The Lightning Strike

Notes: Just me playing around some more with Lambo and I Pin. It's weird because I can see them being in a friendship the rest of their lives as well as a potential romantic couple later on- then again that could be said for a lot of the KHR het ships I'm into.

Also, this is based of a future alluded to by 25year old Lambo during the Ring tournaments. So, for this fic suspend canon that younger Tsuna and crew saved Vongola from the Millefiore. So there's no confusion letter on, this chapter starts at twenty years in the future

–

Prologue:

What If the Storm Ends

Lambo was awoken by the low rumble of distant thunder.

With a groan he turned over on a lumpy and holey mattress, leather coat tucked around his shoulders like a make-shift blanket. A right arm slung over his eyes to block out weak sunshine, the Italian assassin tried to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep. However, nature seemed to have other plans because the light grew weaker and weaker thanks to the dense gray clouds gathering above.

He flinched at the first few raindrops landing on his face. Mumbling to himself about leaky church roofs and stupid rainstorms that couldn't wait to rain down until decent hours; Lambo yanked his coat higher, this time to cover up to the top of his hair.

This is how I Pin found him, curled up on the mattress they shared out of necessity with his face covered by a tanned leather coat. With a sigh and roll of her eyes I Pin muttered, "Honestly, Lambo. You need to stop sleeping in so late." before gently walking around their scattered gear, duffel bags of clothes, and what was left of food stored away in plastic sacks.

Beyond the parsonage, where they slept at night; was a scene ripped right out of an apocalyptic thriller film. A crumbling stone bell tower above the tattered roof. Shattered stained glass cast bright colors on the walls during the day time and the shards crunched under foot at night. Mildewed carpeting and pews gave the building a very unpleasant smell and the view of towering marble crosses in the graveyard did little to increase property value either.

It went without saying that the abandoned church was a disaster area and too unstable a structure for most people to approach, let alone live in. But until they made a enough money to stay in cheap hotels in between jobs again, this place was also their home.

I Pin sat down on the end of the mattress with little announcement or fan fare. Lambo pretended to ignore her by curling closer to the wall. A smile twitched along her lips since I Pin knew how to get the 'lazy cow' up and about.

Although shielded from raindrops, Lambo left himself vulnerable to wandering fingers. In response to her teasing touches, Lambo took in a deep breath followed by a shudder as slender digits wormed their way underneath his shirt, ghosting along skin.

"...your hands are cold, Pin."

"Ah, so the Broccoli Monster lives." I Pin replied. "I'm too old for that nickname, Tail Head." Lambo complained.

I Pin leaned over Lambo, a free hand tugging on one of Lambo's braided strands of hair peeking from under the jacket. "If I'm a 'tail head' just because I wear two braids, what does having several make you?"

When she didn't get a verbal response, I Pin smirked since a dead-end conversation usually meant she had won. Still, she had some parting words to her partner, "You need to get up, Lambo. We're running low on food. I'll be heading out for a job soon, so you'll have to...Lambo!" she exclaimed as he bolted up without warning and tackled the young woman to mattress.

I Pin blinked as her world suddenly became dark. They were both just barely covered by Lambo's coat, with the owner looming over her. Despite there being no visible light, I Pin could tell by the way Lambo smiled against her lips that he knew. He knew her face was all red and now she was the one rendered speechless.

"I win this time, Pin" his voice rumbled. As she laid underneath him, feeling every muscle through his shirt as Lambo shifted above to get more comfortable, I Pin honestly wished she didn't have to head out into town. She wanted to stay if only to see how far they'd take their 'competition' this time. Mostly likely the same place it took them to every time Lambo 'won'.

Like she had done him, Lambo teased his fingers along I Pin's sides, wiggling underneath her blouse even if it meant popping open a few buttons in the process. Only he took it a step further by outright groping, rather than merely implying intimate touch. She squirmed, nearly falling off the mattress since it was only a narrow twin-size, all while feeling breathless at the sensations Lambo's hands were bringing about.

"L-Lambo, we don't have time for this" I Pin attempted to protest. "We have to...omph!" her words forgotten in the wake of gentle kisses. Teasingly slow contact which left I Pin wanting more and more despite knowing they couldn't lounge around all day.

Still, I Pin had to admit that Lambo made it very difficult for her to want to leave him behind for the day. Knowing he would kiss her again, I Pin raised her right palm to Lambo's lips, stopping him short of catching her up in his momentum again.

Throwing off the now stifling coat, I Pin shivered since the air around them was colder and humid with rain drops sprinkling around them. She ruffled Lambo's thick hair before easing off the bed, "Come on you. We can't stay in bed all day, there's work to be done."

Lambo scowled in return but knew better than to sway I Pin. Once she was focused on something, usually work related; the woman was full steam ahead.

"Alright, alright. I'm out of bed." Lambo said, pulling the coat over his shoulders and then trying to smooth his hair down by combing through it with fingers.

"You'll have to do more than be out of bed." I Pin said while trying to smooth the wrinkles in her clothes. Lambo watched for a moment as I Pin worked her hair into braids. Four little slender ones today.

