An: Thank you very much for the reviews! Also thank you haraguo for making some wonderful fanart for my story. You can check it out on my profile.

Warnings: You know what they are.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Wake up."

Something hard and what felt like metal slammed into my head, sending my body flying out of the bed and into the wall with a loud 'thud'. Immediately stars appeared before my eyes giggling and dancing as I held my head in pain.

What the hell just happened?

Opening my eyes I peered at my bed, a small figure clad in black stood proudly with a green mallet in his hands. It was small and baby-like much like a certain hitman-

"Reborn." I muttered, pushing myself up from my floor once my vision cleared from all the dancing stars. "Ciao."

If that was what Tsuna had to deal with every morning I felt bad for him, my head felt like it was going to break from the force the Hitman had used. I wouldn't be surprised if he held back just enough so that wouldn't happen but otherwise used his full strength in the hit.

"Ciaossu." He chirped, completely unapologetic. "Come outside, you have five minutes."

I watched as he leaped out the window rubbing my head in an attempt to make it feel a little bit better. From the lack of Kimiko bursting in nearly spitting fire she knew and had okay'd my little alarm clock this afternoon. Great.

I got up and quickly changed, deciding last minute to wear my dark coat with a ninety-four on the back of it since it was still cold outside. I made sure to dress quickly, I wasn't going to try and test Reborns limit's, not when I knew I could very well get a mallet to the face again.

I nodded to Kimiko in greeting when I passed by the kitchen before heading outside where Reborn was perched on the wall waiting.

He smirked. "Four minutes and thirty seven seconds, very close."

I snorted and walked across the lawn and out the gate pausing for a moment to allow him to jump onto my shoulder. "So where are we going?"

"To pick up Dame Tsuna then to the batting cadges."

I didn't bother to ask him why, we always learned eventually.

…

…

Turns out we were bringing Yamamoto to his 'training session' Reborn had set up. Thanks to today being the anniversary of our school's opening we didn't have to go to classes, which meant Reborn could once again assault us with bombs and guns.

I eyed Yamamoto as he stretched in front of Tsuna and I, wondering how the baseball player was able to pull off his whole 'happy-go-lucky' attitude so perfectly.

Now that I thought about it, he could probably get pretty famous if he went into the acting career.

"Okay I'll rely on you to be my trainer today kid." Said male chirped while Reborn, dressed in a baseball uniform, stood beside him.

"He definitely thinks it's a baseball training game…" Tsuna whispered, looking at his friend with a deadpanned expression.

I snorted in agreement. If you paired anything with baseball Yamamoto would go for it without hesitation.

He grinned down at Reborn. "So what will we do now?"

"We start with pitching."

Tsuna eyed the mini-baseball in Yamamoto's hand. "It looks like a normal baseball."

I grabbed his arm and took a few steps backward, earning a confused look in return. "Do you honestly believe that it's normal?" I flicked my gaze toward Reborn. "Especially when Reborn is involved nothing is normal, or safe for that manner."

The brunette sweat-dropped. "You're right."

It made me relived that Tsuna wasn't acting too abnormal around me, especially after our little 'moment' in the cave and me running away after gifting him some chocolate. Though at the same time it was slightly nerve wracking. He wasn't acting like I'd thought he would, at times he'd blush or stutter, but he seemed oddly calm about the whole thing.

Was something happening that I wasn't aware of. I knew his HDWM was showing up more and more, which in the Manga he only showed signs of it near to Mukuro and then afterwards. So maybe that was affecting him more then I knew?

I was broken out of my thoughts when an explosion echoed across the court yard and had to force myself from jumping in shock.

Tsuna gaped with wide eyes. "Wha-?!"

Yamamoto just stared curiously and the destroyed pile while a certain Hitman smirked in approval.

"This 'throwing weapon' invented by the Vongola will even crack rock." The baby happily informed holding up a spiked baseball in his hand. "It's called the Micro Hammer."

Tsuna paled. "You're trying to give Yamamoto weapons now?!"

A mischievous smirk was his reply.

"I'm pretty sure one crazy bomber is plenty for us to deal with." I murmured thinking of Gokudera.

