This AU is dedicated to my friend Roey (pull harder). Sorry for taking five years before starting this aha… Also I know that I promised to give you a long one-shot feeling chapter one so that you can move on with your life but I guess I'm going to break that promise, too. sORRY I DEFINITELY WILL DO THE THINGS I PROMISED ON THE NEXT CHAPTER

P.S. To preserve the mystery of the story, I am not going to list the pairings for now (though of course you count on Tsuna being paired up yep).

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

"Poor kid looks like he's going to piss himself."

Tsuna hunches over himself, gloved hands tightening their hold on each other. His eyes dart from the floor to each end of the hallway he's in, but never stopping even one second at the huge doors in front of him. He doesn't want to lay his eyes on the insignia carved into the dark mahogany—no matter how intricate and beautiful it is, and despite Tsuna having seen it so many times in the past—because he knows what it'll do to him.

The brunette continuously tells himself to calm down, hands moving to fiddle with his belt, the pouch attached to it and its contents, and then the dagger sheathed at the back of his belt. His hands graze the goggles around his neck last, the leather of his gloves scraping the glass soundlessly, when the snickering guards on both sides of the mahogany doors suddenly lose all of their mirth and assume their position. Straight, rigid, statuesque. This is how they will be seen by the man who will open those mahogany doors, not as the snickering duo that made Tsuna's heart beat more wildly in his chest, though in reality the man won't put much care to them. His aged yet sharp eyes are focused on Tsuna, who in turn quickly diverts his gaze back to the floor despite his body straightening.

"Tsunayoshi Sawada," the old man calls out, voice gruff and stern. Tsuna meets the man's gaze for a whole second to convey that he heard him before returning his gaze to the floor. "Vongola Nono will now speak with you."

The man then steps to the side, inclining his head toward the inside of the room. Tsuna takes that as his cue, nearly tripping over his feet in his haste. His cheeks flush red when he hears a chuckle disguised as a cough from one of the guards.

"Nougat, please close the door." Tsuna knows that the man complied when the doors are shut with a little bit more force than was needed. He hears a sigh from in front of him. "Be a bit gentler next time. Those doors are ancient."

Nougat merely grunts in reply as he passes by Tsuna. "Ancient must mean sturdy if it's still there after all these centuries."

"That definition of ancient only applies to you. Don't you think so, Tsuna?" Tsuna starts at being addressed so suddenly, lifting his head up so fast he fears a whiplash coming. Kind eyes crinkle at the sides as Tsuna hesitantly nods. "See, even Tsuna thinks so."

Further dissatisfied grunts come from Nougat, who had taken position by the window. His head is turned to face the outside but Tsuna isn't naive enough to think that he won't be listening to whatever the Vongola Nono had called the teen over. Said man gestures towards one of the chairs situated in the middle of the room. Across it is a wooden coffee table, with a pitcher of water and a few glasses on top of it, and a leather couch, upon which the older man sits at the same time Tsuna does. He resists clasping his hands together, to squeeze at them to try alleviate some of the tension in his body.

Timoteo takes note of this and decides to start with small talk. "How is your father, Tsuna?" Tsuna's shoulders tense for a millisecond before they're forced to relax. It's enough to tell Timoteo that he'd chosen the worst topic to open this conversation with.

"He's fine, sir. Last I heard of him he's on camp en route to Cavallone." The image of Nana's teary eyes filled with relief and sadness flashes through his eyes. "It seems he won't be joining us any time soon, though. He'll be on the road for at least a quarter of the year more."

Timoteo clucks his tongue, the wrinkles between his eyebrows deepening. "That's an awful lot of time to be spending away from one's family." As he had expected, Tsuna doesn't reply. He does nod stiffly after a moment when he remembers who he's talking with. Timoteo decides it's time to close the curtain on that conversation. "I suppose you know that this is not why I had called you over, yes?"

"I—yes?" The teen blushes when the man laughs, hands automatically clasping each other together like they always do when he's embarrassed. He had an inkling that the Vongola Nono won't call him just to ask about his father—they have men tracking down every move of every person who holds power, after all—but other than that, he has no clue what this meeting is going to even be about.

Hopefully not because he caused one of the dragons in the military compound to go into heat early. He swears to all the gods out there that he followed the recipe for curing indigestion!

"No, this isn't about that little stunt that you pulled a week ago," Timoteo says, chuckling when Tsuna cringes at the mention of it. "Though I might ask you for that aphrodisiac's recipe later. It might help boost the numbers of our dragons come mating season."

"Of...of course?" Tsuna nearly curls in on himself when he hears Nougat scoff. Wanting to get out sooner, he asks, "If I may ask," Tsuna pauses to look at Timoteo, continuing when the man nods for him to continue. "Why did you call for me if it's not about...last week?"

