A/N: Henlo, everyone! So, I have some online classes right now and I've been prioritizing them which is why I haven't found the time to type another chapter, but I was able to squeeze this in my schedule c: If you are a reader of my other fanfics, rest assured I try my best to update them this month.

BIG THANK YOU since we're now at 200+ faves and 270+ follows c: much love yall

Hope you enjoy!

To/From Nickname / Name on person's phone (Day, time sent): the text message.


6.

For the past few days, Takeshi really did do his part in accompanying her whenever she went out of the house. Setsuna was honestly fine with just staying inside, but Nana and Tsuna always encouraged her to go out — the latter surprised her but he said that she should still be enjoying her stay here without having to be afraid of being kidnapped again because he and his Guardians would be doing their best to ensure her safety. Still, she didn't want to burden them too much, so she tried to keep her walks to a minimum.

Because of the situation, Setsuna found herself exchanging phone numbers with both Hayato and Takeshi. It made the arrangement more convenient for all parties, and it helped for instances where Takeshi would not be available to accompany her.

Today was one of those instances, so it was Hayato who was walking with her as they window shopped along the shopping district.

"What do you plan to buy, Setsuna-san?" Hayato asked her when he noticed her eyes glancing towards a store that sold shoes.

"I'm not quite sure. I don't even know what I'm looking for," the girl said, reluctantly tearing her eyes away from the white sneakers she saw. "And please, drop the '-san', Hayato-kun."

"…Right," Hayato said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Tsuna had informed her that Hayato didn't have the best experiences with girls. The first was his older sister, who had poisoned him a lot when they were younger (Setsuna had been quite concerned about this, but Hayato had assured her he and his sister were fine now, and such a thing wasn't completely out of the normal when in a Mafia family). And then there were the fangirls he seemed to get when he arrived in Namimori ("They were pretty terrifying," Tsuna told her as he shivered). He only really got along with I-pin and the other girls in the Famiglia, Sasagawa Kyoko, Miura Haru, and Kurokawa Hana, although he wasn't particularly close to any of them. So, he didn't really know how to act around girls sometimes, but Setsuna didn't really mind.

Setsuna chuckled at his awkwardness as they turned a corner. That was when a little boy came running towards Setsuna. Luckily, she was able to catch him before he knocked her over.

"Be careful where you're going, brat!" Hayato scolded the child, who seemed to look guilty.

"Sorry, nee-san!" the boy said, bowing. Two more boys ran towards them, laughing with a basketball in hand. "My friends and I are looking for a basketball court! Do you know where to find one?"

"Uh…"

"Tch, there's one over there. Take a right when you reach the salon," Hayato scowled as he gestured to his left.

"Thanks, nii-san!" the boy said as his friends ran with him to reach their destination.

Hayato huffed before looking to Setsuna, his words at the tip of his tongue when he stopped himself. She was wearing a wistful expression on her face as she stared at the retreating forms of the boys. It was the first time Hayato had seen that expression on her face. He was used to her being blank-faced most of the time, so this sudden display of emotions had him mildly concerned.

He opened his mouth to ask if she was okay, but was interrupted when her phone alerted her of a text message. Or rather, text messages since she seemed to be receiving more every few seconds.

The messages seemed to snap her out of her daze as she brought out her phone and opened it, eyes widening as she stared at her screen. She seemed to freeze, as if she was unsure of whether to reply or to simply pocket her phone.

"Is something wrong, Setsuna-chan?"

"No, I—" Setsuna bit her lip before pocketing her phone. "That wasn't important, anyways. So, do you know any stores that sell good desserts?"

"Oh, there's one close to where we are. It sells some pretty good stuff, though their macarons are great."

"I'll have to try them then."

So the two made their way to the dessert shop. On the way, they passed by a piano that was meant for anyone to use. Currently, a girl who seemed to be close to Setsuna's age was playing a classical song on the piano, and Setsuna couldn't help but picture Akashi playing instead. In that moment, she imagined that she was back at Teiko's music room. Satsuki was sitting next to her, a satisfied smile on her face as she was able to convince both Akashi and Midorima to play a piece for them. Sitting down on the floor in front of the girls would be Daiki, Ryota, and Atsushi, the latter munching on snacks despite knowing that snacks weren't allowed inside the music room.

And when the girl playing the piano stopped playing, Setsuna sighed as she turned her head away from the piano. She hated how she still couldn't seem to let them go, but she hated herself more because (was she forgetting how they ruined Shigehiro's happiness?) she knew that deep down, she still wanted all seven of them to be like that again.

"Do you know how to play the piano?" Hayato asked her as they made it to the store. It was surprisingly big, with clear glass containers displaying the assortment of sweets and desserts it produced.

"Ah, no, not me, but sometimes, Akashi-kun would—" Setsuna replied before stopping herself and frowning. "Where did you say the macarons were?"

