DISCLAIMER: I Own Nothing Except Akihiko Mizumoto, my OC.

The rain pelted gently against the blue umbrella of a boy. The gray clouds up above made the town of Namimori seemed eerily gloomy. As he walked pass an alleyway, he heard a sharp scream.

"Onii-san!" A girlish voice pierced through the gentle rhythm of rain drops.

The boy stopped and peered into the alleyway. There it was a group of high school student beating up someone who looked as if he's from primary school. Behind them was another student who's currently holding a girl as hostage. A look of recognition flashed across the boy face. It seemed like he knew that person. Acting on instinct, he rushed forward and smacked his umbrella against one of the students. Said student cursed in pain as he stumbled back. The other students, seemingly noticed the new arrival, sneered.

"Hey look! It's another brat," They smirked. "Let's teach him a lesson too,"

The boy had on a look of indifferent and pointed the umbrella at them. He swung the umbrella like a weapon but it was sidestepped and countered with a fist. Swatting away the incoming fist, he delivered a jab toward the abdomen. It struck. But then the second fist came and he couldn't react in time. It smacked across his face. His grip on the umbrella loosen as it flown out of his hand and clattered uselessly onto the ground. Trying to regain his balance, the boy stumbled slightly. The students seeing their chance quickly rushed forward and delivered punches after punches. Unfortunately, what can a mere primary school student do against a group of high school students? Not much. He, too, took the beating.

After a while, with the only sound being the sobbing of the girl and the occasional grunts of pain, the beating finally stopped. The girl was finally let go and she quickly stumbled over to the two boys, crying. "Onii-san! Mizumoto-san!" She sobbed. One of them has blood flowing down his right temple while the other had a lash gash across his left arm.

The high school students laughed, "Haha! That ought to teach you brats a lesson!". They walked off with their hands in their pockets, acting smug and arrogant.

The person dubbed "onii-san" looked at the girl and broke into hot tear of anger, angry at himself for dragging his sister into this mess. "Sorry, Kyoko. I'm so sorry."

He looked over to Mizumoto and said, "You too, sorry for dragging you into this mess, Mizumoto. Thank you."

Mizumoto nodded and grunted softly. "Mn." As if saying, don't worry about it.

It was still raining, and the umbrella lied on the ground, forgotten. Having only used twice to block the students, its condition is not too bad to be not of used. Mizumoto stood up slowly, picked up the umbrella, opened it and offered it to the sibling. With his other hand he extended it toward the boy. "Home." He merely stated and offered a warm smile. He reached up and grabbed onto the offered hand.

The trio walked in silent, both boys limped slightly due to their injuries. Kyoko supported her brother while Mizumoto held the umbrella. Eventually, they reached the sibling home. The name plate read "Sasagawa".

"Take care," Mizumoto grunted and continued down the road. After all, he only lived a couple of block down. By the time he reached home, his parents were shocked to see the injuries their son has. His mom immediately rushed over to him.

"O Aki! Come sit down. Let me see your injury." She said. While the mother was fussing over Akihiko, the father was sitting there, patiently waiting for something.

Eventually Akihiko muttered, "I was too slow."

"W-what?" His mom asked in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

But his father understood. He understood that Akihiko is experiencing the feeling of being useless. He understood Akihiko lacked the training to be agile. He lacked the precision to strike. It seem like the son noticed that as well. Akihiko met his father gaze and simply stated.

"Father, I want to learn."

The father merely smiled and nodded.

Mizumoto Akihiko, son of an old family, whose business involved fan crafting and traditional Japanese dancing. Ever since he was young, he was taught to be well mannered and not to speak when not necessary. Well, as his mother, Reiko, would say, "he takes after his father. That boy, you never know what he's thinking most of the time."

The next few days passed by in a blur until one day, a loud "Mizumoto! Good morning to the extreme!" woke Akihiko up from his rest. He looked down from the window and saw that it was his classmate and also the boy at the alleyway.

"Ara, who are you, young man?" Akihiko's mother asked as she greeted the boy from the garden.

"My name is Sasagawa Ryohei to the extreme! Extremely nice to meet you, Mizumoto-san!" He shouted with great enthusiasm.

