Kazumi had a feeling that she was about to be put in an awkward situation as soon as Tsuna lead her upstairs. It was probably the way he had been so oddly discrete, that she had even picked up on it in the first place. After all, Sawada Tsunayoshi was not a discrete person. What she hadn't expected was for him to bring her up his room and say it was hers to use during her stay in the Sawada house.

Immediately she tried to protest. Tried to argue her way out by reminding him of just how much he had already done for her; which was more than she deserved. And far more than she expected. Stealing his bed would be where she finally crossed the line! But he wouldn't have it. In fact, he had been so insistent on the offer that he didn't even give her the chance to reject it. Every time she tried to reason with him, he would just return with that stupid smile of his and reject her rejection. He simply wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Okay, okay, fine!" She finally gave in. There really hadn't even been a point in arguing about it. "That doesn't mean I don't feel bad though." She pouted, earning her another humoured grin from Tsuna. "Thank you. Again." She muttered quietly, and she felt the flush in her cheeks become just the slightest bit warmer.

"You're welcome." Tsuna answered softly. "Did you need help getting back downstairs? Kaa-san said she's be making a welcome dinner for you." The gesture of generosity made Kazumi's blush turn another shade darken.

"No, I should be fine to make it down on my own." She answered quietly. She was very quickly learning to not fight against the kindness in those bearing the name Sawada. "Though to be honest, the pain meds wore off ages ago." She let out a dry and bitter laugh when she caught Tsuna's disappointed expression.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?!" He nearly shouted in a chastising tone that surprised her a bit as he followed her out of the door.

xXx

Sleep eluded Kazumi that night.

The itching of the bandages and stitches around her wrist was enough by themselves to cause her discomfort, never minding the rest of her injuries. And it didn't help that she was feeling anxious. While she knew on some level that she was relatively safe within the walls of the Sawada house, her instincts were on auto-pilot. Her body refused to relax no matter how hard she tried.

With a painful groan, Kazumi sat up and proceeded to sit on the edge of the bed, taking the now warm cold-pack away from her ribcage. She sat in silence, taking deep, rhythmic breaths to fight against both the aching pain as well as the panic that darkened her mind. She briefly entertained the thought of going down the stairs and getting her pain medication, but one look towards the door and the idea of the journey made a whimper involuntarily escape her lips. The last thing she wanted to do was wake up literately everyone in the house. Especially the children.

Kazumi carefully rolled back into the bed and settled for just making herself as comfortable as possible. She would put up with it. It wasn't like she had never fought through pain before. She's had more than her fair share of cuts and bruises from missions to prove it. She wasn't a stranger to a broken bone or two either. And it's definitely not like this was the first time she had been beaten by her father.

It was just the first time he nearly killed her.

Kazumi eventually fell into a restless sleep with far too many things stuck on her mind.

When Kazumi woke up only a few hours later, the sky was just turning light. Her room, Tsuna's room she had to remind herself, however was still dark. The morning light still hadn't reached the window. And despite being far too tired to be awake, Kazumi remained under the blankets, laying on her back and just staring at the ceiling.

After some time, she heard someone walk through the hallways outside the door. She didn't think it was Tsuna, given how light the footsteps were, and it most certainly wasn't any of the children. It had to be Nana. She was probably getting up to prepare breakfast for everyone. If there was one thing Kazumi had learned during her time in Namimori, it was definitely that Sawada Nana was the purest soul in existence. She probably didn't have a bone in her body that was capable of negativity.

With a sudden source of motivation, Kazumi slowly climbed out of bed and made to follow Nana down to the kitchen. When she finally got there, Kazumi could have sworn Nana already had the entire kitchen set up with organized chaos. Just how many people was she cooking for again? Kazumi did her best to ignore the thought that she was an extra mouth to feed and announced her presence.

"Um, Sawada-san?" She seemed to have startled Nana. Kazumi watched as she turned around with a hand over her chest and spotted Kazumi standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She probably wasn't expecting anyone else to be awake. Apparently even injuries didn't prevent her from being unintentionally stealthy.

"Oh, good morning Kazumi-chan." Nana greeted with a radiant smile as soon as she got over her fright. It was too radiant for this early in the morning, in Kazumi's opinion. But morning people were weird. "Please have a seat where ever you like. I'll have something ready for you in a moment."

