Target Two: Smoking Bomb Hayato

"I'm fine, really," Tsunako said for the nth time, feeling rather drained by the constant calls from Shoichi and Spanner. It had been almost a week since she had fought Mochida but she still had the thick gash on her arm. It made her mother and friends worry. "You two don't need to call me every second. I'm not that bad at getting in trouble. The thing about Mochida-senpai was the first trouble I had encountered since I entered high school."

Spanner snorted on the other line, "It is true that it was your first trouble but since you keep on befriending some dangerous guys, I'm seriously doubting that. Hibari Kyoya and Yamamoto Takeshi are two troublesome fellows. You're not losing your touch, Tsunako. I'd say that you're rather worsening."

"Spanner," the girl was tempted to bang her head to the wall. Her talk with Shoichi was much better than this. The blond mechanic just loved to tease her about her magnet for danger. She sighed in reluctant acquiescence. "Fine. You have your point. I'll try to not get in trouble that much."

There was a long pause from the boy's side, which greatly confused her though her intuition was warning her of a question she would hate.

"And will you tell us what's going on now? I know Shoichi likes to give you your privacy but you really could fill us in with what's going on. Like you said before, this is the first time that you had trouble in high school and it was from when you had gotten a baby for a tutor. You know that I don't believe in coincidence."

Sometimes, she really hated her intuition.

"It's fine, really," it was getting harder to be oblivious about stuffs when one had a hyper intuition. She briefly wondered if the canon Tsuna ever felt like this or if this was what Nana was always doing all along. "I promise that I'll be more careful…and I'll tell what's going on but not now, I'm sorting something out."

She rather wished that her promise wouldn't be broken that easily. She didn't like keeping secrets from her precious people. She'd hate it more if she had to lie to them about something. This was why she needed to ask permission from Reborn about telling mafia to Spanner, Shoichi and Nana.

She heard a sigh from the other line. "Fine," she could just imagine the blond rolling his eyes at her words. "I'll wait until you sort your stuffs. By the way, Shoichi and I decided to upgrade your taser so you should test it to that Mochida-senpai of yours. Also, it now changes from taser to pen or pen to taser. It's neat and double the purpose, huh?"

Oh kami, she really almost banged her head. Almost.

Now, she remembered why she always hung up when she talked with Spanner on the phone. The guy liked to tell him about their invention that they made for her, which caused harm to most of her previous bullies and kidnappers. She was horrified to even use one of their inventions since they could be a bit sadistic and creative.

"Why did you upgrade it?!" she exclaimed loudly, earning a side glance from the baby on the room. From her intuition, she knew that Reborn had been listening from the start but her voice had gotten loud so he had gotten curious. "It was bad enough before! That thing didn't even just shock someone. It electrified them!"

"It's better safe than sorry, isn't it?" Spanner deadpanned, not at all bothered. "Plus, the taser saved you a lot times by now. We thought it needed an upgrade since you're already a high school student."

"You guys don't know the meaning of enough," Tsunako sighed again but this time, a lot lighter than before. "I'll check the mail to get the taser tomorrow but I'm still reluctant in using it. I'm hanging up. I still have homework to do."

"Whatever you say, Tsunako."

The brunette stared long at her phone and waited if another call would come. She smiled slightly when she received none and placed her phone at her desk. It seemed that it was the last call for the day.

"That was the 20th call this day," the Arcobaleno commented, surprising her at the sudden intrusion. "So who were those Spanner and Shoichi? They seem to be good potential subordinates considering they're already making inventions for you. They're also quite well informed about your problems, too."

"They're just my friends," she narrowed her dull eyes at the color yellow and green. She knew that the two would be in the mafia world in the future but she'd rather they lived normally for now. "Don't lump them into being in mafia."

"If you're thinking of telling them about your circumstances, then I have the right to pick them as potential subordinates," the blunt and harsh truth seemed foreign coming from the hitman's mouth. It was weird but Reborn didn't act the same way as the canon. He felt more mature and darker than how the TV show portrayed him.

To be honest, Tsunako had been expecting that nothing would change even if she was blind and a girl in this universe. It was proven wrong many times but she still believed that something canon would remain. Reborn hadn't even started to train or to tutor her like how he had done in the canon.

So far, observation seemed to be Reborn's top priority. She had a feeling it had something to do with her eye disorder but she was certain that the baby wouldn't ask for help in getting information about that. He'd rather get the details he needed himself.

She licked her dry lips a little. "Is telling an outsider about my situation really against some mafia law?" she asked lowly like a sad whisper. "I don't want to lie to any of my friends…and Okaa-san….she deserved the truth."

She felt the intense glance and she wanted nothing more than to look away fearfully. She dared not, even by the turmoil of her second nature. Yes, she was scared. Yes, she's the most coward in the world.

…but this was about her precious people.

They only deserved to be treated the best that she could treat them.

Reborn normally wouldn't tolerate defiance. Some people could easily assess that but looking at his student, he honestly had no idea what to say or if he should just ignore her wishes.

It was just that…she looked a little like Luce at the moment. The kind-hearted girl that gave up everything for other people and the similar all-too-knowing eyes that seemed to see the future, Tsunako acted like Luce that it hurt just being with her.

