother crying in the kitchen. Not once did Iemitsu come home. Sometimes Tsuna wondered if he remembered them at all—or if he really had run off and abandoned his devoted wife and their only son in Japan. Every year, he called them or sent letters and pictures to them, but they were few and far between. But every time, without fail, he would see Nana's face light up like a beacon, chasing away the shadows on her youthful face. The sheer amount of mush in her invisible aura was enough to make Tsuna gag.

It was one of those days again. Tsuna went outside so that he didn't have to listen to his mother go gaga over his no-good father all over again. She was smiling, yes, but it wasn't what Tsuna wanted in the end. He wanted her to smile like that every day. He wanted her to smile at him like she meant it. But, he mused bitterly, I'm just her stupid son. I can't even bring her a fraction of the happiness that Dad does. He walked over to the training log he had set up in their yard last year so he could start shaping himself up. He stared at a small crack in the log where he'd kicked it too hard once. He had had to ice his toes afterward.

What's so great about him anyways? He makes her cry, he's never around, he never comes home… the brunet thought moodily, flexing his taped fingers. Why does she love him so much?

Slowly, methodically, he began to punch the training log like Kyoko's brother had shown him, albeit with a lot less 'extreme-ness'. He paced himself carefully. One, two, punch. One, two, punch. Left, left. Right, right. Left, left. Right, right.

As he settled into a comfortable rhythm, Tsuna's thoughts once again drifted back to his absent father. Construction work? Going off to become a star? Yeah, right. Like I'd buy that now, he scoffed internally. One, two, punch. One, two, punch. Who does that guy think he's fooling? He's definitely lying. Left, left. Right, right. I'm not like him. Left, left. Right, right. I'll never be like him.

The kids at school still made fun of him because he didn't have a father around. He was used to their jeering by now. Kyoko and Hana helped ward off most of the taunts, because nobody wanted to mess with Sasagawa Ryohei's precious younger sister or one of the smartest girls in the school. Hana's tongue was as sharp as her brain and she wasn't afraid to use it to chew people out if they ever tried to get fresh with her. Tsuna still remembers how she made him crack a smile with her witty commentary. He didn't smile much these days. Kyoko and Hana seemed to have made it their goal in life to make him smile more often. He definitely appreciated their efforts.

Tsuna's bullies also started to back down once they realized that physically or emotionally abusing the small brunet in any way was a surefire way to bring Hibari's wrath down upon their heads. The demon of Namimori always claimed that they were crowding or disrupting the peace of Namimori, but Tsuna had a niggling suspicion that there was another reason that Hibari came to his rescue. After crushing all the bullies, Hibari would turn to look at Tsuna with an undecipherable expression on his face. Then he would spin on his heel and walk away, his loose black jacket flapping ominously behind him. Not once in all their years of acquaintance did Hibari try to bite him to death. Tsuna was mystified as to why, but wisely chose not to question it.

One, two, punch. One, two, punch. Left, left. Right, right.

Just then, Nana's cheerful giggle floated through the open window. It was followed by a wistful, airy whisper, "Oh, Iemitsu, I love you—"

Tsuna's fists tightened involuntarily. Enough was enough. He drew back his arm and punched the log with a frustrated yell, attempting to vent out all of his anger, his irritation, his resentment at his absent father, and project them onto the poor training log standing in front of him.

The log exploded the moment his fist made contact with it. He leaped back in shock and fright. Blinking back tears caused by the smoke, Tsuna stared down at the broken pieces of wood scattered across the yard, all of them singed or completely burnt to ash. He looked at his hand, then down at the remains of his training log, then back at his hand. He cautiously flexed his fingers.

What the heck just happened?

He picked up a chunk of wood and lightly smacked his fist against it. Nothing. He frowned at it, then tried again. Nope, no flames. What in the world? Tsuna dropped the wood back on the ground and headed inside to find something to clean up the yard. It wouldn't do to let his mother see the mess and ask him what happened. Not that she would care right now—she was still on the phone with his useless scum of a father. Tsuna pushed the door open with more force than he intended, barely noticing when the knob warmed beneath his hand.

For days afterwards, he tried various methods in the attempt to get those flames to appear again. He had little success.

[12 years old]

"Come on, come on," Tsuna whispered, staring down at his fingers. He could feel the familiar heat rising within his body, and directed the flow outwards. He smiled victoriously as small flames lit on each of his fingertips like candles at a wake. Excellent, his control was getting better. Now he just had to work on his speed and timing.

It had been almost three years since he first discovered his flames. He practiced in secret because he knew that the ability to summon flames at will definitely wasn't normal by any standards, which made him even more suspicious of what his absent father could be hiding. He clearly hadn't inherited the flames from his mother. Tsuna realized, after he figured out how the flames worked, that they weren't always deadly. Normal flames burned everyone—but his flames bent to his will, and felt more like warmth caressing his body than destructive heat. He loved it.

Tsuna quickly extinguished the flames when he felt the prickling gaze of Namimori's residential demon alighting upon him once again. He stood up just as a shadow flew overhead. Hibari's slender form touched down in front of him seconds later, his signature black jacket flapping dramatically behind him.

