Lightning Never Strikes Twice

Chapter 3

This chapter isn't edited in any way, shape, or form. If you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out to me! I'll try my best to edit when I can! :v

Warnings: General. Rushed writing. Filler-ish.

A/N: Long time, no see! I finally decided on where I wanted to go with this story, haha—it will be a chapter or two before it can happen, but it will explore the Wizarding World more in depth and stuff soon. :v It has everything to do with how I want to characterize Hyacinth, because as it is—they're very OOC for a fem!Harry Potter, though I'm chalking it up to the fact that they didn't grow up with the Dursleys, nor have they really experienced any real hardship in their life, much less the shit the canon Harry Potter had to go through.

And Sirius raised them.

Hopefully as I explore more of the story, the characterization will grow and settle into something more familiar to canon Harry Potter's character. It'll be—interesting, to explore the point A to point B. :v No doubt some parts will be angsty, which will be fun~

Also, I apologize if the chapter seems disconnected or disjointed! I tried my best to tie each segment together, haha—a lot of this chapter was written in bits and pieces over the span of a year and some months, with some parts shifted around…

Other than that, enjoy!

(Also, I appreciate all the reviews! Though I don't respond much anymore due to time constraints, I do obsessively read them over and over again to get inspiration to write more for a story! :D )

"Who the hell are you?"

Hyacinth nibbled on her toast, glancing between Takeshi and Gokudera. Gokudera looked mere seconds away from dropping his bag and snarling in Takeshi's face, the whites of his knuckles showing from his tight grip on his own bag. Takeshi simply smiled, waving at him cheerfully.

"My name is Yamamoto Takeshi. Nice to meet you," Takeshi laughed.

An annoyed tick appeared, and Gokudera narrowed his eyes. Dismissing the baseball player, he turned towards Hyacinth with bared teeth. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Bringing your little boyfriend around here?"

Hyacinth finished off her toast and reached forward to wipe the crumbs off her fingers onto Gokudera's jacket. He sputtered and snarled wordlessly. "Jeez, calm down, Gokubaka~ He's a friend! And he's going to be sticking around! So, get used to him."

"I'm not little, haha," Takeshi inputted, still cheerful. "I'm actually taller than you."

Gokudera swung his heavy and hard glare onto him. "Shut up, baseball freak," he snapped. Hyacinth laughed, and Gokudera muttered some more. "You two better not cause trouble for the Tenth! I'll kill you two if you do!"

"You can try," Hyacinth sang-song. "And why did you call Takeshi-kun a baseball freak? How do you know he likes baseball? I thought you didn't know him!" Gokudera flushed, flustered and frustrated. Takeshi just smiled a bit wider.

"Shove off," Gokudera said with a heavy exhale. "Why, I oughta—"

A loud crash came from the Sawada household, prompting the three teens to turn and stare at the entrance. Hyacinth grinned expectantly, even as Gokudera looked momentarily worried. "I say 3 seconds!" Hyacinth nodded eagerly, causing Gokudera to glare at her.

"Don't fucking bet, what if he's gotten seriously hurt!" The thought was worrying Gokudera too much, and he looked tempted to run into the house.

"Eh? What's going on?" Takeshi blinked, glancing between Hyacinth and the house. From what Hyacinth told him, Tsuna lived right next to her.

"Tsu-kun's awesome exit!" Hyacinth grinned. Takeshi hummed, and glanced at the house expectantly too. True to her words, Tsuna more or less staggered out of the house, hair singed and looking a bit worse for wear. "Good morning, Tsu-kun!"

Tsuna's head snapped upwards, blinking wide at them. "Oh, uh—good morning," he stammered, as he tried to smooth down his clothes. With one last nervous glance at the house behind him, he joined the trio waiting for him as they started to walk to school.

"Tenth! Are you alright?" Gokudera asked worriedly, looking only a breath away from shaking Tsuna down for answers. Both of them were walking in front of them on the street while Hyacinth and Takeshi lingered behind; Takeshi didn't really mind, whistling a little tune to himself to keep himself busy.

At least, appear a bit busy. People tended to be a bit freaked out if Takeshi was silent or idle for too long, far too used to Takeshi being a bit more outgoing than he really felt. There was also the fact that Gokudera probably wouldn't like Takeshi blatantly observing him.

"I-I'm fine," Tsuna hid a miniature wince. "Just woke up a second too late. B-but that's beside the point!"

"Reborn-san is really strict," Hyacinth whistled, still cheerful. Takeshi hummed, bringing Hyacinth's attention towards him. With an inquisitive tilt of his head, Hyacinth seemingly understood and grinned rather crookedly at him. "Reborn-san is Tsuna's tor-tutor!"

"Tor-tutor?" Takeshi knew about the baby that followed them around, of course. He knew that, from what Hyacinth had managed to tell them in their hanging out, the baby was the reason why Tsuna and Hyacinth suddenly seemed so much more recently.

"Hyacinth," Tsuna snapped, eyes darting to Takeshi's face and back to Hyacinth's quickly. "Just—just don't," he muttered, turning back around and quickly walking away. Gokudera spared the two of them a rather smug look, though there was a troubled twist to his expression as he quickly followed.

Hyacinth's expression faltered a bit, mouth pressing into a thin line. "Man," she sighed, running a frustrated hand through her hair and fumbling when they got caught in her goggles. Not a bit awkward, she fixed her mistake and caught Takeshi's stare, shrugging helplessly. "He's still a bit weird around you, sorry."

"Still?" Takeshi offered a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

Right, that.

Ever since that fateful day, things had been quite—not really awkward, but tense. Not between Hyacinth and Takeshi, but rather between the two of them together against Tsuna. It was part of the reason why Takeshi chose to linger a bit more in the background, along with properly recovering from his injuries at home and debating with himself if he should talk to his father or not about what really happened that day.

Takeshi could never think of a proper way to tell him.

It made him feel slightly sick.

It didn't help that Tsuna was jittery and flustered as hell with him afterwards, barely meeting his eyes and barely speaking to him. Hyacinth had only offered that he felt 'guilty' but should get over it soon. Takeshi silently mused over the reasons why, though he could only come up with the explanation that Tsuna felt like his attempt was his fault.

Which was absurd, considering Takeshi's own foolishness.

Feelings were weird, often winning out over logic. Takeshi's usual method with dealing with complicated matters such as this (dubbed, "smile until it goes away") didn't seem to be working as well. Maybe it was because Tsuna was a bit more observant than he let on.

It probably was.

It was Hyacinth who first drew Takeshi's attention to the two, though the more he observed, the more he realized that Tsuna was an enigma on his own as well. Something about him was particularly off, it made Takeshi both curious and wary at once. Though he doubted it was anything malicious, and he didn't think it was like his uncle's brand of observant, the dangerously cold and rather callous way his eyes darkened when something caught his interest.

