Target IV: Celebrations and Revelations
-Skyefinal

I grunted as I lifted the box filled with salmon off of the truck. Thanks to the daily training with Bianchi, my arms became stronger and I was able to lift more of the heavier boxes instead of leaving it to the older Yamamoto. Humming, I passed by the calendar on the way to the counter. The twenty-fourth of April was circled in a large red circle with a little happy face next to it.

"Tsuyoshi-san?"

"Hm?"

"Takeshi's birthday is coming up. I was wondering what you usually do."

Tsuyoshi lifted a hand on his chin. "Hm, I usually give him extra allowance and fancy sushi to eat. He really likes his fancy sushi."

"No party with friends?"

Tsuyoshi shook his head, "I offered once to let his friends come here for a party but he always refused."

"Oh…maybe he hates parties…"

"Maybe it's not the party that's the problem," Tsuyoshi said, he gave a fond grin at me. "But the people instead."

"Oh." Warmth flooded my chest. I vowed to make Takeshi a really good birthday cake. Maybe green tea with red bean cream filling and strawberries on top. That should be a good enough balance between Japanese and Western style.

"You want to give Takeshi a party here?"

"If that's alright." I replied.

"It's fine, I can afford to close the shop for Takeshi's birthday." Tsuyoshi said, smiling.

"Great! I'll let Tsuna and the others know about it. We got roughly a week to prepare for it." With a little skip in my steps I grabbed another box, my head was already filled with ideas on what to do for Takeshi's first birthday party.

"A birthday party for Takeshi?" Tsuna repeated.

"Yup!"

Kyouya, Tsuna, Nagi, Bianchi, Lambo, and Reborn were sitting in the living room facing me as I proposed the surprise birthday party for Takeshi. Takeshi was on an errand for Tsuyoshi, so that gave me time to plan this with the others. Tsuna, Nagi, and Lambo were the only ones to look excited, Kyouya looked unimpressed as always while Bianchi, Lambo and Reborn were indifferent.

Well, it made sense since the three didn't know Takeshi that well.

"Why isn't there a party for Lambo?" The cow assassin whined. Nagi smiled and patted his head.

"It's Takeshi-kun's birthday, that's why we're holding a party. When it's Lambo's birthday we'll have one for you too."

"Humph."

Tsuna laughed, "What should we do for Takeshi?"

"Tsuyoshi-san said we can have it here." I rubbed my chin in thought, "We could surprise Takeshi somehow…maybe someone can distract him for a day while we decorate? Then all that's left is presents and activities."

"Baseball." Kyouya said suddenly. He avoided our eyes, maybe because he was embarrassed that he unexpectedly said an idea.

Tsuna smiled, "That's a great idea! Takeshi's been training hard so he mustn't have had time to play baseball."

"Hmm…" I counted the people in the living room, "We're kinda short on people but I think it can work."

"We can also invite I-pin and Fong-san!" Tsuna suggested. I nodded and made a mental note to ask Tsuyoshi to invite the two of them.

"Shall I cook for the party?" Bianchi asked. I quickly shook my head.

"I-it's fine! I was planning to make desserts and Tsuyoshi-san was going to make Takeshi extravagant sushi to eat."

"Oh?" Bianchi looked disappointed. "I was planning to make Italian so Yamamoto could expand his cuisine list."

"Make some for Lambo!"

"Now now Lambo, maybe you can try Japanese cuisine instead." Nagi interjected, cleverly avoiding a disaster if Lambo were to eat Bianchi's Poison Cooking.

"Alright! So let's secretly get decorations, presents, and an area to play baseball…"

"I can arrange the location for baseball." Reborn piped up. "Vongola has its resources and it would be no problem to use it for this event."

A feeling of dread suddenly struck me and I shivered.

Eh…it should be fine if Reborn helps out a bit. I think…

"Okay," I slowly said.

"You don't trust me?"

"No, no!" Quickly denying that accusation in fear of increased training from Reborn and Bianchi, I redirected the conversation back to safer grounds. "So, who wants to go shopping with me for decorations and ingredients?"

TakeSushi was finally closed. A bunch of families came by and even Tsuna and Takeshi needed my help to keep the rowdy children under control. Needless to say, I felt exhausted at the end of the day, hence why I was laying on my back in the living room.

The planning went along fine; everyone got his or her assigned role. Tsuna had asked Tsuyoshi if it would be alright to help make the sushi so those two would be in charge of the main meal. Nagi and Lambo were assigned to decorating the living room. She'll bring Lambo and the decorations that are being hidden in her room to TakeSushi once Kyouya distracts Takeshi for the entire day. Bianchi and Reborn took on the task of reserving the field and getting the equipment. I was in charge of desserts and the cake.

To be honest, I'm still a bit worried about Reborn but he shouldn't do anything too drastic that'll ruin the party.

I hope.

Sighing, I turned my head over to the small booklet next to my hand. Opening it, my eyes went down the list to the current amount of money I had in my bank account. Thanks to Reborn and Tsuyoshi, I had my paperwork filled out and Tsuyoshi transferred the owner of the account to my name and not his.

Probably around two thousand for all-round plane ticket…three hundred for room, food and gifts maybe…

"If I remember correctly, one Canadian dollar is less than one hundred yen…so divide by a hundred and make it a lil' more expensive…" Mentally calculating, I deducted how much the trip to Canada would cost from my bank account. I would have enough left over to fund Nagi's extracurricular activity fees and a third of her tuition for next year. When I come back and continue working, I should make enough to keep her in school.

