Lots of violence in this chapter and everyone is a badass in one way or another. Despite the title, there's less cracky elements in this chapter than the last one. Somewhat.

Deshaun gets used to his new anime lifestyle and Tsuna is thankful that there is someone normal (sensible) here because as much as loves his friends, sometimes he is just so done with them.

"Japanese"

"English"

"Chinese"

Chapter 3: Tsuna and Tsubird and the Ascension to Godhood

It's during the start of the second month that Deshaun is living with them when someone tries to break into the Sawada home in the middle of the night. Several someones. And they are all ninjas. Kind of. They are chainmail wearing, shuriken flinging, grappling hook wielding people dressed like stereotypical media portrayed ninjas. And the first group decided to break in through the windows upstairs while the rest waited outside fully prepared for a quick getaway.

It was lucky that he was downstairs in the kitchen getting a glass of water. It was lucky that everyone was also downstairs absorbed in a stimulating, but brutal game of Namimori Zaibatsu.

Namimori Zaibatsu was a custom made board game that played almost like Monopoly, except it was more than five times bigger than the standard board and a hundred times as intricate with tiny plastic replicas of everything from the shrine and mountains to residential houses and commercial buildings.

They were also playing as tag teams with partners decided by lottery and using real cash because apparently Hibari had been looking forward to this and didn't feel like waiting for them to finish printing and cutting out the fake money. Deshaun wasn't the only person who twitched at the sight of an entire-suspiciously (rust-colored) stained- suitcase of billed yen the boy had slammed onto the table, but by now he was learning to just let it go.

Kyoko had the most amazing luck when it came to rolling the dice and together with Tsuna (who had the most amazing bad luck when it came to rolling the dice) owned three-quarters of the food based shops. Tsubird constantly tried to give Tsuna her train lines and malls which he refused and Nana kept scoring all the 'get out of jail' cards which she freely dispensed to anyone who needed it. (Usually her own son.)

Hibari had become obsessed with trying to claim every single school, but Haru refused to give up Midori Middle and latched on to the property right with all the tenacity of a hungry bulldog while Deshaun continued to snatch up the pharmaceutical related businesses and suburbs for their team left and right. Yamamoto's capture of Namichuu managed to placate Hibari somewhat, but the teen still continued to make barely audible whistles under his breath. Neither Tsuna nor Tsubird cared to enlighten the rest of the room to its meaning.

Kusakabe and Ryohei took over the parks and recreational features along with the utilities. The real threat though ended up being the tag team of Shouichi and Hana who stealthily dominated the banks and technology sectors. It was all sort of scary, surreal, and confusing at once but Deshaun couldn't deny that he was having fun. He was a beast at Monopoly and as far as he was concerned, this was just a Japanese edition with a few extra rules.

Then wild bird cries start up and as one, Tsuna, Tsubird and Hibari all freeze and turn towards the entrance way in the direction of the upstairs guest room. It was an unspoken signal that had everyone moving the board and table into the corner of the room give them some space even as they continued to barter (and rather loudly at that) over property rights and cash and something that looked like incredibly realistic miniature title deeds. (Deshaun later learned that they had somehow managed to get copies of the actual ones. He didn't ask how and the kids didn't tell.)

By the time the ninjas came, Hibari, who had gotten fed up with Ryohei's badgering for an actual fight to decide who would claim an expensive daycare center, nailed one in the forehead with a tonfa when Nana had left to get more tea. He had actually aimed for the white haired boxer, but seeing as Ryohei had ducked, the ninja ended up dropping like a rock instead.

What followed was pure pandemonium as the most of the players began yelling, Tsubird and Tsuna began screeching, and suddenly Hibari had a convenient vent for his mounting frustration at being unable to assert his complete dominance over the education sector of Namimori Zaibatsu. A part of Tsuna was glad that the neighbors had long since learned to ignore the sounds coming from their property.

Deshaun ended up in a knife fight with a small, but quick woman and inadvertently managed to shank her in the shoulder because Haru had rammed her from behind with her newly made man sized Namehage costume shouting about how she wasn't about to let a ninja get away with trying to steal her game partner no matter how cool her armor looked. The woman continued to scream as Tsubird raked her sharp claws through the dark cloth covering her head. Then the firebird snagged her by her uncovered hair and flung her towards the doorway where more masked people were pouring in.

"Ninjas?! You have actual fucking ninjas?! The hell is this shit?! Mortal Kombat?!"

"Tch. Annoying herbivores." Hibari made a displeased whistle as he KO'd two men at once, flipped over a third and dislocated another's arm with a sickening pop even as he shattered a femur on a fifth. He gave another high chittering call as he began to use the heads of their assailants as springboards.

Someone brought metal projectiles into the fray and the baseball loving boy who Deshaun had thought of as one of the nicer children suddenly became as sharp as the kunai and shuriken that were being hurled at them. Why Yamamoto had even brought a metal bat with him to an 'innocent' board game was something only he could answer, but it didn't matter so much as that he had a weapon to defend them now.

There were now two demonic children in the room. One reveling in the screams and the terror and the other completely focused on returning every projectile he saw with obsessively single-minded concentration. The last time Deshaun had seen that sort of expression was on a grown man who moonlighted as a musician in bars when he wasn't out offing people for money. To see that same expression on the ever cheerful preteen chilled him even more than Hibari's obvious bloodlust.

At some point Nana managed to get a couple windows open and Hana and Kyoko covered by Takeshi and Deshaun managed to do the same to the back door just before Ryohei's extreme punch sent a man thrice his size through it. Birds of all shapes and sizes-those who weren't already mobbing the rest of the assailants still stationed outside-swarmed in like something out of Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds.'

Through it all, Tsuna had hunkered down behind a makeshift shield of chairs (and was that glowing wall of light being emitted from Shouichi's Rubix Cube looking toy actually a force field?) and was calmly making a phone call. For what was apparently the Hibari kid's family.

"Yes. Yes. We're kind of pinned down in the kitchen and living room at the moment. Uh-huh. They look like ninjas. Not like ones the Ginkosui-kai hired that time though. I'm not sure who sent these. We haven't had anyone come by recently."

It was true. It had been oddly peaceful for once. People who normally came for Tsubird came in small groups. Get in. Grab the bird. Maybe get rid of the humans. And get out without alerting anyone else until it was too late. The fact that there was only a small soft-looking woman and her equally small soft-looking son led people to believe that they wouldn't need more than a handful of thugs or other hired help. The last time Tsuna had seen so many assailants was when a minor yakuza group had come for revenge because Tsubird and Hibari beat up some of their members for littering.

This wasn't anything like that though. It was a veritable swarm of people and if it wasn't for the constant harassment of all the local avian life, he wasn't sure if even Kyouya would have been able to handle them all. In fact…were they even really after Tsubird?

There was a melodic trill and suddenly a man (or was that a woman?) with long hair was screaming as it caught on fire.

"Could you excuse me for a second?"

Tsuna covered the speaker.

"Tsubird! Not in the house! Bring them to the street if you're going to do that!"

"Sorry Hibari-san. You were saying? I-what?...Kyouya! Your mom wants to know if you've seen her deer horn knives! The red ones with the cranes!"

His reply was a harsh clicking noise, two grunts, a chain of fluttering fwee-fwee-fwee sounding whistles, and ended with some sort of high pitched whooping call from the maniacally (sadistically) grinning teen.

"…He says to check the top of your dresser. Something about sharp butterflies too. Butterfly Swords? Is that what they're called? Sorry, it's a little hard to understand him at the moment."

That he could even pick out his friend at all was rather impressive considering the racket that was being made by everything else. The conversation continued somewhere along this vein for another minute with Tsuna calmly speaking over the din of screaming people and shrieking birds to Kyouya's mother who was sending several clean up specialist retainers and keeping an eye out on the proceedings of the fight.

"Tsu-kun. Ask if they would prefer barley rice or green tea. I just ran out of Pu-er and I won't be able to make more in time."

The pot of Pu-er tea that Nana had just boiled mere minutes ago had been poured down a man's back, a man who had been attempting to grab Kyoko in the hopes of using her as a hostage.

Shouichi had his laptop open and recording everything and once Deshaun managed to have the entire conversation translated at a later time, he would reflect that this quite possibly made the Sawadas the most disturbing ones of all.

The force field the noncombatants had all gathered behind was literally just a flat wall, like one of those clear thin tanks with water flowing down the insides and lights illuminating the ripples that Deshaun had once seen in a McDonald's, but through some manipulation of the Rubix Cube, its size could be changed. It now stretched from the ground to the ceiling and had to be angled to touch a wall to keep the sides from being exposed. It wasn't a perfect defense, but it kept everyone who wasn't outside fighting safe from the projectiles.

Nana had somehow managed to sequester quite a bit of her kitchenware with her. It was quite an impressive stash considering how little time she had. It was also useful as every time Deshaun lost a knife, Nana was there pressing another one into his hands. She herself was shielded by a huge wok that the man was fairly certain that he had never seen before considering how he had helped to wash nearly everything in the house at least thrice.

A man a head taller than Deshaun's considerable five foot ten inches height and more than three times as wide appeared at the doorway carrying what seemed to be a bazooka big enough to fit a small child on his shoulder.

The one round he had managed to fire turned out to be a thick net aimed to capture the bloodthirsty figure that was diving through the air. Only it never did. Instead it caught and bagged Tsuna who had abandoned the safety of Shouichi's Rubix Cube force field to keep their best fighting asset aside from Tsubird from being taken out of commission.

The man only got to shoot once because as he readied for a second round, Nana conked him with her biggest, heaviest cast iron tea pot causing a meaty ringing *THWACK* that was swallowed up in the chaos of the screeching birds throughout the room. While he staggered forward, Nana switched her hold on the handle, swung the teapot back and up in a wide circle, and brought it crashing back down on his head with all the force that an enraged mother could muster. The man toppled over and went still, his netting bazooka clattering to the side.

Though Tsuna couldn't see anything more than moving shadows outside the heavy canvas like material, he could still hear Tsubird's scream of rage drowning out everyone's concerned cries. A wave of heat washed over him and it seemed to last for an eternity, but ice cold terror gripped his heart the entire time.

"Tsubird! Tsubird! Stop Tsubird! Stop! TSUBIRD!"

This was far worse than the time the dogs had attacked him all those years ago. Confined in the stifling net, Tsuna couldn't tell what was going on, but Tsubird's continuing screeches made him want to bolt and freeze in panic at the same time.

Tsuna realized that he needed to focus and so he reached for the composure that had been forged through years of dealing with the violence and moments of insanity that was his life now. He took a deep breath. Panic slid away like water off a duck's back. Another breath. His mind and body stop flailing with fear. Another breath. Focus. Blessed focus. Tsubird's chilling rage threatened to break through it so Tsuna pushed harder than ever before and clarity and calm swept through his entire being.