No, it wasn't anything like that.

Tsuna wasn't like Takeshi, much less his uncle.

Takeshi didn't know what to do, or say, in this situation. It was obvious that the obvious wasn't working, that being that Takeshi's own actions were not influenced by any other than himself. An almost irritating itch scratched underneath his skin, an almost bitter twist of feeling insisting that it was an incredibly selfish notion of trying to take blame of something that was obviously his.

It was his mistake, his regret; his foolishness.

It irked him to some extent to think that Tsuna was trying to take that responsibility.

Especially after saying something like that on that day-

"Hey, hey~" A hand waved in front of his face, making Takeshi focus sharply and blink a bit. Hyacinth was grinning at him, must have noticed Takeshi lingering silence behind her. When she was sure she had his full attention, her grin softened considerably into something a bit more serious. "It's a difficult situation, for sure. And I'm not really sure how to, er—"

"Handle it?" Takeshi offered as she trailed off, obviously looking for the right words.

"Yep!" Hyacinth snapped her fingers together, nodding eagerly. "I've never been good with handling delicate situations like this. And Tsuna can be really stubborn if he wants to." But why? Takeshi bit that question back, shifting his eyes upward momentarily to glance at the sky.

It was slightly cloudy; maybe it'll rain later. Takeshi forgot to check the weather earlier.

Not like it matters, though, seeing as of that he's still medically excused from baseball. "At least we have something in common," Takeshi enthused. "I have no idea what to do either, haha."

"It is a delicate situation," a squeaky voice interrupted. Takeshi tilted his head slightly, instantly finding and blinking at the baby that he had saw a few times before. The baby's dark eyes glinted, and he seemingly stared intently at Takeshi briefly before turning his attention towards Hyacinth. "Ciaossu," Reborn greeted.

"Reborn-san!" Hyacinth rocked back and forth on her feet. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, kid," Takeshi waved brightly, feeling a faint flicker of amusement at Reborn's slight twitch. It was the slightest of all slight twitches. "Ah—Reborn-san? Is this Tsuna's tor-tutor?"

"Yep, yep," was all Hyacinth said, staring eagerly at the baby as he prodded up to them. Takeshi hummed, glancing back at Reborn. "Were you listening the whole time, Reborn-san?"

"I don't need to lower myself to such standards," Reborn smirked. "I already know everything," he promised. Hyacinth 'ah'ed, while Takeshi laughed again. Know everything, huh? That sent an ominous shudder through Takeshi's core, and barely suppressed with an easy-going grin that had too much clenched teeth.

"That's cool," Takeshi managed, with a slight laugh. Reborn's eyes were too dark, too intense; it left him feeling oddly paranoid. "Do you think you can help with my situation, then?"

"Of course," Reborn smirked. Hyacinth whooped, excited and eager. Takeshi tried to match her with a grin of his own, though he felt dread pool and drag in his stomach. He shook it off, ignoring the unsettling feeling, and focused on what Reborn could do for him right now.

Reborn was Tsuna's tutor, and should know what to do, and what was best for the situation. Especially concerning Tsuna, and if Takeshi could just ease the wedge between the two of them—that would be enough. He wanted to be considered friends with the timid boy as well.

"Dame-Tsuna thinks too much," the baby concluded. "He needs something to distract him, as well as prove that you," dark eyes met Takeshi's, and he blinked slowly, "don't hate him."

"Why would I hate him?" Takeshi laughed, awkward and a bit frustrated. Takeshi never hated anyone, either out of principle or the fact that the closest thing he's ever came to hate was his own feelings towards himself.

"Tsu-kun is an insecure man-child," Hyacinth nodded, excited expression smoothing out to something a bit more serious, contemplative. Her green eyes narrowed slightly, wringing her fingers together. "Something to distract him, huh?" A sly and eager grin appeared, and Takeshi tilted his head.

"Distract him with what?" Takeshi smiled, hesitantly.

"Yep, yep! Did you know that there is a fair this weekend, Takeshi-kun? Reborn-san?" Hyacinth was practically vibrating with excitement, her eyes darting between the two of them. Reborn was smirking, and Takeshi only shrugged. His father had mentioned it recently to him, probably to hint that he wanted Takeshi to go.

Takeshi only humored him then, because he still couldn't properly look into his father's eyes.

"Yeah..?" Takeshi said, slowly. "I don't think Tsuna is going to be all that distracted with just going to a fair, though." As mean as other students were to him, from what Takeshi observed, he highly doubted that Tsuna would find enjoyment where a lot of their peers were going to be gathered. Especially if the Disciplinary Committee was going to be lurking there…

"Probably not the event itself," Hyacinth admitted. "But I'm sure if he went with a certain someone, that would be distracting enough for him. And plus, if you help orchestrate it, that will prove that you absolutely do not hate him!"

It took a few seconds of processing, but Takeshi hummed in realization. Ah, of course: Sasagawa Kyoko, the female idol in their class. As it was, Takeshi's female counterpart in terms of popularity in their class, so it would be hard to not notice her.

And it was harder to not notice Tsuna's overwhelming crush on her after a few days of hanging around him.

"Oh, I see," Takeshi laughed. "That might work."

"What do ya' think, Reborn-san?" Hyacinth grinned, both of the teens turning to where Reborn was. Er, was supposed to be, at least. Takeshi blinked, and glanced around, a bit unnerved at this. His uncle would be horribly amused—at least, act like it.

And then probably take it upon himself to try and teach him things, much to his father's disproval and imminent intervention.

"I'm taking that as approval!" Hyacinth mused, eyes still darting around restlessly before shrugging. She grinned at him. "Then it's settled, right? We'll just have to get Kyoko and Tsu-kun alone together at the fair this weekend, while making sure he knows that you are willingly helping!"

Takeshi cast one last absent glance around, searching for the tor-tutor before internally sighing. Both Hyacinth and him continued on their way towards school, not too hurried because it was a lost cause to try and catch up with the other two. In fact, he was pretty sure they'd be cutting it extremely close to being late.

And being late meant Disciplinary Committee.

"Do we need a plan?" Takeshi asked, only a bit hesitant at getting in trouble by the DC. Not only would his position on the baseball team be threatened -not at all helped by his academic record-, his dad might find out and that would only add onto the heavy and squirming feeling lingering deep in his stomach.

But the thought of finally being a part of the excitement that the other three seemed to be getting into was too good of an opportunity to just let it slip by, much less be tainted by things such as consequences.

Besides, Hyacinth seemed to live without any concern for them. "Nah," she waved off his question. "We know what to do, we just need to do it. Ah, but I guess—we shouldn't let Kyoko-chan know. Her friend Hana can be plenty scary if she thinks people are taking advantage of her best friend," Hyacinth wrinkled her nose.

