W-Where am I?

A dense, pulsing beat, pounding. Resonating, enveloping me in it's rich sound.

The crash...didn't I die?

The world started to move, tilting and falling in a nauseating sensation.

Wait, what's happening!

My head was being squeezed, and I felt the heavy weight of panic settle on my chest.

H-Hold on! No! I don't-

The feeling started to crush the other parts of my body, squeezing out my breath.

Death...

Until something strong pulled at me, dragging me to freedom-AIR!

Life...

Blurry faces and bright lights danced in my eyes as I came to a realization,

Rebirth.

xxx

Confused and tired, I scrutinized the wrinkly face in front of me through bleary squinted eyes. It was the same size as I, wrapped in a blue blanket with cheeks dusted in pink and small tufts of light brown hair peaking out of the small hat it wore.

How strange, it was much cuter than when my sister was a newborn.

We were in some sort of crib, but as we were the only two there, I could only draw one conclusion.

Somehow, life had decided to give me a chance to relive my pathetic excuse of a life and I have been reborn-because how can you hallucinate this when you're already dead? Along with that, the little thing next to me was, apparently, my twin.

Hopefully, this sibling relationship would be better than my previous one...

releasing a soft puff of air, I closed my eyes and tried to snuggle a little closer to it, to him, in my awkward new body. Don't think about the past. This is a new life, a new beginning.

A small smile tugged at my lips.

And I'll be sure to have control this time.

xxx

Time moved quickly, my days taken up by countless hours of sleeping, waking up only for food. It wasn't until a month or two that the constant feeling of drowsiness, the need to doze, started to ebb away.

Slowly, gradually, the thick haze of slumber started to clear from my mind.

That was about when I got my first good look at my new mother.

She had long brown hair that fell a little past mid-back, a shade darker than my brother's, paired with pale skin, and large brown eyes that looked down at me with the love only a mother could have. At that thought, I felt a warm flutter in my heart before squashing it down. No need to get soft here, no need to hope.

My new father, on the other hand, had messy blonde hair, tan skin, and dark hazel eyes. Seeing as how my brother took after my mother, I inferred that I looked more like my dad. However, as brown was the dominant color gene, I would most likely have brown hair as well.

Closing my eyes at all the thinking I was doing, I pressed my face into my blankets and sank back into sleep. It seemed that such underdeveloped cells would take a while before I could reach my past comprehension levels. Hopefully nothing would get lost in the process.

But at the same time, I mused, I wish I could forget everything.

A couple months later, I was reintroduced to solid food, albeit in a mushy and watery version. Sighing, I accept the spoon when my new...caretaker(mother had too many memories attached to it) raised it to my lips, glad to at least be off breast milk. My brother on the other hand, regarded the orange goop with care before opening his mouth. I guess children just have the urge to chew on everything, no matter how strange it looks.

Tsuna promptly spit back out the food and burst into tears.

I stifled a giggle.

A little while later, I started to get some of my mobility back as my muscles developed

Gone were the days of uselessly trying to get up and crying for help. Instead, I slowly became able to crawl around, evolving from desperately wiggling around on my stomach to getting up on my arms and moving.

I tried to get this clumsy body to understand my mind.

It was impulsive and instinctual, having little to no patience and always bursting into tears whenever something bad happened. I tell it to raise it's arm and it tells me "ghuuu~". I say get up, and a foot shifts. These things were just something that happened, whether I wanted it to or not, and I figured that that my coordination would get better with age.

One day, mother was showing my brother and I some picture books, reading out the names and pointing to the animals happily as we rolled around, not paying attention. As it turned out, I was born in a different country, where they use a different language. Half of my scolded myself for not recognizing that it wasn't just my baby ears warping the words around, but a entirely new language. Sure, it would be a struggle to learn, but it couldn't possibly be as hard as Chinese. Along with that, it shouldn't be too different from aforementioned other language as it had descended from it.

Temporary sated with that reasoning, I returned to the flow of life.

When I started to talk, I would insist that mother or father read to me from the same picture book everyday so I could remember the words and what they mean. All the while, my twin, who I still didn't know the name of yet, would play with the other toys. I guess I shouldn't expect him to be too interested in learning, he would get there when he did.

At the end of the night, we would be bathed and placed in the cradle where...mom...would whisper words to us and hum little tunes. There was one she always kept repeating that I learned-ai. 愛. Love.

How sweet.