Tusna nodded in agreement. "We shouldn't be throwing bombs around here in the first place, what if Hibari shows up?!"

Yamamoto patted him on the shoulder and looked at the destroyed pole. "Look Tsuna, it seems the pole was made our of foam." Tsuna glanced at the pile of rubble and the baseball player grinned happily. "I bet he's trying to boost my confidence by doing things like that."

I rose a brow, since when did foam make such a loud noise when it was destroyed?

Reborn allowed the taller brunet to scoop him up and walk away. "Let's go to the next one." The Hitman chirped.

"All right, I'm depending on you trainer."

Tsuna eyed the pile of concrete suspiciously. "It doesn't really look like foam…"

I stuffed my hands in my pockets. "It probably isn't, but you know how Yamamoto is."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

I looked at other male from the corner of my eye, making sure not to seem too obvious that I was observing him. He didn't look sick, so that ruled out the flu as a reason he was so odd recently.

…He had really soft looking skin though, I wonder if it'd be as soft as it looked…

I froze at my train of thought.

The heck?

I quickly looked away when Tsuna noticed I was staring at him to keep my face hidden from view.

"Haruka? Are you okay?"

I nodded quickly and covered my flushed face. "Yeah."

…

..

.

After Yamamoto's little training session I headed back home, Kimiko greeting me happily, and prepared myself to try and talk her into training Kyoko.

As a character Kyoko was rather useless, she could cook and sew but if attacked she wouldn't be able to defend herself. As the sister of a soon-to-be Mafioso I knew that she would need to know some sort of defense just in case. We wouldn't be able to protect her all the time and she needed to not be the 'pure' little girl everyone saw her as.

Haru was already on her way to learning how to fight, even though she wasn't really connected to the Mafia, which only proved that Kyoko would need to as well. Of course I wasn't going to force anyone to do something they didn't want to do, but I wanted to try to nudge her in the right direction.

In the end though she was her own person, so for all I knew this so-called plan would fail.

I sat myself down on a chair at the kitchen table and watched as Kimiko rummaged around in the cupboards silently, waiting for her to notice me.

"What can I help you with Haru-kun?" She asked without pausing what she was doing.

I looked down at the table. "I need to ask you a favor."

"Oh?"

"I was wondering if you could try to talk a girl I know into learning how to defend herself."

Kimiko turned around and eyed me curiously. "A girl? Why?"

"Her brother is getting involved with Tsuna and I was thinking that she may need to know how to fight if he ends up becoming a permanent member." I didn't want outright say that Ryohei was going to be a member, since they would question how I knew, so I was just sticking with theories for now.

The older woman crossed her arms and stared at me thoughtfully. "What makes this one so special? I thought you didn't like people, besides Tsuna of course."

I shrugged. "She's really gentle and pure-hearted, the kind of person who would get killed within years if she didn't have the protection of the Vongola around her."

Kimiko hummed in reply.

I wasn't too bothered by that, I knew she needed to think about it before saying yes or no.

"We'll see."

If she decided it would be too much trouble I'd have to think of another plan, but at the moment I was hoping Kimiko would agree.

Humming to herself Kyoko walked down the street with a small smile on her face. Even though she didn't see Haruka-kun or Tsuna-kun very much she was making a little progress. Haruka even nodded toward her when they made eye contact…well sometimes, but that was a lot more then most people received.

Honestly having to try so hard to make friends with someone was a nice change, usually guys would be all over her and over eager to talk while the girls whispered and sent her envious glances when she passed by. They never went so far to bully her, since everyone knew who her brother was, but their looks was enough.

At first it made her sad that the other girls saw her as a attention loving girl who enjoyed being constantly watched by the boys, but she grew used to it. She had Hana after all, and one friend was plenty.

Well three would be better, but that would take a while until she could call the two boys her friends.

She yelped when a wall suddenly appeared in front of her and took a few steps back while rubbing her nose. "Ow, where did that come from?"

"Ah sorry about that, I wasn't looking where I was going."

Kyoko looked up at the voice, spotting a woman with dark brown hair and matching eyes smiling apologetically down at her. "No I'm sorry, I was just spacing out." She bowed at her waist. "Sorry for bumping into you."

