Title: 6 Times the Guardians Came Back Injured

Summary: …and 1 time their boss came back critical.

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano

Pairings: None

Warning: OoC-ness; Possible spoilers for TYL!Arc; Set in the canon world, between present and TYL.

Note: When family is used with a capitalized f (e.g. Family), it refers to any Mafia Family. When the normal version is used (e.g. family), it refers to the normal understanding of family.

EDIT (09/01): Fixed two minor plot errors and some grammar that was bugging me when I reread it at a later date.

First Time

To become the blessed shower that settles conflict and washes away everything.

10th Generation Rain Guardian: Yamamoto Takeshi

Gokudera froze when he felt the vibration in his suit pants.

'Dammit. I thought I told them I'm accompanying Jyuudaime to the Mafia Summit. They shouldn't call me…'

Gokudera swallowed, suddenly feeling his stomach tighten uncomfortably.

'…unless in case of emergency…!'

The Storm Guardian swallowed and turned to the Vongola Decimo, who was already glancing at him in concern. Gokudera leaned in and murmured softly, "I need to take a call, Jyuudaime."

Tsuna frowned, but nodded.

Gokudera stood up and bowed, excusing himself out of the room. He pulled out his phone, seeing not a missed call, but rather a text message. It was from Ryohei.

'Yamamoto injured. Needed surgery. Now stable. –SR'

'Y-Yamamoto's injured…?! He doesn't normally get injuries on his mission… He was supposed to be retrieving information, wasn't he?' Gokudera frowned. 'Dammit. When I get back…!' Gokudera swallowed as he turned back to the meeting room behind him. 'Should I tell Jyuudaime…? I think he was already suspicious… And if he finds out I kept this from him… Still, this summit is important…' Gokudera paced around the hallway. '…No. Jyuudaime will want to know this.'

His mind made up, Gokudera returned to the meeting room, ignoring all the curious stares shot at him and approached his boss. Tsuna glanced at him inquisitively, concern lingering in his eyes. The Vongola Decimo knew of the arrangement made with the Family, of course; that they will contact Gokudera –who will be with him at all times– should the need arise.

Gokudera bent down and whispered, "…Yamamoto came back from his mission injured. Ryohei said he needed surgery but he is currently stable."

Tsuna's eyes widened.

"Your orders, Jyuudaime?"

"…Please get the car, Hayato. We leave immediately." Tsuna answered.

Gokudera nodded and left the meeting room once more.

Tsuna stood up then, and cleared his throat lightly. When the entire room's attention was gathered on him, Tsuna gave a polite bow and spoke, "My deepest apologies. I'm afraid a Family emergency came up and I have to leave immediately."

The Cavallone Decimo frowned, "Everything alright, Tsuna?"

Tsuna smiled, "Yes. But… I have to get back for this." Tsuna bowed again, "Please excuse us then." The Vongola Decimo glanced over to the side where, against the wall, a certain hitman stood, watching him carefully.

Reborn pushed himself off the wall and tilted his fedora in greeting before following Tsuna out of the room.

"Yamamoto's injured." Tsuna said simply, hastening his pace.

Reborn couldn't help the small frown that crossed his face. Like Gokudera, the first thought that entered his mind was that the swordsman doesn't usually get injured on missions. Tossing over a glance at his ex-student, Reborn jumped up onto Tsuna's shoulder and squeezed it briefly before reaching up to hold down his fedora to prevent it from flying off.

Tsuna nearly tripped over his own feet in surprise. While it is true that he and Reborn had progressed from a simple teacher-student relationship to a companion kind of relationship, the hitman still wasn't one to show such open gestures. Despite the whirlwind of emotions spinning wildly within him, Tsuna couldn't help the brief smile on his face as he continued down the hallway.

It didn't take them long to return to the Vongola estate.

The summit itself took place in Italy –something Tsuna was very thankful for at the moment– and with Gokudera practically breaking every traffic rule there is, it barely took thirty minutes to return home (when it took them nearly thrice the amount of time to reach the hotel).

