Title: School Days – Vexed Clouds

Author: AwedbyAwesomeness

Beta: MrsMalfoy288 (Who is wonderful and fabulous and the reason why I have not completely cracked yet!)

Parings: LamboxI-Pin (you guys requested it, so here you go ;D )

Genre: Humor/Family

Word Count: 8,674

Rating: K+ (There is talk of a woman's 'special days' and minor violence though)

Summary: 12yearslater!Lambo. When Fuuta is unavailable to pick up Lambo from school, someone has to bring Lambo home. From the POV of civilians, this tells the terrifying tale of the various times a Vongola guardian went to visit Lambo's school. Students beware, the mafia is in town! SERIES OF ONESHOTS

Disclaimer: (Unfortunately) I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and any recognizable aspects do not belong to me. Also, I do not own the character/person/animal/alien/inanimate-life-form which Tao is based on (though I dearly wish I did).

Post Date: 10/24/13

AN: It took me all summer and the first half of the semester to produce this (sorry . I am a slow writer and real life is busy, even during break!). However here is the next chapter! HOPE YOU ENJOY!

Oh, and before begin, I have to say a big thank you to Cheese Wizzard whose persistence motivated me to get moving on this chapter (or might have taken another extra 6 months to finish)!

Tao smiled to himself as he sat in the corner of an empty classroom, happily eating his lunch in peace.

In his opinion, the school was way too noisy. Boys talking about the hottest girls. Girls talking about the cutest boys. Underclassmen talking about the coolest upperclassmen. The principal breaking down walls as he beat up students who broke the rules.

All in all, too much time was spent making useless noise.

Tao missed the quiet of his hometown in China. Unlike those in Namimori, the people of his birthplace valued silence. Children were trained at a young age to move silently, and to speak only when necessary, as was considered proper.

When he had first moved here, about a few months ago, he had been overwhelmed by the amount of noise, which occurred in the supposedly small town.

He was particularly surprised when he had heard the loud gunshots and explosions that sounded in the dark of night. Some fool had tried to convince him that the townspeople liked to set off fireworks at odd hours, but Tao knew better. Who really believed that fireworks sounded like explosives?

Lunch was his one period to actually sit back and enjoy the quiet. Most of the students made use of the nice weather by eating outside, so he usually got the classroom to himse-

"I give up!" The sound of a girl's exclamation as said speaker barged into the room broke through Tao's happy thoughts.

Tao looked up, a frown on his face, to see their grade's idol, Ana, enter the room with a large bang of the door, followed by two boys.

"Give up on what?" asked Lambo, the smile dancing on his lips clearly indicating that he knew what she was referring to. As the European entered the room, his eyes flickered around, but his attention quickly returned to his friend.

To Tao's dismay, his classmates carried their lunches in their hands, which seemed to imply that these three were planning on eating in the classroom today.

Tao didn't have anything against Lambo or his friends— they were probably among the lesser evils of the school— however, he wanted quiet. Not the inevitable chaos which Lambo's presence always seemed to bring.

Ana, still not realizing that Tao was already in the room, shot Lambo a furious glare, "You know what I'm referring to, Lambo-kun. I'm admitting you may be right." Ana sat down at one of the desks in the middle of the classroom.

Lambo's smile morphed into a self-satisfied smirk as he sat on top of one of the tables near Ana. "I am always right. You are going to need to be a bit more specific."

Ana gave Lambo an unimpressed look, before turning her attention to her lunch.

"Wait, guys, I actually have no idea what we are talking about," said Seiji, the third person to enter the classroom.

"Oh nothing," replied Lambo, with false innocence, "Ana is just being her insane self. Her condition is probably exacerbated because she is not feeling well."

Seiji sent Ana a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

Lambo continued, before Ana had a chance to respond, with a wave of his hand, "Oh, she will be fine. My older brother's fiancée explained this sort of thing to me a while ago."

If Seiji was confused before, he now looked completely lost, "What in the world are you talking about?"

Ana too seemed equally puzzled by Lambo's comment.

Lambo dropped his voice to a stage whisper, untold mischief lurking beneath his eyes. "Just about how there are times when girls become completely unreasonable. They start complaining and shouting for no reason, like Ana is doing now. Apparently they start to feel special, about once a mon-"

Lambo was cut off by a book flying to his head.

Tao, for the life of him, couldn't understand why Lambo was so popular among the girls. Every time the European opened his mouth, he made at least one person in the room wish to hit him.

"OH MY GOD, LAMBO!" exclaimed Ana, jumping up, "You don't… I'm not…. What the hell? You can't just say that sort of thing! Did your mother not teach you any manners when it came to these matters?"

Lambo fixed with a surprisingly solemn expression, "My mother died before I was old enough to know her, and my father, grief stricken by her death, sought to get rid of me before I was even six because I reminded him of her. That's why I live in Japan, even though my parents were clearly European." After a second he added, "So I guess, no, my mother never got the chance to teach me any manners."

All of the anger vanished out of Ana as she and Seiji stared at Lambo in shock. Neither student seemed to know how to respond to such a tragic revelation.

"I didn't kn…"

"I'm so sor…"

Both Ana and Seiji began to offer weak condolences before trailing off awkwardly.

There was a pregnant pause in the air as Tao watched on, torn between morbid curiosity and pity.

If Tao had grown up in any other family, Tao would have been inclined to believe that Lambo was just making a terrible joke. Who goes around spouting that kind of personal history at random? But considering where Tao grew up, either Lambo was a world-class liar or, regretfully, Lambo may have spoken the truth.

Suddenly the silence was broken by Lambo's raucous laughter. "I can't believe you guys actually bought that!"

Ana and Seiji continued to stare at Lambo, shocked for a completely new reason.

"Lambo, you don't joke about those things," said Ana, the relief in her voice belying the censure of her words.

"So your mother is not dead?" asked Seiji tentatively, still not quite relaxed.

Lambo flashed his friend a smile, "Don't worry. I had wonderful maternal and paternal figures in my life. How else do you think I became my awesome self?" At his rhetorical question, Lambo struck a ridiculous pose while turning in a circle and most of the tension in the room vanished.

However, Tao couldn't help but frown. Despite his classmate's words, Tao wasn't convinced that Lambo had just been joking about his family's history… And yet, the European also spoke the truth when discussing positive parental figures.

Was his classmate really that good of a liar that he could fool Tao's training? Or, Tao mused, could both statements Lambo had made been the truth? Had the Italian been kicked out of his birth family and still found wonderful parental figures on his own?

Seiji's voice brought Tao back to reality.

"Okay, now that we know Lambo likes to pretend he has a tragic past to fuel his image of mystery and give his friends heart attacks, can I please know what Ana has conceded on?" Seiji asked with a tone of relief, tinged with long-suffering impatience.

Lambo leveled Seiji with a look, "You are like a dog with a bone, aren't you?"

Seiji grinned, "Of course. I hate-"

"-not knowing stuff," chorused Lambo and Ana, both already aware of Seiji's distaste for feeling ignorant.

"Well, if you must know," a smug grin flitted across Lambo's face, "Ana has finally realized that I am right and she is wrong."

Ana sighed, "You are going to drag this out and laude it over me, aren't you?"

"That she was in fact mistaken when she accused me of lying to her," continued Lambo, ignoring Ana's comment, his tone lofty.

"In that one instance. You lie all the time," grumbled Ana.

"That she was unfairly besmirching my precious honor and that of my family with her baseless accusations," said Lambo with a grin.

"Not baseless. Anyone would be suspicious under the circumstances," muttered Ana.

