So here's yet another exploration into the character that is Mochida, because I love baby Mochi. This was a discussion that SkyGem and I had this afternoon when we went to the beach to plot-storm. So blame her again.

Also please, this makes no sense. It jumps horribly, so would you be honest with me if you choose to review? I am actually upset by how this turned out. Because it's nothing like what I wanted.

Harmony Factor.

Summary: Sealing off Sky flames in children was dangerous, sealing the flames of a child with exceptional harmony factor was even more dangerous. However, what if there were unforeseen consequences of sealing away Tsuna's sky flames but not his harmony? Did Kensuke have a choice in targeting Tsuna? Would that explain the sudden change in Tsuna upon meeting Hayato? AU. Mature!Guardians. Mochida, Hayato, Tsuna centric!

"Get out the fucking way, Dame-Tsuna!" The voice sounded just before a heavy weight forced Tsuna forward, and his chin and nose met the concrete with a hot brush that probably left Tsuna bruised and bleeding. Again.

Laughter assaulted Tsuna as a group walked by, some dropping a kick into his sides even as he made a move to stand up and get away.

"Good morning to you too, Mochida." Tsuna sighed, though it was hitched and sad.

The laughter stopped, and a hand grabbed a fistful of Tsuna's hair. With a yank, Tsuna was staring into these angry brown eyes, up this close, Tsuna noticed that Mochida used a peppermint toothpaste, and that his pupils were blown wide. Unnaturally wide for this time of day. "What was that, Dame-Tsuna?" His voice purred.

"I said, good morning, Mochida." Tsuna stuttered, not liking the grin pulling at Mochida's lips.

Tsuna didn't see the first until it was pulling back from his face. "Mochida? Is that my name, Dame-Tsuna? Is that how you address me?"

And another punch hit his gut. Some of the other watching were joining in, though not all at once.

"I'm pretty sure I'm an upperclassman, Dame-Tsuna." Mochida purred, but it had an unnatural waver to it. "So don't you think you should respect that?"

Tsuna grunted, trying not to cry. Because fuck being punch hurt. "S-s-sorry. I'm sorry, good morning Mochida-sempai."

A smile swept Mochida's face, he stood and swept his thick brown hair back into place. He took his bag back from a classmate who had taken it from him. He stared at Tsuna with a single-minded focus that has unnerved Tsuna since the day he had met Mochida two years ago.

"Fucking remember that, Dame-Tsuna." And with one final swipe –which took Tsuna's legs out from under him again –Mochida and his crew sauntered to class. The final bell was sounding after all.

Mochida tried to ignore the way his fists shook and bile rose in his throat as he stormed off to class. He especially tried not to think of the way his gut clamped down when he looked at Tsuna struggling to walk up the stairs later that day. He probably just had hiccups or something.

No one noticed the strange baby holding a gun that was hiding in the trees. Nor did anyone notice the young man –old enough to be one of the students at Namimori Middle –standing at the base of the tree with a sleeve pressed over his mouth.

Both were watching with rapt attention. Both of them were disconcerted with strange, sickly feeling permeating the entire school.

Reborn had been worried the few mornings ago when he had introduced himself to Tsuna, because the boy was so unbalanced. And it wasn't his fault ether, but until Tsuna had a reason, Reborn couldn't shoot him with the dying will bullet and right all the wrong in the boy. It was concerning, and Reborn was already exhausted with the child's denial, but that was pretty normal he supposed.

Reborn's eyes went down the tree to see Hayato Gokudera observing. He was very glad, not for the first time that this boy was prompt to the call and had gotten here that morning.

Hayato had come by Reborn's request, but he had been surprised by the pathetic excuse for a Decimo. One thing he was glad about perhaps was the fact that this boy wasn't some spoilt prince. No matter how much potential a boy had, Hayato couldn't stand the thought of his flames bowing to some spoilt little mafia prince who demanded it all for himself, and took it all from someone else.

"We have a new transfer student, I'd like you all to welcome Gokudera Hayato into our class." The teacher was stern, but he quieted the class kindly as Hayato walked in. "I know it's half way through the year, but Gokudera-kun has just moved from…" Hayato let the voice drown out as he swept the room.

If Hayato could feel something as minute as his pupils dialating he would have felt them in that moment. The sensations permeating the school had been pretty strong and sickly throughout the grounds, but suddenly, as the door to the classroom opened, the scent and taste of the sky flames in the air were suddenly too sweet for words. The scent and feeling overwhelmed Hayato's senses, to the point that he must have blanked out for a few seconds.

It was like over fermented bananas, or wine.

It clogged Hayato's throat, and burned his eyes, and his own flames (all five, because he knew they were there) roared to life, searching out the sky that needed them. Because this was the smell of dying sky flames left to fester without elements too long.

He found them quickly. In the wide-eyed boy in the back corner, the way his pupils were blown wide told Hayato all he needed to know. Hayato's flames hadn't wasted time, and the boy must have felt the sudden pull at his dormant flames as five flames of the sky suddenly began devouring the harmony factor they needed to balance.

Wanting to be a part of this Sky's fold or not, Hayato had a mission and he couldn't fail.

So even though the flames in his core roared in reprimand when he did it, Hayato stormed over to the Decimo candidate's desk and kicked it over viciously. It was immediately clear that this distressed the young man in the desk.

