It is shortly after class is dismissed that Ryōhei makes his appearance in the middle of the doorway, just as Tsuna is about ready to leave her classroom. Tsuna stares blankly at the white-haired teenager who blocks her way and wonders if he had run all the way here from his classroom on the second floor the instant that class was dismissed. Knowing Ryōhei, he probably did…but the fact that he is here brings up the question of why. Blinking a few times, Tsuna looks over her shoulder at Kyōko.

What the hell?

"Sorry, Tsuna-chan…" Kyōko laughs nervously as she holds up her cellphone to show the message that had yet to be sent that was on the screen. "Onii-chan beat me to it, so you have to tell him yourself."

"Good luck with that." Hana is no help at all, though she at least pretends that she isn't amused with the current situation. It's just so strange, seeing Ryōhei interact with a girl who isn't his little sister or Hana herself. Though, it's also more interesting to see how much Tsuna is willing to put up with Ryōhei…

"What's going on?" Ryōhei furrows his brow. "Oh, is it about Hibari?"

Tsuna turns her attention back on Ryōhei. "What?"

"You tried to recruit him into the boxing club, right?" Ryōhei grins widely, his heartbeat beginning speeding up from excitement. "That's why he was chasing after you today—right?!"

A look of disbelief crosses Tsuna's face. How did Ryōhei come to such a conclusion? Tsuna wants to know, because that sounded waaay too damn specific to just be random. Did he—did he try recruiting Hibari already?

"That…would explain why Hibari looked so irritated when I mentioned the boxing club…" Tsuna narrows her eyes in annoyance now that she realizes she had Ryōhei to blame for what happened earlier between her and Hibari…partially, at the least. Her refusal to back down from a fight she couldn't win is certainly to blame for the bruise on her cheek and her missing baby tooth… "Let's try to tone down the impulsivity from here on out…"

Sighing, Tsuna decides to put that all aside, considering Ryōhei is still waiting for an answer from her and it would be really rude of her to leave him hanging…

"He was chasing after me because I didn't want to resign from the boxing club now that I'm part of the Disciplinary Committee." Tsuna can only assume that Hibari wants nothing to do with Ryōhei at all, even by slight association. She wouldn't blame him, considering Ryōhei is rather loud. "It had nothing to do with me trying to recruit him into the boxing club."

Tsuna finds herself smiling because of how coherent she is. No stuttering or pausing—just simple talking without any issues and it feels really good because nothing hurts!

Awesome!

And then Ryōhei stops grinning and just the mere sight of it feels so wrong that Tsuna just stops smiling. Her stomach churns uncomfortably as she wonders if she somehow upset the older boy. Beads of sweat trickle down her face as she continues to stare at Ryōhei. She really hopes that she didn't upset him—just the idea that she did that to Kyōko's older brother makes her feel like absolute trash.

Fortunately, for Tsuna, Ryōhei isn't upset—the exact opposite, actually. He is absolutely ecstatic to hear about Tsuna's resolve to defy Hibari when told to resign from the boxing club. An even wider grin crosses his face as he places his hand on Tsuna's shoulder. Tsuna is quick to notice that he's shaking—it's a lot like what she does whenever she gets so overwhelmingly happy.

Oh crap.

That can only mean one thing. "That's the sort of extreme drive I was looking for in a girl like you!"

And there it is!

"Oh god, why?!" Tsuna is absolutely horrified to hear that from Ryōhei. "P-Please don't pick me up again!"

Tsuna is not in any mood to be carried all the way to the boxing club again—not when she has to head to the Disciplinary Committee today. Speaking of which, she needs to tell Ryōhei about that—like right now, before he does anything else on an impulse.

"So do you want to walk to the boxing club together, then?" And that is Tsuna's cue to tell Ryōhei everything.

"I can't today, actually…I'm busy." And if Tsuna doesn't hurry up, she is going to be late. "Can we talk about this later? Ask Kyōko for my number, I need to get going before I'm late."

Surprisingly enough, Ryōhei does what he was told and moves out of Tsuna's way, allowing her to leave the classroom. Following Tsuna out of the classroom is a number of her classmates, who have been waiting for Ryōhei to move out of the way as well. Ryōhei is seemingly confused, only receiving a gentle nudge from Kyōko as she walks up to him.

"You need to pay a little more attention to the people around you, Onii-chan." Kyōko smiles reassuringly at her older brother, who just smiles back at her.

"Right…" Ryōhei feels a little embarrassed, but that still doesn't stop him from asking Kyōko about Tsuna's number. "So Sawada's number?!"

Kyōko stares at her Ryōhei, laughing when she sees that he has already taken out his cellphone. It's nice to see him get so eager about something other than boxing…

"Tsuna certainly seems popular." Hana is certainly amused, but Kyōko mistakes her remark for someone who feels left out.

"Do you want her number, too?" Kyōko frowns. "I'm sure she'd like to hear from you as well."

Hana stares at Kyōko for a moment before sighing and taking out her cellphone. "Sure, why not?"