Money isn't the problem…it's just me, huh.

Sighing, I placed the booklet beside me and stared at the ceiling. To go or not to go…that is the question. Although I know for certain this isn't the world that I knew, there is still a part of me that hoped I would still find my family.

"Should I go…?"

"Go where?"

"Uwah!" I sat up straight and semi-glared at Tsuyoshi. He grinned and sat across from me, resting his elbows on the table. "Tsuyoshi-san! You scared me!"

"Hahaha."

"Geez…" I flopped back down, crossing my arms behind my head as a makeshift pillow.

"So?" Tsuyoshi prodded, "Are you going back to Canada?"

"That obvious huh," I sat in silence for a while before speaking again. "I should go, right? To get closure."

"Well, you can't keep this 'what if?' over your head for the rest of your life," Tsuyoshi said. "If you decide to go, I won't stop you. But don't forget that you will always have a home here as well. You're always welcomed to visit if you decide to stay in Canada."

"Tsuyoshi-san…" I sat back up and bowed my head. "I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done for me. Letting me into your family and giving me a job…thank you very much."

Tsuyoshi reached over and patted my head. "We're family right? This is only natural."

"Thank you."

"Putting that aside," Tsuyoshi said, "When are you thinking of going?"

"Summer break. That way if the shop gets too busy hopefully Takeshi and Tsuna can help you out."

Tsuyoshi looked surprised. "You can go now you know. You don't have to think about me and the shop."

"And miss Takeshi's birthday party? No way!" I crossed my arms and mock-glared at the elder, "Don't think you can revert back to old habits and not do any dish-washing until the end of the day."

Tsuyoshi chuckled, "Right, of course not."

Carefully placing a dollop of whipped cream on top of the cake, I topped the cake with strawberries. I looked at the cake and nodded to myself. Fluffy, two-layered green tea cake sponges with cream filling of red beans, I'm sure Takeshi will enjoy it.

I took the cake and put it in the living room table, I glanced behind me and smiled at how focused Tsuna was while cutting the fish. Tsuyoshi was gently instructing Tsuna the proper technique while making sure he didn't cut himself. Nagi and Lambo were done decorating, the former playing with the younger boy to keep him occupied from opening the presents until the birthday boy came back.

"Excuse us for intruding," Fong and I-pin arrived and sat on the couch. Smiling at the tea, I got up to serve some tea and left them to their conversation. Mandarin is still something I can't understand unless it's spoken slowly.

I glanced at the clock, Bianchi and Reborn should be coming back soon. Apparently they needed to leave the house to set up the field for baseball. Kyouya was out with Takeshi to distract him for the whole day, Kyouya didn't tell us what he would do but we all trusted him that he'd able to keep Takeshi away.

"We're back." Reborn jumped onto the stool in front of the counter where Tsuna was. The brunet squawked and luckily Tsuyoshi grabbed the knife before anyone could get injured.

"Reborn!"

"A mafia boss should always be aware of their surroundings." Reborn calmly said.

Tsuna sighed. Giggling, I ruffled his hair as I passed by him to get the phone. Dialing Kyouya's number, I let him know that all the preparations were finished and he could bring Takeshi back to TakeSushi. "How long do you think you'll reach here?"

Kyouya grunted, "About 15 minutes."

Click.

"Eh?" I shrugged at how blunt Kyouya was. "Everyone, they'll be back in 15 minutes."

"Good timing," Tsuyoshi wiped his hands. "Tsuna just finished cutting up the last of the fish. I'll turn off the lights and we'll surprise Takeshi in the living room."

It was sort of comical seeing everyone scramble for a good hiding spot. Once the lights were turned off, everyone held their breath as we waited for Kyouya and Takeshi. We all became quiet once we heard the door open.

"Huh? Everything's so dark…."

"Just go in Takeshi."

Footsteps neared the sliding doors to the living room.

"Happy birthday!"

Takeshi yelped and jumped back, Kyouya steadied him as everyone leaped out of their hiding spot.

"You guys…"

"Takeshi!?" The birthday boy was sheepishly scratching the back of his head as he faced his friends and family. His clothes were dirtied and his cheek was a bit swollen. "What on earth…"

"Ahh…don't worry!" Takeshi reassured. "I told Kyouya not to hold back."

I stared at Kyouya in exasperation. "Honestly Kyouya…when I told you to distract him, I didn't think you would do this."

"Training is important."

"Yeah but on his birthday…"

Takeshi laughed, "It's okay Maya-nee. It was really fun training with Kyouya!"

"If you say so."

Tsuna had disappeared and reappeared with an ice bag. Takeshi grinned in thanks and applied it to his cheek, flinching slightly. He looked around the room, the decorations around the room and the presents sitting on the table. His grin widened.

"Thank you everyone."

Takeshi decided to eat first and then open the presents. He was afraid that if he opened them first, he might spill food on them. When he found out that Tsuna had helped out his dad with dinner, he exclaimed it was the best dinner he ever had.

