AN: Sorry for the late chapter again, but this one is super long to make up for it! :) The next chapter will be a while because of exams next month. Thank you so much for your support! The reviews mean a lot!

Part 1: Alone Boy

Episode 4: The Living Dead

She's giggling as she walks away. Her giggles are like droplets of glass raining down on the sinkhole of bones that Tsuna can't crawl out of. His fingers are slipping. He tries to grab hold of a skull to climb up, but his fingers hook against the eye holes and he can't help but scream out when its jaws chatter at him as if to complain at the rough treatment. He falls back. Deeper. Darker. Down. Down. Down.

"H-Haru!" he chokes out, neck deep in the bones, feeling as if bony fingers are yanking him down by the ankles too.

She doesn't stop giggling. She can't or she won't and Tsuna doesn't know which is worse… it's so dark now…

"Haru, p-please…!" the bones poke at his throat, wanting to pull out the red that flows so shallowly under skin. So close. He can't see a thing anymore, just slivers of her silhouette and the slight gleam of sharp angular rib bones that start to press against his eyes…

Come back—red drips form his eyes as the bones press even closer—its okay now—when he breathes, he think little bones must be crawling into his lungs and scratching them from the inside—come back!

"Poor boy," he thinks a skull chatters by his lips. "She can't come back, you know."

He screams out when the skull draws blood on his tongue. The bones push him down until he can no longer feel his fingers.

Sorry, Tsuna, the orange whispers when he drowns in bones, but you have to live now.

Tsuna is spluttering against his pillow, what is that. He can't see, the colours are blurred, where are the skulls, he can't see or breathe or—

"Tsuna-nii!" an eerie presence settle itself against Tsuna's chest, clutching at him, shivering and when Tsuna brings his hands up he remembers.

"L-Lambo…?" he blinks slowly, clarity slowly washing over his distressed tears.

"Tsuna-nii was shivering and moving in his sleep! Was there a monster under your bed?" Lambo's face shifts into the Bull one, "Lambo can eat it for Tsuna-nii!"

"Ah, n-no," Tsuna smiles, trying to will his wet eyes to dry, "I'm fine. No monsters here. And I don't know if it would be okay to eat them." He tries not to think of possibilities of indigestion. When Lambo's head droops down in disappoint, Tsuna adds, "But thank you very much for coming to protect me. That was very brave and kind of you. Good job!"

At that, Lambo seems to preen, his face moving back to the human one, save for the still threatening eyes. "If any monster tries to attack Tsuna-nii in his sleep, the great Lambo will get rid of them for you!"

"I…" Tsuna is about to decline but he sees Lambo's trembling fingers, the way Lambo's eyes dart to the blankets and he swallows. "Me too, Lambo."

The little ghost puffs his chest up with pride and stands in front of Tsuna, determined to be the best guard ever, as still as a Western suit of armor save for the slight twitches of Lambo's legs. Tsuna almost gives a fond chuckle but taps Lambo on the shoulder instead.

How odd, he thinks, that ghosts feel so solid to him but they pass through everyone else. Sometimes he thinks that maybe he's part spirit himself, cursed to be seen by the living and chased by the dead.

"Um, Lambo?"

He turns to Tsuna with a heavy salute. "Yes sir! Tsuna-nii, sir!"

"Well, since I'm still afraid and you're doing such a good job protecting me, do you want to stay here?" he pats on the section of pillow next to him, "…I'd feel better if you were there."

Immediately Lambo preens again and jumps into the covers next to Tsuna, "Don't worry! Lambo won't let the monsters give Tsuna-nii anymore bad dreams!"

When Tsuna smiles this time, it feels less like a lie and more like a lone feather lifting in the breeze. "…M'counting on you."

He closes his eyes and listens to the ticking of his clock, substituting for Lambo's nonexistent breaths.

Of course, Tsuna wakes up again with a bang as his sadist tutor orders him to start with seventy push-ups and sit-ups this morning. Hasn't Reborn heard of moderation for beginners in exercise? Does he want Tsuna to sprain a muscle from overexertion? On second thought, Tsuna adds silently after Reborn nearly shoots off all of Tsuna's fingers for 'not having proper form', this might be some sort of revenge for being nice to Lambo.

"Did you have a restful night, sleeping with the dead?" Reborn sneers.

Alright, never mind. Reborn is definitely pissed at Tsuna for being nice to Lambo. He tries to glare at Reborn but only squeaks when Reborn just gives him a more frightening smirk.

But just before Tsuna is about to beg for forgiveness, Lambo hops on Tsuna's head, making Reborn narrow his eyes, as Lambo shouts, "You're just jealous because Tsuna needed me to chase away the monsters instead of you!"

"Uh, Lambo, I'm not so sure that—"

He hears Reborn cock his pistol while the air seems to grow frigid.

"Wh-what are you doing…? W-wait, don't shoot Lambo…!"

How does his mum find the time to repair these walls? They should be littered with holes by now, Tsuna's mind wonders unhelpfully as he grabs Lambo and darts back and forth to dodge more bullets in the room.

"I'll be testing your range," Reborn announces from on top of a pile of discarded textbooks and pillows.

Tsuna peeks out cautiously from the safety of his closet, holding Lambo to him in case he needs to sprint again. "U-um… okay..." he waits a few moments, to see if Reborn will shoot again and when Reborn doesn't, Tsuna says, "…so, I guess that means Lambo won't be sitting in class with me today…?"

"Correct. Guess your mind isn't as malleable as Swiss cheese after all, idiot-Tsuna."

Honestly, Tsuna doesn't even hear the backhanded compliments Reborn throws out anymore. They seem like an interwoven part of his language.

"But Lambo doesn't want to be away from Tsuna-nii! Lambo promised to protect Tsuna-nii from monsters!"

"Ah, it was only for the night…" Tsuna tries to reassure Lambo, at this rate Reborn might really kill the kid (er, again), "I should be fine at school… Reborn is there and I haven't been attacked by ghosts… Ah." Tsuna suddenly recalls Reborn's words about two spirits present at Namimori. Now he definitely doesn't feel as safe as before.

But he can't just keep Reborn and Lambo near him because he's afraid. Tsuna may not like it but Lambo has to be used as his 'training wheels' otherwise Reborn will find no more use for Lambo and exorcise him no matter what Tsuna says. Besides… this is something Tsuna has to learn… if he can't tell the difference between ghosts and people then (Haru just wanted to be friends), then… (poor boy, she won't come back—)

No. He has to think about helping other ghosts like Haru. What use is he for other than this?

Lambo and Reborn are still arguing back and forth when Tsuna snaps out of his thoughts. Well, more like Lambo is trying to antagonize Reborn while the reaper yawns and starts shooting off his gun at Lambo as if it's timed to his heartbeats.

"Hey, will you two stop it?!" Tsuna pulls Lambo out of the way. "Reborn, I thought you said you'd leave him alone!"

"I said I wouldn't help you. I never said anything about exterminating the pest if it comes near me," Reborn eyes the scowling child with disdain, "or if your little experiment goes to hell, and trust me it will, I never said I wouldn't send it to hell when that happens."

"Will you at least stop calling him a 'thing' or 'it', he has a name," Tsuna groans.

"Really? I never noticed."

"Stupid Reborn," Lambo hisses, "you'll be sorry when Lambo eats you!"

"Lambo what have we said about eating people?!"

"Reborn doesn't count as 'people', he's a reaper! Tsuna-nii said so!"

"Look," Tsuna fights the impulse to rub his forehead, "if we're all going to be living in the same house then we need to get along whether we like each other or not. Yes, Lambo, you could attack Reborn but you won't because I need him. He's my tutor."

