It's March 9th.

Reborn had been expecting a meek child who lacked a backbone. There was a wealth of information on Sawada Tsunayoshi, if only to settle Iemitsu's own paranoia. The reports revealed a shy child with little to no friends, a tuxedo cat for a pet named Morgana, and a bully problem. Grades were mediocre, just enough to say he wasn't a complete idiot and failure, but still overall poor. (If Japan had a habit of holding back its students, Tsunayoshi would have easily repeated a grade or two at his rate.)

Coordination was poor. It was looking at a young Dino all over again. Tsunayoshi didn't participate in class, barely made it on time to class most days. His teachers had nothing good to say about him. There were more than one comment from people in town who thought he was a bit strange in the head.

In other words, nothing special to write home about. What was Nono thinking picking this child as his successor? Never mind that Xanxus was a loose cannon and all the other heirs were dead. Just looking at the reports, Reborn felt Vongola was better off finding someone unrelated to the famiglia and trying their luck there.

Meeting Sawada Tsunayoshi had confirmed all the information and enforced Reborn's poor opinion of him. The boy shrieked, so loud it hurt Reborn's ears, and all but fled the minute Reborn explained why he was here.

Clearly, Reborn had his work cut out of him.

Two hours later though, Tsunayoshi came back. (He would never admit it, but it had been some baffling two hours for Reborn. Someone, somehow, managed to swap his hat with what he could only describe as a miniature confetti volcano without him noticing. It had been raining confetti for an hour and Reborn couldn't pinpoint where it had been coming from. It took another fifteen minutes for him to clue on that it was coming from his hat and another 45 minutes of him trying to track down who on earth had the guts to do. He didn't succeed.)

With him was a young man with blond hair, easily five years older than Tsuna. What floored Reborn was the potential he sensed for Rain Flames. Powerful Rain Flames.

"Are you Reborn?" the young man asked. His stance looked deceptively relaxed, facial expression almost sleepy looking, but Reborn didn't miss the steel in his words.

"Ciassou, I am," Reborn said. "You are?"

"Doesn't matter. We need to talk. What is this about turning Tsuna into a mafia boss?"

"Marco!" Tsunayoshi yelped. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

Interesting. Reborn didn't think Tsunayoshi had anyone he would have reliably turn to for advice. So, his fleeing wasn't so much denial as recognition that he was in over his head and went to find someone older and thus more responsible. Huh. Reborn was almost impressed. He didn't expect that from Tsunayoshi.

"Exactly that," Reborn said. "Tsunayoshi is the heir to a powerful mafia famiglia. They hired me to tutor him into the next boss."

Marco's eyes narrowed just a fraction. "That isn't happening."

Cute. Like they had a choice in the matter.

The smell of smoke was his only warning as Reborn narrowly jumping backwards to dodged the flaming Molotov cocktail being flung at him. He heard Tsuna yelp, "Ace! Not in the house!"

As Reborn landed, the floorboard he had landed on, launched him out the window like a catapult. He flew out of the house, got caught in some sort of black cloth, wrapped up tight and the sounds of being dropped in water. He raised an eyebrow as the water began to seep inside. Huh.

Sawada Tsunayoshi might be a meek kid, but his friends were clearly a bloodthirsty, protective lot if their first reaction to Reborn was to kill him.

He might actually enjoy this job.

-.-.-.-

"I can't believe they want to make you into a mafia boss," Tony said, waving his hand. "I mean, look at you!"

Tsuna flinched at Tony's words. Ace pulled him closer, hugging him tighter and growling over Tsuna's shoulder.

"Not like that," Tony protested. "You're just-" he reached out to pet Tsuna's fluffy brown hair, "-so nice. Like sunshine and happiness. There's no way someone like you could even be a mafia boss."

"I do not want to become a mafia boss," Tsuna said glumly. He hunched his shoulders.

"Tsuna is not going to be a mafia boss," Marco said, rubbing his temples.

"Yeah!" Morgana agreed. He jumped onto Tsuna's lap, headbutting Tsuna's stomach. "You're way better than a mafia boss."

"Also, you win 'Who has the World's Shittiest Dad' award," Tony said. "Mines just ignores me and is leaving me a weapon manufacturing company. Yours is ignoring you, is a criminal, and wants you to become a mafia boss."

"Why, exactly, is Tsuna becoming a mafia boss and not his father?" Kaito asked.

Silence.

"If I ever meet your father, Tsuna, he's a dead man," Ace said, growling.

"Please don't do anything that will land you in jail," Tsuna protested.

"I agree with Ace," Marco said.

"Marco! You're not supposed to be encouraging them for murder."

"This is an exception," Marco said. He crossed his arms. "You know, Tsuna, if you ever wanted it, Pops would have adopted you in a heartbeat."

Tsuna blinked. "O-oh." He looked down at the ground, unable to stop his cheeks from turning red.

"In the meantime, you can stay here," Marco said.

