So these are totally, indisputably paragraphs. Paragraphs separated by numbers in order to maintain some order of coherency, which shall connect with one another eventually in some sort of plot-relevant way. Perhaps. Maybe.

Mm hmm.

(I fight the system only because I have no idea how to make cut links on livejournal. Sad, but true.)

On that note, where else to start but Tsuna?

Sawada Tsunayoshi

1.

Tsuna can hold his liquor better than anyone else in the Vongola family, bar Reborn.

(Hibari, of all people, is actually the resident lightweight.)

And, as he watches his family's…questionable antics during the complementary happy hour that follows their annual board meetings, Tsuna thanks every god he can think of that Mother Nature has provided him with some sort of survival mechanism.

2.

Tsuna has possessed the ability to single-handedly defeat any one of his unruly family members ever since his duel with Xanxus. It takes him three years to realize this.

He spends another three years continuing to play the coward in order to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. If there's one thing he hates above all others, it's watching his family members get injured, even by Tsuna himself.

3.

Tsuna, while compassionate to a fault, is not half as trusting as he appears to be. As far as he's concerned, he has only one Mist Guardian, and her name is Chrome Dokuro.

He doesn't know where Mukuro stands, but he's pretty damn sure it's not with him.

(One of the very few things that angers Tsuna is that no matter how many times he tells himself this, there is always a voice in the back of his head that answers hopefully, "yes, but he will someday." The fact that ten years later he still can't figure out whether or not that voice turned out to be right doesn't help matters.)

4.

After several years as Vongola X with his father as his subordinate, Tsuna comes to realize that Iemitsu is not only a good man, but an extremely competent and efficient one. He remains one of Tsuna's closest and most trusted confidants.

Iemitsu, however, is still in Tsuna's eyes a less than ideal father, and the younger Sawada's fierce protective streak towards his family members is in no small part due to the fact that he is determined to do better in the role than his old man.

5.

Tsuna finally accepts his position as Vongola Decimo not because he has given in to his inevitable involvement in the Mafia world, but because he takes a good hard look at his dysfunctional, psychotic, and fanatically loyal family one day and realizes he can't stand disappointing any of them.

(On a related note, that day is also the day when Reborn becomes one of the richest members in the Vongola family, followed closely by Viper, who had agreed to moderate the betting pool and demanded a cut of the winnings.)

6.

Tsuna takes an instant liking to Irie Shouichi upon meeting him, which surprises him, because the only member of his own family that he liked on sight was Yamamoto.

(If one wants to get technical, his first impressions of Bianchi and Mukuro were decent as well, but he considers their follow-ups reason enough to exclude them.)

It is for this reason that he doesn't instantly dismiss the man's wild talk of time travel and alternate universes like so many of the other Mafia bosses (including, of all people, Aria of the Giglio Nero and Dino of the Cavallone), and in return Irie pledges his undying loyalty.

After Byakuran's rise to power and the sheer desperation of their ridiculously convoluted time travel scheme sets in, Tsuna can only pray that his faith and Irie's genius will prove enough to make it work.

7.

After so many bullets to the head, death threats from Hibari, creative murder attempts from various enemies/assassins/friends/family, do-or-die training sessions, and meals wherein Bianchi is the head chef, Tsuna has pretty much stopped fearing the thought of death.

The paralyzing terror he feels as his body shuts down from Irie's special bullet, he realizes belatedly, is all for the family he's leaving behind.

8.

Tsuna originally fell in love with Sasagawa Kyoko for her kindness. For several memorable months, she was the closest thing at all he had to a friend.

Now, when he is surrounded by friends and admirers, he continues to love her for possessing a rather different trait the majority of his acquaintances lack.

He sometimes wonders whether or not it's even more pathetic to love a girl for her sanity.

9.

Tsuna never blames his previous failure on the fact that he was raised an only child, but he can't help but notice how much better he feels having a big brother like Dino Cavallone.

10.

Tsuna has spent every single day since the moment Reborn walked through his door telling anyone who would listen how much he regrets ever meeting the Arcobaleno and getting forced into this endless insanity.

What he will never tell any of them is that each and every single time it's been a lie.

I have never, ever tried this format before, and so criticism and reviews would be lovely. Beyond lovely, even.

Next up, Gokudera!

(I hope. Eventually.)

(Please review?)