It was incredible. The air was still choking and the heat was still causing sweat to soak into his clothes. Tsubird's calls still made an uncomfortable ringing in his mind, but it was all easily ignored in his newfound mental state.

There's the buzz of some sort, like electricity sparking freely and Tsuna instantly catalogued it as a toy robot that Shouichi had added tasers to in the arms. They had mostly been using them to fetch soda cans and bottled drinks so this was the first real application of the less mundane features and it seemed to be performing admirably enough judging by a choked off scream nearby.

Leave it to the resident genius to continue the fight with something that would be unaffected by whatever Tsubird's harmonic screeches were doing to the humans.

There was a flare and Tsuna meticulously catalogued it as Tsubird's flame teleportation technique. In between one heartbeat and the next, but something tickled at the edge of his awareness in a way that had never happened before.

Then cold fresh air was pouring in and he realized that someone is cutting the net open. He blinks and sees that everyone is safely in the Hibari compound in the back courtyard leading to their garden.

Deshaun was the one who cut him out and his mother is frantically checking him over for injuries.

All around him, everyone is clamoring with questions about his welfare and Tsubird, magnificent still burning Tsubird, is worriedly nudging him, but Tsuna is still engulfed in this strange calm where everything appears so clear and he can focus on the steps he will need to take to ensure that things go in the best way possible for his family and friends.

"Everyone give him some space!" Deshaun shouted. "I think he's in shock."

"No." Tsuna objected. "No I'm not. Kyouya?"

The boy stepped forth and his mother along with several men and women appeared in the background. Tsuna could the intrigue in their eyes.

"That man wasn't aiming for Tsubird. He focused on you instantly."

"What is this Tsunayoshi?" Xui-Yan questioned. "What has happened?"

Tsuna focused his unsettling gaze on the woman.

"We were forced to retreat. These weren't your average thugs. They've all had training as well as numbers. They just weren't expecting us to be able to hold them off for as long as we did. For all intents and purposes, we are normal civilians, children playing a board game under the supervision of a housewife and a foreigner."

Her eyes flicked to the net still pooled around his sock clad feet. "And how did you end up in that bag?"

"I had to ensure that our best fighter remained free to continue fighting."

Kyouya grudgingly nodded to his mother and Xui-Yan clapped her hands and ordered the servants to bring them slippers and prepare the guest rooms.

"It seems that the Hibari clan owes you a debt Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna frowned.

"This is not something that a debt should be made over. This is something that friends do. Our enemies will burn before I let them take my friends."

Satisfaction curls in Tsuna's gut at the almost touched, almost bewildered expression on Kyouya's face at his callous threat and the others all chime in agreement.

"Nonetheless. As a mother, I owe you all debt for keeping my son safe. You've done enough for now. Please. Come this way and take a rest. I suspect that you would like to be in bed before your shock wears off."

"Yes I would. But I'm not in shock. Not right now. I feel…focused. There are things that still need to be done. Shouichi. Is there any way to track them?"

"Ah-wh-what? Oh! Yes." Shouchi fumbled to open his laptop which he had been clutching to his stomach as it roiled in worry. "I tagged as many of the assailants as I could. If you remember, Spanner and I were chatting online about ten minutes before the warning calls started. He's taken control of the Aerial Moscas at the moment and those are equipped with tracking darts as well. Here."

He handed Tsuna a gps from his backpack zoomed into the neighborhood with various shapes dotted across the screen. Some were moving, but many were not.

"Blue circles are individual humans. Green squares are four wheeled vehicles. Yellow triangles are two wheeled vehicles. Anything red is something that Spanner's tagged as high priority which means proceed with caution around them. They're the most heavily armed or dangerous."

More and more symbols appeared as Spanner marked as many people as he could from halfway around the world and Tsuna focused on his next move.

"How many more of these do you have?"

"Nine. Seven are older models and there's a three to fifteen second lag when the tracker is activated in those."

"Hibari-san. Will that be enough?"

"…hmm. Possibly. We do have more vehicles though. If all of our resources are pooled then-"

"Oh no." The redhead groaned not looking away from his laptop. "Multiple hidden aircraft spotted. They might get away."

Xui-Yan's nostrils flared in quiet fury. Tsuna noted that he was still wearing his harness though. After all these years, he actually felt more naked without it than he did with normal clothing.

"No. They won't."

Then Tsuna did what he did best. Delegate.

Shouichi would stay at the Hibari compound and provide navigation details while maintaining communications with Spanner was still doing his best to tag as many enemies as he could.

The girls, especially Hana who made it her business to know everyone and everything that happened in her vicinity, stayed with Shouichi to provide information about everything from traffic light times to nightly social club schedules and corporate company parties to areas blocked for construction. How they knew those didn't matter so long as they could come up with a route that would allow everyone else to herd their enemies towards an ideal location for confrontation.

Groups of Hibari clan servants would use the trackers and collaborate to chase the ninjas there using Shouichi's trackers.

Kusakabe was to rouse up the rest of the DC members and add them to the information network, but they were not to engage in any of the enemies. His job was coordinate the DC as they joined forces with the clan servants to subtly directed any fleeing enemy vehicles whether it be by activating crosswalk lights at certain streets or setting up a fake construction scene and putting detour or one way signs to direct traffic.

Takeshi would alert his dad to the situation and have him be on standby just in case they needed him.

Tsubird would carry Tsuna and he would direct the other from the sky through headsets while using special binoculars that Shouichi conveniently had on hand. They would transport Xui-Yan and her best warriors to the chosen battleground, an out of the way meadow at the base of a mountain. Once the ninjas were isolated enough from public view, Tsubird would swoop in, grab onto the vehicle and then drop them into the field from the air.

Kyouya, Ryohei, Takeshi and Deshaun would move in as a unit to rejoin the fighting grounds, but the Hibari was not to go off alone no matter how he felt about it. When it seemed like Kyouya might protest, Xui-Yan cut him off with a stern look. It was bad enough that he was still going out even though he was the target, but Tsuna wouldn't deny him revenge for ruining their game night.

And Nana would start preparing a meal for everyone because surely they would be hungry after their night long game of ninja tag. It was enough to throw Xui-Yan and the rest of her servants off kilter and before they knew it, Nana had kicked them out and claimed their expansive kitchen as her own.

"…Tsunayoshi…your mother…"

"Hibari-san. My mother is someone who you will truly never be able to win against. And neither will Tsubird nor I."

"..."

Everyone was eager to rush off and carry out their orders when Tsuna stopped them.

"Wait. There's one more we need to do first."

"What is it Tsuna-kun?"

"What's the extreme hold up Sawada?"

"Spit it out Tsunayoshi or you'll be bitten to death."

Tsuna was entirely unfazed.

"Please put some shoes on before you go."

As one, the crowd of people looked down and realized that they were all still in their socks.

Over a hundred feet in the air, the night was dark with a new moon and the wind was cool against his body. Tsubird's heat seeped from his back to the very tips of his fingers and toes. The unnaturally natural calm that filled him also noted how he didn't feel any fear despite how the houses looked like toys below his dangling feet.

Tsuna thought that he could get used to this. Tsubird definitely had no objections and he gave her head a few strokes when she rubbed her cheek against his.

The harness had undergone some quick reconstruction so that all his weight wouldn't be focused against his chest, but it seemed that it wasn't necessary. Whatever magic that kept Tsubird afloat inside the house seemed to extend to him and it almost felt like he was walking on air himself.

A small robot about the size of his forearm flew up to his face and the chest slid open to reveal a palm sized screen depicting a blond boy pulling a pink wench out of his mouth

"Yo. So you two are Tsuna and Tsubird huh?"

"Spanner?"

"Yep. That's me. Nice to meet you. Shouichi talks about you a lot. Japan seems like fun. Pachinko. Ice cream mochi. Phoenixes. Ninjas. I'd like to visit sometime."

"…"

"Well. I'll talk to you later. Shouichi just hacked into their communication lines and turns out they have a ship waiting to transport them to China so I'll need to track it down. The rest of the mini moscas here are at your service if you need them."

The hologram winked off before Tsuna could say his good-byes and the apparent mini mosca's arm moved up and down in an imitation of a wave before flying away.

Tsuna frowned, still calm and resisting the urge to touch the little decorative crystal vial hidden under his clothes. All of his friends wore one on a necklace of their choice. It was a long shot, but Tsuna hoped that no one would have to use theirs tonight.

"We'll need to make sure Kyouya's parents get their gifts before they leave again."

"Tsuuu."

"Ushikawa Reika's great-grandmother just passed away. Her funeral was being held here today." Hana pointed out on the digital hologram of a map of Namimori. "She has a huge extended family and many friends. More than four hundred people came to offer their condolences and over two hundred and fifty of them are still here. The crowd is out at the Kinju shopping district for dinner, but the majority of them should be leaving in fifteen minutes. There should be heavy traffic here, here, and here."

"The Society of Lagomorph Lovers rented out Denji's Dancehall for their meeting today. Hina-chan's daddy works in the police and she got permission to have this area cordoned off for when the club members go out to do the Bunny Hop in their furry outfits." Haru sighed. "It's so much fun. If we hadn't agreed to make this Namimori Zaibatsu night, Haru could be there instead."

It was a testament to Shouichi's concentration that he didn't even pause his rapidfire typing at this tidbit.

"Oh good." Kyoko smiled. "That means the streets over here should be available. The traffic light starting just after Tadokoro's Bakery has a red light that last forty-seven seconds. The next one lasts a full fifty seconds at this intersection. If you go east to Hakuru (the candy shop), this street's next light is thirty-two seconds, west is thirty-six at Kawaii (the macaroon store that also sells those cute cell phone charms) , north is Mina's Mochi Shop at forty-three seconds as it's the last one before heading toward the center of Namimori."

"Got it. I'll have to manually adjust each light's timer but there's not much traffic at this time so if they're really at a hurry I'm not sure if they'll for red lights."

"Shouichi-kun?"

"Yes Kyoko-chan?"

"Do you think you could permanently change them to a more consistent (and shorter) time? It's so frustrating to have to wait for the light to change. Especially when there's a limited time promotion at the shops and the buttons for the cross walk never seem to work."

"…then is thirty seconds good? And those buttons are just for decoration to make people think they actually make a difference. I'll have to manually connect them to the network later."

"That'll be great. Thanks."

Meanwhile Nana worked her magic in the kitchen alone.

"Namimori sure is busy tonight." She mused. "Xui-chan is such a sweet woman, but she's certainly no chef. I'm lacking in so many tools here and there are less ingredients than I had thought there would be. I hope this will be enough to feed everyone."