Gokudera parked haphazardly at the front door, leaving the car there for any one of the servants to bring back to the garage.

Tsuna practically threw the doors open and ran through them, barely acknowledging the startled greetings of the various servants and Mafiosi. Gokudera and Reborn trailed closely behind, following the familiar route to the medic wing. The medics on standby directed the trio to the correct room before Tsuna could even open his mouth. Nodding in appreciation to the medics, Tsuna pushed the door of the private ward open without hesitation.

"Yo, Tsuna. You're back early."

Tsuna panted, trying to regain his breath, as his heightened senses tried to take in everything at one glance.

Yamamoto sat upright in the bed with his usual grin. His right arm was resting in a sling, but other than that, the Vongola Decimo couldn't see anymore visible injuries. There were the usual machines attached to him, monitoring his heart rates and some other vitals; and an IV dripped from a nearby stand.

On the edge of the bed, Lambo sat, constantly looking between Yamamoto and Tsuna. His forest green eyes were darkened in worry, and Tsuna could see the telltale sign of tears prickling his eyes. Chrome sat on the chair situated close to the sight of the bed. She stared firmly at Yamamoto, as if afraid that once she looked away, Yamamoto might just disappear. Her fear was clear, if her tight grip on her trident was any indication. Ryohei was standing on the opposite end of the room, leaning heavily against the wall with his arms folded. His eyebrows were furrowed, both in concern and slight annoyance. Hibari was nowhere to be found, but that wasn't surprising; the raven only left three days ago, this time heading to Russia to dig for more information.

Tsuna turned to Ryohei. "I can't see anything except that he most likely broke his arm. Ryo, you said Takeshi needed surgery. How injured is he?"

Yamamoto frowned. "I told you not to tell Tsuna…"

"Between you and Sawada, I'd rather take your wrath. Sorry, Yamamoto." Ryohei said with an apologetic grin. "Yamamoto's a little scratched up; just some shallow cuts and lacerations."

"But that wouldn't require surgery." Tsuna pointed out.

Ryohei brought up his hands. "Let me finished. He's also shot twice."

"What?!"

"T-Tsuna…! C-Calm down. Please!" Yamamoto winced.

Tsuna took in a deep breath to calm himself as suggested. As much as he felt his temper rising, he knew it wouldn't do well if he flared out now. Besides, his Family was not the one who he should lose his temper at. "Sorry, Ryo. Please continue."

Ryohei nodded. "Yamamoto was shot in his side and in his right thigh. We already did surgery for him to fix the damage, but he'll still need to be on strict bed rest for two weeks at the very least. Physical therapy is estimated to be a month, if not two."

Tsuna frowned. "Hayato."

Gokudera didn't even need to be asked. "Yamamoto was supposed to be retrieving information about the Puccetti Famiglia from the Giegue Famiglia."

"Takeshi?"

"When I got there, the Giegue Famiglia guys were nowhere to be found. I thought they were just a little late, so I lingered around for a bit. And suddenly, I have people shooting at me. I counted about two snipers and another three on the ground. Well, I fought back, but they had backup; about a dozen or two more. I called HQ for backup but one of the snipers got me in the side. That's when the Giegue Famiglia guys showed up and they helped me fight them. I still got shot in the leg though. I… think I passed out then." Yamamoto recounted.

Ryohei took over, "We sent a team over. The team reported that they found the two Giegue Famiglia people guarding Yamamoto while trying to stop the blood flow. The Giegue Famiglia people even escorted our people back. Reports have been written; all on your desk, Sawada."

Tsuna nodded as he digested the information.

Gokudera waited a bit before asking, "Your orders, Jyuudaime?"

"…Hayato, I want you to go down to Giegue Famiglia tomorrow to double-check Takeshi's statement. Also, ask if there's any reason why they showed up late. Take Chrome with you." Tsuna instructed. "Chrome, I need you to ascertain their credibility. Ryohei, take a team with you and head back there; see what else you can find. Anything you can will be helpful. Reborn, see what your connections can get you about the Puccetti Famiglia. Put your next mission on standby; this one takes priority."