"I have a request to make of you, Tsuna," the man replies, not beating around the bush anymore. That one sentence has Tsuna's mind reeling, though he tries hard to ground himself when he hears Timoteo talk more. "Currently, we have no trained tamers to spare for what I'm about to ask of you, though I'm certain that you'll be more than enough to accomplish this on your own."

Tsuna worries the inside of his cheeks, emotions warring against each other inside of him. The initial burst of pride dissipates as quickly as it surfaces, quickly overlaid with disappointment and grudging acceptance. After all this time, he should've known that he'll always be the one called last. He's the infamous No-Good Tsuna, remembered last and only for the most menial tasks.

"Thank you for thinking me eligible for this task, sir," he says with a bow of his head, an action he's used so many times whenever his vision swirls.

The chuckle that reaches his ears is a mirthless one, making Tsuna meet Timoteo's gaze once more. "I don't think that you're eligible for this, Tsuna. I feel that you're fit for this." At Tsuna's confused expression, Timoteo merely shakes his head lightly and proceeds to say, "I'd like to ask of you to acquire a rain dragon—"

Nougat unfortunately chooses this time to drink the whiskey that he poured, the man hacking as though his lungs wanted to come out of him upon hearing Timoteo's request. Behind him, Tsuna is fighting his own battle against the want to faint and need to hyperventilate. Nougat is the first one to recover between them, his eyes flashing with disbelief when he turns to face a smiling Timoteo.

"Are you out of your mind?" he rasps.

"No," is Timoteo's cool reply. He pours water in one of the empty glasses beside the pitcher and nudges it toward Tsuna. The teen doesn't take it. "Despite what you've heard of rain dragons, they're actually the most docile out of the dragons that are out there. Their capture rank just rose to what it is now due to them being on the brink of extinction, but I'm sure if one lays its eyes on Tsuna, it'd come over to him without a doubt. They're akin to puppies who gravitate to those that give off a kind aura."

Nougat makes a sound not unlike a groan, causing Tsuna to snap out of his stupor. "Am I to act as a b-bait?"

"Goodness no, child. Not for another tamer, that is." Timoteo barks with laughter. "Though I suppose that's another way of putting it. You'll be your own bait, a technique which few dragon tamers do practice." Timoteo smiles widely at the teen before him, eyes twinkling with amusement and confidence. Confidence about what, Tsuna doesn't know.

"I—" Tsuna holds his tongue for a second, a thousand thoughts buzzing through his mind so fast, half of them dedicated to convincing him to decline the job while the other half is pushing at him to accept. Best not to attempt it to save yourself from the impending embarrassment, the loudest voice in his head tells him. It's very persuading, tempting Tsuna more and more to follow it. Yet there's also this firm voice countering it, telling Tsuna to take it, for you do not know when the next opportunity will come. However softer it may be compared to the other voices, it is equally convincing, repeating its message over and over again until Tsuna delights Timoteo by saying, "I will do my best to not disappoint you, sir."

And then Tsuna feels the weight of responsibility settle on him at the same time Timoteo reaches over the table to clasp his shoulders, the old man overflowing with happiness and mirth at Tsuna's answer. Tsuna smiles back at the man weakly, already running a thousand grim scenarios that might happen inside his head.

"Marvelous, marvelous!" Timoteo exclaims as he stands up, watching the teen do the same with less grace as he. "Now that we've settled that, you best be going now. Spanner will be waiting for you in his workshop with the information and equipment that you will need."

Promptly after that, he gets ushered outside by Nougat while Timoteo waves at him. Tsuna practically sprints down the corridor the moment the mahogany doors closed in front of him. He doesn't hear the snickers from the guards nor Nougat's aggravated voice that's followed by Timoteo's hearty laugh.

Rain dragons were once closest to humans, not shying away from the human civilization when they expanded upon their territory unlike the other dragons. It was this willingness of theirs when it comes to mingling with humans that led to the rapid dwindling of their numbers. Their scales, brilliant like sapphires, sold for a lot in the markets, while some acquired them for pets who could turn water into ice even in the middle of summer. This eventually forced the few remaining rain dragons to disappear. Some said that they dove under the oceans, while some claimed that they now reside above the clouds to forever eliminate any chances of interacting with a human.

Needless to say, they are now on par with the Sky dragons in terms of rarity, followed closely by the elusive Mist dragons.

Tsuna adjusts his backpack, not quite wincing when he thinks about how sore he's going to be after just a few hours of walking. Maybe two hours tops.

"Oh, Tsu-kun, isn't this exciting?" Nana Sawada is currently wrapping up a huge bento box for him, enough to last him for a whole day's journey. He has a few others crammed inside his bag along with a couple of clothes and potions. There's also a small pouch for first aid kit, too, something that Nana insisted he bring or else.