"Shush, peasant! I am explaining things to our curious friend. There is no need for your insolence." Lambo finally turned his attention to Ana with a joking wave of his hand.

Ana frowned, and replied lightly, "I'm just making sure you paint a clear picture."

"Whatever." Lambo's grin at Ana undermined his dismissive tone before the Italian turned to Seiji and continued, "Anyway, to make things short, Ana thought that my family and I were involved in some shady business. However, after spending the last two weeks searching for proof and finding nothing, she has finally admitted that we are as innocent as babies."

After a pause and a mischievous grin appeared on Lambo's face – the kind which caused Tao's stomach to clench in concern. Lambo then added, "I would go so far as to say we are as innocent as babies with pacifiers."

"Pacifiers?" asked Seiji, slightly confused.

"Pacifiers," proclaimed Lambo solemnly. "Babies with pacifiers around their neck are the epitome of innocence! Not only are they unable to hurt anyone else, no one would want to hurt them! In fact, I would go so far as to say we are as innocent babies with rainbow colored pacifiers. The rainbow is the epitome of innocence!"

Tao raised an eyebrow at Lambo's words. He knew that Lambo enjoyed portraying himself as an idiot, but this was really taking it to a new level. The boy had no idea when to shut his mouth!

"Rainbow colored pacifiers?" repeated Seiji, a small grin on his face as he enjoyed Lambo's imagination.

Lambo nodded, his face the picture of innocent sincerity, "You can trust the colors of the rainbow, especially green. Green and orange are very trustworthy, unlike yellow. Out of all the colors, you probably should trust yellow the least."

"Stop, please, before I get a headache," interrupted Ana, sounding pained, "Your ludicrousness is pain-inducing."

"What? I am just giving Seiji advice for life. He now knows that if he ever meets a baby with a yellow pacifier, he should start backing away slowly, if not running in the opposite direction!"

"I thought you said I should trust a baby with a rainbow colored pacifier?" said Seiji, not really caring either way but enjoying the show.

"No, no, no. Keep up! I just said 'except for yellow'. You should never trust a baby with a yellow pacifier! That is a death wish!"

Ana just sighed, and began to rub her temples. Tao couldn't help but agree with her, he would be so much happier if Lambo would just be quiet.

Seiji, on the other hand, was clearly enjoying the show, "Advice that I will take into consideration if I ever happen upon a baby. Any other useful tidbits you care to pass along?"

Lambo gave him a considering look. "I suppose I could give you a few of the rules by which I live my life."

Ana moaned in frustration. "What mistakes did I make in a past life to have to put up with this?" she asked herself, but both boys ignored her as Seiji nodded eagerly at Lambo.

Tao couldn't help but agree with her. What had he done to deserve such torture? How could his cousin put up with this nonsense? She had told him that Namimori was a wonderful town filled with wonderful people! That and his Uncle's contacts were why he had come here. Why hadn't she warned him about the level of drivel he would have to put up with?

"Well, I already told you about avoiding babies with yellow pacifiers. I also make a point of avoiding pineapples. They are not only deadly but psychotically malicious. Among animals, the cow or bull is the friendliest, but you should never underestimate it in a fight. Octopuses are there for you in a pinch, but you really do not want to piss them off. Oh, and if you ever meet royalty, remember that they can smell fear. So you should pretend to be a frog or viper and they might go easy on you! Finally, if you value your life, never mess up, or god-forbid, cut a shark's hair," after a pause Lambo seriously added, "I learned that last the one the hard way.

"So learn from my mistakes, young Padawan, and you may not die in the near future!" finished Lambo cheerily.

By this point, Seiji was making no attempts to muffle his chuckles at Lambo's absurdity.

Tao mentally sighed. When his uncle had told him that he had found a way for Tao to get out of the village, and thus out of the family occupation, Tao had seized the opportunity without hesitation. However, he really should have considered that anywhere his Uncle was comfortable sending him was probably not a place Tao wanted to be if he wished to escape his family's history.

Nevertheless, no matter what words Lambo spouted, Tao resolved to resolutely ignore them and focus on achieving his goals. Sometimes, he really missed the quiet of his hometown, but Tao would not be dragged down by an Italian who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. He would persevere in order to achieve his dreams, just like his cousin had done.

"I will give you candy!" exclaimed Ana desperately out of nowhere.

Lambo's attention was immediately on the only girl in the room, "What?"

"Shut up and I will give you candy at the end of the lunch period," pleaded Ana. "Just let me eat in peace." Tao couldn't help but think that he would contribute to the candy pile if it would just shut Lambo up.

Lambo said, "Your wish is my command."

However, before Lambo could actually act upon Ana's demand, the door to the classroom flew open again, and in walked another three students.

Tao frown deepened as he saw Yohei and two of Yohei's burly henchme- he meant friends, two of Yohei's 'friends', walking into the room. Putting Yohei, Lambo and Ana in a room together was like asking a middle school student to lead the mafia – a messy, noisy and downright terrible idea, no matter how you looked at it.

Ana, Lambo and Seiji watched warily as their peers entered the classroom. Yohei calmly sat down without a word and began eating his lunch with his two 'friends' standing next to him.

"What are you doing here?" asked Seiji, with same amount of fear and respect one would put into prodding an angry tiger.

Yohei looked lazily at the trio. "Eating. Obviously." Sarcasm and contempt dripped from Yohei's words like honey, "Is that too hard to comprehend for a genius like you?"

Lambo bristled at the way Seiji was being addressed, but Ana jumped in before Lambo could say something to make the tense situation worse.

"He meant, why are you eating inside? Don't you usually join your posse on the grass?"

Yohei raised an eyebrow, "I could ask you the same question, couldn't I?"

"An even better question, though, would be, why are you hanging out with this kind of riff-raff, Ana?" Yohei's mocking words were like throwing gasoline on the kindling, and the only question left was who would be the one to light the match before the room exploded.

Lambo was frowning at Yohei, his wide eyes narrowed. Tao couldn't help but notice that he was fiddling with a green piece of jewelry on his hand.

The Italian opened mouth to retaliate, but before he could speak the door opened once again and in rushed another classmate.

Tao couldn't hold back the slight sigh that escaped his mouth as Tao silently watched another student, Kiego, enter the room. It looked like his thoughts of a peaceful lunch were now just a faraway dream.

Tao, like any other student at Namimori, had quickly learned the social divisions of the school when he had first arrived. Kiego was obviously one of Yohei's friends, but the Chinese boy couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be a recent tension between Kiego and Yohei. Ever since one of the hallways where several student lockers were located had been destroyed in an alleged gas leak, it had seemed, to Tao's watchful gaze, like the two boys were fighting over something.

"There you are!" exclaimed Kiego, slightly out of breath. "I have been looking everywhere for you, Yohei. You were not at any of our usual haunts."

Tao took in Kiego's appearance. The boy seemed flustered for some reason.

Yohei frowned at Kiego, "What does it matter? I do not report to you."

Kiego ignored the occupants of the room to focus on Yohei. "What does it matter?" he repeated. "I told you it was a bad idea! I told you not to do it! And now the principal is scouring the hallways looking like he is ready to bring the apocalypse!"

Tao shifted in his seat slightly. He knew that situation was going downhill, quickly. If a fight broke out, Tao was prepared to bodily throw himself out the open third-story window, consequences be damned. All he wanted was peace and quiet, not the inevitable chaos that would come if a scuffle took place. The mention of an angry Principal Hibari boded well for no one.

Yohei, however, calmly turned away from Kiego, (a flicker that Tao couldn't identify in his eyes). "I have no idea to what you are referring."