Reiko chuckled lightly, "Can I assume that you are the cause of my son injuries?"

"E-Extremely sorry Mizumoto-san!"

"A bit of injuries won't kill him," the father voice sounded through the room that could be seen from the garden.

Then Akihiko stepped down to the garden. Earlier, when he had heard Ryohei's voice, he had immediately gotten up and gotten ready. After all, it would be considered rude to make a guest wait.

"Sasagawa-san. Good morning," Akihiko said. "I hope your injuries are healing nicely."

"They are extremely healing, Mizumoto!" he shouted.

Akihiko nodded then said toward his parents, "Ittekkimasu."

"Itterashai," They responded warmly.

He nodded to Ryohei and was met with a befuddled look. Seeing the confused expression, Akihiko clarified, "you have something to talk to me about." It was more of a statement than a question. He stared patiently into Ryohei eyes. Eventually, Ryohei nodded and an uncharacteristic look of solemnity passed his face.

The two walked in silent until they reach the park. At the side of the park were several benches, which they decided to have a seat on one of the farthest. The atmosphere was heavy and depress. They sat in silent for awhile until Ryohei started speaking.

"Mizumoto, I feel hopeless and useless. When my sister was hurt, I was angry at myself because I couldn't protect her. I was too weak! If only I were stronger! If only she weren't involved because of me! If only…" He trailed off, as tear started to roll down his eyes. "…I had listened to her to not fight anymore."

Akihiko merely listen, not saying a word. There wasn't anything to say. The speaker had not finished speaking.

"I was too hot-headed! I was too careless! I never thought that my action would cause her to get involved! I, I…" By this time, Ryohei was shaking with uncontrollable anger.

Akihiko put a hand on Ryohei's shoulder to get his attention. When Ryohei looked up, he was met with a sad gaze from Akihiko. "Me too."

He said, "get stronger," and smiled lightly. No more word was exchanged after that. Only a sense of peace remained. The heavy atmosphere from earlier had been completely dispersed. This would mark the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Several years have passed since then. They are now second year students of Namimori Middle School. As Akihiko was walking down the stairs, a sound of heavy footsteps reached his ears. "Akihiko! Join the boxing club!" Akihiko merely turned around and gave Ryohei a glance that said, "Refused" before continuing down the stairs to the Traditional Dance Club.

"But Akihiko!" He whined. It seemed like Akihiko had made a mistake of introducing Ryohei to the game Peru-son-na: S.E.E.S. In which there is a character who is a very proficient boxer and shared the same name as Akihiko. After that, Ryohei can't seem to grasp the fact that Akihiko has black whereas the game's Akihiko has white hair. Therefore they are too completely different person. Ryohei has once suggested Akihiko to bleach his hair so that they both have white hair. To which Akihiko responded with a glare so harsh that Ryohei dropped the subject altogether.

Ryohei quickly caught up to Akihiko, who's now at the bottom of the stairs. "Aki-"He started.

"Shh."

"But-"

"Shh."

"Come on, Aki-"

"Shh. Silent is golden."

That went on for quite a while until he finally gave up. But what came next were a surprise to both Akihiko and Ryohei. They overheard a pair of First years talking to each other regarding matter concerning Ryohei's sister.

"Have you heard?" The short one said.

"Yeah, seem like Mochida challenged Dame-Tsuna to a duel with Kyoko-chan as the Prize" the other one answered.

Ryohei stiffened slightly beside Akihiko. "Scum" Akihiko muttered, referring to the fact that Mochida is treating Kyoko as an object.

"Oi, let's go watch the match!"

Akihiko merely nodded and followed his friend to the gym. By the time they got there, a crowd has already formed a circle, in which Tsuna and Mochida stood facing each other, each holding a Shinai. As the match proceeded, clearly Tsuna could have gotten a point had the referee raised the flag.

"What a disgrace," Akihiko muttered as he looked indifferently at Mochida.

"Oi! That cheating to the extreme!" Ryohei shouted next to Akihiko. Unfortunately, no one seemed to notice the cheating. Or if they did, they didn't mention anything. Kyoko was off to the side, looking upset that Mochida referred to her as "the Prize" and that he's cheating. But her best friend, Kurokawa Hana held her and gently calmed her down.