It's not as though Hana has anything better to do at the moment, especially now that Ryōhei has run off the instant he received Tsuna's contact information, and there are some forms of entertainment that can come from using a recently obtained number…

…

…

Yamamoto is on his way to the baseball practice when a certain Sasagawa Ryōhei gets in his way. Ryōhei almost crashes into him, but Yamamoto quickly sidesteps and watches as Ryōhei runs past him. He tilts his head to the side and then moves to the side again as Ryōhei makes his way over to him for a second time. This time, Ryōhei stops right in front of him and looks up at him with a wide smile on his face.

"Yamamoto—you're friends with Sawada!" Ryōhei states the obvious, but Yamamoto doesn't say anything to that. Instead, Yamamoto tries his best not to seem too urgent to leave—he needs to get to practice, after all. "Can I ask you about her?"

"Why?" Yamamoto asks, somewhat surprise with how defensive he sounds. He doesn't mean for it to come out like that—it just happens.

"Because you know more about her!" Fortunately, Ryōhei doesn't notice. "I want to know if you know how physically active she is—I wanna get her on a training schedule soon."

"Is that so?" That doesn't sound too bad, Yamamoto thinks. It's just training, after all, and he'd rather Ryōhei know about Tsuna's limits than have him find out on his own. Ryōhei is rather notorious for accidentally pushing people past their limits. "Well, then…I guess I can tell you."

Yamamoto doesn't mind being late to practice if it means helping Tsuna out. He finds himself smiling at the sight of how excited Ryōhei gets, with the way his body shakes as he holds up his balled up fists. He smiles because it reminds him of Tsuna.

Ryōhei listens intently, taking in every single piece of information that he finds useful—which is all of it. He wonders briefly if he should write it down. It's probably best if he does, since he tends to forget things so easily. But he knows he can remember this—so he decides that he's fine as he is.

Yamamoto thinks otherwise as, halfway through the conversation, he stops to pull out a notebook and a mechanical pencil from his schoolbag. He writes down everything he's told Ryōhei so far, as well as a few other things that he hasn't. When he is done, he rips the paper out of the notebook and hands it over to Ryōhei.

Ryōhei accepts the paper and looks over its contents, his smile growing wider and wider with each passing second. "Thank you!"

"It's nothing…" Yamamoto says with a smile. "Is that all you need?"

"Actually…" Ryōhei pauses for a moment. "Do you know when she's free?"

For a brief moment, Yamamoto's smile wavers. It's not a question he expects and there's something off about the way he feels when he answers it. "She's free in the mornings…except on Sundays."

He's not sure why he said that, but as Yamamoto watches Ryōhei leave after getting enough information on Tsuna, he feels somewhat better. He decides, as he makes his way to baseball practice, that he'll go see Tsuna this Sunday. Maybe they can go out somewhere for Golden Week…

…

…

When Kusakabe introduces Tsuna to the rest of the Disciplinary Committee, she isn't that surprised to see how short she is compared to everyone else. After all, she is currently the only first year in the committee and Hibari is still searching for potential members in her year (which definitely explained a lot of what went on during the past few weeks). Then she hears a couple of voices teasing someone, saying something along the lines of them no longer being the shortest member of the committee anymore. And gone is the neutral expression on Tsuna's face.

"So much for not giving a fuck…" Tsuna huffs as she crosses her arms. She is not amused…though she is distracted by everyone's seemingly matching hairstyle (she does see some deviations here and there, but they don't stand out as much). The regent pompadour—it is certainly a delinquent classic.

And now Higashikata Josuke refuses to leave her mind, even though Tsuna knows his hair is styled differently and that she is in an entirely different series. Though, that is probably for the best (for her and everyone else's sake), because, for starters, the last thing Namimori needs is a murder mystery and a serial killer with a fetish for hands. That still doesn't stop Tsuna's brain from making a connection and deep down, she has the strongest urge to make fun of the committee's popular choice in hairstyle—just to see if anyone reacts in such a specific way. After all, there are eighth-graders in the Disciplinary Committee…

"Only one way to find out…" And Tsuna is willing to take her chances against a group of tall, male students who can probably beat the shit out of her. That is before one of the third-years walks up to her and ruffles her hair, welcoming her into the Disciplinary Committee with such warmth that it catches Tsuna completely off-guard. "Ehh?"

"Welcome to the Disciplinary Committee, secretary," Kusakabe says from a distance, no longer standing right next to Tsuna—for some reason.

Tsuna furrows her brow, somewhat perplexed with Kusakabe's actions. It is only until she is surrounded by the rest of the Disciplinary Committee that Tsuna finds out why Kusakabe has moved away from her, but by then, it is already too late. "Oh no…"

Multiple hands reach down to ruffle the fluffy mess of brown hair, each of them accompanied by voices of differing tones that belongs to surprisingly nice teenagers whose appearances belie their true nature. Each of them welcomes Tsuna into the committee as they continued to ruffle her hair. They are honestly having too much fun and Tsuna has no effing idea how to even react. It is at least nice to see that they are rather accepting of her (like, holy shit), but the fact that they just destroyed whatever sort of image she might have had of them is still trying to process itself in her mind.

"This is why we don't assume things, Setsuna." Tsuna sure learns her lesson the hard way. But at the very least, she isn't in pain and she is satisfied with that. She doesn't even care that her hair is an even bigger mess than it usually is by the time the others decide to leave her alone to attend to their usual business of keeping the peace at Namimori Middle.