He and the others had never truly gotten over the sudden disappearance of the Sky Arcobaleno. It had been years by now but the scars still haunted them.

When he learned of his student's slight disadvantage, he had took in observation first. His instinct to get the training over with had simply dropped with a single look from the girl. He saw Luce in her that he couldn't let himself train him like usual.

There was also the fact that the brunette was fragile in more ways than one. One tragedy seemed to be enough to break her but she proved him wrong by defeating Mochida herself without his help.

The hitman cursed those perceptive eyes that seemed to know the future. They reminded him greatly of the woman he trusted and followed until her death.

"Once you told them about your circumstances, they won't be able to escape mafia anymore," he finally answered truthfully, watching as his student gave a somehow awkward face. Due to her blindness, she couldn't express herself correctly at times. It made her uncomfortable with other people. "They'll be greatly involved with mafia that their lives wouldn't be normal anymore."

Reborn was never one to sugar-coat. The girl needed to know what the consequences of her actions. He didn't have orders to tell any of the girl's civilian friends. It was a rule that only future guardians and subordinates would be told about the mafia and even then, the details were small. Nono didn't want any civilians to get caught with the mafia world.

That was the one of the limits he had given the hitman in terms of training the heir of the Vongola Family. The others were fighting for his student's own fights and giving an obvious favoritism to his student.

Of course, he never really disliked the restrictions but somehow, he had the feeling with the way Tsunako was warming up to him, he was going to sooner or later break one of his rules.

Right now, he was already considering to tell a civilian about the mafia just because his student wanted it. He really had it bad.

The brunette bit her lips as she thought of her reply. "Even so, I want to tell them the truth," she finally said, looking straight at the Sun Arcobaleno with pupil-less glance filled with determination. She let a dejected smile. "I guess that's a little selfish of me but I want them to know what they're in for when they decided to stay with me."

"I don't want them to regret following me or to be unhappy staying with me."

Reborn didn't know how it was possible to be so alike a dead person but the girl certainly acted like her. In his mind, the words he heard was different but similar in meaning. It was the same as what the Sky Arcobaleno had said before.

"The future isn't really nice, you know," Luce smiled knowingly, her lips curved up into a fond smile as it settled to the strongest hitman in their small group. "That's why I want you guys to have a choice in your future. I don't want you guys to regret."

"That bastard said that your power is to see the future," the black-haired man narrowed his dark eyes in distrust. He didn't get how the woman would easily trust him with this information. "Doesn't that power forbid you from telling about our future?"

The Sky Arcobaleno laughed, her laugh sounding akin to a bell, "Of course not, it's my power. I decide what I do with it and how it will affect me."

Her glance held the determined and powerful glance that didn't seem to fit the woman's fragility.

"I want to tell you guys about your future and I did. It's simple as that."

(But it wasn't simple. It didn't change that they had been turned into a baby in the end and that idiotic woman died trying to find a cure because she thought it was all her fault...when it was all that bastard's fault.)

"I still can't allow it," he snapped his thoughts before they turned worse. His mouth suddenly felt dry at the sudden memory. He was glad that Tsunako couldn't see his face right now. His control slipped a little. "Nono forbid any secrets to be told to civilians unless they will become your subordinate and your father also forbid telling your mother."

It was the plain truth and he hated how lost the girl looked at his words. Guilt immediately went to his veins. Seriously, this wasn't fair. He had to find ways to resist what he was feeling.

"T-that's...," the honey-brown orbs flashed in sadness before turning into determination. "Then, tell them that I want to request an exception. I can do that as the heir for the Vongola Family..."

"...can't I?" she finished with uncertainty and the hitman had to kill the pride he had for the girl for speaking up. He knew that the girl was a coward. His research had told him as much.

Tsunako started out as an ordinary girl with unique independence and unusual maturity despite her blindness. As she grew up, her independence grew with her mother's encouragement and she went to a special school where she was treated equally. However, a cowardice remained in her even if it was hidden in plain sight.

She had originally hated her father for abandoning her and Nana but after a visit with the Ninth when she saved Tsubasa, she strangely mellowed down. Reborn was still researching why she did and how her mother had gotten the money she needed to enroll the girl into a special school.

Also, she had a hero-complex in her youth. That's how she met Hibari, Shoichie and Spanner, becoming friends to the last two. She tried saving the two boys when she had nothing but taser with her. He had a feeling that the taser was countermeasure because of assassins and kidnappers.

He had no idea how information got leaked that she was Iemitsu's daughter or how the Vongola had never known about the attacks (he was sensing a spy or traitor), but he realized how lucky (and informed) the girl was about her heritage.

He was not certain if it had something to do with her intuition or if she could see the future as well.

He let out a small sigh, choosing to make the situation a little lighter. "For a Dame, you sure know how to demand things, Dame-Tsuna," he faked mockery. He didn't need the girl to succumb to darkness earlier than expected. His student, at least, needed some time before shit really happened.

"Reborn!" Tsunako lost her seriousness at that and gave a glare that spoke her annoyance for trying to change topic. "Please don't-"

"If you really want them to know your opinion, you call them yourself."

The brunette blinked in confusion and let the intelligent response, "Eh?"

"I'll give you Nono's number and your father's as well. That way you can call them and talk about the issue yourself," Reborn smirked with no real intent in his lip and slipped a Braille paper on his frozen student's hand. "Complain to them yourself."

