AN: Thank you lovelies for all your kind reviews and your sincere criticisms! They're always very much appreciated :D! Hopefully this chapter meets up with your expectations.

xXx

After several uncomfortable detours - no thanks to the neighbor's dog - Tsuna finally made his way back home with one less sleeve and shoelace than he began with just this morning. The extra pairs of shoes laid out by the door told him the rest of his day could only get worse from there. For that meant guests and guests meant problems because the only sort of guests that ever came to the Sawada household nowadays were either involved with the mafia or trying to scam his mom.

He was pretty sure he recognized Gokudera's at least which meant one of the other pairs had to belong to G. However, that still left two pairs unaccounted for. Somehow Tsuna doubted scammers would last very long between the two brothers, and he'd like to think Reborn or his father had warned away any mafioso from trying coming to their home with the red-haired cop around the house. So more vigilantes then? Or perhaps Giotto came back sooner than Reborn expected and brought over another friend? With that thought in mind, Tsuna hurried to remove his shoes in order to investigate.

It turned out Tsuna got it half right, for as soon as he entered the dining room, there was Giotto sitting at the table with a pinstripe vest, white dress shirt, and black pants. "Giotto, you're back home!" Tsuna exclaimed, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"I've missed you too, Tsuna," returned Giotto, also smiling.

However, Tsuna's excitement at seeing his brother again wilted a little as he noticed the other 'guest' who was definitely not vigilante or Giotto's friend. "And...dad? You're here too?" he asked, grin faltering. Didn't his father have a deep cover mission or something? "What're you doing here?" Then he took note of the tension in the room and the withering glare their father was directing at the back of Giotto's head. Tsuna awkwardly stumbled back. "Umm..."

His brother didn't seem to mind it at all however and dismissed their father's presence, "Don't mind him, Tsuna. We were just finishing up discussing some serious matters about work."

"Matters about work?" Tsuna repeated. Were they talking about Giotto's or their father's work? And for whoever it was, would it be his cover job or his actual job? "Like the work you do for the police?" He asked to be on the safe side.

Tsuna wasn't sure if he should bring up vigilantes seeing as he was pretty sure Giotto had meant to keep it a secret from the family - even if Giotto's friend, G, practically ended up admitting it anyways. While their father probably knew about it from his connections in the mafia, Tsuna didn't know if that knowledge applied to Iemitsu's cover as an average, know-nothing father. At the very least, he knew one thing was sure: keeping track of everyone's cover stories is starting to give me a headache.

"You can say it's related to it," answered Giotto which didn't make whose 'work' they were talking about any clearer. Iemitsu's involvement with the mafia and Giotto's investigation as a vigilante could both be considered 'related' to Giotto's old job in the police force.

Of course the former was assuming Giotto knew their father wasn't just a deadbeat dad but a deadbeat dad who worked for the mafia. Although Tsuna could understand if Iemitsu had Giotto fooled. Lazily scratching at the side of his stained tank top, slouching in his chair, and with enough stubble on his chin to be able to safely assume he hadn't shaved in days - Iemitsu didn't even look like he could scrounge up the effort to lift a gun let alone use one in the name of the Vongola.

Iemitsu finally broke from his one-sided glaring contest and turned to Tsuna as if seeing him for the first time. "My cutest son, is that any way to greet your old man? You're hurting daddy's feelings!" Iemitsu cried, giving Tsuna a beseeching look that his brothers had years of practice learning to ignore. The last of the tension in the room slipped away. "Can't a man visit his family because he feels like it? Don't be so cold like your brother!"

Unlike their mom, Tsuna and Giotto's father was very vocal about which son he considered his favorite. Though why he prefered Tsuna, Tsuna had no clue. If he were to wager a guess though, he bet becoming a police officer and then a vigilante certainly didn't do Giotto any favors when it came to their mafia father.

"More like he knows a bad influence when he sees it," Giotto reprimanded only half-seriously. He stood up and walked over to Tsuna to give him a tight hug. "It's good to see you again by the way, Tsuna. How long has it been? About two years?" He pulled back to give Tsuna a good look which Tsuna returned with his own.

Save for a few inches Giotto must have gained from his last growth spurt - the man was already twenty-four - Tsuna's brother didn't seem much different from when he last saw him. A few scars here and there but they were so faint Tsuna could almost believe he'd imagined them. Hopefully that was more proof of Giotto's experience in the field and in combat rather than the skill of his doctors. Tsuna certainly knew he would have enough scars to give Xanxus a run for his money if it weren't for the Vongola's doctor Shamal (on the rare occasion he decide to treat a man).

Giotto seemed to have a similar observation of Tsuna. "Looks wise, you've barely changed at all!" he declared as he ruffled Tsuna's hair. "Although it seems like you've started to gain some muscle." Giotto lifted one of Tsuna's arms in the air to examine said muscles before letting go. "Have you started to work out?" asked Giotto as he returned to his chair.

