Hey guys, sorry for the late update, but I just went through a tough time and wasn't in the mood to work on my stories. Some of you might not want to hear my complaining but I just really wanted to let you guys know why updates were slow. I'm also trying to finish up my summer homework (which I completely procrastinated on) so hopefully I can get that done. Sigh...＿|￣|○

Thanks to these people for reviewing. You guys are the reason I write in the first place. Thanks so much! You guys rock!

RainyParadise, Final Syai Lunar Generation (Oh, yes. I remember you ^v^), Moonpuzzle, Miss Nightshadow, Misaki19, Exile Wrath, SprayPaintAndABrickWall42.

"Now..." Iemitsu rubbed his hands together expectantly, "it begins." If Tsuna had known how true his father's words would be, he would have done everything in his power at that moment to keep his father from going to the competition.

But where's the fun in that?

X X X

To put it simply...Tsuna lived a cursed life. He didn't know why, but he did.

Exhibit A: Mukuro harassing him earlier that morning. (Unlike what some of the other villagers might say you never should want this to happen to you.)

Exhibit B: Being saved by Reborn. (Should say enough in itself.)

Exhibit C: Being attacked by another of his father's inventions. (...)

And now here was Tsuna sitting on the couch as his mother applied some cream to his back where the machine's crane had hit him. Somehow the blasted thing had managed to malfunction, which sent it spiraling out of control and right in between Tsuna's shoulder blades. Thankfully, Tsuna hadn't been that hurt but it still didn't mean that it didn't hurt like heck!

The only good thing that had come out of that was that Tsuna had managed to protect Fuuta, I-Pin and the blueberries. Yep. Everyone had been so worried about the blueberries...It should be fair if Tsuna started hating blueberries now, right?

Then his dad had begun leaping for joy because immediately after attacking him it the crane had moved over to the pile of logs and actually worked. Then Iemitsu began leaping for joy because his invention working meant that he could leave for the fair on time.

"Ow!" Tsuna's thoughts were interrupted when his mother pressed harshly against his bruising back and caused him to gasp and arch from the pain. He shot his mother a tearful glare. "Can't you be a bit gentler, Mom? You're killing me here!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Tsu-kun," Nana scolded. "Why can't you be more like your father and just deal with the pain? When he was hit with his automatic furniture maker and broke a rib I didn't hear him complain even once."

Yeah, cause he's 200 pounds of freaking muscle and is probably used to it! Tsuna mentally screamed. But he wouldn't ever dare to say that out loud to his mother. Women in love were scary beings. So instead, Tsuna just sighed and took his mother's treatment without any complaints.

X X X

Tsuna sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. His mother wouldn't take his injury as an excuse for not doing any of his chores, so here he was making his way to the chicken coop while the rest of his family enjoyed breakfast. And all because his father wanted eggs.

X X X

"Where are the eggs?" Iemitsu had asked immediately when he saw the blueberry pancakes on the plate before him.

"Eggs, Dear?" Nana questioned while pausing in the process of cutting into her own pancakes.

"Yes! Breakfast isn't a man's breakfast without eggs, Nana-my-dear! A man needs protein in his meals!" Iemitsu stated heartily and pounded his chest in what Tsuna thought was supposed to be 'manly'.

"Oh, okay," Nana then turned towards Tsuna who'd been vigorously digging into his share of pancakes. "Tsu-kun? Be a dear and go fetch some eggs for your father, please." The way she said please told Tsuna that he had no choice in the matter whatsoever. And so...

X X X

Tsuna sighed heavily as he finally reached the chicken coop. The old shed had been modified by his dad a few years back so that the hens could live their lives happily and lay their eggs in peace.

Pushing the door open Tsuna walked in leaving the door slightly ajar. The hens all looked at him but then went back to their business as they saw it was nothing dangerous. Would it be fair if he started hating eggs, too?