"Are you okay, secretary?" Kusakabe asks, somewhat concerned if maybe the others have gone overboard with Tsuna. He wonders if he should have stopped them instead of just watching them… "Secretary?"

"Huh?" Tsuna looks at Kusakabe, having only just realized that he had been talking to her. It is going to take her some time to adjust to her new nickname—that is not meant to be insulting for once. Wow, that's actually…sad. "What?"

"Are you okay?" Kusakabe looks nervously at the bruise on Tsuna's cheek—it's just so hard to ignore.

"Uhh…yeah…" Tsuna runs her fingers through her messy hair. "What was that all about?"

"Initiation," is all Kusakabe can say, because frankly, he has no idea what it was. It is a side the Disciplinary Committee only shows towards each other and even then, it is on such rare occasions (such as these, where a new member is introduced), because they have a reputation to maintain (they are certainly dedicated for guys who are so much nicer than they appear).

Tsuna looks blankly at Kusakabe for a moment before saying, "You're all dorks."

Kusakabe blinks. He has no idea how to react to Tsuna's comment and decides to stay quiet—it's probably for the best. He walks over to Tsuna and clears his throat before placing his hand on her shoulder. "Since that's out of the way, let's get you ready for your first task…"

"I don't like the sound of this…" And that feeling only grows stronger when Tsuna is seated at a desk and given a few sheets of paper. She looks over one of the papers, arching her brow at the contact information that is on it. She doesn't recognize any of the names listed, and it really confuses her as to why she was given contact information for people she doesn't know. "What're these for?"

"You have a cellphone, right?" Kusakabe is quite sure Tsuna has one…unless she forgot it at home today. "Should have asked that first…"

"Y-Yeah…" Tsuna looks questioningly at Kusakabe, wondering if she should have said otherwise when she notices how relieved he looks. "Too late now…"

"Just add all of these into your contacts list—make sure to message everyone at least once so they know who you are." Kusakabe thinks it's a simple enough job, especially for a newcomer such as Tsuna. It's all she has to do today, since paperwork is a task exclusive only to Hibari, who refuses to ever let anyone, other than himself, touch. Kusakabe, on the other hand, is still figuring out which of his duties he is going to relinquish to the secretary—he is extremely hesitant to let her handle anything involving even the slightest of contact with Hibari, considering what went on between the two today. He is pretty sure that Hibari is currently handling the paperwork for that… "If you have any questions, don't hesitated to send me a message—my number should be on there, just under Kusakabe Testuya."

"Anything else you'd like to add?" Tsuna hopes not—she can already tell that she is going to be here for a while because she has so much to enter into her phone…manually.

The twig in Kusakabe's mouth moves to the side as he pauses for a moment…then he shakes his head and says, "That's about it."

"Okay…" Tsuna inhales deeply and then exhales before pulling out her cellphone. She flips the device open, looks at the first name on the list, and enters the appropriate contact information listed on the paper—why is there a birthday listed? "Are they expecting me to remember birthdays, too?"

…

Fuck.

Well, at least her cell phone's calendar is going to be put to use…this is going to take her hours. She might as well get comfortable in her seat…

"Good luck," is all Kusakabe says before he takes his leave.

Tsuna has no response at all that doesn't involve her screaming, so she stays silent and continues with her task. Such a tedious job…and to think, this is Tsuna's first task as secretary.

"Could be worse…" Tsuna could be doing paperwork that she has no clue how to fill out…but she's not, she's just entering contact information into her cellphone—manually. "Uuugh…"

…

…

The passage of time is immensely slow (and boring) and Tsuna is already wishing for anything to interrupt her—anything. There is nothing particularly interesting happening and there is a limit to how long Tsuna could stay seated without feeling uncomfortable because of how restless she gets.

She has just sent the tenth message to the tenth person she has added to her list of contacts (after making sure their birthday is added to her calendar's list of important dates). It is just as she is about to enter the eleventh person's contact information that it dawns on her that she could try entering everyone's contact information first, then send a massive email to everyone else in one go. And as for the birthdays, she could just keep the damn papers for future references.

"God…dammit…" Tsuna clenches her teeth as she tries to suppress the urge inside of her to just swear out loud at just about anything because of how annoyed she feels. Tsuna exhales loudly in frustration and then slumps back into her chair, taking a moment to think over her situation. It could be worse, she wants to think, but she doesn't. Instead… "This fucking sucks."

That does nothing to improve Tsuna's mood, but it is better than cursing up a storm and summoning Hibari.

…

…

Two hours.

It takes Tsuna two fucking hours to enter the entire Disciplinary Committee's contact information into her cellphone. It takes an extra ten minutes to send out a massive email afterwards and deal with the aftermath, with her cellphone blowing up with multiple notifications of everyone wishing her a good day (why is everyone so fucking nice?!). It might have taken Tsuna less time, had Kyōko not sent her a message asking her if she was fine (in which Tsuna spent like forty-five minutes just dicking around with her new friend)…but Tsuna would rather ignore that detail.