Presents were next, since everyone was basically in a food coma. Lambo gave Takeshi a grape candy. Nagi and Tsuna pitched in to give him a new baseball glove while Kyouya got him new sneakers. Takeshi was getting quite tall, so I got him a couple of stylish shirts. Of course one of shirts had a large, blue number '80' on the side, I couldn't resist. Fong and I-pin gave Takeshi a traditional Japanese hakama, his old one was getting worn out.

"Are presents done?" Reborn spoke up, "It's time for the main activity."

"There's more?" Takeshi asked.

"Yes. Follow me."

Reborn brought everyone minus Tsuyoshi out to a field. The elder Yamamoto wanted to relax and said he couldn't match the energy of the youthful. It was near the forest, not too far from the residential area but far enough to be somewhat secluded.

"Heh…Vongola is amazing." I commented, "I'm surprised people haven't found this place yet."

"The construction plans for this place to be used as a baseball field isn't in the town plans." Kyouya glared at the baby resting in Bianchi's arms.

It's somewhat kind that Reborn made this place specifically for Takeshi…but doing it this way was bound to make Kyouya mad.

"This is awesome!" Takeshi laughed. Kyouya merely sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How should we split into teams?"

"There are no teams," Reborn explained. As Reborn was talking, he unveiled a pitching machine. "Everyone gets a chance as a batter. Whoever gets the most points wins. This is a Vongola-style birthday party."

Takeshi picked up a bat and swung it, "This looks fun! I'll go first!"

"There's more," Somewhere Reborn pulled out a remote control and pushed a button. Several paper targets popped out of the forest, they had large red bull's-eye targets on them and actual, very detailed faces.

"Is that…Mochida-senpai?" Tsuna pointed at one target.

"I thought it would be better to have faces on the targets, for motivation." Bianchi said, shrugging.

"Three strikes and you're out," Reborn added, " Each target is worth a point, so whoever has the most points win."

"What do we win?" Lambo yelled, already reaching forward for a bat.

"A surprise."

Takeshi strolled towards the diamond, cheerfully whistling and swinging his bat. "Ready when you are!"

Reborn pressed a button and the machine vibrated with energy. The hitman dropped a ball into the machine and it spat out to what seemed like a high speed to me right at Takeshi. The baseball star wasn't shocked, just smiled excitedly and swung.

Thack!

The bystanders clapped in amazement as Takeshi swung and hit the baseball right in the direction of the Mochida target. I didn't know if it was because of luck or strength, the baseball hit dead center on Mochida's face and actually blew it off.

"Um."

"O-oh…"

Takeshi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Oops."

Reborn smirked, "You got two more, heads up!" Reborn quickly placed another ball into the machine in hopes to catch Takeshi off-guard, but Takeshi simply swung with ease. Unfortunately everyone was focusing on the batter we didn't notice that the targets had moved to a different location.

"What…?"

"Oh did I forget to mention? The targets will be harder to move on the second ball." Reborn enlightened.

"That would've been nice to mention at the beginning Reborn." Tsuna said exasperatedly, he received a ball to the head for talking back. The younger boy merely pouted.

"Haha! This is interesting!" Takeshi grinned. "Bring it on!"

The third ball came and Takeshi's eyes focused on the moving targets, he swung and it flew into a moving target's chest.

"Heh…that's Takeshi for you." I commented in admiration.

"Tsuna! You're up!" Reborn shouted.

Tsuna groaned.

"A mafia boss should always be prepared to play." Reborn chided. "If you don't hit three targets I will increase your training."

"But I have never managed to hit a baseball before!" Grumbling, Tsuna picked up a bat and looked uncertainly at the targets. "Be kinda cool if I did though…"

"Well then," The sound of a gun being cocked rang clearly through the field. "Use your Dying Will to hit all three targets."

Bang!

Seeing the Dying Will Bullet in action was completely different than reading it in a book.

It was absolutely terrifying seeing the bullet go into Tsuna's head and seeing Tsuna fall over onto his side. It probably was a few seconds, but it seemed too long for me before something exploded out of Tsuna's body.

Orange flames engulfed Tsuna, melting away his clothes save for his underwear, and almost like a super seiyan Tsuna yelled triumphantly out to us and the world.

"UWOOOOOO! I WILL HIT THE TARGETS WITH MY DYING WILL!"

In the next few minutes, I didn't know whether to laugh in amusement or in shock. Reborn had swiftly put in all three balls in rapid succession. DW!Tsuna hit all three with no problem at all…and also threw the bat at the end. He then grabbed another bat and demanded Reborn to put in more balls so he could hit more targets, but the baby smacked Tsuna in the head and told him to calm down.

Eventually the flame on Tsuna's head, where the bullet went into, slowly died out and the gentle, meek Tsuna came back to us. "How'd I do?"

"Not bad." Kyouya remarked.

Nagi clapped, "You hit four targets!"

"Haha! Tsuna is amazing!"

I-pin spoke something to Fong in an inquiring tone, the elder shook his head. "I don't believe birthday parties are usually like this."

"Gupyaa! Lambo wants to play too!"

"Who's next?" Bianchi asked, picking up the remains of the targets and depositing it in a nearby box. She then rummaged into a bag that I didn't noticed she brought from the house and gave Tsuna pants and a shirt. Tsuna blushed and took the garments, quickly dressing himself and watching the others take their turns batting.