Sighing, Tsuna walked over to one of the nests and was about to wake the hen, but froze when he felt a hand caress the back of his neck, brushing against the hair there and sending shivers down his spine. Spinning around, Tsuna's eyes widened in surprise when he saw who it was.

"Kufufufu. Hello, Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro grinned and gave a small wave.

"OHMIGO-!" A pair of hands immediately shot out and covered Tsuna's mouth, stifling his cry.

"Shh..." Mukuro's eyes narrowed as he hushed the brunette, "Must you always overreact like this? It's getting really annoying."

"M-Mukuro? What are you doing here!" Tsuna hissed after pulling the other's hands away from his mouth.

"I'm here to offer you my declaration of love. Why else would I be here?" Mukuro replied and smiled, as though that were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hmph..." Tsuna ignored Mukuro and turned back to the hen's nest. Something that did not go unnoticed by the indigo-haired man. "Well, I'm busy. Can't you come another time?"

"Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro purred and moved closer to the brunette. Tsuna stiffened as he suddenly felt the other's arms wrap around him from behind and pull him close. The brunette was instantly reminded of today's earlier events and twisted out of his grasp before he could do anything.

Backing away, Tsuna glared at his offender. "Mukuro. What are you doing?"

"Ah, Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro declared the other's name while sweeping his arm out so that it was outstretched towards the brunette, his other hand placed over his heart. "For too long I have waited for this moment. I would have told you this morning but fate took you away from me before I could get the chance."

"Eh? What the hell are you talking about?" Tsuna gave Mukuro a disgusted look. Mukuro ignored the brunette's pointed look and instead walked up to him, taking his hands into his own and clasping them together.

"It's about time you started thinking about our future, Tsunayoshi-kun. I won't allow you to run away and deny it any longer. It's our destiny to be together," Mukuro squeezed Tsuna's hands for emphasis and moved closer so that he was barely ghosting over the other's lips. "And then we will live happily...ever...after."

"Ah! Y-You know what? I completely forgot!" Tsuna hastily pulled his hands away and dashed over to a hen's nest. She clucked in surprise and moved out of the way, revealing four eggs surrounded by straw. He picked one up and twirled it between his pointer finger and thumb before showing it to Mukuro. "I-I have to get these to my dad before he starts complaining otherwise I'll never hear the end of it."

"Tsunayoshi-kun..." Mukuro's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I told you I won't allow you to run away from this." He moved to grab for Tsuna's arm but Tsuna immediately moved out of reach and began backing away, using the wall as a guide as he made his way towards the door.

"L-Look. I-I'm flattered and all, Mukuro, but I really need some time to think about this! It's not something that has to be rushed, right?" Tsuna forced a smile on his face, but Mukuro's stolid expression said that he was having none of it. Laughing nervously, Tsuna reached behind for the door handle only to freeze when he realized that it wasn't budging. Hoping that he just hadn't pushed hard enough Tsuna tried again. Then again. And again. At this point Tsuna was leaning against the door, feebly pulling at the handle to no avail. "Why is it locked?"

"Kufufu. It's locked so that nothing or no one can interfere with our undying love," Mukuro purred and opened his arms. "Now come here, Tsunayoshi-kun. Fly into my arms and tell me you'll marry me. We won't leave until you say yes."

"No! You're crazy if you think I'll just go along with this!" Tsuna took on a haunted look as Mukuro began stalking up to him. He didn't know how Mukuro had managed to lock the door, but that was the least of worries at the moment.

Mukuro was leering at him, and there was a sort of hunger behind his eyes as well that Tsuna immediately felt cautious about. Everything in him was screaming at him to run, but the door was bolted shut. He was trapped. Wait! He could still...

"Breaking the door down won't accomplish anything either, Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro stated, reading the other's mind. "Even if you managed to do that I have Ken, Chikusa and Flan out there, ready to catch you if they have to. Now come."

