This is a nice little one-shot that I got ready for Yamamoto's birthday. Happy birthday Yamamoto! Anyways, please enjoy this story.

You're Not Tsuna…

LoveOneself

Tsuna stared blankly, unable to speak. Ever since Reborn entered his life, everything he could possibly think that is normal turned upside down. Don't get him wrong, that Spartan tutor drives him mad and makes him do things that could cost him his life. Sometimes he wonders how he could live through all that. But there are some good things that come along the way. Like the friends that he made throughout his adventure. And the strength he gained to protect and fight for his friends and family. If it wasn't for that, he would be alone like he used to be. The one that would is constantly weak and gives up without trying. That's why Tsuna has mix feelings for the whole thing. However Reborn never fails to surprise him every day with even stranger things.

"Reborn… What is that?" Tsuna asked.

"What does it look like Useless Tsuna?"

"Well, it looks like me…"

Just this morning, Tsuna was eating his breakfast like any other day. He didn't expect for the hitman to kick him on the head to get him to his bedroom. Well, the kick was normal and expected. And here they are in the brunet's room. Alas, they're not alone. Reborn was standing next to the clone that looks exactly the same as Tsuna. It was as if he was standing in front of a mirror. The brunet didn't say anything as he examines it. The clone was looking down at the floor slightly. It sat formally in front of the bed, hands on his legs. The entire time Reborn and Tsuna were talking, it made no movement, sound, or expression. It was just an empty corpse if he thought about it.

"I can see that it's a clone. But why is there one in my room?"

"This came in under my request. It's here because I want to test something."

"What is that 'something'?"

"I want to see if one of your guardians can tell the difference from a fake and a real one."

Tsuna furrowed his brow. His eyes trailed away from Reborn to his double. It was cool yet frightening at the same time. He shouldn't expect less from his Spartan tutor. He has seen weirder things before. This shouldn't be any different. Tsuna stood up from the bed and sat in front of the clone. The brunet pressed his left cheek with his finger. It didn't blink, move, or twitch. It just sat there, emotionless. Tsuna wandered back to his tutor, asking how his plans are going to work. Reborn smirked as he offered to demonstrate. The motionless being stood up under Reborn's orders. It jumped, laughed, and broke a few of Tsuna's belongings. After shouting that he saw enough, Tsuna hid the broken items away before any more damage was done to it.

"As you can see, it works perfectly." Reborn said.

"I can see that. But that thing isn't going to last long since I'm still around. I have to go to school, remember?"

"I'm allowing you to stay home until further notice. Just don't leave the house until I say so."

"Really…? Are you serious? I can stay home?"

Reborn merely nodded his head as he sighed. Tsuna cheered at the news. A few days off from school can do him some good. He could catch up on some new video games he couldn't start on. Reborn frown disapprovingly at how his student was behaving. He could see that the clone can do better than the original in school if he thought about it. He lowered his fedora, ordering the clone to follow him. Tsuna jumped on his bed, taking hold of his pillow. He brought it close to his chest as he lied on his back. He smiled, staring at his ceiling. No school, crazy friends, battling, training, or any other things that drove him mad for a couple of days. Plus, his clone is going to fill his schedule. No one will notice the difference.

"Don't get too comfortable Useless Tsuna. Be prepared for the aftermath." Reborn warned.

"Aftermath…? What aftermath?"

"Who knows? Just be prepared."

Reborn and the clone left without another word. Tsuna blinked as he stared at the door. He went back to the ceiling, slightly confused. The brunet turned to his side with his pillow against his chest. It was just Reborn being Reborn. He shouldn't take it too seriously. After all, what could go wrong? He gets detention and extra homework for having a clone take his place? He could handle that. Tsuna stuffed his face on his pillow. There's nothing to worry about. If it does, Reborn is there to handle it. Whatever happens is up to him. It has nothing to do with him so it wouldn't be his fault. Yeah, none of it is. What can possibly go wrong…?

–

Clone Tsuna blinked slowly. His brown eyes wandered around to see his new environment. He was in his master's home. And he just woke up from his slumber that his master told him to do. Yet he was not around. He was alone with the person he was supposed to pretend to be. The clone tried to busy himself. He recited what his original goal was. He has to be Tsunayoshi Sawada for a few days to satisfy Reborn's expectation. After that, he doesn't know. His eyes wandered down to his hands. What will become of him after this 'test'? Ideas of returning to those scientists that created him and being in a container filled his head.

'Though I am a clone with one purpose… Why am I so… afraid?' He thought.