Well, using the terms 'taking advantage of' in this instance—Takeshi couldn't help but laugh. "You're making it seem like we're doing something bad," he huffed, making Hyacinth roll her eyes.

"It can be viewed that way—or, it can be viewed as guiding the situation! And we're gonna guide this situation successfully." Hyacinth chirped, eyes alight. "It'll be great, don't worry. It will either succeed or fail—both options aren't bad, haha." Failing seemed like a bad option, in Takeshi's opinion.

Not too sure what to say to that, Takeshi just laughed yet again.

It was only pure luck that they managed to make it to school on time. Hibari narrowed his eyes at them as they passed though, Hyacinth pointedly glancing away and whistling an innocent tune. Takeshi only smiled and waved cheerfully at the perfect as they passed, making the older boy bare his teeth threateningly.

Takeshi wondered when they would implement their plan, as they changed their shoes and put on their school one's. It was only when they caught up to Gokudera and Tsuna in their classroom that Takeshi realized with slight bemusement that it was apparently as soon as possible, because Hyacinth wasted no time.

Dropping into an empty desk in front of Tsuna's, Hyacinth rested her chin on her palm and smiled at Tsuna. Tsuna was instantly on guard, expression set slightly. "Hey, Tsu-kun~"

"No." Tsuna instantly replied.

"Yes. You wanna go to the fair this weekend?" Hyacinth seemingly dismissed his disproval with practiced ease. Tsuna sighed, after casting a discreet glance in Takeshi's direction before blinking in confusion at Hyacinth's question.

"Not particularly," Tsuna made a face.

"You do! Great!" Hyacinth chirped, clapping her hands together. Takeshi barely withheld a snort, though Gokudera glared at him anyways. "And you wanna invite Kyoko-chan, right?"

At this point, Tsuna was sputtering. "Hyacinth, stop acting—wait, what? No, no I don't! I don't even want to go!" Gokudera was huffing, sensing Tsuna's distress and was seemingly ready to throw down with Hyacinth due to it.

Takeshi threw an arm around him, partially distracting and wholly in plan to restrain him just in case. "I'm sure it'll be fun, yeah?"

"Don't touch me!" Gokudera shrugged him off, snarling in his face. Takeshi barely refrained from sighing, keeping his smile pasted on with iron will.

Hyacinth seemingly ignored their exchange, just as well as she was ignoring Tsuna's growing panic.

Hyacinth nodded, smiling winningly at Tsuna. "I understand completely," she exclaimed, before turning and waving down Kyoko. "Hey, Kyoko-chan! Come over here, please?" Kyoko seemed momentarily surprised, and Hyacinth sent her a wide grin. Tsuna choked on his spit, and he flailed, caught in between jumping out of his seat running and trying to drag Hyacinth down with him.

In the end, he only dragged himself down, falling into the floor with a solid whump. "Ow," he whined.

"Hya-chan," Kyoko appeared with a bright little smile, an accompanying Hana lurking behind her. "Good morning! Is something wrong?"

"Does there have to be something wrong for me to talk to ya'?" Hyacinth tilted her head, blinking. Hana rolled her eyes, focusing on her after eying Tsuna's ungraceful heap on the floor with disgust.

"You're always up to no good," Hana scolded. "You better not be planning something."

"Hana," Kyoko reprimanded, flushing slightly. "Please, ignore her! It's just that, well, you never seem one to initiate conversation with me," she explained, pushing her fingers together sheepishly. She grinned at her, though. "But I'm glad you seem to want to talk to me! If something's wrong, I'd be happy to help."

"You're too nice," Hana muttered, folding her arms and glancing away.

"Help, huh?" Hyacinth mused, a glint in her eye. "Well, I have been—"

"Stupid idiot!" Gokudera snapped at her, after attempting to help Tsuna up off the floor. "What are you getting at, dammit," he hissed at her, and Hyacinth stuck her tongue out at him. Tsuna whimpered out of embarrassment, falling back into his seat and hiding his face into his arms.

"Hey, Kyoko-chan, Hana-chan," Takeshi grinned, waving at them. Hana only made a face, while Kyoko giggled and waved back. "Don't worry, ne? We're all friends here," he nodded, much to Gokudera and Hana's annoyance.

"The fuck we are!" Gokudera huffed.

Tsuna groaned into his arms again, before seemingly taking a breath and straightening. His face had an unhealthy flush, and his eyes darted about nervously before he cleared his throat, "G- good morning, Kyoko-chan," he offered her a shaky smile.

Kyoko was oblivious to his nervousness. "Good morning, Tsuna-kun!"

"What do you monkeys want?" Hana groused. "We don't have all day!"

"Ah, right," Hyacinth snapped her fingers. "I was wondering if Kyoko-chan would want to hang out with us this weekend at the fair!" Tsuna's head whipped around to stare incredulously at Hyacinth, who promptly ignored him to send a silly grin at Kyoko. Kyoko blinked, surprised.

"Oh, really?" For a second, she appeared reluctant before brightening. "I love fairs! Is it really okay for me to join you guys?"

"Of course not—" Hana started.

"Of course it is!" Hyacinth finished, louder than Hana's indignant words. She glared at the green-eyed girl, and Hyacinth sent her a slight smirk. "We'd love to hang out with you, Kyoko-chan~"

"If it's really okay," Kyoko agreed, looking excited. "Thank you so much for inviting me!"

Hana just gave them a haughty look, cutting the conversation short by practically dragging the cheerful girl away from them. Hyacinth wiggled her fingers in goodbye, turning towards a bright-red Tsuna and grinning. "How's that for a wingman, eh?"

"Bullshit," Gokudera retorted sharply.

"I didn't ask you to do that! In fact, I'm pretty sure I begged you not to!" Tsuna quietly screeched at Hyacinth, who scratched at her cheek, uncaring. "Oh god, why did you do that?" Tsuna lamented, holding his face into his hands.

"It seems like a good idea, right?" Takeshi interjected, cocking his head to the side. He hoped it made him look airy and thoughtful. "I mean, you wanna be her friend, right?"

Tsuna gave him a quick glance, perplexed and strained. "I—"

"He wants to be more than that~" Hyacinth teased, wiggling her eyebrows. "He wants to hold her hand, kiss he—"

"Hyacinth," Tsuna groaned, interrupting her. Hyacinth tipped her head back and laughed. Giving her a mulish glare, Tsuna began to trace intermediate patterns on his desk sullenly. "And I don't even have money to go," he huffed.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to, Tenth!" Ever quick to please, Gokudera assured Tsuna. He swung his glare at Hyacinth. "You! Stop causing trouble for the Tenth! It's annoying, dammit," he hissed.

Hyacinth waved him off, eyes thoughtful. "Money, huh," she mused. Tsuna eyed her, opening his mouth to try and dissuade her but their homeroom teacher ambled into the room just then, vying for silence and for everyone to go to their seats.

