"A hero is a man who does what he can." – Romain Rolland

When children told their parents that there might be monsters under their beds, their parents might take it in jest, a sign of a hyperactive imagination. When Tsuna said there were monsters under his bed, he was telling the truth.

At first, the shadows that danced around his room, seemed unreal, curling and writhing against the dark walls, stretching like weeds onto the ceiling. Tsuna rarely slept in his own room anymore, finding space beside his mother who would hum softly and accept him with open arms. It worked for a while, but Tsuna didn't miss the shadows licking underneath the door some nights, like skittering claws dancing across the white wood. Sometimes he could hear the scratches, sometimes he could hear them whisper for him to come back.

He didn't.

The nights were the worst, but the days weren't any better. Tsuna had asked his mom to always walk him to school, his hand in hers, and pick him up right after at exactly 3 PM. He ignored what the other kids thought about it. He rarely talked to them anyways, and their whispers were nothing compared to the ones in the shadows, in the dingy corners of an unused classroom, and in the tiny holes on the walls hidden by crude kids' drawings.

His mother didn't say anything about what could be seen as childish. She found it endearing and Tsuna was just grateful for her being innocent as she was. It helped, but not really. She wouldn't understand the voices, the wisps, the ghosts that crept behind the cracks. She wouldn't. No one would.

So Tsuna endured. He wrapped himself up in a thin cocoon and braced through the sinister taunts and hisses that followed him everywhere he went. That was, until he turned 6.

"Now, Tsu-kun, there's someone back home who really wants to meet you," Nana said after picking him up from school, her hand easily curling around his, a small comfort.

Tsuna held onto his backpack as if it would be torn away from his grasp any moment. It had happened once in school after the dismissal bell rang; one of his bullies had grabbed it and almost chucked it out the window if Hibari hadn't been prowling through the halls at the right time.

"He'll be very happy to see you again," Nana said, undisturbed by Tsuna's silence. In fact, Tsuna wondered if his mother was just used to it already or if she didn't care. He hoped it was the former. "Do you remember the man that visited us a long time ago? Maybe you were too young to remember but he remembers you very well."

Tsuna could only think of a tall man with blond hair. He didn't like him. The man smelled like beer and cigarettes, and he carried more shadows with him than anyone Tsuna had ever met. They were mostly bad ones, the kind that hiss in the man's ears about blood, death and ashes without him knowing; but Tsuna knew. He could hear them. There weren't enough good ones to keep them quiet.

Quiet—Tsuna missed some quiet time. There was the good quiet when he knew the world kept moving but he knew that he was alive, and there was the bad quiet when he felt all alone curled up in his flimsy cocoon where no one could reach him.

"Maybe," he said, his voice soft. He kept his eyes trained straight ahead. If he looked anywhere else, he'd see black hands reaching out to him from the trees, the dirt, and he didn't want that. He didn't want to see them.

"He's going to stay for a few days," Nana said, her joy almost contagious if Tsuna wasn't so reluctant in sharing it. He really didn't like that idea. "Isn't that great? We can all have fun together. Ah, remember that new amusement park in Kokuyo? The one on the TV with the bears? We can go there, too."

Tsuna blinked, his small steps out-of-sync with his mother's careful stride, and almost looked across the street at the floating glob of black that went on and off like a traffic light. Those were harmless but still nasty. One of them had ruined Sasagawa-san's garden last week, making all the flowers go rotten. Tsuna had told the lady that it was because of the black blobs, and that they were always hungry, but she just looked at him strangely until Nana found him and tugged him away with gentle apologies. Kyoko, the prettiest girl in his school, didn't greet him nicely in the morning anymore after that.

"Maybe," Tsuna said again. When Nana didn't say anything more, he clutched her warm hand a little tighter. "Can I get ice cream there? Do they have ice cream?"

Nana finally looked down at him, the sun casting a glow on her long brown hair, making it look lighter; her eyes were kind and something else passed by, too quick for Tsuna to catch. Either way, he wouldn't know what it was. His emotions just ranged from nervous to scared, a very short spectrum.

When his mother's lips curled into a gentle smile, Tsuna loosened his grip around her hand but didn't let go. "Yes," she said, "they'll have ice cream. What would you like? Chocolate? Vanilla? Hmm, maybe strawberry?"

The options helped Tsuna think of something else other than the whispers, letting his mind wander to a brighter area of good. He liked how his mom can help him do that, even if she didn't know if she was doing it or not. "Vanilla," he said. "I don't like too much chocolate. Strawberry is too…sweet."