"A job at the bar today" he deduced. I Pin smiled, "You remembered. And yes. I have a contact who says the target will be there tonight. ...what? What's with that look?" she asked, noticing Lambo's mood seemed darker and moodier all of a sudden.

"I don't like that guy. He never gives you any specifics."

"Well, you're fine using him as your information broker, so why can't I ask him to help me find assassin missions?"

"It's...different," Lambo returned, "Information can't really 'kill' you" he finished while watching I Pin strap a loaded gun into it's holster than secure it just above the hem of her skirt.

"I'm fine, Lambo. I can take out targets easily since to them I look to be some small, stupid, foreigner girl." I Pin smiled while depicting the irony she lived with every day.

"Morons like that don't deserve to live then. Anyone can look at you and tell you're not stupid, Pin."

Lambo smirked as the young woman's cheeks flushed red. Yet, I Pin didn't remained flustered for long, "Flattery won't get you out of grocery shopping."

A heavy sigh followed her words. "My, my. Looks like I'm house husband again, today."

"You make it sound like I'm a slave driver." "Hm, who? You? Not at all. You're as docile as a kitten...a kitten that can snap peoples necks with it's paws and then shoot them in the back of the..."

"I get the picture, Lambo." I Pin glanced away from the broken mirror to the former Thunder Guardian.

"I'm not stopping you from taking on your own jobs" she remarked. Lambo wanted to sigh and throw up his hands since they were treading into very familiar argument territory.

The last time he took an assassination job, it had drawn the attention of Millefiore and they had to hide out for weeks with little food and hounded by uncertainty. While this church wasn't ideal, at least they knew it was secure and provided better shelter than a damp cave.

'And you almost died.' Lambo mentally added while observing I Pin using the last of her press powder to freshen up her face. The cover dejour being a cocktail waitress. I Pin would hold her cover long enough to pour drinks and chat up the patrons before sneaking off to kill the intended target. He knew that I Pin didn't fight or kill another person because she took pleasure in taking another person's life. Nor did she relish in the thrill of a fight.

Rather, she killed out of necessity so they could live, fight, live, fight...and keep on going until some kind of hope broke through.

"I'll think about it." Lambo finally said, because in the end he didn't want I Pin bearing it all alone.

After finishing her last braid, the young woman beamed. "Well, I'm off. You know what to do, right Lambo?"

"Pick up some food, clean up a little, and guard the church. Yes, yes. I know." Lambo replied in a bored tone before sitting down on the mattress.

I Pin picked up a worn canvas bag which served as her 'gear'. She leaned over to give Lambo one last kiss before heading out.

–

Pain. Terrible, gut wrenching, white flashes behind his eyes, breath stealing pain. Electricity so strong Lambo was certain he would die as it crackled along skin and surging through him worse than anything Lambo could recall experiencing before.

At fifteen, Lambo had been through a lot already. He lived through a childhood of misfired, malfunctioning, and attempts on his life, so at this point he thought nothing could really 'kill' him. Not that he wanted to fight, in fact quite the opposite. For while pain was dull sensation to him, Lambo still preferred not to feel it at all. And call him a pessimist, but Lambo didn't want to die any time soon either.

So when he suddenly found himself on the top of a roof, lighting flashing over head and being stared down at by an ugly man with a pinched face covered in piercings, Lambo took one last bit of the dumpling on his chopstick- since it might very well be his last meal.

"I was afraid something like this would happen" he muttered, very angry at his child self for whipping out that Bazooka whenever it pleased him. Tucking the napkin from out of his cow-print shirt collar and into a pants pocket, Lambo spared a glance back to his older brother before he became 'Boss'.

He didn't want to fight, but everyone was expecting him to and there wasn't much time to waste. Horns shoved on either side of his head, Lambo charged and gathered electricity to fight sparks with sparks.

And then the umbrellas came out. Those blasted umbrellas. Lambo was sure he'd develop some weird phobia of the seemingly innocent objects for the rest of his natural days. As it stood now, he just wanted his heart to stop beating out of rhythm and his lungs to cease burning. Once Lambo felt he could breath again, the young Thunder Guardian did what came natural to him: he ran like hell.

Tears in his eyes coupled with howling cries and upset panting, he skidded right into the bazooka and prayed it would release and just take him out of the mess his younger self put him in.

–

A green eye blinked as the haze of purple smoke gradually cleared before his eyes. Hand reaching for a weapon only to find his pockets empty- save for the horns in his jacket- Lambo was only aware of being back in time once he looked around.

Behind him were the shocked faces of a very young- and alive- Vongola boss, along with three of his fellow guardians.

The question of how this was possible seemed to be written on each of their faces. Lambo really wasn't quite sure how to explain it either. He never really used the time machine gun more than once per fight, but for him to be back this far when Tsuna-nii was still a kid himself.

"My, my. What have my younger selves been doing all this time?" he asked.

Turning away from his opponent, who was screaming at the judges to disqualify the match since another 'suspicious character' had walked onto the field; Lambo felt his lips curve into a half smile.

"Seeing all your faces again...kind of nostalgic."