"Like hell you don't. You know exactly what I'm talking about!" exclaimed Kiego, clearly frustrated by something Yohei had done.

"This guy bothering you, boss?" asked one of Yohei's hench- friends, dammit, he meant friends.

Tao knew that he had a problem, but he blamed it on his upbringing. The whole point of coming to Namimori was to escape the family occupation, yet Tao was still struggling to change the way he was taught to think. He was working on it, though. Yohei's friends were not his henchmen. His classmates were not uncategorized threats. He did not need to evaluate escape routes every time he entered a room. And his principal was most certainly not a vicious killer-bird in human form.

As his cousin had proven, it was possible to escape the family legacy – although Tao knew his cousin had the occasional relapse, but Tao blamed her boyfriend – and Tao was determined to follow in her footsteps, the boyfriend bit excluded.

"Your minions aren't that bad, Yohei," said Lambo, obviously thinking along the same lines as Tao. "But while they are appropriately unintelligent and burly to boot, they still need to learn to only speak when spoken to, and even then, with their fists, not their mouths." Lambo's tone was deceptively helpful.

Dumb and Dumber (Tao hadn't bothered to learn their names) looked at each other. "You insulting Mr. Yohei?" one of them demanded.

Lambo's grin widened as he opened his mouth to respond. But before he could say anything, Yohei jumped in, "Shut up, Taichi, Kenta. Don't you oafs know how to listen to directions?"

Tao couldn't help but notice that Lambo's grin faded, and the Italian frowned as he regarded the way Yohei had addressed the other two boys.

Ignoring Lambo's facial expression, Yohei addressed his green-eyed peer, "Ignore them, please. They are still being trained. My big brother let me borrow them, because some of my other friends couldn't be trusted." At the end of his sentence, Yohei shot a pointed glare towards Kiego.

"Just because I won't go along with your stupid plans and believe in your idiotic biases, doesn't mean I'm untrustworthy," snapped Kiego, obviously pissed. "But if you did what I think you did, then we will see just how disloyal I can be."

Yohei's mouth thinned, as he openly glared at Kiego, "You wouldn't dare."

"That depends on how stupid you have been," retorted Kiego.

Off to the side, Seiji sighed. "For the second time today, I have absolutely no idea what is being talked about."

Ana harshly stepped on Seiji's foot, "Shut up, Seiji. There is a time and place for questions, and this is not one of them,"

As Ana reprimanded Seiji, Lambo was having fun playing with Yohei's henchmen. If Yohei was going to acknowledge his minions, then Tao might as well call a spade, a spade.

"You're going to let Yohei talk to you like that?" Lambo casually asked Dumb and Dumber.

The henchmen frowned. "What Mr. Yohei says, goes," replied one of them.

"But why? How do you benefit from acquiescing to his wishes?"

Neither boy verbally responded, but one of the two cracked his knuckles.

Lambo sighed, "Do you know the meaning of acquiesce?"

Again, neither boy replied, but the one closer to the door cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Should I resort to charades?" Lambo tried again. "I'm told my interpretive dancing is impressive."

Tao wanted to groan, but his training prevented him from making any noise.

The situation was going from bad to worse. Lambo was trying to plant the seeds of mutiny, while Yohei was too busy trying to threaten Kiego to pay attention to the way Lambo was talking to his minions. Nearby, Seiji and Ana were quietly discussing and disagreeing over the best time to ask questions.

Maybe it was time to step in, Tao considered.

Silently standing up, Tao spoke, "Guys, listen, I know you have issues, but could you please take it elsewhere?"

All arguing stopped as six of the seven other students suddenly realized that Tao was in the room.

The mouths of Yohei's henchmen dropped open.

Ana let out a muffled yelp as Yohei actually fell out of his chair in his rush to turn around and see who had spoken.

Lambo had the audacity to wave at Tao, "Glad you finally decided to join our conversation." Tao frowned at Lambo; the Italian wasn't at all surprised to see Tao already in the room.

Furthermore the two boys had talked on occasion, and shared a few friends and acquaintances, but none of their past interactions justified the familiarity in Lambo's voice.

While Seiji almost involuntarily exclaimed, "The Chinese Ninja-Assassin!"

"How did you get in here without anyone seeing you?" demanded Ana.

Tao's frown deepened at Seiji's words, ignoring Lambo. He knew what his schoolmates thought of him. Many were put off by how quietly he moved and little he talked, but really? Chinese Ninja-Assassin? Ninjas weren't even Chinese.

"First of all, I was here before any of you arrived," said Tao, frustrated at his classmates. It wasn't his fault they didn't properly observe their surroundings. He hadn't even tried to conceal himself – a five-year old from his home town would have noticed him – why were his peers in Namimori so dense?

"Furthermore, I am neither a ninja nor an assassin," he said, slightly stiffly. Mentally, he rationalized that – technically – he wasn't even lying.

Yohei clambered back into his chair, pretending he had never fallen out of it in the first place, "Really? You could have fooled the student body."

Tao sighed, considering some of the people wandering around the school halls, such a task was hardly an achievement.

However, he didn't tell Yohei this. Instead he said, "I am in the drama and music club. My goal in life is to perform in concert halls, and thus I spend my spare time practicing my music. What makes you think I have the time, let alone the desire, to go around killing people as a 'Chinese Ninja-Assassin'?" Tao tried not to cringe as he said the term – his mother would have had him training till he was bloody if she heard him say such a childish phrase.

Then again, his mother was still angered by his running away from home to fulfill his dreams of playing music, so when it came to his parents, saying 'Chinese Ninja-Assassin' wasn't his biggest concern.

Kiego helpfully' threw in, "Well, you did beat up those boys your first week of school."

"I did nothing of the sort," replied Tao, not for the first time regretting his actions towards the bullies. "Those boys thought it would be a good idea to try and stuff me in a locker. I was merely demonstrating that such thoughts were in fact a bad idea."

"Five broken bones, eight fractured ribs, three bloody noses, two concussions and countless bruises," recited Seiji before he could stop himself, "without a single scratch on your body to show for it."

Tao shrugged, he was still new in town and wasn't quite used to being away from home yet. His body reacted before his brain did. It wasn't his fault that most boys in Namimori were not raised the way he was.

"I studied Wushu for a few years under my master when I was a kid. That doesn't make me an assassin." Tao kept his face and voice deceptively neutral.

Excitement gleamed in Lambo's eyes as he asked, "Really? What was it like?"

Tao resisted the urge to punch his classmate. Next time he got the chance, he was going to have a talk with his cousin about certain residents of Namimori.

"It wasn't that interesting," he said wryly. "Self-defense is just highly valued in my hometown."

"Who cares?" muttered Yohei, but despite his dismissive tone, he continued to eye Tao warily.

"You know, usually Chinese Assassins are my type, but you are not enough assassin and way too male for me." Lambo winked, seemingly oblivious to the confusion he was creating with the non sequitur. "Plus, I already have a girlfriend."

Tao's classmates openly gaped at Lambo.

"I am not at all an assassin," denied Tao with a frown. The Chinese boy did not like the way Lambo winked at him, as if the two of them were sharing a joke. They were not friends.

"Did you just say you like assassins?" asked Seiji, sounding slightly faint.

"Well…" a grin spread across Lambo's face.

"Are we supposed to believe you have a girlfriend?" demanded Yohei sounding unconvinced.

Ana, the only person unperturbed by Lambo's revelation, jumped in, "One of these days, Lambo, your jokes are going to get you in trouble."