Tying up the baby blue cloth wrapped around the bento box, Nana presents it to Tsuna with a huge smile. Her son smiles at her lopsidedly in return, gratefully taking the bento box. He leans into his mom's hand when she caresses his cheek, touch so gentle and warm. Tsuna doesn't comment on how he feels his mom's hand tremble a bit against his cheek or say anything about the tears clinging to her lashes.

"Make sure to take care, okay? No skipping of your meals, and please don't forget to send me a letter every now and then." Nana laughs lightly when her son scowls.

"I won't be gone for long, mom, so letters are truly unnecessary. Namimori is only about three to five days away from here, though I'm hitching a ride with some merchants so we'd probably be there by the third day. You know how snippy merchants can get when they're on the road for long."

"Still," Nana persists, eyebrow raising in that manner that must be exclusive to mothers. The you-better-do-it-please-(or-else) eyebrow raise, as Tsuna dubbed it when he was nine years old.

"Fine, fine. I'll write as soon as I get to Namimori." As if on cue, the huge clock at the townsquare rings its bell, signalling the start of the new hour. Adjusting his backpack once more, Tsuna pulls his mom into a one-armed hug and presses a kiss to her cheek. "Try not to stay up to late grading papers, okay?"

"And you do your best in acquiring that rain dragon," Nana replies. She kisses both his cheeks and the tip of his nose, blithely ignoring his grimace. Cradling her son's face between her hands, Nana Sawada bids her son to take care as she lets him go on his first journey outside the safety of Vongola.

Much to Tsuna's relief, the trip to Namimori takes exactly three whole days and a half. Nothing exciting happens during the trip, save for the cloth merchant tripping over in the stream when he went to catch a carp.

Once the carts have been allowed inside the gates of Namimori after a brief inspection by the guards, Tsuna takes in the modest buildings that made up the small town. Whereas Vongola is comprised of tall, sturdy buildings made of stones and bricks, Namimori is littered mostly with houses made primarily of wood. A handful of larger buildings are situated near the center—a few eateries, stalls for various products, and some organization's offices— but the biggest of them all is the one at the inside-most of the village, tucked against the mountain that guards the back of Namimori. The huge building acts as the school and office for the rumoured Discipline Committee, the group which oversees the protection of Namimori.

"We'll be staying at that inn," the clothing merchant tells him, pulling Tsuna's attention away from their surroundings. He looks to where the man is pointing at: a modest-sized inn, presumably with about ten rooms. "Dunno if you're staying somewhere else, but I thought you'd want to know."

"Thank you, Mr. Ooyama."

Just then, a man passes by them, giving all the newcomers a cursory glance until his grey eyes land on Tsuna. The brunette feels the tension rising in the air, made even more apparent to him when Ooyama immediately excuses himself and actually runs to the inn. Tsuna sadly can't do the same, not when the man with the sharp gray eyes is standing directly in front of him, glaring him down.

"Uhm...hi?" Tsuna greets him, a nervous smile quirking his lips up.

"What is your business in Namimori?" the man asks him and Tsuna squeaks when two metal weapons slide out from the man's sleeves and into his hands.

"S-Sightseeing?" Even he knows what a lame excuse that was, so Tsuna resigns himself to being subjected to an uncomfortable treatment courtesy of the man glaring at him. He isn't looking forward to it, to be honest.

Thankfully, the gods are having a merciful streak today.

"Maa, maa, Hibari. That's no way to treat tourists." An arm rests on the glaring man's—Hibari—shoulders. Not a second later, Tsuna hears rather than sees the movement that Hibari and the newcomer make, and it takes another second for his brain to catch up and his self-preservation instincts to kick in.

"Hiieee!" Tsuna ducks under one of the carriages as the whistle of metal cutting the air comes close his way. He hears laughter accompany the sound of metal hitting wood and thinks, Nobody told me about this!

The sound of the one-sided battle doesn't last long, ending with a disinterested "Hmph" from the scary man that confronted Tsuna. The brunette doesn't emerge from his hiding place right away, though, and he nearly lets out another shriek when a new person crouches down to peer under the carriage.

"Yo!" The man greets with a huge smile on his lips. He's quite tanned and has short, black hair that's spiky and warm brown eyes. Tsuna recognizes him as the one who laid his arm on the serious man's shoulders. "Sorry about Hibari; he's usually not that confrontational toward newcomers."

The man is giving off a friendly aura, very much unlike the man that just made Tsuna tremble with a mere glare, which coaxes Tsuna out from his hiding place. When the both of them stand up, Tsuna pulls a face at their height difference before he could prevent himself. This makes the man laugh as he holds a hand out. "I'm Yamamoto."

Tsuna shakes Yamamoto's hand, smiling back at him reluctantly. "Tsuna. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yamamoto, and, uhm, thank you for earlier."

