In Italy…

In a remote location in a beautiful scenery of Italy, an old man sat waiting as he signed some paperwork. It was obvious that he had a mass amount of wealth as the entire room was clean without a speck of dirt or otherwise, and the luxurious furniture were well-kept and still had that new scent of packaging. The books that lined the shelves were both old and new, existing from the time of the Primo of the Vongola Famiglia, up to the old man's time. Yet you would never know with the great care taken into the books, and not a single page would be yellow with age.

The old man coughed a little, stopping as the coughs wracked through his aged body. Once they subsided, he sighed, and glanced at the door before turning back to signing the papers before him. There was a large stack, and he decided a little distraction would hurt.

But only if that person would show up!

A click from the door was heard, bringing the old man out of his musings. He smiled at what appeared to be an infant wearing a black suit with a black fedora wrapped with an orange coloured ribbon, with a small green chameleon sitting on the brim. "Ah... Reborn. I'm glad you could make it." greeted the old man, his voice warm and welcoming like a grandfather.

Reborn tilted his fedora in greeting with surprising maturity of someone his age, before walking up to a chair that sat before the desk and jumping onto it. He pushed his fedora out of the way, revealing large black eyes that stared at the old man unblinkingly. Normally, most would have felt insulted at such an act, even if it was a child, but they both knew he was no ordinary infant. "Ninth," Reborn began, "I heard the news just recently."

The old man sagged in his chair, now appearing even older. "I tried to put more guards at Massimo's side, but I see now… That they're truly determined…"

"At the rate things are going on now, it most likely would fall to Iemitsu's son." Reborn replied.

The Ninth sighed, putting a hand over his face tiredly. "As much as I want to deny it... I believe that will be how it goes. I still hope Frederico survives this."

"If Frederico survives, then the Vongola might never return to the way the Primo would have wanted it to." Reborn said bluntly. "Even if he is your son, his Will is not the same as yours or the Primo's."

Reborn could see the old man's jaw tighten at that, but he made no denial to his words. "What will you do if Frederico does die?"

For a moment, the old man was silent, and then he removed his hand. His eyes were hard and clear; the eyes of a Vongola boss. "Then we will have no choice but to make Sawada Tsunayoshi into the next Tenth Vongola Family boss."

Back in Japan…

Chocolate brown eyes slowly cracked open, wincing at the harsh sunlight beaming through his window. Groaning a bit, he ruffled his hair with one hand as he reached for his clock with the other. He yawned widely before setting his gaze on the brightly lit numbers of his clock, which swirled around in his vision before settling on the bright light settled on 8:15. He blinked sleepily at the time, setting it back on his bedside table before falling back against his pillow, ready to snooze for a little while longer. As the time finally registered in his mind, his eyes snapped open and he bolted upright as he stared at the clock in disbelief.

"HHHHIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Downstairs in the kitchen area, a woman and a small child were drinking tea as they listened to the thumps coming from Tsuna's room as he scrambled to get ready to go to school. "You should really wake him up if you want him to go to a human school, Nana-chan." The child scolded in a surprisingly mature sounding voice, blowing lightly on her steaming tea.

The corners of Nana's lips curved upwards in amusement. "If I don't let him learn to wake up on his own, how will he learn to do things on his own, Kōun-chan?"

Kōun puffed her cherubic cheeks as she huffed at the other. "You grew up waking up later than Tsu-chan, and you managed just fine."

"Yeah well," Nana waved a hand dismissively. "I had a different upbringing from Tsu-kun."

"If you said so." Kōun sighed, and hopped out of her chair, shuffling out of the kitchen as she did her best to walk out gracefully and not trip on the hem of her kimono. "I'm going to open the door for Tsu-kun, he almost made a hole in it yesterday."

Nana nodded as she got up as well, getting the bento she had prepared for her son where she had left it on the counter. "Be careful you don't get in the way though, Tsu-kun's tripped on you a few too many times." She warned.

Kōun grumbled, "I know, I still have the bruises to prove it." She reached up to the doorknob, barely reaching it due to her short stature, and had just turned the knob as the sound of Tsuna's footsteps could be heard pounding down the hallway, and he could now be heard crashing down the stairs as well.

"Good morning, Mama, Kōun-san." He greeted hastily as he scrambled up from the painful position he had landed in at the bottom of the stairs. He gave his mother a peck on the cheek as he grabbed his bento, and Kōun just opened the door as Tsuna flew through it, the gust of wind left behind causing the door to be wrenched out of the small child's hands and slamming the door shut.

Outside, the brunet didn't quite make it too far before he crashed into a much taller and muscular figure standing at the gate leading to his house. They both fell down with a grunt and a tangle of limbs. It took a minute for the two to struggle to get loose, and once they did, Tsuna looked up to see who it was that he had accidentally collided with, an apology on the tip of his tongue. "Sorr-! Yamamoto-san? Why're you here?"