"Meet me after school, I need to teach you a fucking lesson. Twerp."

Hayato tried to ignore the panic and decay in Tsuna's flames when the boy folded lower into the seat, cowering and trying to disappear. All Tsuna could think during all this was:

"Why can't I get a single break? Even the transfer student knows I'm a fucking mess."

"Well, at least you turned up, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn's voice appeared beside Tsuna, and the boy jumped, but didn't move away.

"I've learnt," Tsuna started, shoulders slumped, cowering into himself. "That if I just take the beating it ends up shorter than if I run."

Reborn was a little startled by that, and felt like he should probably save Hayato some face. "Well, this isn't exactly a beating. I called Gokudera Hayato here to test you."

And on que, Hayato rounded the corner, already rolling his shoulders and patting himself down. He was just lighting a cigarette when he stopped in front of Tsuna and Reborn.

"So you ready, punk?" Hayato asked, he noted the way that Tsuna seemed to crumble into himself, and Hayato's flames grew restless when he did that. It was a little unnerving to feel sky flames (that were already sick and dying) to pull back into their core even further.

"I don't want to be Decimo, you can have the position." Tsuna muttered, shifting from foot to foot. He knew this was what Reborn was trying to do, trying to get him to accept the position by defeating someone else who wanted it.

But Hayato couldn't accept that. Not only was he not qualified for Decimo (as a non-Vongola, and a predominant storm flame) it was Tsuna that needed the position more.

So he wasted no time, Hayato had his dynamite out, and once they were lit against his specialty cigarette he hurtled them towards Tsuna.

Tsuna was pretty good, Hayato had to admit. The boy hadn't been hit with the dying will bullet, but he was managing to dodge the dynamite and stomp a few out. But it wouldn't do for this last one, Reborn would have to shoot him.

"Triple bomb!" but there was a problem, Hayato slipped and the bombs scattered to the floor. He knew, even if he ran, he would be hurt. He knew that there was no way to get out of this unscathed.

And then there was a rush of sky flames, new and awake and hitting Hayato in the gut like he had just taken a punch. And it was enough, Hayato had intended to throw himself away from the bombs and then continue his assault. But the shock of flames (pressing against his own, where up until that point it was Hayato's dragging the old sky flames away to allow for new ones to burn) made Hayato falter, and then it was too late.

The sight of the bomber standing alone in the courtyard had been a painful one for Tsuna, but seeing him surrounded by his own bombs, hands down in defeat had been far worse.

It felt like a painful hiccup, the moment Reborn shot Tsuna with the Dying Will bullet. It felt like his diaphragm had snapped as he charged forward and tackled Hayato out of range of his own bombs.

But it felt like being flooded with fresh baked cookies and being wrapped in hot water bottles when Tsuna peered over the man beneath him and found nothing worse than a bruise on his face from where Tsuna had just tried to slap some sense into him for the ridiculous suicide act.

"J-J-Juudaime, you saved me?"

And Tsuna could only press his forehead to the shoulder trapped between his arms. "Yeah, you were an idiot, how could I leave a friend in such a dangerous situation."

And a rush blasted in the area, as if Hayato's bombs had only just gone off. With it came the freshest air that Tsuna had ever smelt. Heavy like the storm coming, but cool like winter on the horizon. Hayato smelt it too, and suddenly the drunk rot that had been trying to pull his flames under was gone.

Suddenly, all Hayato saw was the Sky that Tsuna was, and the Sky that he would become now that he had even one element that needed him.

Hayato had been around for a week, and already things were fucking nuts in Tsuna's life. Training had upped for some reason, probably because Reborn had been bolstered by the knowledge that Tsuna (in even the smallest way) had accepted Hayato.

But aside from that, there were other things.

Mainly Mochida. He and all the other bullies had suddenly disappeared. Tsuna was under no disillusion, Hibari hadn't managed to get them to comply with his demands, the man was a monster, but he wasn't an army. And though a real sweetie under his tough exterior, Hayato couldn't scare off all the bullies with his presence either.

So Tsuna was left questioning where they had gone.

And, on top of that, he wanted to know where the hell his spine had come from. Because yes, Hayato made him feel at least safe walking around Namimori, but Hayato wasn't a miracle worker.

And that's what seemed to have happened. Because Tsuna knew himself, and he knew that he wasn't slouching anymore. He wasn't crippled by fear when someone called his name. He wasn't even tripping as much as he was before.

Tsuna felt whole for the first time ever, and he hadn't even realised he wasn't whole before. He felt like he had suddenly got a new pair of shoes that fit properly, or like his backpack suddenly sat correctly on his shoulders and he didn't have crippling pain in his back anymore.

And it had happened all since Hayato have practically forced his way into Tsuna's life. Demanding of Tsuna so much effort and attention that he wondered why his grades weren't getting worse than they already were. They weren't, in fact getting worse, for the record.

Reborn's lessons, and Hayato's insistence in helping, were paying off.

Still….there had to be more right?

That night, Tsuna closed his eyes and listened to the core he suddenly felt in his belly. It felt something like a mason jar, when he probed it with his mind. Inside was the brightest orange flame he had ever seen. It burned like fire, without consuming wood.