"Nah, don't worry about that. And just call me Yamamoto! Adding mister to my name makes me feel ancient." Yamamoto is all smiles when Tsuna repeats his name while dropping the honorific. Tsuna finds himself smiling, too. "Now, would you like a tour of Namimori? Since you're here for sightseeing."

Tsuna laughs and nearly blushes at the conspiratory eyebrow-waggling that Yamamoto does. "That would be really nice, Yamamoto. If you don't mind, can you wait while I check in that inn first? I'd rather not sleep on the streets later just because I forgot to rent a room."

Yamamoto grins wide. "Go ahead. I don't mind waiting."

By the end of the day, Tsuna more or less has been introduced to nearly half of the residents of Namimori. The people didn't seem to consider them as someone that would bring harm to their town (unlike the man from the gate). Some elderlies even ruffle his hair at some point like he's their own grandson. Tsuna finds himself not minding it much.

"Well, aren't you a charmer?" Yamamoto tells him as he hands Tsuna his ice cream. They're taking a break at one of the stalls, watching people bustle by as they make their way home.

"Got it from my mom." Tsuna hums appreciatively as the cold treat floods his mouth. "Thank you for showing me around, Yamamoto. I had a lot of fun."

Yamamoto grins wide at that, the image made more endearing by the small patch of chocolate at the right side of his mouth. "Don't mention it! I had nothing to do anyway."

This reminds Tsuna that out of the numerous places that Yamamoto had shown him, not once did they pass by his house or workplace. Tsuna doesn't have any intention to pry about it, though. Yamamoto has done quite a lot for him already even though they just met. Gaze straying back to the huge building at the back of the town, Tsuna munches on his cone absently as he takes in the windows that still had lights in them.

"Say, Yamamoto." The man looks at him in acknowledgement. "What do they teach the children at school here? I know it's a weird question, but when we passed by earlier, I heard enthusiastic shouts behind the walls."

"Ah, that would be the self-defense classes." Tsuna turns interested eyes at Yamamoto, making the man's lips quirk up. "This is a small town that's quite far away from the capital. The residents can't always rely for help from another place, so they introduced a self-defense class in order for the young people to be prepared should any crisis arise. It's also mandatory for people who want to join the Discipline Committee to take it since Hibari absolutely won't tolerate inexperienced people in his group."

"That makes sense." A beat, then, "Wait, isn't Hibari the one who was glaring at me at the gate earlier?"

"Yup! That was Hibari Kyouya, the leader of Namimori's Discipline Committee!"

"Hiieee! Are you saying that I roused suspicion from the leader of the Discipline Committee!?"

Yamamoto chuckles and reaches over the table to ruffle Tsuna's hair, effectively calming his new friend. "Nah, that's just how Hibari usually is. You can ask the merchants; I'm sure most of them have been subjected to that kind of welcome."

Grumbling halfheartedly as he swats Yamamoto's hand away from his hair, Tsuna changes the topic by asking, "What do they teach in those self-defense classes? Hand-to-hand combat?"

"That and swordfighting."

A hoard of children floods the streets then, all of them clearly just coming out from the school. Tsuna and Yamamoto lets their conversation die in favor of watching the energetic children run around after one another. The chattering of mothers join in the noise, and when lanterns are lit, Tsuna can feel exhaustion creep in. Yamamoto seems to notice, since he stands up and motions for Tsuna to do the same. At Tsuna's questioning stare, he cocks his head to the direction of the inn that Tsuna is going to be staying.

"I'm walking you there."

"I don't need to be escorted," Tsuna says defiantly, though the effect is lost when he yawns.

Yamamoto shakes his head, clearly amused. "Can't have you suddenly fainting at the road. Hibari doesn't take kindly to people that suddenly pass out on the streets."

Tsuna's cheeks puff up at that, and he earns another hair ruffling from Yamamoto.

Tsuna looks at Spanner expectantly, waiting for the blond mechanic to finish with whatever task he's currently preoccupied with. So as not to get bored, Tsuna's eyes wanders around the workshop. Many different things are littered all over the place, from gears to wrenches to spare parts: robotic arms, legs, and eyes, with the occasional weaponry here and there. There doesn't seem to be an organizational system employed within the workshop, since everything and anything are on various tables and boxes. Tsuna muses that he probably won't last long in this kind of workplace; he'd probably be able to find a certain object after months of searching for it.

"You're looking for someone with black hair," Spanner suddenly says. Tsuna congratulates himself for not jumping in surprise.

"A person with...black hair?" He repeats, staring straight into Spanner's uninterested blue eyes.

"That's what I said." Spanner tosses a rug to one of the many tables. "A rain dragon has taken root in Namimori, and the only thing that can help us determine who it is will be if they have black hair or not."