Everyone had their turn, surprisingly they all did well in hitting some targets. Nagi hit the most targets, followed by Lambo with two targets. I-pin hit one and claimed if she got her glasses she would've been able to hit more than Lambo, for some reason the two children had a friendly rivalry going on. Fong and Kyouya didn't join in, content with just watching.

Sighing, I picked up the bat. Badminton was more of my thing…

"Alright, let's get this over with." I clumsily went into batting form and waited for the ball to come out of the machine. It spit out one ball and I didn't even move, I couldn't react that fast.

"Um."

Bianchi sighed, "I am so increasing your training now. This is embarrassing."

"Ehehehe…" I bent down and adjusted my grip. This time I swung but I didn't hit a target. When I was about to swing for the third ball, Reborn spoke up.

"Oh by the way, if you don't hit any targets there's a punishment."

"Eh?"

Thanks to Reborn, I missed the last ball. It rolled behind me and I stared at it, I didn't want to turn around and face my punishment.

"Here." Bianchi appeared next to me holding up a cup of juice. It was purple and slightly bubbling. It actually looked like a funky carbonated pop. "Punishment."

Bianchi made this. I'm going to die.

"Don't be dramatic. It's not a drink that'll kill you." Reborn said from Bianchi's shoulder.

Gulping, I took the drink and took a deep breath. I faced everyone else and saluted. "Everyone, it's been fun."

Bianchi pouted, "I swear this time it's good for the body."

"Here goes," Raising the cup I swallowed the whole thing quickly. If I drank it fast enough hopefully the taste wouldn't stay in my mouth for long. Gulping everything down, I tilted my head in thought. "Hey, it's actually not that bad."

"Really?" Bianchi asked in amazement.

"Yeah…I mean I don't feel anything."

Tsuna placed a hand on my forehead, "No fever."

"One time Bianchi's food ended up in our cooking class. The guys in class ate it and ended up having a huge fever for a day." Takeshi explained, hands crossed behind his head. "You look fine."

"Hmmm."

"Reborn…you look disappointed."

"Not at all."

I stretched, "Well, the winner is Takeshi. What does he get Reborn?"

"Tickets to an amusement park for the summer." He said mysteriously. "You'll find out more when it's closer to summer."

"Okay," Takeshi smiled, "Let's head back. It's getting dark and I want my cake!"

"Cake! Cake! Cake!" Lambo chanted, dragging Nagi along with him to hurry back.

Smiling, I took one step forward to TakeSushi. I had to put a hand to my head when I got dizzy and I faltered in my walk. I blinked rapidly trying to clear the black spots that suddenly appeared in my vision.

"Oh." I muttered. "Delayed reaction."

"Amaya?"

I passed out before replying back to Kyouya.

"Hey! She's waking up!"

"Merrrrg…" I groaned. The lights were hurting my eyes so I put an arm up and the other to lightly smack a prodding hand away from my head. "The light…it hurts…"

Kyouya huffed, "If you're complaining then you're fine."

One eye peeked out from under my arm to glare at Reborn, "This is your fault by the way."

Reborn merely sipped his coffee, "Oh? Don't you mean Bianchi's?"

Grunting, I sat up and smiled reassuringly at Tsuna and the others. Everyone was sitting close to the kotatsu in the living room. "Pretty sure the idea for punishment came from you." I thanked Nagi for passing me a slice of the cake and took a bite. "Urgh."

Too early to start eating, taste buds are still messed up.

"Thank you for the cake Maya-nee!" Takeshi hugged me, "It's really tasty!"

"That's good to hear," I put the plate down and watched the others converse.

"Oh? It seems you're not hungry," Binachi placed a plate of…something in front of me. "Maybe this will help, I'm quite proud of this one!"

"Um." It was bubbling and still purple but it looked like pancakes. I think. "Really, thank you Bianchi-san…but I'm still full from the drink earlier."

Reborn hopped onto my shoulder and whispered, "You're the only one that can eat Bianchi's cooking besides her brother, she got really excited and cooked you something special you know."

Wow, way to play on my guilty conscience Reborn.

Letting out a quiet sigh, I picked up the plate and took a bite. The texture was kind of rubbery but the taste was fine, "Hm, it's pretty good! You might've cooked it a bit too long though but other than that it's great!"

Bianchi gave me a grateful smile and hummed happily. She and Tsuyoshi were chatting about recipes, Tsuyoshi gave me an apologetic look but I smiled and shrugged. I mouthed 'what can you do'.

Lambo and I-pin were playing with Fong and Nagi in a round of cards. Kyouya, Tsuna and Takeshi were sitting with me under the kotatsu. The evening tonight was cool and the kotatsu was a source of comfortable warmth for our legs.

Tsuna shuffled closer to me, looking at my complexion. "Are you going to be okay Maya-nee?"

"Think of it this way, if I eat enough I'll gain immunity and maybe stop passing out." I said optimistically, I finished the last bite and put the plate back down. I noticed that Lambo was staring at my cake longingly, laughing I gave him my slice. It's not like I would be able to finish it anyways.

"And how are you feeling Tsuna?" I turned to the younger and lifted his bangs, "It's a bit scary seeing you shot in the head."

"I'm fine," He lifted both arms up and tried to flex showing that he was fine, but in reality it made him look very cute; like a baby lion trying to look big. Tsuna sheepishly laughed when he saw me hiding mine, "This isn't the first time that Reborn shot me in the head, he always makes sure that I have a regret so that the bullet works. And afterwards I always have clothing to wear."