Lambo's scowl fades into a pout while Reborn stares at Tsuna oddly.

"And Reborn," he continues, avoiding Reborn's gaze, "how are we supposed to know if this will work out if you keep attacking Lambo every time he moves? You said you'd give me a chance to try this but it won't work if you exorcise him just because you feel like it. Um, not to be disrespectful or anything. It would just… mean a lot if you two could… tolerate? Yeah, just tolerate each other for a bit."

Reborn says nothing. His shadow doesn't even tremble, staying long and still as the black seems to stare at Tsuna too.

"As long as Lambo knows his place, then fine. I'll shoot him if he becomes completely Corrupt."

Lambo crosses his arms but at least he doesn't attack Reborn again. "Only because Lambo can be polite, unlike some jerks."

Tension leaving his shoulders, Tsuna beams at them before he turns towards the doorway.

Nana, frozen in mid-knock with the door wide open, blinks at Reborn and Tsuna in bright confusion. "Tsuna, dear… who were you two talking to?"

"Um…"

To be honest, the apology Tsuna gave Nana last evening seems to make their relationship more awkward than before. Tsuna doesn't know what to say to her beyond 'hellos' and 'thank yous' and he tries to recall the last time he had a proper conversation with Nana, the last time they bonded. Rarely, if at all. Even before Reborn came, Tsuna's been hiding up in his room away from the ghosts, too ashamed of himself to speak with her, afraid to hear her call him useless.

What kind of son is he if he doesn't know how to talk with his own mother? Tsuna swallows and clenches his jaw. He needs to change. He can't keep being afraid. He has to help Lambo and he can't keep being this pathetic with his mum but what can he say?

(The truth. Always the truth. He won't lie. He won't be like his old man.)

"Ah… well…" he fiddles with his fingers, "his name is Lambo."

Nana blinks at him.

"…He's a ghost that Reborn, um, introduced to me for my training. He's staying with me but don't worry he won't be a bother!"

"I'd shoot it dead before that happened."

"Reborn!" Tsuna hisses.

"Shoot?" Nana moves towards him, "Is this ghost putting you in danger, Tsuna? Maybe—"

"No!" Tsuna insists, "Lambo is a good kid! He won't do anything to hurt me!"

But Nana seems to read something else in Tsuna's face because her brow furrows and she murmurs, "Maybe we should phone your father, ask him—"

"I'm fine!"

Nana's smile falters again but this time she does not remain quiet. "Tsuna, I just want you safe. I realize I haven't asked your father much about this spirit business but I should have. Tsuna, dear, you've been looking so tired lately…"

Tsuna wants to kick himself. He didn't mean to make her feel worried, she shouldn't have to deal with this…

"Mum, I'm fine. Really. Reborn and I are taking care of Lambo," well, Tsuna more than Reborn, "I'm safe. You don't need to worry about me, I'm training hard so I can be useful…"

Definitely not the right thing to say with how Nana's eyes widen.

"Mum—" he glances briefly at the clock and shrieks, "I'm late!"

"But—"

"I'm sorry Mum but I have to go! I'm really okay though so you don't need to worry, really! Love you, bye!"

He rushes out the door leaving Nana standing alone in his room. She clenches his fists and goes to the phone. Without hesitating, she dials a number and waits, foot tapping against the floor.

"I don't understand why Dad hasn't told her anything!" Tsuna scowls, so angry that he doesn't even notice the creepy Corrupted passing by. Reborn sits leisurely on his head again, shooting off random bullets while Lambo sits in Tsuna's arms, carrying Tsuna's bag.

"I told you, idiot, exorcists are—"

"—meant to be alone, I know, ow!"

"That's for interrupting," Reborn pinches Tsuna's ear.

"I just," Tsuna slumps, "he should have said something. If exorcists are supposed to be alone then how do they learn anything? What about other exorcists? Why did he marry Mum if he wasn't going to stay, if he knew he couldn't stay? That's just cruel. He should have taken responsibility if he was going to break the rules. Wait. Is that a rule?"

He waits, half expecting Reborn to shoot him for disrespect again but he's surprised when Reborn says nothing.

Instead, Lambo pipes up, "Adults are selfish. They don't do a good job of growing up."

Tsuna blinks in surprise at the answer. "Mum is not selfish." He can't say much about Iemitsu.

But Lambo's face flickers again to that of the creature. "Mum ran away and she called it a promise."

"What…?" Nana didn't run away, Tsuna is about to say but then he realizes that Lambo isn't talking about Nana at all.

"Oh Lambo…" Tsuna hugs the child closer. He wishes he could contradict him but what proof can Tsuna offer? Just his own Mum, Nana, and Lambo doesn't even believe in her after Tsuna started carelessly complaining about Iemitsu. Tsuna wishes he could tape his mouth shut, maybe then he wouldn't make such a mess of things. But that's not what Lambo needs. Stability, Tsuna has to be stable and he has to be there for him.

"You know I won't lie to you, right, Lambo?"

Lambo snuggles closer. "Lambo knows. Tsuna-nii is not like them. Tsuna-nii is not an adult."

Tsuna frowns. "But I will be, someday."

Lambo scowls. "Then Lambo will just have to watch Tsuna-nii closely and make sure Tsuna-nii doesn't change."

Tsuna's not sure if that's any better but Lambo seems determined to have Tsuna stay fourteen (mentally and hopefully not physically?)

"He's right, you know," Tsuna nearly jumps when Reborn speaks again, his voice softer than usual. "Adults lie. They teach it to their children and those children grow up to be liars. We live in a world of lies and liars." Reborn pauses and brushes his hand against Tsuna's hair, "Remember that, Dame-Tsuna."

"Reborn…"

"Don't trust so easily," Reborn flicks Tsuna's hair. "Trust gets you killed, especially in the world you will grow into. People like you…"

Tsuna stills, listening to the wind as if it will whisper the reaper's next words to him.

"You know you're going to be late if you don't run, right?" Reborn says instead.

"What?!"

Reborn's strange behavior is forgotten as Tsuna dashes to class.

There is five minutes to spare as Tsuna gets to the courtyard, halted by a group of girls who block the door. Normally Tsuna would just sneak around them and go on with the monotonous tedium of education but then he hears snippets of their conversation.

"—how does he always know when we're skipping anyways?" one of the girls whisper. "It's creepy! You don't think he's a stalker do you?"

Tsuna feels the hairs on the back of his neck raise as a familiar presence comes closer behind him.

"Face it, Hibari is everywhere. That's so not normal."

"Yeah, I'm afraid of going to my locker sometimes for tampons because he might punch me!"

"No way, he wouldn't punch a girl, would he?!"

Tsuna frowns and tries to remember if he's ever seen Hibari attack a girl before. Hibari seems to be an equal opportunist if someone is breaking the rules but he's never actually punched someone to face (at least not anyone who could not fight back.) Anyways, gossiping in public is rather rude, especially when said-person is nearby (and frankly capable of said punching) so Tsuna moves to interrupt except a cold hand touches his shoulders.

"Little herbivore you should go to class," the cold whisper sends a chill down Tsuna's spine.

"Ah! H-Hibari-sempai! Um… well, I'm s-sure they d-didn't mean to be r-rude," Tsuna tries to move in Hibari's path.

"Step aside."

Tsuna shivers but he does not move.

"Hey you leave my Tsuna-nii alone!" Lambo growls. Tsuna covers Lambo's mouth with his hand even though he knows no one can hear Lambo.