"NO!" Tsuna panicked and immediately threw the only thing he had on hand. There was a cracking noise as the egg shattered against Mukuro's chest, the yolk and white sliding down, leaving behind a trail on his shirt. Mukuro just stared down at his shirt while Tsuna was busy pulling out his hair and panicking on the inside. Ohmigod! What did I just do!

"Oya?" Mukuro tugged at his shirt and glared down at the egg as though that could make it disappear, "What bad taste, Tsunayoshi-kun, if you were feeling so shy you should have just said so. I don't mind going slow. But, now you've gone and ruined one of my best and favorite shirts."

"Ah. I'm sorry about your shirt but you're wrong. So wrong," Tsuna sighed heavily and fell against the door, suddenly feeling completely worn out. He was having a tough time keeping up with Mukuro as he just kept twisting around Tsuna's actions and words so that they only benefited him and Tsuna was having a hard time keeping up. "I just don't want anything to do with you, Mukuro. I don't even feel anything for you. So can you just open the door and let me get back to what I was doing?"

"No."

Tsuna's head snapped back to face Mukuro, shocked. So blunt! Mukuro scowled at Tsuna then looked down at his shirt. Smirking, he brought his hands up he grasped the collar before trailing down and unbuttoning the top button.

"W-Wait!" Tsuna felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment as the man continued onto the next button. "What are you doing!"

"Well, -unbutton- I can't exactly -unbutton- wear this when it's -unbutton-soiled like this -unbutton- now can I?" Mukuro smirked as he shed his shirt and let it tumble to the ground, pooling at his feet. Tsuna squeaked in embarrassment and covered his eyes as he tried to keep from staring at Mukuro's bare chest, which was really slim and toned, and tanner than Tsuna would have- No! What am I thinking! Stupid, stupid mind!

Mukuro sweat-dropped and stared in concern as Tsuna began banging his forehead against the door with more force than Mukuro would have liked. Deciding to stop him before he could get do any serious damage Mukuro hooked an arm around Tsuna's waist and pulled him close.

"Kufufu...Were you that happy to see my chest?" Tsuna tensed when Mukuro leaned down and purred into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. Tsuna screwed his eyes shut, flushing and acutely aware of Mukuro's bare chest pressing against his back and his hand caressing his jaw. Tsuna didn't even know why he was getting all flustered. But then again, Mukuro had never been as bold as he had until these last couple months. So it would make sense for anyone to feel like this, right?

"Oya? I've left you speechless...Did I hit the mark?" Mukuro chuckled before licking Tsuna's ear in one languid stroke before nibbling on it. "Wanna see more?"

Tsuna inhaled sharply and slammed a hand on his ear while trying to pull away. "No! Mukuro, stop!" Suddenly, Tsuna's legs tangled with Mukuro's causing him to slip and fall, pulling Mukuro along with him. Tsuna groaned and tried to move up but then gasped as he felt Mukuro straddle his waist and and pin his arms above his head.

"Wha-! Stop!" Tsuna struggled against Mukuro's hold, feeling his eyes water with fear. He didn't want this. He was scared, didn't want this and Mukuro wasn't listening to him at all. "S-Stop!"

"I won't stop, Tsunayoshi-kun. Do you know how long I've waited to make you mine?" Mukuro nipped softly at Tsuna's collarbone before trailing up to his neck and jaw. He smirked in satisfaction when Tsuna bit his bottom lip in order to stifle a moan. Mukuro moved Tsuna's arms so that he was holding them with only his left hand while his right hand began sliding under Tsuna's shirt. "It's been too long. So why don't you just stop resisting and give in. Give me what-"

The door suddenly burst open, interrupting whatever Mukuro was about to say. There were dull thuds as two figures fell at the doorway, groaning about evil fathers. Mukuro started when he realized that they were Ken and Chikusa.

"Sorry, Master...This guy flicked me on my forehead. It hurt, so I opened the door for him so he wouldn't do it anymore." A monotonous voice stated as he walked in and over Ken and Chikusa's bodies.

