CHAPTER

Yeah, long time no see? Even though I've been writing for the past few months, it took me a bit to continue this story. Anyhow, I apologize for making you all wait and I hope you enjoy this new chapter after… Goodness! 5 years?!

In congruence with this, I'll probably be polishing up the previous few chapters but with no significant changes. While I find my old writing (and my current writing) as meh, I don't want to alter it much so that I could still see the minor differences of the old vs new.

Anyway, enjoy! Unfortunately, the Varia isn't here but they'll come soon!

Previously:

Much to everyone's relief, Tsuna had managed to save both himself and Ipin from a potential car accident. While Mrs. Sawada, Tsuna and his friends headed back towards their home, in another location, six figures stepped out from their private jet and onto Namimori soil.

"AIYA! Why does the Estraneo have to be so freaking stubborn?!"

"Shishishi… I don't mind as long as I'm being paid."

"It'll be nice to torture them with my illusions."

"Isn't this exciting? Right, Xanxus-sama?"

"Shut up voi. Boss, please watch your step."

"…"

OoO

Nobody needed to be a doctor to know that she was under a high fever.

"Mama," interrupted Hayato as she was about to protest once more, "We can take care of the chores. It's on the list on the fridge right? You can take a rest."

Nana pouted but she let herself be carried by Iemitsu back to their room for her to rest. Reborn followed suit leaving Hayato with the three kids. He rubbed his neck in annoyance; it was also kind of awkward.

"Well, I obviously can't do the chores all by myself. You three are helping me out!" He said and hoped not to regret that decision.

PARALLEL WORLD

By the time they returned to the Sawada residence, their breakfast had already gone cold. Needless to say, Kozato, Gokudera and Hibari felt a little awkward. Yamamoto kept his distance from the gate. While they stood by the entrance, the tall teen leaned against the gate.

Tsuna was deep in thought. In the short time that he'd been in this parallel world. It was clear as day that his or rather, his parallel self's relationship with his mother was very rocky. Not only with his mother but also with Yamamoto. On the way there, Mrs. Sawada and Yamamoto kept silent while the four conversed amongst each other. Tsuna wanted to include Yamamoto in the conversation but he walked a few feet behind the group while his other friends kept asking him questions before he could get a chance to call him over.

'After that touching speech with Yamamoto too… How am I supposed to deal with this now?!' Tsuna mentally cried.

"Tsuna."

Tsuna and his friends tensed. Mrs. Sawada turned around on her heel and eyed the teenagers. Sensing the tension in the air, her tired eyes drooped further and she let out a deep sigh.

"I will be heading to my part-time job before noon. You can heat up the steak for your lunch. I've made enough for your friends if they want some." She said.

"G-Got it…"

She nodded before frowning upon seeing his current state, "And get out of those pajamas. I already do all of the work here, don't make my life any har-"

She stopped herself just as Tsuna flinched, his eyes watering much to his own confusion. While he didn't know what she was about to say, somehow he just felt like he knew what it was anyway. Like he had heard it so many times before. His heart painfully clenched and yet he had the urge to ignore it like it was a habit. He struggled to maintain eye contact with Mrs. Sawada.

Meanwhile, unseen by the teens, Mrs. Sawada clenched a hand into a tight fist behind her back. She was frustrated. Her Tsunayoshi had grown into a fine young man. Smart. Handsome and talented. While Reborn's introduction into their lives have sharply enhanced those aspects in her son, their relationship as mother and son remained cold. So was the relationship he had with Yamamoto after their little incident while they were younger. It was only two days ago* that Mrs. Sawada started to notice changes in her son. Maybe he's always been like this and she never noticed. After all, she barely played an active role in Tsunayoshi's life.

Or maybe Reborn was actually helping their relationship. In the time that Reborn spent with the Sawada's, Tsunayoshi was growing. She supposed that growth needed time. That's why she didn't notice it until recently. Mrs. Sawada was just about to warm up to the idea -and god forbid, the hope - that Tsunayoshi just might forgive her.

Forgive her for lying to him. For neglecting him. For hurting him.

'Was his eyes always this gentle brown?' For not remembering how his eyes looked. Oh how she yearned for his gaze to meet hers ever since Iemitsu died.

But relationships were a two-way street. It's unfair if only her son was taking the first step.

"I-I'm…"

"Eh?"

"I-I'm s-sor-" The words stuck in her throat. She couldn't say it. Why couldn't she say it?