Hibari's eyebrow seems to develop a twitch. "I will not inflict bodily harm on those herbivores. They are not worth my time."

Tsuna (stupidly) remains in spot. He'll probably be burnt to death under Hibari's glare. He should have asked his mum to take care of Lambo if he dies except Nana can't see ghosts so then he'd have to ask Reborn but Reborn would probably just shoot Lambo anyways so this is bad idea, so very bad—

"…You have my word."

"Oh," Tsuna nearly slumps over on the floor. "Um," he wobbles to the side, "I guess I'll get going then…"

"Sawada!" a cheerful greeting comes his way. Tsuna blinks, wondering if he's hallucinating it. No one's ever this happy to see Tsuna. Well, as he hugs Lambo to his chest, no one alive anyways.

But sure enough, Yamamoto breaks away from his group of friends to slap a hand on Tsuna's back. "Good morning! How are you doing today?"

"Uh, fine, I just talking to…" Tsuna turns to Hibari but sees no one. The girls are gone as well though when Tsuna peeks to the lockers, he sees the backs of their heels as they go upstairs, running as if their lives depend on it (which, knowing Hibari, they probably do.)

Yamamoto frowns, "Talking to…? Oh! You mean that game you play, right? Where you talk to invisible people?"

"Um…" Tsuna tries to think of some sort of believable excuse besides 'actually I talk to ghosts.'

"Hmm… sharp one, this Yamamoto," Reborn muses while Lambo just glares at Yamamoto as he glares at everyone who comes near his Tsuna-nii.

"Hey, it's cool! I thought you were weird at first but you're nice so there's nothing wrong with being weird and nice. Kind of like the boxing club."

"Boxing club…?" Tsuna's never really paid much attention to Namimori sports. The only reason he knows the baseball team exists is because of all the fans in his class and the fact that Yamamoto has always been a person who draws attention.

"Yeah, they get really into it, even more than my coach. They even practice at nighttime, no wonder they always win the city championship," Yamamoto's eyes seem to darken like before. "I need to practice more too…"

"Oh, well you're a great player! I mean, I don't know much about baseball but I know the team plays best when you're the batter. You guys haven't even won a championship yet but I know you're talented. I've never even heard that we had a boxing team!" Tsuna rambles, unsure why. Yamamoto just looked so far away before…

"Really?" Yamamoto seems to brighten. "Thanks Sawada!"

"Oi Yamamoto!" one of his baseball friends call. "What are you doing with Dame-Tsuna? Come on, we'll be late!"

"Ah, coming!" he grins before he ruffles Tsuna's hair (Reborn, seeing this, hops to Tsuna's shoulder), "Talk to you later, Sawada!"

Tsuna only blinks, trying to preserve the oddity of a classmate being genuinely friendly (not just robotically saying 'hello' and 'thank you') to his memory.

Then the bell rings.

"Oh my god, I'm late!" Tsuna goes to get his indoor shoes from his locker.

"Stop right there," Reborn orders, jumping down to shoot at Tsuna's feet. Tsuna doesn't really yelp this time, so much as whimper, but at least his feet are in one piece.

"Oi, what are you doing, stupid-Reborn?!" Lambo growls protectively.

"We're having a little tutorial session, what else?" Reborn sets out a chart from out of nowhere. "Now shut up and listen. Don't worry, I had Nana write up a note to excuse you from the first class. Your attendance won't be affected. Much."

Just when Tsuna thought he'd skipped Reborn's little lesson after that terrible push-up and sit-up session.

"We need to train your hyper-intuition before we can truly test your range in sensing spirits," Reborn explains from the top of the lockers. Tsuna's neck feels like it will melt if Tsuna has to keep looking up to see him.

"Hyper-intuition? What's that? Sounds weird," Lambo wrinkles his nose.

Reborn just sneers at him before he turns back to Tsuna. "Have you noticed that each ghost has their own distinct feeling?"

Tsuna furrows his brow, recalling how Haru and Lambo felt to him when they were fluctuating. For Haru, Tsuna always felt like there was a light underlying feeling of happiness and loyalty, even when it was being smothered by her Corrupted state. With Lambo, Tsuna feels dying innocence and longing in different shades of colour. A mix of colour and feeling blended together. But the corruption in each is that same contradictory dull and harsh red raging in their souls. But there is also this… this lack. Tsuna doesn't think that's the right word for it… but lack is all he can think of right now.

"I… yeah, I think so. Corruption feels the same. Dark. But it's slightly different for everyone."

He's not sure how else to describe it.

Reborn gives an approving nod. "You're more perceptive than I would have guessed. It's easier for now to detect a corrupted spirit than one that is not. But as the corrupted spirits are the ones that will attack you instantly, we won't work with the dangers of uncorrupted spirits until later. Hyper-intuition will help you sense individual spirits and recognize who they are before they attack. It has more applications but we'll get to that eventually."

"Right…"

"For now, I want you to visualize the layout of this school. Plant it in your mind and concentrate."

"What's the point of that? Stupid!" Lambo says what Tsuna also wonders. But maybe this will help him with this 'hyper-intuition' and 'sensing-ghosts' thing so Tsuna gives it a try.

He closes his eyes. Tunes out Lambo and Reborn's bickering. Imagines the steps to the long hallways stretching out on each floor of the school. Pictures the students sitting in rows and rows of desks, all scribbling down their notes attentively. He passes over them, upperclassmen he's never really talked too and teachers he has avoided. Then he's in his classroom, hearing Sasagawa-sensei explain the latest math problems. She always reminds him of little firework sparks, the kind little children hold on their birthdays. Nice and warm. Tsuna's desk is empty, an absence that asks him to return but Tsuna pictures Yamamoto sitting a few rows in front of him, dozing off already or doodling about baseball. Yamamoto is a different kind of warmth. More cool and fluid but no doubt quick to adapt and destroy the enemy team in a winning strike.

Then Tsuna pictures the rooftop where he spends his time, the peace he feels there… the tree where he always sees Hibari sitting in. Tsuna can see Hibari sitting there now, arms crossed as he studies the school intensely, like it's a shiny jewel that he can't let out of his sight. The dangerous feeling that Tsuna always gets around Hibari is heightened in this spot so much Tsuna moves on to avoid being overwhelmed and to imagine the baseball diamond in their school yard and then gym where he feels… he feels—

Tsuna winces, feeling that lack again but none of the dark corruption that he sometimes feels from Lambo or what he felt from Haru in her last moments.

"There's something… something in the gym," Tsuna whispers. A chill comes over him. How many times had he been down there, sitting on the sidelines while everyone else played volleyball or basketball? He'd always assumed the unease he felt down there had been because of his loneliness but to think there might be a ghost there…

Reborn raises his brow and doesn't say anything for a moment. "Your hyper-intuition stretched farther than I thought… and you were able to pick out an uncorrupted ghost. Looks like you can differentiate between the living and the dead if you try."

"Uh…" Tsuna can hardly believe it. Is Reborn actually complimenting him? He feels heat rush to his cheeks. "…Thank you?"

"Which means that we'll have to increase your training and if I find you mistaking some ghost for the living again I will shoot your fluffy hair off."

"I… what?!"

"Can Lambo eat Reborn now?"

So much for that moment.

Reborn slaps the note excusing his absence on Tsuna's nose and some headphones on Tsuna's ears before tugging Lambo away with the leash.

"Hey don't treat him so roughly, you promised!" Tsuna scowls, trying to peel the note off his nose. It's not working. Knowing Tsuna's luck, this note will be stuck on his face forever and people will start calling him 'post-it-boy' instead of 'dame-Tsuna.'