Tsuna joined him, pulling out his own chair at the head of the table between his brother and his father. Although it was his father who answered for him. "Of course he has! Trying to work up to be a lady killer like his old man here, right Tsuna?" Tsuna could only nod along, unable to come up with a better explanation himself.

Saying he'd been exercising for his health probably wouldn't work because he was pretty sure his brother knew him well enough to know he'd never put out any effort for something like that (unless you included Tsuna's 'continued breathing' as health).And while it was a bit embarrassing, at least it wasn't nearly as incriminating as saying he'd gotten fit by fighting for his and his friends' lives for the past two years.

Spotting the pink that began to tinge Tsuna's cheek, Giotto comforted him, "Don't feel shy about it, Tsuna. At your age, it's perfect natural to think about those sort of things," which only made Tsuna redder from the attention. Giotto laughed. "It's a sign you're growing up to be a man. Isn't that great?"

Tsuna shrugged. "I guess it is," he said, doing his best to will the blush away.

"I also heard you started making friends. Let's hear it then! Tell me about them! How'd you meet? Are they mean or are they nice? They aren't taking advantage of you are they?"

Now this Tsuna could answer proudly without being embarrassed - although maybe not altogether truthfully. "Yeah, I've made a lot and they're all nice," started Tsuna, trying to gather his thoughts. Then he recalled Mukuro and Hibari and amended, "Or at least they mean well most of the time." A bit of a stretch but still technically the truth. "Although they can be a bit weird." Did trying to become closer to him to take over his body count as being 'taken advantage of'? Maybe he should just avoid answering the last question.

Giotto's first prompt should be safe enough though. Tsuna propped a hand under his chin as he recalled the details about his friends and what sort of details he should or shouldn't say. It didn't take a genius to figure out Reborn wasn't someone he should mention at all or for that matter, Mukuro. However, talking about the bomber should be okay so Tsuna began with him. "I think the first one I met was Gokudera."

"We met on the day he transferred - near the beginning of our first year at Namimori. I was pretty sure he hated my guts when he first saw me but eventually - " they got along because Tsuna saved Gokudera from his own explosives which led to the bomber swearing to serve Tsuna for the rest of his life? Tsuna sheepishly scratched his cheek. "Actually, I'm not too sure how it happened. All I know is he kept following me around and causing trouble and eventually we became friends."

Giotto chuckled at that. "I understand the feeling. It was pretty much the same between me and G when we were around your age," recalled Giotto. "One day we met on the streets of Italy and started having a fight over something silly, and the next day he was stuck to my side like a leech. I haven't been able to shake him off since."

"Good thing too," said G, entering the dining room, "since without me you'd be six feet under by now." He brought with him a tray of water glasses which he set on the middle of the table before taking a seat at Giotto's right. "Also, your mother says she won't have a meal ready for awhile so feel free to go out."

Giotto gave his thanks to his friend just as Gokudera came trailing after G's entrance with a basket of fruits and vegetables in hand - likely another offering by Tsuna and Giotto's mother. Gokudera put it down on the table as he scoffed at his own brother. "Tch. The Tenth's older brother needing your help? Yeah right. I bet you just slow him down all the time."

"You're one to talk punk. Don't think for a second I forgot you getting in the way of my investigation all day. Want to take this outside?"

"Now, now," chimed in Giotto as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder to calm him down and seat him to his right. Gokudera in an unusual show of obedience, also settled down to sit at Tsuna's side. Although Tsuna couldn't tell if that was because of the effect Giotto had on people or by extension of Giotto being Tsuna's older brother. "Please go on, Tsuna."

"Umm, before that, I never asked, how are you two related anyways?" Tsuna asked looking between the other pair of brothers. "If it's not too rude to ask," he said quickly backtracking and waving his hands when the two of them redirected their eyes on him. Tsuna rambled on, "I mean I know Bianchi is Gokudera's half-sister. Does that mean it's the same for G?"

"He's also my half-sibling," answered Gokudera after a beat with an expression that said even admitting that much of their relation was painful. "Except unlike sis, he's from my mother's side. My mother had a divorce with his father before getting together with me and sis' father."

Tsuna looked to G. "So that means you aren't related to Bianchi by blood then?" he deduced. That might also explain why, unlike his siblings, G didn't seem to buy into the mafia lifestyle since he wasn't raised by their mafioso father. Unless G's father was also a mafioso.

"Yeah, thank god for that," said G as he leaned back into his chair. "Luckily, I was mostly raised by my father, so I didn't have to deal with growing up with her the whole time. I'd probably be dead from food poisoning by now if not for that. In fact, I'm surprised the brat didn't die seeing as he was practically raised by her."

Gokudera grumbled something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like, 'So am I'.

"You say that," said Giotto, casting a sly eye towards his friend, "but I seem to recall a certain someone racking up our phone bill, in order to call their step-father and check on how his siblings were doing while he was out of the country."