"It's no problem." Was the woman's bored reply.

She straightened and took in the woman in front of her, for some reason she looked really familiar…

"My name is Fujimoto Kimiko, I'm Haruka's mother."

"Oh!" No wonder the woman looked familiar, though the similarities were small she could spot small features that Haruka had inherited which made him look so feminine. "It's nice to meet you, my name is Sasagawa Kyoko."

Kimiko rose a brow. "Is that so? Interesting."

Kyoko didn't try to pry why it was so interesting, Kimiko probably knew her brother and was astonished that they were so different. A lot of people never realized she and Ryohei were related until she mentioned something. Not that she could blame them, her brother and her were very different.

"I've seen your brother around a few times, from what I can tell he's a very extreme person."

She laughed. "Yeah Nii-san is very passionate when it comes to the things he loves, he got that from our father."

The older woman seemed to observe her, dark eyes intent as they switched around her body cataloging her arms and legs before returning back to her eyes. "What about you? Do you play any sports."

Kyoko titled her head, curiosity sparking. She didn't know why this woman was so interested in what she liked but she couldn't remember the last time someone asked her if she played a sport. Many people knew about the school idol and how 'delicate' she was so the thought that she was into anything 'guy-like' didn't even pass their minds.

"Well when I was younger I tried to play tennis but ended up failing miserably." An awkard giggle came from her as she remembered how badly she did. "But otherwise I usually cook or sew."

Kimiko rose a brow at that. "Really?"

She nodded.

"Well would you be interested in trying something a little different?" Kimiko asked reaching into her pocket to hand her a card. "I happen to teach self-defense but with a twist and I think you might be a good candidate to be my newest student."

Kyoko blinked and accepted the card, written on it was Kimiko's full name, adress and phone number. "Umm…"

"Great! Call me if you want to give it a try."

She looked up from the card to see Kimiko already turning around and heading back where she came from, watching as the older woman seemed to glide each step she took. Kimiko didn't even give her a chance to decline and was already gone before she could get her thoughts straight.

That wasn't what she had expected.

Her brother was the one who had been the most active, everyone knew he was obsessed with boxing and her neighbors constantly complained about how loud he was in the early mornings but no one had approached her. Like her mother she was seen as a delicate flower and she had accepted that role since it was the only thing she knew.

Yet…

Kimiko was Haruka's mother, right? So she was probably a good person, strong too seeing that Haruka could always deal with anyone who tried to bully Tsuna. Honestly Kyoko hadn't really thought of learning how to defend herself since her brother was always there, but one day he'd move out and wouldn't be such a big part of her life.

Maybe it was time to step up and see what she could accomplish.

Tsuna heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. Both out of panic and happiness.

For whatever reason Reborn had handed him two tickets to go to the Zoo with instructions to go and relax. He was sure it was a trick but accepted them anyway the thought of going to the Zoo with Haruka on a date too much to resist.

Well not an official date but close enough.

He hesitantly peeked toward said boy, face reddening almost immediately. It had been a while since he was able to see Haruka in regular clothes, The past few weeks he was sure Haruka was showing signs of feeling the same way he did but like always had a straight face on so it was hard to tell if it was his imagination or not.

Just to make sure it wasn't he kept the ribbon that had been wrapped around the box of chocolates his friend had given him. It was still on his desk so that hadn't been an hallucination.

"What's the Afro-cow doing here?"

Breaking out of his thoughts Tsuna turned toward where Haruka was pointing, jaw dropping when he saw Lambo in the process of being washed by Raccons of all things. "Eh?! Lambo?!"

"Guypah!"

What was Lambo doing here? He was going to ruin their dat— friendly outing! Tsuna laughed nervously and grabbed the other boy by his arm. "Let's go see the Monkey show Haruka!"

"Sure."

Thankful that Haruka wasn't questioning his sudden need to go somewhere else Tsuna started to lead them toward where he knew the Monkeys were.

If Lambo was here did that mean everyone else was as well? He really hoped not this was his chance to be alone with Haruka and maybe even—

"Bears! B.E.A.R.S! I'm asking you where they are!"