"Maa, maa, Tsuna! You forget or something? I told you I'd come walk with you to school!" Takeshi replied, rubbing a bump on his head. "That's what friends do, don't they?"

Tsuna smiled, feeling happy to see his friend. "Yeah, but don't you usually have practice in the morning?"

The taller teen waved it off. "I said I would walk with you, ne? Besides, it's good exercise walking to school, doing practice, and walking back here. It's always best to stay in shape!"

"There's just no arguing with you." Tsuna laughed, glad he had a friend like Takeshi. It just made school all that much better.

Takeshi grinned, but stopped as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "You know, Hibari actually told me something pretty weird when I left. He said to tell you 'don't be late again, herbivore.' I don't get it, we haven't been late that often."

At the thought of Hibari attacking him again for being late to school and their daily spar suddenly filled the boy with energy he knew he desperately needed if he was going to get to school in record time. He grabbed Takeshi's wrist and dashed off to the direction of school, yelling about being bitten to death and Takeshi laughing all the way.

From where the yōkai had been watching from the window, Kōun turned to look at Nana with a stare she was all too familiar with by now. She had been receiving that stare from the girl ever since she had allowed her small son to meet her Hyakki Yakō, and after she had told her subordinates about the situation with the Vongola Famiglia. She could almost predict what the child was going to say even. "All this stress is not going to be good for him when he finds out there's only one more heir left before he'll be made the next leader of that Vongola mafia."

"I know, Kōun-chan." Nana sighed as she leaned against the wall of the kitchen heavily. "But this is all I can do to let him have of a normal human life. Once that last heir dies, Tsu-kun will have no choice but to become the next leader."

Knowing this was what Nana had wanted to avoid, Kōun patted a chubby hand against Nana's leg. "Don't worry, as long as I'm here, Tsu-chan will be all right. When I exchanged sakazuki with you all those years ago, I promised I would keep you and any person who was important to you safe. I am a Zashiki-Warashi after all."

As the pair of boys panted heavily while continuing to run, Tsuna started slowly down unconsciously. Takeshi noticed the sudden drop of energy, and started lagging behind with his friend. He wasn't about to abandon him anytime soon.

"You tired Tsuna? Come on, what happened to that intense speed of yours, haha!" Takeshi asked breathlessly. He was a little sweaty, but no worse for wear. Unfortunately, this couldn't be applied to the brunet as he was sweating a lot of the water in his body, and panting like he just ran a marathon.

"Haa… Haa… How… Haa… Are you… Not tired?" Tsuna panted, feeling ready to collapse on unsteady legs.

The taller teen shrugged, coming to a stop now that Tsuna was barely moving. "Who knows. Maybe it's all the milk I've been drinking for years! All that milk really helps. Maybe you should drink more too!"

Tsuna managed to give a small smile in return, but it quickly dropped as he knew it would be milk that could get him his energy back. "Why don't you go on ahead?" He said breathlessly. "It wouldn't be good if Hibari-san caught the both of us."

Takeshi look thoughtful, and for a moment, Tsuna was sure he was going to take his advice. "Ah!" He said, tapping his fist into an open palm. "I've got a better idea! Why don't I both take us to school?"

A skeptical look crept into Tsuna's eyes as he eyed his friend warily. "W-What do you mean by that?" He asked, slowly edging away from Takeshi.

"I mean… this!" He said, suddenly slinging the brunet over his shoulder and jogging the rest of the way to school, Tsuna screaming all the way. Fortunately, there was no one else out on the streets as everyone else had already reached school, so no one was witness to the baseball ace of Nanimori Middle running through the streets with Dame-Tsuna slung over his shoulder like a sack of rice. The brunet already had a bad reputation around school, and he didn't want to drag his only friend into it as well.

When they finally reached the gates to the school, it was eerily deserted. Tsuna could feel more sweat dripping down his face at the sign.

"Whoops, haha!" Takeshi laughed, "Looks like we're still late!"

"W-What do you mean?" Tsuna asked, feeling slightly lightheaded as Takeshi put him back on the ground. The dark haired boy only grinned and pointed before them, and Tsuna nearly choked when he saw who it was he was pointing to.

"H-Hibari-san!"

The dreaded head prefect of the disciplinary committee, Hibari Kyoya, was standing in front of them threateningly. He was by himself, which in itself wasn't unusual, but the way his stance was imposing and Tsuna was quite certain that the prefect had been waiting there for the them.

"Herbivore, what are you doing here so late? Didn't the other herbivore tell you to not be late?" Kyoya growled, his steel grey eyes staring down at them.

Takeshi grinned, not bothered by the glare in the least, and folded his arms behind his head. "Sorry about that, I forgot and told him on the way here. We were late already when I told him."

The prefect growled, pulling out his trademark tonfas. "And you were still this late? Come here and accept the penalty then, herbivores, or I'll bite you both to death."