A small voice in the back of her head whispered that it's not to the boy in front of her she should be saying those words to. Her brows furrowed in confusion.

She couldn't say it.

Not today.

"Mom?" She shook her head.

"J-just d-don't get too rowdy w-while I'm away." Mrs. Sawada said before she turned and started her way upstairs to her room.

Tsuna's head lowered, his eyes shadowed by his bangs and his heart hurting. While he longed for his own mother, Nana, he couldn't help but feel for the broken relationship his parallel self had with Mrs. Sawada. It was clear to Tsuna that Mrs. Sawada in her own way, cared and loved her son. Tsuna could see it in her eyes.

A hand dropped on his shoulder. He snapped out of his musings and turned to Kozato who wore a worried expression on his face. 'Are you okay?' he seemed to ask.

"Ah Enma-kun. I'm okay…" He gave a small smile but it didn't seem to be enough for any of his friends, "W-Why don't we hang out in the living room? I'll get us something to drink…"

"If you say so." Hibari, Kozato and Gokudera exchanged glances before entering. As Kozato and Gokudera went ahead towards the living room, Hibari turned back towards Yamamoto worriedly. Tsuna followed his gaze and his brown eyes met Yamamoto's. The tall teen's expression remained unfriendly as he stared Tsuna down, waiting. Waiting for what, Yamamoto didn't really know himself.

"A-Aren't you going to come in?" Tsuna asked much to Yamamoto's surprise. Hibari, who stood beside Tsuna, smiled in contentment before walking further inside the house to the living room.

Yamamoto's face betrayed none of his shock and he instead opted to frown, "I haven't been to Tsuna's place in years. It feels wrong."

"Ahaha," Tsuna rubbed the back of his head, "Well this Tsuna invites you in. I'm sure my parallel self wouldn't mind. Besides I think, he's probably had to deal with you and the others invading his privacy in my world."

"What do you mean?" Yamamoto raised a brow. A fond smile crawled up Tsuna's face which the taller teen found odd on the brunette's face. However, it didn't mean that it wasn't familiar. He hadn't seen that kind of smile in years.

"Well… Not that I mind it much anymore, my house in my world is always so loud but it's never a dull day. It's very different from my parallel self's home. It's pretty quiet here." Tsuna turned around to look at the house as he continued, "Takeshi-kun is pretty clingy. He would always sling his arm around you and pull you in for a hug. It took me a while to get used to it honestly ahahaha!"

Yamamoto's face scrunched up uncomfortably. "He sounds annoying."

"If you find him annoying, you should meet my Lambo." Tsuna laughed as he turned back towards Yamamoto with a warm smile.

"Come on, everyone is waiting. Also I might need some help grabbing some of the glasses from the higher cabinets."

Yamamoto took a second before complying and pushing himself off of the front gate and towards Tsuna. Just as he passed by him, he gently bumped his fist on top of Tsuna's head.

"Shorty."

Tsuna's face turned red. "H-Hey!"

The brunette couldn't see it but Yamamoto's lips slightly quirked up to a hint of a smile. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad.

CANON WORLD

"Hayato-nii, Lambo and Ipin keep splashing water on me!"

"GYAHAHA! Fuuta is all wet now!"

"Lambo, stop playing around!"

"Do your damn job, you stupid cow! You're making a mess in the Mama's precious kitchen!"

Tsunayoshi groaned as the sounds of yelling, plates shattering and obnoxious laughter from downstairs reached his ears. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't go back to sleep.

'How on earth does my parallel self sleep through all of this… Better yet, how does he live with all of this?' He thought to himself. While a small part of him was slightly envious of the lively household, the other side was definitely more grateful now for his quiet household.

His eyes widened.

"Mother…" He whispered to himself as he bit his lip. He hadn't thought of his mother for a whole week. It would be a lie if he said he didn't prefer Nana over Mrs. Sawada. She was happy, caring and didn't blame him for anything unlike his mother. A small part of him knew that she never meant any of it but he couldn't just shrug it off as if her words never hurt her. It did. Well, at this point, the words' stings have been replaced by a numb feeling. He grimaced.

He shook his head. He got up and stretched his arms back. Tsunayoshi supposed he should join the others downstairs. While he barely interacted with the kids, it was probably about time he tried. Ipin and Fuuta were still a little scared of him unfortunately even after Reborn explaining to them that he was from a parallel world.

He couldn't help but be a little more than awkward with children. 'It's not like I don't want to hang out with them…'

Though he could live with Lambo being scared of him, if Tsunayoshi was being honest. 'That annoying cow can ignore me for all I care.'