"Tsuna-nii, what am I supposed to do?" Lambo asked.

"You have an important job to do." Tsuna smiled.

Lambo blinked; he was sure he wouldn't be doing anything again. As much as he is annoyed at not being treated the same as the other Guardians, the fifteen year old does understand that he is the youngest and there are a lot of things Tsuna didn't want him doing yet, Mafia or not.

"I need you to keep Takeshi accompanied." Tsuna said.

"Ehh? Keep Take-nii accompanied?" Lambo repeated bemusedly.

Tsuna nodded. "Well, you heard Ryo; Takeshi is going to be stuck here for at least two weeks. And –no offense, Takeshi– as patient as my dear Rain Guardian is, making him stay in bed for two weeks will drive him crazy." Tsuna chuckled. "So, I need you to keep Takeshi accompany. Of course, I'll be here, but if I don't clear those nice piles of papers on my desk, Reborn over there will shoot me."

Reborn smirked.

"Okay!" Lambo nodded enthusiastically. He was happy to be able to do something, especially since that something was what he liked too –spending time with the older Guardians.

Tsuna smiled.

"Umm, Tsuna? What happened to the summit? I thought those usually took the whole day." Yamamoto frowned.

"Did you really expect me to stay there after hearing you're injured, Takeshi?" Tsuna asked incredulously.

"Well, no, but…" Yamamoto shifted uncomfortably. "It's just… this summit is the most important meeting of all. All the bosses of all the alliance Families show up in person, no matter where they are. And you're Vongola Decimo, the head of the Vongola Famiglia and the Alliance."

"With regards to that…"

Tsuna turned around, "D-Dino-nii…?"

"Yo." Dino grinned. "…Y-Yamamoto…? What happened to you?"

"Umm, mission didn't go well. I'll explain later." Yamamoto chuckled nervously. "Dino-san, what were you saying just now?"

"Oh. I managed to convince the other bosses to end the meeting after Tsuna left. We'll reconvene in two days; same place, same time." Dino grinned.

"Y-You did?" Gokudera gasped in shock.

Tsuna turned and hugged his surrogate older brother tightly. "Thank you, Dino-nii…"

"It was nothing." Dino smiled. "I knew something had happened the first time Gokudera left and the fact that you said 'Family emergency' pretty much confirmed it. It was easy convincing the other bosses; they themselves were pretty tired of the summit already."

"T-Thank you, Dino-san." Yamamoto smiled.

"Oh, come on. You guys are like my family too." Dino grinned.

"Even Kyouya?" Tsuna asked in amusement.

"I still have a hard time deciding on that." Dino groaned.

"Ano… Tsuna…?" Yamamoto called awkwardly.

"Hmm?"

"You really don't have to do this…" Yamamoto said. "I'll be fine on my own for a few hours…"

"It's nothing. It's not like I'm losing work hours." Tsuna replied absentmindedly. "…Actually, do I even have working hours? I swear, with this Family, I always feel like I'm working twenty-four-seven."

Yamamoto sighed, knowing it was just impossible to argue with the stubborn brunette. Still, he really couldn't believe this was actually happening.

Lambo was not there that morning since he still had school to attend (Tsuna was very adamant that the Lightning Guardian finish his mandatory education; Vongola/Bovino hitman-in-training or not). And with the other Guardians out on their respective tasks, Yamamoto was resigned to spend a whole morning alone until Lambo came back.

…Well, at least until Tsuna came in.

…Sporting a large pile of paperwork.

The brunette greeted him cheerfully as he dumped the stack on papers in a nearby chair before pulling another one over, slumping right into it. Tsuna started chatting with Yamamoto ever since then, while somehow still doing his paperwork.

(Yamamoto wasn't surprised at Tsuna's ability to hold a conversation while still signing paper after paper, but a small part of his mind wondered if Tsuna was actually reading the document before signing.)