Ten rice pots steadily bubbled away. Every wok and pot and pan was in use and the exhaust fans could barely keep up with the demand as Nana continued to chop and steam and fry and stir like a woman possessed.

Outside, the family cooks furiously debated whether or not they should even try to take back their kitchen after one peek revealed what seemed to be an apsara dancing through the clouds of steam, an impossibly long skein of homemade noodles flowing about her like the spirit's famed celestial cloth.

"For such a small town, it is rather busy tonight."

"Those boys all have the same hairstyle. Are they part of a street gang?"

"I don't understand. Is there a festival? Why are so many people hopping through the streets dressed as rodents?"

"Because they are idiots. Why do you ask so many stupid questions?" groused their driver. He cursed aloud as he saw several young men wearing bright yellow construction vests behind a line of cones. They all looked the same oddly enough.

After the failure to retrieve Hibari Kyouya, the mobbing of thousands of birds and the strange tales they told of a phoenix of all things aiding him along with several impossibly strong children, they had rounded up all the unconscious (or dead, they didn't have time to check) and quickly tried to flee only to find that not only was the town still bustling about this late hour, but the traffic lights were irritatingly long and the people (delinquent looking children who liked to stop and give them rude gestures and drunk or sobbing men and women) crossing the streets took their sweet time.

He was tempted to run some of them over, especially those pompadour haired boys, but there were also several police escorts for what seemed to be a funeral procession (this late at night?) as well as sectors closed off for the bunny and mouse clad people who seemed to be dancing through them.

More bird poop splattered across the windshield and snarling, he twisted the knob for the windshield wiper harder than necessary. What was going on here? Weren't the only birds awake at this time owls?

Still muttering to himself and anyone who cared to listen, he followed the detour signs and sharply turned down into an empty lane which seemed to be devoid of traffic. Someone in the back groaned and cursed at his driving skills. Probably the woman who had been knifed by the black man. He cursed her back.

Why is there even a black foreigner in the same house with all the children? Hired help maybe? A male nanny? Bodyguard? The father? The reports still never elaborated exactly who or what he was. Just that he had been living there for some time and was always seen with the children who were reported to be Hibari Kyouya's friends.

So irritated by everything that had gone wrong that night, it took him a few moments to notice that something was off. If every place was this busy, surely there would be more vehicles in this lane wouldn't there?

A trap?…!

He was about to slam on the gas pedal when a bonfire came into view in the middle of the street. The fire flared and flickered away to reveal a figure.

It was a boy. A boy with bright red and gold wings. A boy clearly floating four feet in the air and holding out a hand in the universal gesture for stop.

"Is that…a demon?" the man next to him wondered aloud in fearful curiosity.

Like hell was he going to stop for a demon. He floored it.

Just as he thought that he was going to hit the floating winged demon child, the world vanished into flames and the next thing he knew, he was falling backwards and down, down, down.

There were screams from the back and from the side and probably from himself too but all he could focus on was the shrinking visage of the emotionless demon watching as he dropped them into Hell.

It was a relatively short trip, but the impact still knocks the wind out of him and he doesn't realize that he's laying on his back still strapped to his seat. The same can't be said for the people in the back. There is a creaking sound and before anyone can get their bearings, the world flips again and now he's hanging upside down.

By the time they manage to climb out of the van, the shattered glass crunching underfoot, it's to view a moonlight meadow filled with the unholy cacophony of combat, screeching birds and another little boy perched atop their ruined vehicle.

He lifts his tonfa and smiles and that is when the driver realizes that this is another demon. He may not have wings like the first one, but he has the might of a million birds blotting out the stars behind him, the blood of his enemies dripping from his clothes, and his weapons awash in lavender colored fire.

"For destroying the order of Namimori, I'll bite you to death."

This truly is Hell, but it is unlike anything he could have dreamed of.

The empty van laid on its back, its wheels slowly, uselessly spinning to a stop just like the other abandoned vehicles also scattered across the grass.

He had thought that he'd be able to handle himself in a fight. He'd survived quite a few in his own youth and he'd been somewhat trained by some pretty amazing guys in the use of a knife. He'd kept himself alive on a deserted island for over a year. He'd managed to not break any bones when Hibari Kyouya felt like lashing out at him just because. He thought he'd be okay after making it through two fishing trips.

Apparently he was wrong. Fighting out in the open like this with much more room to maneuver than inside the living room makes it harder to keep track of his surroundings. There are skirmishes and sharp things everywhere because Tsuna and Tsubird are dropping in more and more enemies faster than they can subdue them. Ironically it's the fishing trips that has provided the most experience for this sort of situation and Deshaun vows to never bitch (even inside his own head) about going on one again.

All five of his tactical knives, presents from Tsuna who had gotten them when he had mentioned that he didn't feel safe without one, are gone and there is no Nana to guard his back or hand him another one of her kitchen tools. His dominant arm isn't responding due to a lucky cut that sliced a tendon and the ninja in front of him has a clear shot. Deshaun finds that whole life flashing before your eyes thing is utter complete and bullshit because all he can see is the masked figure in front of him readying his or her sword for a final strike.

Kyouya has inherited his mother's near inhuman grace and deadly beauty and it's never more clear to Deshuan than when she saves him from decapitation via ninja, her weapons, two large metal circles with wavy blades jutting out from the rim. One deflecting the sword as the other slices open the chest of the enemy before her.

They are called wind-and-fire wheels and he has no time to learn why they're called that as he's being ushered back with the rest of the wounded by Takeshi who's welding his baseball bat that seems to be wreathed in blue fire. He idly thinks that he might have gone into shock. Either that or he's becoming inured against the strange things that seem to happen in Namimori.

His dirty knife fighting style has gotten him through many scrapes but it's finally failed against these well trained combatants.

He had barely done anything useful out there before he's gotten seriously injured. Why had he decided to join in? Oh yeah. Because somewhere along the way, he had grown to truly care for all these strange crazy people who had saved him and taken him in without question or expectations.

Deshaun sighs and retreats to where a cloud of birds are swarming and guarding the makeshift medical van. The wounded arm is sluggishly bleeding out and burns but it doesn't bother him as much as his heavy heart or his missing knives because he feels bad about having to ask Tsuna for anything when the boy has already done so much for him without expecting any sort of compensation.

He tugs out the plain black rattail necklace from under his shirt to reveal a sparkly crystal vial wrapped in wire and unscrews the top off with his teeth. A few moments later he sighs in relief and flexes his still tingling, but now completely healed arm.

There is a lot of blood lust and killing intent filling the air and yet something sharp and dangerous still spikes Xui-Yan's instinct. When she finally has enough breathing room to take a look, she finds that it is Yamamoto Tsuyoshi's son. Her husband had once mentioned that he is an accomplished swordsman and she has seen a little of his skill in the way he handles the knives he makes sushi with, but his son who she only knows of as an obsessive baseball fanatic is apparently a natural born assassin. The cold ruthlessness and complete focus is something that even hardened men thrice his age may not be able to achieve. Neither is the strange blue fire that is engulfing his bat.

Another light flashes from the corner of her eyes and she sees the noisy gray haired child who often appears at their doorstep at all hours of the day to pester her son for fights decking a masked man into a tree with a powerful right hook and an ear shattering "EXTREME PUNCH!" His boxing gloves are glowing a soft yellow, but she doubts that he notices or would even care. He seems to be having fun at finally being able to let loose. Sort of like her own son.

Speaking of her own beloved son, Kyouya is flitting across the grounds together with an innumerable number of birds. While the feathered creatures mob and distract their enemies, Kyouya dives in for the kill with tonfa that are shining from something other than moonlight. He's clearly commanding them in their own language if the way his lips form sounds that are not any words known to mankind.

Xui-Yan shakes her head and sighs. She wonders if he will ever realize how lucky he is to actually have a legitimate reason to speak to the birdlife like so. Or of the fact that he seems to have awakened the rare ability to use his inner fire.

A kunai whistles through the air in warning. It's off its mark by at least three feet, but she twists and ducks away ready to engage in its thrower when she sees Tsunayoshi's charity case using his considerable height to lift and choke a woman nearly a foot shorter than him. She scrabbles at the steel bar disguised as an arm and kicks back as hard as she can, but with another hoist and a twist, she goes limp. Deshaun holds her for a few more seconds to ensure that she's not playing dead, before he lowers her to the ground and begins to search her clothes.

"Hmm. Not bad. Consider your debt paid Sanders."

"Just doin' my duty ma'am." He replied modestly, grinning as he finds a suitable new knife. It's not quite what he's used to, but it'll do for now. "She ain't dead, but can I ask you to keep it that way?"

"These assailants are after my only child. Why should I not kill her?"

"Maybe. But I know someone who'll be real upset if she dies tonight."

As if on cue, Tsubird and Tsuna dropped in with another van of screaming ninja.

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"And your arm?"

Deshaun just points at Tsuna and Tsubird again.

The ship and all the aircrafts had been taken over by special mini moscas which had discretely attached themselves to the control rooms. From there, Shouichi and Spanner proceeded to seize control of all electronic operations leaving the puzzled assailants cursing and scratching their heads over why their vehicles had suddenly become junk.

Tsubird descends with Tsuna a few hours later. Her tears flow freely and because of it there are no human casualties on the side of those under her protection. Then Tsuna orders that their prisoners are to receive the same treatment.

"Tsunayoshi." Xui-Yan protests.

"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. They still need to be interrogated."

"You only need a few for that."

"I'd prefer it if there is as little loss of life as possible."

One of the prisoners tied up at their feet spits and curses at them in a dialect that is neither Mandarin nor Cantonese. Tsuna doesn't recognize what he's saying but he got the general gist anyways.

Xui-Yan does however and her shapely eyes narrow. She makes to kick him but he's smirking as he begins to choke and turn purple.

"Poison!" the Hibari matron hisses, frustrated that they will most likely lose all the prisoners to suicide before they can extract anything useful. As she can bark orders for the others to be searched, Tsuna is prying open the dying man's mouth and pouring a few drops of the contents of his vial into it.

His cheeks rapidly regain a healthy flush and there is nothing but shock in his eyes as he realizes that he can breathe again.

"These are the tears of a phoenix." Tsuna explains. "They're an antidote for any poison and can even reattach limbs if used in time. They can't bring the dead to life, but they can pull someone on the brink of it back. We have questions and you will not be able to escape them through death. No one will. Not if I can help it."

The horror in the man's eyes makes it clear that even if Tsuna can't understand him, he can understand Tsuna.

"No one." The boy reiterates, face still eerily blank. Around the isolated meadow that had become a battlefield they could see other convulsing would-be kidnappers receiving the same treatment, some directly from Tsubird herself. The prisoner closes his eyes and bows his head in defeat.