For now, Tsuna just wants to let it sink in that she is fucking done. It feels glorious, as she slumps back into her seat, her thumbs relishing the break that they are getting.

Never again!

Or so Tsuna thinks, before she receives an email out of the blue. The email is from— "Koizumi Haruno?"

Whoever the fuck he is, Haruno's email better not be a waste of Tsuna's time, otherwise, he is going to receive the brunt of her frustration. And boy, does she have a lot of pent up frustration!

My turn to fetch drinks and snacks (again). You want anything, Secretary?

—Haruno

Well…that isn't anything Tsuna is expecting…but since Haruno is asking—

A soda would be nice, as well as a bag of chips. Any flavor will do, except for salt and vinegar.

—Tsuna

As soon as Tsuna presses send, she closes her cellphone and sets it down on the desk. She glares at it afterwards, almost daring it to give her any more notifications. When more than a minute passes without her cellphone going off, Tsuna allows herself to relax and takes to staring at the ceiling for the next fifteen minutes or so.

"No matter what the time,

I'm just alone.

Destiny forgotten,

Even though I kept going.

Inside of the sudden light I awaken,

In the middle of the night."

Make that five minutes—and holy shit, that's loud! Tsuna is not expecting her cellphone's ringtone to be that loud. Of course, when was the last time Tsuna even heard her ringtone being used?

…

"Wow, this is fucking sad!" Tsuna can't help but think as she scrambles to answer the unknown number that is calling her for some reason. She really can't understand why anyone would want to call her…with the exception of her father, but he prefers video messages using a program that is like Skype…but not Skype.

Skype, apparently, doesn't exist in this world…just like many other things, as Tsuna has come to learn during these past twelve, almost thirteen, years. Replacements are a thing (the obligatory MacDonalds as a replacement to McDonalds and so and so)…except when they aren't. It's a freaking weird "it either exists or it doesn't" relationship that Tsuna doesn't really care too much to research (even though she probably should).

Discoveries aside, there really shouldn't be any reason for Tsuna to receive any calls. It's not that Nana doesn't call either, because she does when given the chance. It's that Nana has her standards on when she feels the need to check up on her own daughter. Tsuna honestly feels her mother trusts her waaay too much for comfort (it has its upsides, but at the same time, Tsuna is too used to past memories of receiving angry phone calls from her Mexican mother, asking about her whereabouts in Spanish).

"H-Hello?!" Tsuna has no idea why she answers a call from an unknown number. She just does and she is pretty sure it's on an impulse—an impulse to find the quickest way to silence her phone's loud-ass ringtone, because Hibari does not like loud noises. That is fact.

Tsuna doesn't like loud noises either, but this is more about her avoiding another encounter with Hibari than about her. Because she doesn't want to piss him off—she is out of energy to deal with him anymore today.

"Hey, whatcha wearing?" Tsuna practically freezes when she hears a voice ask her that on her phone. What…the absolute fuck was that?

"Wh-Wha?" Tsuna needs a few seconds to gather her thoughts. That question throws her off rather badly, and almost disturbs her, had she not recognized the voice of the person calling her. "H-Hana? How did you get my number?!"

Tsuna knows she didn't give any of her contact information to Hana. She would have though, had she not been too worried about sounding so forward.

Hana sounds absolutely amused as she laughs mirthfully. "Kyōko—don't worry. She didn't give it out to anyone else…except Ryōhei, but you gave her permission. Good luck with that, by the way."

"Gee, thanks…" Tsuna remarks, sarcasm evident in her tone. "So why'd you call me?"

"Just wanted to mess with you," Hana replies. "You know how it is with having new numbers."

"No, I don't." That's what the friendless life entailed for Tsuna up until recently (she has Kyōko's number, as well as Yamamoto's). Of course, she always preferred text messages to calls in her past life, and the shift from text messages to emails in this life isn't any different (apart from the fact that Yamamoto had to teach her the ways of emails). "But I'll try to see what you mean after I add your number."

Hana laughs. "It doesn't work when I have yours on me already."

Is that a challenge Tsuna hears? Well then— "Watch me."

"Anyways…" Hana decides to change the subject. "I know you didn't fall…but thanks for saying you did anyways."

"No problem…" It's honestly better than explaining what did happen. Kyōko doesn't need to hear that freaking mess.

"So what exactly did happen?" And Tsuna should have seen that coming… "I know you're hiding stuff."

"Uuurgh…" Tsuna really doesn't want to talk about it…but she also has nothing to do and it will be some time before she is allowed to go home… "You know what—fine. I'll tell you what happen. But—you better not laugh."

"No promises!" Honestly, Tsuna shouldn't be smiling…but she is, because she doesn't actually mind.

I don't mind…

Time passes so easily when you have someone to talk to, as Tsuna finds out when she suddenly finds herself being glared at by a black-haired teenaged boy with piercing gray eyes. She blinks a few times, the boy continuing to glare back at her as he places a bag of chips and a glass bottle of Ramune on the desk. Hana asks if something is wrong and Tsuna responds by saying she'll call back later, if she can, before hanging up.