"No fair! I was going to offer that," Tony protested.

"My house is free too," Kaito said. "Mom flew to Las Vegas."

"We'll rotate," Marco said. "If he's as any good as he claims to be, that Reborn won't be giving up any time soon."

"What you're saying is that we should drive him out of town?" Kaito said, bouncing on the balls of feet. His grin was wide, a little too wide, promising chaos.

"Have fun," Marco said.

"I'll help!" Morgana offered, tail flickering.

"Again, please don't do anything that will land you in jail," Tsuna said.

"That's what lawyers are for," Tony said.

"Tony!"

-.-.-.-

Reborn could honestly say he was thrilled, no matter how frustrated he was. An intriguing game of cat and mouse as these kids managed to keep Tsunayoshi just out of his reach. How fascinating.

They were young, but smart. There wasn't a pattern to the days Tsunayoshi went to school, whose house he went over (he was also certain he was missing a player completely, possibly two), or where they went. He was good enough to catch glimpses. Even managed to corner Tsunayoshi for a few minutes before someone (usually the boy named Ace) came out of nowhere (usually armed with even more Molotov cocktails) to sweep Tsunayoshi away.

Then there were the traps.

The town was covered in them and despite his best efforts and careful nature, he still managed to trigger far too many. (If they were any more lethal, he could admit he would have been dead ten times over.)

The catapult trap got him the most. It appeared to be calibrated to his exact weight as Reborn had observed others bigger and smaller than him trending across the same spot. It was also never in the same spot and he was getting sick of swimming to dry land.

(He would never admit it, but they also got him with the drugged coffee, box him up and ship him home. It was only his long built up resistance to such drugs that he woke up and escaped before the handlers could place the box he was trapped in on the plane.)

There was also the random brightly colored dye that his hair kept changing to, a mockery of rainbow hues. The careful shredding of his hats and replacement of his clothes. (Joke was on them, Reborn was comfortable in any outfit. He had to be for his disguises to work.)

Color him impressed.

The only reason why Reborn hadn't retaliated in full force was because these were Tsunayoshi's friends. Guardians really. Their potential, what little he had seen of them shone like stars. Except for Sun and Cloud (and possibly Mist, Reborn wasn't sure), Tsunayoshi had collected a decent set.

Newgate Marco was the eldest and clearly the most responsible of the lot. A vast ocean of potential of Rain Flames, calm and collected. Also, one of the many children of Newgate Edward, owner of WhiteBeard Corporation.

Portgas D. Ace was Tsunayoshi's age and another adopted child of Newgate Edward. He was like a big guard dog for Tsunayoshi, towering over would-be bullies and a crazy love with fire. His unawaken Storm Flames was like an explosion waiting to go off.

Tony Stark gave Reborn some pause. He had no idea why the Stark heir was in Japan of all places, much less in a sleepy town like Namimori. He also had no idea what Stark could be getting out of this deal when he was mentally ahead then this entire group. But there was a well of Lightning Flames and Reborn was getting Verde flashbacks from it. He wasn't sure if it was good thing or not.

The last piece of the puzzle seemed to be Kuroba Kaito who hovered on the edges of the group. It was hard to say if he was a friend or not. Attention seeking, magician, actor and if Reborn had to guess, an adrenaline junkie who was just barely getting his fix. Unlike the others who kept to the group, Kaito was always in the spotlight, causing mischief. Reborn was sensing some sort of potential here but couldn't place his finger one it. It felt like Mist. Most likely was Mist. The only question is whether it would meld with the rest of Tsunayoshi's Elements properly.

Reborn was going to have bring out the big guns soon. It was fine if they wanted to keep away from him. That in itself was training. But it meant nothing if he didn't dissolve the (stupid) seal Nono had placed on Tsunayoshi. There was no point in training if Tsunayoshi didn't have access to his full potential to actually learn how to use it.

Well, he always was a sniper at the heart and he doubt any of the kids could defend against that.

-.-.-.-

"Man, he does not give up," Kaito complained, lowering his binoculars. He had been watching from the rooftop of a nearby building as Reborn had stalked down a street, trailing after the path that Ace and Tsuna had taken home and (disappointingly) avoiding the six traps Kaito had set that way.

"Vongola's security sucks," Tony announced. "I expected better from the so-called 'strongest mafia famgilia in the world'. So many holes. I'm almost insulted."

Kaito looked back where Tony was sitting. Several blue hologram displays were floating around him as Tony typed and tapped away. "Find anything good?" Kaito asked.

"Tsuna's bastard of a dad is head of some group called the CEDEF which is the reason why he isn't being tapped as next in line. Idiots. If blood is damn important, they would make the exception. I bet it's easier to find a CEDEF replacement," Tony said.

"Also, there is this guy called Xanxus. He's the youngest son of the current don," Tony said. He flicked his hand, turning the blue hologram screen to show Kaito a picture. "Apparently, he tried to pull a coup, got smacked down for it and locked up in a giant block of ice by his dad. No one is winning Father of the Year in the mafia."