"Actually," Kazumi interjected. "I was wondering if I could help somehow. I know I can't do much in my condition, but I have one good arm, though I'm not sure how good I'd be with a kitchen knife." She almost felt embarrassed for comparing her particular set of skills to those used in the kitchen. "I just… You've done more for me than you could ever know just by letting me stay here, and I just want to be able to show my appreciation somehow." Now she was embarrassed; she could feel the heat rising to her face! As for Nana, she looked a bit surprised, but that quickly changed back into her welcoming smile.

"I'd love to have your help. So then, if you don't mind, could you cut these up for me?" Nana asked, holding out the handle of the knife for Kazumi to take. Kazumi took hold of the small blade and easily handled it between her fingers as she approached the counter to assist with Nana's prep work for breakfast.

Within the hour, the other members of the household began to stumble their way into the kitchen. Reborn was first, naturally. In fact he had come down not long after Kazumi had started assisting. She knew he was watching her, making sure that she wasn't going to take advantage of a rather unique opportunity. But it didn't bother her. She couldn't even blame him. After all, how often do assassins get an opportunity to be alone with the future Vongola Decimo's mother? Though Kazumi did wish Reborn would give her some credit. Even if she wanted to kill everyone in the house, there was no way she'd live long enough to make it out the door.

She doubted she's be able to do it anyways.

A few minutes after Reborn gave his morning greeting and sat down at his place at the table, Kazumi carefully presented him his coffee and set back to work, stepping in at the stove as Nana moved to retrieve something from the fridge, then back to carefully balancing and placing dishes. From the corner of her eye, she acknowledged that Reborn was inspecting his coffee. He didn't take a sip from it until he was satisfied that it hadn't been tampered with.

"Oh, this is quite good." Reborn complimented as the light in his eyes changed just the slightest bit. "Is this a new brand Maman?"

"Hum? Not at all. Kazumi took care of the coffee this morning. Does it taste different?"

"Did I make it wrong?" Kazumi asked, slightly panicked as she eyed the coffee container on the counter. She hadn't even considered reading the brewing instructions when she made the coffee. Did she use too much coffee? Not enough water? Not enough coffee?! She clearly missed the part where Reborn enjoyed the drink. "I just made it how I normally would."

"Hum, I suppose being raised in Italia does have its benefits. You certainly know how to make a cup of Moka, Kazumi. Well done." He continued to drink the coffee, as if he hadn't just nearly given her a heart attack. Kazumi just starred at this mini-hitman, disbelief written across her flustered face. Nana laughed from beside her.

"Maybe you could make the coffee in the mornings from now on, Kazumi-chan? If Reborn-chan likes it, it must be very good."

"Y-yeah… sure." Kazumi had a sudden feeling that her stay with the Sawada's was probably going to kill her heart before it got to her sanity. She sighed and resumed setting out utensils just as Fuuta came down the stairs, fully dressed, bright eyed and bushy tailed for the day. Seriously. Morning people were scary.

"Ah, good morning Kazumi-neechan!" Fuuta greeted, and Kazumi froze.

"Nee-chan?" She repeated in a whisper as she turned stiffly to the boy who was sitting at the table with a bright, grinning face. A memory flashed through Kazumi's mind, and she found herself taking in a hiss of air through her teeth. Fuuta, being the diligent child he was, noticed her pained expression and was quick to act.

"Are you alright Kazumi-nee?" Kazumi blinked away the vision and looked down to the young, concerned face Fuuta displayed. With a weary smile, Kazumi reached and ruffled his hair.

"I'm okay, but I think I'll go and lay down for a bit. Sorry Sawada-san, I guess that's my limit."

"Don't worry dear. Do you need help getting back upstairs?" Nana reassured before asking after her. She shook her head, assuring that she would manage just fine before wordlessly making for the stairs to return to Tsuna's room. Silence followed her from the kitchen as she walked, broken only by Fuuta asking Nana if Kazumi would really be fine. She'd have to apologies later for making him worry.

Just as Kazumi reached the top of the stairs, Tsuna sluggishly emerged from the room he had been using. She walked right past him, not even fully aware that he was there. She thought she might have heard him greet her, but she only continued down the hall, lost to the dark thoughts in her own head, and closed the bedroom door behind her.

xXx

The sounds of laughter is what woke Kazumi up again later in the afternoon. That and the pounding little feet running through the hallway. By the time she was able to sit up, the door to the room was practically kicked open, and Lambo came charging in.

"AHA! DAME-TSUNA TIME TO WAKE UP! Ah… Oh. Sorry." Lambo said the second he remembered, or perhaps just realized, Tsuna's room was not in fact occupied by Tsuna and began to sneak out the way he came.