"T-That's just because I was making my two idiot's siblings weren't making a mess I had to clean up," sputtered G flustered. "Since was already in the police back then, I'd probably wind up being the one having to boot their ass in jail and bail them right out after."

"That may be true, but that still doesn't explain the baby photos in your desk."

"That is-! I mean.."

"There's no shame in it!" said Iemitsu joining in one the teasing. "I keep a picture of when Tsuna was a cute little baby in my wallet all the time!"

"That's different!"

Taking some pity on G, Tsuna decided to push the subject along. "I think I get it. So I guess back to my friends?"

"Of course," replied Giotto.

He went over what he'd told them so far in head. Tsuna had only mentioned Gokudera so far so there was still quite a few to go - even if he excluded everyone who was explicitly involved with the mafia. "Right. So then there's Ryohei and Hibari who're both fighting nuts in their own way. Ryohei's really extremely into boxing and Hibari's..." Tsuna trailed off trying to come up with a better way to put it. "Well Hibari's just into fighting in general." Maybe even a little too much into it. "And they're both pretty active in their clubs. Ryohei's in the Boxing Team and Hibari's the President of the Disciplinary Club."

"You really are making all sorts of friends, Tsuna," noted Giotto. "I'm impressed."

Tsuna nodded, happy at the praise. "And then there's Enma. I think you guys know him already?"

"Cozart's little brother came all the way here?" asked G a little confused which in turn confused Tsuna a bit because he didn't remember the name of Enma's brother right away. "I thought he was still back in Shimon Middle."

"You mean Kozato Enma?" clarified Giotto.

Right. Amedea did mention Enma's brother was a person named 'Cozart'. "Yep."

"And you get along well?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Tsuna. Out of everyone all his friends, it was probably only Enma who really knew it was like to walk in his shoes. Feeling his outburst was a bit much though he toned it down as he went on, "I mean I feel he understands me pretty well and we're really similar in a lot of ways."

"I thought you would," agreed Giotto. "And I'm glad you two get along."

Besides the girls and the kids, Tsuna felt he was missing someone important. "Oh right. I can't believe I almost forgot. And then there's Yama-Yamamoto-" He stuttered, realizing too late that maybe he shouldn't have brought his baseball loving friend. His brother's people had caught him, right? Or at the very least they were suspicious of him. Hopefully whatever Reborn had in mind would get his friend out of the situation without causing too much trouble. Meanwhile, he looked towards G and his brother to see if they somehow missed his slip up or didn't know which 'Yamamoto' he was talking about. The answering frowns seemed to indicate otherwise.

"I see, so Iemitsu must have already told you something, right?" asked Giotto deliberately referring to their father by name. "About the mafia and your friend's possible involvement?" And before Tsuna knew it, the jovial atmosphere from before left the room, and in its place the odd tension from when Tsuna first arrived was back at full force.

Tsuna knew he could never slip a lie past Giotto - which now made much more sense considering their relation to Vongola Primo - so he tried hard to come up with a half-truth that wouldn't give too much away. "Yeah, dad's the reason I know a bit about the mafia already." After all, it was Iemitsu that elected Tsuna as a Decimo candidate. "I mean other than what G told me. But even if Yamamoto is somehow involved with them, he's a good guy. He's always looked out for me," finished Tsuna, rushing to defend his friend.

Giotto only gave G a brief look for him telling Tsuna everything which G returned with a silently mouthed 'Sorry' before turning back to his brother. "Tsuna..."

Iemitsu decided to make himself known again. "So what if his friend's in the mafia. Being in the mafia doesn't preclude a man from being a good man," he pointed out, letting a little of his lazy facade fade away.

"And being a good man doesn't mean the man doesn't work for bad people - especially if he's in the mafia," retorted Giotto in a tired way that said him and Iemitsu had been over some variation of this argument a dozen times before.

"Then what of the Shimon?" Tsuna didn't need to know the exact relationship or what happened between Giotto and the Shimon to recognize that that was a low blow.

However Giotto took it in stride and the slight clenching of his jaw was the only thing that belied his feeling on the matter as he finally turned back to Iemitsu to meet him eye to eye. "Unfortunate for us that it's not the Shimon that Tsuna's friend is suspected to have ties with but the Vongola. I received your greeting present from your friends on the airplane by the way." Tsuna was confused at the mention of airplanes. What did planes have to do with anything?

Iemitsu gave a humorless laugh. "I'm afraid I can't claim credit for that. It was an old friend of your great uncle that arranged for that." The only great uncle Tsuna knew about was the Ninth, and the only friends he knew he had were the ninth generation Guardians and Reborn. It didn't take long after that realization for Tsuna to connect the dots. They were talking about Reborn 'delaying' Giotto's flight. He also belatedly realized that Giotto knew about their father being in the mafia.

"One of his Guardians or Reborn?"

"You were an investigator. I'm sure you can figure it out."

Giotto let out a tired sigh before looking back at Tsuna. "I'm sorry to ask this Tsuna but could you and Gokudera-kun go hang out outside somewhere? It appears me and Iemitsu haven't finished our discussion after all."

