I.

To be honest, he had expected something like this to happen eventually. His younger sister, after all, was a pretty young thing with flawless fair skin, long brown hair that framed a heart-shaped face, large chocolate-colored eyes with long lashes, and a kind and loving personality that could put a saint to shame.

Yes, he had whole-heartedly expected his sister to get married and have a child one day; he just didn't expect her to be married to the young CEDEF Leader of the strongest, most renowned mafia Family in the world, nor did he expect his nephew to be a Sky of all things.

Plastering on a too-bright smile in order to hide the turmoil he was currently feeling, Tachibana Ryuunosuke greeted his younger sister with a half-wave, ignoring her gasp of shock and surprise – and the subsequent dropping of the few shopping bags in her hands – at his sudden appearance outside her small, two-story home.

"… It's been a while, hasn't it, Sister?" He said, in lieu of a greeting. "Why don't you invite me inside so we can talk about everything that's happened over the past seven years?"

II.

Sawada Nana was finally content with life.

Married to a man she knew loved and supported her – no matter what the neighbors and naysayers gossiped about – and graced with the most adorable son to ever walk the face of the Earth – no matter what her dear Tsu-kun's teachers and classmates said – she was finally happy. True, her year-long relationship with Iemitsu might not be considered quite long enough to truly decide if marriage and starting a family was right with him, but… she loved him and she knew that he loved her and that's all that really mattered to her at that point in her life.

Still…

Nana lifted her cup and took a small sip of the liquid contents, peering at the profile of her older brother over the rim of the ceramic mug – her older brother whom she had not seen nor heard from in over six years and how dare he-

The brunette quickly – resolutely – stopped that particular train-of-thought from completing, after all, without her brother's help, she wouldn't be living in the quiet, suburban town that was Namimori, Japan. Instead, she would probably be stuck hanging off That Man's arm and forced to be paraded around like some kind of trophy and then when they were finally along That Man would put grimy, filth-covered hands on her and-

She rapidly ended that line of thought as well.

This was her present.

This was her life now.

She took another sip from her cup in order to calm herself before asking, "How have you been, Brother?"

Nana watched as her older brother tore his gaze away from inspecting the contents and layout of her home – not that he would be able to see much anyway from his seat at her kitchen table. The corner of his lips twitched upwards for a moment before he replied, "Busy," in a bland tone.

A soft giggle bubbled out of Nana's throat before she could stop it and she noticed the slight tension of her brother's shoulder ease a little at her laughter. At that sight, her own shoulders relaxed as well – it was a relief to know that she was not the only one who had been nervous about their eventual reunion, because, while it had been seven years since they last saw each other, Nana knew that Ryuunosuke would not truly abandon her, not like their-

No – now was not the time to be thinking about things like that.

"I can imagine," was her response. "Have things been going well with everyone?"

Ryuunosuke nodded, at last reaching for the cup of tea she had placed before him nearly ten minutes ago. "… More or less," he revealed after a momentary pause. "I've officially taken over Father as Head of the Clan and have implemented quite a few changes… most of which were never fully approved by the rest of the Clan."

"Well," Nana began, "you and I know better than anyone else on how narrow-minded and fearful of change everyone was."

"Some are still resistant to change; however, they are the minority now."

Nana nodded her head. "I see…"

"For the most part, things are final stable both within and outside the Clan which is why I was finally able to take some time off to come a visit you."

"I see…"

Silence fell between them.

Silence.

Silence.

Silen-

"So…" Her brother cleared his throat uncomfortably. "How have you been, Sister?"

And now they get to the core of the conversation.

"I've been doing well. I'm sure you already know this, but, I got married to the man of my dreams and gave birth to the most wonderful son a mother could ever hope for!"