Takeshi didn't know what the look in her eyes stood for.

But he was sure he liked it, he liked it a lot.

-0-0-0-

"Isn't this illegal?" Takeshi asked simply, wrinkling his nose at the dense smell of cigarette smoke and expensive scents, along with the sharp smell of alcohol. He watched as Hyacinth greeted a few people, before she turned to answer him, eyes glinting in the light.

"Hah? Are you an idiot?" Gokudera interrupted before she could answer, and Takeshi turned towards him, smiling vacantly. Gokudera looked at ease in the gambling den, albeit a bit paranoid, and he shot a challenging look at the baseball player when he caught his glance. "Of fucking course it's illegal. Why? Can't handle it?"

Gokudera was an unexpected variable, though Takeshi subconsciously knew he'd be somehow included in on this. Otherwise, he'd be too much of an obstacle to take care of. And Reborn wanted this to be a family exercise, though emphasis on the word making Takeshi twitch slightly.

So, Gokudera was soon cornered after their plan began and caught up—as expected, he went along with it, especially once Reborn had expressed his desire for it to succeed. He even appeared a bit approving when Hyacinth revealed her plan for some quick cash.

Gambling.

"Just curious," Takeshi laughed, raising his hands pacifically. He glanced at the people he was staring at before and felt a slightly bemused twitch of his lips. "Aren't those people apart of Hibari-san's Disciplinary Committee, ne?"

"What?" Gokudera glanced wildly at their direction, bewildered. While Takeshi highly doubted that he knew who Hibari-san was, the fact that there would be Disciplinary Committee members anywhere near a gambling den would be suspicious. "What the fuck?"

"I'm not surprised," Hyacinth admitted, eyes still alight with excitement. Takeshi had to wonder if she was just easily excited by being in this type of environment, with the air was practically buzzing with action, verbal and otherwise. It was still somehow an elegant place, though; sleek tables and finely dressed people, it only served to alienate the three middle schoolers.

"What the fuck kind of town is this?" Gokudera made a face.

"The town that is practically ruled by Hibari-san," Hyacinth replied. "Hibari-san uses this place to recruit people into his Disciplinary Committee members without physically beating them into submission. If they're in his debt, then they can pay it off by being in the Disciplinary Committee. Which is why there are members here," she gestured at the people Takeshi was staring at before.

"Who is this Hibari?" Gokudera seemed particularly disturbed at this revelation. He urged them further into the backwall of the place, which was lined with lounge chairs, and further away from the main gambling events. He looked restless, and Takeshi huffed a bit, laughing. "What the fuck are you laughing at, baseball-freak?"

"Hibari-san is the head of the Disciplinary Committee," Takeshi answered instead. "While there was a Disciplinary Committee before Hibari-san entered Namimori Middle, he created his own and managed to, er—assimilate the previous Disciplinary Committee, and now he kind of—"

"Rules the town with an iron fist?" Hyacinth offered, managing to flag down a few drinks for them. They weren't alcoholic, which was sort of disappointing. Takeshi already felt like he was already on board with this, why not go all the way? "But yeah, Hibari-san is someone to look out for."

"You think I can't take him?" Gokudera snapped, taking the drink from her harshly. He took a sharp drink from it, wrinkling his nose. "Egh, tea."

"I'm not saying—well, actually, sure," Hyacinth pondered, sipping at her drink. It was tea, Takeshi observed, sipping as well. It tasted a bit over-steeped, and a whole lot plain. "I'm just saying, don't underestimate him. And also, this is beside the point! We came here to win!"

"How do you even know about a place like this, Hya-chan?" Takeshi asked, eying the main tables curiously. He didn't know much about gambling, or any type of rules. At most, maybe some blackjack or rock-paper-scissors. Hyacinth sent him a cheeky grin.

"How wouldn't I know about this place?" Hyacinth hummed, downing the rest of her tea. "Are you guys lucky?"

"Tch," Gokudera stared intently out into the crowd, jaw tense. "I wouldn't say luck matters, it's all about how you play the odds. Just fucking wait, I'll get the money and we'll be out in a bit," he declared, setting his still full drink aside and storming into the crowd, disappearing amongst the crowd.

"So impatient," Hyacinth complained. "How about you, Takeshi-kun? Feeling lucky tonight?"

Takeshi felt slightly glad it was just them, though he felt a bit bland about the place they were at. Still, it was exciting, and Takeshi let a smile slide onto his face. "Not a bit," he admitted, laughing. "I never had the time to learn," baseball was his number one priority until recently.

In fact, this whole place was interesting—but the fact that Takeshi couldn't help but feel like his uncle would be interested in this place was only a tiny bit concerning. Surely, his late mother and father wouldn't approve. But Hyacinth was here, so Takeshi could so call 'forgive' himself for being here.

"You can follow me, then," Hyacinth offered, cracking her knuckles. "I can teach ya' a few tricks if you pay attention," she winked at him, before flouncing off into the crowd. Takeshi stared after her, a moment of something fluctuating in his chest before dismissing it and following after her, managing to catch up with a few long strides of his own longer legs.

Gokudera was at one of the tables they passed, and Takeshi watched the game they were playing. It seemed like a standard game of poker, and Gokudera already had a few chips gathered at his end. He appeared languid, even though Takeshi could see the taught line in his posture, the tenseness in his mean smirk.

Huh.

"The game I'm going to start with is Concentration," Hyacinth told him, weaving through the people. Takeshi blinked, momentarily surprised. Concentration? That memory match-up game? That could be turned into a gambling game? "It's a pretty easy game," Hyacinth admitted, sheepishly.

"I'm sure you can win," Takeshi replied automatically, smiling at her. Hyacinth snorted, as they finally arrived at their destination. Takeshi lingered behind her, not too far but not too close to be mistaken as an actual player.

Luckily, the previous game just ended.

The winner was an older teenager with dyed bright blond hair, dark eyes, and a mean smile. He brightened when he saw Hyacinth. "Well, well, well; if it isn't little Kuro-chan," he greeted, eyes jumping from her to Takeshi. Takeshi waved at him. "And a friend! What brings you two here?"

"We're here to win," Hyacinth replied airily. Confident.

"Are you now?" The older teenager asked lightly, smiling absently. "Well, you can try. I've been pretty lucky tonight." Hyacinth huffed, straightening and watching as the older teenager cleared the table, sliding all the cards into a neat deck in a smooth movement. He shuffled them, never taking his eyes off the two of them. "Who's your friend, Kuro-chan?"

"Yamamoto Takeshi," Takeshi answered with a bright, hopefully dumb, grin. "Nice to meet you!"

The older teenager seemed to analyze him for a brief moment, expression still open and amiable. At last, he chuckled and nodded back. "My name is Nakamura Sen; pleasure is all mine. Do you plan on playing as well, Yamamoto-kun?"