"Let him do what he wants." Iemitsu carelessly picked at his ear as he leaned back in his chair. "It's not like you can't keep this from him forever."

"It's fine," said Tsuna. It wasn't like he didn't know enough about the mafia already, but as he looked back and forth between the Sawada men he felt a bit put out. Tsuna hadn't expected to have the issue between the Vongola and Giotto's profession to come to a head so soon after his brother's arrival, but he knew he should have seen it coming given all of Reborn's warnings. Reminding himself of that however, did nothing to resolve the mixed feelings in his mind.

On the one hand, it was nice knowing Giotto still had his back and even with all this mafia business, his brother was still looking out for him: sending Tsuna off so he wouldn't get involved. On the other hand though, it was a sore reminder that from now on he'd have to tiptoe around the man who'd been his primary protector up until two years ago. "Me and Gokudera can go watch a movie or something," Tsuna continued on.

Giotto leaned over and ruffled his hair, apologizing once again. "I really am sorry for sending you away after I just got back, but the less you know the better off you are."

"I get it. The mafia sounds like scary business," replied Tsuna as he stood up with Gokudera, chair scraping along the floor. While he was still reluctant to leave - it really was nice seeing Giotto after so long - he knew it was better this way in the long run. It wasn't like Giotto was the only one hiding secrets here. Judging by the way Giotto was trying to keep him from know more about the mafia, his brother still didn't know he was the Vongola Decimo. So it was best Tsuna excused himself here before he ended up revealing anything more about himself and the Vongola.

"I promise I'll explain what I can later."

"Don't sweat it. I can handle that while I spend more quality time with my brat brother and Tsuna," replied G, standing as well and already starting to usher both Tsuna and Gokudera out the door. "Although I'm pretty sure I covered most of the bases last night. Not to mention what your father must have told you..." G trailed off as he caught sight of Giotto's warning look.

"If I hear anything about you interrogating Tsuna, G, I'll-"

G interrupted him, hands in the air. "Just making a statement! I swear! I won't be interrogating the little one! I'll just be with them to make sure they stay safe since the other guard on duty needs a lunch break. What was his name? Caro? Cazo?"

"Ciro," Giotto corrected exasperatedly, rubbing a hand over his face.

"That's the one," agreed G. "No promises about not interrogating this other one though," he continued, patting the 'other one' on the shoulder.

"Like I'll tell a dirty cop anything." Gokudera slapped the hand off. "I'm no snitch."

G only rolled his eyes and waved at his friend. "We'll be back in time for dinner."

xXx

It was about a block from the house towards the nearest movie theatre when G spoke up and prompted, "So about what your father told you of the mafia...?"

"I thought you promised the Tenth's brother you wouldn't interrogate him." Gokudera spat, hands in his pockets. Tsuna kept a wary eye on them as he made sure he acted as a buffer between the brothers, walking between the both of them with Gokudera on his right and G on his left. While he had been able to talk Gokudera down earlier from his initial rage after they left the house, he was still something of a more-than-figurative ticking-time bomb.

"It was a question, not an interrogation."

"Well you can shove your questions right up your-"

A phone rang and G held up a hand to silence him. "Shut up a second, brat and let me take this call." G ignored the following commotion Gokudera made as Tsuna dealt with it and gave Gokudera a meaningful look. This could be news about Yamamoto. "G speaking, what's the situation?" There was a few minutes of silence and then. "Really? At the school?" A pause. "A forged record, huh?" Now both Gokudera and Tsuna were leaning in surreptitiously trying catch what was being said on the other hand of line, but aside from something about 'medical records' and a 'troublesome student', Tsuna wasn't able to hear anything meaningful.

Eventually, G finished with a, "Fine, I'll take care of it," and snapped his phone. Tsuna and Gokudera tried to make it not seem too obvious they had been listening in by pretending to look everywhere else but G. G either didn't notice or didn't mind it and just sighed. "I doubt Giotto wants me to take you along, but there's no choice. Criminal activity has been rising around here and that Cazo guy should be on his break. I hate to admit it, but your father is right about one thing. We can't really keep you in the dark about this."

"Eh? Then where are we going and why?" asked Tsuna before Gokudera had a chance to say anything. Was this part of Reborn's plan to get Yamamoto out from suspicion? He'd still been feeling down about his brother, but some possible news on Yamamoto was enough to put it behind him for now.

"One of our holding facilities. And for 'why', it turns one of our teams at school found a spy that was trying to divert our search," explained G, already walking them in the direction away from the theaters and towards what Tsuna could only assume was towards the facility. "It shouldn't be very far from here, and I can at least get a guy working over there to watch you two."

"And Yamamoto? Is he there too? Can we see him?" asked Tsuna, jogging a little to keep up with G's increased pace.

