Guess who's trying to get back into writing!

Don't know when I'll update this next or when I'll update any of my other fanfics. Thank you all for reading this and I hope you enjoy!

I.

There is a new family moving into the vacant house next door. There is a father, a mother, and a boy around his age – maybe few years older, Tsuna isn't sure.

They look nice enough.

The father is dressed in pressed, collar shirt and slacks. The mother wears a pretty floral dress and sparkly jewelry. The boy is in unkempt, casual clothing – the complete opposite of his clean, well-dressed parents.

Perhaps he'll go to Namimori Elementary like Tsuna. Maybe they'll even be in the same class!

Tsuna tries not to get his hopes up but it's hard with this fresh, new, unknowing family moving in right next door. They don't know Namimori. They don't know the neighbors. They don't know Dame-Tsuna.

Tsuna presses his face against his bedroom window, trying to soak in as much information as his eyes can see.

The father says something to the mother and they all move towards the entrance of their new house – well, except the boy. He lingers by the front gate just… looking. Looking at the front of the house, looking at the moving van behind him, looking up and towards –

Brown eyes meet amber eyes.

Tsuna pulls back from his window but doesn't break eye contact with the boy below.

Seconds turns to minutes and Tsuna wants to look away but can't and he's starting to get uncomfortable with the staring and what if he ruins this chance to finally have a friend and –

The boy suddenly smiles a too-sharp smile and raises his hand in a sort-of-half-wave which Tsuna returns, albeit nervously. Their encounter over, the boy follows his parents into the house.

Once out of sight, Tsuna lets out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

That had been… unsettling but the boy seemed friendly enough and who knows, perhaps they could even be friends!

II.

Tsuna doesn't see the boy again until a week later.

Their teacher announces that they have a new transfer student and Tsuna is nervous and excited about seeing the boy again.

She asks for the boy to come in and he does.

He walks – no strides – into the classroom with a sense of confidence and knowing that makes Tsuna's hopes instantly die. There's no way this cool, confident kid would want to be friends with a loser like Dame-Tsuna.

The boy introduces himself as Fujikage Ryota. He is seven years old, just moved back to Japan from America, and likes mochi, soccer, and his parents. He dislikes carrots and – smiling his too-sharp smile again – bullies.

Hope blooms once more in Tsuna's chest at those words. Perhaps…!

Ryota is seated in the only available seat – which just so happens to be right next to Tsuna.

No one wants to sit next to Dame-Tsuna! We might catch his stupid!

"Hey neighbor, nice to officially meet you!" Ryota says sticking out his hand with a glimmering smile – not the dangerous, unsettling one he had on before, Tsuna notes, but a genuine smile.

Smiling back, Tsuna shakes the offered hand. "Y-Yeah… nice to meet you too."

Ryota leaned back in his chair. "We're going to be best friends!" The other boy declares with an assured nod of his head.

III.

Ryota's declaration is put to the test at lunch.

As soon as the bell rang, the boy's desk is swarmed by the rest of the class – all clamoring to get his attention.

"What was living in America like?"

"Do you wanna play soccer after school?"

"Hey Ryota-kun! Come have lunch with us!"

He explains that things were so much bigger and brighter in America; says that he can't today because he still has to help his parents unpack and turns down the lunch offer – stating that he's going to be eating with Tsuna instead.

The class quiets immediately.

Tsuna trembles under the disgusted faces and stares of his classmates.

"Why do you wanna eat with Dame-Tsuna?" a classmate asks.

"Yeah, he can't do anything right!"

"Like that one time Takeda-sensei asked him to solve that one problem and Dame-Tsuna got it so wrong!"

Mocking laughter erupts in the classroom.

When they notice that Ryota isn't joining in, the laughter dies down.

A girl steps up to him and says, "C'mon, Ryota-kun! You don't want to hang out with Dame-Tsuna. He's such a loser!"

Ryota merely sighs, stands, looks at their classmates and says, "I don't like bullies." Then he steps around the group and grabs Tsuna's hand with a cheerful, "Hey, show me a good place to eat lunch at, Tsuna!" and leaves the classroom with a slightly dazed and optimistically nervous Tsuna in-hand.

The two eat lunch near the school's entrance and once lunch is over, Ryota tells Tsuna that he needs to use the bathroom and to head back to class first.