"Hello, Hibari-san," Tsuna greeted, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He had become so accustomed to Hibari's presence over the years that the demonic boy didn't scare him anymore. Hibari never hurt him anyways.

Something seemed different about the older boy today, though. Hibari's stare was intensely focused upon him, more so than usual. Tsuna blinked at him, perplexed when Hibari remained stubbornly silent. What's going on? He's usually gone by now, the brunet thought, starting to feel uneasy. Oh no, did he see the flames? Inwardly, he began to curse himself for not thinking of a better spot to practice during school. The violent prefect took a step towards him.

"…What were those flames just now, herbivore?" The low intonation of Hibari's voice shocked Tsuna from his thoughts.

"Flames?" Tsuna repeated, fighting the urge to stiffen in distress. The prefect had seen them. He was so dead. Doomed. There was no way Hibari was going to let him get away from this.

He flinched when Hibari whipped out one of his tonfa and slammed it against the wall right next to Tsuna's head. "Don't play innocent, herbivore," the prefect hissed, backing Tsuna up against the wall. Tsuna stared up at him with a mixture of fear and resignation. This was the first time Hibari had ever been so aggressive with him. He didn't like it. Once again, he bemoaned the fact that he was stupid enough to choose the rooftop as his go-to practice place during school hours. Stupid, stupid.

"Hibari-san—" The prefect glared at him. Tsuna hurried to explain himself as he attempted to think of escape plans so that he didn't have to tell Hibari about the unnatural flames. "Those were, uh…" There! An opening! He quickly ducked and headbutted the prefect in the chest, momentarily pushing Hibari off balance. Before Hibari could regain his footing, Tsuna dropped down low and swept Hibari's feet out from under him, causing the teenager to fall flat on his back. Tsuna quickly yanked the rooftop door open and fled down the stairs.

Hibari was so going to kill him after this. He could only pray that the prefect's curiosity would prevent him from murdering Tsuna in the most brutal way possible for getting one-up on him.

[14 years old]

Reborn wasn't fond of Sawada Iemitsu, that much was certain. Or rather, that was a huge understatement. He had a degree of respect for the man's strength and the management of CEDEF under his supervision, but not for much else. For crying out loud, the man had more or less abandoned his family in Japan for ten years. He was surprisingly tight-lipped when it came to his family; the only thing Reborn even knew about the Young Lion's wife and son was that they lived in Japan. Also, the wife was nicknamed 'Honeybun' and the son was 'Tunafish'. But the baby hitman didn't know what either of them looked like. Their physical identities seemed to be a closely guarded secret. Much to his consternation, even Nono refused to give that information away.

...Until now, that is.

Reborn studied the photograph of the young teenager smiling at the camera, most likely taken by his mother if the affection in his eyes and the gentle curve of his smile was any indication. There was something else that lurked in the boy's eyes, but Reborn couldn't quite put his finger on it. He'd have to see the kid in person to figure it out.

At least now he understood why both Iemitsu and Nono had been so fiercely protective of the son's identity. The boy looked like a clone of Vongola Primo, the founder and first generation leader of the Vongola Famiglia. If that photograph was ever leaked, Vongola's enemies would be swarming to Japan within a day. Both the wife and son would be killed without being able to defend themselves. That would go down as a disaster in Vongola's tarnished history; the day that the last candidate for the coveted Vongola Decimo position was murdered, leaving no possible heirs.

Reborn looked up, ebony-black eyes searching Nono's aged face. Nono laced his fingers together beneath his chin and spoke softly, "His name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. As you know, he is Iemitsu's son. He is also the only heir left." Grief surfaced briefly on the old leader's face, but he masked it with his emotionless business face. "I am hereby assigning you the mission to go to Japan and train young Tsunayoshi into a respectable next-generation boss. He must become Vongola Decimo. Do not fail me, Reborn. I trust you."

Powerful words, they were. In the bloody business they call the mafia, trust was hard to come by. When anyone could stab you in the back given the right incentive, 'trust' had become a loose thing, nearly nonexistent save for a few whose loyalties were set in stone. Reborn may be the greatest hitman in the world and an ally of Vongola, but in the end, he remained a freelancer. Even in his Arcobaleno form, he was still feared the world over. To be given trust by the leader of the most powerful mafia famiglia in Italy was no small feat. It was an absolute honor.

Reborn nodded. "I never fail my missions," he replied, pushing the file on the desk back to Nono. "I will make him into a great boss." He leaped off the desk and left the room to snag the next flight to Japan. He hoped Iemitsu's son would be easier to train than Dino had been.

Neither of them commented on the fact that Reborn hadn't said anything about Nono's last three words.

This is the revamped version of the prologue. I remember getting a comment about how the prologue was too short and/or too rushed, so I decided to rewrite it with the purpose of lengthening it and adding a bit more backstory before everything actually begins. This is more than 4000 words long, which is almost four times the length of the original (~1100 words).

If anything seems inconsistent in the story, please tell me. I will be slowly revising the other chapters and fixing things. I recently found out that 'Mamma' is Italian for 'mom', not 'Maman', which is apparently French. So, yeah, really gotta fix that.

Please review. Thanks.

MangaFreak15