"And you are…?" Tsuna has an idea who this boy is, but just to make sure…

"Koizumi Haruno—hope ya like strawberry, because that's all yer gettin' from me today, Secretary." So this is Haruno…

"Huh…" Tsuna has no idea what she was expecting, but it certainly isn't a boy with short, messy hair (no regent pompadour on this one—interesting) and a glare that would have been intimidating, had he been a lot taller. It takes Tsuna almost two minutes to realize that Haruno isn't actually glaring at her—his eyes are just shaped in a way that makes him look as though he is glaring at her. "So no pompadour?"

Haruno snorts. "Pfft, with this hair? That ain't happenin'—besides, my ma said no."

"I see…so are you everyone's gopher or what?" It's an honest question Tsuna has, though she has her slight regrets when Haruno's face contorts into a scowl.

"No—I just suck at rock-paper-scissors!" Haruno snaps, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "And I am not a gopher!"

…

…

"Okay…" Tsuna wants to laugh—because Haruno reminds her of an angry Chihuahua. His high-pitched boyish voice does not help at all. This is the last thing she ever expects from the Disciplinary Committee, although she knows better than to laugh, because she's pretty sure this boy can kick her ass (she can probably, too, but she's not in the mood to get into any more fights today). "I understand, Koizumi…senpai?"

Haruno twitches visibly, his blush deepening into a dark red. "J-Just Koizumi's fine—I gotta go!"

Apparently, getting referred to as "senpai" is something that Haruno cannot handle. That is…kind of adorable. Although, Tsuna is alone again, as a result of her short-heighted upperclassman having just bolted out of the room (she has never seen someone run so fast—holy shit). She has absolutely nothing to do, except wait until it's time to go home.

If this is what her job as secretary is going to entail, then she might as well bring her DS. She is in the mood to torture her right hand's wrist and listen to great music by playing another session of It's a Wonderful World (or as she knew it in her past life, The World Ends With You).

"That'll have to wait until Friday." Because tomorrow is Showa Day and Showa Day means no school, so Tsuna plans on spending it by doing absolutely nothing. That sounds like a good plan, because Tsuna is in desperate need of a break for all the hell she endured this week. It is the only plan she actually has and she's adamant on seeing it through.

…

…

Tsuna is beyond giving a damn about anything when she finally leaves school. All she wants to do now is go home and sleep the rest of the day away. Or she can give love another shot, because she sure as hell didn't get any as Alice Liddell because she ended up getting Blood Dupre's bad ending. All that time she spent—just wasted away because she forgot to save scum like no tomorrow.

Mistakes were made…

And Tsuna is not sure if she's willing to go through that again… She's considering it…and then she bumps into the last person she wants to see—Mochida Kensuke. It takes her a moment to react, being so caught up in her thoughts. Then she notices how damp with sweat the back of his shirt feels and immediately, she takes a few steps back and says, "Gross."

"Nice to see you too, tsundere," Mochida says as he turns around to face Tsuna. He takes a moment to adjust the dark blue duffle bag slung over his shoulder, making sure that it rests comfortably on his shoulder. He's not in any mood for any confrontations after kendo practice—especially not now and with Tsuna. "How's life been for you?"

"I dunno, you tell me how life's been for you, shounen protagonist." Tsuna can barely muster enough energy to snark back.

Mochida sighs heavily and shakes his head. "Look, I can tell that you're exhausted—hell, I'm exhausted, too. Can we just call a truce for now? I'll even get you something for your troubles if it bothers you that much."

"I want a parfait…" Tsuna goes in for the kill, not even bothering to think over Mochida's offer. "From that café you really like…"

Mochida twitches slightly at the mention of his favorite café. "Can you try not to say that out loud?"

Mochida has a reputation to maintain and he is not in any mood to have Tsuna endanger that.

"Dude, it's just a café—you're not any less manly if you go to one." Tsuna really hopes Mochida grows out of this phase soon, because it's starting to grate on her nerves. "Shit like this doesn't really have a gender—like clothes and make-up."

"And you?" Mochida means that as a joke (a very lazy joke), but Tsuna catches him by surprise when she says, "I'm not in any mood to elaborate on that."

"Oh…" Mochida wasn't expecting that and now, he has no idea what to think. He supposes he's lost this confrontation, even though there wasn't really much going on between them. He runs his hand through his somewhat damp hair and sighs. "Okay, I'll respect that."

"So about that parfait…" Tsuna decides to put the focus back on that.

"Just follow me…" At least now, Mochida has an actual excuse to go there. On the bright side, he won't have to worry about any of the servers asking him if he's waiting for his date. On the downside, the server managed to make the mistake that he and Tsuna were on a date.

"We're not dating!" the two are quite quick to shoot down the server's assumption.

The poor girl nearly drops her notepad out of shock. "S-S-Sorry…"

The server's assumption manages to sour the neutral mood Mochida and Tsuna had going on. It is to their slight disappointment, because they really weren't expecting that, because really—them dating?

"Now that's a laugh," Mochida huffs as he shoves a forkful of cake into his mouth.

"Indeed…" Mochida isn't even Tsuna's type to begin with, so she feels no particular endearment towards him in that respect.

"Glad to see that we can agree on something, tsundere." Mochida doesn't know what to make of this, but he guesses it's better than nothing.