G frowned. "He should be there but seeing him might not be the best idea. Though I'll see what I can do," he said but the twinge in Tsuna's head seemed to say otherwise. If Reborn hadn't come up with anything by now, maybe Tsuna would have take Yamamoto's freedom into his own hands. Though he'd try to talk it out with his brother before he did anything drastic. After all, Tsuna doubted that his brother would let a teenager - even if the teen was in the mafia - be hurt under his watch.

Several blocks down, they eventually made it to a plain brick building in the edge of a small shopping center. G deliberately walked passed the double-door front entrance and went into a side alley where a metal door with a sliding peeking hole greeted them. G gave it three firm knocks before the hole opened.

A man peeked through. "Password?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? This ain't a spy movie or a stupid anime. You can obviously see it's me, G. Open the goddamn door."

"B-but what about Illusionists?" At G's withering glare, the man crumpled. "Well I guess it couldn't hurt. It's not like we have anyone really important in here - just a kid and a traitor. Plus, I doubt anyone could really capture your presence, sir." Tsuna heard a series of clicks and a few chains rustling as the man undid the locks of the door. The man opened the door. "The traitor is in one of the cells down the right hall and the kid should be in the left hall in the interrogation room."

G nodded and beckoned Gokudera and Tsuna to follow as he went right. "Stick with me."

"This where you planning to keep the Decimo?" asked Gokudera in a bored tone but his eyes betrayed his interests, scanning the entire room. G missed it as walked ahead of them. "Doesn't look like this place could hold him very long." Gokudera knocked on one of the concrete walls. Tsuna silently agreed. In Dying Will Mode, he could escape in a heartbeat by simply punching his way out.

"It's one of the places we can hold him," replied G as they walked. Eventually, he came to a stop at an office like room with a desk that a series of keyrings behind it, his hands hovered over the keys until eventually he grabbed the one he wanted. He continued their walk towards a gated door which led to a line of cells.

"Don't let appearances fool you though, behind the concrete is another layer of titanium lined with Flame neutralization properties." G stole a glance at Tsuna as he unlocked the gated door. "It's some anti-mafia tech made by the mafia that we acquired from one of our arrests. That's all you need to know about," explained G, likely thinking Tsuna didn't know about Dying Will Flames.

He stopped short of opening the door and turned to the two teens. "Anyways, should be as far as you two go. I think it should be safe to leave you two here with - what's your name again? Rebopo? Norman?" G asked the officer Tsuna hadn't noticed earlier sitting on top of the desk.

"Detective Norber," replied Reborn dressed in an outfit Tsuna guessed was based on Sherlock Holmes. "I'm pretty forgettable so I can understand why you don't remember my name." A baby cosplaying as a detective and with an obviously fake name like that? There was no way he was forgettable!

"That you are," agreed G all too easily. Was it too much to hope that at least Gokudera was faking that glare at Reborn? "It's only one guy in there so I can take care of watching the cells. So for now, is it alright if I leave these two under your care?"

"We don't need another baby sitter. We can take care of ourselves." Gokudera grumbled to himself, arms crossed.

"That's fine. I won't let these two out of my sight." Reborn held up a detective lense to his eye, giving both of them what Tsuna assumed was supposed to be a hard stare. It was difficult to tell with Reborn's limited range in expressions.

"Then I leave these two in your capable hands." G patted both their shoulders before he walked off and closed the gated door behind him.

As soon as he thought G was out of hearing distance, Tsuna pointed an accusing finger at Reborn. "What the heck are you doing here, and why do you look like that?!"

"You know this guy, Tenth?"

"As always, your intuition is spot on," praised Reborn. "It's me, Reborn," said the hitman to Gokudera, clearly breaking the 'No saying his name' Rule.

"Reborn?" Gokudera hurriedly bowed in apology and clapped his hands together. "Forgive me! Your disguise was so thorough I hardly recognized you!" What part of that was not recognizable? Reborn didn't even bother to wear a wig or hide his face!

"You're forgiven. After all, in the mafia I'm also known as the Man with a Thousand Faces. You wouldn't be the first I've fooled." Reborn frowned at his detective lense. "Although, I doubt this disguise will work on your brother, Tsuna."

"I'm surprised anyone believes that disguise for more than a second!"

"Not everyone is blessed you and your brother's Intuition, Tsuna." Reborn hopped off the desk and started to lead them back toward the direction they came. "Now for why I'm here, it's because we're going to spring Yamamoto out of jail."

"Like a jailbreak?!"

"Silly, Tsuna. How else did you think I was planning to get him out?"

Feeling more embarrassed than he felt his cluelessness warranted, Tsuna could only shrug and mumble. "I don't know. I thought it'd be more subtle I guess." Something less likely to leave evidence behind and get Tsuna himself landed into a jail cell. However, he should have known better. This was Reborn, he was talking about after all. "So what are we going to do? Barge into wherever they're holding Yamamoto and hope there's no witnesses?"

"Pretty much, but I can take care of the witnesses," said Reborn.