Nana laughed, reminding Tsuna of the wind chimes that hung above Kurokawa-san's porch. They were nice, and sometimes made the shadows go away. Their home didn't have bad luck like the others. Maybe Tsuna could ask his mother to buy some wind chimes, too.

"Just vanilla," Nana said, squeezing his hand comfortingly. "What about the cute dolls? Would you like the purple bear or the pink one?"

Tsuna wrinkled his nose, edging closer to Nana's side when a ghoulish-looking child tried to reach for him through chipped, wooden fences. "I don't like dolls." They carried a lot of shadows.

Nana squeezed his hand again. "They're cute, like you. Maybe the purple one would like nice. It's a bear too, a cute bear."

Tsuna leaned into her touch and his pace quickened. "Maybe."

Kindly, Nana didn't say anything more about bears or dolls. Instead she started talking about the food that she was going to cook that night for dinner. Tsuna let her sweet voice drown out the whispers and hisses. They didn't disappear completely but they didn't bother him as much anymore, and that was all he wanted.

While Nana cooked in the kitchen, humming a merry tune, Tsuna sat at the dining table with his small robot toy in his hands. He fidgeted the tiny gray arms, which were too loose after a lot of fiddling and touching, so he did it carefully, very carefully, so they wouldn't break. He got the toy from a meal set at the fast-food restaurant on Third Street and kept it close ever since. He named it Boto.

In the living room, there were some clothes strewn over the couch and the smell of some flowery air freshener was still fresh on Tsuna's nose, though there was a faint trace of beer that lingered. The bright lights in the kitchen deterred most of the shadows from reaching Tsuna. Most were harmless, old ghosts that had passed away in the house, lonely and cold from years of solitude. Tsuna still didn't talk to them or acknowledged their existence after one of them had nearly burned his mother's hand. Even if it was an accident, Tsuna didn't listen to their meager warbles of apology. He didn't want anything to do with them. He'd resist.

But he couldn't ignore the thick mass of blackness that clung onto the man at the couch who was watching some baseball on the TV. Tsuna wasn't sure if he was paying attention to it. The man, Iemitsu as his mother called him, wasn't awake when they arrived home after grocery shopping and didn't seem all that inclined to meeting Tsuna until he said, "Tsuna? Where's my tuna-fish?"

Gripping Boto closer to his chest, Tsuna stared hard at the wooden table, tracing the faint white lines that stretched out like thin roots Nakamura-sensei showed them in class today. He ignored some feeble giggles that echoed outside the kitchen.

"Tuna-fishy, here, fishy, fishy, fishy."

"What a cute boy. Will you be my son? I'm nice. I'll be nice."

"I miss tuna…"

"Tsu-kun?" Nana's voice reeled the boy back to reality he didn't want to return to. "Papa is calling you. You should go and say hello, dear."

Tsuna resisted the urge to shake his head, even if his mother couldn't see him with her back facing him as she washed some vegetables in the sink. He glanced at Iemitsu grinning at him brightly. He didn't miss the way the shadows that snaked around his throat convulsed erratically, as if wanting to choke him. But no one saw them, only Tsuna. Vaguely, he wondered what his father did to have so much black gunk following his every step, curling and writhing around his body like the vines he saw in class today. Slowly, he slipped out of his chair and walked towards Iemitsu, his socks whispering quietly on the wooden floors. He shivered when a ghost of a woman formed like smoke at the corner of his eye, her arms outstretched towards him.

Iemitsu did the same, his grin still easy and bright. How could he be so happy with so much darkness surrounding him? "Come and give Papa a hug," he said.

Tsuna froze in his spot, eyes flickering back and forth from the vine-like shadows and his father's face. They seemed to stop, too. Tsuna wondered if the room was too quiet or if it was just him. "I—I don't want to," he said.

Iemitsu's grin didn't reach his eyes anymore. "Don't be like that, tuna-fish. Papa won't bite." He laughed but Tsuna's didn't think it was funny. When Iemitsu stood up, the shadows followed with him. "Papa didn't see you for a long time so…"

His voice droned out. Tsuna couldn't hear him anymore, only the darkness that moved and shifted and grew on his shoulders, back, and arms.

"The Young Lion's son…"

"Bastard tore my family apart."

"No, don't hurt the boy!"

"Vongola will burn."

"I want the man's blood."

Tsuna stepped back when Iemitsu slowly walked towards him. His father's grin tightened a bit and he looked…concerned. Tsuna screamed when some of Iemitsu's shadows reached out to him, only to be held back by others.

"Run, boy!"