"Well, that doesn't sound too friendly." Takeshi remarked, swiftly dodging a blow from the prefect with ease. "Whoops! That was close."

"If you don't stand still, I'll bite you herbivores to death for avoiding penalty." Kyoya said, taking a swipe at Tsuna. It wouldn't be farfetched to say that he was surprised when the boy managed to dodge most of the blow and looked at the prefect in what seemed to be irritation.

"Not like it matters, I'll be bitten to death either way." The brunet muttered.

Caught off guard slightly at the personality change, Kyoya lowered his tonfas a miniscule amount as he asked, "What was that, herbivore?" Despite having had heard perfectly well what the strange herbivore had said.

Tsuna's head snapped up in surprise, as if he hadn't noticed that the prefect was standing right in front of him. He scrambled around the prefect, quickly saying, "Nothing! I'm late for class, so I'll see you later!" before dashing off toward the direction of Kyoya's beloved Nanimori. Taking that as a cue to leave, Takeshi gave the older boy a wave as he followed his friend into the building.

The prefect himself stood watching Tsuna and Takeshi's tired forms sprint into the school, where a large amount of noise could be heard from the brunet tripping over random objects in the hall. He made a mental note to add another punishment for the herbivore before strolling inside at a more reasonable pace. Normally, he would have immediately punished any that did not obey his order, but the timid brunet seemed to not be acting himself today. It was the first time he had heard the brunet not stutter when speaking to someone, and it was also the first time he had ever even heard the brunet talk back to anyone, especially him.

And for the briefest of moments, Kyoya's sharp eyes caught the herbivore's chocolate brown orbs flash a brilliant orange hue before changing back to the innocent doe-eyed look he was known for.

Tucking his beloved tonfas away into his coat, Kyoya stalked off toward the Disciplinary Committee room to have a nap, and then to investigate this strange change in the small brunet herbivore.

While racing through the hallways with Takeshi close behind, Tsuna was berating Sora for nearly revealing themselves so easily to a human.

'Why did you do that? I had things perfectly under control!' Tsuna mentally raged.

Control? You? Don't delude yourself, that tonfa was aiming to knock you out, and it would've if I hadn't taken control. Sora snorted, knowing the truth just as well as Tsuna did.

'I'm supposed to be a regular human, if you haven't noticed! You know that everyone says I'm not supposed to be good at anything, and that also includes yōkai abilities!' He retorted. 'Now Hibari-san is going to get suspicious that I'm not a regular person!'

To be fair, you aren't really. The crackly voice replied, completely honest as he usually was. And if they do find out, just stop going to school. Simple as that.

Tsuna resisted the urge to slap his hand against his face, knowing there was no arguing with a yōkai, especially himself. It would like quite strange to Takeshi if he did too. 'You're really starting to sound like Uncle…'

Would the both of you shut up? Ugh, I'm still recovering from the party last night… Ishou spoke up, his deep voice cracking with sleep.

'That's your fault, you're the one who decided to take control and participate in the "who can hold their sake best" contest the others were holding.' Tsuna chided, feeling the effects of the alcohol creeping back on him. He had built up a tolerance for it over the years, so it wouldn't show when he went to school, but it wasn't enough to completely ward off the effects of six bottles of sake that his Nurarihyon self drank yesterday. It was amazing how much yōkai could drink without killing themselves or not passing out.

Remarking back on his four years as a yōkai, Tsuna couldn't help but be amazed. After that simple trip of going to visit a relative he had never met before, he discovered and entirely new world hidden in the human world, and a side of himself he didn't know he had. He could still feel it, the fire that burned inside of him, and the voices he heard were no illusion of any sort. Rikuo had something similar to what Tsuna had, and Tsuna himself had seen the manifestation of that voice.

There were plenty of times that Rikuo changed from his day form to his night form, and Tsuna was acutely aware of it, and Rikuo was too. All five got along with each relatively well, though there was something of a rivalry going on between the three yōkai personalities. Rikuo and Tsuna both agreed it was bothersome at times, but it was highly amusing at others. Especially when other yōkai got to witness their little 'rivalry' going on.

Nana had sighed and said she was happy they got along. Like her and Iemitsu, especially during their honeymoon all those years ago.

Everyone fought NOT to throw up whatever they had eaten at that image.

It was also during this time that Tsuna learned more about Nana's Hyakki Yakkō. Rather than Rikuo's grandfather's Hyakki Yakkō where they all respected him as the Supreme Commander, everyone in Nana's Hyakki Yakkō treated each other equally. Like a tight-knit family. Many of them were of different ages and species, but they all had a history with Nana. Some of them had been there to take care of her when she was a child, and some she met when she grew up and went travelling with her parents. It wasn't hard for Tsuna to tell that these yōkai helped fill the empty hole that Iemitsu left when he went back to work overseas.