Tsuna waves off Mochida's comment. "Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it, shounen protagonist—the truce is only for today."

"Right…" Mochida nods. "So any plans for Showa Day so I know where to avoid you?"

"Tch, don't worry about that—I don't plan on going anywhere tomorrow." Tsuna knows what she wants to do tomorrow and she'll be damned if she goes against any of her plans. "Feel free to go wild without me there to get in the way."

It's not any of her problem about what Mochida does, after all.

…

…

"No matter what the time,

I'm just alone.

Destiny forgotten,

Even though I kept going.

Inside of the sudden light I awaken,

In the middle of the night."

Of course, it is to Tsuna's complete misfortune that, at six in the morning, every one of her plans being thrown out the window when her cellphone goes off, because someone decided that six in the goddamn morning is a good time to call her. Holy crap, that really is too loud!

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

Tsuna tumbles out of bed in an attempt to reach out to her cellphone to shut off the source of her untimely awakening. She regrets setting her cellphone across the room, so far away from the comforts of her bed.

She eventually reaches her cellphone, in the pockets of her uniform's skirt, of which she did not bother to hang up the day before. She has no classes today, after all…and for that reason alone, she answers the phone with a disgruntled, "What?!"

She never bothers to check who it is that is calling her and she only comes to regret it when she recalls that Hibari has her number. Oh shit, what if that's him?

Oh god…

Fortunately, for Tsuna, it is not Hibari…but Ryōhei. "Hey, Sawada, are you awake?!"

Unfortunately…it's Ryōhei. "I am now…"

"Great!" Ryōhei sounds absolutely oblivious to Tsuna's annoyance. "Guess who's outside your door!"

Tsuna nearly drops her cellphone. "You didn't…"

Ding-dong!

"I hope you're ready, because we're going to start your training!" Ryōhei is pumped, but Tsuna is not. She wants to sleep, but Ryōhei is at her front door (why does he know where she lives?!). "C'mon, Sawada, we're burning daylight—"

Tsuna hangs up and hopes that everything that had just happened…is just a prolonged dream. Let it be a dream, she hopes, because she is not prepared for such a sudden change in her plans.

Ding-dong!

"No matter what the time,

I'm just alone.

Destiny forgotten,

Even though I kept going.

Inside of the sudden light I awaken,

In the middle of the night."

It's not a dream.

"Motherfucker," Tsuna swears under her breath. She takes a moment to look at her wardrobe, sighing when she recalls the clean, orange tracksuit that hangs inside. "Should I?"

Ding-dong!

"Tsu-chan! There's someone outside for you!" It doesn't even surprise Tsuna that her mother is already awake. Nana is a morning person, after all—it's nothing new. "Did you make another friend?"

"Y…Yes!" Tsuna hesitates for a moment…she hesitates, but doesn't outright deny. It just happens and she's not in the mood to think about it. "Tell him I'll be down in a bit!"

And within less than ten minutes, Tsuna appears before Ryōhei, who grins widely upon seeing her in an orange tracksuit. Any sassy remarks Tsuna might have had for Ryōhei are wiped blank from her mind as she notices how happy he seems. Now there are many things Tsuna is…but heartless is not one of them. So she stays quiet, as Ryōhei continues to talk about their training session. He's even considering writing out a meal plan for her (not that she'll follow it…maybe—fuck it, she'll try and if not, oh well).

Tsuna just nods her head as she stretches. It's easier to go along with what Ryōhei just says. It's too early to put up with someone as loud as him. "Augh!"

It's also too early for Tsuna to get a casual slap on the back, but she has no time to complain because there goes Ryōhei, running off down the street. Tsuna sputters before running after him, suppressing every urge within her to complain. She'd save that for later, when the two were stationary.

…

…

It's a quarter past seven when the two finally reach the park. Ryōhei is looking absolutely fine for someone who was running for over an hour. The same cannot be said about Tsuna, who can barely feel her legs. She is grossed out by the amount of sweat dripping down her back that makes the shirt underneath her jacket cling to her skin. It is gross—so very gross, and ew, ew, ew!

Slap!

Tsuna shudders in reaction to the hearty slap on the back that Ryōhei gives her as he congratulates her for making it this far. How he is not gross out by her sweat, she has no clue, but all she wants to do, is pass out on the floor and sleep for a month. But Ryōhei will not have that, as he starts talking about monkey bars and pull-ups and— "Wait, this is what I do with Yamamoto."

"I know!" Ryōhei practically chirps. "I asked him for help!"

Tsuna stares at Ryōhei with an incredulous look. "Is—is that so?"

"Uh-huh!" Ryōhei grins widely as he balls up his hands into fists that are shaking with excitement. "I thought that maybe we should start with something you're familiar with, instead of pushing something entirely new on you!"

That's…rather considerate. Now if only Ryōhei had decided to impose this on Tsuna sometime past ten, instead of six in the morning.

"Baby steps…" Tsuna exhales in exasperation.