"H-how a-am I-I g-gonna do that!?" the determination dimmed as fear suddenly replaced the previous resolve. Her eyes turned watery a little. She cried out, "There's no way I can do that!"

The Arcobaleno merely shook his head as if disappointment but inwardly, he sighed in relief. It seemed like the girl lost all of her bravery from just talking to him and had reverted back to her usual self. He would have to change that attitude in the future but for now, he needed her to keep the brave-coward personality.

Reborn was no stranger to using manipulation to get what he wanted. This time was no different.

'Reborn isn't fair,' Tsunako thought angrily for the nth time as she felt for the dots on the paper with her fingers. 'Making me read this when I wanted to tell Nono about my request. Of course, since I have to do the talking myself, I might not be able to at all but he should have considered I needed a break. How he had even managed to get a Braille book at such a short time is beyond me.'

Her trail of thoughts paused for a minute and her lip curved down, 'Then, again, this is Reborn. Even in the canon, he was no different. I should have expected it.'

"Hurry, Dame-Tsuna," the baby in question called out mockingly, earning a burning glare from her. He was so enjoying her suffer and to think for a second, she thought that he was different and more sensible when he was still the same sadist that taught the canon Tsuna. "We don't have all day so start reading."

"The mafia boss...," Tsuna read, her voice clear and soft despite being irritated. "A leader who rules an underground criminal organization."

She lifted a hand to scratch behind her neck. "Able to move a number of trusted members with one hand, willing to risk even his life for the family, surrounded by the respect and admiration of all, seen as a hero by the children of the slums...," she trailed off when she noticed the slight twitch in the green color.

She quickly turned left, avoiding collision with whatever Leon changed into. She was beginning to dislike how Reborn randomly attacked her like that.

"Stop it, Reborn!" she glared with no real intent. The baby had been attacking her many times by now that she had gotten used to it. She actually thought that she had gotten lucky since the guy still hadn't trained her yet.

She could just imagine his smirk. "Oh, continue, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn muttered, his tone thick with amusement. She rolled her eyes. Such a sadist.

"Tsunako-chan, Reborn-kun!" Nana's voice called out for the two. "It's dinner time!"

'Save by the bell,' Tsunako smiled, feeling the sigh of the other. It seemed like she could skip reading the book again. 'Take that, Reborn!'

She walked down, Tsubasa guiding her with soft hums and went to the kitchen, hoping to help her mother in fixing the table. She took out her three plates and a bowl with a fond smile that she had no idea of doing.

Three plates for three people and a bowl for her bird...they're much better than two plates for two people, weren't they?

Tsuna walked to school the next morning, the gash around her wrist changed and her hair curled. She didn't do it herself. Her mother had attacked her before she got the change to flee out the house door. So now, she walked around with the curls jumping around her shoulders.

Tsubasa followed her for good measures even though he was supposed to be staying with Hibari since she asked for a favor from the black-haired student. She didn't understand why but she guessed that the guy didn't want a blind person like her to get into an accident because she didn't have her guiding pet.

'Huh, that actually sounds like Hibari-senpai cares for me or something,' her face flushed a little, feeling butterflies on her stomach. She tried to stop the crazy thought and mentally hit her head on an imaginary wall. 'Okay, stop that trail of thought now! Ugh, I seriously need to get over my crush on the guy.'

She had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she had dropped her guard so it was no wonder that she bumped into someone very violently that it caused her to fall backwards.

Sitting on the ground with an aching behind, she could hear an annoyed grunt coming from in front of her. "Are you blind?" Tsuna's eyes widened at the angry voice, that could only be one person.

"Idiot woman," yep, definitely Gokudera. He was sitting on the ground, glaring at the girl in front of him. He was trying to figure out just where he had seen her before but nothing happened. Had the hit he took when he hit the ground caused him to forget?

"Yes," Tsuna muttered quite annoyed as she got up from the ground, stumbling slightly. "As a matter of fact, I am blind."

She placed her hand against the wall, acting as if she really didn't know about her surroundings and nodded to herself to give the illusion that she's figured out her way.

"But I will apologize for running into you."

Gokudera's eyes had widened at her words. He might be a bit of an asshole but he wasn't heartless. One of his weaknesses was just what this girl was, blind people. He just doesn't like to go up against people with a social handicap. It made him feel guilty when he does something wrong.

"Whatever...," he muttered to himself, getting up from the ground and putting his hands in his pocket. Taking a step forward, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Be more careful next time, okay?"

Tsuna tilted her head, surprised at his attitude towards her. But then again, he's supposed to be two years older so he supposed that he was more mature than the canon. "Are you lost, by any chance?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"No!" Gokudera tried, but Tsuna could clearly tell that he was lying.

"Well," moving her hand against the wall, she took a few steps towards her direction. "Just to let you know..."

She turned her head towards the boy and said, almost cheekily, "There are no schools in the direction you're heading for."

Gokudera blushed at her words. "Alright," he muttered and sounded rather annoyed for asking a blind girl. "Where is Namimori high?"

Tsuna smiled, staring into thin air. "That's my school. All you have to do is follow me," she said and walked the entire time with her hand against the wall. She knew for a fact that he was indeed following her with a little uncertainty but that was only expected since his only lead was a blind girl.