As for the way they treated him, well, he discovered a lot of things he didn't want to know when Nana had allowed the yōkai to socialize with her precious son. He had been rather frightened of them at first. But gradually, he could see that they were yōkai who held nothing against humans and were being genuinely kind to him, something that he couldn't find amongst his human classmates or other humans in general. His yōkai sides kept pushing him to communicate to the yōkai more, as it was what he had asked for, and he finally gave in after much arguing.

Surprisingly, he found the yōkai to be better company than many that he knew of in school, and quickly discovered that Nana had secretly ordered them to keep an eye on his while he was in school. Her own subordinates teased her relentlessly for it, leaving Tsuna to watch the scene with astonishment. They also, in turn, became the brothers, sisters, and other family members that Tsuna never had. They saw the similarities between him and Nana, and decided that he was someone that they would protect and follow until the time that Tsuna could grow up and form his own Hyakki Yakō.

So caught up in past memories, Tsuna entirely forgot (again) that whenever his mind went off somewhere, his body went on auto-pilot to whatever his destination was. It just so conveniently happened that his arms decided not to cooperate, as he had reached the door to his classroom already. But instead of snapping out of it and opening the door before he apologized to his teacher for being late, he ran smack into the door, shocking both Takeshi and the occupants on the other side of the door.

"Whoa, Tsuna, are you ok?!" Takeshi exclaimed, helping Tsuna up from his place on the floor.

Tsuna groaned, rubbing a reddening spot on his forehead. "Y-Yeah, I think so…" He muttered, picking up his fallen things before facing the door. He could already hear the faint whisperings of his name and about how he suited his nickname, 'Dame-Tsuna.' Resigned to having no choice but to go in, he quietly slid the door open. The snickers and whispers increased into laughter and jeers at once they saw him.

"Uwah, so it was just Dame-Tsuna!"

"Hahaha! How lame... Only Dame-Tsuna would run into a door."

"Not to mention being late when the Disciplinary Committee declared today to be inspection today."

"How can Yamamoto stand being friends with a guy like him?"

"Aw, come on, guys. Tsuna's not that bad!" Yamamoto said, a rare frown on his face instead of a smile. "I've been friends with him for a while now, haven't I?"

Someone in the class scoffed. "Yeah, it's amazing how you can do it. No one else'd want to deal with Dame-Tsuna."

Takeshi was about to retort to that when Tsuna put a hand on Takeshi's arm. "Don't, I'm used to it after all. It's… not the first time." He said with an awkward smile. Back before he became friends with Takeshi, he wanted to change how they saw him, to become friends with them. Now, he was fine that he would most likely not gain another human friend other than Takeshi amongst them.

"Sawada-kun, Yamamoto-kun, why are you late today?" He could hear their teacher ask exasperatedly. The brunet briefly wondered why he bothered to ask when he knew the answer, but dismissed it. "S-Sorry, I-I woke up late again." He replied. Takeshi grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I forgot the time, haha."

The teacher sighed and gestured at them to take their seats, returning to writing the rest of the lesson the blackboard. As Tsuna walked down the row, he could hear snickers of his classmates, and saw one actually try to trip him. He could have avoided it easily, really. But he was Dame-Tsuna, the stupid klutz that would never get anywhere in life. He already had Kyoya suspicious of that persona, and he didn't need the entire class to become the same.

Tsuna's foot caught on the outstretched limb, and watched in slow motion as the floor came up to meet his face. Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped themselves around his torso, and he found himself suspended just a few centimetres above the floor. Though Tsuna hadn't been paying much attention to who was around him, he didn't need to turn to know which one of his classmates it was that saved him.

The boy who had stuck his foot out start complaining as his face screwed up. "Eeeh, Kamui-san. Why'd you have to do that? I was so close on making Dame-Tsuna have a meeting with the floor. They're both on the same level anyways." He snickered.

Kamui shot an annoyed stare at the boy, though a slight shake of Tsuna's brown mop of hair stopped him from going any further. "Fine." He said flatly, releasing his hold on Tsuna, and letting his face plant on the floor. It wasn't as particularly hard as it would have been if Kamui hadn't stopped Tsuna, but it still hurt his face, and he figured he might have bruised his nose again. Many of the people around them laughed, and some even kicked him a bit before returning to copy the notes on the board, the teacher not even paying attention to what they did to Tsuna. Takeshi only managed a worried glance before he was forced to his seat by everyone else.

For the rest of the lesson, he endured the insults his teacher gave the poor brunet whenever he asked a question but could never give the correct answer. Though, to be fair, he was usually asked the most difficult one to make sure Tsuna got it wrong. He took it all in stride, and huddled down on his desk so no one would pay attention to him. He fell asleep a few times, but someone would bounce a rock of the top of his head, and one of the ones made of granite too. He eventually gave up, and did his best to pay attention to the lesson on the board, enduring the insults he received for his wrong answers, and the marble sized rocks that bounced off of his head.