Tsuna agrees, when in hindsight he should've waited for his new friend – and isn't that a thrilling word to finally use - but finds himself cornered in an empty hallway by several of his bigger classmates.

"What the heck did you say to Ryota-kun, Dame-Tsuna?!" one student demands, pushing Tsuna up against the wall.

"I-I-I don't k-know wh-what you're talking about!"

"Don't play dumb with us! You must've said something to Ryota-kun 'cause there's no way someone awesome like that would want to have lunch or 'be friends' with someone like you!"

"I-I didn't say anything to h-him!"

"Liar!" Tsuna is promptly punched in the face and he slumps forward in pain. "… Oh! I bet he was just feeling sorry for you, Dame-Tsuna. You're so small and scrawny and Ryota-kun is such a nice guy, that's the only reason why he'd want to hang out with a loser like you! He didn't want to make you feel bad!"

"Ryota-kun is so nice and kind to do that!" another student says.

"But," the student that punched Tsuna in the face looms over him, "we'll make sure him understand that you don't need pity 'cause a loser like you isn't worth anyone's time."

Tsuna stares up at the group surrounding him. What if they're right? What if Ryota was just feeling sorry for Tsuna? That would explain why someone so cool like Ryota would eat lunch with someone like Dame-Tsuna.

Tsuna closes his stinging eyes – Aw, Dame-Tsuna is crying! What a baby! – and hangs his head. They're right. They're always right.

"What the hell is going on?" Ryota's cold voice cuts through the hallway like a knife.

"Ah, Ryota-kun! We were just telling Dame-Tsuna the reason why someone like you would eat lunch with someone like him."

Ryota tilts his head, a curious expression on his face. "Oh really? And what is that reason?"

"You're obviously feeling sorry for him! And since you're new here you don't know anything about who's cool and who's a loser; but don't worry, we'llshow you the cool kids to hang out with!"

Ryota stares at the group - just staring at them, no expression on his face.

"Hey… what's your name again?" he asks.

"I'm Tachibana Naoki!"

"Ok, Tachibana-kun…" Ryota moves closer to Naoki before smiling sharply, suddenly and syaing, "I hate people who bully my friends," before punching him in the nose.

Ignoring the cries of panic and outrage, Ryota turns to Tsuna and offers him a hand. "Is your cheek okay? We should take you to the nurse."

Tsuna stares up at the other boy. "W-Why… why did you punch him?"

"Because he was an idiot, that's why. And like I keep saying, I don't like bullies." Ryota pauses. "And we're best friends, right? I don't let anyone hurt my best friend."

Something warm blossoms in Tsuna's chest and now he's crying for a different reason.

Ryota simply smiles and pulls Tsuna up. "Now, which way to the Nurse's Office? We need to get you some ice for your face."

V.

Only Tsuna gets in trouble for "causing a fight" and is sent to detention after school – despite Ryota's protests.

Tsuna shrugs and says, "I-It's okay… this happens all th-the time…"

Ryota frowns deeply at that then declares, "Well then I'll wait for you outside that way we can walk home together!"

Tsuna is touched by his friends' declaration and smiles. "Okay."

Once Tsuna's detention is over – he just spent half-an-hour attempting to start on his homework under the 'watchful' eye of Takeda-sensei – the two boys head home.

Tsuna shows Ryota where the local park is, Namimori Shopping Center, the library, and where he likes to hang out after school sometimes – the local sweets shop.

"T-The owner is Yoshimura-san a-and she's really nice! S-Sometimes she gives me a free piece of c-candy if I keep her company!"

"Does she sell any mochi?"

"I-I think s-so… I don't re-really like mochi b-but she sells everything!"

Ryota laughs at Tsuna's enthusiasm before stopping in front of his house. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tsuna," he says with a smile and wave.

"Y-Yeah… s-see you tomorrow, F-Fujikage-kun!"

"Call me 'Ryota', Tsuna! We're friends, aren't we?"

Tsuna blushes at that comment. "O-Okay… R-Ryota-kun…"

The other boy nods, satisfied, before waving once more to Tsuna and entering his house.

Tsuna looks at Ryota's house for a moment before a wide smile spreads across his face. A friend! He actually had a friend! Just wait till his Mom heard about this!