Hayato frowned. The girl had seemed so bothered today ever since they bumped into those boys. He didn't know what was wrong, and he doubted she would confide in him. Oh, sure, he was her cousin's Guardian, but that didn't mean they knew each other well enough for that kind of heart-to-heart stuff. He'd just have to tell Juudaime about it afterwards.

"They're close to the counter. C'mon, I'll show you."


Kise Ryota sighed as he leaned back on his chair. On his desk were the papers that needed to be accomplished for him to go to Kaijo for high school. His mother had told him that he was old enough to do those by himself, though she would be double checking what he wrote afterwards. It was honestly so boring that he couldn't help but just stare at his ceiling.

Normally, during his bouts of boredom, he would have called Setsuna or Daiki, asking — demanding — them to hang out with him and alleviate him of his boredom. Normally, Setsuna would have most likely declined as she grumbled about him disturbing her sleep, as he tended to call them in the middle of the night. Normally, Daiki would usually be the one entertaining him with one-on-ones through a computer game, earning them a scolding from both Setsuna and Satsuki whenever they played on school nights.

But things weren't normal anymore, not since… not since everything just started going downhill.

Ryota couldn't pinpoint a particular event that started it all. Was it Murasakibara and Akashi's one-on-one? Was it when Daiki discovered his talents? Or was it that match with Meiko? He just didn't know.

He understood that basketball was causing the tension, though. They simply became too good, so he could understand why the Generation of Miracles would choose to go to different schools — it would be boring after all if they were on the same team and they'd just keep winning and winning because it was simply a fact that they would come out on top — but that didn't mean they had to drift away off-court, right?

Setsuna and Daiki were the ones he was closest to, but Daiki had been avoiding most of them, spending his time reading his magazines and exercising on his own. Setsuna, on the other hand, just seemed to have vanished. While Ryota sometimes caught a glimpse of Daiki, he just didn't know where Setsuna was, so he decided to drop by her house. He was surprised when her mother told her she was away in Namimori with a cousin. Surely, she would have told him, right?

Frowning, he glanced at his cellphone before determination blazed in his eyes. He typed his messages to Setsuna, pressing the 'send' button once he was done rereading what he had written.

She had to answer, right?


From Ryo-kun (Thursday, 3:15 PM): Kurokocchi, what's up? We haven't talked since graduation :'c I miss you-ssu!

From Ryo-kun (Thursday, 3:15 PM): I know I was busy a lot after, so I'm sorry if I never called or texted or dropped by your house T^T

From Ryo-kun (Thursday, 3:15 PM): Are you okay, though? Your mom told me you went to Namimori. I guess I'm kind of surprised I didn't know you were leaving. :'c Are you coming back soon?


"You're amazing, Setsu-chan!" Tsuna told her as they placed the cookies in the oven, waiting for the delicious desserts to finish cooking for them to munch on afterwards. Nana had taken the kids out to the aquarium today, leaving the two teenagers in the house.

"I just bake a lot," Setsuna chuckled as she took a seat on one of the chairs in the kitchen.

"I'm guessing you were pretty good at Home Ec back at your middle school. Teiko, right?"

"Baking was just one part of Home Ec, but I did get a relatively good grade for it," Setsuna said. Baking was just her forte. She was probably just decent when it came to cooking, but baking just came easily to her. She used to make the chocolates she'd give out to… to them during Valentine's, too. "How was it at your school?"

"I was terrible," Tsuna laughed. "I was so clumsy with just about everything."

"I'm sure you weren't that bad," Setsuna smiled before frowning, "and it was Vongola Nono's fault for placing that seal on you, right?"

"Yeah, but… what's done is done. At least it showed me there were still people willing to be my friends despite that, you know? That I could still do some good." Tsuna sobered up, nodding as he recalled all the bullying he had went through because of how Dame he had been. Had he not been sealed, would he have been friends with his classmates instead? Probably not, he smiled at the thought of his friends right now, because he would rather have gone through his Dame stage to find them again. "Anyways, what are your plans for high school?"

"Ah, I applied to Seirin High School," Setsuna replied. "It's small and relatively new, but it has good facilities. What's your high school like?"

"Well, it's honestly just like middle school for me since most of the people came from Namimori Middle. People still seem to believe I'm still Dame, but I've been proving them wrong," Tsuna said with a proud smile on his face. "Ichinose-san, one of my groupmates from that time you gave me my notebook, kind of stood up for me. She never did that before, so I guess things are improving on my part. How do you think Seirin will be? Namimori isn't Tokyo, after all."

"I've been told about life in Seirin from an upperclassman who toured me around when I went there, and I suppose it would be just like when I was at Teiko, but less strict when it came to academics and… other things."

"Teiko?" Tsuna's Intuition was ringing at the mention of her middle school, almost as if it was warning him that this was something important for him to know about. "What was it like there?"