Despite the initial panic that Tsuna had felt when he had noticed the flame, because it was fire, there was something about it now that soothed him.

It was more than the fact that Tsuna didn't feel the constant pressure of eyes on his spine. He didn't feel like people were trying to tear at him. Suddenly, Tsuna didn't feel like people were pulling all his energy out of him in one fell swoop.

Tsuna opened his eyes and watched the ceiling, hand on his stomach –just under his ribs really, where he imagined the core was –Tsuna knew in the instinctive part of him that he wished he'd had all his life that Hayato had a lot to do with this sudden balance inside himself.

And, Tsuna had a nagging feeling that Mochida had something to do with it too.

Mochida had been ringing his hands all day. He felt the disgusting bile rise in his throat as he thought about facing Tsunayoshi that afternoon. He didn't want to hurt the boy anymore, Tsuna wasn't worth it. There were far more useless people than him in the school; it didn't make any fucking sense why Mochida would bully the boy. But he fucking did. He couldn't help it.

Mochida couldn't help it and he felt disgusting for it.

"Oi look, it's Dame-Tsuna. Traipsing in late like he rules the place."

Leave him the fuck alone. Mochida snarled, and the thought shocked him. Usually the gut clenching pain made him want to lash out at the lowerclassman.

Brown eyes searched the crowd for the tuft of brown hair, and when he found it, Mochida suddenly felt well again. Because there wasn't the painful thing telling him to get close, hurt, and covet the boy. Instead there was the overwhelming sense of….balance…within him that almost made Mochida go to Tsuna.

He hoped to apologize, all of a sudden, and he had no idea why. But he would. He promised himself that he would, when there weren't so many eyes –daring to do something foul to the child –looking at him.

"Hayato." Tsuna spoke softly when they sat on the roof for lunch. "I want you to tell me everything you can about Sky Flames, all of them. Please?"

Hayato looked skeptically at the young man. Hayato wasn't stupid, far from it. He was average in every single way you could imagine, but he was far more intelligent than the average riff raff. So he knew that something internal had changed with Tsuna over the past week or so. For one thing, Tsuna would have never called anyone by their first name even up until two or three days ago. Hayato had his suspicions about what it was…and about himself for that matter.

Tsuna's question simply confirmed that Tsuna was not an idiot, and that Hayato was really a genius.

Still, Hayato wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't supposed to even know half the things he did about the flames of the Sky. Still, he had a duty to Tsuna, and he wanted to prove himself as a right hand…and a friend. It made sense to share.

It took them all of lunch period for Hayato explain fully. It was difficult to explain to someone who had only just unlocked their flames exactly what each flame meant and represented. But Tsuna had listened quietly, stopping Hayato when he got too enthusiastic and missed explanations in his excitement, and asking questions when he needed more in-depth clarifications.

"So you're saying that a sky has six elements, and that's it?"

Hayato hummed, sipping on some chocolate milk. "Yes and no, Juudaime. See its pretty average for a sky to have six elements (one of each), because that's all a typical sky's harmony can maintain. But I know there are famiglia who don't follow that, and gather guardians of whatever flame type. Or famiglia who don't have even number. It was said that Primo had two mists, and the Arcobaleno have an extra of neither rain nor mist flame. Something in the middle. But I'm sure if there was a sky with an overwhelming amount of harmony, they could have more than the typical six elements." You could definitely have more than six elements. Went unsaid.

Tsuna rubbed his forehead, he was pale. Hayato didn't blame him of course, it was one thing to learn you were to be the boss of a Mafia famiglia, but to also learn about being able to wield strange flames at the same time? It was no wonder his boss was pale.

"Hayato."

"Yes boss?" And Hayato made a point to claim Tsuna as such whenever he could. He made it a point to direct his attentions to the harmony pouring from the young boy, because it was plentiful.

"If I said something insane you'd tell me right? You'd slap me to get my back to normal?"

Hayato chuckled a little. "Only if you were, in fact, going insane, Juudaime."

That made Tsuna smile, and he felt a little less ridiculous about his next question. "How potent are sky flames? Do you know if their…if my Harmony factor could affect those around me, even though my flames were sealed?"

There was a pause, and Tsuna flinched back instinctively, expecting the slap that had been promised.

"Can I be strictly honest with you, Juudaime?"

"Always, Hayato." Tsuna whispered.

"You're completely right."

And that was a shock. Because Tsuna was never completely right with anything in his life. "How?"

Hayato shifted uncomfortably, because this was a rather…intimate subject matter. Though, he had promised himself to this Sky already, and Hayato's flames had signed themselves over even before he'd stepped into the school that first day. So potent was the need for his multi-flames to claim and protect this overflow of sky.

"Your Harmony is rather toxic, Juudaime –But not in a bad way! I swear." Hayato flailed when panic welled in Tsuna and his flames were almost forcibly snuffed by his will, and that made Hayato's flames whine like a cramp. "It's just…how do I put this, um. You have a lot of harmony factor, more than I've felt in anyone. And you….you haven't used your flames much yet, so the harmony is kind of just going crazy. Which is why (I think, but it's only a theory) you're so clumsy."

Tsuna nodded, not running for the hills yet.

