Sawada Tsunami, daughter of Sawada Nana, woke to a brand-new, bright and sunny day. Her head rolled to the side and checked on the time. A groan, soft and worn out, bubbled up and escaped from her throat. Sitting upright, she ran a hand through her short, abnormally fluffy hair. The naturally spiky locks bent beneath the pressure before popping back up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and slipped out of bed. Lethargically, she grabbed one of the uniforms from her closet and got dressed. Glancing at the mirror that hung on the back of her door, she smiled and nodded to herself. Deciding to wear the boy's uniform was the greatest decision she had ever made. Those skirts for the girl's uniforms were way too short for someone as active and danger prone as her.

' And to think,' she thought as she eyed the red armband circling her gakuran's right arm, ' I only had to agree to be secretary for Hibari-senpai and his Discipline Committee.'

He rarely tried to bite her to death anymore!

She left her room, closing the door behind her, and sedately walked down the staircase. She didn't have to be at Nami-High early for her duties today.

A sudden, foreboding chill ran down her spine.

She froze on the steps. Her pink tongue flicked out and wet her lips as she tried to figure out what her abnormal instincts were trying to warn her about. Her mother could be heard puttering about downstairs. The smells meant that breakfast was done or nearly there. Nothing out of the ordinary... and yet, her instincts kept blaring like a siren in the still of night.

"Mom?" Tsunami called out as she continued her trek down the stairs.

"Oh, Tsu-chan! I was just getting ready to wake you up." Sawada Nana smiled at her from the kitchen doorway. "Oh! Tsu-chan, you won't believe what came in with the paper today."

Tsuna blinked and frowned. Her instincts flared up again. "What? Did that bastard send us something again?"

Nana frowned and gave her daughter a Look. "Now, Tsuna, there's no reason to call your father that."

"He's never here." Tsuna grit out between her teeth before sighing heavily, running a hand through her hair. Her shoulders drooped as she gave her mother a rather sad, knowing look. "I hate it when you cry over him, Mama."

"Tsuna..."

"Mom, please. I will never respect that bastard for what he's done to you."

Nana closed her eyes and sighed. She knew her daughter wouldn't change her mind. Part of her heart broke when she thought about just how much her daughter hated, even despised, her father. There was no need to rehash that argument again. No one's position would change. "No, it wasn't anything from Iemitsu. No, I got this flier for a home tutor."

Tsuna stared at her mother before placing her hand at her temple. "Mom, I don't need a tutor. My grades are perfectly fine. They have been since I was 9."

"But, Tsu-chan, listen to this." Here Nana pulled the flier out of her apron pocket and held it up to read. "I can train your child to become the leader of the next generation. Doesn't that sound interesting? You could become a leader."

Once more that cold feeling ran down Tsuna's spine. She fought back the urge to shudder. Her mother didn't really need to know she was already sort-of, kind-of a leader already that she would really her dear, sweet, innocent mother not find out about. Nope. Not at all. This tutor thing had to go. Now.

"But I'm so busy with my activities with the Discipline Committee. I don't know if I'll have any extra time, Mom."

Her mother only giggled. "Too late, Tsu-chan. I've already called them. They said someone would be over today. All we'll have to provide is three meals a day and room and board."

Tsuna opened her mouth to protest only to fall silent when the front bell rang. She tensed and turned to look at the door. Her mother giggled and scampered to let the person in. Something deep inside her told her that running would be futile.

The front door opened and in stepped a…baby? Tsuna blinked before going rapidly pale. Black suit? Check. Fedora? Check. Lizard... thing? Check. Yellow pacifier? Fucking double check. What the hell was the greatest hitman in the world doing at her door?

"Ciaossu."

"Oh, aren't you adorable." Nana knelt down and was cooing over the toddler. "Are you lost?"

"I am the home tutor you called. My name is Reborn."