Her brother flinched almost imperceptible, almost, and he closed his eyes for a moment. "… I'm sorry I wasn't there for you after you left the Clan, Nana," he began, "I-"

"It's not your fault, Ryuu," Nana interjected strongly, setting her cup down with a bit more force than necessary, the tea inside sloshing over lip of the cup and onto the table. "… If you hadn't taken that risk and helped me leave the Clan, then I would be married to a man I did not love and stuck living a life I did not want… or I'd be dead. The past seven years were nothing – are nothing compared to when I was shackled to and living under the Tachibana name!" She paused before continuing, "If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you. After all, you were the one who took all the risk and responsibilities of the Clan after I left… if you hadn't helped me leave… then you would probably be able to live the life that you wanted. So… I'm sorry, Ryuunosuke, for having to make you choose between my happiness and your own…"

Ryuunosuke was silent for a few minutes before he let out a low chuckle and shook his head slowly. "… Heh… We're a pair of right fools aren't we…? To me, as long as you're happy, everything I've been through has been worth it."

"And are you happy with everything, Ryuu?"

Nana's brother fell silent once more. "… I'm… satisfied with how things are."

Nana's gaze fell to the table separating them. "Then…" she began to speak, "as long as we're both happy… that's all that matters, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…" Ryuunosuke nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

The two siblings shared a smile before Nana's peripheral vision caught sight of the clock hanging on the kitchen wall.

"Ah! Tsu-kun should be coming home from school any minute now… would you like to finally meet him?"

"Thank you… I would love that, Sister."

III.

Sawada Tsunayoshi trudged his way home, head handing low and body littered with scrapes and bruises and who-knows-what-else.

Today had been another miserable day for the six-year old.

He had gotten lost while heading to school that morning and ended up being chased around by that scary dog one of the old ladies living in the neighbor had as a pet! That made him super late for class and everyone laughed and made fun of him for it! Then at lunch he not only had his lunch box taken away, but, also the lunch money his mom gave in 'just-in-case'! After that everyone learned that he had failed the math test from yesterday and made even more fun of him! And just now he had been beaten up by some of the older kids for walking down 'their' street!

The brunet whimpered softly when he accidentally bumped his bruised arm into the wall surrounding his house.

Oh well… at least he was home now, right? His mother would make him a cup of hot chocolate and make all his pain go away! Then he would try his absolute best tomorrow!

"I-I'm h-home…," Tsuna stuttered, shutting the door behind him.

"Welcome back, Tsu-kun!" His mother replied from the kitchen. "Come to the kitchen! There's someone I want you to meet!"

Heart beating loudly at his mom's sudden announcement, the brunet warily made his way down the hall and towards the kitchen.

Someone she wanted him to meet…? Who was it? Could it be a friend? No, not many people liked him or his mama… What if… what if she had another little boy in there because she didn't want a No-Good son like him?! That's probably what was happening! He was getting replaced! That's why his mama sounded so happy because she had found someone else to be proud of and-

With tears prickling his eyes, Tsuna peered around the junction where the hallway ended and the kitchen began, ready to see this other boy that would take his place and-

… That's not who his eyes landed upon.

That's not who was sitting at the kitchen table.

There was a man there: a man… who looked a lot like him!

The man was tall, much taller than his mom, with warm, tanned skin and brown hair that was messily brushed back. He was wearing a teal sweater, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, over a white shirt and had long, black pants with shiny brown shoes on. When the man noticed him and turned his head, Tsuna noticed that he also had brown eyes – like him and his mom! – and had a piercing on his right eyebrow and had a long, silver earring dangling from his left ear.

He was… pretty, Tsuna decided, almost as pretty as his mom.

Tsuna watched silently as the man smiled gently, eyes crinkling slightly, as he slowly got out of his chair and walked towards him.

"Hello," the man said, kneeling down to greet him, "it's nice to finally meet you, Tsuna-kun. My name is Tachibana Ryuunosuke."

Tsuna stared up at the man – Ryuunosuke – and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "A-Are you my father…?!"

Ryuunosuke blinked once in surprise before Tsuna saw… something flash in the man's dark eyes and the man's shoulders hunched forward for a split-second and-

'Oh no! D-Did I s-say something w-wrong and ma-make him a-angry?!'

-Tsuna drew back instinctively, eyes closing in fear, as he readied himself to face the man's anger and disappointment in him-

A hand settled softly on his head and Tsuna cautiously opened one eye, then the other, when the man did nothing more than ruffle Tsuna's hair.