"For a non-flame, that overflow of harmony makes you feel kind of unapproachable…no, um… more like they can't empathise with you for whatever reason."

"And for flame users?" Tsuna's voice was growing surer, as if suspicions were being answered. Hayato though that it must have simply been so relieving to have an answer to ninety-nine percent of Tsuna's problems.

"For those, like me, who know about the flames and the dynamics of them all (and the dynamics of my own flames) it feels as if I can't avoid you. I don't want to, anyway. It makes me itch because it's so dangerous and sad that your flames have been left…unclaimed for so long. It makes me furious that anyone would practice such an unsafe method of keeping you safe, sealing a child's flame is almost a sure fire way to kill a child…it's rather hard to explain."

But Tsuna was shaking his head, was shaking all over really. "No, no I think I understand. I…I felt similar when you and I fought, Hayato. Its part of what made me jump for you….there was something so…." Tsuna's wrinkled his nose for affect, but Hayato understood the lack of words more than he would ever be able to make Tsuna realise. "But what about people with flames who don't know it?"

Hayato leant his head back against the wall they were sitting by. "I can't speak from experience, but I can imagine. It's probably a little like being drugged. I can't imagine the overwhelming urge to be close to something you don't know is there, especially if you don't know why it's there. And if someone was feeling this before your flames were relit, when your harmony was completely untapped…." Well Hayato let that sentence hang, as proof that he knew what (or who) Tsuna was talking about.

A bell broke into their conversation, shrill and warning. They had five minutes to get to class.

"Now come on, Juudaime." Hayato picked up his bag before grabbing Tsuna's arm. "We shouldn't be late, especially since that nibbling-bastard is probably skulking about looking for tardy idiots to punish."

Tsuna just nodded and chucked his garbage out before moving down the stairs.

Reborn had been sitting on the roof of the stairs through the whole interactions. He had wanted to make sure that Hayato wasn't spoiling Tsuna, and that his idiot student wasn't too terrified of his new subordinate. He had been surprised by how close they were already –first name basis, fucking finally –but Reborn had been more surprised by the direction of the conversation.

It had taken almost a year before Dino started asking about the types and styles of the flame, and even then he hadn't caught on to the fact that his own harmony could poison those around him.

Reborn smirked as he headed to observe some other potential guardians.

Whether it was the fact that Tsuna's untapped, unused harmony called out to even Reborn's sun flames (which had, and were claimed by another sky already) or the fact that Tsuna had hyper intuition, it didn't matter. All that Reborn cared about was that Tsuna was taking the initiative to learn for himself, and was trying to understand himself and his internal workings.

Reborn had no qualms about that at all.

The day that Tsuna saved Takeshi, was the day that Hayato and Tsuna knew that Tsuna's elements were slowly gathering. It was also the day they started to confirm what flame types Hayato had.

When they pulled the boy over the edge, Tsuna's sky flames roaring to life when he started to slip off the edge, Takeshi's eyes blurred blue, and Tsuna's flames claimed that rain that needed him.

The shift between Hayato and Tsuna was immediate too, and it took Hayato to help get Takeshi on solid ground again when Tsuna froze.

The Harmony factor that had been so dead-set and focused on Hayato for these past five weeks had suddenly split off and wrapped around Takeshi. Yes, Hayato still horded a majority of the focus (as a main storm and with four other flames) but the difference was immediate.

Tsuna had worried that Hayato would resent Takeshi for the change that the boy couldn't have controlled, or worse, that Hayato would resent Tsuna for choosing Takeshi as his sky.

Hayato had explained, later, in the comfort of Tsuna's home, that he was more than relieved that Tsuna had found the rain. It was exhausting and worrying for all of Tsuna's harmony to be focused on Hayato. He wasn't all the elements, he was a storm before anything else. It had worried Hayato that Tsuna's harmony would start decaying again.

He didn't have to worry now though, and that relieved Tsuna. It made Takeshi and Hayato's cat fights even more amusing later.

"Hey, don't ever do that again, Yamamoto." Tsuna panted when they rested on the roof after the harrowing save. "It's dangerous. We wouldn't want to lose you."

And the unknowing rain just grinned, still shaking and feeling ridiculous for even thinking of killing himself, because he felt like he had found home. He had felt that rush of cooling possessive pressure when Tsuna had saved him. He just didn't know what exactly it was.

But still, the pair turned into a trio and things settled again. Tsuna's training with Reborn became easier, and his muscles felt good. Hayato's synchronisation with Tsuna and Takeshi became easy, and even Takeshi noticed the coolness in which he dealt with his old friends. Suddenly it was easy to see how toxic they were to him, and to separate himself from them, where before Takeshi would have begged to remain their friends.

And when Takeshi came to Hayato and Tsuna, asking to know what they'd done to him, to make him feel so calm and full, the two elements were shocked, but they knew they had to tell him. They had to make Tsuna's rain understand the weight of his flames, and how it purified and poisoned Tsuna. And how, Tsuna in return could do the same to them if he weren't careful.

Takeshi took it all in stride, but there was a sharp glint in his eyes. "If I agree, if you're my sky, does that mean you'll never leave?" Takeshi's voice was strained to near snap, as if his vocal chords would give out at any moment. "Does that mean you will let me protect you?"