Tao, despite his irritation at being called an assassin, couldn't help but appreciate the way Lambo's comment took the attention off of him. Even better, most of the anger and tension in the room had dissipated.

Maybe there was a chance the lunch break was going to end on a peaceful n-

Before Tao could finish the thought, the door to classroom flew open for the fourth time and in stalked Principal Hibari.

Tao couldn't help but wince when he took in Principal Hibari's angry form. Although many people thought that the principal's expressions rarely changed, the glint in the man's eye along with the turn of his lips and the tension in his muscles told Tao that Principal Hibari was clearly pissed off about something.

Admittedly, under most circumstances, Tao couldn't just read someone's facial expressions and body language as easily as he did Principal Hibari. However, Tao had spent a large portion of his childhood hanging out with his cousin and a boy who looked ridiculously similar to the vicious principal. Based on his experiences with the boy from his past, Tao could fairly accurately read Hibari's emotions.

The school's principal growled at Lambo, "You were careless."

Tao watched in awe as the principal, without any further warning, attacked the European student with tonfas, which were pulled out of who-knew-where. He couldn't help but marvel at the principal's form. He was one of the best fighters Tao had ever seen, his master obviously excluded. And that was saying something, because growing up in Tao's family meant that he had seen his fair share of world-class fighters.

Lambo, Tao grudgingly observed, was not too bad either. The Italian was spending most of his time trying to dodge his principal's blows, while occasionally inserting his own attack. Tao was a little impressed by the way Lambo used the classroom to his advantage. While Hibari had gone at Lambo with his tonfas, Lambo had been unarmed when the he attacked.

Tao watched as Lambo used various objects around the room to make up for his disadvantage, sometimes blocking with a textbook instead of his arm, occasionally dodging behind a desk instead of physically parrying the blow and once throwing a pencil at the principal's right eye so that his foot could come up to attack the principal's left torso. Though Lambo's best paled in comparison to the deadly killer - widely mistaken as the school's principal - Tao had to reluctantly admit that for his age, Lambo was pretty decent.

While Tao had had the opportunity – pleasure – to watch Principal Hibari fight before during his first month at Namimori when a slightly crazy white-haired man decided to take over the school, he had never seen any student hold his own against the vicious man.

Normally, when a student disrupted the peace, Hibari allowed one of his subordinates to handle the matter. If the digression was large enough, Hibari would deal with the situation himself, but usually such 'fights' consisted of the student being catatonic within the first 30 seconds. This was the first time Tao had seen anyone actually manage to avoid or parry the principal's attack, let alone retaliate with blows of their own.

And while the scene occurring was partially due to Lambo's non-trivial skill, Tao quickly realized that if the principal had wished it, Lambo, too, could have been comatose within the first few seconds of the fight. It was subtle but, Tao recognized in awe, Principal Hibari was holding back.

It certainly didn't stop the him from landing blows, which Tao knew from experience would bruise painfully, but Hibari was not fighting to just beat Lambo up. There weren't many, but certainly a few gaps in Lambo's defense, Tao noticed, that the principal could easily exploit. However, instead of going in for the kill, he would attack one certain weakness over and over again until Lambo realized his mistake and corrected his form. Then the principal would move on to another hole, savagely focusing on that spot until Lambo again fixed his defense.

It was a painful way to learn, and Hibari certainly wasn't pulling his punches, but the fact remained that Hibari Kyoya, Namimori's brutal and aloof principal, was teaching, or at least helping teach, Lambo instead of just beating the boy up.

Tao wished he could spend more time admiring the fight, but his training kicked in and Tao moved so that he was in a better position, between the two fighters and the rest of the students.

Tao had already made his presence known to his classmates, so throwing himself out the window was no longer an option. His master's and his parents' teachings still reigned strong in his mind, so he did the next best thing. Lambo was not in any immediate danger, being able to – barely – hold his own, but just in case the fight got out of control, Tao situated himself so he could make sure that none of the other students, those without training, were hurt.

Tao knew he wouldn't be able to last long against Principal Hibari, especially if the principal decided to go at him with full force, but his observations of the fight led him to believe that it – probably – wouldn't come to that.

Still, training was training, no matter what Tao did to deny his upbringing, and so Tao placed himself as he was taught. You could take a boy out of assassin training, but you couldn't take the assassin training out of the boy, Tao wryly contemplated.

Tao knew that he didn't owe Lambo anything, and quite frankly, he was a little incensed at his peer for ruining his previously quiet lunch period. Nevertheless, Tao, knowing the importance of damage control, did not stop himself from twisting slightly to take in the looks of his classmates.

Ana was watching with equal parts shock and horror. One hand was covering her mouth, and she looked ready to start either screaming or crying. Tao wasn't quite sure.

Yohei had a surprisingly malicious gleam in his eyes. Tao knew that there was no lost love between Yohei and Lambo, but he certainly did not expect the level of glee which seemed to appear on his face every time a blow landed on Lambo's body.

Tao also noticed, with no little scorn, that Yohei's henchmen were just standing to the side uselessly staring. Unlike proper minions, not only had they failed to remove Yohei from the room, and thus the danger, but they also did not at least place themselves between Yohei and main danger in immediate vicinity, namely Principal Hibari. Instead, when the situation had gotten serious, dumb and dumber had proved themselves useful for only catching flies.

However, it was Seiji and Kiego whose attempted actions, albeit idiotic, slightly impressed Tao.

Seiji was gaping unabashedly at the fight. His glasses were slightly askew, but the boy did not seem to notice.

Kiego's face was completely white, and his fists were clenched so tight Tao was sure that his nails were going to leave crescent shaped marks on his skin.

But despite their obvious fear, both boys were beginning to make moves, as if to step in and help.

Tao reacted before either classmate could actually interrupt the fight. With one hand on each struggling boy, Tao pushed Seiji and Kiego into two of the chairs.

"He's our friend. He needs help!" exclaimed Seiji, his eyes not looking at Tao, still focused on the match between Principal Hibari and Lambo. The two of them were still trading vicious blows.

"He doesn't deserve to be punished," muttered Kiego, shooting a glare at Yohei.

Tao raised an eyebrow at Kiego's words, but only verbally addressed Seiji's concern, "You guys wouldn't be helping him. You would only get in the way and probably end up injuring both Lambo and yourselves."

"And how would you know?" demanded Kiego, as he and Seiji resisted Tao's hold.

Tao, unimpressed by his classmate's words, asked, "Do either of you have any training in combat? How would you help him?"

"Then you help him!" shot back Seiji. "You know wushu!"

"Yeah," added Kiego. "You're the school's ninja-assassin. Do something!"

Tao grimaced at the boy's words. "I am neither a ninja nor am I an assassin. Get those ridiculous thoughts out of your head."

What Tao did not tell his peers was that he had been ready to step in and help the Italian, until he realized that Lambo had not needed it.

In fact, he had to consciously suppress the smirk which threatened to blow his cover as he watched Lambo execute a move which Tao himself had taught his cousin when she had come back home four summers ago. It seemed like his cousin was teaching her boyfriend a few tricks, not that Tao minded.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the fight ended. Lambo was pinned against the windowsill with Principal Hibari's tonfa pressed roughly against his vocal chords. The sounds of Lambo's ragged breathing were all that echoed through the room.

Lambo glared up at the school's principal with a look that would send a normal man running for his mother. Kyoya Hibari, however, was far from normal, and he merely returned his student's glare with a contemptuous look of his own.

"I don't know why you attacked me, but I didn't do it," rasped the curly-haired boy, his speech slightly impeded by the metal crushed against his throat. Though he looked angry, there was a flash of betrayal in Lambo's expression. For a second Tao taught his classmate might cry, before the moment passed.