He stepped out of his room just in time for him to catch Iemitsu quietly closing the door to the master bedroom.

"Da- Ah, Iemitsu-san?" Tsunayoshi quickly corrected. As welcoming Iemitsu was, he wasn't his actual father. Well neither was the Iemitsu of his world or Mr. Sawada biologically speaking but he's still his father and such - you get the point.

"Shh… Nana is just under a high fever so she's resting." Iemitsu whispered with a grin. He slung an arm around Tsunayoshi, "Also you should call me 'Dad' you're still my son you know."

"... Bu-"

"No."

"You're my parallel se-"

"No."

"Bu-"

"No."

"This is childi-"

"No." Tsunayoshi glared at Iemitsu who continued to grin. He sighed.

"Father. That's as far as I'm calling you." He said finally. Iemitsu pouted but released him nonetheless. The older man smiled slightly. Tsunayoshi was being respectful of his parallel self's relationship with his father.

"You know, even if you call me 'Dad' it's not like you're replacing my son or that I'm replacing your father. Think of it as an additional family member." Iemitsu said but Tsunayoshi shook his head stubbornly. Iemitsu decided to let it go for now and shrugged.

As they headed back to the kitchen to hopefully delay it's destruction from a furious Hayato and a troublesome Lambo with the other two kids trying to mediate between them, Tsunayoshi turned to Iemitsu.

"Father." Iemitsu hummed in response. Tsunayoshi pursed his lips wondering if he should ask. It wasn't a touchy subject. At least to him. He hated that man after all despite not knowing him personally. So he never bothered to find him in his world. It was better that he stayed away from him and his mother. Though he was at least curious about that man's parallel self.

"How's your brother?"

Iemitsu paused and tilted his head in confusion at Tsunayoshi, "My brother? What do you mean?"

Tsunayoshi blinked. Did Iemitsu not have a brother in this world?

"You don't have a brother?" **

"I'm assuming I have a brother in your world…" Tsunayoshi nodded in response. Iemitsu placed his chin between his fingers in thought before his mouth opened into an 'o' shape. Then he frowned with a small hint of a distant sadness marring his expression. Tsunayoshi raised a brow.

"Well now that I think about it. I did have a brother." Iemitsu explained, "I don't remember much about him to be honest. I was only 2 years old back then. I was going to be an older brother but when my mother went into labour, there were complications..."

Iemitsu's voice lowered, "Both of them didn't make it… But I was too young to understand and comprehend any of that stuff."

"Oh… Sorry I asked."

Iemitsu smiled a small smile, "Don't worry about it. Like I said, I was too young and I've frankly almost forgotten him. It's kind of sad that I didn't get to know my own mother and what would have been my brother growing up. It's not like I have any bad feelings about it either… Say, what's your uncle like?"

Tsunayoshi wanted to correct him that he wasn't his uncle and was in fact, his biological father but the thought of even being related by blood, disgusted him. However, he wasn't about to disappoint Iemitsu by telling him that he hated his dead brother's parallel self.

"I-I've never met him either." Iemitsu noticed the slight hesitance in his voice but didn't comment on it. Instead he nodded and they reached the door leading to the kitchen.

"Do you at least know his name?" The older man asked.

"... I think it was Tadanaga." ***

PARALLEL WORLD

Mrs. Sawada finished slipping on her shoes by the front door. She took one glance at the door leading to the living room and smiled softly at hearing the laughter coming from her son's friends. She checked her watch and nodded to herself. There was plenty of time for her to arrive at her workplace and still be a few minutes early. Mrs. Sawada quietly stepped out of her home and locked the door behind her.

Walking past her front gate, she didn't even get past one block when an all too familiar voice called out to her.

"Nana!"

She turned around and gasped as her brown eyes met golden orange.

"... T-Tadanaga-kun."

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OWARI! What did you think? Let me know!

*Just a little reminder that it is currently Saturday morning (in both worlds actually) and Tsuna first encountered Mrs. Sawada on a Thursday night when she found that Tsuna had skipped school.

** refer to flashback in Chapter 12

*** Akira-sensei used the names of Tokugawa shoguns to name the male Sawadas - Ieyasu (Giotto's Japanese name), Iemitsu and Tsunayoshi - so I used Tokugawa Tadanaga's name who is Tokugawa Iemitsu's younger brother.

Current Time Setting: Same as chapter 16