"Isn't that a bit too...common? I'm pretty sure most residents of Namimori have black hair," Tsuna argues. Surely, there must be something more specific and unique a characteristic that can help him identify who the dragon is? "And how do I know if that person is really the dragon?"

Spanner shrugs. "Dunno. Use that hyper intuition thing of yours, I guess."

Tsuna wants to go home. Terribly. He thinks that this is all just a part of an elaborate joke, considering that he's already on his fifth day in Namimori with no leads to this elusive rain dragon. Everywhere he turns, he sees black-haired people of different ages and genders, and it's really hard to narrow his search to even one group because he doesn't even have anything else to go by except for the hair color. Even with his so-called hyper intuition, Tsuna doubts that he'll be able to locate this rain dragon any time soon.

Another thing that's making his quest harder is that he absolutely has to stay tightlipped about his true intent in visiting Namimori. Ever since the sudden scarcity of dragons, groups advocating how horrendous dragon tamers are for driving away the majestic creatures have popped up like mushrooms. Some stuck to just using words, while there are those who have used frightening ways using some dragon tamers as their props to get their points across. Tsuna remembers very clearly when Nana nearly pulled him out of his practice when an incident involving such a group was reported close to Vongola. She whispered to him that she wouldn't judge him if he'd rather not follow after his father's footsteps. Tsuna's heart clenched that time, but he prides himself for being able to assure his mom with a smile that everything's going to be fine.

Rubbing his eyes,Tsuna decides that it's time for a walk.

He drops off his letter for Nana and another one addressed to an unspecific mailbox to the post office first before he strolls aimlessly at the streets of Namimori. There aren't that much people walking around at this time, everyone having either classes or businesses to attend to. The few people that Tsuna does pass by while walking either wave at him or glance at him briefly. Tsuna doesn't mind; the fleeting glances are much more welcome than the searching ones. Up until now, only the man named Hibari has given him those glances and Tsuna plans to keep it that way. This is one of the rare times when he thanks his lack of presence as a dragon tamer.

Slipping his hands inside his pockets, Tsuna wanders around aimlessly. His eyes continue to look at everything though his mind registers nothing, It's caught in between musing about what his mother must be doing right now and how he should approach the problem of finding the rain dragon. Lost deep in his thoughts, the brunette inevitably crashes into the person front of him that he fails to see. Apologies ready at the tip of his tongue, Tsuna recoils when he meets the angry glare of the burly man that he just collided into.

"I-I'm sorry," Tsuna stutters. He notices movement at the corner of his eyes, his stomach plummeting when he guesses that they must be this guy's henchmen or something.

"Huh? That all you got to say?" The man takes one step closer, crowding into Tsuna's personal space to intimidate him. "Didn't you know that a sorry ain't enough, kid?"

Tsuna's mind goes on an overdrive as he tries to think of how he can slip out of this situation. He can give these people money, which is what they must be expecting him to do, but Tsuna really doesn't want to do that. He can't fight back, though, especially not when there are two—no, three—opponents to take on. Three big opponents against his scrawny self.

"There you are, Tsuna!" a familiar voice calls out. Tsuna fights the temptation to sag in relief as he continues holding the gaze of the man before him, noticing how anger is replaced by apprehension. The man remembers that Tsuna is still looking at him, quickly hiding his apprehension by turning away.

"Watch where you're going next time," are the man's last words as he beckons his companions to follow him. Tsuna watches their retreating backs, only ripping his gaze from them when Yamamoto stops at his side.

"They weren't giving you a hard time, were they?" Yamamoto asks, concern clearly on his face.

Tsuna shakes his head from side to side, saying, "No. They were just telling me to watch out where I'm going next time." To escape further questioning, Tsuna changes the topic when he shifts his gaze from Yamamoto's face to the sword that he's holding. "You never told me you're interested in swordfighting."

Yamamoto grins sheepishly, lifting the sword a bit. "I haven't? Guess it must've slipped from my mind."

Tsuna considers him for a moment, hazel eyes staring directly into Yamamoto's brown ones. "Are you teaching or learning?"

"Teaching," Yamamoto replies with pride. "Wanna come watch? Can't guarantee that it'll be much more exciting than walking into people, though."

"Very funny," Tsuna grumbles, jabbing the now laughing man at the side.

"Pay attention to your forms. No, not like that, Shimizu, you're too stiff."

Yamamoto always comes off as a carefree guy that Tsuna is having a hard time believing that the man sternly teaching these children is the same man that gave him a tour of Namimori a few days ago. Sure, Yamamoto gives a smile every now and then to those who have managed to follow his instructions, but so far he's given more reprimands than he did with smiles. None of the students are complaining though, and it's actually a refreshing sight compared to how students back in Vongola acted. Yamamoto's obvious passion to the art of the sword is also very inspiring, so much that Tsuna loses track of time. By the time he manages to take note of the time, it's already early evening.