That was what Tsuna was worried about. "You're not going to kill them are you?" Reborn didn't answer. "Are you?!" The hitman continued to walk down the hall, ignoring Tsuna and twirling the lense in his hand. They kept walking until Reborn took a detour around the path that would have led them back to the doorman down a side hall and stopped in front of a door to another room. "Is this the place they're keeping Yamamoto?"

"Maybe. I got lost and was hoping this room might have a map with directions."

"I thought we were following you because you knew where you were going!"

"It's okay Tenth. I think I can figure out where we are from here," spoke up Gokudera. He pointed up to a sign above the door which said 'SECURITY'. "This must be where they have all the security camera feeds. If we can't find a map or a blueprint of the place here, I can use those to figure out where the baseball freak is and how to get to him." He opened the door and as he said, there were the screens showing different sections of the facility. One of the screens flashed to a holding cell with G looking in and another man inside that Tsuna recognized as the doctor from school. His heart skipped a beat.

"And you said the Decimo was who again?" asked G in the feed.

"The boy! The boss' younger brother, Sawada Tsunayoshi! You have to believe me!" pleaded the doctor holding on to the cell bars.

G kicked at the wall beside the cell. "Pull the other one. That's the seventh time I've heard that all week. Don't you mafia freaks have any other jokes because this one's seriously getting old." G shook his head. "Now start telling the truth. If you can't tell me who the Decimo is at least tell me who you're working for or else I'll send you to that bastard Alaude."

"But I am telling the truth! Did you not see the test? The results were a high purity Sky Flame!"

"Yeah we saw the results. You tried dumping them in the trash without telling anyone and when you were caught you tried accusing Giotto's little brother. Did you seriously think we'd believe that?" The doctor shook his head vigorously and tried to speak up again, but G pressed on. "Whatever, I probably don't even need to call Alaude or Giotto in to see you. You're just more fodder meant to get in the way of our investigation. I'll have you sent back to one of our holds in the fatherland."

"But if I didn't do it, the baby would have killed me!"

"Great job, Tenth." Gokudera looked up from where he was digging in some drawers for a map to give Tsuna a thumbs up. "You completely fooled my idiot brother and have those stupid vigilantes turning against themselves!" Tsuna was beginning to wonder how many more innocent people would be arrested for telling the truth about his identity and whether or not he'd feel guilty enough to confess.

"You confess and I'll deal with you myself," said the aforementioned, killer baby, already reading Tsuna's thoughts. He fiddled with the camera screen controls until another image popped up. This time it featured Yamamoto chained down to a chair with a desk between him and an aged old man. "Oh look, it's Yamamoto. He seems to be holding up well under the interrogation so far. But again, he's a natural born hitman so it's only to be expected." Reborn turned up a dial, increasing the audio volume.

"Look, kid. You've got your whole life ahead of you. Do really want to spend the rest of it in a cell for some scumbag who doesn't give one shit about you?" When Yamamoto only continued to smile, he shook his head. "You kinda remind me of me. Faithful, loyal, not a sellout like that coward G's probably got snivelling in his cell who breaks down at the first sign of fight. That's not you. But sometimes, you have to realize when you're on the wrong side like now. At least say something."

Yamamoto only hummed a short tune to himself.

"A name?"

Yamamoto shook his head, still smiling carefreely.

"You know, if you don't start talking to me I'm going to have to throw you back in your cell and call in a professional."

Yamamoto looked down at his legs for a few seconds as if to think about it and then he looked back up to the man. "Well, I am getting a little thirsty. Do you think I could have a cup of water?"

The man stood up, knocking back his own chair in the process and slammed both hands into the table. He leaned over Tsuna's friend as he yelled into his face, cheeks turning red in frustration. "Do you think this is a game, you little runt?!"

"Haha. Yeah, pretty much!"

A typical, Yamamoto-esque response appeared!

Tsuna pulled away from the screen. "We have to get him out of there before they do anything serious!" His friend looked fine so far but the mention of a 'professional' sounded worrisome. And now that he thought about it, while Giotto would probably never do anything to harm Yamamoto, his subordinates very well might. He looked over at Gokudera. "Did you find a map or figure out where Yamamoto is?"

"Yeah, I just found it here," declared Gokudera proudly as he held up a dusty old blueprint. He fanned off the dust before spreading it over the camera control console and pointed out a room on the blueprint. "Judging from the way we took so far and where that side entrance was, I believe this is the security room we're at." He dragged his finger to a far corner to the left. "And I believe this is the the interrogation room they're holding the baseball freak at. There's several other but judging from the other camera feeds I'm pretty sure this is the one."

"Alright! Then let's hurry and go!" said Tsuna, already walking towards the door out of the security room. What would they do to Yamamoto? Rough him up a little? Crush his bones?

Gokudera rushed to his side to lead the way before he spotted Tsuna's distress. He tried to console him. "It'll be fine, Tenth. The baseball freak may not be right-hand man material but he's definitely no squealer. They can cut off both of his arms and I doubt he'd give you away!" That wasn't at all what Tsuna was concerned about at this point, but it did give him another unwanted imagination of Yamamoto's possible fate.