"Umm… Sorry about the damage?" Yamamoto offered.

Tsuna looked up and blinked, before he broke out laughing. "Quite honestly, we'll be fine as long as Kyouya and Mukuro –well, by relation, Chrome, actually– aren't around at the same time."

"Speaking of which, where did Hibari go this time?" Yamamoto asked.

"Russia." Tsuna answered. Seeing the look on Yamamoto's face, he chuckled, "Yes. I was pretty shocked too when he said that. I expected Reborn to have in contacts in Russia, but Kyouya… How far does his connections go?"

"…Well, forgive me if I say I don't want the answer to that." Yamomoto answered.

Tsuna laughed. "…Takeshi?"

"Hmm?"

"You don't have to feel guilty, you know."

"E-Ehh…?" Yamamoto blinked.

Tsuna sighed, "Takeshi, I'm here because I want to. Not because I didn't want to leave you alone; but because I spend more time with you. And what happened that day? It wasn't your fault either; and neither was it your lack of ability."

Yamamoto flinched then, and Tsuna knew he had hit the heart of the problem.

"Takeshi, you were fighting alone against three gunmen and two snipers. You specialize in close combat, but you had to go against long rangers. If I went alone against them, I doubt I would have gotten out unscathed too." Tsuna said. "And besides, they had backup, about a dozen or two, and you only had three people on your side. It was an unfair fight. You don't have to feel guilty about anything and especially not feel weak."

"T-Tsuna…" Yamamoto murmured. "I… I guess I was being pretty silly, huh."

"Yep." Tsuna answered. "And for that…" He brought up a fist and gently whacked the swordsman on the head. "Takeshi, you are not weak. I need you to understand that and believe that."

Yamamoto stared at Tsuna.

"Just because you lost one fight, it doesn't mean you're weak. As strong as we are, we're still humans, Takeshi. We are bound to have a down time every now and then." Tsuna said. "I mean, just look at me; I lose to Reborn and Kyouya all the time. It doesn't mean I'm weak, does it?"

"N-no. It doesn't." Yamamoto answered quietly. "…Sorry, Tsuna. I guess I was overthinking things again. You're right. Losing one battle doesn't mean we're weak. It just means we're not strong enough. I… I still lose to Squalo too, you know."

"And what do you do then?" Tsuna asked.

"Train more. Find new ways to improve myself. Then fight Squalo again." Yamamoto replied.

"See?" Tsuna smiled. "You don't have to worry, Takeshi. No matter what happens, I'll be here; we'll all be here. You know what's good about family?"

Yamamoto blinked at him.

"It's that they'll always be there to catch you when you fall."

Yamamoto smiled. "Thank you, Tsuna…"

Tsuna smiled. "You know, if you really do feel guilty about me staying here, there is something you can do."

"What is it?"

Tsuna reached over to his side and grabbed a small stack of paperwork, placing it in Yamamoto's lap. "You can help me with paperwork." Tsuna said, a completely neutral look on his face. "You told me –and showed me– you're ambidextrous, so I know you can write with your left hand."

…

…

…

"…You're joking with me, aren't you, Tsuna?"

Tsuna broke out into a grin, "Of course I am! As if I'll really let you do any paperwork while you're supposed to be resting." Tsuna said. "And even if you did agree, Ryohei will have my head!"

Yamamoto laughed.

Tsuna smiled.

'Looks like Takeshi is going to be just fine. He's my Requiem Rain, after all.'

A/N: Welcome, peeps, to my new project! I actually have no idea what inspired me to do this, but I think I like where this is going. This fic will consist of seven chapters for the seven Vongola Guardians; Sky, Storm, Rain, Lightning, Sun, Cloud and Mist (not necessarily in that order, as you can see). It will center on the 10th Gen Guardians, but other related people will also pop in (e.g. Dino and Reborn in this chapter).

So, hope you peeps will stick around with me for this, and I hope you enjoyed reading this! As always, thanks for reading! Ciao Ciao~