"You actually stayed for the whole lesson," Yamamoto tells him by greeting when he approaches. A blue towel is resting on his shoulders, Yamamoto using it to wipe the sweat off his neck as he waves to his students.

"As much as I hate to admit it, watching you train those children is far more exciting than running into people," Tsuna replies with a mock sigh. He earns a slap at his arm for it.

"Getting cheeky now, aren't ya?" Yamamoto is trying his hardest to frown, but they both know and can see that he isn't capable of doing it for the time being.

"You started it," Tsuna replies easily. If someone asks him right now if he's felt this easy camaraderie before, Tsuna won't be able to give an answer. He's been an outcast all his life, despite being the only son of one of the most influential people in Vongola. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why he's been excluded by most of his peers from their usual activities. Nepotism is an edge that most people yearns and are wary of when it comes to dragon taming.

Yamamoto gives him a look then, as though he's studying Tsuna for the first time since they met, and Tsuna returns it with a smile. "What is it?"

The other man hums. "Nothing. I was just thinking how similar you just looked like to a squirrel." Yamamoto then throws his soaked towel to Tsuna, who balks and makes a gagging noise.

"Eww, eww, Yamamoto you're gross," Tsuna grimaces. He glares at the laughing man in front of him.

"Forgive me? I'll treat you to dinner," Yamamoto offers. He laughs once again at the exaggerated gasp that Tsuna makes.

"Is this how you pick up your dates? Because it's seriously gross and a turn off." Nevertheless, he follows the swordsman out of the school, falling in step beside him after jogging a bit.

"Nah. It's a new method that I just came up with. Guess it works, though, since you're tagging along." Yamamoto grins cheekily down at Tsuna, which the brunette replies to by sticking his tongue out childishly at the man.

"Hahi! Who is this new face?"

Tsuna tries not to lean back too much in an effort to be polite to the woman currently trying to scrutinize...his eyelashes. Tsuna bets that's the only thing the brunette woman can really see given their extreme closeness with each other. Yamamoto's laughing fills the background, and Tsuna kicks him in the shin to get him to do something.

"This is Tsuna. Tsuna, this is Haru Miura, the owner of the clothes shop down the street," Yamamoto introduces them, placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his hand. He gives Tsuna a cheeky grin when the other shoots him a frustrated look.

"It's a...pleasure to meet you, Miur—"

"Haru," the woman quickly interrupts him.

"—H-Haru...san?" Tsuna squeaks when Haru frowns. "Haru! Haru," he amends, and that makes Haru nod in satisfaction and finally pull back.

Taking the seat across Tsuna, Haru bumps fists with a grinning Yamamoto. "You did good this time, Yamamoto."

"I know, right?"

In front of them, Tsuna tries very hard not to show that he's very out of the loop. Of course, he fails that miserably when the two across him burst out laughing. "H-Hey!" he says, suddenly feeling indignant, cheeks flushing as his eyes dart back and forth to Haru and Yamamoto. "God, someone please tell me that I did not choose the wrong crowd to mingle with."

"Maa, maa, that's not the case at all," Yamamoto placates him. Tsuna pouts at him as his unease and anger ebb out of him gradually. Damn Yamamoto and his charming smiles!

"Then what's the deal with the you did good this time? That sounds very much like what shady people say!" Tsuna reasons out.

"Oh, yes, we're very shady people indeed." At this, Haru and Yamamoto glance at each other conspiringly. It makes Tsuna shiver and want to run away. "If you consider dressing people up with cute clothes as a shady business, then we're your people!"

Thankfully, intervention arrives in the form of their ordered food. Tsuna muses how Haru gets her own dishes, and tacks it on the fact that Haru must be a regular in this restaurant, too. The raucous atmosphere that they had going on had dissipated in favor of pleasant silence as they dig in to their meals.

Halfway through finishing his ramen, Tsuna asks, "How come I haven't seen you before tonight, Haru?"

Haru nibbles on a carrot first before answering. "I was delivering a few custom orders to the towns nearby. Some wealthy people are getting a headstart with the preparations for that special occasion."

Tsuna pauses with his wiping of his lips. "That...oh. Is that close already?"

Haru shrugs. "Not for a good five months more, at least. People here just want to get their clothes done earlier, so that they can freely say that they had this style and that style first than anybody else. It's a bad idea, if you ask me." At Tsuna's inquiring glance, Haru leans forward and seriously says, "Trends come and go as fast as the wind does. What's hot two months prior can be not hot today.

"Yet those rich folks do it anyway," Haru finishes with a sigh as she leans back to her chair. "They're so caught up with the thought of impressing those high tier peoples instead of listening to the fashion expert. If they just listened to me, those snobbish bastards might even glance their way twice!"

