I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! This story is partially inspired by Kismet, a story by Night-Mare (Aoife).

Reborn was pretty sure something was wrong, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The assignment was pretty straightforward: whip a dame student into a powerful Vongola Decimo. With the information he had gotten, it would be like chipping at a block of marble. Not counting breaking that Seal on his flames.

On paper, it looked like a simple dame student with a magnetism of negativity which would take forever to hammer in a steel spine.

So he ignored how Tsuna seemed insistent on keeping him at least five feet away from Maman. How twitchy he seemed around the potential Cloud Guardian Reborn had found terrorizing the school.

(Or how his flames were a dark gold, almost purplish. Because if his information files were wrong, he was going to murder Iemitsu. He was the World's Best Hitman, he would do it).

But when he brings Gokudera in, logic smacks him in the face and calls his mother fat.

Those were not Sky Dying Will Flames. Those were nowhere near Sky flames.

Tsuna had put out the dynamite with unholy speed and once Gokudera surrendered, started seemingly mothering him. It was utterly ridiculous to watch and Reborn nearly shot him for it. Tsuna had gotten in the way of Gokudera's bullet.

So Reborn cut his losses and called a fellow Arcobaleno. Verde was a scientist without morals, he would know.

"Sealing is a very inexact art. To me, it sounds like a combination of trauma, Disharmony, and necessity caused their Sky flame to splinter. Thus they no longer possess it." Verde's tone was entirely too calculating. "There has been some documented cases but most weren't Sky flames or so long at so young."

Reborn hangs up before Verde finishes cracking the phone's encryption and tracing it. His dame student was not getting kidnapped to get studied at this point. He had a reputation to keep, damn it.

So he calls in Shamal instead and forces him at gunpoint to examine Tsunayoshi's flames.

(At this point, Tsuna had already pretty much adopted the potential Rain and Lightning. It was getting ridiculous).

"You're right. No Sky flames." Shamal said, removing the machine from his student. "I'm thinking a particularly magnetic and powerful Cloud with an extremely strong Sun secondary."

"His flames are golden." Reborn said, not a question. Shamal yawns.

"Probably a trait of having the Sun Arcobaleno so close by. Plus what the tasks he needs to complete would require. You can see the Cloud there though. I'd hate to mess with his territory, Clouds can be unholy terrors without a Sun's tendency to get attached." Shamal states.

"Why those flames though?"

"Have you ever seen a Sky? Most are possessive bastards."

Reborn punts his plans out of the window and leaves a venomous cobra in Iemitsu's office. But he could work with this.

They just said he had to teach Tsuna. The Vongola could deal with the heir issue because if Vongola was going to be so dead set on blood and flames, they could die out. He had no real attachment to the famiglia.

Tsuna remained quiet for once, digesting this new information.

On one hand he is so relieved because he doesn't have to be a mafia boss anymore. On the other, he is even madder at his father. The man agreed to something that traumatized his son so much that his 'soul' broke.

Plus… "I guess you are leaving soon then." He would never admit to it but he had gotten attached to his sadistic tutor. Just a tiny bit.

He whined as he was kicked in the cheek. "Itai…" Tsuna said, clutching at his poor wounded cheek.

Reborn tilted his fedora. "I think not. You may not become the Vongola Decimo but you're going into the mafia."

Tsuna wished he had listened to the feeling that told him to stay in bed that day.

The first meeting with Dino was interesting.

The look on his old student's face was hilarious when he realized he wasn't dealing with a baby Sky but a nearly unSealed baby Cloud. But it was what came next that made Reborn so happy he had brought a camera.

Because stupid Dino's flames had automatically reached out toward the compatible strong flames (honestly he had taught him better than that). And apparently the flame trauma went deeper than they thought because Tsuna reacted like Dino had just hula hooped on his mother's grave.

Half his room was destroyed before he finally tackled Dino out the window. It got even better when the other Cloud showed up and actually joined Tsuna in the fight.

Reborn made a note to tort-tutor Dino a bit. Obviously he needed it since he couldn't defeat a young Cloud. Dino had looked so embarrassed when Tsuna had finally snapped out of it and promptly apologized.

(The stupid Sky still stayed in touch though because Clouds, let alone powerful ones were hard to find).

Tsuna was going to burn this amusement park to the ground.

These mafia prisoners had invaded his territory, attacked his precious people, and attacked Hibari as well. Hibari who had once dragged him into the terrifying Cloud's office and ended up teaching him all sorts of neat flame tricks.

(In another world, Tsuna was more reluctant and faced a set of trials that forced his friends to sacrifice themselves to keep the game going. In this one, a vengeful Tsuna stormed Kokuyo, heedless of his rapidly healing wounds, and fought his way right up to Mukuro).

Tsuna was almost unhappy when chains stole the prisoners away. Because he wasn't done with them yet, they hadn't been properly punished for their attack. He didn't want to admit that after hearing what Mukuro, Ken, and Chikusa had gone through, his flames were dead set on adoption.

The Varia Trials were almost comical. Tsuna could practically see his tutor shrieking with silent laughter at the sight of their dramatic entrance.

"I'm sorry," Reborn said, obviously not sorry at all, "But Dame Tsuna is ineligible for the post of Vongola Decimo." The Varia almost seems to stare as Reborn casually hopped to the ground. Iemitsu spluttered in the background.

"What do you mean my son is ineligible!" He snapped, face growing red.

"Well the Vongola Decimo must have Sky flames and Dame Tsuna is no Sky." Reborn said. Leon was already in his hand, form already changing to that of a gun.

Almost as if on cue, Tsuna's temper finally snapped.

He had his deadbeat father return and now assassins were apparently hunting him and his people for something he couldn't even have.

"WOULD ALL OF YOU FUCKERS JUST GO AWAY!" He shrieked, going up in golden purple flames. Xanxus snarls and starts firing and the entire meeting devolves into a battle royal.

Which ended when Tsuna smacked Xanxus in the face with the man's own throne, and threw the box of rings at his father. Then stalking off with the air of pure irritation.

He ignored how the Varia hung around after that, obviously interested in some of the dangerous people getting sucked into Tsuna's life. He could care less about Belphegor baiting Gokudera just that the Storms needed to stop causing so much property damage.

Tsuna was going to burn Byakuran to death and dance on the man's ashes.

The stupid white haired marshmallow addict not only went on a vicious conquest, but had also killed the Arcobaleno. His tutor had been gone. How was this man not already been dead?

It got even worse when they first met and he could feel Byakuran's flames brushing against him. The crazy guy was actually still Guardian flirting with him.

Tsuna shuddered, pushing his flames deeper down where the Sky flames couldn't touch. He just wanted to scrub every inch and pretend that the entire meeting had never happened.

What was with Skies and their attraction to powerful Elements?

Tsuna was almost relieved when the entire thing was over and he could go home. Hopefully his life would approach being normal now.

So this was just a short little AU thing I wrote out. Based on the premise of what if Tsuna was no longer a Sky? I settled on Sunny Cloud because Tsuna was super protective and caring for his friends in canon.

The Arcobaleno representative battle basically dissolved into a clusterfuck when Tsuna went Cloud Rage on the Vindice and Kawahira. He ended up forcing them to find an alternate cure because he swore to god if the current Arcobaleno were killed and he or his friends were dragged in he would hunt them down.