Behind Tsuna, Xui-Yan is now the one smirking as her people line up the prisoners who are visibly shaken at the sight of the blazing phoenix crowing victory in the air.

"Tsunayoshi. I don't suppose you would-"

"No. Tsubird might be willing, but I don't condone torture."

"Hmmm. Very well. Thank you for everything you've done tonight."

Tsuna tilted his head up into the lightening sky. Sunrise would be arriving soon and he would prefer it if everyone was tucked away in the privacy of the Hibari compound before the normal hustle and bustle of ordinary people began.

The ship and planes and their crew still had to be retrieved though.

"You're welcome. We should return soon. Mama should be about done with the first half of breakfast, but we'll need to make a stop at home to get more food. I don't think you have enough ingredients to feed everyone."

"Everyone? Surely, you don't mean…"

"Hibari-san. I've already said that my mother is someone who you will truly never be able to win against. And neither will Tsubird nor I."

"…"

The Hibari clan head, Hiroto, had been informed of the situation on his way back to Japan. He would be too late to join in for the fight and capture of the bulk of their forces, but conveniently he was also in the area of the waiting ship. From there he and his men took over all the stalled aircraft as well.

By the time Hiroto stepped into his home, he was simply hoping to wash off the blood and head straight to bed despite it still being daylight.

However he ends up standing and staring at what seems to be an exquisite meal fit for an emperor, hundreds of bowls, platters and dishes with their contents artfully arranged in an easy to reach manner across several sturdy tables. He was fairly sure that they weren't here when he left for his trip two weeks ago.

"Hey-yo! Hibari-kun!"

"…Yamamoto Tsuyoshi. What are you doing here?"

"Well our boys have been out having a busy night out with their friends and Nana-chan called to say that you didn't have much in stock so I decided to contribute a bit. My place is closed today anyways."

Hands flashing so quickly that they leave afterimages in the air, Tsuyoshi finished adding the last touches to a Triple Tsu-Special.

"It's on the house so eat up!"

Taking the proffered platter and a pair of chopsticks with a quiet thanks, Hiroto sat down at an empty chair with an almost nonexistent sigh of relief. It has been a long night and day and he's never been able to avoid the jet lag.

"Gonna need to go on another fishing trip soon. Hey! Hibari-kun. You and your wife should take a couple of days off and come with us. It's a chance to spend some quality time with your son and the kids all have so much fun."

Hiroto's eyes slid to an exhausted looking Deshaun who was clearly listening in with his translator and shaking his head at him in the background.

"…I'll think about it."

The dining area was filled with people in various stages of alertness who greet him if they are conscious enough to do so. His eyes fix, not on his own dozing son, but on Tsunayoshi who seems to have become the epitome of tranquility. There was something in his gaze, something that he and his wife had only seen flashes and glimpses of in the past. That gaze seemed to pierce through his very being and lay open every secret that he had. It was intimidating in a way that he had rarely ever felt.

"Welcome back Hibari-san."

As if Tsuna had found what he was searching for, the brunet closed his eyes and allowed himself finally let go of the focus that had gripped him the entire time. He sagged like a puppet that had had its strings cut and allowed himself to join the others in slumber.

As far as anyone can figure out, Tsuna's unshakable disposition that night seemed to have been brought about by duress. If it was shock, it had manifested in an unusual, but useful way. His explanation of how he felt, how his thoughts traveled, and how he was able to anticipate actions and reactions so quickly was chalked up to adrenaline and the same astute intuition that allowed him to be so successful at running his businesses.

The first thing Tsuna did was provide Kyouya's parents with their own vial of phoenix tears. In truth, Kyoya had them commissioned some time ago for their anniversary. An ornate jade and gold vial for his mother and a silver and sapphire one for his father. Neither were ones for bulky jewelry or flashy statement pieces, but they both understood the value of always having its priceless contents on hand. Tsuyoshi and Nana each had one as well, but Kyouya's parents were so often away that it was only now that their son had been able to present them with their gifts.

Then there was the matter of what to do with the eighty-seven prisoners awaiting their fates.

The men and women that had attacked that night come from a triad that wished to gain an advantage over the one Xui-Yan came from. The supposedly easiest and least guarded hostage that they could find was Kyouya, the eighteenth grandson of the current head. He was actually meant to be an extra acquisition because they were also in the process of smuggling contraband between countries.

They had taken into account that he would be strong (although not that monstrously strong). They had taken into account that he would have friends. They had not taken into account that he was friends with the greatest conglomeration of budding freaks in this little town. They had also not taken into account that he was friends with a boy who claimed a phoenix as family.

A boy who could not be lied to. A boy who no one could escape from even through death. And a phoenix whose anger is both hot and everlasting at the threat to what is hers. It didn't matter that he couldn't understand a word they said, he could still tell when someone did not speak with the utmost truth and while he kept their interrogators from torturing them, staying under his steady gaze was somehow more unnerving than the ones who would happily rip off their nails one by one.

Meals are actually quite delicious as Nana herself often cooks the food for them. The servants who bring the meals still gossip to each other about the possibility that she is actually a demigoddess, the daughter of an apsara and a mortal because the way she moves in the kitchen is not something a normal human could possibly imitate. This would mean that her son, the boy who controls a phoenix is also not entirely human and his uncanny ability to sense even the minutest best of falsehood would make so much sense.

Tsuna himself visits the prisoners almost daily in their cells which are hewn into a mountainside. The Hibari property spans no fewer than five mountains and it's useful when they want the privacy to conduct some not so legal things.

Sometimes Tsuna's there to pick out lies during questioning. Other times he comes to check on their comfort or bring in meals and drinks. He's unbelievably kind to them, making sure no one is in serious pain, at risk for infection or illness, too cold at night, or even in need of some allergy pills and slowly but surely some begin to comply with his queries willingly. Yet many more still cannot forget the way he looked that night when they believed him to be a demon ferrying them to the underworld.

There are lit torches in the outer halls to light the place at night and when Tsuna is away, Tsubird occasionally slips in. Sometimes she sings a song. Sometimes it is a haunting one that makes the men and women weep in sorrow and sometimes it is a terrible one that makes the men and women attempt to beat their heads against stone walls, hoping that death will bring an end to their agony.

Other times she makes the flames from the torches dance their ways into the cells to lick at the terrified stubborn prisoners who have snubbed or insulted or spat at Tsuna previously.

It is one such scene that Tsuna interrupts one day and his livid reprimand and the phoenix's miserable continence at having earned his displeasure awe all that see the diminutive boy who can so freely scold such a powerful creature.

As rumors are wont to do, they twist and grow with every repetition (even in the isolated mountain prison) and before long Tsuna himself goes from being the son of a spirit to an actual god. A merciful benevolent god so virtuous that even a phoenix would choose death over disappointing him. A phoenix who also happens to be his little sister with a brother complex.

It doesn't help that Nana treats Tsubird and Tsuna exactly the same and soon Nana is the sweet but flighty apsara who had chosen to leave the heavens because she enjoyed earthly pleasures and birthed a phoenix and a fire god somewhere along the way.

Tsuna has no idea how they can even think that is possible but he resigns himself to being stared at with fearful, but reverent eyes whenever he comes in to check on them.

The one who ultimately caves in first is a man who calls himself Qiáng Yu, stating that with his failure to complete his mission, he is as good as dead to his triad and now family less. If he were to return, he would be severely punished anyways. He is the first man that Tsuna had kept from committing suicide that fateful night and Tsuna has stepped in to prevent at least three more attempts from him alone since then.

Once he breaks, he reveals that some others (mostly children) had already been taken captive not too long ago, but his boss had wanted more to ensure their compliance.

Kyouya wasn't particularly a high priority hostage. He was, however, a more isolated target than the others being in Japan instead of China where most of his relatives were. In fact, his mother was a Hibari having essentially been sold into the Hibari family with her arranged marriage for a great deal of money, but the fact that her husband had an incredibly kind and tolerant side for her meant that she was free to do what she wanted, go where she wanted, and see who she wanted so long as she gave him an heir.

This meant that she spent more time in China or wherever she was needed to run her business and had kept much closer relations with the Triad. Hopefully enough that they would agree to demands in exchange for the safety of her son.

At this revelation Tsuna's sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in the futile hope that it would stave off the impending headache.

No such luck.

"Oh for the love of…"

Kyouya himself doesn't really care for the relatives that he has never seen, much less met, but the prospect of a promising (fun) battle (slaughter) quickens his pulse in excitement. Meanwhile, Kusakabe heads off to begin making preparations for the DC who will have to go with minimum contact or orders from their chairman until this matter is taken care of.

Tsuna is left with a flat but resigned look on his face as Tsubird crows gently, letting him know that she will go along with whatever Tsuna wants no matter what the others might think. Of course there is really no choice. He can't leave those hostages to their fates in good faith. They will have to mount a rescue mission and knowing what he does about his friends and his luck, it will be a successful but spectacularly embarrassing and troublesome ordeal that he will never ever live down.

Despite the fact that the Hibari household has become a hive of movement and purpose in the effort to root out the source of the attack, increase their defensive measures, and deal with the prisoners, Hibari Hiroto and Xui-Yan still make time to sit down and watch a recording of the fight inside the Sawada house that is projecting onto a blank white screen.

Their imposing presence makes Irie nervous no matter what they do and he looks like he might begin throwing up after prolonged exposure without a serious job to take his mind off of his fear, but with Tsuna's reassurance and a shield of other rambunctious children and birds, he calms down enough to set up the homemade movie theater in one of the many empty rooms in the compound.

He skips forward past the hour they had begun playing Namimori Zaibatsu to just before the first assailant appears. When it shows Kyouya reverting to bird speech as he begins breaking bones, his parents throw him exasperated looks. Their son belligerently refuses to apologize.

"What's he saying?" Kyoko wondered aloud.

"Probably something about being bitten to death for interrupting our game." Supplied Hana who ignored the glare she was receiving. "You know how he is."

"You're pretty close Hana. It's more along the lines of 'These preys will be eaten.'" Translated Tsuna. "For invading my...territory."

He may still not understand bird-speech all that well, but Tsuna could say that he was now fairly proficient in Hibari Kyouya-speech and it was getting easier to translate them both into something resembling a normal human sentence. Then he blinked and realized that everyone was staring at him.

"What? What did I sa-…oh."

"You can understand bird talk too? Extreme!"

"Are you serious?"

"Hahaha! That's awesome Tsuna!"

"Hahi! Teach Haru too!"

"It's…not quite that simple. Birds don't have the same words or ways of thinking as humans and different species are…well, it's almost like listening to two different dialects like a Tokyo native versus someone from Osaka, but the concept can still be understood. He's mostly using the local skylark calls though.

Most of what I remember is him saying that he's in a good mood. Actually the first bit comes out as 'moving food' or what we would call living things like bugs or fish and the next part sounds like 'to eat'. The last call is really one long warning that means something like 'intruders in my nesting grounds' or 'unknown beings too close to the nests' but I'm trying to paraphrase it a bit."

Tsuna did his best not to squirm at the appraising looks everyone was giving him. He did a fairly good job but the rare expression on Kyouya's face (a mix of suppressed wonderment and delight) was worth treasuring.

Tsubird crooned proudly and nuzzled his cheek, pleased that Tsuna had inadvertently managed to make himself look even more impressive. Not that it was hard. He had a tendency to do so quite often but rarely ever realized it himself.

When they return to studying the video, no one notices the pleased faces the older Hibaris wear. It's the expression of parents who are happy for the good fortune their child has come across. Later though, Kusakabe will sob out an "I'm so happy for you Kyou-san," and his cousin will whack him a couple of times with his tonfa to hide his embarrassment.

Deshaun ends up working in a small bread bakery downtown on the weekends. He starts off taking care of miscellaneous things from stocking merchandise to janitorial work and slowly makes his way to cashier. It's a decision made as part of the effort to immerse him into the Japanese culture faster and his most of his coworkers are college students who not only know some English, but have a love for the current popular American songs as well.

He's missed out on a lot during his time on the island and there are a lot of new artists alongside some familiar ones but he's thrilled to hear them all the same. In those long months, Deshaun had resorted to singing and talking about whatever, whenever and wherever he wanted. Anything to stave off the loneliness and despair of being the only trace of civilization there. It's a habit that's died down but not out and when Tsuna finds out (as he inevitably does about everything pertaining to his friends), he has Shouichi make a music player that not only allows him to listen in to both local and satellite radios, but also hold over a terabyte of memory for anything he wants.

Deshaun starts downloading all his favorites instantly and Tsuna will sometimes come home to find the man dancing and singing as he's dusting the house or washing the dishes.

"Jump up and down and move it all around. Shake your head to the sound. Put your hands on the ground. Take one step left and one step right. One to the front and one to the side. Clap your hands once and clap your hands twice and if it looks like this then you're doing it right."

Tsubird swings her head and waves her wings as she dances along and Tsuna is glad to see that she wasn't bored (which usually results in a bloody anti-littering crusade across Namimori) while he was in school.

"A little bit of Monica in my life, a little bit of Erica by my side, a little bit of Rita is all I need, a little bit of Tina is what I see…"

"Tsu tsuu tsuu tsuu tsuu tsu tsu~..."

He's not so sure how he feels about her crooning along to these particular lyrics in her usual whistling "Tsu~"s, but as long as he doesn't have to worry about the people and animals she could have possibly maimed while he was gone, he guesses that he doesn't really mind.

Shaking his head with a smile, Tsuna goes to his room to put down his book bag. By the time he comes back down, they've moved onto a new song.

"Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough…"

Tsuna's not particularly good at singing, but he's not terrible either and because what the hell, why not? It's pretty catchy. He joins them in the chorus and when Nana comes home she too learns the lyrics to Tsubird's new favorite song.

Working in the bakery also allows Deshaun to earn an honest living. Well, as honest as it could be all things considered. Since he didn't have a driver's license and the bakery was on the other side of town, one of Hibari's DC members would drive him there and another would follow behind in a nondescript white van loaded with more middle school boys. He doubted that whatever they were doing was actually legal or that they had licenses themselves, but at least they could read the signs without needing a translator. That the cops also turned a blind eye to them did much to assuage his fears. (Not really, but he was learning to go with the flow.)

Sometimes one boy would stay with him to help out with the customers (Deshaun would later learn that most of them were actually from the local crime syndicates who had recently bought out the office building a few blocks away.) while the rest went to take care of their unknown errands. When it was time to leave, they'd serve the last of the people in line and clean up. Despite the distance, on particularly nice days, Tsuna, Tsubird, or Nana would sometimes come by and together they would all walk back to the Sawada household.

The members of the Kinaga-kai are actually incredibly polite for people who are supposed to be part of a criminal organization and he's even offered a business card. They are a small group which has recently and cautiously been moving in to fill the gaps that were created under the crushing might of the Hibari's. Or more specifically Hibari Kyouya and Tsubird on the hunt to catch rule breakers and litterers.

Deshaun even ends up becoming more than an acquaintance but less than a friend to the underboss, a middle aged portly man by the name of Murakami Daiki who often (not so) surreptitiously tries to get more information about Hibari's influence under the mistaken assumption that he works for their clan.

The first thing that Deshaun stresses is for them to clean up after themselves. Blood stains and bodies in front of your shop is generally bad for business after all, even if a phoenix puts it there.

Spanner arrives with only a pleased grin, a single suitcase and the clothes on his back and takes an enthusiastic attitude to his new life in Japan. With the amount Tsuna has in the bank now, it's almost a drop in the bucket to pay for a first class ticket to Namimori from anywhere in the world.

Especially since another rich idiot has made an attempt for Tsubird again. Neither of the Hibari elders were in the mood to wait for a second much less third strike with the recent attempt for their child and retribution was swift and more merciless than usual. Tsuna has to buy out a couple of warehouses to store his new assets for the time being since he's far too busy trying to deal with the hectic schedule of his current daily life.

Spanner brushes off any questions concerning his relatives and Tsuna is not entirely surprised to find the suitcase is packed with a laptop, several random things that he assumes have to do with machinery, and the only piece of clothing in it is an old T-shirt that Spanner had been using as a rag.

After all the introductions have been made, Tsuna shoos him off to go set up his stuff in Shouichi's lab.

When Tsubird, who was out of town taking in the sights of China's landscape, returns Spanner takes it all in stride. Despite Tsuna's and Shouichi's explanations about the resident firebird, he still enthuses about how Japan's native creatures are so marvelous. He's looking forward to seeing other things like tanukis, people with animals ears, maid cafes, and hot springs.

Shouichi sighs and Tsuna's shoulders slump in resignation. Tsubird seems to like the blond well enough as his offerings of an unlimited supply of wrench shaped lollipops make a good first impression. It's improved upon when Spanner adds his expertise to Shouichi's and they whip up an ice cream maker that even Tsubird can operate without too much trouble.

She's completely enamored with it, but Tsuna has rules about how much she's allowed to eat per week. Deshaun provides the perfect loophole though as he seems to be even more in love with it than Tsubird and spends quite a bit of time testing out new flavors with a need for as many taste testers as he can get.

Spanner's accepted as part of Tsuna's ever increasing circle of friends with minimal fuss and even Hibari is slightly more tolerant when he receives the new upgrades to his tonfas (retractable chains with spikes on the end that really shouldn't be able to logically fit inside such a thin stick). Deshaun's just happy to have someone new that he can converse with in English even if he's British instead of American.

The blond ends up camping out between Tsuna's house and the lab depending on what project they are working with at the time. Meals are provided by Nana or Tsuna and Tsubird and he finally gets to see the end results of the pachinko parlors that he had only contributed to via the internet before.

There is a no smoking rule enforced in all of Tsuna's parlors and while this should make them less popular to particular clientele, it cuts down on clean up and surprisingly has more patrons than ever before.

The air filtration system is so powerful that one online reviewer claimed that he couldn't even tell that the sweaty man next to him hadn't showered in over a week if he hadn't said a thing. Tsuna heavily invested in a top notch janitorial team to scrub the place from top to bottom after that and had them come every day or sometimes twice a day during flu season even if it meant shutting down the businesses during daylight hours.

Free ice water and hot tea was offered, but patrons also had the option to buy other refreshments. For those who didn't want to deal with the noise, custom soundproof headphones were offered as a free service and there was even a notification system that would sound though it at a chosen time, a major plus for people who only had a limited time to play because they were visiting during their lunch break.

It was the pachinko machines themselves that were the real draw though. They went a step further beyond the normal bright lights and attention grabbing noises with actual holograms that cavorted about or leaned against the machine and taunted or cheered the players on.

With the numbers of parlors under Tsuna's control, he was able to have various themed ones catered to all sorts of consumer groups. The anime only ones were a huge hit of course, with a rotation for machines of the less popular series. Some parlors switched from all ages to older patrons only after a certain hour with scantily clad women blowing coy kisses or nearly naked men flexing and winking at players.

There were even tournaments where players could choose a hologram character to battle each other. Damage and combos dealt depended on how well the people themselves did on the arcade like machines. It wasn't uncommon to see a Samus Aran face off against Asuka Langley or Goku from Dragonball Z unleashing a Kamehameha on Goku from Saiyuki.

Spanner can't stop the grin from lighting up his face when he steps into what was once an underground night club and sucks in a lungful of cold clean air. A Princess Peach waves at him before shouldering her parasol and daintily making her way up the stairs with a Sailor Moon to a stage with a lakeside battlefield where a determined Rukia Kuchiki is waiting side by side with a Tifa Lockhart who is adjusting her gloves.

It was tournament time again with the theme being all women character tag teams.

"I look forward to working for you Boss."

Tsuna splutters and tries to say that he's not his boss, but Shouichi apologetically corrects him, stating that since Tsuna is paying them for the things they build, technically he is. They even have proper documentation and contracts because Tsuna needed a record of all his spending when it was time to balance his accounts and prepare reports for potential sponsors.

In the end, the only thing the brunet can do is cave to the inevitable and sign Spanner on along with the rest of his friends. Deshaun pats him on the shoulder in consolation even as he happily thanks his 'Boss' for his first payment in cold hard cash (and what a generous payment it is).

He's pretty sure no other part time worker in this town is making even half as much in a month. He's also pretty sure that no other part time worker in this town has to put up with even half of what he does and isn't sure if Tsuna is trying to compensate for it or just really nice. It's probably a bit of both.

Spanner also comes up with the idea for compiling all the information about Tsubird into one comprehensive database for easy reference and Shouichi bangs his head on a wall when he wonders why didn't he think of something like this in the first place. It is aptly named Potentially Recreational Organization Judiciously Emulsifying Core Theories for Tsubird or P.R.O.J.E.C.T. Tsubird for short.

Most of them don't know what half the words mean much less how to spell them, but everyone usually ends up calling it PT or 'Pete' for short. It makes it easy to keep the actual project under wraps as phrases like "I just checked with Pete," or "Go see if Pete has some reference books," sound like they're talking about an actual person instead of their record system and they usually pass it off as a friend of Spanner's from his native country.

The people privy to all the data are Tsuna's most trusted friends with only a handful of adults included. DC members were allowed to contribute additional information that had to be screened and verified first and only the highest ranked members after being put through rigorous testing and approved by Kusakabe, Tsuna and Tsubird were allowed full access as well.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Depends. If you think it's an ice cream truck then the answer is yes."

Somehow, Spanner and Shouichi had gotten their hands on some old vehicles, gutted them, and installed their newly designed energy efficient system in its place.

The truck is a bright glossy white at the moment, but it could be repainted to whatever color Deshaun wanted and the pictures would also be added on later.

Tsuna rarely kept secrets from him, but he had wanted this to be a surprise so Deshaun went along with it. It was nice of Tsuna to try to make Deshaun feel like he still had some control over his life no matter what the reality was. If he had said that he didn't want to, Tsuna would have dropped the issue and never tell him about what he had planned.

"Do you like it?"

Deshaun envisions the white trucks of his childhood, their cheery jingling tunes drawing both children and adults to them like a siren's song and can feel the hysteria bubbling up from inside. He starts to laugh and laugh and he's pretty sure that he's finally cracked and everyone is staring at him in worry, but he can't bring himself to care.

Finally he sucks in several shuddering breaths and wipes the tears from his eyes with shaky palms.

"I…when I was little…even younger than you, I wanted nothing more than to be an ice cream man. It was my dream job. I thought that if I become one, I get to eat as much ice cream as I wanted whenever I wants and I used to eat every flavor of every brand I could get my hands on no matter how nasty it sounded because I was convinced that I would become one and I had to know everything about them so that I could sell the best ice cream. I…I…"

He trailed off and sobered up.

…when did I forget that dream?...when did I lose track of myself and get into the sort of shit that made Ma cry?...

"You've been spending a lot of time trying to come up with new ice cream recipes at home and whenever someone eats it and smiles, somehow I get the feeling that that's when you're the happiest. I was thinking that you could run an ice cream truck selling your own homemade recipes. One of the first draws will be your skin color. The next will be the handmade factor as opposed to commercially sold ice cream and finally your exclusivity as the only American run ice cream truck in Namimori. There's still a lot of work to do before we can get started, but it's yours if you'd like. So what do you think?"

"I…I love it," Deshaun sniffs and wipes away a few tears. "I love it so damn much, Boss."

He had never thought that he'd have a second chance at this, a second try to become someone that his Mama wouldn't be ashamed to talk about but here it was in the form of a little Japanese boy with a boundless heart and a gleaming white truck.

It's been two and a half weeks since the attempt to kidnap Kyouya has taken place and Deshaun has mustered up his courage to ask for a trainer in that time. Someone who can provide proper combat instruction whether it involves blades or bare hands. He's been getting by on his previous scrappy anything goes style, a bit (or a lot) of knife combat training from a neighbor known as "Pissy Piscasso" (a irritable neighbor who used his artistic skills to make knock off replicas of famous paintings among other things), and the unavoidable physical exertion that comes from having to eke out a living on a deserted island, but being part of civilization again has softened him a little. Just a little.

He has a lanky frame built more for speed than strength, but somehow he doubts that he'd be able to take on Ryohei or Kyouya even if his muscles were three times as big. That's fine. He's not going to complain. Not when he's come to have a new appreciation for all the little things in life. Like the fact that he's not the one who has to keep them in line. That's Tsuna's job.

After several days in which Deshaun is tested on his reflexes, current combat style, and personal preferences, a handful of trainers are selected from the vast number of people the Hibari's seem to have in their pockets to teach him a form of jujutsu with an emphasis on using short blades.

Two teach him unarmed self-defense and offense and another two work on his knife training. They are professionals and intimidating, but not nearly as much as the pleased Hibari child who Deshaun is one hundred percent sure that he will be receiving many more random attacks from.

The tactical knives that Tsuna had first gifted him had been gotten from Kyouya and no one (except maybe Kusakabe) knew where he had gotten them. They had been recovered after that night but Deshaun was told to retire them because the resident techno-wonder duo had managed to make him some new ones out of a much stronger material (the same thing as Kyouya's current tonfa) and were constantly improving on them.

So far, they could also be used as a lighter, an ice pack, a can opener, screwdrivers, hex wrenches, a shaving razor, a soldering iron, a soy sauce dispenser and on the most recent (and most memorable) occasion a light saber. Just in case he needed to cut through a bank vault or concrete wall for whatever reason because he couldn't blow or bust or teleport through like everyone else.

Deshaun wasn't sure whether he should thank them for their thoughtfulness or continue to stare at the glowing red sword that had just carved straight through a metal table like butter after he had been startled into dropping it.

Tsuna face palming and ordering them to put a safety lock on it made him feeling better knowing that he wasn't going to accidently slice off his (or anyone else's) body parts while digging for his keys or blocking his combat instructors during training.

'Look on the bright side,' thinks Deshaun as he tries to console himself. 'I can be a real life jedi now.'

The plan to retrieve the hostages and put the fear of birds into the offending party is also coming together nicely. Or not so nicely depending on who was asked.

Tsuna and Tsubird are naturally the lynchpin of the whole debacle. And as usual, Tsuna's opinions do not count when it pertains to his true feelings about anything important.

"Tsunayoshi?"

"Hello Hibari-san."

"…"

"…"

A few beats of silence passes as Tsuna continues to stand in front of the sliding door with a lovely mural of skylarks perched on a plum blossom tree branch. Beside him is Tsubird who fidgets in a way that reminds Hiroto of a child who is forced to wait just outside of an extravagant toy store while her mother is preoccupied with someone or something else.

"Tsuu…"

She nudges Tsuna's side and he absentmindedly reaches out to stroke her head.

Before Hiroto can ask what is he waiting for, the door slides open to reveal his glaring son and Tsuyoshi's perpetually smiling boy.

"There you are! Did you two get lost? Hahaha! I know it's confusing since there are so many rooms, but you've got the right one."

"Hello Kyouya. Takeshi." Tsuna's voice remains level, controlled, completely and utterly emotionless.

"Tsunayoshi. You are late."

It's a testament to Tsubird's desire to join the others in whatever they are doing that she doesn't even protest when Ryohei pops up next and hauls her favorite person over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

"Father." Kyouya nods in acknowledgement as Tsubird slips through the doorway after them. As the door slides shut, Hiroto notes that Tsuna's face has not changed from that same resigned poker-face the entire time even if his friend's shoulder must be incredibly uncomfortable digging into his stomach like that.

He won't deny that he is curious about what the children are up to but they insist on keeping their plans of revenge a secret at the moment. He's also pretty sure that it involves rescuing the hostages and lots of fire and property damage. Oh well. As long as they don't get caught and it's not his property, then he perfectly fine with that.

"Again?"

His wife quietly slips into the space beside him.

Hiroto gives a noncommittal hum but Xui-Yan has long since come to understand the stoic man.

"Our son…he seems so happy, so enthusiastic in these recent years." She comments. "He has loyal comrades who are not afraid to speak their minds to him, yet support his strange ways. What little he loves, he loves dearly and is loved in return. He is strong and healthy and he does not break out in hives in the presence of so many as much as he's done before."

There is no one else in the hall and so one calloused hand finds another. Together they walk towards the dining area.

"But more than that, he seems fulfilled. Like he has found a purpose in his life and now wants for nothing. He still has much to learn and much growing to do, but…as a mother, I am happy that he has achieved these things so early."

Hiroto says nothing, but he squeezes her hand back to let her know that he understands and more than that, he feels the same.

They continue to hold hands until they reach the entrance of the kitchens where all their chefs are crowded around the closed doors, wringing their hands as the usual whispers fly back and forth.

Hiroto's eye twitches and his wife smothers a laugh. Sawada Nana is an unstoppable force and at times like this, it is not so hard to see how Tsunayoshi is her son. Hiroto mind flashes back to another man who may seem laughably foolish only to reveal terrifyingly dark depths and wonders what he would think of his family if he knew exactly what Tsuna and Nana were up to. If he even knew about Tsubird who has been with Tsunayoshi since he was six.

Then he pushes that thought to the back of his mind because it is none of his business what the boy or his mother choose to tell Iemitsu. The man had wrangled Hiroto into keeping an eye out for any suspicious attention that would fall on his family before Tsunayoshi was even born, but there has been no need as Tsubird does more than well enough.

However, Tsunayoshi's opinion of his own father was low. No. It was much worse than that. Iemitsu might as well be dead or a stranger to him for all that he cared. The blond should have kept in contact with his family more often instead of constantly pestering Hiroto for news. Maybe then the young boy he and his wife had decided to take under their proverbial wings would spare more thought for his errant father.

No. Hibari Hiroto was not going to say a thing to Iemitsu beyond the usual monthly platitudes of the Sawada family's continued safety. However, he did hope to be present to witness the man's face if he ever finds exactly what he has missed out on.

"And now, we present to you, the guardian god of Namimori, the most merciful deity who rules over fire and birds, the one and only Tsu-sama~!"

There are huge black curtains in the back courtyard which are blocking the view of the gardens and only the creators know exactly what's holding them up, but the entirety of the Hibari compound has turned out for the occasion and the girls theatrically bow to them after they introduce the results of everyone's hard work. The grand reveal has finally arrived and aside from Nana who is giddily clapping her hands over how amazing her Tsu-kun and Tsu-chan look while they cosplay, everyone who has been kept out of the loop is gaping.

Tsubird floated through the air, carrying Tsuna with her just like they had been practicing since that fateful night. Except this time, most of Tsubird's and Tsuna's bodies are covered in long robes. The parts of Tsubird that remain visible are her wings, tail feathers and neck snugly looped around Tsuna's. Tsuna's face is hidden three quarters of the way by a large intricate gold and red mask with a curved beak modeled after Tsubird.

Long extensions had been added to his hair and the feathery cascade came down to his ankles when he stood up, but when Tsuna hovered it fluttered as if several small individual breezes were caressing it. Tsubird's head was also carefully designated to remain hidden but close to Tsuna's face. It's right on top of his head actually, nestled under a pile of artificial fluffy brown locks and her crest sticks out from the top giving the illusion that it is Tsuna himself who is sprouting them.

All the hair, both real and fake, have streaks of gold and red running through it and beads of jet, green zircon, and white jade dangle just off the side of Tsuna's face from the side bangs.

The robes were made of several thin alternating layers of red, gold, and orange with smaller bits of black, green, and white embroidered here and there. They were easily more than twice as long as Tsuna was tall but with the magic of Tsubird, the fabric flowed and rippled above the floor yet never revealed his feet. The sleeves were nearly just as long and Tsuna's small hands were concealed in their billowing depths. What was just as impressive was the sash, a shimmery golden gossamer-like thing that was twenty-seven feet in length and floating loosely over Tsubird's wings, curving above and behind Tsuna's head and flowing back with the rest of the robes.

The most aweing sight of all was when a corona of light radiated outward, illuminating Tsuna's robes and sash in rainbow lights.

Tsubird brought them eye level with the adults to reveal the final touches to their surprise.

"We are nearly ready."

It's a simple statement spoken in Tsunayoshi's usual tone, but Tsubird's harmonic voice layers over them and Hiroto is unable to stop the shivers from skimming their way down his spine. The only one that seems to be completely unaffected is the brunet who seems to have reverted to the strange state of mind that he had on the night of the ninja attack. From the side, Hiroto notes how the rest of the humans shift restlessly as well. If even his cherished Kyouya, who has listened to all manners of Tsubird's calls, is so affected, what would humans who had never been exposed to a phoenix's voice before feel?

Inspired by the rumors that had spread about Tsuna's supposed heritage, Tsuna's friends had decided to expand on it. In other words, they were going to make all of China (and the rest of the Asian underworld) believe that a deity has been angered and has come to exact revenge on the triad that had desecrated the territory (aka Namimori) and people under its protection.

Xui-Yan's shoulders begin to shake and finally she throws her head back and laughs and laughs and laughs, uncaring of the way the stunned people around her continue to stare.

It is a completely mad and foolhardy plan, extravagant and over the top and not without its dangers, but it promises to be great fun. Her son has made such wonderful friends.

Tsubird had been doing reconnaissance in China for several hours every day since they had managed to pinpoint the primary headquarters belonging to their targets. A network spanning a countless number of birds with tiny cameras provided valuable footage and information. The hostages had been found and more birds had been directed to deliver tiny messages and cameras to them so that everyone would be able to gather in a spacious, but isolated room to be rescued on the chosen day.

Xui-Yan was their point of contact. She had returned to her parents' compound in China and in the privacy of her room, Tsubird would bring her the small local birds who would later slip into the rooms of their receivers, exchange letters, and return outside to Tsubird's side so that she could teleport them back to Xui-Yan who would then update the others waiting in Japan.

Despite her family's demands and queries about where her information was coming from, she refused to cave stating that they had a powerful ally, but only so long as they respected its wishes for privacy. It was not someone they could afford to alienate if they wanted to be able to rescue the hostages safely. It was also not someone they could afford to anger lest the same fate that would befall their enemies was to happen to them as well.

"Father. Mother. I love you both and I do not wish for you to die painfully or suffer for the rest of your days, but that is what will happen if you persist."

It's a curious and worrisome affair when her husband provides the same answers and they begin to wonder what could possibly tie the powerful couple's hands like this.

Something or someone even more powerful of course. Because people will always be people, they begin to speculate and when members of the Crane Federation arrive amongst the many other branches at the behest of their head's call, they keep their mouths shut as well even under the threat of death, because Tsubird's ire can become a fate worse than that. Xui-Yan later allows them to say a few words to fuel the rumors but they are not to speak the entire truth.

So they admit to Xui-Yan's parents that they had been hired to steal something of great value from one of the residents in Namimori and had not realized that it was Hibari territory or the home of something even worse. The terrible luck that had befallen them over a year ago was the result of angering that being, but in the end they were forgiven and their lives were even spared from Xui-Yan's plan to execute them.

That's when the final seeds have been planted and all they need to survive are the fertile imaginations of the people. Playing a trick of this magnitude-on the entire underworld to boot-makes Xui-Yan more than a bit nervous, but quite excited as well. She schools her face into neutrality with every ounce of control she can muster and does her best not to smile or laugh as the idea that something inhuman is aiding them. It's almost as if she was a child again, mischievous and bright eyed with the thought of getting away with a prank on her tutors or siblings.

It has been four weeks since the attack, the hostages had been prepared, and everything is finally ready.

Everyone who was going to invade the compound has a complete face mask and a custom made outfit that would give them a great deal of maneuverability as well as allow the attacking birds to know which humans to avoid. Voice modifiers had been fitted into them to help protect their identities as well.

Tsuna and Tsubird are fully dressed in their layers of billowy clothing and though the boy's face is almost completely obscured Hiroto gets the impression that he's not particularly enthused about his chosen costume. Probably because a week ago, some had brought in the idea of adding make up and Tsuna had been forced to model a countless number of lipstick and eye shadow combinations since then.

He's not sure what purpose would it serve since the boys's mouth was going to be overshadowed by the beak of the mask anyways and in place of the eyeholes were high-tech specs disguised as false eyes that would display relevant information and allow everyone to keep track of each other, but he supposed that it was part of the fun. Even his wife had been swept up in the excitement and spent millions of yen on expensive make up that would most likely only be used once before being discarded.

A bright red lipstick, the closest that could be matched to Tsubird's feathers, was chosen and a gold shimmer had been painted over it. A red and gold swirling pattern had been painted around both kohl-lined eyes and across his cheeks like a fiery butterfly to match Tsubird's profile even though Tsuna (hopefully) wasn't going to be unmasked for anyone to get a good look during the mission.

Even the finger and toe nails on his hands and feet had been painted which was rather pointless since the robes were made to be exceedingly long to hide Tsuna's hands and feet as well as give the illusion that they were made from something not of this earth. He even had masterfully done fake talons capping his fingers and ornately beaded sandals that resembled Tsubird's own clawed feet. 'Just in case' as the others had said. Actually, the others had painted their faces and nails as well (even Kyouya, Tetsuya, and Deshaun) under their own disguises and Hiroto was starting to suspect that this was more to alleviate their own unmitigated curiosity about the intricacies of cosmetics than anything else.

Xui-Yan was waiting for them in an empty reception room in her old home in China. It was sealed off from the rest of the mansion and not to be opened except in the most dire of emergencies. The reason for this being was the protection of everyone's identities as the less combat oriented children will be using it as their base to provide support for the ones creating a Hell on Earth.

Tsunayoshi was absolutely adamant about keeping his friends and family safely tucked away from the prying eyes of anyone who would try to take advantage of them and it was much harder to do so outside of Namimori. He did not know Xui-Yan's side of the family and thus did not and would not trust them until he had managed to ascertain them for himself.

A sensible and wise decision. Hiroto's father-in-law was not the worst man in China, but he did have a lust for beautiful things. However, he was also fairly smart and knew when not to press beyond certain limits. His wife was strict, tiny and a force to be reckoned with as well, but not so stiff that she wouldn't be able to concede with grace and dignity either.

Which was better than good, because while Tsunayoshi might despairingly watch over Kyouya like he was his own wayward child (and wasn't that a laughable thought?) and always set aside some time and affection for his closest human companion's parents as well, the same couldn't be said for complete strangers. He and Tsubird would utterly wreck them before they could lay a finger on their…what was the word for it?...Ah yes. Their flock, their family.

Hiroto's lips twitched upwards, unseen by anyone else.

Tsu-sama, the Hibari Clan's new patron god. Pffft.

Despite Tsunayoshi's grumbles and protests, he was already shaping up to be a splendid one.

It is shortly before sunrise when they arrive outside of a particularly out of the way mansion owned by the Harmonious Narcissist Society. It was half carved into a mountain, stretching out onto the border between a beach and forest at the base of a near impassable mountain range. There were carefully maintained hidden roads for the organization's members to use, but it would be near impossible for anyone to arrive unseen if they come normally via boat, plane, or vehicle.

Everyone's communicators and masks are adjusted one more time with a triple check to make sure that Ryohei's channel will be on low so as not to burst any eardrums and then Tsuna and Tsubird are flying high into the air.

Tsubird gives a long eerie cry. The huge array of birds that have begun to fill the surrounding scenery for the last few weeks only draw cursory glances from the guards who are sleepily awaiting the next shift rotation, but now Tsubird's unnerving call summons them all into the air alongside them and the frozen guards are too busy staring to sound the alarm.

The rest of his friends have used the distraction to take their positions. Tsuna orders Tsubird to fly lower until they are level with the guards on the middling balconies of the mansion. Tsubird spreads her wings as wide as she can and glows, a shining figure among the backdrop of countless shadowy birds with their backs to the rising sun.

Some of the guards drop their weapons. Some drop their mouths. Some back away and when Tsuna slowly lifts his arms clad in his shimmering robes to point at them, many do all three.

With the ominous red dawn that precedes their attack, things are look promising and Tsuna internally weeps about how things only seem to go smoothly for him when it involves mayhem and madness. He brings his arms parallel to his chest, flings them out at the same time as he tosses his head back and Tsubird screams at the same time; the robes and sash whipping about as if the very air around them is agitated. Most of the guards drop to their knees with the hands over their ears at the terrible sound. It's the signal to start.

The first incendiaries are flung by Takeshi which ensures that only the most skilled or alert fighters will be able to see, much less stop them. With all the attention on the fake god, no one realizes that the ninety mile per hour baseball shaped explosives are hurtling towards the lower levels. They do notice when they goes off though, but with Tsubird's soul shaking cry still debilitating them, no one is in any condition to fight back.

Much of the outer parts are made of stone so there isn't much for the flames to feed on but the small amount of oil in them still gives a source and that's more than enough for Tsubird to take control using her mind prickling song. Giant car sized caricatures of her own head snake their way up the mountainside mansion on swan-like necks of pillaring flames, snapping at the terrified people who start shooting back to no avail.

Out of the smoke and dust from the lower levels, more baseball bombs are sent higher and higher, providing more fuel and more heads for the fire phoenix-hydra.

Whenever a flaming head reached a human, it would rear back to strike and give the person time to shoot until he or she ran out of bullets before they inevitably turned tail to run. Then the head would chase them into the building itself, snapping at their heels while being careful not to light the entire building on fire.

Deshaun uses his light saber knives to cut an opening through the thick metal doors and Ryohei punches them down. Before the echoes have stopped resounding through the halls, everyone is already charging through, taking down everyone and everything in their way with a deafening party of birds following after them.

The voice changers distort and garble their words until it's barely understandable to a native speaker, much less someone without knowledge of the language, but there's no denying the joy and bloodlust these terrifying beings are exuding. They blast their way to the top most floor, paving the path for the men and women accompanying them to the place that would be hardest for someone to escape and consequently where the hostages are being held.

Occasionally, they have to wait for a fiery stream to pass as it chases crowds of people when they can't break down (or up) another way.

On one floor though, they bust into a room from the back sending its huddling occupants into shrieking fits of terror. They're ignored by Ryohei who punches out the doors, sticks his head out and quickly takes a couple of steps back into the room and out of the doorway.

A whole horde of screaming people rush past followed by a giant ball of fire with a protruding beak and head crest. The ball splits though to form a slightly smaller but no less intimidating one that enters the room and begins to chase their enemies out the back.

"God. It's like Pac-Man except with more fire and real people instead of ghosts." Mutters Deshaun.

While the Hibari clan retainers are still staring at the hole in the wall with the floating fireball disappearing from view, the rest of the masked kids turn to Deshaun who switches the voice changer to his com channel.

"Okay. Just for the record, I didn't expect that she'd come up with-" He waves his hand around the slightly smoldering room "-something like that after one night." Honestly, he should have known better by now. Namimori was constantly full of surprises and Tsubird could take inspiration from a lot of things that he had only expected people and apes to be able to do, including the video game he and Tsuna had spent several hours playing during a rare night of free time a couple weeks ago.

People are continuously fleeing out of the building like streams of ants only to be besieged by the birds still waiting outside. When it comes to either these savage feathered beasts or the approaching heads of snapping fire though, the choice is clear and everyone takes their chances with the wild outdoors.

In the ensuing confusion and panic, it takes a long, long time to notice that several hostages have gone missing, presumably dead from the fire monsters invading their halls.

Said hostages are currently bowing on the floor in front of Tsuna and Tsubird who are still floating in what's left of the room after their friends blew off part of the roof and mountaintop.

The flaming phoenix-hydra heads continues to crackle and hiss above behind them. There are no more targets for it to chase, but Tsubird keeps it going just in case. It'll die back down once she releases it from her control.

The hostages are tugged up by the men and women who have come to rescue them and everyone is forced to link hands and arms until there is a long chain of people connected to Tsuna with the exception of Kyouya who discretely latches onto Tsuna's billowing robes in lieu of actually having to touch his unknown relatives or the rest of his (unacknowledged) friends. God forbid that he, of all people, would have to crowd with those herbivores.

Behind the safety of his mask, Tsuna rolls his eyes, but theatrically raises his arms in the same manner that he had used to signal the attack. His sleeves and sash flicker in the unfelt breeze, Tsubird glows like a fiber optic New Years decoration, and with a melodic whistle, the world dissolves into fire.

When it appears again, everyone is unnervingly silent still trying to process what has happened.

"My brothers, my sisters, my family. Welcome home."

Xui-Yan steps forth and embraces one of her favorite older sisters who gasps as she starts to recognize this particular style of décor at least, if not the room itself.

"Xui-Yan? Ho-How? What?"

"All will be explained later. For now, I believe you have someone to thank."

She nods to Tsuna and Tsubird who are still floating in the air. Tsuna's friends have quietly lined up on either side behind him and it's almost eerie the way they silently stand there in their fanciful clothing and ornate masks. Deshaun should be the odd one out with his height, but he stands directly behind Tsuna and is still able to see over his head.

Everyone is pretending to be servants of Tsu-sama. Kyouya finds the position of being anyone's underling, even a false one, to be distasteful, but he understands the need for secrecy. He looks too much like his mother for the resemblance to go unnoticed and while he joined for the fight, he's not exactly keen on being found out. The last thing he wanted was for these cousins and aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews to come swarming out of the woodworks to visit Namimori and pester him in the hopes of meeting Tsuna and Tsubird, potentially destroying the charade they had spent so much time preparing.

It all nearly crumbles anyways when one of his prostrating relatives near the front of the pack can't keep her curiosity from getting the best of her and wiggles free from her mother's hold only to approach Tsuna and Tsubird who are floating low enough for their robes to touch the ground.

"Xiaoli! Come back!" her father hisses, horrified that his three year old daughter is being so disrespectful to their savior. Beside him, his wife is petrified, still on her knees with an arm stretched out as if she can summon her child back through sheer force of will.

"Please." She quietly begs as Tsuna bends down to accommodate for the toddler tugging on his sleeve. "Please don't…"

Around them, everyone has gone completely stiff as the rosy cheeked girl grabs the beak of the mask and begins to push it up. Tsuna stops her though, gently holding it in place as he lifts her other hand. There's a dark bruise marring her soft pale skin, the result of an accidental fall onto a hard toy after tumbling off a chair a couple of days ago. Tsubird, without needing words, knows what her partner wants and edges her head over so that a large tear can trickle down Tsuna's face and onto the bruise which disappears in seconds.

The toddler stares and flexes her hand in awe, patting and poking the perfectly healthy spot a few times just to be sure that doesn't hurt anymore. She stares up, unable to see her healer's entire face, but the kind smile gracing his painted lips makes her smile back.

Xiaoli pushes at the mask more insistently and pouts when Tsuna refuses to let it go any farther. Instead she tries for a different route.

"Xiaoli." She says pointing to herself."Name?"

Tsuna doesn't need to know Mandarin to understand what she wants. He's just not sure if he really wants to use the name his friends have been calling him, but when the little girl insists again, he gives in.

"Tsu-sama."

The words are quiet but Tsubird's voice still overlays it, raising the hairs on the backs of everyone's necks even if most of the room can't actually hear them. Bright brown eyes are staring up as if unable to comprehend what she just heard so he repeats it while pointing to himself.

"Tsu-sama."

It's been several hours they first started the rescue mission, the adrenaline and incredible focus have faded and Tsuna is hungry. He's pretty sure that having a growling stomach isn't a very godlike trait so he has to wrap this up quickly.

Standing up with the child, he glides over to her frozen parents and hands her over to their waiting arms. When they notice that her bruise is healed and she is completely unharmed, they turn their wide reverent eyes towards him and bow again.

This all feels so incredibly awkward and Tsuna is more than ready to just grab his friends and go home. Xui-Yan is staying for another week to settle things before she returns to Namimori, but he and his friends still have school on Monday and there's some homework that needs to be finished. Nevermind that they were both busy causing mass mayhem, Kyouya won't let Tsuna slide by without protest.

As he turns to leave, little Xiaoli waves and calls out an adorable "Bai bai Tsu-chama!"

The robes do wonders to hide his stiff frame, but Tsuna can tell that most of his friends are either smiling, smirking or holding back their snickers behind those lavish masks of theirs.

As the legend will go, a young boy going by the moniker of 'Skylark Among the Clouds' had the ability to speak the language of the birds from the moment he was born. He unexpectedly met a deity one day and was able to communicate in the tongue the rest of mankind was not privy to. They secretly became friends and would often play together. One day, enemies of the boy's family came to steal him away, enraging the deity who vowed to hunt all who would dare to harm his friend.

There is a massive attack with so many birds filling the air that they blot out the sky and at their head is a resplendent humanoid figure with wings of made of flames and tail feathers more beautiful than that of any mortal bird. Wherever the being flew, rainbows trailed behind its celestial robes. Untamed hair alit in fiery light flickered from behind a striking beaked mask that some would later claim was fitted to hide its true face which was allegedly either so beautiful that all who saw it would instantly fall in love or so terrible that any mortal who gazed upon it would descend into madness.

The compounds, houses and other buildings belonging to a certain triad is not only besieged by birds, but also burned to the ground by a monstrous being made of flames and phoenix heads. Ashes, several inched thick, coating all the grounds it lays waste to. Surprisingly there are no deaths, but the surviving members are plagued with infamy for the rest of their lives and most end up changing their names in an effort to hide their pasts.

The tale known as "The Burning of the Narcissists" becomes a story told to warn against becoming too ambitious and greedy amongst the triad Xui-Yan heralds from.

In the official version, the belief that a certain area in Japan is home to a deity spreads across the Asian underworld. Anyone who disturbs the peace of this small unknown region would face the wrath of a mysterious god who rule over birds and fire, who is both just and merciful even when angered, who is the child of an apsara and a kitchen god or a fire spirit or even a phoenix. Here the rumors get a bit muddled, but it is generally agreed that an apsara birthed him as one of the items worn by the being seemed to be the iconic flowing sash depicted in the ancient murals of the spirits.

When the deity speaks, its words are suffused with a harmonious trill that can either bring pleasure so great that a human could have claimed to have heard the voices of those in heaven or pain so terrible that a mortal would be driven to madness to all who listen.

When the deity cries, its tears can heal all wounds, cure all poisons, and even bring back someone from the brink of death.

When the deity laid its hands on a human and was lied to, the person would be burned, forever branded as untrue and treacherous.

When the deity laid its hands on a human and was answered honestly, the person would be allowed to experience the deity's gratitude in the form of a pleasurable inner warmth that would last long after the deity had gone and bring them good luck for as long as it lasted.

Tsu-chama, the Merciful Phoenix God, as it is come to be called.

The only thing the Hibaris would confirm was that to their knowledge, the little god could either be male or female or even both. Or neither.

Tsuna's not too thrilled about it but is at least grateful that Kyouya's parents are sensible enough to try to add to the confusion and mystery. Tsubird's feathers are distinctive and she has been coveted by other people for years. It's only a matter of time before someone manages to connect the dots, but for now, he's still Sawada Tsunayoshi, one of the many elementary school students of Namimori just barely making average grades who just happens to have a beautiful, but vicious pet bird.

With enough luck and time, the rumors will twist so that Tsubird will be the sole deity who is able to change forms at will. With even more luck, Tsuna will have made it through middle school by then. Of course he knows that he's not going to be that lucky (he never is), but it can't hurt to dream.

In the meantime, he has other things to worry about. Like what to do with the eighty-seven unemployed prisoners who are currently prostrating themselves before him.

Zaibatsu-large family controlled vertical monopolies consisting of a holding company on top, with a wholly owned banking subsidiary providing finance, and several industrial subsidiaries dominating specific sectors of a market, either solely, or through a number of sub-subsidiary companies. (definition from Wikipedia) Essentially they made a 3D Namimori edition of Monopoly with slightly more complicated rules.

Seals-In Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea, instead of signatures, people use personal seal stamps to sign for just about everything, packages, documents, art, official paperwork, etc. You need one if you're going to open a bank account or buy a house or car too. The stamps are called hanko (判子) or inkan (印鑑) and are made of wood, ivory, stone, or plastic.

An Apsara (also spelled as Apsarasa) is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They are also known to be seducers. You can also google Feitian or 飞天 for more images. Look at pictures of the ones wielding those long sashes/cloth/whatever it's supposed to be. Most people are fairly sure that Nana (and Tsuna by extension) has the blood of deities.

Deshaun has raised his worth in Tsubird's eyes not only because he loves making ice cream, but because he also introduced her to Motown. Although he's played other music, this has become her favorite. Tsubird's favorite song is "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The other song Deshaun sings is "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega.

Kyouya has no other siblings. When he thinks about relatives beyond his immediate family, these are the children of his cousins on his mother's side. In English, you'd refer to them as first cousin once removed but in Chinese culture, they'd be considered as his nieces and nephews.

-chama: Essentially baby-talk or a cutesy way of saying –sama. Tsuna was right. He will never live this down.

There should be one more chapter after this and then it's Reborn's time to join the cast and bring in his own brand of crazy. Unless I end up getting more ideas.