Tuna's racing thoughts came to a complete, screeching halt. Her heart pounded in her chest and her eyes went wide. The baby stared up at her and a small smirk crossed its face. However, she could feel, sense, that the baby was confused by her reactions. Good. Maybe she could still get out of this.

"Mom, he has to be kidding. I mean, how could a baby be a tutor?" She glanced at the clock and frowned. "I've got to go or I'll be late. I have no desire to spar with Hibari-senpai today."

Not waiting for an answer, the 16-year-old girl grabbed her bag, put on her shoes, and out the door she went before she started to sprint down the street. Once more she was thankful for the fact she wore the boy's uniform. That tiny piece of fabric the school insisted was a skirt would have already flown up and given everyone on the street a panty shot had she been wearing it. She growled at the thought and slowed down a bit. There wasn't a real need to hurry. She had enough time to get to Nami-High before the first bell and Hibari-senpai hated rumpled uniforms just a little less than he abhorred lateness and crowding.

"We need to talk, Sawada Tsunami."

She stopped in her tracks and looked behind her. Standing on a wall, Reborn looked down at her in all his glory. She swallowed dryly and bowed her head in resignation. This was not going to end well.

"Ah, so what is a baby doing as a tutor? How did a baby become a tutor in the first place?"

"Actually I am a hitman." He looked down at her and frowned when he noticed the forced reaction she was showing. The laughter was strained to his rather experienced ears. Her eyes too hard for what they should have been if Iemitsu's file was to be believed. And why was she wearing the male uniform anyway? Potential gender identity issues on top of everything else. Well, he had worked with a lot less than what he was seeing with her. At least she was in somewhat good shape if that sprint of hers was anything to go by, and she had to have a bit of knowledge about handling paperwork if she was a secretary. Yes, he could work with this.

"Tsuna-chan!" a bright, female voice called from down another street. Tsuna's head shot up and a smile, small but more real than any the hitman had seen on her face so far, formed.

"Kyoko-chan!"

"Ah, is this one of your late days?" The auburnette girl asked, smiling, as she ran over. Looking up at Reborn, she let out a high-pitched squee. "Oh, is he your brother, Tsuna-chan?"

"No."

"I'm a hitman." Tsuna frowned and looked over at him. Quirking an eyebrow she narrowed her eyes at him. The hitman smiled.

It wasn't a nice one.

"That is so adorable."

"I'm from the mafia."

Tsuna sighed. Wasn't he supposed to keep a low profile, being Mafia and all? "Come on, Kyoko-chan. We need to get to school before the bell rings, unless you want to deal with Hibari-senpai."

The bubbly girl nodded to her friend and took off down the road. The younger of the Sasagawa children wasn't nearly as fast as her brother, but the girl could cover ground when she needed to. Tsuna had incited the girl learn to run after poor Kyoko had nearly gotten caught by a group of bullies back when they were 13. The bullies had wanted revenge of Kyoko's brother, Ryohei, but knew they wouldn't be a match for the boxer and had chosen to go after his blaring weakness instead. It was that fight where Tsuna had used her recently learned fighting skills to fight off the group of five boys and had come to the attention of one Hibari Kyouya. Tsuna never wondered if it had been worth it as Kyoko was a good friend, a bit of a ditz but a good friend. Still, why did Hibari have to notice her?

She shook her head. No time to whine about it. She gave one last look to the baby, who was staring at her intently. She gave him a little wave and followed in Kyoko's footsteps. Best not to be late. No need to get bitten to death after all.

Namimori High School wasn't exactly the best school in the town. That titled belonged to Midori High, an all girl's school Tsuna could have attended if she had better grades. Nami-High was good enough for her though with the fact that the teachers didn't expect too much from their students. Her grades put her at the upper-middle of her class and her general attitude and the fact she was part of the Discipline Committee—and thus 'Hibari's woman' according to a dozen or so rumors floating around at any given time—kept most people away from her. The only reason Kyoko and her best friend Hana hung around her was the fact that Tsuna was willing to fight off bullies and thugs. Their friendship had grown from there, but Tsuna did keep a part of herself separate from them. No need to drag them down into her world.