"He doesn't deserve it," repeated Kiego, but self-perseverance kept the words barely above a whisper.

Tao was sure that only he and Seiji could hear Kiego's words, but Lambo's eyes flickered in their direction for the briefest of moments before returning to stare up at the principal.

Hibari, however, remained unmoved. "My office was wrecked at some point in the last hour by a student," he said, his voice cold and uncaring. "Your notebook was found among the pile of destroyed paperwork. You were careless."

Lambo's lips formed a frown at the man's words. And then, any hurt he might have felt disappeared as a spark returned to his eyes. Instead, something else which Tao couldn't place sparkled in his expression.

"I see," said Lambo neutrally. "I was careless."

There was silence in the classroom, broken only by Lambo's ragged breathing, as everyone waited for what would happen next.

Tao could tell from Ana and Seiji's horrified expressions that they were afraid that the principal was going to beat Lambo up further now that Lambo had admitted to the crime.

On the other side of the room, Yohei and Kiego were looking at Lambo with confusion, although, Kiego also had worry in his eyes.

Tao had a sneaking suspicion about Yohei, his friends and the principal's office, but decided to keep his mouth shut. If Lambo couldn't fight his own battles, then he deserved whatever beatings he got.

Suddenly one of the strangest songs Tao had ever heard started to unexpectedly fill the room. It seemed like the words were about family, but Tao was too distracted by the voices that were singing to pay attention to the words. Was that his cousin and Lambo? There were other voices that seemed familiar, like Tao had heard it once or twice, but not for a while… and there… was that… Tao paled as he recognized the lilting tones of their school's principal!

Tao reconsidered throwing himself out the window. Growing up in a family of assassins meant that Tao had heard, witnessed and done horrible things. However, at the moment, as Tao listened to his feared principal sing about family, he couldn't think of a single thing more alarming.

That's not to say that Tao didn't love music, for all that he hated useless noise. It was one of the most beautiful things in life for Tao, and it was the reason he was willing to leave everything he knew and throw away a promising career as an assassin. He would do anything to have music at the center of his life.

However, listening to Principal Hibari sing, or more importantly, listening to Principal Hibari sing a song about loving and protecting others, was disturbing. It was like have The Talk with your parents; you might enjoy the subject matter but there were just certain things in life that were supposed to remain separated in their nice little boxes. Principal Hibari and music were two such things.

Tao could only watch in dread, as the music grew louder when Lambo fished his phone out of his pocket.

"That particular song is thanks to select voice recordings of various people and the technological magic which my friend, Spanner, can work." Lambo addressed his classmates.

Nobody replied to the curly-haired student, most of them still surprised by the music.

However Lambo seemed oblivious to the silent chaos his ringtone was causing as he turned to Principal Hibari. As if they were at a picnic and he was just stepping to the side for a second, instead of on the verge of a social break down as everyone in the room attacked Lambo in an attempt to shut off the music (or at least, that's how the situation ended in Tao's mind), Lambo asked, "Do you mind if I take this? It is my big brother."

Hibari didn't respond, but Tao, mentally, gave the man some slack. Which self-respecting killer wouldn't be shocked if they heard themselves singing about the values of family and love? Tao was feeling slightly nauseous with nervousness, and he wasn't even in the track!

Lambo shrugged and took the principal's silence as agreement. Lightly touching the screen, he brought the phone up to his ear while simultaneously ending the song.

Tao sent a fervent prayer to whichever gods might be listening that he would never have to listen to such music again.

"Hello?"

The entire room was silent as everyone focused on Lambo.

"Yes, yes. I have just been informed about that. Does everyone in our family know?" asked Lambo, sounding slightly irritated. He then sighed, casually leaning back against the wall. "Of course they do. You leave one thing accidentally lying around once and next thing you know everyone is treating it like the apocalypse."

Hibari's eyes narrowed at Lambo, and Tao thought Lambo might be attacked again.

"Yes, I know, Tsuna-nii," said Lambo, unexpectedly contrite. At this point Lambo looked up, making eye contact with Principal Hibari. "I won't be so foolish in the future. I will be more careful."

Tao got the feeling that Lambo's words, although addressed to his big brother, were also meant for the feared principal.

"Is that all?" After a pause he whined, "Really? Now? I'm not feeling well."

Subtly, Lambo's voice changed as he became serious. "You think a storm might hit the school soon?"

Tao raised an eyebrow. Glancing out the window, he saw that the weather was beautiful. Not a cloud in sight, and yet Lambo was talking to his brother about a storm.

"Ok." Lambo sighed again. "See you soon, Tsuna-nii."

Flipping his phone shut and putting it back in his pocket, Lambo glanced around the room with a smile. "Sorry about that, guys. My big brother was watching the news and thought he should let me know that there are clouds gathering with signs of thunder near the outskirts of Namimori."

Although Lambo did not make eye-contact or even glance in Principal Hibari's direction, Tao knew the European's words were not meant really for their classmates.

Yohei, oblivious, snorted, "Your big brother is an idiot. It is sunny as day outside."

Hibari's eyes narrowed and Lambo's fists clenched at Yohei's words.

"Careful what you say, Yohei," said Lambo. "My patience with you is already short and it has been a trying afternoon. I would hate for you to trip and break something." Lambo smiled angelically at his classmate, but it did not reach his eyes.

"As if I am scared of you," snapped Yohei.

Tao was once again surprised by this guy. Had his classmate not just seen Lambo fight against Hibari? Couldn't he tell that Lambo could beat him up in a heartbeat? Was he an idiot?

But no, Tao mused, Yohei probably was unable to properly see the battle. The fight had been fast paced, and to the untrained eye, it probably just looked like a flurry of motion. All Yohei could see, and the rest of his classmates for that matter, were the cuts and bruises on Lambo now that the fight had been finished.

Most of them probably thought that Lambo had just been beat up by Hibari, unaware that Lambo had, to an extent, held his own.

Tao's eyes caught on Principal Hibari. The man made no move to stop the fight which was on the verge of breaking out between Yohei and Lambo. Instead he just turned around with a "Hnn," and walked out of the classroom.

By this point, Lambo and Yohei were shouting insults at each other.

But before the situation could deteriorate even further, Kiego grabbed the back collar of Yohei's shirt. "You can yell at Yohei later," he snapped at Lambo. "I have first dibs on his sorry ass."

Kiego promptly began dragging Yohei out of the room, much to the other boy's protests. He only replied with, "I warned you not to do it."

And then the two boys were out of the classroom, the door slamming shut behind them.

Tao looked curiously at Yohei's minions. Neither seemed sure what to do. Tao could have laughed at the boys' expressions if not for how tightly wound he felt.

Lambo too had noticed Dumb and Dumber's confusion. "You probably should go help Yohei," said the Italian helpfully.

And then there were only four occupants in the classroom.

"Are you okay?" asked Seiji.

"Of course I am! I am the fabulous Lambo!"

"Are you sure? You were just beat up by Principal Hibari," said Ana, her worry obvious in her tone.

"Do you doubt my amazingness?" Lambo straightened from where he was propped against the windowsill – and promptly stumbled, doubling over in pain.

Tao frowned. Principal Hibari had been vicious in his attack, but Lambo should not be in as much agony as he seemed to be.

"Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" asked Seiji, moving forward to help support his friend.

"No, no. I am fine, just give me a minute. I told you guys before, unless you see multi-colored fire, Principal Hibari is going easy. He was actually being very kind just now!"