"Ah, hold on a second." Kazumi called, reaching out for the boy. "Your name was Lambo, right?" She asked, having only encountered him once or twice by this point. Lambo seemed to pause for a second then turned to Kazumi with a prideful grin on his face.

"Hehe, that's right! I am the great Lambo-sama! And who are you, my loyal servant?" Kazumi felt a twitch in her eye. Was he playing pretend or something? Whatever, she could run with it for a while.

"Well Lambo-sama, I am called Kazumi. Was there something you came looking for?" When Kazumi began to play along, Lambo looked a bit shocked. Even if it only lasted for about half a second and the child in cow printed clothing was back to his boisterous self.

"Yeah! Dame-Tsuna!" He declared. "I was looking for Dame-Tsuna so he could play with me!" Kazumi let out a thoughtful hum and a smile tugged at her face.

"Well, first of all Lambo-sama, it isn't very nice to call people names you know." Kazumi started in a teasing tone, but she was pretty sure the boy ignored her. "Secondly, isn't it a bit early for you to be looking for Tsuna-kun? He should be in school right now." The expression she got in return told Kazumi everything she needed to know. Lambo completely forgotten what time of day it was. Kazumi let out a soft chuckle as she slowly got up off the bed and approached Lambo who looked to be sulking from his blunder. "But if you wouldn't mind me, I'll do my best and play with you until Tsuna-kun gets home." She offered, and she would have sworn she saw the universe light up in Lambo's eyes.

"I-pin! Fuuta!" Lambo suddenly shouted as he ran back into the hallway. "The super nice nee-chan is going to play with us!" She could still hear him, even as he ran down the stairs. Kazumi all the while felt a tug on her heart at hearing being addressed as nee-chan again, but did her best to put it behind her and follow the child downstairs.

xXx

By late evening, Kazumi was resting at the table in the living room with the children. A number of leaves had fallen into the yard, and the four of them had gone outside to play, or watch over them in Kazumi's case, and it had tuckered them right out. Lambo and I-pin were both asleep under a light blanket on one side, and Fuuta was marking up a colouring book on the other while Kazumi sipped on some tea Nana had brought out earlier.

"Say, Kazumi-neechan, is it alright if I call you nee-chan?" Fuuta asked suddenly, eyeing Kazumi carefully from over his book. Kazumi almost lost her tea when the memory of this morning came back to hit her like a brick wall.

"I-if that's what you want to call me, I don't mind." She finally manage after cleaning off her chin.

"Are you sure? You looked really sad this morning, so I thought maybe you didn't like it…" Kazumi could feel her heart practically shatter. Damn kid.

"Riiight, I meant to say something to you about that earlier. You see, I was just startled because it brought back a sad memory for me from a long, long time ago." Kazumi explained in a gentle tone. Fuuta's expression wasn't so much worried now as it was saddened that he had somehow managed to upset her. Hesitantly, Kazumi reached out with her good hand and ruffled his flaxen hair, this time wearing a fond smile. "But please don't worry about that. If you want to call me nee-chan, I really, truly, don't mind if you do. In fact, it would make me very happy."

"O-okay!" Fuuta managed from under her hand, a smile creeping back onto his face. Kazumi let him go to resume drinking her tea, only to choke on it once again at Fuuta's next question. "Kazumi-neechan, are you in the Mafia?" All she could do was give the boy a wide-eyed, concerning stare. "Tsuna-nii, Haya-nii, and Take-nii were all wondering about it a while ago; saying you were an assassin and things like that. You're not going to take Tsuna-nii away, are you?" Tears were forming in Fuuta's eyes when his real question came out, and Kazumi practically melted.

"Never!" Kazumi insisted, putting down her tea with a little more force than she intended. But she could worry about the mess later. "Yes, I admit, I am a part of the Mafia, and I was sent her to take Tsuna-kun away from you. But I decided not to do that. He has two little brothers and a little sister to take care of after all, right? I can't very well take him away from you knowing all that, now can I?" Fuuta frantically shook his head just as Kazumi registered the presence of someone behind her. Without really thinking, she quickly turned, prepared to shield Fuuta from a possible intruder, only to find Tsuna standing there with wide, surprised eyes.

Kazumi relaxed again, once realizing there wasn't any danger, and instantly regretted reacting too quickly. The sudden pull and release of tension in her body easy bought on enough to have her doubled over. Kazumi bit down on her lip as she groaned, covering her ribs with her hand as she leaned into the table, hoping that the warmth they absorbed from her tea would sooth the ache. If only she had just searched for his Flames instead. It certainly would have been less painful.