Drifting off the sleep, the two of us would somehow manage to squirm together during the night and end up squished side by side in the morning. To me, it was a sort of silent bonding, and I found myself getting attached. Even if my brother did sometimes cry in the middle of the night and was ear-splitting loud when he screamed.

Time passed by, and before I knew it, we were toddling around on uneasy feat and celebrating our first birthday.

Sometimes, mother would take us to the park and we would all walk hand in hand as the bright sun warmed our skins. We would then usually have a small picnic under the shade, listening to the birds sing their sweet melodies around us. Other times, it was going to the grocery store or visiting the house of mother's friends. I didn't enjoy the latter as much, as it usually consisted of a lot of coddling by random ladies who then proceeded to take up the whole afternoon chatting over a cup of tea. It might sound pleasant, but it wasn't for me as Tsuna( who's name I finally learned) wasn't really any fun to play with yet.

Some of them did have other children, but as we were still pretty young, mom only let us crawl around and play with a few toys in a fenced area. For safety, of course-even thought it stirred a little panic inside that wouldn't fully go out.

So I would instead help amuse Tsuna, which was a tedious task at most. But nevertheless, regardless of all the little things I had to deal with in this life, I found myself...relaxed. Placid at the how serene and peaceful my world was, at the love of my mom and brother. At how normal my existence was for once-just an ordinary little girl with her ordinary family. I felt as if each day had a meaning, and that meaning was to spend time with the most important people I knew. My family.

They gave me a new insight into life.

My eyes etched in gray bursted with color. The world was a kaleidoscope and I took every turn gratefully, drowning in a rainbow Earth.

I guess father would count too, but he wasn't as home much, and would usually just drink alcohol and sleep. Yeah, he sounds like a piece of trash, but he had his good points too. Such as bringing back presents and making mom happy, which in turn made house brighten and made me happy.

Father was never mean to us-in fact, he was the very definition of a dotting dad. His interactions with mom made me a bit...nervous, though. When he held her hand, kissed her, cradled the side of her head in his palm as if it was the only treasure he would ever need. He was always so gentle, but such tender moments always made me tense up a little, as if waiting for him to suddenly strike out.

I guessed it would still be a while before I could truly rest.

Sometimes during the few days he was home, he would take us to amusement parks. Riding on the merry-go-round(which I found really fun for reasons probably connected to my age) and licking cotton candy until mom scolded us when we came home with sticky mouths and aching stomachs.

"Mou, I told you two not to eat so much!" She would say as we draped ourselves over the couch, groaning in regret for the rest of the night as she brewed some medicine.

Life continued on.

Tsuna and I were four years old when...it happened.

By then, Tsuna had grown up into a shy boy, a bit unsteady on his feet and easily scared but also soft and kind. At times he could get a little whiny, gullible, and was afraid of animals in general-but it all ended up adding to his charm of adorableness. I found myself more forgiving of the world.

After all, if it could create something as angelic as Tsuna and Mama, then it must have some good in it-right?

One day, we were buckled into the car and driven to the airport with the explanation of meeting our father's, or rather, Tou-san's(there were different titles for mother and father here, I called my father that and my mother Kaa-san) boss. I was expecting a strict man in his thirties, wearing a crisp suit and scowling, but instead, I got a sixty or so old man dressed like he was taking a vacation to Hawaii. Imagine my surprise.

He seemed nice enough, but I felt as if there was something...off about him. Like that feeling you get when you read a book and realize that something wasn't quite right, that it would lead up to something far greater than you can imagine at that moment...so I just hid behind Kaa-san's legs with Tsuna, regarding him with weary eyes. My brother seemed to share my premonition, but managed a sweet, timid smile anyway when he crouched down to greet us

After suffering an hour's drive with 'pleasant conversation', we finally returned back home. Tou-san went upstairs to help his boss-apparently named Nono-get settled in the guest bedroom while Kaa-san started cooking lunch

Tsuna and I played around in the kitchen for a while before she gently shooed us out to entertain ourselves outside. We raced to the purple bouncy ball we usually played with, my twin managing to reach it first. Running out to the backyard, I accidentally dropped it and it rolled away. Tsuna went to retrieve it, and then froze at the sight of the next door neighbor's chihuahua slipping through our front gate.

I frowned, because for some reason it always ends up escaping. They really should leash that thing better-chihuahuas are known to be vicious towards children. However, luckily for us, this one was more friendly than the rest.

Unfortunately, Tsuna was still very, very wimpy.