"How do you know your way without someone to lead you?" Gokudera asked as he jogged up to her, finding her confident posture a little bit unusual for someone who's supposed to not be able to see a thing.

"The first month, I was lead by my bird," she turned corner, not taking her hand off the wall and gestured to the flying bird above them. "I'm able to walk down this road in my sleep now but Tsubasa is still here to help me if I'm lost so it's fine. I can do this."

She turned her head in Gokudera's direction and smiled innocently as if she talked about nothing serious, "Did that answer your question?"

Gokudera didn't say anything. He didn't understand how the girl could say such thing as if it was normal when for him, it was anything but that. He had seen blind people before and his stomach twisted painfully at the sight of them, lifeless and dull. They were nothing like this strangely confident blind girl.

He fell back and allowed her to lead him, all the while trying to figure out were he had seen her before and how amazing she was to be independent when she's blind.

They separated once they reached the school gates. Gokudera needed to do something while Tsuna disappeared through the crowd of students though the girl was confused at the stiffness of the red color, which she recognized as the soon-to-be Storm Guardian.

While they had been walking, Gokudera had remembered were he had seen her before and mentally beat himself up for having forgotten that she was the candidate for the Vongola heir. But then again, maybe this was for the best. Now, he had found some valid facts about his target, even if what he found made him feel a little guilty for what he had to do.

Inside of the school, Tsuna had just changed her shoes when something practically attacked her from behind. "Tsuna-chan!" the voice had called as a pair of arms wrapped around the blind girl's neck.

"Ohayo Kyoko-chan," Tsuna muttered with a smile as she unwrapped her friends arms from around her neck. As she turned around, Kyoko said exactly what Tsuna had expected her to say, making her thought lightly. 'It's almost like I'm psychic.'

"Have you heard?" the orange head asked excitedly, grabbing hold of Tsuna's hand as they started to walk towards the classroom. "We're having a new student coming to our school."

"Yeah I know," Tsuna answered as they stopped in front of the door. "I literally bumped into him on my way to school."

She smiled slightly when she felt a slight stiffness on the color orange, knowing that Kyoko gave her a worried look, "I'm fine. He had trouble finding his way so I allowed him to walk with me... well, technically after me, but he talked to me for a while."

"So it's a boy?" Kyoko asked, earning a nod from the blind girl.

"He sounded like he was a troublemaker but he has a nice side," she opened the classroom door and stepping inside, not hearing the whispers that broke out as they saw the two girls together, but if they did, Tsuna would have found out about her status at school.

"Sawada-chan and Sasagawa-chan are together," one of them had commented, dazed in bliss at the sight of the two idols. "They look like two angels standing next to each other."

Tsuna had just walked over to her seat with Kyoko following not far behind. "What do you mean?" the orange-haired student asked in confusion, taking a sit besides the other girl. Their teacher still hadn't arrived so it was okay to sit in other places as long as it's empty.

"He sounded annoyed with me at first," Tsunako said, leaning her chin in her good hand. "But when he found out that I was blind, he suddenly became a lot softer."

Kyoko smiled at her friend. "Maybe he became nicer because you're so cute," she mocked playfully but her voice had truth in them and then, she moved towards her own desk. It seemed like their talk would be cut close since someone wanted to talk to the brunette as well. She slightly giggled at the sweet sight of a shy girl like Tsunako and an outgoing boy like Yamamoto together.

'They look good with each other and they like each other, too,' she observed with a carefree glance and saw that even Hana was watching the two like hawk. The two's unlikely friendship was quite an uproar in the rumor business, as well as the blind girl's somehow acquaintance with HIbari. 'It's shocking that the two are friends but once you really look at it, you can tell that it's the truth.'

Tsunako and Yamamoto held fondness and affection in their eyes when they talked to each other.

Unaware of her friend's thoughts, the brunette tried to glare but it ended with a pout instead. '"I'm not cute," she muttered lowly in irritation and yelped slightly when she felt a large hand pat her head.

"You can't really expect anyone to believe you when you're wearing a pout, Sawada-chan," Yamamoto Takeshi greeted with a teasing grin, enjoying the feeling of the girl's brown hair. Their faintly spiky appearance didn't do justice to such softness. "'Morning, kawai-chan~!"

"Don't call me that, Yamamoto-kun!" Tsuna frowned at her friend, sensing that the guy wanted to laugh. She blushed brightly, stopping the patting hand. "I'm not cute! And I'm not pouting either!"

One look at her face made the black-haired boy both smile and blush unconsciously, same with the others who saw the exchange. "Haha, Sawada-chan, you're really adorable so just stop denying it!" he chuckled, truthfully enjoying himself whenever he talked to the blind girl. She just had that comforting effect on him.

Said girl sighed in resignation, her intuition telling her to just admit defeat for now but then, she blinked in confusion as she realized something. 'It's weird but Yamamoto-kun never called me by my first name, even though we're kind of close,' she thought to herself. 'That never happened in the canon.'

"How's your hand doing?" Yamamoto's concerned voice had her snapping from her thoughts and she glanced at the taller student, who was looking down at the thick gash on her arm, with an assuring smile. He frowned slightly, seemingly not convinced by that.