And Tsuna was shocked, and the flames that had already claimed this suicidal rain practically tackled the boy's core. "I would never have left you anyway, Takeshi. You're my friend before my element, though you are that as well."

It was around this time that Mochida realised what a fool he was. He realised, through some miracle he though, that the people he called his friends, and the adults he trusted were foul people. He realised that their jibes at Tsuna, at Mochida's self-worth were most of the reason for him lashing out.

He needed to feel good, wanted, purposeful, and so he found purpose in their taunts and hatred by bullying others.

But Mochida could see at that point that it wasn't right. He started the long journey to get rid of them. It was difficult, and he had to fight and punch and tear his way out of the bully-circle he had surrounded himself with.

But when he finally did, when he realised that –going to high school –he had a new start, he took it. He took it and ran, and he hoped that one day he could thank Tsuna.

He didn't really understand yet, why he needed to thank Tsuna, and to apologize. All he knew was that something had changed the boy, and in turn it had changed Mochida too.

Tsuna hasn't known he was a maternal person until the little Bovino had dropped into his lap, practically thrumming with the desire to prove himself, and an ancient kind of lightning flames.

Lambo was a mischievous ball of lightning flames that seemed to attract all kinds of attention to himself. It didn't matter if Lambo was five or fifteen or twenty five; everywhere he went he seemed to draw attention and cusses and danger to himself.

It was enough to make Tsuna rather bear-ish to anyone who would do Lambo harm. Including –even if only through ignorance and her own flighty ideas of childrearing –Tsuna's own mother.

Though, Tsuna was hesitant to allow his flames to claim this little lightning. His uncertainty made his flames stutter when the branched out to Lambo's. Lambo hadn't really claimed Tsuna as more than a big brother (Tsuna-nii! You have to tuck Lambo in tonight.) But his flames were immature for all their ancient crackling. Tsuna was hesitant to claim Lambo as his lightning, he was a child, his little brother, his precious one. Claiming his flames would make Lambo his guardians and he couldn't bear the thought of Lambo having to fight for his life for Tsuna, it made every part of Tsuna feel nauseous.

Except, twenty-years-older Lambo appeared when Lambo –both five years old and fifteen years old –had felt tormented by Hayato's teasing words.

The room, in an instant had filled with ozone and the man practically crackled as he walked. He smirked at the young boys in the room, but when his eyes –so very green –had found Tsuna, there was an intent, concentrated rush of lightning that lanced through Tsuna.

It was hardened will, it was everything that Tsuna wanted to give the elements who had claimed him as their sky. It was everything Tsuna hoped to protect in the future.

He was breathless when Adult Lambo had chuckled, kneeling to sit with Tsuna on the floor. "You helped me get here, Tsuna-nii. It was you protecting me and making sure my flames were raised right that has made me this strong. Don't hesitate too long." And with a wink, and a kiss on Tsuna's cheek, little Lambo appeared in Tsuna's lap. Happy and babbling about how cool Adult Tsuna was.

It took no time flat for Tsuna's Harmony factor to wrap around Lambo's core in a very obvious protective gesture that had Reborn cackling for weeks.

No one, not Reborn nor Takeshi nor Hayato thought they'd ever meet anyone with a larger reserve of flames than Tsuna.

Until they met the monstrous sun that was Ryohei.

They had been training in the park (Hayato, Takeshi, Tsuna and Reborn) when Ryohei had sprinted in. Hayato liked to joke that Ryohei could smell someone doing EXTREME exercise from five miles away.

"Where are my fine kohai doing this EXTREME morning?!" His voice boomed, and with it the flood of sun flames that tried to overwhelm all the others.

Tsuna blinked owlishly, stunned by such an aggressive flame. He wondered if that's what the others felt when they first met his flames.

"We're training….you're Sasagawa-sempai, right?" Takeshi didn't sound too sure, then again, up until a few weeks ago he would have only bothered with baseball and more baseball.

Ryohei was nodding, though he dropped into a boxing stance and started shadowboxing as he spoke. "That's right! I am captain of the boxing club! You should EXTRMELY join. You seem like extreme underclassmen, and I could use some new blood."

And with that he was running, taking a tendril of Tsuna's harmony with him. Though, Tsuna didn't really notice the pull, because he was curious and Ryohei hadn't claimed the sky as his own.

Tsuna wished, when he ended up in the boxing ring with Ryohei, that he had paid a little more attention to the boxer when they'd met. Because as he dodged and weaved, his sky flames roaring and flinching as he moved around the ring, Tsuna couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the sheer outflow of sun flames constantly pooling around Ryohei.

It must be extremely exhausting to be in hyper dying will near constantly. Tsuna would have been far more impressed if it weren't for the fact that Ryohei could probably break his face with a single touch of that boxing glove.

Somehow, Tsuna had won that fight. Barely though. He and Ryohei were both bruised and winded. But Ryohei's flames glimmered like a child who had been allowed to buy a bucket full of candy.

"You're an extreme fighter, Tsunayoshi!" Ryohei commended, clapping Tsuna on the back after they cooled down. "You can call me Onii-san! I'd be proud to train with you anytime."

