This is probably a manga already, but I'm too lazy to look for certain. Instead I'm just going to disclaim that if it looks familiar, it probably belongs to someone else. I will be using stereotypical shoujo manga situations but my plot just does its own thing. Oh, and in case anyone's wondering, YES! An AU where they are almost the same age! You're welcome xD

"Dammit! I'm late!" Tsuna cried as he rushed down the stairs.

"Ah, Tsu-kun, would you like some breakfast?" Nana greeted her harried son with a plate full of toast and his bento. Grabbing his lunch and biting down on a piece of toast, he raced out the door without a backward glance.

"Tsuna-san!" a cheerful voice greeted him as he passed a crossroad and he took a bite out of his toast before replying in kind.

"You're going to be late, Tsuna-san!" Haru said as she joined him for a short sprint.

"I know! Why are you running, Haru?"

"Exercise is good for the soul!"

With a wave and a laugh, she disappeared down the road leading to Midori High, leaving Tsuna to complete his impossible race alone.

"Herbivore," Hibari gave his customary greeting as he pulled out his tonfas for the customary beating. "It's the first day of class and you're already late."

Tsuna apologised in between swift blows, but Hibari wasn't putting his full force behind them. Tsuna had never been on time for anything in his life. Hibari had thrashed him for it each day since elementary school. Eventually, it got boring.

Once the punishment was complete, Hibari gave him his timetable and class name before stalking off after his next victim. It was probably the closest Tsuna would get to a friendship in Namimori High, and wasn't that just sad?

He arrived to a new class only to be greeted by the same sneering faces and the same disdainful expressions. Of course, there were one or two changes and maybe a few were neutral towards him, but that would change. He was Dame-Tsuna after all and oh look, someone had already carved that out on a table for him. How sweet.

Bobbing his head slightly in greeting to no one, he took his seat and pulled out his phone. A new email awaited his perusal. Most of it was in Italian, and used a vast amount of highly imaginative expletives. He quickly typed out a reply:

'Was late for school again. Got beaten up by Hibari, again. Still tired from our Sherlock marathon yesterday but it was worth it! Looks like another boring year of school for me.
Say 'hi' to your sister from me! And no, I think your hairstyle is just fine. Talk to you when I get back from class – or at lunch. You still up for Skype later?'

A quick glance through proved that it was written in flawless Italian, yet another thing he owed his only other friend in the world. Seeing the usual thugs walk into the room, he slipped his phone into his hidden pocket inside his shirt and tried to look as unobtrusive as possible.

Yes, just another day in the life of Sawada 'Dame-Tsuna' Tsunayoshi, Namimori High's resident punching bag and social outcast.

At lunch time, Tsuna escaped to the school roof. Few came up there for fear of Hibari's wrath since the prefect was known to use it for naps. Luckily, Nana's home-cooked meals had long bribed the fearsome leader of delinquents into treating Tsuna's intrusion as an endurable annoyance.

Tsuna sighed in relief as the door slid shut on his problems, even as he realised it was only a momentary reprieve. He pulled out his phone as made his way to his usual spot, smiling as he read the sleepy ramblings of his penpal. It was only after he had set down Hibari's bento and opened his own that he noticed the acrid scent of nicotine and glanced up at an unfamiliar figure.

'Shit, there must a teacher here!'

Tsuna froze in place as he internally tried to come up with an excuse for being out of bounds. It was only after the person had stepped closer, out of the harsh sunlight that had reduced them to a mere silhouette, that Tsuna recognised the curly sideburns. His nervousness increased for a completely different reason.

'It's Kawahira Reborn!'

While Tsuna internally freaked out, Namimori's male idol - thankfully not a teacher - approached and sat next to him.

"You do realise that you're not supposed to be up here?" Reborn's smoky voice trapped Tsuna with a question and it took several tries for him to reply.

"I-I could say the same about you!" Tsuna eventually threw out, wincing at the higher pitch and critical words. "I-I mean—"

"That's true," Reborn said, taking another drag of his cigarette. "I'm escaping my annoying friends. You?"

"Why would anyone want to hide from their friends?" Tsuna blurted out, before slapping his hand over his treacherous mouth.

"I'm avoiding, not hiding. There's a difference." Reborn glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. "From that comment, I assume you don't have any friends."

Tsuna blushed and ducked his head. "I have friends…"

"Online doesn't count."

"Does too!"

"Those aren't real friendships," Reborn said with a snort.

"Someone who spends his lunch break hiding from his friends shouldn't be lecturing anyone about what friendship means!" Tsuna snapped back, getting to his feet. He glared at the older boy before turning around. "Excuse me," he muttered as he left.

Reborn watched the boy's retreat as he put out his cigarette. He reached for another before noticing that the boy had left his bento behind.

'I'd hate to waste food…' he thought, pulling it closer to him. He quietly unwrapped it, thinking all the while, 'What an unusual kid.'

"I´m sorry, Hibari-san! I don't know how it happened!"