Scared, my twin fell on the ground and stared with silent horror at the dog, tears starting to well up in his eyes as it barked happily at him. Quickly running over to them, I shielded Tsuna just in time as the chihuahua pounced playfully on us. I laughed as I felt the tiny paws of the dog press into y back, but it was a little too much for Tsuna as he started to wail, causing Tou-san and Nono to run outside.

With a weary sigh at the familiar scene, father picked us up in his arms and chased the small dog away with a wave of his foot. It yipped sharply and padded away. I stuck my tongue out at it for extra measure. Why did it always have to run around and attack my Tsuna?

"Don't cry..." He said with a soft sigh, as my brother buried his face in his neck, his sobs slowly dying down.

"The boy has power." The deep voice of Nono said, quite suddenly too as he had been standing silent for a while. I looked up from Tsuna to see a hand slowly coming towards us. I stared at it.

"However, it's still young."

A flame lit on his index finger, and suddenly, it was as if a soft calm had washed over me, a warm, fluffy blanket of hope-Tsuna had stopped crying. Dread curled sickeningly in my stomach. I lurched, causing all eyes to go to me and stopping the hand that was almost to Tsuna's face. Rest protectively on my twin, forcing his face to tuck underneath mine, I stared at Nono with wide eyes.

And he stared back, a bit of surprise etched on his face. Frowning, Tou-san dragged me off my brother, although I was clinging with the power of a leech and fighting tooth and nail. But in the end, I could only watch with desperate eyes as the flame touched Tsuna's forehead, causing a flare of orange fire before it died down.

Tsuna yawned, blinking his eyes tiredly and instantly falling asleep.

Going completely limp, I felt like throwing up, screaming, crying at the horrible sensation that flooded my senses. I felt half empty, like a part of me had disappeared. Like all of the happiness and joy and warmth had been sucked abruptly from the world. I stared straight ahead, unable to comprehend what was going on, everything sounding muffled to my ears. My body refused to move. Maybe this was what it felt like when you were paralyzed.

Then I was in the crib, with Tsuna by my side and the door closing with a soft 'click'. Quickly shuffling over to my brother, I stared at his face, slowly tracing his features with a light, fluttery finger. From the high arc of his eyes to the gentle dip of his nose to the soft outline of his lips.

Yes, there was no doubt about it, this was still my twin. The one that has been by my side for years-but there was an foreign hollowness in my chest, a lack of life from him. It was almost as if he was dead.

At that thought, I nearly broke down.

No, no. He wasn't dead. See, look, I placed my head on his chest, hearing the light, serene beats of his heart. Yes, not dead. Not dead not dead not dead notdeadnotdeadnotdeadnotdead.

Closing my eyes, I let the sound of his life replace the world around me.

The days after that, I avoided Tou-san(who had started to leave the house more often for his job) to the best of my ability, angry at him. Tsuna started to get more clumsy. Once I even had to keep him from tripping down the stairs because he stumbled over his own feet. Soon bandages became a regular sight on the brunette-wrapped around fingers from a papercut, around his knees from where he tripped, etc etc. It hurt me a little every time I watched Kaa-san paste a smiling blue rectangle on him. Then, Tsuna started to get more affectionate with me(1)-rarely leaving my side. Not that I wanted him to.

I won't lie, I was a little paranoid now. Who wouldn't be after some creepy old man basically snuffed out the light in your most beloved person? And Tou-san let him do it too! Not that it mattered much anymore, as there was really no way to separate me from my twin. I made sure we were together almost constantly. Not even bath time could stop me. We had already taken most of our bathes with each other anyway, as it was more convenient for Kaa-san to wash us.

That even had set off a change within me.

No one would ever mess with Tsuna again.

Or they would have absolute hell to deal with.

I had taken what I had for granted. Such precious warmth, of course it would be hard to last in this scourge of a world. If I want happiness for those I care about, I would have to protect it with all I had.

But in order to ensure that I had enough connections, enough power to eliminate, enough power to control my life-I would have to dig a bit in the underworld. There was really no other way to ensure my goals.

Being a perfect student in my past life-it did scare me a little. But once I was set on the thought, my mind rumbled into motion, like a slightly rusty machine ready to work again. Thoughts and ideas started to fill my head, and I stayed up in the night redrawing plans with a crayon.

After a few days, I had made a nearly fool-proof plan. Of course for such average day things, I wouldn't need to dive too far into the seedy belly of the town. Dabbling my toes in would do just fine for now.

Yes, this would work out wonderfully.

So for our fifth birthday, I asked for a computer.