For a second time, Lambo tried to straighten but was again unable to stand on his own.

Ana snorted. "You really ought to work on the timing of your jokes. Come on. Let's get you to the nurse's office." Ana moved to Lambo's other side, so that the Italian was propped between her and Seiji.

The trio began to hobble towards the door.

"I think it would be best if I took him to the nurse's office." Tao stepped forward.

Ana and Seiji looked at him as if remembering for the first time that he was also in the room.

Lambo groaned. "You guys know I am a sentient being. I can make my own decisions. I do not need to go to the nurse's office."

Ana ignored her friend as she asked, "You?"

Tao looked between Ana and Seiji, refusing to make eye-contact with Lambo. "Do either of you think you could carry his dead-weight when he inevitably faints in the hallway? Why don't you stay and clean up this mess so that Lambo doesn't get in trouble later?"

Tao honestly didn't know why he was helping Lambo. He didn't owe the Italian anything, and getting involved with the boy brought him closer to rather than farther away from his family's legacy. And yet… there was something that pushed Tao to help his classmate.

Tao blamed his cousin.

Ana bristled at Tao's tone, but before she could say anything Seiji spoke up.

"You're right." Seiji moved so that Tao could take his place supporting Lambo. "Watch our friend carefully; he obviously is unable to care for himself."

Ana moved away from Lambo as well so that the European's weight rested almost solely on Tao. "We will hunt you, your family and any other loved ones down if anything happens to him," she said, but her grateful smile undermined her teasing threat.

It took most of Tao's self-control to not laugh. Mentally, he thought he would like to see Ana and Seiji try to do anything to him, let alone the rest of his family. Instead he just put on his best smile and said, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Right here, guys. Seriously, I'm not an idiot. I can understand what you are saying," grumbled Lambo, but there was no bite behind his words.

The rest of them ignored Lambo.

As Tao helped Lambo limp out of the room, he saw out of the corner of his eye Ana and Seiji begin to pick up the scattered books and desks.

When they were out in the hallway, Tao allowed Lambo to lean on him until they were around the corner. Then, promptly and without hesitation, Tao dropped Lambo on his ass.

"Ow!" complained Lambo, a pained expression appearing as he sat on the hard hallway floor. "What was that for? I'm injured here!"

Tao looked down at his classmate, unimpressed. "Oh get up, you big baby. I'm not fooled by that act."

Lambo's face remained injured for a second, before a mischievous smile grew on his lips. The boy stood gracefully, showing no signs of being injured. "I didn't think I could. Fool you, that is. But I wondered why you offered to take me to the nurse's office if you didn't actually believe me to be crippled."

Tao raised an eyebrow. "You actually wish to be escorted to nurse's office? And explain to the woman why you want to run off with the Principal right after he supposedly beat you up?"

Lambo tipped an imaginary hat. "Touché, my friend."

Tao shrugged. "Your code needs to be improved."

After a second, Tao scowled and added, "Also, I am not your friend, Lambo. I would appreciate it if you would stop referring to me with such familiarity, especially in school."

Lambo resumed a wounded expression, "But I-Pin so badly wants us to get along. I would hate to disappoint her."

Tao resisted the urge to swish his hands while making the cracking noise of a whip. Inwardly, he felt like smiling. His cousin had Lambo wrapped around her little finger.

Externally, Tao's expression remained the same. "I have no idea who you are referring to," he said stiffly.

Lambo cheerily winked at him for the second time that day. "Of course. My mistake, Mr. Music Student."

Lambo turned around, heading down the hallway.

Without looking back, Lambo waved. "See you around, Tao. I've got to hurry if I want to catch up with Hibari before I miss out on all the fun. That guy isn't one to wait around for others."

Tao watched Lambo walk away.

After a second's hesitation, he called out, "Wait, Lambo."

Lambo stopped, looking back at Tao.

Pausing for a moment as he preemptively kicked himself for what he was about to do, Tao took a breath and said, "Anybody who knows anything can tell that something is going down soon."

Lambo didn't say anything, his expression giving nothing away. A part of Tao couldn't help but appreciate how, despite Lambo's joking and cheerful exterior, he wasn't the fool he pretended so well to be.

Tao struggled with himself before awkwardly saying, "If you ever find yourself in need of assistance… well… thanks to my cousin, you do have my number on your phone."

Lambo looked at him seriously, probably the most serious the boy had been all day, before nodding. However, out loud, Lambo said, "Why would I need your help? You are a music student. If I ever have trouble with my chord progressions, I'll call you up."

Despite his dismissive and sarcastic tone, Lambo's eyes remained solemn and Tao knew that his classmate understood what he had offered.

Tao smiled at Lambo, silently thanking his classmate for respecting his dreams. He recognized that Lambo would only contact him if it was absolutely necessary.

Lambo winked at Tao as a response and Tao's smile vanished.

"Stop winking at me, dammit!" grumbled Tao. "Or someone is going to think you're dating the wrong member of the Huang family."

Lambo chuckled as he turned around.

Tao watched silently as Lambo departed. Then, shaking his head, Tao headed in the opposite direction.

He still had fifteen minutes before the lunch period ended. He hadn't gotten the quiet he had wanted, but maybe if he could fit in a few minutes of instrument practice now, the afternoon wouldn't be a complete waste.

~Sometime that evening~

"I tried it your way and not only did it backfire but I lost one of my best men in the process."

…

"Yeah. Kiego didn't agree with me breaking into the Principal's office and framing Lambo."

…

"No, the boys you sent me were useless! They barely had a brain cell between the two of them."

…

"Yeah, the Principal beat him up, but it did nothing to his insolent attitude! He started fighting and threatening me immediately afterwards!"

…

"He's just like any other student, only with more attitude."

…

"NO! I'm not scared of him! Are you crazy?"

…

"You guys are planning on hitting the school anyway. I just ask he is specifically included."

…

"I knew you would see it my way Onii-san. Thank you so much! I owe you big time."

Yohei shut his phone with a smirk. His first plan didn't work out, but this next one was sure to change the balance of things.

AN : So… What do y'all think?

*bows deeply* I am so sorry for taking so long! I just finished with midterms today. So here was the first thing on my to do list. Finally finished going over edits and I'm getting this posted for you guys! (Its past 3am right now)

And with that, we have seen Kyoya Hibari's chapter. Which leaves only two more chapters left! I pretty sure y'all can guess whom the next guardian will be (simple elimination will suffice). Are you excited? It means things will be getting very intense soon!

What did you guys think of Tao? Did you like/dislike the fact he wasn't actually a civilian? (Does anyone know the person whom Tao is based on?)

Thank you, again, for how amazing you guys have been to me!

All the Best!

~AwedbyAwesomeness

Gomen: Sorry she was annoying but where would the fun be if she wasn't curious? Hopefully you enjoyed the other parts or liked Tao better!

Suntan140: neither can I ;) but you have to admit it is fun to spin circles around him until then

Canna: Working on updating faster (at least this time it didn't take me half a year to write one chapter!) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and everything coming up – Yohei is in for a rude awakening

Freefan1412:I'm glad you like my weird sense of humor – every time I finish a chapter and start editing I can't help but wonder who might possibly find this at all entertaining. Your feed back is appreciated!