The prefect narrowed his eyes at Tsuna before replying, "Don't let it happen again, herbivore."

Tsuna bowed at the waist as he shuffled out the door.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' Tsuna mentally cursed. How could he have forgotten Hibari's bento? Normally he would leave it on the rooftop for the prefect to find, but he must have left it at home today. Or someone had filched it from his bag. It wouldn't be the first time, but normally he would notice and give his own lunch to Hibari.

'Worst first day ever.' He rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache form as he hitched his bag higher on his shoulder. 'Oh well. It can't get any worse than this.'

"Oi, isn't that Dame-Tsuna?"

'Dammit!' He should have known better than to tempt the fates that hated him. That sounded like Ryouma, ringleader number 5 of the 'We Hate Tsuna' club (or so Tsuna had dubbed him). Knowing that they weren't going to settle for anything less than a sound thrashing to start the year off, Tsuna began to rush down the hallway, uncaring whether it incurred the Disciplinary Committee's wrath.

Hearing his pursuers give chase, he turned the corner sharply and collided straight into someone, sending them both sprawling on the ground. Bottles crashed around him, causing him to wince as shards of glass cut into his skin.

Gingerly, Tsuna shuffled away from the person he was sprawled on top of and absently noted that Ryouma and co. had caught up to him.

"I'm so sorry!" he cried, bowing profusely. The other person… did he just hiss? Wow, that sounded so real! He glanced up with a hopefully apologetic-seeming smile, only to be met with a harsh glare and a hand latching onto his arm.

"You imbecile!" the green-haired boy shouted, shaking Tsuna for emphasis. "Do you have any idea what you've done? You've completely ruined my experiment!"

'Experiment?' Tsuna blinked as the single word rolled through his mind. Biting his lip, he glanced down… and saw a snake sliding around his blazer.

"HIEEEEEEEE!" he screeched, falling backwards as he tried to get away from the icky slimy creature of doom and oh hell, it was wrapping itself around him! "Get it off me!"

Ryouma and several onlookers were laughing, while others had pulled far away from the reach of the dozen reptiles littering the ground among the broken glass. Hearing another hiss, Tsuna glanced around… and was that a chameleon on his shoulder? And why was there an iguana stalking him?

Animals hated Tsuna and he hated them equally. Even kittens attacked him for no reason! And now, to be caged in on all sides by them (and vicious ones to boot!), he knew he was screwed. The viper was tightening its coils and raised its head, baring its fangs. Tsuna whimpered, and then it was gone.

'Eh?' Tsuna blinked in surprise at the empty space where the instrument of his demise had been just seconds ago.

"Are you alright?" Someone was talking to him. He glanced over (oh hey, the chameleon was gone too!) as the addictive scent of espresso and tobacco made its presence known. Standing right next to him was –

"Reborn! Stop manhandling my experiments!"

Reborn smoothly insulted the green-haired boy and the two rapidly bantered back and forth, eventually leading Reborn to throw the snake at the other, which infuriated Verde (apparently that was his name. How… uninspiring) all the more.

Meanwhile, Tsuna was slowly processing the fact the school idol had just saved him, despite Tsuna's earlier tantrum! Oh, how he regretted being so rude to the other boy. Reborn was such a nice person! He was the first person to ever really stand up for Tsuna, to help him out –

"Oi, are you still there, loser-who-doesn't-have-any-friends?" Reborn asked, turning back to the second-year.

…

…

Forget it. Reborn was a complete and utter ASSHOLE.

"Just fine, and that's not my name, you jackass!" he snapped back, shoving him away as he quickly took off. There were frustrated tears being blinked away from his eyes. He was such an idiot! Why would Reborn be any different from the rest? Tsuna was just there to be put down by others, their emotional stepping stone. How could he have even thought for a moment that someone inside that accursed school had seen him in a new light, had cared?

Reborn raised an eyebrow as the small boy disappeared into the crowd. 'Still a weirdo.' He ran his fingers over his sideburn. "Who was that?"

"That was just Dame-Tsuna, Reborn-san. You know, that completely useless kid people always complain about?" an unknown female batted her eyes at him as she replied. Her arm movements as she swayed slightly were designed to accentuate her breasts, which Reborn glanced at obligingly and deemed average. The only interesting thing about her was the information she had provided.

Ignoring Verde's rants, he walked away, knowing the Disciplinary Committee would soon converge on his semi-friend. Better to stay away from that. It was too much effort to defeat such mediocre opponents. Instead, he focused on the only thing that had really peaked his interest that day.

'Dame-Tsuna. I wonder what Viper knows about him?'

Okay, yeah, if there's any OOC-ness or grammar/spelling mistakes (all of which I really try to avoid), please tell me! Keep in mind I'm trying to write this like a shoujo manga, which means there will be lots of tears and mediocre angst. Don't believe me? Watch Ao Haru Ride. Already have? Please share your thoughts with me! I liked that series even as I hated it, hence this fic. And the next chapter of Romance Dawn is almost done, so see you soon!