Tsuna coughs at his napkin, making Yamamoto glance abruptly at him. Nothing come's out of that though when Haru propels herself forward once more, face mere inches away from Tsuna's. The brunette swears there are stars in her eyes.

"Do you have anything important going on tomorrow?" she asks hopefully.

"Uhm, no?"

Haru squeals. "Then we're going on a date! Tomorrow!"

"Oh—what?"

"Haha, seems like you've landed yourself another date, Tsuna! Smooth, man, smooth." Tsuna groans when Yamamoto winks at him.

While on his way to the post office three days after Yamamoto treated him to dinner, Tsuna replays the events of the past two days with a smile on his face. Haru is...a very energetic woman and she isn't afraid of forcing her way into people's barriers, as is evident when she literally dressed Tsuna up for their so-called date then proceeded to drag him all over Namimori. Despite that, she knew when not to touch a sensitive subject, something Tsuna appreciated when she did her best not to question Tsuna much about his family or what he does for a living. (He told her that he's on some sort of soul-searching journey that's been blessed and approved by his parents. In some ways, it wasn't a complete lie.)

After their date that day, Haru filled the empty space beside him when Yamamoto wasn't around. It's funny how close he had gotten to the two by just spending a few days with them, but Tsuna doesn't mind. He certainly wouldn't trade what he's now experiencing back for his life before.

In the middle of reliving his experiences with Haru, Tsuna spots the scary man named Hibari stalking toward his direction. Not necessarily to him, Tsuna wishes desperately as he wills himself to continue walking while keeping his eyes down to the ground. He steers his thought away from the highly intimidating man just a few feet away from him by thinking that, whoever got his letter should have used a pigeon to have their reply delivered back here in Namimori.

He's not even finished listing who the possible recipients of his letter may have been when the wind is pushed against his lungs. He gathers his bearings as quickly as possible, the haze on his mind being cleared away by panic when he realizes what caused his sudden breathlessness.

"H-Hibari-san," Tsuna croaks out, standing on his tiptoes in order to be able to breath more easily. The tonfa pressed hard at his throat and the man's steel eyes are making his task very hard.

"I dislike disturbances here in Namimori," the so-called guardian of Namimori tells Tsuna, voice low and threatening in its calmness. "Should you cause any disturbances during your stay here, better forget about hiding behind that friend of yours because even he won't be able to protect you from me."

Pressing himself closer to the wall, Tsuna manages a whimper that Hibari, thankfully, takes as his agreement. Just like that, the man retracts his tonfa and turns on his heel, leaving behind a dazed brunette slumped against the wall. Once he catches his breath, Tsuna zips his vest up till the end, knowing that his upturned collar would do well in hiding the unmistakable bruise that's already appearing on his neck. Glumly, he treks toward the post office slowly, forcing a smile and cheerful greeting to the man who's handling the mail that day as he hands Tsuna the letter that he's been waiting on. Tsuna then promptly goes back to his room at the inn, racking his brains for a viable excuse should Yamamoto ask him the next day as to why he's absent to the swordsmanship class that Yamamoto's teaching.

It doesn't take him long because he's done this a lot in the past. So is treating the newly-blossomed bruise, an angry red blossoming on his lightly tanned skin. Tsuna sighs as he brings out the ointments that he brought along with him. Reading the letter could wait.

Sadly, I can't give you any more leads regarding our mysterious rain dragon. Spanner and I have checked with all of our contacts once more but have gained nothing in the end.

What we did manage to find out is that the information must have leaked somehow. Be careful; you might find other dragon tamers there soon.

Tsuna wakes up to the immense throbbing at the back of his head. Eyes still closed, he lifts his hand up and gingerly touches the throbbing spot, wincing at the pain that blossoms from it. Checking his hand, Tsuna is grateful to see no blood on it. He moves on to check the rest of his being, checking off what seems to be missing from his person. He doesn't get to finish when he hears a twig snap in half, the sound of boots crunching the ground underneath it alerting Tsuna that he's new companion isn't an errant wildlife. Glancing up, Tsuna bites his bottom lip at the sneer that the other man has.

"Yer awake, eh? That's good; was kinda worried fer a while there that yer dead." The man spits the leaf that he's been chewing before continuing, "If ye had died, it'd be harder fer me to handle the dragon."

Tsuna's been taught at a young age not to talk to strangers, especially those who have abducted him. He's perfectly done that in the past, though right now he couldn't just keep mum as he processed the man's words.

"You talk as though you know who the dragon is," Tsuna says, voice steady as he holds the man's gaze. The brunette frowns at the man's boisterous laugh.

"Don't tell me ye don't know who it is?" The man snorts condescendingly toward Tsuna's direction. "Hah! Those guys back at Vongola sure weren't lying about the infamous Dame-Tsuna!"