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, Takeshi shook his head. "Nah, I'll let Hyacinth take the lead on this one. I didn't even know this place existed before tonight, haha," to emphasize this, Takeshi gestured vaguely around them. Sen hummed, even as Hyacinth rocked back and forth on her feet impatiently.

"It is pretty out of the way," Sen mused. "That, and I'm pretty sure even Hibari-san's father doesn't knows about this place." A cat-like smile curled over his lips, and he seemed dangerously amused. "I wonder about that, sometimes. How the chief of police will react if he found out that his son is hosting an illegal gambling den," he sighed, shaking his head, almost in disappointment.

"Wanna find out?" Hyacinth blinked, hand impulsively reaching for her bag.

"What? No, no," Sen blanched, laughing her off with a wave of his hand. "I'd rather not be murdered in my sleep."

"I don't think Hibari-senpai will give you the privilege," Takeshi offered, still smiling that dumb little smile. "At least, if you were asleep, you probably wouldn't know what had happened. He'd probably like to keep you awake if he did kill you."

"Good point, good point," Hyacinth nodded along.

Sen's amiable expression seemed pasted on now, even as his eyes darted to the side quickly, almost nervously. He shook his head, and glanced back at them, smiling as if his quick-change in expression didn't happen. Hyacinth didn't seem to notice, but Takeshi didn't spend the majority of his life going through the motions of other people and recycling them endlessly to not notice this.

Takeshi felt his own smile relax into something a bit more genuine.

"Let's stop talking about my employer," Sen suggested. "And let's move on with game!"

"Sure!" Hyacinth chirped in agreement, an eager light in her eyes.

After losing a few rounds, most of which caused a frown to furrow between Sen's brows—Hyacinth only smiled slightly and began to start winning. "You really should stop going easy on me, ya' know? It hurts my pride," Sen let out a low huff, torn between a strained smile and a grimace.

"I'm not going easy on you!" Hyacinth assured him, though her eyes were trained solely on the round she was currently winning. There was barely any hesitation in her movements, her fingers deftly flicking pairs of cards over and over until the end. "I was just memorizing the layout for a bit."

"The deck of cards changes every game," Sen declared almost defensively, already resigning himself this round. He rolled his shoulders, easing a crick in his neck; his aimable expression faltered slightly as he stared dully at Hyacinth's win.

Hyacinth's smile turned sly. "They do," she agreed easily. "But your placement of them certainly doesn't. Ah, isn't it weird, though, that even when you open a new pack of cards and shuffle them the way you always do—that the same exact pairs are always in the same place?"

Takeshi perked up at this bit of information, curious. Cheating? He didn't even notice—though, to be fair, he was only interested for a few minutes before he grew bored and began to observe the room around him, the people lurking in the dusty warehouse turned gambling den.

Sen's expression spasmed, causing him to glance away briefly. When he finally looked back at them, a resigned little smile edged his face. "One of these days," he began almost wistfully, shaking his head. "Oh well~ Hibari-san isn't gonna be happy with me either way, so losing to you yet again won't be too bad."

"Cheating is a lame way to ensure victory," Hyacinth almost chided, gathering up her winnings—wooden tokens of some sort, to go exchange at the shady counter near the entrance. Gokudera was already there, eying the man counting out his winnings suspiciously and casting impatient glares their way.

"It would be, if it wasn't apart of the game," Sen laughed. Cheating and gambling—Takeshi figured they'd go hand in hand, though he wondered if it was for the pleasure of doing it or the rewards that kept on enticing people to go back to it.

Humans were incredibly easy to subject to promise of reward, chasing pleasure. It was something his uncle always warned and advised him about, to avoid some situations concerning while manipulating others. It was something his father discouraged his uncle to talk about, stating that such a callous look at the world wasn't needed in their household.

"Then it's probably a good thing I'm good at avoiding it," Hyacinth chirped, stepping away from the table to bunch up the bottom of her shirt to hold the tokens in. "Good game, Sen! Though you're a cheater cheater pumpkin eater—it'll be fun to play with you again!"

Sen blanched at the childish nickname, even more so when Takeshi snickered. Sen's eyes flickered towards him. "Thank you, thank you—how about you, Yamamoto-kun? Will you play next time we meet?" His smile was nice enough, though a bit taunting.

"Maybe," Takeshi shrugged, smiling absently at the other teen. "I like games well enough; I hate losing, though, haha," he rubbed the back of his head, noting Hyacinth already bounding away from table and towards the counter.

It was almost condescending, Sen's expression. "Is that so? Then I'm not really sure you'd be up playing against me," he chuckled, making a flicker of bemusement lace through Takeshi.

"Big words coming from someone who just lost 4 times straight," Takeshi stated back with a chuckle of his own. Sen pulled back, huffing slightly. "And I meant it when I said I hate losing," he warned, turning away to head towards the exit. "So if we play, I'm not going to lose."

With that, he walked away, slipping through the crowd with ease.

"—Was that person you were playing against that fuckface's brother?" Gokudera grunted out, lighting a cigarette in his hands. Hyacinth was rocking back and forth of her feet, absently recounting her winnings.

"Sen? Yeah, yeah—Ren was the one you were playing against. They're twins!" Hyacinth affirmed, and apparently pleased by what she counted, she pocketed the envelope in her jacket's inner pocket. "Did Ren try and pull a fast one on ya'?"

Gokudera scowled, inhaling his cigarette sharply before releasing a breath in a explosive plume of smoke. "That bastard, trying to cheat—it took me a few rounds to notice, but it wasn't hard to win after I figured it out." His narrowed eyes flicked towards Takeshi, eying him before scowling. "I'm guessing you didn't win anything?"

"I didn't even play," Takeshi informed a bit too enthusiastically, rather enjoying Gokudera's expression straining.

"Fuckin' useless," Gokudera muttered. Hyacinth rolled her eyes, shoving her hands into her pockets and grinning. "Let's just leave already—this place is giving me a headache," Gokudera, uncaring for anything that didn't involve Tsuna, dropped his cigarette butt on the ground and grinding it sharply with his heel as he walked past it.

As they emerged from the gambling den, into the clear night air—they chattered about themselves, mostly Hyacinth and Gokudera arguing over what to do next and if they should go celebrate—Gokudera just wanted to go home, after giving Tsuna the money, while Hyacinth was egging him to choose a celebration via soda and a 24 hour arcade.

It felt—nice. To almost be himself, enjoying a night with others who didn't really know him but accepted him nonetheless; even Gokudera's certain dismissal of his presence didn't deter him, because his whole opinion on him was based on what he could do for Tsuna, for the family.

Takeshi wasn't dumb, no matter how he chose to act and his own confusion at his existence, or his recent actions. This was something bigger than Takeshi's sheltered life of baseball and middle school, edging on Takeshi's other life of questionable maybe there maybe not emotions and dangerous uncle.