"Tsuna, you okay? That looked like it hurt back there." Takeshi asked, looking over Tsuna's face worriedly.

It was lunchtime now, and many people in class had dispersed to eat around the school. The main reason being they didn't want to be wherever Dame-Tsuna was. It just somehow made them feeling like they were eating 'dame' food, if that was somehow possible.

Tsuna peered up from a book he was reading, carefully using the book to mask his face. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's no big deal." He replied, his voice partly muffled. "Aren't your team members waiting for you?"

The baseball teen stood up and looked at the door where many people from the school team were impatiently waving him over. "Oi, Yamamoto!" one called out to him. "Stop hanging out with that Dame-Tsuna and get on the field! Coach wants us to practice, you know!"

"Yeah, I'll be right there! You go on ahead!" He called, flashing a grin at them before turning back to the brunet. "Tsuna, you sure you'll be ok? I can always tell them I can't make it."

Stubbornly, Tsuna shook his head. He knew very well how important baseball was to his friend. "No, don't worry about it. I got some homework to do, anyways. Go, I'll be fine."

The other still didn't seem quite too sure, but hesitantly obeyed. "Alright… If you're sure. If something happens, don't hesitate to talk to me! I'll help you in whatever way I can, ok?"

"If you don't hurry up, your team's gonna yell at you again." Tsuna said amusedly, a small smile turning up the corner of his lips behind the book. "Don't worry, I wouldn't keep something important to myself. You're one of the few people I really trust, you know?"

At that, Takeshi smiled widely, feeling glad to hear that. "Yeah, and I trust you. I would even give you my life, haha!"

Before Tsuna could reply to that, Takeshi was out the door with a smile and a wave. The brunet lowered the book from his face, revealed a red nose that was still bruised from landing on the floor. He considered himself lucky for not breaking it since he landed nose first really. There were some mutterings from people in class about their interaction, and it made Tsuna quite frustrated. Is it really that difficult to understand that they were friends?

Noticing a familiar head of pure white hair, and turned to see the school nurse, Hanayome, pass by in the hall. Tsuna waited a moment after Hanayome had disappeared from sight to slowly pack up his belongings into his bag. He knew perfectly well what would happen if he left his stuff behind, and he was tired of having to constantly replace them. He then pushed his chair back with a loud squeal, causing silence to fall in the room. Every pair of eyes was on the brunet, as if daring him to do something. Ignoring them, Tsuna walked out of the room with some tripping on part from his classmates.

Once he closed the door behind him, he took off in the direction Hanayome had gone. There were people in the hallway who bumped and sneered at him, but Tsuna mostly ignored them by keeping his eyes steadily on his feet. He knew that he was labelled as the stupid and useless student of the school, someone who wasn't worth their time. It wasn't really a big deal to him, as it was easier for him if they ignored him.

After a few bruises and insults thrown at him, the brunet ended up at the door leading to the roof of the school. He took a deep breath as he placed his hand on the handle. He came here often to eat his meals when Takeshi was busy with other things. It was the only place in school where it was quiet and no one was around to insult him, as well as the privacy that he needed when he came up here.

"Tsuna-kun! Over here!" A voice called, over to the far side of the fenced roof where one wouldn't be immediately noticed if someone stumbled onto the roof.

"Yeah, coming!" The boy replied, walking towards the source of the voice.

Once he got close enough, he noticed that four of his mother's yōkai were there eating their meals like it was normal. It would've, if they ate the normal food that other humans ate. At first glance, the bentos they had in front of them looked like a normal box of food with healthy and filling food. However, at a second and closer glance, one would be able to tell that the food wasn't quite as normal as thought initially. The four of them weren't the best cooks in the house, so Nana had gleefully taken on the task of making the bentos for the five of them to take to school. She was skilled in cooking, there was no denying that, and she had the wonderful talent of hiding things in her food.

Tsuna sat down next to them, pulling out his own bento and opening it. He gave his thanks for the food as was proper, and silently started eating. He knew that they would start anyways, and he wanted to enjoy a little peace before they got angry. He could tell that at least one was, as the stare that Kamui was giving him was getting really uncomfortable really quickly.

"Oi, brat." Kamui said bluntly, pointing at the brunet with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. The words were a bit muffled, as he was eating what looked to be shrimp. "How can you stand being beat up like that every day? We bust our asses keeping them safe!"

The hanyō shrugged, munching quietly as he stared at the other. He blinked lazily, knowing this conversation was going to like every time someone picked on him in class.

"Kamui, you idiot, Nana told us we can't tell any of the humans about yōkai. It's dangerous, you know that!" Hanayome reprimanded, giving a light slap to the back of the yōkai's head.