"That's actually quite nice of Reborn."

"Well, he says if he doesn't do it he'll have three angry siblings after him if I caught a cold."

I laughed and wobbled a bit.

"Cool, I think I lasted longer this time."

I slumped over the table and passed out.

After Takeshi's birthday party, we also celebrated Kyouya's and Lambo's in May. Kyouya adamantly declined a party saying that it was a hassle, so Tsuna and I just made a more elaborate dinner at his house.

Lambo's was a bit… livelier. The birthday boy got a little bit too rowdy and aimed the Ten Year Bazooka at himself. It would've been fine if Bianchi didn't see TYL!Lambo. Cue in a massive fight and Kyouya's patience snapping and biting everyone to death. Luckily the Vongola's repair services were really fast so the next day all the damages at Kyouya's were fixed.

The bells signalling that a customer arrived rang, Tsuyoshi and I greeted them, "Welcome to TakeSushi!"

"Is Amaya-san here?" Two girls wearing different uniforms walked up to the counter. I recognized the Namimori middle school one, but I didn't know the other. One had dark brown hair in a ponytail and the other with a lighter, almost orange shade of hair. "Tsuna-san told us to tell you that they'll be arriving a bit later so you don't need to prepare a snack right away."

"They said they'll be an hour late at most."

"Oh, thank you…?" The two looked familiar, don't think I've seen them around town or in the shop.

"Oh! We're sorry, we should've introduced ourselves first. I'm Sasagawa Kyoko and this is Miura Haru! We're friends with Tsuna-kun."

Oh, the love interests of Tsuna finally show up. Oh wait is Nagi a love interest too? But then again, everyone could be a love interest with Tsuna. Didn't an author say that Tsuna was basically the ultimate uke?

…

Bad thoughts. Abort, abooooort!

Shaking my head, I smiled at the two. "Nice to meet you, Maya is fine by the way. Thank you for taking the time to tell me."

"No problem!" Haru chirped, "We've been meaning to come here for an after school snack anyways!"

"Yes," Kyoko brought her hands together, "Yamamoto-kun always told us that his father's sushi was the best in town!"

"Hahaha, I need to make sure to live up to that expectation then!" Tsuyoshi laughed.

Smiling fondly, I took the two's order and served them while chatting. Today there weren't many guests so I could afford a conversation. It was sort of refreshing talking about the latest fashion trends and what sweets were currently popular in Namimori. Apparently the two met at a local sweets shop and became fast friends over the various treats there.

"Maya-san, you have to try the parfait next time with us! It's absolutely delicious!" Haru excitedly said.

"It sounds tasty." Noticing a deliveryman, I excused myself. TakeSushi was running low on take-out boxes and Tsuyoshi told me that we would have a delivery at this time. Checking that the amount was correct along with other miscellaneous things I signed the order sheet and packed everything away.

I turned around and blinked when Haru and Kyoko were focused intently on me. Checking my clothes, there weren't any stains or anything weird on me, I looked behind my pants, yup no blood (thank goodness). I asked them why they were looking at me like that.

"Maya-san is so grown-up." Haru said wistfully, " Haru wonders if Haru was like Maya-san would Tsuna-san…" She ended her sentence by squealing and shaking her head frantically in embarrassment.

"We always wondered who Maya-san was, Yamamoto-kun, Nagi-chan and Tsuna-kun would talk about going home on time to eat snacks that you'd prepare and help out at TakeSushi." Kyoko explained. "Even Hibari-san talked about you! You're famous in our school."

"Ah well…." I said awkwardly, looking away from the two. Spotting the clock, I used the time as an excuse to ready Tsuna's, Takeshi's and Nagi's snack. "Oh look, we've been talking for almost an hour. Gotta go make their snack!"

Tsuyoshi handed me the plate of sushi for the students. He nudged me, "Seems like you got a pair of fans."

I blushed, "I don't think so. They're just wondering who I am. Besides working here, shopping near grandma's place, and Kyouya's house, I rarely meet with other people…so not a lot of people know who I am."

"Hmm…you did appear out of nowhere."

"Yup."

"Tadaima!" Three voices shouted.

"Okaeri!" Tsuyoshi and I replied. Tsuna, Nagi, Takeshi and Kyouya arrived back and took spots next to Kyoko and Haru. I set the plates down in front of the youngest students and asked Kyouya what he would like to eat. He normally appears after Nagi, Tsuna, and Takeshi were finished homework or working at TakeSushi so I didn't have a plate for him.

"Hamburger steak."

I sighed, "You know, you need to expand your food list." But I started preparing the steak for Kyouya, for some reason Tsuyoshi would always have ground beef and pork around in the fridge. Gathering the ingredients, I also grabbed a few carrots. I saw Kyouya slightly grimace, I stuck out my tongue at him, who would've thought that the Hibari Kyouya hated carrots?

"Tsuna-san, today Reborn-chan isn't with you?" Haru asked.

"Ah, he said he'll be here soon with Bianchi-san."

"Bianchi-san?" Kyoko questioned. "Is she also a student somewhere else?"

"She's my fourth lover." Reborn piped up, Bianchi and him had finally arrived at the shop.

"Ehhh? Reborn-chan already has a lover!?" Haru shouted in shock.