With a long-suffering sigh, Reborn rolls his eyes. "Remember to tap the headphones when you can no longer pinpoint Lambo's presence. I will ask you where we are and you will answer as soon as I ask, got it?"

"But, what about class—?"

"That's special exorcist gear. No one without spiritual powers will be able to see them or notice you talking into them. There's a microphone that comes out when you need to reply, see?" Reborn tugs at Tsuna's ear and from the side of the red head phones a side microphone pops out. "Since we've determined that your range with hyper-intuition is about perimeter of the school, then your range should be able to stretch further—"

"Why?"

"Less energy is needed since you're doing general sensing and focusing on one signature… like that thing Lambo. We'll be out of the school so you need to be vigilant. Don't talk to anything that has that lack you described earlier. Those are ghosts. I don't anticipate you being attacked on Namimori soil unless you piss off the powerful spirit that resides here but so far I've seen no problem, so you should be fine—"

"Super powerful spirit?!"

Tsuna hasn't felt anything like that, not even when he was using his hyper-intuition or whatever Reborn called it. Then again, when he recalls what Reborn said about the two spirits at his school… Reborn mentioned that the powerful spirit has a great sense of self-control… maybe that has something to do with it…? Wait—

"What about the other spirit? The one in the gym?"

"Idiot. Have you listened to what I've taught you? Stay away from it. It hasn't met you—"

Then what about the gym classes? The lack Tsuna recognized from his memories now?

"—officially yet. It's stayed away from the gym when regular classes use it. It stays close but not too close. You'd best follow that strategy," a menacing glint gleams in Reborn's eyes, "do not go seeking it out. Not yet. Not without me."

"Right. Yes. Of course," Tsuna nods quickly.

He doesn't understand why Reborn even needs to lecture him about this. Tsuna doesn't go searching for ghosts to hurt him or anything. He's too busy running away.

Not lately though, he realizes as he looks back at Lambo before waving goodbye. Not since Haru.

At this rate, Tsuna will probably fail his classes. He doesn't remember what Sasagawa-sensei said at all, too busy concentrating on the feel of Lambo's fluctuating dark-yet-not-dark presence, the unique flavour of lack that belonged to Lambo alone and the strange barely-warm presence of Reborn. He hopes that Reborn hasn't bullied the little guy too much (knowing Reborn, Lambo has probably suffered too many untold traumas already.)

Maybe Tsuna would have been able to take some poor form of math notes if he had just concentrated on Lambo but Reborn's presence puzzles him.

Reborn doesn't feel like Tsuna's classmates who have varying degrees of warmth. Sasagawa-sensei and Yamamoto, in particular, seem to have more warmth to them than others. But Reborn… is lukewarm? Maybe? Not quite cold but not quite warm either. A flame that's been eclipsed under layers of shadow. Not dark in the way that the corrupted are dark but just… shadow. There. Not menacing. Just a constant shadow.

He leans back against his seat with a sigh. If he asks Reborn about it, he doubts that Reborn will answer. Reborn's lukewarm presence might just be a reaper thing. Maybe if Tsuna met another reaper he could verify it…?

Anyways, pushing his hyper-intuition and then his sensing just makes Tsuna's head feel as if it's being slowly sawed into with a blunt katana. He can't even focus on the words in his textbook anymore. They blur together and seem to join in his chorus of pain—

"Sawada-kun?"

"Ah!" Tsuna jumps, picking up his bag quickly. "S-Sorry for s-staying behind, Sasagawa-sensei. I was j-just s-spacing out. I'll b-be going n-now!"

"Wait, please!" she touches his shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I have a favour to ask."

"A favour?" Maybe Sasagawa-sensei has the wrong person. Tsuna's not the type of student that teachers ask favours from unless it's to sweep the floors or clean the windows.

She ducks her head which is odd. Normally Sasagawa-sensei is a calm and assured person as she speaks. To see her so closed off makes Tsuna nervous.

"I've heard from the other students that you… speak to things."

Tsuna freezes. Oh no. Not Sasagawa-sensei too. He doesn't think he could stand a lecture about lying from one of his favourite teachers. The only one who seems to listen to him when he wants to be alone at lunch.

But Sasagawa-sensei continues, ignorant to Tsuna's thoughts, "…I've never taken much notice to what they say. Children can be cruel… but yesterday… you really were talking to someone, weren't you?"

What? Tsuna thinks.

"I don't… I don't know—"

"I saw it. A shadow of something," Sasagawa-sensei presses, her face more determined as she crosses her arms. For a moment, Tsuna thinks he sees his mother when she's upset at him but that image passes.

"You… are you sure…?" his hands are sweaty and Tsuna can't feel his bag anymore. He can't put his hopes up. Other people don't see things like he does. Just look at what happened with Haru. She was a ghost and Tsuna's fairly sure that Sasagawa-sensei is not a spirit (she feels too warm to be one) but he can't stand another cruel prank.

"There was a shadow there! A little being! I know what I saw!" she shouts and Tsuna backs away, knocking over a chair.

They both stare in shock at the chair's dangling legs.

"I… apologize. That was… inappropriate of me," Sasagawa-sensei says stiffly. "But I will not let you leave until you answer my questions, Sawada-kun. Tell me… can you see the dead?"

The first time Tsuna told someone he could see spirits, it's his mum and she lies to him. He's not sure why he remembers this now, as he stares at Sasagawa-sensei, as he tries to push this terrible bitterness down inside himself but he can't help it.

He's six again. He's crying because his mum just told him that there's no granny there. Just as she used to tell him that there are no monsters (but that's not true, Tsuna can see them, but if other children say this too and no adults believe them then does that mean children grow up into people who ignore the monsters walking amongst them?)

He cries a lot when he's six. He never really stops but Nana always tells him that there's nothing there. Probably just his imagination. Probably an object he mistook for a monster. Probably.

But he has to make her see. So he tugs on her sleeve and he points and he says, "I know they're not there but I can see them, Mama!"

He doesn't recognize it then but in retrospect, he does now. Nana has her frozen sunshine smile, the one she has when she doesn't want to show her emotions.

"I'm sorry Tsu-kun, but Mama doesn't understand this game."

She lies to him because his father tells her too and she honestly doesn't see them. It's not until the children at school start calling him 'liar' and 'freak' that Tsuna stops trying to convince them all that he can see anything.

Better to pretend that the monsters aren't there, just like everyone else.

"…Why?"

Sasagawa-sensei frowns at him, her face soft and sympathetic but Tsuna can see the determination there.

"Why are you asking me this?" Tsuna repeats. "Sensei, you wouldn't ask me this if it wasn't important..."

Her lips form a thin line. "Can you really see the dead?" she presses again.

"You can only believe what you want to," Tsuna takes a leaf out of Reborn's book with a cryptic answer.

She studies him for a moment, probably thinking of all the times that Tsuna has talked to 'himself' lately in the hallways and the rich rumours that circulate the school.

"When I was in middle school," she begins to Tsuna's confusion, "I never thought I'd become a teacher… I always thought… Well, let's start again. I had an older brother," she smiles, eyes clouded over with sadness, "he was an annoying but optimistic guy. A boxing nerd. Always running around talking about the extreme aspects of life and trying to protect me… getting into stupid fights… and the year he was supposed to graduate from middle school he…" she swallows, "there was an accident. Any dreams I… any dreams he had… died."

Tsuna has no idea how to react. But before he can say anything, Sasagawa-sensei actually bows her head towards him and Tsuna freaks out, telling her to stop.