Upon hearing the nickname that he's been damned with ever since he could remember, Tsuna curls up on himself, willing his tears to go away. He hears the man call him pathetic, and Tsuna doesn't rebuff him because it's true. If it wasn't for his father and the mysterious fondness that Timoteo holds for him, Tsuna is sure that he wouldn't even dream to achieve where he is currently.

"Doesn't matter if yer a useless dragon tamer," the man continues to berate him. "Yer good for bait, and that's all's that matters."

Tsuna's mind goes on an overdrive, putting pieces together as fast as he could based on the man's words. Realization is starting to trickle in as seconds pass, dread making his heart beat faster and faster as he chants no no no repeatedly. Despite what others have said, Tsuna isn't as slow as he is made to be. Using him as bait for a dragon is a stupid idea unless—

Then Tsuna hears someone shout his name, the person sounding frantic and crazed. His heart beats even faster against his ribs, the loud thudding echoing in his ears. But even that can't drown out the familiar voice in an unfamiliar tone calling out for him. His hyper intuition suddenly goes crazy at that, voices in his head screaming danger danger! and urging him to run away. Tsuna would have done just that had it not been for the net suddenly being pulled up from beneath him, effectively trapping the brunette midair and making it easy to spot him amidst the trees. The shouts cease almost immediately, and dread fills Tsuna's every being when he looks at the first and last person that he wanted to find him.

"Tsuna!" In another time, Yamamoto would have passed as a comical sight, leaves stuck on his hair and dirt smeared on his cheeks. What the image of his disheveled friend does to Tsuna is make his heart clench, his knuckles going white as he grips the net in an effort to pull himself upright.

"What do ye know? It worked!" Two sets of eyes snap to the other dragon tamer, the man appearing relaxed despite the tenseness in the air. "Guess this is really why the Nono sent you here, to be that bait, eh? Betcha the kid didn't tell ye that he's a friggin' dragon tamer!"

His breathing staggering, flashes of his conversation with Timoteo and Yamamoto's laughter mingling before his eyes. In his hazy mind, he hears his name being called once more, though the voice is now muffled. Then there's a cracking noise slicing through the silence of the forest, the sound potent enough to snap Tsuna's attention back to his surroundings.

He feels his blood run cold as he registers the metal harpoon currently embedded on Yamamoto's shoulder, the make of it reminding him of the smell of oil and a certain blond's workshop. "Stop! Stop!" Tsuna screams through the net, though to whom he's directing it at, he doesn't know. He supposes it's for Yamamoto who's still moving forward despite the metal sticking out of his flesh, or to the dragon tamer a few feet away from him who's grinning maniacally before he presses a button at his wristband.

The harpoon produces an odd whistling noise before releasing the electricity stored in it, the defeaning crackle of it not enough to mute Yamamoto's screams. Belatedly, Tsuna registers his own screams, too, as he helplessly watches the electricity ravage Yamamoto's body.

"Ey, kid," the man addresses him, though it's apparent that he's not interested whether Tsuna's listening or not. "One way to force a dragon out of their shape shifting is to electrocute them."

Then if Yamamoto's not a dragon, he'd—

'Course it won't work against thunder drags; that's Dragon Taming 101 for y—"

Tsuna hears the whistle caused by an object traveling through the air fast immediately followed gurgling sound that the tamer makes, his unseeing eyes shifting to the side. A long, thin icicle has punctured through the man's throat, blood dripping on its other end as the untainted end is gripped on feebly by the tamer before he falls backward. The sound of the electricity dissipates, and Yamamoto's screams are also noticeably absent. Though the antagonist is dead, the dread that has taken home at the pit of his stomach has yet to go away.

Metal banging against a rock causes Tsuna to flinch, the net he's in swaying in the air due to his sudden movement. His predicament makes itself known when Tsuna hears the approaching footsteps and he finds that he can't get away. He doesn't get to panic long when a shadow is cast over him, his eyes stuck at the—blue scales scattered on tanned skin.

"Tsuna."

The voice is gravelly, nearly a stranger's if it isn't for the similar way his name is pronounced the same way how a certain swordsman pronounces Tsuna's name. Tsuna hazards a glance upward, the setting sun behind Yamamoto casting a shadow on the face that Tsuna (doesn't) wants to see. He sees the bright blue eyes first, so unlike the usual warm brown ones that he's accustomed to, then his vision widens and his heart stops at the betrayal and hurt that he finds in the lines of Yamamoto's face.

"Yama—"

There's the whistling noise again, and Tsuna wonders if this is how the other tamer felt like when darkness completely takes over him.

Let me go sleep for a thousand years I swear to god I am never writing 7.5k words just for one chapter ever again the pain THE AGONY

Thanks to those who read, though! There's a second chapter that's definitely gonna be done, but this thing managed to grow and grow while I was plotting it with Roey so there might be more chapters (might being the keyword).