"Kazumi-neechan, are you alright?" Fuuta shot up worriedly. Kazumi muttered incomprehensible words into the table before sitting up straight a moment later.

"I'm okay. Thank you Fuuta-kun." She grinned despite the pain she felt showing through her reassuring expression. "Although, would you mind getting my medicine from Sawada-san for me? And maybe a cold-pack?" Fuuta didn't need to be asked twice. He shot up from the floor and ran for whichever room Nana was presently in.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked hesitantly, unsure if there was something he could be doing to help. She nodded and waved off his concern with a hint of nonchalance. Tsuna then sighed, relieved, and moved to sit where Fuuta had been previously, looking down at the half finished drawing in the colouring book and smiled fondly. Kazumi could easily tell how much he cared for his surrogate brothers and sister just from that expression alone. "It's hard to get Lambo to sleep in the afternoon; you must have had a hard time with him." Tsuna looked so apologetic Kazumi cracked a smile and laughed lightly.

"It wasn't a big deal. Fuuta was very helpful when he got a bit out of hand. Personally I didn't actually do much. But they seemed to have had fun." She let out a slow, deliberate breath as she leaned her chin on her free hand, and continued to watch over the sleeping children. "They're good kids." She added while smiling.

"Well, Lambo's a bit spoiled." Tsuna and Kazumi both laughed when she lightly voiced her agreement. "I get a bit envious of them every now and again. But then I remember that each of them has had some involvement with the Mafia already despite being so young, while I've only been training to be Vongola Juudaime for two years."

"Two years?" Kazumi asked, a bit amazed.

"Yeah, since I was fourteen. I'm pretty lucky, I guess. I could have been like them; born and raised into it."

Silence passed between them for a moment. "I'm quite envious of you, Tsuna-kun." Kazumi said, catching Tsuna by surprise. "Being raised in that world; I can't even begin tell you how much it's influenced my life. There are things I'm used to doing and seeing, simply because of my upbringing. Thing that anyone else my age wouldn't even have to be worried about. I've watched people die; many of them I killed myself without batting an eye." She stared down at her hand then, staring at the blood only she could see that stained them.

"Then, what made you change your mind about killing me?" There was nothing accusatory behind Tsuna's words, Kazumi quickly realized. He was genuinely curious. She bit her lip, thinking about how she would answer.

"I guess… I was just tired of obeying." Tsuna watched as Kazumi's eyes narrowed almost angrily as she stared into her palm. An answer which brought only more questions. And it was during that grand silence which Fuuta returned with Kazumi's medicine and cold-pack, breaking the heavy atmosphere as Kazumi came out of her thoughts and thanked the boy with an appreciative smile.

"Perhaps now is as good a time as any to get answers." The three of them all flinched in surprise at the sudden voice that interrupted their silence.

"Reborn?" Tsuna questioned, turning to the infant hitman in the doorway.

"Are you prepared, Kazumi?" Reborn asked as he approached the table. Kazumi turned a weary expression in his direction before nodding.

"I already agreed to be compliant. I'll answer whatever questions you have."

"That's good to hear. I've already sent Maman out for a few things, so we'll have plenty of time for you to tell us what we want to know." Kazumi nodded her understanding.

"Wait, Reborn, is now really the best time?" Tsuna asked with a raised voice.

"You should be thankful I waited this long Dame-Tsuna. Had Kazumi been in a better state of mind while in the hospital, I would have questioned her everything then and there." Kazumi watched the exchange between the two; she could see Tsuna's shocked expression form the second the infant hitman revealed his thoughts. To be fair, she was a bit shocked too, but for an entirely different reason. The famous Reborn went easy on her because she had a few injuries? "Now, first thing's first; who are you?"

Wait. What?

"Who am I?" Kazumi couldn't help the innocent tilt of her head as she tried to comprehend the question. "By chance… Do you mean my name?" When Reborn gave his affirmative, Kazumi couldn't hold back the small laugh that escaped her. "I'm sorry, I wasn't ready for that. The truth is, Yamashita Kazumi is my real name. I was born in the northern countryside right here in Japan."

"You didn't think to use an alias?"

"And try to remember which one I'm using? I've had enough things on my mind, I didn't need to keep up an alias on top of it all. Besides, I don't think I've ever really used one." Reborn regarded Kazumi for a moment and let out a satisfied humph.

"What do you know about the sudden increase in assassinations of a number of influencers within the Mafia?" The question caught Kazumi by surprise.