Kaa-san was a bit confused, but after some insistence, agreed. Which was how I ended up with a beautiful, sleek, ASUS U24E that would be my pride and joy for the next couple of years.

Now, I don't care what types of stories you've read, but hacking is not that easy. It took me around two years just to understand the basics-never mind trying it out-and many times I fretted when I took apart my computer, worried that I wouldn't know how to put it back together. There were many, many terms I had to research, seeing as I had no experience with softwares or the depth of technology hacking required. I hadn't even graduated from high school when I died, for goodness sake! It took practice and patience-and with time, dedication, a couple rage quits, brain power, patience, comfort food and lots of instruction, I had my first hack at age six.

Into the computer of my neighbor.

From then on, it got easier. I started to perfect my techniques, how to cover up all the tracks like I was never there. Of course, some devices I couldn't get into without certain gadgets, while others just had stronger defenses that were above my level of expertise.

About a year later, I got my first...job, if you will.

It was a minor one, from a small, new yakuza gang, to hack into their data base to test how strong their systems were. It took me a minute or two, but I managed to do it. While sending my results, I made a deal with them. Double the amount of cash, and I would upgrade their security to the best of my ability. As I was only apprentice level in my skill it wasn't a lot, but still good enough to deal with the common thief.

A few months later, I got another request, then another and another, slowly working my way up in the span of another two years until I became fairly well know. A couple of my seniors trained me more in the art of the computer after some convincing(that may or may not have to do with a extremely large sum of money*cough*), and after a while, I joined one of the many societies created for hackers along with making a small website where people could contact me.

By my ninth birthday, I was set firmly near the middle of the underground-not quite famous and not quite worthy of too much attention. What did you expect? This type of stuff took experience and trust-which only came with more time. However, I was more engulfed than I expected, with many connections ranging from the common street thugs in New York to small gangs in the Russian Mafia. My laptop(it was my fourth one by now) had gone through more than a few upgrades.

But I still had a life outside of my secret affairs, the act of an innocent sister. I had realized it was better for me to act my age, so I tried my best to drop my walls in public and become your average little girl. That is, the average over protective older-by-two-minutes-and-twenty-seven-seconds one(as I said, nothing was ever going to take me away from Tsuna unless it was by my own free will).

We started elementary school when we were six years old. It was an...odd experience because of the cultural differences. For example, in Japan, you had two pairs of shoes. Slippers for when you're inside school, and normal footwear for every-day walking. But after a day or two, I adapted.

I remember a few interesting characters; a constantly-smiling child who really liked baseball, some kid that was...half allergic to kids? Then there was little miss princess. Even at her young age, small boys fell at her feet with one glance of a sparkly eye.

I myself made no effort to get to know people. My social skills were terrible, to be completely honest, and I didn't need friends anyway. I had Tsuna. I had Kaa-san. And I had my new information site to run(because when you hack into people's stuff, it's pretty sure-fire you're gonna get some juicy info. So now I'm juggling the task of being a information broker as well. Slightly tiring, but the cash was rolling in like a red carpet. The money, for your information, was getting tucked neatly into an anonymous savings account).

Tsuna and I grew older, but I refused to get my own room. Although yes, it might start to get a little improper as we grow up, I'm not letting that boy out of my sight. Do you know how many assassination attempts I've had to stop during the night? Luckily, the only come about once every two months, but who knows what'll happen if I wasn't there protecting him. After a week or so of my stubbornness, Kaa-san accepted defeat and we compromised to get two twin beds.

With Tsuna's pressed against one corner of the room and mine against another, I was content enough.

Then, one day in fourth grade, I stumbled upon a scene that lit my blood on fire.

That year, I had decided that Tsuna needed to be able to become a little self-sustaining, in case something happened and I wasn't there. So I stopped rigging the system and let the computer sort us into different classes. A little more than half of the school year had passed by, and everything seemed to work out. Sure, Tsuna was getting a bit withdrawn and more shy, but I pushed it off as a phrase(oh how could I of been so stupid to do that?)

Of course, I still worried about him. We walked home together everyday, and I would ask about what he did in class, even though we had the same curriculum. He didn't say much, which surprised me as Tsuna was usually a fluffy ball of sunshine ready to chatter my ear off with all thing cool things he did. My suspicions rose.

We had recess together, as it was for all the kindergarten kids.

It was also where a new flame was kindled within me.