"Let me kill his child!"

"He deserves it!"

"Don't touch him!"

Tsuna bolted for the door, ignoring Iemitsu's cries, and dashed out into the streets. He screamed when blobs of black oozed from every corner of the streets, more curious than threatening, but he ran past them, ran until his lungs burned. He didn't know where he was going. He just had to get away because the ghosts that clung onto his father wanted to kill him! He didn't want to die!

Soon, he stumbled around people's legs and knocked into a shopping cart that rolled out a grocery story.

"Watch where you're going, you little brat!" a woman screamed.

Tsuna gasped when he saw a tiny shadow clinging onto her leg. "Mama," she said. "Mama."

A small crowd started to gather around them. Everyone had some form of shifting black blobs on them, and Tsuna's heart threatened to explode in his chest.

"It's Nana's boy."

"What is he doing here? Look at him, he's not wearing any shoes."

"Has he lost it already?"

Tsuna's eyes stung with tears. He could hear them, he wanted to say. He wasn't stupid. He didn't lose it. He just didn't want to die.

Suddenly, a large man forced his way through the crowd, his face scrunched in a glare. He jabbed a finger at Tsuna. "You!" The boy yelped when the man grabbed him by the collar. "Don't ever come near my daughter again!"

Tsuna swung his legs helplessly in the air and tried to get away but the man was strong. He gaped when he saw Miura Haru, the girl he met in the playground yesterday, staring at her father in horror. "Papa!" she said, tugging his jacket. "Let him go! He didn't do anything wrong!"

Tsuna saw the dim silhouette of a woman, Haru's mama, appear next to her husband. Her eyes were wide and there was less shadows on her thin figure. "Dear," she said, her voice a bit warbled, "release him. Dear, listen to me."

"Don't go around spoutin' lies, boy!" Haru's father said, shaking Tsuna like a ragdoll. "If I ever see you near my daughter again, I'll never let you off for it! Do you understand?"

Tsuna's eyes burned with tears. He wanted everyone to stop yelling, stop talking. The shadows that clung onto their bodies whispered and hissed, some telling the man to let the poor boy go and some cheering him on to teach rotten children a lesson.

"Papa, stop it!" Haru screamed.

"Dear, please!" her mama said, her voice unheard.

"Let the boy go, Kenta. He's had enough."

"Stop causing a scene!"

"Did anyone call Nana yet? Where is she?"

Tsuna's head hurt. His whole body felt numb and he suddenly felt cold all over. If his father's shadows weren't going to kill him, then this man was. Suddenly, at the corner of his eye, he noticed a tall man in a suit across the street, walking amongst the crowd without a care in the world. But there was something off about him: he had no ghosts on his back or shadow underneath his feet. And under the light, Tsuna saw something maybe he shouldn't have. His breath hitched.

"H—Help," he said, trying to shake Haru's father off of him. "Please, help me."

Haru's father narrowed his eyes. "What did you say? Help you?" He scoffed. "Who taug—"

Tsuna finally snapped. "Your wife hated you!"

Stunned silence fell on the people. Everyone turned their eyes to face him, but not the man in the suit. He continued walking down the streets and no one seemed to notice him—no one but Tsuna.

"You never come home! You're always working! And she hated you for it! You're never there for her or Haru-chan! Never!" Tsuna glared at the man, making him flinch. "She wanted you to come home at least on Haru-chan's birthday, but you didn't! She fell sick because of y—"

Some people cried out when Haru's father suddenly slapped Tsuna across the face and shove him to the ground. Haru and her mama gasped, but Tsuna could only feel cold. His cheek stung and he tasted blood on his lips.

"You little—Hey!" Tsuna scrambled away from Haru's father and ran across the streets. "Get back here!"

"Kenta, calm the fuck down!"

"Someone call Nana!"

"Where's the boy going?"

"Let him go. Probably do us some good. Don't come back!"

"Oh my God, where's Nana?"

Tsuna searched for the man in the suit and the funny hat but he wasn't here. He wiped his eyes so he could see better. Anger bubbled in his chest. He asked for help—why didn't the man help him? Sticks and rocks poked his bare feet but he kept running into the woods on the outskirts of town. Tsuna yelped when he tripped over a root and tumbled to the ground. Sniffling, he shook his head and crawled on his knees towards a tree. He coughed, his chest aching and cheek smarting, but only wiped his eyes. Why didn't anyone want to help him? Why couldn't his mama just ask him what was wrong instead of smiling and going about her day like nothing was wrong? Why did Iemitsu have so many ghosts on his back? How come Tsuna was the only one who could see them?

