Warning: Contains OC's, OoC, Not The Best Decision Making By A Certain 13 Year Old.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

When One Door Closes...

The day they buried his mother the sky was overcast.

Sawada Tsunayoshi stared blankly as they lowered his mother's casket into the ground. To be honest he wasn't quite sure what he was feeling. Was it sadness? Was it loss? Was it guilt maybe, for not noticing how sick she was? Or was it possibly the crushing amount of responsibility that had just plopped itself onto his shoulders?

Tearing his eyes from the scene he instead glanced down at the sibling currently entangled around his right side. His younger sister, Sawada Keiko, had her arms wrapped tightly around his leg, somehow managing a dead lock with her ineffectual, eight year old arms. She was shaking, he noticed. Numbly he placed a hand on her head, which calmed her quaking a little, but not all the way.

"Where is Okaa-san?" Keiko asked shakily, her voice barely above a whisper.

Before Tsuna could respond, the sibling to his left, Natsu, answered for him. "She's gone," Keiko's twin replied icily. "Didn't you hear what they said?!"

"They said she went away..."

Natsu's grip on Tsuna's left hand grew tight. "Okaa-san didn't go on vacation or something, she's dead, Keiko."

"Dea - ?"

"Enough," Tsuna interrupted, his voice stern and filled to the brim with barely contained emotions. "Don't fight today. Not today."

"Sorry," they both mumbled in unison.

Tsuna sighed, and hugged them closer to him. Just what was he going to do? He was only thirteen years old, he wasn't old enough to take care of two younger siblings by himself. However, the idea of them getting taken away or separated was too debilitating for his heart to take. Even just the idea of it made him feel as if he were slowly crumbling away.

With his father missing in action and his mother lacking any real relatives there was nothing else that could be done.

People at school called him useless. They called him a Dame-Tsuna. But he couldn't be that way anymore, he had to find a way to take care of his family. To make sure their lives didn't become horrible and messy. He had to try... for them.

"Come on, guys, we should get going soon," Tsuna tried to move them, but they stood utterly still. "What's wrong?"

"Can we stay a little longer?" Natsu asked, watching intently as shovels of dirt plodded on top of their mother's casket.

"Flowers..." Keiko said simply. Looking down at her once again, Tsuna realized the girl had a tiny bouquet in one hand. For the life of him he couldn't recall when she had picked them up.

His throat tightened, and his honeyed orbs burned.

Tsuna didn't want to stay here another moment, but they needed it apparently. They needed to understand, to rationalize what was happening. He had the second he got called out of class. They however, barely knew the concept. They barely knew anything about the world. So he continued to stand there, as resolute and strong as he could manage. He just hoped they didn't notice how close to broken he really was.

As the new makeshift family watched their old guardian get farther and farther away time seemed to bloat. Waning in and out. Some moments Tsuna saw things with such clarity, others it was as if the world had blotted and smudged beyond recognition. Until finally he felt a hand at his shoulder.

When he turned he saw a face he didn't recognize. It was a woman in a suit, which had been trimmed to hug her body snugly. Half of her sandy blonde hair was tied back into a bun, and behind her glasses were a pair of sharp, pointed eyes. Tsuna swore they seemed red as if she had been crying previously, but decided he didn't care either way.

"Hello, Tsunayoshi, my name is Oregano," the woman introduced herself with a stiff bow. "I work for your father. He apologizes that he couldn't make it out here today, but he would like to offer - "

"Get out of here," Tsuna cut her off, his voice lethally thin. "I don't want anything from him."

"But - "

"This isn't just some game or recital that he's missed," Tsuna pointed out. "So I don't care what he has to offer, and you can tell him that."

"I - "

"Keiko-chan," Tsuna turned his attention to his sister. "Why don't we go put those flowers to use, huh?"

"Y-yes, Onii-san."

Tsuna firmly placed his hands on each of his siblings backs to guide them towards the grave, which had just recently been finished. After a step he turned over his shoulder to look back at Oregano. "You can leave now, can't you see we're grieving?"

Oregano looked struck, as if she had just been lashed at by her boss himself. "As you wish."

Tsuna didn't watch her walk away, but his body vibrated with anger. Rage bubbled in his veins and to be honest it felt as if there were a mass of fire inside him wanting nothing more than to break free.

But instead, as much as he didn't want to, as much as he wanted to run home, hide under the covers of his bed and forget the day, he crouched down in front of his mother's grave, and read the words of her tombstone.

Sawada Nana.

Loving Mother and Wife.

That's all it said... Tsuna couldn't believe that her life could be summed up in four words. His mother was so much more than that. Nana had been strong, fiercely loyal and compassionate beyond compare. At times it was almost as if she were psychic with how well she knew her children.

Nana knew Tsuna wasn't useless. She knew what all of his favorite things were, and she always had just what he needed at an arm's length away.

Nana knew that Keiko and Natsu weren't exactly the same, like all of their teachers and everyone else thought. She knew how to calm Natsu down when his temper got the best of him, and she knew how to get Keiko out of her shell to not be so shy.

Loving Mother and Wife...

In an attempt to take his mind off the words he turned to Keiko, and helped her arrange the bouquet. Her hands had been shaking too much to let them go. "Thank you..." Keiko choked out, her voice thick.

Tsuna placed a hand on the young girl's head. Usually he would ruffle her hair, but he kept his hand steady this time, hoping to instill the support that he so desperately craved.

A/N: Not quite sure what to make of this yet... may become a drabble series, may not.