"Teiko prided itself on being ever victorious," Setsuna said as she fiddled with her fingers. "That included being at the top of both academics and sports, so members of sports clubs really felt the pressure to excel in their academics while also being champions in their respective sports."

"Sounds like you've experienced that kind of pressure. What kind of sports club were you in?"

"I was in the basketball club."

Tsuna blinked his eyes in surprise. "Really? I didn't know Teiko had a females' basketball club?"

"You'd be correct. I was in the males' basketball club."

"EHHHH? That's amazing, Setsu-chan! You must be really good then!" Tsuna said with excitement. He was never one to enjoy sports, as his clumsiness had prevented him from ever being good at one before, but that never stopped him from watching sports, such as Takeshi's baseball games.

"I wasn't really so good," Setsuna admitted quietly, causing Tsuna's excitement to be replaced with concern. "…I—"

Setsuna was saved from explaining when the timer went off, signaling that the cookies were good to go. "I'll get the cookies."

Tsuna watched as his cousin walked to the oven to get the cookies out, frowning when his Intuition was still ringing.


"Luca, you've returned," a masked man said as he leaned back on his seat. In front of him, Luca bowed and let out an amused smile. "How was Mariano? Did the Vongola get him?"

"He has been taken away, yes," Luca said as he stood up straight. "Vongola Decimo, despite only being a high school student, fought well against him. Much better than I had expected, really."

"Interesting. I assume you recorded the battle for me?"

"Of course," Luca said as Mist Flames gathered around his hands. When the Flames dispersed, in his hands was a video camera. He handed the camera to the masked man, who opened it and watched the most recent video.

The masked man hummed in amusement as the sounds of Vongola Decimo and Don Mariano fighting echoed throughout the room. "He ended it fast. I'm surprised Decimo brought out the Zero Point Breakthrough. Mariano was strong, yes, but surely he was not strong enough to face Primo's technique?"

"It was the girl," Luca said as the masked man played the video again to look at the girl with light blue hair.

"Ah, yes, the cousin. Kuroko Setsuna," the masked man nodded. "And is there anything of note regarding her?"

"She didn't put up much of a fight when I used my Flames on her mind," Luca said, "although I did sense something odd about her."

"Hmm?"

"She seems to be in the transition from being Flame Latent to Flame Active."

"Oho? And what kind of Flames does she possess?"

"She seems to have a Mist primary and a Rain secondary from what I could sense. It appears she's been using her Mist a few times before but in small amounts, which is probably why she hasn't gone Active yet."

"Hmm, not the Sky I had been hoping for, but useful nonetheless. How long will she be staying in Namimori?"

"For a few more weeks before she returns to Tokyo. At least, that's what I've been told."

"Find out where she'll be going to high school. If we get her while she's out of Decimo's reach, then it'll be all the more convenient for us."


From Kurokocchi (Thursday, 7:07 PM): Sorry.


A/N: I just can't write my boi Kise as someone to hate so we'll probably have a relatively good Kise, and I find it so cute how he just adores Kuroko, so a Kise-Kuroko friendship is one I'd like to keep. (Currently unsure about how to play around with her friendships with the other GoM, and Momoi, but we'll see.)

AND WE HAVE THE FLAME REVEAL. So, as some may have already guessed, her Flames are indeed a Mist primary and a Rain secondary. I considered other Flames for her secondary, but Rain made the most sense, along with Mist (for the misdirection), so yeah.

Other to stuff to note:

( 1 ) I made Setsu close friends with Aomine and Kise because I really liked the dynamic they had. She's not very close to Akashi, Midorima, and Murasakibara, but she's not on bad terms with them (at least, she wasn't until that Meiko game). As for Momoi, I guess she could be one of Setsu's friends, but Aomine and Kise would definitely be the ones closest to her.

( 2 ) For Setsu remembering stuff that reminded her of the GoM: I really feel like Setsu would be the kind of person who treasured her memories with her friends because they made her happy and all so it'll be hard to forget. The fact that they set the score in Meiko was definitely wrong, but I think a part of her would still want to get the times before the Meiko game back because that was when they were all still friends and all.

( 3 ) Tsuna's Intuition regarding Teiko. I want him and the others to help Setsuna deal with what happened in Teiko, to get her to at least talk about it with them because it's just gonna keep bothering her, and I'm trying to see where the anime's events could go if Setsuna had been able to talk about Teiko with non-basketball-related people who were willing to listen.

( 4 ) Luca and the masked man. I have plans for those two *insert evil laugh* but those will be more obvious in the Winter Cup.

( 5 ) I plan to speed along the fic somewhat since most of the action really should be in Seirin but then I also want time to develop Takeshi and Setsuna's friendship so I'm not sure how many chapters it'll take til I reach Setsu-goes-to-Seirin.

Anyways, see you next update!


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