Sawada Tsunayoshi was walking down the street, not knowing what to do.

Earlier, Tsuna's father, Sawada Iemitsu, suddenly showed up in his home. His father had been away for years, leaving Tsuna alone with his mother. He made a lot of lame excuses to explain his absence. He said that he left for work. He couldn't come back even if he wants to. He sent lots of poorly edited photos to Tsuna's mother. And so on.

But, he never came back home. Not even once in seven years.

And suddenly, out of the blue, that no-good father appeared in Tsuna's home this morning. He was sleeping so soundly as if nothing happened, surprising the hell out of Tsuna. And when he casually chatted and hugged his mother, Tsuna couldn't take it anymore. He threw a tantrum and ran out of the house.

Now, he wasn't sure where to go. He just walked wherever his feet might take him.

Before he realized it, Tsuna had stumbled across a park. He entered it and found himself a bench to sit on. He calmed himself down. After a few moments, he sighed.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that…I think I better go home now. Mom will be worried about me. But I don't want to see that no-good father…"

"What's wrong? What are you so depressed about?"

Tsuna lifted his head and saw a teenager around his age standing in front of him. He had a messy black hair and deep blue eyes. He was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and he was carrying a bag of drinks. There was a black cat with two tails beside him.

"May I sit here?", he asked to Tsuna.

"Sure…"

He sits beside Tsuna and took out a can of coke.

"Here. The name's Rin, by the way. This guy is Kuro, my pet familiar." he offered the coke to Tsuna. Kuro jumped and sit between Rin and Tsuna.

"Thanks. I'm Tsuna."

"So, what's with the gloomy face? Did something bad happen?", he asked as he opened another can for himself.

"Well…how can I explain it…actually I am having an issue with my dad. I don't know if I should call someone like him dad, though…", said Tsuna.

"What's up with your pops?", Rin asked.

"He left me and my mom for a long time. He hadn't come back for years, but suddenly he just showed up in the house this morning...but I yelled at him and ran away from home. And I don't know how to feel. Maybe, there's a part of me that's happy because he's finally home. But still, I can't forgive him. It hurts to much.", Tsuna continued, clenching to his chest.

"Well, isn't that good? It means that deep down, you still love your old man, right?", Rin asked again.

"No, you get it wrong, Rin-kun. I never consider anyone like him as my father. He hasn't showed up in years, and yet he tried to act so fatherly towards me this morning! Ha!", shouted Tsuna.

"I will never, EVER, acknowledge him as my father! Not until the day I die!"

SLAP.

Suddenly, Rin slapped Tsuna.

"Aww! What was that for?!", asked Tsuna.

"Sorry, Tsuna. I know I barely know you and I don't know the details about you and your father…but I have to do this. Or you'll regret it later just as I do.", Rin said.

"What do you mean?!", Tsuna said.

"Listen to me. You have to apologize to your father. Do it while you still can!"

"This has nothing to do with you! You don't know anything!"

"Believe me, I know! Don't cut off your father so nonchalantly!", Rin said.

"That no-good father can go wherever the hell he wants, but I will never let him in the house! He has hurt my mom enough! The nights she spent alone, the days when he wasn't there when we needed him most! How can I ever forgive someone like him?!", Tsuna said angrily.

"I…", Rin said hesitantly, "You're lucky because your father is still alive, Tsuna. You can yell at him, punch him, or do whatever the hell you want to your old man. But I can't. Not anymore."

Tsuna wasn't sure what to say.

"What happened?"

"My father…the old man…he died protecting me six months ago. Back then, just moments before his death, I had a dispute with him. I told him that he wasn't my father, and he'd never be. True, he wasn't my biological father…but, the truth is, he was always there for me. He's the one who raised me since I was baby, taking care of me when I was a child, calming down every fever I had, dealing with my rebellious acts… He is truly my father, even though he's not biologically related to me.", Rin said, smiling.

"We used to get into small fights, and even though we mocked each other, I knew that he cared about me a lot. And I care about him too. We just never say it."

"….how was it like when father died?", asked Tsuna.

"It was horrible. I feel ashamed of what I did. But most of all, I feel regret. I hadn't done anything for him, even though he had done so much for me. I couldn't save him back then. I was a useless guy. That's why I'm training to be the best exorcist in the world!"

"To be…what?"

"An exorcist! Don't you know about them?" They're a bunch of people who exorcise demons who trespass to Assiah! Just like my old man, who was the Paladin, the greatest exorcist in the world!", said Rin.

"And what will you do once you've become an exorcist?"

"Of course, I will kick Satan's ass and avenge my old man!", Rin shouted out, standing.

"Satan..ehh?! You mean the demon king, Satan?!", said Tsuna, surprised.

"Yeah!" Rin smiled to Tsuna.

"That's quite the determination, Rin-kun. I doubt I'll ever be as motivated as you are." Tsuna chuckled.

Rin smiled at him. "You know, Tsuna. I actually envy you. Your father sounds suck, but at least he's still around for you. Once you go back home, you should apologize to your father. Talk to each other, because you guys obviously haven't done that in years. I'm sure you two will be able to understand each other someday. I'm sure you two actually care about each other...you don't want to experience what I've been through."

"Yeah, I probably should do that…thanks for the advice, Rin-kun.", said Tsuna.

"No biggie. Oops, it's already this late. I better go back now; otherwise Yukio will scold me again. See you around, Tsuna.", Rin bid his farewell.

"Sure…goodbye, Rin-kun. It's nice talking to you.", said Tsuna. "And...Once I'm home, I'll try once again. I'm giving my father a second chance to fix everything between the two of us..."

"That's good. Good luck, Tsuna!",Rin waved his hand to Tsuna, and then he walked away together with Kuro.

"What a weird guy…but he seems nice. I guess I better go home now.", Tsuna sighed. He felt somehow relieved after talking to Rin.

"Yeah, you better go home now or you'll have to do a hundred push-ups for me." Suddenly, he heard a voice of a baby.

"Waaa-! Reborn! How long have you been there?! And what's with that costume?!", Tsuna said, panicking.

Reborn, who appeared on top of a bush behind the bench answered, "I've been here for a while. Really, Tsuna. You're a nice son, aren't you?", Reborn teased.

"S-Shut up! I don't want to hear that from a baby who sneaks around with that weird bush costume!", Tsuna blushed.

"But this is the best camouflage costume I own, you know. It's made from bullet-proof fabric specially produced for the Vongola family with specially designed heat resistance and else…", said Reborn.

"I don't care! You look like a broccoli in that costume!"

"Let's head home. Maman and Iemitsu's been worried sick about you, you know. Maman said she's cooking your favorite food for dinner."

Tsuna paused for a second. "Yeah, I think I should go home now…"

-FIN-