"So let me get this straight. There is a perfectly good candidate, actually two perfectly good candidates. Putting aside Tsuna's bastard father, this Xanxus is current don's heir. And if he's pulling a coup that means he's actually bloodthirsty enough to want to be the next don," Kaito said, frigidly. "And yet they're going after our Tsuna?"

"Yup," Tony said, popping the 'p'.

They shared a look. "I got a private jet," Tony offered.

Kaito snorted. "Let's at least tell Marco first, unless you want suffer under both Tsuna's and his disappointing eyes. And I hope you also got a private airfield, otherwise, we're going the long way with fake identities."

Tony shuddered, dismissing his screens away. "Tell Marco first. He might even approve. It's not like we care that Vongola goes into a civil war because of this. And of course, we have a private airfield. I'm a Stark!"

-.-.-.-

Sakuraba Neku could almost appreciate the quietness of Namimori. It was so vastly different from the hustle and bustle of Shibuya. He was nostalgic for the city, but… maybe his parents were a little correct in that the change of scenery would help.

(It didn't stop him from being so bitter from being ripped away from his new friends, but it wasn't like his parents understood.)

Four months after moving out here and Neku was bored out of his mind, but the quiet, the ability to just decompress and really think about what happened in Shibuya was nice. He could sort out his feelings towards what Joshua did and the way Neku had been used like a pawn on a bigger chessboard. It left him with simmering betrayal, forgiveness and pity for his partner.

Maybe he would just go back this weekend to see Shiki and others.

"Hide me!"

Neku was startled out of his thoughts as boy with fluffy brown hair darted inside of the shop, ducking behind the table Neku was browsing. Instantly, Neku went on guard, the old habits of avoiding Reapers and Noises having yet to fade and shifted his body block the other boy.

Did Namimori have its own Reaper's Game? Damnit, he should have tried harder to track down Joshua before Neku was forced out here.

Neku tensed as he sensed someone approaching. He was useless in the RG, but still his hand went over his pins, ready to pounce.

Then out of the bushes came a suit-wearing baby. Neku blinked. In the same instant, a different teenager with black hair, came flying out of nowhere armed with a flaming Molotov cocktail and threw it at said baby. Instead of watching a fiery death of a toddler, Neku watched in disbelief as the baby pulled out a gun from nowhere, destroying the cocktail and shards of glass and sparks of fire went everywhere.

When the dust settled, they were gone.

Wary, Neku approached the door of the shop, peering outside. The street was completely empty, both baby and teenager were nowhere in sight.

"What was that," Neku asked flatly.

The fluffy brown-haired teenager popped up from behind the table, looking sheepish. "S-sorry. That was… Reborn. And Ace."

"Is that normal?" Neku asked. It wasn't… so strange. Not compared to Reapers and Noises. He had seen a lot of strange things in the Reaper game. Fire being thrown around was fine. Neku could do the same himself with his pins. But… a suit-wearing baby with a gun. That… that was a new one.

The teen nodded. "Yeah. Ever since Reborn showed up a month ago," he said meekly, wincing. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. I'm really sorry about this."

"Sakuraba Neku. Can I ask why it's normal?"

Tsunayoshi flinched. "Reborn is here to recruit me into the family business. Ace takes offense to that. All my friends do."

Family business was said so bitterly with so much disdain. "Yazuka?" Neku asked aloud, coming to the conclusion. It didn't sound like a normal regular "family business" given the way Tsunayoshi had said it.

Tsunayoshi's face crumpled. Mentally, Neku flailed. 'What would Shiki do?'

"That's rough," Neku said. He kicked himself.

Tsunayoshi's shoulders slumped. "I know."

"If you ever need another place to hide, come find me," Neku offered. On the run from criminals, no different than being on the run from Reapers. And Neku always sided with the Players.

Tsunayoshi looked at him, searching for something. For a brief moment, Neku swore Tsunayoshi's eyes gleamed orange. Then, he smiled weakly. "Thank you, Sakuraba-san."

"Just Neku. Anytime."

-.-.-.-

It happened early on a Sunday morning.

Just as Ace, Marco, Morgana and Tsuna stepped outside in hunt for breakfast. Simple, easy, silently. A single gunshot from over 200 meters away.

Tsuna crumpled to the ground.

And the world exploded in orange.

Title comes from this beautiful poem (seitosokusha#.#tumblr#.#com#/post/170667548853/ttender-everyone-who-terrifies-you-is

I got this amazing ask about if I could pick any character from any series who would I pick for Tsuna's Guardians. It was surprisingly hard to do, even with my bias towards my favorite characters as many didn't really fit into the role of Guardians and/or the relationship they would have with Tsuna. Then some awesome people (who know who you are) fed the plunny and here we are.

This will be updated pretty sporadically. (RL is currently destroying me.)

Please leave a review on your way out.