Then magically, Tsuna's clothes burst into flame, leaving him only in his boxer. He exclaimed, "Rawr! Defeat Mochida with my Dying Will!" Tsuna broke Mochida's Shinai and head butted him. But the referee did not call the point. With inhuman speed, Tsuna sprang forward and grab a handful of Mochida's hair. "If you won't raise the flag for one point then I'll take one hundred points! Ya!" By the end of his tirade, it is good to say that Mochida is now bald. With such blatant win, the referee had no choice to but to admit Tsuna's victory. Akihiko let out a small chuckle and Ryohei too looked quite relieved that Mochida did not win.

"Tche, Dame-Tsuna, you only won this one by luck! I still have the right to Kyoko!" Mochida sneered.

"N-No, you are wrong!" Tsuna said.

"What? You saying you have the right? Don't make such a joke!"

"No, I'm saying you are wrong! She's a person! She can make her own decision! She's not a Prize!" Tsuna shouted.

Beside Ryohei, Akihiko nodded in agreement. Secretly, his respect for Tsuna raised of a few notches. Akihiko sneaked a glance at Ryohei and noticed he has on a fairly large grin. "Good first impression?" Akihiko asked.

"I like him!" Ryohei replied with an excited grin. Akihiko nodded and walked off. Ryohei did not follow because he knew; his friend is going to the Traditional Dance Club. As he left, he caught a gist of the conversation between Kyoko and Tsuna.

"I'm sorry I ran away this morning Tsuna. It's just that I thought you were serious. But now that I've thought about it, it must have been a joke right?" Kyoko said brightly.

Akihiko merely shook his head and smiled lightly. When he left the gym, he saw a figure standing outside smoking and muttering to no one in particular. It's not his business to pry, Akihiko walked pass him.

"Mizumoto-buchou, you are late!" One of the club member shouted as Akihiko walked into the club room.

One of the more respectful kouhai asked, "Buchou, what dance would you be showing us today?"

"Noh Mai," Akihiko said and picked up a fan, "the prop we shall be using will be Fan. Noh Mai involved elegant movement and beautiful steps. It is usually done with flute and small drum accompaniment. Watch."

Akihiko then performed a series of moves. Starting off slow then increase in speed. With occasionally lifting of leg and crouching, Akihiko execute the moves with great precision and smooth wrist movement, allowing the fan to move like a butterfly.

The club watch, entranced by his skill. It suddenly seemed to get a lot more crowded as passerby stayed at the doorway to watch. Eventually the familiar sound of a certain Head of the Discipline Committee sounded throughout the room. "Herbivores, you are crowding. I'll bite you to death." This proclamation was followed with several screams of terror as every student in the hallway scurried away from the violent Hibari Kyoya. Eventually Hibari spotted Akihiko.

"For disturbing the peace, I'll bite you to death, herbivore."

Akihiko quirked an eyebrow, as if asking, "Why are you accusing me?" Before he could say anything, a flying tonfa struck near where his head had been. With a sharp nod, Akihiko has decided that such ferocious person must be avoided at all cost. He then did the only thing he deemed smart at the moment. He ran. Using his training as a dancer, he quickly acrobat his way through the hallway, avoiding several incoming students. These unlucky students, of course, were quickly struck down by Hibari's tonfas, so as to clear the way to his prey.

"Rest in peace" Akihiko muttered as he ran. Then suddenly he saw Ryohei. Grabbing his arm he only said one word, "Run!"

Still confused why his friend would say that, Ryohei turned around and noticed Hibari. "Ah, Hibari! Let's fight to the extreme!"

Akihiko threw his friend an incredulous glance; ignoring his protest, Akihiko dragged Ryohei with him. "Oi, Akihiko! What are you doing? I want to fight to the extreme!"

Akihiko threw him another glance, which translated to, "Are you out of your mind?"

"No I'm not; I just don't see the reason to run! It would be a good test for my ability! Fight me to the extreme!" He shouted and broke free from Akihiko's grip. "Hibari! Fight me!"