"Flan...You're fired..." Mukuro chuckled darkly as he looked over at his apprentice, who sure enough was sporting a rather large bump on his forehead. So, the monster father had come, huh?

"Eh? But why-" Flan was interrupted when a large hand patted him on his shoulder and moved him out of the way.

"I went to go see what was keeping my cute son from bringing me those eggs and I find some naughty children wanting to play with him," the figure chuckled darkly, and cracked his knuckles threateningly, causing Mukuro to flinch. "And here's a particularly naughty child who needs another reminder of why he isn't allowed to play with my cute son anymore."

"D-Dad?" Tsuna queried as he blinked away tears. Iemitsu grinned and gave his son a thumbs up as he walked into the building, also trampling on the bodies of Ken and Chikusa.

"Yep! Your father has come to save you, Tsuna!" he announced and his grin grew wider, although Tsuna could swear that his dad sounded a little too happy for some reason.

"Kufufu...Sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to say this before you do that," Mukuro chimed in while releasing Tsuna's arms and moving away from him. Tsuna blinked in surprise but took that chance to scoot away and go to his father's side where he half-hid behind him.

Iemitsu frowned but nodded nonetheless, seeing as how Tsuna was already out of harm's way. "Well, what is it, Mukuro?"

Mukuro stood up and brushed himself off before opened his mouth to reply, but then he suddenly pointed at the ceiling, his eyes widening. "Oh, look! An anonymous object!"

"What! Where?" Iemitsu followed Mukuro's gaze and stared up at the ceiling.

Mukuro raced to action. Adrenaline pumping, he immediately ran to the door, grabbed both Ken and Chikusa by the collars and pulled them after him as he ran like death itself was after him. Tsuna could wait for another time.

"Hey, there's nothing there-" Iemitsu looked back to where Mukuro had been standing and gawked in surprise when he saw that he was gone. Then he turned to Tsuna, shock clearly plastered on his face. "He lied to me!"

"Yeah...Mukuro's been known to do that," Tsuna replied dully. Then he caught sight of Flan still standing in the middle of the building whom looked back with an impassive look on his face. "You're...still here, Flan?"

"Yeah, my pineapple-headed master can be a real jerk when it comes to treating me," Flan sighed and looked over at the door. "Well, I'll just be on my way then. Thanks for not knocking me unconscious, oh strong-yet-merciful-father."

"No problemo, kid," Iemitsu grinned and waved Flan off as he walked out. Then he glanced at Tsuna from the corner of his eye to see him sniff and hug himself. Frowning, Iemitsu placed a hand on his son's back and waited until Tsuna was looking at him to speak. "You okay, Tsuna? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No...b-but..." Tsuna felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment as his dad looked at him. How his dad knew about Mukuro was surprising in the first place, since Tsuna had been trying to keep it a secret. When Mukuro first began wooing Tsuna the thought of his mom or dad knowing about that had seemed horrifying. And then he felt ashamed for having to hide it in the first place, but by the time he felt that too much time had passed and the lid was too tightly sealed. That's how things had been, and that's how things would continue to be. He could still find a way to keep the lid sealed.

"Haha...I guess Mukuro was just playing a little too rough. I'll have to tell him to take it easy next time, huh?" Tsuna forced a smile

"Don't lie to me." Tsuna stared at Iemitsu in surprise, only to see his usual happy-go-lucky face replaced with a serious one. "I know that this isn't the first time he's gone after you, Tsuna. So don't lie anymore, all right?"

"I..." Tsuna swallowed thickly and wiped at his eyes, his lip quivering as he tried to hold himself together, "I-I was so s-scared, Dad. M-Mukuro- he...he..."

"Hey, it's okay. As long as he didn't hurt you, then that's all that matters...And don't worry, as long as Dad's here he'll protect you." Iemitsu smiled softly and then patted Tsuna on the back encouragingly, "Now, come on. Go get those eggs to you're mother before she starts worrying. I'll be there in a minute."