"I want panna cotta." Reborn demanded. I sighed again, covering the frying pan with a lid to let the hamburger steak steam. Ever since Reborn joined Tsuna and the others to visit TakeSushi, I always kept panna cotta in the fridge just in case.

"I don't know about feeding a baby so much sugar…"

"It's fine. A hit man never gets fat."

"That's not the issue…" I shook my head in annoyance. "By the way, where is Lambo?"

"With Fong and I-pin."

"The two of them really like to play together," Nagi mentioned. "He will be coming back in the evening."

"I see."

Huh, so Lambo and I-pin get along pretty well in this world. Guess she doesn't see him as a broccoli monster. Well at least he has someone to hang out with in the day since Nagi and the others are in school.

"Is there anything you would like Bianchi-san?"

"Sashimi is fine."

"Alright, assorted sashimi coming right up!"

Once I gave Bianchi and Kyouya their food, Reborn announced Takeshi's prize from his birthday party. Since it was nearing the evening, more customers came in so I only caught a few snippets of the conversation.

"Yamamoto's prize are tickets to Mafia Land. It's open in the summer so it'll be the perfect time to visit it. It has an amusement park, beaches, and a training area. The tickets include an all-round trip and a week at the hotels."

"The name sounds so suspicious…" Tsuna muttered.

Colonnello appears I think…so does Skull. And a gigantic octopus?

"Can all of us go?" Takeshi asked.

Reborn nodded, "You can also treat it as a study trip. You're bound to have quite a bit of homework for summer break."

"Can Haru-chan and Kyoko-chan come as well?" Nagi quietly asked. Having more females on the trip would be great for Nagi, sometimes having so many males around was suffocating.

"I don't see why not."

Nagi smiled and shyly high-fived Haru and Kyoko. I continued taking orders and serving customers until it finally died down. Tsuyoshi and I concentrated on clearing up dishes and preparing for the next day while the others continued chatting.

Tsuyoshi popped up beside me. "Didn't you say you wanted to go to Canada during the summer break?"

"Yeah, but not at the same time as when they leave. Who's going to help you with the shop then?"

Tsuyoshi chuckled, "I think I can handle a week without help Maya."

"You're not coming to Mafia Land?" Tsuna looked sadly at me, catching the end of our talk.

"Tsuna, we talked about your puppy eyes. Stop it." I pleaded and averted my gaze from him. "I was thinking of going to Canada in the summer."

"To find your family." Kyouya said, speaking for me.

"Hahi? I thought Maya-san was Yamamoto-kun's sister."

"Adopted cousin really," I clarified. "My real parents passed away when I was really young so I always wanted to see where I came from."

"How long will you be gone?" Nagi also looked sadden that I couldn't come. Argh, the two of them had the most heart-breaking puppy eyes ever, I almost regret teaching them the look.

"Three days? I'm only going to check out a few locations, relax a day and come back."

"All alone?" Reborn suddenly piped up. "You should at least bring someone else with you."

"Ah…but everyone should go and have fun at Mafia Land. I don't want to drag people around just for a few days and then just head back to Japan. I'll be fine by myself."

"Hmm…"

I stared quizzically at Reborn but shrugged. At my age I should be able to handle myself at the airport and airplane ride, I wasn't sure why Reborn was insisting for me to bring someone with me.

"Vongola will help you with your flight. It wouldn't do for someone in Tsuna's Family to be flying in anything other than first class."

"First class-?" I choked on spit, "I can't afford that!"

"Just put it on Tsuna's tab."

"Hiee?"

Summer arrived and everyone had decided on the week they would go to Mafia Land. I planned my trip, ignoring Reborn's suggestion at first class, I booked my economy flight with my own money.

"First class is much better you know."

"I'm aware of that," I sighed. Why was that when I'm around Reborn I sighed more? "But first of all, can't afford first class. Second, I'm not going to make Tsuna pay for my trip when I can pay for it myself. Third, which one of us has a job?"

"He can pay it when he becomes Vongola Decimo."

"Wouldn't that be bad for Tsuna? Like taking the position and already in debt?"

"Vongola isn't poor."

"That's not the issue…"

Double-checking that Tsuyoshi would be alright if all the young ones leaving and receiving an fond yet irritated yes that he would be fine, I confirmed my ticket. A day before we left, everyone was preparing for the trip. I made sure Nagi, Tsuna and Kyouya had enough clothes as well as medicine in case anything went wrong.

"Aren't you a bit too prepared, Maya-nee?" Takeshi asked while I was helping them pack.

I hummed, "You never know what happens when you leave your home. There's nothing worse getting sick and you don't have the medicine for it right away."

"You could go to the store and get it?"

"That's true, but I don't really trust the places that Reborn recommends." I admitted. "Also you guys are going on a boat to get there, I'm not sure if there are any stores on boat for your trip."

Tsuna chuckled, "Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"Ugh," My face grimaced as I recalled the memory when I was a kid on a boat. "I ate something bad on the boat, got sick and vomited on a poor lady's shoe. I think from then on I made sure for any future trips to get medicine beforehand."

Takeshi scrunched up his nose, "Gross."

"Yup." Popping the 'p' at the end, I double checked the list and nodded in satisfaction that everyone had everything. "That's the last of it."

"I'm excited for the trip!" Takeshi stretched and flopped onto the ground. "But sucks that we have homework to do as well."