When he was created, he was designed with one purpose. And because of that, the scientists thought applying emotions would be unnecessary and dangerous. He could only display it when necessary. Even then, it would be nevertheless a fake. Yet, he was designed to be sensitive to other's feelings. Was it because of that? Or was it the same DNA that he shares with the brunet not too far from him? There could have been many more reasons for how this could be explained. It was odd that it was bothering him now. While he was coming here from Italy, something like this never slipped into his mind. So, why is it happening now? His hands clench as his chest ache. The door opened and the clone looked at it. Reborn stood there proudly.

"It's time to go. Let's go." He ordered.

"Yes, Reborn-sama…"

"While we're out, don't call me that. Tsuna doesn't add the 'sama'."

"Yes Reborn."

–

Tsuna woke up, yawning tiredly. He looked around to see that he was alone in his room. It took some time for him to adjust to the idea that Reborn allowed him to stay home. And a clone was taking his place. He roughly scratched his head. He stood up from his bed and left his bedroom to use the bathroom. He could hear Lambo shouting, I-pin telling Lambo to stop, and tiny feet stomping through the hallway downstairs. He reached to his bathroom and did his daily routine. Finished with it, he stopped in front of the mirror. He smiled at his reflection. He quickly thought that it was a start of a good day. A day free from his usual stress…

'Video games, here I come!' He thought happily.

–

Clone Tsuna sat alone in class early that morning. Students were slowly coming in for class. From his original person, there were only four people in his class that he knew personally. He kept a distance from everyone else. It was almost time for the bell to ring for the umpteen time that he looked at the clock. And yet, his two 'friends' were not here today. Only Kyoko Sasagawa and her best friend Hana Kurokawa made an appearance. The clone sighed. He shouldn't be bothered by it. They're technically not his actual friends. He settled his head on his hand, staring out of the window in a bored manner. Five minutes left till class starts. Just then, something caught the brunet off-guard.

"Stop getting so close to me you Baseball Idiot!"

"Hahaha! Don't be like that Gokudera. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Who the hell said we're friends?"

'Who would cause such a ruckus so early in the morning?' Tsuna thought.

It was to his surprise that it was his 'friends' that he was waiting for. Gokudera was pushing Yamamoto away angrily. Yamamoto, however, still had his hand on the bomber's head with a smile. The clone only thought of one thing. Those guys are Tsuna's friends? The two guardians forcefully struggled their way through the door, one trying to get close while the other is pushing away. Both males dropped their act when they caught sight of a familiar brunet. They quickly ran to Tsuna's side and greeted him. Tsuna smiled sheepishly. One minute they were having some sort of one-sided battle and the next they're being all friendly. He's starting to question his original person's sanity.

"G-Good morning Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto…"

"Hello Tenth…!" Gokudera bowed.

"Hey Tsuna…!" Yamamoto smiled

Tsuna smiled back weakly at them. Everyone scattered back to their seats when they heard the door slam open. The brunet could have guessed that it was the teacher. Yet, everything is filled with surprises. Jumping onto the front desk, Mr. Riboyama made his appearance. Gokudera, legs on his desk and arms crossed, tipped his seat when he caught sight of the teacher. Yamamoto blinked, shocked. Tsuna looked around to see the class either scared or shocked. Tsuna took a closer look. He hummed in thought. The teacher looked familiar. However, the clone was having a hard time figuring out where he saw such a person.

"Hello class. It's nice to see you all again." He smiled.

"Hello Mr. Riboyama." Most of the class said nervously.

"I'm your substitute for today. Now, everyone grab a partner." He ordered.

Everyone jumped to their feet and looked around for partners. Gokudera immediately stood up and rushed to the brunet. He locked his arms together with the clone, glaring at anyone that came near them. Yamamoto partnered up with one of his fellow baseball teammate. He expected that the Storm guardian wanted the brunet to himself. However, he'll get Tsuna next time. Mr. Riboyama hummed happily at the result. Everything was going according to plan. And he wanted to try on was Gokudera before the actual one. The silver-haired bomber was always loyal to the brunet alone. And Reborn wanted to see if the Storm guardian can look pass it and see if he could tell that Tsuna was a fake.

"I'll begin explaining why I had all of you partnered up."

It was a class exercise. It was mostly to test Tsuna and Gokudera. The goal of it was to build a stronger bond by noticing the smaller difference of the person. It was up to the group to decide who's going to be the first one to be tried out on. Gokudera suggested that the brunet that he'll go first. Tsuna merely nodded. The Storm guardian took a good long minute to look over at the younger male. He would occasionally hum to himself in thought. At the end of it all, he smiled. Tsuna watched how the serious expression his proclaiming right-hand man had on turned to a gentle smile. From what he had from the original Tsuna, he should have been used to this sort of thing. Yet, it was hard not to stare in awe. Gokudera looked so… refreshed.