Tsuna chuckled tiredly, unaware of the fact that Ryohei's flames had claimed him as sky, or the way his next words claimed Ryohei as his sun until he felt the sudden explosion of harmony attach itself to Ryohei. The pull was massive to cover all of Ryohei's flames. "Thanks, Onii-san. You can join us whenever you feel like it."

For the first time, Tsuna actually felt exhausted by the drain his core felt upon bonding with Ryohei. He passed out when he got home, and it was only Hayato who managed to wake him up with Takeshi's help three days later.

A groan was the only thing that met the storm and rain, and Lambo was laughing somewhere in the room. "Go away, m'tired. Ryohei is a menace."

Though everyone had been worried for a while, Reborn going as far as to research what to do should a sky exhaust their harmony factor, it didn't take more than a week for Tsuna's flames to start pouring out again. It amazed Reborn for all it infuriated him. He had hoped that adding Ryohei to the mix would maybe calm his student's massive reserves of flames. But apparently they adapted too well to what Tsuna's elements needed.

How frustrating.

A couple of weeks later, Tsuna could only laugh until his stomach hurt when Ryohei passed him on the running track with a goofy grin and an excited shout. "You're stamina training is EXTREME Tsuna! I've only been training with you and the others for a week, but I'm already so much more EXTREME!"

Tsuna just waved Ryohei off when he collapsed laughing. Ryohei may not really understand the flames yet, but he seemed to understand the almost instantaneous effect of Tsuna's harmony on his own core.

"What do you think you herbivores are doing here?" Kyouya had growled into their training, startling Lambo and Ryohei.

"EXTREMELY training, do you want to join us, Kyouya-sempai?" Ryohei was happy and bubbly, as always. He had been teaching Lambo some boxing moves, as well as taking the child on stamina runs.

The cloud eyes the group warily, eyes sprinting between them all. He could see the growth in them, though his eyes were drawn the wide-eyes boy who seemed to be throwing off power surges.

Kyouya, as usual, didn't take long to attack.

Tsuna dodged and parried, his flames burning with the intensity. Though his guardians were growing, it had been a while since Tsuna had to fight so out-and-out like this. He lost obviously, much to Kyouya's disappointment. "Che, you lot better clean up this mess when you're done, kami korosu."

And he swung away, growling in rejection when Tsuna gasped out after him. "You can join us to make sure we do, Hibari-sempai."

Reborn had chuckled as Tsuna's shocked expression, sure that Kyouya wouldn't return again. "Clouds are difficult. You need to balance domination and trust for those ones. Can't hold them too tight, remember that Dame-Tsuna."

Hibari joined them a few times, fighting Tsuna, but being blocked by Takeshi. Going after Takeshi, but being taunted by Ryohei. He had to admit it was fun. Though he noted how gentle the little herbivore was, and it irked him.

Kyouya downed Tsuna for the fifth time, growling about being pathetic, and to fight seriously. "I'm trying, Hibari-sempai."

"Bu you aren't." And Kyouya ran off. Tsuna knew the damage had been done. His flames had claimed Kyouya as his cloud, but Kyouya had no intention of returning the favour to an herbivorous sky.

Tsuna would have been perfectly happy to leave it at that. Clouds weren't meant to be tethered or claimed. They were for the air, and they were for wandering. So Tsuna wouldn't have minded, and would have continued to allow Kyouya to feed off of his harmony, stay strong and protect Namimori and drift as he wanted.

Reborn smacked Tsuna about for being so self-destroying, but Tsuna couldn't help the feeling.

He supposed it was the strength of a sky's harmony, to want to be self-destroying for elements it had claimed.

What Tsuna didn't realise was how draining it was to do that. He forgot that even though it helped his elements to have access to harmony, it was detrimental to Tsuna if he didn't receive the same influx of the other elements.

The others had noticed, they had felt the waver. But they didn't know what to do.

All it had taken was Tsuna realising that his other elements were suffering (even if it was only the slight confusion and discomfort when Tsuna's harmony fluctuated daily) to get Tsuna to work at capturing the cloud that evaded him.

He trained harder, and worked to at least equal Kyouya in a match. Tsuna's wasn't delusional, he knew that it could take years to one-up Kyouya in an out and out fight. All he wanted was Kyouya to realise that Tsuna was willing to work.

Tsuna was willing to be strong enough for Kyouya's acknowledgement and his respect. Tsuna realised, as he worked, that he wanted Kyouya's trust and friendship.

That's what found Tsuna panting in the ruined quarry outside of Namimori. There were stones and boulders scattered, the walls were burnt with sky and cloud flames. There were masses of rock that Kyouya had propagated, and melted stone that Tsuna had destroyed.

Both boys were winded, though Tsuna looked a little worse for wear.

"Hn," Kyouya was never stupid, he was picky and he demanded respect and order. He had known about the flames for months now. He had watched as the little herbivore before him grew a backbone and fought with orange eyes and fists of fire. He had seen them, and he had tested himself. He has also seen the herbivores gather and grow stronger as they did do. He knew it was Tsunayoshi's doing, and he had wanted it himself.

However, he loathed when he improved for no reason. He took great insult when the little herbivore thought that Kyouya needed charity. Kyouya was willing to bend to a sky –yes, he knew about the flames, his family knew all –but he wasn't willing to bow to a sky who didn't see them as equals.