"Ouch, you old hag! Don't touch me, you gonna stick webs on my head again!" The ocean yōkai scowled, jerking his head away from Hanayome's reach. He combed his fingers through his hair, checking if any webs managed to stick themselves into his hair. "It took me hours to get out the ones from last time."

The jorōgumo huffed and crossed her arms. "That wasn't my fault. I told you I was going on a date; it wasn't like I was going to eat him!"

The male rolled his eyes and turned back to his food. "Whatever. Spared the boy from a horrible date anyways."

During this exchange, Tsuna had stayed silent the whole time and didn't interrupt. Normally, he would try to keep the yōkai from fighting with each other, but he eventually learned (through a fight nearly destroying the house again) that it was best to leave them to sort it out themselves. It wasn't the best solution, but it was the only one that allowed minimal risk and injury to the human world, Tsuna, and everyone else's sanity.

The other two, both female yōkai,who weren't involved in the two yōkai's quarrel, noticed the boy's silence. "You alright there, Tsu-kun?" one asked.

Surprised someone addressed him, Tsuna fumbled his lunch box in order not to drop it. "Ah, well, yeah. I'm fine. It's only the usual thing. It's not a big deal." He said, hoping that they'll drop the issue.

"Tsu-kun." The girl rasped. She looked much like a human, with long whispery raven locks of hair hanging over her face. It obscured it completely, and it was rarely moved to reveal her face. It was so dark there was a glint of blue when she was in the sunlight, which she was loathe to do unless she had to. "You know Nana-san would be disappointed to see you not getting along with humans. She knows how much you do things to protect them during the night."

"It doesn't matter." Tsuna murmured, his voice soft. Of course, he was worried if Nana ever found out what it was like for him in school, and sincerely hoped she never found out. Both for the sake of his sanity and the promise that he had made with Rikuo. "I'm used to this. If I get a little tired from it, then that's a price I'm willing to pay."

Paying more attention to the other conversation now, Kamui snorted incredulously. "A 'little tired' is not all that you're getting, is it? Everyone knows about the bruises you're hiding under your clothes."

Hanayome nodded in agreement next to him. After Tsuna had went into junior high, Hanayome pulled some strings in order to be the school nurse in order to be the school nurse in Nanimori Junior High. It was partly because Nana had asked her to keep an eye out for Tsuna and tell her of any injuries he might get in school, but it was also a good place to score a date with the male teachers in the school. With her exotic appearance, she could pull off a 'sexy school doctor' look, keep an eye on Tsuna, and be able to go around dating men from the school. A win-win situation for her.

But even with her life outside of school, she did take her duties seriously. She had grown fond of Tsuna over the years, and treated him as if he was her child. Whenever the brunet got injured after trying to run away from Kyoya, some prank pulled by his classmates, or his own clumsiness, Hanayome was always close by to treat them. The jorōgumo was well aware of the cuts and bruises that littered his body, and his overall health with his nightly patrols around the town, dealing with rogue yōkai who had wandered into town.

"It's good to see you're willing to reach out to the humans," Hanayome commented, "but it won't help unless you go and talk to them personally. Don't you think so, Kimi?"

The raven haired girl's head bobbed up and down. "Well, Tsu-kun has inherited much of Nana's stubbornness. He's very much like her, so I don't think anything we say is going to change his mind." She said.

Kamui muttered something about mother and son being the same, but made no other comment on it. Everyone in Nana's Hyakki Yakō knew just how much Nana had influenced her only son, though there was already a strong resemblance to each other when the boy was still a toddler. With everyone stewing in their own thoughts, they picked at their food for a few minutes. Once Tsuna had finished and had put away his bento, he turned to Hanayome with a blank stare.

The yōkai twitched as though she had been poked, already knowing that she had been discovered. She hoped she could distract him, though, and maybe get off the hook. "W-What is it, Tsu-kun? Captured by my breath-taking looks?" She said huskily, though her voice was a bit higher than it should be.

The hanyō merely sighed, feeling mildly irritated that the other was attempting to make use of her flirtatious nature again. Tsuna easily slipped on a mask of disappoint on his face, making the other four yōkai's heart throb slightly (though one would never admit it), as they hated it when the boy got sad. "No," he replied, his tone matching perfectly with his face, "I was just wondering why you're here. Aren't you the school nurse?" The other yōkai didn't even bother hiding their laughter as they saw Hanayome jerk as if she was struck.

"N-No! I mean, um, well, that is, I-I put my webs around the infirmary! S-So if a student comes along, I-I'll know about it!" The yōkai stammered in reply, carefully keeping her eyes away from Tsuna.

Tsuna sighed. He knew that she was lying about that. Over the years, he learned that all the yōkai he was living with had the ability to lie well to each other well in his house. If something got broken, they could easily pass it off as caused by someone else. Even his classmates could spread questionable rumours, with no real basis of being true or not, and Tsuna still had the uncanny ability to know it was a lie or not. Many noted that when they told a lie to Tsuna, his eyes would briefly change colours. It was bizarre, but they didn't think much on it.