A frown crossed Tsuna's lips. There was a rather interesting gathering going on at the front gate. She looked around and the frown deepened. No members of the Disciplinary Committee present. Well, she pulled her jacket tightly across her frame, looks like she had a job to do. Perhaps Hibari would be attracted by the noise if she could just make one of them squeak like a small ,fluffy animal.

"So what do you say, Kyoko? When should I pick you up?" The male voice was slimy and made Tsuna's skin crawl. Only a handful of males could do that and only one attended Nami-High. Mochida Kensuke, captain of the kendo team and a self-proclaimed ladies man. Her lips pulled back in a snarl as she stalked forward. Some of her fellow students noticed the black gakuran and the red armband and quickly vacated the area. Sure, she wasn't Hibari-senpai but where there was one member of the Committee, others were soon to follow, including their volatile leader.

She stood at the gates and looked over the scene. Mochida was leaning in on Kyoko's personal space. He had what he must have thought was a flirtatious grin on his face. He looked constipated to her, but she was known to have a different idea of what was attractive in a male.

Mochida was not it.

Her attention turned to Kyoko. The auburnette was uncomfortable. She shifted from foot to foot and was leaning away from Mochida's advance. She eyed his hand when he reached to place it on her shoulder. A flinch, probably not noticeable by the other students, crossed her face. That was all Tsuna needed to act.

"Mochida, back away from Sasagawa now." Her voice rang through the air as she put as much of her authority in it as possible. The kendoist pulled back immediately, an ingrained reaction.

She could feel eyes on her back. The hitman had probably followed her. Wonderful.

The kendoist scrunched up his face. Tsuna thought the boy was trying to glare at her. "I wasn't doing anything, Sawada."

"You were making Sasagawa uncomfortable and your actions are creeping into sexual harassment territory," she replied matter-of-fact. Her arms crossed over her chest. Her lips peeled up in a sneer as she watched his eyes go from her face to her chest. Hand flashing out, she smacked the boy upside the head. "My eyes are a bit further up, Mochida. Now back off or I'll get Hibari on your case."

The mention of the demon prefect caused everyone to go pale or sickly and start to scatter. Mochida glared at her and stomped away. Kyoko, and Hana who was rushing over from where some of the other girls in their class had waylaid her, watched silently as he left.

"Keep your eye out around him," Tsuna warned the two girls. "He's not going to give up until someone beats it into his brain that women are not possessions."

"Probably you if he keeps pissing you off like this," Hana nodded. "Well, we better get to class before the bell rings."

Tsuna glanced behind her at an old tree that overlooked the schoolyard. "I'll be there in a second. Go on without me."

"Monkey?" Tsuna shook her head at Hana and waved the two girls to go on. Previous experience with the rather standoffish girl made both Kyoko and Hana shrug to each other and wander toward the classroom.

Tsuna took a deep breath and turned to face the tree. She quirked an eyebrow and tapped her foot. There was a faint rustle and Reborn popped, seemingly out of nowhere, onto the school's wall. Hitman and student stared at each other. Neither was willing to back down, but Tsuna knew one of them had to give. It might as well be her as her instinct told her the hitman wouldn't be the first to move.

"Reborn."

"Interesting way to deal with that boy."

She snorted. "That boy thinks he's a hotshot and a lady killer. The fact that he has three airhead girlfriends doesn't help and I do not want one of my few female friends, especially one as innocent as Kyoko, to fall into his trap. Was there anything you needed or are you just going to stalk me all day?"

"I am observing, not stalking."

"Same meaning, different words. What do you want, Reborn?"

"You'll see, Tsunami. You'll see."