Phantom-ive: So glad you enjoyed the chapter! Reviews like yours make me so happy! This chapter wasn't hayato but the next one… well… ;) As for I-Pin, I had been trying to find a smooth way to fit her in, and at this point, I honestly don't know. Tao was about as close as I could get for this chapter. Maybe in the next one? Idk… If I can't fit her in, and enough people are interested, I may write a few (even more) silly side stories with I-Pin or the Varia after this business with Yohei and all the guardians is done.

xX Feathered Xx: Wonderful logic! Especially if it keeps me alive! Don't worry, your in good company! I am completely insane and have no sense of direction/location as well! I am so sincerely glad that you like this fic! I still can't believe how much wonderful feedback I have received. Thank you – from the bottom of my heart! The traumatized student count is rising! But I don't plot and tell, so you will have to wait till the appropriate chapter comes out to find out who beats up who

Tearful Reunion: *smiles innocently* I have no idea what you might be referring to!

Great: I am so happy you enjoyed the Mukuro/Hibari interaction! When I was writing it, I wasn't sure how Mukuro could visit the school without Hibari and him fighting. Eventually, I decided if you can't avoid it, enjoy it! Glad you appreciated the decision!

Keiman: Sorry about the cliffhangers! When I first started writing this, I planned to have separate, stand-alone oneshots. But then the zombie bunnies decided to haunt my sleep and insist I put in a plot (of sorts)! Blame them not me!

SkyBlue24: Glad you enjoyed! I hope you liked this new one with Tao :D

Angelic Fluffle: I wish I had 498 reviews! But still, I am so grateful for the number of people who have found and enjoyed the story enough to review! When I first started, I told myself that I would be happy with just 10 followers. I can't believe how lucky I am!

A better name: You're right, you don't know with Mukuro. I like to think the best of people, well in this case, characters, but I couldn't see anyway for Mukuro to go to a school without injuring one of the students. However, you also have to consider that Mukuro has been Tsuna's guardian for over a decade now, which should count for something. As for other characters to pick Lambo up, well, I have the plot planned out for the rest of the guardians (Tsuna and Gokudera, while I appreciate the Dr. Who reference, I don't think Lambo is going to pick himself up from school). However, if you are very interested, let me know, and I may add more oneshots after this stuff with Yohei is done just for fun.

Kisekiii: Nope, sorry not yet. But guess who is up next? *winks*

Vongolafan16: your powers of empathy are admirable (or I am not doing a good enough job of writing Yohei has a deplorable character)

StardustDreams: Sorry if she is annoying. I hope you enjoyed Tao a bit more… maybe? Kind of? Not really? Sorry :( But as you said, where would the fun be if she didn't jump to conclusions? Tsuna will come eventually – I want to have a bit more fun with Yohei first *grins evilly*

The lone cloud:THANK YOU! I am so so so happy you enjoyed the chapter! Your understanding for real like warms my heart – you are way more patient than I am when it comes to waiting for updates. I tip my hat to you! P.S. Did you like the implied LamboxIpin in this chapter? I know Ipin didn't show up in person but I threw in as many references as I could!

Loeth:Not quite yet… but soon! Glad you enjoy the story, I appreciate all the feedback :D

KateLabAnevia:HURRAH! So happy you liked it!

TheLemonGoddess: Thank you! I so happy you enjoy it! Sorry, I am not very good at writing fight scenes. Did you like the Hibari and Lambo fight in this chapter? Gokudera wasn't this chapter, but the next one… well… ;)

Humanly Human: I am so happy you didn't mind the wait too much (I am still sorry for how long it takes for me to write – otl) Yeah, I understand why you might be annoyed by such claims against Tsuna – however I couldn't resist the chance to accuse Mukuro of being on drugs.

Sora Rai: THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your review makes me supremely happy! What can I say but… THANK YOU!

Kage kitsune no yami: I am sorry! But I can relate to such situations, I can't tell you how many times my reaction to some online fanfiction has gotten me trouble with those around me irl (too many times reading in the library…) I am so so so hapy you liked this chapter! Your review makes me so happy and… and… alskdfja *bows at 90 degrees* Thank you for reviewing!

Kitty132383: Sorry it took so long, but I am glad you enjoyed it!

Duchessme: oh yes, after ten+ years of living with each other, I am certain all the guardians know way too much about each other and what makes them tick! Tsuna is a saint to put up with all ove them

AnimexxLover1827: Ugh, I do not know why I insist on inserting a plot into what was originally supposed to be silly oneshots, but as long as readers like you enjoy it, I guess I'm doing something right? Anyways, glad your excited for this chapter. I hope it didn't disappoint!

Animestar411: Trying, trying! Here is more, but not necessarily fast – sorry!

Sawada: unfortunately, I am slower than a turtle, so this is as soon as possible. However, I hope you enjoyed the update!

Writer's legend: Thank you! I am so glad it brightened your day (it is readers/reviewers like you who motivate me to continue writing this fic)! I hope you liked this new chapter too!

Charm13insomnia: Thank you! I am pretty sure that there is a law keeping Mukuro away from any congregation of children (but someone screwed up somewhere – and, well, you saw the result).I hope this update lived up to your expectations!

Balabalanceh: :( I'm not a fan of Yohei either, but do you really want him to die?

Ankou13: THANK YOU! I can't believe you actually like cliffhangers, (when I am reading someone else's story I can't stand them!) but if you are enjoying the story – who am I to complain? As for Yohei and Tsuna, you will see! *evil grin* Also, I don't mind weird, I relish it! Thanks for the review!

Fi Suki Saki: YOUR REVIEW MAKES ME SUPREMELY HAPPY! Aslkdfjadkls! THANK YOU! – I mean really, thank you, from the bottom of my heart! I particularly appreciate your understanding as far as real life goes – you are far better than I when it comes to patience! Yup! This chapter was for Kyoya (and I believe you are the only one who correctly guessed that – most people were betting on Hayato). Did you like Seiji's reappearance? He will certainly be around for the rest of the story! I hope you enjoyed the update!

: I am glad you appreciate my weird humor! And you will get to see how Tsuna handles things… eventually… ;)

Ace Clover: I am so glad you enjoyed this chapter! GokuHaru is actually one of my guilty pleasures - I'll see what I can do! (not too much though, aside from LamboxIPin, I want to keep most romance to a minimum) I hope you enjoyed the update!

Blackbuster12: alksdjfal;ksd –Squalo's censored words- alskdfalskdjf! THANK YOU! I AM SO HAPPY YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER! As for Tsuna… well… as much as I love your reviews, I don't plot and tell (plus would it be as much fun if I prematurely spoiled it?) I sincerely hope you enjoyed the update and it lived up to your expectations! Oh, also, what were those words at the end of your review?They looked foreign, but I do not recognize them?

Ghostdragon101: Thank you! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Oh, Lambo gets occasionally breaks (for example, I don't know if it was obvious or not, but there was a few weeks timeskip between chapter 4 and chapter 5). However, one of the benefits of writing the story as oneshots is that I can focus only on the fun parts, and not bother with the boring in-betweens! I hope you like this new chapter!

Deathlover25: HEEEEEEEEEEEEERE YOU GO! I am saving Tsuna (he is the all-encompassing sky, after all)! As for I-Pin, I know she didn't show up in person, but did you enjoy all the references? Tao is about as close as I think I will get to an I-Pin appearance. But, that is not set in stone… if enough people want it, I am willing to change a few things around, or write a post-ending story with I-Pin coming to school!

AnimeLover8059: I am so happy you thought the wait was worth it! Thank you for the review!

KhrFan: I am so glad you enjoyed the chapter! Your review makes me smile so much! As for what happens when the mafia really get involved… well… *evil grin* I don't plot and tell! But I promise this, it will (hopefully) be fun! As for considering your suggestions, of course! You readers/reviewers are the reason I write :D Depending how the plot turns out, I (unfortunately) can't promise anything, but I'll try my best! PS I love you have a favourite quote –can I hug you?