With an apologetic smile, Ryuunosuke said, "Unfortunately, I'm not your father, Tsuna-kun, though, we are family. I'm your mother's older brother… which means, I'm your uncle."

Disappointment filled Tsuna when the nice man said he wasn't the brunet's father, but, that feeling quickly disappeared when the rest of Ryuunosuke's words registered.

"U-Uncle…?" Tsuna hedged nervously, hopefully.

Ryuunosuke nodded and removed his hand from Tsuna's head. "That's right, I'm your uncle and I wanted to say that I'm really sorry for not coming to visit you or your mother earlier. I know you and she must have gone through a lot over the past years…"

Something in Tsuna began to boil and seethe at the man's apology.

Yeah, the past few years have been horrible! Why did it take his so-called 'uncle' this long to meet him?! Why couldn't the man have come earlier?! What was wrong-?!

"I-It's n-nice to m-meet you, U-Uncle R-Ryuunosuke…," Tsuna said shyly, fidgeting slightly from his spot around the corner of the wall.

His uncle let out a soft chuckle and flashed another gentle smile. "Please, call me Ryuu or Uncle Ryuu; I know my name is long, huh? Just like yours, Tsuna-kun… that's something that we both have in common! Say… why don't the two of us start a club for people with too long names? You can be the first member and I can be the second, okay?"

Tsuna gaped at his uncle with disbelieving eyes. "I-I can be fi-first…?!"

He was never first at anything before!

Ryuunosuke nodded and said, "Of course, this is your home right? Since this will be the headquarters of our club that makes you the first person to join and the Leader!" He then leaned forwards, placed a hand against his mouth, and began to whisper loudly, "Just don't let your mother know about our super, secret club, okay? She might get jealous that she can't join because her name isn't long like ours."

"I can still hear you, you know." Nana said in a faux-upset tone as she placed a hand on her hip.

"I know," was Ryuunosuke's response.

Tsuna covered his mouth with his hands in order to muffle the giggles he was making. His uncle was a lot of fun!

"Alright then," Nana began, getting out of her chair, "Tsu-kun, why don't you go wash up then start on your homework, okay? I'll bring you some hot chocolate and snacks in a little bit."

"Okay!" Tsuna nodded and turned around before stopping and turning back towards the kitchen. Peering up at his uncle with hope lacing his eyes and words, the brunet asked, "U-Um… w-will you be s-staying for dinner, U-Uncle Ry-Ryuu…?"

"Of course, I want to know all about my favorite nephew and your mother and I have a lot to talk about, don't we, Sister?" Ryuunosuke turned his head to glance at Nana over his shoulder.

"… R-Right! That we do, Brother."

Tsuna's uncle turned back to face the seven-year old with another soft smile. "Truth be told, I'm actually on a… vacation of sorts so I'll be staying here for the next few weeks or so."

Tsuna brightened instantaneously at those words. "R-Really?!"

"Yep," Ryuunosuke nodded, "now, why don't you do as your mother said and go wash up and do your homework."

"O-Okay! I will!" Still sporting a bright grin, Tsuna turned and began clambering up the stairs.

IV.

Watching with an indulgent smile as his nephew scampered down the hallway and up the stairs leading up to the second floor of the home, Ryuunosuke knelt there, at the kitchen's entrance, for a moment before he stood and turned to face his sister – a stony expression marring his features.

"So tell me, dear Sister, why did Tsuna-kun mistake me for his father?"

His sister winched slightly at his cold voice before steeling herself and replying, "… It's because Tsu-kun's father hasn't been home in over six years."

"And why is that exactly?"

Nana's eyes narrowed slightly. "You of all people should know the answer to that, Brother."

Brown stared at brown as a tension began to rise between the siblings.

Eventually, Ryuunosuke broke his gaze away from his sisters' as he placed his hands in his pants' pockets, his lanky form hunching forward slightly. His eyes settled on the lone photograph gracing the front of the freezer door – it depicted only two people: Ryuunosuke's sister and nephew.

Ryuunosuke said, "… He doesn't even have the decency to take one family photo?"

"Please don't have double-standards for my husband and myself, Ryuu. Photos can cost people their lives in That World… I don't have many photographs of myself either, you know."