Tsunako just continued to smile. It felt nice to have people care for you. That, she realized immediately after being reborn as the Vongola Decimo. It sometimes saddened her that her old life was nowhere compared to her new one but she knew that she couldn't have all the comfort in the world. It would be boring if that was the case.

"It's getting better with everyday," she watched in fascination as her friend's color seemed to brighten at her truthful words. She long figured out that the color she only saw would help her determine the atmosphere more. "Thanks for asking, Yamamoto-kun."

Yamamoto just laughed it off but there was still a small amount of redness in his face. He once again ruffled her hair, earning a whine from the blind girl and sat down his seat as he heard the teacher enter the room.

"Hello minna-san," the teacher called over the room and received greetings from his students. "Today we'll have a new student joining our class."

The door opened and a familiar silver-haired boy stepped inside. This time, he had ditched his cigarette. "This is Gokudera Hayato. He's from Italy. Please take care of him," his introduction done, the teacher turned to the new student. "Welcome to our class, Gokudera-kun."

Unconsciously sketching in her blank notebook, Tsunako wondered absentmindedly how will Gokudera act this time.

"He's so hot," she heard the other girls in the room and she was willing to agree. It didn't mean that she would shout it out loud for the whole school to hear though. She merely let her hand drew, unaware that she was drawing the future self of her new classmate.

Gokudera raised an eyebrow when he noticed the drawing. "What the..?" he muttered, making the blind girl turn towards him.

He shook his head and returned to what he had intended to do. Before the poor girl could react, Gokudera had violently kicked her desk, making everything tumble over. Her included.

Everything fell silent in the room before Tsuna broke it. She grabbed her injured arm and moaned in pain, "Ow…desk crushing sprained wrist."

That sure sent the room in motion.

Most students frowned at the violence towards the blind girl while some wanted to know if the Italian boy knew the brunette. Yamamoto, Kyoko and Hana, in particular, were enraged at way the silver-haired boy hurt their friend. Meanwhile, the said boy was hit with a feeling of guilt as he watched the pained girl. Hadn't he promised not to hurt those that were already hurt?

Yamamoto flew to his feet, grabbing hold of the desk that really did lay on top of Tsuna's arm, it's edge digging into her gash. It looked really painful. A unusual frown formed in his mouth and intense caramel eyes glared at the transfer student's head for a second.

Kyoko and Hana rushed to their friend's aid as well. The light-haired girl helped the brunette to sit back in her seat while her best friend gathered up the things that had fallen everywhere around her desk.

"Gokudera!" The teacher called from the front, a little bit scared of the boy that would kick the desk of a blind girl.

Gokudera frowned before heading towards his seat. "Weakling," he muttered lowly but still heard by the girl. He tsked to himself at how unfair the future Vongola was. Being that defenseless made him guilty in fighting her. He needed to rethink his strategy.

"Are you alright, Sawada-san?" the teacher asked concernedly, turning towards the girl that was in the middle of rubbing her injured wrist. "You don't need to have the arm checked?"

Tsunako shook her head, already feeling the pain subsiding a little. "I'll be fine." she said, her voice trying not to shake or stutter.

The teacher observed her for a minute before nodding. He started the lesson but he did glance at the girl once in a while.

"Do you know him, Sawada?" Yamamoto asked in worry, keeping a cautious look towards his fellow classmate. He could already tell that they wouldn't get along if the other continued to hurt his friend.

"I helped him get to school this morning but otherwise I've never 'seen' him," she admitted, not knowing how it made the other boy frown deeper.

It seemed like the more Yamamoto heard of Gokudera, the more he was getting certain that they wouldn't get along at all. What kind of person would hurt a blind girl that helped him when she never did anything to him?

It was lunch break when a slight sigh managed to escape the female brunette, long enough to realize how much uncertainty and awkwardness she had at having people concern about her. It was nice at first but now, it was beginning to be weird. She wasn't used to be cared for, especially considering her past life.

At home, she had gotten used to Nana's concern about her but it had been a first for anyone to concern themselves about her in school (except maybe for Hibari). Her new friend's worry was both gratifying and uncomfortable. Kyoko didn't need to keep on seeing her early in the morning nor did Yamamoto had to check up on her every now and then during class hours. Hana, too, didn't have the obligation to glace at her when she was not looking. She was injured, not invalid.

'Oh, but they're just worried,' she thought with a sigh, making her way to the rooftop without anyone noticing her. At least, Tsubasa was with Hiibari so she wouldn't be mothered by the bird. 'It's not a bad thing but I…I have no idea what to do with them at times like this. It was the same back in the hospital, too. I'm really bad at this, aren't I?'

Her delicate-looking hand held on the door tightly. 'Even Reborn sometimes treat me like I was fragie,' she knew that despite the baby being subtle. 'My intuition always told me things like this…The real Tsuna must have had it tough to have these kind of feelings.'

Unseeing eyes closed for a second in recognition that things were truly changing and that she had to keep on moving, not living in the shadows of what she remembered in her past life.

"Why are standing there like some idiot, woman?" the familiar voice of her violent classmate snapped her distracting thoughts and she fought the urge to hide like a coward at the carefully hidden malice in it.