"You grew an inch over the past few months Tenth." He said.

"O-Oh… Yeah, I guess I did. Is that all?" Tsuna asked.

"Yeah… Other than that, you're perfect."

"Thanks…? I think… I guess it's my turn Gokudera."

Gokudera's eyes widen. He was thinking over what the brunet just said. Throughout the time the Storm guardian is with Tsuna, he would always add the 'kun' at the end. This time it's different. Different sorts of questions filled his thoughts. 'Should I be concern about it?', 'Why am I getting a different feeling from the usual with the Tenth?', or 'Is this something Reborn-san is testing me on?' mostly bothered him the most. His emerald eyes stared at the floor. All his thoughts were pulled aside. He shouldn't doubt his Tenth like that. It was betrayal in his opinion for thinking such things. Tsuna in front of him stared blankly at the Storm guardian, looking over at the difference.

"You look more… relaxed Gokudera." Tsuna said.

"R-Really…? How so…?"

"You normally have this serious aura around you. Now, it's not there."

Gokudera blinked. Was that how Tsuna saw him? That he always had this serious aura around him? Well, he wasn't technically wrong. He was always serious when it came to his precious Tenth. After the battle for the Rings, it changed him a bit. However, he didn't really notice on his sudden change. Tsuna looked up at his Storm guardian and smiled. All of the uncertainty Gokudera had blew over. The test that Reborn laid out for the Storm guardian didn't work like it should. However, the hitman tutor could see that it caused the bomber to be on his feet. He quickly smirked. If Gokudera was unable to figure it out, will Yamamoto be able to?

–

Two weeks flew by. The original Tsuna still remained at home, doing whatever he wanted to do. With less enthusiasm that is. As for his clone, no one came to realize that he was a fake. Reborn didn't like it. The whole idea of it was to see if any one of the brunet's guardians could see through that lie. Yet, they didn't have a clue. Not only that, the clone was getting rather attached to them. With Yamamoto especially… It was as if there was a romantic relationship blooming before his eyes. The famous hitman knew that couldn't be any good. A lifeless corpse is having a mind of its own. That's not a good sign. That's why he called the Vongola's scientist about this. They told him it was best to catch their experiment before it gets out of control.

Prepared for the worst, the scientist predicted that something like this would have happened. So they prepared a container specially designed for the clone. Reborn just need to open it and aim. That way, the fake Tsuna would instantly be sucked in. That's when he needed to close the lid and return the container to them. That's why Reborn was alone with clone Tsuna. After explaining that his job was done, the brunet silently exhibited his fear. The hitman could tell that there was going to be struggle. It would have been odd if there weren't any. Fake Tsuna slowly stood up, shaking his head. He said he didn't want to go back. He didn't want to return to a place where he would be locked up and thrown away.

"It's not your choice to make. Either we do this the easy way or the hard way." Reborn warned.

"Of course, I don't. I never had, did I…? But I don't want to go back!" Tsuna yelled.

"Don't make things more complicated than it should be."

"No! There's still one more thing I want to do! And I'm not going to let you get in the way of it!"

With swift steps, Tsuna reached to the window and jumped out of it. Reborn mentally cursed to himself. He should have caught that clone when he got a chance. The famous hitman left the room and entered the original brunet's room. Tsuna was lying on his bed asleep. Being in a foul mood, he kicked his student off the bed, causing Tsuna to instantly wake up. He quickly sat up and looked around to see who attacked him while he was sleeping. Reborn told the brunet to get ready to hunt for his runaway clone. With that, he gave his student the extra container and left the room to do his own things. Tsuna quickly changed into a different outfit and tried to catch up with his tutor.

'Seriously, what is he up to now?' Tsuna thought tiredly.

–

It was only a few minutes when he heard the news from the kid. There was a clone Tsuna on the loose. And they were with him the entire time without noticing. Yamamoto stopped in the middle of the hallway of his school. After Reborn came to his house and explained the situation, something inside of him broke to a million pieces. So, most of the time, the real Tsuna was at home hidden. And a fake was pretending to be the brunet. Yet, that was last thing that made him feel so… frustrated. The Rain guardian knew it was hard to be true. The Tsuna he was with showing interest in him was a lie. It felt like it too. Yamamoto opened the door, expecting someone to be on the other side. And he was right. In an instant, he knew it was the fake Tsuna.

"Tsuna… You were here…" Yamamoto whispered.

"Yamamoto, thank goodness it's you. There's something I want to say."