"'Kay..." Tsuna wiped at his eyes again and grabbed a couple eggs. "See you then." Even though he always called his father useless, he really wasn't that useless was he?

As soon as Tsuna was gone, Iemitsu glanced down at Mukuro's shirt, which had been abandoned in the whole fiasco. Gritting his teeth in anger, Iemitsu walked over to the shirt and instantly stomped on it, grounding it into to the dirt.

"Don't worry, Tsuna. Dad will definitely protect you. I won't ever let that prophecy come true."

X X X

"Tsu-kun!"

"Yeah, Mom?" Tsuna answered as he leaned over the railing. He saw his mom standing at the foot of the stairs who looked up when he popped into view.

"Enma-kun's here to see you!" Nana exclaimed, and turned as she headed back into the kitchen. "He's waiting in the kitchen right now, so come down and greet him!"

"Ah! Okay, be right down!" Tsuna ran down the stairs and rounded the corner, following after his mother. After the whole incident with Mukuro, Iemitsu had told Nana that the reason Tsuna was taking so long was because he got preoccupied playing with the hens. Nana easily accepted that and then had gone on to cook the eggs.

The truth was...Tsuna had been trying to keep his parents in the dark about the whole thing involving Mukuro. He wasn't sure what they would do if they ever found out. Probably get the police involved (not that they would do anything) or in the worse case scenario...get Reborn involved. Tsuna shuddered at the thought. Although Reborn already knew about Mukuro his parents would probably get him to act as a full-time bodyguard or something like that. Ugh...Tsuna shuddered again at that thought, since Reborn would only kill him in the end.

But then that reminded Tsuna...someway or another his dad had already known about Mukuro...but how? He was sure that he'd been doing a good job keeping it secret, especially since his dad rarely ever went out to town always so busy with his inventions. Maybe his dad was a lot more attentive than he gave him credit for. Either way, he promised to keep it a secret from his mom under the condition that Tsuna would keep his dad informed on anything else involving Mukuro. It was a win-lose situation, but Tsuna was happy with it nonetheless.

Tsuna then finally ended up in the kitchen to find Enma sitting at the table and munching on one of the leftover pancakes, his mom washing the dishes in the sink. He sighed lightly. Leave it to his mom to make sure any guest of hers gets fed.

"Morning, Enma-kun," Tsuna greeted the red-head with a small smile as he walked over to him.

"Ah, Duna-gun, mormim," Enma greeted back with half of the pancake still stuffed into his mouth. He swallowed the pancake and sighed contently, leaning back into his seat. "Oka-san, your cooking is just amazing. I feel like I'm in heaven right now."

"Aw, thank you, Enma-kun. You're so sweet," Nana cooed, and blushed lightly from the compliment. "Now if Tsu-kun could just learn to be as appreciative then I would be the happiest mother in the world."

"Mom!" Tsuna whined as Enma chuckled. Nana giggled before going back to the dishes. Sighing, Tsuna leaned on top of the backboard of a chair as he asked, "So, what brings you here? You usually never leave your house this early."

"Well...Julie got Adel all worked up and she started attacking him, so I thought I'd just hang out with you until it's safe to go back," Enma looked at Tsuna hopefully. "If that's okay with you."

Enma's family...Adel, Julie, Shitt P., Kaoru, Rauji and Koyo. Even though all of them were orphaned they were all as close as a family could get, being a very nice and caring group of people...although they could get a little out of control of times. Still, they treated Tsuna as part of their family and were some of his good friends, Enma being his closest.

"Yeah. Sure. I need to get my mind off of things, too." Tsuna admitted and grimaced as he recalled today's events.

Enma noticed the look on Tsuna's and and frowned in understanding. "Oh...He bothered you again?"

Nana's head shot up in interest at this, "Who was bothering you, Tsu-kun?"

"Ah! No, no! It's nothing important, really! Don't worry about it," Tsuna shook his head and hands frantically, before grabbing Enma's arm and pulling him to his feet. "Come on, let's go, Enma-kun!"