"Yeah, but you're-."

"What?" Nana interrupted in an affronted tone. "Different? An exception? I can't take many pictures of myself because technically I'm registered as dead! If I took pictures of Iemitsu and they somehow fell into the wrong hands, my husband and son could end up dead and that's something that I won't – cannot allow!"

"Nana…" Ryuunosuke glanced at his sister for a second before looking away, shame engulfing his posture and countenance. "I'm-."

"Don't you dare apologize, Ryuunosuke! I don't care that I can't take many pictures of myself or of my husband, I'm happy with this lifestyle. Here I can decide what I want to do, I'm not stuck living a life that's already dictated for me!"

"And what about your husband and his lifestyle, Nana? Are you honestly happy being with a man like that? A man who's from the world I tried so hard to get you out of?!"

"I am." His sister's reply was immediate. "I am the happiest that I've ever been."

Silence descended upon the two once more.

V.

"… Does your husband know?" Her brother asked quietly.

Nana shook her head. "No, and I plan on keeping it that way."

If… If her darling husband's Family were to ever discovered just who she was and the lineage she came from… everything she had worked so hard to build in Namimori would be shattered. In the worst-case scenario, she would be forced to live a life she did not want to live or would have to watch her son live a life he most likely would not want and would not survive in.

"We both know that there are secrets we are keeping from one another," Nana continued, "I think that's one of the things that drew us to each other… the knowledge that we – as people and as husband and wife – don't care about where our spouse came from or about their past. I love Iemitsu, and I know he loves me, and that's all that matters."

"And what about your son, Sister?" Ryuunosuke countered harshly, causing Nana's resolve to falter. "Does he know his father 'loves' him, much less is alive and well?"

Nana averted her gaze. "Th-That is…"

"I would have imagined," her brother persisted, "that you would have done anything and everything in order to give your son some semblance of a relationship with his father, one that you did not have with our own father."

"That's-!"

"I thought that you would have gladly put your own son's happiness before your own, Nana," Ryuunosuke said, his voice heavy with disappointment. "I mean, that's what I tried to impart on you when I raised you all those years ago."

"I-I do care about Tsu-kun's happiness!" Nana cried out in indignation and rage.

"Then why are you so afraid of putting your own happiness at stake?"

"I-I'm not! I-It's just that if I w-were to do anything drastic th-then I-Iemitsu would-!"

"So you not only put your own happiness above your son, but also your husbands'?"

"Th-That's not true! Let me finish, Ryuunosuke! Y-You would also be in trouble if I-!"

"I don't care about myself or my well-being, Nana, and you shouldn't either. You and I both know that I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

Nana drew herself up to her full height and glowered at her older brother. "A-Are you saying that I can't take care of myself?!"

"Of course not, Nana," Ryuunosuke drawled, "you are an adult now, it would be utterly disrespectful of me to start treating you like a child."

"G-Good! Then-!"

"However, that doesn't mean that I won't treat you like a fool."

"E-Excuse me?!"

"Let me ask you this, Sister: Are you happy here?"

"Of course!"

"And is Tsunayoshi happy here?"

"Of course he is!"

"Are you absolutely positive of that?" Ryuunosuke challenged, taking a single step forward. "Constantly bullied and ridiculed by his fellow peers and instructors. Mocked and put down by the neighbors. He consistently fails every test and subject he takes and can't walk a straight line without tripping over thin air. Naïve and air-headed and, above all… weak. He reminds me a lot of you when you were a child, Nana." Another step forward. "In fact, he is the spitting image of you when you were at that age."

"Th-That…!"

"Let me ask you one more thing, Sister: When you were at the age as Tsunayoshi, were you happy?!"

"I-I…!"

"The answer to that is: No! You were completely and utterly miserable! And you would have been killed if I hadn't stepped in and saved you! Don't you know that Tsunayoshi feels the same you did all those years ago?! Except the big difference this time around is that there's no one here to save him!"

"D-Don't you dare assume that-!"

"… Nana… Sister… I love you, but, sometimes you can be the biggest fucking idiot in the world! Open your eyes! Don't let your judgment and perception of the world be clouded by your own desires and Flames! I taught you better than that!"