That really hurt. She knew about the close relationship of him and Tsuna in the canon so it felt wrong for the future right-hand to act like this. At least, she considered herself lucky since the bomber wasn't attacking immediately.

She still hadn't exactly recovered from her fight with Mochida.

The female Sawada blinked in curiosity, noticing that a stormy red color with hinted silver flashed in her eyes. She assumed that the other student was scowling like usual but her intuition told her that it wasn't the case this time.

If so, why did the color seem so conflicted?

She mentally shook her head. Maybe she was just imagining it. "I'm going to the rooftop to eat lunch," the girl finally answered and went back to the door. She slowly opened it, quite aware of the intense glance behind her. "Would you like to join me?"

Red flared in anger and confusion.

"Tch, as if I want to eat with you," Gokudera fiercely and loud footsteps immediately ran down the stairs, causing a bemused smile to frown at the blind's mouth. Tsunako never expected the bomber to agree but somehow, she felt that it would be nice to have someone join her in lunch.

She went outside, briefly checking the familiar dark purple color in the rooftop. Sighing in disappointment when there was none, she sat down and opened her bento. She ate silently with a heavy heart. She swore that there was something wrong. Her intuition was warning her of something.

"That looks delicious," another familiar voice her a start and she turned to the color blue that warmth her in a both welcoming and uncomfortable way. "You're really hard to find, Sawada-chan. I wanted to have lunch with you!"

There was the usual teasing tone that the black-haired boy used. He was really smiling, not a fake one, too, but the brunette realized something different about it from the other smiles she received. It was…worried?

"You wanted to have lunch with me?" she asked aloud, confusion dancing in her eyes. The two of them had been friends since Tsunako started to talk to him about random things but they never had lunch with each other, except for one time. Yamamoto was famous and it wouldn't do anything good, especially for the baseball star, if they were seen together.

The Mochida incident already started a rumor about her, Hibari and Yamamoto. He also watched over her since she was still injured. She didn't want to trouble him anymore than that.

"We're friends, after all!" he answered with a cheerful voice but the blind girl noticed how he blue color flashed with uncertainty like the time he had broken his wrist from practicing baseball too much. Her heart almost shrunk and her mouth opened before she could stop it.

"Are you okay?"

Her hand quickly covered her mouth and she tried not to panic at what she was saying. She wasn't supposed to ask this. It was something personal and she was afraid of crossing the line that she had unknowingly created between them. She didn't have the confident to talk about Yamamoto's issues without messing up. She might say something that she would regret. She wasn't ready.

…but she didn't want to see him like that again. She didn't want him to almost end his life again.

"I'm okay,"liar. She almost wanted to say but this time, she was able to keep her mouth shut. She watched with critical eyes at the way the blue color flashed nervously. The other chuckled, "Well, it seems like my average in baseball has been dropping as of late. No matter how much I train, I just keep getting worse, I have even been put on the bench."

The brunette briefly remembered the broken baseball player two years ago and she tried to keep her face from grimacing. She didn't think she succeeded with the awkward silence that occurred.

She opened her mouth to speak but she was tongue-tied. Her voice really had the worst timing to keep quiet.

"…do you think you could help?" Yamamoto finally asked, his voice hinting that he knew exactly what was happening to her.

Her mind went blank for a second because her mind kept on replying the way canon Yamamoto was driven to suicide after this question. "You shouldn't push yourself," she answered seriously, wishing that her face was as serious as her voice.

The black-haired boy needed to know the consequence of over-training himself.

"But my performance isn't−"

"−you'll overwork yourself if you keep on training without rest," she wanted to say more about his situation. She wanted to tell him that he shouldn't be the only one serious about the game…that he shouldn't the only one training to win. But she knew that he wouldn't believe her.

"I'm not saying that you should stop training all together. I just want you to be careful about your health as well. You should give one or two days for resting so you won't be tired often. I'm your friend and I'm worried about you, after all."

This was enough. At least, she hoped that her words were enough to stop him from falling into depression again.

"…that's true," Yamamoto replied with a strange tone in his voice but it made her relax a little. Although she didn't understand why his tone was unlike his usual one, her intuition wasn't acting up. Her friend would be fine.

A chuckle broke the awkward atmosphere surrounding them and the baseball player smiled, his usual one, "I guess that throwing myself into training is a bad idea, huh? It's really a good thing that I asked you about this, Sawada-chan. Thanks. You always know what to say."

Tsunako smiled serenely. 'I can do this. I can talk to Yamamoto-kun like this. It's okay as long as it's not more than this,' her mind repeated, her heart beating faster than ever. 'As long as I can keep an appropriate distance, I won't cause him any trouble but I can still talk to him about his problems. It's alright. Don't trouble him anymore than this…'

The two ate and laughed joyfully together, unaware of the heavy turmoils in each other's minds.

Gokudera had put his plan to work. He had decided to observe his target and he scowled at his findings. The future Decimo couldn't be more unfit to the mafia world than he thought. Defenseless, average, ordinary Sawada Tsunako was the typical female high school student.

She wasn't too smart nor too stupid, neither ugly nor beautiful. She stood in the middle but in terms of attitude, that was where he hated her the most. She acted the role of a goody-two-shoes. Kind, friendly, a little shy, like an angel… He really hated her type the most.