Mysticzz: As you probably know by now, this chapter was for cloud!

ResyaAfhirsa00018: Thank you for your review! I am so glad you like my story! I am updating as fast as I can! Unfortunately (or fortunately for us), Yohei is a bit dense, it might take a while before he understands everything going on around him.

Lifespire: ;D I'll take your words as a compliment – thanks for the reviews

Soul Vrazy: Thank you! Working on updating faster (but curse real life and my slow writing skills)!!

Randomchick95: 3 I am so glad that you enjoy my chapters! The LamboxIPin was for you! I hope you liked all the references I tried to throw in! As for what happens next… well… I don't plot and tell! But do not fear, it will be (hopefully) fun!

Allykrau: I am so glad you like this fanfic! Your review made me smile :)

69AnimeFreak69: oh, Mukuro is quite the problem child! He was completely uncooperative when writing chapter 4! I would tell him to do one thing, but he wouldn't listen. As for Ana… do not give up hope yet, there are still secrets that need revealing :D (hi Ana! My name is not Ana, but I was partially named after my great-grandmother, Ann)

Crystal Vixen93: Sorry, this update is really 'soon' but it didn't take as long as last time, right? Hope you enjoy!

Tanpopo97: omg, I really hope this lived up to your expectations!

3ls: Thank you! I am glad you are enjoying the story! I hope this new chapter was just as enjoyable.

My Famigilia's Pioggia: Thank you! Ah, Yohei ;D You will see, you will see

Guest (6/19/13): Thank you!

Ahojuudaime: I am so so so glad you like this! Thank you for reviewing! Better late than never, right? As for I-Pin, did you enjoy all the references? Tao is about as close as I think I will get to an I-Pin appearance. But, that is not set in stone… if enough people want it, I am willing to change a few things around, or write a post-ending story with I-Pin coming to school!

A PJO Fan: I am so happy you think this story is awesome *cries* I am trying to keep the chapters long and enjoyable! As for inspiration, do not fear! Any time I hit a writer's block or desert the story, somebody reviews and motivates me to keep on going! You guys (the readers/reviewers) are my inspiration!

TripOverFlatSurfaces: I am glad you like Lambo! I sometimes fear he is too OOC, but I figure he has grown up in the mafia. He must be relatively badass/suave. And yes, Yohei is an idiot, but that's what makes it fun! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

MisanthropicGoddess: I am so happy you like my story. Sorry, I know Lambo can be a bit OOC! But you have to consider, Lambo is no longer 5, and has grown up as an important member of an important mafia family. He knows how to control his emotions and deal with outsiders. But, when it comes to family, I try to bring a little bit of his inner cry-baby out! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

LoverForAnime: HURRAH! The more 1869 fans out there, the better! I might have them make a small reappearance later on – maybe, we will see how it fits into the plot! I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations!

Anisthasia: Thank you! Here is this next chapter –sorry it took so long! I hope you enjoyed the update!

Cheese Wizz(ard): HERE YOU GO! I hope you like the new chapter! (You will have to wait for peoplez reactions! But it will happen – don't you worry).Also, thanks for the multiple reviews! Your second and third ones really encouraged me to get my ass moving on this chapter! Let me hug you and hold you close! Your responses are a brilliant form of motivation 3 I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! I understand your frustration – trust me I do – I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait!

KK: I am so glad you are enjoying the story! *blushes* You are too kind with your compliments! But it makes me ridiculously happy that you think story is special! XD

Koori no hime: Don't worry about looking stupid! My roommate thinks I am an idiot for the way I react to reading! Just embrace it – it is very liberating! I am glad you liked Hibari and Mukuro's interaction! This chapter wasn't Hayato, but the next one… ;)

Samira vangola: ? I don't suppose you could translate that? Unfortunately (and one of the things I'm trying to change about myself) I know only one spoken language – English :/

PenMare: Glad you liked it!

iAsajsd: Here you go! Sorry it took so long! As for Tsuna's appearance, well, you'll see *grins evilly*

AnimeAngelChick: Here is the update! It is never a question of if I will update, but when. Sorry it took so long!

S4toh: *cries* I can't believe you think so highly of this fic! Thank you so much! *continues with ugly sobbing* Here is the next chapter – I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of the story!

Ruhiko: Thank you! As for Yohei… *grins evilly*

OnePiecefan202: I am so glad you like the story! I hope this new chapter lives up to your expectations!

Wolf fullmoon: I am glad you consider the story awesome! *cries* I hope like the update!

Chiyo-hime: aslkdfjalskdjf! You have such high expectations for this chapter! Thank you for your faith in me – I hope I didn't disappoint!

Whitneysixx: Here is the update! Is Yohei being similar to Mochida a good or bad thing?

Guest (7/22/13): I am glad you are enjoying the story! I hope you like the new chapter!

Randomguest: I am so happy you like my strange sense of humor! I hope this new chapter lived up to your expectations!

GreenDrkness: Ah they will find out… eventually (probably in the most painful way possible – but I don't plot and tell, so you will have to wait till the chapter comes out)

Firehedgehog: Thank you!

Katsume: I am so glad you like the fact I decided to put some sort of plot into what was supposed to be just random oneshots! As for Tsuna, I'll promise you that he will appear – as for when, you will have to see (but trust me, it will be fun) I hope you liked this new chapter!!

Anime Kat Reaper: I am so happy that you liked it so much! I'm working on updating faster!

Enuescaris: Thank you! I am still alive and kicking! Here is the update – hope you enjoy!

ParisKiss: Kyoya! (as you've probably figured out by now!)

SwingingRobin: Thank you! I am so so glad that you are enjoying the story! Gokudera wasn't in this chapter, but the next one… well… ;) As for Yohei and the rest of Lambo's classmates, I don't plot and tell (but I promise you, it will be fun). I hope you enjoyed the update

Guest (8/15/13): Thank you! Here is the update ;)

Setsu27: Ahh, I can't tell you yet, but you will see… *grins evilly*

ABundleOfDaydreams: :D

Shirayuki sakura of yomitsuki: Thank you! As for I-Pin, did you enjoy all the references? Tao is about as close as I think I will get to an I-Pin appearance. But, that is not set in stone… if enough people want it, I am willing to change a few things around, or write a post-ending story with I-Pin coming to school!

Dropxheartz: Thank you! You are too kind! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter as well. As for how Lambo deals with Yohei's stupidity… *grins evilly*

Moony the Mature One: I am glad you are excited for what is to come! Just you wait, it will be fun ;) In the mean time, I hope you liked the update (also –assuming it is an HP reference – I really like your username)

NeitherSaneNorInsane: I am so so happy you liked the chapter with Mukuro! As for what will happen… well… I don't plot and tell (but it will be fun, I can promise you that)! I hope you liked the new chapter as much as you did the previous ones!

Death Angel Alice: Close, very close! But you missed cloud. Now there will be storm and then the all-encompassing sky! I hope you enjoy :D

Wicken25: Thank you! I am glad you like my strange sense of humor

Elfvanvan: Sorry this took so long. I hope you like the new chapter

Toolazytologin: I am so so glad you like this story! I don't know how far I will continue after the guardians are done, but if enough people wish it, I will continue!

Qcaj: Thank you. Sorry the update took forever

cheLmay: hehe. Oh yes, eventually…

ItsNotLikeILoverYou: THANK YOU! I hope you like the new update as much as you did the old chapters

Saiotto: Thank you very much. Hope you like the update :D

StoneLily: hehe. Did you like it?