"My Flames are not-!"

"Yes, they are-!"

"H-How could you possibly began to imagine everything that we've-?!"

"M-Mama…?" The quiet – barely above a whisper – voice had both adults whipping their heads towards the kitchen entrance, where Tsuna stood watching the argument with wide, tearful, and fearful eyes.

"T-Tsu-kun!" Nana started at the sight of her son. "I-It's okay! E-Everything's-!"

"No," her brother interjected, his eyes still trained on the trembling form of Tsuna, "everything is certainly not okay, Sister." He turned after a moment and leveled his gaze at her. "… Why don't you begin making dinner? I'll go upstairs and help Tsuna-kun with his homework."

Without waiting for her response, Ryuunosuke turned and whisked the child back up the stairs, leaving the brunette woman alone with her thoughts and feelings.

VI.

"I… Is e-everything o-okay…?" Tsuna asked tentatively once he and his uncle were in the brunet child's bedroom. The two were sitting at the low-table Tsuna had in his room in order to work on his homework.

"… No," Ryuunosuke admitted from his seat next to the child, "your mother is being a stupid-head, Tsuna-kun."

"M-Mama's not st-stupid!"

"I'm her older brother, Tsuna-kun so I can tell when she's being stupid. And just now she was being super stupid."

"O-Oh… wh-why was she being s-stupid…?" Tsuna's uncle fell silent and stayed silent for such a long time that Tsuna thought that the man had fallen asleep with his eyes open. "U-Uncle…?"

"… When your mother was your age," Ryuunosuke began suddenly, "she was exactly like you. She got bad grades and was bullied almost every day and everyone said that she was a loser and no-good. Our father – your grandfather – was not a nice man. He was very strict and mean and would yell and hit your mother whenever she did something wrong. When your mother turned ten, something very bad was supposed to happen to her – and it would have happened to her had I not stepped in and began to look after her. I am ten years older than your mother, Tsuna-kun, so when I began taking care of her, I was an adult while she was still a child. I'd like to think that I was a kind and fair guardian for her that taught her a lot of stuff, but now… I don't think I did a good enough job."

Tsuna tilted his head in confusion. "W-Why? M-Mama is kind and gentle and m-makes the best food and she doesn't get mad at me e-even when I get bad grades and have no friends and she always makes me feel better and she's s-super smart and pretty too!"

His uncle stared at him for a minute before a small smile appeared on his face. "… You really love her, huh?"

"O-Of course! Sh-She's the best Mama in the whole wide world!"

"I see… can I ask you a question, Tsuna-kun?"

"O-Okay… b-but I m-might not know the an-answer…"

Ryuunosuke chuckled. "That's fine; I know that you'll know the answer to this one… Are you happy here, Tsuna-kun?"

"I-I am!" Tsuna nodded enthusiastically. "E-Even though the other kids are m-mean to me and like to pi-pick on me… and e-even though I get b-bad grades… I-I'm happy b-because I have Mama and I kn-know that Mama loves me!"

Ryuunosuke hummed in response and leaned back so that he was lying on the floor of Tsuna's bedroom. "… I guess…" he murmured to himself, "I was being stupid too, huh…?"

"D-Did you say something, U-Uncle Ryuu…?"

Tsuna's uncle sat up and shook his head. "No, it's nothing, Tsuna-kun… now; let me know if you need help with a problem, okay?"

"R-Right!"

VII.

Dinner was a quiet, tense affair with Tsuna doing most of the talking – for once – while the two adults carefully avoided talking to one another. Only after Tsuna was washed and cleaned and put to bed did the two siblings finally sit down to have another conversation.

"… Nana," Ryuunosuke began first, "I want to apologize for my words earlier. It was wrong of me to assume that you were just idly sitting by without a care in the world, watching as your son went through the exact same things that you went through as a child. I know now that you must be the most heart-broken of all to be witnessing history repeat itself."