His father would definitely not approve. His uncle wouldn't particularly care beyond giving him a knowing look.

But Takeshi wanted to be apart of this, the enigma of friendship that was Hyacinth, Tsuna, and even Gokudera—something that made something burn in his core, because even though Hyacinth was the one that physically saved his life, it was Tsuna's words still echoed in his head at quieter moments:

It'd be a waste to die from something like this

Takeshi was still unsure of himself, what who he was—but he wanted to live without regret. He wanted to throw himself headfirst into the unknown future, a future made possible by both Hyacinth and Tsuna. It made him believe that something other than that aching emptiness awaited him.

He wanted a life where he could have friends.

And it'd be regretful if he didn't at least try.

-0-0-0-

Crazy awesome fair plans for crazily awesome peeps!

From: Hya-chan

[4:13 PM]:

I can't come to the fair this weekend!

My grandmother died horribly and I

have to go plan their funeral! (′︿‵｡)

From: Sasagawa Kyoko

[4:15 PM]:

( ´)

Oh my

From: Yamamoto Takeshi

[4:17 PM]:

What a coincidence! A few of my pop's

employees called in sick! I would go,

but I need to help out my old man.

Sorry, sorry, haha!

From: Hayato Gokudera

[4:18 PM]:

I just don't want to go.

From: Sasagawa Kyoko

[4:20 PM]:

It's okay! I just hope everything

is okay with everyone!

Does that mean that it will just be Tsuna-kun and I

going to the fair, then?

Tsuna stared dumbly at his phone, at the open group chat messages he had received only a few moment's prior. He held his phone in one hand, and in his lap was a mysterious envelop labeled with the words, 'Good luck!', on it. While Tsuna would normally be confused at this, he wasn't this time.

Because who the hell conveniently gets a whole lot of mysterious money along with three of his friends ditching their plans to go to the fair together that weekend? Conveniently leaving only Kyoko and him to go together—alone, together, kind of like a date—

You guys are the worst! Tsuna groaned, coving his face with his hands. His ears felt warm, and he tried to stifle the embarrassment and dread that rolled over in his stomach.

-0-0-0-

He didn't know what his friends expected when they arranged this whole thing, but so far—he wasn't having a nice time!

Tsuna blanched when his pathetic throw somehow flailed sideways, almost hitting the vendor. "Sorry," Tsuna blurted, heat creeping up on his face. Today was the absolute worst! Kyoko giggled lightly beside him, and Tsuna shot her a wild glance. "I don't think—" I can do this!

Clumsy was practically synonymous with his existence, after all.

"You still have one 3 more chances, young man," the vendor enthused. Tsuna wilted; great, even more chances to make a fool of himself. "That's just enough to get one of the big prizes," the vendor continued, gesturing at the huge stuffed animal that Kyoko was totally staring at earlier.

Dirty, Tsuna thought. He recognized slight manipulation when he could, considering Hyacinth's position in his life. He sighed. "I- I'll try," he muttered, nervously palming the ball.

"I believe in you, Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko cheered, excitedly.

Hopefully that would be enough.

Taking a deep breath, Tsuna geared up for another throw. He was about to lurch the ball forward when some commotion happened beside him, making the two teens glance that way, Tsuna's arm falling uselessly beside him. The commotion was—Tsuna sputtered, partly in disbelief and partly in surprise.

That was Gokudera!

Gokudera was dressed rather suspiciously, with a mustache that wasn't his natural color taped onto his face. He was arguing rather passionately with another customer, which drew a lot of attention. Tsuna wanted to run away, drag Kyoko and run, while also being frozen on the spot because realization struck him. They were totally following him! What the hell?

"Yo, Tsuna," someone whispered behind him, causing Tsuna to startle and whirl. At the same time, someone took the ball from his hand; Yamamoto smiled brightly, Tsuna sputtering wildly. "I'll get you the prize, no worries, haha," Yamamoto promised cheerfully.

"That's not—" Tsuna wanted to demand answers, as well as for the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Flustered, Tsuna glanced at Kyoko to see if she was noticing anything, but everyone's attention was still firmly on Gokudera and—

Oh god, Hyacinth.

Hyacinth was also dressed up, and was the other customer that Gokudera was arguing with. With silly glasses and a horribly done wig, she looked to be enjoying herself too much as she argued with Gokudera. Tsuna twitched, seeing Gokudera grow more and more angry the more Hyacinth talked over him.

The day that was already bad was going to go worse, Tsuna was sure of it. "Yamamoto-kun," Tsuna whirled back onto the baseball player, faltering when he saw Yamamoto already lining up his throw. He somehow managed to get the other balls, and Tsuna could only watch helplessly as he managed to hit the rest of the 3 targets successfully.

"Good luck!" Yamamoto shot him a quick thumbs up, darting away with a wide grin. Tsuna wanted to yell at him to at least grab Gokudera and Hyacinth on his way out, because the two of them alone together was always a recipe for disaster.

"Wow," Kyoko's sweet voice cooed. Tsuna bit back a whine, glancing at her with wide eyes. "This is an amazing street performance!" Street performance? Tsuna risked a look of where his -unfortunately- friends were, only to see that Gokudera seemingly gave up the act and was trying to shove dynamite in Hyacinth's snickering direction.

"H-hey, that's dangerous!" Tsuna snapped, wildly. He was never going to forgive them. Hyacinth seemingly heard him, head snapping in his direction and blinking. Understanding flashed through her expression and she nodded quickly.

"You'll never catch me alive!" Hyacinth darted forward and aimed a sharp kick at Gokudera's shin, making him hiss and move out of the way. Hyacinth seemingly counted for this because she extended her own leg, tripping the other boy and making him fall with his dynamite. "See ya', loser!"

And like a bullet, she shot off into the crowd.

Gokudera let out a snarl of rage, scrambling upwards to give chase. He didn't make it far when a low voice warned, "For disturbing the peace of Namimori, I will bite you to death." Hibari Kyoya emerged from the crowd, looking both undisturbed and slightly prickly at the crowd.

The crowd wisely dispersed, used to Hibari's moods. Tsuna swallowed, tempted to leave as well—but Gokudera had frozen when he heard Hibari's voice, head snapping towards Hibari with wide eyes. Did Gokudera know him?

It would make sense, considering how loud and disrespectful Gokudera acted at times.

"Oh my," Kyoko exclaimed, as Hibari took a threatening step towards Gokudera. Gokudera looked torn between standing his ground or fleeing, his eyes nondescriptly flickering over towards Tsuna. Tsuna was tempted to cross his arms and shake his head, because the last thing he wanted was Hibari's attention on him.

But—Tsuna didn't want to disappoint another friend, to fail yet another person who put their trust in him. Still, he didn't know what to do because if he joined up with Gokudera, Hibari would still murder them. The only thing that would change was that instead of just one body, there'd be two.