The clone rushed over to the Rain guardian and embraced him. Yamamoto, hesitant at first, returned it. Tsuna gently smiled when he felt the taller male's warmth. He had a few minutes left before the others find him. Tsuna pulled away and stared into Yamamoto's eyes. He needed to explain. That was the least he could do. Yamamoto couldn't hear anything. He didn't want to either. He was still feeling frustrated with what was going on. The words that managed to go through his head are that Tsuna wasn't Tsuna. He knew that already. Yet, he didn't say anything. And the only reason he was here was to fulfill Reborn's expectations. However, along the way, he fell in love.

'If only… the real Tsuna was telling me this…' Yamamoto thought.

–

Tsuna was running through the school to reach to his class. He didn't know why but his intuition was telling him that he needed to be there. And so here he is. His breath was running short when he was near his class. The brunet slowly regained his composure and reached the door. However, he stopped midway. He couldn't move. Nor did he have the choice to do so. On the other side, Tsuna could tell it was his clone and Yamamoto was there. The Rain guardian probably knew where the clone was and came here. Yet, that was not why he stopped. It was what he was hearing on the other side that made him stop on his tracks. The brunet slowly back away from the door.

"I love you Yamamoto. After I got to know you, I fell in love with you."

"Tsuna… I…"

"I know it may seem impossible but… I want to be with you. Please! Let's elope together."

"I can't do that."

Tsuna felt like he was intruding on something that he shouldn't. Yet, he couldn't help himself. To hear someone with his voice and face confessing to someone he knew was worth hearing. Tsuna moved closer to the window on the door. He peeked inside. The glass wasn't the best but he could tell that it was his fake double and his Rain guardian. And he noticed that he was really close to each other. The brunet saw Yamamoto gently pushing away his clone. Tsuna could tell that the atmosphere was tense. Inside the room, the Rain guardian moved a few steps away, looking down on the floor. The fake Tsuna looked sadden at his rejection.

"I… I appreciate your feelings… But I can't accept it."

"If it's because I'm just a clone, then we'll figure something out."

"That's not the point. I just can't do it…"

"Why…? Why can't you? Didn't you always love Tsuna? I am him too!"

Tsuna's eyes widen. Yamamoto loved… him? That was the first time he heard something like that. And it was hard to deny it since Yamamoto didn't put up an effort to defy it. It was true then. Yamamoto loved Tsuna. The Rain guardian slowly shook his head, still keeping his head down. In the corner of Tsuna's eyes, he noticed the taller male reaching for something in his back pocket. It was the same container that Reborn gave to the brunet early that day. He said to use it when he caught the clone. Clone Tsuna's eyes widen when he caught sight of it. Tears forming in his eyes, he didn't struggle. Instead, it was better to give in now when all else fails. The fake brunet smiled softly. Before Yamamoto opened the container, clone Tsuna wanted to say something first.

"Yamamoto… Thank you. Even though it was short, I had fun."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"And make sure to confess to Tsuna. Even though the results are if-y, at least you got it off your chest."

Yamamoto merely nodded his head. With that, he opened the container and the clone was no longer there. The Rain guardian stared at it after closing it. Even though he wasn't showing it, Tsuna could easily tell that his Rain guardian is troubled. He then made way out of the classroom to almost bump into the brunet. Not wanting to get caught, Tsuna acted like that was the first time he saw Yamamoto. He asked if he found his runaway clone. The taller male smiled, shaking the container to indicating that he accomplished the mission. Tsuna smiled along with him and went out to find Reborn to tell him the news. On occasions, the brunet would find himself staring at his Rain guardian.

"Hey Yamamoto, how did you figure out that it wasn't me?" Tsuna asked.

"I could easily tell. There's something different about that Tsuna from you. After all, he's not you."

"And what is the difference?"

"Oh, I think I see the kid and Gokudera."

Yamamoto ran ahead, avoiding Tsuna's question. Reborn was searching for the clone with Gokudera apparently. They thought that the school might be the next place for them to check. The Rain guardian laughed as he told them that he managed to catch the experiment. Reborn congratulated him and took the container into his possession. With that, he went home, leaving the three students behind. Gokudera crossed his arms and grumbled out a 'congrats' to his fellow guardian. Tsuna caught up with the group after quickly running to them. The three males decided that it was time to go home. Parting ways and saying goodbye, Yamamoto separated from the group. He was deep in thought.

'Because I love the original Tsuna. Yet… He doesn't feel the same…' He thought.

–

It's a bit long and rushed but the deadline was coming so I couldn't really do much. But I hope you enjoyed it. Well, I'm off to watch some drama! Bye-bye~!