A bear fanatic?

They both stopped at the loud shout and turned toward the voice, a few feet away from where they were standing Ryohei was begin held back by two Zookeepers.

"Let me extremely fight the bears!" The boxer shouted, struggling at the two men tried to push him back.

"No way!" One of the Zookeepers replied in a shout of his own.

"Mister please calm down." Another asked struggling as the younger boy fought to get free.

"Zoos should have Bears! Let me Extremely fight them!"

What the heck was he doing here? Did Reborn set this whole thing up just to show him that it was going to be ridiculously hard to gain his approval when it came to dating his son?!

Haruka rose a brow at scene the boxer was causing. "I wonder who would win."

Tsuna jerked his head toward his friend. "Aren't you worried that he'd get hurt?"

He received a shrug. "When it comes to Sasagawa I'm pretty sure something like that doesn't matter to him."

He supposed that was true, Ryohei didn't care who he fought, or what apparently, he just enjoyed boxing.

"Please move aside."

Of course she was here as well. Tsuna turned look at Bianchi who was a few feet away as well with a few Zookeepers surrounding her.

"I just want to try some rare delicacies." She explained as if there was nothing wrong with her reason for being there.

So she was there to capture animals and eat them?! Tsuna held back a shiver of fear and hoped the Zookeepers would be able to hold her back. He was sure she wanted to head to the most poisonous one and make it for their dinner.

"Tsunayoshi-?"

He jerked around and grabbed his friend by the arm again before heading off in the opposite direction of Bianchi and Ryohei. He didn't know why they happened to be at the Zoo the exact day he and Haruka were but he didn't want them to ruin their d— friendly outing!

The brunette lead his friend to a random animal and took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. Haruka stopped next to him without a complaint, seeming to be perfectly happy with what was happening.

So what if those two where at the Zoo as well? If they avoided them he and Haruka could continue to enjoy their time together.

A little kid beside them giggled and pointed into the encloser. "Ohh, look the Otter is smashing a shell."

Smiling Tsuna looked where the kid was pointing-and nearly felt his eyes pop out of their sockets. "Ehh?!"

Once again Lambo was in with the animals, this time lying on an Otter as it repeatedly slammed a shell on his head with tears streaming down his face.

"Gypah!"

"Again?!" Tsuna shouted face-palming as he wondered how in the world Lambo had gotten into the cadge. Then again why did the kid continue to go into one in the first place if the animals continued to attack him?

Haruka narrowed his eyes at the child. "The Afro-cow is once again being held hostage by an animal."

Tsuna scratched the back of his head. "Lets go to another-"

As if in slow motion he watched as his friend vaulted over the wall his body outlined by the sun for a moment before he landed gracefully on the ground.

"-animal…"

"Look at him Mommy! Can I do that as well?!

"Absolutely not!"

The brunet stared at Haruka in shock as the student made his way over to the small child, hands stuffed in his dark pants and a 'devil may-care' posture. "H-haruka?!"

Haruka ignored the murmurs of the crowd and walked into the water until it reached his thighs and stopped to look down at Lambo who was now within grabbing distance.

Said child stared up at the older boy with wide eyes.

In a swift movement Haruka grabbed him up and held him by the scruff of his bodysuit, glasses glinting in the sunlight ominously. "What do you think you're doing Afro-cow?"

Lambo was shivering violently in his hold as if he was looking at something truly terrifying while water dripped off of his body. "P-playing w-with t-the O-otters?"

Haruka didn't look very impressed.

Tsuna jerked in panic when two Zookeepers stopped beside him both men looking like they weren't very happy with what they were currently seeing.

"Hey miss you're not allowed in there!" One shouted.

The other pursed his lips, face shaded under his hat. "If you come out now we'll promise you won't get into too much trouble!"

The dark-haired male turned toward their voices, eyes flat as if saying 'really you too?' but nodded all the same. "I just needed to grab a pest-"

And promptly tripped falling face-first into the water with a loud splash, Lambo screeching in fear as he was soaked once again.