Tsuna was on the ground, holding back tears as the boys around him threw insults and taunts. I stopped myself from mindlessly rushing in, saving my precious twin, and beating the other kids until they were bloody pulps on the ground, sobbing and begging for mercy through the blood running down their face. Mercy that I wouldn't give-why? Why was I standing there, watching the scene with clenched fists and angry trembles instead of doing exactly what I wanted?

Because I was weak.

I was weak, I didn't have any electronic devices with me, and even if I did, I couldn't just call someone to take them out. It would be too suspicious(why would a semi-infamous hacker want ahitman to take care of some common elementary school bullies?), and take a while-because honestly, what were the chances that an assassin just happened to be walking passed my school when I contacted them?

So, I did the next best thing. Getting a teacher.

The boys' parents were called and they had to stay after school and clean a classroom each with just a small dish rag, but I didn't feel satisfied.

Not at all.

In fact, I was angry, and frustrated. All of my hard work was going to waste-because what was the point of being tangled in the dangerous underworld, risking my life day after day, if I couldn't protect those most precious to me? The whole reason I had even started hacking in the first place! There wouldn't always be a teacher there to tell on, no one to do the job I needed.

No one...

Except myself.

That night, with a new mindset, I cleaned, bandaged(little red foxes on this one), and kissed the scrapes on Tsuna's knees before tucking him into bed. Turning off the lights, I told my brother that I had something to do tonight, and to go to sleep first before sitting at our desk. Starting up my computer, I set to work. He watched me type away for a while before sliding his eyes close and falling asleep to the sound of soft, rapid clicks. A couple of hours later, I closed the screen and rubbed my watery, burning eyes, tired. Climbing into my own bed, I rested my eyes on my brother one last time before letting the black descend on my mind.

Within a few days, each member of the group that terrorized my sibling was absent from school because of...'accidents' that had landed them a spot in the hospital, and with some string-pulling, Tsuna got transferred to my class. Where he stayed.

Soon, I started pleading for Kaa-san to enroll me in martial art classes.

She was confused at first, "Sato-chan, why would you want to take martial art classes?"

I stood before her, eyes determined but demeanor soft as I tried to persuade her in a way only a cute little girl could. Appeal to her, I told myself, and forced a big embarrassed smile. "Well, all my friends are taking one and I really want to join them!"

I mentally cursed.

Friend? I DIDN'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS.

Holding my breath, I hoped she wouldn't ask who they were.

But of course she did.

With a enthusiastic smile blooming on her face, she happily agreed, ready to meet the parents of my 'friends'.

A week later, I was wearing a white uniform and standing in the middle of twenty-so kids, praying that Kaa-san had forgetting my words.

But of course she didn't, and I was forced to sacrifice the first nice looking girl I saw, quickly relaying instructions to her ear and slapping down a pack of treats in her hands as a incentive. And what do you know.

Yukio became the first human I had ever bribed in person.

Everything was relatively calm for a few years. I taught Tsuna all I knew about the secrets of the world, how to be kind, considerate(the best ways to win people over and have them believing that you were a perfect little angel), how to lie, the way to leave a good impression, etc. With a bit(*cough* lot *cough*) of help, he started to get average scores in class-only missing a handful of questions and even making a handful of friends.

By that I meant he talked to them once or twice and they would lend him a pencil if he forgot his.

Damn my antisocial side for rubbing off on him. (He should be having fun, being a child. I would take care of everything-he just needed to live his life.)

On a other note, my hacking skills rose in the ranks over the years until it actually landing me a spot in the top ten, which was something that made me radiate smugness for a couple of days.

But since I stared at the computer so much, my eyesight fell and I was forced to get glasses, something I had seen coming for a while. There were always consequences to your actions.

I quickly exchanged the frames for a pair of contacts. It was unnerving to touch your own eyeballs, but it felt much more natural for me without the annoyingly foreign weight resting on my nose.

I got fairly good at self defense, too, and although I rarely used it outside of class, it was comforting to know that I had the ability. Just in case.

Then, because peace never lasted, the world churned with change before promptly flipping upside down.

(1) As a sort of headcanon I have, the reason for that is Tsuna had his own flames sealed off, which was like a source of comfort. His sister(who's full name will be revealed next chapter sorry I couldn't fit it in) did not, and although hers aren't half as strong as Tsuna's, it was still a flame. Think of it like this: when your cold and theres a furnace right by you, wouldn't you try to get as close to that furnace as possible?

Thank you guys for even reading this far, I'm so grateful...TTuTT Anyway, look forward towards the next chapter! It's where the plot starts!