"… I wanted to apologize too, Ryuu…" Nana said soon afterwards. "I realized that doing nothing to help Tsu-kun is just like I'm instigating everything myself and as a mother, I should be – need to be doing more to help my son. It's just… and I know this is going to sound nothing more than an excuse, but… I don't know how to help Tsu-kun. I mean, I needed your help when I was his age and now that I'm much older, I should be able to help Tsu-kun myself but… I'm not strong like you, Brother… I feared that if I tried to do something… that it would just make things worse for Tsu-kun, I mean," here a self-depreciating smiled blossomed on Nana's face, "having the 'husband-less harlot of Namimori' make a scene in order to better the life of her son… how 'arrogant' and 'conceited' of her, right? She's obviously 'meddling with the status-quo'."

The other brunet closed his eyes at Nana's revelation. "So… you have tried to do something about Tsunayoshi's undesirable situation, then?"

"I tried multiple times, Brother. I talked to the teachers themselves then to the school Principal… I even filed a complaint against the Department of Education but, nothing happened. I also tried talking to the parents of Tsu-kun's classmates to see if they were aware of the things their children were doing, their response was for me to 'let things be'. I tried hiring tutors for Tsu-kun and signing him up for martial arts classes but, those never panned out in the end. I try tutoring him myself when I have the time but it's not a regular occurrence since I'm the only adult in the household. People think that being a single parent is easy, but it's not. I've even thought about moving to another town just to have a fresh start with Tsu-kun, but with Iemitsu and his 'job'… I've even thought about getting in contact with you, Brother, but then if I did it would jeopardize everything that you did to help me leave the Tachibana Clan… so-."

"So, you've been forced to try and figure out everything by yourself," Ryuunosuke concluded.

"… Yes…," tears gathered in the corners of Nana's eyes, "I love Tsu-kun and I want nothing more than him to be happy, but sometimes… sometimes I still feel like the scared little girl I used to be and don't know what to do at times…"

"Nana…," Ryuunosuke breathed, bowing his head. "I'm sorry, I really am. When I helped you leave the Clan, I knew that you would be forced to live a restricted life with not much input in what you could say or do but still… I could have made eased the burden on you in some way… I could have sent someone we both trust with you to provide emotional and monetary support. I could have kept tabs on you to make sure you were able to handle suddenly being on your own. I could have visited you earlier! I could have-!"

"… 'There's no used in dwelling on what-ifs and what-could-have-been'… you were the one who taught me that, Brother. The life lessons you imparted on me when we were younger… those are what kept me going all these years! Well, that and my dear Tsu-kun!"

Ryuunosuke huffed out a laugh at his sister's words. "I'm glad…," he said with a smile. "You know – despite what Father and everyone said about you – I've always thought that you were strong, Sister. You kept on trying to live up to the Clan's expectations of you and never gave up regardless of the criticism and disapproval thrown at you."

"Ryuunosuke…"

"And Tsunayoshi hasn't given up yet either, right? I got that feeling from him earlier that, in spite of all the negativity he faces… he still tries his best and doesn't surrender to the doubt and uncertainty surrounding him."

"Yes… Tsu-kun is such a strong and caring boy!"

"That he is."

"Brother…," Nana began. "Thank you, for coming to visit. You've given Tsu-kun and I hope again."

Ryuunosuke leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "I plan on doing more than just that, Sister. As I mentioned earlier, the situation with the Clan has finally settled down which is why I was able to come a visit you like this… sorry for dropping by unannounced, by the way."

Nana smiled brightly. "It's fine, Brother. I'm just glad to see you again after all these years!"

Ryuunosuke returned the smile. "Me too... anyways, what I wanted to say was that, I want to start playing a more active role in your and Tsunayoshi's lives, now that things have cooled down with the Clan."

"R-Really?!"

The older brunet nodded his head. "Yes. I know I wasn't there for you for the past seven years, but… I am now, and I will be here for you and Tsunayoshi for as long as you'll have me."

One of the main reasons why I haven't been updating is because I recently got Persona 5 and have been sucked into Persona 5 hell (it is amazing). I originally planned on making Ryuunosuke similar to Sojiro from Persona 5 but, as I was word-vomiting this chapter, his personality and back-story changed drastically.

Don't know when this particular fic will be updated again.

As always, please let me know if you loved it or hated it via PM or review!