"Please!" she ignores him. "I know it's inappropriate to ask, but if you can really see the dead, please help my brother! I think… I think he's haunting the school. I think he used to haunt me until he left but he's still here and I won't be able to… he won't be able to find peace until he passes on, I know it. You have to help him!"

"I… please stop bowing," he says quickly, refusing to think until she does. When Sasagawa-sensei lifts her head, Tsuna fiddles with his hands. "I'm so sorry… I didn't know that you lost your brother… but I can't…" he stops when he sees Sasagawa-sensei's stricken face.

How much courage had it taken to tell a student something so personal? Particularly when she didn't know if Tsuna would gossip it about it later? (Tsuna wouldn't do that but there was still the risk that Sasagawa-sensei had taken.) Tsuna… has never been brave enough to do that. When he was little and more naïve, he tried telling anyone he thought might listen. But now… now he just keeps silent.

How long is he going to run away for?

"I'm not… I can only…" he closes his eyes and blurts out, "I can only see the dead. I don't know if I can help them. They can be dangerous if they… if they become corrupted and I don't think it's a good idea to disturb them, even if they do need to pass on…"

Sasagawa-sensei's face falls

"…But I can try," he tells her.

Reborn is right. Tsuna is a trouble-magnet. But the hope on Sasagawa-sensei's face almost washes away his regret. Almost.

(After all, once a coward, always a coward, right?)

There are students staying behind for various club meetings. Tsuna looks through the doors they pass at the cooking club and the sewing club. The students there look so happy and content with their friends, ignoring the sight of Sasagawa-sensei and Tsuna walking together to the stairs. Tsuna even spots Yamamoto out the windows, practicing his batting while a hint of shadow by the tree is all Tsuna sees of Hibari.

His head hurts so much, why won't it stop stinging…? The pain seems to push further into his skull, closer and closer to the back of his eyes.

"Um," Tsuna speaks up, when he realizes where they're going, his unease growing more tangled up in his spine. "Sasagawa-sensei… are we heading towards the gym?"

She gives him a slightly surprised but strained nod. "Yes… how did you…?"

Tsuna fights back a dizzy spell and murmurs, "I can feel something there…" The pain shouldn't hurt so much just from being near an uncorrupted ghost (because that's what Ryohei-san is, right? Tsuna can't feel the dark murky corrupted taint, not yet.)

This only quickens Sasagawa-sensei's steps. "That must be him. It has to be!"

"Sasagawa-sensei… I know you said that he's haunting the school… but why?" Tsuna frowns. He wishes that Reborn was here with him. Reborn would know. But then again, if Reborn was here, he'd probably beat Tsuna for revealing his sight because of someone's 'sob story' and then dragged Tsuna home for discipline and more training.

(Reborn is going to kill Tsuna for ignoring his calls on the headphones.)

A too-bright smile makes its way across Sasagawa-sensei's face, reminding Tsuna of his mum again. "No reason," she says. "He always loved boxing."

Is that how it works? You die and you haunt what you love? Somehow Tsuna doesn't think so but maybe…

"Did he... did he die here?"

Sasagawa-sensei doesn't answer.

"Sh!" Sasagawa-sensei stops him just before the open doors of the gym. She motions for him to tiptoe, much to his confusion, but Tsuna follows. They both peek into the gym where a boxing ring is set up and the boxing team that Yamamoto told him about is busy doing running laps around the ring.

It would be a normal sight if it wasn't for the glazed looks of excitement on all the team members' faces… unnaturally determined and fiery expressions that make them seem like crazed fanatics chasing for treasure.

"What are we going to do?!" Mochida, captain of the Kendo team (and apparently the boxing club too?) yells at them all.

"Win the cup!" the rest shout with equal intensity.

"How are we going to do that?!" Mochida roars, making Tsuna flinch from memories of getting beat up by him.

"By going to the extreme!" they roar back.

"I… what…?" Tsuna has never seen such an enthusiastic bunch of students. Is this even normal? There's something funny about them all too. Tsuna's head is ringing at him now, screaming for him to back away with his splitting headache but Tsuna has to figure this out… The boxing club feels too… too hot, boiling even, that can't be healthy and Tsuna suddenly spots a subtle presence of lack among the running students and there he is!

He looks like the rest of them. Alive. Sweaty. Just as determined and scarily competitive. But Tsuna sees Sasagawa-sensei's eyes in him, the same nose too. His hair is a cropped, yet kind of spiky silver and he looks like he would tower over Sasagawa-sensei, even as she's grown older than him in years.

"I think I can see him…"

"Can you really?!" Sasagawa-sensei digs into her purse and pulls out a photo with flare. "Is this the person you see?"

"I…" Tsuna studies a cute looking girl who he assumes is the younger Sasagawa-sensei with the exact same boy running in the boxing club now. She's shorter in the photograph, probably around Tsuna's height now, with short hair like his mum. Her smile is so natural and brighter too, making Tsuna see just how tired Sasagawa-sensei's smiles have always been… "Yes," he nods. "That's him."

"Please," she whispers, some of the brightness from her younger self returning to her eyes, "can you talk to him?"

"But—"

"I can't go with you. He'll vanish. I've tried," Sasagawa-sensei starts to pace back and forth. "I used to see his shadow all the time but after… Well, ever since he stopped haunting me, he's been haunting the boxing club. I've tried to sit in on their practices but then he's just… gone! They lose their energy and motivation, it's not the same. But if you could go talk to him, he won't vanish."

"But I…" can't, he wants to say.

Except he doesn't. Didn't he promise himself he wouldn't run away? It's just one meeting. He wants to try to deal with ghosts in a different way. Isn't this a good start? One meeting is surely not enough for Ryohei to hunger for him…

"…What do you want me to say?"

"U-um, Mochida-sempai?" Tsuna trembles as he creeps up to him.

"What?" Mochida snarls, his hands twitching for his absent kendo stick, probably to whack Tsuna with. How fun.

"S-Sasagawa-sensei n-needs you for s-something…"

"Are you fucking kidding me? I'm in the middle of practice! What does she want?"

"S-She said it was an e-emergency s-so p-please…?"

"Aw, fine. But you lot better do fifty more fucking laps, alright? I'll be back," he says to Tsuna this time, likely blaming him for the interruption as he storms off.

Tsuna lets out a strangled breath and wills himself to stay upright. Breathe in. Breathe out. Ignore the headache. Breathe. He glances over to where Ryohei is running with the rest of the club and decides that he might as well run with them. He doesn't know if they can see Ryohei too but from what Sasagawa-sensei implied, he's more of a shadow to her so Tsuna assumes they can't see Ryohei after all.

Right. Tsuna stretches his arms and then joins in their laps. He goes straight to Ryohei's side since Tsuna won't have much energy to keep up for more than two small laps, and says, "Um, hi Ryohei-san."

The ghost freezes and stops right there, making Tsuna smash into several other limbs (and shout apologies) so that he can go to him.

They stand just outside of the boxing club's path, by the wall. Tsuna struggles not to look away from Ryohei's bewildered gaze.

"…Did you say my name?"

"Um… yes…" Tsuna tenses, ready to run if Ryohei attacks.

But instead Ryohei jumps up, throwing his arms over Tsuna, gleefully shouting. "Amazing! I've never met such an extreme fella like you! Who knew there were guys out there who could see dead people?! That's amazing!"

"Uh, great? I can't, um, you're cold?" Tsuna squeaks and Ryohei backs away.