…

…

Two hours pass, and Ryōhei finds himself staring at Tsuna, who lies flat against the ground. He blinks a few times and continues to stare. He stares and stares, before he decides to kneel down. The ground is very grassy and somewhat soft, as well as wet from the morning dew. It's a little uncomfortable, but Ryōhei doesn't think much about it. Rather, he questions the appeal, because Tsuna seems comfortable enough. She hasn't moved much since she sank to the ground, mere seconds after he told her that they were done training. She's breathing rather hard, Ryōhei notes. He isn't that surprised, since he can tell Tsuna has a ways to go because she is so out of shape. She's doing a lot better than he had expected, however.

Growl.

And she's also hungry. Ryōhei nods his head. He knows what to do, so he pulls off his backpack. He unzips it and reaches inside to pull out one of the few protein bars he has on himself. For a moment, he considers just offering the protein bar to Tsuna as it is. Then he decides to unwrap the protein bar and holds it close to Tsuna—just for her convenience.

Ryōhei is completely unprepared when Tsuna suddenly chomps down on the protein bar with such desperation. He does not flinch, but his body is tense. It was just such an extreme reaction…but Ryōhei does not mind. He feels his heart skip a beat as a wide grin forms on his face.

"Whoa, did you eat breakfast?" Ryōhei only asks as a joke, because Tsuna absolutely demolishes the protein bar in his hand within minutes.

Tsuna swallows hard, her eyes narrow as she responds, quite harshly, "No."

"Wha?" Ryōhei feels cold all of a sudden. He doesn't like that response—no, he does not. "Why didn't you eat? Breakfast is an extremely important meal!"

"Well someone woke me up extremely early without any warning!" Tsuna practically spats, disliking the taste the protein bar had left in her mouth. "Bleck…"

"Oh…" is all Ryōhei says. He scratches his head and thinks, for a moment, that maybe he should have called Tsuna ahead of time. Actually, he should have asked if she had eaten before they left. Really, he should have—he should know better. And yet, it still happened. "Sorry, Sawada!"

"You need to think before you act…" Ryōhei can't help but smile when he hears this. It isn't the first time he's heard that phrase, after all. Kyōko admonishes him from time to time, so Ryōhei finds it funny that Tsuna sounds exactly like his sister. "Of course, I'm not any better…"

Although, that's a first for Ryōhei to hear, but he doesn't find anything wrong. If anything, he feels a slight connection to Tsuna, so he reaches out and ruffles her hair. He ignores her whines, as well as the sweat that dampens his skin. Sweat is nothing new to him, whether it's his or not—even when it starts to soak the bandages wrapped around his hand.

"Let's get going, okay?" Ryōhei stares at Tsuna, grinning as widely as ever. He ceases once he realizes that Tsuna isn't going to respond at all (nor move, since she seems extremely comfortable being on the ground). He feels bad, because part of the reason why she's like this is because of him…but he doesn't let it bother him for too long. Instead, he grins widely again, earning a questioning stare from a pair of orange-brown eyes.

Tsuna blinks when Ryōhei hooks his hands under her arms. A split second later, her eyes widen when she is suddenly lifted off the ground. Her feet dangle in the air as Ryōhei holds her up in the air as one would a disgruntled cat. Her expression certainly matches that of one.

"How much do you weigh?" Ryōhei asks purely out of curiosity as he tries to make an estimate of how heavy Tsuna is as he holds her up in the air. She's not exactly that heavy, but she is certainly not light, either. Not that Ryōhei has any issues, since her short height has its convenience.

There are certainly better ways Ryōhei could have worded his question, Tsuna thinks as she answers, rather bluntly, "61 kg."

Ryōhei's eyes widen in awe. "Really? Wow, you're heavier than me!"

"Anything else you'd like to know?" Tsuna's expression is blank. She is beyond giving a shit about anything anymore. "Like my measurements?"

"Your height would be a good start!" Tsuna's sarcasm flies over Ryōhei's head. "Unless you wanna wait until tomorrow when we measure you out?"

Ryōhei plans on making using of whatever time he can get with Tsuna. He knows that she's free in the morning, because Yamamoto said she would be free. Yamamoto knows a lot about Tsuna and soon, so will Ryōhei.

Tsuna stares at Ryōhei, who waits impatiently for an answer. His body is trembling with so much unspent energy. She feels almost jealous of him—almost. "142 cm…can you put me down now?"

"Can you stand?" Ryōhei looks questioningly at Tsuna.

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of her face. "No…"

"Then there's your answer!" Ryōhei exclaims rather cheerfully before hurling Tsuna into the air without any warning. He laughs when she shrieks and holds out his arms to catch her. It takes a while before Tsuna lands in his arms, because he threw her so high into the air. It doesn't really dawn on Ryōhei that he might have overdone it. All he really seems to care is when Tsuna finally lands in his arms. "Gotcha!"

Ryōhei stumbles for a moment, because Tsuna's weight nearly disrupted his balance. He manages to keeps his ground, however. His grin widens because that was such an extreme catch. Hell, that throw was already extreme to begin with!

"To the extreme!" he exclaims, completely oblivious to Tsuna's visible distress, which mostly stems from her immense fear of falling (what a lovely way to come to terms with such a fear without the use of a rollercoaster).