Tsuna had a feeling Haruka wasn't going to be very happy.

…

..

.

Holding back the urge to scoot away from his friend as an aura of pure hatred and fury seeped off of his body Tsuna was glad he wasn't Lambo. Not only had they been kicked out of the Zoo, but thanks to the small child Haruka was currently soaked and told to never come back.

As if on instinct as soon as he had been put down Lambo booked it proving he could run rather fast if motivated enough.

Tsuna risked a glance toward the other boy, eyes staring at the way Haruka's long-sleeved orange shirt clung to his body and water dripped off of his eye lashes. Currently they were sitting on a bench in the park as Haruka tried to calm down and get a little dry in the sun. It was a good thing spring was soon or the cold winter weather would have surely made Haruka get the flu.

"Sorry Tsunayoshi, I ruined your visit to the Zoo."

"No need Haruka," He replied making Haruka turn his head to look at him. "I had fun." He smiled softly feeling a light breeze ruffle his hair.

Really despite all the intruders and being banned from the Zoo forever it wasn't all that bad. Right now they were alone in a peaceful park with the sun shining down on them, what could be better then that?

Haruka's eyes widened minutely and suddenly he jerked his head away and hid his face in the towel they were leant by the Zoo that was wrapped around his head. "Good."

Curious Tsuna leant forward and peered at his friends face. "Are you okay-"

Covered in a dark blush Haruka was staring at him with widened eyes, droplets of water dripping off of his hair making it cling to his face. For a moment they gazed at each other, Tsuna far too captivated to speak while Haruka was so nervous he was at loss to speak proper sentences.

Heart-beat picking up Tsuna's hands gripped the bench tightly and he could feel his own blush rising. Now that they were alone it was good time to tell Haruka how he felt for the past few years, that he knew what that box of chocolates meant and how the other boy made him feel.

He just had to take this chance, muster up all the courage he had and-

"Ciaossu."

They both startled at the squeaky voice and Tsuna searched for the owner until he noticed a certain Hitman staring at them, or him in particular, with a small smirk.

"R-reborn." Tsuna squeaked disappointment gnawing at his gut though he didn't dare voice it out-loud.

"Why aren't you too at the Zoo?"

Haruka sighed, face once again straight and emotionless. "I got banned."

Reborn nodded and in one leap he was perched on his sons lap, dark eyes gleaming in pride. "You put Family first, that's what a true Mafasio would do if he saw a member in trouble."

Tsuna made a face. "Don't tell me you want Lambo to be in my 'family' as well, he's only five."

The Hitman shrugged and jumped up to land on Haruka's shoulder. "In the Mafia age doesn't matter." He poked his son in the head. "It's time for training."

The dark-haired male nodded and stood up, eyes connecting to look at Tsuna for a moment. "See you later Tsunayoshi…I had a nice time as well."

Tsuna blinked and nodded watching as his friend started to walk away leaving wet foot-prints on the sidewalk. Once Haruka was a far distance away the brunet leaned back on the bench and put a hand over his eyes to protect himself from the sun.

Of course Reborn would appear at that moment, if it was by coincidence or purpose he wasn't quite sure. He knew the Hitman was very protective of his son since Haruka was the only one he had, and Reborn just that sort of person, so it wasn't ridiculous to think his tutor was testing him.

He wasn't too bothered, he just wished Reborn would allow him to have a chance to tell Haruka how he felt.

But with Reborn nothing was that easy.

If he thinks we'll be beaten at this game he's very wrong.

Far too used to the voice Tsuna didn't even jump but instead nodded in agreement.

His tutor may be the world strongest hitman, but when it came to Haruka Tsuna wouldn't give up so easily. He has known Haruka much longer and had more of a claim of his friend then the Hitman did.

He wasn't going to give up so easily, his feelings weren't so weak for him to do that. He felt a connection to Haruka and he wasn't going to let that go.

AN: Thanks for waiting so patiently guys, I recently have moved across country and then have gotten a full time job so time isn't something I have a lot of. Anyways I'll be writing the cherry viewing, we'll meet Collonello and then face Mukuro. I'm very excited to start writing the Kokuyo ark!