"No slacking off," Kyouya warned.

Takeshi pouted, "Kyou-nii, you're coming too. You won't let us slack of anyways!"

Nagi giggled, "With everyone there we'll finish in no time."

"I hope so. Ikuta-sensei's homework is always so hard."

We chatted about miscellaneous things until it was time to sleep. Everyone was drowsy and decided to sleep in the living room under the kotatsu. Evening was still chilly and it was big enough for the five of us to lie in a row. Though Kyouya sat near the window to look outside before heading to sleep.

He waits for all of us to sleep first before joining… shy as always Kyouya.

I was about to fall asleep when Tsuna's voice quietly murmured to me from behind.

"You…will come back right, Maya-nee?"

I turned around and glomped Tsuna. I squeezed until he squeaked and laughed, trying to shove me off. I heard Nagi and Takeshi giggle and a snort from Kyouya.

"I'll come back. I'm just going to finally end my 'what if my family is still here?' question. I'm pretty sure they're not and even if they were, I'll come back. Here is where I belong."

"Okay." Tsuna squeaked out. "…Air…"

"Amaya."

"Yes yes," I relaxed my grip but kept my grip around Tsuna. I sleepily yawned and rested my head against Tsuna's puffy hair. "Tsuna…you're like a teddy bear."

"What?"

"A biiiiig fluffy teddy bear!" Nagi continued giggling, I dragged her closer to hug her as well. The two were small so I was able to get both of them in my grasp. "My teddy bears…" I mumbled.

Remember when I said that when I just wake up I get weird? It also applies when I'm about to fall asleep as well.

"Hug!" Takeshi flopped down onto Nagi's other side, causing the three of us to groan and adjust our limbs so it wasn't poking anyone else. "Kyou-nii…" Takeshi whined.

"No."

"Kyou-nii." The three of them pleaded. I did a mix of yawning and giggling.

"Come on Kyouya. They won't sleep until you come join us."

"Join us." Tsuna, Nagi, and Takeshi said creepily, like they were ghosts trying to lure innocent people in their haunted house. "Join us…."

My eyes were closed so I didn't see Kyouya get up but I heard shuffling sounds, three taps against heads, giggling, and felt Kyouya setting down next to me. He didn't join the hug but him being there was enough.

"Bring us gifts from Canada!" Lambo demanded.

The airport was pretty close to the dock where everyone needed to go to Mafia Land. My flight was earlier than their departure so everyone wanted to say goodbye before we all left.

"Yes Lambo, I'll make sure to bring gifts."

"Take care. I hope you find what you need to find in Canada."

"Thanks Nagi-chan. Take care of the boys okay?"

"Don't worry about us, Maya-nee!" Takeshi assured me, he brought his arms up to go around Tsuna's and Kyouya's and smiled widely. "We'll take care of each other!"

"Takeshi, get off me."

"Have a safe trip."

Hugging everyone goodbye, I boarded my plane. Luckily I had the window seat and watched the airport get smaller and smaller. Sinking in to the seat, I let out a weary sigh. Flipping on the little TV in front of me, I tried to distract myself for the next ten hours or so.

The plane making a thud sound on the ground woke me up. Yawning, I stretched and looked outside the window. The sky was dark.

Dang, it's raining. Not surprising since this place is close to 'Raincouver'.

I passed through customs, it was a bit weird to see the lady search up my name, looked shocked, and quickly ushered me through. Weird. It wasn't until I noticed a little clam stamp on my passport that I knew who made sure I would enter Canada without a problem.

Ugh, it's not like I'm doing anything bad. I can handle four days here without Reborn's help.

Locating my luggage, I headed to the hotel area, found my room and settled in. Tsuyoshi had lent me a smartphone so I could have access to hotel Wifi. Searching up my bus/skytrain route, I figured out what time to wake up and which buses to take back to my home neighbourhood.

Taking a shower, I changed my clothes and went to bed.

I'm finally back.

I sat down at a local café located in the middle of the campus and sighed. My house is definitely not the one that I grew up in nor my cousin's house. Several places around my neighbourhood changed as well. It wasn't because time had passed since the year was still the same, it truly was a different world I'm in.

Resigned, but glad that I finally had closure, I headed to my university campus. I considered it one of the best scenic places here, especially since today was a sunny day. I visited the tourist spots, like the Harry Potter room, the giant blue whale skeleton and the beautiful Japanese garden. After aimlessly wandering, I found myself at the café, lost in my thoughts.

Well...it's not like it was a big surprise. I am living in a manga world, but it's nice to get a closure and a break from all the craziness.

Instead of gunshots and yelling, it was quiet with birds chirping in the background. Occasionally I would hear feet slapping on the cement ground because students were rushing from one side to the other side of campus. Around me were students on their laptops, reading or laughing at the latest design on the 'E' cairn. At least that is one thing that won't change ever.

Sipping my latte, I quietly thought what gifts I should bring back for the others back in Japan. What would be a stereotypical Canadian gift?

Maple candy…maple syrup…igloo…Tim Hortons mug…hockey sweaters?

Deep in thought, I was a bit startled when someone spoke beside me in Japanese. "Is it alright if I sit here? There are no other spots."

"Oh, sure." I shifted to let him have room for his legs. It took me a few seconds to realize something was odd.