And Kyoko would be abandoned on their little outing.

How is this helping at all!?

Some wingmen.

Luckily, his saviors from this situation were the same people who instigated it. Hyacinth seemingly noticed that Gokudera wasn't following and backtracked, blanching when she saw Hibari. She looked like she regretted all her life's choices before dragging a hand down her face, tugging her goggles on in one smooth motion.

"Heya, Hibari-san! If you wanna fight, you gotta catch us first!" Hyacinth exclaimed, making Hibari freeze and glare at her, partially bemused. Gokudera sputtered. "And now we run!" Hyacinth didn't wait, gesturing sharply at Gokudera before making another getaway, this time with more desperation. Gokudera seemingly got the memo this time, and ran.

Both of them ran like the devil was behind them.

Which wasn't too far off, considering Hibari actively ran after them, tonfas clenched in both hands. Tsuna stood there, shell-shocked before sighing. Kyoko giggled beside him, making Tsuna glance at her amused expression.

"The fair is so lively. I'm glad we came," Kyoko admitted cheerfully. Tsuna rubbed the back of his head, flustered; he tried to ignore how hot his ears became. The commotion that surrounded the area dispersed, people excitedly chattering about it as they continued on their way.

It was kind of like nothing happened, as Tsuna and Kyoko turned back towards the vendor. The vendor was shaking his head, bemused. "I'll never get used to that, I swear. Ah—did you already throw?"

Tsuna eyed the fallen milk bottles critically. Obviously he didn't, he wanted to say. Instead, he managed a curt nod, grimacing. He hated lying, mostly because he sucked at it and he just didn't feel good lying to anyone.

"Huh, that's impressive!" The vendor seemed put-off, but shook himself out of it. "Well, you can choose the prize you want." He still seemed perplexed, but pasted on a smile nonetheless. Tsuna nodded quickly, guilt quickly pooling in his gut.

Kyoko smiled, turning towards Tsuna with that sweet expression. "That was amazing, Tsuna-kun! What prize are you going to get?"

Trembling slightly, Tsuna averted his gaze and pointed upward at the prize Kyoko was staring at earlier. The vendor chuckled, complying easily and grabbing a step ladder to get it down. Kyoko perked up when she saw what Tsuna was pointing at.

"H-here," Tsuna stuttered once he got it, presenting the giant stuffed bear to a beaming Kyoko. His face felt like it was on fire, and his heart was beating harshly in his chest. "U-um, this is—thank you for hanging out with me, uh," Tsuna didn't know what to say, eyes flickering here and there.

Kyoko laughed. "Thank you so much, Tsuna-kun!" She grabbed the bear and hugged it eagerly, smothering her face into it. "And don't worry, today's been fun!"

Let's hope it stays that way, Tsuna thought dubiously. A discreet glance around assured him that his three wingmen would be indisposed for a bit—though whether or not that was a good thing remained to be seen. Looking at Kyoko's elated expression and the teddy bear, along with the burning warm feeling settled in his chest—

It felt—nice, to be supported like this.

Especially by Yamamoto, Tsuna had feared that the other boy secretly hated him all this time. And while he still had this doubts, if Yamamoto willing helped him out in this stupid quest, then that means that he didn't hold any hard feelings, right? Tsuna shifted as Kyoko and him started to explore the fair yet again, feeling a bit more lighthearted than he had in a while. The squirming weight of regret lessened just a bit.

If Yamamoto was still willing to interact with him, then Tsuna was given a chance to make it up to him somehow. While he wasn't sure he was willing to talk to him about what happened, he could at least try and begin to build something between them, something more honest because Yamamoto deserved at least that from him.

Now, if only he could get Reborn to stop insisting that Yamamoto was apart of the family. Tsuna felt horrible enough as it was, and there was no need to include him dragging someone as bright and cheerful as Yamamoto into the mafia.

Though, sometimes he wondered…

-0-0-0-

"Sirius."

Oh, merlin. Sirius stiffly ignored the voice, and continued to munch on his taiyaki. What was he doing here? It was worrying, and the fact that Sirius was going to have to leave to wander around a bit to make sure no one could pinpoint him to Namimori was going to be a hassle. But—Sirius risked a glance towards Hyacinth, who was currently in between two boys, who was stalking Tsuna and his date that they all somehow managed to orchestrate.

It was fun to watch, honestly.

And Hyacinth was having fun. That was the most important part.

"Sirius," the voice repeated, firm and sad. Sirius grunted, giving the man a side-eyed look. Remus gave him a relieved smile in return, making his tired expression lighten up a bit. "It's good to see you again, Sirius."

"I wish I could say the same," Sirius replied, clipped. Remus sighed, making Sirius shift a bit in place. While it was inconvenient that Remus decided to show himself in such a public place, at a public event, Sirius rather prefer this than being cornered in his home.

It would have ruined his perception of his home—home was were safety was, home was where Hyacinth could be safe. And if Remus had cornered him, them, there, then that would have all be ruined and Sirius was just going to have to deal with it because Hyacinth liked their house too much to just leave.

"Look, I know me being here is the last thing you want," Remus murmured, shifting closer so their conversation could further be muted by the restless crowd around them. Sirius rolled his eyes, nudging his wand out of his holster and casting a quick silencing charm around them, much to Remus's quiet disproval. "But this is important."

"Is it?" Sirius snarked, finishing his taiyaki with a flourish and shoving the ruined napkins into his pockets. Crossing his arms, he turned to give Remus a bland stare. "More important than a few years ago, when you thought you had any right to tell me how to raise Hyacinth?"

Remus blanched. "Yes," he gritted out, rubbing at his face. "I know I made a mistake in judgement there, Sirius. And I'm sorry about that, I really am. But this isn't about that, it's about something else."

"Sorry doesn't fix anything." Sirius muttered. Remus looked exasperated, making Sirius frown. "But fine. Sorry still doesn't fix anything, and I don't have to like what you're going to say, got it? I'm under no obligation to do anything."

"Like you like anything I say regardless." The words made Sirius snort, earning a bland stare from Remus. "Can we move this to be a bit more private, then?" Remus's eyes trailed over to Hyacinth, who was currently taking secretive bites out of that one boy's takoyaki—what was his name? Yamamoto, or something?

Sirius looked between Remus's resigned and soft expression, and his daughter's gleeful one. "Sure," he bit out, canceling out the silencing charm. "I'll have to tell Hyacinth that I'm leaving, though. Merlin knows she'll kick my ass if I don't," Sirius moved forward, pausing when Remus lingered behind. Hesitating, Sirius gave Remus a quick glance. "Well?"

The elated expression Remus's face made Sirius want to snap, despite feeling like what he was doing was the right thing to do. Sirius didn't have to like it, but Remus wasn't James and Lily. Remus was Remus, and despite their past altercations concerning Hyacinth—

Remus loved her, even with her not really meeting him.