On the way to Yamamoto's interrogation room, they ran into a handful of patrolling guards. Fortunately, Gokudera dealt with surprisingly low collateral damage, using a new knockout gas bomb he'd been developing over the summer and a few well placed blows to the head that probably caused more brain damage than Tsuna cared to know about.

"This is the place," said Gokudera as he held out a hand to keep Tsuna away from a thick, steel door. The bomber went to try the handle, careful at first. When it didn't budge however, he jammed his entire weight into it. Still no good. He felt around the door, looking for some detail Tsuna wasn't aware of. Maybe the keyhole since Tsuna could see one? "Probably specially reinforced since it's meant to hold the Tenth," Gokudera muttered to himself.

"They really didn't spare any expense," observed Reborn. "I think those are the latest tech from one of Verde's labs. It might even take more Flame than Byakuran's teleporter to open by brute force. It requires a special Flame signature to get in or out."

Gokudera nodded. "Yeah I think I recognize this model being advertised on the darknet, but last I heard, they weren't ready for production yet because of some structural weaknesses." He nodded to himself and waved a hand back at Tsuna and Reborn, indicating they should move back even further. "I think I know what to do. Move back while I get the door down."

He drew what looked like candy from his pocket and placed them at odd points on the door. If Tsuna had to wager a guess, he'd say there were a new form of explosive Gokudera had come up with and he made a mental note to check for them when he got back home for if Lambo or I-Pin ever got their hands on one.

Gokudera joined them, far from the door before he flicked a small ember of Storm Flame at candy explosives. The effect was subtle at first - only a faint bit of multi-colored smoke emitted from the bombs as they sizzled quietly - but eventually light formed around them, then mist, and finally they began burning away at the door, creating trails of flames that danced across its surface like stray fireworks. It didn't take long after that for the door to fall away.

"What the-" Tsuna heard the interrogator begin to exclaim, but Reborn swiftly shut him up with a well-placed tranquilizer dart in the neck. Then he shot out the camera with a normal bullet.

Tsuna ran ahead. "Are you okay, Yamamoto? I'm so sorry about getting you involved in this mess." He carefully examined him for any injuries. Nothing as far he could tell, but that only meant his friend was okay on the surface level. "Let's get you out of here before more people come." He went behind the chair to try undoing his bindings, but saw they shackles that required a key and quickly went over to the passed out old man to search for them.

"Relax, Tsuna," said Yamamoto as he sat up in his chair. "They didn't do anything, and it's not your fault. It's mine for letting my guard down. Reborn told me everything about your brother and the vigilantes and I still ended up getting caught."

"Damn right, it's your fault," replied Gokudera as he walked up to Yamamoto's chair. "Making the Tenth worry about you. You've got a long way to go if you ever want to compete with me being the Tenth's Right Hand."

Yamamoto laughed. "I thought you were the right nostril."

"Keep laughing it up and a right nostril will be all that's left of you," replied Gokudera without heat. He took out a few paper clips and a screwdriver from his pocket. "Also Tenth, don't worry about the key, I can pick the locks. I doubt they'd risk keeping it in the same room if they really figured out Yamamoto's a Guardian. They'd worry about him beating up the interrogator and undoing the cuffs himself." Gokudera looked up to Yamamoto as he kneeled down to work at the locks. "I'm assuming these are Flame resistant."

"I think so," said Yamamoto as he pulled his arms up as far as he could to give Gokudera better access to the keyhole of the cuffs. "I couldn't break them on my own at least."

"How about the Vongola Gear or your bat? Did they take those off you?"

"With the chain Reborn gave me, they didn't seem to notice it. " Yamamoto touched his shirt where the Vongola Gear necklace hid under once Gokudera freed his hands. "But I think they were expecting a ring. And I was caught completely off guard so I actually put down my bat when I was taking a break from practice. It's probably still back at the field."

"We'll have to work on getting you another type of hidden weapon - something more discreet and easy to carry," said Reborn.

"Oh, another mafia role-playing toy?" asked Yamamoto as clueless as ever.

It didn't take long after Gokudera got his hands unshackled to undo the binding on his legs. "Thanks, you guys. You're real life savers!"

"Tch. Just don't make it a habit."

"I'm only glad you're alright." Tsuna sighed in relief. "Now how do we get out of here?" He asked Reborn.

"Well obviously we walk."

xXx

It turned out, it was just as easy as walking out and all four of them were able to walk pass the unconscious guards and the doorman without a problem. Reborn had simply explained he was the new guard assigned by G to watch Tsuna and Gokudera and that Giotto had granted him permission to let Yamamoto out as while the swordsman was in the mafia, he was relatively harmless under watch. Afterwards, Reborn had given Yamamoto a quick rundown of the situation which the swordsman accepted without a blink.