After Reborn's ominous little threat, Tsuna had hurried to her classroom before the first late bell. She rolled her head and shoulders to try to get the tenseness out of her muscles. The hitman put her on edge. Her instincts screamed and raged that he was a threat. She knew that. Hell, she knew his reputation, what little of it that actually made its way to Japan. The man was the go-to person if you needed someone offed. His prices were exorbitant, but well worth it if your target was difficult. He was also a playboy of some type, but she ignored that one. Who would want to be in a relationship with a baby?

Class droned on by at a snail's pace. The teachers spoke in a monotone that put more than one student to sleep and the subject matter held very little interest for her. If it wasn't for the fact she needed to get into a good university, she'd be asleep just like Yamamoto was. The only reason the teachers didn't come down on him was his position as the star player of the baseball team.

"Did you hear?" Hana asked as she sidled over to her and Kyoko's side during lunch. "Word going around is that Mochida is going to challenge you, Tsuna. He's claiming your impugning on Kyoko's honor with your less than pure intentions."

"…He's calling me a lesbian, isn't he?"

A junior member of the kendo club stepped into the classroom and gulped audibly. All three girls turned to look at him. In his hand, clutched tightly in his fingers an envelope shook. The boy was shaking. Tears prickled at the corner of his eyes as he made a jittery approach toward Tsuna. The classroom went quiet. More than a few eyes had gone wide in surprise and glee as that particular rumor was looking to be true. Tsuna simply sighed and took the offered envelope. The kendo student muttered something, no one could quite understand what with how fast he had been talking, and flew out of the room as if the hounds of hell were on his tail.

"So…? Hana leaned over her friend's shoulder and read the letter at the same time Tsuna did. "That boy really is an idiot monkey."

A grim look crossed Tsuna's face as she abandoned her bento and walked out the door. This wasn't the first time she had been called a lesbian because of her friendship with Kyoko. Whispered words were a female teenager's knife and gun. No, that's not what was bothering her this time. It was the sheer audacity of Mochida to declare that the winner would get Kyoko as his prize, as if women were objects meant to be won and paraded around like things rather than people. Her blood boiled. This kind of thinking was something she had sought to eliminate from Namimori even if she had to bloody her fists in order to do so. Seems she still had a bit of work to do.

"Kusakabe-senpai," she greeted the second-in-command of the Disciplinary Committee, "is Hibari-senpai in?"

"No. I take it this is about the Mochida rumor going around. Did he actually challenge you?"

She nodded and held up the paper. "To a kendo match despite the fact I know next to nothing about kendo. I want to see if I can borrow someone to be an impartial judge. I doubt the bastard has enough honor to not tamper with things."

"I'll make sure one of the boys is there, if just to keep an eye on him." Kusakabe frowned and looked down at the papers, reports from various members. "There have been some disconcerting sightings involving the boy."

"You want me to ask my girls to keep a look out?"

He shook his head. "It's not gone that far, yet. Just tell them to be careful. There might be a new group trying to infringe on Namimori."

"Then I'll help chase them out just like I have every other time before." She shrugged. "I'll have the girls be more alert though. If it's another yakuza group, they'll go after the girls first."

"Unless your reputation is spreading."

She laughed. "Very funny. Well, I better get back to class. Just make sure someone is there to keep an eye on the idiot."

Beady black eyes watched from a hidden room as she walked away. The diminutive figure inside smirked. Well now, this was interesting.

Classes were over. Tsuna made her way to the gym where the challenge had said to meet. A crowd had already started to gather. She could spot a few of her fellow Committee members lurking in the shadows. No Hibari-senpai though. The prefect had probably been briefed by Kusakabe and decided that she could handle such herbivores herself. More than likely he was lurking somewhere and watching. He always seemed interested in her fights and had regularly tried to bite her to death until they'd made their deal. Her dodging skills had vastly improved under his assaults. She rarely broke any bones anymore.

"So you showed up," Mochida jeered from his place in the center of the gym. He was dressed in his kendo garb and waving around a shinai like an idiot. Really, how was this the captain of the kendo team?