"Tsu-kun…?" Hanayome asked uncertainly, as the brunet had said nothing after her words. With great reluctance, she slowly lifted her gaze to look into Tsuna's brown orbs. His large doe-like eyes were wide and teary, as though he was about to cry. His spiky mass of hair looked like it had been deflated slightly, as well as becoming a more dull color. It made the white yōkai nearly collapse as a sharp pain went through her heart, and she felt the sudden urge to tell the boy the truth. But before she could utter a word, Tsuna started speaking. "I thought Mama and I asked you not to use yōkai powers in school…" He said, his voice small and quiet.

"I-I have a good reason to!" She hurried, completely ignoring the chuckles of the other yōkai who were enjoying her discomfort. It wasn't often they could see the jorōgumo lose composure due to a human child more than a hundred years younger than her. But it wasn't that they didn't know what she was going through; he had done it on everyone in the house at least once.

The boy's lower lip quivered slightly, and the yōkai were horrified to see sparkling drops starting to appear on the hanyō's lower eyelids. They hung right over the edge, almost daring to fall down. "D-Don't cry! I'm sorry, I'll go back right now! See? I'm going back right now!" Hanayome cried, fleeing back through the door as fast as she could.

Once the jorōgumo was gone, the remaining three yōkai looked back at Tsuna to see the tears were gone and there was a smirk on his face. Ah, that boy definitely takes after his mother… was the thought that ran through everyone's minds.

Wow. Sora whistled, leaning against the fence behind the three yōkai though still in view of Tsuna. Didn't think you had it in you.

'Well, it keeps them doing what they're supposed to be doing.' Tsuna replied happily, not aware of the stares he was getting. His innocent appearance and not-dame mind was something that still surprised them, even after four years. They just hoped his appearance changed in the future, so he wouldn't be able to use it anymore on them.

I doubt there's very many who can pull something like that off. Ishou added, sitting on the ground next to Tsuna. He flashed the brunet a grin. A useful skill you picked up there.

For a moment, Tsuna's eyes blazed orange and red, then immediately changed back to their warm brown color. 'I'm strong like you guys, but I have my ways of protecting myself.' He said.

When Tsuna looked up to the three yōkai still staring at him, he noted that they gasped and looked away, pretending that they hadn't been staring at him for the last few minutes unblinkingly. The boy gave them an appreciative smile, knowing that they were just concerned for him. A little too much at times, but he was glad at least someone was worried for him.

"Anyways! We've all gathered here to talk about how it went last night, right?" Tsuna declared, clapping his hands together to get their attention. He nodded to the raven-haired girl. "Kimi-san, you first."

With the reason for their meeting finally at hand, they all sat up straighter, and all traces of embarrassment and laughter was gone from their faces. Kimi raised her head, letting the curtain of hair part slightly to reveal a face tinged with a faint blue color and a pair of impossibly black eyes that blocked out any of the whites of her eyes that seemed too large for the frame of her face. When she opened her mouth to speak, a row of perfect yet dangerously sharp pointed teeth could be seen. "Yes. I went around the old part of Nanimori like you asked, but there was nothing around there out of the ordinary."

The brunet hummed at her report, then he nodded and turned to Kamui. "What about you?" He asked, "Did you find anything?"

"No, all the yōkai said they hadn't seen anything weird." The boy huffed and folded his arms in front of his chest. It was obvious he was annoyed that he had spent yet another boring night with no results.

Feeling a little bit of relief, Tsuna allowed a little of the tension that had been in his body to be released a little. He allowed himself a small smile before he turned to the last person in the group. "Good. What about you, Zuki-san?"

The third yōkai of the group, Zuki, had gone through a dramatic look change over the years. While initially she greatly resembled the cat that she was, she had changed her looks time and time again since she grew bored of them almost as quickly as she chose them. Currently, she had decided to bleach her hair pure white and highlight it with hot pink colors. Many thought it was a very strange thing to do, but considered it as a taunt to the Nanimori prefect who always chased after her wanting to 'bite her to death.' None of the yōkai could really blame him. The color she chose this time was really atrocious.

The bakeneko grinned widely, revealing the pointed teeth that showed she wasn't a regular human. The other two yōkai shifted uncomfortably in their places, as everyone who was a yōkai knew what that grin was supposed to mean. Tsuna's smile faltered slightly at that. If she was smiling like that, it must have meant she found out something. He wasn't entirely sure it was involved with their problem or not.

"Well~" She said, almost purring, "I did as you asked and explored the dreams of some humans. Surprisingly, I found something unexpected in one of them."

At that, her three companions looked at her sharply, making her purr even louder. It was almost as though she was laughing at them. "In one strange child, who is younger than you are, Tsunayoshi-kun, she was dreaming of a strange creature."