His passionate declaration is met with "Tche, Noisy Animal deserved to be bitten." What happened next was a blur of movement. A jab there, an uppercut here, a tonfa there, and a kick here, it all ended with Ryohei receiving the hits and not landing them. Akihiko had on this look that said, "Told you."When Hibari finally finished with Ryohei, he turned toward Akihiko. A look of realization dawned on his face. It is like, "What the heck am I still doing here. Got to run," and run he did.

Smack! The incoming tonfa came right at his neck. Duck. The tonfa missed, but it doesn't matter as a kick to the stomach send Akihiko flying away. This is where all those dance lessons came in handy. He did an acrobatic move and would had landed perfectly had it not for the pain.. Akihiko wasn't given a chance to breath as another tonfa quickly came toward his head. He quickly raised his hand to block. That proved to be a bad idea as pain shot through his arm. Masking the pain with his stoic face, Akihiko swung his right hand at Hibari. With the fan still in his grip, the movement caused the fan to open up and acted like a knife. Had it been a steel fan it would have successfully drawn first blood. This is the first kata of Tessenjutsu, the art of steel fan. Unfortunately, it is a paper fan prop use for dancing, thus what it served was to irritate Hibari further. Hibari pick up his speed, seemingly pissed off. His strikes became faster and stronger. In less than fifteen seconds, Akihiko found himself flat on his back and stared at the ceiling. He swore he could see stars flying around. His arms and legs are bruised all over from blocking blows from Hibari. His lower lip bled slightly from the blow to his cheek, which caused his teeth to cut into his lips. Panting lightly, Akihiko muttered, "Jerk."

Having heard that last comment, Hibari turned around and glared at Akihiko. Their gaze met and Akihiko grinned lightly. As if saying, "Someday I want a rematch."

Hibari snorted and walked off. He wondered which unfortunate fool he shall bite next. Too tired to move, Akihiko stayed there on the floor until the familiar lock of brown hair enter his sight. It was Tsuna.

"Ne, are you alright?" He asked.

"Ah" Akihiko grunted.

"Let me help you up," He offered and moved Akihiko up. Though he struggled somewhat due to Akihiko having a thicker build than Tsuna, he managed to make Akihiko stood up.

"Thanks," Akihiko muttered.

"No problem!" Then he flashed Akihiko this brilliant smile. Akihiko never noticed the figure of an infant stood, watching from the windowsill. From the moment he engaged with Hibari to the moment Tsuna met him. He saw everything. As Akihiko left the school, he couldn't help but have this really bad feeling that someone was observing him.

Later that night, Akihiko decided to take a walk in the cool evening. As he was walking up the stairs on some slope, he thought he saw Tsuna running away from what looked like missiles. "Nah it couldn't be." Akihiko muttered. When he turned the corner down the next street he collided with Tsuna. "Such cliché thing that you would only see in Manga." Akihiko thought. It looked as if someone had set it up.

Due to the speed that Tsuna was running at, it generated enough force to knock Akihiko onto his back. With a loud "Oof" the air was knocked out of Akihiko lungs as Tsuna landed on top of him. Still dazed from the impact, all Akihiko heard next was a loud "Hieee!" and the weight on top of him was lifted.

"Hieee, I'm so sorry, Mizumoto-senpai!" Tsuna shouted. Then He continue to rant on and on about how he should paid more attention while at the same time blushing furiously with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry-"He never get to finish when a finger pressed firmly against his lips.

"Shh, silent is golden," Akihiko said gently, "and it's alright." He started to walk away. When he has finally left the view of Tsuna, Tsuna turned to a random bush and wailed, "Reborn! Why did you push me around the corner?"

From the bush, an infant with a fedora hat and curly sideburn stepped out. "Dame-Tsuna, don't be silly. Don't blame other when you tripped on air."

"But Reborn-"Tsuna whined. A gunshot effectively shut him up.

"Now back to your training, Dame-Tsuna!" Reborn smirked sadistically. "And don't slack off!" Cued more gun shots.

As Tsuna disappeared down the road, Reborn tilted his hat slightly, hiding his scheming eyes away from the world.

To Be Continued...