Nadeshiko F: I'm going shut up and just let you read the story; one thing however, I would like to point that even though Tsuna's physically six, he possesses the mental capabilities of a fourteen year old. So, he'll be a bit of a genius. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Akira Amano owns Reborn; not me.

"There has to be something you can tell me."

Irie Shoichi shifted from one foot to another, twiddling his thumbs nervously, "Like I said, we can't tell you anything that you don't already know—"

"One minute, my student is engulfed in a mass of flames, and the next he's gone." Reborn's eyes glinted dangerously at the redhead, and Shoichi suddenly felt faint.

"Can't you at least identify the flames?"

"There's no need," Spanner strode easily towards the two, hands in his pockets, "Anyone can see that they were sky flames. What we can tell you is that they were of a very high quality; possibly the purest flames we've seen yet. And since normal rings can't produce that kind of efficiency, only—"

"The Vongola Ring could have done so." Reborn grunted. Leon crawled down from his fedora onto his shoulder, and the hit man absent-mindedly scratched underneath the lizard's chin, eliciting a satisfied squeak.

"I have to report this to the Ninth; in the meantime, try to find out more."

Reborn stalked away, and Shoichi visibly relaxed. The redhead released a shaky breath, and Spanner patted his back comfortingly.

"Oh and one more thing,"

Spanner and Shoichi looked up, wary but curious.

"Keep a lid on this; don't tell anyone—especially Dame-Tsuna's guardians."

Under his breath, Reborn muttered, "Heaven knows how they'd react to their beloved Tenth missing."

The blonde man was weird. And he talked a lot.

That was all Tsuna kept thinking as he watched the man babble on and on.

'I thought adults were supposed to be quiet.' Tsuna frowned, and narrowed his eyes. This was the ninth time in five days that the man—or as he insisted Tsuna call him, Giotto—had visited him. The first few times, he hadn't as minded as much because he knew that Giotto-san was only trying to cheer him up.

But then he came again and again, and if he had to be honest, he was really getting annoyed. Tsuna was six; but the way Giotto treated him, it as if he was two.

Tsuna was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the blonde stop talking (finally) and wave a hand to get his attention.

"Tsuna-san?"

"Oh—I'm sorry, I was just thinking." Tsuna murmured; his hands clenched and unclenched the bed sheets repeatedly.

Giotto smiled, "It's fine. I was just asking whether you wanted to go out into town with me. I usually walk around once a week, and I was wondering if you'd like to join me."

Tsuna's eyes lit up and he vigorously nodded.

"Great! I have to go finish some paperwork, but I'll come back in an hour, and we'll go. All right?"

Tsuna smiled brightly, and as he watched the blonde wave goodbye, he couldn't help but think, 'Maybe things won't be so bad after all.'

True to his word, Giotto came back an hour later, where Tsuna was waiting eagerly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. This was the first time he had left his room since he had come here and the child inside of him couldn't wait to go out and see—well everything.

They walked to the town, and instead of remaining quiet as he usually did, Tsuna carried a conversation with Giotto. He could see the blonde's pleasant surprise by the way his smile seemed a little brighter, and his back a bit straighter; his replies were even more animated than usual, and they were sincere—not like the times when Tsuna had been in recovering in his room, and Giotto's tone though cheerful, was fake.

"Buongiorno, Signore Giotto!"

Tsuna's conversation with the blonde was interrupted, and a dark-haired man approached them and heartily greeted Tsuna's companion.

Giotto smiled and replied to the man's greeting with an enthusiastic answer of his own, "Buongiorno Stefan!"

As Stefan drew closer, Tsuna began to see the man more clearly; he was short with a stocky build, and a mustache that curled at the ends. He was grinning, eyes crinkled with fondness, and by the expression on Giotto-san's face, it was evident that the two were good friends.

Suddenly feeling very shy, Tsuna hid behind Giotto, who only smiled at him and ruffled his hair. Stefan took note of him, despite his efforts, and with a kind smile directed at him, he said, "Beh, chi è questo ragazzo?"

Tsuna only stared back blankly at the man. Giotto chuckled and said something in Italian; he watched as Stefan's thick black eyebrows were raised, and grabbing Tsuna's tiny hands in his own large, calloused ones, he shook them fervently.

"Buongiorno Tsuna!" Stefan raised his voice, as though it help Tsuna understand him, and when he finally released his hands, Tsuna noticed that they were covered with dough. Brown eyes widened in curiosity as the man pulled out a bag, and opening it, Stefan pulled out a food of some sort.

It had a tube-shaped shell made out of fried dough and a creamy filling overflowed at the ends; Stefan held it out to him, and hesitantly, Tsuna shuffled forward and accepted it. Watched by Stefan's expectant eyes, Tsuna tentatively took a bite and his eyes widened at the sweet, crunchy sensation that melted in his mouth; he quickly devoured the remaining parts and was licking his fingers when he heard both Stefan and Giotto laugh.

His cheeks flushed, and he wiped the edges of his mouth with the back of his hand. Stefan only grinned at him, and he turned to leave, "Lui èun angelo, Giotto. Ribaltare dalla panetteria e lui ha più dove che è venuto da."

Giotto smiled and waved good-bye, "Faremo in modo di farlo!"

Waving shyly at the baker, Tsuna watched him fade into the distance before some gentle prodding from Giotto caused him to continue on with their walk. Soon enough, the town came into view and more and more people stopped to greet Giotto, as well as meet Tsuna. A woman had stopped them and insisted that Tsuna visit her so he could meet her daughter; a man had actually lifted him onto his shoulders and make him promise to stop by his toy shop so he could have his pick.