"A-All right. See you, Oka-san, and thanks again for the food," Enma managed out as Tsuna dragged him out the door.

"Bye-bye, Enma-kun!" Nana called out, then began humming as she started drying the plates with a towel.

"Nana?" Iemitsu walked into the kitchen with his travel bag slung over his shoulder, "Do you know where Tsuna is? I wanted to tell him something before I left."

"Oh, you just missed him, Dear. He left with Enma-kun and didn't even say good-bye!" Nana sighed, "What am I going to do about that boy...maybe he's becoming rebellious."

"I wouldn't worry, Nana," Iemitsu chuckled before pulling her into a hug and placing a quick kiss on her forehead. "Well, I'm going to head out now, otherwise it will be far into night by the time I reach the town."

"Oh, okay. Good luck, Dear. Bring back first prize and make us all proud, we'll be rooting for you!"

"Yep! I'll definitely bring back first prize. Tell Tsuna that I'll be back in time for his birthday. Knowing him, he'll definitely be sad if I miss it."

X X X

"Whoa..." Iemitsu pulled his horse to a stop as he spotted a lone figure leaning against a tree off to the side of the road. He squinted until he managed to recognize the fedora and black suit. "Reborn! You come to wish me good luck or what?"

Reborn smirked and pulled away from the tree, walking over to the blonde who still sat on top of horse. "Something like that. But more-so because I felt like you were going to seek me out anyways." He tilted his head so that the rim of his fedora was just barely covering his eyes, making them look narrower than they normally were.

"Jeez.." Iemitsu shook his head in disbelief, "Sometimes I forget just how good of a mind-reader you can be."

"Well, what do you need?" Reborn asked. Iemitsu's features hardened as he gazed down at the hitman.

"I need you to help me protect Tsuna."

"I have been...you should know that," Reborn's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry about him, nothing will happen as long as I'm around."

"I know. I'm just getting worried," Iemitsu frowned and scanned the tree-line, feeling like something or someone was hiding within them. "Tsuna's turning seventeen soon, and then it's just a matter of counting down the days until he turns eighteen. And it seems like Mukuro's going to be trying even harder to get to Tsuna. He had a close call today, but thankfully I was able to get there in time."

"A close call, huh? Man, Mukuro works fast, doesn't he?" Reborn chuckled darkly, but stopped when Iemitsu glared at him. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him while you're off playing with your silly, little toy."

"Hey! This 'silly, little toy' is going to change the future! Just wait and see! Hah!" Iemitsu flicked the reins, spurring his horse on down the road, his invention in tow behind him.

"Don't get lost!" Reborn called after him, but by then Iemitsu was too far off to reply and so he was only answered with silence.

Reborn exhaled softly. With his little meeting done and over with, he had no reason to remain here. So then he turned and began walking back towards the town. Iemitsu's concern was understandable, but Reborn knew how Tsuna's mind worked, and so his concern was unneeded. At most, it was just a bother.

The prophecy of seventeen years ago...Reborn would be sure not to let it come true. At least...not now. And most definitely not in this pitiful town. Unlike what Iemitsu led himself to believe, there was no way to stop or change the future. The shaman who had foretold that prophecy never failed in her predictions.

So...if the world was going to end in one year he might as well have some fun until then.

Sorry if the story seems to be dragging on, I just have to have some development in it otherwise my mind won't be at peace. But I promise that it won't be like this for long. The story will definitely move on in the next chapter or so. Update will be...who knows when. ┐('～`；)┌

And again, sorry for the late update, but life got in the way and my laziness got in the way. Why must I be so lazy! (╯°□°）╯

On that note, now you know a little more about your good-for-nothing authoress who only has this to say: Please review! ＼| ￣ヘ￣|／＿＿θ ( *o*)/ Kick

Haha...I'm having so much fun sticking these emoticons everywhere (are they even showing up? O.o ), but please do review! I like hearing what you guys think, where I can improve, that kind of stuff.