The bomber couldn't believe that she and that other stupid girl were idols in their class. It wasn't like he cared about those stuffs but it irritated him how his classmates acted smitten to her act, which couldn't possibly be true.

There's no one in this world, who could be kind without reason.

'Five days,' he decided while on his way back to his apartment. 'I'll attack her five days from now. That's more than enough to find her weakness…and to prepare myself to attack someone with disability.'

It wasn't fair. Gokudera would have attacked the next day if it weren't for the girl's blindness. His morals were being tested by his target and he hated how the other didn't notice. That girl lived in a careful life unlike him.

The silver-haired boy shook his head for his wandering thoughts and looked at his surroundings. It seemed like he took a wrong turn. He didn't know where he was but some thugs were surrounding him so he must have wondered in some delinquent's territory.

"Finally, back to earth?" one asked tauntingly, trying to be intimidating but he had seen much scarier people than these thugs. He merely raised an eyebrow. "So still think you're some hotshot that you will ignore us, you bastard?!"

"You just cross our territory and think that you can ignore us," another said angrily as the other thugs were also being heated. "Don't be cocky, bastard!"

Gokudera didn't wait for a signal instead he went straight to the nearest thug. He threw a right hook and immediately dodged any counter attacks that went to him. He had no need for his bombs in this street fight. His opponents were weaker than him.

He held his arms up above his head when another guy gave out a punch. Block soon became undone as the young Mafioso easily kicked the thug away.

His narrowed eyes glanced at his enemies, counting how many were left. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed how there seemed to be missing thugs. He quickly turned around and barely blocked the incoming attack with his arms.

He bit his teeth, feeling the pain of his wrists from the impact, and threw the attacker to the ground with a powerful punch. He slid down a little, his breathing becoming heavy.

"Not so tough now, eh, hotshot?" the leader sneered mockingly, earning a heated glare from bomber.

However, all the tension broke when a familiar bird came flying above them and sang the Namimori High anthem. The group's leader turned pale and mumbled in fear, "That bird and that song! There's only one person, who could be coming!"

"Hibari Kyoya!" the thugs exclaimed, terror evident in their voices and their leader glared at the weakened bomber. "Tch, you got lucky! But next time, you trespass again, we won't let it go!"

"Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

Seeing that his opponents were leaving, Gokudera relaxed a little but still kept guard for the person that seemed to be coming here. He wondered curiously who could have scared those punks so badly that they ran at first sight.

He glanced at the innocent bird flying above him and couldn't help the familiarity he felt. Had he met this bird before?

He heard light footsteps coming towards him, making his guard increase. "Are you okay?" he heard the familiar voice of his target and his body turned stiff at the sight of Sawada Tsunako in front of him.

'This was the guy that those thugs were scared of,' he thought in disbelief. 'I know that I shouldn't judge a book by its cover but this is ridiculous! This stupid girl is too weak for anyone to fear!'

He scowled in anger, "What are you doing here?!"

"Tsubasa was on patrol when he noticed you. I was worried when you went to a dark alley so I decided to follow you," her voice carried a concerned tone. His glare tightened at every words that the girl sprouted. "I didn't exactly see it but Tsubasa gave me a signal so I knew that you were in danger."

"It's a good thing that Tsubasa has the school anthem and was able to fool the thugs that Hibari-senpai is coming. Ah, are you okay?" she moved a little closer, her hand leaniing forward. "I could−"

"Don't fucking touch me!" he snapped at the blind girl, catching her off guard. "I could handle those thugs on my own!"

"But you were injured−" his smaller classmate looked even more worried.

The silver-haired boy didn't let her finish, "I could take care of myself! Why did you even save me?"

"You were in danger… I couldn't possibly just leave you alone."

That was a lie. It had to be. There was no way someone would save anyone just because they're in danger. She wanted something from him. Just like all the others. 'Trust no one,' was the motto he had lived with.

He gave a hateful glare. "It wasn't your business in the first place and you're lying. You wanted something, didn't you?" he glowered, his tone carrying malice and mockery. "That's why you saved me. Just drop the goody-two-shoes act and be the bitch that you are. I hate people like you! I'll fucking−"

"Shut up!"

That made the bomber pause. The Sawada's voice was different from before. A hint of desperation could be heard from that deternnined shout. He glanced at the girl, noticing how she trembled and looked about ready to cry.

"I know that it wasn't easy! I know that you would be different!" he couldn't understand what she was talking about and he didn't think that she was aware of what she was saying. "I just wanted to be like that…to be like the canon."

He didn't say anything. There was a part of him that wanted to ask what she was talking about but his lip was tongue-tied. There was something about making this girl cry that made him guilty.

"Is it really hard to believe that I saved you because I wanted to? Just like before when I helped you?"

He frowned grimly, "Yes, it is."

He turned his back to the brunette, feeling a heavy pain inside him and started to leave. "That hurt more than it should," he heard Tsunako say one last time but he didn't look back.

No matter how much the blind girl didn't seem to be lying, he couldn't accept that reason nor could he trust her. He had experienced many betrayals that his heart closed. A simple saving wouldn't crack it open.

Reborn didn't want to watch.