"I don't follow what you're asking. What assassinations?" With the prompt, Reborn presented Kazumi with a Leon-folder. Opening it on the table, Kazumi flipped through the various pages, pictures, and other documents outlining each individual case. The further she dug, the faster she skimmed, and with each page she turned the creases between her brows were made deeper. "What is all this?"

"It goes without saying that every person in that folder is dead." Reborn said rhetorically, casually sipping a cuppa as he spoke. "Upon investigation, the only common lead that was left behind was a single name; Yamashita." Kazumi felt her blood freeze. Instantly she flipped back to the beginning of the folder and re-examined everything she just skimmed through.

Stabbed. Slashed. Bullets. Strangled. Every victim fell to one or the other.

"The first victim was approximately six months ago."

"Then I'm sorry to say, in this particular case I'm not your assassin." Kazumi said, looking up from the folder to address Reborn directly. "By that time I had already been working to locate Tsuna." Reborn narrowed his gaze curiously.

"How long was it before you came to Namimori?" Kazumi wore a thoughtful expression as she tried to count back and recall where all her time spent had gone.

"Probably… eight months?" Kazumi nodded, satisfied with her estimate.

"And how did you come to Namimori?" Kazumi froze again, feeling a cold sweat roll down her back.

"Um, you?" She supplied hesitantly, watching as Reborn's sharp glare hyper focused on her. "I-I mean! You may very well be the best Reborn-san, but you have to admit, that when an Archobaleno suddenly up and leaves Italy, everyone is going to stop and turn to see where they're going." Kazumi was quick to continue her explanation before Reborn could dig her grave any deeper than she already made it herself. "And it's no secret that the Vongola has been looking for an heir, given what happened to the previous candidates. But I'll be the first to admit I had one hell of a time figuring out where you went. I never landed anything more concrete than Japan. The past eight months has been a lot of me looking into every possible clue in different towns and cities across the country before I finally ended up here. The rest was luck."

"So, in summary, for the past eight months, you've been following nothing but breadcrumbs."

"Calling them breadcrumbs would be too much a courtesy in my opinion, but yes. Essentially." Reborn nodded thoughtfully before moving on with his questioning.

"And yet your name is what connects these assassinations. Do you have any idea why?"

"No, I don't have a…" Kazumi's mind halted.

Bullets?

She flipped forward in the folder, and read over a folder she had previously only glanced at. Determined method of death; bullet to the heart, other serious injuries from a bladed weapon were determined serious by not life threatening. A feeling of dread washed over Kazumi as she flipped to another profile. The contents were the same.

"I don't use a gun." She muttered out loud, as she continued to assess the contents in front of her. "This is all a set up." She finally rationalized.

"I thought you might say that. But let me hear your reasoning's for thinking so." Reborn said, paying more rapt attention now than he previously had been.

"I don't have any evidence obviously but," Kazumi tried to swallow a large lump in her throat. "As I explained to you in the hospital, my father and I have been at odds for some time now. He's the only person I can think of that would want to set me up like this."

"But why would your father go through that? I still have a hard time believing that he did this to you." Tsuna spoke up, gesturing to Kazumi's injuries. Kazumi however was deep in thought, reprocessing everything she had encountered up to this point.

"If I had to guess," She began slowly, but immediately she began rattling off information at rapid fire speed. "The assassinations were meant to paint a target to get Vongola's attention, possibly even to draw out the Decimo, to get rid of me without me even realizing what was going on while I was looking for you. But I found you first, so he had to go for plan B, which was to send some of his best men under the guise of helping me when really they were there to kill me after I successfully killed you. But since I killed them first, he decided to take the matter into his own hands. So then… It's possible that I was never meant to successfully complete this mission…"

"What you're trying to say then, is that your mission wasn't necessarily to kill Tsuna, but to die while trying." Reborn summed up after listening to her fast paced gibberish. Kazumi nodded, her gaze unfocused as her mind continued filtering through information that was only now becoming relevant.

"But Kazumi-san, none of that really explains why. Why is your father trying to kill you?" Tsuna asked somewhat hesitantly, possibly even with a hint of fear. Kazumi took a deep, shuttering breath.

"That… is a bit of a long story."


I am so sorry to everyone who was waiting a looong ass time for the chapter. And to those who read the one I had posted prematurely. I thought I was finished with it, but realized afterwards that I was not satisfied with it at all.

Thank you to everyone for sticking with me so far.

Please be advised that the next chapter will contain content that may be sensitive for some readers.