"Ah, I'm sorry little guy! I'm just so happy to meet such an extreme dude! Man, I wish I could tell my sister! Wait, if you can see me and talk to me maybe you can tell her for me! Ah, but she might not believe you and I made an epic promise not to interfere in her life unless she's in epic danger so I guess you shouldn't. Oh but you should come join the boxing club! Then we can talk all the time and—"

"W-wait!" Tsuna stretches out his hands, grasping at Ryohei's sleeve. "I k-know your s-sister! S-she asked me to talk to y-you!"

Ryohei's eyes go so wide that Tsuna's slightly concerned that they will fall out.

"No way! But…! Is she here right now?!" he looks wildly around the exits, "Don't let her come in! I can't be near her!"

"But why?" Tsuna holds on to his sleeve. "She wants to talk to you! She says that she's okay now and that she loves you and she forgi—"

"NO!" Ryohei shouts, as all the lights in the gym shatter into pieces. The boxing club stops running, trying to get away from the stray shards. Ryohei turns around, his arms shaking with frustration. "Not again. I'm sorry, little guy, but you can't be near me. I'm extremely dangerous!"

"W-wait! I still have things to s-say!" Tsuna grabs his arm.

Ryohei stops, his breath hitched. He looks at Tsuna fearfully.

"You… you feel warm…" he whispers.

And then he yanks his arm away, as if he's been electrocuted, and rushes through the ceiling away from the yelling students and Tsuna.

"Sawada? Sawada—oh my god, what happened?! Tsuna? Tsuna!"

Who is that? Tsuna can hardly hear anything with the ringing in his ears and his headache screaming that it's finally conquered his brain and wow Tsuna's never felt so numb before, is that the ground again? Hello friend…

Someone grabs his shoulders and touches his forehead and it isn't until Tsuna registers their cool fingertips that he realizes that it is Sasagawa-sensei.

"I… Sensei?" Tsuna winces. It hurts to speak right now. "Wh-where did Ryohei-san go…?"

"Never mind that, are you alright? Do you remember who you are? How many fingers am I holding up? I'm going to take you to the nurse…" Sasagawa-sensei held him up by the shoulder.

"But your brother—"

"He's not important right now, Tsuna, don't worry about that. I shouldn't have asked you to talk to him," she assures him but Tsuna sees the conflict in her, he remembers how friendly Ryohei was.

"W-we need t-to find him… I… I think…"

"No, Tsuna, it's done now. Thank you for trying. Let's go to the nurse."

"But—"

A chill comes over Tsuna as he vaguely registers a familiar lukewarm presence behind him and the unique fluctuating one held by a leash.

"I would listen to the lady, Idiot-Tsuna," says a cold voice and Tsuna gulps. "I thought I told you not to go near any more ghosts."

Luckily (or unluckily), Tsuna's body chooses to collapse at that moment and he loses all consciousness while Sasagawa-sensei, Lambo (and is that Yamamoto?) call for him.

He doesn't dream, he realizes when he wakes up in the infirmary. His chest feels empty at this fact. He's been looking forward to seeing Haru in his dreams, even if she's gone. How sad is that?

As he furiously wipes the tear trails from his cheeks, he notices the group of people gathered around his bed and yelps up, hitting the rack behind him.

"Tsuna-nii!" Lambo jumps onto his chest to hug him, he turns back to glare at Sasagawa-sensei and Yamamoto. "Don't scare him! He just woke up!"

How sad Tsuna's life must be when he's being defended by an invisible toddler. But still, Tsuna feels a choked up affection for Lambo when he does this and whispers a quiet thank you.

Sasagawa-sensei, of course, doesn't see Lambo but just gently steadies Tsuna's head. "I'm so sorry, Tsuna-kun, I didn't mean to startle you. Yamamoto, can you grab some ointment? We need to treat his bump. Don't worry, it's minor—"

Yamamoto nods and passes her the ointment. "Hey there, Sawada," he grins when he notices Tsuna looking. "I heard the lights blow out and saw you collapse. That was weird, wasn't it?"

"Y-yeah…" Tsuna drops his gaze to Lambo instead, wishing he could hug Lambo back. But Yamamoto is here and Reborn probably wouldn't want Tsuna to give himself away. Speaking of Reborn… the reaper is sitting on Tsuna's legs, arms crossed, a terrifying frown in place.

"What were you doing there anyways? Did you decide to check out the boxing club because I told you about it?" Yamamoto asks. "You could have come to watch me play baseball instead, its cooler, right?"

"Yeah it definitely is," Tsuna agrees before he realizes what he said and blushes.

Yamamoto just looks pleasantly surprised and he just ruffles Tsuna's hair again with a vague, 'it's a promise!' before he takes a seat beside Sasagawa-sensei.

Tsuna and Sasagawa-sensei exchange nervous glances, wondering how they can get Yamamoto to politely leave so they can talk. He can't just blurt out anything about Ryohei right now, not when he's Sasagawa-sensei's secret but Tsuna sort of doesn't want Yamamoto to leave either. There's always something calming about Yamamoto and the longer Yamamoto stays (hopefully) Reborn won't try to kill him (…maybe).

When Sasagawa-sensei finishes rubbing ointment on Tsuna's head, she murmurs something about calling Tsuna's mum but Tsuna shakes his head. "I'm fine. I don't want her to worry," Tsuna says shakily. "W-we should f-figure out w-what happened to the l-lights."

Sasagawa-sensei frowns. "No, this is a matter for the cleaning and teaching staff, not the students, Sawada-kun," she says in a stern way that would normally have Tsuna whimpering away if it was a normal issue but it isn't and he shakes his head.

"I'm sorry sensei, but you asked me to help and I said I would. I can't back away now. Not when I met him," Tsuna grips his sheets, "he doesn't seem like a bad person!"

"Tsuna…"

"No, Tsuna-nii, you don't need to help these stupid people, they got you hurt!" Lambo rants while Reborn just slowly picks Tsuna apart with his cool gaze. At this rate, Tsuna's body will be found frozen by the power of reaper glares and he will never live to be fifteen.

"Say what are you guys talking about?" Yamamoto scratches at his cheek.

"N-nothing, just something I asked Tsuna to help me with but is quite done, thank you," Sasagawa-sensei smiles.

Tsuna frowns, about to argue that it's not over when Yamamoto exclaims, "Oh! Are you playing Sawada's game too, sensei?"

Game? Tsuna thinks but says, "What are you talking about, Yamamoto?"

His classmate's eyes sharpen but his smile remains carefree. "The one where you talk to people that aren't there. If sensei is playing too, can I join in?"

"I… what?!" Tsuna splutters while Sasagawa-sensei gives a strained laugh.

"Yamamoto, I don't think—" she begins.

"Yes, why not?" Reborn speaks up, making every heard turn towards him in shock. Tsuna almost forgets that Reborn can make himself visible at will under the panic of what-why-now-what-are-you-doing-Reborn?

Sasagawa-sensei tilts her head, "Who—?"

"Hello, I'm Dame-Tsuna's dearly beloved tutor, Reborn. You could say I'm like the charming wizard you go to for answers in a video game. I taught him everything he knows about spirits."

"Oh cool!" Yamamoto says, "What kind of character am I then?"

"You can be the knight. Dame-Tsuna needs one."

"Hey! Don't go deciding things on your own, Reborn—"

"What," Reborn says with an undertone of homicidal rage masked with the most (unnerving) adorable gaze, "like what you did, idiot-Tsuna? What did I tell you about getting involved?"

Someone might as well as pushed an iceberg into the room because Tsuna doesn't remember feeling more frigid or frightened of sinking than in that moment.

"Um, Reborn, can I talk to you outside?" Tsuna says while he takes Lambo with him to the door.

"Why yes, anything for my favourite and most precious student in the world," Reborn says with such sweet poison that Tsuna wants to scream.