The people were kind, kinder than anyone Tsuna was sure he had ever met, both in his life before he had lost his memories and after; it brought a feeling to Tsuna that made his head spin with joy. A storm of sights and smells pervaded his senses, and the smile on his face only grew with each passing moment; out of the corner of his eye, he could see the knowing gleam in Giotto's eye.

Tsuna had never been at such ease before; perhaps it was because he had no recollection of his previous life, but there was a lightness within him as he skipped from place to place and before either of them knew it, three hours had gone by and they found themselves standing in front of Stefan's bakery, who was gesturing enthusiastically from within the store.

"Vieni, vieni! Accomodatevi!"

With one big sweep of his arm, Stefan motioned for them to come inside, and Tsuna did so happily, taking a seat at one of the wooden booths. Across from him, Giotto slid into his seat, and Stefan disappeared into another room, only to bring out a tray of assorted desserts and snacks moments later. Tsuna twitched with excitement; he stuffed snack after snack into his mouth, his head dizzy with the fluffy, sweet taste.

A gentle admonishment from Giotto to slow down had Tsuna more mindful of his manners, and with a sheepish smile at the blonde, he chewed more slowly, savoring the taste of each dish. By the time he had finished, his limbs grew stiff, and a lazy but content feeling settled within him, when the door opened and a father and his son walked in, taking a seat at the adjacent booth.

Tsuna watched them interact with interest; the father hoisted his son up onto his shoulders with a smile, the young boy's peals of laughter permeating throughout the store. An empty feeling settled within Tsuna's chest, and the happiness he had felt before transformed into a sharp bitterness, one that wiped the smile off his face. He continued watching them, unaware that Giotto was gauging his reactions.

The blonde eyed the forlorn look on the boy's face, concern and curiosity sprouting within him.

"Tsuna-san?" The boy turned to look at Giotto, head cocked to the side, "Are you all right?"

Tsuna opened his mouth to speak—only for his eyes to catch the father and son near them, laughing, and a strange sadness weighed him down. Moments passed, and he realized he had yet to answer Giotto-san's question; but the blonde waited patiently, observing his reactions quietly.

"Do you miss your parents?" He asked softly.

Tsuna shook his head. "How can you miss someone who you don't remember?" He bit his lip, "It's just watching that family, you would think that I'd feel reminiscent of any memories I would have had with my father, if I even had one to begin with. But that's the thing; I don't feel anything. At least, not anything happy."

Giotto was silent, choosing to gaze at Tsuna thoughtfully rather than speak. The boy shrank under the blonde's intense look, flushing heavily at his boldness. The silence became almost unbearable and Tsuna shifted uncomfortably in his seat, ready to apologize when Giotto spoke.

"I know how you feel," Giotto's gaze softened considerably, "my father—he wasn't the kindest man. In fact, I have very few memories where I was relaxed or happy in his presence. But, nonetheless, he was a good man, and I know that. He just wasn't a good father." Giotto sighed, and his gaze fell to his lap, "Luckily, I had other father figures in my life but there are moments. Moments that I wish that my father and I could have had what other children and their fathers had, and I find myself regretting what had happened to us because I know that if the both of us—not just him—had put in a little more effort to spend time together and bond, perhaps he could have died knowing his son truly loved him."

Tsuna watched the blonde, eyes wide with awe. Giotto smiled at him, "Tsuna, I promise that I will find your parents." To his surprise, the little boy shook his head adamantly.

"I don't think finding them will change anything Giotto-san. I think—I think that it's too late to repair my relationship with my father."

"I disagree."

Tsuna eyed the blonde curiously.

"However, it is your life; tell me what you would like for me to do and I'll be glad to do so." Giotto sipped his coffee, its warmth soothing him.

"I don't know what I want." Tsuna shrugged helplessly. "I don't know if I want to be taken in by another family, 'cause then I'd only think that they'd be pitying me."

Giotto raised his eyebrows, "That's quite an extensive vocabulary for a six year-old."

Tsuna smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, these words just keep popping into my head."

Giotto laughed, "No, it's fine. Anyways, I think it's time we return to the manor, it's getting late." He stood, and helped Tsuna down from his seat. They bid good-bye to Stefan who waved heartily in their direction. Within the course of an hour, which they spent conversing with lighter, happier tones, the two arrived the Vongola Manor, which stood proud and gleaming in the sunset.

A guard greeted them cordially, and by the time Tsuna had returned to his room, night had fallen, and a gentle breeze swept through the window, cooling the room. He dove into the bed, curling himself around the sheets, watching as Giotto turned off the lamps in his room, before striding towards the door.

"Goodnight, Tsuna." The blonde smiled at him one final time, and shut the door, with a gentle thud sounding.

Tsuna smiled himself before diving under the blanket, content settling within him.

'I wouldn't mind staying here for a while.'

Giotto shut the door softly, hand lingering on the doorknob. "No one should have to go through what you're going through Tsuna, let alone a child," he murmured to himself. Fists tightened and gold-orange eyes gleamed with resolution.

"I promise, Tsuna. I will help you."

Nadeshiko F: This is so short and I know it, and you may not want my apology, but I am so sorry—I promise that next chapter is going to be four-thousand words or more. I'm trying desperately to lengthen my chapters and no matter how sporadic my updates are, I assure you that I haven't given up on this story or anything other of my stories.

Now onto other matters, as you can see, this story is quite close to achieving a hundred reviews (to which I am eternally grateful to you guys for), and I thought it would be interesting to do something special. As you can see, the cover image for this story isn't exactly—err, what are the words—inspiring (well, to me it isn't—and I designed it).

So, the hundredth reviewer gets to design their very own cover image for this story. I will notify that reviewer through their fanfiction account (if they have one) and if they don't, then in my next update, I'll notify them in one of my author notes. Of course, the cover image should be appropriate.

Once again, I thank you all for your support, and hopefully my next update won't take as long.

—Nadeshiko F.