–

I Pin recoiled while coughing and waving away smoke. 'Purple...smoke?' she pondered, then gasped upon seeing a younger Lambo leaning against the wall and holding a bleeding shoulder. There were tears streaming from his open eye.

"Lambo...kun?" she questioned. The boy snapped his head up in response. At first, younger Lambo blinked, gazing around the old and 'smelly' church and then back to...

"I...Pin?"

They stared at each other for a moment or two, until I Pin saw blood seeping through Lambo's shirt and falling onto the mattress in specks.

"Ah! Let me help you with that, take off your shirt."

Lambo blinked again, "You're not I Pin. She'd never ask me to undress in front of her...not without me being kicked in the face that is. Who are you really, imposter?"

"Now really isn't the time to be asking that. You're injured, remember?" she reminded him with a strong pinch on the injured shoulder.

"Ah ah," the teenager whimpered, face screwed up and both eyes closed down as he cradled the wounded shoulder.

"Stay right there, Lambo."

He gave a pained 'okay' as she ducked into a small bathroom. Turning on the water-of which I Pin never questioned as to whom was paying the water or utility bills of the church but figured it was developer- I Pin grabbed gauze, rubbing alcohol and old rags to help clean up the blood.

'If Lambo-kun is here...Lambo must be ten years in...' I Pin abruptly dropped the clothes in her hands. Running out back into the 'bedroom', she looked down at Lambo who was still cringing and sniffling from pain.

"Lambo-kun, I know you're hurt and scared but...what happened before you came here."

"I don't know. One minute I was eating dinner, the next I was looking at some really ugly guy...something about rings...and then umbrellas." His left eye grew wide, "I don't think I can stand under an umbrella ever again."

"Rings? Umbrellas..." I Pin mused trying to put it all together. "But before that, Lambo. What was happening then before the bazooka brought you to the past?"

"I told you. Dinner time."

"Where at?" I Pin asked, "Please Lambo, I know it doesn't seem important, but really it is. Where were you, before this happened?"

The young man's lower lip stuck out a little, green eye narrowed slightly as he thought back to his evening meal.

"A restaurant in Japan. Gokudera-nii treated me for a good day of training. So I ordered a bunch of dumplings along with some sushi. I wanted sake too, but he was being stingy. Said I was too young, plus he wasn't paying for it."

I Pin breathed a sigh of relief, "So. It hasn't happened just yet. That's good to know. Take off your shirt, please."

It took some doing, but Lambo unbuttoned and removed his shirt, only to flinch and whine as I Pin patted away the blood and rubbed the stab wound with rubbing alcohol.

'Time is almost up.' she realized while wrapping the gauze over his shoulder.

"Who are you...really?" Lambo asked. She smiled, "I'm I Pin of course. You got it right the first time, Lambo-kun."

She noticed the frown twitching on the boy's lips. "So...ten years back...then ten years forward. That makes you..."

"Twenty five." I Pin said, not wanting to take a chance on Lambo's poor mathematics making him declare she was older than her actual age.

"Ah. ...so bizarre." Her smile grew a little more, "I know. Seems weird doesn't it. You can imagine how my younger self felt whenever you appeared in my time."

"No, not the time travel thing."

I Pin stiffened as she suddenly felt Lambo-kun poke her right breast from outside her blouse. "You're a lot older, but these are still very small. Strange."

Although she was willing to be a good Samaritan by patching Lambo, but the cheeky brat had just crossed the line by insulting her breasts.

"Uh...I Pin. You um...look kind of scary! Wait, don't I'm injured!"

–

Lambo arrived back in his proper place in time to receive the full assault of I Pin's offended slap.

As if being thrown into the middle of the ring conflict wasn't bad enough, Lambo thought it added insult to injury that he got slapped in the face too. And said as much while rubbing his bruised cheek.

"I'm sorry, so sorry." I Pin said, face flushed red from embarrassment. "You weren't the one that deserved it."

"...huh? What did my younger self do to you?" he asked. The young woman's cheeks turned a darker shade of red, eyes looking away from Lambo.

"He what?" Lambo asked, maybe all that electricity going off had fried his sense of hearing.

"He touched my breasts, okay." I Pin huffed, arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh. That's all? I touch your breasts all the time and you've never hit me for it. Well...there was that one time, but you were very cranky and half asleep so, doesn't count I guess."

"T-that's...Lambo! He...you...he WAS fifteen! He shouldn't be touching a woman like that. Not for a very long time from now. Then. Whatever!"

Lambo shrugged, "But, you're not just any woman though, you're I Pin." While the female assassin blinked and puzzled over what Lambo meant by that.

Realizing he might be in big trouble once she figured it out, Lambo rose up from the mattress, gave I Pin a peck on the cheek, then left the church. He was at the door when she yelled, "Wait a minute! That still doesn't give your younger self the right to grope me, Lambo."

Not wanting to stick around to be yelled at, Lambo did what he did best: run like hell.

–

Notes: Start of a loosely connected series of Lambo/I Pin. Thank you for reading, I hope it was enjoyable because I had