"Are you serious?" Remus asked, shuffling forward.

Sirius rolled his eyes, and began to move again. "Of course I'm Sirius. Who else would I be?"

Remus let out a choked laugh, and Sirius felt his mouth twitch. It was almost relieving to actually see Remus again, too bad he still felt wholly dubious on everything. Dread and doubt pooled in his stomach, making him feel the edge of paranoia creep underneath his skin. Remus was here for a reason.

That reason wasn't going to be good.

"Hyacinth! My lovely daughter, the light of my life, my partner in crime~" Sirius cooed, stepping behind the little group of teenagers. The young teens jumped, the scowly one almost snarling in response. Hyacinth deftly ignored him after stomping on his foot, sending Sirius one of her energetic grins.

"Heya, partner," Hyacinth waved. The Yamamoto kid waved as well, cheerful with a silly smile. The kid that Hyacinth had stomped on grimaced, still rubbing his foot angrily; what was his name? Gokudera? "Whose that?"

Well, she didn't take long to notice him. Remus, who was lingering behind Sirius ominously, swallowed and moved forward. "Hello. My name is Remus—I'm an old friend of Sirius." Hyacinth's eyes widened, and her head snapped towards Sirius, blinking curiously at him.

"You have friends!?" Hyacinth sounded shocked, which honestly—was so offending.

"Yes," Sirius huffed, ignoring Remus's small yet gleeful grin. And he definitely ignored Gokudera's snort, and Yamamoto's slight snicker. "What are you trying to say, huh?" Hyacinth waved him off, already back to eying Remus almost critically.

"Hello. My name is Hyacinth!" Hyacinth greeted, adjusting her goggles slightly on her head. Sirius eyed them warily—honestly, the fact that she chose them over regular glasses still confused him, but whatever. The fact that she didn't wear them all the time was also concerning.

"The squinty eyed look makes me look like I'm glaring! And that's intimidating!" Hyacinth insisted to him at one point.

Sirius replied with only, "Fine. But if I see you run into another wall or fall down a set of stairs again, I'm getting you regular glasses and taping them to your face."

Sirius had ignored her cries of child abuse, because honestly letting her have that much leeway with her eyesight and own safety could probably be considered abuse on its own. It was just that Sirius didn't want to make Hyacinth feel like she didn't have a choice.

It was going to come bite him in the ass one day, Sirius was sure. But for now, Hyacinth was having fun and enjoying life. That's all he could ask for.

"These are my friends!" Hyacinth yanked Yamamoto and Gokudera next to her, making Gokudera sputter angrily. "The angry one is Gokudera Hayato, while the tall one is Yamamoto Takeshi. I have another best friend, but he's kinda indisposed at the moment."

"Like hell we're friends!" Gokudera snarled, ripping his arm from her grasp. "Speaking of the te—Tsuna," he hastily corrected, grimacing. "He's getting away, damn it. I don't have time to play meet-and-greet with you," with those eloquent words, Gokudera peeled away and disappeared into the crowd.

Sirius stared after him, before giving Hyacinth a dry stare. "Quaint."

"He's a good guy, I swear! A bit of an angry idiot, but a good guy," Hyacinth raised her hands sheepishly, grinning. Yamamoto chuckled. Remus looked momentarily perplexed.

"Getting away?" Remus inquired. "Are you three planning something?"

"We're planning Tsuna's murder," Hyacinth chirped. Yamamoto choked on another laugh beside her, Sirius rolling his eyes. Remus opened and closed his mouth, much to Hyacinth's obvious delight. "Nah, we're just making sure my bro has a good first date. Moral support and all that."

"Yeah, yeah; I'll be sure to tell Remus about it. I just came over to tell you that I'm heading out, so don't stay out too late. And don't do anything that I would do," Sirius ruffled Hyacinth's hair, dislodging her goggles and making her huff.

"Aw, you aren't staying? I wanted to talk to Remus more! This is the first time I'm meeting a friend of yours," Hyacinth wrinkled her nose, staring imploringly at Sirius. Sirius shot her an embittered smile, making Hyacinth pause and glance away, disappointed but not surprised.

It was for the best, anyways. Hyacinth just needed to focus on her now and future, and not be concerned with Sirius's or her pasts. Or ancestry. Or anything at all relating to magic, because her core was still ridiculously small and Sirius wasn't even sure she'd experienced her first bout of accidental magic yet.

If at all.

"Sorry, pup," Sirius apologized. Hyacinth shrugged, sending him a grin that felt sincere enough.

"No need to worry. You're not obligated to tell me anything, as nice as it would be. It's not like it will change anything between us." Hyacinth was always surprisingly perceptive, so much so after meeting Tsuna. "I'll see ya' at home, right?"

"Of course," Sirius promised.

"And I'll meet you again, Remus?" Hyacinth prodded, causing Remus to give her a tired smile of his own.

"Maybe," Remus said vaguely, making Hyacinth laugh.

"That's as good as I'm gonna get. See ya'!" With that, she turned on heel and disappeared after Gokudera, Yamamoto hot on her heels. Sirius stared at the spot his daughter was standing, before sighing and turning towards Remus with a daunted expression.

"Let's just get this over with," Sirius muttered, pushing his way out of the crowd. Remus silently followed.

Soon enough, they found themselves at Sirius's house. After making sure things were warded and charmed to hell, Sirius finally served Remus some tea and sat across from him at the small table in the living room. Remus stared into his steaming tea, expression twisted slightly.

"Green tea is just as good as black tea, no worries," Sirius offered, taking a sip of his own drink. It burned in tongue, but in effort to keep face, Sirius made a show of swallowing it. "Yum."

"Don't act like that didn't hurt you," Remus rolled his eyes. "And I'm just thinking of how to say this. It isn't exactly an easy thing to say." His expression turned quiet and haggard, and he ran a hand through his hair, rubbing at it nervously.

Sirius stared at him, before sighing and glancing away. "Take your time, then," he managed quietly. It's not like it's not making me anxious or anything, Sirius internally grumbled, taking out his sudoku puzzle book and picking up where he left off.

Just because Remus was making him wait in suspense doesn't mean that he has to just sit there in dread, alright?

A few moments of silence passed, with Remus seemingly searching for words. At last, he seemingly decided that there was no easy way to tell him and let out a tired sigh. Sirius glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, and waited as patiently as he could -which wasn't much-. Remus gave him a bland and strained smile.

"He-who-must-not-be-named is back."

Well, fuck.

Review, follow, favorite, or whatever you do on stories that you read.

Ah, I started to post HFMF on AO3! I've decided it'll be an altered version from the one on FFnet, and will have a different chapter 5! The current chapter 5 on FFnet will be considered an omake~

See ya'!

-mms