"You are an idiot," she stated blandly and walked toward him. Her steps were neither hurried in anticipation or slow in nervousness. They were steady, in time with her heart beat. "I don't take kindly to people calling women objects."

"Huh?"

"You said the prize was Kyoko. Have you thought that maybe Kyoko doesn't want to be a prize? Did you ask her permission? Don't answer that. I know the answer to that one. You didn't." She raged against him. A few girls in the audience gasped. She wondered if it was because of her words or the fact she was back-talking Mochida. A few girls, and boys to her surprise, nodded in agreement with her.

"Wait, you're not here because I called you a lesbian?" The boy was honestly confused. His head titled to the side like some kind of cute puppy. Tsuna had to suppressed a laugh. It came out as a strangled snort.

"I've been called a lesbian for a long time, Mochida. I learned not to let that bother me. Now are we going to do this or just stand here and snipe at each other?"

Mochida flushed and motioned for his teammates to drag out a shinai. It was obviously meant as a handicap for her considering the ones dragging it out were literally dragging it. They couldn't lift the thing. She shook her head. She was not using that thing. One of the Committee members appeared next to her with a proper weapon. She inclined her head and took a step forward onto the battlefield. No need for armor. It would only slow her down.

"I want someone neutral to judge. Your actions now show you are without honor, Mochida the Cheater."

"Cheater? I am not a cheater!"

"Your actions speak otherwise, but then what can you expect from someone stringing along three girls and trying to bag a fourth?"

The boy blanched as whispers broke out among the crowd. His face turned red as he flushed from either embarrassment or anger. A mix of the two, most likely. He made a motion to the judge. A second later the "match" had begun. She dodged out of the way on nimble feet and made a solid strike against his wrist. There wasn't enough force to break the bones, but more than enough for Mochida to drop the shinai in pain. The judge didn't call the point even if everyone knew Tsuna had won with that hit.

"Had to bribe or threaten your lackey, Mochida? Such a poor sport, but what can one expect from a cheater?"

The boy snarled and grabbed his shinai from the ground. With a roar he struck forward. Tsuna shifted stance and moved out of the way of the wild swing. Her eyes widened as he spun on his heel and tried to brain her with the bamboo sword. Gritting her teeth, she dodged backward and ducked to the side of the followup swing. Maybe she had gone a bit too far on that last comment.

Amazing how rage can affect a person.

Her ears pricked. There was a familiar sound coming from behind her. A lump formed in her stomach. There was no denying the sound of a gun being cocked. She cursed mentally. Damn, she didn't want to die fighting some ass like Mochida. Such a miserable death.

She heard a bang and turned her head.

The bullet slammed into her forehead and knocked her backward. Thankfully that pushed her out of Mochida's strike. Pain radiated outward from the bullet's entry spot. A rush of energy soon followed it. Strength welled up within her. Her muscles felt invigorated. The world slowed down to her perception. Her hands clenched around her shinai and she leapt to her feet. A moment later her clothing exploded off of her.

"Reborn! Defeat Mochida with my Dying Will!"

After that, she wasn't entirely sure what happened. Witnesses, mainly Hana, would tell her that she hit Mochida hard enough to knock him unconscious and shatter her shinai. The judge was forced by the crowd to announce her the winner and the kendo club dragged their concussed leader off to the nurse's office. All Tsuna remembered was the rush of power and then waking up to…she screeched as she crossed her arms over her chest and in front of her body. One of her fellow Committee members threw his jacket over her to preserve what little dignity she had left. Then they hustled her out of the gym to the Committee's office. They kept spares of the school uniforms there.

Somehow, Tsuna knew that the entire chain of events could be blamed on Reborn. Her jaw clenched as she vowed to somehow get vengeance.