Of course, any minute now Tsuna was expecting it to all blow up in their faces. Gokudera hadn't exactly been subtle when knocking out those guards as they had seen their faces before being forced to sleep. The doorman had clearly seen all four of them leave the building together and Tsuna recalled G telling them to stay at that room with the keys which they definitely didn't. He felt like they were fugitives on the run. Actually, scratch that. It wasn't just feel like 'fugitives, they were fugitives (or at least one of them was)!

And now they were having a sleepover at Yamamoto's place.

"Need to use the restroom, Tenth?" asked Gokudera, popping his head out of the bathroom.

"I'm okay. I'll go after," replied Tsuna.

"Be back real quick," said Yamamoto, doing up the last button of his pajamas and heading out his room door. "I'll get us some sleeping bags to use for the night. I think dad put them in the garage." Which left Tsuna and Reborn alone in the his friend's bedroom.

Tsuna tiredly sprawled on the floor and gazed at the wood ceiling. "If Giotto or G don't figure everything out by tomorrow, I'll be surprised." The evidence was everywhere. The doctor and the test. Yamamoto and the jailbreak. Gokudera calling him the 'Tenth' all the time. It all came back to Tsuna being the Vongola Decimo.

"I wouldn't be," said Reborn, also in pajamas, takinga seat by Tsuna's head. "Since we have two very strong factors working for us: the fact the mafia usually keeps to itself and you being your usual no-good self. Your brother and his friends would never expect you of all people to be the notorious Vongola Decimo or that the Vongola Decimo was hiding right below their noses the whole time. Even if all the evidence leads back to you, they'll never believe it."

Which made sense to Tsuna seeing as being a the Vongola Decimo was definitely the last thing he expected himself to be. He ran a hand through his hair. Seriously though, what were the chances that Tsuna of all people would be the last viable candidate for the Vongola Decimo out of all four choices?

"Very high considering it's not unusual for three to four heirs in the mafia to die before they reach the boss position," explained Reborn. "Which makes it something of a surprise you've lived this long."

Tsuna didn't even bother to question how Reborn was able to read that from the expression on his face.

"Admittedly, it's a rare case since other bosses usually have more potential heirs for just that reason, but I'm assuming the Ninth wanted to avoid the infighting that would have occurred with so many heirs." Reborn secured his nightcap more tightly before joining Tsuna lying on his back. "I'm surprised you haven't asked the question yet. Even you should have started being curious about it now."

Tsuna only looked over at Reborn at his side in confusion. "What question?"

"Tell me, Tsuna," said Reborn with a painstaking patience that had Tsuna couldn't help but wince at and feel as if he was being particularly slow. Well, slower than usual at least. "What makes you uniquely qualified to be a candidate for being the boss."

Intelligence for sure was a big fat "NO!". Tsuna had enough zeros in his report cards and plenty of nines in his student ranking to know that. And while he had grown stronger, he knew power hadn't been the original reason he had been chosen. Looks could be debatable but Tsuna was only sure he looked better than the other candidates by virtue of the fact he wasn't dead (yet). Which meant being alive was one prerequisite (not nearly as obvious as one would think considering the undead Vendice). But then there was Xanxus who couldn't be the heir because of his-

"Blood!" Tsuna exclaimed, sitting up. And who other than Tsuna shared his bloodline except his father and his brother? "Wait, then why aren't dad or Giotto-nii considered candidates?"

"Your father forfeited his right to lead the family when he became the leader of the CEDEF," explained Reborn.

"Then why not my brother? He's better than me at everything."

"Certainly in terms of looks, power, and charisma Giotto completely beats you. From most aspects, he would have made the perfect boss to lead the Vongola family," agreed Reborn. "He would have been comparable to the first if he took over. But there's one thing he lacks compared to you Tsuna."

What could Tsuna possibly have over his brother? His exceeding uselessness? "And what's that?" he asked doubtfully.

"Not having a spine."

So Tsuna's guesses weren't too far from the mark. "That's stupid. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? That's not really considered something someone lacks."

"Normally, that would be the issue, but this is a special case. While as a boss, it's a good characteristic to have, for someone so adamantly against the mafia life it'll be troublesome. The Ninth tried convincing him, but in the end he wasn't able to get Giotto to accept the Family."

That was something Tsuna could relate to. Even now he as the current candidate for Decimo didn't even want the position or to be involved with the Vongola.

Reborn continued on. "And while I don't know his issues against the Vongola specifically, from what I've gotten to know of him so far and the intel I received, I wouldn't be surprised that if Giotto ever was given power over the Family, he would disband it and make sure it'd never rise in power again. You on the other hand are more willing to compromise and give the Vongola a chance to change."

"...In other words, forcing you into the position even if you are more than a bit of a fixer-upper is much easier than convincing your brother of the good the position does."

xXx

AN: I know some of the motives, particularly Giotto's and G's, still seem unclear but as the story goes on I'll try my best to explain them as the story goes on.