This distance that separated them was too precious to break even though it's the reason why Yamamoto and Tsunako couldn't be as close as they wanted. And that scene of Tsunako and Gokudera about saving someone for the sake of wanting to and distrusting someone for everyone wanted something in return.

'Sounds familiar, huh?' his dark glance narrowed harshly at the reminder of his past with them. He watched the three teenagers interact with each other and saw the resemblance they had to Fon, Luce and him. 'It's really painful watching these children…I can only hope that the others wouldn't resemble any of the Acobaleno.'

"Gokudera will wait," he thought aloud, focusing on his mission because that was why he was here. "He wants to plan things first… As for Yamamoto, Dame-Tsuna won't want him to be involved. The other guardians are still pending."

"First, she'll have to choose Gokudera as the storm guardian and then, everything will fall in place."

The hitman had already made plans and he made Gokudera the trigger of everything. One week after getting the storm guardian, Bianchi and Lambo would arrive as planned. Ryohei and Hibari were his first choices for the sun and cloud guardian but it's still uncertain while the mist guardian was still not chosen.

Yamamoto, on the other hand, already fulfilled the requirements for being the rain guardian. He just needed a push and the Arcobaleno decided that the push would be Gokudera's sudden friendship with Tsunako.

The baseball star hid his dark emotions well but the baby was not a hitman for nothing. Reborn knew insecurity and jealousy when he observed people.

Even when the Gokudera and Tsunako clearly didn't look like they were getting along, Yamamoto still felt insecure when he saw the two together. The boy also looked jealous after hearing Kyoko and Hana call the brunette by her first name. He clearly didn't want to lose his only friend to anyone.

'Like how Fon didn't want to lose Luce,' the small hitman gritted his teeth and shook his head, erasing whatever his mind wandered to. 'I'll take advantage of the boy's dark emotions. I would make instances where he would see Gokudera and Dame-Tsuna together. It'll push him into edge.'

"That dame would be angry if she knows my plan," he lightly chuckled, imagining his student, before his face hardened again. "I don't know how Yamamoto will snap but it'll surely break it…whatever's stopping those two from being close. Then, she'll have her rain guardian."

Forcing these relationships to be formed, Reborn couldn't feel guilty at his actions. That was how it had been with Dino as well and he never apologized even when his first student found out about it.

But if it was Tsunako…he wondered why he felt the guilt.

The hitman smirked grimly, 'Don't get attached. Luce was bad enough and even they… Don't forget that you're a hitman.'

Jaded-chan: ...sorry! *hids in a closet* I'm sorry for the long wait! I lost motivation to write. Anyway, this chapter was supposed to be long because I felt guilty and it was supposed to have all of Gokudera's scene but then, I thought of finishing his scene next chapter. Of course, all the guardians have two chapters for their parts as well!

On to this chapter, right so…yeah, Nana and many others finding out about the mafia, it's a thing now. Tsunako's relationship with her mother is really strong and she can't lie to her precious people. She wanted to tell the truth but she also knew the consequence of knowing the truth about the mafia. That's why she asked Reborn.

Ugh, I knew that Tsunako's characterization might be a little off but yeah, I technically thought that it would be better if she had brave-scared thing going on. I once thought of giving her a brae attitude but then, I realized that no, I'll give her this dilemma because aren't people like that? Trying to act brave when we're scared in truth? Or wanting to be brave even though we're brave?

Reborn's relationship to Tsunako is awkward at best, you know…I wanted to let them have the relationship they had in canon but then, I realized that Tsuna was really alike Luce and it'll definitely remind Reborn of his past, which I think is painful all things considered, and yes, I'm really writing the Arcobaleno's past in my perspective. And in a way, they are like the Tenth Generation. Tsuna as Luce, Yamamoto as Fon, Gokudera as Reborn, etc…

Also, no pairing as of yet! I'm making this as general as possible but there will be hints yet there's not pairing! Yamamoto's and Tsunako's relationship was complicated as it is (and I'll explain more in his part but you can see hints in Gokudera's part, too) but they're just close friends…

The way, I see it, Yamamoto is the type to be secretly insecure (just read the manga, he tried to commit suicide) and Tsunako's his first friend. Don't some people want to keep their friends to themselves, especially if it's their only friend? As for Tsunako, she's scared that getting Yamamoto involved with her will trouble him. She knows that he's supposed to be her rain guardian but she's unconsciously wanting to keep him away.

(But if, I mean it, if Tsunako is really to be paired with another, who's your vote? By the way it's going now, I'm leaning to 8027…but last time, it was 1827 or 6927. Plus, there's also 5927. And a part of me actually wants the reverse harem route XD)

I won't really count the votes until we are in the tenth chapter. But anyway, only one vote per chapter and I won't guarantee that I'll even actually listen to the votes. I just want to know which pairing is the one you guys like the most and then, I'll decide if I'll go with it or not. It's actually much better if you guys were to write a reason as to why you guys want that pairing…

Finally, Gokudera…he's not as hot-headed here because he's older. I thought about it and decided that he won't easily be swayed by being saved. Because he's older, he might have experienced it, you know? The feeling of gratitude to someone who saved him yet it was all so that he would do something for them… He would learn to distrust anyone because in his mind, no one would save or help anyone unless there's a price.

Also, I still stuck at writing fighting scenes. Haha, I need to do my research…