Tsuna grumbled to herself as she began the walk from the school. Bruises covered her arms. The Chairman had heard about what had happened in the gym and had dished out what he considered proper punishment for stripping in front of most of the student body. Her bruises had bruises.

"Interesting fight today, Tsunami."

Reborn. She twitched. A weight pushed down on her head. Lips pulled back revealing teeth as she let out a low growl. She swiped up at the baby sitting on her head. She didn't hit him, not that she expected to. Reborn landed in front of her.

"We need to talk, Tsunami."

"Yes, about that stunt you pulled back in the gym. Why the hell did you shoot me? What did you shoot me with?"

"Ah, that was a Dying Will Bullet. It causes you to enter into a state of Dying Will."

She closed her eyes and shook her head lightly. "I thought you were going to kill me, Mister World's Greatest Hitman."

"It would have if you had no regrets."

Her eyes shot open and she stared at the smiling baby. A chill ran down her back and she took a small step backwards. There was the alarm feeling coming from her instincts again. Her jaw clenched as she looked around for an escape route.

"You're not getting away, Tsunami."

"Tsuna, it's Tsuna."

"I heard your classmates calling you something else: Mujona-Tsuna."

She sighed and forced herself to relax. No one else was around. She could take a bit of time to talk to the hitman before going to the office. "They're still saying that? I thought they stopped with that when we got out of Nami-Middle. Guess they just learned not to say that where I could hear."

"Heartless-Tsuna? That must have an interesting story behind it, but never mind. We need to talk, Tsunami."

"So talk."

"Where we can't be overheard."

She looked at him and sighed. Well, there was one place they could go if he didn't want to be overheard. "I know a place. Follow me and don't be surprised. I'm betting that Bastard is the one who gave you information on me. He doesn't have a clue. I made it a game to avoid his watchers when I was 10."

Reborn nodded and jumped up onto the teen's head again. Her eyebrow twitched but she gave up on getting him down from there. She knew that the hitman outclassed her skills by an order of magnitude she didn't want to think of. The streets of Namimori passed by in a blur as she dodged around the busier commercial district and took to back alleys. The few thugs wandering around back there fled upon spotting her. A small smirk appeared on her face at the blatant fear. The working girls who were already wandering the streets gave her bright smiles and small waves as she passed and looking confused when they noticed the baby perched on her head. She shrugged and waved for them to go back to work.

Now, Reborn knew that Iemitsu was an idiot, but he had thought that the CEDEF had some skills in information gathering. Iemitsu's staff should have noticed the little things about his daughter that made no sense. Prostitutes, for that was the only thing those dolled up women could be, welcomed the teenager with smiles and kind words. Thugs ran from her very presence. She wasn't an idiot like his previous student or like how the information Iemitsu gave him said she should have been. She was confident but cold toward those that she didn't think of as hers, like that brunette girl and her friend. That would be good if he could get her to think of Vongola as hers. Now he had to break it to her that she was the sole heir to the most powerful of the mafia famiglias. Somehow he doubted the fact that her father was involved in organized crime would surprise her.

The two stopped outside a rather nondescript building. It had very few windows and didn't stick out from the other buildings around it. Tsuna fished out a key card and ran it through the reader. There was a beep and the light on the lock changed from red to green. The door opened with a gentle push. Inside was well lit if a bit empty. A handful of doors lined the hallway. A couple of men in suits moved between offices. At the sight of Tsuna, they bowed respectfully and got out of her way. She nodded to them, greeted a few by name, and made her way to an office at the end of the hall. Reborn hopped off her head and landed with all the grace of a large cat in one of the chairs. Tsuna crossed behind the rather expensive desk and sat down. She peered over her steepled hands at the baby and sighed.

"Well, what is so important you couldn't say it in the street? I mean, I doubt you were sent here just to be my home tutor."

"Very astute, Tsunami. That will serve you well. I was sent by Timoteo Vongola, the Ninth boss of the Vongola Family, to train you to become the Tenth boss."

There was a pause. "What?!"