Kyouya didn't need protecting, he enjoyed company and he enjoyed knowing he had someone to have his back. However, Hibari Kyouya did not need charity, nor someone to coddle him. He needed someone to protect, who would give him support without being coerced.

So yes, he had made Tsuna realise his mistake, made Tsuna fight for the respect he had lost.

"I suppose you aren't half bad, omnivore. Don't let me find your fangs dulling again."

Mochida, having left Namimori middle, finally felt free. He felt like he was a new man, he fought fairly for his place in the kendo team, and even joined a mixed-martial arts team to keep himself trim.

He got a good part-time job at a dojo, working hard to make up for everything he had ever done wrong. He cut his hair, he worked out, and he gave up trying to impress anyone but himself and his sensei.

He got his brothers grades up, moved out to keep himself safe and free of poor influences.

He kept an eye out though, especially when Tsuna and his friends (many more of them now though) came up to high school. Mochida did his best to lay out an empty path for them, all while staying hidden.

Tsuna earned his respect when Tsuna figured out what Mochida was doing. However, neither spoke of it, instead they exchanged smiles in the halls, and it was enough thanks for Mochida at the time.

He knew of flames, but he didn't know about harmony, nor is the way that he drank Tsuna's harmony whenever the younger boy passed near his classroom or hallway. He drank it greedily, and his flames waited for the day that Tsuna would openly claim him as an element.

Mochida didn't understand this, but he worked hard so that one day he might.

Mukuro's arrival brought a lot of pain and fighting. Tsuna' flames were choked again by the separation from his elements, but he knew and understood the feeling now. He knew that once he had his elements back, and safe, and free of the wall of mist flames that blocked them from him that all would be well again.

The fight had been vicious, and Tsuna wanted nothing more to do away with this criminal who had tried to take away Tsuna's elements.

Except the Vindice had come along and threatened –no had actually harmed Mukuro –and the flames in Tsuna's core had made it very clear what they thought about the distress in Mukuro's flames.

"As Vongola Decimo, you will not take my element. Ever again."

There was a massive shift in Tsuna's flames and the harmony fluctuated enough that Takeshi tripped where he stood. Tsuna had never had mist flames in his circle of friends, not even Hayato possessed mist flames to help maintain the perfect balance. But they were here now, and Tsuna would be damned if he let them get taken from him. And the Vindice, this time, could not argue. They knew the potential in Vongola's harmony flames, they had faced those flames centuries ago with Primo. They would find a way to get their prisoner back, they swore to it.

But for now they released Mukuro and his mangy pack to Tsuna, ignoring the way that the Harmony factor practically chased them into their portal.

"I never asked for your help, vermin." Mukuro has spat, even as Tsuna helped him to his feet. Takeshi helped the other two to their feet as well. Kyouya has already stalked out, since the game was up.

"You didn't need to, Mukuro." Tsuna insisted, panting and exhausted. Hyper Dying Will hurt almost as much as Mochida's punches had not so long ago. "You never will again, I look after my elements as well as I look after my friends."

And Mukuro, with the knowledge of seven lifetimes of flames and bonds and harmony factor, was breathless as his own flames claimed Tsuna's as his sky. All for the future, Mukuro thought. Because being claimed by this sky meant that Mukuro was safe to plan and plot all he wanted. He would possess Tsuna one day, he was sure.

But still there was something missing. Tsuna knew his flames well enough by now –with Hayato's and Reborn's tutelage on the subject, as well as his intuitions overwhelming understanding of himself –that having just one of each element wasn't enough.

After all, Hayato alone drew in a lot of Tsuna's harmony to himself, and his other guardians were growing stronger each day, yet still Tsuna's harmony factor overflowed without limit.

The answer to the more that Tsuna needed came from Mukuro's other half, Chrome.

Mukuro had turned up with her one day, arriving on the breath of his flames as he entered Tsuna's room.

Tsuna's flames seemed to understand before Tsuna did, the way she and Mukuro moved around each other, because when they stepped forward to identify this strange mist, they were gentle.

"Kufufufu, don't look so shocked, Tsunayoshi," Mukuro purred as he stepped out of the mist with the girl in hand. "This is Nagi. She and I have shared flames for many years now."

And Tsuna held out his hand, a smile on his face as a new kind of balance took over. It felt like the scales had tipped suddenly. Two mists to counter all the other elements. It seemed very fitting. "Hello, my name is Tsunayoshi."

Chrome gasped, because the sick feeling in her throat was gone. The heaviness that she felt and the sluggish sickness that kept her stilled, even with Mukuro's flames and her own illusions maintaining her every organ and function, was suddenly gone.

No, gone was the wrong word. Chrome suddenly felt like the battle between her body, Mukuro's flames, and her own illusions was over. It suddenly felt like all sides understood their purpose, and realised that it was only together that Chrome would live. It was then, when her eyes closed of their own volition, that she felt another flame weaving through her. Sky flames the likes of which she had never felt before.

"H-Hello, boss. I'm Nagi, but I would like to be called Chrome."

Tsuna's smile was brilliant, and the flames wrapping around her and Mukuro brightened and warmed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Chrome. Welcome to our family."

It was graduation day. Not for Tsuna though, not for another year anyway. But his upperclassmen would be leaving for college or work now.