"Abuabuabuabuabu…" Tsuna is foaming at the mouth, her eyes completely white from shock as tears stream down her cheeks. She didn't think it was physically possible for someone, such as Ryōhei, to throw her up so high into the air. He's so young, she thinks, only fourteen years old and weighing less than she does. He should have at least had some difficulties—but no, he did it with such ease. Really, it shouldn't have been possible…but then Tsuna recalls that Ryōhei defies the seemingly impossible. He defies it in his strive to live, "To the extreme!"

How fitting…

Tsuna finds that she has her regrets as Ryōhei carries her to a nearby bus stop. She has her regrets ever joining the boxing club. Although, that doesn't mean she wants to quit. She just has regrets—that's all. They're there because, deep down, she has a very unsettling feeling that things are only going to get worse from here on out…and Reborn hasn't even entered the picture.

Fuck…my…life…

…

…

…

A/N To start of this chapter after so long, have a comment from kurobook, who is to thank for Ryōhei's EXTREME throwing skills: FLAG ACHIEVED!

2-23-17 And here we have the chapter six with some extra scenes and stuff. I'm not sure if much has changed throughout this edit and expansion, but whatever, it's done! I'm good with that, though do feel free to ask any questions if you have any. I'm back in school now, but doing a lot better than last semester, so I'm definitely fine with everything! I just need to find the time (and drive) to do shit…

Anyways, I just love how Mochida slowly integrated himself into this fic, when he sure as hell wasn't around in the old version of this fic. Also, I'm not exactly sure if anyone's noticed, but like…Tsuna's ringtone is the Japanese opening for Kingdom Hearts, which is Hikari. By the by, while I'm on the topic of Kingdom Hearts, I have started a Kingdom Hearts Unchained X SI OC fic by the name of Manifest Eccentric if you wanna give that a look. I also updated my Hunter X Hunter SI OC fic, De Mí a Usted, so that's a thing. Ohh, and I'm not sure if it interests anyone, but my Pokémon OC fic, I am Trainer, is currently going through an reboot, so…once again, feel free to check it out (it's set in Unova, during Black and White).

MOVING ON FROM THERE, have a random-ass Disciplinary Committee OC, Koizumi Haruno. Yeah, shit happens and just…bluh, don't take it too personally, like people have with my many OCs in my Naruto SI OC fic, Metamorphosis. And yeah, Yamamoto is feeling a little off about the idea of Ryōhei possibly intruding on whatever possible free time he has with Tsuna. So now you have possible Golden Week plans that weren't there originally! Yeah…

Ryōhei is easily excitable towards the things that matter to him, Tsuna needs a freaking break (maybe Golden Week might give her just that), Mochida needs to learn how to fucking chill about rigid gender roles (which is a thing in Japan, by the way, in case you're wondering about his behavior and I'm using my man Iori Junpei from Persona 3 and the café "date" I had with him as the FeMC in P3P as some sort of inspiration for the café scene with him and Tsuna, because he was definitely in my head for it), and the Disciplinary Committee is full of dorks.

Tsuna is fine, by the way, in case anyone was wondering. I just used one of Ibuki Mioda's sprites (from Daganronpa 2) as a reference for the description, since Ibuki pulls that look whenever she's losing it (she's a very expressive character and I love her). Kazuichi Souda is another reference, since he has that same look when he's on a rollercoaster (he hates rollercoasters), so…yeah…it's just a thing I've noticed while reading manga and looking at some visual novels.

ANYWAYS, time for some shout outs!

Reviewer #210: KioshiUshima

Reviewer #220: LadyWilliams (I need to update a lot of my fucking stories, yo, so I totally try to get something done this year)

Reviewer #222: LunarCatNinja

Reviewer #230: Little Shiro-kun

Reviewer #240: sousie

Reviewer #250: Anonymous Reviewer Anon PSA (thank you for that, by the way!)

Honorable mentions: safranbrod (I'm happy to hear that there are people relating to Setsuna), k123, applesofiddun (I really do appreciate your reviews, I'm sorry if I haven't replied to any of them, I keep forgetting), Angelicsailor, KioshiUshima (here you are again, I really appreciate your reviews!), hufflepuffbadgersdontcare (I am seriously happy someone understands), the . prince . of . fiction, RedFireCandy (YOUR COMMENT IS ABSOLUTELY HILRIOUS!), katsekala

And because RedFireCandy made SUCH AN EXCELLENT REVIEW, have a glance at what they had to say, because I will never be over this and thank you so much for making this review:

"Yamamoto heard the majestic cry of the Tsuna-bird as it was chased by the angry skylark. Sadly, the Tsuna-bird tripped mid-flight on its own tail feathers and was bitten to death. Rest In Peace Tsuna-bird."

This is the absolute best and I thank every one of you who have taken the time to review this fic! And just so you know, I finally put up Tsuna's character sheet (you can find the link on my tumblr at klonoadreams, under Fanfiction Stuff), which was inspired by Wyrvel's character sheet of Sawada Kou, from their fem!Tsuna fic, Kou's Guidelines For Organized Crime (give it a look, it is VERY good!).

That's about it for now, I have to go to class in like an hour or so, so I just wanted to get this chapter up as soon as possible because finally! It's UP! I hope you enjoyed it, so until next time everyone! KD out! XD