Feeling nauseous, Tsuna gripped his hair and tried to count to 20. The woods were quiet, the only other place besides the Namimori Temple where he could think. There weren't a lot of ghosts here. No one died in the woods. Namimori was too plain for that.

But Tsuna wasn't an ordinary boy. He didn't belong here, or anywhere for that matter.

8, 9, 10, 11, 1—

Tsuna squeaked when something large suddenly fell across from him. He gawked at the squirming, snarling mass and almost screamed when he saw the creature's sharp teeth coated in black blood. A loud pop cracked in the air, making Tsuna cover his ears, and the monster suddenly slumped, melting into the ground.

A set of footsteps came closer until the man in the suit appeared. He didn't seem Japanese but Tsuna couldn't really see much of his face because of his weird hat. The man didn't acknowledge him, just looked over the pile of ashes, and turned away. Tsuna shakily stood on his feet. "W—Wait!" he said. "What was that? What did you do?"

The man paused but didn't move to look at him. Tsuna sniffled. "I—I can see you." The man didn't respond. Tsuna wondered if he even knew Japanese. "You just—I asked you to help me."

Silence stretched for a long time; yet, Tsuna didn't move or run again. Maybe this was a sign that finally something good might happen. It was okay. His mama taught him that patience was always rewarded. He'd be patient. He'd be good.

Cautiously, he took a step forward. "I know who you are. I know what you can do."

Finally the man turned, but not all the way. The gun in his hand was soaked with black blood. "You know who I am?" His voice was deep, deeper than Iemitsu's, and scary.

Tsuna gulped. He couldn't back down now. This might be his only chance. He nodded. "You're—You're an angel." He gestured lamely at the man's back. "You have wings but…"

"But?"

Tsuna gripped the end of his shirt, twisting it in his hands. "They're…black. B—But that's cool! I mean, angels don't need to have white wings. It just means that you're special!" He pointed at the ashes. "You—You killed that mean…thing." He grimaced. He sounded dumb.

"I'm not," the man said.

Tsuna blinked. "What?"

"I'm not an angel." The man almost sounded angry at that but Tsuna didn't know why, and he was too scared to ask. He gasped and fell on his butt when the man suddenly appeared in front of him. "Besides, you'll forget ever meeting me."

Tsuna raised his hands. "Wait! J—Just—I'm sorry for asking for your help but I promise I won't tell anyone! Really!"

The man raised a large hand to hover in front of Tsuna's face. "It won't matter if you do. No one will believe you. This is for me."

The words crushed Tsuna. His eyes burned again from tears and he ducked his head quickly to wipe them away. For an angel to tell him that too was just another nail on the coffin. "I—I know," he said, hiccupping. "No one ever believes me anyway, but really, I won't tell." He flinched when the man rested a hand on his head. "W—Will it…hurt?"

The man didn't say anything for a moment. Tsuna dared to peek at him through his lashes. He coughed to mask a giggle but did it poorly, gaining the man's attention and making him narrow his eyes. "What are you laughing at?"

Tsuna quickly shook his head, already terrified again. "N—Nothing!" He glanced at the man's face again and bit his lip to keep himself from laughing again, wincing when his cut stung with pain. "Just…your curls."

"And what about them?"

Tsuna was walking in very dangerous territory but he just couldn't help himself because of the curls. "They're really cute!" he blurted out.

He shut his eyes and waited for his inevitable death, but nothing came. Did the man already erase his memories? Well, if Tsuna could remember him, then that didn't happen. A shot of panic jolted him. Was the man gone? Tsuna slowly opened one eye to check and almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the angel still standing there. He looked a bit funny though, like he didn't know whether to be angry or not.

"Did you change your mind?" Tsuna said hopefully.

The man pursed his lips. "No."

"Oh." Tsuna fiddled with his fingers. "Can I—Can I say something before you do it?"

The angel deadpanned. "You've talked plenty already."

"It'll be really short! I promise! And I won't talk about your curls!"

The man's brow twitched. "What?"

Tsuna perked up. "Really?"

"You have 10 seconds."

"H—Hey! That's not enough time."

"5 seconds then."

"What?"

The angel waved his gun vaguely in the air. "Time's ticking."

Tsuna scowled. "You're a mean angel."

"I told you, I'm not an angel."

"You can't be a demon since you don't have horns."

"Not all demons have horns."

"And your wings are all big and pretty, like an angel's."

"Not all angels have big and pretty wings."

Tsuna scrunched his nose. "Then what are you?"