It was rather surreal, that so much time had passed.

It felt like forever and a day since Tsuna was a second year in middle school, tripping on air, failing out of every class, and being beaten into the concrete every other day. But he wasn't anywhere near that place any more. He wasn't failing all his classes –in fact he was near the top of the class in some of them –and he wasn't being beaten into the ground every other day…by malicious people anyway. Kyouya still enjoyed to beat Tsuna into the ground, even though he was currently getting his college degree finished up.

Tsuna almost couldn't wait for the year to be over, then he and his famiglia would be heading off to Italy to train and to destroy Vongola.

Still, as Tsuna watched over Ryohei –who was getting ready to graduate, and would be heading to Italy before Tsuna –he couldn't help but feel like there was something unaccounted for. Something in the way his flames wavered and searched through the crowds told Tsuna that there was a half-claimed element floating about.

Or perhaps two unclaimed elements, the way Tsuna's harmony split and spread to find it.

Tsuna pat Ryohei on the shoulder, "I'll be right back, Onii-san. Try not to get into too much trouble with Kyouya while I'm gone."

Ryohei laughed, punching his fists in the air. Because when had he ever caused Kyouya trouble?

Tsuna chuckled and started walking around the school.

One thing he and Reborn had been practicing and refining was his ability to use the sky flames that poured out of him as a way of tracking. Tsuna couldn't stop the flame particles that wafted around him, it was part of being harmony factor, and it was part of being Primo's lineage with potent Hyper Intuition. Since all efforts to control that outflow were for naught, Reborn had demanded they made use of it.

Tsuna could identify the positions of enemies with flames in about a fifty meter radius, and he could feel flames within one hundred meters.

So it was easy for Tsuna to climb the stairs to find a lone, painfully familiar figure leaning against the fence on the roof.

"Mochida-sempai?" Tsuna wasn't surprised, he had suspicions that Mochida had always had flames, but he was surprised to know that Mochida had two flames that burned almost equal. They were rather potent too, lightning and storm flames were brothers, and as such were temperamental and demanding of their reigning sky.

But Mochida's flames were much bigger and brighter than Tsuna had realised. They were burning in the same way that Tsuna's or his guardians' were. He had activated at least one of them recently, and it was ripping his insides apart. He was untrained.

His flames were unclaimed….though, as Tsuna drew closer, to stand beside the man, it seemed that Mochida's flames had already claimed a sky.

In an instant, enough to make Tsuna flinch with instinct still ingrained from years ago, Mochida turned on Tsuna and bowed. "I'm so sorry for everything I did in middle school. Will you please forgive me?"

Tsuna started, eyes wide and openly gawking at the bowed back of his once bully. Somewhere in Tsuna (the darker, vindictive part of his flames that demanded harmony be restored to him) whispered that he shouldn't accept Mochida's apology. After all, Mochida has always been cruel to Tsuna. However, the rational side (the side that demanded the kind of harmony that Tsuna enjoyed bringing about) acknowledged the strength it took to break pride to bow to someone younger than yourself and admit that you were very wrong.

This side one out, because this side was the one that understood, even six years ago when Hayato explained all about the flames, that Mochida hasn't had any choice in his actions.

How could someone with no knowledge of the flames understand that he had them, and that he had simply wanted to be claimed by the strongest, and only sky in the area?

So, fueled by both sides of his harmony, Tsuna grabbed Mochida's shoulders (and were they shaking?) and lifted the man up.

"It's okay Moch-Kensuke." Tsuna smiled, extending the olive branch. "I'll accept your apology, if you do one thing?"

Anything, Mochida wanted to say, but he refrained. He reined in that strange part of himself who wanted Tsuna's acceptance, and wanted to keep that pure orange gaze on him. "What?"

"Will you hear me out, and let me explain why this isn't your fault?"

Mochida didn't even need to answer, he was already standing and taking a place at Tsuna's left. Already falling into step with the man. Because yes, he wanted to know. He wanted to understand this desire in him and the strange flashes he felt in his gut when he was angry. He wanted to understand the red flames that he'd beaten his father with, and the green flames he'd used when his brothers were threatened. Mochida wanted to understand, and he knew Tsuna would understand. He'd understand and explain these urges to Mochida. Urges that demanded he destroy everything in his path, and draw damage to himself in the process.

And there you have it.

This was a strange thought that occurred to me today. What if, according to both my head-canon of Mochida having two flames and the canon that he joins the Vongola, Mochida didn't have a choice but to bully Tsuna? What if, unbalanced, untapped sky flames still practically vomited harmony factor?

In this case, surely a person with flames (and two at that) who didn't know he had flames would not be able to decipher the strong urge to be near the sky giving off these waves. And given that Mochida (in my universes) doesn't exactly have a stable family life, nor a stable footing on his emotions it's no wonder that (unfamiliar, uncomfortable, wrong) feeling in him turned into the urge to bully.

And, continuing, once Hayato (someone aware of flames, and who had five of his own) comes alone, suddenly Tsuna's harmony is being eaten, it isn't so overwhelming to be toxic anymore. Suddenly Mochida isn't so poisoned by it, and can move on, and Tsuna can learn and relax.

Or that was my thinking.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed!