Many great thanks to my beta: myheartsegg

Chapter 1

Tsuna waited quietly behind a tree as he searched the growing sea of students of Namimori Middle. There was an overwhelming smell of flesh and blood and he refrained from licking his lips. It had been seven years since he escaped Vongola's so called "Garbage Room" after the kidnapping incident on his fifth birthday. Though it was regrettable that they fed him quite well.

He restrained a giggle at the image of corpses being thrown at him and the bodies sprawling on the ground in boneless heaps. He coughed discretely and regained his composure. Mama told him to suppress these urges of hunger or else he would lose control. Lose control. Lose control...

Tsuna placed his forehead against the tree he was leaning on and stared listlessly at the ground. His hunger had been uncontrollable back then - he was nicknamed the Glutton for short - but he was getting better. Yes, he was getting better. For Mama, for Papa, for Uncle Tsuyoshi, and for Takeshi. He will get better. That was his goal: to undo the monster he had become.

A familiar scent wafted into his nose and he smiled happily when he lifted his head and saw Takeshi walk out of the building.

Tsuna sauntered casually out into the open and waved his hand. "Takeshi!"

The other teen grinned at the sight of him and his dark eyes twinkled in delight. A flash of annoyance crossed his face when a few girls stopped him on the way over. Tsuna still walked towards him, intent on reaching his best friend although he was slightly tempted to devour the annoying humans.

He took in a deep breath. Calm down, big boy, calm down.

At the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar prefect come into view. Troublesome. Even Tsuna how dangerous the other can be. It was also the fact that the prefect simply despised ghouls. Tsuna retreated back to his spot and waited patiently for Takeshi to come and find him. While doing so, he counted clouds and listened to idle chatter.

"Oh!" a girl said while passing by with her friends. "Hey, wanna go to that new café down the block? My sister works there, so maybe we can get a freebie!"

"You know how uptight your sister is, Makoto," one of her friends said, her attention absorbed in her book. "No chance."

Makoto pouted. "But I heard their cakes are delicious! Freebie or not, it's still food!"

Their other friend looked up from her phone and said to the both of them, "Sorry, guys. I'll have to pass on this one. My mom's having another freak out. Catch you later?"

An arm suddenly slung over Tsuna's shoulders but he gave no indication of surprise. The girls' chatter was background noise now.

"How did you sneak out?" Takeshi asked him.

Tsuna snickered. "Through the kitchen. Papa wasn't looking before he left."

Takeshi grinned and ruffled his hair, causing the smaller boy to whine in protest. "Wanna go somewhere then?"

"Anywhere; as long as it's away from here," Tsuna said with a grin.

Takeshi pondered on this for a while before snapping his fingers. "Ah, I know just the place!"

"The view is incredible!" Tsuna said, nearly leaping over the railing.

"Oi, you're gonna fall!" Takeshi said, pulling him back. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Seriously, how much sugar did you eat?"

"I can't eat sugar," Tsuna deadpanned.

Takeshi grinned. "I know."

The brunet huffed as he swung his legs over the railing and drank up the gorgeous view. Namimori was pretty in its own town-y way, he guessed. Much more comfortable than his other home back in Italy. It felt like...home.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Takeshi suddenly said, leaning his arms on the railings. "I told you so."

Tsuna smiled. "Yeah, yeah. I get it." He let out a content sigh as a gentle breeze kicked in. "It's so peaceful. Hey, can we sleep here for the night?"

Takeshi gaped at him. "And suffer from Mama's wrath? Never."

They both laughed for a good couple of minutes. It felt nice, just the two of them up the hill alone, looking over the town as if they were gods or the like. Tsuna truly felt at peace here. In fact, he would stay here forever if he could.

But... he knew that wasn't the case.

Despite the dark thought, he shook it away to focus on the view at hand and Takeshi's presence. He didn't know how he would've survived without his best friend's support.

"Hey." Takeshi placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to whisper, "You're gonna get wrinkles if you keep making that face."

Tsuna widened his eyes before he scowled and smacked his friend behind the head. "Don't insult my youth! I am handsome. My face doesn't know the definition of wrinkles."

Takeshi snickered and raised his hands in mock defeat. "I surrender, my lady. My apologies."

"Lady? I'll show you lady!"

Takeshi ended up with a couple of bruises that day, and Tsuna was practically drowning in euphoria.

Sadly, they all healed.

Sneaking out of the house was easy, but sneaking back in was a totally different case. Takeshi peered behind his shoulder and saw Tsuna hidden behind a bush. They nodded and Takeshi unlocked the door.

"Takeshi, take your shoes off," Tsuna heard his mama say. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, well I was - " Takeshi closed the door and that's when Tsuna moved.

He crept low under the windows to avoid his mama's line of sight and sighed in relief as he turned the corner. He was met with a very angry woman.

"Hello, Tsunayoshi," his mama said, her eyes practically on fire. "Pleasure to see you."

Tsuna laughed sheepishly. "Oh, wow, Mama. You're...very fast, haha. You look beautiful today, did you know that?"

He cried out in pain when she dragged him by the ear through the kitchen door and saw Takeshi kneeling in a corner with his hands raised above his head. His friend looked at him apologetically and Tsuna gave him a somber look.

He was placed quite roughly on the couch in the living room and immediately rubbed his aching ear. Nana stood in front of him with a vexed look on her face. "I told you not to leave the house without my supervision. What were you thinking?"

"I w-wanted to get some f-fresh air for a while," Tsuna said, cursing at himself for stuttering. "It's boring around here."

"You know how dangerous it is now," Nana said with a glare. "I won't be with you all the time to protect you. That's why I need you here in the house."

Now Tsuna was standing up. "I didn't see any of the Doves around. I know - I know that you don't trust me ever since that thing that happened years ago but I can protect myself, Mama. I even have Takeshi with me! He's strong! You don't have to worry too much about me! I'm not a child anymore!"

"You are still a child to me. You don't understand what they're going to do if they find out about you!"

"Well, I - "

A peculiar smell suddenly wafted in his nose. Nana tensed. The doorbell rang and Takeshi glanced at them from his corner.

"A baby?" Tsuna said in confusion. "But he smells like a... man."

Nana's brow twitched as she walked to the door. She opened it, looked down - Tsuna thought that to be strange - and said, "We don't need you here. Leave."

When she closed the door, it stuck in place and Tsuna saw a small foot keeping it open. Nana just slammed the door close and locked it.

"Who is it?" Tsuna asked innocently.

"Nobody," Nana said blankly. "Back to business. Tsuna, the - "

She pushed him down when a bullet suddenly pierced through the door, and her eyes morphed into a deadly black and red color. A hiss of annoyance escaped her lips as the door slammed open.

Takeshi ran into the living room and went into a fighting stance, his eyes black as well. A small silhouette stood at the doorway and slowly elongated into a shadow of a fully grown man. Tsuna watched, intrigued, as the small baby grew taller and taller, expanding into his full form.

So this is an Arcobaleno, he thought, almost licking his lips in excitement.

"Chaos," the person said, tipping his odd-looking hat. "I must compliment you on your wonderful hospitality, Nana."

A/N Thank you for all the reviews and favorites! Much appreciated!

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