Wait, how did he know that I could speak Japanese?

"It's nice to finally meet you."

The man sitting in front of me calmly sipped on his coffee. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a bag of marshmallows. Biting into the marshmallow, he rested his other hand against his face, right below a purple upside-down crown tattoo.

I put my latte down, afraid that my shaking hands would spill it everywhere. I swallowed, hoping to get the lump in my throat down.

"It's nice to meet you too, Byakuran-san."

The white-haired male laughed, "Oh no, that won't do! Let's drop the formalities shall we, Maya-chan?"

"I think let's stick with formalities." I gripped my hands below the table, trying to steady them. Nothing made sense anymore, Byakuran was supposed to show up way later. Tsuna didn't even meet all his guardians yet! How on earth does he know my name too?

"Well, if you insist." Byakuran grabbed another marshmallow and sipped his coffee. He smiled as I made a disgusted face, "The combination is actually delicious, I recommend it!"

"No thanks."

"You're so cold, Maya-chan," Byakuran whined. "I wanted to get familiar with you before talking business."

I gripped my bag in case I had to run. "What do you mean?"

"You must be wondering why you were sent to this world." He said it so nonchalantly that I couldn't even react to his statement. "It's not too hard if you think about it."

"Of course it is!"

"Now now, no need to get upset." Byakuran gestured to the students around us. "Let's not disturb their study, hm?"

I clicked my tongue, nodding at him to continue.

"Do you remember the Tri-ni-set?"

Nodding slowly, I tried to remember what I remembered from reading, "It's like the foundation of the world. The power was split between rings and the pacifiers."

Byakuran grinned, popping another marshmallow in his mouth. "And each families' power?"

"The rainbow comes and goes, the clam passes down its power from generation to generation and the sea…" I trailed off, glaring at Byakuran. "It was you!"

"Yup!" I swear I could see the heart emoticon when he said that. "I was the one to bring you here."

I wanted to punch that smiling face so bad right now, but we were in a public place. Probably why he chose to talk to me now instead of somewhere else secluded on campus, sneaky. I took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm myself.

"Alright," I pinched the bridge of my nose, collecting my thoughts on how to interrogate this annoying man. "So you brought me to this world because of your power. So tell me, why?"

"I should start off that I am not this world's Byakuran." He winked at me. "I'm from another world too, so that's why I thought we could connect with each other."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? Seeing that you voluntarily cross worlds and brought me in it, I don't see how we could connect."

Bringing a hand up to his chest, Byakuran made the motion that a knife stabbed him in the heart. "Maya-chan, how cruel."

"And? So you're not this world's Byakuran meaning there is still another Byakuran in this world that's running around causing mayhem."

"That's one way of putting it. Yes, this world's Byakuran hasn't met the future me of this world." He took a sip of coffee to let the information sink in my head. So, what he's trying to tell me is that he isn't evil. "As you know, in 10 years this world will be taken over by me from this world. He'll go to other worlds to gather his Wreaths."

"But Tsuna will defeat him." I argued. "I don't understand why I'm here."

Byakuran continued on, ignoring my words. "Did you know? In all the worlds there is always a parallel self of you, a duplicate if you will. But it's strange, as I was travelling across worlds one person was different."

"Who?"

"You." Byakuran leaned his chin against his hand, staring intently at me. "At first, I thought your original world's inhabitants were all the same but it wasn't. Everyone else had a parallel self save you. What makes you so special?"

What?

"Like I know." I replied back numbly.

"So I asked for advice, from Tsunayoshi-kun and Yuni-chan where I'm from originally. They didn't know much about it but agreed that it was strange. Yuni-chan then had a vision, the world that you were placed in had a sudden… alteration to put it lightly."

"Alteration?" I thought back to everything that happened. "You mean how Nana left, leaving Tsuna with Kyouya. How the order of the guardians appearing to Tsuna has changed."

"Bingo." Byakuran snapped his fingers. "Then from a reliable source, they told us to place you in this world. The one person whose parallel self isn't found in any world, they said it would balance this world's changes. Something like that."

"What about my life?" I snapped angrily, "Don't I get a say in this?"

"We had no other choice, if you weren't placed here, the ripples of this world's alterations would affect all the other worlds. It would mean the end of the universe."

"I'm not the hero in a video game." I hissed out. "I can't save the world. Only Tsuna can."

"But you can't deny the fact that you don't have a parallel self. You can help him."

"Did your source say that?" I asked bluntly. "Who is your source anyways?"

"Can't say at this point." Byakuran said mysteriously, standing up from his chair. "Well, this is all that I can say now. It was nice meeting you."

"Wait-!"

"I wouldn't move if I were you. I've been using mist flames to make a weak illusion while we were talking; you've got some company following you since you've landed. If you move now you'll break it."

"What…?"

Byakuran walked passed me, patting my shoulder along the way. "Don't worry, at the end of this you'll get your name and memories back. Good luck, the world is counting on you."

I didn't turn around, but I could feel wind behind and a flash. Students were still on their laptops, people were stilling running to class and the birds were still chirping. All that was left of this encounter was my cold latte, a bag of half-eaten marshmallows and a single feather.

A/N: I was debating on releasing this on Feb 21st just to make it a year but I decided to go ahead and upload it. Can't promise I'll have a steady uploading schedule, it seems my writing drive appears when midterms happen...