"Not any of those things. Your 5 seconds are up."

"Hey, you distracted me!"

The angel raised a brow. "I distracted you?"

Tsuna scowled. "Yes! Now let me talk!"

"I think I let you talk enough," the angel said dryly.

"Please?" Tsuna said, his lip trembling. "One more chance? I promise…"

The man actually faltered for a second before schooling his face quickly. "Then hurry up."

Tsuna nodded and quickly took a deep breath. He clasped his hands together, then closed his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

Scowling, Tsuna opened an eye. "I'm praying. Don't start counting yet! You distracted me again!"

The angel just huffed but didn't say another word. When Tsuna closed his eye, he took another deep breath before whispering, "Angel-san, when you take my memories, can you also take away my eyes? I see a lot of bad things. Everyone has them, the shadows and ghosts, I mean." He gripped his hands tighter. "They're everywhere and they also say scary things, too. Not all of them do but—but it's not very nice either. I guess, you can take my ears too. But only if you want to do it. I hope you listen to what I say, Angel-san, and let me know soon. Oh, oh, and my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi but you can call me Tsuna if you want to. Thank you very much."

Tsuna stole a quick peek at the man who looked even scarier now. He couldn't read his face. "Um, did I go over 5 seconds, angel-san?"

He blinked when the man lowered his outstretched hand. "You're weaker than I thought."

Tsuna gaped at him. "What?"

"Seeing things no one else can is a special ability. There's nothing wrong with it. It all depends on how you use it."

Tsuna made a small face. "I don't get it." He looked down at his clasped hands and slowly untangled them to rest them on his lap. "Everyone—Everyone hates me. They think I'm weird and crazy. Look!" He pointed at his cheek. "I asked for your help back in the streets! I thought you would, but you didn't. My dad's ghosts almost tried to kill me and then—then Haru-chan's dad got angry and hit me! No one helped me! No one ever helps me!" He glared but it wavered. "So don't—don't call me weak! I just—I just don't want to see them anymore! Please! Can you do that for me?"

The man didn't speak as his gun vanished in a black swirl from his hand. He took a step back then turned his back on Tsuna, making the boy's heart sink. "Your parents are nearby. There won't be any use talking about that here. I'm busy."

Tsuna sniffled. "Then, does that mean I can see you again?"

"I can't take your ability," the angel said, "because it was given to you for a reason. You just haven't found your purpose yet."

"My…purpose?"

The man merely tilted his head. "I don't like repeating myself, Tsuna." Then, he disappeared.

Tsuna gasped and stumbled to his feet. He hissed from the pain in his soles but didn't stop running. "Wait! I don't know your name! When will I see you again?" There was no answer.

"Tsuna!" a voice called in the distance. "Tsuna, where are you?"

"Tsuna-kun!"

The boy didn't respond while he gazed up at the clear blue sky, as if he could find the answer written up there instead. There was nothing. He wiped his eyes and inhaled deeply just as his parents found him.

When Tsuna returned to school in the next few days, he saw the man in the suit by the trees, invisible to all the students and parents that bustled at the gates. With a smile, Tsuna dashed over and stopped short in front of him, not sure if he should bow or scold him, so he settled on a pout. "You were very rude for just leaving like that without telling me your name, angel-san."

The man just huffed and tilted his funny hat. "Do you have an answer for me?"

Tsuna rocked back and forth on his heels. "Yes."

"What?"

"But I won't tell unless you tell me your name."

The man pursed his lips. "Why?"

"You don't think you're an angel or a demon so what else should I call you?"

The man stayed silent for a moment before saying, "Reborn."

Tsuna beamed. "It's nice to meet you, Reborn-san."

A/N Aghh, my New Year Secret Santa Gift on my Discord for VelvetCake3! I hope you like it… OTL

Some notes: Reborn is a fallen angel going around destroying demons to make up for his sin. Tsuna can see both that and spirits. Vongola is still a mafia, and Flames aren't a thing. Reborn will mentor Tsuna and help him handle his ability and later adjust to the mafia life. I mean, if you got a supernatural entity at your back, other mafia groups probably don't stand a chance. Also Iemitsu becomes a good dad—kind of. Depends on your definition of a good dad, but Reborn loves scaring the shit out of him (and everyone else in Namimori). He should write "Parenting 101" (actually no, but it's the thought that counts). And yes, he cuddles with Tsuna. It just happens, okay? Also, "Angel With a Shotgun" might've inspired this little idea. That is all.

Thank you for reading! And all the love for my lovely beta, nico!

Have a lovely day~

Little Miss Bunny