"A strange… Creature?" Tsuna repeated, slightly confused. Was she talking about a yōkai or just a nightmare that she thought was interesting?

It seemed that Kamui also thought the same thing, as he growled, "Stupid cat, it was probably just a nightmare. You know how humans are, especially those young female ones."

Zuki turned to stare at Kamui, who didn't even flinch at the other's unnerving gaze. "Hmm~? What was that, Kai-kun?" She purred pushing herself onto his lap. Taking a whiff of a strange scent form the lazy girl, Kamuis suddenly made a face and turned away from her. "Ugh, have you been sneaking catnip again? Geeze, and I thought I had hidden it so well, too."

"Actually, Tsunayoshi-kun gave it to me." The cat yōkai said, settling down comfortably in the other boy's lap. Kamui shot Tsuna a stare, who returned it with a guilty look. "She wouldn't agree to look unless I gave her… Some."

Kimi tilted her head slightly, making her seem scarier than she usually did with her head like that. "Tsu-kun… How much is 'some?'" She asked suspiciously.

The shy brunet's face tinged a bright pink, and he looked away to avoid meeting the other two's accusing gaze. The two looked at each other exasperatedly, knowing that he was most likely feeling kind that day and had given Zuki a large amount of catnip, despite being told constantly not to. Zuki seemed out of it, curling her fingers and batting at Kamui's chin. He snatched her fingers away, and snapped, "Tell us what you saw in that human's dream already!"

"You're so mean, Kai-kun~" She pouted, before slinking out of Kamui's lap to her position from before. "Well, I found it strange, myself at first. The first thing that I had noticed in the girl's dream was a pineapple."

For a long moment, the three of her could only stare at her in an incredulous silence. "Tsuna, don't ever giver her that much catnip ever again." Kamui said finally. Kimi nodded in agreement.

"No, no! I'm being serious here! And I haven't taken any catnip; I'm saving it for later!" Zuki snapped, her playful mood gone now that her precious catnip was involved. "The human girl that I was looking at was the last one I was looking at for the night. I was about to go back since all that I saw in the weird dream was a pineapple. 'Nothing important,' I thought. But just as the girl started to wake up, the pineapple started changing."

"Changing? Change how?" Tsuna asked, leaning forward to hear better as his intrigue was now triggered.

Zuki shrugged. "Well, the girl was waking up, so it's quite hard to discern what exactly it was, but I know this much." Her face turned serious now, and the other three found themselves leaning forward even more to catch her words.

"It changed into a fox with six tails, with one eye as blue as the ocean and the other eye as red as blood."

Yōkai Corner

Name : Kōun
Species: Zakishi-Warashi

Age : 427 years
Eyes : Warm brown
Hair : Long reddish colored hair that goes to the small of her back with straight bangs and short strands framing her face just below the chin. Her hair is usually in two long pigtails since Nana loves braiding her hair
Height: 115 cm
Appearance : Using her small height to her advantage, she dresses much like average little girls would in the human world. As a human, she wears black slip on shoes with white knee high socks and knee-length dress patterned with sakura blossoms and a short fuzzy yellow sweater on top. As a yōkai, she wears a lavender furisode similar to her human clothes, with pink sakura blossoms trailing the hem and edges of the sleeves

A trusted and close confidant of Nana's. She lived in Nana's childhood home when she was young, and decided to stay with her when she grew up and her parents decided to travel. She acts very childish often, though she attempts to act much older. All the members of the Hyakki Yakō refer her as 'big sister,' since she is much older than most of the yōkai in the group. She has a surprising ability with weapons, being able to hide multitude of short-range weapons on her small person. Despite her childish appearance, she has much wisdom and often provides advice to many troubled yōkai. Even other yōkai around the edges of town respect her, even if sometimes they accidentally step on her.

A/N : Uguu… I got so side-tracked doing this, I didn't do any of the homework that I was supposed to have done… Or my studying… Or my projects… I am so failing school after this ahahaha…

Ahem, anyways, I made quite a bit of changes to this. Actually, I was quite worried I had to delete this whole thing and write it all over again from scratch. Luckily, I didn't have to, but I did have to make changes since Tsuna is friends with Yamamoto. I never noticed, but I kept spelling a few of my OCs' name wrong! Ugh… This is why I don't like adding characters created from my brain. I was reading and thinking, 'who the heck is Kaimu?!' and then I realized. That was the real spelling for his name. And then I derped and changed it in the 'The Sky Revealed by the Night.' And, well, It's kinda late for me to change it now so I'm turning it into 'Kamui.' It can be another bit of plot for the story! Hurrah!

Anyways, I don't know if anyone's noticed it… but I'm going through the story and making some editorial changes. It'll basically be revisions uploaded every week since that's how long it takes me to rethink my plotlines. Especially now that I have to fix the latest one (that chapter 6? think it's 4)