"I'll-be-right-back," Tsuna says quickly, grabbing Reborn and pulling him into the hallway.

As soon as Tsuna can discern that they're alone, he crouches down and hisses, "What are you playing at, Reborn? We can't involve Yamamoto too! What if he gets hurt?!"

"And you, Dame-Tsuna? What are you jumping into the grasp of another hungry spirit for when I told you to wait for me to come back?"

Tsuna's shoulders slump down. "Sensei asked me for help."

"Oh, so you should let every human with a ghost problem manipulate and suck you dry?"

"But—"

"Stupid reaper has a point," Lambo adds unhelpfully.

"Look at the consequences of your actions, Tsuna! Now we have an originally uncorrupted spirit that's got a taste of your warmth. It will come back for you, don't shake your head. It will. And all because you had to reveal your gift to two shadowed mortals."

"I—"

"So can you blame me, Tsuna, if I decide, now that you're involved, to put them forth as bait? If we're lucky, that spirit will go after them instead of you and we can exorcise it swiftly."

"We can't just do that!" Tsuna hisses at him.

"Why not? They would use you."

Again, Lambo nods unhelpfully. Someone help Tsuna, please.

"Reborn, they're people!"

"So?"

Tsuna wants to pull his hair out. His own hair, not Reborn's because that would just lead to pain and suffering on Tsuna's part.

"Reborn, I'm not sure if anyone's tried to explain things to you but human beings shouldn't use other humans as live bait. It's wrong," Tsuna begins, questioning why this conversation has spun from blaming each other for this whole Ryohei fiasco to trying to help Reborn's inner sociopath understand a typical human's perspective on morals. If anything, he should be lecturing Lambo not Reborn or both or whatever. "We should try to protect other people, especially if they're innocent."

At least that's what the anime heroes in the television shows always said when Tsuna was cooped up at home. Seems legit and logical.

But… Reborn just scowls, like Tsuna isn't speaking the right language and maybe it's the reaper thing again or maybe—the pain returns again, insistently scraping down at the same spot as before with the same blunt-katana-like pain.

Something smacks Tsuna in the forehead and Tsuna fumbles around to catch it.

"Stupid Reborn!" Lambo almost escapes Tsuna's arms to tackle Reborn but luckily Tsuna hasn't dropped Lambo yet and looks down at what Reborn threw at him.

"…Tylenol?" Tsuna blinks while Lambo reaches over to grab it.

"Hyper-intuition, when used too much, can cause migraines and even physical injury if you overdo it, especially for a beginner. The only reason you fainted earlier was because of hyper-intuition overuse. I neglected to explain that to you, so that's on me. Luckily you only passed out and had a simple migraine. Next time you should use more care in exercising your hyper-intuition," Reborn echoes in a clipped tone.

Did Reborn just…?

"Well?" his tutor calls when Tsuna doesn't follow, "If you're going to commit yourself to helping these mortals regardless of my ever wise and flawless advice than we might as well dive into the consequences so that I can tell you later that I told you so."

Never mind, Tsuna scowls as Lambo berates Reborn for being a bully. But he holds on to the Tylenol and doesn't swallow it right away. The only tangible proof that Reborn might have apologized… sort of.

"Is everything alright?" Sasagawa-sensei asks when they return.

"Of course," Reborn bows dramatically with a flourish once he hops back onto Tsuna's head. "Shall we get started on your ghost problem?"

Sasagawa-sensei, to her credit, doesn't falter in her smile. "I'm sorry but we are not going to do anything at all. I shouldn't have involved a student. You and Yamamoto can go home now, Tsuna-kun. I'm truly sorry to have put you in danger."

"Aw, so we're not playing then?" Yamamoto looks disappointed. If only he knew.

"But what about Ryohei-san?" Tsuna can't help but speak up. Everyone's right. He's an idiot. "I don't think we should leave him alone, he seems—"

"No," she nearly shouts. "No," she says softer this time, "he's too dangerous. The lights…"

"But he didn't want to hurt anyone!"

Sasagawa-sensei's purse clutters to the ground, contents rolling against the ground while Yamamoto shows no expression, his gaze reminding Tsuna of when Yamamoto is preparing to hit a winning strike.

"I heard him," Tsuna keeps going, because if he stops now, he doesn't think he'll be brave enough to continue. "He said that he was dangerous. I think he wanted to protect you, that's why he stopped haunting you, sensei! He didn't want to accidentally hurt you. Not sure why he hangs around the gym but he wasn't hurting anyone… just… encouraging them maybe? I don't even know if that's allowed but he ran as soon as he thought he was a danger to anyone! He's not dangerous. Not knowingly. I think you two need to talk."

For a long moment, Sasagawa-sensei doesn't reply. Only stares down at the picture of her brother that has slipped out of her purse.

"…That sounds like him," she doesn't look up, her voice choked up.

"Sensei…"

"Alright," she straightens up. "I'll try one more time. But after that, no more. Yamamoto," she turns to him, "I am sorry to burden you with my personal problems but if Reborn-san believes that you should be here as well…"

Reborn just nods, that calculating gleam back. Tsuna just wants to shiver and scream at Reborn to leave Yamamoto be but he doesn't think Ryohei will hurt anyone…

"Sounds fun," Yamamoto says (he really has no idea, Tsuna thinks sadly as Lambo calls the baseball player a ninny.)

"Chin up, Tsuna," Reborn whispers against his ear. "We'll see if this ghost of yours is worth all the trouble soon enough."

"He's lingering near your office," Reborn tells them before Tsuna can use his hyper-intuition. Then before anyone can thank him, Reborn tells Tsuna to take his Tylenol or else.

They rush towards the teacher's lounge, where all the offices are crammed together in typical Japanese micromanaging space. Each step adds to Tsuna's pounding headache but more disorientating is trying to turn his 'senses' or his 'hyper-intuition' off. It's like walking in a funnel, with muted sight and hearing. He's never tried to focus on his so called 'hyper-intuition' before today, never tried to sort out what he can sense but now that he has it hurts so much but it hurts more to try to turn it off.

They're getting closer.

Tsuna sees a glimpse of silver hair, a figure touching Sasagawa-sensei's desk with gentle reverence and he speeds up. His steps must be as loud as a clumsy giraffe's because Ryohei jumps up in surprise, sees them and makes for the wall but no, he can't go, not now—

"Wait!" Tsuna howls, jumping up to tackling poor Ryohei to the ground. (Poor Lambo just hangs on to Tsuna's chest in bewilderment.)

Ryohei is so stunned to see Tsuna flying towards him that they both land with a painful thud (well, for Tsuna anyways. Ryohei can't feel pain anymore. Not physical pain.)

"Whoa, there little fella! You shouldn't throw yourself like that, you could get extremely hurt!"

"…No… Time…" Tsuna huffs, seeing bits of light against his vision. Maybe he should have taken that Tylenol sooner, "…You… Talk… Sensei... Please…"

"What are you—" Ryohei hears the other footsteps, how can he not? And he freezes, catching sight of his sister, her hair in disarray as she scans the room for his shadow but sees nothing. His breath hitches, "…Kyoko-chan…?"

"Oni-san?!" she looks around at her desk, to where Tsuna is, to where the windows are. "Are you there?! Oni-san!"

Ryohei hovers beside Tsuna, still frozen. His hand poised up to touch her but too paralyzed to move forwards.

"…Talk to her," Tsuna whispers so only Ryohei and a scowling Lambo can hear. Yamamoto is rushing over to him, asking where the 'invisible man' is.

"But I—"

"She knows I can see you. I can tell her for you. Just talk to her."

He shakes his head furiously. "I can't! Don't you see?! I'm hurting her! I'm always hurting her, it's better if I stay away—"

"Don't be stupid!" and it's Lambo who shouts this, not Tsuna or Reborn. Both of them stare at the little ghost in awed shock (Tsuna) and mild surprise (Reborn). "Don't you know how lucky you are?! You still have someone who cares about you, who doesn't care you're a monster! And Tsuna-nii got a headache and bruises just because he's helping someone stupid like you. Go talk to her!"

Ryohei's jaw drops at the same time that Yamamoto starts asking Tsuna if he's alright but Yamamoto's voice feels like a distant echo from another world compared to the familiar fear that Tsuna sees then in Ryohei.

"…She really does love you," Tsuna tells him again so that the whole room can hear, "…And she's sorry, isn't that right, sensei?"

Kyoko Sasagawa hovers over where the space that Tsuna is speaking to, studying the faint shadow of a figure she sees there, her lips trembling with watery tears.

"…Oni-san…?"

After a beat, Ryohei whispers, "I'm here, Kyoko-chan, I'm here and there's nothing to be sorry about!"

He looks like he's going to throw his arms around her but he doesn't. Only lets his hand hover over her cheek as she looks cautiously over at Tsuna for confirmation. Trembling, too, Tsuna nods, and sensei—no, Kyoko Sasagawa—circles her arms around the space, the shadow she sees.

She doesn't say I miss you or goodbye or please how can I get you to move on. No, she just says, "Welcome back."

The story, as sensei explained it earlier to Tsuna goes like this:

Once there was a girl named Kyoko and she had a wonderful (yet crazily enthusiastic) brother named Ryohei. He was like a star to her, super-fast and super strong. To be honest, she wanted to be just like him when she grew up. A boxing champion.

But girls don't grow up to be boxers, her mother said when Kyoko confided this secret wish to her. Her mother told her not to bother anyone else with such nonsense so Kyoko locked her wish up tight. Indulged in feminine things, never wanting her brother to look at her in the same disappointment mother did.

Yet she always watched Ryohei practice, always asked him for advice, always, always…

She wondered what would happen if she went to ask him for lessons. Asked him to make her a boxing star like him.

One problem though… he was always fighting with someone so she couldn't ask. And he wasn't just boxing, but fighting on the street. If he saw a kid being beaten up, he would try to get justice. He'd see it as good boxing practice. He'd come home black and blue and Kyoko would always know why because she was always watching.

And as they grew older and Kyoko locked more of her secret heart up, he'd start getting bruised for 'defending her honour' as if she couldn't defend herself too, as if she wanted him to get hurt on her behalf…

She yelled at him. Called him stupid. Told him that she hated it when he fought (not true, not true, she only hated it when he got hurt.)

Pushed him away into the gym. Surprised him when she pulled out her own boxing gloves, secretly bought with her own allowance, challenged him, told him he wasn't the only boxer in the family and…

God, she'd never seen him look so proud of her until then.

If she hadn't challenged him. If she hadn't gotten into the ring with him at that time, at that night, maybe…

Maybe the lights wouldn't have fallen.

Maybe he wouldn't have pushed her out of the way.

Maybe she could have saved herself (saved him.)

The Sasagawa siblings don't talk, unless silence counts as a different sort of language. Sometimes Tsuna thinks it should. There are so many different silences he's had to sift through, to decode in vain. Right now, though, they don't seem inclined to use Tsuna as a ghost-to-human translator.

"So he's there right now?"

Tsuna jumps, almost forgetting that Yamamoto beside him. "Uh, yeah. I think sensei can see his shadow… faintly? Or something…? She didn't really explain…"

"Some humans can see shadows but nothing more. True natural-born sight is rare. Gaining the sight is a different story. Lots of blood involved. And corpses," Reborn interjects.

Yamamoto's eyes grow wide. "That's some impressive world building you have going on there." Tsuna tries to tell Yamamoto that it's real but Yamamoto just looks contemplative as he studies the Sasagawas (well, sensei only). "It seems like a lonely game… not something I would want to play all the time. No one seems to win."

Tsuna swallows, thinking of Haru and Lambo. "Yeah… I guess…" But some people have no choice but to play…

"Still," Yamamoto shrugs. "She seems kind of happy." The distant gaze returns to him before he shrugs it off with his carefree grin. "Later, Sawada. I better get home before my Dad worries."

"Oh, um, can you…?"

Yamamoto zips his lips and winks.

"Hey don't you wink at Tsuna-nii!" Lambo fumes while Tsuna blushes.

"Definitely someone to look out for," Reborn murmurs contemplatively.

"Hey don't involve him in this stuff!"

"I make no promises."

Scowling, Tsuna goes back to observing Sasagawa-sensei and Ryohei, who seem content for now to hold (?) each other and whisper things that they don't want translated yet.

"…Do you think they'll work it out?" Tsuna finds himself whispering to Reborn.

"They better," Lambo grumbles. Poor kid's probably had enough of listening to other familial dramas.

"Who knows?" Reborn shrugs, "Humans are unpredictable. Untrustworthy lot." His shadow is flickering again, the adult shadow seems to bow in a mocking agreement.

Tsuna frowns, rethinking all of Reborn's behavior today.

"…You know that I trust you, right? Not because I have too, since you're my tutor but because… well… I just do."

The shadows still and Reborn's eyes become visible from underneath his fedora.

"I mean," Tsuna adds quickly before either Lambo or Reborn can interject, "today I was completely useless. I didn't figure out how to use my flames properly. I couldn't even use my hyper-intuition without knocking myself out. All I did was talk. But still… you trusted me and you let me try things my own way, even though I'm like this… That means a lot, Reborn. Um, no one's ever trusted me to do things on my own before… So thank you."

Reborn stares at Tsuna for such a long time that Tsuna fears that he's said the wrong thing until Reborn says, "…You're not completely useless, you know."

"Hey!" Lambo scowls, escaping Tsuna's arms to try and smack Reborn.

Reborn, of course, flawlessly dodges each hit.

But Tsuna doesn't even feel hurt or confused or whatever it is he usually feels around Reborn. He heard the words but they meant nothing. You're not completely useless, you know, Reborn said to him.

It was almost gentle.

Tsuna can't help but feel warm.

Interlude: A phone call from Japan to Italy

-Sweetheart! Are you alright? Did something happen? Did anyone attack you?!

-Ah! No, not at all, darling! I just wanted to know how you were!

-Oh, I missed you too, sweetheart but you know this line is only for emergencies… you nearly gave me a heart attack…

-[brighter than usual] We needed to talk.

-Oh [sound of dropping phone and fumbling] ah, so what did you want to discuss?

-It's about Tsuna's lessons… and his sight.

-Everything going smoothly? Dino isn't harassing you is he?! When I get my hands on that blond, cocky son-of-a—

-…Dino?

-Oh I knew I couldn't trust some young upstart exorcist—

-Never mind, dear. I just wanted to ask about how safe this exorcist business is. I mean I've heard of this name Reborn from, uh, Dino, and I was wondering if he was any danger to our baby…

-You don't need to worry about a thing, love. No one like Reborn would ever go near him. Dino will make sure of it. And like I told you before, Tsuna will be perfectly safe. He has to do this alone. I can't tell you anymore about the Vongola.

-…Ah. I see. Well then.

[Dial tone]

-Honey? Sweetheart? Don't I get a kiss goodbye?

Next time: more on the Sasagawa-siblings and an episode on Yamamoto